Ocean Blues

by TalkingToMyself

Bonus Arch, part 2: Perspective

Blue had to stay two more nights at the hospital, which meant she also had to endure two more days of visitors. Luckily, she didn’t have to go through the whole pity party from the first day again, and to be honest, they made getting through the day without being bored to death much easier.

The bruises on her ribs were mostly healed, enough that the doctor said she could walk again, if she kept things slow and easy. The gash on her leg was almost gone by now, so she only had to keep the bandage on her wings. Blue patiently listened to the nurse who basically told her the same things as the doctor, but all the nurses had been very friendly, so she didn’t want to give them a hard time. Also, the nurse kept things short, since she rightfully suspected that Spring Meadow would keep a close look on Blue at home.

When Blue stepped outside, she breathed in the warm summer air and looked at the shining sun in a clear sky. Being cooped up in a small hospital room, she really had missed this a lot. The only thing better would be to jump into the air and feel the wind in her feathers, but that would have to wait a few more days.

Blue took the long way through town as she walked home, which meant she walked by the market. Since it was already close to noon, that meant a lot of ponies saw her as she slowly walked down the streets, and they all saw her bandaged wing of course. Everypony gave her a friendly smile or waved, even ponies Blue didn’t even know, so Blue forced herself to return the gesture with a nod at least.

She didn’t stay and chat with anyone, but she soon heard the whispers behind her back whenever she passed a group of ponies. She didn’t hear what they were saying, but she saw from the corner of her eyes that everyone was watching her by now. For a moment, her vision got blurry and instead of the market, she was in a long corridor with lockers and classroom doors and the ponies turned into high school students.

The thought made her clench her eyes closed and grit her teeth.

“Hey Blue! Whatcha doing here all by yourself?”

Blue had gotten so used to Pinkie Pie appearing out of nowhere, she didn’t even flinch anymore. As she opened her eyes again, she saw her pink friend right in her personal space, but from the corner of her eyes she could see the other ponies had stopped watching her and whispering about her, so for this time, she could let that pass.

She turned her attention to Pinkie Pie and forced a smile

“Just walking home. Just got released from the hospital, so I thought I’d take the scenic route, you know?”

Pinkie Pie nodded along and started walking next to her, so Blue just followed along, even though she noticed that Pinkie was not going the right direction

“It’s just a perfect day for a nice walk through town! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, you can just walk and enjoy while you’re walking where you need to go. Not that there’s anything wrong with walking just because you like to walk!”

Blue rolled her eyes and followed Pinkie who was steering right towards Sugarcube Corner it seemed

“I guess so. Also, you said ‘walk’ half a dozen times just now. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing! Why would anything be wrong? Nothing wrong with two friends walking down the street, on a nice walk when it’s perfect weather for walking and…”

“Pinkie!”

Blue interrupted her a bit harsher than was necessary, not to mention polite, so Pinkie flinched a little. To Blue’s surprised, Pinkie Pie looked guilty now, like she had been the one who was impolite. She leaned in so she could whisper

“I didn’t know what else to do! You were making the face!”

Blue blinked confused, but then her eyes opened wide, and she whispered back

“How would you know about the face?”

“Just a hunch. It sounds like something you would say.”

Blue took a deep breath, more like a sigh, and forced her voice to calm and even

“Yeah, I guess I would. Now spill. What’s the big fuss all about?”

Pinkie Pie perked up, but just a little, as she kept whispering

“You seemed so upset you had to walk and couldn’t fly anymore, so I thought maybe I could cheer you up, but Rarity said I should be tactful and not mention walking, and I tried really, really hard but…”

Blue couldn’t help but grin at that point

“But the more you tried to avoid it, the harder it was, right?”

“Um… kinda…”

Blue shook her head but kept her little smirk

“Okay, first thing: I’m not upset because of my wing. I don’t mind walking at all. Alright?”

Pinkie nodded and perked up more, but just a little

“But, um, if you’re not upset, why did you make the face?”

“I’m not just upset. I’m freaking pissed. Not about my wing, but about the fact that everybody is staring at me and talking behind my back. They don’t know me at all, they have no idea what happened, they are all just making up fucking stories about me and then they’re going to spread them around and nobody will give a flying fuck anymore about what’s really going on and…”

“But they’re not!”

