//------------------------------//
// You're joking, right? 
// Story: Friends have Issues 
// by Killbles 
//------------------------------//

Friends have Issues
Chapter Two: You're joking, right?


“A Potato?” Rainbow asked, picking one of the heavy vegetables out of the cloudbox and giving it a careful sniff. She scrunched her nose up in confusion. The rest of the dinner had passed without further incident and now with a good meal and a few drinks each, the duo had gone back to Rainbow’s to enjoy the rest of the evening. “Now, correct me if I’m wrong her but don’t you normally get things like roses and stuff… not grubby, grimy potatoes.”
Soarin rolled his eyes. “A potato is worth so much more than a daft flower. I mean what can you do with a flower?”
“Eat it?” Rainbow said.
“Okay, well besides that they’re just pretty and unless you’re some sort of super-pony, they tend to die after a few weeks. A potato on the other hand will last a long time and will grow even if you throw it under the sink. Don’t you think that makes it a good symbol for Hearts and Hooves day?”
“Uh-huh.”
“But wait, there’s more.”
“Great…” Rainbow said under her breath.
“There are so many things you can do with a potato; you could even make a battery from it! That’s like saying there are lots of ways I can show my love for you.”
“Is one of those ways boring me to death by talking about potatoes?”
“Just enjoy the potato.”
“Oh yes, I will enjoy its starchiness immensely.” Rainbow snorted, hurling the potato away with a casual flick. The vegetable bounced off her tortoise’s shell before bouncing off into the kitchen. True to his name, Tank took the hit without concern and after what seemed like several minutes of deliberation, plodded after the vegetable.
“Oh chocolate, that’s more like it.” Rainbow said, pulling a small box out the sweets out and looking at them fondly.
“It’s nice to know that my efforts are appreciated.” Soarin said wrapping a leg around her and pulling her into a rough hug. She squealed in surprise and tried to worm out of his grip but being a well-built stallion, Soarin was too strong for her. After a brief but pointless struggle, Rainbow Dash sighed and nuzzled her face against Soarin’s back. While not one for public displays of affection, she couldn’t resist showing him a little love when they were alone.
“So… there was something you wanted to tell me?” Soarin asked.
“Can’t I cuddle without you having a go at me?” Rainbow replied innocently.
“Well, yes. Just you’re not normally so prone to…” Soarin shivered as she gently nipped at his neck. “This.”
“Eh.” She laid her head on his back again. “I was going to talk to you this morning; but I didn’t. I was going to talk to you at dinner; but I didn’t. No thanks to Lightning Dust showing up anyway…. Just… I’ve just been thinking…”
“That can’t be good…” Soarin said prophetically.
“Hey!”
“I’m kidding, but seriously anytime you come with some idea it just seems to get me balls deep in trouble.”
Rainbow chuckled quietly. “Funny choice of words.”
Soarin’s face adopted a curious look. “Pardon?”
“Nothing.” She said quickly. “I’ve just been thinking...”
“About what?” Soarin insisted. “Don’t just tell me you’ve been thinking and then trail off.”
“Just… well…” She stammered. “I probably shouldn’t talk about it... I mean it’s just a bit... well… a bit strange.””
“Dashie, you can talk to me about anything. Problem at the academy? What is it?”
She looked him squarely in the eyes. “Soarin, I’m really not sure if this is normal… and I don’t want to sound stupid… But…”
“But…?” Soarin asked.
“I want to have a kid.”
 
