I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. I needed my rest. Tomorrow was going to be a good day; I could tell.
I laid back against my pillow as I stared at my bedroom ceiling. My muscles eased themselves against the softness of my bed. It had been a long and tiring day. But it was fun.
“Oh, what a day!” I stretched out my hooves and yawned. “And the moon is bright as ever.”
Outside my bedside window hung a full moon. It was larger than what it normally was, and the skies were clear; the stars were all out.
Rainbow Dash, my idol, had promised to keep the skies clear for us. We wanted to crusade as much as possible today because Applebloom was going away on a family trip for a few weeks soon. We wouldn’t be able to see her for a while.
Hence, we decided to do all our plans for the next few weeks today. After all, we wouldn’t be the Cutie Mark Crusaders without all of us.
I inhaled. “Man, we did so much today. Camel riding, horseshoe throwing, movie producing. I hope Twilight isn’t too mad with us.”
I turned to my side and repositioned my hooves closer to my body. “We didn’t mean it after all. I think. The library seemed like a good place to film a horror movie. We didn’t think Spike would be scarred for life.”
Sweetie Belle, who had been wrapped in bandages she had borrowed from Nurse Redheart—and that by that I meant we ‘took it without permission’—chased Applebloom around the empty library. Applebloom was supposed to get eaten alive because she was trapped in a corner, but when we were almost done, Spike had to come running down with a book in his hand. Ugh. At least it was kind of funny.
“Can’t believe he screamed like a little filly when he saw Applebloom getting eaten up! He’s a dragon, for crying out loud! He can, I don’t know, blow fire at the zombie and kill it. Instead, he had to scream for Twilight, who had been peacefully studying upstairs.” I said the last part with much disdain.
I raised an eyebrow. “Now that I think about it, I don’t think we ever told her we would be filming in the library. And I don’t think we did apologise. Oh well.” I shrugged.
I remembered Spike screaming. I remembered we quickly packed our filming gear and ran before Twilight came down, but I was sure Twilight saw us.
“Poor Spike. Maybe we should apologise tomorrow.” I tossed to my other side. “But Twilight will kill us! And if Rainbow Dash finds out, she will not want to fly with me anymore!”
I pouted. Longing was an understatement in which I wanted Dash’s attention. I could use some love from her outside of flying though. Maybe a sister?
I smiled at that thought. “Rainbow Dash, my sister. That would be kinda cool. At least I—” I cut my sentence short and quickly buried my face in my pillow.
“No, I’m perfectly fine. I don’t… I don’t need…” There was a moment of silence, a habitual state in which I was used to. Day or night, it didn’t matter. If I stayed room, there was hardly any noise except for the sounds of birds chirping or pencil tapping.
Except this time, I had to make it happen myself. I didn’t want to think living alone was such a big deal. I mean, ponies would do that after some time, right? I just happened to do that earlier, that’s all.
A breeze drafted into my room and blew into my mane. I tried to smile, but I couldn’t hide what had been bothering me for the last few years. After coming home from either crusading or school, the walls and my stuffed Rainbow Dash doll were my only companions for the night. I would either sleep early or try flying just outside my home—a small flat my parents had left me with.
“I miss you guys.” I whisper towards my pillow and hugged my ‘Rainbow Dash’ tightly. There was a lump in my throat, but I held my tears in. Applebloom might have shed a few tears. Sweetie Bell would have drowned herself in her own tears. But I wouldn’t. Tears were for babies.
I sniffled and rubbed my eyes. Stupid feelings. Stupid thoughts. I should sleep.
I told myself just that and closed my eyes. “Think of happy thoughts. Think of—oh yeah, the weekend camping trip tomorrow!”
My eyes shot open and my frowned disappeared just like that. We were all going in the woods after school tomorrow. It was meant to be a sisterly thing, and Rainbow Dash was going to be mine! Even if it was more of an informal thing, I didn’t care. That was the closest thing I could have to a pony who would care for me.
“But what if I’m not awesome enough?” I frowned. “I mean, she’s so… not me! And I can never be like her.”
I looked out to the moon. It was rather bright tonight, and it seemed to glisten in the sky.
“But maybe she’ll find out how great I am if I can just show her! I just gotta be brave, be strong. I can do this!”
I brushed all negative thoughts aside and focused on the positive. “It’s gonna be so awesome! Me and Rainbow Dash sharing ghost stories with my best friends and their sisters. Then we would roast marshmallows around the campfire as we sang to old tunes. We would swap ghost stories and scare each other. If anything, I have Rainbow Dash by my side! I have nothing to be afraid of!”
I proudly proclaimed. My smile stretched across my lit face as I slid back down into my covers. My cheeks were probably slightly red, but bah! “I’m so happy I could fly! And tomorrow, I’ll show her what I have, and she can teach me even more! Ooooohh, I can’t wait!”
My energy level spiked as I snuggled against my blanket. ‘Rainbow Dash’ was lying beside me. Her smile mirrored mine. “You know Rainbow Dash, I really, really love your smile!”
My mind drifted to the times we would spend together. She would give me flying lessons and help me out with schoolwork. She could comb my mane or preen my feathers. We could even preen each other’s feathers! “A sister. Rainbow Dash, my sister for a day. Or night rather.” I placed my hooves to my chin.
“Could I borrow her for the next day too? And the next? How about a week?” I was giddy with excitement. If only it could come real.
I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. I needed my rest. Tomorrow was going to be a good day; I could tell. And tomorrow night was going to be even better.