//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 - Date day, part 2 // Story: Morning in Ponyville // by Skarsnik //------------------------------// Morning was in the bathroom of her friend house, specifically in the bathtub. It was smaller than the one of Cady and Daddy but it was big enough for two fillies. Dinky was brushing vigorously her coat to remove what was a mix of flour, eggs and sugar. “I am sorry. Mommy is so clumsy.” sighed Dinky her ears hanging low. “It’s okay”  replied Morning her eyes closed “When I do some cakes with Mommy Velvet, she does not like when the kitchen get dirty.” “It must be easier when you can use magic.” Morning nodded and replied with enthusiasm “But, you are getting better every day!” “Yes.” Dinky paused in her scrubbing “But Mommy Velvet is your grandma no? It’s weird!” “I am a weird filly?” the younger unicorn asked in reply, her ears lowered on her head and not only from being wet. Morning felt a hoof land on his head, startling her more than hurting her “No sad filly here! Mommy number one rule!” said Dinky before giggling “And I don’t know. It’s like you have two mommies!” Morning smiled, Dinky had always words to cheer up in what was a very confusing world for the young filly. Dinky get back at scrubbing the other filly coat “You know what is weird?” “No?” “Diamond Tiara.” Morning had noticed said filly bothering the other foals at school, especially the group of fillies that call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusader “She is not very nice.” “Yeah! That the point. She always bullies other but not you!” Full of energy Dinky pulled Morning mane eliciting a small “Ouch” “Sorry.  But she did not even make fun of my cutie mark like she did to Berry! I just don’t get it.” “I don’t know. I never saw her bully you.” “Nop! She made fun of my mom once.” Morning ears dropped low again, Dinky’s mother was not like other ponies, but for the filly she was the kindest pony she ever met, maybe kinder than Cady! “Ho.” “I give her a muffin.” Morning mood lightened and she giggled. She looked around her, eyeing the muffin shaped shampoo bottle. The muffin themed wallpaper. Even the soap Dinky was using smelled of muffins. She felt another hoof poking her head “Muffins are serious business!” before hearing a fit of giggles. --- It was the end of the first part of the show, mainly the reserve team doing smooth but not hard death-defying trick, it was still impressive and they get many cheers from the ponies in the crowd including Twilight. “Wow that was great, I can probably show them 1 or 2 tricks but the rookies are good. A bit slow.” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “That was really something!” beamed Twilight stopping clapping her hooves. She had been really engrossed by the show, occasionally cheering on the most exceptional display. “Hey Twilight, can I ask you something?” The pegasus excitement and smile had vanished. “Anything.” Twilight was nervous now, maybe her friend had feelings for her too and was impressed by the date! “You remember Discord? I mean of course you remember, but what he did to us?” Twilight heart skipped a beat, she did not like talking about Discord and it shattered her silly expectation “You mean, not acting like yourself?” “Yeah. I” the pegasus mare looked left and right “Is that bad to leave your friend to check on your family? I, you are all crazy with your sister and… nevermind, you stayed.” “Are you alright Rainbow Dash?” Twilight was taken aback by her friend lack of usual confidence. “Yeah fine” she left her seat by hovering with her wings “Want something to drink? I see there is a nice bar.” Twilight eyed Rainbow Dash looking at the various drink the luxury bar of the VIP Area had to offer. She sighed and throw her gaze on the stadium below. She still did not understand how she did not leave for Canterlot to check on Morning, was she a good mother? Rationally Twilight knew the filly had been safe, Ponyville seems to attract every mayhem and Canterlot was full of guard dedicated to the protection of ponies. But she had probably been afraid with all this confusion, crying for her mother, while said mother was worrying about her… friends. “Hey, Twilight. They really have nice drinks.” Twilight barely acknowledged the return of her friend, her eyes still fixed on a young pegasus foal resting on the lap of her mother. He was babbling and gurgling, reminding Twilight of easier times. “Equestria to Twilight.” “Yes?” “Here you drink, I took you some Cloudsdale speciality: Cloudberries