Author's Note

Ah, you've made to chapter seven of Fireflower's fanfic that goes beyond the typical oneshots made from before, a Mature one no less on the grounds that a previous chapter has recently dealt with subject matters proven to be unsuitable for those under eighteen, easily offended, and/or quickly nauseated; suffice to say, this was by far a strong note for many readers all and therefore you were all given an option to skip ahead to this chapter: whether or not you have taken this offer, it was only up to you to do so nothing more.

Aside from disclaimers long ago, I want to take the time to say thank you for never pulling out too early since we're now in the halfway region of the story's progress; somehow, the new year has provided us with a new hope to have and hold with tender loving care rather than yet a totally lost cause and the strength to continue onward in staying tuned for the future that is the now: I believe at this rate, everything will make sense soon enough.

One last thing before I sign off, I hope you can be surprised about this chapter now even more than the others before it because more special guests are going to be joining one of our fateful protagonists in this chapter below; but, it will not be the end until otherwise so please stay tuned and enjoy, okay?

Locomotion

At first glance, it would have seemed that everything was at ease: the atmosphere that had been set in place was losing pressure upon the whole wide world with nothing short of coldness and calculation hereon. There were spacious skies that were white as cotton yet lacked the color normally found on the surface area of assorted sweetness; however, the clouds that dwell amongst themselves came in many shades of gray. Achromatic airstreams that had flown on and about so freely like birds were crispy and cool enough to commute the many different aromas which are climbing aboard from the earthly plane at that very moment. The brilliant green had currently given birth to many different flowers that had already sprouted upward, varying in many shapes, sizes, and colors that bore the organization best befitting a heavenly rainbow. All sounds of music were nothing more of a cacophony chatter from the fauna nearby, most of which originating from a series of tall building here and there in many various tones and pitches so to speak right now.

Out of the many whom were traversing in and out of the area, one stood out amongst the others: a lone woman was found staring deep into the overclouded firmament in a rather mesmerizing trance. Her skin was donned in a shade of a dark gamboge coating reminiscent of a timid fawn a few months away from becoming a young buck after the fateful snowstorm minutes after its mother’s death. The woman’s eyes were barely matching the locks of hair upon her head; while both of them were of the same color thereof, the tresses themselves had possessed the most life of the two overall. Upon her body was a simple attire that kept the dark skin warm: a jet black coat matching her very boots, some green shorts barely covering the knees, and some teal socks matching the sleeves.

“Yo, Scootaloo; come on, it’s about to rain soon…!” a distant voice was heard but it didn’t originate from the eponymous woman in question.

Nevertheless, she’d turned around rather quickly and was greeted with the sight of another individual approaching her way: another woman just like her, albeit with some many significant differences. Scootaloo had instantaneously noticed that the speaker in question had some bright skin worn upon her very face, completely free of blemishes but with a texture that was rougher than the former thereof. The approaching individual had possessed magenta irises shining brightly like diamonds in the rough, taking aim at the woman right in front of her as the gentle breeze wandered all around these two. Like Scootaloo, the bright skinned woman had worn some short hair upon her very head, albeit with more colors than the former and in the form of thin racing stripes resembling the entire spectrum. Unlike the listener, the speaker whom had called out to her just recently had a uniformed attire: a pair of goggles around her neck, a cyan tracksuit with golden lightning bolts, and some light brown shoes.

Scootaloo formed a concave contorted into a smile as she began to respond to such a greeting, “Rainbow Dash…!”

“We have to head on inside soon; there’s no use in us getting wet…!” the aforementioned woman said as she grabbed onto the other woman’s hand, “now let’s hustle up and head on home now…”

“Yes, ma’am…!” Scootaloo had said as she followed Rainbow along without any hesitation whatsoever.

The two women scurried off and onward to the next destination just as the skies above them started to rumble about. All winds around the twosome gained enough force to sway the foliage around, despite the silent voices they had made. The birds and bees that had synchronized with one another had fled to safety from the gathering storm that was imminent. After a few seconds had passed, a drop of water started to fall from the monochrome heavens and onto the colored earth. The fresh air that was light and crisp was now lacerated by the heavy downpour, drenching the very flora in the process.

Of the two runners who were caught in the soaking rainstorm, only the bright skinned one had exclaimed, “oh shit, we’re gonna get sick unless we better find somewhere to take shelter; Scootaloo, hop on my back: we can be able to make a faster return trip back to the city at this rate…!”

“Will do, Rainbow…!” the titular follower replied enthusiastically as she had pulled up the hood from her jacket before climbing towards the leading lady’s shoulders, “anything for my big sister…!”

