The Moments That We Cherish
“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.” ~Jim Valvano
“You think she will like it?” Rainbow asked as she opened the small velvet box with a hoof.
“Uh…” Applejack said, not quite sure how to respond at the small cyan coloured feather that now lay in front of her. Nothing about the feather stood out in Applejack’s mind as she stared at the small cyan object. All that was different about it was a simple piece of dark brown rope tied around the top, so somepony could wear it around their neck, but Applejack couldn't think of a reason why a simple feather would be something that a pony would wear. “It sure is pretty Rainbow, but why a feather?”
“You don’t know darling?” Rarity asked as she walked into the room, a small plate of cucumber sandwiches slowly levitating behind her as she sat down on a cushion next to Applejack. “For many a tradition, pegasi ponies have saved the first feather they molt for their special somepony. Once the feather is molted it is coated in special lacquer, the recipe handed down within pegasi families each generation. This special coating makes sure the feather is not damaged, thus keeping it in the utmost pristine condition through everything that will possibly be thrown at it. The significance of the feather is quite important as well. Since they are preserved in such a high manner, they will last longer than anypony in this world. You are giving them a piece of yourself, one that they will always be able to cherish no matter what happens.”
“Wow,” Applejack said, completely flabberghasted at the extreme significance of the small feather.
“Wow indeed,” Rarity agreed as she took a bite out of one of the small sandwiches. “Although…” Rarity shifted her gaze up to now hovering Rainbow. “I never did peg you as somepony that is into tradition Rainbow. I always thought you’d have skipped right over it.”
“Yeah neither was I,” Rainbow said as she ran a hoof through her mane, while making sure the box lay sitting perfectly balanced on her other forehoof. “Mom was always hard on me for keeping track of it, always making sure that I knew exactly where it was at all times. I thought that pegasi that stuck to the old ways were a little weird when I was growing up. But one day when I was hanging out with Twi, I read the section on the feather in a book of cultural customs, and it made so much sense.” Rainbow’s face curled up into a smile, as she pulled the small box up to her face. “It sums up everything I’ve always wanted to say in one small package.” With those words Rainbow closed the lid of the box and tucked it back into the brown saddlebags that were securely fastened across her back.
“It is a little weird though,” Rainbow said.
“What is?” Pinkie asked, her head shooting out of one of the small plants in the room. “Is it almost as weird as Discord running down the street in a pink tutu while getting chased by giant panda bears? Cause that would just be plain strange. Oh oh! What about a giant plant rising up from the ground and ruling over all of Equestria with it’s terrifying plant army!” The other four ponies just sat there, dumbfounded at the words that had left Pinkie’s mouth. Rainbow violently shook her head, as she tried to get the painful mental image of Discord in a frilly tutu out of her head. No matter how hard she tried though, the dreadful mental image seemed to stick like glue.
“Okay mental note,” Rainbow thought to herself “Make sure to get Pinkie back for searing that mental image into my head. There isn’t enough mind bleach in the world to get rid of that.”
“No Pinkie, that isn’t what I meant," Rainbow said with a deadpanned expression. “I mean it seems like everypony knows about my feelings, except the one pony that matters. Fluttershy was the first one to ask me about Twilight, which is to be expected given that we have known each other since flight school.” Rainbow shifted her gaze over towards Applejack. “It only took you and Rarity a couple of weeks afterwards to ask me about it, and Pinkie just seemed to know since the beginning.”
“Well of course!” Pinkie shouted. “It isn’t everyday that I get an itchy back, followed by a ear flop.”
“Our little librarian isn’t the sharpest quill in the pile when it comes to romantic feelings Rainbow,” Rarity said, taking another bite out of the small sandwich. “I swear she could miss even the most obvious of signs.”
“Yeah tell me about it,” Rainbow said, quietly tucking the small box away within the saddlebag that wrapped around her back. “I’ve tried to tell her how I feel, but every single time it just seems to fly straight over her head. But not this time.”
“Aren’t you a little afraid what might happen?” Fluttershy softly questioned.
