“Rainbow?”
Rainbow Dash looked behind her to see Spike fidgeting nervously, scuffing his tiny claws into the ground. She hadn’t expected him to be here. In fact, she hadn’t expected anypony to find her here.
“Oh, hey Spike,” she replied softly.
“You’re watching the sunset?” Spike asked, motioning to the horizon. It was getting quite late; Celestia’s sun was teetering on the edge of the skyline.
Rainbow blinked twice. “Yeah, I guess I am. You wanna join me?”
Spike smiled and nodded, ceasing his incessant fidgeting.
She patted the space next to her. “Plenty of room, y’know.”
The baby dragon carefully walked over to sit with her on the clifftop. From here they had a grand view of the sunset and of the Equestria it enshrouded.
“It’s beautiful,” Spike said quietly.
Rainbow nodded in response. She was not used to the idea of finding words to describe how she felt as she gazed upon the spectacle. Nopony had ever joined her up here before.
“I come here a lot,” Rainbow replied with a shrug. “It’s nothing special. Every sunset is the same.”
Spike looked away thoughtfully before replying. “Well I’m here this time, so it’s not exactly the same, is it,” Spike pointed out.
Rainbow blinked a few more times and looked down at the young drake beside her. She didn’t know much about Spike, but she knew enough that he was acting oddly. He had resumed his fidgeting again.
“Sunsets aren’t so special for pegasi. We can watch the sun set, then fly up twenty feet to watch it all over again.”
“You can do that?” Spike gasped.
“Sure,” Rainbow replied.
“I love sunsets,” he continued. “Twilight told me that if you chase the sun, it’ll never set.”
Rainbow smiled. “You could try, but you’ll probably get tired pretty easily.”
“Maybe if I ever get wings,” Spike mumbled quietly.
“Sure you will, champ,” she said confidently. “You’re a dragon! You just gotta wait it out a little.”
“Rainbow,” Spike said seriously. “What’s it like to fly?”
Rainbow tore her gaze away from the sunset to look at Spike again, and she thought carefully through her words.
“Flying’s more than just a hobby or a career to me. It’s everything. It’s the reason why I get up in the mornings, and it’s the reason why I can sleep at night.
“I couldn’t tell you what flying’s like, even if I was good with words.”
“Oh,” Spike’s shoulders sagged at this. He stared longingly out at the sun, and Rainbow knew what he was thinking.
“But I can show you, if you want?” she offered.
Spike’s eyes lit up. “You’d do that?”
“Sure, no biggie.” She shrugged, although she couldn’t stop the smile that was creeping onto her muzzle. Spike’s excitement was infectious. It wasn’t like she hadn’t carried ponies like Scootaloo before, anyway. She stood up. “Here, hop on my back and look at the sunset.”
“S-sure!” Spike said enthusiastically.
Rainbow bent her hind legs, allowing the little dragon to clamber up onto her back with his stubby legs. He expertly climbed onto her back however, holding on to her cautiously. Rainbow wondered just how many times he’d sat on Twilight’s back.
“Don’t go too fast or anything,” Spike begged.
“I promise,” Rainbow chuckled. “Just watch the sun closely until it completely disappears. You better hold tight when that happens, by the way!”
Spike gulped and clutched her nape even tighter. The two of them watched as the sunset drew to an end, the fiery colors slowly fading into twilight.
Rainbow couldn’t help but grin as the very last few sunrays peeked over the horizon. “You ready?” she asked.
“Y-yeah,” Spike replied nervously.
Finally the very last of the sun sank below the horizon. Spike had taken to wrapping his arms around her entire neck. She could feel his little heart beating rapidly in his chest, and could hear his panicked breathing in her ear.
Without any more warming, she took to the skies.
She only flew a small distance from the ground, but that was all that was needed.
“Look,” she said.
Spike gasped in her ear as he realized what Rainbow was pointing out to him.
The sun, or at least the last few rays of it, was sinking below the horizon all over again.
“That’s amazing!” Spike said in awe.
“Yep, I am!” Rainbow replied proudly.
Together they watched as the finals rays of the sun died away once more.
“If you want to see it a third time, I can fly higher?” she offered.
“Er, I think this is high enough,” Spike mumbled. He leaned over to look at the ground and gulped. “I’ve never really been this high before.”
“You’re not scared, are you?” Rainbow challenged.
“N-no!” he said quickly.
“Good. Because whenever you get your wings, this is probably the lowest we’ll ever fly.”