The weight of the world they were in had increased the moment when Scootaloo hitched herself upon Rainbow’s torso as their attire was drenched. The bright skinned woman stood straight back up and began to carry her dark skinned counterpart along for the trip to ride out the storm. With little warning whatsoever, a squall line of thunder boomed above the twosome followed by a flash of lightning as the rain poured upon them.

“Oh damn… we ought to find some shelter soon; I don’t want to end up as fried chicken walking…!” Rainbow thought to herself as she watched her line of vision being blanketed by a sudden flash of whiteness.

The pitter–patter of falling rain increased in density even with Scootaloo asking, “Rainbow, do you think that we’ll be able to make it back to the city in time to see Soarin’ and Spitfire’s child…?”

“Of course, we will: besides, you were happy to be there when Rainflower was born a few years ago…” the eponymous woman answered back, “it won’t be long now before she grows up into a woman just like you are, Scootaloo…”

“Let’s hope we will; this forest might not be the Everfree, but I don’t want to die in a place like this with you around watching…” the aforementioned listener replied as she’d looked towards the falling sky.

The bright skinned traveler started to pick up the pace and said, “you don’t need to remind me of that day, Scoots; this time’s different…”

The sauntering movement Rainbow had engaged in just recently started to pay off as she and her darker skinned counterpart were greeted by the sight of taller structures. The two were in the presence of towering behemoths ruling and governing their own landscape for although they remained divided, their own wielded power was shared. There were two kinds of people with the metropolis: the many pedestrians wandering about in the deluge and the few drivers who’d been carrying their own passengers. The city also had some plant–based lifeforms as well in the vicinity, but they were way less numerous than the flora that Scootaloo had encountered not too long ago.

“Ah, it’s great to back…” the bright skinned traveler exhaled as the sight of a yellow carriage came across her, “YO TAXI…!”

At that moment, the wheeled mechanism stopped in place, bearing a checkered pattern of a monochrome scheme across its door as the driver was inches away from the two. A mere male of a pale white complexion, he was already lacking the rather lustrous sheen reminiscent of the innumerable clouds all above the very city they were all in. His big hair was neatly adorned in the style of an equilateral yet still curvy afro with each and every single one of his frizzy tresses faintly colored in a peachy bleachy shade. The man’s attire was rather more simpler than the two women: his visor of the same color, a red–hot vest over the white shirt, a pair of sepia khaki, and some dark green sneakers.

“Where to…?” were the first words spoken by him as they approached the driver, twitching about in the process.

Pulling out a small pouch from the left pocket, Rainbow replied at once, “to the Metropolitian Apartment Complex…!”

“Fair enough… just get inside now…” he said, hearing small clinks within the closed textiles upon making contact, courtesy of the bright skinned woman, “we don’t have much time to sit around with the rain and thunder going on…”

“I could drink to that…” the dark skinned counterpart chuckled nervously as the thunder roared once more with feeling.

It wasn’t long until the two had entered the carriage almost instantaneously as the rainfall alone had increased in its collective velocity. At this moment in time, the driver took off and began to guide the wheeled mechanism all around the city they were already in. Not even the rampant downpour itself alone was enough to impede the new and unbeaten path that he had instantly found himself upon.

Inside, Scootaloo looked out from the glass and witnessed a flash of lightning occur before her very eyes; as a result, she’d retreated to Rainbow’s side, prompting the latter to comment on the former’s actions, “whoa, what happened to the fearless fighter from ‘fore…? It’s just a thunderstorm; I’ve been through worse…”

“Sorry, its just that they make my ears jump up and pop…” the dark skinned woman answered back as she nestled herself inward, “even with my buds on, it’s like listening to an explosion at close range.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna risk losing you ever again; this time, I got your back…” the bright skinned woman replied, giving a hug.

With the rain beating against the glass, Scootaloo did nothing more than simply purr, “thanks, Rainbow…”

“It’s the least I should do: besides, you were like a sister to me before the damned war and you’re still a sister to me even now…” Rainbow said as she held onto tight while the carriage moved about, “we may not share the same blood, parents, or interests but we have a stronger bond that’s like the friendships we have with all the others. Your own friendship with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, although small in numbers was reminiscent of the one I have with those girls: Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Twilight. The idea that there are certain people in this rotting world who would do such a thing to the likes of you is sickening alone; even what they did barely held a candle to all this. The fact that you’re alive and well today alone is a miracle; because of this outcome, I had made a promise to myself: don’t ever leave you alone in the face of danger ever again. The many years that had already passed us by were but a blessing to us because it had helped us reconnect with other people we had held need and dear and your very survival itself is proof of it alone. As long as we are staying alive and still standing, we’ll never let any of these bastards get the best of us in the very least; as a matter of fact, if it comes down to the same shit from before, then I will do my very damnedest to stick by you to the bitter end. There's is not a chance in Tartarus that I'll afford to risk losing you again forever; I cannot allow it at all in the very least, especially with the likes of you being subjected to what I'd endured.”

