The sound of thunder echoed around me. Actually, now that I concentrated on it, the sound was more like something smashing into something else, as if two large objects colliding into one another that caused everything to shake. Yet despite the volume and noise that came from whatever that source was, they were nothing compared to the glowering expressions of anger that six certain mares shot at me.
“Forest, you promised!” Twilight shouted.
“You can’t do this!” Rainbow Dash added.
My mouth moved. Something I said made them look at me with expressions of horror and... sadness. Why would I say such a thing?
“Why are you doing this?” Twilight asked, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, “Don’t you care about us? About her?”
Who are you talking about? Who's 'her'?
Then I spoke again. I could feel my lips move, yet I could not hear what I said, nor did I know what it was. All I knew was that my words failed to pacify them. Instead it only seemed to infuriate them further.
“You can’t do that! That’s not fair!” Applejack's voice echoed in my head.
“Forest!” another voice screamed. Pinkie stood at the back glaring at me, "Stop!"
Those eyes. Their eyes. The way the looked at me bore a hole into my very soul.
No Pinkie, don’t look at me like that… please stop it... I... I...
A loud rumble. The ground shook under our hooves. Something started to crumble, debris rained down around us. The air was cold. So cold...
Then I felt my mouth move again. I shouted something. A word... no, too long. A phrase. An important phrase. But how did I know it was important? And how did I know what it was? All I knew was how I felt, and I felt this was right. It hurt so much, but it was right.
The girls had all started glowing. A fierce, hostile glow that grew brighter and brighter and brighter. I wanted to scream! I wanted to yell! I wanted to cry out!
Yet, I did none of those things as the light hit me with full force.
I think I screamed as I snapped upright like a jack-in-the-box. I collided with something and instantly felt a burn on my forehead forcing me to lay back down on a soft surface.
“My head!” a voice moaned.
“My head!” I groaned at almost the same time. Opening my eyes slowly, I looked up to see Rainbow Dash hovering over me once again.
“Do you always wake up like that?” she asked, squinting as she rubbed her noggin with her hoof.
"Not usually." I smiled through the pain, "You okay?"
"Yeah. 'm fine. You scared me more than hurt me. Again with the screaming! What's wrong with you?”
I pouted a bit, “There's nothing wrong with me and I wasn't screaming..."
"Mm-hm," She toned with a level expression, "Sure you weren't." She rolled her eyes at me.
I made a face, "Fine. I may have screamed... a little." She gave me a level look again, "Look, I had the same nightmare, okay?"
Again, she rolled her eyes, "Uh-huh."
I could only make a face before we both shared a silently laugh.
Glancing around, I took note of my surroundings and it wasn't long before I puzzled out exactly where I was, “Guess I'm back-”
“In the hospital? Yeah." Rainbow's voice suddenly got excitable, "We saw -- dad and me -- what you did last night. That light show. Pretty awesome. Not as awesome as my Sonic Rainboom,” Rainbow grinned and scratched her nose with the tip of her hoof, “but not too shabby either.”
“Thanks, I just hope that Twilight and the rest saw it."
"I would be surprised if they missed it. I'd think everypony from here to Manehattan couldn't have no spotted it even if they wanted to. It wasn't a subtle display."
I grinned like an idiot at that. No idea why because it wasn't anything I actually did, yet I still felt proud about it. Oh well. Perhaps just this once I'll let myself think I had done it.
"You know, I missed your Sonic Rainboom, sorry about that," I apologized looking at her, a feeling of regret passed through me, "It sounded so awesome."
"You didn't miss anything, Forest."
"What? Why?"
Rainbow gave me a sheepish look, "I didn't do a Sonic Rainboom after the Race."
"What? Why?" I said louder than before; I was shocked.
"Wasn't feeling up to it, y'know. After the race, I just sorta... left." She sighed, "Can I tell you somethin'?"
"Uh... sure."
"Promise not to tell anypony?"
"Of course. I'm very good at keeping secrets." I've had a lot of practice.
Rainbow took a deep breath, looked me in eye and said, "I broke up with Soarin."
"Yeah, I know..." Methinks I said it a little too quickly.
"What? How?" she asked with genuine surprise.
"Twilight told me."
Rainbow paused for a beat and stared at me with eyes open in shock. Then she let out a humorless chuckle from her throat. "That mare's too smart for her own good. Didn't tell her a thing... well, she did ask. Guess she figured it out; I've never been a good actress."
“Twilight has a habit of figuring things out," I replied with a soft smile, "You doing okay?"
"Yeah... but it's hard," she replied landing on the ground choking back a soft sob as she struggled through her tears, "but I think it was for the best. I mean, he was being really... needy and I just couldn't... for Celestia's sake, my father's in hospital! I don't have time to..."
"Rainbow, it's okay. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to..."
"No. I want to talk about it to somepony!" she replied in a harsh whisper before returning to a quiet voice, "I need to talk to somepony about it! I thought I could just hold it all in; keep my feelings to myself... but I can't. It's been eating me alive, and I can't tell anypony. Especially not my dad. I can't tell him this. He's already got a lot on his plate and I don't want to worry him any more than I already have."
I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say.
She shook her head and looked down at the ground, "I don't know who to talk to about it. I wish my friends were here. Right now you're the only thing I've got."
"Thanks?" No one's ever called me a 'thing' before.
"I know it sounds strange, but I'm... lonely. I need my friends, but they all went after you, and now you're here... you're the closest thing I've got to a friend."
"That's not true, Rainbow. You've got so many friends here."
"None that I can share this with. They'd all be so disappointed in me. Especially pop. I just don't know how to break it to him..."
"I'm sure your father will understand. He loves you, Rainbow. If anypony here can understand, it's him."
Rainbow looked at me and smiled, "I can see why AJ thought you were a good colt, Forest."
I turned tilted my head to one side, "What do you mean 'were'?"
A quick smile flashed across her lips. Strangely enough, I wasn't joking when I asked that.
"Nothing. Anyway, you're the only one I can confide in for now," Rainbow revealed and I could tell she was a teeny bit uncomfortable admitting that to me.
"That can't be true."
"You're close to Pinkie and Applejack... and are with my best friend Twilight..." she looked at me, "Care to explain that one?"
"You mean why Twilight... er... 'attacked' me the way she did? I was just as surprised as everypony. I never expected that; I had no idea she had those kinda feelings for me."
"You don't seem very happy. You don't like her?"
I jerked my head back as if I had been physically assaulted, "Of course I like her."
"No, I mean like her like her..."
For a long moment I sat there and stared at the cyan Pegasus before speaking. I contemplated telling her a lie, but there have been way too many lies from me, "Honestly?" I shrugged my shoulders, "After the Applejack story, I don't know how to take it. I mean, I really like Twilight, but I just... I don't know."
"You still have feelings for AJ?"
At first I was hesitant on how to respond to that. It took me a moment before I sighed and nodded, "Yeah, I kinda still do. But she's happy with Atom, and I think they're patching things up with each other, so... yeah. I just don't want to hurt anypony, especially Twilight. There's also-"
Rainbow cut me off, "Yeah, I know. I was there. Somepony you remember the name of, but don't remember. That must suck."
"I guess." My voice sounded strained, but I swallowed hard and grinned at her, she needed me to listen to her, so why had this conversation suddenly center itself around me? She need someone to talk to, and if she needed an ear...
"So, why end it with Soarin?" I asked quietly, "He doesn't seem like the kinda guy who'd leave you when you needed him the most."
There was a significantly long pause before she answered my question.
"I don't want to get in his way," Rainbow sighed, "I don't want to distract him from his work, and already Spitfire's complained about how many practices I've missed. I did a really bad maneuver today that could have embarrassed us as a group. My mind's been here with pops, and I can't concentrate." She took a deep breath, "I've thought about it a lot and I think I might leave the Wonderbolts..."
My jaw dropped in shock.
She quickly looked at me, "D-d-don't tell anypony I said that..."
"Okay, okay, let's put the Wonderbolts thing aside for now," I said, swinging my hoof in front of me, "the reason why you broke up with Soarin sounded a lot like why things ended between me and Applejack. She didn't want to hurt me, but she ended up hurting me pretty badly. I think you've made a bad decision."
"You don't know the whole story, okay? I don't wanna talk about it. I did what I did because it was the easiest thing to do for the both of us. Just keep what I told you to yourself."
"Sometimes the easiest things aren't always the right things."
She looked away and remained silent. Her mood seemed to deflate at that, not as exaggerated as Pinkie's, but it was enough.
"Y-your secret’s safe with me, Rainbow. Poor Soarin."
Her head perked up slightly at that, "W-what did you say?"
"I said your secret’s safe with me..."
"No. After that." The way Rainbow was looking at me made me wish that I could hide under my covers.
"P-p-p-p-poor S-S-Soarin?"
Steam flared from her nostrils, "'Poor Soarin? Poor Soarin, my hoof!"
Wow... where did that come from?
"Why is it that everypony thinks he's so special? Do you think that he's the kind of stallion who can be there for me. Ha!" she stated furiously, "But you know something? He's a really selfish... flank-face! Nopony know him like I do."
"Okay, Rainbow, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
She completely ignored me, or didn't hear me, "His head's always in the clouds both literally and... not-literally. Sometimes I only think he's a Wonderbolt because his head and ego are so big, only the sky is big enough to fit it!"
The way she said it made me laugh.
She herself followed suit with a soft chuckle, "Come to think of it, I guess that suits him. He's almost as dumb as you, you know."
"Oi."
She shook her shoulders in silently laughter, "You know, you are easy to talk to. In a strange way, I think I'm glad you're here."
"Well, what about Rarity? Couldn't you've talked to her?"
Rainbow rolled her eyes, "Rarity'll start to listen, then she'd find a way to start talking about herself. Trust me when I say I've heard as much as I want to about that Fancypants."
"You don't like him?"
"It's not that. I just don't know what she sees in him. Sure, he seems like a nice fella, but he also seems kinda... I dunno the word... lah-dee-dah." Rainbow shrugged her shoulders, "Guess he suits Rarity just fine."
"Seems that way," I replied, "Um... do you know what time it is?”
“Around six in the morning,” Rainbow yawned and shrugged, “would’ve slept longer if you hadn’t started screaming like a little colt.”
“Like a little colt?" I pouted, "I wasn’t screaming...”
“Uh-huh. Right. ‘No, stop looking at me like that!’, ‘I have to do this...’ or something like that. You really have the strangest nightmares.” Rainbow started laughing silently.
“I said those things?”
“Something like that. Like I said, I only barged in here after you started freaking out. Thought you were awake. Dad’s in the room across the hall," Rainbow replied, pointing to the door with her hoof.
"Do you know how long was I out for?"
"A while. You were magicked in on a stretcher, so I don't really know."
We remained where we were in silence as the semi-darkness of dawn started to change Luna's night sky to Celestia's day. Her attention turned towards the window at the low lit dawn where Celestia would soon pull her magnificent sun into the sky. Rainbow looked so... fragile. I didn’t know if it was me, or just the way the light bounced off of her, but in that moment I could see the full weight she carried on her shoulders, how her life heavy her lift weighed. Her father was dying, she had broken up with her lover, her friends were not here (that was my fault) and she was thinking of quiting her lifelong dream by leaving the Wonderbolts.
