To Turn a Life Around

by TheEngineer

Eighteen days later

Chapter 7: Eighteen days later

These days are starting to go by a lot quicker, I guess I'm starting to get used to living with three more souls walking about in my house. It's odd really, to think that someone could possibly get used to living with three colorful ponies that talk. But I did exactly that in less than a month.

Twilight has been sleeping less and less because of her work on that spell that would take the three mares back home. She keeps talking about this being a 'composite spell', which is at it's very core, more than one spell combined into one. Not unlike the composite materials I work with, but I digress, she has been studying this spell and the residue it left behind, and somehow does so from the comforts of my library. It seems to me that she has made progress in her studies though, Twilight believes that she will require certain runes that will somehow assist her. Stuff that I will never fully understand really.

Rainbow has made a surprising amount of progress on her skateboard. This is the mare's third week on Earth, and she already mastered cruising around and doing olleys. Honestly, I am somewhat jealous of her progress since It took me months to get to her level.

Pinks has basically annexed my kitchen, it has now become her domain and she prepares our meals pretty much every day because she really wants to. If it makes her happy, why not?

And Ted has finally pulled through with the job, now all three of the mares were technically born on Earth according to the law. I guess that's something that should be covered in a bit more detail, he came to my place a few days before delivering the paperwork so that a few things could be straightened out...

...

*Knock**Knock**Knock*

"Just a minute!" I called, signaling the three mares to go upstairs and hide. Once I saw Pinkie Pie's tail disappear around the bend, I walked over to the door to see who it was. I guess it was safe to say it was a pleasant surprise.

"Ted! Good to see you, come in."

"Thanks, great to see you too."

"So, what brings you here?"

"Remember? I said that I wanted to meet your new friends before I finish this."

"Oh yeah, wait a sec. You can come out guys!" The three mare came down stairs and froze when they saw my friend, "This is Ted, the guy I told you all about before."

Twilight apparently had the transformation spell done while they were hiding, clever girl.

"Erm, Matt? They're human." Ted pointed out.

"Ted, hows your memory?" I began incredulously, "I told you that Twilight can use her magic to transform the three into humans."

"You say that like magic is a fact."

"It is a fact! It's one of the univers-" Twilight began before I nonchalantly interrupted her.

"It's a fact Ted, I asked the same question before."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you all. If Matt thinks you three are worth protecting, then I'm here to back him up." Ted greeted.

"Hiya! Thank you for what you're doing for us Teddy! I'm Pinkie Pie, by the way." Pinkie greeted while lunging for Ted's hand. Pinkie learned about hand shakes not too long ago, and she was now practicing by vigorously shaking Ted's hand.

"Uh, nice to meet you too." Ted said awkwardly. In a desperate attempt to get away from the brutal hand shake, Ted began greeting the closest other mare in disguise. "You must be Rainbow Dash, dig the hair by the way." Ted said, while keeping a short distance from Pinkie.

"Hey, I heard a lot about you from Matt. You sound like a pretty cool guy." Rainbow said with a smile.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Ted replied smugly before turning to Twilight. "So, that was miss hyper, and there's the athlete, you must be..."

"Twilight Sparkle." Twilight finished for Ted while briefly, and properly shaking his hand.

"Okay, those were the introductions. How about we sit down and have some tea?" I offered.

"Oh, Oh! I'll do it!" Pinkie began.

"No Pinks, I got this. How about you get to know Ted some more while I do the kitchen work this time?" I commanded. That didn't deflate Pinkie too much though.

I came back a while later with a tray. Apparently Twilight reversed the transformation spell for Ted to see, and I got to see Ted's mouth hit the floor (metaphorically of course).

"I know that I was mentally preparing myself to see something like this, but it's still very... Shocking." Ted began.

"Yeah, and it's even more shocking to realize that you get used to it." I replied as I served everyone and everypony a cup of tea.

The second Rainbow got her cup, she hovered her hooves above it, sticking her tongue out in concentration and rolled the steam into a small ball, courtesy of Pegasus cloud walking abilities. Rainbow then launched the small cloud projectile at Ted in what I assumed was a demonstration.

The small cloud smashed into Ted's shirt and scattered, leaving Ted in awe. "That was awesome." Ted managed to comment. All the cyan Pegasus did in response was lean back in her chair with one of her signature smug grins.

"Alrighty Ted, knowing you, I am sure that there's also a business side to this, right?" I said, cutting to the chase.

"As always," Ted began, "Besides from coming here for a nice chat with your friends, I also want to make sure that we get the naming situation straightened out. You guys can choose a first name, but the last name thing is fixed since I'm putting you three at the end of different family trees."

"Oh, right. Names here are different, Um... I got nothing." Rainbow said.

"Ted? I don't think they are very well acquainted with human names." I pointed out.

"Maybe you two could help us out?" Twilight offered. Ted and I glanced at each other and smirked.

"Hey Matt? Does she look like a Kathy to you?" Ted asked, looking at Rainbow.

"No, no. She's more of a Kaitlin, don't you think?" I responded, playing along with the opportunity that was given to us.

"Yeah, Kaitlin sounds appropriate." Ted agreed with a nod.

"Now, nerdy looking.... How about Gabriela?" I offered.

"Nah, she's not that kind of nerdy," Ted began, Twilight seemed to be getting somewhat annoyed. Short temper, that one. "How does Ashley sound?"

"Sounds perfect." I agreed.

Ted and I just looked and Pinkie Pie for a few moments, she just waited with a smile. Only one person came to mind when I looked at Pinkie, Ted and I just looked at each other, apparently we were both thinking the same thing.

"Leslie." We both said in mutual agreement, both of us thinking of a certain baker gal who is into similar antics.

"So? What do you all think?" I asked. They all nodded in agreement, Twilight seemed a bit confused though.

"Why did you two say Leslie simultaneously when you were choosing a name for Pinkie Pie?" Twilight asked out of curiosity.

"Well a friend of ours, her name is Leslie, has a rather hyper personality. Not unlike Pinkie Pie over there." Ted explained simply.

"And, conveniently enough, she is also a baker." I added.

"Oh." Twilight said.

"Oh? That's a big oh!" Pinkie began, "Oh, I really really wanna meet this gal oh!"

"Yeah, unfortunately, she moved out to New York. She started her very own bakery somewhere in Manhattan." Ted replied.

"Wait, don't you mean Manehattan?" Rainbow questioned.

"No... It's Manhattan, get it straight." Ted retorted.

"Wait, is there a city in Equestria named Manehattan?" I inquired.

"Yeah, there is." Rainbow replied. Twilight and I exchanged glances, our worlds may be more connected than we thought.

...

And that was that. Most of the conversation afterwards was just Ted learning about Equestria, really. He came in and handed the paperwork to me himself a week later, saying that sending it by mail would have caused too much suspicion.

