The cold air hit my body as I flew through the air right behind Fluttershy on our trip to Cloudsdale.  It was Hearth’s Warming Eve and it was going to be dark soon…which meant it was going to get even freaking colder…I just want to get this over with so I can go back to Fluttershy’s and relax…not deal with my Father who abandoned me.

I sighed as eventually the big sky city eventually appeared on the horizon as I looked up to see the sun starting to set…I wonder if it’s Celestia doing it this time or if Luna is doing it again.  Anyways…when we flew over the city I noticed that the streets were completely deserted…the same as the last time I was here so it doesn’t surprise me.  The cloud buildings all looked completely sealed and actually a little worn out from constant use without new clouds to replace the older ones along with the unkempt roads and eerily quiet sounding city.  It almost looked like the city was transformed into a freaking dump overnight…but then again a water shortage will do that to a city made out of water huh?  

After we were started getting closer to the higher part of Cloudsdale I quickly flew up and tapped the yellow mare ahead of me and pointed down at the ground signaling us to land.  Fluttershy nodded before she went down and landed in front of a huge cloud hill that led to the upper and fancier part of Cloudsdale.  I sighed in relief that we made it and quickly landed next to her, folding up my wings immediately upon landing.

“Well…welcome back to Cloudsdale…” I then happily said, introducing her back to her original hometown as I held out a hoof towards the desolate and almost frozen looking cloud city, “How long has it been since you were last here?” I then asked curiously as I turned to face her as she folded her wings back up and looked around…shivering slightly from the cool air.

“Since we went to the Best Young Flyers Competition…” She answered in a matter of fact fashion as she looked at me without the slightest bit of enthusiasm in her voice…she doesn’t sound too thrilled to be here obviously.

“Geez that was a long time ago…you really need to get out to Cloudsdale more…” I joked trying to raise her spirits as I walked up to her with a grin on my face and nudged her slightly causing her to sway lightly…I mean come on…all that time and she’s only been here once after she went to Ponyville?  I have to come here like almost every other freaking day due to my weather duties…

“Th-That’s ok…this place doesn’t have much sentimental value to me…” She then said in a softer tone and with a slight stammer as she looked away from me and at the cloudy ground.

“Doesn’t have much sentimental value?” I repeated in a loud and shocked tone as I moved a hoof away from her and cocked my head at her, an eyebrow raised as looked at her completely confused.  “You’ve lived here for years!  How could you not have some kind of fondness for this place?” I then asked a bit seriously as I raised my right fore hoof up.  I mean come on…you can’t live in a city for years without having some kind of attachment to it!

“The only happy times I had here was with you…so therefore this place doesn’t mean that much to me…y-you do…” The butter colored mare explained softly before closing her eyes and moving her head so her mane hide her face and the light shade of crimson that was now appearing on it.

“Fl-Fluttershy…” I simply said even more shocked than before as I my mouth dropped and I just stood there staring at her, feeling my own face start to heat up with a blush from what she said…I mean…I knew we our time together when we younger meant a lot to her…but not to that degree…

“That’s why I’m happy where I live now…because it’s where we both live…” She then said a tad bit louder as she looked at me with her lips slightly curved and her cyan eyes slightly quivering as her face was completely flustered with a blush…which…was actually kind of touching me…and unfortunately giving me some thoughts which shouldn’t be coming up right now…better make light of this situation before my thoughts go too deep into the gutter.

“Heh…guess your right…where you live isn’t awesome unless I’m there…” I agreed jokingly with a smirk before closing my eyes and looking down as the smirk slowly turned into a genuine smile…wanting to show her some appreciation for her statement as it really did mean something to me by hearing her say that,  “Thanks Fluttershy…” I then thanked sincerely as I opened my eyes and looked up at her with that smile still on my lips making her blink a few times in shock before looking away again.

“N-No…it…it’s ok…” She shrugged in an almost inaudible whisper…I had to strain myself just to hear it.  After I heard it I just chuckled and shook my head slightly…same old Fluttershy…

“Well let’s get going…” I replied as I turned around facing the large mountain of clouds we landed in front of before started to trot up the cloud hill.  I looked back to see Fluttershy thankfully keeping pace with me and following right behind me.  I slowed up a bit so she could trot alongside me as we trekked up this stupidly huge mountain of fluff.  As we scaled it and got higher into the air it started to get colder…much colder…as I knew it would since we’re getting higher in the thin atmosphere…this is the part where normal non-Pegasi ponies would start to get light headed and even pass out.

“Wow it’s really cold here…” I heard Fluttershy point out, stating the painfully obvious as I looked over to see her shivering with her wings wrapped around her body and her tail wrapped around one of her legs as we continued to walk up the quiet and lifeless hill that only had a few cloud homes that looked completely sealed to keep out the outdoor cold.

“Yeah when its winter this place is like the Popsicle capital of the skies…and with the water shortage there’s no heating here whatsoever so I bet everypony is either at home or somewhere on the ground where it’s warmer…especially since it’s Hearths Warming Eve.” I jokingly responded

“You’ll rarely see a Pegasus out and flying since they’re wings might freeze up and cause them to fall…and if they’re source feather freezes they won’t be able to land on the soft clouds and instead to their dooms….

“I-I know Rainbow…we’ve spent winters together…and you should know my wings never come close to freezing…” Fluttershy responded as I clearly heard her teeth chattering and looked over to see her shivering even more…and when a gust of wind came by she stopped and lowered head making a little whimpering sound.  Even I was shaking uncontrollably from that sudden blast of cold air.

“Yeah I know...”  I said with a slight nod as I knew my teeth would be chattering soon as well…then a thought  popped into my head…which was crazy…but I smirked and decided to act on it, “But I think I’d still like for you to stay warm…” I then said in slightly mischievous tone as I started to walk up to her, unfolding my right wing out as I did so.

“W-What are you doing?” The now frightened and nervous mare asked as she backed up slightly away from me…but not far away enough or fast enough to escape me as I quickly walked up next to her and wrapped my wing around her side and then slowly pressed her body against mine…immediately feeling her soft and gentle fur along with her comforting warmth as she brushed up against me...

“Sharing our body heat…it’s the best way to beat the cold right now isn’t it?” I teasingly responded as I looked at the quickly flustering mare as her eyes widened and her pupils dilated from the shock of what just happened…in the meantime I was just reveling in the heat and feeling of having her up against me…I started to feel my other wing start to extend out on its own as impure thoughts entered my mind…like how my wing wrapped around her is close to that enticing flank…and how I can feel the underpart of her belly and just one slight move could get me to touch her-

“N-No…I…I can’t…” The shy mare against me denied as she shook her head and broke away from me…which was relatively easy considering that both my wings were starting to extend and get out of my control.  “P-Please…d-don’t…” She then said in a whisper as she lowered he head, hiding her face behind her mane, as she slowly backed away from me.  My wing extension immediately stopped and I gasped at what just happened…I got caught…she knew what I was trying to do wasn’t she?

“Wh-What’s wrong?” I asked with a nervous stutter as I looked at very fearful as I felt my breath go shallow…my wings stopped rising from the severity of the situation I was in.  The canary mare before me didn’t say anything for a good solid couple of minutes before slowly looking back up at me with uncertainty in her cyan eyes.

“It’s…It’s just…” The pink maned Pegasus started before looking away and around the empty path up the hill and at the quiet houses, “I…I think it’s better if we stay separate…” She then forced herself to say softly before looking back at me, now looking more uncertain before.  O-Oh…she....she’s just afraid of being seen…to say I’m relieved would be insulting he word understatement…I took a deep breath before looking at her with a smile on my face.

“Fluttershy…” I called gently as I slowly walked up to her.  Thankfully she didn’t move or react in any negative way and instead just watched me as I trotted towards her.  “Don’t worry about it…it’s ok...I know it’s not really my thing but it’s not going to damage my image if I’m being seen with you like this…the only thing it’s going to do is make them jealous that they can’t be like this with an awesome mare like yourself…” I then said both teasingly and reassuringly as I moved back to her side and moved my wing around her once more.

“Besides…you’re the one who was worried about my health…so this way we’ll both stay warm…”  I finished as I pressed her body against me again…not thinking anything dirty or perverted…and instead trying to be pure for her sake so I don’t do anything I’ll regret later…especially since she was kind enough to accept my offer to go with me…she could’ve just said no…so trying to…do things while we’re like this…especially since it’s supposed to be a nice gesture to keep us warm…but be unacceptable…I could only imagine how Rarity would react if she saw me trying to do anything in this situation…here’s a hint…she wouldn’t appreciate it…

“I…I guess…you’re right…” Fluttershy eventually agreed sounding very reluctant as I saw her look away and then felt a soft gentle wing wrap itself around my side…which stunned me as I turned my head to see her yellow wing draped over my…covering me with its warm well groomed feathers…sending gentle prickling sensations although out my body that was starting to drive me crazy…and making it that much harder to keep my mind out of the gutter.

“Yeah…now let’s get going…” I then said almost frantically as I looked forward and started to trot, Fluttershy immediately trotting with me as we continued our trek up the cloudy path up the hill.  I wanted to get there as soon as I could now before my mind did eventually go back into that area…making me want to slide my wing down again or worse making both my wings stick all of a sudden by the mere thought of me touching Fluttershy’s perfect flank…oh crap It’s already started…focus on the road ahead Dash!  Focus on it like your life depends on it!

I shook my head clear of those thoughts and looked at the path ahead.  As we continued walking up I noticed it was starting to look better and better with each passing hoof step.  I looked at the buildings and they too were starting to look nicer with fresh cloud walls and a much more friendly looking appearance.  After we finally reached the top of the hill we arrived in the upper level where all the rich and powerful ponies resided and it showed as the houses where much bigger and looked completely new compared to the houses below along with the road which almost looked like it was padded with fresh clouds today…which almost seems impossible considering this is Hearth’s Warming and most…if not all weather ponies…are off duty today.

“Wow…this looks…nice…” Fluttershy commented softly as she looked around taking in all the sights around us…yeah this is probably the first time she’s been in the fancy part of Cloudsdale…I’ve only been here a few times but to her this must be a little bit overwhelming.

“Yeah we’re now in the rich part of Cloudsdale…looks completely different from the lower level doesn’t it?” I jokingly responded as I looked over to her with a smile, and as expected she looked beyond nervous and fearful.

“Y-Yeah…” She agreed in a whisper and a soft nod as she looked away and down at the cloud path beneath her as I felt her wing around me tremble a bit.  “A-Are you sure you know where we’re going?” She then questioned even softer than before as she closed her eyes, thank Celestia she’s right next to me because if she wasn’t there would be no way in hell I would’ve heard her.

“Yeah I read the return address on the letter before I tossed it into the fire…besides…from what little I remember of my old home…you can’t possibly miss it…” I answered  with a slight nod even though she couldn’t see it…reassuring her that I knew exactly where we were going.  I honestly didn’t look at the return address…but I still know exactly where it’s at from my childhood memories…I could never forget what my place looked like as I was leaving.

