Some Things Should Remain Unheard
Twilight had a secret. Only one other being in Equestria knew: Spike. Possibly Pinkie Pie as well, knowing how often that mare defied logic. But now she was in quite the predicament. Rainbow Dash was thinking about accepting an offer for a date from Thunderlane, and Twilight didn’t want to lose her chance with Rainbow. So here she was, practicing in front of a picture of her crush.
“Rainbow Dash, would you like to go out with me?” she tried. “No, no, no ,no! This isn’t going to work! How am I going to do this? I’m a nervous wreck! Let’s try again. Rainbow, would you want to go see a Wonderbolts show with me?” Just then, there was a knock on her bedroom door. “Come in!”
“Hey Twilight.” Spike said as he walked in, “What cha’ up to?”
“Oh nothing too serious, just practicing asking Rainbow out on a date,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Spike hopped onto her bed, and asked “Anything I can do to help?”
“Oh, not really. I mean, except somehow manage to get Rainbow to turn down her offer of a date with Thunderlane to go out with me!” she replied, rustling her wings at the prospect of losing her potential marefriend.
“Oh. In that case, there’s nothing much I can help with. Sorry, Twilight,” Spike told her, with a hint of longing for wanting to help his older sister.
“It’s ok Spike. This is probably something I need to do on my own anyways.”
Rainbow Dash was on her way home, wishing she had something to listen to music with while she was flying without the need for a million bit soundsystem. Just as she was passing over the library, she heard Twilight talking with Spike. Seeing as she couldn’t hear their voices very well, and giving up on fighting her curiosity, she quietly flew towards the tree to catch some of the conversation. As she hid in some of the branches near Twilight’s room, she could start hearing snippets of conversation.
“Oh nothing too serious, just practicing asking Rainbow out on a date.”
With that statement, Rainbow’s jaw hit the sidewalk below her. Twilight has a crush on me? She thought to herself. I didn’t see that coming. Resuming her little project of listening in, she heard Twilight say “Except somehow manage to get Rainbow to turn down her offer of a date with Thunderlane to go out with me!”
And with that, Rainbow Dash was off.
The next day: Sugarcube Corner
“Hey girls!” Twilight said as she walked in, spotting Rarity and Fluttershy at a table.
“Oh, Hello darling!” Rarity gushed. “How has your day been so far?”
“Pretty good, considering Spike nearly torched a book on the comprehensive history of Equestria, written at least two hundred years before the banishment of Nightmare Moon, when he burped.”
“So a, um, relatively uneventful day then?” Fluttershy said as she joined the conversation.
“Hardly. We had a new shipment of books come in from a new publishing company in Manehattan, and I had to sort those out alphabetically and by genre.”
“Oh, my” squeaked Fluttershy.
There was a simultaneous “Hey, everypony!” and “Howdy, y’all” as Pinkie Pie and Applejack walked in from opposite sides of the store.
“So how has y'all's day been so far?”
“Oh, oh, oh! Mine was super-awesome-amazing because I got a huge cake order for the opening night at a new nightclub near Town Hall, and I got free tickets! I’ve only got two, though,” Pinkie pouted.
“Well that’s just dandy. Twi’ has anything excitin’ happened at the library?”
“Well Spike nearly torched a book, and I got a new shipment of books in from Canterlot, but other than that, no. Oh, and has anypony seen Rainbow Dash?”
“Well shoot. Ah saw her on the way to her house, and she stopped to tell me that she was gonna go visit her parents in Cloudsdale.”
“Oh, ok. I was just hoping to ask her something,” Twilight said, a bit disappointedly.
“Is somethin’ botherin’ ya, sugarcube?”
“Um, yeah, there kinda is. Can you girls Pinkie Promise me that not a word of this leaves this room, at least until I’ve had a chance to talk to Rainbow about it?”
There was a chorus of “Sure!” from the group. Ok, so here goes nothing; well not nothing, everything. “Ok, so here goes. I have a crush on Rainbow Dash” She trailed off.
“What was that, sugarcube? You have a crush on who?”
“I have a crush on Rainbow Dash.”
“One more time, sugarcube. You have a crush on who?”
