S2 Ch 11: Lead pony
Rainbow opened her locker and gave a soft sigh. Of course. More apology letters. She glanced at them for a moment before picking them up and tossing them straight into the trash. Shadowfang was a great pony, an excellent wingpony, for sure.
And if he hadn’t betrayed her? Hadn’t spent all that time lying to her? Tricking her? Making her feel like an idiot? She was sure she’d have been happy to have him as a wingpony again. She just couldn’t trust him. Not after that. Who knew what other important things he’d leave out when she needed to know them?
She ignored the dirty looks she was given,. Bah, they didn’t understand. She didn’t CARE if they were wereponies. What hurt was that she was lied to. That betrayal cut like a knife and she couldn’t stand for it, not from somepony who was supposed to always have her back. Not somepony she needed to trust. Needed to know she could depend on. She hung her uniform up, closed her locker and let out a yelp when Spitfire seemed to almost appear from behind it.
“Just the mare I wanted to see,” she said firmly. “I got a job for you.”
“Ma’am, yes ma’am!” Rainbow said quickly, standing at attention.
“You and Shadowfang are going to be--”
Rainbow felt an icy feeling of dread flow through her and cut the mare off. “Ma’am, we talked about this. I can’t work with Shadowfang. He--”
“You are a Shadowbolt!” the mare snapped, glaring at her and making her wilt a bit. “Now, we may not be the Wonderbolts anymore, but that does NOT mean anything is changing. Are. We. Clear? You need to be able and willing to work with anypony here. Whether they’re pegasus OR werepony. Do you understand?” she snapped, stomping a hoof down.
Rainbow sighed, closing her eyes. Then, slowly, she nodded. “Okay… But I don’t like it. He’s not a--”
“Leave your opinions at the door. You’re a Shadowbolt, deal with it. That means more than just being a performer, that means being able to do what other ponies just can’t. And that means working together if you need to, understand?”
“… Ma’am, yes ma’am!” The pegasus gave a swift nod.
“Good. Now, I’ve allowed this little feud to go on long enough, but now there’s work we need BOTH of you for. You’ll both be heading east, near the border of Equestria.” Spitfire motioned to the map they had hanging on the back wall of the locker room, pointing towards the eastern border.
“What’s so special about it?” Rainbow asked, cocking an eye.
“It’s a weird place. You see these caverns?” Spitfire asked, tapping on a section a bit east of the border. “Near them, magic doesn’t work. Occasionally weird things are spotted coming out of it, but for the most part we try to avoid going there. Ponies that have gone in, haven’t come back. Now...” She trailed a hoof down. “A few miles north of it is this town. Primarily composed of earth ponies and pegasi. Since the sun went down, its been struggling. They were completely out of contact with everypony for a few months, but communication was restored.”
“Okay?” Rainbow said with a cocked eye. “And…?”
“There have been dragons spotted nearby. If they’re plotting to make an attack, this is one of our weakest sectors. You two will be escorting a small group up there, through this canyon.” She pointed towards a long canyon below the town. “It’s about a day’s flight, two or so on hoof.”
Rainbow cocked an eye. “That… sounds kind of like… escort duty. Royal guard stuff. Why do you need us to--”
“The weather around there is erratic. Tornadoes, hurricanes, thunder storms. All of that can pop up in a second. They need some of the best fliers around to help with this,” she said firmly, shaking her head. “This isn’t just ‘royal guard’ good. They need the best. And that’s us. And, as much as I am loathe to admit it… you ARE one of our best fliers, even if you are new. And you have weather management experience.”
“Then why--”
“And Shadowfang is one of our most experienced ponies and has done this kind of work before. Not to mention, you two have worked together plenty of times. He’ll be able to follow your lead well. I know you’re upset about him lying to you, but I did not make this choice lightly.”
The blue pegasus sighed, before shrugging. “Fine. Whatever. We-- Wait. My lead?”
“Yes. For this? You’ll be lead pony.”
Rainbow’s grin widened and she quickly nodded. “Okay then! I’m ready, let’s get this show on the road!” she said enthusiastically.
“I thought you’d say that,” the mare said with a snort, before pointing back to the map. “You’ll meet up here, where the unicorns are waiting. Once you get to them, it’s only about two days away from the town. Don’t think it’ll be easy, though. It’s going to be about two days through some of the most erratic weather and conditions you two have ever seen. So don’t take this lightly. Got it?”
“Yes ma’am!” Rainbow nodded.
“Good! Shadowfang is getting supplies, reconvene with him and head out. If you need a rest after practice, that’s fine. Otherwise, get to it.”
Rainbow nodded and dashed back to her locker, tossing her uniform on and dashing out the door. Wait? How could she possibly wait? She was lead pony! This was going to be AWESOME!
