//------------------------------// // Stupid Thunderstorms // Story: The Sky Is Falling // by chief maximus //------------------------------// Stupid Thunderstorms That dinner... I might as well cut off my tongue, because I'll never taste anything that good again. As Twilight and I sat back in our seats, I happened to look outside. I could make out flashes of lightning in the distance. I hoped the weather team in Canterlot was as good as the rumors said they were. "Twily!" I turned back to the table in time to see Shining Armor and Twilight hugging it out. I forgot he worked here. "Hello, Rainbow. You're looking lovely this evening," he said. No wonder he landed a princess. He was a charmer, that's for sure. "Thanks, lookin' sharp yourself," I replied. "So I hear you and Twily are leading the Aurora this year?" "That's right, as long as it doesn't get rained out," I replied, taking a quick glance out of the stained glass windows of the dining hall in time to see more lightning. "Oh, don't worry about that, the weather team here is top-notch," Shining insisted. "Yeah... I've heard." "Well I just wanted to wish you two good luck. Cadence and I will be watching!" Shining left just as quickly as he'd showed up, leaving nothing left to do but head outside and watch the fireworks... er—magicworks? I dunno. Anyway, once dinner was officially over, we followed the princess outside while the rest of the crowd took their seats on bleachers they'd set up earlier. While Twi was busy getting a few last glances at her spell book, I was nervously watching the storm clouds gather outside the city. Princess Celestia gave the signal and, before I knew it, it was time to head into the clouds. I let Twilight get comfortable on my back before taking off. At first, it felt pretty awesome to be leading a bunch of pegasi on a mission to shoot magic into the sky. That began to change once we reached the right altitude. The winds were way stronger than I expected. With that dumb dream still in my head, I was extra careful with Twilight. If I even thought she was leaning too far one way or the other, I'd slide her back to my center. "Rainbow! I have to check the wind direction to determine the proper cast height!" she protested over me constantly keeping her squarely between my wings. "What's gotten into you?" "Nothing, just don't fall off!" I shouted back. "Oh, Rainbow, you don't have to worr—Ah!" I felt Twilight begin to slide while she was giving me her 'don't worry about me' speech. I guess that dream was a blessing in disguise, because I'd have never even thought about her falling off my back mid-flight if I hadn't had it. I shot both forelegs out and caught her. With one quick sling, I put her back where she belonged, but not without a bit of teasing first. "What was that about me not worrying?" "Let's just cast this thing and get down!" Twilight stammered, clinging tightly to my neck after her near fall. I made a beeline to the right height and hovered as the other pegasi and unicorn teams moved into position. Below us, the Canterlot elite and foreign dignitaries looked through their fancy opera glasses towards the sky. In an instant, the sky was filled with lights and colors. Purples, blues, reds, and greens all lit the air before I noticed the thunderstorm I was worried about beginning to move in. I smiled when I heard the 'ohs' and 'ahs' from the crowd below. Another job well done! Admiring our work for a second, I was actually surprised by how pretty everything turned out. I mean, I get to see the colors of the rainbow every day, but to have them in the sky with me? Beyond cool. "Wow, this is beautiful, Twilight," I whispered to her as we descended. "I know," she replied. "I'd heard stories, but nothing compares to the real thing!" As we neared the ground, I was just happy Twilight was still alive. I know I don't usually stress about dreams or whatever, but this one was just... too real. Anyway, none of that mattered now. All that was left now was to enjoy that amazing room and possibly sneak in a post-dinner meal after Twilight went to sleep. Twilight and I stayed and watched the rest of the show before the rain began to fall. All the dignitaries were running to keep their fancy clothes dry while Twi and I just walked back to the castle in the rain. Honestly, it wasn't something I would have expected her to do, considering how much she lectures me about staying out in the rain. Her mane was sticking to her neck and forehead, while her horn stuck out from the smoothness of her purple hair. If she wasn't smiling at me, I'd have thought she was miserable. "You sure you don't mind walking with me?" I asked. "Not at all," she replied. "I wouldn't just leave you out in the rain!" She was considerate, if anything. I guess living in a library most of your life can really make you go the extra mile for your friends. I always wondered what I would be like if I weren't the most socially-awesome pegasus there was. Good thing I am! I stretched my wing over her head, and she seemed to appreciate it. Actually, she moved closer to me, her side against my own as we walked back to the castle. We were the last ones still outside as we made our way toward the huge doors leading into the throne room. I felt myself slow my pace a bit, and Twilight held up to match. Maybe hanging out with an egghead wasn't such a bad thing, especially if the egghead is one of your best friends. We finally arrived in the lobby of the throne room and shook ourselves off. We flung water almost everywhere—which was kinda embarrassing, considering they had servants waiting with towels behind us. Towels which were now wet. We took them anyway and dried off. Normally, it's kind of hard for a pegasus to use a towel to dry herself completely. Sometimes, hooves just can't reach past my withers. Thankfully, Twilight used her magic to dry me off. Un-thankfully, she discovered a dark secret only Gilda and Fluttershy knew about. One that I'd gone to great lengths to keep secret. As Twi brushed against the underside of my stomach, I let out a small giggle. I tried to hold it in, I swear! As soon as Twi heard it, the damage had been done. She slid the towel off of me and looked into my eyes with a sly smirk. "Rainbow, you wouldn't happen to be... ticklish, would you?" I backed away slowly, but I didn't have anywhere to go. I was trapped. "No! You're ticklish!" Not my best comeback, not that it mattered. She took a step toward me. The servants were long gone, and the lobby was small enough to only give me one escape route, which Twilight happened to be blocking. "That may be, but I think somepony is