And yet, she still had a strength to her that seemed unbreakable. How? How did she do it? Especially with the knowledge of her father's condition? How could you come to terms with something like that, yet still be strong? It was easy for me because my father was an asshole. He stabbed me in the chest, it was easy to hate him and the thought of losing him never once bothered me. She was nothing like me. She had a father who loved her, a family of friends that cared deeply for her and a nation that adored her.
Thank Celestia she wasn’t like me.
“Well, I... gotta go. I’ll see you around.” She turned to leave.
“Rainbow... wait.”
She stopped and looked at me.
“Uh... I’ll be here if you need...” I muttered stupidly. I mean, what else could I say?
All she did was smile, but it was the warmest smile I had ever seen and it brightened up the room more than Celestia's sun ever could. It was then that I understood the power of words, especially to a friend in need. Even if Rainbow didn't consider me a close friend, it still felt wonderful to see her smile like that.
She gave me one nod, and left the room.
Before the door closed, Nurse Redheart poked her head through the door, "Forest, you're up!"
Guess it was time to man-up... or would that be pony-up? "I am."
"It's time for work. So, get out of bed. You're going to help wash the sheets, wash the dishes, wash the surgical equipment and clean the floors." Nurse Redheart grinned, "I've got your uniform all ready for you to put on."
"That's a lot of washing..." I commented, sliding out of bed.
"Just be lucky that we're not making you do anything else." Redheart reached over her shoulder and took something from her back before placing it at the foot of the bed, "This is your uniform, be sure to put it on when you're done getting ready. There's a shower down the hall if you need one. Don't forget to make the bed after you change the sheets. The dirty sheets go down the chute to the right just outside your doot." She grinned, "Enjoy your day at work."
Wisely, I didn't say anything.
"Oh, and before I forget: congratulations on winning the Race! I didn't tell you that last time, did I?"
I blushed, "Aw, it doesn't matter. It was an honor to be able to run for Ponyville."
"Don't be silly! Take compliments that you deserve! And might I add; you've earned it. It's such a shame that I didn't get to see the race. The only visual-box we managed to get here in Ponyville was at the Town Hall but I was duty that night. Heard you were incredible. Well, enough chit-chat, I've got rounds to make, and you've got your chores to do."
I took a little time in the shower, allowing the hot water rinse the past day away. Although I got cleaned up in Tutela's place, it still felt good to wash myself again. After my shower I slipped on the uniform, which was a white jacket tied along the chest (which I did with my hooves) and a white cloth skull-cap. There really wasn't much to it.
As soon as I left the bathroom I was intercepted by one of the other nurses, who led me down to the bottom-most floor. It was a long room with a long corridor along which were huge washing machines all lined up. There were ten on one side opposite ten dryers opposite each one about just as big, and a huge pile of laundry at the opposite end of the hall from where I stood with more laundry coming through the ceiling down these long tubes.
"The other nurses currently working on a shift will put dirty linen and clothing in the laundry chutes, then the Unicorns here will sort them into these large bins," she pushed a large cloth laundry basket on wheels to the side, "They will put whites with whites in the white bins, blues in the blue bins, greens in the greens and everything else goes in the black bins. Anything white will need to be washed with this special bleach," the nurse stated pointing to a light green liquid that was located next to each washing machine, "and everything else is to be washed with that." A transparent bottle lay next to the green one.
"How long do I need to do this for?"
"As long as it takes. The faster you work, the quicker we can get the night's laundry finished. Our patients deserve clean sheets to lay on after their breakfast or morning walk. We need to make sure that there's enough sheets to fill twice the number of beds. That clear?"
"Clear as crystal."
The nurse then smacked my flank, "Get to it! Let's put that famous speed of yours to the test. Remember, keep an eye on the gauges next to each machine. If it gets too low, just let me know and I'll get a Unicorn to charge the batteries."
"Okay..." I had no idea I had to remember anything about magic and gauges, but I just did what I've always done and played along. It wasn't difficult, I've had a lot of practice.
The job was long and monotonous. Shoving dirty linen into a machine, setting it to 'wash' then unloading it into a dryer didn't take much effort nor thought and although it did take me a long time to get all the laundry done, for some strange reason the job felt rewarding. How many times can you say that about doing laundry? I mean, why did it feel like I had accomplished something great?
The other workers in the room had began to sing a song about it. It was a strange song, but had a catchy tune. It went something like this:
"Morning, early morning, we are washing everything,
In the evening, late evening, we will wash them in a tick,
Every day we are cleaning, ever cleaning, while we sing,
All of us singing along to make this job go by quick..."
There were more verses, but I didn't catch them all, although I did catch myself humming along with them.
After the drying process, I took all the freshly clean and dried items and put them in large baskets that were wheeled into another room where a few other ponies ironed them and placed them neatly on racks, drawers, tables, and other places that were then taken by the nurses back upstairs, each process was done in such an affectionate and caring manner. I mean, each pony took pride in their job, no matter how small it seemed.
"Now I can really appreciate the meaning of a Cutie Mark," I remarked to myself as I watched one of the ponies delicately finish ironing linen. He used his magic on an iron, letting it hover over a freshly wash and dried bedsheet. Running his hoof along the sheet, he would delicately run the iron across it before folding it over again and redoing the process. It seemed so mundane, yet he also seemed to be enjoying it. That, to me, seemed like a miracle.
"Don't worry, Forest. I'm sure you'll get your mark one day." Nurse Redheart said, making me jump. I didn't hear her, "Seems like you've done quite a lot so far. I think that should be good here. Okay, onto the next job."
A few of the ponies waved to me as I started to leave. I gave them all a smile and a wave of my own. I guess they'll never know how much they taught me in the short time I was there. A life lesson learnt in the blink of an eye.
By Celestia's mane, I loved Equestria...
"... so, that's about all there is to it!" another one of the nurses had said excitedly as she finished instructing me on my new duties, "You got that?"
"I think so, Nurse Tenderheart," I replied, gazing at the pile of unwashed dishes to my right, "Just have to clean all these plates for the breakfast rush, right?"
She nodded.
Apparently magic couldn't be used. That was because magic is like touching, apparently. Magic was a big no-no in the kitchen, amongst other places. As a result, the majority of ponies working here were Earth ponies. Tenderheart explained to me, in much the same way she would have told to a little filly I imagined, that germs and other nasties could be spread if you used magic unless you used disinfected magic (yes, apparently there is such a thing). That took a long time and was painfully tiring to do, which is why very specialized surgeons who used magic worked with Earth ponies and Pegasi for operations in a sterile environment.
I was learning so much from these ponies.
It was strange that these ponies were so open about everything. They didn't stop nor hesitate to help me out, even when I asked some of the dumbest questions imaginable. Things that a schoolfilly ought to know. Luckily for me, the ponies all knew about my amnesia, so it helped save explaining why I asked said questions in the first place.
"You may be fast when you run, Forest, but you're the slowest dish washer this side of Canterlot!" one of the other ponies in the kitchen exclaimed, laughing heartily. She reminded me a lot of Mrs. Cake, "Shame you can't use that fantastic speed on something useful!"
I grinned. "Me too."
She hooted out a boisterous laugh and the conversation quickly devolved from that point on. I must admit, ponies have a lot of naughty jokes, some as bad as the ones I've had the pleasure of hearing from back on Earth. Some of them were just downright scandalous to me. What made it so amusing was that they could be so scandalous without having to resort to foul language. Now that was another kind of magic, if I do say so myself. Although it was all in good fun, it's not something expected from technicolor ponies -- especially from a kids show.
No. This wasn't a kids show... how could it be? Everything I've seen and done, everything that I've been exposed to, everything that has happened... it couldn't be some cartoon, could it? I don't know. All I knew was that this was my whole new world now, and I wanted to stay.
"Hey, Forest! Today would be nice!" somepony shouted.
"What? Oh, right! Sorry, was spacing off there for a moment..." I shouted back.
Grabbing the next set of dirty plates, I followed what I had been asked to do. First thing was putting all the dishes on a conveyor belt, in specially made holders for the dishes. Then, as the dishes passed through the washer, boiling hot water would be sprayed at a high temperature that would cleanse all the dishes. After that it would be ready to serve.
Sounds easy, right? Wrong. At least, not with the amount of dishes that needed to be washed! It was practically endless! How could a small hospital in Ponyville acquire so many filthy dishes? But then again, I've never worked in facility like this one before, and even then I'd probably work a completely different job. This really showed me the value of teamwork, that everybody had a part to play in a whole. It was a humbling experience for me. It was actually quite funny knowing how many humbling experiences I've had over the past few weeks.
Placing a series of plate holders on the conveyor belt, I placed the plates in a slight angle along each one and started placing cup and mug holders. The job allowed my mind to wander in such a way that it almost felt like some form of meditation. I allowed myself to think about a lot of things, but the first and foremost thought in my mind was how to win that ridiculous bet!
Was it even possible at this point?
"Got to keep on trying!" I shouted to out loud.
"That's the spirit, Forest! Keep on going!" came a shout from somewhere behind me.
That brought a lot of laughs from the other ponies, and even some of the chefs who were starting to make breakfast. I could smell the bread being freshly baked there.
Honestly, didn't smell anywhere nearly as delectable as Sugarcube Corner's goods, but then again there's always that saying. What was it again? Something about how horribly disgusting hospital food was. Couldn't remember, but it didn't smell too bad. Just it was difficult to compare it against the Cakes' superior products.
After cleaning the vast majority of the dishes I was allowed to go and eat some breakfast in the cafeteria. As I sat there, I watched as ponies kept arriving and leaving. It was strange. I don't quite know how to explain it, but it all seemed so... normal. A busy cafeteria in a hospital catering to patients and visitors alike. So, why did it bother me so much? In fact a number of things had started to bother me.
But what?
Nurse Redheart smiled at me as I followed her into the small room at the very back of the hospital. Inside there were a number to large vats. Inside each vat was exuded the strong stench of alcohol. Not the kind where you drink, but the other kind -- the kind where if you did drink, you'd either go blind or die.
"This is very important, Forest. You cannot make a mistake here. Everything in here cannot be contaminated once you've disinfected the equipment." She looked at the expression on my face, "I trust you, Forest. I know that you can do this. Don't worry, if you make a mistake, just wash it again. Have a little more confidence in yourself."
"Are you sure? I... kind of feel strange taking responsibility for something like this. I mean, this is a lot of trust you're putting in me..." I looked down at the ground, "I don't know if I'm ready for that."
"Forest, listen to me. When you first came to Ponyville you were lost, alone and confused. Look at yourself now. You have many friends, you've given so many ponies so many little things, and each thing that you've given to us we have treasured in our own way. So don't feel that you're inadequate for this job, it really isn't that hard to do. Just let your common sense dictate the best way to clean these things. Who knows, you might even find out your Cutie Mark somehow."
"Really? From washing surgical tools?" I asked, really hoping that my Cutie Mark wouldn't be that simple.
The nurse just laughed, "You're so ridiculous. No, that's not what I meant. Some ponies discover their Cutie Marks doing a task, while others do certain jobs and reach a realization as to where they want to go in life."
"Sort of like enlightenment, right?"
"You've got it! You never know quite when you'll discover who you were meant to be, and how that changes everything you are." Nurse Redheart walked towards the door and opened it, "I'll come and check up on you in a bit."
I nodded as she closed the door behind her.
