Chapters Life Is like a Cookie Jar
The filly was filled with nothing but joy and excitement as she went down the stairs. While she almost could've walked with a skip in her step, she stayed as quiet as she possibly could. Her mother was upstairs and so was her father. The filly just needed to get into the kitchen while the two of them got ready to take on the day. It had only been a few minutes since she had woken up from a good night's sleep. It was a wonderful morning outside, that much was clear. The birds were singing, the sun shining, not a cloud on the sky. It was a really a nice day, not much more needed to be said. Her eyes didn't focus on the sights outside the window, however. Instead they were drawn to atop the fridge, or rather on the jar on top of it. At first, the filly had been tired, she had just wanted to stay in bed, it had been so soft, so very soft, but something in the air had convinced her to get up. She could still smell it, the aroma was strongest in the kitchen, her mother had baked cookies. Chocolate chip, the family's favorite.
"Sunny! Have you seen my tie?" asked a male voice from upstairs. Normally that voice was relaxed, but this morning it was rather stressed.
"I think it might be under the bed, sweetie," responded the mother to the filly's father.
"Hang on a minute, Raindrop. We'll leave soon," said Raindrop's father down to her. Raindrop Day didn't care about that at the moment. She was busy trying to get to the jar on top of the fridge. She had jumped up on the dinner table and was trying to reach the jar with a broom. She knew she needed to be sneaky, and not break it as it fell. She knew she would get grounded for sure if she was found out.
"Raindrop, I baked cookies for this afternoon for my friends, don't touch any of them!" said her mother from upstairs.
"Okay, mom!" responded Raindrop. She knew that Sunny didn't know, she had just said it by chance. Raindrop could still take one, her mother wouldn't notice...if Raindrop could just catch the jar when it tipped over the edge.
"Sorry that I have to walk you to school so early today. I just really need to meet with my boss today. It's inspection, and all that," said Raindrop's father from upstairs. Raindrop didn't even turn around when she answered.
"It's okay, dad!"
"I'll make it up to you, promise," said her father. Raindrop was almost there, she just needed to get the broom's handle a bit behind the jar, then pushing it off would be a snap. She reached from the table, almost there.... Then she slipped. She fell off the rounded edge, but before she could hit the floor something grabbed hold of her in mid-air. "Heh, I made that up to you pretty quickly," said her father while holding his daughter upside down. Raindrop blushed as she looked up at her father's face. He had very clearly defined features, his face might have been a bit long, but otherwise he looked like a very pleasant pony. That yellow coat and green mane always made Raindrop feel safe, but right now she was just so embarrassed, she was sure she would get in trouble when he put her down. He quickly looked behind himself to see if the coast was clear, then he reached up and got a cookie from the jar and gave it to his daughter.
"Thanks, dad," said Raindrop surprised.
"Hey, not a word to your mother," said her father and gave her a little nudge with a wink. Raindrop suddenly heard her mother walking down the stairs. Raindrop had to scoff down the cookie as fast as she could.
"I hope you'll have a great day at school, Raindrop dear," said Sunny to her daughter when she saw her. Sunny had a gray coat with a purple mane. She was wearing her usual glasses. She wasn't really boring, except when it came to her work, but otherwise she was a lot of fun to be around, even if she could be very strict. Sunny had to leave in a hurry, but stopped by to give both of them a kiss on the cheek before leaving.
"Do your best at the train station, Cloudy," said Sunny and left for the door. Raindrop and her father Cloudy waved goodbye through the window as she left.
"Raindrop, come on. We can't be late for the first day of school," said her father and gently pushed her towards the door. He helped her to get her saddlebag on. "Third year already. Time sure flies. Not long until you're no longer my little girl, but my really big girl," said her father with a certain pride in his voice. Raindrop stopped for just a moment by the mirror to make sure her mane was alright. It turned out it was just fine. She had gotten her mother's color in her mane but her father's coat color.
"Dad, do you think I look nice?"
"You'll be the prettiest girl in school today. Come on, let's go. I have to be at the train station in less than an hour," said her father. They went outside into the warm sunlight and locked the door to their house. It was a wonderful day.
Raindrop's father had walked her to the school and then went on his way to the train station. They waved goodbye to each other. She was one of the last young ponies who had arrived at the school this morning. The old great red building was just as well kept as it had been before the summer's start. Seeing her friends and schoolmates play on the grounds, talking about their summer and showing mementos to each other gave her a wonderful sense of familiarity.
"Hey, Rainy, how was your summer?" asked a colt her her class. She had never even heard that nickname before.
"It was nice. How about yours?" asked Raindrop.
"Oh, I did so much cool stuff! Greatest summer ever!" said the colt.
"My summer was better," said a filly who walked past him. The colt followed the filly.
"Not a chance! I went to the beach like twenty times!" said the colt. They walked into the school together, leaving Raindrop to herself. She walked past the playground and into the school. She followed the hall towards the classroom she would spend the rest of the school year learning everything she could, so that she one day could be something that would make her parents proud. She had always wanted to be someone important, somepony who could make big decisions, somepony who could affect many lives in a good way, so that she could be appreciated. Raindrop couldn't remember when her dreams didn't involve something along those lines. When she had been younger she had dreamed of being a princess, but not because of something as shallow like being pretty, or having a lot of nice things like dresses, tea and meeting a prince. It was because she wanted to guide ponies, making their lives better. Eventually that dream had evolved into being some sort of ambassador. And as time had went on, her dreams had shifted constantly to something more realistic, something that could actually happen. If she could be an accountant like her mother, that would be an accomplishment all in itself. She didn't have any plans however, she would have to just do her best where she was, and see where she would go. She was at least a couple of years younger than the usual age for a pony to get her cutie mark, so it didn't really matter to her whenever adults would inevitably ask her 'what do you want to be when you grow up?'
After just a little while Raindrop got to the classroom. Her first teacher of the day would be a familiar one. She could through the door window see her talking to the principal.
"What do you mean we're understaffed?" asked a soft female voice as Raindrop opened the door.
"Miss Cheerilee, I know you are a very capable teacher, but the fact of the matter is that sometimes I get the impression you're the only teacher we have here. I'm just saying we're going to hire more teachers," said the principal.
"Fine, I suppose. Would you kindly excuse me, sir? I have a class in less than ten minutes and I need to prepare the blackboard," said Miss Cheerilee quite politely. Raindrop left her saddlebag on a hook by the door and then walked over to a bench right up front in the classroom. She always sat up front, even if she didn't always like the teachers. She didn't want to miss anything important by accident if she sat in the back. where she would undoubtedly lose focus and chat with the nearest pony. Miss Cheerilee was going through some papers when she noticed Raindrop entering.
"Raindrop Day, oh, it is so nice to see you here again. How was your summer?" asked Miss Cheerilee with that same old caring, kind voice. Raindrop looked up at her and gave her a smile.
"It was really nice, Miss Cheerilee."
"I'm glad. I've been doing all kinds of things. It really has been a nice summer, hasn't it? So warm."
"Yeah. It's my favorite time of year," said Raindrop.
"Mine too."
"What's the first subject today?" asked Raindrop as the first few ponies from her class started to enter the classroom.
"Math!" said Miss Cheerilee with her usual glee. Raindrop was not very happy with that. She did not enjoy math. It was so dull and it wasn't her strength. The last of her classmates entered the classroom as the school bell rang. Her third school year had started, not on a high note, but it had started.
Luckily, that class had gone by quickly. Miss Cheerilee had a knack for making even the worsts subjects feel bearable. Besides, a lot of the first class had been dedicated to just talking about the summer and welcoming everyone back to the school. The next subject was something Raindrop enjoyed much, much more: history. Some in her class didn't enjoy history, but Raindrop was one of those few who loved the subject. To them history was a subject of remembering dates and names, but to Raindrop this was story time. Great wars in mystical lands, explorations, long dramatic development over several generations. Maybe it was just the way her teacher was telling it, maybe Raindrop just had a vivid imagination, but she always saw herself in those stories. She always felt the courage those ponies had felt when they thought for justice and love, she shared the fear they had felt when things were grim. She sympathized with them despite that they were long gone. The only thing left of them were artifacts, memories and the written word. Today, the story in question was about a prince and a princess whose citizens had risen up in a revolution against them. Raindrop found it thrilling. It was political intrigue, yet accessible to somepony of her young age. Sadly, just like the conflict had gotten to an end, so did the class. It wasn't very long until Raindrop found herself out in the hallway again during a recess. She walked outside, out into the playground. Many colts and fillies were already there, playing and laughing. The next subject would be music, a subject Raindrop didn't enjoy. She liked music just fine, but not when she had to participate like that. She wasn't even a good singer. Still, for the moment she just needed to find a way to make twenty minutes pass. She walked over to a few of her classmates playing tag. They gladly accepted her into their game. Despite the fact that Raindrop would have to be in a couple of dull classes today, she was still having a good first day of her third year. Unfortunately, that was about to change.
"Hey, Raindrop! Miss Cheerilee told me to tell you she needed to talk to you!" said one of the somewhat older fillies there. It was the filly from the Apple family. Raindrop didn't know her very well other than that she was a really nice pony.
"She does? Do you know what, Applebloom?" asked Raindrop. She just shrugged. Some of the other ponies started to gather around.
"I dunno. She didn't tell me when I asked, she just said it was mighty important," said Applebloom.
"Sounds like somepony is in trouble," whispered a colt behind Raindrop with a little bit of malicious childish glee.
"Well, alright. I'll go find her. Thanks, Applebloom," said Raindrop and went inside the building again. While Raindrop had to do a little searching at first, she eventaully found Cheerilee in the teachers' lounge. To Raindrop's surprise a big orange stallion was in there with them. It was Tripper Track, one of her father's close work friends.
"There you are, Raindrop. I came here as soon as I could," said the stallion, he had a really deep gruff voice. It didn't sound friendly but it was very misleading. He was as gentle and kind as a pony could be.
"Hey Tripper...is something wrong?" asked Raindrop. Tripper and Miss Cheerilee exchanged a quick glance. Miss Cheerilee sighed and walked up to Raindrop.
"Mr. Track here just informed me that your father seemed to have... collapsed during his work. He's down at Ponyville Hospital right now. Your mother is already there with him." Raindrop was speechless and in slight shock. No matter what age one is, a pony just can't hear such troubling news without feeling fear. Questions such as why, how and when were just the tip of the iceberg of what was going on inside Raindrop's mind at the moment. Miss Cheerilee continued, "Mr. Track here was sent to tell you about it at your father's request."
"His request? So daddy's alright? Is he going to be okay?" asked Raindrop, terrified.
"We just don't know. He just said he wanted you to be there for some reason," said Tripper. Raindrop was so unsure, but eventually she just nodded and let Tripper Track help her on her way to the local hospital. She could almost feel ponies on the playground looking at her while she walked away from the school grounds and onto the way to the hospital.
"What's wrong with my dad?" asked Raindrop.
"I don't know. Sorry. I was on the other side of the station when I it happened. By the time I was told about it he was already at the hospital."
"But what happened to him?"
"As far as I know, he just fainted. You'll have to ask your old man yourself when you see him," said Tripper.
"Is it bad? He'll be alright, right?" asked Raindrop. Tripper looked a bit hesitantly at the road.
"I'm sure he will. It's probably not, not... I bet he'll be alright," said Tripper.
"You don't sound so sure," said Raindrop. Tripper looked like he was panicking, no doubt at the prospect of making a young daughter fear for her father's health.
"No, no, look, he's a calm guy, and he was really calm when I talked to him at the hospital, so it's probably nothing," said Tripper.
"I hope so."
"Me too."
Hospitals were never outright unpleasant to her but Raindrop didn't actually enjoy being in them. No matter how many green plants or large paintings would decorate the hallways they would always feel lifeless, sterile, to her. A place about healing should feel more alive. She was walking with Tripper towards the room her father was staying in. When they entered, however, it was empty.
"Where is he?" asked Tripper.
"Are you sure this is where he was?" asked Raindrop.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Raindrop walked up to a nearby nurse that was just passing them.
"Excuse me, do you know where the pony who stayed in that room is?" asked Raindrop. The nurse gave Tripper a confused look.
"She's his daughter," said Tripper.
"Oh, yes, that's right. Mr. Day was discharged a few minutes ago by Doctor Heart. It was clearly just a case of exhaustion according to him," said the nurse.
"So Cloudy is safe?" asked Tripper.
"He's probably on his way home. Which is good because Doctor Heart was not in a very happy mood while he was here."
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, Mr. Day insisted that we wouldn't perform some tests. It means more work for Doctor Heart but he's usually thorough, even with trivial cases like this, and he's had a very hard week. The doctor was not in a good mood when Day said no."
"Well, whatever. Come on, Raindrop. Let's go home to your old man," said Tripper. It was with relief that Raindrop followed Tripper out of the hospital. If she could hurry home to see Cloudy, then maybe she could even get back to school in time, maybe this would be a great day after all.
The trip from the hospital all the way back to Raindrop's home was longer than she remembered it to be, but the trip was worth it when Raindrop saw her father walking down the stairs. She hugged him as soon as she possibly could.
"Daddy, I was so worried!"
"Good thing at least one of the mares in this house are happy to see me. Your mother was furious. She was upset about me getting her to leave work over nothing."
"That's just mean ."
"She's been going through a lot at work lately. You know how she is. She was really relieved to see me, I'm sure." Cloudy looked up from his daughter and instead faced his friend. "Thanks a lot for looking after my little girl, Tripper. You're a real pal." Tripper just seemed extremely relieved. Raindrop was almost sure the big pony was going to start weeping at the sight of his friend.
"No, no, no problem," said Tripper. He quickly said goodbye and went outside.
"How was school, sweetie?" asked Cloudy.
"It was okay, I guess. Really, really short, though," said Raindrop. Cloudy's eyes widened.
"That's right! School is still in session. Come on, I'll walk you back. Or, would you rather stay at home with me today?"
"I think I'll go back to school, please," said Raindrop.
"That's my girl," said Cloudy. The little filly was certain she could hear the faintest little hint of pride in her father's voice.
Life Is like a Cookie Jar
On the last hours of her first day in her new grade everypony that Raindrop knew were relieved that her father was alright. Raindrop felt very nice when they showed her such open sympathy and she thanked them, very grateful for their compassion. She was a bit curious how so many of them seemed to have heard about it before she had even arrived.
"You know, rumors spread fast," had a little colt said while on the swings.
"I heard one of the teachers talked about it in the teacher's lounge, while the door was open," had been the response of a fellow filly. That had been the day before today, and now while still at home Raindrop was getting ready for the second day.
"Saddlebag?" asked Cloudy to her at the bottom of the stairs. They were about to head out for the day.
"Yes, dad," answered Raindrop.
"Books?"
"Every single one."
"Boxed lunch?"
"Carrots and daisy sandwiches." Her father thought for himself for a short moment. Raindrop noticed a little glint in his eye.
"Cookie?"
"What?"
"Don't tell your mother," said Cloudy and put a bag with a large cookie inside her saddlebag. "Now, I believe that's everything. I hope you will have a great day today, Raindrop."
"I will, dad. I hope you have a great day too. Thank you so much for the cookie," said Raindrop pleasantly surprised. They gave each other a hug before they went outside the house. He was walking her to school. He didn't need to, but Raindrop liked the company.
"The weather isn't as nice today as it could've been. Did the pegasi really have to do it today?" asked Cloudy and looked up at the gloomy sky.
"When is it going to rain?"
"During your entire school day. The recesses won't be as fun today, I would bet."
"I think they'll be fun. I like it when it rains too. We usually get to stay inside. I usually sit by this other pony that draws things and watch him work."
"Did you say 'him'?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Oh, no reason. Is he good at drawing?"
"No, not at all. That's why I sit and watch him draw things. He usually gets mad and just tosses the entire drawing at the trashcan. It's sort of fun to see him just get out of control like that," said Raindrop and smiled.
"Which one is he?"
"Billy Folds," said Raindrop.
"Oh, I think I've seen him around, I think," said Cloud.
"I like the rain, it's so refreshing," said Raindrop.
"Oh, you've always liked the rain. When you were just a foal we got caught in some really awful weather. You couldn't help but to laugh at the rain for a straight two minutes. Why did you think we gave you a name like Raindrop?" asked Cloudy. Raindrop couldn't help but to feel a little embarrassed. Suddenly she felt something refreshing gently hit her nose.
"Darn it. They've started already? Come on, sweetie. Time to run," said her father. They started to gallop on the road as the weather got worse and worse by the minute. It was raining heavily but there was no wind. Raindrop smiled as she felt the cold raindrops against her face. It didn't take long for her mane to be dripping wet. Today was sure to be better than the last one.
That morning something somewhat odd happened to Raindrop. She was the first pony that arrived at school except for the teachers. The first pony she met there was Cheerilee as she exited one of the few rooms there.
"Hello, Raindrop. A little early today, aren't we?" asked Cheerilee.
"I guess. Huh, I didn't think it would be this early. I guess my parents are pretty busy today," said Raindrop.
