Confessions
Chapter 11
Confessions
As she continued down the path toward Mt. Aerie, her injured wing fully extended and bouncing awkwardly as she walked, Twilight fumed over the things Rainbow had said.
She had been shocked by Rainbow's rage; never before had she seen her friend lose herself like that. Her desire to beat Lightning Dust had transformed her into a near identical clone of her rival, and as long as Rainbow remained that pony, Twilight wanted nothing to do with her.
But worse still had been Rainbow's complete disregard for her injury. Twilight glanced back at her wing as she felt another twinge. She had no idea how badly she had hurt it, and a new surge of anger rose within her as she remembered Rainbow's reaction. How could she have acted so indifferently?
She sighed. The train should arrive in Ponyville early in the morning, and if her wing was still hurting then, she would visit the spa. Fluttershy had once told her that there was an excellent masseuse there that specialized in wing therapy.
"Twilight!"
Upon hearing her name called from a distance, Twilight turned around, careful not to move too quickly lest she cause further injury to her wing. Finding nopony behind her, she frowned, but then raised her gaze to the sky.
Far above, she spotted Gilda gliding toward her, waving a talon to get her attention. Twilight returned the wave and sat, wondering what more damage the Griffon could possibly cause. It wasn't that she was angry with Gilda, although she did wish the Griffon would have kept Rainbow's secret from Lightning, but the entire situation the three of them had found themselves in was infinitely frustrating to her.
As Gilda reached Twilight, she began to fly slow circles overhead. "Do you know where Dash is?"
Twilight rolled her eyes. "I don't know, and I don't care."
"What?" Gilda landed directly in front of her. "What do you mean 'I don't care'? How could you not care? Didn't you see how upset she was?"
"Maybe because she's a huge jerk?" Twilight sidestepped Gilda and continued down the path.
Quickly taking to the air and landing in front of her again, Gilda said, "I was a huge jerk too, but you gave me another chance."
This brought Twilight pause. Gilda made a good point; if she had deserved a second chance, then didn't Rainbow? After everything they had done together, all the great things they had accomplished, was she really willing to just throw it all away?
But then she remembered Rainbow trying to coax her back into the air, and her blatant disregard for her injury, and the anger coiled inside her chest reawoke.
"This is different," she muttered as she tried to push past Gilda.
"Is it?" Gilda asked as she blocked Twilight's escape. "You're angry right now, Twilight, and trust me, I know what that can do to your judgment." Seeing that Twilight was about to retort, she quickly added, "I just don't want you to make the same mistake I did."
Twilight blinked. "The same...mistake?"
"I spent the last couple of years regretting what I did in Ponyville," Gilda admitted, turning her gaze to the dirt path. "In just one afternoon, I lost my best friend. But she was more than even that, she had become a part of me. I hadn't even realized it until she was gone, but suddenly, I felt so empty. I thought about going back to Ponyville and talking to her, a lot, but I always talked myself out of it. I believed that she wouldn't want to see me again. I know now that I was just letting my fears get the best of me.
"And then I met Lightning Dust. She was so much like Dash, I just had to be her friend." Gilda chuckled humorlessly. "That's when my hatred for Dash began. Hanging out with Light, it became really easy to place all the blame on Dash, and it wasn't long before I believed that she had been the one who betrayed me. From then on, my anger toward her grew and grew, and when I finally met her again, I was convinced that I had something to settle."
Without warning, Gilda reared up and gripped Twilight's shoulders, and she was surprised to find that the feathers around the Griffon's eyes were wet. "If you don't make up with her now, you'll regret it later. And by then, it could be too late."
Twilight swallowed hard as thousands of memories began flashing through her mind. Was her relationship with Rainbow really going to end over a stupid tree branch? She knew she owed her friend more than that.
With a heavy sigh, Twilight nodded. "You're right, Gilda. I suppose I should try to find Rainbow, and at least try for some measure of damage control."
"Now that's the reaction I was hoping to get from you." Gilda smiled and then leaped into the air. "Let's go find Dash!"
Twilight sat back on her haunches. "I can't..."
Gilda skidded to a halt and looked back at her incredulously. "What do you mean? You just agreed to go look for her."
"No, I mean I can't fly." Twilight indicated her wing. "I hurt my wing."
"Oh no." Gilda quickly landed. "How'd you do it? Is it okay?"
Twilight shook her head. "I don't know. I clipped it on a branch. It hurts when I try to fold it, or when I flap."
"Ouch." Gilda grimaced. Then, after a brief hesitation, she said, "I could take a look at it, if...uh, you don't mind."
"That would be great," Twilight said with a self-conscious smile. "I'm really worried about it, I have no idea how much damage I've done." As she watched Gilda move closer and inspect her wing, Twilight couldn't help but say in a resentful tone, "Rainbow didn't even care. All she cared about was getting me back into the sky again."
"Yeah," Gilda nodded. "That's what I think you should do too."
With a start, Twilight backpedaled away from Gilda. "Wait, what?"
"You bruised it pretty good," Gilda said, "but there isn't any real damage."
"No damage?" Twilight repeated. "Then why does it hurt so badly when I move it?"
"Our wings are very sensitive," Gilda explained. "Even the smallest bumps and scraps can be really painful. Haven't you ever banged them on something before, or even rolled over on one?"
"Oh yes," Twilight affirmed, "I've laid on them awkwardly many times. And I banged one on a doorframe once."
"And what did you do after?" Gilda asked. "Did you walk around with it fully extended like you are now?"
