Cloudy With A Chance of Rainbows
Cloudy With A Chance of Rainbows
It was a dark and rainy day over the city of Canterlot. Puddles that could be mistaken for rivers were forming everywhere as sidewalks and roads were soaked while everything green became muddy.
Trotting into Canterlot High, the poncho covered figure walked through the hallways, the slick sound of wet sneakers squeaking across the floor with each step. Reaching the music room, the figure removed the poncho, revealing a head of red and yellow hair.
"Whoo" Sunset Shimmer sighed as she leaned against the wall "I had a feeling it was a bad idea for me to schedule a band rehearsal today".
At that moment, the door opened and in stepped another poncho-wearing figure, this one sporting a head of purple and violet hair.
"Hey, Twilight" Sunset said to her friend "Have a tough time getting here?"
In response, the purple glasses-wearing girl spit out a trickle of water before coughing "Man, when the weather report said it'd be raining cats and dogs this week, they weren't kidding".
"It's raining cats and dogs?!" a hyperactive pink girl said as she appeared out of nowhere "I thought it would just be plain, old, everyday water!"
The sudden appearance of the pink girl took her friends by surprise and they let out a startled yelp.
"Pinkie?!" Sunset asked in shock "Where did you come from?!"
Pinkie Pie gave her a confused look "Sunset, I thought you had taken Health Class. You should know the answer to that question".
Twilight just shook her head in dismay. It was then she took a good look at the party-loving girl and her eyes widened as she realized that Pinkie wasn't a bit wet despite all the rain that had been coming down.
"Wait, how-?"
Before Twilight could finish her question, the door to the band room opened again, this time with two people, Rarity and Fluttershy. On Rarity's arm was her purple umbrella.
"We're here, everyone" Fluttershy said.
"So sorry if we're late, Darlings" Rarity added sincerely.
"Fluttershy, I thought you'd be coming here with Dashie" Pinkie Pie commented "You're not stepping out on her with Rarity, are you?"
"Oh, no. Nothing like that" Fluttershy shook her head "Since Rainbow Dash lives a good distance from my house, I didn't want her to get wet more than she needed to by going out of her way to pick me up".
"So, since I lived a little closer to her house, I decided to pick Fluttershy up" Rarity added "And Rainbow Dash could come on her own".
"That makes sense" Twilight nodded before she looked at the clock "I do hope she and Applejack get here soon. We've only got the music room for an hour. Any longer and we'll have to pay for extra time".
"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie agreed as Sunset and Fluttershy helped her set up her drum set "There's this awesome solo I've been working on for a week that I want them to see!"
Her four friends all shared a hesitant glance before Rarity spoke up.
"Pinkie, Dear, did you by any chance bring along that bagpipe-like instrument your Equestrian counterpart gave you?"
Pinkie's hair deflated as she gave a sad sigh. "No. I had to leave it a home due to the weather. I was worried that the rain would ruin it".
Her four friends gave an internal sigh of relief before Sunset whispered to the others "Even if the rain did mess it up, I doubt it could sound much worse anyway".
At that moment, there was a loud 'BANG!' from outside the music room from down the hall, followed by the sound of two distinct voices having a very loud and energetic shouting match.
"Ooh, sounds like AJ and Dashie are here!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly.
"Oh, dear" Rarity sighed "And it sounds like they're having another one of their 'debates'".
"They must've had a competition or something on the way here and are arguing over the results" Sunset surmised.
"I can calm Rainbow down, but one of you will have to take care of Applejack" Fluttershy said.
"I'll handle her" Twilight offered.
As the voices came closer, the friends were starting to make out what was being said.
"Of all the insensitive, thoughtless..."
"Would you take it easy? This whole thing is silly!"
"Silly?! Yah destroy mah way of life and think it's silly?!"
"I haven't destroyed your way of life!"
"Sure, yah didn'. Just keep tellin' yerself tha when mah family is starvin'!"
"Your family isn't going to starve!"
"How do yah know that?!"
"Because nothing's going to happen!"
As the argument became clearer, the friends inside the music room looked to each other in confusion.
"What in the world are they talking about?" Twilight had to ask.
"I have no idea" Sunset replied.
"Well, looks like we're going to find out in a second" Pinkie Pie commented.
Sure enough, the door to the music room banged open and in stepped Rainbow Dash and Applejack, side by side and arguing.
"And I keep saying that you need to calm down!" Rainbow Dash cried.
"Calm down?!" Applejack roared "After wha yah did, yah expect me tah calm down?!"
"I didn't do anything!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she got in Applejack's face.
"Hey!" Sunset cried out to get the arguers' attention, a look of confusion on her face "What's going on here? You two are arguing worse than the time Applejack blackballed Rainbow Dash from buying zap apple jam!"
"Thanks for bringing that up, too" Rainbow Dash growled.
"Fluttershy" Applejack said to the animal lover "Ah may have to apologize to yah".
"Uh, why?" Fluttershy asked in confusion.
"Cause Ah'm probably gonna kill yer girlfriend!" Applejack answered, returning her glare to the athlete.
