Bittersweet Memories
It was about four hours later in the day when Rainbow Dash finally checked into the emergency room at the local hospital. To say she was thrilled to go into that place again would probably have earned somepony a hoof in the teeth, going by the surly expression slapped on her as they walked in. A familiar-looking unicorn in a doctor’s coat eyed the weatherpony suspiciously, until he noticed the heavily misshapen wing.
“My goodness, again so soon?” he asked in that heavily sterilized voice of his. Not a hint of an accent could be picked out of it. “Miss Dash, we might as well dedicate a wing of the hospital to you—no pun intended of course.”
Rainbow Dash didn’t talk back. She just glared, and wished horrible, horrible things. The doctor kindly requested that Rainbow’s friends remain in the waiting room, and took her back into the emergency room for some quick work. The four ponies left out there mulled about, not doing much of anything. Nopony felt like talking, considering the somber mood of barely escaping a situation with their lives. There wasn’t even Pinkie Pie to cheer them up; everypony kind of thought that was weird. Shouldn’t she have magically appeared by now to join them?
That thought hadn’t been sitting in their heads long when the doors were thrust back open, and the doctor returned with Rainbow Dash in a heavy cast for her wing. He was already lecturing her as they came out, and she was already ignoring him. “Now, Miss Dash, I’m going to have to insist you keep off any strenuous activity. Even a jump could hurt this if you’re being too reckless, so just stay indoors. Consider a personal favor we’re not making you stay here again.”
Rainbow Dash said something behind gritted teeth, but her friends had already snatched her up and were shoving her towards the door. The moment they were outside, the warm light of the setting sun was there to greet them. Dash took a moment to let that sight sink in. She wasn’t quite sure how long her eyes were going to be focused on anything but that mare to her left, so she enjoyed the sights while she could.
“Oh! Hey, I just thought about something.” Rainbow announced. “I can’t exactly fly back to my place like this, so Applejack, do you mind if I crash at your place for a couple days?”
Applejack couldn’t help but snicker at Rainbow’s poor word choice, which got her a thwack on the back of the head from Rarity. “Hehehe—OW! Dang it, girl, ya didn’t have to hit so hard… Anyway, sure thing Rainbow. Consider yourself welcome at Sweet Apple Acres anytime!”
“Awesome!” The pegasus announced. She took a cautious glance around the others to gauge their moods. They all seemed bright and active, ready to tackle the night for quite some time before sleep. One in particular—she avoided giving into that need to slap herself silly and resorted to more forceful tactics. A pony as lazy as Rainbow had perfected the yawn, to the point that it could be called on cue. The blue mare took full advantage of this talent, and let loose a long and downright obnoxious one to get her point across. The over-stretched leg above her head was just icing on the cake. “Hey, uh, I’m getting kinda sleepy. Sorry Applejack, but do you mind if we head back now?”
The farm pony needed no second hints, and gave a knowing wink. “Sure thing, Dash. Ah was getting kinda tuckered myself.” She turned and started to walk off with Rainbow Dash off in the direction of her home. She turned back to say “We’ll see you girls tomorrow, all right?” and was responded to in the affirmative. The other mares waved and started to say goodnight amongst themselves as well.
The trip back was silent, for a little while. There was still that odd chance another pony was within earshot. Rainbow wasn’t complaining, though; at that perfect moment of sunset the path they were on was easily the most beautiful spot in Ponyville; a pair of hills dipped perfectly to let that final ray of sunlight rest right in the lower spot, flushing the whole trail in brilliant red and amber light. The grass swayed gently with the warm breeze, and the last few insects awake fluttered listlessly among all the flowers before heading home.
Dash got lost in that world, giving herself a much needed reprieve from the pony plaguing her mind. Being around Applejack was nice like that; it cleared her head, let her think straight. That moment of reflection couldn’t last forever though, and the orange mare started talking.
“All right, Dash, Ah’m playing your game. You’ve got something on your mind, so might as well spill it.”
“Well… uh, it’s not really that simple.” Dash replied.
“Well then, why bring it up t’me and make such a huge deal out of it?”
Applejack lazily kicked a pebble along the trail as Dash thought out her words carefully; bravado would just crash and burn here. “Well, you see, I guess I was kind of wondering if you could give me some… some advice.”
“Advice?” AJ asked, popping a joint in her front leg. “Advice on what? Seems an odd time to start taking up farming.”