"They are pretty hard workers, there's no denying that," said Cheerilee with certain tone unusual for her, at least among fillies and colts.
"Is something wrong?"
"What? No, no, of course not."
"Come on, tell me, Miss Cheerilee," said Raindrop. It didn't matter what Raindrop said, however, as Cheerilee would not say anything. It was certainly about something adult and important. Raindrop gave up, not because she wanted to, but rather because of how futile it was to make her teacher ignore her own principles. It was just one of the several reasons Raindrop respected her so much. "So, what are we going to do today during your lessons?" asked Raindrop in an attempt to distract herself long enough to forget what Cheerilee wasn't telling her, to not be in agony from her own natural curiosity.
One lesson in math and a few hours later Raindrop found herself to have enjoyed the lesson about the weather more than she expected to, but in all honesty she was glad once it was finally over. Learning about the weather was somewhat interesting, but eventually she just wanted the lesson to end. It just wasn't for her. Taking a break was well welcomed at that point, in which she spent some of her time looking at Billy Folds' little struggle with drawing. The reason she enjoyed looking at him fail and fail again then reacting angrily to it wasn't because she enjoyed him failing. It was because he would always pick up the pencil with his magical horn and try again, always. He worked so hard at it, and if one would look at his determination for just a single recess, then you would want to stick around, because you would want him to succeed. You wanted him to improve, you wanted him to get the result he wanted. Raindrop thought that in a certain way she was there to cheer him on, silently, sometimes saying she liked the final, if a bit average, drawing.
"This one came out pretty well," said Raindrop as she looked over Billy's shoulder. The moment she said it Billy just mashed the drawing together and threw it over to the full trashcan using his hooves.
"Not good enough. It has to be perfect," said Billy.
"Isn't there some sort of magic you can use to just paint what you're thinking?" Billy looked up and turned to her. He seemed oddly serious.
"That's cheating, besides, it's super too hard for me," said Billy and looked away a bit. Was that shame in his voice?
"It's that hard, huh?"
"Super difficult. Not even my dad can do it," said Billy.
"Can't you try?"
"No, I don't want to. Just let me focus on my work," said Billy as he scratched his blue mane and took out another piece of paper to draw on. His face focused, his blue coat was a bit ruffled. The dark spot covering the area around his left eye almost looked like it was in the shape of an ellipse rather than a circle from how much he squinted his eyes, just looking at the paper.
"Billy, why do you like to draw so much?" asked Raindrop.
"I don't, and that's the problem," said Billy.
"What do you mean?" asked Raindrop rather surprised. He had been doing it a whole six months into their second year.
"You see, sometimes, and it's not that common, unicorn horns and unicorn magic act up a bit," said Billy.
"Act up?"
"Yeah. They just make thing happen to you, sometimes you're being brought to places you didn't expect, sometimes they can grant wishes when you're scared or alone. Something like that happened last year," said Billy.
"Really? What?" asked Raindrop, quite interested about it. She had never heard of anything like that, but then again, she didn't know many unicorns very well.
"I was out playing one day, thinking about what I would get to do when I was a grown up. I wondered what my talent would be. That was when my horn just made a light shoot out from my horn, it kept pointing somewhere towards the other end of Ponyville. I followed it, thinking it was super important. I entered that shop, Make & Paint, you know, the one that went out of business a few months ago. They sold so many things that had to do with painting stuff. I was brought right into the shop and right towards the pens, brushes, paint and paper. The light just stopped, and I was just looking at the stuff. The unicorn who owned the shop said it was probably something like my destiny or something, to "know the arts of the paper". I think I'm supposed to be drawing stuff. I was excited at first, bought a whole bunch of stuff and started working."
"And?"
"And I stunk! Stinked? Stank? I-I was terrible at it! Waste of money. After a whole week I just tossed it all out. I was exhausted. Then the stupid horn just lit up again! This time it pulled me back to the shop! Left me right in front of the same shelf with the pens, paper, brushes and paint. I've been trying to find out what I'm doing wrong ever since. I'm sure it has to do with my cutie mark. Although I'm thinking about calling it my "mark of mastery" once I get it, sounds cool, right?"
"Oh. I didn't know you did this because you wanted to get your cutie mar... your "mark of"... Sorry, but I don't think it sounds cool at all," said Raindrop apologetically, but honestly.
"Okay, whatever. And it's not because I want to get a cutie mark! It's because I just want this stupid horn to stop pestering me! Sometimes I wish it was just gone," said Billy and sighed. He drank a little water from a glass on the table he used. Raindrop noticed he didn't lift it with magic, only with his hooves. "Eight times, eight times this horn has led me to places I didn't want to go to that had art stuff in them. Once it even teleported me! I burnt my hooves and was so exhausted I had to spend half the summer in a hospital bed. You would have to be a genius to do that and not faint, I almost died . I just want it to stop forcing me," said Billy.
"Come on, you have nothing to complain about. You have a guide to your destiny, and a great tool for-"
"Will ponies stop saying it's a tool? It's not a tool, not for me. It's a weight on my head."
"But you unicorns use them all the time," said Raindrop. She sat down on a chair next to him. He looked troubled to say the least.
"It takes training, you know. Training that I've never gotten. I wish I was an earth pony like you, not a pegasi, I hate flying," said Billy.
"Did you say you've never had any training?"
"Not even magic kindergarten. I can lift that pencil, if I'm lucky on a good day. I wish it would be easier for me," said Billy and tried to make the pencil levitate, it just rolled away and off the table, almost like it rejected him.
"Why haven't you been to-?"
"Because my parents couldn't afford it, okay !? I'm, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been mean and yelled, but I hear this stuff all the time. It just gets more annoying everytime I hear it. My dad wants to teach me, but he doesn't have a license, and can't get one, even if he could afford it. They say I need this education now, magic will have to wait," said Billy.
"You need a license to teach magic to unicorns?"
"Technically you need four, but yeah."
"Why?"
"Stuff to do with registers and keeping tracks on how much a unicorn can do and stuff, I don't know why." Raindrop thought about it for a little while. She looked out through the window, staring at the rain that seemed to almost gently fall down onto the muddy wet grass. Raindrop couldn't as an earth pony really, properly understand Billy's plight, but she did feel sorry for him. Above all, she wanted to help him.
"Is there anything I can do?"
"No, thanks for asking, but unless you can teach me magic to make this horn less useless or make me draw better, then you can't help me at all," said Billy. Raindrop looked at him for a little while, but then her entire back suddenly straightened. If it was because of a sudden burst of inspiration or the water that dripped from the ceiling into the back of her neck she couldn't tell, but the point was that she had gotten an idea.
"Hey, Billy. Can't you teach yourself?" asked Raindrop. That suggestion wasn't the idea, but she had to know for sure.
"Sorry, but unless I have a unicorn teacher that knows magic and have the licenses then I'm not allowed to even hold a book about unicorn magic. Not a lot of ponies that has the license are willing to spend a long time teaching just one colt that can't even lit up a room. Self teaching could make me accidentally really hurt myself. The only reason I can grasp a pencil is because a unicorn just sort of... knows this stuff from birth. I don't know how to improve it, though, or to learn anything else. If I could just get permission from someone with a license to read a few books, but I don't know anypony," Raindrop had gotten an answer to one of her questions, and even the second one without having to ask, but she did so anyway.
"So it has to be a unicorn?"
"Pretty much."
"So... does that mean there's a loophole?" asked Raindrop.
"What?"
"Is there a loophole? Can't it be a pegasus or earth pony that just teaches you stuff from a book?"
"But what would the point of it be? They don't know magic at all," said Billy. Raindrop looked around and leaned in close to him, lowering her voice.
"I was thinking, that as a student interested in history and stuff, I could just borrow a book from the local librarian, the one from Canterlot. You know, Princess Celestia's top student. I could borrow a book called Unicorn Magic for Beginners, and when nopony's looking, I, as an earth pony, can try to teach you stuff from the book," whispered Raindrop.
"WHAT?!" shouted Billy so loudly everypony in the room heard him. Raindrop, and indeed, everypony else shushed him. Billy leaned in closer to her. "I'm sorry, but what? Are you insane?" whispered Billy.
"Come on, we could try. It might even be legal. Is there a loophole or not?"
"Well, technically, I suppose. I would have to read some of my dad's books on unicorn magic laws to be sure, but I guess," whispered Billy.
"So we have a deal?" asked Raindrop. She did it because it was interesting, because it was exciting, because she could maybe even help him.
"This is crazy, I don't think I should do-"
"One week."
"What?"
"If we don't get any results by, hm, next monday, then we stop. Alright?" asked Raindrop. The fact he wasn't refusing immediately told her that he was just as curious as her if they could pull it off. Billy took the unfinished drawing, crumbled it up into a ball and prepared to toss it away somewhere behind him.
"Raindrop, I barely even know you, this just seems like it could backfire so darn mu-" as Billy threw the ball of paper, his horn suddenly made a faint but distinct noise and he was thrown off his chair towards the crumbled up ball that harmlessly bounced off the floor before it hovered above him, then dropped right on his face. He angrily tossed it in the trash without another incident and walked back towards the table that was a fair bit away. He sat down on his chair and turned to Raindrop with determination in his eyes. "If it means making this stupid swirled up piece of keratin and bone less useless, then I'm in ."
As long as it wasn't technically illegal neither of the two young ponies would be in trouble when it came to the law... possibly. Still, any adult who would find out would of course say they went against the general idea, and their parents would then be unofficially tasked with punishment. It was still unclear if they could legally do this on a technicality, so they were just at the moment working to make sure they could. Raindrop was waiting outside the library. Billy was going to come around any minute. School had finally ended, and so had the rain. The sky was still slightly gloomy, it was in such a strong contrast with how excited Raindrop was when thinking about the prospect of possibly train a unicorn in simple magic. She only needed two things to start, and she saw the first approach her around a corner down the street. Billy ran up to her, he looked around and picked up a thick heavy book from his saddlebag.
"Hey, Raindrop. This is it, moment of truth and all that. The law is right here," said Billy and opened up the book. He searched for a little while and finally found what he was looking for.
"It says 'An inexperienced pony that has never practiced the arts of magic in a environment with properly educated and licensed tutors are lawfully allowed to be taught under the tutelage of a pony that has earned and is officially in the possession of a tutelage license in the subject in question. The inexperienced pony is allowed to teach him or herself if a unicorn with a license has allowed it and registered that decision with the magical academy'," read Billy from the book. Raindrop didn't like it. She didn't know much about law, but what she did know, from her mother, gave her the impression that that wording made it impossible to do it legally. She sighed.
"I think the problem is mainly the line 'tutelage of a pony that has earned'. If it would've said 'of a unicorn' then it we could've done it and said 'but I'm not a unicorn, it doesn't say anything about earth-ponies,' but no such luck," said Raindrop. She looked down at the ground.
"Oh," was the only thing that came from Billy. Raindrop looked up. She was surprised, he looked even more disappointed than she was.
"What's wrong?" Billy sighed a bit, he seemed reluctant to talk.
"Well, I've sort of been, thinking about this ever since you talked about it. The more thinking, the more I realized that I just want something good to come from this horn for once. I've been lying a bit," said Billy.
"About what?" asked Raindrop.
"Promise you won't tell anyone. I hear you don't break promises."
"Billy, I promise I won't tell." Billy hesitated initially, but he seemed to want to tell her, to tell somebody.
"It hasn't been eight times, or nine. I've counted, and it's been, it's been seventy."
"What?" asked Raindrop. She had never heard of something like that.
"Not even my parents know. Sometimes it really hurts, being dragged around. It's really scary when you are just being pulled along and not being able to do something."
"But, why don't you tell your parents?"
"And what? So that they can worry about something they can control about as much as I can? I just, I just want to be happy with it. If I could actually learn to control it, maybe it would stop. At least I could make it useful. At least I could finally be proud for being a unicorn," said Billy.
"Guess we can't do so now without getting us into trouble," said Raindrop. Billy sighed again and put the book back in his saddlebag. They just stood there a little while, thinking about something to do with their time now when their original plans were no longer safe. Raindrop looked up at the clouds above.
"Raindrop... could you teach me anyway?" asked Billy.
"What?" asked Raindrop and quickly faced him in surprise.
"If anypony finds out, I'll tell them you didn't do anything wrong on purpose. I'll say that I asked you to do an experiment with me, and you didn't know it was wrong when I told you to try it. I'll tell them that I asked you to be my teacher because if anything went wrong I had been planning on blaming you for it," said Billy. Raindrop hesitated for a while.
"Billy, I can't let you do that. I can't just let a decent pony take blame for something that was my idea," said Raindrop.
"Well, okay, we'll say it was your fault, but will you teach me? Please, please teach me," said Billy.
"But, why me? If you're going to break the law anyway you can do it on your own now," said Raindrop.
"No, I can't. Miss. Sparkle inside the library knows she can't lend a book about basic magic to a unicorn like me. I don't want you to get into trouble, but I also need your help," said Billy.
"Well, this is an awkward situation I've gotten myself into. I mean, if ponies would notice you getting better very quickly it wouldn't be very good."
"I can keep it a secret. I'm good with secrets. But, if you don't want to do it I both can't and won't make you. I don't really want to see anypony in trouble, but I want this horn to stop even more, and-" said Billy.
"I'll do it," interrupted Raindrop.
"What?"
"You can bet your flank I'll do it. I have never heard of an earth pony teaching even a little magic to a unicorn. I can't let a chance like that slip. Also, I really want to see you succeed."
"Me? What?"
"I've seen you working hard almost everyday on your drawings, and now when I know why I just want you to succeed even more. If it means helping you out, then I'll do it for that alone," said Raindrop.
"Wow, thanks, Raindrop. You're a real pal," said Billy and extended his hoof.
"Call me Rainy," said Raindrop and hit his hoof up high. She turned towards the library's front door. "Billy, could I borrow your saddlebag?"
While Billy was hiding nearby, peeking in through one of the windows to see what was going on, Raindrop entered the library.
"Oh, hello," said a green and purple small, rather adorable, reptile. Raindrop had seen that dragon in town several times, but never actually talked to him. She was very interested in talking to him, being a dragon, but she didn't feel like she should waste his time. He was often with the librarian, and she was often busy.
"Hello, Spike, is it? I'm Raindrop, I was thinking about borrowing a book," said Raindrop.
"Well, sure. It's a library after all. What are you looking for? We've got books for and about all sorts of things. We've got books about cooking, architecture, insects, animals, law, parenthood, toys, history, books about books, medicine, time travel, religion, fishing and books about books about books. That's just to name a few. The one about time travel is a newer addition," said the dragon. The only one that had caught her attention on that list was the one about history, but that wasn't the reason she was here.
"I wonder if you had any books about unicorn magic," said Raindrop. Spike had been working on shelving a few books when he turned to her right on the ladder, almost falling off.
"What? Unicorn magic? Why? I mean, may I ask why?" asked Spike.
"You know, been seeing a lot of unicorn magic lately, was really curios how it worked... Also, could I borrow a book on history?"
"Well, I'll have to ask the actual librarian. Be right back," said Spike and hurried down the ladder and into a room in the back. Raindrop took the opportunity to look around the shelves, searching after one of those history books the dragon had mentioned. Before long a purple unicorn entered the room with the dragon. It was Miss. Sparkle. Raindrop didn't know much about her except that she was a student of the princess, that she was one of the six wielders of the Elements of Harmony, and that she also was intelligent enough to actually see through and risk their plan. Raindrop gave her a smile. Was she making a convincing smile? She didn't enjoy lying, but she had to try.
"Hello, Twilight Sparkle. I'm Raindrop Day," said Raindrop.
"Hello, Raindrop. Did you say that you wanted a book about magic, unicorn magic?"
"Yes, that's right. Why? Is something wrong? Oh, you don't have any left, do you?" asked Raindrop, trying to sound a bit childishly disappointed. She was terrified that her behavior looked suspicious.
"No, we do, but... this, this is the first time I can remember that anypony in Ponyville has ever asked for a book about magic, and then the first one is an earth pony. What are you looking for, specifically?" asked Twilight. Raindrop tried not to stutter, she knew this question had to be asked at one point. She had prepared for it.
"Well, I sort of want to know what you unicorns go through, in a way, I guess. I want a book about your magic in general, oh, and a book that you use for learning basic stuff. I mean, I keep seeing unicorn magic from time to time, and until recently it's just sort of been there but now I'm curious. I mean, all ponies have so much in common, but I want to learn a bit about how we're all unique. There's beauty in how we're all unique, and this is just one of those small but wonderful things. I want to learn, " said Raindrop. While her delivery of the line had been good, sounding inspiring, innocent and appealing to somepony who enjoys learning. Sounded so forced, sounded so forced, nopony talks like that. Oh, Celestia, I'm a freaking...
"That's wonderful! That's the most precious thing I've ever heard a little filly say. Here you go. These books are a bit on the small side, I know, but they are a great start. I used an older edition when I was half your age," said Twilight. ...Genious ! A pair of thick heavy books floated over from a shelf and was gently placed in the saddlebag. Raindrop could barely stand. She had to wait with asking for a book about history, she would break her back if she even got a pamphlet on top of her. She turned around and started to walk towards the door.
