//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Rainbow's Choice // by Metaphor //------------------------------// “Are you sure you’re feeling ok?” asked Twilight Sparkle. “For the fiftieth time Twilight, yes I’m fine,” replied Rainbow with a roll of her eyes, “Just a little tired.” “I’m glad,” replied the alicorn, “You always seem to make us worry more than any other pony I know.” “Ain’t that the truth,” added Applejack as she slinked closer to the Pegasus, “And ya better be alright for the Iron Pony contest! Don’t want nopony saying ah beat ya down to ya being ill!” “Don’t worry Applejack, I’ll be fighting fit in time for the contest! And you better be ready too because this year I’m going to win once again!” The two ponies stared at each other for a moment, their eyes alight with flames and their mouths twisted in a growl. After a moment both of them relaxed and started laughing. “Ah shucks sugahcube, I’m just glad ya are alright,” smiled Applejack, “Now if ya’ll excuse me, ah got apples to buck.” “See you later Applejack,” said Twilight with a wave of her forehoof. “Yeah, uh, later Applejack,” added Rainbow as the orange coloured mare shot them both a grin and trotted off towards the edge of town. For a moment neither Rainbow nor Twilight said anything. They were both standing outside the hospital, Rainbow having been released a few moments earlier. Twilight and Applejack had come to meet her just in case she needed any help but it seemed that they wouldn’t be needed. “Well if you’re feeling alright I guess I ought to get back to the library,” announced Twilight as she cast a glance at the blue Pegasus, “I found this amazing book yesterday about ghosts and myths. Did you know that the Headless Horse might have actually been real?” “Twilight you read too much,” commented Rainbow with a roll of her eyes. “Oh? This coming from Miss sneak into a hospital to steal a copy of Daring Do?” “Twilight!” “Sorry Rainbow… but speaking of Daring Do…” Twilight paused and looked over her shoulder at a saddlebag she was carrying. Her horn began to glow and the bag opened as a book floated its way out and hovered in front of Rainbow. The cover read ‘Daring Do and the Treasure of Arkay’. “I brought you the next book in the series,” squeaked Twilight, “I only just finished reading it myself, it was so awesome! Daring Do had to…” “Hey hey, woah there Twilight!” interrupted Rainbow, “Don’t tell me the plot already!” “Sorry, I was just so excited about it.” “It’s alright, thanks. I was going to pop in and see if you had it yesterday before….well thanks.” “No problem, I’ll see you later!” “Later!” With that Twilight departed, spreading her wings lightly and giving a graceful flap as she took off into the air. Rainbow was still amazed at how down to earth Twilight remained despite her coronation and becoming an alicorn. Naturally she spent a lot more time in Canterlot than she had done but the Ponyville Library was still full of her hoofsteps and pleasant manner. If anything she had become much more sociable too, always entertaining trips of schoolchildren or playing host to important meetings. Rainbow was still a little disappointed that her flying style matched more with Fluttershy than her own but then again Twilight had always been more of an egghead than an athlete. Rainbow gave a sigh and let herself relax for a moment. Just then the faint buzz of rapidly flapping wings and the crunch of wheels on dirt sounded in the air. Rainbow gave a small grin to herself, those two sounds only ever came together when one pony made an appearance. “Hey Rainbow Dash!” Yup, she called it. Turning to her right she saw a small orange coloured Pegasus with a purple mane speeding towards her on a scooter. Behind her a set of tiny wings fluttered back and forth in a rapid motion that had as of yet been unable to give her freedom within the vast skybox above her. “Hey there squirt!” replied Rainbow as she brushed one of her forehooves against her chest in an effort to look cool. “Rainbow Dash! I heard you were in the hospital! Sweetie Belle told me this morning. She said that Rarity had told her last night. What happened? Are you alright?” rattled off Scootaloo as she came to a screeching halt next to Rainbow. “Alright?” questioned Rainbow, “Kid the word alright doesn’t even exist in my world! Nothing wrong with me at all, nope, not a thing!” “Phew! I was worried for a little while,” sighed Scootaloo. “No sweat kid.” Rainbow placed her hoof on Scootaloo’s mane and rustled it back and forth in a playful manner. Ever since that camping trip to Winsome Falls the pair had been