Biggest Fan
A My Little Pony Friendship is Magic tribute
By Marcipie
xx
It was a dark and crisp night. The air was still. The wind, if it blew at all, was cool. And somewhat refreshing. But most of all, it was quiet. It was so quiet that not even the crickets were making their sweet songs this night.
The shadowed houses that lined this particular street were dark beyond all reason. Not just because all the lights were out in these homes. No, these houses were abandoned. And had been for quite some time. A few months at the most. It was the ominous kind of darkness that inhabited a place after not being used.
A rumbling engine was heard off in the distance and soon a pair of dim headlights appeared from around a sharp corner. A burgandy vehicle made it's way calmly down this dark neighborhood. The car made no signs of stopping, nor did it give any indication that it was in a hurry.
Sitting inside the car, humming a little tune to herself, was a young twenty-one year old by the name of Renee Maxell. She held one hand lightly on the steering wheel and the other cradled her iPod Touch as she gently scrolled through her list of songs. She had bright blue eyes as clear as the afternoon sky and dark auburn locks that she always kept up in a tight band, allowing it to cascade down her back. She idly swiped a few of her bangs from her focused eyes.
She'd just dropped her friend off at her home and was currently driving back to her mother's apartment. The roads were dark this time of night with only the dim street lamps to comfort her. Her headlights did little to illuminate her path, much to her dismay. She really needed to get those replaced.
Finally having picked a catchy tune to keep her entertained on her way home, she raised her eyes to the road in enough time to catch a glimpse of something brightly colored and way too fast to be a dog flash across the road in front of her headlights.
"SHIT!" She inhaled sharply and slammed on her breaks. But it proved to be futile. Renee watched in slow motion as the animal turned it's head her way with surprisingly intelligent eyes, full of fear and shock. The creature was knicked roughly by the corner of her car and she heard it cry out in pain. She lost sight of it as it rolled into the nearby bushes. Her tires squealed as they protested the sudden pressure and finally her car screeched to a sudden stop.
"Oh no, no, no, no, please, no..." She chanted. Renee sat clutching the steering wheel with trembling white knuckles, her chest heaving and her eyes were wide. Her bright blue eyes, that were rapidly filling up with tears, glanced around quickly in panic. She flung the seatbelt off and fumbled with the car door handle. Heart pounding in her ribcage, she took deep, shuddering breaths and tried to calm down as she slowly stepped out of the car, fearing what she might find.
With what little she could see with her vehicle's headlights, she squinted in the night. The air was chilly and the situation itself gave her goosebumps. A shiver ran up her spine as she took a few steps away from her car.
"Hey, come on out, please?" She called, her voice shaking. "You're not... Ahh, too hurt, are you?" When nothing made a sound, she frowned worriedly. She raised her hand to her chin, holding it there as her eyebrows drew together tightly.
"Oh, why did this have to happen?" Turning to face her vehicle, she froze when she saw a small dent in the corner of her front bumber. Her eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. She knelt before her car slowly. Upon closer inpsection, she noticed the small dent had a bright blue feather poking out of a sharp corner in the metal.
"A... feather?" Renee blinked in surprise and her eyebrows rose until they vanished into the shadows of her bangs. An quick image of the animal she'd seen a glimpse of flashed to the front of her mind. "There was no way that was a bird. That would have to be like... a mutant bird." She said in disbelief. She tilted her head in confusion and reached up with a shaking hand to pluck it out of her car.
Despite her fear of having almost killed an innocent because she wasn't paying attention, she was curious. And beyond confused. The young adult held it as gently as she could between her index finger and her thumb as she brought it closer to her eyes. The feather itself was smooth and incredibly soft to the touch. Whatever the feather belonged to had obviously been taking care of itself.
Before she decided to come along and injure it.
"This doesn't make any sense..." She muttered disdainfully and rose from her crouched position. Still stroking the feather, she pondered this before a strange noise gathered her attention.
