5 - Another Color
Twilight sorted through their mail. At first, it had been strange being back in their small apartment after their extravagant honeymoon. After two months went by, however, a sort of routine took hold. Rather than memories of the honeymoon flashing through her mind, Twilight was concentrating on the name of one of the letters she pulled out of the stack. It was from Pinkie Pie and likely just another one of her over-enthusiastic congratulations cards that she wouldn't stop sending.
What attracted Twilight's attention was not the sender's name but rather the recipient's. It was the first time she had really taken notice of the name on any of the envelopes since the wedding. Such things were usually not worthy of attention, so it was only now that she realized it was different.
Twilight Shimmer.
Shimmer.
The letter was dropped quickly back onto the kitchen table and Twilight almost tripped over herself reaching the desk in the living room. She threw open a drawer and pulled out the folder on the top that contained the record copies of the papers they had filled out at the courthouse. One of the forms had a family name change field that automated the name changing that often occurred with legal marriages. There were a variety of checkboxes there: Keep, Combine, Borrow, and New.
She had been so tired that day. All of the wedding planning...Sunset had filled out some of the papers for her while she had relaxed in one of the lounge's plush chairs. The two of them had never landed on a decision for their names and so decided at the last minute to keep their original names and then change later if they wanted to.
There was the copy. “Borrow” was checked on Twilight's side of the paper. That meant that she had been legally renamed with Sunset's family name. Pinkie hadn't pulled a prank on the letter address. That was her real name now.
Twilight dropped unceremoniously into the desk chair and slid the form onto the surface of the desk. Slowly but calmly she took her thick-rimmed black glasses off of her face. Then she rubbed the bridge of her nose and leaned back.
“Hah,” she let out after a pause. “Haha!”
She glanced over to the form on the desk and slapped her hands onto the armrests, the wedding ring on her finger making a clicking sound in the process.
“You cheeky girl!” she half shouted and half laughed. It was a heart-stopping revelation at first, but Twilight was fast to recover. Sunset was going to get it when she got home.
Twilight slid her glasses back onto her face and tightened the ponytail that held her bountiful hair up. The clock on the wall indicated it would be two hours before Sunset got back from her odd job over at Night Light's spare invention shop. Twilight would have spent time reflecting on their unique professional positions if it were not for the timely knock at the door.
BANG BANG BANG!
“Wonder who that could be?” Twilight rolled her eyes.
She got up from the chair and patiently walked to the door in her purple slippers in spite of the impatient sounds coming from outside. When she unlocked and opened the door, the visitor came falling forward. She obviously was attempting to put her full weight into the next knock. Twilight caught the athletic girl in her arms and helped her back to full height.
“Heh heh, sorry about that,” Rainbow Dash giggled in that uniquely embarrassed manner of hers. Some might even call it raspy.
“Still not taking it easy,” Twilight shook her head and led the rocker girl into the apartment.
Rainbow closed the door behind them and took Twilight's offer to sit down on the small gray sofa with her. She couldn't help bouncing a bit on it and admiring the comfortableness. Twilight noticed this and rose a brow.
The rainbow-haired girl's ponytail looked messier than usual and her outfit was different as well. Her black v-neck shirt and dark blue jeans looked like they had seen better days, but they also didn't look any worse than typical fashion for the kind of girl Rainbow was. A rough-and-tumble athlete and lead guitarist. Rarity so often disapproved.
It was only now that Rainbow had still not spoken and continued looking around at the room in awe that Twilight realized something was wrong. This was not the typical unscheduled friendly surprise visit. Rainbow had come here because something was up. The only question was what. The genius bookworm took the hospitable route.
“Want something to drink?”
“Huh? Oh, uh, nah. I'm good,” Rainbow made that embarrassed chuckle again.
“Well you might want to change your mind before I sit down again,” Twilight grinned and got up. She went to the kitchen, which wasn't that far away because of the apartment's size. “I'm having grape juice.”
“Isn't that stuff for kids?” RD joked in return.
Twilight rolled her eyes as she retrieved two glasses and opened the fridge. “Real fruit juice is a useful part of any balanced diet. It's high in Vitamin C and I happen to know you drink it from time to time.”
“Touche. How about some cider instead?”
“Coming right up.”
The bespectacled girl was done with the drinks and back on the sofa without incident. She gave Rainbow her glass of fizzy cider and set her own on one of the coasters on the coffee table. Before Twilight could try to find the elusive topic, Rainbow spoke up.
“How'd you even get this place?” she leaned back on the sofa as if it were her own. “I mean, you haven't started that lab assistant job yet and Sunset doesn't make a lot from invention work, right?”
“It's research associate,” the young married woman corrected her friend as gently as she could for a matter that was so vitally important to her. “There's a big difference and it's for a very serious scientific frontier. Quantum energy transmission. Yes, Sunset doesn't make a lot, but it's enough to get by until I start earning. We got this apartment on discount through Applejack. I would have thought she'd have told you.”
“Applejack?!” Rainbow almost spit her cider out onto the sofa but stopped herself. “Since when has Miss Hayhouse had a sweet pad like this?!”
