Croitre

Chapters

Crash
Finding Solace, part 1
Change of Heart
Complexion
Horizons
Leaf Subsides to Leaf
Eden Sank to Grief
Dawn Goes Down to Day
Nothing Gold Can Stay
Lost
Fire
Transfer
Refuge
Favors
Apples to Apples

Crash

Crash
03

She flipped through the pages rapidly with her magic, finally being mended slightly by the icy clouds. Page 42, here it was. Irregular heartbeat, a layman's term for cardial dysrhythmia. Caused by agitation of the...

An hour passed. Two hours passed. No sign of Rainbow. She was probably tied up with Fluttershy in Cloudsdale. Oh well. She was just about to drift off into unconsciousness, when a battered and worn down blue pegasus collapsed through the door.

"Whoa, easy there kid," an unfamiliar voice said from outside the door. Rainbow Dash had fallen, by either exhaustion or pain, Twilight couldn't tell. All she knew was, she didn't look too good. She jumped off the couch, and ran over and kneeled down in front of Rainbow, who was stretched out across the floor, unconscious. Or though it seemed.

"Rainbow?" Twilight whispered, nudging her still body for signs of consciousness. Nope - she was out cold. Then she remembered... The other voice.

She looked up through the doorway ever so slowly, to reveal a mare with an easily recognizable get-up. The electric blue skin-tight uniform, streaked with blazing yellow lightning highlights, finished off by an iconic pair of opaque goggles resting on the mare's forehead. No - she definitely knew who this was, easily recalling her name as Rainbow had said at the Gala.

"Spitfire," Twilight nodded. Spitfire smiled in recognition.

"Hey there, is this Rainbow Dash’s house?" Spitfire asked, looking at Twilight. She plainly nodded in response, wondering why the captain of the most prestigious flying group in Equestria was here, with an unconscious Rainbow Dash. Spitfire gestured at Rainbow. “Yeah, I can explain.”

"Please do," she said, not unkindly. She picked Rainbow up - which proved to not be a small feat for her - and, with Spitfire's generous help, brought Rainbow up to her room and laid her on the bed. Before they descended down to the living room, she once again noticed the details and design of her bedroom. It stayed consistent with the rest of the house, save for the slight color change on the walls and the hard, marble checkerboard tiling that replaced the soft cloud base that supported the rest of the house. Spitfire tried to conceal a smile when she spotted Rainbow's Wonderbolts poster opposite her door. Her bed frame and bookcase were made of - you guessed it - clouds, and the blankets also seemed to have a cloudy texture to them, but they were black and had Rainbow's cutie mark emblazoned in the same vivid colors she displayed on her mane. Twilight took the time to wrap Rainbow up in her blanket, and soon after, followed Spitfire downstairs.

The two ponies got settled in, resting themselves on the soft, feathery couches in Rainbow’s living room. Princess Luna’s beautiful moonlight refracted through the windows, dazzling the unlighted corners of the room.

“So, Spitfire, what happened to Rainbow?” Twilight asked with a hint of skepticism in her voice.

Spitfire nodded and began.

•~•

"Bye Spitfire!" Fleetfoot yelled out as she left the training site. Spitfire raised a hoof and waved in a quick gesture, as she took off into the cool night sky after another rigorous day of practice and conditioning. She sighed as the winds of Luna's night fluttered through her wings, cooling her and allieviating the result of hard work on her body.

She soared off higher into the sky, high enough to land among the highest clouds that gave her a perfect birds-eye view of the city in the sky. Although Spitfire has been to Canterlot countless times for performances and royal events such as the Gala, she considered Cloudsdale her home and preferred it over the former. She had grown up in this city around her two best friends - Soarin' and Fleetfoot - who went on to join the most famous and elegant flight performers in all of Equestria.

She looked down, and identified her house by the center of the city, and swooped down from above, resembling a falcon hunting for its prey. She smiled at the thought of her own comparison.

Spitfire touched down at her porch, ever so elegantly. She yawned and cracked open the door, finally having a chance to relax and calm down after yet another hard day of practice and training. Once she got settled into her room, she stretched out and laid on her couch - and that's when she heard it. One of her windows shattered, followed by a loud blast that wasn't unlike a pyrotechnics demonstration. Although, it did sound slightly familiar - now she knew. She had heard it once before during the Best Young Flier Competition. It had saved her life there.

A Sonic Rainboom.

She easily identified it with Rainbow Dash, the only pony in history to ever pull it off. She looked outside the now shattered window, and saw the blue pegasus face-down on the Wonderbolts' training course. She felt a rush of panic and her heart skipped a beat. She extended her wings, and took off in that direction.

Arriving there in a matter of seconds, she touched down at the base of the track, and walked over to the still pegasus. Spitfire was put a hoof on Rainbow Dash's chest, when she saw that she was still conscious, and her eyes still open.

"S-Spitfire...?"

"Yeah. You don't look so well. What happened?"

"S-Sonic Rainb-boom. Missed t-the opening."

"I'm taking you home kid," Spitfire whispered. "Where do you live?" Rainbow Dash raised a hoof towards her house. Spitfire looked closely, and saw what looked to be a small tower made of clouds. She assumed that's what Dash was pointing at. Spitfire picked Dash up in her forehooves, and started off towards the house.

•~•

"She's in pretty bad shape. Knowing that stunt, she might not be up and around for a while," Spitfire said.

"Alright. I can take care of her." Twilight suggested. Spitfire nodded, and took that as her cue to leave. She headed for the door, and stopped to take flight. She raised a hoof and motioned a quick wave, then took off. Twilight watched as the striking blue and yellow pegasus flew away. She walked upstairs to check on Rainbow.

As she walked in the room, she saw Rainbow Dash sleeping on her side, cuddling with a pillow. Twilight smiled, and turned out the light. She nuzzled her, and went back to the living room to retire after quite the eventful day.

Author's Note: Sorry for the incredibly short chapter. I've been busy with commuting and travelling between New York and California, and I just hopped back into another tough week of homework. The next couple of chapters are going to be longer and more plot/character-developing, I promise.

Finding Solace, part 1

Finding Solace, part one
04

Rainbow Dash lightheadedly stumbled out of bed, and immediately crashed onto the ground. The pain seared through her neck and back like a wildfire racing through a forest. Rainbow winced and froze in position, not wanting to see what other parts of her hurt from motion. She glanced up at her clock from her paralyzed position on the floor. 4:38. She couldn’t wake Twilight up for help at this time. Rainbow wondered if she could try to get back in bed. Slowly, she rose herself from the ground as gently as a Fluttershy, and finally got herself upright and walking.

Moving slowly towards the bed, Rainbow was trying ever so carefully to not pain her neck or back any more. As she carefully wrapped herself in her blanket, she realized she didn’t even remember how any of this happened. The only memory she had of the previous day was lying on a bed of clouds, half-unconscious, with her hero beside her ready to being her back. Possibly it was a new trick, but she quickly dismissed the thought. Thank Celestia Spitfire had been so kind to bring her back to Twilight.

Ah, Twilight… Dash sighed happily as the lavender mare encompassed her thoughts, and soon to be dreams, as her world and mind alike drifted into the null depths of the unconscious realm.

Twilight yawned and stretched as she was awoken by Celestia's beaming sun, piercing through the windows and gaps in the cloud house, causing an iridescent light display. Rainbow’s lucky to live in such a gorgeous house, Twilight thought.

Twilight made her way upstairs, grabbing a glass of water and an apple. She wondered how Rainbow Dash was doing. Sonic Rainbooming into clouds, or any surface nevertheless, couldn’t have felt too pleasant. Twilight wondered what flying was like. Although Rainbow Dash had brought her into and above the skies, she didn’t really get a feel of what it was like to fly on your own; especially when you surpass the sound barrier. She was starting to develop a desire for action or adventure. Or maybe it was something else...?

She was upstairs, and went into Rainbow’s room. Rainbow was still sleeping, again on her side. Twilight walked up to her bedside table, and laid the apple and water there. When she put down the glass, she noticed had Rainbow woken up.

Rainbow yawned. “Huh?” she asked, still appearing to be dazed. “Oh, good morning Twilight!” Rainbow immediately perked up and smiled at her. Since when did Rainbow call her “Twilight”? It was usually – no, it was always either “Egghead” or occasionally “Twi”. She couldn’t recall the last time; if at all that Rainbow had called her Twilight.

Rainbow attempted to get out of bed, but Twilight stopped her with a hoof on her chest. “No, Rainbow. You need to stay in bed and rest up a little.”

Rainbow looked at her and smiled. “Okay.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. This was definitely not the untamed, adventurous, disobedient Rainbow Dash she knew. Ever since Twilight moved in, she’d become more… Refined. But why?

“Uh, Rainbow Dash…” Twilight looked at her shiftily. “Are you okay? Like, okay-okay?”

Rainbow tilted her head. “What do you mean, Twilight?”

“I mean, you’ve been acting all different and not yourself!”

“Huh?” Rainbow looked genuinely confused.

“You seem – being all – oh, never mind.” Twilight put the thought aside, deciding she could get used to the “new” Rainbow Dash.

And there it was. It hit her again. Twilight’s irregular heartbeat. A sudden revelation hit her. Her irregular heartbeat only happened… When she was with Rainbow Dash. Whenever they had shared physical contact, namely. Even just a light conversation or thoughts of her seemed to set it off, much like right now. Could it be that thing Rarity keeps talking to me about? What was it called…? Love? It was an obscure topic to Twilight. The only exposure she had to… “Love” … was the set of romance novels that Fluttershy had lent her when she first asked her and Rarity at the spa what love was. Even then, it was just fabricated “love”, devoid of meaning to Twilight.

In any event, Twilight never really thought of love before. She was usually busy with studies, and after all, she had only been in Ponyville for a year; a time even she considered too small to build even strong friendship, let alone love. Then again, she’s grown closer to these ponies than anyone or anything in the world, rivaling maybe even her brother and Princess Cadence.

“Twilee? Are you okay?” Rainbow’s use of her brother’s pet name broke through her mystifying daydream.

“D-Did you just call me Twilee?” She said not unkindly, but surprised.

“Oh,” Rainbow muttered, a trace of crimson shade forming on her cheeks. “I forgot,” she said with a laugh and a sheepish grin. She was trying to play it off, as to not reveal her feelings for Twilight.

“No, no,” she assured. “It’s cute.” She felt her cheeks flush up. In the heat of the moment, Twilight drew up closer to Rainbow, and nuzzled her. She pulled back and smiled at her, a deeper shade of red encompassing both of their faces.

Twilight took note of Rainbow's behavior throughout the day, from dawn to dusk. She found solace now that she understood deep interaction, without the use of studies. She came to accept Rainbow without checking off a mental checklist for signs of love. It was evident enough. Rainbow was now kind, caring, and compassionate. A different Rainbow Dash. It seemed that Rainbow had some sort of special affection for her. Something deeper than even the bonds of friendship she had worked so passionately to craft with the others; Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie... But Rainbow had something else for Twilight. Something more. Something sweet. Something... She needed, although she wasn't certain yet if she could reciprocate Rainbow's evident feelings for her. Twilight wasn't even sure she felt anything special for Rainbow yet... But things change.

Dear Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,

I learned that friendship can reach out beyond its limits, and build something truly magnificent. My friend Rarity tells me its called "Love". When friendship progresses far enough, that's what they call it - love. And my studies in love have just begun.

Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.

Change of Heart

Change of Heart
05

"Wake up, silly!" Rainbow Dash's scratchy and inviting voice effectively shattered Twilight's dream. Rainbow laughed. "It's already 10 o'clock!" Twilight slowly rolled over to face Rainbow. They were inches apart; Twilight could feel Rainbow's hot breath on the side of her face. Rainbow cocked her head and smiled. She pulled Twilight out of bed gently with her newly healed wings. Twilight knew why she was so perky and excited.

Rainbow had asked her to watch this year's annual Wonderbolts Derby with her. Twilight of course, acknowledging Rainbow's feelings, said yes. Rainbow had somehow procured two VIP Box passes weeks ago for today’s show, up at the highest tier of the Cloudiseum. She was beaming with enthusiasm; she spent an hour talking about Wonderbolts history and their members' individual backgrounds and stories.

"Oh, right," Dash remembered. "You never told me - what happened that night? All I remember was Spitfire bringing me back here before I fainted."

"Spitfire said you Sonic Rainboomed into a patch of clouds. I healed you right up with my magic later that night," she said with an edge of pride. "Are you feeling better?"