"Oh, when I get my hooves on the thing that hit me... Ow..." A distinctly feminine too-human groan drifted back to her and her heart skipped a beat. Her eyes widened as a thought struck her.
Oh no, I've hit a person! But that thought was quickly tossed when she glanced at the bright blue feather. People didn't grow feathers on them, nor could they move that fast on their own.
"Ugghh... There was no way that thing could've hit me, I was going too fast..." The noise continued grumbling. Renee held still, and even quit breathing, so she could strain her ears to hear better. The noise had stopped for a few moments but picked back up again and was accompanied by twigs and leaves snapping and crunching as they moved through the foilage.
Renee held her breath and, while her heart was pounding, slowly turned around to face the dark uninviting forest of trees behind her to face whatever talking creature she'd managed to hit and undoubtedly piss off. She swallowed and held tightly to the cyan feather still clasped in her fingers. Though it was nighttime and no large enough amount of light had been illuminating the trees, she saw a shadow carefully making it's way toward her. Too big to be a bird but it had the same build as a dog, walking on four legs instead of two. It appeared to be limping and struggling to carry itself her way.
It paused at the edge of where the grass met the road with a small gasp and reared it's head back as if in shock.
Then what it did next was completely unexpected.
"Hey!" It called out angrily. "What's the big idea, hitting me like that?" The voice came from the direction of the animal and it... she sounded upset. "I outta kick you right in the face to return the favor!" She continued and Renee jerked in surprise at the squeaky shout and blinked. Why did that voice sound so familiar? But before she could think any more on it, It was then that the creature slowly emerged from the dark shadows of the trees.
It was almost dramatic how she revealed herself to Renee. As soon as the moonlight hit the poor soul she'd very nearly killed, she gasped and backed up until her back collided with her car. It took her a few minutes before she noticed she'd dropped the feather but that was the furthest thing from her mind at the moment.
Standing before her was a creature, a pony, she'd never expect to almost run over, especially considering how fast she was. A pair of bright rose colored eyes, that hid behind yellow, orange, and red bangs, were what the moon illuminated first. These eyes were narrowed furiously and focused on her. The cyan colored body, the same color as the feather lying innocently on the ground, heaved with angry pants.
The wings that were attached to her back were spread out wide from the body threateningly. One was bent awkwardly, looking quite painful, and the other was bristling every other step. The brightly colored tail flowing behind the pegasus was flicking from side to side in her annoyance. Her head was lowered dangerously with her ears bent backwards as her hooves brought her closer and closer to the twenty-one year old.
Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash.
The name came flying into her mind like someone slapping her clear across her face, the name bringing the same amount of surprise an action like that would cause. This pony, this pegasus - her name was Rainbow Dash. This pony, who was supposedly only a character from a cartoon was standing before her and looking very, very angry that she'd almost been run over. But how was Rainbow Dash here? And how in the world did her small Nissan almost take out one of the fastest pegasi in Equestria? Her mind was reeling in shock.
Was this her mind playing tricks on her? This had to be a prank. Something wasn't right. Rainbow Dash was supposed to be in Ponyville in Equestria with other ponies like her, not standing in America with humans. The idea was almost comical.
"Hey! Pay attention when I'm trying to talk to you!" Rainbow's sharp voice finally brought her out of her shock-induced stare.
It took Renee a few moments to realize the small pegasus was standing directly in front of her now, coming to her waist in height. She looked down and cringed. Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed further when their eyes met and Renee gulped.
"Um..." She edged closer to her car and the pony below her wrinkled her nose and lowered her ears until they were flat against her head.
"You hit me." The mare growled out through clenched teeth.
"Uh... what?" The accusation caught her off guard. Sure, the girl wasn't exactly known for her ability to process words before they exited her mouth, but having an experience like the one she was having was certainly making her thoughts scatter. Renee saw the pegasus grind her teeth together in an obvious attempt to keep from losing her temper, which was probably a difficult thing to do for one with such a short fuse.
