//------------------------------// // Rainbow's Friends // Story: Super Sonic Romance // by MegaTJ //------------------------------// Rainbow’s Friends Rainbow Dash lazily woke up the next morning. The sunlight was barely drifting through the clouds and into her room. She heaved a heavy yawn and forced herself up. “Ugh, mornings”, she grumbled. To wake herself up, she made her way over to an overhanging cloud shelf. She squeezed it hard to make rain drop onto her head. “Ah!” she cried, shuddering, “That’s cold! Cold rain!” She looked outside her window. The ground was covered in puddles and muddy spots. She shrugged, not giving it a second thought. That’s usually what happens after storms after all. Rainbow Dash flexed her wings and fluttered into the air. She flew down to the living room, but stopped at the corner. She heard movement in there and peeked around the wall to see Cloud doing pushups one-hoofed. His back was turned toward her. She stared at him. He looked even better than he did yesterday. She sighed, to her horror. “You know, it’s impolite to stare”, he called sarcastically. She blushed, not wanting to reply. It would be too embarrassing to try to argue with him. She hovered over to him. A boasting thought entered his mind. He smiled as he grunted, “Three hundred ninety-nine…four hundred.” He lifted up and took a few deep breaths. “Only four hundred?” Rainbow Dash teased, “Please, I can do that in my sleep.” “Who said I was awake?” he chuckled. Rainbow Dash’s heart did a summersault. “I made you breakfast. It’s in the kitchen. Enjoy.” “Okay, I don’t know whether that’s cool or creepy.” “I do it for all of my friends.” That twinge of hurt came back. “‘Friend’?” “Yeah, friends, that is what we are right?” “Y-yeah, friends, sure. Friends.” She turned away to hide her blush and disappointed expression. “OW!” Rainbow quickly turned around to see Cloud on the floor, writhing in pain. He was grasping his inner wings. Her heart kicked into overdrive. “Oh my gosh, you okay?!” He nodded. “Yeah, my wings are just really sore.” “Why?” “It’s probably because I was keeping you as dry as I could yesterday. I held my wings over you on our way here. They got heavy with the rain.” Rainbow Dash blushed. “Why did you do that? I can deal with getting wet.” “Even the Princess of Speed can’t stand up to a bad cold”, Cloud explained. Her heart jumped again and she smiled. Rubbing the back of her neck, she sheepishly said, “Thanks.” “Anytime. Now go and get breakfast.” he fake ordered. _______________________ “I wonder…” Cloud looked at the pictures Rainbow Dash kept on the living room shelf. He saw that she had many friends but not one picture captured her with a colt. There were pictures of plenty of them, but from what he could observe, none of them appeared to have any special relation to her. The Pegasus sighed. “Maybe this time I can get it right.” “Get what right?” He turned around to see that Rainbow Dash had been behind him the whole time. Now they were face to face. The two stood there, dumbstruck and dazed. Cloud took the moment to look at her carefully. He took in her every feature. He really liked her rainbow mane, but what really captured his attention were her eyes. He got so lost in that rosy red color. A warmth made its way to him. It was a nice warmth, different from anything he had ever felt. Rainbow Dash seized the moment. “You know it’s impolite to stare”, she commented. He smiled. “Sorry, it’s hard to stop looking at something so beautiful.” Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped. She had finally met her match. How could she win against a Pegasus that had no shame? And furthermore, he called her beautiful. For a full two minutes she stared at him. He rolled his eyes. Cloud gently used his hoof and pushed her mouth back into the appropriate position. “There. Now a fly won’t buzz inside”, he chuckled. She snapped back from her shock. “Did you mean it?” “Yeah, flies don’t taste very good”, he replied. Now Rainbow Dash was confused. She couldn’t tell if he had been sarcastic the whole time or if he really did mean it. “No, I-never mind”, she said, giving up. An idea popped into her head. At least it would get her mind off the situation. “Hey, why don’t you come and meet my friends?” Cloud thought for a moment. It would help him to find out if there was a...well, better let time figure that one out. He nodded. She rose into the air. “Okay, let’s go! I’ll race you to the library!” “Save the racing for later!” he called as she darted out. Cloud shook