"Thanks a lot, Twilight Sparkle. If you'll excuse me, I'll have to get back home and get to reading these before it rains again. Can't allow them to get wet, right?" said Raindrop and gave them both a smile. She opened the door and walked outside, leaving the library behind. She walked into an alley where Billy was waiting.
"You got them! Did they suspect anything?" asked Billy and helped Raindrop with the saddlebag.
"Maybe at first, but I think I managed to convince them I just wanted to learn. That's not so far from the truth, I actually do want to learn while doing this. It could be interesting," said Raindrop.
"Great. So, let's start!" said Billy. Raindrop had thought about that.
"Actually, Billy. I think I have to use today to study about this, learn what I should do for tomorrow. Also, I don't get why this is illegal. I think I'll have to find that out too. The point is that I think taking it slow until tomorrow could be the best way to learn about this, for both of us," said Raindrop.
"Well, okay. So, after school?"
"Not so fast, we need a good place to do it where nopony can find us out."
"I know a good place. It's an old warehouse by the river, it's ten minutes past Sweet Apple Acres. Been abandoned for months."
"Great! So, how do you know about it?"
"Remember when I told you about my horn teleporting me and it really hurt? The warehouse stored paper at that time."
"Oh."
For the rest of the day Raindrop spent her time in her room reading the first book about magic. She had to wait to clean her room until next week. Her room was mostly blue, it was calming, usually. For the moment her the only thing in proper order was her bed, and she was lying on that to read. She would've used her desk, but she honestly thought that old thing would break under the weight of one of the borrowed books. Raindrop was almost tired of reading, but she knew she couldn't stop at this point. So far the only thing that had made her stop reading was eating dinner with her mother and father. Raindrop looked out the open window, she had to squint her eyes to see the beautiful colors the setting sun's last rays made. Time flies when you're having fun, and with that in mind, Raindrop considered publishing a major discovery, because she was sure she had found a way to make time stand still .
"So boring," she sighed rolling on her bed away from the book, to then immediately roll back to read some more. Despite how new this was, and how much she tried to get into the mindset of somepony who could use magic, she just didn't have any interest in it, at all. She was on a chapter about young unicorns' magical abilities. "'Foals usually have powerful magical abilities which can be used surprisingly easily. Many seem to lose this ability as they grow up, however. Academics believe this to be a change in how their magical essence flows through their body as their bodies slowly mature. Constantly practicing this ability is a good way to keep it strong, similar to how exercise is can have a positive effect on the body. It adapts to the flow of magical essence and adapts to it', sure, but that doesn't explain why colts can't be self-taught," read Raindrop. She sighed again. Raindrop and kept reading. It took just a few minutes for her to find something a little bit more relevant. "'Due to the danger of uncontrolled magical ability, strict laws in the teachings of magic has been in effect for several centuries." Raindrop opened up the other book and quickly went through it until she found something that seemed relevant. "'The most important thing to consider when teaching a beginner is to allow their magical ability to develop naturally. If they can not be considered mature enough to understand the responsibility of having magical ability then making them understand just what they can do is very important.' Wow, they keep saying 'magical ability' over and over in this. Why is it important? It doesn't say so anywhere." Still, Raindrop did not want to risk doing anything dangerous. She would take foal steps. She would make sure that she taught Billy in a responsible way. She would not allow them to regret this.
She was regretting it already. She had to read the first chapter from the book about basic magic for beginners over and over again just to get a faint grasp about how unicorns felt with their horns. It kept referring to things like 'inner magical pulse' and 'concentrated magical energy'. The book talked about it in a way that made it quite obvious even unicorn foals knew what this stuff was. A lot of unicorns probably had a completely different way to experience a lot of things, and they probably never even realized that. Still, Raindrop was in theory at least getting a faint grasp on it. There was even a few ways to train described. They were less like activities like making something levitate and more along the lines of exercise, they were like push-ups for magic, or maybe like meditation. If nothing else Billy could perform those tomorrow while Raindrop tried to catch up on the rest of her reading.
"Raindrop, it's time for bed!" said her mom from downstairs. Raindrop hadn't realized how late it was. She turned of the reading lamp and hid the books under her bed. She got under the covers and closed her eyes. She was pretty sure that actually teaching Billy would be more fun than reading about how to do it.
Life Is like a Cookie Jar
"Not a word to your, ow, your mother," said Cloudy and handed Raindrop a cookie on that morning.
"Dad, mom's going to loose her mind if you keep giving me these cookies. She baked them for her friends."
"I know, but there's still like half of them left," said Cloudy and kissed his daughter on the forehead. She giggled a bit, feeling embarrassed, but loved.
"Thanks, dad, but come on, stop it!"
"Never!" said Cloudy and started to tickle her. Raindrop tried to get away from him, but he kept following her, the more she laughed the more he tickled her, but then to Raindrop's surprise he suddenly stopped. She turned around and looked at her father. He was out of breath, and he leaned towards the door frame in the hallway.
"Dad? Are you alright?"
"Yeah, yeah, dear, just, ah, just a little woozy. Wow, I'm out of shape," said Cloudy and kept breathing.
"Dad, you collapsed a few days ago, maybe you should see a doctor," said Raindrop. Cloudy just shook his head.
"No, I don't think that'll be necessary. I just need a glass of water," said Cloudy.
"Dad, please see a doctor. For me, please? I would feel a lot better if you did," said Raindrop. Her father looked at her for a little while, considering it.
"Well, alright. But after I do something at work, I have something important to do today and it can under no circumstances wait, but right after I'll ask to leave early." Raindrop knew she couldn't stop him, but she was just happy he would see a doctor.
"I'll be going now, dad. I think I'll be late for school at this rate."
"Actually, dear. I was thinking that you and I could do something today. You can take today off, we'll do something fun after I'm done with all these things this morning. It'll take a few hours at most until we can go out and do whatever you want. How about we go to Sugarcube Corner?"
"Dad, I can't. I can't just skip out on school, besides, I have plans," said Raindrop. She hoped he wouldn't ask what that was.
"What are your plans?"
"I'm going to... hang out and play with a friend from school."
"Alright, with who? Oh, I meant 'with whom'."
"Billy Folds," said Raindrop. She instantly wondered if she should have.
"Alright? At his house?"
"At that old warehouse past Sweet Apple Acres," said Raindrop. She should've lied, but while she certainly could, she just didn't want to lie to her own wonderful caring father. If he needed to come find her and didn't actually know where she was, then she didn't want to be the one to make him worry.
"What are you going to do?"
"He... well, he wants to play... with, with dolls! And he wants to keep it a secret, that's why it's so remote. Don't tell anyone," said Raindrop. It was never nice when she lied to him, and she almost never did. It almost hurt a little.
"Oh, well, alright. That's a bit weird, but alright. Have a great time today, dear," said Cloudy and kissed her on the forehead again. She noticed how much he was sweating.
"Have nice day, daddy."
"I sure will. Come on, let's walk you to school."
Raindrop and Billy both waited for the day to end. Even history didn't seem as interesting when they both thought about what they could accomplish that day, or would experience. The wait was nearly unbearable. The weather outside was great, but they both stayed inside during recess to talk about what they hoped they would accomplish. When the day actually ended, Raindrop just wanted to grab Billy and get going, but she stayed behind for just one more thing. While other students were packing up their things and leaving, Raindrop walked up to the teacher's desk. Before long most other colts and fillies had left to enjoy the wonderful day. The only ones left were Raindrop, Billy who waited leaning on the door frame and Cheerilee looking through a bit of work the students had made during the day.
"Miss Cheerilee, I wondered if you could help me with something?"
"What is it, Raindrop?"
"I'm just curious in how the teaching profession works. Could you give me a tip on how to teach someone well?"
"Well, I find that it depends on the one you want to teach. Sometimes you have to use positive reinforcements, and other times you need to be strict and firm. It depends on if the one you are teaching is more open or a bit closed off. However, never be mean. The best way to teach someone is to make them want to listen to you, not ignoring you. You've got to get a smile on their face," said Cheerilee and gave her a quite big grin. It was almost like a cold in a way, since Raindrop couldn't keep herself from smiling as she thanked her and walked out of the room with Billy alongside her. They kept walking at a steady pace. They went out of the school and took the road towards Sweet Apple Acres. They made sure to not talk to each other about what they were going to do today until they were outside the town. Once there was nopony in sight they felt a bit more relaxed.
"So, Rainy, what are you going to teach me?" asked Billy.
"Well, I thought that for the first hour, we would start out really small. I brought some notes I made from the books, since I didn't want to lounge those things around with me all day," said Raindrop.
"Alright, small. Okay... Are, are you actually going to tell me what it is?"
"Well, not until we're there," said Raindrop. She was actually a bit worried that if he heard it here so relatively close to his home, he would be so disappointed, confused or upset that he would leave.
Actually getting there took longer that Raindrop had expected. The warehouse was old but seemed to be in a great condition, if a little dirty. The big blue and white building was smaller than Raindrop had expected but still big enough to hold her entire house inside it. It looked nothing like the buildings in Ponyville, this one had to have been made much more recently. Most of it was metal with a bunch of large broken windows. The warehouse was right next to a river gently flowing by. Trees surrounded the entire area, making it hard to see from the road unless you were actively looking for it. The once clear area right in front of the warehouse was overgrown with tall grass and flowers. They helped each other to open the big front door, which immediately fell off its hinges and landed on the ground with a large thud. Looking inside, Raindrop noticed how brightly lit the windows made it seem. Aside from a bunch of really big empty boxes the place seemed like a perfect spot. Its largest plus was just how remote it all was.
"This place is perfect," said Raindrop.
"Yeah. It's funny, I never wanted to see it again after I got here the first time," said Billy. Raindrop did notice something on the stone floor in the middle the building. There was a ring on the floor, like something had scorched it. She also noticed the shape of four hoofprints in the floor, where it had melted.
"Ouch."
"Like you wouldn't believe."
"Well, let's try to fix this, okay? Are you ready for your first lesson?"
"Sure am, Rainy!" said Billy. Raindrop put down her saddlebag and picked up a few things. They were rings, just little plastic rings, the type you would use with a game.
"Um, what are those?"
"Well, the books keep talking about things like focus points. I think I'm going to start today's lesson with making you think differently."
"What?"
"We're going to play a game! I will toss these rings, and your job is catch them with your horn!" Billy actually seemed a little upset.
"What's your problem? I already told you that I can barely lift a pencil," said Billy.
"I don't mean you should catch them like that! I want you to catch them with your actual horn, without magic. I want you to be able to make the ring spin on your horn like a loopy hoop. I got the idea from that time Applebloom went crazy or whatever it was she did, poor filly," said Raindrop. Billy starred at her like she was insane.
"What?! We went here just so you could use me like a game?"
"Billy, no! This is just step one. You need to focus with that point above your head in mind. At least that's what I figured from all this reading. Come on, it will be fun."
"Maybe it will be funny, for you to watch, that is."
"Don't be grumpy. I'm doing this for you," said Raindrop while walking up to a box and climbing up on it. She sat down on top of it.
"Why?"
"I told you yesterday. I want you to get over this. I think you deserve it. Come on, just do it. Have fun. Here, catch!" said Raindrop and tossed the first ring. Billy ran towards it almost like on an impulse. He tried to catch it with his horn, but instead it just hit his head and bounced off. "Okay, that didn't go very well, but it was a surprise. Ready for the next one?" said Raindrop after stopping a little giggle.
"Yeah, but don't laugh," said Billy.
"No way, my laughing lips are sealed," said Raindrop and did the zipping gesture with her hoof. She tossed the ring, and Billy ran towards it.
At first it had been funny, but then it quickly got stale. They had been going at it for a full half hour, and under those thirty minutes Billy hadn't even managed to get a single ring on his horn, much less make one spin.
"Well, I think this is part of your problem with why you aren't very good at basic magic stuff. You have trouble focusing with the horn. You just sort of use it wrong, that's my guess."
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, okay, it's like... Ah, it's like listening to Cheerilee. You should be listening to each word carefully, but you're not focusing on her and instead hearing her as this white noise in the background. If you don't do it right you might as well not do it at all. I think you can do it though."
"You do?"
"Well, yeah. Isn't hard work supposed to pay off?"
"We'll see about that."
"We sure will, now keep catching these rings," said Raindrop and tossed another one into the air. Billy jumped towards it and to their surprise he managed to catch it and make it hang from his horn.
"I did it!"
"Finally! See?"
"So, can we start with some magic now?"
"Oh no, not so fast. I've put a lot of thought into this and you won't move on just because you've caught one. Think fast!" said Raindrop and tossed another ring. Billy jumped towards it, but it just hit his horn and bounced off, landing several feet away. "Billy, that was the last one again."
"I'm on it," said Billy and rolled his eyes. He gathered them all and balanced on his hind legs to reach them up to her on the box. She reached down and picked them up.
"I'm getting a bit tired. I'm also hungry," said Billy. Raindrop jumped down from the box and walked up to her saddlebag.
"I didn't make any plans with food. I all thought about was the lesson. Sorry, but I do have this cookie from this morning," said Raindrop and picked up the cookie Cloudy had given her.
"That looks so tasty," said Billy.
"I know, want to split it?"
"Very much, thanks," said Billy. They walked up to one of the smaller boxes and jumped up. They sat down next to each other. Raindrop was about to break the cookie in half.
"Hey, Rainy, let me do that," said Billy. He got a really strained, ridiculous look on his face. The cookie started to hover a bit unsteadily. It very slowly floated over to Billy. He grunted, and with a slight cracking sound the cookie... broke apart into a thousand tiny crumbs. He lost his concentration and they both watched what was left of the cookie gently falling to the dirty floor. They were both so disappointed.
"So- sorry," said Billy.
"It's alright, it's nothing. Still, now when you mention it I'm a bit hungry," said Raindrop.
"You know, we are pretty close to Sweet Apple Acres, maybe we could..."
"Go over and ask them if we could pick some apples?"
"I was going to say 'snatch', but-"
"Are you joking? Billy, that's just wrong."
"It's just a few apples."
"And it's also their property. I don't care how hungry I am, I will not steal anything," said Raindrop sternly. Billy sighed.
"I wouldn't actually do it," sneered Billy, but he didn't sound convincing at all.
"We could get in deep enough trouble as it is. Stealing would be really dumb right now, or ever," said Raindrop.
"Yeah, I guess."
"But, Billy, are you really hungry enough to steal?"
"Well, not really that much. I guess... I guess I want to do something right for once."
"Hey, doing something wrong to do something right doesn't make sense to me," said Raindrop.
"You know what I mean."
"I do, but we can still do something right. Remember, we have until Monday," said Raindrop with a smile. There was a slight pause between them.
"So, Rainy, really hate stealing so much?" asked Billy a bit carefully, a bit too carefully.
"You've stolen stuff before, haven't you?" said Raindrop.
"Nothing big, nothing that would be missed. I like the thrill."
"Billy, that's awful!"
"I know, I know! Don't give me that look."
"What would your parents say?"
"Nothing."
"You can't honestly think that th-"
"I don't think, I know . I've been caught five times, and all they say is 'Don't do it again,' and then that's it. Nothing else. They don't even shout at me."
"What? Really? Wow, if I would've stolen something and my parents found out I don't think I would've heard the end of it for a week. My father would've been furious!"
"What about your mom?"
"She wouldn't be as mad as my dad. Huh, just thinking about how disappointed he would be in me if he found out about me stealing... or if he would find out about this... Oh dear... I've... I, I've been so selfish. I didn't think about... what he would... Billy, I can't do this. I can't help you," said Raindrop and jumped down from the box. She felt sudden guilt.
"What?! But, but Rainy, I, I want you to teach me. You have to help me! I mean, I can't return the book to the library without getting into huge trouble! I can't... Rainy, please! I can't do this on my own!" Rainy was already on her way out. Letting down Billy felt terrible, but she just couldn't let down her own father. The very thought of seeing her family hurt because of her was too much. Billy would learn eventually since his horn was so adamant in its quest for him to find his destiny. Raindrop had to be just as adamant to not turn around. She had to keep her mind made up.
"I'm sorry, Billy, but I can't help you. I'm returning the book right away. This whole thing was stupid. I want to see you succeed, but after everything my father has done for me, I can't betray his tru-"
"Rainy, I'll be honest, I think you can figure this stuff out better than I can. You're good at history, you can get in right mindsets and stuff! I need somepony like you to help me! Please, just until Monday like you said!"
"I can't betray my father's trust. I respect him too much for that. I've kept thinking about this like it's a harmless mischievous little thing without thinking how it could affect my family. It's not that I don't want to help you. Again, I'm sorry."
"I've even thought about sawing it off!" yelled Billy. Raindrop suddenly stopped. She slowly turned around, not sure she had heard him right. When she looked at Billy it was impossible to not notice he was silently weeping.
"What did you say?"
