Chapters Chapter 1: Party
“Don’t look at her, sweetie.”
“But mommy, she has different wings to me… Why does she-”
“I said don’t look.”
Just another innocent foal, who hadn’t seen me before. I ignored the two, used to such a reaction from the locals of Ponyville. “But mom-” I heard the foal start again, before being dragged out of earshot.
Such was life for me since I moved to Ponyville..
I thought that after Princess Luna reassimilated into society that our kind wouldn’t be shunned or feared. But it seems that from the thousand years of our race’s absence from the light of Equestria, that we were just forgotten to time, recorded but not remembered.
It was a hot Spring morning... To me at least. After living in the caves under Canterlot for so long, and avoiding direct sunlight for so many years, even the slightest rays caused intense heat on my coat. My wings I had to be especially careful about. As Pegasi have feathers covering their wings, mine are just straight skin, membrane and bone. I flexed them out quickly, giving the skin a breath of air. Although they were rather thin, they held heat in especially well. Great for winter underground. Not so good for Spring under the sun.
I opened the front door to my home, just a small two-bedroom home on the outskirts of town. Stepping inside I enjoyed the cool air and shade. I could almost feel the tips of my ears burning. I knew that going out for breakfast was a bad idea. Especially when I had to go to the market later in the day. I moved to my bedroom, and stood before the vanity mirror, preparing for the second trip.
Slitted yellow eyes stared back at me, I reached a hoof up to the dresser before the mirror and grabbed a few hair ties, quickly pulling back my dark violet fringe and tying together my pointed ears, hiding them in my mane.
Dark gray hooves worked on autopilot, making sure that my mane didn’t look too horrid, and that my ears weren’t visible. Reaching back with a hind-leg I picked up my saddlebags from the bedpost, and draped them over my back. I had learned quickly that normal pegasus saddlebags were designed to not obstruct the wings, whereas earth pony and unicorn bags covered my wings quite successfully. Sure, it was a little uncomfortable when the bags were full, but my house was only a five minute walk from the market, so I could survive at least that much discomfort.
Of course, the only part of my race that I couldn’t hide were my eyes, but thankfully, ponies don’t make eye contact all too often, and only getting glimpses at that. So while the other pony does a double-take at my slitted eyes, I would’ve already turned and left, leaving them to believe they were losing their mind.
Although I had only lived here for three days so far, I hadn’t drawn attention to myself. Yet.
Leaving my home for the second time today, I made one last check to make sure my wings weren’t visible, and returned to the sunlight. Thankfully, it didn’t take too long for my eyes to adjust to the extra brightness, but first-thing in the morning, it was still uncomfortable.
Thankfully, the streets were, for the majority, still empty. It was still early by normal pony time, myself still not quite out of being nocturnal, but almost. If I wanted to live in normal society, I had to live by their times. I couldn’t go market shopping at the middle of the night now, could I?
I continued along the road, the soft dirt making quite a good padding compared to the hard stone I was used to, same with the grass, no wonder ponies just lay down where they please, if everything was so comfortable. No Twilight! Concentrate! I flicked my tail and skipped my hooves in my walk, enjoying my new life. It was frightening at first, sure. But it was great once-
“Ohmygosh! Hi!” I found myself lying on my back, tackled to the ground and staring straight up at a particularly bright pink pony. “I haven’t met you before-and if I haven’t-” She gasped and took a deep breath, eventually lifting herself off me. I immediately jumped to my hooves at the opportunity and glared at my attacker.
“What the hay are you doing?” The pink pony just stared at me with wide eyes, holding her breath, a mix between excitement and confusing evident on her face. “Well? Do you just tackle-” And she was gone. The pink pony just took off in the other direction, sprinting at an unnaturally fast pace.
“I’ll have to report her…” I spoke under my breath, continuing my journey to the market. Sure, I was tackled by a random pony on what seemed like a regular morning. As far as I knew no special day had occurred. Although it didn’t hurt all that much, mostly due to the soft dirt anyway. Oh how much I love outside.
*
“Really, Pinkie. You saw a pony with- what did you say again?”
“I said, I saw a pony just then with cats-eyes! Like Opal’s! They were like anypony’s eyes but they weren’t round. They were like looking through a button-hole!”
Rarity rolled her eyes. “Are you absolutely positive that’s what you saw Pinkie? You had just tackled them to the ground, after all.”
“Yes. I. Am. Certain! How could I make a mistake like that? Me! Of all ponies! But this wasn’t a pony, this was a cat in a pony costume… Who could talk! That would explain how I had never seen her in town before.”
Twilight stepped through the library’s kitchen door and brought out a pot of freshly boiled tea. “If Pinkie did see what she says she saw, then maybe she is telling the truth.”
Rarity scoffed and waved a hoof in the air. “Oh please Twilight. You’re not going to believe her ‘cat in pony costume’ story…”
“No, Rarity. Such ponies do exist with eyes exactly like how Pinkie described. Although there hasn’t been a recorded sighting of one for longer than I care to imagine.” Twilight set the tea down on the table and started pouring the three cups. “So when is the welcome party?”
“What do you mean Twilight?” Pinkie Pie asked, taking her cup and taking a deep sip.
“Well, you said you hadn’t seen her around town before, so I expected you to-” Twilight stopped her sentence as her face was covered in tea.
“You’re RIGHT!” Pinkie Pie jumped out of the chair and made for the door, stopping a few hooves short. “I’ll prove to you that I saw what I saw Rarity! Because I know what I saw, I just have to show you that I knew what I saw before she gets lost!”
Rarity sighed and levitated a wash-cloth to Twilight. “Just give us the invitation and we’ll be there. But don’t tackle her again, from the sounds of it she was pretty angry at you.”
“Oh, I’m not going to do that, I only get to tackle everypony once. This time I get to use my party cannon!” Pinkie disappeared out the door.
*
Five minutes of discomfort my flank! I walked back down the road towards my home. It had taken a fair while longer than I had thought to finish at the market, which was doing a number to my coat, and my patience. The cherry stand in particular, one old mare took at least a week to work out how many bits it was for a bag. And the sun, while absolutely brilliant in every regard, was completely unbearable. I felt like my own personal swimming pool. Maybe I should’ve come here late autumn, at least then I’d have had more time to acclimatise.
My back was starting to ache too, thanks to that crazy pony tackling me before. I felt fine initially, but once the adrenaline wore off, the dull ache originated directly under a strap on my saddlebag. I remember walking past a massage clinic and day spa. If only I could get a massage. Then again, before I did too much of that I’d have to find a job. Task for tomorrow: Get a paper and start looking for work.
Thankfully, the rest of the trip home was uneventful. My wings begged for release, and my back ached from the added weight. And once I was safely inside, I put my saddlebags down on the couch, and untied my ears, feeling them spring back into natural position, and flexing my wings, feeling the cool air against my bare skin. Truly wonderful.
Just as I had finished packing everything away, there was a knock at my door. Unsure if they had the wrong home, I left it unanswered. Maybe they would figure out it was the wrong house if I left them alone. However, to break my thoughts the knocking returned. I sighed heavily, quickly doing up my mane again and throwing a saddle over my wings. Not something to look fancy, actually when I bought it, the saddle was labelled as a ‘back warmer’.
The knocking returned a third time, and once it had ceased I sighed and opened the door, revealing the same pony who had tackled me earlier that day, and a bright blue cannon. “Hi! I know that you’re new in town because I’ve never met you-”
The pink pony paused again, staring at me. Oh no, she noticed my eyes. “L- look, I can explain-”
“I knew it!” She jumped in the air, firing off the cannon, which was filled with streamers and confetti, of all things. “I knew I didn’t make a mistake! I just knew it!”
“Uhh, knew what?”
“That you have cats eyes.” The pink pony gasped again. “How do you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Make your eyes like that! I mean, I told everypony how I grow my hooves!”
“Grow your hooves?”
“Yeah! See?” The pony took a deep breath and held her lips with one hoof while holding out the other. I watched with worry as five individual appendages extruded from her hoof. Once she let go of the breath they all disappeared again. “I show everypony how I do that, but how do you make your eyes like that?”
“I-” I paused for a moment, she honestly thinks I’m doing this on purpose? “I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
“Because I just can’t…”
“Well then, you’ll just have to show everypony at the party.” The crazy pony hoofed me a greeting card.
“W- What party?”
“Your welcome party! I am friends with everypony in Ponyville. And since you’re new, you have no friends. And since I’m friends with everypony, I’m going to be your first friend here!” She extended a hoof. “My name’s Pinkie Pie! What’s yours?”
I felt worried about the offered hoof, just moments ago it looked like worms were under her coat. But what choice did I have? I had to at least try to fit in. I took her hoof in my own and shook it. “Twilight Sun.”
Pinkie Pie gasped again. “Really? Wow! I have another friend named Twilight! You should meet her!”
“Another Twilight?”
“Yeah! And you can meet all my other friends too!”
“Wait, didn’t you say you were friends with everypony?”
“Yepperooni! Every pony, unicorn, pegasus, donkey, cow and alicorn in the entire town!”
“Donkey’s live here too?”
“Only two of them. But yes, and yes!” Pinkie put both hooves on her cannon and turned it around, crawling into the barrel of it. “But enough about me, the party will be about you!” She pulled out a match and lit the fuse. “See you tonight!” The cannon fired and sent her flying across town, her hooves grabbing hold of the cannon and carrying it with her as she flew.
I closed the door without thinking. Because shooting yourself out of a cannon was nuts, but taking it with you? That required too much thinking. I flicked off the saddle and ran a hoof through my mane again, getting back to normal. Opening the card I was hoofed several minutes ago, reading. ‘Your very own welcome to Ponyville welcoming party, starts at sundown at Sugarcube Corner. Don’t forget to bring yourself, because we’ll all want to meet you.’
I shook my head, and glanced out the window. It was midday at the latest, so there were quite a few hours to spare. I couldn’t quite determine if I wanted to go or not. On one hoof, if I went, more than a few ponies would notice my eyes and pull me up on it. Counterargument to that, if Pinkie Pie was anything to judge by, nopony even knew what a Sarosian was. But on the other hoof, if I wanted a job, I’d have to get to know ponies and start meeting them.
I sighed and sat down on the couch, letting my wings spread out as far as possible. It was going to be a long night if anypony in town is half as excitable as Pinkie Pie. But at least I’ll get to start my life. Meet new ponies. I yawned as I lay down on the couch, letting my wings rest against the soft fabric. It had been a long morning. I definitely deserved a nap.
*
Turns out that Sugarcube Corner is the giant pink building just visible from town square. Although considering that the sweets shop was the only building with it’s lights on within the entire town centre basically said it all.
I continued on my way, a few hundred hooves from the entrance, double checking my saddle to make sure my wings were hidden from view. I was still unsure of how everypony would react to my eyes. I actually hoped that they were all as naive as Pinkie, thinking that it was a trick of some sort. But there was something about that pink mare, she just seemed… Odd… Well, it is a new town, maybe everypony in this town is like that… Although I certainly hope not.
The closer I moved to the party, the louder the music became. It wasn’t deafening by any means, but it would certainly make talking to ponies quite a bit harder. Upon reaching the wide-open door, I was greeted with streamers and an oversized banner reaching from the serving counter to the far wall. “Welcome Twilight” was written in oversized bold letters on the violet banner, not too different from my mane colour.
Underneath the banner was an overlarge table amassed with chocolate, cake, muffins, punch, and countless other sweets. Several ponies were gathered around the table helping themselves, more than a few of them covering a plate in treats and moving to other tables around the shop. A jukebox sat behind the food table, a lone stallion operating the device searching for the next song to be played.
“Ooh- Ooh! There she is!” I glanced to the right of the banner, noticing Pinkie Pie jumping in the air and flailing her hooves, managing to stay airborne for longer than an earth pony should. Within an instant Pinkie Pie was at my side with an arm draped over my back. “Come in! Meet my friends and your new ones!” I was herded towards four other ponies seated around one of the larger tables. “Ok, first off, this is Applejack,” Pinkie pointed towards an orange earth pony. “Then there’s Rainbow Dash,” besides Applejack was a light-blue pegasus with a rainbow mane… Not too hard to tell how she got her name. “That’s Rarity,” A pure white unicorn with a styled deep violet mane waved as an introduction, although a look of shock overtook her face not a moment after I nodded to her. “And then there’s Princess Twilight Sparkle!”
“Pinkie, for the seventeenth time, stop calling me princess!” The purple alicorn sounded slightly agitated, then again, she was awfully short compared to Princess Luna.
“But you are a princess!” Pinkie Pie argued.
“Yes but-”
“Princess?” I immediately bent down on one foreleg and lowered my head. “I didn’t know, your highness.”
Twilight groaned “See Pinkie? This is why you don’t introduce me as a princess.”
“Well, how else am I supposed to do it? You are a princess and you are Twilight Sparkle.”
I lifted my head to the same height as the table. “If I may, Princess… Why aren’t you as tall as Princess Luna?” I asked, but shrinked back after drawing the five mare’s attention to me.
“Honestly, I don’t know.” Twilight folded her ears down for a moment. “Princess Celestia never explained that to me, and all my research material has no information on the subject.” Twilight paused for a second. “Although I do find it strange that you mentioned Luna and not Celestia. I assume you’ve met her without Nightmare Moon’s influence?”
Twilight’s gaze seemed to linger on me for a moment, I berated myself for saying the lesser known Princess’s name. “Yeah-”
Pinkie Pie grabbed my head and pointed it skyward. “And that is Fluttershy.” A yellow pegasus held onto the buildings rafters for dear life, shivering the whole time. “Say hello to Twilight Fluttershy.” The yellow pegasus uncovered her eyes for a second and squeaked near-silently. Immediately covering her face up in an instant. I gave a worried glance towards Pinkie, but she almost read my mind. “Oh don’t worry about her, she’s always like that. Give her a few minutes and she’ll be fine.” Pinkie disappeared for a moment and returned almost immediately. “Here, take a seat!”
I thanked her and sat down at the table, only then realising that the entire group was staring at me. “Uhh, hi?”
Rarity cleared her throat upon noticing my expression. “Beg my pardon dear, but… I must ask-”
“What’s with your eyes?” Rainbow Dash asked, cutting off the unicorn.
“Rainbow!” Applejack scolded, but immediately lifted her hat and turned back to me. “But, seriously though, do y’all have a horn hidden under that mane o’ yours?”
I sighed heavily. I knew this was a bad idea. “Actually, Applejack, I believe you’re partly right.” The Princess spoke. “Although not quite right in the details.”
Applejack looked at the princess in confusion. “Say-a what now?”
The princess turned to me. “You’re not a unicorn, a pegasus or an earth pony, are you?”
I sighed again, if I knew I was meeting a Princess, then I wouldn’t have come. I felt my wings get cramped under the saddle I was wearing, all of a sudden I just felt incredibly claustrophobic. But my problem still remained, there was no fooling a princess. I closed my eyes and nodded slowly, my wings aching for release.
