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PegaAnon

By Sunn
Created: 2024-11-11 14:36:50
Updated: 2024-11-30 23:33:26
Expiry: Never
anonrainbow dashanonstallion

  1. "Just... a little... more..."
  2. >It never stopped thrilling you
  3. >The aching pulse of your wing muscles straining
  4. >The taste of ozone in your mouth
  5. >The sound of your heart in your ears
  6. >You loved it
  7. >Ever since you got your head wrapped around two extra limbs you took to the sky everyday
  8. >And you climbed higher into the sky every time
  9. >Over cloud and Cloudsdale
  10. >It had gotten to the point that other pegasi had started to warn you to slow down
  11. >But what did they know
  12. >They'd always been able to do this
  13. >You'd only been able to dream
  14. >But no more
  15. >You just needed a little more
  16. >A little more strength in your wings
  17. >A little more stamina
  18. >A little more air in your lungs
  19. >Oh, there it is
  20. >Your eyelids grow heavy, and a fog fills your brain, stalling all limbs, forcing them limp and causing you to plummet
  21. >The wind whipped past you, and you could feel gravity pulling you down
  22. >You knew where you were going, and you knew you should stop, but your brain was still fogged
  23. >In the fog you saw it
  24. >Beautiful skies
  25. >Obscured by towers of concrete and steel
  26. >Clear nights, painted with stars
  27. >Tainted sick with smog
  28. >Memories of a lifetime ago
  29. >A lifetime of being gravity's bitch
  30. >Slowly the fog cleared, and you saw the rolling emerald hills and verdant plains, a quaint little town
  31. >You quickly realized just how close the ground was really getting and the danger brought a laugh up your chest
  32. >Your wings snapped to attention like two soldiers
  33. >You'd spent a lifetime under gravity's heel
  34. >Not anymore
  35. >With a simple tilt, you leveled out and flew on gentle currents, gliding over fields, letting your hoof dip down to brush the blades of grass
  36. >You missed your hands
  37. >Hooves sucked
  38. >But the trade off was worth it you'd say
  39. >Despite gravity's leash being loosened, karma still seemed happy to kick your ass as your wing clipped a tree and sent you into a spin across the ground
  40. >Several rolls and expletives later you came to a stop
  41. >A sweating, panting, exhilarated stop
  42. >Flat on your back, you laughed again
  43. >You laughed and laughed and cheered for yourself, damn whatever looks you might have been getting to hell
  44. >You'd fallen from a height no human could have survived, and the worst you got out of it was a slightly misaligned feather, and any bruises you got, you could sleep off
  45. >"Uh, you hit your head or something dude?"
  46. >Oh, it was the rainbow pony
  47. >Prism Crash or whatever
  48. >With a grunt you rolled onto your hooves and stood, a quick once over of your wings was all you needed before you took off again
  49. >Or at least, you would have, if you hadn't felt her step on your tail
  50. >Now you looked like a jackass, your canceled jump leaving you with two hooves still in the air
  51. >You bite at the air near your tail and she pulls her hoof back with an offended "Hey!" as you take off again
  52. >Sadly, she is faster than you, and in a flash of blue, she's in front of you
  53. >"Would you slow down? I was being serious back there! That was a nasty fall you took."
  54. "Please, I've hurt myself worse falling out of bed. It wasn't even a fall, it was a controlled crash."
  55. >You hoped that was enough to get her off your back as you attempted to maneuver around her
  56. >Sadly not, as she's immediately in front of you again
  57. >"Dude, just- can we talk?"
  58. >God she was insufferable- or- Celestia, whatever weird vernacular this lot insisted on
  59. >She indicated back to the ground, to which you simply scoffed before flying toward a nearby cloud
  60. >Not that it was particularly nearby
  61. >You'd spent the better part of your morning helping to clear out most of the clouds to keep up with Cloudsdale's daily quota
  62. >Now that you think about it, wasn't that rainbow pony on the team?
  63. >Maybe you should learn her name
  64. >You turn your head to ask, but the sour look on her face makes you decide it wouldn't be worth the headache
  65. >Finally reaching the cloud, you lay on it, partially to catch your breath, partially to rest your wings as she lands beside you
  66. "What do you want, and can you keep it to five words?"
  67. >"What the hay is the matter with you!?"
  68. "That's eight."
  69. >"Don't be a smartass."
  70. "Counting to eight makes me smart?"
  71. >"Just answer the question!"
  72. "The question makes no sense to begin with. What exactly am I doing that's upsetting you?"
  73. >"That- that whole... plummeting thing you do! Everyday, over and over and OVER again. Clear skies, rain, snow, lightning storms-"
  74. "That was a really weird day, what was up with the factory?"
  75. >"Someone got rainbow mix into the cloud machine, don't ask, but what's wrong with you? Do you have any idea how much you could get hurt?"
  76. Standing to your hooves again, you jab one into her chest. "I don't see how it's YOUR problem."
  77. >She jabs you right back. "It will be my problem if I have to scrape you off some patch of hillside and fly you to the hospital."
  78. >Your chortle only seems to anger the mare further
  79. >"I'm serious! I'm not the only one either. Do you even know how high you're going!? Cause Twilight does! She says you're basically passing out from lack of air with how high you're going."
  80. >You crane your head up with a small smile
  81. >You were really going that high?
  82. >You felt like you could go higher
  83. >"I just want you to-"
  84. "Oh my- why are you nagging me about this!?"
  85. >"Because ponies down there are worried about you, jerk!"
  86. >This gives you pause
  87. >"You showed up here out of nowhere months ago, you never talk to Twilight, you avoid Pinkie's parties and barely anypony even knows your name. You just took a weather job, do it, then fly up, plummet, fly up, plummet, repeat until you get hungry, then keep doing it until you go home and repeat again."
  88. >Yeah, you still don't get why these ponies let you get a job so easily, but hey, it paid the bills
  89. >"Don't... don't you want to do anything with your life other than flying?"
  90. >Normally you'd dismiss those words
  91. >All you'd known was an ache in your legs and feet
  92. >But now, now you'd been given a second chance
  93. >You'd tasted real freedom, and you planned to never stop chasing another taste
  94. >But still, her words gave you pause
  95. >Was there anything beyond the freedom?
  96. >You slowly stepped over to the edge of the cloud, and heard a defeated sigh behind you
  97. >She clearly expected you to take off
  98. >But not yet
  99. >You spread your wings out, and let the gentle wind whistle through your feathers
  100. "You feel that?"
  101. >Soft hoofsteps come up behind you, then beside you, and she unfurls her wings too
  102. "You know what that is?"
  103. >"Uh... the wind?"
  104. "Yeah... the wind..."
  105. >"Seriously, dude, did you hit your head?"
  106. >You ignored her, your eyes focused on the village below, the ponies going about their day, and in the distance, hanging in the sky, Cloudsdale
  107. >You looked up, and it felt like the wind was whispering in your ears, calling you into the sky
  108. >Calling you home
  109. >But it stung to look at the sky too long thanks to the sun
  110. "Don't burn your wings, Icarus..."
  111. >"What?"
  112. >You let out a small sigh
  113. "Forget about it. I'll think about what you said, and... thanks, I guess, for talking to me."
  114. >"No problem. You're a pretty tough flier, I don't know a lot of pegasi that can get to that altitude. You just need to be more careful."
  115. "Don't count on it. I'll see you around or on the ground, later Prism."
  116. >"Later- wait, Pris- that's not-"
  117. >Whatever she was saying, you didn't hear as you let yourself fall off the cloud and took up into the sky again, climbing higher and higher again
  118. >You just needed a little more
  119.  
  120. ~~~
  121.  
  122. >While you had quickly detested your lack of clothes, you were able to put up with it by imagining your coat as a new set of clothes
  123. >Clothes with hooves
  124. >And green fur
  125. >That you could never take off
  126. >Yep, no, still hated it
  127. >It did keep you warm most days though
  128. >Today was not one
  129. >Though, you only have yourself to blame
  130. >You didn't have to go out into this storm
  131. >But something about the thunder called you
  132. >It was like the lightning was inviting you to dance
  133. >And you happily took it to the dance floor
  134. >A brief flash of light above is your only warning as you twist into a corkscrew spin, the bolt of lightning dancing around you
  135. >The thunder that followed was like a roaring crowd
  136. >And you all too happily drank in its adoration
  137. >Wind whipped you, rain pelted you, and lightning threatened you
  138. >But you'd never felt so alive
  139. >Turning your nose up you take your flight vertically
  140. >The clouds flash once, twice, warning you
  141. >Your grin is your only response
  142. >The lightning falls towards you like a hammer, and it comes so close you can almost feel the burning static graze your fur
  143. >Just as you're about to punch through the cloud something halts you in place and a blue glow overtakes the world before you find yourself on top of a hill overlooking a clear night sky
  144. "Damn it!" You exclaim, slamming your hoof down as you take flight again. "What happened!?"
  145. >"Fear not, my little pony." A gentle voice calls to you as that same blue glow reappears and engulfs the moon
  146. >Some pony comes floating down, and you're more confused than ever
  147. "Um... can I help you?"
  148. >"Nay, we are here to help you." As she lands, you notice that she's significantly bigger than you, it's a little unnerving. "You are currently dreaming, we helped rid you of that nightmare."
  149. "Nightma-? So you got rid of that storm? Well put it back!"
  150. >You throw your hooves up and she leans back a little, clearly caught off-guard by your outburst
  151. >"We are afraid that we do not understand. Thou wishes to be struck down by lightning?"
  152. "I wasn't being 'struck down' I was..." Okay, thinking about it, telling someone you were 'dancing with lightning' would make you seem crazy at best and suicidal at worst. "I... was... just flying through it. It was fun."
  153. >"Thou hast a most unorthodox definition of 'fun'."
  154. "Yeah, well, it's mine. Who are you anyway? How did you get in my dream?" You glance around and notice a few things off about the surroundings, making the fact this is a dream more obvious
  155. >She tilts her head curiously at you as her eyes narrow, and you realize for the first time that she has a horn as well as wings
  156. "And how come you have both?" you say, indicating to the extra appendages, then poking your own wings and hornless forehead "That doesn't seem fair."
  157. >"Dost thou not recognise one of your princesses?"
  158. >Princesses. Shit. You meant to read up on that
  159. >The only convenient library was guarded by that purple pony who always wanted to bother you with questions
  160. >While you could have flown to another one, it would have gotten in the way of your flying and falling time
  161. >Okay, focus, you can salvage this
  162. "I've kind of only been here a few months."
  163. >"In... Ponyville, we assume thou meanest?"
  164. >Roll with it
  165. "Yeah, of course."
  166. >"Yet there are foals whom know of my sister and I, and you seem to be a hale and hearty stallion."
  167. >She's giving you a more suspicious glare and your eyes dart around for a way out of this dream
  168. "Oh, well, you know, I kind of, sort of, dropped out of school?"
  169. >"Out of foal school?"
  170. "...yes"
  171. >You could cut the silence between you with a knife
  172. >A knife, that'd be a great way to wake up
  173. >Sadly there are none in the air
  174. >Oh wait, gravity
  175. "Well, this has been fun, Princess, but would you look at the time, I need to wake up now, bye."
  176. >With a beat of your wings, your hurtle yourself into the ground and press your wings to your side
  177. >As you approach the ground, a puddle remains from the previous rainstorm
  178. >And in the reflection you see yourself
  179. >But you're not a pony in the puddle
  180. >Your body slams into something and pain rocks you
  181. "WHAT THE FUCK!?"
  182. >Your words echo through your empty home and you briefly tussle with something that's wrapped around with you
  183. >Eventually, and clumsily, you untangle yourself from your blankets
  184. >You hurl your pillow into the wall for good measure
  185. >With a slight pant, you try stretching out and running a hand through your hair
  186. >Only for your balance to be completely thrown off as your face gets intimate with the floor again
  187. >You drag your face against the ground to glance at the mirror in your room
  188. >Yep
  189. >No hands
  190. >Still a pony
  191. >You slam your head into the ground, hoping maybe this is a dream, and you were just dreaming inside the dream
  192. >Instead of waking up, you get pain
  193. >A sigh leaks from your mouth as you drag yourself up and glance at the clock
  194. >Four in the morning
  195. >You didn't have work for another few hours
  196. >Like the temptress she is, your bed beckons you back
  197. >But that moon pony freaked you out
  198. >You might have to bite the bullet and try to avoid that weird librarian to get a book on those princesses
  199. >This place is so weird that the fact it was a monarchy faded into the background
  200. >Was it called a monarchy if there was more than one ruler?
