Chapter 11: An Unexpected Visitor
A thick layer of sweat covered Applejack’s coat. She had been working in the hot sun all day bucking apple trees. She had cleared over a third of the orchard that day, a personal best for her. She had worked diligently since before day break. Applejack set her hooves back on the ground and wiped the sweat from her brow. She looked up and peered over the horizon, spotting a distant figure approaching.
Applejack went back to work and waited for the figure to come nearer. She continued to buck, knocking down several apples into the large bushels. The figure approached Applejack and she looked up, wiping the sweat from her eyes.
“Howdy there partner…The name’s Applejack, what can I do fer ya?”
The pony was covered in dirt and his mane was scraggly. He looked like he hadn’t showered in weeks, and smelt just as bad. He stared at Applejack and smiled with his patented cockiness, “Hello there, my name’s Lightning Bolt. I’m looking for Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow Dash sat in Sugarcube Corner, munching on a delicious chocolate cupcake. Across from her sat Speedster, munching on his own cupcake. The two had spent the entirety of two weeks together, catching up on old times and creating new memories. Rainbow Dash had forgotten how much fun Speedster was, and how much she missed him.
The two joked and laughed and conversed for hours, before finally paying for their cupcakes and leaving the bakery. They continued to walk around Ponyville, talking and playing. Rainbow Dash was enjoying herself, and so was Speedster.
“Man Speed, you’re so awesome!”
“Yeah I know.” Speedster joked. Speedster was enjoying every second of his time with Rainbow Dash. He had never told her this, but he has had a crush on her since they first met all the way back in Junior Speedsters. He hadn’t seen her in years, and that didn’t help out his love for her any.
“So Speed, wanna race? First one to the bridge wins!” Rainbow Dash quickly spread her wings and got into racing position.
“HA! You’re on Dash!” Speedster too got into position.
“Ready...Set…GO!” as her words left her mouth, both ponies shot off towards the bridge. Rainbow Dash easily took a handsome lead, but towards the end Speedster slowly began catching up. By the time the two reached the bridge, they were neck and neck. Rainbow Dash just narrowly won in the end.
“Jeez Speed, did you get faster since the last time we met?” Rainbow Dash huffed and puffed and wiped the bead of sweat off of her. She looked at Speedster and smiled
“Hehe, yeah I’ve been practicing flying, trying to get better so maybe I could be at your level…Guess I’m not quite there yet.” Speedster nervously laughed and rubbed the back of his head. He had spent his entire childhood trying to impress Rainbow Dash, pushing himself to the breaking point.
Rainbow Dash let out a loud laugh, “Sorry Speed, but nobody is at my level.” She said rather arrogantly, “Although, you have improved. Last time we flew you were all clumsy and crashed into things.”
It was true; Speedster was notorious for his clumsiness and inability to fly right. The other pegasii always poked fun at him for it. Speedster didn’t mind, he just continued to be himself and always tried to improve.
“Thanks Rainbow…” Speedster grinned his silly grin and rubbed the back of his head.
“So what now Speed? Whatcha wanna do now?”
“Oh…um…I don’t know, hadn’t planned anything out.” Speedster laughed. His goofy laugh was infectious and soon Rainbow Dash was laughing as well.
“BAHAHA!” Rainbow Dash looked up and stared at Speedster, “Well how about we go back to my place? We can just hang out here if you want.”
Speedster blushed a little bit and looked away, “Um…Yeah sure! Sounds like a great idea Rainbow Dash.”
“Alright then! How about a race to my place?” Before Speedster could respond, Rainbow Dash had bolted into the sky and flown off.
“Hey! No fair!” Speedster quickly flew off and followed Rainbow Dash.
After a short fly through the sky, the duo arrived at Rainbow Dash’s cloud home. Rainbow unlocked her door and pushed it open, before walking inside. “Welcome to my home!”
Speedster walked into the fluffy cloud house and took a look around. The walls were covered in Wonderbolt posters. “Still obsessed with the Wonderbolts I see.”
“Of course! The Wonderbolts are the greatest fliers ever, what’s not to obsess over?”
Speedster only laughed at this and rolled his eyes. He personally never was a big fan of the Wonderbolts, but he could see the appeal.
