Pinkie Pie is a smooth, fast operator.
Twilight could’ve spent the entire night asking about the myriad of scenarios resulting in everyone coming together at the Luau Kitchen. After a hearty glass of water, Pinkie explained everything in under a minute and as a courtesy, offered to rewind the tape.
“No. I’ve heard enough,” Twilight muttered, resting her chin on the table and grabbing her head.
“That was way too fast for me,” Spike countered. “Pinkie, can you—”
“It doesn’t matter,” Twilight interrupted, shoving a kabob into Spike’s mouth. “Let’s just wait for our meals and then we can get to business.”
Main courses soon flowed in from the kitchen and onto the table. Swift, sitting at the edge of one of the benches, watched his fellow ponies gobble down sweet rolls and corn while washing it all down from whatever bubbly beverage the servers poured into their coconut shaped cups. Eventually, he took one bite out of his fruit pizza – a tasty, well-baked treat according to his taste buds – but he lacked the hunger to finish.
Sitting halfway on the other side of the table was Rainbow Dash, slurping down a hot cup of soup before sampling items off Fluttershy’s plate. Every time she looked his direction, Swift pretended to sip some fruit punch, feigned interest in the conversations breaking out around him or observed a mother at a nearby table trying to quiet her wailing foal with a lullaby.
As such, he failed to notice the growing agitation between Twilight and Blossom. It wasn’t long before their uproar ceased all other conversations.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Twilight!”
“Since when are you the seagull expert, Blossom!”
“You don’t even have seagulls in Ponyville!”
“Ladies, please,” Rarity snipped, repeatedly banging a cup on the table until she got silence. “It’s quite obvious we won’t come to a mutual agreement about the seagull situation tonight. How about we discuss it in the morning when we’re all refreshed, hmm?”
Blossom and Twilight glanced at each other before looking in opposite directions.
“Well? Do we agree or not?”
Twilight opened her mouth. “I th—”
“Sounds good,” Blossom spoke.
Twilight twisted up a napkin.
The redhead cleared her throat. “Yes, we can restart this seagull conversation after the vendor selection meeting at Town Hall tomorrow morning. In the meantime, Pinkie and Widget can continue working on the fireworks tonight. Applejack and Blitz are going to need another kitchen to prepare their sample treats for tomorrow. I’m going to be nice and let you two use my kitchen but just so you two behave, I’m having Spike supervise. When I come home, I don’t want one pan out of place. Is that understood?”
The two farm ponies rolled their eyes and nodded.
“I should head back to the festival site and see how things are progressing. Rarity? Swift? Rainbow? Fluttershy? Twilight? I don’t really have anything for you right now but you can join me if you wish.”
“I think I’ll best utilize my time and head back to the library,” Twilight said in a deadpanned tone.
Swift got up from his seat. “Actually, Blossi, yeah… the site! I should, stand guard at the site in case the, um, seagulls come back. Give whoever’s there now a break.”
“You want me to help,” Rainbow asked.
“Nah, nah. I–I got this. You and Rarity and Shy, um, go have, fun!”
Rainbow wondered whether he wasn’t getting enough cool air from the ceiling fan. “Um, okay. If you say so.”
“I believe that should do it then,” Blossom exclaimed as she raised her cup. “Everypony! To a great festival!”
The group followed her lead and spilled drips of juice all over the table.
Shopping for clothes outdoors under the lights was Fluttershy and Rarity’s idea of evening fun. Adding Rainbow in the mix should’ve been the anchor dragging behind them. However, they weren’t expecting Rainbow to be such a chatterbox, especially on a topic that was something other than being awesome, racing or Wonderbolts. Instead, she went into detail about her time at the Trotwalk, a matter so encaptivating that various boutique owners wanting to sell the trio flower print dresses, sunhats and trinkets labored for seconds of undivided attention.
An hour after the moon made its late summer evening appearance, the trio filed into Fluttershy’s motel room. She and Rarity tossed the few bags they had carelessly onto one bed and sat in the other, leaving space in between the two for their still-talking friend.
“And that’s how I got this baby,” Rainbow said as she sat down and held the Soarin beanie high above her head. “I thought I’d never get this. I thought I lost my chance but look! My collection’s complete! I finally did it!” She squeezed her prize and made girly noises.
Rarity made similar noises. “That’s just absolutely wonderful, dearie! He really did that for you?”
