The room was dark and quiet; the only sounds that could be heard were the heartbeats of the ponies within. The air was warm and heavy, uncomfortably so. Once again, Twilight Sparkle slammed her shoulder against the door, then groaned when, again, it yielded no positive results. "Darn it!" she growled, stomping a hoof on the floor. "Whose bright idea was it to play this stupid game, anyway?"
"I think it was Pinkie Pie's," a raspy voice answered. "And she's not gonna unlock the door for a while—you know how she gets..."
Twilight sighed and rested her head against the soft wood of the door. "Ugh! Tell me about it! Really, who thinks up a game where you lock two ponies in a dark closet?"
When no response came from Rainbow Dash, Twilight tried to blast the door open with a heavy burst of purple magic. The wave of energy filled the room and crashed into the paneled barrier that held them prisoner, but when it impacted, nothing happened. The magic dissipated without so much as vibrating the door, vanishing with a silly squeak.
"What?" Twilight cried disbelievingly, "How in Equestria?" She took a deep breath and exclaimed: "Pinkie!"
There was a short pause, followed by the sound of ruffling feathers. "Um... Y-you do know what we're supposed to be doing... right?"
Twilight thought back to when Pinkie Pie had explained the rules of the game. She hadn't heard exactly what they were supposed to do while they were in here, but then again, she hadn't really understood anything that came out of Pinkie because she'd been so excited that she'd hopped around the library like a hyperactive bunny while she talked. "Not really, no," she admitted.
Again, there was that pause. The air grew warmer, and Twilight felt the closet shrink. Well, maybe it wasn't shrinking, but she felt like Rainbow Dash was awfully close to her. Then again, they were in a closet, they were bound to have little room to move.
"C'mon, you've never played this game before?"
"No," Twilight huffed. "Forgive me if I sound rude, but getting locked in a small dark room is not my idea of fun!"
"Twi, that's the idea."
There was another pause. Twilight took the time to note that the closet did seem to be shrinking—her back was now pressed firmly against the wall, and Rainbow still seemed only inches away. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Of course it's not actually shrinking! she thought. That's impossible! It's just an illusion—because there are two of us in here the closet seems like it's half as big, that's all.
"So, Rainbow, what are we supposed to be doing?"
More feathers ruffled, and Twilight wondered why her pegasus friend couldn't keep her extra appendages still. "Well, uh..." Rainbow paused for a moment. "We're supposed to be doing, um... stuff..."
"Stuff?" Twilight raised an eyebrow, although she was sure Rainbow Dash wouldn't be able to see it through the darkness. "That's very articulate, Rainbow..."
"Huh?" came the response from her friend. Twilight didn't have to see Rainbow's face to know that she had, again, used a higher than fifth grade vocabulary with the speedster.
"Ugh," the unicorn groaned. "What I meant to say is, can you explain a little more? How are we supposed to play this stupid game if I don't even know what we're doing?"
"Oh." There was a short pause, followed by the closet shrinking even more. "Well... one of those things is, uh, kissing..."
"What?" Twilight practically shrieked. Suddenly, the warm presence was gone and Twilight felt the closet rapidly inflate back to full size. There was a series of muffled thumps, followed by the sound of snapping wood.
"Ow."
"Why in Celestia's name would we do that?" This game was getting more ridiculous by the second! Why did they have to kiss? That didn't make any sense at all! What kind of game consisted of going in the closet and kissing?
Twilight smashed her shoulder on the door, it jarred violently, but held strong. "Pinkie Pie!" she exclaimed, slamming against the door again. When she got out of here, she was going to give that pony a piece of her well-read mind! "Open this door!"
"Nope!" an over-ecstatic voice cheered from the other side. "Five more minutes!"
"What?" the unicorn cried, kicking the door. "Pinkie!"
"Aw, c'mon, Twilight!" Rainbow's voice had a distinct shakiness to it—like she was trying to talk while an earthquake rumbled under her hooves. "It... It's not so bad..."