“No, nothing about farming. I’m honestly not so sure you’re even that awesome at this sort of thing, but—“ she caught a quick glare from her rival. “n-not that I’m insulting you! I just don’t know. About any of this, really. I guess… well, it’s about another pony.”
“Oh.” Applejack nodded quickly, eyes closed and a little smile on her face. That wasn’t such a big de—her eyes shot open. “Ohhhhhh. You mean you’ve got your eye on some colt, huh?”
She looked over at Dash, who was keeping pace with eyes fixed upon the ground. Applejack snorted to herself. “C’mon, sugarcube, ain’t nothing to be embarrassed about. C’mon, tell me, who is it?”
Rainbow Dash remained silent. A tinge of rose color was forming on her cheeks. Applejack couldn’t pass up a moment like this, and squeezed out every drop of enjoyment. She leaned in close, and the endless teasing commenced. “Is it… Caramel?” No reply. “Pokey Pierce?” Nothing. “Uh… Roid Ra—wait, ew. Even if it was him Ah wouldn’t want to hear none of it. Thunderlane? Soarin? Hmm… Oh, Ah know! Is it…”
This bout of torture lasted longer than Rainbow Dash could really remember. All that was recalled was that it went through every stallion in the village. Applejack slowed down a bit as she neared the end of the list.
“…Is it Big Mac? Sugarcube you’d tell me if it was Big Macintosh, right?... Couldn’t be Whooves, could it?” Still, somehow, nothing. Rainbow was so absorbed by whatever the ants on this trail were up to that she didn’t catch Applejack’s sigh of relief near the end. The earth pony put a hoof to her chin and thought things through carefully. “Dash, Ah just don’t get it. Ah just went through every danged stallion in… Pony…ville…”
Dash couldn’t bear to look up, but she could feel the look of realization dawning on AJ’s face. “Sugarcube, are you… you mean the rumors are TRUE?”
Dash’s blush came out in full force, the little hint of rose withering under a blazing inferno of embarrassment. Applejack felt shame start to creep in. She hadn’t meant to offend, and stated as much. “Rainbow Dash, Ah’m sorry, Ah shouldn’t’ve put it that way. There’s… there’s nothing WRONG with being a… a fi—er, into mares. But, this is why you came t’me for help? Dash, Ah can’t help if Ah don’t know who it is. Is it Berry Punch? Or maybe Lyr—“
Applejack got cut off when her rival’s face twisted in a snarl of utter frustration, screaming and smacking a hoof over the orange mare’s lips. “It’s Twilight, okay?! Now will you please SHUT UP?!”
About half a mile away, a bird squawked. Both ponies heard it clear as day, since the silence was nigh palpable between the two of them. Applejack’s eyes started to open wider and wider, but unnervingly the rest of her face was still deadpan. Rainbow’s face went from blue to red at record speeds. Her hoof started trembling as she took it off the earth pony’s face and set it back on the ground. Then, shaking ever so slightly, she turned around… and sprinted in the other direction, as fast as her hooves could take her.
“Wai—wha—ah—oh, no you don’t!” Applejack sprung from her still position like a pony possessed, and closed the gap between the two in a manner of seconds. She came up right behind the pegasus, weaving her head between haphazard attempts at rear kicks from Rainbow as she ran. As she moved, the other mare’s tail brushed over Applejack’s face and gave her an idea. This was no time for honor. The farm pony’s jaws opened wide and clamped shut over the other’s tail.
“YOWCH!”
Applejack swung Rainbow Dash clear over her head and smacked her into the ground behind them. She swore she could practically see the birds making circles around her rival’s head as Rainbow lazily swung her hooves in the air like she was still trying to run. Applejack sat and waited for a minute or two before Rainbow gathered enough composure to remember what was going on. The pegasus took on a sheepish expression, and tried to avoid making eye contact.
“OK, so, uh, yeah… I guess I’d understand if you hate me now. It’s cool and all—can I please just go before this gets any more embarrassing?”
Applejack flexed an eyebrow and stared at Rainbow like she’d gone mad or something. “Dash, do you honestly think Ah’d be upset over something like that?”
“Well… uh, kinda? Maybe? I don’t know?”
Applejack shook her head and nudged Rainbow, helping her back up onto her feet. “Look, Dash, what you’re feeling is nothing t’be ashamed of. If it’s who you are, it’s who you are.”
