//------------------------------// // Day 3: Something Better // Story: Rain // by Commando-Scarecrow //------------------------------// "Alright, Rain. We're here," I told her in the parking lot of a small town north of where I lived. We were heading to a special spot to show her something. She was going to love it. "Get out of the car. We'll have to walk the rest of the way." She got out of my car and closed the door behind her. Weird. She hadn't asked what where we were going yet. As we walked up a winding path up hill, I noticed something was off about her. She seemed upset ever since she got up this morning. We didn't make it that far before I decided to ask her what was up. Still, she looked really uptight. Screw it, I'm asking her what's up. "Rain? You alright?" She looked bitterly to the side. "I'm fine." She most certainly was not." "You sure?" We continued to walk a winding, barely paved path way up a hill. I didn't want anything to ruin what she was about to see. It was the second most beautiful this world had to offer. "Yeah, it's nothing." Something WAS bugging her, and I WAS going to find out. The last thing I wanted was to see her like this. "Because if you have something you need to get off your chest," I was egging her on purpose, hoping that she’ll eventually give up and tell me. "I'm all ears." She sighed. Suddenly, I had a bad feeling about this. "Last night, when you were asleep, I went on your laptop and looked up pictures of..." she seemed to be trembling with something, although I honestly wasn't sure yet. "Of me and my friends." Oh no. "You know what I saw?" I tried to remain as silent as I could, although I knew my silence would only provide it's own answer for her. "Rainbow Dash..." "I saw me and my friends in...." Now I knew what she was trembling with. Anger. "Half the world thinks me and my friends are lesbians!" Tears began to well up in her eyes as she began a long and terrible tirade of sadness. "And I got the worst of it by far!" I slowed down my pace, now choosing to walk with her instead of ahead of her. I was her only friend in this world, so I had to be at her side in this. She deserved no less. "And you knew, didn't you?!" "Rain, I was only trying to-" "To what?! Protect me?!" Rainbow Dash never needed anypony defending her before, but still. I never wanted her to see what some of her 'fans' made her out as. "What makes you think I even wanted your protection?" "I never meant to-" we'd since stopped on our way up the hills winding path so she could let it all out. "And that's not even the worst of it, Miles!" She was so angry and so sad at the same time. Even in my wildest dreams, I never thought I'd see her like this. "I found pictures me and..." it was almost like she didn't even want to say it. "Of me and Scootaloo in ways that would make you sick! You have any idea what it feels like to have a bond like that ruined and turned into... UUGH!!!" She let out a shout of rage. All I could do now is wait for her to let it all out. "She's like my little sister, Miles!" I could see the tears streaming down her face and rage burning in her eyes. "What the hay is wrong with your world?" She almost sounded submissive when she asked that. Like she had lost something. "It feels like I've been..." Sadness was finally the dominant emotion of the moment now. Rainbow Dash had always been one of the toughest and strongest ponies in all of Equestria, and for her to be brought down to tears like this... "Rain," I struggled to look her in the eyes, but did so anyway. She deserved my full and undivided attention. "You have to believe me when I say I never wanted to hurt you. Not in a million years did I want you to see what some people did to you and your friends," I took her hand and began to lead her. She was reluctant at first, but then finally surrendered, to distraught to fight back "And I'm not gonna lie, I wish I never saw a lot of those pictures either. But sometimes," she had to shield her eyes from a stray beam of light that hit her square in the face. I gave myself a smirk. We're close. "If you work through the hurt." More and more light began to buffet the former mares face. "If you find the right friends to help you through it, then you might look to find that you lost something you had before." Finally, we reached the top of the hill. And she was absolutely stunned by what she saw. "And see that you got something better, something beautiful, in its place." The amber autumn leaves melded flawlessly with the purple and red of the setting sun. "Whoa..." It was the only word that could leave her mouth. A flicker of self-satisfaction entered my eyes as I saw all her rage and sadness seem to melt away in an instant. I thought she deserved to see the best sunset that my world had to offer. "There are good people in this world, Rain," then I took a good long look at her face, the golden stream of light complementing her violet eyes and deep scarlet hair perfectly. She looked no less than flawless. "Even if we don't sometimes act like it." "I know," she pulled her gaze away from the sunset to return a look into my own eyes, wiping the tears away from hers. She took my other hand and then she kissed me. Long and hard. We took to sitting under a nearby oak tree together, watching the sinking sun and all the colours of the fall in the wind blend into a veritable rainbow river of pure and unrefined beauty, taking in the warmth of the sun as a refuge against the chilled October air. It seemed like we sat there for hours, just taking in a moment that was sheer perfection in its design. "Miles?" "Hmm?" "I just wanted to say thanks," she was still staring at the sun, now leaving room for the stars of the indigo sky of the night. "For this, and for everything. You've been awesome. And I'm sorry for yelling at you. I know you did what you had to." I took some simple joy in hearing her say that. "Don't worry about it, Rain." As the night began to settle in, I took in everything. The night and stars and the sunset and the leaves. Even the unexpected kiss. "It's what I do." Even sitting behind her, I could see the faint trace of a smile on her usually mischievous face. She was in the moment just as much as I was. All in all, even after all the hurt she felt earlier, I could tell from the expression on her face that she wouldn't have changed any of it. Not even for the world. "GAAH!" I woke up in the middle of the night from a nightmare. It was Rainbow Dash falling through a cyclone or vortex or something. She was holding on to my hand with all her might, and just when it looked like she was safe, she turned back into a pony and couldn’t hold on any longer. I looked at the clock, then at Rain. She was still asleep. Good. I didn't want to wake her. I got out of my chair and put my coat on. It was time for a walk. I exited into the cold fall night, searching for solace. As I walked to the back of the Motel 6, I took some time to gather my thoughts. Finally, I stopped and just stared at the stars and constellations hoping to find some peace in their dim glow. "Damn it, Miles," but the real reason I came out here wasn't star gazing. It was to get my thoughts straightened out. "What the hell are you doing getting so attached to her? You've read My Little Dashie. You KNOW how this is going to end." I knew I did, too. "With her leaving you with nothing but a hell of a lot of heart ache." Regardless of how much I was starting to care for Rain, I knew Twilight and her friends were going to show up one day to take her back to Equestria, leaving me here. 21 years and I'd never known anything like what I felt for her. "I never meant for it to go this far..." Never in a million years did I think something like this would happen. I took a deep breath of the chilly night air. I really had no idea what tomorrow was going to bring, so I just resigned myself to appreciate the time I had left with her. I went back to bed, or chair, and fell asleep almost immediately. Tomorrow was another day.