It Began With A Letter
Firelight
Chapter 1: It Began With A Letter
With a loud yawn, Lightning slowly stirred in bed as she woke from her sleep. Cracking open an eye to glance outside, the angle of the sun through her window told her it was still pretty early in the morning. Knowing she wasn’t about to fall back asleep at this point she rolled over, careful to avoid her still-injured wing, and flopped out of bed onto her hooves. Briefly running a hoof through her disheveled mane to keep it out of her face, she made her way out of the bedroom and down the hall to the kitchen. Her grandmother, Misty Showers, was already over the stove, and the scent of oat pancakes wafted through the air.
“Morning Grandma.” She yawned.
The sky-blue pegasus turned, smiling gently as she adjusted a large pair of glasses on her muzzle. “Good morning Dusty, did you sleep well?”
With a nod, and another yawn, Dust grabbed plates and glasses to set up the table. The two had shared breakfast for as long as Lightning could remember, and to her it was one of the most pleasant ways to start any day. “It kinda sucks not being able to sleep on my side because of the wing, but I did alright.”
Her grandma turned to continue cooking on the stove, but tilted her head slightly back towards her granddaughter as she spoke. “You know, the mailmare will be stopping by Hack Saw’s today.”
Lightning fidgeted in her chair, her good wing ruffling anxiously. “I know, I know. But what if she was just being nice, when she said to write? Maybe she didn’t actually mean it. What would I even say? ‘Hey sorry I almost got us crushed to death’?” Resting her chin on her forelegs, she let out a heavy sigh. “It’s not that I don’t want to, I guess I just don’t know how to.”
Bringing over a platter full of pancakes, Misty set them on the table, sitting opposite of her granddaughter. “She seemed like a very nice mare, and you said she sounded sincere.” Lightning didn’t answer, so she reached out and gently placed a hoof on her foreleg. “Dusty, dear, you know I worry about you. I just want to see my little fluffball find her happiness again.”
Blushing lightly at her foalhood nickname being brought out, Lightning rubbed the back of her neck with a free hoof. “I guess it’s hard to picture myself not screwing this up too, you know?”
With a chuckle, Misty leaned back in her chair. “Lightning, when I met your grandfather I was a waitress and had just spilled a plate of spaghetti onto his brand new suit during a business meeting. If that can be how we start, I’m sure you’re going to be just fine.”
Slowly taking a bite of pancake, Dust let out a quiet chuckle. “I guess what’s the worst that could happen.”
Tossing another wad of paper over her shoulder, she let out a heavy sigh and slumped. “This is the worst thing that could happen.”
She had started nearly a dozen different letters, and each of them now littered the ground around her. She had tried multiple ways of writing, sometimes using humor and other attempts keeping it serious and to the point. Every time she had rambled off, or written herself into a corner that felt pathetic and forced. Glancing out at the sky, she figured there were only a few minutes at this point before she missed the window. And without working wings, she’d be forced to either walk the distance or wait for another full week for the next mail delivery.
“Guess I just have to take whatever falls out of my muzzle at this point.” She mumbled, taking quill to paper one final time.
Hey Captain Spitfire,
I wasn’t sure if you were actually being serious about the whole “writing letters” thing, so I guess feel free to ignore this if you weren’t? This is all new to me… I guess I’ve been stressing over it for a while, cuz I wasn’t sure what to say or how to approach this.
But yeah, if you were serious, I guess this is the first letter then? I’m healing up pretty well, doc took a look yesterday, said I’m still on track to start flying again in a week. I’ll have to take it easy at first, but considering I’m still pretty underweight I shouldn’t be pushing it too much anyway.
Hope everything went fine in Canterlot. I heard the Pages are back where they belong, so no more crazy adventures going on. Hope that means it went well for you and the Princesses? And that no one else got hurt like we did.
