Treason

by Trevosta

Opportunity

Opportunity
Thunderclaw awoke on the cloud he had fallen asleep on, he looked around, to see that his surroundings hadn't changed at all since he went to sleep. "Alright, so I got no wind to deal with, otherwise I would've moved overnight. And I'm talking to myself, I need to find civilization."

He scanned the ground below him, searching for a viable source of breakfast, "I don't want to deplete my food supply and have another experience like my trip to Cloudsdale. Oh. My. Word. I really need to stop talking to myself."

He spotted a stream nearby, grabbed his gear, and swooped in, grabbing a fish on the first pass. He swallowed the fish whole, then swooped by again, gaining a beak-full of fresh stream water. "Ahh, well, onward to Ponyville. Arg!"

Rainbow Dash woke up, less sore than she was anticipating, but still in almost paralyzing pain. She was able to stumble out to her kitchen where she stored some pain medicine.

She popped a couple pills in her mouth, and downed them with a glass of water. She was going to have to go in to work today, and it was going to be the most miserable day at work, ever.

Morning went as usual on Sweet Apple Acres, except that Applejack was doing her best to avoid Geronimo and her brother.

She was avoiding Geronimo due to the little awkward-fest that they had the day before. She was avoiding Big Mac due to the spectacle she made of herself the day before, she didn't know, or want to know, what he would say.

Big Mac was just working the fields like he did every day. Soon, though, Geronimo came up to him. "Hey," Geronimo said, "I'm going into town. If you see Applejack, could you tell her that's where I am? I tried to find and tell her earlier, but it's like she's avoiding me." Big Mac hid his smile with practiced excellence that would befit a butler. "Sound good to you?"

Big Mac mulled it over, carefully decided the best wording for what he was about to say, and what he would tell his sister, so he responded, "Eeyup."

"Cool, thanks." Geronimo said before trotting off into town.

Geronimo arrived in Ponyville and began his search. He was looking for any of Applejack or Rainbow's friends. He wandered through the town, heading towards the town square, searching for one of the four mares or their place of business. It had been several days since he had worn his uniform, and was beginning to grow accustomed to the judgmental stares from passing ponies.

Some aimless wandering accomplished, he stumbled across a building that looked like a carousel, and had a sign out front that said, 'Carousel Boutique'.

He recognized that name from somewhere, but he couldn't remember where. He thought for a moment, but couldn't make the connection.

"Oh, well." he said and walked in through the front door.

Rarity was stuck in a creative rut, she had been in the fashion designer's version of writer's block for over a week. She had simply no new ideas, she kept coming back to things that had already been done. She was racking her brain once again, hoping for inspiration to strike, when suddenly, there was a customer.

'Maybe doing something for somepony would help to reset my mind.' she thought to herself.

She walked toward the entrance and closed her eyes, so as to make an elegant appearance, she walked into the welcome area of the boutique and said, "Welcome to carousel boutique!" she opened her eyes, "Sergeant? What a surprise! What can I help you with?" but before he could respond, inspiration hit her like a train, "Wait! I have just the design for you! Follow me and we will get started."

He stood there shocked for a moment, then followed her mumbling, "Well it isn't why I came here, but ok"

Geronimo just stood there while the seamstress did her job, measuring and examining her latest project. Eventually he broke the silence.

"You know that this isn't why I came, don't you?" he asked, hoping that she would understand.

"Oh? Then tell me darling, why is it that you came?" she asked, her eyes barely leaving her work; which, by this time, had become a rough shell of a suit.

"Well I'm kinda curious, do you know how I know Rainbow Dash?"

"No, Darling, I wasn't aware that you did know her." she said, now making some adjustments to her drawing.

"Well, I served with her brother in the Air Force." that caused Rarity to look up from her work, and stop what she was doing entirely.

"Rainbow has a brother?" she asked.

Geronimo looked at the floor, "Had. Had a brother. He died on the same mission that I lost my wings, but I want to know why she never talked about him." he said, curiosity lacing his voice.

"I don't know, but she had to have her reasons." she said, while comparing multiple types of fabric.

After a few more moments of work-filled silence, Geronimo spoke again, "I have another question, if that is ok with you."

"Oh, sure thing, Darling, go right on ahead." she said, now making several more drawings.

"I was wondering if Applejack had a special somepony, at the moment." he said, doing his best to keep his cool and not seem to awkward.

Rarity started to laugh. Quickly, she composed herself, as well as she could, and said, "Applejack has always been too busy to get in a relationship, she doesn't want to get distracted, and lose productivity. So she does not now, or ever before, have a coltfriend. Why do you ask?"

"Like I said, I was just wondering. Now if you will excuse me, I have some more errands to run." and with that he began to leave the boutique.

Rarity called out to him, "Come back tomorrow to see the finished product."

"Ok, sounds good."

After he had left Rarity was wondering, "Why did he want to know if Applejack..." she let out a gasp, and a huge smile plastered her face. "I need to start designing a dress!" Fabrics, needles, thread and scissors began flying all around the room as multiple designs became reality.

Geronimo arrived back at the farm and began his search for Big Mac. Through some additional aimless wandering, he stumbled across the farm pony. His stomach was doing somersaults as he mentally prepared himself.

