Chapter One: Chancing the Rapids
Lightning Dust approached her idol and commanding officer, Spitfire. Despite this she didn't want to be there. It was quite the contrary—she barely kept herself from trembling in fear. Spitfire wasn't happy with her tornado stunt and was about to punish her for her actions. Spitfire turned around and got right into Lightning Dust's face. She could see shame hidden within Spitfire's anger. Spitfire ripped off her lead pony badge and directed her to leave. She was being kicked out of the academy.
As she began to walk away as ordered, she briefly looked back at her idol with sorrow while lightly fluttering her wings, to which Spitfire didn't even seem to notice. The Wonderbolt Police escorted her to the entrance of the academy hastily. As she reached the cliff at the edge of the academy grounds her escorts gestured for her to take off.
Something was wrong—her wings wouldn't budge. She looked back and saw that they were gone. Her escorts were annoyed that she wasn't leaving and came closer.
"No, no, no!" she yelled to the guards, trying to show them her wings were gone.
She tried to struggle but the ponies were set in their actions. Her efforts to put up a fight were useless as they flung her off the edge of the cliff and she began to free-fall. Screaming, she did everything she could to try to slow her descent but nothing seemed to work in the slightest. Soon it felt like she wasn't falling but being pulled by some other force.
She finally landed on a giant plate of her mother's famous barley flour noodles. She looked around and to her horror she found that not only was she back home in her mother's restaurant, but her academy uniform she wore had changed into a waitress uniform.
"Oh, sweet Celestia, no..." she spoke to herself as she saw what was going on.
"Come on Lightning Dust dear. The customers at table seven-thousand one-hundred and thirty two are waiting for their noodles. We mustn't keep them waiting," her mother called in a booming voice.
There was a rumble in the plate beneath her as a giant version of herself picked up the plate and carried it to the table. At the table, there were giant versions of Spitfire and Rainbow Dash in fully fledged Wonderbolt uniforms. Beside them was another Lightning Dust in the waitress uniform.
As the plates she carried were being set down, she could see the version of her sitting at the table staring at her with blank white eyes. It was as if it were a soulless doll designed to look like her. Emotionlessly the giant doll grabbed her off the plate and threw her in its mouth.
"Nooooo!" Lighting Dust screamed, abruptly ending the nightmare.
Lightning Dust found herself in the middle of a dirt highway. She had fallen asleep walking. It was funny how some ponies could do that and not worry about getting lost. She cantered up to the nearest road sign and sighed in relief when she discovered she hadn't wandered off course.
That wasn't the first time Lightning Dust had a dream like this one. The darkest hour of her past had been haunting her dreams on and off ever since it happened. She knew she had to shake it off or it would creep in again the next time she closed her eyes for sure.
Lightning Dust was so exhausted that she tiredly walked, not flew, to the next town on her way to an interview. Flying took too much energy for the distance it covered and she had to conserve her energy since she couldn't eat a wholesome meal regularly. Besides, by scrounging the paths as she walked she would occasionally find an edible plant or mushroom along the path, letting her stretch her supplies. That was something she couldn't do in the air in her condition.
As her body traveled the road, her mind traveled the familiar thoughts that had plagued her many times before. After being kicked out of the Wonderbolts, Lightning Dust had a rude wakeup call from reality. She realized just how badly she couldn't afford to be kicked out. Being out on her own she realized how much had been riding on her success. Food wasn't provided to her like it was at the academy and shelter wasn't always easy to find. Even if she had been reduced to wandering, she refused to let her dream of being a Wonderbolt just slip away. Somehow, one way or another, she was going to accomplish her dream in spite of this great setback. She was going to redeem herself to Spitfire no matter what hardship she had to endure to do so.
Though it had been several weeks since being kicked out of the Wonderbolt academy, she still felt down about the whole ordeal. Her dream to be among the best of the best was dashed from her just because she 'could have' harmed others with what happened at the academy. Not only that, but she was kicked out by her own aunt Spitfire of all ponies, her idol growing up. As angry as she was at Rainbow Dash for getting her in trouble, she was furious at her aunt.
