//------------------------------// // ch. 1 First Hoof Impressions // Story: Sunny With A Chance Of Rain // by Cloudline Dasher //------------------------------// Sunny With A Chance of Rain Written By: Cloudline Dasher Chapter One: First Hoof Impressions /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ It had been an eventful morning to say the least. Not only had they scrambled to gather what they could from the rubble of her old home, saving what they could before rain could hit, but met someone she never knew she needed in her life right now; A mother named Sky Liner and a sister named Moon Mist. To top off the excitement cake, they were both pegasi! Sunny groaned, finally able to retreat into a room that the queen had graciously prepared for her. Izzy Moonbow had one as well that was next to hers, but wasn't going to be staying. She still had things to take care of in Bridlewood. It was still up in the air if the unicorn was going to still live in Bridlewood but the queen insisted this be her home away from home. Sunny's saddlebag nearly rolled as she tossed it to the bed, throwing the flap open and immediately pulling her picture from it. She instantly spotted a random picture of a rose bush on the wall next to the door, pulling it from its spot and replacing it with hers. She smiled softly, giving a little giggle as she attempted to straighten the photo, “Hey dad, now you can watch over me here too.” Sunny paused, her features falling slightly as a thought hit her, “Guess you've been watching over them too, haven't you? I just... never knew about them...” Pangs of several emotions rolled over her, her gaze lowering to no where in particular, “Dad, I feel a little guilty. Part of me hates that you kept the truth from me for so long. I can't stay mad with you, but... How am I supposed to feel about it? I can't help but... feel a little hurt.” Her words fell short. She had so many things to say and even though she was just speaking to a photograph, she attempted to carefully select her words, “Part of me feels betrayed dad. You kept the truth from me for so long. I know it was probably to keep me safe, or possibly to keep me from running off, but... Part of me is angry at you. I thought we didn't keep things from one another...” Falling silent, Sunny deeply inhaled before letting herself fall forward slightly. Her forehead thudding against the wall, allowing herself to stay there for the moment. Her mind raced a mile a minute. All her emotions were muddled up. As soon as she would feel something, another feeling would just as easily take its place. On one hoof, she felt happy to have two new family members, but she also felt fear of getting to know them. What if they didn't like one another? What if they never started to feel like a family due to all the time apart? Would they not want 'her' as a family member? Knock~! Knock~! Knock~! “Sunny? It's me, Moon Mist.” Sunny's eyes widened, shuffling for the door. The photo of her dad and her slightly going askew with the gust of wind from the door. For a moment, Sunny could see the nervousness in Moon Mist's features. Her ears had been standing at attention, her wings slightly extended and twitching. However, upon seeing Sunny, her face immediately softened, her ears darting back as she gently spoke, “Sunny, are you okay?” “Y-yeah, why do you ask?” Sunny looked at her in confusion. Sure she had been just talking to her dad's photo, but otherwise she felt somewhat fine. She did feel a tad emotionally exhausted, but what did she expect after meeting her long lost mother and sister, then having to break the news of her dad passing away. Moon Mist locked eyes with her newfound sister, frowning, “Yo... you were crying...” Sunny's hooves darted up to her cheeks, and yep, sure enough there were drying lines of tears that had fallen down her cheeks. She chuckled weakly, wiping her eyes and cheek with one hoof and waving dismissively with the other, “Just a tad overwhelmed I guess. So much goi~eep!” The breath was nearly knocked out of her as she was scooped into a tight embrace. Moon Mist's hooves slipping under Sunny's arms to hug her torso. Sunny's apricot orange coat softly melted in with the light blue of Moon's. Moon Mist's voice remained soft, as the light pink tips of her hooves gently pet up and down Sunny's back, “It's okay Sunny. I'm here...” For a moment Sunny was about to say something, but her throat caught as she attempted to breath in. Moon took it as her new sister was about to start crying again and squeezed tighter, “You're not alone anymore.” “I'm not alone! I had Hitch, he was always my friend!” Sunny grunted as she pushed away from the embrace. Her hooves were caught by Moon's and they remained that way, softly holding one another. Sunny looked into Moon's eyes, frozen at what she saw. It was a strangely familiar sight. Moon shared the same purple eyes as her father. They belonged to her sister, but strangely the same loving eyes that watched her grow up for most of her life. She shook her head, rallying her mind back to the present, “I mean... Hitch Trailblazer, the stallion that was with me and the others. He always looked after me when dad died. Probably even before so. I wasn't alone, Moon Mist. I promise!” Moon's eyes seemed to search deep into her soul. She couldn't keep the idea that her dad wasn't the one looking at her with those bright purple eyes. Moon softly chuckled, snapping Sunny back to the present once more, “I'm glad, I would have felt worse if you were entirely