When I Can Flyby PoppinfreshChaptersI Can Avoid the IssuesI Can Make the Hurt StopWhen We Can FlyI Can Avoid the IssuesWhen I can fly, I can get away from everything. And sometimes, I have to get away from everything. Not because I’m sad, or because I’m mad or scared. I just need to get away. I step out of my home. The clouds cushioning my hooves, pushing down a little but still giving me a steady footing. I stretch my wings, and I inhale a breath of fresh air. It fills me with a certain kind of peace, a peace I only know when I’m in the air. The sun is shining, causing the morning dew on the grass below my home to sparkle and shine with life. Sort of like her eyes. I need to get away. My wings gently lift me off, pushing harder more steadily the higher I climb. The high altitude has on odd effect on the temperature. The air around me is getting colder, and the moisture in the air is something I have to worry about so that my wings don’t accidentally get too much water on them, but if I angle myself right, facing into the sun, the sun becomes warmer. I love it, feeling the sun warming me up, while the world around me grows colder. It feels just like the last time she hugged me. I keep flying higher. I need to get away. I’m not scared, and I’m not angry. I’m too good for that, I don’t back away from a challenge, and that’s all this is. My wings pump a little harder, taking me higher. At this point, I’m above the clouds that dot the sky for the ponies below, I stop my ascent and float for a few moments, taking in my surroundings. The clouds speckle out in small clumps, stretching out in this fashion for miles. Perfect for anything ranging from providing small bits of shade for the inhabitants below, or for sleepy pegasus ponies to take a nap. I start to glide over them, every now and again I dive down a little and graze the clouds with my front hooves, sprinkling them with condensation, then I glide back up. Today isn’t about going fast or practicing the kind of tricks that have found me in that familiar hospital bed so many times. Today is about getting away, straying farther than my thoughts can, and enjoying life in the ‘stop and smell the flowers’ kind of lane. Up here, I’m as light as a feather, I can do whatever I want, I can fly, I can make it rain, or I can clear up the clouds and let the sun shine. Up here I can control everything, even my emotions. Up here, I don’t have to worry about thoughts I don’t want to think about catching up to me, because up here, I can outfly them. I can even outfly her. Of course I can outfly her, I could outfly anypony if I wanted to. I just mean that I can outfly… Thinking about her. Guess I’m not flying fast enough though. I take a steep dive, pushing myself and my wings to go faster and faster. The wind in my mane has it streaked back. I’m leaving my trademark trail of color behind me. My eyes are watering, I’m probably a few miles an hour short of creating another sonic rainboom. That’s ok though, not many ponies can make me fly that fast, I’ve only ever done it for a few ponies in my life. First Fluttershy at the Junior Speedster’s camp, then for Rarity at the Young Fliers Competition in Cloudsdale. BOOM. …And now for her. I pull up sharply, the force almost snaps my back and my wings. I start climbing towards the sky, my wings flapping furiously but not quite in sync as I desperately try to get as high up as I can as fast as I can. I guess I just didn’t fly fast enough is all, but I can fly faster, I know I can. Faster than a sonic rainboom? Don’t be silly, Dash. NO. Don’t be scared, Dash. I can fly as fast as I need to. I can do whatever it takes, whatever it takes to keep her and everything else out of my head. I’ll do whatever I have to, if it means I’m not taking a relaxing flight anymore then fine, I’ll start practicing and training. It’s worked before, every time I’m scared all I have to do is train a little harder. Make myself a little better, a little more impressive. But impressive for who exactly? Everypony of course! I am Rainbow Dash! I am the Element of Loyalty! I am arguably the world’s fastest flyer! I’m impressive for everypony, because I work to impress EVERYPONY. Not just one filly! Or even a few! I work so that the whole of Equestria, the whole world! Will know who I am and STAND IN AWE. Not just some pretty egghead who spends more time buried in books and crammed up in a tree than she spends in the real world will think I’m cool! I practice, I train, so that everypony will talk about me with the kind of respect usually reserved for Spitfire or Soarin! I don’t train just for some stupid egghead. I train for everypony, the most important of them being ME. Not some stupid egghead. So I start training. I start dashing, and rolling and twisting, and zigg-zagging… I start doing everything. There is no method to my madness. Just pure, distilled awesomeness, streaking across the sky. I dart through a cloud, breaking it up, then I dive under another one pulling up sharply so that I can arc over the next one. Agility, that’s what I’m working on now. If I can’t speed faster than my thoughts, then I’ll fly around them. It’s working, too. I’m not thinking about her anymore, just my flying. I’m not thinking about her, or her soft, purple mane, or her delightful laugh. Not thinking about how she helped introduce me to reading, letting me get lost in the pages of Daring Do the same way I could get lost in her deep, sparkling eyes… The way they light up with excitement and life over a new book or spell, the same way mine light up when I learn a new trick… Still not working. Oh hayseeds! Guess I’ll just have to fly harder and faster. That’s ok though, I can do that. I start to add twists to what I’ve been practicing, adding a barrel roll here, a loop-de-loop there. I’m doing great too! Boy when she sees what I can do-! Time to turn it up a notch. I start racing toward the ground, my eyes tearing up again at the speed. I heard about this trick somewhere before, something one of the first wonderbolts ever, did. I’m going to gather up as much energy behind me as I can, focusing all of the light behind me, and turning it into a giant beam. Then, as I reach the ground, I’ll throw out my wings suddenly and all of the light behind me will follow the subsequent gust, spreading out and showering the land below in hailstorm of flashing light. I clear my eyes, this is going to look amazing. Hayseeds again. Twilight Sparkle’s library is right below me, and is much closer than it should be. I throw out my wings attempting to stop myself before it’s too late. All I do is slow myself down though, it looks like the branches are gonna have to break this fall. The last thing I see before I black out is the dew on the leaves reflecting the shower of light I created when I tried to stop my fall. I’m happy, my trick still worked. My dreams are frantic. Everypony I know and love is laughing at me. I can’t see their faces, but I can hear them laughing, and I know who they are instinctively. I can hear one pony crying though, but I don’t know who exactly it is. Also, the sky is exploding for some reason, which is kind of weird. “Rainbow Dash… Dashy?” I wake up, confused, disoriented, and in a lot of pain. What’s going on? Where am I? Who’s talking-? Oh. “Hey egghead…” I say shakily, “What’s hangin'?” “Well, as of ten minutes ago, you were.” She responds. “I pulled you out of the branches when you crashed into the library and brought you into my room. You’re pretty hurt, Dash.” I look at the source of my pain. I’d rather not describe exactly how my wing looks. “Ow…” I squeak out pathetically. “You bet ow,” She says, “But, I may have some good news Dash, if you’re willing to let me try something on you.” You can try anything you want on me, anytime. “And what’s that, egghead?” I say suspiciously. “Well, I’ve been reading about this new healing spell…” She says