A Valentine for Stormy

[Chibi Rachy]

I really don't think I've ever written a fic specifically themed for Valentine's Day, only ever done a few Christmas ones. However, I really love how this one turned out, and who better to feature in a Valentine's fic other than Stormy?

This story is actually dedicated to someone very special to me, who I care about very much. I know she'll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. This one's for you, Sam.

A Valentine for Stormy

Stormy relaxed into the comfy cloud pillow and sighed happily. This year’s winter season was coming along nicely. Freshly fallen snow blanketed Rainbow Land as well, her way of showing who was tops during this one season of the year. She watched idly as Skydancer raced back and forth across their current haven, prancing as happily as a young colt. Stormy’s eyes began to close, but then she decided to check once more on her handiwork on Rainbow Land.

It wasn’t very often that Stormy created a nice snow storm in Rainbow Land. Much of the winter was rainy weather, as Stormy worked on practicing her favorite pastime. She couldn’t help but try to perfect her craft even more. However, Rainbow and the Kids weren’t too fond of the mud and dreary weather. There was no playing outside on those days, and typically everyone kept to the Castle and the Mines, trying to stay warm and dry. Every so often though, she decided to be kind and change the rain to a nice snow, a blend between the light and fluffy and the damp and heavy. It was the more preferred weather, even though the temperatures weren’t all too pleasant. Stormy couldn’t say it was the preferred weather on Earth though…she knew that the humans living there were too busy with their own lives to worry about the beauty a good snow could create. Who cared about that when there was rush hour traffic to beat?

As Stormy looked down on her handiwork, she noticed colored specks outside of the Color Castle. “Skydancer! Let’s take a break for a bit!” she called to him. Skydancer trotted to her, and Stormy swung herself up onto his backside. Skydancer took off, racing out of the clouds and toward Rainbow Land. Bits of snow flew up as his hooves rested on the snow. Stormy observed her surroundings, and finally spotted some of the Color Kids near the side of the Color Castle. She slid from Skydancer’s backside and walked over to join them.

Buddy Blue, Patty O’Green, and Red Butler were engaging in a snowball fight. Each of them were facing off against the other two and holding their own. Patty had erected a tiny barricade and stored her snowballs behind it. Red Butler was lobbing snowballs as fast as he could make them, and Buddy Blue was working more on the defensive, throwing snowballs when he had enough of a chance to make them.

“Can’t catch me! I’m too fast for both of you!” yelled Buddy. A snowball came flying at the side of his head and splattered against the tufts of blue hair that peeked from under his dark blue toboggan, which matched the one piece snowsuit he wore over his usual clothing. Patty O’Green and Red Butler wore a similar outfit that matched their given colors

Patty O’Green giggled mischievously. “That’s what you get!”

Buddy frowned before quickly scooping more snow into his hands, quickly forming a snowball. He drew back his hand to pitch it, but not before another snowball smacked him in the back of the head. He quickly spun on his heels and went to throw the snowball at Red Butler instead. However, he spun too quickly and slipped on the wet snow instead, falling onto his behind.

Snickers came from his friends as they attempted to cover their laughter up behind their hands. “Hey, cut it out!” called Buddy.

Two snowballs flew from behind and smacked both Patty O’Green and Red Butler, the force of each snowball knocking them down as well. Buddy grinned triumphantly at his good luck. Patty and Red wiped the snow from themselves, looking around for the person who’d thrown the snowballs. They found Stormy standing near the bridge, arms crossed.

“What are you doing out of the clouds?” asked Buddy, grateful to her for getting his friends back.

“Checking out my handiwork. I think I got the consistency a bit off this year… it’s more wet snow than the mix I usually stir up,” she answered, looking down at a clump of snow she’d picked up.

“Join our snowball fight, Stormy. You can be on my team,” called Patty O’Green. She gestured toward the small barricade that hid her stash of snowballs. “I’ve got lots of ammo.”

“Nah, join me, Stormy!” cried Buddy Blue.

Stormy shook her head. “Nah, I’m all right. I was only taking a break. I’m gonna head back up to the clouds soon.”

“Are you coming to the Valentine’s party this afternoon?” asked Red Butler.

This was news to Stormy. She had had no idea about a party, let alone one celebrating the one holiday she wasn’t fond of. She faltered in her reply, but quickly pulled off a good excuse. “Of course not. Why would I go to such a mushy party? Valentine’s is a dumb holiday anyway!” She turned and quickly crossed the bridge, taking off on Skydancer.

“You made her mad, Red. You know Rainbow had a good reason for not telling Stormy, and you went and blew it,” remarked Patty O’Green. She tossed a snowball at him to emphasize her point.

“Yeah, Stormy hates Valentine’s Day, Red. We know you and Tickled Pink love it, but she hates it with a passion,” added Buddy Blue.

