Chapter 8
Brushed-Off and Busted
A fine layer of party detritus coated every inch of Sugarcube Corner. The dwindling number of party guests moved slower than when the party was in full swing, a low murmur of tired voices the only soundtrack to the dregs of celebration. Pinkie Pie bounded tirelessly from guest to guest, refilling glasses with punch or offering hard cider to the few interested in really keeping the party going. Applejack, citing an early morning, had left as the sun went down, leaving Rarity, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash sitting and talking at a large table off in the corner.
A large yawn stretched Fluttershy’s face widely, drawing a hoof to cover her mouth and pinkness to her cheeks. “Oh, excuse me.” Her friends grinned and rolled their eyes. “It’s getting rather late…”
Rarity clapped a hoof gently on the mare’s back. “Oh, nonsense; the night’s still young.”
“For you, maybe,” Rainbow Dash said, rubbing at her eye with a hoof. “You an’ Twilight are up all hours, sleepin’ away half the morning. We got stuff to do every morning, right Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy nodded gently, shooting Rarity an apologetic smile. “I never really was much of a night-owl.”
Twilight frowned thoughtfully. “I never pictured you for the ‘early to bed, early to rise’ type, Rainbow Dash, what with how often I see you napping.”
“Hey!” Rainbow glared at her friend, its effect ruined by a smirk on her muzzle. “I work hard and nap hard.”
Twilight giggled and scanned the room, watching Pinkie Pie see to the other remaining guests. Her brow drew together in scrutiny. “…Come to think of it, I’ve seen Pinkie Pie awake really early in the morning and really late at night. Does…does she ever sleep?”
Glancing with worry between the bouncing party host and Twilight’s critical expression, Rarity grimaced. “It’s…best not to think about it.”
Rainbow Dash yawned loudly, releasing a series of crackling pops from her spine as she stretched. She smacked her lips in satisfaction. “Heck of a party she threw, that’s for sure.”
Nodding gently, Fluttershy’s voice became reserved. “I’m sorry it didn’t start out so well, Rainbow.”
“Yeah…” Rainbow sighed, her attention shifting to the darkened window. Her eyes grew distant. “I still can’t believe Gilda did that…” Twilight looked to her other friends, searching for something to say. Before they could do anything more than frown at each other, Rainbow turned back with a confident smirk on her lips. “Anyway, it was a totally awesome party.”
“Well,” Twilight sighed, pulling herself onto her hooves, “Despite being a night-owl, I think I’m going to head home. Goodnight, everypony.” A murmur of parting words ran through the group as Twilight cantered to Pinkie to say her goodbyes. The bell over the shop door tinkling as she left, Twilight inhaled the cool night air deeply and headed down the street towards her library. Her silent walk was interrupted by the sound of beating wings.
Rainbow Dash clattered down on the cobbled street next to the unicorn, her brow drawn in worry and her smile hopeful. “Hey, Twilight…do you mind if I talk to you?”
Blinking, Twilight slowed her pace. “Sure thing. Everything alright, Rainbow?”
They made their way down the short road to the tree together, Rainbow Dash’s face forward and hidden from Twilight’s view. “…No.”
Twilight straightened in her walk, her eyes opening in surprise. Still new to Ponyville, she hadn’t been friends with anypony for long, but the level of weary sadness in the brash mare’s voice was strikingly out of place. Not fully over her shock, they arrived at the darkened doorway to Twilight’s home. In a glow of magic, the portal sprung open. “Would you like to come in and talk about it?”
Nodding, the subdued Rainbow cantered into the library. Twilight followed behind, lighting the lanterns in the main room and kitchen with a small exertion of will. Twilight smiled hopefully at her friend. “Want some coffee?”
Rainbow’s expression immediately brightened. “Oh man, I love coffee.” A slight bounce back in her step, she followed Twilight into the kitchen and sat at the table. Her brief flare of cheer drained quickly as she watched Twilight flit about the kitchen, boiling water and filling a coffee press with fresh ground coffee. After pouring in the heated water, Twilight floated the steeping press-pot and two cups to the table and sat opposite Rainbow Dash.
