"R-rainbow Dash," Applejack stammered. She couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with the pegasus, instead she looked at her hooves. Suddenly Applejack felt really hot all of a sudden, uncomfortably so, and wiped her brow. "Ah... Ah don't know what to say."
Slowly, she lifted her head. Rainbow Dash was watching her, sitting uncharacteristically still. It was then Applejack noticed the look on her face. The little twinkle in her eyes, the cocky grin on her muzzle. It was the same look she often had when the two were having one of their spats or having one of their contests.
It was the look Rainbow had when she thought she was going to win something.
Applejack realized that Rainbow was still waiting on her answer. She swallowed. "Ah'm... Ah'm flattered... " She hesitated. She saw the grin on Rainbow's muzzle twitch once, twice, before slowly melting into a worried frown. "Now don't get me wrong! Ah know ya put a lotta work into this," Applejack said. She then gestured to the boutique in Rainbow's hoof. "Ah mean, ya got the flowers..." She then pointed up at the sky. "And ya wrote mah name up there..." Applejack squinted at the letters:
A-P-P-L-E-J-A-K
She couldn't bring herself to mention the missing 'C.'
"But, well, it's just..."
"You don't like mares, do you?"
Applejack winced. Rainbow's delivery had been devoid of any emotion. Applejack immediately realized this wasn't the first time she had to say those words. She sighed. "'fraid not, Sugar cube."
"Oh," Rainbow said. "Just... just forget I asked then." She then abruptly stood up. "It... it was stupid of me to ask... I..." Rainbow trailed off, looking at anywhere but Applejack. "... I...I have to go!" Rainbow turned around, prepared to sprint away.
"Rainbow wait!"
Rainbow Dash froze mid-stride, her ears perking up. She cautiously turned around, finding Applejack staring at her with a look she couldn't read. "Y-yeah?"
"Ya know yer still one of mah best friends, right?"
Rainbow smiled sadly. "I know." She then turned around again. "Well, guess I'll see ya later AJ," she said without turning around.
"Right, later..." she heard Applejack say.
Rainbow Dash kept her head down as she walked back to Ponyville. Normally she would prefer to fly back from Sweet Apple Acres, but she didn't feel like flying at the moment.
She didn't feel like she ever wanted to fly again.
"Rainbow?"
Instinctively wiped her eyes with a hoof before turning around. She had made her way into the town square, where a certain lavender unicorn just so happened to be.
"Hey Twi."
"Rainbow!" Twilight beamed, trotting over towards her friend. "So, how'd it go?" she asked once she was beside Rainbow. "What did she s-" Twilight suddenly cut herself off, her friendly smile evaporating. "Oh," she said, and Rainbow turned away from her. "Oh, Rainbow Dash, I'm so sorry."
"Sorry? 'bout what?" Rainbow then turned around, revealing her smirk. "C'mon, you'd really think I'd let a little something like that slow me down?"
Twilight frowned. "Rainbow," she said, "you don't have to do this."
"Do what?"
"Lie to me," Twilight said. For a second Twilight saw a flicker of -doubt perhaps?- on Rainbow's face before the cocky look returned.
"Don't know what you're talking about," Rainbow said, making a point to stare at her hoof with her eyes half-lidded.
Twilight closed her eyes and sighed. "Look Rainbow," she said. "I... I know what it's like t-"
"To what? Be awesome?"
"To like somepony who doesn't feel the same about you. I... I know it hurts, but..."
"Oh, c'mon Twi! This isn't some stupid egghead thing." Rainbow saw Twilight wince but decided to continue: "In case you're forgetting, I am the Rainbow Dash. Ya know, only the coolest pony in Equestria? The mare who's sheer awesomeness alone attacks every mare in fifty-foot radius? I spend half may time awake fighting them off."
"Rainbow..."
"So why should I be upset just because one pony turns me down, hmm? Besides, she said that we'll still be friends, so what difference does it really make. We'll still hang out and... and stuff. I mean, sure, it'll be kinda awkward for a while, but I'm sure after a while I'll get used to the fact that she... that she will never... never..."
Rainbow's vision had started to become blurry. "N-never..." She sniffled. Rainbow felt a pair of hooves wrap around her middle, pulling her into a tight hug.
"Shh," Twilight said as Rainbow buried her face into her chest. "It's okay..."