The two ponies lounged around Rainbow Dash’s house for a while, continuing talking, but Speedster was beginning to get tired from just talking. He began to feel that it was time to make his move, it had, after all, been two and a half weeks since they started hanging out. It was time, he felt Rainbow Dash was his marefriend, but he had to confirm it, and what better way to do that than with a kiss.
“Say Rainbow Dash…um…you look really pretty today…” Smooth Speedster.
“Thanks Speed, nice of you to say that.” Rainbow Dash smiled and Speedster blushed, his apparent lack of skill in talking to girls shined through like a neon sign.
“S-so Rainbow Dash, um…it certainly is late.”
“Oh yeah, I guess it is getting a bit late.”
“Yeah, guess you want me to leave, huh?”
“Nah it’s alright, you can stay later if ya want.”
The clock struck 11 PM, it certainly was late, but Speedster couldn’t leave just yet. He was on a mission to make Rainbow Dash his, he had waited far too long to just give up now. “So Rainbow Dash…remember back in Junior Speedsters how you always stood up for whenever the others bullied me?”
“Yeah of course, those ponies were jerks!”
“Yeah they were….So, you know how Gilda used to make fun of us for being so close? Saying we were dating?”
“Yeah? Where you going with this Speed?”
“W-well…She was right, I did like you, and I wanted you to be my marefriend.”
“Wait…what?”
“I wanted…want, you to be my marefriend.”
“A-are you asking me out Speed?”
“I guess so.”
Rainbow Dash stood shocked, this was the first time anyone had asked her to be their marefriend, even Lightning hadn’t actually asked her out. She wasn’t sure how to respdond. “I-I…”
Before she could answer, Speedster pressed his lips against hers. Rainbow Dash blushed and grew more shocked, but she didn’t pull away. She stood froze, not sure what to do…then, she regained control, and instead of pulling away, pushed herself into Speedster, deepening the kiss.
The two stood immobile, lips locked in combat, for several minutes. Finally they pulled away and looked at each other.
“I-I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, I just…”
“It’s okay Speed, I enjoyed it. You’re really good at that, where did ya learn?” Rainbow Dash laughed and poked Speedster.”
“Hehe…just…comes naturally I guess. So does this mean you’ll be my marefriend?”
“Slow down there Speed, I’m not exactly ready for a real relationship yet. I’ll have to think about it.”
“Oh, okay. Sounds good then,” Speedster smiled at Rainbow Dash and she returned the smile. “Guess I better be off.”
“See you later Speed, be safe. Thanks for the night.” Rainbow Dash gave him a quick peck on the cheek as he walked out. Speedster blushed and hurried off. Rainbow smiled, but she wasn’t happy. She felt conflicted, unsure how to feel. She felt happy because she had a potential coltfriend, but upset with herself for succumbing to the kiss, as if she had cheated on Lightning.
Rainbow Dash laid down on her soft, fluffy cloud bed and crawled under the covers. Why was she so upset? Not like her and Lightning were dating, it was just a thing that happened. Besides, no telling how many mares Lightning has had sex with before, as well as after, herself. He was, after all, a notorious marenizer, and probably held no real feelings for Rainbow Dash. So why did these feelings persist?
Rainbow Dash couldn’t understand, so with thoughts of the kiss and thoughts of Lightning and Speedster all jumbled in her head, Rainbow Dash fell asleep.
Lightning trotted through Ponyville, having asked Applejack where Rainbow Dash was proved to be fruitless, as she didn’t know where Dash had gotten off to. It didn’t bother Lightning any, he just kept trotting along, safe in the knowledge that he’d find her eventually.
Lightning trotted through the small town, looking for any signs of Rainbow Dash. He asked everyone he met, but surprisingly, nobody knew where she was, a few people said they had seen her and another pony at Sugarcube Corner. So that’s where Lightning decided to look. He went off, but soon realized he had no idea where Sugarcube Corner even was, and he felt foolish asking for directions from the same ponies over and over. So he kept his mouth shut and continued his journey. He figured with a name like Sugarcube Corner, that it’d be a pastry shop of some kind, so he looked for the sweetest looking building he could find.
