Author's Note
Nothing like a deadline to inspire your wordcount, huh?
Rain and Shine
The first time Autumn Blaze watched the Wonderbolts perform was also the first time she visited Ponyville. She'd come to see the School of Friendship for herself, having heard that it was now accepting kirins, but wound up staying for the spectacular show the winged ponies in blue put on in the clouds overhead.
She stood, transfixed, for the longest time, mouth and eyes wide open. "Wow..." she'd breathed as she watched the coordinated stunts, blue figures streaking through the clouds, leaving colorful trails behind them, literally moving the weather.
For once, she found herself at a loss for words.
"Really are somethin', ain't they?" Applejack was gazing up, just like her, though she wore a fond smile on her orange muzzle. Autumn Blaze suspected that, one one had grown up with something like ponies that could fly, it wasn't quite as awe-inspiring.
"They are! This is incredible!" She watched one trail in particular, a mix of pale blue, yellow, and mint green. "I'd heard pegasuses...er, pegasi?...could do this. Control the weather. But I had no idea just how literal it was! It's inspirational, watching them literally become one with nature...
Applejack chuckled. "Nice to see y'still got a way with words." She gave her a friendly smile. "Y'know, I'm close friends with one of 'em. After the show, y'wanna come with me to meet 'em?"
Really, how could Autumn Blaze respond with anything other than an enthusiastic "Yes!"?
Getting to see the locker room the team was using was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It was almost surreal, seeing her first earth pony friend bicker and banter with the center lead of the team, a pegasus mare with a vivid rainbow mane and tail. Each member of the team greeted her with exuberance.
All save for one. She was a mare with a beautiful long, wavy mane in pale blue, green, and yellow, and huge eyes the color of a clear sky. She merely nodded and said a soft, polite "Hi."
All in all, it was a great day. Autumn Blaze wasn't certain her first day out of isolated Peaks of Peril could have gone any better. But it was just the first day of her week-long vacation, and she meant to take advantage of every minute out here.
She stayed at a little bed and breakfast in the center of Ponyville, right on the dirt road that held the town's bustling population. Just from her window, she could see several different shops, houses, apartments, and places to eat. In the early morning sunlight, she could see that a bakery right across from her was just starting to open. Her stomach grumbling made the decision for her.
One hoofful of bits on a countertop later, Autumn Blaze carried her sandwich--cucumber, carrot, and dandelion greens on barley-sunflower seed bread that smelled like it had come out of the oven just that morning--and mug of hot green tea to a wooden table near a window. There, she ate her sandwich while she pony-watched, the sight of so many different colors and shapes mingling pleasantly in her bright gold eyes.
The bells of the glass door sounded as it opened. Without thinking, Autumn Blaze turned her head in that direction. Her eyes widened in recognition. It was one of the Wonderbolts who had just entered. She'd been wearing that blue uniform that obscured most of her body and face, but Autumn Blaze recognized that long, beautiful, yellow-green-and-blue mane and tail.
She waited, watching with long ear in the pegasus mare's direction as she quietly made her order. Then, when she was carefully balancing her plate with one hoof, that was when Autumn Blaze waved one of her own. She caught the mare's eye; much to the kirin's amusement, she looked to one side, then another, as though looking for some other, more important pony that she might be calling over. She saw the pale fur of her cheeks turn pink when she realized that she was, in fact, the one Autumn Blaze wanted to speak to, and quickly trotted over.
"You're one of the Wonderbolts!" Autumn Blaze grinned, happy to see the quiet mare up close. "Gosh, that has to be the most exciting job in the world. What's it like?"
The mare shook her head. "Oh, no. I mean, not yet...I've gotten good enough that I made it to 'understudy.'"
"Well, that's still really afsum!" Autumn Blaze blinked and frowned, clicking her tongue against her row of top teeth a few times. "Awfs...awwwwwesome. Awesome!" She laughed at the blank look in the understudy's pale eyes. "Sorry; it's kind of a long story, but I was alone for...a long time." Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands, her shadow, could vouch for her. Probably. "Didn't have anypony to talk to in that time, so there's some words I need to practice saying."
"Huh..." The mare nodded slowly. "Being alone...that sounds nice, actually."
Autumn Blaze gazed at the steam rising from her mug. "It is...for a little while." She had no regrets for the decisions she'd made; she'd made her point, had gained what made her her back years ago, and was still proud of herself for it. But it certainly hadn't been easy.
"Oh...Gosh, I'm sorry." The pegasus mare's ears flicked back.
