• Member Since 30th Jan, 2012
  • offline last seen 1 hour ago

RainbowDoubleDash


“If the youth are not initiated into the tribe, they will burn down the village, just to feel its warmth.” — African proverb

T

Not every day can be about battling monsters and mad gods. Not every day can be about a farm in danger of going under, or a political gambit from one of your rivals in the Night Court. Not every day can be about old family secrets coming to light. Not every day can be extraordinary. But that doesn't mean that the ordinary days can't be some of the most important days of our lives - or at least some of the most fun.

A Lunaverse story, with Raindrops as an important character throughout. We need a Raindrops character tag.

Chapters (7)
Comments ( 374 )

The funny thing is – ha, ‘funny,’ it isn’t really funny, it’s horrifying

Still only getting started here, but this line, this line right here, it helped me start to push through this bad spot I've suddenly found myself in.

I'm glad I managed to pull myself together enough to actually read (or even do) anything, and at the risk of putting myself out on a limb, thanks for posting this when you did. I needed this.

Yay! Happy Raindrops is best Raindrops!

Wow....what a great little story! Nice to see what makes Raindrops tick...scary as it is. Girl has issues. Like, serious issues. She's still likeable, for all her flaws.

The scene with Snails was adorable, I always felt he deserves more love. And the ending was great. I can just imagine Trixie being obnoxious about this in a future story, like she is about her misconceptions with Lyra's financial situation.

1104700
"Future story" here being defined as "the next chapter." Each chapter in "Tales" is going to flow directly into the next, but we'll have a different "lead character" each time.

Each chapter is probably going to follow this same formula, too: start with a little first-person introspection; then get to the actual chapter; then close with some first-person resolution.

The order we're going in is also shown right on the cover, and chapter titles should be easy, too:

1. Stormy Weather
2. Makes it all Complete
3. Teaching Laughter
4. A Musical Bond
5. Lots to Share
6. With Love and Care

1104658
Glad I helped, in whatever small way that I was able to.

Broken italics tag, man. But great tale.

1104741
I fixed that...or I thought I had fixed that...the first part and last part are supposed to be all in italics.

This is really awesome. I love how well you portrayed Raindrops. Her sheer glee at the rain really comes through, and is extremely well done. The bit with Snails was neat too.

I might quibble that I don't think even Silver Spoon would be that much of a jerk, but eh. It works well in the scene.

1104763
I briefly considered Diamond Tiara, but then I remembered that the two are supposed to be a duo in making fun of foals, but Diamond Tiara always seems to be the go-to when you need a schoolyard bully.

Her song drifted off when she saw it: the perfect puddle, the puddle to end all puddles. The ultimate puddle, which even from her height of five hundred feet, she could tell was perfect, the perfect blend of mud and watter, the
Needs one less t

I love this. Finally get to see in Raindrops head, and she actually has a pretty deep and somewhat tragic character:twilightsmile:. Makes me hope that the magic of friendship can help her to overcome the anger that tears at her life. If not all the stress will put her in an early grave...:pinkiesad2:

Finished now. Had to loop around and reread a few passages for pure pleasure.

Hoops’ right hind leg was broken in three places. His shank was essentially dust. They had to bring special unicorn doctors and surgeons up to Cloudsdale to fix him, and to this day he still walks with a limp.

Snails looked dejected. “Silver Spoon said that she wasn’t dumb because she didn’t have a sister who hit her in the head and made her dumb – ”

I can still remember suggesting the form must be part of Raindrops past. This surpassed all my expectations some warped mixture of pride and abject horror. I can also remember saying the latter accusation was an offense punishable by MURDER. Well, sorry to say sweet little Spoony, but it looks like your number just came up. :pinkiecrazy:

and she said that that was how I got brain-damaged.”

Raindrops’ right eye twitched,

Raindrops is not the only one. Now where did I put those knives?

Splash. Raindrops landed perfectly, on all four hooves, sending rain flying up in all directions, but she didn’t remain that way for long as she let herself fall onto her side, wings flapping as she splashed around in this puddle, mud soaking her, covering her in grit, or trying to, but water in the puddle would soak her through just was quickly. She covered herself in it, dunked her head in the puddle and swished her mane about, did the same with her tail, stood, and simply began prancing in place.

This fic, or at least this chapter is now my all time, retroactively and forevermore, favorite Lunaverse fic (maybe pony fic period). Not necessarily because of this part, but this is where I realized it to be true. :pinkiehappy:

Dead serious, I love this fic. I love EVERYTHIG about this fic. I wish it could just go on and on forever. As a writer, It both inspires and shames me. As a human being, it just makes me feel almost like I was reading a reflection of myself. I've never lost it quite so bad, but that kind of always right there at the edge anger is something I'm all too personally familiar with. Rain isn't my primary relief of choice, but I'll admit that the right kind can be truly calming (I'm almost sad now that today is bright and sunny)

Again, thank you, thank you so very much.

