PonyFall: Rainbows

by Silverness

The Television

I’m starting to regret in believing this nonsense. What kind of idiot actually thinks...

My thoughts were cut short by the sound of falling objects coming from my room.

“Watch what you’re doing and hurry up in there!” I yelled through my bedroom door.

“Yeah, yeah, just hold on a minute!” Dash yelled back.

So yeah, Cody, you got a girl claiming to be Rainbow Dash, which I think is her nickname, in your house. Why did you believe her? Oh yeah, because if you didn't she would’ve beaten the crap out of you. Now, you're probably going to have to trust her until you figure out a way to help – My thoughts were once again interrupted by Rainbow Dash.

“How the heck do you humans put shirts on with these long, skinny forelegs?!” Dash yelled through the door. I heard scuffling noises and something heavy hitting the wall.

Great... I better go help her out.

I twisted the doorknob and went inside only to be greeted by a topless girl who was struggling with putting on a black t-shirt that read “20% Cooler.”

I quickly looked away and shook my head. “Dash...” After a moment, and a few quick peeks, it was safe to look again. She had the shirt inside-out and was trying to shove her left arm through where her head would go, and her head through the right sleeve. I had to hide my smile. It was too funny with how oblivious she was.

“What’s so funny!?” she shouted defiantly. She stopped struggling and crossed her arms, looking away as if it were no big deal. “So what if I can’t put it on?”

I sighed and walked up to her, pulling the shirt free of her body while making sure to look away from her exposed midriff. I slid the shirt over her torso, threading her arms through the sleeves. The shirt fit her well.

“Oh, right,” Dash said, blushing and grinning. “So that’s how you put it on. I’d have figured it out eventually.”

Groaning, I let my forehead fall into my palm. How can she not know how to put on a shirt? Either she’s an amazing actress, the real thing or just simply freaking crazy! I raised my head from the facepalm, and said, “So, you’re done now?”

She nodded faintly, then looked down at her clothes and scratched her head for a moment, frowning. Oh God, don’t tell me she’s thinking of trying more clothes on, I thought, stricken with fear.

“I guess these will do the trick,” she replied, scrutinizing her outfit. “But, I was hoping for something a little less... lame. No offense.”

I raised an eyebrow, but she maintained her grin so I stopped eying her and beckoned for her to follow me out of the bedroom. She tried to take a step and faltered, then moodily resigned herself to crawling on all fours.

“Okay, so I put on some clothes. Whatever. Are you gonna get off my back about being ‘naked’ now?” Rainbow asked as she jumped onto the couch.  

I went to sit down beside her. “Yes, I’ll get off your b– Hey! No jumping on the couch!”

Dash sighed and rolled her eyes. “You sound like my mother,” she huffed sarcastically as she got comfortable.

Ignoring her remark, I grabbed the TV remote, pointed it at the TV and pressed the power button. Dash watched in awe as the television came to life and displayed some sort of talk show.

“How’d you do that?” she asked excitedly. She quickly changed her tone, however. “I mean, it was an okay trick, I guess...” She was clearly interested, but seemed as if she were trying to hide it.

“Oh, this is just one of the many things we use for entertainment.  We call it... the television! It’s like a book that you can watch as events unfold,” I replied dramatically, deciding to have a little fun with this.

Dash looked at me, then the TV. Her interest seemed to have been piqued, but she asked, “Yeah, what’s so great about it?”

Well, shit, she got you there Cody... wait, I got it!

Quickly, I punched in the numbers seven and two: the Air Show Channel.  Good thing I remembered this channel.  She’ll probably like it because she likes the Wonderbolts.

The channel changed and I stood up beside the TV, shouting, “I present to you, the Air Show Channel!”

Despite her attempts at seeming disinterested, Dash’s attention was fully on the television. However, her facial expression quickly changed from excitement to boredom, and then disappointment.

“Air show? More like fail show! Boring!” she cried, crossing her arms and looking away.

What? I thought, bewildered. I turned around to look at the TV.  “What the heck!”

Instead of the Air Show, the news was on talking about the latest incident with the pink flashing sky.

Great, there goes my fun. Wait – pink flashing sky?!

Quickly, I sat back down on the couch and turned the volume up.

“In other news, we have had reports of pink flashes appearing in the skies over the United States and Australia. It is unclear at this time if any other countries were affected, however there have been some reports of a loud boom coming from a small neighborhood on the outskirts of Indianapolis where one of the occurrences took place,” the news reporter, a lady with dark black hair, reported.

Australia too? That means that Dash’s friends could be anywhere on Earth, but at least at least they weren’t off in some other dimension. She’ll be very happy to hear that. Also, there’s the boom. Only in Indianapolis... it must have been the sound of a Sonic Rainboom, I concluded.

I looked over at Rainbow.  “Rainbow! I got great... news?”

On the couch, Dash had her head slumped against one of the pillows, some drool dripped from her mouth and a small snore could be heard from her.

