//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Like a Pegasus in a Pottery Shop // by Fifths //------------------------------// IV Outside of Ponyville and near the forest there was a grove, not part of Everfree but not quite domesticated either. The grove enjoyed the shade of old oak and maple trees, and at its center was a little rain-fed pond, alive with the play of afternoon light and shadows across its surface. The grove was always a beautiful place, but it was particularly stunning now that the green was gone and autumn’s reds and golds radiated. A maple leaf the color of burnished copper flew from the tree and went dancing on the breeze, waltzing with fireflies to the music of crickets and bullfrogs, before it gently alighted upon the pond’s surface. The leaf was then crushed under a boulder that came smashing into the pond after it. The crickets and bullfrogs grew silent and were replaced by the grunts and moans of Rainbow Dash as she raged about the grove. Feathered and furry things peaked an eye out from their nests and watched bewildered as Dash raced about madly bucking at trees, kicking up swaths of earth, and airlifting great boulders into the sky only to let them come crashing down into the pond below. Dash’s muscles tensed and popped as she began lifting a particularly big boulder. The weight of the thing was formidable, and her lift slowed and stopped about halfway up. “Sparrow,” Rainbow Dash growled as sweat stung at her eyes. Her rage flared in her like engine fire, and she slowly began to lift again. “Um, R-Rainbow Dash?” a tiny voice said as Dash reached the summit of her climb. “W-what are you doing?” Dash released. The boulder plummeted and sunk deeply into the water, and the surface exploded with a splash. She whipped around to see Fluttershy hovering behind her, wincing down at the pond. “Throwing rocks,” Dash said. “Why, you got a problem with that?” “Oh, no...” Fluttershy started sinking away, but something buoyed her back up. “I mean, well, it’s not me personally, but… it’s just that my beaver friends live in that pond and, um well, you’re kind of destroying their home…” Rainbow Dash looked down and noticed floating across the surface of the pond were some twigs and packed mud, and sure enough, there on the shore were a half-dozen sleek brown mammals shaking their paws at her. Fluttershy smiled apologetically. “So if you could please…” “WHY THOSE LITTLE WATERLOGGED RODENTS!” Dash drew in her wings and shot like an arrow towards the family of beavers. “Oh my.” Fluttershy glided down after her. She landed to find Rainbow Dash screaming in the face of the papa beaver while he and his family chittered wildly in response. “THIS IS MY ROCK THROWING PLACE!” Dash’s voice cracked with exertion. “EVER SINCE I MOVED TO PONYVILLE, I’VE BEEN COMING HERE WHEN I  JUST NEED TO CHUCK SOME ROCKS! WHAT MADE YOU THINK YOU COULD BUILD YOUR HOUSE HERE?!” The papa beaver articulated something back at her. “What’d he say?” Dash demanded of Fluttershy, who cowered between the two parties. “Um, he says that you can go throw rocks anywhere.” Fluttershy was very careful to leave out the rest of what he had said. “HE CAN BUILD HIS HOUSE ANYWHERE!” Dash said, and the yelling began afresh.  “Chitterchittersqueakchitter!” “OH YEAH? WHY DON’T YOU MAKE ME?!” “Squeakchitterchitterclick?!” “WELL IT TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE, SWISHY!” Fluttershy cringed at Rainbow Dash’s nonsensical ad-libs. “Do-do you need help understanding what–” “I UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY’RE TRYING TO SAY JUST FINE!” “Okay.” The argument kept getting louder, fiercer, and more meaningless until finally Dash relented. “Ugh, alright, fine,” she said. “You want the place? Great, it’s yours now. Good luck with the boulder in the living room!” She spread her wings and flew off. Fluttershy muttered an apology to the beaver family and then went after her friend. “Is—is everything alright, Rainbow Dash?” she asked upon catching up to her. Dash turned on her. “Everything’s just fine, Fluttershy! Perfect! I was just rock bombing those beavers’ house for the fun of it.” Fluttershy backed away, and her lip began to quiver. Dash groaned and put up her hooves. “Oh, don’t cry. I’ve just been having a really bad day, alright?  