//------------------------------// // 1 - The Only Human in the Village // Story: Humans, Rainbows and Diamonds // by RariDashFan //------------------------------// It was a glorious day in Ponyville, as usual. Celestia’s sun was high in the sky, shining down with its warm light. The birds and pegasi were flying amongst the clouds, while unicorns and earth ponies went about their day beneath the clouds, on the ground. The sun was at an almost blinding brightness, as Martin discovered as he stepped out from the Day Spa after a long day at work. A queer name for a pony, you might think. But Martin is no pony, he is a human who found his way to Equestria through chance around one year ago. Since that day, Martin has worked hard to earn a living amongst the ponies of Ponyville. When he first arrived, he was kept under the watchful eye of Twilight Sparkle, understudy of the grand Princess Celestia. However, after a month or so passed, they decided that Martin was of no threat to Ponyville or Equestria. Since then, Martin had befriended all six of the Elements of Harmony, especially the cyan mare Rainbow Dash, with whom he shared a close friendship. Eventually, Martin found a job working at the Ponyville Day Spa as a masseuse. Turns out hands are a valuable commodity in a world of hooved equines, and not just for entertaining a certain mint-coloured pony, as ponies now come from far-away lands to sample one of Martin’s “Hand Massages”. Because of this, Martin found himself quite well off in terms of bits, and owns a rather nice property on the outskirts of Ponyville. And that’s where Martin was headed, tired from a long day of back rubs, wing massages and general spa work. What he hadn’t counted on, was the sudden arrival of one Ms. Dash. Without warning, Martin was swept off his feet by a blue blur, and found himself pinned to the floor, albeit lightly, by his good friend Rainbow Dash. “‘Sup Martin, you just finished work?” asked Rainbow. “What the hell, Rainbow!?” replied Martin, semi-angrily. “You could’ve got my attention some other way!” “Heh, sorry…” Rainbow remarked apologetically, scratching the back of her head with her hoof. “It’s fine, no harm done” replied Martin, getting back to his feet and dusting himself off. Funny how none of the ponies seem to react to the tackle which had just occurred, as if it happened every day. Probably because it does. “What did you want anyways, Rainbow?” asked Martin “I was wondering if you wanted to hang out.” Rainbow happily replied. “Y’know, maybe go to the park, or go for a swim at the lake, I don’t know, something fun!” “Urgh, I’d love to Rainbow, but I’m just so tired from work. You’d be surprised just how tiring massages are.” Martin said, in a low tone. “Aww, come on. For me, please?” replied Rainbow, putting on a puppy-dog expression. “Oh, come on! You know I hate that face...Fine, I’ll go to the park with you.” Martin defeatedly said. “Woo! You’re the best friend ever!” Rainbow remarked, pulling Martin into a hug. After realizing this, she then let go and a light blush glazed over her cheeks. The two then departed towards the park, walking side by side. The park was emptier than usual, but there were still many ponies enjoying the warmth of Celestia’s sun. Some were munching on their picnics, some were just lying back and enjoying the nice weather, whilst the fillies were playing in the fields, chasing each other. Rainbow Dash, however, had taken to the skies and was performing a sequence of aerial acrobatics which would make the Wonderbolts applaud. Martin, meanwhile, was soaking up the rays lying on a picnic rug. Every now and then he’d look up to see how Rainbow was getting on. “Wow, she’s good.” Martin thought to himself. Rainbow just seemed to glide through the air like it was what she was born to do. Rainbow then noticed Martin watching her in her performance and stopped to wave, wearing a small smile, before shooting back off into the air again. However, on her way back down, Rainbow was caught by a small gust of wind which knocked her off course and dug-up dirt behind her. She finally stopped right by Martin,, who rushed to her aid. “Rainbow! Are you okay!?” Martin shouted, panicking about his best friend’s condition. “Yeah, I’m fine...damn wind caught me off guard and put my trajectory off. Kinda fucked that one up…” Rainbow replied, managing a weak smile. Martin found it kind of funny that she picked up on some of his foul language which he had uttered in the past. Not exactly good, but funny. “Are you sure you’re okay? That was a big crash.” said Martin in a concerned tone. “Yeah, I’m fine. Could you help me up?” replied Rainbow, with that same weak, but somehow cute smile. Martin then reached out a hand, grabbing onto one of Rainbow’s hooves and pulling her up. Rainbow was covered in dust and dirt, her cyan fur and rainbow mane being stained a dusty brown. Rainbow may not take as much care of her appearance as other ponies do, but she was in a state, even by her standards of cleanliness. “Urgh, all this dirt is sticking to my fur.” Rainbow said, disgusted by her current state. ”Ima go wash myself in the lake, you coming Martin?” “Sure, I could do with a dip myself.” replied