Of all the words that could describe Rainbow Dash, 'patient' was not one of them.
Regardless of the fact that 'patient' held two meanings, neither of them described the cyan pegasus as she leaned carefully against the polished, gleaming, golden railing in front of her. Though it creaked slightly, she knew it was sturdy - it had to be, lest it one day decided to crumble and take a being of nobility with it. Canterlot balconies tended to be very well made as a result.
Rainbow sighed, gazing forlornly at the molten yellow sun as it slowly continued its eternal descent across the endless yellowed-orange ocean that was the sky. She knew in her heart of hearts that it would complete its cycle soon enough, leaving her shrouded in the scope of night...alone...on the middle of a balcony...in the mountainous kingdom of Canterlot.
It was the very reason she fidgeted so slightly in her spot, flicking her ears cautiously as the wind picked up speed, caressing her with the touch of an angel and sending her prismatic mane billowing freely in the breeze; she had no wish to be left alone in such a dark shroud, especially left flightless and bored as she was.
The pegasus was flightless, a fact she detested the most out of anything at the moment. Staring off the balcony, Dash sighed, feeling her gaze drift downwards to the - to another pony - dizzy heights below, which beckoned her with a silent finger. Come on, they whispered. Take a chance. Dive down, explore me, go fast. Be free, be fast.
Shut up, replied Rainbow Dash.
"Having fun, aren't you?"
The sudden silence and tranquility of a kingdom set to sleep under an orange watcher was quickly dissipated by the sound of a voice that was all too familiar to the pegasus. Hearing the voice, Rainbow set herself to slump against the railing in a motion of despair and boredom, returning her gaze to the horizon, where the sun ached so to touch and to embrace, bathing Equestria in a redder light than usual. The voice, while pitched with a slight joke and additional sarcasm to the pegasus' acutely tuned ears, meant no harm or insult - but she could not resist the impulse to give vent to a huge, longing sigh, before speaking in return.
"Hey, Twi'."
The air was silent once more as the greeting between two familiar ponies died down, punctuated by slight whistles as wind sought to follow the setting sun, as if to visit an ethereal party of nature that only it knew of. And as it passed, the pegasus became increasingly aware of the one thing that kept her mane from billowing completely freely.
"You know, it isn't...healthy to keep the same bandages on for so long."
Rainbow Dash heard Twilight Sparkle speak again, but her mind barely registered the words into her thoughts at all. Instead, her left hoof trailed absently up to her temple, pressing softly into the white bandage that was wrapped with tender care around her head, pinning her rebellious mane to her neck and covering something she preferred not to think about. Her thoughts drifted instinctively to the similar one around her right hoof, which remained held slightly above the ground, carefully positioned not to put weight on the injured leg.
It was silent once more, for only a brief second, before the young flier opened her mouth reluctantly. "I don't particularly care."
What followed was yet another silence, punctuated briefly by a sigh laced with copious amounts of concern and passive frustration. There came the clipping of hoof-steps soon after, and Rainbow became aware of a warmth across her shoulders that she felt compelled to shrug off, but averted her decision at the last second. Shrugging off the gesture of comfort would both send her deeper into the haze she knew she would not recover from for a while, and would raise pain in her wings as her torso was forced to shift beyond capacity to accommodate the movement. It would be a mistake, indeed, to move the feathery appendages that were also lashed tight to her body by means of a white strip of cloth - that is, unless she wished to feel shooting pains that occurred all too often lately for her comfort to bear.
Instead, she turned her gaze to the left, where the towering, neighboring buildings made their mark on the land, dark and foreboding as all the occupants no longer remained within, sipping at tea or discussing the latest trends.
Rainbow felt a gentle squeeze from what she knew was a lavender hoof, and suspected that Twilight's eyebrows had slowly knit themselves into a very familiar look of worry. "You know...one day, you're probably going to be the death of yourself. 'Not caring' isn't exactly the smartest thing you've done."
The pegasus attempted to swallow, now fully aware of a lump in her throat the size of a bowling ball as she returned her gaze forward, to the lonely and open grounds ahead. "Then what is the smartest thing I've done?"
If the cyan mare would have looked to her right, she might have seen the tiny, affectionate smile as a certain bookworm gazed quietly at her love. She would have seen the softening of her gaze, and seen the desire glistening there to envelop her in the biggest hug known to ponykind. But she did not look to her right, and instead only heard Twilight's voice, laced just faintly with traces of the immeasurable love that the librarian held for the pegasus pony. "For starters, you came to see me."
It was just this simple utterance that caused Rainbow to tear her gaze from the horizon, and to finally look into the unicorn's lavender eyes. Seeing the smile that was reflected there, she blushed slightly in self-consciousness, and averted her eyes just as quickly, frowning slightly. "That doesn't count..." she whispered.
Twilight gave vent to another sigh, gently rubbing the pegasus' mane in a vain attempt to cause her to loosen up. "Oh come on now, you know it does."