Yesterday was Tuesday, three weeks since the mares came into my home. That was a special day at work, we finally finished our job with the damaged 777. Brand new port-side wing and all, and that was when the foreman called me into his office.

...

"Mr. Anderson!" Someone called from behind me. I looked away from the paint job I was doing to see one of my crew members, Dobson, standing there. With a sigh, I put down the paint gun and walked over to him while taking off my mask.

"What do you want? We need to get this done soon." I asked.

"Simmons wants you in his office," Dobson began before taking on a harsh tone, "Now."

"Okay, take over for me, will you?" I answered as I handed him my mask and motioned towards my paint gun.

I walked towards the other end of the hangar where Mr. Simmons' office resides. What bone could he possibly have to pick with me? I thought as I neared my destination. I arrived at the door and knocked briefly.

I was quickly answered with a, "Come in!" to which I complied with. Simmons was sitting at his desk, chin sitting on his fists.

"Was there a reason for calling me over?" I asked. He simply motioned for the chair in front of me, I thanked him and sat down in front of him.

"Mr. Anderson," He began very formally, "How long have you been working here?"

"Since I graduated highschool. Six years now."

"And how long has it been since you were given the task of being one of my crew chiefs?" He inquired.

"Almost three years sir." I answered, not quite knowing where this conversation was headed.

"You see, I have been given the offer to recommend one of my workers for an inspector's position. Now, I had to pull a few strings to make sure that I wouldn't lose a good worker and keep that inspector a local one."

Simmons paused, "I also couldn't help but notice that your FAA record is completely clean, not one mistake since you started working here. Now, you sure haven't worked as long as some of these guys here. Some personnel in other shifts have been in this line of work for over thirty years, but you, you have one thing that they don't."

Simmons stopped to take a short breath, "You, Matthew Anderson, have made no errors in this line of work, and the FAA smiles when they see something like that. I want to recommend you for the local inspector's position for this hangar as well as the local airports." He finished with a smile.

I was shell shocked. I had not expected an opportunity like this to show up anywhere near the next four or five years! And yet here I was, being given a promotion that isn't expected to be had without seniority.

"Sir, I would love to be given that opportunity." I accepted gratefully.

"Now, don't get too far ahead of yourself. I said that I'm recommending you, you have to be interviewed first."

"Okay, when will this interview be?" I asked.

"It will be on Thursday, you don't have to work that day. Now, as for the interview itself, it will be with another inspector, an FAA representative and yours truly at this address." Simmons explained as he handed me a business card.

"I don't need to remind you how much the FAA loves black, and do NOT under dress for this. Go, finish your shift before I change my mind." Simmons said with a small smile.

"Thank you." I said as I left his office.

...

So, that interview will be tomorrow at eight o'clock. I should be fine, I have a great record and a great work ethic. There's nothing to be worried about.

I can't sleep, too much to look forward to tomorrow. Why does sleeplessness strike at the worst possible moments?

...

I woke up slowly, my eyelids fighting to stay shut. Eventually I beat my eyelids into submission by rubbing my eyes a bit, when I could finally see, I saw a cyan blur suddenly move.

"Oh hey, you're up." Rainbow said.

"Oh hey, you were watching me sleep. That isn't creepy at all." I commented.

"Hey, me watching you sleep is not the worst thing that could happen to you. Besides, it's actually kind of.... peaceful." Rainbow retorted. That last part did not entirely put me at ease.

"Okay, I'm going to ask now. Why were you waiting for me to be up?" I asked.

"Because... You promised me we would go skating today, for the whole day." She pointed out.

Oh yeah, almost forgot about that. I actually did say that we would go skateboarding until our legs are screaming for no more...

"Okay, you got me there. Just, lemme get ready, you should probably do the same." I said.

"Got it." Rainbow said with a nod, and then she was off. I guess it was about time that I came through with this, she's been waiting for quite some time for me to take her skating again.

I got out of bed with little struggling, and with a few stretches, I was off to the shower.

I was now fully dressed with proper skateboarding attire, which is basically worn jeans and a graphic tee, and heading downstairs for some breakfast. I'm guessing Pinkie Pie beat me to the kitchen.

I landed at the bottom of the stairs, and sure enough, the scent of pancakes wafted into my nostrils. Yep, Pinkie Pie beat you to the kitchen.

I walked in to see that everypony was already awake. Pinkie Pie was quietly eating while reading a book and Twilight was absentmindedly sipping her coffee as Rainbow ate as quickly as Equinely possible.

"Mornin' everypony." I greeted as I sat down at the table.

"Gooooood morning Matty!" Pinkie exclaimed as she hoofed over my very own plate of Pinkie's pancakes, maybe I could call them Pinkiecakes?.

"Thanks Pinkie." I said as I dug into my meal. After a few bites, I looked over at Twilight and asked, "How's the progress with the spell coming along?"

Twilight looked up from her coffee and smiled, "Not long now Matthew, thanks for asking. I just need a few more days."

Just a few more days? Has it really been that long?

"That's... That's excellent news Twi!" I congratulated, "But I think that you could add some more sleep to your schedule, you don't look so good."

"I'm fine Matthew, thanks." Twilight said, shrugging me off.

"No, I think Matt has a point Twi. You really look like you need some rest. Besides, we aren't really in too much of a rush." Rainbow said in an effort to back me up.

Twilight just stared at her coffee mug for a while longer, "You know what? I think I could do with some rest, it gets a bit hard to think after staying awake for four days straight." Twilight announced, mostly to herself.

"Four days." I repeated, my face completely expressionless. Twilight nodded meekly and continued staring at the cup before her, I turned back to my plate after a few seconds.

"Annnyway, what are you reading there Pinkie?" I asked between mouthfuls of pancake.

"This other book I found in you library," Pinkie began as she looked back at the cover, "It's called: Of Mice and Men."

"What's with you and mouse-related literature Pinkie?" I asked, recalling that her previous book was Flowers for Algernon.

"I... Don't know..." Pinkie responded awkwardly.

...

Rainbow and I finished eating and I packed a small bag with three water bottles and spare shirts for the two of us (just in case humidity gets the best of us), and I also brought my suit so that I won't have to go to and fro the city. I can't forget that my interview is today at eight o'clock.

"C'mon Rainbow! The earlier we get there, the better!" I called from the front door. Mere moments later, Rainbow walked past me and into the SUV.

"Nice get-up by the way." Rainbow complimented, motioning towards the suit I had slung over my shoulder.

"Thanks." I replied.

"Why all the black though?" Rainbow asked.

"Because the FAA loves black." I responded simply. With that said, I placed the suit and the bag in the back of the SUV and we promptly set off to the city.

...