Autumn Blaze waved an olive green hoof dismissively. "It's fine; you're fine." She cleared her throat. "What's your name? I think yours is the only one I didn't catch."
"That's because I didn't throw it." She gave her a small smile. "My name's Vapor Trail. And you're...Autumn Whispers?"
"Autumn Blaze."
"Right, right. Rainbow Dash's friend brought you around." Vapor Trail beamed at her. "Getting to meet fans in between...that's one thing I like about all this." The corners of her smile drooped just the tiniest bit. "I mean...to an extent, that's the kind of attention I can handle."
Autumn Blaze had begun to heal and become more...normal when she'd been allowed back into the village and began interacting with her fellow kirins again once they had their emotions and voices back, but years of solitude and quiet didn't just go away overnight. So she didn't even think; she opened her mouth and blurted out the first question that came to her mind. "You don't like attention? Then why'd you become a Wonderbolt?"
She could have kicked herself. The minute the words left her muzzle, she knew they were the wrong ones; Vapor Trail proceeded to curl in on herself, pulling her head down close to her chest until she resembled a turtle more than a pony.
"Oh, shoot..." Autumn Blaze winced, lifting one of her hooves to her mouth. "I'm sorry; that's none of my business, is it? You don't have to answer that." It sounded judgmental, too; that was the last thing she wanted to be, especially to such an incredibly talented pony.
"No...no, I understand." She laughed weakly, a sound that held no humor. "It's...a good question. I'm surprised no one's asked me before you." She lightly moved her mug of cocoa to the side with a hoof. "I guess you could blame Sky Stinger."
Autumn Blaze nodded. "Was he on the team with you?" she asked.
Vapor Trail nodded. "He's an understudy like me. We've been friends for a long time; ever since we were foals. We come from different families; I hated attention, he loved it. But we both loved flying. It was his idea; when we were old enough, we'd try out for the Wonderbolts. It's honestly not so bad, once I'm up in the air and I get into the right headspace; then there's no audience or coach or anything like that, just...me. Doing what I love in the sky."
"So you're here because of a childhood promise?" Autumn Blaze sighed dreamily. "That's so romantic! Like a story you'd hear in a musical!"
"You think so?" Vapor trail chuckled, sounding a bit more genuine this time. "You're not the first creature to suggest that we're an item, you know."
Autumn Blaze blinked. "You're not?" She felt a bit silly. That was an old saying, after all; she knew what creatures said about assuming.
"No; not really." Vapor Trail shook her head, making that magnificent forelock sway to and fro. "I mean, he's never brought the idea up, and I've never really wanted to; it'd be like dating my brother." She giggled. "Not that I have a brother, but you know what I mean."
"Me, neither. I always wanted brothers or sisters, but my folks stopped after me." If she'd had siblings, she wondered how they would have dealt with what happened in their village. Would they have stayed by her side when she was banished, or would they have sided with the other villagers?
"Me, too!" Vapor Trail's eyes lit up.
Autumn Blaze grinned. "You know, I think we've got a lot in common."
Vapor Trail raised an eyebrow. "Huh...really?"
"Well, okay; maybe that's a bit of a stretch. But I still think you're super interesting! I'd like to get to know you better."
Vapor Trail blinked slowly. "You're...awfully honest."
Autumn Blaze shrugged, smiling. She didn't see the point in being anything else. Just as long as she didn't hurt anycreature's feelings, that was.
"I...think I'd like that, actually." The words mixed with the shy, sweet smile on Vapor Trail's pale lips made Autumn Blaze's heart flutter. "How long are you in Ponyville for?"
"Six more days!"
"Okay." Vapor Trail nodded, smile slowly growing over her velvety muzzle. "That sounds good."
The next day found the two of them at the Apple Farm. Applejack's family had begun opening their orchard for families to pick apples, something Autumn Blaze had wanted to try ever since the earth pony had told her about her family business. Besides that, it seemed just isolated enough that Vapor Trail would be comfortable.
"Heads up!" the pegasus called from up above. Autumn Blaze nodded, using her magic to lift up the straw basket.
"Here we go..." The kirin smiled as the leaves above her rustled and several pinkish-red apples fell from them. She used her magic to aim with the basket, catching all of them.
"Great job!" Vapor Trail smiled from above her before fluttering down, hooves landing daintily in the dirt.
"Thanks! Feels good to get complimented on my apple catching." It wasn't a profession Autumn Blaze had ever seriously considered, but maybe now she would. They had apples over in Kirin Grove, but they didn't smell anywhere near this good.