“Then why didn’t we just fly from the start instead of landing at the lower level?” Fluttershy then frantically asked as she opened her eyes and quickly looked at me with a determined look on her face that honestly confused me…I’ve never seen her so hell bent on getting somewhere before.

“Because the higher level is higher in the atmosphere…a lot higher actually…this is actually where most Pegasi’s limits are and cause them to go careening into the clouds or worse…off of Cloudsdale period…” I replied seriously, informing her of the dangers of flying too high…which I’m sure she already knew but apparently she had to be reminded.

“Rainbow…M…My wings can handle his height…we-we could’ve flown here…” She said back as she looked back over to her other side and opened up her other wing to look at it, making it flap a few times as if demonstrating that it’s perfectly fine.

“I’d rather not take the chance to be honest…” I replied with a sigh…she just doesn’t get it…or won’t get it…it’s all because she wants to get there in a hurry, “Why are you so adamant about getting there quickly anyways?” I then asked curiously as I titled my head a bit at her.

“It’s…just…I don’t feel comfortable with this…” She answered skittishly in a murmur as she folded her wing back up, “Please…can we separate now?” The yellow animal caretaker then inquired as she turned her head back at me and stared at me with her cyan eyes quivering…it’s the most perplexing thing I’ve ever seen her do.  

She’s saying she wants to get away from me…but her wing is tightening around me and her eyes are fearfully looking at me expecting me to agree and not wanting me to…what the hell?  It’s like her mind is saying something and her heart is saying something else…which one do I appease to?  …well let me ask myself what I want to do.  Rainbow Dash…do you want to break away from this awesome moment and not feel her gentle body pressed up against you and feel it move gracefully as we continue to walk?  …yeah that answer came fast.

“No way…”  I immediately almost in a stern voice with a shake of my head upon coming to an answer, causing Fluttershy’s eyes to stop shaking and look at me in a grateful way.  “Your mouth might be saying that but your eyes are telling me not to…” I then explained with a slight chuckle as I raise a hoof and pointed to them causing her to blink frantically before looking down and raising a hoof to her head.

“M-My eyes?” She repeated softly and with a stammer in disbelief as she touched the side of her face next to her right eyes.

“Yeah…I can tell by the way they’re moving and how they’re looking at me that you’re really enjoying this…” I then teasingly said with a smirk as I could tell she was having a hard time accepting what I said…and especially since it was true.

“I…I….N-No…” She said in a faint defiance as she looked back up at me with those eyes still expressing gratitude even though her mouth wasn’t as her cheeks began to a lit with a tint of red.  I laughed and pulled her closer to me before raising my wing up slightly and moving her head down to lay on my shoulder…getting absolutely no resistance as she just gasped slightly and accepted it.

“There’s no need to be ashamed of it…what’s wrong with being this close to your best friend anyways?” I pointed out as I looked back forward still not really getting why she was so nervous and scared…I mean I know she’s Fluttershy and nervous comes with her personality…but being this nervous around me seems a little much even for her…but wow…having her head against my shoulder…feeling her warm breath against me was sending shivers down my spine and was giving me goose bumps…oh I should feel bad that I’m using this moment to be close to her and to feel her because I’m such a despicable pervert…but who cares…I’m enjoying the moment.

“For me…everything’s wrong with it…” I heard her whisper in defeat and in sadness as she moved her head so that her face was pressed into my neck so it couldn’t be seen, which made her pink mane brush against me almost tickling me.  I blinked a few times in surprise at what she said but before I could respond on comment on what she had spoken I saw a sight I never thought I would see again in my entire life…the place where my father resided…

“There it is…my father’s mansion…in Hurricane estate…” I said in a low groan as I honestly never wanted to see that place again after I left…and scarily enough it seemed it never changed at all.

It was still a huge estate at the very top of the cloud hill with a large open cloud gate with a Rainbow insignia over the entrance surrounded fake cloud trees and sculptures both outside and inside the grounds.  In the center was the huge illustrious mansion that Rarity would flip over…and as I said it hasn’t changed…it still looked like its brand new and appears to be constantly re-fluffed with new fresh clouds to give off this appearance...it was also huge and towered over all the other buildings even on the fancier higher part of Cloudsdale…I almost don’t want to know why only one would need something so monstrous in size…

“Oh my…it…its very big…” Fluttershy commented as she moved her head from out of my neck and looked around at the disgustingly huge area that covered the top of the hill…I’m still surprised it doesn’t break the weight limits and cause Cloudsdale to go nose-diving into the dirt…

“Yeah…now let’s go and get this over with…” I replied with a low groan as I led her through the open gate and onto the estate grounds.

I looked around and scowled at all the cloud statues and sculptures of a large Pegasus stallion…the same Pegasus over and over again in various poses…and I knew exactly who the statues were molded after…and the saddest thing is…those aren’t new…they were there when I left and seemed just as new and clean as I left.   I shook my head before I looked forward on the very nice paved path up to the front door that seemed to be larger than my home and Fluttershy’s combined…seriously is this even necessary.

I bit my lip as I broke away from Fluttershy…much to her relief…and dismay…I don’t know her sigh she gave after I took my wing off of her and slipped out from her wing was very mixed.  

That wasn’t important anymore.  What was important was me walking right up to the stupidly huge front door and raising my hoof to knock on it.   I pulled it back ready to give a hard loud smack but stopped and lowered it…along with my head…I…I can’t do it…I just can’t do it…

“Rainbow?”  Fluttershy called instantly upon noticing my hoof going back down to the cloud ground.  I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.

“I…I don’t want to do this…I don’t want to meet him…” I replied in a soft melancholic tone  being genuine in my statement that I’d rather be in prison than meet my so called father.

“Rainbow…you have to at least try…” The mare behind me said encouragingly and supportively in her usual Fluttershy nervous manner.

“I don’t want to…he didn’t try to meet me outside of sending me worthless letters…so why should I try and meet him…especially if this turns out to be bad?” I replied a bit louder and much more frustrated as I shook my head in defiance…softly after I started to hear some hoof steps walk up to me.

“Because that way…you prove that not only are you better than him…but also that you prove that your heart is as big as I know it is…” Fluttershy then gently as I felt a hoof lovingly touch my shoulder which made my eyes open as I instantly turned around to see her sweet smiling face looking back at me…oh Fluttershy…do you know how cheesy and mushy that sounded?  Apparently you must’ve because it’s starting to make me chuckle and feel better about this.

“I’m glad you came with me…because only you would convince me to actually go through with this…” I then said after I finished my light laughter, then looking back at her with a smile on my face to match hers.  “Thanks Fluttershy…” I thanked sincerely with a nod which made her nod back as she took her hoof on my shoulder and stepped away from me.

“I’ll always be here for you Dash…” The kind mare said as she backed away back to where she was as I turned back around and raised my hoof back up.

“And I’ll always need for you to be there for me…” I half joking and half seriously said as I pulled my hoof back and then pounded on the excessively huge door…making very soft taps against it.  Geez this place is so big and the door is so thick I doubt anypony can hear me from the other side.

I was proven wrong though as the huge cloud doors started to slowly open making creaking noises.  It split down the middle and started to open outwards towards me and Fluttershy.  Even though it was now split in half the door was so freaking huge we had to back up to avoid being hit by the two opening door pieces.  As soon as they were open we were hit by a gust of hot warm air and a very old grey colt Pegasus a little bit smaller than me was on the other side of the door wearing an old butler’s outfit…hey…wait a second…

“Good evening…you must be Master Blaze’s daughter…I welcome you back to Hurricane estate after so many years…” The old butler greeted in a low and wheezy tone that almost sounded like he had problems breathing as he opened up his worn out and tattered wings…causing a few grey feathers fall limply to the ground…hey…wait…I know him!.

“Hey…I…I remember you…you were the same butler that time when I left…you’re still working here?” I responded loudly as I raised a hoof and pointed it at him…yeah he was the one that took my Gram’s house after my mother died…that was…well…Celestia…years and years ago…and he’s still working for my dad?

“I have to…I’m going to be a butler for the rest of my life…unfortunately…” He answered in a much lower tone to the point where I had to lean in to hear him speak…geez lifelong contracts suck…should’ve read the fine print I guess. “Now come right in…your father is waiting for you.” He then said as she slowly turned around and started to walk away into the building.  I turned and looked at Fluttershy who was giving me an unsure smile now probably having a bad feeling about this as well.  She nodded though and pointed ahead of me, signaling for me to turn around and follow the old geezer.

I took a deep breath and turned my head around and looked at the ground…specifically the line that separated the outside from the inside.  I closed my eyes and took a hoof step into the building…the first hoof step into this place since I was a foal…and I automatically wanted to vomit and take a shower to get the nasty feeling off of me.  I shivered in disgust as I opened my eyes and noticed the Butler was still walking down the very huge and elaborate hall. I turned around and saw Fluttershy enter as the doors started to close behind her…sealing us in the surprisingly warm house…I guess I know where most of the warm summer clouds went unsurprisingly.

After Fluttershy entered I turned my head around and quickened pace to catch up to him, noticing the very large Pegasus statues with overly large wings keeping the ceiling up…a glass ceiling that was multicolored and had the image of a purple Pegasus on it.  I sighed as the ego stroking in this place was even starting to annoy me…I mean come on this is a little much don’t you think?  The butler turned at the end of the main hall and entered a much smaller hall that was filled with illustrious paintings of…yeah guess…freaking Pegasi…now we’re going from annoyance to creepy.

I looked back at Fluttershy as we continued walking and noticed her giving off a very unsure look as she looked around at all the stupid paintings.  As I turned my head back around I noticed we were heading into an even bigger room that put the main hall and the door to shame that held a huge chandelier…each glass on the chandelier was shaped into the form of…yeah…you guessed it…iguanas…that were oddly shaped like ponies…with wings…what do you call Iguana’s that look like ponies with wings again?  Pega-something?  I don’t know I forgot…this place is making me that brain dead and I’ve only been in a few rooms.

Below the chandelier…and I mean like directly below it by about a few hoof steps was a very long table that seemed to be a very familiar shape that spanned this end of the room to the other end…does your table ever need to be this long?  I mean it’s covered with all kinds of food and I highly doubt you’re going to eat all this food yourself right?   I mean come on!  At the far end of the table…next to a huge window that was shaped like one of those pony shaped iguana’s with wings was a chair that I’m surprised wasn’t shaped like a Pegasus…but no it looks like a normal chair…I squinted my eyes and fortunately…it’s back was facing me so I couldn’t see who was sitting in the chair.

“Master may I present to you your daughter Rainbow Dash and her friend….” The butler greeted as loud as he could…almost sounding like he was about to have a heart attack from how loud he was trying to be…he then looked at Fluttershy after he stopped and just starred at her…giving her the creepy way of hinting her to tell him her name.