Rainbow Dash lowered her chin and glowered at the driver from under brightly colored bangs. The bright colors were illuminated by the moonlight, making the blue pegasus appear mysteriously, and dangerously, beautiful. Renee had trouble focusing on what the pony was saying, nearly mystified by the hypnotizing rainbow mane and tail on the nearly glowing blue coat of the pony, until the biting words from before repeated themselves.
"You hit me." She gestured with a raised hoof to the broken wing hanging limply at her side, unable to fold back to its correct position like it's partner. The human blinked and averted her eyes.
"O-oh..." Renee uttered. "Well, I... I'm sorry, I just... Forgive me, but... I - I didn't mean..." Renee was having trouble thinking clearly. What were the odds she'd almost run over Rainbow Dash? They were very slim. When she looked back at the rainbow-maned pony, she winced. Rainbow Dash did not look amused. Her angry eyes narrowed further and she growled, bearing her teeth.
"How did you even - I don't even know how you managed to hit me. You weren't even going that fast." Rainbow Dash grumbled and glanced at the car in question. "That thing couldn't possibly go fast enough. It looks way too heavy. And on top of that, it's on wheels." Her bright magenta eyes then flashed back to Renee's, causing the girl to twitch slightly. A cyan hoof smacked the ground and her good wing bristled in annoyance.
"Well?" The pegasus demanded harshly. Renee recoiled in surprise.
"...Well, what?"
"Aren't you going to apologize for almost killing me with your metal... thing?" The pegasus flung a hoof in the direction of her little car. "It is your fault I can't fly right now, you know." She added harshly.
A small voice chimed, "I thought I already did," in the back of Renee's conscious, but she quickly brushed it aside for the sake of getting on the pegasus' good side.
When Rainbow Dash's eyes flashed angrily, something clicked in the young adult's mind and her eyes widened. "Oh! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I'm sorry! I truly didn't mean for this to happen." She noticed when the pony took a step back in uncertainty but didn't stop there. "Oh, gosh, I hope you're not too hurt! I - I really didn't mean... It was just so fast, I didn't even see..." Renee trailed off when the pegasus merely raised an eyebrow at her, looking unimpressed.
"...What? Too much?" Renee asked meekly. Rainbow rolled her eyes.
"The only thing missing from that apology was you bowing at my hooves." The mare muttered and lowered her ears, clearly uncomfortable with the sincerity that had been in the human's voice. Her hoof pawed at the ground as Renee huffed silently.
"Well, I... I am sorry, but I won't go as far as doing that." She grumbled and crossed her arms. Renee paused and peered as indiscreetly as she could at the broken wing. "So, how long will it take for your wing to heal?" Rainbow Dash glanced back in surprise, the expression on her face the first pleasant thing the human had seen since meeting the mare. Renee liked this new change of pace so far.
An agitated pegasus was the last thing she wanted.
"Um, from experience, a few weeks at the most, but that's just by looking at it." Rainbow Dash told her after glancing back warily at her limp wing. "Thanks for that, by the way." She muttered disdainfully and glared up at Renee without turning her head.
Renee sighed. Well, that certainly didn't last long. "I said I was sorry."
The pegasus ignored her. "I've hurt it before and I was only in the hospital for a few days. So I suppose it shouldn't take too long." Rainbow mentioned softly and sat down on the ground, looking less angry and more sad about the situation. The guilt ate at Renee and she squatted beside the distraught pegasus.
"Look, I'm really sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I feel just awful about this. This is probably going to haunt me for years to come, knowing I've almost killed such an amazing pegasus. If you want, I can, uh, take you to a safer place so you can relax. If you want, that is. Since it's my fault and all."
Rainbow Dash eyed her warily, her mouth set in a calculating pout as she thought about her options. Going with the stranger that grounded her or staying by herself on a dark, mysterious road didn't seem like fair choices. She huffed and glanced at the thing that struck her a few moments ago before she turned to look at her limp wing.
