//------------------------------//
// Justified Jealousy 
// Story: Let it Rain 
// by Metool Bard 
//------------------------------//

	As soon as the Wonderbolts show was over, Cloudchaser searched for Bulk Biceps while Flitter flew off ahead of her.  Of course, her muscle-bound wingpony was not hard to find.

"Hey, Snowflake!" she called out, flying up to him.

"Huh?  Oh, hey Cloudchaser," said Bulk. "That was a great show, huh?  I especially like how Soarin' did that..."

"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever," interrupted Cloudchaser. "Listen, can we talk?"

"Talk?" parroted Bulk. "'Bout what?"

"It's complicated," said Cloudchaser. "Come fly with me a bit.  I'll explain on the way back to Ponyville."

"Um, okay," said Bulk, still a bit confused. "What's up?"

"Well, you're my wingpony, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Meaning you've always got my back no matter what, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, I need your help with something important."

"Okay, what is it?"

Cloudchaser took a deep breath. "Well, here's the thing..."


***


"So, let me get this straight," said Bulk after Cloudchaser finished her story. "You think that Raindrops is stealing Thunderlane from you, and you want to pretend to go out with me in order to get him back."

"That's the basic gist of it, yeah," said Cloudchaser.

Bulk raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding, right?"

Cloudchaser blinked. "What?  No, I'm serious."

Bulk sighed. "Cloudchaser, when you said 'important,' I thought you meant something to do with the Academy, not a crazy love scheme."

"My heart is important, Snowflake!" Cloudchaser protested. "Raindrops is gonna crush it into little tiny pieces by taking the stallion of my dreams away from me!"

Bulk stared blankly at his lead pony. "Did I miss something?  When did you start competing with Rarity for the title of the Drama Queen of Ponyville?"

"I'm not a drama queen~!" Cloudchaser whined.

"I know that.  Which is why I find this weird," said Bulk. "Besides, Raindrops likes mares, doesn't she?"

"I used to think that, too.  But then she managed to snag a date with Thunderlane," Cloudchaser grumbled.

"Sounds to me like you're jumping to conclusions," said Bulk. "Did you talk to Thunderlane about this?"

Cloudchaser gasped. "What?  Wh-why would you even suggest that?!"

"Because it's, smart?" said Bulk with a shrug.

"No, it's not!" said Cloudchaser. "If I confront Thunderlane, I'll look like the bad guy!  I'm not mad at him!"

Bulk tilted his head. "I'm sorry, what?"

Cloudchaser rubbed the bridge of her nose with her hoof. "Wow, you're more of a love newbie than Flitter," she groaned. "Look, I don't want Thunderlane to think that I think this is his fault.  It's not.  It's Raindrops's fault for trying to steal him from me.  She's the bad guy here."

"She is?" asked Bulk.

"Yes!" Cloudchaser cried. "Sweet Celestia, Snowflake!  I thought that would be obvious!"

"Well, why not talk to her?" suggested Bulk. "I know Raindrops, Cloudchaser.  She doesn't like to hurt other ponies.  If you tell her how you feel, I'm sure she'll back off."

Cloudchaser deadpanned. "Snowflake, that's a terrible idea."

Bulk blinked. "It is?"

"Um, hello~?  Over half of Ponyville knows that Thunderlane's my special somepony!" said Cloudchaser. "That means Raindrops knows that, too!  If what you said is true, she wouldn't have started courting Thunderlane in the first place!"

Bulk gave Cloudchaser another blank stare. "I'm sorry, Cloudchaser.  A lot of this is flying over my head."

"Gee, there's a shocker," Cloudchaser groaned in frustration. "I don't even know why I'm discussing this with you."

"Isn't it because you wanted me to pretend to go out with you so that you could win Thunderlane back?" inquired Bulk.

Cloudchaser's expression brightened. "Thank you for reminding me," she said. "Snowflake, don't ever let anypony call you dumb."

Bulk snorted indignantly. "Does that include you?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

Cloudchaser had no response to that. "D-don't change the subject," she said, clearing her throat. "Listen, you don't have to fully understand what's going on.  Just, do this little favor for me, okay?"

"Uh-uh," said Bulk, shaking his head.

Cloudchaser's pupils dilated. "WHAT?!  What do you mean no?!  I thought you were my wingpony!"