Rainbow sobbed, unable to hold back the tears any more. "Why..." she croaked. "Why does it hurt so much?"
"It's okay," Twilight repeated, gently rubbing her back. "I got you... I got you..."
Rainbow was laying on her couch, idly staring at her ceiling. Tank was resting on top of her, nuzzling against her cheek. She appreciated the gesture. Sure, tank wasn't exactly soft or fuzzy. But still, he was trying, and it was always nice to know somepony wanted to hold her.
"Rainbow!"
Rainbow's ears twitched. Funny, that sounded like...
"RAINBOW!"
"Gah!" Rainbow bolted upright. Fortunately, Tank was gripping her tightly enough to not be sent flying.
"RAINBOW!" The pegasus waited for the walls to stop shaking before gently setting Tank down. She then flew out her front door, landing on the edge of the cloud.
"Twilight?" Rainbow peered over the edge to spot her smiling friend. Twilight waved at her, her horn shimmering.
"THERE YOU ARE! I WAS WORRIED YOU WEREN'T HOME!"
Rainbow winced, gritting her teeth and covering her ears. "Uh, Twi? Could you turn it down just a bit?"
"OH, SORRY!" Twilight's horn stopped shimmering. "There, I turned the spell off," she said at a much less ear-splitting level. "Better?"
"Much better," Rainbow said. She felt a small smile on her muzzle in spite of her earlier sour mood. She supposed seeing a friend tended to do that.
Twilight returned her grin, then suddenly looked away. "Um," she said, fidgeting with her hooves. "Mind if I come up?"
"Hmm," Rainbow said, scratching her chin. "That depends. What's the password?"
Twilight gave Rainbow a blank look. "Let me guess," she said flatly, " is it 'Rainbow is best pony?'"
"Password accepted!" Rainbow beamed. Twilight rolled her eyes, though Rainbow spotted a small smirk. Then, much to Rainbow's surprise, the unicorn disappeared in a flash of purple light and rematerialized beside her.
"So I wa- GACK!" Rainbow dove forward, grabbing Twilight's forelegs before she could fall through the cloud. She then lifted her into the air so that they were both hovering a couple feet off the ground. "S-sorry," Twilight said bashfully. "I forgot the Cloud-walking spell." Twilight's horn then lite up again for a moment. "Okay, I'm good."
Rainbow nodded and set her down, landing in front of her. "So, what where you saying earlier?"
"Hmm? Oh, right!" Twilight clapped her hooves together. "So, you know that the Wonderbolts are having a race in Fillydelphilla this weekend?"
"Yeah..."
"Well... I was thinking, maybe the two of us could go see it?"
Rainbow blinked. "I thought you said you don't like racing?"
"I... I never said that I don't like them per se," Twilight said, fiddling with her hooves. "I just... lack any interest in the sport itself. That doesn't mean that I am unable to sit through a game." Twilight smiled nervously.
"I... I don't know Twi. I was kinda planning on just staying home this weekend."
Twilight sighed. "Look Rainbow," she said, placing a hoof on her withers. "I know it's probably been hard for you the last few days, ever since Applejack..." Twilight trailed off once she noticed Rainbow wince. "...uh, you know. B-but you can't just keep moping around your house all day. I... we... the girls, we're worried about you alright. We just want to see you happy."
Rainbow opened her mouth to retort, but stopped once she saw the pleading look Twilight was giving. She had a point, Rainbow supposed. "You sure you'd wanna see a race, though? I mean, there's not that much of a point going if you're not gonna have fun."
"Pfft, I'll be fine," Twilight said, waving her hoof. "And besides, there's a bookstore down there that I've been wanting to see. I thought maybe we could check it out... together?"
"Well, I'll have to see when I can get off work, but I'm down."
"Perfect! Just let me know when you'll be free and we'll figure it out."
"M'kay," Rainbow said. She watched Twilight step away from her and activate her horn, clearly about to teleport away.
"Hey Twi?"
She turned around. Rainbow put a hoof on her shoulder.
"Thanks."
"For what?"
"For trying to cheer me up," Rainbow added. "You're a good friend."
"Yeah..." Twilight said, an unreadable look on her face. The way she said that... did... did Rainbow upset her somehow?
"Well, anyways, see you later," Twilight said quickly. She then teleported away before Rainbow had a chance to think about it.