“We're almost here…” the driver's voice had reached his passengers' ears as the wheeled mechanism found its way past another thoroughfare, the last of which had experienced an increase in chatter.

The bright skinned woman peered out from the windowpane and noticed an abundance of pedestrians scurrying about and said, “wow, for such a small city, there's a lot of people here; at least, I can recognize that some of these people used to be from Cloudsdale. So much has changed in such years: the Wonderbolts had to move with the city still rebuilding from the fallen remains after the war; I can't believe that we had invented new things between now and then. Perhaps, here's the place where we can finally catch up on some lost time with many of the remaining team: any second from now, we'll be to make better memories than before the damned mess.”

“I'll say; I can't wait to get out of the storm already…” the dark skinned woman had replied as the thunder instantaneously rumbled about for a while, “my ears can't take this kind of abuse any longer…”

“I know, Scootaloo… I know…” Rainbow said as they felt the carriage stop almost suddenly in place.

Considering that the rainstorm kept on going, the two passengers left to find an enormously tall building locked within their very eyesights. Although predominantly adorned with a creamy white monochromatic scheme, a fraction of its bricks were colored in a baby blue shade. With at least a dozen rows of windows plastered upon the structure, it was safe to say that a fraction of the city's population are living it up. Unbeknownst to either of them, the top of the building had possessed a skylight that was spherical in contrast to its overall cubic state. The only thing their eyes were focused on were a series of potted plants standing firmly near the doorway, few of them carrying a flower wreath.

Scootaloo was enamoured by the sight of it all, her pupils expanding with a glittering layer as she spoke of it, “I can't believe that all these people are living in this one building; it's like a hotel hotspot of the city...!”

“Not quite, it's still a new addition to the city; they still haven't finished up renovations as far as I know recently…” the bright skinned woman retorted to her darker counterpart, “for all we could be hearing, a series of drills and hammering will be directly right above us, preferably on the third or fourth floor mind you.”

“But, Rainbow, wouldn’t Spitfire and Soarin’ be on the second floor anyway…?” Scootaloo interjected as they approached the entrance.

The titular woman who opened the door answered back anyway, “true, although I rather that you stay close to me anyway; we’re just going be there for an hour or two until the storm clears up…”

“That’s easy for you to say; I never thought that the thunder would end up being this loud to me until now…” the dark skinned woman said as thunder crackled about once more with feeling, “then again, I’m still glad to be alive anyway…”

“Me too…” Rainbow replied as she and Scootaloo entered the large building; there the reaction alone to its contents was a direct contrast to the exterior altogether: as such, they were well aware of the blandness.

Of course, their collective attention was instantaneously focused all on one man alone already nearby as he had then soon started approaching them both slowly but surely. His skin was a lot like the bright skinned woman who had came in with the darker counterpart, except it was fifty shades darker than the previous male from before no less. The man’s eyes were but a pair of jade orbs that were shining brightly enough to pierce throughout the clouds and see things through to the bitter end altogether. His hair was dark but in a rich shade of blue, brighter and more colorful that the otherwise monochromatic firmament hovering all above themselves that was raining. The man wore an attire that was reminiscent of Rainbow’s tracksuit except more elaborate: aside from his goggles and shirt, a black tie, some gold slacks, and black shoes. From where he had once stood, his height not only surpassed the bright skinned woman’s height by a mere inch, he was also a few feet taller than Scootaloo herself as well.

The man pulled out a small smile and called out to the two women at once with his left hand waving about, “hi, girls…!”

“Soarin’…!” Rainbow responded rather easily as she had ran towards the eponymous individual without hesitation, “we were both just talking about you earlier; how’s things going with Spitfire…?”

“Great, then again, considering that her mother had came by to visit, it was a miracle; we had barely any time to sleep recently…” he answered.

The dark skinned woman wiped away her eyes and asked slowly, “what is it like to become a father, sir…?”

“A lot more work than my Wonderbolts days: I should’ve taken up Home Ec. before graduating if I knew this would happen one day…” Soarin’ chuckled as he slowly crouched downward to meet Scootaloo at eye level, “of course, I’m not all too surprised by the idea that Rainbow had taken you in as her sister either. I also take that your sense of hearing is still going strong as ever; I wish I could’ve been there and stopped these scumbags from putting the both of you through this nightmare. The fact that these traitors would destroy the crown and country already is repugnant on its own but finding that these criminals would pull something like this on a young girl make me fucking sick.”

