//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 (Introductions & Tire Tracks) // Story: Sunshine and Rainshine // by SteamFluttershy //------------------------------// The rain was pouring down heavily as I left my house. Lucky for me my jacket was waterproof, but my pants weren’t so lucky. I didn’t have anything to cover them up. Exiting the street on which I live, I made a right turn and the next street a left, down a long straight stretch of road to the main square. I took another left and rounded the church. Across the 4-way intersection, and over the speed bump. Further down the road I passed the Esso Station, this is a gas station, and went on and around the roundabout. I applied both my brakes early and stopped a good 20 meters later. “I really have to tighten and fix my brake lines. I’m going to have an accident at this rate.” I told myself Like always, I had to wait a very long time before I could finally cross the roundabout, because at 8 ‘o’ clock in the morning it’s rush hour here, from 7 to 9 it usually lasts. After waiting a good five minutes, this is exactly the reason why I always leave early, to have some space for when something like this happens, and it happens very often, I was finally able to cross over, turn left again, cross over the other side of the roundabout once more, this time immediately, since this exit is rarely used, and continued down a slight slope just to go back up a long slow slope. This was the part of my trip I hated the most. I couldn’t go fast because of the hill, the wind was against me like always, and the rain was still pouring down as hard as ever. Now I have to do this more often but this time it just seemed like it was a lot harder than usual. Just keep going, and push on. It’ll be over before I know it. I thought to myself. Then again, this is starting to get really difficult. Maybe I should just stop and call my mom to see if she can call me in late? No! I couldn’t do that. That’d just be irresponsible. Deciding to keep pushing on it started to rain harder. Is it me or is it raining harder and harder as I go on? Just my luck! I thought. Huh? Why is it getting brighter up ahead? It’s raining! But before I knew it, the light was practically in front of me. What the heck is going on here? Ah! The brightness of the light blinded me as I biked straight into it. I still held on to the steering wheel to prevent me from crashing. I biked what felt like a minute or so and then it started getting less and less bright, and I could start to see again. Because if the bright light my eyes were still adapting to the new brightness and I could only see fuzzy. Then I saw what looked like 8 differently colored spots, and I realized that they must be people in my way! *DING* *DING* “LOOK OUT” I yelled, but the spots weren’t moving, and they were closing in fast. I applied my brakes as hard as I could. *SPRANG* *SPRANG* My brake lines had snapped out of their places, so now I didn’t have any braking force at all anymore, and I was still going pretty fast. The fuzzy beings still didn’t move, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I turned my steering wheel as far to the right as I could, but for some odd reason, I wasn’t turning very quickly. Darn! Must be the rain that made it so slippery! I thought. I was still heading straight for a purple figure, I thought it was someone with a purple jacket, but as soon as I was just about to hit them, they jumped aside. I sighed in relief as I had avoided that crash, but I still wasn’t turning very fast. My relief was suddenly drained away as I saw that I was heading straight towards a yellow, pinkish figure, like it was cowering on the ground. It didn’t seem like it was going to move, so I tried turning even harder. Finally, I started to turn and get clear of the obstacle. But it was just a little too late. Even though I was still partially blinded I could see that my tires ran over the yellow thing’s pink part, and as I did, I heard someone yell. Oh! I hope I didn’t hurt them too bad! Luckily I was able to avoid a head-on collision! I thought. Finally being clear of all obstacles, my vision was finally returning. Only to be greeted with the fact of seeing myself head straight for a wall. Turning away wasn’t an option now, as I’d never make that in time. So I said the only thing I could think of. “Hello wall! Nice to meet you! How’s it going?” As a reaction, the wall greeted me with a stone hard hug, and a gift of knocking me out instantly upon impact. I slowly opened my eyes, and was greeted with a less bright encounter. It was pretty dark as far as I could see. I slowly got up and assessed the situation. Apparently I was thrown in some kind of jail, me and my bike with me. It was a stone walled jail, I kind of had it with stone walls for now, with a few puddles of rainwater and a hay bed. “You know, the rain wasn’t all that bad…” I reasoned. It was then and there that I realized I probably wasn’t in my own country anymore, unless this was some kind of cruel joke played by someone. Slowly getting up and stretching, my bones cracking as I did, I looked and walked towards the door. All I could see was a long corridor and nobody in plain sight. Must be some kind of dungeon. I thought. Who the heck still uses a dungeon now days?! I looked back at my bike and decided to assess the damage. “Hmmm, just a twisted steering wheel, I can fix that right now. But the brake lines… I’m going to need a screwdriver in order to fix those, and I don’t have one on me now.” I concluded. I got