//------------------------------// // 15 Relative Enthusiasm // Story: Alternate Beginnings: Year Two // by Doug Graves //------------------------------// Doug breaks into a slow jog as he makes his way towards Ponyville, his satchel thumping at his side. He isn't going fast enough to break into a sweat, much as he would like the workout. Today is the one day off a week he gets from working on the farm, but he has taken on enough towns to need to work all seven days and he misses the physical activity. Especially with his mares being less physical with him, for obvious reasons. He mentally goes over the requests he has received so far; Rainbow had recommended he request extra rain clouds and it looks like he will need all of them in Ponyville. A couple of the other towns he has kept closer to their previous year's requests. His system uses less rain than the previous schedulers but when the farms needed rain there is no getting around that. Doug stops on the road leading between Sweet Apple Acres and Ponyville, coming to rest underneath one of the trees. He looks around; while there are pegasi flying around town he can't make out if any of them are Windy Whistles or Bow Hothoof. He checks the sun; he is a little early, so he pulls out the Manehatten schedule to get a little more familiar with the city itself. The city is a sizable boost to his workload, but at the same time the ponies that live there both have very high expectations and a very low threshold for mistakes. Their lead weathermare has been unhelpful so far, and Doug can't understand why. The request had come from them; maybe they thought a hot shot weathermare like himself could figure it out on his own. He shrugs to himself, starting to read through their records from the previous year versus last week. A cough startles him out of his reading and he looks up to see Windy Whistles and Bow Hothoof standing a short distance from him. Windy Whistles is a pegasus with a light blue but slightly grayer coat than Rainbow topped by an orange and red streaked mane, tied in a poofy ponytail. She whispers to her husband, "Uh, honey? Are you sure?" Bow Hothoof is a larger pegasus with a light purple coat with a chromatic mane nearly identical to Rainbow Dash. He whispers back, "Well, how else are we going to find out? Waiting around hasn't worked." Doug smiles and puts away his notes as Bow Hothoof approaches, nervously asking, "Excuse me? Have you seen Rainbow Dash?" Doug shakes his head, "Not since this morning." Windy Whistles frowns, walking a little closer, "Oh. Well, we were supposed to meet her here." She stops, staring at Doug, shaking her head a little as if to usher him away. Doug manages to keep a neutral face as he realizes that they don't realize who he is. Though he is a little surprised Rainbow didn't tell them, or that they weren't informed when they learned about Scootaloo. He decides against messing with them, "Well, it just so happens that I'm waiting for her too. Hi, my name is Doug Apple, it's nice to meet you!" Doug moves an arm forward, briefly holding his fingers out before reconsidering and making a fist. Windy Whistles and Bow Hothoof look at each other, surprise obvious on their faces. Windy Whistles stares at her husband before he scoffs, pushing his mane back and moving forward. He bumps his hoof against Doug's fist, saying in an excited voice, "So, you're the stallion Rainbow's been running with, huh? Won't lie, I was expecting a pegasus, though an earth pony wouldn't have surprised me with what she said about your stamina." Windy Whistles gives a slight gasp, "Honey!" She looks over to Doug, "Don't mind him, he's just excited to meet Rainbow's mate." Bow Hothoof chuckles, "Please, it's just a little talk between us stallions. Bow Hothoof at your service, you can call me Bow." Doug smiles, "Nice to meet you, Bow, you can call me Doug." He looks over at Windy, who still looks a little surprised at Bow's boldness. Doug continues, "So, is this your lead?" A slightly offended looks comes over Windy Whistles' face as Bow replies, "Lead? No, just one mare for me. Rainbow came along early in our relationship and we really dedicated a lot of time with her. Ended up being so excited with her, we just didn't see the need to bring any more on. Windy Whistles, but I don't think she'll mind you calling her Windy." Doug nods, moving his fist towards her, "Well, you two certainly did an excellent job raising her." Windy smiles, moving over to bump his hand, "Thank you, we enjoyed every minute of it! Even when she'd tie us up or fly circles around us." A more serious look comes over her face, "So, I take it you aren't a one mare stallion, then?" Bow steps forward, "Honey! I know that's what you wanted and I was okay with it, but we know not every mare can have that dedicated a stallion. Not, of course, that you aren't dedicated, Doug!" Doug shrugs, "No offense taken. Besides, between working, four mares, and three foals? I can understand the sentiment." Windy still looks a little perturbed as Bow replies, "A working stallion, huh? I can get behind that. What kind of work do you do?" "I work over at Sweet Apple Acres, mostly doing repair work for my lead, Applejack. I also work with Rainbow on the weather team, crafting weather schedules." Windy turns her head, "Rainbow Dash isn't your lead mare?" She looks over to Bow, saying in a low voice, "Do you think that is why she didn't tell us? That she was ashamed of not being lead, or that she was in a herd?" Bow shakes his head, "No, she knows we would have supported her no matter what thermal she chose to ride." The two pause, looking to the sky. Their expressions brighten