“It's not hers, silly,” Twilight smiled and sipped her juice. “It belongs to her aunt and uncle who live here in the city. They wanted to rent it out to people they could trust, so AJ jumped on Sunny and I when she heard we were looking. They're really very sweet people.”
Rainbow shook her head. She could almost see herself in the reflection of the polished wooden floor. “That's the Apples for you,” she shrugged. “I remember her mentioning some Orange relations or something. Just never thought they were the rich city types. Kind of surprised they allowed pets.”
Spike was napping peacefully in the corner of the room. His plush doggie bed looked even more fancy than the apartment. The purple velvet lining could have been Rarity's doing and, in fact, there did seem to be a tag on the side with her emblem.
“Now,” Twilight put her glass down once more and leaned back with Rainbow. “Want to tell me what brings the invincible Rainbow Dash this afternoon?”
The all-star athlete grimaced at that. Then she dodged her eyes. “Yeah...”
No more words followed, which left an odd tinge in the air.
It was not common for RD to hesitate like this. Twilight shifted closer and put her hand on her friend's arm in reassurance. “It's okay,” she peered around to catch Rainbow's eyes. “You can tell me anything, Dash. We're friends.”
Rainbow gave in. She sat her cider onto the table and then sat back, twiddling her thumbs. “I'm...”
Twilight waited when the girl paused to form her words.
“I'm in a...bad spot.”
“Yes?”
“Look,” Rainbow sighed and met Twilight's gaze, “we graduated, right? My parents are, like, the hard types, you know? They think I'm just kind of my own thing now. I'm supposed to have my own place in a month. A month! They're going to kick me out and I sort of had it out with them...”
Twilight didn't know whether to be mad or keep cool and comfort her friend. She went with the latter since the former was more Sunset's territory. “I know it won't help for me to pass judgment on your parents. I can't tell them how to treat you or manage their house. But I can give you help when you need it. I'm sure Sunset would agree. Our place is yours until you can figure something out.”
Rainbow sat there stunned. She should have expected such an offer. After all, they were close friends and this is what she came here for in the first place. Still, it amazed her that Twilight would let her in like that so soon after she got married. Rainbow wasn't totally insensitive. She could understand Twilight and Sunset wanting their privacy for a while.
“I can't do that to you!” Rainbow quickly became passionate about it, even realizing she was arguing against herself. She should have accepted the offer but now found herself bending to her emotions against it. “Besides, I...don't....”
“Don't want to be a burden on anyone?”
Twilight's exactness stuck a pin in Rainbow's heart. “Ugh,” the athlete groaned and leaned forward to hold her head as she stared purposelessly downward.
The bookworm cozied up to Rainbow and wrapped an arm around her. “So you came here for friendship advice?”
Rainbow's expression flatlined. “You don't have to be so smug about it.”
Twilight hadn't thought that she was, but she just might have been enjoying the irony of the situation. Rainbow had been one member in the magic-wielding group of friends at CHS long before she had transferred in. “You've been to the others?”
“Rarity's busy with her new boutique in the city, Pinkie Pie can barely afford her own place let alone take someone on, and Applejack? I'm not exactly looking to live a hundred miles out in the middle of nowhere. I've got to be in the city if I'm going to have any chance of getting out on my own.”
“Hmm,” Twilight kept one hand around Rainbow and tapped her chin in thought with the other. “None of them could let you stay for a short while?”
“They're all in super strict apartments. The landlords hate even the visitors. Rarity might have her own pad if she can upgrade the boutique but that won't be for at least a year. You should have seen Pinkie's landlord. I don't know how she even got an apartment in the first place. The old lady was giving me the death glare just for visiting Pinkie for ten minutes-”
“Fluttershy?”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “She lives in the animal shelter. She's got a room, but still.”
“She's pretty amazing, huh?” Twilight giggled.
Rainbow dropped her face into her palms, cluing Twilight into her despair once more. “Who am I kidding? It doesn't matter where I go or end up. I've got no future!”
Now that made the married girl flinch. This was getting touchy. Rainbow didn't get this way often as far as she knew. Was she really this depressed?
“Hey, now,” Twilight tried to come up with some kind of effective encouragement. Thankfully, she had read plenty of textbooks on how to handle such situations. “You've still got that band with Pinkie and Vinyl and...that one girl...”
Rainbow just groaned again. “On weekends and we never get paid for performances. You never get paid unless you've made it big. And anyway, even if we did get a big break, it would never be enough to live off of. And we'd be touring all the time. I love playing, but I just don't know if I want that.”
“Athletes have to go from city to city too,” Twilight thoughtfully added.
“Yeah, but it's not the same. There's a lot of downtime. It's like you can just be in one city most of the time and you get flown up to another for like a weekend or something. At least with the nationals.”
“So you want a city to call home?” Twilight cocked her head.
Rainbow folded her arms at her chest and thought about it. “I guess I do.”