“Mhm.”
“Oh, I cannot tell you how fortunate you are, Rainbow! What happened after that?”
Rainbow stroked her muzzle, “Well, I know we sat down on a bench. I was a little tired so I took a nap.”
“You mean together?” Fluttershy interjected.
“No, just me,” she plainly answered. “When I woke up, there was Pinkie inviting us to dinner.”
Rarity punched the mattress. “That Pinkie Pie! Always ruining possible moments! Such is life when you’re friends with Pinkie, I suppose. So, I presume that’s everything that happened, right? There’s not any insignificant detail that you’re leaving out? Not a morsel more?” She caught Fluttershy’s stare out of the corner of her eye. “What? I just want to be certain.”
“That’s it,” Rainbow answered. “I guess that’s… well—”
Rainbow stared at the beanie she cradled by her chest. Wonderbolt, this was a figurine of the best aerial stunt ponies in all of Equestria. She was one of many devoted fans of those who not only entertained but also performed heroic acts. Some tales were press-verified true and others sounded so ludicrous, even she questioned feats such as stopping a volcano flow or slicing a hurricane in half. Whatever the case, citizens recognized them for their many accomplishments but the more she looked at her prize, it looked less like a Wonderbolt and more like the pony that helped her get it.
Yet nopony sold Swift Flying toys nor did he get the same recognition as Soarin, not even close. Savior of Saddlecloud, stricken from the record. Recovery from Flying Stress Syndrome, hidden to save her pride. While it wasn’t her place to recant the former, she had every intention to express the heroic acts Swift did for her; the only question was when.
Now may be that time, in this one room with Fluttershy, the truest of friends that she developed the closest bond. As for Rarity, she had the maturity to handle such a tale.
“Well? Well?” Rarity urged.
Hopefully, she had the maturity.
Rainbow placed the beanie aside. “There’s one last thing to tell you girls. It’s something I decided to do while I was on the Ferris Wheel but, well, you might want to take a bathroom break right now. This is gonna take a while to explain. A long while.”
Carnival tents, makeshift shops and a carousel.
Surfing Blossom stood amidst what was less of a mishmash of wooden planks stuck upright on a field and more of a site for an upcoming festival. Megaphone on hoof, she cheered on the stallions and mares who dared to continue laboring under the moonlight with the seagull threat constantly looming over their heads.
To their relief, the only things circling above them were a few pegasi running their designated patrol routes. Their leader was sitting on a solitary cloud between the shoreline and the metal skeleton that was a half-completed stage. He stared off into the sea, breaking his vigil every few minutes for cursory glances at his team.
Eventually, Blossom’s focus drifted in his direction. He’s been off ever since he and Rainbow joined us for dinner. I don’t get it. Did I miss something? I shouldn’t pry but… oh, I simply must!
“Spike, I know this is a big favor but can you take—” She slapped her forehead. Completely forgot. In that case, plan B. She turned on the megaphone. “Attention, everypony! Um, you’re all doing such a great job so far, how about we take an early break? Food is provided courtesy of—”
Right away, most of the ponies galloped to the punch and chips set up on multiple tables.
Thought so.
Blossom made her way onto the unfinished platform. From there, she climbed up the metal structure all the way to the highest piece of erected metal. She leaned out toward Swift – too busy watching the ocean waves to notice her – and unfurled her wings.
I can do this! I should be high enough to reach him!
The second she started her glide, however, her confidence sank as much as her altitude. The ocean breezes repelled her advance and eventually, she waggled her forelegs in desperation for more speed. Before she could swallow her pride and plead for some help, Swift sprung into flight and grabbed onto her. Together, they reached the fluffy white and then sat right across from each other.
“You could’ve just called me down,” Swift remarked in a hushed voice.
“True but I wanted to talk to you in private,” she answered, stroking the cloud’s surface. “So, how are you holding up?
He rubbed the top of his head, “Um? Okay, I guess.”
“Any signs of seagulls?”
“Not yet.”
Blossom paused briefly. “Did you have a good time with Rainbow at the Boardwalk?”
“What?” Swift stared sideways, “My time with… I, it was, good. It was good, good time.”
“It must have been a really good time if you’re blushing like that,” she teased, leaning close to him. “What did you two do, exactly?”
“N–nothing special,” he stammered, a warm smile slowly emerging. “Nothing, really. You were there so you should know.”