Martin. The pair then hastily rushed towards the lake which was situated on the east side of the park. Although not the biggest, the lake offers enough room for a group of ponies to relax and soak for a while, with seats around the outside for those not willing to partake in the water-related activities. Rainbow arrived to the lake’s edge and dived headfirst into the water, completely submerging herself before rising up moments later, her mane and fur equally soaked. “Come on in, Martin, the water’s fine!” Rainbow shouted to her human friend, who had only just reached the lake. “I don’t really know if I want to…” Martin replied, hesitantly. “I’d rather not change out of my clothes.” “Who said anything about changing?” Rainbow retorted, trying to hold a laugh, before using her immense speed to get behind Martin and push him into the water, before laughing loudly at the soaked-through human. “Rainbow! What the fuck!? My clothes are all soakened and ruined now!” exclaimed Martin, obviously angry with what his pony friend had just done. “Jeez, I’m sorry.” said Rainbow in a sarcastic tone. “But hey, at least I cooled you off from the heat, huh?” Martin couldn’t argue with that, the heat was certainly unrelenting, and the cool waters of the lake were welcoming at this point. Martin soon found his anger disappearing, and he started to relax, letting the cool water drift over him. *SPLASH* Suddenly, without warning, Martin found himself being unrelentlessly buffeted with a torrent of water. Once the torrent had ceased, he saw Rainbow laughing, splashing water with all four of her hooves. “Rainbow, for fuck’s sake, what are you playing at!?” Martin asked angrily. “I was starting a splash fight! You coulda just said if you weren’t ready…” Rainbow replied in a sarcastic tone which was becoming somewhat of a trademark for the cyan pony. “Well you shouldn’t start a splash fight… if you’re not ready for a splash war!” Martin replied back to Rainbow, excitement in his voice as he started splashing water towards Rainbow, who put her hooves in front of her face for protection against the mass of water being hurled at her. Rainbow then decided to attack back, throwing water back at Martin. Other ponies in the surrounding area noticed this. Some rolled their eyes and began going on about today’s generation, some thought it was fun, whilst the rest just went on with their day. Not that Rainbow or Martin cared, as their fight had ended and the two were just now laughing to each other about the event that had just transpired. It was one of those afternoons for the pair which they’d fondly remember. However, as all good things must end, Rainbow and Martin’s afternoon was brought to an end by the setting of Celestia’s sun, which made way for the mysterious beauty of Luna’s moon, which shone down like a beacon in the dark, starry sky. “Wow, it’s getting late.” Martin exclaimed, looking at the setting sun. “I really need to get home, I have work again tomorrow!” “I need to get going too, I’m meeting Ac-” Rainbow stopped mid-sentence, as though she almost revealed a dark secret. “I mean, I just need to go. Bye!”. Those were Rainbow’s final words of the night, as she shot off into the ever-blackening sky. “Oh.” Martin thought to himself, as he climbed out of the lake, and made his way to the park exit. Thanks to the small size of Ponyville, it was easy for Martin to find his way home. Not that he really had to, as his house was one of the biggest in the village, down to the fact that everything had to be made for a human, rather than a pony. Still though, Martin had made an effort to learn his way around Ponyville, and now knew the layout as well as many of its other residents. After a short walk through some of the main streets of Ponyville, Martin found himself at the door to his home. After opening the door, he lit the candles which provided light for the main living area, then threw himself down onto his sofa and reminisced about the time with Rainbow. One thing stuck out to him in particular, what Rainbow said before she left, about meeting someone. Why did she not say who she was meeting, and why did she take off so quickly after talking? Martin’s mind was trying to produce an answer, but nothing seemed to make sense. Maybe she had a secret meeting at the weather facility she couldn’t tell anybody about. Maybe she has a Wonderbolts trial and wanted to keep it secret. All of these answers were flawed, and the question was praying on Martin’s mind all night. Who was Rainbow meeting with? Eventually, Martin decided to trust his best friend’s judgement and decided not to worry about it. Besides, he could easily talk to her about it after work. After making and devouring a wonderful salad for his dinner, Martin looked up to the sky out of the nearest window, and saw the moon ever-rising in the still black sky, and decided it’d be best to sleep at this point. Martin then slowly lifted himself up from the sofa and climbed the stairs of his home, before heading to the bathroom to perform the general hygienic actions one does before they sleep, before eventually making his way to the bedroom, undressing himself, getting into his bed, and falling asleep.