“Wait wait wait. Hold up. You’re telling me that Twilight- I mean other Twilight, is not a pegasus, unicorn or earth pony.” Rainbow lifted herself off her chair into the centre of the table. There was a pause as I listened to the conversation play out. “Then what the hay is she? A donkey?”
“Twilight is a Sarosian Dash.”
“A Sar-what now?”
“I’m a bat-pony.” I finally said, looking at Rainbow Dash who just stared at me, as if I’d fallen out of the sky.
“A… Bat... Pony?” She repeated, and I nodded, expecting the worst from the group. “What do you mean?”
“Rainbow!” The Princess immediately scolded her friend.
“What? What did I do?” The pegasus lowered herself back into her seat. “Just because I’ve never heard of something doesn’t mean I can’t ask.”
“No, you’re right Rainbow. But it would be like me saying I’ve never met a pegasus before and asked what they were right in-front of you.”
“Well, yeah… But from what I see she’s just like Applejack or Pinkie Pie… The only difference is her eyes, and as far as I know, bat’s can’t see, so that’s obviously not it.”
The Princess turned to me, and put a hoof across mine. “I’m sorry for all this, but, is it okay if you just show them?”
I nodded slowly, as much as I didn’t want to, there was nothing I could say to deny a princess, of all ponies. Using a forehoof, I reached under my stomach and unhooked the saddle, then ran the same hoof through my mane, undoing the hair ties I’d set up not twenty minutes prior. Feeling my ears spring back into place, I shuffled my back enough to get the saddle to fall off, and flexed my wings slightly, revealing them to the small group gathered at the table. I opened my eyes expecting to find a look of horror or disgust, but instead, found looks of question and intrigue.
“BAT-PONY!” There was a loud shout from somepony behind me, throwing the entire store into chaos, ponies, pegasi and unicorns alike fled the party as if trying to escape the plague.
Once the chaos had finished, I found myself alone with the six other ponies I had been introduced to. Rainbow Dash was the first to break the silence. “Now that is cool!”
Chapter 2: Clouds
“So, Twilight… If Sarosians have lived for centuries, how come we’ve never seen any of you?”
I turned to face Rarity. “Well, before Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon, we did live across Equestria. Since we’re nocturnal, our military ranks acted as Princess Luna’s Nightguard. But when the war happened, most of us were wiped out since we are loyal to the moon. So, we fled. Thankfully, Princess Celestia didn’t spite us for our beliefs, and offered for the survivors of the war to live deep within the mountain under Canterlot. And we’ve stayed there ever since. I’m sure there are more colonies of us across Equestria, under mountains, in caves and all that, but… We won’t know for sure unless they surface.”
“So why did you come out now?”
“Well, mostly because I didn’t want to live underground. We all knew what was happening on the surface when Princess Luna regained her throne, mainly because the Nightguard was called upon once more, and I thought that if they were allowed on the surface… Why can’t I?”
“So one day, you just… Left?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Yep, gathered all my bits and moved here. Ponyville is the closest small town to Canterlot.”
“Oh, I hope your family was alright with you coming out here.?” Fluttershy asked; but once I turned to face her she hid behind her mane again. “If you don’t mind me asking.”
“It’s fine, really.” I glanced back around to the rest of the ponies, certain that merely looking at her made her anxious. “The Keepers allow anypony to go once they finish school.” The group gave me a puzzled look.
“Keepers?” Rarity asked, for what I assume was the whole group. “You mean your parents, right?”
“Uhh, no… The Keepers…” I rubbed the back of my head. “Isn’t it the same out here?”
The princess pulled out a quill and scroll. “Why don’t you tell us what it was like for you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, uh, Twilight. Normally ponies who are born stay with their parents until they are old enough to support themselves.” Rarity once again spoke for the group.
“Oh.” I lowered my head, staring at the edge of the table. “Sarosians don’t actually know their parents.” I lifted my gaze. “As each one of us are born, we’re moved so that all the foals are together, watched over by the Keepers until we’re able to support ourselves. But until then we just live in the same room as each other.”
I was immediately swept up in a hug by Fluttershy. “Oh you poor thing. You mean you never met your parents?”
“Uhh, maybe? I don’t know. I mean, stack Ponyville on top of itself about five times, and that’s the size of my previous home. There were a lot of us, but it always felt cozy.”
“How can you live like that?” Rainbow quipped, but immediately shrunk back as I noticed a glare from every other pony around the table staring at her. “I mean, with wings and such, haven’t you ever felt the need to fly and just be free? I can’t stand being inside for longer than a day or two, let alone my entire life.”
“Rainbow, ya have trouble being inside for an hour, heck, A’hm surprised you ain’t left yet for a quick zip around town.” Applejack commented, getting Rainbow’s attention.
“Hey, I’m greeting the new pony- err, Twilight.” Rainbow paused and glanced at me. “Is it alright if I call you a pony?”
“Ya can’t just ask her somethin’ like that!”
“Why not? I don’t know what’s normal for her!” I watched the two ponies argue with each other, then glanced around the table noticing the others just talking quietly amongst themselves. Apparently, this was normal.
“So? Ya don’t have ta be rude about it.”
“I wasn’t being rude, it was an honest question!”
“Girls!” The princess shouted, getting both their attention. “Rainbow, sit down.” She immediately did so. “Applejack, you have every right to yell at Rainbow. However, keep in mind that virtually every record of Sarosian existence disappeared with them a thousand years ago.”
“So then how did you know about them?” Rainbow asked in return.
“Do you really have to ask?” Applejack quipped.
I tuned out of the conversation, both Applejack and Rainbow Dash arguing amongst themselves while the princess tried to keep order between the two. Rarity and Fluttershy talked amongst themselves civilly while Pinkie Pie just watched the others.
Hours passed in basically that same fashion until outside was only lit by the moon and the stars. Stories were told, and jokes were made. “So what do you girls do for a living?” I figured that since this was to become my circle of friends, I may as well try and get some work out of it.
“I run Ponyville library.” The princess started. “Applejack and her family own the apple orchard on the outskirts of town; Rainbow Dash is the manager of the local weather patrol; Pinkie Pie works here as the baker and cashier; Fluttershy feeds and takes care of the local wildlife and Rarity runs her own boutique not three buildings down,” Twilight tapped her muzzle with a hoof. “But, since you’re new in town, and you can fly, I’d say Rainbow is probably your best bet for a job.” How did she know that was my intention?
“Say what now?” Rainbow glanced between myself and the princess. “You think she can be a weather pony?”
The princess shrugged. “Why not? She can fly, it gets her off the ground and away from everypony, if this evening’s reaction wasn’t enough, and you always complain that there aren’t enough on your team, so, why not?”
“It would mean a lot to me.” I spoke appreciatively.
Rainbow stood up from the table and walked around beside me. “I guess we could always use another pair of hooves. But my question is, can you do the job?”
I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“What do you mean, what do I mean? You said you’ve lived underground your entire life, do you even know what a cloud is, let alone how to move one?” I bit my lip, seeing Rainbow’s point immediately. “You have the right equipment at least, being able to fly is usually the only barrier. But if you’ve never handled a cloud before, or can’t tell the difference between rain clouds and thunderheads, then that might be the problem.” I turned back to face the table, before feeling a hoof against my side. “I have the day off tomorrow, so we can have a test run to see if you can. Although we’re scheduled for clear skies, I can get a few clouds together to teach you the basics.”
“Thanks a lot Rainbow.”
“Eh, don’t mention it. But you’d better be able to keep flying all morning. And sometimes all day. But I guess we’ll find that out tomorrow.” Rainbow Dash left my side, glancing out the window behind me. “Anyway, it’s getting late, I’ll see you tomorrow Twi.” She opened the door and prepared to take off. “Catch ya’ later girls!”
“I, too, believe I shall be off. While the party was nice initially, something’s telling me that Twilight will have a harder time fitting in than a manticore.” Rarity trotted towards the door. “We must do this again soon though, there’s something exciting about learning a culture quite unlike ours. Are we still good for the spa tomorrow afternoon, Fluttershy?” The yellow pegasus nodded quickly in response. “Good, then I’ll see you tomorrow and the rest of you girls later on.” A chorus of goodbyes were spoken as Rarity left, and Fluttershy followed not too far behind saying as little as possible.
“Welp, Ah reckon Ah should be off too.” Applejack spoke, leaving her seat. “Have fun cloud wrangling with Dash tomorrow. And don’t take her too seriously, she’s pretty bad at meetin’ new ponies.” Applejack turned back before she left the building. “Even though she is a bit insensitive at times, she’s a great friend, ya learn to love her.”
Only Pinkie Pie, the princess and myself remained. “Uhh, princess?”
She sighed to herself. “Please, stop calling me that.” She flexed her wings and watched them herself. “I’m no different from anypony here. Sure, I have a unicorn horn and pegasus wings, but I’m still just the local librarian. Call me Twilight.”
“No different? You’re the most talented unicorn in the entire town! Probably only second to Celestia herself!” Pinkie Pie jumped out of her seat.
“And that’s what I’m trying to avoid.” Twilight spoke. “But I’m going to join you moving clouds with Rainbow tomorrow.”
“Really?” Both Pinkie Pie and myself said.
“Yes. I don’t know if anyone has told you, but I haven’t had wings for very long. And it is something that I want to learn.” Twilight looked at me and gave a half-smile. “Besides, if you’ve only been living in Ponyville for three days, the sun isn’t going to do your wings any favours if you’re out there all morning.”
I glanced back at my wings, understanding fully what the princess meant. “It is pretty hot out there.”
“I moved here from Canterlot about three years ago, and it was much warmer than I was used to, but that’d be nothing compared to living underground.” Twilight got up from her seat and walked around to my side. “Besides, I’m just as intrigued about you as Rarity is.”
I blushed slightly from the comment. “Am I really that interesting?”
“To us, yes. And I’m sorry for that, but... Well, surely you understand. Sarosians haven’t been part of the population for almost a thousand years. There have been sightings around Equestria since then, but nothing like this.” Twilight crossed her forehooves and took a step back. “I hope all this attention isn’t going to be annoying.”
I couldn’t help but give a chuckle. “From what I’ve seen, I won’t be talking to many ponies around town.”
“Oh, yeah.” Twilight turned her head away.
“But I can solve that!” Pinkie Pie jumped between the two of us. “Everypony knows me, and if I’m friends with you, then they’ll just know you’re a good pony.” I leaned back slightly at Pinkie Pie’s unnatural ability to always feel nearby. “They just need a good party.”
“Pinkie, this was her party.”
“Well, yeah. But I didn’t know she was a Sa- Sara-” I watched her sit down and stare at the ceiling, either trying to work it out, or remember the name.
“Sarosian?” I offered.
“Ooh! Yeah! That one!” She immediately returned to her former giddy self. “But now that I know she’s different, I can set the proper decorations!”
“Pinkie Pie, I-”
“Oh, don’t you worry Twilight-two. Pinkie Pie knows how to party.”
“Twilight... Two?”
“Yeah! Well, I needed a way to tell apart who I was speaking to. And since I knew Twilight-one first, that would make you Twilight-two.” Pinkie Pie turned around. “Anyway, I’ll have to close up shop here, so I’ll say goodnight to both Twilights and see them later.” Pinkie Pie then zipped behind the shop display counter and started packing away everything. “You two head on out, I’ll fix it all.”
I turned back to the princess as she just nodded in agreement. I followed her out the door as it was shut behind us by Pinkie Pie. “So, when are we moving clouds tomorrow?”
The princess shook her head. “I don’t know, although this is exactly like Rainbow. Set something up, and then never give anypony a time to start.” We began walking across the town square, Luna’s moon lighting the way like I was always told. “Do you know where the library is?”
I glanced back towards the princess, then tried to orient myself off the town hall. “Isn’t it two streets that way?” I pointed directly opposite the direction we’re heading.
“No, not quite.” The princess unfurled her wings. “If we fly above the town I can point it out to you.” I followed her actions and took to the sky, the cool night air against my wings was refreshing. Floating just above town hall, Twilight pointed off in the distance. “It’s the tree three houses up on the east side of town.” She suppressed a laugh. “It’s the only inhabitable tree in town, so you can’t miss it. If you want, we can meet up there tomorrow, since I’m sure Rainbow doesn’t know where you live, she’s bound to come looking for you, and it’s much easier to spot Rainbow than it is to find you.”
I looked at her quizzically. “Isn’t it just as hard to find anypony?”
“Not exactly. Rainbow doesn’t really understand subtlety… You’ll understand tomorrow.” Twilight held out a hoof, which I took and shook quickly. “I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
“Certainly.” We both hovered in the air for a while, I was taking in the sights of the town, getting a better layout of everything, since the moonlight wasn’t as harsh as the sun. “Well, goodnight your high- I mean Twilight.” I rubbed the back of my head at my mistake.
Twilight chuckled to herself a little. “See you tomorrow.” We both started flying towards our own homes, leaving myself with my own thoughts.
I was happy that I went to the party. I made six friends, the possibility of a job, and all I had to do was turn up to a party. Sure, everypony now knew who, and what, I was, but Pinkie Pie said all she’d need is another party, and yet strangely, I believed her.
*
Morning came all too quickly as the sun beat down on my still-closed eyelids. More than bright enough to stop my sleep in. Rising from my bed, I moved to the kitchen to prepare myself breakfast.
A quick bowl of egg salad later and the sun had just left the horizon. I contemplated heading to the library now, but wasn’t sure how early was too early. Deciding that I could use the extra time to explore the town, I started to prepare for a morning walk. Tying my ears into my mane was much easier now than when I first started, taking no more than a moment to hide the extended points, searching for my saddle-
I checked the bedpost where it normally sits, but found it surprisingly clean of any accessories. I moved to the lounge room and found that void of any accessories too. Come to think of it, I didn’t pick it back up after I took it off at-
The party.
My first job for the day suddenly planned, I left my home and stepped outside into the cool morning air, the sun hidden behind my home, locked the door, and started on my walk around town. I headed towards Town Square since it was easily the most recognisable location. It also helped that Sugarcube Corner was in the centre of town.
However, upon reaching the first turn on my trek, I noticed a group of mares staring at me. Their eyes, widened, jaws almost hanging open-
My wings! I turned around and ran back home. avoiding eye contact with every mare, stallion and foal I passed. Getting back inside my house, I was free to breathe again.
I paused for a moment, how was I supposed to make it to the centre of town without bringing attention to myself? It didn’t even take a minute of walking before a single- no, a group of ponies to stop what they were doing, and stare… Just stand there and state…
No! It’ll be fine… Just ignore them… They wouldn’t do anything during the day…
Would they?
I rubbed my eyes with my hooves. It was nonsense, nopony would do anything to me just because of my wings. The princess had said it herself, Ponyville was an accepting town… Just a little scared of a race that has been underground for the past thousand years…
I wasn’t going to walk… I couldn’t walk. That’d take too long… I stretched out my wings and tried to cool myself down. I could just fly, that’d be much faster, less ponies would see me… Yes, I would fly… It would save time and lower the risk of being seen…
I turned around and took a deep breath. All I had to do was fly to the centre of town and get to Sugarcube Corner, that’s all…
It wasn’t hard…
Was it?
