//------------------------------// // Cleaning out the closet // Story: Tales of the Rainmaker // by BleedingRaindrops //------------------------------// Leaves crunched beneath the three ponies’ hooves as they made their way down the moonlit path. Crickets chimed a sweet symphony along with the rustle of swaying branches. Two of the ponies were fully engaged in a conversation, ignoring the serene silence of the night. Only it wasn’t silent. Quiet was a better word, away from the hustle and bustle of the cacophony of loud noises and rude ponies occupying far too little space for the sheer number of them—often referred to as a city. Rainstream was decidedly on the other side of the path from the two city ponies, mostly due to the unicorn. “I just can’t believe the rain actually held out so we could have the show,” The earth pony said to the unicorn next to him. “Oh, I know, right? That would have been a disaster.” Rainstream blinked. The sounds of the night shut off as her ears picked up the conversation her companions were having. Rain? Disaster? She frowned, then smiled wickedly. She flapped her wings once, sending up a bit of dust from the ground, then let them rest on her side again. “Yeah, and—*ack* Rain?! what gives!” Rainstream smiled lightly, then giggled. “What are you guys talking about?” The two ponies stopped walking. Rainstream’s wings pressed very tightly against her sides. The unicorn rolled her eyes. “The outdoor showing of the new Power Ponies movie? Duh! You were just there with us, weren’t you?” Rainstream shrank back a little bit. “Actually I was just showing you the way back to the city. You said you were lost, and I was really hoping to get back to my stargazing.” Both unicorn and earth pony glanced upward. “It’s overcast tonight. How can you see anything?” The unicorn asked, raising an eyebrow. Rainstream’s chest tightened and she backed away slowly, crouching low to the ground “W-well I… t-the city’s just up ahead, you can’t miss it.” She pointed down the path where the trees were thinning out. Just ahead was a dimly glowing streetlamp, beyond which the gravel path turned into cobblestone. Seeing the beacon of their kind, the two city ponies vacated the misty wood with surprising haste. Rainstream watched them go, content that at last she could return to her peaceful night. Once they were gone, she let out an enormous sigh and nearly collapsed to the ground. “Alone at last.” she sighed, glancing upward at the gathering clouds and headed back into the wood. ~ ~ ~ After a brief walk, the trees opened up to reveal an open field peppered with little white bulbs. Ah, the meadow. Rainstream closed her eyes, and lifted her nose to the captivating aroma of the lilies of the valley. Here in her little garden, the city couldn’t touch her. She ran to the center and threw herself onto the grass, shivering as droplets of water fell onto her coat. Rolling over onto her back, Rainstream spread out her wings, feeling them brush against the wet grass. Her eyes closed on their own as she melted into her midnight meadow. Somewhere near the trees, a twig snapped. Rainstream’s eyes snapped open. Her ears twitched, searching in different directions. She faintly heard the sounds of something shuffling through the leaves. Rolling onto her hooves, Rainstream lifted her head above the flowers and scanned the treeline. At first, there was nothing, but the moon broke through the clouds again, lighting up the woods. A small face poked around the edge of a tree. Rainstream squinted, using her heightened pegasus eyesight to zoom in on whoever it was. She could make out a red mane, two bright red eyes, and a very dark gray coat. She blinked. She’d met this pony before. She quickly trotted through the meadow over to the trees where he was hiding. The pony staring back at her gave a small yelp and quickly ducked back behind the tree. As she got closer, and rounded the tree, she found him crouched low to the ground. Surely he was not afraid? “List?” she asked. The cowering pony blinked at the sound of his name. He looked up at her with a mixture of surprise and adoration on his face. But the moment passed, and his features melted into a frown. He hung his head low with a sigh. “Sorry.” Rainstream couldn’t hold back a silent giggle. He was pretty adorable when he got like this, and he wouldn’t notice her smiling anyway. “What are you apologizing for, silly?” She quickly regained her composure, but kept enough of a smile that he wouldn’t think she was mad. “I made you mad.” His lip curled, and a tear threatened to escape his glistening eyes. Rainstream took a step back. “What?! Mad? No, I just… I was just wondering why you were hiding in the trees, you goof.” She knelt down in the grass in front of him, and lowered her head so she could look up into his eyes. When he avoided her gaze, she reached out a hoof and gently guided his chin back toward her. “What are you doing out here anyway?” If he had been coming back from being close to tears, he took another step toward them again as more tears began to form. His lower lip quivered as he tried to look away. “I’m sorry,” he said again, shutting his eyes and squeezing out a tear. Well, Rainstream was having none of that. “Hey, whoa, sh-sh-sh. Relax. You don’t have to keep apologizing. I’m not mad. I’m just curious. What brings you out here?” He sniffed, and let out a long sigh. Rainstream could see him relaxing as he slowly let out air. He swallowed, then looked up at her with the saddest eyes Rain had ever seen. “I was just feeling lonely again. And I knew you’d be here.” Rainstream’s heart could have melted