"Gonna be late! Gonna be late!"
Rainbow hurried across her living room, gathering the various assortments of treats she had bought from the market yesterday and shoveling them all into a picnic basket whose rattan handle was decorated with a holly berry for the festive occasion. The audience watching her frantic actions consists of Tank, who was munching on a cabbage leaf, and Taciturn himself, who had already gathered some of his art things.
Oh, why did she have to oversleep today! She was supposed to have a picnic with all of her friends nearby Fluttershy's cottage, and they've even asked for her patient to tag along. Embarrassingly, the patient got ready before his guardian, seeing how the colt was waiting for her on the floor, on his right a satchel of his crafting materials.
"Scarves! Don't forget our scarves!" she hollered, reaching for the woolen wrappings hanging on the coat rack. She quickly tossed them onto the picnic basket, her mind clicking frantically like a lighter wanting to burn out any more items from the figments of her crinkling mental list.
"Anything else," Rainbow mumbled frantically to herself. "Come on! Come on! Come on!"
"Juice," Taciturn suddenly spoke, reigniting the flame of her memory.
"Juice! Ha! Of course!" she exclaimed, grabbing a carton of apple juice from the table.
"Thanks, Tassee! Now, what else am I missing...? I'm sure that's everything accounted for..."
"Turtle?"
"It's tortoise, actually." Rainbow corrected her patient, placing the juice into the picnic basket. Speaking of tortoise, Tank had already climbed up onto the top of Taciturn's wraith-like white mane with a cabbage leaf still in his mouth, the two wearing mirroring grins as they glanced at each other.
"Looks like you two are best buds already!" she said, picking up the basket.
"Come on already! We have to go!"
Soon enough, the trio started their journey, as usual, by hoof, down the same bending path through the thickets of bushes under the warm rays of the morning. Trudging through the snow, Rainbow sighed as Taciturn whistled another tune once more; this time it was 'Frosty the Snowpony'.
The cobblestone paths of Ponyville soon overlapped from the dirt roads, the two ponies trotting into the presence of the many ponies around town. There came the stares, then the soft murmurs as the ponies spotted both pegasi trotting across the town.
Taciturn started to cringe closer to his guardian at the sudden attention he was getting. Rainbow herself could understand his predicament; every stare was intimidating and pressuring her as well. Even Tank had slinked back into his shell, looking like a curvy green hat standing on the top of the colt's white mane.
"He's the one..." some murmured. "He made Pinkie's portrait," others said. Rainbow wasn't surprised that everypony knew, but the way they were approaching them was unnerving: it seemed like something out of those zombie horror flicks she had seen with Pinkie a few times before.
"Back off!" she suddenly rasped, waving her hoof grudgingly at a few ponies that were too close to comfort. If anything, their undesired attention was a little too much for her patient to bear. Rainbow held his shivering hoof tighter, trying to comfort him while they tried to fight through the growing crowd.
"Can't you see he doesn't want see any of you guys?" she yelled, flaring her wings up.
"Come anymore closer, and I'll make sure you will get hurt!"
Ignorance was what they possessed. Pure blunt ignorance.
Despite her warnings, the ponies started to swarm like parasprites, trying to get as close to the colt as possible and shooting a multitude of random questions at him, with simple ones such as 'what is your name?', to those that are just plain weird, such as 'did you fall into a vat of bleach?'. Either way, Rainbow pushed herself through the crowd, pulling Taciturn along as they waded through the treacherous ocean of ponies.
"Tassee!" she yelped, his tight grip onto his hoof severing suddenly, losing him to the crowd and falling onto the floor with a small yelp of pain. Immediately she tried to fight back, suppressing a gasp once she saw him cringing on the floor like a lost filly, encircled by the relentless ponies around him. Dropping the picnic basket, she clenched her hooves immediately; she couldn't take it anymore! She just couldn't!