I feel like I should write more, but I also don’t know what else to say? I’ll be out here for a while with my grandmother, I still have a lot of Thoughts going on, so I think I’m just rambling again now.
Anyway, yeah… uhm… it’d be cool to hear from you, if you were still interested in being friends. Does this sound needy? I feel like I sound needy. I’ve rewritten this letter like a million times but at this point if I don’t finish one I’ll miss the mailmare and it’ll have to wait a whole week. So uh, sorry if it feels weird. But you seemed pretty cool when we were chatting, and I think it’d be nice if we could keep doing that. Except in letters.
Best wishes. Good luck. Cool to be friends. Hope to hear from you soon.
-Lightning Dust
Reading it back over quickly, Lightning let out a heavy sigh and muttered to herself “Yeah, this sounds just as awful.” But like she had written, the mailmare would be grabbing the town’s mail any moment. Spitfire had enjoyed her raw, unfiltered self back in the cave, maybe writing like that would help them connect further? Shaking the thoughts from her head, she hopped up from her desk and headed back to the kitchen.
“Oh, you did it?” Her grandma asked from a large cushioned chair, a smile on her muzzle.
“I guess?” Dust responded, grabbing an envelope and stuffing it inside. “Honestly, it sounds pretty awkward when I read it…” she trailed off.
The older mare nodded a bit. “You always were uncomfortable around new ponies.” Lightning grimaced, remembering how her desire to overcome that discomfort had led to a personality that eventually got her booted from the Wonderbolts Academy. “A real friend will understand, just have a little faith in yourself Dusty.”
Putting the stamp and the Captain’s cutiemark on the back, she paused and looked down. “A real friend… she did say we were friends now, hugged me. I guess that should tell me what I need to know, huh?” A nod from her grandmother helped put her at ease, and she trotted towards the door. “Guess I won’t know until I try.”
Slipping outside, it only took her a few brief moments to quickly trot across the small village to her destination. Pinegrove didn’t have an official post office, an official anything really, so Hack Saw’s residence served as the de facto spot for most functions. In today’s case, it served as the gathering point for all the village’s outgoing mail until the weekly visit from the Equestrian Post Office. On rare occasion they would visit more frequently, but only if they had something marked ‘Priority’ to deliver: Pinegrove wasn’t exactly a hotbed of activity, after all.
As she approached the house, she saw the familiar blue vest denoting an employee of the EPO stepping out with a full bag of letters slung over her shoulder. “Hey!” She called out to get the mare’s attention. “One sec, I got another for ya.”
“Just in time, I was about to take off.” The pegasus replied, taking the letter from Lightning. Glancing at the back to make sure it was marked and stamped with postage, she slipped it in with the rest. “I’ll see you all next week then, take care!” And with that, she spread her wings and took off. Watching her fly off over the trees, Dust let out a heavy sigh.
“Guess I just wait now.”
Four days later
Lightning had spent most of the morning out behind her grandmother’s house, doing some of the old pre-flight stretches she had learned from her time at the Academy. She wasn’t supposed to fly just yet, she still had a few days left of healing, but she knew better than most that her wings and body needed to stay flexible regardless. As she was carefully finishing up with her injured wing, her ears perked up as Misty called from the doorway.
“Dusty! You got a letter! That nice mare wrote you back.”
Tilting her head, the mare turned to face her grandmother. “A letter? But we don’t get mail for another three days.”
With a smile, she flourished the letter in question. “Seems your friend sent it with a priority marker, so they made a special trip out. I’ll leave it on your desk for when you’re ready.” She disappeared back inside, leaving the younger mare alone with her thoughts.
Spitfire and mailed it priority? Sure, as the Wonderbolt Captain she probably had a lot of leeway to do that sort of thing. But was she really that interested in keeping in touch she’d go through the extra trouble? A small grin crossed her muzzle at the thought, and she sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. “Hopefully she won’t get in trouble doing that for personal mail.” Heading back inside, she paused for a moment to hug her grandma. “Thanks for pushing me into this, Gran.”
