//------------------------------// // Silver linings beneath stormy skies // Story: Precious Moments // by Indulgence //------------------------------// The air stood stagnant, perfectly still, devoid of the norm of its myriad currents swirling unseen, as if the whole world had suddenly drawn in a deep breath and chosen to hold it. A single pale grey pegasus, the sole unintentionally camouflaged occupant of the loaded sky, moved in antithesis to her surroundings, tearing breakneck across the stilled ether. For many the difference might have gone beyond notice, the alien calm being drowned out under the rushing roar of desperate motion, but she could feel it on an instinctual level. Just as her wings impulsively tested the air in which she alighted and she equally unthinkingly felt the pull of what drove her onward, she knew what was coming. Ditzy Doo’s hearing stirred first at the low rumble as it began at her back, echoing as if far off yet quickly drawing closer as its singular base note rolled through her being. In turn her ears fell flat, ducking against her head beneath the flapping expanse of her blonde mane, whilst a shiver coursed within. Her fur bristled, pre-emptively reacting to what would inevitably follow the foreboding noise. From nowhere came the first drop, striking frozen against her spine from which its chill dug deep into her bones, swiftly followed by a hoard of others, falling as one from her backdrop of angry clouds against whose tones she was invisible. Almost instantly her form darkened, growing heavy with the added weight of water, her hair becoming a tangled mass, plastered tight to her skull. Only her wings remained relatively dry, the rain running off them in rivulets as the blade like appendages sliced through the downpour. Her now leaden frame made it more than clear exactly why she had the sky to herself, but despite this she pushed on, if anything flapping harder against the storm. There were not many things which Ditzy could claim to be good at, or put a different way there were far too many things that she had tried and failed at in her attempts. In all cases (although a severe understatement) it was entirely unfair, like she was playing against loaded dice or with half the cards missing from the deck: written off by unintentional clumsiness as useless and therefore cheated. Her brief mandatory time as a weather pony was a clear example of this. Her skills in flight were as a good as any other pegasus, better in a few cases, that however was never allowed to be enough. To marshal the clouds one had to fly yes, but more than that do so with precision as part of a group, one in a great balletic many, all as interconnected cogs aware of one another and moving in close proximity towards a single goal. This was where it all fell down, multitasking alone being a strain, but atop of this becoming next to impossible through the unsynchronised confusion of her vision. In so many things she had failed thus, hopeful plans coming to nothing or letting others down by her own inadequacy, but never in what mattered most. This was her one little success, which outshone every shadow, making her present minor task as vital as it was. Far below (a world stained in gloomier tones like the long faded stills of some old film reel) what had been a dense sea of pointed treetops became neat fields of thatched rooves, furrowed by the cobbled tracks of streets slick with water. Next to no life stirred. Few chose to brave the freed tumult, the winds having picked up, released as the ether’s overdue exhale, loosed to blow as focused blasts down every channelled path. Those that had chosen to venture forth scurried quickly under the inadequate cover of hunched shoulders, a scant minority having had either pause or regard to don coats, most as her hurrying towards a higher goal and likewise soaked to the skin. *Dong* A new sound rose to Ditzy from the village beneath, the slow chime being struck twice more successively with foreboding regularity, marking the alarm of her internal clock as much as that of the town hall’s towering timekeeper. Although it seemed utterly impossible her pace was quickened in response still further, will overpowering any mere bodily protest. She had already been forced into squinting through the oncoming torrent, lacking in goggles forgotten in the rush of morning, and now in acceleration her peering became all the harder. It was difficult enough at the best of times to try and command her recalcitrant irises to retain focus, let alone now: half veiled and surrounded by chaos, but the clock was ticking and so she scanned all that she could discern in the blurry images. Then she saw it, her goal, both eyes for a moment granted total clarity as they came together in sync in spying a slate roofed building set apart in a ring of sports fields and playgrounds. She made directly for it, becoming a dart as she dived near vertical at the barn like structure’s driveway, struggling through the again doubled images of other crowded ponies outside as she succeeded in touching lightly down at a hover. The grey pegasus panted, her whole body weary under its own weight, considerably added to by the full sponge of her coat and the leaden strands of mane splayed across her shoulders. She now stood a little aside from her audience, as per usual receiving a few turned sideways glances, shaken heads and rolled eyes at her state, but she did not care: she had made it. The doors of the schoolhouse burst wide open, finally letting pass the excited tide they had held back. First Ditzy’s right eye and then the left, each time the other’s twin orb listing lazily and infuriatingly off in another direction, panned the swell, seeking out a single shape in amongst the colourful chaos. ‘Mommy!’ Through the throng a young unicorn called out, her grey form only just slightly darker than her mother’s normally (although now mostly hidden beneath the pale violet covering of her hooded coat), as she pushed her way forward. With some considerable effort she squeezed her way out from the crowd, proceeding to gallop across the small distance between them, jumping up into a pair of waiting wings which moved to catch her. Hey Muffin, how was your day? Ditzy gave the precious form held in her feathers a light squeeze, nuzzling into the short strands of her golden mane as she in turn felt the filly nuzzle her neck in their hug. She gave a warm smile as her daughter drew back again. ‘My day’s been really good, well actually half good ‘cause we had to do a whole bunch of tests to start off the new year which was really boring, but I aced them’ Dinky announced proudly. ‘They’re in my bag so they don’t get wet, but you can see them back home. Speaking of which’ she mock recoiled, being deposited softly on the floor, ‘you’re soaked!’ The pegasus nodded, her continued smile becoming a humoured grin, enjoying her daughter’s giggles as she shook away a cloud of water droplets caught in her fur, showering her surroundings which included the filly. ‘Hey, cut it out!’ the daughter managed, struggling through both laughter and a haze of thrown off droplets. ‘Anyway, how’re you?’ I’m fine darling, thank you, pretty tired to be honest but all the better now. Ditzy shrugged her heavy shoulders, attempting to convey a thankfulness in her expression, still turned up at its edges, nodding further smiles and adding a pointed hoof gesture. Let’s head home. --- What had been a fierce storm had become a mere drizzle, although its skies remained dully clouded still brighter in that the sun now managed to shine through its thinnest veils. On the ground meanwhile two figures made their way leisurely homeward, the mother trailing in her youngest daughter’s wake, the latter amusing herself in leaping between the scattering of settled puddles dotting their route. Ditzy’s smile remained at full force unabated, its owner still tired and damp as well as now increasingly feeling the cold air’s chill, but nonetheless content. A little way ahead Dinky would every so often glance back, a grin wide on her own face, simply seeming to enjoy the attentive encouragement of her silent audience. I’m so proud of you Muffin. Therein was the hardest part of living with herself and her being’s lack of eloquence. In most things Ditzy could never be brought to describe her absent speech as a blessing, it having of course brought her no small amount of torment in her growing up, but equally it largely defied the alternative title of curse which might otherwise seem deserved. She had learned in time to live with it, as just a quirk or daily nuisance to be overcome, and even if the slights and teasing of other’s voices were the main companion to her silence this had at the very least hardened her shell. Here however she clearly felt the weight of what she was denied from saying: not being able to give much deserved praise, vocalise the sheer depths of her pride and care, or express the unconditional love which she held within. Still a few steps in front Dinky burst into a fit of exceptionally raucous laughter as she landed heavily in a particularly large puddle, the immense resulting splash almost dwarfing her size, her carefree hysteria releasing a couple of stray sparks from her horn. Ditzy beamed back at the filly overcome by giggling, the younger unicorn again taking a moment to glance over her shoulder, their golden eyes coming to meet. For the pegasus her own excessive expressions had also always been a source for mockery, often interpreted as comedic or caricature, but what else did she have to hoof beyond her visage by which to be understood through? Here in particular, as she looked back at what was most precious to her in the entire world, she meant every warm syllable she aimed to write in her face’s features and hoped against hope that at least some small amount of it was conveyed forth. Her daughters were after all her single shining triumphs, her small silver lining, a success beyond herself that she was proud to maybe claim some tiny part in. And that was more than enough. The pair’s path reached its end, the rain that had dogged their passage throughout inevitably choosing to slow to a stop at the doorstep, on the cusp of entering the dry cosiness of the waiting cottage and not before. Not that it really mattered, or Ditzy really minded. Her tired form had faced the brunt of the storm and she was both drained and sodden to say the least, that was however simply how things were, so why bother to dwell on the unchangeable hoof that she had been dealt? No; at present what mattered was getting inside, seeing what great accomplishments Dinky was so desperate to show her, whilst waiting on Amethyst’s later arrival, and then of course coming up with something to make for tea. The journey which had led her to here was ultimately unimportant, although it was of course easy to slip into focusing on every wrong turn, dead end and poor choice that much of it had consisted of. At the pegasus’ side stood her youngest daughter, in whom the fatigue of a long day seemed to have finally caught up as she cuddled against her mother’s wing for support, with and through both who and her sister she was content.