It was working. Twilight had managed to get Rainbow really thinking about her goals and desires instead of the hopelessness. She kept the girl talking and refilled their drinks after enough time had passed that she needed to do so. They talked more about Rainbow's visits to their other friends and looked for possibilities. When they came up with nothing in the end, Twilight renewed her offer.
Rainbow was now laying sideways on the sofa with her bootless feet hanging off one side. Twilight perched on the end where Dash's face rested. She had also taken off her shoes and had switched the surround sound stereo on to play soothing orchestral music. She often found it helpful for calming the mood and stimulating helpful thought.
“Basketball is done. The Volleyball League dumped my application too,” Rainbow continued talking about her efforts. “The Soccer League is my last chance.”
“You're pretty good at that,” Twilight remarked and looked to the desk in the room. It had all of her unfinished work for the day. It was worth waiting on, though, for the sake of her friend.
Rainbow shifted on the sofa and leaned her head on her arms. “I'm good at all sports,” she grinned big.
“I know,” the glasses-wearing girl giggled and then unfolded a blanket she had retrieved earlier. Rainbow would need it if she were staying over. She threw it over RD and stuck her tongue out when the girl's face was buried beneath it.
“Hey!” Rainbow was between being annoyed and simply laughing. “I'm going to get you for that!”
Twilight stood up from the sofa to escape Rainbow's arms, which quickly shot out from under the blanket. She didn't step far enough away, though. RD caught her skirt and yanked her into falling back onto the sofa. Mostly, she landed on RD herself. The rainbow rocker flipped the other girl into the sheets and proceeded to tickle her mercilessly.
“You like that, egghead?!” Rainbow laughed almost as loud as Twilight.
With tears in her eyes and thrashing limbs, the bookworm begged for mercy.
“One condition!” Rainbow demanded.
Through her giggles and chuckles, the smarty-pants begged for the stipulation. She even tried kicking Rainbow off of her, but the girl was too fast and flexible.
“You answer a question,” Rainbow answered. She intentionally said it in a vague manner.
Twilight, of course, agreed. She had little choice left if she wanted to keep from wetting herself from laughter. When Rainbow finally quit, Twilight was red-faced and out of breath. Tears were in her eyes.
“So, question,” Rainbow began.
Twilight meekly reached over to her glass on the coffee table and took a sip of the juice. For some reason, she felt thirsty. Rainbow proceeded with her question.
“What's it like doing it with a girl?”
Twilight nearly spit her drink out mid-swallow.
“Heh, sorry,” Rainbow blushed and rubbed the back of her head. She noticed her friend's wide-eyed stare. “Didn't mean to catch you off guard.”
The blue-haired girl recovered and then sat up straight. She patted her skirt out evenly and cleared her throat. “That's not something one should be talking about.”
“Aw, don't be such a stiff,” Rainbow nudged her friend. “I've seen how good Sunset is on the guitar. I can only ima-”
The front door popped open, interrupting the rainbow rocker's increasingly suggestive tone. Neither would have heard Sunset walk in, but the door let in quite a bit of light before it was closed. Sunset looked tired but not frazzled and her spouse left the sofa almost as fast as she wanted to leave the conversation.
“Welcome home, Sunny,” Twilight enthused. The issue of her changed last name had been forgotten for now, so it was not raised as previously planned. Rainbow's issue was much more immediate on Twilight's mind.
The redhead barely hung her black jacket on the coat hanger before getting hugged tight by her wife. She never shirked the attention and instead returned it happily. Also, being as observant as she was, she had noticed Rainbow's motorcycle outside and saw the person who owned it on the sofa.
“What's up, Rainbow?” Sunset greeted over her snuggling wife.
“My life,” the athlete shrugged with the hint of a returning frown.
Sunset glanced back to her spouse who leaned off of her.
“We need to talk,” Twilight said simply. She adjusted her glasses.
It was going to be an interesting evening.
Stats
Page generated in 0.023 seconds
Total duration
1,025 users online
1,690,259 hits today, 2,167,270 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Uh-Oh, run, Sunset! The dreaded "We need to talk"! It's over! Abandon ship!
This is getting good. It'll be interesting with Rainbow around.
Excellent chapter
Yaaaaayy!!!!!!! Please continue!!!!
6533779
6539331
I'm wrapping up my other story, Hive Alive, right now. This story will become my primary one once that's done. So y'all gettin' more!
Ooh! This is getting juicy.
Where is this going, I wonder? This is gonna end up being one of those seven-year stories, isn't it? xD 'Cause that's fine. I'm on board!
Watch out, Sunny. Next time Twi's thinking about it, you're gonna get a good tongue lickin' for that sly name decision. In more ways than one.
I always figured RD would go into military after school.
Something like paratroopers.
Uh-oh. The friend staying at the newlyweds' place? This is going to be interesting.
Ha! That title drop!
Sure is gonna take awhile to get over that last name change, but is probably common with many people after getting married. I think. 🤔
Most people have their own ways with style rarity, and it's something not to argue about.
That's kind of them. 😊
Damn, that's crazy!
Must be hard to deal with. 😰
Wait, wasn't twilight wearing slippers earlier?