> Struggling with Emotions > by FoxyAndPip > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oh sweet Celestia what have I gotten myself into? I’m surrounded by angry Timberwolves after jumping in to help Rainbow Dash and now I think my leg is broken, among other things. Not where I thought this day would be going, to be honest. OK, I should probably start at the beginning. It was a regular morning in Ponyville. A bright sunny day, barely a cloud in the sky. Ponies were walking around town, milling around and socialising. Then there was a certain studious lavender mare. Said mare was sitting inside the Golden Oaks library, as per usual, with a book laying on the ground in front of her, her horn occasionally lighting up in order to turn a page. A regular sight in the library, however something was out of the norm. The book she was reading. Her reading was interrupted when a small purple and green dragon walked into the main library. “Hey Twilight,” he said, putting some daisy sandwiches on the table next to her. “How’s that book I leant you on ‘The Science of Love?” “Ugh! Not well, Spike…” Twilight said, banging her head against the book. “I just can’t find anything that could possibly help me with what I’m feeling! It’s just telling me what I already know and confirming my suspicions about how I feel about Rainbow!” Spike looked on and listened, troubled. He wanted to help his adoptive sister as much as he could, just like she would for him, but he wasn’t sure how. Not when he was dealing with a crush of his own… “Maybe you should take a break? I brought you some sandwiches,” he offered. Twilight sighed and lifted her face from the rough parchment of the book She lifted a sandwich t her mouth with her magic and took a bite. She smiled as the flavour of the daisies mixed with the soft bread mixed in her mouth as she chewed and swallowed. “Thanks Spike. I am feeling a little better now. You’re a good cook.” The baby dragon just rubbed his neck sheepishly. “I’m going to go for a walk in town. You need anything from the market?” Twilight asked, levitating her saddlebags towards her and putting some bits in. “Nah, though I wouldn’t mind a few more sapphires…” He said, absentmindedly, acting like he didn’t really care. Twilight rolled her eyes. “Alright, I’ll see if I could pick some up from Rarity. Look after the library while I’m gone!” “Will do!” Spike said, saluting as Twilight walked out and kicked the front door shut. Meanwhile, a cyan pegasus was lying on a particularly fluffy cloud, staring into the sky. From below you would think she was asleep, but she was actually wide-awake, thinking hard. She sighed and blew an orange strand of hair out of her magenta eyes. “Why does it have to be so hard...?” “Why does what have to be so hard?” “GAH!” the pegasus literally leapt into the air, falling back onto her rump on her cloud. It didn’t hurt – it’s a cloud, why the hell would it hurt – but it was still a little bit embarrassing. She sighed in annoyance and turned around. “Pinkie Pie, don’t jump up outta nowhere like that!” she yelled down to her fluffy-maned friend. “Sorry Dashie!” She yelled as she bounced back up via her ‘super-duper-uber-trampoline’. “So what’s up?” Pinkie asked. “Huh?” “Rainbow Dash, as your friend, I make it my responsibility to know exactly what my friends are feeling and, if I need to, how to make them feel better!” Pinkie said, pulling a contract out of her hair titled “Always-make-sure-your-friends-are-happy-and-there-aren’t-any-problems-and-if-there-are-then-help-fix-them-contract” with her own name signed at the bottom “It says so right her, see?” she said, pointing at a small chunk of unreadable text. “Um, no.” “Soooo what’s up?” Pinkie asked. Rainbow sighed, packing a cloud together so Pinkie had somewhere to stand. “Well, I-I’ve been thinking about Twilight…” Pinkie’s face lit up. “Oh! You mean that super-duper secret crush you’ve has on her for months but can’t bring yourself to talk about with anypony!” Rainbow felt her face burn and lowered her head bashfully. “Y-yeah, that one…” she said. “Stupid Pinkie Sense” she muttered under hear breath. "So what's up with it? Did something happen between you two?" Pinkie asked, pulling a notepad, pen and fedora out of nowhere. "Tell Doctor Pinkie aaaaaalll about it!" “You’re a licensed psychologists?” Rainbow questioned. “No, but I AM a licensed psycho!” “…” “So like I was saying, did something happen?” Pinkie asked Rainbow just eyed Pinkie nervously and decided to humour her. “No, nothing. That’s the problem!” Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “Care to elaborate?” “It’s just, I really want to tell Twilight how I feel, but every time I go up to talk to her about it, I just, freeze!” Rainbow threw her hooves in the air. “I just don’t get it! Why is it so hard?” Pinkie wrote a few things in her notebook. “Yes, yes, and what exactly are you usually thinking when this happens?” “Well, I go to talk to her, and my mind starts racing with all these possibilities of how it could go wrong. I end up thinking ‘eh, I’ll get another chance later!’” the pegasus lowered her head and rested her hoof on the back of her neck. “The thing is, there won’t always BE another chance, there isn’t always gonna BE a later. At one point I’m gonna run out of time, and there’s nothing I can do about it. I know I’ve got loads of time for now, but before I know it I’m gonna lose her. I don’t want that…” Tears started to well up in Rainbow’s eyes, but she immediately wiped them away and mentally scolded herself for being so weak. “Well then, why don’t you just tell her?” Pinkie asked. “Because, well, I, I’m scared, alright!? I’m scared of her reaction. I don’t want her to be grossed out or to hate me, and I don’t want her to feel guilty either. Even if she doesn’t do any of those, I know it will never be the same between us. I mean, it’s totally cliché and all but…” “Yes, yes, a common feeling for those in your situation,” Pinkie observed her notes and let out a long ‘hmm….’ “You know what, Dashie?” “Yeah?” “I think you should just tell her.” If Rainbow had been drinking anything she would’ve done a spit take. “W-What!? It’s not that simple Pinkie, if, if it was I would’ve told her ages ago!” she spluttered out. “Yeah, but it’s best to just get it over with instead of letting it plague your thoughts.” “Yeah, good point I guess…but what if-“ “Silly Dashie, Twilight could never hate you!” Pinkie said, patting the other mare’s head, much to her annoyance. “Just think rationally for a second. Would the Twilight we know hate you for something like that?” the pink mare asked. “N-no, she wouldn’t…” “And would she be grossed out because of it?” “No…” “Will she still be your friend?” “Of course!” Rainbow said, lifting her head. “Twilight values friendship more than anything…you’re right Pinks!” she said, standing up. “I gotta tell her! I’ll ask her first thing tomorrow!” With a strengthened resolve, Rainbow flew off to plan how she was going to tell Twilight about her crush. “Thanks Pinkie!” I knock resounded through the near-empty boutique “Rarity? Are you here?” Twilight called into the desolate boutique. “Coming darling, just, give me a moment!” an elegant an regal voice called down the stairway. Twilight took a seat on Rarity’s ‘fainting chair’ and took a deep breath. “Oh Rainbow…why can’t I just tell you…” An alabaster hoof appeared on the steps, followed by another and the rest of the body that hoof belonged to. “Ah, Twilight how nice to see you! How can I help you?” “Huh? Oh, I was just wondering if you had any sapphires, Spike’s been so helpful lately, so I asked him if he wanted me to pick anything up while I was on my errands,” Twilight said, nodding towards her mostly full saddlebags. “Ah! Of course! I’m always happy to give a few gems for my little Spikey-Wikey!” Rarity chirped, making her way over to a chest and pulling out some of her largest sapphires, as well a larger red gem. “Give him this ruby as well, would you? As a small gift from me.” “Thanks Rarity,” Twilight said, taking the gems from Rarity’s magic to her own and packing them into her saddlebags. “But something tells me that’s not the only thing on your mind…” Rarity said, observing Twilight cautiously. “Heh, I can’t get anything past you, can I Rarity?” Twilight asked wearily. “Seems not,” the other unicorn chuckled and made her way over to the couch. “So, who is it?” “Huh?” “Please darling, I know the signs when I see them. You are CLEARLY completely smitten for somepony!” she explained, lightly clapping her hooves. “Sooo, who’s the lucky stallion? Do I know him? What’s he like? Is he-“ “She.” “Hmm?” “She’s a m-mare, actually…” Twilight felt her cheeks start to burn as she said it. “Oh. OH. Why of course darling, forgive me for being so inconsiderate!” Rarity said, waving her hoof and blushing from embarrassment. “SO who is it?” “I-I can’t-“ “Is it Fluttershy?” “No.” “Pinkie Pie?” “No.” “Sunset Shimmer?” “No…” “Rainbow Dash?” “N-No!” “Ah! Bingo!” Rarity smirked proudly. “P-please don’t tell anyone!” “I promise darling! Now, I can definitely see how it would work. You know that old saying – ‘opposites attract!’” “S-Seriously, it’s not that simple, if anything the whole opposites thing is just a cheap way to explain romance. And anyway, the sentence is supposed to refer to two opposites on a magnetic field, such as positive and negative, pulling towards each other, hence the ‘attraction’,” Twilight explained. “Yes, yes, well my point is I think you and Rainbow will make a very nice couple!” “That’s the thing though, all I know is I have this silly crush out of nowhere and suddenly my life is turned upside-down, and now I have no idea what to do about it!” Twilight exclaimed, annoyance clear in her voice. She leaned back on the couch and looked wistfully at the roof of the boutique. “I just don’t know what to do…why is this so hard?” “Honestly, darling, I think you should just tell her,” Rarity suggested. “But-“ “I know it’s difficult, but you know Rainbow would never have any ill feelings towards you, no matter what. Or any of us for that matter. She IS the element of loyalty, so it makes perfect sense!” “Mm…” Twilight still looked troubled. “Honestly, if I were you I wouldn’t worry so much. If I know Rainbow Dash, she’ll be the one to admit her feelings first.” “Yeah…well, thanks for the pep talk, Rarity, but I should be getting home now,” Twilight said, standing and levitating her saddlebags onto her bag. “No problem darling! Always happy to help!” THE NEXT DAY “No, no, no, NO! ARGH!” Twilight yelled in frustration, accidently releasing the 20 or so books she was