too..." She slinked closer; I opened my wings. She couldn't tickle what she couldn't reach, right? She had other ideas. That darn magic of hers is not fair! I tried to flap my wings, but found them—and the rest of me—frozen in place. "Twilight, don't you even—" Too late. There was nothing I could do. Before I could even yell for help, she attacked. I guess I deserve this for tickling Twilight while she was drunk the other night. I probably shouldn't have apologized for something she didn't remember out loud. Twilight gasped. "Rainbow! You took advantage of me while I was intoxicated?" "I'm sorry!" I managed to squeal in between laughs. "I promise it'll never happen again!" "Oh I know it won't." She smiled. Apparently, I'd made enough noise to attract the princess. "Twilight? What's going on in h—" Twilight froze on top of me as I tried to catch my breath and thank Princess Celestia at the same time. We all caught eyes at the same time. The blush on the princess' cheeks was just as obvious as Twilight's. It must have been thirty seconds before Twilight moved off of me. "Princess, we, uh, we were just... uhm..." Princess Celestia raised a dismissive hoof. "Say no more. But might I suggest adjourning to a more private setting before engaging in any more 'tickle fights?'" she chuckled, taking her leave. We had a long, awkward walk back to the room before Twilight said something. "Sorry about that, back there..." "Pff, C'mon, Twilight, I'd have wanted a revenge-tickle if I were in your hooves," I assured her. Even though little things set her off, little things could also calm her down. She's kinda weird like that. Twi can keep her cool even as Equestria is falling down around her, yet Celestia forbid she lost her day planner or misplaced a book. I think it's because her priorities are a bit... off, but whatever. It works for her and that's all that matters. "Let's just get some sleep," she sighed. Hmm... she still seemed a bit mopey. Maybe this would take a bit more time than I thought. I decided to remove 'post-dinner' from my to-do list and add 'Twilight.' We stepped into our room to find it freshly cleaned, and all the linens replaced, even though we hardly touched the old ones. That's royal service for you, I guess. Anyway I headed straight to the bed and jumped in, sending the flat, pressed sheets wrinkling as I pulled them back. Looking back toward Twilight, I could tell she was still thinking about earlier. Yeah it was kinda embarrassing to have your mentor catch you with your hooves all over your friend, but it wasn't worth pouting over! I mean, she didn't even seem upset! She was laughing when she left! "Twi..." I called, maybe a bit more seductively than I meant to. She cocked her head towards me, but still wore the same tired expression. I fluttered out of the bedroom and settled next to her. "What's your deal?" She opened her mouth, then closed it before getting a word out. I saw her glance at me before letting out a huff. "The Princess saw me... and you, like that!" "Like what?" I asked flatly. She was really blowing this thing out of proportion. "She's been around for over a thousand years. You think that was the first time she's ever seen a tickle-fight?" "Not that!" she snapped. "I'm a scholar—her own protege! I'm supposed to be above carnal desires, and I just jumped on you like—" Twilight covered her mouth with her hoof and looked at me, her eyes wider than I'd ever seen them. "Carnal desires?" I repeated. I'd have to look that up later, but I swear I've heard those two words before. "Twilight, she didn't even care!" "How do you know?!" she snapped. "Are you a mind reader?" I was kind of surprised by her reaction. I've never seen Twilight so upset, but before I could respond, she did. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you, it's just... Celestia's opinion matters to me a lot more than it probably should." I smiled, putting a wing around her. "C'mon, Twi. I'm beat. Can we go to sleep now?" "Yeah, I'm pretty tired too." Finally, I got her into bed. No, not like that. I shimmied under the covers and discovered somepony had cast a heating spell on the blankets! It was like laying in a sea of silk. Anyway, once we both got settled, we had a little talking time. "I think we did pretty good out there," I whispered. "Yeah, we did." She yawned. "Hey, if you don't mind my asking, what was your dream about?" "What dream?" "You know, the one you had at my house," she clarified. I propped myself up on my elbows. "Oh... right." It probably wouldn't hurt to let her in on it. After all, it was just a dumb dream that didn't come true. "Well, it was you and me flying above Canterlot during the aurora, and I, well, dropped you." Twilight met me by propping herself up. "You dropped me?" she said playfully. "I didn't mean to!" I replied defensively. "You stood on my back in the middle of a thunderstorm!" "There's a thunderstorm now?" she asked. "I... look, the dream's not important," I insisted, waving a hoof. "The important thing is, you didn't fall to your death, and we did the magic thing." "Well, yeah, I—wait, to my death?!" "Just don't worry about it, I'm beat," I said, settling back down into my sheets. As soon as I thought I was going to pass out, something Twilight said came back to me. That whole 'carnal desires' thing. "Hey, Twi. You ever know somepony you'd like to spend time with romantically, only to have them be completely oblivious to your efforts to spend time alone with them?" Twilight wasn't exactly a master of observation in social situations, so I was confident she wouldn't catch on. "Hm... can't say that I have," she yawned. Called it. That's the thing about Twilight. It's like she has no desire to love or be loved by a special somepony! I mean, everypony needs somepony to hold them after a bad flight, or an injured wing, or... what was I talking about again? Oh yeah, Twilight's weird non-need for romantic contact. It's like she would just clone herself if somepony told her she had to reproduce. If she could bring a book to life and sleep with it, she'd probably never leave the library again. I think you get the idea. Anyway, I figured if I was going to get Twilight to be my plus one to the gala, I'd probably have to settle for a just friends type deal. "You ever have one of your friends trying to act subtle about what it is they want, when it's obvious to the pony they're trying to convey their feelings towards because in reality they are, in fact, about as subtle as a backlit neon sign in Las Neighas?" Did—did she just... does she... no way. Does she know? Is Twilight really that smart? Am I that obvious?