Rainbow Reflections

by Bookish Delight

1: Everything Matters

Twilight Sparkle shuffled along the Crystal Castle's grand hallway, alone and lost in thought.

It had never occurred to her to look down the length of the entire hallway before, but as she did, she realized that it seemed to stretch infinitely. She idly wondered how many times Shining Armor had gotten lost upon making his home here. She considered herself fortunate that her guest suite was just a few more doors down.

She considered herself even more fortunate that inside the room would be an actual bed, and not a makeshift cot cobbled together from blankets and books. Her trip to the human world had been a fruitful one, but her sleeping arrangements were one part of it that she absolutely would not miss.

Twilight levitated her crown from her saddlebag, and examined it as she walked. Even given the respectable gold that made up the bulk of it, the lavender centerpiece jewel, the Element of Magic, still remained the crown's most dazzling aspect.

And yet, with her trip now behind her, it seemed so small and insignificant.

All that craziness... all that adventure... all that heartache... just for this.

She looked closer at the crown. She'd never realized how reflective its surface was until now. She took a closer look at the reflection itself, and noticed something.

Or rather, someone.

I've learned so much on the other side — far more than I bargained for. I wonder...

Putting the crown away, Twilight flapped her wings. As was usual when she tried, she managed to hover. But the moment she tried forward flight, she could barely control her movements. Her flight pattern zig-zagged, then...

"Wh-whoooaaa... oww!"

She hit the floor.

The crystal floor.

Pulling herself to a sitting position, she groaned more in annoyance than pain. Just as she regained her bearings, a voice piped up behind her.

"Hey. You alright?"

Twilight looked up. Rainbow Dash stood over her with a smile and an outstretched hoof.

Twilight groaned again. "How much of that did you see?"

"Well, there was the part where you tried the flying... aaaaand then the part where you kissed the ground." Rainbow chuckled. "Sorry, Twi. Totally didn't mean to. I was just looking for the bathroom."

"Oh. The closest one should be at the end of the hall. My room's on the way."

"Sweet, I'll come with." Rainbow Dash took off into a slow flight alongside Twilight. "Sooooo... you, uh, told us you had your wings over in the other world for a bit! How'd they work out for you there?"

Twilight rolled her eyes with a sardonic smile. "Outside of the parts where the girls and I were holding hands? Pretty much the same as what you just saw."

Rainbow shook her head. "Yeah, I was afraid of that. Alright, Twilight. I know you've told me you're really busy with all your princess stuff, but I'm officially tired of watching you crash-land all the time. Even Fluttershy doesn't do that."

"I know, I know." Twilight covered her eyes with a hoof.

Rainbow landed in front of Twilight, and pulled her hoof away. "Hey now, you don't gotta be embarrassed about it. I used to crash all the time, too." She paused, then added, "At least my parents said I did. I don't remember much about it. This was before I could talk."

Rainbow took Twilight's hoof in both of hers.

"But I really think it's time we did the flying lessons thing, Twi. Besides, I..."

An anxious look crossed Rainbow's face as she looked at Twilight with wide eyes.

"I haven't gotten to see you in a while, y'know? You keep zooming around with Princess Celestia and stuff while she tells all the territories who the new girl in Canterlot Castle is. I mean, yeah, everyone in Ponyville misses you, but..." Rainbow looked away.

Twilight averted her gaze in the opposite direction. "I know. We really should catch up."

"Exactly!" Rainbow's face lit up. "So what do you say? We can make it a weekend thing! I'm totally free starting this one."

Twilight studied Rainbow's face, using her past experiences as a guide.

She'd certainly seen Rainbow this happy before, but usually when she pulled off an awesome air stunt. Or after a day of weather-management that went particularly well.

She'd also seen Rainbow in the instructor's role during some of those days. She barked orders to oblivious Ponyville pegasi who were attempting to transport clouds, or control weather to Rainbow's strict specifics. At the end of those days, Twilight would often get an earful of complaints from Rainbow about how said pegasi just couldn't get it right.

Twilight noted all of this, then chose her answer as carefully as she could.

She shook her head.

