Edited by Nazidash.

The walk home was much more enjoyable than I originally thought it would be. Twilight and Applejack were good company and we had very interesting conversations. The environment was beautiful and the weather was great. The tall trees surrounded us as we walked in a forest and the sound of leaves rustling and the birds singing in the background added to the beauty of the scenery. The only thing I disliked about the walk was the lack of food we had. We all had to categorize and calculate how much we could eat per day. And all we had was bread and some apples.

I was starving but I'd had my dosage for the day and I had to wait till tomorrow for my next one. My legs almost gave up on me and my body trembled and ached for more energy; making me almost collapse. But I kept going and I didn't show any kind of exhaustion. I bet they were as hungry as I was but they were also strong enough to ignore it. Only one more day. One more day of walking, and we'd arrive to Canterlot.

“I'm so darn hungry!” I cried, forcing myself forward. My legs were getting cramps, and I couldn't use my wings because I didn't have the energy required to fly.

“As are we, but we cannot eat at the moment. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to wait. There's only one more meal for each of us. Well...you could eat your dose now, but I warn you: There won't be anything else for you tomorrow.” Twilight pointed out, not the happiest, but still trying her best to be optimistic.

“Ah'm with ya, Drake. I'm starvin'! I should've brought some more apples or... or something!” Applejack complained with tire in her normally energetic voice.

I shook my head and tried my best to ignore the hunger and my intolerable thirst. “So, can you all tell me a little more about your friends? I haven't really had any time with them. Well, except for Rainbow Dash. But Rarity and Fluttershy? I haven't spent any time with them. Can you perhaps tell me a little more about them?” I asked them both to start a conversation; also in the purpose of getting rid of my desperate thoughts of food.

“Well, Rarity represents the element of generosity. She loves fashion and jewels. She cares for her looks but she's not afraid to get her hooves dirty if necessary. She can take care of herself and she has a very strong personality. Perhaps the strongest I've ever seen.” Twilight explained.

I nodded with a pout. “What about Fluttershy?”

“Fluttershy represent the element of kindness and she is, well... shy. Always has been from what I know. She was getting more and more open until a griffon, called Gilda, also a former friend of Rainbow Dash, was mean to her for no particular reason. She's been very difficult and closed ever since. But don't worry, she likes you. She only needs more time.” Twilight continued.

“What about... uhm... what about Rainbow Dash?” My heart skipped a beat when I said her name and I had no idea why. Must have been a coincidence or perhaps the fact that I was most interested in what Twilight had to say about my "favorite pony". “What can you tell me about her?”

Twilight and Applejack both gazed at me in confusion and slight annoyance. “We've told you about her like, four times now? What else do you want to know about her?”

“I-I'm sorry, it must have slipped my mind.” I quickly came up with an excuse. Had I really asked about her four times? What was happening to me? Well, she had been on my mind a lot lately and I honestly had no idea why. Maybe I just missed her more than I should. And that wasn't a good sign.

“I'll tell you once more, but make sure it stays in your head this time!” she uttered in slight annoyance and sighed deeply.

“Rainbow Dash represents the element of loyalty and has always been the athletic type. She's also always been kind of arrogant. She has a great passion for flying and has been practicing and training her whole life to join the 'Wonderbolts', but without success so far. I don't know how you managed to beat her in a race but that's considered a big thing here in Ponyville.”

“If she's such a great flier, then why haven't she joined up with them already? Why won't they let her join?” I asked very interested. I even asked that to myself when I was a human. It didn't make any sense. Rainbow proved to be good enough when she saved Rarity and the Wonderbolts from their deaths. In addition, she's the only one who had successfully pulled off a Sonic Rainboom.

“Hmm... I honestly don't know.” Twilight answered as she contemplated about it. "Maybe she hasn't asked them yet? No idea."

“Unrelated, but may I ask you of something?” I asked hesitantly. They both pointed their attention to me and nodded with an interested smile that indicated that they were focused on me.

“Rainbow Dash has been acting rather strangely around me since I was brought back. Is there an explanation for that?” I asked meekly. This was my time to get the confirmation if she had feelings for me or not. I needed to know the truth. I've been troubled by that question since she kissed me on my cheekbone and it didn't sit well in me.

Twilight and Applejack looked at each other with those looks that told me that they didn't know what to say or what to do. “Well...I haven't noticed anything.” Twilight finally answered.

“Are you sure?”

“I-I haven't got a clue.”

I stopped for a second but they kept on walking like that conversation had ended. But I didn't get my question answered. Ugh! I needed to know the truth! I needed a clear answer. I needed an honest answer...'Honest!' I almost yelled to myself but managed to stay silent. I rubbed my hooves together with a grin, a subtle frown forming on my face, and turned to Applejack.

“So, Applejack...” I asked with a voice as if I was plotting an evil scheme.

Applejack gulped by the sound of my voice. It somehow created an unwanted pressure I didn't intend on creating. “Y-Yes?”

“What do you think?”

“Excuse me?”

“Why is Rainbow Dash acting so strangely when she's around me?” I repeated with a thought of victory on my mind. I somehow knew I would get a valid answer from her. At least I'd get an honest one and that was better than nothing.

“Acting strangely? I've no idea what you're talking about.”

I swallowed hard and let out a small fake cough. “Does she... does she have the hots for me?” I asked as seriously as I could get. But the more time that passed the more awkward this whole situation became.

Applejack exhaled and stared at me in relief. “So that's what ya were goin' to ask?” she asked with a soft laugh. “Ah don' know anythin' about that, sorry.”

At last she ran away from me to keep up with Twilight who was ahead of us. She seemed eager to get to Canterlot as fast as possible and she had a good reason to. I stopped and watched after them for some time. The fact that she didn't know anything about it was unsatisfying.

“Why can't you just tell me!” I yelled after them in annoyance. I rolled my eyes before running up to them. “Why can't you? She's your friend! I'm sure she--”

“We honestly don't know. And why is your mind so fixed upon Rainbow anyways? Are you perhaps subtly asking us if her feelings to you are mutual to your feelings to her?” Twilight asked with a hint of a tease.

I shot my wide eyes at her in slight anger when I realized what she was getting at. “N-no! Of course not!” I immediately objected, blushing heavily. “Let's just keep walking, shall we? We're almost there.” I added in a murmur to change the subject.

After maybe two long hours of walking we felt for a big earthquake and a loud noise emerging from nowhere. Then out of the air we heard distant voices followed by a sound of thunder. They said; “DOVAHKIIN!”

“What the hell was that?!” I jumped in surprise, but wasn't nearly as excited as Twilight.

“The Greybeards!” She gasped in excitement. “They have summoned you!”

“Wait, what is going on?” I asked, looking at Applejack who answered with a shrug. She seemed as clueless about this whole situation as me.

“That hasn't happened for centuries! You must answer their call and take your leave immediately.” she explained and stared into my eyes in all her seriousness.

“Immediately? Are you insane?!” I yelled in slight anger.

“Alright, alright. You should rest for a maximum of two days. But you mustn't delay for very long.”

I sighed.“I'll keep that in mind. But where are they?”

Twilight giggled awkwardly and said very silently as if she was expected me to rage: “Near the peak of the Throat of the World.”

“Uhh, Throat of the World?” I asked confusedly but also a bit awkwardly. Judging by the tone in her voice, it seemed like that place was a well known place. A place that apparently everypony knew except me.

“What? You're clearly not from around here if you don't know the Throat of the World.” Twilight muttered, facehooving. “It's the tallest mountain in Equestria. You have to walk seven thousand steps to reach The Greybeards.”

“Seven thousand steps?!” I asked in another surprised yell.

“And you cannot use your wings. The Greybeards have cast a spell on the mountain. You have to reach them without flying; They want to see your will and if you're worthy enough.”

I almost cried and I seriously thought about bailing but Twilight made it sound so important that I had no other choice but to obey. “Fine...” I moaned. “But I'll be going alone. Well, I did promise Rainbow Dash to take her with me on my next journey but I won't take anyone else. I don't want to make anyone follow me.”

“Don't ya worry about that. We're more than happy to accompany ya.” Applejack pointed out and gave me a pat on my back. It made me feel a little better.

“Alright, we'll talk about it when we get to Canterlot."

At last. We were almost there. However, we weren't in a forest anymore, but in a desert. A hot, dry, waterless desert. The sun was extremely hot and was slowly draining all our energy. I was starving and extremely thirsty, as were Twilight and Applejack. The food was all gone, there were no lakes around to drink from and we had almost collapsed due to the lack of energy. We should have taken more supplies with us but I guess I rushed things a bit. I wasn't even used to walking big distances. But there it was. The entrance to Canterlot, only a few miles away from us. “Almost...there...” I whimpered, trying everything in my power to push myself forward. My eyes were starting to blur and my body was getting weaker and weaker with each minute. I barely ate anything when I left and I barely ate anything on the way to that mountain. I desperately needed nourishment.

“Can't...go on.” I added and allowed my body to collapse to the hot sand. But I wasn't out. I hadn't had the energy to continue even though we were just a couple of miles away from the gate.

