Just Dropping In

by Gunsmith

Chapter 20

Slowly, but surely, I begin to wake up. My senses come to me in the order they always have: hearing, touch, taste, smell, and finally, sight. I can hear a few birds singing in the distance, close to the ground far below me; their songs are interrupted every so often by the sound of soft snoring in the room. The snoring comes from the pony I can feel pressed into me; Rainbow Dash is warm and soft against my torso. The room is fairly warm as well, and a light breeze blows through it. A taste of raspberry muffin remains in my mouth, left over from the previous night's dinner. A spicy scent fills my nose, warming it. I smile to myself, content with what I feel, and open my eyes.

I first see the cyan blue mare who hugs me as we lay in her comfortable bed. She is brightly lit by the warm summer sunshine of the late morning. A peaceful smile is on her lips as she lies on my matte black chest, her head rising and falling steadily as I inhale and exhale. Her silky mane spills about me, the six colors of it appearing bright and vivid as they reflect some of the light in the room. One of my forelegs lies against her hair; I lightly pet it, feeling its softness combined with the warmth it has taken in from the sunlight. I move my hoof a few inches, then gently set it down on her exposed cheek. I begin stroking her velvety cyan fur, relishing the warmth she always seems to give off.

Her snoring, which I find both cute and comical, ceases, and she begins breathing slowly and deeply, still tired and relaxed in the morning. I continue moving my hoof along her cheek, my black fur brushing against her light blue fur. Though she is awake, she continues to let me do this, and lets out a small sigh of relaxation. After a few seconds, she tilts her head up, looking at me. Rainbow's eyes sparkle, the magenta irises reflecting the light in the room as her multicolored mane does. I move the foreleg that was stroking her face over to her shoulder that is just above the blankets, rubbing back and forth slowly. We smile at each other, looking into the eyes of one another for some time. Eventually, Dash closes her eyes again, laying her head back upon my chest and sighing again. I lean back against the plushy cloud pillow of her bed, looking up at the fluffy white ceiling while I continue to rub her shoulder.

How long has it been...? About...six? Six months? Yes, about six months. Six months since I landed on the doorstep of the pony I hug against me. It is summer, something like June now. Half a year...has it been that long? It doesn't seem like it at all. It seems like only yesterday I woke up in a bed that wasn't mine, with a body that wasn't mine, yet was, with a broken right wing. And in the house of my favorite character from a television show. I can still remember everything, everything that happened that day. But, I still don't know if I really understand what happened. Maybe I never will. Maybe I'm not meant to. And...I'm okay with that.

I begin thinking about my family again, my friends, my past, seeing it before me, displayed on the white ceiling for only me to see. It's been a while since I've remembered any of it. I find that I do not feel sad, or homesick, or angry, or anything else; rather, I feel...content. I don't feel happy about the fact that everything I have ever known is gone, not at all. But I do feel like it was...worth it? That seems to describe it, I suppose. I lost everything, but found...this. A world I had adored for so long. A career I enjoy and never want to leave. More true friends than anyone could ever hope for. And...love. For a moment I feel the brush of Rainbow Dash's fur against mine as I move my foreleg along her shoulder. She stirs a little, and I begin releasing my grasp on her, allowing her to get up. The colorful pegasus rolls off of me and out of the bed, and I follow suit, landing on the floor and sinking into it a little. We grasp the messy covers together, pulling it back into place. Dash's cutie mark comes back into view as the blankets are straightened out, a storm cloud with a tri-colored lightning bolt emblazoned on the purple covers. I smile to her, receiving a smile and a friendly gaze that I hold with her for a moment. We trot over to the stairs, beginning the descent down to the kitchen. Tank greets us there, looking hungry, and I fetch a carrot for him, giving him a friendly pat on the shell before letting him eat.

She begins to ransack the cupboards, deciding on what to have for breakfast. Watching her, an idea forms in my head. "Hey, Rainbow?" I ask, attracting her attention. She turns, smiling at me.

"Yeah, what's up?" she replies in her scratchy voice.