Moments into the ride, the sun started getting into my eyes. "Agh, glare. Rainbow? Could you go into the glove box in front of you and pull out a pair of shades?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure." She responded as she reached in front of her and eventually dug out a pair of aviators that I keep there, "Whoah, those are awesome." Rainbow commented in awe.

"You think so? I think there's another pair in there." I replied. Rainbow did not hesitate to go looking through the congested glove box once more and soon took out a pair of aviators identical to mine.

"Swag." Rainbow announced as she put them on. That gave me a hearty chuckle.

...

After a short time of driving in utter quietness, a bored Rainbow dash leaning towards the window began singing to herself. I decided to keep quiet and enjoy the show.

"Now Rainbow my dear, I cannot express my delight. It's abundantly clear that somewhere out here is a pet that will suit you just right." Rainbow sang in an abnormally soft voice.

"I can't wait to get started, but first let me set a few rules: it's of utmost importance, the pet that I get is something that's awesome and cool!" Rainbow continued singing, but this time in her own voice. It's probably a duet, I wonder if she changed the lyrics of a song she knows to fit her name in it... I wouldn't be surprised if she did.

"Awesome, cool, got it." Rainbow continued in that unnervingly soft voice, "I have so many wonderful choices just wait, you will see."

"I need something fast like a bullet to keep up with me!" Rainbow sang in her normal voice. Something in those lyrics tickled a part of my brain.

"Whoah, just hold on a minute there," I began, Rainbow looked back at me in surprise, "Did you just make those lyrics up now?" I asked.

"Erm, no. Fluttershy and I burst into song one time when I was getting a new pet. Why?" Rainbow responded.

"Because I had no idea that ponies understood the concept of a gun, that's why!" I retorted just a bit too loudly.

"Oh, that." Rainbow began, "Yeah, when I was a filly, they taught us in school about how our previous war, like a thousand years ago, was when guns were banned or something. So yeah, I know of the concept, but it's not like I've ever seen one before."

"Banned?"

"Yeah, because they are way too unequine. Too deadly."

"So, not even the princess's royal guards use them?"

"Nope."

"Well, that's one thing I learned today." I concluded, I increased the speed of the SUV ever so slightly as I reached for the radio.

"Wait," I paused, "Did you just say that you and your friend Fluttershy just burst into song?" I asked incredulously.

"Uh, yeah. It's not like I do that kind of stuff often, that's more of Pinkie Pie's thing." Rainbow replied.

Remember, you are done asking questions revolving around Pinkie Pie's nature. DO NOT PURSUE THE SUBJECT!

"How the heck do you just improvise lyrics like that?" I questioned.

Damn it Matt! Your brain tells you not to pursue the subject and you do the exact opposite! Why am I even here?

Rainbow simply shrugged, "I dunno, we just did."

Saved! You got your answer, don't dig a deeper hole Matt. At least do it for the sake of logic and reasoning.

"Okay then. On a side note, do you feel like listening to music?" I asked.

"Sure." Rainbow replied excitedly.

...

I parked the SUV in the parking lot of a park. "We're here." I announced.

Rainbow looked around for a bit, "Where are we going to practice?" she asked in confusion.

"There's a skate park not far from here, come on now." I replied. We both got out of the SUV and took our boards and the handy provisions bag, damn I forgot about food.

"Alright, follow my lead." I called back to Rainbow as I got a running start before mounting my board, she began to follow close behind.

After a short ride, three minutes give or take, we arrived at our destination. This was a brand new park, not even two years old yet. The cement was beautifully smooth, the ramps were perfectly positioned, and the rails weren't even bumpy. This was the perfect spot. There were only three other people in this rather large skate park, so congestion wasn't an issue either.

"Wow, this place is awesome." Rainbow commented as we stopped in front of it.

"It sure is, lets go!" I said as I flew past her, dropping off my bag at a nearby bench. Rainbow quickly recovered and followed suit.

I made my way to a three stair and attempted a tray flip. Unfortunately, I messed up and bailed out before I hurt myself.

"Damn, I need some practice." I commented on my skill work. I got a quick response in the form of Rainbow doing an ollie over a ledge, completely clearing it and landing on the other side without a hitch.

"Damn, you're making progress. Took me a good part of a year to master my ollie." I commented.

"Heh, thanks. I'm a really fast visual learner, or so they tell me, so it was easy to do it after I saw you do it a few times." Rainbow replied, awkwardly rubbing her neck.

"Well, I for one think you're ready for your first trick." I smiled.

"Okay, give me a challenge!" Rainbow said brightly.

"Alright, these are easy. It's called a pop shove-it, and it looks like this." I said as I performed my demonstration.

"You basically angle both of your feet like this, and it's pretty much like jumping forwards." I instructed. Rainbow then tried her first attempt at the trick, but the board went too high and she couldn't land on it.

"Argh, what went wrong with that?" Rainbow huffed.

"Hey, relax. You aren't expected to land it on your first try, and fortunately for you, I'm here to point out what you're doing wrong. You need to put a little more down force on your front foot, the rest of your maneuver was fine." I continued instructing as I attempted to calm Rainbow down.

"Okay, more down force. Got it." Rainbow replied and in one short breath, she went for it again. My mind was completely blown away, she freaking landed it in her second attempt!

"Wow, you're a natural!" I cheered, "A friggin' prodigy!"

Rainbow gave me a sheepish smile, "Is that all you got for me?" she said in quick recovery, her smile now covered by a smug grin.

"Okay... You really do learn quick, let's see if you can master that trick first though. Give me ten in a row!" I instructed.

...

The ten in a row thing really got to Rainbow, she kept getting to about six or seven before messing up and having to start over. I was doing circuits around the skate park and checking in on her every now and then. For this moment right now, I was in the zone and grinding a rail into submission.

I eventually succeeded and proceeded to head for the nearest ramp to make this a trick streak. Sadly, fate wouldn't let me have that and I somehow ended up flying past the ramp and onto the sidewalk outside of the skate park, almost running into two guys in suits.

"Oh man, sorry about that." I apologized.

One of the men smiled right before responding, "It's quite alright, no one was hurt."

I decided that this was the time to check on Rainbow, mostly because I just made myself look like an idiot, but also because I didn't check on Rainbow for some time.

"Seven!" *Swoosh* "Eight!" Rainbow was apparently almost there, I noticed that she hadn't noticed me yet, so I decided to just watch and see if she made it. *Swoosh* "Nine! C'mon Rainbow, almost there." *Swoosh* "Ten! Woohoo! Ten, I did it!" Rainbow cheered.

"Wow, you just mastered a trick in one hour... You just gained all of my skater respect." I commented at her progress so far. Rainbow turned around slightly stunned, she hadn't noticed me until then.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh, you saw that!? That was amazing!" Rainbow yelled like a little fan girl.

"Yeah, it was pretty damn amazing..." I trailed off.

