Crash into love

Dawn broke in Ponyville and Dusk Shine stretched his hooves to start a new day. His face broke into a smile as he felt the softness of his bed. It wasn't that his old room in Canterlot was uncomfortable in comparison, but he truly felt like THAT was his bed and his room. After living in Ponyville for over a year, every part of Dusk's body felt like that was his true home, and when he wasn't there, he really missed it.

Looking to his side, Dusk smiled again when he saw that Spike had ended up lying next to him instead of sleeping in his basket bed. Dusk almost forgot that they hadn't slept together in almost a month, after Spike stayed in the Dragon Land, so his little brother couldn't help but want to sleep next to him when he saw that he returned from Canterlot.

As he watched Spike sleep, Dusk put on a slightly more serious look, realizing that Spike probably wasn't the only one who had missed him that week.

“Well… Time to start the day.” Dusk murmured with a thoughtful look. “There are many ponies I have to see today.” He added, with a more worried look. Because he knew that there were at least two important conversations pending that day.

After getting up and going out for a walk through the streets of Ponyville, Dusk went straight to the fruit town market, where most of the farming ponies had already woken up early and were displaying their products for sale. There, Dusk focused on a specific fruit stand: the apple stand, where Applejack, Big Mac, and a sleepy Apple Bloom were already present, who didn't enjoy getting up so early that day of the week as much as her older siblings.

“Hi Applejack.” Dusk greeted with a kind smile.

“Dusk! When did you come back?” Applejack asked, surprised to see Dusk there. “You had been gone so many days that we were starting to worry. If you didn’t come back tomorrow, we were going to go look for you to Canterlot.” Applejack added, getting closer to Dusk. Looking at him closely, as if she was looking for some wound on his body.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine.” Dusk replied with a nervous smile. “It’s just that…”

“You needed time.” Applejack interrupted, guessing what Dusk was going to say. She looked at him with a sad smile. “I imagined it. That’s why I convinced the girls to wait for you a few days. I… I know it’s hard.” Applejack added, looking away and looking sadly at Dusk. “We already know what happened between you and Pinkie Pie.”

“Yeah… This time I was the one who had to break up with Pinkie.” Dusk said, also looking away, somewhat uncomfortable.

For a few moments, they both remained silent, unable to see each other. They were still the same as always, two great friends. But no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't help but remember the times when they were a couple. Both those beautiful moments and the bad ones.

“I’m sorry that you were the one who had to break up with me.” Dusk said with a sad look. “I… now I could understand how difficult it is to be on this side. To break up with someone that… you still love.”

“It is...” Applejack said, scratching her shoulder with her hoof. Blushing slightly, still unable to look Dusk in the eyes. “I imagine the other side was difficult too. You’ve been on both… And you still have to live through it three more times.”

At that moment, both Dusk and Applejack glanced at Big Mac and Apple Bloom who were nearby. The first seemed not to be paying attention to them and the latter seemed to have fallen asleep standing up, but anyway, Applejack and Dusk understood that it was better not to continue talking about the 'deal' they had between them and their friends, about being trial couple.

“So… you’ve been at the castle all these days?” Applejack asked with a nervous smile. Forcing herself to change the subject.

“Not exactly…” Dusk smiled.

While picking out some apples for breakfast, Dusk began to tell Applejack what happened during his absence from Ponyville, explaining how cowardly he felt for avoiding seeing Pinkie Pie after breaking up and how the change in his cutie mark was the perfect excuse to run away from everyone. Then, he told how he ended up going to the Crystal Empire, where he met several very peculiar ponies.

“There I found Sunset Glimmer, Cadance’s student, and another very interesting stallion. Both were very good with magic.” Dusk said, reaching the point where he slipped into the Crystal Empire’s library. “Oh! There was also Sugar Belle, I almost forgot her. Although she was interesting, but in a more… weird way, hehe.” Dusk smiled shyly, remembering the ponies from the 'equality sect' that he had found in the north.

“Weird? Weird how?” Applejack asked, not understanding the reason for Dusk’s nervous smile.

“Well, she and her friends were obsessed with some kind of new religion they’re creating or something. Her friends quickly separated from me, but she followed me at all times, even inside the library.” Dusk said, scratching his head as he remembered. “Another thing is that she was probably the worst baker I’ve ever met, haha.” Dusk added with a small laugh as he remembered those tasteless muffins he tried. “What worries me is that I made her disappear with my magic. I wonder if she’s okay.”

Suddenly Dusk and Applejack were distracted when they heard something fall. Turning around, they both saw that Big Mac had dropped a box of apples and was staring at Dusk with a fierce look. Without paying attention to the apples he had dropped, Big Mac walked over firmly until he was in front of Dusk and pushed him with all his strength against a wall, holding a hoof down tightly on Dusk's right shoulder so that he couldn't run away, causing Dusk to stand on two legs.

“Big Mac! What are you doing!?” Applejack screamed in fear. Shocked at the sight of her normally calm brother, with such a furious look. Shaking her head to look between Big Mac and Dusk, not understanding her brother’s outburst of rage.

For his part, Dusk froze when he received Big Mac's push. The truth was that the big red stallion pushed him quite hard, and his grip on his shoulder hurt. But what paralyzed Dusk the most was seeing that strange and sudden reaction of the red stallion.

“What did you say about Sugar Belle!?” Big Mac said, as if he hadn’t heard his sister. His gaze fixed on Dusk. “What do you mean you made her disappear!?”

“Y-You know Sugar Belle?” Dusk asked, still very confused. Surprised to see that Big Mac had been paying attention to his conversation with Applejack.

“I kept quiet when you and Applejack broke up. Keeping my anger in despite seeing my sister cry because of you.” Big Mac said, his gaze still fierce. “Now I find out that you broke up with Pinkie Pie too. Are mares just a game to you? I won’t let you do the same to my sweet Sugar Belle!?”

Dusk turned pale at the words he heard. It was true that Big Mac didn't know about 'the deal' that he and his friends had, but anyway, the way Big Mac said it, Dusk certainly seemed like a complete villain, and deep down, a part of Dusk did feel guilty for having accepted the deal with the girls and feeling that it was his fault, for not being able to choose just one of them. The same surprise was felt by Applejack, who now regretted not having explained things properly to her older brother. However, there was something that caught Dusk and Applejack's attention even more.

“Did he just say MY SWEET Sugar Belle?” Dusk and Applejack thought at the same time.

“Sugar Belle is the sweetest mare in the world, as sweet as the muffins she cooks. I won’t let you slander her!” Big Mac shouted angrily. “You probably tricked her just like you tricked Pinkie Pie and my sister. And you… You looked into her cute cherry eyes and just made her disappear!? I’ll never forgive you!!” Big Mac shouted, ready to give Dusk another blow.

“Big Mac, I’m sorry!” Dusk said, scared, seeing that Big Mac seemed to be too furious to be calmed with words. “I never wanted to hurt Applejack or Pinkie Pie, and about Sugar Belle-” Dusk added quickly, lighting up his horn out of inertia to defend himself, but immediately turning it off, knowing that he couldn’t hurt Big Mac. Until something Big Mac said made him open his eyes in surprise. “Wait a minute… Did you say cherry eyes? The Sugar Belle I know has blue eyes, almost purple, not red.”

At Dusk's words, Big Mac froze, as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown over him. His furious look disappeared instantly.

“Hmm… Does she have pink fur?” Big Mac asked.

“No. Blue eyes, purple fur.” Dusk replied, with an expectant look.

The two stallions stood staring at each other in silence for a long moment without saying anything. They both understood, but neither wanted to say it out loud. Big Mac was defending the wrong mare.

Slowly Big Mac released Dusk from his grip and looked away, while Dusk simply got back on all fours and rubbed his sore shoulder in silence, also looking away. Big Mac silently turned around and began to walk slowly towards where he had dropped the apples.

“Hey! Where are you going!” Applejack shouted angrily, looking at her brother. “You owe Dusk an apology.”

Big Mac looked at his sister, then at Dusk, and then back at his sister, with a slightly sad look.

“I won’t apologize for being a big brother who cares about his sister.” Big Mac said seriously, although it was clear from his gaze that he was partly embarrassed by his outburst.

“That had nothing to do with me.” Applejack said angrily. “You got mad because you thought that mare you like-”

“That’s enough, Applejack. He’s right.” Dusk said, interrupting Applejack and putting on a sad smile. “Big Mac is right, not about Sugar Belle, but about you and Pinkie Pie. I… I’m sorry I hurt you two.”

“It’s not your fault.” Applejack said, worried and upset to see Dusk’s low self-esteem coming to the surface and starting to blame himself for everything again. “It was part of the deal we made. We all agreed. Even in our relationship, I was the one who-” At that moment, Applejack fell silent as she realized something.

Applejack had been so upset that she had started screaming, and without realizing it, many ponies around her were watching them attentively. Many curious ponies who were buying at the market were surprised to see the calm Big Mac push Dusk against the wall, and everyone tried to listen attentively to everything that was happening, especially the three florists who were at the stand next to Applejack. Who, seeing that Applejack stopped, pretended to go back to their work, but deep down they were still attentive to that new gossip that was being generated.

“Geez… We’ll talk about it later.” Applejack muttered in annoyance, tilting her hat. Knowing that talking about the ‘deal of being a couple’ in a public place wasn’t a good idea. Especially with those gossipy ponies around.

“Relax, everything is fine.” Dusk said, approaching Applejack and smiling at her, so she could see that he had not fallen into a depression or anything like that. “I know what you want to tell me, but it's okay. This is also part of what we agreed on. It's inevitable that breaking up with two mares in two months will bring rumors and misunderstandings, but it's something I'm willing to accept.” Dusk added with a smile. One smile that made Applejack calmer, seeing that Dusk seemed to be more emotionally stable than she thought.

After saying goodbye to Applejack, Dusk headed towards his next objective. He had already cleared the topic with Applejack, about how difficult it must have been for her to break up. Now it was time to talk about a more recent wound, it was time to go to Sugarcube Corner.

As he walked, Dusk couldn't help but notice that several ponies who were on the street were watching Dusk and whispering things when they saw him. It seemed that rumors were flying like lightning and the fight between Dusk and Big Mac was already being talked about throughout the town.

“Hey! Where are you going, stud?” A male voice suddenly said as Dusk walked. At the same time, he felt a hoof hugging his neck firmly.

Turning around, Dusk saw that the one who had grabbed him was Lucky Clover, who was smiling at him. At his side were Thunderlane, Caramel, and Bulk Biceps, surrounding Dusk. All of them smiling kindly at him. That was the group of stallions that Dusk had made friends within Ponyville. A small group that he didn't hang out with as much as his beloved mare friends, but that Dusk appreciated just the same, since they allowed him to be part of that only male brotherhood they had.

“Hey guys! It’s been a while.” Dusk said, smiling at his friends.

“We heard about what happened at the market.” Thunderlane said, looking worriedly at Dusk. “Were you going to face Big Mac? Dude, you’re crazy! He could make you into applesauce in two seconds.” Thunderlane added, quickly changing his expression to a more amused laugh.

“I once tried to hit on one of Applejack’s cousins. I don’t recommend messing with the Apples…” Caramel added, feeling a chill as he remembered how Big Mac’s cousins hunted him down for catching him secretly kissing one of his cousins.

“Oh, thank you for your concern. But don’t worry, it was all a misunderstanding.” Dusk smiled, thanking his brotherhood for their male support.

“Well, now that we see that you are okay, there is another thing we have to take care of.” Lucky Clover added, smiling just as kindly, while a sinister shadow darkened his eyes and those of his friends.

Dusk felt his friend's hug around his neck getting tighter. Then, the other three stallions stood in front of him and looked at him with huge, exaggerated smiles, which contrasted greatly with the murderous looks they had at that moment. Looks that Dusk had only seen when they saw that Dusk was going to the Grand Galloping Gala with his five friends.

