I'll Always be Here for You

by The Abyss


Snowflakes

Rainbow woke up to a most blissful warmth surrounding her back. Her wings were still pinned to her sides but she didn’t mind. It was mostly dark inside the room, but a little sunlight was peeking out from behind her curtains, lighting her floor in a pale yellow light like every other morning. Her left hind leg felt like it had escaped from under the blanket, so she slid it back under the comforter and tucked her legs back in.

She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with fresh air and the scent of the pony currently cuddling her backside. It seemed that Twilight hadn’t budged an inch. Rainbow felt Twilight’s hoof still wrapped around her forelegs, pinning them to her chest. One would have thought that her muscles would be sore by now. In fact, she couldn’t remember a time where she felt more relaxed in her life. Just like her forelegs, her head was still tucked in the crook of Twilight’s neck comfortably, keeping it and her neck warm. Rainbow smiled as she took in another deep breath, silently laying there in bliss.

If she could have it her way, Rainbow Dash would have laid there in that exact position for the next several hours, but she knew that wouldn’t happen. Today was the day; she would not rest until she asked if Twilight wanted to be her marefriend. She had originally wanted to ask her out in a flashy way, to do it in a way that was in her style. The more she had thought about it, however, the less she had wanted to go that route.

Rainbow still had a problem, and it had kept her up for most of the night. Even though she and Cadence had planned for her to ask Twilight out tonight, they hadn’t planned out anything specific which left her in a bind. She didn’t really want to ask Cadence for more advice again because she wanted to come up with the idea herself. Since she didn’t have much experience with real relationships, she had no idea what to do.

Twilight, still fast asleep, hugged her tighter for a few moments, then relaxed. Rainbow thought she was waking up, but Twilight’s breaths remained small and even. Rainbow rolled her eyes and turned over, instantly missing Twilight’s warmth from her back. Dash lifted her head from the pillow and pulled the sheets tighter against her, trying to keep warm.

With her head freed from Twilight’s grasp, Rainbow blinked a couple of times as she looked at what she hoped was her future marefriend. She had the textbook definition of bedhead that only a good, long shower-plus a decent amount of time brushing-could fix. Her ears flicked every so often, pushing a few stray hairs back and forth. To any other pony, Twilight looked like a mess, but not to Rainbow.

As she watched Twilight start to stir awake, Rainbow smiled as an awesome idea popped into her head. Before Twilight could open an eye, she slid closer and tucked her head back under the crook of Twilight’s neck. She wiggled a bit closer, threading her hind legs through Twilight’s. Rainbow thought about laying a wing over Twilight’s back, but that thought was interrupted when Twilight just pulled her closer with her own wing instead. She mentally shrugged and pretended to be asleep, a little smile on her face being the only thing giving her away.

They lay there like that for five or so minutes, but Rainbow had stopped keeping track shorty after. She felt Twilight move a few more times, but she wasn’t sure if she was still asleep or if she was just enjoying the moment like she was. It didn’t matter anyways, for a fuzzy little orange pegasus cut their snuggle time short.

“Ra-rainbow?” she heard a soft voice ask followed by the sound of her door’s squeaky hinges. Before she could lift her head, she felt Twilight lift her head up and clear her throat. She kept her eyes closed and lay there, motionless, wondering what Scootaloo needed.

“Hey there, little one,” she heard Twilight say. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, uh... nothing,” Scootaloo said. Judging by the way the door’s hinges squeaked, it sounded like she had pushed the rest of the door open. She flicked her left ear towards the door, praying that her cover wasn’t blown. “Is she, um... still sleeping?” she heard Scootaloo ask tentatively.

Rainbow heard Twilight softly chuckle. “I think so,” she heard Twilight whisper. “Come here, help me wake her up...” Rainbow heard Scootaloo trot towards the bed, then felt the cloud mattress dip towards the direction of the bed that she just clambered onto. She heard Scootaloo stifle a giggle moments before she felt her nuzzle her cheek.