.1104712
Hmm... looking at that chapter list, I guess I'd better hurry up and finish up the last two introductory Elements of Insantity.

1104763 1104779
I'm glad it's Silver Spoon, too many fics make Diamond Tiara out to be the only mean one of the pair. I've read my fair share of such, maybe even let it color my headcanon, but I for one am glad to see SS get her fair share of the antagonist spotlight.

Plus this way I don't have to put an abrupt and permanent end to Scootiare. Now if you'll all excuse me I've got some work to do in the basement. :pinkiecrazy:

This is fantastic. Raindrops has always been my favorite Lunaverse character, she always reminded me a bit of myself. Though I'm not quite as angry as she is... and I don't have a ultimate relaxation tool like she has rain.

this is so...hmm wow i cant explain how this makes me feel. its um...cute and beautifully well written? :unsuresweetie: eh whatever great chapter! :derpytongue2:

Absolutely smashing. You've really made Raindrops a proper character!

It is good to see her happy. Thunderlane seems to be onto something, doesn't he? Could be that the fact that it doesn't rain all the time is what's got her out of sorts. Nopony can really be happy not following their talent and the dry weather only serves to perturb Dropsy.

Great story. While not much happened, I'm totally in love with the immense level of detail!
But how come Trixie's window is still in one piece? :trollestia:

1104779>>1104976
There's a reason that Diamond Tiara is the go-to bully, though. Watch 'Family Appreciation Day', and there are hints that Spoon hangs out with Tiara because she's desperate for her acceptance, not because she's a mean pony herself.
Of course, canon characterization isn't really binding for an alternate-universe fic, though.

1105525
Make way for Nightmare Raindrops!

Reaction to the first 1/3-1/2:raritycry:
Reaction to the rest::pinkiehappy:

On a very minor note...Why is CK second in command? That kind of job probably requires a back bone...Something Ck definitely doesn't have. I know it's not something that would ever be elaborated on (She is, after all, an very minor character), but... It's just kind of silly how little of a back bone she has.

nice to see her happy.

1105635
That's certainly one interpretation, but there really isn't enough tangible evidence to prove it conclusively one way or the other; as a character SS is just to underexposed. DT is undoubtedly the lead alpha bitch of their little clique, but there are plenty of instance off SS taking the initiative to tease and ridicule without any prior promoting by DT. By the time we get to Family Appreciation Day we even have the marketplace scene, where DT takes a total backseat and SS is lead antagonist.

I think the best one could say with any canon certainty is that SS MIGHT be less overtly cruel than DT, but that's still leaves her a far cry from actually being anything much resembling nice.

1105858

I like to think that sometimes SS goes a bit overboard at times because she wants DT's approval.

Well, I saw this on the front page and had nothing better to do with my waste of a life, so here goes. (Stupid Lunaverse! Every time I get out, you pull me back in! :raritydespair:)

One of the things I mentioned against the Lunaverse before was that, out of the entire new mane cast, Raindrops was the least differentiated from her baseline counterpart. There were differences, but they were mostly cosmetic, and her skill set was just swapping Dash's speed for strength. She never had the development others did, I had never even heard of her as a background pony, and she just struck me as "Rainbow Dash 2.0 - Now With Kung-Fu Grip." I loved Carrot Top, thought the others ranged from "okay" to "good," but Drops was always on the "meh" side of things.

This story finally fixed that. This is the first story where she really comes through as a completely independent character, with her own tragic backstory, strengths and foibles, and general attitude towards life. That last part where she's flying through the rainstorm was just beautiful. We get to see her not when she's about to beat someone to a pulp, but just as a pony having a great time with something she loves. And as someone who LOVES rain, this scene just filled me to the brim with pure, unadulterated joy. I even liked Trixie showing up at the end to totally kill the mood. Yep, that's what she's best at.

The song...well, so far I haven't exactly been super-captivated by the musical numbers, but it worked nice here. The writing here is just superb. I wasn't bothered at all by Dash's behavior in her brief cameo; then again, she never really super bugged me, at least when compared to Applejack and Twilight. This is an awesome story, regardless of my distaste for this alternate continuity. Heck, perhaps the Lunaverse as a whole has turned the corner and I can actually like it like I wanted to in the beginning, before LNLD killed it for me.

...Sorta like how I tried again after "Family Matters," only for that Carrot Top/AJ story to kill it again...I really need to do what I said in the review and stop looking at these. They only end in disappointment. :facehoof:

Once, I told a fellow writer that characters need flaws and weaknesses - because perfect people are unrealistic and uninteresting - but you also need to make the flaws match the character, and make them matter (as opposed to making up cliche flaws that just look cool and end up having no bearing on anything). I don't think I've ever tried "has anger issues" before, but it seems a very defining trait for Raindrops. And having her faced the consequences of it... very good. Would be too easy for her to devolve into a trite bully otherwise.