his head and left out after her. By the time he had entered the sun’s heat, Rainbow Dash had already flown out of sight. “I wonder how long it’ll take her to figure out that I have absolutely no clue where anything is in this town”, he wondered to himself. He shook his head sarcastically and jumped into the air. An unbearable pain shot through his wings when he tried flapping them. For an instant he was momentarily stunned, rendering him completely helpless as he fell. Through the pain, he managed to spread his wings and glide recklessly downwards until he came to a crashing stop into a mud puddle. “I’d rather get hit head on by Rainbow Dash a hundred times than go through that again”, he groaned. “So uncool…” A few agonizing seconds passed before he could push himself up. He thought about what Rainbow Dash would say when he told her the race was out of the question. He shrugged. “All well.” He couldn’t exactly help it. He shakily stood up and walked in a random direction, hoping it was the right way. He didn’t pass Rainbow Dash’s home while sightseeing the day before, so he didn’t know how to get to town from there. The walk was silent, and Cloud was finding it unnerving. He kept walking in a straight line in case he couldn’t find the town and had to turn back to wait on Rainbow Dash. For a while, nothing seemed to point to civilization, so he began to turn back. A magnificent chorus of chirps and tweets caused him to pause. He looked in the direction of the carol and saw dense a dense tree line with undergrowth. He marked the direction of the way back with some nearby twigs and walked over to the shrubs. He parted them and saw a beautiful cottage that was carved into a tree. There was a stream that flowed through the yard and under a small bridge. To Cloud it looked like a giant animal sanctuary. There were bird houses, nests, and burrows galore. To add to it, there were rabbits, birds, squirrels, and many other types of animals frolicking about. Cloud followed the singing to a tree where about twelve birds were whistling. A yellow Pegasus that was fluttering in front of the tree seemed to be conducting the music. “Now I’ll be able to get some directions”, Cloud said under his breath. He stumbled through the bushes and tripped out through them to the other side. The landing was not a soft one. “What else could go wrong?” he sighed. He picked himself up and walked over. “Excuse me.” The Pegasus jumped, and hesitantly turned. He only got a quick glance of her face. “IEEEEEEEE!” she screamed. Before Cloud could say a word, the Pegasus had dashed into her home. The door slammed shut as well as every window. All of the animals had either scurried or flown away. “Sorry if I scared you!” Cloud called, “I was just looking for directions to town!” There was no answer from inside. Cloud sighed. Another false turn. He looked into the stream as if seeking help from his reflection and couldn’t believe what his eyes told him. Neither could he suppress his laughter. He was covered from head to tail in leaves, vines, and mud. Thinking back he now knew why he scared the Pegasus. The mud he crashed into mad the vines and leaves stick to him after he stumbled through the bushes. The combined elements made him look like some kind of forest troll. He kept laughing until it hurt. Cloud moved away from the stream and shook off as much of the muck as he could. He looked back toward the cottage. “Hey! I’m sorry for scaring you! I didn’t know I was covered in all that stuff!” Cloud waited for a reply, or at least some movement. Three minutes passed before he decided to leave. He walked back toward the bushes he had staggered through. “Oh, there you are!” Cloud smiled and turned to greet the blue Pegasus. Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves. She didn’t look very happy. “Let me guess”, Cloud said, “I’m toast.” “Extra crispy” she added. Cloud braced himself, here came the earful. “Do you know exactly how long I waited for you to get to the library?!” she exclaimed. “I started to think that you flew into a tree or something!” He gave her an amused look. “I take it you were worried about me?” That hushed her. “Rainbow Dash”, he chuckled, “You know I’m not from around here. I don’t have the slightest clue where the library is. And even if I did, you shouldn’t have taken off like that, I almost got hurt real bad trying to fly after you. My wings are so sore I can’t fly straight.” Rainbow Dash landed next to him and guiltily sighed. “I’m sorry.” “For what? I would have done the same