Now it was Blossom’s turn to fidget. “Um, oh. That. There’s a story behind that. You see—”
“We just spent some time together, that’s all.” His smile widened further, “A wicked time. It’s always like that with Rainbow. Sure, she can sometimes rub me the wrong way but she’s fun to be around with, Blossi. I just, like hanging out with her, even if we’re stuck working. When she’s around, I feel like—” He tousled his mane and chuckled. “—I dunno.”
Her orange pupils widened. “You really like her, don’t you?”
“Well, yeah! Totally! She’s—” He stared right at Blossom whose wings were in a battle with his for most rigid. “Blossom? W–wait, just wait a minute. I didn’t mean—”
“You can’t take it back, Swift,” Blossom whispered back.
He tried building a wall of denial with broken syllables but it held together like mud.
“You meant what you said.”
“N–no, I didn’t!”
“I heard you. You really like her. Just… oh, don’t do this to me!”
Swift used his wing as a shield against Blossom’s intense gaze. “You’re going to make fun of me for this, aren’t you?”
After a terse sigh, she reached out and gently clutched his foreleg. “Of course not. You have nothing to be ashamed about. If anything, I’m super happy for you. You’ve finally blossoming to a full-fledged stallion. Took you long enough,” she finished with a muted giggle.
“And what is that supposed to mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean. Romance! All this time, you were such a foal about it but now, you’re finally giving it a chance.” Peeling away his wing, “Now, I want you to say it directly. I really like Rainbow Dash.”
“But I’m, can’t it be—”
Blossom grabbed his jaw, “I really like Rainbow Dash. Like that.”
Five words. Swift could get some breathing room from her with a short statement but it might as well have been like reciting a one hundred thousand novel from memory. “Well, I, um, really, Dash is… shoot. I fell for her, didn’t I?”
“Swift? You actually... that, that counts!” Blossom lifted him off the cloud and cooed, “Oh, I can’t believe it! My little brother’s finally found himself a marefriend!”
“A–a what?” He wriggled under her embrace, “No. No! I don’t… she’s not, that!” She dropped him. “And I’m not your brother,” he protested as he got back on his haunches.
“Silly. Of course, she’s not your marefriend. At least, not just yet but we can fix that. You just have to tell her how you feel. Problem solved!”
His eyes bulged to the brink of detaching from his skull. “Wh–what? But I can’t, you want me to… what? How in Equestria can I… hold up a second, Blossom! This is all new to me, you know! There’s so much going through my head right now! I can’t just fly up to Rainbow and tell her, stuff!”
“Why not? You’ve been open with her before.”
“This is different. Far different. It’s about, us.”
“Exactly. Since this is something between you and Rainbow, then you need to talk to her. Besides,” she batted her eyelashes, “what if you find out that she really likes you too, Swift?”
“Um? If she, really—” A small smile broke out but he shook it off his face. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! No, Blossom. There’s just… there’s no way. She, um, she told me so.”
All her optimism vanished. “She, did? When?”
Swift stared at the cloud, “After the race, when I was coming back here on the train.”
“Right. You told me that she caught up with you because you left a picture behind. You two talked a bit and then she left.”
“Yean, there was more to that. After we talked, we, ahem, well, if it wasn’t for… w–we almost kissed.”
Blossom stifled her utter shock. “Oh my… oh, no. Oh, no! Swift? She gave you the ‘we’re only friends’ speech after that, didn’t she?”
He gave one slow nod.
With that new tidbit of information, Blossom found herself in an unexpected predicament. If she wanted to help him, she had to navigate this obstacle as she would a massive wave. One wrong move and she’d flip underwater. “Swift? Rainbow might’ve said whatever she said but that was months ago. I doubt either of you were seriously thinking about being more than just friends back then. Ponies can change their minds about something like that, especially if that happened months ago. If you can change, why can’t she?”
“Because–” Whatever defense he had disintegrated like the bits of cloud dust he rubbed beneath his hoof. “Well, I guess she might… wait. Why am I even thinking like this?”
“Because you want to know if she thinks about you that way. It’s perfectly natural, Swift.”
His next question had him prepare his wing in case of mocking laughter. “Um, would she, I mean… is it possible? Would she want to… with me?”
“I’ll answer it like this, Swift. There was a time when I would’ve gone out with you.”