Patting her granddaughter’s back, the older mare smiled. “Anything to see you happy, Dusty.” With that, Lightning headed down the hall to her room.
Sitting down at her desk, she stared down at her own cutiemark inked onto the envelope, with Spitfire’s sitting in the upper corner with the gold-colored “Priority” sticker next to it. Taking a deep breath in both excitement and worry, she slid the envelope open, took out the letter, and began to read.
Hey Dust,
I was absolutely serious! I don’t feel like that cave situation is the sort of thing you go through with somepony and then just walk away. Probably the most awkward weird different way I’ve ever made a friend, but you seemed like a cool mare to get to know. Not many ponies are willing to open up about that sort of stuff, it takes a lot of courage, and I admire that.
It’s great to hear you’re healing up, I was hoping there weren’t any complications with the wing. After I got back to Canterlot and got everything sorted, I ended up grounded for a few days myself by the medic to finish recovering on my end, but by the time you get this I’ll probably be back in the air. Hopefully you won’t be too far behind on that, though I know wing injuries can really hold you back for a while.
The whole Pages situation is taken care of, wasn’t exactly the ideal ending I’d hoped for but at least they’re gone and no longer a problem. Or I guess no longer MY problem, which is sort of the same thing in my opinion. Everything’s back to normal now, which is a pretty big relief for us Wonderbolts; we don’t mind the adventures, but at the end of the day we prefer to show off our flying skills, you know?
Not to be presumptuous or anything, but we still have your file here from your physical at the Academy, and I got a pretty good look at you in the cave, so would you be alright if I passed it along to the nutritionist we have on staff? I’m sure he could work up a pretty good plan to get you back to a healthy weight. Offer’s there if you want it, I won’t force the issue, just thought I’d give you the option.
You have any plans once your wing heals up? Kinda curious what you get up to in your free time. I don’t get a lot of that around here as the Captain, but honestly I don’t mind too much. Like I said, the Wonderbolts are kind of like family, so it’s all worth it. And I enjoy the work and the shows and the flying.
Hope to hear from you soon!
-Spitfire
Sliding open a drawer on her desk, Lightning felt herself wiggle in excitement as she brought out paper and a quill. Cracking open the top on an ink vial, she dipped the quill in and began to write.
Hey Spitfire,
It’s good to hear from you again! I hope you won’t get in trouble for sending personal stuff on ‘Priority’, but I have to admit it makes me feel good to know you’re that interested with keeping in touch.
I’ve been doing extra stretches lately to make sure when the wing is good to go I can get back in the air pretty quickly. I’ll probably still be a little lopsided for a couple days after, while it gets back to 100%, but that won’t be a huge deal. Pretty used to flying under conditions that aren’t exactly “ideal”, after all.
Oh, uhm, I don’t want to put you out or anything, but if it’s not much trouble that’d be really neat. I know some of the basics of maintaining a healthy weight, but I have no experience coming back from the state I’m in. So yeah, if that offer is on the table I’d appreciate it a lot.
As you can probably guess there isn’t a lot to do around Pinegrove if you aren’t working with the loggers, so I’ve been trying to take it easy and get myself back together. You probably remember the cave well enough I don’t have to go back over it all… I have been stretching every day, getting some cardio in. And my grandma is making sure I have more than enough food, she’s been really great with all this. The mental stuff is probably going to take a while though...
Once I’m healed, I was thinking of hopping the train over to Ponyville. I heard they were looking for a few new weather ponies. I don’t know a lot about that stuff, but I’d be willing to learn. It’ll let me get some bits under my belt while I figure things out and finish getting back to actually healthy. I think I’m actually pretty close to your body type? Or was, I guess is the better word. I don’t get muscular, but I get a really nice toned look and feel like you do. I really like the way I used to look, not to sound weird about it, so I’d love to get back to form.
