Sitting on a patio chair, Twilight gazed down at the reflection of the magnificent crystal city in the seemingly pristine crystal sidewalk beneath. The lowering sun still shone brightly against the structures of ice blue, purple, and pinkish-red, continuing to warm the entire city and its inhabitants; who were all eager and busy as they prepared for the games which would begin the coming morning. Once again, the alicorn was lost in her own world of thought as she attempted to find the perfect route to admitting her feelings to the pegasus who rested in the chair beside her. Her thoughts rushed away when a dish of food was placed in front of her with a soft clank, and one in front each of her friends.
“I’m starving. This is gonna be so awesome!” Rainbow exclaimed pleasurably and rubbed her hooves together with a fierce hunger and excitement.
“It does look pretty good,” Twilight added with a smile, admiring the meal before her which looked to contain a variety of sautéed vegetables covered in a creamy crystal corn sauce.
“Why the hay aren’t you having any?” the pegasus then questioned, turning to the small dragon who sat across the table from her.
“Well, I sorta ate one too many gems at the castle. I couldn’t eat another bite…of anything,” he explained painfully, patting a claw against his bulging stomach.
“Treating you like a king, huh?” Dash asked with a laugh before diving muzzle first into the delicious food beneath.
Twilight let out a soft giggle in response. “He’s certainly taken a liking to it.”
“So, you ready for the big day tomorrow? I heard you’re lighting the torch for the opening ceremony now,” Rainbow said as she gulped down another bite, and Twilight began working on her meal.
Spike sat up proudly at this, and gave the pegasus a confident smile. “It’ll be a piece of cake. I’m more than ready. What about you? Are you ready for the relay?”
“…As ready as I’ll ever be,” Rainbow replied, shrugging in an attempt to make the event seem much less important than it really was.
“Oh, I’m sure we’ll do just fine, even great,” Fluttershy said with a warming smile as she looked up from her food.
“You’ve got the first competition of the entire games; and I’m sure you’ll keep everypony exhilarated and on the edge of their seats for its length. Oh, what an absolutely perfect way to start things off!” Rarity squealed with delight.
“I’m so nervouscited, I could just explode!” Pinkie yelled happily, her entire body shaking within her chair.
“Whoa there, Pinkie, don’t be goin’ and explodin’ on us before the games even start,” Applejack said with a laugh.
“Well, duh! I was just joking around. Besides, I’d totally wait till after the games if I was gonna do that,” the bubbly pony explained with a gleaming grin.
“Speaking of being prepared, are you going to be doing anymore practicing tonight?” Twilight asked curiously after swallowing a rather large amount of food and turning to her rainbow maned friend.
“Nah, we gotta have some kind of break. Don’t wanna wear ourselves out before the big day, you know? And I definitely need some time to relax and unwind a little,” Rainbow said as she moved in for another bite.
“Then maybe you and I could just take a nice little tour around the city and see a few of the sights? Walking or flying, it’s your choice?” Twilight asked, hoping that her perfect plan would now fall together with ease. In a recent travel guide upon the Crystal Empire, she had read that the city was quite a romantic spot for many couples; and considering the fact that the sun would soon be setting, she was sure it would make it even more romantic. Her little outing with her friend could turn into something much more.
“We were already planning on doing that, silly! Why don’t we all just tour together?” Pinkie suggested, nearly tipping over in her seat as she leaned forward.
Twilight huffed, both in defeat and due to the fact that she had not considered that all of the girls would want to go along with them. “Well, I sort of…wanted it to…be just…” her words trailed off into a nervous laugh before she quickly bent forward and shoved another load of vegetables into her mouth to form a barrier which protected her from speaking.
“Pinkie, darling, I think what Twilight is trying to say is that she’d like to spend some personal time with Rainbow Dash,” Rarity explained to both the relief and sudden embarrassment of the princess.
As if in an automatic response to not getting her way, Pinkie’s lips pursed together in the form of a pout. “Aww, but the more ponies the better! It’ll be so much more fun with all of us together, Twi. Besides you two spent, like, half the train-ride together. Why do you need even more time?”
The realization of how long the train-ride actually was caused Twilight’s cheeks to flush brightly with red. “Well…I…um, like spending time with her, I guess?”
“That doesn’t mean you can neglect your other friends,” the pink mare whined, her aqua eyes growing wider and wider by the second.
“Ugh, Pinkie! I’m not-” Twilight’s growl came to a halt as Applejack tapped a hoof loudly against the table to gather everypony’s attention, most importantly, Pinkie’s and Twilight’s.
“Now, Pinkie, ya can’t just be thinkin’ about yourself. If Twilight and Rainbow want ta spend some time together, we’d be in the wrong for stoppin’ um. It’s their choice, not ours.”
“Hold up!” Rainbow exclaimed, finishing up her plate with a few final licks. “Twilight, trust me, I really wanna spend some time with you; but I don’t wanna disappoint these guys either,” she said with a hopeless shrug. “Can’t we just stick together and be a part of their group or something?”
After a long moment of silence, the alicorn finally expelled an, “I guess,” followed with a false smile for her friend.