“No! Stand up! We're almost there!” I heard Twilight insist with her weak, dry voice.

“We're practically there!” Applejack added but was no exception from being the sun's victim.

They were in much better condition than I was in though. They had much more energy than I had.

I closed my eyes and tried to breathe lighter. The intolerable heat from the sun was dehydrating me and I couldn't do anything about it. I tried producing some saliva to wet my mouth with but it was almost impossible. I was almost all out of liquid and I desperately needed to get out of this place and into some shade.

When all hope seemed lost I felt for a sharp wind and a pony sitting down by my side. She started off by quickly removing my helmet. It was a good feeling. I was getting very sweaty and I hadn't removed that helmet ever since putting it on back when I got it as a gift back in Canterlot, almost a week ago. I hadn't even removed it when I went to sleep.

Then she carefully examined if I was alright. She pressed her left ear against my chest to check if there was anything wrong with my heart before resting her hoof on my sweaty forehead to check for a fever. Afterwards she checked my wings and the rest of my outer body to see if everything was alright. She breathed a bit lighter when she didn't notice any kind of wounds on my body and let my head rest on her lap. She turned her back towards the sun to warp some shade on my face which felt like heaven. I also felt for her hooves in my mane but I kept my eyes shut. I was eternally grateful for what she did but I didn't want to ruin the comfortableness by the sight of the person doing that to me.

“What happened?!” she yelled harshly at the two mares. “Why is he restless?”

“We were very low on supplies and food, and we've been walking ever since we woke up. We hadn't had a single rest because we thought we were closer to Canterlot, so we've been walking in this forsaken desert all day without water or food. He needs to go to the hospital, and that fast! We must carry him to Canterlot.” Twilight explained.

“Screw that. I'll carry him to the hospital.” She didn't volunteer but more like commanded it to be that way. “It's faster that way.”

I didn't realize who was sitting next to me at first but I didn't really want to know either. Her voice sounded awfully familiar though, making me more curious than I could ignore. I hesitated but slowly peered my eyes in the end. I couldn't believe who it was. “D-Dashie?” I asked very feebly. Rainbow hesitated when she heard that. “H-How do you know that name?” she asked in a very surprised manner.

I breathed heavily and tried to answer her but the words wouldn't come. I was going to say that I had heard Pinkie Pie using that, but that wasn't the real reason how I knew about it.

“Drake!” she shouted when she noticed me rolling my eyes and slowly closing them again. I felt for yet another passing out. I was getting pretty tired of blacking out all the time. Was it really this easy to put me down? I sighed, but I was right. My ears slowly stopped analyzing the sounds around me but the last thing I heard before losing my consciousness was Rainbow Dash shouting my name.

“Drake? DRAKE?! Gods damn it!” I shouted and carefully placed his head on the ground so I could stand up. “I need to get him to the hospital. Now!” I added in a sharper shout, making it seem like I was appointing my anger towards Twilight and Applejack. But that's not what I intended. I hadn't seen my friends for 6 days now and I was very happy to see them again unharmed. But the fact that Drake was lying on the ground unconscious made me uneasy.

“We understand, Rainbow. Just go with'im.” Applejack suggested. “We're fine... just fine. We can take care of ourselves.”

“And how does he know about my nickname?” I asked again, but watched out not to be as critical as before.

Even though I was put off guard at the unexpected fact that he knew about my nickname, a part of me actually liked it. It did creep me out at the same time though.

“We have no idea. I honestly haven't got a clue.” Twilight replied while Applejack simply shook her head to indicate that she didn't know anything either.

I sighed. “I'm sorry for being so aggressive to you guys. I didn't mean to--” I hesitated, but walked up to both of them in the end to give them a hug.

“That's alright, Rainbow. We understand.” Twilight said and hugged me back tightly.

I looked at Drake and sighed again. “What happened? I mean, did everything go as planned?”

“Well... not exactly as planned, but we still got what we set out for. We were stopped by bandits and murderers on the way and they threatened to kill us all if we wouldn't do as we'd been told. But Drake showed that boss that it wasn't healthy in messing with us. He stabbed him with his blades deep into his throat and made the rest of his gang watch as he made him gurgle and drown in his own blood. I won't go under more details because it was quite brutal.” Twilight explained with a small serious chuckle.

My eyes widened. “Whoa!” I said slightly impressed and gave Drake another look. I smirked at the mental image of him defending my friends. I wished I'd been there. I could have shown those guys what I was made of and how dangerous I could get. No one messes with Rainbow Dash or my friends!

“Then we had to fight a dragon at the peak of the mountain. Yes, you heard right. We had to kill a dragon. And you're not going to believe the next part; Drake absorbed his soul!” Twilight almost yelled in excitement.

“H-He absorbed his soul?”

“Yeah, only the Dragonborn can do that. He uses that soul to unlock a powerful shout. He can now perform a shout to stun enemies with the force of his voice. An unrelenting force! The more dragons he kills and the more words from the dragon language he learns, the more powerful he gets!”.

I didn't know what was going on, but that sounded way too powerful to be true. “How... how can this be?” I asked as shocked as I could be. A part of me didn't believe it, but I trusted Twilight. And I should know better than to distrust her. We'd been through many things together and we'd faced enemies considered to be legends. What is soul-eating compared to everything we'd seen or heard about?

“Don't you get it? He's the Dragonborn; a pony with a soul of a dragon, some kind of a demi-dragon, sent by the gods themselves to guard Equestria when the time of dragons would come! He has dragon blood pounding in his heart!”

Wow. That really surprised me. I didn't know that at all. The only thing I knew about the prophecy was that he was supposed to be the protector of Equestria. And then Twilight told me that he's half pony, half dragon? That he'd get more powerful the more dragons he slayed? That he was sent by the gods?

“H-How can this be?” I asked again, stuttering. I couldn't believe it. I challenged a pony sent by the gods themselves to a race. A pony considered to be the most powerful being who'll ever draw breath. I witnessed him dying in front of me and I was there when he was resurrected. I even wept for his death every day until he was revived. And to top that... I was starting to care for him and not with the same care I had for my friends. I admit that I had some feelings for him. I just felt good around him and we were both so alike in so many ways. We're both Pegasus, both cyan-colored, both determined, almost the same personality and we both have a passion for flying. The weird thing is that I hadn't even known him for a long time and I was already starting to feel for something towards him I'd never felt for before. I'd seen many determined ponies before but he was different from them all. I could feel it, and the fact that he was so unique made him more interesting to me.

“Amazing, isn't it?” Twilight asked with a big smile on her face. I however, didn't crack one in return because of my nervousness. Twilight noticed that something was wrong. She noticed that I was gnawing my teeth in small fear.

“What's wrong?” she asked, not smiling anymore. She walked up to me and put her hoof on my right shoulder. “Hey, what's wrong?”

I looked at both Twilight and Applejack who were eager to know what was going on. I consecutively gazed at them. I was unsecured whether I should tell them or not.

“I... can you, eh, keep a secret?” I hesitantly asked.

“Pinkie Pie swear: Cross my heart, and hope to fly; stick a cupcake in my eye!” They both replied simultaneously.

“I-I have..” I stuttered, closed my eyes and swallowed. “I have... feelings... for Drake.” I pushed the words out, turning myself around from them. “I know it sounds stupid but it's true. I'm... more than interested in him. It's a feeling I've never experienced before and it's such a strange, yet a surprisingly good feeling. I.. I wasn't sure at first but I think I'm certain now.” I pointed out again, blushing heavily as I lowered my head in small shame.

I heard both of them gasping in surprise behind me. “That's great news!” Twilight shouted, once again in excitement. “Love is a wonderful thing! And it's so rare these days!”

“Bah! I'm not sure about that... I'm Rainbow Dash! I don't have time for such a thing. I need to stay focused on my goal; to join the Wonderbolts, but I just can't concentrate anymore.” I explained to them. “And I don't want to tell him. I don't want him to know. He might reject me. And what if he doesn't like me? What if-- what if he's mad at me for being his bane?”

Twilight and Applejack looked at each other before laughing softly. “You shouldn't worry about that, sugar cube!” Applejack said very confidently.

“What?” I asked dubiously.

“He talks about ya all the time! Seriously, he's asked a lot about ya. Four times he asked the same questions about ya and what ya did for a living. He's really interested, I can tell by miles. And to add on that, he suspects somethin'. He even asked me if ya had "the hots for 'im"”

My blood turned to ice by hearing that and my heart almost stopped pounding. He's...interested in me? He asked them if I had a thing for him? “But... but...” I stuttered with my eyes wide open.

“And just between us. I've heard him talking in his sleep. You know what he talked about most of the time in his sleep? You.” Twilight laughed reassuringly and poked at my manubrium. “He definitely has some feelings for you too, even though he doesn't show it. I just know that his feelings are mutual to yours. He really cares about you.”

