Rainbow Dash sat on the hospital bed reading a letter. Then again, and again, she could practically recite the entire thing effortlessly by now.
"Beep."
"Dear Rainbow Dash,
I'm sorry I couldn't visit you in Cloudsdale. I felt terrible when I was told that I wouldn't be able to stay the week due to an important meeting being held in Manehatten, hopefully you'll understand. As you know, I haven't got that much time since I'll be leaving tomorrow. I also heard you had an accident there, I hope you're doing okay."
"Beep."
"I just want to tell you how grateful I am to have you as my friend. Everytime I come to visit, you're always the one to turn up, even with your responsibilities. The others don't always take time for that since they know I'm staying the week and that they'd get the chance eventually."
"Beep."
"When I did arrive, you would immediately break into a conversation, asking about Daring Do, telling me about your shows, even showing interest in astronomy. Whenever I felt down, you would ask me about it and try to find a way to cheer me up."
"Beep."
"I'd share my worries with you and then you would take your time out for me until I felt better, offering kind words and positive statements about me. Sometimes you'd read to me until I fell asleep and I'd wake up in my bed the next morning with breakfast on my nightstand. I asked Spike just to be sure, and he said he didn't make it. I never got the chance to thank you.
"Beep."
"Even though we aren't really hanging out with each other anymore, you were still there as if we were. You were there for me, being a shoulder I could lean on. And even after all this time, you haven't changed that much. You stayed, I wish I could be that pony for you..."
"Beep."
"I know I've already said it, but I'd like to thank you one more time. Words can't describe how thankful I am to have a friend like you. I hope we will see each other soon."
"Your friend,
Twilight Sparkle
Rainbow's weary eyes scanned the letter that was delivered just hours ago, over and over, not missing a single detail. She sighed in defeat. The only thing she wanted now was for things to got back the the way it was, a time where things weren't so complicated, where they could hang out whenever they wanted. But things are different now, and Rainbow was powerless to stop it. Never before had she felt so weak and useless, even with all the encouragement Twilight had provided in the letter, she didn't know if those words were true. Maybe they were before, but she wasn't so sure now.
Suddenly, another sound overlapped the beeping of the heart monitor. Dash flicked an ear to the direction of the sound, the door opened to reveal a pegasus nurse carrying a tray with food. "Dinner time, Ms Dash." She called out. Dash nodded slowly and halfheartedly. The nurse walked back out, leaving Dash alone once more.
Alone. The word echoed through Rainbow's head. Alone, she was alone. Her friends weren't here. Sure, she had the Wonderbolts, but her connection with them wasn't as strong as with her friends back home. Home, it is mostly used to describe a place where you live in, like a house, for example. So why doesn't it feel like it here in Cloudsdale, the place she lived in for several years?
Dash brought her head down to her hooves. "Ugh, all this thinking's making my head hurt." She groaned as she laid her head back down on her pillow and stared blankly at the ceiling. This went on for a few minutes until her eyes began to drop and fell asleep.
She couldn't see anything. Rainbow Dash looked around for something other than the cold, black void that dominated the empty space around her. She soon spotted a dim glow that emitted from a figure in the shape of a pony. The figure was slightly taller than her, that was all she could tell.
Then the silhouette began to walk over to her. Rainbow panicked. She tried to move her legs and wings, but they didn't budge. She tried to call out for help, but nopony came. All she could do was watch. As the figure came closer and closer, and closer still, Dash felt something wet slide down her cheeks, but her attention was on the mysterious figure. Rainbow closed her eyes tightly and drew her head back facing the ground. She waited for some sort of sound or assault. But it never came.
Instead, she felt a hoof softly touch her cheek. It was comforting. Dash opened her eyes slowly and cautiously to look at whoever offered the gesture and saw purple. Lavender, to be precise.
She looked up and confirmed her suspicions, it was Twilight. She was smiling sweetly at her. Rainbow immediately felt a sense of safety. Suddenly, Dash felt something wet drip onto her shoulder and she remembered that she was crying. Twilight must have noticed too when her expression shifted from a small smile to a worried frown and she moved her hoof from Dash's cheek and brought it to her eyes to wipe away the tears.
Dash laughed lightly and gave a brief smile. The two stayed silent as they stared at each other. After a while, Rainbow began to hear a faint beeping sound. The frequency of the beeps grew higher when she thought of it more. The figure of Twilight began to slowly fade. Rainbow was in panic once more.
The last words she heard were from Twilight who just smiled sadly but calmly. "Don't wait for anything. When a window opens, take it."