“So you've been dating and broken up with two of the prettiest mares in town, while your brothers die single…” Caramel said, looking at Dusk with a murderous smile.

Dusk began to sweat comically seeing that his 'brothers' wanted to kill him just out of jealousy. For a moment, he opened his mouth to make up some excuse, telling them what had really happened. However, thinking about his five dear friends, Dusk couldn't help but lower his head sadly, knowing that he couldn't tell his male friends about the deal he and the girls had.

“I’m sorry… I should have told you, but… It hasn’t been easy.” Dusk said, looking away with a sad smile.

Seeing that Dusk stopped taking all that as a joke, the stallions looked at each other and sighed sadly. It seemed that their friend was really suffering for love, which made their male jealousy disappear and their brotherhood in helping a brother become stronger.

“Ah… It’s okay, casanova. I guess it’s not your fault that you fell in love.” Caramel said, shrugging.

“Yeah, don’t take it so hard. We were just going to gag you and leave you hanging from a cliff for a week.” Lucky Clover joked, letting go of Dusk’s neck and smiling.

“If you need anything, you know we’ll be there for you.” Thunderlane said, smiling a bright, trustworthy smile.

“Yeah!” Bulk Biceps added, flexing his hooves.

“Guys…” Dusk said, looking at his friends with huge eyes. Excited by this display of male support.

“Yeah… But still…” Caramel added, quickly changing her friendly smile into a sinister one. “You can’t leave without a punishment from your ‘bros’ for being the only one in the group to have had two cute marefriends.” Caramel added, raising her hoof. Same gesture as the other three stallions.

Understanding that his friends wanted some retribution to quench their bloodlust, Dusk let out a resigned sigh and accepted that his friends gave him a blow.

“Okay. Just give me a hit on my left shoulder. My right one still hurts from Big Mac hitting it.” Dusk said, turning so that his left shoulder was facing his friends.

If Dusk had had more male friends up until that moment, he would have realized his huge mistake. Because, when he said that his right shoulder hurt more, the four stallions smiled with mischievous and evil smiles and did exactly the opposite. The four of them turned around and each one hit Dusk on the shoulder.

“Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! OUCH!” Dusk screamed in pain. Especially with the last blow, which was Bulk Biceps’s.

“See you later, casanova!” Thunderlane said, smiling. He walked away laughing with his three other friends.

“I still can’t get used to this whole male brotherhood thing…” Dusk thought, rubbing his sore shoulder, but for some reason, smiling amusedly at the colts’ friendship. He began walking again to return to his objective.

Finally, Dusk arrived at Sugarcube Corner. Upon arriving, he stretched out his hoof to open the door, however, he paused for a moment. Rubbing his sore shoulder, for a second, he thought that maybe he should go rest and leave that conversation for later. However, he quickly dismissed that thought. His shoulder hurt, but not that much, what really prevented him from entering was his cowardice, and it was time to face his own feelings and Pinkie Pie. So Dusk forced himself and entered the bakery, mentally prepared to chat with his ex-marefriend.

Upon entering, Dusk saw that there weren't many ponies there. There was only Mrs. Cake, arranging several trays of desserts behind the counter, so many that it seemed they wouldn't fit there; and on the other hand, a tall, thin stallion, with gray fur and a brown mane cut very short, in the shape of a bowl. This last pony stared at Dusk once he saw him enter. A look that left Dusk somewhat uncomfortable, reminding him of someone he knew, but not knowing exactly who.

Dusk waited for Mrs. Cake to finish arranging the dessert trays before approaching. For his part, the one who approached Dusk was precisely that thin gray stallion, who walked up to Dusk slowly, stopping in front of him and looking at him silently with an indifferent gaze.

“Hmm… You don’t look anything like a stick.” The thin stallion said in a slow, monotonous voice.

“Uh… No. I guess not.” Dusk replied, feeling a strange déjà vu. He looked away, seeing that unknown stallion staring at him for no reason.

Suddenly, Dusk felt something touch him on the side. When he turned around, he saw that there was nothing beside him, only the same stallion that continued to stare at him. Then, Dusk lowered his gaze and saw that on the floor, between him and that stallion, there was a small wooden stick.

“I’m sorry. Sometimes ‘Twiggy’ gets violent with bad ponies.” The thin stallion said. He bent down to pick up the small twig. “By the way, Twiggy is my pet.”

“Does he have a wooden stick as a pet?” Dusk thought, confused. He felt more and more trapped in déjà vu. “Wait, he threw that little stick at me?” Dusk thought, even more confused.

“Mudbriar, no.” A monotonous female voice suddenly said from the door. Turning around, Dusk was surprised to see that it was Maud Pie, Pinkie’s sister. “Nooooo…” Maud said slowly and at length, walking slowly to where Dusk and that thin stallion were.

Already knowing Maud Pie, Dusk understood that Maud's long 'noooo' was almost a scream for her, since Pinkie's calm sister never raised her tone of voice nor was it easy to detect the emotions she had.

After her 'desperate cry', Maud looked at Dusk and then at that thin gray stallion.

“Mudbriar, I told you not to make a fuss or fight when you saw Dusk.” Maud said calmly, looking at the gray stallion.

“Technically, we haven’t fought.” Mudbriar replied flatly. However, seeing the look on Maud’s face, he decided not to justify himself any further, understanding that Maud was upset, though to everyone else, Maud’s expression was exactly as blank as ever.

After 'calming' Mudbriar, Maud turned to look at Dusk.

“I’m sorry my coltfriend got so violent. He’s usually a very calm pony.” Maud said, looking at Dusk, always with what seemed to be an indifferent look.

“Uh... Yes, I... Uh!? Your coltfriend!?” Dusk said very surprised.

“Technically, yes. I am Maud’s coltfriend.” Mudbriar said, his gaze almost blank as Maud’s. “I’m sorry you saw my wild side… Twiggy feels it too.”

“Uh… Sure. All is forgiven…” Dusk said with a nervous smile. He didn’t feel insulted or hurt at all.

“Dusk, remember what I told you the last time we saw each other?” Maud suddenly said, staring at Dusk, so that he would focus on her again. “I told you never to make Pinkie Pie cry.”

At those words, Dusk opened his eyes wide and felt as if someone had stabbed him in the heart. Right into the wound that was struggling to heal.

“I-It’s true…” Dusk said with a look full of pain. “I… broke my promise.”

Without warning, Maud raised her hoof and hit Dusk on the right shoulder, right where he had been hit all morning. Because of the force of the blow, Dusk couldn't help but take a step back from inertia. If he had to say it, that blow was the most painful of all, both physically and emotionally, due to Maud's words. However, unlike the other blows, Dusk remained expressionless. It was true that his shoulder hurt a lot, but he felt that it was a very low punishment for having broken his promise and having made the happiest pony in the world cry.

As he remembered the words Maud had told him that time they said goodbye on the train after visiting Pinkie's parents, Dusk put on a confused look as he remembered that Maud had broken a piece of a very hard rock wall with just one blow. Compared to the blow he had just received, it had been nothing. If Maud had wanted to, she could have broken his shoulder with one blow.

Raising his gaze, Dusk saw that Maud was looking at him intently, but without a hint of anger. Despite how expressionless she was, Dusk would have noticed if Maud had been furious with him, and she wasn't.

“When I got to the town, Pinkie explained to me that you two had broken up, but she couldn’t tell me many details, because every time she talked, she started crying. That’s why Mudbriar was upset with you.” Maud said, speaking calmly. “But today I finally got to talk to Pinkie and she told me what happened. About the deal you and your friends have.”

“D-Did she tell you about that?” Dusk asked surprised.

“I forced her. We made a pinkie promise a while back to tell each other everything.” Maud said, ever calm. “We are ‘Best Sister Friends Forever’ after all.”

“I see…” Dusk said, sighing. Not knowing how to feel at that moment.

“I don’t agree with what you’re trying to do, but I trust Pinkie Pie and you.” Maud added, turning to leave. “If you think it’s the right thing to do and that it will help you learn about true love, I’ll take it… I’m sorry we fought, but I always keep my promises.”

“Technically, you didn’t fight; you just hit him.” Mudbriar said, also in a monotone. “I didn’t think you had a wild side too… Hmm, I like seeing other sides of you.”

“Yes, I think we are both too emotional.” Maud said monotonously, as she and Mudbriar looked at each other, their faces showing no emotion.

To the untrained eye, Maud and Mudbriar looked at each other without any hint of emotion, however, Dusk could see how Maud's eyes shone brighter when she saw her coltfriend, which made him smile, seeing that it indeed seemed that Maud had found love.

“I haven't stopped loving Pinkie.” Dusk said, looking at Maud with a determined gaze.

That made Maud turn around and look at him again. At that moment, Maud made a very subtle gesture that Dusk detected, she smiled. After that, Maud and Mudbriar left Sugarcube Corner, leaving only Dusk and Mrs. Cake, who had finished arranging the pile of sweets and cakes she had and had been mesmerized watching the strange scene between Dusk, Maud and Mudbriar.

“Good morning, Mrs. Cake.” Dusk said, approaching the counter. “I wanted to know if Pinkie Pie is home.”

“Oh! Well, yes, she is home. In fact, she is in the kitchen right now.” Mrs. Cake replied, with a somewhat nervous smile. “In fact, she hasn’t stopped cooking for days. That’s why we have an excess of sweets.” Mrs. Cake added, pointing at the dozens of trays of desserts they had. “I’ll go tell her you’re coming to see her.”

Mrs. Cake disappeared behind the kitchen doors while Dusk waited at the counter. A few seconds later, Dusk was startled to hear that several plates and trays seemed to have fallen and broken in the kitchen. Dusk prepared to enter to see if he could help, however, before entering, Mrs. Cake came out and stood in his way.

“I’m sorry, dear. Pinkie is kind of busy and… Huff …” Mrs. Cake said, giving a tired sigh. Looking at Dusk with a sad look. “She says she needs more time.”

“Oh, I… I understand.” Dusk said with a small, sad smile.

For a few seconds, Dusk stared at the kitchen door, but then, he turned around and left the bakery.

“She’s doing the same thing I’m doing. She’s avoiding me.” Dusk thought as he walked down the street. “I can’t ask her to act according to my own times of grief and acceptance. She has her own times, and when she’s finally ready, I’ll be there for her.” Dusk thought, with a look full of determination.

Suddenly Dusk stopped as he turned a street and saw that Rarity was walking down that street, who also stopped when she saw him there. At first, Rarity smiled when she saw Dusk, but then, she put on a surprised look, as if she had suddenly remembered something, and then she put on a scared look.

“Bird poop… Bird poop!” Rarity suddenly shouted, turning around and running in the opposite direction from where Dusk was.

After that scene, Dusk froze as his brain tried to understand what had just happened. Then he lowered his head and smelled her hooves, thinking that perhaps that particular scream was due to the fact that he smelled bad. However, when he realized that it was not his smell, Dusk put on a confused look and began to walk in the direction where Rarity had fled.

On the outskirts of Ponyville, Rainbow Dash proudly showed Fluttershy a drawing she had made on a piece of paper, while the latter looked very confused.

“So… you want to draw a ‘butt’ in the air?” Fluttershy asked confused and blushed as she said the word ‘butt’.

“What? No! It’s not a butt! It’s a heart!” Rainbow Dash said angrily. She took the drawing she had made and turned it around so that Fluttershy could see it better. Although, the truth is, it didn’t matter which side you saw it from, it was just that Rainbow Dash’s drawing really did look like a butt. “I want to make a sonic rainboom and then fly fast to draw a heart in the sky with my trail.” Rainbow Dash added proudly, shaking her rainbow mane with her hoof.

“Oh! A heart in the sky. That’s very romantic.” Fluttershy said smiling, then staring at her friend and putting on a more mischievous smile. “I guess it’s a surprise for Dusk.”

Hearing that, Rainbow Dash blushed and looked away in annoyance.