Vapor Trail giggled. "I think you're the best one I've ever seen." She shook her head, allowing her mane to fall around her face and neck in loose waves. Some of the branches and leaves that had become lodged in it were dislodged by the movement, but some were still stuck. Without thinking, Autumn Blaze reached out with one of her cloven hooves, gripping a twig and gently tugging it from the pegasus pony's forelock.
She didn't fully realize what she'd just done until she noticed the deepening pink on her new friend's cheeks.
She was about to say something, try to explain or apologize, but was interrupted by the sound of distant voices. "Hey! Isn't that the pony from the show a few days ago?"
"Oh no..." muttered Autumn Blaze. Judging from how Vapor Trail literally flinched away from the sound, she knew she'd heard them, too.
Sure enough, there was a small family of ponies trotting up to them. "Yeah!" one of the foals called, large grin on his tiny muzzle. "It's her! I recognize her mane."
"It's pretty!" said another one of the foals, a filly this time. "What kind of shampoo do you use?"
"Forget that! How do you get to be a Wonderbolt?"
"Do you have to be a pegasus pony, or can you join just so long as you have wings?"
With each question asked with such genuine childlike curiosity, Vapor Trail shrunk in on herself more and more, taking one step back.
Thinking quickly, Autumn Blaze stepped in front of her. "Yeah, being a Wonderbolt's really cool and all!" she exclaimed. "But have you kids ever been to a live musical before?"
The foals turned to look at each other, eyes wide. "Uh...no?" the colt said, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh?" Autumn Blaze grinned. "So you've never heard any of the songs from Ghoul of the Opera?"
The small family shook their heads.
Autumn Blaze lifted a cloven olive hoof to her muzzle, cleared her throat, and then proceeded to belt out the first few lines of Masquerade.
When she finished, she was met by a crowd of gaping jaws and wide eyes. "Wow!" cried the filly, rearing up on her hind legs and excitedly waving her front hooves. "That was amazing!"
Autumn Blaze tilted her head. "The song, or my singing?"
"Both!" exclaimed the colt. "I wanna see the whole thing now!"
The kirin chuckled. "Well, I think I could see about getting the show on the road. Maybe even bring it here to Ponyville! What do you all think of that?"
The foals gave a round of cheers before galloping off on their tiny, chubby legs, presumably to tell others about the small show that had just been put on for them.
"Wow..." The voice behind her was so soft, she wasn't sure she would have caught it if it weren't for her large ears. "That was...beautiful!"
Autumn Blaze turned to face Vapor Trail. She had that same look of awe. "Thanks! It's one of my favorite musicals; I've memorized all the songs by heart." She wasn't sure if singing them over and over again after her banishment had helped her sanity or hurt it. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah; fine." The pegasus gave her a weak smile. "Thank you, by the way. For drawing their attention away from me."
"Anytime." Autumn Blaze used her magic to lift the basket back up, meaning to make her way to the next tree.
"Seriously, though..." Vapor Trail trotted up next to her. "Your voice...it's incredible."
"Thanks! I was in the chorus in my village. I actually know all about being an understudy, myself!" She was not bitter about not getting the role as Sally Bowlegged in Cabaret, thank you very much. Even if she knew, for a fact, that she had more stage presence than that suck-up Tea Flower. Possibly the greatest thing about the whole village stepping into the Stream of Silence was that, for years, Autumn Blaze hadn't had to hear her uppity high-pitched voice.
"Do you...um..." She was blushing again. The deep pink looked nice against her pale seafoam-green fur. "Do you think you could sing for me like that again?"
Autumn Blaze beamed at her. "I'd be happy to!"
"Oh...why did the Ponyville pegasi decide to schedule a rain storm today of all days?" Vapor Trail's impossibly long forelock obscured her eyes, but Autumn Blaze could still tell that the look on her face was completely morose as she gazed out the window. Rain poured down the glass in rivulets, obscuring the sight of the normally bustling town outside.
"Oh, it's not all bad!" Autumn Blaze blew a stream away from the top of her black tea. "It needs to rain sometimes; that's how you get rainbows!"
Vapor Trail turned ever so slightly to give her a smile. "That's true."