  201. >Something else to get a book for
  202. >You slowly drag your hooves as you make your way through your house
  203. >Yeah, a house, made of clouds
  204. >After only a few months of working
  205. >Did you even pay taxes anymore?
  206. >Fuck this place was weird
  207. >Why did you want to leave again?
  208. >Your muzzle bumps awkwardly against the fridge handle, then your hoof clumsily almost breaks it, then your wing gets snagged in the hinge and you're fully awake and ready to put a hole in a wall
  209. >Right, that's why
  210. >Your battle with your mortal enemy ends as you shove it open, though it gets the last hit in as it bounces back and bumps you in the side
  211. >What will you have today, animal food, animal food or more animal food?
  212. >God, you missed meat
  213. >You tried asking around once but you got given weird looks
  214. >Oats in warm milk with bananas it is
  215. >Prism was right yesterday, you really don't talk to ponies
  216. >Mostly because, as your near-princess experience just reminded you, you have the social grace of two rabid foxes taped together
  217. >Still it was pretty easy to just lay in a cloud and listen to whatever ponies talked about
  218. >Some of the pleasant surprises were a handful- hooful? whatever of recipes
  219. >Your early early morning breakfast goes by quietly as you simply enjoy the sound of silence
  220. >It took traveling to an alien planet to truly understand what people really meant by the 'peace' in "peace and quiet"
  221. >That peace, unfortunately, is broken by what sounded like a mix between a whip cracking and wood splitting
  222. >You pause your meal briefly to see if your ears are pulling tricks on you
  223. >The silence continues, then lingers, and you slowly pull your spoonful up to your muzzle
  224. >Another whack
  225. "Confound these ponies" you mutter to no one as you get up and head to the door
  226. >Poking your head out of the threshold, you notice that your house has drifted in the night
  227. >It did that sometimes
  228. >There was an extra expense they wanted to put on your house when you got it
  229. >To keep it in one place
  230. >But you knew your rights
  231. >Actually, no you don't
  232. >That's three books you'll need
  233. >You told them to take it off and now you got a surprise every morning and an annoying search every evening
  234. >These things were kept above wherever the weather clouds were put though
  235. >So more often than not, your house would normally just be a little to the right of wherever you left it
  236. >Besides, you didn't keep glass in the house so, whatever, nothing of value would break
  237. >Now though, after a few solid months of drifting, you were a lot more right
  238. >Over some sort of farm seemingly
  239. >You do a double-take, then a triple-take as you confirm that there's actually a pony down there
  240. >And she's just kicking the trees
  241. >You weren't sure if this was a sign that you should get out of your house more, or a sign that you were right not to interact with these ponies
  242. "Hey." You try calling down to the mare
  243. >No response
  244. "Hey!" You put some more volume in your voice this time
  245. >She pauses briefly, then continues
  246. "HEY!" You all but bellow, at her
  247. >This seems to grab her attention as she cranes her neck up to look at you
  248. >"Well how about that... GOOD MORNIN' NEIGHBOR!" she yells back at you
  249. "GOOD MORNING!? THERE'S NOTHING GOOD ABOUT IT! IT'S 4 O'CLOCK!"
  250. >"IT'S 5! O'CLOCK IN THE MORNIN' THANK YOU VERY MUCH!"
  251. >She was not thanking you at all
  252. >You briefly duck back into your house to check the time
  253. >It's already been over an hour
  254. >You go back out the door, and she's returned to her tree-kicking
  255. "HEY!" You pull her attention again
  256. >Even from this distance you can see her glaring at you
  257. >Maybe
  258. >If you squint
  259. "YOU KNOW, IT'S HARD TO DO ANYTHING WITH THAT RACKET YOU'RE MAKING!
  260. >"WELL IT'S HARD FOR ME TO WORK WITH SOME CRAZY COLT FLYING HIS HOUSE OVER MAH HEAD! THIS IS APPLE FAMILY PROPERTY!"
  261. >You glance around at the field below, rows and rows of apple trees
  262. >You scrunch your muzzle at her
  263. "ARE YOU A PEGASUS!?"
  264. >"NO! WHY!?"
  265. "THEN I DOUBT YOU OWN THE SKY!"
  266. >She lets out an exasperated groan before continue her shouting match with you. "WOULD YOU JUST GIT! MY LITTLE SISTER WON'T BE ABLE TO SLEEP WITH YOUR YELLING!"
  267. "YOU'RE YELLING TOO!"
  268. >"CAUSE YOU STARTED IT!"
  269. "SOUNDS LIKE A YOU PROBLEM!"
  270. >She lets out another angered groan as her hooves hit the ground
  271. >"WHY DON'T YOU COME DOWN HERE AND SAY THAT TO MAH FACE!"
  272. "WHY DON'T YOU COME UP HERE AND SAY IT TO MINE!"
  273. >"I'M NOT A PEGASUS!"
  274. "THEN IT SUCKS TO BE YOU!" With a small kick, you slam the door shut and you feel a small sense of victory
  275. >Victory that is quickly decimated by your not at all girlish shriek that you make as a red blur flies past you mach
  276. >Something splatters against your kitchen wall
  277. >It looks like apple, smells like apple and, as you lick the wall, tastes like apple
  278. >Look at what these ponies are turning you into
  279. >Your licking walls now
  280. >And she put a hole in the other one
  281. >This is not over
  282. >You throw your door back open
  283. "DID YOU JUST KICK AN APPLE INTO MY HOUSE!?"
  284. >"CALL IT A HOUSEWARMING GIFT!"
  285. "JOKES ON YOU, I NEVER HAD A HOUSEWARMING PARTY!"
  286. >"I DOUBT ANYPONY WOULD TURN UP WITH AN ATTITUDE THAT FOUL!"
  287. "OF COURSE NOT! I DON'T HAVE ANYONE TO INVITE!" Again, you kick the door shut, hoping at this point to just end the back and forth
  288. >"I'M NOT SURPRISED!" You bristle as she gets the last word in
  289. >Your eye twitches as another apple blur flies into your house and knocks over your breakfast
  290. >The oats and bananas were probably soggy at this point anyway
  291. >This is why you preferred passing out in mid-air to talking with ponies
  292.  
  293. ~~~
  294.  
  295. "Ragged fraggin' farmponies" You mutter your tame expletives to no one
  296. >It's been a few days since your house drifted over the local hicks
  297. >Long story short, things escalated
  298. >She woke up earlier to buck trees and wake you up
  299. >You "borrowed" some rain clouds and gave her a few mid-morning baths
  300. >She kicked more apples into your house
  301. >You struck a thundercloud outside her room
  302. >She scared a flock of bats into your house
  303. >You put her plough on a cloud
  304. >Now there's a tree in your living room
  305. >At this point, you've stopped questioning things
  306. "How badly would the weather factory miss their lightning machine?" You grunt as you try slamming your shoulder into the trunk
  307. >You attempt to kick- or rather, buck the tree out, but each time you do, your legs go numb
  308. >If they think it's so funny to stick a tree in your house, maybe you'll see how hard they laugh when you abandon them on a cloud for a day
  309. "Come! On! You! Stupid! Piece! Of! Wood!" With a final gasp you let yourself collapse onto your floor
  310. >Your pulled from your stupor by a somewhat familiar voice trying, and failing, to hold in her laughter
  311. >Propping yourself up on your elbows, you look up to see Prism sat on the tree
  312. >As your eyes finally meet hers, her suppressed giggles turn into outright guffaws
  313. >They say laughter is the best medicine, but you're a different kind of sick of these ponies
  314. >It is a little funny when she loses her balance and crashes out of the tree though
  315. >Dusting herself off, she chuckles one last time as you continue your fruitless attempts to evict your newest roommate
  316. >"Wow, you must have really gotten under Applejack's skin"
  317. >You simply grunt in response
  318. >With a hop and flap of her wings, she lays on your kitchen counter, clearly enjoying the show as she helps herself to some of your food
  319. >Maybe if you ignore it, it'll go away
  320. >You've been telling your reflection that everyday since you got here
  321. >It hasn't worked yet
  322. >Turning around, you press your hooves to the lowest part of the trunk you can reach without pressing your belly to the ground and fly
  323. >Your arms ache
  324. >Your legs ache
  325. >Your wings ache
  326. >Your stomach aches from lack of food and Prism isn't helping by audibly eating your food
  327. >And now you're getting a headache
  328. >Hope comes to you in the form of a tiny glimmer as the tree's massive size shifts ever so slightly
  329. >Only for that glimmer to fizzle as your wings finally give out
  330. >Crashing into the ground, you feel an angry need to hit the tree, but your body is too weak to express it
  331. >"Dude, how long have you been doing this?"
  332. >You glance up at the prismatic mare
  333. >Then at your clock
  334. >Then let your head hit the floor again
  335. "Twelve hours"
  336. >She starts coughing and choking on the food she'd helped herself too
  337. >You'd help her if your body would respond
  338. >"Twelve!?"
  339. "Yep. Woke up at six, found this in my living room, been trying to remove it ever since."
  340. >"How have you not made any progress in twelve hours?"
  341. >That was enough to fuel your body into finally getting up
  342. "Why? WHY!?" You're in her face quicker than you intended to, and by her reaction, quicker than she expected. "I'll tell you why! Because despite the fact I can fly high enough that ice starts to build up on my wings and I pass out, apparently, they're not strong enough to budge a who-knows-how-many ton tree. Because that cloud city miraculously broke all of its power tools on the same day. Because despite there being a literal, actual store down in that town whose SOLE product for sale is axes and saws, today they were out of stock somehow. Because when I came home to just cut my losses and use a knife to at least get rid of the branches, I found this!"
  343. >You shove a sticky note into the mare's chest
  344. >It reads "Hiya, I hope you don't mind, but I needed to borrow these, I Pinkie Promise to bring 'em back tomorrow. Your Party Planner, Pinkie Pie"
  345. >For some reason it's made with what seem to be newspaper cut outs, despite the fact she signed it
  346. "I don't even know who that is! The reason I'm still here is because SOMEHOW a pony with no magic got a TREE into a CLOUD!"
  347. >Because this whole day is a joke, and you're the punchline
  348. >That's why you're still here
  349. >With your rant over, you finally feel the weight of your own panting, heaving chest
  350. >And your eyes focus
  351. >The emotion on her face is difficult to read, it's a whole lot of different things mixed into one
  352. >Though you're pretty sure you see pity in there
  353. >Pulling yourself back from the mare you walk back up to the tree, slump against it, and simply bump your head against it over and over
  354. >You loved to fly, but sometimes you hated this place
  355. >"Alright, so, you went all over Cloudsdale, and all over Ponyville to try and get rid of this thing, right?"
  356. >You don't even bother answering, but she takes your continued bumping as a nod
  357. >"Did you ever consider just... asking for help?"
  358. >You stop as your head hits the tree once more
  359. "Ask who? I don't know anyone here. What am I even supposed to do? Just go up to a random in the street and say 'hi, nice to meet you, there's a tree in my house, want to waste your day getting it out?'"
  360. >You stare blankly at the mare, and she rolls her eyes with a groan at your tone
  361. >"Um, yeah?"
  362. "Look, Prism-"
  363. >"That's not my name!"
  364. >You pause briefly and feel your muzzle twist in confusion as you crane your neck awkwardly to look at her
  365. "What?"
  366. >"My name's not 'Prism', it's Rainbow Dash! How do you not know that!?"
  367. "Because... I... never... asked?"
  368. >"Then why didn't you!?"
  369. "I didn't need to know it. We're just co-workers."
  370. >"Ju- just-? What!?"
  371. >You're too tired for this so simply let your head fall to hit the tree again
  372. >It's quiet for a while
  373. >It's nice
  374. >Then you feel a hoof on your shoulder, and it rubs in small circles
  375. >The touch is fidgety and the rub is awkward
  376. >She's clearly as unsure of what she's doing as you are
  377. >It's still nice, despite it all
  378. >"Do... have you really not made any friends since you moved here?"
