For Want of a Rider ii/vi
For want of a Rider
part ii of vi
For want of Bunnies
"It is the verdict of this court that all records of the minors involved in this case shall remain sealed until such time as they reach majority. Such minors are to remain nominally under the aegis of their legally recognized guardians, but shall be placed under the supervision of Captain Random Sprinkles, Department of Weather Control, Ponyville, District of Equestria." Uproar resounded within the court.
"Under these conditions, and with understanding of circumstances present, current charges of 'Reckless Endangerment of a Minor' on Five Counts, 'Reckless Interference with Unregulated Weather' on Two Counts in the First Degree, "Massive Damage to Public and Private Property" on Ten Counts, "Disturbing the Peace' on Two-hundred and Seventeen Counts, and one count of ... "Illegal Racing Maneuvers" ... ahem, all charges listed shall be Suspended and may, upon evidence of good behavior, be lifted."
Five young pegasi stretched their wings gratefully - after two months of incarceration, monitoring, counseling, and examination. The Tan Stallion with Pink, Green, and Blue Horizontally Striped Mane - cut to a regulation three inches - watched them for a few moments, allowing some of the sweat to evaporate from his hide before he cleared his throat to get their attention.
"In the eyes of the law you are all forgiven, and that's all well and good. But idle hooves are the Nightmare's playground, and since you lot are all under MY supervision, as of this moment, oh my little ponies, your flanks are mine. You are the single most hazardous group of foals I have ever had the misfortune to lay eyes on. But... I would never sleep a wink if I thought someone wasn't watching the lot of you Twenty-Four Seven to make sure you don't manage to destroy the REST of Equestria." Two beats of pause and a swish of the tail.
"You will spend the next three weeks living in Ponyville's service barracks, at which time you may either appeal to relatives and acquaintances in the area to provide alternate housing or that will become your new legal home. We will be spending that time, and oh so much time to follow working the weather over Ponyville. I will see to it that you learn the trade, I will see to it you are fed and sheltered, and I WILL see to it that you. Do. Not. Cause. ANY. More trouble. Do I make myself clear?" He was met with the silence he had expected. The yellow one had water threatening at the edges of her eyes.
He did not expect a group tackle hug. "Oh thank you thank you thank you." They were... thanking him? "We know you didn't have to offer to monitor us, and we could have ended up in Juvenile Detention for everything that happened."
Captain Sprinkles struggled to his feet. "I - however much of a bunch of screw-ups you may be, I know you did what you thought was best ... Besides, I didn't have to listen to you." 'The disaster just would have wrecked Ponyville instead of causing light damage over a much larger area.'
"But you didn't have to. Or you could have just spoken up for us and let the courts fine our Parents. We'll do whatever you tell us, to to repay you. I think... I think deep down you're a nice-" Did the yellow one always have to do the talking?
"Ok, first rule, when I say 'Line up' you..." They were all lined up now, the green one even turned the wall-eyed one around to face him. "... that's, that's acceptable. Now, fan out, we're going 'home'." Random vowed to himself this was not going to end up like one of those sappy stories where the Ex-Military Stallion ends up as a Surrogate Father-Figure to a bunch of unruly 'orphans'. Life is cruel, the sooner they learned that, the better off they'd be.
The streamers were hung in Shades of blue and green, from a pale cerulean to a deep forest green, with more hanging from the ceiling to drape down to the floor. Blue shades hung in the windows and over the lights, lending to the overall 'aquatic' feel of the space. Nopony had been able to find any good 'fish' decorations 'she'd probably just be distracted by their inaccuracies anyway.' Fluttershy thought to herself as she looked at the preparations one last time critically.
Omega Flight didn't exist anymore, she knew that. She hadn't even been a leader when it had been a class. Still, she felt responsible for them all. Differently Able could still fly... the way she always had, and she sent each of them a letter once a month; nopony had heard anything about little Dorothy Gale though... or Mr. Turner. The healer whose house Fluttershy had inadvertently - and luckily - sent them to insisted that it had been an Earth Pony who had delivered Miz Able on that fateful night. 'We... we do seem to have more than our share of injuries.' she thought to herself, considering the 'You didn't manage to crack any ribs shooting your mouth off' party they were holding for Sea Foam following Ms Pie's declaration of good health for Sea.
The only thing Sea Foam would say about the incident was that she had learned never to call a Unicorn a 'Narwhal', not something most Ponies had to learn - but then, Foam wasn't most Ponies. For her part, Miss Heartstrings had immediately regretted striking the young adult, going so far as to carry her to the hospital afterwards.