Pinkie interrupted Blue’s rant with a shout that was loud enough to turn all heads towards them, or maybe they had started watching when Blue started swearing, Blue didn’t really know or care right now. She just stared at Pinkie Pie

“Then why are they talking behind my back like that, huh? This is just like back in… before I came here.”

She hoped Pinkie would understand what she meant, and she did, but now Pinkie Pie was looking at her with something dangerously close to pity for a moment, before she fell back into her usual silly grin

“Oh, you old frowny-cake. That’s not it at all! Everypony knows what happened and how you got hurt while saving the festival for everypony!”

“Um, that’s not really what happened…”

“The only reason they’re talking with each other and not you is because you’re walking through town all grumpy-faced! I’m sure if you’d crack a smile, they’d be all over you and thanking you and…”

“I’m glad they don’t!”

Pinkie Pie completely fell out of loop when Blue interrupted her, and her eyes went so wide that Blue felt compelled to explain herself

“I don’t want any big fuss about it. It was bad enough in the hospital, but I don’t want anyone to treat me any different. And I absolutely don’t want anypony to throw me a freaking pity party!”

That last part had a sharp edge in her voice from her lingering anger, so much that even Pinkie Pie’s ears perked up. Suddenly, she didn’t seem very interested in getting to Sugarcube Corner anymore

“Oh, um, you know what, I totally forgot I promised to… um… oh! To help Fluttershy today! Yes, totally! I was just on my way there! Hey, you should totally come with me! Not that you have to, but it would be so much more fun than lame old Sugarcube Corner right now!”

Blue narrowed her eyes suspiciously

“You’ve planed a pity party for me, haven’t you?”

“What? Me? Pshh, nah, I mean why would I? Even though parties are fun and a great way to show how much you appreciate somepony and want to cheer them up and…”

“Pinkie!”

Pinkie’s ears flopped down

“Okay, so maybe I planned a tiny, teensy little party for you. But if you really don’t like it, we really should go to visit Fluttershy. Since she lives out of town, you’re less likely to run into anypony there and you maybe can stop making the face.”

Blue sighed deeply and tried to push out all her lingering anger as well. Pinkie Pie clearly only had the best intentions, she just didn’t know that Blue wouldn’t like a party right now. And her backup-plan would mean she’d be out of the eyes of everypony, at least for a while.

She felt a lot calmer after a few deep breaths, and nodded to Pinkie

“Sure, let’s go visit Fluttershy. Better than sitting at home all day long.”

She turned around and walked roughly into the direction of the Everfree Forest, and tried her best to ignore Pinkie Pie waving sings to somepony behind her back, although her good wing flapped when she heard ‘abort mission’ from somepony.

Soon enough, Pinkie Pie was bouncing next to her, which was her typical way of walking, and babbled about something that Blue didn’t really pay much attention to. As long as she was with Pinkie Pie, everypony else had no reason to stare at her. And like Pinkie had said, when they reached the outskirts of Ponyville, they didn’t even run into anypony anymore, so Blue could practically feel ‘the face’ fade away.

She kinda felt bad for snapping at Pinkie Pie the way she had, but as usual, she didn’t really know how to explain herself, so she just didn’t say anything. Pinkie kept babbling and smiled like there had never been anything wrong or awkward, but Blue knew that if this Pinkie Pie was just a little like the Pinkie Pie she knew, then Pinkie would remember. Pinkie Pie rarely ever forgot something and when she thought she messed something up, she had that tendency to chastise herself over and over to the point of depression. Like that one time when she had brought Blue a muffin with rainbow sprinkles when Blue hadn’t asked for any. Blue hadn’t thought anything of it, but Pinkie Pie had carried it around for a whole week until she finally collapsed in tears, during science class.

Blue definitely didn’t want a repeat of that. Even if that meant she had to say something.

“Hey Pinkie.”

“And then I said 'Silly Rarity, just because the colour doesn't match the hat doesn't mean...”

“Pinkie!”

“Yes Blue?”

Blue took a deep breath when she finally caught her attention. She had the need to say something, but now that she could, words were very hard to get by, suddenly

“About earlier when you... I wasn't really, you know, and... what I was trying to say... you know I'm not mad at you or anything, right?”