as they spot Rainbow Dash slowly gliding down, a forced smile on the mare's face. Windy exclaims, "There's our Rainbow Dash! Look at that perfect glide in, I could barely feel the current!" Bow chants, "Rainbow! Rainbow!" as she lands. He holds a hoof up to his mouth and whistles before going in for a hug. Rainbow returns the hug, looking up and sighing. Windy moves to join the two, smiling as she hugs her daughter. Rainbow manages to eek out, "So, I see you two have met Doug. What were you talking about?" Bow replies, "Oh, Doug was just telling us about how the two of you work weather together. When did that start?" Rainbow nods, escaping the hug and pushing her mane back into position, "Yeah, it was around the time I became lead weathermare, so early May." Windy beams, "Oh, I'm so proud! Our daughter, lead weathermare here in Ponyville! You must have been the youngest lead weathermare ever!" She and Bow hug as he sniffles, tears forming in his eyes. Rainbow puts a hoof to the back of her head, trying to contain her embarrassment, "Heh, well, technically the second youngest. There was this huge storm about thirty years ago that injured more than half the weather ponies, so this really junior mare got promoted way before she was ready. I am the youngest that's worked for more than a month, though." Bow yells, pumping his hoof, "That's our girl! Way to go, Rainbow! Way to go, Rainbow!" Rainbow sighs, "Yup. So, did you want to grab some lunch, or head back to the farm to see Scootaloo?" Windy laughs, "Oh, you aren't getting rid of us that easily, we've hardly been able to talk to you! So, tell me, what was it like meeting Doug?" Rainbow nervously laughs, "Heh, well, when I first met Doug it was at Sweet Apple Acres. We talked a little, he seemed pretty cool and all." Doug interjects, still seated, "Talked? I seem to remember a bit more than that." Rainbow rolls her eyes, "Okay, fine, I might have yelled at him a little, and then we wrestled a bit, and then decided to hang out some more. At the time Doug was pretty out of shape, nowhere near as fit as he is now, so we started training together." Doug nods, "Yup, I had a lot less muscle than when I first arrived, but my diet has made it a little hard to really bulk up, it's more just lean muscle." Bow nods his head, "Yeah, you look like the kind of build that can keep on going, though, even if your max speed isn't all that high. I see it on some of the cloud pushers I train, those are the ones best suited to handle the long distance cloud runs. Not that a speedster like Rainbow here couldn't handle it, though!" Doug winks at Rainbow, "Yeah, she sure is pretty awesome!" Windy moves closer to Rainbow, "So, tell me about Scootaloo. Is she, um, a pegasus?" Rainbow nods as Bow moves a little closer to Doug, asking in a low voice, "So, is Rainbow your favorite in the...?" he gives Doug a long, obvious wink. He apparently was a little too loud as Rainbow exclaims, "Dad! Come on, Doug doesn't have favorites like that!" She pauses, looking at Doug, "Do you?" Doug thinks, moving his hand to his chin, "Hmm, never really thought about it." Bow coughs, "Well, you've got time now," before Windy clocks him on the head with her hoof. "Bow Hothoof, you stop that nonsense right now! It's embarrassing our poor Rainbow Dash!" Doug laughs as Rainbow remarks to herself, "You wouldn't know what embarrassed me if it was staring back at you in a mirror." She smiles back at her mom, saying loudly, "Nah, I'm sure I'm on top." Doug smirks, "That's not your favorite position though, you like it when I-" Rainbow flies over, putting her hoof over Doug's mouth, "Hey, hey, not in front of the 'rents, okay?" Doug merely folds his arms in front of his chest. Rainbow sighs, "Fine, I'll do it." Doug raises one eyebrow. Rainbow huffs, "You know, in the morning?" Their exchange is interrupted by Bow moving in close, "You know, Windy really likes it when I-" Rainbow squeals, "Dad! Come on, I'm right here, seriously?" She glares, her gaze intensifying as a knowing look is traded between Bow and Doug, the two stifling laughs. Behind them Windy is rolling her eyes, mouthing the word 'stallions' as she shakes her head, a smile on her face. Bow leans over to Doug, "Heh, I bet you can't wait till you can pull these kind of antics with your own foals." He looks over to Rainbow, "So, tell me more about this weather work you are doing. Must be a lot of work, head weathermare!" Rainbow nods, glad the conversation has strayed away from the personal aspects of her relationship with Doug, "Well, I'm awesome enough to handle it, as is everypony that makes it through my training! It's me as the lead, of course. Doug here crafts the schedule, he's really awesome at that. Open and Clear Skies are my two assistants. They're both Ponyville natives and not looking to transfer anywhere, so we have a real solid team at the top." Rainbow continues going through the other ponies who work with her as head weathermare as Windy and Bow settle down, listening intently. Doug continues sitting, trying to put names to faces of the various ponies she mentions. Rainbow finishes around the time her stomach starts growling. She smiles, "Well, you can tell I'm getting hungry. Want to head back to Apple Acres, get some grub?" Windy whispers to Bow, "Grub?" who whispers back, "I think it's earth pony slang for food." They both stand up, taking to the air. They wait patiently as Rainbow walks over to Doug. Rainbow nuzzles Doug, asking, "You need to head to meet Shy's parents, right?" Doug ruffles her mane, "Yup, I'll see you around!" The three pegasi take to the air, continuing their conversation about Scootaloo.