Dash grinned an affirmative. "Yes," she said, drawing closer to the unicorn, nuzzling her. Twilight took note of Dash's scent. It was very reminiscent of water, but mostly, the cooling breeze of fresh air. Twilight gently nuzzled back in a romantic gesture, unconsciously flattering Rainbow.

"Shall we?" Rainbow suggested, gesturing towards the door as she took Twilight's hoof. Twilight felt the heat rising to her face, looking away. She turned back to face Rainbow, put on a triumphant smile, and nodded in the same manner. She had just woken up five minutes ago, but she was already jolted awake and ready.

Rainbow propped her up on her back and gave Twilight a reassuring wink. In a matter of seconds, Rainbow stayed true to her name, dashing through the open door as she and Twilight soared into the morning sky.

"Rarity, look!" Fluttershy pointed up towards the sky and the two ponies that soared through it. They had just got done with their weekly meeting at the spa. Fluttershy squinted her eyes, attempting to get a better look without the morning sun beaming into her vision. "It's Rainbow Dash and Twilight!"

"WHAAAT?!" Rarity yelled in excitement. The rest of their friend circle hadn't seen Rainbow or Twilight in two days, due to the incident that left Rainbow bed-ridden. The other day, they chose to spend alone. "Show me!" she yelled. "Show me, show me, SHOW ME!"

Fluttershy hovered above the ground a couple feet, and blocked the sunlight for Rarity as she pointed in their direction once more. "They're cute," Fluttershy added with a blush.

Twilight felt the excruciating wind currents caress her mane as she and Rainbow zipped past the fluffy, white clouds on their way to Canterlot.

As they soared above Canterlot, Rainbow decided to do some laps around the city while Twilight pointed out all of her old surroundings, such as the old library, Celestia's school where she learned magic, and other interesting things of that sort. Rainbow nodded, smiled, and asked follow-up questions in a friendly, calm, light-mannered voice despite the moderately high speeds they peaked out at.

She leaned in closer to Rainbow, their cheeks almost touching. Her strange heartbeat kicked in even harder than it was before. "Rainbow," she started, clinging to her tighter. "What's it like to fly?"

"Huh?" Rainbow asked, raising her head to meet Twilight's fluorescent purple eyes. Her heart skipped a beat or two. "Um... It's exciting," she explained. "It makes me feel great, and my worries melt away. It's just simply amazing."

"Oh, that sounds-"

"Kind of like when I'm with you." The heat immediately rose to Twilight's face, staining her cheeks a burning bright crimson. She embraced Rainbow closer, and rested her neck on Rainbow's shoulder, bringing their faces inches away. No one has ever said something like that to Twilight. No one. Not even her brother or Cadence made her feel like this. Her heart was beating so fast and strong, she wouldn't be surprised if they could hear it over the slicing wind. She couldn't help but smile.

"Hey, it's Rainbow Dash!" Spitfire shouted over the roar of the crowd, pointing a hoof at Rainbow and Twilight in the VIP box. Soarin' turned to look.

"That one pony that saved my apple pie at the Gala?" Soarin' asked excitedly.

"Yeah, that's the one!" Spitfire said. "She Rainboomed into some clouds the other day. She was out cold in pretty rough shape - I brought her back to her friend."

"...Soarin'?" Spitfire looked behind her and to her sides, not seeing the blue colt.

"Spitfire! Showtime, let's go!" Fleetfoot called across the stage, lined up with all of the other Wonderbolts. Spitfire nodded as she trotted over.

“I think it’s starting now,” Rainbow said excitedly with a huge smile on her face. She pointed towards a gap in the Cloudiseum, and seconds later Spitfire, Soarin’, and Rapidfire burst through, leaving their trail of signature lighting clouds. They separated as they soared upwards, decorating the afternoon sky with what resembled a three-leaf clover out of thunderclouds. Fleetfoot and the other two followed soon after, searing through the gaps in the clover outline and strafing back around for another display.

“Wow, they’re amazing,” Twilight marveled, having this been her first real performance she’s seen by the Wonderbolts. Rainbow nodded as she watched in pure ecstasy as the professional flight acrobatics did what they do best. Twilight looked over at her. She really did look happy, looking up at her idols in admiration. Just seeing the sight of Rainbow so blissful made Twilight’s own heart flutter. She smiled.

Spitfire looked over her shoulder at Soarin’, who nodded an affirmative to begin the final trick of the performance. On Spitfire’s mark, their group rushed to meet in the middle, and began their spiraling ascent. The trick left a smoke carving reminiscent of a tornado. The three spiraled out to the sides from where they began, as Fleetfoot’s team did an identical descent, erasing and mirroring the smoke left by Spitfire’s team.

With each member of the team on their respective side of the stadium, they began another gradual ascent as they all soared up to a high point in the coliseum, and sparked their signature firework display as they retired to seating level. The crowd was roaring. She lived for these moments. Spitfire looked around, and saw Rainbow Dash and her friend in their VIP box, cheering. Spitfire winked at them, and gestured for the two to meet the team backstage. She saw Rainbow Dash tap her friend on the shoulder, and they started down their section on their way backstage.

They were there even before the team returned. Rainbow Dash’s friend was still panting. She assumed Rainbow Dash had picked her up and flew her here at the fastest speed she could get, while keeping subsonic. Spitfire quietly chuckled at the idea.

“Spitfire! Hey!” Rainbow exclaimed as she walked over, carrying Twilight who was still on her back. “Hey, listen – thanks for helping me out the other day.” Rainbow smiled sheepishly.

“No problem kid,” Spitfire assured. “It was nothing; I might as well have returned the favor when you saved our lives,” she said with a wink, waving a hoof at the rest of her team. Rainbow casually laughed.

“Oh right,” Spitfire continued. “Who’s your friend?”

Rainbow nodded at Twilight, and she slid off her back, still gasping from the short flight across the Cloudiseum. “I-I’m Twilight Sparkle,” she gasped. Spitfire shook her hoof.

“Thanks for taking care of Dash here,” she said with a gentle smile. Twilight simply smiled back in response, as she was still tired out from the exhilarating sprint.

“Spitfire! A reporter wants to see you!” Soarin’ called out from the back of the stage. Spitfire looked back at Rainbow Dash and Twilight.

“Guess that’s my cue to go,” she said. “See you later, Dash and Twilight.” She turned around and waved, as she trotted over to see the rest of the team.

Twilight held on tight as Rainbow swirled and looped through the starry night sky that Princess Luna was ever so kind to display to them. Rainbow laughed as she playfully teased Twilight with fake turbulence and air tricks. Twilight couldn’t help but fail at her attempts at getting mad at Rainbow for ‘scaring her’. She knew it was all in good fun.

But tonight was the night. She desperately wanted to confirm or break her suspicions of Rainbow’s… love for her. There couldn’t have been any other explanation for the unspoken conversion of Rainbow’s usual untamed, independent mannerism to a kind, sweet, loving Rainbow Dash. What else could it possibly be? Twilight ran over all of the other possibilities in her thoughts. It could just be getting those VIP box tickets… Or maybe, she perfected her Sonic Rainboom? She has been crashing with it a lot recently.

She would find out tonight soon enough.

Rainbow carefully descended, with Twilight sound asleep on her back. She had flown gently and slowly about halfway back to Ponyville, when she noticed Twilight looked tired, and proposed that she took a nap. She touched down, light as a feather, and walked into the house. The subtle moonlight flowed through the windows and submersed the living room in a beautiful light. She slowly walked upstairs, careful to not wake Twilight up. She hadn’t even bothered to turn on the lights, she knew her house well enough to navigate through it and brush her teeth in complete darkness.

She flickered on a dim light in her room, and tenderly laid Twilight down on her bed and wrapped her in a blanket. She walked around to get on her side of the bed, when she noticed Twilight had woken up. She yawned; unaware that she was now safe and sound in Rainbow’s bed. Immediately, she remembered her task for the night. Her eyes jolted open. She cut straight to the chase.

"Rainbow Dash. What's been going on lately? You've been acting differently."

Rainbow looked at her expectantly, taken aback by the sudden question. "What do you-" She was cut off.

"You know what I mean," Twilight said with an edge of compassion somewhere in her words.

Rainbow had crawled onto her bed, so that they were both sitting on her bed facing towards each other, in a cross-legged fashion. Rainbow pawed at her left hoof nervously. "Okay." Twilight looked at her expectantly.

"T-Twilight."

"Y-Yes..?"

"I..." She lost her voice and trailed off. "I... Twilight... I love you."

Twilight was taken back. She was met with a blend of emotions. Happiness, uncertainty, excitement, and horror. Well, her suspicions were definitely true. Rainbow had something deeper for Twilight. No, not friendship. Love. That's what Rarity called it. That's what Rainbow called it. Love. The highest level of affection two ponies can share. The word that binds them together, possibly for life. Twilight had a newfound change of heart. She realized her feelings for the rainbow-maned pony sitting across from her. She knew she was trembling as much as Rainbow.

Twilight would feel guilty without leaving Rainbow with some sort of reciprocation. Their friendship had grown too far to let her down, even in the slightest. She reached out and clasped Rainbow's left hoof with both of hers.

"I-I'm not sure what to say, Rainbow..." She whispered, barely audible. "But thank you." Twilight slowly drew Rainbow into a long embrace, and they collapsed back onto the pillows, legs wrapped around each other, hugging in repose. Twilight wrapped them in the blanket with her magic. They closed their eyes and smiled. Rainbow felt the faint pressing of a certain somepony's lips on her cheek before the devoid unconsciousness captured her.

Complexion

Complexion
06

Twilight awoke to the shimmering moonlight, just having returned after her nap with Rainbow. She noticed Rainbow was already awake, preoccupied with studying every feature of Twilight's face, from her luminescent purple eyes to her deep indigo mane. Twilight looked into her eyes, noticing Rainbow's deep complexion as she gazed upon her.

Rainbow's features turned very soft and tender once she saw Twilight awake. Rainbow formed a very gentle smile and closed her eyes as she went in to kiss Twilight. Her soft lips caressed her, as the two lost themselves in the pleasure of each other. Not a single heartbeat would be missed as the two started to snuggle up under the warm blankets that shielded them from the chilly night air.

Rainbow reluctantly broke the kiss, opening her eyes to stare into Twilight's own. "Have I ever told you how much I loved you?" Twilight blushed and smiled, and shook her head softly in response.

"No, but I already know," she replied, leaning in to press her lips against Rainbow's.

Rainbow yawned, opening her sleepy eyes to the light as the morning sun engulfed the room in a brilliant display, breaking through her wonderful dream. The room was a bit cold for her liking, as the air steadily drifted through the house via the semi-permeable makeshift walls of clouds. Rainbow suddenly noticed the hot breath on her from the lavender unicorn laying across from her. Her heart skipped a beat as she drew in closer, as a romantic gesture, and to warm herself up. She gently wrapped her forelegs around Twilight and embraced her softly, smiling before drifting back to sleep.

Twilight opened her eyes to the same glowing sun that Rainbow had earlier. She immediately picked up on something different, noticing the other side of Rainbow's bed was cold, and so was she. Instead of the usual warm pegasus under the blankets that she had grown accustomed to, she instead found a note in its place.

Went out to clear the clouds,
I'll be back soon.

Under the writing, Twilight noticed a small red heart etched on to the paper. She felt her heartbeat act up as she blushed like a little school-filly. Immediately, she began to miss the warmth and comfort of the cyan pegasus by her side, even if it was just for a short while. She started to feel incomplete without her. She felt that Rainbow was a perfect complement to her, thinking that their clashing personalities fit together so well. She had her smart, practical, eggheaded side, while Rainbow offered an adventurous, exciting side.

Stretching, she lifted off the blankets with her magic as she slid out of the bed. She decided she needed to take a shower, having not taken one yesterday due to being preoccupied with Rainbow to worry about anything else. She stepped into the shower room, noticing that instead of a shower head, she found a small raincloud in its place. She then remembered Rainbow telling her about it the first time, telling her it was a modified raincloud that acted as a shower. She remembered doing some research on rainclouds when Rainbow was out that first night that she was here.

She stepped into the makeshift tub, as the warm water from the raincloud submersed her in liquid warmth. She did her normal procedure, shampooing twice and using some conditioner before she toweled off, leaving her mane ever so slightly wet.

Her eyes were still half-lidded, and she found it a slight challenge to walk downstairs to simply get some breakfast. She tripped on an uneven bump in the kitchen, falling to the floor. It helped somewhat in jolting her awake.

