Chapter 4
4
Spitfire put another stamp of approval on another Wonderbolt Academy application. She hadn’t been particularly impressed with anything she’d seen so far, but that was typical. If she wanted to find Wonderbolt material she would have to take in the occasional slacker. A little Wonderbolts discipline could work (for lack of better word) wonders on a pony. She accepted that not every batch of recruits can be full of whiz kids.
“Hey, Spits.”
Spitfire stopped sifting through her pile and glanced up at the pony sitting across her desk. There was absolutely no reason for the rookie of the year to be hanging around her office, but once again he was camped out with a newspaper sprawled out over half her desk and a quill in his mouth.
“Fish or false?”
“Red Herring.” Spitfire listened while Soarin counted quietly to himself. Once he was done, he scratched in the answer with his quill and moved onto the next part of his crossword. It was actually Spitfire’s crossword, seeing as it was her newspaper. If possession was nine-tenths of the law, Soarin had little regard for nine-tenths of the law.
“Said or wheel part.”
“Spoke.” Spitfire stamped another application for approval and slid it aside. She took a moment to scowl up at Soarin as he counted the boxes again. “Can’t you do that at home, or at least in the barracks or the mess hall?”
“It’s the weekend; nopony is around,” Soarin said in defense. Spitfire just scowled deeper. She thought that maybe she should relocate herself instead of waiting for easy-going Soarin to make a move. “To throw the blank into the corner.”
“Spoon. Soarin, I have work to do. Could you clear out?” Spitfire asked, not trying to hide her annoyance with her intruder.
“But work is boring.”
“It isn’t your work!” Spitfire shouted at him. She took a deep breath before continuing. “I don’t need it to be interesting. I just want to get it done, alright?”
“I’ll be quiet,” Soarin said, scritching another answer into the puzzle. Spitfire kept staring at him, waiting. Despite what Soarin said, she was prepared. “Let It Be or blank.”
“Nevermind!” Spitfire returned to what she was doing while Soarin scribbled in her answer. She wasn’t going to get him to go away, just like any other day. There wasn’t anything special about it, just like there wasn’t anything special about any of this year’s applicants. She picked up the next form and looked it over.
The name was one she’d heard before: Rainbow Dash. The young mare had won Cloudsdale’s Young Flier competition with her spectacular signature move and even organized and impressive hurricane in Ponyville. Spitfire hadn’t realized she’d reached the right age to officially try out for the Wonderbolts, a point which she would be talking with the scouters about later.
She sipped her coffee and took a look at the other pieces of the application. Her list of achievements was impressive even on paper. She even came recommended by the Princesses, which was uncommon for ponies who weren’t already military. Everything about her application was stellar and impressive, but there was one part that was odd: she had checked the box to stay off-base while attending Wonderbolt Academy.
Recruits hardly ever requested to stay off-base, but when they did Spitfire usually forced them to stay anyway. The reasons were never sufficient, not for Spitfire. Wondering why Rainbow Dash would make such an odd request, she scanned the boxes to see what reason she had checked off. Spitfire had to put her coffee down, noticing the “Other” box was checked. Even more curious than before, Spitfire read over the note Rainbow Dash had personally scrawled in.
“… WHAT?!”
Soarin toppled over backwards in his seat as the room shook from the sheer volume of Spitfire’s surprise. He hadn’t the foggiest idea of what had her so rattled, but it had to be significant. Spitfire doesn’t lose her cool; it just doesn’t happen.
“She has a kid?!” Spitfire read the line over and over again. Never before had something like this happened. Recruits didn’t have kids, they were usually too young. If they did have kids, a spouse was normally able to look after them. Rainbow Dash’s note stated that she was a single parent and didn’t want to be away from her child for too long. Spitfire wasn’t sure what to do.
“Who has a kid?” Soarin asked, getting back into his chair. Spitfire couldn’t answer him right away, for once. She examined the address Rainbow Dash had requested to stay at, finding that it was only as far as Cloudsdale. The distance wasn’t unreasonable, but she would be expected to hussle to morning drills.
“Do you remember the mare who won the Young Flier’s competition? She saved our lives when that other pony fell.” Spitfire said, looking up at Soarin. “Rainbow Dash, who led the weather team in Ponyville for the hurricane. The one who made the Sonic Rainboom at the Royal Wedding? I think you danced with her.”
“… I don’t remember her,” Soarin said, earning a smack upside the head from Spitfire.
“She saved your pie at the Grand Galloping Gala!”
“I remember the pie!” Soarin received another whap to the back of the noggin. “Stop that!”
“She has a kid! A kid!” Spitfire slid the application towards Soarin and made him look at it. He squinted his eyes and scanned it up and down.
“What am I looking at?”
Spitfire decided she wasn’t going to get anywhere talking to Soarin about this. There wasn’t much of anywhere she could get talking to anypony about this. How Rainbow Dash ended up with a kid aside, it was up to Spitfire to decide whether or not she should allow Rainbow Dash to stay off-base. As hard-nosed as Spitfire considered herself, the thought of separating a young mother from her foal made her gut twinge a little. She couldn’t believe it, but she knew she was going to bend on this occasion.
She pulled the application back towards her and grabbed a quill. She signed her approval of Rainbow Dash’s living situation and then stamped the document for approval.
“Whoa, you’re letting her stay off-base?” Soarin asked because by some magic he had figured out what was going on. “Why the special treatment?”
“She has a kid,” Spitfire said in her own defense. “That’s the only reason. If she says her kid is young and needs her around, I don’t wanna be the one to keep them apart.”
“It’s just a week, Spits,” Soarin reminded her, but Spitfire still wouldn’t have it. A week is a long time for a child. Spitfire was surprised Soarin didn’t understand this, seeing as he was pretty much a child in a stallion’s body.
“It’s just one pony. Nopony is gonna get up in a tizzy about it if she has a good reason, and a kid is a good reason.” Spitfire reclined in her chair and crossed her forelegs. “But if the kid isn’t real, I’ll kick her out of the academy so fast it’ll remove her flight suit.”
“That’s the Spitfire I know,” Soarin said with that easy smile of his. He picked his crossword back up and started back to work on it. “I hope it’s a cute kid.”
“She’s not going to bring it here.” Spitfire put Rainbow Dash’s application in with the other ones she had approved. “I won’t have any of that. This is a training camp, not a nursery.” Spitfire meant it, but on the inside she harbored some amount of curiosity. She wanted to know how Rainbow Dash expected to be a single mother and a Wonderbolt. She wondered what kind of parent she was. Most of all, Spitfire wondered if Rainbow Dash’s concerns for her child would interfere with her potential as an addition to the Wonderbolts. The least of her concerns was whether or not the kid was cute, even if it did exist among her concerns.
“Do you know a five letter word that means ‘in the loop’?”
“Privy.” Spitfire went back to the work in front of her. With any luck, she would get some answers in the week of Wonderbolt Academy. Nothing about Rainbow Dash’s situation seemed to allude to any trouble. She didn’t forecast a storm next week.
There was more than just a twinge of guilt in Rainbow Dash over how quickly she had dropped Taboo off at her parent’s and then flown off. She barely had enough time to remind the little rascal she would be home before she went to bed and give her a peck on the forehead when her parents blinked. Rainbow Dash was a mare with her priorities right in line, however, so she couldn’t allow herself to be late to her first day of Wonderbolts practice.
That excuse lost power when Rainbow Dash arrived a full fifteen minutes early. This was still cutting it close in Rainbow Dash’s mind, but the fact of the matter was what had been done was done. She had to forget about Taboo for the time being and focus on bringing her A-game to Wonderbolt Academy. Looking around at her classmates, she realized that might be difficult.
Out of the six ponies standing with their luggage on the runway, four of them she recognized from Ponyville. Of those four, she had worked alongside three of them managing the weather and hadn’t talked to any of them since the day she was booted out. Based on what she heard from her friends, their sentiment was strongly against her. The odd pony out was Snowflake, who Rainbow Dash was unsure had any sort of opinion about anything.
Being the bigger mare (figuratively), Rainbow Dash sucked it an and took her place in the line-up, even though it put her right next to Cloudchaser, an avid gossip and lay about on the weather team. She and her twin sister had made some pretty scathing remarks in the past, none of them she was going to be thinking about fondly anytime soon. Rainbow Dash made sure to orient herself so she wasn’t facing the annoying mare as a measure to prevent any sort of conversation. She was sure between this and Cloudchaser’s certain bias against her, this would be enough to keep things cooled off.
“Hey RD.”
Apparently she was wrong.
