It, it can’t be this. Can it?
It is. It’s, a feather. Her Filly’s Feather. The centuries old Pegasus tradition. It started long ago when Commander Hurricane, co-founder of Equestria, was rumored to have presented a feather to the one she loved. The rumor was confirmed, and she explained it to the Pegasus. From then on, every mare saved the final feather she molted as a filly to present to the one she loved.
Everything that’s happened over the past few weeks, all makes sense now. Her odd behavior. Her offer to reward you out of the blue. The fact that she blushed at a simple noogie. Heck, maybe even what she drunkenly mumbled to you.
She looks at you, a hopeful smile on her face. You can’t believe it. You’re speechless. Your shocked expression is glued to your face.
“Speedy, I’m just gonna come out and say it. I love you. I have for a really long time. Will you please accept my feather? Will you be mine?” She asks.
You can’t even form a single word. This was the one thing you never expected. She doesn’t know what to make of your silence. Her smile begins to fade. She looks at you now with a look of confusion.
“Speedy? C’mon. Say something.” She says.
You still can’t. You’ve gone into a processing mode as you try to sort this whole thing out. This can’t be a joke, a Pegasus would never joke about this. Is it a dream? It could be. This wouldn’t be the first time you’d had a dream similar to this.
As much as you convince yourself it is, you’re wrong. It’s real and you know it. You remain silent. You really can’t say anything. As you search for the words to express how you feel, you just can’t. It’s not too rare for a Pegasus to present her feather to a friend. It’s how you’re grandparents found each other. But, your grandfather knew what to say. He was prepared for that situation. His service in the Great War of the Griffons prepared him for anything.
“Please. Say something.” She says, sounding a bit choked up.
Her eyes are starting to water. At least you can say something now.
“D-dash. I think you’ve got something in your eye.” You say.
“No. I don’t.” She confesses, holding back an obvious sob.
Did Rainbow just confess to crying? You try to think of something, anything, to say. But you can’t. Your mind has gone blank. You look up, and see Fluttershy, Applejack, and Twilight standing in the door. You’re stomach jumps into your throat.
“I’ll see ya around. I need some time alone.” She says, backing away.
“ Dash. I. Rainbow.” You try to say.
You open your mouth to say something else, but Rainbow turns around and leaves. She has her head lowered, and she’s really trying not to cry. She’d taken her feather with her. She goes out into the rain, and flies home.
You slowly walk forward, staying clear of Applejack. You fear what she may do to you for hurting her friend.
“Wait.” You whisper to yourself.
The three look to you. They all have a puzzled look. Twilight has a sudden moment of realization. Applejack and Fluttershy are still clueless.
“What happened?” Fluttershy asks.
“She, she presented her feather.”” You tell her.
“She what?” Asks Applejack.
“It’s a Pegasus tradition Applejack. You see, as a filly a Pegasus will save the last feather she molts to present to the one she loves.” Fluttershy explains.
“And, and I didn’t take it.” You confess.
“You what?!” Fluttershy says, looking incredibly shocked.
“She caught me off guard! I didn’t know what to say!” You explain.
“So you didn’t say anything? That’s just cold.” Says Applejack.
“So, she was serious?” Twilight says aloud.
You all face her.
“What do you mean?” You ask.
“She came to me for help with this very situation, but said it was hypothetical. I told her to go for it. Oh no, it’s all my fault.” She expresses.
“It’s not your fault Twi. If it’s anyone’s, it’s mine. I need some time to myself.” You say.
You leave. On the way out, you walk by Scootaloo. She takes one look at you, and scowls. She runs up to you.
“What’d you do!?” She yells, punching at your leg.
“You’ll understand when you’re older Scootaloo. Just leave me alone.” You say, pushing her away and walking on.
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You walk into a bar, and order a drink. You sit there, beating yourself up over this whole thing. It takes you a minute, but you realize that there is someone next to you. Her own sad sigh clues you to her presence. It’s Vinyl Scratch, the town’s best DJ. You start talking.
“So what’re you here about?” She asks.
“I really screwed up things with somepony special.” You admit.
“Here here.” She says, raising her mug.
“So, who was it?” She asks.
