The Big Question
Several weeks flew by alongside Rainbow Dash and Cloud. No pony really talked about the race or Rainbow's new official title after the celebration party Pinkie Pie threw with the exception of Gale, who harassed his brother with questions regarding why the older pony threw the race and his reputation. Cloud would either respond with a shrug or threaten to kick his brother's flank with each question. Cirrus had decided to take a leave from work to be with her family more and allow her son to escape the responsibilities of the family caretaker and guardian. He used his new free time to visit frequently Rainbow Dash, sometimes staying over several nights at her home.
Over the course of the time since the race, Rainbow Dash struggled to contain her feelings for Cloud whenever he was around. She was scared of admitting them for fear of losing her toughness and getting teased by her friends. She was also scared of not admitting them because Rarity was becoming uncomfortably close to the Pegasus. Rainbow knew exactly what was going on, which was why she knew she had to make her move first. That's why today's visit was so important. She even recruited Pinkie Pie to help outline a day of super fun things to do with Cloud.
"Okay, so after rafting, there's what again?" Rainbow asked. She rubbed her head in frustration. Memorizing what Pinkie Pie planned for the day was proving to be a pretty hard task. She kept at it though; at the end of the day it would all be worth it.
"That's when you go zip lining!" Pinkie Pie repeated cheerfully.
"And then we go snowboarding?"
"Yep! You got it!"
"Okay. That's the whole day." Rainbow Dash gave Pinkie Pie an awkward hug. "Thanks, Pinkie…I, uh…couldn't do this without you…"
"You're welcome! Now go have fun before you're late!"
"Pinkie the sun still isn't up yet", Rainbow yawned. "I'm supposed to meet him at dawn."
Pinkie Pie gasped dramatically. "That's in ten minutes! He's probably already waiting for you! And if he's waiting for you he'll get agitated! And if he gets agitated—"
"Omigosh!" Rainbow was out of Pinkie's window before the pink mare uttered another word about what might happen if Cloud hurt his hoof from kicking a tree out of anger.
Pinkie Pie put a hoof to her chin. "Hmmm…Rainbow Dash is going to need help if she wants to make it through the day", she said to herself. She slowly attached a fake mustache under her nose, "I'll just have to help her with that…in secret!"
Meanwhile Cloud glided idly along the warm air currents between the towns. He couldn't believe Rainbow Dash wanted to meet him before twelve! But, since he liked the stuff they did together, he couldn't turn her down. As a gag, he scooped up a few flowers from the bottom of the canyon before leaving. He carried them carefully through the air. He wasn't sure how to go about with his joke, but he knew he could always just give them to her without coming up with one. That's probably why he wasn't trying very hard to come up with one.
He yawned again for the sixth time since he left home. "Whatever that crazy Pegasus plans on doing, it better be worth it." He knew it was. It always was.
"Cloud! Cloud!" a young filly's voice cried out to him. "Clllooooouuuuuuuud!"
He inverted to see Sprinkle flying towards him wearily. She was straining her wings to stay up, and everytime she began to fall Gale and Gust would grab her from the sides to lift her back up. He stopped flying so they could catch up. He realized the small bouquet he collected was still in his hooves. He quickly hid them behind his back while they couldn't see through the darkness.
"Why're you guys out at this time of day?" Cloud asked.
"We could ask you the same question!" Gale retorted.
"I'm old enough to do what I want", the older sibling put bluntly. "Don't make me show you just what I can do."
"Please", Gust said, "There's no need for such barbaric displays of strength. We're merely escorting our dear sister to meet with her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders."
"I'm getting my cape today!"
"And we're going to check out what kind of fliers Ponyville has." Gale let go of Sprinkle to backflip.
"Okay, showoffs", Cloud sighed, "Don't mess anything up or you're going to get it. Remember, you're guests here. So act like it."
"I'll be sure to keep him in check, Brother. No worries", Gust assured as he help Sprinkle stay in the air.
"Oh, please", Cloud snapped, "You'll do anything for attention too."
Gust didn't say another word. He only looked away in anger to the brightening horizon.
"Look you guys", Cloud said, "I'm going to be late if I don't get going."
"Come on, your date can wait a second!"
Cloud responded with a huff, dropped from the sky, and then took off at lightning speed to Ponyville. He kept the flowers tucked between his hooves as he flew. The last thing he wanted to give Rainbow Dash was a bunch of flowers with only one petal on them. He lowered his speed the second he was sure his siblings could no longer see him. Rainbow wanted to meet up at Pointy Peak…I think she said it was where all the mountains were in Ponyville. Guess I'll just fly around there until I find her.
