Polar Opposites

Chapter 1: Unexpected Realisations

Hearts and Hooves Day...Where love and happiness filled every part of Ponyville. Where the ponies who were alone, could possibly find their very special somepony. A time where everypony was with their very special somepony... Well, almost everypony...

Rainbow Dash flew overhead, perfecting her moves. As she nailed 15 barrel rolls in a row, she levelled out. That's probably enough training for now, she thought. She was absent-mindedly flying round, when Fluttershy appeared next to her. Rainbow Dash was taken aback by the sudden appearance of her.

“Hi Rainbow Dash” said Fluttershy, flying in sync with Rainbow Dash.
“Oh, hey there Fluttershy” responded Rainbow Dash.
“It's Hearts and Hooves Day, and the mayor has asked me to play my songbird choir for all the ponies” Fluttershy smiled, obviously very happy about it.
“Oh... Well that's great and all Fluttershy but... why are you telling me?”
“Oh, right” Fluttershy giggled. “The mayor also asked me to find you and ask if you wanted to do a Sonic Rainboom for everyone.”
“A Sonic Rainboom? On Hearts and Hooves Day?”
'Yes, she said it would...” Fluttershy put on a very good impression of the mayor's voice. “symbolise the love and happiness that Hearts and Hooves Day represents.”

Rainbow Dash laughed at the voice Fluttershy had used. It was really good; sounded just like the mayor.
“Of course Fluttershy. I'll do it. I'll never miss a chance to show off my skills.”
“Great! Just stay out of sight, up in the clouds, and when my songbird choir ends, come racing down and perform the Sonic Rainboom.”
“Where will your choir be?”
“Just in front of the Town Hall”
“When should I be there?”
“In an hour”
“All right! I'll be there!”
“Thanks Rainbow Dash. I'm so happy I could just exclaim in happiness!” She took a deep breath, and said, in the most quietest voice. “yay”
“Bye Fluttershy!”
“Goodbye Rainbow Dash”

With that, Fluttershy flew away, towards the town hall. Rainbow Dash watched her go. She felt sorry for Fluttershy. She shamelessly went about, making other ponies feel happy about themselves and their very special somepony on Hearts and Hooves Day, but she had no very special somepony. She was alone. Well, I can say the same thing about myself, thought Rainbow Dash. I'm always alone on this particular day. Not that I've tried to find somepony, she continued to think.

Rainbow Dash had tried to find a very special somepony. She really did. But all of the stailions she saw had a very special somepony of their own. Her heart was beginning to ache, but then she snapped herself out of it.

“C'mon Rainbow Dash” she berated herself. “Your a world-class athlete. You don't have time for stuff like that. You don’t need stuff like that. Love will just slow you down, and hinder progress towards your goal.”

A hollow and untrue statement...

An hour later, Rainbow Dash had positioned herself on top of a cloud above the town hall, where she could see and hear everything below her, but not be seen or heard herself. Rainbow Dash looked down and saw heaps of ponies watching the town hall stage.

Fluttershy appeared, and her birds flew onto roosts set out on the stage. Fluttershy flew up a few metres, and started to conduct her birds' singing. The music that the birds sang was beautiful, thought Rainbow Dash. Some kind of love ballad...

Rainbow Dash looked away from the stage, and at the ponies near the town hall. All of the couples seemed to be holding hooves. Some couples had looked away from the stage and started to look at each other; into the other's eyes, getting immersed into the music. Rainbow Dash wondered again... Would I find somepony?

The music ended, and Rainbow Dash actually remembered why she was there. She launched herself higher into the sky, and flew straight down, gathering speed...

Fluttershy was waiting for Rainbow Dash's Sonic Rainboom to occur. The birds has finished singing, but where was Rainbow Dash? She said she would be here... Fluttershy was feeling a little sad that Rainbow Dash had not come. She was about to leave the stage when her eyes darted upwards, and she saw a blue pony with a rainbow coloured mane speeding towards the town hall. Rainbow Dash...

