//------------------------------// // Chapter Ten // Story: For Lack of a Better Word // by Gunsmith //------------------------------// I slide my end of the couch against the wall, followed by Rainbow Dash doing the same with the other side. The sky-blue pony immediately hops up onto the new piece of furniture, sitting down with a 'whew'. I turn and do the same, letting out a sigh at the bliss of being off my feet for the first time since the morning. I glance over at the rainbow-maned Pegasus, then hold my fist over to her. After a moment, she understands, knocking the flat of her hoof against my knuckles with a grin. I look around the room, feeling satisfied. Definitely got my act together today. While the couple of actual professional carpenters I hired installed some new windows and fixed the foundation and support of my house, I began work on the inside, cleaning up more, re-doing door frames and putting in a new door for the bathroom. Rainbow Dash stopped by, saying she got the day off because no clouds had rolled in today, and to my surprise, began helping me out. She covered new plumbing, actually gathering and positioning small clouds to create a working water system within my home. Apparently that's how plumbing works here, and it is no less effective than the pipe plumbing I'm used to. In fact, it's easier to maintain, lasts longer, and refills itself, and with a magically-operated mechanism installed in most pony homes, even I can use the system of small clouds with handles and levers. I start scanning about the room, looking at the things I've made, mostly with the help of my colorful friend. Cabinets and counters, as well as a sink, an oven, and an icebox. I made sure we built them or had them raised up a little higher, so I could better reach them. A small table and two chairs, all sturdy enough to survive me putting my weight on them and past that. The couch Rainbow Dash and I sit on, but I bought that; lugging it here was sure a challenge, though. On the second floor, I know that now, there is an average-sized bed, more than enough for me; though my feet do hang over the edge if I stretch out. I don't really mind. The hay bedding covered by some sheets is much more comfortable than the wooden floor I've been utilizing for the past week or so; it's getting hard to keep track of time given my bad memory and the general lack of calendars. All in all, it's livable. A roof over my head that doesn't leak, plumbing, storage, doors, windows, and a bed. It actually feels like a home, now, rather than a house. I know that I'm not done, yet; there's plenty I want to do. Bookcases, for one. And a lot of paint. Maybe even some carpet, or a rug, at the least, I'm not really sure what else I can get my hands on. But for now, it's livable. And best of all, I've managed to make it so in, what, two days? That has to be a record. I didn't do it alone, of course, I think, looking over at the light blue pony again. It's nice to have help, someone willing to help. I haven't really got much of it in the past, and it's a welcome idea to me. Remembering something, Rainbow Dash looks over at me with a friendly smile. "Why don't we take a break? I haven't practiced in a while. Been too busy helping you move couches," she jokes with a playful roll of her eyes. I grin at her, then nod in agreement. A break sounds nice. I wonder what time it is as I stand up, trying to find the sun out one of the windows. I walk over to the door, already starting to feel sore, and open it, still remembering my manners despite my tiredness. Dash smiles to me, trotting outside as I shut the door behind us. I see that it is actually fairly late in the day, probably around five or six in the afternoon. So we've been working for, what...ten hours? Yikes. Definitely time for a break. The Pegasus stops, looking back at me. "Hey, I've got some...stuff to do. Just meet me out at Luna Lake, where we usually go, 'kay?" I nod, starting to wonder but stopping myself. She's an adult, she has things to do, too, I internally scold. She jumps off, flapping her wings and flying away. I smile and start heading towards the distant field that I can't even see right now, speeding up my pace a little. I am tired, and also very hungry, but my eagerness to get to watch her fly overrides it all. It's exciting and wonderful to see, and I find myself always looking forward to it. My mind starts to drift idly as I jog along at a steady clip. I suppose I can easily understand why I like to see her fly so much. For one, she's a creature I previously thought was only a myth, which is something in itself to see on a fairly regular basis. But more than that, I've always enjoyed things like airplanes and flight. Especially fighter planes. Amazingly fast, yet agile and deft, precise and deadly, a piece of machinery that somehow seems beautiful when doing what it is meant to do. Rainbow Dash isn't quite a jet, given that she's much more