"Oh, dear" Fluttershy sighed "Dash, what did you do now?"
"Nothing!" Rainbow Dash insisted.
"Oh, so yah think puttin' my farm out of business is nothin', huh?" Applejack sneered.
Pinkie Pie gasped. "You put Sweet Apple Acres out of business? Rainbow, how could you?!"
"I didn't do no such thing!" Rainbow Dash protested.
"Alright, alright" Sunset chimed in again "Let's just settle down and get to the bottom of this" she turned to Rainbow "Now, tell us exactly what happened".
Grumbling, Rainbow Dash began explaining "It was nothing, really. I was just walking down the street through the rain, grumbling about how it was ruining soccer practice, and ended up singing a little ditty. Then I turned to see Applejack was a few feet behind me and next thing I knew, she went crazy!"
"Yer darn tootin' Ah went crazy!" Applejack yelled "Of all the thoughtless, careless things you've done, this tops them all!"
"Applejack, calm down" Sunset instructed before turning back to the prismatic athlete "Rainbow, what exactly did you say?"
Rainbow sighed "I sung 'Rain, rain, go away. Never come back out of this way'".
"Wait, that's it?" Twilight asked with a raise brow.
"Um, Applejack, dear" Rarity said soothingly to the farmgirl "I'm afraid I don't see what the problem is".
"Yeah" Pinkie Pie agreed "Sure, Rainbow butchered a classic nursery rhyme, but it's not worth anything more than a few days of community service".
"You girls don' get it!" Applejack explained before looking to their bacon-color haired leader "Sunset, yah said tha Pegasis, uh, Pegasuses, Pegasezis, duh...winged ponies can control the weather in Equestria, right?"
"Yes" Sunset nodded in confirmation.
"And based on tha fact tha Rainbow gains wings when she Ponies Up, doesn' it stand tah reason tha she can affect tha weather?" Applejack continued.
"Well, it does sound likely" Sunset admitted.
"Then fer all we know," Applejack said while pointing at Rainbow Dash "this featherbrain might've end up casting a spell that will make it stop raining in Canterlot!"
"Wait, that's what you're worried about?" Twilight said in bewilderment before giggling "Applejack, I think you're blowing this out of proportion".
"That's what I told her" Rainbow Dash imputed.
"This is serious!" Applejack cried "If there's no more rain, mah apples will wither away tah nothin'!"
"Applejack, don't you think you're being a little paranoid?" Twilight asked "I find it hard to believe that Rainbow could affect the entire climate with a little song".
"Besides, you've got the wrong idea about how Pegasus magic works" Sunset added "Pegasi manipulate the weather physically. They don't recite incantations like unicorns".
"Ha! See?!" Rainbow Dash said triumphantly "Told ya I didn't do nothing!"
"Oh yea?" Applejack asked shrewdly before turning to Sunset "Sunny, haven' yah been sayin' tha Equestrian magic is more potent here than in yer own world?"
"Well, yes" Sunset halfheartedly admitted "But even still, I doubt it'd be powerful enough for Rainbow Dash to banish rain clouds from the city with a silly, little rhyme".
"Ah can' risk tha!" Applejack shouted "Mah family's entire lives depend on tha farm! If it goes under, Ah don' know wha Ah'll do!" she turned to give Rainbow Dash a glare "But Ah'll know tha nitwit responsible!"
"I still don't think you have anything to worry about, Applejack" Sunset said soothingly.
"And besides" Twilight said as she and Fluttershy looked out the window "It's still raining pretty hard. If Rainbow really had stopped the rain, it would've happened by now".
"There, see?!" Rainbow Dash said as she got in Applejack''s face "Nothing's happened! So you owe me a big fat apology!"
"Not so fast" Applejack declared "Ah'm withholdin' until Ah'm absolutly sure wha yah did was harmless".
"Alright, fine" Rainbow Dash nodded "It's supposed to rain like this for the rest of the week, so why don't we just watch to see if anything happens. But when you see that nothing will happen, you'll be eating so much crow, you'll be able to retire that scarecrow in your fields!"
"And if anythin' does happen to mah apples" Applejack snarked back as she got nose to nose with Rainbow "Ah'll be holdin' ya responsible!"
For at least a few seconds, the pair just stared off while the others silently watched, feeling anxious.
"Alright," Rarity piped in to cut the tension "Now that we've gotten this little bout of drama out of the way, shall we move on to the reason we're here?"
"Rarity's right" Sunset said as she looked at the clock "We've only got fifty minutes left to use the room".
Taking their positions with their instruments, the Rainbooms readied for the first song.
"Alright," Sunset directed "I figured we'd start off with the song that Rarity wrote a few days ago. Everyone got a copy?" the others nodded "Alright, then. A-one. A-two. A-one, two, THREE!"
With a groan, Rainbow Dash rose out of bed to prepare for the day the following morning.
"That crazy Applejack" she muttered to herself as she got dressed "Thinking I could rid all of Canterlot of rain. Heh! Even I'm not that awesome!"
Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Rainbow Dash brushed her multi-colored hair a bit before deciding it was satisfactory.