First my blood froze but now my heart melted. I did not expect him to be interested in me and that was beyond relieving even though I wasn't quite convinced. I smiled awkwardly but tried my best to appear as cool as always. I'm Rainbow Dash and I've got a reputation to maintain. I didn't want them to see the soft side of me. But Twilight and Applejack saw right through me, unfortunately, and gave me a pat on my back with a very friendly smile. “I'm happy for you.” Twilight rejoiced. “Me too! Ah'm very happy for ya too.”

“Well, we aren't exactly together. And nothing is confirmed that he even likes me. And what about his death? I'm still responsible for that, you know.” I pointed out, trying my best to sound just barely interested in that subject.

“I'm sure he likes you. And don't even bring up about being responsible for his death. It's all buried under the bridge now.” Twilight replied, still with that happy smirk on her face.

“Well... I'm glad I got that off my chest.” I said gratefully, and awkwardly hugged them again.

“No problem. Your secret is safe with us.” Twilight reassured me confidentially.

I looked at Drake and knelt down next to him. I had an urge to nuzzle and snuggle myself up to him. I wanted to tell him everything. But I was still afraid of getting rejected. I had to wait. I had to wait for the right moment. But then I noticed his amulet.

“Amulet of Mara?!” I gasped surprisingly.

Both Twilight and Applejack laughed. “Yeah, we found three necklaces. He gave us the expensive ones and he took this one for himself.” explained Twilight once again.

“That means... he's single and he's looking for a... mate?” I asked, my pupils almost as big as my eyes.

“Well, he doesn't know anything about what it represents or what it means. He just cluelessly put it on.”

“Oh...” I answered. I was disappointed and relieved at the same time, because there are two ways to look for a mate. One, get an Amulet of Mara and wait for someone to ask if they'd be interested in a marriage. Two, if two individuals fall in love naturally. And I preferred the latter anyways, but it was considered very rare these days.

At last they arrived. That is Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.

“Oh, my! Why is he unconscious?” Rarity asked with a gasp. “That poor thing! He must get to Canterlot at once!”

I quickly wiped my small tears of joy off my face and put on the default 'Rainbow Dash' look. “Yeah, I know. I must get him to the hospital.” I muttered in faked annoyance, acting like I couldn't care less about him. “I knew he'd be nothing but trouble. Guess I should leave with him since I'm the fastest flier. I'll see you all later.” I added, and got myself prepared to leave with him. Carrying him wouldn't be easy but it had to be done.

“Wait!” Pinkie Pie shouted with a giggle. “I think he's bluffing!”

We all looked at Pinkie Pie with an annoyed look. She noticed it. “What?”

“He's not bluffing. Just look at him!” I shouted angrily at her. “The only movement we can see from him is the movement of his chest! The breathing!”

“Yeah. Well, I'm pretty sure he's faking.” she answered without cutting off her giggle. She then started shaking him. “We know it's an act!”

I gasped and automatically launched myself at Pinkie Pie, taking her down. The impact on her wasn't very gentle.

“What the hay is wrong with you?!” I furiously shouted at her.

Pinkie Pie looked at me with her terrified eyes; completely surprised of my action. And that made her start sobbing lightly.

I felt bad for taking her down and once again it was kind of unintended. “I'm sorry, Pinkie. I'm sorry. But you must understand. He's not "bluffing". He needs to get to the hospital in Canterlot at once.” I tried explaining. Pinkie Pie stopped the sobbing and put a grin on her face.

“Okey, dokey, lokey! I believe you...” she responded and jumped to her feet. She walked past Drake and half whispered into his ear; “You're good...” before hopping away.

We all rolled our eyes.

I inhaled and panted as I woke up. I felt for tubes injecting something into my veins and I literally felt for that cold liquid flowing inside me from those tubes. It was a strange, yet a good feeling. I was no doubt in a hospital by the look of that white room and the paintings on the wall. I looked out the big window in front of me and noticed that it was nighttime. I sat up and carefully pulled out all the strings and needles attached to me with my mouth. I also noticed my helmet on the table by the right side of my bed. There was a glass of water on the same table, and it didn't take me more than five seconds to empty it.

I was still thirsty and extremely hungry. I hadn't practically eaten anything for days. And the stuff I've been eating for the past days were either vegetables, apples or bread. That wasn't enough. I needed more. I was still used to protein rich foods.

“Drake? How are you? Are you OK? And don't worry about your amulet, I threw it away. You don't want to have it on anyways. It represents that you're single and in desperate need of a mate.” someone said and held my hooves firmly. The smooth voice and the soft touch sent chills down my spine. I turned around to the left to see Rainbow Dash staring at me with her magenta irises.

“Rainbow!” I gasped in surprise and reached out to hug her. She grinned and threw herself into my arms. We hugged like we hadn't seen one another for years. Feeling for her presence made me feel safe and happy, it also made my heart pound faster. I stroke her smooth rainbow colored mane while we hugged and she did the same thing to me, like last time.

“It's good to see you again!” I notified her in excitement. “I...I've missed you.” As soon as I let go of the last word I felt for her hug tightening a bit.

“I've missed you too. I'm so glad you're back.” she answered in a small relief.

Oh god... I didn't know why I was so happy to see her again. I didn't know why she meant so much to me but the fact that she cared about me was overwhelming. The reason why I liked her so much was because I felt happy around her. She had always been there when I woke up after a trauma and she had many times shown me how much I meant to her.

The small part of my heart that...loved her... had grown a bit but not enough for it to take over my heart. I still wasn't ready for a relationship and I wasn't even sure if I'd ever be ready at all. I didn't know if she had any feelings for me, and even though she did, I just...couldn't do it. But I’d seen how much she cared for me, and I wanted to be the pony she thought I was. But I couldn't... if she did love me, she'd only love the shadow of me, and I couldn't give her what she sought.

I sighed desperately. I was stuck in a position I couldn't handle, and it was killing me.

Maybe... I can be both? I thought to myself. What if I do some sweet talking and hug her all the time and all that, but never take the relationship any further? No, that won't work...

We were still hugging and we both refused to let go for some reason. Everything seemed to pause around me while I was in her personal space. I even felt for her heart beating. She was the only thing existing in my mind at that moment.

At last she looked at me with her hooves around my neck. She had a smile on her face and her big beautiful eyes scanning my face.

I looked at him with a longing. I wanted to lay one on him but I wasn't sure how he'd take it. If he would maybe push me away or tell me to leave. I had to fight those sudden strong feelings I had for him.

I stared at his red eyes and wondered if he was in the same position as I was in. If he was perhaps fighting his own feelings too. If he was wondering if I was interested in him. Or maybe he only saw me as a friend...

No, that can't be. The way he reacted to my arrival and the fact that he had been dreaming about me indicated that he at least felt for something. But I couldn't do it. I didn't have the guts to make a move and kiss him, even though I was on the edge on doing so.

“There's something I need to tell you.” he hesitantly told me. I felt for a sting in my heart and hoped to the gods that he was going to admit his secret feelings to me. “I have to go to another journey tomorrow, or the day after. And I promised that I would take you with me.” he pointed out with a clumsy smile. “Are you still interested?”

I exhaled the air in small disappointment, yet at the same time glad to hear that. I got to spend more time with him. I hoped we'd just go the two of us wherever we were going because I wanted his full attention.

“That's great!” I replied and hugged him again. He answered by wrapping his forehooves around me again without hesitating. Those hugs weren't like the other hugs I'd given and received. This one was different. It was full of... passion. It was emotional. And it made my feelings towards him so much stronger.

He laughed softly. “You know... I've missed you so, so much.” he whispered into my ear as we hugged. It made my ear twitch and my body shiver beyond belief. That's it. He asked for it. His behavior surely indicates that he's interested in me.

Before I went for it, I looked deep into his beautiful eyes and smiled. As I was about to go for it, I felt for him clenching my hoof with his and noticed him moving his head towards me as well. I closed my eyes as I kissed him and much to my surprise he reciprocated by slowly kissing me back. I even felt for his other hoof on my nape, gently pushing me more against him.

I saw the look on Rainbow's face and thought to myself; 'This is it. She's about to kiss me now.' I saw it on her looks. But I somehow didn't tell her to stop. In fact, I didn't want her to stop. My heart pounded faster and faster for I knew this was all wrong. But that look she gave me was irresistible. And those hugs we had made everything so much worse. That is, worse in the point of view that I wanted to avoid becoming too close to her. Can't say I was doing a good job. In fact, I was doing a terrible job. But at the same time I didn't care. I admit that I actually kind of liked where this was going.

Despite telling myself over and over again to watch out for making mistakes, I decided to do the thing I'd been trying to avoid. I closed my eyes and slowly kissed her as she did the same to me.

That feeling when I kissed her was indescribable and felt much better than I thought it would. It didn't feel wrong. My human conscience didn't even stop me.

But what surprised me was that I didn't have any difficulty kissing her with those lips. I had wondered to myself how ponies would kiss once, but it was very much like when humans make out. We both hesitated though after our lips touched. We hesitantly and confusedly looked at each other, but also with a longing and passion before we launched at each other again.

