Iridescent Tears
Princess Twilight Sparkle walked aimlessly through the grassy fields surrounding the quaint little town of Ponyville. Her mind was free and clear, and she gazed at the majestic mural of stars above her, while the quiet sounds of the night played like a symphony in her ears. It was almost as if it was lay out in a blanket just for her. The brisk chill of the evening air flowed around her, but the violet, fluffy fur she bore kept her nice and comfortable. The occasional, droning sound of a cricket could be heard in the distance, and the even rarer "Hoot!" of an owl could be picked out.
Basking in the utter content and relaxation, the alicorn sighed. Sometimes, it was just great to sit back, all alone, and relax, or even take a peaceful walk like she was tonight. No matter what happened during her day, she could always come here later that night and bask in the smooth, chilled paradise of silence and night, combined to form a rich atmosphere. All of this placed before her beneath the crepuscular sky for which she was named. It was truly her own personal Elysium. What more could a mare ask for?
The air was cool and crisp, and Twilight couldn't help but take deep breaths often, enjoying the pleasant smell of a past, evening rain. The setting truly set her heart and mind at rest. She giggled. 'Well, not complete rest, then I'd be dead!" The mare laughed at her own, arguably bland biology joke.
Suddenly, the peaceful surroundings were slashed by an unwelcome sound. The lavender mare's ears flinched at the intrusive racket, and the turned her head inquisitively towards the sound's origin, a hill off in the distance where a tree stood, shrouding over a lone pony, sitting on the hilltop. Because of the slope of the hill, and the position where it was, the smallest sound naturally carried down the hill towards the lone mare taking a pleasant stroll that evening. Listening intently, Twilight made out the noise to almost sound like... crying?
All of a sudden, Twilight didn't mind the interruption as much. Completely forgetting her walk, she took to the air and flew over to the distraught pony, landing a few hooves behind the mare. "Are you alright, miss?" she asked, cautiously approaching the pony.
The mare visibly jumped, startled by the sudden appearance of a new voice. She shot a look back at Twilight, allowing the light from the moon to reflect upon her mane and face, the result causing Twilight to gasp in shock.
Tears flowed down Rainbow Dash's muzzle in a steady stream, dampening the fur all around her face. Her watery magenta eyes glimmered in the moonlight, shimmering orbs of sorrow piercing into Twilight's very soul.
"R-rainbow Dash?" the lavender mare stuttered out. "Are you alright?" 'No. Of course she wasn't alright! What the hay am I thinking, is she alright?!'
Dash wiped her eyes quickly and sniffled, as if shocked out of a stupor. "I-I'm fine T-Twi..." she said, in a manner that was in no way convincing to either of them.
Twilight's ears drooped and she let out a short sigh. Rainbow Dash was a friend, if not her best friend, and the normally stoic pegasus was clearly distraught about something. Unsure of what else to do, Twilight hesitantly sat down next to Rainbow and wrapped a wing around her in a comforting hold. The alicorn pulled the mare closer to her, and began to rub her mane softly with a gentle hoof. "What's wrong, Rainbow?"
Dash sniffled and leaned into Twilight's comforting hold. The mare holding her only held her tighter, and continued to gently pat her head as the pegasus began to all-out sob into the warm, lavender fur encompassing her. Tears poured out, dampening the alicorn's breast. Twilight was pretty sure Rainbow Dash actually blew her nose into her fur a couple of times, but she couldn't care less. Her friend needed her, and a sticky coat was not her first priority.
The two sat there for what felt like hours, the Princess of Friendship comforting a friend, while that friend poured her heart out onto her own chest. A reassuring hoof rub on her back every now and then, along with sweeping strokes of that prismatic mane, Twilight began to feel something stir inside of her. She didn't know exactly what it was, but being a knowledgeable mare, she had a good guess.