"GET OFF OF HIM!!" she screamed, shunning the crowd immediately. The only sound remaining was Taciturn sobbing in his hooves, the crowd parting way for his enraged guardian to step forward.
She could feel her eyes water a little, prompting her to wipe it off before any of them can leak. How can these ponies; the ones she had known throughout her life in Ponyville, be so heartless suddenly? They and their bucking curiosity...
"L-let's go, Tassee," the mare consoled him, lifting him up to his hooves. Tank was still shuddering in his shell, to which she quickly placed onto the picnic basket. Without bothering to glance back, Rainbow left in her huff, guiding the quivering colt away from the bunch of surprised stares of the ponies behind them.
She soon breathed a sigh of relief the moment they stepped out of the other side of Ponyville, stopping to rest for a moment. Settling the picnic basket and Tank down, Rainbow soon turned to Taciturn, dabbing the tears off his eyes with one of the picnic napkins.
"D-did any of those ponies hurt you?" the cyan mare asked, to which Taciturn shook his head.
"Good," she hissed, wrinkling her snout back at the town. "If anypony does that, they're gonna wish they would have the chance to move out of town."
Taciturn suddenly took the napkin from her hooves, catching his guardian by surprise. He raised it towards her eyes, leaving her stunned as he wiped the remainder of tears from her eyes, giving her a sad smile once he finished his spontaneous job.
"Th-thanks, Tassee, I... um..." Rainbow stammered, feeling the nerves on her cheeks tingling. Was she actually blushing? She wanted to curse her emotions for that, kicking them away while she hurriedly picking up the picnic basket.
"Oh, gee! Look at the time! We have to go!"
The colt gave a meager nod, and the two soon ventured down the snow-covered road again, pushing their hellish ordeal to the very back of her head.
Rainbow wondered about his actions soon after that. Yes, his expression was deadpan, and there wasn't a trace of concern or worry on his face, but the way he gently dabbed the napkin on her cheek... she shook it off immediately. There were better things to attend to at the moment, such as the fact that they were incredulously late for their rendezvous.
"Come on, Tassee!" she whistled, beckoning the slightly traumatized colt forward.
"There's a few more of my friends you haven't met yet!"
"What do you mean? When did this happen?"
"Just before we got here," Rainbow answered Twilight's question, tending to her slightly bruised hoof she had sustained during her encumbering struggle back in town; the exact one she was talking to them about.
"They were swarming all over him like he's some fresh batch of hay. I mean, seriously! Does the ponies even care of what happens when he gets hurt?"
"Yer did what ya have to do, RD," Applejack piped in, munching on a lettuce sandwich.
"Ah can't imagine what would happen to that young fellow if yer not there to protect 'im."
"I am his guardian, after all," the pegasus remarked, crossing her hooves.
"It's just... he doesn't like attention, but his paintings were calling the shots for him."
The three discussing mares soon turned to Taciturn, who was watching blankly Rarity making a few clothes for his entertainment (at least, it looked like he was entertained; they would never know from his lack of expression). Spike was sitting right beside him, though they knew he was eyeballing more at the designer than the designs she was concocting right before them.
"And you just frill the collars a little... that's right..." they could hear her mutter, teaching the bleached colt to do so as she guided his hooves slowly across the fabric with her own. Rainbow could feel her jaw clench at the sight, her teeth gritting against each other, before Twilight suddenly let out a loud cough.
"Somepony's a little jealous~!"
"I'm not jealous!" Rainbow protested, forcing out short laughs from both Twilight and Applejack.
"I'm... a little concerned that he might explode from fright! Yes! That's it!"
"Suit yerself, RD," the orange mare said, chugging down a mug of cider.
"By the way, where's Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy? They were s'posed to be here a minute ago!"
She was right. When Rainbow and Taciturn arrived, both of their friends were nowhere to be seen (which was a little relieving by the fact that they weren't actually the latest). Tank had already fallen sleep in his shell, worn out from waiting for extra food to arrive. Twilight had presumed that they might just be finishing their errands, but as of now, she wasn't so sure.