I opened the front door slowly, peering outside to see if anypony was there. Thankfully the road was clear, so I could step outside, close my door, and take to the skies.
Flying was easier than walking anyway, but being above the town was much safer. The skies were completely clear. Neither cloud nor pegasi were visible within Ponyville airspace, which calmed my nerves somewhat. And from the ground I’d just look like any other pegasus. Except that my wings were translucent in the sun… I spotted my destination and quickly pulled into a dive, wanting to get out of the open as soon as possible.
Reaching Sugarcube Corner, the door was already open and all the decorations from outside taken down. Reaching the entrance, a bell rang, and instantly Pinkie Pie came from out the back.
“Oh, hi Twilight-two! Are you here for the morning taste-test?”
“Morning taste… Test?”
“Yeah! See, everything in Sugarcube Corner is cooked, baked and pressed every morning! And it’s up to the Ponyville public to make sure every treat is just as scrumptious as the last! So, the first customer every day gets to try a cupcake to make sure the mix is juuuust right. After the incident of the baked bads we had just after Twilight-one moved in...” Pinkie Pie disappeared behind a wall to where I assumed was the kitchen, then returned with a single cupcake covered in chocolate icing. “Go on! Try it!”
“Actually, Pinkie Pie, I’m just here for my saddle.”
The pink mare immediately sprang into the air and put the cupcake down. “Of course! I was wondering who owned that, here was me thinking that somepony dropped it when everypony left after you took off your saddle. But when I looked at it, it looked like an earth-pony saddle, but now that I think about it, you were using it to cover your wings so nopony knew you were a Sar- Saro-”
“Sarosian?” I offered again.
“Ooh, yeah! That!” Pinkie Pie lifted the saddle above the counter and onto my back. “I’ll learn that word one day.” Pinkie Pie returned to behind the counter as I did up the buckle under my body. “So will you try the cupcake? Please!” Pinkie leaned over the counter, holding the treat out in her hooves. A pleading look in her eyes and her bottom lip pouted out. How could I say no to that?
I held out one of my hooves, picking up the cupcake. “Alright, I will.” A triumphant ‘yippee’ left the pink pony as I took a bite. Immediately I couldn’t help myself but take another. The cupcake was delicious and moist, blending perfectly with the smooth chocolate icing.
“So, do you like it?”
I mumbled in the best sounding way I could, only swallowing so I could take another bite of the cupcake. Before long, the treat was eaten and I could only lick my hoof for the remnants of flavour. “If every cupcake tastes like that, it’s no wonder you’re a great baker.”
“Thanks! Sometimes, I wonder if my cutie mark was meant to be a cake, but while baking is fun, nothing beats throwing a massive party!” Pinkie Pie returned to a standing position behind the counter. “Is there anything else I can do for you today?”
I shook my head. “No, I’ll drop this off at my place and then go see Twilight.”
“Oh, that’s right… You’re going flying with her and Dashie aren’t you?”
“Yep! And hopefully find myself a job.” I turned to leave the shop, turning my head back as I left. “Thanks again, Pinkie Pie!”
“You’re welcome!” I heard Pinkie shout from the inside as I trotted away. I couldn’t help but shake my head and chuckle as I left Sugarcube Corner. As little as I knew about Pinkie Pie, she was always in high spirits, and her joy was nothing short of contagious.
A quick stop-off at home to drop off the saddle and the sun was much higher than I had originally planned on heading to the library. I guess I spent a little too much time with Pinkie Pie.
I unfurled my wings and took to the sky, heading towards where Twilight had pointed last night. The only inhabitable tree in town. It didn’t sound like a hard place to spot. And I was right, in the daylight, I could spot the library from above town square. Setting my course, I casually drifted on the winds.
The sky was completely clear, just as Rainbow Dash had said was forecasted, but if she said there were clouds around, I was in no position to doubt her. The sun was gaining strength, what was a pleasant warmth had now escalated to almost uncomfortable. It was still manageable, but much hotter and it would become unpleasant. At least the winds were cool and fresh. I tilted my wings forward, beginning my descent towards the library. Flying in lazy circles above the oversized tree I picked up the massive scale of the plant. It was hard to believe at first, a tree you could live in, but seeing it really put things into perspective.
Landing at the front door, I knocked twice, hearing a slight scuttling on the other side, before the door opened and a small purple dragon with green spines emerged. “Hi, I was wondering if Twilight was in.” I spoke, unsure of who the dragon was.
He immediately turned around and shouted. “Twilight, it’s for you!” Before turning back to face me. “Twilight shouldn’t be too long, depending on what she’s reading. Come in, take a seat. It is the public library after all.” The purple dragon opened the door wider, and held a claw out gesturing for me to enter. I took a few steps inside and looked around the library, it really was- “Aah! What happened to your wing?”
I glanced at the dragon, then back at my wings. Oh no, not again. “Listen, I can ex-”
“I mean your wings aren’t like a normal pegasus… They’re all bare and… Is that what they look like with no feathers on?”
“Well...”
“No wonder you came looking for Twilight, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pegasus lose all their feathers before.”
“Spike! Don’t be rude!” I looked up the staircase seeing the princess standing at the top where the door was, entirely grateful that I didn't have to explain myself.
“But Twilight- seriously, I haven’t seen anything like this before.”
“Yes, Spike, that’s because she’s a Sarosian.” The princess made her way down the stairs, stopping a few hooves before me.
“A Sarosian? You mean like Princess Luna’s guards Sarosian…”
“Exactly right.” The princess shook her head for a moment. “I’m sorry, Twilight, this is Spike, my assistant. Spike, this is Twilight Sun. She’s new in town.”
“Oh, so you’re the one Pinkie threw the party for last night.” Spike stepped past Twilight and myself and picked up a stack of books, proceeding to return them in the countless shelves lining the outer walls.
“So how are we supposed to find Rainbow Dash?” I asked, turning back towards the door in preparation to start the search.
The princess fluttered her wings and trotted towards the door. “If I know Rainbow, she’ll either be enjoying her day off by sleeping in, or working on a new trick. So the first stop is her place.” We both stepped outside, Twilight scanning the skies. “Now if only Rainbow’s home was tethered to the ground.”
“Her house just floats around wherever it wants to?”
Twilight frowned. “No. Well, the house itself doesn’t choose where to go. Rainbow lives in a cloud home, and while it is magically tethered within Ponyville’s town limits, there is no exact spot where it stays. The good news, is that the only thing that does move it, besides Rainbow herself, is the wind.” Twilight took to the skies and I immediately followed her, turning the way of the breeze, sure enough, was a giant blob of cloud in the distance. “And there we go.”
The princess flew at a casual pace, occasionally fumbling with her flight, but was stable enough to look comfortable flying. The closer we came, the more details I could make out. There was a rainbow fountain at the top of the home, and several off-shoots which I assume made rooms from the interior. Flying up to the front door, we both landed and stepped up to the door. The breeze in the air was quite cool, countering the heat from the mid-morning sun perfectly. Twilight knocked three times, then turned to face me. “Well, the only real requirement to be a weatherpony is to be able to physically contact the clouds, and it looks like you passed that.”
I lifted a hoof and pressed it back down into the spongy surface. A series of muffled moans were heard from the other side of the door, the sound of a bowl skittering across the floor, a half-restrained shout in pain. Eventually, the door opened, just enough for a dishevelled Rainbow Dash to emerge from the inside. “Hey Twilight,” she paused. “And Twilight.” Rainbow Dash yawned into a hoof. “What brings you both here this early?”
I glanced towards Twilight, noticing her glare at Rainbow Dash. “Do you remember what you said last night?”
Rainbow Dash yawned again, rubbing her eyes with a hoof. “Yeah, I remember… Although I don’t know why you’re here.”
“Twilight said she wanted to join in, wanting to learn the skills, if I remember correctly.” I spoke for the princess.
Rainbow Dash gave a flat look. “So how many books have you read about weather management?”
Twilight seemed to tense up at the question. “Only four… The library didn’t have many books on the subject.”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes then eyed me up and down. “Well, it looks like you pass the first step.” The pegasus stepped between us and closed the door behind her. “Well, let’s get to work. Give me a while so I can gather up some clouds from the weather station and we’ll meet up in the western fields.” Before either the princess or myself could utter another word, Rainbow took off into the sky.
“Is she always that fast?” I asked, turning back towards Twilight.
“No, that was a casual take-off for Rainbow. Usually there’s a stronger updraft in her wake.”
*
The princess and I took refuge from the morning sun under a large tree in the fields. It hadn’t taken us long to arrive since Rainbow Dash’s house was on the western side of town, but it was more than a short wait for Rainbow Dash to arrive, but with three clouds considerably larger than herself in tow, I wasn’t going to blame her.
With a quick swing of her hoof, Rainbow cut one of the clouds in half, and moved them several hooves apart. Flying down to where we sat, Rainbow Dash landed before us. “So, we’ll start at the start. Basic manipulation. The first thing you need to learn what to do is to move clouds. If you apply too much pressure, you’ll burst the cloud and you’ll get a face full of vapour. A good way to wake up in the morning, but not so great for your sinuses.” Rainbow Dash took to the air again. “Well come on, let’s get the boring stuff over with.”
Twilight and myself took to the skies, sizing up each of our respective clouds. Mine was about pony-sized, probably slightly on the large size, but once I lay a hoof against it, I couldn’t believe what it was. So soft and malleable, I grabbed a hoof-full from the cloud and separated it from the original blob. “This is awesome!” Both Rainbow Dash and Twilight looked at me, holding the small glob of cloud in one hoof and poking at it with another. “What?”
Rainbow Dash’s features brightened. “Alright, we have a natural.” She then flew to my side and observed the hoof-sized cloud I held. “Lift it above your head.” I did so. “Now remove your hoof.” I moved a few hooves back from the cloud, leaving it suspended in the air. “Alright, that was simple enough. Now punch it.”
“Punch it?”
“Yeah, like you’re in a hoof-fight with somepony. Break it apart.” I pulled a hoof back and slammed it into the small cloud, bursting the object into a puff of vapour. “Excellent. Well, that’s the basics covered right there. Just on a much smaller scale. Try moving around the larger one for a while, get the hang of it. The clouds themselves won’t move unless you physically make them… Or the wind from another cloud system forces it to.”
“But there are no clouds today.”
Rainbow Dash smiled at me. “There were clouds today, it’s just the weather team already cleared them out. That doesn’t mean the winds have gone.” As if to prove Rainbow’s point a light breeze flew past us. “Just because there aren’t any clouds now doesn’t mean there won’t be soon.”
I started practising with the larger cloud, moving it’s location, pulling out other globs of cloud as before and stuffing them back in after a short while. Eventually, I figured I had the hang of moving the cloud and my wings were starting to tire just hovering in the same location for so long. Sitting down on the cloud, I watched Twilight perform just as I had been. Shifting the clouds location by pushing and pulling, finding the right balance of power and grip to not lose hold of the cloud or tearing off smaller chunks. It was nice to have somepony else around, rather than just Rainbow Dash and myself. At least it didn’t feel like a test as much as I thought it should’ve.
Taking a seat on top of the cloud turned out to be a bad idea. The sun was well and truly stronger than it was before we started, and sitting so far above the ground only intensified the feeling of burning. I left the cloud and opted to hover underneath it, figuring the pain of flying was better than the pain of burning. At least while flying I was exercising, and Rainbow Dash said if I got the job I could be flying all day at times. Oh dear Luna I hope not.
“Alright, now that you both know how to move the cloud, let’s break these ones apart,” Rainbow Dash flew above the two of us. “Come up here, you’ll need as much speed as you can get.” Both Twilight and I flew towards Rainbow Dash, hovering at least a hundred hooves off the ground. “Okay, you know how you punched that smaller cloud?” We both nodded. “Well, this one is going to need a bit more force than that. Which is why we’re up here. Observe.”
Rainbow Dash shot into a dive, lining up the two other clouds she’d towed in when we started. Her acceleration was incredible, I hadn’t seen anypony fly that fast. Within moments Rainbow Dash had slammed into the two clouds, breaking them apart without even slowing down. A quick loop back and before I knew it she was next to me again.
“How did you do that?” I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Rainbow blushed slightly, and rubbed the back of her head with a hoof. “Aww, it’s not that hard. If you’ve been training as long or as hard as I have, then it’s easy.”
I grew skeptical. “How often do you train?”
“When I’m not working I usually get at least all morning or afternoon every day.” She obviously noticed my slack jaw and wide eyes. “What? You have to train that hard -no- even harder if you want to become a Wonderbolt.”
“A Wonderbolt?”
This time, it was Rainbow’s turn to be stunned. “You mean you’ve never heard of the Wonderbolts?” I shook my head. “They’re like, the greatest flyers in Equestria! The fastest, most unreal pegasi you’ll ever meet!” She paused for a moment. “Well, until I become one anyway… But right now, you have a cloud to smash!”
“So how fast do we have to be to break the surface?” Twilight asked.
Rainbow stared at her for a moment. “Honestly, I don’t know. Each cloud type has it’s own requirements before bursting. Like, to break apart a rain cloud the exact same size as those, you’d need twice as much force. But, it’s safer to go all out with every cloud.”
It was my turn to be confused. “Wouldn’t it be better to save your energy if it’s a long day?”
“That’s why there’s a whole team of us on patrol each day. I can’t really explain how hard each cloud is, it’s something you learn over time. But whatever you do, don’t undercook it. If you don’t have enough speed to break through the cloud, it’d be like flying into the ground, head first.” Both the princess and I gulped. “But these should be easy. The last two bits of advice I will give you is that the ground is still down there, so once you hit the cloud, pull up as quickly as you can. And use your hooves to brace the impact. Other than that, have fun!”
I glanced towards Twilight, who was looking at me at the same time. “I’ll go first.” I said, looking down at the cloud below. Pull up after contact, keep your hooves out. Easy.
I flapped my wings once more, then turned into a dive, pointing straight towards the cloud. I kept my wings straight, flapping them occasionally to increase in speed. I braced locked my hooves forward, pointing straight at the cloud… Contact in 3… 2… 1…
-Poof-
Contact… I broke through! I-
Pull Up!
I strained my wings, forcing the wind underneath me to start pulling my body back into the sky. Well, that wasn’t so hard. I flew around at a leisurely pace, after a while realising that I’d been holding my breath the entire time.
Panting, I returned to the other two. “That wasn’t… So hard…”
“I’d rather hope not. Because if you’re that worn out after a single dive, then you might need to start training with me.”
That thought alone was enough to scare me. “Oh no… I’m fine.. I just haven’t hovered in the same space for so long, the whole morning is catching up to me.”
Rainbow Dash didn’t look convinced, but let the issue drop. “Alright Twi, you’re up.”
