Short series of one-word prompts given to me by a friend. Most are under 3000 words, and are unrelated to one another unless specifically stated. All of them will be Twidash. Tags will update depending on the chapters I add. This story will update infrequently, as in whenever I have time to write something that isn't one of my main fics.
(If you have any prompts you want me to write, post 'em in the comments.)
Rainbow flew aimlessly through the sky, jumping from cloud to cloud, no real destination in mind. The sky was lit by the enumerable amount of tiny lights ponies called ‘stars’. She came to rest on a particularly large cloud, not high compared to others, but still far away from the ground.
She did this more then she cared to admit, whenever she couldn’t sleep, she would come out and start cloud hopping. It was a fun way to burn off any energy that prevented her from sleeping. Though recently it was not energy that had kept her awake at night, instead it was her thoughts.
More often then not she managed to suppress them, but at night, when she was alone and safe from the prying eyes of those that would judge her, she had no choice but to let them run free. Her thoughts would cloud her mind, taunting her with the sleep she so desperately desired, but could not achieve. So she went out, hopping on the clouds she was either too lazy to disperse during her shift or were scheduled (though sometimes she would purposely leave some for nights like tonight).
Every night her thoughts ran wild, covering everything from how she was feeling to if she was hungry, though one thought came back bigger every night.
She was alone.
She was always alone. In her love of the sky, in her love of speed, she was truly alone. She had tried talking to other pegasi, like Fluttershy, but none of them truly appreciated the sky such as her. Fluttershy always preferred the ground, and any other pegasus viewed the sky as a tool for them to use or a job for them to control. Only Rainbow knew the true value of the sky, especially the night sky.
It was something few knew and none would admit, but she had a soft spot for the moon. The moon was always so high, reaching heights Rainbow could only dream of, and she often did. She would dream of going to the moon, flying along side it over the course of its rule over the sky. The stars were pretty to look at, but no where near as big or interesting to her as the moon. It always cast that eerie, pleasant silver glow throughout the land.
To her, it was better then basking in the suns warmth, if only because of the wonderful breeze the night brought with it. Though the sun would warm her feathers, the moon would relax her muscles with its tender touch of coldness. Like an icepack on a sprained ankle or wing. Night flying would unwind her muscles, truly allowing her to relax, even if her mind continued its barrage of thoughts.
On nights such as this, when she was out later then usual and was the last pony awake in the sleepy little town of Ponyville, the oppressing feeling of being alone would strike fast and deep.
Sighing, she decided she had had enough and launched herself off the cloud she had taken shelter on. She flapped her wings slowly, almost silently. She flew steadily and slowly through the night she loved. She always remembered it being beautiful, but it was better now that Luna was back. Celestia tried, but her work never quite matched that of her sister.
She looked down onto the streets, seeing exactly what she expected; nothing. Like all the times before, she was alone. There was not a single pony still awake, none of them to appreciate the sky with her, none of them even thought about the night sky like she did. All of them saw it as nothing more then a marker for going to sleep, none of them could appreciate it.
Her thoughts we derailed when she saw a distant light. A light coming from within the city, close to the centre, but not quite close enough to be city hall. Curious, Rainbow flew a little fast, discovering that the light was coming from a tree, a tree with windows and a balcony.
Silently, she approached the tree from above, on the balcony sat a lavender unicorn with a behemoth of a telescope in front of her. She quietly descended through the branches, coming to a stop when her hooves touched down on the hard wood of the balcony behind the mare she presumed was stargazing. She came up behind Twilight, not trying to be quiet but not announcing her presence either. Beside her sat a few books and pieces of parchment, a quill and a phial of ink resting next to them, though not a single note had been taken.
“Twi?” She ventured quietly, if the unicorn heard her she did not respond, instead she sighed as she looked away from the eye piece of the telescope, instead looking at the sky with her own eyes.
“Twilight?” She asked again, a little louder this time. Twilight visibly jumped, whipping her head around to face the intruder, horn glowing with some form of protective spell Rainbow probably didn’t want to have used on her.
“Whoa, easy Twi, it’s just me.”
“Oh, Rainbow, what are you doing here? It’s almost midnight.” Twilight dissipated the spell, the glowing remnants coming off her horn in wisps.
“Nothing, just getting rid of some left over energy so I can sleep, and I saw your light, what are you doing?” Rainbow lied. She was a terrible liar, but Twilight seemed like she bought it.
“Studying the stars, what else?” She asked, motioning to both her telescope and her books with a hoof. “I’ve been out for a few hours now, almost ready to head in.” She finished with a sigh, looking back towards the blackness of night.
“If you’ve been at it for hours, why don’t you have any notes? You always take notes when you’re studying.” Rainbow had a knowing undertone to her voice. It was a bit hopeful, but Twilight was obviously hiding something, maybe she had found somepony that actually appreciated the sky, even if she couldn’t fly.
“I… uh… was about to?” Twilight clicked her hooves together nervously.
“You’re a bad liar.” Dash deadpanned.
“Alright fine, I… couldn’t sleep. Looking at the stars and the moon helps me calm down and sleep most nights… though tonight I’m having more problems then normal.” At the last sentence Rainbow could have sworn she saw a blush, but there was no where near enough light for her to be sure.
“What’s the matter?” Rainbow offered, sitting down next to Twilight, a little closer then she normally would have thought comfortable, though the unicorn made no notion of being uncomfortable, so she stayed. She almost liked the feeling of being closer to another. Or maybe it was just Twilight…
“Just…” Twilight hesitated, glancing around nervously, eyes looking towards anything that wasn’t a cyan pegasus. “Have you ever felt… alone?” She asked cautiously, obviously embarrassed by it. Rainbow snorted out a laugh before she could control it, earning her a glare from the unicorn.
“Sorry… just… can I tell you a secret?” Rainbow was now looking like Twilight; glancing around nervously at anything that couldn’t actively judge her.
“You can tell me anything, Rainbow.” Twilight offered comfortingly, placing an equally comforting hoof on her friend’s withers. In that moment Rainbow Dash was conflicted, under any ordinary circumstances, the hoof would have made her extremely uncomfortable, and she normally would have instantly shrugged it off, but now? Now it felt… nice. It actually felt comforting.
“That’s the entire reason I’m here in the first place; I couldn’t sleep because I thought I was alone. Guess we were both wrong, huh?” She chuckled nervously, barely managing to actually look at the unicorn she was talking to.
“Oh…” Twilight said quietly, she looked like she was debating… something.
“Something wrong, Twi?”
“R-Rainbow?” She ventured quietly, removing her hoof from Rainbow’s back.
“Hmm?”
“Would… would you… like to go for lunch or something tomorrow?” Twilight spat her words out quickly, tripping over her own tongue an octave too high for her normal voice.
“Sure… but, don’t we go for lunch with the girls on regular bases?” Rainbow cocked her head, confused at the unicorn’s now very apparent blush.
“No… I meant… more of… a… a date…” Twilight barely forced the final words out, and even then they came out too quiet for the average pony to hear. Rainbow was anything but average.
Rainbow sat, stunned. Had Twilight just? No, it couldn’t be… but she had heard it. Truth be told Rainbow had felt the slightest bit of a crush towards the unicorn, but nothing she would actually act on. But Twilight asking her out? She had to respond appropriately.
“Bwa-huh?” Good job, brain, thanks a lot for that. Rainbow thought bitterly.
“I’m sorry; I should never have brought it up… I’m going to bed, I’ll see you later.” Twilight stood and began to slink sadly inside her house.
“Wait!” Dash jumped up and placed a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder, causing her to turn and face her. In that moment magenta eyes met violet, and Rainbow was powerless to break that connection.
Twilight sat quietly, reading one of her numerous textbooks on advanced magic for the third time that month. Normally she would only read a book twice a month, but this was her newest book, and the only book she had not yet read five times. She sighed as she flipped the page, reading it from memory rather then paper. She didn’t even need to look at it anymore, so she didn’t, instead she looked out the window at the sunset.
She watched the beautiful scene, very few times did she manage to catch it in time, most of the time she was too focused on her studies or friends to truly appreciate it. Tonight, however, she was both alone and without an interesting book. It had been happening more and more ever since she had read all the books in the library a couple months ago, and her new book orders would not be showing up for another week or two at least. And that was if they didn’t get lost in the mail again.
Her thoughts were derailed when the golden sun was blocked by something almost obnoxiously pink knocking on her window.
“Pinkie Pie?” Twilight looked at her friend pounding on the window for a second before opening the door next to it, the party pony instantly stepping in.
“Hey Twilight! I was just bouncing by back to Sugar Cube Corner after my errands, and I saw you sitting here through the window, so naturally I walked up to get a closer look, then I saw you sigh and look all sady-waddy, so naturally I immediately knocked on the door to try and cheer you up, but you must not have heard me, so I looked back in the window and you were looking at me, so I figured I got your attention, so then I started knocking, and guess what? It worked! You opened the door for me, so now I’m here, and now I can make you happy. But first I need to know what’s wrong.” Pinkie paused her rant to jump across the room and land directly on Twilight’s couch, never once missing a beat or taking a breath before continuing.
“So what’s wrong?” She sounded honestly curious; there was no hint of her usual happy attitude. Instead she almost sounded concerned, serious even, which was rare, to say the least.
Twilight sat in stunned silence, her brain racing to keep up with what Pinkie was saying.
“Uh… nothing, Pinkie, just waiting for more books to arrive, I’m out of things to keep me interested here.” Twilight eyed Pinkie closely, watching as Pinkie looked half at her half through her. Suddenly she twisted her head 90 degrees to the left, a cracking noise emanating from her spine.
“I don’t like it when ponies lie to me, Twilight.” Pinkie deadpanned, her normal happy demeanour lost in the seriousness that had taken over her face. “Especially about something as important as this.”
“As important as what, Pinkie? I’m not lying.” Twilight insisted, giving her friend what she hoped looked like an innocent expression.
“My Pinkie Sense never fails, and when my neck gets all cramped, I know somepony’s lying to me to hide a secret crush. Romance is serious, Twilight, don’t go lying about it like it’s any other subject.” Pinkie kept her serious glare fixed solely on Twilight, whose mind was racing for an excuse that was not technically a lie.
“Uh…” Was all Twilight could produce. ‘Damn that Pinkie Sense! This should be easy to keep secret! It’s nothing! It’s just a tiny crush that will pass’.
“If you have to tell yourself it’s just a tiny crush, chances are it’s more.” Pinkie gave a knowing smirk to the increasingly flustered unicorn.
“I-it’s nothing!” Twilight insisted weakly, attempting to think of a way out that had yet to present itself.
“Who?” Pinkie asked, walking over to Twilight and sitting in front of her. “Who’s the lucky stallion that caught your eye?”
“N-no! There’s no stallion! I-I don’t have a c-crush!” Twilight glanced nervously around the room, looking at anything that wasn’t pink and slowly getting closer to her face.
“Mare?”
“NO!” Twilight yelled, standing and backing away from the pink menace who was preventing her from daydreaming about a certain mare who- no! Bad brain!
“Oh, so it is a mare. I never thought you’d go for that, but I guess it could be anypony.” Pinkie shrugged off her newfound information to continue pressing. “Who?”
“NOPONY!” Twilight shouted, a surge of panic running through her when she felt herself hit the wall behind her, Pinkie still approaching.
“Unicorn? Earth Pony? Pegasus?” Twilight flinched at the last one. ‘Perfect, she’s easier to read then the rest.’
“So, pegasus eh? Do I know her?” Once again there was that tell tail twitch that ran through the unicorn’s entire body.
“A friend?” Twitch.
“Close?” Twitch.
“Element of Harmony?” Twitch.
“Is it… Ra-”
“ENOUGH!” Twilight shouted, teleporting to the other side of the room, leaving Pinkie staring intensely at a blank wall.
“It’ll only get worse if you don’t tell anypony.” Pinkie said, she sounded honestly concerned for her friend. Too many times she had seen lives ruined over what they thought were just tiny crushes.
“Leave. Me. ALONE!” She shouted as she teleported Pinkie outside her door with a flash of magenta magic. Before Twilight’s eyes had adjusted after the flash her vision was once again filled with pink.
“You’ll feel better if you tell me.” Twilight’s jaw hung. How Pinkie was so fast she didn’t know. Why Pinkie was so determined to find out, she didn’t know either, all she knew was that at this point it would be easier to tell her.
“Fine! It’s… Rabodhs.” Twilight mumbled. Her words jumbled and too quiet to be heard by anypony.
“Louder.” Pinkie beckoned, placing a hoof to her ear.
“It’s… Rainbow…” Twilight admitted, barely keeping her voice at audible levels for the entire thing. Pinkie, on the other hoof, exploded into a smile.
“I knew it! I saw you looking at her the other day, I knew there was something! This is great, Twilight, I was just with Rainbow, and she said-” Pinkie cut herself off with a hoof to her own mouth.
“What?” Twilight cocked her head to the side, trying to decipher what Pinkie was about to say.
“Sorry, Pinkie Promise. But I think you should tell her, you never know, she might say yes to a date.” Pinkie giggled and bounced back to the door.
“She might even feel the same way!” This caused Pinkie to break down laughing. Twilight’s ears flattened against her head. ‘even Pinkie knows I don’t have a shot.’ She thought sadly.
“Oh hey, taco!” She stopped laughing instantly and reached into her mane with a hoof, extracting exactly that; a taco.
“What?” Twilight stared at the strange food item Pinkie had taken from her mane. How she carried so much stuff and why she would never know.
“Dashie’s favourite food. Take her out for tacos!” Pinkie chirped happily and with one final leap burst out the door. Twilight watched her bounce happily down the street for a few minutes before shaking her head and turning back to her table, a taco resting on top.
“Do I have a chance?” She asked aloud, not really expecting an answer, even if one would be nice.
“Maybe I should at least ask…” She trailed off as she stared harder at the taco, willing it to give her the answers she desired. With a firm nod of her head, she made up her mind. She had nothing to lose by asking her out, and besides, she now knew Rainbow liked tacos, and she just so happened to know a great place for said tacos.
-_-_-_-
Rainbow sat in her cloud home, resting on her could bed in her cloud room. All she could see was clouds. Fluffy, white, blank, sickening clouds. She laid back and groaned; she really needed a change in scenery. Maybe a little brown… mixed with multiple colours, books, maybe? They were all sorts of colours. Maybe even a splash of lavender thrown in, that would be- NO! Enough, it’s just a stupid little crush; I do not need to be thinking about her constantly!
Rainbow shook her head firmly to dislodge the thoughts. The same thoughts that had been nagging her to do something for nearly three weeks. She wished they would leave her alone, give her a little peace, but still they remained. Even when she was flying they stayed in the fore-front of her mind, more often then not making her lose focus and crash. It had been driving her nuts.
More then once she’d been flying over the town, only to stop dead in her tracks and just stare at the library where she knew a lavender unicorn would be reading. She didn’t do anything, at least not physically. In her mind she would swoop in through the window, dazzling the unicorn, before sweeping her off her hooves in a brilliant, passionate kiss that would leave them both- ENOUGH! No matter what Pinkie said it was just a tiny crush that she would get over soon enough.
She forced herself up from her bed and wandered out to her kitchen. She rarely used it, since it was both faster and easier to go out to dinner; she had more then enough bits for it. But today she didn’t want to leave her house; instead she began rummaging through empty cupboard after empty cupboard. She picked up the pace at the insistent rumble her stomach was now making.
She was about to check the last shelf in her kitchen when a knock at the door drew her attention.
“I don’t want what you’re selling!” She shouted, not really caring about how harsh her voice was.
“I’m not selling anything, Rainbow.” That voice… it couldn’t be. And yet it was, it was unmistakable, the way her heart beat a little faster, or how her mouth dried out just a little bit more. It was Twilight at her door.
Dash shot across her house to the door, not caring about the massive mess she was leaving in the air current behind her. In a flash she was at the door, taking deep breaths to slow her heart and breathing down so she didn’t look like she had just desperately half ran half flew across her house at the call of the lavender unicorn. She had a reputation to keep up.
Once she had determined she had slowed her breathing down enough, she opened the door, flashing a too-large cocky smile.
“Hey Twi, what’s up?” She asked casually, leaning a little too nonchalantly on the door frame.
“Uh… I was just… uh… passing by… and I… uh… thought that…” She trailed off, shuffling her hooves nervously and flicking her eyes around the front of Rainbow’s house. Something was defiantly wrong.
“Uh… Twi? You alright?”
“Yes! I am fine. Absolutely fine, not a single thing wrong!” She answered chipperly, almost demanding both herself and Rainbow to believe her.
“Uh… alright… wait, how are you even up here?” Rainbow looked down at Twilight’s hooves, confirming she was, in fact, standing on a cloud instead of stilts or something Pinkie would do.
“Easy, cloud walking spell and a little teleportation.” Twilight patted the cloud a few times to prove that it was as solid to her as it was Rainbow Dash.
“Ok. Now why are you here again?” Dash asked, raising an eyebrow to resume her confused look at Twilight. ‘maybe you should ask her out.’ She thought, looking the unicorn over. Come to think of it, it wouldn’t be that bad, sure, she was kind of an egghead, but she was fun enough to hang around. She always seemed to make Rainbow happy. Not to mention she didn’t look half bad…
Her thoughts trailed off when she realized Twilight was talking to her.
“So I was wondering if you’d like to do that.” Twilight finished, seemingly quieter then when she had started.
“What?” Rainbow mentally face-hoofed at her own words. ‘sure, tell the whole world I wasn’t listening to her. Great, now she’s glaring at me. Better pay attention this time’.
“You weren’t listening?” Twilight almost sounded… disappointed?
“Sorry Twi, I got… distracted.” She admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. Twilight made a noise that sounded like a cross between a grunt and a sigh, hanging her head.
“Never mind.” She said dejectedly. Her courage was out, having poured every bit of it into asking Rainbow out, only for her to not listen? Twilight didn’t have the courage or will to try again. She turned away from a very confused Rainbow Dash and began to prepare her teleportation spell to get down.
“WAIT! Tell me, what did you say?” Rainbow placed a hoof on the unicorn shoulder, breaking her concentration like a twig at the tiny amount of contact it caused. Just that one touch caused Twilight to blush profusely. That one touch convinced Twilight it might be more then a tiny crush
“I… would you… taco?” She offered desperately, giving Rainbow the most pleading look she could muster.
“Uh… English please?” Dash just stared blankly at Twilight, waiting for her to say whatever she was trying to say. Twilight took a deep breath; it was now or never.
“Would you like to go out with me some time for tacos?” Even Twilight was surprised at how fast she could speak. Even Pinkie would be impressed. Rainbow, however, still managed to understand every syllable, and that made it that much less believable to her.
“Wait, you… want to… with me… tacos… go out… a date?” Rainbow was fast. She was used to going fast, but her mind struggled to keep up with the thousand thoughts fighting to be thought. Twilight asked her out? Twilight asked her out! What did that mean? Did Twilight feel the same? Was it more? Less? She didn’t know, but she did know she should probably say something other then stare blankly at the unicorn in front of her, who was slowly wilting due to the lack of an answer.
Without thinking she leaned in closer to her. ‘Alright, maybe Pinkie was right, this may be more then a crush’ was her last coherent thought before their lips met.
Twilight sat at her kitchen table. Mug of coffee in front of her and eyes glued firmly out the window at her mailbox. Her eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep and her hoof tapped the table due to drinking one too many cups of coffee. What was she at now? 3? 6? She didn’t know. She lost track the last time she glanced at the clock and had to remember the time. How long ago was that? What time was it?
She glanced back at the clock, 6:54. She had been up since around 2 in the morning. After she got up she proceeded down the stairs and to her kitchen, where she made her coffee, then sat down at the table. Since that moment she had not moved, minus the occasional turn of her head to get more coffee. She had to stay awake. No matter how much her body wanted to sleep. Any minute now and she could have her answer, the answer to the question that had been in her mind for almost two weeks.
She switched her eyes back to the window, outside lay her mailbox, the flag still down, showing that the morning mail had not yet come. As if on cue a grey pegasus with a blond mane flew into view, a mailbag hanging from her shoulder. Twilight launched herself out of the chair and dashed over to the door, barely slowing her pace to open the door with her magic.
“Wait! Ditzy!” She called out to the mail mare, currently depositing the mail in the box.
“Hey Twilight, what are you doing up this early?” She turned at the mention of her name, the mail resting neatly inside the box.
“I wanted to ask you...” Twilight paused as she rummaged through the mail with her magic, discarding a few letters directly onto the ground until she found the one she was looking for. It looked like a regular letter. It was red with a standard, circular wax seal and her address and name printed on it. The only thing that was missing was a return address, though from the nature of the letter, Twilight wasn’t surprised the pony wanted to remain anonymous.
“Do you know who sent this? Where you picked it up?” Twilight asked, desperation tinting her voice. For two weeks she had tried to determine the origin of these letters, and every day turned up another dead end.
“Uh… no, sorry, Twilight, that one was at the post office, dropped in the mailbox before we opened this morning. Whoever sent it must be an even earlier riser then you!” Ditzy giggle a little at her own joke. Twilight, however, just scowled in defeat.
“Oh… alright. I’ll see you later, Ditzy.” She turned and slunk back into the library, the lone letter floating behind her. The rest of her mail was left to its fate in on the ground. Ditzy was a little more then puzzled at the reaction, but decided to shrug it off. She scooped up the rest of Twilight’s letters and put them back in the mailbox before flying off to continue her route.
Meanwhile, Twilight sighed and shut the door, setting the letter on the table while she fetched her letter opener. After a few seconds it flew out of her desk and came to a rest next to the envelope. She hesitated for a second, a look of apprehension on her face as she stared at the thing before her. Nearly the exact same envelope had come for her every single day in the mail for almost two weeks. It was driving her nuts. The worst part was no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t figure out who was sending them. She had talked to every single pony in Ponyville that could be sending them, and none of them seemed to know anything about them.
She took a deep breath the slid the small knife under the seal, gently working at it until it came off of the paper without a single tear. She the opened the envelope and extracted a single piece of parchment from within. It was folded neatly in two places, dividing it into equal thirds; whoever had folded it had taken great care to make it perfect. With a quick flick of magic it unfolded before her, and her eyes began to move over the text, reading every word in her mind.
Dear Twilight Sparkle.
We are nearly at two weeks of this, and still you cannot find my identity. I promise I will approach you when I work up the courage, but until then, please be patient. I’m not sure how long it will take, since it took me a long time to start writing even these letters, but the time will come. I just wanted to say, you have beautiful eyes. In previous letters I have told you about your brilliant mind, you stunning coat or mane, and even sometimes about your body in general. But nothing even holds a candle to your brilliant, shining eyes.
I could go on for days, but I will leave some things for when I meet you face-to-face. Just as soon as I can without getting week in the knees, as the saying goes, at least. Today, Rainbow Dash will come by your house, and will extend Rarity’s invitation to a group lunch to you. I want you to know, I will be there. I may finally work up the courage to tell you, to approach you and tell you who I am and everything. But I may not. All I can do is hope.
At this point I know I must sound pretty creepy, like a stalker or something. I want you to know; I’m not. I don’t blame you if you don’t believe me, but when I finally tell you who I am it will all make sense. How I know all this, how I am always there, how it’s not creepy. It will all make sense. All I ask is that you have a little trust in me, trust that this will make sense. Is it so wrong to want a little trust? Especially since I’m-
Never mind. I still can’t tell you, not even in writing. For now this is the end. If I don’t have the courage today, I’ll talk to you in the next letter, but let us pray that I do.
Twilight Sparkle, I lov lik I am fond of you.
Your secret admirer.
Twilight sighed as her eyes reached the end of the text. It ended like all the others, a few crossed off words before the unknown writer finally came to a decision on what to say. Each letter had been signed the same, her ‘secret admirer’. It was driving her nuts. Before she had time to dwell on it any longer, a knock rang throughout the library.
“This is a public library, you don’t need to knock!” She yelled, not particularly caring who was at the door.
“Whoa, easy, Twi, what’s gotten you in such a bad mood?” A second after the voice reached her ears Twilight’s vision was filled with a light blue as Rainbow Dash flew in front of her.
“Doesn’t matter, Rarity asked me to-” She was cut off as Twilight held a hoof up to stop her mid sentence.
“To invite me to a group lunch?” She asked knowingly, a little disturbed that her so called ‘not creepy secret admirer’ knew so much about her and her friend’s activities.
“Yeah, how’d you know?” Rainbow cocked her head, her confusion draining as Twilight pointed at the letter on her table.
“Oh, right… still sending letters, eh?”
“Yeah, and still to chicken to tell me who they are!” Twilight shouted out towards the door, hoping that whoever sent to letter would hear her. Rainbow just shrugged.
“They said they’ll tell you eventually, so just have a bit of patience.” Rainbow said calmly, before walking over to the door. “So you coming to lunch or not?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. I’m coming.” She glanced at the clock as she walked by it; almost noon. She could have sworn it was way earlier then that just a few minutes ago. Had she been staring at the letter that long?
-_-_-_-
Twilight played idly with the food on her plate. Her head rested on the table next to it as she mulled over every single clue she had as to the identity of her unknown admirer. It was getting her nowhere.
“Twilight, dear, what is troubling you on such a fine day? You’ve barely touched your salad at all.” Rarity asked, taking a final, lady-like bite of her own lunch before setting her fork down delicately on her plate.
“It’s those letters. I got another this morning, it said the pony would be here, and try to work up the courage to talk to me. It’s driving me nuts; I wish they would just spit it out already!” Twilight yelled angrily and glanced around at the rest of the outdoor restaurant, most of the patrons staring at her for her rather loud outburst. Rarity glanced around nervously before speaking.
“I’m sure sh- they’ll work up the courage eventually, just give he- them a little time.”
“It’s been two weeks! How much courage do they need!?” She slammed a hoof down on the table, causing Fluttershy to jump and hide behind her mane.
“I’m sure she’ll tell you soon.” As soon as the words left her lips she cringed and covered her mouth with her hooves, hoping Twilight wouldn’t catch her slip up. Luckily she didn’t as she continued glaring angrily around her.
“How soon is soon? They say that in ever single letter!”
“Just calm down and take a deep breath Twi, y’all know ya can’t rush these things.” Applejack attempted to say, though her words were heavily jumbled by the salad still in her mouth. Her ‘uncouth’ behaviour caused Rarity to twitch.
“Yeah, I’m sure she’ll tell you as soon as she can. After all, it must be pretty hard telling your best friend you-” The pink party pony of Ponyville was silenced by a hasty hoof jammed into her mouth. Unfortunately, Twilight picked up on it this time.
“Did you just say ‘she’? As in, you know who it is?” Simultaneously, the all shook there heads, except Applejack, who instead held her head still.
“Applejack?” She leaned over the table, getting directly in the farmer’s face, glaring at her. “Do you know who’s been sending these?” Applejack made what was possibly the loudest possible gulping noise ever before turning to the rest of her friends. Eyes pleading for help.
“Uh… let’s say, theoretically, I did-”
“Stop stalling.”
“It’s me.” A shaky voice answered from behind her. She whipped her head around, expecting some previously unknown mare to be standing there. Instead she saw nothing, until she looked up. There, hovering just above the ground with a blush that could rival Big Mac’s coat colour was Rainbow dash.
“YOU!?” Twilight gasped, falling back into her chair. Rainbow scratched the back of her head sheepishly.
“That explains so much! Why the letters always knew what we were doing, how you showed up with perfect timing after I read the letter. Everything! How it actually does make sense that it’s not creepy!” Twilight paused mid-rant to cast a glare back at the rest of her friends.
“How many of you knew.” At the question they all raised timid hooves. Twilight just stared at the four hooves in the air.
“All of you knew, and none of you told me…”
“We couldn’t! She made us all Pinkie Promise! Since then every get-together we’ve had has been planned in advance so she could send y’all a letter about it. She thought that if she wrote enough letters she might work up the courage one day to tell ya!” Applejack’s statement was met with a chorus of nods from the gathered friends, including Rainbow Dash.
“And you!” Twilight spun on her hooves to face Rainbow again. “How could you not tell me? How could the Rainbow Dash, self proclaimed most awesome pony in Equestria, not have the courage to admit a little crush?”
“It’s… more then a little crush.” Rainbow’s mouth was suddenly very dry as the moment she had dreaded for months came at her like a speeding train.
“What? Then what is it?” Twilight tilted her head, not comprehending anything else that this could be.
Twilight stared flabbergasted at the cyan pegasus in front of her. Did she just? No, I must have misheard her’.
“I’m sorry?” She asked, surprised by how quiet her own voice was.
“I… I said… I l-love you…” Rainbow choked out, wings extended and twitching as her fight-or-flight instinct started leaning towards the ‘flight’ option.
“That’s what I thought…” Twilight stared blankly at the rainbow maned mare that refused to meet her gaze, instead opting to stare at a particularly interesting rock at her hooves.
“Uh… ah gotta go… buck apples? I’ll see y’all later!” Applejack edged away from the table slowly until she deemed she was a safe distance away and began galloping to her farm.
“Yes, I do believe I have a few clients that will be coming by shortly, best to be prepared, I hope to see you girls again soon!” Rarity made her escape in the same fashion as Applejack. Pinkie opened her mouth to say something, but it was slammed shut with a blue glow. Her whole body the proceeded to lift off the ground and float behind the now rapidly retreating Rarity.
“Oh… I think one of my birds might need some more food…” Fluttershy whispered quietly, hiding behind her mane as she backed away from the table; nose so low it was nearly scraping the ground. She left only Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Twilight was still staring numbly at the pegasus, who still refused to meet her eyes.
“I need to go…” Twilight said nervously, teleporting away before Dash could offer a word in protest.
“WAIT!” She yelled at the space where Twilight had stood moments before. “You never gave me an answer…” She finished sadly, flapping her wings and lifting off the ground slowly. ‘Stupid, stupid, stupid. What was I thinking!?’ Rainbow’s thoughts tormented her as she flew away, half the restaurant still staring at her as she made her slow retreat. ‘Never should have done that. Never should’ve sent those stupid letters. I never had a shot’ she sighed sadly as she caught a glimpse of the tree library over the top of some houses. It was nothing but a painful reminder of what she would never have.
She flapped harder, gaining speed rapidly as she flew to her house, leaving her signature rainbow trail behind her.
-_-_-_-
Twilight reappeared in the centre of her library, her horn glowing as soon as she did so, already pulling parchment and quills from her desk. She piled them all on her centre table, a few jars of ink joining from her storage closet.
“Spike! The library’s closed, close up and grab some bits for yourself. I am not to be disturbed!” When Twilight turned back to her work she noticed Spike scamper down the stairs, bits in claw, and slip out the door as quietly as possible, flipping the sign to closed as he went. He knew when Twilight did not want to be disturbed under any circumstances, and this was one of those times.
Twilight allowed her self a small smile at how efficient he was. If she didn’t watch for him she never would have know he was there at all. That smile quickly faded, however, as she turned her gaze to the window, a rainbow was streaking across the sky. From the direction, it looked to be heading to the east side of Ponyville. Or, more specifically, Rainbow Dash’s cloud home.
She sighed as she turned back to the stack of paper, quills, and ink her table had become. It would be a long night, which meant a lot more coffee.
-_-_-_-
Rainbow glanced out her window, seeing the sun rise slowly above the mountains. She had been lying in her bed all night, but not one second of that time had been spent sleeping. No, most of it had been spent with her face buried in her pillow, trying to convince herself that the wetness on her face was not tears. After all, tears meant she was crying, and Rainbow Dash did not cry. Unfortunately, not believing in something does not make it any less true, so she had cried all night.
Not even the light of day, the cool breeze blowing through her window, or the light blue sky, calling out for her to fly, could rouse her from her bed. Instead she covered herself with her blanket, hiding from the outside world, the world that had done nothing but hurt her since day one.
Much to her annoyance, the one thing that her blankets and pillows did not protect her from was sound. This flaw was drawn to her attention by the insistent pounding of somepony knocking on her door.
“GO AWAY!” She shouted angrily, not in the mood to deal with anything other then herself. The knocking, however, only grew louder and more persistent.
“I am not opening that door!” This caused another flaw to be brought to her attention; her blankets and pillows, wrapped tightly around her body, may make her feel safe, but she was not safe from magic of any kind, especially a teleport spell, cast by one lavender unicorn that had the power to teleport her entire house to the other side of Equestria. Thankfully she kept it down to Rainbow Dash, her blankets, and only to the front of her house.
Upon realizing what had happened and who she was in front of, she made a squeak that was incredibly accurate to something Fluttershy would do, and hid further into the blanket still wrapped around her snugly. This did little to dissuade the unicorn, however, since a simple flick of her horn caused the blanket unravelled itself and fly to the side. It took Rainbow a minute to notice she was without her protection, but when she did she resorted to the next best thing; hiding her face behind her hooves and praying Twilight would go away eventually.
“Rainbow Dash? What’s wrong?” She asked, sounding not only concerned, but as if she actually had no idea as to why Rainbow was hiding from her.
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because my heart has been crushed like an ant under the foot of a dragon?” She spat bitterly, some of her normal bravado bleeding through into her voice, though it was still nothing compared to her normal tone, which practically oozed confidence.
“What happened?” Twilight cocked her head to the side, drawing an exasperated grunt from Rainbow.
“Seriously? You rejected me, in the middle of the restaurant, without so much as a ‘sorry’ and then left without saying anything at all! What do you think happened?” Twilight couldn’t resist giggling a little at Rainbow, who was waving her hooves around, attempting to emphasize her point, but only succeeded in making herself look like a fish out of water.
“Oh Rainbow, I didn’t reject you, I just had to go make a few plans, which is actually why I’m here.” She paused to take a piece of paper from her saddlebags, levitating it down to Rainbow’s current eye level. Rainbow looked up enough to see a calendar, some of the dates highlighted in lavender.
“These are the day’s I’m free, I wanted to know when a good date night for you would be.”
“I… but you… yesterday… and I… what?” Rainbow was mentally grasping at straws, gaping like a fish at the sudden proposition.
“Well, if you love me, then surly you’d try to make me feel the same, at least that’s what my book said, so I read more about romance, since I’m relatively new to this, and found out that most ponies go on dates to achieve a mutual level of love for one another.” Twilight recited matter-of-factly, as if she was reading directly from a textbook. Rainbow’s mind was spinning with a thousand questions and even more thoughts, but only one phrase really made sense to her right now.
Twilight shivered slightly as she looked out her library window at the blizzard going on outside. It had been going strong for nearly an hour, and the weather team was still working hard to get it up to the minimum requirement. Normally the snow in Ponyville wasn’t bad, minus the occasional day-long snow storm. This blizzard, however, was caused by the fact that almost the entire Ponyville weather team had either taken a vacation or came down with a sudden outburst of Feather Flu the previous week. Meaning that a weeks worth of snow had piled up until enough of the weather team were back to make a storm, which happened to be today. While it was the first official snow fall of winter, it was also the worst, a total whiteout.
With a flick of her horn she fetched another blanket from her closet. While her tree had a natural insulation, it didn’t help the draft that came through very place imaginable. Not even the fire, currently roaring in the fire place, could chase off the lingering chill. She wrapped the blanket tightly around herself as she continued to watch the pearly white flakes fall to the ground. There was always something relaxing about snow. Even in blizzard conditions, it still managed to look graceful. Whipping around in the winds yet still shimmering and glittering elegantly. There was just something enthralling about it.
THUD
Twilight’s eyes and thoughts were drawn away from the snow outside and instead focused on a white pegasus that had just thrown the door open and walked in.
“Can I… help you?” She asked cautiously, wondering who exactly this unknown pegasus was that had burst through her door in the middle of a blizzard.
“Uh, yeah, for one thing it’s freezing out there, and for another I need a towel.” The pegasus replied. Her voice reminded Twilight of somepony else, but it was heavily muffled by a scarf around her mouth and neck.
“Okay, but who exactly are you?” She stood and went to her closet, extracting a white towel. She may not know who her visitor was, but she couldn’t just send them back out into the storm without at least letting them warm up a little.
“What? What do you mean who…” She trailed off as she looked at her own body. She had to bite back a laugh as she grabbed the towel out of Twilight’s magic. “Here, this should help.” She chuckled as she began to rub the towel across her body, white snow wiping away to reveal cyan fur and feathers. After a few seconds the vast majority of the snow was gone, leaving a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane.
“Rainbow!” Twilight shouted excitedly, running over to giver her long-term marefriend a hug, pulling off the scarf for a quick kiss.
“Hey Twi, I see you missed me.” Rainbow Dash chuckled as she tossed the towel to the side to return the hug, savouring the warmth the unicorn radiated.
