//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Just Dropping In // by Gunsmith //------------------------------// Goddamn, why did I have to say that? I can see Rainbow Dash's tail snap like a whip in the bottom corner of my vision. Christ...nice going, asshole, I scold myself. The pressure from her front hooves on my wings actually doesn't feel like much; she has to be pushing down fairly hard, so she has to way less than one hundred pounds. Maybe even less than fifty. I could probably throw her off of me my pushing my wings up, even more easily by bucking her off, but...no. I have to face her now, or else she'll hunt me down until I give her some answers. I know that there has to be a look of surprise and panic on my face, but she caught me off guard by tackling me to the cloud. I feel tense, and let myself relax a little. Dash's entire body screams "anger". Her wings are flared fully out, feathers fully spread, giving the effect of making her look a lot larger than she usually is, not to mention more menacing. Her tail lashes around viciously every few seconds. She is angled forward and down, towards my face. Rainbow Dash's own face is covered by a deep scowl and a tightly set jaw, and now appears to have taken on a more purple hue; I guess that this is because of her blue coat mixing with red flushing. What intimidates me the most about the cyan pegasus standing on me is her eyes. Her eyes usually had a sparkle to them when she was happy, or a shimmer when she would get competitive or determined; now, they are both fiery and dull at the same time. Dash's magenta eyes have a red tinge to them and appear to reflect little light, despite the blinding midday light. It's like staring nose-to-nose with a bull. "How do you know how to Pinkie promise?! How do you know all this...stuff?! About when I broke my wing, and Tank even though you hadn't met him, and...why are you so weird?! You don't know stuff everyone else knows, try and do weird stuff, and..." She trails off. Rainbow Dash has been half-yelling at me; her scratchy voice has cracked every time she starts a new question or accusation. I think she's either so angry that she's lost her train of thought, or so bewildered that she doesn't know how to continue. A second passes, and I can see her mind rapidly trying to think things through. "Are you, like, a...like a spy or something? Do you get your sick kicks watching me and my friends all day?!" She is looking more and more angry by the second. I see that this idea is beginning to stick in her head, and decide to stop it before she assumes something that isn't true. Honestly, though, she is kind of right, I do watch them all--shut up, damn it. "Dash," I say quietly. "How long have you been spying on us, me?! Months? Years?!" "Rainbow Dash," I say, a little more loudly this time. "Oh, Celestia...I'm going to...to...do...I don't even know what to you, but it's going to hurt, real bad, and--" "Rainbow Dash, stop, now," I state firmly, cutting her off. She returns her focus to my eyes. She stops talking, but still glares angrily at me. "Can you please let me up?" I ask. "I'm not going to go anywhere. I promise." She continues glaring, but I can see she is considering my request. "Pinkie promise. You know how to do it," she says bitterly. I slowly lift my right foreleg from its splayed position on the cloud I lay on. "Cross my heart," I begin, bringing the leg slowly in an "X" across my chest. "Hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." I place my hoof in front of my right eye, then lower my foreleg back to its original position. She stares at me a few more seconds, then says, "Fine," moving her hooves off of my wings. She backs about a foot away from me, and I roll to my side before pushing myself back on to four legs. I spread my wings out, and she tenses up, but I relax and let them fall to my sides. I decide I'll probably be here a while, and sit down, placing my front hooves between my splayed rear legs and sitting as ponies do near the edge of the cloud. I look over to her. "You might want to sit down," I tell her, and she eyes me suspiciously for a short while before sitting down a few feet to my left, obviously keeping her distance. I don't blame her. I turn my head forward and look out into the clear day. I can see both Cloudsdale and Ponyville in the far distance, and attempt to find Rainbow Dash's house between the two. I see a white speck mottled with various lines of color and decide that is it. Though I sit quietly, my mind is churning at full speed, attempting to prepare itself or reason. What if I just lie to her, say that I am a stalker, to avoid all this? She'd surely hate me, and I'd probably get