Chapter Three – Who Is She?

The train had finally reached Vanhoover, relieving itself of most passengers and welcoming new ones. On the car where Twilight and her friends remained, there was a knock on the door, startling Fluttershy. Before they could react, the door opened, revealing a slightly older stallion dressed in a navy blue shirt and a black visor. It was just one of the train attendants; Trusty Hooves was his name. He had checked up on the mares earlier and was the one who brought the glass of water for Rainbow Dash by Rarity’s request. He bore a cheerful countenance, which may have been birthed from a strict conduct of work, but for all anypony knew, he just enjoyed his occupation.

“How you kids doing,” he asked. Then, at the sight of Twilight Sparkle, he amended: “A-And Princess?” He honored Twilight with a gentle, unexaggerated bow.

“Really good,” Twilight said, “we’re having a great ride so far.”

“Good to hear!” Trusty grinned back. “I just came to tell you all that we’ve just arrived to Vanhoover and will be leaving shortly to the next station.”

Applejack reacted first, somewhat surprised. “Wow, already?”

Her attention was picked by a soft giggle across the booth. It was Fluttershy.“I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun.”

“Actually,” Twilight interjected, “on my last visit to Canterlot a few months ago, I attended a conference held in Celestia’s court, and there I learned about the upgraded magical railway system. The plan was called Operation LIGHTSPEED!” She said the last word intensely, as she waved her fore hooves apart, clearly expressing just how cool she thought it was. “The long and short of it involves—”

Oh, great, another of Twilight’s lectures. That was the thought on her friends’ minds.

“... A new alchemically powered engine, no more coal, which means less pollution. Also there’s a minute electromagnetic barrier between the wheels and tracks to reduce friction, allowing for faster travel, but at a stable pace, thus allowing the train to keep on its proper course.”

Twilight went on, despite already having addressed the cause behind their speedy arrival.

“Oh! And this is one my favorite parts: each car comes with a built in enchanted gyroscope, to monitor and control the behavior of the train as a whole, providing and maintaining smooth travel, as well as safety. It’s a brilliantly simple device, the components of which include merely a—”

“BORED!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, slouching back in her seat, cutting off Twilight’s drawn out explanation.

Twilight then found herself being glared at by a cross-hooved Pinkie Pie, “Can’t you just not be a killjoy and leave it alone?”

At this, Twilight rolled her eyes. “Fine! I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun,” she conceded, echoing Fluttershy’s words. Pinkie sprung back to her gleeful self, making Twilight smirk despite herself, rousing more giggles to all present.

Trusty just experienced a sample of what had been going on this whole time. He smiled at the scene, but he did have a job to do. “Well, I can see you’ve all been having fun, so reading material is probably out of the question,” he mused, “but are any of you getting hungry or thirsty?”

Most spoke or hummed a negative, wishing to save their appetites, but Twilight was in fact beginning to realize just how hungry she was getting. She hesitated, not wanting to be the only pony eating, peer pressure and all. That’s when Applejack spoke up.

“I’ll just take an apple ifin ya’ll serve.

“One apple, coming up,” Trusty said, then placed a check on the box labeled apple within his lengthy notepad. “Anypony else?”

This was it, the moment she’d been waiting for. Applejack is eating, so why shouldn’t she? No pressure now, so Twilight began:

“I’d like to have a daffodil and daisy sandwich with a side of hay fries, large, and—”

“Mmm…?” Twilight was cut off by a murmur. It was Rarity, who eyed Twilight critically, from Twilight’s gaze down to her midsection, then back up to her eyes. Twilight took the hint and sighed.

“I’ll just take the daffodil and daisy sandwich,” she said, tilting her head as she stared back at Rarity as though to say “Happy?”. Rarity smiled back, fluttering her eyes as though in return “Quite.”

Everypony looked back and forth between the two mares, especially Trusty, who started speculating on just who was really in charge here. Despite the invisible conversation he was observing, he simply followed Twilight’s order to the letter. “Alright then,” he said, checking off on his pad the box labeled daffodil and daisy sandwich, and left it at that.

The train attendant, having finished off taking orders, bowed to the princess and her friends, and left. After the door was closed, Twilight looked at Rarity again, who seemed quite content with herself.

Just who does that prissy unicorn think she is? The thought arose in Twilight. It’s my body, I can do what I want! All I need is to double my exercise regimen, not give up everything I hold dear…I MEAN, DELICIOUS!

She caught herself. Twilight had been gaining weight recently, so at the recommendation of Rarity, she had been trying hard to work off the pounds. This, she had succeeded in doing, and was still able to wear her favorite, astral themed dress to the Gala.

But she still could have made the necessary alterations if I did get wider, she reasoned with herself. And besides, the dress fits now, I’m on my way to the Gala, what’s a few hay fries going to do in a matter of hours?

Her mouth began to water at the salty, deep-fried, far, and distant fries in her memory. I could have shared. That way, I didn’t have to eat too much, though the others didn’t seem needy, LIKE I AM.

Twilight’s forehead began to boil something fierce, suddenly catching herself. Wait, what am I thinking?! Rarity a friend, who only has my best interests at heart. Maybe not my best, but, no-no-no, I don’t need to eat. I am strong. I am Twilight Sparkle.

With that affirmation in place, she came back to the world with eyes still honed in on Rarity; oh, if looks could kill.

“Thank you, Rarity,” she forced out at last, not falsely so, but more with a hint of struggle against herself.

“Anything for a friend,” Rarity said with a wink.

Meanwhile, as the others’ focus was on Rarity and Twilight, Rainbow Dash had been seeking an opportunity to intrude between the stoked fires of the mares. She finally found one.

“Uh, everypony, I’ve got a question here,” she started, with a meekness almost worthy of Fluttershy. “If we’re still doing this Q&A thing, that is.”