“Of course! Now come in and close the door, you're letting all the heat out.” Twilight smiled and broke away from the hug, walking out to the main room and levitating a pillow for Rainbow in front of the fire. She lay down on one side of the large pillow, motioning for Dash to join her. Rainbow was more than happy to oblige as she closed the door with a firm thud and trotted over to the pillow, lying down on her half next to Twilight. The warmth of the fire felt good on her coat, slowly drying the moisture that the towel had left. She smiled as she felt Twilight’s body press into her side, the heating warming her more then any fire.
She reached a wing around the unicorn, drawing her closer as Rainbow placed her head on top of Twilight’s, carefully avoiding her horn. She sighed happily as more of the unicorn’s warmth began to envelop her, warming the wing draped around her back. It was warm, but the rest of her body still wanted more, asking in the form of a light shiver. Twilight felt this shiver and immediately extracted the blanket from its previous resting place by the window to wrap snugly around the two mares.
“Better?” She whispered quietly, rubbing her cheek deeper into Rainbow’s neck.
“Much.” Rainbow sighed, content with the new found warmth, both for her body and her heart. There was something about being so close to Twilight that always brought a smile to her lips and made her heart flutter. She liked it.
“Hey Twi?” Rainbow ventured, drawing her head back just enough to look Twilight in the eye.
“Yeah?”
“I love you.” Twilight just giggled and leaned up, kissing her gently on the lips for a second before drawing back.
Twilight awoke in her bed, opening her eyes she was met with familiar cyan fur. It was a sight she was used to seeing by now; almost every morning for the past 8 months had presented it to her. Yet even now it sent warmth spreading through her. It was the warmth of feeling absolutely, completely safe. It was rare for her to feel such a way, but she never felt safer then when she was in the hooves of her rainbow maned lover.
Sighing happily, she wormed closer to Rainbow’s chest, absorbing all the warmth and comfort she could before letting her eyes slowly begin to close, sleep already fighting for her mind. Its attack was short lived, however, as the cyan pegasus began to stir. It was slow, at first, just the odd twitch of one of her ears, or the wrinkling of her nose as she fought to stay asleep, but eventually the real world won the fight, and her eyes slid open. The first thing she saw was Twilight’s violet eyes and a warm, welcoming smile.
“Hey Twi.” She greeted groggily, reaching a hoof up to rub the sleep out of her eyes.
“Hey.” She responded happily, still smiling warmly at the pegasus that had been called her marefriend for more then half a year. It was weird now, looking back. Looking back at her time before Ponyville, she couldn’t believe she had survived without friends for as long as she did. And now she couldn’t believe she had survived without Dash for even longer.
“I gotta go!” Rainbow sprang up from the bed, taking the blanket with her, causing her to trip and fall flat on her face.
“Rainbow? What’s wrong?” Twilight asked, her voice betraying her concern.
“Nothing, I just have to go make a few plans, I’ll be back within an hour!” Rainbow shook the blanket off her last hoof and rocketed through the previously closed window, leaving a very stunned Twilight to clean up the mess.
‘What got into her?’ Twilight thought as she levitated the blanket over to make the bed, making sure every crease was smoothed and every corner tucked before making her way to the kitchen for breakfast.
-_-_-_-
Rainbow was true to her word, as in just under an hour she came flying through the library door. Unfortunately, Twilight was no where to be found. A quick twist of her ears, however, told her two things. One: The shower was running. Two: It was Twilight in the shower, since her singing was echoing through the library. Dash had to admit, even muffled by the shower and wood walls, she had a beautiful voice. This made her even surer of herself. She made her way over to the stairs, climbing them with a few flaps from her wings (she always hated walking up stairs) and walked toward the bathroom door. She debated knocking for a second, until Twilight’s voice came through the door.
“Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay, And the voices rang like the angels sing, And singing… Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay, And we danced on into the night, Ay oh ay oh, Ay oh ay oh, And we danced on into the night.”
It was not just the chorus of a song she recognized, but it was also her favourite song. An idea popped into her head as Twilight finished the chorus. Rainbow opened the door quietly, ensuring to be unheard as she stepped into the steam filled bathroom, the sound of water and singing grew louder as she stepped in. The warm steam circled around her, flowing out the door, slowly beginning to empty the bathroom. Rainbow waited for Twilight to begin the next verse.
“Like a gift from the heavens-” As soon as she knew what verse Twilight was on, she joined in, her voice mixing with Twilight’s to produce a sound that could only be described as angelic, at least to her ears.
“It was easy to tell.” Twilight faltered slightly at the addition of a second voice, having assumed she was alone in the library aside from Spike, who was taking advantage of his day off by sleeping. However, as soon as she faltered she picked it back up, realizing there was only one pony that would walk into the bathroom and begin singing with her. A smile subconsciously formed on her lips as she continued singing.
“It was love from above, that could save me from hell, She had fire in her soul it was easy to see, how the devil himself could be pulled out of me, There were drums in the air as she started to dance, Every soul in the room keeping time with their hands, And we sang…”
As they entered the final chorus, Twilight shut off the shower, letting their voices ring through the bathroom without the noise of the shower.
“And we danced on into the night.” As they sung the last note, Twilight stepped out of the shower, her mane wet and sticking to her neck, dripping lightly on the floor as she approached the pegasus who had interrupted her shower.
“You know, most ponies don’t walk into the bathroom they know is being used.” Twilight teased, levitating a towel to begin the process of drying herself while Rainbow just stood next to the door and watched.
“Yeah, but I’m not most ponies. Besides, I figured you wouldn’t mind.”
“I suppose. Now are you going to tell me why you dashed out of the house this morning, or am I going to have to make you?” Twilight gave Rainbow a look that said ‘and I will make you’ as she dried her mane magically.
“Nope, I’m gonna show you.” Dash replied proudly, receiving nothing but a glare from the purple unicorn.
“And how, exactly, will you show me?” Twilight asked doubtfully.
“Easy. Just come with me to Sugar Cube Corner. It’ll make sense once we’re there.”
-_-_-_-
It had taken a while, but Rainbow had eventually gotten Twilight out of the library and on their way to Sugar Cube Corner, where a surprise she had been planning for a month waited. Now they stood outside on the sidewalk, Rainbow shaking like a leaf and Twilight looking at her worriedly.
“Rainbow? You alright? You’re shaking like a leaf.”
“Y-yeah, just a l-little c-cold.” She stuttered, her shaking growing worse as she approached the door. Her mouth dried like cotton as she reached for the handle. She froze on the spot.
“Rainbow?” Twilight asked again, placing a hoof on her shivering shoulder. With that one touch Rainbow gained all the confidence she needed, and stopped her shaking dead in its tracks. She took a deep breath, and opened the door. Inside was pitch black, the lights were out, the curtains were drawn, and the light from the door didn’t help much. While Twilight gazed curiously, Rainbow walked into the darkness, quickly being engulfed by black. Twilight followed uncertainly, the door shutting of its own accord behind her, plunging her into absolute darkness.
She waved her hoof out in front of her as she made her way further into the room. “Rainbow?” She called out hopefully, praying that whatever the pegasus would do, she would do it fast. She may not be afraid of the dark, but she didn’t like the idea of tripping on something or walking into a wall.
“Just stay there.” Rainbows voice came from somewhere ahead of her. It was a little shaky, but not very noticeable to anypony not listening for it. Twilight did as she was instructed, halting her progress in what she assumed to be the centre of the room. In a flash of light the room was illuminated, the sudden light blinding her momentarily. When her vision adjusted she saw the rest of the room, filled with ponies of all shapes, colors, and races, all with expectant smiles on there faces. What her attention was drawn to, however, were not those ponies around the room, not even when she saw her brother and her parents. What her attention was drawn to was a cyan pegasus sitting in front of her, in one outstretched hoof sat and open box, and in that box sat a ring.
“Twilight Sparkle. Will you marry me?” It took Twilight all of ten seconds to figure out what exactly Rainbow had said, then another ten to comprehend the words. Her answer, however, was formed before she needed to think about it. She dove forward, enveloping the cyan mare in a deep, passionate kiss. When their lips finally parted, she just smiled and giggled.
“Of course.” Her response was met with Rainbow pulling her in for another kiss, along with cheers from every single pony present. A number Twilight assumed to be all of Ponyville plus a few others. Rainbow must have been planning this a while, which made it all the more special to her.
Rainbow Dash staggered through the door moments after Twilight did, a stack of three plain brown boxes piled on her back. Twilight sighed happily, dropping her own box from her magical grasp onto a neat stack in the main room of the building. The building itself wasn’t special, just an average Ponyville house on an average Ponyville street. Plain white walls lined the entry way, leading into an average sized living room. But to her it was special; to her it was the best thing that had happened to her since Rainbow had proposed. This was not her house, far from it. It was their house. It had been tough to leave the library, but it was well worth it to live with her wife in their own house. To her surprise it had been Rainbow who had first suggested it, the night after their wedding. The pegasus seemed more then ready to sell her own cloud home, but flat out refused to move into the library, something about being ‘way too egghead’. Though Twilight new the real reason, even if Dash would never admit to it. The truth was that there was always something special about the first house you buy with your spouse, and whether she would admit it or not, Rainbow was a huge softy when it came to romance.
“Hey… Twi… a little… help?” Rainbow’s words, broken up by strained gasps, brought Twilight out of her thoughts.
“Oh, right, sorry.” Twilight smiled sheepishly as she lifted all three boxes off Rainbow’s back telekinetically and set them on the rather large stack now occupying their living room.
“Remind me again how I got stuck carrying all of your books.” Rainbow half-complained-half-whined, stretching her back and wings now that she was free of the weight.
“Because you offered.” Twilight deadpanned, barely giving a moment’s pause for the pegasus to argue before continuing. “Now, I think that’s everything,” She paused, taking a scroll and quill from a table nearby and checking an item off before moving down to the next one on the list. “Now, we need to unpack essentials today, the rest can wait for tomorrow.”
“And what, exactly, counts as essential?”
“Anything we’ll need today, so that should include anything for the bathroom and bedroom-”
“Bedroom stuff depends on what you want to do tonight.” Dash cut in, waggling her eyebrows suggestively, earning nothing more then a slightly annoyed sigh from the unicorn.
“For sleeping.” She stressed, shooting a brief glare at the cyan pegasus who still wore a cheeky grin before turning back to her list.
“And one of the kitchen boxes for an easy dinner tonight.” Twilight finished happily, turning to the pile to begin finding the boxes she had previously marked ‘essential’.
“Alright, I’ll start on the bedroom box.” Without a response a box marked ‘bedroom essentials’ was placed on her back. Taking the lack of a response as her signal to get to work, she started down the hall to the stairs, climbing them before walking down another hall to the bedroom. Balancing the box with the aid of her wings, she made her way over to the bed and slid the box off her back. With a hoof she nudged it open, only it didn’t open. She tried again, this time with both hooves, and got the same result. She braced herself against the floor and pulled with all the strength she could, yet still the box held fast. Upon closer inspection, she realized Twilight had taped the box closed with what must have been the strongest packing tape in the world.
“Alright Dash, are you gonna let a little tape get in your way?” She said, taking a step back and puffing her chest out.
“Or are you gonna show that tape who’s boss?” She tackled the box, hooves teeth and wings ripping and tearing at any surface she could grab. For a while the box held steady under her assault, but eventually she heard a slight ripping sound of cardboard tearing in half.
-_-_-_-
“Hey Rainbow, how’s the-” Twilight was stopped mid sentence and halfway through the door by a room that looked like it had been hit by a tornado… after Discord had been through… riding a hurricane.
“Hmm? Oh, hey Twi, I’m almost done.” Dash smiled, having stopped her futile attempts at making a bed. The sheets were tucked under only three corners, the pillow was half way out of it’s case, the blanket looked as if it had been chewed on and crumpled, while still folded at the end of the bed, and Dash was standing on top of it all, holding the corner that had yet to be tucked in her mouth while her legs were spread out in an attempt to hold the other corners in place. The room itself looked even worse then the bed. There were bits of cardboard strewn across every inch of the floor, feathers were spread around the room, some white and others were a light blue, matching Rainbow’s to a T. The only thing that looked somewhat normal was her brush, sitting on a vanity table on the far wall of the room, but a closer inspection of that revealed it to have three broke bristles - which annoyed Twilight to no end - and a strip of torn fabric trapped by one of the broken bristles.
“Rainbow… why does it look like Discord came through here with a stampede of long-legged rabbits on a sugar high?” Twilight asked, taking advantage of her deep breathing techniques to keep herself calm.
“What? Oh, yeah… sorry about the mess, but you used some pretty strong tape on those boxes, so I had to get a little… forceful.” Dash smiled sheepishly and blushed, looking around at the chaos her ‘forcefulness’ had caused.
“Rainbow… why don’t you… go… somewhere else for a second.” Before Rainbow had a chance to answer she felt the familiar feeling of Twilight’s magic wrapping around her body and dragging her out the door moments before a purple glow surrounded the door and slammed it shut.
“Uh… sorry?” Dash offered to the closed door, sitting down and waiting for Twilight to do… whatever she was going to do.
-_-_-_-
A few minutes later Twilight trotted happily out of the room, finding Rainbow still sitting in the hall as if no time had passed at all.
“Ah, Rainbow, good, I need to talk to you.” Twilight said, almost a little too happily.
“Uh, sure, what’s up?” She asked, eyeing the unicorn suspiciously.
“Well, in your attempts to open the box, you managed to absolutely destroy one of the pillows, leaving us with only one. That being said, THAT PILLOW IS MINE! It’s only fair, since you’re the one that destroyed it.” Twilight smiled before trotting past her and down the stairs. “Now it’s time for dinner, and you get to help make it this time.”
About half an hour and many, many, many clean-ups later Dash once again found herself tossed out of a room by Twilight, this time it was the kitchen. She sighed as Twilight slammed the door with a huff. She had messed up… again. Because of her they were one pillow short, Twilight had to clean the entire bedroom, and make dinner, by herself. No matter what she did, it always seamed to end with her messing up and Twilight fixing her mistake.
She made her way slowly over to the couch, looking at the daunting pile of boxes they had yet to unpack, and wondering just how many more time she could screw it up.
“Stupid stupid stupid.” Dash berated herself, slamming her head into the arm of the couch with each repetition. With a final, and rather hard, slam she rested her head against the arm, breathing out slowly. She laid there for a few minutes until Twilight finally came out of the kitchen, carrying two bowls of soup in her magic as she made her way over to the table.
“Rainbow, dinner!” She called from the other room, forcing the pegasus up and off the couch to eat said dinner.
Rainbow Dash ate in silence, eyes trained on her bowl as she ate the dinner Twilight had to make, because she screwed up… again.
“Is something wrong? You’re awfully quiet.” Twilight asked, glancing up from her soup to look at the pegasus who had just finished her own meal.
“No,” She lied, she didn’t need to worry Twilight about her own failures, and she had been enough trouble for her partner already. “I’m just tired; I think I’ll hit the hay now, actually. I’ll stay off your pillow.” Without another word she stood from the table and walked up the stairs to their bedroom, realizing once she got there that she had left her bowl on the table. Just one more of her messes that Twilight had to clean up.
“Ok…” Twilight said, looking at the retreating form of her lover confusedly, before shrugging and finishing her own dinner. If Rainbow wanted to talk to her, she would. All Twilight had to do was make sure she was there when that time came.
She finished her soup quickly and put both her and Rainbow’s bowls in the sink to be washed the next morning. With a happy sigh she sat on the couch in the quiet house and began reading a random book from one of the boxes. After only five chapters she was stifling yawns, eventually deciding it was time for her to go to bed and shutting the book, her page marked with a lavender bookmark.
She made her way through the darkened house, the sun having gone down quite a while ago. She illuminated her path with a faint purple light from her horn, carefully avoiding boxes strewn almost randomly about the house in an attempt to put them in the correct places for when they were unpacked the next day. Eventually she made it to the bedroom, putting out the light from her horn and opening the door as quietly as she could; hoping to avoid waking the pegasus she knew was sleeping in the bed. Sure enough, once her eyes adjusted to the dark, she saw the huddled form of Rainbow Dash under the covers, her pillow resting on the opposite side of the bed as promised. She felt a tingle of guilt run through her gut at the sight, Rainbow was trying, and failing, to use her hoof as a pillow, and her face betrayed her discomfort.
With a quiet sigh she approached the bed almost silently and slid into her own side, resting her head on the pillow that Rainbow had specifically left for her.
“Twi?” The sudden voice made Twilight jump, turning to look at wide, magenta eyes staring at her, apparently wide awake.
“Yeah?”
“Sorry, for making you clean up after my mistakes, I mean. I know I screw up a lot, and I know more often then not you end up cleaning up the mess, and you have no idea how much it means to me that you’d stick with me after everything I put you through.” She then sighed and rolled back over, fidgeting a moment, trying to find a comfortable position. Upon finding none, she gave an annoyed grunt and rolled over onto her stomach.
Twilight gave a small smile and lit her horn, picking up both Rainbow Dash and her pillow at the same time. She flipped Rainbow over, placed the pillow under her head, and then set her back down, the blankets already covering her once again. Dash looked at her for a second before Twilight scooted over in the bed and resting her head against Rainbow’s chest.
“You don’t need to apologize for anything. I stay with you because I love you. Besides, you’re a much more comfortable pillow.” Twilight giggled as she got as close as she could, wrapping her hooves around the cyan pegasus.
“Thanks, Twi. I love you too.” Rainbow allowed herself a smile as she wrapped her own hooves around the lavender body next to hers, the embrace putting her doubts and fears to rest.
The snow trickled slowly down to the ground outside the library, catching and riding the wind like tiny white feathers. Rainbow Dash looked past the feathery snow to the darkened empty street beyond the confines of the tree she currently resided in. It wasn’t a bad snowstorm, it was actually a rather light one compared to some of the ones she herself had prepared, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that the street outside was dark, and had been since the sun had gone down a few hours previous. What worried her was not the simple fact that the sun had gone down, what worried her is that it had gone down before the other pony living in the tree had come back after being called to Canterlot a week prior. She was due to arrive back in Ponyville at noon, but noon had come and gone with no sign of the purple unicorn that was supposed to be back by now. The fact that Twilight, her long time marefriend, was still not home worried her to the point of sitting at the window and doing nothing but watching and waiting. She watched as the snow fluttered to the ground, occasionally being blown by the relatively weak winds and as the sun set below the horizon and the moon rose to its place high in the sky, all the while waiting for her lavender lover to return.
“She was probably just delayed by a storm up in Canterlot, she’ll be home tomorrow.” Spike called from the stairs, stopping his accent to the second floor to call back down to the rainbow maned pegasus that had been part of his daily routine for months now. It had been three months since Rainbow had officially started living at the tree library with him and Twilight, but unofficially she had been spending almost every night over for five months before that.
“She promised she’d be home today.” Rainbow said flatly, keeping her eyes trained on the street she could just barely see from the low amount of light the moon provided through the cloud cover.
“You can’t expect her to control the weather just to keep a promise. Why don’t you just go to bed? She’ll be here tomorrow.” Spike repeated, putting a little more force behind his words, though they did little to help him in his case.
“She promised she’d be home. I promised I’d be here when she got home.” Rainbow kept her eyes and ears focused on the area around the tree for any signs that Twilight might be there.
“Fine, but you’ll be waiting all night; Ponyville doesn’t run its train at night.” Spike gave one last attempt at getting the pegasus to give up, but she didn’t budge from her position. With a sigh and a shake of his head, he made his way up the rest of the stairs and down the hall to his own room, which had been emptied of dusty books for him shortly after Rainbow had moved in.
Rainbow Dash didn’t even register the annoyed grunt from the dragon in her mind, all her thoughts focused on the lavender unicorn she had not seen in a week, and the thoughts that weren’t were wondering why she would be delayed this much. Sure, sometimes schedules had to suffer in order for Cloudsdale to stay on track with the weather, and sometimes trains had to be delayed, but why today of all days? Why the one day when she actually cared did they have to throw Twilight’s schedule off?
She snorted in frustration; the one day it mattered they had to go and screw with the weather. She looked down, away from the falling snow outside to the cozy library inside, lit by candles and a roaring fireplace. The yellow-orange light flickered and dance across the shelves of almost endless books. Each and every cover she looked at reminded her of the purple bookworm that had probably read every single one of them.
With a sigh she once again trained her eyes on the window, only this time there was something different. It was barely visible through the darkness and the snow, but it was there. A pony, walking up the street towards the library, what had her so focused on this pony was the fact that it was a unicorn. She bolted out the door, her wings rapidly carrying her to her target. There was only one unicorn that would be walking down this street at this time of night.
As Rainbow Dash got closer to the unicorn, she began to see the color in the dim light. The pony had a lavender coat with a purple mane and bright pink stripe. There was no doubt now.
“TWI!” She called happily once she was sure she was within earshot.
“Rainbow?” Twilight looked up, surprised at the sudden call of her name. Sure enough, a cyan and rainbow blur was streaking its way across the sky towards her. Before Twilight could say anything more the pegasus collided with her, she felt hooves wrap around her neck and back before Rainbow pulled up, bringing Twilight with her. She was pulled up into the night sky, she tried to say something, but found her muzzle was currently blocked by a cyan one. Once her mind registered that fact that she was being kissed by Rainbow, her body took over, pressing her lips back against the pegasus’s own and wrapping her own hooves around the cyan body pressed against hers.
After a moment Rainbow drew back, smiling brightly at the lavender unicorn in her arms. “I see you missed me.” Twilight said mockingly, giggling a little at the blush spreading through the mare’s light blue face.
“You’re late.” Rainbow replied, taking the subject off her own greeting while maintaining her altitude with steady beats of her wings.
“Yeah, the train was delayed until tomorrow. Fortunately I found a chariot service willing to take me. Unfortunately they only dropped me off at the train station, so I had to walk through the snow.” Twilight replied, matching Rainbow’s grin with an equally happy one of her own.
“Doesn’t matter, you’re home now.” She began to slow her flapping, slowly lowering the two to the ground.
“Yes, Rainbow, Yes I am.” Twilight sighed happily, slipping out of Rainbow’s hooves onto the ground directly below her and beginning the short walk the rest of the way to the library, Rainbow immediately at her side. They walked down the snowy path together, sides pressing against each other and a cyan wing wrapped firmly around lavender shoulders.
“Do you, Twilight Sparkle, take Rainbow Dash to be your lawfully wedded wife?” Celestia’s voice rang out over the crowd currently filling the small Ponyville church. Two mares, one a lavender unicorn and one a cyan pegasus stood at the front in matching white wedding dresses. Twilight smiled brightly at the pegasus before her; there was not a more beautiful site in the world to her violet eyes.
“I do.” She said firmly. There was an air of finality about the words, Rainbow smiled back as Celestia continued the ceremony.
“And do you, Rainbow Dash-” Celestia was cut of by a cyan hoof waving through the air.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Of course I do.” She answered, never once removing her magenta eyes from those of her lover. Her answer drew a small chuckle from the sun goddess next to them.
“Well then, I herby pronounce you wife and wife.” As small laugh cascaded through the group of spectating ponies at the odd but mandatory rephrasing of traditional wedding vows before Celestia continued. “You may kiss the bride.”
Without hesitation Rainbow leaned forward, catching Twilight’s muzzle with her own in a slow, steady dance of lips. A cheer ripped through the crowd of assembled ponies. Some of them were friends, some relatives, all of them loved ones. The newly wedded couple finally separated, both smiling widely at each other. They turned in perfect sync, a cyan wing extended to wrap around Twilight’s lavender body as they made their way out of the church.
“That concludes the ceremony. The reception will be held at Town Hall in half an hour.” Celestia spoke above the applause from the audience with relative ease as the newlyweds exited the church through the front door and boarded a chariot heading to Golden Oaks Library.
Within the confines of the enclosed chariot, two mares sat in a close, happy embrace. A lavender head rested against a cyan shoulder as hooves entangled themselves around each other’s bodies. Violet eyes met magenta for a brief second before both pairs of bright orbs closed in time with the meeting of their lips. The words that needed to be spoken had been said long ago, now all there needed to be was a comfortable, loving silence as the two shared in their joy.
Twilight drew back suddenly, much to Rainbow’s chargin, voiced by a half-hearted whine. “Sorry, Rainbow, but we’re almost home, and we need to get ready for the reception.”
“Why do we even have to go to that stupid thing?” Rainbow grumbled, crossing her hooves and pushing out her bottom lip in an adorable pout. Twilight had to stifle a laugh.
“Don’t worry, we don’t have to stay for long, then the rest of the night is just for you and me.” Twilight’s voice took on a seductive undertone at the last part, causing a shudder to run down Rainbow’s spine. She instinctively leaned in for another kiss, only for her to loose her balance when she realized Twilight wasn’t there. She tumbled off the seat of the carriage and out the freshly opened door, landing in a heap in front of a laughing lavender unicorn.
“Come on, let’s get ready.” Twilight walked towards the tree library still giggling as Rainbow stood quickly and brushed herself off before following as if nothing had happened.
-_-_-_-
When they arrived at Town Hall the party looked to be in full swing. Ponies were filtering through the door and slowly but surly filling up the local party establishment. Twilight and Rainbow made their way through the crowd to the front of the room, sitting at a large table, seating themselves and their four closest friends, along with the royal sisters, Shining Armour, and Cadence. Well wishes floated around the room as the couple made their way through the room, stopping at both Rainbow and Twilight’s family tables, for family that wouldn’t fit at the large front table. The food was nothing short of delectable, the Cake’s had worked with a few chefs from Canterlot to prepare what was undeniably the best food Twilight had ever tasted. After dinner, the music started playing, and Celestia took her cue as she stood from her spot next to her sister and Twilight.
“Fillies and Gentelcolts, if you could please clear the dance floor for the newlyweds first dance.” Celestia’s words drew a multitude of cheers from the audience as they formed a gap in the middle of the room, illuminated by a bright spotlight suspended from the roof. Twilight and Rainbow made their way slowly through the thick glob of ponies surrounding the area they were supposed to be dancing in. Twilight looked over to her wife, offering nothing but a smile as they pushed their way through the last few ponies blocking the floor. As soon as the light hit Rainbow’s face, Twilight knew something was wrong. The cyan mare’s face was a few shades paler then normal, and her eyes shifted around the room nervously.
“Hey, Rainbow, you alright?” She whispered as they made their way to the centre of the clearing. The cyan pegasus’s eyes stopped their nervous shifting to land on the twin lavender orbs looking at her with nothing but compassion and concern.
“Yeah, yeah, I just… I’m not a very good dancer…” She admitted sheepishly, emphasizing her point by nearly tripping over her own hooves as the two stood on their hind legs and assumed a closed dancing position.
“Didn’t they teach you this in school?” Twilight asked, a little of her surprise showing through in her voice. The crowd around them grew silent as the lights dimmed.
“In gym class, which I skipped most of the time to do actual training and practising.” Rainbow’s pitch heightened as a wave of panic washed over her as she realized she had no idea what she was doing. The music started quiet, gradually building in volume as went on.
“Just follow my lead.” Twilight whispered in her ear, pulling them a little closer before beginning a slow, simple dance in time with the music. Rainbow’s movements were jerky and unnatural at best, her head glue straight down as she watched Twilight’s hooves carefully and tried to mirror it with her own. Eventually, though, she started to get the hang of things, even managing to lift her head for a few seconds every now-and-then to look at Twilight’s beaming smile as they danced. The song ended with a surprisingly few amount of miss-steps and trip-ups, and luckily for Rainbow, nopony seemed to really notice her obvious lack of expertise.
They lowered themselves down onto all four hooves and directly into a kiss. Rainbow pulled back after a few moments of bliss, staring lovingly into her partners eyes, which reflected the same undeniable, unconditional love. “Come on, a little bit of mingling and we can go home.” Twilight offered, motioning to the crowd that had filled the area they had previously occupied in their dance.
About an hour and more hoof shakes then they could count Twilight and Rainbow stumbled into the library. The exestuation was barely visible on their bright, happy faces as they held each other’s gaze. They walked through the library numbly, passing Spike’s personal room, the dragon having come home directly after the dinner. They made their way up the stairs and to their own bedroom, the large, soft looking bed calling to them as they slipped out of their dresses and tossed them to the side. As soon as they were free of the restricting fabric they launched themselves at each other. Lips locking and hooves flying into each other’s manes. They slowly made their way over to the bed, never once breaking the contact between their muzzles as the climbed on above the blankets.
They separated for mere seconds, taking the time to catch their breath and gaze into the eyes of their partner.
"I love you.” Twilight said as she lay back onto the pillows at the head of the bed. Rainbow crawled up her torso until her muzzle was directly above Twilight’s. She leaned in for a quick peck before speaking.
Strength (Special thanks to Timaeus, for inspiring me to do this and allowing me to use his idea)
A lavender unicorn walked through an empty street. The only occupants were her and the pony that had a cyan wing draped across her back. Rainbow Dash wore a solid, angry grimace on her face as they walked, while Twilight simply frowned.
“Can you believe them!?” Dash nearly shouted, her anger making her blood boil. Twilight simply sighed.
“It’s not our decision what opinions they have, Rainbow. Equestria simply isn’t ready for us.” She said sadly, ignoring the frustrated snorting of her companion.
“Yeah, well Equestria better get ready, ‘cause we aren’t going anywhere.” She snorted defiantly. Twilight paid her no mind as her thoughts drifted back to the recent meeting with their friends.
“Excuse me, everypony, we have an announcement.” Twilight stood from the table her and her five closest friends were sitting at. They all turned to look at her expectantly, smiling pleasantly as they waited for the promised announcement. Suddenly, she lost her nerve. Her legs became wobbly and her mouth dried like cotton. However, before she could loose her nerve completely, Rainbow Dash stood up beside her, placing a comforting hoof on her shoulder. A brief moment of eye contact was all it took for Twilight to regain the confidence she had lost. With a reassuring nod, Rainbow removed her hoof and turned back to their friends.
“For about three months now, Rainbow Dash and I…” She trailed off, her will not strong enough to continue. Luckily, Rainbow was still standing next to her, and picked up where she had left off.
“Me an’ Twi have been dating.” She said happily, wrapping a wing around the unicorn standing next to her. A collective gasped echoed through not only their friends, but the entire restaurant. Rarity was first to regain her composure and spoke up.
“T-this is one of Rainbow’s pranks, right?” She asked hopefully, a thin and obviously fake smile painted across her face.
“Yeah, surly you aint one of… them, right RD?” Applejack offered, the same fake smile worn on her lips. Pinkie collapsed laughing on the floor, right out of her chair.
“T-that’s a g-good one, Dashie!” Pinkie giggled out in between heaving laughs. Rainbow and Twilight stared, shocked at the friends staring back at them
“I wouldn’t joke about something like this, guys. Not everything I do is a prank, you know.” Rainbow said firmly, yet not angrily.
“So, you really are a… a… fillyfooler?” Applejack said the word as quietly as she could, as if scared of the word itself.
“Is there a problem with that?” The rainbow pegasus spat defensively, hugging her marefriend a little closer with her wing.
“Well…” Applejack trailed off, unsure of how to phrase what she had to say. Instead, it was Fluttershy who spoke up.
“That’s just… not natural, Rainbow.” Fluttershy said, shaking her said disbelievingly.
“About as uncouth as you can get.” Rarity agreed with a nod.
“It just aint right, a mare just can’t love another mare like she can a stallion. It just doesn’t work.” Applejack said finally, attempting to find the least offensive way to voice her opinion.
“And how would you girls know!?” Rainbow barely kept herself from screaming as she glared down at the disapproving ponies still seated around her.
“Getting mad won’t fix anything, Rainbow. It’s just how most of Equestria has been raised. Remember how my parents reacted?” Twilight said sadly, eyes locked on her hooves as yet another memory clouded her mind.
“Twily, please, you aren’t like that, right?” Shining Armour asked hopefully. Looking pleading at his sister, hoping for her to start laughing with the mare she claimed was her marefriend. Unfortunately, all he saw were tears.
“You too, just like our parents.” Twilight sighed and turned away, practically dragging a steaming mad Rainbow Dash behind her as she left.
“I remember, and I still wish you would let me knock is block off. I can’t believe your own father called you a freak! I mean, who does that to their own daughter?” While Rainbow fumed, Twilight moped.
“Rainbow, we’ve both lost everything because of this!” Twilight snapped, stopping her slow trot to look her marefriend in the eye.
“We’ve lost our friends, our family, I don’t want to think about what Celestia’s response to the letter I sent will be, and you lost your job! Is this worth it?” She asked, tears brimming in her eyes as she looked imploringly at the mare she used to so proudly think of as her lover.
“Twi, you forget, there’s still one thing neither of us have lost.” Rainbow spoke calmly, getting a little closer so she could look twilight directly in the eye.
“And what’s that? Because as soon as Celestia drops me as her student, I’ll have lost everything I have!” Twilight’s rant was ended before she could say more by a cyan muzzle pressing itself onto her own. For a split second Twilight wanted to pull back, but her body acted of its own accord and shut her eyes, leaning into the kiss. In that one moment, she felt as if it really would be fine. After far too brief a time for Twilight, rainbow pulled back, smiling.
“Now come on, let’s go home.” Rainbow smiled again before turning and trotting away, wrapping a wing around the unicorn and pulling her along. In that time, Twilight smiled for the first time since they had left the lunch where they told their friends. Maybe she had lost almost everything, but something told her it was worth it if she could be with Rainbow.
Rounding the final corner to the tree they had been calling home together for nearly a week, the scene they saw wiped the smile right off Twilight’s face. Scrawled along the outer wall of the library was the word ‘Fillyfoolers’ in large red letters. At the bottom of the s was a small orange pegasus filly with a red paintbrush in her mouth and a paint can beside her. She looked up from her work to see the pair walking down the street and glared coldly at Rainbow before loading her supplies into a wagon and flying down the street on a scooter.
Twilight felt Rainbow stop dead in her tracks, knowing all too well why. “Come on, let’s get inside and clean this off before it dries too much.”
“Yeah…” Rainbow answered numbly, looking down the street the orange filly had just escaped down. They trotted quickly to the front door of the library. Their long and stressful day taking its toll on them as they opened the door with heavy sighs. They walked sadly into the library, heads hung low to the ground, missing the other four ponies standing around in a circle.
“Hey, you two took long enough.” Twilight and Rainbow’s heads both shot up at the voice, finding three mares and a stallion standing around them with warm smiles on their faces. Rainbow immediately took a defensive crouch between them and Twilight.
“What are you four doing here?” She snarled, spreading her wings threateningly.
“We’re here to congratulate you, look at the banner.” The stallion said. He had a caramel brown coat and a brown mane. His cutie mark depicted three horseshoes. Twilight looked up at the banner she had missed when she walked in the library. It read, ‘Twilight Sparkle + Rainbow Dash’ with hearts everywhere.
“Why? Aren’t you gonna shun us, too?” Rainbow asked suspiciously, earning a small chuckle from the stallion.
“We would, if we weren’t the founding – and only – members of the ‘Ponyville Gay and Lesbian Community’ or PGLC for short.” He said happily, pointing at the other three mares in the room.
“This is Cheerilee; you may know her from the school, Lyra from the music store, and Bon Bon from the candy store. I’m Caramel, nice to meet you both, since this our first official meeting.” He smiled widely, offering his hoof. Twilight took it in her hoof and shook it gingerly.
“So, you’re all-” Rainbow was cut off by Caramel.
“Homosexual? No, Lyra and Bon Bon are, but Cheerilee and I just support it. We’ve seen what being homosexual can do to ponies; and we try to prevent it. Cheerilee is using her position as a teacher to try and educate the young fillies and colts, but there’s only so much she can do without loosing her job. I do my best around town, as do Lyra and Bon Bon, but most of the ponies around here are just too stubborn to open their eyes.” He spoke happily; his smile was contagious, as both Twilight and Rainbow felt smiles of their own form on their faces. Maybe they weren’t alone after all.
“Hey, Twilight, glad you’re back, the Princess sent her reply.” Spike called as he ran down the stairs, letter in claw, up to Twilight and Rainbow. “Oh yeah, and there are a few ponies here to see you.” He added, motion to the four behind him. Twilight grimaced as she took the letter in her magic, slowly unfurling it before loosing her nerve and tossing it in the garbage.
“Huh? Twilight, what’d you do that for?” Spike asked quizzically, looking at the top of the letter that was sticking out of the garbage.
“What does it matter what others think? Even the Princess doesn’t matter anymore.” Twilight didn’t know where the words came from, but as soon as she said them she knew they were true. One look at Rainbow Dash sent her heart flying, and she would trade everything to have that feeling every day.
“Aren’t you at least gonna read it? She might approve, you know.” Spike asked again, still looking questioningly at the unicorn that would once do anything for the Princess’s approval. Twilight ignored Spike and turned back to the other ponies waiting and smiling patiently.