She surveyed the light room, looking around for something to eat. Rainbow didn't have much food here, as she spent most of her time back in Ponyville. Ponyville... Twilight realized she hadn't seen any of her other friends for a couple days, as she's been spending them with Rainbow recently. She finally settled on a pile of waffles she found in the fridge.

She stuck them in the toaster, as she waited boredly while the toaster did its stuff. The faint smell of toaster waffle wafted through the room, making the growling emptiness in Twilight's stomach even more audible. She levitated a plate and a bottle of syrup over to the table, as she awaited longer for the waffles she longed for to be done.

Being not able to put up with the wait any longer due to her empty stomach, she bluntly unplugged the toaster and rotated it upside down to shake the waffles out. And of course, they were burnt. Twilight sighed as she slowly poured the syrup and butter on anyway, being glad she could finally quench her hunger.

The waffles crunched loudly in her mouth, as she stared bluntly at the wall, her eyes still tired and half-lidded. She finished off the first burnt waffle, picking up another to get started on the next dark, burnt waffle. They still tasted okay, as they reminded her of the waffles she used to have in Manehattan, at the fancy hotels that served continental breakfast.

Noticing the unusually bright sunlight outside, she decided to stop eating the burnt waffles and went outside on Rainbow's front "lawn". Twilight took in the familiar sensations of the summer morning, as the warm air shrouded her body as they slowly dried off Twilight's mane in a wonderful sensation that could only be described from experiencing it. The harmonious chirping of the birds filled the air with music, as a smile tugged at Twilight's mouth.

Her thoughts drifted to the blue pegasus. She was still marked with the disbelief that was still in her from Rainbow's confession. She didn't even know what she did, or anything she said to make Rainbow feel this way. She didn't even know if she could reciprocate her feelings to her. Twilight wanted so hard to be able to understand her. She hadn't even understand why she did what she did last night, or the consequences.

What would Rainbow think? Maybe she had come off too fast. It was an impulsive decision in itself, and she had no idea where it came from. It was a spur of the moment type thing. Did Rainbow know? She paced in her mind, trying to decide what to do with the situation. Maybe Rainbow brushed the memory aside. Her mind was boggled and genuinely confused for the first time in a while.

Twilight walked back inside, as she patiently waited for Rainbow to come back. She sat by one of the windows in the wall, nervously watching the ground and its inhabitants from above.

About fifteen minutes later, she saw the cyan pegasus shoot through above the horizon, reaching the steps to her house in seconds. She landed quietly and elegantly, and Twilight anxiously awaited by the door to see her. But the door didn't open. She opened the door and looked to her sides, not seeing Rainbow. Then, the pegasus dropped from above and tackled her, laughing as she pinned Twilight to the ground.

"Gotcha," Rainbow yelped playfully through stifled laughs. Twilight couldn't help but stubbornly smile. Rainbow picked Twilight up with her wings, and helped her back to her hooves. Rainbow laid down with her back against the same wall on the front of her house. She gestured for Twilight to follow suit. She came over, resting her back on Rainbow's chest. She laid her head on the front of Rainbow's shoulder. Twilight tried to refrain from drifting off to sleep again, but it proved difficult being enveloped by the pegasus' warmth. Her heartbeat started to act up.

Thirty uneasy minutes passed by in silence, oblivious to the two as time seemed to freeze for them. The birds chirped in the distance, and occasionally some flew by, causing Twilight to force a smile. Rainbow started to stroke the back of Twilight's mane, her wings flaring up ever so slightly.

"Twilee," she said softly. Twilight turned her head to face Rainbow's gentle gaze. She lifted her eyebrows in response. "Do you wanna see a movie with me, tonight?" she asked. "Maybe?"

Twilight's heart skipped as she carefully tried to find the correct words. She held Rainbow's gentle gaze as her mind raced in complexion, considering the words she should use. She pondered for the gentle, but rejecting words. Then she realized she didn't need them, just a simple four-letter-word in itself.

"Okay..." She said. Twilight, quickly analyzing the situation, she decided that this date would be a good way to explore deeper into her puzzled mind of emotions and make sense of the situation she was in. She decided she wanted to better understand her. That was the key to the lock. To understand her. To sort out their feelings together. She needed to know what happened between them to spark the flame. She needed to...

Understand her.

Horizons

Horizons
07

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight said, her voice barely above a whisper in the roaring winds that screeched past them, flowing through their manes and coats like silk.

Rainbow Dash turned her head to steal a look at Twilight, the moderately fast speeds showing no sign of slowing down. She blinked, and abruptly faced forward again, soaring towards the warm, incandescent glow of the Canterlot sunset. Twilight took her motion as a response to her question.

"Can you demonstrate a Sonic Rainboom for me?" Twilight asked, her soft voice straining to top the piercing air. Twilight had wondered what breaking the sound barrier was like; she was well educated of the topic through her books, but that information can only go so far. Even she knew that written knowledge cannot compare to experience in the field. Even then, all of the information she had known were calculations on paper, since there aren't really any documented experiences on breaking the speed of sound. Rainbow had always talked about it, but she wanted to experience it firsthand for herself. There wasn't a better time to ask than now, she figured. Twilight leaned over Rainbow's shoulder awkwardly, getting a glimpse of her. Rainbow turned her head to face her. She immediately lit up like the serene landscape behind them.

"Oh!" Rainbow exclaimed, caught off-guard yet still excited by the random question. "Um, sure Twi!" Rainbow started to descend to the ground, when Twilight quickly protested, bringing her deceleration to an abrupt halt.

"No!" Twilight protested. "Take me with you," she said as if she were explaining the simple concept to a little filly.

Rainbow responded with a curt 'oh' and a subtle laugh, understanding what Twilight was asking of her. She mentally scolded herself for not understanding.

She ascended again still staying below the mountaintops, as Twilight looked down in slight fear of the impossibly high altitude she was at for a unicorn. She started to feel nervous, feeling her body shake slightly as she clinged on to Rainbow for support. She turned her head slightly to meet Twilight's eyes and gave a short wink that signaled she was ready.

Rainbow gave her wings a quick flutter and reared back to prepare for her sonic descend. She wasn't entirely sure she could pull it off as easily as she normally does, taking into account the Twilight Sparkle clinging onto her back. It couldn't be easy, but she concluded it was still doable.

"Hold on tight." Twilight tightened her grip on Rainbow, bracing herself for the impossibly fast speeds she knew the blue pegasus was renowned for. In a split second, Twilight was flung back a couple inches, as her hindlegs failed to hold onto Rainbow. She held on even tighter with her forelegs as the blistering fast speed overwhelmed her, piercing through her, far from what she had imagined. She felt like her heart was about to burst and explode from the increasingly building pressure in her chest, as the adrenaline pumped excitedly through her veins. Her heart pounded with the sheer feeling of excitement, topped off by fear. She was still holding on by only her forelegs, but she knew she could trust Rainbow. She wondered if pegasi experienced this every time they reached such heights, and how they handled it. The speed got faster and faster, as the pressure built up in her even more. Then, all of a sudden, a circular rainbow colored burst appeared in the dim, sunset sky resembling a doppler effect, painting their near proximity with flashy colors. Rainbow began to pull up and decelerate again to comfortable flight altitude, going a bit too low on that dive. Twilight finally regained her hindlegs' grip on Rainbow.

"How was that?" Rainbow said triumphantly, smiling as she looked back at the lavender unicorn who was still frightened yet exhilerated. Her heart was pounding; she wouldn't be surprised if Rainbow could hear it. Twilight smiled in return through gasps and panting, the speed still quite too fast for her.

Rainbow Dash grinned as she slowed down her acceleration, ascending up above the tallest mountain that Canterlot was mounted upon. She and the lavender mare were engulfed in the setting sun's iridescent colors as the warmth of the sundown immersed their bodies. The air was rather dry today, slightly irritating their skin. Twilight quickly recalled a similar moment she had once shared with Cadence when she was still a filly. They were flying over the same sunset, the same warm skylight, the same laughter and happiness it brought them.

Rainbow Dash slowed down the beating of her wings to a gentle flutter as she flew towards a platoon jutting out of the mountainside, needing to rest her wings. Rainbooms in themselves weren't the easiest feat to pull off; the extra weight contributed to the difficulty of the already challenging task more.

Rainbow gently landed on the edge of the platoon, and Twilight slowly slid off Rainbow as if she was a bed. She felt the cool rocks rattling underneath her hooves as she touched down, finding a spot by the edge to sit down by. She flipped her warm mane to the right, as the setting sunlight bathed her in heat, refreshing her senses as if she was just born. She gazed into the sun, reflecting back on the memories she, Cadence and Shining Armor had spent together under this same sky. Rainbow Dash trotted over, quickly seating herself next to Twilight, an innocent grin caressing her face.

Twilight diverted her attention to Rainbow, then back at the glowing sunset, shining down on them together. "So amazing..." Rainbow whispered, barely audible. Twilight kept looking towards the horizon, as the sun slowly fell while the moon began its dominant reign of the day. She looked over at Rainbow with a smile, then she noticed Rainbow's attention was focused on her, not the sunset.

"Huh? Oh, the sunset's nice too," she said, a little too suddenly. Twilight's heart skipped a beat.

"Don't..." Twilight whispered, laying a hoof on Rainbow's chest. Definitely wasn't expecting that... She slowly slid it off, as she looked back out towards the landscape's beautiful setting, taking in every aspect of the beautiful phenomenon as her heart sped up slightly.

"I'm bored." Rainbow Dash complained bluntly, not even three minutes in to gazing and adoring the horizons. "Come on, Twi, let's go!" Twilight still wanted to stay here and reminisce on her past memories around this Canterlot sunset. The sky was getting darker as the sunset concluded, and she did figure that the movie would be starting soon, and being late for a movie is always just a pain. She reluctantly agreed to Rainbow's proposal.

"Fine, let's-" she was abruptly cut off mid-sentence as Rainbow lit up, swiping her along as they they took off into the warm sky.

Leaf Subsides to Leaf

Leaf Subsides to Leaf
08

"Sorry kids, we're out of that show right now." The employee held their gaze with apologetic eyes.

"What!?" Rainbow screeched, piercing the ambient chatter of the ponies around them. "I just saw those two get tickets to that show!" she yelled, pointing accusingly at the two fillies trotting in to the theater. Her wings flared out in anger.

"We're sold out," the employee insisted, stressing every word for emphasis. His apologetic gaze started to shift to a stiff glare. "Next?" he rudely continued, looking through them at the next customer in line behind them.

"You know, nopony -" Rainbow was cut off, a magical force firmly tugging the back of her mane as it caused her to stumble backwards. Twilight rolled her eyes as she jerked Rainbow and herself out of the line, bringing her aside, apologizing to everypony around them.

"That's fine Rainbow," Twilight assured with a gentle sigh. "Why don't we just..." her voice trailed off as she contemplated possible ways to spend the rest of the night. Rainbow looked on at her, confused. Twilight observed the area around the theater as the brisk night air shuffled through them, sending an abrupt chill through her coat and mane. She glanced up at the sky with admiring eyes and the moonlight that bathed them along with the other city lights around them. The sky was clear tonight; not a single cloud graced the horizon.

"That's it!" Twilight ears perked up as she marveled at the sky. "Why don't we go stargazing by the cliff? I could teach you all about the stars and constellations and - oh, this is going to be so fun!" Twilight gushed with a beaming smile caressing her face, reminding Rainbow of the time Fluttershy had offered her a pet..

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. Stargazing? That was for eggheads. That was so unawesome. She couldn't be seen doing something unawesome - especially outside in Canterlot. It had a romantic edge in it surely, and that in itself was kinda awesome. She couldn't shoot Twilight down like this. But still... Maybe she could...

"I dunno Twi, I'm pretty hungry right now," she said with an innocent grin, thanking her mind for quickly devising a way to get out of stargazing. "We should grab something to eat before we head on back," she suggested. "Let's go to that restaurant by the castle - I remember where it is." Twilight nodded her head in agreement, hoping she could press Rainbow into stargazing when they got back. She started walking in that direction when a certain scratchy voice interrupted her again.

"Race you there," Rainbow challeneged with a wink. Twilight rolled her eyes and giggled.

"Rainbow, you know I can teleport," she countered.

"Then teleport," Rainbow added with a chuckle, as if she was trying to convince a school-filly. "I'll still beat you there. Guaranteed. Sixteen-point-five wingpower," she added triumphantly as she struck a victorious pose, lifting a hoof in the air.

