//------------------------------// // Treasure Hunting // Story: An Irish Treasure // by wubtasticalMLP //------------------------------// Treasure Hunting Rainbow Dash stood in the center of a large crowd of foals, all of which were gawking in amazement at the awesome cyan filly. She stood puffing out her chest and striking poses as If she were getting her picture taken, and she was beaming ear to ear. She took everything in, the praise from all of her class mates, the disgruntled faces of her opponents, the warm feeling in her heart. Everyone loved her, and she knew it. And why wouldn't they? She was without a doubt the coolest filly any of them had ever had the pleasure of laying their eyes upon. She just pulled off a stunt that was considered mythological, impossible for even the most elite flyers to pull off. She would probably even be in the papers tomorrow! She could become famous for this! She could- Her train off thought was interrupted when a sudden movement across the schoolyard was caught in the corner of her eye. There was a shrub near the gate to the school that was being rustled in, what could almost be described as, a violent manner, as if someone was grabbing it by it's base and attempting to strangle it. Wasn't everyone already over here? Even the teachers were! Why would anyone still be on the other side of the yard after seeing that spectacular stunt? And she knew they saw it, too. Almost everyone in Equestria probably saw it! Her curiosity peaked as she saw the shrub wiggle again, and what appeared to be a yellow rope flicked around the side. She left her fans to talk among themselves as she made her way over to the shrub, determined to find out what could possibly be more interesting about a decorative plant, than meeting the filly who performed a sonic rainboom! As she got closer, a fowl stench began to invade her nostrils. She scrunched up her muzzle in disgust, the putrid aroma intensifying as she stood just feet away from the now stock still bush. She waited a few moments, expecting the shrub to shift again. The plant stood in silence, almost as if it could sense the presence of the filly, like it was prey hoping to be overlooked by it's predator. After a minute or so, Dash decided to speak up. "Hello?" she asked, wondering if who ever was moving the bush was even there anymore. "Is anyone back there? Hello~," she said again, beginning to get impatient, her curiosity driving her mad. When she still received no response, she scowled at the bush, grumbling lowly at the uncooperative nature of it's occupant. Deciding she had no other option, and without warning to the bush, Dash leaped into the air and dove for the other side. "Hey! Why wont you answer m-!" Dash's yelling quickly came to a halt as she laid her eyes upon the little ball of grey fur, which was shivering in fear and gazing up at her with widened eyes. It was just a little filly, and by the looks-and smell of her, she desperately needed a bath. Dash made a mental note to listen to her dad the next time he told her to do so. Only one of her amber eyes was looking straight at her, while the other looked lazily toward her bangs. Her mane was a scraggly, blonde mess, along with her tail, which Dash now realized was the thing she had mistaken for rope. The two fillys just stared at each other for a while, neither quite sure what to say. "Umm..." Dash began, now feeling guilty for her previous anger, "Are-are you okay? I-I didn't mean to scare you. I just..just..." Dash wasn't sure how to finish her sentence. She was afraid of upsetting the filly even further if she said the wrong thing. The thoughts of her recent rainboom were wiped clean from her mind as she continued to look at the filly, and she slowly lowered herself back onto the ground. As Rainbow's hooves touched the cloud surface of the yard, the grey filly averted her eyes, focusing on a tuft of cloud that didn't seem particularly interesting to Rainbow. Keeping her gaze on the tuft, the filly slowly rose to her hooves, still trembling slightly, though more out of nervousness than fear at this point. "H-hi," the walleyed filly stuttered. "M-my names Derpy," she paused for a moment before looking back up at the cyan filly. "A-are you a leprechaun?" she asked in all seriousness, with a bit of new found excitement in her voice. Rainbow fought to hold back a snicker at this, though a smile still found it's way onto her lips. "Umm, well, last I checked I was a pony. If I were a leprechaun, I think I'd probably be a lot shorter and have an accent." Dash tried her best to look pleasant as she said this, hoping the response wouldn't upset Derpy. Still, the grey filly hung her head at this, obviously disappointed. Derpy had really hoped this filly was a leprechaun in disguise or something, making rainbows so that all the other ponies, including her, could be happy. Rainbow noticed the change in her features, and quickly tried to fix the issue. "Well, you could always pretend that I'm a leprechaun! I mean, that would be a problem with me anyway!" Derpy looked back at Rainbow and smiled meekly. At this point, Rainbow remembered why she had come over here in the first place. "Hey, so, um, what