I smile, then say, "How about I take you out for...um...brunch today?" The idea just sounds like it would be something nice for this late Saturday morning in summer. The air that flows in through the windows feels nice, and a quick glance out one of the window-holes in the cloud house shows me the day is a nice one. Rainbow's home seems to be the only cloud in the sky.

She smiles back, a hint of playfulness on her face. "Are you asking me on a...date?" she asks, like a news reporter critically questioning someone. I grin back to her.

"Why, yes, I think I am."

She continues to look at me playfully, then smiles sincerely. "I think that sounds awesome." I smile wider and nod to her, feeling pleased.

"I'll be right back," I inform her, turning back to the stairs and stepping up them. I make my way to the second floor of the cloud tower, the living room. I trot further into it, moving to the largest couch at the back of the room. I sidestep the table and move to the side of the couch, leaning down. A small pile of cloth bags sits beside the cloud sofa, neatly arranged. A month or so ago I had finally remembered to ask Rainbow Dash if a bank existed in Ponyville; she gladly showed me its location and helped me get an account started. While most of my bits are i the bank, stored away with little use to me currently, I still keep a small stash of money where I always have, in case of a rainy day. I'm not really sure how much I'll need, so I pick up two bags, filled with ten jingly bits each, in my teeth, storing them away on me. Satisfied, I return to the stairs, trotting down.

Rainbow stands idly, watching Tank eat. She turns when I reach the bottom of the stairs, smiling. I return the smile.

"So, where would you like to go?" I ask her. She frowns in thought, glancing upwards. She thinks for a few seconds, then returns her eyes to mine.

"Well...I've always kinda wanted to try that fancy place down in Ponyville. Y'know, near town hall?" I nod in affirmation, remembering. I also recall the nicety of the restaurant, and wonder if I ought to clean myself up a little. "I should probably...um...look better, if we're going to go there," says Dash, seemingly thinking the same thing as me.

"You already look amazing, you know," I say, smiling warmly to her. She blushes, smiling and looking embarrassed.

"I...I don't look that great...I've still got bed head." She points a hoof towards her mussed hair, continuing to blush. I chuckle, then direct one of my forelegs towards the stairs, indicating for her to go ahead of me. She nods and does so, and I follow her up to her bedroom. Once we reach the top floor, she hangs a left, entering her bathroom. I stand in the doorway, waiting to see what she wants to do. "Mind helping me?" Rainbow Dash asks, nodding towards the brush on the counter in the cloud bathroom. I bite down on the brush's handle, spinning it in my teeth so the bristles face outwards. She smiles and turns to one side, flipping her head to move all of the hair in her mane to the side facing me.

I approach her mane with the brush in my jaws. I start at the portion of her mane at the bottom of her neck, pulling the hairbrush as gently as I can through her slightly-tangled hair. The first of the six colors in her hair to become smooth is violet. It is followed by blue, then green as I continue to move up her neck, brushing steadily and carefully. When I am finished with that portion of her mane, I step back and look at it. It is completely smooth, all of the colors aligning in perfectly proportioned stripes. I move back towards her, this time nearing her head. My height gives me the perfect position over the remaining three colors in her mane, red, orange, and yellow. I take the brush through all three at once, then go back a few times to make sure I've gotten everything. I step away from her, replacing the brush on the counter.

As Rainbow looks at herself in the mirror, I look at my work as well. Her mane looks much different from usual; all of the jagged and rough edges it usually has are gone, replaced now by smooth curves. No tufts of hair stick up, and all of the colors in her hair are smooth and flow flawlessly into one another. She smiles, looking pleased, then looks over at me.

"Okay, your turn," she says. I snort, then trot closer to her. She picks up the hairbrush, then looks up to me, frowning. I understand immediately, and sit down on the floor. As soon as I do, I feel the bristles of the hairbrush begin combing through my mane. I feel a tug here and there, but Dash seems to be trying not to pull on my hair too bad, After a few minutes of sitting still, she steps back, and I stand again. I look in the mirror, turning at an angle to see myself. My two-toned mane of gray is now smooth, feeling somewhat softer against my head and neck. The lighter inner layer of gray is perfectly outlined by the darker outer layer of gray in my mane. It looks nice, but I would rather have it at its usual unkempt state. I'm absolutely sure Rainbow Dash feels the same way in regards to her mane.

