Extra 2: It's My Party
Rainbow Dash awoke with none of the speed she was renowned for, groggily stumbling out of her luxurious cloud bed and releasing a protracted yawn. Though she had received more than adequate sleep and padded those hours with frequent naps, she was unaccustomed to waking up before noon. One of the perks of being the boss meant that the weather squad had to wait on her, not the other way around. So long as the job got done, her Cloudsdale supervisors rarely burdened her with their bureaucratic oversight.
She was up this early because Pinkie Pie had contracted her assistance in luring a certain introverted pegasus down to Ponyville for a long overdue welcoming party. River had sought gainful employment not long after Rainbow opened up her home to her, insisting that wallowing in her own self-pity for two months was long enough, as well as refusing to take advantage of Rainbow’s hospitality. While the chromatic pegasus had assured her it was no imposition, River insisted, and Rainbow immediately relented, once again believing that her “clone” had taken on some of her personality traits. In this case, her notorious bullheadedness.
Rainbow entered the bathroom and bucked a cloud positioned over the shower stall, cleaning the nightly grime from her coat and stepping out onto a once unclean, mildew-y bathmat. Rainbow reflected on how tidy her home had become since River moved in. When she initially could not provide bits for rent, she assumed responsibility over every single household chore, and held onto them with a frightening possessiveness.
The bathmat was now regularly washed, as was the furniture, the vanity, the toilet, the counter tops, and the refrigerator. Rainbow almost questioned her roommate about it once, disbelieving that this immaculate maid was once a famed warrior, but decided against reminding her of her old life. She still remembered those first few nights after River moved in. The night terrors and the screaming…
That was another thing Rainbow was hesitant to mention. While the two had established an amiable, sibling-like relationship, she knew when too far was just that. After all, Rainbow had done her fair share of boneheaded things between River’s arrival and now, and River had been cool enough not to use any of it as teasing ammunition; it was only right to return the favor. Not that the stoic pegasus frequently teased her, but still.
Rainbow shook herself dry and exited the bathroom. Normally she would be in the sky and flying irresponsibly fast to dry off, but she still had River to wake up. She approached the door to River’s bedroom and opened it without so much as announcing her presence. It wasn’t like she could knock on a cloud, after all. What she saw, however, perplexed her: The room was empty.
“Uh… River?”
The pony in question had awakened before the sun, just as she had when she was still a citizen of Runeterra. She liked to stretch, swing her sword through the air so that her body never became unaccustomed to its weight, and meditate. When she was a human, the purpose of her meditation was to cultivate a calm and level head, for hastiness lead to lapses in judgment that could easily get herself or another killed. Now she did it simply out of habit. River could not find that calm; it eluded her no matter how tightly she gripped.
Today was a bit different, because River had been tipped off to a surprise party being held in her honor.
River’s large ruby eyes revealed themselves from the center of a suspiciously located cumulonimbus. She had manually relocated it above Bon Bon’s confectionery, wanting to have a good position of reconnaissance throughout the entire day, as she intended to stay there until she was certain the little town was once again asleep. It shouldn’t be hard, she reasoned. After all, she was completely concealed and Pinkie Pie could not fly. Her plan was foolproof.
“Hey River.”
“Hello Rainbow Daaaaahhhhh… crap.”
“Yeah. Good job on hiding in the only cloud in the sky and not even tucking your tail in. You suck at this.”
River’s head poked out of the top of the cloud, bearing a disgruntled expression. “I’m about ready to chop that damn thing off…”
“Shouldn’t do that. Wouldn’t want all of Ponyville seeing your muff, right?”
“RARITY TOLD YOU?!”
From the ground, a distant, cultured voice responded: “I told everypony, darling!”
“I hate my life.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes, reached into the cloud, and yanked her roommate out by her fore hooves, flying in tandem back to the ground. “So, who spilled the beans?”
“I overheard Fluttershy yesterday. Pinkie Pie asked her too—”
“Why do you do that?”
River frowned. She didn’t like being interrupted. “Do what?”
“Call everypony by their full name. Even me. The only other pony who calls me ‘Rainbow Dash’ is ‘Twi or my mom, and you didn’t squirt me out and you’re not an egghead.”
River snorted. Rainbow Dash had a knack for being as boorish as was feasible.
“Whatever. Look, I gotta deliver you to that party tonight or else Pinkie will kill me, and you can’t let her know you know. When they all jump out and scream ‘SURPRISE!’ like idiots, you gotta look the part. Got me?”