"No, I flex them," Twilight answered. "A few flaps usually help ease the pain."
"Right, and this is the same sort of thing," Gilda said. "It hurts way more than you're used to, but if you get up there and start flying, the pain should get easier to bear pretty quick. But if you keep babying it like you are now, it's gonna keep hurting longer."
"Really? I thought I'd hurt it worse than that. So...then maybe Rainbow wasn't being insensitive..." Twilight's eyes went wide as she covered her mouth with her hoof. "Oh my gosh, she knew! She was giving me the best advice she could, and I didn't trust her. I'm such an idiot!" She turned an imploring gaze toward Gilda. "I've got to find her! I've got to tell her I'm sorry!"
"Then, let's go!" Gilda cried as she lifted off once more.
Resolutely, Twilight extended her other wing, and with several hard flaps, lifted into the sky. Immediately, the pain in her wing intensified, but with a newfound determination, she kept flapping.
As Twilight bit her lip against the pain and struggled to gain altitude, Gilda swooped down and took her hooves. "It hurts a lot, I know, but it's cool. Flap it off, just flap it off."
The pain slowly began to ease off as Twilight continued to ascend until it was nothing more than a dull ache. This confirmation of what Gilda had said upset her greatly, and further fueled her desire to find Rainbow.
"You cool?" Gilda asked.
"Yeah." As soon as Gilda released her hooves, Twilight threw her forelegs around the Griffon's neck. "Thank you for coming after me. You saved me from making the worst mistake of my life."
She felt her friend stiffen against her embrace, but slowly relax until finally, she returned the hug. "Thank you for the second chance, Princess."
For some reason, Gilda's choice to use the word 'Princess' just seemed to fit, and for the first time, Twilight felt a stirring of pride from the title.
Once Gilda pulled away, Twilight stated, "Let's head back toward the competition grounds. If we don't find her by then, we can split up and search."
"Right."
Ignoring the ache in her wing, Twilight followed Gilda back toward the competition grounds. As they flew, she scanned the forest below, as well as the numerous clouds in the sky above, watching closely for a glimpse of the telltale rainbow hued mane.
Gilda nudged her. "Look, it's Krystle's dad."
Twilight turned her gaze straight ahead, and spotted Nasir racing toward them. He slowed as he neared. "Are you looking for Rainbow?"
"Yes," Twilight responded eagerly. "Do you know where she is?"
Nasir turned and pointed to a clearing in the trees off in the distance. "She's at the lake with Krystle." He patted her shoulder. "Go get your friend back, Princess."
"Thank you, Nasir," Twilight said as she started off.
Her injured wing all but forgotten, Twilight outpaced Gilda as her desire to reach Rainbow enveloped all other thoughts. She had no idea what she was going to say, or what she could do to make up for her past actions, but she didn't care. All that mattered was that she be there for her friend.
As they drew closer to the lake, Twilight caught sight of Rainbow sitting on the bank, facing away from them. Directly beside her sat Krystle, and as she watched, the little Griffon skipped a stone across the surface of the lake.
Suddenly, Gilda surprised Twilight by going into an early dive, but she quickly followed suit. They landed in a clearing several yards away, and without a word, Gilda began to lead the way through the brush.
"Why did we land back here?" Twilight asked.
"I don't think it's a good idea for Dash to see me right now. She's pretty angry with me." She offered a small smile as she tentatively raised a talon to her face. "And my beak still hurts."
Twilight cocked an eyebrow. "Then why were you even out looking for her in the first place?"
Gilda shrugged. "I guess I hadn't thought that far ahead yet."
A small smile crept onto her face at the Griffon's words, but quickly died as she reached the tree line. Standing motionless, she watched Rainbow's slump form lift a rock and skip it across the water as a subdued Krystle readied her next one.
"That was a good one," Rainbow said in a voice that brimmed with sadness as she watched Krystle's rock bounce toward the center of the lake.
Krystle remained silent as Rainbow selected another rock, but just as she was about to throw it, the little Griffon asked, "How did you get so good at this?"
Rainbow paused with her foreleg cocked, then let the rock drop with a sigh. "I used to do this with my dad."
Krystle perked up. "Really?" But then she tilted her head. "Wait, didn't you just say that you don't like skipping stones?"
"I never liked it." Rainbow hung her head and poked at the small pile of rocks beside her. "My dad was head weather pony of the southern region of Equestria, so he was away a lot, and didn't have much time for me. But once every month, on the third weekend, we would go get mane cuts together. Then he would take me wherever I wanted to go for lunch, and then we would head down to the lake and skip stones. I don't know why he liked it so much, but I never had the heart to tell him. It was our time together, and even though I hated skipping stones, when I was with him it was my favorite thing in the world."
"Does your daddy have time for you now?" Krystle asked.
Twilight heard Rainbow sniff. "No. I haven't talked to him in a really long time."
"How come?"
"Because I'm stupid. Because I push ponies that care about me away."
"Like Princess Twilight?"
"Yeah," Rainbow spoke in a shaky breath. "To me, Twilight is more than a friend, more than a princess even. Twilight's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I've learned so much about myself in the time I've spent with her. It's because of her that I'm in the Wonderbolt Reserves, and it's because of her that I've finally decided to go back and face Dad.
"But I let my need to win ruin everything. I wanted to beat Gilda and Lightning Dust so badly that I...I lost myself. And I yelled at Twilight and treated her like garbage." Rainbow suddenly growled and kicked the pile of stones, sending them skittering across the bank. "Why am I always so stupid?"