Suddenly, the unicorn ceased her murderous assault on the poor closet door. Angling her vision to where she thought her pegasus friend sat, she said: "Not so bad? Pinkie Pie just locked us in a closet and now I find out that the only way I'm getting out is by kissing you? Please, Rainbow Dash, tell me what bad really is, then!"
"Well, at least you'd actually get a kiss for once!"
The hostility in Dash's tone startled Twilight into silence. Her mind reeled as she tried to figure out just what her friend meant by her very hurtful comment. "I... I've been kissed before..." she mumbled lamely.
"By who?" Dash growled. "Your parents? Shining Armor? We both know you've never even been on a date!"
"Shut up!" Twilight snapped. "You haven't met him! I don't know why you're pushing this stupid game so hard! We are locked in a closet right now, the last thing I'm worried about is getting kissed by anypony—especially you!" When Twilight was through, she was breathing heavily and fighting a twitching eyebrow. She waited impatiently for Rainbow Dash's angered comeback, but nothing came—there was only silence. Then, after a moment, she got her response, but it wasn't what she'd wanted—in fact, it was so quiet, so gentile, that she'd barely heard it.
A sniffle.
In one instant, Twilight felt her balloon of anger come crashing down in a huge torrent of guilt. She'd never been the patron saint of empathy, but she certainly wasn't stupid! Twilight had never heard of Rainbow Dash crying before—that was unheard of! But she was, a second sniffle—just as soft and hidden as the first—cut its way through the silence and confirmed it; that one fact by itself was enough for her sharp mind to piece two and two together. A strong feeling of discomfort solidified in her gut, making her feel like she'd swallowed a bowling ball.
Taking a tentative step forward, ignoring her unease, Twilight closed the small gap between her friend and herself. "Rainbow Dash?"
"Go away."
Ignoring her friend's frustrated whimper, Twilight placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder. She noted with shame that the pegasus was quivering under her touch. "Rainbow..."
"Go." She sniffled again. "Just leave me alone."
Wordlessly, Twilight wrapped her friend up in her forelegs and squeezed her tight against her chest. Initially, the stubborn mare fought her and tried to maintain distance, but after a few moments, Twilight won their battle of wills and held her close. A warm wetness made contact with Twilight's fur as Dash buried her head under her chin. The spastic motions Rainbow made as she breathed sent shivers up and down Twilight's spine, but eventually they began to subside, growing farther and farther apart until the only signs of Rainbow's sadness were her occasional whimpers.
With a comforting nuzzle, Twilight closed her eyes and took in the light, airy scent of Rainbow's mane. Still, despite her comfort, Twilight couldn't help but feel a bit worried. Why did this feel so right? The warmth, the silky softness of Rainbow's fur, the way Dash's body seemed to fit perfectly against hers, Twilight felt like she was made to hold her friend—like her entire duty in life was simply to embrace Rainbow Dash. These feelings were foreign and scary—she felt content, like nothing could ever go wrong as long as this happening, but that was wrong, right? The house could burn down, they were still locked in a closet, a war could break out, leading to the deaths of thousands of ponies, and she didn't care at all.
Twilight didn't know how much time had passed when she heard Dash mumble something into her chest. Despite herself, Twilight gently ran her hoof through the other mare's mane. "What was that?"
Rainbow squirmed a little in her friend's embrace before bringing her head level to Twilight's. "Why?"
Twilight adjusted her hooves to compensate for Rainbow's shifting weight. "Why what?"
Dash's mane tickled Twilight's neck as she nuzzled back into a comfortable position. After a moment or two, Rainbow took a deep breath and answered her, "Why don't you like me?"
Twilight bit her lip, before she could answer though, she was interrupted.
"I mean, I'm trying so hard, but nothing's working! I... I just want you to like me, Twilight... like I like you..."