Rainbow Dash turned her head to look at Cloudchaser, who was already looking at her. Nothing in her expression confirmed any aggression. In an odd turn of events, Rainbow Dash found herself greeted as if nothing was wrong, not that anything was wrong. At any rate, the situation confused her.
“Uh, hey Cloudchaser… long time no see?”
“No kidding.”
Their conversation was so abysmally mundane Rainbow Dash wondered if she flew so fast she entered a different dimension where Taboo no longer existed. This seemed unlikely, so Rainbow Dash decided to test the waters a little more.
“I didn’t know you were interested in being a Wonderbolt,” she said, keeping her tone conversational while surpassing the urge to chew Cloudchaser out over a few past transgressions.
“Yeah, well, I thought it might be a nice way to meet celebrities.” It was a very Cloudchaser answer. The mare glanced down at Rainbow Dash’s feet where she noticed a lack of a few certain somethings. “You packed pretty light.”
“Oh, I’m staying at my folks place while I’m at the Academy so I can take care of Taboo,” Rainbow Dash admitted freely. Now that she’d brought up Taboo, she waited intently for Cloudchaser’s reaction. Her next words would determine where she stood.
“Lucky.”
“No, no, no, no, no!” Rainbow Dash wasn’t having this. “The jig is up, Cloudchaser. Why’re you playing ignorant?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” A bead of sweat rolled down Cloudchaser’s temple as her eyes darted elsewhere for a second. “I’m not pretending there’s no bad blood between us!”
“Yeah, you said some pretty nasty things about my kid and me.” Rainbow Dash watched as Cloudchaser’s composure started falling apart, but the mare didn’t give up. Dash couldn’t say her determination wasn’t admirable.
“I didn’t spread rumors that you let your kid suck your blood.” The determination was there, but the ability to play the game wasn’t. “And that one about you being in a bloodletting cult? Totally not me!”
“What’s with the blood fixation?”
“I associate blood with bad things, okay?!” Cloudchaser only had time to blink before she realized what she’d said. “Dangit!”
“Ah-ha! Got you!” Rainbow Dash wasn’t one hundred percent sure what she caught Cloudchaser doing, but she caught her nonetheless! It was a victory for Rainbow Dash, or so she considered until she realized she’d gotten nowhere. “So do you want to bury the hatchet or what?”
“I thought you’d never ask!” Cloudchaser switched to sunshine and smiles so quickly Rainbow Dash felt left behind.
“You actually think I’d forgive you that easily?”
“Dangit, why not?” This mare could flip and flop between emotions so fast she put Rarity to shame. What’s more, Cloudchaser’s didn’t make any sense. Rainbow Dash knew she needed to get to the bottom of this.
“Why the sudden change of heart?” Rainbow Dash asked, feeling like an interviewer for having to grill Cloudchaser with all these questions.
“I realized the error of my ways! I was wrong to persecute an innocent foal on the basis o-”
“Nice try.”
“Aww, come on!” Cloudchaser’s reactions were akin to somepony who kept losing at the roulette. “What do you want me to say?”
“I want you to tell the truth!” Rainbow Dash told her, plain and simple.
“I want you to introduce me to the pony who guards your house,” Cloudchaser responded without a hint of inflection or emotion. “He is a golden can of hot body and I want him.” She narrowed her eyes at some distant point.
Rainbow Dash just stood there with her mouth hanging open for a few seconds. She had never really talked much with Cloudchaser before and when they had it was mostly weather stuff. Now, she was starting to care very little what this mare thought of her.
“Are… are you drooling?”
Cloudchaser wiped some spittle from the corner of her mouth. “I like a stallion in uniform. It’s my… thing.”
“Uh… huh…”
“I think it may stem from when I was a filly. I accidentally came across a soldier and a mare in an alleyway. They were-”
“ThatsgreatCloudchaserpleasestoptalkingforever.” Rainbow Dash never knew she was capable of speaking so fast, but she thanked Celestia that she could. She calmed down and composed herself. “I didn’t need that much truth.”
“Introduce me to that soldiering stud muffin, and I promise I will never bother you ever again,” Cloudchaser said, as if what she had was some kind of bargaining tool. On the other hoof, Rainbow Dash wasn’t above throwing Hastae under the train if it meant shutting Cloudchaser up. It wasn’t like he was the greatest guard in the world, but he didn’t deserve to be given over to the wolf for imminent devouring.
“When you have an earnest apology ready, come talk to me.” Rainbow Dash wasn’t about to compromise for one pony. If she gained favor among Ponyville’s citizens by just doling out favors and doing what they wanted, she hadn’t made any real progress. Not everypony could have an earnest turn of heart like Roseluck, but it would be nice if it happened every once and a while.
“Fine, but just hear me out for a second.” For once, Cloudchaser sounded serious. This was enough for Rainbow Dash to abandon her judgments and listen. “There are a few ponies here who aren’t exactly head over hooves with you right now. I hear Thunderlane is pretty steamed with you, and I also hear you probably shouldn’t ask him about it. I’m pretty sure you know what’s eating Raindrops, so I won’t go there.”
Rainbow Dash cringed a little. That wasn’t a good memory.
“I hope you get what I’m saying, Rainbow Dash,” Cloudchaser said, continuing on. “I know you like to hang onto grudges, but you may want to take a moment to drop the animosity. I’m not saying we’d make this miserable for you out of spite, but if battle lines get drawn you’re going to be outnumbered. Try and make friendly.”
“Well, I’m glad to see you did have a complete change of heart,” Rainbow Dash said, turning away from the offending mare. Cloudchaser did likewise.
“Plenty of fish in the sea, mother dearest.” The fur was threatening to fly now. “You know my offer, take it or leave it.”
“And you know my offer.”
Before more could be said, Spitfire arrived and called everypony to attention. Dash turned her focus towards training, which was hard considering all the distractions; however, this is Rainbow Dash’s dream. No setback is too big a setback today.
If the first half of the day’s training was a pony, Rainbow Dash would be wanted for murder. Like the athlete she was, she set aside all her problems and emotions and just flew like the wind. Actually, the wind doesn’t even go that fast. Rainbow Dash flew circles around the circles she flew around the other candidates.
Rainbow Dash had also, against all odds, made a friend today. Not only was Lightning Dust not a total jerkwad, but she was almost as fast and almost as awesome as Rainbow Dash. Almost. It was comforting to know that there was going to be at least one pony at the Academy who would have her back. She hadn’t mentioned Taboo yet, but she hoped to have a nice conversation about it that would forge a friendship even Twilight would want to write to Princess Celestia about.
The only problem was Lightning Dust had suddenly disappeared when lunchtime came around. Feeling confused and even a bit slighted, Rainbow Dash took a seat in the mess hall by herself. For the mare to skip out on lunch when she had a long afternoon of training ahead of her was not wise at all. Plus, it made Rainbow Dash look like a loner.
She grumbled and took a bite of her tomato sandwich. She wished there was time to fly to her parent’s for lunch, but that would be pushing it. For the time being, she decided to just put up with being on her own.
That was when Thunderlane slammed his tray down across from her and took a seat. Astonished, Rainbow Dash just stared at him while he glared back. He didn’t really look excited to be there at the moment, but there he was. Rainbow Dash continued to eat and stare at him, but Thunderlane didn’t even spare his food a single look.
“Whoa, it’s getting intense over here,” Cloudchaser said while passing by with her tray. She moved to pass over this table, but Thunderlane stuck out a wing and stopped her.
“Sit down,” he ordered.
Cloudchaser took a seat next to Rainbow Dash, neither mare exactly sure what in the world was going on. Before they could ask, Thunderlane spoke up.
“I’m only doing this because Rumble asked me to,” he said to them. “I know you’re not privy to the details, so let me catch you up. Rumble’s been having problems at school and you’re to blame.”
“Wow, that’s quite the stretch there.” Rainbow Dash leaned in, advancing upon Thunderlane. “Please go on. I can’t wait to hear this.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Thunderlane said right back, leaning in to show he wasn’t about to back down. “Rumble is a good colt and a great flier for his age. Scootaloo worships the wind you blow past in and she can’t fly. When Rumble told me that he was going to be helping her learn to fly with Featherweight, I was proud of him. At the time, I didn’t realize what a little bleeding heart that Scootaloo was when it came to you and your… charge. Rumble won’t explain to me why teaching Scootaloo to fly is an indication that he is on her side and your side, but the other fillies and colts at his school seem to know. As adults, we haven’t spited your friends because we’re a bit more mature than that; however, kids will use any excuse to cause trouble.”