“Oh…F-F-F…Flu….Flutter…Fluttershy…” The poor canary mare said after catching on…her introduction soft and hampered with stuttered and slurs as she walked up behind me and hid in fear.  The butler didn’t say anything to her and just blinked before slowly turning around face the back end of the chair…geez you think after he said my name my dad would…you know…have an immediate response…like…swiveling around and saying  something like ‘Oh my Celestia I’m so glad to see you oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh’ in excitement or something like that…but no…of course not…oh this is starting off awesomely…

“And her friend Butter Fry…” The grey old Pegasus then introduced…getting Fluttershy’s name completely wrong and really ticking me off in the process.

“It’s Fluttershy you idiot!” I bellowed in anger as he slowly turned around and left the room…ignoring me and pissing me off even more.  I was about ready to turn around and chase after him to ‘kindly’ correct him of his error but Fluttershy caught onto my intention and simply put a hoof on my shoulder to get my attention…shaking her head no at me seriously to calm me down and in the end I just sighed and nodded before I turned back around to face…once again…the back end of the chair for who knows how many minutes.

“Ahh…my darling daughter…” A slightly dark and monotonous voice said as the chair swiveled around revealing a large purple Pegasus with a rainbow mane and yellow eyes…yeah there’s no doubt about it…that’s my father, “It’s been so long since I last saw you…”  He then said continuing that tone as his lips slightly curved into a smile as he moved slightly in his seat, revealing a picture of a Pegasus on the back cushion of his chair…oh of freaking course!  Scratch what I thought earlier…I thought there would be at least one damn thing in this house that doesn’t have a Pegasus on it…I was wrong…forget it!

“Whose fault is that huh?”  I darkly commented as I narrowed my eyes menacingly at him and spoke in very low tone so he wouldn’t hear me…Fluttershy did however and she nudged me as if warning me to watch my temperament and not say anything rude like that again.

“Oh…my…you look just like your mother…the eyes…the coat…” He then said in a much higher pitched tone as he tilted his head and extended his hoof towards me…which was actually kind of creepy so I moved back a bit, “Forgive me…I think I’m going to start crying…” He finished as he shook his head and put a hoof to his eyes as if trying to hide that he might already be crying…which he isn’t…nor does he sound like it.

“H-Hello F-Father…” I greeted very reluctantly in a tone loud enough for him to hear…feeling my lips cringe slightly at the words that have escaped them, I…I trust you called me here for something important…” I then said seriously wanting to get down to business because I’ve already had my fill of this flank and the sooner we get this over with the sooner I can go home…errr Fluttershy’s home I mean.

“Yes yes quite right…there will be time to talk later…but first…how about some Hearth’s Warming Dinner huh?” He agreed before gesturing his hoof towards the table offering the table filled with decadent looking food…well…it is dinner…and I am hungry…

“Thanks…food is always appreciated…”  I agreed somewhat reluctantly as I started to move towards the stupidly long table.  There was only two free chairs at the table…thankfully on the opposite end of my dad…the two chairs were across from each other at the table so unfortunately I couldn’t sit next to Fluttershy and whisper insulting derogatory remarks into her ear…well she’d probably just nudge me again if I did that so maybe I should be thankfully that we’re not sitting next to each other.

I looked down at the table filled with all sorts of food…once again the thought crossed in my head that there’s no way in hell we can eat all this…and that the rest is just going to go to waste…oh well his money not mine.  I sighed somewhat as I reached out and started to put random food on my Pegasus shaped plate…taking whatever and not really caring what I picked.  I looked up to see Fluttershy very carefully and meticulously picking out what she wanted…she probably knows what she wants and what’s available…honestly I can’t name half the food on this table…but whatever not like it matters…food is food after all.

I looked down at my plate of food and picked up a very long leafy looking thing that honestly reminded me of seaweed…it smelled like seaweed.  I looked at it very doubtfully before slowly bringing it to my mouth and taking a small nibble of it.  My eyes instantly went wide as the urge to spit out the disgusting leafy plant in my mouth was almost irresistible.  I literally had to put a hoof to my mouth to stop myself from spitting it out or worse vomiting.  Ok is it just me…or is this the worst freaking food I ever tasted in my life?  I looked up at Fluttershy who was holding up a piece of fruit with a bite taken out of it and looking at it like it was some kind of bomb as she held a hoof to her mouth…ok good this food is awful and it’s not just me.

“How’s the food?”  The purple Pegasus asked rather smugly as he looked at me with a smirk and an eyebrow raised as if expecting to freaking praise him up the flank for the trash I was eating…yeah uhhh no…new flash…it tastes terrible…

“It’s…ummmm…unique…” Fluttershy answered for me, in a polite tone as she gave a very forced smile that would make a puppet’s smile seem more natural.  My father slowly turned his head confusingly at the other pony and looked at her as if he forgotten there was another pony in the room.

“Hmmm…tell me…who are you…why are you here with my daughter?” The tall somewhat chubby stallion asked in befuddlement as he reached out his right hoof and rubbed his chin with it while his eyes started to narrow slightly at the poor yellow mare.  Fluttershy started to freak out in her usual shy manner and I felt I had to answer for her…especially since the introduction the butler gave was absolutely terrible.

“She’s my best friend dad…we’ve been friends ever since summer flight camp…she practically lived with me and Grams…we grew up together…she’s like my adoptive big sister…” I answered for her in a loud tone, explaining who she was, getting both my dad and Fluttershy’s attention.  “I…I couldn’t imagine my life without her…” I then finished as I rubbed the back of my mane feeling a little awkward for saying something so mushy.  Fluttershy gasped slightly as she just started at me with a surprised expression while my dad just continued to rub the bottom of his muzzle with his hoof.

“Strange…she sounds like that mare your grandmother always talked about…” He pointed out curiously as he moved his hoof and pointed it at Fluttershy…yeah she is the same…and wait I didn’t know Grams wrote to you.  “What was her name again…Gutter Spy?” He then asked as he titled his head slightly…are you freaking kidding me?

“It’s Fluttershy dad!” I practically screamed at him anger…enraged that he got her name wrong when it’s really not that hard to remember…I mean seriously…Gutter Spy?  Sounds like some lame Daring Do villain. “And yes she’s the same pony in Gram’s letters…she’s still my best friend after all these years and that’s never going to change…” I then said still almost shouting as I raised my hoof and pointed it at Fluttershy who proceeded to smile gently and nod back at me as if approving my statements.

“Interesting…out of all the Pegasi you could befriend and stay friended to…you stay friends with a pony like her…” He responded in a slightly low tone as he lowered his hoof and looked at me almost disapprovingly…ummm…excuse me?

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked darkly as I narrowed my eyes at him…hoping for his sake he was meaning that in a positive way and not a negative way.  Unfortunately though…he squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head in disappointment before stopping and opening his yes to glare at Fluttershy with an angry look…causing her to sink in her seat while her ears flattened against her head.

“It means you picked the weakest and most useless Pegasi out of all the Pegasi in Equestria…an Earth Pony accidently born with wings.” He insulted in a cruel tone as he leaned in over the table as is threatening Fluttershy  which made her look away and hide behind her mane…oh hell no!

“You take that back now!  Fluttershy is-”

“Spare me you’re pitiful naïve ramblings!”  He shouted at the top of his lungs, cutting me off as he stood up from his spot, wings extended out to their max which was more than twice the size of my wings…trying to intimidate me but in reality just pissing me off that much more!

“Come…let us talk in private to discuss why I have called you here.”  He went on in a much lower tone as he turned and started to head to the exit at side of the room, “Without the ears of…that in the room…” He then finished stopping to turn his head around just to look at Fluttershy and scoff at her…which made me want to punch him in the freaking face right now.

“You bastard…you really think I’d go with you after what you said about Fluttershy?” I replied in a low bitter tone as he turned around and resumed his trek to the nearest exit, “Hey I’m talking to you flankhole!” I then shouted trying to get his attention one last time as he left the room…clearly not getting it though…which meant he was ignoring me.  I groaned and gritted my teeth before I hit the table with my fore hooves and stood up from my seat.

“Come on Fluttershy…we’re getting the hell out of here!” I then shouted to the mare across from me as I looked up to see her still hiding behind her mane…most likely crying her heart out…just the thought makes me want to burn this whole place to the ground…unfortunately clouds have a habit of resisting fire…so I guess I’ll just have to settle tearing this place down fluff by fluff with my bare hooves!

“N-No Rainbow…”  I heard her whisper under her breath as she slowly moved to look at me. With tears completely drowning her gentle cyan eyes and her breathing erratic as she tried to contain herself crying hysterically…which made my eye twitch in anger as I was about ready to start my rampage now…starting with this table of nasty food. “G-Go…I…I’m sure what he has to say is very important…” She then said with a sniffle which stunned me to make my eyes pop open to the point where it hurt…is…is she for real?

“Fluttershy…” I said equally, if not softer than her as I just stared her in her in awe.  I then blinked in determination before I gave her a serious look.  “Are you kidding me?  After what he said…I don’t care if he’ll offer me the position as Captain of the Wonderbolts…nopony talks like that to you…nopony!” I almost shouted in a stern voice as I pointed a hoof at the door the flank left…hoping that would convince her that what he did was ridiculous and that we should just leave…I mean seriously…nothing he has to say or offer is worth this…nothing.

“Just…go Rainbow…he just wants to talk to you privately…which is understandable considering that I’m not supposed to be here in the first place…” The yellow mare weakly said back as she closed her eyes and looked down, tears falling down from her face and hitting the table, getting the red cloth wet and continuing to astound me.  Come on…I know Kindness is your thing Fluttershy but…this is…this just insanity!

“Hell no…you don’t treat a guest like that…hell you don’t treat another pony like that…and especially not to the pony I care the most about.” I responded still keeping my loud tone as I pointed a hoof at her.  Fluttershy gasped and opened her eyes almost as wide as mine were a moment ago as she started at me with her cyan eyes contracted into small dots.  Was what I said really that surprising?  …well I did just admit that Fluttershy is the pony I care most about…above all others…but…she’s kind of my best friend so wouldn’t that come with the territory…it would right…still now that I think about it…why is it making my heart twinge slightly in glee as it feels enveloped in a warm feeling…whatever…not the concern right now.

“R-Rainbow…” The gentle Pegasus simply said in a murmur before she forced her eyes to close and look away, hiding behind her pink mane. “P-Please…just go…I’m fine…and besides…you said you would talk to him before we got here…that’s why you agreed to come…so go…go for me…because I want you to...” She then said even feebler than before as she urged me to go on and even reminded me about our agreement earlier…appealing to my sense of loyalty.

“Fluttershy…” I simply called even more baffled than before as I titled my head back and blinked a few times at the amazing mare…how does she do it?  How the hell does she turn me from boiling rage to calm, submissive, and agreeable to anything…how do you do it Fluttershy…I really want to know how you affect me like this…but…I’ll have to figure it out later…unfortunately I have a father to talk to.  

“Damn it…alright I’ll go…” I reluctantly said with under my breath as I gritted my teeth and looked down at the ground.  I then made a big long sigh before I turned around and left the table, going to the exit my father left from.