I thought I’d be doing spins and flips with Gerard Goldenwings right now, but everything’s gone wrong today. Applejack couldn’t help me, and Twilight’s gone insane, AND CELESTIA, I CAN’T STAND THAT FREAKING BIRD!” Just thinking about the golden twit raised Dash’s hackles. “I’m sorry about that,” Fluttershy said. She cautiously drifted over and patted Dash on the shoulder. A quiet moment passed between them with only the sound of crickets to fill their ears. “You know, my animal friends and I were having afternoon tea back at my house before the beavers, um, summoned me. Would… would you like to come back and join us? I’m sure they would love the company, and it might help you feel better,” Fluttershy said. “If you want to, I mean.” Rainbow Dash smiled weakly and nodded. “Yeah, okay.” Being around Fluttershy did tend to chill Dash out, and she baked some pretty mean cinnamon cakes for those tea parties. The two flew southwest and talked for a little while about the weather, food, and what their friends were up to: stupid, little stuff, but it helped to cool Dash’s temper almost as much as a good rock throw did. They descended to the earth and began walking when they got close to Fluttershy’s cottage. Rainbow Dash breathed deeply as they came up the path towards the door. “Look Fluttershy, if the beavers need help moving those rocks and stuff…” “Oh, you don’t have to worry about it, Rainbow,” Fluttershy said. “I was just going to have Harry help them.” “Oh, thanks,” said Dash. “How is that old bear?” “He’s inside, why don’t you see for yourself?” Fluttershy opened the door to her cottage and led Dash in. They passed through the living room and into the kitchen where Fluttershy’s critter friends were seated. “I’ll just get you a cup,” Fluttershy said. Dash noticed that there was quite a number of them there. There were squirrels and ducks, chipmunks and rabbits of all kinds. Dash smiled at big, brown Harry with his massive paws wrapped around a teacup, and Harry waved a pinkie claw at her. Yes, there sure were a lot of animals here. Dash’s eyes passed along a beaver, a pigeon, a chipmunk, a sparrow, a frog, an owl… Dash blinked and looked back. Sure enough, sitting there as plain as day, was Gerard’s golden sparrow dipping his beak into a teacup big enough to bathe him. The critters chirped, chittered, roared, and quacked as Rainbow Dash dove across the table. The sparrow ducked under her outstretched hooves and took to the air with Dash in hot pursuit. Fluttershy whimpered something and the animals continued to scream as Rainbow Dash chased the sparrow around the kitchen from chandelier to larder to stove. The sparrow escaped through a small rectangular window over the sink. Rainbow Dash tried to follow after him, but she only succeeded in managing to get herself stuck halfway through the narrow passage. She struggled furiously to free herself, backside wagging about for everyone to see. Finally she went limp when she realized her efforts were futile. “Oh, not again,” she moaned, forced to watch as the sparrow vanished into the forest. “Applejack and Twilight are right: I am an idiot.” “Rainbow Dash!” came Fluttershy’s voice from inside. “What in Equestria was that for?” “That was the bird, Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash called back. “Do you mean that little Monsieur Ferris is what’s had you so angry today?” “How did you—" the window frame dug into her ribs as she tried to turn. “Hey look, could you just get me out of here? This isn’t any more comfortable than it looks, you know.” “Oh, sorry,” Fluttershy said. “Harry?” A moment later, Dash felt a tug pull her through the window. She found herself back in the kitchen, suspended upside down by the tail in Harry’s grasp. Harry looked down at the pegasus pony hanging from his claw like a turnip plucked fresh from the garden. Dash saw there was tea spilled all over his front. She smiled sheepishly at him, but that didn’t keep Harry from unceremoniously dumping her to the ground. “Ow... uh, thanks Harry.” Rainbow Dash got to her hooves and turned to Fluttershy. “How did you do it?” “How did I do what?” “Catch the bird!” Dash said. “Me and some of Equestria’s best fliers have been chasing after that little jerk all day, and we couldn’t catch him. What was your trick? Hypnosis? Ninja skills? Poison?” “Oh no, none of that,” Fluttershy said. “I was just out near the forest when I spotted this lonely little yellow birdie, so I invited him to come join our tea party.” “…And he didn’t fly away from you?” Fluttershy shook her head no. “He was a little skittish at first, but he settled down.” Dash studied the little mare closely. She had been chasing that bird all day long, and nopony had been able to get within ten feet without him tearing off like a bat out of Tartarus. “Come with me. I want you to show me how you were able to hunt down the beast.” “Well, I didn’t really... hunt... him,” “Whatever,” Dash said. “I want you to show me exactly what you were doing when you found him.” “Oh… well, it does look like I have to gather more tea leaves,” Fluttershy said, looking back at the upended teacups that littered the kitchen and her disappointed critter friends. “Great, come on, let’s go.” Dash started shoving Fluttershy out of her cottage. Fluttershy nabbed her wicker gathering basket just before she was pushed out the door. … Fluttershy hummed softly to herself as she examined the bushes for tea leaves by the edge of the forest. She did not normally like getting this close to the Everfree, but this late in the season, the only green leaves left were to be found near its outskirts. “Um, Would you maybe like to help me gather tea leaves, Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy asked. “Sometimes if you’re lucky, you’ll chance across a stray