For Lack of a Better Word

by Gunsmith

Chapter Twenty

I brush a layer of dust off of my shirt, coughing as I step out of the barn. After spending a few hours cleaning out and organizing the old tools and knick-knacks of a local resident, fresh air has never tasted better. Still, the barn looks much nicer; I think the owner is some sort of mechanic. Many of the dusty boxes seemed to be filled with train parts and tools designed for work on trains. It still strikes me as odd that this civilization has invented locomotives, but not electric lighting. Then again, what doesn't strike me as odd here?

Coughing again, I swear a cloud of dust appears from my mouth. Better out than in, I think with a grimace. My facial expression changes slightly as I approach the house of the pony who owns the barn. I often wonder if they watch me the entire time, as the door opens right as I near. An elderly stallion wearing a pair of bifocals stands in the doorway, smiling up at me.

"Y'all done, sonny?" he says, a little louder than necessary. I nod, and go to step back, holding my hand out towards the barn to show him my work. He shakes his head, raising a hoof in protest. "No, no, I trust you did the job." The pony, a burnt-red sort of color, squints at me for a moment. "Lemme' tell yah', that's somethin' we need more of 'round here. Trust." I'm not really sure how to respond, so I just nod in agreement. I agree that the world, any world, needs more trust, but I can understand that I don't really come off as trustworthy to most ponies. Threatening, rather.

I focus again, and see that he's looking out at the barn. "That barn's been a mess as long as I can remember," he says with a laugh. "Used to be an engineer, long time ago. Just mainly fiddle with what I can find, now." The pony smiles distantly in memory. I think to myself that that would be a nice way to spend my days, just tinkering with things, a peaceful but still interesting existence. He snaps out of his trance, as do I, and looks up at me over his glasses. "Well, you probably have better things to do than listen to an old stallion ramble on, eh?" I smile, laughing silently.

He turns, and begins to trot inside. "Let me go getcha' something for your work," he calls behind him. I watch him for a moment, then sigh quietly. I rap my knuckles against the door frame a few times, grabbing his attention. He turns in question, and I shake my head, waving my hand side-to-side as well. "Now, you know very well it's only right if I pay you," he says sternly. I shake my head again, smiling. He stares at me for a while, then sighs. "Are you sure, son? I've got more than I need." I continue to hold my gaze and smile. The old stallion nods, smiling appreciatively. I reach in and close his door for him, then walk away from the home.

I'm looking ahead, but not really seeing anything, my focus elsewhere. I need to stop being nice. I have groceries to buy. I sigh, running a hand through my hair. Some dust follows my hand as it leaves my head. Who am I kidding? If I wanted, I could go find everything in the wilderness. It's not like I'm in the middle of a massive city. I don't have too much use for money, I can afford to be nice. Especially to those who don't have much left in the world. I bring my hands up, looking at them; they're still very dusty. I rub them together for a moment, then wipe them on my pants. A fairly new pair of pants, actually, only a few days old. I had Rarity tailor me a new pair nearly identical to my original pair, as well as a new shirt in the same way. It made it easy for her, but I know she'd cringe if she knew how badly I abuse my clothes. The fact that most of the roads are dirt in this town doesn't help much, though.

I hear a noise that I've come to discern easily now; the sound of beating wings. I look up and to my right, where the sound is coming from. Sure enough, the Pegasus that approaches is the one-and-only Rainbow Dash. I grin, waving at her. She waves a hoof back, speedily coming to my side as I aimlessly walk down the streets of Ponyville. I feel happy every time I see her, light blue face smiling with those huge, cerise eyes that almost always seem full of friendliness.

As she approaches, the drafts of air created by her wings blow some of the dust off of my clothes and skin. She coughs, fanning some of the dust away with a hoof. "What, did you visit Appleoosa today or something?" she manages between coughs. I laugh, or cough, or both. Eventually, she blows all of the dust off of me, and we recover from the minor sandstorm. "So, now that I'm off work, and I know you can't think of anything more fun than hanging out with the most awesome Pegasus ever, whaddya' wanna' do?"

I chuckle for a moment, then rub my prickly face. After a little while, I think of something. Retrieving the crumpled up paper and worn pencil from my pocket, I use my hand as a surface to write on.