His ears perked up. “Eh? W–what did you say?”
Blossom suddenly sensed some warming embarrassment. “Well, as long as we’re sharing secrets, I suppose you deserve to hear one of mine. Ahem. The first time I met you, you blew me over with what you did. Believe me, I’ve had a few colts try to impress me before that day but I knew it was just an act. You were different. I could tell you were scared and yet, you stood up to those bullies anyways. If you had popped out a ring by those lockers that day, I would’ve said yes! I was a filly in love! It was such a wonderful feeling!”
“I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” he whispered to himself.
“The only problem was that you weren’t interested in that type of thing back then but I kept trying in small ways. Heh, heh. That’s what a fillyhood crush does to you but that’s beside the point. What I’m getting at is that if somepony like me thought that way about you before, then I’d say Rainbow definitely could right now. Anything’s possible, Swift!”
“Y–you think so,” he asked, scratching his glowing face.
“Only one way to find out. Talk to her. Right now. It’s only ten or so. I’m sure she’s awake somewhere around town.”
“Now?”
She nudged him to the cloud’s edge. “Don’t think about what you want to say. Just speak from the heart, okay?”
“I’m not sure about this,” he replied, pushing back. “This is really heavy stuff!”
Blossom exhaled loudly. “If you’re that nervous, just tell her you had a great time with her tonight. See where that takes you. Don’t overthink it. Just go.”
In his best moments, that what Swift Flying did, rely on instinct and intuition. He just never imagined using such tactics in the field of courtship. In the morning, he would’ve declared himself crazy for even thinking it and yet, here he was already narrowing down possible locations to find Rainbow Dash. Maybe he’d do nothing but blabber but at least he’d get to see her again.
“Gotcha,” he finally replied. “I’ll just wing it. I, um, thanks for hearing me out.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” she said with a quick hug.
He readied for flight only to turn back and face his companion. “Hey, um, one last thing.”
“Sure!”
His next statement made him feel like he was already facing Rainbow Dash, increasing heartrate and all. “So, you had a crush on me, huh? I kinda figured as much.”
“You did?”
“You weren’t exactly subtle about it but today… don’t get the wrong idea. I’m just curious, because, um—”
“Are you wondering if I still have strong feelings for you?”
He didn’t have a response ready and having Blossom inch right into his space wiped away any hopes of having one available.
“No matter what happens, you’ll always be my sweet, wonderful stallion,” she whispered into his ear.
“Eh?”
Then, she poked him on the nose. “But with me, you’re out of luck. Maybe if we had first met when we were older or in another lifetime, we might’ve shared something special together. In the end, though, I’m not sure it would’ve worked out anyways. Your life is more up here in the air while my home’s down below by the sea. If I ever decide to look for a special somepony one day, he would need to share the same passion for the ocean as I do… or be a cute seapony!”
Swift scoffed. “But they don’t exist, Blossi!”
She poked him again, “You never know!”
He shared in her laughter for a few seconds. “Woo! I’m just glad there’s nothing awkward between us. Well, almost nothing.”
“Oh?”
“You know, now I’m actually a little disappointed. I could’ve at least let you kiss me last year under the mistletoe. Heh. Never thought I’d say that.”
“Ah, that’s sweet of you to say! I need to thank Rainbow Dash someday,” she answered with a cheeky smile. “Now, go and see her, Swift.”
Tissues, a mountain of empty tissue boxes.
Inside the motel room, Rarity tossed another box into the pile and opened up another one. With all the mascara running down her face, she dared not let anypony see such a faux pas regardless of the reason.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy used Rainbow’s chest to dry her tears as she kept her hooves tightly on her back. Rainbow returned the gesture in silent but peaceful contemplation. In fact, the only other discernable noise for the next few minutes was from the ticking timepiece that eventually struck ten fifteen.
“You don’t ever have to be ashamed about something like that,” Fluttershy finally spoke in a low tender voice. “Never, ever, ever.”
Rainbow whisked something falling down her cheek. “I know, Fluttershy. I’m sorry I couldn’t trust you with this. Can you forgive me for keeping such a secret from you?”
Fluttershy tightened her hug. “You don’t even have to ask.”
“That was such an utterly delightful story,” Rarity blubbered before blowing her nose on some tissue. “I cannot believe so much happened while we were vacationing in Manehattan. Everything’s makes sense, now.”