Despite this, she couldn't bring herself to think about her without balling up in tears of shame. What did she do wrong? Her aunt always told her to push past her limits when growing up. She even promoted her to lead pony when she showed her will to do so. Then next thing she knew she was being kicked out for the same thing. Lightning Dust couldn't figure out why her aunt did such a turn around. If any other cadet had done what she did they wouldn't have been kicked out. They would have been reprimanded and demoted but not kicked out.
She knew that she could try out again in three years. Her aunt did the paperwork of her resignation in such a way that she left with reasoning of 'inexperience' instead of dishonorable conditions. Her aunt would have been kinder to beat her than do that. Calling her inexperienced was an insult to her skill. She easily had twice as much flight time as any cadet there except her ex-wing pony Rainbow Dash.
Even on the bright side it was only a bitter consolation prize at best. Nopony had passed the remedial course in generations. She would have to put everything she had into it. It would be tough for her to keep her edge until then but she would find a way to do it.
Not even bothering to look up to see the sign that said "Welcome to Ponyville" with the evening light shining on it, she searched around for the local inn. She came here knowing she would fail the interview she saw in the paper, but she had run out of options in Appleoosa and had to try anyway.
If she went home, her mother would try to get her to forget about flying professions and come to work with her at the restaurant. Even if the Wonderbolts were out of reach for the next three years, she wouldn't go back to that life waiting for her in Manehattan. The open air gym that had let her practice had been converted into a private gym for some company shortly before she went to the academy and she hated working as a waitress for her mom.
Even though her mom insisted she was the best she had, Lightning Dust needed speed. She needed action, or at the very least the chance to use her wings for something besides holding menus. No flying was allowed in the restaurant even if it could triple her delivery speed. The open road was the only place where she would be able to get the practice she needed to keep her edge until she could go back. Even if she had to resort to grazing to make her food budget stretch, she would do what she had to.
Fortunately, her father suggested she save half of her tips ever since she started working at the restaurant into an account of her own for a rainy day. She never thought she would have to use it, but now she was glad she took the advice.
She picked up any job in Fillydelphia that she could to get by until the wire transfer from her savings in Manehattan came through. After it finally did, she hit the road to find work in the less populated parts of Equestria. She hoped it would let her find a job that would let her flap her wings more freely than the cities ever did.
Dodge Junction and Appleoosa were almost total strikeouts. There were only a few tiny one-off jobs here and there. Most of them were not even in the air. She barely managed to see an ad in the classifieds of a paper that somepony left at the rail way station for an upcoming opening in a weather team based in Ponyville.
It wasn't much, but at least it was a job where being a pegasus was actually useful, and on top of that she would finally have a steady job. She would be able to spend time to practice without the constant worry of food or shelter always nagging at her mind. Fortunately, the date for the interview she managed to set up at the local telephone box was still late enough to walk there and save on a train ticket. This kept her from having to dig into her funds further.
Lightning Dust's mind snapped back to the present as she walked up to the town's only inn. She saw a reddish rust brown colt in a slightly oversized, puffed out Gatsby hat front near the door. She couldn't help but be reminded of the colts and fillies back in Manehattan that would often be on the street corner in the very same kind of hat selling newspapers, under the table information, or the occasional hoof shine for the ponies that felt they needed to look nice for work.
Though it was strange to see this in a small town she knew the routine. The colt was trying to earn some change by helping travelers find things or unload stuff. He was either doing this to get by or for spending money. It was probably the latter considering the size of the town and small amount of travelers.
She paid the colt a bit for some directions. She could see the sour look on his face and hated tipping him so little, but she needed to conserve what she had left. Her funds were almost depleted.
After asking for directions to the town hall for her interview, she went to the counter and paid for her room for the night. She didn't want to rent the room but she had to get rested and cleaned up before the interview tomorrow if she wanted any chance of getting the job. She was pretty trail-worn and there was no hiding it. At least the room was still cheaper than a train ticket.