Deciding that at least being in a previously-declared safer area was the better option, she twisted her head to look back at the girl. Renee blinked at the look and raised an eyebrow.
"Well?" She prompted and Rainbow Dash frowned.
"Okay. Take me to this safe place and I'll think about forgiving you for nearly killing me with that... thing." The pegasus grumbled and glared at Renee's car in obvious dislike. The twenty-one year old nearly grinned at Rainbow. The mare's expression was too cute when she was upset and she had trouble holding in the giggle that was threatening to burst out of her.
Clearing her throat, Renee stood from her crouched position and nodded at the pegasus. "Okay, great." She then turned and made her way to her car. She opened the back door and waved a hand toward the interior of the backseat with a flourish. "After you."
Silence greeted her and she curiously looked back at the pegasus in curiosity. The cyan pony's narrowed eyes greeted her.
"You don't actually expect me to get in that death trap, do you?" Rainbow's growl caused Renee to raise an eyebrow. She was glaring hatefully at the girl again and her head was reared back. Renee blinked.
"Well... Yes. I do. How else do you expect me to take you to this safe place if I can't transport you properly?" The human asked and shrugged. "It's not like you can fly there. And carrying you wouldn't work very well since... it's quite a distance from here. And I really don't feel comfortable leaving my car on this street." The pegasus stubbornly stood and took a step back, her ears lowered.
"I don't trust you." She said in a low voice. Renee raised her eyes to the heavens, asking for patience, before she sighed and turned back to the pony. When her eyes met that of the pegasus, she saw a small glimpse of her true feelings behind the anger and stubborn fascade.
She was frightened. She was absolutely terrified of the situation she'd found herself in.
Renee felt her heart breaking from having finally figured out why Rainbow Dash was using so much anger toward her. Not only did she really not trust her, but Renee had single-handedly grounded her in a place she had no idea where she was. She sighed softly and made her way carefully back to the blue pegasus. When she was no more than a few inches away, she knelt in front of her without making any sudden movements as Rainbow watched her every move with narrowed, suspicious eyes.
"I know you have every right not to trust me and I completely respect that. I wouldn't trust me either if I was in your situation. But I can help you. I can take you somewhere safer and a lot more cozy. I can bandage up your wing as well if you'd like so it can heal properly. And I promise, on my life, that no more harm will come to you from here on out." Renee paused and seriously debated on doing the Pinkie Promise, but figured that if a human knew something like that, it would freak the pegasus out more than anything.
Renee slowly held out a hand. Rainbow's eyes drifted down to it before switching back up to hers.
"Give me a chance to gain your trust. I promise you won't regret it." Renee murmured. Rainbow Dash blinked and lowered her eyes to the ground in thought. Her ears twitched and her tail swished as she battled with her stubborn pride and her need for help. Finally raising her gaze, Rainbow sighed and nodded.
"Fine. But one slip up and I am outta here." She muttered and brushed past the kneeling girl's shoulder as she trotted to the car, trying to keep a small amount of dignity. Renee glanced behind her and smiled. Getting back to her feet, she followed the pegasus. Rainbow Dash stood beside the open car door and peered inside, her eyes wide.
"Well, go on. It won't bite you." Renee joked, slightly amused at her antics. Rainbow shot her a dirty look before glancing at her wing.
"I beg to differ." She grumbled loud enough for the girl to hear and she cringed slightly.
Okay, she deserved that.
The pegasus ignored her as she placed two hooves on the backseat in preparation for hopping inside and Renee was about to slide into the driver's seat when she noticed the pony had paused, staring inside the interior of the car with wide, nervous eyes. Renee sighed.
"Would you like some help?"
