//------------------------------// // The One Where Rainbow Starts Again // Story: Close the Curtains, There's a Breeze. // by All Art Is Quite Useless //------------------------------// Tired of the slow and lackadaisical woodland creatures, Rainbow's eyes quickly settled on two hummingbirds, diving from just above her, hitting some pretty impressive speeds, considering their sizes. Rainbow was easily able to keep up with the pair's movements, she could even count their wing beats if she really focused. However, she was more interested in the lead hummingbird, a female, she deduced, and the male following it. The female was flying with purpose and determination, only, she never got very far with the erratic male on her tail, bidding for her attention. A continuous beep tore away the veneer, stripping all substance and colour from Rainbow's surroundings, leaving nothing but darkness, then, a far off, distorted view of what appeared to be her bedroom ceiling. Rainbow was squinting up at the ceiling, the last memories of her dream fading from the foreground of her consciousness, the spectacle of the hummingbirds interrupted by the early call of a new day. Rainbow barely noticed her smile fading along with them. She sighed softly, throwing the duvet back and opening her eyes fully, letting more of the light in than she had hoped she might. Standing on weak hooves, she reached for the alarm on her bedside table, tapping the switch. Not a single groan escaped her, nor a complaint, or even the hint of one. Rainbow was glad to have been visited by her avian friends, even if she hadn't realised it yet. That, coupled with her chance to vent to Tank the night before had lead her to a single conclusion the moment she woke up. This is gonna be a good day. I'm gonna make sure of it! Rainbow drew energy from her optimism, determined to not repeat any of yesterday's mistakes if she could help it. With this in mind, she sat and thought about exactly what she could do to make this a good day, although, she knew she would be better suited to do so once she had woken up a little. Rainbow would have usually groaned aloud at the prospect of planning anything, especially upon first waking. So, rather than use the word 'plan', she opted to dub her considerations a 'recipe for awesomeness'. Her ego accepted this as an appropriate means to achieve a positive day, and allowed Rainbow to make her plans unabashed. Apparently, her ego was easy to win over, it just needed to hear a synonym of the word 'cool' and she was good to go. Right, what's the plan then? Rainbow twitched where she stood. Uhh, recipe! I meant recipe. She lightly scoffed. Ugh, who am I kidding? That sounds stupid as hell. Rainbow lightly chortled as she stooped down in the centre of her room, touching her muzzle behind each of her forelegs from a standing position, loosening her shoulders, before stretching outwards, cracking multiple sections of her spine, causing her to involuntarily groan in approval. Tank stirred, and Rainbow flinched in worry. A few more stretches, and Rainbow decided to completely skip her morning exercises. She knew that Tank should wake naturally, and she didn't want to ruin his routine further by being loud. She only had to hover on the subject for a couple of seconds before facehoofing in total self annoyance, her eyes scrunching shut. Rainbow had forgotten to bath Tank yesterday. When Rainbow had originally picked up Tank from Fluttershy, she had refused to sit and be lectured on how to properly care for a tortoise. She had told Fluttershy that she 'had it down' and asked her 'how hard can it be?'. Rainbow looked back on her younger self with disgust, wondering how she could have been so arrogant and pigheaded over something so simple. Had she listened when Fluttershy had offered to help her, she might have been prepared for his eventual hibernation, rather than attempting to sabotage the weather factory over it. Thing is, that was only the second time she had unknowingly endangered Tank. When Rainbow first started caring for Tank, she assumed that like all other animals, he would need food, water, and sleep. Rainbow began to grow increasingly worried when she noticed that the small water bowl she had left out for Tank hadn't gone down in volume over the space of a week. She had visited Fluttershy in a panic, who had asked Rainbow if she had been bathing Tank properly. Rainbow had appeared embarrassed by the idea of washing him, and claimed to wax his shell once every few days. Fluttershy became angry then, and Rainbow didn't know what the issue was. She discovered through ten minutes of heated scolding that tortoises imbibe a portion of their water through food, and absorb the rest whilst bathing, meaning that they should be half submerged in water at least every other day, and every day without fail during the hottest months. Rainbow had taken Fluttershy's stern advice on board and not missed a bath since. Well, until now, at least. Work was killing Rainbow, and she had completely forgotten to bathe Tank in all of her