“Thank you…” I heard Fluttershy barely utter in in sincere gratitude as I reached the exit and entered a long narrow hall filled with curtains that held images of white Pegasi on them.  I grunted and ignored them as I continued down the long hall.  When I reached the end I entered a large open room with a staircase and about five different exists.  Before I could start to wonder where the hell to go next I was startled by the appearance of the butler flying down from the second floor and landing right in front of me and folding his wings up as grey feathers fell from his wings.

“Upstairs third door on your right.” He politely said as he pointed to the staircase behind him.  I weakly smiled and nodded before passing him and opening my wings up to fly upstairs…because staircases are lame…why are they even here in a Pegasus home when they can just fly…especially since only Pegasi can enter this house…whatever.

I flew upstairs and landed back on the ground.  I looked down the hall and counted the doors until I spotted the correct one that the butler told me.  I took off again and burst into the room with a thunderous smash not caring about being polite or quiet.  I appeared to be in a study as there was a fire place to my left and right in front of me was a large desk with books and papers…and behind the desk was my father sitting down  in front of a huge bay view window tapping his fore hooves together impatiently as if he couldn’t wait from.  

“Ok you’ve got to the count of ten to either apologize or explain to me why you’re such a flank to my best friend!” I threatened in a low growl as I flew up to him as fast as I could with my eyes narrowed and pointed a hoof at him menacingly.  He slowly looked up and blinked unaffected by my words before he looked down at his cluttered desk and took a deep breath.

“Rainbow…” He called softly before he backed up in his chair and turned around to look out the window at a view of…absolutely nothing except dark skies. “The Pegasus race is going to be extinct soon.” He then said in a serious tone as…as…wait…what?

“Excuse me?” I replied in disbelief as I titled my head and arched an eyebrow, backing up slightly and landing in front of the desk.  Pegasi are an endangered species?  …what?  Ummm…last time I checked we weren’t…

“I’m sorry to say…that…you and I are some of the last of our kind…” He then said seriously as he turned to look at me with a stern expression in his yellow eyes…no we’re not…you know that butler that does things for you…he’s kind of a Pegasus…you know my friend you kind of insulted…she’s kind of a Pegasus too…hell look out the window on any given day and you’ll probably spot a couple of hundred knowing Cloudsdale…

“Uhhhh…yeah...you’re apparently a shut in so let me be the messenger of the outside world and tell you that…umm…there’s like millions of Pegasi…like literally just in this city and not including Equestria or even the entire world…” I informed in a sarcastic tone as I put a hoof to my fore hood and shook my head in disappointment…yeah…my dad’s crazy…thanks Fluttershy…at least I know that now.

“Those are not Pegasi!” He shouted back as I opened my eyes to see him standing up with his wings fully extended which past both ends of the desk easily, “Those are just ponies with wings!” I then shouted as if offended that I told him otherwise…yeah he’s totally mental…great…

“Yeah…I’m not really an egghead…but I’m pretty sure if you look up ‘Pegasus’ in the dictionary it will say ‘ponies with wings.’” I darkly replied as I raised an eyebrow at him…seriously maybe I should’ve brought Twilight and she would explain to you what the hell you yourself are what Pegasi are you crazy fool…

“Those dictionaries are wrong…”  The insane purple Pegasus then said much softer than before as he slowly sat back down in his seat with a creaking sound coming from the chair.  “They were made from the modern day view of what a Pegasus appears to be and not what it truly is.”  He then explained as he leaned forward and put his fore hooves together on the desk and put his muzzle on top of them.

“Uh huh…and you sure it’s not just because they’re not…you know…crazy?” I pointed out as I took a step back feeling a little uncomfortable that he was giving me that pose…it made him look even weirder than before…if that was possible.

“It’s because they were studying mixed breeds…impure Pegasi that were born with either Unicorn or Earth pony blood in their lineage…” He further elaborated as he leaned back in his chair and moved his fore hooves to his lap still having them pressed together…uhhh ok…news flash…Pegasi have been getting it on with Unicorns and Earth Ponies for...like…ever…why does that matter?

“Yeah whatever…so a Pegasus has a unicorn mommy or daddy or whatever…they’re still a Pegasus…” I retorted as I rolled my eyes and waved my left fore hoof at him dismissively…I mean seriously…that’s common.  Hell the Cakes even have a Pegasus foal and they’re both Earth Ponies…so who the hell cares about this ‘impure’ crap other than him?

“No…they’re not…they’re not a pure bred Pegasus like us…” My father denied as he closed his eyes and shook his head at me…umm…what?

“Like…us?” I repeated very skeptically as I titled my head back and raised an eyebrow…I’m a pure bred Pegasus?  Really?

“Yes…we are descended from the original Pegasus tribe leader Commander Hurricane…the proof is in our manes and tails…only a pure decedent from her will have this quality.” He explained as he pointed to the left at a painting above his fireplace of a blue Pegasus with a rainbow colored mane in some kind of weird funky looking arm giving off a very striking pose…and weirdly enough she kind of did look a lot like me down to the cerise eyes…it was kind of weird to be honest and actually I didn’t really care.

“Look, the only thing I know about her is the bits and pieces I had to learn in order to star as her in a play…” I replied as I looked back over at him without the slightest hint of me caring about this…because I don’t…I’m awesome because of what I am and what I do…now what family or lineage I represent…

“Then you should also know that because of our rainbow mane and tails we leave an after trail where ever we go…it’s for others to know what kind of ponies we are and a way for us to show our pride in our family…” He then said with a smile as nodded at me and raised a hoof up at me…yeah I know I leave behind a rainbow colored trail I’ve been flying since I was like four…so yes I do know thank you…and of course they’ve noticed…but they certainly didn’t give me the reception that you think they did.

“Huh…that’s funny…back in Flight camp everypony thought my rainbow colored hair was me showing pride for something else…” I jokingly said with a sneer as throughout my years at Flight camp and beyond I was made fun of for my rainbow coloring due to it being associated with Filly Foolery and everything related to it so apparently that meant I was a Filly Fooler…and the hilariously ironic part is that they were right because now I’m lusting after my best friend whose a mare…it’s strange how life works out doesn’t it?

“And tell me…how many other ponies have you met that can say the same…how many ponies have you come across that leave behind a multi-colored trail like us.” He then asked, completely ignoring my statement as he kept that smile and leaned forward with an eyebrow arched as if challenging me.  I looked up and seriously pondered his question and only came up with one result to fit his description.

“Well…there was this one pony when I was at the academy…” I answered only thinking of that pony named Lightning Dust who was also a complete flank…hell maybe her and my father can attend a ‘Flanks only’ get together and be the crowning duo there…

“One pony…just one…throughout your entire life you’ve only come across one other pony with that one quality?” He then asked in a slightly excited and energetic tone as if proving his point.  Well…ok fine so maybe I am a little special because of that…hell I knew I was always special but come on…just because of that I’m a pure bred super Pegasus or whatever?

“Ok so maybe it is rare…that doesn’t really prove anything…” I pointed out in a doubtful tone as I narrowed my eyes slightly at him.

“Your Sonic Rainboom…” The yellow eyes stallion simply said in a victorious sounding tone as he pointed to me with his hoof as…all of a sudden I started to hear a violin playing…horribly no less…what the hell?  Who’s playing a violin at this hour in this mansion?  The Butler…he seriously needs a freaking lesson or five!

“What about it?” I simply questioned as I ignored the awful music being played in the background, wanting to know more than just ‘Your Sonic Rainboom’…I mean what the hell does that have to do anything?

“Do you know why it was considered an old mare’s tale?”  He inquired back, answering my question with another question…oh joy…I just love those ‘let’s dance around the answer’ sort of things instead of just telling me directly….and ughhh that stupid violin is still going!  It’s starting to hurt my damn ears!

“Because it’s super rare and only somepony as awesome as me could pull it off…” I answered somewhat boastfully knowing full well that only I could do such a thing…after saying that my eyes popped open….wait…

“It’s because that ability was natural for all Pegasi years and years ago…however because of the cross breading the ability has been lost and has been lost for thousands of years…until you came along…proving that it does exist and that only a true pure bred Pegasus such as yourself could do it…” He said seriously with a grin as he waved his right fore hoof in the air rather pointlessly for some reason…crap I should’ve known he’d say something like that…but that doesn’t mean anything.

“No…that’s a bunch of bunk…I did it because I pushed myself to my limits…through training and hard work…not through that crap…I’m sure other ponies could do it if pushed their limits like I did….” I pointed out almost angrily as I wasn’t buying his crap one bit…blood and lineage had nothing to do with my Sonic Rainboom…it was all me and my awesomeoness…I mean come on…if that were true why couldn’t he do a Sonic Rainboom huh?  Or his father or his father’s father and so on and so forth…well…on second thought…he doesn’t really look that athletic to be honest…

“Yes…limits…yours are far higher than the limits of the others…” He replied with a slight chuckle, easily countering my statement as he turned around to look out the window again. “You can fly higher, faster, and farther than the other ponies…you probably flew all the way here…an altitude far removed from a current ‘Pegasus’ since they can’t fly this high without having difficulties…” The purple stallion then reminded me as he held a hoof out and moved it around before having it shake violently and fall down as if simulating a Pegasus’ flight around the mansion…yeah…I…I know that a lot of Pegasi have problems flying this high and even have problems flying high at lower altitudes than this…but…that…that doesn’t mean anything…does it?

“It wasn’t the Sonic Rainboom that was lost or our high altitude…we also lost the Pegasi-eye…the automatic atmospheric wing adaptive ability…our sensitive hearing…our stamina…our strength...things that were vital to a Pegasi’s anatomy…” He then went on before I could respond listing off things that were still somewhat known…though they were very rare…so…so they’re old Pegasus abilities that are slowly being lost over time?

“Hell we’re so bad now current Pegasi can’t even be out in extreme cold temperatures without fear of their wings or source feathers freezing!”  He then shouted as he turned around with a fierce look on his face and stood up from his seat going on a tangent as his wings extended to their full again.  Y-Yeah that’s a problem…but…surely it’s always been a problem…I…I mean I know my wings never freeze but…that’s….that’s…

“Commander Hurricane flew through the worse winter this world has ever seen to settle a new land at an altitude unheard of in current times…if other Pegasi tried that…they wouldn’t even make it half as high or even get off the ground before their wings froze up…” He then said darkly as his eyes narrowed and he shook his head…y-yeah that’s right…she did fly through the worst winter on record without a problem…so…so I guess it wasn’t a problem back then…damn it…he’s actually making sense.  I bit my lip and looked down.  Am I really the last of a dying race?

“If this keeps up…who knows how long it will be before we lose our ability to control the weather…or hell…our ability to fly all together...” He then said much softer than before as I looked up to see him sitting back down in his seat looking exhausted from his rant.  Ok…I will admit you had some points before but…now that might be going a little too far.

“Look…don’t you think you’re being a little paranoid?  I mean…that’s like saying that one day Unicorns will lose their ability to do magic from all the cross breeding going on…” I pointed out trying to find something to grasp onto to prove him wrong.  Yeah…that’s right…the Unicorns are doing ok…if this was true the Unicorns must be affected too from all of that cross breading…their magic should be sucking or their horns should be getting smaller or something!