"Thanks," I say, smiling before heading to the doorway. "Coming?" I ask, noticing she remains in front of the mirror, looking at herself.

"Yeah, I'll be down in a sec," she replies, smiling. I turn and trot down the stairs, waiting in the kitchen for her. Tank continues to munch on his apple, only halfway through it at this point. I smile at the reptilian aviator, watching him slowly eat until I hear Dash arrive a minute later. I turn to look at her, a part of me wondering what she was doing. I instantly notice she has altered her hair a little more. Near the bottom of her mane, she has tied all of her hair together with an orange hair tie. It makes the colors in her mane expand near the middle; I recognize the hairstyle as the one she wore during the Grand Galloping Gala. I blink once in some surprise; the simple change has made her look so much more different.

"Wow..." I begin. "...you look...gorgeous."

Rainbow blushes heavily and looks down, pawing at the floor a little. "You really think so?" she asks softly.

"Of course! Just...wow." I am truly stunned by the way she looks; she seems so...beautiful, delicate, feminine, nothing at all like the usual adventurous, tomboyish Rainbow Dash. The fact that she is the fastest and most competitive pony in Equestria, yet is also...this...amazes me in every way. I continue to gaze at her for a moment longer, smiling in awe. When the red disappears from her face and she looks back up at me, I ask, "Ready to go?" She nods and smiles to me, and I hold open the door for her with a foreleg, following her outside after she trots through the doorway.

The day is bright and clear. It is a warm summer morning, or midday, and the light breeze that courses through the air comes with perfect timing, just as the heat begins to get uncomfortable. Dash and I fly at a slower rate than normal, to try and keep the disarray of our manes to a minimal. Though I would rather be going fast, it is nice to just cruise along casually and enjoy the day. The currents flowing under my wings, keeping me aloft as I steadily coast along beside the cyan pegasus, make for a smooth flight down to Ponyville. The great conditions make me want to fly freely so badly, but I know it can wait.

We land on the outskirts of the town, trying not to kick up too much dust as we settle down. I smile over at her as I fold my wings at my sides, then we begin trotting into Ponyville. We landed outside a portion of the town not too far from the center, where the restaurant is, so the trip to the town square is short. Ponies of every color, shape, and size bustle about as the time nears midday on this Saturday. I see them going into the shops decorating the center of town, buying things from various vendors, going into and out of the town hall, and just chatting amongst themselves. I look over at my workplace, the stone building with its rusted iron sign bearing the symbol that also rests on my flanks. I smile, thinking of it. Forge usually keeps the shop open on the weekends, but he tends it alone. I've asked before if he wanted me in every day, as he is, but he said that it's still his shop. I understand what he meant by that; he feels a connection to his shop, his life's work, and I know it's the least I can do to respect that. I turn away from the smithy, looking around for the restaurant. I spot it, and motion for Rainbow to follow me to it.

We weave about the ponies crowding the town square, working our way over to the restaurant. Upon nearing it, I observe some of the details. The restaurant has a small, white building, which looks similar to some of the Canterlot architecture I have seen. It appears to hold a small seating area, along with some sort of checkout counter; that's about all I can see from looking through the windows of the structure. The majority of the restaurant appears to be outdoors, with many tables shaded by umbrellas. Hay bales appear to serve as chairs, and there are two to four of the hay seats at each outdoor table. The tuxedoed pony waiter I had seen before trots from table to table, delivering and taking orders from the residents of Ponyville seated at them. I note that there don't seem to be too many ponies eating there, a fact I am glad of. Rainbow Dash and I reach the door of the restaurant, and I push it open with my head, holding it for her once inside.

A pony stands behind the counter I had spotted, also wearing a tuxedo and looking quite spiffy. He smiles at us, then asks, "Hello, party of how many today?"