"I'm sure Pinkie and Fluttershy would come any minute," the violet mare declared.
"Just give them a little bit of time! They'll arrive soon enough."
"Charming gathering, is it not, Taciturn?" Rarity asked the colt, who was wandering back to his guardian's side, turning back only to give a small, melancholic nod.
"A brilliantly modest pony with a flair in the arts. I can't imagine how much admirers that Taciturn would have if he ever reaches the spotlight!"
"Spotlight? Never!"
Rainbow passed Taciturn one of his favorite muffins, the colt eyeing it carefully at every single corner before munching slowly onto it. The cyan pegasus pursed her lips at Rarity's slight expression of surprise, knowing full well of the consequences of such an action to a frail pony like him.
"Tassee here nearly died of a heart attack just now!" his guardian continued.
"If those journalists keep swarming around him, I don't think he'll be able to make it out alive."
"But if he keeps drawing," Spike pondered, "he'll have to get attention, doesn't he? And since his drawings are magnificent, wouldn't that be even more attention that he can get?"
"I can't just force him to stop drawing, can I?" Rainbow said, helping Taciturn wipe a few crumbs off his mouth.
"Drawing is his talent, and it's what makes him special from everypony else."
The rest could only nod in agreement at that. They couldn't stop him from painting for good just because he has to be safe; it's a risk that they have to take.
"We just have to show his paintings in a way that everypony could appreciate and that he wouldn't be frightened by it at the same time," Twilight concluded, stopping to think.
"There might be something that could benefit both sides..."
"Twilight! Applejack!"
Everypony turned at the familiar, high-pitched screech of a voice, letting out sighs of relief as they sighted Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy galloping down the yuletide slopes, collapsing on the floor as they gasped for the soothing presence of air. Their manes were in shambles, as was their picnic basket; Spike had opened it to meet the sight of squashed crumbs in a puree of mixed icing.
"Where have you guys been?" Rainbow asked quizzically with Taciturn cowering behind her, the colt slightly startled by their surprise arrival. It was Fluttershy that spoke up first, talking beneath her heavy panting:
"We were... getting cupcakes..."
"And?" Rarity asked with concern, helping the butter mare brush her pink mane.
"What happened after that, darling?"
"There was a crowd of ponies!" Pinkie continued her friend's sentence.
"They were squeezing us like we're a bunch of marshmallows! They kept on asking me about Tassee's portrait- oh hey, Tassee! I didn't see you there!"
Taciturn merely whimpered, though Rainbow quickly rasped:
"Just get to the point, Pinkie. They asked about that ice-skate thing, and...?"
"They kept on pestering me and Fluttershy about it! I never, never, never never ever, EVER, told anything about Tassee to those crazy ponies. I mean, look what they done to the cupcakes! They ruined it! They just trampled over the picnic basket like it was nothing, and it's now just a puddle of mushy-mush!"
Pinkie suddenly bawled on the floor, prompting Twilight to quickly hand her a cloth. Spike tried to stick his claws into the basket, proving the pink mare's point as he quickly pulled out, flinging his arm about to rid of the sticky icing trapped between his scales.
"Would ya know anythin' about these darn ponies, Rarity," Applejack asked, to which the white unicorn answered:
"They're probably the art critics and journalists from the Canterlot Art Society. For example..."
Rarity reached into her satchel, placing onto the snow a small stack of magazines. She took the top one first, flipping to the side before reading a column aloud:
"L'art Mondial: we're always seeking for the best and the creative in the aspiring world of design. If there's one thing I know about the press of Canterlot, they're ambitious and covetous, and they would even betray their friends to get a story."
"That's not what's concerning me at the moment," Twilight disputed, placing the magazines aside.
"I don't think ponies can just see the painting from Canterlot, can they? That leaves me to the sole conclusion on why the press would know of this: there's a snitch in Ponyville."