Why don't we see if Twilight will cast another cloud-walking spell on me?

Scanning the suggestion quickly, Rainbow Dash grins at me. "That sounds awesome. My tricks look way better when you're close-up, anyways," she says, puffing out her chest a little as she usually does when she speaks with confidence. I smile, and we re-orient ourselves in the direction of Twilight Sparkle's library.

***

We approach the door of the tree house, and I knock a few times before stepping back. After a moment the door is opened by a small, purple-and-green dragon.

"Oh, hey, Mark, hey, Rainbow Dash! What's up?" Spike asks happily.

"Hey, Spike, is Twilight here?" Rainbow asks. "We need her to do a spell for us."

"Yeah, I think she's just cleaning right now. Come on in, I'll go get her." The baby dragon steps away from the door, allowing us inside. I follow my Pegasus friend in, and we stand idly in wait for the violet unicorn. Eventually she appears with Spike trailing behind, both of them smiling at us.

"Hello, Rainbow Dash, Mark, what can I do for you?" she asks cheerfully, glancing between us. I look down to Dash, who takes over for me.

"Think you could do that cloud-walking spell on Mark again?" the sky-blue Pegasus asks.

Twilight taps a purple hoof against her chin for a moment, glancing up in thought. "Hmm...you know...this would be an excellent time to try out the new version of that spell I've been working on..." The unicorn returns to reality, focusing on me. "You see, when you asked me to use that spell...what, a week ago? Yes, something like that. Anyways, I realized that the spell is a very simple one, and could easily be improved. As a sort of side project, I think I've finally come up with a more permanent version of the spell," she explains quickly. "Maybe you could help me, Mark. Could I possibly use you as a control for this spell? I'm not sure of the side effects, so that's your decision to make."

I think for a moment. Well, it's not like anything can go horribly wrong, right? Another moment of reflection. Probably the last words of everyone who's died in a horrific explosion caused by an experiment. I look down at Rainbow Dash to see if she has any thoughts to offer. She shrugs, and her face says why not? I decide that's some good, solid logic, and nod my head to Twilight Sparkle, resident mad scientist.

The violet unicorn smiles happily. "Excellent. I'll go get my goggles. Meet me out back, please," she instructs, trotting away. Oh boy. I glance at Rainbow again, who gives no further help, then turn and walk back out the door, followed by the rainbow-maned pony. We round the trunk of the tree until reaching the rear of the library, where I find Twilight, who wasn't kidding about goggles. Much to my dismay, she actually does look like a mad scientist.

"Alright," she begins. "We might want to get away from the tree, in case of fire or the like. And Rainbow, you'll need to stand back." Dash and I oblige, I heading towards where Twilight moves to, a good thirty yards from the tree house, and the Pegasus trotting over to the tree. "Okay, Mark, just stand still. Sorry if this is painful; it shouldn't be, not according to my calculations." I say a quick prayer to God, Celestia, Luna, whoever might be able to keep me alive.

I watch as Twilight Sparkle calmly closes her eyes as her horn begins to glow faintly with a pink aura. It's a little hard to see in the bright daylight. Soon enough, the aura becomes much clearer. A few sparks of bright magic trail off from the main aura surrounding her horn. My vision begins to tint a pink hue as magic surrounds me, and I start to feel a faint tingling, like my entire body is vibrating, but not heavily so. Twilight remains concentrated as the aura around me grows thicker and darker in color, until--

My vision flashes a blinding white, and my ears ring with an unbelievably high tone. I feel an impact on my back, and know I've lost my balance entirely; the world spins within my own head. It's like I've put a flash-bang grenade into my mouth and let it detonate. Searing pain comes from my fingers and toes. I think I can smell something along the lines of cooked flesh.

I try to blink away the pure white before my eyes, and my vision slowly starts to return, first in black-and-white, then in full technicolor. My hearing does the same, and my orientation starts to return, the effects of whatever just happened being short-lived. I look around, finding that I am lying on the ground; above me are two familiar faces, both looking worried. Twilight, goggles pushed up onto her forehead, looks more relieved as I start to come to. Rainbow Dash looks very worried, and also angry. She looks up; I follow her gaze. High above me and to my front sits a small, dark storm cloud in the sky, atop it a gray Pegasus with a blond mane. Her amber eyes look a bit odd, crossed at different angles.