Soarin blinked twice.
“Come again?”
A look of irritation passed over Rainbow Dash’s face. “I said; I want to have a kid.”
“What?” Soarin said disbelievingly.
“I want to be a mum.” Rainbow sighed. “Is that odd?”
“Coming from you, yes.” Soarin said quietly. He grinned meekly as she shot him a glare. “Well look, most mares your age start getting those sort of… urges. It’s natural, although highly unexpected to hear that coming from you.”
“Well, I’ve been getting these ‘urges’ for the last couple a weeks or so now and all they’ve been telling me is to have a kid. And… yeah, maybe I really do.”
Soarin’s jaw dropped open. “Are you sure that’s not just the hormones talking?”
“Sure I’m sure.” She said, resting her head over his neck.
Soarin shuffled uncomfortably. “You really want to have a kid. With me?”
“Yes.” She purred.
“I… I don’t know what to say.” Soarin stammered.
Rainbow looked disappointed. “You don’t feel the same way?”
“No, no… maybe… I don’t know! It’s just so unexpected. I’ve always been open to having little shits… I mean, kids.” He looked at her uncertainly. “Just, we’ve only been going out for what, a bit over a month?! I think you’re rushing this a bit. We don’t even live together or anything.”
“We could change that.”
“We could.” Soarin admitted. “What about marriage first, wouldn’t you want to really make sure you’re with the pony you want to be with for the rest of your life before you even think about having kids?”
“I’m pretty sure I found the pony I want to be with.” She said softly, giving him a soft kiss on the top of his head. “But you’re right…” She trailed off as if in thought. “Marry me then.” She said.
Soarin’s jaw dropped open again. “Wha- Again, we’ve been going out, what, maybe a month and a bit and you already want to get married?!” He asked incredulously. He let a cautious grin creep onto his face, unsure if Rainbow was simply pulling his leg. The look quickly vanished as he found not a trace of humour on her face.
“We dated a lot longer than that, you just don’t remember it.”
“Exactly, I don’t know you as well as I’d like to.” Soarin pointed out.
“I’ll take that as a no then.” She said disappointedly.
“Look Dash, I really like you. But this is just too fast. Too much too quickly. I don’t think I’m ready for it yet.”
Rainbow hid her disappointment well but Soarin still noticed a slight change in his girlfriend’s tone, a trace of uncertainty. “That’s fine. I wouldn’t want to rush you into anything you don’t want. Just, let me know if you change your mind.”
“Thank you.” Soarin mumbled. He played with her mane for a moment before looking at her. “Why would you want to have a kid anyway? You’re shipping out to the academy and they won’t take that sort of shit there.”
Rainbow scratched her chin thoughtfully. “Yeah, suppose you’re right. Didn’t think that through very well.” She stretched herself out and clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth for a few moments. “Still, I wouldn’t mind moving our relationship along a little. I could take you along and introduce you to my dad. We’re having dinner next week if you’re interested.”
Soarin stared blankly at the wall as his mind tumbled at the possibility. “Just your dad? What about your mum?” Soarin asked, filling an obvious gap in her statement.
Rainbow seemed to shrink a little and the small smile which had crept onto her face before vanished in an instant.
“Oh, sorry.” Soarin mumbled, “Didn’t know.”
“Nah it’s alright.” Rainbow murmured. “Never knew my mum, she left me with my dad just after I was born. Never really had a motherly figure in my life. Probably explains why I’m so… like this.”
Didn’t you ever ask your father about her?” Soarin asked.
“He barely knew her. I was kind of an accident, so to say.” She paused for a moment. “Still, my dad loves me and thinks I’m the best thing that ever happened for him. He’s such a sweetie like that.” She chuckled before fixing a serious eye on Soarin “Don’t ever tell him I called him a sweetie, he’d never let me hear the end of it.”
“Will do.” Soarin grinned maliciously.
“What about your parents’ hotshot? I don’t remember you ever talking about them.”
Soarin flushed red. “I… haven’t talked to them for a while. Not since after the crash at least. We were never really that close to begin with.”
“Huh, maybe we’ll have to change that. Well as I said before, dinner with my dad next week. You down? I’m sure he’d be thrilled to meet you.”
Soarin shrugged, after all, what was the worst that could happen?
“It’s a date.”
 