"I'd better hurry" she said to herself as she went to the door "Fluttershy will be here soon. I just hope she's not totally drenched".
Stepping outside and off the porch, Rainbow Dash looked back and forth for any sign of her girlfriend's presence. Unfortunately, all she took notice of was the nice breeze blowing, the warmth of the sun coming down, and the twittering of the birds, but there was no sign of Flutter...
Rainbow Dash stopped as her eyes widened. What was that last thought? The twittering of the birds? No, it was before that. The nice windy breeze? No. The one between them. In shock, Rainbow Dash whirled her sight upward.
The sun was shining.
There wasn't a cloud in the sky.
The rain storm was...gone.
Rainbow Dash stood in silence for a moment as she took in the sight of the clear blue sky above her. Before she could voice her shock, a familiar voice called out.
"Rainbow!"
Turning, Dash saw Fluttershy racing up to her, Sunset, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie trailing right behind her.
"It's incredible!" Twilight cried "There's not a single rain cloud in the entire city!"
"The weathermen are completely baffled!" Sunset added "They have no idea what caused it!"
"You did it, Dashie!" Pinkie Pie said in shock "You actually made it sto-!"
"Now, hold on!" Rainbow cut the hyperactive pink girl off "There isn't any proof that I had anything to do with this! It could just be a coincidence!"
"Well, in any case" Fluttershy said frantically as she grasped Rainbow by the shoulders "It might be best for you to hide somewhere. Cause if Applejack finds you, she'll hold you responsi-"
"Ahem" came a gruff voice from behind Rainbow Dash.
Eyes wide, Rainbow Dash slowly turned around, coming face to face with a frowning Applejack with her arms folded. Behind her was a nervous Rarity.
"Hello, Rainbow" the farm girl said evenly.
"Uh, hey. AJ!" Rainbow Dash said with a fake cheery smile "What's new?"
"Oh, nothin' much" Applejack replied with an even tone before her eyes narrowed "Except fer tha fact tha a rainstom tha was supposed tah last fer a week has mysteriously disappeared".
Rainbow Dash gulped as she tugged on her collar "H-How about that?"
"'Nothin's gonna happen', huh?" Applejack mocked before sneering "Ah hope yer proud of yerself. Mah family is goin' tah tha poorhouse thanks tah you!"
"Now, really, Applejack" Sunset cut in "You can't really believe that Rainbow Dash is responsible for this, can you?"
"Ah can' think of any other reason a big rain cloud would up and vanish intah thin air" Applejack replied.
"Be realistic, Applejack" Twilight piped in "This might just be an isolated incident and the rain will be back tomorrow".
"Yeah, that's right!" Rainbow cried frantically "Remember? It's supposed to pour all week, so it might not be like this all the time!"
"Alright, then" Applejack declared "Ah'll withhold judgement on yah tah give yah tha chance tah prove yer right. But fer yer sake, tha rain better come back!"
"Oh, don't worry" Rainbow said assuringly "I'm positive the rain will return before the week is up!"
Day 2
The rays from the sun came down in a blistering heat, causing steam to rise from the ground.
As Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy walked down the street, sweating up a storm, they passed by Applejack, who was frowning and had her hands on her hips.
All Rainbow Dash could do was grin sheepishly.
Day 3
Getting out of bed, Rainbow Dash made a silent prayer before opening her window and sticking her hand out the window. Much to dismay, she didn't feel anything moist on her wrist except her own sweat.
Sticking her head out the window, Rainbow Dash looked to see the sky was still clear.
She also happened to notice a miffed-looking Applejack standing outside her bedroom, tapping her foot.
Rainbow Dash just gulped.
Day 4
Standing at the top of a tall hill, Rainbow Dash had a pair of binoculars to her face as she desperately looked for any sign of rain. Alas, no matter where she looked, the sky was clear far as the eye could see. Nothing but sweltering heat.
Twirling her binoculars around, Rainbow Dash soon found a pair of angry green eyes in front of her. Slowly bringing them down, Rainbow Dash found Applejack standing in front of her.
"A huh" the cowgirl said sarcastically while Rainbow Dash's sweating intensified.
Day 5
By this time, the heatwave had gotten to the point that even the inside of Canterlot High was like an oven. The air conditioning system throughout the entire building was working overtime to provide a breeze of air for the students and faculty.
Trekking out of class with Fluttershy right behind her, Rainbow Dash spotted Sunset, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Twilight leaning against the lockers and walked up to join them.
"My word" Rarity gasped while fanning herself in a ladylike manner "I can't believe how warm it is".
"No kidding" Twilight agreed "I don't think it's ever been this hot in Canterlot before".
"Please don't say that!" Rainbow Dash pleaded as she leaned against the lockers "Do you know what Applejack will do to me if it doesn't rain?"
"Probably what she's about to do now" Pinkie Pie commented while pointing behind her. With a groan, Rainbow Dash turned to see the cowgirl standing beside her.
"So, five days and still no rain" she stated before rolling up her sleeves and cracking her knuckles "Are yah about ready tah take yer lumps, Dash? And Ah do mean lumps".