“I-It’s not romantic! And that fool doesn’t deserve it after leaving without even saying goodbye!” Rainbow Dash said almost in a scream, very upset, but still blushing. Then she looked away and put on a sadder look. “It’s just… I don’t want him to forget that despite everything, we… I…” Rainbow Dash added, not being able to finish her sentence.

“Bird poop! Bird poop!!” Suddenly, someone screamed in the distance, causing both pegasi to perk up their ears and look in that direction. When they turned around, they saw that the one screaming was Rarity. Her face was red from embarrassment and exhaustion from running so fast.

“Rarity just screamed… Bird poop?” Fluttershy asked, in disbelief at hearing her elegant friend shout something like that.

“Pfft! Hahahaha! I can’t believe she actually shouted that! Hahaha!” Rainbow Dash said, bursting out laughing.

“Why is she shouting that?” Fluttershy asked, still confused.

“I told her I'd be practicing this trick to greet Dusk when he arrived.” Rainbow Dash said after calming down her laughter, wiping away a tear from laughing so hard. “I asked Rarity to use that keyword if she saw-” Suddenly Rainbow Dash's smile vanished as she realized why Rarity was running screaming so agitatedly in that direction. And just as she feared, upon looking in that direction, Rainbow Dash managed to see that in the distance, the one she feared was approaching: Dusk Shine. “Damn! I'm not ready yet.” Rainbow Dash cursed, taking off quickly to begin her acrobatics.

As she flew, Rainbow Dash realized that she wouldn't have time to get high into the sky and come down with a sonic rainboom, so she changed her plan. If she flew fast enough, her tail and mane would still leave a rainbow trail that could last long enough to form a heart in the sky. So Rainbow Dash quickly got up to her top speed and soared into the sky in an arc, then came the tricky part. Rainbow Dash spun around in another smaller arc, dipped down a bit, and made a very tight turn to quickly ascend again. That quick movement pushed Rainbow Dash's wings to their limits.

“Hngh!” Rainbow Dash moaned as she felt a sharp pain in her right wing. A pain that Rainbow Dash decided to ignore until she finished her stunt.

After the small sharp turn, Rainbow Dash made another arc in the sky, until she began to dive down, to close the heart shape below. As she descended at full speed, Rainbow Dash looked to the side and smiled when she saw that, just as she planned, the trail of her tail flying at full speed could be seen for at least a second or two, which would be all she needed for Dusk to see it.

As she descended at full speed, Rainbow Dash saw that Dusk and Rarity had already arrived next to Fluttershy and the three of them were looking in amazement at the acrobatics she was doing in the sky. That made Rainbow Dash smile proudly, knowing that she had achieved her goal of surprising Dusk.

As she sped down, Rainbow Dash spread her wings wider to slow down, however, as she did so, Rainbow Dash again felt a strong sting in her right wing, which prevented her from opening it properly. Thus, Rainbow Dash was unable to brake in the air and headed at enormous speed in a dive straight towards Dusk and her friends.

“WATCH OUT!!” Dusk shouted at the last second, noticing that something was wrong with Rainbow Dash’s fall.

At Dusk's shout, both Rarity and Fluttershy jumped out of Rainbow Dash's path. For his part, Dusk also moved to jump to the side before Rainbow Dash collided with him, however, at the last second, he stayed where he was and raised his hooves to catch his friend.

In a swift instant, Rainbow Dash collided at full speed with Dusk, causing both of them to fly away and roll violently, leaving both motionless on the ground.

'Dr. Horse, M.D.' At Ponyville's hospital, the head of the Medical Diagnosis Department, a bitter doctor with a scruffy beard, limped as he walked in front of his new medical team, an older white-coated stallion, short and nearly bald; another brown-coated stallion with wavy black mane; and a beautiful young mare with pink fur and a cutie mark with the number thirteen.

“Okay, we have two life-threatening injuries, a young stallion with a bad wound on his shoulder, and a mare pegasus with a broken wing.” Doctor Horse said, limping as he walked in front of his medical team.

“The patients are not in life-threatening condition, they were just hurt when they crashed.” A nurse said from the doorway. She was not part of Doctor Horse’s team.

“It could be juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.” The bald stallion said, as if he hadn’t heard the nurse. “We’ll need to run blood tests and antibody tests.”

“It could also be a viral infection. A parasite virus can cause joint pain and fever in young ponies.” The mare with the number thirteen cutie mark said.

“It’s not a rare disease, they just crashed and hurt themselves!” The nurse said again from the doorway, still ignored by Doctor Horse and his team.

“If they’ve been exposed to pesticides, it could be thallium poisoning.” The brown-coated stallion said. “Although it could also be Lupus.”

“It’s never Lupus!” Doctor Horse shouted irritably. “What are you waiting for? Start the tests! The patients are at risk!” Doctor Horse added, opening a bottle and swallowing several pills. He limped out of the room with his team.

“They just crashed!! Ugh!” The nurse shouted in frustration, closing the door so that the eccentric Doctor Horse wouldn’t bother them again. “What an irritating doctor.”

“I don’t know. I found it interesting.” Spike said, who was sitting next to Dusk’s bed, eating popcorn.

In the room, besides the nurse, there was Dusk Shine, lying on a bed, and Rainbow Dash, lying on the bed on his side. The former had his right shoulder and hoof bandaged, while the latter had her right wing bandaged. Next to them were Spike, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity, who had also forgotten for a moment the real reason they were there, and had become absorbed in the drama of Doctor Horse and his medical team.

After Dusk and Rainbow Dash collided, Fluttershy and Rarity rushed to find help, and together with Applejack, the three of them took Dusk Shine and Rainbow Dash to the hospital, since they were both quite badly injured after the crash, although nothing as serious as Doctor Horse and his team believed.

“Don’t pay attention to them. All you have is a bent wing.” The nurse said as she approached the beds, looking at Rainbow Dash. “You’ll have to rest today, but we’ll probably discharge you tomorrow.” The nurse added, smiling, then turning to look at Dusk. “Your condition isn’t serious either, it seems you dislocated your shoulder. We’re still waiting for the x-rays, but you’ll have to rest for a few more days, that’s for sure.”

“Oh, that’s a relief.” Fluttershy sighed, freaking out for a second as she heard all the deadly diseases Doctor Horse and his team listed.

“Still, it’s strange that you only hurt one shoulder if, as you said, you caught your friend head-on with both hooves.” The nurse commented, looking at Dusk with a thoughtful look.

“Yeah… Let’s just say it wasn’t a good day for my right shoulder, hehe.” Dusk smiled a little embarrassed. “But the important thing is that it wasn’t anything serious, so I’ll be fine.”

Hearing Dusk, Rainbow Dash put on a helpless look and turned around, covering her face with her pillow.

Rainbow Dash's friends saw her and looked at each other with sad looks. They all understood how bad Rainbow Dash must have felt at that moment. All the effort she had put into making a nice surprise for Dusk had ended in the worst way, causing the opposite, hurting Dusk instead of making him happy.

“By the way, it’s best if you leave now.” The nurse said, looking at Dusk’s friends. “Visiting hours are almost over and there are still visitors waiting to get in.” The nurse added, pointing to the door.

Looking towards the door, everyone saw that someone had opened it again. There, Lucky Clover, Caramel, Thunderlane, Bulk Biceps, Big Mac, Maud Pie and Mudbriar were waiting. All of them were watching Dusk on the bed intently.

Spike and Dusk's friends said goodbye to Dusk and Rainbow Dash, although the latter remained motionless in her bed with her face hidden by her pillow, and then the other visitors came in. The first to approach Dusk was his group of 'bros'; the stallions put on sad looks as they looked at Dusk, especially Bulk Biceps, who began to cry.

“I’m sorry about what happened Dusk. We didn’t think our blows would hurt you so much.” Lucky Clover said, with a sad look.

“Don’t worry, it wasn’t your fault. It was just an accumulation of things.” Dusk smiled, so that his friends wouldn’t worry.

“Still, we owe you an apology.” Thunderlane said, also seriously. “I don’t know how we’ll make it up to you.”

“No need.” Dusk replied with a nervous smile.

“I know! How about we have a party!” Caramel said, regaining his energy.

“Oh! I have a friend from school coming to visit the village tomorrow, and she's coming with three other girls!” Lucky Clover said excitedly.

“Uh… I’ll still be at the hospital tomorrow…” Dusk murmured. He felt as ignored as the nurse had felt in front of Doctor Horse’s team.

“Yeah… Four mares and four stallions, that could work. We should have a clue as to who gets to keep who when we see them.” Thunderlane said with a thoughtful look.

“We should also get some cider and some games.” Caramel said, excited about the party they were organizing.

Thus, Dusk's four 'bros' left the room excitedly while setting up the party to apologize to Dusk, completely forgetting that Dusk was hurt, and just getting excited to see that they could have a party with some cute mares. Leaving Dusk with an incredulous look, still having a hard time understanding how his friendship with his so-called 'brotherhood' worked.

After Dusk's friends left, the next one to approach Dusk was Mudbriar, who simply raised his hoof and showed the small stick that he always carried with him.

“Twiggy says he’s sorry. He doesn’t control his own strength.” Mudbriar said, thinking that Dusk might have hurt his shoulder from Twiggy’s ‘fierce attack’ at Sugarcube Corner.

After that, Mudbriar left, leaving only Big Mac and Maud Pie. The former kept a worried look, unable to look Dusk in the eyes, while Maud kept her gaze fixed on Dusk, as indifferent as ever, although Dusk could already notice a certain subtlety in her gestures and believed he saw some sadness in her gaze.

“There is no need for you to apologize, it wasn't your fault.” Dusk said, guessing what both ponies were thinking when they saw him there. “The truth is that I understand that you were upset with me; after all, you both love your sisters, and even if I didn't want to do it intentionally, I did hurt them.” At that point, Dusk put on a sad look as he thought about his two breakups and how painful it was. “I can't promise you that I won't make them cry again, because I've understood that love isn't that simple. But what I can promise you is that I’ll always protect them and that they’ll always be in my heart.”

After Dusk's words, Maud and Big Mac looked at each other and slowly left the room, without saying anything. They knew that Dusk forgave them for hitting him, and they forgave him for making their sisters cry. They knew that Dusk was not a bad stallion, and now they had also confirmed it, he still loved their sisters. They understood that the relationship that Dusk and their sisters had was complex, but they decided to trust their sisters, and also, that kind lavender stallion.

“I hope you get better soon.” Maud said from the doorway, before leaving.

“Eeyup.” Big Mac added, also walking away.

After all the visitors left, Dusk finally let himself fall back, resting his head on the pillow, letting out a big sigh, as he really felt mentally exhausted after that hectic morning.

“You’re right. It’s not their fault. It’s mine.” Rainbow Dash muttered, her mouth covered by her pillow.

“It’s not your fault. I already told you, it was just that I strained my right shoulder too much today. You just… gave it the last blow, hehe.” Dusk smiled, laughing a little to try to cheer up his dear friend.

“You’re too nice to everyone.” Rainbow Dash said, finally taking the pillow off her face, staring at the ceiling in annoyance. “Since you ran away from the train and stayed in Canterlot, I thought you’d be really depressed after breaking up with Pinkie, so I wanted to do something to cheer you up. But I just ruined it.” Rainbow Dash added, thumping her bed with her hoof in annoyance.

“Oh, yeah. Now that you mention it, what was it you wanted to do? I’m not really sure.” Dusk said with a confused look. Remembering the moment he saw Rainbow Dash flying, doing that reckless stunt and leaving a fast trail in the sky to draw something. A symbol that he didn’t see very well, due to the angle he saw it at. “Were you drawing a butt in the sky? Was it some kind of joke?”

“It wasn’t a butt!” Rainbow Dash screamed in frustration. Realizing that even her show didn’t turn out the way she wanted.

