Mutual

by Kodeake

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Twilight Sparkle, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Romance
Length: 6410

”I think this is best for both of us,” Twilight had said with the kind of smile that betrayed no joy in what she was saying, ”I think this is what we both want, too.” It was what she wanted. They needed to break up. It wasn't working. It was mutual.

”I think this is best for both of us,” Twilight had said, with the kind of smile that betrayed no joy in what she was saying, ”I think this is what we both want, too.”

It was what she wanted. They'd needed to break up. It wasn't working.

At least, that's what she told herself. Every day for a month, every night when her bed felt too big, too empty.

It was what she wanted.

It had been mutual.

Published 2019-05-12 17:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-05-12 17:30:01 UTC

Mutual

Mutual

Rainbow Dash sat in a black void of near-perfect silence. The only sounds she heard were the slow, methodical beat of her heart and the melodic breaths passing through her muzzle. She sat in her created moment of serenity for ages, clearing her mind. Her ears twitched like her wings, searching for the sound she refused to let them hear. Within that moment, that eternity, she was alone.

She opened her eyes.

“Mares and Gentlecolts!” A deep-voiced announcer boomed, muffled through marble walls. “What a turnout it is! We here at the Canterlot Coliseum are pleased to-”

She drowned him out with her own breathing, focusing on the gentle flexing of her muscles, visible through her skin-tight flight suit. Rainbow Dash smiled and stood up, marching out of the locker room.

“There she is!” Soarin cried, waving her over to where he and the two other members of the team stood. “I told you she'd be here.”

Spitfire rolled her eyes. “Nopony was doubting that,” she bit back, “I was just saying she has a tendency to show up right before we need to go out. We have twenty seconds tops.”

“Relax, Spitz,” Rainbow chuckled. “You'd fly a lot better if you weren't so tense every show.”

“You try relaxing when you have my job. Somepony's gotta keep you rookies in line.”

Rainbow grinned. “Remind me to show you how to relax like my mar-... ex-marefriend did.” She frowned slightly, though it lasted only a fraction of a second. “It works every time.”

“Keep focused,” Fleetfoot said, eyes forward on the giant doors in front of them. “We're going on soon.”

“I thank you all for your patience,” the announcer cried. “Now, just one last thing before we begin; we have a very special guest in the crowd today!”

Rainbow's eyebrows lifted in surprise as she turned to Spitfire who merely shrugged her shoulders, equally confused.

“Sitting in the royal box we are joined by Princess Twilight Sparkle herself in a surprise appearance!”

“What!?” Rainbow shouted, her heart suddenly pounding in her chest. Twilight's here!? Why?

“What were you saying a second ago? Something about relaxing?” Spitfire asked smugly. “It's not like we've never performed for a princess before.”

Rainbow shook her head. “This... this is different. Twilight's never been to our shows after...” she trailed off and gulped audibly as the massive slab of marble before her gave a groan and started lifting away.

“And now, without further adieu, The Wonderbolts!”

In one synchronized motion the four pegasi flicked their goggles down over their eyes and took to the air, flying out beneath the door before it was even half open. Rainbow's heart thundered in her ears in time with the beating of her wings as she moved fluidly through the sky with practiced ease.

While one eye remained on her teammates, the other wandered the stands. It wasn't hard to spot the V.I.P. Box; it was a grand box with gold trimmings and chairs more akin to thrones with ample space between them. Sat in the centre most chair, wearing her full regalia, sat Princess Twilight Sparkle. Element of Magic. Princess of Friendship.

Rainbow Dash's ex-marefriend.

She swallowed nervously.

”Focus rookie!” Spitfire's voice yelled in her head. With a quick flare of her wings she kept pace with the routine, but from the look Spitfire kept giving her it was obvious she knew her head wasn't in it.

”I think this is best for both of us,” Twilight had said, with the kind of smile that betrayed no joy in what she was saying, ”I think this is what we both want, too.”

It was what she wanted. They'd needed to break up. It wasn't working.

At least, that's what she told herself. Every day for a month, every night when her bed felt too big, too empty.

It was what she wanted.