“So, what’s going on, Rainbow?”
The daredevil sunk in her chair, idly running her hooves along the table. Ears drooping, she picked through her words slowly and carefully. “I’m…not okay right now. I didn’t want to make everypony at the party feel worse about what happened, but…”
Twilight’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Glittering sparkles of light flashed off the tears growing in Rainbow’s eyes, threatening to spill down her face. “Rainbow…”
“…Gilda was my best friend, Twilight. I hadn’t seen her in a while, but I just told my best friend to get lost.”
Trails of wet raced down Rainbow’s cheeks, darkening her coat. Twilight stood roughly, her chair squeaking loudly across the floor. She raced around the table and wrapped her hooves around Rainbow’s neck. The proud mare stiffened in her embrace for a second before sniffling and accepting the affection, nuzzling her face into Twilight’s chest. Twilight soothingly murmured, “I’m so sorry, Rainbow Dash. I should have realized…”
“N-no, it’s fine,” she struggled out, pulling back from the hug and wiping her face. “Nopony here really knew her, and…and I’m not sorry I told her to leave.” She looked Twilight in the eye and smiled sadly. “If that’s who she is, I don’t want her in my life. It still hurts, though.”
Twilight nodded, her heart aching. She cantered back towards her seat, pressing the filter down through the coffee pot and pouring two steaming cups. “Cream? Sugar?”
“Nah,” she mumbled, “I like it black.”
Twilight smirked and nodded, floating her own black cup to her lips. “I’m truly sorry, Rainbow Dash. I can’t imagine needing to tell a friend to leave…” She looked into her mug, her gaze introspective. “…Needing to tell one of you girls to leave…” She re-sharpened, drawing her focus back to Rainbow. “Why didn’t you say something at the party? It must have been awful trying to have fun if you were hurting.”
Sighing, Rainbow took a sip of her coffee. As it touched her tongue, she smiled involuntarily, licking her lips in appreciation. Twilight stifled a giggle as the daredevil mumbled, “Good coffee.” She took a longer sip. “…I didn’t want to disappoint everypony. Pinkie went through all that trouble, and half the town was there, and I was hoping it’d distract me.”
A pained smile stretched across Twilight’s muzzle. She nodded slowly, looking down into her coffee. “…You’re quite the pony, Rainbow Dash. Listen…next time you’re somewhere like that and you need to get away…tell me, okay?” She looked up from her coffee, pleading with her eyes. “I’ll make an excuse for you. Don’t hurt yourself for our benefit. Please?”
Rainbow’s gaze dropped, heat rising to her face. She already felt better, just from seeing the concern on Twilight’s face and hearing it in her words. “Thanks, Twilight. I’ll get over it...I still feel awful, but I really just needed to get it off my chest. I knew you were the right pony to talk to.”
“I’m glad you came to me and that I could help, but…why me? You’re a good friend, Rainbow, but we still don’t know each other very well. I’ve only been here in Ponyville for a couple months.”
A small, genuine smile lit up Rainbow’s face. “Twilight, I’d be a fool not to come to you about somethin’ like this. You’re, like, the pony for friend stuff.”
Bewildered, Twilight took a long drink of her coffee. “But…surely Fluttershy would be your first choice. You said you’ve known each other since you were fillies and she’s just as understanding as me, more even, and—”
“Twilight, I’ve known Fluttershy for a long time, but before you came here I’d said maybe a dozen words to her in the last year.” Twilight’s jaw hung slack, her throat working but no sound coming out. “The only ponies I was really friends with before the Summer Sun Celebration were AJ and Pinkie…and AJ was ‘cause I like sleepin’ on her trees and Pinkie ‘cause she’s friends with everypony. And I didn’t really hang out with either of ‘em ever. I mean, I never really spent any time with Pinkie just the two of us until yesterday when we went pranking.”