"Derpy!" Rainbow Dash yells at the aptly named Pegasus atop the cloud. "You're supposed to buck the cloud to get rid of it, not jump on it!" she says with exasperation.

'Derpy' looks down at the storm cloud, mouth forming an 'o' in realization. She hovers off of the cloud, going to one side of it and giving it a hard kick. The cloud promptly disintegrates, much to the satisfaction of the gray pony. "Oops, sorry! Thanks, Rainbow Dash!" she says.

"Yeah, no problem," Dash says with a sigh. Her attention returns to me. "You okay, Mark?" I nod, my face twisting in some mixture of confusion and pain. "You got struck by lightning. Derpy did it on accident, she can be...forgetful, sometimes," she explains upon seeing my look. I just survived a lightning strike? I glance up, saying a quick thanks to whatever decides my fate out there. Then again, I just got struck by lightning...maybe thanks isn't in order. It doesn't really matter, though, because I'm still alive. I bring my hands up to my face, peering at them. The tips of my fingers seem to be burnt a little, and I assume my toes look about the same. All of the hair on my arms is standing on end, as well, much to my minor amusement.

I slowly make my way to my feet, shaking my head in an attempt to clear it. Probably just lost a lot of brain cells. Twilight steps around into my field of view, as does Rainbow Dash, hovering at eye level. "Well, that was...unexpected," the unicorn comments. Understatement of the year. "Are you still up for trying that spell? I never actually finished it, but I was close." I glance down in thought. Can't be worse than getting struck by lightning, I guess. I nod a bit hesitantly. Twilight Sparkle nods as well, turning to head back to her original position a few yards away from me. As she does, I see Dash approach her and give the violet unicorn a stern look.

"Don't you dare hurt him, Twi," she whispers angrily. The violet pony recoils back a little, obviously surprised by Rainbow Dash's sudden ferocity. She nods quickly, then shoos the Pegasus away. If only you knew, Twilight, I muse with a grin to myself. As I watch the unicorn start up the spell again, my mind starts to drift, as it always does. What would her friends think if they knew she liked me the way she does? What would everyone else think? Most of them already probably think I'm the weirdest creature in Equestria, which I likely am...

My focus returns to Twilight standing a short distance away when her horn begins to glow with an almost-blinding brightness. I clench my teeth together as I brace for some sort of unforeseen side-effect. The aura around me again begins to grow deeper in color, eventually tinting the world around me a pure violet color. I shut my eyes, wincing, preparing for...

Pop. I open my eyes upon hearing the noise. The world is back to normal color; Twilight is raising her goggles with a hoof, looking a bit winded from the use of magic. Wait, that's it?

"I think that's it," Twilight says. Okay, so that's it. My ears popped. No lightning. "You should be able to retain the ability to walk on clouds permanently, now. The original spell virtually infused a small amount of false Pegasi magic, which isn't entirely repeatable with unicorn magic, with the user. The spell I made should have infused a strain of Pegasi magic within you that lasts for around two-hundred-seventy-eight years, which, unless you have a very long life span, is basically permanent."

"Wait, shouldn't that mean he can fly and stuff, like I can?" Rainbow Dash chimes in.

Twilight shakes her head, looking back and forth between us as she explains. "No, he can't fly. He can manipulate clouds in a similar fashion to Pegasi, but not to the full extent you all can. Like I said, unicorns can only replicate a crude version of the magic found in Pegasus ponies, a simple version of it. All I did was concentrate that simple magic that allows Pegasi to manipulate clouds very basically, much like a Pegasus foal is able to. All Mark can really do is stand on and push around clouds, if the spell worked properly." The unicorn pauses, giving me a once-over. "Be careful, and watch for signs that the spell is fading or isn't working properly, and please report them to me." She glances to Rainbow Dash. "And Rainbow, please stay close to him as much as you can, in case he starts to fall through the clouds."