my ass kicked. But would not seeing her ever again be for the best? ...No, it isn't worth it. I've got to tell her the truth. How will she take it? That I used to be something else, that I'm not who I say I am? She can't possibly understand...I have to tell her, though. I can hear her fidget a little beside me; she's probably getting impatient. My mind begins talking to itself. You always knew you'd have to tell her. Why did you lie, anyways? Did it really help? Look what it led to: the exact thing you were trying to avoid. A breeze brushes against my right side, and I feel my gray mane slightly flutter out to my left before returning to its static position on my neck and head. Tell her. Tell Rainbow Dash everything. I fully inhale the crisp, chilly winter air, then release it all in a long sigh. I can see Rainbow Dash turn to look at me in my peripheral. "I..." My voice cracks, and I clear it. "I suppose I should start with who I really am. I am not really a pony; or I wasn't until a week ago. I was a 'human', a name we gave to our own race. Humans are like...well, they look like tall versions of Spike, Twilight's assistant?" I glance to my left, and Rainbow nods in confirmation. Her look of anger has faded into one of some confusion. "They have things like claws, but they're called fingers and toes, and they walk on two legs. Humans don't have much fur, and look the same color as a shaved pony, a pink, tan, or brown color. They, I, lived on a place we called 'Earth', a place a lot like Equestria...or more, like the Everfree Forest." I look over at Dash. She is turned towards me, listening patiently and wearing a look that says, "go on..." "On Earth, we have these things that are like...moving pictures, and we watch them a lot." I pause, thinking about how I need to phrase my next statement so as not to confuse Rainbow Dash...or imply that she did not exist. "One of these moving pictures was about you and your friends, and Equestria. I watched this moving picture and enjoyed it a lot. It showed some of the adventures you all had together and about the friendship you share. I saw things like how you all defeated Nightmare Moon and later Discord, how you made your first 'sonic rainboom', and a lot of other stuff. That's how I know about Tank, and your broken wing, and Pinkie promises, and a lot of other things about you and your friends and even other ponies in Ponyville." I watch as a group of birds flies across my field of view. "But...last Friday, something happened on Earth. I think it just...ended. I think I died, and everyone else on Earth did, too." "What happened to them? They were dyed?" I would have smiled if it were not these circumstances. So, ponies don't have death here? It makes sense, yet does not. I know that other ponies have existed before these ponies, and that there are old ponies all over Equestria, so death and age seems logical. However, I also realize it is a cartoon, and cartoon characters almost never age. Hell, Maggie from The Simpsons is still like a year old, and the show has been aired for what, twenty? Thirty years? "No, not 'dyed'...they, umm...stopped existing. Their lives just ended, stopped. My life stopped. But anyways, then I woke up here. I wasn't a human, I was a pegasus, like you, looking just like one of the ponies from the moving picture I watched a lot. And you pretty much know what's happened since then." I look over at Rainbow Dash. She sits staring ahead, as I had, into the blue of the sky. "So...are you really...like, you? Ferrum?" Her voice is considerably softer now. I can't tell if she understands all of what I have told her, has gone into some level of shock from hearing it, or is utterly confused at this point. She just frowns, staring ahead. I sigh a little. "Well, not technically, no. I wasn't Ferrum as a human. But I'm a pony now, not a human, so I want you to know me as Ferrum, because that's who I am now." I mean it wholeheartedly. I know using my real name, my old name, would bring back too much memory of Earth, of my family, of what I miss. "Okay," she replies simply, still staring ahead and frowning. "So you really couldn't fly, ever?" Her questions are simple, which I assume is part of the shock of hearing this from me. "No, not as a human. I didn't know how to fly until you taught me. And I'm sorry about that, for lying to you about not knowing how to fly, saying I forgot how. But I can't thank you enough for teaching me to fly, it means a lot. I see now why you enjoy it so much." Rainbow Dash just nods silently. It is beginning to scare me to see her sit so quietly and still for even this long. I feel the need to say something else, something reassuring. "Listen, Rainbow