exhaustion, physical and mental. A stiff crack of her wing joints later, she was floating over Tank, using gentle motions to keep herself afloat (so as not to rouse him). She briefly touched her hoof to one of his legs, seeing if he felt any dryer than usual, and then realised that she had no clue whether that would actually tell her anything, or how dry a tortoise is even meant to feel. Rainbow hated how carefree and oblivious she had been when she had first obtained Tank, and felt incredibly guilty for having neglected him yet again, but knew that she had a chance to rectify it now. It was why she had got up over a half hour early, after all. Rainbow strode to the bathroom, permitting herself a short shower. She washed herself, sans mane, and quickly dried off, floating and shivering from the cold air all the while. When she was dry, she stepped into the kitchen, intent on making breakfast, but grabbed an apple on a whim, eating it in three bites as she walked to her door. She eyed her hangers, noticing the distinct lack of a flight suit. They're both dirty, aren't they? Wonderful. Rainbow walked all the way back to her bedroom, swallowing the last of her apple as she went, grabbing her discarded flight suit from the night previous and taking it to the bathroom. There, she ran a full sink and placed it inside with a liberal amount of soap, leaving it to soak. Rainbow now knew that she would absolutely have to wash and dry it, which was why she had done it in the first place, to avoid her shirking out on responsibility later. That still didn't stop her from being pissed at herself for not washing it when she should have. Mandatory obligations taken care of, Rainbow left the house and took flight, heading towards the Everfree Forest. Rainbow had spent even less time than usual stretching out and getting loosened up this morning, and her wings paid the toll, aching for the first dozen flaps or so, the dull pain gradually dwindling as she pressed on. Rainbow's thoughts drifted to her dream, and she scratched her head, her eyes searching the vicinity for nothing in particular. Huh. It didn't end? I don't really know what to think about that, it always ends right after I finish my routine. Rainbow thought about the last image she remembered seeing before waking up, her eyes widening. Did I even do any of my routine? All I remember this time is the birds. The guy bird was chasing the female, but she didn't wanna fly with him, I remember that much. Well, she either didn't want to, or she was testing him? I couldn't tell, really, she recalled the male hummingbird's attempts, compared to the female's serious drive and seemingly superior flying skills. And he was relentless too! He just kept going, even when she ignored him. That's determination right there. A moment later, and Rainbow's mood had turned sombre. Well, until he lost interest, I guess? Soon enough, she felt herself growing worried for the female. And if he lost interest in her, who's to say he ever came back? She might have been lonely for the rest of her life, with no one to fly with. A foolish grin then appeared on Rainbow's face, her positive side had won. Nah, he was just going to regroup. He was probably came back an hour later with a songbird quartet or something. This thought soothed Rainbow, who didn't care to rationalise her attachment to a pair of birds from her dreams, but didn't mind it either. It was with that thought that she landed on the grass outside Fluttershy's cottage, fighting a fresh yawn as she trotted up to the door and softly rapped against the solid wood. If there was anyone who was fit to look after Tank properly while she was away working, it was Fluttershy, as much as it pained her to admit it. Rainbow would scarcely admit it to herself, but she knew that Fluttershy was close to all animals, and she worried that if Tank spent too much time around Fluttershy, he might forget about her. She knew it was illogical, but she couldn't help it. For a long time now, when Rainbow had no one to rely on or speak to at night, Tank had filled that hole in her life, and he gave her peace and happiness in doing so. But, she knew it was give and take, and she couldn't forgive herself if he wasn't getting the top notch treatment he deserves. Rainbow knew that the more she had been working full time, the less time she had been able to spend with him, and now it had actually got to the point that she was forgetting to do the essentials for him. It would pain her a little to have to give him up, even if it was just while she was out on work days, but she knew there was no other way around it. Tank needed care and attention that she couldn't always provide, but her friend could, even if it meant that she might worm her way into Tank's heart and become his new favourite, or whatever. Rainbow was prepared for that. What she wasn't prepared for, however, was the lack of response from inside the cottage. Forgoing courtesy, Rainbow knocked with significant force, hoping to rouse her friend. After about twenty seconds of waiting (during