'I just don't know what went wrong.' It felt like the words would never stop ringing in Fluttershy's head. Here they all were again, assembled in front of Captain Sprinkles and trembling in fear. "I have never been so humiliated in all my life. First of all you invite civilians to a barely sanctioned event, an event let me remind you, celebrating that Miss Foam managed NOT to suffer any permanent damage from mortally insulting an honest Citizen of Ponyville who now has to undergo anger management classes." 'You were the one screaming at Lyra when you found out. I had to have Thundercloud and Snowflake sit on you to keep you from hitting her.'
"Um, excuse me, we-we're not Military, that is, the Weather Department isn't part of the Military, Captain, sir."
"That may be, but you are all still convicted criminals until the court gets around to fully dropping your charges." She always did that, cut him off with a perfectly reasonable objection when he was getting going. Oh, he had plans for her... but for now, "I honestly expected better of you two." Two Gray Pegasi, one dark and one light, hung their heads. "Fraternizing with the townsfolk begins and ends with VERBAL intercourse; I never imagined I'd have to spell it out for you. Well, consider this your last lesson, you're both out of the program." If he hadn't had their attention before, he sure had it now. The Blonde one was crying now, the boy still thought he could prove he was tough.
He let the rest of them get a little worked up before he slammed his front hooves into the ground. "I have taken the liberty of convincing the courts that the two of you have your charges dropped immediately. Ms. Doo, you will have enough responsibility to keep you busy for the rest of your life soon, and Thundercloud, if you still can't remember that mare's name I suggest you find out damn soon because I guarantee you that her Father knows yours. I have pulled some strings to get you a job in shipping and one in mail, you two sort out who is going where, I wash my hooves of you." The two fled, peeling off in opposite directions as if to confuse pursuit.
Fluttershy's heart was breaking. Derpy had only told her two days ago that she was... 'I need to go after her, I'll send Snowflake to talk to Thunder, but first... ' Her eyes were completely dry when she turned face the Captain. "Captain Random Sprinkles, that was uncalled for. Sure, you wanted to make sure everypony understood that you weren't being lenient with them. Sure, I did my own checking and realized Ditzy wouldn't have qualified for Maternity Care as a Junior Weather Team employee. And I even understand that you may be afraid enough of being seen as hurt by their actions, however understandable they would be for a normal adolescent pony. But if your treatment of those two has hurt them in any lasting way, I'm going to come back here and... and Love and Tolerate you so hard your head will never stop spinning." She made eye contact with Snowflake and jerked her head after Thundercloud, saluted the Weather Team, and took off as fast as she could.
It wasn't hard to track the bubbly pegasus down. Sugarcube Corner made the best muffins in the tri-village area, and Derpy had a thing for the confections - she claimed it was because they were the only word she could reliably say when she was having one of her 'spells'. The other reason it was easy to find her was the number of nervous ponies edging out of the shop trying not to look like they were fleeing the scene of a crime. Stepping inside, Fluttershy saw Derpy's friend Carrot Top - whom she had befriended by destroying Carrot's garden with a stray bolt of lightning - consoling the Gray and Blonde Pony. Carrot Top started when she saw the yellow pegasus, then gestured for her to approach the table. "So, I take it things didn't go well? D hasn't been ... able to say anything."
"She's been fired. The Captain got her a job with Mail Delivery but... he was yelling, a lot."
"I've never understood why the Buck you lot put up with him."
"It's, it's complicated, but he... well, whatever else has happened, he had no right to be like that to Derpy." Fluttershy placed a hoof on the Mare's shoulder, but said nothing else.
"C-chronosynclastic infundibulum... motor-nut cache." A gray hoof slammed into the table-top. "I'm NOT ashamed." She finally managed, wiping the last of her tears away. "I'll be the best darn Mail-Pony this town has ever seen. I'm not sorry it happened."
"We..." Fluttershy glanced at Carrot Top and a recently approached Berry Punch, who both nodded. "We'll all be here for you. I'm sure the others will be willing to quit, to show-" A distinctly Gray Hoof halted further speech.
"No, don't let him win. If you all walk away, it's like he's right." Derpy wasn't crying anymore, she hardly even looked angry anymore. By dint of will, she concentrated both eyes on Fluttershy. "You can't lose to him. Promise me. Don't give up on pony nature because one pony wants to see the worst in us." She chuckled, "You tolerate him, because Celestia knows I don't think I can right now." She let out her breath, "S-so, I've been thinking of names. How does 'Dinky Doo' sound?"
