After her conversation with Soarin, Rainbow Dash went back to her home and slept. She had been up for over 24 hours and was absolutely exhausted, the stress of admitting her mistake to Soarin took what little energy she had left. It took a while for the fact that she’s single to hit her. She had gotten in such a rhythm on a daily basis based off of being with Soarin, and now that they’re on a ‘break’, every time she’d usually do something to see Soarin, she’d be reminded that they really aren’t together anymore. Rainbow Dash had to look at bright side, though. Just to make herself feel a little better. She could finally explore her feelings for Vinyl Scratch without consequence.
Still lying in her bed, she had been awake for 20 minutes just thinking about what happened and what’s to come. Rainbow Dash had slept for only about 5 hours and felt pretty exhausted, but unable to go back to sleep, encircling thoughts keeping her mind in a haze. She continued to think about what she could do, but continually came to no conclusion and was at a loss to what she should do next. Give it time and see if she wants Soarin back before even giving Vinyl a chance? Give Vinyl Scratch a chance and go from there? It wasn’t like she had a lot of choices, she just couldn’t decide. The Pegasus had been continually thinking for several hours when she was interrupted by a few very light knocks on the door, causing her to sigh loudly.
“Who is it?” She said, too lazy to get up and answer it.
The Pegasus was only met with some sort of quiet voice she couldn’t even understand
“Louder! I can’t hear you,” Rainbow Dash exclaimed with a crack in her voice, slightly agitated.
When she was only met with another mumble, she lazily flew out of her bed and begrudgingly opened the door, to see Fluttershy looking at her with an embarrassed look on her face.
Rainbow Dash felt stupid when she realized she should have known in was Fluttershy right away. Feeling relieved to see her friend, Rainbow Dash greeted her with a smile, “Hey Fluttershy! What’s up?”
“Um nothing really, well, me and Applejack were in the area and were wondering how everything was um, well, going and if you’d like to walk with us,”
“Of course! But…where’s Applejack…?”
“She’s an earth pony; she can’t stand on clouds….”
Rainbow Dash giggled at her own naiveté, “Oh right, hehe, where’re you guys going?”
Fluttershy thought for a second, “Well…anywhere really, we were bored and decided to take a walk since Applejack has the day off from sweet apple acres,”
“Howdy Partner!” Yelled Applejack from below, as the two Pegasi lowered to meet her, “Hows everything goin’ with yer situation an’ all,”
Rainbow Dash frowned, but knew what to say, “I, um, well I don’t know what to think…me and Soarin are on a ‘break’ now,”
The two Pegasi landed on both sides of the earth pony and walked away from the rainbow Pegasus’ home in the clouds.
“How’d he take it?”
“Well, he did it, not me,” Rainbow Dash said with an awkward smile, but not knowing why.
Applejack shrugged and put on a confident smile, “Well ah’m sure now ya can do what ya want with that mare ya were talkin’ ‘bout!”
Rainbow Dash looked down, “Don’t you think, me going after Vinyl Scratch so fast would well, insult Soarin, I mean we were together for 4 months….”
“Vinyl Scr-Wait, ya mean that Dj pony from Pinkie’s Party?” Applejack said, the gears clicking into place in her mind,”Ohhhhhhhhh! Ah shoulda seen that coming from a mile away, ah reckon. Hay, we juss talked to her at Sugarcube Corner!”
The realization that Vinyl Scratch was at Sugarcube Corner made her heart flutter, realizing if she chose too, she could see her today…single. Rainbow Dash blushed despite herself, realizing she hadn’t told them before now, and hadn’t planned to. She liked to keep her relationships to herself for a while before anypony else could interfere, more a way to just enjoy the thrill of being in a relationship without anypony else knowing. Up until recently, barely anypony even knew about her and Soarin.
“That’s soooo cute, Rainbow. She’s so cool, and um, you are too, you’re like perfect for each other…” Fluttershy gushed, with a smile causing Rainbows cheeks to redden with embarrassment.