  379. >You bring your hooves up and over your eyes
  380. >Your stupid fucking hooves
  381. >If there was ever a time to wake up from this dream, it would be now
  382. >Her hoof stops on you
  383. >You can still feel her
  384. >You're not waking up
  385. >A shudder escapes you and you blink away the burning in your eyes, thankful that you covered your eyes
  386. "Who am I even supposed to talk to?" You're only just able to keep your balance on the tightrope of keeping your voice under control. "I've only been here a few months, and the only ponies who seem to want to talk to me are that crazy librarian, or that hyperactive ball of pink"
  387. >Her hoof lifts from you and a pause settles in the air
  388. >"Uh, dude, you do know those are two of my best friends, right?"
  389. >You look at her and hope your eyes aren't red
  390. "No, I didn't. Sorry."
  391. >You meant it too
  392. >It surprises even you
  393. >She slowly sits beside you and places her head next to yours on the tree
  394. >"Don't worry about it, you're only half-wrong about them. Twilight's just an egghead. She wants to know more about you."
  395. >Yeah, that was the problem
  396. >"And Pinkie is just... well, Pinkie. She throws parties for everyone. I think it's actually bothering her that she hasn't thrown you one yet. Wait-" Her eyes widen slightly as she tilts her head to get a better view. "has your birthday passed since you got here?"
  397. >You nod lazily and she sucks in a breath through her teeth
  398. >"Pinkie was really hoping you'd start getting to know ponies before then.” Her head turns away as she mutters to herself. "Maybe I can convince one of the others to tell her."
  399. "Why are you here Pris- Dash?"
  400. >She looks over at you again, this time like you'd told her the dumbest thing ever
  401. >"Why else? To help." Her face slowly shifts into a smirk though. "Unless you'd rather make another fly to Axes and Saws?"
  402. >You hit your head against the trunk of the tree again, and your answer comes out in a muffled mouthful of bark
  403. >"Come again?" She asks, with a hoof to her ear
  404. >Pulling your muzzle away, you groan
  405. "Will you please help me move this tree out of my house?"
  406. >"There you go!" She says, standing as she bumps your shoulder lightly. "You just made your first friend!"
  407. >You can't help but look up at her
  408. >She extends her hoof out to you with a mischievous, yet warm smile, and you can't help but accept it
  409. >"Give it a year, maybe you'll have more."
  410. >Her jokes spurs a small chuckle out of you as you look the tree up and down
  411. "So, any ideas on how to move this thing?"
  412. >"Well, that depends. Do you want to move it before or after I help you push your house away from Applejack's farm?"
  413. "After. Definitely after." You kick off from the tree
  414. >Sure, the apple pony would probably take it as a concession
  415. >But at this point, you're too far from sense to care anymore
  416. >"Moving a cloud house can be a bit of a hassle. You ever done it before?"
  417. >If "would I be in this situation if I had done it before?" could be found in a look, it would be found in yours now
  418. >"Right, my bad." She laughs off her own question. "Then, let's take a fly. I can talk you through it, you can relax, then we can come back. Sound good?" She says all this as she heads towards your front door
  419. You can't stop the question that comes to mind as you follow her. "Why are you helping me so much?"
  420. >"Look dude, I'm glad we talked the other day, but I kind of get the feeling you need to be SHOWN more than told that there's more out there."
  421. >You pause at the door and briefly swap your gaze between her and the world outside
  422. >Ultimately, she wasn't wrong
  423. >In truth, you'd barely experience anything
  424. >On the ground at least
  425. >But you'd explored a lot of the sky
  426. >Every time of day
  427. >Every kind of weather
  428. >With your new wings by your side, you almost felt invincible
  429. >The sky seemed endless
  430. >But you were always trying to explore it all
  431. >Letting yourself only go to the ground just to buy food
  432. >Still, even then you kept yourself off the ground, flapping your wings lazily to keep yourself in a hover
  433. >Maybe she could help you make that first step after all
  434. >Thinking about it, maybe you could apologize to that apple pony too
  435. >As long as it was a mutual apology
  436. >Honestly, thinking about it, you were now more impressed than annoyed by what she did
  437. >"So." her voice pulls you out of your thoughts and pulls your head back to her
  438. >The sun had only just begun to dip beyond the mountains in the distance, the orange glow seemed to illuminate her, highlighting that particular part of her mane
  439. >"Since we haven't hung out before, let's do this properly this time. I'm Rainbow Dash."
  440. >She offers you a hoof and you feel a light smile slowly crawl it's way back onto your face as you breathe just a little easier
  441. >With a bump you press your hoof against hers and do what the equivalent of a handshake is to these ponies
  442. "Nice to meet you."
  443. >With a flap of your wings you take off and you hear her quickly follow behind you
  444. >"Hey, dude, you kind of did it wrong."
  445. >Confused, you stare at your hoof
  446. >How did you mess up something that simple?
  447. >"No, not that part. I mean... well- actually never mind."
  448. >That peaks your curiosity
  449. >Quickly wracking your brain through the last interaction and times before, you try to figure out what went wrong
  450. >Like lightning, a thought crosses your mind
  451. >It's equal parts ridiculous and possible
  452. >Her eyes shift slightly as she seems to suspect your theory
  453. "Rainbow... when we met, you said barely anyone knows my name."
  454. >"Yeah, well- it's true." She responds, almost in protest
  455. "And the entire, brief, time we've talked, you've only ever called me "dude" haven't you?"
  456. >"I-"
  457. "Do you not know my name?" You cut her off before she can defend herself and your face breaks into a full smirk as she stutters and falls over her own words
  458. >"I- well I just- and Mayor Mare wouldn't- and the filing system for the Weather Team isn't-" she cuts herself off with a groan before her arms go limp at her side, her wings keeping her up. "Yeah, alright, I don't remember your name. If I ever learned it. Sorry."
  459. >You almost forget the tree in your house with how hard you laugh
  460. >Initially annoyed at your laugh, Rainbow slowly joins in
  461. >Wiping a tear with a wing you slowly calm down and share a smile with the mare and offer a hoof
  462. >She bumps it lightly and gives it a shake
  463. "My name's Anonymous." With a beat of your wings, you start flying again, doing some lazy spins and flips to get started
  464. >"Weird name"
  465. "Said the rainbow pony with the rainbow mane"
  466. >"Hey MY name makes sense"
  467. "Whatever helps you sleep at night"
  468. >"Hey, that thing you said before, "see you around or on the ground" is that like, a catch phrase or something?"
  469. "No."
  470. >"Is it just a thing you say?"
  471. "No."
  472. >"Are you gonna use it?"
  473. "No."
  474. >"Can I?"
  475. "No."
  476. >She takes a faux dive at you, tucking your wings, you do a spiral turn around her body to avoid her
  477. >While you had tucked your wings, she hadn't and lost slight control, but regained it just as quickly
  478. >As she turns back to you, she flies at you again, and suddenly it feels like a game of air-tag
  479. >"Come on, I've got this fan club thing, I bet they'd love it."
  480. >Again you narrowly avoid her by curling your side inward
  481. "Maybe if you catch me. How about that?"
  482. >You almost immediately regret your words as a playful smile bursts onto her face with a fire in her eyes
  483. >"Oh you are SO on"
  484. >She dives at you again, and all your mental systems go on auto-pilot
  485. >And slowly, thoughts of an annoying tree fade for now
  486.  
  487. ~~~
  488.  
  489. "Why am I here?"
  490. >You tiredly rub at your eyes
  491. >With minimal success
  492. >It was early
  493. >Way too early
  494. >The sun wasn't even up yet
  495. >But that apple pony was
  496. >Thankfully you'd been moved away from audible range
  497. >It was very irritating to try and clear your eyes with hooves
  498. >Holding stuff without thumbs was one thing
  499. >Getting the sleep out of your eyes without gouging your eyes with a hoof was another
  500. >Across from you was Rainbow Dash
  501. >She looked as tired as you felt
  502. >With a yawn, her wings fluttered lightly behind her in a stretch
  503. >It was contagious, as you did the same
  504. >The sight brought a giggle to her
  505. >Her voice was a little rough, but she had a cute laugh
  506. >Despite them being aliens, you couldn't deny the good things about them
  507. >"Well, it turns out that, somehow, we're short a few rain and storm clouds, so the weather factory suddenly needs somepony to spend some early overtime making up the difference before they can be moved out to the teams."
  508. >You hum, choosing to ignore her knowing gaze
  509. >"You wouldn't happen to know anything about those stolen clouds, would ya Anon?"
  510. "Nope." You dismiss casually
  511. >A half-truth
  512. >Sure, they weren't yours, but they're clouds, they're not exactly labeled
  513. >You glance at Rainbow and sees she's completely unconvinced
  514. "Look, Dash, I didn't do it, but even if I did, she deserved it and it was worth it."
  515. >This brings a snicker through the mare's nose
  516. >You glance around the sleepy diner you two were sat in
  517. >For some reason, the pegasus who owned the place liked to open the place early and close it late
  518. >'To catch the stragglers in the weird hours' she said
  519. >You suppose it helped that she seemingly lived above the place
  520. "Weirdly enough, that doesn't answer my question."
  521. >"I was not so subtly saying that, if you don't help me, I'm throwing you under the carriage." Her messy mane half hangs over her eyes as she gives you a tired smirk
  522. You scoff in mock hurt. "Honestly, is that anyway to treat a friend? With blackmail?"
  523. >"I could say that a friend would just help without the need of blackmail but you're..." she pauses, searching for the word
  524. "Incredibly charming?"
  525. >"I was gonna say weird, but whatever floats your boat."
  526. >You both share a laugh as you finally hear the trotting of hooves and the slight rattle of a tray
  527. >Following it was the tantalizing smell of morning fuel
  528. >The mare had a soft pink coat and strawberry-blonde mane tied up in a bun and covered by a hairnet, a small pair of glasses balanced on her nose
  529. >"Hot Stuff, coming through." She says to the other non-existent patrons as she slides the trays she'd delicately balanced on her wings to you both. "And I ain't just talkin' about the food." She finishes with a small wink to you
  530. "I can tell." You respond with a wink of your own
  531. >A month ago, you wouldn't have been caught dead flirting with these aliens
  532. >You were barely used to looking at yourself, let alone them
  533. >Ever since you'd started getting out of your little bubble though, you'd decided to start thrusting yourself out of your comfort zone
  534. >It was like throwing a kid in the deep end
  535. >Uncomfortable, and you had no idea what you were doing
  536. >But when you got used to it, it wasn't so bad
  537. >She laughs heartily, clearly more awake than you and slaps the table with a hoof
  538. >"Colt, you must be new here." Her laughs turn into chuckles.
  539. >"That's her name, featherhead." Rainbow said through barely concealed snickers
  540. >Your face twists uncomfortably as you try to hide behind your wing, causing both mares to laugh a little more
  541. >It's a soft laugh though, so at least you're stuck comfortably in feeling embarrassed
  542. >Seems you've drowned in this particular pool
  543. >A poke from a pink hoof jolts you and you pull your wing down
  544. >"You're lucky my husband doesn't pick up his shift until the kids are up, out of the house and in school." Her smile told you she was in equal parts enjoying your embarrassment and trying to comfort your slip-up. "But I tell you what, smart mouth, you made an old mare smile, and that ain't easy. This one's on the house."
  545. >Seriously?
  546. >Just like that?
  547. >This place was always weird most, in a good way most of the time, luckily
  548. >"So, can I get you two anything else?" She looks between you both and walks off with a nod when you wave her away
  549. >Hash browns, hay bacon, hay fries, eggs and coffee
  550. >It confused you the first time you saw eggs on a menu here, but after trying them you didn't care
  551. >Why some animals were aware and some were still dumb as rocks, you didn't know, or care
  552. >The hay bacon took a while to get used to
  553. >After a month of no meat, you swallowed your pride, choked some down, and found it passable
  554. >It didn't hold a candle to a nice crispy strip of pig meat, but you'd been happy enough on this new, forced vegetarian diet
  555. >As you dig into the food, you feel the food and coffee finally beginning to grease the creaking cogs in your brain and limbs
  556. "How do you even use the machines in the factory?"
  557. >You don't pull your face up from your food as you throw out the question
  558. >Through your peripherals, you see that Rainbow stays engulfed in her own meal as she answers
  559. >"I can show you. I'm technically trained to be a Weather Team Captain."
  560. "But you're not?"
  561. >"Nah."
  562. "Why? Pay not worth it?"
  563. >"I still get paid a captain's wage for knowing, but we have enough that I'm basically just in reserves."
