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        The pegasus lay atop a small cloud, drifting over the outskirts of her home village. Her wings were outstretched, fluttering gently on top of her temporary resting place. She was peering over the side, looking down upon a lush green meadow freckled with flowers and shrubbery. She could clearly make out dozens of different small animals hopping and playing in the beautiful expanse. A small stream trickled through the area, and a larger than average tree was located at the end of a path expanding from an ancient stone bridge.  One thing in particular had caught the attention of the colorful pegasus, the reason she had drifted over here in the first place. Among the frolicking forest critters and long eared wild-domestic rabbits was a yellow pegasus, with long, flowing pink hair. She tended to the animals, happily skipping along as she went about her daily chores. She was happy here, where she knew no one was watching, where she could be alone and tend to her animal friends. She was, of course, forever ignorant of her admirer in the clouds.

        Rainbow Dash slumped into the cloud, squinting her eyes in shame as she continued to observe her friend below. She had been here for the better part of an hour, silently watching. Rainbow felt terrible, nearly creepy at what she was doing, but she couldn't help herself. Recently she had been full of strange emotions and odd feelings, and started to have strange, sudden realizations about some of her friends. She felt an... attraction to some of them. Not only them, but to certain other ponies in particular. With some, it was stronger than others, but they all had one thing in common. They were all mares.

        Rainbow had never been big on these sort of relationships. Even towards the end of school, when a few of her classmates were already dating, she had shown no interest. Dash had always been about hanging out with friends, having fun, and being as adventurous as possible. But the thoughts had never crossed her mind. She might have been quite tomboyish herself, but she never really cared for boys. Few of her friends were of the opposite gender, and even they were more acquaintances than actual friends. She just... wasn't interested in love.

        Recently, however, things started to change. Dash's stomach started to churn when she was around some of her more close friends, and she started to take greater notice in some of the more... elegant physical features of the town's female population. At first, she shrugged the odd feelings off. Sooner or later she started to realize what was happening.

        It scared her. This wasn't normal. Sure, Equestria was very open to these things, and it might have even been a might common in some places, but it wasn't... normal. Every time she found herself gazing at one of the passing mares, every time she found herself day dreaming over one of her friends, she felt even more confused and tore up. This isn't what she wanted to be, but it felt so right. She couldn't change her feelings, no matter how she tried.

        She hadn't told a soul, and luckily no one seemed to have suspected a thing. Lately, though, she had started to act much nicer and less arrogant around her friends. That they had noticed, but no one seemed to be complaining. She realized she came off as a bit of a jerk earlier, and she felt terrible. She still retained her natural competitiveness and tomboyish attitude, but took an active interest in her other friend's activities. She helped Rarity with her job at the boutique, not complaining when she was asked to try on even the girliest dresses. She and Applejack spent many an afternoon harvesting and doing work around Sweet Apple Acres, much to Applejack's approval. Her ability to fly helped Pinkie decorate much more efficiently, but Rainbow Dash still wasn't that great of a baker. She enjoyed spending personal time with the ponies, but her feelings for those three weren't that strong.

        Fluttershy was still feeding and caring to the animals below. Rainbow sighed, watching as she left a bundle of carrots at the mouth of a rabbit den. Out of the bunch, Fluttershy had caught her attention perhaps the most. Her timid, caring nature was the perfect contrast to the rainbow haired pony's personality. She cared deeply for the other pegasus. Her adorable shy squeaks and innocent eyes, coupled with her well kept rosy hair, had tied her insides up in knots ever since she started having these attractions. She wished she could make something out of it.

        And yet, here she was. Rainbow Dash, bravest, fastest pony in all of Equestria, too scared to talk to Fluttershy, who herself was afraid of her own shadow.

        Fluttershy was making her way back to her treehouse already. Rainbow sighed once more and watched her as she slowly trotted into the beautiful building, her favorite bunny Angel perched on top of her head. Fluttershy shut the door and Dash rolled over on her back, staring up at the blue skies above. How would she ever come clean? Come... out? She couldn't just box up her feelings and stay alone. She wanted to confess to someone, anyone really, preferably someone close, but she couldn't work up the courage. She wasn't brave enough. She needed someone to talk to. Someone smart, cultured, who wouldn't judge. Someone she could trust.

        Twilight.

        Twilight Sparkle, the strange purple unicorn who she crashed into that faithful day years ago. She had also gripped Dash's emotions. It was confusing. Extremely, extremely confusing. Almost as confusing as this whole ordeal itself. She was deeply attracted to the "egghead".  The little nerdy pony who came out of nowhere. Rainbow had been spending more and more time in the library, chatting with her and reading through the contents of her dwelling. They'd spend the summer nights on the balcony of the library, huddled around funny or interesting books and chatting for a few hours before calling it a night. She had actually become quite well-read since she started getting these feelings.  Twilight had a quirky sense of humor, and there was a hint of the same social awkwardness that fluttershy possessed, although in a slightly different manner. Plus she couldn't help but think she was adorable when she was slightly ticked off, or pent up in her studies. She seemed oblivious to the amount of time they'd been spending together, but Rainbow Dash felt something different about her that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

        The rainbow pegasus grumbled and turned to her side, folding her wings against her body and shutting her eyes. She was tired. She didn't have a whole lot of work earlier, but all the stress and confusion had been wearing her out. She nudged the cloud towards town at an uncharacteristically slow pace. Relaxed against the fluffy white bed, she slowly drifted into sleep as she dreamt about the happy life she could possibly have, if only she could show the courage. One day, she came to decide, she would. But to whom?