Thursday
"Sign here, here, and... here, please. Oh, and over here. And here. And riiiiight over here." The counselor pointed at each dotted line with her sand-colored hoof, and Rainbow Dash, in turn, wrote her name in scribbly, impatient mouthwriting in each place. Then she spat the pen out and set it on the hospital’s front desk.
"Okay, are we done? Any more forms?"
Sandy Hills gave her a cheery smile. "That's it!" She scooped up the two stacks of bureaucracy manifest and shuffled them into neat stacks, then set one of them into her bags. No foal was going to prance around Ponyville without papers on their watch, no sir. "These will go to the town hall, and these are for you." She picked up the other pile and slid it into the cheap set of brown paper saddlebags Flowing Fields had retrieved from under the desk for Dash. "Keep those forms safe, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it." Rainbow resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It was a difficult job. "You mentioned that a bunch already." The mare swept the bags off the front desk and onto her back, settling the strap behind her wings. She gave them a few test flaps for good measure. They already held the rest of Gabriel's hospital paperwork and a bunch of extra bandages and ointment, plus one spare magical healing splint, foal-sized. "How long is Gabriel going to take?"
Flowing put the tip of her hoof to her mouth. "Well, he does have quite a few wrappings, so it'll take a while to change them, but the little one should be finished at any moment now."
Rainbow huffed and shuffled her wings. She never liked wearing saddlebags; it seemed impossible to keep her wings pressed against herself just the way she liked. Paper ones especially annoyed her because the creases and edges scratched at her fur and her wing joints in the worst way. These are going in the trash the second I get home.
"I included a rough schedule for Gabriel's sessions," said Sandy, "the first one is tomorrow morning. I understand you have a shift on the weather team then?"
Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, I still have to make up the time I missed."
"Okay," Sandy replied. "He said he's willing to go to school soon, and I don't see any reason to stop him, as long as Cheerilee is properly informed of his situation. You know, in case anything, erm, goes sideways. I'll need to meet with her after the school day finishes to set up a placement test for him tomorrow, and I can walk him over to the schoolhouse after our session." After a second's thought, she added: "The test will take a while. When will you be finished?"
Rainbow had to think about that one. If she started as soon as she dropped off Gabriel, and factored in the lunch she was supposed to have with the girls... "If he's done by mid-afternoon, I should be able to pick him up by then, yeah."
Geeze, listen to me, Rainbow thought, I sound like my mom when she talked about picking me up from flight school. I wanna puke. She shook her head. Keep it together, Dash, it's only for a little bit.
"Great! I'll see you then, I'll be there to pick up a copy of his results."
A bolt of anxiety raced up Rainbow's spine at the gravity of her spur-of-the-moment volunteer job, but she steeled herself. It was the right thing, and besides... Rainbow Dash doesn't back down from a challenge.
Then the doors to the general wards opened and Nurse Redheart trotted out alongside a slightly limping Gabriel, sporting a new set of clean white bandages. A lollipop stuck out of his mouth and wiggled in the air as he worked it around. "Gabriel did very well," said the nurse, "fastest bandage change I've ever done on a foal his age. He's a very brave colt."
Rainbow suppressed a chuckle when she saw Gabe make a tiny smirk and roll his eyes. Instead, she turned it into an eager but cool smile. "Okay," she said smoothly, "are we ready to roll here?"
Redheart put the tip of her hoof to her chin. "If all the paperwork is in order, and you've got all of Gabriel's things... fresh bandage change..." she looked up at the ceiling for a moment, then finally set her hoof down and smiled. "One last thing. Gabe, are you ready to leave the hospital?"
The little green colt nodded, looking up at her with those big brown eyes. "Yes, Nurse Redheart, I think I am. Thank you again, miss, and tell Doctor Horse thank you for me too, please," he said, polite as can be.
Redheart, Flowing Fields, and Sandy all made mushy faces as if the little colt were melting their collective hearts. "Awww..."
While nopony was looking, Rainbow stuck out her tongue. Bleh.
"Of course, dearie. I'll let him know. You take care now! Remember to change those once a day until the bandages are coming away clean and ask Miss Dash to bring you back if anything reopens, okay?"
"Can do, Nurse," he said in the most respectful voice Rainbow had ever heard come out of a colt. He turned to Dash. "Are we all set?"
Rainbow grinned. "Yup. Let’s get outta here, dude." She gave the other mares a wave and a smile, and Gabriel did the same. Then they were off.
The day had hardly changed. The sun was still comfortingly warm and the breeze was still refreshingly cool. Rainbow smiled to herself as she felt it ruffle her coat and her mane, and she spread her wings. "Alright, kid, are you ready?" She looked down to her side, where Gabriel looking up at her.