Rainbow Dash flew at top speed to the ground, and as she broke the sound barrier, a rainbow expanded out, detonating with a wave of colour and a huge sonic boom. Rainbow Dash pulled up and, on some inspiration, drew a heart with the rainbow trail she had made.

The crowd looked up, and their eyes widened with wonder at the sight. Rainbow Dash flew away, leaving a sparkling rainbow trail behind her, and congratulating herself on a job well done.

About 10 minutes after...

Fluttershy had found Rainbow Dash again. This time she was in her house, reading Daring Doo and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone.

“Rainbow Dash...” said Fluttershy
“Aaaahhhh!” yelled Rainbow Dash, surprised at the sudden appearance of Fluttershy again.
“Fluttershy, stop sneaking up on me. That's like 2 times today.”
“Oh, I'm sorry Rainbow Dash” said Fluttershy nervously. “I'll just go...” She started to fly out of the door.
“No Fluttershy, I didn't mean to yell. I was just surprised, that's all. What's up?”
“Nothing, Rainbow Dash, I just wanted to...”

And before anything else happened, Fluttershy tackled her with a hug.

“Thank you so much for doing a Sonic Rainboom! I mean, if you saw the looks on everyponies faces when you drew the heart with your rainbow. They were so happy! And, even better... you actually came to do a Sonic Rainboom in the first place. Your the most kindest pony I know.”
“Well, thanks Fluttershy” said Rainbow Dash, returning her hug. “I wouldn't bail on you after I said I would be there. We're friends right?”
“Yes Rainbow Dash, and I'm glad to be your friend”
They broke apart. Fluttershy was blushing a little.

“All of the ponies were so happy, and all of them trotted away with their very special somepony. You, Rainbow Dash, have caused love to bloom across Ponyville.”
“Me?” said Rainbow Dash, astonished that she could cause such a feat. The Sonic Rainboom looked good, but causing love to bloom?
“You.”
“Well, I'm glad that everyone's happy.”
“So am I. Well... bye Rainbow!” said Fluttershy as she started to fly out the door.
“See ya!”

And Fluttershy closed the door, leaving a partly confused Rainbow Dash inside. My Sonic Rainboom... caused ponies to fall more deeply in love?, thought Rainbow Dash. Huh, how ironic. I can't find somepony of my own, but I deeply help the ponies who have already found some other pony.

Rainbow's heart began to ache again. She needed love. Even if she was a world-class athlete. She needed something to help her find her true love. And she knew the pony who could help.

Fluttershy, after leaving Rainbow's house

As Fluttershy started to fly away from Rainbow Dash's house, she started to think about everything that had occurred on Hearts and Hooves Day. The songbird choir, the Sonic Rainboom, the rainbow coloured heart, all those happy couples leaving the town hall, with happy smiles on their faces. Picturing that again made Fluttershy happy and... a little sad and envious. Huh, how ironic, she thought. I can't find somepony of my own, but Rainbow Dash and I deeply help the ponies who have already found a very special somepony.

Fluttershy never really tried to find a very special somepony. She was just too shy. But now, after seeing the Sonic Rainboom heart, Fluttershy felt inspired to find somepony. But, I might still be too shy, or I might ask the wrong pony, Fluttershy thought, frantically. After several seconds of thinking, Fluttershy thought of the pony who might be able to help.

Rainbow Dash, en route to Twilight Sparkle's house

Rainbow Dash drew nearer to Twilight's home. “If anypony can find out who my true love is, Twilight can, using her magic.” she said to herself. She landed in front of Twilight's house and went in. Twilight was reading a book as usual, probably something to do with magic.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle” said Rainbow Dash, bowing towards her. This was a little joke that Rainbow Dash continued to do whenever she saw Twilight. Twilight turned around, saw who it was, and started to laugh.

