//------------------------------// // Chapter 4: Shark Tooth. // Story: Drowning in Love // by Silentpegasus //------------------------------// Chapter 4 Shark Tooth Wake was lying on his back in the park letting his fur soak up the sun’s rays warming his stomach. The stallion let out a yawn as he stretched his hooves. He looked over to his right to see Rainbow Dash trotting up to him without a bandage on her wing. “Sup dude?” She asked as she sat next to him. “Not much. Where’s your bandage?” He asked as he looked at her wing. “The doctor took it off to let it some air get in. I still can’t fly though.” She said with a grunt. “Just be patient.” “That’s what Twilight keeps telling me.” The mare groaned as she laid back against the grass. Wake opened one eye to see that the sun was reflecting off of the mare’s pristine cyan coat and vibrant Rainbow mane. Wake felt himself blush and turned his attention towards the sky. “So what do you do for fun?” She asked as she looked at the stallion. “I swim.” He said in a flat tone. “Is that all you ever do?” “I could say the same thing about you and flying.” He said as he looked at the mare who blushed. “Hey I do other things besides flying.” She exclaimed. “Like what?” “I read Daring Do.” She said in a proud tone. “She’s cool. I’m more for Colt Brown books.” He said with a shrug. “Never read them. Are they any good?” “You wouldn’t like it. Most of them are conspiracy novels.” He said as he laid his head against the grass. “What about you? Other than those things I mean.” “Training for the Wonderbolts.” “Interesting goal.” He said with a shrug. “Why? Have you ever seen them?” She asked. “Yeah. I met them.” The mare instantly jumped on top of him and shoved her face into his so that their noses were touching. “REALLY WHEN?” She asked with a wide grin on her face. The stallion put a hoof on her nose and pushed her off of him. “I won a contest a few years ago.” He said with a shrug. “Really nice ponies. They know how to party.” He said with a smile. “Awesome! I saw them at the Grand Galloping Gala.” “AJ said you guys caused quite the scene.” He said with a smug look on his face. The mare blushed in embarrassment. “You ever party?” “Not really. My cousin is a real party animal. I was the one that brought her home whenever she visited.” He said with a sigh. “So is that a yes?” She asked. “No. I just made sure she didn’t do anything she’d regret or I made sure that some stallion didn’t try anything funny.” “So you played body guard.” “Pretty much.” He said as he closed his eyes. The stallion dozed off and fell asleep in the sun. As he opened his eyes he was me with a wall of bright cyan fur and two magenta eyes staring at him. Wake noticed that the mare had a bright blush on her face and she quickly backed away. The stallion stared up at the sky to see a light blue and grey blob approach them. Thunderlane and Cloud Chaser landed in front of them with sly grins on their faces. “Well, look what we have here.” The mare said in a teasing tone. “Nice to see you finally interested in somepony Wake.” The statement caused the two Pegasi to blush profusely. “W-we’re just hanging out.” Dash exclaimed. Cloud Chaser giggled at the mares blushing cheeks. “Sure you are Dash.” The mare teased. Rainbow got turned around crossed her hooves and scoffed. Thunderlane pulled his mare friend back and whispered something to her. Wake looked at Rainbow who was sitting frowning with her fore hooves crossed over her chest. “Cloud and I were just going to Sugar Cube Corner for some lunch. You guys want in?” Thunder asked as he put a hoof around Clouds shoulders. “How bout it Rainbow?” Wake asked as he got to his hooves. “Fine.” She said with a grunt. Rainbow got up and walked with the other three Pegasi. The two mares walked ahead of the stallions and started to talk amongst themselves. Thunderlane turned towards Wake who was looking straight ahead. “So...you and Rainbow eh?” He asked with a smug grin strewn across his face. Wake shot him a look that could kill a manticore. “No, we’re just friends.” “Alright calm down. I’m just busting. There’s still something you should make note of.” He said as he raised a hoof. “What?” “Nah, you don’t want to know.” He said with a grin. “What? Tell me!” He said as he looked at the stallion. “Okay fine.” He said as she turned wake’s head towards the cyan mare. “Dat Ass.” He whispered in a serious tone. Wake blushed and managed to stop his wings from rising. Unfortunately not enough for Thunderlane not to notice. “AH! So you are into mares.” Wake backed away and deadpanned the stallion. “I