“So, what were you trying to draw?” Dusk asked confused.

At Dusk's question, Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to answer, but seeing that Dusk was staring at her, made her blush, making it impossible for her to admit the great romantic gesture she had prepared.

“Hngh… Gahh! Nothing ever goes right for me!” Rainbow Dash screamed in frustration, grabbing her pillow and burying her face in it again.

Dusk Shine was confused by his friend's attitude. No matter how hard he tried to talk to her again, Rainbow Dash refused to speak to him. She just turned around and decided to ignore Dusk, without Dusk knowing that her reaction was not because she was angry with him, but because she was ashamed that none of her attempts to cheer him up had worked.

After trying a lot, Dusk let out a resigned sigh. He was about to give up on Rainbow Dash until something caught his attention. Just then, at the door of the room, a hospital nurse appeared, carrying a small cart with several books on it. Apparently, she was handing them out to the patients, so they could read something in their free time there in the hospital.

“Book?” The nurse asked from the doorway.

“Yes, please.” Dusk said, smiling. As the cart entered, Rainbow Dash sneaked a glance at the cart. “Rainbow Dash, do you want a book from the cart?”

“Hmm… I’m not a egghead, I don’t read books.” Rainbow Dash muttered, quickly turning to ignore the cart of books.

"What are you talking about? You don't have to be an egghead to like a good book." Dusk said, smiling.

Looking through the books on the cart, Dusk's eyes widened as he saw a book that would be perfect for the occasion, and if he was lucky, it would also serve to improve his friend's mood.

“I think I’ll take this one.” Dusk said, trying to take the book with his right hoof, but since it was bandaged to his body, he turned around to take it with his other hoof. “Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone!” Dusk added with exaggerated excitement as the nurse left.

At Dusk's excitement, Rainbow Dash turned around again subtly to see Dusk, but quickly turned around to hide her face again.

“Wow! Just by looking at the cover I know it’s going to be a good book.” Dusk said loudly, always glancing sideways at Rainbow Dash. “A brave pegasus fleeing from fierce crocodiles in the middle of the jungle!”

“Hmpf! If she were a smart pegasus, she would simply fly instead of running through the jungle.” Rainbow Dash growled, listening to what Dusk was saying, although she still refused to turn around to look at him.

“Oh, but it turns out that she runs through the jungle because she can’t fly, since she hurt her wing. Just like another cool and brave pegasus I know.” Dusk said smiling, looking at Rainbow Dash. Who, for her part, just shrugged and kept her back to Dusk.

Despite Rainbow Dash's indifferent gesture, Dusk knew that she was actually paying attention to him. Rainbow Dash's ears had perked up upon hearing what he said, so his dear friend was really paying close attention to everything he was saying. Now, all that was left was to give a little push to make the blue pegasus fall.

Dusk tried to take the book between his two hooves, but it was impossible, because one of his hooves was immobilized.

“Ouch… Ow… Ouch…!” Dusk moaned exaggeratedly, until he forced Rainbow Dash to turn around to find out why he was moaning so much in pain. “I’m sorry. I want to read the book, but I can’t read it because of my injured hoof.” Dusk said with a fake and theatrical look of sorrow. “If only there was SOMEONE who would help me read this interesting book…”

“Okay, okay, I get it.” Rainbow Dash said, reluctantly looking away and holding out her hoof for Dusk to hand her the book. “I’ll read you the stupid book.”

“It’s not stupid, believe me. I’m sure you’ll like it.” Dusk said with a small smile.

“Whatever.” Rainbow Dash said resignedly, opening the book to start reading it out loud to Dusk.

'As Daring Do trekked through the tropical jungle, the wet heat sapped her energy and slowed her every step. If only she could escape this oppressive atmosphere and fly up into the cool blue sky. But her crash landing in the jungle had injured her wing and she was grounded for a few days. Few days... it might as well be a few months, or a few years...'

“Huh… I'm right there with you, sister.” Rainbow Dash added, immediately identifying with the book’s protagonist.

At first, Rainbow Dash would make a few comments to give her opinion, interrupting the reading. But after a couple of pages, without realizing it, Rainbow Dash began to read the book more and more seriously, moving faster and faster, and even pausing a few times when she read something that surprised her. Meanwhile, beside her, Dusk Shine smiled with satisfaction, not only for having managed to get Rainbow Dash out of her depressed mood, but also for having managed to interest Rainbow Dash in the world of books.

This is how Rainbow Dash became deeply immersed in the plot of the story, excitedly reading how the book's heroine, Daring Do, ran through the jungle fleeing from fierce tigers, fearsome panthers, fast jaguars and terrifying pumas.

“You know, all those felines live in different habitats. I doubt a jungle could have all those animals at the same time.” Dusk said, with a thoughtful look.

“Shh! Don't interrupt!” Rainbow Dash said, never taking her eyes off the book. Totally excited by what she was reading.

'Using a vine to leap over a huge cliff, Daring Do finally stumbled upon a massive temple. Before her was the lost ancient temple that she had searched tirelessly for over sixty days and nights. The smell of decay and danger hit Daring as she peered into the dimly-lit entrance of the ancient temple… '

Rainbow Dash continued reading excitedly as Daring Do entered the temple and evaded dozens of traps, darts launched from the walls, hanging axes, false floors, hallways with fire, and wells with crocodiles, until finally reaching the treasure room, in the center of which, illuminated by a small entrance of light in the ceiling, was the precious sapphire statue that she was looking for. Then, Daring Do rushed to take the statue with her mouth, without even imagining that this would activate a mechanism that would completely destroy the floor of the temple, causing a lagoon of lava to begin to quickly flood the room, leaving Daring Do trapped in the center, with no apparent escape.

“You know, it’s kind of silly to make a temple collapse if its treasure is stolen. I mean, they build dozens of traps and mechanisms just to end up destroying what they want to protect?” Dusk said, scratching his head in confusion.

“Shh!!” Rainbow Dash silenced Dusk, diving back into her book.

Rainbow Dash continued to read excitedly how the lava was about to burn Daring Do alive, until she managed to jump onto some pillars and was able to escape through the small hole that gave light to the center of the room. Seeing that Daring Do was saved, Rainbow Dash gave a great sigh of relief, as if she herself had been saved from that deadly lava floor. However, her relief did not last long, when she read that upon leaving the temple, Daring Do ended up being captured by the evil guardian of the temple, the fearsome Ahuizotl!

“Hey, if Ahuizotl is the guardian of the temple, in theory, Daring Do would be a treasure thief.” Dusk commented, interrupting the reading when he realized that detail.

“Hngh! Don’t interrupt!” Rainbow Dash said angrily. Finally taking her eyes off the book to look at Dusk. However, as she did so, her eyes widened in surprise.

Without Rainbow Dash noticing, Dusk had turned on the light in the room because it was already dark... She had been reading all day without stopping!

“Is it nighttime already…?” Rainbow Dash muttered, completely incredulous that the book had been so exciting that she had completely lost track of time.

“Yawnn… Yeah, and I think that’s enough reading for today.” Dusk said yawning, using his magic to take the book that Rainbow Dash was holding, and leave it on the table on the other side of his bed.

After putting the book away, Dusk turned off the light in the room, wishing Rainbow Dash a good night. Meanwhile, the blue pegasus took a while to get out of her daze and also said good night to Dusk, settling into her bed to sleep as well.

After a tiring day, Dusk Shine quickly fell asleep. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash's body was also exhausted after her wing accident, however, her mind prevented her from falling asleep. In Rainbow Dash's mind, she kept wondering how Daring Do would manage to escape from her terrible captors.

The first rays of the sun rose and a distant rooster in Sweet Apple Acres gave the first crow of the morning. Dusk slowly opened his eyes and the first thing he saw were a pair of enormous crimson eyes staring at him.

“Are you awake?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Waaah!” Dusk screamed in fear, almost falling out of bed from the fright.

Rainbow Dash had spent almost the entire night without sleeping. Her mind kept imagining Daring Do and how she could escape from the dangerous clutches of Ahuizotl. Finally, when she managed to fall asleep, the first thing she did as soon as she felt that it was already dawn, was to jump out of her bed to look closely at Dusk, waiting for him to wake up.

"What's wrong with you? I thought you were a bad early riser." Dusk said confused, making himself more comfortable in his bed after that abrupt awakening.

“Hmm, now that you mention it, I don’t think I’ve ever woken up this early before.” Rainbow Dash said, also surprised. She then shook her head and looked expectantly at Dusk. “Anyway, pass me the book. I want to finish reading it and find out what happened to Daring Do!”

Seeing how excited Rainbow Dash was, Dusk opened his eyes in surprise, and then he narrowed his eyes and put on a huge smile full of satisfaction.

“W-What’s with that smile?” Rainbow Dash asked, confused at seeing Dusk’s strange, complacent smile.

“It seems like someone is dying to read a book.” Dusk asked, still smiling, with a mocking smile. “Weren’t books only for eggheads?”

At Dusk's comment, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes in surprise. She hadn't even realized how excited she had become to want to read that book again. That filled her with embarrassment, making her blush and start to sweat nervously.

“I-I don’t want to read that stupid book! Y-You made me read it to you!!” Rainbow Dash screamed, bright red in embarrassment.

“Relax, it’s not a bad thing that you want to know what happened to Daring Do on her big adventure in the jungle.” Dusk said, becoming serious for a moment. But the temptation to laugh a little at Rainbow Dash’s expense was too much. So Dusk brought the book closer to Rainbow Dash’s face and used it to touch her cheek. “Read to me, Rainbow Dash. Read to me and let’s become eggheads, hehehe…” Dusk said in a high-pitched baby voice, pretending that the book was talking to Rainbow Dash.

“I-I already told you! I’m not interested in reading it, I was just reading it to do you a favor!” Rainbow Dash said blushing, taking the book from her face and angrily going back to lie down on her bed. Meanwhile, Dusk burst out laughing at seeing how easy it was to mess with Rainbow Dash, and how cute she got when she was embarrassed.

For the next few minutes, Rainbow Dash did her best to distract herself in order to prove to Dusk that he was wrong and that she wasn't a egghead. Luckily, there was a small stress ball on one of the tables next to her and Rainbow Dash used it to throw it against the wall so she would have something else to do. As she threw the ball, Rainbow Dash struggled to try not to get distracted as she remembered Daring Do and the big trouble she was in. Unconsciously, she began to throw the ball harder and harder, and every so often, glancing sideways at the book that Dusk had next to his table. It was in a moment of carelessness, while looking at the book, that Rainbow Dash aimed her throw wrong, causing the ball to bounce off at another angle and out the window.

Having lost her only distraction, Rainbow Dash forced herself to look in the opposite direction from where Dusk and the book were. She then began to play with the small lamp that was on the table on the other side of her bed, turning it on and off over and over again. As time passed, Rainbow Dash turned the lamp on and off faster and faster, until finally, the magical light crystal melted and stopped working.

Finally, Rainbow Dash glanced at the clock on the wall and realized that all that long time she was distracted playing with the ball and the lamp next to her, was nothing more than two minutes of real time.

“Ugh!” Rainbow Dash moaned in frustration. She flopped down onto her bed, annoyed, seeing that time was barely moving and that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get the image of Daring Do being caught by Ahuizotl out of her head.

While all this had been going on, Dusk had been watching Rainbow Dash intently, having fun with his impatient friend's little show. Despite his amusement, Dusk smiled one last time, deciding that he had already made his stubborn friend suffer enough, as she would never admit that reading books wasn't just for eggheads.

“Forgive me Rainbow Dash, you’re right, books are only for eggheads, and you’re definitely not one.” Dusk said, with a tender smile. “I know you don’t like to read, but I would appreciate it if you could help me finish the book. You know, because of my hurt hoof.” Dusk added, lifting his bandaged paw and exaggerating a pained face as he lifted it. Offering the book to Rainbow Dash with his other hoof.

