It's your third week in Ponyville. It's a nice, small town. Really small. By now it's hard to trot down the streets and meet somepony new: Everypony has become familiar to you, even if you've never met them. But you don't mind that really, it's why you moved here. The city was too big for you, and this simpler town just fits you better. Well, that and work pays more here. You're on your way to work, per usual. You greet a couple ponies on your flight to work and they greet you back. Life is good. It's calm.
Unfortunately your co-workers have planned for a storm this evening. It's a shame, since it's such a beautiful day too, the sun is out and hotter than ever and there isn't a cloud in the sky... But you digress. Your job is pretty simple, you work with the clouds and climate of Ponyville. The weather planners work on planning the weather (duh), weathermares inform the public and businesses of the upcoming climates, and on what days.... And then there's the weather manager, Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash. It's quite the honor to work with her. You've heard her name in passing before, about how she won the young flyers competition, her role in defending Equestria with the Council of Friendship, her dreams of becoming a Wonderbolt... But to actually meet her, let alone be part of her weather team. Granted, up to this point you just barely knew of her, but knowing what she's done for Equestria is truly an inspiration. You're really glad that she's your friend.
However, work is work, and you see her as a boss before a friend. She orders you to move clouds, clear them out, the simple stuff. You've always found it odd that she made other pegasi work more than you. Perhaps she takes that whole friendship thing seriously. Maybe she thinks you're incapable of doing the tougher stuff. Then again, you're not really complaining. If you're getting paid, then why care at all?
You enter headquarters and trot over to the planning team to see where they're going to put the storm. It's a pretty big one from what you see, the clouds are planning to get packed all up to the border of Ponyville. Rats, looks like you're not going to be enjoying that sunshine after all. You've always liked sunshine more, that's why your cutie mark is a shining sun with eyes after all. Clear skies, hot days, you can deal with those. You can't deal with pouring, groggy rain. You understand WHY there is rain, but you dislike it none the less.
"Hey, Sunny!" a voice calls out. You freeze, and turn around to face your boss, Rainbow Dash. You, from panic, stand straight, mane and fur sticking up a bit.
"Oh! Hi! Boss!"
She chuckles at your awkward movements. "Oh, calm down. I was looking for you. Just wondering if we could talk on the way to the cloud storage. You don't mind, do you?" she asks casually.
"Right. Sorry." you say as you loosen up a bit, trotting next to her. She's always had such a relaxed vibe around her. Granted, she's very, very competitive, but it's hard not to be casual around her.
"Sooo.. It's going to be a pretty big storm, huh?" she asks, rolling her eyes a bit as she walks next to you.
"Yeah it is. It kinda blows, I was hoping we could get a bit more sunshine today, you know?" you reply, trotting a bit quicker to pick up with her. Sometimes she forgets just how fast she is.
"Well, I was wondering if you were busy this afternoon. After all, with this storm we don't need to work for the rest of the day." she says, trotting a bit slower and closer to you. It's only when you slow down that you realize that you were trotting so fast to begin with. Makes you wonder if you pay enough attention.
".. Sorry, huh?"
She sighs, and playfully pats you on the back. "Are you busy this afternoon?" she asks again, a bit of annoyance in her voice. You take a moment to reply.
"... Don't we have work?" you ask, making her groan in a mixture of frustration and annoyance.
"YEAH, but we've got the day off once the storm has started. You're not a part of the safety patrol, remember?". OH YEAH, the safety patrol. You forgot to mention that when you were thinking about the different jobs your co-workers had. The safety patrol-
"Equestria to Sunshine Sprite.." you finally notice the hoof of the cyan Pegasus waving in front of your face.
"Yeah. I mean, yeah that I'm not busy, not to the... N-not that I thought I was part of the safety patrol, it's just... ah forget it." per usual, you're awkward and incomprehensible.
"Well then, wanna hang back at my place? I've got a projector and the Daring Do movie... The original, not the remake." she clarifies, turning down towards storage. You quickly catch up to her.
"Yeah, sure, sounds fun."
"Great!" she says. She looks pretty happy, now that you've thought about it. She usually gets that way when she talks about the Wonderbolts or her speed. "Well then, we should get to work."