The training only got more grueling from there. The 'junior team' was folded into the main workforce, they were assigned extra training shifts, loaded with full duties, and shouted at like never before. Snowflake responded by hitting the Gym every break he could, seemingly addicted to the rush of endorphins. Sea Foam seemed to have hit her maximum level of disorientation a long time ago, "swimming through air is crazy enough, it doesn't matter how often they make me do it."
Fluttershy spent her time getting to know ponies. She started with the ones she had already met, tried to re-meet the ponies she had now spent years around, sent letters to her family and fillyhood friends 'I wonder if Rainbow was serious about renting that old clothing store?' and then spreading out to the Weather Service's main clients, and the citizens of Ponyville in general. What none of them did was buckle, collapse, or ever balk at the work heaped on them.
The Weather Captain was at his wit's end. He had tried mocking them, shouting at them, breaking them with so much work he'd drawn notice from the Regional Supervisor - and suffered the indignity of having his three charges come to his defense. This was it, he was out of options other than the final one. A general meeting was called for all active duty weatherponies, he drew out a seating chart specifically to make sure the three were smack dab in front for the whole show. Everypony arrived on time and got to their seats in an orderly fashion.
"This meeting is now started. *Ahem* You all know me, you all know that I am a hard pony to work for. I'd like to think I'm fair, that I have an honest assessment of the capacities and worth of everypony who works in this department." He let them mumble to each other, as he knew they would. "However, it may have caught your attention that SOME ponies seem to get more of my attention than others do." Did the three of them start to look uncomfortable? To shift a little in their seats? The yellow one didn't, she just looked at him like she always did.
"Hem. Well, I have something to tell you all. As of oh six hundred this morning, the three ponies at the front of the stadium here are all legally of adult age. They can vote, they can enlist, they could even drink alcoholic beverages if they chose. Why don't we give them a hand, Mares and Gentlecolts?" Awkward clomping followed, one pony even made a half-hearted shout (there's one in every crowd).
"Being of legal age, their juvenile records are now unsealed, and I can now legally tell you that they were convicted of causing the 'cloudboom' you may all remember from a few years ago. Anypony remember that? So, after years of public service, they've had all charges dropped now. So I think they should be recognized for the HUGE act of repentance they have been engaged in."
The 'Cloudboom' hadn't caused as much damage as one might have expected, but a lot of Pegasi had been startled, had suffered accidents because of the distraction, or the noise, or actually been in the path of the shockwave and thrown miles out of their ways. The three young adult ponies trudged onto the stage. Everypony looked at them.
Snowflake looked like he wanted to bolt. Actually, he looked like a boulder vaguely shaped like a pony that someone had stuck party favor wing decorations on - looking at him, it was nearly impossible to imagine how he could get off the ground. Sea Foam looked mildly irritated, but then everypony knew she was nuts. Sea Pony this, underwater kingdom that - there were rumors that she actually ATE FISH, yeah fish, the meat of another animal. Fluttershy was ok, well... she was ok if you only noticed the surface. Sure, she was always polite, always spoke in the quietest voice that could easily be heard by the recipient, but she Never Bent. Ever.
It was easy to miss, because she always couched it in such nice wording, was sooo respectful and demure; but, if she didn't think something was fair, it just didn't happen. Celestia protect you if she thought you were hassling one of the 'foal five', as they used to be called. She still didn't yell, she gave you this look, like your sainted Grandmother was disappointed in you, looking down from Pony Heaven. It wasn't natural. If you kept your nose clean of her business you didn't notice, so everypony got by. But still, creepy. And now? They were responsible for the Cloudboom? The biggest black-mark in the Ponyville Weather Service's history? Quiet grumbles became slightly louder ones. Facing the crowd, the three ponies brushed wings behind their backs for comfort.
The crowd waited for something to happen, for someone to be the tipping point that would tell them which way they should react. Somepony reached a decision, and from the back of the stadium came a faint, slow clomp. Other ponies joined in, the sound rose across the stadium, a few cheers thrown in. It died down and ended naturally. Without prompting, Fluttershy rose, flew onto the stadium, and approached the podium. Grasping the microphone, she smiled, blushing at the assembled pegasi. "Thank you everypony... this is a weight we never thought we'd have lifted. And Captain?" She turned, still smiling to face Captain Random Sprinkles.
"You are an asshole. A bitter, self righteous pony who pokes ponies to see what they'll do. They tell stories about you to scare recruits, at night, after work. You want us to see the worst in everypony around us, to imagine them as capable of horrific things that sicken us."
