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// Meeting Rainbow Dash 
// Story: Putting My Idol On The Altar 
// by Brian Jacko 
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	I decided to go out for a walk. I didn't really care to be around people so I took my usual walk in the woods. It was a rather dark day and the sky looked as if it would rain soon, but I just had to get out and get away from the house. I made it through the woods and listened to each twig crunch loudly beneath my feet. A gush of wind blew right past me and the fresh scent of rain on the way would come and it was everywhere. I had my jacket on just in case it would downpour today.

As I continued to walk down the meandering path, I saw something so bright and colorful that I had to squint my eyes. I quickly walked over and upon closer inspection, I couldn't believe what I saw. There in front of my eyes was Rainbow Dash sitting patiently right in the middle of the path. I was actually terrified for a moment because I wasn't sure if I was hallucinating or not. I stared at the little cyan Pegasus for a moment. I began to slowly approach her when I saw that she had blinked. "Are you real?" I managed to ask out loud. 

The pony blinked again and said, "Yes. I am real." 

I almost jumped back in shock. Her voice sounded exactly how she sounds in the show. 

"May I pick you up?" I asked. 

The cyan Pegasus nodded her head yes. She wasn't exactly a filly, but I could tell that she was very young. 

I very slowly reached out my trembling hand and touched her colorful rainbow mane on top of her head. She was in fact the real life Rainbow Dash in the flesh and somehow she was here with me. Her mane was so soft and warm and I could see her chest rising up and down. She was breathing and she was real. I came a little closer and put my arm underneath her belly and scooped her up. I sat on the ground and slowly brought her closer to me and held her tightly against my chest.

I didn't even realize how fast my heart was racing, but I was so nervous and excited, that it took my mind awhile to register what was going on. I didn't know how she got here or why she was here, but it didn't matter. My ultimate fantasy in life was somehow a reality and nothing else mattered now. 

A few rain drops fell from the sky. One drop of rain landed in Rainbow's eye.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash became a bit fidgety in my arms and I gently put her back down on the ground. 

The rain started to fall down to the earth and I just had that feeling that it would start to rain in torrents. I heard some thunder in the distance, and I had to get her out of here and take her home in case it would start to lightning. 

These woods were usually abandoned, but once in a while I had seen other people walk through this area. 

I took off my jacket and wrapped the little pony inside of it and gently picked her back up. I put the hood of the jacket over her head so she would be more hidden from view. The hood was big enough to cover almost her entire head and face, but there was enough space for her to breathe easily. Even though she was well hidden, my mind was racing with all kinds of ludicrous thoughts about other people might being able to see her and calling the police or attempting to take her away from me.

I began to panic and ran quickly back home through the woods. I must have not been paying attention, because my mind was racing with so many thoughts, that I didn't notice a large root of a tree sticking out from the ground, and my foot got caught in it. I fell down to the earth and Rainbow Dash slipped out of my arms. I was stunned for a moment, but I quickly got to my feet again and saw Rainbow Dash laying in a mud puddle. She was quite dirty, but she didn't seem to be hurt. I raced over to her and wrapped her up in my jacket once again.

I took a slightly detoured route in order to avoid being seen by others. Thankfully, the rain was now coming down from the sky in heaping amounts and I did not see one person around. 

After a bit more traveling, I made it to my home and I held onto Rainbow Dash with one arm as I opened the door. I quickly walked through the door and then slammed it shut with my foot as I kicked backwards. I took off the hood and looked at Rainbow Dash. She was dirty and she needed a bath.

I carried her into the bathroom and turned the water on in the tub. I felt that a warm bath would probably be a bit relaxing, since she is probably stressed out from being in a new environment and I could imagine that the fall we took was a bit upsetting to her. As I kept my hand inside the tub to feel how warm the water was, I turned to Rainbow Dash. She seemed to be staring at me with the most innocent eyes and looked as if she was wondering what I was going to do with her. When the tub was filled with enough water, I picked her up and plopped her down inside the tub. 

She turned to face me and sat down in the water. 

I opened up the cabinet under my sink and took out my most favorite brand of organic tea tree oil shampoo. This stuff felt amazing and would probably be great for her mane and coat too. I squeezed some shampoo into my hand and began to rub it into her mane. I then had her stand up for a moment so I can get the rest of her body. She let out an adorable sounding giggle when I got to her belly. I couldn't help but smile at her reaction. She was now kind of a like a giant soapy, sudsy bubble. I quickly rinsed her off hoping that no shampoo would get in her very large eyes. I was a bit surprised at how well behaved she was. I didn't expect her to enjoy her bath and thought that she might be a little fidgety, but she was calm and continued to stare up at me with those incredible innocent and adorable eyes.

I got out a towel and scooped her up inside of it. 

She wrapped her front legs around my neck and sighed. 

I almost couldn't take it anymore. My heart felt like it was about to leap out of my chest at any moment. I was so happy at this moment. Nothing in the world could make me feel better than this. I walked out of the bathroom with her and turned the lights on in the kitchen. I sat down on a chair next to the kitchen table and dried her off with the towel. 

Rainbow Dash stared into my eyes for a moment and then I noticed her nostrils began to twitch faster and faster. She started to squirm in my lap, so I let her go. I watched as she hopped off of my lap and walked over to the microwave. On top of the microwave was a bowl full of apples.