Rainbow Dash bolted up from her bed, her heart rate was erratic. She stared at her bed sheets in attempt to calm down.
"What was that about?" Dash asked more to herself than anything. Her mind wandered back to what Twilight said in her dream. "Don't wait for anything. When a window opens, take it."
Rainbow looked around the room and eventually her eyes landed on the window. It was opened slightly letting the wind ruffle the curtains and the light of the moon shine through. Dash smirked. Even though she knew well that the dream-Twilight had meant the phrase metaphorically, she was going to take it in the literal sense too. Her wing wasn't that badly injured anyway.
Rainbow jumped off the bed and fully opened the window. Without looking back, she went through the gap and flew off, to Ponyville.
"Like I said, I'm sorry that I wasn't able to stay for the week. But the party Pinkie threw for me was great! I wish Rainbow could have joined us though..." Twilight sighed. Her other four friends, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy, nodded in agreement.
"I feel bad that we couldn't visit her." Fluttershy frowned.
"It's sad that she couldn't be here. I mean, she was always here everytime Twilight visited." Pinkie said in a-matter-of-fact tone. Twilight looked down sadly and nodded.
"Yeah, but I promise, I'll make up for it next time." Twilight promised firmly. The others just smiled.
"Last call for Manehatten!" The conductor called. Breaking the Mane 5's concentration.
"Well, that's me. See you guys." Twilight bid as she waved at her friends.
"Alright, I know that the weather forecast predicted the weather was bad and all, but a public train just isn't the way for royalty to travel!" Rarity critisized. Applejack elbowed her on the shoulder. "Oww, what?" Applejack rolled her eyes.
"Anyway, we'll be seein' ya', Twi."
"Yeah! Take care in Manehatten, I've got a feeling something's gonna happen there!" The rest of the ponies just stared at Pinkie. Before Twilight could ask, the train gave a 'toot, toot' signaling that their time was up.
"Bye, Twilight."
"Goodbye, darling."
"Hope we see you soon."
"Cya later in a few months!"
Twilight smiled one last time before the doors of the train closed.
Rainbow Dash scouted Ponyville like a hawk, not that she didn't before. She scanned every pony on the streets for a lavender alicorn princess, but she didn't find her. Instead, she found her other friends. They weren't with Twilight, but it was quite rude to show up after months and not greet your best friends.
Rainbow dived down to the spot just in front of her friends. When they did see her, they all cried her name and moved in to hug her. Dash just rolled her eyes, but kept her grin while doing so and returned the hug.
When they finally let go, Fluttershy asked, "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in the hospital back in Cloudsdale? Err, not that we mind, of course." She added sheepishly.
"I flew off in the middle of the night, or was it morning.? I wasn't really paying attention to the time. Anyway, I'm looking for Twilight. Do you guys know where she is?"
"Twilight? Oh, darling, I'm sorry, but you just missed her. We all just came from the train station to see her off." Rarity answered.
"What?!" Dash exclaimed. "I've got to after her." She said before spreading her wings to take off, only this time, she didn't quite make it airborne as somepony was using magic to hold her down by the tail. Dash landed and glared at the alabaster unicorn. "Hey! What'd you do that for?!"
"Well, first off, it isn't exactly polite to just take off like that. Second, if you didn't know already, it was scheduled to have a thunderstorm today so I might think twice about flying. Third, why do you need to see Twilight so badly?" Rarity questioned with suspicion. The other three stayed silentand watched the event unfold.
"What? Am I not allowed to see my friend?" Dash growled.
"You know that's not what I meant, Rainbow. Why is it that you have to see her that is possibly more important than you staying in the hospital to heal for your next show?"
"W-Well, I didn't get the chance to see her the past few months and I didn't want to wait another four. That's all." Rainbow defended. Rarity's eyes narrowed.
"Oooooh! I just got shivers! That means you're getting close Rarity!!" Pinkie exclaimed excitedly. While Fluttershy, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were thrown off, Rarity stayed firm.
"Rainbow Dash, I want to believe you, but there's something that tells me that there's more to this than just 'wanting to see my friend'." She pushed on. Rainbow was really starting to get nervous now.
"Oh really? Then what do you think it's about, huh? What is it that you're suspicious about? What else do you think I'm hiding?!" Rainbow's nervousness changed to anger as she stomped forward with each sentence, although Rarity stayed calm.
"Wow, Rainbow, you really don't know." Rarity said simply. Dash just stared at her quizzically, completely oblivious to what the fashionista was saying. Rarity, noticing her confusion giggled and decided to give her a hint. "Why, Rainbow. I think that you know by now how much I know about love."