Rainbow fought to keep a smile off of her face, but the insistent nuzzling was too much for her to handle. She faked a yawn, cracked an eye open, and stretched out like a cat.

“Morning, Dashie,” Twilight said with a tired smile, rubbing her eyes. She folded her wing back to her side. “Sleep well?”

“You know it!” Rainbow rolled over onto her belly and stretched her wings before returning Scootaloo’s nuzzle. Scootaloo hummed happily and lay down on her stomach, making herself comfortable on Rainbow’s left foreleg. “Any nightmares, Scoots?”

“Nah. I woke up a few times from the wind, but that’s about it,” she said, closing her eyes. “Can you, er... do that thing I like?” she asked hopefully.

It took Rainbow a couple of seconds to realize what she meant. “Oh! Sure...” Scootaloo snuggled a little closer to her as she draped her wing over her, tucking the tips of her feather under her belly. “Like that?”

“Mhm...” Scootaloo said softly, blissfully unaware of Rainbow’s true intentions. As she felt the filly finally fully relax, Rainbow used the tips of her feathers to tickle Scootaloo’s unguarded tummy. Scootaloo bolted upright, laughing and squealing as she tried to push Rainbow’s wing away from her. Rainbow giggled and kept up the relentless attack for a few more seconds, then let her go. Twilight had rolled over onto her belly, probably to discourage her from tickling her as well. She was facing the other side of the bed, her front hooves positioned perfectly for her head.

“Ra- Rainbow! Why’d you do that?” Scootaloo asked with an annoyed smile. She stretched and yawned, spreading her forelegs out wide in the air as she settled down on her haunches next to Rainbow’s tail.

Rainbow was tempted to sneak in another tickle attack, but instead she opted to roll over onto her back, placing her head in between Twilight’s front hooves. “Sup?” she asked with a giggle, hiding her growing smile with a hoof. Twilight’s face looked silly from her perspective and her bedhead wasn’t helping her image at all. Before she could respond, Rainbow lifted a hoof and booped Twilight right on the nose, making her muzzle scrunch up in the most adorable manner. She made a mental note to do that again sometime as she watched Twilight’s cheeks turn crimson.

A moment later, she felt a pair of small hooves press down on her lower stomach. She tried to jump up and away to get away from what she assumed was Scootaloo’s counterattack, but instead, she knocked her head against Twilight’s chin.

“Ow!” they both exclaimed. Twilight rubbed at her jaw while Rainbow held her head in her hooves, moaning.

“Oh, come on, it couldn’t have hurt that bad,” Twilight said with a chuckle.

“No, it’s not that; I bit my tongue... Ugh...” Rainbow groaned as she sat up, rubbing her head. “You think Cadence is up yet?”

Twilight glanced at the clock. “Well, we did kinda sleep in a little...” All thanks to us cuddling... she thought with a small smile. “She’s always been an early-riser like me, so she’s probably already making breakfast. When she foalsat me, she used to do that for me when my parents had to go on business trips in another town. It’s been our little thing for as long as I can remember.” Twilight sat up and rolled off the bed, heading towards the bedroom door. She paused as a familiar scent met her nose. “And if my nose isn’t lying to me, then breakfast is about ready!”

“Hey, I thought early-risers were supposed to get up, you know... early?” Scootaloo asked with a cheeky grin. Her tail wagged back and forth like a dog as she crouched down.

“Oh, now you’re trying to get all cute with us now, eh?” Rainbow crouched down as well, nose to nose with Scootaloo. She wiggled her flank and gave a competitive smile.

“Yeah!” Scootaloo said back, a wide smile nearly splitting her face in half. “Race you to the kitchen! Last one there is a rotten egg!” At that, she whipped around and darted out of the bedroom, Rainbow hot on her heels. Right before she reached the top of the stairs, she felt Rainbow’s hooves surround her belly and pick her up. “Woohoo!” she exclaimed, extending her wings and fore legs out as Rainbow flew in circles around the living room. After another few seconds, they settled down next to the couch.