"Applejack, be sensible!" Rainbow Dash pleaded "Are you really going to kill me over this?"
"Rainbow, this is tha time of tha year when mah trees are startin' tah blossom" Applejack said firmly "They need waterin' more than ever at this time. Without rain, not only will mah entire apple crop peter out, but mah trees will wither into husks!"
"Well, how will turning me into a pulp fix that?!" Rainbow Dash asked frantically.
"it won'" Applejack replied "But it'll certainly make me feel better".
"Now, wait a minute, Applejack" Fluttershy stuck up for Rainbow "You're being hasty. The week's not up yet. There's still a chance it might rain tomorrow".
Rainbow Dash could've kissed Fluttershy like never before as she looked to the yellow girl gratefully. Turning to Applejack, she saw the farmer mulling this detail over.
"Alright" Applejack said "Ah'll give yah one more day. But if it doesn' rain by tomorrow, Ah'm going tah use yah in place of apples for saucin' season!"
With that, Applejack turned and stomped away, leaving Rainbow Dash to collapse to the ground.
"Oh, man" she groaned while placing her face in her palms "What have I done?!"
"Well, offhand I'd say you destroyed Applejack's farm and doomed all life in Canterlot to dry up into nothing" Pinkie Pie said simply. Fluttershy, who had been trying to comfort Rainbow, gave Pinkie a patented Stare "Hey, she asked!"
"Oh, I didn't mean for this to happen" Rainbow went on "All I wanted was a nice, sunny day to play soccer!"
"Dang" Sunset shook her head in amazement "I guess Equestrian magic is more powerful here than I thought".
"Well, at least we got some interesting facts out of this" Twilight said half-heartedly with a shrug.
"A pity it had to come at Rainbow's expense" Rarity said sympathetically.
"Oh, I'm doomed!" Rainbow wailed "There's no way it'll rain by tomorrow! I'm going to get soccer practice, alright, but Applejack's going to use my head for the soccer! What am I going to do, Girls?!"
"Hmm" Pinkie Pie said thoughtfully "Well, the way I see it, you've got two options".
"Well, I'm desperate enough to listen" Rainbow Dash replied "What are they?"
"Well, first" Pinkie Pie began "You could leave Canterlot and go somewhere far away where Applejack won't find you".
Rainbow Dash's eyes widened in shock. "I can't run away from Canterlot! My whole life is here! My home! My sports career! My music career!" she gestured to Sunset, Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie "My friends!" she put an arm around Fluttershy "My girlfriend!"
"Well, that leaves the second option" Pinkie Pie stated.
"Which is?" Rainbow asked desperately.
"You make it rain yourself" Pinkie Pie answered "You were the one who caused it to stop after all".
"Hey, yeah!" Rainbow Dash realized with a grin "Since I'm the one who stopped the rain, then logically, I'm the only one who can bring it back!"
Putting her hands together in a begging position, Rainbow Dash looked up to the ceiling and the sky outside before singing.
"Rain, rain, please come back. Save me from the wrath of Applejack!"
Placing a hand to her ear, Rainbow Dash and the others listened for the sound of thunder any rain hitting the roof. Rainbow's face fell when she didn't hear anything.
"Oh, boy" she moaned "This could take a while".
After an hour of doing rhymes like 'Rain, rain, where are you? Appear in the sky, it's too blue', 'Rain, rain, start to drizzle. Hurry now before I fizzle', and "Rain, rain, hear my plea. I'm sorry for what I said, please answer me!', Rainbow realized that chants weren't getting her anywhere and needed to come up with a new approach. Rumors spread about the school that she tried things like playing baseball during P.E, having lunch with Fluttershy outside like a picnic, and even offered to give Principal Celestia's car a wash and shine.
Even after all that, the sun was still shining brightly.
It was getting in the afternoon when Sunset entered the school library, where she found Twilight at a table, surrounding by towers of books and reading a rather large tomb.
"Hey, Twi" she waved to the girl softly "Mind if I join you?"
"Go right ahead" Twilight as she briefly looked up "You're not disturbing me. I'm just doing a little light reading".
Choosing not to question Twilight's definition of 'light reading', Sunset merely sat down beside her friend "So, have you heard about Rainbow Dash?"
"Yeah" Twilight nodded in a hushed voice "She's really determined to make it rain".
"Sounds like. I wonder what she's going to try next?' Sunset asked in deep thought.
"I'm not sure, but she must be getting desperate" Twilight replied.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, about half an hour ago, she came in here and asked me if she could borrow one of my books".
Sunset's mouth fell open in shock. "You're kidding".
"Nope" Twilight shook her head, a bit of mirth in her voice "She really did".
"Wow" Sunset said in amazement "Rainbow reading something that's not a 'Daring Do' book. Who would've thought? Which book did she borrow?"
"I'm not sure" Twilight answered, a puzzled look on her face "I have such a large collection that it's difficult to keep track of every volume".
"Well, whatever it is, it must have something to do with weather" Sunset concluded.