Looking back on it, she always had felt a stronger connection with her cyan friend than the others. If there was ever an experiment that required a partner, she would go to Rainbow Dash first. She always enjoyed spending quality time with Rainbow Dash reading rather than out working in the fields with Applejack, or baking sweets with Pinkie Pie. It was the smallest little things, things she probably brushed off in the past as non-important or unessential. But now, looking back on it all, the pieces came together in her mind.
She, quite possibly, loved Rainbow Dash as more than just a friend.
With this new mindset, she began to comfort the pegasus differently. Instead of holding her as a distraught friend in need, she held her as her lover, a mare who all she needed was affection and care to cheer up. She began with the lightest of kisses upon Dash's head. "It's going to be alright Dashie, it'll be alright."
Whether or not the pegasus actually felt the kiss was a mystery, but her sobs became less tragic, and softened into a light trickle of tears. It wasn't long at all before the tears stopped completely, and all that was left was Twilight holding Rainbow, rocking gently, and cooing into her ear.
With a sniffle, Rainbow put her hooves against the furry breast that she had formerly held comfort in, and pushed away lightly. "I- I'm sorry, Twi," she said sadly. "I didn't mean to use you as my tissue." Both ponies cracked a weak smile at the cyan pegaus's attempt to lighten the mood.
"It's perfectly fine, Dashie," said Twi, smiling at the mare before her. "Just know that I'm always here for you to talk to." She added as an afterthought, "Or take comfort in."
Rainbow smiled and placed her hoof on Twilight's, causing a light blush to form on both of their muzzles. "Yeah, still. You'll probably have to go take a shower now." She chucked wearily.
Twilight giggled a little too, but then her features took on a much more serious look. "Rainbow, if you don't mind me asking, and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but, what happened?" asked Twilight curiously.
The pegasus took a deep sigh, before letting go of Twilight's hoof and looking back up to the beautiful night sky. "Well, I've never told anypony this, but..." she hesitated. "I play the cello."
Twilight smiled brightly at that, not understanding why that was such a bad thing. But Rainbow wasn't finished.
"My dad used to play it all the time. I loved the smooth swaying sound of it as he pulled the bow across the strings." She smiled at the memory. "If I was sad or upset, all he would have to do was start to play a song, and it's deep voice would calm me down. He used it like a secret weapon to get me to stop throwing tantrums." Both ponies laughed lightly at that. "I had always wanted to play it, and Dad, he knew that. So when I was about to head off to flight school, that summer, he taught me how to play." Her magenta eyes were focused on the ground in front of her, but Twilight knew that her vision was somewhere else.
"He gave it to me as a gift the day I went off to flight school... I was so excited, I joined the band right away. I kept learning through my years there." She chucked nervously. "Even Fluttershy doesn't know. She never really went to all those crowded things, y'know?" She paused, allowing Twilight to absorb the information, or take a breath. Which one, the lavender mare did not know.
"So, when I moved to Ponyville, I still wanted to keep learning. But over the years, I just stopped playing all together," she continued. "That is one of the biggest regrets of my life. Ponies always tell me I have so much talent in flying, and I know I do, but I also had a talent in music. One that I- I have lost..." It was at this point that Dash began to cry again, soft tears pooling in her eyes and leaking down her muzzle.
Twilight once again wrapped a foreleg around the pegasus, and gently rubbed her back, not trying to rush her, but patiently waiting for the distraught mare to continue. This time, Rainbow quickly pulled herself together to continue but did not leave Twilight's hold.
"Today I was moving all my stuff back to Ponyville from my dorm, the one I stayed at for that training camp?" she looked at the alicorn, and Twilight nodded, recalling that Dash had gone away for a short while. "Well, I had brought my cello with me, just because, I was sure that I was going to practice it in the hours of spare time I had there with nothing else to do." She chuckled lightly. "And of course, I didn't."
Tears once again began to fall as the cyan mare continued, clearly reaching the point of the recollection where she became so distraught. "As I was moving everything back today... I noticed that I hadn't yet moved my cello. I couldn't find it anywhere, so I went back to the dorm, and asked them to let me in. They did of course, but my cello wasn't there."
