//------------------------------// // A Novel Solution // Story: Mail Call // by BlazzingInferno //------------------------------// Somewhere outside Thunderlane’s house, the clock was chiming in the hour. It didn’t really matter on a Saturday, though. Today’s weather was somepony else’s problem. Today he could do something for himself, just as soon as he got his mind off of Rainbow Dash. He sat at the kitchen table, staring at the remains of his breakfast. The bowl of cereal was mush by now, and the toast was cold. At this rate, Rumble would come home for lunch and find him still seated there. The letters were a dumb idea, that much he knew for certain. If he’d just left Rainbow alone, things would’ve been fine. She hadn’t been to work, or been seen out of her house, for two days now. That was his fault, without question. If he’d kept his dumb feelings to himself, she could’ve just kept sleeping in every day, oblivious to him and all the pain he was capable of inflicting. At least Ditzy’s life was back to normal. After sleeping off her binge-searching on his couch, she’d gone back home and found the missing letters in her own mailbox. She’d accidentally delivered them to herself. All was right in her world, and all it took was upending Rainbow’s and his own. There was a soft knock on the front door. He stood, stared at the door for a moment, and decided to put his dishes away instead. Whoever it was could come back later. There was a second knock, this time a little more forceful. In response he dumped his bowl in the sink and turned the water on. “Forget it, I’m not home.” The third knock rattled the pictures on the walls, and the sound of Rainbow’s voice made him drop the plate on the floor. “Open up, Thunderlane! I know you’re in there!” After turning off the water, and nearly stepping on the broken flatware, he ran to the door. “Rainbow, how could you possibly…” She grinned as soon as she saw him. “Hah, knew it!” He sighed. “You just guessed, didn’t you?” “Yeah. Can I come in for a sec?” He didn’t know what to say. Fortunately, his head began nodding on its own. Rainbow walked past him and looked around. “Nice place you’ve got here.” All he could see was the smashed plate by the sink. “I… uh… Thanks.” “So… I haven’t been to work in a while.” He nodded again. “Yeah… We all noticed.” She looked at him and bit her lip. “You didn’t tell anypony what happened, right?” “Why would I?” “I don’t know… I just feel kind of embarrassed that I lost it over some pony not sending me a letter.” “It wasn’t just a letter though, right?” She shrugged. “I’ve been thinking about it and… yeah, it was. Turns out I had this ‘secret admirer’ guy figured out from the start: he’s a coward for using letters, and he’s a jerk for leaving me hanging.” His legs started to shake. “But… I thought you liked how the letters made you feel. That last letter could’ve just gotten lost.” “Yeah, but it doesn’t matter. I’m done with that guy anyway.” She flew up high and pounded her hooves together. “It’s time I took romance into my own hooves, where it belongs.” He forced a smile. “That… makes sense, I guess. So why are you telling me all this?” She dropped back to the ground and pointed a hoof at him. “ ’cause I’m asking you out.” This time his smile was genuine. “Me?” “Yep. I know you didn’t write the letters and everything but… I kind of wished you did. So how about we check out the wild clouds over the Everfree Forest this afternoon? You pick where we eat dinner, and you pay.” He nodded. “I-I’d love to. That sounds great.” She stepped closer and pounded a hoof on his chest. “And one more thing: no kissing or anything mushy on a first date, got it?” He started laugh. “Got it.” Her glare dissolved into a smile. “What’s so funny?” “I’ve just got a really crazy story to tell you, but I’ll save it for tonight.”