//------------------------------// // A Talk Under the Tree // Story: Collab Cage Mini-Monthly April -- Pitter Patter, Splatter Splash // by The Collab Cage //------------------------------// Written by: Therizzen “Well, this wasn’t part of the plan.” Twilight was barely audible over the pouring rain as it crashed into the leaves overhead.  With an ocean soaked into her fur, Rainbow Dash snorted as she shook her body, jostling the waves loose.  She scowled up at the sky through the little holes in between branches. “We should’ve left sooner,” she said. Twilight nodded, and the action sent beads flying to the ground.  “Sure, we could have,  and we were going to, but then a certain someone spied the team leaving and scrambled to get all the autographs she could carry.” Rainbow Dash unconsciously shifted her souvenir heavy saddle bag and tossed the unicorn a baleful glance.  “Hey, in my defense, it was the Wonderbolts.” “But that’s a terrible defense.” The pegasus sighed.  “Yeah, it is.”  She plopped down onto her haunches, leaning against the rough tree as she slipped the bag off her back.  It made a squelching noise as it landed.  “Not that it matters anyway, they’re probably all wet and soggy by now.” Rainbow took a hoof and rummaged through the pack.  Pulling out a limp, white poster she gingerly unraveled it, hoping the damage wasn’t too catastrophic.  Her ears drooped.  Webs of black ink spun down the Wonderbolt’s chipper face, and his trademark smile was tainted by an ugly smudge.  It fell to the condemning ground with a groan, and in an instant the wind swept by and plucked it up.  Within moments it was consumed by the hungry forest, lost forever.  Rainbow didn’t watch it go. Twilight sat down beside the flyer, her own mane dripping onto the damp grass.  She nudged her friend’s shoulder. “Hey, cheer up.  It’s not like you don’t have plenty already.  You’ll get some more next time.” Rainbow lifted her head, looking into her friend’s eyes.  With a shiver she noticed it made her think of the rain. How unfortunate. “I know,” she said.  “I’m just kinda bummed.  Today was awesome.  But this?”  She gestured at the deluge around them.  “Not so much.” As the rain tumbled out of the sky, leaking through the canopy above and dappling their already soaked coats, Twilight smiled. “Good.” Rainbow balked.  “Good?” “Yes, good.  I’m glad that you had fun.” “Oh...”  She chose to ignore Twilight’s smirk and rolling eyes.  Instead, she ran a hoof through her sodden hair and nodded.  “Thanks for that, by the way.  Usually I treat you guys to a show.  It’s a... cool, the other way around.” Twilight smiled, and in the gloomy haze, it seemed so bright.  “You’re welcome.” They both let the silence slip in, choosing to listen to the oddly symphonic sound of crying clouds.  It was almost calming, and Rainbow found herself thinking that, while sitting under this tree was downright dreary, it had been a good day.  And how couldn’t it have been?  She had gotten to see the Wonderbolts.  Spent the rest of her time wandering around Canterlot.  And, smiling at her friend, she had had good company. A good day indeed. A stray thought jumped into her head, though, as she saw a leaf fall away from the tree and seat itself on Twilight’s horn.  She furrowed her brow. “Hey, Twilight.” “Yes?” “Why aren’t you using your magic?” She quirked one of her eyebrows and looked around.  “On what?” “Oh, I dunno, maybe the rain?”  As if it wasn’t obvious. Twilight frowned at the pegasus, and then up at the roiling clouds.  Her tail twitched.  “I don’t think that would be very wise.” As the wind growled, it was Dash’s turn to look bemused.  “Why’s that?” Sweeping her tail side to side, Twilight fidgeted, as if she was suddenly uncomfortable, and Rainbow cocked her head.  She was about to speak, but eventually the mare seemed to settle, almost complacent.  Almost.   “There are things unicorns aren’t meant to interfere with.” “Like the rain?” “More like the weather in general.” Rainbow huffed.  “Okay, you’re losing me now, Twi.” She grinned a small grin at that.  “Probably the melodrama,” she said.  She was about to continue speaking, but the wind picked up again, and the words were cut short by a fit of coughs.  Rasping coughs.  Rainbow Dash frowned.  The wind was chillier, the temperature dropping.  She hoped the rain let up soon. “Ugh, excuse me,”  Twilight began, sniffling.  “Where was I?” “Um, Twilight, are you okay?” Dash asked, concern seeping into her voice. Twilight waved her hoof dismissively.  “I’m fine, just a bit of a cold.  Now what--” “You were talking about unicorns and the weather.” “Right, right.  Okay.”  She sniffed again.  “Well, you remember what we were taught in school, about the Old Ages?” Grimacing, Rainbow racked her brain, trying to think back and sift through the years and the ponies and, eventually, the classes.  She had never been much of a history buff, preferring to sleep through the class and nettle one of her friends about it later, so she wasn’t entirely surprised when it came up nearly blank. “...Kinda?” "That’s what I figured.” “Hey!”  Rainbow threw her a hurt look, and Twilight had the decency to act apologetic.  She crossed her hooves.  “The chapter made for a good pillow...”  That caused Twilight to laugh.  And then cough.  And Rainbow found herself frowning again.  Was she shivering? It was faint, a small trembling of the shoulders, but it was there.  Without hesitation she sidled over and wrapped a wing around her troubled friend.  Twilight tensed at first, but she sank back into the warm feathers, and her shivering slowly abated. “Thanks,” she said with a small sigh, a crestfallen smile on her face.  “I was never much of a resilient child.” “It’s not a problem,” Dash said.  “Not a problem at all.”  There was silence again, save the constant rain,  and Rainbow let her thoughts fill the void.  She was used to the cold, she’d been flying in it for years, but not Twilight.  She had a wing, maybe a prayer, and that was it.  She had to get her mind of off it.  She needed a distraction, but what? The answer was obvious, really.  