the bike up, twisted the steering wheel back in place and set the bike upright on its stand. Once I fixed the bike I turned around and saw a few figures looking at me through the door. They didn’t look like human figures though, more like horses. My heart and mind were going crazy at this assessment. Suddenly, something that looked like a horn started to glow on a large figures head, and so did the lock of the door. My heart stopped as the door was unlocked and opened, and the large horse-like figure stepped inside towards me. Once it stepped into the light, I could see it, or her as far as I could guess. She was just as large as a horse, only she had a horn and a pair of wings attached as well. She had a bright white coat too. What did they call these things? Umm… Alicorns, that’s it! I noticed a picture of the sun on her flank, wondering what that meant I decided to look at her face. All I could really tell was that she was looking down on me, her smile curled down. Now, my expression was emotionless. In my head however, it was going crazy. WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?! WHY ARE THERE MYTHICAL CREATURES STANDING IN FRONT OF ME?! WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?! CAN I EVEN GO HOME?! And such questions were running through my mind. My dad always taught me to be and keep calm in every situation, and I’m glad he did. ‘Cause I didn’t want to freak out right here and right now. It’d be a bad idea. I was going to handle this like a man, and no less. No, that doesn’t mean I’m going run around scared and screaming, pleading them to let me go. Slowly but surely I brought up my hand towards her and held it up. First impressions, eh? She looked at my hand and back at me, I was slightly smiling. This went on for about a minute until she finally, but reluctantly raised her hoof towards my hand. I slowly grabbed it, held it firm, but shook it gently. “Hello! The name’s Brendan. Nice to meet you.” She was taken aback a little by this, apparently not expecting me to talk and to be friendly. We shook for about two more seconds before her frown turned upside down and she smiled. “Hello. I am princess Celestia, princess of the sun. Nice to meet you too.” She said. In a motherly voice that would make anyone calm down I had kind of figured she’d talk, so I wasn’t taken aback that far by this. Then a dark blue alicorn with a moon as mark on the flank came up next to her and slowly raised her hoof as well, and I shook it the same way as I did to Celestia. “Hello. My name is Princess Luna, princess of the night. Charmed to meet you.” She said this a little more stern than Celestia did, nevertheless it couldn't worry anybody. “Likewise” I replied. “Name’s Brendan, your highness.” Looking behind them I saw 6 ponies, still looking scared and reluctant. I let go of Luna’s hoof and I saw a unicorn with the same white coat as Celestia slowly making her was to me. She had a purple mane and three diamonds as a mark on her flank. “Certainly any creature with manners as such isn’t hostile at all.” She said, in what sounded like a clear British accent. Thank you dad, for teaching me proper manners! I Thought. I took her hoof all the same and shook it. “I’m Rarity. Ponyville’s most known and appreciated fasionista, and element of generosity. Pleased to meet you! I had no idea what element of generosity meant, but I pushed it aside for now. “Pleased to meat you too, miss Rarity. My name’s Brendan” “Pleased to meet you Brendan. I can see you are well mannered.” She said. “Thank you. I appreciate the compliment” I said. “You’re welcome” She replied. At this time a lavender unicorn stepped up and we shared the same gesture. “Hi, I’m Twilight Sparkle. I’m the princess’ personal student, and element of magic!” She quite eagerly, but not boastingly, stated. “I’m amazed to meet you!” “Brendan. Likewise” I said. Then all of a sudden my vision was obscured with nothing but a pink face with a smile. “Oo, oo, me next, me next! Hi I’m Pinkie Pie, who are you?! Do you like cakes?! What flavor?! What’s your favorite color?! Oh, I should throw you a ‘Welcome to Equestria party!” She was talking a mile a minute. I wondered how she could keep that up without breathing. Still her smile was contagious and it made me smile. I spoke after she calmed down. “Hi Pinkie Pie! I’m Brendan. My favorite color is yellow. A party sounds great after I get this situation settled. Yes, I like cakes. As for the flavor, I don’t think you have it here.” “Oh, come on, tell me!” She pleaded. “Ok, I like cakes with Speculoos filling” “Specu-what now?” “Speculoos filling. It comes from a cookie that we call ‘Speculaas.’ That’s a ginger spiced cookie, and Speculoos is a creamed version of the cookie.” I explained. “Wow! I’ve never heard of that, but it sounds delicious! You should come by Sugarcube Corner so we can make it, oo and then we can make other cakes and cupcakes and sweets together too!” “That sounds like a great idea Pinkie! I’m sure I’ll do that once I get these happenings settled.” “Okie dokie lokie!” She said. She was then pulled back by and orange mare with a hat and tree freckles on each cheek and three apples as a mark on her flank. She looks like a country girl to me. I thought. “I’m a might sorry ‘bout that, but that’s just the way Pinkie is, all happy to make new friends and throw them parties.” She said in a thick southern accent. I had always fancied that accent, I could do it rather well myself. “Well, she’s got this friend in the bag” I said. “Whoohoo!” Pinkie