“Oh, come on, Cloudchaser! Just try to talk to her. She actually really nice,” Sky pleaded on their way to school.
“No! She’s mean! She was probably pretending to be nice because Spoiled wasn’t there!” Cloudchaser argued.
“No, she wasn’t. She’s nice.”
“Is not!”
“Is too!”
“Is not!”
“Is too!”
“Alright, you two, that’s enough!” Blue exclaimed, separating the two of them and silencing them instantly. She turned to Cloudchaser before saying, “Now Cloudchaser, I understand that you didn’t exactly start on the right hoof with Raindrops, but you’ve also been out of school for a couple of weeks. It’s possible that’s she’s changed. You don’t have to be friends with her right now, but you should at least give her a chance, okay?”
“…okay, mommy,” Cloudchaser muttered, a frown etched on her face.
“And Sky, you can’t force your sister to be friends with somepony, understood?” Blue asked, turning to Sky.
“Yes, mommy,” Sky answered.
“Good.” When the schoolhouse came into view, she nudged the two of them with her wings and said, “Now, go on and have a good day you two. Remember, your father’s going to pick you up after school.
“Bye mom,” they yelled as they ran to the schoolhouse.
White Board, as per usual, was greeting students by the entrance. Her smile widened a little as Sky and Cloudchaser approached. “Good morning, Sky Chaser. And good morning to you too, Cloudchaser. It’s wonderful to finally have you back!”
“Good morning, Mrs. White Board,” they both replied before going into the classroom.
Berry Punch, who was already inside, waved at them as they walked in. “Hey guys, look who’s back. I heard you were sick too, Cloudchaser.”
“Yeah, I was…I don’t see Thunderlane. Doesn’t he usually get here before you?”
“He usually does,” Berry commented as she looked around the classroom. “Guess he’s either late or he’s still sick.”
“That sucks if he is,” Cloudchaser stated.
“Yeah, it does,” Sky chimed in as he looked over at the door and saw Raindrops saunter in. He smiled as he went up to her. “Hey, Raindrops, how’re you doing?”
“Good, how’re yo-” Her smile began to drop when she noticed Cloudchaser frowning at her. She leaned closer as she whispered. “So, um, I see that your sister’s here.”
“Yeah, she got better”
“I…uh…should probably just go to my seat then.”
“Why?”
“Well..I mean…she still doesn’t like me, right?”
“Yeah, so?”
“Then won’t she be mad if she sees you talking to me?”
“She probably is, but I still wanna talk to you.”
“Oh…um, okay,” she replied with a small smile.
While the two of them were talking, Cloudchaser and Berry Punch continued to watch them silently. “Hey, uh, did I miss something?” Berry Punch asked.
“Apparently, Sky became friends with Raindrops while we were sick,” Cloudchaser replied.
“Oh…well, that’s good for him, I guess,” Berry said, almost cheerfully.
“What?!”
“Yeah, it’s a good thing that Sky made a new friend.”
“But her! Of all ponies!”
“Well, if that’s what he decided, then that’s the way that it is.”
Cloudchaser growled as she glared over to Raindrops. “Yeah, well, I don’t like it!”
“I really don’t like it either,” Berry admitted. She took a small glance at the door, then turned fully when she spotted somepony at the door. “Of course, she had to get better too,” she growled. Cloudchaser turned to look at the door and growled as she watched Spoiled Milk saunter in haughtily.
She smugly looked around the classroom, until she saw Raindrops with Sky. Her smirk morphed into a frown as she watched her seeming enjoy her conversation with him. “What is she doing?!” she muttered. “What is she doing with that ape?! He has a lot of explaining to do!” She was about the stomp up to the two of them but stopped as the bell started to ring.
“Alright class. Settle down and go to your seats. It’s time to get class started,” White Board announced.
Spoiled let out a groan but did as she was told as she sat at a desk next to the window. She glanced over at the desk next to her, expecting Raindrops to sit there. But it remained empty, even as the desks around it started to fill up. She looked around until she saw where she was. In a desk in the back row right next to Sky, with Cloudchaser and Berry Punch sitting on the opposite side of him. She emitted a low growl as she turned forward, wondering what she missed while she was at home.
Everyone ran off in their own direction as the bell rang for recess. Cloudchaser, Berry Punch, and Sky were no different as they ran towards the swing set. “Who’s going first?” Sky asked, looking between the two swings.
“I’m first!” Cloudchaser exclaimed. “You can push me, Sky.”
“No, I’m going first. You went first the last time we ever used the swings!” Berry Punch argued.
“So what? I wanna go first this time too.”
“No, I wanna go first!”