He approached Big Mac and noticed the abundance of apple baskets, he saw this as an opportunity so he grabbed it.

"Hey Big Mac, could you use some help with those baskets?" he asked hoping that it would give him a chance to talk.

Big Mac looked at all of the baskets surrounding him and the nearby trees. He then considered his options. "Eeyup."

They loaded themselves up, and headed toward the barn.

After about a minute of walking, Geronimo decided that it would be the best time to plead his case, "Hey, so I am curious, what are your feelings about Applejack dating?"

Big Mac looked at the Sergeant, and just shrugged.

"Because I was thinking about asking her out on a date. And you would appear to be the stallion of the household, so I wanted to be respectful and ask you first." he said as respectfully as he could.

Big Mac smiled kindly at the Sergeant and said, "Ah approve." his face then went very somber, "But, if ya hurt mah little sis, Ah will buck ya all the way ta the moon, got that?"

"Got it. Thank you, sir!" Geronimo said, his stomach calming down. "Ya know, that is the most I've heard you say at one time."

The two of them worked together until the sun went down, and they returned to their beds for the night.

Thunderclaw grabbed a small cloud and pitched camp for the night. Upon checking his map, he determined, that he should be able to get to Ponyville by noon the next day. He curled up in a ball, readying himself for sleep, and drifted off into the land of dreams.

Rainbow Dash awoke the next morning, less sore than the previous day, but she wasn't about to let that get her down, she was going to start training with Geronimo today. This was going to be a good day.

Applejack had gotten up early and begun her chores before she normally would. She couldn't get Spectrum off of her mind, she couldn't deny that she had feelings for him. She tried to get into her work and forget about everything else.

That worked for a little while.

"Hey Applejack!"

"Augh! Don't sneak up on me like that, Spectrum!"

"Sh! Sh! Sh!" he panicked, slamming his hoof over her mouth. "You're really bad at keeping secrets aren't you?" he asked with a slight smile, which caused her to smile and blush. "And anyway, I didn't sneak up on you, I walked right up to you, you were just zoned out."

"Hehe, sorry." she said kicking at a rock on the ground. "So, why did ya come ta see me?" she said, trying not to let him see how uncomfortable she was around him.

She was failing miserably, and he forced back a laugh, "I was just wondering, if you had any plans tonight." he said, putting on a nice smile.

She could feel her heart beating, as well as her cheeks becoming flushed. "Ah, uh, don't think so. W-why do ya ask?"

"I was hoping that maybe you would want to go with me on a picnic." he said, now blushing. "Sooo... What do you say?"

By now Applejack was blushing profusely, and shuffling her hooves uncomfortably, "Ah, Uh, y-y-yeah, Ah would love to." she said with a huge grin.

He let out a huge breath, that he didn't know he was holding, and said, "Great, I will take you out this evening, perhaps at six?"
"That sounds nice." she said, still uncomfortable.

He took another deep breath, and said, "Alright, I will see you then, but for now, I've got to go teach Rainbow Dash some of the greatest aerial maneuvers of all time." And with that he left the farmer to her own thoughts, which were now hopelessly stuck on the stallion.

Rainbow Dash was currently working her way through an intense maneuver, that Geronimo had taught her.

She felt at first that his methods were obsessive, but she couldn't argue with his results.

First, he talked her through the moves on the ground, without letting her fly. Then he made her perform all of the wing movements in the stunt; once again, without liftoff. Finally he had allowed her to take off and try the stunt.

She was having the time of her life, learning all of these new tricks. At the moment she was halfway through the stunt when she heard somepony yell. She lost her focus, but that wasn't the biggest problem. The biggest problem, was that she crashed into that somepony.

The two were now falling out of the sky; spinning, tumbling, and almost completely out of control. Rainbow twisted and turned, struggling to get a glimpse of the pony who knocked her out of the sky. She wasn't able to see much, but she could tell that the somepony, was actually a griffon.

"Gilda!" Rainbow yelled.

"Wha?" the Griffon responded.

"Why did you come back here? And why did you do that?" Dash asked while beating on the unsuspecting creature.

"Augh! Knock it off, you psycho!" the griffon yelled, and kicked Rainbow away. They both recovered from the collision and landed on the ground.

"Why did you knock me out of the air, Gilda!?" Dash yelled at the griffon.

"I knocked you out of the air?!? I was just flying along, when suddenly, some madmare comes spiraling out of the sky and crashes into me. Then she calls me 'Gilda' and starts pounding on me. I'm a GUY, dang it!" the, now obviously, male griffon said to Dash, who was feeling pretty bad.

"Oops, hehe. My bad." she said, uncomfortably, "I'm sorry, I'm Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in all of Equestria!" she said puffing out her chest. "I was trying out some new moves, and didn't see you there."

"You're Rainbow Dash?" He asked.

"Yeah! You've heard of me?" she asked, pride filling her voice.

"Kind of, I was looking for you. You said you know Gilda?"

"Yeah, what about her?" she asked, her voice very displeased.