"You heard me. Rainy, I can't stand this magic. I'm scared, alright? Sometimes I feel like I'm not even in control of my own life. It hurts, and I'm so scared for whenever it's going to happen next. It's like this monster that's just going to jump out and make my life miserable when I least expect it. What you saw yesterday was nothing. At one point I almost just wanted to saw it off than let it keep going. I don't know what it wants! It makes me tired when it does stuff that I just can't do on my own. Please, I just want somepony to help me. You're the only one that knows, I don't want everypony to know just how useless I am that I can't even control my own pathetic magic. Please help me."
"But, but I..."
"At least leave the book so I can try on my own. You can return it later." That didn't seem like a good idea either. There was probably a good reason young unicorns shouldn't practice on their own unless allowed by those qualified.
"Billy, this entire thing is how you want to get you little mark and you might be focusing on the wrong thing," said Raindrop. Billy sighed and wiped his tears.
"Raindrop, I don't want to force you into doing something you don't want to do. But it's just that I don't know what else I can do. If you want to go... then you should go. I'm, I'm sorry I tried to stop you."
"I can't just go now! You've basically said you'll saw off your horn if you fail! That's, how could you put me in a situation like that? What's wrong with you?"
"What? No! That's not, I said 'I've even thought ', as in the past. I wouldn't do it now. That's, I do want this to stop, and while I would do a lot of things to do so, I'm not that desperate. I never even got close to actually doing it. Did it come off as like, guilt blackmail? I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. But, I really want help, and I think I need it too."
"Well, maybe, maybe we've faced this problem the wrong way. Maybe we could get the money for your education?" How, how much does it cost for your father to get a license?"
"That would be 300.000 bits for an education over two years, at the fastest. We can't even afford a tenth of that."
"Okay. Um, how, how much would it cost to get a teacher for you?"
"That's 80.000 bits at the cheapest. It's still far too much for our family to afford. I don't even need a full course, but they won't accept anything less!"
"What about applying for magic kindergarten?"
"That would be cheap enough to get into, but it would also mean I would have to take the train, which takes a very long time, to Canterlot everyday or live in Canterlot. That's not cheap, and my parents demands that I need an actual education in normal stuff."
"Okay, so earning money is out of the question. We wouldn't be done for years," said Raindrop.
"I have a suggestion," said a third voice. Both Raindrop and Billy jumped in shock. Raindrop turned to the side. Somepony who had been hiding in the bush came into view.
"Dad?"
"Mr. Day? Uh oh," said Billy.
"So that's why you couldn't spend time with your old man. You were of breaking the law," said Cloudy.
"Dad, I didn't-"
"It was me, Mr. Day! She didn't know what she was doing! How could she? She's never known much about laws about magic, I barely did! I was desperate so I tricked her into teaching her so I could blame her for it! I can't do it, that'd be too wrong!" said Billy a little too quickly. Cloudy turned to Raindrop. She felt so guilty she couldn't look her father in the eyes.
"Raindrop, is what this colt is saying true?" Raindrop just couldn't...
"No, dad."
"Then why did you do this?"
"I wanted to help him." Suddenly she felt her father picking her up and hugging her.
"That's my girl!" he said proudly.
"W- what?"
"Sweetie, I'm so proud that you would actually risk so much for someone else!"
"You're not mad?" asked Raindrop and looked into his face. She had never seen him happier.
"Of course I'm not mad. While I am a little disappointed you got into a situation where you broke the law, I am also happy you did it for the sake of another pony."
"I don't know what I should say, dad."
"How about that you will keep helping him? Train him in magic."
"What?" asked Raindrop.
"Why?" asked Billy.
"I heard how much this affects you, Folds. I've heard about some of those magical escapades."
"How?"
"Please, a colt teleporting magically and getting hurt can't be kept a secret in a small town like this. Until you've found what you need to make it stop, actually learning how to use magic might be good for you. You're a unicorn for Celestia's sake! A unicorn without proper magic is like a pegasus that can only dig! This might be what you need. This is something that will help you for the rest of your life, learning how to use it at an early age is something most unicorns need. How you've never got a chance at magic kindergarten is beyond me."
"I... Thank you, sir."
"But dad, maybe I shouldn't..."
"Sweetie, you have a chance to help someone in trouble. I would certainly take that chance if I was in your position. Still, it's your decision, and I'm confident you will do the right thing. In any case, this is our little secret. Not a word to your mother," said Cloudy and gave her a wink. He walked over to the bushes he had been hiding in.
"But for now, I just came out here to hand you this, you must be hungry," said Cloudy and picked something up from the ground. It was a woven basket.
"Is that food?" asked Billy.
"Shure ish," said Cloudy with the handle in his mouth. He put it down on the ground.
"I have to get back home. I will see you kids later today when I check in on you. Have fun, and take it easy. This magic stuff could be dangerous if not handled carefully."
"I know, dad. I've thought about that all along."
"Great. Bye, you kids!"
"Bye, Mr. Day!"
"Bye, dad. I'll see you later," said Raindrop and waved goodbye. She felt a little bit unsure, but much less than before. Billy walked over and picked up the large basket of food. He walked over and sat down next to Raindrop. She sat down on the soft grass alongside him. Billy opened the basket and peeked inside. It was filled with sandwiches, sweet drinks, muffins and a few of her mother's cookies.
"Wow, your dad's the best!" exclaimed Billy and picked up a sandwich and took a bite.
"Well, yeah, he is," said Raindrop and picked up her own sandwich.
"So, does this mean you will teach me? With your dad's blessing and all?"
"I... yes. I will. What he's saying is right. You should be able to live like any unicorn even if you already had your cutie mark." Bill took another bite of his sandwich.
"Rainy, thank you so much. This means a lot to me. And you know what? It feels pretty good sharing this stuff with you."
"What? The food? Because I think that technically I'm sharing it with you."
"No, I mean my problems. With my parents, this stupid horn, all of these things. I've never had anypony to talk about them before. Feels good. Also, this sandwich is great," he added.
"Want to share another thing with me?"
"What?"
"A cookie from the same batch as the one you ruined," said Raindrop, holding up a cookie from the basket. Billy chuckled a bit in a slightly embarrassed way, then they split it in half.
"You know, I get why you didn't want to disappoint your dad so much," said Billy and chomped down on the cookie. Raindrop couldn't keep herself from laughing at the adorable way he ate his part of the cookie.
"Ha, ha, well, he has a bit more time for me than mom has. I know my mom loves me, but she can be super strict sometimes. I hope she never finds out about this, she'll freak out."
"I don't get it, why aren't you as worried about 'betraying' her?" said Billy who took another bite.
"Well, because I trust my dad. Besides, mom is, I think she's stronger than my dad. She won't get sad, or feel hurt, she'll just be hopping mad." Billy looked at Raindrop for a little while.
"I wish I had your parents... want to trade?" Raindrop giggled, and Billy chuckled.
Once they had finished their meal, they had returned to the training. While Billy never managed to get the rings to spin on his horn as he caught them, he did managed to actually catch them. After careful consideration and reading up on it, Raindrop had decided he was ready for the next thing. It was time to make him use the spell of levitation on something for a longer amount of time.
"Don't overdo it, okay? That would probably be bad. We'll start really small."
"With what, Rainy?"
"This piece of paper!" said Raindrop and picked up one of the less usable notes from her saddle sack.
"I, yeah. I guess I can do that, it doesn't look too big. How hard can it be?"
"I'm sorry I did so poorly," said Billy as they both walked back to Ponyville.
"Hey, you managed ten whole seconds. Sure, it was your fiftieth try, but still. Improvement," said Raindrop as they walked. She was carrying both the saddlesack and the basket. The sun was almost about to set and Raindrop was almost home.
"Well, maybe."
"Hey, we'll pick up where we left off tomorrow. It will be a good day, I promise," said Raindrop.
"Thanks again for teachin-"
"Quiet, shh, somepony's coming," said Raindrop. A pony strolled past them, politely greeting them as they went past him. The both greeted back.
"There's my house. I'll see you tomorrow, Billy," said Raindrop and waved goodbye to Billy.
"Bye, Rainy," said Billy and continued on his way. While the day hadn't been a major success in any meaningful way, it had improved Billy's attitude. He seemed more hopeful and cheery than usual, something his merry steps alone conveyed quite clearly. Raindrop walked up to her house, but as she got closer she heard something unsettling from inside the front door. She had never heard those sounds from inside her house for a long time. It was the sound of a fight, a quarrel. Raindrop felt scared, she wondered if she had already been caught and her mother was furious because of it. For a whole minute she considered just not coming home until the next day, just slipping a note under the door and sleep over somewhere safe, but in the end she understood that she had to suck it up and get whatever punishment she had coming. She didn't feel she had done anything really wrong, but the law was the law. She couldn't change that. As she got close enough to distinguish what was going on she realized the voice didn't belong to her mother, or her father. Then her father's voice interjected. Who is that ? Raindrop sneaked up to one of the windows and looked inside, partially hidden by the thick green curtain. Inside was her father, standing up, walking around, pacing. He looked mad. The other pony inside was a stranger. He had a white coat and a pink long mane, and one of the first things Raindrop noticed was how handsome the pony looked. His face expressed anger so clearly it almost seemed like he was dripping just pure aggression. It surrounded him like a terrifying aura.
"DO YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT THE GRAVITY OF THE SITUATION?!" yelled the stranger.
"OF COURSE I DO, BUT SOME THINGS ARE MORE IMPORTANT! I STILL HAVE PAYMENTS LEFT!"
"WHAT? THAT'S MORE IMPORTANT? No! You know what? I don't care. I've got what I came for, FINALLY! The next time you want a visit from me, then you better actually support me ! If this gets worse, then you can't blame me. I'll analyze the results tomorrow. Good day, sir," said the pony in a very unkindly tone.
"There's the door. Don't print your cutie mark on it on your way out," said Cloudy with a sardonic mean voice Raindrop had never heard from him before. The pony in question stormed out so quickly he didn't even see Raindrop. She decided to just stay low for a few minutes, to let her father calm down. For the first time in her life she was truly afraid of her own father. Once enough time passed she walked inside like nothing had happened.
"Hey, dad. I, I saw a pony coming from around here when I came. Who was he?" Cloudy had given her a kind smile when he noticed her, but he still seemed a bit annoyed.
"Ugh, he was was a doctor you wanted me to see. Took home calls, but he was a complete quack. Took about ten minutes of tests, then demanded a 8000 bit paycheck. I said I couldn't afford it right now, and that he could shove that themome- I, I mean, I didn't thought it was fair, and we started to fight a bit. Don't worry about it. I'm going to take it up with the hospital first thing in the morning... after I make a visit to Tripper Track. We haven't just been hanging out in months!" He walked over and closed the door, after peeking outside a bit mysteriously. He turned to his daughter. "So? How did it go?" he said quite curiously.
"Not that good, but we're going to keep trying. Again, dad, thanks a lot for everything. Also, Billy really appreciates it too."
"No problem, sweetie."
"So, when's mom coming home?"
"Not until tonight. She got swamped with things... about swamps, actually."
" He he. Well, I'm exhausted, I'm going to bed. Good night, dad."
"Good night, Raindrop. Sleep tight."
Life Is like a Cookie Jar
Raindrop slowly woke up from a good night's sleep. The haze left from a wonderful dream still clouded her mind as she gently opened her eyes. She could see her clock on the nightstand. When she finally managed to gather her thoughts enough to actually comprehend things her eyes fully opened and her heart started racing. She was late. She quickly got out of her bed, getting tangled in the covers making her fall to the floor. She quickly regained freedom as she hurried to the door. She didn't even bother to tidy up before she left her room and hurried down the stairs. Raindrop was a bit surprised when she saw her mother in the kitchen. At this point she had usually left for work, but instead she was just there reading the morning paper, eating her breakfast.
"Good morning, mom. Why aren't you at work?" asked Raindrop. Her mother jumped in her chair and turned to face Raindrop.
"Raindrop, why are you still here? You're late for school!"
"I know, but, why aren't you at work?"
"I decided to take today off. I have, well, something important here to do at home. When your father heard he wanted to spend the day with me. We're going out to dinner at that nice restaurant on the other end of Ponyville," said her mother.
"What was that important thing you mentioned?" Sunny looked at her daughter.
"I don't think you have time to listen to that now. You're supposed to be at school, remember?" Raindrop hurried over and grabbed an apple from the bowl on the table. She stopped by the hallway mirror just to get her messy mane to look just a tad more manageable.
"Bye, mom. Love you," said Raindrop and quickly went outside. She didn't give the important thing much thought, even if she would have been interested in it, she still wouldn't have the time to listen, her mother was right on that point.
"I'm so sorry I'm late, miss Cheerilee. My clock wouldn't ring, and none of my parents woke me up. Again, I'm so sorry," said Raindrop. Raindrop walked from the door towards her usual seat, hoping that Cheerilee wouldn't stop her. She just wanted to get into the lesson. She wanted to get lectured in history, not in manners. Fortunately, Cheerilee seemed understanding, as always, and simply continued where she left off. Something was a bit different with Raindrop's seat this morning. Usually, ponies picked a seat and stayed there unless told to sit somewhere else by a teacher, there were no real assigned placements and it was first come first serve, but ponies usually didn't change where they sat. Today someone had upset the order a little bit. Raindrop usually sat next to Twist, a sweet filly, they weren't really good friends, but Raindrop did like her. Today, however, somepony else was sitting next to Raindrop's seat. It was Billy.
"Hey, Rainy. I was starting to worry that you wouldn't come around today," said Billy. Raindrop sat down, noticing Twist paying attention to the lesson a row back and several benches away.
"I wouldn't miss a day of school this early in on the school year."
"Quiet back there," said miss Cheerilee in a strict but still kind tone. Raindrop shut up, straightened her back and turned her head forward immediately. At least it was history, and they were talking about a, to her, dramatic plague once spreading throughout the land. Physically harmless, but creating a strange effect in those affected. Once infected, the pony would just have to look some other pony in the eye, and then knowing exactly what was needed to be said to hurt them deeply, which they would just do, like a sneeze. It was like a magic disease, and it was fascinating. She hoped it wouldn't be nearly as interesting as what she wanted to help Billy learn after school. Billy seemed more interested in learning to use magic than ever, because once in a while, when looking in his direction, she noticed small pieces of paper hover just barely above the surface of the bench.
Raindrop didn't enjoy that waiting for her next session helping Billy seemed to make school feel so much shorter. She was getting some of her stuff, about to head out towards the old warehouse when one of her filly friends walked up to her and started chatting.
"Hello, Raindrop. How are you?"
"I'm good, Ellie, and you?"
"I feel great. I wanted to ask you if you wanted to hang out with me today. We can go to Sugarcube Corner, just like during the summer," said Ellie.
"Oh, well, I would love to, Ellie, but I can't. I'm, I'm helping somepony out today. I wouldn't mind hanging out with you next week, though." It probably would've been much more fun to spend some time with Ellie again, but she had made a promise. She just hoped her friend wouldn't somehow feel bad about it. "Hey, maybe you can invite Twist, or Applebloom."
"I'm not sure. While Twist is nice, she isn't that much fun to be around with at Sugarcube Corner, she's always so interested in how the candy is made. Applebloom always just hangs out with that other unicorn and pegasus. Is it just me, or does she have a really small, eh, limited... what's it called again?"
"Social circle?"
"Yeah, spot on! That's it. Limited social circle."
"Well, if you think so then you should totally ask her to spend some time with you. I have to go now, but I hope you have a great day, Ellie."
"You too, Raindrop, bye!"
"Bye," said Raindrop before she walked through the hallway and out the door. She could see Billy waiting by the road. Once she got closer they walked towards Sweet Apple Acres. It was oddly quiet between the two. Raindrop didn't mind the silence one bit. It was a nice day, and the peace just didn't need to be disturbed. It was just as nice to just walk on the path, soaking in the warm weather and the singing birds. Just lovely .
"What's your favorite food?" asked Billy suddenly. Raindrop turned to him.
"I'm sorry?"
"What's your favorite food?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I was just curious. I mean, we're sort of friends, right?" Raindrop thought about it for just a little while.
"Well, we trust each other, so yeah, I'd say so," said Raindrop. She didn't knew Billy very well at all, but he was a nice pony who trusted her. She just thought that was enough.
"Well, I want to get to know you a little better. I mean, I don't have a lot of friends, but the ones I am friends with I know super well."
"Well, if you must know, I like a simple salad, without grass or hay. And you?"
"Pizza. So good."
"What kind?"
"Any kind. Except every type with pineapples. Whoever came up with pineapples on pizza was, like, insane!"
"Hey, it's not that bad."
"Not that bad? They might as well put small fish on it."
"Ew! That's sounds even worse than the version I tried once."
"What was that?"
"A pizza with peanuts and bananas."
"That... sounds tasty, actually."
"Are you sure that you're not, like, insane?" asked Raindrop.
"Well, considering what I'm trying to do without permission, maybe," said Billy.
"Trying to do what without permission?" asked another voice behind them. They turned around. Applebloom was on her way home.
