"But I figured that... like..." Sharp Quill laid back against the grass, staring up at the starlight. "Mares totally dig getting gifts and stuff."
"See, there you go again," Rainbow Dash said, lying down a few spaces away atop the same hill. She fiddled with the necklace as her eyes traced the clouds floating against the constellations above. "'Mares dig this.' 'Mares dig that.' Not all mares think alike."
"Well, I know that," he said, then squirmed. "Er... at least you do."
"For real. Even mares who... er... want a stallion to hit on them aren't all the same. Don't you get that?"
Sharp Quill sighed. "I guess I don't..."
"I mean, receiving tokens of affections can be a great thing. But you gotta time it just right," Rainbow said. "Giving me the necklace today was waaaaaaaaaay too soon."
"You think?"
"Dude. Even if I was into you, it was—like—our first 'date.' And only 'cuz Rarity set it up like that."
"Uh huh..."
"It just comes across as super awkward. I didn't even know what to make of the thing when you first hoofed it to me."
"Yeah..."
"And then you started laying it on thick with the 'you're beautiful' and 'you have a nice mane' or whatever the heck you said." Rainbow giggled out the side of her muzzle, smirking. "That's more creepy than romantic, pal."
"Yeesh..." Sharp Quill grimaced. "I never ever wanna be creepy."
"Well, deep down, you ain't a creep," Rainbow said. "At least, I'm convinced of that."
"You are...?"
She turned her head aside, looking at him from across all the tall grass. "Only 'cuz I got a chance to talk to you... y'know? One on one? From one pony to another?"
"Yeah..." Sharp Quill exhaled. "If only I could get that to work with a marefriend."
"And—like—why can't you?" Rainbow shrugged. "Marefriends are ponies too."
"I'm well aware of that."
Rainbow giggled again. "A-are you?! I swear, until you figured out that I wasn't into you, you treated me with foam horseshoes!"
"Eh...?"
"What I mean is..." She sat up, looking down at him. "Things were only ever awkward the moment when you decided to—like—go into full Saint Valentrot mode. For a while there, I'd say we were hitting it off well!"
"We were?"
"Super well, as a matter of fact!" Rainbow smirked. "Cuz all we did was chat about Rarity and Cloudsdale and Las Pegasus and... and..." She shrugged. "Simple, innocent, pegasus stuff."
"Well, Rarity was with us at the time," Sharp Quill said. "I... I-I felt like just being friendly."
"Right!" Rainbow nodded. "And you kinda sorta have to be friends first before you're anything else." She winced slightly, glancing at the dark rooftops of Ponyville. "Well... in most cases, I guess."
"You... you mean to say you were even enjoying my company for a while there?"
"Listen, Sharp, you're a pretty nifty guy," Rainbow said. "So long as you're not trying so hard to be romantic, you're A-okay!"
"Pffft. But I'm about as insecure as it gets."
"Coulda fooled me."
"For real?"
"And, y'know, if I was a mare who was into dudes, and I got to know you well enough..." She shrugged. "I probably wouldn't have cared all that much when I found out about you having the same sort of problems that every other pony has. Because—like—at that point in time, I would have gotten used to you."
"Hah!" He rolled his eyes with a smirk. "'Getting used to somepony' is not the same as 'falling in love with them.'"
"Look. I'm talking stallions and mares, here. I'm reaching. Cut me a break."
"Heheh... alright."
"And, for real, all lovey-doveyness aside..." She squinted at him. "You really gotta believe in yourself more. Stop being so down on yourself. I can't imagine that many mares are really into that. Or, at least, the ones who are into self-deprecating stallions are the sort of ponies who get a kick out of stomping on more than just their hearts, if you catch my drift."
"Erm... I-I'm not sure I want to..."
"It's an ugly world out there. Trust me."
"I almost wanna stick to farms, now that you say that."
"Well, don't, y'know?" Rainbow smirked. "Don't go into hiding. And you'd sure as heck better not let this silly day set you back several steps."
"Nah..." Sharp Quill sat up with a sigh. "If anything, I think I'm a lot smarter now, 'cuz of talking to you."
"Well, awesome." Rainbow smiled.
"Don't come on too fast..." He gulped. "Don't be big on lavishing gifts. Believe in myself more..."
"You've got the basics down pat, it seems."
"I've got more to work on than just those," he muttered to himself. "At least now I'm cognizant enough to admit it." His nostrils flared. "I just... g-gotta stop trying so hard."
"More like you gotta stop listening to mares like Rarity talking you into stupid blind dates." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "They never work, by the way."
"Huh?"
"Blind dates. You gotta be desperate or stupid to think otherwise."