Rainbow Dash's watery gaze lifted up to Twilight as her tears became a steady stream, and her voice began to crack. "I spent all afternoon searching for it, and I c- can't find it anywhere," she said, struggling to hold in her tears, and to keep her voice steady. "It's gone, Twi. I lost my father's last gift to me..."
Her sobs came back in full force then; great, racking cries that filled the night air around the two ponies with despair. Twilight only held Rainbow tighter, the former thought of her new-found affection guiding her actions as she tried to calm the mare she loved. She had known, along with the rest of her friends, that Dash's father had died while she was in flight school, leaving her to face the world practically alone. Twilight herself couldn't help but shed a few tears at the thought, as she couldn't possibly imagine what that would be like. She only cradled Dash in her hold, doing all she could to comfort the mare.
"Rainbow," she finally said. "Why don't we go back to my castle, okay?" She rubbed a hoof along the cyan pegasi's back softly. "It's very late, and it's starting to get a bit chilly. We wouldn't want to catch a cold now, would we?" Her motherly tone snapped Rainbow Dash out of her crying, and the pegasus shook her head, indicating no. Together, the two got up, and began to walk in the direction of Ponyville, for one, Twilight's wing supporting Dash.
It was serene, almost too peaceful considering the situation, as the two ponies walked through the derelict streets of Ponyville. Nopony but them was out at this hour, easily reaching towards midnight. It was not long before they reached Twilight's castle, and entered, shivering to get the cold out of their fur. The alicorn went to go quickly make come hot cocoa for them to warm up, while Rainbow lay on a couch by the mantle.
"I didn't know it was supposed to get that cold out tonight," said Twilight as she came back, two steaming mugs of cocoa levitated in her magical grasp. Rainbow just uttered some non-committal grunt, letting Twilight know that she had heard. "Well, at least its warm in here," smiled the lavender mare, wrapping up the conversation for herself.
It was obvious that Rainbow Dash was extraordinarily depressed, as her entire demeanor was gone. However, that didn't stop Twilight from trying. "So, do you want to read, play a game-"
"Can I just go to bed?" interrupted Dash, her voice dripping with sadness.
Twilight was a bit taken aback, but nodded after a moment. "Sure- I mean... of course you can." The alicorn had not expected that her friend was going to stay the night, but she was not going to reject her. After all, she did seem to be developing romantic feelings for her chromatic friend. She stood, Dash following her, and headed to the second floor of the castle. The two still-full mugs of hot cocoa still sat on the mantle, untouched.
The princess quickly went about fixing up the guest room for Dash, while the pegasus lurked around, moping as she waited for her bed to get ready. She only looked up when Twilight let out an exasperated "horseapples," and stomped her hoof on the crystal floor.
"What's up, Twi?" asked the cyan mare in a still-depressed voice.
Twilight turned towards her, a look of apology on her face
"I'm sorry, Dash, but I forgot that the guest room doesn't have a bed anymore," she said softly. "It kinda got, um... ruined... in one of my experiments." She put a sheepish grin on display. "You can have my bed, I'll just go sleep on the couch."
Twilight made to get her own bed ready for her guest, but was stopped by a sky-blue hoof. "I can't let you do that Twi," said Rainbow, shaking her head. "I'll just go home, you really don't need to do any of this."
It was this time that Dash was barred the exit by a lavender hoof. "No, Dashie," said Twilight, the nickname causing a crimson blush to paint the pegasus's cheeks, but led to no objection. "I won't let my best friend leave when she clearly cannot be alone." She guided Rainbow down to hall to her bedroom. Opening the door, and gesturing to her bed, she continued. "My bed can easily fit both of us. Please, just stay here with me."
Rainbow's blush deepened at that statement, and Twilight's ears folded back. 'I hope that didn't just make everything awkward,' she desperately thought.
Thankfully, it did not, and the cyan mare eventually consented to the request. Dash crawled under the covers of the alicorn's bed, shuffling over to make room for Twilight. She looked up in confusion as Twilight smiled softly down at her, lifting the covers over the pegasus.