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes as she lay on the cloud, basking in the warmth of the sun. Sure, she have places to be, sort of, but it was a nice day and she decided it wouldn't hurt to take advantage of it. After a quick yawn and stretch she then rolled onto her belly, peering over the edge of the cloud. From where she was floating she a decent view of Ponyville. She sighed. Rainbow had always loved the view from the sky. It was funny. From the the ground everything was so big and chaotic, but from above everything was so... small. And simple. Everything just fit together so perfectly.
To bad her life couldn't be like that.
Rainbow then shook her head, as if trying to dislodge the thought. No. She was done feeling sorry for herself. Sure, the last month had been... awkward, but things weren't as bad as they could be. It wasn't like she and Applejack weren't seeing each other. Sure, it was always with their other friends -never just the two of them- but they still would talk and hang out. And yeah, things might of still been a little uneasy between them, but Rainbow could sense that things were slowly going back to normal between them. It was probably the most she could hope for.
Rainbow sighed again. A gentle breeze washed over her, making the cloud sway. Then Rainbow smiled. She stood up, spreading her wings. She then leaned forwards to let gravity did its work. As she fell she tucked her wings in close to her side, trying to build up as much speed as possible. She watched as the ground approached her, her smile widening. Then she spread her wings and thrust to her side. She flew around in a quick loop-de-loop, slowing to a gentle glide above the surface.
"Go Rainbow, go," she chuckled to herself as she landed in front of Fluttershy's cabin. Rainbow had decided earlier that day that Fluttershy probably wouldn't mind another random visit. As she approached, Rainbow thought that there was at least one sliver lining to come out of her... thing with Applejack. She realized that she had been ignoring some of her other friends to spend time with the farm pony. Which, in hindsight, was really, REALLY, not cool of her. Especially since they have all been so supportive of her, both when she was working up the courage to ask her and after she got rejected. Heck, Twilight alone had been checking up on her everyday, mostly asking about how the weather team was doing or about what books she was reading. Rainbow smiled as she raised a hoof to knock on the door. She was really luck to have a friend like her.
Wait. Rainbow froze. She thought she had heard a voice from inside. It sounded like...
"Twilight, are you really sure you can do this? Um, if... if you don't mind me asking, that is?"
Twilight? She was here?
"It doesn't matter, I have to be... for her sake," Twilight said. Rainbow frowned. Clearly they were talking about something personal. It wouldn't be right to eavesdrop. She should probably...
"I mean, um, maybe you should at least try to tell her how you feel?"
Tell her how you feel? Wait, did that mean Twilight...?
Curiosity got the better of her. Rainbow darted over to a nearby window and peered inside. Sure enough she spotted the mare in question in the living room, talking with Fluttershy.
"Look, Fluttershy, we've been over this. She's already going through enough right now as it is! The last thing she needs is for me to jeopardize our friendship."
Rainbow felt a pang of sympathy. She knew first hoof what it was like to be rejected.
"B-but what about you? Um, if you don't mind me asking?" Fluttershy added.
Twilight sighed. "Like I said, I'll... I'll be fine. I really hurt when she first told me how she felt about Applejack..."
Applejack?
"... but was able to set my feelings aside then. Don't you see? At least this way Rainbow and I could still be friends."
Fluttershy looked like she was about to say something else, but just then she seemed to notice something out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head to look out the window.
Uh-oh.
"Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. "What are you looking a-"
Rainbow flew away as fast as she could, a multicolored streak trailing behind her. She did not stop until she was back at her home. She then sat down on the cloud in front of her door, feeling her heart racing in her chest.
"Rainbow!" Twilight said as she teleported besides Rainbow Dash, giving her an accusatory look.
"Oh. H-hey, Twi," Rainbow stammered. Maybe she could try playing dumb?
"You were spying on us!" Twilight spat, jabbing Rainbow with her hoof.
"I... um.... uh..." So much for playing dumb.
"You... you heard everything, didn't you?" It was more of a statement then question. Rainbow swallowed hard. Suddenly, Twilight's expression shifted from anger to a look of worry. "Oh no," she said, turning away from Rainbow. "Oh, no no no, this is bad. This is really bad!"
"Um, Twilight?" Rainbow said to the unicorn, who had now begun to frantically pace back and forth.