“I have a crush on Rainbow Dash!” she screamed, nearly telling half of Ponyville had it not been for Sugarcube Corner having been soundproofed to keep the noise complaints down whenever Pinkie had a party. After that confession, the rest just stared.
“You do know she has an offer from Thunderlane for a date, right?” Rarity said, voicing the question that was on all their minds.
“Of course, and I feel like a horrible pony for saying this, but I wish that she’d turn it down just so I could have a chance. I know I should be happy for her either way, but I just wish…” she started to sob, not finishing her sentence. Applejack came over and put a hoof around her shoulder.
“Calm down, sugarcube. Ya aren’t a horrible pony for feelin’ that way. Heck, if Ah were in your place, Ah’d probably feel the same way.”
“You would?” questioned Twilight.
“Of course. Ah know; it hurts to think of the pony ya love lovin’ somepony else.”
“So what should I do?” Twilight asked, her sobs quieting.
“Just tell her how you feel, that’s all” Rarity told her, trying to help.
“But what if she turns me down? What if I make our friendship awkward?”
“Ya don’t know if ya don’t try, sugarcube.” Applejack said. There were nods of confirmation from the rest of the group. “Ya have to tell her, or you’ll never know. For all you know, she’s just as nervous as you.”
“You girls are right; I need to tell her. I’m not going to wait either. I’m going to try her house first, then if she’s not there, I’ll fly to Cloudsdale and talk to her there!” Twilight said with conviction in her voice.
Meanwhile: Rainbow’s cloud house
What do I do, what do I do, what do I do Rainbow asked herself over and over, having done so since she saw Applejack on the way to Sugarcube Corner. Then a new thought occurred to her. What do I feel for her? In a way, there was more than a purely platonic relationship between the two, what with the playful ribbing, and with Twilight caring about whether she achieved her dreams or not. Going along with this train of thought, she asked herself What would I do if Twi got asked on a date? As soon as she thought this, she felt a sudden pang of jealousy for said stallion. Why did I feel that? Do I have feelings for Twilight? She was too confused to think straight. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Buck, I wonder who that could be. There were two possibilities: Fluttershy or Twilight. Probably the latter Rainbow thought dejectedly. Opening the door, she discovered that she was right.
“Hey Twilight,” Dash said, trying not to be too enthusiastic.
“Hey, Dash. I thought you were supposed to be in Cloudsdale. Did you just get back?” Twilight questioned
“Yeah, my parents were out of the house, and I just decided to come back later,” Dash told her, while trying not to get caught in a lie.
“Oh. Hey, can I talk to you about something?”
“Sure, come on in,” Dash said, holding the door open for her. “So there was something you wanted to talk about?” Dash inquired, taking a seat on the couch.
“Kind of. It kind of, um, involves you, though,” Twilight said, acting a bit like Fluttershy.
Hm, what about me, I wonder? Dash thought sarcastically to herself while replying “What about me?”
“You know what, nevermind. I should probably get going. You’re probably tired from your flight back from Cloudsdale,” Twilight said as she started for the door.
“Twilight, wait.” The sternness in the command made Twilight stop in her tracks. “I know about your feelings for me. I overheard your conversation with Spike earlier today while I was flying past the library.”
“You...you do?” Twilight asked, with no small amount of nervousness and trepidation in her voice.
“Yeah, I do,” Dash said matter-of-factly.
“How much did you hear?” Twilight asked, an edge creeping into her voice.
“Let’s see; everything after you told Spike why you were locked in your room. Twi, I’m flattered that you feel that way for me, but I don’t know if I feel that way for you. And telling Spike the only way he could help at all was by getting me to turn down the offer of a date from Thunderlane, that’s not like you.”
Twilight paled. “I have to go,” was all she said before she punched a hole in the cloud beneath her feet and dropped, flying off in the direction of Canterlot.
“What did I just do?”