“Now then, isn’t this supposed to be a party?” She asked, pointing to the cake sitting on a table.
-_-_-_-
The party had been fun, but the whole time Rainbow was distracted, and now was her time to end this distraction. Carefully, she excused herself from her conversation with Lyra, and snuck her way to the garbage bin. With a sneaky hoof when nopony was looking, she extracted the letter. She hid it between her wing and her body as she made a quick retreat to the bathroom, where she unfurled and read the letter.
Dear Twilight Sparkle.
I’m so happy that you managed to find such happiness in another pony, and with a mare, no less. I always assumed Equestria wasn’t ready for this, and based on the angry letters I’ve received about my student ‘being a fillyfooler’ I think my assumption was correct. But maybe you can show them that love is not gender specific. Best of luck to both you and Rainbow Dash, I hope one day Equestria can open its eyes.
“So… right there?” Rainbow Dash asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at the pony across a desk from her. Her hoof motioned to a thin, dotted line at the bottom of a piece of parchment lying on the desk.
“Yep.” The pony smiled back, motioning to a quill and ink jar next to the paper.
“So, just sign here and it’s done?” Rainbow asked again, asking sure she was totally clear with what she had to do.
“Everything else went fine, so this is all that’s left.” She smiled again, pushing the quill a little closer to the rainbow maned pegasus.
“And you’re alright with this?” Rainbow asked, for what felt like hundredth time, as she turned to the lavender unicorn sitting next to her. Twilight simply smiled and rested a hoof on her cyan shoulder. With a flick of her horn she levitated the quill to her friend and placed it next to her head.
“Go on.” She said encouragingly, glancing towards the document beside them. Taking a deep breath Rainbow grabbed the quill out of the air with her mouth and dipped in the jar of ink. One more deep breath stopped her trembling jaw enough fro her to write her name on the dotted line. A second later, she pulled her head away from the paper and admired her signature for a second before the quill glowed with a light purple aura and floated back down to the paper, writing another signature. She admired the names on the sheet; Rainbow Sparkle Dash and Twilight Dash Sparkle.
“Thank you. Both of you are now Scootaloo’s legal guardians. I can tell she’ll have a good home with you two.” The pony smiled and rolled up the scroll in a butter yellow glow before depositing the document in her briefcase. Twilight leaned over and enveloped Rainbow in a hug, resting their heads together. She smiled comforting at her cyan wife, nothing but love in the lavender pools ponies called eyes.
“I’ll go get her, one moment please.” The pony retreated through the door to the main body of the Ponyville Orphanage. Rainbow looked uncertainly at Twilight.
“And you’re sure you’re okay with this? You’re not doing this just because I want to?” Twilight giggled and kissed Dash on the tip of her nose.
“I already told you, Dash, I want this as much as you do.” Rainbow visibly relaxed at the words just as the door opened again.
“So what’s up?” Scootaloo asked as she walked through the door, looking up to the pony in charge of the orphanage she lived in though her eyes quickly switched to her idol. “Rainbow Dash?” She asked excitedly.
“Hey squirt, what’s up?” Dash asked, giving a playful noogie to the filly as she rushed up and gave the older mare a hug.
“Scootaloo, you’ve been adopted.” Scootaloo looked up quizzically to the mare standing in the doorway.
“I have? By who?” The answer came in the form of a nod, towards Rainbow Dash.
“No way…” She took a step back from her idol and looked up, her eyes moistening slightly as she looked in disbelief. “Seriously?”
“Well, ever since me an’ Twi got married, we’ve been considering having a foal. For a while we considered… other methods, but we agreed adoption was the easiest way, and who better to adopt than not only my biggest fan, but my little sister?” Rainbow smiled widely at the orange pegasus, who returned a tearful grin before jumping up and wrapping her hooves around Rainbow’s neck.
-_-_-_-
“So, do I have to call you mom now?” Scootaloo asked from atop Rainbow’s back as they trotted towards the library.
“Hmm? Oh, I guess that’s up to you, I’m not gonna force anything like that on you, and neither is Twilight, right Twi?” Rainbow turned her head to look at the unicorn trotting next to her, who smiled and nodded towards the filly riding on her back.
“Hmm…” Scootaloo rubbed her chin thoughtfully before looking back to Rainbow. “Mom?” She said slowly, sounding out the word slowly. “Mom? Mom… mom…” She repeated it a few more times; rolling the sound over in her mind and pairing it with the image she already had of Rainbow Dash. For some reason, it seemed to fit perfectly in her mind.
“Yeah, I think I’ll call you mom now.” She smiled happily, glancing over to Twilight. She repeated the process again, trying to match the title with the pony. Once again, the name stuck. And she smiled widely at both of her adoptive parents.
“How about that, Twi, we’re both ‘mom’ now.” Rainbow chuckled, smiling almost as widely as the filly riding on her back. Twilight giggled with her, smiling up at the orange pegasus filly.
-_-_-_-
“Mom’s, I’m home!’ Scootaloo called as she walked through the library door. Her saddlebags loaded with school work were quickly taken off her back and rested on the floor next to a coat hanger.
“Mom’s?” Twilight asked quizzically, glancing up from her book to look at her newly found daughter.
“Well, from what I’ve seen from Sweetie Belle, she normally says ‘mom, dad I’m home’ but I can’t exactly do that, and ‘mom, mom, I’m home’ just sounds weird.” She explained matter-of-factly. Twilight just giggled quietly.
“I suppose so.” She sighed happily as she placed a bookmark in the tomb she had been reading a closed it with a thud. “How about a snack? I didn’t eat lunch.” She offered, the filly nodding happily.
“Sound’s like a great idea, Twi.” Dash said, fluttering own the stairs with the aid of her wings. She flew past her wife for a quick kiss before gliding over to Scootaloo. “Hey Scoot’s, how’s school?” She asked, giving a light noogie to the filly, before landing on her hooves.
-_-_-_-
Rainbow rolled over in her bed, coming face to face with a pair of closed eyes. She smiled at the site of her sleeping wife before extending a hoof to draw the unicorn close to her chest.
“Mmm… Rainbow?” She asked groggily, her eyes fluttering open to look into a pair of magenta orbs.
“Heh, sorry, Twi, didn’t mean to wake you.” Rainbow apologized, as she took advantage of the fact that Twilight was now awake by shuffling a little closer. For a time they stayed silent, their breathing was the only noise amongst the quiet library. Eventually, Rainbow broke the silence.
“Twi, you ever have any regrets?” Rainbow asked quietly, her mind fearing the answer. Twilight smiled and kissed her lightly on the lips for a brief second.
Scootaloo opened the door to the tree library like she had been doing for the past three months. It had been three months since the adoption became official, and the family had never been happier. Maybe it was the fact of having a filly to call their daughter, maybe it was simply because they enjoyed being together, but no matter the reason, there was not a single doubt that crossed their minds when it came to family.
“Rainbow Dash, Twilight, I’m home.” Scootaloo called with a heavy sigh, depositing her bags by the door and walking into the library, finding a confused looking Twilight and an almost hurt looking Rainbow Dash. Twilight’s look of confusion faded as soon as she saw her adoptive daughter.
“What’s wrong, Scootaloo?” Dash looked to Twilight, even more shocked and confused then she had been.
“Whoa whoa whoa, back up a second. Squirt here walks in the door, calls us both by our names – something she hasn’t done since we adopted her – and then you call her Scootaloo instead of one of your thousand-and-one pet names? Who are you ponies and what have you done with my family?” Rainbow chuckled weakly at her own joke, but the serious look she received from Twilight told her that this was not the time for jokes.
“Rainbow!” Twilight snapped, glaring at her wife, “It’s not too hard to see that she’s upset about something.” Twilight pointed her hoof towards the down-trodden Scootaloo.
“No, I’m fine. I’m gonna go do my homework in my room; call me when supper’s ready.” She sulked up the stairs with her saddle bags clenched in her teeth, leaving a confused Rainbow Dash and a concerned Twilight.
“What do you think happened?” Twilight asked once she was sure Scootaloo was out of earshot. “She’s never been this upset before.”
“No idea…” Rainbow trailed off, her mind racing to keep up with the slew of emotions and thoughts while still trying to process what had actually happened. “But I’m sure she’ll be fine, she’s strong for her age.” Rainbow said after a moment’s pause, grinning cockily. Twilight didn’t loom as sure.
“I’m not so sure, Rainbow, she looked pretty upset about something, maybe you should go talk to her?” Twilight offered hopefully, Rainbow just looked at her for a moment.
“Twi, you know I’m not good at the whole feeling’s thing.” Rainbow said uncertainly, eye’s shifting nervously around the room. “What if I make it worse?”
“Rainbow, you do just fine with feelings when you actually let yourself show them, remember our first date? For the first half it felt like I was talking to a stone wall, but then you started showing your actual feelings, and it went just fine. Now you need to do the same thing with her.” Rainbow stood from her cushion on the floor and began pushing her toward Scootaloo’s room.
“But why do I have to do it? Surly you’d be better for this?” Rainbow planted her hooves on the floor, attempting to slow the unicorn’s attempt.
“You’re closer to her then I am.” Twilight reasoned, lifting Rainbow in her magic and beginning to levitate the flailing pegasus down the hall. Eventually she stopped thrashing in the magic and instead looked pleadingly at the unicorn carrying her down the hall.
“Can you at least come with me? Make sure I don’t say anything stupid?” Twilight had to stifle a laugh as she released Rainbow from her purple magic in front of the door.
“I never intended not to, I’ll always be here, for both of you, now go on.” Twilight nodded toward the closed door in front of Rainbow, who looked uneasily at Twilight before taking a deep breath and knocking on the door.
“Hey, Scoot’s, can I come in?” Rainbow asked slowly, unsure of what exactly she was supposed to do. Fro a time there was silence, both mares standing patiently in the hall waiting for an answer.
“Is Twilight with you?” At last a reply came in the form of a question. Rainbow looked to Twilight with some uncertainty, but answered all the same.
“Yeah.” Rainbow said slowly, unsure of what Scootaloo wanted to hear. Once again there was silence until the door finally opened, just a crack, revealing an orange, tear-stained face. She threw a quick glance to Twilight before turning back up to the cyan pegasus before her.
“What’s up?” She asked as casually as possible, though her voice came out strained and her smile was clearly forced.
“Come on, Squirt, what’s wrong?” Rainbow asked, attempting to make her voice as comforting as possible.
“N-nothing!” She insisted weakly, putting on an even less believable too-huge grin. She tried to shut the door, but Rainbow’s cyan hoof shot in and prevented it.
“I’m not blind, you’ve been crying. Now please, tell me what’s wrong.” Rainbow insisted again, cringing as her hoof was squished between the door and its frame. After a second of internal debate Scootaloo sighed and opened the door, allowing Rainbow to walk in, though she shut it before Twilight could follow. Twilight stared for a second at the closed door before sighing and sitting down in the hall, waiting patiently for something to happen.
Rainbow walked into the room, the door slamming shut behind her. She snapped her head around to look at Scootaloo standing in front of the door, her face completely neutral and unreadable. Rainbow silently wished for Twilight to open the door with her magic, but when nothing happened, she sighed and made her way to the bed, sitting on it and motioning for Scootaloo to join her. The orange filly did so with little hesitation, jumping up next to the older mare and sitting silently, refusing to make eye contact. For a time they sat in the most awkward silence possible for two ponies to be in, but eventually Scootaloo broke it with a single question.
“Are you and Twilight fillyfoolers?” She spoke the question quietly, fearing the answer. Rainbow looked half hurt and half appalled by the derogatory term, but caught herself before she could yell.
“Who told you that we were?” She asked cautiously, attempting to avoid the question.
“Answer the question.” Scootaloo said sternly, glaring up at the pegasus next to her.
“Well, kind of, yes, though we prefer ‘lesbian’, fillyfooler is used as an insult.” Rainbow said in her best ‘lecture’ voice that she had picked up from Twilight.
“Is it… natural?”
“Squirt, where is all this coming from?” Rainbow asked, honest concern showing through the wing she wrapped around the filly next to her. To her surprise, despite the frown on her face, Scootaloo leaned into her side, snuggling into the downy limb wrapped around her.
“At school, for a while now, the bullies have been going after you two, calling you ‘dirty fillyfoolers’. I don’t know what it means, but all the other kids laughed at me. I tried to defend you guys, but today… they told me what it meant: That you liked other mares… romantically. At first I didn’t know what they meant, but then I remembered all the things you two do together, stuff that a mare only does with her special somepony. I know you got married, but… they told me it was wrong for a mare to like another mare.” Scootaloo trailed off as a fresh wave of tears fell from her eyes and down her cheeks.
“I was confused, at first. Then I thought about it, and it made sense. I got mad at you two; I thought it was your fault that they were laughing at me. I blamed you… I didn’t even know why it was so bad, but they teased me because of it, and I thought it was because of you…” Scootaloo turned and pressed her face into her adoptive mother’s side, creating a dark stain on Rainbow’s cyan coat. Rainbow couldn’t have cared less; she wrapped her wing tighter around the filly’s trembling form as she began to slowly stroke her purple mane.
“Hey, it’s alright.” Rainbow comforted, bringing her head down to lightly nuzzle the top of her orange head.
“I was just so angry at you two… I don’t understand it… why is it so wrong?” Scootaloo mumbled into Rainbow’s fur, sniffling as her tears slowly stopped, though she still held her close.
“It’s not wrong, Scoot, they’re just… they’re jealous, because they don’t have what me you an’ Twi have.” Rainbow stopped her gentle stroking and used her hoof to raise the filly’s head to look her in the eye.
“There is nothing wrong with what me an’ Twi have. You just remember that, and what they say will mean nothing, ok?” Scootaloo answered with a nod and a weak smile. A weight lifted from her mind, there was nothing wrong with it, Twilight and Rainbow loved each other and they loved her. Why should that be wrong because they were mares? Scootaloo allowed this thought to grow, spreading through her thoughts and memories, turning the insults into nothing more then empty assumptions, and sometimes nothing but the truth, a truth that she shouldn’t, and wouldn’t, be ashamed of. She was drawn out of her now-happy thoughts by Rainbow’s voice.
“Now come on, Spike’s gonna teach me how to cook when he get’s back from his job, and I could use some help.” Rainbow offered, standing from the bed and making her way over to the door, Scootaloo still wrapped in her wing. She opened the door, revealing Twilight sitting with a patient smile on her face. Before either mare could say anything Scootaloo ran out from under Rainbow’s wing to Twilight and wrapped her hooves around the lavender unicorn.
“Sorry.” Scootaloo apologized into Twilight’s chest, smiling and breathing in the sent on her adoptive parent. “Mom.” She added after another second. Twilight smiled and wrapped a hoof around the filly’s back. Eventually Scootaloo pulled back and began walking down the hall towards the living room with her parents on both sides and a cyan wing around her shoulders.
Rainbow Dash smiled as they walked. Her wife was next to her and her daughter was under her wing. Nothing could feel better then being surrounded by those who love you.
Rainbow Dash glided aimlessly through the skies above Ponyville. No real destination in mind, yet she knew exactly where she was going to end up. It always happened; she ended at the same place every time she took a flight. It was like she had a homing sense like one of those pigeons they used to deliver long-range mail. No matter what she did, she always seemed to find herself at the same spot, though she rarely found a reason to complain. Even now she could see her destination getting closer, and she didn’t even know where it was in relation to where she started. Yet there it was, standing tall and proud over the small houses of Ponyville.
She smiled as she spotted the open window protruding from the brown exterior of the tree. It was always open these days, just for her. She angled her wings to bring herself lower and lined up with the gap she had passed through countless times before. She folded her wings to her sides as she slipped through the wooden frame, extending her wings once she passed through, she gave a quick flap to slow herself and landed on the floor with hardly a sound. She only needed a brief second to determine that the mare that usually resided in the tree was not in her room. Pouting slightly she made her way to the bedroom’s door and opened it. She stepped out into the hallway and looked to her left, then to her right. Nopony there, there weren’t even any open door.
“She’s almost always up here…” Rainbow said to herself, making her way down the hall to the staircase connecting the first and second floors of the tree turned library. She descended the stairs two steps at a time, racing down to the main floor and silently hoping to find her goal somewhere among the shelves. She reached the bottom in seconds and dashed into the middle of the main room, scanning it before determining that it too was empty.
“Well that’s odd… Twilight?” She called out, swivelling her ears to try and detect an answer from somewhere within the tree. No answer came.
“Twilight!?” She tried again, walking through the rooms of the main floor, systematically checking anywhere the lavender unicorn could possibly hide. Still, she found nothing and there was no reply. She sighed heavily as she checked the last room on the floor, it too turning up empty. She pushed her lower lip out in a slight pout as she walked back to the main room, resigning herself to the fact that Twilight was not, in fact, home. She huffed and trotted a few circles around the room, searching her mind for things to do. Normally when she had nothing to do she came to the library, which was why she was there in the first place, but that plan was a bust. With nothing to do, she came to the most logical answer.
She walked over to a cushion sitting off to one side of the room and promptly laid down on it. A grumble erupted from her throat as she made herself comfortable. There she stayed, watching and waiting. At some point during her vigilant waiting, she managed to doze off. She was in a deep enough sleep that she did not hear the library door open and close. Nor did she hear the surprised gasp from the town librarian she was waiting for, or the chuckle that followed.
What she did feel was the hoof prodding the side of her head, and she heard the nearly angelic voice calling her name. “Rainbow Dash.” It sung, soft and warm. She loved that voice, and she could recognize it anywhere, even asleep.
“Mmm… sup Twi?” She mumbled groggily, rolling her head in an attempt to escape the hoof prodding at her. She failed, as the hoof came back, this time a little more persistent and with more force.
“Rainbow.” Twilight called again, a little louder and firmer this time. Rainbow managed to open one of her eyes to look at the unicorn attempting to rouse her. The sight she got was nothing short of amazing. There, leaning down in front of her, was a beautiful lavender mare with bright, sparkling eyes and a shining lavender coat. It was her definition of perfect. She took a deep breath, inhaling the cent of the purple pony. A smile formed on her face as she stood from her spot on the cushion, stretching her wings and legs at the same time. A groan rumbled through her chest as she worked the kinks out of her neck.
“Morning Twi.” Rainbow said sleepily, smiling at the unicorn that had woken her.
“It’s two in the afternoon, Dash, and what are you doing here, anyway?” Twilight asked, taking a step back from the freshly awake pegasus.
“Waiting for you, what else? Where were you, anyway?”
“Shopping.” Twilight answered flatly, motion to the brown paper bag sitting on a table nearby, no doubt full of various groceries the unicorn would need over the following week.
“Oh… well, you’re back now.” Rainbow smiled and took a step forwards. Before Twilight had time to continue the conversation she felt Rainbow’s lips press against her own. It took Twilight a moment to realize what had just happened, and when she did, she began to panic. Her mind locked up and her body froze. Rainbow Dash had gone into the library while she wasn’t there, waited – or, more precisely, slept – until she got home, and then kissed her? There was something missing, she must have missed something, surly?
Eventually, Twilight regained control of her body and took a few quick steps back; the confusion plastered on her face was mirrored on the cyan face in front of her. “Twi? You alright?” Rainbow asked, her voice betraying her concern.
“Y-y-you j-just k-kissed me!” Twilight sputtered, looking at the pegasus with wide eyes.
“Uh… You feeling alright? This isn’t exactly the first time, ya know…” The pegasus trailed off, unsure as to what to say or do in this situation. She and Twilight had been dating for nearly four months, hadn’t they? She could remember every detail of their first date so clearly, then, a few days later, their first kiss… it had happened, she was there!
“W-what? I d-don’t remember that!” Twilight’s voice was shaky and panicked as she struggled to comprehend what Rainbow was telling her.
“How can you not remember? I… I asked me out four months ago! We… we’ve been together since then! You… you said you loved me…” Rainbow trailed off again, her confusion mixing with a new feeling; hurt. It dawned on her that Twilight really didn’t remember, and that hurt. But how could she not? For four months they had been together, four of the happiest months in her life, and Twilight couldn’t remember? No, there had to be an explanation!
“Twi, what have you been doing for the past week?” Rainbow asked, suppressing the pain she felt and keeping her voice level.
“Well… not much, I suppose. Last month Spike left for Canterlot for a year for school, so I sent the Princess a letter asking when I could come visit him. I’m going to see him next week.” Twilight answered, thoughtfully scratching her head.
“Twi, he left five months ago. Before we started dating, we both went up to see him. What did you do yesterday?” Rainbow asked again, getting a little more desperate as the extent of Twilight’s sudden amnesia was made apparent to her.
“Yesterday, I stopped at Fluttershy’s to get some fresh tea, then I went to Applejacks’ for my weeks supply of apples, and then… I can’t remember, I think I went home after that.” Twilight nodded and looked back to Rainbow. “It was yesterday, wasn’t it?” Rainbow’s jaw nearly hit the floor. That was the day she first asked Twilight out. Twilight was at the farm, and Rainbow had intercepted her on her way home. After some idle chatter, Rainbow asked her out. That was four months ago, and Twilight thought it was yesterday?
“Twi, that was the day I first asked you out. The day after that was out first date. Can’t you remember?” Rainbow asked hopefully, preying for some form of recognition to dawn on the unicorn’s face. Instead, all she saw was a scrunched up and thoughtful face.
“No, I don’t. Are you sure this isn’t one of your pranks?” Twilight eyed the pegasus suspiciously. Rainbow felt her heart shatter in her chest. Twilight really didn’t remember a thing. And she thought it was all a prank? That pained Rainbow too much.
“Twi… look at the calendar, that all happened months ago.” Twilight obeyed and turned her head. Sure enough, it was four months ahead.
“B-but how? It was just yesterday that… what happened?” Twilight stared uselessly at the calendar before her. It was living testament to the fact that her last memory was from four months ago. It defied all logic, how could four months of memories just… disappear? It made no sense.
Close together (this was not written by me, I take no credit for this chapter at all. For more information read the A/N at the bottom of the page)
The wind howled outside, the snow piling up on the outside windowsill as the specks flew around in a blur of white. Twilight Sparkle sat on the couch as a fire roared with its orange glow bathing the room in a relaxing light. She had a book secured in her magic as she often did at night to help prepare her for sleep. She took a sip from her mug, of which contained piping hot chocolate. When the first little bit made contact with her tongue, it seared the sensitive flesh in her mouth, causing intense pain. She quickly swallowed the scalding hot liquid, opening her mouth and fanatically fanning her tongue.
“Hot! Hot! Hot!” She said, her hoof waving furiously in front of her mouth.
She heard a snicker from behind her, quickly snapping her head back as her tongue still hung out of her now partially closed mouth, “Hey Twi, I think it’s a little hot.” Remarked Rainbow Dash, a hoof covering her smile.
“Bery fummy, Bash.” She deadpanned, her burned tongue making it somewhat difficult to speak.
Rainbow snickered once more, “Oh relax, Twi. Lemme go get you some cold water.” She disappeared into the kitchen. Twilight heard the faucet turning on for a few seconds then shut off again, Rainbow coming back with the promised glass of cold water; the lip of the glass container clenched in her teeth.
Twilight took the glass in her magic, a magenta aura enveloping the glass as it levitated towards her. She drew her tongue back in her mouth as she titled her head back and emptied the contents into her mouth; the cold liquid providing a soothing relief from the burning sensation on her taste buds.
She sighed as she sat the glass on the end table to her right, “Thanks, Dash. I should’ve thought to blow on it before I took a sip.”
Rainbow Dash chuckled, “You mean to tell me, that the Twilight Sparkle, didn’t think something through?”
She felt her cheeks flush as she scratched the back of her head, a sheepish smile forming on her face to display her slight embarrassment. Dash kissed her lovingly on the lips, which took her blush away in an instant. They prolonged the kiss for a few more seconds, finally breaking their embrace to stare affectionately back into each other’s eyes.
“Scooch over, Twi.” Said Rainbow as Twilight shifted her position to allow the cyan pegasus a spot on the couch. The two lovers snuggled up to each other as Twilight replaced the blanket over them, Twilight nuzzling her marefriend’s cheek with her own; grabbing the book in her magic once more as she opened back to the place she left off.
Rainbow Dash on the other hand laid her head on her hooves as she shut her eyes; sighing as she felt sleep fast approaching. She wouldn’t want to be anywhere else than here, cuddled up to her lavender partner with the soft crackling of the fire in the background.
Twilight shifted her eyes to see the blizzard still raging outside. Shivering as she imagined how cold it would be without the fire. Or without Rainbow Dash. She loved cuddling close to the mare she loved, especially on nights such as this when it was freezing outside. Even the fire couldn’t help keep her as warm as she did whenever she was snuggled up close to her marefriend.
“Hey Dash?” Spoke Twilight.
“Hmm, yeah Twi?” Came the groggy reply of the rainbow pegasus, obviously fighting to stay awake.
“Don’t you just love nights like these where we have to start a fire? It just relaxes me to see the light from the flames dance across the room.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty great. Especially since I get to share it with you.”
“Aww.” Swooned Twilight, levitating her book over to the end table and leaning down to peck the cyan pegasus on the cheek. “It’s hard to believe that we’ve been going out for about six months now, isn’t it? Especially with how nervous I was at first.”
“Yeah, I was kinda surprised to see you actually agree to go out with me in the first place.” She added, looking into the lovely lavender pools of her unicorn partner. “But I’m glad you did.”
Twilight closed the gap between them as they locked lips a second time, this one being the more romantic of the two since they were close to each other. They each let out a soft moan as their passionate embrace lasted for a while longer, their intense love for each other showing in this one, simple kiss.
After they broke their kiss, the stared back at each other as smiles graced their faces.
“I love you, Rainbow.” Twilight said as she brought her into a hug.
“Love you too, Twi.” Rainbow replied, returning the hug without hesitation.
They were eventually taken by sleep as Twilight yawned and laid her head on Rainbow’s hooves; Rainbow replacing her head back onto Twilight’s as they slowly drifted off into sleep. The fire continued to roar and release its sedating heat to help ward off the chill that was the blizzard outside.
They didn’t need a fire, though. Simply being close to each other provided the two with enough warmth to be comfortable. It only provided a means to allow their current surroundings to be lighter and warmer, but other than that it was merely a prop that they used to help them make their cuddling position that much more magical.
----
Rainbow Dash was the first to wake up the next day. She fluttered open her eyelids as she let out a prolonged yawn. She looked out the window to see that it was still snowing outside, just not a fierce as it was last night. The snowflakes gently falling down in front of the window; lazily drifting toward the ground to join the others that covered the ground. She also noticed that the fire had burned out, leaving nothing but smoldering ashes behind to remind the pegasus that there had even been a fire in the first place.
She looked down at her hooves to see Twilight still resting peacefully on her front hooves. She leaned her head down to lightly kiss her head, hearing her hum happily in response to her action, making her chuckle. Twilight never failed to be adorable when she was asleep. Rainbow gently slid her hooves out from under her head, being careful not to wake her as she snuck into the kitchen.
Twilight sensed the removal of her marefriend’s proximity from her and raised her head as she groggily scanned the room for her missing love. She suddenly heard a loud clattering noise coming from the kitchen that sounded like somepony had caused an avalanche of cooking utensils. She cocked her head to the side, reluctantly removing herself from her warm spot on the couch to venture over to the library’s kitchen door.
When she opened it she saw Rainbow Dash in a pile of pots and pans. She was more surprised than angry since she didn’t know she even had enough of them to completely cover a pony in them. Then again, Rainbow had moved in with Twilight and had brought some of her own things when she moved out of her home. Even still, how she managed to bury herself in a mountain of cooking ware was beyond even Twilight. She also thought it funny how she had her legs sticking out of the pile with her head covered by one larger pot.
“Um. Do you need some help, Rainbow?” She asked with a smirk.
Rainbow quickly regained her composure and shuffled hurriedly out of the pile as the pots clattered on their way to the floor; pulling her head out of the pot and tossing it aside.
“I meant to do that.” She said, leaning on the counter with her elbow and looking up at the ceiling.
Twilight giggled, “Of course you did. Can you help me pick up your totally intentional mess?”
Rainbow nodded as her cheeks turned a slight pink, Twilight giggling at her cyan partner’s blush. They began cleaning up the metal cooking ware, placing them in the proper cabinets; which didn’t take long since they were both working on the mess together. Once they had defeated the mess, Twilight put one on her stove, poured some soup into it, and lit the burner.
“So what were you doing in here, Rainbow?” Twilight asked, looking over to the cyan mare.
“I was trying to make you something to eat before you woke up.” She answered, her eyes aiming at her hooves as she pawed at the floor. “But we all saw where that went, huh?”
Twilight smiled, enveloping the rainbow maned pegasus in her magic to bring her into a hug; nuzzling her cheek. “Well, thank you for doing that for me, Rainbow. I appreciate it.”
Rainbow smiled gratefully at her, kissing her on the cheek. A few minutes later, the soup began to boil. Twilight used her magic to shut off the stove and dish out two bowls of steamy carrot soup. They went over to their dining room table, sitting across from each other as they enjoyed their bowls of soup. The warm liquid providing them with more warmth as they filled their bellies with the warm substance while also savoring the taste of the broth and chunks of carrots.
“This is really good, Twi!” Declared Rainbow as she put another spoonful in her mouth.
“Well, I’d hardly call it a gourmet meal, but I guess it’s pretty good.”
Rainbow Dash waved a dismissive hoof in the air, “Pfff, your cooking could beat those chefs’ in Canterlot any day.”
Twilight blushed, “Well it’s nice to finally have somepony actually like my cooking. Spike had to get fast food one time because he thought my lasagna was going to eat him.”
“It growled at me, Twilight!” He shouted groggily from the staircase. “Plus I saw it move!”
“You overreacted and you know it!” Twilight shouted back, Rainbow having to stifle a giggle as she put her head down on the table and cackled into her arm.
A few moments later, Spike strode into the kitchen; one of his claws rubbing his eye as he let out a yawn. “You two sleep alright?” He asked as he took a seat at the table, Twilight levitating a fresh bowl of carrot soup down in front of him.
“Well, we were both too tired to go back up to our room, so we just decided to sleep on the couch.” Answered Twilight.
“Ah, okay.” Spike took another spoonful of soup, “So will you need me for anything today, Twilight?”
Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin as she thought for a moment, searching her mind for a task that her assistant could tend to. “Hmmmm… I can’t think of anything at the moment, Spike. Guess you get a day off.”
Spike sighed happily, “Awesome. I think I’ll catch up on my sleep after breakfast if that’s okay with you.”
“Not like we got much planned for today anyway.” Added Rainbow Dash.
“Besides, you could use some time to yourself with how much you’ve been working recently. So I think you deserve some time to take an early nap.”
Spike turned to look at the clock that hung behind him, the face reading just after nine o’clock. “Yeah, I could go for an early nap.”
After they finished their late breakfast, they went back into the living room and resumed their previous cuddling position with Spike ascending the stairs to return to his bed. Twilight restarted the fire with her magic before she snuggled up to her marefriend, replacing the blanket over them as she laid her head back down onto Rainbow’s hooves. The outside was still cold and white, the snow still continuing to fall just as it had that morning. Rainbow opened her eyes to peer out the window once more, her mind forming an idea that she had always wanted to try with Twilight. The current setting outside also allowing her the perfect setup for a plan she had in the works.
“Hey Twi?” She asked, lifting up her head.
Twilight did the same and looked back into her partner’s magenta eyes. “Yeah?”
“How’s about we go for a walk? May as well try it before the next blizzard hits.”
“I’d love to.” She replied, a smile forming on their faces as they leaned in for a short kiss.
----
They walked down the snow covered streets as the snow crunched underneath their hooves, Rainbow draping a wing over Twilight’s back as they walked side-by-side; their bodies close together. Twilight breathed out as her breath turned to mist, exhaling a prolonged breath to make herself resemble a dragon that was blowing smoke.
“Trying to breathe fire or something Twi?” Joked Rainbow, smiling at her marefriend’s antics.
“Hey, you know how I like winter days.” She chided with a playful smile, “Plus wintertime also gives me an excuse to walk close to you. Like this.” Twilight began walking closer to Rainbow, their flanks touching one another, making Rainbow blush.
“You wanna go to the park?” Rainbow suggested, looking to her marefriend.
“Sure, but why do you want to go there?”
“It’s a surprise.”
----
The two arrived at the park a little later. Twilight tried to extract more information from the rainbow maned pegasus, but she remained steadfast in keeping her secret exactly that; a secret. Twilight didn’t know what Rainbow was hiding or what sort of plan she had concocted, but judging by the smile she wore on her face it must’ve been something she was excited about.
Rainbow led her to a hill that overlooked Ponyville, Twilight was absolutely stunned by the sight of winterized Ponyville; the snow covered rooftops and the snow-capped trees, while the snowdrifts added an arctic setting to the rest of the town. The cloudy skies above still releasing their fluffy white flakes that slowly drifted down onto the ground.
Twilight found that her jaw was slack from gazing upon such a sight. She had always been able to see wintertime Canterlot from the castle and thought that the urban setting looked positively magnificent with the addition of snow, but Ponyville’s rural backdrop looked ten times better than Canterlot ever could during the winter.
“Rainbow…” She gasped, still looking at the powdered Ponyville, “This is beautiful.”
Rainbow chuckled, “Yeah, I found this spot a while ago when I took a nap under that tree over there. I figured you’d like it.”
“Like it? I love it!” She proclaimed, latching around her marefriend’s neck, pecking her on the cheek.
“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. But that isn’t what I wanted to show you.” She paused, turning to her wing and fishing out a small box that was covered in a royal purple felt. “This is.” She flipped open the lid of the box to reveal a diamond ring set in a shimmering gold band.
Twilight silently gasped, placing both her hooves over her mouth, “Rainbow… is this what I think it is?”
“If you’re thinking it’s a ring then yeah.” She smarted off, earning a playful glare from the purple unicorn, “You how I am with this kinda stuff, so I’m just going to come right and say it.” She paused again, her wings flicking nervously, “I love you, Twi. Plain and simple. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time. Not matter how I’m feeling, seeing you always makes me happy.”
“Not mention you’re one of the most awesome unicorns around. I mean… the magic you can do beats any other unicorns by a mile, the spells you can do are some that other unicorns can only dream of doing. But that’s not why I love you. I love you because you’re smart, talented, and funny; even if you can be a bit OCD sometimes.” Twilight giggled at this, making some of Rainbow’s nervousness fade, “And then there’s that. Your laugh always makes me smile, not matter what mood I’m in. I’m just so… thankful that I can call you my marefriend, but I want to call something so much more than that.”
“So I’m gonna ask you one thing; Will you be my wife?”
Twilight took the box in her magic and levitated it closer to her face. She gazed at the gem-encrusted band as it shimmered in the light. She was at a complete loss for words, she wasn’t expecting this walk to turn into a proposal; let alone seeing Rainbow act so emotional, which was a rare occurrence in and of itself. With all that had happened over the past few minutes left her somewhat stunned. Sure she had paid attention to what she said, laughed at the attempts she made to crack a joke, But she couldn’t deny that Rainbow wanted to take their relationship to the next level.
Even though Rainbow was serious about this, Twilight was still debating on whether she was ready for something like this. If they were ready for this. Sure they had been dating for going on six months, most of which were the best days of her life, but she still wasn’t sure if they had been together long enough to be ready for marriage.
Twilight focused her violet orbs onto Rainbow’s, gazing into their shimmering depths. Within her magenta pools she saw not the usual fiery determination that normally burned within her, but she instead saw a much brighter fire burn in them. One of sheer devotion and passion that she had never seen in her before. But she knew that devotion was not focused on flying or becoming stronger or faster, but it was focused on her and her alone. It was at that very moment that she knew that this was not a heat-of-the-moment decision, nor was it because she wanted to make Twilight hers. She was proposing because she loved her, because she truly wanted to be with her for the rest of her life.
Rainbow sat there and waited for her answer. She rubbed her arm with her hoof as she waited. She was on the verge of saying that it was just a joke, that she should forget about what she said and the ring as well. But she couldn’t do that now, she was in too deep. Every second that went by felt like she was just waiting to be rejected by the mare she loved. The seconds passing as if they were hours felt like haymaker punches to her mind, each one more powerful than the last.
She would be brave though, no matter her decision. She should have guessed it was too soon for something like this. So she needed to face the results of her actions. Even if they may not turn out to be the products she’d hoped they’d be.
She cleared her throat before she spoke, “I-if you don’t feel like you’re ready, I don’t mind. We can wait a little longer if you want.”
Twilight closed the ring box with a resounding snap; her eyes drifting shut as she took in a breath. This was it, Twilight was going to turn her down and even after she put her in the most romantic setting she could think of. Rainbow shut her eyes tight as she awaited her answer, time itself seeming to stop as everything fell silent; the only sound being the slight breeze.