"So, what's my next trick?" Rainbow asked eagerly. I looked at my watch, it was noon.

"How about some lunch first?" I offered, "I'm pretty hungry right now."

"Yeah, lunch sounds... Nice." Rainbow said, slightly out of breath.

"Alright, let's go restaurant hunting." I announced. With that said, I grabbed my bag and we were off. It felt surprisingly light, a quick check revealed to me that all of the water had been consumed.

...

Once we found our way out of the park, Rainbow and I stopped under a nice tree and began discussing lunch.

"So, what's there to eat around here?" Rainbow asked.

"Depends, what do you want to eat?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

I gave Rainbow a look.

"Just... Give me a few suggestions, there's a little too much variety around here." Rainbow said with an exasperated sigh.

"Um... Are you okay with eating meat?" I asked, wanting to know how small of a range of choice I have here.

"What?" Rainbow began before looking around and lowering her voice, leaning close to me, "I'm a pony, remember? Herbivore and such?"

"Yeah, you are. But right now, you are human. Different metabolism and different taste buds, remember?" I replied just as quietly.

"I dunno, it just feels weird thinking about it." Rainbow said, unsure of what to say. This was when I remembered that I did the same exact thing to Pinkie Pie.

Am I converting these mares into omnivore-ism?

"I just want to know what our options are right now." I replied simply. Nah, just opening boundaries.

"Well, I did try some chicken in flight school thanks to my ex-friend Gilda.... I guess it wasn't so bad. Sure, why the buck not?"

"Wait, buck? Isn't that a kick with your hind legs?"

"Um, yeah, but we sometimes use it as a substitute for foul language. Curse words were really, really frowned upon when I was a filly, so we found small loopholes in the system."

"Doesn't your friend Applejack like to buck apple trees?" I responded with a growing smirk. Rainbow's eyes began to widen right before she almost collapsed on the floor in laughter.

"Ahhhhahaha! How come I never noticed that before!? She loves to buck apple trees, it's genius!"

We both laughed for a while, Rainbow was in tears before she could recover.

"Oh, oh that was a good one." Rainbow said once her laughter died down, some people were staring at us because of all the noise we were making, but I didn't really mind.

"So, meat is fine then?" I asked.

"Yeah, as long as I have other stuff next to it too. You know, just in case I don't like it." Rainbow replied.

"Alright, Japanese food it is." I said with a clap.

"What's Japanese?" Rainbow asked with a slight tilt of her head.

"It's an ethnicity, Japan is a country and Japanese food is the type of food that originated from there." I explained.

"Oh, well, I'm going to stop asking so I can save some surprises for later." Rainbow thought out loud.

"Okay, I know a place that isn't too far down. Are you confident enough to skate in traffic?" I asked.

"Uh, sure. Just, don't go too far ahead of me, okay?"

"No problem, we aren't in any sort of rush."

"Alright, so, how far is it?"

"About ten blocks straight that way." I said, motioning down a street.

"Okay, what are we waiting for?" Rainbow asked, I shrugged.

"I dunno." I said as I mounted my board, timing it perfectly so that the traffic light was in our favor. Rainbow followed closely.

"I don't know if you already noticed, but when those lights that are facing us are green, it means that we are allowed to cross, red means that it's the perpendicular lane's turn to move!" I announced as I looked back, she was looking down wards, probably keeping an eye on the ground for any pebbles and debris. "Also, it's probably a good idea to be aware of the cars that rush past you!"

That snapped Rainbow out of her focus and she looked at me, "Oh yeah, sorry. Um, why are we riding against the traffic? It seems a little, you know, stupid."

"It's precisely so that you can be aware of the cars around you, this way nothing surprises you from behind." I called back.

After we covered four blocks, Rainbow suddenly rode past me, sticking her tongue out at me before overtaking me. I was caught by surprise and I watched as she used long, elegant kicks to push ahead of me. She has a really nice...

I shook the thought away and gave chase. Rainbow wants a race, she's gonna get a race. With long, powerful kicks, I quickly caught up to her.

"Wow, you're fast." Rainbow uttered, just loud enough for me to hear above the roaring of our boards and the cars around us, as I rode parallel to her.

"I know." I said with a smirk before going even further ahead, dodging a red pickup truck by mere inches while doing so. I looked back with a slight grimace at what could have been.

"Cutting it a little close there pal!" Rainbow called from behind.

"Yeah, sorry! We're almost there anyway."

...

We stopped in front of a sizable restaurant called Rising Sun Sushi.

"Jeez, so much fancy." Rainbow commented.

"Eh, not really. It's a lot more modest on the inside, but the food here is totally worth it."

With that, we walked in.

"Hi, table for two please." I said to the lady standing at the front.

"Sure, come right this way." The greeting lady said with a smile.

"Not too many people here." Rainbow commented.

"That's because most people are working right now." I replied.

"Heh,and you are getting a raise today." she remarked.

"Well, it's more of a promotion. Different job, but it does pay much better."

We sat down and looked at our menus.

"What? Why are all of these dishes named so... Weirdly?." Rainbow questioned.

"It's a different language, but since it's a name for the dish, that's how it's said in English too."

"Whatever, at least they give you a description of the dish right below that."

I didn't answer, I was busy choosing what I wanted for lunch.

"Oh cool, this one is all veggies." Rainbow said quietly to herself.

A waitress came to our table, and holy smokes she was hot, "Good afternoon, are you two ready to order?" she asked.

"Erm, not quite yet." I answered.

"Okay then, would you like some water in the meantime?"

I then remembered how thirsty I was, we ran out of water a while ago. "Yes, please."

She served us water and walked away. Rainbow cocked an eyebrow at me.

"What?" I asked.

"You don't actually think I didn't notice you staring, did you?" she said with a grin.

"Hey, don't judge."

"I'm not, she really is kinda hot." Rainbow said plainly.

"Well, thanks for understanding. I replied awkwardly.

"What do you think of those guys over there?" Rainbow added as she motioned towards two men in black suits, they were near the window seat looking the other way.

"I dunno, I guess they could be called kinda handsome. I wouldn't know though." I replied, "So, any questions about what you want for lunch?"

"Uh, yeah. What exactly is sushi? That's half the menu and all it says is 'with salmon and avocado and blah blah etcetera'."

I grinned at her annoyed expression, the little hand movement was the real icing on the cake.

"It's a roll that's held together with rice and seaweed. The center of it holds whatever is in the description." I explained.

"Oh.. That actually sounds kinda good." Rainbow said with slight relief.

Eventually, the smokin' waitress came back to ask if we were ready to order. With a nod of agreement, we began placing our orders.

"I'll have the volcano roll special with the soup and teriyaki salmon with vegetables."

"Okay, and you?"

"Um... I'll have the California roll with.. Um, I can't pronounce that, number sixteen?"