Rainbow remained staring at the sinking sun, which was (in perspective's view) only a mere 3 inches from the horizon. Tight-lipped, she spoke. "Why?"
Twilight withdrew her hoof from the cyan mare's shoulders, letting loose yet another calculated sigh, and fixed her gaze on the same spot that Rainbow had affixed on. She drank in the softly blowing wind briefly, before speaking.
"Rainbow, it counts because it's...sweet. I can't say I've ever known a pony who walked to Canterlot to see somepony, when there are easily trains that can be taken. And it's even sweeter that, when all nobility is off at a big event somewhere else, you march right up to them and demand that you see me."
As she continued her speech, Twilight Sparkle became only faintly aware of the grin that graced her expression as she reveled in the memories of day's past, warm affairs that softened her heart and drew her into a state of certain euphoria. She recalled how, yes, it had been the best surprise she'd ever received when she opened the door to her keep and found her one true love standing there, injuries and all, having journeyed by hoof just to see her. And, at further explanation, the lengths she'd gone through to get there. It'd been a well-earned warmth, the warmth of being revered by a pony she revered equally, that she relished both then and at the current moment as she continued.
"It's just...it's something that I really appreciate, and a thing that takes a lot of thought, even if it shouldn't. You do a lot of dumb things -" The lavender unicorn paused briefly as the pegasus gave her a light jab with her bandaged hoof, before wincing and withdrawing it. "-...like that."
"And your point is...?" grumbled Rainbow, nursing her now thoroughly throbbing hoof.
The young unicorn let forth a most unusual sound usually only heard from Ponyville's premier party pony, an incredibly novel sound that could only be defined as a 'giggle-snort'. "But you do the dumb things that you do - as far as I can gather - for me, and you have been ever since I moved into Canterlot to be by Princess Celestia's side again -"
Twilight was halted once more as the pegasus suddenly coughed, and if her ears served her correctly, said something amidst the suddenly loud, wracking motion. She frowned. "What was that ?"
Rainbow shrugged, wincing and barely managing to suppress a cry of pain before replying with a minuscule grin. "Nothing."
Twilight shook her head slightly, and drew breath briefly. "Right, now as I was saying-"
"Egghead," whispered the rambunctious mare.
The silence that had so frequently hung in the air not long ago asserted itself once more as Twilight's jaw flapped absently, trying to find the correct words to rebuke the statement. The joking insult was completely out of left field, a notion that allowed her to stammer a single word: "W-why?"
The blue pony snorted, unable to hold back her wide smirk any longer. "Because who moves in with their teacher?" Taking advantage of the silence, Rainbow pushed onwards with bright eyes, completely unlike the vacant ones that had stared so lonelily into the distant horizon before. "That's like dating your quill! Or...or talking to your books! Or like me making casual conversation with clouds!"
As Rainbow continued listing things that moving in with one's teacher was like, she began rising under a power that not she, but the unicorn noticed. Slowly, she began leaning off the railing, until she stood high and proud once more in the blowing wind - had she been able to extend her wings in revelry, she might have. "...or like waltzing with your bookshelf, or like Fluttershy -"
"Rainbow!" blurted the unicorn, hopping hurriedly to all four hooves and silencing the cyan mare with a hurried hoof jammed into her lips. She now blushed furiously, while also being slightly amazed at how many analogies that Rainbow could come up with. "I-I get the picture!" She withdrew her hoof quickly, shaking her head as Dash simply leered back. "You make it so hard to have a romantic moment, you know that?" She managed eventually.
Rainbow Dash chuckled in return. "Who said I wanted one in the first place?"
Twilight grinned. "All right, all right," she relented. "But the point is, you're loyal to me, and that's one of the sweetest - if not smartest things I can think of."
"You sound so stuck-up right now."
Twilight lightly punched the pegasus' shoulder, as if torn between actually harming her or simply conveying a joke between the two. "Yeah, well...I guess acting like you are normally brings you back to yourself, huh?"
"Oh, shut up," replied the rainbow maned pony, but it was in good spirits, and not spite. Upon the brief silence that followed, the two mares stared into each other's eyes, and for one of the few times in her life, Dash felt like expressing gratitude. "Listen, Twi'...thanks for cheering me-"
Almost as quickly as she began, Rainbow found herself cut off as a blur of lavender made itself known, and she felt a pair of lips softly press against her own, conveying every single emotion in a way that only could be expressed between two special ponies. Presently she found herself blushing furiously as a single hoof stroked the back of her mane with a gentle care, and as the bookworm's tongue explored every single inch of her mouth that it could reach.
Twilight held the kiss for only a few seconds before pulling back, smiling brightly as though content with the shades of scarlet that adorned both young ponies' cheeks. "They say that your first kiss is with somepony special..." she teased.
Rainbow smiled abashedly in return. "Note to self," she said. "Sleep on thunder clouds more often! Even if it does leave third degree burns!"