I managed a smile. She looked kind of cute like that.

Wanting to let her sleep, I turned back to look at the news, which had turned to the topic of the military.  

Military... wait, what?!

“Yes, it has been confirmed that the United States Military will be coming to Indianapolis to investigate the loud boom in order to discover whether there is a connection with the pink flashes, or if they present a threat to national security.  Now that we are done with that let’s head back to Phil, who will give us the weather today. This has been Rose Tyler, reporting to you live in Indianapolis, Indiana,” the reporter said.

Great... now the military is coming.  Perfect. Just perfect! What next? A knock on the door?

Suddenly, as if my thoughts were answered, there was a knock on the door.  Oh great... who could that be?

“Hey Cody! Are you there?” shouted a familiar voice.

Oh God... not him.  Not now!

Gently, I scooted off the couch and left Rainbow to nap. Another knock on the door made me groan in frustration as I walked over towards the front entrance. I unlocked it and pulled it slightly open so I could see who was outside. A guy wearing a McDonald’s uniform along with a name tag that read ‘Bob’ stood outside.

“Tyler Wilkerson, what are you doing here?” I asked, shaking my head at the name tag he wore. How exactly did they even get his name wrong?

“Cody, you heard what was on the news, right?” Tyler asked. He then frowned slightly. “Also, why do you look angry?”

“Oh, nothing,” I answered. “And to answer your first question, yes I heard about the pink flashes and the military.”

Tyler nodded. “Yeah, that. Did you see the flashes? I totally saw them. Plus, the whole damn air smelled like chocolate or fudge at the same time. It’s like some kind of weird phenomena that nobody knew about.”

I tensed up a bit as he described precisely what I had seen and smelt just before finding Rainbow Dash. He looked at me just then and I tried to play it off, but it was too late. “Um, Cody, are you alright?” he asked suspiciously. “You seem... distracted.”

“W-what, me? Oh, I’m f-fine Tyler, just dandy, heh heh,” I stuttered and shifted my eyes toward my house to see if Dash was still inside the living room. Thankfully, she was still sleeping peacefully on the couch with no worries from what I could see.

I turned back around to find that Tyler was still looking at me, his eyes glaring straight into mine. “You sure? I’m pretty sure I heard you talking to someone through this door a few minutes ago,” he said.

“Oh, that? Well, I was talking to myself about what I saw on TV...” I said, hoping it wasn’t too lame of an excuse. There is just absolutely no way that he’s going to believe me.  If he does, then I’m going to be amazed. Wait...

“Hey, what were you doing snooping around outside my house and listening at the door?” I asked suddenly.

Tyler thought for a moment, looking at me before he said, “Well, you talk to yourself really loudly. I mean, I was just going to knock, but then you were all ‘I present to you, the Air Show channel!’ and I just stopped and listened. You’d do the same thing if you were me, you know.”

Wow, he actually believed me. That turned out better than expected.

“Yeah, I probably would, too,” I said, trying to sound sincere.

Tyler smiled and stood there, tapping his chin as if in thought. He then looked at me and asked, “Hey, do you mind if I step inside for a while? I need to ask you a favor.”

“Actually, I do mind. Sorry, but if you want to come inside, you’re going to have to come back later,” I said, already closing the door in front of him.

Tyler placed a hand against the door, barely keeping it open. “Come on, Cody. I really need you to do a favor for me. Besides, it won’t take that long,” he pleaded.

I sighed. “Not now, but later perhaps? I’m kind of busy at the moment and I would like to be alone.”

“Are you sure?” Tyler asked, his eyes trying to peek into the house. “It’s nothing difficult, trust me.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” I responded, quickly slamming the door before he had a chance to counter my own response. Tyler shouted in pain outside, saying a few curse words about his injured fingers. “Sorry about that, I’ll make it up to you with that favor or whatever you wanted to ask me later.”

“Fine, I’ll see you then,” Tyler shouted from outside, his footsteps leaving the entrance and onto the walkway. I waited until they fully disappeared before heading back into the living room where Rainbow was making herself comfortable on the couch. I smiled at the way she looked, all peaceful unlike the way she looked when fighting. Thoughts of the previous event came back, the horrendous feeling when she headbutted me into the dresser. I winced at the thought and headed into the kitchen.

Everything was how I left it the last time I came in there. I opened the fridge, checking for a jug of milk until I had found the last carton. I grabbed the jug and took a swig of the vanilla flavored liquid. Once I was satisfied, I left the jug on the counter and went back to the couch.

Alright, so nothing eventful went on today other than finding an Equestrian who almost beat me up, but who looks pretty peaceful sleeping right next to me... wonderful. I turned the television back on where the news reports were still going on about the pink skies. I listened in for a few minutes before changing the channel to the Sci-Fi channel. They were showing Stargate SG-1; the episode was about the ninth season or so because the new lead actor was coming out in this one. About halfway in, Rainbow Dash stirred in her sleep and finally woke up, startled by the sound of blazing gunfire on TV.