Rainbow Dash then let out a flurry of unintelligible nonsense in frustration, wiping the smile off of the shy pony’s face.
“Sometimes I wish I never met her,” The Pegasus exclaimed with frustrated sigh, “B-but then I wouldn’t have known what I could feel for somepony else, what I felt for her… I guess you two know what I mean better than ANYPONY…I hate to admit it, but I never felt what I felt with Vinyl when I was with Soarin, but I still feel terrible, and I still love Soarin, “ She sighed, lowering her head, thoughts running rampant, “It’s just…different, ya know?”
It was one of the things the Pegasus had contemplated meticulously, but never came to her own conclusion. How can one moment you feel in love with one pony, then somepony else comes along and change everything so fast?
As they kept walking with no destination, it made her feel better that she always had friends that would support her, and with Applejack and Fluttershy, two that even go out of their way just to check in on her.
“Ah think ya juss need to think thangs over some more, ‘sall. Ah know what yer goin’ through, and ah think just hanging with friends and such will be best until yer ready to talk to Vinyl or Soarin ah reckon,” Applejack said, then continued when Dash didn’t respond, “Ya could wait fer a while and decide then,”
“I don’t want to wait!” Rainbow Dash blurted out, “I want to see her now, I want to tell her I’m ready to…well whatever! But then I feel guilt about Soarin and I know, I really know that waiting would be best for me, but it’s not like waiting stops me from thinking about her!”
“I don’t know, Rainbow Dash. If you give yourself more time to calm down, it um, may clear things up for you,” Fluttershy said shyly, with an agreeing nod from Applejack.
“I just don’t know what to do, it’s like, not matter I do, I’m gonna regret something,”
Despite Rainbow Dash’s obvious distress about her whole situation, Applejack chuckled.
“Now what are you laughing about?” The rainbow Pegasus said, slightly defensive.
“Now, now, Rainbow. Ah’ve known ya fer over a very long time an’ never seen ya so gung ho ‘bout somepony before. Ah also never seen ya actually THINK before doin’ somethin’, ya usually juss go with yer gut. Maybe that’s why everythin’s so hard fer you right now, yer juss over-thinkin’”
“WELL, not ‘thinking’ before doing something got me into this mess,”
“And ah think it’ll getcha out of it too,”
This piqued Dash’s interest, “How so?”
“Ah think ya obviously have somethin’ special with Vinyl, and there ain’t no need to wait. Ah mean, whats the point in waitin’ when yer juss gonna fret ‘bout it the whole time. But ah guess that’s just my opinion Rainbow, no need to take it to heart or nothin’” The three ponies entered the middle of town, where Sugarcube Corner was. It wasn’t very far from them, and Rainbow Dash knew they had had led her to town on purpose once they knew the mare she kissed was Vinyl Scratch.
Applejack’s words resonated in the Pegasus' head. Ya obviously have somethin’ special with Vinyl…
She stopped suddenly, causing the other two to follow suit. Rainbow Dash was deep in thought, but her mind was already made.
“I think I know what I’m gonna do,” The rainbow Pegasus said, lifting her head up, a new air of confidence surrounding her. Applejack and Fluttershy just looked at her expectantly.
“You guys, um, don’t mind if I leave right now?”
Applejack smiled, knowing exactly what Rainbow Dash was going to do, “Of course not Rainbow,”
Before she left, Rainbow Dash turned back towards her friends with a smile, “I don’t know how to say this,” The Pegasus said, rubbing the back of her neck in embarrassment, “Um, thank you, like, a LOT, because I don’t think I would have handled this well without you two helping so much, I mean, like yeah. You know how hard it is for me to admit stuff like that…”
“And that’s why it means so much, Rainbow…yer awfully welcome,” Applejack said with a sly smile on her face, “Now go get ‘er!”
Rainbow Dash was in front of Sugarcube Corner in just a few seconds, as Applejack and Fluttershy made their way back to wherever they were going. She flew idly in front of the entrance to the cake shop, trying not to let her racing thoughts deter her from doing what she felt she needed to do. Nervousness crept up on her, realizing it was only about 2 days ago that she last saw the unicorn, yet she felt like it was months. Nopony has ever made her feel this way, and it made her very nervous despite herself.
