Rainbow's Parents: The Truth

by Songbrony


A New Friend

Years passed without another incident. We actually forgot all about the Doctor, the strange officer, and that we weren't actually siblings. I barely passed flight school. Not because I didn't know what I was doing, but because I got lazy during our final year there. Fluttershy started acting more like herself and stopped trying to stay tough around me. I liked that, since I'm supposed to be the tough one. We both went to the same high school and had most our classes together. One of my favorites was Advanced Flight Techniques. The class was meant to give the few Pegasus who passed the entrance exam a chance to show of what they knew and give advice to others.

Fluttershy took Animal Study and Gardening. She loved animals so much, that for her birthday one year, I got her her first animal of her own. A bunny. She called it Angel and has kept it close at home. She has a natural talent for taking care of animals, but she still had much to learn about them. She stayed most of her nights petting Angel and studying her notes. Me? I was playing Air Hockey on my Wonderbolts table with Felix. Some nights he wouldn't get home until well past midnight and just go straight to bed. He was working hard to make sure that we didn't have to rely on the money our parents left us.

I ended up getting a job as an intern with the weather headquarters. It was located on the ground surprisingly, and the Captain was an Earth Pony. What's an Earth Pony doing as Captain for a job that only Pegasus can do? He was not very good at his job. He never scheduled days for it to rain and never cleared the sky for the sun. I was working on a few papers, which was torture just so you know, when an orange pony walked in with a big red stallion. They walked up to my desk and asked to speak to the Captain of the weather team.

"What for?" I asked, a little too brashly.

"Our crops over at Sweet Apple Acres are flooded with rain! An' yesterday they were dying from the amount of sun they were gettin'!" the orange pony said with a southern accent. "Your Captain needs to high tail it and get these clouds out so our crops don' die before the harvest!"

I looked at the red stallion. "Eeyup." was all he said.

"Huh. Well, I can give you an appointment to talk with him. What's your name?" I asked. I hated this job. I felt too confined behind my desk.

"Applejack, and you will tell him we need to speak with him now!" she exclaimed.

Screw this. I thought. I stood up and walked to the Captain's office. I banged on his door. "Yo, boss. You have some visitors." I said. I left before he could respond.

"He'll be out in a minute." I said as I took my seat. There were some hoof steps coming from behind me. The Captain wasn't a clean pony. I mean, I may be messy, but he was a wreck. Unshaved beard, greasy hair, and he always had the smell of alcohol on his breath. It always brought back some bad memories, but I quickly pushed them out of my head.

"What is it now, Dash?" he asked angrily.

"These two said they wanted to talk to you." I said as I pointed to Applejack and the stallion.

"Ugh, alright. Come by my office. I have important things to do." he said as he turned back towards his office. The two ponies followed him and closed the office door behind them.

I went back to my paperwork as I overheard the sound of raised voices. I couldn't make it out, but it didn't look good for the two farmers. I began to think about what Fluttershy was doing. She normally studied her animal books when I was at work, but she said she had to go to the store for something. I didn't ask what for since I was running late anyway. The door opened up behind me with the Captain shouting to get out.

The door slammed behind the two ponies. The orange one looked to be close to tears. Whatever the Captain said, it must've hit hard. "Hey, Applejack. Wait a second." I said. She stopped in front of the door and I ran up behind her. "I take it he said no about the rain?" I asked.

"Yeah. He said he would rather have the farm drown than to waste his 'valuable' time clearing it up. If this keeps up, we'll have to move and find a new place to live." she said.

"You know, I'd be more than willing to help out if you need me to. I'll keep it off the radar so hot head doesn't know about it." I said.

"Why, that's awfully kind of ya'...um...what you say your name was?" she asked.

"Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer out of Cloudsdale." I boasted.

"Well thank ya' Rainbow Dash. This here's Big Macintosh, but everypony just calls him Big Mac." she said.

"Eeyup." he said.

"Does he say anything else?" I asked quietly.

"Nope." he told me with a small grin on his face.