---

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic x Equestria Girls:

"Rainbow Reflections"

Chapter 1: Everything Matters

by Bookish Delight, 2014-2015

All characters and referred properties belong to Hasbro.

---

"I'm sorry, Rainbow, but I can't make it this weekend. Princess Celestia's thinking of forming a space program, and she's tapped me to study the skies. There's an extraterrestrial phenomenon that I'll have to spend most of the weekend checking for."

Rainbow's expression scrunched for a few seconds, then went back to a hopeful, grasping smile.

"Okay, how about I join you? We've done the star-gazing thing before. Not quite my speed, but..."

Twilight shook her head again.

"It's something I'd need to be constantly watching for, and taking copious notes even when nothing's happening. I can't afford to miss a thing. Sorry."

Rainbow's face fell like a stone.

"N-nah, it's cool." She exhaled. "I know how it goes. A Sparkle's job is never done, and stuff."

She turned around and walked back in the direction to her room, passing Twilight in the process.

"Maybe you can get that Flash guy to join you. I hear royal guards make pretty good silent dates," she muttered.

Twilight did a double-take, and turned around sharply.

"W-what do you mean by that?"

Rainbow halted, caught. The distress didn’t last, as she whipped back just as sharply.

"What do you think I mean by that?" she snapped, puffing up her chest. "We all saw you turn into mush the second you ran into that Flash Whatsispony in the hallway. Doesn't take a Starswirl to put two and two together.

"I-I mean, it's bad enough I didn't get to go with you through that mirror," Rainbow said, stamping a hoof. "But now it sure looks like you wanna spend time with somepony you don't even know over... over somepony you do."

Rainbow looked at the ground.

"I get it. You do what you wanna. But if you don't want me around anymore, at least say so. It'll save both of us a whole bunch of time."

A pang hit Twilight's heart. She'd always known Rainbow Dash to be utterly unflappable. For her to respond like this...

"Rainbow..." Twilight approached the blue pegasus, doing her best to hide a creeping apprehension. "This isn't like you."

The blue pegasus tensed at Twilight's declaration. She looked left, she looked right, then back at Twilight, who wasn't giving her an inch.

"I... I know it's not!" She shook her head harshly. "I-I don't know why I said that, I know you're not like that, I..." Rainbow's voice cracked. "L-look, just forget I said anything in the first place, okay?"

She shot off, flying for her room.

"Rainbow, wait!"

Forgetting her flying inadequacies, Twilight took to the air, and quickly darted in front of Rainbow. The pegasus's frazzled look and drooped ears spoke volumes.

She hovered at Rainbow's level, gently grasping her friend's hooves. Initially Rainbow recoiled at the gesture, pulling back — but Twilight held on, meeting Rainbow's eyes in a silent plea for her to listen.

Rainbow relented. She looked down at her hooves, then up to Twilight, her cheeks flushed, her eyes wide and curious.

"W-what is it?" Rainbow stuttered.

"Rainbow," Twilight said, "I don't want to forget anything you say. Whether it's about how awesome you are, or about something you're having trouble putting into words. I like seeing that side of you. I like when you tell me things."

Rainbow's surprised look was back.

"You... y-you do?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes. I do."

A memory surfaced, unbidden, of the last time she'd been flying this close to Rainbow Dash. It hadn't been very long ago. Twilight just barely succeeded in holding back a blush.

"Rainbow," Twilight continued, the memory still fresh in her mind, "when you share what you're thinking, it's always a pleasant surprise. So I don't ever want you to feel like you can't."

She stared into Rainbow's eyes — eyes filled with uncertainty — then placed her hoof on Rainbow's cheek.

Just as when Twilight had touched her hooves, Rainbow recoiled at the contact.

"W-what are you doing, Twilight?" Rainbow blushed, her breaths audibly deepening as she spoke. "C-cut it out, it's... it's gettin' kind of weird."

Twilight yanked her hoof back. "O-oh my gosh, I'm sorry! I just wanted to..." Twilight searched for the right words, then gave up and went with the first ones that came to mind. "You just looked so sad. I wish I knew why. Then I could help my best friend."

Rainbow was silent for a few seconds... then her face softened.