Down on the ground, Pinkie Pie watched him fly with night vision goggles. She traced his path and knew he was going the wrong way. She Pinkie Teleported to somewhere on the ground in front of him. Using an old miner's helmet, she clicked the flash light on and off at him.
The blinking light below him stood out against the dark town. "What's that?" He chased after it. The light shot in the opposite direction. He flew faster and lower until his hooves were skimming the tops of the trees. "Get back here!"
Pinkie Pie hopped faster and faster. She would never understand what it was with colts and shiny things, but, hay, if it worked it worked. She lured Cloud to his and Rainbow's meeting spot. Pinkie Pie had a feeling she was losing ground, so began popping in and out of the holes in the trees' trunks to catch the Pegasus off guard.
It worked, Cloud watched the light disappear then reappear all over the tiny forest he flew through. If he didn't know any better—and he didn't—he could've sworn the darn light was making a fool out of him. It flicked on in one tree, then off, and then on again in a totally different tree far from the first. The sun was almost over the mountains in the east, giving a little better light than the dark gray pink that he was struggling to see through for the past few minutes. The brightening sky took his attention from the light. That's when he remembered he had to get going, and fast. He put his wings in fourth gear and blasted off to a higher altitude.
He didn't get far before Rainbow spotted him. "Hey, Cloud!" she screamed. "Over here!"
Cloud turned to see his favorite Pegasus waving at him from the cliff of a high mountain. He excitedly made a beeline for her. He closed the distance as fast as he could, and just before arrival he flipped over and presented the blue and purple speckled flowers out to her. "For you malady", he said nobly. "Oh, wait!" He quickly removed one of the flowers from the group and fashioned it behind her ear like he did with every visit. "This one's a river flower from the bottom of the flower."
Her first of many blushes of the day dominated the space between her upper lip and her brow. "…Thanks, Cloud." She took the flowers and tucked their stems under her wing. "Come on, we have a ton of stuff to do today."
"You didn't pull me outta bed this early just to make me do chores did you?" Cloud asked sarcastically.
"Oh, yeah, let me tell you about it." She rolled her eyes.
Cloud lazily flew beside her. "Then what are we doing out here, Dash?"
"Something awesome", she grinned.
"Like what?"
"You'll see."
"You do know that I have, like zero patience, right?" Cloud narrowed his eyes in fake annoyance. He shielded them from the sun as it peaked over the mountains on the horizon.
She laughed. "Why do you think I'm not telling you?"
"This is torture!"
"Do you need a wah-mbulance?" Rainbow snickered.
He sighed. "Come on, Rainbow, where're we going already?"
"You ever been bungee jumping?"
"No, but we have all over Canyon Run."
"You're about to", she said daringly, "Four hundred feet of rushing wind, adrenaline packed drop and no wings."
Cloud winced at the sound of "no wings", but quickly faked every bit of courage he could muster. "Ooh, sounds dangerous. I'm in."
He flew a little faster to get to their destination, urging Rainbow Dash to hurry too. They climbed the mountain a little farther until they came to a little sky pier overlooking the town of Ponyville. Two ponies were busy setting the bungees and harnesses up for the first jumpers of the day. One of them spotted Rainbow Dash and waved at her energetically.
"Howya Rainbow Dash! 'Tsbeen a while!"
Rainbow flew over to the unicorn and gave her a hoofbump. "Yeah, I know, but I got a brand new jumper for ya this time!"
The other unicorn stopped to stare at Cloud with Fall. "Alright! We got oursevs a newcomer! Whas da name, Stranger?"
He smiled proudly despite the speed his heart was beating. "I'm Cloud, the second best flyer in Equestria!"
She ignored the comment to put two and two together. "Rainbow s'he your coltfriend?" Fall asked pointing to the flowers the mare was still holding with her wing.
"No", she said quickly, "Just a close friend." She smiled embarrassingly and rubbed the back of her mane.
"Oh, thas too bad", the red unicorn commented, "Yous two would make an adorable couple!"
Cloud grabbed Rainbow around her neck and pulled her into an intimate hug. "Well, when you put it that way, I guess we have to be!" He grinned at Rainbow's furious scowl.
"Let me go, Blockhead!" she shouted, "Or I'll knock your block off!"
Her friends giggled, exchanged whispers, then giggled more, causing Rainbow's red face to go dark crimson. The red mare stepped forward, "I s'pose we should introduce oursevs. I'm Folly, if you can't tell." She ran her hoof through her mane and over her folly red fur.
Her sister jumped in front of her. "And I'm Free Fall. We're Ponyville's bungee jumping sistahs with da record number o' jumps in 'Questria."