And then the air was filled with the sound of two laughing ponies, two who had not a care in the world. The sun kept its omnipresent gaze on the duo, now locked in a game of giggles and playful kisses, and remained so until the night fell.
The young mares soon tired, and set to sink to the ground: the lavender one's hooves wrapped around the cyan pony's neck; the cyan pony's right hoof tenderly resting upon the center of the embrace. The night twinkled in all its beauty, seemingly unmoved by the major display of affection between two.
But there are many things ponies do not know, such as the fact that the night sees all. The night remembers each moment that occurs under its soothing cloak, just as the brash and extravagant day does.
But perhaps, just perhaps...
The current moment might be preserved forever in a smile, a wink, a whisper, and the twinkling of ever distant stars replenished and calmed in an instant. Only a few more whispers shattered the silence, and ever so quietly as two particular young mares quietly discussed the twinkles.
Extra: Dialogue
Please note the title is literal.
"I think we should call it 'Love'."
"Isn't that a bit...dull? And won't Luna kill you for making a constellation without her permis-"
"I have her permission, Rainbow. She does owe me a few. She hasn't used those stars yet, anyways."
"I just feel like the name could be better..."
"What should I call it, then? 'Rainbow Dash is A Pony Who Can't Even Accept A Gift Carved From The Stars Themselves By Her Own Best Friend'?"
"Twi-light..."
"You're right, too long. How about 'Pegasi Are Sel-'"
"Twilight!"
"Oh come on, Rainbow! It was just a little fun! At your expense, of course."
"...so was your first name?"
"Nice try."
"...but seriously, can we try another?"
"I suppose. What name do you have in mind?"
"Well, it has to be awesome, but it has to make sense too, right?"
"I'd hope so."
"How about...'Forever'?"
"...for a constellation about-"
"OKAY, YEAH, I GET IT. How about 'Soaring'?"
"...given proper translation into traditional Fleek, it could work."
"..."
"...where exactly did that come from?"
"Oh. I just kinda' went off what you said, and, uh...I just said what I felt like I was doing when I was around you."
"Soa-...Rainbow, that's...I don't even know what to say..."
"Your tomato face says quite enough."
"Yes, I...I suppose it does."
"Twi'?"
"Yes, Dashie?"
"If you tell anypony I said that, I'll bash your skull in."
"Of course you will, Dash. Your facade demands it, does it not?"
"What?"
"Nothing."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...it's cold out."
"Twilight, if you want me to put my wing around you, that's obviously out of the question. And even if I could, you could just ask."
"...I forget sometimes."
"Riiiight."
"..."
"..."
"...seriously, it's cold."
"I know how to warm you up."
"R-Rainbow! Stop waggling your eyebrows like that!"
"You know it's irresistible."
"Come on! Can we just go inside?"
"Why didn't you just ask, Twi'?"
"...because?"
"Genius."
"..."
"One last thing. I have a gift for you too."
"What is -"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...that's, well...nice. You don't go for kisses very-"
"You talk too much. Just enjoy it, egghead."
"Can do."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...I love you, Rainbow Dash."
"I know, Twi'. I know."
"..."
"OK, OK! I'll say it! I love you too!"
"Now was that so hard?"
"It should be something we know without saying."
"We always will, Rainbow. It's just a formality."
"Formality, normality. What's the difference?"
"One letter."
"Haha. Very funny, Twilight. Why don't you go back inside now, like you mentioned?"
"OK! See you inside!"
"..."
"Oh, did you want the red one, or the purple-"
"TWILIGHT!"
"Right, sorry. Red. Now, I don't think I have any chairs, and a ladder wouldn't be smart in these conditions, so might I suggest that we instead - "
"TWI-LIIIIGHT!"
"Yeeeees?"
"I'm all for the...whassitcalled and whatchamacallits-"
"I've observed."
"-...but you can kinda see that I'm, I dunno, HANDICAPPED. I think you may have to hold off there, much to my - but more of your - disappointment."
"Mine?"
"Well, you do tend to take control."
"As it should be, yes?"
"Maybe..."
"I'll round that up to 'yes'. Now come on, get in bed."
"I'm still handicapped, Twilight. So we can't have sex. Sorry."
"...I meant 'get in bed so you don't catch a cold because it's almost the frosting temperature right now."
"Pff. You know I can handle it."
"It's your funeral, Dashie."
"As it is yours, Twily."
"Touché. I'll see you in the morning then. There's plenty of space on my bed, unless you prefer the floor. Feel free to choose either, all right?"
"Eeyup."
"Good night, Rainbow Alicia Dash."
"And good night to you, Twilight Starshine Sparkle."
"..."
Maybe...I made the right choice that day. Celestia's Beard, Twilight can be annoying, but...
...I love her more than anything. I love her more than a good pie, than an afternoon nap, than the Wonderbolts, than flying, but still...
...I love her to death.
That's all that matters.
It's all that ever should matter.
And I've got forever to look forward to it.
The Penultimate End
