Audacia Iris

by Princess Rari

The Story She Told Her Friends

It was a beautiful day in Ponyville; though with Equestria’s most renowned weathermare on the job, that was almost certainly a given. Truth be told, nearly every day was a tapestry worthy of the Canterlot Institute of Art – due mostly to the actions of said weathermare extraordinaire – yet this one managed to stand out as an impossibly more picturesque day than what was normally to be expected.

The skies above the quaint little hovel were bathed in the last waning rays of the sun, with only a minute smattering of clouds left to provide a barrier against the lackadaisical evening sun. A gentle breeze tentatively persuaded movement from the orange-tinted wisps as they lazily cast their shadows about the dwindling masses of townsponies still closing up their stalls in the marketplace below.

The distant symphony of jubilant birdsong caught the cyan ears of an identically colored pegasus that was casually cutting a path through the golden sky, bringing a triumphant smirk to her rainbow-maned head. The day was absolutely perfect; she had made sure of it. After all, the mare she was going to see deserved nothing less. She would need a backdrop as fantastically beautiful as equinely possible for what she had planned today.

Today was the day that she was going to ask out the most beautiful mare to have ever graced the (mostly) unworthy mortals of Equus: Twilight Sparkle.

Luckily, Rainbow Dash’s unbreakable outward coolness prevailed at the thought of asking out her long time crush, as she only stumbled in her flight path for a mere second.

Now, normally, Rainbow would have asked Twilight out sooner. Like, years sooner. She was, after all, an unshakable mare of action. A mare whose Awesomeness could not be bound by the wrought iron chains of time, lest those chains be shattered into a plethora of microscopic shards by a light that reflected the full spectrum of every single color in her hair.

A relationship with Twilight Sparkle, however, was something that deserved to be aged like the finest of wines.

That being said, the cyan colored pegasus had not simply lazed about all of these past years. She had been planning – scheming, really – so that when the time would come to fully disclose her amorous intentions, Twilight Sparkle would be more than amicable. An elusively subtle flirt here, some heavily shrouded flattery there, all topped off with a few passing comments that would be more than questionable should they be uttered between any ponies who were not already romantically involved.

There had been times, – oh goddesses had there been times – when Rainbow had almost given in to the unwavering siren call of her affections. The allure of Twilight Sparkle was like the tide of a great ocean, and more than once she had been poised to drown in the sea of her own infatuation. Yet for all of the temptations inflicted upon her, let it be known to the annals of history that her unwavering patience would not be in vain.

It was as if the stars themselves had grown tired of the lengths of time in which those who were so clearly destined to love had been kept apart. She could hear it, since the very moment she had awoken that morning, the quiet din of destiny telling her that the culmination of her waiting was finally coming to fruition. On that day, the gap that had for so long kept Rainbow from her love was to be leapt over with the all the emphatic fervor of dragon defending its horde. So, with her determination firmly embedded within the very depths of her soul, Rainbow Dash alighted on the doorstep of the totally-not-gaudy Crystal Castle of Rainbow Friendship™.

The setting sun refracted off of every crystalline facet of the castle, lending its normally purple structure a sheen reminiscent a fire’s last dying embers. Keeping watch over the towering architecture – and by extend the radiant princess within – were a pair of massive wooden doors, tinted yellow and engraved with carefully detailed whoosy-whatsits.

The doors were as rigidly imposing as they were heavy, but knowing that within those doors lay the impassioned desire of her heart, Dash could not afford to hesitate.

After knocking loud enough that the echoes could be heard thudding throughout the castle, Rainbow Dash took a moment to make sure that, yes, she was looking just as Awesome as she felt. She had but a moment more to compose herself before the gates in front of her were enveloped in a soft raspberry glow and delicately pulled aside.

Had it not been for the pair of shades that she conveniently wore at all times, Dash’s magenta oculi would have been instantly evaporated by the immaculate light that radiated from within the castle’s entryway.

There, standing in a flowing white dress of silks, was the very embodiment of perfection herself.

Rainbow was a big enough mare to admit that her nose had started bleeding. But only a little bit.

The fur of the princess’ coat shone with a brilliant lavender found only in the beds of wild flowers; an exceptionally rare coat color to Dash’s knowledge, though she was sure the few others who were blessed with such a coat could not hope to replicate the overwhelming beauty with which Twilight effortlessly displayed it. Along her back were a pair of wings larger than any a pegasus could hope to possess, and though the appendages were only a recent addition, the mare wore them with the natural grace as is she had tamed the very skies since birth. Her cutiemark, though it was obscured by the dress she wore, bore the image of a pink six-pointed star, surrounded on all sides by a five lesser white stars. It was a symbol of her mastery in the arts of magic; more so than any other mage who had come before her, or likely any who would seek to master the field in the future. Atop the alicorn’s head, -- for she possessed a horn in addition to her wings – cascaded a perfectly styled mane that could be likened to the navy blue of a starless night sky. The onset quiescent starscape was only broken near the center of her mane by twin rivers of vivid color, one ribbon the same striking magenta as her cutie mark, and the other sharing the illustrious purple of the rest of her coat.

Then there were her eyes.

Dear sweet Celestia those eyes.

The oceans of lavender called to her, drawing in any and all such that they would lose themselves into those violaceous depths. They projected a twinkling intelligence; a curiosity that looked upon the world as if it was some grandiose puzzle to be solved. Her eyes promised the unknown that it would not remain enshrouded within its veil of mystery for long, and that nothing, not even the spawn of Tartarus, could keep her from quantizing and cataloguing each and every secret it hoped to possess.