Twilight swallowed thickly, opting to drink her coffee and process Rainbow’s words rather than say anything.
“You were the one to bring us all together. Before we met you, we were just five ponies who lived in the same town. We’re…way more than that now, though. Gilda was my best friend, and I hadn’t seen her for two years, Twilight. And I didn’t really care. It was cool to see her and she means…meant a lot to me, but it wasn’t a big deal to not ever see her…” As she spoke, her face fell and her expression grew confused. Talking it out helped bring the reality of her statement into full comprehension. She dropped silent, mulling it over and taking several drinks. Twilight remained quiet, watching her friend.
“…I’ve never been the friendliest pony in Equestria, Twilight. I’ve had a lot of kinda-friends, but I’ve always been on my own. Now…I can’t go a couple days without seeing at least one of you girls. I don’t want to try an’ go more’n a couple days without seeing somepony now. And it was you who did that, Twilight. To all of us. You brought us together.” Rainbow drained the rest of her coffee. “Thank you for that, Twilight. And for bein’ here to listen to me now.” She smacked her lips, her tone brightening. “And for the awesome coffee.”
Twilight smiled weakly, still trying to process everything Rainbow had said. “You’re very welcome…” She drained her mug and set it down on the table. “And thank you for being my friend. I couldn’t have asked for a friend like you.”
Rainbow’s face grew hot and she grinned at the unicorn. “I am pretty awesome.” Twilight giggled, shaking her head. “It’s getting really late now, so I’m gonna head home. Thanks again, Twilight. I feel a lot better.”
As she cantered towards the door, Twilight called after her, “Any time you need to talk, I’m always here for you.” Rainbow halted and gave Twilight a little grin, waving goodbye with a hoof. She opened the door and flared her wings, shooting off towards her house. From the time of her departure until her head hit her pillow, the smile never left her lips.
Leaning shoulder to shoulder with Rainbow, Twilight grinned indulgently and shook her head. “Rainbow, y’know I could listen to you talk for hours, but that was weeks before we got together.” She nuzzled Rainbow’s cheek roughly, drawing a chuckle from her marefriend.
“But that’s where it started, Twi’.” She smiled with affection at Twilight, her eyes tracing over the unicorn’s face. “At least for me. After that night, I kept thinkin’ about what I said to you an’ how you said I could always talk to you.”
Rainbow grasped Twilight’s forehooves in her own, drawing the mare to face her directly. “You always make me think more’n I normally do.” Her smile widened. “So I thought a lot about you and eventually about you an’ me together. I dunno when it changed, but I know when it started. It started when somepony I barely knew saw me hurting and almost knocked her chair over to hug me.”
Twilight lifted a hoof out of Rainbow’s grip and pressed it to her own muzzle, willing her lips to not quiver. She gave a tiny sniff and leaned forward to kiss Rainbow’s cheek. She whispered, “How could I not hug you?”
Nuzzling Twilight’s face, she whispered back, “That you’d say that is one of the reasons I fell in love with you.” Twilight smiled gently into the nuzzle, pulling away with reluctance. Rainbow grinned at Scootaloo, who was pointedly not watching them, before turning back to Twilight. “So that’s how it started for me. How about you?”
“Well…to tell you the truth, Rainbow…it sorta started when we met.”
Rainbow’s sat up straight in surprise. “Really?”
“…Yeah. Watching you clear the sky for the Celebration so quickly…it was amazing, really. I never saw anything like it.” Her face colored and she turned away, a coy smile on her lips. “You could say I had a crush on you in ten seconds flat.”
Rainbow snorted and ruffled Twilight’s mane, drawing giggles from the unicorn. Twilight patted her bangs back down with a hoof and said, “I tried to not think about it, because I assumed you wouldn’t be interested.”
