Chapter 10
"That'll be twenty six thirty two," the cashier said, her voice dead of emotion as she wearily brushed the bangs out of her eyes. The teenager was probably already counting down the hours she would waste away simply for a (in her opinion) pitiful amount of spending money. Her eyeliner failed to hide the wrinkles already spreading beneath her eyes from the stress and she made no effort to smooth out her uniform.
"And this, kids, is why you go to college."
"To rack up giant amounts of student debt without earning any real world experience or necessary skills or preparation for the working environment?"
"I take you had a horrible college experience, Eva? Should have joined a sorority."
Robert handed over two bills with a smile. "Thank you," he said cheerfully as he received the change. It was a few cents short but nothing worth making a fuss over, Robert decided. "Have a nice day," he said to the cashier as he picked up the bags stuffed with groceries. "Hmm hmm hm hmmm hmm," he hummed softly to himself. "Hmm hmm hm hm hmmm..."
The young lady watched him leave with a raised eyebrow. "Huh, looks like someone got lucky last ni-"
"Hey!" screamed the woman that was next. A brawling child sat the cart, crying as he pointed at the medley of candies. "Quit dawdling! I haven't all day, yah know!"
Robert gave the store a sympathetic glance as the doors closed and cut off the rest of the customer's complaint. Shaking his head and shifting the bags in his arms, he began the trek home. Tonight he was going to try making a salad. He hoped Dash liked at least one of the dressings he bought.
"Maybe it's time for a car," he groaned under the weight of the groceries.
In due time, Robert found himself on his street and as usual, he ran into no one. As he stepped over the curb, his hand slipped, almost upsetting the bag's contents. A few apples tumbled out and Robert quickly but carefully set the other groceries aside and went to his knees. Thankfully, none of the fruit was bruised badly and really just needed some water before they could be eaten.
Robert got to his feet and as he did, he caught the sight of a rainbow peeking from behind the curtains of his window. Robert gasped and looked around in panic, half expecting to seeing people staring and pointing and gaping. He was alone, of course. This was a dead end street that received no visitors. His home was the only one occupied. The more he thought, the more Robert realized just how slim the odds were of a passerby noticing the little Pegasus peering through the window.
The pony in question had just noticed the man and the groceries and waved vigorously. Robert tried his best to wave back with burdened arms but she had already disappeared. He smiled as he heard scratching from the other side of the door even as he took out his keys.
"Still having trouble with the door nob?" Robert teased, setting the brown paper bags next to the frowning filly.
"It's too high," Rainbow complained, sticking her snout into the nearest bag. "I wanna grow bigger! Like you."
"Yeah, maybe." Robert pulled it away before the little Pegasus could make off with a snack. Truth be told, the thought of Rainbow Dash having free, uninhibited access to the outside frightened him. He didn't know what kinds of trouble she'd get herself into but his imagination made him shudder. Despite that, the filly's growth didn't bother him. It was a sign that she was well and healthy after all.
"What's this?" Rainbow asked, pulling out a small booklet. The cover was of a pencil writing out a letter A.
"Oh, that's just something for you to practice with. If you keep at it I'll give you a reward."
"Like a cookie?"
"Yup, if you like."
"Can I have a cookie now?"
Robert quickly turned away from those large, quivering pink eyes. "After dinner," he said firmly. "Don't want to spoil our appetites, do we?"
"Aw...can we play then?"
"Sure, after we put these away." Robert pointed at the groceries. He directed the cyan pony to the lightest load and gathered the rest in his arms as he stood back up. "What were you staring at anyways?"
"Mmf?"
"At the window," Robert clarified. "Just wondering, were you looking at something?"
Rainbow set the bag down before speaking.
"A bird."
*****
"You going to work?"
"Huh?" Robert looked up from his shoelaces. Rainbow stood close by, suffering from a severe case of bed hair, or rather...
"So do ponies get bed manes or is there specific terminology?"
"Neil..."
"I'm serious. Did you know the entire middle of a horse is called a barrel? Why not just call it a middle?"
"What are you doing up so early?" Robert asked. "Did you have a bad dream?"
The Pegasus shook her head. "Are you going to work?" she repeated, suppressing a yawn.
"No, it's the weekend, remember?" he answered with a shake of his head. "Just a quick walk, go back to sleep."
"Oh."
Robert knelt down and held out his arms. When Rainbow had settled herself in them, he stood up and made his way to his room. It was significantly cleaner, with laundry neatly folded and stacked on a chair instead of being thrown haphazardly about. Robert pulled back the covers and carefully placed the pony on the bed.
"It's still early," he said, tucking her in and tossing aside a stray sock. "Try to get some sleep. We'll play later, I promise."
Rainbow Dash stifled another yawn. "Can I go too?"
"Er...no, not now. M-maybe another time, okay?"
The Pegasus shut her eyes and pulled the blankets closer. "M'kay."
Slowly, quietly, Robert left the room. His eyes rested upon the little mound beneath the covers a second longer before he shut the door. He made it all the way to the front of the house before looking back. With a sigh and a quick straightening of his simple grey hoodie, Robert opened the door and accepted the cold embrace of brisk early morning air, just chilling enough to necessitate a jacket. The days were getting colder. He locked the doors and took a breath.
