//------------------------------// // Mutual // Story: Rainbooms and Romance // by Kodeake //------------------------------// Mutual Rainbow Dash sat in a black void of near-perfect silence. The only sounds she heard was the slow, methodical beat of her heart and the melodic breaths passing through her muzzle. In a moment of serenity she sat for ages, clearing her mind. Her ears twitched like her wings, searching for the sound she refused to let them hear. Within that moment, that eternity, she was alone. She opened her eyes. “Mares and Gentlecolts!” A deep-voiced announcer boomed, muffled through marble walls. “What a turnout it is! We here at the Canterlot Coliseum are pleased to-” She drowned him out with her own breathing, focusing on the gentle flexing of her muscles, visible through her skin-tight flight suit. Rainbow Dash smiled and stood up, marching out of the locker room. “There she is!” Soarin cried, waving her over to where he and the two other members of the team stood. “I told you she'd be here.” Spitfire rolled her eyes. “Nopony was doubting that,” she bit back, “I was just saying she has a tendency to show up right before we need to go out. We have twenty seconds tops.” “Relax, Spitz,” Rainbow chuckled. “You'd fly a lot better if you weren't so tense every show.” “You try relaxing when you have my job. Somepony's gotta keep you rookies in line.” Rainbow grinned. “Remind me to show you how to relax like my mar-... ex-marefriend did.” She frowned slightly, though it lasted only a fraction of a second. “It works every time.” “Keep focused,” Fleetfoot said, eyes forward on the giant doors in front of them. “We're going on soon.” “I thank you all for your patience!” the announcer cried. “Now, just one last thing before we begin; we have a very special guest in the crowd today!” Rainbow's eyebrows lifted in surprise as she turned to Spitfire who merely shrugged her shoulders, equally confused. “Sitting in the royal box we are joined by Princess Twilight Sparkle herself in a surprise appearance!” “What!?” Rainbow shouted, her heart suddenly pounding in her chest. Twilight's here!? Why?. “What were you saying a second ago? Something about relaxing?” Spitfire asked smugly. “It's not like we've never performed for a princess before.” Rainbow shook her head. “This... this is different. Twilight's never been to our shows after...” she trailed off and gulped audible as the massive slab of marble before her gave a groan and started lifting away. “And now, without further adieu, The Wonderbolts!” With practised ease the four pegasi flicked their goggles down over their eyes and took to the air, flying out beneath the door before it was even half open. Rainbow's heart thundered in her ears in time with the beating of her wings as she moved fluidly through the sky with practiced ease. One eye remaining on her teammates, the other wandered the stands. It wasn't hard to spot the V.I.P. Box; it was a grand box with gold trimmings and chairs more akin to thrones with ample space between them. Sat in the centre most chair, wearing her full regalia, sat Princess Twilight Sparkle. Element of Magic. Princess of Friendship. Rainbow Dash's ex-marefriend. She swallowed nervously. ”Focus rookie!” Spitfire's voice yelled in her head. With a quick flare of her wings she kept pace with the routine, but from the look Spitfire kept giving her it was obvious she knew her head wasn't in it. ”I think this is best for both of us,” Twilight had said, with the kind of smile that betrayed no joy in what she was saying, ”I think this is what we both want, too.” It was what she wanted. They'd needed to break up. It wasn't working. At least, that's what she told herself. Every day for a month, every night when her bed felt too big, too empty. It was what she wanted. Rainbow Dash jolted and banked, nearly crashing into the side of the coliseum. However, her over-correction sent her careening back towards her wing-pony, their wingtips brushing before she managed to correct herself. The crowd seemed to have missed it. “Watch it!” Fleetfoot yelled over the howling winds. “It's like you've never flown before!” “S-sorry,” Rainbow muttered, shaking her head and properly aligning herself for the next stunt in their routine. Her wandering eye caught Twilight's concerned look, aimed directly at her. The crowd hadn't seen her blunder, but Twilight had. The alicorn had seen her fly enough to notice even the slightest mistake. A sweat formed beneath her flight suit that was completely unrelated to her beating wings. Honing her concentration she forced herself to focus on her routine and, for the most part, managed to keep it there. Though one eye still refused to leave the V.I.P. Box. Something deep in her gut told her to be ready for the conversation after the show. It was alright though; it had been mutual. Rainbow stared through the back wall of the shower, her flight suit long abandoned and the water running in rivers over her shoulders and dripping down her legs. Her after-show showers were usually a quick, relaxing experience; a confirmation of a job well done before the celebration. Today, she was hesitant to towel off, and at the same time she knew she needed to act fast. The announcer's voice had long since gone quiet in the coliseum, and the roaring of the crowd had all but vanished. If she took much longer, Twilight would be gone. Heck, for all she knew Twilight could have simply teleported back to her castle as soon as the show was over. But somehow, she knew that wasn't true. Maybe it was just a feeling, or maybe there had been something in the look Twilight had given her, but she knew somehow, someway, there was going to be a conversation. “Dash?” The pegasus nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice cutting over the water. She turned with a