“Rainbow Dash. She just admitted to me that she loved me, and I was too dumb to say anything. I probably botched my chances, and our friendship.” You explain.
“Don’t I know that feeling. ‘Tavi and I had a big fight.” She tells you.
“Who?” You ask.
“Octavia. We had yet another fight about who the better musician is. This one was really serious, though.” She says with a heavy sigh.
There’s a small silence as you let her get her bearings.
“You know what, you shouldn’t give up so easily. You go after Rainbow Dash and fix it. It’s probably too late for me, but I won’t stand by and let someone else’s love die.” She says.
“You know what, you’re right. I should go talk to her. Thanks Vinyl.” You say.
“Go on. I need to think of a way to sort things out with ‘Tavi.” She says, practically pushing you out the door.
You toss some money on the counter, and leave. At least you’re not the only one having a terrible day. And the other one encouraged you to fix yours. The rain is still coming down, and it’s a bit cold. You spread your wings, and take off. You head towards Rainbow’s home.
When you finally land, you go to knock on the cloud door. There’s no answer. You try again. Still nothing. Then, you look down, and notice a note that seems to have fallen. You pick it up, and read it.
“Dear Speedy. I knew you’d try to come after me sooner or later tonight. Please don’t. Just leave me alone. I’ve gone into the forest somewhere to be alone. I meant what I said, and you really hurt me and made me look like a fool. I’ll see you around.” It reads.
You don’t want to obey the note. You know that she’s too headstrong to stay out there alone. But, at the same time you think you should listen to her. After all, it’s probably not wise to cross her.
“Go.” You jump at Fluttershy’s voice.
“You feel the same, I can tell. Go get her.” She encourages.
You nod, and take off. You fly out towards the Everfree as fast as you can. The rain stings your face at the speed your travelling at, but you don’t care. You’re going to find her, no matter what. It’s dark now, and you can see that there’s a storm system over the forest.
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You search from the air, but it yields nothing. The treetops are too thick. The only way will be to go into the forest. Nopony goes in there for a reason. It’s full of horrific creatures that could kill in a handful of seconds. You swallow hard, and dive below the canopy. You land in the darkness below. You can feel the eyes of hundreds of things watching you, but you’re determined to complete your goal.
You trot along, your guard raised. It’s times like these you wished you’d learned how to use a sword. It’s still raining, but the treetops provide a slight layer of protection. You search high and low, even caves. The second you discover a massive pile of gemstones in one, you bolt. That is the one sign of a dragon that you can remember.
You search for an hour, and find nothing. Not a single sign of her. You continue, determined to bring her home. After another two hours pass, you start to give up. You need to rest, and think this whole thing over. You find your way into a small clearing. You sit under a tree in an effort to stay dry. You’re soaked, and it’s cold. You think you hear something, and jump up.
Walking over in the sound’s direction, you can’t help but feel terrified. It doesn’t become clear until you get closer that it’s something crying. You part the bushes, and discover a cyan Pegasus with a rainbow mane sitting under a tree. She’s crying to herself. Relief washes over you like a wave. You’re then over taken by an extreme sense of remorse. You hurt her enough to make her cry, and that’s not easy to do.
“Rainbow Dash?” You say.
She jumps a bit, and turns around. She stands up, her sadness now replaced with anger.
“I told you not to follow me!” She hisses.
“But, Rainbow. I-” You get cut off.
“Don’t you talk. Do you know how you made me look? Do you know how bad that hurt?! I told you how I felt, and you just stood there like a bucking idiot! You know, I thought you’d be better than that. I thought that you’d at least have the courtesy to tell me if you didn’t feel the same. But no, I was bucking wrong.” She flares her wings in anger (For some reason). The little box falls out.
“You could’ve just said ‘I don’t like you that way’, but no. No, you’re too good to tell others that. Or are you just too stupid? Get out of here now, before I kick your dang head in!!” She rants.
She’s seething with anger now. You can even hear slight growls as she breathes.
“Can I talk now?” You ask.
She doesn’t answer, and instead backs away from you. Doesn’t seem keen on listening to you, but she nods her head. Her expression is still a furious one. You take a step forward, and she takes one more back. You approach the box, and pick it up. Her expression changes from one of fierce anger, to one of puzzlement.
