If Wishes Were Pegasi

Today is the day. After months of planning and scheming and going behind her back, she’ll never suspect a thing. At least, you hope not. You’ll find a way to lure her out to that little meadow on the outskirts of town where she had shown off for you for the first time two years ago today, and that’s when you’d get her. The place where she had fallen from the sky and you had, in a less-than-spectacular display of chivalry, tried to break her fall. The spot where you were intimate with her for the second time - and the spot where you had been intimate with her many more times since. It had quickly become a special, romantic place to the two of you.

A nervous lump wells up in your throat as the weight of what is going to happen today starts to sink in. Are you really going to do this to Rainbow Dash?

Yes. You’ve thought it through a hundred thousand times over the last few months. Today is the day it all has to come together. It’s taken too much planning and preparation not to go through with it now.

You’re going to ask for the magnificent Rainbow Dash’s hoof in marriage.

You begin to question the wisdom of having eaten that second slice of apple pie for your lunchtime dessert as your stomach churns violently in nervous anticipation. It had taken quite a bit of finagling this morning to convince Dash to talk to the rest of the weather team to keep the sky clear today when Ponyville was scheduled for a light drizzle all day. You want everything to be perfect for when the big moment comes.

“Pleeeease Dash...” you had cooed while gently caressing a secret spot only you knew about slightly below the front of her wing, just above and behind her left shoulder, causing her wings to flap once as her eyes rolled back into her head for a moment and she hummed softly. “You know I don’t ask you for favors often,” you smiled as the tip of your hoof danced around the sensitive spot, as if playing Rainbow Dash like a finely tuned instrument.

“I w... wi... wish  I could, but if m-m-m-Mayor Mare finds out I’ll g-g-get my behind chewed for.... mmmm.... abusing my position...” she stammered, futilely trying to shake off your ministrations.

“Well well well, we can’t have that now can we? We all know that chewing your behind,” you reached your other hoof around and playfully slapped her on the rump, making her jump slightly and clench her tail for a moment, “is my job. Though I suppose I can’t blame her, you do have such a... delicious one...” you whispered hungrily like a crazed deviant as your hoof slowly traced its way back toward her tail.

She shook her head and flapped her wings again, swishing her tail with a grunt as she swatted your hoof and pulled away from you.

“Come on now, cut it out!” she giggled in her intoxicating way as she playfully pushed you aside, a giggle that only ever escaped her lips when she was with you.

Not about to be deterred, you curtailed her evasion, stepping in front of her and started tenderly working the spot again, eliciting another flap of her wings as her cheeks started to flush slightly. You leaned in close to her and whispered sultrily, “I proooomise I’ll make it worth your while, Daaaaashie...” you begged as you felt her melt like butter under your hoof.

Her hind left hoof started rapping on the floor as her whole leg quivered in response to your touch, her eyes rolling back again as her wings spread to their apex.

“Okay okay OKAY!” She said, shaking her head and fluttering her wings once more, “just don’t get me all fired up like this when I’m about to go out in public, geez!”

Having been victorious in your battle, you kissed Rainbow on the tip of her snout, saying “Thank you, my love!” with a smile as she blushed and took off into the sky without a word, her ears angled just a tad bit toward her rear, swishing her tail the whole time. She’s always so cute when she gets flustered, and over time you’ve learned just the right buttons to push, albeit you’d pushed some wrong ones a few times as well, resulting in Dash not speaking to you for a few days on more than one occasion.  Be that as it may, you two had always worked it out in the end. Getting her to display sides of her personality that she NEVER displayed for anypony else was something you’d come to absolutely relish.

It’s almost sunset, almost time for your plan to be put into action. The weather situation for the day having been taken care of that morning, you begin some last-minute checks to make sure everything is in order. It had cost you quite a few bits to prepare everything for the big moment, but no expense was too great. A mare as awesome as Rainbow Dash deserved nothing less than a grand display like what you have planned.

Trotting out to a treeline just on the far end of the meadow you look around, somewhat dismayed.

“I paid that pony good money... he better be here...” you mumble to yourself. Camouflaged behind some saplings and underbrush, you can faintly make out the shape of several canisters, along with some movement and giddy laughter on the other side. You’ve heard this pony could get a bit carried away sometimes in his enthusiasm for his work, but there was nopony around who could pull off a better fireworks display than him.