After another half hour of studying, the two girls exited the library through the side door leading to outside. There, they found Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie sitting in the school yard.
"Oh, hi, Sunset. Twilight" Rarity said to the pair upon seeing them.
"Hey, girls!" Pinkie Pie waved.
"Hi" Fluttershy said simply
"Hey there, everyone" Twilight replied.
"Hey, Fluttershy, where's Rainbow Dash?" Sunset asked as she saw the yellow girl was without her other half.
"Oh, she needed some time to herself to think about this whole rain thing" Fluttershy explained "She said something about coming up with a new idea".
"Well, what do you suppose she's come up with?" Rarity had to ask.
Rarity's question was answered almost immediately as the group saw Rainbow Dash come out of the school and come over to them.
"Hi, Rainbow" Fluttershy said to the prismatic girl.
"Hey, Flutters" Rainbow Dash waved before addressing the group "Hey, listen, girls. Do any of you know where I can find a feathered headdress?"
"No problem!" Pinkie Pie said enthusiastically "I can make you one!"
"Thanks, Pinkie, you're a pal" Rainbow said gratefully.
"Wait, hold on" Sunset said with a raised brow "Why do you need a feathered headdress?"
"Oh, uh" Rainbow stuttered "No particular reason".
Not buying the explanation, Sunset spotted a book under Rainbow's arm, likely the one she had borrowed from Twilight. Before Dash could even protest, Sunset had plucked it from her grasp and looked at the cover, the others peering over her shoulder.
"'Rain Dances For All Occasions'?" Sunset read the title in disbelief before looking up at her blue friend who was grinning embarrassingly "Really?"
"Twilight, why in the world do you have a book like this?" Rarity asked in bewilderment.
"Well, I think I mostly got it for the culture value" Twilight answered before looking up to the athlete "Rainbow, you can't perform the dances in this book!"
"Sure I can" Dash nodded "I looked over all the steps, and they're easy for me to follow. All I need is go out into a big field and start a campfire-"
"NO!" Twilight cried "I mean you can't mimic what's written in this book because that would be extremely stereotypical against natives!"
"Well, if I want to get Applejack off my back, I may have to offend a few other people" Dash said bluntly before trying to grab the book back, only to be stopped by Sunset.
Twilight sighed. "Really, Rainbow Dash. If you're this serious about wanting to make it rain, let's go with the scientific method".
"Scientific method?" Rainbow repeated.
"Yes" Twilight nodded "We can make it rain through the use of dry ice".
"Dry ice?" Rainbow asked in confusion "You can't dry ice off. It's always wet!"
"No, Dash" Twilight said flatly "Dry ice is actually a solid form of carbon dioxide with several different applications. It's isn't real ice!"
"And how exactly can we make it rain with something like that?" Rainbow asked rhetorically.
"Well..." Twilight was about to begin the long elaboration on how the process worked, but the bored expression on Rainbow's face stopped her short and she sighed. " Nevermind. Just follow me" she said as she walked to the school gate "I have an idea".
Placing Pinkie's party cannon in the center of the park, the group placed a large cube of dry ice from Twilight's lab into the barrel.
Alright, Pinkie" Twilight was directing the partygirl as she looked through a sextant "Aim three degrees up. Not five, three! Now a bit to the right. No, more to the left! Wait, not that much! That's it! Just a little nudge downward. Aaand, perfect! Hold it right there!"
At Twilight's instructions, Pinkie had positioned the cannon at a small cloud that had recently appeared.
"Okay then" Twilight explained to Rainbow Dash "There's a single cloud in the sky right now. By firing the dry ice at it, it will cause a reaction that will indue the cloud to rain".
"This better work" Rainbow Dash groused.
"Trust me" Twilight said confidently "It'll work fine" she then turned to the rest of the group "Is everyone ready?"
"As ready as we'll ever be" Sunset shrugged.
"Wait a moment!" Rarity was crying as she dug through her purse "I need to find my umbrella! I don't want my hairdo to be ruined!"
"For Dash's sake, I hope this works" Fluttershy prayed.
Twilight then turned to her assistant "All set, Pinkie Pie?"
"Ready when you are, Twilight!" Pinkie saluted as she stood ready beside the cannon.
"Okay, then" Twilight instructed as she looked into the sky "Ready" everyone covered their ears and cowered "Aim!" Pinkie Pie grabbed the cord of the cannon "FIRE!"
With a yank, Pinkie set the cannon off with a loud "Blammo!", causing the dry ice cube to be launched into the sky. As everyone watched, the cube flew on a direct course with the cloud. Higher and higher it soared until it eventually reached the cloud...only to soar directly over it and fall back down to earth without coming into contact with the cloud.
'Darn it!" Twilight stomped her foot "i should've gone with seven degrees east instead of ten degrees west!"
As the group watched, the dry ice fell downward even faster than when it went up, until it disappeared somewhere over the horizon.
"Hmm, where do you suppose it landed?" Pinkie Pie had to ask.
At that moment, there came a familiar fancy ringtone. Holding her umbrella with one hand, Rarity searched through her purse until eventually producing her cellphone and answering it.
