To Find a Rainbow

I woke slowly, the gentle dawn light filtering through even the heavy curtains of my window, finding I was pleasantly warm despite the blankets only half-covering me. I have the tendency to toss and turn at night, so waking up with the covers all over the floor isn’t exactly unheard of. I only hoped it hadn’t bothered Rainbow too much.

It was with that stray thought that memories of the night prior echoed back in my mind’s eye, bring a smile to my face. Rainbow’s sleeping form held tight to mine had led to one of the best nights of sleep I’d had in years. Sleeping with someone else always had that effect on me, but it had been so long since the last time I hadn’t been alone that I’d nearly forgotten.

I hate sleeping alone.

Relishing an attempt to delay the coming day even a little longer, I reached to the other side of the bed with intention of pulling Rainbow in for a little cuddling, but my arm only found cold, empty sheets. I opened my eyes, only to find the blankets roughly turned down on her side and the room devoid of any traces of her.

I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed at her absence. I was really hoping for the two of us to have some time alone as we hadn’t gotten the chance since last week. I wasn’t really sure where the two of us were going, and if there’s one thing that drives me crazy, it’s uncertainty.

But then again as I mulled over the idea of my empty bed, tough-girl Rainbow ‘Danger’ Dash never struck me as the type to like mushy stuff like cuddling, so it was entirely possible she had simply gotten up already. For all I knew, she was just using the bathroom or getting breakfast or the like. And with the notion of breakfast entering my mind, my stomach gave its two cents on the conversation as well.

With incentive enough to get me up and out of bed achieved, I threw the covers back and staggered upright. Just because I’d had an excellent night’s sleep doesn’t mean that I was bright eyed and bushy-tailed, mind you. I had to stop and flex to relieve a sharp ache from my lower spine.

Back problems at my age. Heh, maybe Rainbow’s right and I should exercise a little more.

Or it could just be from bending over picking carrots all day, four days a week.

Returning to the moment from my little mental rabbit-chasing, I eyed my clothes still scattered across the floor from the night previous, but in the end I didn’t bother redressing. If Rainbow really had left, then I was the only one in the house and there was no need to be dressed, especially given I had no work for the day. And if Rainbow was still here then it was nothing she hadn’t already seen before.

On my way up the hall, the entire house was silent. No clanking of pots and pans from the kitchen, nor were there the frustrated mutterings that always came with Rainbow’s attempts at cooking. No sounds of those over-the-top action movies she loved to watch coming from the living room. Just the usual sleepy quiet that pervaded my cottage every morning.

And so it was only with a bit of disappointment that I entered my kitchen and set about making some breakfast. Any kind of meat was right out the window when the only sources were Betty and Mabel down on the farm.

I mean really, it was awkward enough drinking their milk.

So instead I was left with more utilitarian options, like scrambled eggs. With a generous helping of cheese on top, of course. I mean, how else can you eat scrambled eggs? On a whim, I decided to fix waffles as well, whipping out the waffle iron Pinkie of all ponies had bought me as a house warming gift. I had never told her that I liked waffles, but when I asked she just giggled and said something about her ‘pinkie sense’ told her I’d need one soon.

Whatever that means.

Regardless, I was happy to have it, and soon enough I had a small stack ready to go. Just as I finished filling a plate –one of the few I had left; I’d need to do some dishes soon– the door suddenly opened behind me, followed by the sound of hooves clattering slowly on the tiled floor. Pleasantly surprised, I couldn’t hold back a smile as I went ahead and set about making some more waffle batter.

“Mornin’, Sexy. I thought you’d already taken off!” I said over my shoulder.

“Uh… I’m sorry?” came her reply. Her voice, though, sounded strangely high-pitched, despite being thick from just waking up. In an instant, the truth dawned on me, filling my stomach with dread. I turned, and sure enough, there stood Scootaloo.

She had one wing pushing the door open, a hoof rubbing across her bleary eyes. She was still suffering from a serious case of bed-mane, random tufts sticking out comically in every direction but despite looking nearly dead on her hooves, her face was contorted in a grimace of confusion.