“Don’t need to remind me about them; even after all these years, I still have flashbacks in my sleep…” the bright skinned woman interjected as she gritted her teeth, the integuments shivering about.

A moment of silence was observed by the company of three before being broken by the man in front speaking, “no use in waiting any longer: the others are still waiting for us upstairs; let’s go…”

“It’s fine by me…” Rainbow replied as she dragged along her younger charge throughout the floor, “better than standing around and reminiscing of the past, especially after what had happened to us…”

“I second that motion…!” Scootaloo chirped quickly, earning some laughter from the remaining two.

As they approached a nearby flight of stairs before themselves, the bright skinned woman asked her male counterpart, “by the way, which room are you guys staying in… Room 202 or something…?”

“Nah, Room 259…” Soarin’ answered, “although, I’d rather keep my ears plugged around 257 and 258, mostly the former; I remembered that the tenant in one of them just got released from the hospital back in September…”

“What’s he like…?” the dark skinned inquired.

Before taking the first step, the male responded, “a mystery: he usually has a habit of keeping to himself, never comes out of his room for the most part; had to call the manager on him for making too much noise at night and whatnot.”

“I wouldn’t like to be in your shoes when that happens…” Scootaloo said as she climbed the stairway without a hitch, “even before the war, I wouldn’t like it if someone or something was making noise when I’m trying to sleep…”

“Who doesn’t; I mean how would that help out anyone anyway…?” Rainbow had retorted as the three of them had just moved on upward and from the ground floor with absolutely no effort whatsoever.

Soarin' could do nothing but laugh a bit too loudly before regaining his composure as he said, “suddenly, you have summed up the story of my life: from Wonderbolt to breadwinner in several years flat.”

“Let's just go and see what your wife and kid are up to…” the bright skinned woman chuckled as she turned to her darker counterpart, “besides, Rainflower would love to see your face once again…”

“I know…” Scootaloo said as she stepped on forward with a huge smile worn proudly upon her face.

It wasn't even long until the three of them all had finally reached the second floor, no longer upon a patterned but otherwise unequal inclines. While it had seemed that everything else was the same for the most part, the metallic orchestra was now within reach as their notes travelled. Nevertheless, they were all very aware of how that the miniscule marathon the pedestrians partook in was far from over in the very least.

A gauntlet of doorways had stood on both sides within the corridor as the man said, “I will take it from here…”

As the dark skinned woman walked alongside with Rainbow, she was calm on the outside but thinking throughout the whole time. With all the buzzing, clanging, and drilling directly over them, Scootaloo grabbed ahold of her ears and covered them very tightly. The only thing that she was able to find a sliver of euphoria were the plastic numerals plastered upon the dank and dire wood, watching each digit increase slowly but surely.

“We're almost here, Scoots…” the bright skinned woman announced as their collective movement was coming to a slow down, “we’ve just passed by Room 246; it won’t be long now until we meet them already.”

“247… 248… 249…” the dark skinned woman counted off as she moved passed the aforementioned numbers in front of her eyes.

Soarin’ soon stopped in place and rapped on the ligneous surface upfront; as a result, he had heard a voice from the other side say, “who is it…?”

“It’s Soarin’, Sweetfire…!” the titular man answered with a brief introduction, “I’ve brought company…!”

“Sweetfire…?” Scootaloo squeaked in bewilderment as she took note of his newly rose red cheeks nearby.

Before long, the dark skinned woman had almost jumped as the small sounds of metal had latched away before the door creaked open, revealing the identity of the speaker in front of the three. Rather than just one person who had asked Soarin’ waiting, there were two more women whom were alike in fair dignity, sharing the same complexion and some orange eyes matching their tresses. As similar as they were to one another, even they had possessed their fair share of significant differences that all of the people had instantaneously taken note of, especially Scootaloo herself no less.

Considering the resemblance between the two altogether, there were many things that separated the gingers from one another all too easily. For starters, one of them had a darker color scheme and an elongated style across the tresses whereas the other was kept at a spiky trim. Secondly, there was also a slight difference in height between the two very gingers standing in front of the three no less, off by a few feet. Third of all, one was wearing a thick purple sweater with white buttons whereas the other had a white blouse with a tie dyed in a deep blue. In addition, the tall ginger wore a skirt that was an olive green while all that the shorter counterpart had on were some black pants. Of the two that were present and accounted for, only one of them had already donned some indigo eyeshadow upon her wrinkled face. Even more so, the tall ginger wore pearls upon her ear and neck whereas the shorter counterpart had many medals upon the breast pocket.

