Xenophilia: Further tales.

by TheQuietMan

24: Stepping outside she is free.

Stepping outside she is free.
Chapter published 28th Sept 2014

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Summer 1209AC
Flyby Street Low Cost Housing Park
Outskirts of Cloudsdale

Pushing the small cloud that made up her bed to one side, Rainbow reached into the crack between the once fluffy furniture and the wall, forehoof searching for what she hoped, prayed, was still where she’d left it. After a few seconds of rising panic, the grasping limb caught on the edge of a small wooden box. A couple of frantic pulling motions later and the box flipped free from behind the slab of cloud and out onto the threadbare rug by her knees.

Lifting the box, she ran a forehoof over its surface, reveling in the feel of the ancient wood and its intricate carvings. A small piece of inlaid gold - crafted into a stylised sun with a hoof-full of radiating arms - glinted in what little pre-dawn light came in from the window as she freed the latch and slowly lifted the lid.

Nestled inside the box - just as they had been the last time she had checked, and the time before, and the time before that - were all but one of every primary feather she’d ever lost since reaching adulthood. There were only a few, she was still only seventeen after all, and they barely covered the bottom of the small box, but she counted them anyway, just to be sure. Satisfied they were all present and correct she gently closed the lid, making especially sure that the latch was fastened again properly.

The box was old - a gift from Fluttershy’s mother, which had once belonged to her own mother, and was probably older than both of them combined - and the lid had a habit of popping on on its own if it wasn’t fasten just-so.

Since Morning Glory had given her the box Dash had been careful to save each of her primaries and store them away for prosperity. It was an old tradition, and Dash wasn't even sure why she did it, but for some reason she felt better knowing that these little parts of her, parts that otherwise could be so easily lost, were kept safe and secure.

Well, except that one she’d lost in a last month’s big storm. She’d watched it dart away on a particularly strong gust of wind and, with no way to abandon her post without letting the storm cloud that she was frantically trying to hold back break free, she had had to let it go. It was a shame that it was gone, and she still felt a little tinge of... something... as she thought about it out there somewhere, all alone in the world, but she had the others and that’s what mattered.

Tucking the box into her battered old saddlebags, making sure that it ended up right the way down at the bottom with no way to escape, she cast about the room for anything else she might want to take with her. As her eyes moved over the sparsely furnished room - more of a large closet really, with just its bed, desk and wardrobe, all of which had seen far better days - she sighed at just how sad her little collection of material possessions were.

Her gaze moved from her old and faded Wonderbolts posters, to the ragged old pennant from Cloudsdale’s failed bid to host the Equestria games, then up to the broken old clock high on the wall. The clock’s one remaining hand was telling her that dawn would be coming soon but that if she wanted to know what exact minute past the hour it finally arrived then she was well out of luck. It was ten to the hour, she knew without needing the broken minute hand to tell her that. She’d had plenty of practice judging the time just from the hour hand and had become quite the expert at it.

After stuffing what little paperwork and the few personal letters she had to her name into her bags, she grabbed the only other thing she was bothered about keeping- an old and battered pair of flight goggles that one of her dad’s many ‘marefriends’ had left behind years ago. There was a tiny crack forming at the edge of one lens and the headband had been repaired so often that there was almost nothing of the original band left, but they did the trick and had served her well since she’d managed to snag a job at the weather bureau after dropping out of flight school. Hey, it wasn’t like they were the newest model from Oaktree or Cart Zeiss or anything but they were hers- they’d stuck with her and never let her down and that meant a lot.

Hooking the band around the back of her head she eased the goggles into position across her forehead, quietly sucking air in through her teeth as the metal frames pushed against the tender area around her left eyebrow. At least the bruising around her eye was better than it had been yesterday, she hadn't even been able to get her goggles on at all then, not with the way it had hurt. But the pain was good- it reminded her of what she was doing, and why.

Fastening her near empty saddlebags over her back, she crept out of her room into the main part of the house. Well, to call it a house was being generous... in truth it was more of a dilapidated three room shack. The house was old... really old. Originally put up as temporary housing for construction workers from when the nearby cloud processing plant had first been built, it had been dumped here on Flyby Street, along with others like it, long before Rainbow had been born. For as long as she could remember it had been slowly falling apart, its owner just too bone idle to be that bothered with its upkeep.