Twilight took a deep breath and wiped her eyes before stepping forward. "The last thing I'd ever call you is stupid, Rainbow Dash."
With a start, Rainbow whipped around. "Twilight!"
In her haste to reach her, Rainbow stumbled on the rocks that she had piled and nearly went facedown into the dirt. Somehow managing to keep her balance, Rainbow raced forward and embraced her. "I'm so sorry, Twi. For everything. I've been such a lousy friend."
Twilight squeezed her tight. "I know you are, Dash. And I haven't been the best of friends myself." She released her friend and stepped back. "I tried flying, and you were right. My wing is fine. I-I should have trusted you. I'm sorry."
"How could you have trusted me with the way I was acting?" Rainbow shook her head. "I didn't stop to think about how new your wings are to you, or how scary it must have been to feel that kind of pain. Actually, I haven't really been thinking much at all lately. I've just been...reacting." Her ears drooped as she met Twilight's gaze. "And you've taken the brunt of it."
"Rainbow, it's—"
"Hold up a sec, Twilight. I've got something to say, something I've been wanting to say since I told you about my parents. The problem is, it's ridiculously sappy." Rainbow offered a small smile. "And you know me. Give me a minute too long to think about it, and I'll find a reason to not say it.
"The truth is...I really look up to you, Twilight. You're everything I want to be." Rainbow sat back on her haunches, her eyes roaming everywhere except for Twilight's. "At the Wonderbolt Academy, Spitfire said I was a leader, but you're tiers above me. You led us against Discord, and even saved us all from his powers, you found the crystal heart and made the decision to send it with Spike to save the Crystal Empire, and you were even brave enough to give up the elements to save the Tree of Harmony. I know I wouldn't have been brave enough to make that decision.
"The only reason I made lead pony in the academy was because I turned in Lightning Dust, and ever since then, I've wondered if I would have achieved it if she hadn't been there." She shook her head. "And I didn't know. But I do know that I would never have passed that Wonderbolt's history test without you. So I started to ask myself, do I even deserve to be a Wonderbolt? And again, I didn't know."
Rainbow finally met her gaze. "And then I overheard a couple of Griffons talking about this competition while we were at Rainbow Falls. I'd forgotten about this competition, and hearing about it again made me think of how much I missed Dad, which made me think of how close I was feeling with you. Then it suddenly hit me, you know? You were still a novice flier, and not very confident in your abilities. It was perfect! I could take you under my wing and coach you, teach you everything I know and turn you into a flying ace. I would lead you in the competition, and if I succeeded, then I would finally know that I did deserve my place as lead pony at the academy...and maybe even deserve to be a Wonderbolt."
Twilight scratched her head. "So then...you didn't bring me here to impress the Wonderbolts?"
"Like I said a little bit ago, it'd be really cool if we did well and they heard about it, but no, that's not why I brought you here. I came here to prove to myself that I can be a leader, but I think you know how that turned out." Rainbow hung her head as her entire body seemed to slump. "I never intended to put so much pressure on you, and I didn't come here to win. Honest. I let Lightning and Gilda get to me, and I lost sight of what was important. So...I guess I got my answer now. I'm not cut out for leadership.
"Still...I learned a lot about myself here, and not all of it was bad. I'm ready to go back to Dad. I may not be the success that I've always fantasized I'd be when facing him, but I know that you were right when you said that he'd be proud." Without warning, she took Twilight's hoof in her own. "I really owe you big time for this, Twilight, and I'll do anything to make it up to you. Just name it, and it's done."
"Rainbow Dash..." Twilight paused as the Pegasus's sentiment caused a lump to form in her throat. "You're not the only one at fault here. I've made a lot of mistakes, more than I even knew.
"I just assumed that you were here to prove yourself to the Wonderbolts. That you weren't happy with being in the reserves and that you wanted to wait until you were a full-fledged Wonderbolt so you could prove your father wrong. That was foolish of me." She turned her gaze away, suddenly finding it difficult to meet Rainbow's eyes. "I also haven't been as understanding and supportive as I should have been. I knew how upset Lightning and Gilda were making you, and I knew that your competitive spirit was getting away from you, but instead of simply sitting down and talking to you about it, I let my frustrations get the better of me. I guess...I lost sight of what was important too, and I'm sorry."
Rainbow hugged her tightly as she began to cry. "I love you, Twilight."
Smiling through her tears, Twilight said, "I love you too, Dash."
Hearing a sniffle from beside them, they both turned to find Krystle wiping her eyes.
"Aww...come here, squirt," Rainbow said as she scooped Krystle up and embraced her.
Suddenly remembering Gilda, Twilight cleared her throat. "Umm...so Rainbow, I've got a confession to make."
Rainbow looked at her over Krystle's head. "What's up?"
"Yesterday, after our fight, I sort of had dinner with Gilda."
"Really?" Rainbow replied, her eyes widening in surprise.
"Yeah." Twilight nodded. "It wasn't intentional. I just ducked into a restaurant to get away from everyone bowing to me, and she just happened to be there. She approached me and we talked, and then Pinkie showed up because you know her, she always seems to know where you're at. Anyway, the two of them made up for what happened in Ponyville, and well...I consider her a friend now."
Rainbow frowned. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Twilight lowered her gaze to the ground. "I was afraid you would be angry if you found out. I know I shouldn't have kept it from you...I guess you can just add it to my pile of mistakes."
