It was a relaxing morning in Ponyville. Everything was calm.
The birds seemed to harmonize with the tunes of a gentle breeze that wafted through the small town. Plants bloomed before the sunrise as petals cracked open to let the nectar call out to insects far and wide in a irresistible aroma; it was enough to encase their minds with the sickeningly sweet scent. Bees, nature's keepers, had started the days work bringing their own unique sound to the hum of content that was present throughout the entire town.
They hadn't had a day quite like this since... well, since FOREVER! Everyday seemed to have something to disrupt the harmony over the terrain.
Crystallized spiders webs hung like jewels upon the trees, coating them in a silver finish that Rarity would have simply adored. Water droplets adorned the silken threads causing the white light to form the anything-but-just-white-light spectrum to dance across the intricate designs of the web- it's architect still awaiting prey in the corner.
All of the creatures were in the same sedated state as many of the town's folk with the hopes that the day would not be too taxing.
Until...
Whoosh!
A baby blue colt slashed through the air, wings like blades that cut through the thick canvas of the open sky. The sharp runs and twists of his tiny body reflected what a true Pegasus was capable of with resilience and training... hard-core!
His rainbow mane flashed a colourful spectrum under the dawn of a new day. Dew from the once peaceful flowers settled into his messy locks, leaving him with a cool crisp feeling of morning present.
Whereas most of the town was asleep, this was Nimbus's time to shine. While most ponies would grow bored of flying alone when no-one else was up yet, he found it as his way to escape. Escape from boundaries, escape from rules, escape from mortality.
All of the animals shrieked and squealed at the small bullet that had alerted them before their time to awaken in annoyance.
Nimbus didn't care that much though... it's not like they were go in to tell on him.
"NIMBUS DASH! YOU GET DOWN HERE RIGHT THIS SECOND!"
A sharp voice beat at his eardrums as the pony responsible for her animals made it clear that the situation would not be taken lightly.
The animals may not tell on him... but Fluttershy would!
After he touched down near the outskirts of her house, daring not to look up, he hung his head while walking to the yellow Pegasus.
"Yes Auntie Fluttershy?" He said while biting his lip hard. Knowing the lecture prepared for him word for word, the young colt folded his ears back in anticipation of the harsh words to come.
"How many times have I told you not to fly round here so early in the morning? The animals need to wake up naturally otherwise it may-"
"Mess with their routine, I know, I know."
Fluttershy eyed her honorary nephew coldly. "So what do you have to say for yourself?"
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to escape my thoughts for a while! I don't really think about where I'm flying. I just sorta... fly I guess..."
The older mare looked down at the colt with an amused smile. I wonder who he got that from she thought humorously. He looked rather guilty so... maybe he had learnt his lesson? But Fluttershy couldn't stay mad at him for long. He had a plausible reason considering all of the things that are going on.
"Come on Nim, I'll take you back to your house." A smile crawled onto her face as his pupils turned to pinpricks.
"Y-your not going to t-t-tell Dad are you?" His back became rigid at the thought. The last time his father and him had a good talk was... well... harsh and very intimidating. He certainly did not want a repeat of the kitchen incident.
It wasn't his fault if someone had not put the peg on the flour properly. He just thought he could make his parents some breakfast for their anniversary. Boy was he wrong! Not only was there flour encasing the walls with what looked like Hearts Warming come early, he had tried to make pancakes like Daddy did with the hob... some of the flour ended up burning and setting the fire alarm off.
As a result, he had a lecture on why he should've asked Mommy and Daddy before, why fire is dangerous, why he should've explained to his parents what had happened before they rung up the fire brigade and so on...
Though it was all useful information, it was very taxing on the young foal to have such an extent of what he called "controlled shouting" forced upon him all at once. Soarin didn't seem too angry but he didn't look happy either.
So when Nimbus started to cry and flew up to his room, his mother followed him. She held him in an embrace so soft yet with such comfort it made him feel all nice and fuzzy in his mom's wings. She told him that she knew he was just trying to give them a good anniversary (and had good intentions) but how he should've asked first. Something about the motherly tone she had put it in made it a whole lot bearable to listen to.
She then told him something that he would never forget. She said: "Every pony makes mistakes at some point in their life, trust me kid... I'm the master of them!" Which made him giggle a little. "But remember something... without a little rain, no flowers would ever grow. Though it may seem like the rain is bad, it allows us to make way to improve the "weather" and allow them to bloom."
It wasn't like she hadn't scolded him a little too, but the way she had put it was a little more comforting that the way his Dad had put it.
Fluttershy looked kindly down at the tiny Pegasus and smiled. "Okay... maybe I'll let you off the hook this time. But I still need to take you home. It's too early to have you wake up everypony too."
As Nimbus landed on the plush could of the cloud house of which he called home, Fluttershy gave him a quick nuzzle for comfort before knocking on the door to reveal a worried looking stallion.