Looking around, Rainbow tried to imagine somepony walking in here for the first time, seeing the squalid conditions with fresh eyes. By Celestia, it was a craphole... no wonder mom had turned tail and fled years ago. The outer walls had been badly patched over many times where its cloudy structure had started to decondense, its inner walls stained with years of dirt and scuffs, the floors uneven and troughed from hoof-falls, the ceilings wearing thin in more places than she could count.

Eyes catching on the window in the kitchenette, Rainbow remembered falling out of the small, high opening back when she'd first been learning to fly. One of the many mares that had come and gone over the years had found her at the front door hours later, trying to get back in. What was her name again?

Fancy... Fancy... Fancy Flight, that was it. Of all of Dad’s so called marefriends, she was one of the few that Rainbow had been sorry to see go, one of the few that had actually seemed to care about her, even if it was only a little... and certainly not enough to take her with her when she left.

If only Fancy Flight’d stayed and Dad had gone instead, life would have been so much better all round.

So, yeah... this house was pathetic. Cheaply built, badly maintained... it was so far from awesome that it was a waste of energy to even count the ways.

But Rainbow was going to do better, once she got out of here. She was going to have a huge house... no, a mansion, a massive thing all on its own, away from this cramped little cloud-park.

She was gunna have a huge patch of sky all to herself. It'd be a huge place, cloud-spanning, with more bedrooms than she needed, and they’d all be huge too, with massive windows for all the picture perfect views... and there’d be a waterfall, a rainbow waterfall, no, there’d be two of them. It’d be epic and she’d build it all herself with her own two hoofs.

So, yeah, she’d be the only one to see it but dammit if she was going to spend the rest of her life alone then by heck she was going to do it in comfort.

A grunt came from the couch, an old threadbare thing with exposed springs, that had been dragged home from some streetcorner years ago. Rainbow’s eyes moved to its occupant, brows furrowing in a way that made her eyebrow ache again where her goggles pressed against it.

Her... father, if you could even call him that, rolled over in his sleep, an empty bottle of hard cider falling from his chest and down to the floor where it was reunited with at least half a dozen of its fallen brothers and sisters.

He wasn't going to wake up anytime soon, not with the amount of booze he went through.

Rolling one of the bottles over, Rainbow checked the label. Well, at least he was splashing out on a better brand of poison these days. Nice to see that her hard earned bits weren't being wasted on the cheap stuff.

Spreading his rear legs wide, the sleeping stallion reached down and scratched at his sheath before letting his fore-leg hang off the edge of the dilapidated sofa. A loud fart signaled to the world that he was all done with all this strenuous activity for the next hour or two, the snores sending a follow up report concerning his more immediate plans.

So, there he was... daddy dearest- Storm Front; layabout, scrounger, former construction worker and now stallion of negotiable affection.

Negotiable? ‘Dirt cheap’ more like.

Father? Not likely... this wasn’t a father. If she was an accident, as he’d told her many times, over and over and over again, then this here was the sperm donor, nothing more. And not even a very good one at that, with the amount he’d been putting it about then Rainbow should have had a lot more half brothers and sisters out there than she did. Not that she wanted any more... the ones she had were quite annoying enough as it was.

No, Fluttershy’s dad, now that was a father. Why couldn’t Storm Front have been more like Champagne Supernova? So noble and gentle, polite and caring, patient and smart... not at all like this bucking tail biter.

No, Shy’s dad was a hard worker, even though he had a family fortune and three mares to support him. He still insisted on working hard every day; such a craftsman, so dedicated to his work, so good with cloud structures. The time he’d spent teaching Rainbow - a filly that wasn’t even one of his own herd’s foals - to work clouds the old fashioned way, to create awesome rainbows using just her hooves, to control lightning to the point that she could carve her name in the clouds with it.

And okay, so Rainbow might have developed a bit of a teeny-tiny crush on the guy... but hey, she was a grown mare wasn’t she? Even if nothing was ever going to come of it - of the mature, handsome stallion and his daughter’s ugly friend - but a girl could have idle dreams couldn’t she?