"Cool", Cloud replied. He swallowed hesitantly, "So how's this bungee jumping thing work? I have friends that do it, but haven't watched up close."
"Works diffrently for diffrent ponies, lad", Fall answered. "But for you Pegasi, what we're going t'do is tie a little belt around your wings and then latch one o' our harnesses around your hooves. Then, all you do is jump."
"Simple as that!" Folly came forward with the belts for their wings. Rainbow stepped forward to get hers out of the way first and give the sisters her flowers. The unicorn used her magic to wrap the belt around Rainbow's wings. She pulled it taut. "Alrighty, Cloud. Come on over 'ere."
Cloud took a hesitant step. "So, uh, why no wings?"
"Wouldn't want them to open and break now, would we?" Fall called from the pier. She clipped the end of one of the bungees to the anchor pole. "Think about, lad. You're goin' about sixty only four secons after you fall. If we didn' tuck your wings in, you'd be in the hospital faster than you could say 'oops'." She levitated the hoof harnesses to the ponies and firmly strapped them into place. A secondary hook latched to the belt's iron loop. "Okay, chaps, hobble your way to the pier and wait on our mark."
With his back hooves firmly tied together, Cloud hopped awkwardly with Rainbow Dash. The ground below them was so far down that the colors looked like one, distorted blotch to the black Pegasus. He gulped silently. "These ropes aren't going to break are they?"
"Not a chance. Their da toughest made!"
"You're not scared are ya?" Rainbow asked. She didn't show it outwardly, but she was worried that Cloud might back out and be against the other things she wanted to do for the day.
He swallowed his fear. "Me, nah! I'm just wondering just in case I have to save you!"
Rainbow disguised her sigh of relief with a seemingly frustrated facehoof. "Please, I'm not going to hold you if you start screaming like a filly."
"As cute as yous two are", Folly said, "You'll nevah get ta jump wit' all da bickering."
This time both ponies blushed, causing Rainbow stepped to the edge to avoid the awkwardness. "Watch and learn!" She kept her eyes on Cloud as she jumped off. "Woooooohoooooooo!" Her whoop echoed over the mountains several times before fading away. Cloud peaked over the edge to see Rainbow still falling. The bungee ran out of length three seconds after he looked and stretched tight. The falling mare eventually stopped and suddenly bounced back up. It took her about five seconds before she was even with the rope's slack. The force of the bounce pulled Rainbow Dash right back on the pier. She twisted and landed on her hooves.
"Fair play, Rainbow Dash!" Fall congratulated, "Another perfect jump!"
"Awesome!" Cloud complimented. He high hoofed her on the way from the edge.
She smirked. "As always", she bragged.
Folly gave the next in line a heavy push toward the edge. "Don' be nervous, lad, go on. Give'er a whirl!"
He took a deep breath and attempted to move his wings. They didn't budge. He slowly walked up to the side. Determined to show Rainbow that he wasn't scared, he fell over the edge. Instantly, his gut felt heavy with nausea. His eyes refused to open to meet the stinging wind. To him, it felt like forever before he felt the cord take on tension at his hooves. His fall gradually slowed to a stop, then, when he thought it was over, he was shot in the opposite direction. Cloud attempted to turn his body around, but only managed to squirm. He opened his eyes to see that he was now above the sky pier. Since the bungee cord harnesses made it impossible for him to turn in the air, he fell to the hard wood with a hard thud. Luckily, the pillows that Folly conjured for his landing somewhat cushioned the impact.
Cloud looked up to see Rainbow Dash snickering at him. He glared at her in annoyance. "How'd I do?" he asked the unicorns.
"For your first time", Folly said.
"Not bad", Fall finished. "You should 'ave another go at it."
He shook his head. "No thanks, I'm a flyer not a faller."
Taking his hint, Fall quickly freed his wings and hooves. "Too bad, but what can anypony say?"
"Chicken's one thing", Rainbow chortled.
His face lit up with anger. Instead of joining in Rainbow's laughing, the unicorns took Cloud's side. "Thas not fair, Rainbow Dash", Folly protested. "I could remind you of your first jump ya know. That jump put the heart crossways in ya it did. Never seen anypony so scared."
Rainbow immediately put on the defense. "Y-you pushed me! I was caught off guard."
"Bunch o' guff", Fall told Cloud. "She was shakin' in 'er skivvies before she even got hooked up!"
He smiled victoriously at Rainbow's defeated huff. The tension melted though as she rolled her eyes and shrugged. "So what? I'm one of the best jumpers in Ponyville now!"
"Better than me", Cloud admitted. "Totally awesome!"
"Well, what can I say? I was born that way", she boasted.