“Still sounds kind of far-fetched,” Rainbow Dash said. She took another bite of her sandwich while Cloudchaser sipped on her water and watched the pair. “So… Rumble gets picked on because he’s friends with Scootaloo who idolizes me who takes care of Taboo who the town has it in their heads is some kind of evil monster.”
“No matter how it sounds, that’s how it is.”
“Well, what do you want me to do about it?” she asked. “I’m not going to stop taking care of Taboo or discourage Scootaloo from learning to fly. If Rumble is getting pushed around, it sounds like something you should be taking care of.”
“And that’s why I’m here.” Thunderlane reclined back in his seat. “I want to hear your side of things. I want to know what you know.”
“…Why?”
“Yeah, like, why?” Cloudchaser leaned in, more interested all of a sudden.
“Rumble is standing up for what he thinks is right,” Thunderlane explained. “As his big brother, it’s my job to make sure he stands up for the right things. I didn’t support him because I thought he was misguided, but he won’t let the issue drop. To put this to rest once and for all, I’m going to gather all the facts. After that, I will decide if Rumble is doing the right thing or not.”
“Oh, so you’re willing to listen to me?” Rainbow Dash asked, getting a nod from Thunderlane.
“Why do I have to be here?” Cloudchaser asked, raising a hoof like a school filly. Meanwhile, the two ponies not from Ponyville were wordlessly taking seats next to Thunderlane. “If you want to hear the story, just listen to it yourself.”
“What story?” the white stallion across from Cloudchaser asked, who Rainbow Dash believed was named Milky Way or something of the sort.
“I like stories,” the other mare, who Rainbow Dash was sure was called Wild Flower, said with a smile. “You can tell me the story.”
“The more ponies, the better,” Thunderlane said. “That means you too.” He turned to the pony trying to walk past the well-populated table. Raindrops stopped dead in her tracks, but didn’t turn to acknowledge anypony at the table. A tense second ticked by before she said anything.
“Do I have to?”
“YEAAAAAAAH!” Snowflake sat down with a thud on the other side of Rainbow Dash.
With the pressure of pretty much the entire team on her back, Raindrops reluctantly took a seat at the table. Rainbow Dash marveled at the sudden turn of events. The only thing that was missing was for Lightning Dust to come barging in and sit down, but it never happened. Instead, Rainbow Dash started to tell the story of her and Taboo starting from the very first day. Everypony listened intently, sans interruptions.
“When is mommy coming back?”
“She’ll be back tonight, dearie.”
Taboo watched her grandmother continue painting for a few seconds. She spun around and left the patio, reentering the house. She trotted behind the sofa, around the coffee table, into the hallway, and then up the stairs. She took a sharp left turn and walked through the open door at the end of the hallway. There, scribbling away at one of the a long, long scrolls strewn out on his desk, was her grandfather. She wandered up behind him and tugged on his tail a little.
“When is mommy coming back?”
“She should be back for dinner, sport.”
Taboo listened while he continued to write, grumbling to himself between his teeth. Silently, she turned back around and went out of the room. Taboo ambled back down the stairs, plopping down back in the hallway. She trotted around the kitchen counter and then under then dining room table. She hopped up on the window sill and then down to the cloud surface below. Standing before her was her grandmother painting a large canvas set up on a large easel. Taboo hopped onto the unused chair next to her and poked the older mare’s side.
“When is mommy coming back?”
“She’ll be back tonight, dearie.”
No matter how many times she did this, the answers never changed.
Palette sighed and put down her brush. It had been a long, long time since there was a child in this house. The couple of old ponies who occupied it had become accustomed to going about their own pursuits without being bothered. It was time, however, to embrace the new reality.
“Let’s get your mind off of Dashie, shall we?” Palette said, scooping Taboo onto her back and heading into the house.
“Who is Dashie?”
“That’s my little nickname for your mommy,” Palette told her.
“Mommy calls me ‘squirt’ sometimes,” Taboo replied. “But my name is Taboo.”
“And it’s a darling name, dearie.” Palette brought Taboo into the kitchen and sat her down at the counter. “How about we have some lunch? Dashie promised she would be home before dinner, so the sooner lunch is over the sooner she’ll come back. How does that sound?”
“I’m hungry!”
“I suspected as much.” Palette turned towards the stairs. “Birdie! Come down here and have lunch!”
“Oooookaaaay!” he shouted back, but there was no indication that he really was coming down. Taboo knew it shouldn’t take so long for him to come down, but her grandma didn’t seem all that worried.
“He’ll be a while still,” she said, opening up the cupboard. She took out a large jar and set it before Taboo. She took the lid off, releasing a very familiar, sweet smell into the air. “Have some cookies while I see what else we have around.”
Taboo froze in place. It wasn’t that she didn’t want a cookie, but these proceedings were incredibly unorthodox. Mommy would only let her have one cookie after lunch only if she managed to clean her plate, but grandma was offering her “some” cookies before lunch was even ready. This went against mommy’s rules, but then again mommy wasn’t around.
“Can I really have some?” Taboo asked, just to be sure.
“Of course, dearie.”
Grandmas were truly wonderful things.
“Aww, what an adorable story!”
Rainbow Dash wanted to thank Cloudchaser or at least tell her to stop crushing her windpipe, but the hooves wrapped around her neck were keeping her from breathing let alone speaking. Meanwhile, everypony else gave their opinion of the tale.
“Wow, that’s quite the story,” Wild Flower said. “I think it’s real noble of you to take that poor filly under your wing.”
“Yeah,” Milky Way added in. “What kind of two bit parents abandon their foal in the Everfree? I know that if I found them I would hesitate to return her. It just isn’t right to do that, even if the foal is… eh… uh… what was the problem again?”
“The foal has wings like a bat and the eyes of a dragon,” Thunderlane explained. “It’s not natural. If it were a plain ol’ pegasus, we wouldn’t be sitting here discussing this.”
“… We wouldn’t?” Wild Flower asked, turning to Thunderlane. “I mean, the story is already pretty remarkable without the addition of the wings. A foal abandoned in the forest? Are you telling me you wouldn’t feel sorry for the poor thing?”
“There’s a reason it was out there,” Thunderlane replied, holding his ground while avoiding the question. “It’s possible she should have left well alone.”
“Well, I think she did the right thing,” Milky Way said. He looked across the table to Rainbow Dash, who was still struggling for breath. “I mean, I’d like to think I would have taken care of her too if I was in her shoes.”
“Yeah, well, you haven’t seen it.”
Rainbow Dash managed to free herself and fill her lungs with fresh air.
“If you judge her by appearance, you’re not doing her justice.” She looked Thunderlane square in the eye. He asked for this, so he was sure as anything going to take it all. “I don’t know if you’re actually afraid of her or just too stubborn to admit you’ve been wrong. If you really want to be able to override your little brother’s opinion, you’ve got to go farther than he has. Why don’t you meet Taboo yourself? She’s here with me, staying at my folk’s place. You could drop by and say hello, unless you’re too afraid.”
“Unlike you, we can’t leave the academy,” Thunderlane responded.
“Not during training you can’t,” a new voice chimed in. Everypony turned to the end of the table where Soarin’ was sitting with a huge smile plastered across his face. “Technically you’re allowed to go off base on your last night here since all that happens the next morning is boring awards and whatnot. We should all go to her house for a party!”
“… ‘We should?’” Thunderlane asked, confused by Soarin’s sudden inclusion.
“That sounds like fun,” Cloudchaser said, responding only to the word “party.” She put a foreleg around Rainbow Dash and pulled her close once again. “It’ll be a wonderful bonding experience.”
“Don’t even play innocent. I know what your motives are.” Rainbow Dash extricated herself from the embrace.
“Your story, while touching, has not swayed me,” Cloudchaser admitted freely. “But the price of my tolerance isn’t very high. Besides, I’m sure everypony here would love to throw a little party after we get done with training, right?”
Both Milky Way and Wild Flower smiled and nodded their consent while Snowflake shouted his to the heavens. Even Thunderlane reluctantly agreed to the proposition. The only pony who remained quiet was Raindrops. She was so quiet the others forgot about her entirely; however, Rainbow Dash took notice. The others kept on like nothing was wrong, but under the surface bad blood continued to flow.
“I’m ba-”
“You’re back!”
Rainbow Dash found herself tackled to the floor by a familiar little filly. She was too worn out to put up a fight, so Taboo managed to pin her down and climb on top of her head without any resistance.
“I thought you’d never come back!”
“Thinking or hoping?” Rainbow Dash asked, but no answer came. She waited until she realized Taboo was staring absently at the ceiling. “You’re thinking about it. Why are you thinking about it?”