"All right. If you want you can just leave your saddle bags here and I'll have my boy bring them to your room promptly," the fire red earth pony mare at the counter said to her.
After seeing Lightning Dust glance outside at this, the pony behind the counter raised an eyebrow and continued. "I see that my little entrepreneur has already gotten some money from you somehow. I'll make sure he earns whatever you paid him with real work."
Lightning Dust dropped off her saddle bags then went back outside to collect her thoughts and wind down from the all day trek she just made. She sat down on the bench just outside the inn and waited a few minutes, watching the sun being lowered. The power of Princess Celestia truly was awe-inspiring.
Soon she would be able to watch her favorite part, Celestia's little sister—Princess Luna—bringing forth the night sky. Ever since Princess Luna reclaimed her duties from her sister about a year ago, the night sky had become a true spectacle to those that cared to watch. Princess Celestia was the elder and stronger, but the moon and the subtleties of night were Princess Luna's domain.
A few moments after sun went down, she sighed. "What was I thinking? Me a weather pony? Ha!" she said with a strong sense of impending disappointment. "A bunch of weather scheduling paper pushers that barely have to have the wing power to keep themselves aloft to get the job. An acrobat like me wouldn't have a chance."
She heard a voice beside her say, "Now why do you say that kid?" with a sense of confusion.
Being startled, she jumped off the bench and away from the voice in reflex. She hovered in the air for a moment before getting exhausted and came down to the ground sooner than she would have liked. She turned around to see a somewhat old, cerulean pegasus stallion sitting on the other side of the bench she was on. She couldn't help but notice his bizarre cutie mark of a sign post with the signs pointing in different directions.
"Sorry kid. I didn't mean to sneak up on you. I come out here to watch the sunset most evenings and I forget how quiet I can be at times."
Lightning Dust calmed herself down and tried to breathe semi-normally again then went back to the bench.
"Though your performance wasn't all that grand, I will definitely say you have the reflexes of an athlete." He laughed heartily for a moment. "All jokes aside though, I'll ask again: Now why do you say that kid?"
She breathed deeply for a moment more to finish calming down then glanced at him. She decided to humor the old pony. "I'm no good at desk work. I don't know anything about the rain station. Heck, I have barely even been to Cloudsdale. Why would any weather team manager ever hire somepony like me? It's not like I actually know anything about weather."
The older pegasus simply listened to her and waited for her to finish. A moment later he asked, "So, why are you trying to become a weather pony then?"
Lightning Dust became uncomfortable with that question and hesitated to answer for a few seconds. She looked up at the sky as it filled with more and more stars from the efforts of Princess Luna. She lifted a hoof to one of the stars. "I love flying. I want to be a Wonderbolt someday. Until the next try outs to the academy are open, I have to stay at the top of my game and hone my skills." She lowered her hoof back down slowly. "But practicing doesn't exactly pay the bills."
When her gaze came back down from the sky, she paused to replenish her courage for a moment. "I need a job that lets me fly and exercise my wings. Weather pony isn't grand, but it can do that for me. As long as I'm earning money like that, I can still have the energy to hone my skills on my own time without having to worry about where my next meal is coming fr-"
Lightning Dust stopped herself mid-sentence and quickly looked over to the old pegasus, but the damage was done. He was just looking at her, waiting for her to finish.
"-from..."
He raised an eyebrow at her. She found it scary that she couldn't read anything about what the old pegasus thought at that moment; however, the moment ended as his thoughts ended and he broke the awkward silence. "So being a weather pony is not your cup of tea. If you're really so determined as to go that far out of your way why didn't you apply for the academy last time? Applications were only four months ago. Surely you were good enough to apply then."
As Lightning Dust listened to his question, she could finally see something in his face. She saw an intelligence in the pegasus's eyes that she couldn't hide anything from and regretted opening her mouth in the first place. No matter how she tried to divert it, he would figure out the truth. She decided it wasn't worth her already limited energy. She hung her head in defeat as she explained, "Fact is, I was accepted in last time, but due to events I'd rather not talk about, I ended up getting thrown out."