Rainbow Dash jolted and banked, nearly crashing into the side of the coliseum. However, her over-correction sent her careening back towards her wing-pony, their wingtips brushing before she managed to correct herself. The crowd seemed to have missed it.

“Watch it!” Fleetfoot yelled over the howling winds. “It's like you've never flown before!”

“S-sorry,” Rainbow muttered, shaking her head and properly aligning herself for the next stunt in their routine.

Her wandering eye caught Twilight's concerned look, aimed directly at her. The crowd hadn't seen her blunder, but Twilight had. The alicorn had seen her fly enough to notice even the slightest mistake.

A sweat formed beneath her flight suit that was completely unrelated to her beating wings.

Honing her concentration she forced herself to focus on her routine and, for the most part, managed to keep it there. Though one eye still refused to leave the V.I.P. Box. Something deep in her gut told her to be ready for the conversation after the show.

It was alright though; it had been mutual.

Rainbow stared through the back wall of the shower, her flight suit long abandoned and the water running in rivers over her shoulders and dripping down her legs. Her after-show showers were usually a quick, relaxing experience; a confirmation of a job well done before the celebration. Today, she was hesitant to towel off, and at the same time she knew she needed to act fast.

The announcer's voice had long since gone quiet in the coliseum, and the roaring of the crowd had all but vanished. If she took much longer, Twilight would be gone. Heck, for all she knew Twilight could have simply teleported back to her castle as soon as the show was over.

But somehow, she knew that wasn't true. Maybe it was just a feeling, or maybe there had been something in the look Twilight had given her, but she knew somehow, someway, there was going to be a conversation.

“Dash?”

The pegasus nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice cutting over the water. She turned with a half-smirk towards her visitor. “Hey Spitfire. What's up?”

The mare, free from her flight suit and with a dripping mane, gave her a flat look. “I think you know exactly 'what's up'. What was with you out there?”

Rainbow sighed, hanging her head as she reached up and shut off the shower. “It's... it's nothing. Go ahead to the after party or whatever; I'll catch up. I... I gotta take care of somethin' first.”

“It's about Princess Twilight, right? I know you two had a thing for a while. Her showing up really messed with you, huh?” Spitfire asked, leaning up against the shower stall wall as Rainbow grabbed her towel and dried herself.

She shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. I was gonna go talk to her. It's been a while.”

Spitfire's eyes narrowed. “You realize she's probably gone, right? The show's been over for almost twenty minutes.”

“Twenty!?” Rainbow shouted, flinging her towel to the side. “You're kidding!”

Rolling her eyes, the orange mare simply picked up Rainbow's towel and tossed it back at her before turning away. “I'd say you've missed your chance. But we are in Canterlot; I'm sure if you really wanna talk to her you have plenty of time,” she said over her shoulder as she walked away.

Rainbow groaned, drying her mane as she listened for the squeaking door signalling her captain's departure. When it clicked shut and she was once again left alone with the silence of her own thoughts, she sighed, leaning her head back against the tiled wall.

She'd really wanted to talk to Twilight – it'd been just over a year since they broke up, and almost as long since they'd last spoken. From the looks of things, that streak wasn't going to end tonight. She cursed herself under her breath; she should have moved faster. Should have acted quicker. Instead she froze, her nerves getting the better of her for the second time in their relationship.

”H-hey, Twi,” Rainbow Dash muttered, a bouquet of roses clutched tightly under her wing. “I, uh... I was wondering if you'd... uh... Like to- horseapples!”

She groaned, letting her head fall forward and thump against the crystalline door in front of her. She couldn't even knock! How was she actually supposed ask her out? At this point she'd have a better chance if she just imitated Fluttershy; the adorable squeaking might just earn her a few points.

The door opened and Rainbow fell forward, her vision filling with purple.

“Rainbow?” Twilight gasped in surprise, taking a reflexive step back.

“Eeep!” Rainbow took to the air and was gone faster than she fully realized what she was doing. When her actions caught up with her, however, she just flew away faster; she'd just made a foal of herself in front of Twilight. She'd have to try again another day.

A bouquet of roses lay forgotten on Twilight's doorstep.

Until they were picked up in a magenta glow.