------
Maybe she’d been a bit too quick with that ‘awesome’ idea. Rainbow and Shadowfang flew through the air, their dark uniforms making them almost invisible in the night sky. It had been a few hours since they had left Shadowbolt HQ and not a word had been said.
She couldn’t help but admire him, though. Just a little bit. After all, he could keep up with HER. Even amongst the Shadowbolts that had been rare. His endurance and speed were… almost a match for her own. She wondered if that was because he was a werepony. “Ugh...” she let out despite herself.
She frowned and glanced back out of the corner of her eyes. How had she been so blind? She knew a few of the Shadowbolts had been wereponies. Why hadn’t she seen the obvious answer? The small fangs, the tiny claws, the fact he was a lot stronger and more agile than most ponies she knew. So… why?
She felt the frustration begin to grow and, mixed with her slowly growing exhaustion from the long flight, she signaled for them to land. It took only a few moments to find an adequate cloud for them to park themselves on. Despite the cold night, steam rose off their bodies from the long, rapid flight. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a water bottle, taking a single, small drink. Guzzling the water would only make her feel worse, she had to be careful. “How you feeling?”
“Fine...” the stallion said softly, not meeting her gaze. Even illuminated by the moonlight, she could easily make out the details that revealed what he was.
But for this, he was also her partner. No, she was lead pony. He was her responsibility. She gave a soft sigh. “Relax, we’re on a mission. I’m not going to bite you.”
He cringed. “Neither would I… I wouldn’t ever--”
“Well, duh. Why would you bite me?” she asked with a shrug.
He sighed and took out his own water, slowly drinking it down. After a few moments he glanced back to her, finally meeting her eyes. “I… ummm… I noticed you threw the letters away… again.”
“And I’m going to keep doing it,” she said flatly.
“Listen, Rainbow, I’m really sorry. But I swear, I would never have hurt you! I don’t know what you heard about wereponies but--”
“What? Most of that stuff is just made up fear mongering,” the multi-colored pony said with a roll of her eyes, though he couldn’t see them behind the yellow eye covers. “What makes you think I’d give a hoot about that?”
“I mean… I just… I know me being a werepony really upset you, I just--”
“I don’t care that you’re a werepony! Seriously, how can you not get it?!” she snapped, taking another drink of her water. “Are you an idiot? If I cared about somepony being a werepony I’d be like… I don’t know. A ponyist? Whatever. And that’s definitely not cool. What I’m mad about is you LIED to me!”
“I… I didn’t lie, I just--”
“You lied every time. I’m… I was your partner. And you know what? This was a big thing. And you didn’t TRUST me enough to tell me about it. How can I trust you with anything? What else aren’t you telling me?”
“I… I… there isn’t anything else. I mean, there are things about me but they’re not really… important. I just know a lot of ponies don’t really like my kind and I didn’t want you to...” He trailed off.
“To what? Know the truth?”
“I didn’t want you to leave!” he finally said. “You were one of the best fliers I’ve EVER seen! I mean, as a filly you even did the sonic rainboom!”
Rainbow groaned. “Of course I did. Not that any of you believe me,” she said with just a hint of bitterness. “It’s not like--”
“I saw it.”
“… What?” she asked softly, staring at him.
“You want to know the truth, everything? All my little secrets? Fine! I saw you that day. I was a colt, too. I wasn’t exactly the most… memorable pony. I tried to keep out of the lime light when I could. But I was a few years your senior, and I saw… well. A bunch of little foals doing a race. I was bored, thought it’d be fun. And I saw the Sonic Rainboom. I saw YOU perform it. I saw you finish. I… I tried to speak to you then, but well… I… you were popular, I wasn’t. Not to mention I was older than you so I doubt you even noticed me there. Lots of ponies were staring and fawning over you then. But… I just...” He shook his head again. “I’d all but forgotten it. Until the Shadowbolts came about. The best fliers in Equestria, you came to mind. I didn’t really know HOW to find you, of course… and then you attacked Nightmare Moon and suddenly EVERYPONY knew who you were.”
“Heh. Yeah. I was pretty awesome. Stupid. But awesome.”
“They didn’t really believe me about the sonic rainboom either. But I was able to get them to give you a shot. And from there, you’ve only impressed ponies more and more, proving that you’re the amazing pony that I knew you were. But… I… I was scared. Okay? I mean. I saw the way you looked at some of the other wereponies. How suspicious you were...”
“Yeah. Because I was trying to figure out if they were or not. I mean, if I’m going to be flying with them I think I have the right to know that. MOST of them actually told us all after a few weeks. Notice how I DIDN’T get mad at any of them?” she snapped angrily. “And yet, now all of them think I’m some kind of anti-werepony protester or something. Which, frankly, is dumb. It’s not your fault you are what you are.”