"What? Nothing, nothing at all. Well, actually, I was about to invent a pizza, but I think you need permission to do that," lied Billy. How Applebloom seemed to believe that lie Raindrop couldn't comprehend. She might have been very naive, or she might not even have cared.
"Are you two going to our farm? We'll be bucking apples today. Want to help? It'll be fun!"
"Thanks for the offer, Applebloom, but we're busy with our owns chores today. I would've loved a day on a farm, but we're a bit too busy. Sorry," said Raindrop.
"Hey, that's alright. I understand, it ain't for everypony anyway. But, why are you heading my way?"
"Well, it is in that general direction," said Billy.
"Okay. Did you two see Scootaloo's parents today?"
"Wait, what?" asked Billy.
"They had a meeting with the principal. What, didn't you see them?"
"No, we missed that," said Raindrop.
"Well, odd, a lot of ponies did," said Applebloom.
Once they had said goodbye to Applebloom and passed beyond Sweet Apple Acres, they quickly got to the old warehouse.
"Billy, I get the impression you've been practicing since yesterday," said Raindrop.
"Well, yeah. I have."
"That's good, but on what?"
"Really small things, I can't lift much else heavier than a piece of paper, though."
"Well, let's start from there, but first I need to ask you something. Have you noticed any difference in your magic when you lift it?"
"Actually, I have. At first when I tried practicing it was hard, but I tried to focus on my horn a bit more, like when you threw rings at me, and it made it a little easier to keep the paper floating in the air, to sort of keeping my grasp on it, but it also made it fly wildly around," said Billy. Raindrop tried to remember what she had read in the book, and she thought she knew what the problem was. She would've been a lot more unsure about her theory, but the fact that Billy seemed to think that her method worked made her believe in it a tad more.
"Lets keep practicing levitation first, alright? I will take this ball of old paper and throw it up in the air. Try to catch it with your magic," said Raindrop. Billy seemed a bit unsure, but he nodded and took a stance signaling he was ready. Once Raindrop threw the first one Billy focused and shut his eyes, straining to get a grasp on it, and failed. The little ball simply just fell down.
"Sorry."
"Don't be. Again!" said Raindrop, fetched the ball and threw it up in the air.
Unfortunately Billy just didn't seem to be able to catch anything while it was in the air, not balls of paper, not simple sheets of paper, not even light leaves. It took two full hours before Billy was getting visibly frustrated, but at least he was a bit more patient today, not to mention more willing to work hard.
"This is stupid! Why doesn't it work!?" exclaimed Billy and stomped his hoof on the floor.
"Billy, when you make just paper that stand still float, do you... feel that you're holding it?"
"Well, not really, no. It just sort of happens when I make it," said Billy.
"So you can't feel if you're grabbing the things I throw?"
"No, but they don't even move, I'm doing it wrong," said Billy. Raindrop thought about it for a few minutes while Billy walked around, disappointedly kicking some leaves and boxes. He picked up a sheet of old paper and folded it into an paper airplane with his hooves. With some effort he picked it up with magic and tried to throw it, but his effort only gave his plane a gentle push before it crashed to the ground.
"You know what? I think you and me might've been going over this a bit wrong," said Raindrop, she walked over to her saddlesack.
"What do you mean, Rainy?"
"See that really big box? Climb up on it for now," said Raindrop while looking threw her stuff. She had all sorts of simple things there, but it took a moment before she found what she was looking for. Once she picked up the object from the sack Billy was already on the box. She jumped from box to box up to him.
"What are you going to do with that piece of string?" asked Billy.
"Pick up that paper ball and get it up here," said Raindrop. After a short moment of the ball unsteadily floating up to them Raindrop had a paper ball, which she tied the string around. She then tied the other end of the string around Billy's horn.
"Billy, lie on your back with your head over the side of the box," said Raindrop. Billy didn't question her despite the odd request, which made Raindrop feel a bit like a real teacher, which made her feel precious. Raindrop nudged the ball so it fell down, while hanging from Billy's horn. She jumped down beneath him and looked up. "Okay, Billy. I thought about this a few hours ago when you said that you couldn't keep floating things very steady, but I didn't do anything about it then because I wanted you to catch the things I threw to make you improve. You couldn't catch them, and I think that both these problems might have the same solution," said Raindrop.
"What does that have to do with this?" asked Billy, looking down at her, or from his point of view, up.
"Vectors!"
"Victor-what?"
"No, vectors. They are, like, how should I explain this? They are like, something that represent a distance, force or direction. My dad works with them all the time when he's doing paperwork for the train station. He explained the idea. It was really boring math stuff. I think that the reason you can't grasp things very well is that you don't let yourself know where they are."
"What? But they are, like, right there!"
"Yes, but when you move them, they are no longer 'right there', instead they are 'over here now'. Let me explain more. See how the string from your horn to the ball is stretched? That is a vector that makes up the distance from your horn to the ball. Try making the ball float just a little bit and raise it upwards to you," said Raindrop. In short order the ball started to move, but it didn't move up, it moved down, away from Billy.
"It's not supposed to do that!"
"Alright, this might support my theory. Let it go. You see, when you grasped the ball, you used it with the help of the vector, you had a point of the magic, your horn, and a goal, the ball. You moved it further down because your down right now is your magic's up. Maybe that's subconscious or something? Nevermind. Billy, you couldn't catch things when they were moving right? But now, with the string in mind, try making the ball stop," said Raindrop and hit the ball, making it go back an forth like a pendulum. Billy tried to focus, and to his surprise eventually the ball started to slow down, and then he made it speed up.
"I'm doing it! I'm doing it!"
"Great! Now, keep holding the ball, push it down, don't let it move," said Raindrop. She kicked it so it flew up towards Billy, and it quickly got out of his control. "You couldn't stop it, or dropped it, because there was no new vector in mind. I think that if you imagine a straight line between your horn and whatever you're trying to lift, things will be much easier, both to lift, and move around. There is another thing you might need to keep in mind. When you move an object, try to move that along another line. A line that pushes the thing into another place.
"This is all really weird to me," said Billy.
"I never thought that dad explaining this incredibly boring stuff would actually be useful, but there you go. Come on, get down here," said Raindrop. Once Billy got down, Raindrop removed the string. She held one of the paper balls. She was ready to throw it, and Billy knew it.
"Remember, there is a line between you and the ball. The ball has its own line you need to stop. Come on!" shouted Raindrop and threw the ball high into the air. It was constantly rising, then it reached its peak. Billy was focusing all he could, while keeping his eyes on the ball. It started to fall. Right before it hit the ground, it stopped in the air. They both looked at it for a short moment, and then they cheered.
"I did it! I can't believe I did it!" yelled Billy.
"I knew you could do it, Billy! Great work!"
"It just, wow, it just clicked!" said Billy, for once he actually seemed proud of himself. He used his magic to pick up the ball, and to their shared joy, he did so without any visible strain. He waved it around, he couldn't quite do it without turning his head in the new direction, but he could do it, he could even do it quickly. He dropped the ball and sat down on the floor. "Okay, I am super tired."
"Billy, this is great! I never knew that unicorn magic was so... so really sensible. This is, well this is great. I'm not even sure I need to do anything else! The rest is you practicing what you've learned. You've learned the point of focus, and where to direct it! Your horn won't be useless anymore!"
"I know! I bet that if I would've had more magic in me, I would've been able to lift one of these boxes... but, well, that's something nopony can fix. But who cares? I can finally use this whenever I need to!"
"Well... I, I guess that's that. Good work, Billy. I'll, I'll see you in school tomorrow," said Raindrop. There was a sudden silence between them, a somewhat awkward silence.
"Well, yeah... I suppose. I'll, see you tomorrow. Thanks for all your help, Rainy. You're a real pal." He couldn't look directly at her for very long, after a while he avoided her eyes. Raindrop was about to turn around when: "Hey, Rainy. I, I still don't know how to make my horn glow in the dark. Could you maybe teach me that too?" asked Billy. Raindrop looked at him, and she smiled.
"I'll see you here tomorrow after school, right?"
"Sure will. Hey, do you want to hang out today, maybe? We can call it a day and just have some fun. Sugarcube Corner?"
"I'd like that," said Raindrop.
"Great, but, I don't have any money if you want something."
"Hey, I'll buy us a muffin or something to celebrate," said Raindrop. She picked up her things and then they walked out of the warehouse.
On their way into Ponyville, Billy often used his horns on small rocks that he passed. He picked each of them up and threw them gently to the side of the road. He seemed overjoyed. Raindrop was just proud, and happy that he finally seemed to feel a bit more comfortable with his own identity as a unicorn.
"It shouldn't have to take having a license to teach a unicorn this stuff. I just think it's stupid."
"Well, I suppose they wrote the law in order to avoid everypony to learn more advanced stuff that could harm themselves and others without supervision. This is basic stuff you could learn on your own if you were just a bit more creative. And if you're not, there's always magic kindergarten. You... were just unlucky not to get to go there," said Raindrop.
"You're right. I thought this was all just so much harder, but it just turned out I needed to think in another way. This is basic stuff after all, as I said, I thought it was all so much harder than it was," said Billy. They had finally reached Sugarcube Corner. There was a unusual amount of ponies there today. The shelves with carefully and expertly made candy were fully stocked, making the already cheerful and colorful room even more so. Raindrop had already been plenty surprised in how quickly they had managed to teach Billy how to move objects, but at least that was to be somewhat expected since it was so basic, but to actually find her father and Tripper Track sitting at a table there and chatting was very unexpected. "Rainy, what is your dad doing here?"
"I don't know. Let's find out," said Raindrop. They walked towards them, but when they got closer Tripper Track noticed them, and he looked like he was panicking. Raindrop couldn't understand why, but she was about to ask him in just a moment. Suddenly, somepony walked up to Raindrop and Billy.
"Well, hello, there Raindrop. I see you are busy with your hard work," said Ellie. Raindrop didn't enjoy the tone in her voice, it made her feel guilty. She had hurt Ellie, to her it seemed like Raindrop was avoiding her.
"Ellie, me and Billy has worked hard today, we were just done earlier than expected," said Raindrop.
"Working? Working with what?" asked Ellie. Raindrop tried not to panic.
"Well, me and Billy was just, well, we were-"
"Bucking apples at Sweet Apple Acres. Yeah, helped out Applebloom, earned a little money," lied Billy. He was better at lying than she was, fortunately enough.
"Why would you want to earn money?" asked Ellie. Raindrop could see Mr. and Mrs. Cake helping each other with getting a big chocolate cake out of the kitchen and up on the counter.
"Because we wanted to, well to buy a cake here. They always look so delicious, and we couldn't wait to one of our birthdays. We just love their cakes," said Raindrop and cracked a smile. Ellie didn't seem to buy it.
"What about you saying you couldn't hang out with me until next week?"
"Well, we wouldn't be able to afford a whole cake in just an afternoon's work," said Raindrop and gave a fake laugh. Billy gently nudged her hoof.
"Don't overdo it, just relax," whispered Billy when Ellie looked over to take a good look at the cake, there were plenty of them there, but that one could draw your eyes to it like a moth to a flame, it just looked so delicious.
"Anyway, Ellie. I'm here now, want to hang out with me and Billy?" asked Raindrop. Ellie looked at them, and being invited seemed to make her simply not care if Raindrop was lying or not.
"You go sit at the window, we're just going to say hi to my dad and Tri- Hey, where did he go?" asked Raindrop. Tripper Track was nowhere to be seen, but her father was still sitting over in his corner and looked at them gently smiling. Ellie left for her seat, and Raindrop and Billy walked over to Cloudy.
"Hey, dad. What are you doing here today? Where's Tripper?"
"He and I have been talking all day. I've taken a short break from work. Tonight I'm taking your mother out to dinner, don't eat too many cookies when we're out tonight, alright?"
"Of course not, maybe just one?"
"Don't tell your mother," said Cloudy and smiled.
"Why did that pony leave, Mr. Day?" asked Billy.
"Well, he, he couldn't quite deal with talking to my kid today," said Cloudy.
"Really? That's not very like him at all," said Raindrop.
"It's been a pretty tough day for him. For me too. I went to the hospital this morning, but there was nothing they could do. My stupid doctor is just overpaid, and there's nothing I can do about it either. Too bad, I could've just saved some money instead of wasting it on that quack. I honestly didn't expect anything," said Cloudy and shrugged.
"I can see why that bugs you," said Billy.
"Well," said Cloudy and lowered his voice. "Did today go well?"
"You tell me," said Billy. He focused his gaze on a cup of hot chocolate on the table, and he made it levitate.
"Great job, you two."
"Tomorrow we're going to do illumination," said Raindrop.
"We're here to celebrate that the first spell works so well," said Billy.
"Wonderful, go get your friend, while I get us all a tasty piece of apple pie," said Cloudy. They both nodded and walked back towards Ellie. Cloudy stepped off his seat and walked towards the counter. Raindrop had her sight set on Ellie. She was to say the least very happy, then she heard a large heavy thud from somewhere behind. Immediately whispers and talking broke out around them. Raindrop turned around to see what had happened. Ponies were gathering around a point, and behind the silhouette of their many legs Raindrop could see the unmoving body of her own father.
"Dad?"
"Is somepony a doctor?"
"Dad?!"
"Is he breathing?"
"Dad!"
"Get this pony to a hospital!"
"Daddy !"
Life Is like a Cookie Jar
The night that had passed had been terrifying in more ways than one. Raindrop had spent the night in a place she wasn't familiar with, which would have been awful for her alone, but her father had also been in the middle of a serious difficult surgical procedure. She had walked up to a nurse to ask about her dad. The nurse's face told Raindrop one very simple thing: his odds were slim. Raindrop had spent most of the night crying, crying on her mother's shoulder, crying into her pillow, crying in her sleep and worried dreams. She had stopped crying about the time she had woken up. She wasn't about to start again. Now the only thing left for her to do was worrying about her father. The room Raindrop was in was so small, it was usually not used for regular ponies to sleep in. It was usually reserved for doctors and nurses working late, needing a little rest. However, Raindrop had been allowed to make use of it once the doctors realized that neither her mother or her were going anywhere. If it wouldn't have been for her mother Raindrop didn't think she would have been able to stand against all the ponies asking them to leave the hospital once it got very late. How they could've asked a worried wife and terrified daughter to leave Cloudy Raindrop couldn't comprehend. The sun had already risen. It was almost noon, she had overslept. She was so worried about Cloudy that she barely even considered that she had missed school. There was a knock on the door. It opened and a nurse walked in. She passed several empty beds to get to Raindrop who was still in hers.
"Little miss, are you hungry, dear?" asked the nurse. She had a bit of a rough voice, but a sweet disposition.
"Yes, ma'am," said Raindrop. Her throat felt a bit soar. She wanted to ask about her father, but she didn't... she didn't have the courage to.
"Your mother went down to the cafeteria to fetch you a nice meal," said the nurse. Suddenly a male voice was heard somewhere in the hallway.
"Hey, did that crying kid leave yet? I had to sleep in the couch with all her cry- I mean, I, I need to go somewhere," said a male nurse pony in a slight panic when he noticed Raindrop still sitting in her bed. She felt hurt, but she wouldn't cry.
"I'm so sorry, sweetie. Our staff can get very tired here sometimes, and be a little stressed" said the nurse in her kind voice. She looked at the open door. Raindrop could hear her whisper to herself. "When I find that intern I'm gonna strangle him with my own..."
"Thank you for letting me stay here," said Raindrop. She hated her own voice in that moment, it sounded so small, so weak, so pathetic.
"Of course, deary." Sunny walked in through the open door with a tray with some food.
"Raindrop, are you okay, sweetie?" asked Sunny to her after putting the tray down on her bed. Raindrop didn't want to answer, because it was either telling the truth, or even worse: lie again. She just stared at the sheets in her bed for a while before looking up at her mother. It looked like her mother had cried far more than she herself had. Her eyes were a bit red and the fur beneath her eyes looked all wrong.
"I guess, mom. I'm just... worried."
"We all are, dear. Poor Tripper is out of his mind. He was bawling his eyes out, the poor fellow. Who can blame him?"
"Is Tripper here?"
"Not now, he left. He was here all night. He was the only one of your father's friends that cried, though. Those are some strong ponies." Strong ponies... Raindrop wanted to be a strong pony, she needed to be one. She realized she couldn't avoid it, she had to be brave.
"Mom, what about dad? Is he going to be okay?" asked Raindrop. Her voice suddenly seemed weaker. Her mother looked down at her.
"We don't know yet. He's past the worst part, but it's still very unclear. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to stay strong a little bit more. We won't know if he'll make it for at least half the day, says the doctor. Try to eat, and then you should go somewhere a bit more relaxing than a hospital, alright?" said her mother.
"I don't want to go anywhere, I want to stay here with dad!" said Raindrop.
"Dear, I don't want you to spend the entire day worrying about your father. He's a strong pony, he'll make it out of this alive. I bet the first thing he's going to complain about will be how they shaved of his mane," said Sunny and tried to smile. She was not nearly as good as giving a confident, calming smile as Cloudy was. "So go to Sugar- Go to Sweet Apple Acres and buy some apples there. We'll make a big apple pie for the moment he comes home."