already told you that.” He said in a flat tone. “Just making sure you were telling the truth.” He said with a chuckle. Wake slugged him in the side causing him to grunt in pain. “OW!” “You deserved that one.” Wake said as the four ponies made their way into the bakery. They grabbed a booth and sat down. Thunderlane sat next to his mare friend as Wake sat next to Rainbow. The group ordered some food and started to chat. Wake noticed that several mares in the room were eying him up and giggling to one another. Wake ignored them and focused on the sandwich he ordered. Rainbow waved her hoof in the air to the orange farmer who had stepped through the door. “Howdy y’all.” She said with a smile. “Hey AJ.” Wake said with a smile. “What brings you into town?” Thunderlane asked. “Making an apple delivery for Pinkie. She needs to make a whole mess of pies.” She said as she sat down. “What about you?” “Just chatting.” Cloud said with a smile. “How’s your wing Rainbow?” The farmer asked as she looked at her friend. “A little better. I still can’t fly though.” She said with a groan. “When is Braeburn going back to Appaloosa?” “Next week. Why?” “I am this close to loosing it.” She said as she held her front hooves less than an inch away from each other. “If I hear the name Starswirl the Bearded one more time. I’m going to shove a book down Twilight’s throat.” She said as she slammed her hooves on the table. The ponies looked at her and let out a sigh. “Why not just tell Twilight to tone it down?” Wake suggested. “You think I haven’t tried? She said that culture is good for me.” She said as she stuck her tongue out and laid her head on the table. Wake rolled his eye and started playing with his necklace. Rainbow perked her head up and was about to say something when a Pegasus mare wearing a bow in her mane trotted up to them. The mare looked strikingly similar to Cloud Chaser “Hey sis.” The mare said with a smile as she hugged the other mare. “Oh right, Wake this is my twin sister Flitter.” Cloud said with a smile. “Sup?” Rainbow said as she waved a hoof. “Howdy.” AJ said as she tipped her hat. “Hi.” Wake said paying little attention. The Pegasus mare with the red bow blushed and giggled to herself. He noticed that Rainbow was staring at him. “Need something Rainbow?” “Where did you get that shark tooth?” She asked as she pointed to the pendant. “This?” He asked as he held it up. “He probably bought it.” Thunderlane suggested. “Wrong on that note. They dug this out of my side.” The orange mare who was sipping her water suddenly spat it out in surprise. “WHAT?” “Sheesh. Say it don’t spry it AJ.” Rainbow said as she handed her a napkin. “Are you telling me you got bit by a shark?” Thunderlane asked as he and the other mares leaned their heads in. “Yup. Take a look.” The blue stallion parted his fur in the right side of his body to reveal a series of scars that look like a massive bite mark. The ponies cringed back seeing the scar. “This was from the shark that tried to eat me.” He said as he held up the tooth. “What happened?” Rainbow asked clearly interested. “I don’t want to talk about it.” He said as he sipped his drink. “Oh come on! You can’t tell us something like that and then leave us hanging!” Thunderlane protested. “Fine I got bit by a shark and got away. The end.” He said in a flat tone. “How big was it?” “I didn’t stick around to find out.” He said in a rough tone. “How did you get away?” Rainbow asked. “I landed a few lucky shot’s in it’s eye, gill and nose.” The mares looked at him in shock. “You punched a shark in the face!” Cloud Chaser yelled. “I guess so.” He said with a shrug. “Why didn’t you tell us this sooner?” Rainbow said as she shook the stallion. “I don’t like to brag.” He said as he broke free from the mare’s onslaught. Wake looked around the room and saw that Flitter’s wings were standing at attention and was blushing profusely. “I’m heading out.” He said as he got to his hooves and walked out of the bakery with Rainbow and Applejack following close behind. “What?” He asked as he looked back at the mares. “C’mon tell us!” Rainbow begged. “Settle down Rainbow. He doesn’t want to talk bout it.” AJ said as she put a hoof on her shoulder. “Oh please AJ. You’re as interested as I am.” She said as they followed the stallion into the library. “I’ll admit it’a amazing but we can’t force something like that out of him.” “What’s amazing?” The ponies looked over to see Twilight, Fluttershy and Rarity sitting down in the library chairs. “Wake punched a shark in the face.” Rainbow blurted out. The mares looked at him with their jaws hanging