Ponyville is also along the train route to Canterlot, so if we ever end up with free time it’d be an easy visit. I know the ‘Bolts are traveling out west soon for a hoofull of shows, but maybe by the time you get back ponies won’t be able to see my ribs anymore!
Sorry, I use dark humor sometimes to help, lemme know if it’s a bit much.
I don’t know if the ‘Bolts mail gets forwarded when you’re out, so let me know if I should hold off on sending notes or something while you’re away. I’d hate to leave you with a pile to come back to.
Your friend,
Lightning Dust
Setting the personal letter to the side for the moment, Lightning pulled out another fresh sheet of paper. Taking a deep breath, and turning her mind professional, she touched quill to paper once more.
To: Ponyville Weather Department
My name is Lightning Dust. I saw in the paper recently that you were filling open positions on your weather team, and I wish to apply for a spot.
I do not have weather experience directly, however I have nearly six years of stunt-flying experience, which includes training at the Wonderbolts Academy. As such, I have had a good amount of training in creating and adhering to strict safety standards, including the handling of stunt-level Thunderclouds for theatrics. Flying at such a level means I am no stranger to a strict schedule, am able to follow directions directly and to the letter, and have the endurance for handling longer weather patterns.
I live at the nearby village of Pinegrove, and would commute as often as necessary to perform my duties. I understand that, as a farming town, there will be times that an “all hooves on” is necessary, and in such case would also be willing to rent a room when needed.
If you require any further information, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
-Lightning Dust
“Ugh.” Lightning grimaced, pushing it away as well. She disliked having to sound so professional, but also figured it wouldn’t hurt her chances. While she would have preferred to join up with stunt fliers again, her flying wouldn't be at that level for several months at least. Besides, if nothing else it’d give her a couple bits to help contribute to her grandmother, as well as help her get physically back into shape. She hummed for a moment, thinking back to her time at the Academy. Rainbow had said she’d been a part of the weather team, maybe she could use her as a reference? With a shake of her head, she dismissed the idea: she didn’t feel comfortable using somepony as a reference without asking first.
Plus the whole “balloon” incident with Dash’s friends.
Sealing both into separate envelopes and making sure to address each one correctly, Lightning placed them under her good wing. Mail wasn't picked up for three more days, and by the time she got a response back the following week she’d be able to fly again, so she wasn’t worried about meeting any criteria they might have. She was patient, she could wait, and the extra time to get back in the air would definitley be welcome with her wing.
Five Days Later
She had been shocked to get a reply almost immediately from the weather office of Ponyville, but that quickly changed to dread as she saw it was addressed from Rainbow Dash herself. Had Dash seen her name and just immediately turned her down? Tearing it open, she had been met with only five words on the paper:
Dust,
Come interview Sunday.
-Dash
And so, late Saturday night, she had taken the very short flight to a junction station out west and hopped on the train to Ponyville. Normally she would have just flown out early in the morning directly to the town itself, but that was off the table for another week or so while she got her previously injured wing back into shape. Even so, with practically no stops between the junction and Ponyville, the trip had been a relatively quick one.
Dust arrived a little after sunrise, and found a good portion of the town was already up and about for their day. Even though the ponies didn’t recognize her, that didn’t stop them from wishing her a ‘good morning’ or just giving her a pleasant smile and a nod for a greeting. Even being used to it from the folk of Pinegrove, it still caught Lightning off guard to find such sincere friendliness and familiarity in another town. She certainly wasn’t going to complain about friendly ponies being around, especially when all she was expecting was disaster.
One pony who did recognize her was one of Rainbow’s friends, a pink ball of vibrating energy that rivaled the sun itself.
“HI LIGHTNING DUST!” Pinkie yelled from behind her, causing the poor pegasus to jump in surprise. “Oh! Did you wanna have a jumping contest? That was a pretty good one you had there!”