 

***

 
 
The warming sensation of the sun’s rays falling across Soarin’s body roused him to consciousness. Although the room was still deep in shadow, Soarin’s body clock had adjusted to waking up early. He yawned softly and rolled over, expecting to bump find a lump of fur and wings to snuggle up against. Instead he found a slightly warm patch on the bed where Rainbow Dash had presumably lain recently. Lifting his head lazily, Soarin looked around with a hint of amusement. Surely Dash wouldn’t be awake before him? He swept his eyes across the room without finding a trace of her light blue body, a few piles of hastily discarded clothes and an odd of sock or crumpled magazine being the only sources of interest.
 Surprised by the absence of his boss, lover and constant source of headaches, Soarin slipped downstairs. A curious glance around the training room and living space that made the second level of her house revealed nothing else and the quiet growl of Soarin’s almost sentient stomach urged him further down towards the kitchen. He was quite surprised as he stepped off the bottom of the steps to see Rainbow Dash already up and sitting behind a counter in the kitchen. Her tortoise was perched stoically on her head and fixed his beady eyes on Soarin as he entered.
“Hey.” She muttered, cradling her head in her hooves like it was a sixteen tonne weight.
“Morning.” Soarin uttered. He trotted past her before doing a quick double take. Her eyes were red and puffy and large bags were starting to show underneath them. Her mane was more tussled than usual and her fur was standing on end in random patches across her body almost as if she’d been attacked by a group of marauding group of overbearing parents giving out noogies.
In short, she looked like shit.
“You okay?” Soarin asked, backpedalling a little further and stopping in front of her. “You look like… shit.”
Rainbow let out an amused sniffle and shrugged. “Fine. Just didn’t sleep well last night.”
“You were sleeping like a rock.” Soarin huffed. “On me, no less.”
“You were comfy.” Rainbow Dash said lamely, yawning widely and displacing Tank slightly. Annoyed, the stolid creature rolled off his owner and plodded up to Soarin.
“Why didn’t you sleep well?” Soarin asked, picking Tank up and rubbing his head gently. “You had a big day yesterday.”
“Didn’t feel too good.” She sniffled again. “Feel rubbish right now.” She watched Tank nip Soarin’s hoof before retreating into his shell.
“Your turtle doesn’t like me.” Soarin said flatly, glaring at the slowly retreating reptile.
“Tortoise.” Rainbow corrected.
“Turtle. Tortoise, same shit.” Soarin snapped irritably, placing Tank back on the counter with disgust. He grabbed a bundle of hay and chewed thoughtfully. “What’s wrong with you then?”
Rainbow shrugged. “Just feel like shit.” She sniffled loudly. “Well, more than usual.”
Soarin chewed slowly as he digested the new information. “Usual?”
“Yeah, last week I haven’t been feeling too good.” She said, rolling her head over to look at Soarin.
“You seemed alright yesterday.”
Rainbow shrugged half-heartedly. “Suppose.”
“Well you’ve been grumpier than normal, for one.” Soarin said with a stupid grin.
“Watch it.” Rainbow growled.
“See?”
She glared silently at him, magenta eyes narrowed to thin slits.
“Thou shalt not annoy the Dash during the time of red rage.” Soarin chuckled. He stopped munching for a moment and looked at her slowly. “You don’t want to go see a doctor do you?”
“Doctor who?” There isn’t any one of those eggheads I’d trust in this town to save my life.”
Soarin shrugged. “You just hate the clinic, right?”
“That doctor there doesn’t know an arse from an ass.” Rainbow said scathingly. “I’ll be fine.”
“I’m sure you will.” Soarin said, ruffling her mane up in a teasing fashion. She glared and slapped his hoof away. ‘You going to work today or are you just going to mope about?”
Dash responded by throwing a foreleg out dramatically, inadvertently sending Tank flying off into the corner of the room. “Just leave me here, I’m done for!” She exclaimed in the most theatrical tone she could muster.
“Okay. I’ll leave you a shovel so you can bury yourself.” Soarin responded dryly, taking her words literally and trotting out of the kitchen without concern.
“Hey, get back here you fat oaf!”