yelled. “I’m Applejack. I work on the apple farm just outside of Ponyville. We make the best apples of all Equestria!” “I’m Brendan, Pleased to meet.” We shook hands/hooves, and she shook very hard and fast, thus, I responded to that the same way. “Well I’ll be, I’ve never met anypony that gave a hoofshake like an Apple does.” “Well, I was taught to shake strong and firm, so it’s normal.” Applejack tipped her hat to me. “By the way, nice hat, I have one myself. Just not on me now.” “Well, thank ya kindly surgarcube! I bet ya’ll’d look good in a hat.” “Thanks!” Next a cyan pegasus flew up to me. She had a rainbow colored mane and a cloud with a rainbow bolt as a mark. “Hey, I’m Rainbow Dash, the fastest flier in all of Equestria. You seem okay, but I’ve got my eye on you. If you hurt anypony I’ll pound you to the ground.” She said in a raspy voice. “Hi Rainbow Dash. I’m Brendan. You don’t have to worry about me hurting anyone. I never ever resort to violence. I hate fighting.” “Cool. But I’m still watching you!” She held out her hoof, and I figured she’d be the type of pony for a fist/hoofbump. So, I bumped her hoof. She grinned and flew back again. Just when I thought I had had them all, I saw a yellow coated, pink maned pegasus cowering, being very scared. She reminded me of my elementary school self. I walked up to her and decided to bend down to try and meet her at eye level. “Hello.” I said quietly. “I’m Brendan, what’s your name?” “U-u-umm… I-I-I’m F-Fluttershy” She whispered. She had a barely audible voice, but it was like an angel speaking. “Fluttershy? Did I get that right?” She nodded. Still hiding behind her pink mane. “Well that’s a nice name.” I said. Trying to give her more confidence. “Th-Thank you.” She whispered. I slightly held out my hand to shake hers, and she shakingly brought her hoof up and we gently shook. While we shook hands I noticed a pair of black stripes in the right end of her mane. I mentally gasped in realization of what I had done. I stopped shaking her hoof and put my hand on my mouth. “Oh dear, I’m so sorry. I realized I accidentally drove over something, and it must’ve been your mane, oh I’m so sorry. You know what? Don’t worry, I’ll fix it!” “Oh, no, it’s nothing really. You don’t have to do anything.” She quickly said. “No! I insist that I do something. It’d be utterly disrespectful to a mare like you for not fixing things that are my fault to you! I’ll be right back!” “Umm… Okay. *Eep*.” I walked back to my bag on the bike and took out some tissues and a hairbrush. For those of you who ask; why do I have a hairbrush in my backpack? Well, I occasionally have to do my little sisters hair, so I need to keep one on me at all times. I walked over to a small puddle of water and wet one of the tissues, then came back to Fluttershy. “Don’t worry. I’ll have it clean and back to normal in no time.” “O-okay” She said. I held her mane so, so I made sure that I didn’t pull it, and used the wet tissue to get all the black marks out. Once done, I took the dry tissue and dried up the wet section, and then proceeded to brush her mane back to its right position. While I was brushing, I could see her face. She had beautiful turquoise eyes which were eying me, inspecting me, making sure I wasn’t going to do anything sudden. Which I wasn’t. It felt like she could see right through me, and read me on the spot. She then turned her eyes to mine and I quickly turned them away from her, back to her mane. I also noticed she had a mark of three butterflies on her flank. That’s the first thing I need to ask. What are those marks for? I could only imagine what she could see in my eyes. Probably just blackness. My eyes had such a dark shade of brown you could only see it if you got close enough, or if you would shine a light directly into them. Otherwise they just looked pitch-black. I finished up her mane and stroked the part to make sure it would stay, which it did. “There you go. No need to thank me. It was my fault after all.” I said. “W-well, Th-thank you anyway” She said, a bit more comfortable. Just before I got up, I could see a small smile on her lips. This made me smile in turn, to see her smiling after I corrected my mistake. I put the brush and tissues back inside my bag and returned to the princess. “Well, it’s an honor to meet you all, now I assume everyone, err, everypony, has questions for me? And I do likewise.” The princess nodded and said, “Yes, we indeed have. Sorry for locking you up down here, it was just to ensure the safety of my subjects.” I waved it off. “No need to apologize. I completely understand your good judgment and your wise action.” “I’m glad to see you understand. Now, let’s go to our throne room and exchange questions there. It’s much more comfortable to do it in a more welcome surrounding.” Celestia said. “Indeed.” I stated. And with that, we headed down the corridor, up the stairs and towards a set of large double doors. Two guards who stood at those doors opened them as we came. I looked at the throne room in awe. It was just magnificent! The gold, silver, brass, stained windows, all of it. It was a work of true craftsmanship. “Please, take a seat, and we can discuss our matters” Celestia said. I saw a couple of soft pillows against a wall. I grabbed one, put it down and sat on it. It was really comfortable. I sat in the bottom-middle. The other 6 ponies did as well. Rainbow sat top-right, Twilight top-left, Rarity middle-left, Applejack middle-right, Pinkie in the middle, and Fluttershy, sat bottom-left, left next to me.