"Ready for what? Ready to fly?" Why'd he sound so incredulous? Oh, wait. She rolled her eyes. Of course I forgot about the wing. She crouched down and beckoned with her head. "Alright, hop on."
It was Gabriel's turn to look confused. "On your back?"
"Yeah, where else? Just be careful of the saddlebags. They've got all your forms and stuff so we can't lose 'em."
"Uh, alright." He walked to her side, hesitated for a moment, then clambered up between her wings in a very ungraceful way.
"-Urk," Rainbow said.
He coughed. "Er, sorry, Miss Dash,"
"Ah, It's alright, kid. Got plenty of ribs. And you can call me Rainbow." Ow...
"Sure," he said, seeming settled.
Rainbow did her best to ignore the ache in her side. "You all set back there?" she said, stretching her wings and getting a feel for the restricted movement that came from a small foal clinging to one's back.
"Yeah, I'm good to go," came the response.
"Good." She twisted her neck, using her wings to nudge the foal into a more comfortable position. "You know, as soon as that splint comes off, you're flying yourself."
"Uh."
Don't tell me... Rainbow sighed and rubbed her face before sending an incredulous look over her shoulder. "Kid, you do know how to use those things on your back, right?"
He peeked over his shoulder and rustled his wings, flopping them awkwardly around, then blinked those big brown eyes at her. "Nope."
Rainbow raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. "Nopony ever taught you how to fly?"
"Uh, no, I can't say that, um, anypony has ever taught me how to fly." Then he looked at the ground in thought. "I always thought it would be cool to learn, though," he muttered, almost to himself.
Rainbow looked at him in confusion, but only for a moment. Brush it off, Rainbow. It's not that big a deal. She blinked away the weirdness and summoned her sleekest grin. "Well, lucky for you, kiddo, you're gonna be hanging around the best flier in Ponyville! If anypony can teach ya, it's gonna be me. And I can teach ya." She gave him a big wink and was rewarded with a shy-looking smile that put a grin on her face.
"Uh, yeah, that sounds awesome."
"Now you're talking my language! Now hold on." She leaned forward and wiggled her rear a little, placing her back hooves just so and tensing her muscles. "And here... we... go!"
Rainbow Dash burst off the ground in a fantastic leap and beat her wings, launching the two of them into the air. Almost immediately, she felt four tiny limbs tighten around her barrel and neck with surprising strength. "Agh! Kid! Loosen up!"
"WOOOAAAAAAAAUUUGGH!"
Rainbow leveled out and came to a hover, looking over her shoulder at the kid, who currently had his face buried in her coat and was squeezing the living daylights out of her. "Gabe," she wheezed, "it's gonna be real hard to fly with you holdin' on to me so tight." He said nothing. "Uh, kid?"
The only response she got was a muffled mantra. "Holy shit holy shit holy shit I did not think it would be like this, I did not think it would be like this!"
I really hope I didn’t just saddle myself with the only pegasus colt afraid of heights in Equestria, I swear to Celestia... he'd be great with Flutters.
"Hey, hey, Gabe," Rainbow reached a hoof over her shoulder and put it over the colt's. "It's alright, dude, I won't drop ya! But you really gotta loosen that grip, like, right now." The hold loosened a tiny bit. "I won't drop ya, I promise."
Finally, she could breathe. "Thanks, kid. I'll go slower from now on, alright?" Rainbow felt him nod into her back and smirked. For as serious and grown-up as he could act, the foal was still a foal.
From then on, she flew more smoothly, coasting over Ponyville. A few pegasi waved as she passed them, inevitably giving her odd looks when they saw the colt on her back. She did her best to ignore them, though she'd have been lying if she said her cheeks didn't grow a little hotter.
Out in the distance, she could see the storm. It was still fairly barebones, but the rain date was coming up, and this one was supposed to be big. The thought of the sore nights that would follow thunderhead duty made Rainbow stick out her tongue. Flying around inside a storm as ponies actively forced it to keep all its energy pent up was no walk in the park.
That was a worry for another time, though. Today’s flight relaxed her more than anything, really. Flying always helped clear Rainbow's mind. This is really happening, she thought, I’m gonna take care of this colt. He was her responsibility now, and for the next couple weeks if he got himself into trouble, or, Celestia forbid, he got himself hurt again, it'd be on her head. Yeesh. There's a heavy thought.
The pegasus landed as gently as possible, letting her legs act like springs as her hooves touched the clouds of her front porch. Home sweet home. Wow, the colt didn't even notice. I'm pretty good. When he didn't remove his face from her mane, she groaned and bumped the colt with her wings. "Hey. Kid. You can open your eyes now."