"Alright, what will you have for drinks?"

"Coke please."

"Um, do you have cider?"

"We have apple flavored green tea, would you like that?"

"Sure, not too hot please."

"Okay then."

...

Some small talk later, the waitress came back with a tray that had everything we ordered at once. How do they balance those trays? It looks so hard!

"Volcano roll special for you, and these are for you. Enjoy your meal." The waitress said with a wink.

"I really hope that wink wasn't for me." Rainbow said sickly.

"You noticed the lazy eye too huh?" I asked.

"Yuhuh.. I couldn't tell for sure if she was talking to me or you, it was so confusing!" Rainbow said quietly.

"Well, she had to give up something to have such a glorious body." I remarked with a smirk.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Rainbow said as she looked down at her plate, "Uh, where are the forks?" she asked.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," I began with a devious grin, "You eat this with chop sticks." I challenged.

"What, this package here?" Rainbow asked, picking up the paper wrapping the chop sticks came in.

"Eyup, with those." I smirked.

"How the hay are you supposed to use these to eat?" she questioned.

"Like this." I said as I swiftly picked up a piece of what I think was a piece bok choy, and placed it into my mouth. "It's easy." I said with my mouth full.

"How... What? Show me how you're holding those." Rainbow demanded. I complied and showed it to her.

"Just hold it like this, only this finger really moves. The rest of your hand is completely still." I explained, I think Rainbow got it now and she was about to try it.

After several attempts of trying to catch a slippery steamed vegetable, she gave up and stabbed a piece of sushi with one of the chop sticks instead, "This is so much easier Matt." she said with a smirk before sticking the roll into her mouth. She chewed tentatively at first, looking around the room as she chewed.

"Well?" I asked.

"Not bad, I like the chewiness of it." Rainbow declared, "I mean, it's not amazing, but I can see why people would like it."

"Okay then." I said as I swiftly scooped one of my own sushi into my mouth. I forgot about the name 'volcano' and my sinuses immediately opened up to the presence of wasabi. "Holy shit, that is spicy!" I exclaimed as I reached for my soda and chugged a good amount.

Rainbow was holding her mouth, trying not to laugh. "You okay there Matt? Your eyes seem to be watering a little over there."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just didn't expect it to be so... Intense." I replied between gasps for air. It wasn't as bad as meeting the dude, that is a terrible experience that I go through with every time I go to that restaurant with company. This just caught me by surprise.

"It can't be that bad, can it?" Rainbow questioned as she picked one of my sushi rolls and ate it. She had a slightly delayed response, giving her time to swallow it before realizing her mistake. She quickly covered her mouth, as if it would relieve the sinus opening assault on your mouth that is wasabi, and then lunged at what was left of her glass of water, since the tea would not have helped at all.

"By Celestia's beard, that is spicy!" Rainbow managed to say after eliminating her glass of water. A nearby waitress heard all of the commotion and was kind enough to provide us shot glasses of milk. That was instant relief, I then gave Rainbow a challenging look and she needed no words to be said.

"Um, miss? Can we have two glasses of milk please?" Rainbow asked.

"Sure," The lady replied with a smile, she whispered into my ear as she walked away, "We'll just add that to your check."

Clever girl.

..

We had already finished the rest of our meal...

"Okay, there's eight rolls left. That means there's four for the two of us, I don't need to tell you that the one who lasts the longest without touching the milk wins right?"

"Right."

"On the count of three.... Three!"

We stuffed the four rolls into our mouths and had a stare down as we chewed. Soon enough, we were both tearing up from our screaming tongues.

...

"I knew I would win! This stuff doesn't compare to Rainbows!" Rainbow Dash announced her victory, people began staring at our audacity, which didn't bother me in the slightest.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Check please." I called.

"Oh good, the manager was about to ask you two to leave." the waitress said in an amused tone.

..

"Oh, that was great! I loved the look on your face when you went for your glass. It was all like this!" Rainbow said as we walked, making funny faces at me that I am sure were not the ones I made when I desperately grabbed my glass.

"Oh god, at least I lasted longer than I did in the dude challenge." I remarked.

"Oh, that thing you did with Pinkie? She told me how she saved you some money on dinner." Rainbow began, "So, how much time until your interview?"

I looked at my watch, "It's about 1:30 right now, I'll be making my way to the office that they are interviewing me in at around 7:00." I replied.

"Oh, cool. We still have time to skate right?"

"Yes, the prodigy still has time to skate today." I remarked.

"Cool, but, let's walk there. I'm kinda full and I want my stomach to settle down before I get more practice" Rainbow said.

I nodded sagely, "Words of a wise Pegasus." I said quietly, making sure no one heard that.

...

We arrived back at the skate park, there were a few more people in it now.

"Alright chief, what's my next trick?" Rainbow asked.

"It is, pause for dramatic effect, front side 180." I said right before mounting my board to demonstrate. "This is your beginner's trick to grinding on things." I announced after I landed back on the ground.

"Cool," Rainbow began, "So, any tips?"

"Just ollie and shift your weight to your left."

"But you went to the right..."

"Your left because you ride opposite to the way I ride, Kaitlin." I ended with some emphasis on that.

Rainbow gave me a look before trying the trick herself. She didn't land it, but then again, it's her first attempt.

"Try using your shoulders to shift your weight." I offered before riding around and doing my own thing.

..

I rounded about to a ledge and I successfully kick flipped off of it, I landed just fine, but I didn't expect to see a riding Rainbow to do a front side right next to me.

"Gah!" We both crashed into each other and fell onto the ground. Rainbow fell on top of me, her face contorted in confusion, inches away from mine.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, this concrete is surprisingly comfortable."

"Um, yeah."

"Rainbow?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I hear our boards rolling away from us."

"I think I hear it too."

Rainbow suddenly broke the awkward stare and began to get up. She offered to help me up, but I declined the offer, getting up quickly. We began making our way to our boards, but a fellow skater got to them and pushed them our way.

"Dude, I saw that fall. Should have caught it on film, it was awesome! Seriously, sick kickflip bro." The random guy said as he continued on his way to do a 360 shove it and left the park.

"That guy was certainly random.." I said as I popped the board up to my hand.

"Yeah, weird." Rainbow said as she did the same.

...

Rainbow was getting her front sides pretty damn high, almost landing them too.

This dudette here just made as much progress that I made in almost seven months in a day. Eventually she landed the trick, and my mind proceeded to get blown to a proper proportion of the awesomeness.

"You are a natural on that thing, Rainbow." I muttered.

"I guess I'm pretty good at it." Rainbow said modestly.

"You're kidding right? You are the best I have ever seen. Seriously, I don't think anyone has ever learned a quickly as you." I praised.

"Thanks Matt." Rainbow said with a hint of sincerity.