alone.” “Me too, honestly.” Sunny chuckled lightly, “But now I have a lot of new friends too.” “I'm so happy to hear that.” Moon smiled. She was about to say something more before a knock came from the open doorway. “It's good to see you girls hitting it off.” They both turned in unison to see Sky Liner standing in the doorway. Giving Sunny a good chance to soak in how her mother looked. Another odd sensation washed over her. Her newfound mom had the exact same apricot orange coat that she had. It was almost like looking into a mirror and seeing her much older self, but with a pink mane instead. The mare had crows feet nestled at the edges of her eyes, worn with time. Her eyes were also the same as Sunny's, maybe a tad darker green. Her wings however, started off the same orange, but faded to a bright pink toward the tips. “Hey uh... mom.” Sunny greeted, still a bit unnerving to call someone that. Especially having never known a motherly figure. “Now now.” Sky Liner giggled, stepping fully into the room, “You don't have to call me that if you don't like. I want you to be comfortable and I fully intend to earn that title. We have a lot of time to make up for, you know!” That made Sunny genuinely smile for a moment, giving her own giggle, “Actually, It kind of feels weird to not to call you mom. Seems... right...” Sunny pulled her hooves away from Moon's, tapping one against her lips as if pondering her own words. Her words made Sky Liner's chest swell with happiness. Her wings puffed out a tad bit before deflating back to her side. Sky trotted forward pulling Sunny into a hug. The sisters could feel the overwhelming emotion radiating from their mother as she spoke, “I've missed you so much my little Starscout.” Sunny had to ward off the swelling of tears. Her chest suddenly felt both hollow and full at the same time. She couldn't put a hoof on the feeling, it was almost like she had a hole inside her that she didn't know she had, but now was being filled by the embrace. Maybe even a tad bit of loneliness that had apparently been there. “A-are we interrupting?” another voice was heard from the still open doorway. “Zipp? Hey!” Sunny weakly pulled from the embrace to greet her friend, her wings flaring out, almost throwing off her balance with the sudden involuntary movement. Zipp covered her mouth with her hoof, trying to stifle her giggles, “Not quite used to the wings, are ya? Don't worry, you'll get used to them.” Red made its way through Sunny's cheeks, her ears splaying back against her skull. When the embarrassment started to ebb away, Sunny's gaze drifted to Pipp that was currently hiding behind Zipp, “Pipp, what's wrong?” Pipp's ears sprung up and she fidgeted, stepping around Zipp as if all was normal, “Nothing! I uh, just wanted to see how you're settling in!?” “Pipp Petals, It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person.” Moon Mist smiled, trotting from Sunny's side until she was a mere hoof away from the pegasus princess. A few moments of awkward silence blanketed the room. Zipp had a brow raised, her eyes glancing in between her sis and Moon Mist's. Pipp seemed as if she didn't want to be here, her face torn into a frown. After a bit, a large fake smile forced its way onto her muzzle, flaring her wings out as she suddenly stood up, startling Moon a bit, “Moon Mist, the pleasure's all mine!” Even with the sudden enthusiasm, a twitch could be seen by Pipp's right eye. Moon chuckled nervously, before she got up and went back to Sunny, “Sunny, I'm going out to dinner with mom and we were wondering if you would like to come with?” Sunny's glanced over to Zipp and Pipp. They had already set up plans to have dinner, fully expecting either one to speak up. Luckily it was Zipp that spoke up first, “Sunny, you can go with them if you want. I'm sure the others wont mind.” “B-but... Hitch and Izzy are leaving tonight. Hitch needs to keep an eye on Maretime Bay and the construction of my home and Izzy said she needed to take care of a few things in Bridlewood.” Sunny near pouted, she desperately wanted to get to know her mother and sister, but was torn with missing out with her friends. Sky Liner giggled, bringing Sunny's gaze back to her, “Don't worry sweety. I don't intend on missing out on spending some quality time with you. You can go with your friends.” “Plus.” Moon started before taking Sunny's hoof into her own, “We're actually going to be staying down the hall from you, in the castle. So maybe...” Moon Mist blushed, rubbing the nape of her neck, “Maybe if you're willing. I can drop by later? Hang out like... sisters or something?” Sunny couldn't help the large smile on her face, nodding, “Yeah! That... that sounds wonderful!” Sky Liner giggled, snaking her way in between Zipp and Pipp to her daughters, pulling both into a tight embrace, draping her forehooves and wings around the two, “We will be sure to see you soon, dear. We will leave you too it.” After releasing the embrace, her hoof lingered on Moon's shoulder, “Come dear, we will come back tomorrow to see her.” Moon Mist nodded cheerfully and turned to follow her mother out of the room. Sky Liner disappeared around the corner and right as Moon Mist was about out of the doorway, she paused. She began to fidget in place, making it look like she couldn't make up her mind of whether she was coming of going. Ultimately, she stopped and turned around, “S-see you Sunny. I'm so excited to have you as a sister!” Without a further word, Moon Mist darted after her mother, vanishing