Title:           >The pitter patter of the rain was just starting to sound off your rooftop >Das
Author:          nurdisbestpony
Pastebin link:   http://pastebin.com/zU651JuD
First Edit:      Monday 22nd of September 2014 07:28:31 PM CDT
Last Edit:       Monday 22nd of September 2014 07:28:31 PM CDT

>The pitter patter of the rain was just starting to sound off your rooftop
>Dash had said this one was gonna be a big one, the weather team underperformed their last storm and had to make up for it tonight
>At least the weathermen (weatherponies? Ugh, you still couldn't get used that) were never wrong here.
>You remember the last snowstorm on Earth, it cut off most of your state for 5 days, and that was supposed to be "a light dusting"
>The tempo was picking up overhead, and you almost didn't hear the knock at your door between the dull roars of distant thunder.
"COMING!"
>You wonder who would risk the rain to pay you a visit
>Weather team had said the storm was going to last all night, maybe into the morning.
>You open the front door to see a damp and obviously flustered Rainbow Dash
>"h...hey big guy, mind if I come inside? I misjudged the time and there's no way I'm gonna make it back up to the cloud house in this wind."
>You highly doubt that of the "best flier in Equestria" but on the other hoo... HAND... if Dash is saying she can't do something, its probably serious.
"Best flier in Equestria can't handle a little breeze, eh Dash?" You tease as she steps inside
>"S...SHUT UP, YOU KNOW I CAN... Its just... We made this one REALLY strong."
"I was just kidding, Dash. Can I get you a cup of tea?"
>"Yeah, that'd be great dude, towels are in the bathroom?"
"Yeah, just toss the one you use in the basket.”
 
>Bluefast is just about dry by the time you’ve brewed the tea, and the storm has picked up considerably
>The low roar of distant thunder is nearly continuous, an almost antagonistic growl of the elements
>you set a mug in front of Dash and pour her a cup, 3 sugar cubes in the tea and one off to the side for her to much on
>You’d be remiss if you didn’t know how your friends liked their tea.
>Especially Dash
>She’s the only one that will banter with you like your friends back home
>The rest of the ponies are too damn nice, they always quail at insults, even if they’re good-hearted
>”Geez anon, you keeping a diary on Rainbow Dash or something?”
“Please, what would I even write? Hurr durr its rainbow dash, she’s blue and fast and likes sugar cubes and doesnt afraid of anything durrrr”
>”Oh ha ha, there’s more to me than that and you know it”
“Oh yeah, you’re other colors besides blue, paaaardon meeee.”
>”You’re lucky this is awesome tea anon or I’d come over there and teach you a thing or two”
“About what, making weather or going fast?”
>”About what my hoof tastes like”
“Bet its not as good as that tea”
>”You’re right, and that’s why you’re not learning it”
>You chuckle as she takes another swig of the warm sugary drink
 
>You already know how this night is going to go
>Plenty of idle banter, a nice dinner with your best pony friend, and maybe you could get the closet egghead to read you a chapter of Daring Do
>The language was strikingly similar to yours, but their books were actually just squiggly marks on paper
>Twilight had tried to teach you, but apparently its just a talent you have to be born with
>They could read your writing just fine, but obviously couldn’t reproduce it with hooves
>A loud boom of thunder and a sharp gasp breaks you out of your thoughts
>An obviously flustered dash is floating above your table, the last dregs of her tea spilled onto the tablecloth
>”A…Anon, y…you really need to s…stop putting tacks on your chairs…. ha….”
>You give her a puzzled look. You didn’t even know you had any tacks left, you’d used them all to hang your paintings
>You must have missed one, and left it on the chair though.
>Dash had already lowered herself to the ground and was cleaning her spilt tea from the table
“You want another cup D?”
>”N…Nah man, I’m cool, thanks though.”
>You’d never heard Dash stutter before, that tack must have got her good.
>She seemed to calm down quite a bit by the time she popped the extra sugar cube into her mouth, though
>She chewed slowly and a contented look spread across her face
>God damn she’s cute sometimes
 