  564. >Maybe you should look into this captain thing
  565. >You weren't exactly strapped for cash
  566. >But more couldn't hurt
  567. >Then again, you never really found yourself wanting
  568. >Everything just seemed to run really well
  569. >Benefits of immortal, benevolent rulers and gold being as common as rocks
  570. >"Besides, I don't wanna stay on the weather team anyway."
  571. "Going somewhere?"
  572. >The flick of her rainbow mane catches the edge of your sight and you look up
  573. >She strikes a small pose which is decidedly less impressive by her bedhead and tired eyes
  574. >"You're looking at a future Wonderbolt!"
  575. "A what now?"
  576. >You turn your muzzle back down to your plate as a small silence falls between you two
  577. >As it persists, you pause and look up
  578. >She's staring at you slack jawed
  579. >Shit, that was something else a normal one of these lot was supposed to know, wasn't it?
  580. >"You don't know who the Wonderbolts are!? Did you live under a rock before you came here?"
  581. "If I said 'yes' would you let me go back to my hay bacon?"
  582. >"Hay bacon schmay bacon!"
  583. >That's a no then
  584. >"The Wonderbolts are only the greatest aerial team in all of Equestria! Any pegasi who's any pegasi knows who they are, and wants to be one of them."
  585. >You place a hoof on your coffee and a wing in front of your plate as her wing sweeps in a wide arc for dramatic effect
  586. >While your order remains safe, she's scattered hay fries over the table and her coffee mug clinks as it spins towards the edge of the table
  587. >"Their members have invented all sorts of techniques. Like the Thunderbolt Corkscrew, or the Blind Triad!"
  588. >You lazily unfurl a wing to catch her forgotten coffee as it slips off the table's edge, and slide it back to her
  589. "Uh huh."
  590. >As Rainbow gets engrossed in her fangirling, you glance around the diner to take it in
  591. >It was old fashioned in designed, but kept like new
  592. >Hot Stuff clearly took pride in the place
  593. >Pride well deserved, you thought
  594. >A glance over at the mare in question shows her giving you a small nod
  595. >Thankful that she wouldn't have to clean up coffee and shattered ceramic most likely
  596. >You turn your gaze out the window
  597. >Cloudsdale was a uniquely vertical city, even here, rather deep into the city, you could still see to its edge and to Equestria beyond
  598. >The streets were empty because the sane ponies were still asleep
  599. >"But the best of them has got to be their leader."
  600. >Speaking of crazy
  601. >You tune back into Dash now that she seems to be winding down
  602. >"She's been an idol of mine for a while. Spitfire."
  603. >The plane!?
  604. >Probably not
  605. >But still
  606. "What's she done that's impressed you so much? Flew through fire or something?"
  607. >"She's the youngest pony to ever become the leader of the Wonderbolts. You can imagine which record of theirs I want to beat huh?" She raises her eyebrows at you teasingly
  608. >You don't know
  609. >Taking the longest nap coma?
  610. "All of them?"
  611. >"See. You already know me so well."
  612. >You share a smile as you begin to finish your breakfast, as she realizes that she barely touched hers during her rant
  613. >Not that it matters as she races through it quick enough to finish her plate before you
  614. >As she chews through her mountain in a mouthful, a thoughtful look crosses her face as her eyes narrow at you
  615. >Poking your face, you check for any scraps of food that stuck to your fur, but find none
  616. "What?
  617. >"You..."
  618. "Me." You confirm
  619. >"I'm just wondering what the Wonderbolts record for altitude flying is"
  620. "Probably like... two, maybe more."
  621. >"Two?"
  622. You nod. "Two whole altitudes, at least."
  623. >She gives you an unimpressed look, which you return with a smirk
  624. >Her face doesn't break from the look, but you do see the smallest twitch at the corner of her lips
  625. >You throw up your hooves and settles your smirk into a smaller smile
  626. "Sorry, sorry, I can tell they mean a lot to you, I- I just don't have that same investment. Alright?"
  627. >This seems to satisfy her as the resting smile returns to her
  628. >"It's alright, dude, I kind of get it. Honestly, it's weird, but kind of nice to have someone who's clueless like you."
  629. "Thank... you?"
  630. >"You're welcome." She smirks. "I guess it's like... getting another perspective! You know?"
  631. >You nod along with her words as you finish off the last scraps of food and dregs of coffee
  632. >Noticing your meal winding down, Hot Stuff comes by and clears the table before walking off, waving you both off with no cheque
  633. >You weren't gonna look that particular gift horse in the mouth
  634. >Free food is free food
  635. >Doesn't matter where you go
  636. >As you both slip out of the booth, you stretch out one last time as you make your way to the door
  637. >"You ready to get to work, Anon?" With a flap of her wings, she hovers above you
  638. "No. Any chance you could tie down my wings and throw me off the edge so I can go home?"
  639. >She smiles at your attempt at humor, though it's a little uncertain
  640. >As you smirk up at her she relaxes, glad that you were, in fact, joking
  641. >With a beat of your own wings you join her in the air, and begin the climb through the city towards the factory
  642. >"Hey, since we're gonna have a few hours before the main bulk of workers come in, I've been meaning to ask, what's with your cutie mark?"
  643. "What's a cutie mark?"
  644. >She stops in the air, staring at you, a mix of disbelief and annoyance in her eyes as you fly past her
  645. >"You have GOT to be messing with me, dude!"
  646.  
  647. ~~~
  648.  
  649. >"So, you talk now, huh?"
  650. "Apparently so- uh… um... Flutter?"
  651. >"It's actually Flitter, and she's my sister, I'm Cloud Chaser."
  652. >The mare points at a very similar pegasus who gives you both a wave
  653. >Like you, she's helping put the finishing touches on the weather routine
  654. >Now you're gonna have to figure out what to focus on to differentiate those two
  655. >Differences, differences, differences
  656. >Your eyes dart between the two mares
  657. >Should be easy enough
  658. >They were both a sort of purple color, but she had some white in her slightly spiky styled mane and tail
  659. >The other’s mane was more straight and combed down, with a bow
  660. >"You know, you actually lost me some bits"
  661. "Wait, what? How?"
  662. >Since your work is basically done, you lean against a cloud
  663. >She joins in
  664. >"The whole weather team had this betting pool going that you were a mute."
  665. >She shrugs
  666. >As if she'd just told you the most casual thing in the world
  667. >"It started off as twenty bits from each pony, every month that passed with nopony confirming yes or no, another twenty went in. I lost 120 bits."
  668. >Six months
  669. >Had it really been that long?
  670. >Had you really been that bad?
  671. >How much worse would you have become?
  672. >Your internal struggle doesn't go unnoticed
  673. >A yelp escapes you as you're startled out of your thoughts by a poke
  674. >Her previous worry devolves into a small snicker
  675. >"S- sorry, I just wasn't expecting that."
  676. >Despite your own worries, you let yourself relax again
  677. >"If it makes you feel any better, Flitter was on the side of the betting pool that you weren't mute, even splitting it as we are, I'm making a profit."
  678. >Meaning there were more ponies who thought you were mute, than ones who thought you weren't
  679. >"Oh, that didn't help, did it?"
  680. >Sighing, you simply wave the mare off
  681. "Meh, I'll get over it."
  682. >"By doing that... passing out thing you do?"
  683. "Why? Is there another betting pool I should know about?"
  684. >Her wings stiffen and eyes dart from side to side
  685. >You’re not sure if you’re surprised or not that there was
  686. >"Uh- what's that Flitter!? Coming!"
  687. >Without another word she follows the imagined words away
  688. >Initially, the thought stung, now these betting pools were just amusing
  689. >Who knew you could become such a talk of the town by doing nothing?
  690. >As you've been doing the past few months, you clock out and make your way out of the factory
  691. >Recently you've really noticed just how much of a community these ponies really are
  692. >Not just have
  693. >Are
  694. >They seem to live and breathe each other's lives
  695. >And they were all too happy to bring you fully into the fold
  696. >All too quickly too, some part of your brain adds
  697. >Old memories told you not to trust people who smiled too wide or too often or were too eager to talk to you
  698. >But these weren't people
  699. >It was a strange thing to have to keep reminding yourself
  700. >Did the fact you had to remind yourself mean you were getting comfortable?
  701. >You shiver a little at the thought
  702. >Unlike your old coworkers, you don't exchange mindless pleasantries and empty greetings
  703. >Some of the pegasi of the factory fall in beside you and talk to you
  704. >Sharing some of their life and day and you sharing the same
  705. >They even ask you questions, actual questions, that you have to think about
  706. >Like they actually cared about you
  707. >It's nice
  708. >You're not sure why you didn't want any of this
  709. >"There he is!"
  710. >Ah, there's that scratchy voice you've grown fond of
  711. >With the sound of soft exertions and a blur of rainbow hues, Rainbow Dash does a small spin in the air before landing in front of you
  712. >"Was wondering where you flew off too"
  713. >She walks backwards as she talks to you
  714. >It's all said with the cool confidence, and slight cockiness you've come to enjoy
  715. "I was looking for you, slowpoke."
  716. >A small teasing "ooo" comes from the other ponies
  717. >Seriously, were you all adults, or children?
  718. >Maybe these ponies just knew how to enjoy themselves
  719. >From what you've seen, it's the latter
  720. >She moves so that, still walking backward, she's just a few inches from you
  721. >"As Applejack would say, "them's fightin' words" you really want to race me?"
  722. "Depends, we doing speed, or endurance?"
  723. >Cause if it was speed, you would graciously fly with your metaphorical tail between your legs
  724. >Maybe the literal one too
  725. >But if there was anything you'd built up in your months of flying
  726. >It was endurance
  727. >You admittedly weren't as confident as you tried to show even in that
  728. >She had literal decades on you
  729. >But your ego demanded you at least consider giving yourself 50:50 odds
  730. >She laughs lightly
  731. >"You think you can take me in either?"
  732. "I KNOW I can fly TWICE as high as you can"
  733. >She pauses, then lowers herself slightly, wings flared
  734. >You match her
  735. >It was at times like these you were thankful you weren't a complete hermit
  736. >Just a partial one
  737. >You'd managed to figure out some pony mannerisms simply by watching
  738. >"So... it's a bet?"
  739. "What are the stakes?"
  740. >"Besides the ego-boost?"
  741. "Or ego-check in your case."
  742. >Another chuckle from her
  743. >And one from you for good measure
  744. >The jingle of coins pulls your attention to a, quite frankly, hefty coin purse she pulls out
  745. >"I just so happened to win this from a certain betting pool about a certain pony, if you win, it's yours."
  746. "And if you win?"
  747. >"WHEN I win... you have to do me a favor."
  748. >That makes you pause
  749. >And her smirk tells you she intended that
  750. >Money was nice
  751. >But a blank cheque?
  752. >Could be trouble
  753. >If you had to cash it in
  754. >Screw it
  755. >The time of routines was over, now was the time to live dangerously
  756. "You're on, Prism~"
  757. >You smirk as she huffs out of her nose
  758. >She didn't like the nickname you'd given her
  759. >But she'd never given you reason to think she outright hated it
  760. >You hold out a hoof and she bumps against it in a shake
  761. >"Tomorrow, this weekend, midday, sharp."
  762. "You want to wait? Why not today?"
  763. >"You've still got the work gunk on ya, I want you at your best when I wipe the sky with you."
  764. "I get it, you need a day to figure out how to come to terms with your inevitable loss."
  765. >You both share a small smile before heading out of the factory and taking to the skies
  766. >"So, you want to hit Hot Stuff's? And maybe not flirt with a married mare this time?"
  767. >You roll your eyes
  768. >That wasn't going away anytime soon
  769. >You both weave through the soft clouded buildings and alleys of Cloudsdale as you descend away from the factory
  770. "Don't worry, I'll keep my flirting to single mares from now on."
  771. >You can tell she has a number of clever comebacks to your words
  772. >Luckily she seems to choose the most tame
  773. >"Good idea, and I mean, hey, if you want some practice, I think Cloud Chaser likes you."
  774. "How is that possible? I'm pretty sure I learned her name today."
  775. >Rainbow shows off her mastery of flying and acrobatics casually by flipping so she's flying backwards as she shrugs at you
  776. >"Stoic, silent, reckless but good at flying? Some mares like that I guess."
  777. "You almost sound like you're describing yourself."