"Well, seeing as how I've lost my head more in the last three days than I have in the last three months, I totally understand why you didn't want to tell me." Rainbow playfully punched her shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Twilight. It's cool."
Twilight offered a small smile. "I'm very glad to hear that."
"So, that's why you were so pushy about me talking to Gilda, huh? I was wondering about that. You seemed so upset when I refused." A slow smile formed on Rainbow's face as she contemplated what she had just learned. "If it's that important to you, then maybe I will talk to her."
Twilight shuffled nervously. "There's one more thing."
Rainbow made a face. "Oh, please Celestia, don't tell me you befriended Lightning too."
This made Twilight laugh. "No, I think that would be well beyond me." With a glance at the brush behind her, she turned serious. "I was so mad at you, Dash, that I was on my way to the train station. But someone talked some sense into me and made me realize how much you meant to me. They made me see what a huge mistake it would have been to leave."
Rainbow looked as though the air had just been knocked out of her. "You...you were leaving? Oh my gosh, Twilight, I had no idea I'd hurt you that badly. If you would have left...I would never have forgiven myself."
Twilight had to struggle to talk around the lump in her throat. "Honestly, Rainbow, if I had left, I probably wouldn't have forgiven myself either."
"So...who stopped you?" Rainbow asked. "Was it Nasir? He knew how upset I was. I think that's why he sent Krystle with me."
"No, Dash, it was Gilda, and she's here now." As Rainbow gasped in surprise, Twilight waved toward the brush and Gilda emerged.
"Hey, Dash," Gilda said hesitantly.
"H-hi...G..."
For a long moment, neither of them would look at the other, but then Rainbow took a step forward. "So...does your beak still hurt?"
Gilda kept her gaze determinedly focused on the ground. "A little."
"Good." Rainbow nodded curtly, but then her ears drooped. "But I appreciate you being there for Twilight since, you know...I wasn't."
"No prob," Gilda replied quietly.
Scratching the back of her neck and sparing a quick glance at Twilight, Gilda finally met Rainbow's gaze. "I'm really sorry I told Light about your parents, Dash. At the time, I didn't think I'd ever see you again. I-I know that's not a good enough excuse, that I still should have kept your secret, but that's all I've got. If you want to hate me for it, I don't blame you, but there's something I need to say. It's something I've wanted to say for a long time.
"I'm sorry, Dash. I'm sorry for the way I treated your friends back in Ponyville, for leaving like I did and never coming back, and I'm especially sorry that I let Lightning convince me that everything was your fault. It was just so much easier to hate you than to face the pain of losing you." Gilda smiled humorlessly. "I guess I'm the one who turned out to be queen lame-o."
"Yeah, I guess so," Rainbow mumbled.
Gilda sighed heavily, and slowly nodding her head, she began to turn away.
"But then," Rainbow continued, "I've been pretty lame recently myself." She totted over and raised her hoof. "And you know what they say about Pegasi of a feather."
Beaming, Gilda bumped her hoof. "Thanks, Dash."
"Don't thank me," Rainbow retorted. "Thank Twilight and Pinkie. If they count you as a friend, then so do I." Her ears laid back and her eyes narrowed. "But if you want us to be the way we used to be, then you need to make up with Fluttershy. She's really sensitive, and the way you screamed at her really upset her. A lot. She's probably gonna be terrified of you, so you'd better be patient."
"Okay..." Gilda swallowed hard. "Uh, which one is Fluttershy?"
Rainbow scowled. "The one in the marketplace that was leading a line of ducks."
"Ugh." Lowering her head, Gilda covered her eyes. "I forgot about her. Is it even possible to apologize for something so mean?"
"It is with Fluttershy," Rainbow replied matter-of-factly. "If you can manage that, then I'll forgive you for everything."
"Consider it done," Gilda said. Then she grasped Rainbow's hoof, and they both turned sideways and slapped wings. Suddenly, they laughed and hugged fiercely.
"It's really great to have you back, G," Rainbow sniffed.
"You too, Dash," Gilda whispered.
"So, Twilight," Rainbow said as she released Gilda. "You ready to go get the others and head back home?"
"What?!" Twilight exclaimed. "You want to go back home? What about Event Three?"
"Pfft, Event Three, Shmee. I don't need this stupid contest anymore. I've got the most totally awesome friends anypony could ever ask for, and if I deserve to be with you, then I definitely deserve to be a Wonderbolt." She tilted her head toward Krystle. "Besides, team Pony Princesses are Pretty have this in the bag."
Krystle giggled. "I think I want to change my team name now."
"Oh, really?" Rainbow blinked. "To what?"
"Dads Rule!" Krystle cried with a bright smile.
Rainbow laughed. "That's an awesome name!"
"Rainbow, are you sure about this?" Twilight asked with concern.
Waving a hoof dismissively, Rainbow answered, "I know now that I'm Wonderbolt material, and I'm finally ready to face Dad." She grinned and nudged her with a foreleg. "And who knows, if I keep hanging out with you, maybe I will be up to snuff as a leader someday. What more is there?"
Rainbow's words resonated deeply in Twilight's mind, and her thoughts immediately turned to what Nasir had told her earlier that day. He had said that everyone, even Hans and Princess Celestia, sometimes needed to be held up by their friends. He and Rainbow were right. Twilight now understood that Celestia had chosen her to be princess, not because she was deemed better than the others, but because the others loved her so adamantly.