"Besides, there's really nothing like a grey, rainy day where you can stay inside and just curl up near the fireplace with a hot drink. Except for a snowy day, maybe; it's colder then, so the warmth feels even more yummy." As if to prove her point, Autumn Blaze hunkered down even further into the easy chair near her bed and breakfast's fireplace in the parlor. Vapor Trail was curled up in the window seat nearest her; across from them was a large shelf of books. From what she understood about Ponyville, the collection was nowhere near as large as the library that used to reside here, but Autumn Blaze had been having a fun enough time with it, just the same.
Really, if it had to rain during her stay in this town, Autumn Blaze was glad it was when she got to stay in this adorable, cozy little place.
"I guess you're right. It is cozy in here." Vapor Trail sighed and leaned back against the cushions. "It's a bummer that I can't train today, but on the flip side, that means I get to relax with my new friend."
Autumn Blaze beamed at her before taking a long, loud sip from her tea.
This was nice, she decided. But she wasn't feeling the warmth from the fireplace quite enough, she decided. Using her magic, she let her mug of tea hover at the same time she pulled a soft-looking throw from a nearby basket. Then she lifted herself out of the easy chair and plopped herself smack dab in the front of the fireplace, where she draped the old blanket around her withers, then took another sip from her tea. She sighed, contentedly watching as the orange and yellow flames danced inside the brick fireplace.
She caught something out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head just in time to see a shiver run through Vapor Trail's body.
She frowned. "Hey..." she said, catching the pegasus's attention enough to make her turn her head in her direction. With a smile, Autumn Blaze used her magic to open up the throw.
Vapor Trail blinked slowly, seeming to take a moment to realize what it was Autumn Blaze was offering. When she did, her cheeks colored--Autumn Blaze found that she was getting to like the sight--and she used her wings to lift her up and out of the window seat.
When she was cuddled up next to her, Autumn Blaze used her magic to pull the blanket tight around the two of them. They were now close enough that she could smell her; there was the earthy smell of ponies, but besides that there was something extra, something ethereal, like what Autumn Blaze had always imagined the clouds and the sunshine and the sky would smell.
Yet again, she found herself blurting out the first thing that came to her mind. "You smell good." A bit awkward, maybe, but at least it was something nicer than last time.
"Oh! Um..." Autumn Blaze was almost certain that Vapor Trail's blush had nothing to do with the heat from the fireplace or the blanket. "Th-thank you? You do, too." With that, she nuzzled up to her, her head against her neck.
"I've had a great time here in Ponyville," Autumn Blaze said, still letting her thoughts flow freely from her mouth and throat. "I've had a lot of fun, gotten to see a lot of neat new things, taste a bunch of great new foods, meet a lot of great ponies." She lightly bumped Vapor Trail with one of her withers. "And I have to say...I think you're my favorite of them. Thanks for hanging out with me; you've made these last few days special."
A strange sound came from deep within Vapor Trail's body. She was clearing her throat, she realized. Blinking rapidly, Autumn Blaze pulled away far enough to look at her face. Without thinking, she used her magic to pull that forelock away, giving her a clear view of those beautiful eyes. "I...Um..." Vapor Trail looked away, looking sheepish, even for her.
"What is it?" They hadn't known each other for very long, but Autumn Blaze still hoped she could trust her enough to tell her whatever it was that was on her mind.
It looked like, finally, it was Vapor Trail's turn to blurt something out. "Can I kiss you?" The words rushed by so quickly that Autumn Blaze could barely catch them.
Time seemed to stand still right then and there. The only sounds either creature could hear were the rain on the roof and the crackling of the fire.
"I, um..." Vapor Trail's ears flicked back, laying flat against her skull. "I'm sorry, I just...I thought I was catching signals from you, but if I was wrong, then--"
Autumn Blaze leaned forward, pressing her lips against Vapor Trail's. They were soft and warm, and tasted of the hot cocoa with whipped cream she'd had earlier.
She was smiling as she pulled away; Vapor Trail, on the other hoof, looked dumbfounded. "Don't worry; I caught them."
"Okay." There it was; Vapor Trail's beautiful smile. "That's good." With that, she leaned forward and kissed her again.
They might have stayed like that for a much, much longer time, but the tinkling of bells made them both jump, up and away from each other. The door to the bed and breakfast had opened.
Autumn Blaze turned her head to look over her shoulder. The pony checking in was a middle-aged unicorn stallion. He gave a quick glance to the two of them, but only that, making her sigh a breath of relief. As soon as the distant voices were finished and the stallion lifted up his suitcase with his magic, she burst into giggles, holding her stomach with her forelegs. Instead of bursting into flames of embarrassment, Vapor Trail joined her, leaning against her, breath coming out in short bursts against the fur of her neck.