Rainbow gave a little grin as she started to greet the two tenants in front of her, “hello, Stormy Flare… hey Spitfire…!”

“Rainbow Dash, I sure am glad that you made it all the way here; we were worried that you couldn’t make it…” the younger ginger said in response as she had quickly grabbed onto the eponymous visitor’s hand, “I see that you must be soaking wet; want to grab a towel from the bathroom…?”

“Yeah sure…” the prism haired woman answered as she walked in through the recently open doorway.

Sure enough, the bright skinned man and the polar opposite counterpart followed the three women into the house, finding themselves in a living room. Scootaloo focused her purple eyes upon a nearby table set made up of glass and steel that was holding some candlesticks and some magazines to boot. Standing against the white background that had consisted of walls and a ceiling were a green sofa and some chairs arranged adjacently towards themselves. Some carpeting beneath their very feet were but a luscious orange with a soft texture capable of being continuously impressed upon itself within every step. Simply resting upon the wooden nightstand at the very corner was a lamp with a black telephone hiding underneath its shade nearby the lone windowsill.

The dark skinned woman stared at the open window out in front, looking upon the rain soaked street below only to have her concentration broken by a stray voice, “so, young lady, you must be Scootaloo…?”

“Huh…?” the aforementioned woman peeped as she turned around to face the elder ginger, “yeah, that’s me…”

“I heard from my daughter that her friend was talking about you a lot; however, I have yet to seen you in person…” Stormy Flare said as she slicked Scootaloo on the shoulder, “how are you…?”

“Better than ever: with Rainbow Dash at my side, I feel like I can never lose ever again…” the dark skinned woman answered quickly.

Within moments, the titular woman had returned to Scootaloo’s side almost rather instantaneously and asked, “so Stormy, what’s it like to be a grandmother and a mom at the same time…?”

“It’s wonderful; you should have seen Rainflower take her first step: she managed to stand tall for at least three minutes…” the elder ginger answered as she smile brightly at the prism haired woman, “Soarin’ was so ecstatic to watch her…”

“I bet that Granny Smith would’ve loved to meet her, may she rest in peace…” the dark skinned woman had commented onward almost quickly.

Rainbow looked upon Scootaloo’s eyes with a somber gaze and said, “yeah, I know: it was a shame when she died in the war, especially since Applejack told me all about it back at the hospital; those fuckers took her family’s lives and turned them into shit. The whole entire Apple clan poured all of their efforts into provide for the country and how were they repaid for their goods and services over their collective lifetimes? They screwed them over and much worse than what that poor woman herself had gone through: children either being sold as slaves or slain on the battlefield, adults being forced to sell off everything and offing themselves, and I heard that Apple Rose died standing up when she heard about her cousin. After the war had ended, Apple Bloom had to go and live with Zecora since her sister tried to strangle her on the account of going blind from the abuse and trauma. As for Sweetie Belle, since both of her parents were murdered, Cheerilee ended up adopting her considering that Rarity went psycho and tried to kill themselves.”

“Oh dear, that’s awful…” Stormy Flare gasped, holding up her hand towards her mouth, “are they still doing well…?”

“Based on what Apple Bloom had wrote, I don’t see why wouldn’t they: we’d met at Horseshoe Bay last time during the air show a few years ago…” the dark skinned woman had replied quickly all at once.

The prism haired woman returned her gaze onto the ginger and said, “anyways, she has once said that we should invite them over for a sleepover sometime soon; what would you do in my shoes…?”

“I don’t see any reason why not; they sounded like that they were good friends before then…” Stormy Flare answered as she looked upon Scootaloo with a smile, “besides, it’s been a long time since they had made great memories…”

“I’ll say…” Rainbow replied as she turned towards the windowpane nearby themselves, looking at the monochrome stormclouds within the skies.

At this moment, Soarin’ had slowly popped back in and asked the three, “who wants some fish and chips for dinner…?”

“I could stay for a little while…” the dark skinned woman had slurped about, licking both of her lips in the process, “anything’s better than standing outside in line in the rain to get a cold no less.”

“Same here…” the prism haired woman had laughed before subsiding almost instantaneously into the spatial fold of silence.

Two of the women now left Rainbow’s side and followed the source of the man’s voice, drawn in by the great expectations thereof no less. The prism haired visitor’s magenta eyes were now focused firmly upon the landscape up in front of her but not the reflections inasmuch. Then, a single teardrop suddenly escapes from her line of eyesight, now becoming rather weary and about ready to avert her very gaze.