CHAPTER 33
I sat around, thinking about the last few days. I went on a few dates with Dashie, I helped Pinkie, AJ, and Twilight, and I stopped a mugging. I smiled, enjoying the fond memories.
Then, I heard fast paced knocking at my door. I smiled when I answered it.
"Hey, Dashie."
"Hey Kyle! Wanna go on a date today?"
"Hmmm..." I was teasing her.
"Come on, you know you wanna."
"I dunno..." She made a face, and I knew it was time to stop teasing.
"Relax, I'm kidding. I would never miss a chance for a date with you!"
"Alright! Meet with me at Sugarcube Corner at 5:00?"
"Sure."
She flew off. She was much more persistent than usual. Huh...
I payed no mind to it, and left. I was going to wander the town to kill time. I had seven hours.
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I had been walking for a while, when I saw Derpy, trying to put mail in a mailbox. Every time she tried, the envelopes folded away from the slot.
"Hey Derpy. Lemme help you with that." I took the mail from her and put it all in the mailbox.
"Thanks Kyle!"
"No problem."
"So, I heard you're dating Rainbow Dash, huh?"
I couldn't believe that somepony had spread that information around. I knew it wasn't any of my friends, so I assumed that somepony had seen us together and went around starting rumors that happened to be true.
"Y-yeah..." I rubbed the back of my head nervously.
"Well, I'm glad for you. Well, I hope you two do well. I have more mail to deliver, bye-bye!"
I waved as she flew off.
Now that I knew the word was out, me and Dashie didn't have to be as secretive anymore, so I was thankful for that.
I checked the time. 12:30pm. Wow, did I really kill that much time? I decided to get some lunch. I went into a restaurant, when I saw Vinyl Scratch.
"Hey Vinyl, wassup?"
"Hey there, Mr. 1NS4N1TY."
"Oi! Don't go saying that in public! I'll be mobbed."
She grinned mischievously. "Heh, I know. Too bad nopony heard, I bet it would've been hilarious."
"You're the worst..."
"I know, but isn't that what you love about me?"
"Ugh... Hey, how's your marefriend Octavia doing?" I knew her weakness...
She blushed madly. "Hey! Don't... Grrr..."
I chuckled. "But really, how did you two get together?"
"I dunno. She's into the old snoozefest music, I'm into the new and exciting music. She likes quiet, I love noise. It doesn't make any sense, but I still like her."
"Opposites attract."
"You've got that right. I've gotta go, I have a party to be at." She got up, and dropped her party shades out of her hoodie pocket. Before anypony could see them, she snatched them back up.
"Seeya Vinyl." The waiter put my lunch down in front of me, as all the restaurants in town know what I order by now.
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My chat with Vinyl and my lunch managed to kill another hour, because somepony had overheard our conversation and recognized my face. I had to sign so many autographs... The wandering afterwards killed another three.
"Well howdy, Kyle."
"Oh, hey Mac."
"Ya' look like Ya' just got attacked by n' angry mob."
"A mob, yes."
"Huh... Hey, d'ya think Ya' think Ya' could help me with these here apples? Ah' got a lil' too much."
"Sure." I grabbed two crates to carry.
"So... How goes the quest for Fluttershy's love?"
"S' going fine. Ah've managed t' keep her from runnin' away when Ah' walk up t' her."
"Good for you."
"Here we are, put em' down here."
I put the crates down, and pushed my back so I could stand up straight. Big Mac looked a little sweaty, but not really tired.
"Welp, Ah' gotta go git a few more crates o' apples. Ah'll catch Ya' later, Kyle."
"Later, Mac."
I sat on one of the crates to relax. After a while I checked the time. 4:30.
"Time to go looking for Dashie."
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I looked for about ten minutes, and I found her standing near the bakery.
"Hey there, Dashie."
"Oh, hey Kyle."
"So, what are we doing today? Racing? Going shopping for Wonderbolts memorabilia? Practicing new tricks?"
"Actually, I have a place up on a hill a little ways from here. I was hoping we could just... Talk."
Now THAT was unusual.
"Sure..."
We began on our way to the hill. Dashie flew on ahead.
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When we got to the hill, Dashie was already sitting on a blanket. I sat down next to her.
"So... What is it you wanted to talk about, Dashie?"
"Well... What were you like when you were little? I can imagine you were cute..."
"Hmmm... When I was little... Where to start... Well, I was really hyper. Like Pinkie if you knocked her down about five notches. I loved a challenge. I was really nerdy too, always getting good grades. Kids resented me for that, and bullied me. At first it was just regular bullying. Name calling, stealing my lunch, the usual. But then they started getting physical. One kid even kicked in my knee. After it healed, I leaned on the other one all the time, and that one went bad. That really killed my self-esteem, so I just sat around all day. My grades stayed the same, but I was in really poor health after a few years. I started getting sick more often, I was always tired, and eventually, I started suffering from Vertigo a lot. I never really made friends either, and everyone avoided me because they thought I was a walking bio-weapon from how much I got sick." I could feel the tears coming, but I fought them back.
"Oh... Man... Sounds like you had it real rough. Sorry I asked."
"No... No... I'm glad to get it off my chest. I'm glad I have someone like you to talk to, Dashie." I wrapped my arm over her neck and onto her other shoulder, and pulled her into a side-hug.
"So... What was your childhood like?"
"Well, I never really spoke to my parents. They were never exactly 'encouraging.' They always said I would turn out to be just average, no better, no worse. I eventually ran away and joined School. Everypony called me 'Rainbow Crash.' I think you can imagine why. I met Fluttershy there, and she was always bullied too. We teamed up, always practicing together, hanging out... She was my first real friend. One day, me and two of the bullies ended up in a race, and I ended up flying so fast that I did a sonic rainboom." I tried to imagine what that could be. "That same sonic rainboom is the reason me and my friends got their cutie marks. I've been doing tricks and practicing ever since."
"Wow... Can you show me the sonic rainboom?"
"Sure!"
She flew up in the air, and when she was almost out of my field of vision, she flew straight down. I saw the air around her flatten out, and then...
BOOM!
I heard a loud boom, and a flash. Then a large ring rainbow emanated from where Dash broke the sound barrier, and she barely managed to slow down before she landed.
"Woah! Dashie, that was... I mean I... AWESOME!"
"Well, I am the only pony who can do it." She grinned as she stroked her ego.
We sat back down, and chatted about the last few days for a while.
"... And then I tapped his shoulder, and said 'Excuse me, kind sir...' And then I hit him with the plank. He was out like a light!"
We both laughed. We had scooted much closer to each other over the time we had been talking.
"You know, Kyle... That's why I like you. You're nice, and you risk your own safety for the safety of others..." She moved even closer to me. "You always want to help, no matter what the cost." Closer... "You're a hero."
With that, she brought her muzzle to my mouth.