Rainbow nudged away from Fluttershy but still had one hoof on her shoulder. “Really? It does. Then you understand my deal with Swift, then? Why were close? Why I think so highly of him?”
“We most certainly do!” Rarity discarded her tissue into an overflowing garbage can. “Don’t we Fluttershy?”
Said pony nodded.
“Oh, this is the best news I’ve heard in ages! So, when are you going to tell him, dear?”
Rainbow moved her head slightly askew. “Um, tell him what?”
Rarity whisked a foreleg. “Oh, come now. That he has a special place in your heart, that you’ve developed a deep intimate connection with him, that he sends your body and soul soaring more than anypony else in the world!”
“Come again?”
Fluttershy moved her head and held a smile brimming with purity and innocence. “You really like him, don’t you, Rainbow?”
Immediately, she decided the headboards would be the only witness to her wing-sprouting embarrassment. “Nuh, I don’t… no! How are you getting that idea? Seriously! I just went over all these things that happened, the embarrassment I suffered, all my flying struggles, how Swift and I were this close to being a hole in the ground and all you care about is, that?”
Fluttershy reached to touch her but Rainbow swatted her away. “Please, Rainbow. We’re not trying to make you upset. We just thought that from everything you’ve told us, he was special to you. Were we wrong about that?”
“No! I mean, yes! I—” She flung her hooves up in the air, “Ugghhhhhh!” Rainbow let her head fall onto the headboard. “I just… we did a lot of things together, all right? Maybe some of those things were more than what I would do with you guys but it was just in the heat of the moment. Nothing more.”
The eager fashionista inched parallel to Rainbow and leaned close to her ear. “Does that mean that you kissed him?”
“Rarity,” Fluttershy huffed, pulling Rarity down onto the unmovable mattress.
“Actually,” her face glowed brighter than the firefly lamp keeping the room from being a dark pit, “I, um, kinda did.”
A booming “What?” rippled from the two listeners, soon followed by wall banging and muffled complaining.
Rainbow reached for the pillow and stretched it over the back of her head. “It’s not what it sounds like. You see, when you guys had that party when you all came back, we were just talking above Sugarcube Corner. I don’t know what happened but we almost, ahem, we almost, l–locked lips. Then Pinkie Pie showed up and—”
“Pinkie Pie?” Rarity and Fluttershy shouted, earning them more knocking from whoever was in the next room.
“Yes, Pinkie Pie. Long story short, I thought that after everything Swift had done for me, I just couldn’t leave him empty hooved. I thought that since he’s a stallion, even one that isn’t interested in mushy stuff, I, well… Rarity! You kissed Spike on the cheek before, haven’t you? You gave it to him even though he’s a friend to you. It was like that.”
Rarity rubbed her mane, “Well, I suppose but it’s a little more complica—”
“You see? That’s all that happened between us!” Rainbow flipped belly up and rested on the bed, careful to keep the pillow firmly pressed against her face. “You girls are just making something out of nothing!”
“Then why are you hiding yourself with the pillow,” Fluttershy asked politely. “If that’s all it is, then you shouldn’t be embarrassed.”
She blindly pointed, “I’m not embarrassed! Why would I be? He’s my friend! Hey!”
Rarity levitated the pillow out of her grasp. “That’s not what I see, darling.”
Rainbow leaped onto the adjacent bed and sat, deciding the small rips on the wallpaper were more worth looking at. “Y–you’re just making stuff up! Besides, I made everything clear to him on the train when I, oh—” She placed imaginary tape right across her mouth.
“The train?” Fluttershy said as she briefly hovered and landed behind Rainbow. “What do you mean by that?”
One tail whip from Rainbow, nothing more. Rarity soon joined Fluttershy and prepared a line. However, Fluttershy shushed her with a headshake.
“We’re so glad you’ve opened up to us tonight,” reassured Fluttershy, successfully touching Rainbow’s shoulder. “There was nothing embarrassing about that. We’re your friends. You can trust us with anything.”
After dispensing such a large secret, she should. Yet Rainbow was in no hurry doing a one-eighty and presenting them with hot red truth. “If you really want to know… it was after the big race at Cloudsdale. I left in a hurry soon after Swift’s train left, remember?”
Rarity gasped. “Yes, of course! As I recall, you never told us what that was about either.”