low as the blue stallion face hoofed. “Really?” Twilight asked. “Look, I really don’t want to talk about it.” He said in an annoyed tone. “Oh come on! How bad could it be? You have to tell us something.” Rainbow whined. The stallion cracked his jaw and looked at the mare with an angry expression on his face. “Fine. Imagine a ten foot behemoth fish with hundreds of razor sharp teeth ripping you apart and thrashing you around in the water like a rag doll.” The mares instantly gulped at the words. The stallion took a few steps closer to the mare forcing her back against a book shelf. “Then if things weren’t bad enough IF you get free you have another problem; the blood slowly bleeding out of you is attracting a few other sharks towards you.” “O-okay I get it and-” “Oh no. You wanted to know so I’m telling you.” He said in a rough tone. “The only thing you see is their dorsal fin just below the surface. As it closes in it vanishes. You don’t know where it’s coming from, but in the back of your mind you know it’s there. Watching, waiting for the right moment to strike.” All the color from Rainbow’s face was suddenly drained away. “You know, a sharks eyes are jet black. Up until they bite you. Then they roll over white and they get that scent of their prey’s blood in their mouth and then-” “WAKE! THAT’S ENOUGH!” Twilight yelled. Wake looked at the mare with a blank expression on his face. “You’ve made your point.” Wake looked at Rainbow who was snow shaking in fear. “Sorry.” He said in a flat tone. “I don’t like it when ponies ask me about it.” He said as he trotted over to the book shelf and withdrew a book. “For further info consult this book.” He said as he threw the book on the table and trotted out of the library. The mares all looked at one another and let out a sigh. Applejack looked at the cyan Pegasus who was still shaking. The mare put a hoof on her friends shoulder. “You okay Rainbow?” “I-I shouldn’t have pestered him about it.” She said as she regained her composure. “Sounds like quite the ordeal.” Rarity said in a low tone. “Well, yeah. We’re talking about a shark. They’re one of the most dangerous animals in the sea.” Twilight said as she levitated the book in front of her. “I should probably go apologize.” Rainbow said in a weak tone. “Want us to come with you sugar cube?” Applejack asked. “No. I gotta do this on my own.” She said as she trotted out the door. She looked towards the sky and saw that several storm clouds were coming into view. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wake walked inside his home as it started to downpour. The stallion grabbed an orange plastic bottle filled with a few pills. He popped one in his mouth and made his way down to the pool. Wake went to a cabinet and withdrew an odd looking mouth guard. The stallion dove into the far end of the pool. He swam down to the bottom of the pool to see a small statue of a sea turtle at the bottom. Wake let out a breath and watched as the bubbles rose to the surface. He sat on the floor of the pool and let out another breath of bubbles.A light flashed on the side of the pool signaling that somepony was ringing the door bell. Wake quickly swam to the surface and threw a towel over his wet body. He walked through his home and looked through the peep hole and frowned as he saw the soaking wet cyan mare with a sorrowful look on her face. “Wake are you in there?” She asked as she rang the door bell again. Wake remained still and silent. “Look, I just want to say that I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed you like that.” She said in a sincere tone. As the mare turned to walk away the door to the stallions door opened to reveal the blue stallion with a blank expression on his face. “Wake I-” “I heard.” He said in a flat tone. The mare hung her head in shame.Rainbow then wrapped her front hooves around the stallion and let a tear roll down her cheek. “I’m really, really sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed you like that.” She said as she rested her head against his shoulder. Wake felt his face heating up from the motion and returned the gesture. The stallion looked up and saw that the rain was increasing. “C’mon let’s get inside.” He said as he broke the embrace. The mare nodded and followed him inside as she smiled and wiped the tears away. She walked inside as the stallion threw her a towel. The mare smiled and dried herself off. The stallion walked over to the couch and sat on it as he switched on the television. The mare put the towel down and sat next to him. “So....are we cool?” She asked in a hesitant