“Rainbow...” she said, giggling while magicking her book back onto the shelf. “How many times have I told you to stop that?”
Rainbow rose from the floor. “More times than you can count...”

They both laughed. It took a while for both of them to stop.
“So Rainbow” said Twilight. “How was Hearts and Hooves Day? I heard that you performed something special for all of the ponies at the town hall.”
“Yes. I performed a Sonic Rainboom, and then with the rainbow trail, I formed a heart.”
“Awwww! That would of looked so awesome!”
“Yeah...”
Twilight noticed that Rainbow was distracted. She usually boasted about such accomplishments.
“Anything wrong Rainbow?” said Twilight, trotting forward and looking at Rainbow Dash more closely.
“I have a... problem Twilight. I need your help. But you must promise not to laugh at me, or tell any pony about this!”
“Of course...” said Twilight, wondering what on earth what Rainbow could be struggling with.
“Pinkie Promise!”
“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” stated Twilight, doing the required actions.

Rainbow Dash trotted over to the window and looked out of it at the darkening sky. She turned back around and looked Twilight straight in the eye.
“I need you to use your magic to help me find love...”

A long silence answered these words.

“What exactly do you mean Rainbow?”
“I mean that I can't seem to find my very special somepony. And I think that your magic can help me find that special pony...”
“Rainbow...” Twilight trotted forwards and put her hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. “My magic just can't make true love happen out of thin air. It doesn't work that way.”
“I'm not trying to make my true love appear out of the air. I just want like an arrow or something, pointing towards the pony that I am destined to be with...”
Twilight brightened. “You know... I think I have just the thing... Let me have look for that book I found it in...”

Twilight started magicking books off the shelves, looking at the covers and replacing them. Rainbow watched for a while, then got bored and stared out of the window again.

“So Rainbow, why are you so interested in finding love? I thought your were too busy being a world-class athlete to be distracted by anything else...”
“I used to be... But when Fluttershy told me what my Sonic Rainbow heart had caused, I just felt like I needed somepony in my life.”
“Your Sonic Rainboom heart? What did Fluttershy say about it?
“She said that all of the ponies were so happy at the sight and that I had caused love to bloom across Ponyville.”
“Wow... It must have been amazing...”
“Yeah...”

A few more minutes passed then...
“Rainbow!”
Rainbow turned round and looked at Twilight.
“I've found it! The spell creates a sort of mental arrow, pointing to your true love... However, there's a catch...”
“Yes...?”
“The mental arrow only goes away once you have had one deep and meaningful kiss. The mental arrow will forever plague you. It seems that it gets more powerful over time. Stories have been told of ponies going crazy because the mental arrow wouldn't go away... Are you sure you want this?”
“Yes”
“Alright then, stand still.”

Twilight's horn started to glow. It grew brighter and brighter, then a magic bubble appeared and floated towards Rainbow Dash. The bubble enveloped her and glowed brightly. A few seconds later, the bubble disappeared, leaving a small sparkle of magic behind. Rainbow didn't feel different. No sort of mental arrow as far as she could think...

“Did it work? I don’t feel different...”
“The book says that the spell starts working after a good rest. You better get one then Rainbow.”
“Yeah, sure! Well, see ya Twilight! Thanks for all of your help!”

Rainbow Dash flew out of Twilight's house, using her balcony instead of her door. Just as she flew away, Fluttershy arrived and opened the door.

“Twilight?” said Fluttershy, quietly poking her head in the door.
“Why hello Fluttershy!” said Twilight jovially. “Your calling a little late, don't you think?”
“Oh, I'm sorry. I'll come back in the morning...”
“No, no Fluttershy, I was just joking. How are you?”
“Fine...” said Fluttershy. Then she sighed deeply. Twilight almost thought that Fluttershy was depressed.
“Anything wrong Fluttershy?”
“I have a... problem, Twilight. I think that your the only pony who can help.”
“What is this problem Fluttershy?” asked Twilight, having some déjà vu at this point.
“Do you promise not to tell anypony else about this? Or make fun of me?”
“Of course Fluttershy.”
“Pinkie Promise...”