Hearing Dusk, Rainbow Dash's eyes lit up, seeing that she could finish reading the book. But as bad an actress as she was, she looked away blushing and pretended to be disinterested.

“Hmph! If you insist so much, I guess I'll have no choice.” Rainbow Dash said, before almost jumping out of her bed due to her excitement, approaching to take the book that Dusk offered her.

Just before Rainbow Dash took the book, the door to the room opened. Behind it appeared one of the hospital nurses, pushing a cart with two trays with each of their breakfasts. Seeing that it was time for breakfast, Dusk put the book back on his table, while Rainbow Dash clenched her teeth tightly to hide her desperation for wanting to read that book already.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Rainbow Dash hurried to eat her breakfast as quickly as she could as soon as the nurse handed her her tray of food, scaring the nurse when she saw how wildly and inelegantly Rainbow Dash ate, due to her hurry. Meanwhile, Dusk calmly took his tray of food and grabbed the Ponyville newspaper that came in the nurse's cart. Upon opening the newspaper, Dusk was surprised to see on one of the pages the title: 'Mysterious heart appears in the sky a few days before Hearts and Hooves Day', along with a photograph of the Ponyville sky, where the shape of a heart in the sky formed by a rainbow trail could be seen.

“Ahmb duh eenin'!” Rainbow Dash said, her mouth still full of food, trying to say 'I'm done eating'. Turning around, she was surprised to see that Dusk staring at her with a tender and loving look. One that left Rainbow Dash confused.

“Heh! No one would guess that that rough, inelegant mare is one of the most tender and romantic mares in Ponyville…” Dusk thought, blushing slightly. Seeing Rainbow Dash with her messy mane and her mouth full of food, and yet, thinking that she was one of the most beautiful and tender mares he knew.

“So it was a heart.” Dusk said, smiling tenderly. Showing the newspaper to Rainbow Dash. “Sorry I didn’t see it well… Thank you.”

Seeing the newspaper and understanding Dusk's sudden change in attitude, seeing how he now looked at her with a bright and loving smile, made Rainbow Dash blush and swallow all the food she still had in her mouth in one go. That was too sudden for the blue pegasus. She had mentally prepared herself the day before for Dusk to flatter her after her great stunt, however, after everything went wrong, she had completely forgotten all that preparation, and the worst thing was that she never imagined that Dusk would smile at her so tenderly and lovingly just that morning! That made Rainbow Dash unable to react well and, despite opening her mouth, she didn't know what to say.

“T-That… I… Well… it’s not… T-That… That was just a butt, it wasn’t a heart!” Rainbow Dash screamed, red in embarrassment, feeling vulnerable to being attacked by Dusk’s smile without being ready. Then she turned around and quickly lay down on her bed, again turning her back on Dusk.

Even though Rainbow Dash had her back turned, Dusk could see how red his dear and tender friend's ears were, which made him smile even more tenderly. However, this time he didn't want to bother Rainbow Dash and simply stayed silent, waiting for his friend to calm down.

“I don’t understand. Why did you get off the train and leave without telling us anything? Why do you still not trust me?” Rainbow Dash suddenly asked after a long silence, still turning her back on Dusk. A question that this time took Dusk completely by surprise, leaving him speechless. “When we found out, I wanted to go back to Canterlot immediately to look for you, but… Applejack said that you needed time alone to clear your mind.” Rainbow Dash added, showing some sadness in her voice. “It seems… that she understands you better than I do. And I can’t deny it, after all, she was your marefriend.”

Dusk looked perplexed at Rainbow Dash's words. Even though he didn't want to admit it, she was right, he also believed that Applejack understood him a little better. It wasn't because Applejack was a better friend than Rainbow Dash, it was just that the intimacy that Dusk had had with her or with Pinkie Pie had made that understanding between them reach an even greater level.

After remaining silent for a moment, Rainbow Dash continued with her back to Dusk, but continued talking to him.

“Is it true what you told Applejack and Pinkie Pie’s siblings?” Rainbow Dash asked, still with sorrow in her voice. “That they’re still in your heart.”

Dusk lowered his head for a moment, thinking before answering impulsively, due to Rainbow Dash's mood. However, he finally put on a look full of determination and decided to tell the truth.

“Yes, I still love them. It hurts me to know that I'm not their coltfriend anymore, and not knowing if we'll ever be as happy as we were back then.” Dusk said with conviction. “Still, I don't regret it. If we hadn't had this crazy idea, I wouldn't have spent those beautiful moments with Applejack, and if she hadn't broken off that relationship, I would never have known the happiness I had with Pinkie Pie…”

“Do you love them more than Rarity, or Fluttershy, or… me?” Rainbow Dash interrupted, finally turning around. Looking at Dusk with a serious look, slightly scared of the answer she might get.

“No…” Dusk answered, lowering his gaze thoughtfully, as he had asked himself that question many times. “But I think I have become closer to them, in a way I cannot explain.”

Rainbow Dash kept looking at Dusk in silence, with concern and a certain helplessness in her gaze. Meanwhile, Dusk kept looking at the floor, feeling that his dear friend was acting as his own conscience, asking the same questions that tormented him so much.

“I’ve seen how sad the three of you are after breaking up.” Rainbow Dash finally said, this time being the one who couldn’t help but look away. “I… I don’t know if I want to go through all that pain too.”

“I… I understand.” Dusk replied, putting on a sad smile. “I would never force you to do anything you didn’t want to do. Perhaps… it’s best to continue our relationship as it is. I promise you that my feelings for you won’t change.”

“Hngh… That’s the problem. I… I do want them to change.” Rainbow Dash growled, placing a hoof over her face, feeling frustrated and confused. “I… I want to understand you as much as they do. I want… I want to be more.”

There was a long silence in the room that seemed eternal. Dusk understood that Rainbow Dash was having an internal struggle in her heart, deciding at that very moment whether Dusk would continue being just her friend or still see him as a possible romantic partner. That filled Dusk with fear, what she had said was true, he loved each one of his friends, he had accepted it a long time ago, but it hurt him to see that one of his dear friends was suffering because of him.

Dusk put on a tender look and opened his mouth to continue with that serious and transcendent conversation. Until he looked up and saw how a pillow crashed hard into his face, completely breaking the tension that had been in his mind.

“Ugh! You’re so annoying!!” Rainbow Dash screamed, full of frustration. Making a comical pose while messing up her mane. Making Dusk completely forget about the melancholic Rainbow Dash he had seen just seconds before. Then Rainbow Dash pointed at Dusk and looked at him seriously, slightly blushing. “You make me angry! And you also make me nervous! Sometimes you even make me very sad. But also… Sometimes you make me very happy.” Rainbow Dash added, blushing slightly more. “Ugh! I don’t know how to feel about you! That bothers me!” Rainbow Dash finally screamed frustrated, falling back heavily against the bed, her gaze fixed on the ceiling.

After seeing Rainbow Dash's explosive reaction, Dusk couldn't help but smile, seeing that, unintentionally, Rainbow Dash had managed to break that tense moment in which they had been submerged. As fast as Rainbow Dash was flying, she was also fast at changing emotions radically, and that, for Dusk, was part of Rainbow Dash's charm. Which made Dusk the one who blushed slightly this time as he watched her.

“If this whole trying to be a couple thing that we did was a race, it would be easier to make a decision.” Rainbow Dash muttered, talking more to herself than to Dusk. “I know I wasn’t first, so I could just drop out of the race.”

“Hmm… Well, it’s true that you weren’t the first. But you were going to be…” Dusk murmured, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling as he remembered.

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash asked confused, not understanding what Dusk had said.

“Do you remember that after the comic festival you girls came up with this crazy idea of being the coltfriend of all five of you, one at a time? That day you told me that if I didn't choose one of you before a week, you would take it as a sign that I only wanted you as friends.” Dusk said scratching his head as he looked at Rainbow Dash. “That time I spent several days locked in the library not knowing what to do. I didn't know who to choose, but I knew I had to choose one or I would lose you all forever. So... That day, before seeing you all again, I decided that I would ask YOU to be my marefriend. Although of course, then everything happened with the juice competition with the Flim Flam brothers, and I ended up marrying Applejack 'accidentally'.” Dusk added, with a small nervous smile.

“Y-You were going to choose me first?” Rainbow Dash asked. She had gotten up from her bed, standing on it. She looked at Dusk with her mouth open. “Why would you choose me!?”

“Well… Honestly, when I said I loved all five of you, it was true. That made it so I couldn’t put any of you above the others.” Dusk said, blushing in embarrassment. “So I finally thought that the fairest thing to do was to choose you, because you were the first one who dared to open her heart and tell me that you loved me.”

At that moment, Rainbow Dash put on a surprised look as her mind recalled the night she declared her love to Dusk at the Grand Galloping Gala. With the other girls, they had decided not to argue about who had been the first girl to declare her love to Dusk that night, so as not to think that one of them could have priority to be Dusk's marefriend. However, remembering what happened that night, it was obvious that Pinkie Pie was the last to declare her love, and as for the others, Rainbow Dash always believed that the first should have been either Fluttershy or Applejack. She never imagined that she would be the first to declare her love to Dusk that night.

“I’m not talking about the Grand Galloping Gala.” Dusk said with a small smile. Seeing Rainbow Dash’s confused face, he guessed what she must be thinking. “I’m talking about The Running of the Leaves.”

That surprised Rainbow Dash even more. She narrowed one eye as she struggled to remember, not understanding what Dusk was referring to.

“Don’t you remember? In that autumn race you competed in against many ponies, including the other girls, when I was going to pass you, to distract me, you said that you loved me.” Dusk said, with a small smile. It was only then that Rainbow Dash remembered that race and what she had said, blushing as hard as she could. “That wasn’t just to distract me, was it? From that moment on, you already knew how you felt about me and you dared to tell me.”

“N-No… I-It was just to distract you and… I-I wanted to win and… Uh…” Rainbow Dash began to stutter, red in embarrassment. Almost completely forgetting that distant moment when in the excitement of the moment, she declared her feelings, knowing that Dusk would think it was just to distract him.

As embarrassed as she was, Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to continue trying to justify herself, but the truth was that deep down she felt that she didn't want to hide her feelings anymore either. That made the blue pegasus make many funny faces, not knowing how to react. Until finally, Rainbow Dash took the other pillow she still had and threw it at Dusk again, only this time Dusk was able to prevent the attack and caught it, laughing at Rainbow Dash's reaction to the embarrassment. Seeing Dusk laugh, Rainbow Dash felt even more embarrassed, but she also felt very happy and amused to be able to share that moment alone with Dusk.

“Ugh! That bothers me about you! You make me feel happy and upset at the same time!” Rainbow Dash screamed, red in embarrassment while Dusk laughed even louder, seeing how childish and cute Rainbow Dash was sometimes.

Seeing that Dusk couldn't stop laughing, Rainbow Dash's embarrassment strangely diminished in the face of the joy of seeing Dusk so happy. That made Rainbow Dash finally start laughing too, accepting that Dusk had caught her and, although it embarrassed her, Dusk had realized that she also had a romantic side, and that made her feel very happy deep down.

“Well… Leaving aside the serious conversations, the surprising revelations and all the laughs we’ve had, how about we keep reading?” Dusk said, taking the Daring Do book that was next to him. Smiling at his friend.

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash immediately replied, her eyes extremely bright with excitement. She quickly took the book from Dusk, opened it and quickly flipped through its pages, looking for the chapter where they had left off.

“Remember, we stayed when the kind Ahuizotl caught the evil Daring Do for stealing his treasure.” Dusk said, with a mischievous smile.

“Shut up. Daring Do is just trying to protect the statue.” Rainbow Dash laughed, looking at Dusk with a big smile. Finally finding the page where they had left off and starting to read out loud.