"Well, I think it's time to celebrate a bit. Would you care for some frozen yogurt?" I offered.

Rainbow tilted her head a few degrees, "And what exactly is that?" she asked.

"It's basically ice cream, but made with yogurt instead. It's actually really good." I replied.

"Well, okay then. No meat, right?"

"No.. That's just weird."

...

We arrived at this place I knew for a while now. I tried it once and I've been waiting to go with a friend eventually, it's called the Green Mango.

Rainbow and I walked in and sat down at what is essentially a 'yogurt bar'.

"Hey there, what can I get for you two?"

...

"Wow, this stuff is great! The fruit on the sides just adds on to its awesomeness." Rainbow complemented, I noticed the cashier dude nearby suddenly smile.

"Glad you like it." I replied.

We ate quietly for a bit. I was looking at the shiny trophies in front of me. Wow, they sure earned a lot of awards.... Wait, second place on a marathon? I think there are some personal trophies here too. Impressive.

Something suddenly caught my eye, it wasn't what lay in front of me, but its reflection. Right there on a large, shiny trophy, was the reflection of two men.

Where did I see those two before?

I suddenly got a flashback of my incident in the skate park, I ran into two guys, the same two men in suits were at the restaurant too, and now right behind Rainbow and I. They were looking at us.

Are they following us? Holy shit, why would they be following us?.... Oh no.

"Rainbow?" I asked nervously and quietly, staring at the trophy, trying not to get the two men to realize I know what they are up to.

"Yeah?" She replied awkwardly.

"Do you trust me?" I asked.

"Sure.... Why wouldn't I?" Rainbow replied hesitantly.

"Look at the trophy I'm staring at and do not look back."

Rainbow looked at the trophy and noticed the reflection. She lowered her voice and stared straight ahead, "Who are they?"

"I don't know, but I think they were following us since we were at the skate park."

"Why? Who?" Rainbow asked quietly.

"I dunno, but we need to leave, now." I said as I left a tip on the counter and made my way for the door. Rainbow followed closely, trying her best to act natural.

I think my smile was a bit too forced, but I can't change that now. Rainbow and I walked at a brisk pace, boards in hand, not looking back.

"Rainbow, I need you to follow me closely, we are going to haul some serious ass right now. Maybe we can lose them, hopefully I'm wrong about them following us." I paused, I saw two dark figures in my peripheral as I looked at Dash, "Better safe than sorry though."

I got a running start mounted my board, Rainbow did the same. We soon got off the sidewalk and into the street, and I kicked as hard as I could. Rainbow was right next to me, rush hour had just started but the streets were fairly clear. Just our luck, it would be harder to lose our mystery pursuers.

I looked back at Rainbow, she was starting to lag behind. Her legs aren't used to this kind of use yet. I need to think of something, quick!

I spotted an alleyway that we could use, I looked back at Rainbow and signaled her to turn right. She got the message when I swerved into the alley and she followed suit.

"I..." I began, breathing deeply, "Think.... We lost them."

"Yeah...." Rainbow was more out of breath than me, sweat was covering her brow and forearms, "I.... Think we did."

We laid ourselves back against the nearest wall for a very much needed rest. We got back up after a minute of hard breathing and lazily made our way back to the SUV, trying our best to make sure we weren't being shadowed.

I sat in the driver's seat with Rainbow on shotgun, simply staring ahead and still breathing a bit hard.

"Rainbow?"

"Yeah?"

"You... Need to change your shirt." I said as I started to giggle. She looked at herself to see what I meant, her shirt was soaked with sweat and it made the shirt stick to her torso, but what she didn't see was the fact that the back of it was covered in jet-black dust, probably from leaning on that wall in the alleyway. That made me go into full on laughter, it was more than probably induced by exhaustion.

"What? Seriously, what?" Rainbow asked in confusion, then she noticed something on my shirt. Her eyes widened in comprehension and she broke into full on laughter as well, "Matt, the same goes for your shirt too!"

"Oh man, you're right... I need... I need to change my clothes," I paused, "Oh right, the interview." I then glanced at my watch, it was 7:00.

"Rainbow, I think we need to get going, otherwise I'm going to be late for that interview." I announced.

"Alright, let's get out of here." Rainbow replied.

...

We stopped by a local thrift store where I changed into my suit and Rainbow changed into her spare shirt. We then hastily made our way out before anyone noticed that we weren't buying anything.

We then climbed back into the SUV and went hunting for the address on the business card that I was given.

"That suit looks good on you."

"Thanks."

"So, where is this place?" Rainbow asked.

"Honestly? Some part of town that I never really visit." I replied.

"Why?"

"Because there's nothing fun to do in this part of town, and the FAA loves boring stuff and paperwork." I replied simply.

"Oh, of course." Rainbow commented with a roll of her eyes.

...

"Oh, there it was."

"We passed this spot three times! How did we not see it there?"

"I dunno, but it's a good thing that I gave myself an hour to look for this place. It's good to be punctual for these kinds of things, and ten minutes early is a green light for interviewers."

"Okay then, how long is this going to take?"

"I'm not sure, but you are welcome to come with me so that you don't have to wait in a car, bored to death."

"Sure, if that's okay with them though."

"Don't worry, they shouldn't mind if you wait in the waiting room."

"Haha, I see what you did there. C'mon, stop wasting your time."

...

We waited for a few minutes in a rather lavish waiting room on the eighth floor of an office building. It wasn't too long until three men came out to greet me, one of which I already knew.

"Hello, Mr. Anderson I presume?" asked a tall, slender African man. His accent was heavy, yet cultured.

"Yes, hello Mr. Simmons." I greeted.

"Hello, these here are the two others I mentioned before. This is Mr. Naidoo, he is our FAA representative for today."

"Mr. Naidoo? You wouldn't happen to be related to the Kumi Naidoo would you?" I asked lightly.

The tall man chuckled briefly, "No, no, I am not a direct descendant of the great human rights activist. I'm just a regular man." we then shook hands.

"And, this is Mr. Goldleaf, he is the FAA inspector chosen for this interview." Simmons then motioned to the other, shorter man.

"A pleasure to meet you." Goldleaf greeted.

"Likewise." I replied as I shook his hand.

"And, who would this be, a friend of yours?" Naidoo asked.

"Uh, yes. Is it okay if she waits here?" I asked. Rainbow stayed quiet the entire time, odd.

"Yes, it's fine. Come, shall we begin?" Naidoo responded.

...

"So, Mr. Anderson. What do you think makes you capable of undertaking a job like mine?" Mr. Goldleaf asked.

"Well, I always know what I'm doing when it comes to the aviation industry. With my hands on experience, I am very confident that I will be able to know where defects and damages are most likely to occurs, especially since I will have procedures to guide me as I work." I replied professionally.