"Just us two," I reply, smiling back to him, then looking over at Dash. She smiles cheerfully up at me.

"Right this way," the pony replies, stepping out from behind the counter and trotting towards an open doorway. We follow him outside. He guides us over to an empty table with two bales of hay, nodding and stepping back once beside it to allow us to sit down. I smile and nod to him in thanks, and he trots back to the white building. I clamber up on to the bound block of hay; it is quite comfortable, and is much better than sitting on the ground. The umbrella over the table makes the air around the table feel cool. I look up and see Rainbow situating herself on the hay bale. She smiles at me, and I return the smile happily. The pony waiter approaches our table, setting two paper menus and two potted flowering plants in front of us before trotting off. I glance to one of the menus, reaching out with my right hoof and pulling it towards me. I look up and down the menu.

There aren't many foods on the list that I recognize. Many are names of flowers coupled with the dish they are in, like Oleander Souffle or Bread and Buttercup. I frown, only seeing a few flowers or plants I know. I look up at the rainbow-maned mare sitting across the small table from me. She looks up from her own menu, a frown on her face as well.

"I'm not gonna lie, I have no idea as to what any of this is," I tell her flatly, smiling a little in some embarrassment.

"Good, I thought I was the only one," she replies, still looking confused. We look back down to the menus. I notice there is a special for the day listed at the bottom of the menu, Lily Wellington. Well, it can't be too bad. It's only flowers. Decision made, I return my gaze to Rainbow Dash. She is chewing on something while continuing to observe her menu with a frown; I notice the flower in the pot in front of her is gone, stems with bite marks on them left in its place. I lean forward and take a bite of my own appetizer, munching on the flower while watching Rainbow read her menu with a creased brow. Eventually, she looks up at me, pushing the menu away and twisting her face in confusion. The waiter trots up again.

"Are you ready to order?" he asks, glancing to and fro at us. I snort in reply, shooting a look at my menu before giving up.

"I'll have the special for today," I say.

Dash pauses for a moment, then seems to give up as well. "Yeah, me too."

"The Lily Wellington, excellent choices. A fine dish, if I may say so myself. Your dishes will arrive shortly." The pony turns and trots away, leaving us a second time. I look across the table to Rainbow Dash, smiling and chuckling a little. She does the same, sharing the amusement at our inability to function properly in a fancy restaurant. We sit patiently, waiting for our food to arrive. I finish off the rest of my flower appetizer, feeling hungry. I make some small talk with her, commenting on the nice weather. She notes the good conditions for flight, and seems like she wants to go flying at some point; I rejoice quietly to myself, already getting tired of sitting and having nice looking hair.

After around ten minutes, the waiter brings two platters to our table, setting them before us. "Thank you for your patience," he says, then trots off to tend to another customer. I look down at my plate, which matches Dash's almost identically. A large group of lilies is clustered neatly on the fine platter, surrounded by cooked mushrooms and some sort of sauce. It looks pretty delicious. I glance up and see Rainbow looking hungrily at hers; she licks her lips with an orange tongue. I smile, then look back down at my meal. I lean slowly towards it, pulling off one of the lilies and eating it. It's a delicious flower, and has a slightly sweet taste to it. I take my time eating, this being a place of fine dining and all; Rainbow Dash is straining to do the same.

My plate is soon empty as I chew the last of the cooked mushrooms in my mouth. The food was much tastier than I expected it to be; unlike meats and certain plants, flowers tend to have a set taste that can't be altered in many ways. However, the restaurant seemed to do an excellent job in mixing the flavor of the lilies with others, resulting in a satisfying dish. I sigh happily and move my eyes to the cyan blue pony who sits across from me. She is finishing off the last of the lilies on her own plate, clearing it as well. After swallowing, she smiles contentedly.

"That was really good," she comments.

"Agreed," I reply, nodding my head. We wait idly for a few minutes until the tuxedo-wearing pony waiter arrives at our table again. He tells me the total cost of the meals, and I pay him with a tip, storing what remaining bits I have on me again. He thanks me and tells us to enjoy our day, and trots off, leaving us to our own devices. I look over at Rainbow Dash and smile.