Gabriel lifted his head off her back, looking as cautious as a pony could be. He checked below them first, then looked at Rainbow, before noticing where they were. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open, transforming his expression from terror to wonder.
"I guess that wasn’t so—whoa... It really is all clouds, huh?"
Rainbow smirked. "Mostly clouds. Pretty cool, huh?"
"I never thought I'd really see, uh, rainbows... flowing."
"Yeah, takes a lot of work to get 'em to do that, actually. Now hop off, my back is crampin' up," she said in what she hoped was a lighthearted tone, crouching down again so he could climb off her back a little easier.
"But... what if I fall through?"
Seesh, doesn't this kid know anything about being a pegasus? Can't fly, never walked on a cloud... It's like he was raised underground. "C’mon, dude. I haven't fallen through yet, have I?"
He only hummed worriedly in response before shuffling around. The strange little colt carefully set his hind hooves on the porch clouds before deciding that they were apparently solid enough and sliding off Rainbow's back. She sighed and stretched her wings. "Ah, much better. Now c'mon in, lemme give you the tour!"
Rainbow ditched the paper saddlebags the moment she stepped inside, tossing them away, and relished Gabe’s gasp as he followed her in. His eyes almost bugged right out of his head at the sight of Rainbow's foyer. "What? Is that statue really stone? I never thought all this could be in a cloud!"
"Yup. It's all enchanted to keep it in the cloud structure, so it's not going anywhere." She kicked the nearest wall with her hind hoof. "Sturdy as heck. You'd have to really work to get this place to fall apart. C'mon!"
Gabriel followed her with hesitant footsteps as she showed him each part of her home. Rainbow showed him everything from the kitchen to the bathrooms, to the closets, to the trophy room, stifling a chuckle whenever he looked at the floor like it might give way beneath him any second. She even showed him her brand-new personal bookshelf, complete with three books—Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone, Daring Do and the Griffon’s Goblet, and That One Novel Twilight Had Given Her But She Never Read Because It Wasn't Daring Do—and the previously-guest bedroom, which was only a door down from her own. "This is gonna be your room, sound good?"
Gabe looked pretty scrawny, standing in the middle of the space and sort of owlishly swiveling his head around. Then he nodded. "It’s very… roomy."
She laughed. "Don't worry, we'll getcha some stuff. That's where we're going after this."
Finally, she showed him her own room, the best for last. "Alright, Gabe. There's someone I want you to meet. I'm warning you, this is pretty darned cool, so prepare yourself." She opened the door and flew over to where she knew her closest non-pony companion would be sleeping and scooped him up, spinning around and presenting him to the little green colt with a flourish.
"Ta-da! The world's awesomest tortoise."
Gabe raised an eyebrow and trotted closer, inspecting the reptile closely. "Oh, hey, it's—" he started before awkwardly cutting himself off and bringing his head a little closer. Tank, for his part, gave the colt a patient, curious look. "...it's got a propellor on it."
"Duh," said Rainbow, "I live in a cloud house. What's the tortoise supposed to do? Fly around on friendship wings?"
"That thing really works, huh?" the colt said, sounding surprised. Rainbow gave him a wide grin.
"Oh, check this out." She pressed the little red button on the side of Tank's propellor and it whirred to life right away, lifting him out of her forelegs and bringing him to a hover between the two ponies. "How awesome is that?"
"Whoa..." was all Gabe had to say, watching the turtle float around for a solid thirty seconds. "Um... has he got a name?"
Rainbow puffed out her chest. "Tank!" Wait, how'd he know Tank was a 'he'?
"Well, that's a pretty good name for a turtle. Hey, I rode on a tank once. That was ages back."
"Tortoise," Rainbow corrected, "and that's pretty cool. I didn't know they could get big enough for a pony to ride! Are they like that up north?"
"Huh?" The colt looked at her funny, then shook his head. "Ohh... Yeah, no, it wasn't a giant tortoise."
"What?"
"Nevermind, don't worry about it." The little colt waved his little hoof at her. "It was a dumb story anyway."
"If you say so, dude." This colt was just endlessly weird. "You ready to head out?"
"For what?"
"To get you some stuff! You know, like a toothbrush. And new sheets. And, uh. Other things. Toys? Books?" She tilted her head. "I don't really know what kind of stuff you're into."
“Sure,” he said, still looking around at her room and not entirely sounding like he was listening.
“Anyway, you wanna head out now, or were you and Tank having too good of a time?"
The colt shot a look at the airborne tortoise, who shot a look right back. "Um, Tank's pretty chill, but I can hang out with him after we're done. Let's go."
