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Prologue — Seaddle Rain2,048 words
Chapter One — A New Pen-Pal2,431 words
Chapter Two — The Article1,620 words

Prologue — Seaddle Rain

Spring in Seaddle. A time when it was literally easier to take a rowboat to work than walk. Here the roofs sprouted a veritable bouquet of molds and the locals spent half the day drying off from their morning commute to be thrown back into it for the afternoon rush-hour. By any sane pony’s definition, it was the worst time and place in all of Equestria for a charitable race. Unfortunately the Seaddle Foal’s Hospital had determined to put it on rain or shine.

So here Rainbow Dash stood under the awning, taking innumerable pictures with reporters, bureaucrats, and adorable foals alike. The race had finished over two hours ago, and all the other competitors had long since departed to warmer climes. The extra attention felt great at first, but the blowing rain coupled with her already sweat streaked coat quickly whisked away any comfort the situation afforded. Finally, the plump director of the hospital lured the rest of the gawkers away with the offer of warm cookies in the lobby of the stadium.

Seizing the opportunity, Rainbow took to the sky, landing gracefully in front of the outdoor lockers. As soon as she retrieved her saddlebags, she whirled around to come muzzle to muzzle—well, almost—with a lanky, almost feminine stallion. Her eyes drifted from his perfectly coiffed forelock down to his green sweater and finally back into his piercing lavender eyes. The over-large white glasses made him look like a flashy dragonfly eying a mosquito.

“Rainbow Dash. I’m so glad to have caught you,” he said in an sickeningly charming voice that would have made Rarity swoon in an instant. In Rainbow’s case, styrofoam against a white board would have been more appealing.

It did not take long to notice the notebook sticking out of his sweater pocket. A journalist’s notebook. Not again. “I’m done with interviews!”

“Pity. You would have been given a feature on Mare’s Monthly, but I see it was all for not.” His tone and corney smirk implied that being featured in Mare’s Monthly was an honor akin to alicorndom.

“Not interested in your gossip rag, Bucko.”

The stallion stammered stupidly for a moment as if unable to comprehend the very idea of a mare turning down a Mare’s Monthly article. “But it’s the most popular magazine in the country!”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right up there with Golf Digest . . .”

The false silken quality in his voice vanished in an instant. “Oh, come on! It’s just one interview.” He stepped in her path, a symbolic gesture considering how she could just fly away anytime. “Please, my employers are banking on me getting this article. It’ll take like half an hour max. We can chat over dinner.”

“Dinner?” As much as she loathed fashion, Rainbow detested Seaddle’s over-priced cafés more. Besides, she still had an hour before her train left. “You buying?”

The stallion jerked a nod. “Yes, and I know just the place.” His eyes fell to her still dripping coat. “They’ll be happy to give you a towel to dry off.”

“Fine, lead the way.” Rainbow followed her meal-ticket out into the ever-present stream of rain that lay over Seaddle like a blanket. After crossing the first street, she remembered her manners. “Sorry. Didn’t catch your name.”

He shot her a grin, perfectly straight teeth glistening despite the gloom. “Trenderhoof, but please call me Trend.”

“Trend, eh?” Sounds familiar. Now where have I heard that before . . .

Good conversation, like good books never leads on to the fact that it has completely sucked you into another world entirely. One minute you could be standing in a crowded railway terminal and the next, you were the only two ponies in the world. Such conversations were a luxury considering her “conversations” generally consisted of quick one-liners shot to her friends in passing. Trend however, did not allow her to stop there. With each seemingly finalized sentence, he would draw out another emotion, perspective, or question that made her think more than she had in years. As their time in the diner wore on, she found herself hanging on his every word.

Unfortunately, the spell of the moment shattered when the street lamps flickered lazily to life in the ever-present haze. Her heart skipped a beat. “Hey, Trend, what time is it?”

“Hmmm.” He withdrew an elegant pocket watch from his saddlebags. A small frown marred his perfect features. “Drat. It’s seven-thirty.”

“Seven-thirty?!” The news shot her into action, darting to the door. Unfortunately, reality caught up with her and she slunk back to their booth at a slow walk. “Sorry. I just realized. My train left half an hour ago.”

“Oh,” the cheery quality in his voice all but died, “I’m terribly sorry, Rainbow. I didn’t mean to keep you so long.”

“No, no. It’s not your fault!” In all honesty, she did not mind the delay. She had forgotten the simple pleasure a thought-provoking conversation could bring. “It was a good time, really it was.”

“Yes, and I’ve imposed on you long enough.” A small pamphlet levitated from his bags and he began to scan it quickly. “There’s another train leaving east at eight-fifteen. Why don’t I buy you a ticket and see you off?”

Under any normal circumstances, she would have refused. By all accounts, she should have refused. However, something—be it the request, the situation, or simply the stallion in front of her made her nod her head in soft acceptance. “I’d like that,” she breathed softly.

With that, he set some bits on the table and they set off into the less-than-pleasant Seaddle evening.

“So, when’s that article getting posted?”

“When my superiors get their act together I imagine.”

“Bleh, leave it to the brass to stop the cogs of progress.”

Trend paused for a moment, wide-eyed. Then, he chuckled softly. Not a booming, rumble that Rainbow had grown accustomed to in stallions, but a soft purring. She liked that sound. It felt . . . comfortable. “I didn’t know you possessed that level of wit, Rainbow.”

“What? Jocks can’t be witty once in awhile?”

