Chapter 11: Hard News
“I know you hate being alone, but this’ll just take a moment, OK?”
Rainbow was in her cloud home addressing Tank before parting. The little reptile could do just fine on his own, but with Rainbow’s constant work he was always left alone. The tortoise waited anxiously for the next week when her owner was going to enjoy her summer playing with him with no royal celebrations to prepare. Tank nodded reluctantly and hovered around the house to kill time as Rainbow flew away.
The cyan pegasus flew towards Ponyville with ease. It had been a rough day and the Summer Sun Celebration was in just four days ahead. The scheduled rain had been programmed for early in the morning, but wind conditions delayed it for a couple of hours. With a bit of time on her hooves, Rainbow had picked Tank from Fluttershy’s cottage in the evening as usual when she remembered she had a business to finish. She flew over the little town to avoid the water puddles that were still left and headed to hear the information she had asked. She fluttered down and knocked on the door. A muffled “coming!” was heard behind the wooden barrier.
“Oh. Hi Rainbow” —said a cheerful lavender mare. “What brings you here?”
—“Hi Twi. Remember the favor I asked you a couple of weeks ago?”
—“Oh! Right!” —said Twilight, her good memory reminding her of the events of one stormy evening. “Well, I think you’d be happy to know I found something.”
—“Really?!” —replied an excited Rainbow Dash.
—“Yes, although I must inform you that the information is scarce. But come in!”
Rainbow obliged and stepped inside the comfortable atmosphere of the library as Twilight approached her levitating a thick book.
“Now” —began Twilight Sparkle. “It says here that they’re mythological creatures. No one is sure they exist and very few claim to have seen them around tall places. I could only discover they have a high-pitched screech.
—A screech you say?
—Yeah, the sound they make is very particular. That and a powerful flap of wings. Few can actually hear them before they attack. They make a sound when they spot their prey, which is why sometimes they’re called “the steel organs” or “the demonic organs”. The only thing they appear to eat are elephants.”
—“Ele-what?”
—“Elephants. Have you ever gone to a circus?”
—“Yeah?”
—“Remember those big, gray quadruplets that stood on balls?”
—“Oooooohh!” —replied Rainbow Dash as realization hit her.
—“Yes. That’s about the only thing I could find.”
—“Well, thanks a lot, Twilight!”
—“My pleasure as always Dash—” —said Twilight as she was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door. Twilight left the book by a stand and went to answer the door. She opened the wooden entry again and before her stood a familiar orange mare. “Hi, Applejack!”
—“Howdy, Twi.”
—“Come in!”
—“Hey AJ!”
—“Rainbow? What in tarnation’re you doin’ here?”
—“Just gettin’ some business done.”
—“What brings you here, AJ?”
—“Well, ah need to tell ya somethin’.”
—“Really?”
—“Yeah. Ah won’t be able ta be with you on the weekend.”
—“That’s the day of the Summer Sun Celebration! Is something wrong?”
—“Ah need ta be in Cape Howl. Apple Family business.”
—“Oh… Well... Good luck.”
—“Thank ya Twi.”
—“Have you finished packin’, AJ?” —asked Rainbow Dash.
—“Ah’ll be done tomorrow.”
—“Wait” —interjected Twilight Sparkle. “You already knew?”
—“Since yesterday evening. I went to see why she was in her room so early. I can still see she’s a bit grumpy.”
—“Ha ha ha. Real funny. Anyway, ah gotta go. Ah need ta tell the others.”
—“Bye AJ.”
—“See ya, AJ.”
—“G’bye girls.”
Applejack turned around and left the library. Twilight then remembered her previous business and decided to continue.
—“So, is there anything else I can do, Rainbow?”
—“Um… No, I think that was it. Thanks Twi. See ya on Friday.”
—“Bye, Dash.”
Rainbow then flapped her wings and flew out from the same entrance Applejack had just walked out a few seconds ago.
“Hey, AJ!” —exclaimed, Rainbow.
—“Huh?”
—“Hi AJ. You ready for Cape Howl?”
—“No” —answered the orange earth pony coldly.
—“Hey. What’s wrong? Ever since you were told you’ve been really angry.”
—“Well, let’s just say ah’m not in tha mood.”
—“O-Kay? Well, what do you have planned after the Summer Sun Celebration?”
—“Nothin’ yet. Why?”
—“Well, I thought it’d be fun to hang out after months of work.”
—“Well ah don’t know, Dash.”
