An Unexpected Solution
It was a long, cold winter that year…
That was the same year poor Rainbow Dash realized too late that Tank, that clumsy green tortoise with a big heart, Dash’s best friend and one-and-only pet, could not spend the winter season with her, but instead had to hibernate as nature dictated, to ensure his survival.
(It was also the same year Dash had gone overboard in her efforts to keep him, by attempting to stop winter by sabotaging the Cloudsdale Weather Factory. Needless to say: she turned herself in, was arrested, tried & convicted, but let off with community service, probation & group counseling, instead of being forever banished off-world. Also needless to say, it was all an experience Dash deeply regreted, and hoped never to repeat.)
By now a few weeks had passed since Tank entered his hibernation burrow, in a mound beneath a bare tree by the ice pond. Rainbow had been visiting faithfully each week, talking to him through the thick white layer of snow on the mound, and reading more Daring-Do adventure books to him. It was the highlight of her week each time, and that gave her some solace and reconciliation to this…well, this…difference in paths she and her friend now had to take.
The rest of each week, however, was anything but high for Equestria’s fastest flyer. Rainbow Dash had grown so used to having Tank around, she’d forgotten what her life was like before, without a pet. So now, when she wasn’t busy herding snow clouds, or helping her Mane 6 friends, or visiting Tank’s burrow, Dash was keenly feeling the emptiness, left by Tank’s absence.
Snowball fights and solo hockey games, lost their appeal.
Singing Hearth’s Warming carols by herself, grew stale.
Party-of-one fireside hot apple cider sippings, tasted bland.
Even flopping on her back in the snow and making pony snow-angels, seemed a dull pastime.
And it didn’t escape the notice of all her Mane 6 friends… (Especially Fluttershy.)
So, now was ‘truly the winter of Rainbow Dash’s discontent,’ to paraphrase the ancient Pony Bard.
Dash was in a serious funk, and she knew it. But how to break out of it, she had no idea.
***
One day, Rainbow Dash tried building a snowpony, but she soon found she was just going through the motions without enjoying it. After topping it with a head and staring at it for a while, she turned about-face and bucked the whole thing down with her hind hooves! Then, after neighing a frustrated & bored GROAN out loud in no particular direction…Dash turned back around, nosed through the pile of ex-snowpony…and found & ate the carrot nose, CRUNCHING LOUDLY out of spite.
>SCREEEEEEECH!<
At this, Rainbow Dash froze between chews, opened her rosy eyes wide, and straightened up. She paused…listening, craning her ears all about…
>SCREEEEEEECH!<
It sounded again. Dash looked up, then turned her head left, then right, flinging orange bits of carrot off in each direction, but saw nothing. Frustrated again, she lowered her head, ears drooping, and moaned with a mouth still full of crunched carrot.
>SCREEEEEEECH-----POOM!<
Now, whatever was making that sound came swooping down from behind and knocked Dash in the mane!
Rainbow pitched forward and PLOOF, landed face-down in the snow, all four legs & both wings splayed out!
Now annoyed, Rainbow Dash quickly got back up, and P'TUI—spat out the chunks of carrot!
“HEY, what’s the big idea?” the blue Pegasus retorted, searching around angrily.
No answer.
Dash snorted like a bull. Then she spread her wings, and flapped up to mid-height with the trees!
“Okay, that’s it! You ‘wanna fight, let’s FIGHT! Come on, where are ‘ya? SHOW YOURSELF!”
she challenged.
>SCREEK!<
Dash looked turned in the direction of the sound, and saw-----a large, regal-looking bird, perched in one of the bare trees. It had two-toned brown feathers, pearl black eyes, and a strong yellow beak and talons. It didn’t seem at all affected by the cold or the snow.
>SCREE-SCREEK!< It seemed to answer.
Dash fluttered down to land at the foot of the bird’s tree, and stared curiously up at the creature,
her eyes wide and her mouth puckered into a small “O”.
After a beat or two, Dash said: “OH…hey, I remember you. The falcon, right? You were the first runner-up in the Ghastly Gorge race, for my ‘Best Pet’ contest at Fluttershy’s place.”
The falcon nodded in confirmation.
“(Heh) You almost became my new pet…” Dash recalled, and at this, blushed and hung her head.
“Um…yeah, sorry about that…” she apologized, “…but I did say: ‘whoever crosses the finish line with me, would be my new pet.’ And Tank did save me from being pinned forever under that boulder in the big rockslide…so I kind’a felt I owed him for that. You understand, right?”
The falcon cocked his head to one side a bit, then nodded again.
“(*Whew*) Thanks…” said Dash.
In the next instant, though, the falcon fluttered down, landed in the snow to one side of Dash, and craned down to peer at the ground. He then flapped up & perched on the blue Pegasus’ back, and looked around left & right. Then he flapped down to the ground on the other side of Dash, and scanned the ground again.
Not sure what the bird was getting at, Dash could only wrinkle her brow and watch in silence.
At last, the falcon looked back up at Dash, held his wings out wide in a shoulder-shrug, and peeped questioningly.
“Huh? OH…where’s Tank now?” Dash translated.
The bird nodded.
“(*Sigh*) Leave it to me, good ol’ bonehead Rainbow Dash to overlook one crucial fact about tortoises…” said Dash, now hanging her head and wearing a sour face, “…they have to hibernate for the winter! Just like bears, bats, and…other…thingies…”
Now Dash’s face went from sour, to sad.
“Anyway, I had the whole winter planned for Tank & me: hockey games, the Hearth’s Warming Eve pageant, sipping hot apple cider by the fire----everything! (*Sigh*) But that whole plan got canned, all ‘cause Tank’s ‘gotta go take his ‘long winter’s nap.’ Fluttershy said: 'Rainbow Dash, your winter is going to be...PETLESS!' Made me cry my eyes out in front of all my friends! And in front of Tank.