I actually wanted more, so I pressed her head against mine by putting my hoof on her nape very gently. I caressed her back with my other hoof as we made out. She stroked my sides. I felt for her tongue softly massaging mine and I reciprocated.

That exotic feeling couldn't be described to anyone. It wasn't quite like kissing a human; I admit, it was even better. Her saliva tasted perfectly sweet. It made our kiss even more enjoyable.

The way we kissed was as passionate as it could get. I felt for all those feelings she was letting out and I instantly knew that this mare was in love with me.

Everything around me surely died while this was happening. I didn't care if someone was watching us and I didn't care about anything else but her. That single kiss made me fall in deep love with her. I was wrong all along. I was wrong when I said I could never love or have a relationship with one of them. I'd heard in movies and video games about race and gender not mattering... it was the personality that counted and that was clearly the situation here. I also came to realize that I stopped seeing her as "a pony". I saw the person I fell in love with.

The weird thing about it was that it didn't take long for me to fall for her. Sometimes it takes people months or even years for that to happen. In this case, it took only a couple of days (excluding the days while I was dead) and she's not even human. This really was something special. There has always been a connection or a bond from the time we met, even though we didn't feel for it at first. But I knew more about Rainbow Dash than anyone else, while she didn't know a thing about me, which made me a little sad. She deserved to know more about who I really was. I also wondered why she loved me if she didn't even know anything, or very little about me.

We both panted heavily before continuing and rested our foreheads on each other’s. Her warm breath on my face calmed me down a bit but as did it make my sudden passion for her even stronger. “I know we haven't known each other for very long, but...” I tried explaining, still panting. "...you make me feel so special."

“I feel the same way.” she whispered back before we embraced and passionately made out again.

This time we didn't stop for a while. Rainbow crawled into my bed so it would be easier for us to continue that experience, but it wasn't in the purpose of anything more than that. Not at all. After all, this was our first kiss and we'd only just expressed our feelings to each other and to add to that, we were still in the hospital.

She simply crawled into the bed so we could snuggle, cuddle and hug each other. I swear I got all excited after a while. Feeling for her warm, soft body pressed up against mine, and her arms tightening the grip around me was the best feeling in the world. I didn't want that moment to end. This was a night to remember.

We squeezed each other and didn't dare let go. She was mine and I was hers.

I was a fool to think that I could just ignore my feelings to her. Why even try? It would only bring sorrow and pain spiritually to both of us. And besides... this was a lot better than I'd imagined.

After a while we stopped and looked at each other with our eyes half open. This one kiss changed everything. It completely changed my views of her. What started as a small part of my heart has infected it as a whole.

We cuddled and panted in exhaustion. “You... you have my heart.” I whispered to her and felt for her body shiver in my arms. I chuckled softly as a response.

Rainbow Dash looked at me with her upper eyelids half closed and with a warm smirk on her face. I had my front right hoof around her while she had her left one around me. “Thank you. You also have mine.” she whispered back and nuzzled me. Then she closed her eyes before kissing me on my mouth again. I did the same to her. I held her close to me while we were at it again and thought to myself very proudly; 'Mine'...

I couldn't believe what was happening. I had been so confident that he would reject me that I never went for it. Well, I did once, but that was totally on accident and on his cheekbone nonetheless.

But this... I'd never kissed anyone like that before, and I hadn't fallen in love before either. But Twilight said love was a wonderful thing. Now I saw why.

I was getting tired and by the look of Drake's face, he was too. “I'll always be there for you.” I pointed out and stroked his sides smoothly.

He answered by kissing and stroking my mane gently. He used his other hoof to slowly caress my flank and cutie mark and that made me blush and hesitate a bit. It was really weird at first. I'd never been so close to anyone before, but despite of that unknown experience being revealed to me, I really liked and enjoyed it. Especially the fact that it was him stroking my body made it so much more pleasurable. I responded by doing the same to him, and judging by his facial expression, he was as surprised as I was. But at the same time he enjoyed it just as much as I did.

“Same here. I should have admitted it sooner, but I wasn't sure if it was love or not. But now I'm certain that I...care for you. And not with the same care as friends share. I... I think I love you.” he stated warmly to me, smirking feebly, yet determinedly. It must have taken him a lot to say that because I noticed that he was a little nervous. I couldn't blame him. I was pretty nervous myself.

His statement about his love to me was overwhelming and very unexpected, making me sigh deeply. I'd never had a chance to get to know this side of me before. I'd always acted like a guy and I didn't even know that side of me existed.

“I love you too.” I sighed, trying to get closer to him. He moved a bit to allow me to get closer, even though I was as close as I could get. Well... not entirely as close as I could get, but that would probably come later.

With my eyes closed, I rested my head on his chest to listen to his heartbeats. His heart was beating abnormally fast, but so was mine. “I... I love you.” I whispered again before I accidentally fell asleep.

I inhaled the air happily after she fell asleep. This was one of my happiest days ever. Just that single experience was the greatest thing that had ever happened to me. And now, Rainbow Dash was sleeping pressed up to me and resting her head on my chest as a pillow. Her scent was fragrant and very attracting. Something I did not expect in a pony. Even her mane smelled of air, wind and rain.

I was getting extremely tired myself, even though I had just woken up. But that unexpected kiss, those confessions, all the passionate touchings and those long forgotten feelings about love had drained all my energy.

With a big smile, I rested my head on hers, wrapped my arms and wings around her and fell asleep immediately.

I woke up with the sound of light d’aww’s. I hadn't opened my eyes yet, but I still felt for Rainbow Dash's warm body pressed up against mine; her head on my chest and her arm around my waist. I knew someone was watching us sleep, but I didn't care. I was overtaken by the feeling of pride and happiness.

“They're so cute together!” someone whispered. It was Fluttershy, judging by her voice.

I heard someone sobbing. “They're so cute! Just look at them!” said Pinkie Pie, still in tears.

“Shh! Don' wake 'em up.” someone else whispered with an amused chuckle. That was Applejack. "Ah never thought ah'd see the day!"

“I have to take another photo of them like that! They're way too adorable!” Twilight whispered in excitement. I heard couple of clicks and the sound of the camera printing out the photos.

“I still can't believe you found those necklaces! Those jewels!” Rarity muttered.

Finally Pinkie stopped crying. “Well, this is getting pretty boring!” she suddenly said rather loudly totally out of nowhere, but not loudly enough to wake up Rainbow Dash who slept like a rock. “WAKE UP!” she shouted at us with all her might, only inches away from us.

That woke Rainbow up and got us both startled. We both screamed from the suddenness.

“Pinkie!” Twilight shouted, not pleased with her actions.

Rainbow Dash automatically wrapped her arms around my waist to seek some protection, but calmed down a bit when she realized that it was just her friends.

“What? It was getting pretty boring watching them sleep together like that.” she added. "I mean, sure, they were adorable and all. But that was no fun!"

“Were you watching us sleeping? Do you know the word 'privacy'?” I asked not very pleased, but yet far away from being pissed or angry.

Twilight ignored that and put on a huge grin. She hugged us both. “I feel so happy for you guys!” she shouted. The others joined in, making it a one big group hug.

“Heh...” Rainbow chuckled awkwardly. I smiled at her with a small chuckle and she did the same. We both got out of the bed after the hug had been broken and stretched our bodies and wings.

“I knew there was something between you two!” she added in a shout. “I said you'd get along! Well, I didn't know it would go this far, but I was still right nonetheless!"

Rainbow and I just chuckled awkwardly again. We seemed pretty eager to get out of there. We wanted to get back into the peace, into the quietness. Just the two of us.

“Common, kiss her already!” Pinkie Pie ordered me and pushed me towards Rainbow.

Rainbow gave me a small smirk and walked closer to me. I awkwardly smiled to the ponies around me and closed my eyes before we hugged and kissed once again. We didn't make out, just a simple kiss.

The ponies around us cheered and stomped their hooves to the ground.

We let go of each other and looked very awkwardly at the cheering ponies. I felt like my face was going in flames because of my blushes I didn't want anyone to notice.

Like a bolt from the blue, a nurse appeared by the door. “Could you please keep it down? A-And what are you doing out of the bed? Shouldn't you be resting. W-We allowed your girlfriend to stay with you for the night. Please don't make us regret it.” she said very warmly, and tried to sound determined but failed. She was kind of like Fluttershy.

“I'm feeling great. In fact, I'm better than ever.” I paused and looked at Rainbow Dash with another smile. “And I'm ready to leave.” I insisted without sounding harsh.

“It's great to see that you are feeling well, but we still need to check on your condition before we can check you out. Is that OK?” she asked with her smooth, insecure voice.

“Yes. Yes it is.” I answered with a nod. The nurse smiled and walked away.

I turned around to see everyone gathered around Rainbow Dash and hugging and congratulating her while I was talking to the nurse. Rainbow had a big happy grin on her face and it warmed my heart to see her smiling like that. Her eyes full of happiness. All the joys. It made me so proud.

It wouldn't be as big of a deal on Earth, announcing to someone for our feelings, but here in Equestria it was one of the most important...thing...ever. Love nowadays weren't common, especially a relationship without an Amulet of Mara in the picture. That was considered very rare.