Everypony’s ears perked up at this, directing their attention back to Rainbow. They each froze, still a little embarrassed that they had been so distracted; except for Rarity, who bore a smile suggesting she had been waiting for Rainbow to be the one to reel her friends back.

“But of course, dear,” Rarity insisted. “Ask away!”

Dash sighed. “This is to everypony here, I guess. This may sound like a dumb question now, anyway…”

“There’s no such thing as a dumb question,” Twilight asserted, and the rest concurred in hums. Rainbow continued.

“Well, it’s just, you’re all okay with this, right? You know, with me?”

The looks on her friends’ faces seemed familiar. Yes, they were the very same to appear immediately after she confessed about herself to everypony. Even Rarity shared the shocked expression.

Maybe it was a stupid question. Maybe the first Twilight ever heard, but she needed them to say it.

“Of course!” Twilight exclaimed cheerfully, as though she spoke for everypony. However, everypony would each give their own uniquely flavored answer. Applejack was the first to follow up.

“You’re still the same old cloudbusting Rainbow.”

“Not to mention our really good friend!” Pinkie Pie added.

“We love you, Rainbow,” Fluttershy said without the slightest hesitation.

Rarity was the last to speak. “You have this unicorn’s seal of approval, darling!”

As Rainbow closed her eyes, like curtains falling after a happy ending from a play, Applejack laid a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder, and spoke.

“Remember: The six of us are united by the Elements of Harmony, and ain’t nothing gonna change that, partner.”

Twilight bounced off of that statement. “It was you, Rainbow, who ultimately brought the first spark to the magical connection we share, even before we knew each other.”

That reminder in particular brought a smile to Rainbow.

Whatever was going to happen that night, she thought to herself, her friends would be there for her. Of that, Rainbow was sure.

A knock on the car’s door was heard again, opening to reveal a cart pushed by Trusty. On top of it was an apple and a sandwich, the latter of which was taken abruptly by a magenta aura, and brought to an eager, half-starved alicorn. Twilight was certainly excited to take that first bite, which she took with much gusto.

How long had it been since she’s eaten? This morning?

Trusty finally came in, following the food cart, pretending not to notice Twilight’s hunger reflex. “We’re just about ready to leave Vanhoover,” he announced, and then turned towards Applejack. “Your apple, Miss.”

She smiled and grabbed the fruit from the cart accordingly.

“Now, if you all need anything else, just remember to ring the service bell,” Trusty said, directing his gaze to a tasseled rope hanging above.

“Will do,” Rainbow Dash said, rather hastily, eager to get back to the Q&A. With the rest of her friends sensing this, they each waved to Trusty, politely bidding his departure; except for Twilight, who was lost in her own little world at the moment. Trusty left, bringing the food cart with him, and closed the door.

Noticing how far gone Twilight was in her sandwich, Applejack had decided to take advantage of her missed turns once they returned to the Q&A. After taking a bite then out of her apple, she began to speak whilst chewing, much to Rarity’s displeasure.

“Oh my, seems like I’ve lost my turn earlier. I reckon it’d be Twi’s now, huh?” Twilight’s trance was brought to a halt, and she turned to Applejack, who shot her a smug smirk, but not facing her directly. Twilight’s cheeks blushed mildly, now aware of just how packed they were with flowers and sourdough bread.

Twilight forced herself to swallow down the half chewed bites of sandwich, gasping a bit, and gave Rainbow Dash a self-conscious chuckle. Her eyes then widened, realizing that she didn’t have a question to pose her friend: or if she had one, she long forgotten it.

“Think, Egghead!” Twilight thought, “Your friend had just came out with something big. You should be more interested! ‘When will you tell your parents?’ No, too critical! Plus we’re the first, so how could they...” She cast about, desperately trying to keep up with the gang. “Rainbow Dash is ‘gay’, simple as that! I’m okay, we’re okay, no need to get all analytical, but being more open about it just seems so important to her. What kind of a friend would I be if I came off as…DETACHED?!”

She began reviewing a question she had asked earlier, searching hard for something to build upon. Suddenly Dash began to feel lonesome, like the pony sitting a mere two seats away was more like a million miles off. It took Twilight a second more until she found something to ask. Perking up, and earning Rainbow’s attention, she formulated the question.

“So you say you’ve known for two years, but when you started debating yourself, you concluded that you ‘couldn’t figure it out in one sitting’.” Dash nodded, so Twilight continued,

“Well, later on you just said that, eventually, you just accepted. About how long was this process of acceptance?”

Rainbow’s eyes rolled up, as though searching for the answer along the dark rim of her vision.

“Uh, I think it took me about a month, maybe four weeks.” She then shot Twilight a rather fake smile, attempting to award her friend for taking some interest, but it was clear Dash was less than impressed by Twilight’s inquiry. Twilight tried pretending not to read into that, and went back to eating her sandwich, weighing the difference in her mind between the words ‘Guilty’ and ‘Pleasure.’

Applejack looked on, wondering if her little joke on Twilight was funny anymore. She could think of only one thing to fix the awkward position she had just placed both Twilight and Rainbow, and said,

“Uh, Pinkie Pie! You get on up now!” as if nothing weird had just transpired. Pinkie said nothing, but only made a series of humming sounds, taking a hoof to her chin, tilting her head occasionally as her eyes rolled more frequently across the roof of her vision. Rainbow was more afraid of what Pinkie was thinking than she was curious of what was going on in Twilight’s mind before. Applejack gulped, almost regretting what she had just done.

Pinkie was churning something alright. Applejack couldn’t bear the humming of the Party-licious Pie (The Tell-Tale Heart reference) any longer. “Uh, got nothing either, hun?”

Twilight shot a hot glare at Applejack, knowing very well what she did to her earlier.