right then. Her mouth moved silently for a moment, then she just laughed, and scooped List up in a tight hug. “Oh you dear thing you. C'mere.” After a few groans from her unfortunate hug victim—there were always casualties in a Rainstream hug—she set him down. “Come on, you can stay at my place tonight.” She beckoned with her head, and led him back across the meadow. List followed silently. Rainstream’s ears flicked as a clap of thunder rolled overhead. The two of them stopped in the middle of the field and stared at each other wide eyed. Rainstream’s mouth was held open in an excited gasp, but List’s lips quivered as he stared back at her with a “please tell me that wasn’t what I think it was” look. His silent question was answered when raindrops began to fall, quickly growing heavier until the two ponies were standing in a downpour. It wasn’t long before List’s mane was completely soaked through. He just stood there, staring blankly ahead with a quivering lip, as though hope alone could make it all go away. If possible, he looked even more cute and huggable than he had before. “I hate this,” he finally said, hanging his head. Rainstream extended a wing over him. “Oh come on, it’s not so bad.” She pulled him into a side hug with her wing. “Don’t you just love the chance to play in the rain?” “No.” It sounded like it wanted to be grumpy, but was too defeated to find the gusto. Rainstream threw her head back and closed her eyes.“Oh but rain is great! It’s so cool and refreshing and when it runs down my coat I can feel all my stress and worries just washing away. It’s magical.” “I just think it’s cold and wet,” List mumbled. Rainstream smiled. “Well, Mr. Grumpypants, we’ll just have to head back to my place and get you some cocoa. But I don’t see why we can’t enjoy ourselves along the way. ~ ~ ~ Despite several puddle splashes, or aerial displays of moving the rain with wingpower, Rainstream was unable to change List’s mind about the rain. No matter what you did with it, it was still just cold and wet. Thankfully, his mood improved when they got to Rainstream’s house. It wasn’t her favorite one, but most earth ponies had difficulty just getting to, let alone walking around on the fluffy white cloud floors of her floating mobile home. Her guest house acted as both her physical mailing address and a nice location to bring guests who lacked a set of wings. Rainstream opened the door and trotted inside. List quickly followed, fleeing from the rain as though it might make his coat melt. The living room was just as she’d left it: Wide couch near the window for lying down or sitting on, coffee table nearby for setting things on, and curtains drawn so she could look out at the rain. Rainstream chuckled silently to herself and invited List to sit on the couch. He quickly obliged, and she headed into the kitchen. Nothing was particularly dusty since Rainstream kept it relatively maintained, but it was cold. She shivered slightly and moved to switch on the thermostat. The sound of the pouring rain on the roof resonated throughout the otherwise silent house. Rainstream found it relaxing, and saw no need for further sound, but List seemed to have grown bored of the couch. “Rain?” he called out as he walked into the kitchen. Rainstream heard him inhale sharply as he stepped on the cold tile floor. “Hmm?” she grunted in response. Her head was buried in the spice cabinet, searching for the elusive jar of powdered chocolate. She hadn’t been here in a while, and had forgotten where it was supposed to be, which wasn’t helped by the haphazard method she’d used to stuff various mismatched jars of unassorted ingredients in here. One might as well tip over an entire aisle of spices at the market, and then attempt to find a single specific item. She really needed to reorganize. “What do you do when it rains?” “Huh?” The question broke through her scattered thoughts, snapping her back to reality. She zoomed in on the chocolate container in question and extracted it from the twisted confines of her cabinet. She set it down and turned toward List, who was standing in the middle of the sky blue tile floor, staring at her like a filly asking for cookies. “Oh, um… what do you mean?” It was mostly to stall for time, but List’s question had been rather vague. She switched on the stove and reached under the counter for a pot. “I mean, when it rains, what do you usually do?” The same question. Of course. Rain pulled out her desired cooking pot with a clang and a clatter of neighboring metal containers. She shook her head and closed the cabinet, then placed the little pot in the sink to fill it up. “Well it really depends on the day. Sometimes if I’m really excited I like to fly in it.” “Fly in it?” “Yeah, like, step outside, take to the air, and just ride the winds up and up into the storm. Swirling around with the rippling clouds and twirl with the swirling winds. Flying through a rainstorm is like… swimming through the air. I feel just like a raindrop, it’s heaven.” Rainstream looked up at the ceiling, remembering her dream from last week. Oh to be a cloudsdale weather pony. “Um, Rain?” “Hm?” she looked down from her reverie at List, who was looking past her with concern. “You’re flooding your sink.” “Huh?” Rainstream looked down. The pot was floating in a sink half full of steaming water. “Oh, heh.” She blushed, and pulled the pot out of the water. She set it down on the now hot stove, where it sizzled as the water on the outside evaporated, then poured some cocoa powder in after it. “Anyway, some days I just like to sit and watch the rain fall on my window, or stare out at the