“I was at first. But after a while it seemed to be less and less of an impossible task. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed liked the right thing to do. At first I was absolutely terrified to tell her. Every time I tried to tell her, the words would never seem to come out. But now I have finally decided that I will ask her tonight, no matter what.”
“So why are you still here?” Pinkie asked. “Go and catch yourself a librarian.” Rainbow smiled and shot out the door, the signature rainbow contrail following behind her as she left.
“It’s about time,” Rarity said while wiping her face with a small napkin. “I never thought she would actually get around to telling her.”
“You’re telling me,” Applejack said as she grabbed one of the small sandwiches from the plate. “I like having Rainbow around, but it was getting mighty aggravating listening to her go on and on about Twilight missing another hint.” Without saying anything, Pinkie shot off like a dart, nothing more than a pink blur as she rocketed out of the door. “Where in the hay is she going?”
“Silly filly,” Pinkie said with a playful giggle as she poked her head over Applejack’s shoulder, seemingly teleporting back into the room. “I have a party to get setup. These things just don’t magically happen you know.” And with that Pinkie was gone once again.
Twilight awoke with a tired yawn, stretching her hooves as she folded the warm covers off of her. As she looked over at the clock, she noticed that it was already past noon, which was surprising. Usually after the all night reading sessions, she wouldn’t wake up until just a couple moments before supper, but it seemed liked today would actually be somewhat productive. However as Twilight looked at the calendar, she noticed that only a couple slots of her day were schedule were filled up, and she had taken care of most of the work last night.
“Well, a laid back day for once,” Twilight thought to herself. "That doesn’t happen that often.”
“Oh you’re up early,” Spike said as he pulled a thick beige coloured book off of the shelf. “I figured that you would be out until five or so like usual.” Twilight laughed quietly to herself as she got up from the bed, her bones popping once in a while as she stood. “What were you studying this time anyway?”
“Oh nothing important really,” Twilight said with a yawn. “Just some advanced magical theory that tried to grapple the ethical issues of unicorns having full access to age spells. In the book they went over both sides of the argument, one group saying that it would be a good thing to be able control the age of the population, while others said that it would break the natural order of things.”
“Huh…” Spike said, not really sure how to respond to the comment. “Anything planned for today?” Spike asked as he poured a lukewarm cup of coffee for Twilight. With a simple shot of jade coloured flame, the beverage heated up to a much more desirable temperature.
“Let’s see,” Twilight tapped a hoof to her head as she tried to mentally fix her now non-busy schedule. Typically she would have been excited that she woke up earlier than expected, as it would leave more time in the day to do all the things that she needed to, but today it seemed like there was only one important thing that remained.
“Rainbow mentioned that she had something important to talk to me about yesterday, but other than that my day is wide open.”
So she’s finally is going to tell her then, Spike thought to himself. Rainbow did mention that she had finally found something that would make Twilight notice…
“Do you know what she might be coming over to talk to you about?” Spike asked.
“No not at all,” Twilight said while shaking her head, completely oblivious to the loaded question presented to her. “Should I?”
Spike let a small chuckle at the unicorn’s obliviousness to the situation. It amused him to no end that somepony so smart could easily miss something so obvious. Spike knew that Rainbow had been dropping some hints around Twilight about her feelings for the mare, it was hard not to notice. He couldn’t help but laugh at Twilight’s confusion every time he would bring it up.
A loud knock radiated from the library’s front door.
“Hey Twi!” Rainbow shouted from outside. “You home?”
“Don’t worry,” Spike said as he placed the cup of hot coffee on one of the endtables next to Twilight’s bed. “I’ll get the door, and you can get that tangled bedhead of a mane combed while I get Rainbow.”
“Thanks Spike. I’ll be down in a second.”
Spike scurried down the stairs and pulled on the door’s small golden handle.
“Hey little guy,” Rainbow said with a smile on her face. “Twi home?”
“Of course,” Spike said with a nod. “She is just getting up from one of those late night study sessions. You know how she is with them.” A couple of moments of silence hung in between the two, until Spike spoke up once more.
“Finally going to tell her?” Spike asked.
