A Starswirl Secret

By D-Pad The Unicorn

Twilight got up on a bright, sunny day. Equestria was as beautiful as ever, and she knew it was a good sign. The sweet aroma of tea flowed through the house, and warmth filled the room as she stumbled out of bed. She checked her daily checklist, and the only thing on it was to write to the Princess, and to go and see Rainbow Dash’s air show. Spike had left for the Dragon Migration again, noting that Garble “Wasn’t such a bad guy after all!”. Twilight got her things together as she chuckled at Spike’s judgement. “Well, I’d better get going. I need to get there early to set up!” Twilight thought to herself as she trotted out the door. She locked it with her magic, and left for the air show. As she approached the venue, she heard a loud shriek. It sounded like Rainbow Dash, but Rainbow Dash never screamed that high. “Are you okay?!” Twilight called out to her friend across the backstage area. “Nonononononono!!!!! Nothing is okay, Twilight! I can’t even get it down in practice, much less in front of a huge crowd!!” Rainbow Dash was frantic, shaking violently. “CALM DOWN! Everything will be just fine.” The large group of ponies backstage were used to stage fright, but never expected a bystander to raise their voice so loudly. “Twilight, I’m scared. What if I fail? What if they don’t like it?” The brightly-colored mare was starting to become very serious. “If they don’t like it, I’m out. I will never get a chance at this again, Twilight. NEVER!” “Rainbow, it’s okay.” Twilight raised her hoof to comfort Rainbow, who was now slumped down on the ground. “Nopony, even the Wonderbolts, can deny-“ “THE WONDERBOLTS ARE HERE?!?!?” Rainbow suddenly screamed in delight with a hint of hysteria. “OMIGOSH OMIGOSH OMIGOSH OMIGOSH!!!! I GET TO PERFORM FOR THE WONDERBOLTS!!!!” Twilight got knocked back by the blue ball of excitement in front of her. “Rainbow, all I want to tell you before you go out there is that I believe in you. I doubt you are even paying attention at this point, so I’ll just go.” Twilight sighed softly and started to walk away. “Wait, Twi.” By that point, she had stopped jumping, and she had a bit of a worried look on her face. “I have to go on now, but I just want you to know that I-“ “RAINBOW, YOU’RE ON!!!!” A voice called from the side stage, and somepony else pushed her away from Twilight. She walked towards the bleachers with some thoughts bouncing around in her head. The show started, but Twilight was oblivious to it. She stared at the sky, but rather than admiring the amazing tricks, she admired the amazing mane. Rather than the inspiring feats of danger and death, she admired the entrancing tail and perfectly toned legs. She focused only on her favorite flyer, some would say “the best in all of Equestria.” As she stopped to realize what was going on in her subconscious, the show was just ending. She began to head back home, when somepony tapped her on the shoulder. “Miss Dash would like to see you.” The stage worker walked off, and Twilight went backstage. “DID YOU SEE THEM?!?! THEY LOVED IT!!!” Rainbow shouted, just like before, and gave Twilight a big hug. The joy faded from her eyes, but not to stray away, rather, it changed its form and created an embrace. This length of hug was somewhat normal from her other friends, as they all had a very close relationship, but Rainbow never seemed to want to hug Twilight when everypony else was there. Now that they were alone, however, she held on like a baby to its mother in a storm. After a long pause, she looked up. Twilight was looking down at her with a smile. She quickly stowed it away when she realized that Rainbow had opened her eyes. “Twi?” The mare’s voice echoed through the room, now empty, due to it being the end of the work day. “Yes, Rainbow?” Twilight asked, still with a hint of warmth in her voice. “What is this, that we have, right here?” Rainbow asked, as if she were a filly again. “I think…I think it’s called love.” Twilight’s smile shone brighter than anyone had ever seen before. The prismatic mare leaned in to her for a kiss, but was pushed back an inch or two. “Let’s just keep this. I- I like…this.” Twilight said, in her most caring voice. They stayed like that for who knows how long, but when it was over, a wave of realization hit them both like a hurricane. “Can we…even do this?” Rainbow Dash looked directly at Twilight, the same worried look on her face as earlier. “What would our friends think? What could we do to make this work?” Twilight responded in a calm voice. ‘I don’t think this is anything just quite yet. Let’s just keep whatever this is to ourselves. Call it a Starswirl Secret,” She whispered, as they both stood more firmly up. They grinned and looked in to each other’s eyes, and then promptly turned around and walked away.

“Dear Princess Celestia,

Today, I learned something about somepony I have known for a long time. Now, this may sound crazy, but I can’t tell you. I now know a major change in my life, and if it weren’t for my mission to Ponyville, I would have never been able to experience this. If you really want to know who it is, just know this: After every patch of rain, all you get is the star-bright sun, and a big, beautiful rainbow.”

Twilight realized something. Nopony else was in her house to write the letter. Spike was still gone on his trip, and she had just been talking to herself. She chuckled aloud as she got some parchment and wrote the letter. As it flew off to Canterlot, she thought of her love, and smiled.