And Time Doesn't Wait For Me, It Keeps On Rollin'
Rainbow Dash ran her hooves through her prismatic mane, scrubbing away all the grease that it collected throughout the day. Today’s Wonderbolt training session had come to an end, and she was cleaning herself up before her return trip back to her place. She was tired, barely able to keep going, but that’s how she liked it, always on the verge of collapsing, but never giving in to the feeling.
“Hey, Crash!” High Winds’ voice boomed from across the shower.
Rainbow rubbed a bit of the water from her eyes, before turning to greet her fellow Wonderbolt. “Yes, Winds’?” Rainbow’s face was flat, barely keeping above a frown. She’d rather just wash up and be on her way, too tired to deal with anypony.
“Would you be interested in hangin’ with me, and a couple of the other girls after we get ourselves cleaned up? Thinkin’ we’d head down to Cloudsdale, and hit a couple of the bars. Who knows, you might even see somepony you’d like.” She winked, having herself a little laugh.
Almost instantly, Rainbow replied. “No, I’m good. As much as I’d like to, and trust me, I really do want to hang out.” She felt as if Applejack was shaking her head in disapproval over her white lie. “I’m pretty worn out. I think I’ll just head home for tonight and relax for once.”
High Winds’ raised an eyebrow, “You sure about that, Crash? It’ll be lots of fun.”
Rainbow Dash turned off her facet, letting the last bit of water fall on top of her head. “Yeah, maybe some other time, okay?”
“Suit yourself, I guess. Trust me when I say you have no idea what you’re missing out on.”
“Of course.” Rainbow quickly dried herself off, and left the showers. She wanted to get out of there before anypony else stopped her, even ignoring some of her friends waves as she passed them by.
When she finally took off into the sky, it was like a breath of fresh air. The wind blowing through her mane, the sense of freedom gained from the ability to fly, the whole thing was like her own personal heaven. She cherished it like nothing else; it was truly where she felt most comfortable.
In this time to herself, her mind tended to wander. Her mind went back to when she was a filly, racing in Cloudsdale and Junior Speedsters competitions. She thought of her old friends, especially of Fluttershy.
Fluttershy…
“Ah, crud.” In all the time Rainbow had spent with her team, training and becoming the best she could be, she forgot to dedicate time to those closest to her. It was about time she paid her oldest friend a visit.
Rainbow made a sharp turn to the right, making her way towards Fluttershy’s cottage. The sun was setting, but that didn’t matter to her. The pain in her body, the soreness of her muscles, all of it a second thought compared to her friend. Sleep could wait awhile, before taking her in its sweet embrace.
* * * *
The sun had set completely by the time she landed in front of Fluttershy’s cottage. It was quiet, exactly how she thought it would be, though she’d imagine a couple animals were still scurrying about the place. They must have been mice.
She knocked on the door a couple times, and got no response. She knocked a little harder, and at a more intense frequency. “Fluttershy, you in there? It’s me, Fluttershy, open up!” Rainbow took a couple of steps back, thinking to herself that she just wasn’t home.
“Just a moment, Rainbow. Trying to get Angel his carrots.” Fluttershy called back, her voice filling Rainbow Dash with relief. She didn’t come here for nothing, after all.
A moment later, Fluttershy opened the door, a kind and gentle smile on her face. “It’s so nice to see you, Rainbow. It’s been far too long.”
“Tell me about it,” she said as she made her way inside, taking a seat on the living room couch. A couple of squirrels jumped up next to her, adding to the natural atmosphere of the place. She scratched under their chins a little, making them squeak in joy.
“So what’s the special occasion?” Fluttershy asked, taking a seat across from Dash. “Oh, would you like me to brew us some tea?”
“You go for it if you want, but you know me, not much of a tea type of pony.”
“Coffee, then?”
Those words made Rainbow’s ears stand on end, “Yes, please!” She adjusted herself in her seat. “It’s been a long day of training, but I have the day off tomorrow. Pretty tired, so coffee would be great.”
“Coffee it is, then.” Fluttershy left the room, heading to the kitchen to brew them both a cup of coffee. Rainbow couldn’t wait. She felt her body sagging, almost on the verge of passing out on the couch she laid on.
She stared around the place, taking in the scenery. The place hadn’t changed much. Sure, there were a few new nick-nacks here and there, but for the most part it was the same as the first day she ever set hoof in the place.
Fluttershy made her way back into the living room, two cups on a tray on her back. She reached behind herself, picking it up, and setting it on the coffee table in the center of the room.
“So, as I was saying, to what do I owe the company?” Fluttershy took a sip of her from delectable drink.
Rainbow reached out to her cup, but almost fell onto the floor, the exhaustion getting to her. She quickly caught herself, and sat upright, giving Fluttershy a sheepish grin.
“Oh, are you okay?” Fluttershy asked worriedly.
“Yeah, I’m fine, no big deal. Like I said, just really tired.” Rainbow tried to grab her cup for a second time, and this time she was successful. She practically chugged the coffee, letting it warm her body up on the way down. “I’ll be fine.”