“Oh no,” Pinkie said, suddenly poking out of her contemplation. “I have like a bazillion questions! Just which one to ask…?” She grunted, asking nopony in particular. A bead of sweat began to run down Rainbow Dash’s forehead, worrying about herself all over again, and about what was to come. Her first question hadn’t been that bad, but still, it was Pinkie. The thoughtful hums had gone on for far long enough. Rarity interjected,

“Sweetie, perhaps we should move on to Fluttershy, giving you more time to make your, ehhh...” she shuddered, “selection?”

Without a moment to consider, the deep thinking pony answered back, “Name’s ‘Pinkie’, not ‘Sweetie’,” she said, as though happily introducing herself for the first time. “And as for Fluttershy... Okey dokey lokey! Carry on!”

That came as a relief for Rainbow, who let out a big sigh. She was drawn back a moment later, as Fluttershy spoke up already.

“Um, Rainbow? There is actually something that has me, well, concerned,” she said, voice wavering. Rainbow nodded, bidding her to go on.

“Well, it’s just...” Fluttershy faltered again. “You haven’t told anypony about this,” she said, noticeably ashamed of the avoidance of that word, “for two years!” She emphasized the last two words with wide eyes, then proceeded to explain the significance of that time span, squinting her eyes as though affected by pain. “That must have been just awful for you!”

That wasn’t a question, but an opinion, so Rainbow kept her listening, with ears perked up, expressing naught but strict attentiveness.

Fluttershy finally got to the point. “With that in mind, I’d like to, no, need to ask: What was it like for you during those years? Was it lonely, not being able to tell anypony? Wasn’t it...” She gulped. “Scary?”

A candle lit in Applejack’s head, and she turned to Pinkie. “That there counts as three queries now, right?”

“Nope!” Pinkie popped out like a balloon, still being the ruling hostess she was of the game. “I call those COMBOES!!!”

“Oh course you do,” Applejack pouted, still resenting the loss of her turns.

Fluttershy had asked a good question, certainly better than Twilight’s. “Not really,” Rainbow Dash answered, shrugging. “Really, the hardest part was, to be honest,” she continued, smiling at Applejack, “the beginning, when I was finding out.” She rolled her eyes. “But that was more annoying than anything else, really.”

She then looked back to Fluttershy. “Aaand, well, the part where I was just telling you all this, right now. Between the two, though, I am still as AJ said.” She began flapping her wings, hoovering in the air. “‘The same old cloudbusting Rainbow’!” She then unleashed a thrusting buck back into the empty space. This won a sense of enthusiasm from her friends.

She resumed her seating after making that visual display and continued explaining. “I was still me, Rainbow Dash! I didn’t even think to tell anypony either. Why would I? I mean… Rarity,” she urged, turning to the pleasantly attentive unicorn. “You wouldn’t go around telling everypony how straight you are, would you?”

Rarity nodded. “Indeed, such a thing would be most uncouth. However… I wouldn’t mind letting a few stallions know I’m interested.” Her answer was dreamy, as though punctuated by fantasies. It seemed like Rarity too, like Twilight earlier, was lost to dreamland. Rainbow couldn’t help but notice Rarity’s state, so she rolled on,

“Anyhow, I just didn’t have any reason to come out with the fact that I was gay.” The way she said that caught Fluttershy off guard, saying that last word like it was any other. “I was still me,” Rainbow repeated, “and it wasn’t like I was active about it or nothing. But I knew that when, if I ever did…act on it…” She paused, letting the blush speak for itself. “I just had to let my friends, my family, in on it…you know?”

It was then that Pinkie Pie let out an intense and high-pitched gasp, causing everypony to retreat deeper into the booth seats, fearing for their lives for a brief second.

“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness! Yes, yes, yes!”

“Pinkie! WHAT in the wide world of Equestria is it?!” Twilight lashed out, not the least bit happy by the shock.

After a giggle followed by a snort, Pinkie Pie spoke up. “I have my question.” She sang out the last syllable.

Everypony faced Pinkie, bracing themselves for whatever was about to come out of that Pie hole. Pinkie then turned her attention towards Rainbow, boasting a look that would be best be described as... flirtatious?

She leaned her head onto her left shoulder, having both forehooves joined at rest on her raised knees. Her face was tilted slightly downward, but her half-shut eyes were locked on Rainbow. The suspense was getting to all her friends, and Pinkie let it sink in for about three seconds. Finally, with the flutter of her eyes, she asked,

“Who is she?”

Four out of the five gave Pinkie a perplexed look. Rarity spoke for them all.

“A little presumptuous, don’t you think, dear?”

Pinkie’s head shook frantically. “Nope! It all makes perfect SENSE! I simply put one and two and three and five together, and from it all came out the one!”

Twilight took a moment, attempting to place that sequence of numbers into a basic mathematical formula. 1+2+3=6, subtracting 5 to equal 1, was Twilight’s first try, but Pinkie said ‘together’, so no subtracting. 1+2+3+5=11? She tinkered on, failed, and shook her head to drive the nonsense out. Applejack tried as well, but after likewise failing, she spoke up.

“Afraid we don’t follow, sugar cube.”

“Well, we have 1 Dashie, 2 years of her knowing this, 3 months since we received tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala, during which she was acting super weird, and 5 of us, her friends, whom she wanted to tell before she ever…So the answer can be none other than—” she paused, imagining a drum roll to herself, and then finishing in a whisper: “The One.”

Pinkie then directed the attention of the four perplexed ponies to Rainbow Dash. Their mouths gaped, taking a moment to soak in her expression. The lowered face, the soft smile, colored by a most revealing blush, her eyes gazing at each of them so relaxed. She looked peaceful, she looked happy, she looked—

After further, careful observation of every little detail, Twilight came out with her opinion.