"Hello?" she spoke into the mouthpiece.
"Uh, Rarity" the voice of her sister, Sweetie Belle, spoke from the other end "I don't know how to tell you this, but there's a large block in the middle of your boutique and a big hole in the ceiling".
Her eyes wide with shock, Rarity angrily turned towards a sheepish Twilight and Rainbow Dash, her brows twitching furiously.
"Uh, oops? " Twilight said with an embarrassed shrug.
After that debacle, Rainbow had gone home to be by herself. After a while, Fluttershy decided to go over and see if she could cheer Dash up. Reaching Rainbow's house, Fluttershy entered and made a beeline straight for the bedroom.
Upon opening the door, however, the animal lover was shocked to see the athlete trying to force close an overpacked suitcase on her bed.
"Come on, you stupid thing! Shut already!" Rainbow gritted through exertion.
"Rainbow, what are you doing?" Fluttershy had to ask.
"What does it look like I'm doing, Shy?" Rainbow asked as she sat on her case to use her body weight "I'm following Pinkie's second suggestion, is what!"
"You're actually going to run?" Fluttershy asked.
"Flutters, I have no choice!" Rainbow replied as the luggage finally shut and she slid off it "You saw what happened! There's no way I can make it rain! The only other thing I can do is to get out of town before Applejack gets a hold of me! I wonder how far I can get at 50 miles an hour"."
"But, Rainbow" Fluttershy said, tears in her eye "You'd actually leave me behind?"
"I don't have to!" Dash replied as she picked up the case "You can come with me! Just think of it, Shy, you and me living on the open road!"
Fluttershy shook her head "Rainbow, I can't leave town! Among other reasons, the animals at the shelter depend on me too much, I just can't abandon them".
"Well, I'm sorry, Flutters" Rainbow said while walking past her girlfriend "But the only option I have is to put as much distance between me and Applejack as possible".
With that, Rainbow was about to leave, but stopped when she found her way being blocked by the rest of her friends standing in the doorway.
"Rainbow," Twilight said firmly "You can't just run".
"Oh, no?" Dash scoffed with sarcasm "You forget how fast I am on the track and fiel-"
"No, she means literally" Pinkie cut in "I know this was my idea, but after second thoughts, I realized that it might not work. If she's really upset with you, there's a chance Applejack will keep chasing after you".
The suitcase slipping out of her hand, Rainbow fell onto her bed "You mean no matter where I go, I'll never get away from Applejack?!"
"Sorry" Pinkie replied with a shrug.
"Oh, great!" Rainbow groaned as slapped her hands over her face while Fluttershy tried to comfort her "So in other words, the only thing I can do is accept the fact that I'm toast!"
"Not necessarily" Sunset shook her head "I did some thinking before coming over, and there's still one option open to you".
"Like what, Sunset?" Rainbow asked with a hollow laugh "I can't make it rain, and running won't help. Frankly, there's absolutely nothing I can do to stop Applejack from strangling me!"
"Not quite" Sunset said firmly "There's one last thing you can try in order to make it rain".
"Oh, yeah? What's that?" Rainbow had to ask sarcastically.
"Simple" Sunset replied with a knowing look "Remember what I said before? Like I told you, Pegasi manipulate the weather physically".
Half an hour later found Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, both in their Ponied Up forms, high in the sky above the park as they flew around an ever growing cloud.
"You sure this is going to work, Sunset?" Rainbow Dash asked into a walkie-talkie as she pressed a cloud into the mass.
"It should" Sunset replied from the other end on the ground, looking up at the sky along with the others "Since you and Fluttershy have Pegasus magic, then logically speaking, you should have the power to make a storm cloud".
"I still can't believe we were able to make clouds out of thin air" Rainbow said in disbelief as she cradled the walkie-talkie under her ear while she worked.
"It wasn't exactly out of nothing" Sunset explained "There's still a bit of moisture in the air, so you two were able to spin it into the form of clouds, and by compacting them together, that makes a bigger cloud, which in turn, should mean more rain".
"Alright, enough with the egghead lecture" Rainbow rolled her eyes "Just let us know when we're done".
"It's starting to turning dark" Sunset replied "Just a little more and it should be ready".
"Gotcha" Rainbow said with a nod before disconnecting the call. She then turned to fellow flier "Thanks a lot for helping me out with this, Flutters" she said gratefully.
"Well, I figured you needed it" Fluttershy replied "And since I'm your girlfriend, it wouldn't feel right not to be there for you when you needed me".
"Ah, thanks, Shy" Rainbow Dash blushed as she added another cloud "I think this relationship is going to work out fine. Anyway, I think Sunset said we need just about one more and we're finished".
"You mean like this?" Fluttershy asked as she held up a good-sized cloud before jamming it into the rest.
"Great!" Rainbow said before pressing the transmit button her walkie-talkie "How's it look from down there?"
"Perfect!" Sunset cried with a confirmed nod "That's it! I believe it's ready!"
"That's a relief!" Rainbow Dash said with a loud breath.