"But mom."
"Now now, no arguing, I want you to go and enjoy yourself. The weather is lovely." Raindrop wanted to stay, but her mother would never budge. To Raindrop it was obvious that her mother just wanted to avoid having Raindrop worry about the potential... death of her father. It was strange how that had been her only concern, but just imagining the actual phrase 'death of her father' just shook her to her core. She just nodded.
"Alright, mom. I'll just eat and then I'll be off," said Raindrop. Once the nurse and Sunny left, the last of Raindrop's strength failed and she yet again burst out into tears.
She didn't go towards Sweet Apple Acres, she didn't go to Sugarcube Corner, she just went straight home. She didn't feel to go to Sweet Apple Acres just to get some stupid apples. She didn't know if she could ever go back to Sugarcube Corner ever again. If her dad... didn't... survive, then she felt like she would always, in the corner of her eye, see the silhouette of him, either sitting at his table, or lying still on the floor. She couldn't go back there now, it was too painful. Getting from the hospital to her home had felt like it took just a few minutes, she was that distracted. The moment she could see her home, there was something different about it. More specifically, there was a pony sleeping at her doorstep. Raindrop walked up to the pony and nudged him.
"Billy, what are you doing here?" asked Raindrop. Her voice had had a chance to recover, she sounded much more normal.
"Sorry, but I was super worried. I realized I couldn't just sit around doing nothing, so I went over here to talk. See how you were doing. I knocked but you weren't home. Just to make sure I didn't miss you, I waited out here. It was supposed to just be a few minutes, but I fell asleep. I didn't get much sleep last night."
"You're skipping school for me?"
"I'm sorry, I know this isn't normal behavior... but this isn't a normal day, is it? How's your dad, Rainy?"
"We don't know. He's out of surgery, but now it could go either way?"
"I'm sorry."
"I know."
"Do you know what's wrong with him? Oh, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have just-"
"It's alright. My mom or the doctors won't say anything. I think... the problem is... a brain disease. My mom said they had to shave off his mane, and I don't see why they wouldn't do that for anything else," said Raindrop.
"Hey, do you want to talk, or be left alone?"
"I don't want to talk, but I don't want to be alone either."
"I'll be super quiet," said Billy. Raindrop unlocked the door and walked inside with Billy.
"Do you want some of mom's cookies? They are probably getting a bit old now," said Raindrop. Billy just nodded gently. Raindrop went inside the kitchen and picked up the broom with her mouth. She just tried to topple the cookie jar, not caring if it broke or not. It fell off, but it stopped in the middle of the fall. Billy waved his head a bit clumsily, and the jar was clumsily put down on the table. "Thanks," said Raindrop, putting the broom away. They both sat at the table. Raindrop opened the jar. "There's not a lot of cookies left," said Raindrop as she gave Billy one who gratefully accepted it, but with just a nod. Raindrop picked one up, and ate it very quickly. At the hospital, her appetite had been almost nonexistent, but here she ate faster than ever. She picked up another one from the jar and ate that one too, she ate the entire big cookie in one bite. Eventually, there was only one cookie left. Raindrop saved it for later. Realizing they were done, Billy used his horn to pick up the jar and put it back where it belonged. "You know what my dad would've said if he was here right now? He would've said 'not a word to your mother', and then he would've chuckled," said Raindrop. She herself chuckled, but her little laugh slowly turned to openly weeping. Billy changed seat to sit next to her, comforting her with a friendly pat on the back. "I just don't know what to do, Billy," said Raindrop.
"Rainy, I can't say that I know what you're going through. I wish I did, but I don't. I'm so sorry for you. I just don't know what you can do. Sorry."
"That's not your fault. Thanks for being here, though," said Raindrop.
"It's nice to have ponies around you for support, right?" asked Billy.
"I wonder if the rest of my friends know," said Raindrop.
"They do, I heard so this morning. They don't know how serious it is though, or else they would all be here with me trying to keep you company. Ellie didn't say anything to anypony," said Billy.
"She didn't?"
"No. I don't know why, but I think she thought she did some sort of favor to you."
"I don't care if she thought it was nice or not, but I'm happy she didn't. I don't want to be surrounded by ponies right now," said Raindrop.
"Should I go?"
"No, no. I don't mind that you're here. You know, Billy, I haven't known you very long, but you really are a good friend. I don't think even some of my best friends could stand being with me right now, all sad and pathetic."
"Rainy, being sad isn't being pathetic. If you weren't sad right now, I would think you were crazy. And I'm sure that all your friends would still want to be here. I don't know why they aren't, but I know they want to be. They hope for the best, just like I do, just like you do."
"I just want to do something. I just want to do something that can take my mind off things."
"Well, if you want to, you can try to help me with my magic, like, like we were going to do," said Billy. He suddenly looked ashamed. "I'm a terrible pony, I shouldn't- you were just talking. I'm so sorry."
"Let's," said Raindrop, looking at him.
"Really?"
"Doing this is challenging, but when it gives results I feel a bit nice," said Raindrop. She really needed something to focus on, she would never be able to stop thinking about her father for the rest of the day but focusing on an activity that could at least make her stop just feeling sad sounded like a good idea. Focusing on what Billy did could make her feel a little bit less alone. She suddenly wanted her friends there with her, and the next moment she wanted to be completely alone. This day made her feeling a bit unstable, so getting some focus would feel nice, or rather, less horrible. She nodded towards the living room door in the hallway. "Follow me into the living room," said Raindrop. They both walked into the room. "Close the shades and doors, please," said Raindrop. Billy waved his horn a few times, bit by bit the room started to get darker. When the last door closed the room was quite dark.
"Now, Billy, this is a basic skill, and is easy to use, but it can be dangerous and hard to learn. If you aren't careful you can scorch your face, or make something catch fire. Do you understand? You have to be very careful. Very careful. Do you understand that?"
"I do. Completely," said Billy very convincingly, calmly. It sounded mature.
"Alright. You have focused your magic in the point of your horn to pick things up, right?"
"Yes. It's almost like I feel a little marble in my head, but higher up, fitting really well."
"Illumination means that you have to create two of those points. If I understand the illustrations right, then it's the same principle like when you pick up one or more things at once," said Raindrop.
"Two things at once? Can I do that? Wait, just, can I try if I can do that first?"
"Yeah, just remember what I've taught you, and split it in half," said Raindrop. 'Split it in half', probably what the doctors had done with her father's skull. No, no, don't think like that, just focus on this . Billy focused, and in less than two minutes he had made a couple of small pillows float alongside each other.
"These things are really heavy, but I did it, now what?"
"Now, this is where it gets dangerous, and hard. You need to move those magical points you've made, you need to make them spin around each other. The more points you have, the brighter the light will be, I think."
"So, I just try to move them?"
"Yes, but start with that first. Feel the points and make them move, but don't make them spin around each other yet. When you spin them around each other, there is a little energy that is released, and that energy should then be released through your horn, making light. But don't yet, if you do that and they go too quickly, then you can burn whatever you happen to focus on in the room, and if you can't make your magic exit your horn, then you will set your face on fire."
"That would be bad," said Billy.
"Yes. This is one of the reasons you need a supervisor to do it."
"But, then why are ponies in magic kindergarten allowed to learn it?"
"Unicorns have a way to affect each other, they make the young ones feel how quickly it has to go. Once you do, it will just click. We have to go forward very slowly, though. Very . Also, this is one of the things you can't use in front of anyone. This is one of the things that if a pony learns it on their own, it will look very suspicious."
"Alright. I won't. But, well, Rainy, maybe we shouldn't be doing this one. When I asked you about this one, I didn't know how dangerous it would be," said Billy.
"No, we're doing it, come on, move your points."
"Rainy, I'm saying that I don't want to do this now."
"I said that we're doing it, so do it!" said Raindrop, she raised her voice. Her voice, it sounded so strange, it sounded angry, too angry.
"I wanted to do this, but I've already learned the basic floating thing. Let's make me learn something safe first, something I can actually use in public," said Billy.
"Don't be a coward! Let's just do this!" said Raindrop.
"No," said Billy.
"Come on!" said Raindrop.
"No!" said Billy and stomped his hoof.
"I told you to do it! Do it then!" yelled Raindrop.
"I said no!" said Billy.
"Fine, be that way! Jerk!" yelled Raindrop even louder.
"Stop yelling at me!"
"I'm- I'm not..."
"You were, sorry, but you were," said Billy and looked away. He pulled away the shades, making the room much brighter. With the light the mood suddenly shifted to something a bit more relaxed.
"I'm just..."
"I know."
"I'm sorry."
"Thanks, I know you are just worried and stressed right now. I'm sorry I asked you to do this. There has to be a better way to spend the day," said Billy.
"I just want to hear some news. That's all. I think they said they will know for sure towards the evening," said Raindrop. Billy walked up to Raindrop, and after some thought he gave her a hug.
"Don't give up hope, alright?"
"I won't," said Raindrop. Billy could feel a few teardrops gently drip on his coat.
"Let's go outside. It's a nice day," said Billy.
"No, it's not. It's raining," said Raindrop. The weather had turned very quickly.
"Well, we can just stay here."
"Yeah, could, could you just wait here a little while? There's something I want to do," said Raindrop and let go of Billy. He sat down on the sofa as she left the room. Raindrop opened the door and walked outside. She closed her eyes and then turned her head upwards towards the infinite sky. She just sat there and let the raindrops gently fall on her. She found it soothing through another wave of tears. She felt like a lot of ponies could have dealt with this with far less crying, she wished she could have been like them. She wished she could have been that strong.
They had just been sitting in the sofa for at least an hour in complete silence. Raindrop had a lot to think about and Billy understood that. Like what would happen if her father didn't actually make it. She had to consider the new responsibilities. She had to start helping her mother around in the house a lot more, heck, she would start doing that anyway. She felt like if she would do that, something would see it and spare her father. She would have to learn how to cook, her mother was good at it, but she wouldn't have time with her job. With only one worker in their possibly soon to be smaller family, they would have to make a lot of changes. Raindrop had to get a job as something, what could a young filly work as? She had to find out. Maybe a foalsitter, or a history tutor. Maybe she could help out at her father's old work somehow. But that might have been too painful. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"Maybe that's news!" said Billy.
"It's too early for that," said Raindrop and got up from the sofa. She walked over to the door and opened it. Outside under an umbrella stood Miss. Cheerilee.
"Hello, Raindrop. May I come in?" asked Cheerilee. Her voice was even softer than usual. It was like she was as careful not to upset her student as she could possibly be.
"Oh, okay," said Raindrop. Her teacher walked inside and put down the umbrella. "I'm very sorry that I missed school today, Miss Cheerilee, but my father, is, he's not well," said Raindrop. Talking about it was hard, but at least she could do so without bursting out into tears for the moment.
"What are you doing here, Miss Cheerilee?" asked Billy.
"Oh, hello, Billy. What a surprise to see you here. Well, I'm here because I've heard about what happened. I thought that I should see how Raindrop was doing. I also brought something our class made in school today," said Miss Cheerilee. She opened up a bag she had brought with her. She got out an envelope that she handed to Raindrop. It was a very large envelope, so large Raindrop had trouble handling it. She opened it and pulled out what was hidden inside. She almost felt like crying again when she saw what it was, but not out of sadness. It was a large yellow paper, filled with glitter, streamers, photos and drawings of her classmates, playing, laughing, arguing, just being kids. All of them had one thing in common, they all had her in it. In large green cursive letters in an arc over the class photo it said 'We miss you'. Raindrop remembered when Twist had broken her leg a couple of years ago, they had done something very similar to this, but with a 'We miss you, get well soon'. That fact didn't make this feel any less special to her, however. Just like she had meant it when doing it for Twist, she was sure they meant it now.
"Miss Cheerilee, this is wonderful. If I can't come tomorrow, please tell them I'm very grateful," said Raindrop.
"I will, Raindrop," said Cheerilee. Billy came up to look at the gift. "Raindrop, do you want to talk about this? I know this can be very confusing for a filly your age," said Cheerilee.
"I... thank you, Miss Cheerilee, but I just don't want to. I'll be back in school soon enough."
"Are you absolutely sure?" Raindrop thought about it for a surprisingly long moment in the silence of her living room. Eventually she had decided.
"Yes. I'm sure. Thank you very much for the thought. Would you like something to drink? I would give you something tasty along a cup of tea, but we don't have much except an old cookie. We don't even have tea."
"That's quite alright. I've recently eaten." There was an awkward silence in the room. Raindrop didn't want to talk and Cheerilee didn't want to make her. Billy just looked at them one at a time, seemingly hoping somepony would break the silence. "Well, I suppose that I should take off before the weather gets any worse," said Cheerilee.
"That's fine," said Raindrop. She felt awful for being such a poor host, but it was a difficult day. The only thing that gave her any relief about the situation was that Cheerilee seemed to understand what she was going through. Cheerilee walked back towards the door and opened it.
"It was nice seeing you, Miss Cheerilee," said Billy before she walked out.
"You too, Billy. Take care, Raindrop." Then she was gone. Raindrop could see her hurrying away in the rain.
"I'm horrible. I basically just let her go out into the rain," said Raindrop. She felt ashamed in how cold she had acted in the end. She might as well have pretended that her guest hadn't even been there.
"She's super smart, she knows that this is hard," said Billy. There was a slight pause. Billy turned his head to her. "Hey, Rainy?"
"Mm?"
"How come you can talk to me, but not Cheerilee?"
"I... I guess that me tutoring you, and you keeping it a secret... has made me trust you. I think that's it. I've never had anypony I feel I can trust like you."
"I have. I've said I don't have many friends, but the ones I do have, I know I can trust them. Absolutely."
"Wait, there is another one I've always trusted... dad."
"Oh."
"I'm alright. I'll try my best to not cry again." Her 'best' still involved a few tears rolling down her cheeks.
"If you think that's best. Hey, are you hungry?"
"A bit, I didn't have a big breakfast."
"I can make us a few sandwiches. Or, hey, if you have some ingredients I can make some grass-pancakes."
"You can cook?"
"Well, yeah. My dad burns everything he puts in a pan, and my mom always adds too much of, well, it's always too much of something ."
"I wouldn't mind something to eat now. I barely felt like eating when I woke up."
"Great, but, do you have a recipe for it? I can't remember one of the top of my head," said Billy.
"We have a recipe, it's on a piece of paper on the fridge," said Raindrop. Billy focused in the direction of the kitchen. Within a few seconds the recipe floated gracefully through the air. It pulled off a few loops before it hovered in front of Billy who started to read.
"And do you have all these ingredients?"
"Yes."
"Great. I'll start right away. Do you want to help out?" asked Billy. Raindrop accepted. It seemed that in one way or other, Billy was a good way to keep herself occupied, and away from thinking about the state of her father. Still, for the moment, and the rest of the day, all she could do, and did, was hoping for the best.
Hours upon hours had passed. While it was never outright joyful, keeping her friend Billy around kept Raindrop from being miserable. Alas, he could not stay forever. Once the sun had gone down, Billy had to return home. Raindrop had waved goodbye, and since she simply couldn't think of anything else, she had gone to bed. She had avoided crying much more for the day, even when she was alone. She had gotten used to the terrible thought. There was no point in mourning now. The only thing she really could do was to wait for something to happen. The answers to her questions about what would happen to her father was coming, she just had to stay strong and wait for them. That night, while having trouble sleeping because of bad dreams, she felt a gentle hoof on her shoulder. She slowly opened her eyes. Her waiting for news was over.
"Hey there, sleepyhead. Are you alright?" asked Cloudy with a kind smile. His mane was gone, and his head bandaged, but Raindrop didn't have time to notice such trivial things, not when she so quickly leaped from her bed and tearfully embraced her beloved father.
Life Is like a Cookie Jar
"I told you two that these were for my friends! They are coming over later today and I have nothing to give them with the tea!" shouted Sunny to her husband and daughter, although it might have been more appropriate to describe it as roaring. She was holding the almost empty cookie jar in her hooves. She looked absolutely furious and both Raindrop and Cloudy kept close to each other, both looking at the ground in slight shame. She had yelled at them for a good ten minutes.
"We're sorry," said both Raindrop and Cloudy in unison.
"First my husband almost dies, then my daughter spends the whole day somewhere with some boy I don't know, and now this ? This has not been an easy start to the weekend," said Sunny, sighing heavily.
"Well, it's almost over," said Cloudy.
"Mom, we'll just buy some from Sugarcube Corner," said Raindrop. With her father fine, going back to that place was a lot easier for her. Still, it would always have a certain stigma about it. It would always remind her of just how close she had been to losing somepony close.
"I can't just buy something from there. I want to be able to say that these came from me. What am I going to do? Split this cookie amongst eight different ponies?"
"Next time maybe you should make them less delicious?" suggested Cloudy. Sunny's face could not have been more deadpan.