juice.” Confused, Twilight grabbed the proffered glass in her magic. “Cloudberries?” “You don’t know what Cloudberries are?” the pegasus asked with a big grin. “No. There are a lot of berries, but I doubt Cloud can produce berries. Maybe if you mix a Cloud with some fertile soil, but how do you hold soil in something non-solid like gas. Or maybe Clouds can be dense enough? Since you can build houses with it, It’s probably doable? I wish I did more reading on...” Twilight stopped, blushing “...am I rambling again?” “No, you just ruined the joke.” Ears dropped on Twilight head “Ho, I am sorry.” The pegasus chuckled “Nah, it’s alright. But taste it now.” Twilight levitated the glass in front of her. Trying to figure what was in it exactly, It was purplish with some white strains. The white swirled in the glass. She took a sniff of the drink, it smelled very sweet. “Just drink it!” The unicorn nodded and took a small sip “Oh,” she paused “I never drink something like this. It’s really good! So what is this?” “Actually I don’t know. I think my dad knows.” *** After the show was over Rainbow Dash and Twilight entered the area where most of the Wonderbolts were drinking and chatting with each other. A bright yellow pegasus with a fiery mane easily recognisable as Captain Spitfire marched toward the duo to greet them “A pleasure to have you here, Miss Sparkle.” she looked her pegasus friend “Rainbow Dash, I did not expect you there.” She poked the mare on the chest with a hoof “I expected to see you at the last recruit trial session.” “Oh, My Gosh. Oh My Gosh Spitfire.” “Let me deal with that.” said a grinning white grey stallion. He grabbed Rainbow Dash neck with a hoof. “Oh, My Gosh. Oh My Gosh Soarin.” “Yes, ponies often called me that.” he replied leading her toward a nearby table where was already chatting other Wonderbolts. Twilight looked with a small dose of envy, she wished she was confident like this Wonderbolt stallion. “Soarin is good with fans.” grunted Spitfire. The unicorn realised the company she was with “Ho, Ho. The show was amazing! The way you manage to flight in such a tight formation while keeping a flawless group synchronisation!” Spitfire smiled “Thank you. I will take that as a great compliment coming from the sister of Captain Shining Armor.” Twilight’s eyes darted left and right “You know my brother?” “The question is more how you are not as famous as my team across Equestria. Miss Sparkle, Element of Magic and already twice saviour of Equestria. You alone make the whole military feel like foals.” the mare smirked. The unicorn blushed as the praise. “I was not alone and I merely did what a pony will do in the same position.” Twilight already knew this concern, her brother made a similar remark, but with more anger and hurt. “Every group work with a great leader.” Not pressing the issue, Spitfire continued “Anyways what are you doing here? I did not take you for the kind of pony to came see one of our show.” “Ho, I… I am here with Dashie! She… I had two tickets and...” stammered the unicorn. “Oh, that explain the dresses. You two are an item? That’s cute.” “Ho, no, no, no!” Twilight clapped her mouth shut with a hoof then resigned herself seeing the grin on the other mare grown “She… well, not yet?” Spitfire looked at the cyan mare talking with the other Wonderbolts “Maybe not the best choice, but good luck.” “What do you mean?” “Well, most of the best Wonderbolts don’t have a serious relationship or even friends outside the team.” Ears on Twilight’s head dropped “I guess it’s hard work and a hard commitment.” Spitfire patted the other mare on the back “Hey, you seem to defy all odds. Like I said to all recruit, don’t give up without even trying. So put a confident smile on your face and invite her for a nice dinner or something after you two are out of here.” Twilight felt her confidence boosted and she replied: “Thank for the advice.” --- Twilight slowly walked behind her crush. She had followed Captain Spitfire suggestion and asked Rainbow Dash if they could eat in a restaurant that offers Cloudsdale speciality. Lyra had emitted the same idea but the Wonderbolt captain words comforted her choice. She avoided looking at the pegasus flanks in front of her. The dress she was wearing was frustrating for that as the translucent cape was not hiding enough while showing too much. And it probably was not a good idea to become all flustered before meeting her father. So instead she looked at the bare cloud wall. They were in a less attractive part of the factory. What she visited