Her theory met with gasps from each of them, especially from Rainbow. Who would resort to such insensitive measures just for Taciturn to receive unwanted attention? She wanted to strangle whichever callous pony that would do this to the colt. Her cheeks turned a beet red, her tail lashing around fiercely like a raucous snake.
"Just call them to pack their bags and leave!" she scowled, crossing her hooves.
"Then kick that stupid pony's flank out of town! Ask the Princess to send him or her to the moon or something!"
"I'm afraid we can't," Rarity spoke up, shuffling her magazines to the side.
"If anything, these kinds of ponies are the most obstinate of ponies one would ever meet. It would take us nearly forever to get them out of town."
"Plus," Twilight added,"we don't know who our snitch is. Whoever that mystery pony is, he or she really craves for attention. We have to dig deep a little."
"Well, I'm gonna find out who that would be!" Rainbow declared, stomping her hoof onto the snow.
"If this pony thinks that he can mess with me and Tassee like that, then bring it on!"
"I'm with you, Dashie!"
Pinkie hopped to the cyan mare's side, adopting a karate stance before shooting a flurry of jabs and hooks, the rest of her friends giggling at her actions.
"Whoever messes with Dashie and Tasse has to mess with me!"
"Ah'm with ya too, pardner," Applejack voiced out, tipping her hat.
"This pony deserves a lil' lesson for his tomfoolery."
"I'll help too! That is... if you don't mind..."
Fluttershy gave a meek smile towards Taciturn, who was already starting to paint something on the canvas.
"And of course, I'll help out through my area of expertise, and that is the irresponsibility of the media."
Rarity flicked her mane flamboyantly to the side, strutting forward as she continued:
"And as for this uncouth pony, I will see to it that he or she will held responsible for such despicable acts."
"I'm in as well," Twilight proclaimed, giving a supportive nod.
"And Spike would be helping out! Won't you, Spike?"
"You bet!"
Taciturn suddenly flipped his canvas around, smiling gleefully at the amazed looks of all six ponies (and one dragon) standing before him, their eyes glued to his recently finished painting.
It was all of them together, inclusive of him, jumping for joy in the field they were standing in. What baffled them wasn't the painting itself; it was ordinary compared to the rest of his works. It was the short time that he required to paint it, accomplishing every small detail from every strand of hair on their manes to the way their eyes glittered in the sunlight.
"Celestia..." the mares all gasped, gathering in awe at Taciturn's painting. The colt soon started to twirl his paintbrush around in the snow, dabbing the white plains in a few splotches of colors.
"How in Equestria did he do it?" Applejack asked Rainbow, who could only give a shrug, smiling proudly at her patient.
"It's Tassee we're talking about."
"He really is a sleepy fellow, ain't he?"
Taciturn nodded at Rainbow's remark about Tank, who was still asleep even as they were venturing back to their home. Surprisingly and fortunately, there wasn't a single swarm of journalists once they passed through Ponyville again, and soon enough they've emerged unscathed.
The sky was burning a mellow mixture of gold and yellow overhead, the Princesses doing their work as the sun slowly settled in the bask of the horizon, with a minuscule glimpse of the moon rising from its cracks. Snow had started falling once they reached the outskirts, coating everything on the earth under a thin coat of white.
That was a little strange, Rainbow thought to herself. Being responsible of the weather patrol in Ponyville, she wasn't notified of any snowfall from Cloudsdale. Maybe they messed up the schedule again.
Her home soon stood out in the sky, the sight pleasing their tired hooves. As if it was some routine, the cyan pegasus soon flapped her wings, with Taciturn and the sleeping Tank hitching a ride onto her back, their respective scarves fluttering about in the sunset. The colt wrapped his hooves firmly around the picnic basket and his art materials, letting out a quiet sigh as they neared the airborne structure.