I watched Twilight follow the same method I’d used. One final flap of her wings, then a straight dive, and she was off. I watched the princess as she held out both her hooves, although she didn’t seem to be going as fast as I was. Either way, she made contact, and the white cloud exploded, causing a small rainbow for a second. Not a moment later Twilight had looped back around and returned to the two of us in the sky.
“Alright, you both pass basic weather manipulation,” Rainbow Dash turned around to face me specifically. “And I suppose since this is basically all the work weather patrol involves, you’re hired.” On the inside I jumped with joy. “However, since there are a few finer details, I’ll task you with the rain teams so you can learn that side too. The wet season is approaching so you’ll need to know how to handle a rain cloud.”
“Thank you, Rainbow.”
“Eh, don’t mention it. As Twilight said last night, we’re always looking for extra hooves.” Rainbow Dash yawned into a hoof. “But if you don’t mind me, I have a bit of sleep to catch up on.” She looked to take off, “Later Twi’s.” And with that, she was gone, leaving a rainbow-hued trail in her wake.
“So, do you have any other plans for today?” The princess asked me.
“No.” My stomach then made itself known with a growl. “But I could do with some lunch.”
Twilight laughed, then gestured for me to follow her. “Lunch it is, then.”
*
Chapter 4: Closer
“Oh, you must be Twilight,” I had just stepped through the doors of the Ponyville weather station, being greeted by a tan coloured stallion with a styled brown mane sitting behind a wide desk. “Rainbow Dash said you were starting today.” The weather station itself was quite small; barely enough room in the entrance for ten ponies to fit. Disregarding personal space anyway.
I closed the door behind me and took a deep breath. The princess’ words of encouragement were working. ‘Let them look’, ‘Say hi as you walk past them’ and ‘Don’t look like you’re hiding anything’ were the major three pieces of advice. And they seemed to be working, although one foal ran into a vendor’s stall while staring. “Uhh, Hi. I was told I’d be working with Raindrops…”
“Of course! Well, lucky for you since there isn’t actually any rain forecasted, you’re the only one rostered on with her.” The stallion’s unusually high voice grated against my ears.
“Where can I find her?”
“She’d be with Rainbow Dash and Stormfeather at their weekly meeting,” The stallion shuffled some papers around on the desk then looked back at me. “This week they’re at Wingsies.”
“Wingsies? Where is that?”
“Oh, it’s a cafe on the west side of town, just two blocks from Town Hall.”
“Thanks,” I turned to open the door.
“Wait!”
I pulled my ears flat to try and save myself from the shrill shout. “Yes?”
“I’m Sunburst by the way. Since we’ll be seeing a lot of each other!”
Great… Just great… “I’ll look forward to it.” No I won’t…
I stepped back outside, flaring my wings and started flying towards Wingsies.
The cafe itself was easy enough to find. Then again, as the princess had said yesterday: finding Rainbow Dash is easier than anypony else, the pegasi’s technicolour mane was easily identifiable. Even from the sky, Rainbow Dash stood out amongst the morning commuters bustling through the streets. I pulled into a dive and headed for an alley beside the cafe. Feeling the wind through my mane was a wondrous sensation, the crisp morning air a good enough reason to leave the underground. The thick, dank and moist air from underground felt like flying through glue by comparison.
I continued to gain speed as I approached the ground, relishing in the weightlessness. Just as I passed the roof of the cafe, I flared my wings, catching as much air as possible to come to a stop just above the road. Hooves back on the ground, I turned around and headed into the street, only to find the two other ponies at Rainbow Dash’s table staring at me.
I shied away on instinct. Their wide-eyed stares almost forced me back into the alley, until Rainbow Dash beckoned me over with a hoof. I approached slowly, unsure on how to address the other two pegasi.
“Good to see you Twi, at least you knew how to find us.” Rainbow Dash started, leaning back in her chair and taking a large mouthful of her drink. I remained silent, taking in the other two ponies before me. There was a bright yellow mare with a turquoise mane, and a dark grey stallion with a short-cut cream coloured mane. Rainbow Dash finished her drink, and noticed my confused expression. “Oh, right. Stormfeather, Raindrops. This is Twilight.” Rainbow turned to face the mare, “Raindrops, I’ve tasked Twilight with you, since she needs to learn how to use rainclouds.”
I glanced between the two other ponies, their faces featureless until the stallion returned from his thoughts. “How did you pull out of your dive like that?”
“Yeah, the only pony I’ve seen who can pull up from a straight dive like that is Rainbow herself.” Raindrops added, leaning over to try and glance down my side.
“I- I don’t know? I just can?” I didn’t think I’d done anything that special.
“Will you two calm down?” Rainbow Dash leaned forward, shuffling herself into a more comfortable position on her chair then leaned back again. “It’s because of her wings. They catch more air than your feathers ever will, so she should be able to perform aileron rolls and sudden stops easier than most pegasi.” I tilted my head, glanced back at my side while shuffling my wings, it did at least make sense. “But that’s not what we’re here for. Storm, how much of your team is still in town?”
“Uh, one… I think... Two if you include me.” The stallion’s eyes scanned the sky as he thought.
Rainbow Dash shook her head. “I’ll need you to give me a hand tomorrow then, since Cloud Kicker and Silverspeed are out sick.”
“I can do that... Anything else?”
“Nope, that’s it.”
“Awesome! See you tomorrow then, Dash!” The grey pegasus quickly took to the skies, flying out of sight in an instant.
Rainbow Dash turned to face Raindrops. “Is the cloud order on track for next week?”
“Sent it yesterday,” Raindrops said with finality.
“Great. Then we’ll be all set for Spring Flower Festival the following week,” Rainbow Dash returned her gaze to me, shuffling out of her chair during the process. “Well, I’ve got a sky to clear. Twilight, I’ll leave you with Raindrops, but will check in when I’m finished.” Rainbow opened her wings and prepared to take off. “Take a few clouds out of the emergency supply Raindrops. We need to rotate the supply anyway, so may as well get some practice for Twilight out of it.”
“Yes Ma’am.” Rainbow Dash drooped slightly at the title.
“How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?”
“At least once more.” Raindrops giggled to herself, waving as Rainbow Dash took to the skies, clearing any stray clouds within sight. “Alright, Twilight is it?” I nodded in response. “As you probably heard, I’m Raindrops. I lead the rain teams in Ponyville.”
“So who was that stallion from before?”
“That was Stormfeather. He’s head of our lightning team.” I tilted my head in confusion. Raindrops obviously noticed it. “Stormfeather has the smallest team, only four of them I think, but the lightning team is qualified to handle thunderheads. I lead the rain team, well, the part of the rain team that is volunteer for the larger storms. And Rainbow Dash leads the cloud-pushers.”
“So if only four ponies know how to handle lightning, then how do you manage a storm over the entire town?”
“Well, we do have five qualified, since Rainbow knows how to handle them too. But including you, there are fifteen full-time weatherponies. Hence why I handle the volunteers, since storms are the only time we need extra hooves. We usually get at least another five ponies helping out with major storms, so to cover the entire town between twenty ponies is usually pretty easy.”
I followed Raindrops out into the street, walking beside her as we went. “Honestly, I don’t know why Rainbow tasked you with me, there’s basically no difference between a raincloud and a normal one.”
“Then how much extra training is required?”
“Well, to put it simply. There are only two major differences between them. To start the rain, just kick it, or jump on it if you’re impatient,” Raindrops paused mid-step, bucking a hind leg for emphasis. “But if you’re moving a raincloud, you must be careful. If you tear a raincloud then anypony underneath it will have a bathtub fall on them.”
I glanced towards Raindrops, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. “A bathtub?”
“Not literally of course, duh . But I’m not kidding when I say that’s what it feels like.” Raindrops grinned as she trotted along, moving towards the outskirts of town. “So, tell me about yourself,” I folded my ears back and lowered my gaze. “Hey, don’t be like that. Rainbow said you weren’t local, and, it’s pretty plain to see why.”
I shuffled my wings on reflex, unsure on what exactly to say.
We continued along the road for several moments, before Raindrops stopped and faced me. “Alright Twilight. I know you’re new to town, and the whole ‘different species’ thing may be getting to you… But you’re at work now, and I don’t fly with anypony I don’t know.” Her face had hardened, taking on a much sterner appearance, but her eyes remained open, a natural sense of ease just radiating from her gaze. It would be a comforting sight, if not for the authoritative way she had addressed me. Returning to walking down the road, she kept an eye on me. “How did you learn to pull out of a dive like that?”
“Back home, there wasn’t really much space to fly, so you had to learn how to stop instantly. Rainbow Dash was right though, my wings are what did the work.”
“Wings are only as good as the mind working them,” Raindrops responded with a wink. “You may have the fastest wings in the world, but if you don’t know how to use them, then you’re not breaking any records,” Raindrops slowed down her pace a little, putting herself directly beside me. “So how long are you planning to stay in Ponyville?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve met some nice ponies here, made a friend or two… I kinda like it here.”
“That’s good… From what Rainbow said about you, there’s not much to worry about.”
“What do you mean? What did she say?”
Raindrops blushed slightly. “Well, to be honest, if it wasn’t for Rainbow telling me about you, I would probably be afraid of talking to you.”
I suddenly realised the picture before me. “Because I’m...”
“Yeah… That… But, she was totally right! You’re just like everypony else. Sure, your eyes are weird to look at at first,” I turned my gaze away at that comment, “and your wings look… strange… But that’s nothing! Talking to you is just like anypony else.”
Raindrops continued for a few moments, apologising for the things she didn’t do, and we returned to talking about work and the other ponies I should get to know. Also talking with Raindrops I learnt a bit more about the Ponyville weather patrol in general. That all cloud pushers were also on the rain team, and that there were three groups of three ponies who rotated working each day forecasted for ‘clear’ or ‘light coverage’. From what I gathered, working as a weather pony wasn’t exactly stressful work, but Ponyville council paid well-enough considering the physical requirements for the job; something which I knew I had to work on.
Raindrops eventually came to a stop, gesturing down a side-street. “If you follow that road, you’ll reach our delivery station. You can’t miss it, the large warehouse on the right,” The pegasus turned around and gestured back towards town. “I need to go grab the key to open it all up. See you soon!”
*
“Alright, now, usually rain-clouds aren’t this dark,” I hovered with Raindrops beside an overlarge, almost black, cloud. “Actually, this is a good stage to work with rain for the first time. Another day or two and this cloud would turn into a sparky.”
“A… Sparky?”
“Well, the technical term is cumulonimbiform. But this isn’t school, and a sparky doesn’t care how smart you are. You handle him wrong, he’ll kill you.” I pulled my hooves back to my side, drifting away from the cloud slowly. Raindrops giggled to herself a little. “Alright, I may have exaggerated a little. A single sparky by itself can’t kill you, it’ll paralyse you, certainly, but pegasi can take a shock and walk away from it. Anypony on the lightning team can take three at once. They build up a resistance over time during their training. When we’re building a storm, listen to your superior’s every word.”
“When you said it would paralyse me… How badly?”
“I’m not going to lie to you... This is a surprisingly dangerous job. But in the sixty-or-so years the Ponyville weather team has been running, nopony has been a casualty. And I intend to keep it that way.” Raindrops flew up to stand on the near-black cloud before me. “How badly paralysed you ask? Well, as badly as paralysis gets. Your hooves and wings get locked out, and you fall… It doesn’t last any longer than a minute or two; but that’s more than enough time for you to hit the ground from regulation storm altitude.”
“Has anypony on the team been shocked by a… Sparky?” I struggled to remember the technical term.
“Oh yeah, but we always have watchers in case things go wrong. Sparkys are unpredictable. Even Stormfeather gets hit once in a while. But I remember two years ago, one new recruit just couldn’t listen to the supervisor. Went and got herself shocked... Screamed her lungs out as she fell,” Raindrops returned to my side. “Luckily for her, Rainbow was overlooking the whole thing, swooped down and saved her life before she hit the ground.”
“Is she alright now?”
“Oh yeah… You’re looking at her.” Raindrops obviously saw my expression and rubbed the back of her head with a hoof, a darker, more somber tone in her voice. Her eyes glazing over slightly. “That’s why I’m tasked with teaching the new recruits before the storms. I know how it feels... What it’s like… I owe my life to Rainbow Dash, and I don’t want anypony else to feel that way. The screaming panic, burning pain and complete helplessness of falling to your death. A pegasi’s worst nightmare if you ask me.” Raindrops shook her head, and regained her composure. “But enough doom and gloom! This is a rain cloud, and she can’t hurt you… Unless you’re underneath her.”
“It’s not a very safe job, is it?” I asked rhetorically.
“If you follow regulation it is. But that’s why I teach you how to do things. If in doubt, ask a question… Nopony will think any less of you,” I nodded in response, now having a full understanding of Raindrops’ explanations. “Now, let’s get you moving this cloud.”
I spent the better part of an hour doing the same exercises I had with Rainbow Dash the previous day. Move the cloud here, push it to here, pull it to there, give it a kick...
“Alright Twilight, well done. That’s basically all you need to know when handling a rain-cloud.” Raindrops flew back down to the ground, taking shade under a large tree. “Now, I want you to grab both sides of it, and pull as hard as you can.”
“What? Why? Won’t that burst it?”
“Well, yeah. But it’s one of those things you have got to do.”
I shrugged, there was no arguing... Just do as you’re told. I placed a hoof on either side of the cloud, tightening my grip. I gave one strong flap of my wings, and jerked the cloud back, only to throw myself into a spin as the cloud disappeared from my grasp.
I righted myself after a moment, only to notice the entire cloud had gone. “Excellent work.” A voice said from below me. Raindrops stood beside the tree, completely saturated in water. “Nothing beats a rain shower.”
I quickly shot down to the ground, panic running through me. “Oh dear Luna! I didn’t drop it on you did I?”
“Of course not. I made sure of that.” Raindrops was laughing to herself, gesturing with a hoof beside herself. “That is where it landed. I was just hot after spending so much time in the sun, so, what better way to cool off than with an almost-expired rain cloud?”
The grass around where Raindrops was standing glistened with the unexpected rain. “Where did the cloud go though?”
“You’ve broken apart regular clouds before, haven’t you?” I nodded in response. “Well, exactly that. There was enough force to break the integrity of the cloud. Rainclouds have a much lower strength rating than normal ones, because of the extra weight.” The sound of hooves approaching took my attention. “Oh, hi Rainbow!”
Rainbow Dash looked the yellow pegasus up and down, shaking her head. “Don’t you ever take this job seriously Raindrops?” She shook her head in response, holding a wide grin the entire time. Rainbow Dash sighed, turning her attention to me. “So, you’re all set then? Know how to handle the rain?” I nodded once, taking a step towards her. “Awesome!”
Rainbow Dash and I left Raindrops and took to the skies, flying lazily over the outskirts of Ponyville. “Well, that’s it Twilight, you’re clear for regular patrol. Your first ‘on the job’ day is two days from now. It’s scheduled for clear skies, so all you have to do is beat up some clouds before sunrise.”