thing. We’re both air-headed”, he grinned. She brightened up. “What are you doing here, anyway?” “I came to ask the Pegasus that lives here for directions into town, but ended up scaring the feathers off her. Now that you’re here I don’t need directions, but I would like to apologize ya know.” “You’re in luck, she’s my friend.” “Really?” “Uh-huh.” She flew up to the door and knocked. Cloud couldn’t hear what she was saying, but whatever it was it was coaxing the shy Pegasus out. Rainbow Dash kept whispering to her until she was standing in front of him. He softly offered her his hoof. “I’m Cloud”, he said politely, “Rain Cloud.” Fluttershy looked at his hoof and shyly turned her face away. She whispered something, but it was so quiet he couldn’t tell what it was. He knew how to handle this. Looking around, he spied a little patch of daffodils. While he made his way over to it, Rainbow Dash was trying to explain that Cloud was her friend and only wanted to meet and apologize to her. “Come on, Fluttershy, Cloud’s a nice guy. He won’t hurt you”, she said. “I don’t know, he seems too…” Fluttershy struggled for the right words. Cloud returned with a daffodil in his mouth. Carefully, he put it behind Fluttershy’s ear. Rainbow Dash was surprised he even got near her without her flipping out. “There, that’ll help”, Cloud said. Fluttershy looked to Rainbow Dash helplessly. She only gave her the “I told you so” look. Fluttershy turned to look at Cloud again. She blushed. “Thank you. I really like daffodils.” Cloud nodded. “Me too.” He held out his hoof again. This time, she gingerly grasped it and shook gently. “I’m Fluttershy. It’s nice to meet you Cloud.” “Same here.” “Fluttershy, we’re going to the library so Cloud can meet Twilight. Wanna come with?” Fluttershy shook her head, “Oh, no, I’m afraid I still have to take care of the animals here. I may go there later though.” “Okay. See ya later Fluttershy.” “Goodbye.” Cloud simply nodded. He never liked to say “goodbye”. Rainbow Dash flew next him as they walked. “So, how long are your wings going to be hurt?” “I don’t know. They’ve never been this sore before.” “They better be okay before our race. I won’t show any mercy.” Cloud sighed. “I know you won’t, but I gotta tell you some bad news. The race isn’t going to happen today. At least not by noon. I’m too hurt for that. Sorry.” Rainbow Dash dropped and walked beside him. He himself was looking down. “All well, I really didn’t feel like beating you today anyway. It’s way better to have an audience.” Cloud cracked a smile. “Thanks.” He ruffled her mane, which earned him a hard push from Rainbow Dash. The rest of the way into Ponyville was filled with playful jokes and pranks. They were laughing very hard as they passed over the entrance bridge. “Well, howdy there Rainbow Dash!” They turned around to see Applejack carrying two baskets of apples. She crossed the short distance to them. “Hey, Applejack.” Applejack looked at Cloud and immediately recognized him as a newcomer. She energetically grabbed and shook Cloud’s hoof. “Hah Ah’m Applejack, welcome to Ponyville, stranger! Ah just love makin’ new friends. What’s yer name?” “This is Cloud.” Rainbow Dash introduced, “Cloud, this is Applejack, the most athletic pony around!” “Aww, shucks, yer too nice.” “It’s awesome to meetcha , Applejack”, Cloud said, having finally stopped his still shaking hoof. “You too.” She turned to Dash. “Ah’m headed over to Twilight’s for a bit. She asked me to bring some apples for an experimental thingy.” “Hey, we’re going over there too!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Ah guess it’s a good thing Ah brought extra apples then. Ah’ll be there ‘til after lunchtime.” The three continued walked to the library together. Cloud and Applejack seemed to really like each other’s company. A sour taste formed in Rainbow’s mouth. She didn’t know what it was, but she didn’t like it. “So, uh, what do y’all do fer a livin’ Cloud?” Applejack asked. He shrugged “I don’t really have a job job. I’m mainly the muscle around my town, so I help out anypony that can’t handle a something alone. I usually just help out with weather control and stuff like that”, Cloud explained. “I get money from the mayor, who has recognized what a Good Samaritan I am. That and she’s really good friends with me.” “What do y’all have fer family?” “I live with my baby sister and twin brothers. Mom's usually away on business.” Rainbow Dash’s ears perked up. She forgot all about her feelings. “What about your dad? Ya know, the King