hesitantly. “Go on…” I say even more suspiciously. “And well… truth be told, I need somepony to practice on.” She laughs a little, “I was just waiting for you to crash into my home sometime so that maybe I could get a chance.” She’s been waiting for me… Oh, don’t be an idiot, she’s just joking around. “Well, if it’s faster than being stuck in a hospital and being forced to read more books, then do whatever you have to do. I don’t think I’ll luck out like I did with Daring Do last time.” “You might be surprised at what you like Dashy.” I wish you’d be surprised with what you like. Wow, that was stupid. “Whatever egghead, just do what you need to do.” “Alright, alright, I’ll try not to put in you in more pain by talking about reading.” She steps back from me and starts to concentrate, her horn glowing. Surprisingly enough, my wing is glowing too. I clench my teeth, waiting for the inevitable pain that will come. It doesn’t though. After ten seconds of creepy glowing, She opens her eyes and my wing is completely back to normal. “…Wow.” Is all I can blurt out. “Yeah, wow is right. I didn’t think it would work that well.” “Well then what did you think was gonna happen!?” “Take it easy Dash” She laughs, “I just thought that I was going to speed up the healing process, not completely finish it.” I spread my wing and flap it a little. “Looks like you did finish it though.” “Looks like I did.” Man is She amazing. She tries to heal my wing, just a little bit, and on her first attempt she completely fixes it! She could be a doctor! She could be my doctor… Time to go. “Well, uh, thanks Twilight,” I say, hopping off her bed and beginning my speedy exit, “I really appreciate it, I do, but I have to get back to practicing. Ya know, Wonderbolts and competitions and all that.” “Oh is that what you were doing?” “What.” I say stupidly. “Practicing. Did you make that shower of lights before you crashed?” “Um, yeah.” “They were beautiful.” She thought they were beautiful. “Thanks, I guess.” I start to wander out the door like a foal before I realize it. I can’t go fast enough, I can’t out maneuver it, even when I’m falling uncontrollably I can’t avoid it. My whole life whenever I felt this way, I’ve done everything I possibly could to help my situation, except for the one thing I should have done. And it took this brilliant, beautiful egghead to show me the right answer, even if she doesn’t know she showed me. I need to face it, I need to stand up and lay it out. I need to stop avoiding her just because She scares me now, and brings up emotions I don’t know how to cope with. I’m going to tackle this head on. I’m going to tell her, I’m going to tell her the one thing I’ve never been able to say to anypony, even when I want to say it and mean it. And boy do I mean it more than ever now. “Twilight hold up a sec!” I say, turning around. She looks back at me, “Yeah, Dashy?” Here goes nothing. …*gulp.* “Twilight Sparkle, I love you.” I Can Make the Hurt StopWhen I can fly, I can make the hurt stop. I barely know how to describe what I’m feeling. It’s not pain. Everything just… hurts. The last few hours I’ve been wandering around Ponyville in a daze. I think other ponies looked worried, I think Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy even tried to talk to me, but everything from the past couple of hours is just a weird collage of voices, ponies and hurt. When I was a really young filly, and I met Fluttershy at Junior Speedsters camp, I used to think about what it would be like if we… if we… were together. But every time I would let myself wander into those thoughts, I’d remind myself of what she would probably say, or how she’d react to me, and I’d get that same old feeling. That hurt. It never hurt this much, though. I used to just feel some weird dull ache where my heart is, but now it’s like, duller? I don’t know, it feels the same as it always did, it’s just worse. Everything is cloudy and bland, and I can’t think at all. The only thing I can think is about is, well, stuff I don’t want to think about. I look up at the sky, clouds are rolling in. Guess the other weather ponies have a big storm planned today. That’s where I want to be, I want to be above the storm clouds. It’s one of my favorite times to fly, right as a huge storm is raining down. I can look out and watch lightning streak across thick, blackened clouds, as the thunder rolls after it, causing booming tidal waves of sound so loud and so heavy that they make me think I might get knocked out of the sky by them. Yup. I’m gonna get there. I don’t have a whole lot of time though, those clouds are coming together fast, and I don’t want to fly through a storm. I plant my hooves firmly on the ground, getting ready. My wings stretch out and lift up high as I bend my knees. WHOOSH. And I’m off, blasting myself fifty feet into the air easily with my initial take off. I start working on getting my wings into a good momentum. There’s a pretty strong wind working against me, so I need to use strong, steady, pumps of my wings if I’m going to break past it. As I climb, I see the clouds getting thicker, and the wind starts to blow harder. Good, I like a little challenge. I start to push harder, working to get past gravity pulling me down, and the wind blowing me back. I see the last ray of sunshine closing off, it’s disappearing quickly. I push harder, my wings starting to ache. I can feel blood coursing through the individual veins in wings. But I have to get up past this storm, or where else will I go then? Ten more feet, that’s it. I’m surrounded by the clouds, it’s now or never, the wind has stopped but I only have a few seconds. Just in time. I eek through just as the opening closes up behind me. A close call, but don’t the most exciting moments always happen when there’s the most chance of not making it? They are the most exciting, and they’re the best. It’s what I live for, that adrenaline rush. It clears out your head, filling it with pure energy. Nothing else matters because I can only live in one moment at that point, the moment of now. Yeah, adrenaline is good. Excitement is good. Danger is good. Sure is calm up here though. I guess the storm hasn’t really gotten going yet, I’ll have to wait a few minutes before I get to watch the light show underneath me, and feel the sound push through me. A few minutes, that’s all. A few minutes of peace and quiet, a few minutes of just me and my thoughts… She laughed. Not like, in a mean way but She did laugh. There I was. Standing there, my eyes full of determination, knowing that I was finally doing what was best for me. There I was owning up to all of the fear that had kept me down my entire life, and tackling it head on in a display of bravery that surprised even me. And She laughed. CRACK. The first shot of lightning followed almost instantly by thunder flies directly beneath me and what feels like directly through my heart. Looks like the fun is starting. I can enjoy my storm now. I can just fly above the clouds and watch everything happen below me. I start to glide over the storm picking up speed as the lighting strikes start to occur more often. I’m gonna go fast, faster than thunder, faster than lightning, and most definitely faster than my own thoughts. If it’s worked before in my life it can work again. Yeah, it’ll work out better than the rest of my day. I’ll have so much fun up here tonight I won’t even care the next morning. I won’t care that she laughed at me. CRACK. I won’t care that She dismissed my moment of honest admission as a side effect of the spell she had cast. CRACK. I won’t care that Spike thought I was joking and tried to congratulate me on a joke well delivered. CRACK. I won’t care that She smiled softly with that horrible condescending look in her eyes, as she joked and told me that maybe I should go to a hospital after all. CRACK. And most importantly, I won’t care that She turned