levitating as they fell to the floor. “Uh, Twilight – OW!” Spike exclaimed as one of the said books fell on his head. “Ugh…’I’m In Love and I Don’t Know What To Do Help??’” he lifted the book off his head and read the title. “So, still on that, huh?” he asked. “Well, of course!” Twilight turned to him with a slightly crazed look, a few more hairs springing out of place. Spike looked at her worriedly. “Twilight, did you sleep at ALL last night?” “Sleep? SLEEP!? Oh don’t be ridiculous Spike, I didn’t have time to sleep, How else could I do all this research in ONE NIGHT!!” she exclaimed, shoving about 30 pages of notes into his face. He pulled them off and read the first few lines before sighing. “Twilight, you remember what happened the last time you refused to get any sleep, right?” “I…tried to stop time…” Twilight chuckled sheepishly. “I guess you’re right, Spike, I guess I’m getting carried away again. I’m going to go get myself cleaned up and take a nap,” she said bashfully as she walked up the stairs to the living area of the library. Spike sighed and rolled his eyes as he set to work cleaning up. A few hours later, a knock was heard at the door. Spike sighed and opened it to reveal Rainbow Dash sitting there muttering to herself. “Uh, Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here? Is everything OK?” he asked nervously. “Huh, what, uh, yeah, yeah, everything’s normal why wouldn’t it be!?” Rainbow beamed, eyes darting left and right nervously. “Uh-huh…” Spike wasn’t so convinced “Look, I need to talk to Twilight,” Rainbow said. Spike looked behind him into the library, cringing as a sudden crash was heard. “Good luck…” he said, letting Rainbow in. The library was a mess. Books were consciously being shelved and re-shelved, notes and quills all over the floor. In the midst of it was Twilight, who seemed to be doing 3 chores at once. “Oh, how could I sleep in so much, how could I let it get so late!?” “Uh, Twilight?” “Huh? Oh hi Rainbow Dash now where did I put that guide to theatrical reasoning-“ “Twilight?” “Not now Rainbow, now let’s see-“ “Twilight!” “WHAT!?!” Twilight turned suddenly to the pegasus, and angry glare on her face, breathing heavily, mane dishevelled and nostrils flaring. Rainbow’s gaze softened. “N-Never mind…it’s not important…” she said quietly, crestfallen, ears down as she walked out the door. Twilight’s breathing returned to normal as she realised what she’d done. “Argh, I’m such an idiot!” she exclaimed, face-hoofing. Rainbow glided through the sky, not really paying much attention to where she was going. “So much for that plan…” she muttered. She glided to the ground, landing next to the Everfree Forest. Deciding a walk might help clear her head. As she walked deeper into the forest she looked at the surroundings as she passed the places the six of them had visited in their first visit to the Everfree Forest, in search of the Elements of Harmony. She came to the area where the ground had collapsed underneath them, where Applejack had caught Twilight and convinced her she could trust the farmer, proving her honesty. Rainbow was never quite sure how that worked exactly, but it did. Good thing too. The little light Rainbow had left in the forest started to dim as she approached the darkest part of the forest. She waited for her eyes to adjust before continuing. She looked around impressed at just how normal and dull the trees were. It was hard to believe they used to look like monsters meant to scare the living daylights out of Rainbow and her friends. It was even more amazing that they managed to scare them away with simple laughter. Then again, it was Pinkie Pie who got them to laugh, with her practically anything’s possible. How exactly would the trees do any harm, anyway? They may have scary faces, but they can’t exactly move, can they? The light returned as Rainbow walked towards the clearing where they had been attacked by the distressed manticore. Guy must’ve been in a lot of pain to get so pissed Rainbow thought. Suddenly said manticore jumped out in front of her from behind a rock Rainbow hadn’t even noticed before. It roared at her but it’s expression softened when it saw who she was and recognised her, moving out of the way to let her through. “Heh, thanks buddy,” Rainbow said, patting him on the head. “How’s the paw by the way? You’re lucky Fluttershy’s so kind, who knows what might’ve happened otherwise.” The manticore just gave her a look that Rainbow recognised as it saying ‘Is that a challenge?’ “Maybe next time buddy,” Rainbow said, continuing her walk down memory lane. As she approached the lake she noticed the sea serpent from earlier wasn’t there at the moment. ‘Eh, guess he’s got places to get to. Wonder if his moustache grew back yet?’ Rainbow mused. Despite the fact that it could simply grow back, Rarity was still really nice, cutting off her tail like that. I mean, if it was Rainbow it would be no big deal, but Rarity? You know how she is. Rainbow simply glided over the lake and walked on. Eventually she reached the bridge. The one where the supposed ‘Shadowbolts’ had offered her the opportunity of a lifetime, but she turned it down so has not to betray her friends. So as not to betray Twilight. Rainbow shook her head to push away any unwanted thoughts. She walked across the bridge and approached the Castle of the Two Sisters. This was where it all happened. Where Twilight realised the value of her friends, where we found the elements of harmony, where Nightmare Moon was defeated and Princess Luna was freed from her imprisonment. Rainbow walked up to the shattered remains of the element’s stone forms, kicking a few out of the way. They Nightmare Moon statue was still there. What was important though, was the words messily carved in the stone floor. Friendship is Magic After the battle against Nightmare Moon, Twilight had returned to the castle to reminisce. Rainbow found her there, just staring up at the statue. And they had talked. Just, talked. Talked about their lives, and what they wanted to do next. It was where Rainbow started feeling these things for Twilight, although she didn’t realise it at the time. At the end of their talk, Rainbow had etched this into the ground with a magical knife Twilight had produced. Rainbow sighed and stood up. It was getting kinda late, and the walk back through the forest would take a while. Just as she was leaving the castle and re-entering the forest she heard a twig crack, She whipped around, wings flared. “Who’s there!?” she shouted. “I know you’re there…” Rainbow looked around, expecting somepony to jump up out of nowhere at any second when a terrible scent wafted towards her. She put a hoof to her muzzle to try and block the smell. “Ergh, what the hay is that…” suddenly realisation dawned on the pegasus as she turned around slowly to find herself muzzle-to-muzzle with a large Timberwolf. A few others jumped out of the bushes and began to close in on Rainbow. “Pfft, come on, I can take a few Timberwolves!” Rainbow said confidently. More Timberwolves jumped out and closed in, roughly 16 all together. Rainbow gulped. “OK, this might be harder than I thought… [Knock knock[ “Rainbow? Rainbow Dash? Are you home?” Twilight called into the cloud house, knowing her knock probably wouldn’t do much good. Twilight checked the door but it was locked. Twilight banged her head against the door. “Of all times for her actually remember to lock it…” “Hey, you lookin’ for Rainbow Dash?” Twilight looked to the source of the voice, shocked to see someone else there. A purple pegasus hovering in the air, windswept blue and white mane blowing in the wind. “Oh, Cloudchaser! It’s just you! I was scared for a moment!” Twilight said. “What was that you said about Rainbow?” “I saw her heading into the Everfree Forest,” Cloudchaser said calmly, pointing a hoof towards the entrance. “What? Why would she do that, doesn’t she know it’s dangerous!?” Twilight exclaimed as her horn lit up Cloudchaser raised an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure Dash can handle herself – aaand she’s gone.” A flash of light and Twilight appeared in front of the forest entrance that Rainbow had entered through, running straight into the dark. The ground was rough and littered with sticks, twigs and leaves, causing Twilight to trip a few times, but she just lifted herself up. ‘This is my fault, if Rainbow gets hurt, I won’t be able to forgive myself!’ Twilight told herself, tears welling in her eyes. She blinked them away though, and kept on running. One thing that Twilight noticed was the path Rainbow had taken. She ran through them all – the cliff, the cluster of trees, the clearing, the river. Suddenly she noticed an area where the path seemed to branch off. It looked unnatural as if somepony – or SOMETHING – had ran through it. Twilight ran in immediately. As she stumbled through the foliage, she started to hear some mysterious noises. As she closer she began to recognise them – the sound of hooves and against wood and grunting. A scent wafted towards Twilight’s nose. She recognised it immediately. Timberwolf breathe. Twilight’s eyes widened as she burst through the bushes to a sight she definitely wasn’t expecting. The clearing was full of Timberwolves, tons of them. They would be kicked to pieces but whenever one would fall it would just reconstruct itself or another would take it’s place. In the middle of it, was Rainbow Dash. She had a large, bleeding gash on her back, another on the joint of her left wing. She had a black eye and lots of other bruises and scratches over her body. “Rainbow!” Twilight burst forward, charging her magic before throwing it at the nearest Timberwolf. Some of the one’s that were attacking Rainbow came over to their new target, only to be blasted apart. Twilight was livid. Trekking through the woods in such a hurry like that had left her in a mess – mane tangled and filled with leaves, muddy hooves and a few scratches here and there from some low hanging branches. What was the most terrifying was her facial expression – one of pure rage. Her mouth was curled into a wicked snarl, eyes wide, tears streaming down, nostrils flaring. As more of the Timberwolves fell to Twilight’s attacks, more deviated from the pack to join those after Twilight, who’s numbers were slowly dwindling. The unicorn was soon overwhelmed by the sheer amount of wolves and was eventually buried beneath them, a scream of pain echoing out. “Twilight!” Rainbow Dash felt an immense rage bubbling in her chest, slowly rising as a dangerous instinct began to immerge. She clenched her teeth as tears began to well in her eyes. “I…I’m