But this guy? This lazy good-for-nothing? All he’d ever taught her was how to fetch another cider from the fridge and - if she’d been really lucky and he was in a bad mood - how to duck the emptys afterwards. And then, for all that he’d wanted her out of the house - always telling her that she’d never amount to anything, always complaining that she was under his hooves all the time even though she was hardly ever there - he’d been notably displeased, even more than usual if that was even possible, when she’d managed to land a trainee job with the local weather bureau.

It wasn't the best job in Equestria, Rainbow'd freely admit that, but it was the best she could get after she’d dropped out of flight school. She’d barely scraped through on the written test but once she’d wowed the interviewer with both her enthusiasm and what she could do with her hooves - thanks to Champagne Supernova no less - they’d agreed to give her a chance, one that she’d grabbed with all four hooves like a mare possessed.

But dad... well, Rainbow doubted that anything short of saving the world would impress him.

He’d taken a liking to all the extra bits coming into the house though, meeting her at the weather office gates every payday so he could relieve her of her wage packet. ‘Back rent’ he’d called it, reeling off a long list of everything he’d had to sacrifice year after year just to keep a roof over her head, all the suffering he’d had to endure, the years he’d invested in her upbringing.

Ha, ‘upbringing’? What upbringing? Every chance he’d got he’d pushed her off on whatever mare was stupid enough to stick around long enough. This ‘roof over her head’? Rainbow could make a better roof than this sorry excuse for a cloud structure in her sleep.

Moving around the couch, using the snores to gauge the chances of her father waking up - fat chance of that - Rainbow pulled a large jar from where it was (badly) hidden under an old stool. Lifting the lid, she was dismayed to find that it was almost empty, nothing at its bottom but a hoof-full of bits.

It couldn’t be! Just two days ago this jar had contained her entire month’s wage packet... he couldn't have spent it all in just two days... could he?

Yes, it looked like he could, especially if the racing slips scattered around the floor were to be believed.

Well, this was it - Rainbow dropped the jar back into its hidey hole - so maybe she was stupid, and ugly, and a freak. And maybe no stallion was ever going to love her, and hold her, and tell her he would be hers for ever... but buck it, she still deserved better than this. If he wanted payment for all his sacrifices, all his suffering and hardships, well-

This.

Was.

It!

Debt repaid!

Moving back around the couch, she walked to the front door, the reassuring half weight of her saddlebacks resting on her back. Grabbing the door handle with a wingtip she pulled, opening the way forward- no more obstacles, no more waiting.

Fluttershy had been writing her for months now, ever since she’d moved to Ponyville, begging Rainbow to come live with her. Rainbow had always refused, saying there was too much in Cloudsdale for her, that she couldn’t leave her job, that she’d never be able to live on the ground like some kind of lame earth pony.

In truth, Rainbow had been telling herself that she had to make a stand, that she had to stick it out... but really she’d just been afraid.. afraid to leave... afraid to be on her own... afraid that her dad might have been right.

But finally - after Fluttershy had gotten her an interview with Ponyville’s weather control supervisor, and with a good word thrown in from her own supervisor - she’d been offered a place away from Cloudsdale... away from here... away from him.

It was only a junior position, and a part time one at that, but it was enough.

She.

Was.

Out.

Of.

Here.

Hooves hesitated at the threshold, even though they were aching to carry her away...

...but she couldn’t move. Not yet.

Stepping away from door, she walked back through the house, coming up short just in front of her father’s room.

With determination she strode into the room, swinging the door closed behind her. Taking a few deep breaths, her back to the door itself, she turned slowly, watching the dirty old riding crop slowly swinging on its hook.

Reaching out, she pulled it down, holding it in her wingtips.

The dirty brown leather felt... greasy against her feathers, almost alive.. like if she held it too long it would turn on her and bite.

Turning in place, holding the crop tightly, she pulled back her wing before flicking it as hard as she could.

The crop sailed out of the bedroom window, out over the edge of Flyby Street and way out into the sky beyond where it could drop down onto the ground far below for all Rainbow cared.