After hearing this, he just sat there for a moment. He leaned back and rubbed the back his head on the window seal just behind the bench, thinking. When he was done the conversation continued. "You must have messed up pretty bad for that to happen. So what makes you think they will take you back?"
Lightning Dust said nothing for a moment. Instead her eyes furrowed as she glared down at the road.
"I'm sorry, I should-" he began to say when she suddenly blurted out her answer, changing her attitude from one of shame to one of raw determination.
"Because if they don't, I'll be stuck as a waitress back home in Manehattan, doomed to never fly more than a few yards a day ever again." She did not look at back at him to see what expression he might be wearing. She took a deep breath and continued with a fire in her eyes. "I don't expect to get this job. I can live with that. I'll search for another until I find one and get by somehow." She got a little more control over herself and closed her eyes, as if looking inward. "To be honest I have no certainty that they will ever let me fly with them again, but to Tartarus with me if I just pack up and go home without exhausting every last option first."
When she was finished he said nothing else, letting the fire in her eyes diminish. They just sat there for a few minutes before they heard somepony come to the window from the other side.
"Honey darling, it's-Oh I see you're out here too miss," the innkeeper said as she saw both of them through the window. "It's time for dinner. Why don't you join us sweetie?" she requested.
As tempting as the meal sounded, Lightning Dust knew more questions would be asked. If the innkeeper was anything like her husband, she wouldn't have the power to keep them from learning even more than she already had told them. She didn't want any pity. "It is a tempting offer, but I need to get to bed."
As she got up and trotted towards the front door to get to her room, she failed to see the husband throwing up his hoof up to keep his wife from insisting. He had an even stronger look of interest on his face than when the conversation began.
* * *
Upon entering her room, she saw her saddle bags on the bed. She opened them up and grabbed the mixed bag of oats and alfalfa out of it. Diving in muzzle first, she took a mouth full and chewed. After she finished the first she took a slightly smaller mouth full, pulled her muzzle out and closed the bag.
Just as she put her saddle bags back in order she heard a knock on the door. When she went to open the door she saw the colt with the Gatsby hat from before, with a slightly miniaturized housekeeping cart. It was barely small enough for him to push safely, but still large enough for an adult to use if they had to.
Perplexed, she asked, "Did you need something?"
Looking at her while leaning on the cart, the colt answered her. "Mom remembered that we didn't quite have your room ready. She was getting dinner fixed when you came in and didn't expect anypony else to rent a room tonight. Here are a few things mom told me to bring you."
The colt pulled out a towel from the cart and passed it to her. He then reached back and grabbed a tiny bar of soap wrapped in paper and a wash cloth, which he promptly gave to her too. When he tried to offer her one of the pillow mints, she smiled and declined.
"Gotta go now. Your room wasn't the only one that we missed," he said as he started to push the cart away.
"But don't you need to eat? Your mom said it was time for dinner just a minute ago."
He stopped only a few steps away and turned back to answer her, "Oh. Mom let me eat as soon as I brought your bags up. She lets me eat mine early while it is still warm then adds a few things to the pot for her and dad. I can't stand those peppers she puts in." He shifted his body back to push the cart. "But really, I've gotta finish my chores before bed or mom will be mad." At this, he scurried down two doors with his cart and went inside to clean.
After she tucked the towel and other items under her wing, she stood there for a moment to look in the direction of the colt's cart. "Huh. Looks like she really is having the twerp earn that bit after all. Somehow this place reminds me of home." She looked back at the towel again then turned around to go back in her room. "Regardless, a bath sounds good right now."
* * *
The next day, Lightning Dust woke up somewhat sore and stiff, but was still well rested. Even if it wasn't a cloud bed like at the academy, she had to admit the bed was a lot better than laying down in a tent that took the properties of the ground underneath like she had done the past two nights.
After she got her game face and saddle bags on, she headed to the reception area and saw the colt and his mother talking. She got a good look at her cutie mark: A house with smoke coming out the chimney. Somehow the cutie mark had a feeling of welcome to it.
'Definitely suited to innkeeping it seems.'