Rainbow went to put on her good saddlebags and in a few more moments they were back on the porch, where she crouched down again to let the colt climb on. "No squeezing the air outta my lungs this time, got it?" she joked.
"I'll try not to," came the muffled response. She felt him mumble his words into her coat. "I'll just be keeping my eyes shut the whole time, thank you very much. Just let me know when we're on the ground."
The cyan pegasus chuckled. "You got it, bud."
Due to her intentionally relaxed pace, the flight into Ponyville took a little longer than Rainbow might have liked. As much as she wanted to fly straight to the shops, the pegasus landed the moment she reached the streets. "Alright, all done. C'mon."
Gabe dismounted and he and Rainbow began to trot towards the general store. As they walked, Gabe seemed enraptured by the sight of Ponyville. His eyes stayed wide. Just the sight of ponies walking to and fro or talking to one another seemed to be amazing to him. How different could his old life have been for the colt to be so astounded by daily goings-on like gardening?
Once he stopped ogling, however, Rainbow found herself being weirded out, again. Gabe insisted on walking close to the buildings lining the streets, for some reason, and when they had to cross, he seemed a little... squirrelly.
The general store wasn't too far away, so they arrived in a few short minutes, even with Rainbow slowing down to match the colt's pace. It seemed mostly empty, which made sense; it was midday, after all. A tiny bell announced the pair's entry with a cute chime and a moment later a large earth pony lumbered out from the back room.
"Rainbow Dash, welcome!" He said warmly, giving her a courteous smile. "And you've got a little one with you today!" he added when he saw Gabe staring owlishly up at him. "Looks like you've been through the wringer, son! What's your name?"
It took a second for what the stallion said to process, apparently, because Gabe just kept staring at him. Fortunately, he responded just as the storekeeper began to look concerned. Really fortunate, because Rainbow absolutely did not want to answer the line of questioning that would start. "I'm Gabe, sir. It's good to meet you."
That made the stallion laugh a deep, hearty laugh. "Oh, I appreciate the manners, but don't call me 'sir'. That's much too fancy for a humble shopkeep like m'self. I'm Broad Side."
"Okay," Gabe shrugged. The stallion grinned at Rainbow.
"Dash, I don't see ya around foals too often. What's the story?"
"Eh, it's a long one." Rainbow gave a bit of an uncomfortable grin and rubbed her mane. "Short version is I'm takin' care of him for a little while. Givin' him a place to stay, y'know?"
"Sounds like his parents should be thankful. I know how foals can be," he said with a chuckle. "Welp, let me know iffn' ya need anything." Then he returned to the back room.
Gabriel followed Rainbow through the aisles as she picked out his things. It wasn't like she was hurting for bits, so the pegasus wasn't shy picking out anything she could find that she thought he might need. Of course, Gabe kept being weird through all of it, finding the strangest, most mundane thing every ten steps and eyeballing it like it was a completely baffling piece of modern art, best exemplified when they got to the dental aisle.
"Alright, kiddo, pick out a toothbrush." She remembered hearing from 'Shy that foals liked it when you asked them their opinion on stuff, even if it was a completely meaningless choice. Normal foals were already weird, and here she was with the first-prize-winner of the lot, watching him study the shelves, seemingly completely missing the fact that they were inches from his muzzle.
"Uh, sure, but I don't see any."
Almost unsurprised, Rainbow lifted an eyebrow. "They're right in front of your face, kid."
His eyes shot wide open and he gave her a look that almost made her laugh out loud. "That's a toothbrush?! Why is it shaped like that? What's the loop for?"
"It's for holding in your fetlock, look." She picked one off the shelf and demonstrated, curling her hoof around the handle and holding it up to her mouth. "See?"
"Oh... That makes more sense than, uh, what I was thinking."
Rainbow replaced it and gave him a concerned look. "Please tell me I'm not gonna have to teach you how to brush your teeth."
He shook his head. "No, no, I know how to brush my teeth, just..." he reached up, scooped a brush off the shelf, and clumsily mimicked Rainbow's hold on it, "...not with one of these."
"Well, you're gonna learn. You good with purple?"
"Uh, yeah, sure." He tossed it in the bag. The scene repeated itself a few more times before they returned to the counter—the kid didn't know the difference between a body brush and a mane brush and had never even heard of a dandy brush—where Broad Side rung them up, charged them, and sent them on their merry way with a hearty nice-to-meet-you.
"Nice dude," Gabe said as they pushed open the door with a happy chime, "loud though."
"You should see him at parties," Rainbow gave a good-natured chuckle, "he loves the Apples' cider."