Sharp Quill winced at that.
"Er..." Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. "I-I didn't mean it like that, uhhh..."
"Nah..." Sharp Quill sighed. "It's okay. I need a harsh reality check, is all."
"Just... don't take it too hard, alright?" Rainbow smiled gently. "You're an alright stallion. I dun wanna see your dreams get crushed."
"Me neither. They're very good dreams." He turned towards her, blinking. "Mind if I ask you a silly question?"
She shrugged. "I really can't see how our discussion could get any sillier."
He bit his lip, squirming a bit. At last, he asked, "What is it that you look for in a mare?"
She blinked. "For real?"
"I mean... if it's too private of a topic—"
"Heh... no more private than if I asked you."
"It's just that I've never talked this long with a mare who... likes other mares."
"How different could it be?" Rainbow shrugged. "I... I-I guess I like mares for all the same reasons a stallion like you would."
"You mean you've always wanted a partner who's demure, cute, soft and gentle in all the right places, and will gasp in delight at the merest nuzzle?"
"... ... ..." Rainbow blinked. "Erm... okay... so maybe it is different." She gulped. "Like... super different."
Sharp Quill chuckled.
"Nah... I mean..." Rainbow brushed her bangs back. "I guess I sorta used to like ultra-femme... femmes. But something sort of clicked in my heartspace around the time I was a teenager. I realized that I deeply... secretly wanted to be with somepony bigger and stronger than me." She smirked. "Only cuz, as I grew older and awesomer, I found it harder and harder to meet mares who could beat me at anything."
"So..." Sharp Quill smirked. "It's you who wanted to be the demure one."
"Pfft. It's never that simple, buddy," Rainbow said. "It's not about filling certain slots or roles. It's... all nebulous, really. I just felt more comfortable... more loved around a pony who I felt could 'take care' of me and wanted to. Heck, I got really obsessed with it for a while. Maybe a bit too much." She sighed out her nostrils. "'Cuz it got me in super depressing places that were really hard to crawl out of."
Sharp Quill stared at her. "You... uh... h-had a bad relationship?"
Rainbow gulped. "Two of 'em. I'm not very proud of it."
"I'm very sorry to hear that," he said. "That sounds horrible."
"Pffft. It'd only be horrible if I never got out." She smirked at him. "Look at me. Do I strike you as a defeated pony?"
"Heh. Not in the least."
"Dang straight."
"Have you been in a relationship since...?"
Rainbow bit her lip.
Sharp Quill blinked. "But... but you know in your heart that—"
"There's only one pony for me," Rainbow Dash said. "Even if... I-I may not be the pony for her."
"I see..."
"And, I guess, when it comes down to it... I-I don't really have a detailed description for what I look for in a mare. Because there's only one mare." Rainbow Dash smiled warmly. She hugged herself as her wingtips fluttered. "A mare who... is so much more awesome than me... so much so that I d-dare not tell her about it. And each day, she only becomes more and more amazing." She sighed. "A mare who cares about others first. A mare who loves her family and her friends and her work. A mare who... who has a deeper and even warmer love beneath it all—I'm sure of it. A love that... Celestia willing... could be reserved for a pony who can love her back, in ways she's never been loved before... in the way th-that I love her..."
Silence.
"I... I-I'm no idiot, Sharp Quill," Rainbow Dash muttered, staring dully at the necklace in her hooves. "I know how friggin' hopeless I am deep down. But... as pathetic as it sounds... it's what keeps me going these days. There's... uh..." She sighed. "...there's a lot of lame stuff in my life, both literally and figuratively, and it's nothing that I wanna burden my best friends with. Even if they helped me become a better, healthier pegasus overnight, I'll feel like I've lost something... sacrificed something. It's more than just a stupid little fear. Beneath all of this miserableness, there's something warm and precious that I don't want to lose... not until I can afford to share it, even if that sharing is impossible. I just..." She sniffled. "I-I just gotta have faith, y'know? Even if it's one thing I dare to believe in, I'm clinging to it for all it's worth. I dunno how I'd manage things otherwise..."
More silence.
At last, Sharp Quill spoke. "I won't say anything, Rainbow Dash."
She looked over at him.
He was staring at her sincerely. "If that's one of the things you're afraid of, don't be." He smiled weakly. "You've done so much for me in one evening." He shook his head. "I wouldn't do anything to wreck your trust."
Rainbow Dash took a shuddering breath. "Thanks. That's... uh... th-that's super cool of you."
"But I wish you would say something."
She winced.