Twilight Sparkle blinked a couple of times, trying to process the massive déjà vu she was feeling.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” she said, doing the actions that she had done only minutes before.
Fluttershy stayed silent for the longest time, dragging her hoof against the ground nervously. Then she finally spoke up.
“I need you to use your magic to help me find love...”
She blushed and turned away from Twilight.

“What do you mean Fluttershy?” However, Twilight thought she knew...
“I mean that I can't seem to find my very special somepony. And I think that your magic can help me find that special pony...”
“Fluttershy...” Twilight trotted forwards and put her hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. “My magic just can't make true love happen out of thin air. It doesn't work that way.”
“That's not what I asked, Twilight. I just want some help finding that special pony that I am supposed to be with. But I am too scared of choosing the wrong pony. I just want some help.”
Twilight brightened. “You know... I think I have just the thing...”

Twilight used her magic to bring the book she had found earlier to her.
“It's a spell I found recently. It creates a sort of mental arrow, pointing to your true love... However, there's a catch...”
“Yes...?”
“The mental arrow only goes away once you have had one deep and meaningful kiss. The mental arrow will forever plague you. It seems to grow more powerful over time Stories have been told of ponies going crazy because the mental arrow wouldn't go away... Are you sure you want this?”
“Oh, I don't know... It's a big decision...”
“Do you think that you can find you true love before the mental arrow drives you insane?”
“Yes” said Fluttershy, with more determination in her voice than Twilight had ever heard.
“Okay then... Oh, by the way, what made you want to find your very special somepony?”
“Oh, it was Rainbow Dash!”
“Rainbow Dash? How?”
“Her Sonic Rainboom heart. It was so amazing. I so wish you could of seen it!”
“I'm sure it was amazing... Now, hold still”

Twilight's horn started to glow. It grew brighter and brighter, then a magic bubble appeared and floated towards Fluttershy. The bubble enveloped her and glowed brightly. A few seconds later, the bubble disappeared, leaving a small sparkle of magic behind. Fluttershy didn't feel different. No sort of mental arrow as far as she could think...

“Did it work? I don't feel different. I knew it... I'm not supposed to be with anypony.” said Fluttershy, tears starting to form in her eyes.
“No Fluttershy, the spell starts working after a good night sleep. Or so the book says...”
“Well, if a good night sleep all I need... then I better get going. Thanks for all your help Twilight.”
“Your welcome Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy left, closing the door quietly behind her. Twilight's mind was racing. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, both coming to her to help them find love? On the same day? She was thinking about sending a letter to Princess Celestia, when she changed her mind. She still wasn't sure if what she had done was right or not. I mean, this mental arrow thing. Could it really cause ponies to go crazy? Instead of helping her friends, could she of harmed them? What were the consequences of her magic? Twilight calmed herself down. She would wait it out, find out who was their true love, and if need be, set up an amazing night that would surely end in a deep and meaningful kiss. She had it all planned out. But now she was tired herself. She needed to get a good night sleep as well. But for different reasons than Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy.

The next day...

Rainbow Dash sat up in her cloud home and rubbed her eyes. The sun was already high in the sky. Before Rainbow Dash could survey the scenery, she felt something. Something in her mind. It was like someone was applying pressure gently to her brain. She turned her head. The pressure moved so it was pointing in the same direction as before. It also seemed to be moving slightly.

Rainbow Dash knew what it was. It was the mental arrow that Twilight had spoken about. It was pointing to the pony that she would one day love. Rainbow was excited. She flew out of her house in glorious ecstasy, following the small pressure in her mind. Clouds were scattered here and there. Rainbow Dash made a mental note to start cloud busting after she had seen her true love.

