A Dewdrop
A dewdrop. That was what hit Rainbow Dash in the face. It was also what disturbed her nap, but most importantly, it was the last straw. She had been trying to get some sleep for the past fifteen minutes or so, but was simply unable for some unknown reason. With a huff of discomfort and resignation, she sat up groggily, stretching her forelegs to the sky.
Rainbow peered at Celestia's sun as the bottom edge made contact with the horizon. Today was a lazy day for Rainbow; she had no previous obligations or weather duties to speak of, leaving her the whole day to herself. She was usually a bit more frugal with her time on work days, but she wouldn't let anything get in the way of enjoying a nice free day. Sometimes, she would visit Twilight at the library and spend the day reading Daring Do novels with her. Now that she thought of it, she'd been doing that more often than not, as of late. Glad I'm not an egghead like Twilight, she thought. Knowing her, she'd probably be worrying about how much of her free time she wastes having fun. Dash chuckled to herself.
Twilight lightly bopped Rainbow on the neck. "I'll have you know, some ponies have things to do in their free time aside from lie around like a sack of potatoes."
Rainbow deadpanned. "Twilight, free time is when you don't have anything to do. That's what makes it free time."
"Oh, don't be silly, Dashie. There's always something that needs to be done; it's all about how willing you are to attend to it when you have the option of procrastinating," Twilight explained, gesturing toward a mound of books that just begged to be sorted and shelved.
Rainbow regarded the pile skeptically. "Right... I hate to say it like this, but, Twi? You might never understand how far some quality downtime can go if you can't learn to take a break. Call it... a healthy amount of procrastination," she stated encouragingly.
"No. Procrastination is a waste of time, and it's an obstruction of productivity. I enjoy my well-earned downtime after I've finished everything on my checklist," Twilight said with a cheerful certainty.
"I'll never understand you, Twi..." Rainbow said, giggling at her marefriend's antics.
Twilight prodded Dash's side with a hoof. "Come on, Rainbow! Finish your story... It was just getting interesting!"
"Okay, okay. So anyway, I had nothing to do, and since I was having trouble sleeping, I decided to go do some laps around Ponyville," Dash continued.
The tree she was napping in now far behind her, Rainbow circled around the outskirts of Ponyville. She relished the feeling of freedom that came with an evening flight. She would angle herself downward slightly and glide, slowly gaining speed. Then, she would pull up and use the moment she gained to swoop back up and repeat the process. An occasional flap was necessary to keep her in the air, but it was a great way to relax. She meandered over to the library, but the place seemed dark, like nopony was home. She swooped down past the balcony and away from Ponyville.
Eventually, she found herself gliding over Whitetail Wood. She actually enjoyed the scenic park more at this time of day, as fewer ponies walked the paths, leaving it uncrowded. She was about to loop back and head home when a lavender dot caught her eye. Twilight? What's she doing out here at this time of day? She should have been headed home when the sun started to set...
In a single, graceful arc, Rainbow landed softly in front of Twilight, who was slouched on a park bench. She appeared somewhat dejected, and to her right lay a small, clear box with a mesh lid. Twilight's stupor was broken when Dash came into view.
"Rainbow?" Twilight asked, somewhat rhetorically.
"Hey, Twi. Whatcha doin' all the way out here after sundown? You should have started back at least fifteen minutes ago." Rainbow stated matter-of-factly.
Twilight sighed and turned to look at the empty box sitting on the bench next to her. "I'm collecting lumens. They're a rare form of lightning bug that I'm studying. They recently showed up in Equestria for some reason. They're really hard to find, and even harder to catch." Twilight glared at the empty container in contempt.
"You mean these little guys?" Rainbow asked, gesturing to the myriad of cyan-glowing insects in the air. She held up a hoof and several of the creatures landed on it. She then looked back at the empty glass box, then at Twilight in confusion. "Um... Twilight? Are you alright?" These bugs were a lot of things; pretty, awesome, cool, but one thing they definitely weren't was "hard to catch", and it seemed like Twilight had yet to catch even one.
"Alright? Yes, of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be?" Twilight said, something obviously weighing her down.
Normally, Rainbow wouldn't pry, but she was beginning to get a feeling that her friend needed help, and there was no way she was going to let it slip through the cracks. "You look kinda... you don't look great, Twi. If there's something on your mind, I'm willing to listen. Whatever it is, I'm here to help."
Twilight's gaze slowly crept up to meet Rainbow's, before darting back to the ground. She let out another sigh. "It's silly."
"Twi, don't say that. I promise I'll take you seriously. Now, what is it?" Dash coaxed.
"Well... at the bottom of it, it's just... it's really just..." She continued to stare at the ground tiredly for a few seconds before stating, "I'm kinda... lonely."
Rainbow's caring demeanor quickly transformed into one of shock and concern. She had no idea. "What was that?"
"I said... I'm lonely." Twilight looked away. "Told you it was silly."
"No, it's not," Rainbow insisted compassionately. She sat down next to Twilight and wrapped a foreleg around her back.
