//------------------------------// // II: More Than a Nickname // Story: That Rainbow Mane // by Dragomena //------------------------------// That Rainbow Mane II: More Than a Nickname by Dragon Rage The sky above Ponyville was a deep and dark gray, with storm clouds stretching out as far as the eye could see. Puddles of water had already begun forming on the ground below. Pinkamena let out a heavy sigh as she listened to the raindrops beating against the window before her. The room she'd been given to sleep in was sparsely furnished. Wallpaper had been put up a while ago and a few piece of barely used furniture sat here and there, but there was no bed beyond the pile of hay they'd gotten from the Apple family and no lighting other than a small candle she'd borrowed from the Cakes. She was fine with that, though. She'd lived her whole life on the farm, where luxuries like her own bed were a rarity. What was eating at her was that rainbow-maned pegasus pony and her pink-maned friend. She'd been doing so well today, but that one moment of carelessness struck her even harder for it. It wasn't even just that she'd been yelled at, or that she ruined the party for those two pegasi. The incident made her... think. Not good thinking; she was good at good thinking. Positive thinking. Dismissing little fears as they cropped up and looking on the bright side of everything. The pony she'd met that morning was disturbed by her behavior. The Cakes were put off by her eagerness to please them, and what little she knew about her family's relations to Ponyville left her troubled. And between Applejack and Dizzy Twister's reactions to her... She shook her head, angrily pushing the thoughts away. Everything had gone well. Even if they were put off a little, they still accepted her. Mr. Cake said it himself; nopony expects perfection. She could always improve, and while the first impression was important, a bad one just meant there was even more room for improvement. The only question in her mind now was 'how?', and it stumped her. She'd never experienced vitriol like that before. The pink-maned mare hadn't actually had much interaction with anyone beyond her family, and even when they raised their voices, it never felt like they hated her. "Maybe I'm not giving her a chance," she said aloud. "What if she doesn't hate me? What if she was just upset?" That was enough to get the ball rolling for her. The pink-maned pegasus was uncannily shy, if the words of her rainbow-maned friend were any indication. Dizzy Twister had been waiting for 'somepony' and was with them when she got out there, so they might be friends. And she remembered the rainbow-maned one yelling about a cottage... As the raindrops beat against the window, a plan began to form in the mind of Pinkamena Diane Pie. She didn't know enough about either of the ponies she upset today, and fixing that had to come first before she could make amends for her carelessness. She needed to find Dizzy Twister, and to do that... ~~~ Applejack smiled as she tucked her younger sister into bed. "Rest up, birthday girl. Tomorrow ah'm gonna need yer help with the harvest. Nothin' too big, but it's important." The little filly groaned. "Why do ah hafta-." "Now hush, sis. Like ah said, it ain't anythin' big. One day you'll be a big strong mare like your sister Applejack, but you ain't gettin' there without puttin' in the work." With that she kissed her little sister on the muzzle, then left the room and headed downstairs. The fireplace in the Apple Family's front room was blazing on, unattended by anypony. The blond earth pony scanned the room, her eyes fixating on Granny Smith. The old mare had fallen asleep in her rocking chair. "Lands' sake," she said under her breath. "Guess ah got a little responsibility today after all..." As she tended to the fireplace, there was a loud knock on her front door. One of her eyebrows raised as she turned to look towards the door. "What the hay is somepony doin' out in a thunderstorm at this time ah day?" She headed over to the door and opened it, more to satisfy her own curiosity than anything else. Standing in the doorway was a pink earth pony. Her soaking wet mane draped down across the front of her face and down her back, an odd sight given how curly and bouncy it had been the last time the two met. The mare smiled sweetly. "Hey AJ. You don't mind if I come in, do you?" Applejack opened her mouth, then closed it. She repeated this motion a few more times, then chuckled. "You are the craziest pony ah've ever met. Get in here before you catch a cold, Pinkamena." As the two mare settled down near the fireplace, Applejack gave her another look over. "What in tarnation possessed you, ya silly filly? Why'd ya come all the way down here in the middle of a thunderstorm?" Pinkamena giggled. "I was going to come visit in the morning, but I couldn't get to sleep so I figured I'd just do it now. I know it's silly, but I really needed to talk with you. It's about this pony I met." The blond earth pony yawned. "Alright, alright... start from the beginnin', sugarcube." "Well," the pink-maned pony began, her eyes fixated on the roaring flames before her, "you said you had to cancel your sister's party because of a hole in your roof, which you needed to fix before tonight since it would rain. And sure, getting it fixed fast would be important, but I figured that since you're a farmer, you'd want to know all about when the rain is scheduled ahead of time. So of course you'd know when Ponyville's weather team would be working, and I thought you might know more about them than just that, so I decided to come to you and ask you for your help with finding one in particular."  