me away. That She sent me out the door, when I needed her most. I won’t care that She wouldn’t even hear me out as I stuttered out pitiful pleas to let me stay and explain myself, that she just pushed me out the door without a care in the world. That the one time I revealed a part of myself that for the longest time even I had denied! Sharing a secret part of me I had always expected to keep deep down and away from everypony! Exposing my fear of rejection and failure! I won’t care that I was laughed off as mentally ill! I WON’T CARE. I DON’T CARE. CRACK, CRACK, CRACK! I nose dive as hard as I possibly can, screaming through the thick clouds. It takes me about four seconds to get out of the clouds, but it’s four seconds I spend swimming through chaos and energy. I can see nothing, I can feel nothing, I am the sky itself for those four seconds, and I am not happy. I shoot out of the darkness of the storm and see only blinding white light. A giant sound wave pummels me from behind sending me spiraling out of control as the wind takes me in hard uncontrolled circles as I fall. I don’t care. Let me fall, let the sky do what it wants, I have no control anyway. Maybe I am mentally ill, after all I did just fly straight through a giant storm cloud. I don’t care though, I just want to let everything go. I only want one thing. I want to let Her know that I’m not crazy. At least, I wasn’t as of a few hours ago. A few hours ago, I was thinking more clearly than I had ever been in my life. I said what I needed to be said, and it didn’t matter what She thought. I did what I had to do. I need to let her know that I don’t care. Wait, what am I doing? I’m still falling uncontrollably, getting tossed around in the air as I come closer to the ground. I need to straighten out, I need to get control of myself. At least, until I get my one last order of business out of the way. I straighten my wings out, holding them as steadily as I can. I’m slowing my fall, giving me more stability. It’s easier down here too, the wind doesn’t blow quite as strongly as it does higher up. If I can just catch a good gust of wind, I can use it to fly straight, riding it down and gliding to a safe landing. A few more seconds and I catch a good current. I flip right side up and get a good view of my surroundings. I have a fairly straight shot to glide down to the ground and land in a fast gallop. The road is straight and the ponies I can see look like they’re figuring out my plan because they’re moving to the sides. The road is long too, giving me plenty of time to glide in. In fact, it doesn’t end until this one big tree- Second crash landing at the same place in one day. Weird. The ground is approaching fast. I brace my legs for the impact and pull my body up a little more to create some more wind resistance. I hope I don’t slip on any mud, or my legs are in for a nasty surprise. Whew. My legs connect with the ground in a hard but steady run. I keep my wings out to help keep slowing me down. But my legs keep running as fast as they can, taking me to exactly the place I want to go. It’s only until I start nearing the front door that my legs begin to add to the resistance of my speed. Oh boy, here it comes. This door is gonna hurt. I crash through her front door, skidding to a hard stop and probably destroying the wood beneath me as dig my hooves in. I catch my breath after a few short seconds. “Twilight!” I yell, “Twilight Sparkle!” I look around furiously. Blood from a few cuts and tears are streaming down my face. “Where are you!? We REALLY need to talk!” “She’s right here, sugarcube.” Applejack says with an unusually stern voice, even for her. Applejack? What’s she doing here? I look up, and see Applejack, Rarity, and Her, sitting by the rail guard upstairs. Why are they here? A slumber party I didn’t hear about? Wait. Why is Twilight Sparkle crying? When We Can FlyWhen I can fly, I can make things better. She’s got tears running down her face, just like me. We must look so stupid, the two of us. Both crying with our red eyes and our heavy frowns, trying to make eye contact with each other but looking away as soon as our sights drift too close. Rarity and Applejack are looking between both of us, they have no idea what they should say or do. We’ve all been standing here awkwardly for about thirty seconds. I think I need to say something. “We need to talk, Twilight.” She lowers her head more. “I don’t think that’s a good idea dear.” Rarity says. She’s obviously walking on eggshells here. “I need to talk to Twilight, Rarity.” “Ah don’t think she wants to talk ta anyone right now.” Applejack stands up, getting ready to step in if I push the subject. I get ready for a fight, I need to get this out of the way. After that She and Rarity and Applejack and everypony else can think whatever they want. I’ll leave forever if I have to, I don’t care, just so long as I get a few minutes to say what I have to. I glare at Applejack. She glares back. Rarity awkwardly smiles and steps away a bit. “It’s ok.” Everypony in the room jumps a bit. I don’t know why, but She’s the last pony I expected to speak up about the situation. Even though this is Her and mine’s business. “Rainbow Dash can stay.” “Are ya sure, sugarcube?” Applejack asks. “Yeah, it’s ok Applejack. She can talk to me.” She’s still choking back tears. “Alright then dear, whatever you want. Applejack and I are going to take a short walk over to Sugarcube Corner, if you need us we won’t be far away.” “Thanks, Rarity.” Applejack and Rarity head down the stairs and leave intentionally slowly, eyeing me on the way out. Rarity looks back into the library nervously. "I don't know what this is about dear, but you two obviously have something to work out. Don't worry about Spike either, he's at Sugarcube Corner as well, playing with Applebloom." Applejack leaves me with a warning. “Listen Dash, you and I are friends, always have been, always will be.” She whispers into my ear. “But you really upset that poor thing today. I don’t know what you said, or what you did, but she’s been crying non-stop for the past two hours and there ain’t been nothin’ either of us can do to calm her down. I don’t know why you need to be here, but don’t you dare hurt that poor filly anymore, or you’ll be answerin’ to me. Ya hear?” I shrug her off. Applejack walks out and shuts the door behind her, frustrated. I don’t mean to be jerk, and I feel kind of bad I guess. But I also don’t care, because it’s not any of her business. I need to talk alone, and she should respect that. And it’s not like I’m not hurt either. I’m the one who laid out my feelings on got laughed at! I stood up and did one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done! And I was the one who was LAUGHED AT for it! If She hurts me, Applejack and everypony else is gonna have to deal with me! Ya ‘hear that!?’ I’m brought out of my thoughts by a quiet sniffle. She’s still crying, even though it’s really soft. She’s still crying. Those eyes, glistening with tears, and the light in the room is causing them to shine. She’s looking right at me with those beautiful eyes, and her face, oh that face, it’s so sad just to see Her not smile I think I might start sobbing. All my anger, and all my apathy melts away. I care. I can’t NOT care when she’s crying. I need to do everything I can to fix this. I’ll pour every last bit of energy I have into helping Her, every last second of my life I’ll use to help Her, I’ll sell my soul and spend the rest of eternity on the moon to help Her. I just want to see Her smile again. I just want Her to be happy. I don’t care about what happens to me, I just want to know that She’ll be happy. I can’t live with myself if I know that I made Her sad and I didn’t do everything in my power to make Her happy again. “Are- Are you gonna just stare at me?” I snap out of it again. I’ve been staring, that’s awkward. Hayseeds! I stumble out the best response I can think of. “Uh… no… I guess not…” Why do I have to be so bad at this? “So, are you gonna talk then?” She’s stopped crying, now she’s just looking at me, she looks kind of mad now. How do I handle this? “Uh… yeah… I’ll talk.” She’s still just staring at me. I still don’t know what I should say. “Twilight,” I say sighing, “I- I- I meant what I said.” Her stare gets a little colder. “I meant what I said, and- and- well I still mean it!” Uh oh, I’m not stopping now. “I mean it! All my life whenever I felt this way I hid myself! I’d go and fly, and I’d fly and I’d fly and I’d fly! …I’d fly until I couldn’t think anymore, ‘till I couldn’t feel anymore, ‘till there was nothing left in world and it was just me and the clouds and everypony else was just gone. Then I’d fly some more. It worked really well too, I’ve managed to be happy and enjoy my friends. I’ve hung out with and saved my heroes’ lives. I’ve become an Element of Harmony, and I’ve been to the end of the world and back with all of my friends. And every time I’d start to feel like somepony was becoming more than a friend to me… I’d just fly some more. I can’t let that happen with you, Twilight. I’ve tried to outfly my feelings for you, I’ve done everything I can to try and move on and get over you, but I can’t do it. You’re too- too special to me Twilight!” Here come the tears. “No matter what! I just want you to be happy! I want you to have the most amazing life and meet the most amazing ponies! And I want you to feel like somepony the way I feel about you! And I don’t care what I have to do to give you that! I’ll leave Ponyville forever! I’ll leave Equestria forever! I’ll fly right up and live on the moon forever if I have to! Just promise me that you’ll be happy.” I’m crying really hard now. I’m an emotional wreck, but I already feel better. I said what I had to, and now that I’ve said what I needed, I can leave. I can heal now. I start to stumble out the door, struggling to see past my tears. “Dashy, wait.” The tiniest voice squeaks out behind me. That can’t be Her, that voice seems so small. “I don’t want you to leave. Please, I promise it won’t make me happy if you leave.” I turn around. I’m really confused. I fight past a sob. “You want… me?” “I want you to stay, Dashy.” “I…” I start to walk back in really slowly. “It wouldn’t make me happy if you left. I don’t want you to go. I just, well when you said… I didn’t want to let myself believe it.” Now she’s gonna cry. I’m making up for a lifetime of unexpressed emotion in one night. “I just thought you might be dazed from my spell, or that maybe you were just joking. I was worried that if I took you seriously you might laugh at me like ‘What!? You’re serious?! Take it easy Twi, I’m just fooling around! Can’t take a joke, egghead?’ I didn’t want to let myself think I could ever have you.” I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “You feel that way about me?” She nods quietly. This is hard for me to handle. Two seconds ago I was willing to condemn myself to a life of loneliness and sadness. Now I’m listening to Her- listening to Twilight, and fireworks are going off in my head. Twilight gives me an awkward smile. I’m grinning from ear to ear. “Come here ya egghead!” I jump and fly clear across the room and grab her, tackling her onto her bed in a giant hug. She squeals a little out of surprise. She’s so adorable. I’m on top of her, looking into Twilight’s eyes. “Twilight?” I ask. “Yeah?” She’s smiling back at me. “Can we stop being just friends?” “What do you mean?” I laugh a little, “Like, can we be fillyfriends, ya egghead.” Twilight smiles at me. I love it when she smiles, so much. “I’d like that, Dashy.” Lights explode in my head. WOW! This just happened! Twilight Sparkle, my fillyfriend! This is happening way too fast. What’s going on? This morning I was trying to forget everything and move on with my life. Now I’m smiling and looking into the eyes of the pony I want most. How should I feel? How should act? What should I do? I’m kissing her. Wait, I’m kissing her? I’m kissing Twilight Sparkle! I’m kissing the greatest pony in the world! This. Is. So. Awesome! It’s everything I want it to be. It’s deep, it’s passionate, it’s fun and cute, but it’s also beautiful and perfect. How do I get this much emotion from one kiss!? I pull back. We’re both reeling from sharing that moment with each other. Twilight laughs a little, “That was…” She laughs a little more. I kiss her again. I could do this forever, she’s so perfect. “Hey Twi.” I whisper gently to her. “Yeah?” “I wanna show you something.” “What is it?” “Here.” I stand up and open a large window. “Get on my back.” Twilight gets on my back, she’s already holding on tight. She’s so perfect. We take off out the window. The storm is over, and the other weather ponies have moved the clouds out of the way. It’s just a fantastic, starry night. I want to show Twilight what life is like in the sky, I want to share my world with her. It’s a little more difficult to fly with her on my back, but I can do it. I can do anything now, anything. “This is amazing!” Twilight is amazed at what she sees. It’s pretty awesome. Down below Ponyville is letting off a small, warm glow. In the distance, Canterlot is a glowing star. Up this high, we’re completely surrounded by bright sparkling stars. “You see this every day?” She asks in wonder. “Yup, every day. I’ve always loved being in the air.” “I can see why! This is simply incredible! I need to work on a flight spell as soon as possible now! The maps I could draw, the observations I could make! I never realized how wonderful this is! Rainbow Dash, promise me you’ll take me up here more often?” “You just said you were gonna learn a flying spell you crazy pony.” Twilight nuzzles against me more, “Yeah, but I want you take me up here too.” She’s so perfect. “Twilight, I’ll take you up here any time you want. You just ask. When I can fly, I can clear out my head, and I can fix any problem. And when I’m with you, I don’t have any problems. I’ve never been able to share this with anypony before, and I want to share this with you again and again and again.” “Please do.” She says, drifting off a little. I smirk a little. “Alright sleepyhead. But first let’s get you in bed, it’s been a long day.” “It has been, hasn’t it…” I fly back down to her library, landing as softly as I can in the window. I set her down gently in her bed, I can’t resist climbing in after her and holding her close to me. It’s been a crazy day, and it all catches up with me as I realize how tired I am. There’s a lot to do, and a lot to talk about. I wanna talk to Twilight forever, and listen to her talk. I want to know everything about her that I didn’t already know. I want to spend the rest of my life with her, I want do more amazing things with her as we create memories that grow sweeter with age. But for now, there’s just tomorrow. We’ll sort everything out with Rarity and Applejack, and I’ll apologize for scaring everypony in town by almost killing myself. Looking back on it now, I think flew next to a lightning bolt when I exited the clouds. Ponies must have thought I was struck before I glided down. Today was a crazy day. But now I’m here. I’m holding the love of my life in my arms as she peacefully falls asleep. I’m really looking forward to everything I’m going to do in my life now. I know that no matter what, me and Twilight are gonna make it. I know that it sounds crazy. Me and Twi only just started sharing our feelings for each other, but I feel something between us, and it’s more than anything I’ve ever felt. It’s absolutely magical. It would gross me out and I’d normally make fun of myself if it didn’t feel so perfect. But it does. It’s absolutely perfect. She’s absolutely perfect. Boy am I sleepy. I’m almost completely out. “Twilight Sparkle?” “Yeah?” She’s almost asleep too. “I love you.” “I love you, too, Rainbow Dash.”