Folly and Fall watched in amusement. They giggled at how perfect they thought the flying ponies were for each other. The sun was now winning the battle with the morning's dew, driving in the sisters' first customers from the base of the mountain. Folly saw them come over the hill and quickly started on her greeting. "Oh, howya! Welcome t' da Falling Sistahs'…"
Anything they said after that wasn't heard by Rainbow and Cloud. They were now flying through the air laughing and wrestling. Neither Pegasus held back. Somepony watching could've sworn that they were trying to hurt each other. Rainbow even went as far as to swat Cloud in the face with her bouquet as she led him further into the mountain range. They settled down a little as the wilderness became vaster under them. Rainbow kept her eyes on Cloud in case he was going to try for a sneak attack, and didn't notice the weird changes that took place in the sky.
"Rainbow, what's up with the clouds?"
Rainbow followed his line of sight to find that the puffs of condensed water vapor were forming tight circles in the air. She slowed to a still hover to look at them drifting on for as far as the eye could see. "This is weird…"
"You think somepony at Cloudsdale messed something up?"
She shook her head. "I don't think so. Only one or two would've got out before they fixed the problem."
Far down below them, Pinkie Pie was busy making the ring-shaped cloud using a special machine that only Pinkie Pie could own. They slowly billowed out into the higher atmosphere. She aimed the spout farther away from the unaware Pegasi. She watched them with binoculars in hopes she would fall for her plan.
"Hey, let's race through'em!" Cloud suggested excitedly.
"You like to lose don't you", she teased.
"Yeah, well, stunt flying's my specialty!" Cloud retorted.
"I bet you can't do more stunts than me!"
"You're on!" Cloud took off through the nearest loop.
Rainbow was on his tail right after. With the way the clouds were positioned, Rainbow and Cloud had to pass through them as they came so they couldn't exactly have a race. That didn't spare the fun though; they both laughed and often crisscrossed each other to get to the other clouds. When he was sure Rainbow Dash was looking, Cloud used one of the rings like a hamster wheel and managed to get it moving through the air.
She copied him and together they held a very slow-paced race through the sky. It turned out Cloud could gallop faster than she could and was leaving her in his vapor. She got a cheeky idea, flew behind her cloud, and gave it a strong kick. It took off with her flying after it. She got inside and flew past Cloud. He watched her stick her tongue out at him on her way. Wondering how he could get her back, he quickly got an evil idea and shot after her with two puffs of cloud in his hooves.
He was pleased to find her gently relaxing in the fast moving cloud. That made plowing her face with two hooffulls of cloud all the more enjoyable. He made sure to rub it in for a little more effect. He let Rainbow's cloud take off with her still on it and flew off as fast as he could back toward Ponyville. The last thing he wanted to do was stick around when Rainbow Dash got the full realization of what happened.
Down below, Pinkie Pie watched Rainbow chase Cloud in the opposite direction of her intended path. She pounded her hooves together. "Rats", she said to herself. "I need to recruit some help if I want to help Rainbow Dash…" With that she disappeared into thin air, leaving her machine behind in the wilderness. She didn't get to witness a rainbow-colored blur flying after the Cloud.
Rainbow carefully aimed a cloudball at the back of her target's head. Cloud was moving pretty fast, but luckily not too fast. She led him on until she was sure she would hit him. Giving her wings a burst of energy, she gained a little edge and let her attack fly. The ball of water vapor sailed toward the speeding Pegasus and landed with explosive impact. It knocked Cloud through a loop and left him spiraling downward. He flipped over and saw her laughing her head off.
Yeah, I deserved that one, he thought with a toothy grin. The thought of throwing a whole cloud at her passed through his mind, but with Rainbow's aim, he didn't think it was a good idea. Instead, he motioned for her to fly over. He held up his hooves as a sign of truce.
She was still snickering when she caught up to him. "That'll teach ya not to rub clouds in my face!"
He rubbed the back of his neck where he was hit. "Yep", he chuckled. He leaned backwards into a lazy drift. "Where to now, Princess?"
Rainbow's heart jumped. That nickname from the after-race party made her heart soar higher than her wings could ever take her. He used it at least once everytime they hung out, so it no longer made her blush, at least not on the outside. "We were going to joust, but then somepony decided to throw us off-course. Now I guess we're skipping that and heading out to go…um…" Oh, shoot! I forgot what was next! Was it basketball? No no that was after skydiving. Wait, were we even going skydiving? Oh, I wish Pinkie Pie was here!
"Heya, Strangers!" called a mustached pink mare pedaling a personal helicopter towards the two. "Great day to go rafting isn't it!"
"Rafting?" Cloud asked with a raised brow at Pinkie Pie's poor disguise. "That's random."