blackberry bush.” Rainbow Dash brusquely paced back and forth along the forest edge, eyes scanning the tree tops. “Can’t, gotta keep looking.” “Oh, okay.” Fluttershy said and returned to her picking. Rainbow Dash was getting more and more anxious with every second. The day was coming into that rich hue of afternoon that precedes evening twilight, and there would be no chance of catching the bird once it had gotten dark out. “Alright Fluttershy, the sparrow’s not here,” Dash said. “Come on, let’s go check somewhere else.” Fluttershy picked a sprig with her mouth and gently placed it in the wicker basket. “Um okay, if you think so, Rainbow Dash. I suppose we could get tea leaves from somewhere else, but what if Ferris comes here after we’ve left? Seems like we’ve got as much chance running into him here as anywhere else, and these are the best tea leaves, so um…” Rainbow Dash groaned and sank down on her haunches. She was fidgeting restlessly and Fluttershy was back to searching for the choicest sprigs when the sparrow flew out of the forest and perched on an overlooking branch. Dash rolled over in the grass, and that’s when she caught sight of the sparrow. She sprang and galloped over to Fluttershy. “Look!” she pointed him out. Fluttershy glanced up. “Yes, that’s him alright. Hello, Monsieur Ferris.” She gently waved a hoof at the sparrow and went back to nosing through the tea leaves. “Well, what are you waiting for?” Dash asked. “Go catch him.” “I can’t,” Fluttershy said. “...what?!” “Well now, Rainbow Dash, if you couldn’t catch him, then what chance do you think I have?” “But you had him at your cottage,” Dash said. “You said you’d show me how.” “Yes.” Fluttershy went back to her tea leaves. Rainbow Dash huffed and sank back down to the ground. She ground her teeth and pulverized the grass with her hooves, watching the sparrow watch Fluttershy gingerly pick through the tea plants. Time ticked by. About a quarter of an hour passed and the larks were starting to sing when Rainbow Dash noticed that Fluttershy had casually inched towards the tea plants directly below the sparrow. Dash’s heart began to drum when the sparrow took flight from his roost and flew down near to her. Fluttershy looked up at the sparrow and smiled. She began to work her wings and slowly rose up to meet him. The sparrow’s flying got a little skittish, and he started to edge away as Fluttershy got close. Fluttershy stopped and hovered in place for a while, waiting for his nerves to settle. She then slowly eased upward again and offered out a hoof to him when she came in range. The sparrow examined it and then her for a moment before finally grasping his talons onto the outstretched foreleg. Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped so hard that it nearly broke off. “I’m sorry about the tea party earlier,” Fluttershy cooed. “I didn’t know that you and one of my other friends had a history.” “HOW’D YOU DO THAT?!” Rainbow Dash asked, bolting up to where Fluttershy gently floated. The sparrow took flight and retreated at Dash’s approach, putting a healthy distance between them. Fluttershy brought Rainbow Dash close and put a hoof to her lips. “Shhhh.” She pointed to where the sparrow fluttered in tight, erratic loops. “Fast moves like that will just scare him. You have to be slow and gentle to show him you mean no harm. You have to show him you’re a friend, and then let him make the last move to you.” “I don’t really do slow and gentle,” Rainbow Dash said. “You will if you want to get Monsieur Ferris to come to you.” Dash gulped and nodded. She began to ever so delicately inch towards the sparrow, trying her best to mimic what Fluttershy had done moments earlier. “Remember, let him make the last move to you,” Fluttershy called softly after her. The sparrow jittered as Dash came closer. One jerk, one unmeasured movement, and he would be off. Dash’s jaw tightened; the building tension from exercising so much restraint was an ache bordering on pain for her. Her body felt like a guitar string tightened to its snapping point and tightening with every inch closer she came to the sparrow. “Uh, hey buddy,” Dash said. She began to slowly, ever so slowly, put out a hoof, trying her hardest to keep it from shaking. “Gerard really misses you. Want me to give you a ride back to him?” The sparrow looked at her… …and looked… …and looked… ...but he came no closer. Dash sighed and turned back towards Fluttershy. “I don’t think it’s working, Fluttershy. I don’t think he–” That was when she felt the poke of two tiny talons on her skin. Dash looked down and saw perched on her right shoulder and snuggling into her fur was the sparrow. He peeped up at her. Dash felt lightning surge through her entire body, the same electric joy she felt crossing the finish line. She filled her lungs to whoop in victory, but then she saw Fluttershy shaking her head and pushing her hooves down. Rainbow Dash breathed the air out slowly. “Yay.” … When the rays of the setting sun began to caress the world, Gerard Goldenwings decided