of Speed?” Cloud remained silent for a few seconds. “I don’t like talking about it.” Rainbow Dash felt her heart plummet. She didn’t mean to make him feel bad. “What about you Applejack, do you have any family?” “Ah sure do! There’s me, Big Macintosh, Applebloom, Granny Smith…” Cloud stared in awe as he listened to the countless names of the Apple family. It was huge! When she finished, Cloud’s head was spinning trying to comprehend a number so high. “And that’s everypony in mah family”, Applejack finished, “Say, what are the names of your brothers and sister?” “Oh, well, there’s little Sprinkle, she’s the youngest. We usually call her Breezy, because she likes the wind and is really quiet. Then there’s Gale, he’s the older twin. He’s the troublemaker. He can’t go a day without getting in trouble. The younger twin’s name is Gust. He’s more peaceful and smarter than Gale, but he likes to show off. Heh, they’re both showoffs. “Sounds like they take after their big brother perfectly.” Cloud rolled his eyes at Rainbow Dash’s poor taunt. “Please, if I wanted to showoff I would be flying circles around you right now.” “I thought your wings were sore”, she remarked “Exactly.” They both gave the other a challenging smile. “We’re here!” Applejack announced, stopping the standoff. Cloud looked up at the large library. This was made from a tree as well. Applejack gave the door a few hefty knocks. “Twilight, Ah’m here! Ah got the apples you wanted!” The door opened, revealing the lavender Unicorn. “Ahh, I’ve been waiting for you forever.” “Sorry, Ah got a lil’ occupied”, Applejack apologized. She motioned to Rainbow Dash and Cloud, who were busy trying to get the other in a headlock. “Rainbow Dash, what are you doing?” Twilight asked. They stopped, dead wrestle to look at her. Rainbow Dash smiled innocently. “It’s his fault.” “Yeah, okay, blame the one being attacked. Nice.” Cloud countered. Twilight looked at him, noticing him for the first time. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you around here before. What’s your name?” “I’m Cloud, Rain Cloud. I ran into Rainbow Dash yesterday, literally, and she’s taking me around to see the sights and meet her friends”, he answered. Rainbow Dash playfully punched him in the shoulder. Twilight rolled her eyes. “Come in, but please, don’t break anything.” “I’ll try my best”, Cloud snickered. As he passed her, he bumped his wing on the door frame. The Pegasus yelped in pain. “Oh, my, are you okay?” Twilight asked. He nodded, rubbing away the pain. “He hurt his wings helping me out yesterday. Anything you can do to help?” Rainbow Dash explained. “Ah have an old family remedy that’ll clear that right up!” Applejack declared. “I don’t think that will be necessary, Applejack. I have something already prepared that will help you, Cloud.” Twilight said, remembering just what Applejack’s remedy consisted of. She cringed at the thought. “No, I’m fine, I’ll be okay, in a few da-” Cloud started. “Nonsense, I can make you feel better in a few minutes. It’s no trouble at all”, Twilight interrupted. He shrugged. “Okay, since you insist.” Rainbow Dash fluttered in behind them, filled with hope. If Twilight could help, then the race was back on! “Okay, you just sit right here and I’ll be back with that medicine”, Twilight instructed. Applejack set the buckets of apples on the nearest table. “So, you hurt yer wings by helpin’ Rainbow Dash yesterday?” Cloud nodded. “Actually, she was helping me. I was stuck in a storm and she ran me home. I can’t fly in the rain, so I had to run next to her. I used my wings to cover us, but I was more concerned about keeping her dry.” “Yer quite the gentlecolt, Cloud. Yer real lucky Rainbow Dash”, Applejack commented. “Yeah”, Rainbow Dash agreed. Her eyes widened, just realizing what had been said. “Wait, what?” “You’re lucky, you two seem t’ be best friends. Y’all have a lot in common, ya know, stuff lahk that”, Applejack clarified. “Oh.” Rainbow Dash sighed silently, she thought Applejack was implying something else. “Okay”, Twilight said, carrying a small vile with green liquid with her magic, “I’m back.” She gave the tiny bottle to Cloud. “Just a sip of this and you should be feeling better.” Cloud quickly drained it. He stuck his tongue out in disgust. “It tastes like how my brothers’ room smells!” “Sorry, I guess I should have warned you about the taste”, Twilight apologized. “How’s the wings”, Rainbow Dash asked. He opened them. “They feel better. Still sore though. Won’t be doing any serious flying for another