I laughed to myself, trying to diffuse the awkwardness. I couldn’t believe that I’d forgotten she’d stayed the night. I really regretted not getting dressed. I mean, I was only standing in front of a young girl I’d just met last night in nothing but my boxers.

“Sorry, I uh… thought you were Rainbow there for a minute.” Needing something to change the topic to, I saw the waffle batter out of the corner of my eye and turned to fix a few more. “You want some breakfast? I have eggs and waffles!”

But wouldn’t you know it, she zeroed in on one of the only things I didn’t want to discuss. “You call Rainbow ‘Sexy?’”

It was my turn to grimace. It was too early to deal with this crap. At least it wasn’t how I was dressed. “Fine. Have your laugh, but don’t think I’m sharing my waffles with you.”

“No, no! I’m done, I swear!” she said, suddenly sounding a little livelier. On trudging hooves, she made her way to the table and sat down. While a second batch of waffles were going, I decided to be a good host and let her have the plate I’d already made, moving half of the eggs to another plate for myself. I’d made enough that even half was still a nice enough portion, especially when paired with the waffles.

As I turned to take her the plate, I found her face-first on the table, her wings and legs splayed out lazily around the cushion she’d sat upon; she was the very picture of run-down exhaustion. For the first time, I wondered if Rainbow and I shouldn’t have let her drink last night. She’d only had one bottle of fairly weak cider, nowhere near enough to get her hung over, but she had the signs.

“You feeling alright? Headache? Dry, scratchy throat maybe?” I asked as I sat the plate before her.

“No, I’m not hungover. Mornings just suck,” she mumbled, her voice barely recognizable through the table. After a moment she must have smelled food as she looked up and, spotting her plate, pulled it close and began to dig in.

I let out a relieved sigh. The last thing I wanted to do was take care of a hungover filly. I mean, I would have done it, even if it wasn’t Rainbow’s little sister, but I wouldn’t have been happy about it.

But then a thought occurred to me. “And how do you know what being hungover feels like? You’re not sneaking drinks when Big Sis isn’t looking, are you? Don’t worry, I won’t tell. I’m no narc. Scout’s honor,” I said, even doing the gesture, not that she would get it. Regardless, I got a laugh out of her.

“No, nothing like that,” she said through a mouthful of waffles, syrup matting the fur around her mouth. After swallowing, she continued, “But some friends of mine at school told me what it feels like. ‘Bout the headaches and nausea and stuff. Sounds lame, but don’t worry, I’m fine. Like I said, mornings are just the worst.”

“Heh, I won’t argue that,” I said.

By then, the second batch of waffles was thankfully done and soon enough I was joining Scootaloo at the table with a plate of my own. I tried to ignore how exposed I still felt in only my boxers as I poured some syrup for my waffles, albeit not half as much as Scootaloo had used. I was surprised to find she had quite the sweet-tooth; I had expected her to dislike sugary stuff as much as Rainbow does. Rainbow usually didn’t indulge in anything that meant she’d have more carbs to work off later. Unless Pinkie Pie was around, of course.

Nopony refused sweets in Pinkie Pie’s presence.

As silence fell over the room, bar the scraping of our forks on ceramic, I began to feel uncomfortable. I felt like I needed to say something, but the words wouldn’t come to mind.

With Rainbow, I knew a lull in conversation between us was fine. It didn’t matter that we weren’t saying anything. But I didn’t know Scootaloo that well. In fact, as I sat thinking about how to bridge the gap between us, I realized I barely knew the first thing about her. The night before we’d talked of little outside the movies, and so she might as well have been a stranger before me.

I guess that could have been fine. She was just a friend of a friend; soon enough she’d be leaving and we’d probably never spend time together again. After all, if I hadn’t told Rainbow to invite her over, we probably would have never even met.

But thinking of Rainbow made me reconsider. This was a chance for me to get to know a part of Rainbow’s family, and get a better look at her life. I couldn’t just pass that up because of a little awkwardness.