to return to the little outdoor cafe he had taken his breakfast at. Gerard had had a lovely day touring the quaint Equestrian village free of the… distractions his celebrity usually brought him; he made a note to himself to buy a bag of that special seed Ferris enjoyed so much. At the cafe, Gerard found himself conversing in his native tongue with the waiter pony whose dexterity had impressed him earlier. He learned how his family had come to live in Grifrance all those years ago and why as a stallion he had decided to return to his native land. It was an arresting story. As the waiter pony reached the end of his tale, Gerard noticed the form of a pegasus gliding towards them. His brilliant eyes revealed it to be none other than Rainbow Dash, the other pony who had made an impression on him that morning. And surprise of surprises, she had Ferris atop her shoulder. “Pardonnez-moi, s'il vous plaît,” Gerard excused himself. Horte Cuisine bowed and took his leave as the pegasus landed and delicately hobbled over so as not to disturb Ferris’ perch. Gerard stretched out a talon and made a clicking sound with his tongue. Ferris departed from his nest of blue fur and landed upon his master’s claw. “Well, hello there, my little friend,” Gerard said. “I trust you’ve had an interesting day.” Ferris tweeted pleasantly in response. Gerard gently ruffled the bird’s feathers before turning his attentions to Rainbow Dash. “Why thank you, my dear, although I must be honest: this I did not expect.” “Yeah,” Dash said, looking between Gerard and his pet. “I was thinking about it on the way over: You didn’t expect anypony to catch him, did you?” “No, because he can’t be caught,” Gerard said. “There are some, though, that he takes a liking to. It seems you’re one of them.” “Thanks, but I can’t really take too much credit.” Dash kicked around a little dirt, her brow knit up in thought. “All I did all day was try everything I could to force my hooves on him. I chased him as fast as I could and tried every trick I could think of. When that didn’t work, I chased him even harder and tried borrowing some tricks from my friends. When that didn’t work, I kinda freaked out because that always works. I like to win, and I’m not used to giving something everything I’ve got and still... losing. Luckily, I have another old friend, a friend who’s good with animals. She’s the one who finally made me see that this was something I just couldn’t force.” “Mm, perhaps I should be thanking this friend of yours instead,” Gerard mused. “Where is she, might I ask?” “Probably serving crumpets to a bear,” Dash said, smirking. “She invited you and Ferris to come to dinner at her cottage some time, by the way.” “Ah, a nice, quiet dinner in a country cottage, how lovely. Of course I accept, but please try not to tell any of your flier friends about it or else it may turn into a banquet,” Gerard said with a wink. “Heh. You know, you could’ve just told us that you weren’t giving any lessons if you wanted to be left alone,” Dash said. “No need to send us off on a wild goose, er, sparrow chase.” “Do you think? It’s my experience that those who come seeking my tutelage are extraordinarily bad at actually listening to me,” Gerard said. “Easier to just give them what they want: They come for lessons, and Ferris has quite a lesson of his own to teach.” “What, is it that golden sparrows are really freaking hard to catch?” Dash asked. “Something like that.” Gerard sat in silence for a little while, gently stroking Ferris’ head and enjoying the last of the afternoon. “Tell me, do you happen to know the story of Hashala and the golden sparrow?” “Uh...” she shot a glance over at the town library. “a bit.” “I’ll keep to the short version then,” Gerard said. “Hashala was the first great caliph. He was an incredible, young stallion: strong, brave, charismatic, and the fastest runner the world had ever known. It’s said that in his prime, he could run across the whole of the Saddle Arabian desert in the space of a night and a day, not having to stop once. Using these gifts, he conquered all his enemies and bound the whole country to his rule. At his coronation, flushed in glory and power, Hashala crowned himself the sun and moon of Saddle Arabia and told his new subjects that his reign would last forever. The applause was like thunder, but over it all rose the cackle of a foreign witch from the jungle who came forward to challenge Hashala’s claim.” ”Why’d he invite her?” Dash blurted out. “Pardon?” Gerard said. “The witch. Why did he invite a witch to his coronation party?” Dash asked. ”Kinda sounds like asking for trouble.” “I don’t think he invited her.” “Then why’d she show up?” Gerard shrugged. “Free hors d’oeuvres? Anyway, she called him an idiot king all tongue, leg, and loin and told him his rule would not even last beyond the summer of his youth if he did not make a journey away from his capital into the desert wild to find some brains. There he would meet a snake, a monkey, and a golden sparrow, and from them he must take a fang, fur, and feather. ‘The fang, fur, and feather are wiles, wit, and wisdom,’ the witch said, ‘and you will need all three to be more than king of a season, summer’s king.’ Hashala laughed at all this and kindly informed the foreign witch that it’s always summer in the desert. He had her thrown out and resumed the celebration, but her words came back and bothered him that night and many nights after. He did not put much stock to his court’s rumors that the witch had come to prophesy, but what she said did sound to him like a challenge, and Hashala was not one to leave a challenge unanswered. One day, he went into the desert wild to attain the fang, fur, and feather, assuring his advisers that the errand would not take him more than a week. Perhaps he would have been right if it were just the fang and the fur. The snake and the monkey were not hard for him to catch, for he had already learned much of wiles and wit from his court, but wisdom, ah wisdom had managed to escape him. And so did the sparrow, again and again.” Ferris rubbed his head against Gerard’s claw. Gerard ruffled his feathers again and resumed his narration. “Hashala was proud and refused to be defeated by a little, yellow bird. He chased this sparrow across the desert for years, enlisting the help of many strange and wonderful beings and hatching ingenious scheme after ingenious scheme to catch her, but she always managed to escape. He’d probably still be chasing her to this day if Hashala had not come to notice something new and very disturbing about himself: He was getting slower. Just a bit, he was still the greatest runner in his country, but he could feel the leagues getting longer, and he had to stop to rest more often. One morning, he resolved to push himself through the desert in the space of a night and a day just to prove he still could, but by sunset he was forced to stop, to sleep, with the lone and level sands still stretching far away. As he made his camp, Hashala reflected bitterly on this and on the years he had squandered chasing the sparrow. As he drifted to sleep, he decided that the next day he would return to his capital. It would always be summer in the desert, but it would not always be in him, and he wanted to spend what was left of his summer meaningfully. The next morning, he awoke to find that a golden feather had been left for him atop his saddlebag.” Gerard paused when he noticed that Dash was only half-listening. She was staring off past Gerard a thousand miles into the distance, the autumn breeze playing with the stray hairs and feathers hanging off her young body. Her gaze followed the breeze as it slipped over her and across the town, through fields and hills, up into the sky painted a masterpiece by the old sun, and finally northward, northward all the way to Canterlot. “See what I mean about my students never listening?” Gerard asked Ferris softly, rumbling a little with his deep, low chuckle. “Huh? Oh sorry, I’m still here,” Dash said. “Just thinking about a letter I probably need to write.” There was an uncharacteristically somber note to her voice, and she looked different from the pony Gerard had met that morning, smashing through the crowds and boasting about her Rainboom. At that late hour the colors of fall touched everything, and when Gerard looked at her now, he saw not a rainbow, but the red and orange of falling leaves, the gold of tall grain, the deep green of dying moss, the blue and violet influence of coming night. “What happened next to Lasha-Ha, I mean to Hasha– What happened next to Caliph Hash?” Dash asked. “Many years of adventure and fruitful rule,” Gerard said, “but I don’t think we have time for the full saga right now. There’s only a little daylight left, and I want to reward you for bringing my friend to me. Were there any maneuvers that you were hoping to see today, my dear?” Dash snapped out of her dreamy reverie at that and was back to her old self. She gave her head a good shake and started thumping all four hooves on the ground. “Oh, you gotta show me the Reverse Half Eight!” Gerard groaned. “Will I ever be known for anything else?” He released Ferris to the air and stretched his legs and his legendary wings. Ferris flew a knot into the air and circled around Dash a few times before darting off over the rooftops out to the countryside. Gerard and Dash were preparing to take off after him when a black shape dropped out of the sky and landed right in front of them. “ehuff Gerard huhff huhff Goldenwings,” Thunderlane managed to gasp out. His fur was matted and covered in burrs, and his hooves were chipped in a couple places, but his eyes were absolutely shining. “I did it, Gerard, I got him! It wasn’t easy...” a couple more gasps “It wasn’t easy, but I got him. Here!” He presented not a sparrow, but what was pretty clearly a tortoise, bits of green shell showing through where the gold paint was scratched. The tortoise turned his head to Dash and blinked. Gerard and Rainbow Dash looked at the tortoise and then at each other, and they began to laugh. The End