He stuck out his tongue playful, prancing ahead a few strides. “Well, most jocks aren’t Elements of Loyalty, so I guess I’ll count you as an outlier.”

“Yeah, yeah, keep talking, Pretty Boy!”

They walked on together in silence, approaching the train station at a comfortable pace. With each step, the air felt tighter. Rainbow did not have to be an expert to know the source. “Say, Trend, is something wrong?”

“No—yes . . . well, I suppose so.” Trend’s eyes drifted to hers for an instant. “Would it be alright if I wrote to you?”

Wrote to you? What is this, Little Barn on the Prairie? She did her best to shrug casually. “Sure I guess. Not like I’m going to stop you.”

To her surprise, he grinned from ear to ear. “Thanks. It’s been a long time since I had a pen-pal!”

Pen-pal? The word invoked images of primary school projects and pointless practice addressing envelopes. Well, at least it made the dork happy.

She waited by the rail line for Trend to buy the ticket and return. He proffered it to her with a sheepish grin. “Again, I’m terribly sorry for the inconvenience, Rainbow.”

“Don’t sweat it.”

They stood there together, gazing down the tracks—lost in their own worlds. Scrambling to get some semblance of their earlier conversation up and running, she began to talk. Well, rant came closer to the truth. “So you’re from Seaddle, huh? Never got a letter from a Seaddle pony before. Never got a letter from a stallion before either.” The thought of their local pegasi mail mare hoofing through her mail came to the forefront of her mind. "Don’t put anything weird on the envelopes!” That would invariably lead to a host of misunderstandings.

To her surprise, he just chuckled again. That same, tingly chuckle that set her heart beating just a bit faster. “Okay, okay! Sheesh, I do have class, Miss Dash.”

She snorted back a laugh herself. “‘Class Miss Dash,’ That rhymes.”

His eyes grew wide as he mouthed the words to himself. “Guess so. And,” he took another ticket from his designer saddlebags. “I’ve got my own train to catch once yours leaves. I don’t live in Seaddle. Thank Celestia too, the tax rate’s atrocious!”

“Really? Where do you live?”

“Hmmm. Well, I travel so much I don’t really live anywhere. Mares Monthly is based out of Baltimare, so I technically ‘reside’ there. Though how staying a month out of the year counts as 'residing' is beyond me.”

“You do travel a lot!”

“I told you I’m a traveling author. My talent is portable.”

“And mine isn’t?” She nearly guffawed at the look of mingled embarrassment and surprise at war on his face. “Don’t make such a stupid face, Trend. It’ll stick. Then would would you be? The not-so-pretty traveling Jimbob out for his latest scoop?”

“Hardly.” Though he did rub his chiseled features absent-mindedly. “I’m pretty sure Mom would kill me before that could happen.”

Mom? Though such a common subject of conversation, Rainbow felt immediate, unwelcome tension at the word. No. Don’t think about it, don’t even try to think about it. Before she knew why, her hooves began to quiver on the damp cobbles.

“Rainbow?” Trend reached out a hoof, as if to pat her back.

She spun backwards and into the misty air—a spectacular overreaction even for her.

In the same instant, Trend recoiled as if he’d been slapped. “Sorry. That was quite rude of me.”

No please, don’t misunderstand. It’s not you. Again and again, she tried to think of a good reason, but the words balled up in her throat like a group of clouds intent on blocking the sunlight.

As she started to force the words, a low rumble began to shake their hooves. Sure enough, a split second later, the train had screeched into the station. Her heart sank as the doors flew open—for once, she did not want to go home. Not yet. Not until she cleared up this misunderstanding.

Her eyes fell to her companion as he levitated her saddlebags gently across her back. “There, all set.”

“Trend I—about earlier—” she began.

Trend raised a hoof, cutting her off. “Don’t worry about it, Rainbow. But you’d better get going. The train’s just making a quick passenger stop. Don’t want to keep it waiting.”

“Keep it waiting? What, is it going to refuse to move until I get onboard?”

In answer, she looked towards the conductor’s car where two ponies were glancing between her and their watches. Trend shrugged. “Perks of being an Element of Loyalty. However,” he nudged her gently towards the train, “it would be terrible PR to keep a train waiting just because you’re a celebrity.”

“PR? Sheesh, you really are a famous model.”

“What can I say, I’m fabulous!” Trend gave a good-natured wink as she stepped into the train.

“Trend, before I go, I want to—”

A shrill whistle broke off her words. The symphony of moving mechanics and slamming doors soon followed. Rainbow found herself flinching as her door slammed shut.

Trend took a few steps back, waving back at her. He mouthed some words, but she couldn’t hear them. Judging from his smile, they were the good kind.

Rainbow found herself staring out the window long after the Seaddle lights had faded. Why couldn’t she tell him? Then another thought struck her. Why did she have such a desperate longing to? He was just a random pony. A fashion author even! And yet, she couldn’t bear the thought of her new friend disliking her. Like he cares. Just watch, he won’t even write. Though bitter, the thought gave her comfort. The “friends” they met on adventures were all the same, as fragile as a cirrus. Her friends in Ponyville, now they were forever.

Author's Note:

I had wrote some of this months ago. However, health and lack of motivation left it to rot in my gdocs. I decided the time had come to revive it—a long distance romance between two very unlikely partners.

Let me know how I did in the comments below. I always appreciate feedback. Though I'm an editor myself, I often miss errors, so feel free to point them out. Thanks for reading!