Pinkie Pie nodded but stayed uncharacteristically quiet, which meant Blue had to go on with it

“And, you know... it's not that I hate parties or anything. Especially yours. I'm just very, very bad at dealing with surprises. Okay?”

At this, Pinkie Pie just tilted her head to the side and looked at Blue

“So, does that mean if I told you before, you would have liked a party?”

“A regular party, yeah. Probably. A pity party? Never. I wasn't kidding when I said I hate those.”

Pinkie Pie nodded and looked deep in thought for a few minutes, so much that Blue could almost hear the gears running in her head

“So does that mean, if I was planning a different party, like say, a birthday party...?”

Blue grinned and shrugged her good wing

“Yeah, no problem with that. I usually know months in advance when my birthday is coming.”

They both laughed and Pinkie finally seemed back at her usual, bubbly self

“So, birthday parties are okay, but what about other kind of parties? Beach party? Garden party? Oh, it’s getting close to your 4-months-2-weeks-3-and-a-half-day-aniversary of…

“Don’t push it, Pinkie.”

“Birthday party it is!”

“Oh… um, Happy Birthday! I didn’t know that was today… I would have gotten you a little something at least…”

Blue and Pinkie looked up surprised and found Fluttershy standing right in front of them. They had been so deep in conversation that they hadn’t really noticed that they were already by Fluttershy’s cottage now.

Before Fluttershy could go into the second act of her ‘shy and apologetic’-routine, Blue shook her head and waved her good wing

“Nah, don’t worry. We were just… don’t worry about it, okay?”

Pinkie Pie nodded along and Fluttershy looked between them, and then decided that it wasn’t worth getting into, so she just smiled

“If you say so. Um, does that mean the gathering in Sugarcube Corner…?”

Blue shrugged and tried to look less annoyed than earlier with Pinkie Pie

“Meh, I’m not feeling like meeting tons of ponies today, you know?”

Fluttershy nodded, probably feeling very similar about that

“Um, in that case, would you like to come join me inside? We could have a nice little tea party instead.”

Pinkie Pie grew worried and waved frantically behind Blue’s back when Fluttershy said the p-word, but Blue just shrugged and nodded

“You know what, that sounds like just the thing right now. Thanks, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy smiled and turned around to lead them into the cottage, while Pinkie Pie just stared at Blue with a surprised expression

“But, you said you didn’t like surprise parties!”

Blue shrugged her good wing and sighed

“Yeah, I know. But, come on, it’s Fluttershy. Who in their right mind could get angry at Fluttershy?”

That did the job and had Pinkie Pie smiling again, as well as Fluttershy (who Blue could only guess if she heard her or not), so Blue just smiled along. It wasn’t even a forced smile.

Soon Blue was seated on a comfy armchair with an extra pillow for her bandaged hoof. While she was sitting, Pinkie Pie produced some pastries, even if Blue wasn’t really sure how she got them into the cottage without her noticing. Fluttershy flew in from the kitchen with a frilly tea set that Blue wouldn’t even want to be in throwing-distance off and served them each a cup of tea that smelled like roses or something girly.

Blue’s smile grew a little more strained, but she tried to not let it get to her

“Would you like some milk for your tea? Sugar? Or I could fix you a slice of lemon if you want?”

Fluttershy’s smile had Blue swallow down the snarky comment she had, instead she just nodded

“Um, some sugar would be nice. Thanks.”

“Coming right up!”

While Fluttershy poured her tea and added sugar and even fucking stirred for her, Pinkie Pie put some of the pastries in a plate for her and set everything within reach. Then the two of them just stood there and looked at her like they had to feed her

“Do you need anything else? Maybe another pillow for your back? If you don’t like the tea, I could make something else, maybe coffee or hot cocoa or…”

“NO! It’s fine, really, so just sit down and stop fucking staring at me.”

Pinkie Pie wilted down and Fluttershy turned away from her, scared by her angry call, so Blue immediately felt bad and pinched her brow with her good hoof

“Listen, I appreciate the sentiment, but I don’t need you to treat me like a baby or an invalid or whatever. I can pour my own fucking tea and I don’t need a dozen pillows or any big fuss.”