Finally. Finally he had managed to break that abominable facade of hers, managed to prove that even the nicest pony had a core of bitterness and hate that would- "But you know what? We're better for having known you. You're a part of our culture now, a dark part, but at your worst you were trying to warn us, to strip away what you thought was wrong. From the bottom of my heart, I want to say 'thank you, Captain Sprinkles' you have not destroyed us, you make us stronger. I look forward to surviving you for many years to come."
There was only one thing left to do at this point, his final resort. "Well, that was very... nice... of you to say, Fluttershy. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you. Effective immediately I am retiring from the Weather Service." Shouts of surprise, shock, and complaint rose until he scowled and held out his hooves, slamming them down.
"Effective Immediately I'm out. My last act will be to recommend my replacement, and to place that recommended pony in acting captain's status. I'd ask her to come up on stage, but she seems to have already taken that liberty." It was dead quiet. "Congratulations, Acting Captain Fluttershy." He fled then, there was no other way to describe it.
It was a hard struggle to learn the tasks entailed in managing a Weather Team - what she knew how to do was the work, not how to tell other ponies to do it. She had considered stepping down, but had met a great deal of resistance - in fact the Senior Officer, Hazy Reply, had refused to fill in if she vacated the position. With nothing for it but to forge ahead she made do as she could, asked as many questions as she could think of, and rose to the occasion as much as she was able to.
Visits with Derpy and her Omega friends were what kept her going in the hard parts. Snowflake had ended up becoming a personal trainer at the gym he had spent so much time in. 'They'll appreciate him there, that's good.'
Sea Foam had been introduced to pastries, something she insisted she had never encountered before, "It isn't possible to bake things underwater, my people have many proud traditions but baking has never been one of them." And had fallen in love with cakes, pies, and muffins. In fact she was working part-time at the local bakery, Sugar-Cube Corner while she saved up bits for some expedition she had planned.
Thundercloud had found his mystery mare, and had a job in construction. 'Not so much CONstruction as Destruction. Well, now he has a place he can really throw his weight around.' Fluttershy scolded herself for her joke, but still chuckled. He was now the doting father of an adorable little earth pony colt.
Differently Able had been re-certified for flight instruction and was back to doing what she did best. It pleased Fluttershy to imagine new generations of ... sub-optimal pegasi getting the chance to take advantage of their heritage. She had never been able to find out what happened to the Gale girl, but she hoped for the best. Mr. Turner had never turned up, and turned out to be one of a remarkably large number of Brown Stallions with hourglass Cutie Marks, Pegasi, Earth Ponies, and even Unicorns included. She never had asked him what his talent was, and it didn't seem appropriate to accost his doppelgangers.
It was really nice when Rainbow Dash moved to town - or was she Rainbow Flash now, Fluttershy wasn't sure. 'It sounds vaguely indecent so that's probably right.' She chuckled to herself. There had been an old clothing boutique that Rainbow had bought and retrofitted to her specifications.
The outside had remained surprisingly unmodified, if anything Rainbow had made it look unassuming. 'Probably for privacy concerns,' she thought to herself. The inside was... different. the entire main floor was devoted to custom industrial fabrication, and the majority of the second floor was given over to craft-work. Rainbow had showed her the bed she slept in, which folded into the wall. Apparently it was called a 'Murphy Bed', but sounded unhygienic.
Yes, things had certainly settled down in Ponyville. Even after the Mayor had gotten the town the honor of being the site of the Millennial anniversary of the Summer Sun Celebration it had sounded like a nice relaxing thing, 'who doesn't like watching the sun rise? Not only is it beautiful, but it serves as a reminder that the Princess watches over us all. It's... nice.'
Of course she had volunteered to personally see to the sky clearing for the event. And of course Derpy had needed someone to watch her child in the morning. And of course the Apple Family reunion - considerately timed so that the entire family could contribute to the 'horsepower' needed to cater the event - had led to the family's wandering daughter picking a fight with the Unicorn who... Fluttershy wasn't sure what the unicorn's job was on the farm, she just always seemed to be there - maybe she was involved with the handsome red stallion, Big Macintosh, 'a real catch like that must have a special somepony.' she thought with more disappointment than she had expected. It hadn't been her job to sort the fight out, but it wasn't in her nature not to help.
Now she was late to clear the sky. Wanting to hold a reserve of energy for the task at hand, she had sped back to town in a low flight, and was sorting out plans, schedules, and trying out a new shift rota in her head when she finally noticed the marshmallow colored pony in front of her. Needless to say, to top off her day, she didn't have time to avoid a full on collision...