Lightning had been through hell and back on his journey to Ponyville. It had taken all of what little money he had, and all his food reserves. He hitchhiked, stowed away on trains and balloons, and simply walked, anything to reach this town. He avoided pony eating monsters, dangerous trails, and homicidal ponies who wanted his skin for a full body suit, it took him two and a half weeks and all his strength, and he was tired, hungry, and dirty, but he had made it. He felt a renewed sense of strength as he looked around Ponyville, taking in the simplistic beauty and fresh, countryside air.
Finally Lightning spotted a cupcake shaped building, “That has to be it.” Lightning said to himself. He trotted along and went inside. He looked around and saw the walls looked like they were made of gingerbread. Delicious pastries sat behind the counter. Lightning’s mouth began to water as the aroma of the building hit him.
“Hi! Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, my name is Pinkie Pie! How can I help you?” A bright pink pony stood behind the counter, she seemed friendly enough.
“Hello, my name is Lightning, I’m looking for a Pegasus named Rainbow Dash.”
“Oh Rainbow Dash? Lightning?” Pinkie gasped and her eyes bulged out slightly. “You must be Rainbow Dash’s coltfriend! Wow I didn’t think I’d actually get to meet you!”
“Her c-coltfriend?” Lightning blushed a bright red. Had Rainbow Dash thought they were dating? This lifted Lightning’s spirits greatly. “Yeah I suppose I am.”
“Well it’s so nice to meet you! I’ll have to throw you a welcome to Ponyville party! Oh oh oh , and a Congratulations on Dating my Best Friend party.”
“Th-there’s a party for that?”
“Well duh! There’s a party for everything silly.”
“Righteous!” Lightning laughed, he really liked this pony, she was so fun. “So anyways, have you seen Dashie?”
“Dash…? Oh yeah, she was in here earlier, she was with another pony, a friend of hers named Speedster.”
Lightning tilted his head confused, “Another pony? Speedster?”
“Yeah, an old friend of hers from Junior Speedsters, they’ve been hanging out since Dash got back from Las Pegasus.”
“Really now…And where are they now?”
“Oh they left awhile ago, I don’t know where they are now. Probably her home.”
“And where is that at?” Pinkie Pie gave Lightning very detailed directions to Rainbow Dash’s house, and even warned him of falling through clouds.
“Thanks Pinkie.” Lightning left. He wasn’t sure how he’d get into Dash’s home, but atleast he knew where it was. After a short walk Lightning found the large cloud home of Rainbow Dash, and began pondering how to get up there. After a few minutes of thinking, Lightning spotted a balloon ride and ran over. He paid the driver and floated up Rainbow Dash’s house and hopped off. “Hold here for a bit, I’ll be back.”
Lightning walked up to the house and knocked on the door. He waited, but no one answered. He knocked again, but no one answered. He checked the door, it was unlocked. He felt no one would mind, so he let himself in. He walked in and could hear two ponies talking; one was distinctly Rainbow Dash’s. He followed the voices through the house. He walked into one room and looked around. What he saw made his heart skip a beat. There in the middle of the room was Rainbow Dash and another Pegasus making out. Before Lightning could say or do anything, he ran outside on impulse. He hopped in the balloon and floated away. Just as he left he saw the other Pegasus walk out and take off flying. His heart sank, so Rainbow Dash didn’t wait for him. Had he taken too long? Was this his fault? Lightning couldn’t answer any of these questions; he just sat silently as the balloon slowly floated back down to the hard earth.
Upon reaching the ground, Lightning bolted out and began galloping away. He wasn’t sure where he was going, or even why he was running. He just kept going, and going. Soon Ponyville was nothing but a distant image on the horizon as Lightning kept galloping.
He finally stopped when his lungs and already aching muscles could take no more. He sat underneath a tree and looked around, he was in a large, intimidating forest, but that didn’t matter. He looked at the ground and began wondering what it was he had just witnessed. Was it really Rainbow Dash making out with another pony? How long have they been doing that? Did she really not have any feelings whatsoever for Lightning? Had she really just used him in Las Pegasus, not expecting him to come looking for her? Why did she do this to him? He thought she actually cared for him. Lightning couldn’t help it; he finally broke down and, for the first time since his mother’s funeral, began crying…