Blue looked down and sighed

“I hate it when people make a fuss about me.”

“What’s a ‘people’?”

Blue rolled her eyes, but Pinkie’s question was innocent enough

“People, ponies, whatever. I hate when anyone acts like I can’t handle my own stuff.”

Blue didn’t dare to look at first, but the clink of porcelain when Fluttershy set down her cup had her look up again. Fluttershy didn’t seem angry or scared, from the looks of it, she seemed calmer than before

“You know, I think you got it all wrong. But that’s okay.”

Blue glanced at Pinkie Pie who said nothing for a change and let Fluttershy have the stage, so she turned back to her

“And what did I get wrong?”

Fluttershy smiled and waved her hoof at the table with tea, the pastries and the whole room

“All of this? I would have done the same even if you weren’t hurt. For you or for any of my friends. I don’t need a special reason to do something nice for my friends.”

Pinkie Pie nodded and chimed in

“Making a friend smile is more than enough! We’re not doing it to make you feel bad!”

“On the contrary! We just want to have a nice afternoon with you. And when we offer to do something nice for you, it’s not because we think you can’t do it, it’s because we simply want to do it. There doesn’t have to be any other reason.”

Blue just stared at them, wide-eyed and mouth hanging open. Then she looked away, feeling even worse for yelling at them earlier, but Fluttershy touched her good hoof. Their eyes met, and Fluttershy still smiled. Because she understood how hard this really was for Blue, but she didn’t mind. Even if Blue had a slip-up along the way.

“You don’t have to be strong and hard all the time, Blue. It’s okay to let yourself be weak for a little while.”

Blue nodded, and sighed deeply. And felt a huge ton of tension fall off her from one moment to another. After all that happened the last couple of days, the storm, the hospital, all those visitors, and the ponies in town, it felt good to stop caring for a while and just relax. With her friends who wouldn’t mind at all.

Pinkie Pie nudged the plate with pastries a little closer towards Blue before taking a cupcake for herself, while Fluttershy poured in tea for Pinkie and herself. Just like nothing had even happened. It gave Blue another moment to compose herself.

Finally, she took her cup for a sip. Despite how much it smelled like roses, it tasted pretty good after all.

“Hey guys? Thanks.”

Pinkie Pie chirped a “You’re welcome!” through her cupcake and Fluttershy just smiled like before, like she understood all the things Blue wanted to say but didn’t have the right words.

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie started chatting about something, Blue didn’t even pay much attention, but the whole underline tension that had been there since she sat down, was suddenly gone. Well, maybe not entirely gone, but it wasn’t as present anymore. It was just three friends hanging out, nothing more really.

The tea party went on without any other hick-ups. Fluttershy was a perfect host, but of course she was also the Element of Kindness, so she couldn’t help fuss over Blue a little more than was necessary, like she would with a hurt animal. Blue on the other hoof managed to accept the little extra fuss, because she knew Fluttershy would probably do the same for Rainbow Dash if she was sitting in her place with a broken wing. They found a balance between them without saying anything, and Pinkie Pie kept them entertained with stories about all the ponies she had met during the last couple of days.

By the time Blue and Pinkie Pie said their goodbyes and walked back into town, Blue figured it had been a good day after all. Sure, not being able to fly sucked, but it wasn’t really that bad. Having her friends fuss over her was not what Blue really wanted, but it wasn’t that bad either. Pinkie Pie didn’t seem to mind walking a bit slower, and Blue could accept that little bit of consideration, now that it wasn’t as ‘in your face’ as before.

It was still a strange concept that these ponies she’d only known for a little while would care about her like that. Even stranger, that the ponies in town who didn’t know her at all would feel bad for her just because she got hurt. Blue wasn’t great at dealing with attention, because any attention usually meant bad attention before, from teachers, bullies, social workers, principals, and so on. She would have never imagined that getting positive attention would be even harder to deal with.

When they reached town, it wasn’t as crowded as it had been earlier today, but there were still enough ponies hanging around. Instead of making ‘the face’ again, Blue this time forced herself to look at them first instead of jumping to conclusions. They were watching her, still, but nobody started pointing at her. There was some mumbling behind her back when she passed, but no sign that they were badmouthing her.