“Hey! You know what this calls for?” Pinkie Pie yelled. Everyone knew what was coming and normally I'd sigh, but this time I actually wanted a party. We all waited for her to shout out 'A party'.

“A PARTY!” she added. “And it has to be something special this time...” she paused and thought of something for a couple of seconds “I know! We party at the Inn!” she suggested and made it sound like the most brilliant idea ever.

“Yeah!” I shouted. Now I was really starting to like that pony. I was more than game to party in an Inn. See what booze Equestria had to offer and all that.

“Count me in!” Rainbow Dash yelled and stood next to me. “I'm challenging you all to a drinking contest!” she said loudly and flapped her wings to heave herself from the ground.

“That's what I'm talking about!” I replied excitedly.

Applejack laughed at Rainbow. “Ah'm so gonna beat ya! My belly is much stronger than yours.”

“It's on then! Drake, you and I against each other. The last one standing wins!”

“I'm in." I said with a grin.

“Ye'r on!” Applejack responded.

We all spat on our hooves and made the traditional pony handshake to “seal the deal”.

The others nodded and agreed to Pinkie's plan. “That sounds like a great idea. I haven't been into an Inn for a long time now and it surely calls for something spectacular this time.” Twilight said.

“Oh, it's going to be spectacular alright... After all, I am Pinkie Pie! I throw the best parties!”

“But...but... The Inn's are so dirty!” Rarity nagged, but still agreed to come.

Pinkie Pie had a wide smile on her face. “I'll see you guys at the "Prancing Pony" this evening!” she shouted and stormed out of the building as fast as she could. We all laughed softly.

Even though I was a changed man... and even though I had fallen for Rainbow, like I originally feared but learned furthermore that it was much better than expected, I was still a little unsecured about our relationship. I was still afraid of everything, and mostly, more than anything, afraid of hurting her feelings or telling her the truth about me; Who I really was. I knew I couldn't ignore the fact that I was human and I knew she had to know it sooner or later. I couldn't let her live in a lie. The question was, how would she take it? I thought about the right moment to tell her everything, but I couldn't focus. I knew I had to tell her soon, while the relationship was still young, because it would be a lot harder later.

I remembered that I had to go to that meet-up with the Greybeards, and that I had promised Rainbow to come with me. I had already decided not to take anyone else with us. We'd be alone, and we'd have enough time to talk about things.

Yes... I should worry about it then. But for now, I wanted to celebrate. To enjoy life. To spend some time with my friends.

After I had been checked out and confirmed to be fine, I was allowed to leave the hospital. But even though I had been given nourishment in my veins, I still felt for extreme hunger and thirst. I needed to fill my stomach, and I needed to wet my mouth with more than just Rainbow's skittle tasting saliva. I was in desperate need for some more water, and that fast.

Celestia had been so kind to give us a ride to Ponyville. Everybody around me heard my tummy growl and crying out for food as we were on our way on that big balloon of hers. I explained to them that I practically hadn't eaten anything for a few days. Twilight was decent enough to invite me and Rainbow Dash to lunch. I thanked her many times, but feared that she would offer us some hay, or something else I despised. I tried tasting some of it on our journey to that mountain, but immediately spat it out. My body may have changed, but my likings haven't.

So far I had to accept the salads and their fresh vegetables and fruits. I had nothing against that, except that it wasn't enough for me. I needed the energy from meat! But I'll never get to taste a big juicy steak ever again; the only negative side of living in Equestria. And the music. I'd love to listen to some of my favorite songs again.

The balloon was big enough for all seven of us to fit inside, and we all had enough space. We were all kind of quiet the whole trip home, but Rainbow and I didn't care. She had enough space to lie down next to me and use my thighs as her pillow. I gently stroke her multicolored mane while she took a nap.

“Hey, Drake.” Twilight suddenly said.

“Yeah?”

“Well... I don't want to sound creepy or anything, but... I just couldn't give up that moment. I had to take pictures of you when you guys were sleeping. You two were just way too adorable together. I just wanted you to have these.” she handed me two pictures. One of me and Dashie sleeping very peacefully, cuddled up in each other’s arms, and the other photo had us embracing and kissing each other with our eyes closed after waking up.

Those pictures warmed my heart. Twilight was right; We were so adorable together! But one other thing that got my attention was myself. It was kind of weird looking at a clear photo of me. I didn't even know how I really looked, since I had only seen my face in the reflection of a water. I've just seen part of my wings, my eyes, my cutie mark and my mane. Nothing else, really. WelI, I did look into a mirror before. But I didn't really pay attention to myself. I only admired and focused on my helmet, thus, completely forgetting about my physical appearance.

I didn't really see my body, since it was covered with a blanket. But what I did saw was my forehead on her mane and my right arm around her. Rainbow had her left hand around me as well.

The other photo however showed my full body. Two cyan colored ponies embracing and kissing each other. I even noticed my cutie mark clearly now. I really liked it; it made me look more badass!

“Thank you. This means a lot to me.” I pointed out with my eyes wetted at those pictures. I took my helmet off and carefully placed them inside it, then put on my helmet again. I had carefully placed those photos inside my helmet so they wouldn't get damaged. They were well kept and safe.

I looked at Rainbow sleeping, still stroking her mane and smiled. I thought about how lucky I was, despite the fact that I didn't want a relationship before.

I felt for the ponies' eyes gazing on us and exhaling the air in adorableness. I even heard Twilight d'aaw...

Having my stomach full again was great. I still felt for my tummy aching, but not nearly as much as before I ate at Twilight's. Spike made a good vegetable soup with all kinds of spices and other delicacies added into it.

I also had a very interesting conversation with Spike while Twilight explained to Rainbow everything that happened on our way to the mountain in details, even the brutal fights.

Spike apologized for his rude behavior the last time we met. He assured me that he supported me on my quest to kill Alduin and offered to tell me everything related to dragons and their weaknesses... on two conditions: I wouldn't use that knowledge as an advantage against him, and wouldn't absorb his soul.

We talked for hours and before I knew it, I was much more educated about dragons than ever before. I was Spike very grateful and promised not to harm him in return in a laughing tone. Spike joined me in my laughter. I even demonstrated the 'Fus' to him just outside the house. He seemed to like it very much and clapped his hands in amazement. He couldn't do that himself yet.

I also had some time with both Rainbow and Twilight. We talked, laughed and had a great time together.

It was getting late and we all got us prepared to leave for Pinkie's party at the Inn. Spike had to stay at home, even though he pleaded to come with us. But Twilight's decisions always stick and Spike had no choice but to obey her.

Before we got out of the house, Twilight offered to keep my helmet inside her house while we were out and I agreed. We went into the cool air outside but the wind was completely calm and there wasn't any activity or anything happening in Ponyville. It was evening after all.

“So, where is this Inn?” I asked as I looked around the lifeless town.

“It's just around the corner.” answered eager Rainbow Dash. “Now, we'll go meet up with Applejack and start that competition. You still have the guts?” she asked me in a challenging tone.

“Oh, you bet I am. We both know I'm going to be the last one standing. No competition. I'm the Dragonborn. You have no match against me.” I boasted and mocked her. Rainbow peered at me.

“We'll see about that...Dragonborn.” she spat out. Twilight and I chuckled softly.

After maybe five minutes of walk we arrived at the Inn; “The Prancing Pony.”

“The Prancing Pony! My favorite Inn.” Rainbow said with a smile.

Twilight glanced at her. “But it's the only Inn in Ponyville...”

“Oh, Twilight. You forget that there are Inns in Cloudsdale too.” she pointed out, not giving any reason on how she could stand in Cloudsdale.

“Right...” Twilight responded. “Let's just get inside, should we?”

Rainbow and I nodded and opened the door. Much to my surprise, the Inn wasn't as dirty and as bad looking as I thought it would be. It actually looked pretty neat, at least neat enough for an Inn. It still wasn't clean enough for a formal meet-up though. It wasn't just an Inn, for it also included a stage and even a dance floor. No doubt the weirdest Inn/bar I've been into for sure.

Twilight walked over the room to search for her friends, but it looked like we were the first to arrive. After looking around some more and over the heads of at least ten drunk ponies, I noticed two ponies I did not expect to be at an Inn at all. Two of my favorite background ponies. Vinyl Scratch and Octavia were sitting by a table with a cranberry juice.

“Hey, Rainbow. I'll be back in a minute. I think I saw Vinyl Scratch and Octavia. They're very popular from where I come from. I'm just going to greet them.” I said but had no worries about Rainbow being jealous. If I knew her right, she would just tell me to go already.

“Is Octavia here? Wow, I didn't expect her to be here since she lives in Canterlot. I'm going to have to say hi to her later, but you go ahead. I'll see ya later but don't leave me hanging. We can't start that drinking contest without you.” she said and gave me a wink. I smirked and gave her a kiss on her cheek. Rainbow chuckled and pushed me away from her towards the DJ and the cello player.