She walked up to the counter and stretched the soreness out of her legs and her back while she waited for them to finish talking.
"Now remember, Keen Wit," the innkeeper said to her son.
"I know, mom. No more than three bits in the machines even if the other kids offer to pay. I have to limit my video games until my grades improve."
She looked at him as if he wasn't getting the point she wanted to get across. "And?"
"And don't talk to strangers without a designated adult around."
She gave him a dead pan stare. "...And what else?"
"And umm... don't eat just junk food?" he added, not sure what else she wanted.
"Well that too, but what else?" she responded with a brief nod and a look of thought.
"Umm...mmm..."
The mother bent over and kissed her son low on the forehead, just below the brim of his hat. "And be sure to have fun at your friend's party. Now, get going or you will be late."
The colt trotted out the door and then went into a full gallop once he was clear of the door as his mother watched.
"That boy might not have his father's wings, but he certainly has his sharp mind." The inn keeper went around the counter and got a few things organized, before she finally addressed Lightning Dust, "If only he was more interested in his school work, he would be the top of his class. So, how was the room sweetie?"
Having been done with her legs and back, she finished stretching her neck to work out the stiffness. "I'm a little stiff this morning, but I don't think that was from the room. That bed was the best thing I've slept on in weeks."
"Good to hear," the inn keeper responded with a chipper smile. "Are you sure you don't want me to book you for the whole week? I'll shave off last night's bill from the package price if you change your mind."
Lightning Dust thought about her dwindling funds. If she kept renting rooms, she might not have had enough money to last another week. Rooms were expensive and she needed her money for food. She put on an act of confidence that she just didn't have the energy for last night to mask the fact she was running low on money. "Na, I don't expect to be in town that long. Even coming back tonight is slim at best."
The inn keeper's smile gained a hint of disappointment. "I'll still make sure your room is actually ready tonight, just in case."
Lightning Dust turned in her room key, went outside and saw the pegasus stallion from last night sitting on the bench again.
"Good morning sleepy head. Need directions to anywhere in town?"
"Your boy already told me where town hall is," she responded in kind, "but since you're offering could you point me to the market? I need to find some supplies."
"Ha! I'll do you one better. I'll show you the market," he said with a laid back tone. "I was about to go there myself for a few supplies before work." With this he got up and threw an old saddle bag across his back.
* * *
Lightning Dust was surprised when the old pegasus showed her not only where the market was, but around the market. After he gave her a brief tour, they came up to a stand he wished to show her in more detail. "And this is the Sweet Apple Acres apple stand. It might be the only apple stand in town, but don't let that fool you. Their apples are easily the best in Equestria."
Lightning Dust took a closer look at the apples. "Huh. I worked as a substitute apple bucker for a few days in Appleloosa when they were short hoofed during a harvest season, and those apples were pretty good."
Hearing this, the orange earth pony behind the stall piped in, "Well naturally. Most those trees were grown from my pappy's apple seeds; however, I can guarantee that Sweet Apple Acres' apples are still better. My cousin Brayburn and his kin might do wonders down there with the barren land they have, but you just can't beat the fertile soil here in Ponyville." Coming around the stall, she picked up an apple from one of the baskets and offered it to Lightning Dust. "In fact here's a sample for ya just to prove it. You look like the kind of pony that works up an appetite pretty fast. I have a friend like that."
Lightning Dust looked at the apple seller uneasy for a moment. Trying to avoid having to buy some out of obligation, Lightning Dust did her best to spin a lie. "I had a pretty hearty breakfast already. So I don't think I could eat another bite without barfing. Besides, I doubt I'm gonna be in the market for apples any time soon. It would be a waste of an apple."
The stall owner saw right through her excuse as her stomach growled. "Now, don't you be gettin' all proud on me missy!" she said with a smirk on her face. "I can be one of the most stubborn ponies around these parts, so don't you think for even a second that I will be taking no for an answer, and besides these here are my apples to waste."
