Chapter 2: Everyone but Rainbow Knows

Rainbow soared through the skies above Ponyville towards the weather office, her wings dipping into the clouds and letting little fluff balls break away with her. Doing a few dives and corkscrews, her mind went back to what had made an awesome breakfast go cold. Rarity has been reading way too many romance novels, Rainbow Dash thought, shaking her head. Mac proposing on Heart’s and Hooves day? He might like to be the romantic one, but that would just be silly even for him. Rainbow smiled to herself as she thought of all those times Mac had been the romantic type.

Mac didn’t waste time on getting her flowers, taking her on expensive romantic dinners by candlelight, or things that other mares would want; he knew who he was dealing with. He knew a night of just drinking cider in the barn and listening to her talk about whatever topic she wanted, or getting her a copy of a Daring Do, meant more to her than any dinner or flowers ever could. Sure, he had done some silly things like giving her a Daring Do doll. The very idea that somepony thought a doll would make a good gift for her would have been grounds to call the nice ponies in white coats. She was Rainbow Dash! Even as a filly she didn't have dolls; they were way too lame for her.

But Mac was the exception.

He was the only pony who could give her one. He was the only one who knew who could get past those barriers she held up around others. He was the only one to see the real her.

Rainbow gave a sigh, thinking about how Mac had gotten so close to her. Damnit, Rainbow, he got you good, Rainbow thought, a shadow of a grin forming on her lips.

She didn't have long to dwell upon Mac, as the weather office soon came into sight. The office was, of course, a cloud building, albeit just two stories tall and rather plainly shaped like a house on the ground, with ‘Ponyville Weather Office’ written above the double doors. Performing a lazy loop, Rainbow landed right in front of the doors and entered.

Sitting at the front desk of the weather team’s office was a old pegasus that Rainbow Dash knew all too well. He had a dark gold coat, eyes that were hiding behind a newspaper, and a grey mane that clung to strands of the old black, giving it a salt and pepper look. He didn’t even look up when Rainbow Dash walked in, his eyes scanning across the newspaper. “Cutting it close again, Miss Dash?” the pegasus asked, his voice deep and raspy, never lifting his eyes. Rainbow looked up at the clock on the wall and just grinned at it.

“Please, cutting it close? I’ve got another thirty seconds, at least!” Rainbow laughed, as she made her way over to the desk, grabbing the file on his desk with her name on it. As she did, she noticed that the desk had been decorated in little pink and red hearts, with streamers all around. Within one of the hearts was written: To Gunny, Love Flitter and Cloudchaser.

Tilting her head a bit, she looked up at the pegasus and smiled, even though he was still looking at his paper. “They got you this year, didn’t they?” Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow. The stallion didn’t give an answer, merely grunting as he flipped a page and kept reading.

Rainbow just laughed to herself; both Flitter and Cloudchaser loved messing with the old stallion, always trying to throw him off his game. Gunny never gave them an inch, however, always remaining calm and in control. That was unless some poor soul screwed up and they got his Rah Rah treatment.

“You know, you should give them a chance this year. Maybe they'll jump your bones and make you less of a grump.” The gold stallion looked over his paper at Rainbow Dash, his grey eyes glaring into her magenta ones, but all it did was make Rainbow’s smile grow.

“Just get your flank to work before I find more work for you,” Gunny growled, before rejoining his article. Rainbow just gave a raspy laugh before walking out.

“Just trying to help you, gramps,” she said, tucking the folder under her wing, and started to walk past him towards the locker rooms. Before she could get more than two steps away, Gunny gave out another grunt, causing Rainbow to look over at him.

Gunny was still looked down at his paper, eyes still scanning left to right. “Glad you are slowing down some. Just let me know if he doesn't treat you right, and I'll take care of it.” Rainbow raised an eyebrow at the comment, tilting her head.

“Uhh… thanks, Gunny?” The old stallion just gave a nod, still reading the page he was on. Rainbow stared at him for a few more seconds, before shaking her head and making her way to the lockers.