Rainbow didn't even open her eyes as she heard the door to the locker room open. “I'm fine, Spitfire,” she called, returning to drying her mane. When no answer came, she growled. “I missed my chance, that's the end of it.”

“Missed your chance for what?”

Rainbow's blood turned to ice in her veins, her hooves halting their motions as the familiar voice reached her ears.

Slowly, as though any sudden movements would scare her off, Rainbow lowered her towel. “T-twilight...?”

The alicorn smiled gently, nodding her head. “I was waiting for you, but you took so long I thought I'd missed you already. Then Spitfire let me know you were still in here and… well. Here I am.”

Swallowing nervously, Rainbow chuckled, tossing her towel away. “Here you are...”

“It's... been a while, Rainbow.”

“Yeah...” Her mouth was dry. “Almost a year, I think.”

Twilight let the statement simmer in silence, reflecting on the time they'd spent apart. She shuffled awkwardly on her hooves, looking anywhere but at the pegasus in front of her. A question burned on the tip of her tongue, but she was scared of the answer. Eventually, she sighed. “Are we still friends?”

Rainbow's head whipped up, her eyes meeting Twilight's as her mouth hung open, ready to assure her that they were friends. That they always would be, and it was a silly question. Instead, she stared in silence. She knew it was a ridiculous notion; after all they'd been through, how could they ever not be friends? But something stopped her, something in her heart told her that it wasn't quite true.

And she still couldn't lie to Twilight.

“I... I don't know.” Again she struggled to swallow the dry lump in her throat.

Twilight seemed to debate with herself a moment, chewing her lip in either thought or nervousness; Rainbow couldn't tell. Then she stomped her hoof angrily, cursing under her breath. “Aug! Why does this have to be so hard!?”

“I don't know,” Rainbow said, hanging her head and scraping her hoof along the tiled floor.

“You don't know?” Twilight repeated, her voice rough and frustrated.

Rainbow winced at the alicorn's tone. “No... I don't.”

“Well that's just great!” Twilight snorted. “I came here today to see you, to talk to you for the first time in a year and you don't know? Don't you have anything to say? We were best friends, and now you can barely look me in the eye!”

Hesitantly, Rainbow looked up and again their eyes met. It was Twilight who looked away first, flinching away from her own harsh words..

“I'm sorry,” she whispered. “I-I'm sorry. I should just go.”

Something in her mind clicked at the words, like gears hitting a snag, and Rainbow reacted before she thought. “Please don't,” she said, reaching out and grabbing Twilight's shoulder. “I...”

Twilight looked at her, head tilted, as she struggled to decide. Moments passed, and Twilight opened her mouth to speak. Before she could, though, Rainbow took a step back and ran a hoof through her mane bashfully. “I… I’ve really missed you, Twilight.”

The alicorn smiled gently, glad to see they still had something in common. “I’ve missed you, too. Seems like every time you come back to Ponyville I’m in Canterlot on business.”

“Yeah. Just… bad timing…” Rainbow frowned. They both knew full well there was more to it than that. More like avoiding each other than their schedules not lining up. Though that did bring up the question of why Twilight was here. “Did you… enjoy the show?”

“Always,” Twilight affirmed with a nod, then glanced away. “But you, uh, kinda seemed distracted.”

Rainbow chuckled weakly. “Well, a Princess being in the audience tends to throw you off your A-game a little.”

Looking back to her wings, Twilight sighed. “Is that what I am to you now?” She asked, chewing her lip. “Just… one of the Princesses?”

“Am I just a Wonderbolt to you?” Rainbow asked in return, and neither could look at the other. Neither could answer the questions posed. They hung heavy in the air. She sighed, shaking her head. “Why’d you come to the show?”

Twilight rubbed her hooves together. “I… I don’t know,” she admitted slowly. “I guess I just got tired. Tired of missing you. Tired of… avoiding you…”

Some part of Rainbow hitched at the admission. They’d both known it, but to hear Twilight say it was another thing. It felt like the pressure was put on her to do the same. “Yeah I…” She clenched her eyes shut, refusing to let her own stubborn pride get in the way. “I’ve kinda been… avoiding you, too. It just… I dunno. Felt weird, seeing you again. After, y’know; everything.”