“I’m pretty sure we’re all thinking it, so I’ll be the one to say it.” She turned to face Rainbow. “You are in love! By Sweet Cadence, you are!”

She looked so overjoyed by the realization: Rainbow Dash was in love. She looked up at Twilight, shaking her head slowly. Both Fluttershy and Rarity took a hoof to their mouths and upon looking to one another. Knowing what each other thought and felt, their eyes seemed to draw together, sharing an eager, reverberant “YeEeEeEeEeEe!”.

Fluttershy withdrew from the audibly magnetic force between herself and Rarity, saying:

“Oh Rainbow, I’m so happy for you!”

“As am I darling,” Rarity joined in. “I must say, I was aware of your—” She paused, intentionally coughing. “... Fleeting fancies, but I hadn’t the slightest clue that you narrowed your eyes down to one pony in particular.” Being composed on the surface, Rarity eventually devolved to a blatant, high-pitched demand. “Well come on, who is it? Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me—”

“HOLD on a SEC!” Pinkie interrupted, glaring at Rarity as though she was stealing her turn away. Then, she gleefully mirrored the unicorn’s own giddiness. “Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me!”

At this, Rainbow covered her eyes, exposing a tightly held grin, when a slightly more feminine than usual giggle creeped out through her teeth.

“Wow, Rainbow,” Twilight said, holding precious this never before observed demeanor. “I’ve never seen anything like this from you.” Then, narrowing her eyes almost villainously onto the giddy pegasus, she insisted: “Come on, spill!”

Applejack was the only pony able to contain herself in the car. She just smiled on quietly, perhaps so as to not delay Rainbow’s answer to what was probably the most exciting question yet. Before another voice took over, Applejack waved a left hoof in a soothing motion.

“Whoa now! Simmer down, everypony. Please, let the mare speak,” she insisted, dangling the same hoof midair. She leaned her head towards Rainbow, looking as far up as her eyes could go, beckoning with a single blink.

Dash cocked an eyebrow at Applejack’s referring to her as the mare, but she let it slide just this once. The question of ‘who is she’ came back to her, along with the smile it produced prior. This was definitely one she wanted to answer, but wouldn’t have mentioned had she not been asked.

“Well you probably know her, Pinkie,” she said, addressing the original inquirer, “seeing as how you know just about everypony in Ponyville…”

Her five friends leaned in close, each holding her breath at the suspense.

“Her name is…” Rainbow looked away, as everypony else’s eyes widened, as she looked back towards Pinkie, who waited with the big grin. “Summer Breeze.”

Immediately upon hearing this, Pinkie sprang up on her hind hooves in her seat, and began clapping and dancing and twirling around.

“Yes YES! I DO know her! She’s so super-duper awesome!”

Then, blinking twice in thought, she turned them into flirting eyes and waved with her hoof. “Not bad, Dashie.”

The others seemed lost, glancing from one to the other, wondering just who this mysterious mare was. Noticing that, Pinkie drew away from the others saying: “Seriously? None of you?”

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity gave both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash an apologetic smile. Applejack, however, was lost in thought, as she searched her memories.

“I threw her the Welcome to Ponyville Party just last year!” Pinkie moaned, saddened by the idea that her friends could forget any of her countless parties. Rainbow Dash kept quiet, seeing if any of her friends had even the slightest clue.

Twilight pondered on, when it hit her.

“Oh my gosh! I remember that party! While you went around hosting, the girls and I decided to give her some space: me especially, being royalty and all. I didn’t want her to feel intimidated. We just thought we’d let her ease herself in and—”

Twilight found herself cut off by the ticking of tsks from Pinkie, “I’m surprised at you all,” she said, giving her friends a judging stare. “You don’t just wait for newcomers to come to you. You run to them with open hooves and say ‘WELCOME!!!’”

Applejack seemed to be the most embarrassed by this. “Aww hayseed,” she muttered, catching Pinkie’s attention.

“You’re actually the only one excused, AJ,” Pinkie said.

“Oh?”

“It was zap-apple season at Sweet Apple Acres. You were busy all day bucking down the zap-apples before they disappeared. Can’t make that sweet jam without them, right?” she finished her point, alleviating Applejack of any fault. Pinkie then went on to Fluttershy, who flinched as Pinkie started talking about her, “and Fluttershy’s okay too, I guess, `cause you know she is super-duper shy with new ponies.”

Filled with a sense of redemption, Fluttershy nodded. “Thank you for understanding, Pinkie.”

“Yoouu’re welcome!” Pinkie replied back, and continued. “And then, lastly, we have Dashie.” Rainbow knew where this was going, offering a smile of consent for Pinkie to go on.

“Rainbow’s allowed to be shy too, seeing, you know, how much of a super special secret crush she has on Breezy!” Rainbow blushed at Pinkie’s cute nickname for her certain secret somepony, almost offended that Pinkie would call her that. With Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie being thus exempt from fault, that left only two more, as Twilight and Rarity looked at each other. Rarity came out to Twilight, somewhat abashed,

“I suppose you and I, dear, do take the lead in our circle.”

Twilight nodded back, not saying a word, recalling how giving the new pony space was an ill-fated decision. Before another awkward silence could befall the car, Applejack spoke up,

“Welp, what’s past is past now. ‘All water under the bridge,’ as Granny Smith would say.”

“Applejack’s right,” Fluttershy supported. “We may not have gotten to know Summer Breeze then, but we’re here now talking about her, right?” She directed the question towards Pinkie as moderator of the Q&A Time. Pinkie then pointed to the pony sitting to Fluttershy’s left, to whom Fluttershy said, “Oh my, yes, well…I suppose it’s your turn now, Rarity.”

Rarity jumped right on that, and saw this as a sort of second chance in getting to know this Summer Breeze.

“So, tell us about her!” She demanded to know right away.