Did we waste that much time already!? Rainbow looked up. The sun was directly overhead. Panicked, Rainbow hooked Cloud under his foreleg and drug him through the air as fast as her wings would move them. She ignored his protests to keep from losing any more time. The angle at which she grabbed him was perfect. He couldn't pull himself loose through the momentum. It also made it the best angle for his mane to continually whip him in the face. The trees along the way began to get thinner and wider spaced as they got closer to Ponyville's inner air space. Rainbow wasn't focused on the town, though. Her attention was fixed on the river that ran on the outskirts.
Cloud uncrossed his hooves when he felt Rainbow slow down. "Are we there, yet?" he asked. She let him go, to his relief. "Ah, finally!" He rubbed the sore spot where she grabbed him.
"Sorry about that", she apologized. "We just have so much to do today."
"It's okay, Rainbow Dash", he replied with a smile. "It was actually fun."
She used that to her advantage. "Guess I'll have to drag you around again, huh?"
"Maybe." He stretched. Taking a look around, he saw that Rainbow had taken him to a small river. A small shack barely stood near the water's edge. Stacks of rafts four high were chained next to it. The sign on the building read "Rough Raft's Rapids".
"I don't get it", Cloud said with a tilt of his head.
"Rough Raft is the pony who runs it", Rainbow Dash explained, "He got the nickname 'Rapids' in the navy."
"He's retired navy?"
She nodded. "Yeah, something like twenty-five years, I think."
"What's he doing running rafts?"
Rainbow shrugged. "Who knows?" Walking up to the door, she gave it a careful knock. "Rough, you in there!?"
"Out front, Love!" called a heavy Esperian accented voice from the other side of the shack.
"C'mon, Cloud!" Rainbow urged giddily, "You'll love this guy!"
He followed Rainbow to the other side, where the river met the shack's porch. There was a large, aquamarine stallion wading in the shallow water. He was pulling an iron cable. What it was attached to, Cloud couldn't see, but it looked like it was pretty heavy. The pony walked backwards until there was absolutely no way he could pull any farther. He dropped the cable with a grunt, letting it whip into the water.
"Hey, Rough!" Rainbow called, "I brought you some fresh meat!"
"Oh, have ya now?" He turned and was instantly eying the black Pegasus that occupied Rainbow Dash's side. He walked up the beach and up to him. Rough towered above Cloud, making the smaller pony cringe slightly. His veiny muscles bulked out threateningly. But, despite his terrifying demeanor, Rough smiled down at him. "Well, how ya doin' lad?" He picked Cloud up like a rag doll and gave him a friendly navy hug.
Cloud shut his eyes in fear of them popping out of their sockets. His lungs gave in and exhaled for him. He didn't know it, but he was only in Rough's grip for only three seconds. The other twenty was spent dizzily recovering.
"I didn't break you, relax lad!" he laughed heartily. He turned his attention to Rainbow Dash. "Now how's me favorite niece doing? You know, lass, it's been ages since I've last seen you! Oh, look at you, you've grown at least three inches!"
"Four and a half!" Rainbow declared proudly over Cloud's gasping. She laughed happily when he tussled her mane.
"And who're you, lad? You're not from around Ponyville."
Cloud took one more deep breath. "I'm Rain Cloud. Rainbow and me bumped into each other a few weeks back, and now—"
"Rainbow Dash's caught herself a coltfriend!" He reached down and gave Cloud another hug, squeezing what little life he had just regained.
"Rough! Put Cloud down. We're just friends", Rainbow said to save the stallion.
"Oops, heheh", he chuckled nervously, "Sorry, Love. It's just not like you to have a colt tagging along with you."
"Guess you didn't hear about the race I won weeks ago", Rainbow Dash assumed.
"No, I was probably out of town at the time. Tell me about it, Love."
"Love too, Uncle Rough, but we have a lot to do today and—"
"Say no more", he interrupted, "I can't get in the way of a busy schedule."
"Yeah, sorry."
"No worries, Rainbow. Let me drag out a raft and some gear for you two." He left them for the stacks of rafts against his shack.
Cloud finally poked his head above Rainbow Dash. "Is it safe?"
"Yeah he's gone", she replied. She wanted to laugh, but knew that Rough was known for accidentally hurting other ponies and it was better to offer sympathy.
"Yikes that guy's gotta grip." He rubbed his nearly fractured ribcage. "How have you survived this long?"
"He's too scared of breaking me to hug me", she said.
"He should be scared of breaking everypony else too", Cloud mumbled to himself.
Cloud silently growled at his once again bound wings. He struggled to get comfortable in the life vest. It was so tight he was already chafing. Everytime his hooves came up to loosen the straps just a little, Rough would slap them away.