Dash...I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry. I should have never not told you about this, about me. I shouldn't have lied to you about anything. You've done so much for me. You took me in when I got injured, gave me food and a roof to stay under, and company. You taught me how to fly, how to do something I never dreamed I would be able to do. You gave me so much and asked for nothing back; you were...loyal...to me. And I feel like I owe you everything; but all I've done is lie to you and hide the truth from you. I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash." My stomach feels sick. I feel like I want to crawl and a hole and die, because I know everything I've said is true. I feel a little relieved that I got out what I felt needed to be gotten out, though. I tilt my head downward and stare down, not looking at anything in particular. I don't want to look at Rainbow Dash, though. I hear a bit of rustling to my left, then the soft whump, whump, whump of wings propelling a pony into the air. I listen to her wings beating until I can't hear them do so any more. I then close my eyes and push myself backwards, letting myself fall onto my backside. I don't feel like doing anything other than sleeping, despite the fact I'm not really tired. The cloud pulls my wings, tucked behind me, my back, and my head into itself, soft as ever. Sleep comes quickly when my mind is devoid of thought. *** I shiver a little. It's fairly cold now; maybe it's not, and it's just me. I don't really know and don't really care. I deserve to freeze to death. A part of my mind tells me that I really don't, but I ignore it, fighting against myself. My internal fight is interrupted by an odd feeling. I know the feeling; it feels like I'm being watched. I crack open my eyes. The light level is significantly less than when I began sleeping. The sun is a red-orange and is nearing the horizon. I can see a faint moon in the sky; it looks like it will be full tonight, and is very large in comparison to how Earth's moon looked from the ground. I open my eyes more and see I am still on my back, in the same position I was when I fell asleep. I lean forwards, grunting as I come to a sitting position. I let out a sigh. All I could think about while sleeping was Rainbow Dash. Just her, nothing else. A part of me is glad that the nightmarish memories didn't visit me during my nap, but the sickly feeling returning to my stomach overrides my minor relief. I stare at the setting sun for some time. The wispy clouds in the distance have a pink color to them as they drift lazily in random directions. The snow on the ground also gives off a pink hue. The afternoon is calm and mostly silent. I hear the distant songs of a few birds on the ground. The faint chirping of crickets also fills the air. I can mainly hear the winter winds calmly blowing around me. I feel my left ear twist in the same direction as I hear a faint noise to my left. I turn my head to the left. On the cloud sits a light blue pegasus. A mane composed of six streams of color falls to around the right side of her neck and slightly over her eyes. Her eyes are a red-purple, a magenta, and reflect some of the red-orange from the sun. Her wings sit half-opened, as if she had just landed on the cloud. A faint smile crosses her slightly somber face. "Rainbow Dash?" I nearly whisper. "Hey," she says, her voice cracking a little but as quiet as my own. "Come on, let's get home. It's getting dark." "Let's get home?" Home? Does she mean...? I roll onto my side, and from there onto my feet. I see her jerk her head in the direction of her home, and she begins to flap off of the cloud. I do the same, pumping my wings until I am level with her. She flies off at a slow pace, and I follow, a few feet behind her. We arrive at her cloud home in around ten minutes. She trots to her front door and nuzzles it open, holding it for me with a back leg. I speed up a little to get inside, and she lets the door swing shut. Rainbow Dash's kitchen seems peaceful with the red-orange light streaming in through the windows. The clouds all seem to hold the sun's color, tinted whiter. I see that Tank the tortoise is on the cloud table, taking the last bite of his apple that is all but cored at this point. I feel like smiling, but can't. Rainbow Dash begins to lightly hover, and begins opening cloud cabinets. I watch as she pulls out two plates and sets them on the table. She grabs some unsliced bread and a couple of muffins, distributing them evenly on the plates. I am a little off-put by her going about the nightly routine we maintained throughout the past week, as per usual. She sits down at the table and looks at me standing