Artwork by: Inspired_Light
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*clap clap clap*
Excellent work. I was glued to my chair the whole way through. Granted, you probably have my sister to thank for that...
The only think I have to say is: Clomping. In the show, it always seems that pony-clapping is stamping their hooves...
...
More, more! I still have tonnes more to read. It's fun.
Sadly, though, I found the beginning of this chapter to be somewhat confusing. I got through it, but wasn't satisfied with the details I was able to pick up. I like your style, and I like to know what's going on when it is, not in retrospect. But it picked up after the middle, and I loved every second of that joyful romp. Especially the last sentence.
Who would pay money to hear Andrea Libman do Shy's "acceptance speech"?
Five young pegasi stretched their wings greatfully after two months of incarceration
We'll do whatever you tell us, to to repay you
You can't loose to him
you have not destroyed us, you make us stronger
1. Would this be Gratefully?
2. Extra To.
3. Lose.
4. Made.
I also now agree with you not putting things in order... err, I mean not putting things in perspective order but event order... You know what I mean
1880609
yis
1.
2. Noted
3.
4. ?
I know it's a little messy, but the feeling flows better that way.
1880635
Ok, I see it now (I was distracted by the capitalization and didn't pay attention to the tense. That's really embarrassing for me because the majority of errors I find in other writers' work is tense disagreement. Thanks again)
This story reminds me a bit of 'A Game of Thrones', A whole bunch of separate stories that eventually all tie together.
This chapter confused me a wee bit though, I'm trying to figure out what age the flyers could be that they could just be absconded from there parents, and that's the last we hear of it
2840113 In my head they're equivalent to mid-teens. But... you can invent your own headcannon as for why none of their parents were able to retain guardianship.
Edit: also, there's like 300% fewer beheadings in this story
1461771 TAKE MINE!
1880624 made is past tense, make is present.
2847660 Fluttershy is speaking in present tense, as in 'and we continue to put up with you', since she doesn't know he's about to bail.
2849473 You were talking about hiring Adrea Libman to deliver Flutteshy's response to Captain Sprinkles. If I thought there was any chance it'd work, I'd throw money at it too. Sadly, some thing will remain fantasies, I suspect.
...honestly, I'd pay money just to hear Fluttershy call somepony an asshole. (...what
I've got issues, ok?)
SO why didn't that raging bag of dicks stand up and tell the truth about what happened-- that those "criminals" saved Ponyville?
3327748
Because he's a raging bag of dicks?
"He was now the doting father of an adorable little earth pony colt"
"an adorable little earth pony colt"
"earth pony cot"
"earth pony"
AN EARTH PONY???
<faints>
3900649 This isn't the reaction I was going for, but I am still pleased
Pony genetics, more complicated than you expect...
Story keeps getting better, and like someone said, it feels a bit like Game of Thrones... Several stories that eventually tie together.
I have a feeling that somehow the mane6 WILL end up meeting each other and become (unlikely) friends, even with their
new personalities and destinies...
Ah well, only one way to find out... Gotta keep reading
*Egghead Mode - Engage!*
Well, some things never change... until they do.
pinkie.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw1126_my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-brony-im-with-twilight-on-this-one.gif
Fluttershy in this fic is filled with all sorts of awesomeness. You did a good job with her.
So, by using her own pure will power and the ability to stand tall in her beliefs, we see that Fluttershy...hasn't really changed all that much. I mean it. In her own way, she is still the kind and sweet mare that we all know and loe. ITs just that she uses her quietness and kindness in a different way, by being strong and caring for others. This shows a unique side to Loyalty, the ability to be by ones side when they need it the most. In an interesting way, she is pulling of the job of both Dash (Not leaving a pony hanging) and Pinkie (Knowing every pony). At the same time, she uses her kindness and determination to stand up for others and not really hurtinng anypony. Much like how in cannon, she has an inner strength that not many can see (except for five others).
The sergeant's actions remind me of one of RHjunior's stories, "The Rise of Earth Vulcan", down to the remedial pegasi and the type of assholery that shouldn't be happening to local heroes. And weren't all the charges dropped? Or was that in exchange for community service?
Whoaaa... Instead of being a polite and kind pony with a hidden backbone no one knows, now Fluttershy is a polite and kind pony with a "hidden" backbone.
She's like one of those office ladies with an amazingly high up position in the corporate ladder. When you see a young woman in a profession of old men, you know that girl has some metaphorical balls of steel.
That which does not destroy me makes me cranky.