>>42722828
>You hope the small heat you feel in your cheeks isn't showing on your green fur
>Sure, you'd done a few things you normally wouldn't recently
>But they were nothing special
>Any other pony would have saved a kid from that forest
>Working on your flying was just a hobby
>That contest with Dash was mostly for the money and bragging rights
>And you were just in a bad mood with Applejack
>None of it was really anything special
>At least, that's what you'd thought
>But as you look at Rainbow you begin to question yourself
>There's a fiery determination in her eyes
>Certainty of her own words
>You can imagine that you'd find this all hard to believe if it was any pony other than Rainbow telling you
>She had a way of taking the confidence she was overflowing with and giving it to others
>Maybe you can allow yourself a bit of confidence in what you've done
>But not too much
>Rainbow's ego is already too big for Ponyville alone
>They don't need a second
"Well, I'm not sure if I'd say I'm quite at 'awesome' yet," You say with a small smile, "but I could settle for say... cool?" You nudge Rainbow's hoof with your own as you allow the smile to curl up further
>"That's the spirit!" Rainbow does a corkscrew spin around you to fly on your other side before bumping her side to you. "Stick with me, and just maybe I'll get you up to radical before Hearth's Warming"
>Great, something else you don't know about
"Dare I hope to be tubular?" You miss your fingers as you fail to make devil horns with your hoof
>You could try with your wings, but you don't feel like plummeting right now
>The two of you begin to laugh as you go back and forth with various uncool words for being cool
>Funky, spiffy, and groovy are thrown around amidst your laughter, among others
>"So, your disbelief aside, seriously what made you think it was a scam?"
>She's moved herself around to face you, now flying backward
>You're proud of how well you're able to fly, with how new you are, but her ability to just do that impresses and scares you
"Well," it's your turn to pause now as you come up blank for any real explanation.
>The stamp looked real enough, the calligraphy was fancy enough to come from royalty, as did the signature
Eventually, you simply shrug "Scams were pretty common where I'm from. If something's 'too good to be true' then most of the time I figure it simply isn't, you know?"
>Despite how simple it was your words seem to confuse Rainbow
>You're not sure why
>Distrusting others you don't know is just common sense
>Especially if they ask you to travel across country
>Right?
>"Did you... trust anyone where you're from?"
>The question hits you like a ton of bricks out of nowhere
>How do you begin to unpack that?
>Your old world aside, you need to keep up pony appearances
>Bringing up friends or family will make a trail you can't keep up
"Well... no, not really"
>You offer the answer half-heartedly
>Hoping she'll take it and leave it at that
>Instead, she stops
>Abruptly
4chan Search
4 results for "1d0804cd2f2de447fa4fc00419ed2859"
>>42555767
>You're not sure what makes something funnier, keeping it to yourself, or sharing it
>"Did she open a door and a bucket of water fell on her?"
>"Naw, wouldn't've been that Pinkie, I'll bet she tried to fly up with a weight she couldn’t handle and got pulled outta the air for her trouble, am I right Anon?"
>Case in point, you've been chuckling to yourself ever since you left the gym at the fact Rainbow nearly followed you into the bathroom
>And you're not sure whether it's funnier to keep it to yourself or tell Applejack and Pinkie
>Rainbow is giving what could only be described as a glare that's willing you to die
>You don't take offence, cause she's also got a blush that's willing herself to die
"It's nothing you two, Rainbow just... got lost."
>You swing your legs to the side and feel the swish of air as her hooves kick out to you
>"In the gym?" Applejack chuckles at the absurdity of the idea
>"But it's so small, Dashie, how'd you get lost in there"
>"I didn't get lost!" Dash yells, quickly shrinking into her seat as some of the other Sugarcube Corner patrons glance at her. "I just... got turned around."
>"At the gym?" Applejack reiterates
>"Spitfire was there!" Rainbow yelps out, suddenly remembering that detail and using the excuse. "It was her old gym before she was a Wonderbolt, so I just... saw it in a new light"
"Yeah, and missed all the signs while you were at it" You mutter into your milkshake, intending to finish this one
>Again, you swing your legs and stick your tongue out playfully at Dash as you feel her miss for a second time
>The other two ponies laugh at you and Dash's back and forth
>Admittedly, you were surprised to see them both here
>But apparently Pinkie is such a wiz at her job that the Cakes were willing to allow her more breaks than normal cause she did more in a day that a normal pony could do in a week
>Applejack's still a mystery though
"Not that I'm complaining, Applejack, but what are you doing here? I'd have thought working a farm was an all day thing"
>Applejack nibbles at her slice of pie and nods understandingly at you
>"Normally you'd be right, sugarcube, but we're past the main harvest, getting closer to winter, so there's less farm work to do." She grimaces a little as her muzzle twitches. "Though that just means we're gonna be busy with more housework."