spending a lot more time together. Of course with Rainbow’s duty as weather manager and her constant trips to the Wonderbolt’s Academy the time they had was often short but that didn’t mean it was any less memorable. It was an odd feeling but Rainbow always got a sense of enjoyment and pride whenever she spent time with the young Pegasus. Like Rainbow she also had dream and ambitions that to other seemed well above her station…but as she had told Scootaloo on many occasions, don’t let other people put you off. “Swell! Does that mean we can still hang out this afternoon?” asked Scootaloo as she muscled Rainbow’s hoof away from her mane. Rainbow bit her lip; that was today? “Hmm, tell you what squirt,” she started, her mind racing for something to say, “…how about we meet up at Sugarcube Corner, I’ll treat you to an ice cream.” “Really? That sounds great!” grinned Scootaloo as she wrapped a warm hug around the older Pegasus, “I’m glad you’re ok too.” Rainbow gave a grin and returned the hug, wrapping one of her forelegs around the young filly. It was an odd thing really; Rainbow showing emotions other than brashness and ego. That said, ever since she had taken to helping Scootaloo her usual tough girl attitude always seemed to vanish into the mist whenever she was around…so long as nopony else was watching. “Well kid I gotta head out, things to do you know,” announced Rainbow after a short moment. “No problem, I gotta meet up with the Crusaders anyway!” replied Scootaloo, “I have this wicked cool idea about how to get our cutie marks!” “Just don’t break anything like last time.” Scootaloo blushed brightly for a moment as she remembered what Rainbow was talking about. As she watched the sassy grin cross Rainbow’s face though the blush faded and a grin of her own appeared. Picking up her scooter she stepped aboard and spun it in the direction of Ponyville centre. She gave a wave and a moment later was speeding down the path on her latest endeavour. Rainbow watched her for a moment, grinning slightly as she remembered back to her own childhood. Finally she gave a sigh and looked back at the book Twilight had given her. The next book in the series! Rainbow had been looking forward to this for a while and today was the perfect time to sit down and read it. She needed escapism, something to let her completely forget about the unwanted news that had filled her head for the last two days. Pregnant! Ha! Part of Rainbow was still in denial. How had it even happened? Like she had told Doctor Stable she hadn’t even gone that far with a stallion before. Sure there had been the inevitable kisses and cuddles from various ponies throughout her life but she had always been so busy training that a romantic relationship had never once crossed her mind. If what the doctor had told her was right it would have happened a few months ago…but despite the hours of brain wracking she had gone through the previous night she couldn’t think of anything. The only event she could think of during that time frame would have been her two week stay at the Wonderbolt Academy in preparation the upcoming trainee flight show. The show had been a massive success with Rainbow’s display team being the best of the bunch. Spitfire had even congratulated her…in her usual joking manner of course…but none the less it had been a compliment. Still it didn’t matter, none of this would ever matter. In a few weeks she would abort and life would be back to normal. Nopony would ever find out and she’d still be the heroic future Wonderbolt she had always been. She rose her head high and stood proud for a moment, enjoying a little daydream of finally finishing her training and becoming world renowned. Yes, it would all be worth it! “Uh…Rainbow Dash?” asked a quiet voice from behind her. Rainbow blinked and slowly turned, a little embarrassed to be found in such a gloating position. Stood there on the path was a white coloured Pegasus with a striped green and pink mane and tail. Her wings were unfolded, raising in such a way that she could cower behind them at a moment notice. She wasn’t looking directly at her either; choosing instead to turn her head and glance at her out of the corner of her eye. “Oh…hi Blossomforth,” replied Rainbow. “I…uh…I just wanted to…apologies for being late for weather duty…are you alright?” spoke Blossomforth in a quiet voice. Rainbow sighed and nodded her head, “I’m fine don’t worry about me. If anything I should be apologising to you, I didn’t mean to shout.” Blossomforth seemed to relax, the Pegasus seemingly expecting another round of shouting. “I’m glad you’re alright, I