“Um, excuse me,” they heard someone pipe up. They all looked over to the filly. Berry Punch frowned, Cloudchaser glared, and Sky perked up as they looked at a nervous Raindrops pawing at the ground. “Is it okay if I join you?”
“Of course you can!” Sky happily exclaimed before Cloudchaser and Berry could voice their objections.
“Okay, thanks. Why don’t you get on the swing first then? I’ll push you,” she offered.
“Are you sure?”
“Totally, now get on!” Raindrops immediately said, flying behind one of the swings. Sky, somewhat sheepishly, got onto the swing before Raindrops started using her wings to try to pull it.
Cloudchaser just watched silently, her jaw threatening to hit the ground. “Berry, can you believe this?!”
“Not really…and neither can she apparently,” Berry said, looking over to the side.
Cloudchaser looked over as well, growling as she watched Spoiled Milk stomp her way towards Sky and Raindrops with a scowl.
“Raindrops!” Spoiled yelled. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Raindrops let go of the swing immediately. “I-I was just-”
“Hey, why don’t you leave him alone!” Cloudchaser yelled, suddenly jumping in between Spoiled Milk and Sky.
“Relax, I don’t have business with your ape. And neither does Raindrops. Now, come on. Let’s leave before she decides to make good on her threat,” she snidely said as she turned around to leave. Raindrops looked like she wanted to argue, but all she could do was look sadly at Sky before she started to slowly fly after Spoiled.
Cloudchaser and Berrry both let out sighs of relief as they watched them walk away. Sky, however, frowned at Spoiled as he muttered. “Why should she go with you?”
Everyone froze and slowly turned to Sky. Cloudchaser, Berry, and Raindrops’s mouths were slightly agape. Spoiled, however, was glaring furiously at him. “I’m sorry, would you like to repeat that?!” she asked, stomping towards him.
“I…I…” Sky studdered, any bravado he had quickly melting away.
“Hey, leave him alone!” Berry Punch exclaimed.
“Not until he tells me what he just said,” she threatened, taking another step towards him.
“Leave him alone!” Cloudchaser exclaimed, spreading her wings out a bit. “Or I’ll-”
“Or you’ll what, ape lover? Attack me? Beat me to a pulp? I’m sure your mom and dad would love to hear all about it. So, go ahead. Make. My. Day,” Spoiled taunted. It took every fiber in Cloudchaser’s being to stop herself from lunging at her right there and then.
Raindrops didn’t know what to do at first. A large part of her wanted nothing more than to support Sky, but she was too scared to do anything. Yet, the more she watched Cloudchaser and Spoiled stared each other down, the more she realized that there was little chance of her walking out of this without losing a friend. And she knew which friend she didn’t want to lose. “She’s not going to do anything,” she said as she flew down towards them. Cloudchaser growled, shifting a little to face Spoiled.
“Oh, and why’s that?” Spoiled asked, smirking.
When Raindrops landed, she turned to face Spoiled. ‘Because you’re going to leave Sky alone.” Everyone flinched back from her answer, Cloudchaser losing her defensive posture in the process.
“You…what?!” Spoiled exclaimed. “What’s the meaning of this?! Why are you taking his side?!”
“Because he’s my friend, Spoiled!” Raindrops said, taking a step towards her.
Spoiled took a step back, growling. “Your friend? Please, he’s not your friend. You’re my friend, remember. Now, step asi-”
“No!” Raindrops exclaimed, taking another step forward. “Sky is my friend. He’s been more of a friend to me than you!”
“More of a friend. How?”
“Well, he likes talking to me before school starts. He listens to what I have to say. And he likes doing stuff with me. All you’ve ever wanted to talk about was you and your family. I don’t remember doing stuff with you, cause I only remember doing stuff for you. If that’s what you consider your friend, then being your friend sucks!”
Spoiled let out a snort as she leveled a glare at Raindrops. “You’re not saying what I think you’re saying, are you?”
“You know I am!”
Berry and Cloudchaser just stared slack jawed at her. Neither of them knew what to say at the moment. Spoiled, meanwhile, had nothing more to say. All she wanted to do was pounce her former friend to teach her a lesson. A sudden cough from behind her stopped in dead in her tracks.
“Excuse me, is there a problem here?” White Board said, frowning at the five of them.
“No ma’am,” everyone but Spoiled, who was silently staring at the ground, answered.
“Good. I hope to keep it that way,” she stated, mostly at Spoiled.
As she started to walk away, Spoiled Milk looked up at the others for a few seconds before lifting her nose up with a huff as she turned to walk away.
Raindrops let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding before turning back to Sky. “Are you okay, Sky?”
“Yeah…what about you?”
“I’m fine,” she answered. She let out a chuckle before adding, “That was actually kinda scary though.”
“Yeah, that was,” Sky admitted with a small smile. “Wanna continue where we left off.”