“Grandma, mommy is back!” Taboo hopped off her mother’s head without answering either question. “We can eat now!” She trotted off to the kitchen while Rainbow Dash got back to her hooves. Somehow, the thought that Taboo hadn’t seemed to miss her all that much did nothing to comfort her.
She went into the kitchen herself to find the familiar sight of her mother setting the table while her dad sat around reading the paper. In the chair next to him, Taboo stood with her front hooves on the table, bouncing impatiently. The nostalgia was a bit too much for having just walked in the door.
“Oh, hello Dashie,” Palette greeted her daughter without much ceremony. “Be a dear and help me set the table.”
Rainbow Dash, sweaty and tired, just did as she was told. There was a part of her that wanted to protest, to say that she had just come home from an intense day of training. She had every right to lay down and take a breather, right? She should just relax. Why should she be doing something like helping with dinner?
“Dashie, can you put the rolls on the table?”
She knew the answer: this is what being a Wonderbolt required her to do. If she was going to take care of Taboo and follow her dream, that meant coming home wouldn’t mean leisure time. She had somepony else to look after, even if she herself was beaten and bruised. In a sense, it wasn’t any different from any other day of the week, month, or past year. She would spend the whole day letting the world kick her around, and then come home to make sure Taboo was happy. This kind of life was different from what she had imagined so long ago, but Taboo was a powerful force of change. Perhaps, she could extend that change to the others too.
“Mommy smells funny.”
“That’s because I worked hard today,” she said, scooting herself closer to Taboo in order to monitor her meal more closely. She made sure there were plenty of green vegetables on the filly’s plate. “How was your day, squirt?”
“I had fun,” Taboo said before snarfing down her carrots.
“Did she behave herself?” Rainbow Dash asked her parents.
“She was a perfect little angel,” Palette said, backed up by a grunt from her husband. “More importantly, how was the Academy? Did you make any friends?”
“As a matter of fact, I did.” Rainbow Dash was legitimately proud that she had found a true compatriot in Lightning Dust, and she was also glad that Milky Way and Wild Flower had taken a liking to her as well. Even Soarin’, who seemed to only appear at his own convenience, was a friendly face on the base. “Despite the Ponyville crowd, I should get along pretty well with everypony.” At the very least, Thunderlane and the rest weren’t antagonizing her.
“Well, isn’t that nice?” Palette said, taking a bite of the food she prepared. She chewed it, slowly, and then swallowed it. “Any stallions?”
“Mom, no.”
“You can’t blame me for trying.”
“Actually I can,” Rainbow Dash shot back, still chewing. “Nopony at the Academy is looking for a special somepony.” As she said this, she suddenly remembered Cloudchaser. She decided not to bring her up.
“What’s a ‘special somepony?’” Taboo asked. She stopped eating to look up at her mother, a clear sign that she was very interested in this vein of conversation. Rainbow Dash, conversely, didn’t want to drag Taboo into this. She tried to quickly think up a way to divert the conversation, but Palette wouldn’t allow that. The older mare was too much of a tactical genius to let this opportunity slip by.
“Why, a very special somepony is somepony you love very much and they love you back,” Palette explained, leaning into her husband who was still reading the paper. “Like me and grandpa. We’re special someponies.”
“We’re married,” he said just as a conditioned reaction, seeing as he wasn’t paying any heed to the conversation at hoof.
“That’s right! When two special someponies love each other very much, they get married!” Palette continued, very animated with her explanations. “And if they love each other very, very, very much they will become a mommy and daddy to a foal of their own.”
“OooooOooooh.” Taboo really didn’t understand what her grandma was saying, but it sounded very important.
“Mom, this isn’t dinner conversation.” Rainbow Dash needed a miracle to save her from this.
knock knock
“Honey, would you get that?” Birdie asked his spouse, flipping the pages of his newspaper to examine the sports section. “It’s probably the… eh… mmm.” Birdie never got around to saying who it might be, but Palette got up anyway and went to the door.
Rainbow Dash heaved a sigh of relief, thanking Celestia for rescuing her. Dinner continued in silence, but Palette took her sweet time returning to the table. Rainbow Dash perked up an ear for a moment to hear what might be going on down the hallway. She could hear her mother chatting somepony’s ear off animatedly.
That’s when the talking got louder and Rainbow Dash started hearing the other voice a bit more clearly, a voice she found familiar. The moment right before both ponies arrived in the kitchen, Rainbow Dash realized in abject horror what was going on.
“Look who’s here!” Palette announced, practically dragging Thunderhead through the house. When it came to matters of the heart, there was no power in Equestria that could stop a housewife. “I found him outside!”
“… Hey?” Thunderhead obviously didn’t want to be here, especially after the strange line of questioning he received at the door. Frankly, he had never before been asked if he was seeing anypony and then immediately asked how he felt about foals. These are the kinds of these that scare stallions to death. “I just wanted to make sure I had the right house.”
“You’ve got it!” Rainbow Dash stood up from the table with a start. “May as well get back to what you were doing, alright? Mom? Let the stallion go.”
“Now, now Dashie.” Palette looped her foreleg around Thunderhead’s and squeezed hard. “I can’t very well just let him go without properly thanking him for all the hard work he’s done for you.”
Rainbow Dash shot Thunderhead a look filled with enough venom to knock a more experienced soldier on his rear. He took it as a sign that he should be fighting on her side, whatever that meant.
“There’s no need, ma’am,” he said to the mare putting an increasingly powerful vice grip on his leg. “I’m just doing my duty.”
“Oh, but you really must let me thank you for looking after my daughter and granddaughter,” Palette said, insisting on her route. “Come now, you must be hungry.”
“No he isn’t.”
“Uh, yeah, I had breakfast before I came here.”
“Well, that just won’t do!” Palette continued to address Thunderhead, but focused her attention onto Rainbow Dash. “Breakfast was so long ago. Sit down and have some dinner, please.”
“He’s nocturnal,” Rainbow Dash responded before Thunderhead had a chance to. “His breakfast is at the same time as our dinner.”
“But when was the last time he had a home cooked meal?”
“He doesn’t want to impose on us. He just needs to get back to his post.”
“Come now, just a quick bite couldn’t hurt. Besides, he can guard you just fine from the inside of the house.”
Thunderhead got the feeling that he had been completely voided from this conversation. Instead of listening to the two mares go back and forth for whatever reason, he turned his attention to the tiny hoof trying to flag him down at the table.
He waved back at Taboo, who smiled up at him from her place at the table. It was a bit odd seeing her out of her normal environment, but it couldn’t be good for a growing filly to spend all her days in the same house. There was nothing like a visit to grandma’s and grandpa’s to shake things up, he thought.
“Fine, but only because he insists!” Palette finally said, releasing Thunderhead. He wasn’t sure how the argument arrived here, but he was thankful he could be on his way. “There’ll be plenty of chances for this one.”
He had no idea what that could possibly mean.
“Give it a rest, mom.” Rainbow Dash turned back to Thunderhead, this time without the anger. “Don’t just stand there, get a move on.”
“Of course.” Thunderhead threw the family a salute. “I’ll be patrolling outside if you need me.” With that being said, he turned and exited the house while the family got back to dinner. It was quiet again, but it couldn’t possibly stay that way.
“Oh, come on Dashie! He was perfect!” Palette insisted. “I mean, just look at him!”
“Mom, no, just no.” Rainbow Dash wasn’t going to have any more of this. “Dad, back me up here.”
“Listen to your mother.” He flipped through the paper, ignorant to all that had transpired.
“What exactly do you think Rainbow Dash would want in a care package?” Twilight asked, watching Rarity dig through one of her drawers for an unspecified reason.
“It’s the thought that counts in a care package, Twilight,” Rarity told her, shutting the first drawer and opening another. She tossed all the contents onto the floor before slamming it shut. “Just something to show her you care… hence the name.”
“Well… I could send her a book on aerodynamics.”
“If it were me receiving a book from you Twilight, I would certainly feel cared for,” Rarity said without even a trace of sarcasm. She took a drawer out of the desk and inspected the contents, but her search appeared to turn up dry once again as she set the drawer down on a pile of cloth adjacent to her.
“Maybe I should put in something for Taboo.” Twilight ducked to allow a few odds and ends fly over her head. She watched Rarity give up on the desk and move over to the closet. “I mean, Rainbow Dash is just flying and trying to be a Wonderbolt like she always is. Taboo has probably never been away from her for such extended periods of time. She’d probably like some cookies…”
“She’s staying her grandparent’s, Twilight. She’s probably swimming in cookies by now.”
“… Maybe I should send celery… or medicine.”
