//------------------------------// // Chapter 4. A day with a Dash of Rainbow // Story: Seeing Rainbows // by Android //------------------------------// You spring awake, excited for the day’s events. You head down stairs and make a breakfast of a bagel with cream cheese. In your haste you almost forget your shades on your way out the door. You meet up with Rainbow Dash and begin the day. “Alright rook, today’s weather calls for partly cloudy in preparation for the weekly rain. So half of those clouds we moved yesterday have to come back,” she says. “Sounds good, let’s get started,” you respond. Over the next few minutes the two of you retrieve and place clouds all over Ponyville. You are careful not to put too many clouds in one area. You’re both done in half an hour. “Race ya to the park,” Dash says as she zips toward town. “Hey, no fair you got a head start,” you reply, laughing as you gain on her. Your strong wings accelerate your body and soon you’re again neck and neck. You’re careful to pay attention to the approaching ground. But not careful enough this time. Dash wins as you flop to the ground, having misjudged the distance. “Horseapples, got to work on the landing,” you think to yourself. Though you had for the most part mastered your sense of hearing, you found yourself still…desiring in some areas. “H-Hey, you a-alright? BAH HA HA HA!” Your hear her voice crack up as she laughs at your not so perfect landing; you blush as she flops on the grass laughing. “Oh, I think that just made my day,” she starts to crack up again. “Yeah, yeah, glad to be of entertainment,” you say, slightly sarcastic, “so you said you wanted to hang yesterday, what do you wanna do?” The softness you heard yesterday returns to her voice, “Well, I was wondering… I was wondering if you could show me some of the places you explore. It sounds like blast.” “Well it does have an exciting quality to it,” you say, “come on, I’ll show you a spot I found where you can see all of Ponyville.” You both head off into Everfree forest. You follow the path into the forest until you reach your shortcut. It’s a dark cave that leads into the ground. “Well, here we are,” you announce, “this is the only way there without going through the timber wolf den,” you shudder at the thought. “UH, you sure we can go in there? I mean, do you know what’s in there?” Rainbow asks, slightly skittish. “Sure I know what’s in there, I come here all the time. Just follow me and you’ll be fine, unless your chicken,” you smirk. “NO! Don’t you know who I am? I’m Rainbow Dash, the best flier in Equestria. I’m not afraid of anything,” she responds, the confidence returning to her voice, “you coming or what?” You can’t help but smile as you both descend into the cave. Inside it’s nearly pitch black. Not that that’s a problem for you. The dark is your domain, where normal ponies are just as blind as you. You’re aware of every sound and what makes them. “S-s-so, how can you see in this,” Rainbow Dash asks, slight fear in her voice, “AH! What was that?!” “Ha ha, there’s nothing to worry about. No pony accept me ever comes in here,” you say, chuckling. “And you never worry about cave ins?” she asks. “Nope, come on we’re almost out,” you say. Rainbow speeds past you and out of the cave. “Thank Celestia, light! Wait, why didn’t we fly her?” she asks, irritated. “Now where’s the fun in that? It’s more exciting to use the cave, keeps you on your toes doesn’t it?” you respond. “You’re sick,” she says, her friendly attitude has returned. “Look up, we can fly the rest of the way up from here.” Before you lay a huge mountain range. To your right is Dragon Mountain and your left is Luna’s Castle from the Nightmare incident. Up above is your destination; a ledge with a small tree growing on it, with a long path leading down the mountain. You both fly up the cliff face and land. You ‘watch’ as Dash looks at the view. Something you’ve never seen. You always came here when you needed to think, or wanted to be alone, or simply enjoy the nice weather. “Whoa, the view up here is so AWESOME,” Rainbow Dash says, clearly astonished, “how did you find this place?” Hmmm, how did you find this cliff? When you were a young colt you always loved to read. You always looked out your window at home and saw it. So one day you grabbed your favorite book and flew up the mountain. Over the next year your came here to read or simply enjoy the view. The accident however changed that. The fact that you may never see the sky or stars again terrified you. As soon as you could navigate the ground without bumping into something you tried to get back to your cliff. The cave was ironically the first place you started out. Each day you crept further up the mountain until you reached the ledge. It not only became a place of solitude but comfort as you dealt with your new condition. As soon as you remastered flight, you stopped using the cave as frequently. You brought some braille books from the Canterlot book store up with you and slowly got on with life as a blind pony. “I always used to eye this ledge from my house and one day decided to actually come up here. I absolutely love this place. It’s the best place to simply lay back and relax or read a book.” “I like the sound of that,” she says as she flies over to the tree and lands on a branch “, lie back and relax.” And with that she falls fast asleep. You begin to realize something. For the first time you have been looking forward to every day. You had become actually kind of sociable. And it was because of Rainbow. You had heard the rumors about Rainbow, that she was a fillyfooler. You don’t care; she’s your friend either way. You’d never had many friends after losing your sight. As a blind colt you’d bump into everything, crash into anything, you were clumsy. The other Pegasus ponies in your school laughed at you or took advantage of your blindness. You were no longer capable of living in Cloudsdale. That was when your parents moved to Ponyville. At first your parents had homeschooled you, until you had begun to regain your ‘sight.’ Your parents were amazed; the doctors who examined you were dumbfounded. As far as they were concerned all you couldn’t see were colors, words, and facial expressions. You had your parents re-enroll you in public school. That summer before school started you saved up bits from your allowance and had your father buy you pair of electric blue glasses to cover your now colorless irises. You hear a rustling in the tree. Rainbow wakes up, knocking you out of your reminiscing. “Wow! Look at that sunset. It’s so…” for once she’s at a loss for words, “I don’t know how to describe it. Are sunsets up here always like this?” You couldn’t see the sunset, so you respond by saying “, yeah, all the time.” You walk to the edge of the cliff and ‘look’ off at Celestia’s setting sun. Though you can’t see it, you know Luna’s moon begins to rise. Rainbow walks up to you and sits next to you. “Ya know rook, I’ve never met anyone quite like you. You’re different than most stallions I’ve met. I don’t know how but you’re different,” she moves in closer and leans up against you. You can feel her heartbeat through her chest. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. You smile as you sit with Rainbow, enjoying each other’s company, as you both ‘watch’ the sun set.