As she was passing over a particularly dense patch of clouds, the pressure in her head moved, pointing behind her. Rainbow Dash got really excited. She had just passed whoever it was. She kicked a hole in the dense clouds and looked down. There was a pony standing there. She flew down, trying to get a look at her true love. But before she could land, she already knew who it was. That long pink mane and tail and that yellow body. No..., she thought. It can't be...

She drew closer, and the cutie mark on the flank confirmed it. 3 butterflies...
Fluttershy?, thought Rainbow Dash, confused. How could she be my true love? There must be some sort of mistake. She looked up. No pegasuses were flying in the sky, and Cloudsdale wasn't even near where she was. Rainbow Dash decided to land. She would check out this mental arrow; make sure it was pointing at Fluttershy...

She landed in front of Fluttershy. Fluttershy stepped back in shock and slightly went to the left. Rainbow's mental arrow moved so it was pointing at Fluttershy. That's... impossible!, thought Rainbow.
Fluttershy looked even more nervous than Rainbow Dash felt.

“Oh, um... hi Rainbow Dash. How are you?”
“Fine... I just saw you walking alone and thought that you needed some company.”
“No!” shouted Fluttershy. Then she cleared her throat. “No, thank you Rainbow Dash. I'm quite fine.”
“Okay...”

Rainbow Dash flew off, heading towards Twilight's house. She need to tell her what had happened. The spell must have gone wrong. She just hoped she wouldn't laugh at her.

Earlier that same day, Fluttershy's cottage

Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes adjusted to the light shinning in from her windows. She got out of bed and was about to get something eat, when she felt something. In her mind... A sort of small pressure on her brain. Fluttershy knew what it was instantly. The mental arrow...

Fluttershy jumped up and down in excitement. She walked outside, following that little pressure in her mind. Clouds were scattered here and there. Rainbow Dash must not of started her cloud busting. While Fluttershy was walking under a particularly dense patch of clouds, the mental pressure moved and pointed behind her. Fluttershy stopped and turned around. No one was following her...

Rainbow Dash landed in front of her. Fluttershy stepped back in shock before relaxing a bit. She was about to say hi, when she noticed that her mental arrow pointed straight at Rainbow Dash. She moved to the right slightly. The arrow continued to point at Rainbow Dash. No..., thought Fluttershy. It can't be her...

“Oh, um... hi Rainbow Dash. How are you?”
“Fine... I just saw you walking alone and thought that you needed some company.”
“No!” shouted Fluttershy. If Rainbow Dash was really my true love... she thought. Then she cleared her throat. “No, thank you Rainbow Dash. I'm quite fine.”
“Okay...”

Rainbow Dash flew off, leaving Fluttershy really confused. Was Rainbow Dash my very special somepony? It doesn't make sense... Twilight spell must of went wrong. Fluttershy launched off the ground, heading towards Twilight Sparkle's house. I just hope she doesn't laugh when I tell her..., Fluttershy thought sadly.

At Twilight's house, when Rainbow Dash arrived

“Okay, say that again Rainbow, more slower and louder. I can't understand you.”
“Your spell... it must of went wrong somehow...”
“How so?”
“The mental arrow... it pointed to-” Rainbow Dash tried to speak, but no words came out.
“Who? Who did it point to?!”
Rainbow Dash spoke very quietly, so that Twilight couldn't hear.
“What was that?”
Rainbow Dash once again spoke quietly.
“Rainbow... I can't help you if you don't speak up. Who was it?”
“Fl- Fluttershy...”

Twilight heard, but didn’t believe.
“Errr... what?”
“It pointed to Fluttershy.”
“That's...” Twilight tried to find the right words to say.
“Impossible? Terrible? Laughable?” said Rainbow Dash, suggesting words.
“That's unexpected, but... your mental arrow can't of pointed to her so quickly, unless you already had some sort of romantic attraction to her...”
“What?”
“Look...”