“Yeah,” Rainbow said with a nod. As she walked into the library, she turned around and pulled the small box out of the saddlebag with a hoof. “Although this time, I think she will notice.” Spike reached up and delicately grabbed the box with a claw, carefully pushing the lid open as he pulled it down in front of his face.
“Whoa,” Spike said as he stared at the feather. “Never pegged you as a traditionalist Rainbow.”
“Yeah I seem to be getting it that a lot today.”
“Well she definitely will notice that,” Spike said with a smile as he gave the box back to Rainbow. “Ever since the whole alicorn thing, she’s buried herself in mountains upon on mountains of pegasus books. Everything from flying to social norms, Twilight has probably read it at least three or four times by now.” With those words, Spike walked past Rainbow and began to make his way out the door.
“You want some privacy right?” Spike said as he continued to walk. “Besides I bet Pinkie needs some help with the decorations for the party that she already probably has setup.”
“Yeah you’re probably right,” Rainbow said as she playfully chuckled to herself.
I’ll have to remember to get him something later on, but for now I have more pressing things to attend to.”
“See you there Rainbow… And I hope everything works out for you both.”
Rainbow walked into the library and sat down on one of the many cushions scattered across the floor. The soft fabric of the cushion felt surprisingly nice on her fur. After a couple of minutes of waiting, Twilight walked down the stairs, a smile across her face.
“Hey Rainbow,” Twilight said. “You mentioned that you wanted to talk to me about something important?
“Yeah,” Rainbow said with a nod, a wave of nervousness sweeping across her as Twilight walked down the stairs. The closer Twilight got, the more the feeling urged to make itself known, constantly pressing on Rainbow’s thoughts. After what seemed like hours for Rainbow, Twilight sat down beside her, with a curious expression on her face.
“So?” Twilight asked.
“So what?” Rainbow replied.
“Are you going to tell me whatever is you need to?” Rainbow violently shook her head as she tried to snap her mind back to the situation at hand.
“Okay,” Rainbow thought to herself. “You have practiced this more times than most of your stunts that you can pull off with your eyes closed. Should be a piece of cake, just start with the beginning of what you want to say, and the rest will follow.”
“We have been friends for a long time now Twilight. Longer than any of my other friends that I know, besides the other girls of course. And we have gotten really close over these past couple of years haven’t we?”
“Of course we have Rainbow,” Twilight acknowledged.
“Well I have always wanted to tell you this, but I could never work up the courage when I was with you. No matter how hard I tried, the words would never seem to come out when you were around.”
Rainbow lifted the small box out with a hoof and balanced it on an outstretched wing, perfectly keeping the box balanced with minimal effort. With a delicate push with a hoof, Rainbow lifted the lid open presenting the small slender feather in all it’s simple glory.
“So this little thing will do the talking for me. I’ve always wanted ask you if you would be my special somepony. I have for months now. But now I have finally found a way to tell you upfront instead of dropping all of those cowardly hints around that you always seemed to miss.”
“This is my first feather I ever molted,” Rainbow continued. “I know you have been reading up on pegasi culture ever since you became an alicorn, so you probably know why I would be giving this to you… But I think I’m going to ask you the question anyway. Would you be my special somepony Twi?”
Twilight simply sat there, her mouth made movements as she tried to speak, but no sound came out. She just continued to sit, her eyes constantly darting back and forth between the feather and Rainbow. Finally it was Rainbow who broke the silence between the two of them.
“You know what Twi,” Rainbow said with a small giggle. “I thought that I’d be worried about what you would say. If you would accept the feather, or if you would just simply give it back to me after I showed it to you, but now that it is out there, it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders.” Rainbow let out a sigh, and relaxed into the cushion that she was resting on.
“Ever since you cast that memory recollection spell on me when I was turned by Discord, I knew that something was different on how I thought about you. The first couple of weeks I thought it was just some simple crush, something that I’d be over with in time, but it never did go away. Eventually Fluttershy picked up on my feelings towards you before I even really knew what to feel. She was the first to tell me what I should have known all along, but I still refused to believe it for some dumb reason. Maybe I was afraid about what would happen if I asked you and you said no, who knows. Then a couple of weeks later Applejack cornered me in Sweet Apple Acres, and I still refused to accept the fact, but it was finally beginning to make more and more sense.”