“Awesome!” the pegasus exclaimed, rising up from her seat and then hovering herself above the crystal ground beneath with a few soft motions of her wings.
“Rainbow Dash, not everypony has finished,” Rarity scolded, scowling at her eager friend. “Besides, don’t you want desert?”
“Uh…no!” Rainbow growled in her raspy voice, her hooves hitting the ground with a smack as her wings snapped back to her sides.
“You don’t want crystal berry cake, or a crystal berry pastry, or crystal berry cheesecake, or crystal berry ice cream, or a crystal berry shake, or a crystal berry pie?” Pinkie questioned, listing every item off of the desert menu which she had somehow managed to memorize in the short amount of time she laid eyes upon it.
Thoughts of the many delicious berry flavored treats filled the drooling pony’s mind. “Well, those all do sound-”
Her words were quickly interrupted by familiar voice which she hadn’t heard for some time. “Did somepony say pie?”
“Oh, hey Soarin’, what’s up? And yeah, you heard right. Guess this place serves crystal berry pie,” Rainbow said with a grin, turning and gazing at the stallion’s tired, green eyes and almost perfectly trimmed face.
“Sweet! …I was just coming over to say good luck tomorrow. It’ll be good to see you out there,” Soarin’ replied.
Dash couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks, same to you. I hope you’re ready.”
“I’ve been training all day. How about you?”
“You bet your flank I’m ready, Soarin’!” Rainbow said with a confident and teasing smirk.
“I also heard you got into the reserve. Congratulations, I knew you’d make it as part of the Wonderbolts. Actually, it’d be nice if we could talk about that a little. I was headed down to the markets because I heard they had a ton of cool stuff; so if you wanna tag along?” Soarin’ asked almost innocently as a slight smile appeared upon his face.
Rainbow’s lips curved downward into a frown for a quick moment before transforming into a sudden and eager grin. “Sorry girls, if you don’t mind, I’ve gotta go, Wonderbolts business and what not.”
“Sorry if I’m interrupting anything, ladies,” Soarin’ quickly added, and then bowed to the rather perturbed Twilight Sparkle. “Princess.” He then turned to make his way to the sliding crystal door entrance of the restaurant. “I’m gonna get a slice of that pie for along the way…or two.”
The alicorn was almost unable to hold back the rage which suddenly instilled within her and then nearly exploded as the stallion gave his bow. This time her face grew warm with anger rather than embarrassment. She wanted to lash out at the poor pony right then and there, but knew it would be wrong. Soarin’ was a truly good stallion in her eyes, especially when compared to his fellows. If he had known what she was trying to do, she was sure he would have never even approached Rainbow Dash. Yet still, a deep hatred for the stallion took over.
“Whoa, did Soarin’ just steal your date?” Spike asked from across the table, breaking the lengthy bout of silence which had allowed the two to walk away in peace.
“Date?” Twilight questioned defensively, a look of shock overtaking that of anger.
“That’s why you wanted to be alone with her, right?” the dragon replied with a halfhearted shrug.
“Darling, it’s alright. I’m sure we’ve all seen the signs of your budding relationship and pieced them together by now,” Rarity said with a soft giggle. “It’s been quite entertaining and adorable if you ask me.”
Twilight’s new found embarrassment was relieved, for a moment, with a sense of comfort and relaxation. She couldn’t believe that they had discovered her true intentions so easily, although she had been acting much more forward about them that day. Along with this, the lack of shock and complete acceptance of the situation made her feel completely at ease with it herself. She should have realized this sooner. They were her friends. Why wouldn’t they be so accepting?
The only actual shock came from her rather clueless pink friend. “Relationship who, what now?” Pinkie blurted out, tilting her head and perking her ears as she intently awaited the answer.
“Twilight is interested in Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy explained softly, turning her eyes up at the heated but still utterly frozen alicorn.
“Well, we’re all interested in that one. She’s crazy!” Pinkie said with an approving smile as she crossed her eyes and made a circular motion around her ear with a hoof.
“No, not like that,” Rarity said with a slight shake of her head, her perfectly done mane barely moving from all the hairspray within it.
“She wants ta date her, Pinkie,” Applejack said bluntly, then nodded.
“Twilight wants to date Rainbow Dash? Oh my gosh, that’s amazingly adorable!” The bouncing mare’s delightful grin quickly turned into a heart wrenching frown. “But Soarin’ just came, and now she’s with him, not you…” she whimpered.
Twilight’s new found comfort was then overtaken by a painful burst of realization and sadness. Her entire body shook from the whimpers which grew within it, and she expelled an aching gasp.
“Oh, it’s okay, Twilight…just forget about those two sillies for now. You can always go on our little tour with us. Let me tell ya, it’s waaaay funner with your wonderful tour guide, Pinkie Pie,” the princess’ friend said in a desperate attempt to both comfort and cheer her up.
Barely giving her enough time to await any sort of reply, Twilight disappeared with a sudden and rather violent burst of magic before the welling tears in her eyes could fall.