Pulling the bedroom door open again, she strode across the main room and straight out of the open door. Without looking back she spread her wings and took off.

For the first time in her life, she was truly free.

***************

December 1216AC
Clydesdale Lane
Ponyville

Rainbow... Rainbow... RAINBOW?

Eh? Yeah? What?

You okay?

Yeah, Yeah, I’m good, big guy.

You sure?

Yeah, just thinking.

About anything in particular?

What it was like... leaving home.

Oh. Want to talk about it?

Nah, not again, not right now anyway. Thanks though.

No problem, Dashie. Say, could you hold that piece straight out like this? This cloud-weaving spell’s about to die and I’m almost finished on the girls’ new mailbox.

No problems, here you go.

Thanks.

...

...

...

There. That’s it: one fully-finished newly-converted cloud-house, all ready for its new herd.

Cool. Looks good.

....

....

So, you think she’ll be ok?

Hmm, Scoots? Yeah, she’ll be ok. It’ll be tough, no doubt about that, but she’s got her friends-

- her ’herd’ now.

Ha, yeah. That’s gunna take some getting used to. But yeah, she’s got her herd, and her other friends at school, and she’s got us just across the street.

True. Still, you sure about this... giving up your house I mean?

Well, I figured, ‘why not’? Not like I need it anymore.

I know; but it’s... it’s your home, you know. It’s yours, you spent years building it up from nothing.

Yep. Took a long time to get it this awesome. But, it’s just a thing, just a pile of clouds really. I don’t need it anymore ‘cos I got you instead. Home’s, ya know, wherever you are, and that’s where I want to be.

Aaah- you soppy thing.

Yeah, but don’t tell anypony. It’d ruin my reputation.

Secret’s safe with me.

...

....

Big guy?

Yeah?

I love you.

I know, Dash. And I love you too.

Author's Note:

Yes, typos etc. Yadda yadda. They happen, get over it.

Comments

[Silentwoodfire]

And then one day that stallion was conscious JUST long enough to realize that he had no bits....and that he had to find a way to get some more without help.

Or he was so lazy by this point that he ended up homeless.....either way noones missing him

[Alaborn]

I'm trying to remember if the CMC herd gets a stallion at some point in this story.

[Dark Shade 75]

Champagne Supernova

That NAME though!

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the manliest of manly names.

Oh, and the chapter was nice, too.

[warpd]

Then her dad pretty much drops out of the xenophilia stories. Rainbow really knows how to cut her ties.

[Ybrad]

Anyone care to remind me who, if anyone, is Scoot's herd's Stallion?

[Stormwatch]

5069514 5068542
I recall it is Spike.

[Super_Big_Mac]

an empty bottle of hard cider falling from his chest and down to the floor

That... paints Dashie's thirst for Cider in the Flim-Flam episode in a prrreeeeetty bad light...

[Aru]

5068606 I'm moist thanks to the name alone and I'm hetero guy.

Also, nice chapter I wonder with whom Scoots is in the herd... Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and who? Spike maybe? That'll be plausible especially with all the girls growing up in the same town as him and in the close relations with quite interesting herd of human and ponies(not to mention that following some of the Xenoverse stories Scoots is at some point adopted by them.....I'd really like to see more of that time.)

[Cyi]

Chapter idea, lero's herd has to deal with rainbows unwelcome "father"

also cool chapter

[Red Bomber]

I forgot that her father was a dirt bag in this universe.

[Zer0prototype]

Id love to see some chapters where Lero and herd get to meet Rainbows father and lyra's family. I think it would be some fun world building and character development.

[RedMage0661]

You could say he's the polar opposite to the devoted father swapped Rarity describes in Divided Rainbow.

[BlueNinja]

and the lid had a habit of popping on on its own if it wasn’t fasten just-so.

*fastened

except that one she’d lost in a last month’s big storm.

Delete either the 'a', or the 'last month's' from the sentence.

more like Champagne Supernova?

That's an ... odd name for a Pegasus.

well, Rainbow doubted that anything short of saving the world would impress him.

Something tells me that not even that will impress him.

Yes, typos etc. Yadda yadda. They happen, get over it.

Never! You cannot quench the desire in my heart for correct grammar and spelling!!