Dash was puzzled, and a little worried. The lack of complete hatred was nice, maybe even unexpected. But not even a little ribbing? “Really? You’re not mad, at all? Even if—if it’s Twilight?”
The perplexed look on Applejack’s face grew and grew the more she kept talking to the blue mare. “Sugarcube, tell me why Ah’d mind about something like that for one second? Ain’t none of my business who somepony falls for, and if my friend comes asking for help, Ah’m downright obligated to do it.”
Rainbow’s face started to perk up a bit, but she kept that vague suspicion about her. “Wait. So you’re still going to try and help me?”
Applejack groaned and planted a hoof firmly onto her face. “Dash, didn’t Ah say that five seconds ago? A’course Ah’m gonna help. Now c’mon, let’s get back to the farm and talk about this.”
As the sun began to go down on Ponyville, the two mares got back to the trail and wound the way down to Sweet Apple Acres, already feeling lazy and sleepy as the other ponies turned in for the night. As they walked through the gate, Big Macintosh appeared to be the last pony around outside, stepping up to the doorway as they approached. He moved to go in, but caught a glimpse of the approaching mares and opted to hold it open for them instead. “Hey, Applejack; g’evenin’, Rainbow” he said as they walked past him into the house.
The other members of the Apple family appeared to be absent or already off to sleep, and Applejack and Rainbow opting out of dinner, he had nopony to cook for and turned in himself. That left the kitchen table free for the two mares to sit at and talk in some privacy. Applejack started off.
“Okay, Dash, so this here’s real simple. Ah already know how you’re gonna go through with this. There’s one’a them… uh… fancy, movin’ pictures, y’know?”
“Movies?” Rainbow asked, a little amused. It was a new invention, yeah, but nopony seemed quite as out of touch as Applejack did.
“Yeah, them things.” The earth pony confirmed. “Ah heard the big-shot that makes ‘em is gonna be in Canterlot this weekend, putting on shows for anypony to come and watch. One of ‘em is gonna be about Daring Do. Ah figure, since you and Twilight already’re the closest to Daring Do fans we’ve got around here, you ask her out to go see it. And the rest just falls into place. Simple, right?”
“Uh, yeah, but you’re forgetting one thing.” Rainbow replied, staring out the window at the oncoming night. “What if Twilight says no?”
Applejack sat there for a second looking puzzled. She actually hadn’t considered that. Which she guessed was probably good for Rainbow Dash. “Dash, you’ve got nowhere to go but up. If she says yes, then you’ve got what you wanted, right? And even if she said no, you could just put it behind you and move on.”
“You keep forgetting all these other options.” Rainbow noted. “Say maybe she gets freaked out by the whole thing and never wants to talk to me again. What then?”
Applejack caught that little warble on those last two words. She felt her lips curl into a frown as she realized just how stressed this was making the poor pegasus. Applejack tried to look Rainbow in the eye, but the pegasus kept shifting the rose-colored little gems in whatever direction she could to avoid that. AJ gave up with a sigh, and just tried talking. “Rainbow Dash, you’re not giving our friend enough credit. You know as well as Ah do that Twilight would never do anything hurtful like that. That’s just your nerves talking to ya. There’s nothing wrong with being afraid, but you can’t let it stop you either. Ah guarantee ya that Twilight’ll give it a shot. Even if she won’t, Ah’m certain she wouldn’t dare hurt you like that.”
“You really think so?” Rainbow asked, raising her head from the table and daring to let a bit of hope creep into her expression.
Applejack stood up from the table and walked around to Rainbow’s side. She threw a leg over the mare and nuzzled her. “Honest. Now, you go ahead and get some rest, all right? You’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
“…And when I went to bed that night, I couldn’t stop thinking about her; she was in my dreams, even… It was kinda cool, really. A sneak preview of a life with her, y’know? I guess it wasn’t nearly as awesome as the real thing; but that night, it was all the motivation I needed.”
Zecora smiled and nodded, watching intently by the dim light of the fire under her cauldron. Rainbow Dash had been going on for nearly an hour now, telling her every last detail the mare could recall. More than once, the old zebra had considered stopping her to ask a few questions. But every time she did, she had to stop when she saw the look in Rainbow’s eye. Those roses had seemed so dim when the pegasus first walked in, filled to despair so that nothing else could reach in to light them. But now, when she talked, and she really remembered what it felt like to be falling in love for the first time. Her motions were animated, lively and her eyes were as bright as stars. That fire, the zest for life she’d lost was back; even if it was temporary, even if it only lasted until the moment the story ended, Zecora couldn’t bring herself to rob Dash of those moments.
