Cloudsdale Flight School. A place where pegasi fillies and colts master the art of flight and other flight-related stuff. As two fillies played with each other around the playclouds, an older, amber coated stallion with a golden mane approached them.
"Hey, you two! It's already time, and it happens to be my class you're running late in!" he said. He clearly wasn't the physical education teacher as he was not sporting a whistle and a mean look, but a pair of reading glasses and a worried one.
The yellow filly knew who he was. "Hey, Mister Meteor! We're sorry we, we lost track of time and--"
She was cut off by the cyan filly, who explained, "Sorry, Mr. Meteor, it was clearly my fault. Please, leave Fluttershy out of this, I'll take full blast of the consequences."
"But Dash--"
"'Shy, please. I don't want this to happen to you--"
"Rainbow, I am willing to take full responsibility as well." Alas, the yellow filly, won after staring at her daring friend.
The teacher was in shock. "Fluttershy? I request that you do not perform that staring action in future circumstances." He then smiled. "Come now, the three of us are waited upon."
The class that Meteor handled, dealt with worst case scenarios before and during accidents while flying. Luckily, for everyone, it wasn't the practical phase, as Meteor temporarily postponed all incoming practical exams since Rainbow Dash, Thunderlane, Hoops and Billy engaged in a free-for-all dogfight due to rough play between the four.
After class was done, Meteor approached Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, who were surprisingly staying inside the classroom despite class hours being over.
"Well, isn't class over? Why stay here? This room is going to be used by the team, you know." he said.
"Well, Mr. Meteor--"
"Shy, class is over. Call me Uncle Meteor." the stallion interrupted, reminding the filly of their blood relation.
The yellow filly took a deep breath.
"Well, Uncle Meteor, it's Rainbow. She just got word that her mom got into an accident with bad weather, and she just passed. She's been staring outside ever since."
The yellow filly presented the note to her uncle.
"What? Fractal has passed away due to severe electrocution?" he said as he examined the letter from the hospital.
The cyan filly broke into tears while listening.
"Father died the same way. After he got electrocuted while protecting the Princess from a potential assassin." Dash said. "He knew that his twin brother took up a dangerous job, and he had the feeling something would happen, so my dad took the armor, and he flew away to guise as his brother, virtually perfect incognito.
"It happened two months before my birth. People thought it was my uncle who's the royal guard that got zapped and lived. It was actually my father. Who didn't. My mother should know. She said that my father was opposite his brother, in personality. Father was real serious, simple and determined, my uncle wasn't. He won't realize I'm all alone until a week or two. Not at all."
She stopped and cried. "What should I do, my uncle lives in Canterlot. I don't wanna leave Fluttershy...she's my one true friend..."
Meteor, thinking of a way, offered Rainbow a tissue and something. "Hey, Dash. How's about you stay with me for the meantime?"
The filly's prismatic mane lit up and interchanged it's various colors comically, complete with its own arcade-like sounds. "Really, Mr. Meteor? You'd do that for me?" The stallion felt nervous. 'This filly had a lot of red marks on her permanent record...' "Well, you did earn your cutie mark with a dazzling array. Wish I was there to see it." 'Ah, what the heck. Maybe she could show me a Sonic Rainboom, just for me!'
Fluttershy was thrilled, knowing that her first and best friend would stay, even for a bit longer.
"Yay! Rainbow's staying!" she jumped up again and again, her voice not that audible as they passed down the hallway towards the time tracking machine.
"But, Mr. Meteor? Can I uh, I dunno...I uh, wanna repay you somehow." Dash pressed the topic at the teacher, well, off-duty teacher, as he has already clocked out.
"You name it. I have a spare room in my house, which has a skylight so you could go out and stretch your wings." he added. "I have one installed in my room too. Though my sister doesn't really like the idea."
"Your sister lives with you?" Dash asked.
"My sister is 'Shy's mom. That's how it connects. And no, I live next door to the 'Shy's." Meteor explained.
"Wow, speaking of Shy's parents...I haven't met them yet." Dash asked.
"You could meet my mom today. My dad however, he's probably in the basement."
"Joe's sleeping from an all-nighter again? Oh Luna..." Meteor chuckled.
The three pegasi took off.
Well, since Fluttershy opted to sit on her uncle's back, practically two pegasi took off.
"So, you know this path?" Meteor asked as they took a path that rarely anyone flew in.
Dash nodded and asked, "Why is it always empty?"