“So, uh…” I started, completely unsure of what to say. Unfortunately, I let my mind jump to the first thing it thought of. “Is it any good?”

“Hmm?” she asked through her stuffed mouth. I gestured towards her plate and after a moment my meaning dawned on her. After she managed to swallow, she said, “Oh yeah, it’s really good! Way better than anything I can make. Thanks!”

I smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you liked it.”

Once again, silence began to fall back over us. Scootaloo wasn’t eating as quickly now, instead using her fork to push her eggs around between bites. Occasionally her eyes would flick up to meet mine, or look about the kitchen before dropping right back to her plate. If it had been Rainbow sitting across from me acting like that, I would have known in a second that she had something on her mind, but with Scootaloo? I didn’t know. Maybe she wanted to say something, or maybe she just felt as awkward as I did in the moment.

But I wasn’t about to let the chance to make a new friend pass me by. When half the ponies in town look at you funny every time you step out your door, you need every friend you can get.

“So Daring Do last night was fun,” I prompted. That seemed like it might do the trick, as her eyes lit up and she sat a little straighter.

“Yeah, it was pretty awesome!” she said. “Those movies are great, even if Rainbow complains about them not being as good as the books. I’m really glad we came over; they’re even better with friends!”

Her voice suddenly became a little softer and she glanced down at the table, brushing a hoof across her shoulder. “Also, uh… thank you for talking to her about the whole cider thing. Rainbow, heh… She still treats me like a baby sometimes.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, well, that’s a big sister for you.”

“Oh, do you have a big sister, too?” she asked.

Immediately I felt my throat tighten. Flashes of memories flitted through my mind, and I had to shake my head to focus on the filly in front of me. Clearing my throat to force the words out, I eventually managed to say, “I used to.”

“What do you…?” she started to ask, but then with a gasp she fell silent. Fear and regret fought for dominance across her expression as her eyes fell to the table and her ears folded back. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… say something stupid. Uh… Did something happen to her or…? I mean, if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s cool. I understand.”

“No, it’s just… She was fine last I saw her at least. But well, she’s back on Earth.”

“Earth, that’s where you came from, right?” she asked. Her voice had fallen barely above a whisper, letting a somber air settle about our shoulders like a strangling shawl. I only nodded. “But I thought Rainbow told me once that Twilight was still trying to find a way to get you back home.”

“She uh… she is working on it. But she was very clear when she said it was a long shot.”

“But Will! I don’t know if you know this, but Twilight’s like, the best ever at magic! She’s like, the Rainbow Dash of unicorns! If anypony could ever find you a way home, it’ll be her.” As she spoke, her voice continued to rise in pitch and fever. By the end she was practically shouting at me.

Finding myself suddenly full, I stood and took my plate to the counter, putting it aside to wash later. I couldn’t bring myself to look at Scootaloo, though I could feel her eyes boring into my back, waiting for a response. “I know Twilight’s great. I’ve seen some things she can do with magic, but I’m not about to get my hopes up.”

“But…! But Twilight said she would find you a way home. And Twilight’s never let anypony down. She will find you a way home, and you will see your family again. So you can’t give up!” she shouted.

Out of nowhere, there was an exceedingly loud clack! behind me. The sharp noise scared the shit out of me, my heart beating a mile a minute as I spun around to face her. She had both of her hooves on the table, her purple eyes blazing in anger, and the glare she gave me could have killed a lesser man. To be honest, I feel like I lost a decade or two off the end of my life as it was.

But as quickly as that wicked passion had overtaken her it fled, leaving behind a tired-looking filly staring at the table in embarrassment.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to freak out like that,” she whispered.

“No, it’s fine,” I said automatically. Truth be told, I was too stunned to really be sure what to say. Her outburst had come so far out of left field that I was still reeling, even as I made my way back to the table and sat down across from her.

I ended up putting my hand on her shoulder. I wasn’t sure if I should, or if it would even help her feel better, but she looked so dejected I couldn’t just not do something. It seemed to work as she gave a sad smile and briefly nuzzled my arm.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just… I hate seeing ponies –er, well, people give up. I know you’ll get to go home again someday,” she said. She fixed me with a pair of adorable pleading eyes. “Please don’t give up yet, alright?”