“Ready to go get some breakfast, Scootaloo?” Rainbow asked as she tussled Scootaloo’s hair. “And after that, maybe we could go flying? I wanna blow off some steam before tonight.”

“I’d love to, you know that, but I already made plans to go crusading for the entire day. What’s happening tonight?” Scootaloo asked. She hopped up onto the couch then sat down on Rainbow’s back between her wings.

“Um, nothing! Nothing at all!” Rainbow stammered with a nervous giggle. She started walking towards the door. “You coming, Twi?” she called out, looking up at the top of the stairs.

“In a minute!” Twilight yelled back. “I’ll meet you guys down there!”

“Come oooon,” Scootaloo playfully begged, poking the back of Rainbow’s neck with a hoof.

“Okay okay,” Rainbow said, carefully walking outside. She closed her front door and after she made sure Cadence wasn’t in Twilight’s bed, she opened the balcony door and trotted inside. “Tell you what. I’ll tell you tomorrow, okay? I cannot jinx this...”

“What’s gonna happen tomorrow?”

“Hopefully something wonderful...”


After breakfast, everypony killed time for the rest of the day. Scootaloo went off to go crusading, Spike locked himself in his bedroom to read comics, and Rainbow left to do a little office work at the weather office. Since everyone had agreed to meet back at the library at sunset, Cadence and Twilight had decided to go on a shopping spree around town, buying all sorts of things. Twilight had a small feeling in her gut that Rainbow would ask her out sometime that day, so every little noise, especially the sound of a pegasus flapping their wings, made her heart beat a little faster. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to deal with such a conversation yet, hence the reason why she had led Cadence all around town.

“So Twilight... have you asked Rainbow out yet?” Cadence asked as they exited the bookstore. They had spent the past hour in there browsing the shelves for anything fun. Cadence had picked up a couple romance novels while Twilight had found a few reference books for the study of the Everfree Forest. “From the way you two were snuggling this morning it looked like you two had sealed the deal,” she said with a giggle, covering her growing smile with a hoof.

“Cadence!” Twilight playfully swatted her old foalsitter once on the shoulder. “For your information... no, I haven’t asked her out yet. It just didn’t feel right last night. I mean, I...” She glanced around, checking to make sure that Rainbow was nowhere nearby. Even though she was nowhere to be found, Twilight still lowered her voice all the same. “I heard most of what Rainbow told you on the top balcony, Cadence.” She looked away and waited for Cadence to call her an eavesdropper, but no such thing came even after several moments.

“I know, Twilight. I sensed somepony casting a spell in close proximity to us, so I just assumed it was you,” Cadence said.

“Sooo... you made Rainbow confess her love for me, knowing that I was listening? You wanted to force a confrontation, didn’t you?” Twilight asked with a grin.

“Well, that’s one of the ways to get things rolling. Seriously Twilight, you both love each other. What’s stopping you from asking her out right now?”

“Um... because she’s doing work right now?” Twilight asked with a nervous chuckle.

“That’s not what I meant. I have a few ideas if you want to hear them, and as your friend and the Princess of Looooove, you know nothing would make me happier than me helping you.”

Twilight sighed as she bit her lower lip. “Your ideas were good, but I think that they aren’t really me, you know? Super flashy things aren’t really my style. I just like it when things are plain and simple. It’s the little things that make me happy.” She shuffled her wings. “As for why I’ve been taking my time asking her out, it’s just that whenever I want to do exactly that, something always holds me back. I can’t help but feel like I need a literal perfect moment with no distractions whatsoever.”

“Oh, I can definitely handle that,” Cadence said, a strange glint in her eye. “Look, I’m going to go run some more personal errands. You want to meet back here in an hour and find somewhere to go for lunch?”

“Sure, that can work,” Twilight said. “See you soon!”

Twilight watched Cadence walk away. She knew she couldn’t put off asking Rainbow out forever, and her gut told her that Cadence was going to do something a little drastic.


