//------------------------------// // Chapter Eight // Story: Trials and Tribulations // by Divide //------------------------------// Trials and Tribulations Chapter Eight: Questions and answers Seth looked at Rainbow Dash and said, "A couple of things. One, how do you intend to fly me up there? I probably weigh four times what you do. Two, how am I supposed to walk on clouds?" Rainbow Dash said nothing, only stomped her foot to hurry him up. Sighing, Seth squashed his pride and masculinity and sat on the blue pegasus, holding the bag of books Twilight lent to him. Rainbow Dash took to the air gracefully, somehow gaining altitude rapidly despite her human cargo. This show of blatant physics breaking made Seth put his head in his hands. Seth only looked up when he felt Rainbow not flying any higher. Looking around, he saw nothing but the burnt orange sky and a few stray clouds. The sight took his breath away, but before he could revel in it, he heard Rainbow Dash say, "Hold on tight, this is going to be fun!" Before he could question what she was about to do, she stopped hovering, tucked her wings in, and dive bombed through the tops of the clouds. Seth clung tightly to Rainbow Dash, not having enough breath to assert his displeasure. After falling for what felt like an eternity to Seth, he risked looking down. He really shouldn't have. Seth and Dash were just seconds away from being flat as a pancake when Rainbow opened her wings back up, swerving close enough to the ground that his feet hit the tops of the grass. Snickering and laughing the whole way to her house, Rainbow Dash was ready with stage two of her prank. Since Seth was not a pegasus, he shouldn't be able to walk on clouds. Rainbow deduced this and she planned on letting Seth jump down and fall straight through, only to be saved by her. What she was not expecting, however, was Seth climbing off her back and standing on the clouds, commenting on how soft they were. Rainbow attempted to speak, but all that came out was, "But I-but you-but..." Seth raised an eyebrow at the flustered pegasus. "But what?" he asked. Sighing, Rainbow said, "Never mind," and took Seth on a quick tour of her place. Unbeknownst to both Seth and Rainbow Dash, Rarity had told Twilight about Rainbow's invitation to Seth and how she might try to pull something, so Twilight cast a spell on Seth that enabled him to walk on clouds. Rainbow Dash attributed it to the fact that he was a human, therefore anything was possible, whereas Seth had no idea any of that had ever happened. Seth was amazed at how Rainbow Dash had made her house. Especially at how she made it out of clouds. How could you possibly do this? thought Seth in wonder. They should just float away and dissipate, but they don't. About half an hour later, the tour was complete. Rainbow and Seth headed into the kitchen, where Rainbow had two bowls of salad waiting for them. Rainbow was the first to start the conversation, assaulting him with a variety of questions. "How big do most humans get?" "It varies quite a bit. Some can dwarf even me, while some others only come up to my chest." "What do humans eat?" Seth was careful answering this one. "Humans can eat all sorts of things. Plants, grains, dairy products and alternatives, those sorts of things." He made sure to make no mention of eating meat, for fear that he'd be shunned. "One more question, then it's my turn." Rainbow thought about her next question more carefully. "How did you end up here? In Equestria?" "I'll tell you what I told Twilight: I don't know." "Whaddaya mean you don't know? I thought you knew everything," said Rainbow with a harrumph. Seth laughed at that. "I most certainly do not know everything, my dear pegasus. Nobody knows everything, and I believe it should stay that way. As for why I'm here, I don't know, but I have my excuses as to why I don't." Rainbow narrowed her eyes at Seth. "Go on..." "I got hit by a bus. I died. I woke up here. Those are the only facts I know for certain." Dash was looking at him funny. "But you're not dead. You're right there!" Seth shrugged and said, "I don't know how I'm alive right now, let alone how I got here. I choose not to think about it, for fear I'll go mad if I find the answer. You know, more mad than I am already." "I don't understand. You don't look angry," said Rainbow Dash. "By mad I meant insane. Cuckoo. Off my rocker. Crazy." The look on Rainbow Dash's face made Seth sigh and say, "Never mind, I was just trying to make a joke. So bloody difficult when nopony gets my aphorisms. Anyway, my turn to ask a question: why did you invite me over to your house?" The question took Dash by such an amount of surprise that she didn't even try to hide her blushing face. "T-that's not fair!" stammered Rainbow Dash. "That's personal!" Seth raised an eyebrow. "Personal you say. How interesting. What are you planning, my little Dashie?" "None of your business! I invited you over here cause I thought you were cool and I...wanted to get to know you, as it seems you're here to stay." Seth was not accepting that answer. "What do you mean 'get to know me'?" Rainbow pulled off the best poker face she could. "I wanted to find out more about you and where you lived, 'cause I want to see how different you lived. Also because I thought you were cool." Seth knew she was hiding something, but accepted her explanation anyway. It wouldn't do for everypony to learn how well he could read people. Ponies were actually easier to read than people, what with their oversized eyes and apparently easily blush-able faces. "Alright, I accept your explanation. I must admit, I'm awfully curious about you and your kind as well. Pegasi in particular. Like how you were able to lift my body weight with those wings of yours. Theoretically, that shouldn't be possible," said Seth. "I'm not called the 'fastest flyer in Equestria' without good reason! Tomorrow, I'll show you exactly what I can do with these babies!" said Dash while flapping her wings, grateful that the conversation had taken another turn. Seth and Rainbow Dash talked for several more hours about each other and their respective races before they finally decided to go to bed. Rainbow offered to let Seth sleep in her room, but Seth declined, saying "Your entire freaking house is made of clouds. It wouldn't matter where I slept, everything's clouds!" Seth ended up sleeping on the living room floor, but had trouble falling asleep. He was in awe at how beautiful the moon was, for he had nearly never seen it in his city of lights and pollution. He also noticed how eerily bright the moon was, and decided to read by moonlight until he fell asleep. Seth was reading the book he borrowed entitled 'Magic 101: A Guide to Developing Your Magical Potential' . He was surprised to find that the magic in unicorns was powered by their willpower and only guided by their horn. He also read that other species have been known to instinctively use magic, albeit briefly, in times of great need. As Seth was mulling over this newfound information, he heard a light spring-like noise which, for whatever reason, was the sound that clouds made when you jumped on them. He thought it was just Rainbow, probably up for a midnight snack, but when he got up to check, she was still snoozing soundly in her bed. Suddenly wary, Seth tiptoed as best he could back to the living room. He was prepared for someone trying to break in, but was not prepared for a gentle knock on the door. That meant that whoever it was, they knew he was awake and knew the Dash was asleep. He knew that delaying would only serve to infuriate the guest, so he walked over and opened the door. He was already looking down in preparation for a small pony, but soon realized that he was almost looking face to face with the biggest unicorn he'd seen so far. The midnight coloured pony blinked in surprise at the something that opened the door. It was huge, taller than her even though she towered over most ponies. She was even more surprised when it cleared it's throat quietly and said, "I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash can't come to the door right now. Can I take a message?" A gigantic creature speaking in a soft voice, in perfect Equestrian, after she flew for several hours was too much for her brain to process. She let out a soft, "Oh, my..." and fainted at Seth's feet. Seth looked down at the majestic creature's fallen form. "Well....fuck."