Rarity's 'clue' just made things more confusing and chaotic in Dash's mind. "Love? How'd we end up talking about this?" She thought. The others, excluding Pinkie, were just as confused.
"Err, what's goin' on now?" Applejack asked dumbly. Fluttershy shrugged in response. Rarity giggled again.
"Oh, nevermind, darling. Didn't you say that you had to see Twilight?" Rainbow's eyes lit up in realisation. "Well go! What are you doing, wasting time here! Go get her!" Rarity exclaimed as she swatted her hooves in Dash's direction. Rainbow nodded frantically at the unicorn's enthusiasm and flew off.
"Alright! Bye, guys!" The others watched and waved as Dash's flew off in the direction of Manehatten.
As soon as Dash was out of sight, Applejack turned to Rarity and pointed her hoof at her. "Okay, you've got some explainin' tah' do."
"Oh, I'm sure they will explain it eventually." Rarity answered with a confident smile.
It had been over an hour after her departure from Ponyville. Rainbow was getting drowsy due to the lack of sleep and her midnight flight earlier in the day. Her speed had been slowed down to make sure she didn't waste her energy on the first few minutes of the journey. Another thing was that she had to fly around the thunderstorm to avoid injury. As she was deciding whether to land for a break or to fly on, she heard the familiar sound of a bustling city. She looked ahead and saw her destination.
Buildings that looked more modern were spread out across the land coupled with towers and skyscrapers, even some of the more iconic landmarks like The Statue of Liberty could be seen in the distance.
Rainbow Dash automatically sped up and searched around starting with the Manehatten train station. She landed on the platform and looked at the schedule. She was sure Twilight a had took the 7:15am train and arrived at about 8:40am, the time now was 8:57am.
"Feathers! I just missed her!" Dash thought as she looked around for any sign that would help lead her to the alicorn. She saw something in the station's notice board that intrigued her. Manehatten Courtroom 7 was booked today and being restricted from the public to sort out problems with the trade federation between Manehatten and Las Pegasus. They’ve also enlisted for an authorised pony from Ponyville to help out.
It was worth a shot. Dash quickly grabbed a map from a nearby bench. She unfolded the paper and searched for the Manehatten Courthouse, when she did find it, she tried to lift off, but her wings were too tired and ached everywhere. Growling, she tucked the map under her wing and galloped as fast as she could to the location she was after.
She passed the buildings, residents, cabs, still no sign of Twilight or the courthouse. Taking out her map, she looked for the street she was on and where exactly did she need to go. Not noticing where she was going, Dash collided with a wagon and spilled its contents, apples, oranges, strawberries even pears. A few bystanders gasped and a stallion, most likely the owner of the wagon, got mad and ran, presumably to get the cops.
"Great, this day can't get any worse..." Dash muttered as she tried to stand but felt a sharp pain from her right front hoof when she used it to support her weight. "Shouldn't have said that.." she added. Her ears flicked towards a whistle being blown. She looked in the direction of the sound and saw two ponies dreesed in blue uniforms wearing badges running towards her.
Dash stood up without the use of her right hoof and ran in the opposite way of the cops. Trying to think of a solution, she became aware of the crates ahead of her and a wide plank that leaned on one of them making a ramp. An idea popped into her head. A crazy idea.
"You know what they say. If you get a chance, take it." Dash thought as she stepped on the crates like they were stairs and used the plank on the final one. Spreading her tired wings, she flapped as hard as she could and soon enough, she was flying. But not for long. One second later, one of her wings became paralysed and stood in place. It caught Rainbow off guard as she dived forward, crashing into somepony.
"Eep!" The pony cried as Dash slammed into her throwing herself and the pony to the ground.
"Ugh.." Rainbow groaned. As she attempted to get up but was held in place by two spears from two guards wearing golden armour. "Canterlot guards? What are they doing here?" "H-hey now, I don't want any trouble." Dash tried to sound reasonable, but the guards weren't moving.
"Rainbow Dash?" Somepony called out. Rainbow Dash's ears perked up at the voice she recognised all too well.
"Twilight?"
Author's Note
I have a problem with shipping and cliffhangers. My first story, tell me how I did.
Still we hold together - A Continuation
[Continuation and draft of the chapter before]
"Eep!" The pony cried as Dash slammed into her throwing herself and the pony to the ground.
"Ugh.." Rainbow groaned. As she attempted to get up but was held in place by two spears from two guards wearing golden armour. "Canterlot guards? What are they doing here?" "H-hey now, I don't want any trouble." Dash tried to defend herself, but the guards weren't moving.