Stepping around to the other side of the tree you clear your throat. The pony perks his head up and grins at you with an almost-mischievous glint in his eye.

“Is everything ready to go with the fireworks?” you ask the pony, who simply nods at you and turns his attention back to his work. Your mouth opens to continue your conversation, but you stop for a moment. Perhaps it’s best to leave him to his work and trust his expertise... you think to yourself. The last thing you’d want to do is break his concentration and have half the meadow blown up when the big moment came as a result of some error your intrusion had caused. “Just remember to wait for the signal, okay?” you say uneasily as you turn to walk away.

Making your way out into the meadow, you look up into the sky to see if the other half of your plan has been put into action yet. You see a few white puffy clouds haphazardly dotting the sky. Counting them out, you smile as you count just the number needed to spell out your message. You’ve hired a couple pegasus ponies to rush out when you give the signal, and spell out “Will you marry me?” using those clouds, back-lit by the most spectacular fireworks display money could buy. If they have their timing down perfectly you’ll only need to distract Dash for five or six seconds to prevent her from seeing them.

If you achieve the desired effect, she’ll have seen the sunset sky dotted by a few clouds one moment, she’ll become distracted by something you do or say for a minute or so, and the next time she turns her attention to the sky she’ll be looking at your grand romantic gesture. The timing would be tricky, but that was why you had put up so much money for this whole thing, to get the best of the best. You just hope everypony you’ve hired can pull it off and give you your money’s worth.

From what you can tell, things seem to be shaping up quite nicely. Dash should be arriving any moment now. You’d asked her the night before to meet you here around sunset.

You lie in the grass for a few minutes and sigh, somewhat surprised to find that the nervousness you’d been plagued by seemed to be slowly melting away. You smile as you begin to eagerly anticipate that moment.

This is right. There is no doubt in your mind that you’re doing the right thing; that you’re meant to spend the rest of your life with the fiery pegasus who is your sole reason for living.

Moments later an unmistakable prismatic streak breaks the horizon, seeming to exponentially grow larger as it approaches you. You hop to your hooves and feel your legs begin to tremble again as the nervousness you thought had disappeared comes back with a vengeance.

The wind whipped up by Dash’s wings as she slows herself and lands in front of you sends your mane and tail flying in all directions for a moment, giving you a disheveled look. Rainbow Dash chuckles softly at you.

“You look like you just rolled out of bed,” she smiles. “I have some AWESOME news, but it’s something I really REALLY need to talk to you about before I make a decision,” the blue filly was practically exploding with excitement as she said this. “But first, why did you want to meet me out here again?”

You swallow the lump in your throat and try to steady your wobbly legs. You glance out of the corner of your eye and see that everypony is in position, just awaiting your signal. Dash is apparently oblivious to them, just as planned.

You hesitate though. You clear your throat and quickly try to change the subject until you can get up the nerve to give the signal and set everything in motion. Your curiosity is also getting the best of you, you can’t help but wonder what has Dash so excited.

“Uhmm.. ermm.. well it’s okay, that can wait,” you bumble with a sheepish grin, hoping she wouldn’t pick up on your odd behavior and figure out that something was up. “You go first, tell me this awesome news of yours.”

Dash creased her eyebrows and puffed her chest out with pride.

“Weeeelll, you know all the stuff that’s happened between me and the Wonderbolts?” She asked with a huge grin on her face.

You’d heard about her saving the Wonderbolts’ lives at the Best Young Flier competition, and she had told you how she’d gotten to speak with them a bit at the Grand Galloping Gala. You nod your head, prompting her to continue.

“It took them long enough,” she said as she puffed herself up even more and spread her wings, lifting a hoof to her chest and closing her eyes, “but they finally decided to let the BEST flier in all of Equestria join them! I got a letter today from Spitfire offering me a spot with them.”

Your heart simultaneously bursts with pride and deflates. This could definitely throw a wrench in your plans. You smile and run over to her, throwing a hoof around her neck and squeezing her tight in the biggest hug you’ve ever given her.

“That’s GREAT news!” you gush, “Did you send them a letter of acceptance yet?” you ask excitedly.