Then she felt a hoof touch her shoulder. She snapped her eyes open as she looked to Twilight; her face wearing a smile as she wore the ring on her horn. “Yes.” She said simply.
“W-what?” Rainbow stammered in a state of disbelief.
Twilight latched onto her marefriend, now fiancée and hugged her tightly. “Yes, I want to be your wife!” She squealed with glee.
“Really?!”
“How many times do I have to say it, Rainbow? Yes!” Twilight pulled away, looking back into Rainbow’s eyes as tears of joy began to cloud her vision. “I would love to be your wife, Rainbow. I would love nothing more than to be with you for the rest of my life.”
Rainbow leaned in along with Twilight, their lips connecting and joining once more. Only this time with much more passion and fire than before. They were now on a completely new path, one they could now walk together. No longer did they have to figure things out on their own. Nor did they have to be away from each other.
Twilight paced frantically back and forth across the library floor.
“It doesn’t make any sense! How can fourth months of time just disappear!” Twilight ranted for what felt like the thousandth time, turning around to stomp back to the other side of the room. Rainbow swore she saw a groove beginning to form in the floor.
“Twi, just calm down for a second. I’m sure we can-”
“CALM DOWN!?” Twilight yelled, wheeling around to face the pegasus sitting on one of the room’s cushions. “How am I supposed to calm down? Four months of my memories are gone. The last thing I remember happened right before you asked me out and I can’t even send a letter to Celestia without it taking a week in the regular mail!”
Rainbow sighed and sank a little lower into her cushion. What was she going to do? Four months of Twilight’s memories were gone. Four months of some of the strongest feelings Rainbow had ever felt were hers and hers alone. She was never one for sappy, but around Twilight… her image just didn’t matter. She could live with the occasion nuzzle or kiss in public. She could survive being called a mushy wimp if she could still have Twilight. But now? What would happen now?
As Rainbow struggled with her thoughts, Twilight finally stopped her pacing. She ran over to one of her numerous bookshelves and began frantically tearing books out with her magic. She briefly glanced over each title before tossing the books into a pile behind her.
“No, no, no, no, no, no!” Twilight’s searched continued at a fevered pace, the pile behind her steadily growing larger and larger.
“Hey Twi, what are you-” Rainbow was silenced as a particularly large hard cover book over shot the pile and hit her square in the face. The book fell to the floor a second later, leaving a very annoyed cyan face.
“Hey Twilight, what gives?” Rainbow shouted, massaging her sore muzzle as Twilight continued ransacking her book shelf.
“I need to find a book! Surly there’s a book that explains this! Maybe there’s a way o fix it!” Twilight explained rapidly, never taking her eyes off the books sailing past her.
“Uh, maybe you’d have better luck if you weren’t in the ‘history’ section?” Rainbow offered, pointing to the label above the shelf proudly proclaiming it’s designation for history books.
“Uh… right, I knew that,” Twilight said sheepishly, a light blush crossing her cheeks as she made her way to another shelf, this one labelled ‘magic and medicine’ and repeated the process of tearing book after book off the shelf in a purple glow before depositing them on the floor behind her.
Rainbow just sighed and lay down on her cushion. If Twilight couldn’t find an answer, then it was hopeless. If Twilight couldn’t find the book with a way to fix this, then there was no way. She’d have to start over from the beginning. Four months for nothing. Would Twilight even say yes this time? Did she still have a chance even after all this had happened?
“AH-HAH!” Twilight exclaimed, her magic aura fading from all but one book. Rainbow watched as Twilight began flip furiously through the book. The title was obstructed from her point of view, but it was thick. Curious, and a little bit hopeful, she stood from her spot on the cushion and made her way over the unicorn.
“Find something?” Rainbow asked, trying to read over the Twilight’s shoulder. All she could see was the word ‘Anamnesis’ in big, bold letters at the top of the page.
“It doesn’t explain how or why this happened, but it does give something that might fix it,” Twilight mumbled, more to herself then Rainbow.
“So… that’s a good thing, right?” Rainbow asked a hopefully. Maybe she didn’t have to start over.
“I… don’t know. It’s very vague in what it can cure. It claims to be able to cure most forms of mild amnesia from a head injury, and says it might help with more severe cases linked to trauma. But I have no idea what’s caused mine, so I don’t know how effective it’ll be.”
“It’s worth a shot, isn’t it?”
“I… guess,” Twilight admitted, though she was obviously uncertain about something.
“What wrong?” Rainbow asked, having caught the unsure tone.
“It’s just… why did I lose my memory? There has to be a reason for it. It’s not like memories can just vanish for no reason,” Twilight sighed heavily, her head dropping a little lower.
Rainbow walked around from behind to beside the lavender unicorn, sitting down next to her. She wrapped her wing around Twilight’s shoulder. She unicorn tensed up at the contact, but made no attempt to remove it.
“I don’t really know why. Your last memory was right before I asked you out, so that might have something to do with it. But sitting here and thinking about it is getting you nowhere. Maybe if you get your memories back, you might remember something that could have caused this,” Rainbow kept her voice low and as comforting as she could manage with how anxious she was. They were this close to fixing everything, and all Twilight wanted was to know why it happened? Why did it matter as long as they fixed it?
Still, Twilight seemed to be a little happier, more sure then she had previously. Rainbow took her chance.
“So what is this spell going to do? Do you need some kinda fancy potion or something?”
“No, it’s just a spell. It says once I cast it it’ll work automatically. It should render me unconscious for a few hours and begin trying to find and repair any memories that have been affected,” Twilight explained as she looked back down to the book floating in front of her.
“Alright, then you’ll probably want to be in bed,” Rainbow rationalized, already standing from the floor. "Come on. The sooner we fix this the better, right?”
“Why are you so anxious to fix this?” Twilight asked as she stood, joining Rainbow in her trot to the stairwell.
Rainbow stopped as the question reached her ears, a single hoof on the first step.
“Twi, if the pony you loved more than anything in the world suddenly forgot everything. If suddenly they didn’t even remember going on a single date with you, what would you do? If there was a solution sitting right in front of you, would you wait to figure out why it happened, or would you grab that solution like it was your last hope to live?”
“Rainbow…” Twilight whispered, stunned into silence by Rainbow’s admission. It had been only four months, and Rainbow felt that strongly about her?
“Come on. Let’s see if we can fix your memories,” Rainbow said as she started walking up the stairs. Twilight followed with the book following in a purple magical aura. As she ascended the stairs, she pretended not to notice the small, wet circles on the stairs.
She followed Rainbow into her room, the pegasus motioning to the bed. Twilight climbed on before bringing her book and opening it to the Anamnesis page. She read it over one more time before shutting it with a firm nod and placing it on her bedside table.
“Alright, it’ll take a few hours for the spell to finish. Where can I find you when I wake up?” Twilight asked, looking over to Rainbow.
“You don’t actually think I’m gonna leave do you?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow at the unicorn.
“This could take anywhere from 3 to 7 hours according to the book. I doubt you’ll want to wait here that long.”
Rainbow seemed to consider that for a second, looking around the room before nodding her head in agreement.
“Alright. I’ll be right back,” In a flash Rainbow disappeared out the hall and down the stairs. Twilight had only seconds to wonder where she had gone before she flew back into the room with a book clutched in her jaw and a cushion in her forelegs. She set the seat down, fluffing it with a hoof before sitting on it.
“It’s been a while since I read the first Daring Do book; I think it deserves a re-read,” Rainbow answered, drawing a light giggle from Twilight. She might not remember dating Rainbow, but she did remember getting the pegasus hooked on her favourite series.
“Alright, if you’re sure you want to wait,” Twilight watched Rainbow nod firmly before taking a breath and channelling magic into her horn. She went over the spell in her mind as she began forming it, slowly shaping the shapeless magic into a useful form. Once she was sure she had gotten it right, she cast the spell on her self. Instantly she felt it take effect. Her vision slowly bled to black as she fell unconscious, falling into the void of her mind. The last thing she was conscious for was falling back onto her bed.
Rainbow let her calm façade fall away as she looked at the unconscious librarian. She prayed silently that it would work as her self confident smile fell away to a solid frown. The only thing she could do now was wait. She could do nothing to change the outcome. She was helpless.
She hated waiting, and being helpless.
With a huff she laid down on the pillow, the book beside her completely forgotten as she watched Twilight and hoped for the best.
-_-_-_-
Twilight’s eyes fluttered open to the welcoming site of her bedroom’s ceiling. She yawned, stretching out her front legs for a moment before sitting up in her bed. She looked around her room for a moment, her eyes instantly landing on a cyan pegasus sitting on a cushion in the corner. Rainbow looked at her with a mixture of fear and hope. As soon as she saw Rainbow, a sharp pain lanced through her head. Suddenly memories began playing in her mind like a movie, memories she didn’t know she had, memories she had forgotten. They were the memories of the past four months of her life with Rainbow Dash.
They held all her feelings of the time she had spent with Rainbow. Her happiness, her joy, her nervousness at first, it all came rushing back to her in seconds. Then, just like it had started, it ended. The pain left and the memories stopped, leaving her sitting quietly on the bed staring at Rainbow.
In an instant Twilight charged her horn, casting her signature teleportation spell with a pop. Another flash and bang later as she reappeared in front of Rainbow, barely giving Rainbow time to react before wrapping her hooves around the pegasus’s neck and planting her lips firmly on Rainbow’s. Rainbow stared into Twilight’s eyes for a second, stunned by the unicorn’s quick movements. She regained her senses after a few brief moments and pushed back into the kiss, allowing her eyes to close along with Twilight’s.
After a long, passionate kiss, Twilight finally pulled back, panting lightly.
“I take it you remember?” Rainbow asked with a smile as she snaked her hooves around Twilight’s neck and pulled her close.
“Yes, Rainbow, I remember,” Twilight answered with a smile, burying her face into Rainbow soft fur and giving a slight squeeze. “I remember everything.”
-_-_-_-2 weeks later-_-_-_-
“Hey Twi,” Rainbow began trotting beside the lavender mare down one of Ponyville’s streets towards her library home. The sun had long since gone down and the moon was high in the sky, shining brightly alongside the stars. “You ever figure out what caused you memory loss?”
“Hmm? Oh. I never really tried, actually. What does it matter as long as we fixed it?” Twilight asked with a giggle, lightly shoulder checking her marefriend as they walked.
“That’s what I said,” Rainbow said with a chuckle, “but really, did you?”
“The best I can guess is one of my experiments had a side effect I was unaware of that caused some form of radiated magical energy to seep in through my horn, and it latched onto the memory of dating you, which would explain why it only took those memories. Though what experiment, I have no idea.”
Rainbow seemed to accept the answer, remain silent as they walked. She wrapped a wing around Twilight’s withers and drew her closer until their fur was rubbing together. She leaned down and pecked Twilight lightly on the cheek.
“Love ya egghead.”
“Love you too featherbrain,” Twilight responded with a giggle, nuzzling her cheek into Rainbow’s neck.
“Are you gonna be alright, sugarcube?” Applejack asked concernedly, hovering over Rainbow’s bed along with Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. They all gathered in a semi-circle around the relatively small hospital room Rainbow had been admitted to.
“I’ll be fine,” Rainbow assured, though the strained, wheezy tone didn’t agree with what she had said.
“What happened?” Fluttershy asked quietly, taking a cautious step forward. Rainbow chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof.
“I… did something stupid,” she admitted sheepishly, trying to dance around the question.
“Like pretty much everything else you do?” Rarity asked with a sly smile.
“Was it another super awesome trick?” Pinkie asked energetically, ever the optimist as she bounced happily at the thought of seeing another of Rainbow’s areal stunts.
“Kinda…” Rainbow trailed off as she heard the door open. She grimaced as a lavender unicorn walked slowly into the room, the rest of the group turned to look at her as well.
Twilight picked her way carefully through her group of friends until she was right next to Rainbow’s bed. Her lips were pressed into a neutral line as she leered down at the rainbow maned pegasus.
“Wellhavefunwiththatgottagobye!” Pinkie shouted, retreating quickly back out the door. She might not have been the most down-to-earth pony in the world, but she knew when to make a hasty retreat. Rarity cleared her throat roughly before speaking.
“Yes, I do believe I should be getting back as well. Do get better soon, Rainbow,” she said with a nervous smile before shuffling quickly out of the room, followed closely by Applejack, shouting ‘what she said’ over her shoulder.
“I need to go… tend to my animals… I hope you feel better Rainbow.” Fluttershy backpedalled out the door, keeping her mane between herself and the pair of mare’s left in the room. As the door slowly swung shut, Rainbow audibly gulped.
“Uh… hey, Twi…” Rainbow began, rubbing her hooves together nervously. Twilight sat back on her haunches, her breathing slow and even. Her horn glowed momentarily, shimmering and humming with energy for a few moments before the magical aura disappeared. Suddenly, she snapped.
“WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?” She yelled, making Rainbow cringe away from her.
“I thought I could-” Rainbow tried to defend, but Twilight cut through her speech with another shriek.
“YOU COULD HAVE DIED!”
“But I didn’t!” Rainbow protested, albeit weakly. She had never seen Twilight like this before. Sure, she had been worried whenever Rainbow crashed, but never to the point of anger. “And be quite, somepony will hear you.”
“Magical soundproofing,” Twilight said simply, “so I can yell at you all I want.”
Twilight’s horn glowed its signature purple as she brought a clipboard over to her.
“A broken wing, multiple compound fractures in both your front legs, three broken ribs, six cracked, a split hoof, a punctured lung, a minor concussion, and multiple hairline fractures in your other wing,” Twilight read off of the chart. Rainbow grew silent as her injuries were listed of for her.
“But the doctor said I’d make a full recovery, right?” Rainbow said, completely missing the point Twilight was trying to make. What did it matter as long as she would be fine?
“Don’t you get it? One of these broken ribs could have punctured your heart, or you could have hit at a slightly different angle and broken your neck! You came within inches of death, Rainbow!” Twilight yelled, dropping the chart to the floor and standing up.
“But I didn’t,” Rainbow repeated, stressing the fact that she was still alive. Twilight sighed, her anger being replaced by worry as she leaned down and kissed Rainbow on the lips lightly.
“When do you ever get it,” She chuckled darkly, standing upright and turning. “I’ll be back in a bit, I just need to get some water,” Twilight sighed as she walked out of the room, leaving Rainbow alone with her thoughts.
“Maybe I was a bit reckless…” She muttered to herself, thinking back over what she had tried to do. It had been a stupid idea from the beginning, but she never thought it would go this badly. Still though, Twilight was taking this way to hard, it’s not like she was crippled for life or anything. A few weeks and she’d be good as new.
Now that she thought about it, why did Twilight get so angry? Sure, they had been dating, but it had only been a couple weeks. Things might have been awesome between the two, but Twilight couldn’t be that serious about the relationship yet.
Her thoughts were derailed as Twilight walked back onto the room with a bottle of water in her magic. She seemed calmer then she had before. She didn’t look upset anymore, now she looked like a cross between worried and relieved.
The unicorn walked across the small room and sat in the chair next to the head of Rainbow’s bed, setting her bottle down on the bedside table as she did. They both sat in an awkward silence for a while, neither wanting to break the silence and risk another shouting match. Finally, Rainbow took a breath.
“How long?” She asked, turning up to face Twilight.
“How long what?”
“How long do I have to stay in here?” Rainbow clarified.
“About two to three weeks, depending on how your lung heals. After that, it’ll be another month or two until you can fly,” Twilight answered solemnly, sighing as her eyes met with Rainbow’s.
“Two months!?” Rainbow cried hoarsely, her voice still wheezy from her punctured lung. “What am I gonna do for two months without flying?”
“Be thankful you’ll fly again at all,” Twilight spat bitterly. Rainbow stopped her next complaint before it could slip out. Twilight was obviously upset about this, but Rainbow couldn’t figure out why.
“Why are you so upset about this? It’s not like you’re the one in this bed,” Rainbow asked carefully.
“I would prefer it if it were me,” Twilight mumbled under her breath.
“What?”
“Nothing,” Twilight lied.
“Twilight,” Rainbow pressed, “tell me what’s wrong.”
“I said I would prefer it if I was in that bed instead of you.” Twilight repeated loud enough for Rainbow to hear. Rainbow sucked in a sudden breath. Surly Twilight didn’t mean that?
“What?” Rainbow stared flabbergasted at the unicorn next to her.
“I can’t stand seeing you like this. I can’t stand the thought of what happened to you, and I can’t stand the thought that I almost lost you, Rainbow.” Twilight sniffled as a few tears dripped down her cheeks.
“Why?” Rainbow fought the urge to face-hoof as soon as the question left her mouth. It was obvious Twilight cared for her, a lot.
“Because… because I love you, Rainbow,” Twilight admitted, “and I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Rainbow felt her breathing stop. Twilight… loved her? How? When had it changed from a simple crush a few weeks ago to love? And why did this warm, fuzzy feeling spread through her when Twilight said that?
“I…” Rainbow trailed off, unsure of what to say or do. She didn’t even know how she felt about all this.
“I-I’m sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself, this is way to fast, we’ve only been going out a few weeks.” Twilight backpedalled desperately, panicking as she tried to retract her statement.
“I…” Rainbow’s mind was still reeling from the revelation that Twilight loved her. Twilight, the most amazing unicorn in Equestria, loved somepony like her, how was that even possible?
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to say that!” Twilight’s words finally brok Rainbow out of her thoughts. The pegasus turned to look at the flustered mare sitting beside her. Her mind was sent reeling from yet another ground breaking realization. This time, she didn’t need to think about it.
“I… love you too.” Rainbow muttered, just barely loud enough for it to be audible over Twilight’s panicked breathing. But hear it the unicorn did. T was her turn to be shocked.
“W-what?”
“I love you too,” Rainbow repeated with a toothy grin. “Twilight Sparkle, I love you too.”
Scootaloo’s heart thundered in her chest as she ran through the deserted town of Ponyville. It was dark, the moon and stars hidden by a thick, black layer of clouds. Her hooves ached and her legs burned in protest, every step sending a jolt of pain through her limb. But still she pushed herself to run faster and faster. She couldn’t afford to slow down, even a little, or It would catch her.
Her breath came in short, fast pants as she raced through the dark streets. Her eyes widened in shock and fear as It appeared in front of her. She skidded to a halt as fast as she could as she desperately looked for an escape. Her eyes locked on an alley between two buildings. She whirled around and dashed down the even darker alley.
She flung her head around over her shoulder; breathing a sigh in relief when It wasn’t following her. As she looked over her shoulder, she failed to look forward and notice the rock until her hoof hit it. She stumbled, her momentum continuing to carry her forward as her hooves stopped, sending her tumbling head over hooves down the alley. She slid to a stop a short distance from the rock and sat up quickly. She shot a glare at the rock before remembering what she was doing. Spinning back around to continue her escape, she came face to face with It.
She spun back around in a panic, only to find that the alley that had once been there was now nothing more than a plain, red brick wall. She was cornered. In a flash of desperation she ran to the wall and started pounding on it with her hooves, praying for something to happen before it got her. Her heart felt like it was trying to burst out of her chest as the wall continued to mar her path.
Giving up on her fruitless pounding she spun around to face her impending doom. She stared with wide, fearful eyes as It grew closer to her, inch by inch. Instinctively, she pressed herself as flat against the wall as she could and squeezed her eyes shut. Suddenly, she felt a pressure against her chest as It started doing whatever it was going to do. She screamed out in panic. She flailed her hooves madly, trying to push it away, but something bound her legs and wings.
Scootaloo shot upright in her bed, still panting heavily. Her entire form was drenched in sweat and tangled in her blankets. She looked around the darkened room frantically, ensuring It wasn’t there. Finding that she was safe, she allowed herself a few deep breaths to calm down.
“It was just a dream,” She breathed, holding a hoof over her chest in an attempt to slow it’s frantic pace. After a few deep breaths her breathing and heart rate were back to something close to normal and she laid her head back down on her pillow. After getting into a more comfortable position, she recovered herself with her blanket and closed her eyes.
Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes snapped open when It was there. She looked around her room again; still nothing was out of the ordinary. She closed her eyes again, but as soon as her lids slid shut It was there again, ready to chase her down. She fought the urge to panic, instead trying to go back to sleep.
“It was just a dream… it’s not real,” She muttered to herself over and over again, but it did little to dispel her mind’s image of It. Every time she shut her eyes It would be there, and every time she saw it she would panic and snap her eyes open.
Eventually, her mind started to get the better of her as the time she had her eyes open increased with her breathing. Every shadow looked like It’s silhouette and every sound It’s breathing. It was hiding in her closet, peaking through the tiny crack of the not-fully-closed door. The wind in the leaves of the tree library was It shuffling across her floor, and the sweat on the back of her neck was its heavy breathing from right behind her.
Her breathing grew into fast pants again as her imagination ran wild, taking everything her senses perceived and bending it to her fears. She grabbed her blanket and pulled it up over her head, hoping to hide herself from her own fears. Unfortunately, the darkness created by the blanket was the perfect place for her mind to project It.
She flung the blanket of in a terrified huff, looking around her room for something – anything – that could stop her imagination. Finally, her eyes settled on the wooden door to her room, shrouded by darkness against the wall. She knew that, just beyond the door, was the hallway. And not two doors down was another darkened door leading to another darkened bedroom.
Could she though? What would they say? What would they do? Surely they wouldn’t allow it. Sure, they had allowed her to stay in their room the first couple nights she had been living in their tree library, but that was only while they cleaned out a room for her. The spare bed had long since been moved out of their room and into hers. No, she couldn’t, she’d just have to find a way to deal with it.
Pulling the blanket back around herself, she rolled into the most comfortable position she could find and closed her eyes. It took all of two seconds for her eyes to fly open again. It had been there, and it had tried to attack her again. It was her imagination, she knew it was her imagination, but that didn’t stop her mind from believing what it thought it saw.
Again her eyes fell on the door to her room. There was no way she was getting back to sleep like this. Maybe they would let her, just once. No, no she couldn’t, this was her problem, and she didn’t need to bother them with it. Making up her mind, she rolled over yet again and tried to slow her heart again. She could hear it pounding in her ears as her eyes continued to race around the room. Everything she looked at was It and every time she closed her eyes It was there. There was no escape.
Suddenly a large gust of wind blew through her open window; the change in air pressure opened her closet door wide. Standing in the shadows was It, getting ready to leap out at her. She had to stifle a scream as she dashed out of her room and into the hall.
Her legs trembled with fear as she made her way down the hall. She knew It would be following her, and that she had to hurry, but at the same time, she didn’t want to wake her adoptive parents. So she settled for a speed walk down the hall.
Her heart pounded in her ears as she approached the door to her parent’s room. Would they be mad at her for doing this? Would they send her back to face It? The journey down the dark hall seemed to stretch on for an eternity, and yet she reached it before she was ready. She stood hesitantly outside the door. What was she doing? Was one nightmare really enough to scare her into seeking out the protection of her parents?
No, she didn’t need them for this. She turned to make her way back to her room, only to dash into her parent’s room when It was running down the hall after her.
-_-_-_-
Rainbow’s eyes fluttered open to the darkened room she shared with her wife. Something had woken her up, but she didn’t know what it was. She cast a quick glance around the room without bothering to sit up. Finding nothing, she rolled over to a more comfortable position, finding herself facing the back of Twilight’s head. She smiled to herself at the peaceful sight of her wife. Like a moth drawn to a flame she slithered closer under the blankets, wrapping her hooves around Twilight and pulling her into her chest. Twilight murmured happily in her sleep and pressed back into the new source of heat.
With a satisfied smirk she rested her head in the crook of Twilight’s neck and closed her eyes. Within seconds she felt the haze of sleep begin to cloud her mind, aided by the warmth of the unicorn in her arms.
“Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow’s ear flicked at the sudden noise. It sounded like somepony was calling her name.
“Rainbow Dash,” the voice called her name again. Sleep was instantly pushed from her mind as a realization dawned on her; that was not Twilight’s voice.
“Rainbow Dash?”
Rainbow rolled her head over to see who it was. All she could see was the dark silhouette of a pony looming over her. Her mind instantly kicked into overdrive; there was some unknown pony in her room in the middle of the night. With a start she untangled herself from Twilight and threw the covers off herself as she stood on the bed. She lowered herself down to a defensive stance between the intruder and Twilight.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” Rainbow growled, squinting to see the pony’s face through the darkness. She heard Twilight fidget behind her.
“Rainbow?” Twilight muttered groggily, opening her eyes to see Rainbow standing over her.
“M-mom, it’s me!” Scootaloo cried, backpedalling away from the pegasus still glaring at her.
“Scoots?” Rainbow asked, allowing her glare to soften as she stood from her crouched position and hopped off the bed. “What are you doing here in the middle of the night?”
Twilight sat up in bed, watching as Scootaloo nearly vibrated in what looked to be fear. Her eyes were glancing quickly between the door, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight, though it looked like she couldn’t decide which one to be more scared of.
“Are you alright?” Twilight asked, clambering out of the bed and standing next to Rainbow. The filly shrivelled under her gaze.
“Y-yes?” Scootaloo answered shakily. Twilight raised an eyebrow in doubt, with the way the filly looked at the door, she had a pretty good idea what was going on. Rainbow seemed to catch on to Scootaloo’s unsure tone.
“What’s wrong, Squirt?” She asked, dropping her voice to a more comforting tone. She folded her wings back into her sides as the adrenaline faded from her system.
“I… I-I… I kinda…” Scootaloo’s words tumbled over each other as she tried to explain her predicament. She didn’t know what to say or how Twilight and Rainbow Dash would react. She glanced to the door again. It was either telling them and praying that they would understand, or facing It again. Taking a deep breath, she made her choice.
“I... h-had a… n-nightmare…” Scootaloo mumbled quietly, averting her gaze from her mothers and down to the floor. Twilight gave a slight smirk while Rainbow raised an eyebrow, waiting for the filly to continue. When she didn’t, Twilight spoke.
“And when you woke up, whatever was in your nightmare was everywhere you looked?” Twilight asked with a knowing look. Scootaloo could only nod. Twilight chuckled while a look of realization dawned on Rainbow’s face.
“Every sound you heard was it coming to get you, every shadow that moved was it moving around your room, and every door was hiding whatever it was behind it,” Twilight recited, as if reading from a book. Scootaloo looked up with a spark of confusion behind her eyes.
“Yeah, but how did you-”
“I was a filly once too, you know,” Twilight answered her question before it could finish leaving Scootaloo’s lips. Twilight heard a chuckle from next to her. She turned to see Rainbow trying to hold in her laughter.
“What?” Twilight asked pointedly.
“It’s just… this is exactly what happened on that campout we had a few years ago, remember?” Rainbow asked through her laughter.
“Oh yeah, I remember you telling me about that now! Didn’t she end up nearly falling into a river or something?” Twilight said with a giggle. Scootaloo felt her face heat up from embarrassment. Suddenly, Rainbow’s chuckling silenced.
“Didn’t you learn anything from that Scoot’s? I told you; you could always come to me when you’re scared, that goes double now that I’m your parent.” Rainbow’s tone was serious yet comforting.
“I thought you’d be mad at me…” Scootaloo admitted sheepishly, lowering her head back down. It sounded so silly now, why would her parents ever be mad at her for being scared?
“We’d never be mad at you for this,” Twilight assured.
“Yeah, now come on, let’s get back to sleep,” Rainbow offered, motioning to the large bed in the room. Scootaloo felt a wave of panic wash over her.
“Wait, what am I supposed to do? How did you deal with it?” Scootaloo asked, turning to Twilight. The older mare smirked.
“Well, there was really only one thing that helped me get through it when I was your age,” Twilight explained as she climbed back into her bed, Rainbow following suit with a matching smirk.
“What was it?” Scootaloo asked, a little more desperately than she would normally admit as she trotted over to the bed.
“Well, when I couldn’t get back to sleep, I used to go to my parent’s room, just like you, and they’d give me something to help me sleep.” Twilight couldn’t contain her mischievous grin as she lay down in the bed next to Rainbow facing the little orange filly.
“What’d they give you?” The filly asked with a glint of hope in her voice.
“Well, I’d wake them up and tell them what was wrong. Then, they would give me…” Twilight trailed off as she grinned widely at Scootaloo, Rainbow chuckling behind her.
“C’mon Twilight, quit teasing her!”
“They gave me… CUDDLES!” Twilight cried, snatching up the little filly in her purple magic and bringing her onto the bed between her and Rainbow, giggling like a mad pony. Scootaloo was dropped down onto the bed between her two adoptive parents, her mind catching up to what had happened. Once it did, she couldn’t contain her smile as she was wrapped in Twilight’s hooves.
Rainbow joined in their embrace shortly after, sandwiching the filly between her two mothers. Scootaloo couldn’t be happier. She smiled, rubbing her cheek into Twilight’s soft chest and feeling the loving embrace of a mother. Her eyes began to droop with the aid of the warm embrace of her parents, the safety of knowing she had ponies who loved her aided her journey back to the land of dreams. Not even It could get her here.
Twilight smiled and loosened her grip as she felt Scootaloo relax, a light snoring emanating from the filly.
“She’s asleep already,” Twilight spoke quietly, prompting Dash to ease up on her own embrace. “She falls asleep faster than you,” She added mockingly as Rainbow shuffled back a bit. Rainbow just chuckled as she watched the filly sleep.
Twilight released the filly all together; Scootaloo subconsciously curled into a small orange and purple ball between the two mares. Twilight levitated the blanket back over all three of them, Rainbow draping a wing across her wife and daughter. Soon the rhythmic breathing of three sleeping ponies filled the room, broken by the occasional light snore.
Rainbow sighed heavily and hung her head a little lower. She felt the tears streaming down her face even now. The rainbow bangs hiding her puffy red eyes from the world did little to hide her feelings from herself. She was Rainbow Dash, why was she hiding on top of a cloud far outside of Ponyville crying her eyes out? It happened yesterday; surly she should have gotten over it by now?
But no matter how brave she was or how cool she pretended to be, some things simply couldn’t be hidden by denial. Some things like grief. It was all Fluttershy’s fault, if Fluttershy had never convinced her to get that stupid pet tortoise she wouldn’t have to deal with this.
“No, it’s not Fluttershy’s fault…” Rainbow chided herself for even thinking that. If anypony was to blame it was her and her alone. It was her own fault, after all; she should have taken better care of him. A sudden light flashed from behind her. She groaned inwardly, she didn’t need this right now. She really didn’t need it from Twilight.
Twilight allowed herself a momentary smile of victory as she found the cyan pegasus she had been searching for in front of her. After taking a second to ensure her cloud-walking spell held, she approached slowly.
“How’d you find me?” Rainbow asked, barely keeping the waver out of her voice as she continued to stare forward at the rolling green hills just outside of Ponyville.
“I am your marefriend. I know where you like to go to be alone,” Twilight answered simply, halting her approach a few steps behind Rainbow. “Now are you gonna talk to me or keep running?”
Rainbow snorted, “I’m not running. I never run from anything.”
“Then what are you doing?” Twilight asked, sitting back on her haunches.
“I’m… I just…” Rainbow sighed, “I don’t know what I’m doing,” she admitted sadly, shaking her head in disbelief.
“You’re running,” Twilight insisted again.
“I’M NOT RUN-” Rainbow turned to yell at Twilight, but was cut off as Twilight wrapped her in a hug. She felt the urge to pull away, to insist again and again that she was fine, maybe until she believed it herself. But even if she believed it, Twilight wouldn’t, Twilight could always tell when something was wrong, even if Rainbow didn’t.
After a second of internal debate, she practically melted into the embrace, throwing her own forelegs around Twilight’s neck and burying her face in Twilight’s soft lavender coat. For her part, Twilight simply held her tighter, running a gentle and caring hoof through her messy yet beautiful rainbow mane.
The last remnants of a dam that Rainbow had crumbled in that instant, the tears coming faster and harder then anytime before. She held Twilight tight as her body quaked and shook, her sobs filling the air around them. Through it all Twilight held her close, whispering words of comfort in her ear, never once stopping or slowling her gently caressing hoof.
After what felt like hours, Rainbow’s sobs turned to quiet whimpers of sadness.
“Why?” Rainbow whispered sadly, rubbing her damp cheek into Twilight’s even damper coat.
“It was his time, Dashie, there’s nothing you could have done,” Twilight answered, silently cursing herself for not being able to think of anything better. For a time Rainbow was silent, before sniffling loudly and clearing her throat.
“Did I ever tell you why I never went home to nap?” Rainbow asked, relaxing her grip on Twilight as her tears slowly slowed to a stop. Twilight shook her head.
“It was because I didn’t want to go home. It’s silly, really, but until him… I didn’t like going home. I was always alone when I was at home. You had Spike, AJ and Rarity had their sisters, Fluttershy had her animals. Pinkie had the Cake’s. I had nopony. I went home, and there was nopony to greet me, nopony to make me feel better after a bad day, nopony to congratulate me when I did a trick I had been practicing for weeks.” As Rainbow spoke Twilight felt her gut ball up in her stomach. She never knew how lonely the seemingly invincible pegasus had been. None of them had.
“Then I got him, and it all went away. He was always there, smiling at me when I got home. He made sure I was never alone after a bad day, and he was always there to celebrate when I did a trick... now he’s gone,” Rainbow finished with a sigh as another lone tear trailed down her face.
“You’re one of the strongest ponies I know, Rainbow. You’ll get through this, and I’ll be there to help you. I’ll be there to congratulate you after a trick. I’ll be there to make sure you’re not alone after a bad day. I’ll always be there for you, Dashie, you know that,” Twilight comforted gently, choosing each word carefully. Rainbow squeezed her a bit tighter.
“I know. I just need some time to accept that he’s gone. I’ll be fine.” Rainbow sniffed loudly before pulling back from Twilight, looking up into her eyes.
“Thanks, Twi, I… don’t think I’d be able to do it without you. I love you.”
“I love you too Dashie. Never forget that,” Twilight assured with a small smile, drawing Rainbow back in for one last embrace, kissing her on the lips before pulling back.
“Now let’s go home,” She offered, standing on the cloud and offering a hoof to Rainbow, who graciously took it and stoop up.
“You were right Twi,” Rainbow said as she fluffed out her wings.
“About what?” Twilight asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.
Smoke billowed from the smoke stack of a train, blending into the inky blackness of the night sky. The train continued steaming down the tracks spanning the distance between the Crystal Kingdom and Ponyville. The engine towed a total of seven cars; six private sleeper cars and a dining car situated in the middle, with three of the sleeper cars on either side. Inside one of these sleeper cars lay Rainbow Dash, staring up at the ceiling of her darkened car. The light streaming in through the window from the moon and the stars allowed for very little visibility, effectively blinding the pegasus.
At this moment, sight didn’t matter to the troubled mare. At this moment, there was only one thing that mattered to her, and that something was in her own private sleeper on the other side of the dining car. What was little more then ten or twenty meters in physical distance may as well have been a gorge miles across emotionally.
The thoughts flying through Rainbow’s head and keeping her awake were not ones she was used to. They were feelings of anger, of worry, and of guilt. Never before had she felt them in such magnitude. What did she have to feel angry about? Why was she worried? What was she guilty of? Why should she be kept awake by these pointless, un-cool thoughts, when they were not her fault?
No, they weren’t her fault. They were Twilight’s fault. If Twilight hadn’t put herself in danger, Rainbow wouldn’t have worried. If Twilight hadn’t insisted on going alone, Rainbow could have been there to protect her, and she wouldn’t have to feel guilty about not being there. If Twilight had just listened to reason, Rainbow wouldn’t have to be angry with her for making her feel these new and unwanted feelings. If it weren’t for Twilight, Rainbow could be asleep right now.
Ever since they had started dating a few months ago Rainbow Dash couldn’t seem to get the gorgeous lavender face out of her mind. That wasn’t always a bad thing, but when it made her sick with worry because Twilight was off doing Celestia knows what against an evil unicorn that had managed to enslave an entire race of ponies, it was a problem. No, the worry wasn’t the problem; it was Twilight going off alone in the first pace that was the problem.
Rainbow rolled over in the semi-large bed the sleeper car provided. After they had saved the Crystal Kingdom the Crystal Ponies had all but insisted on giving them the most luxurious cars on their trip home possible. Twilight, ever the humble one, had tried to refuse, saying that they didn’t need anything so fancy, but at the insistence of both the entire nation and Cadence, she had accepted. The most expensive cars they had were hooked up to the engine, cars normally used only for royalty or the most elite of the nobles. For the next two days they would be used for the return trip of the Elements of Harmony; a fitting reward for saving an entire kingdom. They had departed the day after saving the Kingdom, but not before having a party thrown in their honour.
