Chapter 3
“That definitely took too long.” Tania said grumpily as they headed down the dusty road.
“I know, but how can you resist that.” Kyle made Tania smile.
“Figures you’d enjoy that. Good food all right, perfect for the celebration. Actually, though, what I couldn’t resist was those eyes. How can they make something that cute? Of course I couldn’t say ‘no’ to that!”
“I haven’t eaten that well since my birthday! And most of it dessert!”
“That little girl must’ve only been under ten, and they’ve sucked her into this entire hullabaloo. I think she even made my eggs.” Tania’s stomach gurgled. “Yup, almost definitely. And her family!”
“And everything made out of apples! I’m amazed they can come up with that many recipes!”
“So obsessed with apples! I mean, I know it’s the family business and all, but would it kill them to have at least made the salad without apples, or maybe make at least one cherry pie or something? Really sweet people and all but…”
“I don’t think I could ever get sick of apples!”
“I think I would get way too sick of apples!”
They looked at each other.
“Huh?” They said simultaneously. “Oh sorry, I was just rambling!”
“Jinx! You owe me a soda!” shouted Kyle.
“Riiiiighty then. What’s next?”
“Weatherization. We need to check that the awnings are down in case of a storm and that a plan is in place in case of rain. Someone named Dashlynn Hueburn is in charge of that. She’s also supposed to be making sure nothing loose is left about in case some wind is picked up from the flyby.
“Well she’s not doing a very good job is she? Ugh. Look at this place!”
They were at the edge of town square now, looking down the street. There was a lot of junk on the ground from all the general preparations: water bottles, little bits of tape, ribbon. There were also broken branches here and there. Despite the warnings that there was to be an aerial show to be put on by Queston’s own Wonderbolts, people had clearly not made careful consideration of the wind. Posters were taped to the outside of windows, and balloons weren’t tied tightly enough. There was some stand up signs with ponies drawn on their faces. Half the awnings were down, and those that were weren’t very secure. The more she looked around, the more it looked like rain too. It was a sunny day, but damp, and a previous shower had left mud puddles everywhere.
Everywhere. Mud everywhere.
“ACK!”
Someone giggled “Uh, excuse me.” The someone removed herself from her place on top of Tania and tried to help the student up. “Let me help you.”
Tania got up and glowered, examining her muddied clothes. Suddenly she was shocked by a spray of freezing water. The other young woman turned off her hose.
“Oops. I guess I over did it. Um, how about this?”
Tania tried to get a glimpse of her assaulter but the girl had disappeared. Kyle was laughing.
And then suddenly the wind picked up and it was all Tania could do to keep her feet planted on the ground. She squinted and held her hands against the oncoming air.
“My very own patented Rain-Blow-Dry. No no, don't thank me. You're quite welcome.”
The wind stopped and Tania caught her reflection in the window. Her hair had whipped up into itself, converting its carefully straightened locks into piles upon piles of tangled curls. Tania looked upon her attacker. The girl was on the ground and laughing so hard she couldn’t breathe. Beside her was a large, industrial sized, fan.
“What? Where did you…?”
“I…” the girl gasped. “I...” She started laughing again. Tania waited patiently for the sportswear-clad girl to get up and regain her breath. It took a while.
Finally the girl spoke. “I was lent this for the celebration. It’s supposed to recreate the effects of a windstorm so I can guess what needs to be tied down.”
Obviously the girl hadn’t been using it for its primary purpose.
“I’m guessing then that you’re Dashlynn?”
“The one and only! But I prefer Dash, or Rainbow Dash if you’re feeling fancy.”
“Oh right, another nickname.”
The name certainly matched. Rainbow Dash’s style was a mixture of sporty, punk, and whatever was in her closet. She wore white and blue runners over knee-high rainbow socks. Above them was a pair of custom track shorts. The blue, yellow, and red lines on the sides had been zigzagged like a lightning bolt and the words “Queston Track” had been embroidered at the hip. Above that she wore a zipped white hoodie with light blue wings printed on the back. Her round face circled even rounder amber eyes. She had cinnamon skin and dark brown, very unkempt, hair. The tips of it had been dyed in Roy G. Biv’s favourite colours.
“What? Don’t you have a nickname?” she asked.
“No. Tania Sparks is a perfectly respectable name just the way it is.”
“Sparks huh? We could work with that. Like Sparkler or even Spark-”
“No. I don’t need another name thank you.”
“What would you call me?” Kyle piped up.
“You?” Rainbow Dash hopped onto the edge of a walled garden. She squatted there above his head, studying him. Kyle fidgeted uncomfortably under her gaze. He began to bite his lip.
“Huh. Hey, mind smiling for me?” Kyle gave her a look and slowly spread back his lips. “No, clench your teeth together. Ya. That’s it… Dude! You’ve practically got fangs going on there.”
“Ya, my dentist says…”
“What’s the story behind your hair?” Rainbow Dash was now circling him studiously. Tania waited impatiently, clacking the clip on the clipboard.
“My hair? I dunno. It doesn’t sit straight on its own so I spike it up with hair gel. Even without the gel it’s still pretty spikey.”
“Spikey…Spike! That’s it. Your name is Spike.” Rainbow Dash sat on the wall, clearly proud of herself.
“Ya, I like that.”
“Well, it pretty much created itself. But ya. I suppose it was a pretty awesome choice. And you gotta be awesome.”
Tania cleared her throat.
“Speaking of awesome, I’m afraid this street isn’t. I’m here on Princesses Solace’s behalf and I’m checking up on the Celebration’s progress. I thought you were supposed to clear the street.”
“Yeah, yeah. That'll be a snap.” Rainbow Dash said haphazardly. She lay on her back. “I'll do it in a jiffy, just as soon as I'm done practicing.”
“Practicing for what?”
Rainbow Dash sat up suddenly. “THE WONDERBOLTS! They're gonna perform at the celebration tomorrow, and I'm gonna show 'em my stuff.”
“The Wonderbolts?”
“Yup.”
“The most talented flyers in all of Equestria?”
“That’s them.”
Tania scoffed. “As if. Besides, I bet you don’t even have a plane.”
“I have a plane!”
“So why aren’t you flying it?”
Rainbow Dash jumped down and began running in place. “Flying is more than just flying you know! You’ve got to keep your stamina up! I’m the fastest runner in all of Ponyville, probably all of Queston!”
“Sure, and also the laziest.” Tania had Dash where she wanted her now. “The Wonderbolts would never accept a girl who can’t keep a street clear for one measly day!”
“Hey! I could clear the street in ten seconds flat!”
Tania smiled. “Prove it.”
Rainbow Dash dashed. In half a second she had scooped up a garbage bag. In the next three and a half she had dumped all the scattered debris into it. She spent the next five setting signs against walls, rolling up posters, and clicking awnings into place. In the last second, she ran back over to Tania and Kyle, sat on a bench and said.
“Loop-de-loop around and WHAM! What'd I say? Ten. Seconds. Flat. I'd never leave Ponyville hanging.” She panted for a few seconds more and stared at them weakly. “Ha ha, you should see the look on your face!”
Tania couldn’t stop gaping. She figured the tangled hair didn’t help with the overall look.
“Ha, you're a laugh, Tania Sparks. I can't wait to hang out some more.” Then the girl was off running into the sun and down a side street.
“Wow. She's amazing!” said Kyle. He took another look at Tania’s hair and chuckled. Tania huffed and started walking in the opposite direction.
“Wait!” said Kyle, laughing as he tried to catch up. “It's kinda pretty once you get used to it!”