All the surgical devices were located in different colored barrels. The blue ones, Redheart had explained to me, contained blunt objects, while the red ones were full of sharp, pointy things. All I had to do was pour what was in the vats into each barrel, then push each barrel onto this plate and hit a green button on the wall. The plate would shake the barrel gently for a few minutes, washing the tools with the disinfectant solution. Then the whole barrel went into something called an autoclave, this large machine then used intense heat to kill any left-over germs -- powered by magic, of course.
After that, all the newly cleaned and disinfected instruments were moved onto a specialized cabinets on wheels, which was done by a nurse. After the cabinet was full, I rolled it out into the hallway, where an orderly would take the cabinet to whichever room or place they needed to go.
As I surveyed my hard work, I felt a tap on my shoulder and saw a mop and bucket shoved in my face. Nurse Redheart gave me a massive wink and waltzed off leaving me with clear instructions on what I had to do next.
My heart sank as I stared down the long hallway. And this was the basement!
"Hiya, Forest." Rainbow's voice shook me out of my thoughts, "How's it going?"
"As you can see..." I gestured to the un-mopped part of the building, "I've still got a long way to go. At least this is the last floor."
"Yeah, don't envy you right now. Mopping floors... yuck!" she drew back and made a face.
Her expression made me chuckle.
"So... what are you doing for lunch?" She asked.
"I was going to grab a bite in the cafeteria. Nurse Redheart's letting me off. Apparently I've worked hard and done my job. I also promised Rarity I'd go help her out, so I'll be heading that way after. Why?"
"Wanna... wanna go grab a bite with me? Dad's taking a nap, and I just... nopony's around. And Rarity's busy, like you said..."
"Sure. That sounds great, but I got no bits..." I rubbed the back of my head with my hoof, "I'm not getting paid for this. I kinda owe Nurse Redheart for the trouble I caused when I was disguised as that animal and ran around this place..."
Rainbow snorted out a laugh that was like music to my ears. It was about time I heard somepony be happy, especially her. "I still remember AJ's face when she found out it was you..."
"Oh Luna, please don't remind me." I shuddered thinking back on that day but couldn't help but laugh as well, though it wasn't as boisterous as Dash's.
"Keep it down!" an orderly shouted, "There are ponies trying to sleep!"
"Then why are you shouting..." Rainbow muttered under her breath.
"So, where shall we meet?" I asked, leaning on the mop.
"Well... um... let's meet outside the front of the hospital when you're done. Dad will be waking up in a couple of hours, so hurry up!" Rainbow hovered off the ground, "And don't worry about payin', I'll treat you..."
All of a sudden a feeling of 'bad' flowed through me. How could I let Rainbow treat me when I was already staying at her place? That didn't feel right. As I opened my mouth, Rainbow shook her head.
"No, it was my idea and I insisted. C'mon, don't get all chauvinistic on me," she slugged my forearm, "aren't we friends?"
I was touched. Shrugging, I assented with a long sigh, "Okee dokee lokee, if you promise to let me treat you next time."
"Deal! See you later."
And before I could say anything else, she sped off down the hall.
"Strange one, she is." I muttered and continued to mop the corridor.
Now with something to do, I found myself mopping faster than before. I guess when you have a reward after a job, you want to work quickly to get it over and done with so you can go get it. Still, I was acutely aware that if I did a shoddy job Nurse Redheart would personally serve my flank on a silver platter to the orderlies, who still had a slight grudge against me for making them look bad. They had all the right to have a bone against me for that stunt I pulled. In retrospect, causing havoc, confusion and injury to the orderlies wasn't the brightest of ideas.
Hopefully I could make it up to them but cleaning the heck out of this place.
It didn't take me long to finally have every inch of the floor mopped up, the disinfectant in the water gave off a slightly odd smell, like water that's been sitting in a plastic bottle out in the sun for too long. I looked at my work and nodded. So nice and clean.
"Finally done?" a voice asked from behind me, "About time."
Turning around, I faced Redheart with a dry look on my face, but her smile cut right through me and I couldn't help but give her a bright smile in return. She really had me wrapped around her hoof. All the ponies did.
"Eeyup. Sorry that took so long. Was a lot harder than I expected."
Redheart leaned to the right and shook her head, "Still no Cutie Mark."
"Thank Celestia. If I got a Cutie Mark for mopping flo-" Redheart put a hoof on my lips and shook her head quickly.
Moments later, one of the orderlies walked by. On his flank was a Cutie Mark of a mop and bucket. He looked at the two of us staring at him with a look on his face. He reached above his head and removed what looked like headphones from his ears, "Something the matter, miss?"
"No, nothing Shiny Floors," Nurse Redheart grinned, "I was just telling Forest that he's not as good as you when it comes to cleaning..."
At that, the blue Earth pony grinned, "I'm just doing what I love! Everypony loves a clean place to go to, and I make sure that it's extra, extra clean!"
Redheart smiled at him, "You certainly do. Thank you for keeping our hospital so spotless."
Shiny nodded before placing the headphones back on his ears and trotted off down another coridor.
All through this I found myself unable to say anything.
Redheart turned to look at me, the fierce look on her face made me take a couple steps back. She leaned in closer to me, still giving me that glare.
"What?"
"l don't know how hard you hit your head, Forest, but everypony knows that you don't judge others based on their Cutie Mark. It's wrong."
I shrunk back from her.
"How would you like it if you were judged by the color of your fur, or by the wings or horn you have? How would you like to be looked on as different, inferior?"
I had to admit, she was perfectly right, but I didn't mean to...
"Well?"
"Sorry... I didn't mean it in that way."
"Then, in what way did you mean it?"
"I... I meant that, for me, I didn't want a Cutie Mark like that... I didn't mean to insult him."
Redheart's expression eased off a bit, "Sorry, Forest. It's just that Shiny gets a lot of insults directed at him because of his Cutie Mark, and he doesn't realize it. I can’t stand how some ponies think that they are better than others just because they think they have a Cutie Mark that they think is better. We're all equal in our own way. How would you like to come to a filthy hospital?"
"I know, I know!" I said trying to pacify her, "I only meant that I didn't want to have a Cutie Mark that had something to do with cleaning. I never meant to imply that cleaning is bad. I didn't mean to belittling him. I'm sorry."
Redheart looked at me and let out a long breath, "No, I'm the one who should apologize. I shouldn't have started off on you like that. It's just tha-"
"I understand, Nurse Redheart..."
"Stop calling me nurse, Forest. Just Redheart will do. Or Red. That's what my friends call me."
I couldn't grinned. She just called me her friend. Even after all the nonsense I'd put her through. I was on a roll today. "Red. I understand."
"You got any plans for lunch?"
"Yeah. Rainbow invited me to go out for a bite with her."
Red eyes opened wide at that, "Really? Rainbow Dash did? The Rainbow Dash?"
"Unless there's another Rainbow Dash that looks exactly like the Rainbow Dash I know, then yes, the Rainbow is the one." The way she looked at me didn't change, "Why? Is that a bad thing?"
"No! Not at all. I'm just really surprised. She hasn't been the same since the Race. She's always so single-minded about things, especially when it comes to her friends and family, but now she seems so distracted..."
I understood what she was saying and nodded, she did seem off.
"Well, I got to go and meet her now. If you need me, you know where to find me."
“Have fun.”
"... then I woke up in the Everfree Forest and made my way to Zecora's place."
Rainbow stared at me from across the table, her face a mixture of emotions. After a second she shook her head, "Wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight. You fought Diamond Dogs in a huge cavern underground..."
"Uh-huh."
"... and Twilight and Aiden fought using magic freeing the prisoners..."
"That's correct."
"... while you, Pinkie, AJ and Sweetie were trying to destroy a dam..."
"You forgot Fluttershy."
"Oh, sorry. So, Fluttershy and the rest helped you destroy the dam..."
"You know it!"
"... which you did by using that bracelet."
"Hey, you got it!" I grinned.
"How did you end up in the Everfree after that? You said you were at Braeburn's farm, that's a really, really long way away. How'd you manage to end up back here so quick?"
"I don't know!" I lied, "I just woke up... and here I was."
"So... the others think you're dead?" Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That's why I did the Marking Spell. I needed to let them know I was okay." It was a relief to be telling the truth.
"Here's your hay-fries for you, miss Dash, and a mushroom and jalapeno pizza for our new champion!" our waitress announced, grinning from ear to ear as she placed the dishes in front of us. The other guests all began to applaud making me feel real dumb, but also real happy. When the clopping and hoof-stomping died down, the waitress continued, "The rest of the team are bringing the Cup here tomorrow. Scootaloo, Derpy, Amethyst and Lavender are bringing it with them. Everypony was looking for you and Twilight after the celebrations, Forest. Guess you guys skipped town just in time. There was some rumor that you two had eloped! Oh, how romantic..."
"N-no. We just had things to attend to..."
"Aw, that's too bad. Anyway, enjoy your food."
"Uh... thanks." I looked over to Rainbow who was grinning at me. "What?"
"Get used to this. You're a star now."
I blushed. "I don't think ponies will see me like that, Rainbow."
Again she rolled her eyes, "I was once a naive pony like yourself, that was before I became a member of the Wonderbolts. I learnt the error of my ways pretty quick. Just be lucky you live here in Ponyville and not in a big city like Canterlot or Manehatten. I mean, it's not as bad as Earth, but..."
"What was it like?" I asked cutting her off, "On the other world?"
"That's... where do I even begin..." Rainbow took a hayfry and ate it slowly. It took a moment before she spoke, "I guess you could say it wasn't any different and it was completely different at the same time."
"That's... not complicated..."
She shook her shoulders in a silent laugh, "I guess. That world has a lot of things that are like ours, even our language! Our Equestrian sounds a lot like theirs... do you know what they called it?"
I feigned ignorance, and shook my head.
"English! And, like here, there're a lot of other languages as well from all over the place... you know Prench?"
"Prench?"
"Yeah! They speak it in Prance? You know, 'bonjur' and 'mon ami' and 'hola'..."
"'Bonjur'?" I couldn't help but chuckle at her mispronunciation, "I don't think 'hola' is Prench..."
We talked and talked and talked. Well, she talked and I listened. It was funny how she described things from a pony perspective. Things like cars, which she said were carts that ran themselves on explosive fluids, planes, which were 'giant flying bird-like cylinders with huge unflapping wings that could carry hundreds of people at the same time’ to name a couple. She told me about how she had to remain hidden, not showing herself to anypony, and how she eventually made her way back to Equestria.
"Weren't you lonely?" I asked, "I mean, I know your dad was around, but... friends?"
She gave me a long hard look when I said that. It took quite some time before she replied.
"Dad was my whole world... and he was just really protective of me... I mean, you don't know that world. You don't know just how bad it could be..."
Then, she told me about all the hate, the malice, the pain we humans inflict on one another for the most petty reasons. The wars, the fighting, the brutality of human nature and each time she said that things, I felt a little angry at her. It felt a little unfair. I've been in Equestria for some time and there were plenty of instances of fights as well! I mean, Aiden was a wounded veteran from a war! Atom nearly died fighting a Manticore! Not to mention that I myself had... fought and killed.
The sudden realization felt like a ton of bricks landing on my head. I had actually killed someone. Not just one or two either. The knowledge that I had hurt and kiled...
