//------------------------------// // The Letter (Dash) // Story: Stuck in a Rainbow // by theRedBrony //------------------------------// I… still can't believe it was professor Quirrell… this whole time. "SUPPER'S READY!" Mother shouts from downstairs. With my newly-equipped blue striped 'pants,' I trot downstairs. Hey, I'm getting used to these funky legs. I get to the bottom of the stairs and I hear talking. Mother's not talking, she's just sitting on the couch and eating. I walk up a little and look where she's looking. She's watching a… film? On that big black rectangle box thing? I don’t see a projector anywhere. There are po- people talking about stuff. The people go away and the box says, "We now return to Paranormal Files." What the hay kinda movie is this? These people are talking about stuff… like ghosts and a haunted house. I don't really… get it… Hey, there's that word again… 'human.' Why does that sound so familiar? "Hey, Lyra, whatcha readin'?" "Oh, it's nothing…" She said, closing the book. "Aw, c'mon! What is it?" Lyra was really only just an acquaintance, but I was trying to make idle conversation. "Erm… it's about… humans…" "Hu- what?" "Humans… they're um… mythical… creatures." "I never heard of 'em. What're they like?" She perked up when I asked that. "Well, they're like big hairless monkeys that walk on their hind legs!" "Uh… huh…" "Hey, go get some food." Mother glances over at the kitchen. "Huh? Oh, right." I snap out of my flashback and walk into the kitchen. I get a whiff of deliciousness as I step through the doorway. A pot on the stove has some pasta noodles, and the pan next to it has some tasty smelling tomato sauce. I grab a plate from the counter (it feels cold in my hand) and help myself. I also grab a glass of water, and I walk out of the kitchen, with a big smile plastered on my mug. Hey, I'm walking AND holding two things at the same time! Guess this freakish body has its perks. I mean, I could hold some things with my wings, but this is totally different. This is like… unicorn level stuff right here. As I walk by my new mother, I notice something. She's holding a fork, and using it to eat the pasta. Now that looks a lot better than getting pasta sauce all over my face fur. I go back to the kitchen and find a fork. I walk past new-mom and the magic movie-box, the people are babbling something about big feet, and I walk upstairs. Slowly! I don't have my balance 100%, so walking up stairs with stuff in my hands is a little bit hard. But I make it upstairs anyway. I sit on the floor and chow down. Mmm… this sauce is really good. But it's sorta chunky. I roll a chunk around on my tongue. Oh. Meat. Still tastes good. I finish up my food and jump in bed, it's been a long day. Blargh. Why is this cloud so hard? Oh yeah, I'm on a bed. YAWN I rub my eyes with a… hand. Oh, that's right, I remember where I am now. I look at the clock, 9:22. Pushing myself off the bed, I stumble around a little and head for the bathroom. Ahhhhh… much better. Still not used to being a colt, er… you know what I mean… But, you know, losing my wings, race, species, friends, and… everything… being about as not-me as possible… that's what really gets me… And I wished for this… All because of that stupid letter… Dear Ms. Rainbow Dash, We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to the Wonderbolts Stunt Fliers of Equestria as a Junior Member! We are proud to accept such an outstanding pegasus to our ranks and we applaud the techniques and maneuvers you displayed at the academy. The 'sonic rainboom' was most impressive, and I personally did not believe it was possible to perform. Report to the Wonderbolts headquarters in Los Pegasus on September 3rd, promptly at 8:00 AM for orientation. After this, in-depth training will begin on technique and structure. Captain Spitfire has personally requested to speak with you after orientation about possible one-on-one training with her. Make sure you discuss this with her once orientation is over. You'll be expected to live in our complementary Residence Halls. We recommend that you bring all necessities and belongings you will need for daily life, as your new schedule will allow very little free time to return home. Three meals a day will be provided as part of the special dietary plan. Needless to say, the Residence Halls offer a variety of activities and leisure for anypony to be comfortable, as well as