“All of that is viable,” Rarity yelled from the depths of her closet. Twilight could only imagine what kind of vast, unexplored tracts of carpet Rarity was traveling right now. “Anything is fine, really.”
“If anything is fine, why are you searching so frantically for one thing?” Twilight asked, not oblivious to what was going on. Rarity emerged from her closet and closed it with a frustrated slam.
“Because it would be just perfect!” She looked around the room for anywhere else it could possibly be, but nowhere stood out to her. Out of options, she turned to her last resort. “Pierce! Have you seen my crimson accessory box? Not the dark red one, but the crimson one!”
As if he had been waiting for his cue, Pierce burst into the room and dove straight under Rarity’s dresser. He disappeared completely from sight for a few seconds, and after a few loud banging noises, the doors flew open and he emerged with the box in question on his head. He jumped out and landed square in front of Rarity, bowing low so the box was just at the right level.
“It was… right where… you left it,” he said between labored pants.
“Oh Pierce, how did I ever manage without you?” she said, giving him a little pat on the head. “How is your butt today?”
“Recovering fine, thank you. I told you it wouldn’t keep me from helping out,” he said with a smile, even if the wound under the rather large bandage on his rear end twinged a little every time he took a step.
“Again, Pierce, I am so, so, soooo sorry about Spike,” Twilight said. “He was bound to react poorly, but I didn’t expect him to bite you.”
“Oh, it’s nothing at all, really.” Pokey Pierce was the only pony in history to be bitten by a dragon and survive to tell the tale. He didn’t know this, but he did know Spike’s teeth really smart upon insertion. He finally understood the expression “once bitten, twice shy.” Nevertheless, he had no regrets about what he did. “A stallion has to do what a stallion has to do.”
“Well, you’ve certainly done enough for now,” Rarity said, levitating the box she requested off her assistant’s head. “Anything else to report?”
“I love you.”
“Yes, that’s nice. Run along, darling,” she said, dismissing Pierce. He bowed even lower and backed up with his head to the floor all the way out the door, closing it gently behind him. Rarity opened the box and produces an almost criminally gaudy pair of sunglasses from inside. “There. Now Rainbow Dash won’t have to wear whatever tacky eyewear the Wonderbolts are making her wear!”
“Uh… Rarity… are you ever going to sort out your Pokey Pierce situation?” she asked. Ever since the stallion had brazenly declared his love for Rarity, Rarity hadn’t even so much as acknowledged his advances. It was almost as if she hadn’t realized it, but that was absolutely impossible unless she was blind and deaf. Judging by the sight of the sunglasses she was now toting, one of those just might be plausible. “I can’t say I’m the expert on love or relationships or anything… but it’s kind of rude to leave him hanging like this.”
“I know. It is a real pickle, isn’t it?” For the first time, much to Twilight’s surprise, Rarity showed some signs of actually caring, even if just a tiny bit. “I know he’s absolutely gorgeous and so very nice, just like a prince should be. Even if he isn’t a prince, he treats me like I’m royalty and shares my ambition of climbing to the top of the fashion empire. Ever since I hired him on, the boutique has been running a much tighter ship, but he still gives me plenty of space to work and just… well, be me. He’s a fine stallion and I’d hate to see some other mare snatch him up.”
“Aaaalright… so what’s the problem?” Twilight asked. At this point, she had to.
“Oh, it’s just that he’s kind of an idiot.” Rarity certainly didn’t mince her words. “He’s friendly and organized, but he’s just so tragically stupid.”
“Uh... huh.” Twilight waited to see how this played out.
“Now it isn’t a crime to be a few threads short of a sweater, but nothing clicks with him very quickly and I get impatient with him. I like to be fast and efficient, but Pierce is just so slow on the uptake. What he lacks in spine he makes up for in skull. He’s pretty much lost until I point him in the right direction. The problem is, Twilight, that we cancel each other out. He is slow and careful while I move with purpose and take risks!
“And besides, imagine if the two of us had a foal. The darling would be the most adorable thing on the planet but about as dumb as a rock. She would no doubt grow up to be one of those empty headed, shallow models who never had to work a day in her life just because she got good genes. Do you understand where I’m coming from?”
“Eh… maybe? Tell me if I’m on the right track,” Twilight said. “You want to marry somepony who works fast and is really smart to make sure your kids are plain geniuses?”
Rarity stopped, in a sense. She paused to regard the ceiling for a moment, obviously caught up in some thought. She mulled it over for a few moments before coming to a conclusion.
“No… that isn’t quite right,” Rarity said, tapping her chin with a hoof. “Oh dear… perhaps I actually need to think this over seriously.”
“You mean you hadn’t before?”
“Twilight, of course not,” Rarity said as if it were blatantly obvious she shouldn’t have even given this a serious thought before just right now. Even so, she looked very distressed now. “Oh my, oh my, oh my… Pierce is seriously interested in me… very much so. Oh dear, how should I respond to this?”
Twilight, for all her smarts and studying, still could not fathom the vast web of complexities surrounding romantic relationships. She decided, for the time being, that since she unraveled the mysteries of Friendship she was exempt from having to look into this other issue. It gave her a great deal of comfort.
“W-well… let’s just get this care package to Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said, seeking to change the subject as soon as possible. “Hopefully an uneventful visit to the Wonderbolt Academy will… calm my nerves.”
“Alright… well… in light of recent events we’re gonna have to change things up a little.” Spitfire looked up and down her Academy trainees, who numbered one less due to events the previous day. She wasn’t there for the entire thing, but apparently it all involved a hot air balloon, a tornado, and a flattened box. When it all came crashing down, she had a pretty heated confrontation with Rainbow Dash in her office over a pretty important subject. As much as she absolutely hated to admit it, the trainee had been absolutely right. Even worse, Rainbow Dash was so comfortable in her convictions, she was willing to up and quit entirely, which forced Spitfire to do the one thing she swore she would never do as long as she held command: request that they don’t quit.
After that painful experience, she had to move Lightning Dust from the squad for the final day of training. She was hurting moral a lot more than over-confident recruits are usually able to. Hopefully, a little discipline will get her to simmer down a bit. Of course, her training plan was compromised a bit due to the lack of a pair. It had required a bit of careful consideration on her part, but she decided exactly how she wanted to proceed with the last day of training.
“For the past week, you’ve learned to fly together in pairs. One pony led while the other pony followed, but that isn’t exactly how it works in the Wonderbolts. We are not a series of pairs, but one, massive, interconnected team. Since you all had such a wonderful little bonding experience yesterday, we’re gonna see how you fly as one big team!”
“Man… seriously?” Rainbow Dash grumbled to herself. She had finally become a leader, but she wasn’t even going to have a wingpony to lead. It felt like she’d gone through all those trails just to get a whole lot of nothing. A badge and recognition was nice, but a little authority would be even nicer.
“So I will be putting Rainbow Dash in charge!”
That was a lot more than a little.
“You’ve got half an hour to come up with a display of skill to present to me. I’d recommend getting a move on it!” Spitfire blew her whistle, the official signal that it was time to get down to business. Without another word, she flew off. The cadets were left to sort out what to do on their own, and they all turned to Rainbow Dash. She turned to address them, but their feelings on the matter were all over their faces.
“Alright, don’t give me that look. Don’t tell me you’re going to doubt me after all of that?” she asked, genuinely concerned despite her tone. If she showed weakness here, she was done for.
“Well, you did spend the entire week terrorizing us alongside Lightning Dust,” Milky Way pointed out.
“Yeah, but she was the leader!”
“And now you’re the leader,” Wild Flower said, cutting in and marching right up to her. “We’ve got no idea what’ll be like if you’re the leader. I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, but how do we know we can trust-”
“We can trust her,” Thunderlane said, pulling Wild Flower back. “She’s a born leader, Rainbow Dash. The only thing we need to worry about is her expectations of us.”
“Nothing short of perfection for RD,” Cloudchaser added in. “You can trust Thunderlane and me on this; we worked under her in Weather Patrol. She was Ponyville’s Weather Captain”
“Wait, you were the Captain?” Wild Flower asked. “You mentioned they fired you, but you were the Captain? How could they let the Captain go?”
“I already explained that,” Rainbow Dash said, not wanting to say it again. “They kicked me out because they’re biased against Taboo.”
“That seems a little extreme if you were captain,” Milky Way pointed out. “That story seems a bit far-fetched. Captains pretty much run their operation. They really wouldn’t get rid of one for that reason, right?” He turned to Cloudchaser and Thunderlane. Despite their opinions on the whole matter, they had to admit the whole thing didn’t sit all that well with them.