"... still, dad's a human, so they can't all be that bad."
I didn't realize that Rainbow was still talking. "Yeah... I guess..."
She took another hayfry and put it in her mouth, "You know, I still can't get over how much you remind me of a human..."
"Say what?" I asked, my heart suddenly beating in my throat.
"I dunno. There's just something about you... something off... but, in a good way."
"How so?"
"I just said I didn't know," she said throwing a hayfry at me, "so I don't know!"
It was nice chatting with Rainbow like this. I'd not had a chance to talk to her in this way, and it was very revealing.
"What are you smiling about?" She suddenly asked.
That caught me a little of guard, "Wha...?"
"You're just sitting there smiling at me with that goofy grin."
"Goofy grin? Me?"
She gave me a level look, "Look, Forest, I'm not interested in you in that way, okay? I just ended things with Soarin! And you're with Twilight!"
I leaned back in my seat as if I had been smacked in the face, "What? No! I was just smiling because this is the first time you've really talked to me. Just... was nice to see you relax... you've always been so... busy. It's nice to see you let your hair down... so to speak."
"So, you weren't hitting on me, right?"
"No!" I exclaimed, although I felt my cheeks getting hot.
"Not even a little?" she asked looking upset.
Instantly I knew what she was playing at and followed along, "Not even that."
"Nuts." She pretended to be offended, which put a smile on my face.
"Very funny, Rainbow." I applauded her.
"You liked that?" she replied innocently.
"I have to admit, that was pretty good. You should try acting"
"Yeah, you should have seen your face when I-"
"Excuse me, my dear, but you're Rainbow Dash," a pony said, interrupting our talk, "The Wonderbolt? The one able to perform a Sonic Rainboom?"
Any shred of modesy instantly faded away, "The one and only!"
"My name is Rag Mag, I work for Equestrian Daily newspaper..."
"Oh?" The happy tone in Rainbow's voice faded away.
"I just wanted to ask: is what you said true about you and Soarin?"
"That's..."
"Did you really break up with him?"
"Wait... you don't know..."
"Are you now an eligible mare?"
"Huh? I-I guess so..."
"Can I please take a-"
This time I butted in, "Oh, hey there, Wall Paper? Wall Paper. Nice to meet you, I'm Forest."
"Forest?"
"The guy who won the Race?"
His eyes opened wide, "You-you?"
"Yes. Me. Can't you see you're bothering the mare? If you want to ask her questions, you've got to give her time to respond."
"Are you two dating?"
"What? No!" I narrowed my eyes, "I'm with Twilight, in case you missed it."
"Then why are you here with her?" He gestured to Rainbow.
"She's my marefriend's best friend!" I practically shouted. Had to keep the image up, that was important. After all that Twilight did for me, that last thing I wanted to do was hurt her feelings.
"Where is Twilight Sparkle now, then?"
"I-"
Rainbow cut in for me, "That's none of your business."
"The public has a right to know!" he shouted.
The public in the room were certainly interested in us now. Luckily, being a small town of Ponyville, most of the crowd was on our side. All of them were on our side.
Rainbow leaned back and gave the reported a bored expression, "Okay, then ask Princess Celestia how her personal life is going."
The stallion stared at Rainbow, who stared back without blinking. The two kept glaring at one another, and I swear you could almost see the tension between the two. Finally, the newspony relented and stalked off.
I stared after him, then looked at Rainbow in awe. "That. Was. Awesome."
"Was it?" she asked. "I mean... of course it was!"
This time it was my turn to roll me eyes.
"Well, I'm used to it now. When pop came here it was like that. Ponies just couldn't get enough of him. They called him all sorts of things! Giant Hairless Ape, Bi-Pedalled Smart-Thing... it was crazy! Then after I joined the Wonderbolts they started hounding us again. I-I'll admit that I liked it; I was like 'hey, lookit me!' and 'I'm the best!' It took me a while for my ego to deflate... but by that time I started dating Soarin, and it started all over again. That was a little... worse. Ponies were interested in our private lives, which was just really intrusive. Unlike me, Soarin never gets sick of being in the limelight, but once in a while I'd like a nice quiet evening."
"I'm sure they mean no harm..."
"I know they mean no harm, but it doesn't mean everypony in Equestria has to know what we do! I don't want them to know what I ate, or if Soarin and I... it gets old pretty quick." Rainbow took another hayfry from her plate and threw it into her mouth, "So, you gonna eat that pizza?"
I had completely forgotten about it. Gingerly, I picked up a slice and took a bite. Delicious! After that, I practically inhaled the whole thing. It was so good! Every morsel I've eaten in this world had astounded me. A part of me wondered if it had anything to do with my change from human to pony. Did my taste buds also get changed? Did I suddenly love vegetables and leaves because of my new biology?
"Um... this may sound strange... but do we eat... meat?"
Rainbow looked at me for a moment and narrowed her eyes, "Well, we do. I mean, Pegasi do. Fish, mostly. But I've never heard of an Earth pony showing any interest in that kind of thing. Well, except maybe Pinkie, but she's special."
That was most certainly true.
"Well, I was just wondering..."
The Pegasus mare tilted her head to one side making her mane flow over her right ear, "You know, I think my father asked me that very same question when he first came to Equestria..."
"Oh?" I tried to sound nonchalant.
"You see? It's things like this that make me think..." she stopped in mid-sentence and her she looked really worried. I realized she wasn't looking at me but over my head, "Oh, look at the time! I've gotta fly. Dad's going to be up soon."
Pushing herself back from the from the table, she gave me a nod before flying towards the entrance to the cafeteria nearly colliding with a pony that in a wheel chair. He gave a shout as the cyan mare fled down the hall. She never once looked back.
"Well... okay then..." I whispered as I got up and quietly headed for the exit of the hospital. Nurse Redheart saw me and gave me a quick wave and a nod in thanks before her attention was immediately diverted to a patient who had a terrific bump on his forehead.
Outside, the day was beautiful! The scenery that lay before me was bright and happy. Birds were singing their songs, and the children were laughing and playing games outdoors. This was heaven-like, and with my time running short I had to savor every second I had left.
"Bad thoughts, bad thoughts," I muttered to myself, glaring down at the brown dirt road I was on as I headed towards Carousel Boutique, "be positive, Forest. One week left. You can still win..."
"There you are!" a loud voice shouted at me in the distance. There I saw Rarity standing at her doorstep waving at me, "I thought you'd forgotten about your promise. I was starting to get worried."
I scratched my head, "Actually Rarity, I do owe you an apology. I promised Redheart that she'd have me for the whole day... she only let me go because she thought I did a good job back in the hospital."
I couldn't tell if her next expression was annoyed, angry or amused, "Well, that's water under the bridge, but next time please be sure to inform me properly so we don't have any unwanted surprises."
"Yes, ma'am."
"I'm off for a late lunch-date with a few girls from my book club, and I do want them to try my new delectable blue-berry jam. I simply cannot wait any longer and need to be off. What you need to do is sit here and take any orders and requests and note them down in this ledger," she hovered a large blue notebook towards me, which I caught in my mouth, "then close it when the sun starts setting."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Oh, and would you be a darling and mop the floors when you've closed shop?"
I made a face, but nodded, "Yes, ma'am."
"And... that's about it. I'll see you later," she sang and turned to leave with a prancing trot as she proudly hovered her picnic basket next to her body.
"Have fun!" I called after her.
"I will!" she shouted back.
I stood there for a while watching her go before I turned towards her boutique and looked around. The first things I noticed was the mess! Fabrics all over the floor, ribbons strewn on random bits of furniture, and other bits and bobs all over the place. Not to mention these huge sparkling stones! Gems of all sorts that would make even the most honest of men salivate with greed.
Luckily, I had no interest in those things. That was because I wouldn't know what to do with precious stones even if I had them.
Before I could get settled, the front door tinkled and in walked in Cyan Crystal with a mare by her side! They were giggling at something, and they both stopped at stared at me.
"Hello, Cyan..." I said sheepishly.
"Forest! We were on our way to see you in the hospital!" Cyan shouted walking over and giving me a hug, "Let me introduce you to my friend Cheerilee. She's the school teacher here."
The way she emphasized 'friend' made me smile. She looked so happy.
"Hello, Cheerilee."
"Hello, Forest. Saw that running of yours on the screen at Town Hall. You've made us all very proud."
I rubbed the back of my head and felt my cheeks heat up, "Aw, thanks..."
"Don't be bashful. Take credit where credit is due. You did wonderfully and we certainly will never forget a race like that again," Cyan looked to Cheerilee, "If it weren't for Forest, I doubt I'd have made any new friends here."
"That's not true, Crystal. You're a wonderful pony..." with the most god-awful... Celestia-awful voice in all of Equestria, but you're still wonderful in your own way...
"Why, thank you, Forest."
"Better watch out, Crystal. This young colt's got a silver tongue."
"Oh hush, Cheery. Forest's too young for the likes of me..."
I blushed, "Thanks... so, what brings you to Carousel Boutique?" I asked desperately, trying to change the subject, "Rarity’s gone out for a bit. She'll be back later this evening, until then I'll be happy to write down any orders you may have."
"Well, we were wondering if Rarity would be so kind as to make us both nice hats. There's going to be a fair in town in three days... well, you ought to know that. After all you are the guest of honor. You and the rest of the team that is," Cheerilee grinned, "It's the Ponyville Equestrian Cup Celebration Fair!"
"N-n-no... this is the first I've heard of it..." I didn't know how to take it.
"Really? Strange? I'd think everypony would have mentioned it to you themselves," Cheerilee looked at Cyan, who just shrugged.
"I'll note your orders down in here," I replied opening the book and taking out a quill before writing in it. My handwriting... mouthwriting skills were atrocious. I clumsily spelt out 'hat' and 'crystal' and 'cheerylee'.
I could tell that Cheerilee was trying her best not to say anything. Being a teacher and seeing a pony my age write that like must have irked her quite significantly. I grinned sheepishly, "I think I forgot how to write properly..."
"Part of your amnesia problem?" Cyan asked.
I nodded my head profusely.
"Then how would you know if you wrote badly in the first place?" Cheerilee pointed out the gaping hole in my excuse. She gave me a knowing smile.
My only response was the blush even more. She just caught me out in a lie.
"Don't feel bad, Forest. I work with children. They lie to me every other sentence, so I know how to catch them out. If you honestly want to learn how to write properly, then stop by the school tomorrow and I'll give you lessons."
"O-okay..."
They left a moment later, nodding their heads in thanks and giving a brief wave to me as I saw them out the door. Rarity hadn't said anything about taking a down payment, so I just assumed it was okay to let them go. Not like anything was done. Just made sure that I got the order right. Glancing over what I wrote down, I frowned as I noticed I wrote 'for fare'. Scratching 'fare' out, I wrote 'fair' underneath it and felt very proud of myself.
A rough knock on the door made me turn. "Hello?"
"Rainbow?" I asked, slightly taken aback. She was the last pony I expected to see.
"Hey, Forest... forgot something?"
"Forgot..." I looked down at the floor trying to think what it could be. After a moment my eyes drifted back to her. She was standing sideways in front of the main door shaking her flank. I couldn't help but look, and smacked my head with my hoof, "Not again..."