  778. >Her head snaps to you, brow raised and confusion painted on her face
  779. >Hook, line and sinker
  780. "You know, except for the 'silent' bit."
  781. >Her confusion shifts to a more flat look
  782. "Or the 'stoic' bit."
  783. >You meanwhile, smirk wider
  784. "And that "good at flying" is also a bit generous, so reckless- you're just reckless."
  785. >She holds her unamused look for a moment before a smirk cracks the façade and she shakes her head, causing her mane to sweep back forth over her eyes
  786. >"Idiot..." she mutters under her breath
  787. "Back to Cloud Chaser though. Didn't I lose her a bunch of bits by being able to talk?"
  788. >"That's perfect then," she nudges you with a hoof, "you can make it up to her by taking her on a date."
  789. "I assume Hot Stuff's would probably be a bad first date choice?"
  790. >"Oh, relax. And don't worry, this trip's gonna be on me."
  791. >You wave her off as you land
  792. "You don't need to do that, I'm gonna be getting a ton of bits soon."
  793. >She knows where you're going with this, but doesn't stop you
  794. >"Oh really?"
  795. >Hot Stuff leads you two to a booth, smiling as she enjoys listening to your back and forth
  796. "Yeah, you won't believe this, Dash, but some sucker made this bet with me that she's obviously gonna lose."
  797. >"Oh really? Do I know her?"
  798. >You shake your head
  799. "Doubt it. Her name's Prism. Loud, kind of obnoxious, though her voice isn't too bad to listen to I guess, once you get over how scratchy it is.
  800. >She chuckles on her side of the booth before leaning forward
  801. >"It's funny you mention a bet, cause this absolute featherhead I know made a bet he's gonna lose too."
  802. "Oh yeah? What are you getting out of it?"
  803. >"A favor, I can't believe the colt actually agreed to it. Celestia, I'm not sure what's gonna be more fun, the favor, or watching him squirm while he waits for me to make up my mind."
  804. "Do I know this colt?"
  805. >"Well, he's a loner, nopony knows his name," she leans forward, with a wing by her muzzle, as if to hide her words, "and between you and me, I think he's mute."
  806. You nod thanks to Hot Stuff as she brings over your usual coffee first. "Or maybe he just finds you all annoying." You hide your smirk in the mug as Rainbow chuckles into hers.
  807. >"Order up, hon!" A deep voice bellows from somewhere in the bowels of the diner's kitchens
  808. >Short Fuse, Hot Stuff's husband
  809. >Thankfully he just has an affinity for fireworks
  810. >Temper of a saint
  811. >Gave you a mean stink-eye when you first met
  812. >For about two seconds before breaking into good-natured laughter
  813. >He liked to pat you on the back a lot
  814. >And for a pegasus he walloped like an earth pony
  815. >Luckily never too hard
  816. >Speaking of earth ponies
  817. >You should probably apologize to Applejack
  818. >She'll probably be there with Rainbow's other friends when they hear about your little bet competition
  819. >That thought sparks a reminder in your mind
  820. "Hey, Rainbow."
  821. >She looks up at you
  822. "How many betting pools are there going on about me?"
  823. >Now she looks nervously everywhere but at you
  824. >"Duck!" Short Fuse calls from the kitchen
  825. >A glance over shows no food coming out
  826. >You briefly whip a head around
  827. >There weren't any griffons here
  828. >Ponies didn't... did they?
  829. >Seemingly, in your confusion, Hot Stuff had come and gone with your order
  830. >Rainbow probably ordered for you
  831. >She only knew you a few days
  832. >Which either meant she ordered you the perfect meal
  833. >Or something you were gonna hate
  834. >It was hard to tell with her
  835. >"Tell you what, Anon, I'll let you in on the betting pools, IF, you help me win them"
  836. "Only if I get half of what you win"
  837. >"Only if you don't get half of what I've already won. You either get all or nothing tomorrow"
  838. "Only if you cover the tab”
  839. >"Deal."
  840. >She puts her hoof forward, and you bump and shake it
  841. >"Duck!" Short Fuse calls again
  842. >Again, you look and nothing, though you do feel a slightly harsh breeze
  843. >You glance behind you
  844. >The door's not open, and there wasn't any strong winds scheduled for a few days
  845. >"So, anyway, you already know the first one. Let me see, what other ones were there?"
  846. >She taps her chin with a hoof in thought
  847. >How many bets have you caused?
  848. >Unfurling her main primary, she uses it like a finger to point to her other wing as she counts the feathers and bets
  849. >"There's one about when you're gonna crash during those flights you go on."
  850. >Considering she was worried about scraping you off a hillside a few days ago, you wonder which side of that betting pool she's on
  851. >"One's about your name, no one won that-"
  852. "What did ponies think it was?"
  853. >"There was a bet for Emerald Blitz, mine, one was Green Feathers," you almost argue that one, then you remember who you're talking to, "and another one was Petrichor Wind"
  854. >Strange strange names becoming stranger still
  855. >"There's another one about where you're from"
  856. >That'll be another one she loses
  857. >"One's about what your cutie mark means"
  858. >You glance down at the strange mark on your flank
  859. >You'd been aware of them since you arrived here and tried to scrub yours off
  860. >A simple black question mark branded on you that contrasted against your green coat
  861. >"And the last one's about whether you're gay or not."
  862. "WHAT!?"
  863. >Her face splits into a silent laugh as she chokes on air before devolving into a wheezing mess
  864. >When she finally gets some air into her lungs she bursts into cackles and laughter and tears as she can't even look at you before breaking into more laughs
  865. >"Dude, you should have seen your face!"
  866. >You grumble, but only slightly
  867. >That was something you could get back at her later for
  868. >Right now, you're enjoying yourself
  869. >"Order up!" Short Fuse calls and you hope that it's yours
  870. >Someone smiles down on you as you're correct
  871. >A small kick under the table jolts Dash to her sense as she wipes away the last of the tears, still giggling to herself as Hot Stuff puts your plates in front of you, glancing between you two with a smile
  872. >What's in front of you is new, but as you try it, you don't hate it
  873. >Maybe Dash took a shot in the dark and landed a hit
  874. >Other than the occasional relapse into chuckles from Dash, your meal is pleasantly quiet
  875. >You wonder what you'll do when you're done here
  876. >"Duck!" Again, Short Fuse calls and you roll your eyes at the stallion
  877. >Curiously though, you see Rainbow lower her head, as if du-
  878. >Your thoughts are interrupted as something slams into the back of your head
  879. >Hard
  880. >You hit the table and bounce off it, food now on your face
  881. >Motherfucker, you’re gonna hurt whoever threw that
  882. >Briefly your heart races and your breathing quickens
  883. >"Whoa- sorry dude, I forgot to tell you-"
  884. >"MACH! You get your keister here, mister!
  885. >You're only vaguely aware of Rainbow talking to you and Hot Stuff yelling at... someone
  886. >Your senses slowly settle from the brief shot of adrenaline
  887. >"But moooooom, dad called out, it's not my fault he didn't-"
  888. >"Don't you dare blame that nice stallion, young colt, now you go over there and you apologize.
  889. >"But this is our house."
  890. >"We've been over this, upstairs in the house, this is the business, and everypony loves letting you fly around, but he's new."
  891. >"But-"
  892. >Short Fuse finally moves himself through the hole in the wall that acts as the window between kitchen and diner
  893. >A red coat with a two-tone orange and yellow mane cut short and sharp, with stubble covering his muzzle
  894. >Looked as tough as his name implied and also added to why his stink-eye had you worried before you found out he was as soft as his food was tender
  895. >"That's enough buts outta you mister, you've only got the one anyway, now stop arguing with your mother and go apologize, he probably ain't even mad, just rattled."
  896. >Hot Stuff comes over, a colt in tow
  897. >Well, guess you’re gonna have to vent your anger with a few flights
  898. >You almost feel bad for the kid, he was his mother's kid through and through
  899. >Almost, he did wham you pretty good
  900. >Pink coat, flecks of red in his wings, and a strawberry blonde mane, though it was cut in the same style as his old man's
  901. >Probably to offset the coat and try and show some of Short Fuse's toughness
  902. >But still, pink coat on a colt, probably in school
  903. >And kid's can be cruel
  904. >He mumbles something as his hoof digs at the cloud ground
  905. >"Speak Ponish, not Mumble, Mach. And look at him, you're not talkin' to the floor, sweetheart"
  906. >He looks up, and you notice the tiniest flinch as his gaze meets yours
  907. >Must have had a bad experience crashing into someone before
  908. >"S- sorry mister."
  909. "Relax kid, after all, there's nothing like a concussion to wake you up after a shift, I can probably sleep it off."
  910. >"Anon!" You let out a small "ow" as Rainbow kicks you beneath the table
  911. >Hot Stuff rolls her eyes, but smiles, glad that the situation went fine as she clears your ruined meal to get a new one
  912. >The colt begins fluttering off, looking downtrodden and Rainbow lightly kicks you again before nodding at him
  913. "Hey, kid! Mach, right?"
  914. >He looks back at you
  915. "You hit like a flying freight train, you know that?"
  916. >You rub the back of your head again, just to double-check you're fine
  917. >"I already said I was sorry!
  918. "I mean... you'd make a hell of a firefighter when you're older."
  919. >This stops the colt as his wings lightly click to his sides and he lands
  920. >"You really think so?"
  921. "You kidding? Pretty sure you could break rocks at that speed, let alone some wood and burning buildings. Or a Royal Guard even."
  922. >His eyes light up as he trots back to your table
  923. >”Really!?”
  924. "Yeah, something that fast in metal armor? Celestia knows I'd never commit a crime with you around."
  925. >"Cooooool."
  926. >His gaze drifts off to somewhere
  927. >Waving a hoof in front of him is ineffective
  928. >Yep, he's daydreaming
  929. >Hot Stuff returns with a piping hot and new meal for you
  930. >"Alright, young colt, let's go help dad wash the dishes."
  931. >"But moooom, I did it yesterday, the others are helping today."
  932. >"Then do your homework"
  933. >"I already did it, can I go outside?"
  934. >The small family back and forth brings a small smile to you, though you pause as you glance up at Rainbow
  935. >She's eyeing you curiously
  936. "Worried about me?" You smirk
  937. >Your sarcasm confirms to her that all your mental faculties are fine and she scoffs
  938. >"Worried that you're gonna make out with your food again."
  939. "Shut up." You say with a chuckle
  940. >"No, seriously dude, save it for Cloud Chaser."
  941. "Shut up!" You may be louder, but your smile is wider as you flick some of the food at her
  942. >Luckily, you two don't devolve into a foodfight, just another conversation taking jabs at each other
  943.  
  944. ~~~
  945.  
  946. >Your eyes snap open
  947. >It sucks because you were having a really cool dream
  948. >But you get over it when you remember what day it is
  949. >With a spring in your wings you jump out of bed
  950. >The clock tells you that you've got a few hours until your little one on one with Dash
  951. >But the time couldn't go quickly enough
  952. >A part of you wants to do a lap or two of Cloudsdale
  953. >Another part of you wants to conserve your energy
  954. >The last part of you wants to go back to bed
  955. >You find a happy medium in making yourself a hearty breakfast
  956. >Eggs and hash browns today
  957. >Gotta get in those carbs
  958. >Quite frankly, you knew today would be a measure of energy
  959. >Of stamina
  960. >Every advantage you could give yourself was needed
  961. >You were no fool
  962. >Though you'd chosen a hermit's life, it was wasn't complete isolation
  963. >Rainbow Dash would always reach your ears in one way or another
  964. >Some new adventure
  965. >A deadly foe beaten
  966. >Local records broken
  967. >Honestly it's a wonder you never actually knew who she actually was until she corrected you
  968. >Your thoughts end as your cutlery clinks against an empty plate
  969. >Huh
  970. >You thought the meal was bigger than that
  971. >Rummaging through your pantry you find a bit more food to fuel you
  972. >After a second breakfast you make your way to the door
  973. >Wasting your energy on laps wasn't ideal
  974. >But neither was confining yourself to your own home
  975. >It turns out that having wings makes places feel smaller than they are
  976. >You don't know why, but there's more energy in your wings as you take off
  977. >Not just because you'd had a big breakfast
  978. >Something was... different
  979. >The smallest flap took you much further than you should have
  980. >Briefly wondering, you press a hoof to your neck
  981. >Not as dextrous as a finger, it's harder to tell, but your heart rate seems fine
  982. >Excitement? Nerves? Magic? Magnets?