“Old coot must be going senile,” Rainbow mumbled to herself as she pushed the door open to the lockers.

Rainbow didn’t keep much in her locker, just a pair of flight goggles, toothbrush and paste for when she was running late, and a towel for the showers. There were limited decorations inside it: an old Wonderbolts poster for inspection, and a picture of her and Mac. The picture was from late last winter, when Mac had managed to catch her under the mistletoe. Mac’s eyes were closed as his lips were pressed up against her cheek; her eyes were flung open and her other cheek bulged with cider as AJ took the picture.

She still couldn’t quite justify to herself having such a picture, as though she couldn't go fifteen seconds without seeing him. That being true, she had seen a picture of her and Mac on Mac’s workbench in the barn: just a simple one of her taking a nap on his back as he worked.

Now, for Mac, it was natural for him to need a picture of her while he worked: It was to remind him of how lucky he was to have a her giving him the time of day. Not her, though. She didn’t miss him at work… most of the time, anyway.

Pushing the less than cool thoughts away, Rainbow reached for the latch of her locker and opened it. The moment it was an inch open, the door sprang forth and nearly took her nose off, while confetti and balloons shot out all around her. As this happened, two light purple pegasi mares with light blue manes jumped out from either side of the lockers, shouting, “Congratulations!”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes went wide as she started to scramble backwards from the sudden attack on her eyes and ears, and her head whipped back and forth between the two mares. As her legs moved backwards, she had forgotten about the bench between lockers and was soon tripping over it, crashing onto her back and causing her to slam the back of her head against the lockers with a loud clang.

Giving out a low growl of pain as she pushed herself up, Rainbow opened one eye and allowed it to dart back and forth between the two advancing mares. Neither seemed that concerned for her wellbeing, as they were too busy jumping around in excitement and chanting happily between each other.

“Dash is getting married! Dash is getting married! Dash is getting married!” Flitter and Cloudchaser sang, before they giggled and squealed with excitement. Dash just kept on growling as she pushed herself up, the back of her head throbbing. Once more, the sisters didn’t seem to notice Dash’s discomfort as they kept on chanting and squealing happily.

Once she got up, her eyes fell upon her now wide-open locker, and she felt as though she was about to throw up. Several balloons had been stuffed inside and were now floating in the air, the ends of them tied to the hooks in her lockers. Small confetti cannons had also been placed inside. The firing strings had been elaborately tied up so that when Dash opened the locker they would go off, immediately bringing Pinkie to mind for having some part in this. Also, in her locker was a sign painted in bright blue and red lettering ‘Rainbow Dash is Getting Married!’, but that wasn’t what raised her hackles, made her blood boil, or turned her vision red.

No.

They had decorated the inside of her locker with pictures of bridal dresses, decorations, and, for reasons that were beyond any sane pony,even pictures of lingerie. Rainbow just cringed at it all, as the throbbing in her head bled away while her anger at the twins grew hotter.

“What the heck do you two think you're doing?!” Rainbow Dash’s raised, and very angered, voice pulled the two out of their chanting to look back at her. Immediately they dove down and hugged Rainbow Dash, crushing her between them.

“We heard that Big Mac proposed, so we just go so excited!” Flitter proclaimed, as she held the struggling Rainbow Dash.

“The first of the Weather Team to get married! That is just so amazing! And to land a total hunk like Big Mac!” Cloudchaser added, causing the pair of them to squeal again, redoubling their grip on Rainbow Dash. Every second they held her, Rainbow felt the need to breath burn her throat, but no matter how much she struggled they wouldn't let go. As she strained, she shook her head back and forth in desperation. On one of these shakes, Flitter let go of Dash and instead grabbed either side of her face.

“Wait… where’s your engagement ring?” she asked, forcefully turning Rainbow’s head from side to side, examining her ears. This caught Cloudchaser’s attention, and she too let go of Rainbow and looked at her ears.