—“Aww, c’mon, AJ! You’re really tired. You really need something to get that load off of you.”
—“Well, thank ya sugarcube, ah’ll think it over.”
—“So where are you going now?”
—“Rarity’s. Then ah’ll go ta Fluttershy’s.”
—“Sounds good. Anyway, I’d like to chat, but—”
—“Rainbow Daaaaaaaaaash!” —exclaimed a high-pitched voice.
—“Oh, dear Celestia. No.”
—“What’s tha matter, sugarcube?”
—“I like her, don’t get me wrong, but I’m just not in the mood for her things, and you know how she can be, so if she gets me, there’s no escaping.”
—“Aww, c’mon Dash. Give the girl a chance.”
—“Ungh! I’d really like to, but—”
—“HI!”
—“GAH!” —exclaimed the two friends in unison.
—“Pinkie, where tha hay did ya come from?”
—“Well,” —started Pinkie. “I was born in a rock farm on the outskirts of—”
—“Ungh! Forget it, Pinkie. What do you want?”
—“Well, I thought it’d be great if we had some time together. Y’know… Pranks!”
—“Well, seems like ya don’t need me, sugarcube.”
—“No! Wait! AJ!”
—“C’mon, Dashie! I got a great idea!”
—“Ungh!”
One whoopee cushion, 30 meters of streamers, three helping hands and half a litter of invisible ink, Rainbow Dash was exhausted from playing pranks with Pinkie Pie. While she certainly did enjoy hanging out with the pink party pony, she was not in the mood for her. She did like her, but there were times she could not have the strength to tolerate her incessant babbling. Pinkie wasn’t an isolated case either. Rainbow had had bad moods with all of her friends before: Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, and even Applejack, the pony she could call her best friend. Sometimes she was not capable of being in the same room with the pony that Rainbow was “mad”. This was something natural, and she knew everypony did this one way or another. Hanging out with someone too much could do this to anyone, and this time, it was Pinkie’s turn to be annoying.
“And then— and then— she screamed! HA HA HA HA HA HA! Wasn’t it funny, Dashie?” —said Pinkie between gasps for air. She had been describing the last prank on full detail and had been laughing uncontrollably for the past half hour.
—“Yes, Pinkie. I know. I was there” —said a very tired and bored Rainbow Dash.
—“Oh. Well, we should do this again.” —said the pink mare with her voice almost a whisper.
—“Listen, Pinkie. I don’t know if that’s going to be possible” —said Rainbow in a serious tone, like a mother who speaks with her child.
—“Oh?”
—“Yeah. I got a lot of work to do and I don’t think we can hang out on some time” —half-lied the cyan pegasus.
Pinkie then squinted as if trying to see into Rainbow’s soul. Just as Dash started to feel she was about to be discovered, Pinkie returned to her cheerful grin and happily replied “OK!”. She then turned around and began another weird dance/kick ritual as she walked away whilst singing something about drunken lullabies.
Rainbow turned around and flew back home, her chance of talking Applejack out of her grumpiness completely ruined and her mane still with some streamers hanging loosely. She needed to get back home and wash up a bit after her prank streak. She reached her home, washed up and laid back on her cloud bed with Tank on her hooves.
—“*sigh* Why has this week been so tough, Tank?”
The tortoise just half-grinned as it crept its legs into its shell.
The evening light created an orange aura around Dash’s house as it reflected itself on the clouds. Dash could only think on the next day when the final drizzle would be delivered before the Summer Sun Celebration that Sunday. A long day was expecting her and she’d better get a good sleep or face the wrath of Cloudkicker.
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Applejack stood on the edge of the road. It was barely dawn and some hours of sleep on the carriage recovered a bit of the energy she lost after getting up at 5 A.M. The sun’s golden beams illuminated the beautiful landscape before her. But she was not here to enjoy herself. She was here for business.
The Everfree Forest expanded itself behind her. In front of her stood a beautiful little town with a gorgeous beach where lovers spent time together, and beyond that, the Amethyst Sea, with its rough waves perfect for surfing and sapphire-coloured waters that went perfect for a postcard picture. She had bid her friends goodbye one by one to let them know she was not going to be present on the Summer Sun Celebration with them due to some troubles she had, Rainbow being the only one who knew a bit more of the story. Her flying carriage had arrived for her at 5:30 A.M. and she barely had time to shower or eat, as if having nightmares wasn’t enough.
“Well, ah’m here.”