Trying to still her racing heart, Lightning turned to face the pony. “Hi, uh…” she rubbed the back of her neck as she paused in thought, “sorry, I don’t remember actually learning your name.”
Pfft. “Oh that’s okay silly, you can learn it now! My name’s Pinkie Pie, and I am the premiere professional party pony of Ponyville!” How was her grin that big? On any pony else it would be very disconcerting. “So, whatcha doing here Dusty? Oh! Did you come to crash more balloons? I could help with that, as long as there aren’t ponies on board! Popping balloons can be just as fun as inflating them!”
With a heavy sigh, Lightning looked down and pawed at the ground. “Look, Pinkie, I am really sorry about that. I swear I-I’m not like that anymore.”
“Hmm, okay I believe you!” Dust looked up with confusion at the casual acceptance, hoping for a more detailed response, but all she was met with was Pinkie bouncing in place, humming happily. “So where are you headed? Need directions?”
She hesitated for a moment, but decided she may as well be upfront about it. “I saw the town needed weather ponies, and… well, I could use a job, so I was hoping I’d be a good fit.”
“Oh, you’re looking for the weather office! Let me show you.” Pinkie stuck a hoof straight down the road. “Okay, so take your first left,” her foreleg bent left “then you take your next right” without straightening out, the leg now also bent back to the right “and it’ll be right after the mail office on the left!” the foreleg bent left once more, the sight of the misshapen leg making Lightning queasy. After a moment it straightened out, and Pinkie smiled broadly. “Rainbow should already be there planning the showers for this week!”
Dust nodded, running her hoof through her mane. “Thanks, I’m sure I can find it from here.” Her stomach rumbled, and she realized she hadn’t actually eaten today. Still, the interview was too important to let herself get distracted from, she’d just find something later. Before she could take a step, a small box of donuts was suddenly in her hooves. “Where did…”
“Oh I have donut boxes hidden all over town!” Pinkie interrupted her. “You know, for donut emergencies! Good luck with the interview! Oh, maybe if you get in we can throw you a ‘welcome to the weather team’ party!” And with that, she hopped off down the road, humming a nameless tune to herself. Turning to the nearest pony on her left, a sunburn-orange pegasus, Dust opened her mouth in a silent question of what had just occurred.
“That’s just Pinkie Pie.” The mare said with a chuckle. “Don’t question it, you’ll get used to it.”
Lightning nodded slowly. “Guess that’s fair.” Taking one of the donuts out to munch, she set off down the road as the party pony had directed her. Not wanting to walk into the weather office with a mouthful of donut, she decided to slow her gait and take in the town around her. She had to admit, Ponyville had a really cozy feel to it. While it was certainly bigger than Pinegrove, she still felt the same sense of closeness and personability from the ponies around her. It was comforting to know that there were still other towns that kept the sense of community outside of her hometown.
It took her several minutes to wind her way down the dirt roads to the weather office, but thankfully as she drew closer it was hard to miss; mainly on account of the giant wooden sun and cloud that sat above the door. While it was only one story tall, the perimeter was actually quite large, the size of a few of the nearby houses slapped together. Wrapping her good wing around the box of donuts to hold them, she took a deep breath to steady herself before stepping inside.
The inside of the room she stepped into was surprisingly small for what was the main entrance to the facility, taking up only a tiny fraction of the building’s actual size. To her left sat what looked like a meeting room, a large and highly detailed map of Ponyville and the surrounding area set against the wall, markers with various names and symbols scrawled across the surface. Straight back from her was a pair of wooden doors, one of which was sitting ajar and looked like it led to a small office. The other was merely labeled ‘Warehouse’. Her ears perked up as a stallion to her right spoke up.