gonna KILL YOU!!!” she yelled, running into the crowd of wolves, quickly reducing many of them to sawdust. She stomped on any remaining twig until there was no amount of magic that could pull them back together. Another wolf attempted a surprise attack. But Rainbow quickly whipped around and reflecting, anger reflecting in her wide eyes, pupils dilated. The last few Timberwolves shared a look before running off into the forest. “YEAH YOU BETTER RUN!!” Rainbow yelled after them, panting as she began to calm down. She quickly turned around and ran over to Twilight’s limp form. “Twi!” There were multiple large gashes across her body, the most noticeable being one on her chest, side of her face, run above her right flank and one on her right side. She had many other bleeding scratches and scrapes scatter around her body, and a tiny bit of blood was dripping from her mouth. Her right hind leg was also bent unnaturally, clearly broken. “Twi! Wake up! Oh no no no no no no please Celestia no!” Rainbow panicked. “Please please please be alive…” she begged as she put her ear against Twilight’s chest. After about 5 seconds a beat was heard. She was alive, but barely. “Oh no, I’ve gotta get you help!” Rainbow wiggled underneath Twilight and stood up, lifting the unicorn. She grit her teeth and hissed at the pain of having Twilight’s body pressed up against a large gash, but tried to ignore it. She flexed her wings as best she could and took off, marginally slower than her normal flight speed. Rainbow took fast, shaky breaths as she flew over Ponyville, an injured unicorn lying on her back. The pegasus could feel her energy draining with every flap of her injured wings. ‘Come on Dash, a little more, you can make it, come on, the Ponyville hospital’s right there – woah!’ Rainbow’s internal coaching was cut off an immense pain surged through her left wing and the ground came rushing up to meet her. She attempted to recover but due to the added weight of another pony she was unable to stop herself from crashing. Rainbow screamed from the pain surging through her body as she staggered to her feet, Twilight hanging lifelessly off her back. Rainbow looked around to figure her surroundings to find that the hospital was only a few hundred metres away. A surge of adrenaline filled her body as she broke into a run for the tall white building. ‘Come on, just a little more!’ she told herself. Suddenly she tripped on a rock sitting in the middle to the footpath and was sent flying, landing about a metre from the door. She attempted to lift herself up but collapsed as she faded out of consciousness. “H-help…” she managed to say before passing out. Beep Beep Beep ‘Ugh…freaking alarm clock…’ Beep Beep Beep ‘Oh my Celestia shut the hay up!’ Beep Beep Beep Rainbow flowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times as her eyes adjusted to the sudden light. Her movement was limited, but she was lying on a bed, soft but not as soft as the clouds she usually sat on. There was multiple suction cups attached to her legs, presumably connected to something with a wire of some kind. The air was filled with the smell anti-bacterial chemicals. She moved her head to the left slightly to see a heart monitor, the cause of the ever annoying beeping noise she kept hearing. ‘So, I’m in the Hospital, huh? That means Twilight’s here too, right? Right?’ Rainbow’s ear twitched as she heard a pair of hooves along the tiled floor, seemingly approaching her. She turned her head and saw a young-looking light brown earth pony stallion with a dark green mane and emerald eyes, a clipboard floating next to him glowing light green. He turned to look at Rainbow, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Ah, you’re awake! Hold up, I’ll get a nurse!” he said in an enthusiastic, fairly high pitched voice, running off into another room for a moment before returning, a light grey unicorn mare with an icy blue mane and tail following him. She had dark bags under her sea-blue eyes and her mane and tail were quite frazzled, indicating that she hadn’t got much sleep lately. “Thank you Earth, now would you go check on patient 193 for me that’d be great,” she said in a ‘completely-done-with-life’ tone. The stallion, Earth, simply nodded and ran out as the unicorn approached Rainbow’s bed. She coughed and took a deep breath. “Well, it’s good to see you awake so soon! We honestly expected you to be out a lot longer, but you seem to making and incredible recovery!” she said in a completely different tone. “Uh, thanks I guess?” Rainbow replied. “I’m guessing someone found us outside then?” “Yes, in fact it was Earth Core over there who found you. He heard a thump and decided to investigate, he has quite good ears you know,” the unicorn said. She sighed and rubbed her muzzle in an annoyed manner. “He is rather enthusiastic about his new job, so he can be a bit of a hoofed, but he means well. Still, he can be very…energetic.” “Heh, I know how you feel,” Rainbow said, thinking of a specific pink earth pony. “Oh! I almost forgot to introduce myself! My name’s Icy Chill, I will be your doctor for this visit,” she said, holding out a hoof before drawing it back as she realised it would only end up hurting her patient. “OK, well then, might as well it over with. How bad is it, Doc?” the pegasus asked, used