“Everything’s one way to put it,” Twilight agreed with a humourless laugh. She looked around the locker room. “Did you maybe want to… grab some dinner or something? Reconnect?”

Rainbow smiled at her hooves. “I think I’d like that.”

“Sooooo…” Rainbow trailed off awkawrdly, fidgeting in her seat. They found themselves in a small bistro not far from the coliseum. Simple and fairly low class compared to what Canterlot had to offer, but it was much more… Ponyville, for lack of a better comparison. Twilight had shed her tiara and golden shoes, appearing as much as she could as a normal pony.

Though they still felt the eyes of the other patrons - and staff - on them. A princess and a Wonderbolt tended to draw a crowd.

“What!?” Rainbow shouted, snatching the newspaper away from Twilight. “How’d they even find out?”

“How am I supposed to know?” Twilight growled, grabbing the paper back. Spread across the front page was a picture of them sat opposite each other over a table. The headlines read in big, bold letters; “The Princess and the Wonderbolt; a new power couple bursts onto the scene!”.

Rainbow shook her head. “At least they got my good side.”

“Dash!” Twilight practically hissed. “Would you take this seriously?”

“Eh.” The pegasus shrugged. “What’s to take seriously? Ponies were gonna find out eventually. Not really a big deal, if you ask me. Unless…” her eyes narrowed teasingly. “You’re not embarrassed by me, are you?”

Twilight sputtered. “O-of course not! I mean… we haven’t even told our friends yet!”

“So indeed…” Twilight sipped at her water slowly. “How’s… the Wonderbolts?”

Rainbow gave her a flat look, reclining back in her chair. “Awesome as always. Which you’d know if you came to more of our shows.”

“Rainbow…”

“Sorry, sorry.” She waved her hoof dismissively. “Same could be said of me not coming to your… speeches? Galas? Did you hold a Gala? I thought I heard something about that?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “I held a fundraiser at my castle to help pay for an expansion to the school. A lot of ponies have been moving to Ponyville ever since… well…” she ruffled her wings. “And we need to start looking to the future. Ponyville’s not going to be a small town much longer.”

There was a pause. Rainbow sighed heavily. “I’ll miss it.”

“Hmm?”

“Ponyville,” Rainbow clarifide, resting her chin on the table and staring at the condensation running down her glass. “I’ll miss Ponyville - the Ponyville I remember, I mean.” She blew a breath out her nose. “Feels like everything’s changing back home, and I’m out here with the Bolt’s. It’s like I’m missing out and…”

Twilight frowned, leaning forward slightly. “And?”

Hesitating, Rainbow looked up and their eyes met for a moment. She quickly looked away. “I feel like one day I’m gonna go home and I won’t recognize it anymore.”

“Yeah…” Twilight fell back in her chair, a pensive frown stretched across her muzzle. “I know what you mean. It’s… not like it was when I first left Canterlot. But then… everything changes, right? I mean - just look at us! How much we’ve changed.”

Rainbow huffed. “Doesn’t mean we have to like it.”

There was a snort of laughter, and Twilight looked down to see the pegasus glaring up at her. “I suppose it doesn’t. Not liking it isn’t going to stop it, though. Holding onto the past… it takes effort. More effort than it’s worth, most times.”

“For you, maybe. I don’t give up the first time I have to put a little effort into something I want.”

Twilight’s mirth died. Her eyes hardened. “Rainbow…” her tone was warning, but Rainbow Dash wasn’t one to pay attention to caution signs.

“I’d still like some things to be the same. Not every change is good, Twilight.” She lifted her head and met Twilight’s look head on. “I don’t want to let go of everything from the past.”

“Well you didn’t try very hard to keep it!” Twilight snapped, immediately becoming aware of the volume when the dull chatter in the air ceased. She glanced around at the ponies surreptitiously watching them.

Rainbow, however, couldn’t care less. “Not like you put any effort in either,” she shot back, though her voice was more measured than Twilight’s had been. “I’m sorry I couldn’t just drop my dream to stay in Ponyville with you girls. But the academy isn’t that far away, and you have wings.”

“And I’m sorry I had my own duties to attend to,” Twilight hissed back lowly, still aware of the eyes on them. “I was busy, Rainbow. I had my own problems to deal with - all the girls did!”