“Unicorns and Pegasi are two different entities…” He pointed out with a slight chuckle…well duh…  “Unicorns are all mental and cognitive performance…they study hard and train their minds to master pre-existing spells to help them perform their tasks…the smarter the unicorn or the better they can control and harness their minds…the better their magic will be…they don’t have to worry about their horns shrinking or their magic fading when it’s all based on their mental performance…” He then explained seriously as looked up at the ceiling.  Well…ok…Twilight’s pretty smart and…she’s awesome at magic…Rarity is…so so and…well ok at Magic…damn it…he has a point…again…

“A Pegasi’s magic however…” The purple Pegasus then began softly as he slowly closed his yellow eyes.  “Is all physical…it’s dependent on their source feather as there is no way to control it or strengthen it…how we’re born and how it forms will determine how strong it is and how much of a Pegasus you are…it won’t determine your speed or flight ability…but it will determine the extent of your speed and flight ability and how much it can physically take before the magic it contains can’t sustain you anymore…” He then elaborated rather reluctantly as if explaining this was hurting him somehow.

“And like I said…at the rate we seem to be going…it won’t be long before we won’t be able to get off the ground anymore…” My father then finished as he opened his eyes and looked at me with sadness in his eyes…clearly not wanting that to happen.  The thought of that happening and the way he said that made me back up slightly in fear…

“That’s…just…impossible…”  I simply said as I looked down feeling my breathing get heavy as I felt myself shaking…could the Pegasi race really be on a path towards self-destruction?

“Surely you’ve seen the change…or at least the difference between you and other ponies…when you were a filly you were the first one to fly and at that same age you were able to do the Sonic Rainboom…what have the other fillies in your same class gone on to do…and more importantly…how are the fillies of today comparing with how you were?”  He then asked poising another question at me...yeah…the others in my class did take longer to fly…and even fly well while I was already doing a Rainboom…and now…Scootaloo…she can’t fly yet and she’s a year older than I was when I did a Rainboom…is that really because…no…No!  It’s not!  That’s just generalizing and thinking at it from a genetic angle and not a personal angle!  Personally Scootaloo is awesome and doesn’t need to fly yet!  And when she does she will!  Just like everypony else!

“Look…that doesn’t matter…we’re all different…and just because some ponies fly later than others and aren’t as good as others doesn’t mean we’re going to be extinct in a few years…” I pointed out angrily as I looked back up with determination in my eyes…startling him as he leaned back in his chair.  I know for a fact that’s bunk…because of Fluttershy…her flying sucked at first…but she got better in time…because that’s who she is…not what she is…it doesn’t matter how much of a ‘pure’ Pegasus she is…because in the end she’s still a True Pegasus like all the others…

“Besides…even if it were true…what the hell are you going to do to change this or reverse it?” I then asked rather curiously since he was blathering on about how much trouble the Pegasi we’re going to be in at some point but not giving me a plan on how he wants to change that crap theory…and somepony please take away that damn violin from the butler and smash it!

“I believe that’s where I come in…” I then heard another voice say suddenly…wait another voice?  I quickly turned to my right to see a small little mini bar in the back corner of the room…and sitting at the mini-bar holding a small drink of cider was a white Alicorn colt with a smug grin on his face wearing a fancy royal uniform and also a patch over where his cutie mark was supposed to be.

“You!” I shouted upon realizing who it was that was here. “What the hell are you doing here?” I then shouted angrily as I turned around and flew into to air…expecting some kind of fight…he however just chuckled and shook his head before taking a sip of his glass of cider…wait…he looks…kind of different…his mane is much more unkempt and his expression is much more…unhappy…

“Well it is Hearth’s Warming and what better way to warm your heart than by a visit from your favorite Alicorn prince…” The white Alicorn joked as he smiled somewhat weakly…his green eyes not giving off the same light and determination from the last time I saw him…but…really…leaving that aside what the hell was that?  I just gave him a blank stare and slowly shook my head at him…causing him to chuckle slightly and take another sip of his cider.

“Yeah…I know that was still bad…I’m still working on my entrances…”  He responded still light heartedly as he finished off his cider and went to poor himself another…geez I think that’s his problem…he’s hitting the cider too much…

“That was worse than your last entrance…” I pointed out as I put a hoof to my forehead…seriously he’s not funny…then again if he was…I still wouldn’t like him…remember when I said that Lighting Dust and my dad would be the best duo at the ‘Flanks Only’ gathering…well I take it back…this Alicorn would win that thing hooves down without a problem by just showing up…

“Well let’s see you do better…” He then challenged happy as he finished pouring himself a glass of fresh cider….as thankfully the freaking awful violin music stopped…I mean geez that’s one pain gone…now if only the rest of the pains would here as well…it gave me my sanity somewhat back and I was able to think of a retort rather quickly thanks to that.

“Heh…you know…this is the third time we’ve met at some kind of bar…we have to stop this…ponies will start to talk…mostly about how much of hopeless drunk you are…” I then teased with a smirk as I narrowed my eyes at him…knowing that I beat him easily.  He knew it too as both his eye brows went up and he nodded back at me.

“Alright…I concede defeat….” The green eyed Prince replied modestly as he raised his cider up towards me and then took a drink.  Of course you lose…you suck at jokes…now if only I could beat you down with three hooves and both my wings tied behind my back…

“Slate is here to kindly offer us his assistance to accomplish our goals.” My father said in a serious tone, answering a question I asked earlier…though only making me more confused as I looked over to see him giving me a very stern look as he tapped his fore hooves together.  

“What goals are those?”  I then asked in a very doubtful and almost challenging tone as I narrowed me yes at him menacingly.

“The revival of the True Pegasus.” He simply said calmly and nonchalantly without blinking like he said that expression a thousand times before…and I’m sure those times sounded just as stupid as this time…

“Ok what?” I simply said in a deadpan voice as I just stared at him blankly watching him continue to make no movements whatsoever. “I thought since I was a pure bred that already made me a True Pegasus or whatever.” I then pointed out as I put a hoof to my forehead and took a sigh in disgust…this is absolutely ludicrous.

“Our pure bred lineage is only half of the puzzle completed…there is still another step required to achieve your full potential Rainbow.” Slate then said seriously as I turned to see him taking a sip from his glass of cider…and he’s completely on board with this too?   They’re both crazy…wait…

“‘Our pure bred lineage?’” I repeated in disbelief realizing what that meant by him saying that.  “You’re a pure blooded Pegasus?  But you’re an Alicorn!” I then said a bit annoyed as I pointed my hoof at him…specifically his horn which made me look up at it and then chuckle slightly as he closed his eyes and shook his head.

“I was not born an Alicorn…Alicorns aren’t born period…they’re created…as a status symbol and as a protector of all three races since they embody all the traits of the three different ponies…”  He explained as he continued to shake his head at me…which sort of annoyed me to be honest. “At my core I am still a Pegasus…a pure Pegasus…” The white Alicorn prince then finished sounding very sincere as he opened his green eyes and looked at me with a smile…yeah…that’s what you say though.

“Are you sure about that?  You know he could be lying…” I then asked my father, turning to look at him just to find out he hasn’t a moved a muscle since I looked away from him…did he have a stroke or something?  If he did….good…

“No…he’s telling the truth…I have seen enough proof to know that he is a pure Pegasus.” The yellow eyed Pegasus unfortunately responded as he shifted in his chair and rested both his fore hooves on his desk as he looked at Slate….yeah…uhh…what kind of proof did he show you….ummm on second thought…I think I’d rather not know…

“Ok then…so how the hell do you make this ‘True Pegasus’ bull crap…” I then asked with an annoyed sigh, giving in and just wanting to see how far this madness extended.

“Through a Source Feather Swap…” Slate answered immediately in a serious tone, giving an absolutely crazy answer like it was a normal every day response…which made me look at him with an eyebrow arched and my mouth gaping open.

“A what?” I simply asked as I shook my head slightly, wanting to make sure I just didn’t have something crazy in my ear and heard him say possibly the weirdest answer ever.

“Your Source Feather…it resonated right?” He questioned as he leaned back in his seat and tilted his head back, giving me a weird grin as he was sure what my answer would be…if you know then did you ask me…just to hear me say it?

“You mean the time when it glowed for…weird reasons…” I started in a slightly embarrassed tone as I remembered the time when my source feathers glowed…that was the time I discovered I had a…well…libido for Fluttershy…but I’m not going to say that because saying ‘Yeah my feathers glowed after I found out I wanted to pound my friend’s flank into the next Celestia era’ would be almost as weird as the crap they’re spewing….almost…

“Y-Yeah it did…so what?” I then said challengingly and with a stutter as a warm feeling on my cheeks started to appear after thinking that to myself.  Geez even in a crazy situation like this Fluttershy’s flank will still come to mind…man I really need help don’t I?

“That means you can now easily and freely remove it without any pain or repercussions…” He then informed me in a gleeful sounding voice as he raised his free hoof and pointed it to me…telling me what I already know.

“Yeah…I know…” I replied rolling my eyes, remember what Celestia told me after my feathers glowed…but way is he bringing it up now…wait… “You aren’t suggesting…” I then asked almost in shock as my eyes widened at him…is he seriously considering that we…

“Yes...I’m asking you…politely…to swap Source Feathers with me…” He confirmed seriously with a nod asking me to do the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard him…or anypony ask me ever.

“Why the hell would I ever do that?” I shouted back at him at the top of my lungs as I raised my right hoof up…seriously why would I ever take my source feathers out…crippling me of flight…and give them away…especially to some pony like you!

“To unlock your true potential and have a power unheard of for over a millennia…” My father answered for him in a grave sounding tone which made me turn to see him resting his muzzle on his right hoof which was on the desk…wait…power…potential…what?

“What kind of power are you talking about?” I then inquired in a confused tone as I cocked my heat at him slightly…expecting an answer but instead not getting one as he slowly looked away.  “You…don’t know do you?”  I then said in a monotonous voice as I half lidded my eyes, realizing he didn’t know…damn…I was expecting him to say that my mane would like grow in length for some reason or that I would turn gold…

“If I did it wouldn’t be an ‘Unheard of Power’ now would it?” He sarcastically replied with a slight chuckle and a smile…which actually infuriated me because he was joking in a situation like this…joking about doing something he knew nothing about and would quite possible risk my ability to fly if it failed!

“That’s insane!  Why are you so hell bent on accomplishing something you know little to nothing about?” I shouted angrily at him as I flew up into the air and over to his desk giving him an intense glare.

“If I can accomplish this it will give me enough proof to convince Princess Celestia…” He then informed me in calm tone, unfazed by my outburst or that I moved suddenly right up to him…geez does anything go through this guy?

“Of what?” I asked, wanting clarification as I folded my fore hooves, and wanting to know what he wants from Princess Celestia.