Not even when Rainbow Dash began her reading, nor before, when Dusk and Rainbow Dash laughed, nor long before, when they had their whole conversation about love, did any of them notice that from the door, a vague shadow had been hiding. The shadow of a pink pony that had arrived there early in the morning and had remained behind the door, listening to everything attentively…

Pinkie Pie had felt really bad about herself for not going to visit Dusk and Rainbow Dash the day before. She really cared a lot about both of them, but she still felt like she wasn't ready to face Dusk face to face. However, when she woke up that morning, guilt got the better of her nerves and she hurried to go visit both of them at the hospital.

As Pinkie Pie approached the room, she saw the nurse leaving the room after delivering breakfast, so Pinkie Pie hurried to the door of the room, knowing that her friends were already awake. However, she stopped at the door when she heard her name being mentioned. That made Pinkie Pie freeze and just stood behind the door, listening to what they were talking about.

So, Pinkie Pie listened to everything Dusk said about her and Applejack, how he still felt that he loved them. That made Pinkie Pie close her eyes in frustration, realizing that Dusk felt the same as her. Then, Pinkie Pie was surprised to hear that Dusk had thought of Rainbow Dash as his first choice for a marefriend. Finally, Pinkie couldn't help but smile when she heard Dusk laugh at how frustrated Rainbow Dash felt for not being able to express her feelings well. A whole carousel of emotions that Pinkie Pie shared with them as one more, despite being behind the door.

After listening to their entire conversation, Pinkie sat on the floor for a moment and leaned her head back against the wall, staring at the ceiling with a small, sad smile. She couldn't deny her intense love for Dusk, but hearing Rainbow Dash slowly open her heart to Dusk, for some reason filled her with happiness, instead of making her jealous like she thought it would.

“If Applejack hadn’t broken up with Dusk… I would never…” Pinkie Pie thought, shedding a tear but smiling. Remembering all the beautiful moments she and Dusk lived last month as a couple.

Suddenly Pinkie Pie was distracted when she heard the sound of hooves walking down the hall. Someone was heading towards that room.

“Daring Do had been captured by Ahuizotl. There was no way to escape from that terrible death chamber, where she had been left to her fate.” Rainbow Dash said excitedly, still reading the book out loud in the room. “The walls were closing in… And deadly needles came out of them! Snakes and spiders were falling from the ceiling! Even the floor itself was sinking due to the quicksand!”

“Isn’t that a bit exaggerated?” Dusk said with a small laugh. “Also, why didn’t Ahuizotl just finish off Daring Do when he had the chance? Fictional villains are so clumsy…”

“Don’t interrupt! You’re doing it on purpose!” Rainbow Dash said angrily, looking at Dusk with a frown. While Dusk simply looked back at her with a mocking smile. Having fun with Rainbow Dash, seeing that she was so stubborn that, despite all the evidence, she still didn’t admit that she liked to read and that she didn’t just do it to help him.

The doors of the room suddenly opened, and Doctor Horse entered with a group of nurses, who pushed a wheelchair into the room containing a pony that seemed to have suffered a very serious accident, since its entire body had been bandaged and only its eyes could be seen.

“Place the patient next to the lavender stallion.” Doctor Horse said, pointing at Dusk but with his sight focused on his notebook. Then, he looked up and put on a confused look when he saw Rainbow Dash there. “What are you still doing here? We already ruled out Botulism and Chester Syndrome. It turns out that you only have a crooked wing. After a night of observation, you can go home now. We need the room for the new patients.” Doctor Horse added. Gesturing to one of the nurses, who approached Rainbow Dash and quickly removed most of the bandage on her wing, leaving only a small part bandaged.

“Huh!? N-No, I still… We’re not done yet…” Rainbow Dash said with a scared look. Looking back and forth between Dusk and the nurse, and also, trying to hide it, glancing sideways at the book that was on her bed.

“Here, you can finish it on your own.” Dusk said with a smile. Lifting the book and holding out his hoof for Rainbow Dash to take.

Rainbow Dash's eyes sparkled with excitement, but when she saw Dusk looking at her with a kind smile, she blushed and looked away, rejecting the book.

“I-I already told you, I'm not an egghead like you. I only read the book to you because you asked me to.” Rainbow Dash replied, pretending to be disinterested. Something that didn't at all erase Dusk's tender smile, who inside was amused to see how stubborn Rainbow Dash was to admit that she liked to read.

“Well, at least you can keep it for me until I recover from my shoulder.” Dusk said with a tender smile. Then he turned to look at one of the nurses. “Is it okay if she takes the book to keep it for me and returns it in a couple days?”

“No problem. The important thing now is to clear the bed for new patients.” The nurse replied with a nervous smile, actually more concerned with caring for the new patient than with a simple book.

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but open her mouth in surprise and joy upon seeing that she could take the book to finish it on her own, but she quickly turned her head away so that Dusk wouldn't see her so excited.

“W-Well, if there’s no other option, I guess I can hold it for you for a couple of days.” Rainbow Dash said, looking away, doing a poor job of faking her false disinterest in continuing to read.

After that, Rainbow Dash took the book, said goodbye to Dusk and left the room quickly. Meanwhile, the nurses hurried to arrange the new patient on the bed next to Dusk. After the nurses finished their work, they left the room, closing the door behind them. However, not even five seconds passed before the door opened again.

“I had a feeling you wouldn’t leave so easily…” Dusk smiled, raising his head and smiling, thinking that it was Rainbow Dash who had returned to the room, because of how stubborn she was in accepting to take the book. However, his smile vanished when he saw that instead of the pegasus, who had entered, it was his ex-marefriend, Pinkie Pie.

“Hi Dusk…” Pinkie Pie greeted timidly, with a small, sad smile.

“Pinkie…” Dusk said, very surprised, since the two had not seen each other face to face since he asked her to break off their relationship.

They both stared at each other in absolute silence for several seconds, as if neither of them knew what to say or wanted to be the first to speak.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t visit you sooner.” Pinkie said finally, sadly. “I… I needed time to sort out my feelings.”

“I understand. I… had to live through the same thing twice.” Dusk replied with a sad smile. They both remained silent again.

“I heard your talk with Rainbow Dash. About how you still love us, Applejack and… me.” Pinkie Pie said, with a small, sad smile. A comment that surprised Dusk. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he did, Pinkie Pie continued speaking. “I still love you too, Dusk, and I’ll continue to do so. I would love so much to continue being your marefriend, but…” At this moment, Pinkie closed her eyes, remaining silent for a moment, and then smiled with less sadness than before. “I asked you to break up with me, and now more than ever, I think it was the right thing to do. We lived many beautiful moments as a couple, but just because we stopped being a couple doesn’t mean we can’t have more beautiful moments in the future, either as friends or… whatever the future holds for us. And… And more importantly! I want my friends to be as happy with you as I managed to be!” Pinkie Pie added very excitedly, with her eyes shining due to holding back her tears, but finally, with a beautiful smile full of joy. Pinkie Pie's real smile.

Hearing Pinkie's words, Dusk's eyes also became moist. He knew that Pinkie had had to fight a lot with her own feelings to finally be able to free herself from the weight of no longer being a couple, and what gave her strength was the sincere hope that her friends could be happy, and that was precisely what should motivate Dusk as well.

“But… Are they really happy with me…?” Dusk thought with a sad look and a weight on his chest. Remembering the tear-filled faces of Applejack and Pinkie Pie when they broke up.

“Of course we've been happy with you, silly.” Pinkie Pie said with a smile, perfectly guessing what her beloved Dusk must have been thinking when she saw his sad and insecure look. “It makes all of us very happy to be with you, more than you can imagine. We all accepted the test of having our hearts broken, in exchange for becoming closer and for our love to grow stronger.”

At Pinkie's words, Dusk remembered the phrase he himself said to his friend Golden Feather on the train to comfort her.

“Love is only for the brave…” Dusk thought, raising his face with a more determined look. Remembering all the beautiful moments he lived with Applejack and Pinkie Pie as their coltfriend. Realizing that, just as Pinkie said, the happy moments were much more than the sad moments.

Pinkie Pie sat on Dusk's bed and caressed his face, staring at him with a tender smile.

“I know you’re questioning it, and that it must be even harder for you, as your heart must open up to love again and break three more times. I know it can be painful, but it will also be beautiful.” Pinkie Pie said, approaching Dusk and giving him a small kiss on the cheek. “I want us to continue being friends, closer than ever! And I hope that my friends can laugh and be happy with you, as much and more than I was with you.” Pinkie Pie smiled, her face shining with hope.

After Pinkie's words, Dusk lowered his head for a moment with a thoughtful look. Then he raised his good hoof and touched his chest. Hearing his heartbeat, Dusk smiled, feeling that Pinkie's sweet and sincere words had finally managed to completely heal his heart, seeing that she had also completely healed. What Pinkie said was true, his heart trembled at the thought of having to suffer a breakup again, but it was a price they were willing to pay in order to open themselves to true love.

“So… Do you know who’s next?” Pinkie Pie said, looking at Dusk mischievously. Finally talking again like the good friends they had always been.

For a moment Dusk lowered his gaze and put on a thoughtful look, but after just a couple of seconds, he raised his head again and looked at Pinkie Pie, also with a mischievous smile.

“Heh, I know. It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?” Pinkie Pie smiled sweetly. Very excited for what was to come.

After leaving the hospital, Rainbow Dash stared at the book. She desperately wanted to read the book and find out how it ended. She quickly grabbed the book and started looking for the page where she left off. However, she quickly closed the book and hid it behind her back when she saw a mother approaching with her sick little foal on the way to the hospital. Rainbow Dash really wanted to read the book right there, but she was scared when she realized that, on her impulse, she almost read it in public, which was the worst thing she could have done. If anyone saw her reading… everyone would think she was an egghead!

“I knew you wouldn't be able to resist reading that book, hehe…” Rainbow Dash imagined Dusk telling her that, with a mocking smile.

“Hngh… I won’t give you the pleasure! I won’t read this stupid book until you get out of the hospital!” Rainbow Dash shouted in frustration, with a look full of determination. Yelling at an imaginary Dusk Shine.

Rainbow Dash spread her wings and quickly flew to her home, which was in the clouds outside Ponyville. Once she arrived home, Rainbow threw the book on the floor of her room and threw herself onto her fluffy bed made of soft clouds.

Rainbow Dash tried to distract herself by looking up at the ceiling, then at the wall, then at the window, but she found it impossible to stop glancing at the book on the floor every few seconds. It was as if the book was calling out to her to continue reading, and Rainbow Dash's willpower was faltering more and more with each second.

Knowing that she needed some other distraction, Rainbow Dash decided to leave her house and go help out with the weather patrol for a while, despite the doctor's advice to stay off work for a couple of days. Rainbow Dash quickly kicked and smashed some clouds that were escaping from the wild Everfree Forest. As she did so, Rainbow Dash flew and kicked clouds faster and faster, as if she wanted to escape from something.

The truth was that Rainbow Dash did want to escape from something: her desire to read! No matter how hard she tried to concentrate on something else, her mind could only imagine Daring Do trapped in Ahuizotl's deadly trap, with no apparent possibility of escaping alive.

After getting rid of the last nearby cloud, Rainbow Dash looked towards the horizon and saw with disappointment that the sun had not even begun to set yet. The day wasn't even over and she couldn't think of anything else to do to distract herself, so finally, she gave up. Rainbow Dash gave a great scream of frustration, knowing that if she read the book and finished it on her own before Dusk left the hospital, he would make fun of her, but she didn't care anymore. After screaming and getting rid of her frustration, Rainbow lowered her head and put on a smile full of satisfaction, she no longer cared about losing to Dusk, the only thing that mattered at that precise moment was just being able to know how Daring Do's great adventure ended.

Without wasting any time, Rainbow Dash quickly flew back to her house. Once there, she flew to her room at lightning speed, grabbed the book that was on the floor, and threw herself onto her bed with a big smile, opening the book and looking for where she had left it.