"Now for the final touch" Sunset instructed "You have to hit it enough to make the rain come down".
"Heh, no problem!" Rainbow bragged before putting the walkie-talkie away and cracking her fingers "Flutters, you better stand back".
Getting a good five feet away, Fluttershy watched as Rainbow worked. Moving in close to the cloud, the prismatic girl psyched herself up and stretched until she was ready. Floating calmly, Dash did nothing but stand perfectly still with her eyes closed.
Suddenly, her eyes popped open in determination.
"Ai-Ya!" she cried as she brought her hand down on the cloud with a karate chop.
In response, the cloud just jiggled.
Rainbow stood flabbergasted before a frown appeared on her face.
"Let me try again" she declared before backing up.
"Hee-Ya!" she shouted as she did a roundhouse spin and lashed out her leg, which made contact with the cloud, causing it to rumble.
Lightly rumble. And nothing else.
Dash just gritted her teeth in frustration, unable to believe nothing she tried was working.
Looking down to the ground below her, Rainbow thought of what was to await her if this didn't work. The image of her turned into a bloody pulp burned into her brain. Her eyes narrowing in determination, she decided to try one last thing.
"Okay, let's see how this works!" she cried outloud before flying a good five miles away from the cloud in record time.
Watching nervously, Fluttershy saw Rainbow take a long start before suddenly dive bombing up the cloud with her hands out at incredible speed.
Like a falling comet, Rainbow struck the cloud headfirst, resulting in a "Kra-koom!" as it rumbled and flashed.
After the collision, Rainbow found herself going into a tailspin as she fell back to earth. It was only by sheer luck that her crash landing only amounted to a small cloud of dust while she cried "Oof!"
"Rainbow!" Fluttershy cried as she landed before racing up to Dash, the others right behind her "Are you alright?"
"I think so, Flutters" Dash said woozily "Just as soon as the world stops spinning".
"She should be fine" Sunset said comforting.
"Do you think it worked?" Rarity asked.
Her question was answered when a drop of water came down on her shoulder and top. Another droplet then fell on Pinkie's poofy hair, then several more on Twilight's glasses.
Within a few seconds, a downpour started and light-medium drops came down rapidly.
Sputtering from the water on her face, Rainbow jumped up and looked into the sky.
"It's raining" she breathed before her face practically split down the middle "It's RAINING!"
"You did it, Rainbow!" Fluttershy cheered.
"I did!" Rainbow cried excitedly while taking Fluttershy's arms "I actually DID! Ahahahahaha! I can't believe I actually did it! Oh, man. Now my troubles are over!"
"Yeah" Pinkie Pie nodded before pointing off to the side "With Applejack at least. But what are you going to do about them?"
Turning in the direction Pinkie was looking, Rainbow felt her blood run cold as she gulped.
For there, soaked to the bone was a growing group of angrily muttered people. Among them were Bon Bon and Lyra, both in bathing suits obviously for sunbathing, a woman holding up a soaked shirt that was likely once on a laundry line, a few people grasping a ruined picnic basket and blanket, a man squeezing a can of car polish in his hand, and a whole team of angry little league baseball players; every one of them having a look in the eye that they were out for Rainbow's blood.
"Wow" Twilight said in surprise "Looks like Applejack was the only one upset that it wasn't raining".
"Uh heh" Rainbow Dash said sheepishly as she tugged on her shirt collar while the mob converged on her "Did I say I did this? That's ridiculous! Nobody can control the weather! I was just excited that the rain was back and thought it was my doing! I mean, these past few days have made me realize how important rain is for the environment! And I've learned from experience that it's completely irrational...to get...upset..over...it..." the words died in her throat when she saw that the mob wasn't listening and were instead approaching her murderously.
At that moment, Rainbow's instincts kicked in. In a flash of prismatic color, she took off down the street as fast as she could while her furious, unintelligibly yelling, fist shaking pursuers chased after her, Fluttershy right behind to help her girlfriend.
The other Rainbooms just stood there in the rain, shocked at the sight they just saw.
"Wow, guess running was a good option after all" Pinkie Pie said simply.
The sun was shining brightly through the music room window as four of the seven Rainbooms waited for the rest of the group: Rarity and Pinkie Pie were sitting in seats with Pinkie listening to a hand-held radio, while Sunset and Twilight were moving a synthesizer.
"I hope the others get here soon" Sunset said as she looked at the clock "Our reservation time is for only half an hour".
"Don't worry, Sunny" Pinkie said encouragingly "They'll get here soon. And in the meantime, find something to entertain yourself like me with this radio I brought".
It turned out that they had to wait less than Pinkie figured, for at that moment, the door to the music room opened and in stepped two of the members they were waiting for.
The group was shocked to see Fluttershy supporting a battered and bruised Rainbow Dash wearing a cast on an arm and leg, a crutch under her unbroken arm, a gauze over her right eye and her cheeks puffed up.
"Good Heavens!" Rarity gasped at the sight "I thought she'd be able to outrun that mob!"