Twilight levitated the spell book in front of Rainbow. Rainbow started to read. Twilight was right. The mental arrow pointed to your true love, but according to the book, there was some sort of confusion period while the mental arrow tried to find your true love. It usually lasted around a day or 2. The book also said that, if you have some sort of romantic attraction to your true love, then this period is usually skipped.

“Why didn't you tell me this earlier?” demanded Rainbow Dash.
“I didn't see it on the page before...” admitted Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight put the book back on the shelf, and looked straight at Rainbow Dash.
“So you had some sort of romantic affection towards Fluttershy in the past?”
“Well... maybe once or twice, I thought of us being together... but I laughed away the idea.”
“It looks like your subconscious is still holding onto that thought of love.”

The door burst open before Rainbow Dash could say anything else.
“Twilight!” yelled Fluttershy. “Your spell must of went wrong. It's pointing to-”
Fluttershy stopped as she noticed who was in the room. She blushed and turned away.
“Oh, um, you seem to have company... I'll go.”
“Fluttershy... can you come here please?”

Fluttershy turned around and walked back towards Twilight and Rainbow Dash, standing very nervously next to Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow... I placed the same spell I put on you on Fluttershy.” said Twilight.
Rainbow was a little amazed but said nothing. What coincidence...
“Fluttershy... where is your mental arrow pointing?” asked Twilight.
Fluttershy raised a shaking hoof, and pointed at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow was really surprised at that. Fluttershy had... romantic feelings towards her?
“Rainbow... what about you?” asked Twilight.
Rainbow hesitated for a few moments, then pointed at Fluttershy. Fluttershy gasped.

“There you go, you two. Your true love is standing next to you.”
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy both looked at each other, and in that one moment, Rainbow Dash really appreciated how beautiful the mare in front of her really was.
“What do we do now?” asked Rainbow
“I don't know... I can't meddle in this any more than I already have.” said Twilight. “What I do know is this... You both need to have one deep and meaningful kiss, otherwise the mental arrow will forever plague you and slowly drive you crazy...”
“So... all we need to do is just kiss, and that's it? Simple!” said Rainbow Dash, and then she lightly kissed Fluttershy's cheek. “There!”
Fluttershy blushed even more.

“Rainbow... I said deep and meaningful... That certainly wasn't very special at all.”
“So, what do we do, Twilight?” asked Fluttershy.
“You need to spend sometime together. Get to know each other more. And, when the time is right, you will know when to kiss. Just be patient, the time will come.”

“Okay...”
Then Rainbow Dash looked at Fluttershy.
“Where do you want to go?”
“Your asking... me?”
“Of course!”
“Well... lets go. I know a perfect spot!”

And they both left, closing the door behind them. Twilight Sparkle smiled to herself. Maybe her little mistake wouldn't be so huge after all...

Outside, Fluttershy was leading Rainbow Dash to her 'perfect spot'. They both flew on for minutes; neither of them talking. Then Fluttershy started to descend. Rainbow Dash noticed and followed. They both landed on a ledge, high in the sky. However, their view was obstructed by clouds.

“It's not usually like this. Most of the time, there are no clouds anywhere.”
“I can fix that” said Rainbow Dash, and she instantly started to clear the clouds.
Fluttershy watched in fascination, as Rainbow Dash swiftly cleared the sky of clouds. After Rainbow Dash had cleared the clouds, Rainbow Dash watched in fascination, as she saw why this spot was perfect.

The view was amazing. Rainbow Dash looked around, examining every bit of their surroundings.
“It's not just the view... You can also see the best sunrises and sunsets from here.” explained Fluttershy.
“How did you find such a great place?”
“When I was flying around one day, I saw this little ledge on a mountain. I landed on it and saw this. Now I usually come here everyday.”

Rainbow Dash sat down, just on the edge of the ledge. Fluttershy joined her. Together they talked. About themselves, their lives, what they liked. After a while, Fluttershy held out her hoof to Rainbow Dash, and she took it. They both looked off into the distance, as the sky darkened around them.