She spared a glance outside, to see Luna’s moon high up in the sky. The night was in its full swing now. It was a good thing the zebra didn’t get much sleep anymore, regardless of late-night visitors. She turned back to nod at Rainbow once again, who had never stopped narrating.
That next morning, the sun stood high in the sky when a knock first came on Twilight Sparkle’s door. Spike had been making a ruckus in the center of the library, so she’d hardly heard it enough to answer. It was a good thing, though, or else she might have heard the noise not unlike a hammer smack coming from her guest’s chest.
“Oh! Hey, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight said as she opened the door. The pegasus, along with her still-fresh wing cast, stood rigid as a post just outside of her home. Her face was plastered with a smile that was almost too wide to pass as real. But this was Rainbow Dash. She was allowed to ham it up once in a while, right? She was gambling on that assumption.
“Oh, uh, h-hey, Twilight!” Dash stuttered out. Dang it, she was stuttering! She had to get herself under control. “So, what’s up?”
“Um, nothing, really.” The mare responded, looking kind of put off by the question. “Spike and I were just cleaning the library. What’s up with you? I wasn’t really expecting to see you this early.”
“Oh, y’know.” Dash replied with a nervous giggle she only managed to half hide. “Just going around Ponyville, looking for, uh… for somepony to do—something to do. Something. Aaaand I just thought I’d drop in.”
Twilight was either as observant as a brick wall or slow to judge, as she didn’t pick up on that slip at all. She opened the door wide and let the pegasus come inside, following her in. “Well, we’re not really up to par with snacks or anything right now; Pinkie Pie kind of “took care” of those the other day. And I don’t think the new Daring Do will be in for at least another two weeks. I’m not really sure what there is for somepony like you to “do” around here.”
Dash nearly cursed out loud when Twilight said that. She’d have to bluff. “Oh, you know, don’t sweat it.” She found a seat as they wandered up into Twilight’s room, and leaned back as casually as she could fake. “We can just talk.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow and stared at the pegasus in her chair. Dash reciprocated the look, and stared back at those eyes. Her confusion and general anxiety kept her from getting caught this time and allowed her to give a shrug. “What?”
“Huh? Nothing, it’s just… you’re not really one for ‘talking’, Rainbow Dash.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? I talk all the time!”
“Well, yeah, but I mean actually sitting down and having a conversation with somepony? I’ve never seen you accomplish that without drinking getting involved. I know you, Dash, and it doesn’t seem like your thing.”
“My ‘thing’?” Rainbow asked, more than a little annoyed. “What’s that supposed to mean? You’ve got some idea of what I like, and because I say otherwise I’m wrong?” She threw up her hooves and practically shouted “Maybe I’ve got a bunch of things I really, really like and you just don’t know about them! Did that ever cross your mind?!”
Twilight was taken aback by such a strong reaction, her face melting into a little frown. The pegasus felt a pain in her chest; as best as she could tell it was her heart shattering. “I’m sorry, Rainbow. I didn’t mean to offend you. I just meant that—“
“Hey, hey, don’t sweat it.” Rainbow replied. She got off of the chair and moved to put a hoof over Twilight’s side. But she stopped as she went for it; she wasn’t ready for that, just yet. “I’m the one who should be apologizing. No need to make such a big deal over a misunderstanding. Come on, sit down.”
Rainbow guided the unicorn over to the cushion she’d been occupying the moment before, guiding her as she sat down before walking—definitely not scurrying, no hurry here—to grab one for herself and sitting down a few feet in front.
Twilight looked up from her position, to see Rainbow smiling again—it was different this time. Her muscles were more relaxed; it wasn’t that weird forced grin she’d had earlier. This smile was earnest, like one from a mother to her foal, or between a young couple. Wait. That last one didn’t sound right. Why did that one come to mind? Weird, Twilight thought.
On the outside, though, the purple mare’s mood brightened considerably, and she asked “So, what exactly did you want to talk about?”
Rainbow Dash felt a bit of shock hit her when it came to her attention: she had no idea how to guide this conversation. She only had a second to think, so she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. “Uh, movies?”
Horseapples.
Twilight tilted her head and thought it over. “Huh. OK. I don’t really know a whole lot about movies, to be honest. I mean, Shining Armor’s mentioned them, but there aren’t really books on a subject that new.”