Weather Captains answer directly to the Weather Director, who is just the head administrator. The Captain is in the field, giving the orders and performing tasks themselves. The position commands more than just a little respect in and out of the Weather Patrol. For one to be excused so suddenly was unheard of, horrifying even. Everypony in Ponyville Weather Patrol knew she was the best Captain they could ask for, but none of them accepted the reason she was fired at their core. Distrust Taboo as they might, the speed at which everything happened was enough to make them suspicious.
“Our Director is a reasonable stallion,” Thunderlane told the two out of the loop. “I’m sure he made the decision he thought was best for our outfit. Right, Raindrops?”
All eyes turned to the mare who had been incredibly quite this whole week. With all eyes on her, she froze in place. Her eyes were fixed on the ground before her. She glanced over her shoulder.
“… Yeah.” She hoped that would be the end of that, but her pray was not upheld.
“Oh, that’s right!” A lightbulb went off in Cloudchaser’s head. “The Director is your father, right Raindrops? Do you know why he made such a quick decision?”
“I… we don’t talk much about his work,” she said, keeping from making eye contact with anypony. There was one, burning pair she avoided in particular.
“What? That can’t be right,” Cloudchaser said. “You two have gotta be talking about work, like, all the time.”
“What do you mean by that?” Milky Way asked. “I can believe it if her dad doesn’t want to talk about his work much.”
“It isn’t just his work,” Thunderlane told him. “Raindrops is the new Weather Captain.”
She could feel Rainbow Dash’s eyes boring into her. She kept staring at the ground, trying to make it go away.
“Wow, that’s gotta be tough,” Wild Flower said, turning to Raindrops. “Suddenly saddled with all that responsibility.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought too,” Cloudchaser added in. “Just because she’s his kid doesn’t mean he can just ask her to do that. I thought he should like assign co-captains until one had enough skill to take on the proper responsibilities. It all happened pretty fast, though.”
“Weird for sure.” Milky Way scratched his head with a hoof. “That’d never fly back home.”
“I never thought to ask Raindrops about it,” Thunderlane said, turning to his taciturn wingpony. “Are you sure you don’t know anything about it?”
“Even a guess?” Cloudchaser asked. They all began asking her, and even though they were being polite about it she had the sudden sensation of being attacked from all sides. The words got caught in her throat. She held them there, refusing to look anypony in the eyes. She couldn’t say it. She wasn’t going to say it.
That’s when she made the mistake she told herself not to make.
“Yeah, Raindrops, enlighten us.”
She looked right into Rainbow Dash’s eyes, but her fear went away despite the raging inferno behind the mare’s eyes. The fire looked so distant and far away, like it couldn’t hurt her. Besides, it was clear Rainbow Dash knew; she had put it all together. Of course she could. The only thing Raindrops could do was prevent this angry mare to have the pleasure of revealing the truth herself.
“I asked to become Captain.” There was no hesitation in her voice now. “I took advantage of the situation to get promoted. I always thought I couldn’t advance with Rainbow Dash in the way, but then the opportunity presented itself.”
The silence was overwhelming. Nopony could help but looked shocked, aside from Rainbow Dash. She was just as steadfast as always, but now Raindrops was too. The spectators were unneeded bodies now for the conversation only existed between Raindrops and Rainbow Dash.
“But you already knew that, didn’t you?” Raindrops asked.
“What gave it away?”
“It was all that extra effort you put into being angry at me.”
“Well, I thought you’d never notice,” Rainbow Dash said, smiling. “I knew it was you who got it in the Director’s head that I should get booted off when I heard you’d been made Captain. I’m not surprised you’d go so far to get what you want, but I am shocked you kept it under wraps. I trusted you enough to at least stab me in the front. Besides, you would have been a hero. Why keep it a secret?”
“Because I don’t deserve to be a hero.” Raindrops broke eye contact for just a second. Despite her resolve, she wasn’t as strong as Rainbow Dash. She could suck it up and pretend, but only for so long. “I couldn’t feel ambiguous about your choices and proud of what I’d done. You were my hero, and I just wanted to get on your level somehow. To know that I had to use a trick like that to beat you in the end means I’m never going to really win. I got out of one rut just to get stuck in another… but at least there was someplace to look forward to going to from my other rut.”
“… So that’s how it is.” Rainbow Dash stepped right up to Raindrops. “You really put me out, you know? And for what? A job you can barely do and zero satisfaction? Because of what you did, I had trouble providing for the child I was trying to bring up! How can anypony expect her to grow up and forgive the ponies around her if something like that can happen for such a stupid reason?! You took something you gained nothing from away from me. Do you know how angry that makes me?”
Raindrops didn’t have anything more to say. At the time, the situation seemed so perfect. All she had to do was ask her father about it and suddenly it was so. She did it without even thinking. She took what she wanted, but found it wasn’t what she wanted at all. She’d done something terrible for nothing, and she didn’t want to admit it. She cast her eyes down again, defeated.
“… But I’m sorry.”
The two mares looked at each other again. Raindrops couldn’t believe what she’d just heard.
“I thought you just did it to spite me, like you hated me or something.”
“No, that wasn’t it at all!”
“Yeah, I realize that now,” Rainbow Dash said, heaving a sigh. “Look, can we just bury the hatchet? I’ve got no reason to hold a grudge, you’ve got no reason to hold a grudge.”
Just like that, the least likely pony was reaching out and offering absolution. Raindrops still couldn’t believe what was transpiring, and neither could the others. Worried that the brief window of opportunity was going to close, Raindrops reached out for her one chance for forgiveness.
“I don’t hate you. I’m sorry for causing you trouble…”
“Well, then that’s settled!” Rainbow Dash suddenly shouted. “Now, we can have more heart to hearts after we’ve blown Spitfire’s mind! I hope you all haven’t forgotten what we’re supposed to do!”
Unfortunately, they all had.
“And then she said we were ‘impressive, but you lack focus!’”
“Oh my. Well, at least she liked it,” Fluttershy said, being just about the billionth pony at the party to comfort Rainbow Dash on this point.
“Liked it? She absolutely loved it!” Soarin’ said. For the billionth time, Rainbow Dash wondered why he was here and how he had even figured out where it was happening. She had only told her friends and the other cadets who weren’t Lightning Dust. “She’s just too much of a straight lace to show any compassion to the newbies.”
“See, Mr. Soarin’ says everything is okay.”
“Yeah but he thinks everything is okay,” Rainbow Dash pointed out. Soarin’s unending cheer and optimism was starting to get on her nerves. “Mr. Soarin’ isn’t the one deciding if you pass or fail, though.”
“Please, Mr. Soarin’ was my father’s name,” the stallion said, completely unfazed by any complaints. “Besides, you all passed. I snuck a look at Spitfire’s stuff.”
“I wish you hadn’t spoiled the surprise,” Rainbow Dash told him, turning about to glare at the stallion.
“The suspense was killing me, so I had to find out. I don’t like surprises.”
“Well I do!” Rainbow Dash scanned the room for the only pony she could count on to keep this stallion out of her mane. “Pinkie, get over here!”
“Need something?” Pinkie asked, appearing behind Rainbow Dash not a moment after her beckoning. It was just a little creepy. “Is it streamers? I have lots of those! I ran out of confetti, but I know where we can get a loooot more! Don’t tell anypony… but I know a guy…”
“Pinkie, have you met Soarin’?”
“No, silly. The guy isn’t Soarin’!”
“No, I mean have you met Soarin’?” Rainbow Dash asked, hoping that reiterating the same question would force a serious answer out of her. She stepped aside so she could see the stallion in question before her. Soarin’ smiled his usual smile at her.
“Hey there!”
Pinkie Pie looked so shocked, Rainbow Dash was incredibly afraid she had broken her somehow. Without warning, her mane suddenly deflated and she shrunk into herself, eyes cast low to the floor. She shuffled her front hooves nervously.
“H-h-hi.” Pinkie Pie whispered.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looked at each other, both wondering the same exact thing: was this a shared hallucination and if so who spiked the punch? There was no way that Pinkie Pie, the most outgoing pony that will ever exist, is being introverted. If she was, it just might be the strangest thing she had ever done. They needed to run tests to see if it was true.
“Hey, Pinkie… aren’t you going to offer him streamers or something?” Rainbow Dash turned to Soarin’. “You like streamers, right?”
“Can’t say I hate them!”
“How about it, Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow Dash nudged her friend, but nothing happened. She continued to nudge and shake, trying to provoke some sign of intelligent life. Pinkie Pie just jangled around limply as Rainbow Dash rocked her back and forth by her shoulders.