Rainbow giggled and unbuckled my saddlebag and walked over to me throwing it over my rear, "You gotta stop forgetting it."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," I mumbled watching her putting the straps back through to loops before fastening it snuggly onto me, "Wait. How do you know I keep forgetting?"
"Duh. Your best friends are my best friends. They share everything with me."
Of course they did! And I bet they thought it was hilarious too. "Thanks for bringing it. What about your..."
"Dad's fine."
The way she snapped at me made me jump.
"O-okay... um... are you here for a new dress? I hear there's a fair coming up an-"
"Who told you that?" Rainbow blurted scooping my face up in her hooves, "Who told you about the fair?"
"S-somepony..." I wasn't going to rat out on my friend. I wouldn't rat out anypony...
"Ugh!" Rainbow spat in disgust, "I wanted to keep that as a surprise for you!"
I felt my cheeks flush again, "T-thanks, but that's okay... I was surprised anyway."
"You were? Cool. Anyway, Pinkie's the expert on parties, and a fair kinda counts as a party, right?"
"Could be considered one, yes..."
"And no, I don't need any dresses made. I still have two or three that Rarity's made for me that I haven't had time to wear. I usually just wear my uniform. Anyway, Rarity's been so busy with her stores all over the place, I think she makes us these dresses to apologize for ignoring us," Rainbow floated over to the book and looked into it.
I shut it quickly. Couldn't let her see my mouthwriting. Not only that, Cyan's and Cheerilee's names were in there -- almost illegible, but they were still in there.
"Hiding something?"
"Come on, Rainbow. That's not fair," I said slowly backing away from her, knowing that she knew what I was hiding.
"Show me that book, Forest,” she replied with a smirk, "You don't stand a chance..."
Before I could blink she zipped towards me, her wings a hazy blur. However, they didn't call me the fastest Earth Pony for nothing -- well, at least I liked to believe that's what they called me. Using my speed, I zoomed to the right, Rainbow barely missing me and crashing into a bunch of mannequins, sending bits and pieces all over the place and stray clothing all over the floor.
"Stop! Rarity will kill me..." I shouted.
"Then show me the names on that!" Rainbow quipped gesturing to the blue book that lay at my feet.
A grin spread across my face, "Never!"
She narrowed her eyes, stomped her hoof, and digging the 'ground' before snorting steam from her nostrils, "Aw, it's on now!"
"Rainbow, please!"
"Then show me!"
"No!"
She rushed after me, and I couldn't contain myself. I screamed. In glee, but it was still perhaps the most embarrassing thing I had ever done as Rainbow charged at me. Grabbing the book, I quickly sidestepped the airborne mare and rushed into the next room. Rainbow spun around expertly and within seconds was right on my heels. She tripped me up and tackled me sending the book careening across the room.
As I lay on the ground trying to stand up, she had pushed off of my torso like swimmer in a pool as she zoomed after it. I did a half spin before coming to a halt.
“Gotcha!" she shouted as her hooves closed in on the book and she came sliding to a halt on her stomach.
"Fank you," I replied, running by her and grabbing the book in my mouth before smashing headfirst into a wall.
The impact sent the book sailing in the air, and Rainbow flew up and caught it in her hooves once again. She slowly began to open it...
I jumped up as high as I could, but came nowhere near her. Instead I landed in a bunch of boxes making their contents explode outwards, which in turn ended up causing a shelf to collapse on top of Rainbow and me, spilling all the contents of the floor. Rainbow peered over to me, an amused expression on her face. I must have been a sight covered with assortments of cloth, artsy materials and other things. On her head was a tiara, and I couldn’t help but point at it and laugh. She looked up and took it from her head examining it for a moment before grinning and replacing it. She struck a most elegant pose.
While she was distracted, I readied myself.
She saw it coming from a mile away and was flapping her wings up in the air as I grabbed something in my hooves, tripping over a loose length of cloth and slamming my jaw against the floor. Peering up at Rainbow, I pouted. In her clutches was the book, and in mine was the tiara. Making a face, I placed it on my head and imitated her pose from a moment before.
She rolled onto her back and laughed out loud, kicking her legs out at the hilarity of my antics. It took her a moment to catch her breath. "Too bad you can't fly up here." Her attention was now fully on the book. "Now, let's see who was the guilty pony is that blabbed about the fair to you-"
A soft cotton filled ball bonked her on the head. My hoof had landed on one of these soft balls, it looked like the kind jugglers use. Rarity had hundreds of them (well, it looked like hundreds to me). Why a seamstress would want so many of them was beyond me. Taking one in each hoof, I lobbed as many of them as I could at the Pegasus hovering above me.
"Quit it!" Rainbow giggled.
"Make me!" I shouted back, and continued continued my anti-aerial barrage.
Rainbow hovered backwards out of range and stuck her tongue out at me. She began to open the book grinning from ear to ear. "You lose! Now, let me see..." she said slowly.
"Noooo..." What could I do? There was nothing in... waitaminute!
"Hey!" she exclaimed as the bolt of cloth collided with her hoof sending the book fluttering down towards the floor.
I was bucking the bolts of cloth towards her, my experience working with the Apple family orchard were really paying off now. Aiming by peering over my shoulder, I used the top of my tail like an aiming sight and bucked another bolt right at the book, sending it into the next room. I was one lean, mean bucking machine!
Without any pause, I whipped around and darted after it...
"Oh no you don't!" Rainbow yelled and dropped down on top of me, slamming me to the floor, causing me to slide along it. She leaped off my back after we skidded to a halt.
I couldn't help but laugh, "No fair!"
"Cry me a river!" she called over her shoulder and pounced on the book.
Couldn't let her see! What would Crystal think of me if I let Rainbow see it and she got in trouble? She'd hate me again! But, more than that, this was really fun! Although I couldn't let her see it, this had become a rather funny game.
I pounced on Rainbow and knocked the book out of her grip with my front hoof. She shoved me aside with her wing sending me crashing into a chest of drawers. Precious gems clattered on the floor as stars danced around my vision. Shaking my head to get rid of them, I spotted Rainbow as she once again laid her hooves on the book.
"Victory is mi-"
Before she could finish her statement, I had collided with her, sending her and myself charging towards another set of mannequins. Rainbow yelped, not in anger or fear, but in surprise as we went barrelling through the dummies. As we hit the floor, the clothing that we sent sailing through the air piled on top of us followed by the huge heavy curtains that folded in front of Rarity's large store-front windows.
"Gimme the book!" Rainbow shouted, feeling around for it.
I shoved her aside, "No way!"
"You think you stand a chance against me?"
"So far so good!" I stuck my tongue out at her.
She smiled at me, lowered her ears and grinned, "Oh yeah?"
"Yea-"
She charged into me, sending me sailing, with the curtain, off to the other side of the room, where I bumped against the wall. Pulling the curtain off of me, I looked up to see Rainbow still digging around the now broken, naked mannequins, throwing up pieces of clothing into the air in an attempt to find the book.
I was about to rush her when I stepped on something. Looking down, I noticed the very book underneath my hooves. Rainbow was too busy searching for it where she was that she hardly noticed when I reached down to grab it.
"Oh no you don't! That's mine!" She bellowed, and spread her wings as far apart as she could manage and began to flap them in rapid succession once again. In a matter of seconds her two hooves were on the other end of the book as we both took one side of it and pulled.
I had one side of the cover, the book wide open and Rainbow was pulling on the other, the middle pages dangled down as it was spread open; the pages wafting back and forth as Rainbow and I tugged on it vying for control.
"Give. Me. The. Book!" Rainbow grunted, pulling with all her strength, a mighty grin on her face.
"It's. Not. Yours!" I retorted, half straining, half laughing.
I hated to admit it, but she was a lot stronger than me and I could feel myself losing as the book started to slowly slip through my hooves. I tried to hang on, but I knew that if I didn't do something then I would lose! She tugged back hard, causing me to slide forwards and nearly lose possession.
It wasn't clear which page I had used because I couldn't see where I had written in it, so I reached down and took a bunch of the offending pages in my mouth and let go. A loud rip sounded as Rainbow pull the book towards her again after she gave another almighty tug. That sent her falling back down on her flank. She opened the book instantly and scanned the pages before she looked up at me in confusion.
That's when she noticed the loose pages in my mouth -- and that I was eating them. Yes, eating them. There was no chance in hell that I'd let her know the identity of those who revealed the secret to me. Plus, I kinda wanted to beat Rainbow. Something about her competitive nature brought mine out too.
She sat there with her eyes open in surprise as she watched me put the next few pages in my mouth and chew. Suffice to say, paper, papyrus, or whatever it was, didn't taste that good, but I had no time to think as she had started to stand.
Only a few pages left! I stuffed another bunch into my mouth so that it was full and tried to shove the next bunch in, but she rushed forwards and grabbed it with her mouth and pulled on the other end. For some reason, the pages didn't tear. Maybe it was because there were too many of them bunched up together, maybe it was because it was just my luck, but once again we were participating in another tug of war.
Using her wings to help, she pulled back with all her strength. She was definitely stronger than me, and when she used her wings she completely overpowered me and we both fell. I fell forwards, she fell backwards.
I shut my eyes, bracing myself for impact when I felt something... soft, and warm. Slowly, I opened my eyes and found myself looking straight into Rainbow's violet eyes opened wide in shock. I was on top of her, the pages between us were scrunched up, and my lips were firmly planted on hers. The both of us were too surprised to react.
And then, because it's me -- I'm convinced of that -- the door swung open.
"... and I'm sure that she'd be happy to see... you?" Rarity's voice died in her throat as she walked in to see her place a disaster zone. It must have looked like a tornado had torn through her boutique with the mess that we made. But we all know that wasn't really what made her voice stop.
Right behind Rarity was a familiar looking Pegasus, his mouth also hung open as he saw us laying down on the floor, my body on top of hers. We turned our heads turned towards the door and only then did our lips part.
Rainbow shoved me off of her, "Soarin, wait! This isn't what it looks like!"
He didn't say anything and just stared at us. Well, at her. I think.
"Forest! Say something!"
"This isn't what it looks like! We were just horsing around and..."
But Soarin was gone by then.
"Soarin, wait!" Rainbow shouted as she rushed past me and Rarity after the stallion.
I just stood there for a moment before I felt the piercing eyes of an angry mare on me. Slowly I looked to the source. Rarity had a dark expression on her face, the angry scowl made me want to crawl into a hole.
"What were you thinking!" she shouted at me. It somehow didn't feel like a question.
"It was an accident! We were... just playing around and it just... it wasn't anything! I was just trying to hide your ledger and Rainbow was trying to see it and I tried to hide it but then we were fighting and we..."
She raised a hoof and I shut up instantly.
"From the beginning. Slowly."
And so I told her everything, slowly, trying to put in as much detail as possible. I told her about Crystal and Cheerilee and how they had come looking for some new hats for Rarity to make, and how they had accidentally let me know about the fair. Then I told her about how Rainbow was angry that somepony told me about it and tried to find out who it was, and how we fought over the book. She listened to the whole thing, about how we were fighting for the Iast few pages and how Rainbow pulled back, forcing me to fall forwards, the end result being how we looked at the time she and Soarin appeared through the door.
"Is that true?"
"I swear. I'd never do anything to hurt anypony, especially Twilight. It was an accident. I know it was my fault, but I didn't intend for this to happen!" I got down on my kness, "You have to believe me."