day.” She sighed, “At least we don’t have to walk everywhere anymore.” “I wish I had more, but I can’t make any more until my assistant gets back from his trip. He’s the only one that knows how to make it…” Twilight offered him an apologetic smile, but Cloud shook his head. “Hey, I can fly right? That’s a plus isn’t it? I say you did a great job.” Cloud jumped into the air. “Many thanks, Twilight, now we can go see the rest of Rainbow Dash’s friends faster than anything!” His belly grumbled. “Oops, heheh, I guess I forgot to eat breakfast this morning.” “Hmmm…It is time for lunch”, Twilight said, observing the clock hanging from one of the book cases. “I can go for some lunch”, Rainbow Dash stated, rubbing her own belly. Cloud shrugged, and chuckled as his belly grumbled again. “Heheh, an apple or two will make me feel better.” “Did someone say lunch?” They all turned to see Spike walking down the stairs rubbing his eyes and yawning. “This is Spike, my assistant. Well, my number one assistant.” Twilight then sighed at his yawning, “He was supposed to be helping me clean up.” “It’s not my fault you leave such a big mess for me to clean up, and besides, you got caught up in your experiment, I just fell asleep I was so bored.” “Ugh, anyway, Spike, this is Cloud, he’s a friend of Rainbow’s.” “Wow, any friend of Rainbow Dash is a friend of mine”, Spike said, “You hafta be pretty awesome. “I can hold my own in an awesomeness contest”, Cloud commented, “I’m Cloud. Nice to meetcha, Spike.” They shared a quick conversation before Applejack started to dish out her apples. Then lunch was on. __________ “Thanks again, Twilight. Sure there’s no way I can pay you back”, Cloud asked, as he and Rainbow Dash exited the library. “No, consider it a friendly favor”, Twilight replied, “Sorry you can’t stay, I’m incredibly busy.” They waved her goodbye before she closed the door. “Where to no—” Cloud started. A flash of pink kept him from finishing his question. He managed to shake away the dizziness and look at his attacker. A pink pony was looking down at him curiously. “Are you Rainbow Dash’s new friend?” she asked excitedly. He nodded. She bounced into the air. “YES! I KNEW it! Rainbow Dash only hangs out with the coolest ponies!” she squealed. “Pinkie Pie, calm down, you’re scaring him”, Rainbow Dash snickered. Cloud stood up and shook his head. “As if, nothing scares me!” he boasted proudly. Pinkie Pie had now calmed down—sort of—and was managing to bounce in place. Cloud recognized her from a photo on Rainbow Dash’s shelf. It showed the two laughing hysterically at something. “What’s your name?” Pinkie Pie asked. “Rain Cloud, but everyone calls me Cloud for short.” “Ooooh! That’s a cool name! I don’t think I’ve ever met a pony with a name like that before. Hey, Rainbow-” Pinkie was cut off by Rainbow Dash, who firmly clomped a hoof over her fellow element’s mouth. “Pinkie, just shake hooves”, Dash said flatly. Immediately, Pinkie Pie grabbed Cloud’s hoof and shook it. “I love making new friends! I know, I’m gonna—” Pinkie didn’t finish her statement in front of them. Before Cloud could blink, the pink pony was already tearing off in the direction she had just come from. “Does she always…” Cloud started. Rainbow Dash nodded. He shook his confusion away and asked, “Where to now?” “The only other place left. To the Carousel Boutique.” “A dress shop? You don’t have to look good for me”, he said teasingly. “Are you kidding? I don’t need a dress to look good”, Rainbow replied. “You sure don’t.” Cloud beamed. Rainbow Dash’s cheeks quickly turned pink. But then she came up with a comeback. A little acting never hurt anypony. “You think so?” For the first time, she had Cloud in a corner. For her act, she moved her face up to his, looked up, and batted her eyelashes. When you’re friends with Rarity, you do pick a few things up. Especially how to charm a stallion. Cloud was now the one blushing. He didn’t want to outright tell her the complete truth and pretend not to mean it. He could only shy away. It wasn’t the time to tell her. “The Carousel Boutique, you said?” he asked, giving up. She nodded, giving him a victory grin. They started off in the direction of Rarity’s. The short flight was mostly silent, except for the flapping of their wings. It wasn’t until they got to the Carousel Boutique that Rainbow Dash got that very sour feeling in her stomach again. As they moved closer, the feeling became more intense. She didn’t know why, but she had a hunch that it had something to do with Rarity.