Then she made eye contact with somepony, and they waved at her. They even smiled. So she waved back. It wasn’t an obnoxiously long wave. It wasn’t some embarrassingly odd moment. They waved, then they walked past each other, and nothing bad happened.

Pinkie Pie grinned at her like a filly in a candy store who just had been told she could have anything she wanted, for free. On instinct, Blue just acted like nothing had happened, it was just that natural for her, and Pinkie went along with it. Maybe Blue could get used to this, but it wouldn’t happen in a day. Pinkie knew this, but she wasn’t worried. She’d gotten Blue to smile once, and she could do it again. There wasn’t any need to hurry what would happen all on its own, after all.

---

Cloudsdale was a breath-taking view for anypony, but especially for Blue who was still overwhelmed by this whole magical world. An entire city made of clouds that circled over Equestria and brought weather to every region and inhabited by pegasus ponies.

There was a residential district with tall cloud buildings, stores, and shops, but Blue wasn’t here for sightseeing. The captain had sent her over as her first ‘assignment’ after her accident. The doctor had deemed her good enough to fly, but apparently, she still needed ‘flight clearance’ from the higher-ups in the weather central, which meant going to Cloudsdale.

So that’s where she was headed, without any delay. Despite not having any reason for it in this world, she still hated government appointments and all that stuff, so she just wanted to get over with it as quickly as possible.

The place wasn’t hard to find and soon enough, she was sitting in some generic waiting area. If it hadn’t been made of clouds, the place could have been in any office building on Earth and not stand out. It was so uncomfortably familiar that Blue couldn’t help but feel antsy.

Lucky for her, she didn’t have to wait too long. The secretary was friendly and took her to some office in the back. The guy in the office was friendly, asked her how she felt and how the flight had been, made a few notes on a form she had to sign, and that was it. She saw a long report about the night of the storm and the accident, which she had to confirm and sign as well.

And that was it. Blue almost felt annoyed that she had to fly to Cloudsdale for this, but she was more relieved that the appointment had gone smoothly.

Until she heard a loud yell from some other office. Her ears perked up for a moment, but she shook her head. Nah, that’s impossible. I must be imagining things.

She walked back towards the exit, but as she was about to wave her goodbye to the secretary, she frowned and called her back

“I’m sorry Ocean Shore, but something else has come up. Something doesn’t match up with your paperwork on our end, and I’m afraid we need your help to figure this out.”

Blue immediately felt a cold shiver running down her back. She knew that Princess Twilight and the other princesses had fudged her official paperwork a bit, so it wouldn’t seem like she just appeared out of nowhere at the age of sixteen (even if that was true). However, she didn’t know what they had done exactly, so if someone asked the wrong questions and she gave the wrong answers, she might get not only get herself into trouble, but Princess Twilight as well.

Trying to not show any if it, she walked up to the secretary’s desk

“What’s the problem? Something with the stuff from the hospital?”

The secretary shook her head

“No, that’s all fine. There seems to be a problem with your pre-employment examination.”

Probably because I never had one. Shit.

“And, um, what’s wrong?”

She pushed a few papers around so Blue could see and tapped on one line

“Looks like you never had your psych evaluation.”

Blue frowned and tilted her head

“That’s a thing?”

“Yes. It’s standard procedure for any weather worker, in fact. So you never got by your branch in Ponyville?”

Blue, mad at herself for her slip-up, shrugged her wings, feigning ignorance

“Nope, can’t say I do.”

“Hm. Well, as bad as that is, you are lucky. You can get it done right here with us, today in fact. Unless that’s a problem?”

The way she looked at her told Blue that she didn’t really have a choice, so she shook her head

“I guess not.”

“Good. I’ll be right back.”

Blue only had to wait for about another ten minutes, before she was sent to another office. Since the secretary wasn’t with her this time, she instead knocked on the door. Only to get yelled at from the other side

“Get your lazy ass in already. I ain’t got all day!”

Blue froze up for a moment, but not from fear. She froze up from surprise, but mostly, from anger. She could feel her blood boiling and the edge of her vision turned red. She recognized that voice, and she had hoped she would never hear it again. No fucking way.