"Willing to bet you don't want an audience for..." Autumn Blaze waved her hoof between the two of them. "This. Right?"
"Right."
"You wanna head up to my room?"
Vapor Trail pressed her forehead against hers. "I thought you'd never ask."
The day to check out of the bed and breakfast came far too soon. Autumn Blaze hadn't come with much, but she still drew out how long it took for her to pack up, just the same.
Vapor Trail had promised to write to her over in Kirin Grove. That was a comfort. But she didn't think that would stop her from missing her.
Her ears perked up at the sound of sharp knocking at her door. Thinking it was Vapor Trail come to see her off, Autumn Blaze trotted over quickly, practically yanking the door open with her magic.
It was a pegasus with a cool color scheme, but not the one she'd been expecting--hoping--to see. This pony was a stallion, for one thing; the differences between earth pony, unicorn, and pegasus mares and stallions seemed to be more pronounced than they were for kirins. His coat was a deep teal (or maybe aqua? some variant of blue-green), and his mane and tail were a shock of green. His brows were knit firmly over eyes the same color as his lightning bolt-shaped forelock. "Are you Autumn Blaze?"
She nodded. "Yep, that's me. My folks named me that because I was born in the fall; my mane was the color of falling leaves and fire," she babbled. Judging from the look on the stallion's face, he wasn't amused by that anecdote. "Why do you ask?"
"You just stared dating Vapor Trail." The stallion's wings raised; it looked like he didn't even realize he was doing it. "I'd like to have some quick words about that."
Something clicked in Autumn Blaze's mind. "Oh! You must be Sky Stinger!"
The stallion blinked, looking like he was caught a bit off guard. "Uh...yeah." The expression on his face melted; he grinned. "So you've heard about me?"
"Oh sure! Vapor Trail told me all about your foalhoods together. It was such a sweet story!"
He nodded. "Okay...so you know about that." He cleared his throat into one of his fetlocks. "So you know how important she is to me. You know I don't want her getting hurt. Mind telling me about your...intentions...with her?"
Autumn Blaze's eyes widened in recognition. "Ooh! Is this the 'Shovel Talk' I've heard about?"
Sky Stinger blinked rapidly again, ears flicking back for a second. "I, uh...Well, I don't know if I'd go that far, but..."
She nodded, understanding. "I totally get it. You two love each other, and you're protective of her. That's only normal." She lifted up a hoof and laid it where his wings met his withers. "We just started this whole...whatever it is. I can't see the future; my magic doesn't let me do that. So I can't say if we'll, like, be together forever or not." She gave him a smile she hoped was reassuring. "What I do know is that I like your friend. A lot. And I really want to get to know her better. What I do know is that the last thing I ever, ever want to do is hurt her."
Sky Stinger glared at her in a thoughtful way before slowly nodding. "I guess that's the best I can hope for, huh?"
Autumn Blaze shrugged.
"Okay. Cool. I believe you." He then waved a hoof between his eyes and hers. "But if I hear that you've done or said anything that even remotely hurt her feelings..."
"I'll be happy to suffer the consequences," Autumn Blaze said with a nod.
With that, Sky Stinger left, closing the door behind her, giving her the privacy to finish packing.
The sky was dotted with only a few fluffy clouds as she made her way to the train station. She folded her forelegs on top of her luggage, sighing morosely as she waited.
She looked up, hoping that watching the clouds would make her happy. It used to back when she was in exile. On the horizon, she saw a speck. She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side, trying to make out why the greenish-white looked so familiar.
As it grew closer and closer, her eyes widened. She supposed she should have known; she recognized the yellow, green, and blue tail left behind.
"You're here!" Autumn Blaze cried as the mare's hooves landed delicately on the wooden platform. Her wild mane was even more wild than usual, mussed from the wind. Her cheeks were flushed, highlighting how her smile met her clear-sky eyes.
"You didn't think I'd let you leave without saying goodbye, did you?" She trotted up to her and threw her forelegs around her neck. Autumn Blaze returned the embrace, committing the smell of the clear wind in her fur and hair to mind.
"Guess I shouldn't have," she chuckled. She pulled away just enough to look her in the eyes. "You meant what you said, right? That you'll write?"
"Of course." She pressed her nose against hers, nuzzling. "I'll get my letters to you if I have to fly there myself."
That was just the step their relationship needed, Autumn Blaze decided. "Do you promise?"
The train pulled up just as Vapor Trail kissed her. "I promise."