Nevertheless, he continued. "I wish you'd trust your friends... all of your friends enough to let them know how you feel. Even this one mare whom you're so ga-ga for." He gulped. "Take it from a stallion who's used to rejection. No matter how painful it may appear to be, no matter how much you think your life is gonna shatter apart, sometimes it's best to move on. And you strike me as a mare who deserves the best."
She slowly nodded. "And... uh..." Blinking her eyes dry, she smiled back at him. "You strike me as a stallion who could use a little more faith."
He smirked slightly. "I'm getting there." He nodded. "Thanks to help from unexpected places."
The two shared a quiet moment.
At last, Rainbow cleared her throat. She untangled the necklace, stood up, and hoofed it over towards him.
He looked at it, then at her. "What... what are you—?"
"I really don't deserve this," Rainbow said. "It was a sweet gesture and all, but we both know that there'll come a time in your life when a much more deserved mare will—"
"I gave it to you," Sharp Quill said. "And you should have it."
"Pffft... come on, dude..." Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Rarity put you through enough expense as it is. Besides, what the heck am I even going to do with this?"
"Wear it around your secret marefriend."
She rolled her eyes. "Sharp Quill..."
"Please. It's yours." He stood up, smiling at her. "All things considered, I couldn't have asked for a better evening."
"But—"
"If I could give a gift from my heart to every friend I've made, I would." He grinned, teeth showing. "It's never too late to start, huh?"
"... ... ..." She clutched the necklace tight. "Yeah, okay..."
"I... uh..." He fidgeted his hooves in the grass. "I'd love to chat and hang out with you again sometime, Rainbow Dash," he said. "I think it'd be good for the soul."
"Heck, why not?" She flapped her wings, winking. "What are friends for?"
"So, let me get this straight," Lancie muttered from where he paced on the floor to Rainbow's bedroom. "Rarity set you up on a date... with a stallion... and although you two had absolutely nothing in common, you still chatted late into the witching hour like cuddling lovers?"
"There was no cuddling and there was no loving," Rainbow muttered. She stretched out the lengths of the necklace and hung it around a lamp on the beside table. The rainbow-colored gemstones glittered in the starlight from her window. "If I can make a friend out of a mutant talking statue, I can sure as heck made a friend out of a wishy-washy pony with five legs."
Lancie skidded to a stop. He spun about, squinting up at her. "Do... do you really mean to imply that you and I are friends?"
"Is that what I said?" Rainbow droned, staring dully at the necklace. "Maybe Zecora's brew is finally having its side effects."
"If you ask me, you've been upside down for a lot longer than you've known me." Lancie smirked. "Tell me one thing. Would it really be so strange?"
"Would what be so strange?"
"Choosing stallions over that one freckled mare," the statue said. "Seems to me like a much more lucrative market, all things considered."
Rainbow Dash shook her head. "It's never going to happen."
"Because Celestia-forbid that you ever pine for something that would pine back, Sparky."
"There's only one stallion I've ever loved," Rainbow Dash said. She opened her mouth again, but lingered. Her ears folded as a shudder ran through her tingly limbs. A whimpering voice finally came out. "He held out for me so long, Lancie." She brought a hoof up, rubbing her cheek dry. "And now... I-I'm doing the same thing he was, and it's g-gonna kill me too." She gulped, her eyes glossy in the starlight. "Someday. Heartbroken or not. Dead."
He stared up at her in total silence.
Rainbow Dash inhaled through a hard frown. "It may be a lonely wait getting there, but I won't die alone like he did." She tried growling, only for it to come out as a squeak. "I won't let him down. I won't let myself down."
Lancie leaned his head to the side. In a calm voice, he said, "I sincerely doubt your father died alone, Sparky. After all, he had you."
The mare shuddered, staring down at the floor. The silence beyond the cloud home was deaffening. It leeched the brew's work on her limbs, so that she was forced to stumble towards the bed.
"I gotta... I-I gotta rest up," she murmured. "Traveling to Orlandoats... in a f-few days. Don't wanna... let AJ d-down..."
"You're... not going to shoo me away?" Lancie muttered, stone eyebrow raised. "Toss me into a garbage can across the house and slam the door shut between us?"
"Whatever," she grumbled, fwomping on the bed. "I don't care..." She curled up in a little blue ball.
Lancie glanced aside, fumbling with his talons.
Rainbow Dash had her eyes clenched shut to the starlight. She gnashed at her teeth as a few tears leaked out. When a little stone figure pawed up onto the bed and nestled against her side, she said nothing. The pegasus wrapped a limb around him, holding him tight as she gently wept into the shadows. Lancie was silent the whole time.
Eventually, night ran its quiet, comforting course.