River pondered her situation for a moment. She did not want to attend that party, despite her somewhat regrettable encouragement of Pinkie and her arranging of this little soirée. She wasn’t sure how she could avoid it, however. She could not out-fly Rainbow Dash, that was a certainty, but she also knew the dynamic mare had little knowledge of self defense, and though her own understanding of hand-to-hand combat was prodigious, she no longer had hands, and what she knew might not translate well to her new body.
There was, however, one time honored recourse: Deception.
After straining her mind to remember the names of each of Rainbow’s high-flying heroes, she pointed a hoof over the other ponies’ shoulder. “Hey Rainbow Dash… it’s Spitfire.”
“WHERE?!”
Rainbow whirled around so fast she made herself dizzy, but she saw no Spitfire. Her expression immediately soured and she turned back around. “That was a dirty trick Ri— … River?” She looked around the immediate area but saw no sign of the mocha-colored mare, and let out a sigh of frustration. “Buck me…”
River wasn’t terribly surprised that Rainbow had fallen for that. She was a tad gullible, but in an endearing way. She also knew that there was no resisting the call of the Wonderbolts, not after having sat through countless hours of fan girl gushing. River looked around the interior of the store she had ducked into, taking note of the merchandise: Records. All vinyl, which was appropriate considering the identity of the owner.
“HEY, it’s the new girl! ‘Sup?”
River had met Vinyl Scratch on a few occasions. They had never talked at length, primarily because River sought out ways to escape her relentless, cloying voice that brought to mind young urban males and an inability to use proper syntax. Had she thought to look at the sign above the door, she would have likely returned to Rainbow Dash in resignation.
“I’m… just browsing.”
“Wouldn’t mind normally, but I ain’t open yet.” Vinyl pointed at an analogue clock on the far right wall. “Still got ‘bout an hour.”
“Um…” River slinked over to the window by the door and gently parted the curtains, briefly observing Ponyville’s main thoroughfare and noticing that Rainbow Dash was no longer in sight. “That’s fine. I’ll come back later. Thank you.”
Most ponies didn’t consider Vinyl Scratch a mare of intellect. In fact, she was generally perceived exactly how she acted: Vapid, oblivious, and easily distracted. While there was some truth to that, her closer friends knew her for another trait, that of oftentimes surprising insight. “Tryin’ to get out of the party tonight, eh?”
River had been firmly entrenched in the latter group, so when Vinyl hit the proverbial nail on the head, she looked at the proprietor with a slack jaw. “How did you…?”
“Pinkie hired me to DJ tonight. Wouldn’t tell me what for; tryin’ to keep as few ponies in the know as possible, I guess. Wasn’t hard to put two and two together though, y’know? You’re the only pony in town she hasn’t thrown a shindig for, and it ain’t no big secret how antisocial you are.”
“I am not antisocial,” River growled, approaching the counter and the mare positioned behind it. “I just don’t like large crowds.”
“Or touching, or attention, or somepony holdin’ a door open for you…” Vinyl checked off a loose list of misanthropic traits she had observed River engaging in, punctuating each with one hoof striking the other.
“Or snap judgments.” River’s low voice was laced with rapidly growing anger.
“Whoa now, I ain’t lookin’ to start a fight,” Vinyl held up her hooves in an ingratiating gesture. “I’m jus’ sayin’ that maybe you should give it a chance. If you really aren’t as antisocial as you claim to be, why not prove my dumb flank wrong and rock that party? Show ‘em you’re not only not scared, but confident.”
River had opened her mouth to speak what she believed would be an inevitable and simple counter, but her voice did not come. Vinyl was right; she was running, just as she always had. She had fled from every one of her mistakes and while she always regretted it, sooner or later she would do it again. She was sick of this cycle repeating itself, and in this scenario, it wasn’t a fight or facing someone she had harmed: It was a party. A group of ponies she had come to consider friends, and as usual, she was being selfish and abrasive. What kind of despicable creature was she that she was actively avoiding someone who just wanted to make her feel welcome?
River lowered her head and released a long, remorseful sigh. “You’re right. I’ve been a horrible friend. They’re just trying to do something nice for me… and I’m treating it like a sickness.”
“Atta girl! You should swing on over to Rarity’s before tonight. Pick out somethin’ nice to wear. You got a flank worth shakin’, girl.”
River rolled her eyes, but a demure grin crept onto her lips. “Thank you, Vinyl Scratch. And… I’m sorry. I haven’t treated you any better.”
“Aw, it’s cool, girl. I’m jus’ happy I could help. Now you should go find ol’ Dashie before she starts rainboomin’ rooftops off lookin’ for you.”