Sighing with a rueful smirk on her lips, Rainbow shook her head. “It woulda been a whole lot easier if either of us just asked each other out, huh?” Twilight giggled again and nodded as Rainbow winked at Scootaloo. “So why don’t you tell the next part?”
Twilight nodded and smiled at the filly. She took a sip of her coffee, cleared her throat, and began.
Twilight’s smirk slowly faded as Snips and Snails cantered off to clean up the mess wrought by the Ursa Minor. She sighed to herself and headed back towards the library, weariness dragging her head down low and slowing her pace. She reached out with her will to grasp the doorknob and twinges of pain lanced through her horn, making her wince and shake her head. “Too much magic today,” she mumbled, pulling open the door with her hoof, trudging over to a floor pillow and collapsing with a groan.
A small knock sounded from the door. Casting a bleary eye, Twilight was greeted by Rainbow Dash, smirking with a hoof raised to the still wide open door. “Hey, Twilight.”
Rubbing her face with a hoof, Twilight sat up and tried to smile. She was interrupted by a sudden yawn. Color rose to her cheeks as her visitor partially stifled a snort. “Hi, Rainbow,” she greeted, rubbing an eye with her hoof. “What can I do for you?”
Rainbow tentatively stepped across the threshold, shutting the door with a gentle kick. “I just…wanted to check on ya.” She smiled sheepishly, pawing at the floor with a hoof.
Twilight frowned. “Check on me?”
“…Yeah.” The mare awkwardly cantered around the room, her eyes passing over the book-cases without really taking anything in. She quietly cleared her throat a few times, but didn’t say anything else.
Dragging herself back to standing, Twilight asked, “Why’d you want to check on me?”
Rainbow opened her mouth, her throat working but no sound coming out. She scowled and sighed, slumping her shoulders. “I’m…not good at this, Twilight. Talking about stuff. Finding…words.” She rubbed at her shoulder with a foreleg, looking down at the floor.
Slowly, Twilight nodded and she cantered closer to her friend. “Just say what you wanna say; I’m listening.”
Rainbow frowned deeper and looked Twilight in the eye. “This stuff tonight with Trixie…did you really think we wouldn’t wanna be friends with you?” Twilight’s ears fell back against her head and she looked away. “…S’what I thought. Twilight…” She stepped closer and put a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder.
Twilight winced. “I’m sorry…please don’t be mad I doubted you.”
Straightening in her stance and blinking in confusion, Rainbow said, “I’m not mad. Why would I be mad?” She shook her head. “I was worried about you and thought maybe you needed a friend to talk to. Like, uh…Like I did. After Gilda. So, uh…yeah.”
Twilight turned back to Rainbow Dash, worry melting to relief, a small smile growing on her lips. “…Thank you, Rainbow.” She pulled the mare into a hug, both of them tensed and fidgety in the embrace. “I’m…thank you.” She stepped back, smiling weakly at her friend. “I should’ve known better. You girls are better than that. You’re…” She looked away and sniffed. Frowning, Rainbow stepped forward again, but Twilight shrugged her off. “I’m fine. I’m still getting used to what it’s like to have friends.”
Twilight wiped at her eyes and smiled at Rainbow a little brighter. “I can’t believe I went for so long without any.”
Rainbow grinned warmly and after a moment of deliberation drew Twilight into another, more fierce hug. “You’re totally awesome, Twilight. You don’t haveta prove anything to anypony here; we know it and you should know it. Your magic was…” She pursed her lips, mulling it over in her mind. “Radical. Totally radical.”
Twilight inhaled sharply to clear her snout, hugging Rainbow back. “Thanks.”
“I mean it.” Rainbow pulled back, a small hint of pink in her cheeks. “You’re awesome and powerful and totally amazing to see in action.” She puffed out her chest and narrowed her eyes in confidence. “Like me!” Twilight grinned and shook her head. Rainbow’s stance fell back to sheepish. “…So you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay.” She rubbed at her forehead, willing the blossoming headache away. “Just tired. That took a lot out of me.”
