Guardians of Many Hues

by TadStone


Paving Uneven Paths (Cyan Guardian 2)

Paving Uneven Paths (Cyan Guardian 2)

Applejack wouldn’t have needed to worry. Well, she herself wouldn’t have needed to worry, as she probably had been the one more distressed, her mind working in overdrive during all of their tea drinking and shopping, painting all kinds of bad possible outcomes onto the empty canvas that was her imagination.

Scootaloo was on time. Not a minute too early, but also not late, as was to be expected by a pony who didn't know what was going to happen, and wasn't too eager to find out

Of course the filly couldn’t be sure of her good intentions and little did she know of the surprise ready and waiting for her, lovingly prepared by Rainbow for her number one fan and new protégé.

Keeping true to her name, Rainbow dashed over to the orange speck visible on the grassy hills below her cloud-mansion, speeding up with a few powerful wing beats sending dirt and loose blades of grass to her side. Keeping the little squirt waiting only meant she would have time to reconsider and leave. And that was something that was not going to happen.

“Hi there.” Rainbow mentally hit herself for the lame conversation starter, but it would have to do. A big smile was forming on her lips, as she tried to put on her friendliest face, which honestly wasn’t too hard.

Scootaloo on the other hand rather looked anxious, her voice was quivering as she verbalized the question perpetrating her mind:

“What do you plan to do with me now?” She made it sound if she was doll and Rainbow wanted to play with her.

“Only what you want to do. I promise nothing will happen that you don’t ask for. My plan was to fly you up and let you have your go at a giant serving of hay fries and apple pie. After that you might have a bath, play a game with me or take a flying lesson with Equestria’s fastest flier. And at the end of the day a warm and comfortable bed is waiting for you. If anything is bothering you, just tell me. If you want me to put you down on earth again, also just tell me and I’ll have you back down in a flash. I just want you to be safe and enjoy yourself. So whaddya say?”

Scootaloo didn’t move nor talk, chewing on her lips, she just remained in place, gears working furiously in her head. She didn’t really have a choice, did she? With fast moving pupils and nervous hooves, she timidly nodded in agreement.

“Then all aboard the Rainbow-Express.” Rainbow crouched low to the floor, gesturing for Scootaloo to get on, hitting the air as soon her passenger was secure on her back, and for once accelerating at under Mach speeds.

“Have you ever been on a cloud Squirt?”

There was no answer, only a low mumble.

“I’ll take that as no. You’ll like it, trust me.”

Rainbow landed softly, small puffs emanating from the cloud. She stood there and waited for the filly to get off, but nothing happened.

“Emmm ... you know ... we have landed. You can get off now.”

If Dash had known what would follow, she would have taken another approach. Strong vibrations traveled down her body, spine to hoof. The filly was moving, but not in the intended fashion.

Why did she always have to rush things? , Rainbow reprimanded herself. Small wonder the filly was scared, probably having spent all day in a constant state of fear about what was to come. Expecting her to jump at mystically solidified liquid hovering at excruciating heights for the first time in her life was far from being describable as empathetic and reasonable.

Rainbow took flight again as fast as possible, the little weight jumping off no sooner than her first hoof came into contact with the grass. The orange filly wasn’t visibly shaking anymore, but newly build up snot and tears clung to her face, the result of the ongoing sobs that had started somewhere along the way. Too many tears had already been shed today, but there seemed to be no end to them.

Dash went over the few steps with Scootaloo and draped a wing over the little filly.

“I guess we just need to take that a little slower. I know it can be intimidating be that high up in the sky on, well, just water.” It was lame attempt, and she knew it. No one had ever even heard of a pegasus afraid to stand on clouds before. That was the way Scootaloo would see it.

But, well, to the foal’s defense, nearly all pegasi would have had contact with clouds way before school age and Scootaloo hadn’t so far, so it was probably fine. The real problem was that the filly’s already broken self-confidence had taken another devastating blow. Some part of Rainbow’s heart broke as she saw her new protégé slowly creeping away, head held low and barely lifting her hooves off the cold green earth as if she feared to lose it again.

“You probably don’t think I’m cool anymore... It’s best I just go to the clubhouse. Bye, Rainbow.”

“Aww Scootaloo, please stay,” Rainbow began as she followed the other pony. “You know you are 20% cooler than anyone else I know, right? Nothing can ever change that.” She paused, letting air stream through her nostrils in a whine. Whatever it takes, she thought to herself. “If you decide to sleep at the clubhouse, I will sleep there as well. But for now, let’s just get you a test cloud down here, so you can see it’s safe. If you then still decide to stay down here, let me get at least the fries and the pie down here.”

Rainbow didn’t wait for an answer, but instead zoomed up, grabbed a thick cloud and placed it before Scootaloo’s front hooves in two seconds flat. A new personal record.