  983. >Any or all of these could have been the reason
  984. >With a tilt of your wings, you make a beeline for Ponyville
  985. >Despite the early morning, and it being a weekend, ponies were already out and about
  986. >These crazy ponies
  987. >Anyone sane knows you sleep in on a weekend
  988. >You have the excuse of being insane
  989. >Just before you reach ground you flap hard, kicking up some dirt and leaves as you slow yourself and begin to hover
  990. >Before you'd been pulled into being more social, the market was about the only part of this town you knew
  991. >It was quite quaint, simple buildings, some stone, some wood, most with thatch roofs
  992. >With some time still to kill, you decide to give yourself a proper tour of the place
  993. >Upon seeing you, some ponies start whispering and pointing to you before hurrying to somewhere with smiles
  994. >Weird
  995. >Rolling through the air, you make your way through the town, building a sort of mental map
  996. >Small as it is, you quickly come to what you assume is the town center
  997. >A large, multi-storied white building towers over every other structure around
  998. >It almost reminds you of a spinning top
  999. >Or maybe an upside down spinning top?
  1000. >You orient yourself in different ways
  1001. >Who knew that trying to figure out what a building reminded you of could be so hard?
  1002. >"Hiya there, whatcha doing?"
  1003. "Does this building remind you of anything?"
  1004. >"Huh." You briefly hear a sound similar to pressing balloons together. "It kind of does, but what? Who knew that trying to figure out what a building reminded you of could be so hard?"
  1005. "That's what I was just thinking" You say, turning to the source of the peppy voice coming from behind you
  1006. >Or rather the peppy voice ON your behind
  1007. >There's a pink pony stood on your ass
  1008. >It's that pink pony that always tried to bother you
  1009. >But you're upside down
  1010. >And so is she
  1011. >And she's an earth pony
  1012. >Your shocked rolled almost sends you into a crash
  1013. >She stays there though, tilting her head at you
  1014. "You know you're upside down right?"
  1015. >"No silly, you're upside down." She says with a giggle
  1016. "Turn your head"
  1017. >She does so, and gasps. "I AM!?"
  1018. >Gravity finally intervenes and pulls her down
  1019. >Slowly
  1020. >Too slowly
  1021. >You decide to put a few hoofs between you and the pony
  1022. >Just in case
  1023. >"Did you figure it out yet?"
  1024. "Figure out what?"
  1025. >"What the town hall looked like, silly, if you ask me, it just looks like town hall, but then I thought "maybe Discord's back and did something funky with it again and we'll have to use the elements again but not before having some more chocolate stuffed cotton candy clouds" but then it was just town hall."
  1026. >Okay, you understood maybe half of that
  1027. >Who or what is a Discord?
  1028. >"Lord of Chaos, can warp reality and stuff, he's fun"
  1029. >Did you say that out loud?
  1030. >"Nah, I just read it"
  1031. "What are you on and can I have some?"
  1032. >She pulls a cupcake out of her mane and hands it to you
  1033. >"There you go, on the house, gotta keep up your energy for your flight today, huh?"
  1034. "You know about that?"
  1035. >"Well duh, I've only been putting up posters all morning."
  1036. >Once more, from her mane, she pulls out a bucket, paint brush and piece of paper
  1037. >She dips the brush into the can, slaps the content, which you're now realizing is glue, onto a wooden post of the building, and presses the paper to it
  1038. >It's you
  1039. >Well, you and Rainbow Dash
  1040. >Just your heads, back to back, separated by a rainbow bolt of lightning, the rainbow going to black when it reaches the back of your head to blend in with your mane
  1041. "Cool design"
  1042. >"Thanks, good luck and remember, turn left"
  1043. "Um... thanks?"
  1044. >She bounces away, as if her limbs were home to a mix of springs and rubber balls instead of bones
  1045. >Confound these ponies
  1046. >If Dash didn't make being around them so fun, you'd go back to being a hermit
  1047. >The best course of action is probably to keep away from the pink one, so you fly in the opposite direction
  1048. >As you go, you see more and more of those posters around town
  1049. >Was that why those ponies before were pointing at you
  1050. >Quickly coming to halt mid-flight you wonder
  1051. >Do ponies think this is a competition?
  1052. >It's just a bet you made with her
  1053. >How many ponies are gonna turn up
  1054. >No more than her friends are gonna show up
  1055. >Maybe
  1056. >Probably
  1057. >Hopefully
  1058. >You're not sure how you'll do with a crowd
  1059. >Hot Stuff's and work was fine, that was just ponies being around
  1060. >But them being there with the intent purpose of watching you and Dash?
  1061. >You were fine
  1062. >It'd be fine
  1063. >Quite frankly, you wouldn't even be able to see them with how high you were going to climb
  1064. >"HEADS UP!"
  1065. >Not wanting a repeat of a pony stood on your ass you flap up just in time to feel something rush beneath you
  1066. >Metal and wood click on stone before softly landing on dirt as you look down to the source
  1067. >Young pegasus filly, orange coat, purple mane
  1068. >"Whoa! Watch where you're flying mister, I almost hit you."
  1069. "Have you considered watching where you're going?"
  1070. >"I was! YOU stopped in the middle of the air, I couldn't stop mid-trick"
  1071. "It's free airspace"
  1072. >"More like a free head case" She mutters to herself
  1073. "I heard that"
  1074. >She snorts and snickers to herself and you can't help but chuckle too
  1075. >Curious, you glance around for the kid's parents or friends
  1076. >No sign of the former, but signs of the latter
  1077. >A white unicorn with a two-toned purple and pink mane and a white earth pony with a red mane
  1078. >"Hey! You alright?" The white unicorn asks the pegasus
  1079. >"You alright up there mister?" The earth pony asks you turning her head up
  1080. >The pegasus scoffs nonchalantly at her friend "You kidding? I'm fine."
  1081. >You simply wave off the other one with a hoof
  1082. >"Ya know, you look awful familiar mister." The yellow filly rubs a hoof on her chin as her eyes narrow at you
  1083. >"Oh yeah! Hey! You're the guy flying against Rainbow Dash, right!?"
  1084. >The orange pegasus points to the poster and your sort of spitting image on it
  1085. "I am, why?" You only ask because you fail to see the big deal
  1086. >"Rainbow's talked a lot about you recently. An- In- En- uh... O- Onion! Onion, right?" She says confidently
  1087. "Wrong." You say just as confidentially. "It's Anon"
  1088. >"That's a weird name"
  1089. "Oh yeah? What makes yours so great?"
  1090. >"I'm Scootaloo!"
  1091. >"Sweetie Belle!"
  1092. >"Applebloom!"
  1093. >The three introduce themselves, and they're all as weird as each others and weirder than yours
  1094. >The last one catches your attention
  1095. >Apple name
  1096. >Accent
  1097. >Earth pony
  1098. >Damn it, will you never be free of these hicks?
  1099. >You turn to leave before she can recognize you
  1100. >"Hey! You're the one who kept pickin' on mah sister!"
  1101. >Crap
  1102. >Also factually incorrect
  1103. "For the record, your sister gave as good as she got." You fold your arms as you hover. "Also I'm keeping the tree."
  1104. >She stomps her hooves at that
  1105. >Like sister like sister
  1106. >"You can't keep that tree, it's an apple family tree!"
  1107. "Well I couldn't get it out of my living room after trying for a day, so I'm keeping it. It really brings the whole room together, you know?"
  1108. >"Mah sister didn't wantcha to keep it!"
  1109. "Then why did she give it to me?" You respond with a smug grin
  1110. >The yellow pony lets out a groan that is almost an exact copy of her sister's, if not a few octaves higher
  1111. >"Forget this." The pegasus says as her wings spring to life and rapidly flutter behind her. "Let's go Applebloom, we gotta get front row seats to watch Rainbow thrash this guy!"
  1112. >With a small cheer from the other two, they pile onto the scooter as it speeds off
  1113. >Children were hoping for your downfall
  1114. >Truly this was a world of new experiences
  1115. >Deciding to push them from your head, you fly to the rest of the town
  1116. >It takes about a lap of the town, but the time was here
  1117. >A while ago you'd seen a certain signature rainbow trail fly over
  1118. >With a bird's eye view, you see where ponies are congregating
  1119. >Unfortunately it seems your previous thoughts of this bet being small are proven wrong
  1120. >The voices mesh together and seem to rise as you approach
  1121. >In the center of the gathering is none other than your opponent for the day
  1122. >Along with five others
  1123. >Three of which you're familiar with
  1124. >But your gaze is focused on one mare
  1125. >And hers is focused on you
  1126. >You're both grinning like idiots
  1127. >Out of your peripherals, you see her friends roll their eyes good-naturedly as they let you two approach each other
  1128. >"And here I was thinking you'd chickened out"
  1129. "And miss out on my payday?" You stretch out a wing with a sigh
  1130. >"Well, not every colt is eager to get humiliated in public, you know." She stretches herself backward and forward
  1131. "I feel the need to warn you, I don't go easy on girls." Your smirk and wink make her chuckle
  1132. >"That's good, cause neither do I." She pushes the tip of her end primary against your nose, making you sneeze, causing her to laugh again
  1133. >Rainbow steps away to wind down from her laughter and to do some more stretches, along with take in the adoration of her fan club
  1134. >You thought she was joking
  1135. >Goes to show what you know
  1136. >"Well hey there, sugarcube"
  1137. >Oh no
  1138. >That voice
  1139. >You're stopped from bolting from a southern chuckle
  1140. >"Oh don't get your feathers twisted, the water's under the bridge far as ah'm concerned"
  1141. >You turn to her, tilting your head, slightly suspicious
  1142. "Really?"
  1143. >"Really."
  1144. "So I'm not gonna be pelted mid-air by an apple?"
  1145. >"Well, Granny Smith might try, but her throwing hoof ain't so good no more"
  1146. >"It's still good enough to knock that young'un outta his ponyfeathers!" A decrepit green wrinkled mare calls from the crowd "Ain't that right Big Mac?"
  1147. >"Eeyup." A massive stallion who stands head and shoulders above the other ponies said
  1148. >He's holding the plow you stole and put on a cloud on his shoulder
  1149. >Menacingly
  1150. "Hey, uh," you start, leaning to the orange pony, "I, um... I am sorry, you know. I was a bit of a jerk."
  1151. >She considers your words for a moment, then whacks you lightly in the chest with a hoof before chuckling
  1152. >"We bother escalated it, no harm, no foul"
  1153. >Now you're glad you didn't get those lightning clouds like you planned
  1154. >You don't want to know what she would have done with you
  1155. >"Hi again!" The pink pony from before presses her face to your before snapping back out to a more reasonable distance
  1156. >You barely suppress the instinct to yelp and calm yourself
  1157. "Yes, hi, hello again"
  1158. >"Hi, hello again to you too, did you remember to turn left?"
  1159. "I... bumped into those fillies over there." You say, pointing to the three who were talking to some of the others
  1160. >"Oh good. Those three are great aren't they?"
  1161. "I think the orange one is plotting my downfall."
  1162. >You and the pink pony turn to look
  1163. >Scootaloo is eagerly watching Rainbow Dash as they talk
  1164. >Whenever Rainbow stretches in a way that pulls her face a way from Scootaloo, she glares at you, then goes back to smiling up at the rainbow mare when she stretches back
  1165. >"Eh, probably." The pink one says with a shrug. "So, what's your favourite kind of cake?"
  1166. "Why?"
  1167. >"Well for the party of course, I need to throw Rainbow a "Congratulations on Winning" or "Better Luck Next Time" party, and I need to throw you the inverse of whatever I throw her, then I need to throw you a "Welcome to Ponyville" party, a "Happy One-Monthiversary" part, and a Birthday party cause Rainbow told me your Birthday came and went but you had no friends before and that made me sad, and I need to throw you a "Halfiversary" too, that's a potential of SIX parties at once! Which means six cakes, so what kind of cake do you want?"
  1168. "Cake?"
  1169. >She nods
  1170. "Surprise me?"
  1171. >She nods, and sinks down
  1172. >Despite just looking at her, as soon as you blink, the pink one's gone
  1173. >"I'm Pinkie Pie by the way." You yelp and stagger away as she was stood on your back without you noticing somehow
  1174. "What?"
