The world fell out from underneath me. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t think. My gut clenched in fear. I needed to breath. I looked around in terror, anywhere but towards the mare standing in front of me. I searched for any avenue of escape.
“Well?” Rainbow Dash asked again, her voice wavering with uncertainty. “Will you be my marefriend Twilight?”
Suddenly the last few weeks finally came into perfect clarity. All the time Dah had spent with me, all the times she’d asked me to go to lunch with her, and how touchy-feely with me. She’d been going on dates with me. I felt sick to my stomach.
“Twilight, you okay?” Rainbow raised her eyebrow looking at me carefully.
I forced myself to speak but the only thing that came out was a soft, “No.”
“What?” Rainbow looked taken aback. “What’s wrong?”
“No, I’m sorry. I can’t go out with you.”
All traces of a smile vanished from Rainbows face. She looked dumbstruck, as if unable to process the words I’d spoken. At last, she spoke. “Why not?”
Swallowing, I worked up the courage to to answer. “Well,to be perfectly honest? I’m not a fillyfooler.”
Her face went from disappointment to confusion in an instant. “Then why have you been going out with me on dates?”
With a frown, I answered. “I didn’t know they were dates, I thought we were just friends spending time together. I’d never go on a date with a mare.” I regretted my last words the instant I spoke them, wishing I could take them back.
“Never?” Rainbow questioned, surprised. “You’d never even give it a chance?”
“No, I couldn’t. It’s just wrong. Mares aren’t supposed to be with other mares. It’s just unnatural.” The anger was apparent in Rainbow’s eyes, along with the shock of hearing this from her friend. I felt guilty, but I stood by what I said. It was what I believed.
“Oh, so because I’m a fillyfooler, I’m wrong?! I didn’t realize that love depended only on gender. I’m sorry, I’ll just leave you alone so I don’t disgust you.” With that, Rainbow was gone in a multihued storm.
“Rainbow, I never said that!” I tried to shout after her, but she either didn’t hear or didn’t want to hear it.
With a sigh, I turned around and went back into her library. I knew that being a fillyfooler was wrong, but yet still I felt horrible. There was something else there too. Disappointment? Why was I disappointed? Feeling absolutely terrible, I went to my room and crawled into bed, tears streaming down my face. One last thought went through my head before I slept. Rainbow Dash shouldn’t cry. She’s too beautiful when she’s happy. No one should make her cry.