The walk from the general store to market street didn't take long at all, and in a few short minutes, the two pegasi had arrived. The market usually claimed the title of the liveliest part of Ponyville and today was no different. Ponies trotted and flew between the various brightly-colored storefronts and market stalls in a colorful storm of coats and manes.
The air carried the general bustle of haggling and chatting and everyday life and the ever-shifting wafts of delicious and usually unhealthy wares peddled by the food carts that stood proudly on every corner. Rainbow's stomach rumbled, but she pushed the thought aside for the moment.
"So, kid, now that we've got the boring stuff out of the way, what say we, uh, head down to the toy store down by Sugarcube Corner? Would you like that?"
"Huh? Why?" came the response, laced with an undertone of disbelief.
Ugh. I shoulda seen this one coming. Rainbow felt her cheeks get just a touch hotter. "To, uh, to buy you some toys or somethin'. I thought you'd like that..."
"Oh. Oh! You wanted to buy me something that I wanted?" The surprise in his voice caught the pegasus a little off guard. "Wow, that's really nice of you! I can't remember the last time, uh, somepony did that for me."
And just like that, her heart broke just the tiniest bit. Celestia, this colt... She didn't let that show, of course.
"Well, we can head over there right now!" Rainbow said, putting enough enthusiasm into her voice to mask the painful feeling in her heart.
The colt made a humming noise and looked around. "Actually... can we get something to eat instead? Something smells, uh, really good."
What? Rainbow thought. "Uh, are you sure? You don't even want to look? I promise they're really good toys... I think. Rarity sometimes donates their stuff."
"Yeah, I'm sure, now c'mon!" The colt in between the front window of a shop and a surprised-looking mare, already following his nose, and vanished. It summoned a terrifying vision of losing the tiny foal in a forest of ponies and having to explain to a furious Sandy Hills what had happened.
"Augh! Kid, wait up!"
Lady Luck gave Rainbow a helping hoof; she found Gabe not thirty seconds later standing in front of a hay dog cart being run by a worried-looking stallion in a red-and-yellow-stained apron. She trotted up just in time to hear the tail end of a conversation that made her eyes shoot wide open.
"...kid, what do you mean your parents are gone?"
Rainbow bolted forward.
"It's exactly what it sounds like, they–"
"HEY! I mean, hey!" The pegasus mare planted herself between Gabe and the stallion. "Sorry about that." Then, over her shoulder, "Gabe, what the hay were you thinking? You can't run off like that!" Gabe pursed his lips and furrowed his eyebrows in a crude imitation of an adorable pout.
"Oh!," said the orange-coated stallion, drawing her attention back forward. "Rainbow Dash! Is the foal with you?"
I'll deal with you later, you weird little foal, Rainbow thought as she forced herself to refocus. "Yeah, yeah, I'm, uh, looking after him for a bit." She gave him a half-embarrassed, half-nervous smile.
That seemed to be enough for him. He adjusted his little red-and-white cap atop his mussed-up mane and gave her a welcoming, businesslike smile. "Well, what can I get for you two?"
After a second's hesitation, Rainbow stepped to the side. "Well, kid? You're the one who ran over here, anything catch your eye?"
The kid eyed the menu standing next to the cart that was taller than he was, but his face just looked... confused? He turned to the stallion. "This says all I can order is hay stuff. What smells so good?"
The stallion chuckled at the face he was making. "Well, that would be my grade-A delicious fried hay dogs! I'd recommend the number four. Tastes great with some ketchup and mustard, and my fries, well," he leaned over his cart and brought a hoof to the side of his mouth in a comically theatrical stage-whisper, "...my hay fries are better than anypony else's in town. Old family recipe." A grin and a wink. "But let's have that be our little secret. If the secret got out, I don't think I could keep up with the demand!"
Gabe looked confused during the earth pony's performance at first, but a moment later a happy little grin spread across his face. Hey, when he's not being as strange as possible, he can actually be a little cute.
"Well, if they're really that good..." he said, humming exaggeratedly and looking at the sky in feigned thought.
The stallion continued their little show. "Oh, I assure you, sir! Only the best for you!"
"Well, you sold me. I'll take it!"
"I knew you were a clever little colt! Comin' right up! And for you?" The cart pony looked to Dash.
"Oh, I'll take one of those too."
"Fantastic choice, ma'am. I'll have those done right away." True to his word, the stallion gave them a basket with a hay dog and fries that steamed even in the noon-day air and gave off a smell that made Rainbow's stomach growl with an embarrassing ferocity. Rainbow gave the cart pony his bits and they were off to find a spot to eat.
"The park's nearby. Wanna eat there?" Rainbow suggested.