“Are they pierced? If not, that could be why she’s not wearing it yet,”

“No, I can see the holes on her ear… oh no! Dash, you didn’t turn him down, did you?” Without them holding her, Rainbow unleashed an almost primal roar as she pulled her head out of Flitter’s grip. As she backed up from them, she took several deep breaths in, still wondering why every mare she had seen today felt it necessary to choke her.

“I didn’t reject Mac! He didn’t—”

“Wait… is this a pitchfork wedding?” Cloudchaser covered her mouth with a gasp at Flitter’s words.

“Imagine that! Oh, Rainbow, do you really think you could join the Wonderbolts if you have a foal?” Cloudchaser looked to her sister wide eyed. “Should she even still be doing weather? That could be dangerous for a developing foal!”

The two kept exchanging replies, their story surrounding the foal of Mac and Rainbow Dash growing more elaborate and sensational every passing second; how her dream must die so that her foal’s may live! Rainbow wasn’t sure what stoked the fire under her mane more, the idea that her and Mac had stumbled into wedlock, that they thought she was pregnant, or… no, worst of all, they were ignoring her. Stomping her hooves, Rainbow Dash stepped between them, chest puffing out and spreading her impressive wingspan to smack each of them on the head.

“First of all, Mac didn't propose!” Rainbow shouted, her eyes moving between them. “Second, I'm sure as hell am not pregnant! And third, who the hell told you Mac proposed to me?!” Rainbow’s eyes kept moving from sister to sister, glaring at them so intensely one would have sworn she was trying to burn holes into them.

The twins stared back at Rainbow Dash, their mouths cracked open as they tilted their heads slightly in opposite directions. Rainbow just held her frown, keeping her eyes locked on the pair and not letting her guard down, still ready to give a good hook to each of them.

After several long seconds of silence, the two opened their mouths and shouted in unison, “That's no fair!” Rainbow flinched as their eyes glistened, as though tears were threatening to spill out. To say the sudden shift in emotions threw Rainbow was to say that the Everfree is a little wild. Being the master of conversation she was, she responded the only way she knew how.

“Huh?”

“You wouldn't understand, Rainbow, already having your own special somepony,” Cloudchaser exasperated, leaning on her sister for support, “but some of us are still looking for a stallion to claim as their own!”

“And where better to find that stallion than at an Apple wedding?!” Flitter added in, leaning up against Cloudchaser. “Who said only you could have an Apple stud! We would have no problems finding a stallion!”

“And imagine if there were twin Apples, who were just as big and strong as Mac! Who could clean—”

“—Cook—”

“—Broad shouldered—”

“—Good with his hooves—”

“—Romantic—”

“—And of course… I bet the Big in Big Mac is genetic!” The twins broke into a fit of giggles as Rainbow’s face turned red. Ever since she and Mac had moved in together, more than a few mares, and stallions, had asked if Mac lived up to the big in his name all around. While she didn’t reveal anything about her stallion to others, she was happy to know that nothing about him was small.

Before the conversation could go any further, Rainbow was saved by the chime of the intercom turning on.

“Alright, ladies, we don't have all day,” Gunny’s voice echoed, sounding bored as he spoke. “Don’t make me come in there to get you.” The sisters giggled helplessly at Gunny’s threat.

“Don't tempt us with a good time,” Cloudchaser tinkled, as her sister noded with more laughter. As if he heard her, the intercom chimed to life once more.

“And when I say ‘me’, I mean Thunderlane.” The twins shuddered at the thought; both had dated the stallion, and both had dumped him. Rainbow just laughed as their jaws clattered on the tiles, and she made her way out of the lockers. Luckily, she had been paired with Thunderlane, meaning no more talk about fictional proposals.

Author's Notes:

Very short chapter, sorry about that, the next chapter is very funny and one of my favorite things I have ever written! Shout outs again to Arbarano and The Masked Ferret for all of their help! Please comment to let me know how you like the story so far!

Enjoy the chapter!