//------------------------------// // Challenge 2 :: Chocolate Rain // Story: Random Acts of Fiction // by Talia //------------------------------// It was a beautiful day in Ponyville. The sun was shining, Rainbow Dash and her team of weather ponies had cleared nearly every cloud from the sky, and Rarity’s ear shattering scream could be heard for miles echoing off the hillsides. “SWEEEETIIIEEE BEEEEELLLLLEEEEE!” could be heard throughout the town. In the town square Thunderlane hovered and stared in disbelief as Rarity’s shop hung idly upside down over the Ponyville fountain which was still happily burbling away below. Words escaped the pegasus at that moment. One moment he was heading back from the market; the next he was pulling up short to keep from crashing into the shop as it suddenly appeared before him suspended in midair. Down on the ground Carmine Rosa looked on in fascination. She looked around quickly to see if maybe discord had come back to town, feeling that floating business establishments were surely a sign of the Draconequus’ return. She then called up to Thunderlane, “Hey Thunder, can you see any chocolate milk clouds up there? Bring them over here if you do, I’ll be back with a barrel!” After which the deep crimson pony rushed away from the town square procure a barrel. The sounds of a struggle could be heard inside the shop, followed by a series of crashes and muffled curses. “Ooof!” Crash! “Sweetie...” Bang! “...Belle...” Clang! Crunch! Boom! “But Rarity,” squeeked a slightly muffled but insistent voice from higher up boutique. “How else are we gonna figure out if... Hey why’s everything upside down?” Thunderlane listened to the exchange of voices coming from different parts of the inverted shop, continuing to hover a few feet from the building. He tentatively inquired of those inside, “Do you ladies need any...” “Heeeeeeeeelllllllllp!!!!!” came a cry from up above them all, getting louder by the second as though somepony was rapidly approaching the scene in distress. Thunder looked up only to see a tiny orange mass of flailing hooves and flapping wings heading straight for him. The dark grey stallion panicked for just a split second; it seemed like whatever was going on was bound and determined to kill him today. Then he realized it was Scootaloo barreling towards him completely out of control. Springing to action he raced towards the struggling filly and tackled her mid air. “Oooof!” they both uttered as the wind was knocked out of them from the impact. Scootaloo flailed for a few more seconds while gasping for breath until she realized she was firmly in the hooves of Thunderlane. “Careful there kid,” chided the winded stallion, “you were almost as flat as a parasprite caught in Pinkie’s waffle iron. What’re you doin’ falling outta the sky like that?” The response came from behind Thunderlane rather than from the purple haired filly in his arms. “We was bakin’ a Sue Flay!” came the twangy voice of yet another infamous young pony of Ponyville. Thunderlane spun in the air to view the speaker who was lounging against the inverted window sill bold as you please, just watching Thunder like nothing was out of the ordinary. “A-a-applebloom,” he stammered, not quite believing her relative calmness in the face of being contained within an upside down flying fashion boutique. “What Is Going On Here?!” Applebloom’s reply was delayed by the shouting of the shop’s distraught owner as she continued to make her way up to the shop’s bottom floor. “Sweetie Belle, you put my shop back properly. Right! This! Instant!” As if summoned, the little white unicorn filly appeared in the window sill with her companion and took in the sight before her, “Oh Scootaloo, you’re alright!” Then looking at Applebloom, said with a blush of embarrassment, “I think maybe its time we got Twilight Sparkle...” Applebloom considered this for a moment until she heard the crash and curse of frustration come from the next room over, significantly closer than it had been before. Sensing the rapidly approaching doom of an irate Rarity, Applebloom nodded and replied, “Good idea, come on Scootaloo, lets go find Twilight.” Without a second thought the yellow pony jumped up onto the window ledge, lept onto one of the shops hanging banners and slid down until she could safely drop upon the head of the pony statue adorning the top of the town’s fountain. Sweetie Belle immediately followed suite and Thunderlane just hovered there, jaw dropped in astonishment at the Crusaders and their antics, until Scootaloo took advantage the opportunity and lithely struggled out of his grasp to flutter her way down safely to the ground. As Scootaloo was dashing after her cohorts she called back up to Thunderlane, “Hey thanks again Thunder, and if you see my helmet just leave it here with Rarity, we’ll be back in a little bit!” Helmet? Thought the highly confused Thunderlane. Where would I find her... BONK! His thoughts were interrupted by a little blue helmet hitting him squarely on the head. His vision went blurry for just a moment and he lost control of his flight. Wobbling, the pegasus unintentionally drifted towards the open window the two fillies had just vacated. At the same time as a furious mare was climbing up into the same window, huffing and gasping for breath. When Rarity looked up she had only a second to see the concussed pegasus careening towards her before she was knocked gracelessly back onto her flank. The stallion lay dazed and confused, and briefly the two looked like a Yin and Yang sprawled upon the ceiling turned floor; his dark coat contrasting with her lustrous white one. Disentangling himself Thunderlane stammered an apology to Rarity, blushing furiously with embarrassment and still a little concussed. “Oh don’t worry about it dahling, I just simply don’t know what I’m going to do though. My shop is a mess and completely upside down! I swear when Sweetie Belle and her little friends return they will be putting all of this back in order.” Thunderlane took a moment to look around the room, apparently he had entered into the kitchen, though it took him a moment to realize it with everything being the wrong way around. “Wha’s goin’ on heres,” inquired the woozy and slurring stallion, “Do youf neez afy helps, Warity?” Rarity looked at Thunderlane in concern, seeing he was obviously out of sorts, “Oh no no no dear, you look like you need more help than me right now. Let me get you an ice pack.” She began to open the freezer door while explaining what had happened. “That is positively the last time I agree to filly-sit those three, they create utter catastrophes wherever they go. I thought letting them make lunch would keep them out of too much trouble...” Without warning Thunderlane decided helping such a beautiful pair of mares like Rarity would be a good idea. He began flying up towards the freezer where Rarity was working to pull out an icepack for him, “No no, hair Rartea, let me get dat fur you,” he slurred. It was then that the oven timer went off with a DING!. ~o:0:o~ Outside the shop Carmine Rosa was returning, trotting up with an air of giddy excitement, a large barrel on her back, singing “Chocolate Milk! Chocolate Milk! Chocolate Milk for MEEEEE!” When all of a sudden a loud KABOOM! Was heard from the top of the overturned clothing shop. A piece of smoking shrapnel arced its way through the air straight for the gleeful earth pony who immediately ducked in terror and screamed. With a WOMF! Carmine felt something land heavily directly inside the barrel. Shakily she stood back up and looked over her shoulder to see what had landed in her container. Immediately she gasped in surprise and gave a squeal of delight before turning and skipping back the way she’d come. “Well,” she said to no one in particular, “it’s no chocolate rain, but instead I’ll gladly take a Thunderlane!”