"You certainly show a lot of confidence in your skill." Mr. Naidoo commented.

"In this field, I would say that you have to be confident, lest you want to make a mistake. That is something that is unacceptable in aviation, lives are at stake when this kind of work is being done."

"But, don't you think that confidence may ultimately lead to those mistakes, Anderson?" Mr. Simmons asked.

"I respectfully disagree," I began, "There is a fine line between confidence and cockiness, I have found that line long ago and do my best to not pass it."

...

More than an hour passed in this interview. It somehow took a detour of multiple aviation related pop-quizzes, as if they were testing my basic aviation knowledge, a test that I passed with flying colors.

"Well, Mr. Anderson, I know that this is somewhat unconventional, but I believe that this has gone very well and your inspector's training in Colorado should begin soon." Mr. Goldleaf announced.

Wait what?

"What do you mean, Colorado?" I questioned.

"What? An inspector's life is in the travel bag, you did not actually expect to stay here in Pennsylvania did you?" Goldleaf pointed out.

"No, I was under the impression that this was exactly what this would be. I was told that I would stay here." I said, lowering my voice and silently staring daggers at Mr. Simmons, he gave me an apologetic look.

"Well, I'm sorry, that is not the case. But, by my records, you have no family ties holding you here, so I don't see why you can't just move out." Goldleaf said, not realizing on how thin the ice he was treading on actually was. Simmons immediately picked up on what Goldleaf said, he already knew about what happened and what I went through. Heck, he was probably giving me this chance out of pity if anything.

"What... Did you just say?" I asked threateningly.

Back off, you could make this work. At the very least do not make yourself look like a fool!

"I beg your pardon?" Goldleaf asked.

"Uh, Mr. Goldleaf, I don't think you fully understand Mr. Anderson's situation," Simmons said, trying to keep the peace amongst gentlemen.

"And what would that be?" He questioned in a tone that I picked up as 'asshole'.

"The fact that my entire family died in a single day and the only thing that I truly have to keep them as a memory is the house my aunt used to live in and the places I used to spend time with them, that is what my situation is." I snarled. Goldleaf was ever so slightly taken aback, but did a commendable job of keeping a stoic pose. I then realized that I had stood up.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Goldleaf said in a monotone voice, Mr. Naidoo is a sharp man, and decided to stay out of this conversation.

"I'm so sorry, I was under the impression that Anderson would stay as a local inspector as well. Could we not make a compromise of sorts?" Mr. Simmons offered.

"Sorry, but we cannot change all of this paperwork for one man. This was an international inspector's position." Goldleaf declared in a completely unsympathetic tone.

"No, you sir are not sorry. And you made a much sorrier attempt at hiding the fact that you aren't. I believe that this interview is over." I said, walking away. I opened the door and made my way to Rainbow to tell her we were going, only to be stopped by Mr. Naidoo.

"Wait, Mr. Anderson. Before you go, I just want to say for all that it may be worth, I am sincerely sorry for your loss. I... lost my daughter as well, to a vehicular accident. You may not be able to give you this job, but I can give you this advise, get up. Get up as quickly as you can and jump back into the saddle. Otherwise, you may never leave the terrible pit you may still be climbing out of." Mr. Naidoo said with a heavy sense of empathy.

"Thank you, you're a good man Mr. Naidoo." I said as I firmly shook his hand. I then turned and signaled Rainbow that it was time for us to leave.

The elevator ride and the walk out of the building was completely quiet. No sound, Rainbow did not speak and my mind blocked out other noises.

Rainbow finally spoke when we left the building, "I guess I don't have to ask you how it went." she said quietly.

I gave Rainbow a sad look before opening the door to the SUV for her. Rainbow climbed in and I made my way for the driver's seat, it looked like it was about to rain.

"Well?" Rainbow asked when I got in, "Aren't you at least going to give me a response?"

"Yeah, no, I definitely didn't get the job." I replied darkly, I still didn't start the engine.

"Why? What happened in there?" Rainbow almost pleaded.

"I... I don't really know." I began, "The guy mentioned that I would have to live on the traveling bag and I declined the offer, so to speak."

Rainbow stared at me for a moment. I started the engine and made my way into the road, "Man, what is up with this traffic?" I said. The radio was on, it started with a familiar song: "What have you done? You made a fool of everyone. Sexy S.." I turned the radio off.

"Matthew?" Rainbow asked softly, this caught my attention, normally she just refers to ma as 'Matt'.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"Is... Is everything okay?" She asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" I responded.

"Well, we could start with the almost daily thing where you wake up in the middle of the night from a bad dream. Then there's that the dude that spoke to you last said 'I am sincerely sorry for your loss'." Rainbow pointed out harshly before adding in a softer tone, "Sorry, I'm really bad with emotional moments. I don't normally discuss things that I consider sappy."

I sighed, were all of those bad nights really that obvious?

"Matthew, what exactly happened?" Rainbow asked.

"I...." I began trailing off, holding back tears, "It's a long story." I sighed.

"Looking at this traffic, I would say that we have time for a long story. More importantly, in private." Rainbow pointed out.

She has a point, she's also on to you.

"Well, you see..." I began...

....

It took us more than an hour to get out of the city, there was some terrible car accident that blocked all major traffic and we were stuck at the worst of it. In that time, I managed to explain everything to Rainbow. And I mean everything, from my life before, during, and after the tragedy that changed my life. I even added the bit where I secluded myself and pushed all of my friends away, staying basically isolated for almost five months. It might have been longer if it weren't for the three mares coming into my life.

It was now 11:30, how the hell did that happen?

The road was completely dark albeit my headlights lighting the road ahead of me.

"Matthew... I... I had no idea." Rainbow finally managed to speak as she fought back sympathetic tears.

"Yeah.... I guess it's been kind of tough."

"Kind of tough? Kind of tough?" Rainbow repeated in absolute disbelief, "I don't think I have ever met somepony that has gone through so much, much less somepony so strong to the point that they can hide their pain from others."

"I... Really don't kn.." I was cut off by a brief flash of white. That surprise made it hard for me to keep control of the SUV, but I thankfully did.

"That was weird, you okay Rainb-." I was suddenly stunned at the sight before me. Rainbow was back in pony form.

"What.. In the hay?" Rainbow said, looking down at herself in confusion.

"I thought Twilight said that the spell was permanent." I questioned.

"Yeah, so did I." Rainbow said in shock.

"Well, at least we're almost home. Just a few minutes left."

"Oh good." Rainbow replied in relief.

Moments later, the engine suddenly sputtered and then died, "Oh bad. That is really bad timing." I commented.

"What happened? What's wrong with it!?" Rainbow asked, now very desperate. I switched gears to neutral.

"I don't know, the lights are still on so the battery works," I began before noticing the dashboard, "Oh.... No." I said quietly as I tapped the dashboard in a pathetic attempt to fix the problem.