It wasn’t pretty…”
Feeling heavy hearted all over again, Dash nestled down on the snow, crossed her forehooves, and rested her chin on them.
“I even tried to stop winter from coming, just so I wouldn’t have to let the little guy go. Hmph. Some plan that was. Didn’t work, of course. So…now he’s snoring away in his snow mound under a tree, and I’m right back to Square One. I know it’s just for one season out of the whole year, I know he’ll come back next spring, but still…(*sigh*)…I hate to have to wait, and I hate waiting alone! (*Sob*)”
Dash grimaced, forcing herself not to cry again, but a warm tear trickled down her face, anyway.
Without flying, the falcon walked over close to Rainbow Dash, and bent down, touching his forehead to hers in sympathy.
"(*Giggle* Sniff...) Thanks, pal… Guess I chose the wrong pet after all, huh?”
The falcon put a wing tip to Dash’s cheek, and shook his head ‘no.’
“No?” asked Dash.
With his other wing, the falcon placed a tip to his own chest, then shrugged sheepishly.
“You mean…if it were your choice…you’d have done the same?”
The bird nodded.
“Hmph…guess everyone’s got a soft spot for the little guy. No matter what got thrown at him, or how badly he did, he just kept on trying, and never gave up…”
At this, Rainbow Dash dried her eyes, and got to her feet again.
“…Guess that why…even if I did pick out another pet…I could never just walk away from Tank. I 'gotta be there for him, when he wakes up next spring.” She stared off into the distance, in the direction of Tank’s mound. Her rose-colored eyes appeared both glassy and steely, fixed with a firm conviction.
Still…she could feel a small weight land on her back, with pointed claws. Dash turned her head around
to see the falcon perched proudly on her back again, just like at the end of the Ghastly Gorge race.
“Hm? You mean…you’re…okay with that? Really? I mean…you don’t have to fly south for the winter, like other birds?”
The falcon shook his head, then crouched & spread out his wings! He launched off Dash’s back and dove for a far spot on the ground, landing and pecking quickly at it with his beak! He repeated this action several times over, picking random spots all around the clearing. Once finished, he darted back to Dash and perched on her back again, turning to rub his beak clean under his wing. Dash watched him all the while with rapt attention.
“Oh…I get it. This is your regular hunting ground, year-round! You don't have to migrate to find food! (Heh) And you certainly don’t have to hibernate to get through the winter. Plus you’re fast, agile, maneuverable, a great flyer, and you still look super-cool!"said Dash, summing everything up.
The falcon puffed out his feathered chest, and held his regal head high, peeping proudly.
After another beat, Rainbow Dash lifted a forehoof to her mouth, coughed & cleared her throat, and kindly asked:
“So…you still ‘wanna be my new pet? Just for the winter?”
The falcon seemed to pause, turning his head & scratching under his beak with a wingtip, as if thinking about it… then cawed in the affirmative!
"YES! THANK-YOU-THANK-YOU-THANK-YOU-THANK-YOU! AWESOME!!" said a JUBILANT Rainbow Dash, running in place and beating her wings in excitement, causing the falcon to take to the air & hover-flap until she settled down again.
“(*Ahem*) Okay-okay, yes, I’m cool, I’m fine…” said Dash, tucking her wings back in, as the falcon re-perched on her back.
“Okay, hmmm…” Dash now queried, putting a hoof to her chin, “…now what’s a good pet name for a falcon? Hmm… Well…technically, you did win the Ghastly Gorge race, even though you lost the Best Pet contest… Still, you were a very good sport about it, as I recall. Hmm…good sport… (*Gasp*) Say… THAT’S IT!"
The bird peeped again, questioningly.
Rainbow Dash straightened up, turned to the bird, and asked: “My feathered friend,
I do believe I have picked out the perfect pet name for you. What do you say…. SPORT?”
She emphasized the name with a sly wink.
The falcon considered for a moment…then SCREECHED with delight!
At the same time, of course, he launched skyward, spread his wings, then power-dove, opened his talon claws…and SHOOP, swiped the red stocking cap off of Rainbow Dash’s head!
“HEY, WHAT THE--?” Dash reacted, raising a hoof to her exposed mane.
But she soon got the message…and grinned devilishly.
“Ooooh…Want a race rematch, do ‘ya?” said Dash, crouching low, spreading her own wings,
and winding up her tail for the jump. “Bring it…ON!”
BOOSH! In a burst of color, wind and speed, Rainbow Dash catapulted skyward, a streak of seven color bands trailing behind her! The trees swayed and lost a few bits of snow in her wake.
And for the rest of that afternoon, Rainbow Dash & Sport had a ‘totally awesome’ time: chasing each other through the snow clouds, landing now and then for snowball fights, played ice hockey, made snow-angels, and even built a new snowpony & snow-falcon, just to knock them down again for fun. Happy neighs & screeches filled the air, well after sundown.
***
As Celestia’s Sun was setting, from a secluded spot between the snowbanks and bare trees, came a soft, high-pitched, breathy, contented sigh…issuing forth a small cloud of warm mist in the brisk evening air.
It was Fluttershy, with her white bunny-rabbit pal.
“You were right, Angel. Rainbow Dash’s winter doesn't have to be completely petless.”
The bunny grinned and chittered.
“Let’s go home by way of Sugarcube Corner. I hear Pinkie’s made some nice carrot cupcakes.”
Angel rode on Fluttershy’s back, twitching his whiskers and eagerly licking his bucked teeth, as the pink-haired yellow Pegasus (not wanting to risk flying with her precious pet in tow) gently walked hoof-by-hoof through the snow back to Ponyville, as Luna’s Moon slowly began to rise.
T H E E N D