"Have you seen Nimbus anywhere Fluttershy? What if he is hurt? Maybe I haven't checked the house thoroughly enough! That may be it! If I-" Soarin cut himself off when he caught sight of his five year old son peeping out from behind Fluttershy's legs. Immediately he picked the colt up and threw his wings around him kissing every inch of the Colts face.
Nimbus squirmed in disgust of his father's sappy actions. "Daaaad! Get off of me I haven't been gone that long!"
Ignoring his sons pleas, he continued to hug his son as tight as possible.
"Don't you ever do that to me again, you hear?" He cried.
"Yeah, ok I won't but just let me BREATHE!" Nim finally escaped his father's death grip and fell into the soft tufts of cloud below.
"We need to have a talk young colt!" Soarin regained his composure and nodded his head at Fluttershy. "Thank you for bringing him back. I owe you big time!"
Nimbus looked helplessly back at Fluttershy before slowly making his way into the house.
Rainbow sat on the cloud sofa, facing the scene playing out before her.
"Dad, I don't need this lecture again! I'm a big colt now! I just needed to fly a little!"
"Yes, we have had this talk before, but seen as I have to talk to you again, it means you didn't listen! Either that or you just like ignoring me!"
Rainbow watched as her son proceeded to tear up and draped a wing over his back even though it went unacknowledged.
Who would've thought Rainbow Dash first Pegasus to pull off a sonic rainboom and a member of the Wonderbolts would ever be so... maternal. She had always been the brash one of the group and while that side of her hadn't gone away, it had been overshadowed by the process of having and raising a child. Her loyalty became infinitely boosted toward her foal and the protective motherly instinct swarmed her mind as soon as she saw the picture from the first sonogram of the small blob that, at the time, resided in her womb.
She wasn't overly protective as she knew how much she craved her own freedom, but she wanted to be. Never would she ever leave Nimbus or Soarin for that matter in any circumstance.
"I'm not ignoring you Daddy... I just... can I ask you something?"
Taken off guard by the sudden question, both parents nodded their heads to listen to what was on the colts mind.
"Do you ever think there is somepony you can't see, like an angel, with you?"
"Yes!" Both Rainbow and Soarin replied. However, Nimbus only had eyes for his father at this point. He wanted to make sure his father understood what he was contemplating.
Soarin sat down the other side of his son and draped a wing around his back. "I definitely do believe in angels Nim. I believe everypony has one guardian angel to watch over them and protect them personally... in fact, I think I know who my guardian angel is..."
Nimbus looked up into the deep emerald pools that matched his own as if he were trying to search for the answer within his very soul. "Who?"
"My father Lightning Skies. He was always looking over me in life as well as death." Rainbow looked toward her husband for the mention of his father. She had only met him a few times before he passed away but he was a very caring stallion. Much like Soarin himself. "But after he died, I felt so alone when, in the back of my mind, I knew he was with me."
Nimbus's face scrunched up in thought. "We were talking about angels yesterday in class. And they asked us who we thought was our guardian angel too. They said it could be somepony made up or somepony who looks over us like you said with your Daddy. I know that angels are normally when a pony goes to heaven. So I drew a picture of me with my guardian angel..."
"Who's your angel Nim?" Soarin asked quietly, already knowing the answer to his own question. His eyes filled up with tears as he bit down hard on his lip to stop himself having a breakdown in front of his son. He had to remain strong. As for Rainbow though, she had tears rolling down her face in notice of the piece of paper of which he had now pulled out of his school bag.
He passed the picture to Soarin to look at. It had two ponies stood next to one another the larger one with white wings and the other hugging her waist. One of the white wings draped around the little pony in a protective manner. In the sky however were black swirls with blue drops coming from them. A few of the blue drops were in contact with the ground and where they were, small childish flowers were drawn.
Immediately, the stallion choked back a sob as he embraced his son and fell to his knees to support him. His son faired no better. He embraced his father fiercely, gritting his teeth in an attempt to stop the resurfacing memories to cause him any more pain than it did right then.
Crying hard, Rainbow watched as her son and husband fought to keep their emotions in check. She however, was crying openly. Many fresh tears fell from her face but no dampness was added to the floor below.
She then approached the duo and kissed both of them on the forehead before embracing them with her white wings.
"Yes Nim, you've got it completely right!" She gently whispered in his ear between sobs.
For that one piece of paper read: I miss you Mommy, my guardian angel.
Author's Note
I know it's not very well written so if there are any mistakes or improvements I can make, please leave a comment and I will try to fix it and touch it up.
Also, for those who don't really get the story, feel free to look at the comments (I have explained in one of them what is happening). If you still don't get it, feel free to leave a comment and I will reply ASAP!
Thanks for reading this story!
It's tired author-
Frothy