thought I must have really upset you. The doctors couldn’t tell us anything when we brought you in so we’ve all been concerned.” “Well you can tell the other I’m going to be fine…uh…the doctors think it must have been something I ate that didn’t agree with me.” There was a brief pause between the two of them. Blossomforth and the others on the weather team were the only ponies who had actually seen her collapse, if she could convince them she was fine everything would likely be forgotten quickly. Another question began to filter into her mind though, a question she would likely have asked the other day if she hadn’t passed out. “Hey Blossomforth, why were you late the other day? It’s not like you to be tardy,” asked Rainbow, trying to make her question sound as unaggressive as possible. “Oh! Well you see…” began Blossomforth before giving a small sigh and a smile, “I was in Manehatten the day before. My cousin Summer Breeze was having a baby. She asked me to come and be at her side…we’ve been like sisters since we were young and she said she couldn’t do it without me. I stayed by her side all night. To be honest I was not going to come back…but Summer said I shouldn’t shirk my responsibilities so I flew back but I knew I was going to be late.” Rainbow didn’t really know what to say; finally deciding on a simply response, “Oh?” “I’m sorry I was late Rainbow, I really am…but I couldn’t ignore my cousin when she needed me the most. I plan on flying back to Manehatten tomorrow to help her with the baby. She is such an adorable little foal and…well, you know I can never have children of my own…” Rainbow did indeed know. There had been complications during Blossomforth’s own birth that had left her sterile. No matter how much she wanted it she could never have a child of her own. Rainbow felt a twinge of guilt ping its way through her body but a shake of her head flushed it away. “…well…I guess that’s ok,” replied Rainbow after a moment, “…I’ll…uh…I’ll cover your shift on weather duty this week.” “Really? You’ll do that for me?” Rainbow just gave a nod. Blossomforth meanwhile felt the tears welling up in her eyes. As she broke down she crossed the distance to Rainbow and flung her hooves around her. “Thank you Rainbow Dash, thank you so much,” she wailed. “It…really means that much to you?” questioned Rainbow as she slowly patted Blossomforth’s back in an unsure manner. “It does! It really does!” replied Blossomforth through her joyous tears, “Summer and her husband have agreed to make me the Godmother and spending time with them all is just…it may not be my own child but it’s the closest I can get and…thank you!” Blossomforth broke down again, resting her head in Rainbow’s shoulder. The blue Pegasus didn’t really know how to respond, she’d been through many situations, faced many dangers, defeated ancient evils and overcome impossible odds…but this amount of emotion from one pony? That she hadn’t seen before. Was having a child this important to Blossomforth? Was it so important that she’d risk losing her job and the life she’d built here in Ponyville for the chance at it? Could a child really be worth that much? Not a chance! How could it compare to fame and glory? Of everypony on the street knowing your name and admiring your skills. A simple mother? You don’t get praise for that! Nobody congratulates you or hold ceremonies in your honour! You just fade away into the background and get forgotten about! Well not her! She was going to overcome that and shine like the blazing star she knew she was. When everyone sees her in that Wonderbolt outfit blazing a trail across the sky nobody will ever think she could have been anything but. Just then Blossomforth released her grip on Rainbow and pulled back. For a moment she stood and brushed the tears from her eyes before flashing a large smile at Rainbow. “Thank you again Rainbow, and I’m so glad you’re alright. I better go, I need to pack for my trip tomorrow. I’ll bring some photos when I come back.” “Uh, sure, take care.” Blossomforth nodded and then turned, racing off down the path towards town. Rainbow shook her head hard and looked back at the book she was still holding. This was all too much for her, escapism was calling. She needed somewhere quiet and out of the way to relax where she could read and not be interrupted. Fluttershy’s cottage! It was quiet, out of the way and what’s more it was close! Without another thought Rainbow unfurled her wings and took off. There was no pain, no discomfort, no unease, nothing. She was perfectly normal, so much for Pegasus needing to stay grounded, eh doc?