As the sun slowly set in the sky, Twilight and Cadence made it back to the library just in time to find everyone else lounging about in the living room. After they had all gotten their things together, they walked out of the library, all bundled up in their choice of wintery garments. They headed for Sugarcube Corner, the sounds of a loud party echoing throughout the empty streets. A light snow fell from the sky, covering the road with a fresh layer of powder that crunched under hoof and claw. The temperature was just bearable thanks to the fact that there was little to no wind, and the moon’s light started showing through the clouds above.

Cadence had a basic plan worked out, and she was anxious to help one of her closest friends find love for the first time. Everything was already set up, and all she had to do was wait for the perfect moment to execute her plan. As far as she knew, Rainbow and Twilight had no idea what was in store for them.

As they approached the front door, the thumping and low rumbling of a subwoofer suddenly shocked her from her thoughts. She used her magic to pull open the door and the five of them walked inside. The New Year’s Eve party was already in full swing. Vinyl Scratch was in the far corner with a set of speakers taller than her sitting on either side of her table. The rest of Twilight’s friends were already here and were pouring themselves drinks from the punch bowl right next to Vinyl’s stand.

“Say, aren’t those your friends over there?” Cadence asked, using her left wing to point them out.

“Yep! Hey guys!” Rainbow yelled out, trotting forward with Twilight and Cadence a step behind. Scootaloo and Spike broke away as they found their friends.

“Darlings!” Rarity said, pulling both Twilight and Rainbow into a hug. “Oh, how nice it is for you to finally join us.”

“Hello everypony,” Cadence said, raising a hoof to dissuade Rarity and the rest of her friends from bowing. “Formalities aren’t necessary tonight, for I am here to let loose!” She smiled wildly, poured herself a shot of hard liquor, then took it like a champ. Cadence shook her head as the alcohol burned her throat, but she was able to remain in control. After the worst of it passed, Cadence placed the shot glass back down on the table. “Wooo! Let’s have some fun!” she yelled, throwing her forelegs over Rainbow’s and Twilight’s backs. “Shots for everypony!”

A few hours later and several shots down, everyone was feeling real good. Cadence had a good buzz going, and by the looks of it, Twilight and Rainbow were both pleasantly inebriated as well. They had sat on opposite sides of the circle that had formed when everypony got their drinks. Fluttershy was stumbling around because she was a lightweight, Pinkie was acting, well, Pinkie-ish, and Applejack had left an hour ago to get the fireworks display set up on the farm.

Cadence looked at Twilight and noticed that she and Rainbow were trying not to look at each other. Everypony around them was lost in conversation, but Rainbow mostly kept silent. Now would seem like a good time to start the plan... She stood up and looked at the clock, silently noting that they had less than thirty minutes before the new year came in. And it’s almost time to go see the fireworks, too... Speaking of which... “Hey Pinkie Pie, where do you want us all to go to watch the fireworks? Isn’t it almost time?” She watched with a smug smile on her face as Pinkie’s head whipped around to find the clock.

“Ack! Everypony out!” Pinkie Pie screeched like a banshee from hell. The music screeched to a halt and everypony looked at her with varying levels of curiousness. “I almost forgot to tell you that I’ve got an amaaaazing fireworks show at Sweet Apple Acres, but we gotta hurry if we want to make it for when the clock strikes twelve!” At that, she began shooing everypony out the door.

In the resulting confusion, Cadence grabbed Twilight as she passed by and hoofed her a note. “Here, Rainbow wanted me to give you this before she left,” she said, just barely able to hide her smile. Before Twilight could ask any questions, she turned and followed everypony out the door, leaving her alone in the room.

Twilight quickly unfolded the note, her heart beating like a freight train out of control. She fumbled with the note in her hooves, and as she grew impatient, she lit her horn and ripped the note open.

Twilight,

Meet me under the tree with the single candle.