I Can Avoid the IssuesWhen I can fly, I can get away from everything. And sometimes, I have to get away from everything. Not because I’m sad, or because I’m mad or scared. I just need to get away. I step out of my home. The clouds cushioning my hooves, pushing down a little but still giving me a steady footing. I stretch my wings, and I inhale a breath of fresh air. It fills me with a certain kind of peace, a peace I only know when I’m in the air. The sun is shining, causing the morning dew on the grass below my home to sparkle and shine with life. Sort of like her eyes. I need to get away. My wings gently lift me off, pushing harder more steadily the higher I climb. The high altitude has on odd effect on the temperature. The air around me is getting colder, and the moisture in the air is something I have to worry about so that my wings don’t accidentally get too much water on them, but if I angle myself right, facing into the sun, the sun becomes warmer. I love it, feeling the sun warming me up, while the world around me grows colder. It feels just like the last time she hugged me. I keep flying higher. I need to get away. I’m not scared, and I’m not angry. I’m too good for that, I don’t back away from a challenge, and that’s all this is. My wings pump a little harder, taking me higher. At this point, I’m above the clouds that dot the sky for the ponies below, I stop my ascent and float for a few moments, taking in my surroundings. The clouds speckle out in small clumps, stretching out in this fashion for miles. Perfect for anything ranging from providing small bits of shade for the inhabitants below, or for sleepy pegasus ponies to take a nap. I start to glide over them, every now and again I dive down a little and graze the clouds with my front hooves, sprinkling them with condensation, then I glide back up. Today isn’t about going fast or practicing the kind of tricks that have found me in that familiar hospital bed so many times. Today is about getting away, straying farther than my thoughts can, and enjoying life in the ‘stop and smell the flowers’ kind of lane. Up here, I’m as light as a feather, I can do whatever I want, I can fly, I can make it rain, or I can clear up the clouds and let the sun shine. Up here I can control everything, even my emotions. Up here, I don’t have to worry about thoughts I don’t want to think about catching up to me, because up here, I can outfly them. I can even outfly her. Of course I can outfly her, I could outfly anypony if I wanted to. I just mean that I can outfly… Thinking about her. Guess I’m not flying fast enough though. I take a steep dive, pushing myself and my wings to go faster and faster. The wind in my mane has it streaked back. I’m leaving my trademark trail of color behind me. My eyes are watering, I’m probably a few miles an hour short of creating another sonic rainboom. That’s ok though, not many ponies can make me fly that fast, I’ve only ever done it for a few ponies in my life. First Fluttershy at the Junior Speedster’s camp, then for Rarity at the Young Fliers Competition in Cloudsdale. BOOM. …And now for her. I pull up sharply, the force almost snaps my back and my wings. I start climbing towards the sky, my wings flapping furiously but not quite in sync as I desperately try to get as high up as I can as fast as I can. I guess I just didn’t fly fast enough is all, but I can fly faster, I know I can. Faster than a sonic rainboom? Don’t be silly, Dash. NO. Don’t be scared, Dash. I can fly as fast as I need to. I can do whatever it takes, whatever it takes to keep her and everything else out of my head. I’ll do whatever I have to, if it means I’m not taking a relaxing flight anymore then fine, I’ll start practicing and training. It’s worked before, every time I’m scared all I have to do is train a little harder. Make myself a little better, a little more impressive. But impressive for who exactly? Everypony of course! I am Rainbow Dash! I am the Element of Loyalty! I am arguably the world’s fastest flyer! I’m impressive for everypony, because I work to impress EVERYPONY. Not just one filly! Or even a few! I work so that the whole of Equestria, the whole world! Will know who I am and STAND IN AWE. Not just some pretty egghead who spends more time buried in books and crammed up in a tree than she spends in the real world will think I’m cool! I practice, I train, so that everypony will talk about me with the kind of respect usually reserved for Spitfire or Soarin! I don’t train just for some stupid egghead. I train for everypony, the most important of them being ME. Not some stupid egghead. So I start training. I start dashing, and rolling and twisting, and zigg-zagging… I start doing everything. There is no method to my madness. Just pure, distilled awesomeness, streaking across the sky. I dart through a cloud, breaking it up, then I dive under another one pulling up sharply so that I can arc over the next one. Agility, that’s what I’m working on now. If I can’t speed faster than my thoughts, then I’ll fly around them. It’s working, too. I’m not thinking about her anymore, just my flying. I’m not thinking about her, or her soft, purple mane, or her delightful laugh. Not thinking about how she helped introduce me to reading, letting me get lost in the pages of Daring Do the same way I could get lost in her deep, sparkling eyes… The way they light up with excitement and life over a new book or spell, the same way mine light up when I learn a new trick… Still not working. Oh hayseeds! Guess I’ll just have to fly harder and faster. That’s ok though, I can do that. I start to add twists to what I’ve been practicing, adding a barrel roll here, a loop-de-loop there. I’m doing great too! Boy when she sees what I can do-! Time to turn it up a notch. I start racing toward the ground, my eyes tearing up again at the speed. I heard about this trick somewhere before, something one of the first wonderbolts ever, did. I’m going to gather up as much energy behind me as I can, focusing all of the light behind me, and turning it into a giant beam. Then, as I reach the ground, I’ll throw out my wings suddenly and all of the light behind me will follow the subsequent gust, spreading out and showering the land below in hailstorm of flashing light. I clear my eyes, this is going to look amazing. Hayseeds again. Twilight Sparkle’s library is right below me, and is much closer than it should be. I throw out my wings attempting to stop myself before it’s too late. All I do is slow myself down though, it looks like the branches are gonna have to break this fall. The last thing I see before I black out is the dew on the leaves reflecting the shower of light I created when I tried to stop my fall. I’m happy, my trick still worked. My dreams are frantic. Everypony I know and love is laughing at me. I can’t see their faces, but I can hear them laughing, and I know who they are instinctively. I can hear one pony crying though, but I don’t know who exactly it is. Also, the sky is exploding for some reason, which is kind of weird. “Rainbow Dash… Dashy?” I wake up, confused, disoriented, and in a lot of pain. What’s going on? Where am I? Who’s talking-? Oh. “Hey egghead…” I say shakily, “What’s hangin'?” “Well, as of ten minutes ago, you were.” She responds. “I pulled you out of the branches when you crashed into the library and brought you into my room. You’re pretty hurt, Dash.” I look at the source of my pain. I’d rather not describe exactly how my wing looks. “Ow…” I squeak out pathetically. “You bet ow,” She says, “But, I may have some good news Dash, if you’re willing to let me try something on you.” You can try anything you want on me, anytime. “And what’s that, egghead?” I say suspiciously. “Well, I’ve been reading about this new healing spell…” She says hesitantly. “Go on…” I say even more suspiciously. “And