“Do you really think I’m going to get wings, Rainbow Dash?” Spike asked softly, his serious tone creeping back into his voice again.
“Of course you will,” Rainbow snorted. “I don’t think we’ve ever even seen a dragon without wings before.”
“Except me,” Spike mumbled.
“Yeah, but you’re different. You’re a baby dragon, aintcha.”
“Were you wingless when you were a filly?”
Rainbow paused. “Well, no. But I’m a pegasus. We’re practically born flying. You’ll get wings one day, Spike. You just need to wait it out.”
“What if I don’t get wings?”
“You will,” Rainbow replied with no trace of doubt. “You’re probably just a late bloomer or something.”
Spike nodded, but he didn’t look any better. Rainbow frowned and lowered them back to the ground again. She glanced once more out at the sunset, the twilight quickly growing darker and darker. Soon it would be nighttime.
She considered what her life would have been like if she hadn’t had wings as a filly. Would she still have fallen in love with flying? Would she still want to be a Wonderbolt? Would she still even be in Ponyville.
She looked back at Spike. A raincloud appeared to be gathering over his head, but his fidgeting had stopped. Instead, a sad frown pulled at his mouth.
“Hey, how about I fly you back to Ponyville?” Rainbow offered.
Spike looked up, the glimmer in his eye reigniting. “Can we?” he pressed excitedly.
She grinned. “Anything to stop you looking like Pinkie on a diet.”
He smiled through the frown, coming out as a twisted grimace instead. Rainbow felt herself beginning to frown. She’d never seen Spike like this. Taking into the air, she began to fly back towards Ponyville. She wanted to rush, to race her best time, but with the passenger on her back, she didn’t really want to risk losing him.
They glided slowly over the threes, twenty feet above the ground. She could hear Spike taking in deep lungfuls of the soft breeze.
“You having fun back there, kiddo?” she asked.
She wasn’t met with a reply, however. Instead, her neck was released from Spike’s arms. In her peripheral vision, she could see his arms stretched to either side.
It was strange. It looked like he was trying to find his balance or something. Maybe he was considering standing on her back? Rainbow readied herself in case he should fall.
But that didn’t sound right. Rainbow turned her head a little to get a better look, making sure there was no chance of her flying into anything.
Spike had his arms stretched out as far as they would go and he had closed his eyes. It didn’t look like he was trying to keep his balance, but more like…
Like he was pretending to have wings.
She winced as the thought hit her. It was a sobering thought. She’d never really imagined Spike as the flying type, but…
Every other dragon they’d met had had wings. Spike seemed to be the only exception in a million.
Spike seemed to be alone.
Spike claws caressed the wind, just as her wings did. It was a sensation she had grown used to. But now that she actually thought about it, she realized it was one of the things she liked most about flying. It made her feel like she was in control.
She turned to face forward again, focusing on her flight. Ponyville was nearing, and then their flight would be over. She couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. If she had the choice, she would fly forever. There was nothing better than gliding and looping and spinning around. It was freedom. She wondered whether Spike felt the same.
“Is this what it always feels like?”
“Huh?” Rainbow blurted, interrupted from her daze.
“Flying. Is this what flying always feels like?” Spike breathed.
“Yes.”
There was a moment of silence before Spike replied.
“Good.”
Rainbow said nothing more; nothing more needed to be said. The two continued to fly in silence. The outskirts of Ponyville vanished underneath them. In the distance, Rainbow could see the crystal palace in the distance. She felt gentle claws touch the back of her neck. She glanced back at Spike again to see if he still had his eyes closed.
Instead, Spike’s eyes met her own. He smiled at her.
“Thanks, Rainbow.”
“For what? For flying you home?”
“No, just showing me how you fly.”
Rainbow scrunched her eyebrows in confusion as she lowered to the ground. The crystal palace loomed over them.
“What do you mean?” she asked. “I mean, doesn’t Twilight always fly you places?”
Spike grinned and looked away. “Yeah, she does. But she doesn’t understand flying like you do.”
“Like we do?” Rainbow said with a smile.
“Yeah,” Spike answered with a smile as he climbed off of her back. “She doesn’t understand like we do.”
“I can show you how to fly some more tomorrow, if you want?”
For a moment, she could have sworn she saw tears in Spike’s eye, but dragons couldn’t cry, right? That didn’t make sense.
“No thanks, Rainbow.” He ran over and gave her a hug. “But thanks for offering.”
“Er, it’s okay—”
“You should come over tomorrow, though!” Spike called as he ran over to the palace and through the doors.
Rainbow Dash watched him go.