"Well we live in the same village, and after a fight with her parents, almost two years ago, she left. I was in charge of hunting her down. YOU are my best lead since I started. And you appear to know something about her, so do you know where she is?" he asked with desperation filling his eyes.

Rainbow looked ashamed, "I'm sorry. I don't know where she is. She came to town a while ago, but then we kinda ran her out for being rude to everypony in town."

"Well that is just wonderful." he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I give up, I have nowhere else to look. I can't go home, her parents hired me to find her, and if I don't, they will kill me. Simple as that, I now have nowhere else to go." he said as he sat on the ground. "I guess I will have to find a place to stay, maybe I can start a new life here." he said aloud to himself.

Rainbow Dash said, "Well I guess I better get back to my training." then she prepared to take off, only to be stopped.

"Wait, you said that you are the fastest flyer in Equestria, so how about a race?" he said with a slightly evil grin.

Rainbow looked at him and laughed, shaking her head, "Look, buddy, I can break the sound barrier, there is no way you can keep up with me."

He nodded his head, "Very impressive, the name's Thunderclaw by the way, but you can call me T.C.," then he walked over to her, and put his foreleg around her, "and, I am the best flier that the griffons have to offer. Ya see, ye have our own, 'Best Flier" competitions, and I have won three years in a row."he said smiling and pulling her in tighter.

She grinned at him, "Oh, you're on!"

There was some rustling in the bushes nearby, as something was coming through. Suddenly, Geronimo stuck his head through the branches, "Rainbo- Oh... I didn't mean to... Interrupt..." he said with a bit of distaste in his voice, upon seeing the griffon with his arm around Rainbow. "Rainbow, come over here." She broke away from the embrace of the griffon, and walked over to the Sergeant.

"What's up?" she asked rather hesitantly.

"I was just coming to check and see if you were alright, and to tell you that our training session is over." he said, continuously checking on Thunderclaw. "Oh, yeah, do you happen to know any good picnic areas nearby?" he threw in as an afterthought.

"Yeah I- wait. Are you asking me on a date?" she asked, rather confused and disgusted.

"Huh? No! You have no idea how awkward that would be." he retorted, finally taking his eyes off Thunderclaw, who was getting really uncomfortable under his scrutinizing stare.

"Yeah it would be awkward, it would be like dating my teacher."

"You don't know the half of it, it would be worse than that, trust me. Anyway, I am taking Applejack out for a picnic tonight, and I don't know the town or surrounding areas that well." he explained.

"Oh, ok- WAIT! You're taking Applejack out?" she screamed, confused at the concept, her farmer friend just didn't seem like the kind to date.

He recoiled a bit, "Yeah, I am. Is that a problem?"

"I guess not, but if you hurt her, I will carry you high into the stratosphere and drop you onto a rock. Got it?" she threatened.

"Got it." He assured her, "You know, you are the second pony to threaten me like that."

"Who was the first?"

"Big Mac Threatened to kick me to the moon." He said, "So, DO you know any good picnic spots?"

Rainbow gave him the best directions she could to the spot she had decided on, and then he left for town.

"So... I wasn't interrupting a family meeting was I?" T.C. Asked.

Rainbow laughed at that, "No he isn't family."

"I woulda' guessed that you two were brother and sister, but whatever." He said, shrugging his wings.

"No we're not. Now about that race..."

Geronimo returned to Rarity's boutique, to see the finished product. As he arrived he was ushered in to the showroom, which was filled with many new dresses and suits.

"Here you are Sergeant." Rarity said as she handed him a folded suit. "Go on, try it on, see how it fits." He began to put on the shirt but was interrupted, "Good Heavens! I have a changing room you know?"

He looked at her confused. "Why? I did come in here without clothes in the first place."

"Oh, right, do carry on."

Geronimo was finally in the new suit, which had taken many ideas from the ENAF uniform that he had, but was designed in such a way that it could be worn more places.

"I like it." he said, "How much do I owe you?"

"Darling, you don't need to pay me. That design gave me the idea for this whole new line of fashions!" she said gesturing around to the designs scattering the room.

"Please, I have plenty of money, I can pay, and I will pay." he said pulling out a pouch full of bits, and handing them to the fashionista.

"Oh, well thank you darling!" she said, graciously accepting the money. "Oh and would you send Applejack over, to pick up her new dress." then she added in a saucy undertone, "Before your date."

"She asked you to make her a dress?" he asked, rather confused. "Why? It's just a picnic." he wondered aloud.

Rarity practically exploded. He couldn't understand most of what she said, but he could tell that she was excited. She was obviously very happy for her friend. Before long she was talking about a wedding dress, and that was where Geronimo decided to cut her off.

"Hey! Whoa there. Calm down, I'm just taking her for a picnic, nothing more, yet."

"Well let me warn you, Sergeant, I simply adore the color of your coat, and I believe that I have just the design to make with it." she said with an evil look in her eye.

"That makes three threats, Big Mac is kicking me to the moon, Rainbow is dropping me out of the sky, and you are making me into clothing." he said, changing back out of his new clothing, and putting them in a bag, "Now if you will excuse me I need to pick up a few things for my date tonight."

"Have fun!" Rarity called to him, with a huge smile on her face.