to this by now. “Well, when you first arrived you has many gashes and some bruised lungs and a few small breaks on some of your bones. You also ended up with a broken wing, which I’m sure you’re used to be now. (Rainbow nodded) However, in the few days you were unconscious, most of those bones have healed and any bruising has gone down mostly and any gashes or scratches have been stitched and are healing very well, much more rapidly than we thought,” Icy explained. “Huh. Well that’s good…” Rainbow remembered something. “And, um, what about Twilight?” Icy’s face fell. “Well…she’s not fairing quite as well. I won’t go into detail, but she suffered many injuries and is in a deep coma. She…might never wake up. I’m sorry.” Rainbow gasped quietly, eyes widening. She shut them and clenched her teeth, tears falling down her cheeks. “This is all my fault…” Rainbow put her copy of Daring Do and the Quest For The Silver Crown and sighed, looking at the ceiling. She tried reading to take her mind off of Twilight, but all it did was remind her of when the unicorn first introduced her to the Daring Do series and reading altogether. She just couldn’t stop thinking about Twilight and the condition she was in, and how she couldn’t do anything about it. And she was convinced it was her fault. ‘I shouldn’t have just walked out into the forest on my own like that, at least not without something to defend myself! I should’ve just flew home or left a note at my home or something, then I never would’ve gotten myself into trouble and Twilight wouldn’t have had to leap in and save me like that…’ Rainbow could feel herself start crying again, and unlike any other time when she would’ve held them back to maintain her image, she simply let them flow. ‘Why did she do that…’ Her train of thought was interrupted as the curtain by her head was pulled open by a brown hoof, followed by the rest of Earth Core’s body as he balanced a platter of food – or as Rainbow called it, scluck – on his back. “Here you go Rainbow! Fresh from the kitchen! I know you don’t like hospital food much, but I managed to smuggle in a bun from the café across the road if it helps!” he said, smiling and holding up a hot bun covered in melting butter. Rainbow picked it up in her hooves and smiled slightly. “Thanks Core,” she said, taking a bite, humming as the taste of buttered bread filled her mouth. “You OK?” Earth asked, concerned. “Y-yeah, I’m fine, I’m just…I’m just worried about Twilight…” Rainbow tightened her grip on the bread roll, tears welling. “It’s my fault she’s like this, and it kills me that I can’t do anything about it, I just…” Earth tentatively put a hoof on the mare’s shoulder “Uh, there, there..?” he said awkwardly. Rainbow giggled. “Sorry about that Core, that was totally lame of me. I’m OK now,” she proceeded to take another large bite of the bread roll. “…” “You love her, don’t you?” Rainbow spat out her bread roll in shock. “W-Wha-huh?” “You heard me. You love Twilight, don’t you Dash?” Earth said quietly, gaze lowered. “That’s why you’re so upset, so worried, right?” he slowly looked up. Rainbow simply stared at the unicorn, looking into his eyes as he stared back at her, a storm of thoughts whirling through her mind. ‘Do I love her? I mean I know I have a crush on her, but love?' She asked herself. She closed and thought. Thought about Twilight. How she could shed some light on any dark time and how she could instantly make Rainbow feel better when she’s upset, with a few exceptions of course. How she always happy to lend a helping hoof and willing to give anyone a second chance. How her eyes lit up when she found a new good book to read or when she gave her lectures, sharing her knowledge with her friends. Of her mane that simply shone in the sunlight, her beautiful amethyst eyes, her soft coat and just how totally hot she was in general. Rainbow slowly opened her eyes. “Yeah. Yeah I do love her,” Rainbow said, more to herself than anyone else. Earth simply nodded, a small smile on his face. “Then you should make you heal as fast as you can, so you can go see her. I’m sure having you there would help her recovery.” “Yeah, I will.” With that, Earth smiled at her and walked towards the door. “And, Core?” The stallion’s ear twitched as he turned to face her. “Yeah?” “Thanks.” “Your welcome.” A slow beeping echoed through the nearly empty hospital room, breaking the silence. A purple unicorn mare was lying on a bed, taking slow, shallow breathes. Bandages covered three quarters of her body, a blanket covered most of which. Next to the bed she lay on was pegasus with a mane all colours of the rainbow, magenta eyes that were once filled with light dull and dark. It had been eight days since Twilight Sparkle had been admitted into the hospital. Three days since Rainbow Dash was released from her hospital bed to roam the rest of the hospital. Even with an entire library and set of board games at her disposal, she instead spent all of her time with her unicorn friend, barely leaving her sight. As a result, Rainbow was not in her best condition. Tear stains marked her fur, her feathers were ruffled and mane a mess, even more than usual. There was a bandage over her left arm and another over her back and wing. Rainbow didn’t care about that. She reached out and wrapped her hoof around