Twilight reread the note several times, trying to discern exactly what it meant. It didn’t really look like Rainbow’s hoofwriting, but the dim lighting made it hard to tell. “Is she going to ask me out tonight?” she softly asked herself. Her breaths came in short pants, and as much as she tried, she could not get her tail to stop twitching. It did that when she was especially nervous, and this was definitely a situation that would be nerve-wracking. Wondering what was in store for her, Twilight tucked the scrap of paper under her wing and trotted out of the door, feeling like the most nervous mare in the world.

Instead of trotting through the snow like everypony else, Twilight simply teleported to the courtyard of Sweet Apple Acres. She saw Applejack and Big Mac setting up the fireworks in the empty field to her left, so she figured that’s where she would start looking. The freshly-laid snow crunched underhoof as she made her way down the path, her head constantly on a swivel. Much to her surprise, she spotted a small light flickering behind a tree on a small hill on her right.

“Rainbow? You there?” she called out hesitantly. When no response came, she stepped off of the path and started weaving through the apple trees. She lost sight of the light several times, but it always came back into view if she squinted hard enough.

After a brisk minute of trotting, she emerged into a small clearing. Much to her surprise, she was the only one there. There was a single apple tree in the center and under it lay a thick red quilt with a single candle flickering in the breeze. There were two cups filled with a steaming liquid set down next to a thick, white blanket.

She heard the sounds of the partygoers come up from the path she was just on, but she paid that no mind. Twilight sat down on the blanket, thankful that she had somewhere nice to sit so that her rear wouldn’t be frozen off. She picked up the white blanket and wrapped it around her before picking up one of the cups to take a sip. The sweet taste of hot chocolate mixed with a small alcoholic bite danced over her tongue before she swallowed.

It was beautiful out here. The remnants of a small snowstorm drifted from the clouds on high, small snowflakes floating about in the slight breeze. Luna’s moon broke through the cloud cover, bathing the land in its light. She had a good view of where everypony else was going to sit. It looked as if a little bit of the snow in the field that Applejack and Big Mac were working in had been cleared away.

Suddenly, a twig snapped somewhere behind her. Her breath caught in her throat and her head whipped around to find Rainbow stepping out of the trees. She had a stunned look on her face as she stepped forward.

“He-hey, Twilight,” Rainbow said, eyeing Twilight’s blanket. “There room for one more in there? It’s kinda chilly out here.”

Twilight’s heart raced a million miles a minute but she still found enough strength in her to crack a nervous smile. She lifted her right wing, holding up the blanket. “Always, Rainbow,” she said softly.

“Awesome,” Rainbow replied in an equally soft voice. She gingerly stepped forward and sat down next to Twilight. Every muscle in her body was tense and it felt like she was going to burst from apprehension. However, the moment Twilight laid her wing across her back, pulling her close, she felt all of that tension melt away. She was still a little nervous, but the fact remained that Twilight hadn’t shunned her away the moment she stepped out of the trees.

“So...” Twilight started, breaking the silence. As she watched everypony in the field settle down for the fireworks, she softly asked, “Why’d you want to meet me all the way up here?”

“Huh?” Rainbow pulled out her own slip of paper. “What are you talking about? Cadence told me that you wanted to meet me up here.”

“Wait a minute... you didn’t set all this up?” Twilight pulled out her scrap of paper and set hers next to Rainbow’s. She flattened them out with her magic and scrutinized each one. “Heh, just as I thought...”

“What?”

“When I compared the hoofwriting, it appears that it was written by the same pony.” Twilight set the scraps of paper back down, then pulled the blanket back up her shoulders. “And I think I know just the pony who did it.”

“Cadence?” Rainbow asked with a wry smile.

“Cadence,” Twilight said. She noticed that Rainbow didn’t have that much of the blanket on her side, exposing her back hooves to the cold. “Oh! Here, lemme help you...” She fluffed the blanket a couple times and scooched as close to Rainbow as she could. Twilight laid her wing back over her back, then used her magic to lay the blanket back over them.