“I can’t help it! Red and pink colors are needed! Romeo is working hard to make sure we have plenty of color crystals mined and Tickled Pink is making plans. You can’t have Valentine’s Day with just any ol’ color!” he retorted, crossing his arms.

“Hey, what about that cool color trick Shy Violet showed us?” asked Patty O’Green. “You can’t do the color trick without something green!”

“Well that’s silly! And who wants to do that trick anyway?” replied Red Butler.

“Hey guys! Come help me finish getting things ready!” called Canary Yellow. “There’s still food to be made!” The trio of friends took off for the Castle, arguments forgotten. After all, there was a party to get ready for, and that always put anyone in good spirits.

Anyone, that is, except Stormy. She had returned to the cloud haven with Skydancer, and her eyes were ablaze with anger. She paced around the cloud, hands behind her back. “I hate that stupid holiday! It’s dumb. Who cares about giving pieces of paper to others!” Stormy stomped a foot into the cloud with each statement, setting a batch of new snow falling. “Why would anyone like this holiday? They should enjoy winter! They should be doing feeling sad! Not icky over love!” More snow began to fall heavily. Stormy was too angry to notice. She didn’t care.

Rainbow was happily sorting through the valentines she had created inside her bedroom. For the winter season, her outfit hardly changed; she simply wore heavy white leggings underneath her dress to keep warm. Twink had holed himself up with her and was looking over the valentines as well. “Well, what do you think?” asked Rainbow.

“There’s so many here! One for everyone! Me and the Color Kids and Moonglo and…” Twink continued to name all the valentines he saw, growing happier with each one. “Hey, what about Stormy?”

Rainbow sighed. “Stormy hates Valentine’s Day, Twink. I don’t quite know why. I think it’s because she’s used to being alone. No one likes to be all by themselves and on Valentine’s Day, you’re supposed to remember those you care about.”

“But Stormy has lots of people who care about her!”

“In Stormy’s eyes, she doesn’t. Before she came to us, she was always alone. Seeing everyone so happy today only reminds her of that.”

“What happened to her before she came to Rainbow Land?” asked Twink. This was a story he wasn’t familiar with.

Rainbow shook her head. “I can’t tell you. It’s her story to tell. It’s not a very good story though. I’m pretty sure it’s what makes her so angry when Valentine’s Day comes around.”

“Hey! Look at all the snow falling!” interrupted Twink as he glanced outside.

“And speaking of angry, I’m sure Stormy’s behind that snowfall. I never told her today was Valentine’s Day though. Did you, Twink?”

“No, Rainbow.”

“Hmm… it must have been one of the Kids by accident. “ Rainbow moved closer to the window and studied the snowfall. Big, thick flakes fell quickly, and Rainbow could tell that the bridge to the Color Castle was covered already.

“Rainbow, if she keeps this up, we’ll be stuck here!” cried Twink.

“I know, Twink, but we have to give her some time to cool down first. Then I’ll go speak to her.”

“Ohhh…I hope she cools down soon!”

Rainbow gathered her valentines back into a pile and placed them into a small blue cloth bag. “Don’t worry Twink. Everyone needs some time alone.” She picked up her bag and exited the room, Twink following after her. “Let’s go see how the others are doing with the party plans”

“Rainbow!” cried the Color Kids happily when she entered the dining area. Rainbow looked around at the transformation in the room. Red Butler and Tickled Pink were coordinating the decorations, and sprites were assisting them. They had decked the room in red, pink, and white streamers, with balloons to match. Festive tables had been laid out nearby, covered with pink table cloths. She watched Canary Yellow and Indigo stir up bowls of punch, while Lala Orange, Patty O’Green, and Moonglo carried batches of frosted pink and white sugar cookies to the tables. Shy Violet could be seen working busily in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on something that smelled delicious. As Rainbow continued to glance around the room, she spotted Buddy Blue organizing a band of sprites, who were busily warming up their instruments.

“It looks great! Everyone’s doing such a wonderful job,” declared Rainbow. She walked to the other end of the room where a set of wooden mailboxes had been placed, one for each of the Color Kids, Rainbow, Twink, Tickled Pink, and Moonglo. She began to deposit her valentines into the mailboxes, humming to herself.

She turned around when she felt a tapping on her shoulder, and came face to face with Red Butler. He looked concerned. “What’s wrong?” asked Rainbow.

“I’m sorry Rainbow, but I didn’t mean to tell Stormy about the party…I didn’t know she didn’t like Valentine’s Day. I forgot that we weren’t supposed to.”

“It’s all right Red. I had good reason for it, but I guess I should have explained it better than I did.” She noticed Red look worriedly toward the window where flakes were still falling thickly. “Don’t worry. I’m going to go talk with her, but first…” Rainbow turned to the entire group. “All right! It’s time, everyone!” she called out.