Work sucked today. Lots of dark grey clouds being packed, tons of trees needing to be clipped down by the citizens, and all for a dark, gloomy and dangerous storm. On the bright side, you're going to go to Rainbow Dash's today. You bet she has tons of medals, and probably has a private pent house up in the clouds.
You're also pretty exited since Daring Do has been a favorite of yours for a while, and you never got to see the original. It's pretty generous of her to do that for you. After all, that's why she's the element of.. Generosity? You honestly never understo-
You fly face first into a house. Sheepishly, you fly around it, and head off to her house quicker. That distraction made you realize that if you don't get there fast enough, you'll be caught flying in a storm. You don't want to be lighting-fried pony.
Sooner or later you get there. You're just glad that it isn't too far from Ponyville. Her house is.. Huge. She's got a rainbow waterfall, multiple floors, columns, her own cutie mark labeled over the front door. Makes you wonder how much it cost. It's all cloud, but clearly compact. The rainbow generator must have cost a lot as well. You stop on the front step, and wait.
Then you remember that you need to knock.
After knocking, you wait there again, and she opens the door for you. With a beam, she steps out of the way. "Hey. Please, Sunshine, come inside!" she exclaims. You notice that she's much more happy about this then you would think. She must not get much company, beings her house is in the clouds.
"Thanks." you say, trotting in. She has a statue of a Wonderbolt by the door. Man, that must have cost a fortune alone! It has authentic goggles on it and everything. You also notice posters of the Wonderbolts. You know, maybe she has a bit of an obsession with them. Eh, to each their own. Now that you've really thought about it, it seems strange though. Why would Rainbow Dash want you to watch a movie with her? She has plenty of Pegasi friends, and that one Butchershy pony and her have been friends for so long, that it makes you wonder... Of course, those wonders go right out the window when you realize that she has a poster signed by Spitfire.
"Now THAT is cool." you say, taking a look at it. You're not much of a racer yourself, but you have to acknowledge that one of the best known Wonderbolts out there signing something of yours must be an honor and a half.
"Awesome, huh?" she replies casually. "I think something that cool fits in here. After all, I am the coolest."
She's got quite the ego as well. The more you think about it, the less it makes sense. After all, somepony as confident and famous as Rainbow Dash doesn't have much reason to hang out with a ditzy, scatterbrained nopony like yourself.
"Don't be so harsh on yourself." she replies, breaking you out of your thought. It's then that you realize that you said that out loud. She's blushing a bit. "You have plenty to like about yourself. For one, you're cute. You're so cheery, and you're not afraid to be honest with ponies, and your golden, curly mane and those adorable blue eye-..."
There's a moment of awkward silence as she catches herself, thinking she blew her cool cover. "... Thanks. I don't really hate myself though." you continue down the halls with her. You noticed that she's pretty kind as well. Bet she got a head rush from being complimented and wanted to make sure you felt confident as well. "I'm glad that you think that though. You're such a cool friend!" you say. She replies after a second, ears folding back.
"Yeah, Friend.. hehe.."
She seems OK now.
You stop by her room, and she opens the door. "I'll go set everything up. Have you seen it?" she inquires.
"Oh, no. I've only read the books." you reply.
"It's awesome! I wish it had more from the books, but it's so cool to see it happening, you know? Anyways, let me get working on that."
With a dash, she bursts into the room and instantly sets everything up. Well, not instantly. But setting up a projector, screen and movie in 3 seconds is impressive none the less. She stands in the middle of her room, flexing her hooves with this egotistical smile. "I know, I'm awesome." she grins. You trot in.
"Thanks for setting it up so quick." you respond.
"... Aaannnddd?" she says, leaning up to your face hopefully
"... Are we getting popcorn?" you ask. She sighs. "Yeah, I'll go cook some up real quick. REAL, REAL QUICK."
Again, she dashes off, and returns with cooked popcorn and butter in 10 seconds, maybe 11. It looks like she's sweating a bit from having to do everything so quick, but she's smiling ear to ear like she's chilling out.
"Alright, we can get started now!" you say, sitting infront of the bed. She looks at you.
"You.. Don't have to sit there Sunny. Here, up on the bed with me, it's more comfy." she says, patting her bed. It's then you notice she also has custom designed sheets. She must have got them from Rarity, since they're both on the council. Looks pretty comfy, her cutie mark is on it. Her cutie mark is on everything in this house. You see she has another signed poster and a picture frame. You trot over to the picture to get a better look, and Rainbow smiles. After looking at it, you sit back down, and she groans.