I walked up to them with an awkward smile but they both grinned when they noticed me.

“Uhh... Hi.”

“You must be the dragonborn? An honor to meet you.” Octavia said with her head lowered.

“Wait, how did you know about that?” I asked puzzled. I thought the only ones knowing about it were the mane 6 and the princesses.

“Princess Luna just announced it a couple of days ago. She said that the time had come. But she also ordered us to not make a big deal out of it and to leave you alone unless you had the first word.” Vinyl explained. She took her goggles off and revealed her red iris'd eyes.

“I thought it was supposed to be a private. But since she ordered everyone to act normal I guess it's fine.” I added and grabbed a chair to sit next to them.

“Hey... your irises are red. Just like mine. That's very rare, did you know that?” she continued, with her eyes locked into mine. I didn't know it was rare but it didn't surprise me either. Everything about me was rare anyways. My cutie mark, my eyes, me being the Dragonborn, me being a human, me falling in love with Rainbow which I considered not possible... the list goes on and on.

“No, I didn't know that.” I answered with a nod and a small pout.

“So, what brings you to a place like this?” Octavia asked and looked at me with an interesting look.

“I could say the same to you.” I answered. Both Octavia and Vinyl chuckled.

“Pinkie Pie hired us to play some music. We'll be playing some sick stuff together, so you better be there. You're going to dig it!” Vinyl said very excitedly.

“You kidding? You two are my favorite musicians!” I complimented them without sounding like their number one fan.

“You flatter me.” Octavia said and bowed her head again.

At last the rest of the mane 6 arrived through the door. They waved over to me when they noticed me and I reciprocated.

“Look girls, I have to go. It's been very interesting talking to you. Good luck! I can't wait hearing you play. I'm confident that you both will do an amazing job and lighten the place a bit.” I said and nodded, as did they.

“Thank you. I hope we get another chance to chat, if that doesn't bother you.” Vinyl said.

“Not at all. See you around!”

“Bye, bye.” They both said and turned around to face each other and resumed their conversation.

As I walked over to my friends I noticed someone else I had to talk to. It was Spitfire and two other Wonderbolts. Rainbow didn't seem to have noticed them though as she would have done anything to get to talk to them. Rainbow, however, was at a big rounded table at the far end wall next to the entrance, but not too far away from the bar itself. The table was in the shades and away from the other drunk ponies in there. All my friends were seated.

Time to settle some scores for Rainbow. I was confident that I could persuade Spitfire into inviting her to their group. I walked up to Spitfire who lowered her head in respect at the same second she saw me.

“Dragonborn.”

“I want to talk to you about one thing in privacy.” I said and kind of ordered her to come with me. Spitfire didn't hesitate and immediately stood up and waited for me to lead her to wherever I was going. I didn't go very far but led her to the end of the room where nobody was and the noise the smallest.

“What can I do for you?” she asked me with a smile.

“Well, I want to talk about my friend Rainbow Dash.” I said and hoped she wouldn't exhale in annoyance or make any negative sounds.

“Rainbow Dash? She's such a great pony. She even saved my life once, did you know?”

“Yeah, I know that. But I want to ask you, why haven't you already invited her to the Wonderbolts? I'm sure you've noticed that she's dying to join you guys and I just don't get it. She saved your lives, she's the only pony to ever succeed a Sonic Rainboom, and she's one of the best fliers in all of Equestria despite being young.” I said with a serious, yet not an aggressive tone. Spitfire gasped and widened her eyes when she heard that .

“I honestly didn't know she wanted to join us. She hasn't even mentioned it to us. Please, tell her that we accept her request. Also, note that we do not accept anyone lightly into our group. But she has proven many times to be a great addition to our team. We'd be honored to have her.”

“That's very kind of you. She's earned it. But she's here with me, shouldn't I just send her over to you?”

“She's here? Sure! Please, I'd like to meet her again. But tell me... why are you doing this for her? Did she send you?”

“No, she didn't. I just know where her dreams lie. And about why I cared is because she's my...soul mate.” I explained with a small grin.

Spitfire gasped again in excitement. “And without an Amulet of Mara nonetheless? How long have you been together?”

“We finally expressed our feelings to each other last night, but we had been keeping our feelings a secret from each other.” I said and turned my grin into a small weak and happy smirk.

Spitfire didn't say anything, but hugged me. “To congratulations! I hope your relationship will grow and never die.”

“Thank you very much. I'm sure it won't...” I said, but in doubt. I knew that I had to tell Rainbow about who I really was sooner or later and it all depended on how she'd take it.

“I'll send her over. Wait here.” I said and ran over to Rainbow who was sitting by the rounded table. “Rainbow! Rainbow!” I shouted. “Spitfire is over there and wants to talk to you. Thank me later.”

“Spitfire wants to talk to... me? And what do you mean about 'Thank me later'?” she asked suspiciously. I laughed softly and told her where she could find Spitfire.

I watched as Rainbow ran over to Spitfire. I noticed how Rainbow's expression changed after having watched them for a while. She was jumping in the air with the widest smile ever. Spitfire calmed her down and told her something else before hugging her. I guess she was congratulating her. After a little while Rainbow came back running straight at me through the crowd. She took me down to the floor and kissed me again in front of our friends. I returned it, making the ponies around us cheer.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she said and squeezed me as hard as she could. I giggled again, told her that it wasn't a problem and that it was the least I could do.

“Shall we take a seat?” I asked the happy Rainbow Dash.

She looked at the ceiling and shouted: “Best day ever!”, making us all laugh in rejoice.

Everypony had already seated with their first drink and left the best seats for Rainbow and me.

“Welcome lovebirds!” shouted Pinkie Pie and jumped to her feet to hug us. I stretched out my arms to accept her hug, but the giggling pony tacklehugged us both. The impact wasn't comfortable, but nothing to brag about. Rainbow and I both chuckled at Pinkie's behavior.

“We've been around you for about ten minutes now. Why didn't you welcome us then?”

“Because I didn't have the opportunity to do it then. First Rainbow came but I couldn't greet her without you and then you came and sent her away! After that she came running into your arms to kiss you but you wouldn't stop those kissing and hugging and I didn't want to interrupt that! But now that you're both here... let's party!” she shouted.

I was about to ask her why she couldn't just greet us if separated, but decided to let it go. After all she was just Pinkie being Pinkie...

After thanking Vinyl and Octavia for their great performance, we finally started the drinking contest. Other ponies showed us what they had. They weren't as good as Vinyl and Octavia, but were still good enough to dance to. Rarity and Pinkie Pie were already drunk as hell and dancing on the dance floor with some random ponies. Applejack, Rainbow and I hadn't touched a drink yet though. We wanted to be completely clean from alcohol before starting that contest.

Fluttershy, however, just sat at the rounded table in the shades and had her fifth cranberry juice for the night.

Applejack volunteered to go get the drinks for us since she was the honest one, meaning that she wouldn't pour anything into our drinks for her advantage. Twilight decided to help Applejack out with getting the drinks. She had some mead herself on the table but did not want to participate in the contest since she had cast a spell on herself so that she couldn't get drunk for a specific amount of time.

Rainbow and I patiently sat by the table and stared at each other with our evil and merciless eyes. There were no doubt nor mercy in her eyes. She wanted revenge for losing that race to me.

“So...” I said without taking my eyes off hers and clopped my hooves.

“You may be the reason why I'm joining the Wonderbolts, but that doesn't mean I'll back out! This time you're going down.” she pointed out with an evil grin.

“We'll see about that.” I responded and gave her another wink, making her lose her concentration.

“No cheating!” she pointed out in a serious manner. “Don't do that when it's my turn.”

“Do what?” I asked and tried to sound as charming as possible.

“Exactly that. We don't know each other while the contest is on. Got it?”

“Fine, fine.”

At last they appeared with the drinks. There were shit loads of them.

“So, who wants to start?”

That contest was brutal... in a way. I was already piss ass drunk and out of the competition. Rainbow and Applejack were still competing though.

Twilight came up to me and cast the same spell she used on herself to prevent the alcohol from taking control. But since I was already drunk, she had to cast another spell for cleansing my body first.

I finally saw and heard everything clearer. I stood up and thanked Twilight by hugging her. I wanted to stay sober anyways. I didn't think of it before starting the contest, but it could be very risky for me to get drunk in Equestria as a pony. I could do something I'd regret; Hurt someone's feelings, expose my secret identity and so on.

I sat down on my chair again and decided to watch the rest of the contest. Applejack was drunk, but not even remotely drunk as Rainbow. I knew Applejack would win, so I got behind Rainbow to catch her before she'd hit the ground, which she would eventually.

“What'ya doin'... yah're supposed to be... out!” Rainbow yelled at me, but I just laughed. It was very weird and funny to see them all so drunk.

Rainbow shivered as she tried to drink another hotshot, but failed. She passed out but I got my hooves on her before she'd hit the floor. I carefully carried her over to Twilight who also prepared herself for using her magic to clear her body.

“That's it?” Applejack shouted in disappointment. “So I win? Yeehaa!” she shouted, stood up and headed to the dance floor.