She threw the door open with more force than was necessary, and to her disappointment she didn’t hear the loud bang she was hoping for, because the wall was made out of clouds.

And to her bigger disappointment, she immediately recognized the stallion who was glaring at her.

It had to be Bitter Leaves, sitting behind a tiny desk in a tiny office. There was no doubt about it. She had recognized the voice but didn’t want to believe it, until she saw him. She was gritting her teeth and her wings flared up aggressively. She was ready to just charge at him and deck him with punches, but somehow managed to hold herself back in the last moment. Chill. It’s not him. He just looks like him.

Bitter Leaves didn’t notice any of Blue’s attempt to calm herself

“Took your sweet time. Get in and close the door behind you. Take a seat.”

Blue gritted her teeth so hard it hurt, but she did as she was told. He might not be the same guy she knew, but he sure acted like him. Maybe being a jerk was just something he was born with.

“Let’s not beat around the bush: You know why you’re here and frankly I don’t know why I’m even wasting my time on you. You broke the rules and I’d be doing the world a favour if I just kicked you out of the weather patrol for good.”

Blue’s wings snapped open with an angry flap that blew most of the papers on the desk into every direction, but she didn’t see that as she glared at Bitter Leaves with all her might

“What the fuck? Are you serious?”

Bitter Leaves glanced at her, taking in all the signs of Blue’s rage, and ignoring them

“You’re angry a lot, aren’t you? Somepony like you who can’t keep her cool doesn’t belong in my weather patrol.”

“Fuck you, asshole. You don’t know shit about me. What gives you the right to judge me?”

Blue tried, really hard, to keep her anger in check, but it was near impossible. The way he talked, the way he acted, him paying judgement on her without even talking to her, it was just all so familiar. All her angry feelings she thought she had let go came back with the force of a freight train and she wanted nothing more than to punch this pony until there was nothing left that would remind her of his face.

Bitter Leaves didn’t know about Blue’s inner fight, instead he started getting angry himself

“I’m the one who’s in charge! I’m the one who makes that decision! And I don’t care what your patrol captain said in her report! I know exactly what kind of pony you are. You think you’re a big shot, the hero of your little town, and you’d do anything for the next big thrill, even if it puts ponies in danger. Not on my watch you won’t!”

Blue gritted her teeth so loud that he had to hear it by now, but by some miracle she kept herself from shouting. Still, what Bitter Leaves said rubbed her terribly the wrong way, and she couldn’t let it stand

“That’s not what happened!”

He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs in front of his chest

“And I’m just supposed to believe that? I know wannabes like you. You’d say anything to save your own neck. Maybe you’d even keep it together for a couple of weeks. But then you’ll feel that itch again, that urge to do something ‘heroic’. So that ponies would come and admire you some more.”

Blue, frustrated and angry, slammed her hooves on the desk

“Stop talking like you know me! You’ve never met me before today! You don’t know shit about me! I never wanted to be a hero! I never asked for it. I just saw that colt falling and I reacted. Should I have just let the kid hit the ground?”

Bitter Leaves watched her fit of rage, unimpressed, and kept staring at her while she tried to get her breath back to normal.

“Sit down, newbie.”

“Fuck you! I don’t wanna hear any more of your…”

“Sit! Down!”

Blue slumped into the chair and kept glaring, her wings still flared out aggressively. Something had changed in the way Bitter Leaves looked at her, and she didn’t know what to think about it. Another minute passed, and then he started talking again, dangerously calm this time

“Why did you join the weather patrol?”

“Why do you even care?”

“Just answer the damn question, for Celestia’s sake!”

Blue’s glare didn’t fade, but she stopped shouting at least

“No real reason. I was looking for a job and a friend recommended it to me. I picked it up quickly, and so I stayed with it. End of story.”

“Who was that friend that recommended you, that even your patrol captain just accepted you without any entrance exam?”

Blue’s glare turned icy cold behind a smug grin

“Her name is Princess Twilight Sparkle. I’m sure you’ve heard of her.”

Bitter Leaves’ eyebrow rose, but Blue was too confident this time, so he didn’t even bother questioning it.