"No, thanks." you say. "I'd rather not make you have to sit on the floor. After all, it's your hous-" she puts a hoof to your lips.
"We can SHARE the bed, you derp."
Why didn't you think of that?
You climb into the bed, scooting to the far edge to give her some space to lay. She lays pretty close to you. Huh, that's also weird. You gave her enough space. She's probably got a big wingspan though, so you think that she may be stretching them out. Or one out. She's on her back, and it's clear her first wing is-
Again, being cut off from your rambles, she starts the film and lays cozily and lazily, putting the popcorn between you both. You start munching and watching away.
The movie was pretty good so far. You and her were getting to a slower scene, Daring Do had just made it into the pyramid. You were paying full attention to the movie, the soundtrack, every little detail of every shot, eating away. It's about then you heard Rainbow Dash yawn, and put her hoof behind your neck. You turn back.
"What? Do I have some popcorn on my neck?" you ask.
"Huh?" she replies, moving her hoof back. "Nah, you're good.. now, you're good now, I got it off."
"Oh.. Alright, thanks." you say, turning back to the movie. You hear her huff a bit in frustration. She must not like the slower scenes. It makes sense since she's more action oriented herself. Now that you thought of it you're the opposite way, you've been more inclined to sit back and relax then jump into the action. That doesn't mean you don't value work, it means that you like the easy path of life. You feel her hoof touch your neck again, and turn around again.
"Did you miss a spot?" you ask again. You notice she looks a bit frustrated, but she's still trying to look cool.
"Yeah. I did."
You shrug, and turn back to the movie. ".. Hey, know any good pickup lines?" she idly quizzes.
".. No, not really. You?" her face beams up. You don't really get what's got her so exited, but maybe she's just been wanting to share some good one-liners for a while.
"Hey, is your cutie mark a rocket, because you're out of this world." she says. You reply.
"No, it's a sun, remember?" flatly.
".. that was the pickup line." she replies, sounding more irritated by the second.
"O-oh, sorry." you squeal. A second later you realize how scared you sounded saying that. As your boss, she probably doesn't want you to feel afraid of you. "Just to clarify, I'm not scared of you." you blurt. Then realizing how that could be seen as saying that you want to fight her, you put up your hooves defensively "Not that I shouldn't be, I should be very scared of you." you whimper. You decide to shut up before you dig your grave any deeper. She just starts laughing.
"Oh, Sunny, you're SO awkward, it's adorable."
Ok, good, she's not gonna fire you. You turn back to the movie. After a second, she breaks the silence. "Did anypony ever tell you that my eyes are beautiful?" she jokes.
"No, but EYE see no reason to disagree."
"....."
You thought that was funny. "Ohoho, woahohoho, that was SOOO funny, eheheh, ahahaha..." she awkwardly replies, looking at you hopefully.
"Oh, I'm glad you thought it was." you say. Huh, maybe she did think it was funny after all, even if that laugh was weird.
"Oh look, the best part, watch." she says. You recognized this part. The one with the sn-
"SNAKES!!!" you yell, clinging tight to her like a little foal to it's mother. Rainbow Dash has a big, fat egotistical grin on.
"Oh, you're afraid of snakes, are you?" she replies, lowering her eyes mockingly.
"k-kinda.. Wh-when I read the bo-ook it wa-asn't th-that bad-d-d..." you stutter, clamped down against her with an iron grip. After a second you realize how close you got to RD, and let her go.
"Sorry, boss. Must be the n-" you then notice the snakes worming close to Daring Do's face, and clamp back onto her out of fear again, squealing like a mare.
"Hey, if you need me to protect you from the big bad snakes, I totally can." she jokes, blushing a bit as she gives a lidded stare at you. You manage to get control over yourself for enough time to get back on your hooves and look at the screen.
"Ok, I'm good now, it's over." you say, looking at the movie again. All of a sudden, the movie stops, and you look confused. "Hey, what's the big idea?"
After turning around, you find Rainbow turning the film back again, and going right back to the snake scene. "All your panic made me miss this part. If you need to clamp to me you can, I just really love this scene and I want to see it."