"I do not need your help." Rainbow Dash snapped, her voice breaking slightly. The pony flinched when she heard it but didn't look at Renee. "I can handle myself just fine, thank you very much." Renee bit her lip and leaned against the car door, staying silent. Rainbow Dash took in a deep breath and finally pushed against the ground with her back hooves. Using her front legs, she quickly scrambled into the back of the car and managed to use her good wing to help propel herself inside. Once she was sitting on the car seat, she grit her teeth uncomfortably and her wings bristled on her back in disdain.
Renee waited until the pegasus glanced at her with an impatient look before shrugging with a small grin. "All set?" She asked her cheerfully. Rainbow's eyes narrowed at her tone but she kept her mouth shut as she sat stiffly on the seat. Renee gently closed the backdoor before getting in the driver's seat herself, not noticing Rainbow Dash glance warily at the window locking her inside the vehicle.
Putting on her seatbelt, she glanced back in the rear view mirror at the pony before she started the car. The engine choked to life, gurgling to a small volume. To her credit, Rainbow only twitched from the abrupt noise, her expression neutral and her posture as stiff as she could allow.
Renee sighed before her eyes brightened as a thought occurred to her. "What's your name?" It took Rainbow Dash a few moments to respond.
"R - Rainbow Dash." The pegasus bit back at her through clenched teeth, trying her best to keep her voice steady, despite her nervousness. The poor pony was positively terrified while she was trying her best to hide it and appear calm and unbothered. And here Renee was grilling her while at the same time locking her inside of her car with no escape.
"My name is Renee," she said, not expecting a response but just wanting her to know. "So... how's your wing?" She asked softly and feeling as though she were treading on thin ice.
There was silence from the backseat.
She grimaced. "Look, I... I know I'm probably the last person that you'd want to let help you, but I just want you to know that I'm super seriously sorry about what I did. I really wish I could've just met you without injuring you but I... I think fate has a funny way of working out."
She finally glanced in the rearview mirror. Rainbow Dash was staring out of the side window and seemed to be completely ignoring everything she'd said. Renee's lips thinned and she looked back at the road. She straightened her arms as she drove, wondering what on earth she could've done to have fate work the way it was.
xx
A few awkward moments later, Renee pulled up in front of her mother's apartment complex and sighed in relief. After turning off the car, she carefully turned around so she could look at her passenger.
Rainbow Dash was sitting in the same position she was in last time she looked. The pegasus hadn't spoken the entire ride back and to be honest, Renee was a little concerned. Pressing her lips together nervously, she grabbed her keys from the ignition and opened her car door. She hopped out and cleared her throat.
"So... Here we are." She told the pony in the backseat. She closed her door before gently yanking open the back door. The pegasus' ears twitched and her magenta eyes glanced her way when the chilly night air brushed against the pony. Renee crouched by the seat and stared at her.
"Rainbow Dash..." Renee murmured and finally, the pony craned her head stiffly to fully face her. "Come on, we can go inside now. I promise... You're gonna be okay." She whispered and smiled gently at her. The pegasus swallowed thickly and nodded. "Do you want me to help you or..." Renee trailed off at the look the pony sent her and cleared her throat. She straightened and stood, wringing her hands together nervously.
"Or you could get out, yeah, that's fine."
xx
"So... Here's my home." Renee muttered as she shut the door behind her as gently as she could. She watched as the pegasus slowly stepped forward, her scarlet eyes trailing over everything she could see. Her tail flicked from side to side as she carefully placed one hoof in front of the other. Renee held her breath as if expecting Rainbow Dash to panic and scramble to find an exit. She clutched her car keys in her hands and held them beneath her chin as she waited. The pegasus peered down the hallway where a bathroom, two bedrooms, and a closet resided. She raised an eyebrow and stared closely at each individual object with an expression as if she expected it to come alive and eat her.
