The reading time flew by, as the afternoon went on. The two mares were so focused on the story that they didn’t notice it was almost 3PM.
As Rainbow closed the book, she let out a yawn.
“This was really cool, huh Twi?” she asked.
“Sure it was…” Twilight said in a daydreaming tone.
“We really need to do more of that!” Rainbow said. “But not all the time, though. My wings need to work out more.”
With that comment, she realized how to attract the attention of her friend. She loves books too, sure, but there was another activity in which she had helped Twilight with a lot. Flying.
“Then why don’t we go for a fly together?” Twilight suggested, trying to not sound nervous. “You could even teach me another thing or two. I’m not really good at it yet.”
“You sure you wanna practice more?” Rainbow asked, raising a eyebrow. “You pretty much denied most of the times that I tried to teach you.”
“It’s just that I’ve never thought that it would be important for me to know how to fly around like you do.” Twilight explained. “But what if some sort of emergency where it’s necessary for me to fly happens, like, falling from the sky? Nopony knows!”
Rainbow raised her other eyebrow and gave Twilight a smug grin.
“Yeah, right,” she said. “C’mon Twilight, spit it out! I know that you don’t really care about flying at all. You can’t fool me.”
Twilight ears flopped. She wasn’t ready to tell Rainbow,even though she wanted to. She didn’t know how.
Then a tiny, little idea surged on her mind. She didn’t have to tell the real reason, but she didn’t have to lie.
"Well, it’s just that once Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie started dating, seeing them so happy together made me realize that maybe I wish I could date, uhm, somepony... ” Twilight looked away and quickly changed the subject. “And now Rarity and Applejack also started to date each other, and… Now they’re far away, enjoying each other’s companies as much as they can…”
When she looked back, she saw Rainbow was also not meeting her eyes. She sat with her ears folded down and her shoulders slouched.
Twilight pushed herself to continue. “I’ve started feeling lonely…Pinkie and Fluttershy are spending more and more time with themselves, and Applejack and Rarity aren’t even here… You’re the only one left, Rainbow. You’re the only one I can come to for some company. Heck, you’ve came all the way down here just to make me feel better!”
“No wonder why I’m the bearer of Loyalty,” Rainbow said, self-confident.
“But honestly, I’m really thankful that you came here,” Twilight said in a serious tone. “None of the other girls would come here and read a book with me, being single or not.”
“And none of the girls would come flying with me,” Rainbow added. “Fluttershy doesn’t really like flying too high, and Applejack probably would if she could, but her and the other girls don’t have wings. There’s a reason why I was so happy to know that you had grown wings. Somepony to keep me company. I really don’t like being alone, you know?”
“Who does?” Twilight asked playfully.
Rainbow laughed. “C’mon Twi, follow me!” she said as she flew off the open window.
“Wait!” Twilight yelled as she followed the rainbow trail off the window.
Rainbow Dash was far ahead of Twilight, but she was still following her. She was pretty visible, even with the forest of clouds that they were going through. It was almost like Rainbow wanted Twilight to follow her, but since Twilight had just achieved the status of ‘average flier,’ she had to slow a bit down. As Rainbow stopped her craziness and lay down in a near cloud, Twilight went panting.
“What –” she inhaled heavily, trying to get some air to breathe “– what was that for?”
“Wow, Twilight, you look terrible!” Rainbow said in a sarcastic tone. “Why don’t you lay down here with me and relax? I’ve got something to tell ya.”
Twilight didn’t thought twice and lay down next to Dash.
“I know what you’re feeling,” she said in a more serious tone. That caught Twilight’s attention.
“Being alone sometimes isn’t bad,” Rainbow continued. “It’s perfectly normal if somepony just want some time for themselves. But when you start feeling too lonely, that’s bad. I hate being alone as much as losing a competition. And seeing all of our friends getting together like that hit me hard. Not that I’m jealous, I’m really happy for them, honest...” Rainbow's ears dropped for a moment, before returning to normal. “It’s just that we’ve seeing each other less and less after all of that.”
“I hope the surprise party we’ve planned for Applejack and Rarity will change things a bit…” Twilight finally spoke up.
“You’re right…” Rainbow said. “Hey, you know what? Let’s forget all this sad talk and go flying a bit. I’ll slow down for ya.”
Twilight just gave a warm smile and nodded. She really wanted to fly.
“Rainbow?” she asked quietly.
“Yes?” Rainbow tilted her head.
“Can we fly together all day?” Twilight asked. “I’ve got nothing better to do.”
Rainbow smiled at her and shrugged. “Me neither.”
And then, they went off flying through the skies, with no destination, until Luna’s moon lit the sudden dark blue sky.