Twilight waved a dismissive hoof. "No, you can't, it's physically -"

"Wanna bet?" Rainbow threw in a cocky smile.

She raised an eyebrow. "Fine, if it'll make you happy," she laughed.

"Whenever you're ready," Rainbow intoned, narrowing her eyes, effectively shifting the relaxed mood quickly to an aura of competitive heat.

"Three... two..." Rainbow's wings gave a flitter as they flared out to her sides. Twilights voice trailed off to a whisper. "One..." She started to pulsate the magic in her horn. "Go!" With that, the pale blue pegasus bolted off into the night, leaving a screeching trail of metaphorical fire with a couple cyan feathers floating slowly to the ground. Twilight closed her eyes as she tapped into the reserves of her magic, blocking out everything in the outside world. She navigated through her mental knowledge of the city, and zeroed in on the restaurant Rainbow had mentioned, the 'Avant Garde'. Focusing her pulsating magic on the desired spot, she discharged the powerful energy, a flourescent explosion of lavender erupting in a brilliant light display above her horn. A portal of energy encircled her instantly, blocking out everything but her. And then... Pop!

Twilight strained to focus her eyes on the colorful blur that was before her. Long-range teleporting a prodigious toll on Twilight's magic reserves and body. It wasn't something she had completely mastered yet, even if she was the most talented young unicorn in Equestria. Few ponies were able to master the art of long-range teleporting; Celestia herself said even she had difficulty after ten years of practice. Her eyes crossed one last time as Twilight shook the blurry colors out of her vision. She was still panting from the exhausting effort.

"Huh? Oh, you just got here?"

Rainbow chuckled. "Told you," she bragged at their table. Twilight was still confused as to how she was beat. It couldn't have physically happened under normal circumstances. She approximated the distance between her and the restaurant, concluding it was about 13,000 feet - just over 2 miles. Tracing her events back, she remembered the actual teleportation spell elapsed about 12 seconds. For Rainbow to beat her here, she would have definitely needed to break the speed of sound - by achieving her signature move she did so well. Taking Canterlot's altitude above sea water into consideration, which was roughly 800 feet above the ground, she calculated the speed needed to break the sound barrier was 1115.28 feet per second. The time it should have taken her to get there was about 11.656 seconds. She probably went faster than that if she beat her there, taking into account the buildup and the acceleration past the required speed. She beat Twilight by four tenths of a second. But how did Rainbow seem so calm? She must have gained her composure in the longer time it took Twilight to gain hers.

"Fine, you beat me,” Twilight finally admitted.

"Canterlot buildings are so beautiful," Twilight admired as she swiveled around in her chair, studying the intricate details of the elegantly crafted restaurant. Seeing Twilight happy put a hint of a grin on her face; she tried to hide it, looking away with a streak of crimson gracing her cheeks. Twilight suddenly turned to face her. She thought Twilight noticed her staring.

"Huh?" Rainbow asked, observing her. She overlooked it and shook her head. It was now or never, Twilight presumed.

"Twilight," she said softly. Twilight turned her head to face Rainbow's gentle gaze. She lifted her eyebrows in response. "Do you want to see a movie with me, tonight?" she asked. "Maybe?"

"Okay..." She said. Twilight, quickly analyzing the situation, she decided that this date would be a good way to explore deeper into her puzzled mind of emotions and make sense of the situation she was in. She decided she wanted to better understand her. That was the key to the lock. To understand her. To sort out their feelings together. She needed to know what happened between them to spark the flame. She needed to...

“Um, R-Rainbow?” Twilight stuttered, her body shaking as she shuffled her body upright uneasily to correct her posture. Rainbow returned a glance. No, she thought. This shouldn’t be making you nervous, Twilight, she comforted herself. That’s right; it shouldn’t be making her nervous. Her uneven heartbeat kicked it. She didn’t have true feelings for her yet, right? That was right. She gulped and closed her eyes for a fleeting second.

“Why do you love me?”

Eden Sank to Grief

Eden Sank to Grief
09

The familiar warmth of summer graced the air, complemented with the occasional chilly breeze of wind that caressed Rainbow Dash's body, a natural and soothing relaxant. Oh, how she loved this feeling. The serenity was a nice change of pace from weather team work. She was kicked back in a lounge fashion on one of the clouds floating above Ponyville, one of her favorite things to do while the summer's midday controlled the skies. The Summer Sun Celebration was neigh, which was to take place tomorrow. She had been assigned the task of clearing the skies on the preceding night and day. That was so not awesome - she was supposed to be practicing for the Wonderbolts recruitment in the fall. How would they ever let a pegasus in that clears clouds instead of practicing her dazzling tricks? And Celestia hadn't even assigned her a partner or assistant. Come on, was she supposed to do this all by herself? How boring.

She yawned, sitting up and stretching her legs, arms and wings before dropping into back into the cloud, closing her eyes. Everypony else that wasn't a pegasus was really missing out on these amazing clouds. Softness, cool temperature, and its refreshing moist texture seemed to be the perfect formula for relaxing, she presumed. These soft, fluffy clouds... If only summers like this lasted forever. It wasn't as if she didn't like other seasons; she loved the fresh spring air, but summer seemed to put her in a trance, making her crave for more. Suddenly an unfamiliar voice pierced the serenity.

"There's supposed to be a pegasus named Rainbow Dash clearing out the skies," it said. Rainbow's ears perked up a the mention of her name. She tuned in more precisely to their conversation, trying to make out what they were saying.

"Well, she isn't doing a very good job, is she?" a second voice chimed in. Her voice sounded cute and innocent. Rainbow peeked her head above her cloud, straining to grab a glimpse at the owners of the two voices. The first, she presumed, belonged to the small, chubby purple dragon. He looked like he hadn't been hatched too long ago; he didn't have any wings. Then again, it talked. She didn't even know dragons could talk. The second voice belonged to the pretty-looking lavender unicorn. Her mane sported a royal shade of rich purple, highlighted with pink and lighter purple streaks. Rainbow thought it looked pretty awesome. She wanted to get a closer look; vision tends to get unreliable a couple hundred feet from the ground. How could she, though? It wasn't every day a pretty pony randomly comes into town. Her mind thought quickly to formulate a plan. She quickly decided she could 'crash' into her, using a failed trick as a cover up. Oh well, why wait for something to happen when you can make it happen?

Rainbow hopped off her cloud, flittering her wings to begin a loopind descend. She dove forward, then performed a vertical 180° loop, placing her in an upside-down position as she accelerated towards the unicorn. Her velocity picked up as she barrel-rolled to correct her position. Right before she hit her, she made sure to flap backwards to mollify the collision impact. They clashed, throwing them airborne before landing in a puddle of mud. Oops.

"Um... Excuse me?" Rainbow joked with a light-hearted chuckle. She looked over to the lavender unicorn she deliberately crashed into, laughing. She was coated in mud. "Uh, here, let me help you," she offered. Rainbow quickly surveyed the sky, looking for a raincloud she could use on the unicorn. Quickly singling one out, she flew over to it and pushed the cloud over the unicorn. Floating on top of it, Rainbow started hopping up and down on it, forcing the rain out of the cloud. When she was done, she peeked out from one of the clouds, laughing at the soaked unicorn.

"Oops," she laughed. "I think I overdid it. Here, how about this?" she offered, beginning her tornado around the unicorn. "My very own patented," she said as the rainbow hued tornado encompassed the unicorn, surprising her.

"- Rainblow dry. No, no, don't thank me," she assured. "You're quite welcome," she said triumphantly. Rainbow looked over at the unicorn. Her mane was blown out in a sphere shaped ball, random strands of pink and purple swirling around like cotton candy. Rainbow couldn't help but collapse, imploding with laughter. The dragon that was accompanying her joined in, falling on top of her as they laughed their hearts out.

"You must be Rainbow Dash," the unicorn said, aggravated. Rainbow perked up, bucking the dragon off of her immediately, flashing an egotistical grin.

"The one and only," she bragged, emphasizing every other word to introduce herself in an exultant manner. "Why? You heard of me?" she said smiling and airborne, not five inches from the unicorn's face.

"I heard you're supposed to be keeping the sky clear," she explained. Rainbow rolled her eyes. She didn't need to be reminded of her tedious task. The unicorn brightened up with a cocky smile. "I'm Twilight Sparkle..."

"...It all started from there," Rainbow recalled. "You were so cute and fun to play with, it's just..." her voice trailed off as she omitted a weak sigh. Twilight remained silent. The food was already at their table, but it remained untouched as the story settled in the tense mood. Twilight remembered that day well. It was her first day in Ponyville, when she was assigned the job of overseeing the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, the night where she used the Elements of Harmony to defeat Night Mare Moon, and discovered the magic of friendship. Perhaps Rainbow had discovered the magic of love? Twilight was still unsure of herself, possibly for the first time since the Discord incident.

Did she love her back? At least she now knew for sure why she was loved, but she wasn't sure about her own feelings. Twilight, again, had close to zero experience with friendship before she arrived at Ponyville, let alone love. Even with her irregular heartbeat when Rainbow was around... She wasn't sure it was true love. She tried so hard to reciprocate Rainbow's feelings, but she hadn't found the smallest spark. No flame. No revelation. No ignition.

No love.

After a couple minutes of thinking through the silence, a familiar voice trotted down the row they were sitting. "Oh, this is perfect, darling." That eliminated all doubt. Twilight and Rainbow's ears perked up at her voice.

"Rarity?" Twilight asked, slightly surprised. Rarity lit up, noticing them. She quickly requested that she sit in Twilight and Rainbow's booth.

"Twilight, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity exclaimed. "Why are you two here in Canterlot?" Rarity was always first to ask questions out of curiosity like that.

"A better question is," Twilight replied, "what exactly are you doing here?" she inquired.

"Oh, I'm just picking up this FABULOUS new fabric I heard was here," she explained. "And I just HAD to be the first to get it for my new winter design line."

"Oh, that's nice," Twilight returned a suspicious look. "We aren't really doing -"

"Are you two on a... DATE?" Rarity exclaimed, a beaming smile creeping up on her face. Rainbow's ears plopped down as a crimson shade blazed her cheeks, embarassed. Rarity knew she wasn't like this; she was supposed to be the most radical, brave, iconic pegasus in Equestria. Twilight offered a weak smile, just as embarassed as Rainbow.

"Aww, aren't you two the cutest!", Rarity gushed, staying true to her typical self. "When did you two start to become so friendly?" she said, the excitement hanging in the air, so it seemed to Rarity. Quite the opposite for the other two. Rainbow forced a Fluttershy-esque smile in an attempt to lighten up her mood. She wished she hadn't had to confess her feelings then.

Twilight offered a shy shrug as a response, awkwardly smiling at her. The dawn of what happened still haunted her thoughts and emotions. Rarity lifted an eyebrow, sensing the tense mood that enveloped the air, and decided to stay quiet for a minute, before deciding it was time to break the ice.

"No matter; anyway, why don't you two eat up?" Rarity asked, noticing the untouched plates. "The food is great here, is it not?" Rarity nibbled on one of the appetizers.

"Yeah," Twilight agreed happily, taking the first bite of her sandwich. "Actually," she interrupted. "I need to use the mares' room." She abruptly got up and trotted to the right, leaving a small breeze of air from where she left.

"Rainbow Dash, what is going on?" Rarity inquired, the curiosity getting the best of her. "You haven't said a word since I got here."

"Um, hehe," she started. Her mind paced for the right word. "It's just been... Awkward. I guess."

"Rainbow, darling, you can tell me anything," she assured. Rainbow nodded and recapped the last twenty minutes for her, telling a watered down rehashment of her love-at-first-sight story.

"Oh, my," Rarity whispered. She waved a dismissive hoof. "Nothing's the matter; I've been in that situation before. It was before I met all of you; when I didn't even have my cutie mark. Anyway, darling, you know what they say about each and every young love.

"C'est un amour imparfait de croître. It's an imperfect love to grow," she said, in her own flawed French accent. "Give it time, dear. Has Twilight told you she loves you?" Rainbow meekly shook her head.

"I don't know what'll happen if she doesn't love me," she whispered. "Rarity, what was heartbreak like? I don't usually do love," she said solemnly, still maintaining her normal Rainbow Dash side.

"You shouldn't need to worry about that, darling," Rarity assured. "I'm sure she loves you back..." her voice softened.

"It's just a matter of time, sweetheart."