"That doesn't mean I gotta do everything you say," Bulk growled.

"B-b-b-but..."

"But nothing," said Bulk curtly. "I may not be the brightest pony in the world, but I know better than to get mixed up in some lover's quarrel."

"It's not a lover's quarrel~!" Cloudchaser bawled.

"Okay, love triangle then.  Whatever," said Bulk. "The point is I don't want any part of it.  I'm sorry."

Cloudchaser pouted and folded her forelegs. "Fine!  Be that way!" she huffed. "See if I do anything for you next time you need help!"

"Cloudchaser, you're overreacting."

"And you're starting to sound like Flitter."

Bulk sighed. "Cloudchaser, if you want my advice, and I know you didn't ask for it, take some time to clear your head.  Then go talk this out with Thunderlane and Raindrops.  They deserve to know how you feel."

Before Cloudchaser could respond, a group of pegasi flew up to them.

"Hey, Bulk!  We've been looking for you, dude!" said Star Hunter. "Listen, you know Crescent Moon, right?"

"Yeah, what about him?"

"We just found out from Rainbow Dash that he works for the Wonderbolts!" squealed Silverspeed. "We're going to see him right now to ask him about it.  You wanna come with?"

"YEAH!" Bulk bellowed, and immediately took off.  Cloudchaser sulked.

"Pfft.  What does he know?" she muttered bitterly.


***


Cloudchaser's mood did not improve when she got back to Ponyville.  She heaved a great sigh as she touched down in front of Thunderlane's house.  She was about to knock on the door when Derpy Hooves came barreling in out of nowhere and crashed into her.

"Owie~!" Derpy moaned as she got to her feet. "Sorry about that, Stormwalker.  I didn't see you there."

Cloudchaser snorted as she picked herself up. "My name is Cloudchaser," she growled.

Derpy blinked. "You sure?"

"Derpy, I think I would know my own name," Cloudchaser grumbled.

"Alright, alright!" said Derpy. "Sheesh, you don't need to get all huffy about it."  She then knocked on Thunderlane's door.  Thunderlane answered.

"Oh, hiya, Derpy.  Hey, CC.  What's up?" he asked.

"Special delivery!" said Derpy, handing Thunderlane a letter.

"Oh, thanks," said Thunderlane. "Huh.  It's from Raindrops."

Cloudchaser's eye twitched. "What?"

"She's probably writing me a thank you note for taking her to the Wonderbolts show today," said Thunderlane, opening the letter. "Hmm...  'Dear Thunderlane:' yadda yadda yadda...  Oh, hey!  Raindrops is inviting me to have breakfast with her at Sugarcube Corner!  That's nice of her."

Cloudchaser's jaw dropped. "What?"

"Heh, this'll be a great treat for Rumble," said Thunderlane. "What do you think, CC?"

"U-um, well, maybe you should check your calendar," said Cloudchaser. "I mean, you might have something important!"

Thunderlane placed a hoof to his chin. "No, the Wonderbolts show today was pretty much my only major plan for this week.  Otherwise, I'm pretty much open."

Cloudchaser's shoulders became tense. "What?"

Thunderlane hemmed and hawed for a moment before giving a playful shrug. "Ah, what the heck?  I never turn down free food.  Of course, you already know that, right CC?"

"Um, yeah.  Listen, maybe..."

"Alright, I guess I know where Rumble and I are gonna be tomorrow," said Thunderlane. "Thanks, Derpy."

"Just doing my duty," said Derpy with a salute. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back home for dinner.  Seeya, Thunderlane!  Seeya, Stormwalker!"

"It's Cloudchaser~!" Cloudchaser screamed as Derpy flew away.

"Um, CC?  Are you okay?" asked Thunderlane.

"F-fine!  Just, fine," said Cloudchaser.

Thunderlane shrugged. "Okay, but you don't sound fine to me.  You'll let me know if something's bothering you, right?"

"O-of course."

"Good," said Thunderlane, giving Cloudchaser a pat on the shoulder. "Seeya later, CC."

With that, he went back inside.  As soon as the door was shut, Cloudchaser flew up to the nearest cloud and punched it with all her might.

"You think you've won, don't you, Raindrops?" she muttered to herself. "Well, don't get too cocky.  Because Snowflake or no Snowflake, you're going down..."