There was no way in hell I could have brought myself to say no to that look.

“I’ll try. I promise.”

That seemed to satisfy her and we both fell silent again. After how much it had blown up in my face last time, I was much more hesitant to attempt conversation again, regardless of how much I’d like to know more about Rainbow’s life and friends. After a few minutes with neither of us saying anything, Scootaloo finally sighed and slowly stood.

“Look, I uh… I’m sorry I made things weird. I should just go. I’ve made enough of a fool of myself for one day,” she said. With that, she turned and began trotting for the door, her head hanging low.

I couldn’t let her walk out like that, just like I couldn’t not try to comfort her earlier. Call me a sucker for an upset girl, I guess.

“No, don’t go. It’s really not a big deal,” I called out, stopping her right at the door. “I don’t think you’ve made a fool of yourself. You’re a really nice filly, Scootaloo; if anything, I’m honored you care so much.” Maybe it was coming on a bit strong, but I genuinely meant it, and I tried to get that across to her. I’m pretty sure I did when she smiled.

“Yeah well,” she said, blushing and looking at the floor. When she looked back up to me, she wore a smirk eerily similar to her sister’s. “Any friend of Rainbow Dash is a friend of mine.”

Now there was a sentiment I could get behind. “Yeah, same here,” I said, reaching a fist out toward her, which she bumped with her hoof.

Another short silence fell over us, but this time it lacked the acute discomfort that had plagued the prior ones. A new sense of peace blossomed, and though I wouldn’t go so far as to call us fast friends, I could say we were no longer strangers, at least.

But eventually Scootaloo looked away, rubbing a hoof through her mane again. Suddenly she gave a start, her wings fluttering in agitation.

“Well, I guess I can hang around for a bit but, uh… Would you mind if I took a shower first?” she asked.

I was struck by the oddity of the question, mostly since Rainbow wouldn’t have even bothered asking, she would have just helped herself. But Scootaloo had proven a somewhat more polite houseguest, and after our somewhat rocky morning, no doubt she didn’t want to push her luck. Thankfully I was able to prevent myself laughing, as I doubt it would have helped things.

“Yeah,” I said, pointing towards the hall. “It’s the only door on your right. Help yourself to whatever you want. I don’t have much, but you’re welcome to it.”

“Thanks,” she said, offering one last smile before her tail whipped around the doorframe and she was gone.

As soon as I heard the bathroom door close, I darted back to my bedroom to find some clothes to wear. Seriously, having a tough conversation was bad enough, doing it in only my underwear sucked, and I wasn’t about to spend another second around Scootaloo undressed.

Properly attired, I moved to the living room as I contemplated what to do with myself. I had no plans for the day and nowhere to be. I guessed I could be productive and do those dishes I was putting off, or clean up the mess we’d made during the movie marathon last night, but screw that. Being productive is for losers.

Instead I flopped onto the couch, kicking my feet up onto the coffee table and knocking a pizza box off to the floor. My poor living room had looked so nice yesterday, and now it was already spiraling back into a mess. Oh well, Rainbow wasn’t here and probably wouldn’t be until next weekend.

I don’t know if it says anything about me that I only worry about my house looking presentable when the woman I sleep with could show up. But I bet a lot of guys can relate to that, right?

But I decided I probably shouldn’t spend all day being a lazy bum. And so while I waited for Scootaloo to finish up in the bathroom, I got a list of groceries I needed together. The market was usually pretty busy on the weekends, what with most ponies being off of work, and so I didn’t like making the trip. What with all the stares and everything.

But going on the weekends did have one advantage. There was one particular vendor that only came to town on Saturdays, a griffin chick whose name I didn’t know, but who had quickly become one of my favorite faces in these harrowing days in Equestria.

For you see, this griffin sold fish.

Glorious trout and salmon and tuna and a plethora of other species that I didn’t know the names of but had come to love. I had never much enjoyed the taste of fish, or really seafood in general, but when it became the sole source of my animal proteins, it had quickly grown on me. And though her prices were higher than I’d like, it was worth if for no other reason than to have something other than salad.