She smiles back, then says, "That was a nice date. Thanks."

I grin, feeling satisfied with her satisfaction. "I'm glad you liked it." I pause for a moment, holding her smile and gaze with my own. "So, what do you want to do now?"

She begins to grin as well. "Wanna go flying?"

"Yes." She starts laughing at my quick and eager reply. We stand from the table, and begin heading towards the white building. We pass through it, smiling to the pony at the counter before exiting the restaurant. Once outside again, we begin trotting quickly out of Ponyville, making our way to the outskirts of the town a second time. I shake my head vigorously, causing my mane to return to its casual state. Upon doing so, Rainbow quickly pulls the orange hair tie from her mane, setting it loose. She whips her head back and forth, and when she stops, her mane looks normal again. I realize I had missed her usual hairstyle, and smile warmly to her. She grins back in just as friendly a manner, and simultaneously, we jump into the air.

We soar away from Ponyville, flying away from it and the cities it lies near until the only thing that surrounds us is open fields and forests. A few clouds dot the sky here and there, and the sun shines brightly. The day is perfect; and the best part is, most days in the Equestrian summer are just like this one.

Dash and I fly about with no purpose, just enjoying ourselves. My face is locked in a grin, and I can't help but laugh in glee as I traverse the air. I feel free and happy.

We start off just shooting around in the skies, diving, rising, spinning, looping, gliding, and doing whatever else we want. At one point we begin flying closer to one another, and our joyride turns into some sort of dance amidst the bright blue sky. She and I weave around each other in the air, narrowly missing one another, performing loops so that we meet side-by-side, upside-down at the peak of the loop, just brushing by each other mid-flight. After a while, she hovers in one place, high up in the air, and I fly up to join her.

A daring grin crosses her face, a look of determination filling her bright red-purple eyes. "Follow my lead," she instructs, and I nod in excitement and some question. She flies beside me, lining herself up. "Stop on three." Wait, what? "One..." Stop? Stop flying? "...two..." Oh, boy. "...three!" I flare my wings outwards, as I would while coming up out of a dive. I feel a quick movement against my right wing, the wing nearest Rainbow Dash, and look over. She has somehow intertwined her left wing into my right; cyan blue and matte black feathers mesh with one another, layered atop each other. A small onset of panic enters my mind, but I push it away, trusting the rainbow-maned pegasus. She begins to tilt forward, and I follow suit.

We begin to spiral downwards. The increasing chill created by the air speeding over me is interrupted by the warmth of her wing against mine. Time seems to slow as adrenaline kicks in, and the ground spins as we dive towards it. As we near somewhere around one hundred feet from the earth, I feel Rainbow's wing tensing up. I prepare myself, and a split second later, she breaks right, separating herself from me. I break left only a moment later, keeping my wings outstretched and resisting the pull of gravity as I quickly level out over the ground. I laugh with giddiness, doing a few loops and spins in the air to burn off the increased adrenaline. When Dash and I meet up again in the sky, we pound hooves in achievement.

I realize the trick she and I had just performed was one the Wonderbolts had shown off a few months ago, when we saw them for their spring airshow. Soarin' and Spitfire had joined wings and spiraled towards the earth in the same fashion, breaking off at the last second as Rainbow Dash and I did.

From that point onward in the day, we begin doing tricks we can recall from the airshow. We pull off (or attempt to pull off) as many stunts as we can remember, showing the individual ones to each other and trying them a few times each, and attempting a few more coupled tricks as well. I feel somewhat clumsy in her presence, though she still applauds me on the stunts I can perform with decency (we both laugh on the many tricks I fail). She performs every one of the stunts she remembers flawlessly, and when she doesn't complete one at her standards, she tries it again until she can get it perfectly. I admire her elegance and prowess as she does the tricks. The Wonderbolts are nothing compared to her, I think with a smile.