"I would love to, Forest, but I don't know you..."
"Then believe in Rainbow!"
"How am I supposed to believe either of you?" she asked, "You're both equally guilty!"
"B-b-b-but... isn't she the Element of Loyalty? She would never betray her friends! Him, especially! He's her coltfriend for Luna's sake!"
"They broke up, if I remember correctly..."
"How did you know tha-"
Rarity held up her hoof again, silencing me instantly, "I was there when Twilight told us."
"But she never told you!" I shouted, "She never told anyone! Except me..."
"Is that so?" Rarity said slowly, "There's nothing more that needs to be said then. Since you made this mess, you will clean it up. I'll be upstairs going over my designs... where is my ledger?"
I picked up the damaged book and placed it in her hooves. I could see the veins protrude on her forehead as she took it from me with her magic. "Everything the way it was..."
"But what if I can't remember..."
She shot me a glare that would have turned an Ursa to stone.
"Clean it up nice I will..." I replied meekly.
She gave me one nod and headed upstairs.
Cleaning the mess up didn't take as long as I thought. In fact, it took a lot quicker than I expected, but because I didn't know where things were supposed to go, I just made it up as I went along. I put all the bolts of cloth in the shelf I knocked over after I had put it back up against the wall. Using the small boxes that the soft juggling balls came in (the ones I had lobbed at Rainbow), I filled them with sequins, buttons, and other small nick-knacks. I put the mannequins back together as best I could, and neatly folded the clothes and placed them on nearby chairs. Rarity would know best how to show off her wares, so I tried to make it as easy as possible. The hardest part was putting the curtains back on the windows, which took me a while to complete. After finishing tidying things, I walked to the bottom of the stairs.
"It's all done, Rarity..."
"Did you mop the floors?" she hollered back.
"What's up with me and mopping today?" I muttered.
"What was that?" she called back.
How did she hear me? "I said, 'where can I find your mop and bucket'."
"There's a small door under the stairs where I keep all my cleaning equipment."
"Equipment?" I peered around the banister and saw the small door, "Okay, I think I got it!"
Pulling it open, there indeed was a tonne of cleaning things in there. Bottles of cleaning agents, mops, brooms, vacuum cleaners (run by magic, no doubt), cleaning cloths, sponges, gloves (or the hoof equivalent), dust masks, dusters of all sorts, soaps, shampoos for chairs, curtains and carpets... I was beginning to sense something about Rarity.
"Well, at least she's got all the things I need..."
Taking a bucket, I headed over to the kitchen and began filling it when I head thundering hooves charging down the stairs. Rarity rushed into the kitchen coming to a halt in front of me.
"What do you think you're doing?" she practically screamed.
"Uh... I'm filling a bucket with water..."
"No! No, no, no, no, no!" she sassed, "That is not how you clean! You must first boil the water, then add the solution!"
"Why?"
She looked at me as if I was an idiot, "Forest, I don't know what you were taught when in comes to keeping things clean, but its common knowledge that you need to disinfect the floor with hot water."
Now that she mentioned it, in the hospital I did mop the floors with really hot water.
"Okay, I'll boil some water."
"Thank you."
So, I took a large pot that I found and filled it with water from the sink, and turned the stove on.
As I waited for the water to boil, my thoughts went to Rainbow. She took off right after Soarin, and couldn't help but feel really guilty about what had happened. It wasn't any of our faults, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that I'd inadvertently ruined Rainbow's life. Selfishly though, it wasn't the fact that I kissed Rainbow that made me worry, it was the fear of what would happen if Twilight found out without knowing the full story.
The water was boiling, the bubbling had snapped me out of my thoughts and I turned off the stove, stood up and touched the handles of the boiling pot. I pulled my hooves back out of reflex and blew on them. It was hot. Looking around, I found a small towel hanging on a hook next to the fridge and used it.
As soon as the water touched the bucket, the steam rose up burning my arm. I yelped and dropped the pot onto Rarity's floor. The sound was deafening. Again the sounds of hooves galloping down the stairs was heard and Rarity again came to a halt in front of me.
"What happened?"
"Um... I dropped your pot..."
Rarity clicked her tongue and shook her head, "You have to be careful, Forest. Never stand over a the pot when pouring boiling water. The steam will burn you. Honestly, it's almost like dealing with a foal! Didn't your parents ever teach you how to properly clean?"
"No..." I muttered, "I... don't really remember my parents."
Rarity blushed, "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Forest. I completely forgot."
"No, no. That's okay. Just... yeah, I was never taught... so, I never learnt."
"Well, then I think this is as good a time as any to teach you how to clean properly. After all, a good clean home is the sign of a happy home." She walked over to the bucket of boiling water and poured in a good amount of solution using her magic, "First is to make sure that your solution is just right. You do this by..."
And she explained to me everything you could possible want to know about cleaning. What agents to use where, what temperature the water ought to be, how to clean hard to reach places, and even how to clean between tiles using a thin, hard bristle brush. And, surprisingly, it didn't take that long to get everything spic and span. The floors were so clean, you needed to wear sunglasses to not get blinded by the reflection of the lights.
"... and that's how you clean!" Rarity finished, handing the mop over to me.
"Wow, Rarity... thanks for that. How often do you clean like this?"
"Usually once a week. Sometimes two if things get too untidy.
I gasped in surprise, "Isn't that a little overkill?"
"I can't work in a dirty environment. Anyway, you've done more than enough for me today. Thank you for helping clean my home, but I must catch up on my orders. Would you mind if you saw yourself out?"
"Not at all." I turned to go.
"Oh, Forest, have you seen the rest of my pages? I seem to be missing quite a few at the end."
"Um... yeah... about that... well, I could give it back to you, but you wouldn't like that."
"Why is that?"
"I ate them."
She stared at me with her mouth open. "C-come again?"
"I ate them."
"W-why would..." she stopped herself when she realized that answering that question was pointless. She rubbed the bridge of her muzzle with a hoof, "So, apart from the two hats, was there anypony else who had requested a piece from me?"
I shook my head.
"Even if somepony else had come, would you have noticed?"
Again, I shook my head.
Rarity gave me a very unhappy smile; the corners of her mouth struggled to raise themselves in a feeble attempt at politeness. Saying that Rarity was pissed would have been an understatement.
"So, Forest... I asked you to watch over my store while I went out for a bit. In that time, you managed to destroy my store, disorganize my orders, ruin how I organize my resources, and most of all you completely shattered the dreams of my best friend's love-life," Rarity no longer attempted a polite smile, instead she looked at me with a 'I-am-so-mad-I-want-to-kick-your-sorry-flank' look. "You should go and see if you can find Soain and explain everything."
"I would think he'd listen to Rainbow instead of me..."
"Forest!"
"Yes, ma'am! Right away..." I sped out of that store so fast, I barely had time to open the door before exiting through it.
Outside I was greeted by the setting sun. Celestia must've been late, or did the cleaning actually not take that long? Since I didn't have a way of telling time, and since the tower with the clock was still being rebuilt (again, because of me), I decided the best thing would be for me to head back to Rainbow's house before I did anything else incredibly stupid.
"Hiya, Forest," a voice said behind me making me jump, "Whoah! Didn't mean ta scare ya!"
"A-Applebloom... thank Luna it's just you."
"Why? Didja have a bad day?" she asked.
"A bad day? Seriously? This has been the absolute worst day of my life!"
"Worse than wrastling some Ursas?" She flashed me that smile.
"Well... no... can't say that... but today has been bad!" I sat down on my flank, "I feel like such an idiot."
"Well, why don'tcha tell me what happened."
So, I told her. Everything. I didn't skip a single detail, and all through it Applebloom expressed her delight, and horror. I hadn't really realized that I had explained everything from yesterday, including the fight with the Diamond Dogs, the dam, me drowning, and continued right along. She listened to me without interrupting, and by the end of it I felt tired. It was a long story!
"So, let me get this right. You're upset 'cause you accident'ly kissed Rainbow just when Soarin and Rarity came home."
The way she said it made my entire story-telling saga trivial! "Yes... if you want to simplify it. That's what's been plaguing my mind."
"Twilight's going to be mighty angry at you, Forest..."
"It was an accident! I didn't intend to..." I couldn't say it. Not out loud. Not when there were ponies like that reported pony around. The same reporter pony that was now galloping away from me after running out from a bush. Right... next to where I was standing talking to Applebloom...
"What's gotten to ya?" Applebloom asked oblivious to the dilemma that was now gaining distance away from me.
"SorryApplebloomcanttalknowhavetochasesomeponyitsimportantwilltalktoyouinabitbye," I stated before bolting off after that damned reporter. What was his name again? Rag Mag? Well, I was going to rub Rag Mag's face against the floor while running as fast as I can if he dares report about anything I just said.
Around the corner, I spotted Rainbow.
"Rainbow!"
"Forest... I don't want to talk to you right now..."
"No time! Get that pony!" I pointed at Rag Mag fleeing towards a hot-air balloon, "He heard me talk to Applebloom... he knows everything!"
Rainbow looked at me and then at Rag Mag, then back to me, "So?"
"S-s-s-s-so?" I shouted, shocked, "B-b-but... you... and S-S-Soarin and... everything! What... what's..." My voice died in my throat. The look on Rainbow's face broke my heart.
"He wouldn't even look at me..."
I'm an asshole! "Okay, you stay here. I'll fix this."
"Really? How?" Rainbow asked, turning away from me.
"Leave that to me! When push comes to shove, I somehow manage to deliver." With those words, I spread my legs and pushed into the ground. Healed hooves or not, I was not going to let that reporter get away that easily.
I collided with Rag Mag with my entire body weight behind me. He was so close to the hot-air balloon's basket that I could smell the dried sisal as we flew by landing a few dozen yards away. The balloon dropped its ballasts and slowly raised itself up into the air.
"Caught... you..." I panted, wincing as I pushed myself up, "You can't get away from me. You know why? 'Cause I'm the fastest Earth pony in-"
He put a hoof in my mouth, "You can't stop me from reporting what I heard! Ponies need to know what happened!"
"You can't reveal my private life without expecting me to protest ab-"
Again he shoved his hoof into my mouth, "Not that. That was interesting, but I've done hundreds of stories about pony celebrities seeing one another behind their partner's backs. That's so common it borders of regular news nowadays. No, what ponies need to know is about what happened in those mines! How you helped rescue so many ponies from those Diamond Dogs, and with news of Tyrant Rex's capture, this is exactly the kind thing I need to boost my career! Please, let me go on my merry way."
"Only if you promise not to tell anypony anything else."
"About what?" he replied, "Your secrets safe with me. Now, if you don't mind, I have a train to catch since I missed my balloon."
"Not until you make me a Pinkie Promise."
"A what?"
"You heard me."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Then copy me: cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." For the first time since I started doing it, I didn't hit myself in the eye.
The reporter stared at me as if I was nuts, but probably concluded that he wasn't going anywhere until he complied. So, he made the Pinkie Promise -- and nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise! Nopony. With that reassurance in mind I let him go. I watched as he picked himself up, dusted his coat off, rearranged his hat, and walked away. I could have sworn he was wearing a smug expression on his face before he started trotting towards the rail-station.
I felt the air fan past me. Without turning around, I asked: "What happens when you break a Pinkie Promise?"