She turned towards Applejack and continued. "Do you know Dizzy Twister?" A second yawn escaped Applejack's mouth. "Woah there, sugarcube. Yer assumin' an awful lot there, aren't ya? Ah don't rightly talk much with the weather patrol. Everypony in Ponyville keeps track a' the schedule an' most do their bit ta help out with the pre-storm cleanup. Ah wouldn't know any more about who or what's on the team than anypony else just goin' offa what you know." She yawned a third time and closed her eyes, then continued. "Now ah don't think ah know this Dizzy Twister very well. Why'd ya ask?" Pinkame's head drooped. "Oh... well, from what I know, she's friends with this other pegasus. I was hoping you could tell me where to find Dizzy, so I could talk to her about the rainbow-maned one." The blond mare's eyes flared open. "Rainbow mane? Ya don't mean Rainbow Dash, do ya? She was at the farm just this mornin', sleepin' in one of the apple trees. Why do ya care about her? She's... well, not exactly the nicest pony around." Pinkamena's head sank even further, her muzzle lying on the carpet beneath her. "I... don't know. I just saw her and that mane and it reminded me of when I was a filly and I wanted to meet her so badly so I went right over to talk with her except I wasn't watching where I was going and I tripped over this shy pegasi and she ran off screaming and crying and Rainbow Dash yelled at me and-." An orange hoof jammed itself in her mouth, giving her counterpart a chance to speak. "Now hold on a second.. Slow down an' tell me everything. Let's start with... what did y'say she reminded ya of?" The pink pony tried to talk, but there was still the matter of her friend's hoof. She tugged at it for a moment, then yanked it out and looked Applejack right in the eyes. "It's a long story, but back when I was just a little filly..." The farmpony listened carefully to every word her pink counterpart said. As she went into detail about the depressing life she led on her family's rock farm, Applejack found herself flashing back to her own fillyhood; She couldn't help but relate the story to the time she ran away from the farm for Manehatten. While she wouldn't say she was depressed or miserable, the fact of the matter was she'd been dissatisfied with life on the Apple Family's farm and wanted to find a better way of life. But even so, she found life in Manehatten to be even worse for her. Everypony seemed so fake, like they were all showponies putting on an act to impress one another. The little blonde filly had found herself wanting so badly to leave, but it wasn't until a strange, amazing spectacle happened one day that she acted on those desires. A rainbow had, without any warning, erupted into existence on the horizon. It pointed right back to Ponyville, the filly's own hometown. Without even giving it a second though, Applejack had made up her mind. She left Manehatten that very day. The farmpony listened carefully to every word her pink counterpart said. As she went into detail about the depressing life she led on her family's rock farm, Applejack found herself flashing back to her own fillyhood; She couldn't help but relate the story to the time she ran away from the farm for Manehatten. While she wouldn't say she was depressed or miserable, the fact of the matter was she'd been dissatisfied with life on the Apple Family's farm and wanted to find a better way of life. But even so, she found life in Manehatten to be even worse for her. Everypony seemed so fake, like they were all showponies putting on an act to impress one another. The little blonde filly had found herself wanting so badly to leave, but it wasn't until a strange, amazing spectacle happened one day that she acted on those desires. A rainbow had, without any warning, erupted into existence on the horizon. It pointed right back to Ponyville, the filly's own hometown. Without even giving it a second though, Applejack had made up her mind. She left Manehatten that very day. “And I know it’s just the color of her mane, but I can’t help but remember that rainbow when I think of her...” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Ah’m just not seein’ it. A rainbow’s a rainbow. The pegasi make ‘em up in Cloudsdale. Doesn’t mean she had anythin’ ta do with it.” At the sight of the pink pony’s crestfallen face, she hastily added, “Still, if ya want ta go about bein’ her friend anyways, ah’ll do what ah can ta help.” Pinkamena practically knocked her over as she leapt onto her for a hug. “Oh, thank you Applejack! Thank you so much!” “Don’t mention it,” the farmpony said, “but first ah’d like ya ta get some rest. It’s the dead a’ night out there an’ that storm ain’t stoppin’ anytime soon.” ~~~ Rainbow Dash rolled over on her belly, a pleased smile forming on her face as the fluffy white cloud rubbed up against her belly. Last night had gone much better than she'd be expecting. Fluttershy had once again proven inconsolable, but that wasn't new to her. What made the night so great was the work she put in with the Weather Patrol. A heavy thunderstorm was just what she needed; the flashes of lightning and the booming thunder beneath her hooves as she pounded away at stormclouds were oddly soothing to the young mare. Like this cloud she was lying on. The way it brushed against her belly made her feel a little giddy inside. She felt the cloud brush against her again and let out a barely restrained giggle. Then it did it again. One of her eyebrows raised and she sat up to see what was touching her belly. Within an instant, Dizzy Twister launched up through the bottom of the cloud, tackling the rainbow-maned pegasus and rubbing her belly with her front hooves. Even as she struggled to stop the energetic assailant, Dash couldn't help but laugh. The words "cut it out" barely managed to escape her mouth. The wavy-maned mare ceased her tickling. "Good afternoon, Dash! Sleep well?" "I was," she began, still trying to force her friend off of her, "but then you came and woke me up! What's this all about, Dizzy?" Dizzy Twister simply smiled and motioned to the sky around them. Dozens upon dozens of clouds were scattered about from the night before, all of them completely untouched. "Cloudkicker said 'tell that featherbrain to quit slacking off and clear the skies before sunset', so I'd been out looking for you!" Rainbow Dash could hardly contain her annoyance. "I told her it'll be done before tonight. Who does she think she is? It's not like this is hard or anything." She sank down into the cloud, passing through it and out the bottom to free herself. "Well," Dizzy said, poking her own head through after her, "she's the boss right now, so it's her orders. And if it's so easy for you, why don't you just get it over with?" "Fine, fine..." Dash rolled her eyes. "Quit bugging me and I'll get to it." Her gaze followed the wavy-maned pegasus as she flew off towards Ponyville, then turned her attention back to the clouds she was supposed to be clearing up. With a mild grumble she set about her job, stomping her former bed into thin air. ~~~ About two blocks from Sugarcube Corner sat an odd building. Its design, a large fancified carousel, had been worked out by Ponyville's finest carpenters to meet the owner's demands. Carousel Boutique was both the home and storefront of one of the town's youngest entrepreneurial spirits, a lovely young fashionista named Rarity. The white unicorn was quite proud of the building. Architecture was hardly her forte and she had to make a few compromises here and there, but as a whole the building was more than she imagined it would be. It stood as a testament to her creativity and skill as an artist. And yet the... she hesitated to describe the features of her home a "novelty"... of it all hadn't brought in nearly as many customers as she'd hoped. Word of mouth seemed a much better approach in the past few months, though she was still nowhere near as successful as she'd hoped for by now. With a belated sigh, she headed over to the front door. She was her own boss and could set her own working hours, so today was going to be her day off. A nice relaxing time at the spa would be a good way to spend the afternoon, she mused. As she opened the door, however, she was practically assaulted by a pink earth pony with a bouncing, curly mane. She did the only thing any sensible pony would do in such a scenario. The entire neighborhood could have heard her screaming. The pink mare giggled and got off of her. "That's some pretty good screaming! Have you been practicing?" Rarity stared silently at her would-be assailant for several long seconds. She'd wanted to respond, but was at a loss for words. Finally she managed to get out a single one. "Yes?" The earth pony's smile remained in place. If there was any sign at all that she knew how awkward the encounter was, Rarity couldn't see it. "Keep up the good work, then! So what's your name, stranger?" Rarity cleared her throat and tried to forget the bizarre moment. First impressions were important with potential customers, and if she continued making a scene then she might scare the poor dear away. "You may call me Rarity, darling. Welcome to Carousel Boutique! I'm afraid we're closed for the moment, but if there's anything you're interested in, I suppose I could fill in an order for you." The pink pony's snorting told her everything she needed to know, much to her dismay. "Nah, I wasn't looking to buy anything! Ooh, except maybe a hat. Are those hats for sale over there? Can I try them on?" "No, dear, those are my hats." She paused, noting the confusion on her guest's face, then added, "the ones I wear, I mean. Listen, I really must be going... if you don't have any business with me, could you please leave?" "Okey dokey!" The pink-maned mare hopped out the front door, then turned to look back at her. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! My name's Pinkamena Diane Pie! It's great to meet you, Rarity! You're the fifth new friend I've made this afternoon!" Rarity gulped. This strange pony thought they were friends. She'd almost wanted to deny it to her assailant's face, but her curiosity had been piqued. "A pleasure, I'm sure. Tell me, just why did you decide to tackle me just now?" The earth pony cocked her head to the side, as if somehow the past two minutes or so had never happened. "Oh! Applejack told me to go around town and make some friends and to get back to my job with the Cakes while she works on getting Dizzy Twister to talk to Rainbow Dash for me." A warm smile suddenly formed on her face. "Thank you for asking, Rarity. It's been a pleasure meeting you! I've gotta go though, Mr. and Mrs. Cake are probably worried sick about me!" With that the strange pink pony was out of her life. For that day, at the very least. With another belated sigh, the white unicorn locked up Carousel Boutique and headed off for Lotus and Aloe's spa. More than a bath, what she really needed right now was somepony sane to talk to. ~~~ As Pinkamena rounded the last street corner, her new home and workplace came into sight. Sugarcube Corner seemed particularly fascinating to her right now. She stopped and stared at it in awe. This was now the second time she'd really taken the time to really think about it, and after seeing Carousel Boutique, her curiosity had been piqued. She wouldn't be able to stop thinking about this until she got an answer; she had to know just who had designed this wonderful place. Mr. Cake waved her over to the counter, a concerned look on his face as he did so. "Pinkamena, where've you been all night?! Cup Cake and I were worried sick about you!" "Sorry Mr. Cake!" Pinkamena leaned on top of the counter, smiling as she did so. "I was up all night and couldn't sleep, so I went over to Applejack's place to talk with her. After that I spent the morning trying to help her get her chores done quickly until she told me to go and make some friends around town!" Her smile quickly faded as she lowered herself down to the floor. "I'm sorry I made you worry." The lanky stallion didn't respond at first, and Pinkamena feared he'd be angry with her. Instead he chuckled. "Don't worry too much about it. Mrs. Cake could use a hoof in the kitchen, so why don't you hurry on up? And the next time you feel like you need to talk to somepony... well, we're here for you, Pinkamena." The pink-maned mare nodded and trotted into the back room. The sound of an egg timer ticking could be heard near the oven, and Mrs. Cake herself was not far from it, carefully frosting a  small chocolate cake. As Pinkamena approached her, she realized that she'd forgotten to ask Mr. Cake about the store's design. This was as good a time as any, she mused. "Hi, Mrs. Cake!" The elder mare stopped and turned her head to look at her. "Oh, hello dear! We've been worried sick about you, you know." "I know," Pinkamena began, smiling sincerely as she stood up and hugged her, "and I'm sorry for worrying you two. I've been out and about all day and forgot to stop into work, that's all. You can't pay me if I don't do my job, right? So let's get bakin'!" Mrs. Cake pulled back and watched the pink pony land gently on the ground. "Actually dear, I could use some help with  frosting this cake. You like chocolate frosting, don't you?" "Um, yeah!" Pinkamena giggled. "Doesn't everypony love chocolate cake? But why ask me? Who's the cake for, anyways? What's the occasion?" The blue mare cocked her head to the side, staring at her. "... what? What did I say?" "Your birthday's coming up in a few days, isn't it?" This time it was the pink pony's turn to be confused. "How did you know?" She was worried now; she'd never told anyone in Ponyville when her birthday was. Her eyes bounced back and forth between her boss and the cake on the counter. She could barely make out the words 'Happy Birthday Pink' on the top. The elder mare sighed wistfully. "Your mother and Granny Pie both like to keep in touch with me and Mr. Cake. We miss them so much. Haven't seen either of them since Susanna eloped with that rock farmer, Clyde..." A loud gasp escaped Pinkamena's mouth. "Eloped? You