"You're okay now." The girl murmured softly and Rainbow Dash turned her head to face her, her eyes narrowed slightly in hesitation before she began exploring her new surroundings. The mare was oddly silent, not like she expected Dash to be talking a mile a minute like Pinkie Pie might've been, but she at least hoped the pony wouldn't completely shut her out. Renee took in a deep breath and took her jacket off when a new thought struck her.
Rainbow Dash was in her home. The fastest pegasus in Equestria was in her apartment. Her stomach flipped nervously. Renee turned to watch Rainbow as she wandered about the room like a curious new pet, sniffing different things and flicking her tail back and forth as each new scent caused her to wrinkle her snout.
Renee found that when bringing the pegasus into the dimly lit apartment, and she noticed how the shadows played across Rainbow Dash's figure, she saw how very real the pony appeared to be. The young adult could see every strand of hair shift with her movements and watch every breath the pegasus took. Rainbow Dash was definitely real, and certainly wasn't a figment of her imagination as she'd been forcing herself to believe, thinking she'd wake up from her hallucination any minute.
"So... which strange part of Equestria am I in?"
Renee jumped, not having expected the abrupt voice. Rainbow Dash had turned her way but remained a good distance from her. The question caught Renee off guard and she found herself staring at the pegasus with wide eyes. Rainbow Dash apparently grew uncomfortable after a few moments since her ears twitched and lowered slightly while her brightly colored tail flicked hesitantly.
"...What'd I say?" The brightly-colored pony asked. The emotions playing across Rainbow's rose-colored eyes were something to behold and Renee had a hard time focusing on her question. She knew the pony was hesitant and nervous but she could also see a bit of her personality just beneath the surface. Rainbow Dash only needed the incentive to open up.
Renee raised her eyebrows and let out a long breath. She held a hand to her forehead. "I can't believe I forgot I was talking to a pony from Equestria." She muttered and glanced at the irked pegasus with a grin.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Rainbow Dash demanded and quickly stood on four hooves, staring Renee down as if daring her to say anything else about her home. The element of loyalty was definitely living up to her name, that was for sure. Renee held her hands up non-threateningly and grinned sheepishly.
"Nothing, nothing. I didn't mean anything by it. Really. Calm down." The twenty-one year old pleaded and nearly sighed with relief when the pegasus gave her a suspicious glare but merely plopped back down on the carpet. "And as for where you are, you're in America."
"Ameri - who?"
Renee smiled. "America. It's a country that has a lot more humans, like me." Rainbow Dash frowned and cocked her head.
"You mean there are more of you?" She asked in disbelief. The human nodded her head.
"Yeah. Instead of where you're from, this is a country called America. Humans are the dominant species here." Renee said quietly, watching Rainbow carefully. When the rainbow-maned pegasus merely raised an eyebrow, the twenty-one year old sighed. "Meaning we do the talking. We take care of the animals," She hesitated for a few seconds before adding quietly, "...like Fluttershy."
The reaction came faster than she had time to blink. Rainbow Dash's eyes widened and she gaped at Renee in horror. "H-how do you know Fluttershy? Is she here? Do you have her locked up somewhere? You'd better let her go before I -" The young girl paled and quickly waved her hands back in forth in denial.
"No! No, no, no of course not! I would never..." Renee sighed and her lips thinned as she pressed them together. "I just know a heck of a lot more about you and your home than you think." She murmured. Rainbow's head tilted slowly to the side as she stared at the human in a strange mixture of both suspicion and fascination.
"Who are you?" The pegasus finally asked, her voice in a breathy whisper. The twenty-one year old lowered her gaze to the ground and sucked in a deep breath before meeting Rainbow's gaze.
"My name is Renee Maxell. I am twenty-one years old and..." She paused before she allowed a small grin to adorn her face.
"And I'm one of your biggest fans."
Author's Note
Okay, so... This story was a complete accident. I wanted to write something about Rainbow Dash and then this just happened.
I apologize if it's the worst thing you've ever read, but I appreciate you taking time to look it over! And hopefully leave me a review?
Thank you and have a nice day!