“Say no more; I’ll let ya get some sleep.” Rainbow turned towards the door. “See ya later, Twi’.”
Twilight waved gently as the daredevil took to her wings and sailed into the night, the force of her departure pulling the door shut behind her. The unicorn inhaled deeply and let out a slow breath, pulling herself up the stairs towards her bedroom on aching hooves. ‘Rainbow called me ‘Twi’,’ she thought to herself, a happy grin blooming on her muzzle. It sounded so…intimate. She flopped onto her bed and dug herself under the covers, grinning like an idiot.
Needling Twilight in the ribs with a hoof, Rainbow teased, “Now who’s talkin’ about stuff that happened weeks before we got together?”
Twilight giggled, ribbing Rainbow back. “Well, you said you didn’t know when it changed from thinking about me to thinking about us. I did know when that happened for me, so I thought I’d share.”
“Wait…that night after Trixie first came to Ponyville was when you…?”
“Yeah…” Twilight’s face flushed and she smiled radiantly at Rainbow. Rainbow arched an eyebrow and set her hooves on her hips. Scootaloo watched the mares quietly regard each other, wondering if they had forgotten she was even in the room. Twilight pawed at the pillow, clearing her throat. “Before then, I’d had a crush on you. I thought you were amazing, and pretty, and somepony to admire. Then…after that night…” Her blush darkened and she leaned in closer. “Well…the first thing was how you reacted to my magic; it reminded me so much of how I felt watching you fly. I used to think we were so different before then, so it must’ve been just a silly crush, but I realized we were the same; you with flying and me with magic. Does that make sense?”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened, her breath caught in her throat, and she started laughing. Covering her mouth with a hoof, she fell over backwards, kicking wildly in the air while attempting to stifle the brunt of her merriment. When she caught Twilight’s mystified expression, she forced away the worst of it and scrambled back to her haunches. “Sorry, sorry,” she choked out, “It’s just…I realized the same thing! Remember how I said, ‘Like me?’” Twilight nodded numbly. Rainbow almost lost control of her laughter again, a few choked snickers escaping her throat. “I remember thinkin’, ‘I bet this is what it feels like to watch me fly!’” She lost control of herself for good and flopped back over, howling into the floor pillow.
Twilight shook her head slowly and held her face in her hooves, giggling along with her marefriend. Scootaloo set her empty mug on the floor, attempting to keep her own laughter in check. Rainbow’s rather exaggerated physical display made it difficult.
Still snickering, Rainbow pulled herself back up, her voice dripping with mirth. “So anyway, besides us having the same idea at the same time about how we’re practically the same pony, what else?”
Twilight snorted and shoved Rainbow playfully. “Gimme a second; I’m busy rethinking every thought I’ve ever had around you.” Eventually, they both regained a modicum of composure and Twilight took a deep breath. “…Anyway…The other thing was how you acted like I was crazy for thinking you’d be mad I’d doubted you. It would’ve been perfectly reasonable to be hurt by that; I didn’t trust you, any of you girls.” She sighed, casting her gaze at the floor. “I still regret that…”
Frowning, Rainbow lifted Twilight’s chin, drawing her line of sight back up. She opened her mouth, but Twilight waved her off with a hoof.
“The point being it didn’t even enter your head to feel that way. You just wanted to make sure I was alright.” She grasped Rainbow’s still outstretched hoof in her own, squeezing the limb and grinning. “Suddenly instead of you just being pretty and fun, you were somepony I felt a connection to, who was kind and thoughtful. It stopped being just that I liked you and that I wanted to be with you.”
They looked into each other’s eyes for several moments, affection drilling into each other. Rainbow started and glanced over at Scootaloo. She coughed and cleared her throat. “Well…that’s the backstory, Scoots.” Her smile turned chagrined. “So, uh, onto what happened. Do you wanna tell it, Twi’?”
“Let’s tell it together.”