A Life With Whom?

For about half a minute, after Rainbow’s sincerious words, there was silence, and Rainbow could tell Twilight was thinking hard. She stood, dumbfounded, on the wooden floor while Rainbow smiled at her, and a part of her was unconvinced by her friend’s solicitude and claim. Eventually, Twilight spoke up.

“What do you mean by that?” Twilight asked.

“Twilight, c’mon, you’re smarter than that,” Rainbow said, nudging her friend’s face with a hoof.

“Really, I don’t know what you mean by that.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. Why are you just now telling me you like me? Is it because you pity me for not being able to be with somepony I really like and care about?”

In truth, Twilight did genuinely like and care for Rainbow. Throughout the time Twilight had spent with the pegasus, she had grown a fond admiration toward her. The way the pegasus smiled, the way she would tackle an extremely hard challenge, the amount of strength the pegasus had, physically and mentally, and, most of all, the way she would admit the faults she had within.

“What? No, no, no, I don’t pity you, Twi. Why would I? I’m just at fault for not telling you the truth.” Rainbow spoke with absolute sincerity, meaning every word. “You gotta believe me, Twilight.”

“This doesn’t make any sense. Why didn’t you tell me this earlier? Why now, immediately after I confessed my feelings for you?” Twilight asked. She sounded frustrated, almost angry. “Do you have any idea how many times I went to bed crying because I thought you would resent me if I told you how I felt about you? I even lost sleep at nights, and—”

“Twilight!” Rainbow said, her voice loud. “Let me explain before you get ahead of yourself.”

“Get ahead of myself? You’re telling me not to get ahead of myself?” Twilight’s projection was spiteful and angry, though the mind quickly came to reason.

Okay, you need to stop and listen to her. You’re suppose to be the calculating one, the logical one, not the irrational ‘I’m not going to listen one. Listen to your friend. I’m sure she has good reasons for doing what she did.

Maybe you’re right, Twilight thought afterwards.

Taking a deep breath, Twilight said, “I’m sorry for lashing out at you like that. I’m ready to listen.”

Rainbow nodded. “This goes way back when I was in flight school, in my late fillyhood, with my best friend Fluttershy. We met in grade one and spent a lot of time together, and we became so close that we treated each other like sisters. We told each other our secrets, and we went to each other when we had problems.

“Anyways, a little after I turned twelve years old, my mother and father told me that they needed to get something off of their chest since they considered me old enough to ‘understand’. When they sat me down to talk, they told me that…” A sniffle halted Rainbow’s speech, along with tears.

“They told you…?” Twilight said with a mournful expression.

Rainbow wiped her face and continued. “They told me that they weren’t my real parents, even though they had cutie marks like mine and looked like me. Then they went on about how I was a ‘failed abortion’, which is why my real parents gave me up for adoption. I didn’t believe it, but then they showed me proof that they weren’t my real parents after all.

“I was so angry at them for making me live a lie that I left them. That’s when Shy’s parents took me under their wings and gave me a home after they found out about my situation. I got letters from my parents asking me if I would ever come back to them, but I never wrote back. Eventually the letters stopped coming.

“Over the years, I sorta developed feelings for Fluttershy from the time I spent with her. I never felt anything like it. I don’t know what I was feeling. I think it was love. Dunno. All I know is that I wanted to be with her more and more every day.

“Eventually I told her how I felt, told her that I wanted to be with her. But she said no, told me that she wasn’t into mares. I cried every night until I accepted that Shy and I would be nothing more than friends. Ever since then, I’ve been scared of being rejected by somepony I like. I can’t deal with the pain again. When you’re rejected from somepony you love, the pain never goes away, but it gets better over time. I know that because it got better when I became friends with you. You make me laugh, smile, you name it. In a way, Twilight, you’re the Fluttershy I never had.

“And that’s why I didn’t tell you that I like you until now. I’ve never been the one to be open about this stuff. Hope you understand, Twi...”

For quite some time after Rainbow’s story, Twilight said nothing, tears of sympathy streaking down her face at how inequitable Rainbow’s earlier life had been. How her biological parents tried to abort their foal. How her adoptive parents lied to her for all those years, and how she embraced a painful rejection from the pony she once professed to love.

Twilight opened her mouth, pondering what to say. The weight and severity of her friend’s story was beyond her expectation. “Wow, Rainbow… I didn’t know. I’m so sorry.” No kidding. How could you? Twilight thought, vexed. “I can’t believe you went through all of that.”

“You have no idea how powerful the truth can be,” Rainbow said.

“I’m honoured that you trust me with all of this.”

“Twilight, I would trust you with my life.” Rainbow patted Twilight’s cheek.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because without you, we’d all be under Discord’s craziness. You’ve done so much for me, so how can’t I trust you?”

Twilight’s face reddened. “I guess this is our starting point for getting to know each other better, huh?”

“I guess so,” Rainbow said. “Just promise me you won’t tell anypony this.”

On instinct, Twilight rushed over and hugged her. “I promise. You didn’t deserve any of that. The way you were treated back at flight school, the rejection you got from Fluttershy, your parents not telling you the truth. None of it. It’s a shame that your parents lost the chance to see their filly grow up to be a beautiful, kind pony.” Twilight pulled back and looked at her friend. “Do you think you’ll ever forgive them?”

“I don’t know, Twi, I really don’t.”

“I’m sure you’ll do the right thing if you ever cross paths with them again,” Twilight said. “I know you will.”

Later that night, before midnight, Rainbow and Twilight accompanied each other on the living room sofa. They were snuggling up to one another, soaking in each other’s warmth. The night had taken an unexpected turn to say the least, and both ponies were slowly settling down with the chain of events that had taken place. Rainbow felt relieved, as did Twilight, that she finally had a chance to tell Twilight everything.

At this point, Twilight’s wings entwined around Rainbow’s body, pulling her closer for all her worth. Their muzzles touch each other, and they stared into each others' eyes. Eventually, Twilight pressed her lips against Rainbow’s, eliciting a dramatic pule from the pegasus. Soon, Twilight parted her lips, and embraced the pegasus, saying nothing. They succumbed to the brutal manifestation of sleep in each other’s hold.

And Rainbow knew she would have a lot to tell Fluttershy; for all of those nights in solitude were no more. And that was good.