The true value of a pony isn't by their deeds, but by how much they are loved. Because when a pony is loved, they become something greater than what they could ever be on their own. And if they allow that love to blossom, and are careful to never devalue it, then they can never fail. Twilight knew then why she had ascended while Star Swirl the Bearded hadn't. She had an open heart that accepted all of her friends' love, and treasured it for its true worth, and that in turn had completed his unfinished spell. Now she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she deserved her title. Her friends had raised her to the crown, and thanks to them, she would never fall.
Feeling happier than she had since arriving at Mt. Aerie, Twilight smiled. "Okay, Rainbow. Let's go home."
"Actually, you might wanna stay, Dash," Gilda suddenly spoke up.
Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Well, I promised I wouldn't tell anyone, but," she glanced over at Twilight, "you're a princess, so I don't really feel bad telling you.
"Remember Gus? The guy you suckered me into spending the evening with? Well, he told me that he's received two reservations from the Wonderbolts, Spitfire and Soarin. Apparently, they're gonna make a surprise appearance tonight to watch Event Three."
Twilight and Rainbow looked at one another, and she saw the excitement dancing in her friend's eyes. With a wide grin, she said, "I kind of like the idea of showing the Wonderbolts just how well you trained me, Rainbow Dash."
"Are you sure, Twilight?" Rainbow looked a little worried. "Because you don't have to do this."
"I know." Twilight stepped forward and nuzzled her affectionately. "That's why I want to."
With an excited laugh, Rainbow blasted into the air and performed a couple of advanced aerial maneuvers that made Twilight dizzy just watching. "We are totally going to blow their minds, Twilight! I didn't want to say anything back in Ponyville cause I didn't want to make you overconfident, but you've got our routine down pat! You're gonna look as good as me out there, Twi!"
"Who wants to race back to the competition grounds?" Krystle challenged.
"Bring it on, squirt!" Rainbow cried as she landed directly beside the little Griffon.
"I'm game," Gilda agreed with a grin.
Twilight laughed as she watched the three of them. "Only if I get a head start."
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever." Suddenly she gave her a scandalous look. "But no magic this time!"
"Don't be a sore loser!" she called as she took to the air and flew as fast as she could; the pain in her wing all but gone.
Moments later, the others were rocketing past her, and the four of them laughed all the way back to the grounds.
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YES! OH YES LORD YES!
So glad I was wrong. For most of things.
And strangely enough, regardless of all the mess in the previous chapter, this is the only outcome that I could think of.
I absolutely love it.
~Twi
*happy yelling*
Glad to see Gilda has learned her lesson. I just hope you do the same with Lightning Dust to some extent.
Just buck already!
I don't know, Dash. Twilight is the princess of friendship, after all.
Shipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipship shipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipship
_________________________________________________________
This is not how I thought it would turn out, but gloriously so. After Gilda's speech in the beginning, I thought you were making it sound like it was largely Twilight's fault and that she had overreacted--but not only did you evenly and fairly apportion what blame there is to be had, you did so in a way that couldn't possibly leave hard feelings.
Deliciously soft feelings, however...
I will admit, though, I was hoping that Twilight would spontaneously prove to Rainbow Dash that she did trust her by doing the trust fall.
Maybe she'll do it in front of the entire audience after they win?
If she does... maybe a public trust fall has romantic connotations?
6461994 Lightning Dust might serve for a different lesson on friendship; you can keep giving of yourself to someone to form a friendship, but not everypony will choose to give back. In that sense, I think she's less likely to become their friend than even Discord was. She's got an incredible level of spitefulness.
6462384 Well that being said, I just hope she appears in a later episode on the canon show, and I don't mean the IDW comic.
I. Am. Shocked.
And here I thought, this would be a non-ship-fic for once..
The whole story was very well paced. And now you rush the conclusion this fast and in a way that couldn't possibly be more sappy?
Even if it made sense in a way that was no good style.
Also it oversimplified the problem on Rainbows part in my opinion. In the end Twilight may have been wrong about her assumptions concerning the cause of RDs behaviour but she still comes out as slightly above.
In my eyes she has totally failed here. She might have been wrong in her assumption about the cause but she was right in her assessment of RD. She knew that she should talk some sense into her but she repeatedly refrained, thinking she spared the friend additional stress.
Did we see an acknowledgement of this misconception? No. We didn't. Seems it was correct to wait till one of them broke. Since we can always reconcile tearfully and everything will be butterflies and rainbows again.</sarcasm>
Also, the gist of Twilights apology was that she should have been more open and more understanding?
I think there's a difference between being an understanding friend who nevertheless talks some sense into a friend if necessary and wilfully being the understanding target of their friends inferiority complex-induced aggressions.
It seems as if the stories morale is, that everything will be allright in the end if everyone just apologizes and hugs. Even totally unrelated things will suddenly positively pop up. (Soarin and Spitfire making an appearance).
This is called fairy-tale.
Had the story been this way from the start, then I might not have a problem with that at all. But it seemed to be far more complex and psychological than that. Right up to this chapter. You drove the suspense to a new high with Twily's ragequit making the readers expect drama and a desperate call for action from the minor characters but then you drop it like a bomb rushing the conclusion and solution to all the tension in one go.
Don't get me wrong. Normally I'm all in for heartwarming, fluffy, feels-stories. But in this case, I'm just disappointed. Sorry.
6464975
That's very disappointing to hear. Especially since you were one of my favorite commenters, but I guess you can't please everyone. Anyway, I feel like this deserves a response, but before I can I must address your previous comment about how the characters have been acting.
