> Readin' Rainbow > by BombShelter > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Proof > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You take in a deep breath as you close your eyes and smile. You take in the scent of the small town in the early morning. You open your eyes and watch as the strange colorful equines walk around you, some waving and greeting you kindly. You wave back, making sure everyone knows that you mean no harm. It was hard for you when you first arrived here. All of the ponies in this town thought you were some weird monster here to attack them. Little did they know you were just a confused guy wondering how he woke up in this strange land. Through all of that nonsense, only one pony ever seemed to give you the time of day. You had met a cyan pegasus mare the same day you woke up in this psychedelic world. She was the only one who treated you like the person you were. Thanks to Rainbow Dash, the rest of the town learned that you not a threat, and were just as friendly and kind as they were. You really owe your entire new life to your best friend, Rainbow. You reach the end of the street you are currently walking down, and spot the average size house you had bought not too long ago. Thoughts of taking a nice warm shower after your morning walk flash through your head, and you close your eyes once more as your smile grows even larger. All of those feelings are knocked straight out of your mind when you feel a gust of wind hit your face like a bullet. You open your eyes and look up, only to see your best friend hovering right there in front of you. Why is she holding a satchel? "Hey Anon! Can I ask you for a favor?" Rainbow says to you, a large smile plastered over her face. You move the hair out of your face that had been moved by the gust of wind. "Of course! I'd do anything for my best friend!" You say with a chuckle as you elbow her in the shoulder area. She blushes at your touch, but you don't seem to really notice. "Y-Yeah, best friend! Anywany, I... kinda need you to read something for me..." She says, her usual cocky ego now replace with what seems like nervousness. You've never seen her like this before. You give her a questionable look, but decide to help her out anyway. "Sure thing! But, can I ask, why do you want me to read it exactly? And what is 'it'?" You ask, still unsure of what it is exactly that you just signed up for. "So, remember how you were telling me about all the stuff you did back where you were from? Well, I decided I would try some of it! I tried my hoof at that writing thing you said that you used to do." She pulls out a stack of papers all held together by a string that has been tied through a hole in the top corner of the stack of sheets. It's true, you told Rainbow about how you used to write fiction stories for fun. You never would have guessed Rainbow to really be one for literature, so you give her a somewhat confused look. "So, you just want me to read it?" You ask, almost getting a peek at the first page before Rainbow can slap your hand away from the paper with a hoof. "I want you to proofread it, y'know... make sure there aren't any grammar mistakes or... spelling, or whatever. Can you do that?" You think it over in your head for a second. You've never proofread anything that you didn't write before, but you suppose that there is a first time for everything. Eh, why the hell not. "All right, wanna head over to my place? It's just down the street, and a lot less noisy than being out here." You suggest as you begin walking once more. Rainbow starts to follow behind you. "Y-Your place? Yeah! Sure!" She shoots past you in a blur of colors before appearing as a solid object again in front of your house down the street. You really do admire her speed, it makes her special. "You really gotta stop doing that Rainbow, you know I'm not that fast!" You say with a huff as you catch your breath from running over to her. She gives you an apologetic look before you open the door to your humble abode. Once inside, you open your windows to let in the sunlight. Man do you miss electric lights. "So, can we get right to it? I'm really excited." Rainbow says as she basically jumps around the room in anticipation. You've only seen her act like this before Wonder Bolts shows, so this must be really important to her. You nod to her with a smile as you place the stack of papers down on a table in the living room. You pull up two chairs, and take the one on the left. Rainbow sits down to your right. "Alright, lets see what we have here." You say as you flip a red pen around between your fingers. Thankfully you were wearing your school backpack when you woke up here, so you have plenty of writing utensils. As you read through the story, you not only notice the horrible writing, but the characters seems often familiar to you. Why the heck did Rainbow write about a human, like you, falling in love with a pony that is describe as looking a lot like herself? You push those thoughts aside as you finish, and get ready to hit her with the hard truth. "Sorry Rainbow, but I don't think you're going to be a world class author any time soon." You say bluntly. "W-What's wrong with it? Is the story that bad?" She says, worry in her voice for some reason. "The story is... decent. But that isn't what concerns me. There are grammatical mistakes, as well as spelling errors EVERYWHERE in this. How long did you spend on this Rainbow?" "I was up all night writing it! Is it really that bad?" You scoot over closer to her, your arm brushing up against her shoulder. You don't notice, but her cheeks turn pink ever so slightly. "While it isn't good, I have definitely seen worse. Now, I'm just a college student, but I'm sure you could get some lessons from Twilight." You say with a reassuring tone of voice. "C-Can you teach me?" You notice her voice seems to be shaking a little as if she is nervous about something, possibly hiding something. You push it aside as you decide you would do anything for her. She is your best friend after all. "I guess I could at least teach you the basics." You say with a small smile. You spend the next half hour teaching Rainbow about punctuation and grammar before you hear a knock at the door. Rainbow trots over to it before you can even turn your head to take a glance. You can see a bit of purple from around the now open door, and hear who you assume to be Twilight. "Hey Rainbow! Did you tell him yet?" You hear Twilight ask. You look up from the papers, now interested in the conversation. Who is "he", and what didn't she tell him? "Twilight! Shhh, he'll hear you!" You hear Rainbow attempt to whisper. She looks over at you, but you pretend not to have heard her. Are they talking about you? "You really need to just tell him Rainbow, you've been keeping it a secret for two months!" Twilight also attempts to whisper, but fails miserably. Man, these ponies just aren't good at keeping their voices down huh? "Tell me what?" You ask from the desk, still sitting down in your chair. Twilight's head pops out from around the door, and she gives you a sheepish smile. "Nothing! Nothing at all!" Twilight says, thought you fail to believe her. Rainbow looks like she's ready to punch the daylights out of Twilight, but you still aren't sure why. "Nope, you gotta tell me now." You say as you stand up. "You're both hiding something." They both look at you like deer caught in headlights. Rainbow starts to cough, though you can tell it is fake. She gulps before sighing and looking up at you. "I-I... kinda... like you?" She says nervously. She looks up at you, nervousness in her eyes. "I like you too Rainbow, you're my best friend!" "No! Like... I really like you... in a different way." You let the words sink in. "Wait, was that story about us?" You ask as you connect the dots. "Y-Yes, I was hoping you would catch on before I said anything..." Now she just looks plain sad, and Twilight doesn't look any better. "How could I with all of that terrible grammar?" You say with a laugh as you pick Rainbow up off the ground. She looks at you with an unreadable expression, perhaps one of confusion. "Wait, you aren't mad at me? I... thought you would hate me..." Her ears droop in the most adorable way possible. "How could I hate someone like you?" You hug her against your chest, and you feel her wrap her legs around your back. "S-So, will you... y'know, go out with me?" You think it over. She is a pony... ah what the heck. Its not like there are any human girls here anyway. This is really your only option. "You bet." You say as you look down at Twilight you mouth the words, "Thank you." to her. She nods with a smile before walking back outside and disappearing around the corner. "Now, what do you say we take another shot at that story?" You say as you carry Rainbow back over to the table. "I'd love that."