well… truth be told, I need somepony to practice on.” She laughs a little, “I was just waiting for you to crash into my home sometime so that maybe I could get a chance.” She’s been waiting for me… Oh, don’t be an idiot, she’s just joking around. “Well, if it’s faster than being stuck in a hospital and being forced to read more books, then do whatever you have to do. I don’t think I’ll luck out like I did with Daring Do last time.” “You might be surprised at what you like Dashy.” I wish you’d be surprised with what you like. Wow, that was stupid. “Whatever egghead, just do what you need to do.” “Alright, alright, I’ll try not to put in you in more pain by talking about reading.” She steps back from me and starts to concentrate, her horn glowing. Surprisingly enough, my wing is glowing too. I clench my teeth, waiting for the inevitable pain that will come. It doesn’t though. After ten seconds of creepy glowing, She opens her eyes and my wing is completely back to normal. “…Wow.” Is all I can blurt out. “Yeah, wow is right. I didn’t think it would work that well.” “Well then what did you think was gonna happen!?” “Take it easy Dash” She laughs, “I just thought that I was going to speed up the healing process, not completely finish it.” I spread my wing and flap it a little. “Looks like you did finish it though.” “Looks like I did.” Man is She amazing. She tries to heal my wing, just a little bit, and on her first attempt she completely fixes it! She could be a doctor! She could be my doctor… Time to go. “Well, uh, thanks Twilight,” I say, hopping off her bed and beginning my speedy exit, “I really appreciate it, I do, but I have to get back to practicing. Ya know, Wonderbolts and competitions and all that.” “Oh is that what you were doing?” “What.” I say stupidly. “Practicing. Did you make that shower of lights before you crashed?” “Um, yeah.” “They were beautiful.” She thought they were beautiful. “Thanks, I guess.” I start to wander out the door like a foal before I realize it. I can’t go fast enough, I can’t out maneuver it, even when I’m falling uncontrollably I can’t avoid it. My whole life whenever I felt this way, I’ve done everything I possibly could to help my situation, except for the one thing I should have done. And it took this brilliant, beautiful egghead to show me the right answer, even if she doesn’t know she showed me. I need to face it, I need to stand up and lay it out. I need to stop avoiding her just because She scares me now, and brings up emotions I don’t know how to cope with. I’m going to tackle this head on. I’m going to tell her, I’m going to tell her the one thing I’ve never been able to say to anypony, even when I want to say it and mean it. And boy do I mean it more than ever now. “Twilight hold up a sec!” I say, turning around. She looks back at me, “Yeah, Dashy?” Here goes nothing. …*gulp.* “Twilight Sparkle, I love you.”
I Can Make the Hurt StopWhen I can fly, I can make the hurt stop. I barely know how to describe what I’m feeling. It’s not pain. Everything just… hurts. The last few hours I’ve been wandering around Ponyville in a daze. I think other ponies looked worried, I think Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy even tried to talk to me, but everything from the past couple of hours is just a weird collage of voices, ponies and hurt. When I was a really young filly, and I met Fluttershy at Junior Speedsters camp, I used to think about what it would be like if we… if we… were together. But every time I would let myself wander into those thoughts, I’d remind myself of what she would probably say, or how she’d react to me, and I’d get that same old feeling. That hurt. It never hurt this much, though. I used to just feel some weird dull ache where my heart is, but now it’s like, duller? I don’t know, it feels the same as it always did, it’s just worse. Everything is cloudy and bland, and I can’t think at all. The only thing I can think is about is, well, stuff I don’t want to think about. I look up at the sky, clouds are rolling in. Guess the other weather ponies have a big storm planned today. That’s where I want to be, I want to be above the storm clouds. It’s one of my favorite times to fly, right as a huge storm is raining down. I can look out and watch lightning streak across thick, blackened clouds, as the thunder rolls after it, causing booming tidal waves of sound so loud and so heavy that they make me think I might get knocked out of the sky by them. Yup. I’m gonna get there. I don’t have a whole lot of time though, those clouds are coming together fast, and I don’t want to fly through a storm. I plant my hooves firmly on the ground, getting ready. My wings stretch out and lift up high as I bend my knees. WHOOSH. And I’m off, blasting myself fifty feet into the air easily with my initial take off. I start working on getting my wings into a good momentum. There’s a pretty strong wind working against me, so I need to use strong, steady, pumps of my wings if I’m going to break past it. As I climb, I see the clouds getting thicker, and the wind starts to blow harder. Good, I like a little challenge. I start to push harder, working to get past gravity pulling me down, and the wind blowing me back. I see the last ray of sunshine closing off, it’s disappearing quickly. I push harder, my wings starting to ache. I can feel blood coursing through the individual veins in wings. But I have to get up past this storm, or where else will I go then? Ten more feet, that’s it. I’m surrounded by the clouds, it’s now or never, the wind has stopped but I only have a few seconds. Just in time. I eek through just as the opening closes up behind me. A close call, but don’t the most exciting moments always happen when there’s the most chance of not making it? They are the most exciting, and they’re the best. It’s what I live for, that adrenaline rush. It clears out your head, filling it with pure energy. Nothing else matters because I can only live in one moment at that point, the moment of now. Yeah, adrenaline is good. Excitement is good. Danger is good. Sure is calm up here though. I guess the storm hasn’t really gotten going yet, I’ll have to wait a few minutes before I get to watch the light show underneath me, and feel the sound push through me. A few minutes, that’s all. A few minutes of peace and quiet, a few minutes of just me and my thoughts… She laughed. Not like, in a mean way but She did laugh. There I was. Standing there, my eyes full of determination, knowing that I was finally doing what was best for me. There I was owning up to all of the fear that had kept me down my entire life, and tackling it head on in a display of bravery that surprised even me. And She laughed. CRACK. The first shot of lightning followed almost instantly by thunder flies directly beneath me and what feels like directly through my heart. Looks like the fun is starting. I can enjoy my storm now. I can just fly above the clouds and watch everything happen below me. I start to glide over the storm picking up speed as the lighting strikes start to occur more often. I’m gonna go fast, faster than thunder, faster than lightning, and most definitely faster than my own thoughts. If it’s worked before in my life it can work again. Yeah, it’ll work out better than the rest of my day. I’ll have so much fun up here tonight I won’t even care the next morning. I won’t care that she laughed at me. CRACK. I won’t care that She dismissed my moment of honest admission as a side effect of the spell she had cast. CRACK. I won’t care that Spike thought I was joking and tried to congratulate me on a joke well delivered. CRACK. I won’t care that She smiled softly with that horrible condescending look in her eyes, as she joked and told me that maybe I should go to a hospital after all. CRACK. And most importantly, I won’t care that She turned me away. That She sent me out the door, when I