"Sorry, lad, but if you want to live, I suggest keeping it as tight as I put it on ya", Rough instructed, "You're a new rafter, and very inexperienced, lad. If not for Rainbow here, I wouldn't be letting you go." He turned to his niece. "You still do remember how to ride, right lass?"
"Are you kidding? I can do this in my sleep!"
"That's what I like to hear!" He gave the two orange helmets and set their paddles in the raft he was holding back against the current of the river.
Rainbow Dash strapped hers on then helped Cloud with his. "Jeez", she snickered as she pulled the strap all the way out, "You have a huge head!"
"Something's gotta carry this huge brain", he countered with a smirk.
"All set?"
"Yep!"
"Alright, then. Cloud in the front." Rough moved aside to let the Pegasi in the raft.
"Alright! I got point!" Cloud boasted.
"Alright!" Rainbow laughed, "I got captain's seat!"
Cloud plopped down. "Say what?"
"Back seat's where the captain of the craft goes, lad", Rough explained.
"Then I want back!" Cloud scooted backwards, but Rainbow Dash was already seated in the back with oar in hoof.
"I want to live through this", Rainbow Dash said. "Trust me, you'll be a lot safer with me back here."
"Aye, lad. Rainbow Dash makes for a great raft captain. That's where most of the control comes from", Rough explained. He pushed the raft away from the shore. "Right, Rainbow, since you have a rookie rafter aboard, I'm only giving you two Beginner's Waterway."
"Booooorrrring!"
"But safe, lass. I'm not putting anypony in any danger today."
Rainbow huffed, "Fine."
"Okay, you two. Ready?" Before either of them could reply, he gave their vessel a hard shove. "Have fun!"
"Okay, Cloud, hurry, paddle!" Rainbow ordered through a whisper.
"What, why?"
"Just do it."
Cloud dipped his paddle into the water and started rowing at a fast pace. They turned the first bend in the river, and disappeared from Rough Rafts line of sight. Rainbow picked pushed her oar harder into the river. "Pick up the pace, Cloud or we'll miss our chance!"
"What chance at what?" Cloud asked, switching paddle sides. Rainbow Dash was acting a little weird. Whatever she wanted to do, she didn't want to blow it.
"You'll see!"
Cloud kept paddling until the river forked ahead. Both sides sported contraptions that looked like big doors. As they drew nearer, Cloud saw that they were doors, and that the left one was currently slowly closing. An iron wire connected to a gyro spun the gears to slowly close the two halves. Now it clicked. He switched sides again and put more muscle into his rowing. They sailed down the river toward the closing the gate. It was getting harder to tell if they were going to make it. Cloud pushed harder, but he didn't think it was enough to clear the ever tightening space.
"Rainbow!"
"Keep going!"
He shut his eyes as when they broke five feet. The raft shuddered violently against the door, but settled once it broke free. Cloud sighed in relief. He turned to face her. "Why'd we do that again?"
"Because Beginner's Waterway is super boring", Rainbow replied, "We're going down one that's so much more awesome!"
Cloud decided not to ask about where. Instead he uneasily began to paddle again. Something in the bottom of his gut just didn't feel right. "So, uh, got any pointers for a newbie?"
"Yeah, I gotta couple", Rainbow said. "When we get to the rapids, don't paddle against the current. We'll have way more control if you go with it. I'm the one keeping us from smashing into the rocks, so don't worry about going around them. You just have to keep us going fast."
"Easy enough." He relaxed. Maybe it wasn't as dangerous as his imagination was telling him. He removed his paddle from the water and leaned back to enjoy the mild sunlight. It filtered in from the leaves of the trees stretching out above them. He sighed deeply in relaxation.
The atmosphere was perfect. Rainbow Dash even decided to kick back too. She pulled her oar into the raft and set it beside her. The raft drifted idly along with the lazy current. The water lapped at the sides creating a natural lullaby to put the Pegasi into a slight doze. Cloud cracked his eyelids to see a large sign posted on the left bank of the river.
"'Level one rapids ahead'?" he read.
"Yeah", Rainbow sighed, "Rapids have five different levels. Category ones are the easiest. Fives are a plain and simple 'don't do'."
"Why?"
"Most ponies don't make it through'em", she answered, "Don't worry, we're only going through ones to threes."
In the distance a dull roar thundered through the trees. Cloud barely acknowledged it. It was too far away to be a threat. Rainbow Dash shifted her weight, causing the raft to rock. Her wet hooves squeaked against the rubber. Cloud smiled, and squeaked his hooves against side too. Rainbow dragged hers quickly from side to side, giving Cloud an earful of small squeaks. He responded by taking his paddle and giving the raft next to her head a good slap. In retaliation, she dipped hers in the water and splashed him with as much water as she could.