“Enjoying yourself there?” You snap out of your admiration of the blue horse with a jab
>”Oh shut it, don’t think I didn’t see you watching me, weirdo”
“Gotta have more notes to put in my Dash book, obviously.”
>”Are you gonna put that in the secret section with the hearts drawn all over it?”
“Yeah, because I’m not putting it anywhere that exists”
>”Oh har har big guy, why don’t you sh…."
>BOOOOM
>another really loud thunder crack, and Dash is airborne again
>your stare grounds her slowly, and as she stares back at you, you see something you’ve never seen there before
>It wasn’t determination staring back at you
>Nor was it victory.
>For the first time, you saw fear in Rainbow Dash’s violet eyes.
“Dash…. are you… Afraid of thunder?"
 
>She blinks a few times, and when her eyes open again, she’s managed to regain her composure a bit
>”Psh, naw, are you kidding me? Dude, I’m the weather team CAPTAIN, I LIVE for things like thi….”
>Another crack of thunder
>She’s managed to stay on the ground this time, but she’s stopped talking.
“Dash… its okay.”
>”What? I’m NOT afraid. Just drop it al…”
>This time, it wasn’t the thunder that stopped her protests, but a warm scratching sensation
>You’d found out completely by accident about how sensitive Dash’s ears were, and you figured you’d save the info for when you really needed to win an argument
>You never thought you’d be rubbing them to calm her down
>”Ack… Dude… wha…. oh….”
>Dash leans into your hand, and you feel her weight shift off her opposite hind leg
>You stop and she looks at you
>”The heck was that for anon? Do I look like Winona to you?”
“Nah dash, but did you hear the last lightning strike?”
>”Wha…No…. HA. Of course not, dummy, you can’t hear lightning”
>You can tell she knew exactly what you meant though.
>She may not be Winona, but the same tricks worked.
 
>You sit on the couch, and Dash sits next to you
“So, big bad weather captain Dash, how long?"
>”Uh, anon?”
“Yeah?”
>”I’ve never told anypony about this, alright. And its REALLY embarassing… Do you think we can drop the banter?”
“Y…yeah, sure.”
>”Thanks. Its been ever since I can remember. I was terrified of thunderstorms as a filly.”
>Dash lays her head in your lap
>”Do you mind? I…It’ll make me feel more comfortable”
>You just rest your arm on her and stroke her mane softly
>”I’ll take that as a yes. So yeah, my parents always told me that as a Pegasus, I couldn’t be afraid of the weather.”
>”They told me since I’d probably be working with it, I couldn’t be a good pegasus with a fear like that”
>”So I learned to hide it, eventually got my job with the weather crew, and suffered through every storm since.”
>You look down at the blue pony
>Still flustered, but far more relaxed than before
>You run your fingers through her mane, impossibly soft for the fact that she never keeps up with it
>Or… does she? You realize just how little you know about your best friend in the Pony world.
“Dash, how do you keep your mane so soft?"
>”Oh, its just like that, I guess, Rarity recommended a really good conditioner too. Makes it so I don’t have to keep up with it"
>Well, turns out you knew that.
 
>”Hey anon?”
>You look down at Dash again, her eyes are closed now and she’s leaning into your lap
“Yeah Dash?”
>”This is nice. We should do this more often.”
“Yeah, it really is, and we should.”
>”But don’t tell anyone. I’ve got an image to maintain, ya know.”
“Yeah yeah, can’t let Ponyville know the best flier in Equestria cuddles the monkey whenever it sprinkles”
>”ha… funny. Why don…. oooooooh. You’re not fair.”
>You knew her ears would come in handy in an argument
>”Hey anon, we’ve got another rain storm coming up next week, you mind if I come over? I’ll read you the next Daring Do book…”
>Called it.
“Yeah Dash, that’d be….”
>”Epic?”
“Not quite, but it’d be nice.”
>You and Dash fall asleep together on the couch, her head in your lap, your hand in her mane.
>Overhead, the thunder booms out its anger at the world.
>And Dash sleeps, content.