An hour later: Outside the palace in Canterlot
Twilight took a moment to compose herself before going in to talk to Celestia. Or Luna. Or possibly both, considering her mental state at being turned down by her only crush. As she approached the gates, the guards, spotting her, saluted. “At ease, soldiers,” she told them, of which the only reply was the simultaneous sound of hooves on stone. As she proceeded through the gate, and into the throne room, she saw an unusual amount of ponies hustling throughout the courtyards. Must be in between Day and Night courts she thought to herself as she entered the throne room. When she walked in, all of the nobles bowed, hoping to gain favor with the new princess. “You may stand,” she told them as she walked past. I hope that I don’t always have to say that when I come here, it makes me uncomfortable. When she exited the throne room, she almost ran straight into Celestia and Luna, in the middle of a heated conversation about some trivial topic the nobles wanted an answer to. Alright, here goes. “Celestia, Luna.” Both started at the sound of her voice, not expecting to hear it until the next Princess Summit.
“Twilight, how surprising to see you today. We weren’t expecting you until the next Princess Summit. What brings you to Canterlot?”
“Well, you see…” she trailed off. “Can we go talk somewhere a little more, I don’t know, private?”
“Of course. We can go to my quarters. Luna, can you oversee the rest of the transition from Day to Night Courts?”
“Of course sister. Did thou have to even ask?” was Luna’s reply.
“Don’t get snarky with me, Luna. You know how I get when I’m tired.”
“Of course we do. Didst thou not remember the time when thou had put cockroaches in our bed. We still can’t even look at any kind of bugs,” Luna shuddered, “We hath forgiven thee, though. Thou was very irritable that night, due in part to some spat over an acre of land.”
“Don’t remind me, Luna,” Celestia told her sister.
“Um, Celestia, shouldn’t we get going?” Twilight inquired, reminding the sun diarch that her former student was waiting.
“Of course, Twilight. Forgive an old mare her vices.”
“Good bye, Luna. Maybe next time I visit, I won’t have any pressing matters,” Twilight said to Luna as she walked in to the throne room. Celestia then got Twilight on her way to the room.
As they walked, Celestia decided to try to get some more information from ‘her faithful student’. “Twilight, may I ask what this is about?”
“Um, sure. You see, I’ve had a bit of a crush, but I didn’t know how to go about admitting it to her, er, them, today, and they kind of-”
It finally sunk in for Celestia. “Her, Hm? My, Twilight, I didn’t know you swung that way,” Celestia said, not wanting to pass up a chance for some playful ribbing.
Twilight turned a shade of red normally reserved for tomatoes. “Neither did I, to be honest. It’s just that I felt an attraction to her that I can’t explain or understand.”
“So may I ask as to who this mystery mare is?” Celestia asked as she opened the door to her spacious bedroom.
“Well, um, she’s an Bearer, and that’s all I’m going to-” Celestia cut her off with a hoof.
“Rainbow Dash?”
Twilight’s jaw had an unfortunate meeting with the crystal caves under Canterlot. “What!? How did you know!?”
“She just seemed to be, I don’t know, something of a balancer between your extra-organized nature and introverted personality, what with her extroverted personality and disorganized-ness. She’s also quite cute, and she seems like she’d be a good match for you,” Celestia replyed with a small smirk.
“Alright, but that’s the reason I’m here, actually. You see, she kind of overheard me talking with Spike about how I should go about asking her out, and when I went by to ask her to see a Wonderbolts show with me, she kind of told me that she’d heard me talking when I tried to leave because I got nervous and then I got confused and frustrated and sad all at the same time so I punched a hole in a cloud then flew here,” she paused, taking a breath, “Then I wanted to talk to you, so I figured ‘maybe she’s in the castle’ so here I am, ranting about a crush that probably isn’t re-” Celestia cut her off again, this time with a spell.
“I see. So you came here looking for advice, hm?”
“Well, I guess so, I mean, I didn’t know why I came here, maybe just so I could rant, I don’t kn-” This is really getting old Twilight thought when Celestia cut her off for a third time.
“Twilight, I understand that you’re nervous. But you need to stop going off on tangents that will eventually lead to unrelated topics. So, for the advice I have for you, is just be yourself. If she’s attracted to you in the same way you are her, then it’s because you are you. You shouldn’t have to change who you are just to please your partner.”
“But what if I make things so awkward that she doesn’t want to be my friend anymore?”