“Not everypony feels that way… some of them--”
“Aren’t me. Most ponies aren’t me. What annoys me, is you never gave me the chance. You just assumed that I’d be that way. We were partners. And you couldn’t trust me,” she said, shaking her head. “That’s not what partners do, Shadowfang. How can I trust you to have my back, if you won’t trust me to have yours? Come on, let’s go.”
Shadowfang sighed, staring at the other mare. He’d… really bucked it all up. He took to the air, flying after her. However, to his surprise she slowed down a bit to fly by him, signaling for him to keep pace by her side, not behind her.
“So… you’ve always been a werepony. Even as a colt?”
“Yes,” he said softly.
“What?”
“Yes!” he said louder.
“So were you like… born one?”
“Yes. It happens from time to time. Most are turned, but if one of your parents are one, you can be too.”
“Okay then,” she mumbled. “So like… what kind?”
“What kind?”
“Well, wereponies come in all types, right? Timber wolves, bunnies, those kinds of things?”
The stallion blinked and gave a sigh. “Promise not to laugh?”
“Nope.”
“...”
“Fiiiiine. I promise I won’t laugh.”
“Raccoon.”
Rainbow snickered.
“You promised you wouldn’t laugh!”
“I’m snickering, not laughing.”
“It’s close enough...”
“Right, fine, fine, sorry,” she said with a shake of her head. “So, born that way. Right? What’s it been like?”
“Oh, you know. Parents were freaked out. It was on my mom’s side. While dad knew, he didn’t think I’d be one, too. Spent a lot of time moving. Celestia put in a lot of effort to… well. Keep us hidden might be the wrong word. But out of the public’s eye. There were opportunities, you could say.”
“That sounds rough… how long were you in Cloudsdale?”
“When I saw the sonic rainboom? About six months. We moved a year later, actually. Though, that was the… fourth time we’d come there.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. When I say we moved a lot, I mean a lot. That… sucked. But Cloudsdale was always a good place. Lots of pegasi, easy to hide and avoid too much notice,” he said with a shrug.
“How’d you become a shadowbolt?”
“Lots of practice, mostly. I mean, we’re a bit stronger and faster than other ponies. But… not like… massively. I mean, you could fly circles around me if you wanted,” he said with a shake of his head. “But… I worked hard, dedicated myself. Managed to get in through the academy, kept my head low. I was good enough, though. A lot of ponies ended up under my wing, so to speak, apparently my style was good for helping the newbies learn in a safe way.”
Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, I can see that. You were pretty good when I started. Really did a good job of helping me learn to… dial it back, when needed.”
“Yeah. Well. You were special,” he mumbled. “I’ve never had a student who could out race me RIGHT when they entered. Seriously. How does a weather pony from Ponyville get THAT fast?”
“Oh, was all in my contract,” she said with a snicker.
“… In your contract?”
“Payment for work done, not hours worked. In summarization, I got paid regardless of how many hours I worked, so long as the job got done. It went from almost ten hours when I started, to eventually the point I could do almost a whole day’s work in like... Fifteen minutes on calm days. Then I’d have all day to rest and practice,” she said with a laugh. “Ponies got their weather perfected, way faster than anypony else could do it, and I got to rest and enjoy myself a lot. Everypony was happy.”
Shadowfang blinked a few times and snickered. “I see. You made the job an art form, huh? No wonder. Fifteen minutes, really?”
“On slow days, yeah. Heck, on the super slow days I could get everything cleared in a few seconds, but that was only a few times a year. I’d race myself all the time, was fun.”
“Huh. That’s pretty cool.”
“So… if you don’t mind me asking. Where does the whole ‘were’ come from? I mean...”
The stallion faltered. “It’s… not… that. So much as… it’s a mistake. OR rather, a play on…” He trailed off and sighed. “Okay, so it comes back from long, long, long ago. When the first wereponies came about. They sent a letter and, while it’s not… entirely… well. Keep in mind this is what I was told, okay?”
“Yeah yeah, get on with it,” Rainbow said, gesturing him to keep going.
“One of the first wereponies sent out a letter, an open letter to ponies. In it, they continuously say ‘we’re ponies’. However, things were shifted and… well… Eventually, it was used as ‘bewere ponies’ as a play on beware. Finally, it just became wereponies. The ‘were’ ended up sticking and we classified most of those kinds of afflictions as ‘were’s. In general, the community seems to like it, namely because it’s our own way of saying ‘we’re ponies’, still. Because that’s what we are. We may have an affliction, but we’re still the same as everypony else. In a way.”
“Okay, fine. That… okay. I see why you didn’t wanna talk about that.”