"If you wouldn't just have gotten out of surgery, I would hit you right on your head. But then again, maybe giving you brain damage wouldn't be noticeable," said Sunny. Cloudy chuckled, albeit nervously, at his usually loving if stern wife. Raindrop noticed he was sweating a little bit.
"It will be alright, we'll just go into town to do some shopping. We'll bake a new batch... heh, reminds me of what you said last night. About the oven," said Cloudy and chuckled a bit.
"Now is not the right time to talk about that," said Sunny. She had suddenly changed her tone of voice. From outraged, she was suddenly a bit fluttered.
"What's up?" asked Raindrop at the sudden change of atmosphere.
"Nothing, dear. Now, you and your father is going to go into town to do some shopping. You got it?" And it had changed back again.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good. Now, I have to deal with some important matters. Doctor Heart said that stress wouldn't be harmful, so go, move out, right now. Now, now, now! You better be back in less than two hours, or at least one of you is sleeping on the couch tonight!" Both Raindrop and Cloudy rushed out of the door. They closed it and leaned towards it in a bit of relief.
"She's cranky today," said Raindrop.
"Well, she has a certain right to be, in more than one way if you ask me."
"She should be happy that you are alright."
"Hey, she is. She's just not good at showing her happiness. I blame your old grandfather. He never showed any emotion, always cold. he showed more emotion when in his grave on his funeral."
"Dad, none of my grandpas are dead."
"Oh, really? Wishful thinking I guess." Raindrop just laughed. Her father joined her as they both left their home to go into town.
As they both walked through the streets of Ponyville, Raindrop felt quite touched whenever somepony from her class or a worker at her father's job met them and congratulated them. Cloudy's work friends were just as relieved as Raindrop felt, clearly. Her classmates were very happy for her and Raindrop made sure to thank each of them with a big smile both for their concern and for the lovely gift they had made for her in school.
"I'll see you Monday!" said Raindrop to each and everyone of them cheerily. The latest pony she had said that to was Twist, but the last one she would say that to came along about an hour into their shopping.
"Why your mother would ask for some of these things is beyond me. How many shops in Ponyville sell socks ?" asked Cloudy.
"There are shops that sell socks in Ponyville?" asked Raindrop surprised.
"Exactly!" said Cloudy. Suddenly something light and pointy gently hit Raindrop in the back of her head. She turned around and looked at something falling down to the floor, light as a feather. A paper airplane had hit her in the back of her head. Billy was standing not too far away from her. He was levitating a few papers in the air behind him and he had a relieved smile on his face. He actually seemed to have had trouble sleeping too.
"Hey. It's good to see your dad alright," said Billy.
"Hello, Folds. How are you? I see that my daughter has helped you with your little, well, your problem," said Cloudy and glanced at the several levitating papers. Billy looked at him a bit surprised.
"Wait? How am I ? How are you ? That's what should be asked!" said Billy.
"Oh, I'm mostly fine. Just trying to enjoy the day with my daughter, trying to ignore the headaches after the operation."
"It's not serious is it?" asked Billy. Raindrop looked up at her father, a bit worried.
"Well, not according to my doctor," said Cloudy.
"I'm surprised you aren't celebrating with your friends or something," said Billy.
"Well, to be perfectly honest, I'm a bit surprised too. I mean, my wife told my friend Tripper, and he should have told everypony else. It's weird, but I'm just happy they can relax a little bit."
"You should have, at least be given a balloon, or a flower," said Raindrop.
"I'm just happy that I get to spend another day with my family, sweetie," said Cloudy. Raindrop turned back to Billy, and she noticed the papers.
"So, Billy, why do you have the papers?"
"Well, my horn's acting up again. I'm not actually trying to make them fly, they are just sort of following me," said Billy.
"It still won't give up, will it?"
"Nope. Not a chance. Still, you know, life's been easier around the house. And my parent's are so happy I've started to develop my 'natural talent'. We both know I don't have any. It's all thanks to you, Rainy. Thank you," said Billy.
"Hey, I just gave you a push, Billy. You did all the hard work yourself."
"Well, still, pretty big push," said Billy. Raindrop smiled. " So what do you want for it?"
"What?"
"What do you want for everything you've done? I don't have much, but whatever it is, it's yours," said Billy.
"Well, how about you get my dad a flower? I want him to get one," said Raindrop. Suddenly Billy seemed to consider something at her request, and after a little while he pulled one of the papers to the floor in front of him. He sat down on the ground, and with some magical pushes, some pulls and folding after folding, a piece of paper flowed up to in front of Raindrop. It was folded, quite nicely so, into a paper flower.
"Is this okay? Sorry, but it's everything I can really make," said Billy a bit unsure. He seemed to almost be ashamed that he couldn't give something more.
"Well, it's, it's... it's great!" said Raindrop. It wasn't just nicely done, if it would have been red paper, it could have been mistaken for a genuine rose. She was actually at a loss of breath. "It's beautiful," said Raindrop.
"I've never seen something like that. I think, I think that's called 'origami'," said Cloudy, he too impressed.
"Origami? Folding paper things is a thing?"
"It's an art form, I think," said Cloudy.
"Do something else! Do a bird!" said Raindrop. Billy didn't even seem to think, a piece of paper just flowed in front of him, and without even thinking he started to fold it and twist it with both magic and hooves. In front of their eyes, a swan emerged from the paper. Quickly turning from just a mere piece of paper to actual art.
"Wow, this is kind of fun! I'll see if I can make a pony now," said Billy. He did just that. Once he was finished, he used another piece of paper to make something else. Nopony told him to do something, he just silently got to work. He made a dragon, then a tree, then another swan, a little house and he just didn't stop. He didn't seem to want to.
This kept going for a good twenty minutes. For every paper that Billy Folds folded, his smile seemed to get wider, his eyes lit up more and more, and his horn stopped making the pieces of paper float. Once he had used up every piece of paper an entire little origami model of Ponyville was just there in front of them on the floor. He had even managed to attract a bit of a crowd.
"You know, this is some quality work," said Cloudy.
"Billy?" asked Raindrop.
"Yeah?"
"I noticed it a few minutes ago but didn't want to say anything. You've earned your, well, your mark of mastery," said Raindrop and pointed at his flank. Billy actually spent less time examining the mark, a paper rose, than he did his own horn. When he looked Raindrop in the eyes, she noticed that they were a bit watery.
"I think it's over. No more horn, no more bad stuff. It's over!" yelled Billy, basically pouncing Raindrop to embrace her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, you're super! Thank you!" cried Billy in joy. Raindrop was blushing to a ridiculous degree, but she also felt pride. She was happy for him, she was proud of her friend, she was proud of herself. After a horrible day, life was good again.
"Well, we better celebrate, right?" said Cloudy.
"Yeah!" said Billy. He was a bit ecstatic. "I mean, not my mark, that you're fine, of course," said Billy, realizing how much he had lost his cool.
"We should do both, at the same time. Billy, why don't you go to our house and tell Sunny that we'll be having a bit of a party? We'll just get the last of the things on our list and we'll be right back home to start it," said Cloudy.
"I will, sir!" said Billy just a bit too loud before runnings towards the door. He stopped in his track, ran back to Raindrop, hugged her again and then continued towards the door, giggling like a lovable maniac.
"Today might just be a good day after all, despite everything," said Cloudy, smiling at the young foal's joy.
"I think it will be," said Raindrop.
"That just took forever," said Raindrop. They were on the path leading up to their home, finally done with everything. They were holding bags with all sort of things in them, actually, some of the items in the bags just didn't seem to belong there. The flour and sugar made perfect sense considering the lack of cookies. But the toys, blankets, buckets, wooden spoons and comic books just didn't belong there. Raindrop couldn't even consider any significant need for any of it in their home. Finding some of the more obscure things had taken hours, and the sun was on it's way down, painting the landscape in a golden reddish hue.
"It was just nice getting out of the house. Sunny needs a little time to herself to calm down after all of this. I'm surprised that you are doing so well. Considering."
"I'm just glad that you're okay, dad. But I was really scared."
"I would have been even more surprised if that wouldn't have been the case. But, dear, I need to talk to you about something, it's about my condition," said Cloudy. They were right outside the door when Cloudy put down the bags and turned to his daughter. He got down to her level and looked her in the eyes. "Listen, dear..." He didn't seem to be able to find the words, but after a moment he seemed to have settled on something. "I need you to understand that this could very well happen again."
"Come on, it won't," said Raindrop. Her voice sounded just a little bit too frightened. "It won't," said Raindrop, adding a bit more confidence in her voice. It couldn't happen again, she felt like she absolutely, somehow, wouldn't allow it.
"It might. It just might."
"But mom said the doctor said that-"
"Don't listen to him, listen to me. If I ever get ill, or something happens to the family, I need you to be strong, alright? I need you to be stronger than you ever have been, ever. If it happens, can you do that?"
"It won't," said Raindrop, she felt a tear running down her cheek.
"If it happens , will you promise me to be strong? All I need to know is that you will be strong, whatever happens, alright?" asked Cloudy. He was serious, more serious than Raindrop had ever seen him before. He let out a deep sigh, and then he dried her cheek with one of the blankets they had bought. Raindrop lowered her face, she just wanted to stair at his hooves more than anything in that moment. "Hey, it doesn't matter right now. Let's just, let's just try to enjoy the rest of the evening, alright?" asked Cloudy. He picked up the bag and opened the door. It was dark inside. Just as Raindrop realized it was too dark, the lights turned on and almost blinded them.
"SURPRISE!" yelled over two dozen voiced at them. Ponies behind the couch, up the stairs, around the corners, behind the kitchen table. Cloudy's friends, from all over Ponyville, smiled at him and hugged him as he entered. Raindrop noticed how strange he looked. He seemed both terrified of the surprise, but also happy that they actually cared so much. Raindrop could see Billy holding up a sign saying 'congratulations' in the back. Sunny was on the couch, smiling at them both. Cloudy burst out laughing.
"You guys! I just got out out of the hospital, it's not a good idea to shock a patient!" said Cloudy and cracked a huge grin at their welcome.
"Cloudy, I'm just so glad I got to see you again," said Tripper. He walked up to his old friend and gave him a huge hug.
"Tripper, please, you don't need to make such a big deal out of it, also, you might be choking me," said Cloudy.
"Mom, did you do all this?" asked Raindrop, looking at all the decorations that was put up.
"I got some advice from a local party pony. She was possibly crazy, but she knew her festivities," said Sunny and drank a cup of tea from the table. She was smiling quite subtly.
"Thank you, honey," said Cloudy, still in Tripper's embrace, surrounded by his closest friends.
"I realized that despite...things, they should get to see you again," said Sunny, looking into the tea with a solemn look. She simply hated parties, well, not parties per se, more being part of a party. She enjoyed the thought of ponies having a good time just as anyone else would, but she didn't want to be part of it all. It wasn't music and dancing to her when it was that crowded, it was just noise and chaos. Sacrificing an evening of reading a good book with a bit of tea, just to make her husband happy. It was one of those things that had gotten them together in the first place. Raindrop started looking around. Some of Cloudy's family were there. Some of them must have come all the way from Canterlot. Both her uncles were there, as always, teasing their little brother. At least five ponies Cloudy knew from work was there. Raindrop was surprised to see Miss Cheerilee there too, but she didn't say much to her except a simple greeting. She noticed Billy, who was busy making some origami flowers for the decorations, in fact, on further inspection there was actually a lot of them around.
"Hey, Billy."
"Hey, Rainy! This is just so much fun," said Billy.
"I bet."
"But, while I like doing this, I have no clue what this can be used for. What good can this do? What kind of career can I use folding in?" asked Billy.
"Don't worry about it. If you can't find one, you'll make one, if you can't make one, you can always rely on that practical horn of yours," said Raindrop. Billy looked at his horn, and then he smiled at her.
"Yeah, that's true... My practical horn. I almost thought I'd never get to say that," said Billy. He looked relieved by just saying those simple words. Suddenly Cloudy caught everyone's attention from the middle of the room. It was with energy that he said:
"Well, everyone! Friends, family! It was a tough bump, and it just shows that life is precious! So please do me a favor. Let's party like tonight was the last night of my life! Because I love you all, and I don't want to have any regrets!" The response was a unified cheer, and somepony turning the volume of the music up. A quite lively night had started.
"So... do you want to dance, or something?" asked Billy. Raindrop turned around to face him.
"Do, do you really want to?" asked Raindrop.
"Well, yeah. It could be fun. Right?" asked Billy in a slightly shy tone.
"Yes. I'd love a dance," said Raindrop. Billy smiled and so did she.
The last rays of the setting sun no longer touching Ponyville did nothing to slow down the party. Ponies talked, danced, drank, laughed. Raindrop and Billy had gone up to Raindrop's room. The vibrations the music and dancing ponies could be felt clearer than the sound could be heard from downstairs.
"You have a really big room," said Billy as Raindrop introduced some of her dolls.
"Is yours smaller?"
"It's about twice the size of your closet, really," said Billy.
"But I can't barely fit in there," said Raindrop.
"I know."
"Well, it's all thanks to my mom and dad, but mostly my dad. If it wasn't for him, me and mom would probably live in a box. What does your parents work with?"
"My dad is an advisor on ancient laws... it's not a job that gets many customers. He's in a contract right now that says he can't take any other jobs for a while. He was really unlucky. Mom doesn't have a job, so she can't use her skills. It makes her a bit stressed."
"So that's why you have problems with money. That's awful."
"Yeah, but, being low on funds isn't really that bad. What's really bothering me is that dad's been a bit weird this month. Distracted, stressed."
"Is he in trouble?" asked Raindrop. She walked over to the windows looking outside, thinking she saw somepony approaching.
"Maybe? I don't know. They were both a bit happier when I showed them my new mark of mastery, and that I have improved on magic. Don't worry, they didn't think it was odd," said Billy.
"Do they know you are here?"
"Yeah, I even invited them after asking your mom. She didn't mind, but dad sort of flipped out when I told him. I don't think he likes your dad."
"Why?"
"I don't know. It's my dad's problem."
"So, why is your dad on his way here?" asked Raindrop. Through the window she clearly saw a tall unicorn stallion walking up to their front door. She had never seen Billy's father before, but she didn't need to have seen him to understand who the unicorn was. He simply looked like an adult Billy, with a longer mane and a taller build. Raindrop couldn't help but to think that the stallion looked a bit handsome, even if he really could use a comb for his mane. Billy got up next to Raindrop and looked out.
"Dad? What's he doing here?"
"Maybe he really wanted to come to the party after all?" suggested Raindrop.
"I guess. I'm going down to meet him," said Billy. He hurried out of the room and down the stairs. Raindrop followed him. When she got out into the hallway she could see Billy standing at the bottom of the stairs, next to the corner to the kitchen. Raindrop walked down the stairs and asked why he spied on his father. "He and your dad is talking about something in there," said Billy. Raindrop peeked around the corner. Billy's father was talking to Cloudy right next to the freezer, and he looked strange. He was sweating nervously. Tripper was next to them both. Cloudy asked Tripper to leave. They were the only ones in the kitchen. The rest of the ponies had moved their party more towards the back of the house, partway out to the back garden.
"Listen, Mr. Folds, I want you to know that I'm not angry at you. I have absolutely nothing against you. I'm okay with what happened. I've accepted it. It's in the past."
"Nopony is that pure, nopony is that selfless. I know you are trying to get back at me, you're going to ruin my family. You'll make them take my little Billy away from me," said the other father with a terrified voice.
"Nopony is going to take away your son."
"Then why did you even tell me about what he did to begin with?"
"Because I know you are a smart pony, and a better father than most ponies think. You would have figured it out. I knew that you needed to know. I knew you would keep Billy learning magic a secret. After all, you love your son. I needed to soften the blow a bit, so you wouldn't lash out and in a rush of following the law, putting a colt in jail."
"So... this party isn't about you announcing my son committing a crime, but, then why are you doing this?"
"This wasn't my idea, it was my wife's. She know I needed this chance. In the end I'm glad they are all here. It's... it's my final goodbye. I've told everyone about how I feel about them," sighed Cloudy. He seemed... a bit content.
"Final goodbye?" asked Raindrop under her breath.
"So it's final. You're going to die?" asked Mr. Folds.
"I think that I can actually legally be declared as dead already. The magical energy of the disease has reached everywhere. My bone marrow is dead. It's far too late to make it." Too late... too late... too late... The words echoed in Raindrop's ears. At first she didn't understand, not because she was stupid, but because a part of her mind had such an iron grip on the earlier thought that 'he would be fine'. That idea was slowly dying, fading away, just like Cloudy. She started having trouble seeing her father clearly, because her eyes just seemed to fill up with silent tears.
"You seem to be taking it well," said Mr. Folds.
"Well, to be honest, death has never been scary to me, not my own at least. If it would have been my daughter I would have been so heartbroken and afraid I might have died anyway. I knew I had the sickness at the first symptom. I've told most that need to know it. Sunny knows, as do Tripper. There's just one more that needs to learn it."
"Your daughter."