"You weren't supposed to find out like this," Twilight said, seemingly not hearing her. Her breathing seemed to quick with each word. "Oh Celestia, you weren't supposed to find out like this!"
"Twilight! You're hyper... um, hyper..."
"Hyperventilating!"
"Yeah! That!" Rainbow said, feeling proud of herself for almost getting it right. "Uh, Twilight?"
"This... this is it," Twilight stammered. "W-we're not going to be able to be friends after this!"
"Um, Twilight?"
"A-and if we can't be friends... then... then the Elements will not work..."
"Twilight?"
"...and if the Elements fail, then, then... oh Celestia! I've just doomed ponykind to extinction!"
"Twilight!" Rainbow said sternly. She placed a hoof on the unicorns shoulder. "Look at me."
Twilight slowly meant her gaze, still trembling. "R-rainbow?"
"Breathe," Rainbow said. She took her hoof off Twilight's shoulder, raising it as she slowly inhaled before lowering it as she exhaled. "Just like that." Twilight copied the motion. "There you go! See, just doing that for a little bit, okay?"
Twilight weakly nodded. Rainbow carefully watched her breathing, making sure to keep encouraging her. After a minute or two Rainbow decided to ask: "You feel better?"
"I-I think so," Twilight said weakly. She than sat down on her haunches, letting out a drawn out sigh as she did so. "Celestia, I'm such a screw-up."
"Hey, don't talk like that," Rainbow said as she sat beside her. "You're a not a screw-up. So what, you have a little meltdown every now and then. It's no big deal."
"No big deal?" Twilight deadpanned, shooting Rainbow an incredulous look.
"Exactly. Fluttershy used to have panic attacks all the time when we were foals." Rainbow then playfully nudged Twilight's side. "Heck, why'd you think I learned that whole 'deep breathing' thing?" She shoot Twilight a smile. She didn't return it, instead she stared at her hooves.
"Sometimes I feel like all I do is worry."
"C'mon Twi, everypony worries about stuff! Look, I know this is hard to believe do to my awesomeness..." Twilight chuckled, causing Rainbow to smile briefly before continuing, "...but even I get scared sometimes. Heck, look how long it took me to work up the courage to ask Applejack out!"
Suddenly, a realization dawned on Rainbow Dash. "Wait... did you had a crush on me when I told you about Applejack?"
Twilight nodded sadly. "For a few weeks before then, actually."
"You... you never said anything though."
Another sigh. "I didn't want to risk our friendship," Twilight said with a sad smile. Rainbow recognized that look. It was the same she gave Applejack when she turned her down.
"Twilight," Rainbow said, sitting down beside her. She took a deep breath before speaking: "I... I don't think I feel the same way about you. I've never really thought about you in that way, to be honest. And I don't think I'm completely over Applejack yet."
Twilight's ears flattened against her head, her muzzle turned downwards. "Buuut..." Rainbow said, placing her hoof on Twilight's."You are one of my best friends. So maybe giving us a chance won't be the worst idea."
It took Twilight a moment to process the words. Once she did she turned to Rainbow, giving her a wide-eyed look that was normally caused by finding a new book. "Rainbow?" she said, barely above a whisper, as if saying it out loud will jinx it. "Are you saying you... that you..."
"What I'm saying," Rainbow said, interrupting Twilight, "is that there's that restaurant I've been meaning to try out. Maybe we could check it out?"
Rainbow then found herself pulled into a tight hug. "YES!" Twilight shouted. "Oh Rainbow, yes! Yes! Yeees!" Twilight then released Rainbow and sprung onto her hooves. "Celestia, I have a date with Rainbow Dash!" She then stood up on her hind legs to do a little twirl. "I-I'm so happy! I could... I could..."
"TWILIGHT!"
Twilight barely registered falling off the edge of the cloud. She did, however, recognize the feeling of something grabbing her as she fell headfirst towards the ground. She looked up to see that Rainbow had caught her hind leg and was now carrying her as she hoovered.
Much to her relief, Twilight also saw that Rainbow had the same sheepish look that she did. "So, uh," Rainbow said after an awkward pause. "After I... uh, put you down... you want me to pick you up at seven?"
"That s-sounds wonderful," Twilight replied.
Fluttershy took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. Okay, you could do this, she thought to herself. You just have to hit it when it comes close to you.