“Well great!” Rainbow shouted, throwing her hooves up. “So we’re both sorry. Fat lot of good that did us! Doesn’t matter how sorry we are when we can’t even mare up and talk to each other.”

Twilight leaned forward, whispering, “You’re making a scene. This is why I stopped coming to your shows.” She made a vague, all-encompassing gesture. “You can never just let go and move forward. You always have to bring up the past. The mistakes we made.”

Mouth half-opened to respond, Rainbow was cut off as two plates were hesitantly lowered between them. “Y-your food, your Highness, Miss Dash,” the waiter said, rushing off as soon as his job was done.

Twilight watched him go, then look back to Dash. Suddenly, neither of them felt like eating.

“I’m making a scene?” Rainbow asked rhetorically, shaking her head and picking up her fork. “Let’s just eat and get this over with, Twilight. Then we can go back to avoiding each other.”

“Rainbow-”

“Maybe we aren’t,” she growled out, aggressively stabbing at her food. She glanced up and saw Twilight’s questioning look. “You asked if we were still friends,” she explained. “Maybe we aren’t anymore.”

Twilight felt the air get sucked from her lungs. She gasped, struggled to breath, felt like she was suffocating. No words fell from her opened mouth and she was forced to close it, staring into her own plate of food. It was the least appetizing food in the world through no fault of its own.

Their meal passed in silence from then on, and Twilight only occasionally glanced up. She never once caught Dash’s eye, and the pegasus seemed quite content to stick to her plan of ending the meal as quickly as possible.

Eventually, when their plates were cleaned - or rather, when Rainbow’s was cleaned and Twilight’s had been taken away with it - and they had no other excuses left, they looked at each other. Rainbow could still see the hurt lingering behind the alicorn’s eyes, and it tore at her to know that she had caused it. Her own words had rung clear in her mind the entire dinner, but she didn’t know how to take them back.

“I’m… sorry,” Rainbow said slowly. It was a start, at least. A foothold to begin climbing the mountain she’d just thrown herself off. “I didn’t mean that.”

Twilight nodded. “I know,” she said, but the pain was still clearly there, and Rainbow fidgeted in her seat. “But… you might be right. I mean - look at us! We can’t even get through dinner without jumping down each other’s throats. I just… I was stupid. I wanted things to go back to the way they were, before. Before everything.” She laughed bitterly, shaking her head. “Maybe I’m the one who can’t let go of the past.”

Swallowing thickly, Rainbow leaned forward, a hoof outstretched to try and comfort the mare across from her. She stopped herself, and retracted. Would it even mean anything anymore, coming from her? She wanted to believe it would, but… maybe it had just been too long. Her hoof fell, and she hung her head. “I only made one mistake.”

“Huh?”

“You said that I keep focusing on the past. The mistakes we made.” Rainbow sighed, fiddling with her hooves and staring into her lap. “I only made one mistake. I shouldn’t have given up so easily.”

Twilight blinked, surprised. “Rainbow…” She trailed off, not quite knowing what to say. Neither did the pegasus, and she was forced to fill the void. “Our breakup… it was mutual. We both agreed it wasn’t working. I didn’t mean what I said - about you not trying. We both tried, but...”

“I know…” Rainbow had to bite back bitter tears - the same tears she’d had to hide that day. “That was my mistake. I shouldn’t have accepted that. I should have made it work. Somehow. I never wanted this.”

“But you said-”

“I know what I said!” Rainbow slammed her hoof down on the table, their glasses rattling. “Damnit, Twilight, I lied! I’d always been lying.” She clenched her eyes shut, turning away and taking a moment to breathe. “I never wanted to break up. You did. I just went along with it because - because I was stupid. Because I thought you were right, and that our lives were just… incompatible. Because you were the smart one, and I was the dumb jock that got lucky with the mare of her dreams.”

Twilight felt the eyes of the restaurant on her, but more importantly she felt her heart throb painfully. Her chest felt tight, and feelings she’d thought laid to rest over a year ago came bubbling to the surface once more. “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“How could you have?” Rainbow finally faced her again. “I never told you. Convinced myself you were right, that it wasn’t working. That it wasn’t going to. That there was nothing I could have done. That-” she choked back a sob and finally the tears she’d been holding in fell. “That we’d still be friends, no matter what, and that that was enough for me. And just look how that turned out.”