After squatting on her rump to use both front hooves, she practically forced the apple into Lightning Dust's hoof, a bit to to the recipient's irritation. "Just remember how it tastes next time you are in the market for some apples," she said with a wink to join the same smirk from before then got back up on all four hooves.
"Not that she'll need any help remembering the taste." the old pegasus said with enthusiasm followed by a small laugh. Lightning Dust just looked back and forth between the apple in her hoof, the stall owner and her companion.
Still seeing her still unsure, the stall owner reassured her one more time. "Go ahead darlin'. It ain't gonna bite back."
The pegasus leaned over and whispered into her ear. "Just eat it or she's gonna get upset."
Lightning Dust took a nibble to get them off her back and gave a look of surprise at its quality. She continued to eat it slowly, enjoying the first good tasting thing she had eaten in days. Satisfied with her response the other two ponies started talking business.
"So can I have you get Big Mac to bring another shipment around to the inn some time tomorrow?"
"Why sure. Will you be havin' the usual load Mr-"
"Actually, I believe only half that will do for now. Just have your brother bring it around whenever he is heading that way. Business is a little slow this time of year and I don't think we need more rotten apples in the basement like last year. They are too good to waste like that."
Lightning Dust was distracted by the taste of her apple. She didn't notice the subtle signals the pegasus was giving to the stall owner.
"Oh, Riiight! How could I forget? We don't get many travelers this time of year." The orange mare said as she watched Lightning Dust finish her apple.
"That was amazing!" Lightning Dust exclaimed when she was done eating it. "It was crisp at first but quickly turned just the right amount of soft as I chewed. The skin gave the perfect accent to the texture but didn't get in the way. Not even the Appleloosa apples were that good!"
"See? I told you that Sweet Apple Acres apples are the best!" the stall owner boasted.
"Well, that's all I think I need to show you. I need to take care of a few more small things then I'll have to head off to work. This should cover the delivery." The pegasus pulled out a bit bag out of his saddle bag with his mouth and put it on an empty space on stall. "Put the rest on my tab," he said with a wink and a circular flick of the ear. This confused the orange mare for only a moment. With the bit bag on the stand, he left the stall.
"I had better be off too. I don't have much time to shop." Lightning Dust said and turned to leave as well.
"Well you take care of yourself now miss..." the stall owner called out, asking for her name.
"Lightning Dust," Lightning Dust called back.
As Lightning Dust walked away, the stall owner softly called to her assistant, "Apple Bloom, you wanted to go play with your friends, right?"
"Yeah," a filly answered her from behind the cart while she double checked baskets for bad apples.
"Well, I have a mission for you. After you're finished with it you can go join your friends in the park."
"Sweet. So, what's the mission?" The filly she stopped her task and came out into the open.
"Mr. Wayside is calling in a favor. Let all the stalls know he doesn't want to be mentioned to anypony new today."
"OK, I'm on it." The filly dashed off.
As the apple seller watched her sister run off, she thought to herself, 'Whatever this is, it had better be important, Wayside. You know I don't like keeping secrets.'
When the filly was out of sight, the stall owner looked back at the new pony in town, still trying to find the stall she needed. 'And I just know I've seen her somewhere before.'
Lightning Dust tried to visually comb the stalls and make sure she didn't accidentally miss the ones she was looking for. Her supply of food was almost gone, and if she was going make her bits last, she had to find food that would last. Crushed alfalfa and oats had loads of the nutrients she couldn't find grazing and they were cheaper than normal food since both were normally cooking supplies like flour and sugar.
She also needed to keep an eye out for some rope. The old foalscout tent she had was needing a new rope if it was going to last for much longer. It was one of those old fashioned ones that were simple and made to last, but the rope that came with it was practically string.
After visiting the stalls to see if she could find some deals on odds and ends, she found that every one of them seemed to take a caution to her. They were especially paranoid when she mentioned staying at the inn or having an interview at town hall.
She was almost done combing the stalls and started to get worried when a pink earth mare with the fluffiest curly mane she had ever seen popped out of nowhere and jumped right into her face.
"Hi there!"