by the door. "You gonna eat?" she casually inquires. I stare blankly back at her for a moment, then slowly trot over to the fluffy little table and sit down. I look down at the food. I do feel pretty hungry, so I lean down and begin biting off pieces of bread. It is slightly warm and has a sweetish taste to it. I can't remember what this kind of bread is called, but recognize its taste. We sit in silence for a few minutes. I am halfway through my raspberry muffin, wondering exactly how many flavors of muffins ponies make, when Rainbow Dash begins talking. "Uhh...sorry for running off like that earlier. That wasn't really that cool of me." She says, looking a little embarrassed. "You don't need to apologize, I understand." "I just...I guess I kind of freaked out. I wasn't really expecting any of that." "It's okay, really. I would've been freaked out, too." I feel awkward, so I continue biting into my muffin. I manage to get a raspberry whole with this bite; it tastes fresh and juicy on my tongue. It's a minute or so before she decides to continue. "So, you're like, an alien, huh?" "Well...I was. I'm a pony now, not an alien. I still have my alien brain, I guess, but I'm a pony nonetheless," I reply. "Okay...so, what was your world like?" She pauses, seeming to remember something. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to or anything..." "No, it's okay, I'll tell you about it. Umm...it really was a lot like Equestria. It had a lot of different types of..." I nearly say "environments", but remember that Rainbow Dash's vocabulary can be somewhat limited. "...places. Like, deserts, forests, jungles, oceans, things like that, just like here. There were a lot of different plants and animals. You have a lot of them here. We, the humans, were the only smart ones though. We did have smart animals, but humans could talk and build things, so we seemed a bit smarter. We built lots of big cities all over the world, with really tall buildings and a lot of things to see and do in them. There were a lot of really nice natural things all over the world, too, like giant mountains, or natural cliffs, or waterfalls, or islands, and a lot of other things." I pause to catch my breath and think of what to sum up next. "Wow, that sounds like a pretty awesome place," Rainbow Dash says. She appears to be genuinely interested; I didn't think she would be. "Yeah, it definitely could be. But it could also get pretty bad sometimes. There was a lot of danger. Wild animals, sicknesses, and natural disasters like fires, tornadoes, and hurricanes were always getting humans hurt. Humans would hurt each other sometimes, too. There was always a lot of fighting going on in the world, usually over stuff that didn't even matter. Humans could be really mean to each other. And the big cities and machines we made were hurting Earth, our planet, making animals and plants disappear and causing weather problems. We didn't have any pegasi to help with the weather, either." "It doesn't sound as great now," she chimes in. I smile a little and continue. "But to get through the bad stuff, we still had things like friends and family, and stuff we liked to do, and things like fun, and happiness, and love. We tried to focus on those the most to get through our lives. That's why I liked watching you and your friends' adventures; this place is filled with fun, and happiness, and love, a lot more so than on Earth, even if there is still danger, and sadness, and pain." She is smiling now. We sit across the table from each other and just stare into one another's eyes for a while. She eventually pulls away and looks over to one of the windows. I follow her gaze, and see that there is very little light left in the sky. I hadn't even noticed how dark the room was until now. The last sliver of a bright-red sun is slowly disappearing over the horizon. We return to looking at each other. "You okay with taking the couch again tonight?" she asks. "Sure," I reply, and stand from the table. I tense up as many muscles as I can and suck in my breath, stretching. I wonder how long we had been sitting there. She stands as well, and heads for the stairwell. I trail behind her, and begin to climb the stairs. We approach the second floor after a few seconds of spiraling upward. "Night, Ferrum," says Rainbow Dash. "Good night, Rainbow Dash," I reply with a smile. I step out of the stairwell and into the living room. She returns my smile with her own, and continues plodding up the cloud stairs. I turn into the living room and begin trotting towards the couch. I clamber atop its plushy cushions and lie down, tucking my wings to my sides. I close my eyes, feeling relief from their heaviness as I do so.