Let's start with Twilight. Aside from the moment when Rainbow pushed her away because Lightning caught them hugging, Twilight really wasn't that angry with her. Then she gave Rainbow the ultimatum, and was quick to forgive (but not forget). After that, Event One happened and she made a bad judgment which led to her failing the trust fall for a second time. She spent from then until now feeling guilty about not being able to prove her trust to Dash as well as feeling inadequate as a princess and a friend. Her anger at Dash didn't resurface until Dash covered her mouth during the fight with Lighting, which she was actually going to let slide after the bombshell of Lightning revealing she knew about Dash's parents. She tried talking to Dash here, but she turned nasty, and then Twi hurt her wing. So, Twilight was dealing with: 1.feeling like a poor friend, 2. the "knowledge" that Dash lured her here under a false pretense 3.frustration because Dash wouldn't talk to Gilda (something she thought would help her), and 4.Dash breaching her ultimatum. She was fine with all of this, but then snapped when she felt that Dash was more worried about winning than her own well-being. That was the final straw. Now, you say Twi was trying to spare Dash pain, and I can't argue that because honestly, I don't know what you're referring to. The only thing I can think of is when she didn't tell Dash about the dinner with Gilda, but that was more like "Oh, that will make her mad and I don't feel like arguing right now," not sparing her from anything. Also, due to her own problems, Twilight doesn't really get the chance to sit down and talk to Dash. She talks to her before Event One, but then doesn't see her until Event two and that's when the explosion happened.
Now Dash. What you didn't learn until just now is that Dash is here to prove to herself that she can be a leader and Wonderbolt material. So, she has been plagued by doubts and fear since Chapter 1. What if she fails in the competition? In her mind, she is only in the Wonderbolts because Twi helped her pass the test. If she fails here, fails to prove to herself that she deserves to be in the reserves, then how could she possibly remain in them? In her mind, this competition is do or die, but it doesn't become about winning until Hans insults Twi. Then she wants to win to shove it in his face, but then Light shows up. This is when her competitive spirit really takes over, and I know you think she went OOC here, that she shouldn't have been that competitive and she is going against her element. And you are right, and that is what I meant to do. She does this because of these doubts and fears that you didn't know about yet. With this in mind, is it not conceivable that Dash may have, at some point, began to see beating Lightning as the means to prove herself? Now, imagine this for a moment: Rainbow has a very closely guarded secret; a secret so sensitive that she even hesitated sharing it with Twilight. Twilight! And then she finds out that her worst enemy knows it. I think the hurt and anger from this would be more than enough to send her over the edge and into OOC land. Now, she's not actually angry at Twi at all, but Twi is the one that takes the brunt of her explosion.
Sorry that was so long-winded. So now, you say that the conclusion was rushed, but how much more extended could it have been? Were these two stupid for letting this get this far? Very. Are these two stupid enough to let this ruin their friendship? Hell, no. Twilight was only angry with Dash because she insisted she fly after hurting her wing, so when she learned from Gilda that her wing was fine, and Dash was right in telling her to fly, her anger went away. Rainbow was never really ever angry at Twi at all, and when Twi quit, she came to realize how wrong she had been. The realization of how badly she had hurt her friend was enough to make her let go of everything and become the depressed mess at the lake. Then, like Ryvaken stated, she quickly reversed course. So yes, I feel that heart felt apologizes from these two would solve this problem, because their anger was all based on misconceptions, and they both knew it at this point. As for the Wonderbolts magically popping into it like a fairy tale, well...Rainbow has let go of her doubts and fear and concluded that she is not, in fact, leadership material, but has come to understand that she does deserve her place in the reserves. So why would she stay in the competition? It has served its purpose, she doesn't need it anymore, and she's no longer concerned with winning. The Wonderbolts showing up was the only way I could think of to justify keeping her in the competition until the end.
Regardless, thanks for reading and your comments, and again, I'm sorry you didn't like this. And thank you very much for reading this comment all the way through! It turned out much longer than I originally intended. Happy reading!
6469295
Interesting. Does that mean I was right and wrong? Cool! And not confusing at all.
I think that throwing in the Wonderbolts is a VERY good idea. Why? Because it's the only way to show them what both, Dash and Lightning are capable of. And since this is a clever play of protagonists / antagonists, I can't wait to see what's in the store next.
~Twi
6469425
I absolutely loved your little debate with the others as it confirmed that I had succeeded in what I was trying to do. I wanted their fight to be a matter of perspective, and was hoping that some people would feel Rainbow was at fault while others felt it was Twi's fault. In truth, everyone was neither right nor wrong, just like most arguments.
6469961
I said it, and you confirmed it in the story: It was both to be blamed and neither at the same time. They both shrugged small things away, and chuck it into the pool of unsaid arguments, and when that pool filled up to the rim, it all went bang.
I find it interesting how many story writers forget that it works that way in real life, and they rather make it some epic fight because of big things, but forgetting that the pile of small ones are are much more often to be blamed.
And I will wholeheartedly disagree with 6464975's comment about "cheap" resolution, because, in reality, if both parties are rational, they both need a little bit of time to cool down before they realize their mistakes and seek reconciliation. A little bit of talk can do wonders.
~Twi
6470312
Yes, and also, sometimes the explosion is helpful as well.
There was a manager at my work. We couldn't stand one another and constantly did little things to tick each other off. It was like our own little guerrilla war. Then one day, we exploded. We were in each other's faces, screaming at each other, and I ended up leaving early. We both realized then that we had let things get too far and how stupid we were being, and the next day we got along together great. And it stayed that way. I'll never forget the day she left. As she was getting ready to leave on her final day, I approached her, meaning to shake her hand and tell her it was great having her around, but before I got two words out, she hugged me and told me how much she would miss me, and actually cried.