Hearing a noise behind her, Rainbow Dash turned around, just to be greeted with the sight of leaf filled pathway into the center of town. After shrugging off whatever she heard, she turned around to face the entrance, feeling the immense pressure of what she was about to do.
“Should I go in or not, should I go in or not, should I go in or no-“Rainbow Dash said spastically, once again finding herself talking to herself for comfort.
Maybe she’s not there, or left early, what if I’m just doing this for nothing...?
Rainbow Dash looked for a window, but saw none she wanted to risk being seen through. She paced her breathing, calming herself down. She sighed.
Why am I so nervous? It feels weird, stop it!
As natural as it had ever been, the Rainbow Pegasus put on a cool front, leaning her hoof forward to push the door open.
“Hey Dashie, w-what’re you doing?“ With a confused smile on her face, Vinyl Scratch's soft voice came from behind the Pegasus, who instantly launched herself into a cloud during a few moments of panic.
Rainbow Dash looked down awkwardly from the random cloud she was now perched in, her cheeks burning with embarrassment and nervousness upon the sight of the giggling unicorn, her heart beating at a million miles per hour.
This is it…
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“OMIGOSH. OMIGOSH. It’s Vinyl Scratch! How are you! OMIGOSH, I need to get you a free cake! For being so awesome, maybe sing you a so-” The pink pony jumped around the shop ecstatically as the unicorn made her way in and sat comfortably at a table.
“That won’t be necessary Pinkie Pie! I’d rather just pay. I’m only going to be in Ponyville until maybe tomorrow, and I’d rather-well, I’d rather just pay, I have extra bits on me,”
In an instant, the pink pony was inches away from the unicorns face, her workers cap nearly falling off, “OKIE DOKIE LOKIE! What can I getcha? Maybe a CAKE FOR FREE?”
“Just a cake, minus the free,” Vinyl Scratch said with a chuckle.
“HMPH. But I feel like If I say ok, it’ll make me look like a super duper meanie mc-mean pants!”
“I’ll pay Pinkie Pie, don’t worry!” Vinyl Scratch said waving her hooves dismissively at the thought of being treated to a free desert, “I mean it. Don’t worry, it’s completely fine!”
“Okie Dokie Lokie Artichokey Vinyl…ochey? Be right back!” The pink pony darted into the kitchen humming merrily. Clearly it was her duty to run the whole shop that day, Mr. and Ms. Cake nowhere in sight.
Vinyl Scratch chuckled despite herself, settling herself into her seat as she waited. Putting her head on her hoof, she starting scanning the shop for anything interesting, just to distract herself while she waited for her slice of cake. Having no more gigs in Ponyville lined up for several weeks, she really didn’t know why she was even still in Ponyville. Well, she did, and with a depressing sigh, she tried to ignore the re-surfacing thoughts of the Rainbow Pegasus.
It had been Vinyl Scratch’s mission the past few days to discover why she felt so attached to a pony after just one night. It just didn’t seem like something like that was possible, especially for her. She had never believed in love at first sight, and still feels reluctant to accept it. And now, the unicorn finds herself once again blushing just at the thought purple-eyed Pegasus.
Who would have thought that meeting a pony so cool would make me act so…uncool
“Howdy partner! Didn’t see ya there!” Somepony said, knocking Vinyl Scratch out of her daydream.
The unicorn jumped, but quickly regained her cool at the sight of an earth pony and Pegasus she recognized, but couldn’t name.
“Oh uh, hey!” Vinyl responded awkwardly, soon wanting to kick herself for how she stammered out the greeting.
“Ah don’t know if ya remember us, but we were that party ya hosted a few days ago, ah just wanted ta say ya did great! Me and Fluttershy here had a awfully good time ah reckon!” The earth pony complimented, standing in front of the sitting Unicorn.
“It was...really nice…” The Pegasus agreed with a tiny smile.