  1175. >"Pinkie Pie. I'm telling you cause that was getting old."
  1176. "What was?"
  1177. >"Don't worry about it." Pinkie says, waving you off
  1178. "Wait a minute." You pause. "You're the one who stole all my knives!?"
  1179. >"Well, duh, I needed too so you couldn't cut the branches."
  1180. "Why would that have been a bad thing?"
  1181. >"Because the branches were lodged in the cloud wall and without them you'd have gotten it out and never had that talk with Rainbow
  1182. "Wait, wait, wait, you're making it sound like you knew that would happen."
  1183. >She stares silently at you with a pleasant smile, blinking with a tilt of her head
  1184. "Is she always like this?" You ask no one in particular
  1185. >"Yeah," the purple unicorn librarian answers, "you get used to it."
  1186. "Really?"
  1187. >"No" She says with a shake of her head
  1188. "You're that librarian, right?"
  1189. >"Twilight Sparkle." She corrects you, offering a hoof
  1190. >You gladly take it, happy for a normal interaction
  1191. "I might need to rent some books from you soon."
  1192. >"Only if I finally get to ask you some questions."
  1193. >You think for a moment
  1194. >Do you really need those books
  1195. >What good has knowledge ever done you
  1196. >Glancing at the unicorn, she seems nice enough, which makes you groan
  1197. >Maybe she wasn't crazy
  1198. "Fine, but one question per book"
  1199. >"I wouldn't have it any other way"
  1200. >As she begins to trot away, she pulls out a notebook and quill and begins to write on it
  1201. >For a long time
  1202. >Too long
  1203. "And no asking questions that are just twenty questions compounded into one!"
  1204. >She pauses, then smiles at you as she crosses out everything she'd just written
  1205. >"Hey! You ready to do this or am I gonna die of old age!?"
  1206. >The scratchy voice pulls you away from the other mares and to Rainbow Dash
  1207. >Flying over to her, you land and ready yourself to take off
  1208. >You mentally note that your take-off positions are different from each other
  1209. >"Taking all bets! Taking all bets!" Pinkie Pie announces through a megaphone, riling up the crowd. "Put your money where your mouth is, ponies! Who will emerge victorious!? Our very own Rainbow Dash, sole performer of the Sonic Rainboom and Element of Loyalty or the strange green visitor who stumbled out of the Everfree Forest a few months ago, homeless and alone? I've got 20:1 odd on him and 2:1 on Rainbow"
  1210. >Ponies immediately begin handing in bits and shouting out bets
  1211. >Ouch
  1212. >Your pride
  1213. >You think
  1214. >Clearing her throat, Twilight stands to the side and in-between you two
  1215. >"Alright you two, as the referee to this match-"
  1216. >"Yeah, cause you wouldn't stop asking me." Rainbow mutters to herself
  1217. >"As referee," Twilight reasserts, "I'll be making sure this is a clean, fair flight, meaning no tackling each other-"
  1218. "Boring"
  1219. >You and Rainbow chuckle to each other, only laughing more as Twilight looks annoyed at you
  1220. >"The rules are simple." She continues, tersely. "First one to an altitude of-"
  1221. >"Nope! This is a flight of no-holds-barred endurance. Whoever goes higher, wins!" Rainbow interrupts
  1222. >"Rainbow, that's incredibly-"
  1223. "Agreed. I want a nice high view when I see you fall, Rainbow."
  1224. >"I'm serious you two this could-"
  1225. "Bored again. THREE TWO ONE GO!"
  1226. >Rainbow's not caught off-guard though as you take off at near the same time
  1227. >The force from your simultaneous take off causes a small updraft that pushes you further
  1228. >As they had been all morning, your wings are energized
  1229. >The slightest flap pushed you further and higher
  1230. >In less than a second, you're above the entirety of the town
  1231. >In five minutes you're halfway towards Cloudsdale
  1232. >The two of you slightly spiral around each other as you fly, and even with the wind whipping past you you can hear her chuckle
  1233. >"Just tell me when you want to get serious, big guy"
  1234. "Go for it, Dash"
  1235. >"Don't say I didn't warn you"
  1236. >Her wings beat faster and faster, stronger and stronger and she rockets up and away from you
  1237. >But this wasn't that kind of race
  1238. >Five minutes later and you're waving to Hot Stuff and her family as you go by
  1239. >Twenty minutes after initial take off and you're pretty sure you've passed the peak of Canterlot
  1240. >A few minutes more and the clouds are nothing more than wisps all around
  1241. >And just as you'd expected, Rainbow had slowed down
  1242. >She was panting heavily
  1243. >Quickly flying over to her, you grab her for support and move her head to look at you
  1244. >You make your breathing pattern more pronounced, and she slowly copies it
  1245. >With her breath back, she starts to relax
  1246. >"Wow! That... that was something"
  1247. "Yeah, air gets weird up here, so you have to breathe a certain way or-"
  1248. >"Or you pass out?" She asks with a smirk
  1249. "Basically"
  1250. >A shiver runs through her as she gasps lightly. "It's freezing up here too, how do you stay warm?"
  1251. >You turn to show her your wings and point at the with a hoof
  1252. "You've gotta balance out flapping your wings with sending vibrations through their base. That shakes off any condensation or water vapor you collect up here, which stops smaller ice crystals from forming, which stops bigger ice crystals from forming, which will freeze your wings and-"
  1253. >"And make you plummet to the ground?" She asks, again with a smile
  1254. >"There you two are!"
  1255. >Both you and Rainbow's eyes widen as you hear Twilight's voice
  1256. >"Twilight!?"
  1257. >"Yes, well, technically yes, but also no." A purple bubble floats up to you. "New spell, not enough time, I can see and hear you, the girls are here too cause they insisted."
  1258. >A clamor of the voices from before echo out greetings from the orb
  1259. >"I made this to follow you two, but you went too fast for me to catch up. Now, you two have proven you're very tough, now get back down here before you freeze"
  1260. >"What!? No way! Anon just taught me all his tricks for getting higher."
  1261. "One, no I didn't, and two, you don't have the experience to use them well."
  1262. >"Wanna bet?" She smirks
  1263. "Huh... what have we been doing all day?"
  1264. >She bumps your chest with a hoof. "You know what I meant."
  1265. You shrug. "It'll be your crash."
  1266. >With another beat of your wings, you and Rainbow take off higher and higher, leaving Twilight warnings behind
  1267. >You reach the heights that you've been before and you feel the air wrap around you
  1268. >Like a hug
  1269. >These heights had missed you
  1270. >And you'd missed her too
  1271. >It'd been far too long since you'd been here
  1272. "Just... a little... more..."
  1273. >A little more strength in your wings
  1274. >You had it, your wings felt like they could flap for days and not tire
  1275. >A little more stamina
  1276. >Your meals had given you enough to keep up with your wings
  1277. >A little more air in your lungs
  1278. >You chuckle as you feel lightheaded again and your wings threaten to either go stiff or limp
  1279. >But you close your eyes and focus on your lungs
  1280. >Your breathing shifts and changes and your wings continue you on
  1281. >You were in uncharted territory, and the sky couldn't stop you
  1282. >A cheer would come from you if you had enough to make one
  1283. >Looking to where Rainbow Dash was, you realize you're alone
  1284. >In your tunnel-vision, you hadn't realized she'd gone
  1285. >Panic seizes you as you look down, trying to spot a streak of rainbow and blue
  1286. >The grip on your chest relaxes as you see two purple bubbles rising towards you
  1287. >One containing a passed out, but breathing Rainbow Dash
  1288. >"Right! That's it! I am calling this now! Anonymous! You won! Now get in the bubble before you freeze to death or fall to it."
  1289. >You stay where you are, looking between the bubble and the sky
  1290. >Up here, the air's never been so thin, but you could swear you hear a whistle in the wind
  1291. >Calling you higher
  1292. >"H... hey... hey 'non?"
  1293. >You look over to Rainbow Dash, she's just coming too
  1294. >"C- can you go higher?"
  1295. >Your eyes widen, and you look between her and the sky
  1296. >"Wait what!? No! No! Anon, don't listen."
  1297. >You ignore the voice and nod at Rainbow, who smiles at you excitedly and nods
  1298. >"Do it."
  1299. >Your smile is toothy and wide as you feel energy surge through you
  1300. >Maybe it was one last pump of adrenaline as your body knew you were about to force it to do something stupid
  1301. >You don't care
  1302. >While flapping, you plant your hooves on the orb with Twilight's voice coming from it
  1303. >"Anon listen to me! My magic's been going for too long, any more than at that height I can't-"
  1304. >She doesn't get to finish her sentence as you use her orb as a leverage point for your legs to boost your wings up as you fly higher and higher than ever before
  1305. >The sky
  1306. >It's all around you
  1307. >In a way that it's never been before
  1308. >Something that's always seemed close enough to touch but forever out of reach
  1309. >So you reach out for it
  1310. >And you realize you can't breathe
  1311. >You wonder how long that's been for
  1312. >Your wings go stiff
  1313. >And you're not sure if you're plummeting or floating where you are
  1314. >Your eyelids are growing heavy
  1315. >You hope you have that storm dream again
  1316. >That was fun
  1317. <>
  1318. >You open your eyes
  1319. >At least, you're pretty sure you do
  1320. >It's dark
  1321. >Then it's green
  1322. >That's your hoof
  1323. >So your eyes are open
  1324. >And you're not blind
  1325. >That's good
  1326. >But that also means you're in a featureless shadowscape
  1327. >That's bad
  1328. >Neutral at best
  1329. >There's no earth beneath you
  1330. >But you can walk just fine
  1331. >Nor is there any wind
  1332. >Yet you can fly just fine
  1333. >So you do
  1334. >It's not like you can get anymore lost
  1335. >Though you start to wonder how true that actually is
  1336. >Pitch black up, down and on every other side of you
  1337. >You decide to flip onto your back as you fly
  1338. >Weirdly it feels no different than when you were flying upright
  1339. >Like you'd just corrected yourself
  1340. >That wasn't right
  1341. >Was it?
  1342. >You flip again
  1343. >And again
  1344. >And again
  1345. >You fly sideways
  1346. >You dive headfirst into what you think is the direction of the ground
  1347. >It's all the same
  1348. >Wherever you are, it doesn't matter what you do
  1349. >However you turn yourself, your equilibrium orients itself like you're the right-side up
  1350. >How did you even get there?
  1351. >White dots blinked into existence in the endless black that stretched around you
  1352. >Stars maybe
  1353. >Then wisps of wind
  1354. >A blur of purple and blue that split into prisms
  1355. >And you couldn't breathe
  1356. >But it was so hot now
  1357. >You looked to the side and found out why
  1358. >The sun was almost pressed against your face
  1359. >And then you felt your wings catch fire
  1360. >Then you fell
  1361. >Finally some sense of gravity returned to you
  1362. >Sadly it was pulling you to certain death
  1363. >Still there wasn't any ground
  1364. >Just the inky darkness
  1365. >Lucky you, it didn't seem to matter
  1366. >With the sound of shattering glass you impacted the darkness and colours returned
  1367. >Drab and dreary, but colours at least
  1368. >Quickly, you came to a stop
  1369. >Despite the fall, you didn't feel any pain
  1370. >Also your wings were still on fire
  1371. >Looking around, you realize where you are
  1372. >Unfortunate for you
  1373. >Everfree Forest
  1374. >That's what the ponies called it
  1375. >Personally, you called it the death trap you dragged yourself out of when you first got here
  1376. >With a glance down you definitely don't yelp
  1377. >Crystal clear waters reflect like a mirror
  1378. >And you see yourself
  1379. >Not you but the real you
  1380. >Hands and opposable thumbs
  1381. >The deluxe package
  1382. >Your reflection doesn't mirror you though
  1383. >You move a hoof, but he stays still
  1384. >Just as you begin to relax your wings droop down
  1385. >Sadly you were mistaken
  1386. >It wasn't water
  1387. >It's oil
  1388. >Now everything's on fire
  1389. >Can you not catch a break?
  1390. >Was the universe out to get you
  1391. >Of course, none of this shit makes sense
  1392. >Must be a dream
  1393. >Hopefully anyway
  1394. >Otherwise you're not gonna leave behind a pretty body
  1395. >Before the fire can grow more you look to where you think the direction of up is
  1396. >And feel your heart stop
  1397. >Rainbow Dash was falling too
  1398. >Your eyes snap open and you swing wildly as your adrenaline pumps so hard it's like it's trying to get out of your veins
  1399. >"HE'S AWAKE!"