Startled, Lightning Dust jumped back and turned around to run the other way, only to find the pink mare somehow standing in front of her again. Confused, she glanced back and forth between where the pink mare had been standing before and where she was standing at that moment, finding the old spot empty.
"Wha- How?" Lightning Dust muttered, stumbling over her words.
"You must be the new pony in town that Keen Wit was talking about! It's so nice to see you again!" the pink mare said enthusiastically, much to the confusion of Lightning Dust. She didn't recognize this pony and she was definitely the kind of pony that nopony would have a hard time remembering.
Then seeming to talk almost as fast as Lightning Dust could fly she added to Lightning Dust's confusion.
"I'm-sorry-I-haven't-got-your-welcoming-party-ready! I-was-having-some-trouble-with-the-arcade-manager's-rules-while-setting-up-my-first-arcade-style-party-so-I-didn't-have-time-to-set-up-your-welcome-party-either! Last-time-I-tried-to-do-two-parties-in-one-day-they-were-both-ruined-so-I-can-make-sure-you-get-a-super-duper-extra-spectacular-welcome-party-tomorrow! But-for-now-let's-head-to-the-arcade! The-party-is-about-to-start!"
She started bouncing off using all four legs at once for a moment, before realizing Lightning Dust wasn't following her.
Lightning Dust ignored her and turned around to continue shopping when suddenly she found herself being yanked off of her hooves. Falling flat on her chest, she looked behind her to find that she was being pulled by the pink mare who was now holding onto her tail with her mouth.
"Come on, da arcade ish dish way!"
Lightning Dust went from confused to just plain irritated. "Look, I'm sure you are a great pony to party with, but I have an interview in about half an hour and I can't be late!"
"Aww, bu' i' will 'e fun!"
"I said-" Lightning Dust said as she flapped her wings to get her footing back under her. "No!" she declined right as she delivered a swift buck to the pink pony's face. The pink party pony was bowled backwards from the blow, tumbling over a few times before she finally came to a stop.
Lightning Dust's blood was boiling. She yelled at the pink pony that was picking herself back up out of the dirt, "Go ahead and do both this party and that next crazy party you have planned without me if you're that set on doing it! I can't afford to miss this interview!"
The pink mare, now sporting two hoof marks along the side of her face and a partial black eye but surprisingly not a busted jaw, called back to her, "Okie dokie lokie! I'll save you some cake!"
At this, Lightning Dust just stared at her in confusion for a moment as the pink mare merrily hopped off the same way as before despite her injury. She muttered to herself, "She really is crazy..."
A few minutes later, Lightning Dust saw a yellow pegasus mare with a pink mane and a few items in her saddle bag, including some dry barley that must have come from the stall she was looking for. Walking up to her, she tried to ask her for directions. "Hello? I'm trying to find the-"
She was cut short when the yellow mare suddenly let out an "Eep!" and dashed behind the nearest stall that would accommodate her, much to the irritation of the owner. Her things were left behind, dropped on the ground where she had been standing. Lightning Dust stood there, not sure what just happened.
Her companion, a white unicorn mare with red tinted glasses, called out to her in a somewhat upbeat tone, "Hey, Fluttershy, it's all right. Come on out. It's just somepony asking for directions." Her companion came up to Lightning Dust and sighed, "And she was doing so well today. I'm sorry about that. She can be spooked pretty easy. Can I help you instead?"
Seeing the yellow mare starting to peek out from behind the stall, Lightning Dust turned to the unicorn and continued. "I'm trying to find the stall where she got that dry barley. I was hoping to find some oats."
With a look of surprise that turned quickly to embarrassment, the unicorn answered, "Oh! Well, you see..." She turned to the stall her companion was hiding behind.
It only took one look at the stall owner's face to tell that now was not a good time for haggling. Feeling disappointed, Lightning Dust simply said, "I see..." and walked off, knowing she wasn't going to get anywhere with him today. In defeat, she thought about finding food to fill her and tide her over until after the interview, but she realized she didn't have much time left to get to it.