Twilight loved to talk, to discuss and teach, and it seemed to warm her up.  And so she decided that yes, they would talk, talk under the tree and the rain, and under her feathers Twilight would be safe  It would have to do, for it was all she had. Throwing on a smirk, Rainbow cleared her throat and spoke up.  “Are you ever going to finish this story?” Twilight snorted.  “At this rate, probably not.”  She spied Dash’s withering glance, and she straightened up a bit.  “But, point taken.”  Shifting in her seat, Twilight took a breath.  Rainbow had mixed feelings about that breath.  It sounded like the beginning of every lecture she had ever heard.  But she would bear it this time, just this once. It was worth it. She let it out.  “The Old Ages, right?  That’s when it happened, in the thick of the Great Pony War some two thousand years ago.  The pegasi had become embittered by the unicorn’s constant success on the battlefield, and their numbers were rapidly declining with every other engagement.  Duke Aveun, the pegasus monarch at the time, was furious.  They say he was literally tearing out his hair trying to find something, anything at all to aid them.  There wasn’t.”  Twilight paused, letting the words sink in.  Rainbow Dash blinked.  “That is, not until she died.” “Who?” Twilight glanced her way, a grim expression on her lips.  “His daughter.” The sky howled, and they jumped in fright.  In a cutting lash of wind, the tempest swung down at them, and Rainbow squeezed Twilight closer, using her own body to shield the ill mare.  When it was over, they sat with frazzled coats and disheveled manes, breathing heavily.  Raising her eyebrows, Rainbow noticed she felt more dry, less wet.  The rain was slowing.  She almost smiled.  It was stolen away as Twilight cleared her throat, covering a cough. “Well that was rude.” Dash chuckled, feeling lighter for some reason, happier.  “You can’t blame the wind, Twi.  It’s only doing its job.” Her mood faltered when Twilight didn’t respond.  Twilight was silently gazing at the dark sky, a thoughtful expression painted onto her face.  “I suppose that’s true,” she said.  “But then who receives the blame, who tells it what to do?” What?  Before Rainbow’s smile could spill into a frown, Twilight flicked her hoof, as if discarding the question. “Anyway, daughter, right?  She died?  Yes?  Okay.”  She spun her hooves, gesturing towards the sky.  “It was up there where they fought, high on the clouds.  She was being escorted by a detail of guards, making their way for the now fabled White Cloud hall.  The unicorns had been waiting, preparing an ambush.  The guards hadn’t expected it, who would?  Unicorns couldn’t fly, nor could they touch down on clouds.  At least, that’s what they thought.”  Twilight gave Rainbow a sad glance.  “As we’ve seen, they could. “They say it was supposed to be an easy mission:  Subdue and apprehend.  Completely routine.  Unfortunately, this was their first operation in the sky.  They didn’t know how the clouds worked, how they would crumble under prolonged weight.”  Twilight sniffed, taking a breath of the mist laden air.  “They had singled her out in an instant.  There was a stunning spell, she was hit, and they just... forgot about her.”   Rainbow Dash swallowed, glancing up at the calming clouds overhead.  The grey puffs were slowly swirling in the breeze, almost deceivingly docile.  She knew where this was going. An exhale grabbed her attention, and she looked back.  Twilight was speaking again. “She laid there on the cloud, paralysed as the two factions fought, unable to call out or receive help.  She couldn’t do anything as the white crumbled underneath her, and no one saw as she fell through the hole, spinning to the ground below.”  She sighed.  “A pegasus killed by the sky.  She couldn’t even scream as she fell.” The air cooed in her ear, and Rainbow shuddered this time.  It wasn’t because of the wind.  No pegasus deserved that.  No one did. “Of course, the duke was beside himself,”  Twilight began.  “A pegasus, his own daughter, attacked in her own sky?  It was inconceivable.  Unforgivable.  Thousands mourned that day, and when the night came he flew himself up to his tallest tower, rage burning in his chest, and he screamed.  He screamed at the sky, screamed of the atrocity, of the unicorns and their taint.  Screamed that it do something, anything to make up for this horrible loss...” She worked her mouth, but the words didn’t come.  She stood there, staring at the ground and the little green blades, lost in thought.  Eventually, Rainbow’s query enticed her to resurface. “What happened?” She sniffed again, running her hoof over her nose, and looked to the heavens one more time.  The droplets were coming down in the dozens now, the clouds were calm and quiet, and the wind was nestling into her hair like a friend.  It was peaceful.  It was perfect. It was not hers. “The sky listened.” The world whispered, and there was silence. With an explosive sigh Twilight stood up, dusting herself off with her damp tail. “Well, the rain’s stopped.  We better get going.” Rainbow’s heart skipped a beat.  “Wait... what?”  She got up in a flash, following her friend back to the road.  “That’s it?  What happened next?!”   Twilight chuckled, then she sneezed, and gladly snuck further into the wing Rainbow offered her.  “You don’t need to know everything right away.  Mysteries can be fun too,” she needled. “But you left it on a cliffhanger,” Dash moaned.  “Those suck.” “Aw, is my little bookworm in training sad?”  She grinned into Rainbow’s glower as she arched her hoof towards the forest.  “You can always look at the trees.  Applejack says their fun.” “We’ve been looking at trees for the past hour.  Story.  Now.” Twilight sighed as they reached the dirt path, and she shook her head, placing a hoof down and moving to the right.  Back home.  She couldn’t help but smile, though.  Sure, the developing cold would vex her to no end, but it was a good day. Somewhere, a bird sang,  and she nuzzled further into the warm feathers. A good day indeed. “Have you ever heard of curses, Rainbow?”