“I think I can do that.”
Rainbow angled down towards the ground, landing in the somewhat deserted town square. “I hope so, otherwise this weeks pay is going to be taken back.” Rainbow hoofed me a bag which jingled as I caught it. “Weather patrol is great, they pay in advance.”
“So how much is this for?”
“Oh, that’s for the rest of this week. Not bad considering the work required.” I focused a bit closer on the bag, hearing it jingle each time my hoof moved. “There should be a hundred or so in there.”
My eyes widened at the number. “A hundred bits? For that?”
“Hey, it’s gotta cover a lot when you think about it. Not anypony can be a weather pony, considering you have to keep yourself in good shape, eat well, and you are working before the sun rises most days. Then there’s the constant hazards to think of...” Rainbow Dash glanced around, as if checking for anypony. “Its a pretty thankless job too. If you’re not being yelled at because its too hot and there aren’t any clouds, you’re shouted at ‘cause you had to ruin a perfectly good day with rain…” The cyan pegasus snorted quickly, shaking her head. “There’s no pleasin’ anypony some days.”
I did almost understand where Rainbow Dash was coming from, it didn’t sound like any of the more glamorous jobs around town. Although at least being a baker like Pinkie Pie gets satisfaction from her customers. “It does make sense when you put it that way, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow Dash held a hoof up, laughing slightly. “Please, just call me Rainbow. Or Dash. You don’t have to be so formal around here.”
“Alright… Rainbow.”
“Much better! So what are your plans for the day off?”
“I don’t know… I thought I’d see a bit more of the town. Any sights worth seeing?”
“Nah, nothin’ really. Unless you want to go for a run through Whitetail Woods… But this far into Spring it’d be pretty damn hot. Twilight would be the one to see about things like that…” Rainbow shook her head again. “I have so gotta think of a name for you.”
I shuddered at the thought. “Do you have to?”
“I am not going to go the rest of my days calling you both Twilight.”
I sighed, I suppose Rainbow Da- Rainbow did have a point. “Alright, let’s hear it.”
“What? You think I can just make one up on the spot like that?” Rainbow laughed and wiped an eye with a hoof. “Not likely. I mean, I can’t just start calling you ‘Sun’ now, right?”
“I’d prefer not.”
“Then gimmie a few days. Who knows, you might do something at work that’ll give us a name.”
I nodded slowly. “Alright, a few days.” I tucked the bag of bits under a wing, finding my bearings and turning towards home. “I’ll see you at work then?”
“If not around town. Then sure! Don’t strain yourself, you’ll need those wings ready.” Rainbow flared her wings and took to the skies, waving down at me as she left.
A short trip home and I hid the bag of bits in a drawer in my room, taking out a handful to keep with me. Exiting the front door and locking it behind me, I checked the sky, finding the sun almost directly above. Excellent. Lunch time.
Twilight would be the one to see… Rainbow’s words resonating in my mind. If I wanted to learn more about what’s around town, the princess would be the one to talk to…
Any excuse would do anyway...
Making the walk through town once more, I made sure to at least acknowledge anypony who stared at me. For the most part, the princess’s advice was working. Showing everypony that I had nothing to hide seemed to be working. It wasn’t flawless by any means, but it was working. Ponies were getting used to seeing me.
Or at least it seemed that way.
By the time I arrived at the library I couldn’t help but grin like the diamond dogs under Canterlot finding a horde of gems. I hadn’t even lived in Ponyville for a week, and I’d already made great friends, found a nice paying job, and got to spend time with a princess of Equestria! Standing before the library door I took a deep breath, calming myself before the approach, just because she is my friend, doesn’t mean I can be disrespectful.
I knocked three times on the library door, not waiting a moment before it was opened. “Hey, Twilight!” The purple dragon spoke. What was his name again? The princess mentioned him a few times… Spine? No… That wasn’t it.
“Hey,” I paused for a moment, trying to focus my thoughts off remembering his name. “Is Twilight in?”
“You betcha,” He turned around and headed inside. “Hey Twilight, Twilight is here!” He shouted throughout the library. The door was left open, so I assumed that invitation enough to enter, I shut it behind me as I took stock of the library. Piles of books were sitting on the ground, entire shelves of the library completely devoid of literature.
Oh, right… Twilight said she was reorganizing the library today.
“Spike… How many times do I have to tell you this is a library . Libraries are not for shouting.”
“But Twilight, nopony is here. You specifically made sure that nopony would be in today.”
“Spike, Twilight is here.”
“I meant nopony wanting to borrow a book. Surely she didn’t come in for that…” The little dragon turned to face me as I navigated the labyrinth of books to their voices. “Right?” Spike asked.
At least I didn’t have to ask for his name. “Uhh, no. I didn’t.”
The small dragon beamed, turning back to the alicorn. “See?”
The princess sighed and took the few steps necessary to close the gap between us. “How was your first day at work?”
“Pretty good. Turns out rain-clouds aren’t any different to normal ones. You just have to be a little more gentle.”
“I didn’t think there’d be much difference between them.” The princess tapped a hoof against her muzzle. “If anything the extra weight would make them harder to move too.” She shook her head, returning her thoughts to normal. “But that’s probably not the reason why you’re here.”
“No, you’re right. I was actually wondering if you wanted to grab some lunch… I do owe you one from yesterday,” I glanced around the room. “If you can spare the time… That is…”
“Oh… Don’t mind this, everything has been sorted and just needs to be reshelved and we’re done.” The princess then focused her attention back towards me. “But why do you owe me one? I said yesterday that you shouldn’t worry about it.”
I paused for a moment, I hadn’t realised the princess didn’t want me to return the favour. “Well, do-”
A small laugh from the princess stole my attention, I felt completely flustered. “It’s alright Twilight. I can give this a rest for a while, as I said, I’m almost finished.” The alicorn floated a several large piles of books straight into one of the shelves, clearing a good portion of the room. “And I’d love to join you for lunch,” The princess turned back to face the young dragon. “Spike, if you can shelve T through Z while I’m gone you can have the rest of today off too.” The young dragan sprung to attention, giving a quick salute; before zipping off deeper into the maze of books.
“Alright, let’s go.” I turned around slowly, feeling my tail get caught on a few books before flicking it free and heading towards the exit.
*
“Oh… I didn’t realise that weather management was so dangerous.” I had just finished explaining the finer details of rainclouds and, as Raindrops called them, sparkys. “That would explain why Rainbow Dash has to attend so many safety and training courses in Cloudsdale.”
For lunch we had found a small bar just outside the centre of town. I had the most delicious alfalfa and lime salad while the princess voiced her great praise for her beetroot, lettuce and tomato burger. The atmosphere was nothing short of fantastic; the music was noticeable but not intrusive, the tables and chairs were polished to shine, the wide curtained windows allowed enough light to see the other side of the room, but not cause a glare off the polished wood, the bartender, although looking a little rough around the edges, was both polite and charming.
And still managing to stay under a three bit meal cost each.
This place was definitely worth remembering.
I continued to admire the space around us, before remembering the original reason for asking the princess to lunch. “Are there any sights worth seeing in Ponyville?”
Twilight finished her drink, then tapped her hoof against her muzzle in thought. “Bored of the town already?” She asked with a chuckle.
“What? No…” The princess continued her laugh as I denied her claim. “I just get a lot of free time from work, so I wondered if there was anything worth seeing.”
“Well, Whitetail Woods stretches from the North edge of town through to the West, but I wouldn’t head out there until the Running of the Leaves festival. There’s Saddle Lake to the East of town, it’s at the perfect temperature from now until the end of Summer if you want to go for a swim. Then beyond the Everfree Forest to the South there’s both Ghastly Gorge and Froggy Bottom Bog. Not ideal attractions as they are landmarks. But might I warn against going into the Everfree without letting somepony know.”
“Why? Is there something wrong with it?”
Twilight laughed hesitantly. “You could say that. The forest tends to have a mind of it’s own. There are timberwolves, poisonous flowers, cockatrices…”
“Cocka-what now?”
“A cockatrice. It has the head of a chicken and the body of a snake.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the description. “You laugh now, but it’ll turn you into stone if you look it in the eye.”
I recoiled at the princess’s words. “Turn you to stone?”
“Yes. I was attacked by one two years back. It is not a feeling I recommend.” I shuddered at the thought. The only thing really worth seeing right now then is the lake. Could be worse, I suppose. Twilight must’ve noticed my expression because she had a small chuckle. “That’s all there is locally anyway, the train will take you wherever you want really. It might take a little while, but it’s better than flying. You can get to Los Pegasus before sundown if you leave at lunch. Canterlot sooner than that. And Cloudsdale, if you listen to Rainbow, is no further than Canterlot. But she would probably fly faster than both of us could… If you’re-”
As Twilight continued to name location after location, and their respective distances, purely by memory, I couldn’t help but stare into the distance and zone out. There was something… More… About how she spoke. The eccentricities of her pronunciation explained her Canterlot youth. The constant changing in her expression showed her obsession for detail, and the way her eyes just stared at me-
“Equestria to Twilight! Hello!” I shook my head and returned from my thoughts. “Are you ok?”
“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine…” I glanced out the window to see the sun starting its descent towards the horizon. “How long have we been out for?”
Twilight followed my eyes and checked the sun. “Probably too long. I really should get back to Spike.” I paid for our meals, despite Twilight’s objections, and we both headed back towards the library.
We trotted beside each other, I kept glancing up towards the sun in wonder, never having actually noticed how it turned the sky such vibrant shades of orange and red. “It’s beautiful isn’t it?” I shook my head, turning to face Twilight who had stopped. “Celestia’s sun, that is.”
“I never really looked at it before.” Twilight flushed slightly, and opened her mouth to speak, before closing it without a sound. That was another thing about Twilight; she was a princess, able to do whatever she wished without question, but still measured every word before speaking.
“Follow me.” Twilight turned around, quickly headed back the way we came.
I galloped to catch up with her. “Where are we going?”
“I thought of another sight worth seeing.” The princess said between breaths, increasing her pace with each stride.
“Wouldn’t flying be faster?”
That caused the princess to come to a stop. glancing around the rest of the sky, her eyes settling on a large cloud just outside the edge of town. “You’re right.” Flaring her wings, the princess took to the sky, not waiting a moment for me to register where she was going.
“Wait for me!” I took off after her, catching her quickly enough to land on the cloud her eyes reached moments ago. “Alright…” I panted. “Why are we up here?”
The princess turned around and pointed with a hoof towards the sun, reaching the edge of the horizon. Her wordless gesture being enough to render me speechless. Being above the city gave us an unobstructed view of Princess Celestia’s sun. I watched Twilight stretch forward and lay down, letting her hooves hang over the edge of the cloud as I joined her in that position.
The sun continued its descent beyond the horizon, we both sat in silence at the wondrous scene. “You’ve never seen the sun set before, have you?”
I shook my head. “Never.”
Twilight let out a heavy sigh. “What was it like underground for all those years? How did you know what was day or night?”
“I didn’t. There was no such thing. If you weren’t working, you were sleeping. We all covered things in shifts.”
The princess closed her eyes. “I couldn’t live like that. After all I’ve learnt from Celestia, I just couldn’t live without… This…”
I chuckled at her words. “You don’t know what you’re missing if you’ve never seen it.”
Twilight nodded in acknowledgement, returning her gaze to the setting sun before us. I glanced towards the princess, but lingered for a moment. A wide grin was plastered across my face as I spent more and more time staring at the princess. The sun reflecting off her eyes as it continued to crawl out of sight beyond the horizon.
By the time the sun was half way out of sight, I was spending more time staring at Twilight than the sunset. The warmth of the day was fleeting, but I couldn’t even feel the cool breeze against my face. But I didn’t care about that. It wasn’t about watching the sunset for the first time. It wasn’t about the endless stream of colours spanning the horizon. It wasn’t about the sights or the sounds. It was the view I had, the time I was spending with her. Then the thought struck me.
I have a crush on a princess!
Chapter 5: Burning
“Twilight?”
The sun was setting. It was the first time in my life that I could watch the sunset, and I didn’t want to…
“Equestria to Twilight!”
I just stared at her- it was all I could do. There was nothing more that I wanted. She kept saying my name though. I tried to respond, really, but, I couldn’t. My mouth opened to respond, But… Nothing .
“We should really get going!”
I couldn’t speak. There were no words to say. I had fallen for a princess, so I did what anypony would do in my situation…
“Oh for the love of Celestia… Snap! Out! Of! It!”
I continued to stare at the pony standing before me, her expression completely unreadable. I watched as she put both her hooves on my shoulders…
“You have a job to do!” Raindrops shook me violently, causing me to take stock of the situation at hoof. I shot into the air from my seated position, spiralling towards the next cloud within a single leap range.
It was morning. It was sunrise.
I glanced towards the rising sun, as it peered over the lake far east of town as Raindrops put herself between me and the celestial body. “Have you snapped out of it yet?”
I shook myself, forcing myself to forget about the previous evening. I tried to speak, but words still escaped me, so I nodded to Raindrops.
“Alright, so you’re with me?” I nodded again. “Great. Now, I know that it’s your first actual day on the job, but so far, for the entire time the sun has been rising, you’ve been doing nothing but staring at it. I understand if you’ve never seen it before, but do it some other time... Like when you’re not supposed to be working!”
I took a deep breath. Now wasn’t the time to daydream. I was supposed to be working.
“I know this is your first proper shift, but since you’ve spent over half of it staring at the sun, you get to help me put away the cloud order arriving this afternoon.”
Not that I had any plans for the rest of the day after work. As much as I wanted to talk to Twilight again, I had spent yesterday cooped up within my house, afraid to even step outside in case I ran into the princ- Twilight! She wants you to call her Twilight! Remember that!
I shook my head and focused on the yellow mare before me. Work! I was at work! I could panic later.
“Alright, now that you’re here, let’s get rid of what’s floating around. We’re scheduled for zero coverage…” Raindrops turned away and flared her wings. I followed her actions and stood beside her. “You can take care of the northern sector. Start east, and work your way back… Unless you really want to stare at the sun as you fly.”
Raindrops took off, tilting towards the south as she flew. Alright, the northern sector. I looked to my left. There weren’t that many clouds… I kicked off from the cloud I was seated on, making sure to remove it from the sky as I left.
It’s alright, everything will be fine… I just got caught up in the moment… I mean, I only stared at her… It’s not like I did anything stupid…
*
“So how was that for sight seeing?” Twilight asked me without looking. Her gaze focused intently on the horizon… Mine directly on her.
I didn’t respond, a thousand thoughts galloping through my mind. I pushed myself back into a seated position, keeping my eyes glued on Twilight.
As I had pushed myself upright Twilight turned around to look at me, her eyes meeting mine. “Are you alright?” She asked, her eyes remaining as bright and wide as the sun I was supposed to be watching. I could hear the sincerity in each of her words; she had genuine interest in my wellbeing . I shuffled my wings slightly; the implications of my earlier revelation came at that moment.