“Yeah,” Raindrops said as she started to walk back to the swings.
“Hey, Raindrops,” Berry Punch suddenly yelled out as she approached her.
Raindrops stopped, turning to face her. “Y-yes?”
There was an almost unsettling silence between the two of them as they stared each other down. Berry then smirked as she asked, “Wanna push him really high?”
“Um…sure,” Raindrops replied quite nervously.
“Then I’m gonna help,” Berry Punch said proudly.
Raindrops flinched a little as she stared wide eyed at Berry. “Really, you are? I mean…you really don’t have to.”
“Yeah, but I want to though. Beside’s, Sky loves it when Cloudchaser and I push him. Right Sky?”
“Yeah I do!” Sky exclaimed.
“See! Now, fly up to the ropes. I’ll help you pull it from below,” Berry explained, getting a shy nod from Raindrops in response.
Right as she was about to follow Raindrops to the swings, Cloudchaser placed a hoof on her shoulder and said, “Hey, Berry, hold up. I wanna talk to you about something.”
“Uh, yeah, sure. Hey, Raindrops I’ll be with the two of ya in a second.” Berry turned to face Cloudchaser before asking, “What is it, Cloudchaser?”
“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, slightly above a whisper.
“Helping Sky and his friend. Maybe become friends with Raindrops while I’m at it.”
“What?! I thought you hated her!”
“I did. But maybe she’s starting to grow on me now.”
“You…you can’t be serious! Don’t you remember how she treated Sky? Or how she was friends with that jerk?”
Berry frowned at her, “Yeah, and we just watched her end that friendship. And Sky gave her a chance before that. So, I’m going to give her a chance too. Whether you like it or not!”
Cloudchaser hardened a glare as she watched Berry Punch trot up to the swing before placing her hooves near the bottom of the swing while Raindrops grabbed the middle of the rope. She just silently watched as she watched the two of them pull Sky up before releasing him. After watching them push Sky a few times, Cloudchaser let out a defeated sigh as she walked over to the swing. “Just deal with it for now, Cloudchaser,” she muttered to herself. “You only have to be nice to her during recess. Then you can ignore her for the rest of the day.”
Most of the foals ran out of the school when the last bell rang, all of them more than ready to enjoy the rest of the day. Cloudchaser and Sky were among them at first, but soon deviated from the group when they saw Storm over by the gate. “Hi daddy!”
“Hey, kids! Did you have a good day, Cloudchaser?” Storm said.
“Yeah, I guess so,” she answered with a shrug.
Storm raised an eyebrow at that. “Is there anything you wanna talk about?”
“Not really.”
“…Alright then, I guess we should start heading-”
“Storm! No way, Storm is that you!” a mare suddenly exclaimed from behind him.
Storm froze for a second. He recognized that rough sounding voice almost instantly. He turned around and found a gray pegasus mare, her white mane going down the right side of her face until it reached her cheek. He didn’t need to see the lightning bolt cutie mark to know who it was. “Thunder Blight?!” he asked in astonishment.
“The one and only!” she exclaimed, running up to give him a hug. “It’s been way too long, buddy! What’ve you been up to?” she asked, separating from the hug.
“Well, I was working at the weather factory at first. Now I’ve been managing the weather team here.”
“Wait, what?! When the hell did you sell out?!” Thunder Blight exclaimed
“Says the mare signed up for the royal guard,” he answered with a smirk.
“Hey, that’s not selling out. That’s trying to serve my princess.”
“Yeah, and I call my position a way to support my wife and kids.”
“Hold up, you got married too! Dang, I missed a lot when I went to Canterlot.”
“Guess so. So, how did things go at the guard?”
“They…kicked me out during the first week,” she admitted with a sheepish grin. “Turns out you need discipline to become a guard. Who knew?”
“I’m pretty sure everypony would’ve told you that,” Storm pointed out with a smug grin.
“Yeah, yeah. Stop being a smart aleck,” she replied, playfully smacking his shoulder. “Anyway, after that, I ended up living in a box for awhile, took some odd jobs, and rented a moldy, one-room apartment before landing a gig as a bouncer at some bar.”
“Sounds rough. Sorry that happened to you.”
“Ah, don’t be. It was because of that job that I met my husband.”
“Oh, you got married too? Anypony I know?”
“Eh, probably not. He’s a meek unicorn named Annuity Bond,” she answered proudly. “Had to throw a mare off him when she was being to hoovsy with him. He came back a few nights later and actually had the guts to ask me out. I humored him at first, but took a liking to him after a few dates, spent a few nights with him, and got married. We moved here a few months ago once he got a new job here.”