which time Rainbow began to tap out a beat on the door frame out of sheer boredom) there was a thudding on the window, and Rainbow looked to her left to find Angel propped up against it, poking away. Rainbow, confusion apparent, tried to ask Angel what he wanted but then remembered she didn't speak rabbit, rolled her eyes, and tried the door, it was unlocked. Rainbow wandered inside, searching left and right, but found no sign of Fluttershy. She called her names a couple of times but still received nothing in response. As she turned to leave, she felt Angel patting at her hoof with his paw, and eyed him curiously. "What is it, Angel? Where's Fluttershy gone?" Angel scampered off, before returning with an apple in his paw, which he gestured with, waving it in front of Rainbow's face. "Uhh... My breath smells like apples? I already knew that," She chuckled, cheeks rosy. Angel facepalmed, before raising the apple once again, shaking it more vigorously, and pointing out the window with his other paw. "She's at Sweet Apple Acres? Aw, nuts, I'll never catch her there, I don't have time for that!" Angel shrugged, tapping his wrist as if it was a watch, then miming running. Apparently, he was adept at understanding pony speech. Rainbow took it to mean that if she left now, she could probably catch up to her pretty quickly. Rainbow sighed, gazing around the room once more. "No, dude, you don't understand," she said, now walking around the front room of Fluttershy's cottage. "I'm willing to bet that the only reason Fluttershy is over there is to help Applejack with something, right? I mean, they don't usually hang out there." Angel nodded, eyeing Rainbow questioningly as she considered meandering around the room. "Which means that if I go there now, I'll either have to wait for them both to be done or help out myself if I wanna get a decent conversation out of her." She paused eventually at a cabinet to the side of the room, picking up a pen in her mouth, along with a small sheet of paper in her hooves, which she laid on the cabinet. "Nowf, ushually I'd be allf for that, buu--" Rainbow quickly scribbled a note on the sheet, placing the pen down and continuing what she was saying without any obstruction. "I start work in like an hour, and I can't be late." Rainbow pondered her next step before holding out the hastily written letter for Angel, who took it. "Anyways, speaking of which, I'm gonna have to be off. Gotta find someone to look after Tank on really short notice now, and I've got no clue who's free to do it. Make sure you give that to Flutters, okay?" Angel gave the note a once over before shaking his head, gesturing to the stairs, and imitating walking up them. Rainbow completely shrugged this off, on account of her barely paying any attention to it. "Great, dude, see ya!" And with that, Rainbow sped off. Argh, great, and I told myself I wouldn't get all wound up today, but what am I gonna do? I can't let Tank keep going without care and company, but I can't exactly take him to work with me either! Rainbow scowled, looking back at the cottage. I swear, it's just my luck that she wasn't in! Damn it, who should I even go to? Rainbow racked her brain, recalling the names of all the ponies she knew, and then reducing it to the list of ponies she would trust with Tank. Out of those, Rarity was away at her Canterlot store, Cadence lived in another country, and Daring Do probably had her own problems. There was no way she was leaving Tank with Twilight, it was too close to Spike. After she had heard about what really happened when Spike was left pet-sitting, she had made a conscious effort to keep Tank far away from him. As for Pinkie, while she was sure that she'd try her utmost to be responsible, she left gummy alone to bake a cake once, who knows what she'd do with Tank? And Applejack? As much as Rainbow loved Applejack, she couldn't help but worry that she might try and teach him to buck apples, or send him to dig out plants, or something like that. Honestly, if there was anything that mare loved more than long stories and rodeos, it was being the recipient of unpaid labour. That didn't leave Rainbow many options, but she needed a solution, and fast. Locked in mental debate, she headed off in no direction in particular, knowing time was of the essence, seeking somepony to watch over her beloved tortoise while she braved another day at work. It was a small consolation that she had the plan worked out by now, a rough draft of it, at least. Phase 1: Find a petsitter for Tank. Phase 2: Sort my crap out, and get to work on time. Phase 3: Stop exhausting yourself at work. Talk to Spitfire about the rotas and tell Wave to Chill, pun intended. Phase 4: Don't let anything Zephyr Breeze does bother you, be happy for him, but not too happy for him. Most of all, don't let him being there interfere with your work life. Phase 5: Succeed and be happy. Scarcely ordered thoughts in mind, Rainbow picked up the pace, frantically searching around Ponyville for a viable (and, most importantly, available) pet-sitter.