colorful, talkative, and...well, cute. Once you get past the abnormality of how the ponies look in comparison to actual ponies, the large eyes and color schemes and such, they're fairly adorable. There's something different about watching her fly in comparison to watching an airplane fly, though. Possibly the fact that there is a degree of nature there, that her flight is natural, not created by concentrated gouts of flame and machinery, yet is nearly just as fast and many, many times for agile. To think that she does what she does under her own power amazes me; and a horse's body isn't even meant for flight, but she can fly better than any bird I've ever seen. The freedom she has... It would be nice. Not just the freedom of flight, to be in the open air, but also her naivete. I've noticed that she, along with many of the others here, don't seem to be troubled by much, and if they are, their concerns usually come off as fairly petty. Maybe I'm judging too quickly; and as the saying goes, 'someone else always has it worse', or something along those lines. Everyone else, no matter how happy they are, has their own battles to fight, all of which end up being just as bad as those one already has. I slow my pace, realizing I've jogged a bit farther than I should have, having gone all the way through the field by mistake. I find myself looking out over a calm lake, reflecting the sunlight off of its waters. The sun shines before me, hanging a few hours away from sunset over the horizon. Crickets chirp softly along the banks, nestled within the cattails. It feels serene, peaceful; I sit down, drawing my knees up to my chest and looking out over the water. I watch Luna Lake for some time, finding myself feeling relaxed. The sound of gentle wing-beats approaches to my right. I look over, watching as Rainbow Dash sits down beside me, looking out at the lake as well. She is quiet for some time. "Y'know, I've been coming out here for...well, I'm not really sure, but it's been a pretty long time. I found it when I was just a filly. But I've never really looked at the lake, like this." Rainbow pauses, thinking it over a little. "It's nice," she states simply. I nod thoughtfully in agreement. "It's also boring, though," she says after a minute, her voice going back to its normal tone and volume. There is a notable change from when she was talking only a moment ago to how she talks now, like a transition between another side of her and her usual self. "Come on, I want to show you this trick!" The light blue pony eagerly stands, spreading her wings. I smile, standing as well and walking away from the lake with her. She shoots off into the air, and once she is only a mere smudge of color against the sky, calls down to me. "Watch!" she shouts. I nod, trying to make it visible to her. She dives down a short distance, then shoots back up again, aiming straight for a big, fluffy cloud. She pierces the center, careening right through it. Dash continues up and off to one side, signature rainbow trail following her closely. The Pegasus bolts through another cloud, then one more, before heading into a dive directly down towards me. Nearly slamming into the ground, she levels out just in time, galloping on the ground for a moment before stopping in front of me. I watch as, above a grinning, panting Rainbow Dash, a small rainbow begins to form between her spread wings as the water vapor on her coat flies off from the sudden stop and hits them. My mouth opens in awe, and I step closer, staring at the semi-visible color levitating over her back. The rainbow disappears after a few seconds, water vapor shimmering as it dissipates back into the air. Unable to control my grin of excitement, I give a stunned laugh, looking at the pony. She continues to smile with pride at her trick. "Pretty awesome, right?" I nod vigorously, feeling giddy. I can't even begin to fathom how that was possible, but it has to be one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I'm almost tempted to ask her to do it again. Rainbow glances over at the sun, face twisting in thought for a moment. "Okay, we should probably get back to your house, now," she informs me. I frown, wondering why she wants to go back so soon. But, I agree, solemnly nodding my head in submission. She's probably tired. After all, she was helping me all day. We start the walk back towards town. *** I step up to my front door, placing a hand on it. I notice Rainbow Dash is hanging back a little, but is smiling; it doesn't prevent the odd sense of foreboding I feel. I switch hands, placing my left on the door, and the right on the tomahawk in my belt. I give the door a push inward, hand on the grip of my weapon. "SURPRISE!" I stumble away from my door, withdrawing my weapon and reaching for the other with my left hand. I then notice that there is no threat in front of me; rather, I would consider them all friends, to an extent. A crowd of short, colorful ponies stands within my house, grins