I couldn’t have a crush on a princess. She’s no different from Princess Luna! She’ll live for thousands of years and still look like she does today! What would she do to me if she found out anyway? Are there laws against this sort of thing? I backed away slightly, sitting on the edge of the cloud.
“Twilight?” Her tone started to sound worried, she stood up and took a step closer. “What’s wrong?”
I opened my mouth to answer her, but no words came out… I couldn’t speak… I couldn’t breathe…
Twilight set both her hooves on my shoulders, staring directly into my eyes as her horn started to glow. She was casting a spell! Could she read my mind? Would it tell her what was wrong? I didn’t want to know… I couldn’t let her know! I stepped backwards, my back legs slipping off the cloud as my body followed. I performed a quick roll to correct my fall and shot out my wings. Flying away as quickly as possible was the only thing I could think of doing right now.
“Twilight!”
*
“Twilight!” A hoof-sized rain cloud splashed on my face. I spluttered at the sudden intake of water instead of air, wiping my face with a hoof to remove the excess water. “What happened to you Twilight? You were fine the other day… But that’s twice today that you’ve just… Stopped…”
Once I had finished coughing, and replaced the water in my lungs with air I looked up at Raindrops. “I- I’ve just got a lot on my mind.” I tried to figure out what the next step of the order was. We had already counted the crates, and ordered the clouds. It was time to move them into storage.
“What’s going on? Somepony in town giving you trouble?”
I nodded slowly, taking a rope in hoof to move the crate of sparkys. “You could say that.”
Raindrops took the guide-line for the crate and eased me towards the first hangar. “Who is it? Anyone who gives my workers a hard time needs a lesson in manners.” As I untied the rope and attached it to the next crate Raindrops followed me along for the same procedure. In total there were thirty-five crates. Five sparkys, twenty-four rain clouds and six ‘gusties’ as Raindrops called them.
I sighed heavily. What else was I supposed to do? Let it affect me for as long as I live? “No, it’s not like that.”
Raindrops finished tying her rope and signalled for me to start pulling the crate. “Alright, so tell me what it’s like then.”
After moving the second crate into position and removing my rope, I moved on to the third crate with Raindrops not far behind. “Well...” I paused for a moment, trying to figure out how best to word my emotions.
“I get it, Twilight. You don’t want to talk about it. It’s fine, really. But I don’t want this affecting you at work, so if there’s anything I can do to help, don’t hesitate to ask. Because a pony on the weather team not paying attention is a disaster waiting to happen.”
We packed away the rest of the sparkys without any issues. The only communication between the two of us being either directions or affirmations. Usually by Raindrops telling me to start pulling or to untie and move to the next. Thankfully we could move the crates containing rainclouds two at a time.
“Hey, Raindrops?”
“You’re going to tell me anyway, aren’t you?” I nodded slowly, untying my rope from the stored crates. “Alright, we’ll take a breather, I’m sure your wings could do with a rest anyway.” The yellow pegasus flew to the ground, taking a seat under the tree where I’d almost dropped a raincloud on her just two days prior. “Who’s causing you trouble?”
“It’s Twilight.”
“Yeah, I know who you are, who is-” Raindrops stopped herself, she motioned with her hooves for me to ignore her previous statement. “The princess?” I nodded. “What’s she done? Made a decree stating you can’t live here?”
“Well, no-”
“Look, between you and me, I’d do whatever I could to stay away from her.” I tilted my head in response, not quite understanding what she meant. “Just listen for a moment, will you? Now, I don’t know how much news hits the underground, but Twilight Sparkle is the single-most targeted pony this side of Celestia herself.
“We’ve been under attack, brainwashed, enslaved, transformed and almost wiped out because of her. All because she’s Princess Celestia’s personal student. And it’s just a matter of time until another ‘all powerful’ this or ‘worlds greatest’ that will come around and hurt anypony close to her.”
I shook my head unsure on how to respond. At first I thought that Raindrops herself was crazy, but I remembered each story that Twilight had told me on my training day with Rainbow Dash. Each event Raindrops had mentioned lined up perfectly with the stories Twilight had told me. Getting each event from a different pony gave me the perspective of an outside observer. “If it’s that bad, why still live here?”
Raindrops blushed slightly at my question. “Honestly?” I nodded. I couldn’t understand why Raindrops would have such strong opinions on Twilight, yet still live within the same town as her for no apparent reason. “I, uhh… I kinda have a thing for Rainbow.” Raindrops concluded, looking off at the rest of the crates that we hadn’t stored yet, gaining a dreamlike trance. I just stared at the yellow pegasus. “Don’t look at me like that. Can you blame me? She’s fast, athletic… If you ask her for help she’ll drop everything to lend a hoof. She’s all sorts of amazing…”
“You really do have a crush on Rainbow…” If only because I liked Twilight for almost the same reasons.
Raindrops stood up, flaring her wings in the process. “Alright, breaks over… Let’s put the rest of these clouds away.” The yellow pegasus took to the sky faster than I could ask another question. But at the risk of having to work longer hours, I silently followed Raindrops into the sky, dragging the rope behind me.
Tying up the next two crates, Raindrops directed me into the next space within the hangar. After another three rounds in silence, the pegasus cleared her throat. “You can’t speak a word of this to Rainbow Dash, you know…” I nodded quickly, understanding her wish for silence. Another two sets of crates later, and she spoke up again. “Are you going to tell me what the princess did that stopped you dead this morning?”
I finished untying the rope and moved to the next pair. “I… Uh, I kind of have a thing for her.” I paused for a moment, waiting for Raindrops’ reaction. But when nothing came, I turned around to find her missing. I unhitched myself from the rope, floating to above the crates, scanning the skies for the pegasus. Just before I’d finished a full rotation, a tuft of cloud slammed into the side of me, causing me to crash land on top of a crate I’d tied the rope to. “Are you crazy?” I shouted out at the pegasus, who was hovering a few hundred hooves away. “What’d you do that for?”
Raindrops flew back into speaking range, landing on the crate I had just before slammed into. “Am I crazy? What about you? Didn’t you hear what I told you? Nothing but bad luck follows that mare… Not to mention she’s like, a bucking princess ! It’s not like you’re going to live for as long as she will!”
“Who puts you in charge of who’s a good pony and who’s not? I can’t help that I feel that way for Twilight, it’s not like I can control it. And what about you anyway? Rainbow has her fair share of bad luck too you know… Besides, basically every point you made as to how you feel toward Rainbow I can use for myself towards Twilight.” I stepped forward, not backing down to Raindrops’ claims.
“Alright, alright… I get it. I had the exact same argument with Cold Front when I discovered my feelings for Rainbow.”
I paused for a moment, returning to a passive stance. “How long ago was that?”
“Just as winter started,” the yellow pegasus glanced up at me. “For all of winter I’ve felt this way, and never has there been an opportunity to tell her how I feel… I’ve had enough time to think about it to know that it’s a bad idea to ask her. She probably already knows… But, I can’t say anything to her without these thoughts…” Raindrops continued to stare at me, as if I had some sort of answer for her. Her eyes glazed over as she continued to stare at me… No, not at me… past me...
I turned around instinctively, wondering what drew her attention. A cloud of thick black smoke rose in the distance…
Fire…
I turned back to look at Raindrops who flared her wings out and threw the rope over her shoulder. “I want you to head over there and see if you can set up a perimeter. I’ll bring over as many rain clouds as I can, and it won’t be long until Rainbow gets here to help me. If there’s anypony in that fire I want you to get them out. Don’t let any earth ponies or unicorns into the flames.” I gave a quick salute to the yellow pegasus and took off towards the pillar of smoke. Reciting my orders over and over.
Set up perimeter.
Get anypony out of the flames.
Don’t let unicorns or earth ponies inside.
I pulled into a dive several hundred hooves from the edge of the fire, finding myself on the outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres as the fire seemed to have originated at the edge of Whitetail Woods. I stood beside a strong fence, lining what appeared to be the edge of the property. A dirt road bisected the fence as the gate which normally blocked it stood open. Well, that was convenient... A perimeter already set up within reasonable range of the smoke, without any excess work. Not only that, but the fire was much too far out of town to leave anypony in immediate danger. Unchecked, the fire would probably cause a lot of damage. But with Raindrops on the way with the clouds, this seemed easier than expected.
I lifted myself into the air, surveying the orchard. Nothing seemed out of place, or at least from what I could see. Until I saw an orange pony gallop down the road and towards the fence. I floated back to the ground, standing in the centre of the road. The orange pony skidded to a halt before me, until I realised it was one of Twilight’s friends that I’d met the other day… Applehat, or something…
“I’m sorry, but you can’t get any closer to that fire.” I said to the mare, who shook her head and snorted.
“Like hay Ah can’t! Mah lil’ sister is’n there ‘an ain’t nopony gonna stop me from savin’ her.”
I turned around and looked at the flames, they were climbing the trees faster than I would’ve liked. “I’m sorry, but I have my orders-” I stopped. The second order I was given echoed through my mind.
Get anypony out of the flames.
“Your sister is in there?” The mare nodded quickly, looking for any pass beyond my stretched wings. “Alright, I’ll find her… But I need you to stay out here and watch the perimeter. I was told-”
“Yeah yeah, Ah know. Only pegasi can withstand breathin’ in a lotta smoke. Ah know, now go an’ find her Twilight. Please! She’ll be at her clubhouse… It’s about a hundred hooves in. Follow the road, it’s off to the right. Now go!”
I turned around to face the fire, taking a deep breath I took to the sky, making sure to keep myself above the road. A hundred hooves in, it wasn’t that far. But as the flames got closer, it seemed much further than it actually was.
Breaking through the first wall of smog, I rose in altitude, giving me a better view of the area. The road was harder to follow, but the smoke was thinner. I continued for a few moments, but saw nothing but fire. The road was gone from sight, the overwhelming heat causing my eyes to water, blurring any vision I had of the dirt path.
I flew past the far edge of the blaze, looping back for another pass. Clearing my vision, I flew lower than the first pass, focusing all attention on the path, looking for a clubhouse just off the road. It was then I saw a flash of white on the ground. Pulling into a dive, I landed in the middle of the flames, taking note of a treehouse not ten hooves from me.
I threw myself up towards the construction, taking note of the thoroughly charred steps up to the entry.
“Hello?” I shouted, pushing open the door of the treehouse. It was then I saw three fillies and a dragon, huddled together in a corner. Wait a minute, where had I-
“Oh my gosh, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom! Somepony’s here!”
The three other heads shot up. It was the same group of fillies that ran into Twilight and I the other day… It was then that Spike stood up, his eyes bloodshot. “Twilight! What are you- Oh who cares? Help us!”
I glanced between the four figures. This was going to get very painful. “Alright, let’s get out of here,” I lay down on the rug centred in the treehouse. “Everypony climb on. Spike, I’m going to have to carry you in my hooves.” I felt the three fillies jump onto my back, a death grip around my neck was established, while the middle one fumbled with her hooves over my wings. “Hey, don’t grab on so tightly.”
“Well, tell Applebloom that she doesn’t have to squeeze so tightly around me.”
“Ah’m not squeezin’ tightly, this is squeezin’ tightly.”
The three fillies yelled at each other until I felt a sudden decrease of oxygen to my head, causing me to cough. “Enough!” I shouted, causing all three to settle down. “Now, everypony sit still so we can get out of here as quickly as possible.” I glanced out the window, noticing the flames getting closer to the treehouse.
Pushing myself into a standing position, the extra weight took its toll. I was not looking forward to flying. “Alright, let’s get outside and ready to go.” I stepped out of the clubhouse, standing on the hoof-built balcony. “Spike, I want you to grab hold of my hooves. And for the love of Luna… Don’t look down.” The small dragon nodded quickly, grabbing hold of my forelegs. I reared onto my hind legs, wrapping my hooves around the dragon’s belly. Taking a deep breath of the acrid smoke-filled air, I shot into the sky, beating my wings harder than I ever had.
The heat from the flames both helped and hindered my efforts. I caught the hot air effortlessly with my wings, making the task of remaining airborne almost secondary. But with the hot air, came the smoke. Burning holes in my lungs with each heavy breath.
I couldn’t ascend above the canopy of the forest, causing me to take detours instead of following the road, dodging in and out of the trees that were, and weren’t currently alight. Slowing my pace, I took stock of the situation, flapping my wings tirelessly just to remain stationary. Walls of flame surrounded me, covering almost entire trees in flame.
I was running out of options, and stamina. I had found the path again, but there wasn’t any direction that wasn’t covered in flames. I glanced back towards the fillies riding me, all three of them huddled up as tightly as they could. There was only one way out, and that was through the flames. “Hang on.” I said to the three. I felt the grip around my neck tighten, but it didn’t restrict my breathing.
I held my wings outright, angling myself forward to point just above where the path and the flames met. I continued to accelerate, trying to put on as much speed as possible before contact with the flames. Quickly in and out, the fire can’t be that thick.
I closed my eyes and turned my head to the side, angling my wings and causing my body to start ascending again, I threw us into the wall of fire.
An intense rush of heat covered my body. I felt myself dehydrate almost instantly, and every accumulated drop of sweat vaporised like a forcefully impacted cloud. For that moment, I prayed to Luna that I wouldn’t take the same fate.
But just as quickly as the heat came, an intense rush of cold followed. I was suddenly covered in water, causing my wings to close at the intense change in temperature.
I shook my head, freeing my eyes from the near frigid water, with just enough time to notice the ground fast approaching. I couldn’t land on my shoulder and roll because of the fillies on my back, and I couldn’t stop straight down because of Spike in my hooves… I quickly held Spike off to the side, and braced myself for the impact.
This was going to hurt.
*
Lights, blinding…
Eyes, burning…
Wings, strapped…
Breath… Easy?
I forced my eyelids shut and shuffled my hooves against the soft surface I lay upon. Pain shot through the left side of my body, lingering against my wing as I struggled to pull my thoughts together.
“You’re awake!” A voice said beside me. I knew that voice… It was- Twilight!
I opened my eyes, instantly shutting them again as the intense light nearly blinded me again.
“It’s alright, Twilight. Calm down. You’re at the hospital,” I turned my head towards the voice, opening one eye slowly in hopes that I wouldn’t be blinded from that direction too. Instead I caught a glimpse of the princess sitting beside me as I lay on a bed, the sheets of which were tinted a very pale blue. “How are you feeling?”
My head was throbbing, my left wing ached and the rest of me felt like I’d been thrown into a cave wall. “I’ve felt better…” I continued to scan around the room. It certainly looked like a hospital. Single window behind the princess with several chairs lined up underneath it. A curtain rod outlined the bed I lay upon with a white curtain hanging from roof to floor. Yep, definitely a hospital.
Twilight giggled to herself as I continued to scan the room. Until then I hadn’t realised that I was alone with her. I pressed my ears against the top of my head and looked towards the door, unable to look the princess in the eye. “It was very brave. What you did…” I heard Twilight’s voice as I relaxed my limbs, thinking back. Not actually able to remember why I was here. “Those fillies owe you their lives. And so does Spike,” A hoof took hold of my own, causing me to turn back and face Twilight. “I won’t forget this.”