 

***

 

They sailed through the air together, slightly slowly than usual though, Soarin noted with silent thanks. Dash usually set the speed for their morning flights and Dash being, well, Dash, meant that they invariably ended up hurtling through the sky at breakneck speeds with no regard for such petty things as speed limits and other commuters. The slower pace was a welcome change for Soarin as fast flying still caused him immense discomfort. He closed his eyes and hummed quietly to himself, feeling at relative peace with the world. The peace was shattered as the groggy form of Rainbow Dash barged into him and made the low flying duo crash in a tangle of limbs and curses. Swearing loudly Soarin untangled his legs and quickly looked himself over for injuries. Satisfied that other than a mouthful of dirt and grit he was no worse off than before, he turned to Rainbow.
“What the hell was that?!” He barked. “Where were you going, the freaking moon?”
Dash grunted and pulled herself out of the dirt. She looked up at Soarin and spat a globule of blood out of her mouth. She was in worse shape than him; a trickle of blood ran out of her nose and a small gash had opened on her forehead and was spilling blood down her face. She squinted as the red liquid ran over her already bloodshot eyes.
“You’re hurt.” Soarin said, the harsh tone of his voice being replaced by concern.
“Well thank you, Captain obvious.” Dash growled, spitting another glob of blood onto the lush green grass. “I can see that.”
Soarin sighed. “Yeah, I’m sure you can.” He muttered. “Let’s get you patched up.”
“I’m fine.”
“With all due respect to your bravery and toughness, you can’t fly with blood pouring into your eye you stubborn mule.” Soarin muttered, “Not that you can fly at all it seems.”
“Hey!” Dash snapped.
“You’re completely sober yet you just smashed into me like a drunken hooligan.” Soarin said gruffly, helping her to her hooves and tugging her along. “Where to?”
Rainbow grunted and jerked her head towards the large treehouse which also served as the town’s library. “Twilight will have a first aid kit. Not that I need it.” She grumbled, pulling away from Soarin slightly.
“Dash.” Soarin said firmly. “You’re getting bandaged at least. I should send you home after that little stunt. You’re not well.”
“I’m fine.” She insisted, prompting Soarin to let out an amused snort.
“You could’ve lost two legs, a wing and half your face and you’d still say you were fine.”
Rainbow snapped her mouth closed, silently admitting defeat. She reluctantly let Soarin guide her to the front door of the library. A quick knock later and the pair were quickly ushered inside by the slightly concerned librarian.
“What happened to you?” Twilight asked; her voice muffled as she scrounged around her kitchen for a first-aid kit.
“She’s not feeling well and crashed into me on our way to work.” Soarin answered when Rainbow Dash remained stubbornly silent on the matter.
“Oh!” Twilight said in surprise, emerging with a small white box in tow. She levitated the box in front of Soarin with a sheepish grin. “You’re probably better at this than me.”
Soarin grunted quietly and fished an antiseptic swab from the kit. “This might sting-.”
“ARGHH!” Rainbow yelped as he pressed the cloth to her forehead with a little too much gusto. She reflexively lashed out and clipped Soarin under the jaw with a foreleg.
“…A bit.” Soarin said flatly, rubbing where she had hit him.
“Sorry.” Rainbow muttered, wincing as Soarin resumed cleaning her wound.
Soarin shook his head silently and dabbed the cloth against her head a few more times for good measure before grabbing a large Band-Aid from the box and slapping it against her gash.
“There, good as new.” He proclaimed.
“Fascinating.” Twilight remarked, jotting a few notes down on a small pad.
“Really? You’re really taking notes on how to apply a Band-Aid?” Rainbow asked.
“You can always learn new things!” Twilight said embarrassedly. She looked around uncertainly before fixing her eyes on Rainbow Dash. “Speaking of new things, I came across this new spell I really want to tr-.”
“Let me guess, you want me to be your guinea pig?” Rainbow asked.
“More or less.”
“Great, well you can save it for another time.” Soarin interrupted. “We’re going to be running late soon if we don’t get going. Thank you very much, Princess.”
Twilight turned beet red and her wings flared up. “Please, Twilight will be fine.”
“As you wish.” Soarin said with a chuckle, shoving Rainbow Dash outside and closing the library door softly behind him.
“Princess? Really?” Rainbow gagged.
“A little flattery had never hurt anypony.”
“Well it certainly didn’t help me when I hit the ground.”
Soarin scrunched his eyes shut and sighed. “That’s… that’s not… what flattery means.”
Rainbow sneezed loudly in response and slurred out something unintelligible. After quickly checking that the surrounding streets were deserted, she rested head against Soarin’s neck as they trotted down the street together.
