The Adventures of Mystery Mane, Book one: Golden Boy

Chapter 2:

Long before a certain pony detective was born, a young stallion’s hooves were set on the path to become a great theif.

Rain Cloud was a normal enough pony before he met Flash Fire. With his brown coat and gray mane, he was about as plain a pony as one could be. So of course he assumed that no mare in the world would be interested in him. This changed on a simple trip to Sugarcube Corner, when Rain Cloud had a craving for something sweet.

“Hey there!” a cheerful pink pony exclaimed, popping up from behind the counter and nearly giving Rain Cloud a heart attack, “What can I get for you, Rain Cloud?”

Rain Cloud smiled at the pink pony then looked at the display of tasty treats. “I’ll have a box of my usual, Pinkie.”

“Oki doki loki!” With that, the pink pony took several chocolate cupcakes out of the display and put them in a box. “Here you go, Rainy! Enjoy!”

“I always do,” Rain Cloud replied, and then walked out the door while still looking at his friend. As he did this, he suddenly crashed into something furry.

“Oh, your cupcakes,” gasped a voice.

In one heartbeat, Rain Cloud saw his cupcakes falling, whipped out one wing, and let them land on it. His wing was now covered in chocolate, but at least he had saved the cupcakes from a dust covered doom.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” the voice said again as he put the cupcakes in the box again, “Nice catch.”

“Thanks, and I caught them anyw…w…,” He stopped in mid-sentence when he saw the most beautiful mare he had ever seen.

Her mane was white, and her coat was as well but it also had little ginger swirls in it. What really captivated him were her eyes; they were a normal color of the blue persuasion, but they were filled with such life.

“Uh, are you okay buddy?”

Her voice brought Rain Cloud back to reality, and he nodded. “Oh, yeah, I’m perfectly alright. Actually, I’m great!”

The mare chuckled, and wiped chocolate off of his wing. “I can see that,” she snorted as he shuddered at her touch. “By the way, I’m Flash Fire.”

“I’m in love,” Rain Cloud replied without thinking.

“Huh?”

“Rain Cloud,” he gasped, “I’m Rain Cloud!” Why did I have to say that out loud!?

Flash Fire laughed, “Well Mr. Head-over-hooves, how would you like to accompany me somewhere tonight?” Her voice was laced with a playful teasing.

Rain Cloud stared at her, his mind temporarily blank. “D-do you mean a date?”

Flash Fire rolled her eyes, “No, on a robbery,” she said sarcastically, “Of course on a date!”

Rain Cloud inwardly chastised himself for being an idiot. “I-isn’t this a bit too fast?”

Flash Fire blinked, “Well, if you don’t want to…”

“I want to!” Rain Cloud protested, “We could go anywhere, the theater, a café, a-,”

Flash Fire put a hoof on his mouth to silence him. She leaned in close, her eyes sparkling. “I have a better place in mind.”

XxXxX

“Wow, its… well, beautiful is too small of a word.”

The place Flash Fire had taken him was breath taking. It was a sheer cliff with very sharp rocks at the bottom. As scary as that was, there was also a large expanse of water that stretched so far Rain Cloud couldn’t imagine where it ended. The sun was setting, making the water filled with swirls of orange, pink, and even hints of purple.

“I come here to clear my head,” Flash Fire told him, looking at the water.

“Aren’t you scared of the rocks?” Rain Cloud asked, “An earth pony like you couldn’t fly to safety if you fell.”

Flash Fire looked at him and smiled, “Life is boring if you don’t take risks, Rainy.”

She looked back at the water, and Rain Cloud pondered her words. He has spent a lifetime avoiding risks; was this pony crazy or something? Suddenly, without warning, Flash Fire was leaning against him. He stiffened and looked at her.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m tired,” she yawned, looking up at him through clouded eyes.

“Oh,” he replied, “Well, I guess I’ll walk you home then.”

Her tired eyes flashed. “I can take care of myself, Rainy.”

Rain Cloud smirked. “Well, if you don’t want me to…”

“No, I do,” Flash Fire interrupted with a laugh. “Please, lead the way!”

As the two walked away from the cliff, Rain Cloud thought nothing could go wrong with this relationship.

He had no clue how terribly wrong he was.