"She was" Fluttershy replied as she helped Rainbow Dash walk "But they outsmarted her. They realized the direction she was going, broke into two groups, and surrounded her. By the time I got to her, this was the state she was in" she turned her attention to her injured girlfriend as she eased her into a chair "Easy, easy".
"Oooooh" Rainbow moaned as she sat down "I hope that stubborn cowpoke appreciates everything I did for that farm of hers".
"Did someone call?" the last member of the Rainbooms inadvertently appeared at the door before walking in and observing the sight of her sports rival "Whoa. Ah hear tha yah went through a lot yesterday, but Ah didn' think it included this!"
Rainbow just affixed Applejack with a weak glare "Alright, alright, I brought the rain back. Are ya happy now?"
"Yea, mah apples got a good soakin' last night, so yer off tha hook" Applejack nodded "However, don' expect a 'thank yah', seein' as how it was yer fault in tha first place. Tha said, Ah will say sorry tha yah got beaten up by a vicious mob. Ah just hope yah learned a lesson from this".
"Yeah, yeah, yeah" Rainbow Dash said sarcastically " Can we just get on with rehearsal?"
"Sounds good to me" Sunset agreed.
"Me too" Twilight added.
"Likewise" Rarity imputed.
"I'm ready whenever you guys are" Fluttershy said "Rainbow, do you need my help holding your guitar?"
"OOH, HOLD ON A MINUTE, GUYS!"
"Huh?" everyone turned to the shout to see a certain partygirl.
"What's the matter, Pinkie?" Sunset asked.
"They're saying something about the drought we had!" Pinkie replied as she held her radio to her ear.
"Oh, Pinkie, I never want to talk about that again!" Rainbow moaned.
"No, really" Pinkie Pie said as she held out her walkman "This is important!"
As the group watched, the pink girl increased the volume on her radio, allowing the entire room to hear.
"And in regards to the sudden lack of rain the town has experience over the past five days when the weather reports were for a week long downpour" the news reporter over the radio said "Meteorologists have discovered that the cause was an unexpected shift in a tropical storm off the coast. However, scientists are still mystified by the surprise rain storm which appeared out of nowhere last night, whose origins will apparently remain unknown".
As Pinkie shut off the news report, the Rainbooms stood silently while they processed what they just heard.
"A shift in a tropical storm at sea?" Twilight said in surprise.
"There's no way Rainbow Dash could've been responsible for that" Sunset said with wide eyes "No matter how powerful Equestrian magic is here, there's no way it could reach all the way to the coast".
"Hey!" Pinkie said ecstatically "That means the heatwave wasn't Rainbow's fault!" she chuckled "Do ya hear, that Rainbow?! All this time, ought you got rid of the rain, and it turns out it was some cream act of nature! Funny, huh?"
"Uh, Pinkie?" Fluttershy said hesitantly.
"What?" Pinkie asked before Fluttershy gestured to Rainbow.
Instead of relief or humor on her face, the blue athlete just sat in her seat slackjawed and open mouthed while being silent.
"Rainbow?" Rarity asked in concern.
"It wasn't my fault?" Dash asked montonously.
"Looks like it" Sunset shrugged "Bet that's a load off-"
"Let me finish" Rainbow cut her off sharply "It wasn't my fault, that means" she turned to leer at a certain wide-eyed cowgirl, her remaining eye narrowing into a g!are, her anger rising with each word "I was blamed, intimidated, threatened, tried to make it rain, was chased by a vicious mob, and beaten to a bloody mess FOR NOTHING?!"
"Um" Applejack gulped before meekly shrugging "Oops?"
Rainbow's face contorted and her teeth clenched as her blue skin turned a searing red, steam practically coming out of her ears while snorting like an angry bull.
"Now, Dash" Applejack said nervously as she slowly backed away "Take it easy! Yah don't want tah do anythin' yah don' want tah do!" she held her hands out in front of her as Rainbow rose to her feet with little difficulty "It was an honest mistake, really! Uh, would it help if Ah said 'My bad'?"
"APPLEJACK!" Rainbow Dash bellowed as she charged forward.
"Gah!" the cowgirl yelped in panic before hightailing it out of the room, Rainbow Dash hobbling after her at incredible speed.
"Oh, dear" Rarity commented to the rest of the group "Shouldn't we do something?"
"I know what to do" Fluttershy said with a feral grin before heading over to the music room window to look outside.
Sharing a mischievous look. the other Rainbooms joined her in watching Rainbow Dash chasing Applejack around the school yard, keeping pace remarkably well despite her broken leg as she repeatedly thwacked the cowgirl over the head with her crutch.
"Ooh! Ouch! Ah'm sorry, Dash!" Applejack was heard shouting through the whacks "Ow! Ooh! Ah'll make it up to yah! Ouch! Ah'll pay yer hospital bills! Ouch! Ow! Yer no longer blacklisted from buyin' Zap Apple Jam! Ow! Ow! Ah'll even thrown in a year's supply of cider! Ouch! Ooh! Yer gonna break tha crutch if yer not careful! Ow! Ouch! Ow!"
The other Rainbooms couldn't help but giggle and laugh.