Just as Rainbow found a new comfortable spot, the door to her car was slid open momentarily before slamming shut. Rainbow lifted her head to see who it was, but she knew there was only one pony that would come into what was essentially her room in the middle of the night from the direction of the dining car. Her suspicious were confirmed when a purple glow illuminated a lavender unicorn.
“Twilight?” Rainbow asked, rolling back over to face the unicorn, but not getting out of bed. She was still mad at Twilight, after all.
“You’ve been avoiding me since the party yesterday. I want to know why,” Twilight stated matter-of-factly, walking further into the room and igniting a few of the candles in a glow of magic. Rainbow sat up in her bed and sighed.
“I haven’t been avoiding you,” She lied, hoping to hide the fact by pretending to be tired. She rubbed her eyes as if she had just woken up. “I don’t know why you thought that.”
“I’m not stupid, Rainbow. I know when I’m being avoided. Every time I came to talk to you at the party you said you had to go to the bathroom and ran off, a few times in the wrong direction. Do you know how many times I came to talk to you?”
“No,” Rainbow admitted, still trying to play tired as she slunk out of her bed and onto her hooves.
“We were at the party for six hours. In that time, I came to talk to you forty-seven times,” Twilight deadpanned. “Now tell me why you’ve been avoiding me.”
“I haven’t,” Rainbow insisted weakly, scrounging her mind for some other excuse that might tied Twilight over until she was ready.
“Rainbow,” Twilight sighed, “Just tell me what’s wrong. Is it something I did?”
Finally, something in Rainbow snapped. If Twilight wanted to know, she would know. It was Twilight’s fault anyway.
“Yeah, Twilight; it is something you did. Do you wanna know what you did?” Rainbow snapped, taking a firm step forward and levelling a glare at the unicorn. Twilight looked surprised at the sudden outburst, but remained silent.
“I’ll tell you what you did. You went off on your own to find that stupid Crystal Heart thing, all by yourself, when there was that nutcase Sombra running around doing whatever it is he does. I was worried sick about you, all because you were too focused on passing some stupid test to get help.” Rainbow started pacing as she ranted, letting hours worth of pent up anger and frustration pour out, all aimed at Twilight.
“Did you ever once think to stop and consider how any of this would make me feel? Because it wasn’t fun to be next to helpless as my marefriend was trapped on the top of the tower with that lunatic flying at you. Do you know how guilty I felt after that? And to top it all off, it wouldn’t have happened at all if you had let us help you.” Rainbow took a deep breath and stopped her pacing. She turned to face Twilight.
“So yeah, I’ve been avoiding you. I’ve been avoiding you because I’m mad at you, and I don’t like being mad at you,” Rainbow finished with a sigh, falling back to her haunches and waiting for Twilight to say something.
Twilight’s mind was reeling at the sudden revelations. Rainbow Dash was worried about her? She felt guilty because she couldn’t protect her? Rainbow Dash was mad at her? It was a new experience for Rainbow to actually be mad at her. Sure, over the months they had been dating they had argued, but it never lasted more then an hour before one of them realized how stupid they were being. But this? This was worse then any argument the two could have had. This was Twilight’s fault; that much she knew. Already she felt the guilt balling in her stomach. Just how worried Rainbow must have been to actually get angry, or admit it at all, considering how ‘cool’ she normally acted.
“I…” Twilight fumbled with her words, sitting down and staring at Rainbow.
“This is why I’ve been avoiding you,” Rainbow admitted quietly, averting her eyes to the ground instead of Twilight, “I knew this would happen if I talked to you before I got over it.”
Twilight continued to sit in stunned silence, unsure of what to say. What could she say? Rainbow was right, about everything, so what should she say?
“Rainbow…”
“I… I don’t like being mad at you Twi,” Rainbow sniffled, her eyes hidden by a veil of rainbow mane as she stared at the ground. After a moment’s hesitation Twilight flung herself at Rainbow, throwing her hooves around her shoulders and holding her tightly.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, nuzzling into Rainbow’s neck, “I had no idea…”
“When you were trapped, when Sombra was coming at you… I thought… I though I’d lost you” Rainbow trailed off sadly, shaking her head as tears leaked from her eyes, gently streaming down her cheeks and falling off her chin.
“Don’t ever do that to me again, Twilight,” Rainbow said firmly, squeezing the unicorn tightly in the embrace.
“I won’t, I promise you I won’t,” Twilight assured, pulling back and smiling weakly at her pegasus lover.
“You better not,” Rainbow murmured before leaning in a giving Twilight a short, loving kiss. Rainbow held Twilight’s gaze for a few seconds before a loud yawn escaped her lips, causing Twilight to giggle. Rainbow chuckled, a light blush glowing across her cheeks.
“Guess I could use some sleep.”
“Go on, I’ll see you in the morning,” Twilight said, motioning to Rainbow’s bed as she stood.
“Not so fast Egghead, you’re not getting off that easy,” Rainbow called tauntingly, drawing Twilight’s attention with a raised brow. Rainbow crawled into the relatively small bed and patted the space next to her. “You made me worry about you; I need to make sure you’re safe.”
Twilight giggled at Rainbow’s excuse, but complied with a smile. “And what, pray tell, could be dangerous on a train?” She asked as she sidled up next to Rainbow.
“I dunno, maybe your car is cursed, and for your own safety you can’t risk sleeping in it?” Rainbow offered, rapping her hooves firmly around Twilight and squeezing her to her chest.
“And what would curse a train car?” Twilight asked, looking up at the mare holding her tightly. She came face to face with a sleeping Rainbow Dash. She giggled as she adjusted to a more comfortable position, resting her head against Rainbow’s chest and sighing happily.
“Good night, Dashie, I love you” She whispered, kissing Rainbow’s muzzle lightly before closing her eyes and joining her in sleep.
Twilight giggled gleefully as she soared through the cool night air. Below her lay Ponyville and the fields around it, and above was the endless canvas of stars that made up the night sky. The full moon was the large, silvery center piece of the perfect portrait. Luna had always been an amazing artist when it came to the night, but she did her best work on nights when the full moon shone down on the lands of Equestria. The off-white disk in the sky that was once the prison to the Lunar Princess was now a tool for her to use when assembling her masterpiece.
Twilight flew a little higher, flipping onto her back and admiring the scene above her. Or she would have, had a cyan face not come between her and the starry sky.
“Rainbow, I was looking at that!” Twilight whined playfully, earning a chuckle from her pegasus friend.
“Aw c’mon Twi, you know you like looking at me more,” Rainbow said with a suggestive smirk, her lips spitting to a grin at the crimson blush growing on the unicorn’s face.
“That doesn’t mean I don’t like looking at other things,” Twilight defended weakly, flipping back over to face the ground as she continued to float through the sky. Rainbow rolled, coming to a stop next to the lavender unicorn and flapping her wings rhythmically. Twilight watched her flap for a few moments, admiring the flexing muscles rippling just beneath the skin of the athletic mare’s slender body.
“See something you like?” Rainbow asked; having caught the stare Twilight was giving her.
“I dunno,” she said, reaching a hoof out and wrapping it around Dash’s neck, pulling her closer. “Do you?”
“Well…” Rainbow trailed off, looking down to the ground for a second before bringing her eyes back to Twilight’s. After a second of contact, they closed in tandem, both of them leaning in; closing what little gap there was left. Their lips met in the middle, both of them melting into each other’s hooves and lips as they continued to float through the sky. Eventually Rainbow pulled away and smiled.
“Yeah, I do.”
“So do I,” Twilight said with a smile, leaning back in a meeting their muzzles once more.
-_-_-_-
Twilight’s eyes fluttered open her vision clearing to reveal her bedroom wall. She smiled, remembering the dream she had awoken from: Soaring through the night time skies without so much as a feather. She liked those dreams the most. With a sigh she looked out her window, seeing the sun starting to poke its head out from below the horizon, letting off just enough light to wake her from her peaceful slumber.
Next she glanced over at her clock, reading the time to be just past 6 AM and sighed again. It was Tuesday, which meant Rainbow had work. With a slight pout she rolled over onto her other side and away from the intruding light of her mentor’s celestial body, expecting to be alone. Instead, she came face to face with a peacefully sleeping Rainbow Dash beside her.
‘Doesn’t she have work today?’ she thought, looking at her marefriend curiously. For a moment she pondered silently, taking in the adorable sight before her. The cyan pegasus was lying on her back with her chest rising a falling gently with her slow, rhythmic breaths. Every couple breaths her jaw would droop, just enough for a quiet, cute snore to escape and echo around the room. The blanket was pulled halfway up her neck, leaving very little of her coat exposed to the cool night air. Her mane was splayed messily around her head on the pillow, like a rainbow coloured halo.
To Twilight, it was one of the most beautiful sights she had ever seen. Unable to resist the temptation, she leaned in, kissing Rainbow lightly on her soft cheek. The pegasus stirred at the contact, scrunching her muzzle as her mind tried to wake her body. After a few seconds of fidgeting, her eyes opened and she yawned, rolling her head over to face Twilight.
“Hey,” she greeted groggily, giving a tired smile as she brought her hooves above her head and stretched.
“Don’t you have work today?” Twilight questioned, raising an eyebrow as Rainbow rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
“Mmmm… no, I took today off,” she answered slowly, her sleep addled mind slowly but surly catching up to its regular speeds.
“Oh?” Twilight asked, sliding over and draping a foreleg across Rainbow’s chest, resting her head on the cyan mare’s shoulder. “Why’s that?”
“I had a few extra vacations days, and I figured I could use a break. Besides, I got somethin’ special planned today.” Rainbow smiled, sliding one of her hooves under Twilight’s neck. “Somethin’ special for us.”
“And what if I’m busy today?”
“I asked Spike to check your schedule for me; I know you don’t have anything important planned for today.”
“Alright, so what do you have planned?” Twilight asked with a smile.
“First,” Rainbow glanced over to the clock, “at least two more hours of sleep. I may have taken the vacation for us, but I’ll be damned if I’m not gonna sleep in. After that, you’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Hmm, I think I can live a bit more sleep,” Twilight said, snuggling closer to Rainbow and closing her eyes again. Rainbow’s rhythmic breathing slowly lulled her back to sleep in the warm embrace of both her blanket and the mare next to her.
Rainbow watched Twilight sleep for a while, running through the upcoming day in her head. Slowly, her muzzle grew to a small smile as the lavender unicorn unconsciously squirmed a little bit closer to the pegasus. She chuckled and leaned down, kissing the end of Twilight’s snout and smiling affectionately.
“Love ya’ Twi,” she whispered, resting her head on top of the unicorn’s and closing her eyes.
It was going to be a good day.
-_-_-_-
“Twilight,” Rainbow called gently, watching as Twilight slept soundly in her embrace. Twilight’s ear twitched, but she herself remains asleep.
“It’s time to get up Twi,” Rainbow whispered, directly into Twilight’s ear. Still she got no more then a small twitch. Sighing, she leaned in and gently bit the tip of Twilight’s velvety ear.
“Mmm,” Twilight hummed in her sleep, a smile subconsciously forming on her face. Rainbow continued, gently kneading and massaging the lavender ear with her teeth.
“Twilight,” Rainbow tried again, whispering around Twilight’s ear. Slowly, Twilight’s eyes blinked open, a blissfully adorable look on her face as she woke up.
“Why isn’t this how I always wake up?” She groaned sleepily, nuzzling into Rainbow’s neck. In return Rainbow released her ear from between her teeth and instead nuzzled the top of Twilight’s head gently.
“Because not every day is today. Now come on, it’s 9; so we slept in longer then I wanted to. We need to make up for lost time.” With a flurry of wings and weathers Rainbow launched herself off the bed, landing beside it and stretching her legs before trotting out the door and down the stairs.
With a huff Twilight pulled herself out of bed, making a quick stop at her bathroom to make sure her mane was presentable before trotting after Rainbow down the stairs. When she reached the bottom of the staircase she found Rainbow sitting on a cushion in the mane room. Just sitting, facing at just enough of an angle that she couldn’t see the unicorn coming down the stairs
Twilight marvelled at the sight; Rainbow Dash, just sitting there. Doing absolutely nothing but waiting. She had changed a lot in the year they had been together. Instead of having to be told to slow down, the pegasus would often know when it was and wasn’t time to go fast. That was a world of improvement on its own, but it was more then that. She didn’t have the same abrasive, cocky attitude she used to. Sure, she still bragged, but she stopped long before it got annoying, sometimes going as far to apologize for it.
Twilight’s thoughts turned introverted as she thought about how she herself had changed as a result of having Dash in her life. She didn’t need everything to be perfect anymore. She liked it when it was, but she could live if it wasn’t. While she still made her daily schedules, she no longer planned out every single second, allowing plenty of time for adjustments and modifications. She didn’t need to be on a strict schedule any more. She didn’t need to make lists about everything.
It scared her.
Change was always scary, especially when the changes happened without you noticing it. It was like she woke up one day a different mare, even if it had been a slow process. It scared her when she first discovered how much she had changed, but at the same time, she liked it. She liked the mare she had become. She loved the pegasus who had changed her to be the mare she was. With a smile she walked the rest of the way into the main room, her hoof steps drawing the attention of Rainbow.
“So what’s the plan for today?” Twilight asked casually, stopping in front of Rainbow as she stood up.
“Well, the original plan was to have breakfast, but we’re a bit late for that. Instead we’ll skip to item number two,” Rainbow said as she walked over to the door.
“Where are we going? I should probably let Spike know in case he needs something. He’s probably sleeping since I never got him up.”
“Don’t worry about Spike; when I asked him about your schedule I told him what I was planning. He’ll be fine while we’re gone,” Rainbow assured, motioning towards the door. With a nod and a smile Twilight joined her. That was another big change in Rainbow; she actually planned some things now. She thought ahead. It was a change for the better, in Twilight’s mind.
“Alright then. But really; where are we going?”
“It wouldn’t a surprise if I told you would it?” Rainbow said with a sly smile, opening the door and trotting outside, beckoning Twilight to follow her. A second later Twilight followed her out the door, shutting it behind them in a magical purple glow.
“Wherever it is, there better be food; we did skip breakfast.” As Twilight spoke she walked up beside Rainbow, the pegasus starting off down the street, towards the edge of town.
“Don’t worry; I got it all planned out, even if I had to make up for some lost time,” Rainbow assured again, leading them down a plain, non-descript road away from the tree library the two called home. The direction unnerved Twilight; there wasn’t anywhere to get food where they were going. But at the same time it filled her with a certain filly-like giddiness from the mystery of it all. Rainbow was sure to keep her guess until she deemed it time to let her know what they were doing.
“I know there isn’t anywhere to get food down this road,” Rainbow said, having caught Twilight’s puzzled expression, “Unless you’re me, that is.”
Twilight accepted the answer with a nod, turning her gaze back to the road ahead of them and the scenery around them. The warm summer sun cast its golden glow on them and the many trees, houses, and flower beds around them. The sun’s heat was offset by a gentle breeze, gently blowing what little clouds there were across the sky. It was a beautiful but warm day.
With a smile Twilight turned her attention to wherever they were going. The only places noteworthy on this end of town were the lake, an empty field, and a swamp beyond that. As far as Twilight was aware, there was no way for even Rainbow to get food at any of those places. With a slightly confused look on her face she continued walking down the roads with her pegasus partner, a comfortable silence descending between them as Rainbow let them to their destination.
-_-_-_-
“We’re here,” Rainbow said finally. The walk hadn’t been that long, only 20 minutes from the library.
“And where is the promised food?” Twilight asked, throwing a sceptical glance around the area. There wasn’t much to see; Rainbow had led them to Ponyville Lake. The lake itself was nice enough, and there wasn’t a pony around, since it was the middle of a Tuesday and most ponies were at work. A few clouds dotted the clear blue skies, but as far as Twilight was concerned, there was no food.
A rumble emanated from Twilight’s stomach, voicing her disappointment.
“Don’t worry, Twi, why don’t you go find us a spot on the sand; I’ll be right back with the food.” Without giving Twilight time for questions she shot off into the sky, zoning in on a cloud sitting above the lake.
Twilight watched the mare fly away from a second before resigning and trotting to the sandy shore. She found a nice, flat patch of sand, clear of twigs or rocks, and sat back on her haunches, waiting for Rainbow to return with the food.
Not a minute later Rainbow came floating back down to the ground with a picnic basket in her hooves and a grin on her face. Twilight couldn’t help but return the smile as she realized what Rainbow had set up.
“A picnic on the beach? I didn’t know you were so sappy, Rainbow,” Twilight mocked with a grin, taking a blanket out of the basket and spreading it on the sand with her magic.
“You turned me into this,” Rainbow grumbled, setting down on the freshly spread blanket.
“Yeah, but I like what I turned you into,” Twilight smiled, her smile widening with Rainbow’s light blush.
“Let’s just eat,” Rainbow offered, changing the subject as she pulled a pair of sandwiches and passed one over to Twilight. The unicorn smiled knowingly, but accepted the offered sandwich, taking it in her magic and taking a bite.
“So how’d you get all this out here anyway?”
“I put it all together yesterday while you were in the basement, even brought the supplies out and put them in the cloud. I knew it wouldn’t get busted since I was on duty yesterday,” Rainbow answered around the sandwich still in her mouth. The uncouth behaviour that would make Rarity cringe made Twilight giggle.
“Clouds are really good insulators, so I put a little bit of ice around it and kept it all cold and fresh for today,” Rainbow finished, taking another bite if her lunch and smiling as Twilight did the same.
“You really did plan this out,” Twilight marvelled, more to herself then the pegasus beside her.
“You know it!” Rainbow said, puffing her chest out proudly. Twilight just giggle and continued munching happily on her food. The sandwich was daisy and rose with ranch dressing and cucumber slices; her favourite. The warm summer air was offset by the cool, crisp breeze off the lake. The sand, warmed from sitting all day under the sun, heated the blanket beneath her hooves, providing a comforting warmth. The pony that sat with her brought a warmth to her heart the laughed in the face of even the hottest summer day. There was nowhere in Equestria she’d rather be, and no pony she’d rather be with.
“And that’s not all,” Rainbow said, drawing Twilight out of her revering and back to the pegasus rummaging through the basket. After a second of digging, she pulled her hoof out, a bottle in her hoof. She tossed the bottle to Twilight, who caught it in her magic while she pulled another from the basket.
“What’s this?” Twilight asked, eyeing the bottle suspiciously. As far as she could tell it was an ordinary glass bottle with some form of liquid in it.
“Well, Pinkie owed me a favour, which I used to procure two bottles of her nearly year-round supply of Apple Family Cider,” Rainbow said, popping the bottle cap off with her hoof and smelling the sweet, apple-y scent of cider, letting a satisfied sigh escape her lips as she did.
Twilight giggled at the display, forcing the cap off with her magic and holding the bottle towards Rainbow. The pegasus raised her eyebrow, stopping halfway through the motion of taking a drink from the bottle “To us,” Twilight started with a smile, prompting Rainbow to lower her bottle, “On a perfect day for an almost perfect couple.”
“Almost perfect?” Rainbow asked, cocking her head to the side.
“What? There’s no such thing as perfect, Rainbow.”
“There is when I’m involved,” Rainbow stated matter-of-factly, smiling confidently at the unicorn. “Besides, today is for us, give yourself a break; just one day where we can be perfect, alright?”
Twilight had to suppress her laughing but nodded in agreement. Rainbow smiled, reaching out with her bottle and clinking it against Twilight’s.
“To us,” she said, taking a long drought of the heavenly cider, Twilight doing the same. The two ate and drank in relative silence, the occasional conversation picking up between the two before dying back down to a comfortable, enjoyable silence. Simply being with each other was better then any conversation the two could have. Eventually, with her sandwich and cider gone, Rainbow stood and stretched her legs, looking up at the sun to gauge the time. Judging it at a little past noon, she looked at Twilight expectantly, seeing that she too had finished her sandwich.
“That was fantastic, Rainbow,” Twilight sighed contentedly, standing and stretching as well. She looked out across the lake, the rich blue water sparkling in the light of the afternoon sun. The waves gently washed over the sandy shores before them, the water expanding and receding in time with the soft splashing sound.
A grin split across Twilight’s features as an idea slithered into her head.
“Rainbow, would you mind packing up the blanket?” She asked sweetly, fluttering her eyes for added effect. Rainbow looked at her questioningly.
“Uh, sure, I guess. Why?”
“I just want to try something. I’ll tell you in a second,” Twilight explained. Rainbow kept her suspicious look but started folding the blanket they had been sitting on. Meanwhile, Twilight stepped a little closer to the water, focusing her magic. After a few moments, she decided that she had enough, and gently brought a rather large ball of water out from the lake. The ball, about the size of an average pony, floated gently over to Where Rainbow was standing, guided and held together by Twilight’s magic, careful to stay behind the pegasus at all times. Eventually, the ball managed to position itself a few feet above the pegasus.
“Hey, Rainbow?” Twilight called, trying to force her smile away as Rainbow turned to face her.
“What’s up?”
That set up was just too perfect, Twilight thought, struggling not to burst out laughing right in front of Rainbow Dash.
“Why don’t you find out for yourself?” Twilight struggled through strained breaths, barely able to contain her mirth.
“What are you talking ab-” Rainbow’s speech stopped dead in her tracks as her head turned skyward. Before she could utter another word, Twilight released her magic, allowing the large blob of water to fall onto the rainbow maned pegasus. The water instantly soaked her to the bone. Before she even knew what had happened Twilight was rolling on the ground laughing hysterically.
The lavender unicorn laughed for a solid minute, with Rainbow just standing there, waiting for her to finish. Her coat was slick and matted against her skin, with her mane plastered to her face and down her neck. Her wings didn’t fare much better, even with her feather’s natural water-resistant properties, even they could only handle so much water before becoming a soggy mess. The water dripped from her coat, adding to the large wet spot beneath her that the glob of water had created.
Eventually, Twilight gained a little control over her laughing and managed to quiet herself to strained snickers. With a hoof Rainbow brushed her soaking mane out of her eyes and gave Twilight a deadpan stare.
“You done?” She asked dryly.
“Yeah, I think so,” Twilight giggled, climbing back to her hooves to regard the pegasus.
“Good, because you realize; this means WAR!” Rainbow shouted, fluffing out her wings to get as much water out of them as possible before jumping into the air. After a few flaps she had shaken most of the water from her wings, enough from her to fly steady. She then swooped down, wrapping her hooves around Twilight’s barrel and lifting her a few feet off the ground.
“Rainbow, what are you- no, don’t you dare, Rainbow Dash. Do you hear me? RAINBOW!” Twilight shrieked as the pegasus slowly brought her closer to the water’s edge. She fought against the pegasus’s grip, yet she proved to be too strong for the unicorn to escape. Twilight’s struggling only caused Rainbow to approach the water at a much quicker pace.
Rainbow reached the shoreline, but kept going, flying further out into the lake, keeping Twilight just barely above the water level. Now, instead of struggling, Twilight clung closer to Rainbow, desperately trying to put more distance between herself and the water. After what felt like ages Rainbow stopped in the air, grinning devilishly as she slowly loosened her grip on Twilight.
“Rainbow Dash, you better not let me go,” Twilight warned, giving her the most threatening glare she could from her position.
“Or what?” Rainbow asked defiantly, letting the unicorn slip a little closer to the water’s surface.
“I’ll get my revenge,” Twilight said menacingly.
“Yeah, somehow I doubt that.” Rainbow’s grin widened before she let go entirely, dropping the lavender mare into the lake. The resulting splash was music to her ears.
Twilight resurfaced moments later, sputtering and desperately whipping her newly soaked mane off her face. Rainbow couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. Unfortunate for her, Twilight heard this laughing, and shot her gaze up the pegasus still hovering above the water. With a flash over her horn she grabbed Rainbow’s tail in her magic and dragged the laughing pegasus into the water before she had time to fly higher.
When Rainbow broke above the surface of the water she shot a stern glare at the unicorn that had pulled her in. Twilight, for her part, simply laughed harder at the pegasus’s face. Rainbow held her glare for a second longer before losing her composure and laughing along with Twilight. Together they laughed at each other and themselves, floating in the sparkling blue lake.
Twilight was first to regain control of her laughing, shooting a sly smile at her partner in the water. “I told you I’d get revenge.”
Rainbow smiled and shook her head in disbelief, chuckling lightly. “Yeah, but now I need to get more revenge for that.”
“And how do you intend to do that?” Twilight asked with a cocked eyebrow, watching as Rainbow started to turn away from her.
“Like… THIS!” Rainbow shouted, dragging her front hooves just below the surface of the water as she snapped back to face Twilight. Her hooves caused a large sheet of water to peel off the surface of the lake and fly at the unicorn’s head. Twilight covered her face with her hooves, giggling helplessly as Rainbow turned and threw yet another wave of water at her.
Eventually, she focused enough of her magic to launch a counter attack. Scooping as much water as she could into her magic from around her Twilight fired two large waves, aimed expertly at the pegasus still flinging volley after volley of water at her. From behind her hooves Twilight heard the large splash; slowly she lowered her hooves, revealing Rainbow Dash, looking as if she had just been hit by a monsoon.
“Remind me to make a ‘no magic’ rule next time,” Rainbow muttered, wiping her mane out of her eyes once again.
“Hey, you started it,” Twilight giggled, shrugging her shoulders as Rainbow began making the short journey to the shore.
“I did not! You dropped that ball of water on me!” Rainbow protested as Twilight began to follow.
“True, but that was for hiding all my ink last week,” Twilight retaliated with a grin.
Rainbow opened her mouth to argue, but all that came out was more laughter. “Yeah, but that was hilarious.”
Twilight muttered something under her breath as she waded out of the water and onto the beech, her water logged coat weighing her down as she slogged further from the water. After making it out of the lake’s range, she flopped down onto the warm, soft sand, rolling over onto her back, letting the sun slowly dry her coat. Rainbow sat down next to her, ruffling her feathers to get at least some of the water out.
Twilight hummed happily, letting her body relax and closing her eyes as she lay on the sandy shore.
“Taking a nap are we?” Rainbow asked with a chuckle, drawing Twilight out of her reverie.
“I don’t know; do you have anything else planned?” Twilight asked, rolling back over onto her belly and looking up at the pegasus.
“Well, I did bring the new Daring Do we’ve been reading together.”
“Oh, let’s keep reading that!” Twilight said excitedly, grinning up at Rainbow as she walked over to the picnic basket. She returned a few moments later with a book clenched in her jaw. Twilight took the book in her magic, opening it to the marked page and setting it down in front of her. Rainbow walked over and lay next to her, their damp coats rubbing against each other as they got comfortable.
After a second of fidgeting, Rainbow spread her wing around the unicorn, her feathers rapidly drying from the warm summer air and the sun’s rays. Twilight smiled in gratitude, turning and giving the pegasus a quick kiss before turning to the book.
“Daring Do and the Staff of Dreams, chapter 4; The Temple of the Shaman,” Twilight read aloud, as Rainbow snuggled closer to her, resting her head on a lavender shoulder as Twilight read.
-_-_-_-
“You’ll never get away with this!” Daring yelled, struggling against her bonds.
“Oh, but I already have. Without the Staff of Dreams you are powerless in the dream-realm and unable to escape-”
Twilight paused her reading, yawning loudly.
“Getting tired Twi?” Rainbow asked with a smile, grinning wider as Twilight’s cheeks lit up in a blush.
“I think it’s about time we head home; the sun’s going down,” Twilight said, floating her bookmark back into the book and snapping it shut. With a flick of her horn she placed it in the basket, closing the lid after it.
“Yeah,” Rainbow agreed with a nod, standing and stretching out her limbs. She brushed the sand that still clung to her out of her coat and mane, having dried off a long time ago. Twilight did the same, using her hooves to shake the sand out of her mane.
Rainbow grinned as she watched Twilight struggle to brush the sand off her back, having totally forgotten about her magic in the moment. With a sly smile Rainbow extended a wing.
“Need some help with that?” Without waiting for an answer she gently ran her wing down Twilight’s back, taking the sand with it. Twilight shivered at the touch, the downy feathers tickling her skin.
“Rainbow!” Twilight whined, fidgeting as the pegasus continued to brush her off, unknowingly tickling the unicorn in the process. Rainbow chuckled, reaching her other wing around. No longer brushing the sand out of Twilight’s coat, now she was just doing it for her own amusement.
“What’s that?” Rainbow asked with a smiling, moving her feathery touch down to Twilight’s ribs. The unicorn lost it. She burst out laughing, desperately trying to cover as much of her body as possible, but every time Rainbow found somewhere else to attack with her wings.
“R-Rainbow!” Twilight panted out between waves of laughter.
“I can’t quite hear you.”
Gathering what strength she could, Twilight righted herself onto her hooves and sprung off the sand. She tackled the pegasus head-on, sending them tumbling across the beech. They came to a stop next to the picnic basket with Twilight on top, pining Rainbow to the sand. With a sly smile, Rainbow shifted her weight, twisting and throwing Twilight off of her. In a flash she was once again on top, grinning down and her captured victim.
“Do you surrender?” Rainbow asked, beaming down at the unicorn pinned to the sand.
“Hmm, I don’t know. Should I?” Twilight said with a sly smile.
“Yes; you have no hope of escape now.”
Suddenly, Twilight lunged forward, locking lips with the pegasus on top of her. Rainbow leaned down into the kiss, giving Twilight the opening she needed to flip herself around, regaining her position above the cyan mare.
“Hey! No fair!” Rainbow complained, pouting as their roles were reversed.
“You know what they say; all’s fair in love and war,” Twilight said cheekily, climbing off of the pegasus and offering a hoof up. Rainbow accepted it, only instead of using it to pull herself up she pulled Twilight down, instantly rolling on top.
“Then so was that,” Rainbow grinned. Twilight just chuckled, accepting defeat.
“I surrender,” she giggled. Rainbow smiled, climbing back to her hooves and helping Twilight up off the sand. Once again they brushed the sand off themselves – though this time Twilight remembered to use her magic.
Twilight looked up to the sky, watching as the sun slowly sank beyond the horizon. The oranges, reds, yellows and purples lit up the sky in a brilliant light show of colours. The light refracting off the sparkling blue waters of the lake made the scene perfect in Twilight’s eyes.
“Hey, we going home or not?” Rainbow called, having walked a ways down the path before he noticed Twilight wasn’t following her.
“Hmm? Oh yeah, I’m coming,” Twilight said, galloping to catch up to her rainbow maned partner as they resumed their walk back into town.
“Hey Rainbow?” Twilight asked, breaking the comfortable silence they had been sharing.
“What’s up?”
“What’s it like to fly?” Twilight asked curiously, tearing her eyes away from the sky to look at the pegasus next to her.
For a while Rainbow was silent, contemplating the question quietly. What was it like to fly? She had never been asked that question before, most ponies just made their own assumptions about it, or could actually fly themselves.
“Honestly, I can’t describe it,” she said finally, frowning at Twilight’s disappointed look. “But I know how you can find out for yourself.”
“How?” Twilight asked curiously, cocking her head as Rainbow stopped walking. With a few flaps she took off, hovering a few feet in the air.
“Like this,” she said simply, crouching down to the ground a motioning to her back with a wing. “Get on.”
“Are you sure?” Twilight asked uncertainly, biting her lip nervously.
“Look, you wanna know what it’s like to fly. I can fly, it’s that simple. Now get on,” Rainbow insisted, staying crouched to the ground.
Swallowing her nerves Twilight accepted, gingerly climbing onto Rainbow’s back. Carefully avoiding her wings, Twilight wrapped her front legs around Rainbow’s neck and climbed her hind legs against her hips.
“Ready?” Rainbow asked, craning her neck back to look at Twilight.
Twilight audibly gulped, nodding shakily.
“Hey, you wanted to know what it was like to fly, right?”
“Y-yeah, but I never thought I’d actually get to fly.”
“Well you do. Trust me, I’m not gonna let anything happen to you, alright?” Rainbow assured comfortingly, smiling as Twilight’s shaking stopped. The unicorn nodded once, taking a deep breath to silence her nerves.
“Alright Rainbow; I trust you.”
“Good, then let’s go!” Rainbow shouted, shooting off into the sky with her passenger. A scream was ripped from Twilight’s moth as they soared into the evening sky.
“RAINBOW!” Twilight screamed as they continued to climb, flying high above Ponyville. The wind whipped her mane behind her head and ripped the breath from her lungs. Her eyes burned from the buffeting winds, forcing her to close them.
Rainbow blew breezily through a cloud, dissipating it and showering them in moisture. Behind them her signature rainbow trail formed as she carried Twilight through the skies above Ponyville. After flying above ever the cloud layers, she levelled off, slowly her velocity to a fraction of what she normally flew at. The lower speed allowed Twilight to open her eyes, which she did to glare at the back of Rainbow’s head.
“What were you thinking!?” Twilight screamed, “I could have fallen off!”
“Ah c’mon Twi, you know I would have caught you if you did. Besides, you didn’t, and that was the easiest and fastest way to get up here,” Rainbow said, turning her head to smile cheekily at her passenger. Twilight kept up her scowled until she took notice of the scenery. In an instant her expression changed from angry to amazed as she took notice of Equestria laid out below them.
Slowly, her eyes followed along the contours of the ground below them to the sunset behind them. She gasped as she gazed at the sight of the evening sun setting behind the mountains. If she thought it was beautiful on the ground, then it was gorgeous in the air.
“It’s…” Too awestruck to come up with the word, she remained silent as she watched the last rays of the sun fade away. Slowly the brilliant orange sky changed to a light lavender, slowly dimming to a deep purple, eventually becoming the black of night. All of it unfolded before her very eyes, high above what any normal unicorn would ever be able to witness.
“Awesome?” Rainbow offered, grinning at the slack-jawed stare on Twilight’s face.
“Yeah,” she breathed, shaking her head firmly to draw her mind back to reality.
“Hey Twi, you trust me, right?” Rainbow asked, looking over her shoulder to gauge Twilight’s reaction.
“Of course, Rainbow.”
“Then hang on, I’m gonna try something I think you’ll love.”
Twilight answered not in words, but in clamping down harder around Rainbow’s neck and hips, resting her head on a cyan shoulder. Rainbow smiled, as she started pumping her wings harder, slowly building speed. They passed Ponyville’s outer limits on the opposite side of the lake, but she kept going, building more speed. Suddenly, she banked, coming around back over Ponyville.
She felt Twilight bury her head into her neck, no doubt closing her eyes from the wind. She flared her wings, instantly changing her momentum from forward to up as she flew straight into the sky. Throwing her weight back, she flipped over onto her back with Twilight hanging on. After as second of flying upside down the continued to lean back, going into a dive.
They shot towards the ground, gravity aiding their decent as they closed in on the ground. Twilight risked opening her eyes to see the ground rapidly approaching. Instantly her eyes shot open, her mouth doing to same as she screamed, hugging Rainbow as tightly as she could. Taking that as her queue, Rainbow pulled up, coming out of the dive straight into a loop, once flying upside down for a split second before continuing, levelling off in the direction of the lake.
Twilight’s screams had turned into joyous laughter at some point during her stunt. She smiled with pride before pulling up again, readying for another trick.
Twilight laughed. She laughed, she screamed, she yelled and shouted. She did everything she could as Rainbow did trick after trick through the sky above Ponyville. Never before had she experienced anything so… exhilarating. She felt the adrenalin coursing through her veins as Rainbow pulled up for another loop. She felt the weightlessness of free falling, before the extreme G-forces of pulling up. She felt free.
The freedom of being able to do anything. The freedom of not having a care in the world. The freedom of flying through the skies. The freedom of being safe. She felt it all and more as she soared through the sky. Barrel roles, corkscrews, loops and dives, Rainbow did them all for her to enjoy. All for her to experience what it was like to fly.
Never before had she felt such joy.
Once more Rainbow levelled off, but she didn’t go into another trick. But she didn’t slow down either; instead she kept speeding up, going faster and faster. They shot past Ponyville’s limits, flying farther into the grasslands between the small town and Canterlot. Twilight, seeing what Rainbow was trying to do, made herself as streamlined as possible, squeezing her hooves tightly around Rainbow and pressing her chest against the pegasus’s back. Resting her head on her shoulder, she gave her marefriend a quick kiss before closing her eyes and waiting for it to happen.
She didn’t have to wait long. Seconds later she felt a force, pushing against every inch of her body, trying to force them to slow down. But they didn’t. They kept going faster, the force, in turn, getting stronger as they neared the sound barrier. Suddenly the forces stopped, the air no longer fought against them as they went screaming through the sky. Cautiously, she opened her eyes, looking back to see a brilliant ring of colour exploding out from a centre point. While half the Rainboom was its regular rainbow colour, the other half was almost pure lavender, with stripes of indigo and pink.
Beneath her, Rainbow noticed the colour as well, her smile growing as she banked around, heading back towards Ponyville and the rainboom that they had just created.