"We're finally home," Rainbow declared, her and her patient stepping through the door. Placing the picnic basket onto the table, she got into her room, placing her pet onto the bed before she started stretching her wings and hooves.
Letting out a small yawn, she stepped into a grayish room, her hooves planting firmly on the dark clouds as she gave a powerful, staggering kick; in response a volley of droplets fired from above, drenching her and soaking her mane downwards before she trotted back into her bedroom.
She hummed a small, instinctive tune, reaching for a towel as she wiped herself dry, though her mane still hung low with a trace of dampness. Tossing it onto the rack, Rainbow plopped herself onto her bed, closing her eyes shut to drift herself off into the calm realm of sleep.
Except... she couldn't.
She tossed and turned about the confines of her bed, even squashing her head underneath her pillow a few times, other than the fact that it was freakishly cold, thanks to her small shower. With a loud groan, Rainbow swung her blanket to the side, rising from the bed and heading straight out of her bedroom.
The mare stopped once she saw Taciturn perched on the couch, blankly staring at the wall, or whatever his imagination was perceiving at the moment. Her hooves slowly crept up to him, before she quietly settled next to him, unsure of what to do.
"H-Hey, Tassee," she mumbled, the colt still staring at the wall. Well that went perfectly well, Rainbow, she scowled to herself, smacking her forehead quietly for not being able to muster up her courage.
"You can't sleep too, huh buddy?" she asked, this time receiving a nod, though his gaze was still fixed onto the wall. With a sigh, she huddled towards the colt, giving him a small nudge; one which he avoided easily.
"Don't worry, Tassee," Rainbow spoke softly, referring to the discussion with her friends about Taciturn's recently attained attention. Of course he had heard everything, and Rainbow figured he was pondering over it.
"My friends are here to help," she added. "You'll be fine."
The blanched colt just looked down, furrowing his brows. His guardian just gave a small sigh, before she rested her head onto the couch and closing her eyes. Her mind was desiring to sleep, but her body stubbornly went against it, the predicament only frustrating her.
"Sleep," Taciturn suddenly muttered, to her surprise.
"I'm trying too, Tassee," Rainbow replied with a shiver in her voice, contracting her wings together.
"Maybe it's the shower I had or something. I don't know..."
"Cold?" he mumbled, turning to his guardian.
"Yeah..." she gave a nod.
"Cold..."
Taciturn studied her for a while, his crossing black eyes a little unnerving to the cyan mare. He tilted his head a few times, the encroaching colt a little too close in her private border.
"Uhh... Tassee?" she quipped, her words meeting his blunt ignorance.
Suddenly, he flipped his wings open, dropping Rainbow's jaw as it fan out to its full extent. The white feathers that he shed underneath them seemed to glow in the darkness, with each end tinted a color of the rainbow.
"W-wow..." was all Rainbow could stammer, marveling at the splendor of his colossal pair of wings. It was larger than an average pegasus's, able to envelop another pony within its interior, which only proved his method of aiding her in her situation.
With that, Taciturn guided his wings around Rainbow's smaller pair, the mare shuddering the moment she felt a tingle of his feathers on the tip of her skin. The overwhelming warmth that swept over her was welcoming, and any doubts of his actions were quelled as Rainbow closed her eyes, appreciating the soothing feeling around her.
It felt so perfect. Lying on a fluffy couch, with the large wings blanketing her in a sack of warmth, shielding her from any of the cold. The colt's wings were fine and smooth, reminding the cyan mare of something... something like...
An angel.
"Th-thanks, Tassee," she stammered, unable to contain her blush. It didn't matter however, as Taciturn was already sleeping, silently snoring while her guardian gave him a content smile, nuzzling his mane.
She soon settled her head down as well, slowly closing her eyes before she too drifted into sleep, her blush still intact, albeit fading. With that, she gave him a small whisper; one that made a grin creep up from the edge of the colt's lips.
"Sleep tight."