"... naahh, I'll be fine." you lie, scratching the back of your head awkwardly. You can tell by her playful look that she's calling your bluff, and goes right to the scene again, turning it back on to play. You sit there. Stare. You've got this, you're under control, see they're not even that bad they OH SWEET CELESTIA THEY'RE ON HER FACE AGAIN-
You cling to Rainbow again, shaking in your metaphorical boots. You try to pony up and get back to normal, but those slimy, disgusting writhing snakes freak you out on a level you can't describe. RD looks all too pleased with herself, holding you close with a devilish grin.
"Oh, poor Sunny. Guess the scared, poor little stallion must be saved by the heroic, brave and totally awesome mare."
You spend the rest of the movie clinging onto her, just staring at the screen and replying to her jokes and comments about snakes and how brave and cool she is. You weren't having any fun, but you could tell that teasing you was giving her a thrill that you could only describe as sinfully playful.
Now the movie has ended, and you lay there pale as snow. RD has cleaned up a bit, and come to see you on the bed.
"Hey, you alright? I didn't scare you too bad, did I?" she questions, helping you up.
".. I'm good now. I think. I hope. Let's never watch that scene again." you say, wobbling as you stand.
"Got you that bad did it? Sorry for bugging you about it so much." she mumbles, looking at the floor.
"Nah, I get it, you just wanted to have some fun with a good friend."
Silence. And then, she turns to you. "Maybe it would be nice to hang out as.. More, than friends?" she says.
"Like, best friends? Works for me." you say. She groans, and helps you to the door.
"You know what, sure whatever, as long as we can do this more often."
She helps you to the door, and before you leave she asks one last thing. "Maybe we can have a sleepover sometime?" she groans, clearly tired. That movie must have taken a lot out of her.
"Eh, I'm not big on sleepovers. Later!" you say cheerfully, finally coming together after that scarring scene. You trot outside, and Rainbow trots back inside, sighing in defeat. You, on the other hoof, have now just realized that it hasn't even reached sunset. Not that you could tell by looking at the sun, because it's storming bad outside. Like, really bad.
You take shelter at her front door, knocking a bunch to try and get in. You can't get home at this state. But Rainbow isn't there. She may have gone to bed. You can't really tell. You'll just have to wait here and keep knocking. Either until the storm is over or until she comes to help you back in.
It takes about 10 minutes before she frustratingly swings the door open full force, staring right at you with rage. "WHAT!?" she yells, startling you.
".. On second thought, maybe I'll take my chances with the rain." you say. She instantly looks taken aback, and calls after you as you head out.
"NO!! WAIT!!! DON'T GO!! I HAVE A SPARE BED AND EVERYTHING!! WAIT!!" she screams, chasing after you desperately.
She manages to catch you before you head off the cloud, pinning you down. "What are you doing!? You could get hurt in that storm you ditz!!" she barks "And now we're all wet and I need to dry off and.. Uhg." she says, grabbing your hoof and pulling you inside "You're staying here tonight, alright? I'm not going to let a worker electrocute himself on the way home."
You weren't arguing. Mainly out of fear. You've never seen your boss get so angry before. Granted, it was pretty stupid of you to try and leave in that storm, so you understand her frustration. She dries you off with a towel, making your mane, coat and tail puff, and she does the same to herself, her mane and tail staying intact. ".. s-sorry, boss." you finally squeeze out.
She gives you a hug. A really, really tight hug. "Don't try that ever again." she says gloomily. You nod, and hug her back. You're glad such a cool friend cared for you so much. Even if she's your boss. And a bit scary. Or full of herself. Or-
Rainbow Dash has just tucked you into a guest bed. She has tons of the things, she isn't too worried about it. She trots out to her room, rubbing her head. She has had a long, long day. She's started to think to herself about you, Sunshine Sprite. Why weren't you, for example, picking up on her obvious advances? Are you too scared of her, or just too dumb to pick up on it? Is it her? She wondered. Is it him? Whatever the case, she's just glad your safe in her room now. "Another day." she thinks aloud to herself.
She goes to bed, but before going to sleep, she mumbles "then he'll be mine~...."
Author's Note
Edit: Thank you guys for helping edit in the comments. I don't have an editor yet, so it really does help.