on all of their faces on having successfully surprised me. Pinkie Pie stands in front of them all, seemingly the mastermind behind this escapade, wearing a huge smile. I look behind me, to Rainbow Dash, who is smiling as well. "Surprise!" she says as well. I look back into my house, a smile starting to form on my face. I step inside, immediately noticing a lot of things. The first is a large banner hanging along my ceiling. It reads: Good Job on Finishing Your House and Also Welcome to Ponyville. It's a bit of a mouthful. I smile in amusement, looking about me. On the table now lies various desserts, such as cupcakes and cookies, along with assorted drinks and some salt, which I mildly question. There appears to be party games about the room, pin-the-tail-on-the-pony, something that looks like Twister, and a few others. Most notably, at the back of the room there appears to be a small setup of DJ equipment, a record player and some speakers. I also question the existence of speakers in this sort of era, but the question fades as I continue looking around. My gaze drifts to the crowd of ponies before me. I actually recognize most of them; I see Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy, as well as many of the ponies I have done jobs for, such as the pony named Till, and another whose name is Berry Punch. I don't understand why they are present, feeling like I really didn't do anything special. All I did was help them out, a lot of times in order to help myself. To think that they would take so kindly to my simple actions...I smile, feeling proud, yet humbled. "Told you I would get this party in within a few chapters!" exclaims Pinkie Pie to me. "I just had to make sure the author remembered, didn't I, Mister Author?" she asks with a menacing look into space. Yes, Pinkie Pie, sir, I mean, ma'am! Please, no more songs about remembering that I need to add a party to this chapter. I frown, not entirely sure what the pink party pony is talking about. I shrug lightly to myself, telling myself just to go with it. Pinkie turns, facing the group of ponies. "Alright, everypony, let's party!" *** I shake a few more hooves as ponies slowly file out my front door, my right hand starting to hurt from shaking and my face starting to hurt from smiling; not that those are bad things, though. The next pony to approach me is a white unicorn with a spiky, blue mane and large, purple-tinted glasses. Rather than extending her hoof in a shake, she holds it back a little; I close my hand into a fist, lightly bumping it against the mare's hoof. She grins, then trots out without a word. 'Vinyl Scratch', an excellent DJ who apparently composes her own music, as well. The bass on her songs could be a bit lower and harder-hitting, but electro is electro, and I certainly won't complain. Right as the music began, I remembered how much I missed music. I had forgotten how much it had meant to me, just to lose myself within a song. Twilight appears to be the last to leave, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie having already left; Pinkie literally wrapping up the party and taking it with her was quite the sight. Twilight glances off into my house, looking around at the new furnishings, I suppose, before smiling up at me. "Your house looks excellent, Mark. Definitely quite a change from what this house looked like before. And to think you did it within only two days! You're almost as organized as I am," she jokes. "Oh, but before I forget. Princess Celestia has been wanting to see you personally, if you recall. She sent me a letter earlier asking you if us going to Canterlot to see her the day after tomorrow would be okay with you. Is it?" That's right, the ruler-goddess mentioned that in her letter to Twilight a few days ago. Wow...I'm stunned by the very idea of getting to see an actual goddess. It's unfathomable. Best of all, I don't really have a schedule, so my schedule is always clear. I nod with a smile to the violet unicorn, receiving a contented smile from her in return. "Great! Now, we can go to Canterlot in two ways. I would just teleport us there, but I haven't quite figured out how to teleport objects that far. The first is by hot-air balloon, which is the faster of the two options. The second is by train, in case you do not want to fly." I feel a grin spreading on my face. I get to see a demi-goddess, and I can fly there? I've never been in a hot air balloon...I muse, filled with sudden wonder. I look at Twilight, thinking for a moment, then making a half-circle with one hand and dragging it slowly through the air, like I'm holding a small balloon. She understands my charade, smiling in satisfaction again. "You'd like to take the balloon?" I nod happily. "Okay, I'll get on filling it up. It should take a day or so to fill and do a safety check on, so that should work out great. Can you be at the library near sunrise two days from now?" I nod, figuring nothing will come up. Not like