Dash flashes a meaningful look at me, coupled with a very quick wink. "Alright, fine..." she says to Twilight. I can tell she is much happier to have been ordered to stay close to me than she makes herself sound. Can't say I'm not happy, either, though. Yet another thought to push to the back of my mind before it starts to go any deeper. The violet unicorn gives her an odd look, glancing between Rainbow and I for a moment. It's not what you think, Twilight. Well...maybe it is? We're just friends...friends who want to be more than that and know it? Gah...

"Well, have fun, you two," Twilight Sparkle says with a friendly smile. "Thank you for letting me use you as a control, Mark. Your help will certainly be noted in my report on this spell." Thanks? I nod, smiling to her. She trots back towards the library, leaving Rainbow Dash and I to our own devices. The light blue Pegasus smiles happily to me, jumping into her usual hover.

"C'mon, I'll go get some clouds so you can get up to my house." I nod, grinning, and start off in a jog towards the floating house of the rainbow-maned pony, alone in the distant sky.

***

I lay on my back, slightly sunken-in to the fluffy cloud. I continue to watch the blue speck in the sky, trailing a perfect rainbow behind it, as I have for the past few hours. She starts to dip down, coming straight towards me. If I didn't know any better, I would probably try to get out of the way, but I do know better, so I stay where I am, watching her dive at me. With flawless timing, Rainbow Dash flares her wings, slowing herself to a stop just over me, where she settles down, placing her hooves on either side of my torso. I grin up at the Pegasus, who grins back, panting a little. Her breath smells nice, kind of spicy. She looks at me closely for a while, in an odd, serious fashion; my grin starts to fade. Please, don't try anything...

The light blue pony jumps back into the air, hovering over to one side. I stand up, feeling a little relieved, and my smile returns. Rainbow aims a hoof towards her tower-like house. "Want something to eat?" I nod, and she waves for me to follow. I do so, tailing the hovering pony into the first floor of her home, which also happens to be the kitchen. I lean against a soft counter while she fishes around in some cabinets. "You like sandwiches?" I nod again. After a moment I realize my definition of a sandwich might be different from hers, but decide not to dispute it for now. She starts arranging pieces of bread, along with flowers of varying sorts, to my minor dismay, on a pair of plates. Dash sets them on the small, low-set table in the room, taking a seat on the floor before one side of the table. I sit down opposite her, folding my legs to get more comfortable on the cloud floor.

I guess flying really shreds through what energy she has; she tears into the meal like she hasn't eaten in a week, as she seems to do often. I take a look at my sandwich, lifting one of the slices of bread. The flowers and stems don't look too appetizing; I scrape them off, then start munching on the bread. We eat in silence for a while, as it appears both of us are fairly famished.

I notice Rainbow Dash eyeing the small pile of plants on my plate as I go to finish off my other slice of bread. I push the plate towards her. "You're not going to eat those?" she asks, a little incredulously. I shake my head; I point at the flowers, then my mouth, then make the universal 'choking' sign, sticking my tongue out for show. She giggles at my display, then quickly devours the flowers that were on my plate. I wonder what flowers taste like to a pony?

Dash pushes the plates away, looking content. I smile, gazing at her for a moment. Friendly, rose-colored eyes, reflecting some of the sunlight in the room. A happy smile on her sky-blue face as she looks back at me. Her mane is messy and wind-blown, but it looks right on her. I idly begin to grin as I recall the memory of our date, sort-of, a few days ago, a little in memory of the actual date, but more in memory of the events following. Man, we nailed Applejack. The old bucket-filled-with-water-on-top-of-the-door prank, except there wasn't a bucket, there was a pie. I don't even know how Pinkie managed to balance a pie on top of that door, but the results were perfect. Applejack was actually more upset that we had wasted a perfectly good apple pie.

My thoughts turn a little more serious as I recall the actual date between Rainbow and I. I like you better when you're you, I quietly think to Rainbow Dash as I look at her across the table. Messed-up mane, bad table manners, pranks and all, I muse happily. A thought appears in my head; I decide I may as well go with it, and start to fumble with my pocket. A fresh piece of paper begins to fill with gray writing after a moment.

Why don't we try that date again?

The Pegasus looks up at me in question, passing the page back. "Whaddya' mean? Like, tonight, tomorrow, when, where?"

Here, now. Nothing fancy. I just want to know more about you. I don't even know your favorite color.