This changed me drastically. Not just how I treat others, but also how I handle rudeness. Yes, I feel the same anger as everyone else when someone gets nasty, but I'm able to push it aside much easier now and take a step back to view the other person's perspective. I also never hold a grudge.
I'll bet you're just so pleased to get a piece of my life story. Lucky you!
Anyway, thanks for your time and the comments; they've been a delight these last couple of chapters.
6469295 Wow. Thanks for such an exhaustive reply.
Reading your reply has shown me one thing.
It seems I read the story different then you intended it to be read.
My view was that of a multi-layered problem. One aspect was Twilight being at the receiving end of RDs stress and berating RD for it or not but ultimately not giving her a thorough talk about it, no matter if she got everything right or not.
RD's huge amount of stress might be a valid explanation for her actions but not an excuse if you ask me.
Over the course of the story RD had gradually become more and more competitive and aggressive towards Twilight.
What I saw was that Twilight was taking it for her friend in the belief that she just needs time and her unquestioned support.
The whole thing with Gilda was in that sense just a bonus for me and not an integral part of the core-problem.
In my opinion Twilight's fault was her backhanded approach. She did not directly confront RD up until the last two chapters, instead she tried to smooth things over and do her the favor of doing extra training with her.
I saw Twilight in those moments as someone who is taking much more than anyone else would only because she thought she was doing it for a friend.
Also I saw her as someone who tries to repair things without being honest herself. She saw RDs stress and linked it to her anger towards Gilda.
Consequently she tried to get them back together. Problem here is, that not only did she see it did not work, she also sacrificed herself and swallowed her pride and anger.
This is a problem because she knew that RD was working herself up, too, because she got too focused and was not talking about it.
But what does Twilight? She is making the same mistake herself. She slowly made herself go crazy by keeping it in.
Okay. Up to now both have equal amounts of mistakes on their accounts.
One reason though why I didn't like how Twilight got away in the last chapter was, that Twilight did this to herself not only knowing the outcome because of RDs example, but she was doing it while believing herself to be morally superior. She believed herself to be under the obligation to 'fix' RDs problem rather than helping her fix it herself through honestly talking to her about what she's doing to her and maybe hurting her pride in the action.
As I understand it, your intention was that Twilights failed attempts should be understood as consequences of her not knowing the real reasons in the end not as independent from the reasons and instead as result of having acted on the wrong motivations in the first place.
RDs side of the problem had not really been that important to me to be honest.
Since I interpreted the story from Twilight's side and from the perspective of her actions I also interpreted RD getting more and more worked up as ultimately Twilight's fault. Had Twilight not tried to be such a saint but rather confronted RD with her perspective of things, RD would probably not not have seen what she did to Twilight up until the very end.
Again, if I correctly understand you, your intention was to see RD getting worked up this much independently from Twilight's actions.
Your intention seems to have been that we were supposed to believe her to be OOC since we didn't know her real reasons.
I guess that you wanted to show another (weaker) side of our favourite prismatic blur through the big revelation at the end and through that give the character a little bit of development.
Which in my book is ok and legit. Your reason for RDs stress were a great idea. I can picture her quite well getting doubts about her qualities as leader when compared to Twilight and it would have made for a great story had the two of them talked about their respective misconceptions earlier. RD could have learned that she HAS the potential to be a great leader if she does not get her pride or anxieties get to her head.
Back to Twilight. She did not show great leader qualities here, either. A good leader is not only understanding but knows when to draw the line, sit together and talk. In that sense Twilights realisation, that indeed she is a good leader and deserves her crown didn't sit quite right with me.
Again, your intention probably was for the reader to perceive her attempts at smoothing things and trying to get RD and Gilda back together as proof of her qualities.
Okay. All in all, it is very interesting how different one can read a story. I'm sorry for my harsh review earlier, from your view on how to read the story it may have been to hard. However, from my point of view I think the parts talked about here still hold true.
I too apologise for this wall of text. I would be delighted to hear your thoughts on my interpretation of the story and possibly correct me on the parts were I still didn't got your idea right.
6472894
Actually, it's always interesting to hear why people pay attention to the oddities that are usually ignored, regardless those details being incorporated in a dark story or... well... something as lighthearted as this. It always gives away a little bit about the author, and it adds a little umph to the story.
Thanks for sharing ^^
~Twi
6474593
Honestly, you're looking at this at an angle that I never really contemplated. I think you're being a bit too hard on Twilight.
You believe that Twilight should have talked to Rainbow about how she was acting, but you are forgetting everything that Twilight had going on. She was very distracted by the way Hans made her feel, then her guilt for failing the trust fall, and finally, by Gilda's dilemma. Should she have talked to Dash? Yes. Was she a little too self-involved? ...maybe... The truth is, if Hans hadn't been there to fill her with these doubts, perhaps she would have acted the way you expected, but it can be extremely difficult to know how to talk to a friend about their frustrations when you are equally frustrated.
This only happened twice. The first was just after Hans, and Twilight did kind of talk to her, but had no way of knowing how bad things were about to get. I mean, they didn't even know Lightning and Gilda were there yet. The second time was right after Lightning's big reveal, and there is simply no talking to someone that was as angry as Dash was right then. All you can do in a situation like that is try to calm the person down and talk to them when they are under control. That's what Twi would have done if she hadn't clipped her wing. Like 6448337 said: What could go wrong, did go wrong.