Instead, he slumped back into his chair

“Do you know how many trainees come to me every year? Who want to become the next Rainbow Dash, or the next Spitfire or the next Wind Rider?”

Blue shook her head

“I’ve never even heard of them before I arrived in Ponyville.”

“Bull. You’re telling me you never heard of the Wonderbolts? Every little pegasus dreams of becoming the next big star or hero as soon as they pass their first flying exam.”

Blue rolled her eyes

“I grew up in a place where nopony could fly. Including me. I’ve never heard of Wonderbolts or weather patrols or fricking Rainbow Dash before Princess Twilight introduced me. This is not some steppingstone to be a stuntpony for me, it’s just a job.”

Bitter Leaves’ eyes never left her, and reluctantly he nodded

“Yeah, maybe. Those trainees I mentioned? They do stunts like you, just to prove themselves. They are so eager to be the next big hit. Some are so overeager that they cause problems, just so they can be the ones who swoops in and saves the day. Just like you did.”

“I didn’t cause that fucking storm. And I didn’t make Rumble fly after his brother just so I could save him. How sick do you have to be to do something like that?”

Bitter Leaves glared turned harder than stone from one moment to another

“That’s why I’m here. To make sure sickos like that don’t get into positions where ponies’ lives depend on them. Or where they get access to lighting storms just so they treat it like a toy and play around with it.”

Bitter Leaves turned around and leaned down to pick up some of the files Blue had blown off, and suddenly Blue felt sick to her stomach. Right where his left wing should have been, all Blue could see was a rough stump with just a few feathers. It didn’t look fresh, in fact it looked like this injury was very old.

Blue didn’t say anything when Bitter Leaves turned back and put the wing out of her view again, glancing at the report he had picked up

“Your captain says you figured out a way to neutralize the storm, and that it had to do with you being angry.”

Still lost for words, Blue just nodded as Bitter Leaves slammed his hoof on the desk, but not as hard as he had before

“That’s a dangerous talent. Especially if you have no idea what you’re doing.”

Blue looked down, away from Bitter Leaves

“I just did it. There wasn’t really much more to it. And besides, nopony got hurt.”

Bitter Leaves hoof slammed on the desk again, loud enough to make Blue snap up

“Nopony got hurt, huh? Then what’s this?”

He pushed another report into the centre of the desk so Blue could see it as well

“Grade three sprain of the right wing, multiple minor sprains in the outer ligaments, three bruised ribs, grade two sprained left-front hoof, several cuts and bruises… you call that nothing?”

Blue stared at the report and shook her head

“Well, not but… that’s… that’s just me. Nopony important got hurt.”

“Keep saying stuff like that, and I’ll make sure you’ll never fly for the weather patrol again!”

Bitter Leaves glared at her full force again, but Blue was rendered speechless

“It’s my job to make sure nopony gets hurt doing their job. Including the weather ponies themselves. If you value your own health so little, how can I trust you to take your job serious? What if on the next storm, you do the same thing again and get hurt really bad?”

Blue couldn’t help but glance at his right wing, or rather what remained of it, but she shook her head

“I didn’t do it on purpose. No wait, that came out wrong: I wanted to save the colt, and I wasn’t trying to get hurt, but we were gonna hit that tree, so I’m glad it was me and not him.”

Bitter Leaves watched her closely for a full minute, but somehow Blue wasn’t as annoyed anymore.

When he finally looked away from her, he still acted like a jerk, but again, it didn’t bother Blue as much as before

“Get lost, newbie. And if I ever get a report like this about you again, I’ll ground your ass for life. Got that?”

Blue didn’t trust her words right now, but her wing flexed to a quick salute. That seemed to be all he needed, since he started sorting his papers and completely ignored her.

Blue thought about saying something, but she decided not to push it. If he was anything like her, he wouldn’t enjoy having his past brought up by total strangers. So she made it back to the door instead Just as she was about to close the door behind her, he called after her
"And newbie? You might want to look into some anger-management classes. Might save you some embarrassment for the future."

She turned around to look at him, but he was already back at his papers and didn't even bother looking up. With no good reply for what he just said, Blue finally opened the door, but not before getting another glance at his right wing, or rather what remained of it. She felt shivers running down her spine.