She gives me a look. "Is it that hard?" she asks rhetorically. "They're all my favorite. Duh," she says playfully, holding up part of her mane with a hoof. I smile, chuckling softly. "Okay. That sounds better than going to some fancy-pants restaurant again. So, whaddya' wanna' know about me? You already know I'm super cool, super awesome, and super radical. Is there anything else?" I laugh again, then think up a question.

What do you do for a living?

"Come on, seriously?" She rolls her eyes. "I'm head weatherpony of Ponyville. You've seen me do my job! Ask me something new, you big doof," Dash says with a grin. I smile back, then erase my old question and try again.

Do you like what you do for a living?

"I guess that's better," she comments upon reading the paper. "Yeah, I really like my job. It's kinda' the most awesome job, ever. I mean, I get to basically kick around clouds and boss ponies around every day." I smile, and see she looks like she wants to continue. I watch her, waiting. "I dunno'. I've always wanted to be a Wonderbolt, but...I dunno'. It's dumb. You'd laugh." I shake my head, trying to look serious, but I can't quit smiling when I look at her. I try to tell her with my eyes; I guess it works, because she decides to continue. "I guess I feel like if I become a Wonderbolt, which I totally could, I'd be ditching my friends and Ponyville. 'Cause, y'know, the Wonderbolts are always traveling and stuff. I'd only get to see my friends, like, twice a year...I dunno'," she repeats. I frown, wanting to help her, but knowing it's something she'll have to figure out on her own. I share a piece of advice I've taken to heart.

Whichever path you choose, it will be the right one.

She gives a small smile. "Kinda' cheesy, but I guess it makes sense." I laugh, then go to start my next question. "Hey, whoa, uh-uh, it's my turn to ask a question, now," she says, stopping me. I make a show of setting my pencil down and folding my arms, looking at her and waving my hand in the motion of go on. She smiles, thinking for a moment. "Okay, I've got one. What do you do for a living? I mean, like, I know what you do now, you just do...everything, I guess. But, do you have a special talent or something? Your cutie mark is always covered up because you guys have that weird thing about wearing clothes all the time, so, yeah." I smile at her, then put my thoughts to paper.

I don't have a cutie mark, and I don't think I have a special talent. I've always just taken the jobs that become available to me. I've worked most of my life, dropped out of high school.

"Wait, you don't have a cutie mark, or a special talent?" I shake my head. "Huh..." she observes, peering at the paper again. "What's a 'high' school? I mean, my school was pretty high up, but Pegasi can fly and all." I chuckle to myself, then explain.

It's just higher levels of schooling. I should have stayed in it, but I was much younger and much stupider then. Believe it or not, I'm less young and less stupid, now.

"Yeah, I'm going to go with 'not'." To emphasize her point, she taps my right forearm with a hoof, indicating the scar tissue from a wound caused by taking on a pack of wolves. I notice how soft her hoof is, the fur like velvet against my skin, and uncannily warm. Actual thought registers a moment later, and I laugh softly. Rainbow Dash gives me a look of curiosity, and I hold her gaze. "Why didn't you stay in school? I mean, school is lamer than lame, but still, that's kind of like, y'know, dropping out of flight school before you learn how to fly." I frown, trying to think of some way to explain it away.

Let's just say I had to grow up faster than normal.

Her cerise eyes search mine for a while. She may not be the definition of an intellectual, but she is certainly clever; as hoped and expected, she understands. "Yeah, I get that. I guess I did, too. Alright, your turn," Dash says, changing the subject with flawless flow. My mind lingers on the fact that she might somehow relate, but I push the thought away, thinking up something different.

Much of a pet person?

"Whoa, wait, you haven't seen Tank?" She looks around, then stands up. "Here, c'mon, he's probably hiding out upstairs or something." I stand, smiling as I follow Rainbow Dash up to see Tank.

Comments

[Ledomare]

I clench my teeth together as I brace for some sort of unforeseen side-effect. The aura around me again begins to grow deeper in color, eventually tinting the world around me a pure violet color. I shut my eyes, wincing, preparing for...