"How long?" Twilight's tone was carefully monitored—she didn't know anything about this subject and she didn't know what she felt. Then again, perhaps her continued desire to comfort Dash and stroke her mane was all the answer she needed from herself.
Rainbow nuzzled deeper into Twilight's embrace and sighed. "I don't know... since forever?"
Twilight fought the urge to laugh at her friend's simplicity. She was pretty sure Rainbow Dash was the only pony she knew who wouldn't question herself, or split hairs if she felt something like infatuation for another pony. "Is that why you chose me to play with?"
A few heartbeats later, Rainbow's head gently shifted up and down. "I... I thought that maybe if we did this that you might... that we could..." she trailed off with a soft sob.
"That we could what?"
"Never mind, it sounds stupid."
With careful hooves, Twilight took hold of her friend's head so she could look her in the eyes. Though the closet was very dark, in close proximity, Twilight could make out Rainbow's glistening magenta orbs. Without blinking, Twilight ran another hoof through Dash's mane and spoke, "Rainbow Dash, you are my best friend; you know that you can tell me anything, right?"
Rainbow shifted her weight and turned her head away. "Well, um..." She paused. "I-I was hoping that maybe you might wanna be my very special somepony..."
Twilight's felt her cheeks grow warm and retracted her hooves, slowly placing them on the floor. "R-Rainbow... I've never... I-I don't..."
"It's okay... I understand." Silently, Rainbow brought herself back onto her hooves. "I-I'll tell Pinkie to open the door..."
Somehow, Rainbow's choked remark stung more than anything else that had happened in the past few minutes. The weight in Twilight's stomach grew, expanding to her chest and settling around her heart. Why did that one fact feel so important? Was her body trying to tell her something?
Was she nervous?
Without really knowing what she was doing, Twilight released control of her body and allowed her instincts to take over. Reaching out, she wrapped a foreleg around Rainbow's midsection and pulled the pegasus back into her embrace. "Wait!"
"Whoa!"
Acting purely in the moment, Twilight latched onto Dash's face and jammed her lips onto Dash's—
"Um, Twilight? That's my nose..."
With a panicked squeak, Twilight let go of Rainbow Dash and jumped back. "I-I..." What did she just try to do? Did I really just... Biting her lip, Twilight closed her eyes and waited for her friend to react.
Nothing happened.
The silence filled the room like a heavy blanket; not even the sounds of Rainbow Dash's ruffled feathers could be heard now. With her heart beating like a jackhammer, Twilight decided to speak.
"I'm sorry—" she started.
"Did—" Rainbow began.
"Um." Twilight gulped. Mustering up her resolve, she opened her eyes. "You go ahead."
"Did you mean that?"
Did she? Twilight had never done anything without having thought it through very thoroughly before now, how could she gauge her intent when she hadn't even meant to do it in the first place? It was a decision made out of desperation, out of fear. But fear of what?
And that's when it clicked.
In retrospect, it was fairly obvious: wondering what her cerulean would do when she was in a tight spot or knowing exactly how to cheer up a saddened Rainbow Dash, that feeling of completeness she'd gotten just by holding Rainbow in her forelegs, they told her what she should have already known—what she did know, in a way. How could she not have known? Even before she'd gotten to know her friends very well, Dash had always been special, an anomaly. All of Twilight's friends held a place in her heart, but now she realized that Dash's place was much, much larger than usual.
"Yes," Twilight whispered—more to herself than to Rainbow. "I-I think—no—I know so."
Suddenly, a wall of flesh, fur and feathers slammed into Twilight, knocking her to the ground and pinning her down—she wasn't even able to yelp in surprise because her mouth had been taken hostage by a set of alien lips.