***

I land on the cloud, pushing my wings forwards and stomping down with all four hooves to stop myself. The soft and fluffy surface of the condensed water bunches up in front of my hooves as I grind quickly to a halt. I chose the biggest, highest cloud I could find, which turned out to be average-sized and very high up, above the rest of the clouds in the late afternoon sky. Tucking my wings into my sides, I scan around. Where is she? I continue looking around, squinting my eyes in an effort to focus my view.

I can hear something approaching; it sounds like a voice, all too familiar to me. I spin quickly towards its source, and am just in time to see a cyan blue pegasus barreling towards me, a streak of rainbow following her path. I think she is in the middle of saying something along the lines of "look out", but she is cut off when her body slams into my side. The wind is knocked out of me and my vision flashes for a moment upon impact. Rainbow Dash has hit my side while going fairly fast, and her momentum has pulled me off my hooves.

I hit the surface of the cloud hard, feeling the odd combination of softness and hardness beneath my opposite side. Her light weight soon lands as well, on me. We slide backwards a short distance before halting near the edge of the cloud. My ribcage and stomach hurt, but I don't think anything is broken, maybe bruised at the most. I roll a little, lying on my back. I can feel my wings fully spread behind me in surprise. Dash shifts a little on top of me as I roll over; when I am done moving, she lays with her chest on mine, and her face is only a few inches away from mine. Her wings are outstretched behind her as well, and she wears a look of embarassment and worry. The worry disappears when she sees I am alright, leaving her looking sheepish.

I smile at her as she lays on top of me. She feels warm, and her soft fur rubs against mine. Her breathing is a little heavy on my face, and has a spicy smell; my own panting blends with hers in the air between our faces. Rainbow grins back and blushes. I start laughing, not really sure why. She joins me, and we laugh together, piled atop one another. By the time we stop, my stomach hurts even more with the combination of pain from laughing and the pain from a pegasus mare ramming into my side. Her laughing starts to die down as well. She starts trying to talk, but she keeps interrupting herself by giggling.

"Sorry, I was going way faster than I thought I was, and..." Rainbow Dash starts to chuckle again, and a small fit of laughter quietly shakes my body.

"It's okay. You alright?"

"Yeah, I think I'm okay." She seems to realize something, and a second later she rolls off to my left, laying on the cloud beside me. I look over at her and grin, receiving a toothy smile in return. I lean my head back against the cloud, staring up into the sky. The sky is a pinkish color; I look around, and find the sun, near its point of setting on the distant horizon. It's that late already? It seems like the day has gone by so fast, too fast. I glance over at Rainbow again, wondering if she is wanting to do anything else. She lies with her back on the cloud, trying to recover her stamina; she seems perfectly content with gazing into the sky. I decide I am as well, and lean my head back again. I bring up my right foreleg, moving it behind my head to tilt it forward some so I can watch the sun as it disappears slowly from the sky.

I lie with my head propped up on my foreleg for some time, looking over at Dash every once in a while. A light smile crosses her face, and her eyes are half-closed. The magenta of her eyes appears bright as it reflects the similarly-colored sunlight in the summer sky. She looks relaxed and happy; I smile to myself and return my gaze to the sun, which is now halfway below the horizon. We are higher than any of the other clouds in the nearby sky, so it seems like the sky is clear and open.

Something begins to grasp my attention, within my own mind. It is a thought, a command, to myself.

Tell her.

I feel confused at my own thought. Tell her what? Have I forgotten something? Did she want me to remember something? I begin racking my brain, trying to remember anything I can that I may have forgotten, but am interrupted by my mind.

Tell her. Tell her, now.

My confusion increases. I continue searching my memory for a short while. Then, it suddenly dawns on me what I am trying to tell myself.

No, I can't...I can't tell her that.

Do it, tell her. Right now.

My stomach churns a little. My mind is racing, trying to win against my conscience, or instinct, or whatever commands me to do what I do.

I can't. What if she doesn't feel the same?

You won't know either way if you never tell her.

I've caught myself at an impasse. What logic that exists within my head is triumphing over the rest of me, the part of me that panics. I can't fight against it because it is...logical. It makes sense. And I can't go against what makes sense, because that would mean I have lost my sanity. I'm starting to feel sick.