She tightened her grip around the hockey stick in her mouth. Skating around on the ice in front of her were Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, all battling over the puck. On the other side of the lake Fluttershy could see Rarity and Twilight, the latter trying to balance on shaky hooves as Rarity coached her.
Suddenly, Pinkie Pie snatched the puck away from Applejack and began racing towards the goal. Applejack spat out her hockey stick. "Fluttershy!" she cried.
Fluttershy crouched down into a defensive stance, ready to defend her goal at all costs. Pinkie sent the puck flying into the air. Seeing it coming towards her caused Fluttershy to let out a startled cry, dropping her stick in the process. She then flopped onto the ice, covering her head with her hooves. The puck sailed effortlessly over her and into the net.
"Dagnabbit!" Applejack swore.
"Gooooal!" Pinkie cried.
"Yeah!" Rainbow cheered. She then staked over to Applejack. "We won, we won! In your face Applejack!"
"Dang it Rainbow! What did we say 'bout showboating!?"
"I'm not showboating," Rainbow said as she began to stake around Applejack in a circle. "I'm just telling the truth."
Applejack was about to retort when she was cut off by a loud yelp. Everypony turned to look at Twilight. The unicorn was laying prone on the ice, nursing her bruised cheek.
Rainbow suddenly appeared at her side. "You okay?"
"I... I think so," Twilight answered. She then tired to stand back up only to immediately lose her balance. Rainbow wrapped her wing around Twilight before she could fall, however.
"Thanks Dashie," Twilight said once she was steady on her hooves. Rainbow smiled. Twilight then leaned in for a quick kiss on the lips, making the pegasus blush.
"D'aaaw!"
Rainbow turned to glare at Rarity. "Oh, don't give that look dear," Rarity said with a mischievous smile. "It's not my fault you two are absolutely adorable together."
"Hey," Rainbow said as she narrowed her eyes. "I. Am. Not. Adorable."
Twilight then nuzzled her neck against Rainbow's. "I think you adorable," she whispered. Twilight then kissed Rainbow again.
"Eh heh," Rainbow stammered, blushing even harder than before.
Applejack quietly chuckled as she watched the scene unfold.
"Hey, Applejack," Pinkie said, an unusually serious look on her face. "Can I ask you something?"
"Uh, sure sugar cube. Go ahead."
"Who do you like?"
Applejack blinked, taken aback by Pinkies question. "Ah... Ah get what ya mean."
"Well, when Dashie asked you out you told her no because you don't like mares..."
"Um, yes?"
"And Dashie asked you out because she likes mares," Pinkie continued. "And Twilight likes mares and stallions. And I've heard that Hoity Toity likes stallions, but Rarity always says you should never believe everything you read in those magazines..."
"Pinkie," Applejack said, cutting her off before she got too off topic.
"Sorry. I was thinking if you don't like mares, then do you like stallions? Because you never talk about liking stallions."
"Oh." Applejack frowned, thinking of the best way to tell her. "Can Ah tell ya something... kinda personal?"
Pinkie nodded. "Cross my heart, and hope to fl-"
"No, not like that," Applejack said. She cleared her throat before continuing. "After Rainbow told me how she felt, Ah did some thinkin' and Ah realized that Ah... Ah don't like stallions that way. Ah don't think Ah like anypony that way, to be honest."
Pinkie frowned in confusion. "So, you like neither?"
"Yeah," Applejack said. Then she smiled. It was strange. Saying it out loud, it felt as if some invisible weight was lifted off her shoulders. "Neither."
A hockey puck then sailed past the two of them, landing in the goal and scaring Fluttershy again.
"Score!"
"Oh, c'mon Rainbow! We're not even playin'!"
Rainbow then staked up to and put a wing on her shoulder. "Sorry AJ, but you know what they say. 'Ya snooze, ya lose.'"
Applejack swatted her wing away, giving her a glare that the Ponyville weather team could use to refreeze the lake next winter.
"Uh-oh," Rainbow said before turning around and staking away as fast as she could. "I regret nothing!"
"Get back here, ya little varmint!" Rainbow heard Applejack shout behind her, followed by a halfhearted plea from Twilight to not hurt her marefriend too badly. Even as she ran Rainbow laughed.
Author's Note
Howdy howdy!
Alright, since I have a few days left at the time I'm posting this,
HAPPY PRIDE MONTH!
