Sharp Quill and Rainbow Dash sat on the branch of a tree overlooking Equestria as the sun gradually set.
"So... some of them know?" he asked.
"A few of them," Rainbow Dash muttered. "Fluttershy—the one whom I've been friends with the longest. She knows." She smiled slightly. "Impossible for her not to. I crushed on her super hard when we were in Junior Flight School together."
"That sounds adorable."
"Heh. I never thought of it like that." Rainbow shrugged. "She's—like—my best friend in the whole world, and she's capable of so much strength. She just doesn't seize it, no matter how much I try to coach her. Doesn't change the fact that I trust her within an inch of my life. She's stronger than me in a lot of ways."
"And... she's kept this secret?"
"It's not really a secret."
"But... you and Fluttershy keep it hidden from the rest of your friends, don't you?"
"Er... what I mean is..." Rainbow gulped. "Ponies know about it."
"Like who?"
"Okay... enough ponies know about it," Rainbow muttered. "Those whom it concerns. Like..." She sighed. "Former marefriends."
"Do I... detect a negative tone there?"
"Mrmmmmmmmnnff..."
Sharp Quill winced. "Sorry. Touchy subject."
"Nothing to be sorry for." Rainbow leaned back, legs dangling off the branch. "I've done a lot of stupid things in my life. I've been through a lot of stupid phases... going to stupid places... doing stupid stuff that I've since learned to regret." She gulped hard, but them smiled faintly. "I have an amazing bunch of gal-pals who are the best things I've ever held onto from those dark days. Days when I was addicted to cider binges and late-night parties. I still see them every once in a while, mainly when I stop by the cider bar in downtown." She winced and gestured. "Though th-those cider binges are over with. Waaaaay over with."
"Heh..." Sharp Quill smiled. "I believe you." He raised an eyebrow. "And they know?"
"Uhhhh... who?"
"Your friends from your 'dark days.'"
"Oh! Yeah. Lyra. Bon Bon. Vinyl and Caramel..." Rainbow smirked. "They're totally cool with it... not to mention the fact that I... I-I don't really hang out with them like I used to." She hugged herself, shuddering slightly. "I hate to think about it, because I realize it's pretty lame of me. As if I've ditched them or something."
"I doubt that," Sharp Quill said with a shrug. "Sounds like you've moved onto better things. I imagine they understand that."
"I-I hope so," Rainbow muttered. "Because the new friends I've made." She smiled, her wingtips fluttering as she breathed warmly. "They're as awesome as awesome can get."
"Including Rarity?"
"Yessssss..." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Including Miss Vampire herself." She stifled a giggle and squinted at him. "Could you be mad at a mare like that forever?"
Sharp Quill shook his head. "Honestly...?" He smirked. "There's something about her that's just... flattering."
"I know, right?"
"I'd say she's mostly harmless." Sharp Quill took a deep breath. "Though, I can imagine something that would have alleviated all this."
"Huh?"
"Well... I mean..." He scratched his head. "I-I'm not the one to dictate what decisions you should or shouldn't make with your friends. But... wouldn't things be a heck of a lot easier if... y'know..."
"What?"
"... ... ... if you just told them about the way you feel?"
"I..." Rainbow bit her lip and glanced away. "I can't."
"Why not?"
"It's... c-complicated."
"You barely know me." He shrugged, then smirked. "But you still shared your 'big secret.'"
"Mrmmff..."
"Do you regret it?"
"It's different with you," Rainbow muttered. "Plus, I felt super bad for what Rarity..." She winced. "What Rarity and I had put you through."
"I... I-I guess I'm super dense," Sharp Quill said, stammering. "I just don't understand it. Your other friends at the cider bar know all about you, and that's no big deal, right?"
"R-right..."
"Wouldn't you want to clear the air with the mares you hang out with now?"
"Not... r-really..."
"Just why is that?"
"Because..." Rainbow stared down at her dangling hooves. The mare fiddled with the necklace as she squeaked, whimpered, then finally muttered, "Because I kinda sorta have the mother of all crushes on one of them."