Rainbow was quiet for a moment, then narrowed her eyes and smirked. This had left Rarity puzzled as to the cause of such a look. She waited for Rainbow to say something: anything, really. The uncomfortable silence was brought to an end as a long, drawn out hum reached Rarity’s ear. She saw it was Pinkie Pie who had been making the inquisitive sound.

“Oh!” Rarity realized, rephrasing her petition to a question with a more neutral tone, “I’m sorry, dear. What is she like?”

Rainbow first snickered, sharing a distant hoof bump with Pinkie.

“Well, first, she’s athletic. Like, really really athletic!”

Applejack elbowed Rainbow and dropped a comment: “Well, that makes sense, thinking of you.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow agreed, “she’s so quick and lasting on her hooves. You got to see to believe!”

“Sounds to me like she’s an earth pony,” Twilight observed, turning to see an indignant Pinkie.

“Were you even there at the party?” Pinkie asked. Twilight bit her lip, reminded of the black mark on her. Rainbow only seemed to notice Pinkie talking, but not what exactly she said, as she got right back to talking.

“She’s got to be the fastest runner in all of Equestria!”

Applejack chuckled at what was just said. “Sounds like a smart match then, seeing as you’re the fastest flyer.”

Rainbow blinked, making her friends realize how much she didn’t see the parallel.

“You think?”

‘Think what?’ was on her friends’ minds. That Rainbow was the fastest flyer or that the match between her and Summer seemed smart? ‘Maybe a little bit both’, they each decided. This was sounding like a lot more than just a crush.

Applejack chuckled. “So how fast you reckon she is?”

“AJ! Your tur—” Pinkie broke into the sentence, but Applejack resisted firmly.

“I don’t care, Cousin Pinks! I really don’t! I wanna know!”

Seeing in her mind’s eye the fierce, static lightning bolt that had sparked between the feuding fourth cousins, Rainbow had to pick a side. The decision was by no means difficult.

“Whoa girls, we’re cool! I’ll take it,” she said, causing Pinkie to break from the staring match with Applejack. Seeing this was about Rainbow and Summer and not about her running the show, Pinkie smiled sheepishly, and returned to her seat. It took Dash some time to think it over, whilst at the same time daydreaming of her.

“Well,” she finally said, relieving her friends with the knowledge that she was still with them, “I think I’ve seen her running a good 70 miles an hour, for THREE hours! And that’s without all the boring train stuff Twi was talking about.” The way she said an hour had made Twilight wince, then roll her eyes.

“Per hour,” Twilight corrected. “70 miles per hour, is what you meant to say.”

This earned a roll of Rainbow Dash’s eyes. “Whatever, Egghead.”

With Twilight’s use of proper grammar satisfied, Twilight resumed the conversation. “But that’s actually quite impressive! The fastest runner I knew before today was back in my foalhood. I got to see him, Roadbolt was the name, at the Canterlot Racetrack with Princess Celestia during my studies and—” She stopped for a moment, noticing the strange looks she was being given. “… Well, it’s more like I was forced to go. ‘You need to get out more, come with me to the tracks’” she mimicked someone else’s voice. It was clearly not a happy day for her, but she still remembered certain details. “Anyway... Roadbolt broke top records that day, at a maximum speed of 53.241 miles an hour…PER HOUR!” Twilight blushed, hoping a fake cough would provide enough distraction. Nopony seemed to notice, so she concluded, “If what you say is accurate, Rainbow, she could be famous!”

“Oh no-no-no-no! Summer wouldn’t let that happen, she’s much too modest!” Pinkie Pie rose up against the conclusion. Twilight chewed on that thought.

Summer’s humble, huh? So she’s not a show off like Rainbow typically is, therefore Rainbow’s pride isn’t crushed… ‘crush’? No, so far the basis of her crush rests on how much of an athlete she is, possibly comparable to Rainbow, thereby finding an equal to admire? But if Summer’s not a show off, how did Rainbow…Ahh!

Twilight had her question, and a good question at that. Pinkie had been watching Twilight think up until she had the look of epiphany, and said,

“So now that’s all settled...Twilight!”

“Yes,” Twilight said, with a proud smile. “Rainbow, you just told us, as far as you know, that Summer’s approximate speed is 70 miles per hour, but after I suggested how she could go down in history as the fastest runner, assuming you were accurate, Pinkie announced that she’s too modest to hold such a title.” Rainbow was baffled at the thesis, wondering where this was heading. Twilight continued, “That makes no sense! Which tells me you had some sort of secret access to her personal life when nopony else was looking.” Rainbow was beginning to understand the direction of Twilight’s thought process, and readied her answer to the probable question. With a sly expression, Twilight asked, “So, what’s the story behind how you found out how fast she is?”

Twilight’s question caused everypony to strike wide eyes at Rainbow Dash. The pegasus did seem to have some explaining to do.

“Well, for starters,” Rainbow Dash said, “you were right, Pinkie. I was shy at the party, `cause I did have a …crush. I knew she was awesome even before that day.”

“Oh?” Twilight asked, a question Pinkie Pie chose not to count.

“Yeah,” Dash continued. “I first saw her the very day she moved to Ponyville. Sunshower and Derpy, well, they were struggling with a sofa.” She chuckled at the memory of the two goofs. “So, I swooped in to lend a hoof, and that’s when I saw her. She stepped out, and I gawked! Just the way she was built, and when she bent down to smell the rose…”

Twilight stopped her. “I don’t think we need to hear about—”

“Please, can’t you see she’s prefacing here?!” Rarity exclaimed. From Twilight, she turned to Rainbow, declaring softly: “It must have been love at first sight.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash confirmed in a whisper. “It really was…” Rarity and Fluttershy joined heads as the let out a gentle, “Awww!”