“Oh, OK. That’s cool.” Rainbow said. She felt a bead of sweat swell up on her forehead, just beneath her mane. This was as good a time as any. Might as well get it over with, right? She tried to talk, but the pegasus found herself mute. A lump in her throat constricted her voice, and any attempts she made at a sound just came out a silent breath. Dash began to panic; images of a thousand ways this exact situation could go wrong started to play out in her head. Any confidence that Applejack had managed to build up in her was dissipating as she realized just how poorly this whole thing could go. Was any of this worth destroying her friendship with Twilight? No. No, definitely not. She had to get out of here before she said something stupid, screw up everything. Her eyes glanced toward the door and—
“Don’t you dare.”
Those were the words mouthed out in silence by Applejack, staring in through the window and snorting up a fog on the glass.
“W-what the--?!”
“What the what?” Twilight asked, following Rainbow’s eyes to the window. But Applejack was already gone. She looked perplexed as she asked the pegasus, “Is everything OK?”
“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, everything’s fine.” Dash responded in her most bold-faced lie yet. Why the hay was Applejack there? No way she could leave now, not with that madmare out there waiting to buck her head clean off if she chickened out. She built herself up, metaphorically speaking, and prepared for the worst. “I was, uh, just surprised at how long it’s already been. So, uh, movies. Did you know somepony’s putting on a free showing this weekend?”
Twilight’s eyes sparkled as she found it a topic she could discuss. “Yeah, I was hearing about that! My colt friend down at the market was telling me all about it.”
SNAP.
A little thread in Rainbow Dash’s mind was severed as she tried to process that last sentence. “C-coltfriend?!”
“Um, yes?” Twilight responded, giving her friend a wary look. Rainbow’s face was wrought of sheer horror, eyes wide and mouth agape, with ears bent back as far as they could possibly go without snapping off. The unicorn studied that look closely, and couldn’t help but worry. She couldn’t tell if Rainbow was about to go into a blood frenzy or start crying. “I-is that a problem?”
“Of course it’s a problem!” Rainbow Dash screeched, voice cracking in ways the unicorn hadn’t thought possible. Dash threw her hooves up in the air as she continued to yell. “Why didn’t you TELL me, hay, tell anypony about that?!”
Twilight winced, and leaned back a bit from the ranting pony. “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t know it was such a big deal that I was friends with a colt to you!”
“Well, y’know what? It IS! Because after I finally build up the nerve t—“ Wait a minute. What did she just say? “--…Uh, repeat that last sentence?”
“I didn’t know it was such a big deal that I was friends with a colt?”
“Horseapples.” Rainbow Dash’s face started to shift, from her normal cyan coloring to something more like magenta. Twilight finally made the connection, and her own cheeks flushed a bit as she laughed it off.
“Rainbow, you silly filly! Don’t you think I’d tell you and the other girls if I had a—“
Twilight’s talking cut off, and something seemed to dawn on her. The jovial expression she’d been wearing a moment ago was replaced by curiosity, and anxiety. Her eyebrow arched as she stared at Rainbow suspiciously. The pegasus was already starting to wither under that gaze.
“…Rainbow? Why were you so upset when you thought I had a coltfriend? And what were you about to say when you stopped?”
Crap. Crap. Crap. Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap
Rainbow Dash’s mind fizzled out, and her face went as red as a ripe apple. She needed to bluff. Just for a second. “Hey, Twilight, you think you could turn off the furnace for a while?”
“The furnace isn’t on, Rainbow Dash.”
crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap
Rainbow Dash sat up quickly from her seat, eyes dead-set on the door. She broke out that malformed, fake smile she’d walked in with as she made a brisk pace for the exit. “HeyTwilightit’sbeengreattalkingwithyouandallbutIjustrealizedIhavelikeatonofweatherponyworktodoandeverybody’scountingonmeasusualsoIjustneedtogoaheadbeingawesomeelsewhereokbeengreatseeya!”
The door slammed behind her as Rainbow Dash ran for the hills, she needed to get away. Anywhere but here, before—
“What in the hay do ya think you’re doing?!”
cracrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap
A lasso wrapped itself taut around Rainbow’s legs and pulled her straight into the dirt. She tried to scream for help, but it was too late. Applejack was already dragging her behind the treehouse, to “talk” in private.