I stared at Twilight’s hoof, hanging onto mine. But before I could respond the door to the room opened. I turned back to the door to see six figures enter my room in single file: The three fillies that I’d met with Twilight the other day, Rarity, Spike and the orange mare I hadn’t learnt the name of yet. Obviously word had gotten out that I was awake. Although I didn’t even remember falling asleep.
“What happened?” I asked the group, drawing a complete blank on everything before the fire…
Fire! I was looking for... Wait, what was I doing in a fire?
“You flew into the fire looking for us!” A young unicorn filly answered, one of her forehooves wrapped in a light bandage and part of the fur on her face was blackened.
“Yeah! An’ then you flew us all back to the farm!” A yellow filly continued, who had a bandage around her midsection. Her mane also looked unusually short.
“Sweetie Belle!”
“Applebloom!”
Both older looking versions of the fillies scolded their younger counterparts. The two young fillies folded their ears back and moved towards the door, sitting down just beside it. “You took a mighty fall when y’all escaped, but if’n you hadn’ done what you did, Ah’d be without mah sister. An’ for that, Ah’m mighty grateful.”
“As with Applejack, I, too, am grateful Twilight. Celestia knows what I’d do without Sweetie,” Rarity spoke, bowing her head slightly. “I am indebted to you, Twilight. My door is always open if you ever need anything.”
I shook my head slowly. “You don’t owe me anything. I was just following orders.”
“But sometimes, even following orders deserves special rewards,” A voice spoke from the door. I turned my head to see Raindrops enter. “And at the very least, you’ll get a few weeks off to recover.” The pegasus motioned towards me with a hoof.
It was then I actually noticed why I was in so much pain. My left wing was held out from my body, locked in place by more than a few devices. Bandages covered most of my exposed underside, but my left forehoof remained uncovered, telling enough of the story. Instead of my dark grey fur, I found the limb completely bare, showing several cuts in plain sight covered in a strange cream. I glanced around the room, seeing the faces of everypony just staring at me. “How long was I out for?”
“Only a few hours,” Twilight spoke, drawing my attention to the other side of the bed. “The doctors said that you’d broken your wing, cracked several ribs and would probably have a concussion. What is your most recent memory?”
I pushed my mind back, trying to remember the most recent event before waking up. “The only thing I remember is finding the treehouse… Everything else is just dark.”
“That’s alright. A mild concussion is expected considering the impact you had.” Raindrops motioned towards the door. “When Rainbow arrives we’ll have to fill you in on what happened after your escape from the fire. But until then, just rest. Today was the most eventful first day on the job ever recorded. So, you’ve certainly earned it.” Raindrops left the room, followed by the three fillies. Rarity and Applejack were not far behind them, which only left Spike and Twilight in the room with me.
I turned back to face Twilight, noticing her still holding on to my hoof. I tensed the appendage, causing Twilight to let go involuntarily. “Oh, sorry,” I spoke, not really wanting her to let go.
“No, that’s alright…” She mumbled in response. Not quite taking her hoof away, yet not just leaving it on the bed either. I turned my head back towards the door, seeing the young purple dragon sitting in the corner.
“Are you alright?” I asked the dragon, trying to get some form of conversation going in the room.
Spike looked up at me, nodding slowly before pushing himself into a standing position. “Y-yes… I’m fine.” He looked like he had escaped the entire ordeal without a scratch. Then again, I was sure that dragons weren’t actually harmed by flame.
But upon finding that the dragon wasn’t going to give an acknowledgable response, I turned back to face the princess. “Look, about the other day… I-”
“It’s fine, really.” The princess took a step back, looking over her wings and shuffling them slightly. “I understand.”
“You do?” I continued to question.
“Yes, I thought that I would’ve gotten used to it by now myself, but… I suppose not.” Twilight moved around to the other side of the bed, picking Spike up in her magic and placing him on her back. “I understand that you’re not used to talking with royalty .” Twilight almost spat the last word, as if she was disgusted with it.
“No, that’s not it at all.” I tried to defend.
“It’s alright, you don’t have to lie to me. None of my friends treat me like a normal pony. So why should anypony else? Why can’t they understand that I haven’t changed on the inside? These stupid wings aren’t worth it. Princess Celestia said that I’d earned them by mastering the power of friendship, when all they’ve done is drive everypony I care about away from me.” The princess turned back to face me, a single tear sliding down her muzzle. “But that’s fine. You didn’t know who I was before, so I can’t really blame you.” Twilight sighed heavily. “Thank you for saving Spike. I don’t know where I’d be without him. And my door is always open to you, if anypony gives you trouble anyway…”
“Twilight wait-”
“Alright, let’s get this over… with…” Rainbow stood at the doorway with Raindrops beside her. The two pegasi noticing the princess instantly.
“It’s alright, I was just leaving.” Twilight strode out of the room, increasing her pace as she continued down the corridor. A bright flash lit up the area outside my door before all sound of Twilight vanished.
Raindrops looked at me with a sympathetic gaze, assuming the worst. Not that what had actually happened was any better. The princess thought I was treating her differently because of the title she held, not because of the pony she was. I lay my head back on the pillow, hearing two sets of hooves move closer, Raindrops holding a quill and scroll. “Why don’t you tell us everything you remember.”
*
Chapter 3: Spa
“Uhh, Twilight? Are you sure it’s such a good idea for us to have lunch out in the open?” We had just left the western fields, but opted to walk back into town, as the entire morning in the air had caused quite a bit of pain in our wings.
“You’ll be fine, just ignore everypony.” The princess tried to reassure me. It wasn’t working.
“So everypony’s reaction at the party was just a joke… And when I went to get my saddle from Sugarcube Corner this morning. Everypony stared at me; like I didn’t belong here.”
“Twilight, you can’t expect everypony to accept you immediately. You have to understand that while Ponyville is a very open-minded town, nopony has seen a Sarosian for over a thousand years. Besides, you haven’t exactly been trying to meet new ponies. From what you told me at the party you only ever go outside when you have to, and even then you always wear the saddle to cover your wings and tie your ears into your mane,” the princess poked my shoulder, “No, we are going to have lunch, and you’re coming with me.”
“But-”
“No buts.” I sighed in defeat, this wasn’t going anywhere.
“Twilight, everypony just stares at me. That’s all they do. If it’s not at my eyes, it’s at my wings. And it’s never while I’m looking at them.”
“They’re just curious about you. How many different questions did we ask you during the party last night?” I glanced towards the sky trying to recount them all. “Exactly my point. We actually got the opportunity to learn about who you were. Nopony else in town knows you. If ponies stare at you, then say hi as you walk past. As I said before, Ponyville is very open-minded, you just have to ask Lyra or Bon Bon about that.”
“Who?”
“Oh, well, Bon Bon runs a chocolate shop on the South-side of town, while Lyra usually plays music in the town square during the days she’s not at Bon Bon’s store.”
“Hey! Twilight! Twilight!” I heard a trio of voices from behind me. I turned around instinctively at my name, momentarily forgetting the princess.
Three fillies, one of each race, rode up to us. “Hi girls. Been up to much crusading lately?”
“Actually, that’s one reason we came to find you,” the orange pegasus filly jumped off her scooter, purple mane sticking out from under a crash helmet, “I was-”
The pegasus was instantly shoved aside by a yellow earth filly with a vibrant red mane. “We were wonderin’ if we could borrow Spike for the day tomorrow.”
“Spike?”
“Uh huh!” An alabaster unicorn with twotone pink and purple mane jumped forward. “We need him for… Uhh…”
“Hey, he can breath fire right?” The pegasus fought her way back to the front.
“Not really, no. But-” the princess froze for a moment, I certainly had no idea what was going on. “Tomorrow, no, I’ll need Spike’s help to reshelve the Library. But he’ll have the next two days off after that. Either way, you’ll have to ask him, since they’re his days off, if Spike wants to join you crusading, then that’s his choice.”
There was a collective groan from the three fillies, until the pegasus sprung back into life. “Come on crusaders! We just have to ask Spike, surely he’ll help us out!”
The orange one must’ve been the leader, since upon hearing her the other two gained her enthusiasm and piled back into the trailer, taking off down the road into town. “Girls wait!” Twilight shouted after them, but the three fillies didn’t stop.
Both the princess and I stood still for a moment, I glanced between the clouds of dust left by the three fillies, and Twilight herself. “Who were they?” I was almost afraid to ask.
“Sweetie Belle is Rarity’s sister,” Twilight obviously saw my confused expression, “the unicorn.”
“Right.”
“Applebloom, the earth pony, is Applejack’s sister, and Scootaloo, well, you don’t know her parents. But the three of them go to school together, and spend all of their time outside of school trying to discover their special talents.”
We both continued down the road, entering the outskirts of town and the streets slowly became more populated. I managed to blend in while walking beside the princess, but assumed it attributed to her covering one side of my body. That didn’t stop others from staring though.
“Don’t be so paranoid. Let them look.”
“It doesn’t affect you because you haven’t felt it.”
“Actually, I have...” I craned my neck to face the princess, continuing our walk. “I haven’t even been a princess for a month yet, but ponies insist on bowing before me, offering services free of charge. I was stared at before, and I am still now. Sarosians have been underground for a thousand years, but at least there are a lot of you. There are only four known alicorns in Equestria. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence and just under a month ago,” Twilight let out a heavy sigh, “me. So I do know what you’re going through, just not specifically. But honestly, I’d rather be ignored then swarmed.”
I glanced down the road, letting Twilight’s words sink in. “I never thought about it that way.”
“But since we’re out together, other ponies will see that if I am alright with you, then they will come around sooner. Same with the others. Pinkie Pie knows everypony, so she’ll be able to convince them to at least get to know you. If you hang out with Applejack then her reputation will rub off on you too.”
“Why is it that everypony looks up to you all so much?”
*
I was wishing that I’d never asked. Twilight told me countless story after story of adventures that the six of them had gotten up to. There were stories of dragons, changelings -whatever they were-, ancient kings, the wild west, records being broken and, -still to my disbelief- time travel. But in between the constant storytelling, the princess and I had found a place to eat lunch, ordered, and finished our meals before the waiter came and took our plates.
“And if it wasn’t for Starswirl’s unfinished spell, I wouldn’t have discovered the truth behind his words, which granted me these wings,” Twilight flexed her appendages for effect, but winced immediately afterwards. “Maybe there was a little too much flying this morning.”
I didn’t have to unfurl my wings to know they were sore. “I’ll be feeling it tomorrow.”
“Well, you do have work tomorrow, so you’d better get used to it.” The princess paid for our meals, at her insistence, and we both headed back towards the library.
Moving through Town Square, we were silent. After learning of the seemingly endless adventures that the group had gone through, it helped me understand just how well-known they were; not only in Ponyville, but throughout Equestria. Since they had only saved everypony’s lives four times, I think, I had lost count after all the stories.
Twilight, however, spotted one of her friends and galloped off to greet them. It was Fluttershy.
“Oh, hello Twilight I was just heading over to see Rarity.”
“You’re off to the spa aren’t you?” The princess asked knowingly, to which Fluttershy hid behind her mane and nodded. Twilight flexed her wings, and winced again, but lit up with thought. “Hey Fluttershy, what do you normally do when your wings are aching?”
“Oh, well. Actually, I usually go to the spa. Although Aloe and Lotus are earth ponies, they know exactly where the tension is.”
The princess glanced at me, then back to Fluttershy, her features brightened significantly. “Do you mind if we come along? After flying with Rainbow all morning I could really use a good massage.”
“Oh, I don’t know… Usually it’s just Rarity and I-”
“Can we ask Rarity then?”
“I- I guess…”
I wordlessly followed Twilight and Fluttershy. The two were having an incredibly one-sided conversation about the princess’ morning work with Rainbow Dash. Occasionally Fluttershy would get in a word or two of agreement, but most of the time Twilight asked questions relating to pegasi and weather management in general, and from the look on Fluttershy’s face, she probably knew less than Twilight did.
As was described last night, Carousel Boutique was indeed three buildings down from Sugarcube Corner. Passing through the centre of town I made every effort to stand between the two friends, they didn’t seem to mind, and the crowds didn’t seem to notice me. There were a few eyes that lingered, but I was sure they were watching the princess, not me.
Twilight took the lead and pushed open the door, I noticed an ‘open’ sign on the adjacent window.
A bell rang as the three of us stepped inside. The air was much cooler inside, as a bell-chime took my mind off myself and Rarity appeared from another room. “Twilight! Hello Fluttershy, hello- er, Twilight,” Rarity paused when saying my name, I suppose the awkwardness of saying the same name twice got to her more than anypony else, “Well; I can’t say that I was expecting you. But it’s good to see you anyway. What brings you all here?”
“Well, actually, I was wondering if you had room for two more to go to the spa?”
Rarity lit up like fireworks. “Oh, yes! The spa! It completely slipped my mind. There’s been this aristocrat in Canterlot who simply must have his suit before the end of Spring. And, while a fine stallion in every sense of the word, he really needs to learn that sending a letter every single day requesting a status update is going to cost him a fortune in postage, but the mail system takes days between here and Canterlot.” Rarity’s horn started glowing as she levitated a small pile of letters into the centre of the room, “I mean really, there’s cautious and then there’s insanity…” The fashionista returned the letters to her desk and moved towards the three of us at the door. “But, he pays well, and measuring him up was quite the delight!”
Everypony but Rarity blushed at her insinuation. But no extra comments were made. We all stepped outside, I watched Rarity lock her door and flip the ‘open’ sign around before stepping off the front porch and joining us on the street. “So, Twilight. How did things go with Rainbow Dash this morning?”
It took a few moments for me to realise that Rarity was talking to me. I had forgotten that Twilight and I had been alone when she volunteered to join in. “Oh, it was fine.” I said quietly, still unsure how to speak to Rarity... Or Fluttershy… Or anypony who wasn’t Twilight.
“Surely it was more than just fine.”
“Well, I start work tomorrow…”
“That’s wonderful! Will you be working with Rainbow herself?”
“No, she said I would be working with the rain teams as there’s a major storm planned a few weeks from now, and I’d need to learn how to handle rain clouds before then.”
“Ah, so you’ll be working under Raindrops then.”
I nodded in response, getting a smile from Rarity as recognition. The four of us walked across the centre of town, gaining no more attention then when it was the princess and myself. Ponyville Spa was easily noticeable from a distance, and without wasting any time we entered the establishment, met with a full-on assault of scents ranging from lavender to rose.
A hotel-style desk sat against the back wall while a small water feature trickled quietly off to the right, effectively creating the perfect mood for relaxation from the beginning. The sounds of a door closing came from the hallway opposite the water feature drew our attention as a soft pink mare approached
“Hello and welco- Rarity!” The pony paused, looking over the rest of us. “Princess Twilight! An hon-”
“Aloe darling, calm down,” Rarity cut off the pink mare, “I know I have an appointment for two, but will there enough time for the four of us?”