were you doing over here? You're the only one that wasn't over in that crowd with me." Rainbow gestured with her fore hoof towards the crowd of foals and teachers on the other side of the yard, which had begun to disperse at this point. She then returned her attention towards the grimy filly in front of her. "Also, are you like, new here or something? I don't really recognize you." Derpy's smile faded, and she looked at the tuft again. "Well, I-I just-I saw you make a rainbow, and I r-really wanted to meet a-a leprechaun, so I came in here, but then I got r-really nervous 'cause I knew you wouldn't l-like me, so I hid in this bush instead." She fell back on her haunches and began weeping quietly. Her chances of finally making a friend were now gone. The cyan filly now knew she was a coward, and to a courageous, rainbow-making filly like her, she must have seemed worthless. She knew she shouldn't expect any more than being discarded again. That what had happened every other time she tried talking to other ponies. They looked at her like she had three heads, and walked away. It was because of this, that she was surprised to feel a hoof on her chin, lifting it up so she was once again looking at the cyan filly. She didn't look disgusted, or angry, or bored with her. Instead, she had a warm, sympathetic smile on her face. Ignoring the fact that Derpy was covered in Celestia knows what, Rainbow pulled her into a hug. Derpy was caught completely off guard, and froze for a couple moments before cautiously returning the hug. "Derpy," Rainbow spoke, catching Derpy's attention,"what the hay made you think I wouldn't like you? I mean, you definitely seem a whole lot nicer than those colts I just kicked the flanks off of." Derpy giggled at this remark, and Rainbow pulled back from the hug. "My name is Rainbow Dash, by the way, but most folks just call me Rainbow," she explained. The smile on Derpy's face rivaled the one she wore when she first gazed upon the rainbow, and with the joy that filled her heart at this moment, she was sure that this filly was really a leprechaun, spreading happiness to everyone. She finally made a friend. "So," Derpy began, with a hint of confusion in her voice,"you don't think I'm weird? My-my eye doesn't scare you? You think I'm nice?" she finished, her excitement making itself known. "Well, yeah! You haven't said anything mean, so you must be, right?" Rainbow said before looking at her fore hooves and chest, which were now coated in some sort of grease. "Although, maybe a bath wouldn't hurt." Derpy blushed slightly, embarrassed by the realization that the first thing she had done as someone's friend was cover them in filth. "Yeah, sorry. I would take a bath, but I don't have a tub.....or enough water to fill one," Derpy sighed and looked back at her friend, who now wore a confused expression. "What do you mean you don't have a tub? Everyone has a tub, or a shower, or something!" Derpy's blush intensified. She knew it was weird for someone to not have a tub, but it was the truth. She had no tub, no water, no soap, and no place to put any of it. "Well, I don't have one. I guess it's just one more thing that makes me weird," Derpy frowned, and again she eyed the tuft of cloud next to her hoof. "Well, whats so bad about being weird? My dad always told me it's better to be weird, 'cause otherwise there wouldn't be anything special about ya," Rainbow stated, proud that she could use her father's words in context. "Hey!" she exclaimed with sudden realization," you could use my tub if you wanted! I'm sure my dad wouldn't mind!" Just the thought of being clean again after building up three years of filth made Derpy want to jump with joy. "Yeah!" she yelled, overjoyed at the idea," That would be awesome! Thanks!" With this, Derpy tackled Rainbow in a vise-like hug, knocking the wind from the cyan filly. *cough* "Yeah, sure-*gasp*-thing-ugh-hey, Derpy?" "Yup!" Derpy exclaimed, completely oblivious to the fact that she was choking the life out of her new friend. "Um, you think you could-*cough*-get off of me?" Rainbow managed, her voice sounding rather labored. "Hmm? Oh! Yeah!" Derpy giggled as she climbed off of Rainbow, who inhaled deeply, eager to inflate her lungs again. "Sorry! I just-I'm so excited! No ones ever invited me to their house before, let alone let me use their bath!" The filly was jumping with excitement, still focused on the idea of being inside someone's home, rather than just looking in. "Well," Rainbow said as she got to her hooves,"I gotta get going. Recess is ending," she said, looking towards the crowd of foals who were crowding towards the teachers to begin lessons again. "Meet me here after school, and I promise we'll get all that....stuff off of you." With that, she hopped into the air, gave Derpy one last smile, and flew off towards the class. Derpy's cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling, but she didn't care. She finally made a friend! A friend who was going to let her use her bath! Maybe things would be better now. Maybe things could go back to the way they were when she had her mommy. Maybe she had finally found the treasure at the end of the rainbow.