“For years I’ve been pleading to help fix the problems I’ve told you earlier…I’ve already gave her my ideal plan but she…rejected it…” He began in a serious tone as he leaned forward and began to rummage through all the papers and junk on the desk below me, Yeah I bet she rejected it because you were out of your damn mind!  “However…if this works it will be all the proof I need to sway her and convince her to give my project the go ahead…” My deranged father then finished as he got out a large black folder and placed it on top of the desk amongst the other crap.  I looked down at it and looked at the title written in white words.

“The Rebirth Project?” I read out loud in a suspicious tone as I raised an eyebrow at it…does this nut job actually think he can revitalize the Pegasus race or something just by me exchanging my source feathers with another nut job…seriously?

“Yes…it will help us create a new line of Pegasi just like in the past…a true breed of Pegasi warriors that will be able to better serve and protect Equestria.” The purple Pegasus proudly explained as he leaned back in his seat and looked up at me with a wide grin on his face, showing off his bright white teeth….what?

“Protect Equestria?” I repeated as I flew back and landed in front of desk looking at him even more confused than before.

“Yes…in case you haven’t noticed…there’s a war going on outside…and it’s only a matter of time before it comes waltzing right up to our doorstep…” He began in a low tone as he spun his chair slightly and looked back out at the night sky, “And with the state of our defenses right now…we wouldn’t last a month…” He finished in a regretful sounding voice as he closed his eyes and lowered his head….oh he’s worried about that stupid war apparently…and apparently he has little faith in Celestia that she won’t do her job to keep us out of it.

“Yeah…we’ll be ok…Celestia will keep us out of that stupidity…” I shrugged off as I rolled my eyes and waved a hoof dismissively at him.  There’s no way Celestia would ever let that happen to Equestria or her subjects.

“Celestia already knows it’s going to be inevitable…” My father responded very loudly as he swung his chair back around and opened his eyes up to stare at me viciously with his yellow eyes,  “That’s why she’s forming the Wonderbolt reserves…to better arm the nation against the impending war…” He then said as he held a hoof up angrily, reminding about the formation of the Wonderbolt Reserves that I was applying for…well…I thought she was creating the Wonderbolt Reserves for other reasons…is she really making them to help the nation just in case we do get pulled into that stupid conflict?

“It’s useless though…you can sharpen your stick all you want…but when the beast finally pounces on you that stick will never be sharp enough to fully protect you…” Slate added in a dull almost defeated sounding tone as I briefly glanced at him to see him slowly moving his glass of cider around and looking at with almost an empty stare.  It was honestly disturbing so I looked back at my father who seemed to be rummaging around in his desk again.

“Which is why we need the true power of the Pegasus now…” He said, seeming to agree as he pulled out a newspaper article and placed it at the edge of the desk for me to read.  The headline read ‘Rampaging Dragon Levels Half of Ponyville’ and had a picture of a huge purple dragon on it…oh yeah that was when Spike went kind of crazy and turned into a monster…and I remember the Wonderbolts tried to stop him…and…well…kind of failed miserably.

“Because what we have no can’t even protect us from one rampaging dragon…when a True Pegasus can take on a whole herd of Dragons…” He then triumphantly announced, sitting back in his seat with a grin after making his point.  Ok…so the Wonderbolts can’t stop a dragon…ok…but that doesn’t automatically mean that your crazy idea is going to fix that…especially to that degree!

“Yeah…now you’re just living in a delusional fantasy land…” I insulted as I shook my head at him disappointingly at him…what’s next?  Can a True Pegasus make cookies appear out of thin air with a blink of their eyes?

“It’s true…our good friend Slate here is testament to that as he’s defeated two dragons at once…” He said smugly as he slowly raised a hoof and pointed at the White Alicorn across the room.  Which made me look at him doubtfully…to see him shaking his head…yeah even the flank knows you’re full of it!

“I said I defeated two Alicorns at once that had control of a dragon…” He corrected as he raised his free hoof up and pointed back at him…w-wait?

“…w-what?” I simply uttered in complete shock as I felt my eyes slowly widen at his statement…he…he’s just joking right?  Making crap up right?

“And I was lucky as hell and I don’t think I could ever do that again…nor would I want to…” He then added with a frantic and almost fearful look in his eyes…he…he really did do it didn’t it?  The look he has says ‘I’ve been through that hell and I don’t want to go through it again.’

“But still…that was when you weren’t an Alicorn…you were able to accomplish that feat thanks to you pure breed Pegasus state…imagine what you could do…what both of you could do…after the Source Feather swap…” My father encouragingly said as I looked back to see him still with that smile, practically ignoring the deeper meaning of his statement and taking it as a boastful comment…wait he was just a normal Pegasus when he did that?  Not an Alicorn…g-geez how did he do it?

“The war would be easily won…and Equestria and the world…will be at peace…” The obsessed purple stallion happily declared as he looked up dreamily and gave almost a wistful look at the ceiling.  Yeah…we’ve lost him…but wait…is that why Slate is after my source feather?  For power to fight in his stupid war?

“Is that why you’re ok with this…because it will help you win the war?” I asked the mutli-colored maned Alicorn as I turned to look at him, getting his attention as he looked at me and blinked a few times before smiling and looking down at his half empty glass of cider.

“When we swap our feathers…I will be able to do a Sonic Rainboom like yourself…my superiors believe this is a good course of action to help win the war since they believe it will be a devastating weapon to use against our enemies…” He explained in a dreary tone before closing his eyes and taking another sip of his cider…not sounding happy at all…but…he’s after my Sonic Rainboom…to…to use against other ponies?

“You want…you want to use the Sonic Rainboom to kill?  As a weapon?” I asked in complete horror as I moved back and widened my eyes at him….the Sonic Rainboom…it’s a show move…it’s meant to be seen and adored by ponies…not to kill or hurt them!

“Oh sorry… ahem…” He apologized with a fake cough as he set down the empty glass and got up from his seat, “Yes!  Once I have your power I shall rain death down and strike fear into the hearts of our enemies through the power of the Sonic Rainboom and then the world shall kneel before me!   Ahahahahaha!” He then shouted in a forced evil tone complete with a fake maniacal laugh as he raised both his fore hooves up and looked at the ceiling.

“Is that the kind of answer you’re looking for?” He then asked jokingly in his normal tone as he lowered his hooves and looked at me with a smile…I simply glared back with a scowl because I can’t trust him for anything…no matter what he says.  “Trust me…I have no interest in utilizing your Sonic Rainboom like that…right now I’m more concerned with simply having this source feather swap be successfully…” He then finished in a reassuring tone as he sat back down in his seat…yeah no…I will never trust you flankhole!

“No way…I don’t want to remove my source feathers…if I do…I might not be able to fly ever again…and…flying is my life…if I can’t fly I don’t know what I would do with myself...” I denied shaking my head…making it clear that I don’t want to participate in this stupid experiment…especially if it means if I won’t be able to fly anymore.

“Please Rainbow…do what me and your mother couldn’t do…” My father pleaded in a sincere tone as I looked at him to see him giving me a begging look…w-wait…

“You and…mom…” I repeated in a whisper as I stared at him…letting that statement sink in, “Y-You…You tried this before….” I then said, realizing what the meant when he said that.  He closed his eyes and lowered his head down after I said that.

“Y-Yes…” He simply said in almost an inaudible tone as he nodded his head, confirming my statement unfortunately, “And…it failed….” He then added in a regretful sounding tone as he shook his head….so…so he took her source feather out and…and if it failed that meant…that mean…

“Sh…She died…” I uttered in disbelief as I felt my breathing go heaving and my eyes start to quiver uncontrollably.

“Her…Her source feather didn’t resonate for me…ever…and…when you remove a source feather without it resonating…it’s like cutting an artery open…it will just bleed you die no matter how hard you try to fix it…even if you stick the feathers back in it won’t change your fate…” The purple murder explained as he moved his fore hooves together and tapped them together….You….You!

“You killed my mother!?  For you stupid feather crap?” I shouted in rage as I felt my wings automatically extend out in fury, every ounce of my body telling me to push this flank out the window behind him and watch him fall to his death to pay for what he did!

“That won’t happen with you!  Trust me!  Yours resonated…which means it can be removed without that happening…so Slate can remove them without any damage to you…and it will work now!  He has the added benefit of being an Alicorn…he’s more powerful than any other Pegasus…so it has to work this time!” My not-father tried to convince me frantically as he leaned back in his chair, opened his yellow eyes, and raised a hoof up towards me either to calm me down or just in case he needed it to protect himself…which he did…I don’t care about that…and I especially don’t care about your source feather bull crap after what you said!

“Actually I cannot…she didn’t have a free resonation…she had a dual resonation…” The Alicorn denied with a sigh, informing him about how my feather’s resonating…which apparently is a dual resonation…oh yeah…I almost forgot that Fluttershy’s Source Feather’s resonated with mine.    My father’s face instantly turned to shock as he slowly looked at the white Alicorn behind me.

“That…You didn’t tell me that…that changes everything…a free resonation is easy because it’s open for anypony…a dual resonation is much more strict…it can only be removed by the pony that it resonated with…and only that pony…I should know because that’s how she died…” The purple fool then explained in a disappointed voice as he looked down at the desk…what…so...so that means…the only pony that can touch my Source Feather and remove them…

“Who did her feather resonate with?” He then asked seriously, wanting to know the name of the pony that caused the dual feather resonation…oh is he going to be in a world of surprise.

“Fluttershy…” Slate answered, giving the name of my best friend…the pony my feathers resonated with…the pony I’m actually glad my feathers resonated with since that meant nopony else could touch them except her.

“…who?” He simply said in complete confusion, cocking his head and looking at Slate like he was an alien!  Are you freaking kidding me!?

“Fluttershy!  My best friend!  The mare who’s more like family to me than you ever will be!” I shouted angrily and bitterly at the top of my lungs as I moved up and smashed my hooves against his desk.  It’s bad enough he killed my mom who I never knew…but now he can’t freaking remember the mare I came here with!  He stared at me confused and unfazed before looking back at the Alicorn behind me.

“Help me out here…” He said in defeat wanting to hear from him who this mysterious mare was that he can’t seem to figure out himself!  What a damn flank!

“The yellow mare Pegasus…I trust you’ve seen her…she arrived with Rainbow….” The green eyed foreign Prince explained calmly…telling him a description of her…though how did he know she’s here with me?  Oh whatever…

He blinked a few times, as if processing what he said in his mind before his yellow eyes slowly widened.  Then he instantly scowled and narrowed his eyes in pure anger, “That…That half breed!?”  He shouted at top of his lungs as he stood up from his seat and looked at me with a furious glare in his eyes.

“How….How long do you intend to keep insulting this family before YOU’RE SATISFIED!” He then yelled at me as he smashed his fore hooves on the desk making a loud cracking noise and putting two holes in it.

“Fuck you!” I cursed at the top of my lungs as I gritted my teeth and snorted through my nose ready punch this bastard in his face for what he said about Fluttershy…but I forced my eyes shut and lowered my head…because I know she wouldn’t want me to do that…but I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to control myself much longer…so I better leave before I upset her by getting into another fight.  “To hell with you and your True Pegasus shit!  I’m leaving!” I then declared in anger as I opened my eyes and turned around to head to the door to leave this madness.