“… I don’t… he’s fine…”
“Are you sure Pinkie?” Fluttershy asked, a small part of her a bit miffed that her friend was outdoing her in the shyness department. Although, she thought it was just fine if she wanted to be the shy one now… it was okay; however, she still wanted the old Pinkie back. “Don’t you want to go dance with him or roll out the Party Cannon or-”
“Eeeek!” Pinkie Pie suddenly jolted to life, turning about and grabbing Fluttershy around the neck. With practiced precision, she twisted Fluttershy’s neck with a very alarming snap.
“… Oh my.” The pegasus collapsed on the floor, wide-eyed and too shocked to move.
Pinkie Pie, on the other hoof, dashed out of the room as fast as her legs would take her. Rainbow Dash and Soarin’ just watched, both in equal states of confusion.
“Wow, she certainly seems interesting,” Soarin’ said, resuming his easy smile. “I think I’m going to try talking to her again.”
“Yeah, good luck.” Rainbow Dash watched him go as she helped a very confused, yet rid of all of her shoulder and back pain, Fluttershy. “What was that all about?”
“That’s what I always ask myself when I spend time with Pinkie Pie.”
“Oh, there you are!” Cloudchaser appeared before the other two pegasi. For some reason, she looked incredibly panicked and out of breath. “Are you aware that there’s an ebony god standing outside this house?”
“… What?”
“The guard! In the dark armor! His chest! Those eyes! I think I’m swooning! Do I look like I’m swooning?” Cloudchaser asked, but she talked much too fast to be understood. “You didn’t tell me you had another guard!”
“Was I supposed to?” Rainbow Dash asked. She finally put the pieces of the puzzle together, figuring out what was going on. “Wait… you’re talking about Thunderhead?”
“Depends,” Cloudchaser said, bringing a pensive hoof to her chin. “Does this ‘Thunderhead’ have the gait of the most potent deflowerer in existence?”
“He’s the guard outside the house.”
“Then yes! Yes on both accounts!” Cloudchaser grabbed Rainbow Dash’s shoulders and began to shake her violently. “Forget that other guard! I want hiiiiiim!”
“Are you being serious right now?” Rainbow Dash staggered back from the questionably insane mare. “I take it you’ve taken the time to look at him.”
“I’ve done nothing but look at him… so far.”
“Then you must have noticed the wings and the eyes.” Rainbow Dash waited for her point to sink in, but Cloudchaser didn’t look like she understood where her logic fell short. “Have you seen my daughter? You must have noticed the wings and the eyes.”
“Hey, our deal is still on, RD,” Cloudchaser said, still missing the point. “Give me a smooth introduction and we’ll call it square.”
“… Cloudchaser, do you know what a double-standard is?” Rainbow Dash asked, but the other mare appeared to take offense to this.
“Are you implying I’m stupid? Look, RD, I’m not the brightest star in the sky, but I still want to be treated with, like, respect. Just because you don’t instinctively drool over everypony in a suit of armor doesn’t mean you’re any better than me, okay? We should sort out our differences like adults, okay? There is no need for all this passive aggressive sarcasm!” Cloudchaser finished her speech by striking a very confident pose with her chest puffed out and her nose in the air. Rainbow Dash was actually taken back by her sudden seriousness.
“Alright, alright. Sorry,” she said. As long as Cloudchaser wanted to do things civilly, Rainbow Dash wasn’t about to object. All she needed to do was prove she was capable of mature, constructive discourse.
“Good… now what’s a double-standard?”
“Stay away from Thunderhead.”
“I will be back, Rainbow Dash!” Cloudchaser yelled as she retreated, even though the house wasn’t all that big and neither of them were all that far apart. In the end, she had the last laugh for leaving Rainbow Dash behind feeling awkward.
“Wow, you two get along so well now,” Fluttershy said with very little basis.
“Yeah, like two peas in an uncomfortable pod.”
“Hey… uh, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow Dash turned to see Thunderlane shuffling up, which indicated it was now his turn to annoy her about something. She wondered what had started this parade of faces.
“Need something?” Rainbow Dash had to ask. If she didn’t, he might stand there all day staring at his hooves. It was a bit odd to see Thunderlane nervous about something, but plenty of strange things had already happened tonight.
“I want to ask you a favor,” he said first thing, almost predictably. “But before that, I just want to clear the air between the two of us. You proved that you’re capable of good judgment this past week, so I’m going to go ahead and trust you about Taboo.”
“Wow, you used her name without hesitating,” Rainbow Dash remarked, poking fun at him now that she was obviously in control here. “Whatever you want you must want it bad.”
“This has nothing to do with that I want!” Thunderlane retorted, but quickly recomposed himself. “I’m trying to be serious here. Whether or not you help me, my position on this stands. It’s stupid for Rumble to get grief because of this, so I’m going to do what a big brother should. I’m not super excited about all of it, but it’s what I want to do now. Anyway, we’re cool now, right?” Thunderlane reached out a hoof in friendship, and he was surprised by how quickly Rainbow Dash returned the gesture.
“… Yeah, we’re cool. No point in holding a grudge,” Rainbow Dash said after their hoof bump. “Now, what’s this favor you have to ask?”
“So yeah… you know your friend, Rarity?”
“She’s my friend, so…. yeah, I know Rarity.”
“I just wanted to know whether or not she was… seeing anypony,” Thunderlane asked, albeit indirectly. Rainbow Dash wondered what brought this on so suddenly, but the events of Thunderlane’s earlier rescue of the unicorn might have put it in his head that he has a leg up on the competition now. She smirked, a sure sign that something wonderfully terrible was forming in her mind. She scanned the ponies in the room and found her friend.
“Hey, Rarity!” she called across the room. Thunderlane went as stiff as a board. On the other side of the room, Rarity turned her head to figure out who called her name. When she made eye contact with Rainbow Dash, she cocked an eyebrow and pointed to herself. “Get over here!”
“Wait, Dash! You don’t need to-”
“You rang?” Rarity had arrived. As previously mentioned, the room wasn’t all that big.
“Yeah, Thunderlane wanted to talk to you.” Just like that, Rainbow Dash threw Thunderlane under the carriage. She stepped back with Fluttershy and prepared to observe.
“Why hello, Thunderlane. I just can’t thank you enough for rescuing me!” Rarity batted her eyelashes at the stallion, an action that could be easily misconstrued as flirting. This is just how she gets when sincerely thanking other ponies. “You wanted to talk about something?”
“Ah, yeah… well… just wondering if you were okay,” Thunderlane said, desperately trying to backpedal without falling all over himself.
“I am the picture of health, thanks to you!” Rarity gave him another hug, which left Thunderlane somewhere between a state of heavenly euphoria and intense despair. When she released him, Rarity missed the entirely dismal look on his face. “Was that all?”
“Eh, well… no.” Thunderlane decided he may never have a chance like this ever again in his life. He may as well take it. “I was wondering if maybe you would maybe want to go get a cup of coffee maybe sometime down in Ponyville… maybe.”
Rarity regarded him for a moment, outwardly looking unmoved by his question. Thunderlane had his eyes screwed shut, so he didn’t see what was going on. He waited nervously until Rarity spoke up.
“Why, I’d gladly go some coffee with the dashing stallion who saved me…”
Thunderlane couldn’t believe his ears. In all his years of trying to get a date, he had never known success like this. He cheered and jumped for joy inside, but Rarity wasn’t done.
“So why haven’t I taken the nice stallion who is always helping all day out for anything?” she asked herself, completely forgetting about Thunderlane. “I mean, I was ready to marry a Prince just because he was a Prince, but I won’t even go on a date with a stallion for many, many more legitimate reasons? It’s all very foalish, if I do say so myself. I’ve done all this thinking about it and thiiinking about it, but it’s a simple matter. I should just give him a chance if that’s what he wants. Hmm… it feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders! Now… I wonder what I should make him wear on our first date.”
Thunderlane had left at this point, having realized that another crush had crushed him. Rainbow Dash left Fluttershy with Rarity in order to schmooze her way to the dining room for a little snack. Before she could get there, another pony appeared before her.
“Oh Dashie! I’ve found the perfect stallion for you!” It was none other than Rainbow Dash’s mother and relentless matchmaker.
“Mom, I know everypony here. If I wanted to date any of them, I wouldn’t need you to push me into it,” Rainbow Dash explained, but by now she should have known better than to try and stop these from happening. Once Palette got going, it took a lot to slow her momentum down.