"Goodnight, Dashie."
Twilight's horn lit briefly, and Dash found herself plunging into the comforting darkness of sleep.
---
Rainbow Dash groggily opened her eyes, only to be greeted by the darkness. She hated this; waking up in the middle of the night. It was an unwelcome interruption to her slumber. Turning over onto her sides, she pulled the sheets up around her head and buried her muzzle into the pillow, breathing in the oddly pleasant smell of lavender.
Smiling, the cyan mare breathed in deeply, trying to obtain more of the scent. However, the intoxicating scent did just the opposite of lulling her back to sleep. It caused her eyes to shoot open as she remembered where she was, and the events that led to her being here.
She pushed herself up with her forelegs, and observed the bed around her, looking for a certain lavender alicorn. Yet, contrary to what she should see, Rainbow Dash apparently dominated the bed. Twilight was no where to be found. Curiously, she stepped out of bed, cringing as the chilly nighttime air blew across her fur. Dash brushed the feeling away as she walked to the door, gently pushing open the door in search for her friend.
The soft candlelight coming from downstairs led her in the right direction. Rainbow Dash paused at the top of the stairs as a soft smile graced her lips. She spread her wings and softly glided down to the lower floor, landing just in front of a couch where Twilight lay, sound asleep.
"Oh, Twi," she said softly, lifting the lavender pony into her arms and carrying her back upstairs to the bedroom, bridal style. The pegasus gently lay the pony down onto the bed, and crawled in next to her. Dash pulled the covers up over the two of them, making sure that Twilight was adequately covered.
Once again ready for sleep, Dash leaned back into the soft pillow, and let out a sigh. The heavy grip of slumber tugged at her eyelids, causing her to slowly close them.
"G'night, Twi," she said softly as she faded into a state of steady slumber, just barely noticing the legs and wings that wrapped around her torso, pulling her closer to a warm, furry body.
---
When Twilight woke up, she was instantly surrounded by a warmth that only worked against her will; lulling her back into sleep. Unfortunately for the warmth, however, Twilight was a strong mare, and would not be swayed so easily. That is, until the warmth wrapped another wing around her.
Smiling, the lavender alicorn blearily opened her eyes, only to instantly close them to block out the mid-morning sun. Groaning in displeasure at the assault upon her corneas, she pulled the furry warmth close to her, giving it a light squeeze. Her eyes then shot open as the warmth squeaked at her.
After the glare from the sun had left her vision, Twilight found herself face-to-face with a sleeping blue pegasus. Her initial reaction was to smile, taking the the warmth and beauty that surrounded Rainbow Dash, and giggle at the sound that had just left her friend.
Twilight did not remember going to bed with Rainbow Dash. She had thought she slept on a couch downstairs, allowing Rainbow to have the bed to herself. Yet, somehow, she was in this bed this very moment, feeling very comfortable. However it had happened, Twilight was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, and instead gave into the comfort, and temptation of sleep. She closed her eyes once again, and gently buried her face into the tuft of blue fur based around Dash's breast, breathing out a content sigh of pleasure at the comfort quickly encompassing her body.
However, before the warm pull of sleep could lull her any further, Rainbow began to stir. Twilight tried to untangle herself from the rope of limps that held her to the pegasus before Dash awoke. However cyan eyelids rose to reveal the magnificent magenta irises that were Rainbow Dash's eyes before she could do so.
A faint crimson hue flowed across lavender cheeks as Twilight met her eyes. "G-good morning, Dash," she said, before averting her gaze. Her forelegs were still wrapped tight around Dash's torso, the light, feathery wings ruffling against her fetlocks.
Rainbow Dash did not answer immediately, instead choosing to let out a yawn. "Hey, Twi," she replied after smacking her mouth a few times, as if testing to see if it still worked.
The two lay there, Dash still trying to fully awake, and Twilight still vainly trying to erase the very prominent blush from her face. They still lay intertwined, neither willing nor wanting to release the other. After a while, Rainbow seemed to give up her struggle, and rested her head back down on the soft, velvet pillow, closing her eyes.