Dawn Goes Down to Day

Dawn Goes Down to Day
10

Yawn… The morning sun glistened through the windows, crafting an impressive array of light, decorating and dancing throughout the living room. Twilight reached over to welcome the sleeping blue pegasus’ familiar warmth. Instead, she was greeted with the pillow of the living room couch. Her thoughts quickly ran over the events of last night, surrounding her with the unfamiliar repulsive feeling of betrayal she harshly felt for the blue pegasus. How could she not feel anything after she openly confessed to her in such a sweet way? She cursed herself and groaned silently, wishing last night had never happened, or even if she could just somehow alter her emotions for the better. It was impossible, but she still fervently wished so. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that, at some point, she had to tell Rainbow. It did nothing but nauseate her further. She put the thought away, in an attempt to alter the course of the inevitable.

Twilight felt a sense of déjà vu as she recalled again, that Rainbow wasn’t going to be home from the morning until after lunch for some weather team work. That left a good couple of hours to herself, and she planned to use them to reconsider a lot, including herself. She couldn’t do that on an empty stomach, she summarized. Twilight got up and stretched, opening her half-lidded eyes to the luminous rays of sunlight. With this, she slowly sulked over to the kitchen, her mood still not lifted. Pulling open a cupboard, she saw the same box of toaster waffles she had burnt yesterday. Yesterday… She opened up the box of waffles as she plugged in the toaster.

I’m not going to burn you this time, she thought, determined not to. She flipped over the box and peered at the bottom to carefully read the instructions. Okay, one and a half minutes on the setting ‘high’, she jotted down in a mental note. Carefully opening the wrapper, she illuminated the two frozen waffles in a purple haze as they floated on over to the toaster; Twilight made sure they were in perfect posture before she carefully inserted them in the two openings on the flat top. She set the time to ‘1:30’ and the power on ‘high’, and took a seat at the table to recollect herself while she waited for her breakfast to cook. The nightmares of last night begun to dominate her thoughts, showing no sign of withdrawal to her efforts to put the thoughts aside. Instead of fighting it, she decided to stare blankly at the wall with an aggravated look on her face. She even began reciting an old nursery foal song in her head.

My Little Pony, My Little Pony… What is friendship all about? My Little Pony, My Little Pony… Friendship is – ding! The recognizable smell of waffles drifted over the kitchen as Twilight came to realize her waffles were finally finished. She traced her steps back, remembering explicitly that she followed the directions word-for-word as they were on the box. There was no possible way that she could have messed this up. They were toaster waffles for crying out loud. Unplugging the toaster, she rubbed her hooves together in anticipation as the smell of breakfast taunted her increasing hunger. She floated a plate over to the counter, and flipped the toaster upside down to force the waffles out onto the plate.

“WHAT IN THE-”

“So, let me get this straight darling,” Rarity summarized. “Because you burned your waffles this morning, you came all the way here for… What? Breakfast?” Twilight shook her head meekly.

“Actually… I came here to talk to you about something else,” she said, dropping her voice. “About last night.”

“Oh, not a problem,” she answered. “So, why would you need to talk to me about it?” she asked, a trace of suspicion in her voice.

“Nopony else knows about our relationship except you, Rarity,” she explained. “I don’t want it getting around town.”

“Why not? You two are the cutest couple - ”

“That’s precisely why…” Twilight whispered, averting her eyes to the ground in a mix of guilt and disappointment. “I’m not sure I can return her feelings for me.” A tear came to Twilight’s eye. Not even the carefree chirping of the morning birds or refreshing air of spring could divert her overwhelming flow of emotions and confusion.

“Oh, you don’t…?” Rarity observed. “Why not, darling?” she asked compassionately, trying to split the unicorn’s grief. Again, she found herself in another undesirable situation. She felt how Twilight must have felt during the whole Photo Finish incident a year since. Now, knowing both sides of the story, she was torn in two. She couldn’t tell Twilight about how Rainbow feels, and the inverse was also true. All she could do to moderate their feelings was to lie. Luckily, she was a good liar.

“I just… I’m not into mares that way,” she whispered. A settling gust of wind stroked her coat and mane. “Even if I was… I just… Oh.” She didn’t have the temperament to tell her exactly how she feels. Rarity understood. She crawled herself over to the purple unicorn, wrapping an arm around her neck and patting her mane, comforting her like she was her child. Tears were flowing freely down her cheeks.

“It’s okay, Twilight,” she assured. “I’m sure Rainbow will understand.” Rarity bit her lower lip, thankful that she couldn’t see her bad poker face.

“H-Help me?” Twilight stuttered, unable to retain her composure. “I don’t have the h-heart to t-tell her myself.” She hiccupped and slurred her last five words, whatever poise she had been lost.

“Would you be so kind to talk it out with me? Maybe… We don’t have to go that far.” Twilight nodded slowly. “Just take a deep breath and calm down...” she continued in a relaxing voice.

“Well, you see…” she began. “Even before last night, I’ve been feeling that she’s had some sort of feeling for me. Ever s-since I’ve moved into Rainbow’s house, she’s been s-showing me a different side of herself. Instead of h-her normal, outgoing, proud self, she’s been more negligent and t-tolerant towards me… L-like, instead of calling me ‘egghead’, she calls me T-Twilight or Twilee.

“A couple nights ago, s-she openly told me she l-loved me, but I wasn’t sure it was t-that kind of love.” Her cheeks were submerged in tears. She wasn’t sure they were all hers. “I t-thought I l-loved her too, but… Oh, I just don’t know…”

Rarity brought her in closer, running a hoof through Twilight’s mane in an attempt to calm her down. “That’s okay, Twilight…” she whispered, embracing Twilight like a foal. “I’m sure if you tell Rainbow, she’ll understand that it isn’t time yet, okay?” Twilight nodded and smiled for the first time since last night.

The leaves around the pegasus brushed away as she took silent flight from behind the tree, a small puddle of tears on the ground.

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nothing Gold Can Stay
11

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower,
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf,
So Eden sank to grief.
So dawn goes down to day,
Nothing gold can stay.

Who knew a plain note on a small sheet of paper could cause so much distress? For the second time in thirty minutes, the lavender unicorn found herself on the verge of breaking down with tears as an inundation of conflicting emotions conquered her each and every thought. Paper-thin streams of teardrops flowed from her eyes and littered the already-wet paper before her. She sniffled in her tears as she flipped the note over to examine the writing on the other side of the poem. She immediately recognized the mouth-writing.

I'm sorry, Twilight.
But don't come looking for me.

There was no trace; nothing testified that Rainbow had even lived here, save a photo of her along with Twilight, Rarity, and the others. Everything was gone; her pillow, her blanket, even her shower cloud had disappeared with the pegasus. Her Wonderbolts posters, Daring Do books, and all of the pictures she had of herself and the group that they have taken over the years. All the framed memories with Fluttershy.. Pinkie Pie.. Rarity.. Applejack... Gone. Twilight brought the last remaining photo over next to the note with a long sigh, tears still dripping down her sullen face. The picture showed the group together, smiling and hugging in Sugarcube Corner. Memories flowed through her mind, from their first time together to their betrayal in the Discord incident, to their 'best night ever' at the Gala, to the royal wedding in Canterlot. She forced a sorrowful smile as she closed her eyes and flicked away the memories, leaving nothing in her heart but remorse and grief she felt for the blue pegasus.

Mentally and now physically exhausted, she crawled onto the soaked bed, without bothering to fix the mess she had left. Her sobs were now joined with hiccups, as she painfully shut her bloodshot, teary eyes. She pulled the note and photograph closer to her and placed them under her arms. This way, she could pretend, even for a fleeting second, that everything would be okay. That Rainbow would be there to wake her up in the morning. That she could once more impress Twilight with her flying skills. That they could go on another flight, basking in the sunset together... Taking one last good look at the picture, she sighed and let the cold song in her head guide her off to sleep.

"You must be Rainbow Dash..."

"The one and only. Why? You heard of me?"
...

"Rainbow Dash... What are you doing?"

"Oh, no no no, don't mind me! I just saw the kindest, most generous pony I know about to get rained on, so I kicked a hole in the clouds!"
...

"...And Rainbow Dash, who didn't abandon her friends for her heart's desire, represents the Element of Loyalty."
...

"Coolness... Awesomeness... And radicalness."

"Aren't those all the same thing?"

"You would think that, Twilight. And that is why you would never qualify to be my pet.
...

"So amazing... Oh, the sunset's nice too."
~

Twilight, much to her dismay, found herself jolted awake in the familiar cloudy bedroom. All familiar except for the lack of warmth radiating from the other side of the bed. The realization hit her hard. She was gone. Twilight wasn't sure she would be back; she didn't blame her. If only she had lied... If she hadn't talked to Rarity, maybe... Maybe things would be alright. Rainbow would be on the other side of the bed, hugging her. If only she was good with such a complex subject as love. Friendship was hard enough.

She suddenly broke out of the chains of agony and sorrow that caused her despair. This couldn't be her. She was Twilight Sparkle, the brightest, most magical pony in Equestria. She felt a new surge of hope and optimism through her veins, stimulating her magic reserves. She knew what she had to do. She had to find her. And she had to find her now.

Much like earlier this week, she found herself pacing back and forth, brainstorming and considering her possible routes out. The mare that came first to her mind, for whatever reason, was Pinkie Pie. She almost immediately crossed her off, but decided to think it through regardless of the ridicule that would ensue if she chose Pinkie. She would probably consider it a hide-and-seek game, and probably throw a party on the spot when... or if... they found her at all.

One by one, Twilight rattled through her options of Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie Pie when she finally came to Rarity, and soon set her mind on insisting she help her find Rainbow. After all, she was the only one to know about their 'fruit parfait de croître', or whatever it was. She recalled Rarity mention something like that to Rainbow as she was walking back. Rarity was also quite passionate about love, and would probably walk to the end of the world to protect it from shattering. Well, she very well might have to do just that.

Lost

Lost
12

Rainbow Dash looked around, now in the safe haven of a makeshift abode in a forest, not too far from Canterlot. It had taken her hours and hours of flight and contemplation, but she decided this was the best place for her. She would be safe here. She would, right? There was a light drizzle of rain dampening the forest as the night encroached on the fading sunset, eliminating the last visible light source, save the capital city in the distant winter horizon. Some of the light managed to seep through the vegetation into her area, but none of it reached her.

She let out a soft sigh, anxiously pawing at her left hoof. She averted her eyes to the towering trees, the rain trickling down the trees onto her tired face. The same question kept repeating in her head. Why? She tried to think back, tried to think about what happened and how it happened between the two in such a short span of time. She tried to think back to a time where she was this sad; surely, this was one of the lowest points in her life thus far. It had been the one thing that had broken through her façade of confidence and arrogant poise. She was lost. She knew at first she shouldn’t be fooling around with this kind of stuff, but she let her heart get the best of her. Advice Rarity had told her one too many times. If only she had listened…

Through a clearing in the foliage, Rainbow saw a recognizable star. The North Star – Polaris – as Twilight had taught her in one of her astronomy lectures. Although they had a tendency to bore her to sleep in the brisk night air on the porch, she had picked up one thing. If she was ever lost, she would refer to Polaris to find her way home. She highly doubted that the star could guide her the long way from home this time.

Already in the brutally cold night, she sorely missed the comfort of her own home, and the comfort and warmth of her best friend. Her loneliness lingered on her as the short-lived memories of their relationship darted around in her head. From Twilight’s moving in, to the crash, to their first and only date together, the memories came back as an inundation enveloping her mind.

With a final sigh, she rested her head on a makeshift pillow of leaves and closed her eyes.

“That’s precisely why…” Twilight whispered, averting her eyes to the ground in a mix of guilt and disappointment. “I’m not sure I can return her feelings for me.” Rainbow’s eyes narrowed and drooped, her jaw opening in disbelief at the remark. Tears began to form beneath her half-lidded eyes, blurring her vision. Her mane folded over her face, blocking out the world. What was Twilight talking about? She loved her… Didn’t she? A searing pain hit her chest.

“It’s okay, Twilight,” Rarity assured. “I’m sure Rainbow will understand.” Her heart started beating more erratically, the more the conversation continued on. What the hell do you mean by, ‘Rainbow will understand’? She shut her eyes close, sliding down the tree she was behind. The tears from behind her closed eyes rolled down with her, forming a small puddle on the ground. She let her upper body lay limp, still managing to sit up. Ten words – that’s all it took to destroy the emotions of the once confident, reckless pegasus to nothing.