Slice of life stories are always good for character deepening, since you can have them act instead of just react.

And Trixie's reaction at the end was just priceless. I assume it's a segue into her chapter, next? If I could make a suggestion, it would be interesting if the last chapter ended with a faux-segue into the first, making a loop of sorts. Just an idea.

I LOVE Raindrops and it was really great having a chapter dedicated solely to her about something is, really and truly, her and her essence and what she does and why. As someone who feels much the same in the rain / the shower, I can totally sympathize with her. Also, on a kind of random side note, I like learning all the varieties of scientific terms for precipitation and cloudcover types. :D

Wow. I had definitely wanted to read this after your original reveal, but... Wow.
I was kind of unprepared for it. Incredibly descriptive, and we finally get a much more in-depth look at the inside of Raindrops' mind. Spectacular job, and now I really want to read Trixie's chapter! dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Trixie_lolface_1.png


1106126 You will NEVER ESCAPE! HAHAHAHA! Though, with writers like RDD, is that necessarily a bad thing? :rainbowlaugh:

1106931

Given the laundry list of problems I still have with this universe? Yeah, it's kind of a bad thing. :fluttershbad:

1106957

I already did a review of the universe a while ago and...

Um...look, let's just say I have issues with some of the decisions involved in the Lunaverse and leave it at that. For now, let us just bask in the glory of a good fanfic, shall we? :twilightsmile:

1106995 Sure.
And now that I've COMPLETELY read into your original comment (on this story), I think it's mostly that you don't like the... what was it, 'Lunaverse Burn'?
But I'd still like to read your original 'Review'. Where is it located, exactly?

1106061

There's also the possibility that Silver Spoon's matured a bit from Season One to Season Two. Of course it's hard to give much proof to any theories given her utter lack of screen time this season. I can't even remember if she had any actual lines.

Mind you either way I certainly wouldn't want to make Raindrops mad. We wouldn't like her when she's mad. :pinkiehappy:

Although perhaps we'll be lucky enough to see her get her hooves on a still weakened Corona. "Puny god."

1106126
At the risk of ruining it again for you, have you read "Griffin Over the Line?" It features Raindrops as a main character, albeit she spends most of the time having lost her cool or on the verge of losing her cool. I think it does a good job of getting "angry" Raindrops across. This one is more about "introspective" Raindrops and "Happy" Raindrops.

Also, do give "Helping...Hands?" a try, if for nothing else than a laugh.

And anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed this, though I'm aware that I still have five chapters in which to screw things up.

1107262

Actually, I did read "Griffon Over the Line." I even put it as one of the recommended fics in the review. But it really didn't sell Raindrops as a completely separate entity yet. She still felt like a stronger-but-slower Dash in need of some serious therapy. She is brutally honest, just like Dash. She is prone to snapping and beating things down without thinking, just like Dash. In fact, if you just swapped things around (i.e. made Raindrops Gilda's cohort and had Rainbow Dash as the story's protagonist), Dash would have most likely behaved in exactly the same way as Raindrops by that point.

Really, she needed both GOtL and this story here to really gel. Now she isn't just a few moments away from snapping somepony's neck, but instead a genuine character with strengths, flaws, desires, and everything else that makes a character great. I like her a lot more now than I did back then, is all I'm saying.

1107479
I can get that. I feel bad that it's taken me this long to get to Raindrops, but "An Early Reunion" delayed that, as I wanted to establish what Cadence is in this universe.

This was absolutely excellent, until this fic Raindrops really didn't feel like a whole character to me even with Griffin over the line, but this, the detail the characterisation the overall excellent writing, (Applause) great chapter i can't wait to see the next few.

That was incredible! I loved it! You've really captured Raindrops and you put anything I've done so far to shame! :pinkiehappy:

NTL

I'm a rain nut. I love listening to rain and I love taking walks while it's raining. I have yet to throw myself into a puddle, but I can totally relate to your Raindrops. Needless to say you had my smiling through out the second half of this story. This made warm up to Raindrops, since I didn't care much for her in the previous stories. That has changed now.

Your Lunaverse continues to be amazing :twilightsmile:

1110399
I try. I don't always succeed, but I do try.

Finally got around to this and it just stopped raining outside. Heh.

This is entertaining and very relaxing to read so far, can't wait for Trixie's chapter next.

This is lovely! There's something really beautiful about seeing a character completely in her element, with something she loves being part of. I never really gave much thought to Raindrops's cutie mark before - I probably should have. She's just so relaxed and happy and carefree here, which is gorgeous.