I wonder what happened. I wonder if that’s the reason he acts like this. I wonder if anything ever happened to Bitter Leaves on Earth that…

Blue shook her head and forcefully stopped her train of thought.

“It’s not the same. That jerk just acted like a dick and went out his way to make my life miserable. I won’t make excuses for him just because his counterpart is not as bad.”

She turned around and walked back to the secretary to pick up her paperwork, then left. She had planned to do some sightseeing around town, but she wasn’t in the mood for that anymore. She ended up just flying down some random street until she saw a little diner on a corner. Deciding that would be better than just flying around aimlessly, she landed on the cloud street and walked in.

The bell at the door chimed on her entrance, and she heard a voice from the back telling her to pick a seat and that somepony would come take her order in a minute. Blue found herself a small table in the back that would allow her to watch outside, but she wasn’t really paying attention to anything. In her mind, she was still busy processing all that had happened.

“What can I get you, hon?”

Blue looked up, and did a double take

“Milk Tea?”

The mare laughed and shook her head a little

“Is that what you want to order, or do we know each other?”

Blue blinked and shook her head

“Um, no, I… uh, I’ll just have some coffee, please.”

“Sure thing, hon. You’d like something with that? Maybe a bite to eat?”

Blue glanced through the diner and just now realized how familiar it looked, so she couldn’t help but grin

“Hm, how about a grilled cheese?”

The mare chuckled and winked at her

“Ah, so you have been here before, huh? Hey Grilled Cheese! Fire up one of your specials for me, will you?”

The last call towards the kitchen was answered by a familiar voice that made both Blue and Milk Tea laugh again.

Feeling a lot less awkward, Blue ended up staring outside again, watching ponies fly by through the busy street, even though the diner was almost empty and very calm. It made for a welcome contrast to the office, so Blue just let her thoughts wander for a while.

“First time in Cloudsdale for you, is it hon?”

Blue glanced up as Milk Tea put down a mug in front of her and tucked the tray under her wing

“What gave me away?”

“You have that wide-eyed look like everypony who sees the city for the first time. Can’t say I blame you, Cloudsdale is a great place after all.”

Blue chuckled politely with Milk Tea

“You’ve been living here for long?”

“All my life. I’ve visited other cities, like Canterlot, but somehow this place is the only place that feels right, you know what I mean?”

Blue nodded absently, eyes back on the outside

“Yeah. I know what you mean.”

“And what town is that for you, hon?”

Blue laughed at the rather elaborate way of asking where she lived

“Ponyville.”

“Ah, I see. Moved there because of all the stories, huh? Rainbow Dash, Princess Twilight, all that stuff.”

Blue grinned and shook her head

“Not really. I moved there with my sister. She’s an earth pony.”

“Ah, pity. So she’ll never see how great Cloudsdale is.”

Blue just shrugged her wings at that

“Ponyville is a nice town, too.”

“Oh sure, I never meant it like that. Enjoy your coffee, hon, I’ll be right back with your food.”

Milk Tea walked back towards the kitchen again, not noticing how Blue watched her. She seems nicer than her counterpart. I wonder how she would react if she learned about my past.

Blue laughed to herself and shook her head. Milk Tea would either not believe her or freak out if she knew a human was sitting in her diner.

It’s not the same. It’s just familiar. And I’m not the same anymore either. I don’t have to keep comparing everything all the time.

It didn’t matter that she knew Milk Tea, Grilled Cheese or even Bitter Leaves from before. They didn’t know about her past, they only saw the mare she was today. And that was okay. Maybe she’d see them again, or maybe not, but it was up to her in the end. She didn’t have to prove anything, to them or to herself.

Blue took a sip from her coffee and smiled. It was probably the best coffee she’d had in Equestria so far. Okay, maybe I will come back here sometime. Maybe.

Comments

[Whisper Spirit]

...How did you make me like Bitter Leaves?

[TalkingToMyself]

11191986
Why one of them?
They are separate entities in my head, and just because the pony version might not be as bad doesn't mean you can't still dislike the chapter 12 version.

[Whisper Spirit]

11192075
You showed the possibility EG Bitter Leaves might have had a reason for acting the way he did. I still want to strangle EG Bitter Leaves but I like his pony counterpart.