"Sure, sounds good," he responded, more focused on carrying the tray on his back than anything else. He kept knocking it around with his wings like he was unused to carrying stuff around with them or even moving his wings at all. They kept twitching and jerking and making Rainbow very concerned for the food.
They had almost made it to the park when, only a few steps away from the grass, the little colt let out a "Hup!" as his splinted hoof caught a divet in the dusty road. He wobbled just enough for the basket to slide off his back and bounce to the ground, tossing the hay dog and a bunch of those supposedly world-class fries into the dirt.
"Aw, dude, I'm sorry!" Rainbow began, expecting to console an immediately distressed foal. Instead, Gabe stared at the food, not moving. "You can, uh, you can have mine if you want." Offering the delicious-smelling meal on her back wrenched her heart with grief, but she wasn't about to make a kid eat a dirty lunch.
"Nah, that's okay," Gabe said and began scooping the food back into the basket along with a frankly alarming amount of dirt.
"Ah–..." Her sentence was dead on arrival as she watched the colt swipe a fry up off the ground and pop it into his mouth.
"Wow hey, yeah, these are pretty good."
Rainbow tried again. "A-are you sure, kid? I mean, your food's covered in dirt!"
"Yeah, it's all good. Five-second rule."
"What?" She boggled. "It's been way more than five seconds!"
"Five-second rule. Come on, the park's right there." He set the basket between his wings again and made for the park. Rainbow blinked and rushed to catch up with him.
"Whoa, wait, kid, hold on! At least let me shake some of it off! I don't want you eating freakin' dirt!" She caught up to the little foal and bit the edge of the basket, raising it and giving the contents a few bounces. Far too much dirt and dust fell through the holes in the cheap wicker, and even once she was done the food hardly looked edible.
He eyed her, one eyebrow raised. "Are you done?" he said, sounding a little annoyed.
You've gotta be kidding me! "Kid, are you really–"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure, Rainbow. Believe me, I've eaten way worse." The no-nonsense statement tightened up her chest. She frowned but didn't retort. Instead, she spun and carried the basket the rest of the way to the park, letting him hobble along behind her.
The park wasn't so full that it took more than a few minutes to find a nice shady spot under the tree. Rainbow set Gabe's basket down on the grass before reaching over her shoulder and grabbing her own basket from between her wings. "Alright, here you go."
"Finally," Gabe said, focusing solely on his dusty food. He very awkwardly laid down while Rainbow removed her saddlebags, maneuvering himself to keep his weight off his side and splinted foreleg, which he splayed out in front of him. Then he gave the food his full attention.
In a flash, half the hay dog was gone.
"Holy lord, I never thought hay could taste so good," he moaned through a mouthful of dirt and ‘dog before jamming a few more nasty-looking hay fries into his mouth. "Mmmmmm..."
Gross, definitely, but not gross enough to dispel the hunger rolling in Rainbow's gut. She hadn't eaten since breakfast, after all.
Ignoring the colt's weirdly emotional meal, Rainbow lifted her own very-much-not-dusty hay dog to her mouth and took a bite. The most satisfyingly greasy deliciousness exploded in her mouth, pushing any thoughts of dirt all the way to the back of the line. The cyan pegasus scooped up a hoofful of the fries and stuffed them in there too, and in that moment, she absolutely believed every boastful word that stallion had said.
They ate their meals in peace, listening only to the sound of the easygoing wind, far-off shouts, and satisfied munching.
The food was gone too quickly for Dash. She looked down at her empty basket, forlornly wishing that the few stray crumbs that remained were something more, then produced a burp that would have gotten her an earful from Rarity. What surprised Rainbow (though perhaps it shouldn't have) was that the kid finished his food far quicker. Every crumb had vanished. He even licked the basket.
"That was pretty frickin' good, huh kiddo?"
The little foal produced a burp almost as violent as her own and shook his light green mane. "Ohhh, yeah. I got no idea what I did to deserve that, but I loved every bite."
Rainbow let a silence pass. The mood was that special satisfied-mellow, and she wasn't in a hurry to dispel it. A concerned thought grew in the back of her mind, though, and after a while watching some of the weather team push a cloud across the sky, she voiced her thoughts. "Hey, kid... What did you mean, you've had worse? You were just about ready to eat more dirt than food back there."
Gabriel shrugged without meeting her eyes. "I mean that I've had to deal with a lot worse than some dust on my food before. No big deal."
"...how much worse?"