"Oh?"
Rainbow looked at Sharp Quill.
Sharp Quill blinked.
Rainbow looked away, blushing.
Sharp Quill blinked again. His wings twitched as he leaned back. "Ohhhhhhhhhhh..."
"Yeah..."
"That... uh..." He slicked his mane back. "That is pretty dang awkward."
"It's only gotten worse and worse as the last few months have trickled by," Rainbow said. Then, she smiled with rosy cheeks. "And yet... it's gotten better and better." She inhaled and exhaled slowy. "Each morning, the very moment I think about her, I feel ten times more alive. Just... knowing that she exists... that I can hear her voice when there's a good east wind... that she's so dependable and so strong and so... her..." Rainbow didn't finish, only sighing.
Silence.
"Wowswers," Sharp Quill blurted. "And I thought I got it bad."
Rainbow winced. "Is it really that terrible?"
"Heh..." Sharp Quill shrugged. "If you call being 'in love' terrible."
"But... but how does it even count?" Rainbow gulped. "It's only me digging her." She fiddled with the necklace, shoulders slumped. "And I know for a fact that she'd never dig a mare like me..."
"Why, because she's not into petite ponies?"
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "No." She groaned. "Because she's not into mares."
"Ohhhh. Ouch."
"Mega ouch."
Silence.
"Do you..." Rainbow fidgeted on the branch. "Do you know what it's like to have a single piece of joy in your life... something that means so much to you... something warmer than the Sun itself." She clenched her teeth. "And yet... you know that just to touch it means to snuff it out forever?"
"Hmmm..."
"So... wh-what do you do?" Rainbow shrugged. "Do you take the bold step and try to share that warmth, even if just for a second of clarity? Or... like... do you resolve yourself to never crossing that line, just so you can bask in the warmth from afar? For as long as you can. Always living in the shade of something far greater... something far too awesome to become a reality..."
Sharp Quill stared intently at the ground beneath them.
Rainbow glanced aside. "Am I... Am I just alone in my own little pathetic world?"
"Heh..." The stallion shrugged. "I mean... if y-you're talking about living with rejection, then no... you're not alone. I've been there. Heck, I revisit that place just about every darn day."
Rainbow Dash winced. Hard. "I... uh... I'm really sorry about today, dude."
"It's alright—"
"For real. I mean... you seem like a swell pony and it really sucks that—"
"I haven't had a conversation this deep and meaningful with another pony in a long... long time," he said. With a soft breath, the stallion continued. "So often, we get so... so wrapped up in all of the fanciful places where we feel like our hearts and souls need to be. Warm places. Romantic places. Loving places. And we try and we try to climb ourselves over all the mountains in our way, only to tumble down the other side... over and over again. Sometimes the motions get so intense that it's what we think we deserve, as if we can't live with that heart-stopping jolt of rising hopes and crushed dreams. It's like... doing Wonderbolt stunts with our hearts."
"I... uh..." Rainbow fidgeted. "I'm not sure I can relate."
"Cuz you're smart about it, unlike me," Sharp Quill said. "The moment you recognize a hopeless situation, you don't get all impulsive about it. You just... wait along the fringe of it and enjoy what you've got." He smiled at her. "And it sounds like you have a really beautiful friendship with this mare you adore."
Rainbow stared at him, her muzzle agape. "But... but it sure as heck isn't honest..." She gulped. "I barely know you, but I can tell you're a far more courageous pony than me."
"Pffft. Oh please..."
"No, for real!" Rainbow's voice cracked. "All of this 'rising hopes and crushed dreams' stuff? Heck, at least you go out there and you try to start relationships! Instead of... clinging to an idea all your friggin' life. Instead of... of..." She hugged the necklace to her chest, sighing. "...pretending in your head that you can have something that's unattainable. At least you try dude."
"Try and fail," he grumbled. "Constantly. I'm the same hopeless case as you, Rainbow Dash. I'm just going about it differently."