“Hop on, Scoots.” Rainbow got onto it herself first, making a great show of jumping up and down on it.

The filly was a bit more hesitant, probing the cloud carefully first. It felt very spongy, but also hard at the same time. There was no way to really describe it or anything she could compare it to. It just felt like... well, like a cloud.

Her front left hoof was the first limb to enter the white new wonder. Once she saw that it rested safe on the fluffy surface, the rest of her followed. It didn’t take long before the filly was happily bouncing up and down, using the springiness to gain the extra height needed to perform little stunts in the air. For once, and Dash hoped this would stay at least for the rest of the day, she seemed happy.

Rainbow flew up to the top of the parable of Scootaloo’s jumps and cheered her on with loud whoops for every new trick. Now I’m my number one fan’s number one fan, Dash mused to herself after a particularly cool manoeuvre. It was amazing to see how well the filly could control her body, especially her wings which served to balance every move. Why she wasn’t able to fly was beyond understanding and not a topic that needed to be addressed right now.

After half an hour or so, none of the two could really tell, the filly’s movement began to slow down, leaps tuning into small bounces, elaborate figures merging to no additional movement at all. Her companion took that as a sign to stop her altogether and catch her in mid-air with strong hooves.

“Squirt, how about I will take you up now. You must be hungry.”

“I really am!” The answers was accompanied by a loud growl of her stomach. “Right about time Dash.” The pegasi shared a heartfelt laugh as Rainbow took them to her home.

Rainbow’s house was a marvellous sight to behold, consisting of multiple storeys framed by classic cloud-pillars and a multitude of rainbows everywhere. This time Scootaloo could finally enjoy it and she began to wonder if the splendour was also present on the inside. It just didn’t fit into her mental image of her idol.

The flight stopped right before the door, still hovering a few inches of the cloud, Rainbow simply waited.

“Tell me when you are ready, Scoots,” she asked.

“I am, thank you!” was the immediate answer. The orange Pegasus felt herself slowly being place down, hind legs first. This cloud was at least as stable as the other one. She smiled, as did Dash, currently opening the door and gesturing the filly to get in.

The inside indeed differed vastly from the outer appearance. While the columns where still visible, everything was held in a simpler and more chaotic style. A corridor and the living room served as the same room, joined together without walls, their separation only showing in a broad set of stairs that led to the next level and gradually changing furniture.

Not that Rainbow owned many parts. Most of the room was left free, making for an open yet homely atmosphere together with the few choice pieces.

A big cloud sofa rested on the plain cloud-floor at the centre of the huge expanse, an even bigger Wonderbolt blanket casually thrown over it.

While most walls where adorned by posters from several rock bands and flight teams, one part seemed to be reserved for achievements only. Scootaloo didn’t even try to count the shimmering gold and silver medals neatly arranged next to a slightly smaller number of trophies. No trace of bronze was to be found.

Scootaloo nearly forgot she had legs while staring at all that glamour. Admiration expressed in petrification.

“Impressive, isn’t it? The kitchen and the food are over here.” The filly snapped out of her trance and followed the grinning cyan mare. Only now did she notice the door leading to... heaven. When Rainbow had said giant, she had really meant it. The bowl was bigger than a foal. And the pie next to it looked delicious as well. Unsure what to do, Scootaloo just stood there, drooling, looking for reassurance at the older pony.

“It’s all yours. Just go ahead.”

That was all it took and she quite literally jumped at the fries. This was the first time in weeks she would be able to eat to her heart’s content. Sure now and then there would be a sleepover, but even there she had to be careful not to raise any suspicions. But Dash knew. There was no need to hide her hunger that could not be satisfied by school dinner alone.

All the while Rainbow just sat and watched, only just now realising how starved the little filly must have been by her life on the street. It was lovely for once to see someone forgetting all manners.

In the end, not only half of the contents of the bowl where missing, but also half of the pie, and for the next hours to come, the world had one content and happy sleeping resident more . The surprise would have to wait until the next morning.


Scootaloo woke up like every day, when the first rays of Celestia’s sun began to wander over her, as being homeless was accompanied by having no alarm clock or parent to help in process, which meant developing other techniques not to be late for school. She had learned this the hard way by getting detention three weeks in row, only barely dodging Cheerilee’s attempts asking to schedule a parent-teacher conference.

On most days, waking up was a rather uncomfortable task for her, because it came with aching joints and muscles and therefore the realisation of how hard her makeshift bed had been. But today was different somehow. She felt light and refreshed for once, instead of cramped and miserable.

Somehow she seemed to have managed to find a very soft spot tonight. Good earth? A pile of leaves? She couldn’t remember going to sleep at all last night, but whatever it was, she had to find out and remember that one!

Opening her eyes, she found that she had to shield the eyes against the glaring light burning on her retinas. Only slowly the ability to perceive her surroundings came back to her, the image clearing up as time passed.