“I just have one thing to tell you Dash.” You say.
You open the box, and take her feather. She looks ready to take it back, but that’s not your plan. You instead tuck it inside of your own wing, the sign that you do accept her feelings.
“I feel the same way.” You say, a small smile on your face.
Her expression changes once more, this time to a questioning one. You can see her holding back joy.
“Then why didn’t you say anything?” She asks.
“I, I just couldn’t. You took me by surprise. The truth, is that I’ve felt the same way for a very long time.” You explain.
She smiles, and wipes away a new set of tears forming in her eyes. She walks forward, and stops in front of you. She's soaked, and shivering. Right then, the rain lets up. The sheer coincidence is astounding, it was as though Celestia knew your situation and was smiling upon you.
You just stare at each other for a minute. The quiet is nice. Rainbow steps just another step closer. She’s expecting something, but you don’t know whether to hug her or kiss her. She answers that for you. She wraps a forehoof around the back of your head, and tugs it down to her level. The both of you connect in a kiss that not only warms the heart, but mends it as well. You notice that there is a faint taste of multiple wild berries on her lips.
“Because you took too long to do it yourself.” She says when she breaks it.
You smile, and resist your urge to leap up into the air and cheer. She’s still shivering, and you’re just starting to yourself.
“C’mon Dash. Let’s go home. It’s freezing, and we could do without getting sick.” You tell her.
She nods, and you begin to leave. You could fly out, but a walk would do you both some good. Well, only after you get the patented “Rain-Blow Dry”. Wouldn’t do much good to walk around in the cold while soaking wet, now, would it?
As you walk together, you hear something. It’s a loud roar that could only belong to one thing. A Manticore. You and Rainbow look at one another, and steel your nerves. If you’re going down, then you’re going down fighting. You both prepare to charge at it.
Right as you’re ready to move, an object comes flying down from above. It strikes the Manticore in the neck. The beast falls, bleeding profusely and unable to move.
“What the?” You and Rainbow say in unison.
As you look up, you notice the human wave down to you. He slides down the ridge, and retrieves the object he called a spear. He leaves without saying a word.
“Fly?” You query.
“Fly.” She responds.
You both take off, and fly among the tree tops.
“Hey Speedy. Race to the edge of the forest?” She challenges.
“You’re on. Winner gets what?” You ask.
“That’s their pick.” She says.
“On the count of three.” You say.
“One, T-” She begins.
“THREE!” You call out, chuckling as you take off.
Rainbow catches up in no time. She’s smiling broadly.
“You’ve picked up a few tricks of mine.” She says.
“Yep.” Is all you say.
This time, you win. You know she let you. Any other time you would have asked for a rematch, but not this time. You don’t care about that. She lands next to you.
“So, what do you want?” She asks.
You trot up to her, and lower your head to hers.
“Already? I must be a good kisser.” She says, bragging a bit.
“See, Ah told y’all they were fine.” You hear Applejack proclaim.
You both look towards the road that heads into town. Applejack, Rarity, Twilight, Pinkie, and Fluttershy are all standing there. They’re looking back at you. It’s unlikely they heard what Rainbow said.
You fly over to them, Rainbow landing next to you. They all have a look that says “Well, what happened?”. Fluttershy looks at you expressly. You take the feather from your wing and show her. She smiles and trots over to you.
“I knew you’d make the right choice.” She says.
Now you’re confused. Had she been in on it the whole time? If so, she is one fantastic actress. You look to Rainbow for confirmation. She’s got a sheepish look on her face.
“Yeah, I kinda told her everything.” She explains.
Yep, Fluttershy is just a very good actress. You pull Rainbow close to you, and she leans her head against you. That’s more than enough for the others to get the idea. They all smile.
“So, what now?” You ask.
“Ah’ve got a lot of work tomorruh. Ah should probably turn in.” Says Applejack.
“I have a meeting with an important client myself. I should probably get some sleep.” Rarity explains.
“We’ll let you two have some time alone.” Twilight says for the remaining three.
They all disperse, and head their own ways. You look at Rainbow, and she looks at you. You’re sharing the same thought.
“Race ya home?” You offer.
“You know it.” She answers.