“I-I-I…” Twilight stuttered.
“But it was finally Rarity’s confrontation that sealed the deal on what I was truly feeling for you.” Rainbow continued, her train of thought completely focused on her story. “She sat with me for the whole day, and we went over all of the feelings that I had. All of the confusion, all of the happiness, and all of the worries. After that day, I knew that I had fallen for you, but I was always afraid to tell you how I felt. I’d always come the library having finally worked up the courage to finally tell you, but no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t bring myself to ask.”
“Rainbow… I…”
“You don’t need to decide right now Twilight,” Rainbow said, as she got up from her seat and made her way to the door. “I will be ready for any answer you give me, but I want you to make sure that you know what you want. Don’t just walk into it blindly, take some time and think about it. I’m heading off to Sugarcube Corner for Pinkie’s party, so you’ll know where to find me if you decide tonight.” With those words, Rainbow grabbed the handle and walked outside, leaving Twilight completely dumbfounded with the feather sitting patiently on the table in front of her.
Rainbow likes me? Twilight thought to herself, her mind still trying to put the pieces together. Every time her mind had almost decided on how to feel, the feelings would break apart once more, only to try reform moments later. Why would she like me of all ponies? I mean she is athletic, strong, brave, and the complete opposite of me… So why would she want to be with me?
“So she finally told you,” Spike said from the doorway. Twilight’s head shot up from the feather and looked straight towards Spike with a lost look behind her eyes.
“You knew?” Twilight asked.
“Of course I did,” Spike said. “Rainbow isn’t really that sutile when it comes to dropping hints for you to pick up on. Although it was surprising that you never picked up on any of it. I figured the one time she asked you out for dinner at the fancy restaurant would have at least give you some form of hint, but that seemed to fly right over your head as well.” Twilight thought for a second. She remembered that day. Rainbow had been there in a beautiful dress that accented everyone of her features from head to tail, and she looked amazing that night.
“Wait! Twilight thought as she mentally caught herself. “Rainbow was in a dress that day. There is no way that she would have put anything like that on unless she was trying her hardest to catch my attention.” Twilight sat in place, as all the memories of the times that she had spent with Rainbow rolled through her head, each flashing by in a mere second, but staying long enough for Twilight to notice the hints that Rainbow had been leaving behind all this time.
“And now she finally notices,” Spike said with a hearty laugh. “I had a bet with AJ that it would take you getting to the party before you pieced everything together. I guess she won.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?!” Twilight yelled. “Something as important as that should have never gone neglected for so long.”
“Oh trust me I wanted to,” Spike said with a smile, as he walked over to Twilight. A small flame jetted out from his mouth, hitting Twilight in the flank with just enough warmth to cause to jump up from her seat. “But Rainbow specifically said that she wanted to be the one to tell you, can’t say that I blame her. Now come on, you have a party to get too don’t you?”
Twilight looked around the room, her mind finally putting the pieces perfectly together. Rainbow loves me… She really does… Have I had the same feelings for her though? Twilight thought back once more, all the way back from the day the two mares meant. As the memories rolled through her mind, she noticed that every memory with Rainbow was more… Enjoyable. All of the times that the two had just sat in the library and read to each other out loud were some of the happiest moments that Twilight had in Ponyville. They weren’t the most exciting moments by far, but all of the times she was with Rainbow, she felt… Happy. Those small moments were the ones that she truly cherished deep to her heart, but she had never truly noticed them before. I guess there has been some feelings there all along, I just never took the time decide what they were.
“But what do I do? Do I say yes or no?” Twilight’s gaze shifted over towards the feather that still remained sitting patiently in the open box. With a very delicate spell, Twilight lifted the feather in front of her and stared at it with serious intent. “If I say yes and things don’t work out between us, what happens? We could push each other away until we are no longer friends any more.” Twilight fiercely shook her head. “No that would never happen. If I say no we can just stay the way we are now, but what if things don’t go back to the way they were?” Twilight could feel herself starting to panic, her breaths becoming more erratic as she continued to think about what could potentially. After a couple of moments, Twilight took a deep breath and began to relax, the worry gradually cleared from her mind until she was able to think straight once more.