“Twilight!” Rainbow cried, swooping down and wrapping the unicorn in a bone crushing hug. Soon the unicorn was surrounded by her closest friends, all of them joining in the embrace.
“What happened? After you fixed all our cutie marks the elements hit you with some kind of magic and you were just gone!” Rainbow asked frantically, gripping Twilight tightly even as the rest of their friends stood back to hear the answer.
“I said no,” Twilight said simply, smiling as she returned the hug.
“Huh? No to what?” Rainbow asked curiously, finally releasing Twilight from her embrace and looking at the unicorn sceptically.
“To her destiny,” another voice answered from behind them. They all turned to look at the new comer, instantly falling into bows as they recognized Princess Celestia.
“What?” They gasped in unison, looking between Twilight and Celestia with shocked expressions. Celestia smiled ruefully, motioning for Twilight to explain.
“My destiny was to become an alicorn princess, like Celestia. I didn’t want that, so I said no,” Twilight shrugged, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. The rest of her friends were stunned into silence, gaping at the mare that had turned down being a princess.
“I must be going back to Canterlot to inform Luna of your choice, you two have some talking to do,” Celestia said with a sly smile, flaring her wings and taking off into the sky before lighting her horn and teleporting with a bright flash.
“Two? She does know they’re six of us, right?” Applejack asked curiously, glancing around to the rest of their friends, who all shrugged in puzzlement. Twilight just smiled, a light blush coming to her cheeks.
“Maybe she needs glasses?” Pinkie offered, earning face-hoofs all around.
“I highly doubt it, though if she did I could design a pair that would go perfectly with her mane,” Rarity said, already working on plans for Celestia’s glasses in her mind.
“Maybe she just misspoke?” Fluttershy asked quietly.
“It’s been a long day, and I’m sure everypony wants to know the full story, but how about we all go home for a good night’s rest and we can talk tomorrow, alright?” Twilight said quickly, trying to cut off the conversation before it could go too far. She sighed in relief as all her friends nodded, after some hesitation, agreeing to meet the next morning for a full explanation before saying their goodbyes and wandering home. All except Twilight, who stayed until she was sure everypony was out of earshot.
With a flick of her horn she caught Rainbow Dash in a magical glow, teleporting her back down to the ground.
“Huh? What’s up Twi?” Rainbow asked, furrowing her brow as Twilight started walking back to her library.
“The ‘two’ Celestia was referring to was us. Come back to the library with me.”
Rainbow cocked her head curiously but followed the retreating form of her lavender friend.
-_-_-_-
“So, let me get this straight. You said ‘no’ to becoming an immortal princess of Equestria, with pretty much limitless magical power, fulfilling your destiny, and becoming an alicorn, all for… me?” Rainbow asked again, mind still reeling from the revelation.
“Well, it wasn’t just you, but you were certainly a defining factor in my answer,” Twilight explained for what felt like the thousandth time.
“You said no… for me?” Rainbow repeated, more to herself then Twilight.
“Yes, Rainbow, I said no for you,” Twilight sighed, getting tired of explaining it over and over.
“But… why? I mean, I know I’m awesome, and we’ve been dating for a while. But I mean come on, immortal alicorn ruler of Equestria? How could you say no to that?”
“Because I couldn’t do it. For one thing I would probably have to move back to Canterlot, I would have a ton of new responsibilities to deal with, not to mention all the studying I’d have to do on politics and the judicial system. I wouldn’t have any time for you or the girls, and on top of that…” Twilight trailed off sadly, glancing away from Rainbow and down to the cushion she and Rainbow inhabited.
“On top of that…?” Rainbow gestured with her hoof for Twilight to continue, listening intently.
“On top of that… I’d be immortal,” She sighed finally, looking up to Rainbow with tears in her eyes.
“Yeah, that’d be awesome. I mean, think about how much time you could spend just napping without anypony telling you that you’re wasting your limitless time? Or, in your case, studying,” Rainbow said enthusiastically, losing her smile when she saw the frown on Twilight’s face.
“Yeah, and I’d see all my best friends die, and my brother, my parents… you… everypony except Celestia, Luna, and Cadence.”
Rainbow grew silent as she realized exactly what Twilight would have to go through. But it wouldn’t stop there; if she ever had a foal, she would be forced to watch them age and die. Anypony she ever met and could ever meet would die around her.
“I don’t think I could handle it, Rainbow. I couldn’t take losing you or any of our friends, especially if I knew I would never be able to join them in the after life.” Twilight felt a few tears slide down her cheeks at just the thought of what her life would be like. She couldn’t imagine what it was like for Celestia.
“Oh…” Rainbow was still dumbstruck as she watched the unicorn cry quietly. Finally, she regained enough of her thoughts to wrap a wing around her, hugging Twilight tightly to her side as an act of comfort.
“I don’t want to be forced to live on without you,” Twilight cried into her coat, wrapping her own hooves around Rainbow’s neck.
“Hey, it’s alright. You don’t have to; I’ll always be here for you. You know that,” Rainbow soothed gently, lightly stroking her hoof through Twilight’s mane. For a while they sat together with nothing but Twilight’s muffled crying as a backdrop. Eventually, Twilight grew quiet, and she pulled her head away from Rainbow’s shoulder.
“Thank you,” Twilight whispered, wiping the remnants of her tears away with her hoof.
“YAHTZEE!” Rainbow exclaimed gleefully, marking down her points on the sheet on front of her.
“What? But… b-b-but how? That’s three in a row!” Twilight gasped, staring flabbergasted at the dice displaying five fours. Spike sat beside her, just as shocked at Rainbow’s luck.
“I dunno, I just get ‘em,” Rainbow said with a shrug, passing the dice and cup to Twilight. “Anyway, that’s my last roll, you’re turn.”
Twilight took the dice in her magic, putting them in the cup before shaking it and dumping it onto the table. The only spot she had left on her sheet was for a full house.
“Hmm…” She mused, rubbing her chin thoughtfully as she regarded her less-than-spectacular roll. After a second of thinking, she took two two’s off to the side and put the rest back into the cup. After another roll, she managed to get another two, which she kept, along with a three. Putting the last die back into the cup, she shook it and rolled her final roll, squeezing her eyes shut as the plastic cube fell out and skittered across the table. When the sound stopped, she slowly cracked an eye open. It was a six.
“Damn…” She muttered, crossing out her full house slot and passing the dice to Spike, who took them and began his own turn, trying desperately for a yahtzee. While Spike took his turn, she looked to her score sheet, beginning to total her scores in her head.
“Five plus twenty-five is thirty, plus seven is thirty seven. Then eight is forty six… no, wait, that’s wrong…, thirty six plus eight is… no, where was I?” Rainbow muttered under her breath, cursing silently as she brought her eyes back to the top of the sheet and started again, her mumbling distracting the unicorn adding beside her.
After a few tries from Rainbow Dash, and losing her place and having to restart more times then she cared for, Twilight finally turned to Dash. “Need some help?” She offered sweetly, trying to hide her frustration.
“No, I can do this on my own,” Rainbow said defensively, glaring at Twilight for even suggesting she couldn’t do simple math.
“Then please be quiet about it, I can’t concentrate with you vocalizing all your addition.”
Rainbow snorted, but said nothing as she returned to her sheet, this time keeping her math in her head.
“YAHTZEE!” Spike yelled happily, disrupting both Rainbow and Twilight’s addition. They both glared at him coldly, his happy expression withering under their stern glares. “Sorry…”
Rainbow rolled her eyes and once again tried to add her scores together. However, after getting mixed up and losing her place more times then she could count, both Spike and Twilight were done and waiting not-so-patiently for her to finish.
“Now will you let me hep you?” Twilight asked again, growing impatient and tired of doing nothing while Rainbow tried to work through it.
“I said I can do this on my own!” Rainbow retorted, glowering at Twilight for a second before quickly snapping her attention back to her scores. She could do this. She had to do this.
“Rainbow, just let me help you, it’ll be much faster.” Twilight insisted, leaning over the table to look at Rainbow’s sheet.
“I can do this, Twilight!” Rainbow shot back, grabbing the paper in her hooves and turning away from the unicorn.
“I never said you couldn’t, it’d just be faster if I did,” Twilight said, standing from her chair and walking around to Rainbow’s side of the table.
“Back off Twi,” Rainbow warned, twisting away from Twilight’s prying eyes. The unicorn moved, trying to keep the sheet in her site long enough to calculate Rainbow’s scores, but before she could Rainbow would move it and try to hide it. Spike watched them go for a while before sighing and standing from the table.
“I’ll go make some cocoa,” he muttered as he passed them, neither of them giving him any attention.
“Come on Rainbow! Just let me see. Please?” Twilight asked, giving the pegasus her best cute-face in the hopes Rainbow would break. Unfortunately, tonight she seemed extra stubborn.
“I can do math on my own, Twi, just give me a minute.” Rainbow had to look away from Twilight’s expression; it was just too cute for her to say no to.
“Just show me!” Twilight insisted again, wrapping her hooves around Rainbow’s barrel in the hopes of holding her still. Unfortunately for her, she forgot Rainbow was a pegasus.
She started flapping her wings, slowly lifting herself into the air and away from the unicorn. Twilight’s grip proved stronger then she thought, however, as Twilight was lifted into the air with her.
“RAINBOW DASH! GIVE ME THE SHEET!” Twilight shouted, flailing her hind legs in the hopes of dragging the pegasus back to the ground. Rainbow stayed aloft despite her best efforts, inducing a stalemate.
“NO!” Rainbow yelled, trying to shake Twilight off but to no avail.
“Give it to me!”
“Let go of me!”
“Let me score for you!”
“Let me do it myself!”
Back and forth they bickered, like siblings over the last piece of Halloween candy. In the kitchen, Spike heard their argument, but ignored it and continued making the cocoa. Too many times their game nights had ended like this, especially when Twilight chose the game.
Grumbling about old married couples, he filled three cups with warm milk, adding cocoa powder to each of them and stirring it in. He placed one to the side for himself and carried the other two out.
“Get… OFF!” Rainbow shouted, bucking her hips in time with a powerful flap from her wings. Twilight’s grip proved insufficient as she was flung from the pegasus, sent flying through the air, straight towards Spike.
In the split second before impact, the small dragon briefly pondered why he bothered to get up that morning, why Twilight thought it was a good idea to play yahtzee, and the meaning of the universe. After that all that went through his mind was the pain of having a purple unicorn flung on top of you.
“HOT HOT HOT!” Twilight shouted, leaping to her hooves and desperately fanning herself in an attempt to cool the scalding cocoa that had effectively covered her entire body. Using what focus she could muster she reached her magic out to the kitchen sink, turning it on and gather cold water in her telekinetic grasp before bringing it out and dumping it on herself. She sighed as the burning sensation was replaced by a pleasant cooling one.
Rainbow, meanwhile, had dropped back to her sheet and placed her score sheet on the table, a table that was well in range of Twilight’s water ball. “Hey! You ruined my scores!”
“It’s not my fault you threw me into Spike!” Twilight protested, wringing out her mane with her magic.
“I wouldn’t have had to if you’d just let go!”
“I wouldn’t have needed to grab on if you’d just let me tally your scores!”
“You didn’t have to tally my scores! I can do that myself!”
“ENOUGH!” Spike shouted, silencing both parties. “Both of you are to blame for this, meaning both of you are going to clean it up. And besides, it doesn’t matter now; the scores are too wet and smudged to read.”
“But-” They both said simultaneously, but after looking at the glare Spike was levelling at them, they both decided it would be better to remain silent and accept their punishment.
“No buts. The mop is in the closet. I’m going to go into the kitchen, drink my cocoa, and go to bed.” With that, Spike whirled around and plodded into the kitchen, leaving two very downcast mares in his wake.
“I’ll get the mop…” Twilight sighed, walking over to the closet and extracting both the mop and bucket.
-_-_-_-
Twenty minutes later, the living room of Golden Oaks library was spotless. One could even say it shined with cleanliness. Two sweaty, tired mares stood in the centre, admiring their work. They shared a tired smile, both silently agreeing that it was time to go to bed, Spike having hit the hay some time prior.
Together they climbed the stairs to their shared room, crawling into their bed, eyes drooping as soon as their heads hit the pillows. Instinctively they squirmed closer to each other, both searching for the heat and comfort of another body pressed against theirs. Eventually they found it, with Twilight’s back pressed against Rainbow’s chest and cyan hooves wrapped around purple body.
“You should really just let me count next time,” Twilight whispered, earning a sleepy chuckle.
“Maybe I will.”
Together they feel asleep with light, relaxed smiles on their muzzles.
The words bounced and echoed through Twilight’s head. Every word, every syllable brought yet more tears to the unicorn’s eyes as she gazed down at the pegasus in the bed. The once strong, athletic mare was now a frail husk of her former self. Vibrant mane dimmed to ghosts of what they used to be, light cyan coat faded to an off-grey colour. Her bright, sparkling magenta eyes were now lifeless and hollow. But still, even now, she smiled.
“D-don’t say that!” Twilight protested weakly, gripping her lover’s hoof tighter. Rainbows hoof flexed weakly in her grip.
“But it’s true; I’m dying. There’s nothing either of us can do,” Rainbow said calmly, her voice rough and wheezy.
“That doesn’t mean we should give up!” Twilight yelled, holding Rainbow’s hoof like it was her last hope to live. And in many ways it was. Even though she knew what Rainbow said was true, she still argued, she still fought. She wasn’t even thirty yet! Why should she have to die? Just because some inoperable tumour had shown up didn’t mean anything! Just because the chemotherapy didn’t work didn’t mean that nothing would.
“Why should we fight something when we can’t win?” Rainbow asked plainly, staring blankly at the unicorn beside her.
“Because we might win. Like Discord. Like Nightmare Moon. Like Sombra, even Chrysalis we fought. We fought when anypony else would have given up. And we will fight now.” Twilight stated firmly, her face contorted in determination.
“It’s not gonna work, Twi,” came Rainbow’s breathless reply, her small smile replaced by a frown.
“You can’t give up, Rainbow!” Twilight insisted, pleading with eyes that Rainbow refused to meet.
“I already have, Twi,” she sighed, letting her head fall back to her pillow, her shallow breathing suddenly interrupted by a coughing fit, the distinct coppery taste of blood filling her mouth.
When she regained control of her lungs, Twilight was gone. Before Rainbow could even call for her, Twilight was back with a pop and a flash of light. Tears were streaming down her face as she took her place in the chair next to Rainbow’s bed, a book floating in her magic.
“What’s that?” Rainbow asked, motioning toward the book with a limp leg.
“Something I want you to hear,” Twilight said simply, cracking open the cover and flipping swiftly through the pages. She found her page and held the book steady, clearing her throat and beginning to read.
“Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
Twilight’s voice cracked throughout the lines of the poem, and still she continuity, never once stopping to regain composure or to dry her tears.
“Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night.”
A sob broke its way out of Twilight’s lungs as she finished another stanza. She cleared her throat, struggling to keep speaking as she continued.
“Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
Rainbow stared at the unicorn beside her, her mind hanging off every word spoken.
“Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night.”
Twilight glanced briefly up from her book, looking for some kind of reaction from the pegasus she was reading too. Still, Rainbow’s face remained stoic and unreadable, so she continued.
“Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
The words danced and played in Rainbow’s head. How could such a beautiful poem be about something so… grim?
“And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
As the last word was spoken, Twilight dropped the book to the floor and broke out sobbing, grabbing Rainbow’s hoof back in her own and squeezing. Rainbow herself remained still, letting her mind slowly churn over the words of the poem.
-_-_-_-
“Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” Twilight finished closing the book and wiping the tears from her eyes. Every day for the past two weeks she had read that poem to Rainbow, hoping that it could somehow get through to her. Somehow convince not to accept the death hey both knew was coming.
She set the book down on the table beside the bed, the light sound of snoring emanating from the bed. Twilight smiled lightly, reaching a hoof out and gently stroking Rainbow’s mane, the Pegasus murmuring in her sleep at the contact.
As Twilight started to stand from her chair, she felt Rainbow’s hoof grab her own, holding her still.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” Twilight apologized, sitting back down in the chair now that Rainbow as awake.
“Don’t worry, I wanted to tell you something anyway,” Rainbow paused, taking a deep, wheezing breath before continuing.
“I don’t want to die.” She whispered, opening her bleary eyes and looking to the unicorn before her.
Twilight smiled weakly. “None of us do.”
“No, I mean… I don’t accept it; I’m gonna keep fighting.” Rainbow smiled, giving Twilight’s hoof a gentle squeeze. “For you.”
Twilight’s smile widened.
-_-_-_-
A lavender unicorn trotted up the hill towards the hospital like she did everyday. Nothing about that day was particularly interesting. The sun rose like normal, the birds chirped like normal, the wind blew like normal. By all accounts, it was a normal day.
Twilight frowned as she stepped thought he doors into he hospital. She was tired of seeing this place. She didn’t know how many times she had walked in or out of those doors, but she was sick of it; walking in those doors only ever meant one thing.
“Miss Sparkle?” Somepony asked. Twilight turned to the unknown pony, revealing him to be a brown stallion in a lab coat. A doctor. More specifically the doctor assigned to Rainbow. Her frown deepened with worry.
“That’s me,” She said, walking a little closer to him.
“It’s about Rainbow Dash, she-”
Immediately Twilight broke down. She didn’t need to hear the rest to know what had happened. Already she knew Rainbow was dead. She collapsed back onto her haunches, struggling to regain enough composure to continue talking to the doctor. She felt a hoof gently rest on her shoulder. She lifted her head, her eyes meting with the doctor’s.
“Twilight, she’s not dead!” He insisted, giving her shoulder a tight squeeze.
“W-what? Then what happened?” Twilight asked, her tears halted by confusion.
“We don’t know for sure, but the cancer is… well, gone. We don’t really know what happened, but according to her latest scan, she’s cancer-free. Our best guess is that the chemo had a delayed effect on the cancer, which does happen from time to time.”
Twilight had stopped listening after ‘gone’. He previous tears of grief replaced b those of happiness.
“Can I see her?” She asked enthusiastically, grinning through her joyful tears at the doctor.
“Of course, she just got finished with a few more tests,” he said, smiling kindly as he motioned for her to go ahead. She shot off, galloping down the hall to Rainbow’s room.
“RAINBOW!” She cried as she burst through the door, finding the pegasus in her bed. Already she looked healthier. Her coat was now more blue then it was gray, her mane and tail her beginning to return to their natural rainbow colours and her once dime, dead eyes now shone with life and excitement.
“Twi! Twilight! I’m cured!” Rainbow shouted, leaping out of her bed and tackling the unicorn in a forceful hug, Twilight happily returning the gesture.
“I know, Rainbow.” Twilight sighed, hugging Rainbow tightly and crying into her shoulder. “I know.”
“Hey, why are you crying?” Rainbow asked curiously, more then a little worried.
“I’m just so happy. I… I thought I was going to lose you.” Twilight sobbed harder into Rainbow’s shoulder as the pent up fear of months came pouring out.
“Hey, you aren’t gonna get rid of me that easily,” Rainbow boasted, her usual bravado back in full force. “The Doc’ says I need to stay under observation for a few more days then I’ll be able to go home. It’ll take me a while to fully recover, but he says I should be fine.”
“That’s great, Rainbow,” Twilight said, pulling her face away from Rainbow’s shoulder and smiling brightly at the mare herself. Something behind them caught her eye. She craned her neck, looking around Rainbow to the table beside the bed; on top was her poetry book.
“Do not go gentle into that good night…” Twilight muttered, smiling at the book.
“Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” Both Twilight and Rainbow said in unison, smiling at each other. Together they leaned forward, their lips meeting in a gentle, yet passionate kiss.
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Time is a funny thing; it’s so simple, yet complex at the same time. For every tick of the clock, there is a tock just waiting to follow. And after every tock is a tick. Round and round the cycle repeats, never stopping never slowing, always the same. And yet with every tick and tock new things happen, so no tick is the same as the last, nor is any tock.
Twilight’s eyes blinked open slowly, the misty fog of sleep clearing from her vision to reveal the light of dawn seeping in through her window. As she lay there, her body and mind slowly waking, part of her wanted to fight it, to drift back to the land of dreams that had so often been her escape from the real world. Yet still she knew the world would march on around her, whether she was asleep or not. With that argument in mind, she began to prepare herself for another day of life in Ponyville. That is, until she remembered the breathing mass of cyan fur behind her.
That breathing mass that had been with her every step of the way; through the thick and thin and the hard and easy. If Twilight was there, so was Rainbow Dash. The opposite was true as well, of course; if Rainbow was there, Twilight was too. If Twilight was upset about something, Rainbow would be right there with her, lifting her back up. Some times were harder then others, of course, but they managed to push through every time.
A smile grew on Twilight’s face as she thought of the sleeping pegasus behind her. Carefully, she rolled herself over under the covers, coming face to face with her lover.
Time will always continue to flow, no matter what we ask of it. The fact that we can interact with it at all is a miracle in its own right. But even the most advanced of time spells have a limited duration. The current is simply too strong to allow anything more.
Rainbow’s face was that of relaxed bliss. A small, almost unnoticeable smile graced her lips, giving her peacefully closed eyes a happier look. Perhaps, in the real world, Rainbow wasn’t as happy as she appeared. But right now, in whatever dream she was having, she was happy. That smile told no lies. That smile convinced Twilight to spend just a little more time in bed.
Just a little longer with the pegasus couldn’t hurt anything. For now time could be ignored. It was just them in their own little bubble of paradise, even if Rainbow wasn’t awake for it.
Perhaps that is why time is such a powerful thing. Constantly pushing on us, wearing us down into different shapes, like a stream erodes its banks. Constantly shifting shape, smoothing the edges, changing its features. With its constant flow it brings both the best and the worst. As it wears down another layer, a new one is revealed. Neither better nor worse than the last one, simply different. Maybe this is why ponies change; because time has worn them down too much to be the same.
Twilight was once again thrust back to the land of living by a knocking on the door. A knock both solid and gentle at the same time. The sound echoed through the library, giving it an almost sorrowful tinge.
With a mix of curiosity and annoyance Twilight rose from beneath the covers, careful not to wake the sleeping pegasus, and slowly made her way down the stares. She briefly considered brushing her mane or getting Spike to answer the door, but decided against both options; whoever had the nerve to knock this early in the morning could feel her full wrath.
As she rounded the bend in the stares to the main room of the library the knocks sounded yet again.
“Coming,” Twilight grunted, already preparing to chew out the pony at her door. She made her way quickly across the ever-tidy library and to the front door. With a glow of magic she flung the door open, instantly her annoyed grimace fell from her face, replaced by shock.
Maybe it’s good and maybe it’s bad, but it will never end; the slow, eternal march of time. Singular ponies will be lost amongst its waves. But the bonds ponies shared, they will never be washed away, no matter how long they are subjected to the current. Those bonds will last forever, whether they are remembered or not. If two ponies meet, even just once, they have a bond that will never disappear. They may never meet again, but that bond is still there. Just waiting to be found and strengthened.
On the other side of the old, oak door was a site Twilight thought she would never see again. A site that brought tears to her eyes, fear to her mind, and anger to her gut. On the other side of the door stood Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy.
Not knowing what do to, she simply stood, an unreadable expression of neutrality on her face as she regarded the four ponies outside her tree library. Ponies she hadn’t seen in a month. Ponies she had once called friends, who had turned their backs on her and Rainbow, were now standing on her doorstep. Each one looked hesitant, yet hopeful.
The first to speak was Applejack, the farmer clearing her throat and removing her Stetson. “Twilight… is Rainbow here?”
For a second Twilight hesitated. Why were they here? They had made their opinions well known that day, a month ago, at the lunch that had ruined everything. That single gathering that had almost single-handedly destroyed Twilight’s life.
And if those bonds are found, they can be strengthened. One way or another, if a bond can be formed, it can grow stronger. All it takes is a little time and a lot of care. In the end it all comes back to time. Time strengthens bonds and weakens them. Time makes friends and takes them away. The ticking and tocking of a clock like the heartbeat of a living thing with a mind of its own. And maybe it does have a mind of its own. Maybe time is sentient. But we’ll never know. All we can do is pray it’s on our side.
“Yes, she is,” Twilight answered slowly, regarding all four mares with a sceptical gaze. “But she’s sleeping right now.”
“Who’s sleeping? I’m… not…” Rainbow’s sentence died in her throat as she saw who was standing outside the door. In a flash her previously cheerful demeanour was gone, replaced by a fury unmatched by anything any of the mares had ever seen. She didn’t even say anything; it was all in her eyes. The fire that was in them, daring anypony there to speak out against her, challenging them to provoke her. That fury can only come from the sting of betrayal.
“Get out,” Rainbow breathed slowly; keeping her eyes locked firmly on the four ponies she once called her friends. Her wings flared out aggressively, the mares outside the door all took a step back, gulping nervously.
“Listen, Rainbow, we just wanna talk,” Applejack said carefully, visible sweat forming on her brow as the pegasus glared holes through her skull.
“What is there to talk about?” She snarled again, taking another step towards them.
“We are so, so sorry.” They all spoke in unison, shocking the anger out of Rainbow’s eyes.
“Y-you’re what?” Twilight stuttered, stepping up beside her marefriend and looking over the four faces cowering in front of her. They were earnest and hopeful, those of mares seeking forgiveness.
Six mares sat in the middle of Ponyville’s Golden Oaks Library. All together they formed a circle. The mood was clearly tense, the awkwardness of the whole situation thickening the air around them. None of them knew where to begin, or even what to say at all.
“So…” Rarity started slowly, her ever elegant composure giving her a leg up on the rest of the ponies. Used to functioning under stress, she took the floor, clearing her throat before continuing.
“I think it’s pretty clear that we made a mistake,” she said, motioning to the other mares that had shown up on library’s doorstep a few minutes before.
“Ya think,” Rainbow snorted, her forelegs crossed defiantly. She wore an obviously displeased expression, her anger ever present.
“Yeah we do think,” Applejack retorted defensively, her competitive side getting the better of her as she rose to her hooves. “And if you can’t accept that then I have no reason being here.”
Rainbow matched her, her temper heating up as she stood. “Then you may was well leave, because I will never forgive you for what you did.”
“We’re not saying you should, all we want is for you to hear us out,” Rarity interjected, hoping to stem the argument before it could grow too heated.
“Give me one good reason,” Rainbow spat, her wings flaring out aggressively.
“Because we’re super duper sorry and we want you two to be our friends again?” Pinkie offered quickly, her hopeful statement bringing only more anger to the pegasus.
“Yeah right, you four made it pretty clear you didn’t want us as friends.”
“Ponies change,” Fluttershy whispered quietly from behind her mane, trying not to add more fuel to the already blazing inferno. Rainbow turned to face the shy yellow mare, a comeback already on her tongue. Instead, she stopped herself. She froze, just staring at the pegasus, Fluttershy having shrunk considerably under Rainbow’s gaze.
She couldn’t do it. Why couldn’t she do it? Why couldn’t she just say what she wanted to say and get it over with? Sure, it would hurt Fluttershy, it would hurt a lot, but not as much as what they had done to her. Nothing she could do would ever come close to that, so why couldn’t she do it? She couldn’t possibly feel bad about it; they deserved everything she could throw at them. Yet she just couldn’t bring herself to say it.
“Enough!” Twilight shouted, drawing all eyes to her, including Rainbow’s. She stood abruptly from her spot to address the gathered ponies, all of them sitting back down and waiting for the oncoming lecture.
“You four, wait here, and make sure you know exactly what you want to say to us. Rainbow, with me,” she said before quickly turning and trotting away. Rainbow sputtered uselessly for a few seconds, unsure of what was going on. She had little time to think before Twilight took matters into her own hooves and enveloped Rainbow in a magical bubble, forcefully dragging her away from the group and into another room.
The door shut with an abrupt slam after Rainbow had been pulled in. A quick soundproofing spell surrounded the room before Twilight fell back to her haunches, letting her magic fade from around the pegasus.
“What’d you do that for?” Rainbow asked accusingly, her anger still boiling just beneath her skin.
“Because if I didn’t then you’d just keep insulting them and we’d get nowhere,” Twilight answered simply. Rainbow stared slack-jawed at her.
“You’re saying that was my fault?” She gasped, disbelieving her own ears.
“No, it’s just… you’re both too stubborn to be doing something like this without at least a little outside help,” Twilight explained carefully, cautiously avoiding unintentionally implying anything that would set Rainbow off on her; that was the last thing any of them needed.
“Are you saying we shouldn’t be there?”
“No, just… gah. Alright look, we’ll go back out there, and when we do, how about you just let me do the talking? And if you feel the need to say something, try to say it the least offensive way possible,” Twilight offered, hoping to come to some kind of middle ground, at least enough to make a little progress with the group in her lobby.
“I say they need to be offended,” the pegasus spat, beginning to pace back in forth in front of the door in an effort to vent at least some of her anger.
“Why? Is what they did to us really so bad that you won’t even hear them out anymore?”
“It’s not what they did to us!” Rainbow shouted, suddenly spinning to look directly at the unicorn, hooves slamming down on the ground for added emphasis.
“It’s what they did to you,” she added quietly, falling back to her haunches.
“What do you mean? They did what they did to us, not just me,” Twilight said, walking over beside Rainbow and sitting down next to her.
“I mean I don’t care about what they did to me; my whole life I’ve been bullied and shunned because ponies thought I was gay. I’m used to it. You’re not.” Rainbow’s head snapped up as she felt a gentle pressure on her shoulder.
“Rainbow,” Twilight whispered slowly, her face fighting between a frown and a small smile. Eventually she gave up and flung her hooves around the pegasus in a tight, loving embrace, which was eagerly returned.
“I’m not saying you have to forgive them, Celestia knows I haven’t, but for now can we just put it aside? Nothing’s ever gonna get better if we don’t make an effort. They’re here; they’re making the effort to fix this, and we need to do the same.” Twilight held Rainbow’s gaze as she spoke, pulling back from the embrace. Eventually Rainbow sighed, her shoulders and wings sagging slightly.
“Only for you Twi,” she relented eventually, fully separating from the unicorn and standing.
“Good, now we should probably be going back before they come looking for us,” Twilight reasoned, standing and trotting over to the door. With a quick flash of her horn the soundproofing spell was gone and the door swung open. Rainbow followed her out and back to the small group of ponies in the main room.
“’bout time you two finished in there, what were ya doin’ anyway?” Applejack asked, voicing the question on everypony’s mind.
“That, for now, is none of your concern,” Twilight said breezily, rejoining the circle and sitting back at her previous position, Rainbow doing the same. Applejack raised an eyebrow at the response, but said nothing.
“Now then, have you determined exactly what you want to say to us?” She asked quickly, glancing around the circle as they fidgeted nervously, none of them quite willing to step forward.
“Well?” She repeated, tapping her hoof impatiently. Even Pinkie was uncharacteristically quiet, unsure of how exactly to phrase what they wanted to say.
“Um… well, I suppose the best way is to say it directly,” Rarity began, her ‘proper’ façade all but shattered under the expectant stare of Twilight.
“Yes, direct would be the best,” Twilight agreed with a nod. Still though, nopony spoke.
“We’re… sorry,” Rarity said after a long silence, looking between her friends in the hopes of getting some support.
“We were wrong to judge you like that,” Fluttershy added quietly.
“We don’t really expect you to forgive us,” Applejack muttered, obviously as uncomfortable with the situation as the rest of them.
“But we really are sorry,” Pinkie finished, her out-of-character seriousness bringing a slight frown to Twilight’s muzzle. For a time there was a thick silence blanketing the room. Eventually, it was broken, much to everypony’s relief.
“Well,” Twilight began slowly, chewing over the apology in her mind. “While I can’t say we forgive you, we do accept your apology. Right Rainbow?”
“Uh… yeah,” the cyan mare answered after some hesitation.
“Well, I guess for now that’s good enough,” Applejack grumbled. Rainbow was about to snap at her, but a stern look from Twilight prevented any action.
“Yes, well,” Rarity paused; coughing into her hoof to ensure everypony was paying attention, “Now that that’s over, what now?”
“Now?” Twilight asked, giving a sly smile to Rainbow before looking back at Rarity. “Now you work. You work to earn our trust again. You do that, and we’ll talk about forgiving you.”
A lone pony sat. Before her was a roaring fire, feeding from a small pile of logs in the small fireplace. The soft oranges and fierce reds danced around the room, the quiet crackling adding to the howling wind and pounding outside. Just beyond the wood walls of the tree the pony resided in was a terrible storm. Having rolled in from the Everfree a few days before, the storm had raged outside ever since. The Ponyville weather team was unable to contain it, so instead they warned the town to either evacuate or take shelter.
Twilight had sent Spike to Canterlot; his coldblooded body would have a hard time surviving the sudden cold snap. Without him the library was silent. She herself had decided to remain behind in Ponyville, intending on heading up a team of ponies to asess and repair any damages directly after the storm had passed.
Twilight walked out of her kitchen, two steaming mugs in her magic, to find Rainbow Dash in the same position she had been when the unicorn left; curled up on a pillow in front of the fire.
The pegasus had come knocking on her door – or rather crashing into her door – right after the storm had fully set in. She had been the last of the weather team to give up, fighting tooth and nail to protect her town from the storm. Unfortunately, the strong winds and pounding rain had eventually defeated even her, blowing her off course and directly into the library.
Rainbow’s wing had been injured on the rather rough impact with the door, making the flight back to her house impossible. But even if she could have flown home, Twilight would have insisted she stay. Just the thought of Rainbow out in the storm alone brought a shiver to her spine.
Suddenly, a deafening thunder crack sounded outside. It was so loud that the entire tree shook, almost causing Twilight to drop the mugs, and very effectively scaring Rainbow. The pegasus, who had been half asleep in front of the soothing fire, jumped at least three feet in the air, before her wings kicked in. After that, she was all the way up to the roof, a hoof help over her chest to slow her heart and calm her breathing. Twilight couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up egghead,” Rainbow said sarcastically as she lowered herself back own to the ground. She landed with hardly a noise before motioning to the mugs Twilight was carrying. “That the hot chocolate you promised me?”
The unicorn simply nodded, levitating one of the two over for Rainbow to grab. Twilight herself walked over and sat down on the pillow next to the cyan mare, much closer that ordinary friends would.
Though they were no longer ordinary friends. Ever since the first day Rainbow had showed up at her door, Twilight had been trying to talk to her. It had taken a while, but eventually she had built up the nerve to tell Rainbow about her real feelings for the brash pegasus mare.
To her shock, Rainbow had told her about her own feelings towards the bookish unicorn.
After that, it was all a bit of a happy haze for Twilight. Sure, she could remember what they had done, what they had said, what had happened, but she didn’t need to remember. All she needed to remember was how she felt at the time. And what she felt was a combination of joy, bliss, and love. Her own love, of course, and the love from somepony else.
All together, it had made her a very happy mare. The same could be said for Rainbow, now lying on the pillow, her side pressed up against Twilight, as she watched the fire. Her mug sat in front of her, next to Twilight’s, still steaming.
What they did after the storm ended didn’t matter right now. For now they had each other, and for them that was good enough to last them a lifetime.
But maybe it wouldn’t last a lifetime. Maybe what they had together would fizzle out eventually, but that was a possibility neither of them paid much attention to. For now they could be together. For now they could have hope.
For the time being they could sit together, cuddling on a pillow in front of the fire.
Twilight crossed her hooves and laid her head down on them, her eyes slowly sliding shut as the crackling of the fire lulled her to sleep.
“Hey Twi?” Rainbow asked suddenly, sapping the idea of sleep from the unicorn’s mind. She turned to face her winged friend with a quizzically raised brow. Instead of an answer, she got a light but passionate kiss.
I love you,” Rainbow said after pulling back, her cheeks a scarlet read as she smiled hopefully. Twilight’s lips curled into a smile as well before she leaned back.
For now they could be together under the firelight.
A sharp knocking rang through the Golden Oaks library. The sound echoed through the old wooden tree, the inhabitant of the library raising her head from the book in front of her. A knock during business hours meant one of two things; either it was one of her friends, or somepony new in town who really didn’t know what ‘public library’ meant.
For a moment she debated calling for Spike to answer the door, but knowing it was probably one of her friends roused her from the comfortable position at her reading desk. A few seconds later and she was at the door, enveloping it in a magical glow to open. When she did, she saw Rainbow Dash waiting on the other side.
When she saw Rainbow Dash, her jaw fell. The pegasus was, to put it kindly, an absolute mess. Her mane was disheveled – much more than usual – her wings were slack at her sides and her face was stained a blue much deeper than the rest of her coat. It took all of a second for Twilight to deduce what had happened; clutched in her mouth was a scroll, the Wonderbolt’s seal torn in two, signifying it had been opened.