Rainbow Dash leapt up in the air and used her wings to hover closer to the bowl. She put her mouth on one of the apples and then accidently knocked the bowl off of the microwave. Apples went scattering everywhere across the floor. She came back down to the floor and walked back over to me. She crouched down low for a moment and then hopped back into my lap. She stared at me for a moment as if she were silently asking me if it would be ok if she ate this apple.

I didn't say anything, I just smiled at her and she put the apple down in my lap and began to eat it. I couldn't take my fingers out of her soft and colorful rainbow mane. She was exactly like the cartoon show from her head to her hoof, and even her cutie mark was perfect on each side of her flanks. 

Rainbow Dash hopped out of my lap again when she finished her treat. She began to walk around the kitchen.

I got up and walked behind her while picking up all the apples that fell onto the floor. I saw Rainbow's nostrils twitching like crazy again. 

Rainbow Dash went over to the refrigerator and put her mouth on the handle. She pulled back with all of her might and the door opened. She then stuck her head inside. Rainbow Dash's nostrils were twitching frantically and I could hear her sniffing. She leaned over a little more and then came out with a container of pasta. She came back over to the table and placed the container on top of the table. She tried to use her front hooves to open up the container, but she wasn't having much success. 

I came over and popped the lid off for her. Before I could even take it away to heat it up for her, she had drove her face inside and practically inhaled the contents. I couldn't believe how fast she devoured that entire container of pasta. 

She picked her head back up and her face was covered with pasta sauce. 

I got a napkin and wiped her face clean. 

Rainbow Dash looked up at me and said, "Thank you." The tone of her voice was so adorable and sweet and her voice cracked a bit when she said those two words. 

"You're so very welcome, Rainbow!" I said trying to sound as encouraging and as cheerful as I could. I wanted to please her and make her feel as welcome as possible because I didn't want to risk having her be unhappy and possibly wanting to leave me. 

Rainbow Dash looked around a bit more and said, "I'm thirsty."

I wasn't sure what the best route would be, but I found a glass of water and filled it up. I didn't dare give her tap water because I had my own personal water filter that removed all the terrible things that were put in our water supply on purpose. I was a bit of a health nut and most of everything I used in this house was organic. I wouldn't be sure how her system would react to drinking normal tap water. 

I went through the kitchen drawers and found what I was looking for. A straw. I pushed the glass of water over to her. 

She leaned over and her lips desperately tried to grab onto the straw. It looked a little pathetic at first, but she managed to grab a hold of it and began to sip from it. 

Even though my mind was still wired, thoughts began to creep into my head. I began to wonder how she got here and for what reason was she here. I was about to ask her some questions when suddenly she perked up. 

"Oh, goodness. I bet she wants more food," I thought to myself. "Rainbow, what else can I get for you to eat? I don't think I have much left for you," I asked out loud.

Rainbow shook her head no and said, "I-I-I have to pee. I need to go outside."

How could I not have seen that coming. This was not a cartoon, but a real life creature who eats, drinks, and yes, has to use the bathroom too. I looked out of the window and noticed my neighbor was working outside his house. It appeared that he was trying to fix the gutter on the side of his house. I guess he didn't mind the rain too much. 

I looked back at Rainbow Dash and said, "I can't let you go outside right now. It's too risky and someone may see you and want to take you away from me. This might seem terribly awkward for you, but I really don't have much of a choice right now." I put my hands under her two front legs and picked her up. I walked her back into the bathroom and put the toilet seat down with my foot. I carefully placed her on to the seat. 

Her four legs were wobbling a bit because she was trying to keep her balance. I briefly explained to her how it all works and she nodded her head in understanding. "Just try not to fall in," I said to her. "I'll leave the door ajar so you can open it yourself when you're done. I'll be sitting on the couch in the livingroom waiting for you." 

Rainbow Dash looked up at me and nodded her head ok again. 

I left the bathroom and made sure the door was only slightly open so that she had just enough room to nuzzle it open when she wanted to come out. 

I sat there on the couch with my hands folded on my lap. My legs were shaking like crazy because I couldn't believe this was all a reality. I waited patiently for her to come out. I was hoping that she wouldn't fall. 

I saw the bathroom door creep open and out she stepped. She trotted quickly over to me and leapt into my lap. She curled herself up into a ball much like a dog does after circling around several times. I watched her close her eyes and start to nod off to sleep. I was going to ask her some questions, but I didn't think it would be an appropriate time right now. I wasn't exactly sure what to do with her now. She didn't look fully asleep yet, so I poked her side softy and said, "Hey, Rainbow Dash. If you're tired, I can put you to bed. Do you want to sleep on your own bed or would you like to sleep with me?"

Rainbow Dash opened up her eyes and stood up for a moment in my lap. She yawned and tried to wrap her little front legs around my waist and said, "You." 

My heart melted in my chest and I gently scooped her up and took her to my bedroom. My bed wasn't very big, so I turned one of the pillows on my bed sideways and gently put her down on that. Her body was just the perfect size for it. She was already asleep and I pulled the blankets over her body and tucked her in.

I quietly got into the bed and turned on my side facing her. I could feel her breathing against my arm and I watched her chest rise and fall. I didn't want to sleep and I still wasn't sure if this was reality or some crazy dream. I truly believed that I wasn't going to fall asleep, but seeing Rainbow Dash sleep so peacefully made me quite tired, and I ended up drifting off to sleep within a few hours.