Quickly coming back to herself, Rainbow went on. “That’s when I saw her cutie mark! I couldn’t tell for sure at first, but it looked like a pair of forehooves, mid-run. Doesn’t take an egghead to figure out what her special skill was.”

Twilight was getting impatient, “Rainbow?”

“I’m getting there, I promise! …I took off before she could see me. That was the first day I saw Summer Breeze, four days before the welcome party.” She sighed, and looked down. “I couldn’t even help bring the sofa in to say ‘hi’. Been a year now, but I’ve never had the guts to even approach her.” This only added more mystery for Twilight. So much for the secret ongoing love affair hypothesis. Rainbow continued, “So, two days later, I was in the middle of bringing clouds into Ponyville, when I saw her again. She was running out of town, so I got curious and followed. Summer was just bolting away, like she was running for her life. I looked back for any sign of trouble: Parasprites, timberwolves, an angry mob, Pinkie Pie—”

“HEY!” exclaimed the named mare.

“But there was nothing coming after her,” Rainbow resumed, “So I thought she must have hurrying to get somewhere. I kept myself high up, hoping she didn’t notice me, because…I don’t know. I just had to see where she was heading.”

“Spying. I should have figured,” Twilight summed up.

“Yeah,” Rainbow said with a blush, ashamed, but she continued. “But anyway, Summer just kept running for hours, so long I had to stop flapping my wings and start gliding. It didn’t seem like she was going anywhere, so eventually I thought ‘Okay, this is getting weird now!’, but it was still amazing to see her just keep going!”

“And ‘70’?” Twilight honed in, getting now just how strong a runner this was, but still wanting to know how Rainbow landed on that number.

“Right, so... Riding the wind now, I flew overhead of Summer to check her speed. I knew how fast I was going, and wasn’t the least bit surprised, `cause I’m awesome!” She broke into a pose oozing of smugness, then broke from her haughty expression. “But it was amazing Twilight! I’ve never seen an earth pony go that fast, and for that long, too! I had to see this through to the end.”

She was getting excited now, as Twilight became captivated herself by this account. She had her answer now, but wanted to hear more. Applejack was getting impressed by this time also, and she dropped a comment,

“Golly, Rainbow! I was led to believe she could outrun me, but it sounds like she nearly ran your wings off too!”

“I know, right?!” Rainbow Dash enthused. “I mean, I outflew ex-wonderbolt Wind Rider’s wing record, and I can break the color spectrum in short bursts, but keeping up that long with Summer Breeze was just rough on these feathers.” She paused for a moment to wobble her wings a bit, reminded of that past soreness.

“The day was, like, almost over, but it looked like she was increasing her speed, so I can be way off with what I guessed before,” Rainbow admitted, making Twilight take a hoof to her mouth. “That’s when I felt she must have been sprinting for the finish line. ALL THE WAY OUT THERE, all the way into the San Palomino Desert.”

Rainbow looked proud for a moment, resting the back of her head on crossed hooves. Whether her pride was in herself or in that certain secret somepony of hers was undetermined. Her friends were silent, wondering how such a pony as Summer could even exist, as an earth pony anyhow. It seemed so surreal to them, beyond natural. Even potential magic steroids were on Twilight’s mind for the moment.

“She never stopped,” Applejack muttered to herself. This didn’t escape Dash’s ears.

“No, not ever! The only way she rested seemed to be by slowing her pace from time to time. She walked when the terrain got rough, but I never once saw her stop.”

It seemed Rainbow Dash was finished with her story, but Twilight had yet to satisfy her curiosity.

“And then…” Twilight said, hinting at the continuation as ‘what happened next?’ Rainbow looked like she was in a peaceful trance, but jolted back at those two words from Twilight. She offered an apologetic smile.

“Uh, sorry, Twi. I was kind of…somewhere else.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Twilight teased. “I’d like you to conclude this now. Take us to the finish line.”

“Right. So, Summer Breeze entered the desert, going... Celestia knows where.” Rainbow took a hoof to her chin in thought. “Actually, I don’t even think the Princess herself could have guessed. Anyway, so she was running toward the edge of a cliff. I was totally flipping out, but I didn’t want her to know I was following. ‘What is she doing’ I thought. But that’s when she slowed her pace again. I couldn’t stop, so I swerved right, managing to hide behind a cloud.”

Everypony then nodded frantically, as if pleading Rainbow for more.

“Finally, Summer stopped, right there at the edge. She sat there, looking out west. I did the same, to see what was out there. Didn’t seem like much other than desert, so I looked back at her. She was just... Smiling. So I looked ahead again, and then it hit me. ‘A SUNSET!’ I thought, ‘She ran half day, into the middle of nowhere, TO WATCH A SU—’”

She paused, nearly giving her friends a heart attack. Rainbow indicated the quickened pulse of her friends.

“That’s what I was like as I looked back at her,” Rainbow sighed again, lowering her eyelids. “The wind was picking up, right against her face, and took her mane in the air. It was just like…”

She paused again, searching for just the right words. By this time, the two romance-buddies Fluttershy and Rarity were holding each other’s hooves, being totally immersed into the scene Rainbow was painting for them. Fluttershy could no longer contain herself, so she broke from her polite silence, attempting to finish Rainbow’s thought,

“…The most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?” She received a confirming nod. “Oh, Rainbow, then that’s the most beautiful story I have ever heard!”

Even Rarity was moved: her eyes glistened with tears unshed. She had read better romance novels than this brief account, but the feelings were still there, and what story she perceived in Rainbow just struck her at the heart.

After a moment of admiration washed over the car, and seeing that Rainbow’s story answered Twilight’s question, it was Pinkie Pie’s turn to ask.

“So, Dashie,” she said, letting out the cutest expression she could muster. “What does she look like?” This question was incredibly baffling to Rainbow, made obvious by her own expression.