Now she could have talked to her during Event Two, but she was too worried about getting Dash and Gilda back together. And maybe you fault her for that, I've seen other commenters have, but let's look at Twi for a moment.
Unlike you and I, who have had friends since we are young, Twilight didn't discover friendship until she was an adult. Now, by the time we were adults, we had several friends, and let's face it, we take them for granted. This isn't true for Twilight. Friendship is still this new, incredible experience to her, and through her, the other five are kind of re-experiencing this. That's part of what makes them all so special. I feel this is also why Twilight is the only one who qualifies to be Princess of Friendship. Because she was so belated in its experience, she will never take it for granted. Now with this in mind, how can you possibly blame Twi for thinking that mending Rainbow's relationship with Gilda would help? She's the Princess of Friendship, and often solves problems by making friends or helping others make friends, so why not do so here? If Dash wouldn't have been so hardheaded, getting back with Gilda would have helped the situation. Wouldn't it have been easier to deal with Lightning if Gilda was right there by her side? So yeah, she could have talked to Dash here, but she was doing what Twilight does best, and she can hardly be blamed for it not working.
Now, I'm not trying to place any additional blame on Rainbow. I personally don't see this as being anyone's fault. This was simply two characters having a bad time and unfortunately turning on each other, which is why I believed the conclusion should have been simple. I wrote this story because I wanted to explore the relationship these two have, and what would happen if they were both placed under an incredible amount of stress. And I feel that I accomplished that.
Don't be sorry, you're entitled to your opinion, and as I've always said, I appreciate negative comments (as long as they have merit) way more than I do positive comments. Positive comments are nice for numerous reasons, but it's the negative ones that make me really look at I've done and reevaluate it. Even if I don't necessarily agree with them.
6476172
I absolutely loved that link, and your own little song. Thanks for sharing!
I'm liking this! When's the next chapter? And when will Rainbow tell Twi (or vise versa) how she feels? I'm going to go look at your other stories (if there are any others).
6482757
I'm glad you're enjoying this so much. I'm working hard on the final chapter and am hoping to have it done within a week. If, you know, life doesn't interfere. I'm loving your quirky little comments and look forward to hearing what you think of my other works.
6482916 Thank!
6469295
I disagree. It's still a competition, and Rainbow Dash still likes to win. She may no longer feel the need to prove herself to herself, but that's no reason to drop out. Unless she thought Twilight didn't want to compete any more, but since they made up it seemed to me, at least, that Twilight was willing to finish it.
6462070 You do realize not all love equates to romance, right?
6462356 Seriously! Do you people know nothing about true love anymore?!?!
6464975
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6469961 I agree. I've got an honest experience where I overreacted to something back over on Fanfiction.net and the author replied to me equally overreacting. The next morning both of us mulled over our late-night idiocy and got over it. If anything I'm pretty sure that whole argument put us on good terms even though we didn't even know each other before.
You'd expect this would've gone badly, right? like us both just blindly hating each other. But instead, we're okay with each other. We agree to disagree. It's kind like that here, except since Twilight and Rainbow are good friends who know each other and they both have brains--Despite what some people think-- they're even better off. Honestly, I've overreacted a lot and really, once I'm calm again it doesn't take me long to realize how stupid I was being.
You know, this has inspired me to be a bit braver with my own story. Some people need to learn that love has more forms than romance, and I am going to both use and deconstruct this misconception as best I can!
Honestly, I do feel the beginning of the chapter with Gilda and Twilight talking is a little rushed and Twilight calms down unusually quickly, but I can forgive that when the rest of the chapter is so heartwarming and cute.
6505356 I don't see why you're bringing up the distinction between love and "true love".
6505373 I mean "true" as in "real" as in "not just romantic love"
6505356
I'm pretty sure the first two were joking, but yeah, I kind of felt the same reaction as you when I read that line in Ozyman's comment.
Well...I think that's because that's seriously as long as it would take to turn Twilight around. I mean, Twilight has her moments when she loses her head, but she has never held a grudge before. She's someone who can just let anger go, which allows her to think about the other pony's perspective. On top of that, look at the question that Gilda asks her. She's too smart to lie to herself (although she did need another to actually ask the question), so she very quickly comes to realize that Dash means more to her than this.
Oh, and for your comment, I award you this!
6505356 Yes I do. I have a friend who reminds me at least once a month. Generally speaking, I'm happier than he is because I'm capable of being ridiculous.
6505520 Ehhh, six of one, half a dozen of the other. I've no issue with ship fics but my Twidash library has a selection of friendship pieces. This story is quality either way.
6505487 ... but "true love" is almost universally used only in the context of romantic love. I don't think that's a very good word choice.
That aside, there's nothing wrong with seeing romantic subtext in a story that hasn't been explicitly stated to have no romantic subtext. I'm pretty sure that makes up at least 1/2 of every fandom.
I was given permission to do this in Chapter 5, and that has not yet been revoked.
6505553
That's right, Dragon! And it will never be revoked!!
TRIGGERED
Shipping? What shipping? This is good ol' sacred friendship-rare, but beautifully done. You touched on something-there are times when Twilight can be as arrogant as Dash and maybe wasn't trusting her as much as she should have been.
8873824
That's what I was going for. I'm glad you're enjoying it!
8873824
Exactly. There's no romance tag, so I took everything as platonic.
Looking at the rest of these comments, though... People in this fandom were way too excitable.