“Welcome to the Ponyville Weather Center, can I help…” Sitting near the entrance was a large wooden desk covered with paperwork and office supplies, behind it was the stallion that had spoken up. He was a pegasus with a very dark grey coat, a light cyan mane with white streaks that looked almost like a mohawk. Lightning recognized him from the Academy, but she had never actually learned his name. It was clear that he recognized her though, by the way his question had trailed off and the now-glare he was giving her. “What are you doing here, Lightning Dust?”
Great, that’s just great, I am so totally screwed. She had half a mind to just turn around and leave right then and there, call the entire attempt off. Shaking her head to try and clear out those worries, Dust decided to remain professional in the moment; there’d be time for an anxiety attack later. “I was asked by Miss Dash to come in for an interview about an open position on the weather team.”
She heard a chuckle float out of the office. “Miss Dash huh? Didn’t know you could sound so formal. Send her back, Thunderlane! She’s expected.” Staring her down a moment longer, Thunderlane jerked his head in the direction of the office, muttering something under his breath. Not wanting to cause a scene, Lightning merely trotted over to the open door without a word. She knocked on it twice, before slipping inside.
Rainbow Dash sat behind a wooden desk, a quill in her muzzle as she glanced over and signed multiple forms. Filing cabinets surrounded the room labeled as ‘weather data’ with a year and a season, some of them dating back to nearly a decade ago. A pair of chairs faced the desk itself, and the weather mare gestured to one of them with a foreleg. Taking the hint, Lightning shut the door behind her and sat down, waiting as calmly as she could while Rainbow finished signing the work in front of her.
Setting down the quill, Dash reached over and pulled out a file, flipping it open. “So, you’re looking to fill one of our missing weather pony slots. Doesn’t look like you have any experience with actual weather manipulation, but that’s what training is for. That being said, some of your work with stunt displays will carry over and make the process easier.” She flipped a page. “Your current residence is still in Pinegrove, are you planning to commute every day? That’s quite the flight.”
“No ma’am, at least not every day. I would fly out for my first shift of the week, and rent a room until the final shift, when I would fly back home.” Dust squirmed slightly. “I would be available for all seasons, and be willing to pull any extra time required during the peak seasons for farm irrigation and Winter Wrap Up.”
“Did your research, good job.” Flipping another page, Dash frowned slightly. “Says here you’re still on restrictive duty, how bad?”
Lightning rubbed a hoof along the back of her neck. “Well, ma’am, with the way mail is delivered in and out of Pinegrove, I had actually expected to be nearly recovered before I had even heard back from the weather office. Rest assured, I’ll be given full clearance in about a week and a half, and I’m willing to do any groundwork I can to learn until then.”
Shutting the file, Rainbow flicked it off to the side. “Okay Dust, off the record, what’s actually going on here? This seems… kiiiiinda out of left field.”
Deflating slightly, she leaned back in the chair. “I… caused an accident. With the Washouts I mean.”
Rainbow nodded. “I read about that. Nasty stuff, but even fillies know that stunt flying is risky, even on the best of days. Getting the boot seems kinda crazy.” Dust raised an eyebrow, head tilting slightly in an unasked question. Dash shrugged, answering “I kept tabs on you. Even with the attitude and ego, you were one hell of a flier, and I wanted to see how far you’d go. The Ponyville weather office waaaaaasn't really where I saw us meeting again, though.”
Looking down at the floor, Dust nodded. “So you know what happened then. After the accident, things went downhill for me physically and eventually I got kicked out, washed out of the freaking Washouts. Things have been pretty tough since then, but I've been living with my grandma to help sort things out. I did make a new friend a few weeks ago, she’s been helping get my head back on straight, and I thought a good step would be to get back in the skies and actually work, give me something to focus on while I sort my life back out.”