Soon enough, however, I was putting the finishing touches on my list and I heard the bathroom door open again. Scootaloo came trotting out and joined me in the living room where she flopped down in the middle of the floor. Her coat was matted though mostly dry, but her mane and tail still dripped the occasional droplet and I was thankful she didn’t sit on the couch.

“You mind if I preen here?” she asked. I told her I didn’t and she set about ruffling through her feathers, starting with the outside working in, giving each a tug before aligning it with the others. It was a slow process it seemed, having to move to every single feather individually, though she worked with a practiced diligence that showed it was something she had done many times before.

“Need any help?” I asked. She looked up from her wings, confused.

“With what?”

“Preening. I’ve never seen a pony preen before, so I don’t know the first thing about it, but I’d be happy to help if I can.”

She recoiled like I had slapped her, staring at me with eyes wide as a brilliant blush bloomed across her face. I knew in an instant that I had said something very, very wrong.

“What!? N-no! I-uh, I totally got it. T-thanks anyway,” she said, her voice louder and higher-pitched than I’d ever heard it. Immediately she set right back to her wings, though her careful movements from before had become rash and twitchy and she staunchly looked anywhere but at me.

“Oh, uh… alright,” I said, more to myself than her.

Another silence, broken only by the rasp of Scootaloo’s teeth against her feathers. So many silences this morning, some awkward, some nice, but yet here was another taking residence.

And I was getting tired of them. Tired of pussyfooting around conversation with her, tired of feeling like there was some insurmountable wall between the two of us that made it so hard to just be real.

“I said something stupid, didn’t I?”

I wasn’t even aware that I had said it aloud. But even as it fled my lips and entered the vulnerable air between us, I didn’t regret it. Whether it was because I was still addled from waking up or I was just yearning for some genuine connection I couldn’t be sure, but the words had already been spoken, so I supposed it didn’t really matter.

And once I’d started, more words just kept pouring out.

“I do that a lot, you know? I’ll say or do something I think is completely innocuous just to find out it’s some huge taboo. Like, I remember this one time when I was still living in Princess Twilight’s castle. We were sitting together, just doing some reading by lantern-light out on her balcony. It had been a really hot day, so we were enjoying some cool air.

“I was still really new in Equestria, and the idea of little ponies that can talk and fly and do magic was still mind-boggling to me. And I wasn’t thinking, and as I always did when I had a small furry animal next to me, I started scratching behind her ears.

“Never once did I stop to think about whether or not she’d want me to do that, or if it would be appropriate. I just did it. But I guess she didn’t mind because she didn’t say anything. But then curiosity began to kick in, and I touched her horn.”

“Oooh, that’s not good,” Scootaloo said, wincing. While I had talked, she had stopped her preening, instead focusing on me with an unreadable expression. As she spoke, though, a look of understanding overcame her.

“Yeah, I found that out soon enough. I was just curious, because I had never actually seen a horned creature– er, being up close before. But to find out that even touching it was basically considered foreplay? Heh, Twilight couldn’t look at me without blushing for weeks.”

Scootaloo suddenly laughed; a light, quiet thing in the hushed air. “If it makes you feel any better, that happened to me once.”

I gave her a look begging for more, and she rolled her eyes. “One of my best friends growing up was a unicorn named Sweetie Belle.”

“Rarity’s little sister?” I asked. I had seen the filly a few times around Rarity’s Boutique when I worked there on Fridays.

Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah, that’s her. A long while back we were having a sleepover at our other friend Apple Bloom’s house. Sweetie Belle used to be really ticklish, so at one point AB and I started tickling her. Just goofing off like foals do, you know? Just picking on and teasing each other. Well, I didn’t know hardly anything about unicorns back then, and even less about sex, so I started tickling her horn, because why not, right?”

I nodded, having some idea of where the story was going from there. Especially after the lecture Princess Twilight had given me after our little incident.