Alright. I'll tell her. I have to. I won't get another chance. I inhale slowly and deeply, then let out my breath just as steadily. I set my jaw, grinding my teeth a little and feeling anxious. I turn my head to my left, looking at the cyan blue pegasus as she lies on the cloud beside me. I swallow, trying to keep my breathing deep and steady.

"Rai--" I start, my voice catching. I clear my throat, feeling some anger towards myself. Come on, spit it out. I take another breath, then continue. "Rainbow Dash?" She turns to look at me, smiling. A hint of worry enters her face, likely upon seeing how nervous I must look. She waits patiently, though, quietly watching me as I work up the strength to say three simple yet ridiculously hard to say words. I inhale again, closing my eyes holding my breath a moment before speaking.

"I lov--mmph?"

I feel my face contort in surprise as my speech is somehow cut off. I immediately begin to feel an intense feeling of warmth spreading throughout my body, starting at my face; my mouth, specifically. The sudden wave of heat spreads in my face, to all four of my hooves, even to the tips of my wings, which I can feel completely outstretched below my weight on the cloud. My mind goes into a state of panic at the sudden feeling. I attempt to calm myself down, trying to determine the source of the warmth. I note that the comfortable heat is more intense above and partially around me, over my entire chest and belly, near the sides of my legs, and near my neck. I can also make out a silky softness laying against parts of my face, chest, neck, and even a little bit of my legs. I work my way up to my face, and find that the warmth is most intense on...my lips. I snap open my eyes.

I am staring at a face that is touching mine. Most of it is a light blue, a cyan color. Hair containing separated streaks of six different colors, every color in the rainbow, drape over the face, some of it on to my own face, along with my chest and neck. A pair of forelegs stand rigid, placed on either side of my neck. The eyes of the face so close to mine are squeezed shut. Rainbow Dash stands over me, her lips pressed against mine.

My eyes widen to full size at the realization. I try to move, but find myself paralyzed, frozen by an odd mixture of fear, surprise, and a desire not to pull away. The warmth traversing from her mouth to mine has fully enveloped my body now; the feeling scares me with its alien presence, yet it feels so comforting and relaxing. I am almost one hundred percent sure time has slowed down, as the milliseconds feel like years. Focusing my vision, back on the pegasus mare in front of me, I notice that her face is filled with signs of anxiety. Her eyes are squeezed together tightly, and the lids of them quiver under stress from how hard she is closing them and from nervousness. Looking down and crossing my eyes, I can see and feel her lips shaking slightly. In fact, as my eyes dart around my field of view, I see all of her is shaking, just barely enough to be noticeable. I also see that her wings are flared out and up behind her, as mine are as I lay on them.

More fear enters my brain upon seeing Rainbow so nervous. The most brave and confident pony in Equestria shakes with nervousness and fear as she kisses me. This is likely something new and unexpected for her as well. Upon a split second's decision, a decision that seems to take hours to decide upon, I remove my right hoof from behind my head, keeping my head in place after doing so. I slowly begin to move both of my forelegs up from the cloud, towards the cyan blue pegasus standing over me. It seems to take ages, but I finally move my shaking hooves behind Dash's neck, then pull carefully towards my own face. The sides of my hooves press against the back of her neck, pulling her steadily downwards; her mane feels soft and silky, and is a somewhat comforting presence.

Rainbow Dash begins to relax a little, allowing me to pull her down towards me. Eventually my head rests against the cloud we are atop, but I continue to pull my forelegs in. She lowers down, soon coming to rest on top of me; my torso gets even warmer as I take in more of the heat she radiates. Not needing to prop herself up on her legs any more, I feel her move her forelegs from the sides of my neck to behind it, wrapped around it as my forelegs are wrapped around hers. I can feel her light blue fur brushing against and melding with my matte black fur, her rainbow-colored hair caressing my face and neck and laying against my light and dark gray mane, her somewhat rapid breathing softly washing over my face, smelling of spicy peppers. I take a last look at her face, filled with panic and anxiety, then kiss her back.