Rainbow nodded, resting her forelegs on the table. “Princess Celestia had a big debrief with everypony over the Pages situation, so I did hear about what happened with you and Spitfire out in Pinegrove. She didn’t give a lot of specifics, but I know Discord messed you both up pretty bad. Spitfire also spoke quite highly of you and the way you handled yourself, it’s actually part of why I gave you the interview in the first place. Not that was her goal, just... she's a good judge of character.” She looked Lightning in the eyes, her face flat and serious. “I’m also all for giving ponies a chance, to show they've changed. But most importantly, I also have to protect my weather team. So, Lightning Dust, can I trust your word that you won’t be reckless with my town? You’ll follow directions, obey any and all safety regulations, and be an asset to the team and our town? No showboating, no risky stunts, you play it safe and by the book.”
Dust threw up a salute. “Ma’am, yes ma’am. I’ll do whatever I can to prove I’m not that same mare anymore.”
“Well, then you’re hired.” Rainbow opened up a drawer, digging around inside for a minute before pulling out a small stack of paperwork and setting it in front of the mare. “While you’re still finishing healing, we’ll get you familiar with the warehouse out back, as well as train you in the fundamentals of weather and cloudhandling.” She flicked some of the pages over, gesturing with a hoof. “We’ll set you up with a schedule to train, I’ll pair you up with Cloud Kicker; she can be a whole bag of sass, but she’s also one of the best weather ponies I’ve ever worked with. Questions?”
Nod. “Yeah, renting a room while I’m here during the week, where would you suggest?”
Humming for a moment, Rainbow tilted her head in thought. “I’ll talk to Twilight, see if we can set you up with a guest room at the Castle of Friendship.”
“O-oh no, t-there’s no need to go that far.” Lightning stuttered.
Dash let out a laugh, waving a hoof. “Dust, that castle has like a bajillion rooms in it, I’m sure it won’t be an issue if you borrow one three or four nights a week. Besides, it’d be hard to rent a room before you got paid, right?” The other mare nodded slowly. With a soft sigh, Rainbow leaned a bit further forward. “Look, I don’t know what you’ve been through, but judging by Spitfire’s account and how you currently look, no offense, it’s been a lot. I can forgive you for the accident at the Academy, just prove to me you aren’t the same pony that only looked out for herself.”
“I can do that, Rainbow. Thank you.”
Squinting slightly, Dash tilted her head as she looked under Lightning's wing. “Is… that donuts?”
“Oh, this?” Lightning pulled the box out. “Yeah, your friend Pinkie just shoved this into my hooves. Something about storing them around for ‘donut emergencies’ or something?”
“Bahaha! Oh yeah, that’s claaaaassic Pinkie Pie! You’ll get used to her after a while. Now c’mon, let me show you the storage warehouse.”
Hey Spitfire,
I got the job! I was worried that after everything, Rainbow would hold a grudge, but she was actually pretty chill about it. She has her reservations, and… I can’t really blame her. After the Academy, after the Washouts near-incident with Scootaloo, after the accident I caused, I’d be shocked if she WASN’T worried. I heard you spoke pretty nicely about me when you reported to Princess Celestia, that really means a lot to me. Thank you, really.
I’ll be bouncing between Ponyville and Pinegrove for a while, spending around half of the week at each. You can probably just send letters to Ponyville itself, since the mail there is so much more frequent than Pinegrove.
When you get back from the shows out west, maybe we could find time to hang out again? I’m sure we can find a time that lines up or something. I mean, if you want to, you don’t have to, if you wanna hang out that’d be super cool. If not that’s cool too, letters are neat also! Just like, if you wanted to and the time worked out and stuff…. Sorry I’m rambling again.
Oh, I’m going to include a picture in here, Rainbow insisted: while showing me the warehouse where they store the cloud shipments and equipment, she pranked me with a rain cloud and soaked me. One of the other pegasi, Blossomforth I think her name was, snapped the pic; you can even see Rainbow on the cloud laughing her flank off.
I… I think this is going to be really good for me. I hope it’s really good for me, I haven’t had a lot of ‘wins’ lately, you know?
Good luck with the shows! I can’t wait to hear from you soon.
Your Friend,
-Lightning Dust.