Chapter 4
Coming to Terms
"What?!" Flash exclaimed, sidestepping out of the corner. With a strong down-stroke of his wings, he distanced himself from the teary-eyed mare. It had only been an instinct reaction, but the second he did it, he felt the repercussions.
"I-I'm sorry, Flash!" Rainbow Dash stammered out between sobs. The fur on her face was matted down by her tears and her eyes glistened with pain. "I know you shouldn't deal with this now, but I just couldn't stand not telling you. And besides-"
"Dash, I'm with Fluttershy. I realize it hurts, but I don't love you that way."
She was getting desperate. She saw her love slipping away and panicked, rapidly sputtering out, "B-But we get along so well! You remember all the times we've raced and had so much fun. We've always been the best of friends. Why can't we be more than that? I mean, it's not like-"
Flash shut out her voice; not to run away from the problem, but to take a second to think. He took a deep breath and focused on how he felt about Fluttershy. He already knew she was the one he truly love. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a ring under his bed, ready to be used for whenever he got up the nerve. Otherwise, Rarity wouldn't have an extra 1,000 bits and an order for a wedding dress. Otherwise, Flash wouldn't feel so lost without her.
Flash took another minute to concentrate on his feelings for Rainbow Dash. Of course there were feelings; how could there not be? They were so similar in every way. They both had a hefty competitive streak, were talented fliers, could be a little bull-headed at times. It was as if they were-
Two wires connected in his brain, giving him a sudden shock of realization. He turned to the cyan mare and spoke. "Dash, I really do have feelings for you, but not in the same way as with Fluttershy. I see us as siblings more than lovers. We're always getting on each others nerves, teasing and messing around. But we also help each other when we need it, and you have this special connection with me that Fluttershy could never dream of having. You're my sister, Dashy, and I love you as a sister. You should know there's no greater love than that." Dash just stood there, and Flash didn't know what to think of her expression. She was obviously upset, but something in her eyes made it seem like everything would get better, as if she had hope for the future. Quickly changing the topic, Flash got the conversation back to the matter at hand. "Now, I understand if you're upset, but we need to focus on getting Fluttershy back." He took her hooves in his and stared deeply into her eyes. "I promise you, I'm not going to ignore this. Once she's back, we can talk."
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Pinkie was sitting outside in front of the hospital, closely observing a line of ants in the grass, when Flash and Rainbow Dash walked out. The bubbly, rosy pony perked up and darted over. "So, what's up, guys?" she asked with a huge grin spread across her face.
I swear, that pony could be on the green mile and she'd still have a smile on her face
Shaking his head to remove any off-topic thoughts, Flash explained the gameplan. "First of all, do either of you know anypony living in Fillydelphia? We're going to need a safe house to execute this mission."
Pinkie Pie's hoof shot up in the air. She bounced up and down frantically, making sure she got Flash's attention. Exasperatedly, Flash responded, "Yes Pinkie Pie?"
The pony jumped exuberantly and took a deep breath. "I don't know anybody from Fillydelphia! But this one time my parents went to Fillydelphia for a rock farming convention and they said it was a boring place but my babysitter at the time wasn't boring at all because we had a baking party and of course, I-"
"Pinkie Pie!" Flash and Rainbow Dash yelled simultaneously. They looked at each other, causing Rainbow Dash to blush and turn away while Flash proceeded to talk.
"Okay, that means we'll have to settle with whatever I can muster up from my err... sources. I can probably count on my old buddy, Whipwind to let us stay at his place, as long as he didn't get into any trouble." Flash trailed off, as if he were going to continue. After an awkward pause, Rainbow Dash coughed, alerting Flash, who had been lost in thought, and he continued. "Umm, so yeah, we're going to need Twilight to come along, too," he said, seemingly finalizing a point he never made.
"Wait, what?" Rainbow Dash was confused, and Pinkie Pie's expression showed a similar lack of understanding.
"Oh, sorry," Flash said, a little embarrassed that he'd completely lost his train of thought. "I was thinking, since my dad has a ton of security around his mob, and considering it will be doubled since Fluttershy is now being held hostage, he's bound to have a lot of hired horns on patrol of the area. Twilight is obviously the most powerful unicorn that we know, but for all intensive purposes and a little morale boost, we'll consider her the most powerful unicorn in Equestria. So, that considered, we're going to need her magical know-how and prowess to help us take down my dad's defenses. Make sense?"
"Yes indeedy dandy!" Pinkie Pie said with a little too much pep. Rainbow Dash simply gave a stern nod to Flash.
"Well alright, then. Let's go to Twilight and get this thing figured out!"