I slam my eyes shut and move towards her, pressing her head into mine as I do. Another wave of heat rushes through my body as my lips press into hers. I want to kiss her now, and throw myself at her as she did to me only a moment ago. Rainbow Dash recoils in surprise for only a fraction of a second before pressing her body and lips against mine even harder. There is nothing else right now, only her and I. All I feel is the warmth and softness of her body, the silkiness of her mane, the press of her snout against mine, a small vaccuum of air on my face as she inhales sharply, the tight grip of her forelegs around the sides and back of my neck, and the press of her soft lips locked onto my own. Her breathing and the rapid beating of my heart fill my ears. I take in a deep breath, and smell a heavy scent of spices, one very recognizable to me by now; I also catch a metallic sort of smell in the air, and wonder quickly if it is what I smell like. My vision is dark from my eyes being closed. My sense of taste is nearly overwhelmed; a warm, spicy taste fills my mouth and throat. I recognize the taste; it is easily comparable to the taste of a rainbow, the kind I would often sneak mouthfuls of from the pools of rainbow surrounding Rainbow Dash's home. And yet, it is somehow even more delicious and perfect in spiciness, and is much more...exciting and exotic, but also holds a friendly and welcoming taste. It is hard to imagine, let alone describe, how a single taste is able to convey so much, yet it does.

I slowly pull one of my forelegs along the back of her neck, petting her colorful mane. She moves her head a little, making herself more comfortable as she lays on me. I savor every single frame of time that passes while we kiss, embracing her warmth, her taste, her softness, everything about her. She begins to rub her forelegs along my neck, pulling herself into me. I pull myself into her as well, wanting to be as close as I can to her, as much of me connected with her as possible. Rainbow Dash and I kiss for what seems like an entire lifetime.

When the time seems right, I pull away from her, and she pulls back as well. Time seems to return to normal; only a few seconds have passed. I continue to feel the warmth and press of her body, but now feel the heat from the summer sun, and a light breeze blows over us. The melodies of birds play below us, sounding distant. I look up at her as she holds herself a few inches above my face, opening my eyes again. She opens hers as well. Her large, bright, beautiful magneta eyes seem to sparkle. The red of the sky, created by the setting sun, is reflected and refracted in her eyes. I want to smile, smile at her until my face gives out; maybe I am, but I can't tell. My entire face, my entire body, feels completely numb. She looks the way I feel, a stunned yet overjoyed look covering her face. We gaze into each other's eyes for a few seconds.

"I love you, too, Ferrum."

Rainbow Dash smiles the most happy, kind, warm smile I have ever seen. I smile back, pouring what I feel into my face, my happiness, my shock, my relief, my love for her. I continue to look at her eyes, seeing all of the same emotions and feelings I have in their reddish-purple depths. She closes her eyes and shifts downwards, her body rubbing against mine as she moves. After a few seconds of careful and gentle movement, she stops, now lying more beside me. She places her forelegs around my side and over my chest, hugging tightly. She sets her head down on the middle of my chest, rising and falling with my steady breathing. She faces me as she lies against me. Her eyes open once more, looking into mine as I watch her. She smiles at me, then closes her magenta eyes, pressing her cyan blue head into my chest.

I wrap my forelegs around her head and neck, stroking her face and mane and pulling her into me. I lean my head back against the soft cloud we rest on, sighing. I look up into the sky, looking at how it paints the remaining wispy clouds above with a red tint, then close my eyes, smiling. As I lay on the cloud, feeling the warmth of the pegasus mare I love resting on me while I move my hooves over her, a thought enters my mind, a thought that seems to sum up the events past half of a year pretty well.

And to think I was just dropping in for a visit.

I smile to myself, amused by the wittiness of the phrase. I sigh with happiness again before drifting off to sleep, hugging Rainbow Dash tightly against me.

The End

Comments

[Rarelygood]

Aww End? Man... Why do such good stories end.. hmm a 21 chapter but the story is over?

[Night Lockheart]

a.deviantart.net/avatars/d/a/daawplz.png?1

[ButtCatt]

Thank you for the story. :)