“Anyway, let’s just say I took it a bit too far and things suddenly got really awkward. None of us really understood what had happened, but well… We didn’t really gang up on Sweetie Belle as much after that. But that’s all in the past now. Heh, Sweetie Belle still likes to bring it up every now and then, just to embarrass me. You know how best friends are; you never get to live anything down.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Hell no you don’t. But what else are friends for if not to make you miserable, right?”

“Here, here!” she cheered.

We both shared a quick laugh after that. When we both calmed, Scootaloo scootched closer to where I sat and gently shoved my shoulder.

“My point is that you shouldn’t sweat the small stuff. Mistakes happen, so who cares? I’m sure Twilight eventually forgot all about it, didn’t she?” she asked.

“Yeah. Even at the time she was really cool about it, but at the very least she didn’t ever bring it up again,” I said. “But so I don’t do it again, exactly how bad was the whole ‘asking to help you preen’ thing?”

A little bit of her fading blush came back at that, but she didn’t lose her grin. “Wings are pretty special to a pegasus. Letting somepony else touch them takes a lot of trust. You might as well have asked to give me a sexy massage or… make out or something.”

I could only laugh at my bad luck. “Well, I guess it could have been a lot worse. At least it wasn’t like… a marriage proposal or something.”

“Heh, yeah the ‘horn’ thing is way worse. Some pegasi are more uptight about it than others, but like you said, it could have been a whole lot worse.”

We both shared another smile with each other. It was like all the tension in the room had immediately cleared, and a pressure in my stomach I hadn’t even realized existed just melted away. It felt like it was so rare to have a conversation with someone where I wasn’t always trying to watch what I said or worry about what they thought of me.

In fact, the only other pony I felt that way with was Rainbow. But even then, I found myself often wanting to impress her.

I was really going to like Scootaloo. I could feel it. I was glad Rainbow finally introduced us.

We talked mostly of small things after that as Scootaloo finished preening her wings. I don’t even remember what any of it was, but we laughed and joked like we’d been friends for years. But in the blink of an eye, she was finished and headed for the door where she stopped halfway through, leaning against the doorframe.

“So, that was… weird,” she said, chuckling.

“Yeah, not exactly the smoothest morning ever. I hope it wasn’t too awful.”

She waved me off with a hoof. “Nah, it may have been kinda rocky, but… it was good, too. We’re still on for next week, right? We still have a bunch more Daring Do to get through!”

I smiled. “Hell yeah, we are! I’m really glad you came over, Scootaloo, it was nice meeting you.” Once more, I held out a fist, which she happily bumped with her hoof.

“Same here. Well, I should probably get going. My dad’s probably wondering where I am.”

“That’s cool. Catch you later!” I said, and with a wave she began trotting down the cobblestone walkway toward the street. I was about to close the door when I heard her call out. She turned and sped back.

“Hey, I don’t know if Rainbow told you, but we get together in the park sometimes during the week to practice flying together. We’re meeting this next Wednesday, if you want to stop by. You know, just if you’re free or whatever,” she said, scuffing a hoof across the ground. It was the same nonchalant attitude Rainbow used when she wanted something, but didn’t want to look like she wanted it. I found it adorable that Scootaloo did it, too.

“That sounds like fun. Rainbow’s always pretty awesome in the air, and I wouldn’t mind seeing what you can do, too!”

She smirked and looked at her hooves. “Well, I’m nowhere near as cool as Rainbow, and it’s usually just us doing drills and stuff, so don’t expect anything too exciting. But having an audience always makes practice a little more fun!”

“Alright, I’ll definitely be there,” I said. She smiled, and once again waved as she began to trot off. I waited until she disappeared around the corner this time before I closed my door, leaving me alone in the quiet of my living room.

Despite how badly parts of the morning had gone, I was glad it happened. So much about Scootaloo reminded me of Rainbow; I felt that same loyalty, determination and passion that I loved so much about her in the younger filly. I couldn’t wait for the chance to hang out with the both of them again.

Hopefully next Wednesday would be a little less stressful, though. I already felt like I needed to go back to bed.