mean-." "I'm afraid so. They were pretty happy together," Mrs. Cake said as she turned her attention back to the chocolate cake on the counter, "but Granny didn't approve of them being together and when they left, she didn't want to stick around Ponyville anymore. She left us the plans for her bakery and a little extra pay to deal with any loans we'd need, then left town." Pinkamena turned her attention back to the cake, sniffling as she did. "So Sugarcube Corner... this is... " Her eyes focused on the cake, reading the words on top out loud. "Happy Birthday Pinkie..." Mrs. Cake looked at the now crying pony next to her. "Oh? Sorry, my mistake dear. Let me fix that. Don't cry, please..." She reached for a knife to scrape the cake off, but a pink hoof gently pinned her own to the counter. The young mare smiled and shook her head. "Leave it like that. Thanks for letting me come home, Mrs. Cake." ~~~ Pinkamena Diane Pie yawned and rolled onto her back. The hay pile she'd been given wasn't the best bed ever, but somehow it seemed far more comfortable to her now than it had the night before. The young mare had been quite content by the day's turn of events, and thought of what was to come the next day had her excited. It couldn't take Applejack too long to get in touch with Dizzy Twister, and she knew that she'd get to patch things up with that rainbow-maned pegasus anytime now. At the same time, she found herself dreading the encounter. The rainbow-maned pegasus might still be angry with her, or could have developed a grudge over her clumsiness and wouldn't give her the time of day. And for some reason, the pink earth pony felt as if she'd forgotten something important, but it kept slipping by her. She retraced her steps. "First there was Mrs. Cake... Mr. Cake... that funny Rarity unicorn... Applejack, and the rain, and-." The sound of a hoof tapping on her window interrupted her train of thought. Her head pivoted towards the window, a quiet gasp escaping from her gaping maw as she did. The rainbow-maned pegasus hovered just beyond it, grimacing as she stared back at the room's owner. With lightning agility the pink earth pony bolted to the window, unlocking it and flinging it open. She opened her mouth to speak. No words came out. Her hind legs began quivering. "So, uh... hi. You must be Pinkamena, huh?" The rainbow-maned mare cracked a smile. "The name's Rain-hey!" Pinkamena turned and fled, dropping down onto her haypile and holding her head down with her hooves. Doubt flooded her mind. She couldn't do this. She wasn't ready. That pony hated her, she just knew it. "Hey! Come on!" Rainbow Dash sighed as flew into the room. "At least give me a chance! How am I supposed to apologize to you if you pull stuff like this?!" "Apol-. Apologize?" Pinkamena raised her head, lowering her hooves to support her. "You mean-" The rainbow-maned pegasus nodded, turning her head away as if she were refusing to make eye contact. "I didn't... I was just upset, that's all. I'd spent so long working Fluttershy up for that night, and you went and-." Before she could even finish her sentence, the pink-maned mare tackled her to the wooden floor. "Hey!" Dash shouted. "What's the big idea?!"  Pinkamena's front hooves wrapped themselves around the waist of her pegasus partner, pulling her into a tight hug. "Oh thank you so much I'm so sorry about that I mean I didn't want to hurt her feelings I just wanted to serve some cupcakes oh and talk to you since you're so awesome and your hair is amazing and it looks just like this rainbow I saw when I was a filly would you like to hear about that well it all started when-." This time she was the one being cut off as a sky blue hoof stuck itself in her mouth. "Okay, stop! This isn't what I had in mind when Dizzy said I 'hurt some poor filly's feelings'..." Rainbow Dash squirmed in the pink earth pony's grip. "Look Pinkie, I'm sorry I made you feel bad. Now will you please let go of me?!" Pinkamena giggled and released her captive to the floor. "Sorry, I... Pinkie?" She cocked her head to the side. "Nopony calls me that. Well, not on purpose. Not that I don't like it, I love it, but why call me Pinkie instead of Pinkamena?" "It's short for Pinkamena, okay? A nickname." The rainbow-maned pegasus flew up off the ground, landing near the window sill. She turned her head back to the pink pony and asked, "Take care, okay?" As she was about to fly out, the pink pony shouted, "Wait Dashie!" Dash turned her head back in confusion. "Dashie?" "It's short for Dash! Or well, Rainbow Dash. I guess I could just call you Dash, though. But I like saying Dashie, it sounds nice and-." Pinkamena shook her head, trying to focus her thoughts. "No, no, no, what I mean is, I wanted to ask you... who is Fluttershy?" The rainbow-maned pegasus sat down outside the window, staring out into the starless sky beyond. As Pinkamena edged closer and sat down besides her, she sighed and said, "It's a long story..."