“What in Celestia’s name was that?” she asked, peeking out from under the pillow she covered herself with.

I laughed. “I thought you were braver than that. It’s just a show on television, silly.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow and removed the pillow from her head. “Are you saying that I’m a coward?” She raised her head up close until her face was right in mine, glaring. With her so close, I could easily tell that she wasn’t wearing contacts – her eyes were naturally that color.

I raised my hands in front of my face, giving a nervous chuckle. “Calm down, Rainbow. I was only teasing you. Sheesh, I didn’t think that would anger you so much.”

“Right,” Rainbow said, glaring for another moment before turning away from me and staring at the TV, watching as Cameron Mitchell and Daniel Jackson fought on a ship. They were fighting off against the Ori, an ancient species trying to convert every sentient lifeform to their religion or face the wrath of their power. After a while I could see Rainbow staring intensely at the screen, making expressions to match what was going on and seeming to really enjoy the show. That was until a few people went down dead, which confused her.

“Um... aren’t they going to get back up?” she asked, not moving her gaze from the TV.

“Yeah, but they’re trying to make it realistic, which is why they appear to be dead,” I lied. Well, most of it was true; the characters died, but not the actors.

“Ah, that makes sense,” Rainbow said before pumping a fist in the air after the SG-1 team made their escape through the stargate.

        When the show finally came to a close, Rainbow couldn’t contain her excitement any longer. “Did you see that?! That was awesome!” she shouted, jumping in the air. She landed back on the couch with a grin on her face. “That Lieutenant  or whatever that guy’s name is was simply the greatest, I mean he and that doctor guy were truly the best characters there.”

        “You mean Cameron Mitchell, former Air Pilot, and Daniel Jackson, lead specialist on the Ori, the Stargate, and former ascendant being?” I asked.

        “He’s an Air Pilot? As in a flyer like me?” she asked, quickly putting together air with flyer. When I nodded, she only got more excited. “Sweet! He’s totally awesome! What about ascended beings? Who are those guys?” she added, giving me a quizzical stare.

        “Oh, ascendant beings are what you’d call Gods or Goddesses in a way. Daniel Jackson died one time, and his body went up to be ascendant. Later, he came back reborn as the same man he was, which shocked everyone I’m sure. It sure did shock me when I found out he lived,” I explained, leaving Rainbow’s jaw hanging.

        “Wow... that only makes him even cooler,” Rainbow managed to say, closing her jaw.

        “And you thought television wasn’t so great,” I laughed, almost falling onto the floor. I could see Rainbow wasn’t laughing, so I stopped because I didn’t want to provoke her. “Wait until you see the other things you can do with it.”

        “Oh? You can do more stuff with it?” Rainbow asked, her curiosity growing as if she was a kid discovering new things. “Is it as great as the show we just watched?”

        “Even better,” I grinned, getting up from my seat and fixing my shirt, which was messed up from sliding down the couch.
        
        “What can be better than Daniel Jackson in his amazing glory as he fights the Ori with his supernatural powers with his team of awesome soldiers, and Cameron Mitchell with his amazing skills as a flyer almost as good as me?” Rainbow exaggerated and made hand movements to emphasis how much she meant by ‘fantastic.’

        “How about a virtual entertainment system which feels like you’re actually inside a show while trying to save the world?” I suggested, pointing towards my room. “I can go get it so we can play tonight if you want to che-”

        “Yep! Go get it!” Rainbow quickly said, rushing to join me. “We’ll save the world while I play as Cameron Mitchell,  who’s almost the best flyer ever, and you’ll be my somewhat amazing sidekick who will die countless times for the greater good.” She puffed out her chest, looking proudly at the ceiling.

        “Alright then,” I said, heading down the hallway. “I’ll go get the Xbox and after I set it up, I’ll make some popcorn for us to eat.”

        “So, this is like a sleepover or something? Because last time I had a sleepover, Twilight kept reading through books about how to have the best one,” Rainbow sighed behind me.

        I shook my head. “Not exactly. It’s more like we’re hanging out with each other since you’re going to stay with me for a while. It’ll probably be awhile before you can get home anyway, so...” I stopped as I noticed Rainbow’s smile fade as she stared off into the distance. “You know what, never mind. I’ll just go get the system and popcorn.”

        “Good idea,” Rainbow said, sulking back to the couch. I watched her sink down into her seat, her head hung low, and sighed, feeling a pang of guilt within my heart as I turned around to the task at hand.

        Great job, Cody, I thought. You had to make her all depressed about her friends, didn’t you? I kicked the wall beside my door in frustration, but only ended up hurting myself. I limped inside my room where I saw my Xbox 360 lying right next to my laptop. I grabbed it and went over to the box where I had left everything for the system. Inside were the plugs for connecting and powering up the Xbox, one controller and my box of games, one which I hoped would please Rainbow. I took the entire box with me and headed back to the living room with only one thought on my mind:

        Alright, then. Game on.