She hadn’t been sleeping on the ground, but rather in a cloud bed, a Wonderbolt blanket keeping her warm. Beside the bed stood a small nightstand, with a picture of her and Rainbow on it. She couldn’t even remember when it had been taken.

On the other side of the room was a desk, fresh notebooks, pencils and crayons accurately arranged on its light brown surface. The walls were plastered with posters of her favourite musicians, the Wonderbolts, several skating and scooting teams and an especially big one of Rainbow.

It somehow looked like this was her room, but that was not possible. She didn’t own a room. Maybe she was still asleep? The pain that engulfed her after slapping herself suggested otherwise.

Maybe she was dead? Just maybe in reality she couldn’t stand on clouds and Dash had dropped her yesterday. No, that wasn’t it, Dash would never drop her, but as the memory of the previous day came back to her, she realized where she was. At her idol’s home. However, she was still puzzled as to why Rainbow would have such a room. Dash didn’t have any siblings, did she?

There was only one way to find out: asking. With the momentum of a great morning, she peeled herself out of the sheets and walked outside into a small hallway connecting to two other compartments.

Curiosity got the best of her, as she carefully opened the first door and peaked inside. She had found her host’s bedroom, Daring Do books strewn all over the place. Twilight would not approve of that if she ever found out.

Not wanting to risk Dash’s wrath, she didn’t move any further, instead advancing to the next door, revealing a small bathroom: a fact she was very thankful for, just now realising how full her bladder was, pressing at her intestines.

Next to the toilet the room offered a large bathtub, providing enough space for at least two full grown ponies to enjoy it at the same time.

How water could stay in something made out of cloud was a complete mystery to the filly, but a lot of things were alien to her. She also didn’t want to know what had happened to her waste products after she had flushed them down. There are no sewers in the sky after all...

Feeling a lot lighter and finding herself out of rooms on this level, the next obvious choice was to follow down the set of stairs linking the different parts of the mansion.

The living room had remained the way she remembered it to be, with the exception of an alteration of the illumination, brought by the orange glow of the sun, and Tank soaring around in wide somewhat uncontrolled circles, bouncing against a wall now and then.

Rainbow’s pet turtle was no news to Scootaloo, since her idol had brought him to fan meetings before. The filly had always wondered if it would be possible to build a helicopter in her size. Pinkie sure seemed to have no troubles at all getting to the sky on her crazy devices. Maybe she should ask the pink pony sometime, but not now.

While her visual sense could not find a trace of Dash in this room either, her olfactory centre registered the sweet scent of apple pancakes wafting in from the kitchen, an invitation that could not be ignored or dismissed.

Only a few bounces later she found the delicious source: Rainbow stood in front of the stove, apparently too busy preparing breakfast to notice her.

Cooking was not a part of Dash’s usual repertoire, taking more time to prepare than could be redeemed by the slight increase in quality and decrease in price.

Yet Applejack had encouraged her to do so instead of just making coffee for the two of them as she had planned, a notion that her friend had commented on as being “a severe act of irresponsibility” and “unhealthy even for a grown mare”. That’s what brought her here, preparing pancakes for the second time in her life, the first time being yesterday with Applejack as her mentor.

Taking that into account combined with the unreal morning time, one would be tempted to state that they turned out quiet nice. Maybe a little black on parts, but still edible and smelling great. And she had enough of them by now, only losing a third in the progress. It was time to wake her little guest.

“Boo!”

Or obviously not. Ignoring her own embarrassingly girly screech, Dash turned around, playing it cool by offering the full plate as well as ruffling up the newcomer’s mane.

“Sleep well, Squirt?”

“Yes. Thank you so much.” The statement was supported by a small hug.

“And do you like your room?”

Tilting her head a few degrees, the orange filly looked into Rainbow’s eyes and answered by another question: “My room?” Her wings buzzed up for a few seconds as she spoke.

Dash wasn’t able to suppress a small chuckle.

“Yes, your room. Up until yesterday morning it was my guest room, but for now it’s yours and yours alone. I already got some stuff to make it nice for you, though I didn’t know what exactly you need. Just tell me if you miss something.”

Tears welled in the eyes of the foal. She had her answers, but couldn’t believe it.

“But why? Why are you wasting time and money on me?”

Rainbow got down on her knees, bringing their eyes to the same level.

“Because...” she spoke slowly, ensuring that her word were not just heard but well understood, “Because you’re worth it.”

An awkward silence engulfed the two mares before Dash continued.

“Now please stop crying. I can just feel I am getting mushy already. Want some pancakes before you go to school?”

“Yes. And thank you again.” She wiped her tears away with a hoof. “Can you fly me to the clubhouse before school? I hid all my stuff there yesterday.”

“No problem, Scoots, no problem. Just be back every day at six and everything will be fine.”