Twilight stared wide-eyed at the quietly crying mare, too stunned to move. She wanted to rush over and embrace her friend, stop the tears, but she didn’t know if it would help or just make everything worse. Before she could decide Rainbow had regained control, sniffling and rubbing at her damp cheeks as she stood.

“Sorry, I… I should go.” She flashed a smile that didn’t convince any of the ponies watching them. “Forget I said anything; I’m just being stupid. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you and... it made me think about the past, y’know? But you’re right; what’s done is done. Time to move on.” Rainbow Dash turned away, her shoulders visibly sagging. “Thanks for dinner, Twilight. I’ll cya around.”

Rainbow stood and stretched her wings, smacking her lips. Twilight did the same, and the pair fell into pace alongside each other as they left the small restaurant. “So,” Twilight started, watching the pegasus from the corner of her eye. “How was that?”

“Hmmm…” Rainbow rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Solid B plus.” She shot a smirk at the alicorn’s scowl. “I’d be happy to go over your mistakes. Maybe over, say, a movie next time?”

Twilight blushed and looked away. “I uh… think I’d like that…” she coughed into her hoof. “Just to know what I need to study up on, you know.”

They passed through the doors into the cool light of dusk. They paused, and Rainbow looked in the direction of her house. “It’s a date.”

“We haven’t even set a date,” Twilight giggled. She looked over when she felt a hoof tap her shoulder.

“Thanks for dinner, Twilight,” Rainbow said, darting forward and leaving a quick kiss on the alicorn’s lavender cheek. “I’ll cya around.”

Twilight gasped. “Rainbow-” but it was too late. The pegasus was gone, and she was alone in the restaurant. Alone save for the dozens of ponies staring at her. She sat there awkwardly a moment, staring at the seat once inhabited by her friend. Or, a pony that used to be her friend. That thought dropped her heart into her stomach like it was made of lead, and she slumped back into her chair. Her throat tightened and she could feel the beginnings of tears trying to leak from her eyes. Forcing them back, Twilight took a slow, shuddering breath.

“Um… P-princess?” She looked up at the poor waiter covering her table. He offered her a small black folder. “Your bill.”

“Yeah…” Twilight muttered distractedly, summoning in a flash of magic a bag of bits. She glanced inside, and sighed, setting the entire bag on his tray. The waiter eyed the bag.

“Your highness?”

Twilight waved her hoof distractedly. “As an apology for disturbing your other customers.”

The young stallion fidgeted awkwardly, but didn’t leave. “Princess, i-if I may. I… um… could I o-offer some… advice?” his voice cracked and it came out as a squeak.

Twilight looked up at him, tilting her head curiously. “Advice?” She asked, not quite sure she’d heard him.

“Y-yes, your highness.” He shifted again, and took a step back. “I-it’s just that… if you don’t mind my saying so, it very much seems as though, that is, I think that maybe, possibly, Miss Dash might, er, still have feelings for you. Romantically, that is.”

Sighing, Twilight nodded slowly. “Yes, it seems that way. But-”

“And, um, to me at least, it seems you do for her as well.” The waiter gulped audibly, putting his tray between himself and the alicorn. “At least, that’s how it looks to me. I-I can’t really say for sure. You know better than I do. B-but, to be frank, your highness, ponies seldom get what they want without trying for it. That is to say… um… oh, never mind. I’m sorry. I’ll be going.” He slipped away as quickly as he could, disappearing into the kitchen.

Twilight leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling. She mulled his words over, chuckled, and shook her head. “Of course I still have feelings for her” she said to herself. “Of course I do. I always knew that. But why do I have to be the one to try?” Twilight stood after a few long moments of staring into space, lost in her own thoughts. Maybe Rainbow was right. Maybe they weren’t friends anymore. But maybe that was okay.

Rainbow Dash lay on her back on a couch far too soft for its own good in a hotel room far too nice for just her. Being a Wonderbolt came with some perks, it seemed. Although, she wasn’t sure if those perks were worth what she’d had to give up. The spackle textured ceiling offered few words of comfort, and she was left adrift within her own mind.