"That's cold!" he yelped, nearly hopping out of the raft.
Rainbow Dash laughed at him. "You scream like a filly!"
Cloud blushed in embarrassment. "Do not!"
She splashed him again, but this time he only shivered. He triumphantly stuck his tongue out at her. They turned another bend. The raft jerked forward with the quickening current. Rainbow sat up and put her paddle into the water. "Get ready."
Cloud followed her lead. The roaring currents ahead of them got louder as they paddled closer. The rapids came into view upon a left turn and sucked them in like a drain. Rainbow steered them toward the middle, where the biggest dip and fewer rocks were. Cloud readied his paddle. As soon as the raft fell, Cloud and Rainbow Dash were in an instant fight through the water and rocks. Cloud paddled as hard as he could through the water.
"Hey, Cloud! Calm down, it's just level one rapids!" Rainbow called from the back. "Worry about paddling like that in the two and threes!"
He let up a little, but still kept them going faster than the water. It was pretty fun so far. The water splashed them everytime they came out of a drop and it constantly felt like a rollercoaster. Rocks flew past them along the way out of the rapids and into the calmer shallows on the other side. Cloud laughed in enjoyment. "That was so awesome!"
"Just wait until the next level!" Rainbow was getting really excited about how the rafting was going. Cloud was having fun with it and if it kept going, the rest of the day would be a piece of cake. They kept paddling at an even speed while the adrenaline coursing through their veins faded into their systems. The wait for the next currents wasn't as long as the first.
"Okay, the next ones are the hardest. Just paddle and I'll take care of getting us outta here", Rainbow instructed.
"Gotcha", Cloud said over the crashing waters ahead. Cloud shivered over how much bigger these rapids were. The rocks didn't look any smaller than the last either.
"Oh, yeah", Rainbow Dash said suddenly, "If you go in, curl into a ball. The vest will keep you close to the top. It'll keep the rocks from busting you up as much."
The muscles in Cloud's body tensed as they entered the first drop in the rapids. He got to getting the raft going as fast as he could while Rainbow diverted them through the rocky minefield. They were just three seconds in and already they were soaked from head to hoof. At one point the water gave them a sharp drop, causing the raft to lurch and jump a few feet.
That was awesome! We actually flew a boat! he squealed in his head. They kept splashing along until Cloud saw the exit. He leaned forward to get more momentum. As fate would have it, that was the worst thing he could have done. The raft took a sharp turn and flung him right over the side. The freezing water tossed him around like a ragdoll. It was hopeless to swim against it; the current was just too strong. He couldn't even tell which way was up anymore. Around him, the rocks flew by, reminding him to curl up despite his desperate want to swim to the surface. The rocks banged him around, bruising his helpless body along the way to the end of the torturous rapids. When he wanted it all to end, something grabbed him by his vest and pulled him straight out of the water. He opened his eyes to find he was being flown out and away from the churning water.
Rainbow Dash struggled to get Cloud's deadweight to the riverbank. For some reason, he was ten times heavier than when she usually dragged him around. As gently as she could, she set him down on the white sand, fearing that the worst had happened. She was relieved to find that he was still breathing. She unhooked his life vest to give his lungs more room to expand. No pony said a word until Cloud sat up. He cringed at how much everything hurt. His body didn't want to move anymore, so he just sat there, peering into Rainbow Dash's worried face blankly.
Rainbow Dash stared at his injuries, knowing they were her fault. He was really swollen and scratched up in places, but it didn't look like he got anything worse than that. His dark fur made it hard to tell if he had sustained bruises. He looked pretty okay other than that, but it still didn't keep her from feeling lower than life. "I'm so sorry, Cloud", Rainbow choked.
Cloud looked into her worried face and smiled despite his pain. "That was awesome", he replied with a chuckle. "You know, except for the near-death experience thing."
Rainbow Dash put all of her might into forcing even a single tear from falling. She smiled back at him. "You're crazy", she laughed softly.
"No, I'm Cloud", he joked.
Rainbow couldn't help but laugh even more at him. She stood up and offered him her hoof. "Come on, Goofball. Let's get going."
He didn't take it. He only smiled up at her. The sun set her wet mane and fur ablaze with golden light. Her multicolored mane straightened itself with the water and half-fell over her ruby eyes. His cheeks flushed with pink. He grabbed her hoof and ignored as much of the pain as he could when he pulled himself up. "Where to next?" he grunted.
"Back to Ponyville", she said, "We'll get you fixed up."