“Rainbow Dash, what was that? Why’d you run away, Ah’m telling you ya had this!”
“You saw the whole thing, Applejack! That weird look she got! She looked so, so, angry!”
“Probably because you were bucking things up like usual!”
“That doesn’t matter! I just had to leave!”
“Why?!”
“How am I supposed to ask Twilight out when I screwed up the whole conversation like that?!”
“Wait, what?”
Applejack and Rainbow turned in abstract horror to see Twilight Sparkle coming around the corner, boasting the most dumbfounded expression either of them had ever seen. Applejack recovered from the shock quickly, and smacked Rainbow in the back of her head. “Ah told ya we should’ve talked about this somewhere more private!”
“You dragged me here, you maniac!”
“GIRLS!” The earth pony and pegasus immediately ceased their bickering and sheepishly bowed their heads before Twilight’s glare. “I think it’s time somepony told me what’s going on. The whole story.”
Both of the other mares stood there in silence for a moment, before Applejack put a swift kick into Rainbow’s side. “Go on. Tell her.”
“Can I please just go home?”
“Ah’ll break your other wing if you try.”
Rainbow sighed, and bowed her head to look at the ground. “Twi, I… I’ve kind of been crushing on you for a while, and I was wondering if you’d… if you’d go to see that movie? With me, I mean?”
Rainbow Dash’s heart was going faster than her own wings had ever carried her as she caught Twilight’s eyes looking at her. Analyzing her. Judging. She’d never realized how awful that feeling was, when she wasn’t certain the pony doing it would adore her. The seconds whittled away into hours in the mare’s head, as she waited for something, any kind of response. The sweat was starting to build up on her brow, which she hoped to Celestia neither of the ponies with her noticed. She started to wonder if the unicorn would ever speak up, until finally she spoke.
“All right. I’ll do it.”
Rainbow Dash—and Applejack, admittedly—looked at her flabbergasted. The purple mare had a cheery smile on her face, like she’d made the easiest decision in the world. “W-wh-really?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Wait, does that mean you’re a… er, ‘into’ mares?”
“No, I’m not.” Twilight told her. The whiplash from her words stung as much as an actual whip. “Or, at least, I don’t think I am. But you’ve been the most loyal friend I could ask for since the day we met; the least I could do is give you a chance.”
Rainbow Dash sat there for a moment and let her face hang wide in shock, and let her reflexes take effect as they naturally shifted into a beaming grin. Like a bolt of lightning, she nearly-teleported to Twilight and grabbed her up with both her front legs in as tight of a hug as she could give. “Yes! Thank you, thank you! This is gonna be so awesome!”
Zecora finally felt the tale winding down.
“I’m glad to see the moment didn’t get to your head.
Was your date quite as ‘awesome’ as you said?”
Rainbow Dash looked crestfallen for a moment. She scratched her head nervously and giggled a bit. “Er, no. No, it actually wasn’t. We got the crappiest seats in the place, somepony spilled their cider on Twi’s lap and I got into a fight with them. They kicked us out of the theater…”
Zecora chuckled at imagining the scene, which got an irate look from Rainbow. “Hey, I’m not done yet! We ended up spending the night in the train station because I forgot to get hotel tickets, and… well, that wasn’t something Twilight’s parents needed to know about yet, y’know? But… it was the weirdest thing; that next morning, she asked me when we’d get to do it again. Even after that disaster, it ended up great just because we were together. She never let any of the screw-ups change her opinion of me. I guess she was just awesome like that, y’know?”
Zecora bit her lip, wincing as she saw the realization hit Rainbow Dash that she wasn’t talking about yesterday. That was a long, long time ago. The pegasus repeated that one, key word to herself. “Was.”
Zecora raised her eyebrows and vigorously shook her head.
“No, no, Rainbow Dash! She is, I say.
Your love is not so weak as to fade away.
The bonds of love are strong as steel
No matter what despair makes you feel!
The love you share, it will not end,
I believe even Death it will transcend.”
The pegasus stared at Zecora for a long time, and the zebra returned that gaze. And she watched, slowly, despairing as that spark faded. It drained and drained, until her rose-colored eyes were dulled like stone. She stood up, and silently moved for the door. “Thanks for the chat, Zecora. But I think I should be going. Good night.”
Zecora couldn’t bear to watch, and focused her eyes into her cauldron as she heard the door shut behind her. She sighed as the fumes bubbled up from the pot.