The little green foal picked at the grass with his good hoof. "Much worse. And a lot of it. Every day." He sighed, looking lost in his thoughts. "...but it's okay now. In fact, it’s great now," he said, looking to her with a grateful smile, "I'm here, and here I can eat a really delicious hot dog and fries." Hot dog? "Thanks for that, by the way. It's just like when I was a kid." He looked back out at the park. A couple of mares and a stallion played with their foals not too far away.
When he was a kid? What did he mean—Oh. Maybe he means... before he got taken away from his family. Rainbow took in a deep, shuddering breath, looking away once she felt her eyes watering. Once again, it struck her just how fast this foal had been forced to grow up. He tries so hard to act like an adult.
"Of course, kid. Anytime." She blinked hard, then turned back to the foal. "But you can't run off like that, okay?"
"Oh, right. That." The kid sounded noticeably less grateful now. "I knew you were right behind me, it turned out fine."
"I know, but I could have lost track of you. I don't want that to happen, okay?" She channelled her mother as best she could and fixed a stern stare on him. "And don't think I forgot the hospital. This disappearing act better not be a habit."
"But I wasn't in any–"
"Kid." Her harsh tone cut him off. After a second, she tried again with a slightly softer tone. "I just don't want anything to happen to you, okay? I'm supposed to be the one looking out for you. If anything happened to you, that'd be on me."
"...alright."
"Thanks, kiddo." She said it as laid-back as she could manage, trying to siphon off some of the tension that hung in the air. "You ready to head home?"
He burped again. "Ready as I'll ever be."
It only took a moment to crumple up the used baskets and stuff them into her saddlebags before she put them on. "Alright, all aboard. Rainbow Dash is ready for takeoff." He huffed at that, but Rainbow caught the ghost of a smile flit across his dark green muzzle. He climbed on and Rainbow leapt into the sky.
The pegasus mare transformed her smooth but powerful launch into a gentle bank and began coasting towards her cloud home. She flew as gently as she could, gliding on the afternoon updrafts and keeping a smooth, easy ride. A quick check over her shoulder confirmed her suspicions; Gabe had his face buried in her mane.
She reached over her shoulder and tapped his hoof. "Hey, kid, check out the view."
"...I'm good," he replied into her neck.
"C'mon. Just for a second? I promise on my life I won't drop ya."
He didn't move.
Rainbow sighed quietly and turned her head back around, a tad disheartened, but a moment later she heard a tiny gasp. "Oh, wow..."
Another glance over her shoulder revealed the colt looking down at the town with those wide brown eyes, albeit with his forelegs around her neck and his cheek pressed into her mane. "I had no idea it looked like this."
"Pretty cool, right?" Rainbow grinned. She felt him nod against her coat. The view was, indeed, spectacular. The town was beginning to get that late-afternoon bustle, full of lively, colorful ponies moving about, through the streets and over the rooftops. When she looked back up, Dash spied a handful of stray clouds drifting across the sky and banked towards them.
Rainbow then glided to the widest, most stable-looking cloud and landed with a little flourish. "Alright, kid, time to see that you can really walk on clouds." She took a canter around the clean, fluffy platform and struck a pose for emphasis. "Ta-da! See?"
"Um. I don't know about this, Rainbow. It's really different from your house."
"It's alright, kid, I promise. Even if you fall, I'm right here. I gotcha."
He didn't say anything, hesitating in silence for a minute or so before shifting about, going down rear first. His back hoof reached out, carefully tapping the cloud. It pulled back, almost in shock, then settled on the material. Limb by limb, he made his way off her back, and when he finally did have all four hooves on the cloud, he simply stood and felt at it, pressing each limb down into the cool softness.
Gabe looked at her with starry eyes, filled with genuine childhood wonder. "I can't believe it! This is so weird! It’s so soft!"
The sight of the kid looking happy and actually like a foal filled Rainbow's chest with a special kind of pride she had never felt before. Maybe there really is hope for this kid after all.
Rainbow caught one of the other clouds giving off the faintest flash in the corner of her eye and an exciting idea popped into her head. "Alright, kid, check this out." She spread her wings and took off, doing a few loops and rolls while she gained altitude. Even from a little distance, she could tell the kid's eyes were still wide with awe. She grinned determinedly; she was about to rock his world.
Rainbow shot herself upward and performed a magnificent corkscrew, then flipped and dove back at the cloud, hooves outstretched and forelegs locked. She collided with the cloud at a fantastic speed, knocking the lighting out of it with a flash and a terrific Crack-Boom!, blowing the cloud apart. The thunder rolled through the sky. She knew that, to the colt, it would have looked like she shot lightning from her very hooftips and looked up, expecting to see his wowed expression and a grin across his face.
Instead, she saw him dive off the side of the cloud.
