Love, Trust and Friendship

Rainbow Dash landed heavily on the cottage steps. She could feel the weight of the last day pressing down on her. She was exhausted mentally from chasing the same thoughts around her head all night. The one thought that kept coming up was how she had ran from Twilight. She knew she shouldn't have bolted like she did when Twilight told her, but she hadn't known what else to do. Twilight probably knows something is up, she thought for what was likely the hundredth time since yesterday. But then, she can be a bit dense sometimes...

Rainbow knocked on the door. I can't believe she's dating somepony! I should just tell her how I feel... But what if that bucks everything up? I just don't know what to do...

Rainbow sighed heavily. head hanging.

I hope Fluttershy has some ideas...

Fluttershy always knew what Rainbow should be doing. Not that I always listen to her all the time, but she is usually right.

Rainbow felt the sting of tears in the back of her eyes as the loss crept up on her. She should have been mine, she thought in frustration, but I missed my chance.

The door opened and Fluttershy peeked her head out. "Yes? Oh, hi Dash-" she started happily until she saw the look in Rainbow's eyes. "Are you OK?" she asked worriedly.

"No..." Rainbow said looking down, feeling a tear run down her cheek.

"Oh dear," Fluttershy said opening her door and coming out on the step. She wrapped Rainbow in a warm hug. Rainbow hugged her back with a foreleg, resting her head on Fluttershy's shoulder.

"Come inside Dashie," Fluttershy said, pulling away. "Tell me what's going on."

Rainbow rubbed her eyes and followed her friend inside. Fluttershy closed the door behind them and lead her to the table.

Rainbow collapsed into a chair, Fluttershy sitting down beside her.

"Now, tell me what's wrong?" Fluttershy asked, a concerned look in her eyes.

"It's Twilight.." Rainbow croaked, her throat threatening to close around the words.

"Oh no," Fluttershy gasped. 'You didn't tell her did you?"

Rainbow was startled out of her misery. "No Shy!" she protested. You've already told me a hundred times not to...

Fluttershy flinched at the outburst. "Well then, what happened?" she pressed.

Rainbow felt her misery settle back on her. "Twilight... she's seeing sompony."

"Oh, Dash... I'm so sorry to hear that..." Fluttershy said with a sympathetic look.

"Shes seeing Rarity..." Rainbow added.

"What?" Fluttershy gasped, wide-eyed.

"I know right... I mean, it's bad enough that she's seeing somepony, but she seeing a mare and its Rarity!" Rainbow said, pressing her hooves into her eyes in frustration.

Fluttershy, a shocked expression still on her face, asked, "When did this happen?"

Rainbow lowered her hooves and thought back to her encounter with Twilight, trying to recall the details, "I don't know... I guess Wednesday?"

Fluttershy looked at Dash, "OK, just tell me what happened."

Rainbow took a deep breath, trying to calm the quivering feeling she felt in her voice. "I saw her walking through the park yesterday when I was flying over town, so I tried to get her attention, but she was all head in the clouds while sitting on the ground like she usually is, so I dropped in front of her." She took another breath before continuing. "She said she had news, and that her and Rarity were dating... it was the last thing I was expecting... I probably should have handled it better..."

"Did you say anything?" Fluttershy asked with a serious tone in her quiet voice.

Rainbow started, "What? No!"

"Dashie..." Fluttershy said, almost a question.

She doesn't believe me, Rainbow thought. Yeah, okay. I wouldn't believe me either...

Rainbow met her gaze. "No Shy, I didn't. I hardly said anything before I took off."

Fluttershy relaxed. "You just took off and left her there? Oh my..." she scolded.

Rainbow looked down at the table, one hoof tracing the grain of the wood. "Well... I didn't know what to do... I was kinda shocked, Shy. She said I was acting weird, and I didn't know what to do, so I made a lame excuse and took off before she could get anything out of me."

"So what are you going to do?" Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow looked up from the table, "I don't know. That's why I'm here, you always seem to know what to do. Like, should I just tell her my feelings and everything?"

Fluttershy jumped in her seat, "No Dash! You shouldn't do that... she just started seeing Rarity. Telling her now would just upset her."

Rainbow glanced away from Fluttershy. Great. There goes the best thing I've thought of... She sighed. "Well, what should I do? I've been trying to figure it out all night, and the only things I can think of are things you will probably say are bad ideas!"

Fluttershy gave Rainbow a sympathetic smile. "You need to leave it be Dash," she said quietly.

Rainbow smacked her hoof on the table. "Dammit Shy!" she yelled, making Fluttershy wince. But she didn't back down, Rainbow thought with annoyance. The hurt, frustration and the loss came crashing down on her. She could feel the tears coming again, burning her eyes. "I.. I just can't believe... I missed out, ya know? She's with Rarity now... and you're saying I shouldn't tell her how I feel. But I want to... so much..." Tears were blurring her vision.