Twilight’s cold one. Tears threatening to rise again, but she held them back. “I wonder what she’s dreaming about…” “I’m sorry Twilight. For everything…” “It’s my fault you’re stuck in here…” “Why did you do that Twilight? Why did you go to all that just for me? I could’ve protected myself…OK maybe not, but still, better still only one pony get hurt than both of us. I had it coming to me, going out in the forest all alone like that, I was bound to get hurt. But you just wanted to make sure I didn’t get hurt. Now look at you…” As expected, Twilight had no response. Rainbow didn’t know why she thought she would. ‘She looks so peaceful…almost like she’s sleeping…a Sleeping Beauty…’ She didn’t know why she did. What possessed her to do something so both. She just did. Rainbow slowly leant down to Twilight, slowly closing her eyes. Her lips met Twilight’s cold, dry ones, as silent tears began to spill and fall down Rainbow’s cheeks. BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP Rainbow abruptly lifted her head, as the heart monitor next to bed began beeping at a very rapid rate, the screen showing many long thin lines close to each other. Twilight’s heart rate quickly sank down to the rate of a normal, healthy unicorn mare. ‘What the hay was that…’ “Mmm…uh…” Rainbow’s head whipped around as she saw Twilight slowly open her eyes. “Ugh…what happened-oof!” Twilight’s question was cut off by a bunch of blue fur in her mouth and a rainbow mane in her face, strong hooved wrapped around her. She could feel Rainbow Dash shaking, hearing her sob. “Rainbow?” Twilight wrapped a hoof around Rainbow, holding her close. “Hey, it’s OK. What happened?” “It’s not OK! You almost died Twi!” Rainbow yelled, suddenly lifting her torso so her muzzle was no more that 5 inches from Twilight’s. “I’m so sorry Twilight! For getting you hurt like this, for being so reckless, and…” Rainbow looked down at the beautiful mare beneath her, eyes wide in shock. She could feel Twilight’s breath on her muzzle mixing with hers. Rainbow took at deep breath and mustered up all the courage she could spare. “For not doing this sooner…” Rainbow moved as fast as lightning, closing the gap between their lips, a mad blush spreading across her features. Twilight’s eyes widened as she felt Rainbow’s lips against hers, rendered motionless in shock. ‘Is she - not she isn’t, she can’t, this doesn’t make sense!’ Slowly Rainbow pulled away, opening her eyes and looking into Twilight’s. Suddenly she blushed and stood up as she realised what she’d done. “Oh, gosh, Twilight, I, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, I don’t know what came over me, I, uh, I’ll go wait in the lobby for the others, I’m sure they’ll be happy to hear you’re awake!” and with that excuse, she hopped off the bed and ran – or jogged, due to her injured leg – out the door, leaving Twilight with her thoughts. “Oh my gosh…Rainbow Dash just kissed me…” She heard the door open and turned to see a green-maned stallion with a flaming rock as his cutie mark walk in. “Hey, everything alright in here – oh, you’re awake!” he said. “Um, yeah, I’m awake but um,” Twilight cleared her throat. “Who exactly are you?” “Oh! Right, I’m Earth Core! I’m an apprentice working her to get experience for any college degree in Medical Sciences,” He said, holding out his hoof, which Twilight shook. “I’m also a new friend of Rainbow Dash’s. I’ve heard a lot about you from her.” Twilight’s ears perked as he said that. “Really?” Earth nodded. “Yeah, she spoke really highly of you!” Twilight thought back to the kiss. Feeling Rainbow’s lips on hers. It gave her a strange feeling, but not like a bad strange, like fireworks going off in her heart, only, not, because not only would it be physically impossible, but very painful to have a miniature rocket going off in your heart. It felt…good. It was hard to explain, but Twilight knew that much for sure. And she knew she wanted to experience it again. “She was really worried about you, you know? And she feels really guilty about what happened in the forest…” Earth told her. “Really? But why?” Twilight asked, surprised. “It wasn’t her fault!” “I know that, but Rainbow feels like it is.” “Why would she feel like that…” Twilight’s thoughts were cut off as the door of the room opened, 5 mare of varying emotions trotting (or, in Pinkie’s case, bounced) to Twilight’s bed. “TWILIGHT OH MY GOSH I’M SO HAPPY YOU’RE OK!!” Twilight was suddenly embraced in a smothering hug, mouth full of fluffy mane tasting surprisingly similar to cotton candy. “Gah! P-Pinkie, p-please stop! T-that re-really hurts!” Twilight exclaimed in pain. The enthusiastic mare backed off. “Oh, I’m sorry!” “I-it’s fine…” Twilight stuttered. “Oh, we were all so worried about you…” “What on earth were you thinking going in there alone like that?” “Girls, I’m fine, really. Rainbow was in trouble so I helped, it’s what friends do right?” “We’re glad yer OK, sugarcube,” “Fluttershy, Applejack, all of you, I appreciate the worry, but I don’t see the big deal,” Twilight said nonchalantly. “Big deal?” a raspy voice came from near the wall, where Rainbow Dash had been standing in silence since the others arrived, head down and mane covering her eyes. She was shaking slightly. “What’s the big deal!?” Rainbow lifted her head, slamming her hooves on