Dash’s wings fold back to her sides and her ears flatten as she looks away toward the ground. She plops down on her rear end, saying “That’s what I needed to talk to you about,” the tone of her voice causing your soul to cringe and a sick feeling to form in the pit of your stomach. You take a few steps back and sit on your haunches, facing her with an expectant look, waiting for her to continue.

“Well? Go on...” you urge softly.

“Well... you know... it’s always been my lifelong DREAM to join the Wonderbolts...” she begins.

You nod silently.

“The thing is though.... if I say ‘yes,’ that means I have to leave Ponyville. I’ve already talked to Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and all my other really good friends. They all urged me to pursue my dream, saying I can’t let an opportunity like this pass me by...” her piercing amethyst eyes start to gloss over with a thin layer of moisture, and her voice cracks very slightly.

She clears her throat and wipes at her eyes, blinking the moisture away before continuing.

“I... I saved you for last though. These... these last two years together with you... to say the least, have been a blast. If I accept Spitfire’s invitation, I’ll have to move back to Cloudsdale. We won’t get to see each other often.”

Your heart breaks at the prospect of being separated from the love of your life for long periods of time. But you love Rainbow Dash. More than you’ve ever loved anypony your whole life. You love her fiery, cocky attitude. You love her confidence. You love all of the things that make her Rainbow Dash, and you know that her dream of becoming a Wonderbolt was a major driving force behind everything she did in her life and the way she acted. There’s no doubt that if she doesn’t take this once-in-a-lifetime offer, she’ll never be the same pony again.

The fireworks pony peeks out from his hiding spot when Dash isn’t looking, giving you a questioning look. You quickly give him the “abort” signal and he disappears back behind the brush.

You won’t be the one to destroy her, to crush her dreams. You won’t be so selfish as to ask her to marry you now when such an incredible opportunity for her has presented itself.

Dash stands up and looks up into the sky with emotion in her eyes that appears to be something like longing. As if the lifestyle she’s dreamed of since she was a little filly was now audibly calling out to her from the horizon from the direction of the setting sun, tugging at her heart. You approach her from behind and slide a hoof over her shoulder, turning to face her and planting a kiss on her cheek. This won’t be an easy decision for her. For either of you.

After what feels like eons of silence, you finally speak.

“Dash... I want you to do it” you say solemnly. She attempts to interject but you gingerly place a hoof over her mouth and shush her quietly. “Ssshhh... no need to say anything,” you whisper. “I love you Rainbow Dash. I love you more than I could ever put into words. I could stand here for a thousand years describing my love for you and it wouldn’t even begin to scratch the surface. I can’t, and I WON’T ask you to deny a part of who you are for my sake. Your happiness is the most important thing in the WORLD to me. I want this for you, Dash. I want it for you as much as I know you want it for yourself.”

You turn to her smiling even as a tear escapes and rolls down your cheek. She closes her eyes and nuzzles you with a pained smile.

“Besides. I’m sure you’ll have breaks from your training and performances every now and then,” you continue, trying to brighten your tone even as you sniffle as a few more tears patter on the ground.

You share another long silence, Dash leaning her head into your neck, periodically trembling ever so slightly as she closes her eyes.

“How much time do we have?” you whisper to her.

“Two days. They asked that I come directly to Cloudsdale within that time frame to accept in person... I’ve already said my goodbyes to all my friends.”

You wince and a barely audible yelp escapes your lips, prompting Dash to press against you tighter. As you close your eyes to blink away a few more tears you feel her lips softly meet yours. Nothing needs to be said between the two of you. She knows you’re hurting, and this is anything but painless for her as well.

Your mind starts to race, thinking of any possible way to make this work out happily for the both of you. Dash had mentioned a spell that her friend Twilight had cast on their other friends that allowed them to walk on clouds, perhaps if you talked to her she could... but no, wait... that was just a temporary spell that only lasted for 3 days. Maybe... maybe... you could beseech princess Celestia for an audience, surely with her powerful magic she could do something for you... perhaps grant you a permanent gift of flight? You frown when you realize how unlikely such a scenario would be.

You sigh once again and pull away from Dash, kicking at the ground as you look out across the meadow... toward the treeline... up at the sky. So much planning went into this. So much planning, work, and love went into this... but she’ll never know about any of it now.

Silently you turn and begin walking toward your home. Dash begins to follow, but stops herself. She knows you need some time alone to think.