He shook his head. "I just want a cup of hot chocolate. To Pinkie Pie!" His first step ended end a stumble forward. Luckily Rainbow caught him.
"Gotcha!" she strained.
"I hate to ask", Cloud said, "But I'm going to need your help getting back."
She was more than happy to oblige. "Whatcha need me to do?"
He put his left forehoof around her shoulders. "Just walk me there."
She grabbed his hoof from the other side. She nearly fell over when he put more weight on her. "Whoa! How heavy are you!?"
"Sorry", Cloud apologized, "The water got my wings totally soaked."
"Oh, yeah, you're medical thing", Rainbow remembered.
He gave her an apologetic smile. "Hey, your flower's gone", he pointed out.
"Really?" Now that he said something, she couldn't feel it anymore. "Oh, probably fell out when we were flying earlier. I lost the rest too…"
"I'll get you some more later", Cloud said.
Rainbow Dash pulled more of his weight onto her. He was shivering pretty hard from the cold water, so she did her best to warm him up with her body heat. She held him as tightly as she could without hurting him. His wet mane was still dripping onto her, but at least his fur wasn't still soaked. She helped him limp along the riverbank, happy that they weren't very far from Ponyville.
Cloud and Rainbow Dash made it to Sugarcube Corner in about an hour. Despite Cloud's injuries, his smile never fell. Rainbow thought he was extremely cool for toughing out the pain for her, especially since it was her fault for causing them. The bakery wasn't very busy except for the few regulars chatting at the bar. Rainbow carried him to the nearest booth. Her muscles were super sore from not taking Cloud's suggestion of resting along the way. They slid into their seats across from each other.
Sugarcube Corner's newest employee saw them and quickened up his pace. "Hey, 'sup guys!" Bass Strings greeted brightly as he made his rounds from the tables.
"Day full of life endangering stunts", Cloud chuckled. "I saw my life fly by in front of my eyes twice today!"
Neither colt saw Rainbow Dash cringe a little. Even though he could laugh at how beat up his body was, he still couldn't make her feel better about it. She watched the colts share a laugh before Strings left them to pick up their sweets from the kitchen. She was too caught up in self-loathing to hear Cloud repeat her name over and over again until a wad of napkin hit her square in the nose.
"Hey what was that for!?"
"That'll teach you from ignoring me." He set the second one down. "Anyway, now that I have your attention, I asked you if I could crash at your place tonight. My wings won't dry off before dark, and you know that Cloudsdale has an overnight rainstorm scheduled after eight."
"Oh, yeah. You don't have to ask me anymore you know", Rainbow replied. "Just remember to make me breakfast."
"Of course, dear", he chortled.
She smiled with a blush. Across the table, he stretched and relaxed. For some reason, she knew it was the perfect opportunity to end the day. "Hey, Cloud?"
"Hmm?" He opened an eye to look at her.
"There's a—"
"Here ya go, guys! Enjoy!" Strings dropped two plates of chocolate cake in front of them.
Cloud immediately went to chowing down on his, leaving Rainbow Dash to read the note that came with her slice. In Pinkie Pie's hoofwriting were the words:
Zip lining? Snowboarding? Any of this ringing a bell?!
Rainbow Dash looked up to see a bowler hat wearing, mustached Pinkie Pie glaring at her from the top of an obnoxiously large book titled The Many Ways to Pinkie Pie: Tips from the Pro. Rainbow Dash slowly shook her head. Pinkie Pie tilted her head in confusion. Rainbow Dash cleared it up by mouthing "It's okay".
"Hey, Cloud", she said again, this time more softly.
"Yeah?"
She stretched her wings and rubbed her hooves together uncomfortably. "Um…every year Ponyville has this, well, what we call a…" The rest of her words got caught in her throat. She scratched the back of her head embarrassedly with a diffident smile and super deep blush.
Cloud frowned at her behavior. "You oka—"
"Will you go to the Ponyville Ballroom Blitz with me?" she said as quickly as she could. To her, Cloud took hours to answer when in reality it only took him three seconds to nod his head.
"You betcha!" he announced to her shocked face.
Rainbow was sure she didn't hear him correctly over her beating heart. "R-really?"
He nodded excitedly. "Yes!"
Time in the diner stopped. Her heart felt like it was going to explode! I have a date! Rainbow cheered in her head over the small applause the diner gave them.
Not everypony in Sugarcube Corner was silently happy for Rainbow Dash. Rarity watched the two happily discuss exactly what they were going to do and happily eat what cake they had left. She glared at the rainbow maned mare, then down to the two tickets she had gotten for the ball. "If it's a competition you wish, Rainbow Dash, then it is a competition you will get!"