Yet behind the hardened steely lavender lay the softness of the alicorn’s heart. There was, behind all of her cold logic and determination, an adorkable lack of social grace born from a near lifetime of isolation. There was an obsessive love of literature that left her squeeing like a foal on Hearthswarming whenever she should find a particularly recherché tome by some long lost author, a love that would similarly keep her up until the wee hours of the morning reading the latest Daring Do novel mere hours after its release. There was an immense devotion to her friends, both old and new, that would carry her to the very ends of Equestria should it have even the slightest chance of benefiting those that she loved.

And at her core, partially obscured by a mountain of lists and responsibilities, there lay a deep seeded fear for her acceptance. A fear that, should she fail in the tasks set upon her for even a moment, she should lose every last vestige of acceptance that she had fought so hard to achieve.

A flash of that uncertainty danced across the alicorn’s eyes for a fleeting moment, before she quickly cast her quivering pools to the polished crystal floor beneath her. A delicate silence began to permeate between the two mares as Twilight twirled a lock of hair in her forehoof; looking as if she was desperately working up the courage to say something – anything! – while basking in the unfiltered Awesomeness that was Rainbow Dash.

That was okay, though. Dash may not have been the most patient of mares, but for Twilight Sparkle, she would wait a thousand lifetimes.

Thankfully, she didn’t actually have to wait her entire life, as after almost a minute of reticence the lavender princess seemed to have worked up enough determination to break the fog of silence, albeit without removing her eyes from their apprehensive gaze towards the ground.

“H-hello Rainbow Dash. I, um… Didn’t know you were coming over…”

That was, of course, typical of the rainbow-maned pegasus. Or, at least it would be typical should she be paying a visit to any other pony. Between single-hoofedly managing the entirety of Ponyville’s weather, and her rigorous training for the Wonderbolts, – Equestria’s most exclusive team of stunt fliers – Rainbow would often bless her numerous friends with surprise visits whenever she could find the time.

Much to their delight, she was assured.

However, Twilight Sparkle was, again, a very special case. She and Twilight would regularly plan little get-togethers in which they would simultaneously delight in one of their many shared hobbies; often times an event similar to when the newest Daring Do was released.

Yet in spite of this, and Twilight’s usual fondness for planning ahead, Rainbow Dash felt that an event such as this would best be experienced as a surprise.

A confident smirk found its way onto the cyan suitor’s muzzle.

“Oh, I was just flying around the neighborhood and I thought I’d drop by for a visit.”

The lavender mare seemed surprised at that, though she quickly tried to hide both her shock, and the small tinge of crimson that delicately painted on her cheeks.

“B-but it’s getting close to dinner time, and I’ve been so wrapped up in boring book stuff that I haven’t even had time to make myself something to eat, let alone something for a guest.”

Seizing her chance to set the mood for her next line, Rainbow delicately lifted her soon-to-be marefriend’s head so that their muzzles were merely inches apart.

“Well then, maybe we could go out and grab something to eat. Something nice. Like, maybe Hayburger?”

Twilight’s eyes sparkled, as the uncertainty clouding her vision slowly gave way to shock.

“Does… Does this mean-?”

Before the alicorn could even finish her question, a pair of cyan lips shot out and closed the distance between the two now-totally-lovers.

An army of fireworks exploded into the air behind them, as a multitude of angels sang their approval to the smiling heavens above. As for the kiss itself, it was every bit as wonderful as all of those trashy romance novels that Rainbow totally-didn’t-read described it to be, leaving her normally sharp-witted mind to become fully enraptured in the sensation of the moment. Comforting warmth enveloped the cyan pegasus from her head to the tips of her hooves as she lost herself in the greatest -- but not only! – kiss of her entire life. The world around her ceased to exist as the softness of her lover’s lips against her own became the only stimulus to be lent any attention by her brain.

All too soon the kiss was ended by biology’s vexingly incessant need for oxygen. As they pulled apart from their incredibly amazing make out session, a longing smile graced her lavender soulmate’s muzzle, with a similar smile finding its way onto Rainbow’s own as she heard the indignant wails of all the mares and stallions who could no longer hope to possess even a microscopic chance of claiming Twilight as their lover. Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle were, from that point on, forever entwined with each other’s very essence.

The kiss was just that Awesome.

“Let’s go ahead and get out of here.”

In an instant, though not so fast as to dishevel Twilight’s dress, Rainbow grabbed her lover in a bridle hold and rocketed into the setting sun; leaving three rainbooms and an audience of cheering townsponies in her wake.

The day had been absolutely perfect.

Comments

[Fracturedheart]

"Crystal Castle of Rainbow Friendship™." Yes I did laugh out loud!

[Shellsh0cker]

Oh Harmony, I can tell it was on purpose, but I still think you might'very overdone it on the purple prose. Reading this was like trying to chug a bottle of maple syrup.

[CatStar The Fourth]

Dear Luna you're REALLY good at writing sappy. I had to resist the urge to stop reading it was just too much. Like eating a suger-covered frozen lime.

Like, so good.

[livinthelife]

Dear gods, someone gave Rainbow Dash a thesaurus.

[Tarlek]

Uh… I think Rainbow has spent too much time with Twilight... She's speaking prose as if she's Zecora!

[Variation]

I didn't read the description so imagine my surprise when I reached the second chapter. Hilarious and cute story. It's a nice reversal from the usual fics where Rainbow is the "cool" one.
Edit - Somehow commented this on the first chapter whoops.