But she had only once struck a pony in anger, and that was years ago

This bothered me, though. In the show, ponies are pretty liberal with physical violence. The Crusaders got into a dustup in front of Discord's statue (possibly due to Discord's influence, we can't tell), and when Twilight was pushing Miss Smartypants on them (before she cast the Want It Need It spell). Applejack and Rainbow Dash get into a fight at the end of the Running of the Leaves. They do it even when they're not angry - Pinkie Pie bodyslams Fluttershy and Twilight into the wall at Gummy's birthday party, for example. I've always felt that social violence - teasing, bullying, shunning from the herd - are much worse sins in Equestria than physical violence. Obviously, what Raindrops did to Hoops was way over the line, and was highly unusual, but I can't help but think that she would have gotten into a fair few fights since then. Unless she's purposefully keeping herself out of fights for fear of seriously injuring somepony again, of course.

1115043
Raindrops didn't really have friends in Cloudsdale after the incident, and I can totally see her keeping herself out of fights for fear of seriously injuring someone again.

Besides, she does specify "in anger." We certainly know she's, at least, socked Trixie in the jaw.

1115641 1115043
Well, there was the incident with Gilda; that was certainly in anger. Fortunately though, it can get off with the technicality of her being a griffin, not a pony. Anyway, I can buy that she's always been careful to hold back on anger-fueled violence against other creatures, especially after hurting someone that bad. That's the kind of event that can leave some real emotional scars on both parties.

Now then though, I did sort of *imply* there had been at least a few other incidents in GOtL. Fortunately, technicality can come to the rescue again, and not just by abusing the not really a pony angle with donkeys, zebras, minotaurs, and such. She might hold back striking another creature in anger, but their property and possessions could be a whole other matter. I could see her having times when she got angry enough that she had to break something, in which case a door, a cart, or other such would be preferable to the face or limbs of the real target of her ire. Maybe even with some debris causing collateral damages (or even injuries), since I'd kind of been going for a theme of her anger all too often causing undue suffering to those that didn't deserve to get caught in the crossfire. Though of course after that first incident with Hops she might just be exceptionally hard on herself, and count even the most minor stuff as treading to close to crossing back over that line

...

*Well, or at least I'd intended to, but rereading what I actually wrote I guess it could be interpreted either way*

It's raining here - rather pleased. Excellent writing.

Believe it or not, there's some foreshadowing for "Crisis on Two Equestrias" in this chapter.

.........oh my god, Trixie, that is so....sad............


...and why does Trixie making out with Raindrops so.......I mean, it makes sense.....I think.......

This story... it is made of so many feels... I just can hold them all.

I can empathize with Trixie a bit; back when I was young I drove away more friends than I'd care to count. Never because I was a jerk; my problems were more a matter of being Pinkie Pie doesn't work in real life. That's why starting in junior high I began to consciously bottle that up and hide it behind a wall of cautious reservation. It made it a lot harder to make new friends, but at least it was less painful than losing them. That more wild side of me is still there; I just don't let it out often, and every time it manages to slip out more than intended, no matter how close what few friend I've managed to make are, well, on some level I'm terrified I might drive them away too. Now here I am spouting all this out on a fanfics comment thread, and I don't even quite know why. You'd think that maybe I'd drunk some of the Scourge of Truth potion. :unsuresweetie:

Anyways, this story was delightfully awkward, from Trixie's accusations to her painful realization of that mistake. Then there is Raindrops having to deal with her own demons as she is forced to confront the idea that even her closest friends fear her. The fact that both of them feel like the terrible friend in this scene is just marvelously played. And all of that is before we get to the "good part". I mean seriously a memory spell built around a kiss? With tongue? Madness! And of course that's when Cheerilee manages to walk in. :twilightoops:

...

Oh, and I loved how Trixie can't remember Gilda's name, or even get it wrong the same way twice.

1178242


Speaking of shipping.....I might write a crack fic stemming from that scene at the end. :pinkiehappy:

1178251
Go ahead! I love crack fics. Just remember that Trixie would be far more interested in a Platonic relationship than a sexual one. Doing anything sexual would be a major hurdle for her to get over. Although...if she was willing to, for Raindrops...so cute! :rainbowkiss:

1178275

......is it just me, or do you seem eager to see a crack fic for this universe?


....Raindrops is good at molding clouds.......hmmmm..............


"There. Finally done." Raindrops panted, backing away from her work. She stared at the could, formed into the shape of a pony wearing a familiar hat and caped. A blush formed on Raindrops face as she thought about what she wanted to do. "Here goes nothing....." she slowly leaned forward before planting a kiss on the cloudponies. Lips. She quickly broke it off. "..It's just not the same....."

Login or register to comment