“You’re pretty hot.” Soarin muttered.
“Thank you.”
“Temperature, stupid.” Soarin shot back. “You’re burning up. Bit of a fever maybe?”
“I’m fine.” Rainbow countered.
“Why do I get the feeling that’s all you’ve said all morning?” Soarin chided, trotting around a corner to find the weather team sitting in a loose circle out the front of pub. Doc was having a one sided conversation with Lightning Dust who seemed desperate to escape his verbal clutches. Flitter and Cloud Chaser were talking quietly with Thunderlane but immediately fell silent at the sight of Soarin with Rainbow Dash in tow.
  “Jeez, what happened to you?” Lighting Dust remarked snidely. “Run into a tree?”
Rainbow Dash huffed loudly. “Crashed.” She stated before sneezing again.
“Looks like our fearless leader is in the dumps this morning.” Doc chimed in, trotting up to Rainbow and giving her a quick look over. “You okay?” He asked.
“Fine. Bit worse than yesterday.” She admitted making Soarin bristled slightly over the fact she was willing to show Doc a little weakness but not himself.
“Uh-huh.” Doc said, scratching his chin thoughtfully.  “Drowsy, light headedness, fluey and nauseous?”
“Oh, right, so Doc is suddenly a medical professional now?” Soarin interjected.
“I know a little.” Doc admitted. “Not so much as to call myself a ‘professional’ though.” He laid a hoof over Rainbow’s forehead and prodded the bottom of her jaw a few times. “No swollen glands, higher than normal body temperature.”
Flitter and Cloud Chaser exchanged glances. “She’s like, fine, right?” Cloud Chaser asked.
“I’m fine.” Rainbow insisted.
“No, you’re not.” Doc said sternly. “As your medical specialist and your friend, I’m going to advise you take the day off at least. “We discussed this yesterday. You should see a doctor.”
Rainbow shook her head quickly, making her sway where she stood. “Nope. Not happening.”
Soarin placed a firm hoof on her shoulder and looked her squarely in the eye. “Go home, get some rest. Please.”
“I’m fine.” Rainbow insisted.
“No, you’re not. Now get going before I carry you home. You’re not feeling your best.”
Rainbow met his eyes, almost as if she was testing his strength, testing his will to carry his own threat. After a long minute her eyes dropped to the cobblestones beneath her. “Fine.” She said sourly.
“Good.” Soarin said, relaxing his posture slightly. “Flitter, Thunderlane, You’ll be working over in the west today so could you make sure she gets back fine?”
“Sure thing.” Flitter said curtly, nodding slightly and casting a worried look over Rainbow Dash.
“Thanks. Get going then.” Soarin urged, waving in the general direction he wanted the pegasi to go. Thunderlane nodded and brushed past Doc with a pout. He paused for a moment before turning to Soarin.
“Hey, um. We were planning to head out to this new theatre in town tonight. Don’t suppose you’d want to tag along?”
Soarin shook his head. “Sorry, with Dash sick I’ll have my hooves full with keeping her penned up.”
“Oh. Right. Of course.” Thunderlane muttered, looking slightly disappointed.
“Another time, maybe.” Soarin said in an attempt to cheer him up. “Now get going you big wuss, Dash and Flitter will be halfway home before you’ve even moved.” He added, giving Thunderlane a friendly punch on the shoulder.
“Yes boss.” He said enthusiastically before shooting off in a blast of air.
Soarin frowned as he watched Thunderlane jet off into the distance. Something seemed different about the stallion but he couldn’t quite place it. Shaking the feeling off, he turned to a slightly concerned looking Doc.
“I don’t remember anything about going out tonight…” Soarin heard him mutter quietly.
“Hmm?” Soarin asked.
“Oh nothing, nothing.” Doc replied quickly. “I want to have a word with you about Rainbow.”
“Alright, make it quick.” Soarin said. He looked over at Cloud Chaser who was sitting with a bored expression next to Lightning Dust. “You and Cloud Chaser can handle the South today; I’ll go with the rookie. Now, what’s this about Dash?”
“Well, first off, what do you know?” Doc asked. “She doesn’t seem particularly ill but she’s been suffering from these symptoms for the last week now. Do you know anything?”
“How very nice of her to tell me that.” Soarin said sarcastically. “Look, I only found out about it this morning, her pet tortoise probably knows more than me.”
“Interesting… if only I had a tortoise to Equestrian translator.”
“That was a joke.” Soarin said flatly.
“Well the poor fella probably does know more than you, knowing your intelligence…” Doc trailed off.
Soarin blinked. “Thanks, I really appreciate that.”
“Joking aside, I’d try and convince her to see a real doctor. It could be nothing… but I’d do it anyway, just to be sure.”
“Hey, turtle brain, how long are we gonna be sitting here for?” Lightning Dust called out from her perch.
“Just a minute.” Soarin barked. He turned back to Doc. “Thanks, I’ll see what I can do.”
“Good, and Soarin?”
“Whatever happens, do look after her.”