around a corner down the hall. “They seem nice!” Zipp chuckled, trotting up to pat Sunny on the back. “Y-yeah... nice...” Pipp mumbled, making Zipp and Sunny glance her way. Glancing up to Zipp, Sunny's brow scrunched up in confusion. Zipp had a weird, 'shut up' glare toward her sister. As soon as Zipp did, Pipp jerked her gaze away, angrily grumbling under her voice. Pipp jumped up, calling to her two friends, “Let's get going, Hitch and Izzy are waiting.” Once the princess was out of sight, Sunny whispered to Zipp, “What's wrong with her?” “Hmm... uh...” Zipp paused, letting out a deep sigh. She took a couple steps toward the door before she turned to face Sunny head on. Keeping her voice low, “Moon Mist is a big streamer like Pipp. Even though Moon Mist wasn't a princess, she's always had a sizable following in Zephyr but could never match the royal family. Heck, even I had a bigger following and I've only streamed a few times for announcements.” “Wow, Moon Mist's famous then?” Sunny couldn't believe what she was hearing. Sure, she was already used to Zipp and Pipp being popular due to being princesses, but now she had family that were? Sunny technically was too, being an alicorn now and all, but still. It felt a little odd. “Your mom is too, actually. She may not be directly in the line of viewership, but she runs the biggest theme park in Zephyr Heights. It's a resort that takes a thing called a sky liner; probably named after her; which is a round enclosed chariot type thing, suspended by a wire that leads up to the clouds. It's the only place we could go that brought Pegasi up into the sky, before we could fly again, that is.” “You can walk on clouds?!” Sunny nearly yelled her words, her eyes wide in wonder. How could she not have known they could do that. Did her dad not know that either? But, that didn't make sense, “Wait... You could walk on clouds... without magic?” Zipp's ears twitched before fluttering flat against her skull, releasing yet another sigh, “Not really sure on that front, actually. It's said that the park used to be a city called Cloudsdale and it was re-purposed as a theme park. It was built long before magic was lost, and Sky Liner had the foresight to turn it into a place where pegasi could touch the sky again. At least for an afternoon.” “So why is Pipp acting that way then? Is it cause they are rival streamers?” Sunny decided to ask, bringing the conversation back to Pipp. “Well normally, streamers are pretty friendly. They call it collabing, it's just a shortened term for collaborating. Guess someone thought it was cute. Anyway, when we borrowed the stone from my mom and Zephyr found out we were faking the flying, Moon Mist's viewership finally rocketed over all of ours.” “Isn't it okay now, though? Zephyr Heights forgave you and the royal family, didn't they?” Sunny asked, suddenly worried that all was not well with them. “Yeah, most have forgiven us, but not everypony.” Zipp closed her eyes, shaking her head, “Apparently, Moon Mist was and still is a big fan of my sister. She had been trying to collab for years but my sister always had some sort of promotional, commercial, or meet and greet to do. After our reputations were ruined, it really hurt Moon Mist. She made a reaction video saying that everypony should hold off judgment and give us a chance to explain. Moon Mist made a few like that, actually. Trying to defend us.” “That... that's good right?” Shaking her head, Zipp frowned, “Not exactly. Most started saying that Moon Mist was a saint, that she was being too generous to forgive us. Others stated that she was monopolizing the system since she was already the biggest streamer under the royal family. Making herself look good just to build her audience.” “W-well, anything can be taken out of context, right?” Sunny chuckled to herself. She definitely felt the need to look into getting a phone and check out her sister's streams. Maybe she could get Zipp or Pipp to help her set it up, what did they call it? A Hooftube... something tube... account? Or was it an email account.., or both? Something like that, “I'm sure she didn't mean any harm. Shouldn't Pipp give her the benefit of the doubt? I mean, she didn't exactly do anything wrong, did she?” “Whether she meant well or not, it led to sponsorship's. Pipp's sponsorship's. She basically monetized on our misfortune. Personally, I feel like she did the right thing. You do what you need to. What was she supposed to do, just reject the offers? I mean, you do what you need to and it's not like she hurt us by taking them. We're the royal family. Not like we're exactly hurting for bits, ya know?” “Guess it really depends on how Pipp sees it, then. Maybe she sees it as an attack on her name as a streamer? Or Moon Mist stealing her viewers?” Sunny asked, tapping her lips with the tip of her hoof. “You two coming or what?!” Pipp called from down the hall, “We're going to be late!” Zipp got up, but paused at the doorway, “Honestly, I don't know. It's something that Pipp has to come to terms with. Maybe I can talk to her about it.” “M-maybe that's for the best...” Sunny let out a sigh, getting up to follow Zipp out of her room. Pulling the door closed with a soft click. Suddenly, she threw her door wide open again, rushing back in to hastily straighten the photo of her and her father. She gave the photo a quick wave as she whispered, “See you later, dad.” She ran back out the door, pulling the door closed once more. Little did she know, the photo went right back to being askew.