“Would you be so kind to talk it out with me? Maybe… We don’t have to go that far. Just take a deep breath and calm down...” Rarity continued in a relaxing voice.

Rainbow noticed another pain in her chest. More piercing in her heart.

“A couple nights ago, s-she openly told me she l-loved me, but I wasn’t sure it was t-that kind of love. I t-thought I l-loved her too, but… Oh, I just don’t know…”

More of the same pain, but intensified. Tears flooded down her body, waterlogging her prismatic mane which stuck to her face. Why was this happening? What could she have done to avert this? Why was Twilight even thinking like this? Her heart felt like it was pushing further back in her body, as if it was being stabbed by a knife. She elicited a few low whimpers, hopefully inaudible to anyone else.

“That’s okay, Twilight… I’m sure if you tell Rainbow, she’ll understand that it isn’t time yet, okay?”

That was it. She couldn’t take any more of this. She wasn’t sure she could take any more of herself. She was done. Picking herself up sluggishly, she slowly unfolded her wings to fly towards the now unfamiliar way of what she used to call ‘home’.

Rainbow slowly opened her eyes, recoiling at the beams of light shooting through the treetops above her. She let out a small groan. The leaves around her ruffled as she noticed there was still some foliage from her temporary housing on her. She brushed them off with a quick flick of her wings before folding them back in place.

The walls of her leaf house were all plastered down on the ground, probably torn apart by the wind and rain from last night. Her coat was still drenched from the rain, making her shiver. Again, she missed the warmth and comfort of her old home and her best friend. She still considered Twilight her best friend, regardless of how she felt. That’s why they call me Loyalty… Right?

She shivered again on the cold forest floor. Curling herself up, she let out another yawn as she prepared herself to go back to sleep. A voice echoed through the forest, seemingly directed at her.

“Oh, you’re awake.”

Fire

Fire
13

"Oh, you're awake." The voice rang and echoed through the forest, seemingly coming from behind Rainbow. Her ears perked up as she lifted her head. Standing up to look around, she recognized the voice very well. How could she not recognize her idol's voice?

"Spitfire?" Just then, the yellow veteran flier swooped down from one of the trees, landing tersely in front of Rainbow, scattering all of the leaves around them. Her uniform was missing, though her elegance was not lost. Her normally windblown mane was matted down to what she figured was its normal appearance. Fluttering her wings, she touched down and folded them back in place with a cocky, amiable grin. The mockingjays in the distance started up.

"W-What are you doing here?" Rainbow asked, surprised.

Spitfire raised an eyebrow. "I could ask you the same thing. Why are you here? This place isn't the best place for sleeping, eh?" she said, pointing at Rainbow. The question caught her off guard. She hesitated to answer; she didn't think had a good reason why she was here in the first place herself. A tear formed in her eye as she looked back to formulate an answer. She opened her mouth and did nothing but sigh.

"Are you lost?" Spitfire tilted her head, revealing a side of compassion otherwise never seen from the famous flier.

Rainbow sniffed and nodded her head meekly. "I guess... you could say that."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry about it," she whispered through choked gasps. "How'd you find me here?"

Spitfire frowned and narrowed her eyes. "Hard to miss a rainbow-colored blob laying in a forest from a couple hundred feet up, and was wondering why you were here," she explained. "I came back the next morning and found you here again. How did you get lost anyway?"

Rainbow remained silent and looked to the ground, the memories relapsing in her mind.

"Well... You wanna get back home? I think I remember how to get there." Rainbow cleared her throat and spoke up.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Damn it, Pinkie, yes!" Twilight snapped at her, growing more and more impatient with the pink party pony. "I have her note with me!" Being studious and self-controlled, Twilight didn't swear much, and her friends seeing this rare occurrence knew things weren't their usual fun and games. They recoiled even at this mild outbreak.

"Gee, sorry," Pinkie apologized. "I just can't believe our Dashie is gone!" she said in her usual bubbling Pinkie Pie-esque manner. She hung her head lower, looking up expectantly at Twilight.

Fluttershy spoke up. "Oh, but what if we can't find her Twilight?" her voice was brought to a whisper as she withdrew her head. "I'm so worried..." she squeaked.

"Fluttershy, it's okay," Rarity assured. "Twilight and I will find her, and things will go back to the way they were before, darling." Twilight couldn't think of a better feeling than 'the way they were before'. Applejack suddlenly objected.

"Now, sugarcube," she said, addressing Twilight and Rarity. "Why is it only you two going? Ah reckon we're your friends too, y'know? Shouldn't we come help you?"

No, because Fluttershy's a pain in the flank to go anywhere with... Twilight thought. Although she loved her animal-loving friend, she would rather not take Fluttershy along with her on a chase where time is critical; not after they were sent by Celestia to get rid of that dragon.

"No, because you have to take care of the farm, and... Fluttershy has to take care of her woodland creatures?" Twilight conjured up, mustering a weak smile on her face. She shifted uncomfortably as it sank in.

"Oh, well can I come?" Pinkie bubbled, springing up into the air. "I wanna help find Dashie!" Twilight groaned. She didn't want to bring the pink pony; there were too many things that could go wrong with her hyperactivity. She wanted to tell her the truth, but she couldn't bring herself to. Even in a time like this, there was no way she would hurt her friends.

"Sorry Pinkie... We're going to need to travel light. We might have a long trip ahead of us." She abruptly sat back down, disappointed. Rarity glanced at Twilight.

"We should get going then."

"No." Spitfire looked at Rainbow in a daze. She was flat out confused at this pony now. She seemed so happy a couple days ago at their performance in Cloudsdale. But now, she looked exhausted, beat up, and even depressed. Something wasn't right for the brave mare she had known from the young flier competition.

Why was she here, in the Glades Forest a couple miles off from Canterlot? Why was she so exhausted looking? Above all else, why didn't she want to go home? Spitfire considered running away from parents, but Rainbow seemed old enough to live alone. Wasn't she captain of the Pegasi weather team?

"Well, would you mind telling me why you're here, kid?" Rainbow shook her head meekly. Spitfire frowned. "You aren't gonna get any help then," she lectured, playing it off with a lighthearted smirk. Rainbow looked up at Spitfire, considering what she said. Her charismatic smile took Rainbow aback. Clearing her throat and picking up her courage, she began.

"You remember the other day where you brought me backstage?" Spitfire nodded in acknowledgement. "Remember that mare with me? To put it in short, I'm in love with her, and she isn't," Rainbow concluded with a sigh.

"Huh. Why do you say that?"

"I heard her say it."

"That's rough, kid," she said. "It isn't easy - I've been through that. In the end, it all worked out, though not really the way I wanted it."

"Huh?"

"Me and Soarin'. Same thing's happened to us a while back, before the Wonderbolts even formed." Rainbow looked at her incredulously. Spitfire took a moment to survey the area around them, noticing the makeshift housing that was torn down. Dead leaves were still scattered everywhere, some made their way into Rainbow's mane. No friend of hers' should have to live like this.

"You need a place to stay?" Rainbow nodded.

"You can always come back to our little hotel if you want, I can pull some strings for you."

"You would?" she asked, her ears perking up for the first time since yesterday. "Wow!" she squealed, a grin breaking out on her face.

"Hey, no problem kid. Why don't we get going, then?"

Transfer

Transfer
14

The golden doors that were the doorway to the Wonderbolts' academy both excited and intimidated Rainbow Dash. The building was a rather exquisitely constructed and designed building. It was rather medium sized, but large for a resort; it looked to be about 20 stories high. The outer coating decorated the walls a pure white marble, contrasting and highlighting the gold plated doors and windowsills. The iconic Wonderbolts crest was adorned on the top of the building's wall, outlined in gold and silver.

Even the patches of grass and gardens that bordered the concrete walkway were elegantly crafted with two smaller replicas of the main crest on either side of the walkway, centered out on the grass patches. The prismatic plants that surrounded them were well-kept and vivid, adding a nice touch of variation in color. Rainbow wondered how they suspended the grass and plants on a cloudbed, seeing as they have no soil. Perhaps it was a form of magic spell, or maybe it was simply enchanted nutrient-rich clouds.

Spitfire gently touched down at the base of the walkway, tucking in her wings and starting to walk towards the resort. She looked up at Rainbow and motioned an "okay" as she touched down herself on the smooth concrete path.

"Pretty nice place, yeah?" Spitfire said, looking around and surveying the surroundings. "Just wait until you see the inside," she said teasingly, punctuating her sentence with her signature charismatic smile.

Rainbow managed a smile and nodded as they reached the doorway, Spitfire reaching her hoof towards an identifier pad. She quickly tapped in what looked to be an electronic gesture code, her hoof sliding up, down, sideways and tapping various things on the touchpad. The touchpad display shimmered a lime green and locked away back into the marble casing, slowly sliding the golden doors apart.

They walked into the opening lounge for a breeze of air conditioning and jazz music to brush through them. The first thing Rainbow picked up on was the sheer resemblance to the exterior design of the building, following close to the white and gold color scheme as well as keeping a modern touch. However, the floor was carpeted in a light blue to match the Wonderbolt colors, emblazoned with their signature yellow bolt design in the middle.

The room itself had the nostalgic air of a university campus lounge, but lacked the socialization and constant chatter that filled the air. A few white sofas and a love chair surrounded a gold table and a large TV hanging on the wall. To the right, a mini food bar and kitchen was found, but empty at the moment. Breakfast had just ended and been cleaned up, she guessed.

"You like it?" Spitfire asked, looking towards Rainbow. "I'll give you a little tour around, later," she added.

"Sure," she replied coolly, stifling her excitement.

"Why don't we look into getting you a room, too? It's usually for members only, but hopefully I can pull some strings and get you in, yeah?" Rainbow nodded. "I'll call up our manager; why don't we head up to my room for now?" Spitfire suggested.

"Sure, why not?"

"Alright, follow me this way."

Spitfire led Rainbow down a long, Wonderbolt-blue carpeted hallway littered with large framed posters and wall-mounted trophy cases. The hallway led to another set of golden doors that opened to reveal the elevator.

They stepped into the marble and blue elevator, as Spitfire tapped the 20th floor button and subsequently the close door button. Spitfire spoke up as the doors slid together for the elevator to begin its ascent to her room.

"Hey kid, you haven't been talking much since we left," she acknowledged. "You sure you're alright? We can always talk it through - I've been through what you're going through right now."

"That's okay," Rainbow declared after some thought, bringing up a hoof to run it through her unkempt mane. "I just... Need some time."

"Oh, do you want to be left alone?"

"No, no," she insisted. "I'm fine, I think. Don't worry!"

The elevator abruptly came to a halt at the sixteenth floor. The doors slid open, revealing a familiar white and blue stallion that skipped a beat in her heart. A towel was draped around his neck and his mane was waterlogged and stuck to his forehead. He, like Spitfire, wasn't dressed in his regular Wonderbolt attire. Man, if I were accepted in, I would always wear my uniform, Rainbow thought.

"Hey, Soarin'," Spitfire said. "Why were you in the spa level by yourself?" she asked, looking around him and observing the large, yet empty pool room. Rainbow immediately took notice of the backlit pool.

"What? A stallion can't just relax in the spa without a mare?" he asked in his best innocent voice. He nodded towards Rainbow. "Hey, aren't you-"

"Yeah, she's the one," Spitfire cut him off. "The same pony from the Gala and the flier competition a while ago."

"Hey, yeah! Your name was... Rainbow..." his voice quieted as he tried to think. Rainbow interrupted.

"...Dash. Rainbow Dash."

"Oh, okay, Rainbow Dash. Nice to meet you, again." He lined himself up next to them as the doors closed. "Hey, why are you here anyway? ...Spitfire?" he asked, looking around Dash to Spitfire. Rainbow shuffled back.

"Would you mind?" she asked, nudging Rainbow on her side. She shook her head in response. Spitfire averted her attention towards Soarin' again. "I found her in the Glades, sleeping. I couldn't just leave her there. She saved our lives, remember? We still owe everything to her, eh Dash?" she concluded, giving Rainbow a playful punch. She smiled at remembering that day - the day where she saved the lives of three Wonderbolts, Rarity, performed her second Sonic Rainboom in front of a thousand ponies, and won the Best Young Flier Competition. That was a pretty good day for Rainbow. She was already starting to miss her friends, but she would get over it soon enough, maybe.