"Yeah, well, at least you go about it." She smiled weakly. "You can be the fastest pegasus in the world and still go nowhere. And on account of what?"
"Fear. Bashfulness. Anxiety."
"All of the above."
He glanced at her. Suddenly, he snickered.
She smirked. "What...?"
"Just..." He fumbled. "Please... don't take this the wrong way."
"You're the last pony on this earth who could hurt me, pal."
He gulped. "Just... when I first met you... when I first heard you talk..." He shook his head, smiling. "I had no idea that you would actually be almost as insecure as me."
"Heh..." Rainbow ran a hoof through her mane. "You know what sounds super weird?"
"What?"
"That almost feels like a compliment."
"Heh... if you say so..."
Rainbow stared thoughtfully at him. She said, "I'm glad I got a chance to meet you, Sharp Quill. You're an okay guy."
"Yeah, well..." He braved a devilish smirk. "You are too."
"Ho ho hoooo..." She playfully punched his shoulder. "Watch it."
"Eheheh..." He rubbed his shoulder. "Still... ahem..." He cleared his throat. "I r-really think you should tell them."
"Yeah..." Rainbow stared down at the base of the tree. "I know. I get you. Trust me, I do."
"But... you're not gonna, are you?"
She bit her lip.
He took a deep breath. "Did I... I mean..." He squirmed where he sat. "Has telling me been any help to you?"
"I-I think so," she muttered. "Perhaps in ways I've yet to find out."
"Well, I hope so," he said. "Nopony should ever have to feel alone. In anything."
She glanced at him, smiling. "I could say the same to you."
"Yeah, well, that's my own fault," he muttered. "Not for lack of trying, mind you."
"Heh. So I've figured." She squinted. "Just why do you wanna be in a relationship so badly?"
"Why do you wanna cuddle the mare of your dreams so badly? Even if only in your head."
"Touche."
Sharp Quill sighed. "I just... don't feel complete on my own, y'know?" He looked up, eyes soft and vulnerable. "I was the only pegasus born of my parents."
"Wow, for real?"
"Yeah, isn't that weird?"
"Well, not really. I mean..." Rainbow shrugged. "I was an only foal."
"Oh?" Sharp Quill leaned his head aside. "Parents lived up in the colder altitudes too?"
Rainbow gnashed her teeth.
"Erm..." Sharp Quill winced. "Sorry."
"Not your fault," she muttered. "But please... don't let me stop you."
"Ever since I was a kid, I felt like everything around me was empty. I think that's the real reason I moved out of Las Pegasus," the stallion said. "Not just 'cuz I wanted to help my earth pony cousins. I wanted to feel needed. And useful." He rubbed his shoulder, grimacing. "But every time I try and get cozy with a mare, I-I always end up screwing things up and nothing last long."
"Uh huh. So you mean Rarity's little get-together wasn't the first time you did a blind date?"
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh no."
"Dare I ask how often—"
"Six dates last month."
Rainbow gnashed her teeth.
"Yeah." Sharp Quill's nostrils flared. "I know."
"Hey. At least you're persistent."
"It still doesn't change the fact that, no matter how I shake it, I'll always come across as that Celestia-forsaken 'horndog pegasus stallion' stereotype."
"Pffft! You are not!"
"Looks can kill, girl."
"You just need to take your time, Sharp Quill," Rainbow said. "Be cool and steady and patient about it."
"I-I'm not sure that I can."
"What's the friggin' hurry for!" Rainbow's voice cracked. "It's not like you're in a race!"
"I... I'm just scared of growing old and alone," he muttered.
"Pfft. At your age? Just chillax, bro!"
"You... you think I'm not chillaxed?"
"You're capable of it!" She smiled. "I mean, you are when you wanna be. You were chillaxed today. Er... for the most part."
"'For the most part?'"
"Yeah."
"If... if it's n-not too much to ask..." He stared at her anxiously. "When and where did I mess up? With the 'date,' that is."
"Uhhhh..." Rainbow scratched her neck, smiling awkwardly. "You want the long version or the longer version...?"