“There’s a reason for that.” Her temperature climbed even higher. “I wanted to give him a few pictures we took while we were hanging out the night before the race. What we almost did above Sugarcube, um, we were this close to going through it, again, before somepony sounded the horn.”
Rarity stifled a gasp. “You almost… oh, sweet Celestia!” She rattled her friend, “Why didn’t you go through with it? Why let interruptions stop you? Why—”
“Because we’re friends,” she blurted out, freeing herself from Rarity before looking to the side. “Because we’re friends,” she repeated in a softer tone. “I even told him that right then and there. I’m just not into that stuff with anypony. That’s just who I am. What we almost did above Sugarcube and on the train, it was a mistake, a big terrible mistake!”
They all heard another thump, this time from the front door.
“Oh, for Celestia’s sake,” Rarity hissed as she marched to the exit. “I understand you may be trying to get some shut eye but we’re having an extremely important life-altering conversation here! Just put up with it for a few more minutes and we’ll let—”
Outside, a few ponies walked on the sidewalk a fair distance away.
“Must be some rabble-rouser,” Rarity complained, closing the door before returning to Rainbow’s side. “Do go on, dear.”
“Like I said, I made sure he knew we were nothing more than friends,” Rainbow continued, drawing circles on the bed sheets. “That should’ve been the end of it.”
A long pause later, Fluttershy inched closer to Rainbow. “Was it?”
“Well, I, it’s that… I told him—” She stomped the mattress. “I don’t know, okay? I don’t know! Happy?”
Rarity clasped her foreleg. “Darling. You’re just growing up and that means that you start developing some—”
“It’s not like that,” she snapped, leaning right up against Rarity’s nose. “How many times do I have to say that already? Swift is my friend! Do I have to spell it out for you? Friend!”
“Darling, in all fairness, how many times have you told yourself that?”
Rainbow scooted back to the edge of the bed. “I–I’ve never… well, maybe… look. Rarity, you’re the expert about this stuff. There has to be some other explanation for what I’m feeling! There just has to be! Give me something! Anything!”
Romance specialist she was but this was turning out to be a hard egg to crack. If Rainbow was this adamant about her position, then continuing down the current path was a dead end. She needed a detour, however slight it might be, to keep Rainbow talking. With plenty of raw information now at her disposal, she developed a theory. It tasted vile and she let Fluttershy peek at her pained expression, hoping that Fluttershy would understand and have something else to provide.
Fat chance. Fluttershy’s movements screamed she was happy to cede.
“Rainbow,” Rarity began with a crestfallen face, “I suppose there’s another possibility, but please, let me explain it all before you say anything.”
Once Rainbow audibly agreed, Rarity chewed on her lips for a few seconds.
“When you had that condition, Swift helped you through not just your physical but emotional problems as well. It would be, natural, that with your situation, you would end up having a great deal of admiration for whoever was taking care of you.” She withheld a forlorn sigh. “I suppose there’s a possibility you might be confusing that admiration with actual romantic feelings. In other words, you have a crush on him because of what he did, not because of who he is.”
Rainbow’s mind clicked in place. “So if it was another pony that helped me, then I would have the same weird feelings about them?”
“Well, yes. You could say that but—”
“Yes! That’s it! That’s what’s wrong with me!” She brought Rarity onto her embrace. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
“What? No. No! You misunderstand!”
“But I totally got this!” She stared right into Rarity’s eyes. “See, if it’s just some hero crush, then all I have to do is wait. I mean, even I know crushes don’t last forever.”
Fluttershy shoved her face beside Rarity’s, “But Rainbow? What if it isn’t a crush?” She gasped. “What if Swift tells you he really likes you?”
Finally, Rainbow had a reason to laugh. “Oh, Fluttershy. This is Swift Flying we’re talking about. He struggles just to say he likes his mom and dad. There’s just no way. Absolutely no way!”
Clouds of dismay hung over the pegasus/unicorn duo. They had just listened about a secret they’ve been dying to hear and yet, Rainbow found a way to crush their spirits. Her smile only added to the sting.
“Wooo! Glad that’s over with. If you girls don’t mind, I kinda want to tell the others about the whole Ponyville thing myself.
Together, they uttered a feeble, “Okay.”
“Ah, don’t worry about it. If I’m lucky, they’ll all be here before I catch some z’s.”
Crack! Pinkie flew in through the ceiling and landed on the other bed.