The doors slid open, as Soarin waved a goodbye and stepped out of the elevator, walking the opposite way towards his room. They slowly walked out of the elevator; Spitfire seemed to have somthing on her mind. She shook her head.

"Anyway, let's make that phone call, yeah?"

Beep... Beep... Beep...

"Y'ello," the deep voice on the other end answered.

"Hey, it's me."

"Spitfire," he said in acknowledgment. "What do you need?"

"Well, you see... I brought in a friend who's-"

"You know how I feel about guests."

"You don't understand, I found her in; oh! Maybe you know her?"

"Who." It was hardly a question.

"Rainbow Dash! That one pony who saved us in the Best Flier Competition this year!" Rainbow's ears swiveled around at the mention of her name.

"Oh, that pony..." the deep voice quieted. "She can stay, but tell her not to expect free housing." Spitfire smiled

"Alright, thanks!"

"Yeah." He hung up, and Spitfire locked her phone again and put it back down on the granite countertop.

"He said your own room wasn't free, and I can't pay for you. Got any money on you?"

Rainbow shook her head. "Left all of my bits at my old home," she mentioned. "So nope." Spitfire thought for a minute before drawing a quick conclusion.

"Well, I guess you're staying with me."

Refuge

Refuge
15

"Damn it," Twilight cursed under her breath. There couldn't have been a worse time for a search party, with the chilling winter air proving to be all but hospitable. The only reason she had chosen this place to look first was the fact that Rainbow had fled here in the past when she was embarrassed (albeit rarely) by anything. The starless sky didn't make matters better, either; their only light source being that of a dimly lit kerosene lamp being dragged along with them. Trudging through the Glades, the atmosphere of the scene was rather morbid, not unlike something with semblance to something along the lines of a suicide scene. Oddly enough, the two had remained relatively silent, speaking up only to ask others if they'd seen their rainbow-colored pegasus. As expected, no luck. Rarity acknowledged Twilight's apparent mood back home in Ponyville, deciding it was in their sanities' best interest for both of them to remain quiet.

Twilight paused, just barely making out a pair of hoof-steps and a makeshift padding which looked like it served as a bed, or perhaps a shelter of some sort. "Look," she whispered to Rarity, pointing at the two things of interest. It was most definitely used, she noted in a detective-like persona, mimicking a character from a fiction series she had just finished reading. The pair of hoof-steps only covered a few square feet of land around the clearing - in fact, it was small enough that it honestly may have only been one pony walking in circles. She arched downwards, more closely observing the prints. Upon further inspection, she decided they were too close and too staggered to be a single pony. That, and the fact that the prints had terminated at almost the same time, the final set of prints being dragged out slightly longer than the others.

They were undoubtedly pegasus.

Her first lead. Yet, for some reason, she was hardly satisfied at all. One of the pegasi that were here was almost certainly Rainbow - that's good. Knowing this, she's hopefully near. But, who could the other set of prints belong to? They also seemed to be that of a pegasus, and it would make sense given Rainbow's implied, defeated nature who was probably seeked help from someone else. Honestly, it could have been anyone from the vast number of cities near here.

She doubted it was anyone from the weather team, as Rainbow wasn't really known for interacting with them; at least, not that Twilight had seen, anyway. She tried to think of other pegasi around here that would be willing to help, but no one immediately came to mind. Perhaps she was looking too far into the issue; maybe it was a random patrol that noticed her and shuttled her off to safety, or home. Yet, she highly, highly doubted she would be returning home anytime soon, given the recent events.

"Thoughts?" she asked Rarity, breaking the pristine silence. "The two sets are clearly pegasus, one almost certainly Rainbow," she continued in a matter-of-fact tone. "But, the second set could literally be anyone. It could have been a patrol, it could have been an old friend, it could have been herself - hell, it could have been her mom. I don't know." Twilight was surprised she could even have a sense of humor in times like these, even if it was sarcastic and unintentional. "Where do we search first?"

"Well, we can stride into the closest town and ask around if anyone knows anything," Rarity suggested.

"Ugh, sure," she groaned. "I don't see how it would be any different than the towns we already did that in, but it's better than nothing," Twilight figured.

Following the directions of the final hoof-steps, they took off towards the portal to Cloudsdale.

Reclined in a regal, yet modern blue couch, Rainbow yawned as her exhaustion from the past nights had finally dawned on her. Spitfire had just introduced her to her room before leaving out to meet Soarin' and the rest for practice. Had this been any other day with any other circumstances, she would have been delighted; no, ecstatic to tag along and watch their practice adoringly. Yet, she found herself depressed, tired, and lonely, seeking refuge in another mare's room. Despite Spitfire being in debt to Rainbow for over a year now, it was an embarassing act in itself, an act of desperation.

That said, the room was very nice. It was essentially modern upper echelon decoration. While the room had only the finest portraits of Spitfire and the Wonderbolts, as well as deep, glacial-looking furniture to complement the lighter stark blues of the walls, adorned with gold lining and texture, as well as cloud-like couches, it was all but a fleeting consolation to aid Rainbow's unusually downtrodden personality.

She wondered what doing any of this would even accomplish for her. What is she even doing here? Looking back, she realized all she wanted to do from that dreaded moment on was run away - not to anywhere specific for any reason, but just, to run away, to be "anywhere but here". Maybe, just maybe she can find some sort of friendship with Spitfire and the rest of the Wonderbolts... maybe, something more. She quickly put aside the thought as if it were a bad dream she had just woken up from. She considered going back to what she used to call "home", but it was impractical in every sense of the word to put aside her trials and tribulations with Twilight. She doubted they could even be around each other anymore without either of the two snapping at each other.

With thoughts and memories of the purple unicorn surfacing once more, a lone delicate teardrop rolled down her brilliant blue cheeks before resting on the floor. Time and time again, she reconsidered everything she had done with the unicorn. What was the point of it all? Wasn't their friendship good enough? Why, why the hell had she pushed for more? What the hell was it about Twilight that drove her to these drastic situations, and why did she go through with them so damn easily?

She flipped over on the couch, her once proud, arrogant face now tear-streaked and whimpering into the pillow.

Why?

Twilight sighed, ready to check in to a hotel after the exhausting, albeit unsuccessful search for Rainbow. She wouldn't give up, despite walking around and talking to almost every pony in Cloudsdale in the span of a single day. As one would expect, Rarity fared much worse. Two hours into the day, she was already grumbling and moaning for Twilight to bring them to a place where they can rest or eat, but to no avail. She was determined to find Rainbow as fast as possible, no matter the work and no matter the means. All that mattered to Twilight, right there, right now, was finding Rainbow.

As she and Rarity made their way to the nearest hotel, Twilight noticed a familiar yellow pegasus trotting around. She wasn't entirely sure it was the pegasus she had believed it was, however; her mane was uncharacteristically matted down and missing the trademark suit and goggles. But, it was close enough to not hurt to ask.

"Spitfire?" The yellow pegasus turned around to meet the voice.

Upon seeing Twilight, Spitfire flinched in remembrance of what Rainbow had told her and what the source of her agony was. And, here she was, presumably searching to make amends with Rainbow. Unbelievable, crawling back for forgiveness after what she had put the poor thing through. She feigned ignorance.

"Huh?" she asked, looking at Twilight with a wary glance.

"Oh, so you are Spitfire!" Twilight said, glad she remembered her name. "Good! Have you seen Rainbow Dash around? It's pretty important."

Spitfire flinched again, remembering the sight of the broken down, agonized pegasus - who not a week ago, was able to perform sound-breaking tricks with ease - now a depressed, lonely creature due to a mere few words. It broke her heart.

What were she to do here? Should she lie and say she hadn't seen her, she runs the risk of them finding Rainbow here later anyway. But, she felt it was necessary to keep this "Twilight Sparkle" away from Rainbow. There was a reason that Rainbow was evading Twilight, and from what she gathered, it was a damn good reason and she wouldn't be violating her friend anytime soon. So, she did the most rational thing she could bring herself to do in her situation.

"Nope, haven't seen her. Sorry."

Favors

Favors
01

Twilight Sparkle stood in front of the first bookcase in the library, titled "Fiction Books A-F". She decided to spend this day cleaning up and decorating the library, as she forgot to clean up her own mess after helping with the Winter Wrap Up. Excellent. With spring in company, she decided her library needed it to show. Earlier that week, Fluttershy insisted that Twilight take a couple spring flower decorations for the library; it was her favorite season, and she loved for it to be everywhere. Twilight brought up four bouquets of flowers effortlessly with her magic, and sent them all to different parts of the library - two on the main desk, one on a table, and one at the foot of the staircase that led to her room. Even though it was a simple task, she wished Spike were here to give her some company. He was staying the week over at one of his friend's houses in Canterlot. She had just finished putting them perfectly in place, then all of a sudden she heard the sound much unlike a bullet, accelerating faster towards her general direction in the distance. She realized it was getting louder and louder, then - CRASH!

Twilight stared in shock at the huge, gaping hole in the side of her room, still smoking as if a huge bullet had just pierced right through it. On any other day, she would have used her magic to fix it, but her magic felt weak after helping Applejack clear the apple tree acres while she was sick.

The blue pegasus was propped up against the opposite wall of the hole, a small bookcase and a multitude of books covering her face and upper body. Honestly...

"Ow." Rainbow Dash said, still managing to laugh. "I think I hurt my left wing. And hey Twi, what's up?" Twilight just stared at her, offering but a small grunt. Another voice cut through the air, apparently surprised as much as Twilight was at the not uncommon sight of the crashing prismatic pegasus.

"Hey Twi-light! Hey Dashie!" Twilight turned her head around, and to no surprise, Pinkie Pie was in the doorway. She wasn't in the mood for this.

"Hey Pinkie!" Dash smiled. Twilight simply offered an unimpressed, blank stare.

"Why so glum, you silly willy filly!" she cried ecstatically, in her usual Pinkie Pie-esque manner. "Come on, I'm throwing a 'Winter Wrap Up Two Week Anniversary Party! It could help you take your mind off that huge hole in the wall!" Rainbow laughed and nodded.

Was she serious? That was one of Pinkie's stupidest reasons to throw a party. Well, except for the "A Week After Last Week's Party" party. It's fine, she mused, appeasing to the bubble gum pony. It was for the best that she calmed down and just relax for the time being. Why not? Even though Pinkie's parties are usually just headache-inducing with the loud music, forcefeeding of candy, and extensive amount of party poppers, she decided to go anyway. There couldn't be too much harm in attending. She thought of going as just an act of kindness, but she really did need to take her mind off this. But... she needed to find the book she needed for a certain field research, and study it. Then again, she remembered what Rarity had said to her earlier.

"Twilight, darling, reading isn't the only thing to do in life! Go to a spa, spend time with a close friend, anything!" Rarity was right. Twilight barely got out of the house, and more often than not, it was for errands or to compete in a signature Ponyville event like Winter Wrap Up or The Running of the Leaves.

Pinkie dragged her to her house, all the while rambling on and on about her new party decorations; balloons, streamers, and more candy than anypony can eat. Rainbow said she would get rested becore going, as she went to treat the wing she damaged in the idiotic crash into Twilight's house. How anyone in Equestria could be so perky and happy this early in the morning was beyond anyone of her caliber. Gotta give it to Pinkie Pie for living her life always looking ahead, hyper and energetic. Twilight wished she had the time - let alone a personality - for a life like that. Her boring life was lonely, uneventful, and a good part of it was spent in the library studying.

"We're here!" Pinkie Pie shouted so loudly, Twilight's heart skipped multiple beats and she actually got some air time. "Will you help me put up these streamers and balloons?"

Twilight nodded slowly and made her way, slowly, towards the closet where Pinkie stored the things she needed to pick up. About twenty minutes and seven paragraphs' worth of Pinkie's yelling later, Twilight finally managed to put up the final streamer, sighing in relief. Then, all of a sudden: another crash into the wall next to her. There was a loud crack and two ponies screaming, as the door broke down. She didn't even have to think for a second before she knew who it was. Rainbow Dash crashed into the wall right next to Twilight, throwing her off the ladder. Amazing how anyone can be this inconsiderate and clumsy at the same time.

"Oops," Rainbow Dash said, following up with a chuckle. "Sorry Twi!" She came over to Twilight to come help her up. She gave a disgruntled sigh at the pegasus.

"Dash, you're so silly, crashing into everypony's houses!" Pinkie yelled. "First Twilight's, now mine!?" She tried to keep a serious expression, but the sight of Rainbow Dash crashing into a wall was too much. She eventually burst out laughing, too.

