//------------------------------// // Outlook // Story: A Week Off // by protractror //------------------------------// The air smelled like vinegar, that was the worst part. Usually whenever Rainbow Dash got into a funk she could just forget about whatever happened and try to remember how awesome she was. However, the pungent aroma of vinegar wasn't just inescapable today, it was overwhelming. Dash could barely breathe, let alone could she think straight with the odor swirling around her. Altitude didn't help, she had tried that already. The ground smelled bad, her house smelled bad, and the cloud that she was currently trying to forget the world on smelled bad. Of course, the same could be said for the rest of Ponyville and Rainbow was not alone in her suffering. The reason it hit her so hard was that she knew she was the cause of all this. She was disappointed in herself, but she definitely wasn't the only one disappointed in her. The mayor had saved a few choice words for her when she found out what had happened. It was never supposed to get this big, all Rainbow Dash had wanted was to have a fun afternoon with Pinkie Pie. Pinkie had suggested building the biggest volcano Ponyville had ever seen, and said they should split the responsibility fifty-fifty. Pinkie would get the baking soda and Rainbow would get the vinegar, as much as they could find. Soon it became a competition, and Rainbow's competitive side met Pinkie's absurd reality bending capabilities and before you knew it everything was chaos. Rainbow had constructed an entire cloud of Vinegar and Pinkie Pie had a verifiable mountain of baking soda. Neither party had assumed the other would get anywhere near themselves in the collecting, so when the two forces collided, lets just say it was the first tidal wave to ever hit downtown Ponyville. It were times like this where Rainbow only wanted to be alone. She had let down the entire town today, no reason to make it worse by showing her face. However, she also knew that in approximately two minutes her exile would be called off by the immediate arrival of one of her friends. The only real mystery was whether she would be comforted by a soft wing from Fluttershy or lassoed down to the ground by Applejack. Well, the other mystery was why Rainbow always came to the same cloud when she was down, even if her friends all knew where it was, however that was something Rainbow wasn't keen on saying. What Rainbow wasn't expecting however was to find a red tin cup blindside her as she lay on her cloud. The cup strangely stayed floating above ground making Rainbow wonder momentarily if she was being haunted by the world's worst ghost. However the real answer was slightly more mundane, if more confusing, as the cup appeared to be attached to a string which was snagged on Rainbow's mane. The string itself continued through the cloud and out of sight to the puzzled mare. A quick examination showed that the cup was stone dry and seemed to have no purpose whatsoever. As Dash fumbled around with it in her paws though she heard a light mumbling coming out of the cup. Intrigued, she put it up to her ear. "- and then the cakes said they weren't mad, just disappointed. Isn't that the worst?" The voice was unmistakeably Pinkie just from the pace at which she was talking. She sounded a bit less bubbly though today, and Rainbow was pretty sure she knew why. After taking a deep breath, she paused in what Rainbow figured was contemplation. "Oh silly me, I should probably give you a chance to talk now." Taking the cup and moving it from her ear to her mouth, Rainbow tried to start from the beginning. "Uhm, Pinkie? I sort of put that cup in my ear right at the end of that whole monologue. What were you talking about?" "Anytime you want Rainbow Dash, I'm listening." Pinkie said, oblivious to whatever Rainbow Dash was saying. "Pinkie, you need to put the cup in your ear if you're listening." "C'mon Rainbow, don't be shy." Pinkie said, as clueless and chipper as she was to begin with. As she stared up at the cloud she saw two mighty wings emerge and in three flaps the cloud itself had descended to her level, Rainbow Dash included. Her smile only increased but before she could continue talking into the cup Rainbow slowly, but forcefully, threw the inefficient telephone into the nearest tree. Rainbow then preceded to lie down on the cloud as if she was trying to nap, but Pinkie seemed to see right through her tiredness. "Hey Dashie! I know you're feeling all gloomy right now and probably don't want to cheer up anytime soon, but I figure that you'd at least want something sweet to wash out that vinegar taste. And I don't think you've ever turned down my super sweet cupcakes, so I brought some by." Pinkie opened up her basket she had brought with her and sure enough, there was a half dozen sparkling cupcakes inside. As much as Dash wanted to keep cool and stay mopey, Pinkie had a point about the vinegar. At least that's what Dash told herself as she reached out and slowly started eating one of the cupcakes, that it was the vinegar and not the truly irresistible taste of the cupcakes. "Rainbow, you know that nopony hates you because of this, right?" Pinkie said softly, sincerely. It was a side of Pinkie not everybody saw. Sometimes even the funniest jokes couldn't get somepony to smile, not even the happiest of parties could either. Sometimes what Pinkie needed to be for her friends was a serious pony, somepony who made them smile for other reasons than laughter. "Because you're Ponyville's number one weather pony, they know you'd never leave them hanging." "Yeah, I guess," Rainbow