“That’s a risk you’ll have to take, but if she truly is your friend, then you both will eventually move past it and resume your normal relationship, almost as if it had never happened.”
“Ok. Princess? Is it ok if I spend the night in my old tower here in Canterlot?”
“Of course, my faithful student,” Celestia winked, smiling down on her ‘adopted daughter’.
An hour later: Sugarcube Corner
Rainbow was in a panic when she had burst into Sugarcube Corner. It had taken three of Applejack’s lassoes to hold her down so they could get her to explain. “So what’s got ya all in a dizzy all of a sudden, Dash?” Applejack asked Rainbow.
Rainbow stopped struggling against her bonds long enough to reply “I need to find Twilight!” and resumed struggling.
“Hold on, you mean you talked to her?” This was Rarity.
“Of course I did! And that’s why I need to find her before I hurt her even more!”
“Would this have anything ta do with the crush she had on ya?”
“YES!” Rainbow nearly used the Royal Canterlot Voice, which Luna would have been proud of. “And I need to find her so I can make things right!”
“Calm down, sugarcube. Ya aren’t gonna do any good when you’re in a panic like ya are now.”
Rainbow stopped struggling. “You really think I should stop and think for once in my life?”
“Of course, darling. You shouldn’t rush into things of this nature heedless of the consequences,” Rarity explained.
“So do any of you girls know where she is? Last I saw her, she’d dropped out a hole she’d made in my floor.”
“Well, Ah don’t know. I ain’t seen her back here since she left to talk to ya. She could be back at the library,” Applejack suggested.
“Um, girls, I can go check. It’s just around the corner. So that way you girls can help Rainbow with fixing this.”
“Good idea, Fluttershy. Rainbow, Can Ah untie ya? Ya aren’t gonna go bolt out the window or somethin, are ya?” Applejack said as Fluttershy walked out the door.
“No. I probably need some help with this.”
“Alrighty then, sugarcube,” Applejack muttered through clenched teeth as she undid the knots on the rope around Rainbow’s legs. “So what happened when Twilight talked to ya?”
“Well, I kinda mentioned that I had overheard her talking with Spike about it, and she flipped out. I was just so confused as to what I felt, I couldn’t think of how much what I was saying was hurting her. She probably is locked in her room in the library, crying her eyes out,” Rainbow finished as Fluttershy walked back in. “Hey, Shy, was Twi at home?”
“No. Spike, um, said that she hasn’t been back since she left to come to Sugarcube Corner. He sent a letter off to Princess Celestia, and he’s going to bring back the reply when he gets one.”
Just then, Spike ran into the room carrying a sealed scroll, panting more than Winona on a hot summers day after preventing a stampede from destroying Ponyville. “Hey...guys...I...just...got...a...reply...from...Princess...Celestia,” Spike said in between pants.
“Well, let us read it!” They all practically screamed at him.
“Ok, Ok, here you go,” he said, handing them the scroll.
Opening the scroll, Rainbow read out loud:
Dear Spike,
Twilight is spending the night in Canterlot due to
needing to talk to me on some pressing personal
matters. Feel free to let her friends know that she will
probably be back in Ponyville by noon tomorrow. I am glad to
hear that you are worried for Twilight’s whereabouts. It shows
that you truly care about her as family.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia
“So that’s all it says? That she’s staying in Canterlot for ‘personal matters’?” Applejack said, a bit incredulously.
Rainbow heaved a large sigh of relief. “Thank Celestia she’s safe. I was worried that Chrysalis had gotten her or something.”
“Now, darling, why would you worry about something as preposterous as that? Chrysalis was last seen deep in the Badlands to the south, on the far side of the Griffon Empire.” Rarity asked.
“I don’t know! I just assumed the worst,” Rainbow responded, dropping her head so it almost touched the floor.
Rarity had a suspicion as to why Rainbow felt that way, but held her tongue for now. She didn’t want to say anything she would regret. Suddenly, Rainbow perked up. “I know what to do! I’m gonna fly to Canterlot tonight and fix this!” Rainbow leapt up, preparing to launch herself out the door.