Twilight's horn glowed again and touched Rainbow's unconscious body. A small spark later and she immediately woke up with no alcohol in her blood. I thanked Twilight again with a nod. I was still holding on Rainbow Dash in my arms though, as she wasn't as heavy as I originally thought.

“W-What happened?” she asked and looked around. “Who won? I don't remember.”

“Well... Applejack won. You were in the second place and I lost in the third place.” I said, giggled and prepared myself to hear Rainbow's boasting.

“Aha! I knew I'd beat you!” she said and nuzzled my chest. It was surprising, making me almost drop her. I gently put her down. I could only stand on two hooves for so long. “So, what should we do next?” she asked with that beautiful smile of hers.

By the time I was about to answer her, a drunk brown Unicorn stallion walked up to Rainbow and grabbed around her waist. He had yellow eyes and his cutie mark was a scissor.

“How would you like... to make an old stallion happy.” He said very vaguely. “How would you like to go to the room over there and let me tie you up to the bed... over there and make me ride you all night.” he continued with a disgusting laugh.

I was going to interfere but backed down when she put on a small smirk at me that said 'Allow me.' I simply grinned back at her and said “All yours.”

Rainbow punched him in the face as hard as she could, almost knocking him out. At least she did make his nose bleed.

He stood up a little dizzy and shook his head. “A little fight in you? I like that. Now come over here!” he said and grabbed her with all his might and started dragging her away.

“Let me go!” Rainbow shouted and tried to get out of his grip.

“You're mine for tonight!” he spat out and headed for the door to another room to get some privacy with my Dashie.

This was getting too much. No one touches my Dashie on my watch! The way he disrespected her was killing me. Was he really going to attempt a rape? I felt for my hatred and rage building up, very much like the feeling I got when the thug threatened to kills us. I knew that I would lose control and probably start beating the shit out of that poor guy. Well, no one is drunk enough to consider a rape a good thing. And the fact that he picked my girl was a bad move. A very bad move.

I walked up to the stallion and punched him as hard as I could in the same spot Rainbow smacked him. He immediately let go of her and fell to the ground, grunting and covering his bloodied face with his hooves. I sat on him and used my body weight to make sure he wasn't going anywhere. I wasn't done with him at all.

“No one disrespects my Dashie!” I shouted at him. Then instead of punching him, I shouted 'FUS' at his face. I knew that I only had the first 'level' of the 'Unrelenting Force' Shout, but I swear I could hear his skull crack a bit.

Then I punched him with all my strength and might. It only took me one blow to knock him out but I landed three more before stopping.

I admit that it went too far, but that guy needed to get some beatings. I knew he wasn't really a decent guy when sober anyways because of the way he acted. Sure, he was drunk. But that doesn't justify anything.

I let go of him as the dead silence took over in the Inn. I felt for everybody's eyes on me.

Without hesitation I ran out of the saloon and inhaled the fresh, cool air. I looked for something to clean my bloodied hooves with, and I was lucky enough to see a fountain a couple of meters from me. Rainbow Dash quickly ran out 'The Prancing Pony' and looked out for me. When she spotted me by the fountain she ran up to me and hugged me. I hugged her back with a sigh. “Are you alright?” I asked, holding her closer.

“I'm fine. That pony was a jerk and I easily could have taken him down. But you acted way too fast. Remember who you're dealing with. I'm Rainbow friggin' Dash!” she pointed out and nuzzled my forehead.

“I couldn't just let him take you like that. Attacking him was an automatic action. I was filled with rage and disbelief that he had disrespected you like that. I just... had to do something.” I said determinedly but not angry, at least not at her.

“I understand. Thanks.” she replied. We kept hugging each other under the moonlight and stars for a couple of more minutes before she came up with an idea. She put both of her hooves on my shoulders.

“It's getting pretty late. How about we go to my place? You can stay with me since you don't have a home. You're more than welcome. In fact, I demand you to come.” she suggested. I noticed in her eyes that she was hoping I'd accept.

“That sounds like a good idea.” I replied with an approved nod. “I've never been to Cloudsdale but I'm sure you can show me around one day." I said, but as soon as I let go of the last word I got an idea. "Hey! How about a little race right now. What do you say? Race me to Cloudsdale?”

Rainbow quickly looked at me and widened her eyes. “You want a race? Even though you died the last time?” she asked me confusedly, yet very approved at the same time.

“That incident was deliberate. I promised never to do it again. Just a little race... unless you're too afraid to lose again...”

She completely let go of me now and shouted “You're on!”

“That's the spirit.” I said and snapped my wings open, as did Rainbow. But before we launched ourselves into the air, she told me to stop.

“Wait! There's one thing I'd like to know first.” she said and looked at me with a dead serious face.

“What?”

“How did you know about Dashie? I've never told you about it before.”

That made my heart sting a bit. I had to say that I had heard it from Pinkie Pie, although I already knew about it when I was a human. “I heard Pinkie Pie using it at the welcome party and I liked it.” I said with a clumsy smirk and hoped Rainbow would buy it. She gazed at me with a thoughtful look and nodded slowly. “May I call you Dashie?” I asked, hoping she would allow me to use it since I really liked that nickname. And calling her a name no one else did made her more special to me.

“Pinkie Pie rarely calls me Dashie, but... yeah. I guess you can call me that.” she said and took a step near me again. “In fact, I'd very much like you to call me that.” she added with a small smirk. “How about you, Drake? Do you have another name or something?”

“No, I don't. I have been called names, but that doesn't matter. Just call me Drake, or you can call me something else if you wish. I won't prohibit you from anything.” I said and watched as Rainbow sat down next to the fountain and wrapped her legs around my waist. I put both my hooves on her shoulders.

“Alright, but why do you really want to call me Dashie? Nopony calls me that but Pinkie and she only does that occasionally.”

“Because I like the sound of you being my Dashie.” I murmured and kissed her gently on her neck, making her chuckle and moan silently. I guess it was her weak spot. We held hooves and nuzzled each other’s foreheads.

“Since you put it that way...” she said and looked at me with her big eyes shining brightly from the light of the moon. Oh god how I couldn't resist her. I didn't even know why I loved her so much. In just two days my feelings had completely changed. Did she make Twilight put me under a love spell or something? And the most relieving part was that I didn't feel bad about it like I thought I would.

“You're the only one in my life that... makes me feel special. You mean so much to me.” I pointed out in all my seriousness. I put my right hoof gently on her nape and stroked her mane with my left one.

I saw how Dashie's eyes teared up with hearing that. She quickly kissed me. Making out with her felt good and not just because of that sweet taste of her saliva. We were both getting pretty excited and I used that moment to break it up before it would lead to anything more. It sure was hard though...

“So... how about that race?” I asked again with a grin.

Feeling for the wind licking my mane was a great feeling and I hadn't felt for so much liberty ever before. But I didn't really put up a competition and subtly let her win the race since I didn't even know where Cloudsdale was located. The only thing I knew about it was that it was floating in the skies, but nothing more. I didn't even bother winning her because I wanted to make this day her best day ever.

We flew with an incredible speed towards the big cloudy city; Cloudsdale in all its grace. It was lightened up and seemed like a very attractive place to live in. I've always wanted to see the ponies making the snowflakes, the clouds, the rainbows and more. Perhaps Dashie would introduce it to me later.

At last we arrived. We landed carefully on the cloudy ground just in front of a big block. I knew that she only had a small apartment in that block but that was totally fine by me. I couldn't wait to get inside to check it out.

“I beat ya this time!” she said and punched me in my right shoulder. “Remember never to underestimate The Rainbow Dash!” she boasted and tried to get me mad, but I wouldn't give her the satisfaction, so I just smiled instead. “Should we get inside?”

“Sure, lead the way.”

“Before we enter I want you to know that I haven't been into my apartment for some days now, so it may be in a little mess. Sorry.” she excused herself with an awkward chuckle.

“There's nothing to be sorry about.” I whispered to her ear to tease her and noticed how she shivered. I loved when that happened. She laughed again awkwardly. “But when are you going to retrieve your Wonderbolt suit?”

I noticed how her face quickly lightened up when I mentioned that. “Spitfire said that they were going to make me an unique costume that would be specifically made for me and me only. They said they were going to enchant it with lightnings and electricity! Do you believe it? But anyways, it should be ready tomorrow.” she said very excitedly and jumped into my arms for a hug. “Thank you again!” she squeaked, making me laugh again.

“No problem at all. You've have earned it.”

Rainbow let me go and smirked once again. We didn't say anything for some time as we were admiring each other but Dashie broke the silence in the end. “Alright. Let's go inside.”

I nodded and followed her into the building and up some stairs until we came up to her room 303. She unlocked the door with her keys and opened the stiff door.

I suddenly remembered that Twilight had given me photos of us together and I hadn't shown them to Dashie yet. I really wanted to but I unfortunately forgot them inside my helmet at Twilight's.