The earth pony mentioning Fluttershy’s name rang a bell, causing Vinyl Scratch to smile warmly at the mare couple that Rainbow Dash had spoken of.
“I remember you too, sorta! Rainbow Dash told me all about you two at the party! You’re um, Applejack right?” The unicorn said casually, not intending on admitting her true feelings for the Pegasus to two ponies she barely knew.
“Yes Ma’am, may ah ask what she said 'bout us?"
“Oh nothing much,” She lied, Rainbow had gushed about her guilt for judging the mare-couple so harshly, after their intimate moment earlier that night. Vinyl Scratch continued, “Basically she said that you two are her friends…yeah that’s it. Nice to meet you!” The unicorn mused, graciously smiling at the two mares in front of her.
Applejack and Fluttershy smiled in return, “Pleasure’s all mine!, “ The earth pony said, placing her fore-hoof on her chest, then continued, “Ah guess we’ll get outta yer mane, going to visit Rainbow Dash right now! Can’t wait fer one yer next party,” The earth pony said in a matter-of-fact way, as she turned towards the door.
“B-bye-,” Vinyl Scratch stammered, distracted by what Applejack had just said.
they know where she is? The unicorn thought, heart fluttering. Should I ask to tag along? No... should I ask them to tell Rainbow to come here after? What should I do…?
Her mouth opened, but no words came out; right as Applejack and Fluttershy exited the shop. The frustrated unicorn sighed and put her head in her hooves. It seemed to her that the past few days, if not her whole life was just a collection of missed opportunities to love somepony, almost always due to something out of her own control, making everything for her go wrong.
In Vinyl Scratches mind, after the party, Rainbow Dash probably saw Soarin and realized that she regretted their kisses, and wanted to stay with Soarin. Forget everything about the unicorn and move on, as if what they had between each other was just a fleeting feeling between two ponies that had just met. However in Vinyl Scratch’s mind, she felt much more for the Pegasus in contrast to what she assumed Rainbow Dash felt for her.
How could I even possibly compete with a stallion? Let alone a Wonderbolt…
“What am I thinking? I haven’t even talked to her since that night, why do assume the worst every time?” She spoke out loud to add emphasis to the point she was making, “Maybe if I just hold my head up high, and just be…I don’t even know, But I shouldn’t be letting this stuff get to me,”
“No you shouldn’t! Now here’s your cake!”
Vinyl Scratch jumped again, “Holy equine, you scared me half to death Pinkie Pie!” They both laughed it off making it a little less embarrassing for the unicorn. She’s always had a bad habit of nearly knocking herself out of her seat when startled.
Pinkie Pie giggled, “I was thinking of pranking you somehow, because that’s just something I LOVE to do, but then my Pinkie-Sense picked up that there was a sad-pony near-by and I can tell it's you. It made me sad, to see YOU sad. I don’t wanna be sad anymore so can you tell me why you’re so sad? Tell aunt Pinkie Pie why you’re sad, because I don’t want to be sad”
“Nothing’s wrong at all, thanks for caring though…” She gave up on her lie halfway through it; a loud sigh afterwards giving it away. She knew venting could be just what she needs.
Pinkie Pie sat down at the table, “Come on, tell your friend Pinkie what’s wrong!”
Well, here goes
“Well, I’m just…confused. There this…er-stallion I really really like, and it seems as if he’s just going to forget about me because he’s been with somepony else longer, and I felt so much for him...”
The spastic pony in front of her frowned, “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry to hear that. Does he know how you feel? You can’t keep your emotions all bottled up inside, that’s why I’m always un-bottling my happiness!”
“I hope so…” Vinyl Scratch said with a sad tone to her voice, “We only met at the party…but I felt something so…so special with her- HIM,” Her heart fluttered at her slight mistake, luckily the pink pony didn’t look into it much.
“Do you think he felt it too? Like the little fuzzy wuzzies in your tummy when you see each other? I just LOVE Fuzzie wuzzies!” Pinkie Pie giggled warmly at her own statement.