said half because she believed it and half to make Pinkie feel better. "Doesn't mean they shouldn't hate me though. The entire town's covered in vinegar and I can't even clean it up because I'm on a week suspension from the weather patrol." "A whole week? Wow, that's a long time for you. What are you going to do with all that spare time?" Really, the question had never crossed her mind. Rainbow up until now had been to busy trying to forget the past that she hadn't realized she had nothing to do for an entire week. Looking around she yawned and replied " You're looking at it." Oddly though, Pinkie's face only lit up when she said that. "Not anymore you're not! The cakes said that I get whatever punishment that you get, so that means that were both going to have a week free! That or I'm not allowed to change the weather, but I don't think they're going to be that literal." Pinkie Pie was hopping in place now, her excitement building to critical mass. "Either way though, we're going to have an entire week to hang out!" Dash was not hopping in place, in fact she wasn't even smiling. Her mouth was not as rash, it was still trying to figure out how to take this news. While Pinkie cartwheeled around her, Rainbow could only think about how this was possibly the worst thing for her right now. When she and Pinkie hung out, the town was covered in vinegar or worse. The two of them together were a legitimate threat to the safety of the town. However it wasn't always like that. Back when hey first started hanging out, things were a lot simpler. They'd spend their days pulling off little pranks, joking with one or two of their close friends. Some days they'd mix it up, they'd go bowling or maybe go for a swim on those hot summer days. On the days when they were busy, Rainbow would come by Sugarcube Corner and just keep Pinkie Pie company when things were slow. Pinkie in return would watch Rainbow perform her stunts; the loudest cheerleader Equestria had ever seen. In those days Pinkie and Rainbow would be together more often then they'd be apart. Lately though, times had been tough for the pair. Rainbow needed more shifts on weather patrol and with their new twins the cakes had cut back heavily on their baking time. the increasingly rare spare time was no longer spent pranking, but instead with Applejack, Fluttershy, Twilight and Rarity. There was only so much free time in a week and to spend it with anything but all of their friends felt unfair to Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie seemed to feel the same way. At least she acted like she was ok with it. She never stopped planning things with Rainbow Dash though, even when she knew that it would probably fall through. When it actually ended up happening it seemed like Pinkie was trying to fit a month's worth of crazy into one day. This was exactly why they had created a tsunami of baking soda and vinegar. Pinkie had just gotten to crazy recently. The instant that thought crossed Rainbow's mind the cupcake in her mouth couldn't cover up the sour taste on her tongue. That wasn't a thought Rainbow made, that wasn't what she believed. But as much as she denied it, the idea came right out of her mind. But Rainbow knew just how to deal with her mind; prove it wrong. "Sounds like a great idea Pinkie." Rainbow said as she stepped off of her cloud, releasing it to float back up the sky. "It will be just like old times. Rainbow and Pinkie and whatever we want to do." Pinkie's jumping for joy stopped when Rainbow said "old times", and as she landed she just looked at Rainbow Dash with a smile that couldn't possible be contained by her face. Her eyes were filled with so much hope that they seemed like they were going to burst, and for a second it looked like they had just a little. But Rainbow couldn't tell before she was swallowed up in a truly Pinkie Pie hug. Or at least it started like a trademark Pinkie Pie hug. This particular one lasted a bit longer, and she pulled away a bit slower. There was even a brief pause afterwards before Pinkie spoke, as if she took a moment to really see where she was. "So I think we've figured out that we should stop taking my advice on these things, so what do you think? Can you decide what we do for the next seven days?" She said, quickly speeding back up to her old pace. "Yeah, sure. Listen Pinkie, I'd love to start this week off right now, but I can barely stand my own smell right now. With you its like I'm breathing in a fish and chips place in the worst way. So how about we go shower off and then start off our week tomorrow?" It was completely true, Dash couldn't stand this for much longer and it seemed like Pinkie understood. "Alrighty Dashie! I'll see you tomorrow, you can pick me up at the Corner!" Pinkie said a she hopped off to her home higher even than usual. Even Rainbow Dash had lost her frown from before, replaced with a nostalgic grin. Just the thought of her time with Pinkie Pie made her grin. She knew though that this wasn't as strong a smile as she had back then, it wasn't as infallible. This week could be the best week of her life, but if it falls through like today had... Rainbow Dash didn't know if her friendship was strong enough to survive it anymore. It had never really hit home for Dash like that, how far they had really drifted apart. she was overcome with an urge to just fly over to Pinkie Pie, to just walk home with her and just enjoy her company. But they smelled, they smelled bad, and for once that seemed like it was a big enough problem to keep them apart. When did that happen? That hug didn't seem like it lasted too long anymore.