‘Sometimes you have to spread your wings and soar. Let all of the care you have for the world go for just one small moment, and let yourself do what you believe you should have done all along.’ Rainbows words echoed through Twilight’s mind. With those final thoughts, Twilight knew the choice that she would make. With simple pulse of magic, the feather floated over her head and rested perfectly around her neck. Once she made one final check to make sure that she had everything that she would need, Twilight ran out the door.
Rainbow opened the door to Sugarcube Corner, and slowly walked in.
“Rainbow!” the four ponies in the room shouted. “Well? How did it go?”
“I don’t know…” Rainbow said with a shrug of her shoulders. “I told her how I felt, and showed her the feather, but I told her that she should only come to me once she truly had made her mind on what she wants to do. I already know how I feel about her, but I want to make sure that it is her choice whether or not she wants to try it.”
“Are you okay with that?” Applejack said, her voice uncertain.
“You know what? I think I am… No matter what happens today, I know that I will be able to continue to go on no matter what Twilight chooses. If she chooses to be my special somepony then, of course I will be happier then ever, but even if she says no, I think I will be okay.”
“Wow Rainbow,” Applejack said as she tipped her hat. “That is some mighty strong feelings you have.”
“Yeah, but if you excuse me for second girls, I think I will head over to the hill and catch some fresh air.” With those words, Rainbow walked out the door, and headed off towards the hillside behind Sugarcube Corner. By now the sun had set, and Luna’s moon was high up in the sky, basking everything in a dull glow of luminous light. After a couple of minutes passed, Twilight burst through the door, panting heavily as if she had just ran a marathon.
“I think I know why you’re here,” Rarity said with a simile. As Rarity looked down at Twilight’s neck, she noticed Rainbow’s feather lightly hanging by it’s small thread. “She’s at the hill out back Twilight, now go get her.” Twilight shot out the door and ran off towards the hill, getting to the small ridge in no time at all. On top of the small hilltop, Rainbow sat, her gaze fixated on the stars overhead. Twilight took a couple of seconds to catch her breath, and proceed to walk up to Rainbow, sitting down next to her. Neither of the two said anything, they simply sat and relaxed as they watched the night sky.
Rainbow looked over at Twilight, and noticed the feather draped around her neck.
“It looks perfect,” Rainbow thought to herself.
"I've made up my mind," Twilight quietly said as she continued to watch the beautiful stars.
“Yeah I can see,” Rainbow said, her gaze shifting back up to the stars. Twilight nestled her head into Rainbow’s neck, constantly moving around until she found a comfortable spot.
“Good to hear Twi…” Rainbow said as she folded out a wing and rested it over Twilight. “That’s good to hear.”
Author's Note
So yeah written mostly on the hour long commutes to and from work. The idea came after playing EDH (Commander for all you newer people in the MTG scene) for 12 hours straight, while I wrote the first half while on the bus. I wrote the last half of it when I got home as all the words just seemed to flow of the top of my head while I was writing. I guess it could be part of a personal thing to as I am sure we have all have had some experiences where we are either to afraid to tell the person about your feelings towards them, or you have been to afraid to what might happen if things go south.
Anyway hope you enjoy, and hopefully this helped cure my damn writer's block for When A Door Closes. Although I am actually really happy how this turned out. I actually wanted to write this and try to publish it in the same day, so even though Kodeake is the only one that gone through it so far, I am going to stick to the old plan and publish it. I have also learned that I like to leave words out of rough drafts... I mean a lot of them are just gone for no reason, so it is good having people that will catch that.
I might actually start to put more into my writing. It is a lot of fun, and helps keep me entrained on the bus. Although my phone really hates typing more then a page :P.
As usual comment, favourite, like, hell do what ever you want. Feel free to tell me my story is terrible, or that you loved reading it. I always appreciate all feedback. Yes even the bad stuff! Also any questions about either story or just in general, just give a shout!