tone. The stallion let out a sigh and looked at the mare. “Yeah I guess so.” Rainbow gave him a weak smile and looked out the window. “Man it’s really picking up out there.” “I heard that we were due for a massive storm.” He said as he flipped through the channels. “What should we do?” Rainbow asked. “I don’t know. Watch a movie?” He said with a shrug. “Sounds good to me.” She said as she got to her hooves. “Where do you keep the popcorn?” “Top shelf of the pantry.” He said as he looked through his movies. “Ever seen Colt Bond: Falling Sky?” “No, I heard it got good reviews though.” She said as she put the bag in the microwave. The mare sat down next to him as he put the disk in the player. He went through the menu and selected the film. He heard the microwave go off and grabbed the bag of hot popcorn. He picked up the remote and pressed play. Halfway through the movie Wake noticed that the cyan mare had rested her head on his right shoulder and was half asleep. A half hour later she was out cold. As the credit’s rolled the stallion felt himself slipping into sleep and crashed on the couch. He maneuvered Rainbow’s body so that her head was on the other side of the furniture and threw a blanket on her. Wake grabbed one for himself and took the other end of the couch. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rainbow found herself flying through the sky past a large number of different colored clouds. After she did a backflip in the air, her eyes fell upon a lone light blue cloud. She cocked her head in intrigue and landed on top of it. Unlike the other clouds which were cold a fluffy. This one was slightly warm and firm with a soft outer shell. The mare laid down on it and let out a sigh of comfort. She nuzzled her head in the firm cloud and let out another sigh. “Sure don’t make clouds like this anymore.” Rainbow said with a smile. Suddenly something else caught her attention. The smell that was coming from the cloud. “Smells like the ocean breeze and..*Sniff Sniff*..chlorine?” She said as she scratched her chin with her hoof. The mare let it go and rolled on her stomach. Dash wrapped her hooves around the cloud and nuzzled the cloud again. As she rested her head against the light blue surface she felt a faint pulse move through the cloud. She concentrated and felt the pulse move through her body relaxing her aching joints and wings. “Um.....Rainbow?” A voice said from the great beyond. “I think you should get up.” “Mph...Five more minutes.” She said aloud in a comforted tone. “Rainbow....wake up.” The voice said in a nervous tone. The mare’s eyes snapped open as the dream collapsed. She looked up to see the blue stallion with a bright blush on his face. Rainbow then realized that she had all four hooves wrapped around his well toned chest and stomach. Dash then noticed the small drool trail where her head once lain. “GAH!” Dash yelled as she practically flew off him. As the stallion sat up Rainbow noticed that both his and her wings were standing at attention. The mare blushed furiously and was still as a statue. Wake looked out the window to see that the sun was shining brightly through his window and almost blinding him. He raised a hoof shielding his eyes just enough to see the cyan mare’s cheeks turn scarlet red as she tried to force her wings down. “I’ll.....um....gonna go......um...take a shower. Help yourself to some breakfast.” The stallion said as he zoomed out of the room and barged into the bathroom. A very cold, cold, cold shower. He thought as he turned the shower on and let the freezing water muffle his wing arousal. Back downstairs, Rainbow stood still for a moment processing what just happened. She quickly collected herself and walked into the kitchen. She pulled out a box of cereal and filled the bowl with the flakes and milk. She started to eat the food with gusto as her mind tried to piece together what happened the previous night. Okay calm down. Think. I apologized to him.....we watched a movie.....I must have fallen asleep on him. She thought as she face hoofed. At least he’s cute. He’s probably not interested in somepony like me. You never know. She argued with herself as she heard hoof steps come from the stairs. The blue stallion gulped as he entered the room and sat down across from the mare. A long awkward silence fell between the two as they ate their meal. Rainbow got to her hooves and put her dishes in the sink. “So um.......I’ll see you around.” She said in a nervous tone. “Totally.” He said as he adverted his eyes. The mare quickly trotted out the door and made her way back towards the library.