“If you need to rest, Dash, then you can sleep here tonight. You said you had a day off tomorrow, so we could talk then, if you’d like.”
“I don’t know, I mean it’s been such a long time since it was just the two of us hanging out.”
“True, but we do have all day tomorrow, right?” Fluttershy tilted her head, her smile growing in size, making her look like the sweetest thing in the whole, wide, world.
Rainbow sighed, “Fine, you win.” She finished off her coffee, “Thanks for the warm bed, Shy.”
“It’s no problem at all. You’re more than welcome to visit anytime you want, just letting you know.” Fluttershy got up and grabbed the platter off the table.
“Yeah, I know. Say, before I pack it in for tonight, mind if I suggest where we’d hang out tomorrow?” Rainbow stared into her friend’s eyes.
“Where do you have in mind?” Fluttershy asked in reply.
“I was thinking we’d take a walk through Whitetail Woods. For old times’ sake.” Rainbow grinned at the idea, memories flooding into her of all the times they’d walk through there, just the two of them.
“I’d love that.”
Ecstatic, Rainbow hopped out of her seat, and started to make her way towards the stairs. “Night, Fluttershy. See you in the morning.” She wanted to go to sleep as soon as possible, excited by the thought of tomorrow.
“Goodnight, Rainbow. Have a good night's sleep.” Fluttershy called to Rainbow as she turned the corner to the upstairs hallway.
Moving as fast she she could, Rainbow made her way into the guest room, hopping onto the bed and under the covers. She looked up towards the ceiling, thoughts of what her and Fluttershy would talk about buzzing around her head.
“Tomorrow’s gonna be awesome.”
* * * *
As Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy made their way over a hill, they were greeted with their destination; Whitetail Woods. “Doesn’t this place take you back, Fluttershy. I remember when we first walked through here, back when you fell from Cloudsdale, and I won that race. Who knew that moment was gonna play such a huge role in our lives, right.”
“Yeah, I never would have guessed.” Fluttershy walked up to one of the many trees, a couple of the woodland critters making their way towards her. She reached into her saddlebags, and pulled out a couple nuts for the chipmunks and squirrels. She reached into her bag again to grab some baby carrots, giving them to the bunnies.
“You can’t help yourself, can you?”
“That makes two of us, then.” Fluttershy shot back, sticking her tongue out as Rainbow noticed she was instinctually flying.
“Touché,” Rainbow replied, not leaving the air. It was her comfort zone, after all.
Fluttershy made he way back towards Rainbow Dash’s side. “I remember how each time we’d come here, you’d go on about how much you’ve trained, and push yourself to impress the Wonderbolts. I’m not the least bit surprised you finally made it, you were so determined back then.”
“Yeah, I knew I’d make it one day. I just had to keep trying over and over again. That’s the thing, Fluttershy, you can never give up once you set yourself to something. If you give up, if you stop reaching for your dream, you’ll lose so much time in the process, and you’ll get yourself into the habit of giving up.” Rainbow flew down low next to her companion, “I actually missed that feeling, having something to aspire to, to know exactly what to hold onto each morning as I prepared myself for my morning flight. It was so simple back then.”
“Is it not simple now? I never was interested in the same things you were, but I think life’s not all the complicated. Sure, the past seems like it was a simpler time, but the future isn’t so bad, especially when you have so much to live for. I know you have more you want to accomplish in your life. I mean, you’re Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Equestria, and the first pony to perform the Sonic Rainboom.”
Rainbow hovered in place for a moment, letting Fluttershy’s words settle into place. “You know what, I think my next goal is to be captain of the Wonderbolts. Thanks, Fluttershy, I was really starting to wonder what's next for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love performing in front of thousands all the time, nothing fills me with such an adrenaline rush, but sometimes I wonder if that’s all I’ll be known for.”
“Yeah, I’m sure we all feel like that from time to time. You’re not the only one, Rainbow. With each of us finding success in our lives, or at least what we want in life, it feels like we might be slowly drifting apart a bit.” Fluttershy flapped her wings, hovering next to Dash, rubbing up next to her. “I think it’s bringing us closer together, though. I don’t think we’d have this conversation otherwise.”
Rainbow Dash beamed, blushing slightly. “Yeah, you’re right. What in the world was I on about just now.” Rainbow looked across the path, remembering the race she had with Applejack all those years ago. “Say, I know this isn’t exactly your thing, but would you like to race to the end of the woods? I’ll go easy on you.”
Fluttershy smiled back, “You know what, Dash? I’d love to.”
They got themselves prepared, Rainbow Dash counting down the seconds. “Three… two… one!”
They flew as fast as they could, Rainbow Dash obviously quicker, but she slowed down to almost the same speed as Fluttershy. They flew off into the distance, growing closer, and learning more about themselves in the process.
Author's Note
My Playstation Plus Membership ended today, so I wrote this short story as a way to pass the time. Hope you guys enjoy it.