with her friends was more on the outside. The building they were heading was clearly more for management and office ponies. Twilight was surprised that a lot of ponies greeted Rainbow Dash as they passed in front of offices of various size. Some ponies were taking coffee and stopped their conversation to ask how she was doing. “I kinda grow up here, my dad could not afford a babysitter. So he brings me to work. It was so booring” was the pegasus reply when Twilight inquired the reason. Finally, they stopped in front of a massive door with bold black writing Rainbow Blaze, head scheduling manager. Rainbow Dash knocked on the door. Twilight heard a voice “Come in.” Rainbow Dash did not wait more and pushed the door open, inviting Twilight to follow. “Hey Dashie, I did not expect you.” said a pegasus stallion, his coat had a darker blue hue than the younger pegasus, the mane was the same but cut much shorter and trimmed in a tamer way. “I see you are wearing the dress I offer you for Hearth Warming. What the special occasion?” “Ho, I was at the opening show of the Wonderbolts!” The stallion raised an eyebrow “I thought you did not manage to buy tickets, always getting things done at the last minute. You did not pay an expensive price from some weird seller, ain’t you?” “What? No! Wait. This is Twilight, she had two VIP tickets.” Twilight step up to greet the stallion “Good afternoon, my name is-” She was cut by a powerful hug coming from the stallion, it felt like hugs she could get from her own father. Unlike her father, he did not linger and was quick to give the mare some space. “Twilight Sparkle!” he watched one on his hoof before raising it toward the mare “A pleasure to meet you.” Twilight grabbed the hoof and shook it normally “The pleasure is mine.” “Sorry for the… hug. It’s not all day I can meet the mare that keeps my little Dashie safe.” “Dad you are so awkward with ponies, it’s not a surprise you are still single.” ”Ho hush now… wait” the stallion walked again toward his daughter, he poked the leg that was in the cast eliciting a wince from the mare. He asked with a disapproving glare “How did you do that? Did you go to the hospital? Did you follow your doctor's recommendation? Did you have a bad crash again? Did you drink lot of milk?” Twilight watched with a hint of amusement Rainbow sheepishly backing up like a filly. “Yeah, No I did not crash this time. And yes I follow the doctor instruction to the T. Happy?” “Happy is not the word, if you want to become a Wonderbolt you need perfect recovery and...” “...a perfect diet. I know, jeez.” finished Rainbow Dash. “I worry about you, that’s all. But you did not answer my question. What did you do?” Twilight saw Rainbow avoiding the gaze of her father. She felt that she should give a way out to her pegasus friend, but the stallion looked determined like… a mother scolding a foal. “So?” he repeated. “I went into a fight.” “What? How many times do I have to tell to not fight ponies.” “She hits me first!” “You always say that… Wait, did you fight with friend Applejack again? I thought it was always good-natured.” “She insulted Twilight and her family!” Twilight reacted immediately, she really did not want for this story to spread “I am not sure your father wants to hear that.” The stallion backed away from Rainbow “Hm. We will talk about this later. So how was the new Wonderbolt show?” “It was awesome, I thought I saw all of their tricks, but they pull off even more crazy stunts. You should have seen when Spitfire did a corkscrew just inside Soarin barrel roll!...” Twilight watched with amusement and envy father and daughter talking about the flying stunts she saw at the stadium. They probably could relate better than her with them being pegasus. If she was with her brother she would likely talk about the formation and the impressive coordination of the Wonderbolts. “Miss Sparkle, do you want to stay for dinner?” “Sorry?” “Yes, Dashie told me you want to taste some of Cloudsdale specialities. I could order some and we eat at home. That way I could know you better.” That totally went against her plans of a nice romantic dinner with Rainbow Dash, but she did not have a good excuse to say no. “Yes. Thank a lot for the offer.” The stallion clapped his hooves “Great.” --- Twilight was seated on a chair around a great table, Rainbow Dash’s father house was surprisingly less impressive than her friend house, no extra rainbows fountains or other embellishments outside. Still, it was definitely bigger, large enough to host a sizable family