 

***	 



“So… Soarin.”
“Mmh?”
Lighting Dust looked momentarily taken aback. “How’s… stuff?”
“Stuff is… good?” Soarin said uncertainly. He glared suspiciously at a dark grey cloudbank a few hundred meters away, hoping that if he willed it away it’d stay away.
She sighed softly and followed his gaze. “So is this all we do all day? We’ve been here a good three and a half hours and I’ve busted precisely one cloud.”
“Yup.”
“Boring.” She snorted.
“Can be. Have you tried clearing an invading army of clouds the size of Canterlot, each one putting out more wind than a gathering of baked bean enthusiasts?”
“No.”
“Neither have I, but it’s presumably worse than this.” Soarin muttered, lying back and setting into the soft cloud he was using as a perch. “Well since there’s nothing to do, tell me a little about yourself.”
“Urh…” Lightning Dust trailed off. “I was at the Wonderbolt Academy.”
“It seems that almost everyone on this damn team has been.” Soarin said, clicking his tongue quietly. “We all seem overly qualified. Where are you from?”
“Cloudsdale.” Lightning Dust looked at him curiously. “You don’t remember me, do you?”
“Look, don’t this personally, but I don’t. I don’t remember anything. Anything after I joined the Wonderbolts is more or less just a flash. Nothing. I dated Rainbow Dash for two years and I didn’t even remember her.” Soarin said with a sigh. “Sorry.”
“Ouch. Must have hit your head hard. Did it hurt?”
“That would be like saying that the stove is hot and you shouldn’t touch it.”
“Huh?”
“Didn’t anypony ever teach you that?”
“Kinda figured it out for myself.”
“Clever girl.” Soarin said with a small grin as he imagined the mare next to him prodding a hot stove naively.
“But really, nothing?” Lightning said. She almost sounded disappointed.
“Nope.” Soarin said definitively.
She huffed in irritation and jumped to her hooves. She circled Soarin, regarding him with a mixture of curiosity and annoyance.
“What are you doing?” He asked, craning his head around to follow her. While Soarin wouldn’t say that he didn’t trust her… he felt a little uneasy with her so close to him. Without responding she brushed past him with the tips of her wings and bopped him playfully on the nose with her tail in an unnervingly familiar action. Soarin’s eyes widened as a cluster of memories flashed through his mind, clear as day.
“Oh shit.” He muttered under his breath.
“Interesting.” Lightning Dust purred contently.
Soarin scowled. “That never happened.”
“Well I sure remember it. It seems you do too now.”
Soarin huffed loudly. “Look that was just a bit of harmless flirting alright? Nothing more.”
“Didn’t seem that way to me.” Lightning growled. “Did your little Dashie know you were consorting with the enemy so to say?”
Soarin felt himself heat up. “No.” He admitted. “But I don’t think a little bit of chit-chat is anything for her to worry about, is it Lightning Dust.” Soarin growled
“Chit-chat?”  She responded coyly. “We went a little beyond chit-chat.”