I gave a slight chuckle. "Well, when would you like me to clear the sky for you? I'm off in about ten minutes." I told her.

"As soon as ya' can. I don' know how much longer our crops can handle this here rain." she said, looking out the window.

"Don't worry about that. I'll get it cleared for you as soon as I get out." I said. "It was nice to meet you. We should hang out sometime. I need a break after working for this flank."

"How about once 'ur done with the rain I treat ya' to some fine Sweet Apple cider?" she offered.

"Sounds great!" I exclaimed. I had never had cider before, but I had heard about how awesome it was. "Oh, where is Sweet Apple Acres anyway?" I asked.

"You're a Pegasus. Just fly around and look for a big red barn." she said as she they turned and left the building.

"Okay! I'll be there!" I shouted to them. I went back to my desk with a smile on my face. When I sat down, I noticed the pile of paperwork that still sat on my desk. I groaned loudly and hit my head into the desk. Note to self: Don't hit head against table. I thought as I rubbed my aching head.

I finished the paperwork and left work as fast as I could. I hated being cooped up in there. It was way too stuffy and constrained for me. I relished the feeling of the wind through my wings as I flew over Ponyville in search of Sweet Apple Acres. It was pretty easy to find, actually. I found the red barn almost instantly, but I didn't fly down right away. I still wanted to feel the freedom of the sky before I went down.

It was amazing. The wind in my mane as I flew above the clouds, the sensation of free-falling as I snapped my wings against my size, and the rejuvenating rush as I snapped them back open when I reached a few hundred feet off the ground. I landed next to the barn and gave a relaxed sigh of gratitude. I walked over to the barn door and knocked. The rain pattered against the window as Applejack opened the barn door.

"Howdy there, partner. Ready to clear this weather?" she asked.

"More than ready." I said as I flew into the sky and started to push the clouds away and constrict them so they would quit raining. I had never done it before, but I knew that Pegasus could control the weather if they wanted to. It was the main reason I went to the headquarters for a job in the first place. I mean, a job where you spend your day outside in the sky and you get paid for it? Hay, you couldn't get me to say yes faster if you tried.

I finished the job and flew back down to Applejack. "Dang, Rainbow. That was awfully quick. Ah'd say around 15 seconds." she said.

"What? Only 15? Horse apples." I swore. Even though it was my first time ever doing weather control, I was the fastest flyer out of Cloudsdale. I should have been at least 5 seconds faster.

"Hey, don't worry. You were moving incredibly fast. Here, have some cider. Made it myself this mornin'." she said as she led me inside. The sun was shining through the window now, making the drops of water glisten. "Now, Rainbow, why not tell me a little about yourself. With that flying Ah'd say you practice daily." she said.

"Nah. I've always been a natural flyer. I love it, but the only thing I love more than flying, is flying fast! It's how I got this baby." I said as I motioned to my Cutie Mark. I took a sip of the cider and became addicted instantly. I chugged the rest of the mug down in one gulp.

"Whoa! Slow down there, Wonderbolt! Ya' don' want to get sick now, do ya'?" she said jokingly.

"I'm no Wonderbolt yet." I said. "But I'm hoping that one day they'll let me in."

"Shouldn't ya' be practicing then? I mean they ar' the most talented flying force in the world. They only accept the best of the best." she pointed out as she got another mug of cider.

"Yeah, well I don't have much time to practice. I've got school and then work." I said as I drank half the mug. We started talking about our childhood's. I was able to tread through here easily. I've been living the same lie for years now, so it was just repetition.

After about 30 minutes of talking and two gallons of cider, I looked at my watch. Yes, I actually bought a watch. "Ah crap. I gotta go. My sister wants me to meet her at the store in five minutes." I said, referring to Fluttershy as my sister. "We should do this again sometime." I said.

"Just tell me when ya' want to hang. Ya' know where to find me." Applejack said. "Thanks for helpin' with that rain."

"No problem. And thanks for the cider. It was amazing." I said. I flew back into the air and headed off to find Fluttershy.