Twilight felt a few tears well up in her eyes as she stood aside, silently inviting Rainbow into her home. Her friend did so without hesitance, eagerly getting out of the public’s judging eyes and into the private sanctuary of her marefriend’s home. As soon as the door was shut the pegasus was wrapped in a tight, bone-crushing hug. She did little but sling a limp foreleg around Twilight’s neck in response.
“I’m sorry,” Twilight whispered, holding the pegasus in her arms a little tighter. “I’m so sorry,”
Rainbow remained silent, basking in the loving embrace. For a split second, she forgot about everything. She forgot about what had been said in the letter, forgot about her problems; forgot about anything bad in her life. In that split second, nothing was real except the unicorn holding her. But reality came crashing back down on her with the force of a thousand boulders being piled on her back. The damn broke and she started sobbing into Twilight’s shoulder, the scroll falling from her mouth to the floor as her cries echoed through the library
Her hooves flew around Twilight’s neck, desperately clinging to anything they could as she cried. Twilight remained silent, doing what little she could to comfort the devastated pegasus. She new that nothing she could say would stop the onslaught of tears and wails, so she waited for them to stop themselves.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Spike slowly creeping his way down the stairwell. He gave the pair a confused look until he spotted the letter laying on the floor. He frowned in understanding, giving a nod to Twilight as he quickly and silently passed them, slipping out the door. For now, they needed their privacy. He’d be there for Rainbow when she wanted him to be. Right now, there was only one pony she wanted to see.
Slowly, the sobbing slowed, quieting to mere whimpers. “I’m a failure,” she muttered, more to herself than Twilight as she sniffled.
“You are not,” Twilight whispered back, quietly, but also firmly. Rainbow shook her head against her shoulder.
“I am; my only goal and I couldn’t achieve it. I am a failure.”
“You are NOT a failure,” Twilight repeated, louder this time as she pulled back to look directly into Rainbow’s eyes.
“Then tell me why I couldn’t make it in!” Rainbow demanded, raising her voice as the tears continued to stream down her face.
“I can’t tell you that, and you know that,” Twilight said sadly, shaking her head slowly.
“Really? Because I can tell you why I am,” she paused, reaching over and picking up the scroll. Unfurling it and holding it open.
“Dear Rainbow Dash, while your performance at the training academy was nothing short of spectacular, and you more than meet our physical standards, we cannot accept you into our ranks. Your ability to take orders from superiors is weak at best, and your constant boasting could potentially endanger one or more of your fellow performers. You have the qualities of an excellent leader, but a leader is not what we need. It is with this information in mind that we have made our decision, regretfully, to deny you entry to the Wonderbolts.
My sincerest apologies, Spitfire. If that’s not failing, then what is?”
“I…” Twilight stuttered, trying to find something, anything to say that would ease some of the pain her lover felt.
“Exactly. My Father was right; I’m nothing but a failure,” Rainbow spat dejectedly, letting the scroll fall back to the floor as she let her head hang, rainbow bangs covering her eyes as more tears slid down her cheeks. Twilight was about to wrap the pegasus in another hug when she realized what Rainbow has said.
“Wait, what do you mean your father was right?” She knew it was a stupid time to be asking such trivial questions, but for now it was the only thing she had to go off.
“He always told me I would never make it,” Rainbow started, sniffling loudly so she could speak clearly, “always told me I was just an ordinary pegasus. Guess he was right.” She laughed bitterly at the memory.
Twilight was stunned to silence. Her own father had said something like that to her?
“If there is one thing I know for sure, Rainbow Dash, it’s that you are anything but an ordinary pegasus,” Twilight reaffirmed, her strength feeding off her newfound anger towards Rainbow’s father. There were some things a parent should never say to their child. Essentially crushing their dreams crossed a line in Twilight’s mind.
“Then tell me why I failed!” Rainbow shouted through her tears, glaring angrily at the unicorn who refused to accept something so plainly obvious.
“Because they were wrong!” Twilight yelled finally, silencing Rainbow’s next argument. “They were wrong about you, and they were wrong to deny you entry. They were just plain wrong, just like your father. You are a great mare, a spectacular pegasus, and the one and only Rainbow Dash. They should have been honoured that you even applied to join them. It’s their loss own loss not letting you join.”
“But they are-”
“I don’t care who they are or who they think they are. You are Rainbow Dash. End of sentence. Best young flier, fastest pegasus alive, only pony outside of legend to do a sonic Rainboom, and element of loyalty. If they think they’re too good for you, then they’re just flat out wrong; it doesn’t get any better than you. And if they can’t see that, then you don’t need them. Every pony in town can see that you’re the best, anypony that’s ever met you knows you’re the best. Everypony that’s ever heard of you thinks you’re the best, and you are the best.”
Twilight’s tirade ended with a stomp of her hoof, giving an air of finality about her words. Rainbow sat in stunned silence, mouth agape as her mind churned over her words.
“But it was my dream, Twi. The finish line at the end of the race; my only true hope,” she protested weakly, bringing nothing but sheer determination to Twilight’s eyes.
“Then find a new goal. Because if they don’t want you, then they sure as hay don’t deserve you.”
“Aren’t you listening? They were my goal! My only goal! I can’t just pick a new one! They were it!” Tears were forgotten as she picked herself up off the floor, standing tall with her wings flared as she bared down on the small lavender unicorn. Twilight sighed dejectedly.
“Look Rainbow, I know it’s hard, but you really don’t have much of a choice here. Yes, you didn’t get into the Wonderbolts. And yes, they were your goal, but that doesn’t mean they have to be your only goal,” she reasoned, trying to keep calm as the pegasus kept up her tearful glare.
“Why? So I can fail at achieving that one too?”
Rainbow didn’t even know what hit her. In an instant Twilight’s hoof made contact with her cheek, snapping her head to the side and leaving a sharp sting in its wake. Twilight stood from the floor, her own tears streaming down her face as she dug her hooves into the ground.
“You are not a failure!” She shouted, practically shaking the library with the sheer volume of her voice, “I don’t care what the Wonderbolts say, what your Father said, or what you say. Rainbow Dash it not, not a failure. And so help me Celestia I will slap you till you wrap your head around that fact!”
For the second time, Rainbow was stunned into silence, her anger fading from her face. Twilight had hit her. Twilight, one of the gentlest mares she knew – beaten only by Fluttershy – had actually hit her. That fact alone was enough to jar her brain back into a somewhat logical state, allowing it to actually process what the unicorn had said.
“But… they said...” Rainbow trailed off, thinking back to what, exactly, the letter had said. “No buts, that is an undeniable fact,” Twilight proclaimed, hoping that this would finally get through to the ever stubborn pegasus.
“They said that… I’d make a great leader…” Rainbow started putting two and two together. Reading the letter through her mind, this time getting past the rejection and actually focusing on what had been written.
“See? That’s not failing,” Twilight encouraged in a gentle tone, hoping to keep Rainbow’s train of thought on the right tracks.
“I…” she paused, unsure of what exactly she was trying to say. “I… didn’t fail?” She looked up to Twilight, hoping for some kind of confirmation. Twilight nodded eagerly, glad that she had finally gotten through.
“I… didn’t fail,” she repeated, more to herself for her own sake that to Twilight. She took her time, processing the new found information. She hadn’t really failed, she just wasn’t in the Wonderbolts. They even said that they regretted not being able to accept her. They wanted to accept her! They actually wanted her! But then, why couldn’t they? Sure, she could be boastful, even to the extreme sometimes, but ever since the Mare-Do-Well incident she had been doing a much better job at keeping it in check, and when it actually mattered she had no problem taking instruction from a superior.
“Uh, Rainbow,” Twilight called, glancing up from the letter that had been discarded on the floor.”
The pegasus mare ignored her as she continued to question their choice. She had been nothing short of amazing in the academy! Why couldn’t they see what she was capable of? Her sorrow rapidly changed to anger; who were they to tell her she wasn’t good enough?
“Rainbow, I really think you should read this,” Twilight tried again, tapping Rainbow lightly on the shoulder. The pegasus jumped at the sudden contact, too involved in her thoughts to notice anything else.
“Read what? I’ve already read it over a million time, Twi, I know that letter inside and out,” Rainbow waved her off, wanting to find the solution to her current question.
“Not all of it,” Twilight said, holding up the letter by the top edge. The letter unfolded at the bottom, a not hastily scrawled at the bottom of the page.
“P.S. Though you may not have made it into our group due to your personality, I personally feel you would make an amazing instructor at our academy. Come see me in my office between 6 and 8 PM on business days and we’ll talk about a possible teaching position – Soarin” Rainbow read aloud, her eyes bugging out as she got to the end.
“No way, Soarin thinks I’d make a good instructor? At the Wonderbolt Academy?” She gaped, disbelieving her own eyes. “That’s like, the best flight academy in the world, only the best of the best are allowed to go there, never mind teach there! Not even the Wonderbolts teach there except the main squad!”
“See Rainbow? This was all you. You have the skill to be a teacher at the academy where they train Wonderbolts. I think that’s a bit higher ranked than being one, don’t you?” Twilight asked, wincing as soon as she said it. That might have not been the best thing to say. Rainbow’s ears dropped a bit, but she didn’t start crying again, instead she just sighed.
“Yeah, it’s higher ranked, but I still won’t be a ‘Bolt, Twi,” she said sadly, shaking her head a moment later. “But it’s not failing.”
Rainbow leaned forward, wrapping Twilight in a tight embrace.
“Thanks Twi, I don’t think I’d make it through this without you. And I’m sorry fr yelling at you”
“You know I’ll always be there for you, Dashie. No matter what.”
-_-_-_-
Rainbow burst through the library door, a scroll held proudly in her mouth. She was clad in the traditional Wonderbolt Academy instructor’s uniform – very similar to that of the army, but with no armor.
“Twilight!” She shouted around the scroll, zipping through the library, quickly finding the unicorn where she always was; reading a book at her desk.
“What’s up?” She asked, raising her head from her book. When she saw how excited the pegasus was, she closed the book, giving the mare her full attention.
“Spitfire gave me this today,” she said, passing the scroll from her mouth to her hoof and holding it up, allowing gravity to unravel it.
Twilight squinted at it, it looked like a certificate of some kind, but the writing was too small for her to see from such a distance.
“And that is?”
“Twi, it’s a certificate saying I’m in the Wonderbolts. I’m an honorary ‘Bolt, Twi. I’m going in the flier’s hall of fame!” Rainbow squealed excitedly, earning a loving smile from Twilight.
“That’s great, Rainbow!”
“I know, and the first thing I’m gonna do is send my dad a framed copy,” she smirked, earning a chuckle from Twilight.
“But before that,” Rainbow paused, walking over to a table and setting the certificate down before going back over to Twilight. She took her cap off slowly, taking a small box from within.
“I need to ask if you’ll marry me.” With a flick of her hoof the box popped open, revealing an intricately carved golden ring with a small diamond in the center. Nothing flashy, but beautiful none-the-less.
Twilight gasped practically tackling Rainbow in a hug as she shouted, “yes!”
-_-_-_-
A pegasus stallion sat in his small apartment, a photo album in his hooves. He flipped through the pages slowly, coming to rest on the most recent pictures. On the left side was a large piece of paper, proudly proclaiming the fact that Rainbow Dash, his daughter, was a Wonderbolt. On the opposite page was a small, hoof-written letter. Short, sweet, and to the point.
It was not more than three sentences, but it had such a profound meaning to the old stallion. It was an invitation to his daughter’s wedding. He snapped the book closed, laying it on the coffee table as he stood.
“I knew you could do it, Rainbow,” he chuckled to himself as he trotted to his room. He had a bag to pack and a wedding to attend.
Twilight smiled as she sat in her seat, eyes trained on the sky above the elegant coliseum in Canterlot. In the bright blue sky flew four pegasi, each with a blue and tallow flight suit and matching goggles. The other seats of the arena were devoid of ponies, the building empty except for her. A sign hung on the entrance, announcing the fact that it was a closed practice, only open to those who had a personal invitation from a member of the Wonderbolts. Twilight just so happened to be the marefriend of their newest member.
Rainbow Dash grinned down at the splotch of lavender among the white of marble. 6 months ago today she had received what was possibly the greatest piece of mail in her life; her acceptance letter to the Wonderbolts. One year ago today, she had asked the most important question in her life; Twilight Sparkle out on a date. Now she found herself flying high above Canterlot with the greatest stunt team in Equestria with her marefriend watching from below. She had everything she had ever wanted out of life and more, soaring through the crisp spring air without a single worry.
Glancing to her side, she saw Spitfire motioning for them to land. Following the rest of her team, she lopped back around to the stadium and descended, landing softly in the center of the ring.
“Good practice, except you,” Spitfire started, turning on her second-in-command. Soarin raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “You were clearly distracted by something. I don’t care what it is, but change it before our show on Saturday. Clear?”
“Ma’am,” He affirmed, giving a quick salute.
“Good. Rest of you, next practice is tomorrow at 8 AM. Don’t be late. Dismissed!” With a final whistle blow the Wonderbolt squad broke apart, most heading up and out of the coliseum to the hotel. Rainbow flew straight to the stands, landing in front of a grinning purple unicorn.
“So Twi, how was that for a show?” Rainbow asked, giving her signature cocky smile.
“You were great, Rainbow,” Twilight said as she wrapped the pegasus in a tight hug, pulling back to smile affectionately at her.
“Heh… yeah…” Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, her confident charade shaken by the sudden display of emotion. “I’m gonna go change, then we can go on our date, K?”
“Go ahead, I’ll be here,” Twilight smiled, sitting back in her seat as Rainbow nodded and made her way towards the locker room at the other end of the large stadium. Twilight continued to watch as her mind ran through the planned events for the night. One full year of dating that cyan pegasus had gone by in a blur, and still every date felt like their first. Everything thing they did, whether it was the second or hundredth time, felt just as amazing as the first. Time had little meaning to the two, the calendar nothing more than a reminder that time had indeed passed.
“Hey,” A new voice said, pulling Twilight’s mind out from itself and to the deep blue stallion standing in front of her.
“Soarin?” She asked, a little surprised at his sudden appearance.
“Hey Twilight. Where’s, uh… where Rainbow?” He asked, sitting down in the seat next to her.
“Changing. Why, did you need to talk to her?”
“No. No, I actually wanted to talk to you,” he said as he glanced around, ensuring they were alone.
“Oh? What about?” Twilight asked curiously, sitting up in her seat as she waited for him to start talking.
“Well, how long have you and Rainbow been dating?” Soarin asked slowly, making Twilight cock an eyebrow at him.
“One year today… why?”
“Really? A full year?” He asked, suddenly seaming more confident as he smiled gently.
“Yeah…” Twilight trailed off, eyeing him wearily as he continued to smile his gentle, oddly unnerving smile.
“You ever get… bored with her?” He asked boldly, smiling as Twilight’s eyes widened.
“Never! And if you’re implying what I think you are, you can just forget about it,” Twilight said firmly, levelling a venomous glare at the smirking stallion next to her. The fact that he had yet to stop smiling left an uneasy feeling in her gut.
“Are you sure, I mean,” he slid a very suggestive hoof over from his own lap to Twilight’s thigh, leaning his muzzle close to her ear, “you’d be surprised at what you miss out on being with another mare.”
Twilight squeaked, slapping his hoof away and standing from her chair. “Back off, Soarin,” she warned, her glare daring him to continue. He accepted the challenge, rising from his own seat and advancing a few steps.
“Rainbow will never have to know,” he took a few more steps, his confident smirk mere inches from Twilight’s harsh snarl.
“Last war-” Twilight’s protest was silenced as Soarin placed his hooves on her shoulders and forcefully pressed his muzzle against hers. Dazed by the sudden movement, she quickly regained her wits and pushed against his chest. Unfortunately, his physical strength was much more than hers, and he held her firmly in place. She started pounding uselessly against him, trying desperately to push him away. When that failed, she gathered what focus she could and charged her horn. With a blast of arcane magic the aggressive pegasus was knocked off his hooves and to the ground, falling on his back with a painful thud and sliding away from Twilight.
Soarin gasped, struggling to regain the air that had been knocked out of him. He quickly righted himself, matching Twilight’s death glare with one of his own. Twilight, too angered to form complete or coherent thoughts at this point, worked her jaw uselessly, trying to find the words to express herself. After struggling for a few seconds, she noticed Soarin’s glare had been replaced with a satisfied, malicious smile. When she gave him an odd look, he simply pointed up with his hoof.
Twilight traced a line extending from the hoof with her eye, extending straight up into the sky. The imaginary line eventually crossed with a very real one; a rainbow line painting a streak across the sky. At its tip was a cyan blur rocketing away from the stadium.
“Well, I guess you’re unattached now. So about that earlier offer…” Soarin started, keeping his devious grin the entire time.
Twilight’s head snapped back down to level an even more venomous glare at him. “If I didn’t have to go talk to her, you’d be a dead crab.”
With that final, very serious threat, Twilight was gone in a flash of light and magic, leaving a cheekily grinning Soarin behind.
“She’ll come back. They always do,” he said to himself, strutting away like he owned the world towards the locker room.
-_-_-_-
Burning wings screaming in protest, eyes stinging from the force of the winds, jaw sore from clenching. Rainbow Dash allowed these sensations to wrap around her mind, consuming it and dousing all other thoughts and feelings. These aching pains were so much less than the emotional pain she felt at this moment. So she worked harder, made her wings throb and her lungs beg for breath, because anything was better than dealing with the pain she was running from.
Yes, Rainbow Dash, world’s best flier and Equestria’s most awesome pegasus was running away. For the first time in her life, she felt no shame in admitting. After what she had just seen, she didn’t care. She couldn’t care what ponies thought of her. She didn’t care what happened to her reputation after this, she just had to get away.
Pushing herself faster and faster through the skies, a rainbow trail following her as she left the mountain city of Canterlot far behind her. Her hotel was there, but that was the last place she wanted to be. It was the same hotel shared by all the Wonderbolts. Including Soarin.
No, she needed to go someplace far away from him. Somewhere he wouldn’t be able to find her, somewhere she could be alone.
She went home.
Tank was there, waiting patiently for her return. Nopony was expecting her home for another week, nopony would think she made the trek all the way back to Ponyville. And even if they did, she could always pretend she wasn’t home.
Finally, she saw it in the distance; her very own cloudy sanctuary. Away from the hurt of the real world she had just experienced first hoof. Away from anything and anypony that would try to make her feel better. Nothing could make her feel better now.
Hardly slowing down she burst through the door, the air current behind her slamming it shut a moment later. She had eyes for only her bed and her blanket’s warm, comforting embrace. As she shot by the bare walls and empty rooms, a sense of dread began to fill her gut. She had moved in with Twilight months ago; all her stuff was in the library. Eventually she’d have to go back to get her things. It was a meeting she was dreading.
Shaking her head and pushing the thought to the farthest corner of her mind, she crashed down on her bed. Such thoughts could wait for later, right now she couldn’t even think of facing the unicorn. Instead she curled up around herself, ignoring the outside world as the first few tears began to fall.
Those first few tears grew to full-fledged crying, the hurt she felt too strong for the throbbing of her wings to cover up. Thoughts and questions swirled around her head. Each just another hammer strike to her already crushed heart. But one thought. One, single, most prevalent thought cut the deepest. Like adding lemon juice to a wound it burned and festered in her mind as she tried to think of answers for it, each one more painful than the last.
Why?
-_-_-_-
Rainbow wasn’t sure how much time had passed. She wasn’t sure how long she had been lying in her bed, begging for sleep but receiving only more tears. She wasn’t even sure if it was the same day anymore, her thick cloud curtains blocking any and all light from entering her room. But then, she didn’t really care. Spitfire would be angry at her for missing practice, but she didn’t think she could stomach flying next to him.
What frustrated her even more was the fact that these were new, foreign feelings. Normally, when faced with this kind of situation, she would feel anger, hatred towards the pony who had betrayed her and her trust. But this time, all she could feel was her hurt, her pain. She didn’t feel the urge to punch the pony who had done this, instead she wanted this to all be a dream. She wanted to open her eyes to Twilight’s beautiful smile, sitting across the table form her in a fancy Canterlot restaurant.
She was pulled from her perfect world by a loud, insistent knocking on her door. There were only a couple of ponies that would think she’d be home, and of the only a few of them had the means to reach her. Groaning, she rolled over and clamped her tear-soaked pillow of her ears, silently wishing the pony at her door would go away. But still, the knocking persisted, getting louder as time went on. Finally, she’d had enough, removing the pillow and taking a deep, shaky breath.
“GO AWAY!” She shouted. The knocking silenced instantly. Rainbow sighed thankfully at the silence, replacing her pillow and laying back down on it.
“R-rainbow?” Called a very quiet, very timid voice. If she didn’t know that voice as well as she did, she would have sworn it was Fluttershy at her door. But no, she would never be so lucky. Of course the only pony who would show up on her door would be the very mare she was trying to get away from.
Biting back more tears, she steadied her voice enough to say “Go away, Twilight.”
“Rainbow, please talk to me. It’s not what you think,” Twilight started to explain, though the thick clouds between her and Rainbow were making it difficult.
“Then what is it? Because it sure as hay isn't daisies and roses!” Rainbow snapped, anger filling her mind as it fed off her tears, turning them into rage at the pony on her doorstep.
“I… I’m coming in, ok?” Twilight called, slowly opening the door and stepping in to the front entrance. Rainbow remained silent, glaring out her bedroom door to the stairwell she knew Twilight would be ascending any second.
Sure enough, a lavender head poked around the corner of the cured staircase. Twilight climbed the stairs hesitantly, stopping just after reaching the top.
“What do you want?” Rainbow growled, rolling over and away from the intruding unicorn.
“I want to explain what happened, and what you thought you saw,” Twilight started gently, not daring come any closer than the doorway as she spoke.
“Really? You're going to regal me with a tale of how I jumped to conclusions? Or how I didn't get the whole picture? Save it, Twilight; I don't wanna hear it,” Rainbow spat; hate and malice dripping off her every word.
The words, and more importantly the emotions behind them, caused more pain for Twilight than any physical wound could hope to. Sighing heavily, she started again.
“He came onto me. I tried to push him off, but he's stronger than me, so when I kissed me I couldn't force him off. I used my magic to get him off of me, but I guess by then-”
“By then I had already seen it and flown away. Great story. But it's just that; a story. I don't know how you two got together, but from where I was standing, it sure didn’t look like you were fighting it,” Rainbow said bitterly, cutting off Twilight's story as she finally stood from her bed, on the opposites side of the door where Twilight sat.
“But it's not a story...” Twilight trailed off, seeing nothing but hate and pain in Rainbow's eyes.
“Just... stop lying to me. At least have the decency to tell me the truth after you've been caught.”
“But I'm not lying!” Twilight protested trying and failing to think of a way to convince the pegasus of her innocence.
“How long?” Rainbow asked quietly, ignoring Twilight's continued refusal.
“What?”
“How long have you been with him!?” Rainbow shouted. Twilight flinched, taking a step back towards the stairs.
“I-I told you; we aren't... I'm not...” Twilight crumbled under Rainbow's hard, icy glare.
“Stop lying to me!” Rainbow screamed, stamping her hooves against the cloud floor, sending up puffs of white water vapour around her.
“I'm not lying!” Twilight cried, hoping, praying for Rainbow to believe her.
“You are! I know you are! How long have you been with him? Ever since I got in to the Wonderbolts? Before? Did... did you...” Rainbow's voice dropped to nothing more than a whisper, eyes wide as she continued, “did you use him to get me in?”
“W-what!? No! I would never... never... Rainbow please, you know I would never do that!” Twilight was reeling as Rainbow started advancing on her, circling around the bed and crossing the small room towards her.
“I also thought you'd never cheat on me, and look how that turned out!” Rainbow's voice cracked as she yelled, strained from both her crying and the more recent shouting match.
“But I didn’t... I...” Twilight fumbled uselessly, searching for the right words that just weren't there.
“But you did!” Rainbow screamed, stamping her hoof as she stopped right in front of the unicorn. Twilight shrunk under fiery, rage filled glare, slowly back away.
“Rainbow, please,” Twilight didn't know what to do anymore. Nothing she could say now would convince Rainbow of anything, and continuing could only make things worse.
“Just get out Twilight,” Rainbow spat, adding an air of finality as she turned her back on the unicorn. Twilight gaped a the action, unsure of what she should do.
“Rainbow-”
“I SAID GET OUT!” Rainbow's voice boomed, silencing all further arguments as she walked away.
Twilight, tears slowly streaming down her cheeks, took one last glance a the cyan pegasus before charging her horn and teleporting away.
As Rainbow saw the flash and heard the pop from behind her, she allowed herself a heavy, strangled sob as she flopped back down on her bed. Her tears already coming back as she curled in on herself, regretting everything she had said and wishing she could undo everything.
-_-_-_-
Soarin took a step back, admiring his Wonderbolt flight suit hanging on a stand in his hotel room. Smiling confidently, he moved around the large, expansive suite rented for the stunt team. A large bedroom connected to an equally extravagant living area with a small kitchen with all the essentials. The plush carpet under his hooves and the large, glass windows facing out across Canterlot's nighttime skyline.
A knock rang from his door, drawing his attention away from his luxurious quarters and to the large, ebony door at the front of his living room. Glancing at the clock curiously, he made his way over. Silently pondering who would disturb him as such a time, he opened the door to satisfy his curiosity. His surprised, and slightly annoyed, grimace fell from his face, replaced by a smile as he recognized the unicorn at his door.
“Twilight!” curiosity. He cried cheerfully, moving to the side and motioning for her to come in. The unicorn, however, staid still as a statue in the doorway. Her jaw set and a determined, steely glare beaming out of her red, puffy eyes. With a single glance Soarin knew exactly what had happened, and that made him all the merrier.
“So I guess it didn't go so well, huh? I'm gonna go ahead and say she's to stubborn and hurt to believe you, am I right?” He asked with a glowing grin, his smile radiating out into the clean and crisp hallway.
“Actually, you are; she won't believe me. So I'm not going to explain to her,” Twilight said simply, finally taking the offer and walking into his room. Soarin shut the door behind her, following her and motioning for her to take a seat on his couch as he sat in a chair next to it.
“It's too bad. She can be really stubborn when she really wants to. But why are you here?” He asked, already knowing the answer.
“Because, while she won't believe me, she just might believe you,” Twilight stated, ignoring the couch and walking straight up the the chair he resided in.
“Uh... maybe, but why would I tell her anything?” Soarin asked with a curiously raised brow. He was not expecting that answer.
“Because I asked you to,” Twilight shrugged nonchalantly. Soarin burst out laughing.
“You...” he stopped, struggling for the air to both laugh and talk, “You really think I'd want to fix this?”
“Oh I know you don't, but here's the deal,” Twilight started, her voice suddenly taking a very menacing undertone and silencing the pegasus' laugh, “Unless you fly your feathery flank down to Ponyville and explain this whole mess to her, I swear to Celestia I'll turn you into a loaf of bread and feed you to the geese.”
Soarin's eyes widened a bit before he started laughing again.
“Yeah right, I doubt you have that kind of power, and even if you did, I doubt Celestia would be very happy with her prized student killing somepony.”
“Did you not hear me? I said I'd turn you into a loaf of bread. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that means there will be no body, and no body means no evidence. They'd never even suspect me,” Twilight growled, focusing a deadly glare on the pegasus still laughing in the chair.
“Uh-huh, I'm su-” THUD
A loud bang rang through the room as Soarin fell to the floor, the chair underneath him having vanished. Though, as he soon found out, it hadn't vanished. Underneath him was a very, very prickly cactus.
“OW! Ow ow ow!” He shouted, jumping up off the floor and desperately trying to brush the needles out of his flank with his wings, only to get more thorns caught in his feathers. After a few moments of pain, there was a flash and the chair returned, the cactus and all it's bristles disappearing.
“That was turning an inanimate object into a living plant. You really think it'd be that hard for me to turn an animate object into bread?” Twilight deadpanned. “Oh, and when you finish, tell her I'll be at my library,” Twilight smiled, but her cheerful expression was alone in the room. She glanced out the window to the dark blue night. The silhouette of a pony could be seen streaking across the sky to Ponyville.
With a confident nod, she charged her horn, gathering the energy required for the relatively long distance between Canterlot and Ponyville.
-_-_-_-
Twilight sighed as she set her book down on the coffee table. Spreading over the entire length of her couch, she stared up at the plain brown ceiling, silently waiting. It had been almost an hour since she'd left Soarin with his instructions, and she was beginning to think Rainbow didn't believe him either. Even at the best of times Rainbow was as stubborn as a mule, and this was certainly not a good time for her.
As the clock ticked slowly on the wall, Twilight's eyes were drawn to the hands, counting out the slow passage of time as night became morning. If this wasn't fixed soon Rainbow would end up missing her 8 AM training, and that would mean a possible one-month suspension. All thoughts of their one-year anniversary had fled from her mind. She didn't care about that anymore, all she wanted was to fix this. But even that was out of her control; it was up to the very pony that had caused it all.
While Soarin was the absolute last pony Twilight wanted to trust with fixing this, he was the only one who's words would carry any meaning to Rainbow. While Twilight might try to lie to save the relationship, Soarin would have no real reason to try and fix somepony else's, especially if the relationship falling apart gave him a chance at another mare.
'Disgusting pig' she thought idly, sneering at the memory of how he forced himself onto her, then laughed when Rainbow saw it. 'he should be fired for that kind of behaviour'
Twilight was drawn from her thoughts by the sound of fluttering wings, followed but he clopping of hooves touching down on the stone path outside her front door. For a moment there was silence, as if the pony on the other side of the door didn't want to knock. Then again, Twilight couldn’t blame her for being nervous about the coming conversation. Sitting up on the couch, Twilight watched the door, waiting for something to happen.
After enough time had passed, and Twilight had grown impatient, she decided to initiate the confrontation.
“You gonna stand there all night or come in?” She shouted, eyeing the door as it opened slowly. Sure enough, Rainbow timidly poked her head in through the doorway, glancing around the front room of the library.
“Twi?” She called weakly, stepping further in until she saw the unicorn sitting on the couch.
“I'm here,” Twilight said, waving a hoof to attract Rainbow's attention. “I take it Soarin came to talk to you?”
“Uh... yeah...” Rainbow rubbed her foreleg anxiously before stepping all the way into the library and closing the door behind her.
“And judging from the fact that you're here, I'm also going to assume he convinced you?” Twilight stood from the couch as she spoke, intending on meeting Rainbow halfway.
“Well... he kinda told me what you threatened him with... which was awesome, by the way,” Rainbow chuckled weakly, desperately trying to reduce the awkwardness of the situation. Her joke, however, did little to lift the tension in the air.
“Awesome? I threatened to kill a pony and you think that's awesome?” Twilight asked incredulously, making Rainbow backpedal suddenly.
“No! No that's not what I meant! I just-”
“Relax, Rainbow. It was just a joke,” Twilight giggled, earning a small smile from the pegasus. Unlike Rainbow's attempt, Twilight managed to lift at least some of the awkward blanket draped over the library, allowing Rainbow to semi-comfortably continue into the room, stopping in front of Twilight.
“Twi, I... I'm sorry,” Rainbow started shakily. Apologizing may not have been her strong suit, but sometimes they were necessary, and this was definitely one of those times.
“I know, and it's alright,” Twilight assured with a smile, resting a gentle hoof on a cyan shoulder. Her smile fell when Rainbow shied away from it.
“No; it's really not. I should have trusted you the first time. I should have believed you.”
“Really, Rainbow; it's okay now. You made a mistake; that's it. Just a mistake,” Twilight tried again, only for her guest's frown to deepen.
“But it's not! Had it been me instead of you that he came into, you would have believed me, right?” Rainbow asked, shrugging off Twilight's hoof.
“Well, yes, but-”
“But nothing! I should trust you just as much as you trust me, but instead I was too stubborn to see that you were telling the truth. All because I thought I saw something I didn't.” As she spoke, Rainbow gently lowered herself down so she was sitting, looking away dejectedly as Twilight sighed,
“Rainbow, I know you don't think so, but it's really ok; I don't-”
“And if calling you a liar to your face wasn't enough,” Rainbow continued, forcefully ending whatever it was Twilight wanted to say, “I also ruined our anniversary, which I know you've been planning for weeks. I'm gonna get a suspension from the Wonderbolts, since there's no way I'm making it back to Canterlot now, and I... I made you cry, Twilight,” she finished quietly, finally meeting Twilight's gaze with a teary one of her own.
“Rainbow,” Twilight sighed, sitting down herself as she rubbed the bridge of her nose with a hoof.
“No matter what you say, I can't forgive myself for that, no matter the circumstances.”
“Rainbow!” Twilight snapped, drawing a slightly shocked look for the pegasus as she silenced herself, “you're angry at yourself because you didn't trust me, right?”
Rainbow nodded gently, lowering her head in shame.
“Then start making up for it by trusting me now when I say you’re forgiven. Trust me when I say I'm not mad at you,” Twilight said firmly, but also gently, ensuring she didn't give Rainbow any reasons to doubt her. Rainbow lifted her head, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks as she stared at Twilight.
Twilight's heart twisted in her chest at the sight. Without warning or hesitation she wrapped her hooves firmly around Rainbow's shoulders, drawing the mare into a tight, loving embrace. This time, Rainbow accepted the contact, eagerly returning the hug with both her hooves and her wings.
“I don't care about my plans for our anniversary, it's just a temporary suspension, and I've already forgiven you,” Twilight whispered comfortingly into Rainbow's ear, eliciting another strangled sob from the pegasus wrapped around her.
“How did I end up with somepony as great as you?” Rainbow wondered idly, smiling through the dark stains running down her cheeks.
“By being as awesome as always,” Twilight giggled back, slowly pulling away from the embrace and smiling softly.
“I love you, Twi; I really don't say that enough,” Rainbow said bashfully, blushing and looking away as Twilight grinned playfully at her.
“Watch it, Rainbow, can't have you getting soft on me,” she mocked, earning a matching grin from Rainbow.
“You're the one turning me soft!” Rainbow protested. Twilight just chuckled, glad that it was finally over. Glancing up to the clock, she stood from her spot on the floor, realizing how late, or rather, early, it was.
“Come on; let's get some sleep. We can worry about the Wonderbolts tomorrow, okay?” Twilight, motioning for Rainbow to follow as she approached the staircase to the second floor of the wooden structure.
Rainbow nodded in agreement, climbing the stairs directly behind Twilight. Anniversary plans forgotten and destroyed, Wonderbolts impossible to get to, and a mare that loved her. Despite the chaos all around her, the stress of facing Spitfire's fury the next day, and anxiety of having to fly next to Soarin and somehow restrain from killing him, Rainbow Dash smiled. She held her smile high and proud as she crawled into the neatly made bed in the ever-organized room. Her smile never once fading as Twilight slipped in behind her, wrapping her hooves around Rainbow's barrel and resting her head on a cyan shoulder.
“I love you too, Dashie, and don't ever forget that,” Twilight whispered, Rainbow's smile growing as she made herself a promise to never forget. Even as sleep took hold of her mind and body, that happy, confident, comfortable, loving smile never once faded or faltered.
Rainbow Dash sat in a black void of near-perfect silence. The only sounds she heard was the slow, methodical beat of her heart and the melodic breaths passing through her muzzle. In a moment of serenity she sat for ages, clearing her mind. Her ears twitched like her wings, searching for the sound she refused to let them hear. Within that moment, that eternity, she was alone.
She opened her eyes.
“Mares and Gentlecolts!” A deep-voiced announcer boomed, muffled through marble walls. “What a turnout it is! We here at the Canterlot Coliseum are pleased to-”
She drowned him out with her own breathing, focusing on the gentle flexing of her muscles, visible through her skin-tight flight suit. Rainbow Dash smiled and stood up, marching out of the locker room.
“There she is!” Soarin cried, waving her over to where he and the two other members of the team stood. “I told you she'd be here.”
Spitfire rolled her eyes. “Nopony was doubting that,” she bit back, “I was just saying she has a tendency to show up right before we need to go out. We have twenty seconds tops.”
“Relax, Spitz,” Rainbow chuckled. “You'd fly a lot better if you weren't so tense every show.”
“You try relaxing when you have my job. Somepony's gotta keep you rookies in line.”
Rainbow grinned. “Remind me to show you how to relax like my mar-... ex-marefriend did.” She frowned slightly, though it lasted only a fraction of a second. “It works every time.”
“Keep focused,” Fleetfoot said, eyes forward on the giant doors in front of them. “We're going on soon.”
“I thank you all for your patience!” the announcer cried. “Now, just one last thing before we begin; we have a very special guest in the crowd today!”
Rainbow's eyebrows lifted in surprise as she turned to Spitfire who merely shrugged her shoulders, equally confused.