“But you do need me to push you! You just don’t know you want to date this stallion yet,” Palette explained. “I’ve been talking to that nice stallion with the white coat, and he is just the sweetest thing. You should go over and talk with him!” Palette pointed into the little crowd and Rainbow Dash turned her head to see where Milky Way was happily chatting with Raindrops and Wild Flower.
“Look, Milky Way is nice and all, but I’m not into him,” Rainbow Dash said, but this appeared to confuse her mother. Palette looked into the crowd and pointed again.
“No, no. Not him. I mean him!”
“YEAAAAAH!”
“… Mom, have you seen Taboo around?” Rainbow Dash asked, deciding not to even entertain this avenue. She meant no offense to Snowflake, but sometimes a mare just has to draw the line.
“Your father was with her. I think they stepped out for a bit of air,” Palette said. “Come back here quickly, though! I really want you to talk to this stallion!”
Rainbow Dash ignored her mother and her desire to get a snack. She headed towards the back door without another word. When she got out to the patio, her father was indeed there with Taboo. Unsurprisingly, the little filly was fast asleep on her chair. Tonight had been an exhausting night of introductions and such, so it was only a matter of time before she crashed.
“You on Taboo duty tonight?” Rainbow Dash asked, taking a seat next to her father.
“Your mother wanted to scope out potential coltfriends for you,” he told her. “Did she have any success?”
“She sure thinks she has,” Rainbow Dash said, reclining back. “I don’t even want to hear about relationships anymore tonight. First Pinkie Pie got all weird, then Cloudchaser bugged me, after that it was Thunderlane, then Rarity, and finally my own mother. I just don’t get like them, you know? I don’t have all these… feelings.”
“Well, feelings are only part of the equation, Rainy.”
“Oh no, don’t you lecture me.”
“I think you need to hear this,” her father retorted. “Love has a lot to do with conscious decisions we make. You’ve been able to stave it off so long because you decided you don’t need it; however, there is one pony you decided to love recently.”
“Oh? Who?”
He pointed at the sleeping foal between them.
“You didn’t take in Taboo just because of feelings, did you?” he asked. “I’m sure after you started taking care of her, you felt all sorts of conflicting emotions and experienced all sorts of consequences. You consciously decided to take her in and give her love, so here you are keeping right at it despite everything else. You might not believe it, Rainy, but that Element of Loyalty you hold so dear is probably best suited for love.”
“… I guess that makes sense.” Rainbow Dash furrowed her brow and slumped back, angry that her father had a valid point. “But then I’m right in not getting caught up in the moment and chasing after every stallion with a strong lower jaw. It wouldn’t do me any good to make decisions I can’t stick by.”
“Yes, you’re absolutely right.” He looked up to gaze at the stars. From the high vantage point of Cloudsdale, they seemed to shine the brighter here than anywhere else. At least, that’s how he felt about it. “Love is different for everypony, I suppose. Some of us can decide to get swept away by emotions while some of us have to take a more sane approach. If you’re not doing what you think is right, then you’re not doing it right.”
“Super. Would you tell that to mom?”
“You tell her,” her father said, looking back down at her. “I’m the one who has to share a bed with her.”
“Ugh! Can we just stop talking about this?” Rainbow Dash asked, sinking the rest of the way into her chair. “I came out here to escape all this relationship talk.”
“Fine, fine. You deserve a break, Rainy. You did a good job this week, from what I hear. I expected nothing less from my little Wonderbolt.”
“Thank you,” Rainbow Dash said, letting an easy smile form on her face. “When I get back to Ponyville, I don’t even want to hear ponies talk about love or special someponies. I’ll just get back to training and enjoy the single life with my kid. Is that too much to ask for?”
“Who knows?” Both pegasi looked up at the stars, just relaxing and admiring them. They used to do this frequently when Rainbow Dash was just a filly, so doing it now felt all too nostalgic for the old stallion. His little Wonderbolt was on the way to becoming an actual Wonderbolt. He was aware how fast time was moving now. It wouldn’t be long at all. He decided he needed to enjoy his daughter’s youth while he could, spend time with the filly he had grown so fond of after all these years. “So… what’s this about strong lower jaws?”
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WOW, I thought this thing was dead. Will we get more of Taboo next time?
Holy shit biscuits it's alive
YEEEAH!
~bass
sweet! an update. and a gooder at that!
great to see this story update
hoping for more soon
a new chapter! its a chrismas miracle.
soarin reminds me of fred from scooby doo
Can't wait for the next
Another vamp-pony adoption fic, awesome.
~Leonzilla
...Did she just Snap Fluttershy's neck?
3649918 Chiropractic technique.
Oh my. Pinkie Pie sure had a dramatic reaction to Soarin. Methinks she likes. XXD
Only picture with Pinkamena and Soarin I could find.
fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/222/5/8/soarin__s_new_pie_by_miketheuser-d462ktx.png
Besides. Soarin likes Pies.
So what happened to Lightning Dust?
Amazing chapter, really. MOAR!
...God this chapter was worth the wait
Dash is a lot more forgiving than I would be in her situation, especially to Raindrops.
You can't be introverted. You are, or you aren't. To be introverted is to 'recharge' while away from people. While shyness often comes with introversion, they're not intrinsically linked.
hmmm. Improved in later chapters, yet some of this still bugs me. I'll give a full review once the story is completed.
Amazing Chapter. But I still hope she will quit the Wonderbolt Academy to have time for Taboo.
!)
(Oh, and I hope she has a crush on Thunderhead
Very awesome... except for one thing.
What the hell was Thunderhead doing at the academy when he was supposed to be protecting Taboo, and how does it help Thunderlane get with Rarity?
I agree with flying-claw also can't wait for update /). That being said something about your story is how do I say it odd idk but nice work.
3650210
Darn you cold spike I seem to find you we're ever I go lol
Hmn, well that explains what happened to Dash’s Weather Captain job, though it still feels odd that Raindrops' father wouldn't have a boss of his own or an HR department that the firing could be appealed to.
I like your work so far but what's really caught my interest is your view on the ponyvurs preaty interesting you know never seen it out this way.
So much dawwws
24.media.tumblr.com/a257ad5165644b1f79354634dfdee284/tumblr_mqo61uYbwk1rj6vd5o1_400.png
I LOVE this!
I'd just like to say that Dash's mom is a trip. I can't read two lines of dialogue with her in it without laughing my ass off.
3649918 Yes. Then she took the body into the basement... to bake some small pastries...
Alrght, not so much bias in this one. I still think that there are a few individuals who need a dagger in their hearts....
Instead of bing my usual gamer self, I'm here, reading. That doesn't usually happen
ONWARDS!!!!!
'lower jar' ->jaw
thought this was a penis euphemism at first. Was a little shocked she said it to her dad. then I realized I'm just an idiot.
3649918
*Mortal Kombat announcer voice* FATALITY
3650096 Oh plz author see this, make Soarin walk up to pinkie in sugar cube corner and say,"I'd like to order...*puts on sunglasses* a Pie please." xD
Wow. Just wow. As I am reading this, Once Bitten, Twice Shy by Great White is playing on the radio.
Rainbow Dash x Bulk Biceps? Rainbow's mom needs to see a psychiatrist. Not to say it wasn't hilarious, just, RDxBB? That ain't gonna work.
So Scootaloo is actually pro-Taboo?
I am so happy to have been wrong!
Wait, what? You just got done listing very good reasons to have a grudge! And you're just going to let it go like that?!
<headdesk>
And Pinkie getting all awkward around Soarin was just delightful
have 4 minutes of Homer Simpson saying d'oh
I like some of what's going on here, but the idea of a prolonged anti-Taboo crowd is pretty weak. There can't be much serious drama because the justifications are so trite.
can you tell me the romance option for Rainbow Dash here? since it is already that long I kind of would like to know which one she get's and if it is going to be the only one. Not sure how to describe it yet, but I just hope her possible date is introduced properly.
I like to get a feel for the special somepony, and not just"there he is".
I've seen Spitfire running the Wonderbolts. I'm not impressed with her at all.
an impressive
She certainly does not, this is a huge continuity gap. Rainbow Dash has a child, not a young goat.
...Ooh. I see.
That's some powerful motivation right there.
Huh? What? What were they doing? And why would it develop her interest in stallions in uniform?
Every child of Celestia has asked this question. Not to imply she's Celestia's child mind you.
The rules are different at Grandma's.
No, we shouldn't.
Mom, yes.
Ma'am! I'm on the clock and can't indulge you.
It's a conflict of interest. A relationship would complicate things in ways no-one wants.
I never understood why Rainbow didn't turn the position down.
They were just given an assignment from Spitfire. This doesn't seem the place to talk about such things.