River nodded in thanks. Though Vinyl appeared outwardly jovial, it was hard to discern her motivations. She was a truly surprising and secretive mare, especially when River had seen only her own reflection throughout their entire conversation. Vinyl’s purple sunglasses were never removed and were completely opaque.
River stood outside of Vinyl’s store for a few minutes, waiting for any sign of Rainbow Dash. When she saw the distinctive trail of colors approaching from the East, she took to the sky and intercepted her. Thankfully, Rainbow was on the lookout for River and was observant enough to stop before the two ponies’ collided.
“There you are! I can’t believe you ditched me! You know, Pinkie’s just trying to do something nice for y—”
“I know, and I’m sorry.”
“—ou. Wait, what? You’re apologizing?” Rainbow briefly lost altitude before shaking the cobwebs from her ears. “You never apologize. What happened?”
“I… had a talk with someo—er… somepony. They told me just what you were about to say, and you’re right. I’ve been selfish and ungrateful. I’ll attend Pinkie Pie’s party.”
It came as a surprise to neither mare that Rainbow was a bit disappointed by this news. She had coiled herself like a spring, ready and eager to pursue River throughout all of Equestria, for she was certain she’d be chasing her for the better part of the day. But the chill of the early morning was still in the air and worst of all, she had woken up early for essentially nothing.
“Well great. I’m going home before I pass out. Be ready at five.”
Rainbow Dash lazily reversed direction and fluttered off toward her nomadic house. River watched her until she was out of sight, then began her own leisurely journey toward a nearby bank of clouds. She landed with a nearly inaudible “pomf”, patted the surface flat for comfort, and took a seat in the closest thing to Indian style that her pony anatomy could emulate. She silently inhaled air, released it slowly, and shut her eyes, focusing on the meditation that she had skipped out on earlier.
Today, however, River felt different. Lighter. She attempted to empty her thoughts but she could not… not entirely. While she felt more at ease than she had in months, something just wouldn’t stop picking at her brain. It was an unfamiliar sensation but after dwelling on it, she identified it, and that brought about a contented smile.
It was eagerness. The cause? She was excited to see her friends, possibly for the first time. She wanted to thank them, to apologize to them, and to bask in their company. They never had an unkind word for her, never berated her decisions or mocked her rough transition into pony life. She had never had such close and loving companions and it made her heart swell.
Tonight, at Pinkie’s party, River would tell them so.
The day gave way into night. Rainbow Dash and River approached Sugarcube Corner willingly. Rainbow had initially concocted a ridiculous excuse to lure River into the bakery, but seeing as how the secret was out, she merely served as the guide.
The lights were predictably off when they two mares entered, but they were quickly flipped on and a chorus of “SURPRISES!” rang out. Her friends approached, embraced her, and she did not shy away.
“So, were you surprised? Huh, huh, huh? Were ya, were ya, were ya?!”
River looked deep into Pinkie’s eyes, then into the expressive depths of the eyes of her other friends. They were all smiling, awaiting her reply. By this point, she had expected to find herself in the middle of an apologetic tirade, begging their forgiveness for her attitude and the endless threats that she dolled out like sweets, but she saw no malice or impatience in their eyes. They accepted her, just like they had from the beginning.
To that end, River sniffled back a tear and nodded once in answer to Pinkie’s question. “… I had no idea.”
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So Vinyl Scratch is your Yoda..... WHY DOES THAT WORK?!
I guess its just the fact that nobody expects it to work that makes it work so well.
People tend to underestimate the stoners and easily distracted ones, we probably spent a lot more time thinking about the little stuff than most people.
Great work, I really liked how you used Vinyl in this chapter. She worked perfectly to bring everything together with her own unique flair which created a very sweet and distinctive chapter.
Lol, doobie.
God I hope I love this.
And this is one of the reasons:
You better believe that is the voice actor of Riven !
2231460
I know it is, but I think this is her normal voice; definitely not Riven's. Or even Vi's.
Yeah, she voiced Vi too.
2231600
Neat-o.
I could hear it well, that being that she is the voice actor of them. Even without knowing.
My friend showed me the video. He is not a brony, but he has known me for 5 years; he picked up on some stuff.
But I will try to read some of this after my D&D game tonight.
2232080
I look forward to your patronage.
Vinyl Scratch, the Dubsteppin', Octavia Teasing, Disco Diva.
Yoda, Kermit the Frog's Ancestor of the Future, thats a Jedi.
Seems Legit.