I have a work schedule to abide by. "Excellent," Twilight states, smiling once more as she starts trotting out the door. "See you soon, Mark!" I close the door, turning back into the main room of my house. Only then does something catch my eye. On my couch, a short distance away, lies a curled up, light blue Pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane. She snores softly as the last light of the day starts to fade away, basking the room in a reddish light. I silently d'aww to myself; she looks like a big, sleeping puppy, sort of. Not really. The level of cute present in a sleeping puppy is a more accurate description. She snores lightly, apparently completely drained of energy from the day. I knew there was someone that didn't leave, I tell myself, recalling having the thought earlier. How did I not notice her? I give a quiet snort of amusement, watching her mane shift as her chest rises and falls peacefully. Better wake her up, I think solemnly. She should go home, sleep in her own bed, not on my simple couch in my half-renovated house. I start quietly walking over to her, the old but strong floorboards creaking a little under my weight. I approach the side of the couch, kneeling down in front of her and moving my hand towards the sleeping pony's shoulder. My hand is only a few inches away from her, when I notice something about her. My gaze shifts over a short distance. I realize I've never actually looked at Rainbow Dash's...what was it, 'cutie mark'? I think that was the term Twilight used. Maybe because of its location. Still, it's intriguing, and I find myself unable to look away out of decency. Her mark is of a storm cloud of sorts, out of it coming a streak of lightning. The lightning bolt is composed of three different colors, red, yellow, and blue, the three colors required to make every other color in a rainbow. I look at it for a while, mesmerized. It looks slightly different from the rest of her, like maybe it would feel different...a soft presence brushes against my fingertips. A tingling begins to spread throughout my hand, traveling slowly up my arm; as it does, my hair starts to stand on end. It feels like an electrical shock, but a mild one, one that is just large enough to be noticeable, but small enough to not be painful... Something very soft smacks me in the face, hard. I jump back, more out of surprise than from the impact. Stumbling and losing my balance, I land on my backside. I look at Rainbow Dash, utterly stunned as I try to figure out what exactly just happened; she is fully alert, now, head raised and looking at me, eyes wide. Her wings are completely extended, flared out on her back; I realize what hit me in the face at this point. The Pegasus looks back at her wings, eyes widening a little more; her cheeks start to blush a pinkish color, but she seems to stifle the emotion quickly, looking back at me. She glances back at me, grinning casually. "What, you're not going to take me out to dinner, first?" I manage to gather a few of my bearings, scrambling to my feet, but my eyes remain locked on the light blue pony. I glance back at her cutie mark again. Did I touch that? What the hell was I thinking?! That thing's on her ass, damn it! I look at my hand, still feeling some remnants of the...electricity? I quickly smooth out the hair on my arm with my left hand, feeling a wave of red-hot embarrassment travel through my body. God damn it, what the hell?! I silently question, furious with myself for letting my curiosity best me. My face hot enough to fry an egg on, I start to pull out my paper and pencil, fumbling with them for a moment. "Hey, whoa, calm down," Rainbow says, rolling off the couch and standing up. "It's okay..." she trails off, scanning a note of deep apology from me. "Mark, look at me." I force myself to look up, at her bright, friendly, cerise-colored eyes. "It's oh...kay," she says slowly. "I can tell you were just curious. You're curious about stuff like that a lot. I know it was a mistake," the light blue pony reassures me. "But you could've just asked, y'know." My embarrassment disappears for a moment, but not from her attempts at convincing me that isn't offended. It was the tone of voice she held in her last statement. That was almost...no. I push the thought away, again scolding myself for letting my curiosity get ahead of my logical thought. I continue to hold her gaze for a moment longer. "It's okay, Mark," she says. I nod shakily, rubbing my hand against the back of my neck. After a few seconds, she continues, "Well, I'm really tired. Need to get to bed, got a long day of work to look forward to tomorrow..." she says with a snort. "See you later?" I nod again, putting on a smile. She smiles as well, heading for the door. I open it for her, closing it behind the pony before leaning against it with a long sigh, my equivalent of a groan. I walk upstairs, climbing into my new bed, wanting to sleep but denied it by my active mind.