“No!  Don’t!  You have to do this!  You have a duty to the Pegasus race!” I heard my sorry excuse for a father plead in desperation as I started to head to the door.

“I don’t have to do anything!  I’m sure as hell not going to risk my life for something that won’t work with two ponies I hate for a crazy scheme that sounds like it came out of a bad Daring Do book!” I shouted back, not listening to anything he has to say and not going to put up with this anymore as I kept heading to the door…only to stop as I saw a certain white Alicorn walk in between me and the door and block my path to the door.  

“I knew this wouldn’t work…but I still tried to come here anyways to try and convince you nicely…” He started in a regretful tone as he looked at the floor…oh so that’s why he’s here…he came here to try to use my  father to get my source feathers….yeah I guess you found out how well that worked huh? “And seeing as how that failed…I could just forcefully take your feathers…” He then said in a much lower menacing tone as he slowly opened his eyes and looked at me with intimidating look in his eye…oh he thinks he can take me down right here and steal my feathers?

“You can try…but I don’t think you’ll get very far flankhole…” I warned  in a dry tone as I opened my wings up and bent down slightly ready to pounce on him in case he decided to fight me…I’m sure Fluttershy would understand if I defended myself instead of me starting a fight right?

“Oh surely you remember the last time we had a skirmish…and the last time I really got serious…do you really want me to remind you…because I will…” He reminded me in a harsh tone as he slowly opened up his massive wings and extended them to his max, getting ready for a fight himself, “Only this time…I’ll taking your source feathers against your will…and you’ll end up like your mother…bleeding to death and I’ll be forced to stand here and watch wishing you made the right decision…” He then warned in one final vain attempt to get me to surrender my Source Feathers of my own free will…which wasn’t going to happen in a bajillion years…so come on…just try it!  I’m ready for it!  

“Slate stop!” I heard the purple monster behind shout desperately trying to avoid a fight from breaking out in his mansion.  He didn’t look away and kept glaring at me as if expecting me to make the first move.

“There’s no need…I have to do this…no matter what I have to succeed!” He denied not backing down as I knew he would…and he knows I’m not backing down as well…yeah congratulations dad…you just unintentionally started a fight between us…possibly our final fight.

“Please…don’t hurt my daughter…I’ll make it worth your while!” He then pleaded in a frantic tone, now sounding like he was going to bribe him out of fighting me…with…I don’t know what…is my dad trying to protect me…or is he trying to protect his self-interests?  Either way it’s not going to work…I can tell by the look in this Alicorn’s eyes there’s nothing you can offer to make him back down from this.

“Nothing you could offer could be worth more than what is in front of me right now…”  Slate responded not sounding the least bit interested…though since my father didn’t say what it was he’s offering to him that’s not really surprising now is it?

“It is…trust me…and you will see in time…” My dad tried one last time, this time sounding very confident it would convince him to stand down.  To my surprise the prince in front of me blinked as he looked up slowly and raised an eyebrow at my dad.  He stayed like that for a minute before finally taking a deep breath and nodding his head in agreement…wait…he actually agreed to that stupid offer?

“Very well…I’ll let you go…this time Dash…” He said in a reluctant tone as he slowly folded his wings back up and looked at me with a smirk on his face.  Ok…I guess our fight’s been postponed….but really…you should be considering yourself lucky and not me!

“I should be saying that to you…now get the hell out of my way!” I demanded, seething in anger as I gestured m head for him to move.  He chuckled and closed his eyes before slowly turning and getting out of my way and clearing my path to the door.  I scoffed as I walked up and put my hoof at the door…before turning my head back around to see my upset father shaking his head at me…but I didn’t care… I just wanted to tell him one thing before I left.

“Oh…and Fluttershy’s more of a True Pegasus than both of you combined…she’s probably even more of a Pegasus than me and if I was ever going to give my Source Feather’s to anypony…it would be her!” I told them in a low growl as I opened the door…looking back and seeing both of Slate’s eyebrows rise for some reason…and I wasn’t exactly telling them how she’s a better Pegasus…but I know she has…she can fly just as high as me and she the Pegasi-eye…so his theory about a pure Pegasus is crap right there if somepony like her has it…because that means anypony can have it and they just don’t know it…

“Now I hope you both go to hell…” I shouted as I left the room finally, “Oh and Happy Hearth’s Warming!” I then shouted with a smirk as I slammed the door as hard as I could.  I was finally free of that insanity.  I took a deep breath as I looked to my right and back to the staircase where I came.  I was surprised to see a black mare Pegasus walking down the stairs leaving…Fake Fight?  She’s here as well…well that makes sense…but what was she doing?  I looked down and right by the door I left from was a yellow mare holding a large book lying against the wall on the ground.

“Fluttershy?” I called in surprise which made her look up at me with her cyan eyes quivering and her face completely enveloped with a deep blush…was…was she listening on the whole thing?  Great now she knows how crazy my father is…

“R-Rainbow…” She called back in a nervous stutter as she slowly got up and put the book away, “I…I’m…” She then struggled to say as she looked away, most likely trying to form some kind of apology…an apology I didn’t want to hear at the moment…I just wanted to leave…as in now!

“Don’t….just…don’t…”  I denied weakly as I just held a hoof up and slowly shook my head at her, cutting her off from continuing. “Let’s just get the hell out of here…fast…” I then said a bit louder than before as I started to walk up to her and then past her towards the stairs.  Fluttershy watched me and nodded in agreement as she followed me to the stairs.

After I reached the stairs I opened up my wings and flew down because…to hell with stairs.  When I reached the bottom I looked around and saw Fluttershy flying down behind me but I couldn’t see that Black Mare anywhere…where did she get to in a hurry?  Oh whatever…I turned around and headed down the hall that I came down from…thankfully I knew where I was going in order to leave and so I wouldn’t need that old Butler’s help.

When I flew into the dining room I noticed the very large table was completely cleaned off with not a hint of food on the hard wood surface.  Geez…how did that old man clean it off in such a hurry?   I have to admit I’m a bit impressed…I shook my head though and reminded myself that leaving was the most important thing to do at the moment.  I turned left and headed out the way we came into the main hall where the huge door was…and it was funnily enough already open and the cool air was hitting me like a ton of bricks.  As I flew to the door I noticed the grey Butler right next to the entrance with a smile on his face.

“Thank you for visiting…please come again…” He said kindly with a bow as more feathers fell down from his wings…getting caught by the breeze from the outside and being pushed inwards…yeah that’s a joke right?

“Yeah…uhh…hell no!” I replied bitterly as I passed him and left the building right into the dark outside that was much colder than when we entered…well it’s night time so it doesn’t surprise me that it’s colder now.  As I turned around I saw Fluttershy leaving as well, flying comfortably it seems even at this high altitude…like she said she would.

“You sure you can fly at this altitude under these conditions?” I asked her in a serious tone, making sure she’d be able to fly out of here because I sure as hell don’t want to walk out of here.

“Oh…ummm…y-yes…” She replied feebly with a slight nod as she moved her tail in front of her face and hid behind it somewhat…still feeling upset over what happened…understandable but I don’t want to deal with at the moment…

“Good…then let’s go…” I said back in a somewhat harsh tone as I turned back around and flew off almost as fast as I could.  I briefly turned around to see Fluttershy barely keeping up with me…thankfully not looking like she was having any problems like she said she would.  I sighed and looked back forward…at least that’s one thing that went right today…

I flew forward flapping my wings almost as hard as I could.  When we left the estate grounds out of the stupid front gate I began to dive down the large hill…not going too fast though as I didn’t want to leave Fluttershy in the dust.  I looked to my side and saw that she was barely able to keep up with me and seemed to be desperately struggling.   I slowed up so more so she wouldn’t have such a hard time and wouldn’t run out of breath…though I was already proud of her for being able to keep up with me and still seemed ok with the harsh conditions we we’re under…if it were any other pony I’m sure she’d be eating cloud right about now…or worse.

As soon as we reached the bottom I again noticed the shift between the elegant looking houses and the poor looking houses.  I scoffed as I turned and flew out of Cloudsdale with Fluttershy still at my side.   I began to dive again because I don’t think Fluttershy would like flying really high above the ground all the way home…and honestly I don’t want to fly high all the way home either…it’s warmer below.  Plus since we’re diving we’re moving faster away from Cloudsdale and right now I kind of want to be on the other side of the freaking planet…hell the other side of the freaking universe.

“Ummm…R-Rainbow…” Fluttershy weakly called from beside me as soon as we we’re low enough to the ground…I knew exactly what she was going to talk about…and what she was going to do…and now it was the right time to talk about it.

“Yeah?” I simply said back in a low tone as I started to level off so we didn’t hit the snowy ground below us…it snowed earlier as per the schedule so now the entire ground was covered in white fluff for Hearth’s Warming tomorrow.

“I-I’m sorry…” I heard her apologize softly as I knew she would and I sighed in response to that as I closed my eyes.

“Don’t be…there’s no way you could’ve predicted that my dad was a crazy flankhole…” I shrugged off in an exhausted tone as I slowly raised my hoof up and waved it at her dismissively…yeah I mean come on…who the hell could ever predict their father being…like that…nopony that’s who!

“I-I’m still sorry…because if it weren’t for me you wouldn’t have had to go through with that…” The kind mare flying next to me insisted trying to make everything her fault…as usual…and as usual I had to convince her it wasn’t...I had to her for her sake because enough misery has been had today…enough is enough…especially since today is Hearth’s Warming Eve…

“It’s ok Fluttershy…really…” I reassured in a much happier tone as I opened my eyes and looked at her with a smile on my face, “I’m glad I went because now I really know who my true family is…” I then said warmly as I flew closer to her and put a hoof around her shoulder, bringing her into a soft hug…revealing in the feeling of once again having her pressed against me.  She looked up at me and smiled back up at me.

“I…I still feel bad that I ruined your Hearths Warming Eve…” She said gently as  she closed her eyes and moved her head closer to me and…nuzzled against my cheek…feeling her warm mane brush against me made me gasp slightly…mostly at how sudden and good that felt.  Fluttershy’s cyan eyes instantly popped open before she broke away from me.   “S-Sorry…” She apologized under her breath as she looked away and hid behind her mane to disguise the fact that her face was now glowing brighter than a Hearth’s Warming light.

“It’s ok…its Hearth’s Warming…and…I needed that…” I shrugged off happily with a nervous chuckle as I rubbed the back of my head…which made her look back at me…face still completely flustered…in shock before it relaxed and a smile once again reappeared on her face. “And…you know…it’s not over yet…I’m sure we can figure out something…” I then said confidently immediately starting to think of things we could do before tomorrow.

“Like what?” The animal caretaker asked curiously as coincidently an idea popped into my head.

“Hey…you know that tree you got in the corner of your house…” I pointed out, remembering how there was this tree that Fluttershy had in her house but apparently just left there and did nothing with.