flowers as they get a nice shower. Cinnamon stick?” She held up two sticks of cinnamon over the now boiling pot. List nodded, and Rainstream set them down on the counter. “What about you?” she asked, walking to the cabinet to grab two mugs. He didn’t answer. She glanced up at him and realized he’d zoned out. His eyes were wide, his face was pale, and he was shivering. She smiled. “The house takes a while to heat up. Lemme get you a blanket,” she said with a sigh. List blinked. “Huh?” Rainstream suppressed a giggle and headed into the bedroom, setting the two mugs on the counter next to the cinnamon sticks. “A blanket,” she replied. “I don’t normally need them, warm feathers and all, but this is a guest house. Hmm…” She scratched her head, glancing around the closet. She heard his soft hoofsteps on the carpet behind her. “Why don’t you have a fireplace?” “Huh—ooh!” Rain’s head shot up, colliding with the shelf above her head. A cascade of nick-nacks came tumbling down, knocking her backwards onto the floor. There were some small, hard objects, and some heavy cloth. The blankets! Wings folded themselves instinctively, leaving her to land hard on her back beneath what felt like wool. Yep, good old dusty comforters. “Rain! Are you okay?” Rain grunted in affirmation, and pain. She rolled her hooves under her and stood up, dislodging the blankets, and shifting the rest of the mess with them. She rubbed her head, still groaning. “Are you alright?” List asked again. Rainstream nodded, looking around at what had fallen. Immediately she recognized three thick wool blankets; a silver dress with sky blue trim, white sequins and diamond studded lace; two of her old diaries; her writing folder; and her flying trophies! Oh no! She rushed quickly to stuff the trophies and the books back into the closet. List was at her side in an instant, instantly grabbing her Best Young Fliers trophy before she could hide it. “NO, STOP!” List froze, staring at her incredulously. She gave him a pleading look, pulling the trophy from his hooves and holding it protectively behind her. For the look he gave her in response, you might think she’d just kicked his favorite pet—or rather, he had. Her heart clenched painfully, and she bit her lip. He was her friend. She could trust him. She let out a hard sigh. She brought it in front of her, hugged it tightly to her chest, then slowly relaxed. “Here.” She held it out to him and continued stuffing her old dress back into the closet, and forcing the door shut. He took the trophy and stared at it, still looking for all the world as though he’d kicked a puppy. Rainstream picked up the blanket she’d pulled out and threw it over his back, then trotted out toward the kitchen. He looked up as the weight descended over his back, quickly set the trophy on the dresser beside him, and followed her out. “I— Rain I...” “Look just forget—” “I’m sorry.” It was barely distinguishable amidst the sob. Rainstream stopped just before she reached the stove and stared wide eyed at him. Cripes there really were tears forming now. His lip was trembling dangerously. Ponyfeathers. Her mouth opened and closed several times, but no words came out. She looked back at the stove. there were two cinnamon sticks still sitting there where she’d left them. She quickly stuffed them into the two mugs she’d left out and reached for a small coffee tray. “List please don’t—” “No, I’m just… I always do this.” She dropped the tray next to the mugs and ran to him, wrapping her forehooves around his withers. “No,” she said, softly. “No it’s alright. I’m not mad.” He sniffed. “Then why did you… yell at me?” Rain smiled painfully, recovered, then leaned back so she could look him in the eyes. “It’s not your fault. I’m sorry I yelled at you.” A tear escaped her own eye. “Some of the stuff back there is just very special to me.” His lip was still trembling. “I’m sorry,” he said, staring down at his hooves. “Hey.” She put a hoof under his chin and lifted it. “You don’t have to be sorry. It’s my fault.” “But—” “It’s alright.” His eyes wanted to cry, but she was determined to bring him back from the endless tears. She smiled into his eyes while his eyes trembled, never once wavering. Then, finally, his face relaxed, and regained a mostly neutral expression. Rainstream let out a small breath. “There, that’s better. How about you go sit down, and I’ll tell you all about the trophy over cocoa?” “Sorry,” He sniffed. Rainstream rolled her eyes and gave him a small shove “Go sit down, silly. I’ll join you in a moment. She placed the two mugs onto the tray and carefully poured the cocoa, then scooted it onto her wing and walked it over to the couch. She set it down on the coffee table and climbed up next to the window. It was only then that she discovered List on the far end of the couch, wrapped up in the blanket she’d given him and staring over his hooves at the window. She suppressed a few giggles. He really was adorable when he got like this. “You really don’t like rain do you?” He shook his head. Rainstream scooted over to him and nudged their mugs closer as she did. “Well, you might not like my Best Young Fliers story, then. I only won because it was raining.” “Because the others couldn’t fly in the rain?” He asked, appearing for all the world like a child being tucked in for bed. Rainstream smiled fondly. “Not exactly. More like I couldn’t fly without it.” His eyes widened with a look of wonder, and she knew now that she had his full attention. Rainstream picked up her mug and took a sip of cocoa. List did the same, and she began her tale. “It all started back when I was just a filly.