She used her magic to tuck it on her side, then Rainbow’s side which made the pegasus look up. As fate would have it, they just so happened to look right into each other’s gaze. Twilight’s breath caught in her throat as she stared into Rainbow’s eyes, those beautiful magenta eyes that contrasted so nicely with her coat. Time seemed to stand still as her thoughts drifted back to that one moment where Rainbow kissed her back at Pinkie’s party.

She remembered everything down to the most minute detail. Twilight so craved to let her feelings of insecurity just slip away so that she could show her true affections. Her entire being screamed at her to dip her head down just to feel those beautiful, soft lips upon her own once more. Surely there could be no better and easier way to reveal her feelings for Rainbow, for no amount of words or gifts could proclaim the way she felt about her.

I’m sure she wouldn’t mind... a little voice in her head spoke. And I bet she’d even return the kiss, too... She licked her lips as her breaths became short and quick, and just as she started to close her eyes and lean in for a kiss, she heard the crowd below them start to chant the countdown. Rainbow looked away towards the source of the commotion, making Twilight sigh in disappointment. Thankfully Rainbow didn’t hear her.

“Hey, looks like the new year is almost here,” Rainbow said with a nervous chuckle. She heard the crowd slowly count down from ten, then right as they hit the number two, a ton of fireworks shot up into the sky. When everypony yelled out in celebration, the fireworks exploded in the air, painting the surrounding area in various colors.

They spent the next minute in silence as they watched the fireworks show. Rainbow could have sworn that she felt Twilight flick her tail around her flank, but she couldn’t be sure without lifting the blanket to check. Either way, she didn’t mind a bit. Rainbow felt a breeze come in from her right, and much to her surprise, she saw several snowflakes float towards them. As she watched, several of them landed on Twilight’s part of the blanket. One landed on the tip of her nose, making her muzzle scrunch up just like earlier that morning.

“It’s like they have a mind of their own...” Rainbow murmured, her eyes never leaving the ice crystals. She held out a hoof and caught one before letting it go a few moments later. “The snowflakes, they remind me of the night, um...” Her heart beat fast in her chest and adrenaline pumped through her veins, for she had very nearly revealed the reason why she had flown to Twilight’s house on the eve of Hearth’s Warming Day. She had never planned on telling anyone what she had almost said, especially Twilight, and yet she found herself talking about it casually.

“What?” Twilight prompted after a few seconds of silence.

Rainbow took a couple slow, shuddering breaths. “Things are about to get kinda sappy, so... yeah. You remember that night when you found me crying on your front porch, right? Yeah, well... I only told you part of the reason why I was there. You know, not sleeping well and all that?” She mindlessly poked at the red quilt they sat on. “There’s more to it than that. For the past few years, I’ve, uh... felt really lonely. I’ve loved all the time we’ve spent together, helping Scootaloo and all that. I really like making you smile, and just being around you makes me happy...”

A small tear slipped down Twilight’s face, only to be wiped away on her shoulder. That’s so... so sweet...

Rainbow cleared her throat and laid her left wing around Twilight, smiling when she felt her lay her head on her shoulder. “I was an idiot when I asked if you were into me back on Hearth’s Warming Day. I wasn’t thinking right, and I wasn’t sure what I was feeling then, but I... I do now,” she said. “Waking up next to you is the thing I want most. It’s something that I crave every morning when I’m not with you. I love spending time with you, and I want to be near you every second that I’m not. I just really, really like you… so, you know, um...” Her stomach twisted itself into a knot from the hundreds of butterflies she felt within her. “Would you like to go out on a date with me?”

Twilight took several moments to respond. “No, I wouldn’t like to, I’d love to, Dashie,” Twilight said softly. She nuzzled Rainbow’s cheek before she laid her head back down on her shoulder.

“Phew, you had me for a couple seconds there!” Rainbow said in relief. “Soooo...” She smiled and nuzzled Twilight back. “Wanna snuggle at my place?”

Twilight smiled smugly and pulled Rainbow into a tight hug. When she felt Rainbow return it, she whispered into her ear, “Definitely.” And with that, Twilight teleported the two of them away with a flash.