‘Huh?’ was the one and only thought going through her mind. Hopelessly unwise to Pinkie’s intentions, she finally objected. “What do mean? You’ve met her before. I’ve seen you and her hang out all the time. You were the one who gave her the ticket in the first... place....”

Rainbow looked around, only to see smirking from Twilight and Applejack, while Rarity and Fluttershy simply stared.

“A tad bit on the creepy side, don’t you think, dear?” Rarity asked.

Pinkie was about to shoot Rarity upcoming turn down, but after inhaling to speak, Applejack cut in,

“Oh pipe down there, Pinks. Forget the rules! You got her tickets to the Gala now?”

Pinkie sighed, answering in a voice most unnaturally neutral for her. “Huh! Yes, I was the one who wrote to Princess Celestia requesting the tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala for the second time so that Summer Breeze could go again.”

The others, excluding Rainbow, shared the collective thought, ‘Second Time?’ Pinkie, observing the perplexed gazes, continued, with a roll of her eyes.

“It was a month before the last Gala when she first arrived to Ponyville. After getting to know her and finding out what a super duper friend she can be, I wanted her to go! Sooo I wrote to the Princess asking about it and she agreed. Summer had such a super-duper-ly fantastic time last year, so I wrote to the Princess again and she agreed. Again. Derpy put the ticket in my mailbox, four months ago, and gave it to Summer as a surprise.”

“Ohhh,” the four curious friends, excluding Rainbow Dash, mumbled together in comprehension.

“Rain-bow! My ques-tion!” Pinkie moaned, after so flatly elaborating on how she gave the tickets to Summer. Rainbow was unsure if her friends still remembered how much of a snooper she had accidentally exposed herself to be, but, wishing to move on from the subject, spoke up.

“Right. That. But first, I wanna know why you even asked that.”

Pinkie began to smile again. “Be-caauuse…I want to hear how you describe her,” she said, preserving a look of innocence. “Also, I want our friends to know what she looks like!” Her face suddenly fell into a grimace, and she stared off into space with a scowl, grumbling to anypony listening. “Since, y’know, they didn’t get to meet her at the party.”

Before any visible signs of rekindled guilt, Pinkie began to nuzzle the cowering pegasus seated next to her, reminding Fluttershy of how she was pardoned. Applejack rolled her eyes, and Twilight smiled in feigned innocence as she nervously scratched the back of her neck.

After quickly shaking off the guilt, Rarity brightened up. “I concur, darling. Your answer will make your earlier romantic tale from earlier that much more complete.”

Once again, a fervent blush had dominated Rainbow’s cheeks. She chuckled. “You’ve got a point Rare.” And again, everypony directed smiling faces towards their rosy cheeked friend. Pinkie urged on,

“C’mon, Dashie, tell us all how super cute and pretty she is!” Curious eyes suddenly fell upon Pinkie, who then whined, “Whaaat? She really is pretty. I don’t need to like mares to see that!”

“Um, maybe we should just, um, let Rainbow tell us, you know? Without anypony pressuring her?” Fluttershy suggesting, patting Pinkie’s shoulder. Pinkie shrugged and smiled back in agreement, and let Rainbow go on.

“Thanks, Flutters,” she said. “Well… Her legs are long, for starters, so I guess she is a little taller than me—”

“That would make more sense,” Twilight observed, “as longer legs tend to increase one’s speed.”

Rainbow, with her hooves joined, looked adoringly up to the ceiling. “They do, don’t they?!” She cried, fluttering her eyes with a big grin. That little display came as endearing to her friends. There was no turning back then, Dash had to go on.

“So anyway, her coat is orange, her mane and tail are yellow, and her eyes—”

“Say what now?” Applejack interrupted. Rainbow then looked to Applejack who, looking spooked. “You mean, like…like me?”

Rainbow seemed confused, but it didn’t take her long to understand.

“Oh no! Not like you, AJ,” she claimed, becoming embarrassed by her misleading generalization. “Just, you know, different. Like…”

“Perhaps this will help out,” Rarity’s voice was heard, causing Rainbow to turn, and to see a chart held out before the unicorn by a well-known bluish aura.

Rainbow Dash scanned the chart, which displayed numerous small, square tiles of various colors, each accompanied by a unique name. It was a color reference chart. She began to skim through the many names: Coquelicot, Eucalyptus, Hot Magenta, Mystic Maroon, Periwinkle, (Princess Perfume?), Quinacridone Magenta, Taupe Gray, Ultramarine Blue, Zinnwaldite Brown, and so many more. Rainbow looked up with shock in her eyes, only to see the smiling fashionista, whose horn glew, nodding in encouragement. She looked back down to the chart, then back up to Rarity. Rainbow brows fell flat, as she returned an annoyed glare.

“Seriously?” she asked. Only Rarity would carry such an item with her everywhere she went.

Her smile ever resilient, Rarity brushed off the question. “Never you mind that now, just look.”

Rainbow, saying nothing, rolled her eyes, but ultimately acquiesced and began to study the chart. It didn’t take much time, as two colors jumped out at her. She marked them with a pencil provided by Rarity, as Rarity read them off to the group.

Using Rainbow’s earlier general color choices, Rarity reviewed the marked selections “Let’s see... Oooh.” She seemed impressed, “Looks as if Summer Breeze has a Butter Yellow/Orange coat. As for her mane and tail, well, they are just a gorgeous Yellow!”

“So…not like me?” Applejack was lost, urging Rarity to clarify the distinction.

“Yes, your coat leans more towards a Rajah Orange/Yellow. And while Summer seems to wield a bright sunny yellow, your mane and tail are actually instead Shalimar, a much lighter shade…or are you more a pale, light grayish olive…?”