various nighttime attractions and venues in the city. We sincerely hope you enjoy your stay at your new home with your new friends and teammates. Best regards, Stormy Weather Senior Recruiter Los Pegasus is a long trip from Ponyville. I'd never see my friends again… Why do I have to choose between my dream and my friends…? Sigh Before I open the bedroom door, I notice a little square yellow paper stuck to it. Bacon in fridge, warm it up, make sure you eat! Hmm… 'bacon,' that stuff I saw in the icebox… Walking downstairs… the house is dead quiet. Kinda creepy… I head for the kitchen. I open the icebox, and sure enough, there's a plate with these wrinkled up strips of reddish meat-looking stuff. I looks nasty. Yuck. 'Warm it up,' hmm… there's a frying pan on the stove. Maybe that’s the pan new-mom used to cook this meat stuff in the first place. I toss it in the pan. Now to figure this stove out. Never been much of a cook myself. Well, there's knobs on it… Ok! I got me some greasy, stinky, warmed-up dead animal! Let's try some! Crunch Ooh, it's crunchy. And kinda smoky. And really greasy… And… And… Delicious! Crunch I could get used to this meat stuff! I wonder if we have bacon back home… …NO! What am I thinking?! That's gross! Ponies don't eat meat. Period. End of discussion. It's nasty. And wrong! It's just… Gilda let me try some chicken that one time… but I never told anypony about that. And I didn't even like it much… UGH! Why does this ‘bacon’ stuff have to be so delicious?! Alright, as much as I can't wait to see what happens in the next Harry Potter book, I've been cooped up for way too long. I HATE being cooped up! With pair of blue pants and a neat little white shirt with some crazy art design sketched on it, I go to the front door. And I stop for a second. I should probably find the key to the door and lock it before I leave. Nopony else is home. I go back upstairs and look around my room. On the desk, there's a couple keys on a ring. There's also a folded black rectangle pouch-type thing made out of some kind of smooth cloth, and a hard plastic rectangle. They were right next to the keys. Something's telling me to take them. Alright! Now I need a saddlebag for these… I'm not seeing any saddlebags. How would I even wear one anyway? Hmm… I look down at my pants. Are those… pockets! Perfect! Back downstairs, I open the door and walk right out. "OW!" What the hay! I stepped on something! Oh great, a rock. I need some kind of shoes. Never did get the point of shoes. They looked pretty I guess, but why? Kinda like clothes. Horseshoes, on the other hoof, I understand. Working ponies like Applejack need 'em. I go back in, and by the door, I see some shoes. What the hay? There's only two of them! Oh! Duh! I facehoof at my slip up. Still not used to the whole walk-on-two-legs thing. I slip them on my freaky flesh feet and head back out, locking the door behind me. Brave new world. Not so different though. There's houses and a grey stone road. Everything seems a lot more square, but otherwise, a lot of paralells. A shiny red cart-wagon-train type thing on wheels passes by me. Well that's new. It wasn't being pulled by anything. Magic? Oh wait, I know! That must be a 'car'! I walk in the direction it went. There's a lot of houses around here, but that's pretty much it. Houses… and cars. After about ten minutes of walking, I'm at a cross road. I see another car go down it, so I follow that one. I walk and I walk. It's funny. I feel like I could run. I'm not sure I want to, but I have kind of an itch to do it. Like I've been cooped up inside all day and I need to stretch my wings. If I couldn't, I'd eventually have to just flap as hard as I could, purposefully not getting lift, until the urge went away. My mom called it a case of 'the flies.' Ah, what the hay? Pant Turns out Pant I can run Pant pretty fast. Pant I don't know exactly how far I am (but I'm not lost, you can't be as good a flier as me and have a bad sense of direction, I'm not Derpy), but it looks like I'm in some kind of town. Small town, sort of. Doesn't look anything like Ponyville, or Canterlot. Everything's so… square. I walk past some shops. This place almost reminds me of Fillydelphia… But definitely not as big. There's a few people here, none of them look like they know me. Which is good. The last thing I need is one of them walking up to me and being like– "Hey Church, where ya headed?" "Huh?"