“Woah, nelly! No ya don’t, Dash. There has ta be a reason she wants to stay in Canterlot for the night.”
“Darling, may I mention some thoughts of mine from just observing your resolve to fix this?” Rarity asked, hoping that she wouldn’t outrage Rainbow with her next statement. “Rainbow, I think that you might be just as in love with our librarian as she is with you.”
Rainbow stopped dead in her tracks, and nearly smashed her head on the floor as her legs gave out. Oh, my. Should I have told her?
“Oh, who am I kidding. Of course I am. It just took me possibly losing her as a friend to see it. Now I need to make this right. But how? She probably doesn’t want to see me ever again,” Rainbow started, as tears began to leak from her eyes. “She’ll probably move back to Canterlot, and only visit on holidays, but only if I’m not there. What have I done? I’ve bucked up, that’s what I’ve done. I’ve bucked up big time. I need to fix this. See you girls later, or not at all. I’m going to fix this or die trying,” Dash said as she stood up with a new, hardened, resolve, and quickly, faster than the eye could see, was out the door and into the sky.
Canterlot observatory: half an hour later
“Twilight, your room should be ready. Sorry it took so long to get it ready for use again. Nopony’s had much use for it since you left,” Celestia told her as she pushed the door open.
“It’s fine, Princess. It’s kind of strange being back here after moving to Ponyville. Everything’s exactly where I left it.”
“That it is. I hope that you’re comfortable while you’re here. And if you need anything, just let a servant know, or come get me. It’s always a pleasure having you at the castle.”
“Good night, Princess.”
“Good night, Twilight.”
As Twilight lay down on her bed, she heard a loud boom, and soon after the room was awash in a rainbow-colored hue. Suddenly, there were large, looping spirals through the sky as a certain pegasus bled off some speed. As soon as she’d bled off enough speed, she burst through a window that Twilight opened with her magic, knowing what was coming. There was a loud CRASH! followed by the sound of books hitting a stone floor.
“Rainbow, I thought that I had made it clear when we talked earlier that I didn’t want to see anypony for a while,” Twilight said, in a voice that was melancholy with a hint of bitterness behind it. This went unnoticed by a rainbow-maned pegasus. When Twilight rolled over to view the damage, she was met with magenta colored irises. Suddenly, without any warning whatsoever, Twilight felt a pressure on her lips. She then noticed Rainbow’s eyes were closed, and then her brain processed what was happening. Her eyes shot wide open, more so than when she used the Elements of Harmony. She then proceeded to let her eyes droop, then close completely as she melted like jello outside on a hot summer day. She then proceeded to respond in kind. When Rainbow finally pulled away, Twilight asked “Did you mean that? Did you really mean that?”
“I meant every bit of it. It took me a bit, but I finally realized what you mean to me, albeit with a bit of help from Rarity.”
Twilight chuckled, planting another kiss on her lips. “So, does this mean you’d like to go see a Wonderbolts show with me?”
“Of course, Twi. I would love to.”
Ponyville, the next day
“So that’s what happened,” Rainbow ‘Dashie’ Dash finished, while her friends all d’aww’ed at how sweet that was. Rainbow then proceeded to put a wing over the back of a certain purple alicorn.
“Well, Dash, Ah didn’t know that ya had a soft side to ya. Ah think it’s nice, to have more than one side to ya.”
“I completely agree, Applejack. It’s like how the best diamonds have more and more facets the better you get to know them.”
“Well, don’t go announcing it to the whole world, you guys. I don’t want too many ponies to know that a Wonderbolt Reserve has a soft side,” Dash said, winking at Twilight while pecking her on the cheek.
Twilight then proceeded to blush furiously, then said “Well, girls, we’ll have to finish the story some other time. I’ve got to get a certain pegasus to the VIP booth at the Cloudsdale Cloudiseum. Wouldn’t want to be late, now would we?” Twilight asked, wagging her eyebrows.
“See ya, girls! We’ll chat later!” Dash shouted over her shoulder as her and her new marefriend walked out to enjoy each other’s company.
Author's Note
Well, here's my second fanfic! I hope you all enjoy, and feel free to leave any feedback in the comments section below.