The sun had not yet risen but in less in an hour it would take its place in the sky. If he was lucky he might be able to catch a sunrise, though there weren't any ideal locations for photos. A few clouds dotted the heavens but Robert had a feeling they would not stay for long. Never mind what the meteorologists said, with their five day forecasts and balloons and science, today was going to be a glorious day. A glorious, beautiful day.
The thought did not lift his spirits as Robert thought it would as he looked back to the house, the home he now shared with a little filly, no matter how temporary.
"On second thought," he said to himself, taking out his keys, "it does look like it might rain."
"...no it doesn't!"
*****
"What do you see?"
Rainbow jumped and whipped around in surprise. The familiar sight of the young man calmed her down and she turned back to the window.
"Clouds," she said, pointing up.
"Yeah." Robert tilted his head upward and joined in the staring. Cirrus and stratus and other meaningless terms floated in his head, old knowledge from long ago that had been hidden away after years of disuse. "Cumulus," he hazarded.
To Rainbow, they were big and fluffy and white and when they weren't, the kind man would make hot chocolate with big fluffy white marshmallows if she asked and if they had any. "They're so high. Can you reach?"
Robert chuckled. "Nope, even I'm too short." He set the small booklet next to her. On the cover was the simple picture of a pencil and the letter 'A'. "Come on, it's time to practice."
Rainbow push herself off the windowsill and picked up the small yellow pencil with her mouth.
"Here, let's, uh, try something new today." Robert pulled out a few rubber bands from his pocket. A few minutes later Rainbow sat staring at the pencil now crookedly attached to her foreleg.
"Feels funny. Can you take it off?"
"Just give it a try," Robert pleaded. "I know it probably looks kind of weird but just give it a try." He gestured to the booklet. "Please?"
The filly just stared at her fetlock. She looked back at the man and nodded slowly. "Can I have two candies then?"
"You know what, of course you can," Robert answered with a small smile. He knelt down beside her. "Now, let's get practicing."
Rainbow slowly brought her shaky hoof along the paper and began to write out the alphabet.
/-\ I-} [ |)
"Use your other hoof to steady the pencil."
A B C D...
"Where did all the birds go?"
"Hm?"
"The birds," Rainbow said, pointing at the window. "They're not outside anymore. Where are they?"
"It's winter, Dashie," Robert explained. "It's too cold for them and too hard to find food right now so they fly south for the winter. It's warmer down there?"
"Do we go too?" the young Pegasus asked.
"Nah, just birds."
"Oh."
Was it just his imagination or did Rainbow sound...disappointed? She looked behind her and fluttered her wings right before returning to her work.
Funny, Robert was the one finding it hard to concentrated.
*****
The can rolled a few feet before stopping against a rusted trash bin. Robert bent down and picked it up gingerly. The color had not completely faded and he could still read the brand of beer that it had once been filled with, though just barely.
Who drinks at a public park anyways?
A soft creak drew Robert's attention and he turned his head toward the decrepit remains of a swing set. The once silver chain was now coated in dusty red with the splintering seat hanging limply. Another gale of wind blew by, sending Robert into a fit of shivers even with his jacket on. The creaking swing began to move slowly, as if occupied by a timid phantom child.
The can fell into the bin with a noisy clank.
Carefully, Robert leaned his shoulder on one of swing set's poles. Even after all these years they were still sturdy. This park had been built to last but when the children stopped coming, maintenance stopped as well. There had been a jungle gym, with monkey bars and everything, Robert remembered. He stared at the spot it had stood, now completely vacant. It had been dismantled and melted down years ago. The only indications that this place had once been a playground were the decaying swings and a large sandbox.
Before reason could take control, Robert took a seat and pushed off against the ground with his toes. The swing squealed in protest under his weight, and Robert was sure he was too much for the little thing. The chain proved stronger than he thought however and it held. He let himself sway with the wind.
"Getting late," he muttered, standing up. "Better head home."
With one final glance at his old park, Robert walked away.
*****
Tooday is Septimber twentyth. My name is Rainbo Dash. May i have two cookies tooday?
"Well, your writing's a lot neater..."
The filly Pegasus set the pencil down on the table from her mouth and beamed.
"...but you need to work on your spelling. 'Rainbow' is missing a w, for instance, and 'today' should only have one o." Robert showed Rainbow the paper and pointed. "You still did an excellent job though," he added as Rainbow groaned and hid her face with her hooves. "Better than my handwriting. Guess it's a lot easier to use your mouth, huh?"
"Yeah. It feels really weird to use these to write." Rainbow looked at her hooves.
"Alright then, just make sure you don't choke on you pen while writing." Robert wiped the pencil with his shirt and examined it. "And try not to damage them too badly," he added, taking note of the deep teeth marks in the wood. He handed it back. "Let's correct this and then you can have free time, okay? Rainbow Dash? Dashie?"
"Huh? Oops, sorry." The Pegasus leaped down from the windowsill and
trotted back to the table.
"Was anyone out there?" Robert asked, old paranoia resurfacing before he could squash it.
"Just birds. They're finally back!"
*****