Twilight’s bed, shocking the unicorn. “THE BIG DEAL IS YOU ALMOST DIED!!” she exclaimed, eyes bloodshot, tears falling down her face. “The doctors thought you weren’t going to make it!! And I…I did too…” Rainbow threw her arms around Twilight’s neck and hugged her as tight as she could so as not to hurt Twilight. “I ju-just can’t stand the thought of losing you, Twi…” she muttered, burying herself into Twilight’s neck. “Rainbow…” Twilight put her non-injured hoof around Rainbow and held her close as the pegasus sobbed into her fur, the others watching feeling slightly awkward. “Er, come on ladies, let’s go alert the doctors that Twilight has awakened, shall we,” Rarity suggested, leaving the room with a small smirk on her face, the others reluctantly following. Rainbow didn’t know how long she lay there in Twilight’s embrace, wetting her fur, but it felt like hours. As her sobbing subsided, she slowly lifted herself up slightly, staring into Twilight’s eyes. “You OK now?” “Y-yeah…I guess…” “…” “…” “Why?” “W-what?’ Twilight asked, confused. “Why did you do it? Put yourself in danger like that…” “Because…” Twilight went to answer, realising she didn’t have one. ‘Why exactly did I? I just remember seeing Rainbow hurt like that and…I just had this feeling…maybe…’ Twilight closed her eyes in thought. She imagined seeing somepony hurt Rainbow as much as the Timberwolves did, and how she’d feel. And, there was the feeling again. She then replaced Rainbow with another one of her friends and it was a completely different kind of rage. ‘So it is because of this crush…but what does that mean?’ Twilight looked down at the mare laying on top of her. The supposedly tough, strong pegasus now lying, weak, spilling out her heart, not caring about maintaining her so called appearance anymore. ‘Rainbow…’ “I did it because…well…because I love you.” Rainbow’s eyes shot up to meet Twilight’s, wide and hopeful. “You-You love me? Really?” Twilight nodded, tears blurring the corners of her vision. A smile slowly spread across Rainbow’s face as she leant forwards, pressing her lips against Twilight’s. And this time, the unicorn was quick to kiss back. They weren’t really sure how long they had lay there like that in each other’s embrace. They didn’t really care either. They were happy. Eventually Rainbow pulled away for air, taking deep breathes as Twilight did the same thing, as they simply looking lovingly into each other’s eyes. Suddenly the hospital door opened and Icy Chill walked in. “Ah, Ms Sparkle! You’re awake! Well isn’t this a pleasant surprise!” Rainbow lowered her head as her fur practically turned red, hopping off the bed and backing away sheepishly. A blush spread across Twilight’s face as well. Twilight cleared her throat. “Ahem, yes, yes I am. Though I don’t quite understand the extent of my injuries…” As the two unicorns proceeded to discuss boring medical jumbo, Rainbow slowly slipped away. She let out a breathe she had been holding in as she shut the hospital room door behind her and leant up against it. “So? What’d ya two do in there?” Rainbow yelped at the sound of another voice piercing the fragile silence, cheeks once again heating up. She looked down the hall and saw her four friends at the end of the hall, either smirking or smiling at her. “Well? Tell us EVERYTHING darling!” Rarity said enthustiasticly. “Uh…” “Rarity ‘n’ Pinkie told is what was goin’ on between you two,” Applejack said, answering the unsaid question. “Well, uh – wait Rarity?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow at this. “Wait, You knew Twilight felt the same and never thought to tell me?!” Rarity starting sweating a little, giggling nervously. “Well, you know Pinkie Promises and all that!” “Grr…” It had been two days since Twilight had woken up and she’d just gotten admitted out of the hospital. “Ah!” the unicorn sighed, stretching. “Feels great to get some fresh air-whoa!” “Hey easy Twi!” Rainbow said, having caught Twilight in her hooves. “You’re not exactly in the best walking condition. Technically you should be in a wheelchair…” Twilight stumbled back to her hooves. “Yes, I understand that, but in this situation I think it would be much better for me to at least attempt to walk normally.” “Yeah whatever Twi. You’re the science girl I guess,” Rainbow said, shrugging it off as they continued their (admittedly slow) trek through Ponyville. “Besides, I want to surprise Spike! He’ll be so happy to see me admitted out the hospital early AND walking normally as well!” Twilight said, smiling cheerfully. “Can’t argue with that.” Spike had not been happy when he heard that he missed his chance to be with Twilight when she woke up. No-one had expected her to be awake that day, so imagine the little dragon’s surprise when he came to the hospital on the way back from the market to see his sister-mother figure waiting for him arms open. Why Twilight had woken up so early and so suddenly was still a mystery. All the doctors knew was there was sudden surge of adrenaline which helped sort of jump-start her heart, something they weren’t even sure was possible at first but, here was the proof. For once though, Twilight wasn’t worried about the how, or why. She was just happy she did as she walked side-by-side with Rainbow Dash, prismatic tail intertwined with hers. She was happy.