needed her most. I won’t care that She wouldn’t even hear me out as I stuttered out pitiful pleas to let me stay and explain myself, that she just pushed me out the door without a care in the world. That the one time I revealed a part of myself that for the longest time even I had denied! Sharing a secret part of me I had always expected to keep deep down and away from everypony! Exposing my fear of rejection and failure! I won’t care that I was laughed off as mentally ill! I WON’T CARE. I DON’T CARE. CRACK, CRACK, CRACK! I nose dive as hard as I possibly can, screaming through the thick clouds. It takes me about four seconds to get out of the clouds, but it’s four seconds I spend swimming through chaos and energy. I can see nothing, I can feel nothing, I am the sky itself for those four seconds, and I am not happy. I shoot out of the darkness of the storm and see only blinding white light. A giant sound wave pummels me from behind sending me spiraling out of control as the wind takes me in hard uncontrolled circles as I fall. I don’t care. Let me fall, let the sky do what it wants, I have no control anyway. Maybe I am mentally ill, after all I did just fly straight through a giant storm cloud. I don’t care though, I just want to let everything go. I only want one thing. I want to let Her know that I’m not crazy. At least, I wasn’t as of a few hours ago. A few hours ago, I was thinking more clearly than I had ever been in my life. I said what I needed to be said, and it didn’t matter what She thought. I did what I had to do. I need to let her know that I don’t care. Wait, what am I doing? I’m still falling uncontrollably, getting tossed around in the air as I come closer to the ground. I need to straighten out, I need to get control of myself. At least, until I get my one last order of business out of the way. I straighten my wings out, holding them as steadily as I can. I’m slowing my fall, giving me more stability. It’s easier down here too, the wind doesn’t blow quite as strongly as it does higher up. If I can just catch a good gust of wind, I can use it to fly straight, riding it down and gliding to a safe landing. A few more seconds and I catch a good current. I flip right side up and get a good view of my surroundings. I have a fairly straight shot to glide down to the ground and land in a fast gallop. The road is straight and the ponies I can see look like they’re figuring out my plan because they’re moving to the sides. The road is long too, giving me plenty of time to glide in. In fact, it doesn’t end until this one big tree- Second crash landing at the same place in one day. Weird. The ground is approaching fast. I brace my legs for the impact and pull my body up a little more to create some more wind resistance. I hope I don’t slip on any mud, or my legs are in for a nasty surprise. Whew. My legs connect with the ground in a hard but steady run. I keep my wings out to help keep slowing me down. But my legs keep running as fast as they can, taking me to exactly the place I want to go. It’s only until I start nearing the front door that my legs begin to add to the resistance of my speed. Oh boy, here it comes. This door is gonna hurt. I crash through her front door, skidding to a hard stop and probably destroying the wood beneath me as dig my hooves in. I catch my breath after a few short seconds. “Twilight!” I yell, “Twilight Sparkle!” I look around furiously. Blood from a few cuts and tears are streaming down my face. “Where are you!? We REALLY need to talk!” “She’s right here, sugarcube.” Applejack says with an unusually stern voice, even for her. Applejack? What’s she doing here? I look up, and see Applejack, Rarity, and Her, sitting by the rail guard upstairs. Why are they here? A slumber party I didn’t hear about? Wait. Why is Twilight Sparkle crying?
When We Can FlyWhen I can fly, I can make things better. She’s got tears running down her face, just like me. We must look so stupid, the two of us. Both crying with our red eyes and our heavy frowns, trying to make eye contact with each other but looking away as soon as our sights drift too close. Rarity and Applejack are looking between both of us, they have no idea what they should say or do. We’ve all been standing here awkwardly for about thirty seconds. I think I need to say something. “We need to talk, Twilight.” She lowers her head more. “I don’t think that’s a good idea dear.” Rarity says. She’s obviously walking on eggshells here. “I need to talk to Twilight, Rarity.” “Ah don’t think she wants to talk ta anyone right now.” Applejack stands up, getting ready to step in if I push the subject. I get ready for a fight, I need to get this out of the way. After that She and Rarity and Applejack and everypony else can think whatever they want. I’ll leave forever if I have to, I don’t care, just so long as I get a few minutes to say what I have to. I glare at Applejack. She glares back. Rarity awkwardly smiles and steps away a bit. “It’s ok.” Everypony in the room jumps a bit. I don’t know why, but She’s the last pony I expected to speak up about the situation. Even though this is Her and mine’s business. “Rainbow Dash can stay.” “Are ya sure, sugarcube?” Applejack asks. “Yeah, it’s ok Applejack. She can talk to me.” She’s still choking back tears. “Alright then dear, whatever you want. Applejack and I are going to take a short walk over to Sugarcube Corner, if you need us we won’t be far away.” “Thanks, Rarity.” Applejack and Rarity head down the stairs and leave intentionally slowly, eyeing me on the way out. Rarity looks back into the library nervously. "I don't know what this is about dear, but you two obviously have something to work out. Don't worry about Spike either, he's at Sugarcube Corner as well, playing with Applebloom." Applejack leaves me with a warning. “Listen Dash, you and I are friends, always have been, always will be.” She whispers into my ear. “But you really upset that poor thing today. I don’t know what you said, or what you did, but she’s been crying non-stop for the past two hours and there ain’t been nothin’ either of us can do to calm her down. I don’t know why you need to be here, but don’t you dare hurt that poor filly anymore, or you’ll be answerin’ to me. Ya hear?” I shrug her off. Applejack walks out and shuts the door behind her, frustrated. I don’t mean to be jerk, and I feel kind of bad I guess. But I also don’t care, because it’s not any of her business. I need to talk alone, and she should respect that. And it’s not like I’m not hurt either. I’m the one who laid out my feelings on got laughed at! I stood up and did one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done! And I was the one who was LAUGHED AT for it! If She hurts me, Applejack and everypony else is gonna have to deal with me! Ya ‘hear that!?’ I’m brought out of my thoughts by a quiet sniffle. She’s still crying, even though it’s really soft. She’s still crying. Those eyes, glistening with tears, and the light in the room is causing them to shine. She’s looking right at me with those beautiful eyes, and her face, oh that face, it’s so sad just to see Her not smile I think I might start sobbing. All my anger, and all my apathy melts away. I care. I can’t NOT care when she’s crying. I need to do everything I can to fix this. I’ll pour every last bit of energy I have into helping Her, every last second of my life I’ll use to help Her, I’ll sell my soul and spend the rest of eternity on the moon to help Her. I just want to see Her smile again. I just want Her to be happy. I don’t care about what happens to me, I just want to know that She’ll be happy. I can’t live with myself if I know that I made Her sad and I didn’t do everything in my power to make Her happy again. “Are- Are you gonna just stare at me?” I snap out of it again. I’ve been staring, that’s awkward. Hayseeds! I stumble out the best response I can think of. “Uh… no… I guess not…” Why do I have to be so bad at this? “So, are you gonna talk then?” She’s stopped crying, now she’s just looking at me, she looks kind of mad now. How do I handle this? “Uh… yeah… I’ll talk.” She’s still just staring at me. I still don’t know what I should say. “Twilight,” I say sighing, “I- I- I meant what I said.” Her stare gets a little colder. “I meant what I said, and- and- well I still mean it!” Uh oh, I’m not stopping now. “I mean it! All my life whenever I felt this way I hid myself! I’d go and fly, and I’d fly and I’d fly and I’d fly! …I’d fly until I couldn’t think anymore, ‘till I couldn’t feel anymore, ‘till there was nothing left in world and it was just me and the clouds and everypony else was just gone. Then I’d fly some more. It worked really well too, I’ve managed to be happy and enjoy my friends. I’ve hung out with and saved my heroes’ lives. I’ve become an Element of Harmony, and I’ve been to the end of the world and back with all of my friends. And every time I’d start to feel like somepony was becoming more than a friend to me… I’d just fly some more. I can’t let that happen with you, Twilight. I’ve tried to outfly my feelings for you, I’ve done everything I can to try and move on and get over you, but I can’t do it. You’re too- too special to me Twilight!” Here come the tears. “No matter what! I just want you to be happy! I want you to have the most amazing life and meet the most amazing ponies! And I want you to feel like somepony the way I feel about you! And I don’t care what I have to do to give you that! I’ll leave Ponyville forever! I’ll leave Equestria forever! I’ll fly right up and live on the moon forever if I have to! Just promise me that you’ll be happy.” I’m crying really hard now. I’m an emotional wreck, but I already feel better. I said what I had to, and now that I’ve said what I needed, I can leave. I can heal now. I start to stumble out the door, struggling to see past my tears. “Dashy, wait.” The tiniest voice squeaks out behind me. That can’t be Her, that voice seems so small. “I don’t want you to leave. Please, I promise it won’t make me happy if you leave.” I turn around. I’m really confused. I fight past a sob. “You want… me?” “I want you to stay, Dashy.” “I…” I start to walk back in really slowly. “It wouldn’t make me happy if you left. I don’t want you to go. I just, well when you said… I didn’t want to let myself believe it.” Now she’s gonna cry. I’m making up for a lifetime of unexpressed emotion in one night. “I just thought you might be dazed from my spell, or that maybe you were just joking. I was worried that if I took you seriously you might laugh at me like ‘What!? You’re serious?! Take it easy Twi, I’m just fooling around! Can’t take a joke, egghead?’ I didn’t want to let myself think I could ever have you.” I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “You feel that way about me?” She nods quietly. This is hard for me to handle. Two seconds ago I was willing to condemn myself to a life of loneliness and sadness. Now I’m listening to Her- listening to Twilight, and fireworks are going off in my head. Twilight gives me an awkward smile. I’m grinning from ear to ear. “Come here ya egghead!” I jump and fly clear across the room and grab her, tackling her onto her bed in a giant hug. She squeals a little out of surprise. She’s so adorable. I’m on top of her, looking into Twilight’s eyes. “Twilight?” I ask. “Yeah?” She’s smiling back at me. “Can we stop being just friends?” “What do you mean?” I laugh a little, “Like, can we be fillyfriends, ya egghead.” Twilight smiles at me. I love it when she smiles, so much. “I’d like that, Dashy.” Lights explode in my head. WOW! This just happened! Twilight Sparkle, my fillyfriend! This is happening way too fast. What’s going on? This morning I was trying to forget everything and move on with my life. Now I’m smiling and looking into the eyes of the pony I want most. How should I feel? How should act? What should I do? I’m kissing her. Wait, I’m kissing her? I’m kissing Twilight Sparkle! I’m kissing the greatest pony in the world! This. Is. So. Awesome! It’s everything I want it to be. It’s deep, it’s passionate, it’s fun and cute, but it’s also beautiful and perfect. How do I get this much emotion from one kiss!? I pull back. We’re both reeling from sharing that moment with each other. Twilight laughs a little, “That was…” She laughs a little more. I kiss her again. I could do this forever, she’s so perfect. “Hey Twi.” I whisper gently to her. “Yeah?” “I wanna show you something.” “What is it?” “Here.” I stand up and open a large window. “Get on my back.” Twilight gets on my back, she’s already holding on tight. She’s so perfect. We take off out the window. The storm is over, and the other weather ponies have moved the clouds out of the way. It’s just a fantastic, starry night. I want to show Twilight what life is like in the sky, I want to share my world with her. It’s a little more difficult to fly with her on my back, but I can do it. I can do anything now, anything. “This is amazing!” Twilight is amazed at what she sees. It’s pretty awesome. Down below Ponyville is letting off a small, warm glow. In the distance, Canterlot is a glowing star. Up this high, we’re completely surrounded by bright sparkling stars. “You see this every day?” She asks in wonder. “Yup, every day. I’ve always loved being in the air.” “I can see why! This is simply incredible! I need to work on a flight spell as soon as possible now! The maps I could draw, the observations I could make! I never realized how wonderful this is! Rainbow Dash, promise me you’ll take me up here more often?” “You just said you were gonna learn a flying spell you crazy pony.” Twilight nuzzles against me more, “Yeah, but I want you take me up here too.” She’s so perfect. “Twilight, I’ll take you up here any time you want. You just ask. When I can fly, I can clear out my head, and I can fix any problem. And when I’m with you, I don’t have any problems. I’ve never been able to share this with anypony before, and I want to share this with you again and again and again.” “Please do.” She says, drifting off a little. I smirk a little. “Alright sleepyhead. But first let’s get you in bed, it’s been a long day.” “It has been, hasn’t it…” I fly back down to her library, landing as softly as I can in the window. I set her down gently in her bed, I can’t resist climbing in after her and holding her close to me. It’s been a crazy day, and it all catches up with me as I realize how tired I am. There’s a lot to do, and a lot to talk about. I wanna talk to Twilight forever, and listen to her talk. I want to know everything about her that I didn’t already know. I want to spend the rest of my life with her, I want do more amazing things with her as we create memories that grow sweeter with age. But for now, there’s just tomorrow. We’ll sort everything out with Rarity and Applejack, and I’ll apologize for scaring everypony in town by almost killing myself. Looking back on it now, I think flew next to a lightning bolt when I exited the clouds. Ponies must have thought I was struck before I glided down. Today was a crazy day. But now I’m here. I’m holding the love of my life in my arms as she peacefully falls asleep. I’m really looking forward to everything I’m going to do in my life now. I know that no matter what, me and Twilight are gonna make it. I know that it sounds crazy. Me and Twi only just started sharing our feelings for each other, but I feel something between us, and it’s more than anything I’ve ever felt. It’s absolutely magical. It would gross me out and I’d normally make fun of myself if it didn’t feel so perfect. But it does. It’s absolutely perfect. She’s absolutely perfect. Boy am I sleepy. I’m almost completely out. “Twilight Sparkle?” “Yeah?” She’s almost asleep too. “I love you.” “I love you, too, Rainbow Dash.”