“And that’s when I told you to back off.” Soarin snarled. “I had a girlfriend, I have a girlfriend and no, I’m not interested in a new one.”
“I neve-.”
“Listen.” Soarin snapped, rising to his hooves and jabbing Lighting Dust firmly. “That was a bit of harmless fun, nothing else. We clear? I like Rainbow Dash very much and if you think anything you can say or somehow dredge up from my past will change that then you’re sorely mistaken.”
Lighting Dust stood in mute shock before Soarin. She twitched slightly, before finally finding her voice. “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry.” She mumbled, kicking the cloud beneath her in irritation.
Soarin felt his burst of anger dissipate and a trace of remorse replace it. He felt a little guilty for yelling at her so quickly. “Sorry. Shouldn’t have gone off like that.”
A trace of confidence re-entered Lighting’s posture. “Nah, it’s right. I should’ve guessed you were attached to her still.”
“Right.” Soarin said dryly. He looked skyward and sighed quietly. Why was everything so… difficult?  “Look, I’m happy to just forget that little thing happened, we can just start fresh.” Soarin proposed. “Let whatever happened be behind us and just do… well... whatever it is ponies do when they start anew.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
“Good. Water under the bridge.” Soarin muttered, not picking up the trace of insincerity in Lightning Dust’s voice. He fidgeted around on the cloud for a moment, suddenly uncomfortable. “Go get some lunch or something, go find Cloud Chaser and hang out with Doc for a while. He’s a nice fellow, you’ll like him.”
Lightning Dust rolled her eyes silently. “Why can’t I stay with you? That guy just loves to run his mouth.”
“Because I feel it would be best for you to get used to the little quirks each of us possess.” Soarin said simply. ‘Also because it’d be awkward as hell having you around for the rest of the day…’ He thought. “While I’d normally leave such a call up to Rainbow Dash, she isn’t feeling too well.”
“And I guess that puts you in charge, right?”
“Eeyup.”
“How typical.” She snorted, making Soarin raise an eyebrow. “Whatever, you’re the boss.” She said with a shake of her head. Before Soarin could open his mouth she was gone in a blaze of lightning and a puff of smoke.
‘That girl has got some real personality issues.’ Soarin thought as he watched her wing away into the distance. She reminded him of Rainbow almost… but maybe a little less tame. “Not going to lie, that’s actually a bit of a turn on.” He muttered quietly.
“Why did I just say that?”
“Why did I say that?”
“Why am I talking to myself?” He pondered before shrugging and flopping back onto the cloud with a frustrated sigh. He had barely been lying there a minute before a cold tingling sensation crossed his nose. Snapping his eyes open he took in the massive sheet of grey which had drifted in. Not being held back by his formidable glare, the cloud had dared to invade his airspace.
“Oh balls.” Soarin muttered as a torrent of water suddenly descended from the cloud.