>You nod at the clearly tired farm mare
"Well, hey, if you ever want an extra pair of hooves, I've got two to spare- a decent pair of wings too"
>Applejack smiles appreciatively at that and nods
>"That'd be nice actually, some of the family's been talking about you since they saw yer flight with Rainbow. I reckon they'd like to meet ya"
>"I would suggest a nice pair of boots if you're going towards Sweet Apple Acres." Glancing over, you see Rarity approaching, the jingle of the door bell fading behind her. "While I do adore the quaintness of their home, the roads leave much to be desired"
>You're not sure what makes something funnier, keeping it to yourself, or sharing it
>"Did she open a door and a bucket of water fell on her?"
>"Naw, wouldn't've been that Pinkie, I'll bet she tried to fly up with a weight she couldn’t handle and got pulled outta the air for her trouble, am I right Anon?"
>Case in point, you've been chuckling to yourself ever since you left the gym at the fact Rainbow nearly followed you into the bathroom
>And you're not sure whether it's funnier to keep it to yourself or tell Applejack and Pinkie
>Rainbow is giving what could only be described as a glare that's willing you to die
>You don't take offence, cause she's also got a blush that's willing herself to die
"It's nothing you two, Rainbow just... got lost."
>You swing your legs to the side and feel the swish of air as her hooves kick out to you
>"In the gym?" Applejack chuckles at the absurdity of the idea
>"But it's so small, Dashie, how'd you get lost in there"
>"I didn't get lost!" Dash yells, quickly shrinking into her seat as some of the other Sugarcube Corner patrons glance at her. "I just... got turned around."
>"At the gym?" Applejack reiterates
>"Spitfire was there!" Rainbow yelps out, suddenly remembering that detail and using the excuse. "It was her old gym before she was a Wonderbolt, so I just... saw it in a new light"
"Yeah, and missed all the signs while you were at it" You mutter into your milkshake, intending to finish this one
>Again, you swing your legs and stick your tongue out playfully at Dash as you feel her miss for a second time
>The other two ponies laugh at you and Dash's back and forth
>Admittedly, you were surprised to see them both here
>But apparently Pinkie is such a wiz at her job that the Cakes were willing to allow her more breaks than normal cause she did more in a day that a normal pony could do in a week
>Applejack's still a mystery though
"Not that I'm complaining, Applejack, but what are you doing here? I'd have thought working a farm was an all day thing"
>Applejack nibbles at her slice of pie and nods understandingly at you
>"Normally you'd be right, sugarcube, but we're past the main harvest, getting closer to winter, so there's less farm work to do." She grimaces a little as her muzzle twitches. "Though that just means we're gonna be busy with more housework."
>You nod at the clearly tired farm mare
"Well, hey, if you ever want an extra pair of hooves, I've got two to spare- a decent pair of wings too"
>Applejack smiles appreciatively at that and nods
>"That'd be nice actually, some of the family's been talking about you since they saw yer flight with Rainbow. I reckon they'd like to meet ya"
>"I would suggest a nice pair of boots if you're going towards Sweet Apple Acres." Glancing over, you see Rarity approaching, the jingle of the door bell fading behind her. "While I do adore the quaintness of their home, the roads leave much to be desired"
>>42404932
"Rainbow, you can fly at mach speed, do you really think I'd believe you wouldn't notice a sleeping tortoise?"
>"Well you didn't notice either!" She says, accusingly pointing a hoof at you
"Rainbow I regularly nosedive into the ground, and, until about a week ago, didn't know there was a difference between a turtle and a tortoise." You remind her
>Your words seem to catch her as she sputters for a different explanation before simply huffing
>"Whatever, bye Anon." She says, quickly setting Tank onto her back
"Same time tomorrow?" You ask sarcastically, amused at experiencing the rare act of catching her out
>She simply lets out an affirmative grunt before letting the door swing shut behind her
"Same time tomorrow" You nod to yourself as you continue to smirk at the door
>Your ears twitch as you catch the faint sound of powerful wings flapping as Rainbow carries herself away for the night
https://ponepaste.org/10481#3689
"Rainbow, you can fly at mach speed, do you really think I'd believe you wouldn't notice a sleeping tortoise?"