The ponies eyes widened momentarily before returning to normal. “But of course!” The spa pony made to turn away, but paused. “Will it be the works for all of you?”
“Oh, no. That won’t be necessary. I’m only-”
“Why yes, we will.” Rarity cut off the princess, earning a glare from her.
“Excellent! Please take a seat. I shall prepare towels and robes for you all.” The pink mare turned around and headed back down the corridor, as the four of us found a seat around the water feature.
“Rarity! What are you doing?”
“What? Is it wrong of me to want my friends to feel as beautiful as they are?”
I immediately looked towards Rarity at that remark, although all I got was the back of her head. “That part is fine, but shouldn’t you at least let us decide how much we can afford to spend?”
“Twilight, darling, both of you have been out in the sun all morning, flying around and pushing clouds. You both deserve this since you can hardly move your wings without wincing,” Rarity then turned around to face me. “And you need to get ready for your new job tomorrow. Which means you need to be fresh! Believe me when I say that Aloe and Lotus have the best hooves this side of Canterlot.” Twilight’s glare softened, I watched as she tried to flex her wings, but wince in pain with every movement. “You’ll thank me later. Besides, it’s my treat.”
The princess’s softened glare turned completely to regret. “You don’t have to do that Rarity.”
“Nonsense! Think nothing of it.”
Another pony approached from the long hallway, she was the complete opposite colour scheme from Aloe. “Zis way please,” The four of us stood and followed the blue mare through a set of double doors at the end. Rarity walked beside me, with Twilight in front and Fluttershy a few steps behind. “Ve shall start you all off vith ze sauna, zen follow vith ze spa. After zat, ze mud bath, a quick shower, zen finish vith ze massage. Is zat to everypony’s liking?” I tilted my head and nodded, glancing towards Rarity who answered affirmatively for the group. I must ask Rarity exactly what she said. “Good! Please take vith you your robe and towel,” the accented mare gestured to a row of clothes hooks, as each of us put on the robe.
While Rarity and Fluttershy naturally wrapped their manes in the towel, and Twilight mimicked the action using her magic, I tried to gather my mane the same way, but ended up only wrapping half my mane and both my eyes. A bright blue aura surrounded the towel. “May I?” Rarity spoke, I quickly nodded, then held my head still. A slight tug on my mane and everything was as it should.
“Thanks.” I responded.
Passing through another door, the four of us stood in a wide open room with four sections. Furthest to the left was a set of six mud baths, a fair distance from them was a moderately sized swimming pool, on a raised platform behind the pool was a large spa, and covering a large portion of the right side of the room was the sauna. We all followed Lotus to the sauna, she opened the door and quickly ushered us inside. “Ve vill come and get you ven it’s time for ze spa.”
“Thank you Lotus.” Rarity spoke for us all again. I waved to the blue mare as she closed the door.
We all found a seat surrounding a pile of hot stones in the centre of the room. Rarity levitated a bucket from the front of the room and ladled some water over the heated rocks, sending a thick cloud of steam around the room.
I took a deep breath, the thick air clearing my head, although it felt harder to breathe than if I were flying. “Hey Rarity,” Twilight spoke, “Would you happen to know what Sweetie Belle and the crusaders are planning for their next attempt?”
“Twilight, you of all ponies should know that it’s nearly impossible to keep up with her plans. She changes her mind more often than you read books,” the princess frowned at that remark, “Why do you ask?”
“Well, Twilight and I ran into them on our way back into town today. They asked if they could have Spike help them out. And after I said they should ask him, Scootaloo wondered if he could breathe fire,” Rarity took on a contemplative look, “Do you think you could ask Sweetie what they have planned?”
“Why didn’t you ask when Scootaloo asked that?”
“I was going to, but they just left before I had a chance to. I will be asking Spike the same thing when I get home tonight, but one thing that Ponyville doesn’t need is three fillies playing with fire.”
*
The four of us stood in a plain white room, which smelled strongly of lavender, vanilla and cinnamon. Three of the four walls were covered in shelves or cabinets, containing all things from oils and lotions, to brushes and files. Six benches sat, in two rows of three, facing each other, designed to fit a pony laying down, with specific gaps to fit each limb comfortably. Rarity, Twilight and Fluttershy had removed the towels from their manes, each of which looked quite frazzled after the shower and drying without a brush. I followed suit but paused as the others disrobed and picked a bench to lay down on. Both Aloe and Lotus were present, each digging through separate drawers, but another two spa employees were also present.
“Please remove your robe, miss Twilight.” A tan-coloured mare with a purple mane spoke to me, gesturing towards the unoccupied bench adjacent to the princess.
I glanced at the mare, then back towards the princess. “It’s alright Twilight, no-one will judge.”
It was starting to get unnerving that Twilight knew exactly what I was thinking. I took a deep breath. It’s alright, the princess said I’d have to relax around other ponies. If I was going to live in Ponyville, they’d all know what I was eventually…
I took a deep breath and disrobed, hanging the clothing article on a hook on the front wall. There were two gasps, then another pony cleared their throat, when I turned back Aloe had a stern glare towards the other ponies. Obviously sensing that some things wouldn’t work, she spoke. “Rarity, is it alright if Vera tends to you today?”
The white mare glanced between the two. “I don’t mind.”
The tan mare, Vera by name I assumed, trotted over to Rarity’s side, as Aloe stood beside the clean bench. “Miss Twilight, if you would lie down we can begin.”
I took position on the bench and Aloe started running her hooves over my shoulders and back. I assumed Aloe was just feeling for tension points, since very little pressure was used.
“So, Twilight. How did you find Rainbow this morning?” Rarity asked, I lifted my head to respond, only to have Aloe tap the back of my head, silently requesting for me to leave it down.
“She was alright, I guess,” It was sort of an odd question, I wasn’t quite sure how to answer it. “In what way?”
“Well, just in general. I know she can come across as a little brash, arrogant and obnoxious when you first meet her, I was just wondering if she behaved herself with you.”
“She didn’t make a bad first impression if that’s what you mean. Although from last night I quickly learnt that she speaks her mind. Which is always a good quality, I never have to wonder what she’s thinking anyway. But even through what she said last night, I knew it wasn’t rude on purpose.”
“Rainbow is inquisitive, but she doesn’t think before she speaks,” Twilight pitched in. “Much more of a ‘hooves-on’ pony.”
“You can say that again dear.”
“So how did you all get to know each other?” I asked.
“Most of us were already friends before we all came together,” Rarity spoke again. “Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash went to flight school together in Cloudsdale, so they’ve probably been friends together for the longest. Pinkie Pie has been in Ponyville for about four years now. Actually, now that I think about it that is about the same time Fluttershy and Rainbow moved here. And, you’ve met Pinkie, so I’ve known her since she arrived. Applejack and I never really spoke to one another until Twilight moved here just over three years ago,” she paused for a moment. “How long have you known Dash for, Fluttershy?”
“Oh… Almost as long as I can remember. Close to fourteen years.” Fluttershy seemed much more comfortable speaking whenever her friends were involved.
“Really? That long?” Twilight spoke. “I didn’t know you two grew up together.”
“We helped each other a lot. Getting through school, Rainbow helping me with my flying, I helped her with the homework. We both had a lot in common. But when I told her I was moving out of Cloudsdale, she insisted on coming with me. And that was about five years ago,” Fluttershy paused for a moment. “Luckily, Rainbow got the job of weather manager shortly after. That was how she met Applejack anyway.”
I thought for a moment. “How could that have got them to meet? What does Applejack have to do with being weather manager anyway?”
“When Valiant Wind, the old weather manager, retired, Rainbow took over with almost no idea as to the workings of Ponyville. After scheduling several solid weeks of full sunshine in the middle of Spring, Applejack made sure to be heard.”
“She doesn’t like the sun or something?”
“No, it’s not that. Because she runs Sweet Apple Acres, she needed at least a few days of solid rain to make sure she had enough apples for the summer. Unfortunately, once the weather manager sets the schedule, everypony else sets their holidays, so once clear skies was scheduled, over half the weather team went off to visit family or friends out of town. Of course, Applejack didn’t know that, so when Rainbow said she couldn’t do anything about it, there was a bit of a fight between the two.”
“So how’d they become such good friends?”
“Well, Rainbow told me all about what was happening, and I convinced her that the farmers actually did need the rain. So, Rainbow flew back to Cloudsdale and towed three days worth of rain clouds back with her. And over the next few days, Rainbow gave Applejack exactly the rain she needed.”
“And they’ve been friends ever since?”
“The best.”
“What about you Twilight?” I asked.
“Oh, I met all of them in preparations for the Summer Sun celebration back three years ago. Remember the story about us defeating Nightmare Moon?” I nodded, but when no response came I voiced affirmation. “Well, that was when I realised they were my friends, and that I wanted to live in Ponyville.”
“Excuse me, but miss Twilight, can you spread your wings please?” Aloe asked me, I slowly opened them, wincing as my left wing reached full-span. Her hooves feeling around the underside of my right wing, then over to the left one. I flinched as she pressed into the joint on my left wing, she apologised quickly. “You do a lot of flying?”
“Only this morning. And from now on, I suppose, since I’m a weather pony.”
Aloe hummed softly. “There is a rather large knot in the muscle under your left wing. This will probably hurt a bit, but you’ll feel much better once it’s gone. Is that alright?”
“It probably won’t do me any good the way it is, will it?”
“If you let it sit, then the pain you felt just extending it now will feel worse when you’re trying to fly on it tomorrow.”
I shrugged, trying to relax as much as possible. “Then let’s get it over with.”
The conversation continued as I drifted in and out during Aloe’s work. She was right, there was something in my wing muscles, and it was painful until release.
“There we go.” Aloe said almost triumphantly. I let out a sigh of relief, knowing that I’d be able to fly unhindered tomorrow, and that the constant pain would finally subside. She rubbed over the area several more times, “Extend your wings out again please,” I did as she asked, finding the movement unimpaired and completely free from pain. “Excellent! I’ll give you a brush down, then we’ll be done.”
I heard Aloe step away from me, I took a moment to look up and see what the others were up to. Both Twilight and Rarity were having their horns filed, while Fluttershy had her feathers straightened.
I glanced towards Twilight, visibly enjoying the feelings of having her horn filed. Maybe there was a certain feel to it, since as far as I knew it was just bone. But after a quick look at Fluttershy, she seemed to be enjoying herself too. I flared my wings open again, rubbing a hoof against the membrane, maybe pegasus wings had a different feel too. As Aloe moved back towards me, I returned to laying down, feeling her run the brush from the base of my neck down to the tip of my tail, which I twitched instinctively.
Aloe continued unperturbed, working the brush down each leg, making sure my fur sat in a uniform direction. “Alright, there we go. All done.” She announced. I shuffled off the bench and back onto my own hooves. Feeling better than I had when I woke up today. “How are they coming along girls?”
A chorus of ‘soon’ and ‘nearly’ came in response, which seemed to be a good enough response for Aloe to start packing up, moving the brush to a box in the corner and moving each of the robes and towels into another box beside that.
I sat down on a chair behind Twilight, since Roxie, a very pale blue coloured mare with two-tone purple mane and tail, had begun work on her wings, same as what was done with Fluttershy. I watched as Roxie worked, taking care to align each feather perpendicular to the actual wing bone. Twilight’s hooves twitched occasionally, and her tail flicked from side-to-side, completely unnoticed by the spa pony. Or ignored, since it seemed like regular behaviour when unicorns had their horns filed or pegasi had their feathers aligned. I made a note to ask Twilight about that too.
As Rarity and Fluttershy sat down beside me, and Twilight joined shortly after, we all moved back into the main foyer where we all began.
“Rarity, you weren’t kidding, that massage was amazing.” I stood behind Twilight and Fluttershy with Rarity at my side.
“I told you they were the best.”
“Oh please miss Rarity, you speak too highly of us.” Aloe said from behind the counter
“It certainly is praise well earned.” I answered the pink mare.
“Thank you. You’re too kind,” Aloe wrote down a few notes in the book and looked up at Rarity. “Since you had already paid for Fluttershy and yourself, we’ll send you the difference.”
“Thank you Aloe,” Rarity responded. “See you again in a few weeks?”
“I always look forward to it.”
And without another word, the four of us left the spa, and turned back towards Rarity’s home. “Don’t you feel better now Twilight?”
“Which one?” I asked.
“Both of you, I mean really. It wouldn’t take a magician to notice how much both of you enjoyed it.”
I had to admit, Rarity was right. I spread my wings made an experimental flap, lifting myself off the ground for a moment before returning to the ground in step beside the others. “I don’t know about Twilight, but I feel amazing,” I watched the princess out the corner of my eyes. “And from what I saw, you were too.”
The princess blushed slightly from my comments. “You weren’t lying. They had magic hooves.”
The four of us stopped outside Rarity’s home, bidding her farewell and Fluttershy left soon after, opting to fly back to her place since it was in the complete opposite direction.
The sun was hanging low on the horizon, it wouldn’t be long before it was night. “Were you really the reason all of you became friends?”
Twilight paused for a moment, but continued her stride. “I suppose you could say that. Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie never said a word to each other before I moved in. So, I suppose I’m to blame for it all.”
“Why are you to blame? Who said it was a bad thing?”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
“I know, I know,” We continued in silence for few moments. Stopping outside the library once we arrived. “Tell me, what is a unicorn’s horn made of?”
The princess tilted her head in confusion. “Why would you want to know that?”
“Well, when I saw you and Rarity getting your horns filed, it looked as if the action would be painful, and yet, the two of you looked like you were actually enjoying it.”
Twilight flattened her ears and a blush emerged on her cheeks. “Uhhh, well. The horn itself is essentially just bone, but it’s different because we don’t actually feel anything with it. However if it is left alone to just grow then eventually it puts too much strain on the rest of the skull, causing constant migranes. Fortunately, nothing can actually do any damage to a unicorn’s horn unless it has been specially enchanted to do so, or has magical properties itself. The reason as to why unicorns enjoy it so much, is because it’s… Uhh… Actually, how’s this: How does it feel when you preen your wings?”
“Uhh, Twilight… I don’t have feathers, I can’t preen.”
“Well, I- uhh… I guess you’re right there,” the princess paused for a moment. “Have you ever had anypony touch your wings before?”
I quickly thought back over my time. “No… Well, outside the accidental bump here and there… Not really.”
The princess seemed to deflate at my comment. “Then I guess I can’t explain the feeling to you. I’m sorry.”
“It’s nothing to be sorry about. If it’s something you can’t explain then what’s there to apologise for?”
“I suppose you’re right,” Twilight looked towards the sky. “It’s getting late. And you have work tomorrow.”
“I certainly do,” I flared my wings and prepared to take off. “Hey Twilight?”
“Yes?”
“Thanks for today. For showing me around and helping meet your friends.”
“What are friends for?”
I leapt into the skies and waved back at Twilight. What are friends for indeed?
*