“Rainbow Dash, I fear not for your heart.
The process of healing is a time-consuming art.
But in your future, I sense a great rend…
For your healing shall come… at your life’s end.”
Outside, Rainbow Dash walked the slow path out of the Everfree Forest. It would be a long night; and cold, when there was no one to share warmth with.
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I've gotta ask (before reading this), how in the hay are you writing this so fast? Presumably you wrote it all and are just doing final reviews before posting? If this is basically off-hand writing, you must be some kind of wizard. I actually feel a bit ashamed at how godawfully slow I am
604463 I update chapter by chapter as I write it. So what is posted right now is all I've written. I DO have a plot summary that I've written to the end, and it itself is about ten pages hand-written. But that's subject to change on my whim.
That said, I do lack an editor so that probably cuts out normal time as I just do a single run-through before I post, correcting my various mistakes, usually involving person-->pony grammar. And as I have about as much pride as the theoretical child of Fluttershy and Piglet, it's not like I'm writing anything particularly amazing either.
604491
I think my brain just melted. The notion that somebody could write something of this quality at this rate is almost incomprehensible. I agonize over every paragraph, it takes me months to write just a few thousand words. I am humbled by your talent.
Dawww the story about how they got together is amazing
"Sorry Applejac, but" → "Sorry Applejack, but"
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Sound's good, I can't wait to read it once I have some time.
This story can only be described as epic.
604606 It ees fixed.
And wow, I guess I should probably thank everybody! I didn't think this many people would like this thing!
That was some damn brilliant writing and the execution of this narrative is brilliant. Excuse me, I'm going to go cry in a corner now.
604491 You're writing something..beautiful to me in least, everypony is at that old age. RD just lost a true love to fate or something else.
Don't put yourself down
Y U MAKE ME B'AW?!
Gawd, this is so sad. Well, time to keep reading!
Rainbow announced. “I can’t exactly fly back to Cloudsdale like this,"
I realize it's been awhile since this was posted, so I dunno if you're still doing revisions on it or not--either way, RD doesn't live in Cloudsdale. Her cloud castle sits just on the outskirts of Ponyville--the only cloud building in Ponyville, actually.
D'aaaaawww
I had such a déjà vu when reading the short summary of their date (now i would love to read a whole chapter or two just for it, i bet that night together at the train station must have been quite closely~, lol that RD had already planned to get hotel tickets but forgot them (thank Celestia i think that would have been too fast for Twi XD)), it reminded me of Twilights List just in reserve roles.
A perfect chapter, all the whole feelings you poured into it alone makes up what others can manage to write down in several dozen of chapters. The nervousness, the fear, the angst, the happiness, the joy, the realization of that it wasn´t yesterday, the sadness, the loneliness, coldness... all that made a great and tearful ride for me and probably the other readers. The "Was" reminded me as well that this purple Unicorn´s gone now, that there won´t be a similar experience between the two of them in the future, just Rainbow and her memories.......
I kinda wished you had written only the whole story back then when RD fell in love with Twi, how her date went, how their friends helped them to sort out their feelings (I guess even Twi had needed help to come in terms with her own feelings; as she said she´s not into mares or better said never gave it a thought before, talking about it to the others would help her in that regard), how they dated more, how their parents/friends saw their relationship themselves and how they married and end it there with the *happily ever after*...... ofc then you´d never gotten the same amount of sadness as with this premise cause the happily after has ended for good old RD. She´s alone now or so she feels at the moment; Twi is no longer at her side but buried as a cold body, no more words just memories will be heard in her sweet voice, no more loving smile of her will be seen expect on photos and movies, no more warm touch felt just the wind blowing in her coat.....
I can´t imagine how this must feel when you go back home into your bed made and meant for two... and one side would stay lonely from now on.... Poor RD, going home will just deepen the pain she feels right now.
I think she needs more such talks, to be reminded that she gave Twi happiness and she her, that they loved each other for so long, that their time meant something and that Twi will be always there for her even in heaven.
It reminds me of the fic where Twi died as well and RD confesses to her grave she loved her but hadn´t the courage to tell her when she had been alive. It was just such as sad, but RD there also promised she would live for Twilight and everything she´ll do will be for her and that she should wait for her when she comes to meet Twi up there.
And Twi listened to all this as a ghost present on her own grave... *The Things we leave behind* was the name, pretty good if you haven´t read it yet, do so, it´s more than worth the time.