“Good job, Dash,” she berated herself, crossing her forelegs over her eyes. “First time you’ve talked in ages and you had to go and freak out on her. Why can’t you just get a grip?”

The darkness behind her closed eyes didn’t help much either, but it was better than staring off into space. “It’s probably gonna be another year before she even wants to talk to you again.”

There was a knocking at her door, and she froze. She knew she’d put a ‘do not disturb’ sign out, which meant whoever was out there wasn’t the cleaning lady. There was a ball in the pit of her stomach that told her exactly who was out there, but she didn’t want to believe it. Maybe if she ignored it-

The knocking came again. This time accompanied by a voice. “Rainbow? Are you there?”

Twilight. Rainbow bit her lip. Maybe she’d just go away if she pretended to be asleep. Or dead. Being dead sounded pretty good about now.

“The clerk said he saw you. Listen… I wanted to talk…”

Talk. She wanted to talk. Why? That was how they’d gotten into this mess in the first place! Rainbow held her breath. Maybe she could just disappear if she tried hard enough. Go somewhere- anywhere but here. Or pass out from a lack of oxygen.

“Please, Rainbow, I…” a long pause. Then, in a tone overflowing with emotion, “I don’t want to be friends anymore. I’m done lying to myself.”

Rainbow felt like she’d been shot through the chest. That was why the alicorn had come all the way to her hotel? To officially end it? Well, at least she’d have closure-

“I… I want to give it a try again. Us, I mean. I… I don’t know if it’ll work. But I want to try. I want to put the effort in that I didn’t last time. I just-” she stopped. The door was open. They were face to face. Rainbow didn’t even know how she’d gotten there. One moment she was on the couch, the next she was at the door, staring at a purple alicorn. Twilight smiled at her, and there were no tears hiding behind it.

“H-hey,” Rainbow started, immediately cursing herself. Hey? Really? “I, uh… I thought you-”

“I know.” Twilight sighed. “I’m sorry. I never wanted to end things between us. I… I was scared, and I thought it was the only way. I was stupid and thought everything would just go back to the way things were before.

“Scared?”

Nodding slowly, Twilight glanced around the empty hall, struggling to form her thoughts into words. “You were spending so much time back home just to spend time with me. You were always tired, making the flight from the academy. You started missing practices, and I don’t know if even you noticed but you started making mistakes in your shows, too. I was worried that you- that you’d make one mistake too many, or miss an important practice or something and get kicked out. Because of me.

“And instead of talking to you about it, or making an effort for me to come to see you instead, I… I was stupid, and decided we needed to break up.” Twilight sighed, deflating. “After that I… felt guilty, I guess. For putting you through all of that. I started avoiding you, and then it just felt… awkward to see you, so I kept doing it. The longer it went on the harder it was to just come talk to you. And then… then today happened.”

Rainbow found herself smiling for a reason even she couldn't figure out. “Looks like we both made mistakes, huh?” She reached forward, this time without hesitation, and wrapped the alcorn in a hug that felt both foreign and familiar. It was like it was back then, when there was no doubt in her mind, but different. Time had passed. They had changed. There was no certainty to anything anymore.

And yet, she got the feeling that this would never change. Their relationship might be called different things, and they might grow closer or more distant, but at the end of the day, she knew it would always be the same bond underneath it all.

Twilight returned the embrace. “I'm sure they won't be the last mistakes we make. But…” she paused as she sank deeper into the pegasus's hooves. It reminded her how she felt back then, when she'd found those roses on her doorstep. It was the beginning all over again, but this time they had the advantage. “We'll make more mistakes. But I think we'll be okay.”

Grunting her agreement, Rainbow buried her muzzle into Twilight's mane. Giving one, final squeeze - as though assuring more to come - Rainbow drew away and looked the alicorn in the eye. “Wanna go out? As a proper date?”

Twilight giggled. “We already ate though…”

“So?” Rainbow had already stepped into the hall and closed the door behind her. “I don't recall either of us having dessert.”

“Hmm. You know, I heard there was a great little bakery around here somewhere. How’s that?” Twilight asked as they fell into step alongside each other. They walked closer together then they had to the bistro earlier in the night, but not so close as to imply anything more than two friends trying something new.