“The more she struggled to get free, Daring Do felt the ropes tightening around her body, making the possibility of breaking free more and more difficult by the second.” Rainbow Dash began to read excitedly, reading out loud by inertia, just as she had been doing until that moment. “The spiders began to surround Daring Do’s body, approaching with their ferocious fangs. The snakes gathered around her, ready to launch their venom. The walls full of sharp spikes were almost on the verge of piercing her …!” At that moment, Rainbow Dash paused excitedly, instinctively looking to her left, for a moment thinking that she had been reading to Dusk in the hospital. Instantly, her excitement dissipated as she remembered that she was alone.

“What a fool, why do I keep reading out loud?” Rainbow Dash muttered, putting a hoof over her face with a sad smile. “Now I don’t have that fool Dusk interrupting me every second. Now… I can read all I want without being bothered.” Rainbow Dash added, for some reason, not feeling happy saying it.

She picked up the book and tried to continue reading, but just like she had been doing all afternoon, no matter how hard she tried to concentrate, her mind kept distracting her, thinking of something else… Rainbow Dash felt strangely alone and, for some reason, cold. She grabbed her pillow, and hugged it between her hooves.

“It was more fun reading to that fool…” Rainbow Dash muttered, hugging her pillow and sniffing it strongly. Trying to smell a scent that was no longer there, but her mind still imagined remembering it. That pillow was made from the cloud that Rainbow Dash had taken home the day she saved Dusk after falling in the Cloudsdale flying competition. The cloud on which they had both had their first kiss.

“You were going to be the first... I would ask you to be my marefriend…” Those were the words Dusk had told her in the hospital, and now that Dusk was far away, Rainbow Dash couldn't get them out of her head.

“I was going to be the first…” Rainbow Dash thought, blushing, feeling great happiness as she remembered Dusk’s words.

That was one of the things Rainbow Dash loved most about Dusk, that with just a few simple words, he could make her immensely happy. For her, an expert racing flyer, the word 'first' had a huge impact, and thinking that even for a moment, Dusk had had her above all his friends in his heart, filled her with great emotion and happiness. That made Rainbow Dash close her eyes for a moment, putting aside her carefree facade, so that her feelings could be clear to her. Then, she opened her eyes and put on a look full of determination, knowing exactly what she had to do.

Rainbow Dash stood up from the bed with a look full of conviction. Looking to her side, she saw Daring Do's book and took it between her hooves. She couldn't stand it anymore, she needed to finish that book, but for that, she not only needed the book, but she needed to be with the stallion she loved.

“You win…” Rainbow Dash said with a small smile as she looked at the book. She was speaking to both the book and Dusk in her imagination. She then raised her head and inhaled sharply to give a loud scream. “I’m an egghead and I’m in love with an egghead!!” Rainbow Dash screamed, finally accepting what had been keeping her frustrated for the past two days.

“Wow, that’s a cry of love!” A female voice suddenly said, completely surprising Rainbow Dash.

“Pinkie Pie!?” Rainbow Dash screamed, surprised and scared, hearing the voice behind her. She turned around and saw that outside her bedroom window was Pinkie Pie, floating thanks to a dozen balloons tied to her waist. “W-What are you doing here!?” Rainbow Dash added, still surprised, but now blushing as well. Realizing that her friend had heard her scream something extremely embarrassing.

Seeing how nervous Rainbow Dash was, Pinkie Pie couldn't help but smile tenderly. She knew her friend very well, and if she left her like this, Rainbow Dash would once again lock away her feelings of love, deny them again, and be the stubborn mare she always was about her feelings. That's why she realized that she needed to give her one last push.

“Don’t waste any more time, silly.” Pinkie Pie said with a big smile. “Don’t you see that this is a race you can still win?”

At Pinkie Pie's words, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes in surprise. She was slow to understand some things, especially those related to the heart, but this time, she understood Pinkie Pie's feelings perfectly. She was supporting her, despite everything Pinkie loved Dusk, she supported her. That made Rainbow Dash emotional, seeing her dear friend with a light she had never seen before. Then she closed her eyes before letting herself be carried away by her emotions and then put on her characteristic look full of conviction and confidence.

“Thanks, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash said, smiling. She then jumped out of her bed, grabbed the book, and flew out the window, heading straight for the hospital, leaving a rainbow trail as the sky began to turn red due to the sunset.

Seeing Rainbow Dash flying quickly with a big smile, knowing that her heart had made a big decision, made Pinkie Pie burst into tender laughter. She had never seen Rainbow Dash's love-struck smile before, and now she knew it was her new favorite smile. Despite the pain of knowing that she was no longer Dusk's marefriend, Pinkie felt fulfilled at that moment, knowing that she had helped a friend choose love.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Rainbow Dash thought about going straight into Dusk's room through the window, as she was feeling so much adrenaline at that moment that she couldn't wait any longer to join Dusk. However, as she got closer, she saw that the window was closed, so she had no choice but to land at the entrance. Once there, she fixed her mane and hurried inside, walking with a big smile full of confidence, until after taking just a couple of steps inside the hospital, she almost collided head-on with a nurse who stood in her way.

“Visiting hours are over.” The nurse said, looking seriously at Rainbow Dash. For her part, Rainbow Dash gaped with a goofy expression, feeling all the excitement of her epiphany drain away.

“B-But I need to go see Dusk!” Rainbow Dash said, scared. “It’s very important!”

“I’m sorry, dear. It would be best if you came back tomorrow.” The nurse said with a kind smile.

“I… I don’t want to wait until tomorrow…” Rainbow Dash murmured. She felt that she had to take advantage of the excitement and courage she felt at that moment to be with Dusk, otherwise, that intense emotion would fade away.

“Wait… What would Daring Do do in this situation?” Rainbow Dash thought for a second. Deciding that maybe she should be as clever as her new favorite heroine and think of a smarter way to sneak into the hospital…

On the second floor, Dusk Shine was finishing solving a puzzle that came with the newspaper he had taken that morning. The truth was that, although he couldn't use his right paw due to the bandages, he could still perfectly read and hold things thanks to his magic. That was a detail that Rainbow Dash didn't notice. He had only pretended not to be able to read the book so that Rainbow Dash would finally become interested in reading.

“By now, she should have finished reading the book.” Dusk thought, smiling as he thought of Rainbow Dash. Leaving the newspaper on the table next to his bed, he moved his hoof closer to the lamp to turn off the light.

Suddenly Dusk stopped when Rainbow Dash suddenly opened the door, entered the room and closed the door behind her just as quickly as she opened it.

“Heh… Hi…” Rainbow Dash said smiling. Breathing heavily for some reason.

“Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here at this hour?” Dusk asked, surprised and confused. “Hasn’t visiting hours already ended?”

“I have my ways, hehe.” Rainbow Dash said, puffing out her chest and smiling with pride. “Not only can Daring Do be smart and stealthy enough to sneak into a place.”

At that moment Dusk and Rainbow Dash were distracted when they heard the sound of several hoofsteps in the hallway, approaching the room. Then Rainbow Dash put on a look full of panic and ran to hide under Dusk's bed. Just then the door opened and two nurses, plus the hospital guard, entered the room.

“Has anyone entered this room?” One of the nurses asked, looking seriously at Dusk.

The first one who tried to respond was the pony who was in the bed next to Dusk. He had seen Rainbow Dash come in and tried to warn the nurse that Rainbow Dash had hidden there. However, since the poor pony was all bandaged, including his face and mouth, the only thing that could be heard were his moans, while his eyes tried to point under Dusk's bed.

“N-No, no one has come in here.” Dusk finally answered with a nervous smile. Using his magic to close the curtain of his neighbor’s bed, so that the nurses wouldn’t pay attention to him. “Are you looking for someone?” Dusk added, feigning ignorance, to help hide his friend.

“Ugh, that’s the other patient who was in this room this morning. She came asking to come in, but since visiting hours were over, we told her to come back tomorrow.” The first nurse said, with an annoyed look. “So, she used the excuse that her wing still hurt and made a fuss about it… But the fool got the wrong wing and didn’t realize that her bad wing was her right wing that was bandaged, not her left one!”

“When she realized she had screwed up, she just evaded us and ran up to the second floor.” The second nurse added with a shrug. Still not understanding how someone could be so clumsy to sneak away, although the intruder had finally managed to do it anyway.

After explaining what had happened, the nurses and the guard apologized for abruptly entering the room and left, closing the door and continuing their search for the intruder. It was then that Rainbow Dash finally came out from under Dusk's bed and stood next to his bed, looking away blushing.

“So, you sneaked away smartly and stealthily, huh?” Dusk said, trying hard not to laugh.

“Well… It’s just that… I-I didn’t have much time to think!” Rainbow Dash said, bright red in embarrassment. Making Dusk unable to help it any longer and laugh, as he always did when he saw Rainbow Dash’s cute embarrassed face. Which caused Rainbow Dash to blush even more.

“Don’t worry, in any case, you did sneak away like Daring Do would do.” Dusk added, stopping laughing and smiling more tenderly. “She always tries to be smart and stealthy when she enters the temples, but she always ends up activating all the traps and destroying the temples.” At that moment, Dusk paused for a moment and, although he was glad to see Rainbow Dash, there was still an important question pending. “By the way, why did you sneak away like that in the hospital?” Dusk asked confused.

At that moment, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes in surprise, as she had almost forgotten everything that had happened. Then she bent down to pick up what she had brought with her. She picked up the Daring Do book she had brought and brought it over to Dusk, holding it up in front of his face.

“I… I’m an egghead…” Rainbow Dash muttered very quietly, blushing again. Using the book as a barrier so that Dusk wouldn’t look her in the eyes.

“What? I didn’t hear you.” Dusk said confused, since Rainbow Dash’s murmur was so low, it would make Fluttershy proud.

“I said I’m an egghead!!” Rainbow Dash shouted, taking the book away and staring at Dusk, completely blushing. “I admit it, I like to read. Reading Daring Do is one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done in my life!” Rainbow Dash said, her face showing great excitement. Then, she paused for a moment and looked away, glancing sideways at Dusk. “And… And I like it better when… When we read together…” Rainbow Dash added blushing, with a tender look.

Rainbow Dash's statement took Dusk completely by surprise. He already knew that Rainbow Dash loved to read, he had seen it since Rainbow took the book, even though she herself denied it. What surprised Dusk was seeing that despite the fervor that Rainbow Dash had for that book, wanting with all her being to know how Daring Do's great adventure ended, she had repressed that desire because she wanted to read with him. That made Dusk look tenderly at Rainbow Dash and this time it was he who blushed.

“Okay, we can continue talking later.” Rainbow Dash suddenly said. She couldn’t take it anymore when she finally had the two things she wanted the most at that moment: the Daring Do book and Dusk Shine. “Time to finish this book and find out what happens to Daring Do!” Rainbow Dash added very excitedly.

The pegasus looked over to Dusk's side to see her reading spot, which had been the bed next to Dusk. It was then that Rainbow Dash put on a disappointed look as she remembered that she could no longer occupy that spot to read, since the bed was occupied.

“We can read together.” Dusk said, smiling. He moved a little in his bed to be at the edge of it and thus leave room for Rainbow Dash.

At that moment, Rainbow Dash's face went through many emotions in just a second. First, she was surprised by that proposal, then she got excited, then she blushed, then she tried to pretend indifference, then she opened her mouth to say something, but she seemed to regret it at the last second, until she finally looked away blushing, trying to hide her nervousness.

“J-Just don’t try anything weird.” Rainbow Dash said, feigning disinterest. She approached Dusk’s bed and sat next to him in the space he had left for her. She leaned her back against the pillow.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to bite you.” Dusk said smiling, blushing slightly. Making Rainbow Dash blush deeply as well.

“Fool, that already happened once…” Rainbow Dash thought, blushing with embarrassment. Remembering the time she met Dusk and he bit her neck when they joked together. A thought she decided to keep to herself, not knowing if Dusk remembered it or not.