half-smirk towards her visitor. “Hey Spitfire. What's up?” The mare, free from her flight suit and with a dripping mane, gave her a flat look. “I think you know exactly 'what's up'. What was with you out there?” Rainbow sighed, hanging her head as she reached up and shut off the shower. “It's... it's nothing. Go ahead to the after party or whatever; I'll catch up. I... I gotta take care of somethin' first.” “It's about Princess Twilight, right? I know you two had a thing for a while. Her showing up really messed with you, huh?” Spitfire asked, leaning up against the shower stall wall as Rainbow grabbed her towel and dried herself. She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. I was gonna go talk to her. It's been a while.” Spitfire's eyes narrowed. “You realizes she's probably gone, right? The show's been over for almost twenty minutes.” “Twenty!?” Rainbow shouted, flinging her towel to the side. “You're kidding!” Rolling her eyes, the orange mare simply picked up Rainbow's towel and tossed it back at her before turning away. “I'd say you've missed your chance. But we are in Canterlot; I'm sure if you really wanna talk to her you have plenty of time,” she said over her shoulder as she walked away. Rainbow groaned, drying her mane as she listened for the squeaking door signalling her captain's departure. When it clicked shut and she was once again left along with the silence of her own thoughts, she sighed, leaning her head back against the tiled wall. She'd really wanted to talk to Twilight – it'd been just over a year since they broke up, and almost as long since they'd last spoken. From the looks of things, that streak wasn't going to end tonight. She cursed herself under her breath; she should have moved faster. Should have acted quicker. Instead she froze, her nerves getting the better of her for the second time in their relationship. ”H-hey, Twi,” Rainbow Dash muttered, a bouquet of roses clutched tightly under her wing. “I, uh... I was wondering if you'd... uh... Like to- horseapples!” She groaned, letting her head fall forward and thump against the crystalline door in front of her. She couldn't even knock! How was she actually supposed ask her out? At this point she'd have a better chance if she just imitated Fluttershy; the adorable squeaking might just earn her a few points. The door opened and Rainbow fell forward, her vision filling with purple. “Rainbow?” Twilight gasped in surprise, taking a reflexive step back. “Eeep!” Rainbow took to the air and was gone faster than she fully realized what she was doing. When her actions caught up with her, however, she just flew away faster; she'd just made a foal of herself in front of Twilight. She'd just have to try again another day. A bouquet of roses lay forgotten on Twilight's doorstep. Until they were picked up in a magenta glow. Rainbow didn't even open her eyes as she heard the door to the locker room open. “I'm fine, Spitfire,” she called, returning to drying her mane. When no answer game, she growled. “I missed my chance, that's the end of it.” “Missed your chance for what?” Rainbow's blood turned to ice in her veins, her hooves halting their motions as the familiar voice reached her ears. Slowly, as though any sudden movements would scare her off, Rainbow lowered her towel. “T-twilight...?” The alicorn smiled gently, nodding her head. “I was waiting for you, but you took so long I thought I'd missed you already.” Swallowing nervously, Rainbow chuckled, tossing her towel away. “I... uh... yeah.” “It's... been a while, Rainbow.” “Yeah...” Her mouth was dry. “Almost a year, I think.” Twilight let the statement simmer in silence, reflecting on the time they'd spent apart. She shuffled awkwardly on her hooves, looking anywhere but at the pegasus in front of her. Eventually, she sighed. “Are we still friends?” Rainbow's head whipped up, her eyes meeting Twilight's as her mouth hung open, ready to assure her that they were friends. That they always would be, and it was a silly question. Instead, she stared in silence. She knew it was a ridiculous notion; after all they'd been through, how could they ever not be friends? But something stopped her, something in her heart told her that it wasn't quite true. And she still couldn't lie to Twilight. “I... I don't know.” Again she struggled to swallow the dry lump in her throat. Twilight seemed to debate with herself a moment, chewing her lip in either thought or nervousness; Rainbow couldn't tell. Eventually she stomped her hoof angrily. “Aug! Why does this have to be so hard!?” “I don't know,” Rainbow said, hanging her head and scraping her hoof along the tiled floor. “You don't know?” Twilight repeated, her voice rough and frustrated. Rainbow winced at the alicorn's tone. “No... I don't.” “Well that's just great!” Twilight snorted. “I came here today to see you, to talk to you for the first time in a year and you don't know? Don't yo have anything to say? We were best friends, dating for a while, and now you can barely look me in the eye!” Hesitantly, Rainbow looked up and again their eyes met. It was Twilight who looked away first. “I'm sorry,” she whispered. “I... I'm sorry. I should just go.” Something in her mind clicked at the words, like gears hitting a snag, and Rainbow reacted before she thought. “Please don't,” she said, reaching out and grabbing Twilight's shoulder. “I...” Twilight looked at her, head tilted, as she struggled to decide. Moments passed, and Twilight opened her mouth to speak. Before she could, though, Rainbow took a step back and ran a hoof through her mane bashfully. “How about we go grab some dinner and... reconnect?” When she spotted the look Twilight was giving her she quickly added; “as friends.” A second of consideration brought a small smile to Twilight's lips. “I think I'd like that.”