“Well, that’s good to hear. I’m glad things worked out for you.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it,” she replied with a smile. She then look down to see Cloudchaser and Sky looking up at her curiously. “Oh, hey, is this one of your kids?” she asked walking up to Cloudchaser.
“They both are actually,” he clarified as he trotted behind them. “Kids, why don’t you introduce yourselves to my old friend.”
Cloudchaser immediately bounced up to her before saying, “Hi, I’m Cloudchaser!”
Sky, while not as enthusiastic as his sister, walked up to the mare and said, “I’m Sky Chaser. It’s nice to meet you.”
Thunder Blight paused for a few seconds as she stared at Sky before flashing them a big smile and pointed a wing to her chest. “Well, it’s nice to meet ya too.! I’m Thunder Blight!” She then hopped over to Storm and turned around to continue facing them, wrapping a wing around Storm. “And I’m the oldest friend your father’s ever had.” She leaned over to Storm’s ear to whisper, “So, about your son here. What happened? Was she worth it? And did Blue Typhoon kill her when she found out?”
“No, it nothing like tha-…wait, how did you know I married Blue?” He asked, pushing himself away from Thunder Blight. The widest smug grin he had ever seen plastered on her face was all the answer he needed. “I just told you. Didn’t I?”
“Yeah, but I was also kinda hoping it was her. What with you being all sweet on her back in school,” she replied, nudging him with a forehoof. She turned her head towards the school and started looking around the yard. “Sweet Celestia, what’s taking her so long?”
“Who?” Storm asked.
“My daughter, dummy. Why else would I be at the school?”
“Sorry, you just never mentioned that you had daughter.”
“Yeah, but I did say I spent a few nights at Annuity’s place,” she said with a wink.
“…You know, I’m not even surprised,” Storm deadpanned.
“I’d hope not. Then I’d be questioning whether you know me or not.” She looked back at the school as she said, “She’s certainly taking her sweet time. Normally, I’d trust her to fly home on her own, but she insisted I come meet a new friend of her’s today… Oh, finally, there she is now!”
All eyes were on the school’s door as it opened. Cloudchaser was the only one to frown as Raindrops walked out. She immediately smiled when she saw Thunder Blight and flew over to her. “Hi, mommy!”
“Hey, sweetie!” She exclaimed, wrapping her daughter in a hug when she caught her. “What were you doing in there for so long?”
“I had to ask Mrs. Whiteboard some questions, mommy!”
“Well, guess there ain’t anything wrong with that,” she said, putting Raindrops down. She looked around as she asked, “So, where’s this friend of yours? They didn’t run off while you were in there did they?”
Raindrops shook her head. “Nope, he’s right here.” She bouncer over to Sky before saying, “Mom, this is my friend, Sky Chaser.”
Thunder Blight was drawing a blank at first. Then a smile gradually grew on her face as the gears started turning in her head. “Oh. My. Celesia! Storm can you believe it?! Our foals are already friends! Do know what that means?!”
“No, I can’t say that I do.”
“This means you have to bring your kids over to my house for a play date!”
Storm raised an eyebrow at her. “Huh, that…actually sounds like a good idea.”
“Of course it’s a good idea,” she said, wrapping a wing around Sky and Raindrops. “They’re already friends. So, we’re going to make sure that they’re the best of friends.”
“I don’t think that’s how that works, Blight,” he said with an amused smile.
Raindrops raised an eyebrow before whispering, “Sky, what’s going on?”
“Our parents are really old friends.”
“Oh…that’s weird.”
“Oh, hush you,” Thunder Blight lightly chastised, ruffling her daughter’s mane. “So, how does Saturday sound?”
“I won’t be able to bring them. I have to work that day. Blue should be able to though.”
“That’d be great. Celestia knows that I need to catch up with her too.”
“I’ll be sure to ask her about it tonight then?”
“Tell her I’ll only accept a yes,” she joked. She stretched out her wings before saying, “Well, we should get going. Come on, Raindrops. Let’s get you home so that you can get your math homework done before dad gets home.”
“Okay, mom. Goodbye Sky!” she exclaimed before taking off after her mother.
“Goodbye, Raindrops!” Sky yelled out.
“Well, that was something. Blue’s gonna get a kick out of this,” Storm muttered with a grin before looking over to his kids. “We should head home too.” He paused when he saw Cloudchaser just frowning silently at the shrinking Raindrops. “Cloudchaser, is something wrong.”
“Nope, nothing’s wrong, daddy,” Cloudchaser answered.
“Nu-uh, you just don’t like Raindrops!” Sky accused.
“That’s right. So nothing’s wrong,” Cloudchaser affirmed as she started to walk home. Sky leveled a glare at her as he followed close behind.
Storm let out a sigh as he followed the both of them. “Something tells me that I’m going to be glad that I’m working on a Saturday.”