which was confusing for Twilight since they were only 3 around the table. She nearly expected more siblings or maybe some servants. On the walls were pictures of either Rainbow Dash alone or father and daughter together at various place and different age. Mainly starting at her teenage years but still was lost 2-3 pictures of a younger Dash. Twilight though that maybe Rainbow Dash had removed the more embarrassing one or her father keep them in a photo album for later embarrassment or blackmail. She was both amused and frightened at the thought since her own mother was keeping a similar album and she was here when her mother shared the one about Shiny with Cadance. It had been a cute moment for the mares involved, including a lot of giggling, but a great emotional turmoil for the lonely stallion. They had eaten various dish trough dinner, surprisingly not all of them were cloud themed like Twilight expected. Though the desert was a very light pastry done with cloud mixed in the batter if Rainbow Dash father words were to be trusted. The stallion wiped his face “So. When are you applying for the Wonderbolt?” “Meh, you know me, they are pleading for me to join them.” “Dashie? “Yeah, yeah I will. Happy?” “No. You should already be at the academy. I paid you all the flight school you wanted.” Twilight felt out of place, it was likely the start of a conversation she should not be listening to. She was also aware of a rare moment of Rainbow Dash, the confident, running to every danger, Rainbow “Danger” Dash being very uncomfortable in her chair, clearly trying to avoid the questioning glare of her father. “You know why.” was the reply of said pegasus, avoiding the sight of her father. The stallion sighed “I know you care for your friend, but don’t throw your life away for her.” he paused “And I was asked again why Thunderlane is not the manager of Ponyville branch since, I quote ‘The current manager has no concern for doing proper paperwork’.” “Paperwork is boring.” she retorted. Twilight half listened to the rest of the conversation. It was puzzling, she did not know the age limit to enter the Wonderbolt Academy, but she was sure Rainbow Dash would have no issue to attempt such a thing, sure the routine of the “rookies” she saw was well oiled to perfection probably from dedication to practice it every day, but Rainbow Dash own tricks and small routine she had displayed on occasion showed great promise, Or maybe it was just the part of Twilight that had a crush on the mare that makes her judgement biased. “So did you find a new stallion?” asked the father to his daughter, this time it was more with a teasing tone. “Dad…” the pegasus mare sighed. “A shame you broke up with Thunderlane. He is a good stallion and he is a strong candidate for the Wonderbolt too.” “I guess he is okay. He lacks in style!” “I bet you will find one that suits your style at the academy.” he teased. “They will probably line up to go out with me” she braved in reply. Her father laughed then turned to the sole unicorn on the room “And you Twilight. Did you find a nice stallion in Ponyville?” She had nearly again drifted from the conversation. She had to swallow a lump that was forming in her throat. She had ruined her opportunity of a dinner date accepting the invitation of her father, now she just learned that Rainbow Dash was interested in stallions. It was very unlikely she had a chance now. “Twilight?” “Uh? Ho, err..., stallion, Yes lot of stallions!” she stammered. “I never saw you with a stallion” chuckled Rainbow Dash “So who caught your eyes?” Twilight answered the first name that came to her mind “Rainbow Dash!” Her eyes grown wide with horror at what she just said. She looked at Rainbow Dash face but quickly averted her gaze. “I… uh.” and in a poof of magic, she was gone. *** Twilight was confused and sad. She blowed her chance, she was not sure why she did not manage to lie, but it was over now. She leant on a wall tears formed at the corner of her eyes. She realised that she teleported at a random location so she was also lost, but it did not matter. “Ho, here you are.” came the voice of Rainbow Blaze. She lifted her head toward the pegasus that just landed beside of her. He had a hoof behind his head “I… am sorry. You are not the first mare to fall for my daughter.” Twilight did not respond, it was too painful to think of a reply “She does not like mares, well for all I know, she always rejects them, for stallions it depends, but…” “Home.” Twilight lifted her head and looked at the stallion “I want to go home.”