Fluttershy frowned. "Telling her now would just hurt her, and complicate her relationship with Rarity."

"They've only been together since Wednesday!" Rainbow pleaded, squeezing the tears out of her eyes.

"Yes, but Twilight isn't like other ponies Dash," Fluttershy explained. "She just started seeing Rarity, and it's probably turned her whole world upside down. You know she's never dated anypony before."

That made Rainbow pause. I keep forgetting how... inexperienced Twilight is. Compared to me she's practically a saint, she thought dejectedly. "Well yeah... I know that.... I dunno Shy... I mean, I really like her. I just didn't know how to tell her... she's so awkward... I wanted to be sure I'd say the right thing and not just buck it all up 'cause I didn't know if she liked mares or not, and I could never figure it out... I was even thinking about the whole settling down thing for her..." Rainbow rambled. Catching herself, she closed her mouth, looking down at the table again.

"Dash," Fluttershy said in a soothing voice, "if you're going to talk about settling down, there's another mare you should be thinking about, not Twilight."

Rainbow stiffened, fresh pain turning into a wave of old regret. "Don't even start with that."

"You know I'm right," Fluttershy said simply. "I think you're misplacing your feelings."

Rainbow sighed heavily. Somepony is being bold today, she thought as regret gave way to anger. "What I feel is for Twilight, and I would appreciate it if we could not talk about all the things I've screwed up in the past. And I don't want to just let it be, I want to tell her, and I want her to dump Rarity and choose me."

Rainbow felt a little guilty as Fluttershy hid behind her mane. The guilt vanished a second layer. "That's not going to happen Dash," Fluttershy said quietly.

"Yeah... But it might," Rainbow said, feeling much less hopeful than the words sounded.

"No," Fluttershy said lifting her head, a hint of rare exasperation creeping into her voice. "It won't. It can't. Because for that to happen, you'd have to tell her how you feel, and you're not doing that because of all the pain it could cause your friends."

Rainbow thumped her head down on Fluttershy's table. "It's not fair!" She complained against the smooth wood.

Fluttershy raised her hoof and began rubbing Rainbow's back long, slow strokes. "No one ever said it would be," she said sympathetically. "But this isn't just about your feelings anymore."

Rainbow lifted her head off the table. "But... I mean... Rarity can't even fly! How is Twilight supposed to be with somepony who can't fly?" she said, knowing how petty it sounded.

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy gasped, removing her hoof from her friend's back. "That's a horrible thing to say!"

"Well it's true," Rainbow sulked, knowing she was reaching for any excuse to counter Fluttershy's advice.

"Rarity doesn't need wings to love Twilight and it's unfair for you to say so," Fluttershy chided her friend.

Rainbow closed her eyes, taking a shaky breath. Quiet tears rolled down her cheeks as another wave of sadness rolled over her. It's too hard, she thought. I can't do this. I can't not do anything!

Fluttershy's expression softened again. "I know you're hurting Dash, and I wish I could do something for you, but this is something that is just going to take time and acceptance," she said, wrapping a foreleg around her friend, squeezing her tight.

Rainbow leaned into Fluttershy. "Why does everything have to take time?" she asked quietly.

"You can't rush the heart," Fluttershy said, letting her go. "Look, why don't you stay here tonight? We can have a sleepover and talk about this. We'll get you through it."

Rainbow didn't want to listen to anymore of Fluttershy's good advice. I don't want to listen to her talk about how I shouldn't do anything, she thought. It's even more depressing than losing Twilight... Out loud she said, "I don't know Shy. I think I just need to go get some air. I'm gonna go fly around a bit... Clear my head." She got up from the table and started to trot towards the door.

Fluttershy's eyes narrowed. "Dash, don't go and do something..." she said, trailing off.

"Stupid?" Rainbow finished for her, voice thick with sarcasm.

"Rash." Fluttershy corrected.

"I won't Shy," Rainbow said with a small laugh. "Thanks for the talk."

Fluttershy trotted up to Rainbow and gave her another hug. "Anytime." Fluttershy released her. "Take care of yourself."

"I will," Rainbow said as she opened the door and stepped out. Closing the door behind her, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. So I'm just supposed to do nothing? she thought with irritation. No sense in sitting at home doing nothing...

Rainbow Dash spread her wings and launched herself into the air, spiraling up into the sky. The wind in her face, Ponyville shrinking below her, for just a moment, everything felt OK again. I can't just do nothing, she thought pulling a wide arc across the countryside. Maybe I'll see if Spring Step wants to go out. She's been making eyes at me lately. Maybe she'll finally take me up on my offer.

If nothing else, she'll give me a distraction from the whole Twilight business. Feeling a bit better at having a plan in place, she changed direction and headed towards Cloudsdale.