Rainbow couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. She just flapped there in the air for a half moment, dumbfounded, before her body caught up to her brain and she exploded into action, diving towards the colt in a manic blast of speed.
"Waaaaaaaaaauuuuugggghhhh!!" The damn kid screamed his head off as he tumbled through the air. Dash flapped her wings even harder, fighting her instinct and driving her faster and faster. She reached towards the foal and the orchard he hurtled towards. Her saddlebags ripped at her sides. They held her back, slowing her down. The trees rushed up to meet them far too quickly. Nonononononononono–!
The two collided and Rainbow locked her forelegs around the smaller pegasus, squeezing him against her chest and groaning as her wings screamed in protest. She pulled out of the dive with barely a breeze to spare, screaming right over the treetops and back into the endless blue sky.
Rainbow realized that she had stopped breathing and sucked air into her panicked body. Every single muscle was tensed and her eyes were locked open. They darted around, taking in the landscape in excruciating detail. She felt each feather in her wings shift in the air and each shiver that shot through the little body pinned against her chest. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." The energy was too much, she had to move.
Minutes later she just about flopped onto her porch, landing awkwardly on three hooves. She held the colt against herself, who kept his hooves tightened around her neck. Unlocking the door with just her mouth was awkward and hobbling through them even more so, but her wings burned and ached as they hung limply at her sides. Walking would just have to do.
The pegasus carefully made her way up the stairs and into the guest room, making it about to the middle of the space before her legs gave out under her and her rear fell to the floor. Gabriel stared at the wall with a far-away look that, in all honesty, scared her to her core. He still had both forelegs wrapped around her very tightly, as if she were the rock that kept him from being swept into a roaring, wrathful sea. "I'm sorry, kid," she whispered, stroking his mane and tucking his head underneath her chin. He only continued to shiver and stare.
"I am so, so sorry..."
Though Luna's night sky shone in all its glory, Rainbow Dash found herself still awake. She lay in her bed, her room shrouded in darkness, staring up at the ceiling. The scene from earlier in the day played over and over in her mind, whenever she closed her eyes. It had been too close. Far too close. Had her reflexes taken her a second longer, or he had somehow wormed out of her grip, or if she hadn't been able to pull up in time... That would have been it.
Ohh, Celestia, Sandy would have her head. I am so, so, screwed. What was I thinking?! I'm not good at taking care of foals! This was such a stupid idea! She groaned and rolled over in her bed, mashing her face into her pillow. Ugh. Maybe it’s for the best. The kid deserves better than me.
A moment later, she rolled out of bed. Even though it was the middle of the night, the late summer made sure the air felt plenty warm. Rainbow crept past Tank, fast asleep in his little bed, and to the door, careful not to set her hooves down too hard. A few moments later, she had exited her room, silently flown down to the floor of the foyer, and placed herself before her front entry.
The doors opened with a soft groan but it couldn't be helped. She trotted out onto her front porch, taking a deep breath of the cool night air before stepping off the edge of the tightly-packed clouds. Practiced but aching wings slowed her fall to a hover and she flew up beneath her front porch to where she knew a long rope hid, sprouting from her home's foundations and coiling around a big cloud-dowel.
She took hold of the thick, sturdy rope's end with her hooves and unwound it a ways before gripping it with her teeth, and then, after making sure the rest was secure, she slowly backed away. Once the rope was taut, she turned around and eased the work her wings were doing, letting herself slowly descend. The rope resisted, but Rainbow insisted, and slowly, very slowly, the cloudominium began to fall.
It took nearly half an hour before Rainbow deemed the home at a good height. Somepony standing on her porch would be able to make out the individual blades of grass in the hilly plain below, as long as they squinted, and if they decided to take a dive, they'd end up with, at worst, a broken bone. Perfect for a flightless pegasus foal.
Her teeth, neck, and wings all raised tartarus as Rainbow flew back up to the bottom of her porch. She stuffed the rope around its dowel in a messy, haphazard way, and after brief good-enough inspection, the worn-out pegasus flew back up and set herself down on the porch. Her head hung low as she walked back inside and pushed her front door shut.
Tank raised his head when she pushed her bedroom door open. She sighed, trudging over to the little dude and giving him a gentle pat on the head. "Yeah, Tank," she muttered, "I really screwed up."
The tortoise gave her a slow, wrinkly smile, and Rainbow couldn't help but feel her spirits rise just the tiniest bit. "You're right, bud. I should get to sleep." After one final pat, she took four steps and flopped into her cloudy bed, snuggling into the nice, soft sheets with a relieved sigh.
Tomorrow would bring what tomorrow would bring, and it was tomorrow Rainbow's problem. Until then, she was long overdue for a nice, long rest.