“Yeah. It’s… kinda sucks. A lot of ponies like it, but I’m not exactly… fond of it.”
“Yup. But… hey. I never thought you weren’t a pony.”
“Well, th--”
“A liar, sure. But always a pony.”
“… Ouch. I probably deserved that.”
“Definitely. So… how have all of you been hiding so well?”
“Wellll… it’s usually deemed a medical condition. Some of us look fine. Others just have a medical condition, on paper, that makes us look a bit different. Fortunately there are plenty of ponies out there who look outside the norm, even without anything like this, that we passed for years. It’s a lot more difficult, now. And more than a few ponies who aren’t even weres have… run into these issues when they’re accused of being one of us.”
“Oh...”
“Yeah...”
“So… you’ve run into a lot of that stuff?”
“Enough. Most don’t say anything. But you get weird looks, ponies stare, then you get the prissy ones who just stare at you like you’re going to suddenly turn and maul them. Those are the worst. I mean, I just came into the market to get some orange juice! I’m not going to assault you or anything!”
Rainbow gave a sigh, shaking her head. She glanced to the drifting clouds they passed, before giving an exasperated sigh. “Fine. Whatever, it’s cool. You didn’t want to like… wait.” She glanced up at the full moon. “It’s ALWAYS a full moon. How are you NOT turning into like a… giant fuzzy adorable ferret?” she teased.
“I am not adorable when I transform!” he snapped back, his cheeks red.
“Awwww, does somepony not like being adorable?” she asked with a snicker. “I bet you’re the fuzziest wuzziest little ferret,” she mocked.
“I am not!”
“Are tooooo.”
“Ugh,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “You know, saying stuff like that is incredibly offensive.”
“Wait, really? I’m sor--”
“I’m a Shadowbolt! Imagine if ponies thought I was adorable? All of my rep, shattered!” he said, before giving a light snicker.
Rainbow paused for a moment, before smirking. “You had me going there! You know, I can still knock you out of the sky if I want.”
He snickered, shaking his head. “But nah, nopony cares about that. Well, I guess some do. I don’t know. I don’t care. Well. Unless like… you out us. To ponies. Like your friend did.”
“To be fair it was kind of obvious. I just wasn’t paying attention.”
“And to answer your question, well… it’s not the FULL full moon,” he said, taking a moment to gesture towards it. “Her highness didn’t really want us shifting random willy nilly out of nowhere. But if we want, we can shift with just a bit of effort. It’s good to get it out, sometimes.”
“Huh? Really. Cool. So like… no more big secrets then, okay? I mean. If I have a wingpony, I need to know they have my back, and I have theirs. Got it?”
“… Sure. I guess there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”
“What?” Rainbow asked, feeling a small burst of anxiety.
“I’m pregnant,” he joked.
“Welp, that explains the extra weight you’ve been putting on,” she snapped back.
“HEY!”
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Ha! I like this episode.
I do think it would work a bit better if we didn't know why Rainbow was REALLY upset until they talk about it with each other.
But yeah, a lot of fun and I like these wereponies. I wonder if they can keep the wings/horns/stength when they transform if they concentrate.
And not the FULL full moon? Guess Buffy rules don't apply and it's just a day off from the complete.
Seems like you used the wrong punctuation mark there.
Yaaay! Im glad they finally worked things out. ^^ I like Shadowfang, and his backstory is so nice! Also like the lore on wereponies. Im still having trouble imagining hooves with claws though. Those two do not quote mesh in my head.
Good chapter, good talk. It's important that they clear the air between them.
9663056
Very true. I figured it was probably that, but was curious nonetheless
Yes, how did that quote go? I do not hate that you have lied to me, I hate that I can no longer trust you."
I'm not sure if that's a terrible idea or a brilliant one. At least it worked out in Rainbow's case.
That hiatus threw the story off a cliff.
Heh, cute.
Nice to see Rainbow & Shadow close the gap and make amends with each other
9663331
It's a double edged sword I think, and would only apply to certain jobs with either set goals or set tasks and routes i.e. this is what happens every day. I could definitely see it working out in favor of the worker as they become more proficient as long as the task is done completely and competently they will get faster and thus have more time off once they are done for the day. On he employer's side it could get annoying really quickly, if I could re-tile an entire roof in 15 minutes and get paid for the work and not the hours the employer might get suspicious or angry with me and want me to do more b/c I'm so good at it. The idea has plenty of good merit behind it but there are too many people in the world that would exploit that somehow.
D'awwwww!
Hee
I bet you aaaaaare!
Sick burns
'S chapter be great
"We're ponies!", a cry of solidarity, becomes
"Were ponies!", a cry of danger.
Sounds far too real to be made up.
9871800
It's kind of sad how I can totally see this in an alternate real life.