"Rainbow Dash?" Somepony called out. And Dash knew that voice all to well as Twilight walked between the two guards. They retracted their spears and saluted giving Rainbow some space. "What are you doing here?" Twilight asked but shook her head. "Actually, nevermind that. Are you alright? You could have gotten hurt!" She said in a motherly tone.
The blue pegasus shook her head frantically. "It's fine, I'm fine, okay." She reassured, but Twilight wasn't buying it.
"Come on, let's bring you to the hospital."
"Beep, beep, beep."
"Uggghhh! It's like I can never get away from this sound." Dash thought gruffly as she sat on the hospital bed, only this time, she was in Manehatten. "I swear, the pillows here are harder than the ones in Cloudsdale.." she muttered.
Somepony opened the door and entered the room. Dash would have thought it was the nurse, but it was Twilight instead, she looked concerned and it was all directed at her. Rainbow kinda felt guilty when she saw her expression.
"How are you? I hope you're doing okay." Dash thought of the sentence for bit and laughed, making Twilight look at her curiously. "What's so funny?"
"I just feel a sense of déjà vu. You said the exact same thing in your letter." She answered.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Which part?"
"That part when you said, 'I hope you're doing okay'. You said that, and a few other things in your letter. I know I've read it a lot of times now, but I was focused on other stuff so I kinda forgot most of it."
"Oh, well, I've got a draft of the letter I sent you. I think it's in my saddlebags but I left them at the hotel."
"Wait, why do you have a draft of the letter anyway?" Dash asked with a smirk.
Twilight blushed lightly. "Well, I wanted to make sure of any errors and check if the whole thing makes sense. You know..." she trailed off while fiddling with her hooves. Dash chuckled which grew to an uproarious laugh making Twilight blush harder.
"Hah, I swear, Twilight is just too cute sometimes." Dash paused in surprise at her choice of words. "Cute? Where'd that come from?" She looked back at Twilight who was still looking embarrassed drawing circles on the marble floor. Dash smiled kindly as she put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder. Twilight looked up to meet Dash's gaze.
"Hey, I was only teasing. Don't take it personally. If I did hurt you, I'm sorry, okay?" Twilight could hear the sincerity in Rainbow's voice and smiled back.
"Now you know what I mean when I said that you would always cheer me up." Twilight commented. Dash smirked.
"Of course, I'd never leave my friends hangin'." After Dash had said that, silence rang through the air. Twilight broke it a several minutes later.
"So, I have to ask, why are you here? Not that I mind, I'm actually glad you're here. I'm still feeling homesick, but when I have at least one out you girls around, I feel like I'm home already." Dash blushed for a brief moment before thinking about the question.
"Well, I guess I just wanted to see you again. Y'know, since I missed my chance in Ponyville?"
Twilight stared at Dash in surprise and suspicion. "So.. you flew from Cloudsdale to Ponyville then over to Manehatten, got chased by cops, caused a commotion on the streets and injured yourself in the process of just 'wanting to see me'?" Twilight asked.
"Well... when you put it that way, it kinda sounds..." Rainbow paused, trying to find the right words.
"A little crazy? Cause' yes, it is. You should be glad that you haven't passed out during your flight here in your condition. What. Were. You. Thinking?!" Twilight scolded. But her anger soon subsided when she saw Rainbow Dash quivering under her glare. She drew back, her face sympathetic and guilty. "Oh, Rainbow. I'm sorry for yelling. I-I didn't mean to frighten you."
Dash wiped her eyes with a hoof. "I-It's fine, I'll be fine. But aren't you supposed to be at the courthouse for some trial?"
Twilight looked surprised. "How'd you know about that?"
"Ehh, I was kinda guessing. I read a one of the notices at the train station about some problems with the trade federation between Manehatten and Las Pegasus. It sounds like a relationship problem to me, and I'm smart enough to know the similarities between relationships and friendships. Plus, it became kinda obvious when they said that they’ve asked for help from an authorised pony from Ponyville to help settle stuff. Sooo, putting two and two together ain't that hard."
Twilight smirked. "Wow, I'm impressed. But, to answer your question, I'm sure you're more important than some boring meeting." Rainbow blushed lightly and smiled.
"Eh, thanks."
"So, why exactly are you here? I mean, going back to my last question, it is quite unbelievable that you'd go through all that just to see me. Are you sure there isn't any other reason?"
Rainbow groaned. "Ughh, why can't everypony just leave it be? Rarity basically asked the same question back in Ponyville. I don't think there's any other reason!" Twilight raised an eyebrow. Rainbow thought for a second, rubbing the back of her head. "Or, at least, that I know of."