Rainbow smiled gently. “Sounds great, Twi.”

Epilogue

Epilogue

Silence, save for the steady thumping of her own heart and the slow breaths passing through her muzzle. Rainbow Dash held tight to her artificial eternity. Every feather on her wings seemed to twitch in anticipation, her ears flicking around and searching for the sounds she refused to hear.

She opened her eyes.

“Welcome, mares and gentlecolts!” Came the all-too familiar booming voice of an announcer. “To the Cloudsdale Cloudesium. We’ve got a great show lined up for you tonight-”

Rainbow pushed his voice to the back of her mind, giving herself a quick once-over to ensure her skin-tight suit was sitting properly. Happy with what she found, the rubber strap of her goggles snapped as she donned them on her forehead and stood. Marching out of the locker room, she nodded to the rest of her team.

“Dash,” Soarin’ greeted, idly stretching his wings. “You good to go?”

Spitfire scoffed, eyes forward. “She had better be.”

“I keep telling you to relax, Spitz,” Rainbow said with a chuckle, rolling her neck and hearing a few quiet pops.

“And I keep telling you I can’t afford to relax when you’re under my command. I let my guard down for a second and you’ll do something stupid.”

Rainbow shrugged. “Maybe, but the crowd usually seems to like my stunts.”

“We’re on in 10,” Fleetfoot muttered, breaking off the conversation and bringing them all forward into formation.

“I thank you all for your patience,” the announcer cried. “Now, just one last thing before we begin; we have a very special guest in the crowd today!”

Rainbow couldn’t help the smile that slipped across her muzzle, and she wiggled her eyebrows when Spitfire gave her a curious look.

“Sitting in the royal box we are joined by Princess Twilight Sparkle herself in a surprise appearance!” Came the announcement, only making Rainbow’s grin grow wider.

Spitfire groaned. “Did you know about this, Dash?”

The rainbow maned mare shrugged innocently. “She never said anything to me,” she said in a sickly-sweet voice. “I can’t help it if she likes to come watch me fly.”

“I swear I think I liked it better when you were single. Performing for royalty puts a lot of extra pressure on us,” Spitfire grumbled lowly as their goggles were flicked into place in practiced unison.

“Aw c’mon, Spitz; it’s just Twilight. Relax.” Rainbow chuckled when she didn’t get a response.

“And now, without further adieu, The Wonderbolts!”

In one synchronized movement they jumped into the air, flying out beneath the door before it was even half open. Rainbow's heart thundered in her ears in time with the beating of her wings as she moved fluidly through the sky with practiced ease.

While one eye remained on her teammates, the other wandered the stands. It wasn’t hard to spot a mare with a unicorn horn among the crowds, especially when she was in the box reserved especially for royalty. However, as ostentatious as the seats themselves were, the alicorn inhabiting them was anything but; Twilight had forgone the regalia usually associated with public appearances. Not even her tiara sat upon her head.

It just made Rainbow’s heart thump a little harder. Twilight wasn’t there as a Princess of Equestria. She was there as a simple spectator, to show her support for somepony important to her.

Rainbow cut through the air near flawlessly, always keeping one eye on the lavender alicorn. She watched Twilight’s reactions to her various stunts throughout the show, and could practically hear her cheering above the rest of the crowd. It all just made Rainbow fly that much better, try that much harder, knowing who was in the stands.

Twilight Sparkle. Princess of Friendship. Element of magic.

Her marefriend.

The thought made her positively giddy. It wasn’t all that long ago that Twilight being in the stands had totally thrown her off her game. But now? Now it was different. Now it didn’t quite feel right if Twilight wasn’t there.

After all, this was what she’d wanted. What she’d always wanted, and this time, it really had been mutual.

Author's Note

Greetings, dear readers, and welcome to the end of the story. I do hope you enjoyed. If this fic seems at all familiar to you, it may well be because the first ~2K words was originally released as a chapter of my Rainbooms and Romance prompt series. I decided to come back to it, clean it up, and turn it into a proper story, which I do hope you enjoyed.

Questions, comments, and concerns go in the box below as always.