“By the way, the one who was in a trap the last time we saw her was Daring Do, wasn’t she?” Dusk added, smiling.

“It's true! Let's leave the bite for later, now we have to find out what happened to Daring Do!!” Rainbow Dash said, startled. Completely forgetting her embarrassment and nervousness about being next to Dusk, and finally making her mind focus again on what hadn't left her calm for two days, finding out how Daring Do was saved. While Dusk just put on a confused look, not understanding that 'the bite for later' thing.

Sitting next to Dusk, Rainbow Dash quickly opened the book and found the page where she had left off. Although she was reading out loud, Rainbow Dash was now not reading for Dusk, but for herself, but still, feeling Dusk by her side made her feel an inner peace that allowed her to fully immerse herself in Daring Do's world. That was how Rainbow Dash almost screamed with excitement when reading how Daring Do managed to escape Ahuizotl's trap, throwing her hat to hit a lever, which stopped the traps.

“How convenient that right there was a lever that could stop all the traps.” Dusk laughed. He had illuminated his horn a little so that Rainbow Dash could see better.

“Hehe, I know. Don’t bother me.” Rainbow Dash smiled, not caring about those plot holes.

It was true that Rainbow Dash was still annoyed when her reading was interrupted when she was immersed in the world of Daring Do. However, Dusk's comments made her remember that he was by her side. She no longer felt cold when reading as she felt at home when she tried to do so; by her side she could feel the warmth of Dusk's body and that made her feel warm and happy inside too, making her read with a huge smile on her lips at all times.

Finally, Rainbow Dash continued with the end of the book, in which Daring Do managed to escape from the temple and tracked down Ahuizotl's lair. While the temple guardian rejoiced at having stolen the statue from Daring Do, the brave pegasus grabbed a vine, jumped to swing in the air, and stole the sapphire statue back from Ahuizotl, who only stood in amazement watching how Daring Do had managed to escape from his trap and was now fleeing away from the jungle and his reach again.

'...And so, with Ahuizotl defeated and the sapphire statue secure, Daring Do ran through the jungle, ready for new adventures.'

After finishing reading the book, Rainbow Dash closed it and hugged it tightly, falling backwards with a tender smile, full of satisfaction. She realized that she now had a new heroine to idolize and a new passion, that of reading, even if for now it was only Daring Do's books.

“So? Did you like the book?” Dusk said, smiling, since he knew the answer was obvious.

“I didn’t just like it, I love it! I love Daring Do books!” Rainbow Dash said happily, hugging the book even tighter.

It was only then that Rainbow Dash noticed something, she had to look up to answer Dusk. Without realizing it, she had curled up next to Dusk after falling on her back. Then, she stared at Dusk while he also looked at her with a smile.

“I… love...” Rainbow Dash said seriously, her cheeks blushed and her eyes excited. Without finishing her sentence, but staring at Dusk.

“Me too…” Dusk said nervously, blushing. Both stared at each other, knowing exactly what they had done. Both left the doubt in the air as to what they were referring to, whether it was the reading or… something else.

After a few seconds, Rainbow Dash straightened up and sat back down, turning her back to Dusk… She had been so close! She had told him that she loved him to his face, but she couldn't even finish the sentence or make it look like a misunderstanding.

“I’m such a coward! Everyone thinks I’m so brave, but at times like this, I completely chicken out.” Rainbow Dash thought, looking down at the floor with a frustrated and annoyed look. “At the race, I told him I loved him when he wasn’t looking, and then I lied to him saying it was just to distract him. At the Canterlot Gala, I wasn’t able to confess my love to him face to face either, I could only do it by hugging him from behind. Even the last time I kissed him! I only did it when his eyes were closed and he wasn’t expecting it. I… I’m such a coward!”

Seeing Rainbow Dash upset, Dusk stared at her for several seconds, until he finally understood the truth. For a second, he thought that Rainbow Dash had gotten angry at him for evading her statement, but that worried and angry look wasn't against him, but against herself. Dusk finally managed to perfectly understand what was going through Rainbow Dash's mind at that very moment, and he did so because he felt exactly the same way at that moment.

“You haven’t done anything wrong, Rainbow Dash. I’m the one who… regrets being a coward.” Dusk said, narrowing his eyes in guilt. A comment that surprised Rainbow Dash and made her turn around again to look at him in the face. “You’ve been able to express your feelings for me many times, but I haven’t been able to give you a proper answer…”

At that moment, Dusk remained silent, placing his good hoof on his forehead, as if he was thinking about something. That made Rainbow Dash open her eyes wide and lower her gaze sadly.

“I understand… You can’t tell me that you don’t like me. That you don’t want to be my coltfriend…” Rainbow Dash thought, understanding why Dusk wasn’t able to complete his sentence. Then she closed her eyes and put on a sad smile. She raised her gaze again to see Dusk.

When Rainbow Dash looked at Dusk again, all the tension and sadness of the moment vanished when she saw Dusk making a funny confused face while scratching his head and mane with his hoof. The same scene that had happened in the afternoon of that day, only this time it was Dusk who made a confused and funny face not knowing how to express his feelings.

“Ugh! I don’t understand! Why do you like me!?” Dusk said with a funny, confused look. “You’re Rainbow Dash! The coolest pony I know! You’re one of the best flyers I’ve ever seen, you can do a sonic rainboom which is a unique stunt in the world. You’re fun, brave, daring, and also… You’re EXTREMELY cute and tender when you blush and get nervous! I… I want to ask you to be my marefriend, but out of all the girls, you’re the one I understand the least why you fell in love with me, it’s so frustrating! But still, I’ll do it…”

“Wait… It’s not that he doesn’t want to be my coltfriend because he doesn’t like me. He doesn’t want to be my coltfriend because he doesn’t understand why I like him?” Rainbow Dash thought in surprise. She couldn’t help but cover her mouth to hide a laugh. But then, the last thing Dusk said caught her attention.

“Wait, what are you going to do?” Rainbow Dash asked confused.

At Rainbow Dash's question, Dusk flattened his mane a little and looked seriously at Rainbow Dash.

“I know I’m a coward and indecisive, and that you might regret it, but…” Dusk said, his cheeks blushed. “Rainbow Dash, would you like to be my marefriend?”

Rainbow Dash's heart beat as fast as it had when she was flying in a race. Her eyes widened in excitement as she finally heard the words she had dreamed of hearing, and then, the festival of funny faces began again. Rainbow Dash made a face full of emotion, which she quickly tried to avoid showing by closing her mouth tightly, as if she were holding her breath. Seeing that she couldn't hide her joy well, Rainbow Dash looked away and tried to look angry to counteract all the happiness she felt inside her, but even so, her mouth couldn't help but tremble and smile at times, despite trying not to look so excited, generating the funniest face of all.

“W-Well, if there’s no other way, I-I guess I could give you a chance and be your marefriend.” Rainbow Dash stuttered with a fake serious look, even though she couldn’t help it and smiled, while her cheeks were completely red from the contained emotion.

Just as Dusk said, those funny faces Rainbow Dash made, trying hard to hide her feelings, were the cutest faces Rainbow Dash made without realizing it. Seeing her like that, Dusk couldn't help but blush, seeing that, although he didn't fully understand it yet, Rainbow Dash did love him, a lot.

For the first time, Dusk had directly asked a mare if she wanted to be his marefriend. Without any misunderstandings or confusion, as had happened with his two previous marefriends. That made him feel good about himself, seeing that he was also growing emotionally as a stallion. He had learned a lot in his two previous relationships, so he understood that just like now, he should take more initiative, that that was something that a good coltfriend knew and should do.

“I think this is a good time…” Dusk thought, with renewed confidence, seeing that his declaration had been accepted by Rainbow Dash, so now all that was left was to seal it with a romantic gesture.

Dusk stretched out his good hoof to caress Rainbow Dash's cheek and slowly brought his face closer, searching for his new marefriend's lips. Seeing what was coming, Rainbow Dash blushed even more in surprise, but she let herself go with the moment, slowly closing her eyes and approaching Dusk as well.

From the bed next to him, the poor pony who had his entire body bandaged, groaned in annoyance. Since he couldn't move and Dusk had closed his curtain, he couldn't know what was going on in the bed next to him, but he had been hearing noises all night and couldn't stand it anymore, so he groaned to complain to be allowed to sleep.

That moan went unnoticed by Dusk, who was nervous and focused on approaching his marefriend to give her a romantic first kiss, however, Rainbow Dash did hear it, making the pegasus come out of the daydream of the moment and return to the real world, where she was about to kiss Dusk in a hospital bed, with someone next to her listening to them.

“N... Not here!!” Rainbow Dash screamed, closing her eyes, red in embarrassment. She pushed Dusk away and hit him on the shoulder. Embarrassed and annoyed at the feeling that Dusk had caught her too off guard.

“Ouch!” Dusk moaned in pain. Causing Rainbow Dash to open her eyes and only then realize that, due to her clumsiness, she had accidentally hit Dusk’s injured shoulder.

“I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Rainbow Dash quickly apologized, feeling very foolish and sorry for what she did.

“What’s all that noise!?” A nurse shouted from the hallway. She happened to be passing by and became concerned when she heard the moans of a patient and the scream of pain of another.

“Oh no!” Rainbow Dash said, scared. She heard the nurse approaching her. She knew that with all that noise, hiding under a bed wouldn’t be enough this time.

“The window.” Dusk said, pointing to his side, opening the window with his magic. “You must leave so you can live new adventures.” Dusk added with a knowing smile. Saying the same words with which the Daring Do book ended.

Before Rainbow Dash left, Dusk used his magic to open a drawer in the table next to him and levitated another book in front of her: 'Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet', the second book in the Daring Do saga.

Rainbow Dash excitedly took the book and approached the window, spreading her wings, ready to escape from danger, just like her heroine would do. But then, she turned around one last time and looked seriously at Dusk with a beautiful smile.

“No more solo adventures.” Rainbow Dash said. “From now on, we’ll be adventuring TOGETHER.”

“And it will be the best of all adventures.” Dusk added, also smiling tenderly.

Just as the bedroom door opened, Rainbow Dash flew rapidly out the window.

“What was all that noise about?” The nurse who entered the room said. She looked strangely at Dusk, the open window and the bed of the patient who was moaning angrily behind the curtain.

“I’m sorry. I accidentally hit my shoulder.” Dusk lied, relieved that Rainbow Dash hadn’t been discovered.

“It’s late. You better go back to sleep.” The nurse said, walking over to the window to close it.

“Woo-hoo…!” A scream was heard in the sky in the distance. One that Dusk and the nurse could hear. A scream full of happiness and excitement.

“What was that?” The nurse asked confused. Looking up at the night sky, which was beautifully lit by the full moon. “That… Is that a heart?” The nurse asked even more confused. Not knowing that, without realizing it, Rainbow Dash had done a pirouette while flew away. Forming a perfect heart in the sky with her rainbow trail.

“Heh… What is that?” Dusk answered smiling. He let himself fall on his back and looked at the ceiling with a smile as he imagined Rainbow Dash flying and laughing with happiness. “It’s just a beautiful mare in love with a very lucky fool.” Dusk laughed. He couldn’t help but laugh at the thought that he was now the coltfriend of another extraordinary and wonderful mare.

End of chapter 43

Author's Note

Many thanks to 'Silveranon' for his great help

PS: Personally, I really enjoyed writing this chapter, more than for the plot, because I felt like I was going back to my origins, like in the first chapters of the fanfic xD since the last chapters were with a more serious tone, and even when I had the break for months, it was just when I was writing the Crystal Empire arc, and with all the emotions that it was, it felt good to write something with more humor and focusing on the love of Dusk and the girls. Besides having references to several chapters of the first season, it made me feel quite nostalgic about all the time I've been writing

Anyway, I hope you like it and I hope I have time to write another chapter before the end of the year. If not, happy holidays!!