"Hehe, sorry about that again Twi," Rainbow said with a smile. Twilight just shot one of those "you're such an idiot sometimes" looks at Rainbow. She laughed again, but Twilight joined in this time. Rainbow had tripped on a loose floorboard, sending her airborne, and she landed with her stomach right over Twilight's. They both couldn't stop laughing for a couple minutes.

Rainbow got up and pulled Twilight up too. They locked eyes, and Twilight found herself absorbed in the soft gaze of Rainbow's magenta orbs. She blushed. Rainbow Dash felt the same way on the flipside, staring into Twilight's deep indigo eyes. They kept this position for about seven seconds before Rainbow Dash laughed, pulling her up.

"Bye Fluttershy, Rarity! Good night!" Pinkie hollered at them as the party ended. Applejack also said she was going to go home- wait. Twilight's home is practically destroyed. She paced the floor nervously. She couldn't stay here, Pinkie is going to be up all night, and Twilight didn't want to be up all night with Pinkie. Fluttershy's cottage was also not an option... Twilight had some issues with certain pets before when she was a filly. She used to babysit various pets, ranging from birds to kittens. Not many of her sessions went well; most of them involved being attacked or unintentionally attacking them. Although Rarity would be delighted to have Twilight as a temporary guest, she had the feeling that she would be overly pampered like the first day of her arrival in Ponyville. She could only imagine the forced sauna treatments and mud baths that ensued.

She considered her last two options; Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Applejack's house wouldn't be the worst option with her great hospitality and friendliness, but there was something about the too-many-people-in-one-house that Twilight didn't like. Rainbow Dash's house would be great; Twilight loved stargazing and her house was in the skies, above the clouds and smoke which ensured a great view of the chilly night sky. She had also thought of Rainbow as one of her closest friends out of the bunch, and always enjoyed her company. Then again, she did need to use that spell that enabled earth ponies to walk on clouds, but that wasn't really a problem, more of a bother. Oh well, it was surely worth it.

"Rainbow Dash!"

"Huh? Oh hey, what's up, Twi?" she asked.

"Would you... Um..." she trailed off. She had never asked a favor like this before. "Would you um... Mind taking me in as a guest for a couple days?" she stammered. She was nervous. The last time she had any interaction with friends this close was a very long time ago in Canterlot, with another one of Princess Celestia's students. "You kind of broke where I'm staying," she explained with a tinge of sarcasm.

"Of course, Twi! You know I'd never leave my friends hanging," she said with a breathtaking smile. "Oh, and I kinda owe you for crashing into your library. Again." Rainbow said with a light chuckle. Twilight gave in, laughing along. She felt her heart flutter with joy. "This is going to be pretty fun, just the two of us!"

I hope it will, Twilight thought happily. I hope it will.

Apples to Apples

Apples to Apples
02

"What are you two ponies doing!?"

"Oh," Twilight laughed, acknowledging her presence. "We were just talking about something," Twilight said smiled sheepily. Rainbow nodded an affirmative with a smile. Pinkie just looked at them incredulously. Twilight hoped she hadn't caught on to what she thought Rainbow was doing. Even she was still quite alarmed from what Rainbow said to her. The thought made her blush even more, dying her cheeks a deep scarlet. Her heart once more felt like it was fluttering.

What is this feeling? She's never had it before... Her heart randomly fluttered and beat excitedly; and she felt her whole body shake, from her tail to her horn. Could this be what they call...

An irregular heartbeat?

She really should be more cautious with the sugar that Pinkie gave her. It isn't healthy, as evident in her heartbeat. Though, one can't imagine exactly how healthy Pinkie is, let alone the fact that she never seems to get sick in spite of this.

"So anyway, why wasn't Applejack here?" Rainbow asked to break the awkward haze of the moment.

"Well, she's sick." Twilight explained, managing to steal a look at the blue pegasus. "I had to help her clear the trees yesterday. It really took its toll on my magic," she sighed.

"I've got a great idea!" Pinkie yelled excitedly, seeing yet another chance to throw yet another party. "We can visit her and give her cake and balloons and PIE!"

Twilight cringed at the thought of another one of Pinkie's parties. She still had a stomachache from eating all of the candy she did, along with many sodas and cake. Her horn still gripped her pain, being exhausted from all of the magic use to help Applejack yesterday. To top it all off, she had a horrible headache which seemed to spring from both of the two. She knew for a fact she didn't want to go."Are you sure that's the best idea? Maybe she doesn't want to be bothered..." her voice trailed off.

"But Twiiii-light! It's only 6:30!" Pinkie crooned in the best little kid voice she could manage.

She sighed. "Fine," she moaned in a childish manner. "If you really want to, I guess I'll have to go," she looked at Rainbow. "Are you coming too?"

"Of course I would, I love Pinkie's parties!" Rainbow said. "But how are we going to get Fluttershy and Rarity to agree to come again with us to AJ's house?"

"Leave that to me!" Pinkie said with a wink and a grin.

"Fluttershy!" Pinkie yelled, pounding against her door with her hooves. "Open up!"

Fluttershy slowly opened the door, peeping her head out. "Yes?" she murmured quietly.

"We're going to Applejack's to throw her a get well party! Let's go!"

"Oh... Umm... Okay. Just let me- AH!" she yelled as Pinkie dragged her out, and started off towards Rarity's house.

"They really are something else, huh?" Twilight asked. Rainbow chuckled and nodded. Twilight looked over at her. She looked noticeably more modest and calm today. "Rainbow, are you alright? You don't seem like yourself today."

"Huh? Whatcha' mean, I'm not myself? I'm perfectly fine!" Twilight looked at her skeptically, unconvinced.. "What?"

"It's nothing," Twilight said with a laugh. "Shall we follow them?" Something was definitely different about Rainbow today..

"Alright!" Rainbow said in her usual manner and grabbed Twilight by her forehooves. "Shall we?" she said with a wink. Twilight barely had any time to respond before Rainbow took off, taking Twilight with her. She kept subsonic the whole time, as it was easier while carrying another pony.

Rainbow loved flying; it was her favorite thing in the world since she saw the Wonderbolts perform when she was just a little filly. She flew for the amazing sensations of flight. The powerful winds racing precisely in between her feathers, the speed greatly exceeding anything any earth pony can reach - especially her signature Sonic Rainboom. She loved flying against the winds, feeling the fresh air currents splash in her face.

"Rainbow! Rainbow!"

"Huh?" she replied, breaking her daydream.

"Rarity's house is down there! You passed it!"

"Oh. My bad," she said, looking down at Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie staring at them. "Guess we're too late anyway, hehe." Rainbow caught Rarity whispering something to Fluttershy as they descended.

"You two are becoming good friends, aren't cha? You're spending a lot of time together!" Pinkie concluded. "Fluttershy and Rarity also noticed!" They nodded in confirmation.

"What? Are you blind?" she countered, though not too harshly.

Rarity trotted over and nuzzled Twilight in the slightest bit. "You've made your first best friend Twilight! I'm so proud of you, dearie," she said with fake tears of joy.

"Oh, please," Twilight said with aggravation. Rainbow smiled. "Anyway, we should go if we want to be there before sundown." They all agreed in cheer.

On their way there, Twilight found herself walking alongside Rainbow as the other three were a couple meters ahead on the trail.

"You know, I think Pinkie's right," Rainbow said with the slightest hint of skepticism in her voice.

"You do?"

"I guess, hehe," she said with a tinge of red below her eyes. "We have been talking a lot more recently..."

"I guess so," she replied with a smile. Rainbow has been acting awfully modest and friendly lately...

The rest of the way there, they walked in silence as they followed and listened to the other three. Fluttershy kept teaching Rarity about French haute couture, and more stitching techniques that even Rarity haven't heard of. Inversely, Rarity was telling Fluttershy about the different types of fashions she saw during her visit to Canterlot. Pinkie kept trying to awkwardly contribute to the conversation, but that didn't go so well.

Sadly, when they got there, Big Macintosh was there to greet them instead of Applejack. When Pinkie asked if it was okay to enter with a surprise party, he said, "Nope," and Granny Smith informed them that Applejack was worse than before... Poor Applejack.

"Well, that's a darn shame," Rarity said, her voice a mix of slight frustration and pity for AJ. "I really wanted to see her today."

"Aww, I really wanted to use my party cannon again!" Pinkie whined.

"Pinkie, dear, you need to realize that Applejack isn't able to see us right now," Rarity retorted. "And plus, you need to stop worrying about parties and worry about her." Pinkie just pouted as a response, having nothing better to say.

"Well, I guess we better go home... Again." Twilight concluded. She remembered she was staying over at Dash's, and realized she was going to at least need some of her stuff like leisure novels, parchments and quills for her letter to Celestia, and her telescope for stargazing on Rainbow's roof.

"Hey Twi, why don't we fly over to your place and pick up some stuff you might need?" Rainbow inquired. Twilight nodded yes and said goodbye to the others as Rainbow swept her - literally - off her hooves as they started the flight towards her little tree.

About halfway there, Twilight saw in the distance that the hole caused by Rainbow caused the support of the second floor to crumble, leaving nothing but the first floor - and that was the public part of the library, where Twilight kept nothing of personal use. Rainbow descended the the ground, a solemn expression on her face.

"Oh Celestia, I'm so sorry Twi," she said, a tear running down her eye. "I'm so, so, sorry," she repeated, giving Twilight a squeeze.

There it was again. Irregular heartbeat. Pinkie Pie's stupid cakes and lollipops, not to mention anything else she was ate at the party. Twilight worried if this irregular heartbeat could mean something deeper... Maybe she was developing pony-betes. She cursed herself for eating so much at the party, and jotted down a mental note to control herself next time. To be honest, she wasn't even worried about her broken house. She knew Celestia would arrange to have it fixed.

"It's okay, Rainbow," she whispered. She nuzzled her. "It's okay, really."

Rainbow was acting awfully strange - this is actually the first time she saw her cry, even if it was just a couple tears. She wondered what's been causing her to act all strange. Maybe it was lo- no. It couldn't have been.

"Okay, if you say so," she immediately perked up. "We should head over to my place. We should walk this time, you look a bit tired."

"Alright, but do you have a medical book I might have the chance to read?"

"Uh, yeah, you lent me one when I broke my wing before."

"Okay."

Like their walk to Applejack's, Twilight and Rainbow walked in complete silence as they took in the brisk air of the night sky. Twilight's heart kept doing that thing again, but she ignored it this time. The chilly air and calm wind felt nice on their exhausted hooves and legs. Twilight realized she should get out in the night more often, rather than staying inside with her telescope. Even though stargazing was very interesting, she concluded that life isn't long enough to not savor and appreciate these calm, relaxing moments.

The sibilant night moon was shining brightly above Rainbow's house as she grabbed her to fly up to the house. Twilight almost forgot to cast the spell - which hurt her pained horn a lot - but reminded Rainbow right before she dropped her through the cloud base.

Rainbow brought her into the house, and Twilight immediately noticed the minimalistic setting of the house. Everything seemed very practical; the walls painted a blue a touch lighter than Rainbow's coat. The floor was made of intricately shaped clouds, which was a soft pleasure to walk upon. This was definitely not the home she was expecting from Rainbow.

"Wow Rainbow, this is a really nice place!"

"Hehe, thanks," she laughed. "I can either set up another cloud bed in my room, or you can stay here in the living room."

"The living room is really nice; I'm fine here," she smiled.

Rainbow gave Twilight a quick tour of her cloud residence, showing her where everything was. The bathrooms were very interesting, as the shower was what Rainbow called a "mini raincloud" as it was a modified, downscaled version of rainclouds outside. Then there were the rainbow pools outside; she had cleverly arranged rows lights under the water, which had dyed the pool every hue of color that she sported on her mane. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet - without missing a single one.

After the small tour was over, Rainbow explained she had to help Fluttershy with something about pets in Cloudsdale, apologized, and dashed upwards to the city in the sky.

Twilight went back outside to Rainbow's porch, and lay sprawled across the soft, fluffy and slightly moist clouds, giving her amazingly chilly sensations running through her body. She gave her horn a quick dip in the cloud, sending tingling jolts of ice through the currents of magic she could feel, pulsing left and right. It still felt sore, but it definitely helped.

A couple minutes later, she went back inside, finding Rainbow's medical book. She flipped through the pages rapidly with her magic, finally being mended slightly by the icy clouds. Page 42, here it was. Irregular heartbeat, a layman's term for cardial arrhythmia. Caused by agitation of the...