“More than that…well, for me it was more, I don’t know about him…”
“I think you should just tell him! Don’t be scared, just be truthful! I think you’ll be super duper happier whether he shares the feelings too, because you didn’t bottle yours up. OMIGOSH. That’s a song! That’s a song! And I’m gonna write it!” Pinkie drifted off into her own world, humming her own ideas of her future song. The unicorn pony just took in what she said. Pinkie Pie basically just reiterated what she had been thinking, but knowing somepony shared her views made them much easier for her to grasp.
“Hey Vinyl, why don’t you have your goggles with you? It’s like, sooooo weird to see you without them!” Pinkie Pie’s head tilted to the side as if she was imagining Vinyl Scratch with them on.
Surprised, the unicorn felt aimlessly around her chest to where they usually hang when she’s not wearing them; just to be met with air.
“Awe, hayseed, I think I must have dropped them on the way here!" Vinyl Scratch got uo from her seat, "I’ll be back soon for that cake!”
“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie Pie said, hopping up from her chair with a giggle.
The light shined brightly when she exited Sugarcube Corner, causing Vinyl Scratch to instinctively reach for her goggles again. She laughed at her own stupidity.
The moment I lose something seems to always be the time I need it…
With a sigh, she trotted the general direction in which she had come from. She scanned each tree, each bush, anything that it could have fallen into, and the general path where it could be laying in clear sight. The unicorn wondered how it could have fallen off of her back without her noticing, and wondered why she had it on her back in the first place.
Vinyl Scratch doesn’t like the heat; the blazing warmth was her whole purpose of stopping by Sugarcube Corner in the first place, just to escape it. And now, she was looking for goggles she’s had since she was a young filly and it started making her quite uneasy without them being in sight.
Come on come on come on come on! She was nearly shouting in her own thoughts.
Knowing today was most likely her last day in Ponyville; she wanted to find them as quick as possible, she couldn’t host a party without her signature goggles! More-so now that her natural laziness limits her to searching no more than 15 minutes before she just decided to give up, on the goggles she's had since she was a filly, no less!
It was after she turned around, when she spotted them under a pile of leaves she had failed to search through.
Should’ve known, they just did the running of the leaves yesterday…
With a relived sigh, she used her magic to put them on, her world now instantly covered in a hazy purple color from the tint.
Leaving back towards Sugarcube Corner, she felt much better and was trotting happily. Her stomach growled loudly, now wanting the cake even more than when she had first arrived.
Mood uplifted, Vinyl Scratch happily trotted back in the direction of Sugarcube Corner eagerly awaiting her treat. Turning around, the light wind she had failed to notice now bothered her, making her constantly have to shake her mane out of her face.
At least it cools me down…
With the entrance to Sugarcube Cube corner in sight, she spotted a Pegasus flying idly front, doing nothing. Vinyl Scratch lifted up her goggles reluctantly to see who it was.
Is that…?
With surprised squeal, she instantly threw herself behind a bush before Rainbow Dash could see her. Unsure if she was just imagining things, the peered through the bush, heart warmed at the sight of the Pegasus.
“Yes!” She said in an ecstatic whisper, “Be cool, Scratch!”
All her previous sadness and confusion was replaced by an air of confidence. She's always worked well under pressure, not letting her nervousness get to her. No matter what the end result was, she was going to have this pony in her life as hers or as her friend.
“I can’t believe my luck!” Vinyl said aloud. Maybe, just maybe, I still have a chance!
Quickly fixing her mane, something that she’s never done before meeting somepony, she started trotting confidently towards the Pegasus. Vinyl Scratch didn't know what she was going to say, but it didn’t matter to her. She just wanted to see her.
The unicorn approached her silently, smiling at the sight of the Pegasus, who was then searching for something on the building.
“Hey Dashie, w-what’re you doing?“ The unicorn said happily, Rainbow Dash instantly bolting into a cloud above her. Vinyl Scratch covered her mouth as she giggled quietly to herself.