"Bad things." Rainbow cocked her head towards me, "You worried about what Twilight would make of our 'kiss' in the newspapers? Don't. If anypony would understand, it's her."
"We didn't kiss. We struggled, and I fell over and our lips just happened to meet. And even then our bodies were separated by the papers! So we didn't even touch each..."
At that, Rainbow blushed, "N-n-n-not quite true... the papers fell down when... you tumbled into me. I yelped... and dropped them, and you must've done the same."
I touched my lips with my hoof, and felt the blood rising up in my cheeks. She was right. It was warm, when our mouths touched. There wasn't anything in the way... I had completely kissed Rainbow lip to lip, and no matter how I tried to reason or find excuses, it was a kiss. Plain and simple... or rather plain and complicated beyond belief!
"Why do these things happen to me?" I fell to the ground, pounding it with me hoof.
"Hey!" Rainbow barked, "Was kissing me that bad?"
"Don't say it was a kiss!" I covered my ears with my hooves, "Twilight'll kill me!"
"And Applejack..." a voice added.
"And Applejack..." I replied, nodding sadly.
"Heya, Abby," Rainbow said, and ruffled the mare's reddish mane, "How's life been treatin' you?"
"Not bad, Dee."
'Dee' I understood. "Abby?" I asked looking at the two of them.
"Well, when I was younger, Rainbow used ta call me AB, like how she calls Applejack AJ. Then she sorta shrunk it to Ab, but didn't sound too purty," Applebloom chortled, "So she just started callin' me Abby. A-B. Ah, Bee. Abby."
"Ah, Bee doesn't sound anything like Abby," I pointed out, to which they both rolled their eyes.
"So, watcha guys plannin' on doin'?" Applebloom asked.
"I'm going to find Soarin and make him listen to me," I said full of confidence, "If he doesn't listen, I'll keep on pestering him until he does!"
"How's that gonna help anypony?" Rainbow asked, "If anything, that'll make him hate me more!"
"No. If anything, that's make him hate me more," I placed one hoof on my chest to emphasize the point, "He'll be so annoyed with me that he'll have to listen!"
"That's the kind of logic a foal has," Applebloom informed me.
Why was she not helping me? I was about to say something, but Rainbow shoved her hoof in my mouth before I could get another word out. Was it 'Shove Your Hooves Into Forest's Mouth Day' today? Must have missed that memo when it went around.
"You need Forest for something?" Rainbow asked Applebloom.
"He's supposed ta help me make a... stallion jealous..." she blushed when she said that making me want to pinch her cheeks. What was it with Applebloom and being so darn adorable?
"Oh? So, who's the lucky stallion?" Rainbow asked lower her head to hear her.
"It's..."
I missed the name.
"What?" the Wonderbolt asked.
Apparently Rainbow did too... and standing right next to Applebloom with her ear in front of her mouth.
Applebloom's mouth opened and closed, and I highly doubted she had said anything at all... again, I missed it.
"R-really? Him?" Rainbow then promptly fell to the floor and burst out into fits of laughter, "Really?"
"I think he's a great colt!" Applebloom shouted while pouting a little and blushing furiously.
Rainbow shook her head, "No, no. Soarin's a good colt. Featherweight's a good colt. Rapidfire is a good colt. Blue Streak is a good colt..."
"They're all Pegasi, Rainbow, and most of 'em are Wonderbolts too."
"Well, the Wonderbolts only take the very best, so what do you expect?" Rainbow stood up tall and pushed out her chest, obviously proud that she was personally a part of such a prestigious group.
"'Cept for Featherweight, you mean. He bein' the Equestrian Pugilism Champion makes him almost as famous as the Wonderbolts! Honestly, I wouldn't want somepony that's that famous. I don't know how I'd take to that kinda life, but I guess Scoots gotta used to it now."
"Well, what about Forest? He's not a Pegasi, nor a Wonderbolt. He's a good colt too."
"No offense, Forest, but you’re kinda too dumb for me.”
I felt tears in my eyes, “None taken...” Was I really that dumb?
“Also he loves my sister, and Twilight..."
"Hey, I never saw that coming!" I put in, defending myself, "Twilight kissed me out of the blue. I had no idea she would do that."
The two girls rolled their eyes in unison and giggled.
First the hoof-in-my-mouth thing, then the cleaning, now the rolling of the eyes? Things seemed to be recurring a little too often at my expense. Was I really so ridiculous that I warranted excessive eye-rolling from my peers? Somewhere in the back of my brain I already knew the answer before the question formed in my head.
"So, who's the lucky colt?" I asked.
Applebloom blushed and put on a shy smile on her face. The combination nearly landed a fatal blow to my heart. That was how high her cuteness levels were. Dangerously so.
"H-h-his name's Lance... and he's swordsstallion."
"A what?" I asked, a little surprised by that.
Applebloom coughed into her hoof to clear her throat, "He's a swordsstallion. He makes swords and is good with 'em. He's been teachin' me about swords and stuff..."
The way she said it, 'stuff' didn't seem anything sword related since her face grew a lotter pinker.
"When Applebloom was little, she got a serious case of the Cutie Pox. One of her many talents was fencing... and that's when she first met Lance."
"H-h-h-h-how didja know that, Dee?"
Rainbow grinned mischievously, "Your sister told me."
"She promised to keep it a secret!" Applebloom moaned.
Well, you know how your sister can get when she's had a few glasses of cider. I'm sure she didn't mean to tell anypony, but it's just us, Abby." Rainbow placed a hoof around her shoulders, "Don't you trust me?"
The young mare returned the half-hug, "I trust ya, Dee. I trust all of my sister's friends."
Just then I spotted Cyan walking towards her hotel, blissfully unaware of what she had inadvertently done. Wait! If somebody from another city comes to Ponyville, then there's only one place they'd stay! I surmized, and ran to her.
"Forest! You're done holding down the fort at Rarity's?" Cyan said coming to a halt as I caught up to her.
I nodded, "Cyan, is Soarin staying at your hotel?"
"Who?"
"You know... Soarin? Wonderbolt. Kinda likes Rainbow..."
Cyan shook her head, "No... I don't think so. Why?"
"Can you check? I need to know. It's a matter of extreme importance."
The mare nodded, "For my friend? Anything. Let's go!"
By the time we reached her hotel, Celestia's sun had started its descent below the horizon. Soon Luna would be raising her moon, and the stars would be coming out. Turning around, I noticed that both Rainbow and Applebloom were right behind, obviously curious as to what I was going to do.
Cyan entered into her hotel lobby first, then me, followed by the two girls. The older mare walked right up to the reception desk and smiled at the pony behind it; a young colt with an orange mane and a brownish coat.
"Snails, is there anypony here by the name of Soarin?" she asked.
"You're not gonna find him under that name," Rainbow said pushing past Cyan, "Check under Blue Rush, or Cobalt Cloud."
Snails looked down, presumably at a book before giving us a nod, "Cobalt Blue. He just returned, says he's going to check out first thing tomorrow morning. Wait! T-t-t-t-that's Soarin the Wonderbolt? I talked to S-S-Soarin..."
The young stallion fainted, falling face-first to the floor behind the desk. Rainbow grunted in frustration, hovered herself up and over the reception desk and looked at the roster. "I know which room he's in! Follow me..."
"Rainbow wait..." But she was long gone before the words left my mouth.
As I reached the top of the stairs, I saw the Pegasus banging on the door.
"Let me in, you dumb colt!" Rainbow shouted, banging on the door again.
"No!" came an angry response, "Go away! I'm not talking to you!"
I stood where I was and watched, "Please, Soarin. Just let me talk to you. I can explain."
"I don't need an explanation. I saw it all with my own eyes."
"Open this door you coward!" I shouted, "Why would Rainbow come here to your door if she thought what she did was wrong? Are you an idiot?"
"Now, now, let's not be hypocritical..." I heard Cyan mutter quietly.
The doorknob turned and the door opened slightly. Rainbow shoved it open with her strength, only to be stopped by a chain bolt. "Alright, explain."
"Not like this. Please, I need to see you," Rainbow pleaded, "Don't do this to me, Soarin."
"I didn't do anything to you, Rainbow. I didn't know about your father's condition. You never told me he was still in the hospital. What kind of coltfriend would I be if I wasn't concerned about my mare's dad?"
While Soarin was talking, I took a few steps back.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I didn't want to make you worry. Not with all that's happened, I thought it would be best to take a break until I found myself. I know you of all ponies can understand that..."
"Oh, I understand it. No, I knew it. It doesn't explain why you never told me in the first place!"
I took a few more steps back, my hooves were now touching the top-most step. Cyan looked at me with a frown and signed 'what are you doing?' with her hooves, head and facial expressions.
'I break door?' I asked in response, using my body to talk.
"No!" Cyan shouted noiselessly.
"Please, Soarin, please! Just open the door."
"There is no way I'm going to let you in here," Soarin replied, "Especially not when I know you're having an afair. Element of Loyalty indeed."
"Y-y-you don't mean that..." Rainbow choked back a sob, "Say you don’t mean that."
"I meant every word."
Tears flowed down the mare's cheeks. I turned to Cyan.
"Break it down, Forest. Tear that door apart," she stated in a harsh whisper.
I couldn't help but grin.
"Move!" I shouted at Rainbow.
She backed off, and I placed my hooves down on the ground and charged. Down the hall straight into the door. There was a resounding crash as I charged headfirst into it, the door's lock did not hold and I slammed into the room, careened right across it and finally landing at the other end. By the time I got out of my stupor, I stood up and saw Rainbow and Soarin having a shouting match with each other. She was furious! What was going on?
It took me a moment to realize that it just wasn't the five of us. Another pony was there with us as well. Another mare. In the bed. She had pulled the sheets right up to her face as she stared at Soarin and Rainbow yelling at the top of their lungs.
"... so you just decided that because I kissed another stallion you could sleep with somepony else?"
"You broke up with me! And yes, you did kiss another stallion!" Soarin retorted, "You left me," he said slowly, putting extra emphasis on each word.
I picked myself up, and stumbled a little. That brought Soarin's attention towards me. The next thing I knew, he was on top of me punching my face repeatedly screaming like a maniac. Honestly, it didn't hurt. I guess I was just too numb to feel the blows. I tried to put my hooves up to protect myself, but for some reason my limbs didn't react fast enough, and each time he hit my in the face they'd fall back to the floor.
Luckily for me, Rainbow appeared behind and pulled him off of me, throwing him to the floor behind her. She pointed at him with her hoof, "Don't bring him into this!"
"Just stay out of my way, Rainbow! That stallion's ruined everything. We were perfect before. We completed each other, and then he had to come along and ruin it all. I knew he was a bad pony the moment he walked out of the Everfree," Soarin stood up, "How can you stand up for him after what he did to us?"
"Forest didn't do anything! I broke it off because I needed time to think, time for myself! Not because I fell for him! That was why I broke up with you." Rainbow looked so tired again, "And now this?" She gestured to the mare still hiding behind the sheet on the bed.
"She was there when I needed somepony," Soarin shouted in response, "Unlike you."
"Now just hold on there one moment, Soarin... sir," Applebloom interjected, "All Rainbow wanted to do was explain to you that what happened at Rarity's was an accident. Forest told me the whole story, an' you jumped the wagon on this."