"I mean... I know I have you five, and you're great friends, you really are. But sometimes, I just wish I had somepony to talk to; somepony that would be there for me and to hear me out. It always seems like my friends aren't there when I need it most." Twilight peeked at Rainbow through the corner of her eye.
Rainbow felt a twinge of sadness that her friend had been going through this alone, followed by a pang of guilt for not being more there to support her friend. "I... I didn't know. Twi, how are we supposed to help you if you don't tell us when you're having trouble?"
At this point, the sun was long gone and the warm orange glow of the sunset was replaced with a dim, ambient, blue glow. The spring breeze had picked up a bit and carried leaves past the two. Rainbow thought she could see moisture glistening on the rims of the lavender mare's eyelids.
"But that's just the thing," Twilight explained. "I always think I can solve my problems myself, so I don't mention them. Then, the problems get worse, but it's too late to ask for help and I end up a mess."
Rainbow stroked Twilight's back reassuringly. "Well, I think sharing this with me was the right choice, because now I can help you through this and you don't have to spend the evening alone in the dark," Rainbow said, smiling down at Twilight, who had leaned in closer. Rainbow, on the other hoof, wasn't completely sure whether it was a gesture of affection, or that she was simply cold in the night breeze. Whatever the case, Rainbow didn't mind one bit. She could definitely get used to this.
The two shared stories and laughed the night away until they had completely lost any sense of time. All they really knew was that they really needed to get going or they might not sleep that night. Rainbow and Twilight arrived at the library, and Rainbow was preparing to take off towards her cloud house just above.
"Thanks for everything, Rainbow. I mean it. I can't thank you enough for helping me through this," Twilight praised.
"No problem. You deserve it. You're kinda making yourself the loneliest pony of them all by keeping yourself cooped up in that library all day long... Just remember, you have supportive friends who are willing to help you through those rough times." Rainbow gave Twilight a genuine grin, before facing the other way. "Alright, well... Gotta go! See ya later, Twi!"
As Twilight watched her leave, she suddenly felt a strong feeling. She didn't quite know what it was, but she had to stop Rainbow. This couldn't be happening. She wanted her to stay. She couldn't leave. "Rainbow!"
Rainbow looked back just in time to see a lavender pony barreling towards her.
"...and then we sorta made out," Rainbow said sheepishly.
"'Sorta' made out?" Twilight said with a laugh.
Rainbow grinned. "Okay, we kinda fell over on the ground." The two shared in a mutual giggling fit.
"So, what it really comes down to is that dewdrop that hit you in the face when you were napping, right?"
"Yeah, that's the first thing I can think of," Rainbow said with confidence. "Now wait; that's only half the story. What about you? What made you go out to Whitetail Wood?"
Twilight raised a hoof to her chin as she spent a moment in thought. "Hmm... Oh! An old research paper I had done on lumens blew out from somewhere. I noticed how little I knew about them, so I decided to go and do some more research. I talked to Fluttershy, and she said that they seemed to be more common in Whitetail Wood this year, so I went over there and you know the rest.," she explained.
"But wait. That still doesn't explain your mood swing... You seemed awful upset when I showed up," Rainbow pointed out.
Twilight nodded. "Yeah, I stopped on that bench to rest after the walk there. While I was sitting there, quite a few young couples walked by, and it got me thinking."
"I see. Well, I'm glad you found that research paper... What do you mean it 'blew out from somewhere'?"
"Oh, well, a strong gust of wind came in through the balcony and made a mess of some nearby stacks of paper. I could have sworn I saw something zoom past the window."
Rainbow sat for a moment with her mouth hanging open. "That... that was me!" Her shock transformed into glee. "That was me! That was me!!! I flew past the balcony a little while before I went to Whitetail Wood! That means..."
Twilight matched Rainbow's earlier expression of awe. "You couldn't be suggesting..."
"If it weren't for that dewdrop..."
"...we never would have gotten together!" Twilight finished the thought in pure amazement. "That's insane!"
"Yeah, it totally is... Hey, why are you worried about what got us together, anyway?" Rainbow asked.
Twilight looked Rainbow straight on. "Well, I guess... I guess the possibility of life without you scares me, and it looks like we got together because of a total fluke. I mean, if that dewdrop hadn't fallen, none of this would have happened."
"But it did, and that's all that matters," Rainbow said as she ran a hoof through Twilight's mane.
Twilight smiled back lovingly. "I don't know how or why, but the universe decided that, despite the odds, we should be allowed to spend our lives together, and I wouldn't have it any other way," she finished before a set of wings wrapped around her body and pulled her in tight and a pair of cyan lips met her own.
THE END
Outside the library, Pinkie collapsed her telescope and frowned. "What dewdrop are they talking about? There wasn't any dew; it was late in the evening! Ohhhh, I must have splashed Rainbow in the face when I did a cannonball into the lake by the tree she was sleeping in! Yeah, that makes much more sense!" And with that, Pinkie skipped away, humming happily, content that she was the true cause of Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle's unbreakable bond.
THE REAL END