“Sitting in the royal box we are joined by Princess Twilight Sparkle herself in a surprise appearance!”
“What!?” Rainbow shouted, her heart suddenly pounding in her chest. Twilight's here!? Why?.
“What were you saying a second ago? Something about relaxing?” Spitfire asked smugly. “It's not like we've never performed for a princess before.”
Rainbow shook her head. “This... this is different. Twilight's never been to our shows after...” she trailed off and gulped audible as the massive slab of marble before her gave a groan and started lifting away.
“And now, without further adieu, The Wonderbolts!”
With practised ease the four pegasi flicked their goggles down over their eyes and took to the air, flying out beneath the door before it was even half open. Rainbow's heart thundered in her ears in time with the beating of her wings as she moved fluidly through the sky with practiced ease.
One eye remaining on her teammates, the other wandered the stands. It wasn't hard to spot the V.I.P. Box; it was a grand box with gold trimmings and chairs more akin to thrones with ample space between them. Sat in the centre most chair, wearing her full regalia, sat Princess Twilight Sparkle. Element of Magic. Princess of Friendship.
Rainbow Dash's ex-marefriend.
She swallowed nervously.
”Focus rookie!” Spitfire's voice yelled in her head. With a quick flare of her wings she kept pace with the routine, but from the look Spitfire kept giving her it was obvious she knew her head wasn't in it.
”I think this is best for both of us,” Twilight had said, with the kind of smile that betrayed no joy in what she was saying, ”I think this is what we both want, too.”
It was what she wanted. They'd needed to break up. It wasn't working.
At least, that's what she told herself. Every day for a month, every night when her bed felt too big, too empty.
It was what she wanted.
Rainbow Dash jolted and banked, nearly crashing into the side of the coliseum. However, her over-correction sent her careening back towards her wing-pony, their wingtips brushing before she managed to correct herself. The crowd seemed to have missed it.
“Watch it!” Fleetfoot yelled over the howling winds. “It's like you've never flown before!”
“S-sorry,” Rainbow muttered, shaking her head and properly aligning herself for the next stunt in their routine.
Her wandering eye caught Twilight's concerned look, aimed directly at her. The crowd hadn't seen her blunder, but Twilight had. The alicorn had seen her fly enough to notice even the slightest mistake.
A sweat formed beneath her flight suit that was completely unrelated to her beating wings.
Honing her concentration she forced herself to focus on her routine and, for the most part, managed to keep it there. Though one eye still refused to leave the V.I.P. Box. Something deep in her gut told her to be ready for the conversation after the show.
It was alright though; it had been mutual.
Rainbow stared through the back wall of the shower, her flight suit long abandoned and the water running in rivers over her shoulders and dripping down her legs. Her after-show showers were usually a quick, relaxing experience; a confirmation of a job well done before the celebration. Today, she was hesitant to towel off, and at the same time she knew she needed to act fast.
The announcer's voice had long since gone quiet in the coliseum, and the roaring of the crowd had all but vanished. If she took much longer, Twilight would be gone. Heck, for all she knew Twilight could have simply teleported back to her castle as soon as the show was over.
But somehow, she knew that wasn't true. Maybe it was just a feeling, or maybe there had been something in the look Twilight had given her, but she knew somehow, someway, there was going to be a conversation.
“Dash?”
The pegasus nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice cutting over the water. She turned with a half-smirk towards her visitor. “Hey Spitfire. What's up?”
The mare, free from her flight suit and with a dripping mane, gave her a flat look. “I think you know exactly 'what's up'. What was with you out there?”
Rainbow sighed, hanging her head as she reached up and shut off the shower. “It's... it's nothing. Go ahead to the after party or whatever; I'll catch up. I... I gotta take care of somethin' first.”
“It's about Princess Twilight, right? I know you two had a thing for a while. Her showing up really messed with you, huh?” Spitfire asked, leaning up against the shower stall wall as Rainbow grabbed her towel and dried herself.
She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. I was gonna go talk to her. It's been a while.”
Spitfire's eyes narrowed. “You realizes she's probably gone, right? The show's been over for almost twenty minutes.”
“Twenty!?” Rainbow shouted, flinging her towel to the side. “You're kidding!”
Rolling her eyes, the orange mare simply picked up Rainbow's towel and tossed it back at her before turning away. “I'd say you've missed your chance. But we are in Canterlot; I'm sure if you really wanna talk to her you have plenty of time,” she said over her shoulder as she walked away.
Rainbow groaned, drying her mane as she listened for the squeaking door signalling her captain's departure. When it clicked shut and she was once again left along with the silence of her own thoughts, she sighed, leaning her head back against the tiled wall.
She'd really wanted to talk to Twilight – it'd been just over a year since they broke up, and almost as long since they'd last spoken. From the looks of things, that streak wasn't going to end tonight. She cursed herself under her breath; she should have moved faster. Should have acted quicker. Instead she froze, her nerves getting the better of her for the second time in their relationship.
”H-hey, Twi,” Rainbow Dash muttered, a bouquet of roses clutched tightly under her wing. “I, uh... I was wondering if you'd... uh... Like to- horseapples!”
She groaned, letting her head fall forward and thump against the crystalline door in front of her. She couldn't even knock! How was she actually supposed ask her out? At this point she'd have a better chance if she just imitated Fluttershy; the adorable squeaking might just earn her a few points.
The door opened and Rainbow fell forward, her vision filling with purple.
“Rainbow?” Twilight gasped in surprise, taking a reflexive step back.
“Eeep!” Rainbow took to the air and was gone faster than she fully realized what she was doing. When her actions caught up with her, however, she just flew away faster; she'd just made a foal of herself in front of Twilight. She'd just have to try again another day.
A bouquet of roses lay forgotten on Twilight's doorstep.
Until they were picked up in a magenta glow.
Rainbow didn't even open her eyes as she heard the door to the locker room open. “I'm fine, Spitfire,” she called, returning to drying her mane. When no answer game, she growled. “I missed my chance, that's the end of it.”
“Missed your chance for what?”
Rainbow's blood turned to ice in her veins, her hooves halting their motions as the familiar voice reached her ears.
Slowly, as though any sudden movements would scare her off, Rainbow lowered her towel. “T-twilight...?”
The alicorn smiled gently, nodding her head. “I was waiting for you, but you took so long I thought I'd missed you already.”
“Yeah...” Her mouth was dry. “Almost a year, I think.”
Twilight let the statement simmer in silence, reflecting on the time they'd spent apart. She shuffled awkwardly on her hooves, looking anywhere but at the pegasus in front of her. Eventually, she sighed. “Are we still friends?”
Rainbow's head whipped up, her eyes meeting Twilight's as her mouth hung open, ready to assure her that they were friends. That they always would be, and it was a silly question. Instead, she stared in silence. She knew it was a ridiculous notion; after all they'd been through, how could they ever not be friends? But something stopped her, something in her heart told her that it wasn't quite true.
And she still couldn't lie to Twilight.
“I... I don't know.” Again she struggled to swallow the dry lump in her throat.
Twilight seemed to debate with herself a moment, chewing her lip in either thought or nervousness; Rainbow couldn't tell. Eventually she stomped her hoof angrily. “Aug! Why does this have to be so hard!?”
“I don't know,” Rainbow said, hanging her head and scraping her hoof along the tiled floor.
“You don't know?” Twilight repeated, her voice rough and frustrated.
Rainbow winced at the alicorn's tone. “No... I don't.”
“Well that's just great!” Twilight snorted. “I came here today to see you, to talk to you for the first time in a year and you don't know? Don't yo have anything to say? We were best friends, dating for a while, and now you can barely look me in the eye!”
Hesitantly, Rainbow looked up and again their eyes met. It was Twilight who looked away first.
“I'm sorry,” she whispered. “I... I'm sorry. I should just go.”
Something in her mind clicked at the words, like gears hitting a snag, and Rainbow reacted before she thought. “Please don't,” she said, reaching out and grabbing Twilight's shoulder. “I...”
Twilight looked at her, head tilted, as she struggled to decide. Moments passed, and Twilight opened her mouth to speak. Before she could, though, Rainbow took a step back and ran a hoof through her mane bashfully. “How about we go grab some dinner and... reconnect?”
When she spotted the look Twilight was giving her she quickly added; “as friends.”
A second of consideration brought a small smile to Twilight's lips. “I think I'd like that.”
With that Rainbow found herself sitting on her flank in the hallway, glaring at the door to Twilight bedroom. “I told you it wasn’t my fault!” She shouted. The door, however, seemed unfazed.
“Couch!” Twilight shouted again, her words final and the tone daring Rainbow to try again.
Rainbow Dash was nothing if not daring.
With a flap of feathered wings the pegasus flew out a window, coming around and hovering next to the window she’d often been through before. Twilight eventually just left the window open, which meant that she’d deliberately closed it.
“C’mon, Twi,” Rainbow yelled, tapping against the glass and cupping her hooves around her face to try and see in. The curtains were drawn. She growled. “It’s not my fault!”
She breathed a sigh of relief as the curtains were pulled back and the window opened in a magical magenta glow. Her smile quickly faded, however, as before she could enter the room she had to duck, narrowly avoiding a book that was hurled out at her.
“Hey!”
The window slammed shut and the curtains drawn once more. This time, she knew better than to try again. Twilight could be stubborn when she wanted, and apparently she really wanted to be stubborn about this.
But it wasn’t Rainbow’s fault. It’s not her fault she was too awesome to contain. It’s not her fault she could do a sonic rainboom practically in her sleep.
It wasn’t her fault said rainboom happened to be right over Ponyville and caused the Twilight’s latest experiment to fall off the shelf.
Three days before she was supposed to present it.
Despite herself Rainbow did feel a little bad about it, but Twilight was blowing it way out of proportion! There was no reason she couldn’t just reschedule and do it again; she had all her notes and nerdy stuff, after all. Rainbow crossed her forehooves, realizing she was still glaring at Twilight’s bedroom window.
Well, despite what the unicorn had said, Rainbow Dash was not a ‘couch’ pegasus. Sleeping on that couch meant she admitted she was at fault, and that simply wasn’t the case. Taking to the skies, Rainbow scolded herself for looking back at the tree library before she could stop herself as a course was set for a cloud house sitting on the outskirts of Ponyville. Just because she had officially moved in with Twilight a few months ago didn’t mean her cloud house was going anywhere.
It wasn’t long before she alighted on her old doorstep, still grumbling to herself. The door was pushed open without a second thought and Rainbow Dash found herself assaulted by a veritable tidal wave of dust. She coughed, desperately fanning the stale are away from her muzzle as it blew out of her old house.
“Jeez, I guess it’s been a while…” Rainbow trailed off, looking around her front room. Without a doubt, her cloud house was much larger than Twilight’s library. Nicer too, if you asked her; clouds were much more comfortable than wood. You could nap anywhere.
Then a thought struck. An unwelcome, uncool thought.
Her house was awfully empty.
Rainbow’s house had always been empty; the mare not one for interior decorating aside from the occasional wonderbolt poster or one of her countless medals and trophies. But this time it felt… different. She’d been living with Twilight in the library for almost half a year now, and even before that she usually spent most of her nights over in the bookworm’s domain. In the end, she’d grown accustomed to the seemingly endless energy living with other ponies brought with it. Between Twilight and Spike, there was always something going on back at the library.
Sighing, Rainbow turned from her door and took off into the fading light of dusk. She wasn’t about to go crawling back to Twilight; it still wasn't her fault, after all. But… she couldn’t quite bring herself to enter her old home either. It wasn’t that she felt lonely, or anything. Such uncool feelings had no place in Rainbow Dash, and likewise she had no time for them.
No, she just wasn’t tired. A quick flight would help, then she’d go back to her own house and sleep like a foal. Then in the morning Twilight would have realized she was being silly and come to apologize.
The crips, cool air was a welcome feeling blowing through her feathers, and her aimless flight took her soaring over Ponyville. She watched the streets below; empty, mostly. A few ponies dotted the town here and there, but for the most part everypony had retired to their own homes for the night.
Something caught Rainbow’s eyes, and she banked around to confirm; Rarity was trotting hurriedly down the street, still wearing those overly-large glasses she wore when she was designing something. Curious, the pegasus came in low until she was hovering right alongside the pearly white mare.
“‘Sup Rarity?”
The unicorn in question jumped slightly at the sudden voice, though her expression quickly soured when her eyes locked onto its source. “Rainbow Dash,” she greeted, her voice noticeable cold. “Can I help you?”
Rainbow shrugged off the unwelcoming tone. “Just wondering what you were up to so late. Big order come in or somethin’?”
Rarity’s glare could melt a block of lead. “As a matter of fact, yes; I had a rather large order come in a week ago. Luckily, I just managed to finish this morning…” she trailed off, clearly implying more than she said.
It went right over Rainbow’s head. “So… what are you doing then?”
“Augh! You are unbelievable!” Rarity shouted, coming to a stop to turn and thrust an accusing hoof into the pegasus’s chest. “I was finished. Until somepony decided to shake my boutique and scare poor Opalescence out of her wits, who then proceeded to destroy one of the dresses. And I’m all out of the fabric I need, so now I need to rush to the shop before it closes.”
“Heh. Cats, am I right?” Rainbow chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her neck bashfully.
Rarity’s face went red. “You are the most unaware, bullheaded, oblivious-...” she trailed off, seamingly too frustrated to come up with more words to use. Eventually, she let out a breath and resumed a hurried pace down the street. “I swear I don’t know how or why Twilight puts up with you.”
“Actually,” Rainbow hissed through her teeth, effortlessly keeping pace with the unicorn, “Twi kinda couched me for the night. I guess something happened with one of her experiments and she’s kinda blaming me for it.”
Raising an eyebrow, Rarity asked, “And was it your fault?”
“No!” she defended quickly, crossing her forelegs defensively. “How was I supposed to know that sonic rainboom was going to break it? Besides, she can just do it again.”
Rarity had to stop again as she slapped a hoof to her face. “Rainbow Dash, you are possibly the most immature pony I have ever met-” Rainbow raised her hoof to object, but was quickly cut off. “And I’m including Pinkie Pie. Most ponies, when they do something wrong, apologize.”
“It’s not my fault!” Rainbow argued. “I didn’t mean to do a rainboom right over town. It jsut kinda… happened.”
“I don’t believe you sometimes,” Rarity muttered, more to herself than Rainbow as she shook her head. “Excuse me, but I have a dress to remake. I suggest you go apologize to Twilight before she decides to permanently couch you. And when you’re done you can go see FLuttershy, too; I ran into the poor dear on my way. Seems many of her animal friends scattered as a result of your little stunt, and she’s still looking for them.”
Rainbow huffed, watching as Rarity ran off down the street. “It’s not my fault!” She shouted after her, frowning to herself. She was just practicing… it’s not like she meant to cause any of that!
But… Rarity was pretty upset with her. And if Fluttershy was still looking for her animals? It did seem like her rainboom had done a lot of damage. “Horsefeathers,” she cursed. In a flash she was off back towards the library.
“Twilight…” Rainbow practically moaned, once again finding herself tapping on the unicorn’s bedroom window. “Come on… I wanna… ugh… talk.”
There was no response, and the pegasus groaned, hanging her head and cringing as it hit the window. She didn’t move it. “Please, Twi. I thought you liked talking about things.”
“Couch!” Came the same response she’d gotten before she left.
Rainbow shook off the urge to get defensive again. That had never helped her before in these kinds of situation. “Fine; I’ll sleep on the couch. Just let me in and talk to me first. I’m sorry my rainboom-... I’m sorry I wrecked your thing.”
Another few moments of silence followed, and just as the pegasus resigned herself to leaving it for tomorrow, the window opened. She wasted no time darting in. Twilight was sitting at a desk on the far side of the room, book on her left and a fresh parchment on her right along with a quill and ink.
“Twi-”
“I’m not upset about the experiment, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said without looking up, her voice neutral. Calling her by her full name was never a good sign, though. “I can re-do it and reschedule my presentation. I care that you refused to take responsibility.”
Once again Rainbow found herself fighting off the urge to insist it wasn’t her fault. “I’m… sorry, Twilight.” she said with a sigh, “I just… I dunno. I was being stupid.”
It was Twilight’s turn to sigh, setting down her quill and turning to look at the pegasus for the first time. “You’re not stupid. Stubborn as a mule and oblivious, yes. But you’re not stupid.”
Rainbow chuckled. “Yeah… Rarity pretty much said the same. I may have… kinda… definitely wrecked one of her dresses. She was pretty upset.”
Twilight frowned. “Did you apologize?”
“No, I-”
“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight groaned, lifting a hoof and rubbing at her temple.
“I know, I know,” Rainbow sighed, sitting on the edge of Twilight’s bed. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I just… I dunno; I crash into somepony and I just… y’know. Apologize and get out of their mane quick as I can. But as soon as somepony starts blaming me I get all…”
“Defensive,” Twilight offered in the void.
Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, that.” She sighed again, flopping onto her back. “I don’t know why. I just… somepony says the wrong thing to me and I just rile myself up over it and can’t admit when I’m the one in the wrong.”
“It is something you need to work on,” Twilight agreed, standing from her chair. “But as long as you realize that then I’m sure you’ll be fine. There’s very little you can’t do when you set your mind to it; stubbornness runs both ways, after all. Come on; it’s about time we both got some sleep. You can apologize to Rarity tomorrow when you both cool off a bit.”
“And Fluttershy,” the pegasus added, hopping off the bed. “I’ll go hit the couch and-” she was cut off as a magical glow pinned her back to the mattress.
Twilight shook her head slowly. “You can sleep with me tonight. It gets lonely without you,” she admitted with a small blush, though she quickly hid it with a fake cough. “Besides; you learned your lesson. I don’t think you need to be punished anymore.”
“Thanks, Twi.” Rainbow smiled as they both slipped beneath the covers.
“Oh, and you can help me with that experiment tomorrow too. I’ve been needing a guinea pig.”
Rainbow Dash swallowed nervously even as she felt Twilight’s hooves wrap around her from behind, the unicorn's belly pressing up against the back. Despite herself, she groaned. “You know I hate being the little spoon, Twi.”
“No you don’t; you hate that you love it. And you hate that I know you love it. Don’t lie to me.”
She groaned, but didn’t argue. It wasnt her fault Twilight was so good at cuddling.
Rainbow sighed. She fidgeted awkwardly, glancing around the room. “Twi…”
The alicorn rolled her eyes, sat on the floor and casually stretching her legs. “Yes, Rainbow?” She asked sweetly, head down as she held her stretch.
“Do we have to?” Rainbow’s wings twitched, and the urge to fly was taking up more and more of her thoughts. Unfortunately, the small gymnasium she found herself in was not exactly pegasus-friendly.
“Well, that depends.” Twilight stood up, rolling her neck. “Do you want to make a fool of yourself at the Gala?”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “No, but-”
“And do you want me to look bad at a highly public event?”
“Of course I don’t, but-”
Twilight prodded her chest. “And do you still want to take me to the Gala as your date?”
“Twiiiiiii~” Rainbow whined. “You know I want to go to the Gala as your date. But.. this?” She made a vague gesture to their surroundings. “Dance lessons?” Her tone was low, as though just saying the words might negatively impact her public stature. Which, as far as she was concerned, it would.
Huffing, Twilight turned away and resumed stretching. “Well, Rainbow Dash, the way I see it you have three options; either you take these lessons with me so we can both actually dance in public without every last magazine and tabloid making fun of us, you don’t take the lesson with me and embarrass me publicly, or you don’t take the lesson and we don’t go to the Gala together. So, choose.”
Rainbow shifted her weight from hoof to hoof, eyeing the door through which their instructor was due to arrive any second now. “Can’t I like, skip the lesson and just go to the Gala with you without, y’know, dancing?”
“And are you going to be okay standing there as multiple nobles ask me to dance?” Twilight raised her brow slightly as Rainbow pouted, scuffing a hoof along the floor. “Because unless we’re dancing, somepony is going to want to dance with Equestria’s newest princess, and Celestia has requested I attempt to make a good impression on the nobility, so I’ll be inclined to accept a few of them.”
“You could just say no,” Rainbow grumbled lowly. She sighed again, shaking her head slowly. “Fine. Fine! Fine.” She stomped her hoof and puffed her chest out. “Ain’t no slimy noble dancing with my mare. We dance!”
Twilight stifled a giggle with a hoof. “Your mare?”
The pegasus wilted slightly. “Not… oh, you know what I meant!” Twilight just laughed, the sound echoing around the empty gym until the door swung open with a loud creak and seemed to ring in Rainbow’s ears.
“Hello, hello!” A slightly shorter unicorn mare called as she hurried up to them. Her coat was a pale wait tinted every-so-slightly pink, and her medium-length mane was striped in multiple shades of red that matched her burgeoning saddlebags. “You Highness, Miss Dash,” she greeted, bowing low. “My name is Pepper Step-” she showed her cutie mark of two chili peppers “-and I will be your instructor for today.”
“Just Twilight is fine,” Twilight insisted with a warm smile. “We really appreciate this- don’t we Dash?” She gave a pointed look to the other mare, who shrugged noncommittally. The pegasus yelped when she felt the distinct tingle of magic pinch her flank.
“Y-yeah, thanks and stuff…” she shot a glare at Twilight, who just shrugged innocently.
Pepper looked between them a moment before brushing it off. “Well, ladies, I’m glad you chose me to teach you the basics of ballroom dancing. And, hopefully by the end of this week, you’ll be glad you chose me as well!” She giggled to herself, lighting her horn and taking off her stuffed saddlebags.
“Wait, week!?” Rainbow glared at her marefriend. “You said-”
“It’s either this or I dance with every noble at the Gala,” Twilight deadpanned, her tone making it clear her chips were on the table and she was fully willing to pay up.
Rainbow groaned. “So not cool, Twi.”
“And neither is you stepping on my hooves all night. Now, Miss Step, you were saying?”
The other mare, apparently oblivious to the other ponies in the room, glanced over her shoulder. “Pepper, please.” She stepped aside and revealed a small gramophone had been set up, a record already loaded. “Now, before we begin, I’d like to get a baseline from you two. So-” with a flick of her hoof the gramophone whirred to life, and after a moment of static a gentle melodie began drifting through the air. “Show me what you got.”
Twilight nodded and stood on her hind legs, giving a pointed look at Rainbow until she did the same. They came together in what could best be described as an amatuer artist’s attempt at drawing a closed dancing position, and made it all of three steps before Twilight’s hoof found its way under Dash’s. The pair came tumbling to the ground with startled yelps out of each of them. Twilight landed atop the pegasus, giving her a flat look. “Dash-”
“Yeah, okay; I get it.” She blushed and looked away. “We really need lessons.”
Pepper Step’s eye twitched. “I have a week to fix… that?”
“That’s it!” Pepper encouraged enthusiastically, following two mares as they twereled steadily around the room. “You’re golden! Now, Rainbow, spin!”
Rainbow nodded at her partner, and Twilight grind as the pegasus lifted her hoof above their heads. Twilight followed the motion with her body and spun around. Rainbow caught her and they were once again face to face. Twilight couldn’t help but to lean forward and plant a kiss on the tip of Rainbow’s nose. The pegasus’s muzzle wrinkled, and Twilight laughed.
“Knock it off, Twi,” Rainbow growled playfully.
Twilight feigned a frightened gasp. “Or what?”
“This.” Rainbow darted forward and, instead of returning the small peck, opened her mouth and sloppily licked Twilight’s nose. The alicorn squealed and pulled away, but Rainbow’s hooves held them close.
“Rainbow!”
Rainbow Dash chuckled as the music slowed and stopped. “I told ya to stop,” she teased as they released each other and fell back into all four hooves, a victorious grin across her muzzle.
“Of course you realize this means war, right?” Twilight asked, a mischievous smile of her own on her lips.
“Bring it, Sparkle Butt.”
Twilight scoffed. “Please. We both know who’s butt ‘sparkles’ when I-”
“Ahem…” Pepper aggressively cleared her throat, her back turned on the couple as she packed away her gramophone.
Twilight blushed. Rainbow laughed. “C’mon, Twi; I’m starving. We good to go, Pepper?”
“Of course!” Pepper threw her bags onto her back, trotting over to them. “Honestly, when I first met you two I was worried I might not have you in dancing shape before the Gala, but you’re both fast learners. Took to it like a fish to water. If you ever want to learn more, don’t hesitate to contact me. We’ll have a final exam of sorts tomorrow, but honestly you two are doing great.”
“Were we really that bad?” Twilight asked, wincing at the flat look Pepper gave her.
Rainbow wrapped her hoof around the alicorn’s shoulders. “Twi, you danced about as well as a dead fish.”
“You weren’t much better,” Pepper noted, a sly smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. “If I were to describe your ability the first day I think I’d say it was akin to that of a inchworm; you spent most of the fay flat on the floor.”
It was Rainbow’s turn to blush, and Twilight didn’t hesitate to laugh at her marefriend. “Anyway, let’s go get something to eat before we head back to the castle; I have some paper work I’d really like to put off a little longer.”
The pegasus gasped. “You? Procrastinating? Who are you and what have you done with Twilight?”
“Har-har.” Th alicorn bumped their flank together. “I’m only putting it off because if I don’t you’ll be at me all day to entertain you.”
“What can I say? A mare this awesome needs to be occupied.”
Twilight’s gaze narrowed. “Oh, I’ll ‘occupy’ you all right. When we get home-”
Pepper Step coughed. Loudly.
“Let’s go.” Twilight kept her head down as she rushed out of the gym, the tips of her ears turning beat-red. A laughing pegasus followed.
She spent a lot of her time at the window. Just… sitting there, staring out at nothing in particular. At least, that’s how it appeared. I think we all knew better though. She was staring at everything. Everything for her, at least. For hours at a time she’d watch the sky from a window that was too small in a room that was too cramped. I was reminded of how wrong it was to keep her there every time I visited. I knew why, of course, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was only going to make it worse for her. To be reminded every second of every day of what she lost.
A window far too small, covered with bars anyway. A door that was always locked from the otherside. A bed without sheets.
She didn’t even turn her head when the door opened and I was allowed in.
“What?” Was all she said.
I could feel the tears threatening to fall. “How are you?” I cursed myself as the words left my mouth. They were hollow and meaningless, and I didn’t even want the answer. But the pleasantries were all I had to fall back on.
Finally, she turned her head just enough to see me, and I saw that look in her eye. The same look she’d had ever since that day. Empty, and dull, and the greyest pink I had ever seen. “Fine,” she said, and turned back to the window.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized on reflex alone, and I saw her ear twitch. I knew she was still listening at least. “I shouldn’t have-...” I stopped myself. She was looking at me again. Dead and lifeless.
“When are they gonna let me outta here?” She asked pointedly.
I stared at her for a moment, searching her face for some semblance of the mare that used to be there. “I don’t know,” I admitted quietly. “They won’t let you go until they know you’re not a danger… to yourself…”
For the first time in a long time I saw a flash of emotion in her.
Anger.
“You shouldn’t have stopped me.”
Finally the tears started rolling down my cheeks. “How could I not? When I found you, I-” I choked down a sob, and her anger melted back to the emotionless husk she’d been.
“You had no right,” she said to the sky outside. “It’s my choice. My life. Not yours.” I forced my gaze to harden even as the trails down my cheeks became darker. “I wasn’t going to let you just throw it away.”
“Throw what away?” She demanded, her tone icy cold. “What do I have left that I could possibly be worth keeping?” Her wing flapped for emphasis, and I found myself staring. She noticed and turned, hiding her back.
I looked away guiltily. “S-sorry.”
She snorted derisively. “No you’re not. You’re the one who put me in here. You’re the one who stopped me. Forced this on me. You don’t regret a damn thing!”
When I found the will to look at her again my eyes wandered to the bruising around her neck. It still looked so fresh. “No, I don’t regret saving you. And I don’t regret having you placed here. You need help, and I will do anything and everything in my power to get it to you.”
“What about what I want!?” She yelled, nearly screaming. I could see the pain behind her glassy eyes and it tore at me like nothing else. “Why don’t I get a say!?”
I sighed, shaking my head. “I will protect you, no matter what. That includes protecting you from yourself.”
She growled angrily before looking back to the window. Her wing flapped again, and I watched as the nub on the other side of her back twitched. “I never asked you to.”
“You didn’t need to,” I said. “I never asked you to come with me to defeat Nightmare Moon, did I? Never asked you to catch me. You did anyway, because you knew it was right.” She ignored me, and I stepped closer. “What happened to that mare? What happened to the mare that charged a dragon to protect her town? The mare that never left her friends hanging?
“What happened to the mare I fell in love with?”
She lifted a hoof and pushed against the glass of the window. “She died.”
I swallowed my tears. “Then who’s sitting in front of me?”
Her eyes fell, and she stared at the ground for a few silent moments. “Nothing,” she said eventually. “I-... I’m nothing. That mare - she died when she lost everything. I’m what’s left - nothing. No one. I’m nothing.”
“Don’t say that.” I couldn’t keep the tremble out of my voice if I tried. “Please - please don’t say that. What about the girls? Your sister? What about me? You still have so much, you can’t-... what are we supposed to do without you?”
To my surprise, she chuckled. It was shallow and callous. “Yeah, it’s all about you, isn’t it? That’s what you said right after it happened, too - that I still had you all. That we’d find a way to get through it. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of hearing about how much we still have. There is no we. I lost everything. You lost nothing. And you expect me to keep going because it would hurt you. Can’t you even see how selfish that is?”
“And taking something from us because you lost something isn’t selfish?” I countered, and I saw her bristle.
“I didn’t just lose something!” She raged, whirling around and stomping up to me, our muzzle separated by a hair’s breadth as her glare burned into me. “I lost everything. Everything that made me who I was, everything that I ever wanted. Gone.”
I looked at her through my blurry vision, trying and failing to contain my own sobbing. “Why can’t you see that’s not true?”
She huffed and walked away, lying down on her mattress. “I’m tired.”
“Please, don’t-”
“Just go. Leave me alone.” She rolled onto her side, covering herself with her wing. I watched her for a moment, by crying the only sound in the room, before I turned away and knocked on the door. It was opened, and I glanced over my shoulder.
“I love you, Rainbow Dash,” I said.
“Don’t come back, Twilight,” she muttered. “I don’t want to see you anymore.”
Twilight took the clipboard in her magic. “Everything’s in order?” She asked shortly.
The stallion standing in front of her nodded shakily. “Y-yes, you highness, but I have to ask you to reconsider. What you’re proposing - it’s practically science fiction! The technology and magic are still in their infancy. There are no guarantees this will work at all, and the cost to you is-”
“Pennies,” Twilight grunted. She dipped a quill into a pot of ink and brought it to the board. “The magic has showed great promise; I studied the papers on it personally. I’m well aware of what it’s capable of, and this should be well within its capabilities.”
“Perhaps, but-”
“That’s enough.” With a flourish Twilight’s name was signed. “Schedule the procedure immediately. Your earliest convenience. Throw around my name if you need to - just get it done, doctor.”
The doctor nodded hesitantly. “Of course, Princess.” He hurried out of the room, forms tucked under his leg, and Twilight all but fell into a chair.
She looked the only window in the small office, and was reminded of what she was doing - and why. “It’s gonna be okay, now,” Twilight murmured, reaching out to a mare who wasn’t there. “Everything will be okay.”
The door opened. Twilight stepped inside. Rainbow sat with her back to her, staring out her window.
“Rainbow-”
“I told you not to come back,” she growled. “I told you I didn’t want to see you anymore.”
Twilight winced at the razor sharp words, but steadied herself with a slow breath. “Rainbow, please, I need you to come with me.”
Turning, Rainbow lifted a single eyebrow at the alicorn. “They’re letting me out?” she asked skeptically. “I thought I wasn’t getting out until I ‘wasn't a danger to myself’.” She emphasized her air quotes.
“Are you?” Twilight asked, biting her lip nervously.
Rainbow’s eyes narrowed. “My life,” she said. “My choice.”
Twilight sighed. “That’s a ‘yes’ then…” she shook her head sadly. “No, Rainbow, you’re not being released. It’s… something else.”
“Then go away,” Rainbow snorted. “I don’t care.” She lifted her gaze to the sky out her tiny window.
“I have a way to give you your wing back.”
Rainbow’s head snapped around. “What?”
Rainbow groaned, eyes opening slowly and being assaulted by glaringly bright fluorescent lights. She lifted her hoof in an attempt to shield her face.
“Sorry; I’ll turn them down,” a voice from her side called. “I was reading.”
“Twilight?” Rainbow called groggily. She blinked hard, her vision a blur that seemed to refuse to focus. The lights dimmed. “Where-”
“The anestesia is still wearing off, you’re going to be a bit hazy for a while, and it might take a minute for you to remember everything,” Twilight answered. Her voice sounded… different. Groggy. “You’re in the hospital.”
Rainbow tried to sit up, but found her muscles unresponsive. “Hospital?”
“The procedure went well,” Twilight said. “We don’t know for sure if the nerves took root properly, but so far it looks promising.”
“Nerves?” What-” Rainbow grunted, lifting a hoof to her head and massaging her temple. Slowly her vision cleared enough for her to make out the ceiling tiles above her. She rolled her head to the side, a lavender blob sitting on a chair right up against the edge of her bed. She gasped. “The surgery. Did- did it-”
Twilight smiled, reaching out and placing a hoof atop Rainbow’s. “Yes, Rainbow; it worked. Look.”
Swallowing nervously, Rainbow grasped the hem of her blanket hesitantly. She closed her eyes and took a breath ebfore ripping the sheat off her. For a moment she kept her eyes closed, scared of what she’d find beneath the blanket.
“You can’t see them if you keep your eyes closed, silly,” Twilight chastised with a giggle.
“Them?” Rainbow echoed. “I only lost one-” she stopped dead, her eyes wide open and staring at the feathery appendage where once there was a stump.
“I know, but if we didn’t do both you’d be lopsided; flying would be hard enough, never mind your stunts,” Twilight explained, grinning as she reached out and ran her hoof through Rainbow’s new feathers.
Rainbow’s jaw worked uselessly, watching Twilight’s hoof. “Twilight, why-” she looked up, and Twilight met her eyes with a tearful smile. “Twilight!”
“It’s okay, Rainbow,” Twilight said insistently. “You can dye them so they won’t stick out so much.”
“D-dye them!?” Rainbow shouted. “Twi, that’s not - I don’t care about that!”
Twilight frowned. “What’s wrong, then?”
“Twilight!” Rainbow screamed. “Your wings!”
Twilight glanced over her shoulder, where once the alicorn had wings were now merely bandaged stumps. She gave the pegasus a confused look. “Rainbow, I told you we couldn’t grow you a new wing. Of course they had to come from somewhere.”
“But- but-...” Rainbow trailed off, looking down and running a hoof over her lavender feathers. “Twilight, I can’t- I didn’t want this, I-”
Tilting her head curiously, Twilight reached out to grab Rainbow’s hoof in her own. “Of course you do, Rainbow. I-”
“Take them back,” Rainbow demanded. She pulled herself out of bed using Twilight’s hoof, nearly collapsing as her numbed legs struggled to support her. Twilight caught her, pulling her into an embrace the pegasus feebly fought against. “You take them back right now, Twilight. You never said I’d be taking your wings. I never would have-”
“That’s why I didn’t tell you,” Twilight admitted sadly. She squeezed her tighter, burying her muzzle in locks of rainbow mane. “I knew you’d never do it if you knew. But don’t you see? You have your wing back. You can fly again, Rainbow - you haven’t lost anything.”
Rainbow tried again to pull away from the hug. “But what about you? I can’t fly knowing you can’t anymore, Twilight. I can’t take that away from you.”
“You never took anything. I gave them to you.”
“Don’t you get it!?” Rainbow yelled, her voice cracking. “Everytime I fly. Everytime I see you, I’ll know what I took from you. I’ll be reminded every day what you lost because of me. How can you expect me to live like that?”
The corner of Twilight’s lips pulled down. “What would you have me do, then? Sit by and watch you waste a way? Turn a blind eye so you could kill yourself? What do you want me to do?”
“I-”
“I would have given anything to help you, Rainbow Dash. Do you understand? Anything. And in the end, all it cost me was my wings?” She scoffed. “Pennies. I could save you for mere pennies. How could I not take that deal?” Rainbow shuddered in her hooves, and Twilight knew she was crying. “I haven’t lost anything, but I got you back.”
“Twilight,” Rainbow sobbed, forcing what little strength she could into her limps to cling to the alicorn ever tighter. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I’m sorry…”
“It’s okay,” Twilight whispered soothingly, a smile forming despite the beading tears in her eyes. “We’ll be okay now.”
Twilight’s wing’s flapped weakly, and for the first time in a very, very long time, Rainbow felt the wind in her feathers.