Rarity’s voice drifted off, as did her eyes from Applejack onto her color reference chart, forsaking the world around her. Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked on with blank faces, then glanced at each other. Rainbow then said hesitantly,

“I always thought of you as a hay-head, but hey, ‘apples and oranges’ right? I mean—” She suddenly looked away, and Applejack shot her a censoring glare. While this happened and Rarity was gone from Equestria, a faint snickering caught everypony else’s curiosity. They glanced around the car, unsure as to the source of the sound. They then turned to Fluttershy, who was seen with tightly shut eyes, doing her best muffle herself with her hooves. When the pegasus took a peek through them, her eyes shot open and the snickering stopped with an,

“Eep!” . Now she hid behind her rosy pink mane, and contritely whispered, “s…s-Sorry, AJ. Um…Rainbow, I don’t think that helps mu—” She slapped a hoof to her mouth and her blushing cheeks inflated. It was no use, as Fluttershy’s face slowly retreated deeper into her mane until she was seen no more. Now safe in her own little space, laughter burst through her lips, hopelessly unable to contain herself.

Laughter from Fluttershy was not an unknown occurrence, but in previous instances, it came out much gentler than how it was now. This was fuller, livelier, and even more infectious. Not having experienced immunity to this new phenomenon, Applejack’s dimples began to peak and she let out a throaty chuckle. Rarity had come back from her trance to find all her friends laughing, leaving her puzzled as to what had transpired in the past few minutes, until she, too, was coerced into laughing along. After the hilarity died down again, Rarity got back to the subject at hoof,

“Well, now I certainly have a better picture of this Summer Breeze of yours, Rainbow. I can imagine how you’ve taken quite a liking for her.” The others offered Rainbow a concurring hum, Applejack sounding the softest, as she was still grappling with the slight color differences made earlier.

“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow replied with a hint of sarcasm. “Just call me Rainbow Crush now why don’t you.” Her imponent smile seemed to suggest she was serious, and would be open such teasing.

“We’ll get to that later, dear,” Rarity joked with a wink. “Now, let’s peer into her soul,” she continued, tilting her face down, still looking up. Rainbow was lost as to Rarity’s meaning.

“She’s talking about her eyes, Dash. Ever hear the phrase ‘eyes are scrying orbs to the soul’?” Twilight revealed, flatly.

Rainbow blinked. “Um, not really, no,” she admitted, causing Twilight to smack her face. “But now that you mention it,” she went on, blushing again, “I can’t say that’s wrong.”

As Twilight’s hoof finished journeying down her face, she decided to let ignorance to her Star Swirl the Bearded reference slide. She pursed her lips to Rainbow, giving a swirl of the hoof, motioning her to proceed, and also intending to lend a hint regarding the reference. Rainbow Dash would never catch on to Twilight’s Star Swirl gesture, but she went on.

“Yeah, so, Summer’s eyes... Ugh, they sure are something.”

Pinkie was getting really impatient by this point. “Oh, c’mon! Tell them, tell them, tell them!”

“Okay, alright!” Rainbow lashed out. After sighing, she continued, with a hint of awe. “Blue. They’re just so awesomely blue!”

“Oh?” Rarity poked in. “Anything like mine, perhaps?”

Pinkie giggled at this. “As if!”

Not taking kindly to how Pinkie answered, Rarity thrust her face away from the group with a contemptuous hmph. This amused Applejack, and she chuckled at the salty unicorn. This was not lost to Rarity, which pretended not to notice a moment, but eventually shot out a pointing hoof at Applejack as she hissed out,

“APPLE COBBLER!” Caught completely off guard by the direct reminder, Applejack’s laughs were brought to a sudden halt. Remembering the discussion of Cousin Cobbler from earlier, her face fell annoyed, and she crossed her hooves. As Applejack slouched in her seat, she spaced out as though retreating into her own space, and muttered,

“‘Water under the bridge’, that’s what she said, ‘All water under the bridge’!”

The train car experienced another momentary awkward silence, as Rarity reveled in her small victory. Twilight, wishing to move on from the tension, turned back to a withdrawn Rainbow Dash,

“So... Blue like you, Rainbow?” Breaking her attention from little spat between Rarity and Applejack, Rainbow looked down at her body,

“Huh? No, I mean... Closer, I guess, but more…” Rainbow speech faded out as she found the color reference chart levitated before her again by Rarity’s magical aura. Without a second thought, she began scanning the alphabetically arranged colors, almost wishing they were sorted by color instead. At last, she found the color of Summer Breeze’s eyes: the same that Rainbow held dear to her heart. After a check was placed next to the tile, Rarity levitated the chart back to see just what sort of blue Rainbow found so appealing. She drew her face back, revealing an impressed smile.

“Can’t say I’m the least bit surprised,” Rarity said, “since her name is Summer.” Rainbow tilted her head slightly, being confused, as she merely pointed out the color, but spared no time to read the name that accompanied it. “Summer Sky,” Rarity whispered back. “And how appropriated, seeing as you are a pegasus.” She rolled her eyes in amusement at the thought of sky.

“So, not like Rainbow?” Twilight asked, mirroring Applejack’s tone from earlier.

“Columbia,” Rarity answered.

“Who?”

“Rainbow’s coat is Columbia blue, a much lighter cyan.”

Twilight was taken a bit by Rarity’s quick reply. “You have that whole chart memorized don’t you?”

Rarity didn’t say a word, but instead flipped her hair and beamed a knowing smile.. Twilight rolled her eyes, but not wishing to be hypocritical (being herself well studied on a variety of other subjects), she moved the subject back to Rainbow.

“Well, she does sound very beautiful. I never thought I’d ever see you so spellbound like this.” She tittered a moment at her choice of words. “I’m really happy for you, Rainbow.”

Rainbow didn’t respond in words, but returned a thankful smile to Twilight.

Author's Note

PS
If there are any issues, such as accidental plagiarism, or anything of the like, let me know and I will try to correct it.