"Oh god, something really weird or unexpected will happen... what if he starts to speak again? *GASP* What if he actually turns into a P-"

Pop. I open my eyes upon hearing the noise. The world is back to normal color; Twilight is raising her goggles with a hoof, looking a bit winded from the use of magic. Wait, that's it?

"....
...awww."

[OneAmongOthers]

Sigh.. I am beginning to feel like this is just dragging on. Sorry but it just feels like its going no where really. Four chapters and we are still at the same place with Mark. I feel its not only him that's having a hard time deciding..
forum.i3d.net/attachments/minecraft/943233206-epic-pictures-thread-ponylols.jpg
On to next chapter...

[NotATree]

For a guy who doesn't say a fucking word he seems to find trouble everywhere.

[Gunsmith]

1261348 Somehow it seems turning into a Pegasus would not be suitable for this story. Not really sure whether I should put an emoticon that describes me as serious or joking, because I'm both.

1261392 Don't apologize; if anything, it's me that needs to be apologizing. Now, time to explain, maybe give you a little hope for the future, maybe crush your dreams, I don't know.

This was the last chapter I basically consider a 'filler'. What I mean by this is that I approach writing in a tactical way; spread out major plot events by having some cushion in-between that really isn't as relevant. I know, sounds ridiculous, probably is ridiculous. Still, it's mainly to cope with the fact I am not good at making major plot action. And if I were to make a plot filled with action, it wouldn't be a romance story, probably wouldn't even involve ponies.

The fact of the matter here, and this is directed to everyone, is that this story's fuse is coming to an end. Now, whether I will be able to make it go out with a nice, chest-pounding ear-popping bang of bright color, or a fizzle, only time will tell, since I'd like to keep it so that I'm the only one who knows the plot of the story. I'm estimating...around four, maybe five more chapters left in total. This was never meant to be a very drawn out story, I don't write that way.

So, yeah. Basically the last filler. The rest should either be more action-filled or thicker in terms of plot. Again, maybe that brings hope, maybe despair, maybe something else. I am just the writer; it's your job to judge how I do at writing, reader.

I'll be working on Twenty-One as soon as I can. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.

[Gunsmith]

1261537 Oh yes. Usually it seems to be people's big mouths that get them in trouble, is it not? Ironically enough, not at all the case here.

[Bekasaurus Rekt]

Well, however you write it... MAKE IT HAPPY DAMMIT!

Or not, its your story. But just know this- you keep writing this way and I'll stick with you the whole time.
Course, I probably would anyway. You're a good writer and this is a good story.

MOAR ROMANCE!

[OneAmongOthers]

1261577 Don't sell yourself short bud you are doing an amazing job! Its just the redundancy is getting old time to move on.

[Ledomare]

1261577
I know, I personally would find it a bit weird, too. Typically it just seems like a cop-out if the main character came to Equestria human. It's like throwing a brick at the conflict and telling it to go focus on making Discord appear again.

[Adamanthys]

I completely disagree with enlistedpony, im enjoying the interactions with rainbow dash and overall enjoy longer stories that let the characters flesh out to not only the reader but to each other. I personally want to learn more about both the main character and rainbow and am hoping for the OC to explain more about earth and his past life to dash and for them to better see the differences between their worlds.

Keep going how you are. I'm loving this story for what it is, please don't think you need to rush towards the ending. There's plenty of stuff left for these characters imo. (If your up for it)

[Lord Vinder]

I love this story, filler and all.

[Gunsmith]

1261820 Now kiss!

1261962 I agree. :D Tally-ho!

1262100 Poor conflict. Doesn't deserve to have bricks thrown at it. That's why I respect my conflicts, and don't throw pony bricks at them.

Plus, I've already made a pony-human-in-Equestria. Gotta spice things up from time to time.

1262317 Well, that's good. Let's see if I can keep the story's head above the water, yes?

1262510 It's like a nice, cherry pie. Just inedible.

[Runoratsu]

Thanks for being one of the VERY few authors to not make Twily fumble her new spell (or even just miscalculate it) here.

[Mr Swanky Hat]

5354594 the question is, what, if anything, did the lightning do to the spell?

[Texus]

I'm really sad about what probably happened to him (I just had read something on his author page)
He probably would have been the third or at least second of my three favourite authors.