"What is it? What is it?" Rainbow cried desperately.

"Calm yourself down Rainbow! We're out of fuel." I explained.

"Out of fuel?" Rainbow repeated in a defeated tone.

"I don't know how this could happen... The tank was almost full when we left this morning." I said as I looked outside, it was pouring now.

"What are we going to do?" Rainbow asked.

"We aren't that far from home, five miles give or take. I could skate there, and you could fly there." I offered.

"That is a little risky Matt, look how dark it is." Rainbow pointed out.

"Rainbow, every automobile is required to have all of the necessary emergency equipment on board. I have a small floodlight in the back, it's conveniently waterproof." I declared. We then both got out of the SUV, Rainbow began shedding the now useless clothes at the driver's side of the SUV.

"Okay, just put those in the back when I open it." I said. Rainbow picked up the pile of soaked clothes in her mouth when I saw a light behind us, I wasn't as stunned from the light as Rainbow. Acting as quickly as humanly possible, I tackled Rainbow to the other side of the road.

That guy almost ran us over!

"You okay Rainbow?"

"Yeah, I think so."

I looked over to the suspect car. Oh no, he stopped, he might have seen Rainbow.

Quick Matt, QUICK! Think of something, now! No... That's just stupid, just stupid enough to work maybe....

"Rainbow, you still trust me right?" I asked quickly.

"Yes." Rainbow replied without hesitating this time.

"I need you to stand here and let me handle this." I ordered. She did not complain, she just stood there silently.

I jogged over to my SUV, completely soaked, and dug out the two pairs of aviators. I put one pair on and dashed to Rainbow and gave her the other pair. When she put them on, I then turned to the confused man who was now approaching me, the lucky man had an umbrella with him.

I was preparing to do the dumbest thing I have ever attempted.

"Sir? Are you okay? I am so, so sorry, I didn't see you there!" The man was apologizing profusely.

"And what was that blue... Thing I saw? Is that it over there?" He asked, just as I feared.

"Sir," I began, fishing out my wallet from my coat and flashing him my FAA ID way too fast for him to read it, "I'm with the CIA, you may have noticed that you nearly caused a possibly fatal and costly incident." I said in my most authoritarian voice.

"Erm..." the man was clearly more confused than before.

"Right now, I do not have to state to you any of your rights if I were to detain you, for you almost destroyed a critical asset of our agency." I declared before looking around as if to make sure no one was watching and whispered to him in a mock-desperate tone, "Do you have a cell phone on you? Anything electronic?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah. I think so." the man said, completely lost and terrified of what he got himself into, good.

I continued whispering in the rain, "Please, take out the batteries, I don't want my bosses hearing this." I tried my best to look desperate.

"Sure, whatever you say." the guy was trying his best to not 'disappear' courtesy of the CIA. He quickly pulled out a phone and some unidentified electrical gadget and removed the batteries from both before returning them to his pocket. I did the same.

"Look, what's your name?" I asked.

"Uh, David."

"Alright, Dave, I need you to do me a solid here. You see," I began, my desperate mask seemed to be working, I removed my aviators for effect, "This isn't the first time I screwed up and almost revealed a really important government secret. If you say anything to anyone, losing my job will be the least of my worries man. I really, really need you to keep quiet about this, at least until this goes public." I pleaded.

David's face changed from a frightened one to a sympathetic one, score.

"Okay, on just one condition." he said.

"Sure, anything." I said, nodding rapidly.

"Just tell me what that blue horse thing over there is and I will leave without saying a word about this to another living soul." he offered. That stunned me for a moment, it almost seemed to help my disguise though.

"Oh, god.. Oh my god you are serious aren't you?" I asked, he just nodded.

"Okay." I said with a deep breath, "Just, please.. Don't screw me over with this, I really can't tell you anything about this." I began. David seemed to lean a bit closer, he was dying to hear what this was all about.

"It's synthetic life." I said plainly.

"What?"

"It's a robot designed to mimic realistic organic behaviors." I explained.

"Then why is it a blue horse?" he questioned.

"So that we don't confuse it for a real, living thing." I said as if it were obvious, "It is all part of a project to have synthetic humans go in behind the enemy lines. We could assassinate key individuals without any human risk on our side." I said before turning to Rainbow, who was a mere ten feet away.

"Subject 23, attention!" I yelled, praying that Rainbow would catch my drift. She miraculously did, maybe her hearing is better as a pony, she did a salute.

"Direction, my position!" I commanded, and Rainbow trotted slowly towards us and stared at everything through her aviators.

"Wow, it really does look alive." David commented.

"Yeah, we finally got the blinking right." I replied, "Well, as promised, not one word."

David nodded in agreement, "You can count on me."

"No, I'm serious. I still have a few strings that I can tug at, and I can watch you very, very closely." I said, almost threateningly. David nodded and nervously walked back to his car, driving away until we couldn't see his car anymore.

"Matt?" Rainbow asked.

"Yeah?"

"That has got to be one of the most amazing things ever!" she exclaimed as she proceeded to reel me into a tight, wet hug.

We then walked back to the SUV, I changed into regular clothes. The spare shirt I had is already completely soaked. I also took out the small, crank powered flood light and my skateboard.

"Didn't you say before that you shouldn't skate in the rain?" Rainbow asked incredulously.

"Yeah, but does it look like I have a choice? New grip tape is only five dollars, I think that's worth the price if it means I'm getting home." I replied.

I turned on the floodlight and made sure that my car was locked and completely off, I didn't want the battery to die on me later.

Rainbow and I then made our way home, I was riding as fast as I could and Rainbow was flying at a brisk pace next to me. We arrived homeward eventually, I have no idea how long that took, but my watch tells me that it's one in the morning. Rainbow and I moved as quietly as possible, we didn't want anypony to wake up.

I dried myself off and then helped Rainbow get dry in the places she couldn't really reach. Apparently, Rainbow normally dries herself off by flying around. How does Pinkie Pie dry herself? No, don't ask about Pinkie Pie! You know what happens!

I eventually dragged my exhausted body into bed, Rainbow passed out on her assigned couch downstairs mere seconds ago.

Man, today was just... Way too much.

----------------------------------------------------------

Comments

[Tarquillaman3285]

YES FIRST! for the first time ever I am first!

now to actually read the chapter and then post my reaction

[IraqLobstah]

Stop being so awesome.
It's to much.

[Tarquillaman3285]

I am worried about the men in suits, and the fact that Pinkie and Twilight weren't mentioned when he got home, leaving me to believe they may not be there. The plot has thickened admirably, keep up the good work.

[CannedIce]

Secret agent men about to abduct the ponies. PREPARE FOR ET! Also, I can see that Rainbow Dash and Human romance going on there. Nice work, matey.