"I'll just have to find something later." She left the market to head to town hall. She found a bench on the way there and finished off her remaining oats and alfalfa as quickly as she could then stored the empty bag back in her saddle bag, making it easier to mix the next set without spilling any.
Once Lightning Dust got to town hall, she spoke with the receptionist, "Hi. I'm here to talk to the pony resources manager for the Ponyville region weather team. I made an appointment a few days ago."
The earth pony stallion behind the desk moved his head up from his work just enough to see her wings and raised an eyebrow. "Another applicant. I swear that boss of mine is so picky on who he hires. If it wasn't for the mayor forcing him to hire me he would probably still be taking applicants for a receptionist. That weather pony job should have been filled weeks ago."
Setting his paperwork aside, he got up and gestured for her to follow him down the hall. "Still, if you want to try your luck against that overcritical vulture of a boss I guess I can let you in. Just know there is no shame in running for the door if it gets too tough in there." He paused for a moment to look back at her. "Many others have."
As Lightning Dust followed him she suppressed the urge to show fear. The pony that she was about to ask for a job was starting to sound pretty mean. She knew that if she was going to survive this, she had to put in everything she had. Any doubt would only guarantee failure. She thought to herself, 'Just take each challenge as they come and face them without fear, Lightning Dust.'
Wait. Why did that sound so familiar to her? Where had she heard that before? Before she could think on it further, they had reached their destination.
Stats
Page generated in 0.051 seconds
Total duration
980 users online
1,841,627 hits today, 2,280,440 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Yesplz
3226565 im terribly sorry but what?
(Not familiar with most internet slang)
3226571
i like this story fgt
make more of it plz <3
also do you have skype
because i'm in a group for good authors
and you should join it
3226575
not super socal.
No, I don't have a Skype account,
I have more of the story in tow but i don't release a chapter until im finished with it, wich at the moment means i have to be 2 or more chapters ahead of it to make sure i am tying stuff in correctly. I'm sorry but this will probably be a slow updater. so i guess it will just have to go on the read later list.
Glad you liked it though.
3226597
It's less for being social and more for helping new authors advertise their stories.
3226571 Do you even lift?
3226575
O! and what does "fgt" mean? (Face hoofs self in advance for good measure
)
3226613
Umm.. if that is net slang.. once again not sure.
If that is something to do with the grammar in the story, I'm all ears.
3226623
click
3226635
Repeats face hoof
3226633 How long have you been on the internet?
3231104
Technically, about 8-10 years but most of it was isolated to gaming or watching vids and not constantly.
I didn't do much social stuff during that time, barely chatted on the games and almost always had a friends list of less than a dozen. most of them offline the majority of the time i was on.
I started getting a bit more social about 3 months ago. and my lingo is still catching up.
I'm a bit reclusive by habit. So I'm about as clueless as the crusaders are about cutie marks.
3231259 wow ultra gay
I hope this gets explained later on. Because if it's not something that most would get kicked out for then Spitfire's actions would be a one-hundred-eighty degree shift on multiple levels. A) Doing so to her niece, who she treasures. B) Possibly breaching protocol and thus, her own professionalism. The former, I currently have trouble believing from what you've established of Spitfire in the previous chapter. The latter, I currently have trouble believing from what Spitfire appears to be in the show - very professional.
These two aspects are possibly already contradicting each other on account of the possibility that Lightning Dust was a subject of nepotism to begin with. In addition, Spitfire seemed oblivious to the way that Lightning Dust's actions were affecting her teammates in the episode. So right now it's coming off as, "I've promoted my favorite niece to Lead Pony but at her first screw up, I'm going to over react and step out of my professional etiquette again."
You probably could have skipped those dots. Knowing Lightning Dust's facial expression here would have been good.
I'm calling it now. This sudden change in perspective was for the purpose of foreshadowing something. There are rare times switching like that is called for. This one might have been better to have stayed in Lightning Dust's head. There were other ways to convey these signals without leaving her perspective and they'd be less blatant. It might even be skipped.
The inclusion or the exclusion of the next paragraph with Apple Bloom would work either way.
Brony tropes are a dangerous thing.