>"Well you didn't notice either!" She says, accusingly pointing a hoof at you
"Rainbow I regularly nosedive into the ground, and, until about a week ago, didn't know there was a difference between a turtle and a tortoise." You remind her
>Your words seem to catch her as she sputters for a different explanation before simply huffing
>"Whatever, bye Anon." She says, quickly setting Tank onto her back
"Same time tomorrow?" You ask sarcastically, amused at experiencing the rare act of catching her out
>She simply lets out an affirmative grunt before letting the door swing shut behind her
"Same time tomorrow" You nod to yourself as you continue to smirk at the door
>Your ears twitch as you catch the faint sound of powerful wings flapping as Rainbow carries herself away for the night
https://ponepaste.org/10481#3689
>>42224911
>The question makes your head snap up to look at him again
>He's bouncing slightly on the tree
>Friends with a kid less than half your age
>Your mind is setting off more red alerts than you can process
>Then they start to calm as you remind yourself the things you've seen
>Rainbow has Scootaloo
>And his parents trust you for some reason
>That sounds nice
>A smile crosses your muzzle as you go to reply
>Then there's a sinking feeling in your chest
>Why did such a heavy breeze flow in?
>Why is there a hole in your wall?
>Where's the tree?
>Where's Mach!?
“KID!”
>You feel your give as you launch yourself off the couch
>Nothing's broken so you force the muscles to snap your wings correct and soar down
>You can't see any pink, only the brown trunk
>And it's getting further away
>It feels like you're setting your wings on fire as you force them to fly faster
>Faster than you ever have before
>You finally start to catch up to the tree
>Latching onto it, the wind tries to rip the air out of your lungs as the fire in your wings burns hotter with each second
"MACH!?"
>All you get in response is a fearful scream that gets whipped away by the wind
>You're forced to awkwardly scramble through the tree as it flips, turns and spins through the air
>Tears get pulled from your eyes from the wind speed but you see a blur of pink squirming in the tree
>You force yourself towards him, your wings, unable to click to your sides getting tangled in the branches
>The pain doesn't stop you as you reach up and grab hold of something soft and fuzzy
>With a small yank you pull him into you and he clings to your chest
>You look around but you don't know which way is up and your wings are still snagged in the branches
>Bracing your hooves against the trunk, you simply push
>It takes a few of whatever precious seconds you have, but your hooves win out
>You let out a yell of pain as you feel your wing tear itself out from how it tangled itself around a branch and you launch yourself through snapping twigs and branches out of the tree
>You're in the open air
>But your wings refuse to talk to you anymore after what you did
>All you can do to orientate yourself is realize you're about to crash into a very familiar forest
>The one that's haunted your nightmares since you got here
>The one you swore you'd never go back to
>You tuck Mach close as you curl into a ball and turn your back towards the trees
>This is gonna hurt
https://ponepaste.org/10481#2747
an extra big update because I haven't updated in a while and to welcome the beginning of a new thread
admittedly, this part went a different direction than I initially intended, but when I write I tend to let my brain flow instead of stay locked on one thing
>The question makes your head snap up to look at him again
>He's bouncing slightly on the tree
>Friends with a kid less than half your age
>Your mind is setting off more red alerts than you can process
>Then they start to calm as you remind yourself the things you've seen
>Rainbow has Scootaloo
>And his parents trust you for some reason
>That sounds nice
>A smile crosses your muzzle as you go to reply
>Then there's a sinking feeling in your chest
>Why did such a heavy breeze flow in?
>Why is there a hole in your wall?
>Where's the tree?
>Where's Mach!?
“KID!”
>You feel your give as you launch yourself off the couch
>Nothing's broken so you force the muscles to snap your wings correct and soar down
>You can't see any pink, only the brown trunk
>And it's getting further away
>It feels like you're setting your wings on fire as you force them to fly faster
>Faster than you ever have before
>You finally start to catch up to the tree
>Latching onto it, the wind tries to rip the air out of your lungs as the fire in your wings burns hotter with each second
"MACH!?"
>All you get in response is a fearful scream that gets whipped away by the wind
>You're forced to awkwardly scramble through the tree as it flips, turns and spins through the air
>Tears get pulled from your eyes from the wind speed but you see a blur of pink squirming in the tree
>You force yourself towards him, your wings, unable to click to your sides getting tangled in the branches
>The pain doesn't stop you as you reach up and grab hold of something soft and fuzzy
>With a small yank you pull him into you and he clings to your chest
>You look around but you don't know which way is up and your wings are still snagged in the branches
>Bracing your hooves against the trunk, you simply push
>It takes a few of whatever precious seconds you have, but your hooves win out
>You let out a yell of pain as you feel your wing tear itself out from how it tangled itself around a branch and you launch yourself through snapping twigs and branches out of the tree
>You're in the open air
>But your wings refuse to talk to you anymore after what you did
>All you can do to orientate yourself is realize you're about to crash into a very familiar forest
>The one that's haunted your nightmares since you got here
>The one you swore you'd never go back to
>You tuck Mach close as you curl into a ball and turn your back towards the trees
>This is gonna hurt
https://ponepaste.org/10481#2747
an extra big update because I haven't updated in a while and to welcome the beginning of a new thread
admittedly, this part went a different direction than I initially intended, but when I write I tend to let my brain flow instead of stay locked on one thing