"Well, if you say so. I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable." Twilight said when the nurse came in.
"Visiting hours are almost over, your highness. And, the courts are expecting you." When the nurse closed the door and left, Twilight gave a sigh.
"Sorry I couldn't stay longer, but I can't keep them waiting. I might be able to visit you some time in the afternoon. For now, I think you should rest." Rainbow suddenly tensed up when Twilight turned to leave. As her horn lit up and her magic focused on the door knob, something escaped from her thoughts.
"W-wait! Don't go." She called out. Twilight ears perked up and she stopped in her tracks, turning her head sideways to look at the pegasus.
“Yes, Rainbow?” Twilight asked.
Rainbow Dash simply sat there in utter confusion and shock. What was she doing?! Dash gulped when she realized that a certain somepony was waiting for a response. Instinct took over for her.
“I didn’t come all this way just to see you, there’s something else that I couldn’t understand. But now, I think it makes sense. I’ve only just realised it.” As Rainbow thought about what Rarity had said, her confidence only grew.
“Twilight, we’ve been friends for a while now, I’m sure you know. But when we became friends, you made me feel like I had something to really live for aside from the Wonderbolts.” Twilight’s eyes lighted up slightly as she raised an eyebrow at Rainbow. “Overtime, we became closer and I felt something grow stronger every time I hung out with you, and just you...” Dash muttered the last part out just barely being caught by Twilight.
After that sentence, both of their hearts began to race. Twilight’s eyes widened more as her head bolted up to stare at the nervous pegasus. Rainbow was staring at the bedsheet, flustered. Twilight was fairing slightly better. Carefully, she asked. “What are you saying, Rainbow?”
“I’m saying that I care about you, Twi. A lot. More than I care about anypony else. That’s what drives me to wake up in the morning knowing that you’ll eventually come back to visit and when I go to sleep, I know that I’m one less day away from seeing you. Why I make time when I have none just to hang out with you and to be there when you need me. Why I try my hardest to show up at the train station even if I have to miss a training session...” By now, tears have started to build up in Rainbow’s eyes. Twilight wanted to comfort her, but was afraid to break the conversation. This was her chance to let everything out.
“I-I... I’m saying that.. that- errgh!” Rainbow shrieked. “Why does it have to be so hard? What I’m trying to say is that I love you, Twilight!” Dash blurted out making Twilight gasp in surprise. Realising what she had done, Rainbow Dash drew back suddenly, her building confidence immediately crumbling, and looked at the white bedsheet of the hospital bed and let her bangs fall over her eyes to conceal the water leaking out. The heart monitor has been going erect since Dash’s outburst. It was the only thing both ponies could hear in the room.
“J-ust go. I’m sure a few ponies are w-waiting for you.” Dash’s voice spoke, trying to not make it obvious that there was a lump in her throat as she faced opposite to Twilight making sure she couldn’t see her blush or her tears, though the latter was easy to identify. And that was enough for Twilight to come over to the side of the bed and put a comforting hoof on her shoulder. Rainbow’s head jerked up and looked at the direction of the alicorn. Twilight could clearly see the wet streaks that formed down her face and her bloodshot eyes that told her that she hadn’t had a decent rest in some time.
“T-twil-?” Dash began but was stopped by Twilight who put her hoof lightly on Rainbow’s lips. She traced it down to her friends’ chin and lifted her head up at her eye level. The two unknowingly moved closer and closer to the other until they were inches apart. Then something happened that shocked the both of them.
Twilight closed her eyes, leaned forward and pressed her lips upon Rainbow’s electing a muffled gasp from the pegasus. Both of their wings have gone erect and the heart monitor was going crazy. It wasn’t long before Dash started to melt into the kiss and both of them were kissing each other longingly. Eventually, the two had to break apart due to the lack of oxygen.
Rainbow spoke first. “So, what does this mean? I’m not really good at this sort of thing...” she said awkwardly.
Twilight thought for a moment. ”What does this mean for the both of us? It’s clear that we’re more than simple friends now, but what do we do from here?” After some time, Twilight found a satisfying answer. “It means that whatever happens, whatever victories or hardships, we’re going to face it,” Twilight paused as she and Rainbow Dash met each others gaze. “Together.”
Author's Note
An extention to the last chapter. I feel like it's wrong to leave this on a cliffhanger.
Also, with little experience I have on the subject of romance, you can tell this chapter was hard to write... Looking for more quality romance stories? You have come to the wrong place. :T