Meteor smiled. "Because every pegasus is scared off their cutie marks of it. Why? Every night, right about seven, a spooky figure appears in this road. A black pegasus with red eyes, truly an evil sight. One filly flew into this road at just that time, and she vanished. But the next morning, she was found in her bedroom, trembling like a vibra---oof! I meant, a, uhh, a frog's gullet every time it croaks!"
"What's a frog?" Dash asked.
"A frog is a little green fellow who makes babies in water. The babies are called tadpoles." Fluttershy said. Dash, now confused, said, "'Shy, I can't believe I'm saying this but you have to show me this 'ground' thing one day." This made Fluttershy smile and nod.
'Dinner with 'Shy and her folks. I'm nervous.' Dash said as her teeth ground together.
"You look like a nervous stallion about to meet his marefriend's parents!" Meteor said. "Well, even if you did have a crush on 'Shy, there's no time for it to escalate."
Meteor caught glimpse of his older sister, a fine mare with Shy's yellow coat, mesmerizing green eyes and a vibrant green mane. "Margaret! How are you?" he asked.
"Well, you have a guest." Margaret said, taking notice of Dash. "Is this 'that' filly?" she wondered.
"What filly, mom?" Fluttershy asked.
"I saw her display of colors not too long ago, and it shook the whole house!" Margaret said, sounding like an irresponsible high school filly. "The Sonic Rainboom, dear. It finally happened. Guess Joe lost his end of the bet."
A set of hooves came from the basement passage, and everyone's attention was caught. A rugged albeit a bit skinny stallion with an orange coat, deep blue eyes and a silky pink, yet as short as Dash's, mane. "So, I lost the bet, huh? That a Sonic Rainboom is nothing but a mare's tale?" he said.
"DADDY! YOU'RE AWAKE AGAIN!" The yellow filly pounced at her father with no second thought, knocking the stallion's glasses off. "Flutter, darling. I can't see without my glasses..." He put his daughter down and searched for his glasses, until a rainbow blur caught his blurry eyes. "Margaret, you win."
Margaret laughed at her husband thinking that Dash's tail is the semi-famous Sonic Rainboom. Meteor and Dash were laughing as well. Dash saw the glasses, grabbed it, and put it on her friend's father before she herself blinked.
"Hey, I can see again! So, you did the Sonic Rainboom I saw?" He walked to Dash, frozen in flight. "Amazing, her wings are smaller than Flutters', but look at that tone! It's equivalent to the muscle mass of an Apple pony!"
"A pony could be an Apple?" Dash wondered.
"Well, not the fruit thing down at the ground. I'm talking about a family of Earth ponies devoted to cultivating the best apples and apple-related foods the non-flyers and some lucky Pegasi have tasted!" Joe stared at midair and started to drool.
"Oh, think of it. Red Delicious, golden Delicious, apple fritters, apple bumpkins, apple pies, apple cider, ooh! That'll be great! How's about after I get these new designs for the Royal Guard armor sent and well, minutes later they'll pay me...we go to that small town named Ponyville and get us some apples?"
Margaret sighed. Meteor facehoofed.
"Why, what's the prob? Hey, Burning?" Joe asked.
"Jeez, Louise. Joe, you'll forget again, that's the prob." Meteor said. "Plus, what about Dash? Tachyon's girl is pushing up daisies now. I put it to myself that she stay with me until she finished flight school!" The atmosphere changed from a lively, yet spicy to a dark and blue one.
Joe was shocked at the news. "Fractal's..."
"...gone?" Margaret sadly interjected. "What happened?"
Dash, refusing to let any more tears out, stood firm and spoke. "The otto...atop...at--"
"Autopsy report?" Joe corrected, still shook by the revelation.
"Yeah, that. It said, 'Lightning strike.' But mother did have the habit of going to the dismal parts of the Everfree forest only to get those berries we loved so much. She said, it felt like father is still here when we ate the berries. I could feel it too."
Seeing that everypony was shocked at the revelation, Rainbow Dash shook it off. "Besides, my parents want me to be strong no matter what happened! I'll never let my loved ones hanging, yeah, that's it!" Dash felt good, it's as if a harmonic energy was scattering, from her own soul.
The adults were surprised at Dash's motivational if not heroic statement. But Fluttershy was happy. She was happy that her friend wasn't gloomy anymore.
Author's Note
Comment please! It's much scarier if no one speaks than if everypony speaking away. Comments help the author and stuff...