It wasn't magical; it wasn't a surreal, crazy, becoming or any of the adjectives Rarity's overly romanticized descriptions contained. Fireworks didn't explode and sparks didn't fly anywhere, but Twilight didn't care, it was still the single greatest feeling she'd ever felt. Rainbow's wings beat softly above her, creating a gentile breeze inside the closet and sending chills down Twilight's spine. A hoof wrapped itself around Twilight's head and pulled with all it's might, forcing her as close to Rainbow as physically possible. Not wanting to be left out, Twilight ran her hoof through Rainbow's mane for what was probably the hundredth time that night, causing her to shudder.
Sadly, it had to come to an end, as all good things must. Breathless and flushed, the duo lay on the floor, drunk on affection and satisfaction. They held each other close, sharing their warmth. No longer were they Twilight and Rainbow, somehow they had transcended beyond physical boundaries and become one spirit, one soul. If you asked Twilight at that moment, she'd swear that even their hearts were beating in unison.
"Twilight, I—" Dash started.
"Rainbow," Twilight interjected, snuggling deeper into Rainbow's embrace. "Do you know why still waters run deepest?"
Taking the hint, Rainbow stayed silent, setting her head back down on the floor of the closet. With a contented sigh, Twilight squeezed her once, and closed her eyes.
Twilight woke with a start. Where was the light? Why was she on the floor? What the heck was breathing—Oh! Right! Rainbow Dash... They must have fallen asleep in the closet.
Gently slipping herself out of Dash's grip, Twilight sat herself up and released a long, tired yawn. A few taps on the head woke Rainbow up, and she too rose from the ground, cracking her joints in a crass, uncaring way. "What time is it?" she asked, popping her wings.
"I don't know," Twilight answered. "Passed seven minutes, probably..." The pair shared a laugh in the darkness of the closet.
"Best. Game. Ever," said Rainbow. She nuzzled Twilight. "So does this mean that we're..." she trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
Twilight snickered. "I certainly hope so."
"Really?" Rainbow cried, her wings flapping exuberantly. "I-I mean... cool. I've got some free time later, y'know... if you wanna hang out..."
Twilight couldn't help but smile at her friend's antics. She never would have pegged the Rainbow Dash as the shy type, but it was just too cute to mention—if she did, Rainbow would deny it and make an effort to change herself, and Twilight liked her just the way she was. "I'd like that."
"C-cool."
"So..."
"Yeah..." Dash shuffled her hooves against the floor. After a moment of silence, she opened the closet door, revealing a pitch black library. "I guess I should be heading home now, huh?"
Twilight bit her lip. "Well... I-if you want to..."
The silhouette of Rainbow dropped it's head. "So, I'll, uh, see you tomorrow?"
"Of course!"
A few steps later and Dash was at the front door. Twilight used her magic to light a lantern on the wall, revealing the shelves of books decorating the walls.
For the first time since before they were locked in the closet, Twilight saw Rainbow Dash in the light. Her coat was decorated in dust and dirt, her hair matted and tangled, hooves dirty and feathers disheveled: she'd never looked so beautiful. Twilight felt her heart jump as Dash opened the door to leave.
"Bye, Twilight."
"Good-bye, Rainbow."
With a final glance behind herself, Rainbow Dash walked out the door and started on her journey home. Twilight watched the door begin to close, but snatched it and held it open. "We open at six!" she called out as Dash disappeared into the darkness. "But I have to do some pre-opening cleaning, so drop by anytime!"
When the last shades of Rainbow's prismatic tail faded into the night, Twilight let the door close and sighed. If you would have told her that morning that she would have a special somepony by the end of the night—Rainbow Dash at that—she would have called you crazy, especially considering the avenue in which she'd gotten one, but nonetheless, it had happened, and Twilight was thankful for it.
Deciding it was well past bedtime, Twilight started for the staircase, only to spot something peculiar on the table: a note. It's messy, mouthwriting—even my non-unicorn standards—signified that Pinkie Pie was the messenger. She must have gotten tired of waiting for us, Twilight thought. Picking it up, Twilight held it against the light and read:
Told you so, Dashie!
