There’s a very simple reason to read today’s story: it’s an intimate and moving portrayal of a troubled relationship.

Just Give Me a Reason
[Romance] [Sad] [Slice of Life] • 3,653 words
[NOTE: This story contains sexual themes.]

She waited for Rarity’s face to bloom into softness, the way it always did when Rainbow made some big romantic gesture like this. Rarity’s face stayed impassive. But she smiled. It was a smile that was reserved and slightly tired—barely genuine. The warmth in it was quiet, self-contained.

And that’s when Rainbow’s entire world came crashing down.

She did not need her any longer.

FROM THE CURATORS: “Call me a sucker for tragic romance,” Present Perfect said as his vote spurred this story to its feature, but this story was richly rewarding to more than just genre fans.  “Even though this one had my guts twisting almost from the get-go, I loved it,” Chris said.  “It uses the relationship that’s falling apart as an opportunity to explore its characters, and to really get inside Rainbow’s head in particular, all while offering authentic and rewarding hope.”  He wasn’t the only curator commenting on authenticity.  “As someone going through an amicable divorce, I can confirm that this is heart-rendingly authentic to the way that two people treat each other when they care for each other but are no longer quite in love,” Horizon said.

Those two people — or, rather, ponies — were central to what made this story exemplary.  “The author sells me on the romantic relationship right from the start,” AugieDog said. “Of course, ‘romantic’ is probably the wrong word, but the portrait of the two characters in the dust and ashes stage of things is just marvelously well done.”  Present Perfect also agreed on the excellent character portrayals.  “What really makes this work is you can’t tell this story with two other characters,” he said.  “More to the point, this is very obviously a Rainbow Dash who’s been Rarity’s marefriend for three years. She can read Rarity like a book; she understands nuances of decor! She can, in a perfectly matter-of-fact manner, talk about her feelings. It’s one of the most believable ‘the ship already happened’ stories I’ve ever read.”

That sense of realism drew us all in, and the end result was a story that was gripping and powerful from start to finish.  “This hooked me early, and my engagement extended straight through until the very end of the story,” Chris said.  “The very end of the story provided perhaps the most honest and believable reason for Rainbow Dash and Rarity to be in a long-term relationship I’ve ever seen, and managed to somehow be completely cynical and emotionally reaffirming at the same time.  No mean feat, that.”

Read on for our author interview, in which SleepIsforTheWeak discusses invincible bouncing, sweet torments, and the benefits of professional jealousy.
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