***
With an already well-used box of tissues resting upon the bedspread before her, and a neatly stacked pile of the used papers beside her, Twilight sat in the silent darkness of her hotel room. One which she had decided to stay in rather than the castle to be with her friends. Although it was growing dark outside, she had still closed the blinds for a better sense of aloneness.
There were two certain aspects of the entire situation with Soarin’ which had hit her so hard, ones which involved Rainbow Dash rather than the stallion. Firstly, her friend had tried her best to avoid just the two of them spending the evening together, but when it came to Soarin’, Dash shrugged both her and her friends off with ease; and her friends were the exact reason she had excused herself from spending personal time with a certain alicorn princess in the first place. Secondly, if the rest of her friends had noticed her outwardly, but inadvertently, expressed feelings towards the pegasus, then why hadn’t Rainbow Dash? Or had she? Perhaps she was purposely ignoring them.
Using one tissue to wipe away the tears which continued to stream down her face then soak into her fur, and using another to expel the clear, liquid snot from her nose with a ferocious huff, Twilight realized that her anger should instead be directed towards the mare rather than the stallion. It was as if Rainbow Dash had purposely pulled her closer that day, and then cast her aside once she found her ‘perfect’ stallion. She knew she liked Soarin’, it was just the way she acted around him that told her everything. Along with that, he was certainly everything she ever wanted, strong, fit, a fast flyer, and of course, a Wonderbolt. No wonder she had abandoned her for him.
A sudden burst of what to Twilight seemed to be blinding light filled the room, casting away her thoughts for a short moment. The squinting alicorn turned her aching head towards the door and gazed upon the silhouetted pony which stood in its open frame. The large cowpony hat upon its head immediately gave away exactly who the figure belonged to.
“There ya are, sugarcube. We’ve been lookin’ all over for ya,” Applejack said softly as she flicked the light switch with her hoof, and gently closed the door once the room had been illuminated. “How’re ya holdin’ up?” she then asked as she made her way over to the bed and wrapped a hoof around Twilight’s shoulders, taking a seat beside her.
“I didn’t mean to ruin your fun just because I wasn’t having any,” Twilight let out shakily. “You should’ve went on the tour without me, not gone looking for me.”
“Now, Twi, we’d much rather be helpin’ each other out then goin’ on some silly tour. You don’t have to be sorry for nothin’,” the country pony said, giving her friend a soft but strong pat upon her back. “Just because Rainbow’s spendin’ some time with Soarin, it doesn’t mean they’re goin’ on a date or anything.”
“You’re supposed to be honest, AJ…I know how much Rainbow Dash loves Soarin’ and I’m sure he likes her just as much, because she’s Rainbow Dash!” Twilight snapped back in irritation. “Face it, I’m already too-”
“Ah am bein’ honest. Sure, Rainbow into stallion’s like Soarin’ and heck, ah’m sure the reason he asked her to go along with him is because he feels the same; but that doesn’t mean it’s gonna work out all willy nilly. It just means ya gotta try harder and tell her how ya feel as soon as ya can.”
“Why should I even bother?” Twilight asked with a weak sigh. “It’s not like Rainbow’s interested in me anyways.”
Applejack could barely stop herself from rolling her eyes at the statement. “Come on, sugarcube, how do ya know that?”
“One,” the alicorn stated, smacking her hooves together for emphasis, “all of you know I’m interested in her romantically. That means, she does too. She’s purposely ignoring my advances.” She smacked her hooves together once more. “Two, she avoids spending time with me on purpose and makes excuses not to. Three!” she yelled, slamming her hooves together much more harshly in a release of all her pint up emotions. “She could have spent her evening with me, but instead is spending it with Soarin’. The way she’s acting, I don’t even know if I want to be with somepony like that anyways.”
“Whoa there,” Applejack said, giving the mare a tight squeeze to both regain her attention and hopefully shake away some of the delusional thoughts which the anger had caused. “Just simmer yourself down. It’s hard ta think straight when you’re angry…and you’re sorta bein’ a little over dramatic there. This evenin’ was the only time ah’ve ever seen RD ‘avoid’ ya. She purposely sat down next ta ya on the train. Ya can’t judge something when it only happened once. As for her ignorin’ your advances, ya sorta just started really showin’ um today. It’s gonna take a little time for her to let that kinda thing sink in. And Soarin’, well everypony has a dream stallion or mare. Ah can’t blame her for goin’ for what she wants; but trust me, there’s a time when all of us realize that our dream pony is just too perfect and something like that isn’t gonna work out. Even though you’re mad, ya still love her, right? Just tell her how ya feel. It’s not too late.”
Twilight nodded her head, but said nothing. Applejack had managed to not only cause her to begin rethinking everything which had built up in her mind, but also left her hopeful of what was to come. To get what she truly wanted, she had to be determined and take action.
“Now, ah gotta go round up the others and tell um you’re back here. Go ahead and take some time ta think about what ah said. Looks like ya already are,” Applejack said softly and comfortingly as she took her hoof away and stood up to head for the door. After a few muffled clunks of the pony’s hooves against the finely carpeted floor, and the quick unlatching and re-latching of the door as she left, all was silent once more.