Eventually, the silence became too much for Twilight to bear, and she spoke again. "Would you, er, like any coffee, Rainbow Dash?" she asked. Immediately, she gave herself a mental facehoof for how squeaky and cracked her voice sounded, relative more to a teenage colt than a grown mare.
Dash took no notice to the voice crack, and instead just nodded in confirmation, burying her face deeper into the pillow. With the go-ahead, Twilight once again focused her attention on the task of extracting herself from the bed.
"Uh, um, Dash?" she said. "You're gonna have to let go of me..."
A groan of discomfort escaped the cyan pegasus, and Twilight felt the comforting hold around her body tighten, pulling her closer to the pegasus. A mumbled "No" rose up from the pillow.
Blushing profusely, Twilight sighed, and went to speak again, but before she did so, Dash's forelegs released her, allowing her to get up and go make the coffee.
"Come back soon..." came the muffled voice of Rainbow as Twilight carefully planted her hooves on the cold, crystal floor of the castle.
Turning back to the prismatic mare in her bed, she smiled softly. "Don't worry Dashie, I will."
The lavender mare left the room, leaving Rainbow Dash alone. The pegasus breathed in deeply, taking the faint traces of lavender that lingered on the pillow. "Mmmmmm," she sighed. "Smells like Twi..."
A few moments passed, and the enticing smell of coffee rose up from the kitchen below her. The scent drew stronger, as did the faint clopping of hooves approaching. The door opened, and Twilight walked back in, a tray of two, steaming mugs of coffee held aloft in her magical grasp. She set the tray down of the table with ease, before taking the mugs, and handing one to Rainbow, before crawling back onto the mattress and snuggling back up in the warm sheets to guard herself from the morning chill. Both mares let out contented sighs of happiness as they gradually sipped at their morning drinks.
Suddenly, the dull clank of ceramic on wood echoed as Dash set her's down on the nightstand, before leaning up to Twilight and wrapping her hooves around her friend.
"I wish every morning could be like this," she said, sleepily.
Twilight's heart began to race, and her entire body felt like it was going to burn up. She took a steady breath to calm herself before she spoke her next words. "So why can't it be?"
Rainbow Dash shifted to look up at Twilight, who in turn looked down to see her. Their eyes met, and the two mare's smiled softly at one another.
"Nopony said it couldn't," whispered Rainbow Dash.
Her smile growing even brighter, Twilight finally asked the question that had been on her mind since she first saw Rainbow Dash crying atop that hill, late last night. "Rainbow Dash, would you be my marefriend?"
Her smile growing equally in return, Dash replied. "I'd love to."
---
Several month's later...
Snow gently fell outside, drifting downwards to collide with the ground. Two mares sat together next to warm hearth, a pine tree towering over them. Wrapping paper lay around them, thought-felt gifts unwrapped and set aside. Twilight had one last gift to giver her marefriend, one she had been waiting for weeks to give.
"Twi, this is a really big package," said Rainbow, unsure. "You really didn't have to..."
Twilight's smile only grew. "Oh, just open it, you featherbrain!" she said, giving her marefriend a light shove.
The sound of tearing paper filled the room as Rainbow slowly unveiled a plain-looking cardboard box. She gently removed the tape, and opened up the top. Upon seeing what was inside, her magenta eyes grew wide, and she began to tear up.
"Oh, Twi..."
Rainbow gently slid the cardboard box off of the object, and cradled the intricate wood and strings of the cello in her forelegs.
It was a beautiful instrument. Polished, maple wood with curves accented by darkened oak finishes. Four strings of blue, red, yellow, and green we strung perfectly tuned, the matching bow laying beside them.
With tears in her eyes, Rainbow carefully set the instrument down and grasped Twilight in a crushing hold, buring her muzzle in the crook of the lavender mare's neck.
"I love you so much, Twi," she sniffled.
"I love you too, Rainbow. I love you too."
THE END.