"Nah, it's fine," she said, a smile slowly and shakily appearing on her lips. "I'm... I'm glad you still think of me like that. Sometimes I get worried though."

"Worried how?" Twilight asked.

"Worried like... well, you know..." Rainbow shrugged. "I know what it's like to have somepony I think about all the time. Somepony who I think might be on my level of awesome. And somepony I might get worried about if... if I don't know if they're doing alright or not."

Rainbow looked at Twilight, her eyes wide... then pulled away from her quickly, blushing. "W-which I know is totally dumb, but-"

"What? No, not at all!" Twilight shook her head, renewing her grip on Rainbow's hoof. "That's just being a good person! You may not always see that kind of connection when it comes, Rainbow, but it happens to everypony at some point in their lives. It's happened to me, too, and it's..."

Twilight took a deep breath.

"I'm still learning how to talk about it. And I'm still learning how to balance my new responsibilities with spending time with the ponies special to me. I'm not avoiding you, Rainbow, I promise — and I'm sorry if I gave you that impression. Can you forgive me?"

Rainbow looked back at Twilight, her body visibly relaxing.

"Y-yeah. Yeah, it's fine, Twilight." Rainbow took her own deep breath, followed by a shaking exhale. "We're... we're cool. But I..."

Rainbow's mouth opened, then closed, repeatedly. Sentences were stifled moments before they could start, until she shook her head and simply took off.

"...I gotta go get some air," Rainbow said, quickly. "G'night, Twilight. I'll talk to you later!"

In seconds, she was gone.

"Good night, Rainbow," Twilight said, but only the empty hallway heard her.

---

After another minute of walking, Twilight entered her guest room, and let out the biggest exhale in the history of Equestria. By her own anecdotal measuring, of course.

None of that had been easy.

Her heart twisted in guilt as she mentally reviewed the emotional wringer Rainbow had just gone through. The smiles, the sadness, the insecurity, all of it was written on her face, reflected in her movements, one after another.

And yet... they were all things Twilight had wanted to know, needed to know. For both their sakes.

She never even went to the bathroom, did she?

As she approached her bed, she floated a set of purple pajamas over from the nearby closet. She took her time getting into them, then crawled into bed.

Much to her frustration, sleep eluded her.

Twilight looked enviously over at Spike, who had retreated to his bed long earlier. She'd been jealous of his slumber abilities on more than one occasion, but never more so than tonight.

He wasn't even snoring — which left the room covered in an almost eerie silence.

Usually, Twilight loved silence. She could bask in it, soak in it, be one with it, think during it. Eventually, her mind would tire with the rest of her body, and she could finally sink into blissful unconsciousness.

If only any of that were possible tonight.

Twilight opened her nearby saddlebag with a spell, and levitated a small object in front of her — a tiny piece of metal crafted and painted in the shape and color of Rainbow's cutie mark.

But what if I'm wrong? Twilight thought to herself. What if... she’s wrong?

She rotated the object every which way, staring at it, as if it held all the secrets of life.

If only I could be completely sure.

As if responding to her thoughts, the aura of magic around the object glowed brighter.

Twilight's mind drifted further back.

And before long, she could hear Rainbow Dash's voice once again, clear as day.

Comments

[Peachy Moon]

Okay, I haven't read to far into this yet, but can I just say. I love the fact all your stories have pre-credits sequences..

[scoots2]

Oh, my God, I'm already in love with your Rainbow Dash.

[Mad]

You managed to make me smile from something cute, this is something that has never happened...well done bookish.

[MidnightEclipsed]

Darnit! I hate when a TwiDash story mentions Flash! I love both TwiDash and Flashlight, but I can't deciiiiddeeeee.

[Phoenix Flames]

Well in the first movie I didn't really mind Flash being there but in the second movie when he made Twilight cry I started to hate him. Seriously seing Twilight cry is almost as bad as seeing Fluttershy cry.

[PresentPerfect]

who the new girl in Canterlot Castle is

I don't think I have ever seen a story suggest that Twilight was moving to Canterlot after princessing. You've pulled a new one on me, congrats! :D