“Oopsie daisy,” Pinkie remarked as she removed a safety helmet. “Guess we were just a little off aiming the cannon. This isn’t my room!”
Rainbow facehoofed. Not the first pony I had in mind. Where’s everypony else?
Drool and books don’t mix.
By a tall glass window, Twilight’s sleepy head rested on an open tome. Black smears ran around the spots where her lips touched paper. Other books around created a literary mountain, shielding her from the sights of a passing security guard.
“The library will be closing in five minutes,” said a voice over the speaker system.
Twilight shifted slightly, not wanting to part with the whiff of crisp prose. Eventually, her lips moved to stutter some nonsense. As the overhead lights dimmed, she strung together a coherent thought.
“I can’t believe, Blossom. I’ll show you.”
“Sleep tight, you cutie.”
Blossom placed a blanket over Spike’s resting body. She then gave the hammock a slight rock before leaving her dark bedroom and made a turn into the kitchen. There, her smile flattened at two scuffed up farm ponies.
“Applejack? Blitz?” She tsked-tsked. “Making Spike handle most of the actual cooking. Honestly, is mixing apples and pineapple that hard?”
They unhinged their jaws.
“Don’t answer that.” She craned her head around them to examine their spread across the countertop, “At least you have something presentable. For your sake, it better taste good.”
“Can you at least try some,” Applejack asked.
Blossom gave a firm headshake. “I’ve bent the rules far enough by lending you my kitchen. That food touches my lips before tomorrow, I’ll disqualify both of you.”
“But Blossi,” Blitz blubbered with a pouty face.
“Don’t you Blossi me,” she answered, gently yanking on his goatee. “Now you better keep that food cool at your place. Applejack? Make sure he sets the thermostat for the freezer right so we don’t end up with an igloo farm in the morning.”
The cowpony sniggered.
“But promise me one more thing. Be a little nicer to Blitz.”
“Come again?”
Suddenly, Blossom gently stroked of his chin, making him woozy, “I know he might be a big dummy but his heart’s in the right place. Give him a chance and he’ll pull through for you.”
“You’re so gnarly,” Blitz said with a goofy smile. “Ow!”
Blossom delivered a parting tug. “You just need to keep him in line.”
Eventually, Blossom aided in placing the foodstuffs onto Blitz’s wagon parked outside her front door. Then she waved goodbye until the fruit duo disappeared over the top of the nearest hill.
“They’ll pull it together,” Blossom mused. “I know they will.”
She went back indoors and checked the time – thirty minutes to midnight. Nopony would be on the festival site by now and her veining eyes were not up to reviewing a few sheets on her desk. Therefore, she flicked off the lights and took off her hair bands, allowing her hair to flow free. As she stretched, she heard the faintest of squeaks coming from beyond the patio doors. With dainty steps, she peeked through the glass and noticed Swift sitting on the bench staring off into the horizon.
Blossom carefully made her way outside and took a seat next to him. “I didn’t hear you come in,” she said in a hushed but upbeat voice. “How long have you’ve been out here?”
“A few minutes,” he replied, maintaining his stoic vigil.
“I see. Did you get to talk to Rainbow?”
He flinched, but just barely. “No. No, I didn’t.”
“You don’t sound okay.” She moved in and noticed the usual luster in his eyes was gone. “Swift? Tell me what happened.” When he didn’t answer, he grabbed his hoof. “Please?”
Swift chomped his lip. “After looking around a bit, I eventually landed outside her motel room. Rainbow was there but, um, Fluttershy and Rarity were in there too. They were screaming ‘What?’ about, I’m not sure what. I was going to knock but I didn’t want to interrupt. She was talking about, about—”
“Well, what?”
“Rainbow was talking about, m–me. Being friends. The train, what happened in the train, she brought it up and—” He shook his head.
“What did she say?”
“A, a, she said it was a mistake.”
Blossom’s wings came open, rocking the bench.
“A big mistake. She really meant what she… but it should be okay, right? I mean, we’re definitely friends. I should be happy about that. There’s no doubt about it anymore.”
To Blossom, he was a wounded pony mourning a loss of his nascent hopes and dreams. She had no words to soothe him but in reality, the best advice in the world right now would be nothing more than a temporary Band-Aid. Therefore, she rested her head on his shoulder and listen to the waves with him.
It was all she could do.