I sighed and walked into her apartment which seemed fine to me. It was big enough for her and it had everything she ever needed. There were even pictures on her walls and statues here and there. But what got my attention was the big and soft bed. I couldn't wait to get to sleep in it with her in my arms. To feel her body heat against mine and her smooth mane in my face.

I sat down on her comfortable sofa and exhaled. Dashie came up to me with a big smile and sat down next to me. She rested her head on my chest and got herself comfortable. We remained like that for quite some time. We laughed and chatted, making us lose the track of time. She even gave me a small tour around the apartment.

“It's getting pretty late. I think I'm going to get my sleep now.” I said as I yawned. I didn't really feel comfortable with going to her bed just like that so I asked if she had a guest room or something I could sleep in. She laughed at me.

“Are you joking? You're sleeping next to me!” she insisted and shook her head slowly with an amused grin.

“If you insist." I replied. "You know, I might get a little lonely... mind if you join me?”

“What can I say? Your wishes are my command.”

I laughed softly and touched her face with my hooves before kissing her on the forehead. She kept grinning and stared happily at me, but eventually flew up into her king-sized bed and quickly covered herself with the covers to keep her warm. “Well, I'm off to sleep. Good night.” she said with her her eyes closed.

I silently followed, jumped into her bed and got myself comfortable. “But I'm not done with you yet.” I said and put my forehoof around her. She turned around and smiled again.

“I'm not done with you either.” she whispered. We stared at each other’s eyes and let our minds slip away from this world and into a world where only we existed. With each second that passed my feelings for her grew stronger and stronger and it only made my heart pound faster. I bit my lip as I resisted the urge to kiss her again. It wouldn't be good to lose it here, since we were in her bed. It could lead to something sexual and I wasn't ready for that yet. Even though I wanted to express my feelings to her in every possible way, I just wasn't ready for that stage yet. We'd only been together for about two nights or so, but we were already as much in love as love could offer.

I noticed how she tried to do the same. Her eyes were starting to sparkle and her hooves started shaking a bit. I also noticed that she was slightly nervous. But that didn't change the fact that she was looking at me with a desperate longing. Our bodies were ready, but not our minds.

I couldn't resist anymore, so I quickly kissed and embraced her. She completely lost it and almost crushed me with her tight hug. But I really enjoyed it.

It only got harder and harder to resist the longer we made out. Heat was starting to enter the picture and I even felt for an erection. 'No, no!' I thought to myself and tried my best to keep calm.

It didn't help when she rolled over and lay on my body so it would be even easier for her to kiss me. I started scratching and rubbing her back smoothly but it only made her even more excited.

I started panting and desperately tried to fight the urge to shove myself into her. I even closed my eyes and tried to think about something else but I easily failed.

But by a miracle I got some kind of extra boost to resist her fragrant scent, her rain smelling mane, and her warm body. “Wait...” we both said simultaneously. I was kind of surprised to hear her say that.

“What?” we both said again at the same time.

“I... I'm sorry. But I'm not ready for that yet. Sorry.” I excused myself. My body was disappointed, but my mind was cheering.

“That's exactly what I was going to say!” she said and chuckled in relief. I did the same.

“I'm sorry... I want to try it with you, but the fact that I haven't done anything like it before and that our relationship is still very young just stops me from going further. I hope you understand.” It's true that I hadn’t lost my virginity despite being twenty-one years old. But that's what I chose to do. I had some opportunities to get rid of it but I always declined. I wanted that moment to be with the person I loved. And Rainbow was the one. She was the one and only in my life I was crazy for. It was a shame that we wouldn't get further that night, but also relieving at the same time, and only strengthens the pleasure furthermore when our relationship is maybe a little older and our bonds and trusts are stronger.

“You have no idea how glad I am to hear you say that. I haven't done anything like it before as well. And I really want to do it with you but I guess I'm still not ready, like you said.” she said slowly. “I feel so ashamed right now.” she added as she got off my chest and lied next to me.

“You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. I think it's the right choice. We should wait for a bit.”

“I know, I know... but I really want that moment to come. I want to show you how much you mean to me. You've made my life so much better and it's because of you that I'm living the dream. I don't know how you knew about that I wanted to join the Wonderbolts but it is because of you that I will be joining them. I've always thought that nothing would be better than joining them, but in fact and in the honest truth, I've been proven wrong. You are the one I've been waiting for my whole life. You are the one that brings me the passion I thought I'd only get from the Wonderbolts. I thought I needed them... but I see now that I was wrong. You're the one I really need. I could live without the Wonderbolts but I don't know if I could without you. There's so much more you've done for me and I feel like I haven't done a thing for you. I just feel...ashamed.” She explained with her head lowered.

“Don't say you haven't done anything for me, because that's bullshit. You have done more to me than anyone else. You have opened my eyes to so many things and you have taught me about the beauty of friendship and trust. You have shown me how much you care for me. Do not ever say that you haven't done anything to keep me happy because it's exactly the opposite. It's because of you that I'm happy again and you gave my life a purpose again, well...despite the fact that I have to slay Alduin. But I wouldn't be as I am today if not for you and I want to thank you for that. Thank you.” I pointed out in a very dramatic way.

I think I convinced her, because she exhaled in relief when she heard that. She cuddled up to me and wrapped my hoof over her. “I love you. So, so much.” she replied and used my chest as a pillow once more.

“I love you too. I wish I could do more for you.”

“You've already done everything I've ever hoped for. You gave me your heart and you made sure my dream got fulfilled. I can't thank you enough. But what I can do in return is to give you my heart.” she said tiredly. I stroked her mane like most of the times. It was as smooth as baby's skin.

“That's good.” I replied. “But are you ready? Tomorrow we must set out for a journey to the Throat of the World to meet the Greybeards. We must walk seven thousand steps to reach them. Estimated time from Cloudsdale to the Throat of the World is around 2 days in flight.”

“Did you say meet the Greybeards?” she asked very surprised.

“Yeah.”

“I've always wanted to meet them!” she almost shouted in joy, making me laugh a bit.

“And you will. So, the plans for tomorrow: You'll go get your Wonderbolt suit while I visit Twilight Sparkle and get my helmet back. After that you will meet me at Applejack's farm. She has agreed to provide us some food for the trip. And a loads of it this time. We all know how the last trip went.”

Rainbow nodded and kissed me on my cheek. “I will. Now, let's get some sleep. I'm getting pretty tired.” she said with a yawn.

“Yeah, same here. Good night...Dashie.” I whispered her name and closed my eyes. I felt for her body shivering and rubbing more up against me.

“Good night, Dragonborn.” she whispered back before falling asleep.

I woke up to a knock on the door, but considered to ignore it. I didn't want us to be interrupted. But after a short while I heard another knock, a little louder this time. “A message for Rainbow Dash and Drake!” someone shouted from the other side of the door. I yawned and carefully got out of bed so I wouldn't wake up my sleeping Dashie. I squinted my eyes at the person in disbelief as soon as I opened the door. It was Derpy Hooves with a message for me.

“How did you know I was here?”

“Princess Celestia herself had given me direct orders to go to this address and give someone called 'Drake' a message. That must be you?”

“Yes. That's me. Thank you.” I responded and lowered my head for her.

“No problem! Have a good day.” she said and flew away.

I walked back into the apartment and slowly opened the sealed letter. The letter was very formal and definitely from Celestia.

It read:

“Dear Drake and Rainbow Dash.

A word has come to my ears that you two will be traveling together to the Throat of the World to meet the Graybeards. I wish you the best of luck, but before you leave, I'd like to summon you two here for a little meeting. I will be awaiting your arrival.

With best regards,

Princess Celestia.”

How did they always know about my plans? Did they send a scout after me to keep them updated? I don't even...

I sighed and decided to stop worrying about it. I carefully got back to bed, but not for a sleep. As I saw Dashie sleeping there peacefully, I thought about the situation I was in. The more I thought about it...

Why was I even with her? We loved each other but that doesn't change the fact the she only knows the shadow of me. She doesn't know who I really am.

I thought about it some more and considered my options... I had to either end the relationship with her or tell her everything about me. I couldn't make her live in a lie, I just couldn't.

This situation was killing me and I begged from all my heart to the gods to take my memory of me being a human away; to get rid of it and to peacefully live with Dashie for the rest of my life.

Since they sent me to Equestria, there had to be a way to contact them. “Please... Please! I will guard Equestria from the dragons with everything I got if you take away my memory of me being a human. PLEASE! It's the only thing I'm asking for in return.” I whispered up into the ceiling with a slight hope. But not to my surprise, nothing happened...

I sighed and looked despairingly at the ceiling with a deep sigh when I realized what had to be done... I couldn't break up with her, but I was going to give her the chance. It now all depended on how she would take it. I was going to reveal everything about myself to her on our way to the Throat of the World.

My heart ached as I thought about her leaving me. But I'd understand and respect her decision, even though it would probably split our hearts in two. I sighed and silently sobbed as I thought about our relationship taking an end and slowly fell to sleep again. Next Chapter: Chapter 6: The Dark Pasts Estimated time remaining: 13 Hours, 41 Minutes