  1400. >"HOLD HIM DOWN!"
  1401. >Who the fuck are these idiots?
  1402. >Why are they grabbing you?
  1403. >Your mind has no answers only instincts
  1404. >So you struggle
  1405. >You were burning and Rainbow was falling
  1406. >That's all you knew and that meant danger and that meant you had to do something
  1407. >"WE NEED ANOTHER SEDATIVE IN HERE!"
  1408. >"HE'S ALREADY ON ENOUGH KETAMINE! WE CAN'T GIVE HIM MORE!"
  1409. >"MISTER ANONYMOUS! PLEASE SETTLE DOWN!"
  1410. "GET THE FUCK OFF ME!"
  1411. >Where are you?
  1412. >What happened?
  1413. >You're vaguely aware of a door banging open
  1414. >"What's going on!?"
  1415. >That voice
  1416. >"Anon!?"
  1417. >You're still straining, but not struggling
  1418. >Rainbow Dash and Twilight are in the room
  1419. >One of the things grabbing you pulls away
  1420. >Now that you're focusing you realize they're doctors
  1421. >You really hope your wild haymaker didn't catch any of them
  1422. >Do ponies still call them haymakers?
  1423. >"Miss Sparkle, Miss Dash, please, you were told to wait outside-"
  1424. >"Is he okay? We heard screaming."
  1425. >"Just a sudden onset of a hysterical episode. He," the doctor looks back at you, "seems to have calmed down some now"
  1426. >"Mister Anonymous?"
  1427. >One of the doctors comes more into view
  1428. >"We need you to lay down, alright?"
  1429. >You nod slowly and then feel your energy leave you
  1430. >Where'd all that adrenaline go?
  1431. >Quickly you fall back into a soft bed as you go limp
  1432. >Why is it so hard to catch your breath?
  1433. >"You exposed yourself to very high altitudes, Mister Anonymous, even for a pegasus." She slowly puts a mask over your muzzle. "You'll need some time for your lungs to readjust, just take it easy."
  1434. >Well this sucks
  1435. >"-please, he's my friend"
  1436. >You begin to tune back into Rainbow and Twilight
  1437. >The doctor is looking between them, then at you
  1438. >In an attempt to show him you've calmed down, you wave
  1439. >Or at least you try to
  1440. >Your limp hoof rises then falls again
  1441. >He sighs then nods
  1442. >"Alright, but please behave"
  1443. >Then it's just the three of you
  1444. >When you think about it, it's almost funny
  1445. >The librarian
  1446. >The athlete
  1447. >And you, the adrenaline junkie
  1448. >At least, you assume that's what you've become
  1449. >Still, it was a wild ride to the top of the world
  1450. >You can't stop the smile that tugs at the corner of your lips
  1451. >"Well, I'm glad to see that you clearly haven't learned your lesson"
  1452. >Twilight and Rainbow come up beside you
  1453. "How bad-" You grunt and pull the mask away from your muzzle. "How bad was it?"
  1454. >Your breathing tries to become a little erratic
  1455. >Like it's trying to breathe the same way you had to in the high altitude with thin air
  1456. >Forcing your lungs to act normally is a weird feeling but you endure it long enough to settle them down
  1457. >"Well, like I tried to tell you, I didn't have enough magic to catch you, you could have-!"
  1458. >"Twi!" Rainbow says a bit sharply
  1459. >The purple unicorn sighs as her eyes soften
  1460. >"Sorry, Anon, it's just... what were you thinking?"
  1461. >Normally at this point you'd just give a quick and easy answer
  1462. >But maybe these two deserve a little more thought
  1463. >So you do just that
  1464. >Think
  1465. >Honestly, you're not even sure yourself, so it'll be a surprise for you too
  1466. >It takes time for you to piece together an answer
  1467. >A long time
  1468. >Long enough that the two pull up chairs to wait
  1469. >But clearly they can tell you're thinking as they don't press the question
  1470. >Eventually you feel an answer start to tug at the back of your mind
  1471. "I... wanted to see if it was real..."
  1472. >"What? The sky?" Rainbow asks
  1473. You chuckle "I know it doesn't make much sense"
  1474. >"Or any" she says with a smirk
  1475. >With a nod your conversation turns to other topics
  1476. >Like how you got here
  1477. >"Well, luckily my magic held long enough for me to bring Rainbow Dash down, but I couldn't do anything about you" Twilight begins
  1478. >It hurts when Rainbow won't meet your eye
  1479. >She must have had a bird's eye view of how you plummeted straight towards the ground
  1480. >And she had no way to help you
  1481. >Apparently Princess Luna of all ponies had appeared in a burst of magic and caught you
  1482. >When she landed she was quick to hand you off to Twilight and the other ponies
  1483. >She hadn't said much
  1484. >"But she did want us to let you know that she plans to speak with you more, so that should be nice"
  1485. >Naivety is how you'd describe the smile on Twilight's muzzle
  1486. >Luna may want to talk to you
  1487. >But you doubt you'll want to talk to her
  1488. >You'll let your mind ponder that later
  1489. >Right now, you're wondering about the bandage around Twilight's horn
  1490. "What gives Twilight?" You point at your own forehead weakly. "You didn't crack it did you?"
  1491. >Raising a hoof, she hums
  1492. >"It's an enchanted cooling wrap, meant to help with the magic burnout from exerting myself too much"
  1493. >"Sorry" Rainbow says curtly, her eyes briefly meet your then flick to the ground
  1494. >Twilight nudges Rainbow in the side, making her yelp and look up only to be met with the sight of Twilight unsubtly nodding towards you
  1495. >The prismatic mare groans, her eyes flicking between yours and the ground several times
  1496. >Clearing her throat, Twilight bluntly excuses herself and departs the room
  1497. >Then there was two
  1498. >"'m- ry-" Rainbow mutters
  1499. "Say again?" You ask
  1500. >"I said... I'm sorry..." She still mutters it, but clear enough to hear now
  1501. "For what?"
  1502. >She blinks and stares at you like you grew a second head
  1503. >"For making you-?"
  1504. "Whoa, whoa, whoa-" you cut her off, "you didn't make me do anything"
  1505. >"But you wouldn't have gone that high if I didn't encourage you"
  1506. >You pause for a moment
  1507. >Is that what she thought?
  1508. >You doubt it
  1509. >Seems more like something a guilty conscience would cook up
  1510. >But why would she feel guilty?
  1511. "Are you sure about that?"
  1512. >Now it's her turn to pause
  1513. "Rainbow, with all that you know about me, do you really think that you were what pushed me to go that high?"
  1514. >Her mouth opens and closes a few times before she scratches the back of her head with a hoof
  1515. >"Huh, I... hadn't thought of it like that"
  1516. "Well, you did think counting to eight made me smart so clearly thinking isn't your strong suit"
  1517. >"Oh my Celestia!" She yells, but she's smiling. "You're never gonna let that go are you?"
  1518. >You shake your head with a toothy grin and she begins to laugh
  1519. >Eventually, and with a light scolding from a doctor, your shared laughter tapers off
  1520. "So, where's my money?"
  1521. >"Huh?" She tilts her head at you
  1522. "Well, I won the bet didn't I? I'd like my money now."
  1523. >"Whoa, you didn't win"
  1524. >Finally some strength returns to you
  1525. >Only enough to help you sit up though
  1526. "Don't be a sore loser, I went higher than you."
  1527. >"That wasn't the bet." She smirks. "Technically, you bet you could go twice as high as me, and you didn't"
  1528. >But-
  1529. >That was-
  1530. >And you-
  1531. >Cogs in your brain clunk and bump against each other
  1532. >It's become a really disorganized mess up there
  1533. >But you recall to your conversation at the factory
  1534. >Technically, she was right
  1535. "Oh come on, you're seriously gonna be a stickler over semantics?"
  1536. >She crosses her hooves with a smirk and nods "Yyyyyep"
  1537. "And here I was starting to think you were cool" You tease her with a smirk
  1538. >Hook, line and sinker, she takes the bait
  1539. >"What!? I- I! Am the coolest mare you know!"
  1540. >You shrug your shoulders and wings at her
  1541. "Considering how few mares I know, is that really an achievement?"
  1542. >Her muzzle scrunches in annoyance
  1543. >"Oh yeah? W- well, you're hardly the coolest colt I know"
  1544. "That's fair"
  1545. >"Yeah, there's Big Mac, way stronger than you"
  1546. "He is freakishly strong." You nod as you remember the hulking stallion. "Actually, is he freakishly strong, or is that normal for earth ponies?"
  1547. >"Nah, he is a pretty big guy. You're not even the coolest pegasus I know either."
  1548. "Oh? Do tell"
  1549. >"Well... there's..." she falters and thinks before tapping a hoof, "Soarin! I met him at the last Grand Galloping Gala, he's great."
  1550. "Am I supposed to know who that is?"
  1551. >"Wh- he's a Wonderbolt!"
  1552. >Damn it, that's why the name rang a bell
  1553. "Riiiight... he works with Spitfire?"
  1554. >"Exactly, and not just him, there's... um... Thunderla- no, not Thunderlane- um..."
  1555. "Do you even know many stallions, Prism?" She goes to answer and you cut in. "Your dad doesn't count."
  1556. >Her jaw clicks shut and you laugh
  1557. >"Well what about you?" You tone down your laugh as she speaks. "What are your parents like"
  1558. >Parents
  1559. >Damn that stung
  1560. "Oh, them- no, they're... they're not..."
  1561. >On this plane of existence
  1562. >But that was a bit hard to explain, so you settle for miming an answer
  1563. >You wave your hooves and wings vaguely and her eyes widen a little before she shrinks into herself a little
  1564. >"Whoa, dude, I'm sorry I brought it up- that must-"
  1565. >You wave her off
  1566. "It's... nothing to worry about, Dash. But hey, meeting your folks could be fun"
  1567. >"Oh my Celestia, no, that'd just be embarrassing"
  1568. "Well now I definitely need to meet them."
  1569. >"No! Absolutely not! You can't!"
  1570. "Do they live in Cloudsdale?" She says nothing, but her eyes widen. "Your silence is deafening, Dash. I'll be sure to look out for another rainbow mane when I'm out of here."
  1571. >You two devolve into mindless back and forth for a while
  1572. >Her trying to convince you not to look for her parent
  1573. >Then pretending she doesn't care if you do find them
  1574. >Finally falling to her offering to pay you with the money she won from bets to not look for them
  1575. >It's an absolute treat worth enjoying after your little fall
  1576. >You don't really become aware of how long you've been there until you realize the room's become slightly orange
  1577. >The sun's started to set
  1578. >Rainbow notices your shift and looks around too
  1579. >"Huh. Time flies, am I right? "
  1580. >You nod to her and she stands from her seat, stretching and popping her limbs
  1581. >"Well, I should probably head out before I end up sleeping here or getting kicked out"
  1582. "That would be fun to watch, but yeah." She rolls her eyes at you and begins making her way out. "Hey, wait..."
  1583. >She pauses at the door and looks back at you
  1584. >A part of you wants to wave it off and send her on her way
  1585. >Another part holds on to the thought that's stuck in your mind
  1586. "Before, you said "he's my friend"... did you mean that?"
  1587. >Now she's looking at you in a strange way
  1588. >Now she's walking back up to your bed
  1589. >Of course you couldn't have kept your big mouth shut-
  1590. >She's hugging you
  1591. >It takes a moment for your brain to register it
  1592. >But sure enough
  1593. >She's on her hindlegs, her forelegs wrapped around you
  1594. >Or, rather, wrapped around you as best they can be when you're laid down
  1595. >With a small effort you hug her back
  1596. >"Of course we're friends, you big lug." She pulls back. "Try not to die in here while I'm gone."
  1597. "Ha ha, your worry is touching"
  1598. >You both share one last chuckle before she waves at you one last time with a wing and heads out the door
  1599. >With a soft click, you're left alone in the hospital room
  1600. >One friend richer
  1601. >She definitely still owes you that bet money though

The First Day

by Sunn

Last Immortals

by Sunn

Breaker of Day

by Sunn

The Eris Plan

by Sunn

A Lifetime of Dreams

by Sunn