Rainbow Dash looked down, clearly blushing even though she was 50 feet in the air. Bolting out of the cloud, she thought of an excuse on the spot, “Oh, I was just, flying into the cloud randomly, because…it’s for my job…because we...fly into clouds randomly, completely unprovoked!” She stammered, heart beating fast.
“I thought I wasn’t going to see you before I return to Manehatten,” Vinyl Scratch said, accepting the Pegasus’ lie on purpose, “I thought a lot of things…”
The all-to-familiar tense silence returned along with the quickening heart beats, the rush of emotion just by being in sight of each other. Rainbow Dash landed, cheeks ablaze from a mixture of embarrassment and nervousness.
“Well, you know…” Was all Rainbow Dash could say, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.
“I’m sorry, for, well. You know,” The unicorn said, both mares squirming at the subject, “I-I had a lot of fun the other night and I was kinda hoping we could hang out again sometime, if you know, it’s ok with Soarin...I really hope I didn’t ruin everything,”
Rainbow dash sighed, but the feelings she felt remained, “We-we’re…I’m” Unable to produce a coherent sentence, she flailed her hooves in frustration, “I’m here, because I was told you’d be here and no, you didn’t ruin anything, I’m just so…” Rainbow Dash's voice cracked, making her cheeks redden once more.
Minds racing, emotions flaring up, Vinyl Scratch smiled shyly, her face making the Pegasus’ unsure about how to go about this opportunity, “I, well…” The unicorn took off her goggles, wanting to see the Pegasus without a purple hue around her.
Rainbow Dash’s heart fluttered at the sight of her ruby-red eyes, catching her completely off-guard. She loves her eyes.
The unicorn blushed in response to the rainbow Pegasus’ reaction, but kept her cool, “Did you really come here for me?” Vinyl Scratch said, touched by the sentiment.
“Yeah, well…I missed you Scratchy, I don’t know why, but I don’t think I’ve ever missed anypony so much,”
The unicorn, lowered her head, trying to use her mane to block her increasingly reddening cheeks, “I missed you too, you don't even know.. I didn’t even get any sleep last night, because I was planning on going back to Manehatten tomorrow, and I didn’t expect to see you,”
Rainbow Dash finally loosened up, knowing the feelings she held for her were mutual, “Well I’ll just go with ya! I kinda like Dj’ing a lot; I could probably teach YOU a thing or two,”
Vinyl Scratch giggled louder than she expected at Rainbow Dash’s joke,even the fun loving crazy pony in front her squinted at the oddness of her laugh, but didn’t let the conversation get awkward because of it.
They got just a little bit closer to each other.
“I’m not joking! I could beat anypony at anything,”
Vinyl Scratch inched a little closer with a distracted smile.
“I’d love for you to come with me…”
Rainbow Dash scooted just a little closer, just inches from her face, both ponies ignoring the world.
“I'd love too..."
The door opened suddenly behind Rainbow, causing both ponies to jump.
“Hey there you are Vinyl-*GASP*“
Pinkie Pie shook uncontrollably for just a few seconds.
"Hey I know that combo!" She exclaimed ecstatically, "Somepony's in looooooove! I wonder who it could be!"
Vinyl Scratch and Rainbow Dash's faces grew red, not saying anything.
"Wait a minute..." Pinkie Pie evaluated the situation.
She turned to Rainbow Dash, "Are you two...?"
"Y-Yes," They both said, both feeling the 'fuzzie wuzzies'
"OMIGOSH, that's so cute, this can't be real...!" Pinkie hopped up up and down, clapping her hooves together joyfully.
"It is," Vinyl Scratch said, voice shaky just from the pure happiness she felt to say it.
"For realizies??"
"Yep,"
"Yay!"
Pinkie hopped around merrily, while Rainbow Dash awfully embarrassed for being figured out so fast.
"OMIGOSH I HAVE AN IDEA!" The pink pony said, with a beaming smile within inches of their faces.
The two mares looked at the pink pony expectantly.
"LET'S HAVE A PARTY!"