"Quite right, all she wanted was for you to listen to her. No wonder you wouldn't let us into your room," Cyan said the last part quietly, "While I don't interfere with the personal affairs of my guests, considering that Rainbow is Forest's friend, I have to ask you to pack up your things and leave the premises at once. I will give you a full refund, but please leave instantly. The next train to Canterlot leaves in an hour."
Soarin glared at Cyan, but nodded, "I don't need a train."
"And as for you, young lady," Cyan turned her attention on the unknown mare, "You have got some explaining to do."
"I-I-I-I'm s-s-s-s-sorry..." she stuttered, "I j-j-just saw Soarin and I couldn't help myself... he's such a handsome..."
A vicious growl from Rainbow made her yelp and hide under her sheets again.
"I don't ever want to see you again!" Rainbow shouted at Soarin.
Soarin sneered at her, "That's going to be hard considering where we work."
"Then I quit."
"No," I shouted, pushing myself up again, "you can't leave the Wonderbolts. You are the Wonderbolts, Rainbow. You."
"He's right, y'know. Most ponies nowadays come to see you fly, Rainbow. You're the pony they come to watch. You and your rainbow colored streaks," Applebloom stood by her side and glared at Soarin, "If anypony should leave, it's you."
"What?" Soarin asked incredulously, "I am a member of the Wolderbolts as much as anypony on that team. Why in Celestia's name would I ever leave it?"
"He shouldn't leave it either. Rainbow, you're a beautiful mare, you'll find somepony better that deserves you. Soarin, you're a... a..." I couldn't find the right words.
"Flankhead?" Cyan offered.
"Flankhead!" I gave the hotel owner a nod, "You're a flankhead and you don't deserve someone as wonderful, awesome and great as Rainbow Dash. When she needed you the most, you weren't there. When she needed you to be there for her, you weren't. When she needed you to chase her, you didn't. When she needed you to listen, you turned a deaf ear. When she needed you to see, you refused to open your eyes, and when she needed to give you her heart, you took it and smashed it into pieces." When there was no reponse to that, I turned towards the door, limping a little. "Let's go, girls."
We exited and pushed past a few of the other guests that had come out of their rooms to see what the commotion was all about. It must have been embarrassing beyond belief to Rainbow. Being a celebrity was one thing, to air your dirty linen like that in the faces of the public was another.
None of us said anything as we left the hotel, even Cyan followed us. We headed towards Sugarcube Corner across the street, and only when we were inside did someone speak.
"Did'ja hear Forest?" Applebloom asked the others, "There ain't anypony 'sides Twilight who can use words like that."
"You do have a certain way with them, Forest," Cyan added. I managed to return a smile, "Are you okay?"
"Got a real bad headache, but apart from that I'm just fine."
"Forest!" a melodic voice sang out as Mrs. Cake ran over to me and gave me a hug, "I heard you were back, and I was going to see you in the hospital, but we just got a huge order of..." She stopped and looked at Rainbow, "What happened, deary?"
"I don't really wanna talk about it," the Pegasus replied, "How about I just say that I've had a terrible day?"
"Well, we can't have that!" Mrs. Cake called for her husband who appeared a moment later, "One Happy, Happy Tasty Feast!"
Mr. Cake looked at us and specifically at Rainbow's slightly confused expression, "Alright, one Happy, Happy Tasty Feast comin' right up!"
I chuckled to myself, "That's got to be one of Pinkie's creations."
"How'd you guess?" Applebloom replied with just a hint of sarcasm.
Mr. Cake vanished into the kitchen while we all took turns trying to cheer Rainbow up, but nothing we said or did had any real effect. Even Cyan managed to get the mare to smile at least once, and with her nail-on-blackboard grating voice, that was an amazing feat. She was still very upset. I felt that I needed to say something, but I didn't know what.
"Hey, hey!" Mr. Cake said and suddenly burst through the kitchen doors riding in a unicycle, with a plate of cake in each hoof and a sparkler in each one. On his head he had another cake with more sparklers as he rode around us singing something. My mind went through a lot of things, but it still failed to fully process what I was seeing. A middle-aged stallion riding on a unicycle with cake on his head and hooves singing. Nope. Did not compute.
"Watch out!" Applebloom shouted as poor Mr. Cake lost control and went careening into one of the walls.
Cake went everywhere. On us, on the floor, the walls, and some even reached the ceiling. Mrs. Cake rushed over to hre husband's side, and pulled him to his hooves. He looked dazed as he looked over to his wife and said: "Is she happy now?"
"That was the Fun Funny Fun Treat, sweetie."
"You know I can't keep track of all of Pinkie's extravagant specials..." Mr. Cake laughed, cricking his back as he stood, "Did it work?"
Rainbow smiled at him with her eyes closed, "Yep. It worked. Thanks."
The two Cakes cheered and hugged one another in triumph. It was obvious that Rainbow was lying by the way her smile faded, but I played along with her and kept a small unsure grin plastered across my face. I just hoped that it didn't look like a scowl.
We stayed there for a while, trying to talk about everything else except what had just happened. Cyan and Applebloom were trying their best to cheer Rainbow up and get her out of her funk, but it was pointless. How can anyone get over something like that so quickly?
"And there he goes..." Applebloom said softly spotting Soarin exiting the hotel carrying a small saddlebag on his rear.
The three of us watched him go in silence. Our eyes flickering over to Rainbow, stealing glances at her trying to gauge her reaction. Soarin didn't notice us staring at him through the window as he spread his wings and floated up into the air and out of sight. Only after that did Rainbow allow her eyes to water. Still, she didn't cry. Her face remained stoic, but the tears kept flowing.
About five minutes later a mare trotted out and looked around. She spread her own wings and took off in Soarin's general direction.
"That bitch!" Rainbow yelled slamming a hoof down on the table, "I should beat her sorry ass!"
That brought a shocked reaction from all three of us, but I think I was the most surprised. That was the first time I've ever heard a pony swear. Ever. I mean, it sounded so... human. It completely caught me off guard.
Apparently I wasn't the only one.
"I don't understand what you said, dearie." Cyan placed a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder.
"Yeah, Dee. What do you mean that she's a 'bitch'? She ain't a dog." Applebloom looked at her as if she had said the strangest combination of words in the world, "Were you being mean?"
Rainbow looked at the two mares and burst out in laughter. "Yes. I was being mean. Sometimes I say things... mean things, but I don't really mean them. I just say them to feel better. You ought to know that, Abby."
"I know. Well, if it helps ya feel better, say more of them strange words."
Rainbow smiled, "No. Pop always said that words like that should stay in my mind and now leave my mouth. I think he's right. It... wouldn't be right to say 'em out loud. Just that one time. Just this one time."
"So... who was that mare, by the way?" Crystal asked.
"Heck if I know. Who cares? I don't. She can have that slimey slimeball for all I care!" Rainbow turned her head away from the window in disgust, "That creep."
We chatted for a bit longer because we decided it was time to call it a day. The Cakes had given us the Fun Treat (whatever the name was) on the house to help cheer Rainbow up, and we bade them adieu as we left their store. They watched us go across the street as we dropped Cyan off at her hotel. The three of us then headed towards Rainbow's house; Sweet Apple Acres was sort of on the way.
Applebloom tried to strike up a conversation multiple times, but Rainbow didn't take and I was still feeling a little dizzy from the beating that Soarin had handed down on me, so my mind kept trying to convince my body that my jaw and eye did not burn or felt broken. Eventually we came to the crossroads where we said goodnight and went our separate ways.
The two of us walked in silence for a long while. Luna’s moon was up in the sky, and the stars were dazzling, beautiful, majestic.
"I'm sorry, Rainbow. If I hadn't goofed off, then things wouldn't have gotten out of hand. This is all my fault."
"Heh. Nah, it's okay, Forest. I mean, sure you ruined my love-life, destroyed my career, and even managed to get my best friend angry at me...”
I groaned and stuck out my lower lip.
“But at least there's one thing that I've gained from all of this."
“Hm?”
Rainbow stopped and looked up at the sky, "Another friend. You're a good friend, Forest. You were willing to go that far for me, even though I'm not your real friend...”
“You are a real friend to me, Rainbow. You’re not fake at all. You’re the most un-fake... real. You’re the most real. I guess. I dunno. My head feels funny.”
She kept her eyes upwards, but a smile crept along her lips, “I can see why the girls think you’re cool. Don't get me wrong, you’re an idiot. A big idiot. A super idiot. A mega super duper idi-"
"I get the point!"
She turned her head slightly so she could look at me, her muzzle still pointing upwards towards the stars and her smile drew wider, "Oops. Sorry, got carried away there for a second."
"You think?"
"The point is, you were there for me in your own way. I see that now." She stopped and bowed her head to me, "Thank you, Forest Fire, I won't forget this."
"You're very welcome Rainbow Dash," I replied, bowing back to her.
We walked on in silence; she walked one step in front of me. I don’t know whether she was enjoying the night or if she was just not talking because I wasn’t, so I just kept watching her, hoping that somehow my presence was helping. She didn’t once turn back to look at me.
When we arrived at the front of the house, I reached into my saddlebag and pulled out the house keys. I was surprised they were still there. Somehow they remained in my bag despite being almost drowned in the underground river just the previous day. The feeling of that water dragging me down...
It seemed like a distant dream now. What transpired just didn’t seem real. It didn’t feel real. What happened was stuff that happened in stories! Things like that never happened to me. Was it because I spent a lot longer than a day away? Or was it because my head felt like a steamroller drove over it? I wasn’t sure. It was hard for me to wrap my head around the whole 'time has no meaning' concept Tutela kept shoving down my throat.
"Uh... you okay, Forest?"
"Huh? What?" I looked at Rainbow, "Yes, I'm fine. Why?"
"You are kinda blockin' the entrance to the house. You need to not stop there and go inside."
"Sorry... I'm just..." Wow, I really wasn't feeling very well. The dizziness hit me hard, and I felt so strange. The room was spinning. No... the world was spinning.
"Forest?" Rainbow's voice sounded so distant, "Are you feeling alright?"
"l don’t think so..."
"Forest?" Her voice sounded fainter, and a lot more strained,"Forest?"
I heard her scream then a loud thud before silence. I tried to open my eyes, but my body felt so strange. I felt so numb. So cold. As if my body was no longer my own. My eyes opened to see Rainbow with her head on my chest. I’m not sure how long I was out for, but it couldn’t have been that long. She was listening to my heart.
“Thank Celestia...” she whispered and rubbed my forehead, pushing my mane out of my face, “Had me worried there for a second.”
“What... happened?”
She shushed me, “Don’t talk. Can you stand?”
Pushing myself from the ground, my legs felt really wobbly, “Y-yeah. I think so.”
“Let’s get you to your room.”
“O-o-okay...” I took a step before my body faltered, but this time I felt something soft under me. Rainbow was supporting me with her body underneath mine.
“Whoah there. Come on. Another step...”
I pushed forwards, trying to take a step.
She yelped, “F-F-Forest... stop!”
I did as I was told and looked down at her face, it was bright pink. She opened her wings and shoved me off of her.
The next thing I knew I was on the floor again.
“If you’re well enough to do that, then you’re well enough to walk!”
She stormed off, stomping up the stairs and out of sight.
“What’d I do?” I muttered, pushing myself from the floor again, struggling to stand upright.
Eventually I managed to get to my room before darkness took me.