“The one Rarity gave me?” She replied curiously as she cocked her head a bit and raised an eyebrow slightly…oh Rarity gave her that…how nice of her…though she is the Element of Generosity after all….

“Yeah…I noticed it was rather…well…plain…we should totally decorate it up for Hearths Warming…” I then suggested happily with a smirk figuring out what we could do together…yeah decorating a tree…we haven’t done that since…well…we’re were with Grams in our filly hood…it would be nice to rekindle those memories and relive them wouldn’t it?  It would be a much nicer thing to remember today than…whatever the hell happened at that once place that I’ll never mention again.

“O-Oh…ummmm…w-well…that…that does sound like a good idea but…” Fluttershy agreed before trailing off as she started to doubt something…oh great what is it?

“But?” I repeated in a disapproving way…no no…there is no buts…there shouldn’t be any buts…the only but allowed here is your because it’s so freaking hot…wait…no!  Not now Rainbow!  Geez!

“I…I don’t have any decorations to put on it…that’s why it’s bare to begin with…” The buttery Pegasus then explained rather reluctantly as she looked at me with a sad expression on her face…oh it’s that…yeah that makes sense…Fluttershy was never much of a decorating kind of mare so it wouldn’t surprise me that she has nothing to decorate a tree with…

“That’s totally fine…I got some decorations at home we can use.” I replied with a smile, knowing that I had some decorations that I just knew Fluttershy was going to like.

“You do?” She asked surprised as she leaned her head back and blinked at me a few times…yeah I bet she wasn’t expecting somepony like me to have Hearth’s Warming decorations…well she’s going to be even more surprised when I tell her where those decorations came from.

“Yeah it’s actually the same decorations Grams had…I…I kind of got them after…you know…” I elaborated a bit excited and a bit…well…you know…telling her that I have the same decorations that we used when we we’re younger.  To my surprised Fluttershy looked distressed instead of happy.

“Oh Rainbow no…I couldn’t ask you to use those!” She insisted as she shook her head at me and raised both her hooves…sadness evident in her cyan eyes.  Oh…she’s just going to feel bad if she uses those for her tree….heh…apparently she still doesn’t get that we’re like family…always have been always will be…and because of that…it’s ok to use them…

“It’s ok Fluttershy…we’ve used those same decorations before when we decorated trees at Grams house before…so I’m sure she’d love to see us use them again just like when we were little…” I gently said with a small smile and my eyes half lidded, telling her it was alright.  Fluttershy recoiled a bit as a blush started to reappear on her face as she frantically looked around…struggling to find an answer to my statement…eventually though she took a deep breath and looked at me seriously…coming to an answer…the right answer I hope.

“Alright Rainbow…I’ll….we’ll do it…for her…” Fluttershy thankfully agreed in a somewhat stern tone and a nod…which made me smirk and nod back at her.

“That a girl Fluttershy!”  I said encouragingly and with a wink as I raised my hoof up and swung it to help urge her on…which it did as her face lit up with a happy smile.

“I’ll even make a quick Hearths Warming Dinner to celebrate!”  She then offered in her excitement which made me want to do a freaking loop de loop right there just from the prospect of eating her food again.

“Thanks Fluttershy…that’s sound awesome…especially after the terrible meal we went through not too long ago!” I practically screamed at her in elation…already having a hard time containing my excitement as I wanted to wash the taste from my mouth and replace it with Fluttershy…h-her food I mean…y-yeah…whew…keep on the right mindset Rainbow…you can do it…

“It’s…no problem Rainbow…I knew you would be happy…” The awesome mare gently said back with a giggle as now we had a game plan set up for the rest of the day to turn this awful day into an awesome day!

“I am…now you go home and get dinner started…I’ll go back to my house and get those decorations…” I instructed, telling her what I was going to do and what she had to do…it’s better this way so we don’t like eat at midnight or later…and so we can be in bed by a decent time…well…she will at least…I’m sleeping on the couch this time since I’m not sick anymore…I don’t care what she says I’m sleeping on the couch this time and that’s it!

“Alright…I’ll see you soon Rainbow…” Fluttershy agreed as she waved her hoof at me and started off to the other direction…the direction of her home so she can get started on that tasty meal for me to eat when I get there.

“Yeah…bye Fluttershy…” I replied as I waved back at her with a smile on my face, then changing my direction as I started to head back to my giant personal icebox known as my house.

I was flying at top speed now as I didn’t need to hold back for Fluttershy’s sake.  It didn’t take me that long before I was soaring over a completely white and peaceful Ponyville…decorations and holiday cheer where at its maximum even at night.  I smiled as I soon past Ponyville and now arriving at my ice home.  I quickly landed on my front doorstop and immediately noticed a note hanging off my front door…I instantly recognized the letter and format to be from Cloudsdale…specifically from the Upper Management.

“Oh crap I bet I know what this is…” I sarcastically remarked as I picked the letter of the door and read off of it.

‘To the Regional Manager of the Ponyville District.’ Huh…they couldn’t just say my name…well at least they didn’t put something like lackey or slave…  ‘It has come to our attention that you were ill with the featherflu and had to report in sick on the day(s) of Hearth’s Warming Eve.’  Oh boy…here is where I get scolded and told how horrible I am… ‘We understand this was because of the lack of summer clouds to heat your home during the winter.’  Wait they understand?  Who the hell wrote this?  This can’t be the Upper Management!

‘So in response to this, we have granted you an emergency supply of warm clouds to recover from your sickness and in hopes that you will feel better in time for you return back to your duty after Hearth’s Warming.’ Holy crap…they’re actually being nice to me for once…it’s the end of the freaking world! ‘If you do not return by then we will continue to understand and send you more warm clouds until you get better despite their being a shortage’ Rock on!  This is really awesome…maybe I should actually thank these ponies for once!  ‘Of course your pay will be docked severely not only for the warm cloud usage but also for the days you have missed.  Have a nice recovery.  The Cloudsdale Weather Management Team.’

“Oh of course!” I shouted angrily and bitterly as I crumpled up the letter and tossed it off my cloud home down to the ground.  They can’t be freaking nice to me or give me a break…no there has to be a cost…and the cost is I’ll be receiving dirt for payment next paycheck…awesome!  Thanks guys…and I was this close to appreciating you for once!  Ugh!

I sighed as I opened my front door and true to their word I was hit with a blast of warm air.  That’s actually a good thing…because that means I can sleep at my home tonight instead of at Fluttershy’s…I bet she’s going to be happy about that and happy to have her place to herself again…though…honestly I myself am not too happy about it…I…I’d actually like to stay at her place for a while…but no…I can’t do that…I don’t want to intrude on her home…it’s her home after all…not my home.

I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with a mixture of warm and cool air before entering my dark empty cloud home.  I shut the door behind me so the warm air wouldn’t escape and turned on the lights to my house…illuminating it and reminding me how empty and depressing it was in here…nothing has changed in here since…well before I left for Rio when I put that banner of Fluttershy up…and it’s still happily hanging there.  I smiled at it briefly before I opened my wings and flew upstairs.

I flew past my room and up to the top where the ceiling was.  I turned around and bucked a hole in it so there would be an opening to my attic.  I’ll just come back and seal the hole up later…not like it matters.  I entered my dark attic and to my surprise it was just as warm as it was all throughout my house…geez they even heated my attic…that was bright of them…next time I should tell them to ignore my attic…especially if it’s coming out of my pay.  Oh whatever…I’ll deal with all that crap later.

I looked around at all the boxes…most of them were marked ‘Stuff’ or ‘My Stuff’…and few were labeled ‘Wonderbolts’ which is where my old Wonderbolt stuff was.  I tossed the boxes aside as they were not what I was looking for at the moment…plus everything is cloud padded so it’s not like anything’s going to break no matter how hard I toss it.  I continued to look around until I found three boxes…one tiny, one small, and one large labeled ‘Gram’s old stuff.’  My heart started to beat fast as I haven’t opened these boxes since…well…she passed away…I actually started to regret offering Fluttershy to use these old Hearth’s Warming decorations.

I shook my head clean of these thoughts…no…Gram would be ok with this…she’d encourage this…and then encourage some other things knowing how much a perv she was…and…heh…I guess I know where I got it from now didn’t I?  I chuckled slightly as  I opened up the first small box…and saw a lot of old knickknacks that she always had her house…it was touching to see them again but unfortunately not what I was looking for.  I sealed the box back up and gently set it aside.

I opened up the second box which was the largest and there they were…all the Hearth Warming decorations…from lights to candles to plates to tree decorations to everything…I should’ve known they would’ve been in this box since it’s the freaking biggest of them.  I sighed in victory as I sealed it back up…I had the decorations for Fluttershy now…before I could pick it up though curiosity got the best of me and I went to open up the last small tiny box just to see what was in it.

To my shock I found a whole bunch of pictures…of Grams…of her family when she was younger…her house…everything.  I started to go down memory lane as I flipped through them and looked through the old pictures of the happy Pegasus…a tear started  to come to my eye as I continued to look through them…until  I found a particular picture that made me gasp and almost drop the entire thing…it was a picture of a very small cyan Pegasus with a rainbow mane looking happy and cheerful onto of a slightly bigger creamy Pegasus with a pink mane who looked shy and nervous…but still very happy as the smaller filly was on top of her with a hoof through mane playfully.

It was me and Fluttershy when we were younger…I didn’t think there were any pictures of us but…here one was…I feel so stupid that I didn’t go through this box sooner…if I had known that this was in here…I would’ve framed it and put it on my shelf or something…but…better late than never.  Fluttershy has to see this…I know it will bring a smile to her face to remember this…wait…even better.  This is the perfect Hearth’s Warming gift…better than the gift I was originally intending to give her which was some personal flying training with me to help her with her flying skills…no she’ll like this much more

I smiled warmly as I put the picture away and then picked up the heavy box.  I opened my wings up and began to carry the thing downstairs and soon to Fluttershy’s.  As I passed my room I remembered something else.  I put the box down and entered my cluttered room that I haven’t been in for like two days.  I looked around in my small desk and quickly found another picture of me and Fluttershy.  This one was from when we went to Rio…and that awkward smile I was giving makes me feel like it was just taken yesterday…and I’m surprised she doesn’t have this or have a copy of it…well that’s going to change too.  I chuckled slightly as I put that picture away as well.  I then returned outside and picked the box back up…next stop Fluttershy’s.

Wait….no… I can’t go there yet…I have to go put these pictures in a frame or something before I give it to her…oh but damn it…all the stores have to be closed…what do I do…who would have a nice frame or something just lying around that Fluttershy will like…Applejack…hell no…Twilight…as if…wait…Rarity!  Of course!  I’ll go see Rarity…have her give me something for Fluttershy and then give said thing to Fluttershy…it’s perfect!   I just hope Rarity agrees…will she?  If it’s to make Fluttershy happy I can’t imagine not…yeah…she will…and hopefully not be dramatic about it…oh now I’m excited…I got the perfect gift and I’m going to decorate a tree with my best friend.

This is turning out to be the best Hearth’s Warming ever! Next Chapter: Chapter 18 Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 32 Minutes