"Yes. Her. I don't look forward to that awkward conversation," said Cloudy and looked out the window with a solemn look on his face. "The doctor was so proud. He's better than I'd like to admit, but he has probably never heard of this sickness, I'm honestly surprised I know about it. What they took out of my head could barely be called a symptom. But they did give me another day to take care of important matters. I really should have told my wife earlier, not while recovering for surgery." He looked at Billy's father. "Still, Folds, considering the circumstances, I can see why you think you owe me."
"I feel like I have a debt, yes. I was so afraid you would make me pay by-"
"Again, that's not going to happen. But if you really think you owe me something, then I want something really specific." Mr. Folds seemed to steel himself in his wait for the request.
"Anything, but I have little money."
"I want you to look after my family after I'm gone."
"What?" asked Billy's father.
"What?" asked Billy under his breath.
"I love them more than anything, and while my wife is strong, what lies ahead might be too much for her. My daughter is stronger than she thinks, but they might need some help on the way with what's coming. Do whatever you can to help them when they need it. Also, take it from me, spend as much time as you are able with your son now while you still can. I won't get to spend much more time with my daughter."
"I... I promise you, Day."
"That's good. It already was, but maybe you need to hear it for yourself. 'Everything is forgiven'," said Cloudy. He walked up to Folds, and put his hoof on his shoulder. Mr. Folds chuckled.
"For some reason I've never liked you up until now."
"Funny, I've always liked you."
"I suppose I was jealous." Cloudy laughed, and after a while Mr. Folds couldn't help himself but to join in.
"How can they laugh like that now?" asked Raindrop silently.
"Grown ups are weird," said Billy. "Rainy, I'm so sorry."
"I... I need some time alone," said Raindrop.
"Raindrop! Where are you, Raindrop? I need to talk to you!" shouted her father from inside the kitchen. Raindrop panicked. She just ran up the stairs, leaving a trail of tears as she ran. She was almost at her door when she heard something down the stairs. "Raindrop, I need to talk... talk to you, it's... ugh, it's impor... important..." Then she heard a large thud. She stopped in her tracks and turned around, a part of her knowing what she would see. In front of a horrified Billy, right on the first step of the staircase, Cloudy lied unmoving, blood seeping out from his mouth. Raindrop didn't have the willpower to yell her father's name, she barely had the power to stand.
Life Is like a Cookie Jar
Raindrop was sitting alone on her bed. She was reading a history book, making the pages wet with tears and hurrying to turn the page whenever a date of death was mentioned.
"I don't want to go!" yelled Raindrop at the locked door. Tripper had tried to get her to come along to the hospital, but she had locked herself inside her room, refusing to come with them. Her mother had tried to talk to her, but Raindrop didn't listen, she didn't want to. She didn't want to be there again, not again, not crying again, not knowing, being filled with uncertainty and fear. She couldn't do it again, she had done it once, she shouldn't have to do it one more time, nopony should have to.
"Rainy! Everyone is at the hospital, you should be there too!" said Billy from the other side of the door. It was past midnight, and Raindrop had never felt so tired in her entire life. His voice was so much calmed than hers.
"Everyone is just too stupid to get that he'll be fine. He'll come back tomorrow, and he'll be fine. You'll see!"
"Raindrop, this has to be super hard for you, I know that... but he's sure he's going to die, so you should-"
"My dad's not a doctor! He doesn't know anything! So shut up!"
"But-"
"Shut up!"
"You have to-"
"Shut up, I don't have to anything!"
"Listen-"
"I told you to shut-"
"RAINDROP! ACTUALLY LISTEN!" shouted Billy so loud Raindrop just stopped talking. He had never used a voice like that, not in school, not with her, not anywhere, ever. "I'm sorry that I shouted at you." There was a slight thud on the wooden door. Billy was leaning his head on it on the other side. "Raindrop, this is important. I don't know what's going to happen, but I do know this: your father could die."
"I know, but I don't want him to!"
"Nopony does. He's a great stallion. He's kind, and nice, and sweet, and... good. He's super."
"Then why him? He doesn't deserve this to happen to him! He doesn't deserve being on a table and being cut up, he shouldn't have to be fixed by strangers!"
"What he deserves and what's happening to him are two different things! If you keep... Listen, he is in a hospital right now, and he could die. That's all there is to it. That's that. Raindrop, he could only have a short while left to live, he could already be dead. Maybe you should be there for him if he does die. If my dad would die, and I got the choice, then I think I would rather be there to say goodbye, instead of being locked up in my room, never getting to see him again," said Billy. Raindrop didn't say anything, she just closed her eyes and held her book really tight up against her. "I'll be going there now. I'll see you in school sooner or later. Bye," said Billy. She heard him slowly walk away, and before long she heard the distant sound of the front door closing. Just an hour ago the house had been so filled with life, there had been so many ponies. Now it was almost dead, and she was the only one there. She sat there for a few minutes with her eyes closed.
You'll be the prettiest girl in school today.
I hope you will have a great day today, Raindrop.
Sweetie, I'm so proud that you would actually risk so much for someone else!
Did today go well?
Hey there, sleepyhead. Are you alright?
If it happens, will you promise me to be strong? All I need to know is that you will be strong, whatever happens, alright?
Raindrop dried her tears with a blanket and then tossed it aside. She jumped off her bed and hurried over to the door. She unlocked it and rushed through the hallway to the stairs. She quickly went down them and into the kitchen. She had to fetch something. She found what she was looking for and walked up to the front door. She opened it and ran out into the clear, cold night. The moon was very bright this night, making it easier for her to find her way in the darkness. As she ran, she kept seeing her father's face in her mind. No matter how sick her father was, that image of him just wouldn't stop showing his kind gentle smile.
"Please don't die, dad," said Raindrop as she gasped for air. The cold night air was almost painful to breathe in. "If you have to, don't do it yet, just wait a little bit. Just wait for me." She could see the distant light of the hospital in the distance. It was far, but she wouldn't stop running. "I'm coming, daddy."
Raindrop was out of breath when she entered the warm but unwelcome interior of the hospital. She ran past the reception, there was nopony behind the desk. She ran up to a nurse.
"Where is Cloudy Day?"
"Who?"
"My dad! Cloudy! Cloudy Day!"
"I'm sorry, you should ask the pony in the reception- Is that lazy idiot taking a break again? Alright, maybe... Ah, Doctor Heart is currently not doing much important work. He tends to know where everypony is around the hospital, patients too. He's just down this hallway, and then to the left, his name is on his door. You can't miss it," said the nurse. Raindrop thanked her and hurried there. She didn't see anyone from the party, they had either gone home or was in the room that Cloudy was in. She didn't have time to knock on every door looking for them. She hurried further into the hospital, and it didn't take long for her to find the doctor's office. The door was slightly ajar. Raindrop peeked inside, it was oddly dark in there. The only light came from the hallway and a candle on a desk. She could see somepony's silhouette in the candlelight.
"Doctor Heart?"
"Oh, what? I'm sorry, I'm just tired. Hello, young lady," said the doctor. He turned around. It was the same doctor that had been at their house a few days ago. He looked very tired. His eyes in particular expressed complete exhaustion. He went back to sulking, leaning on his desk.
"Hello. I'm, I'm looking for my dad. He's probably here right now, and I was told to go to you," said Raindrop. The otherwise proud doctor seemed so oddly vulnerable, she couldn't help but to speak lightly.
"There's always someone's dad in here. Too often. What's his name?"
"Cloudy Day," said Raindrop. Doctor Heart turned around fully, looking at her.
"You're his daughter?" he said in a shocked tone.
"Yes."
"Sweet Celestia... He has a daughter. That idiot has a daughter."
"What did you call him?"
"I'm sorry, it's just... I thought I had saved him, but I hadn't done anything of value... And he knew about it. I thought I had saved him... He should have told me it was for nothing! At the least, he should have told me what it all was. That sickness is so rare it might as well not exist! If I had known earlier, then... maybe... maybe I could have saved him. He gave everyone false hope! That idiot!"
"Don't call my dad an idiot!"
"As a doctor, giving somepony false hope is the worst mistake you can make. You are always supposed to be strong, always honest. If somepony's dying then you don't say 'let's wait and see'. You say 'he will die'! You don't sugarcoat it! You don't let them wait, expecting something that is inevitably never going to come! I just... I know that every poor pony I've ever had to say that they or someone close to them will die must feel so powerless. This is the first time I've felt just as powerless. This is the first time I've felt this much out of control, maybe if I had known... maybe I could have saved him." The doctor slumped down on the floor, depressed and powerless. Raindrop stood there silent for a bit, looking at the doctor who tried to be as strong as he still could.
"You know what I heard my dad say? That he was just happy that you managed to get him another day," said Raindrop. The doctor looked up at her.
"I wish I could have saved him. I wished I could have done more. The worst part of it all, is that I first thought about looking into his sickness more, but we weren't on good terms. I decided to wait with it just because I didn't like him. I'm just so afraid that I might have been able to save him if I wasn't such a prideful idiot," said the doctor, staring at Raindrop. "If I somehow made a little girl lose her father, then I don't know what I would do. I'm so sorry." Tears started running down his face. While Raindrop didn't know it, this was the first time this doctor weeped openly in front of another pony. It was the first time, and it would be the last.
"I'm not mad at you. Could you just tell me where my dad is?"
"He's in room 305. He's resting, on his deathbed. You don't have much time." Raindrop didn't say anything else, she just ran out of the room towards the stairs. She got up to the right floor. She could see the door in the end of the hallway. She was still holding the object from the kitchen close to her while she did her best to run. She finally made it to the door. She hesitated for just a moment, and then opened it. More than a dozen pair of eyes turned towards her as she walked inside the room. So many friends, so much family. None said anything as she walked up to the bed.
"Hey, sweetie," said her father in a weak, but undoubtedly happy tone. Raindrop held the item close to her as she looked at her father. He had never looked more vulnerable or ill. His coat itself seemed to slowly dim in color. His eyes had trouble focusing on his daughter's face. His smile was the most recognizable thing about him.
"Hey dad. I'm here," said Raindrop with a weak voice.
"And I'm glad. Hey, everypony. I'm so happy you are here, but could you please leave the room? I need to talk to my dearest daughter now." He had never sounded so apologetic. He didn't want to hurt their feelings. Nopony objected to it, however. None said a word while they slowly moved out of the room. It was clear nopony said anything because they had already been there for so long, saying everything they needed to. They had said their goodbyes. Raindrop was actually quite happy they left. This moment would be hard enough without a crowd. This was a personal moment. The last one to leave the room was Sunny, who simply kissed her husband one last time. Once the door closed with only the two of them inside, it seemed to get oddly louder. Raindrop could more easily hear her and Cloudy's breath. Her heart pounded inside her chest so loudly.
"Dad, I'm sorry I didn't get here earlier. I was just so scared."
"This can be pretty scary."
"But I brought you something, a present."
"Oh? I'm sorry, I can't quite see it," said Cloudy. he could barely move his head to see what Raindrop was holding. Raindrop brought up the cookie jar to the side of the bed.
"There's one left. I thought you might want it."
"Sorry, sweetie, but I'm not hungry. That's alright though, the cookie is probably stale," said Cloudy and chuckled. His smile made Raindrop smile too. Cloudy put all his effort into moving his head to see her more clearly.
"Raindrop, I do want one gift from you."
"I know, dad."
"Good. Well?"
"I promise I will stay strong," said Raindrop. She realized she was crying, but she wiped the tears from her face and stopped.
"That's my girl."
"I'm just so sad to see you go. Hey, dad?"
"Yes, sweetie?"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wanted us to have a great last week together, but things just didn't go as I wanted."
"You should have told me, I wouldn't have helped Billy. We should have been together this entire week. Just you, mom and me."
"I know, but... I wasn't strong enough. I wasn't strong enough to prepare you for it. I wanted you to be happy, not worry. I wanted you to laugh, not cry. I'm such an idiot. All I could do was taking care of business. I did everything I needed, but not everything I wanted. Still, I've lived a good life. In the end, I have only two regrets."
"What's that?"
"The first one is that I didn't get to spend more time with you, my little Raindrop."
"And the second one?" asked Raindrop with a slightly trembling voice.
"That I didn't get to... you know what? You should ask your mother about that one."
"I'll miss you, daddy."
"Sweetie. Life is like a cookie jar."
"What?"
"A cookie jar. First you make the batch, everything is so fresh, seems so sweet. The hole jar is full, and there is so much to look forward to. You eat the cookies more and more, there is less and less to look forward to, and the more cookies you eat the less you want to. You have to savor it as much as you can, you can't eat everything too quickly, but on the other hoof, if you keep waiting the cookies will just grow stale and there wasn't a point to it at all. Eventually, you'll be at the last one. You don't want it to end, but you can either take the last cookie and enjoy it, or just wait too long and let it go to waste. I thought I had waited too long with the last one, but you know what? With you here, I did take it, and it was still fresh and great."
"But.. daddy, what do you do when you eat the last cookie?" asked Raindrop. Her face was getting wet from all the tears.
"You make a new batch, of course. Don't forget to share it." He let out a cough, his pillows got slightly stained with blood. "Raindrop, I don't have much time. Come closer." Raindrop did as she was told. With the last of his strength, he reached out his front legs and gave her one last hug. With a body as weak as his, it must have been like moving a mountain.
"I love you, father."
"I love you too, daughter." Raindrop didn't do anything else but to embrace her father and let him kiss her on her forehead. They hugged, not saying anything more, it wasn't needed. Well, he did say one more thing. "Oh, and a third regret: I really wished I could have kept my hair." So typical of him, making her laugh, even when she was crying.
It didn't take long, making Raindrop wished it had, but eventually something in the room just changed. It was weird. A second ago, there had been two ponies in that room. Now she was the only one there. She moved the body back into the bed, making it look dignified. It just looked peaceful. His smile was still there, looking content. His eyes were closed, never to open again. Raindrop dried her tears and slowly walked out of the room. All of his family and friends looked at her when she got out and closed the door.
"He's moved on," said Raindrop, making sure her voice sounded strong. Tripper burst out weeping. Sunny looked away, not wishing for anyone to see her tears.
"So, um, this is probably not a good time to say this, but should we do like he said and start preparing the funeral?" asked Raindrop's uncle.
"The party. He wanted ponies to be happy, not cry. We'll be doing all the crying today, and soon we'll laugh again," said Tripper, through a face of tears and snot, after all, when you cried like him or any of them, you didn't look dignified.
"You go ahead and plan the party. I want to be with my daughter," said Sunny.
"Alright, let's go, everyone. Let's have some tea," said Raindrop's grandfather, on her mother's side. Cloudy's father wasn't there.
"Still a bit shaken up?" asked Cloudy's brother, with a smile. Like Cloudy, his brother had a tendency to smile too, but more confidently, almost like an adventurer. His tears didn't do anything to stop his smirk.
"I can't believe he had the guts to say that to me when on his deathbed," said the grandfather. Ponies slowly left the hallway. There was only four left in the end. Raindrop, Sunny, Billy and Mr. Folds.
"If you ever need any help, my family will be there. That's a promise, Sunny," said Mr. Folds.
"Thanks, Booker," said Sunny.
"Hey, Billy. Want to share this cookie?" asked Raindrop. She picked up the last cookie. Billy didn't say anything, he just used his horn to split it in two, perfectly along the middle. Billy took the first bite.
"Is it stale?" asked Raindrop.
"Nope, it's super tasty," said Billy.
"Billy, Booker, could you two give us some privacy? I need to speak with my daughter," said Sunny. They didn't object, they just left.
"I'll see you in school soon, right?"
"Tomorrow," said Raindrop and nodded. She walked over to her mother and sat down next to her.
"Hey, sweetie," said Sunny.
"Hey, mom."
"It won't be the same without him."
"I know."
"I'll do my best to take better care of you. I know he did the most of that. I'm sorry."
"I know. It's alright."
"I miss him so much already." Tears started running down her face.
"Me too." Raindrop didn't really cry. She couldn't cry anymore, and she didn't want to. "Mom... dad said he had a regret. He said you would know."
"Regret? Oh, right. Of course. When he was in the hospital the last time, he told me that he knew he would die. I told him something that I've known for a couple of weeks now. He was both happy and sad when I told him. It will be hard without him, but I think we can do it together. He so wanted to be here for it, just like he was for you."
"What is it?"
"Raindrop, you're going to have a little brother or sister." Raindrop didn't say anything for a little while, she just ate her piece of the last cookie. Then she looked up at her mother's tired face.
"That's great." Then they shared a hug. Raindrop knew things would be hard, but she also knew she would stay strong. She would go to school the next day. She would enjoy her life. She would help her mother. She would take care of her coming sibling. She would do like her father wanted. She would enjoy her life to the fullest. But this day, from dawn to dusk, she, her mother, and those close to the late Cloudy Day, would mourn. It had affected her immensely, but she knew in her heart that the wounds would heal in time. She would be able to laugh from the bottom of her heart soon enough, just like her father would have wanted. Raindrop fell asleep, leaning on her mother. They would probably lean against each other a lot in the future. And Raindrop was fine with that.