Quickly, the Color Kids and Moonglo came forth with small brown sacks. Each of them deposited the contents of their sack into the bag that Rainbow had used to carry her valentines in. As soon as Moonglo had added her contribution, Rainbow closed the bag and smiled. “Thanks everyone. It’s perfect!”

She walked to the entrance of the Color Castle, everyone following after her. “Starlite!” she called out through the snowfall. Starlite trotted carefully, careful of the new snow covering the ground. He blended in with his surroundings so well; only his rainbow colored mane gave him away. He stopped in front of Rainbow, who quickly climbed aboard. Twink looked up at her expectantly. “I need to do this alone, Twink. I think you know why.”

Twink nodded. “Of course!”

“I’ll be back soon, everyone!” called Rainbow as she waved to them.

“We’ll have everything ready by then!” replied Buddy Blue.

Rainbow smiled, pressing her finger to her Color Belt. A rainbow beam shot forth and the rainbow rose to the sky. Starlite took off, glad for the surface of the rainbow compared to the slickness of the wet snow. Rainbow held tightly to his mane, the bag situated between her legs. Higher and higher they rose, a dark grey storm cloud in the distance. Instinctively Rainbow knew this was Stormy’s current haven. The rainbow path continued along the sky until it connected with the storm cloud.

Inside the storm cloud Rainbow could see Stormy pacing about, stomping in protest every so often. Skydancer galloped in circles, his cries echoing Stormy’s anger. Rainbow slid from Starlite’s backside, motioning to Starlite to wait for her. “If I must…” he whispered. “But really, a magnificent horse should not have to just stand about!”

Stormy’s ears perked up when she heard mumbled whispering behind her. She spun on her heel, coming face to face with Rainbow Brite. “What do you want?” she asked angrily. “To try to convince me about some stupid holiday?”

Rainbow shook her head. “No, I’m not gonna do that. I know why you don’t like Valentine’s, remember?”

“It’s not like it makes any difference.”

“No, it does make a difference. Valentine’s isn’t a holiday for everyone.”

Stormy raised an eyebrow. “Why are you so willingly agreeing with me?”

“Because everyone’s different. I would like it if you’d think about coming to our party. Even if you don’t like Valentine’s, you do like a good party with everyone.”

“I don’t need to go to a party that’s all mushy.”

“Stormy, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. I just thought I’d invite you because it’d be nice if you came to have fun with the rest of us.”

“Good. I don’t accept,” replied Stormy, crossing her arms and turning away from Rainbow.

Rainbow used her final trump card, one she hoped would work this time. It wasn’t guaranteed, but it would be tempting to Stormy. “Moonglo made those star sugar cookies of hers, the ones you really like,” she offered.

Stormy looked over her shoulder at Rainbow. “They’re shaped like hearts, aren’t they?”

“Well, yes, but it’s because of the holiday. You love her cookies though.”

Scoffing, Stormy replied, “Stop trying to bribe me with silly cookies. It’s not gonna work.” She turned away again, arms still crossed. “If you’re done, you can leave now. I have a blizzard to attend to.” She held a hand in front of her, concentrating on directing more clouds to the area.

Rainbow sighed. She had tried at least. She looked down at her sack, and smiled. Stormy did not turn to look at her as she opened the sack and pressed a finger to her Color Belt. A rainbow beam flew into the back, lighting the interior. Within seconds, it retracted, and Rainbow reached inside to withdraw the object that now rested inside. In her hand was a small rainbow colored heart, tinged around the outer edges with hints of pink and tiny stars, that created a small golden glow. “I know you don’t like the holiday, Stormy, but all of us wanted to give you a special gift anyway,” she stated softly.

Before Stormy could react, Rainbow closed the gap between them and placed the rainbow heart in Stormy’s upturned palm. Stormy’s concentration on the storm was broken, and the clouds she’d been calling forth stopped in their tracks. She merely stared at the heart in her hand.

“We wanted to show you we cared about you, no matter what you thought about the holiday. No one wanted to leave you out.” Rainbow turned without another word and climbed upon Starlite. The two raced back down the rainbow path to the Color Castle to join the festivities that would soon commence.

Shaking her head, Stormy quickly recovered from her surprise. “I don’t need some stupid heart!” she yelled and she tossed the heart as hard as she could. She watched it land farther along the edge of the cloud, but its brightness never dimmed. Stormy marched quickly to get it, and was about to toss it again, when the heart grew warm in her palm. She couldn’t help but feel surprised when she felt the warmth spread through her body. Skydancer trotted over to, wondering at the look on her face.

Stormy looked up at Skydancer. “Maybe a party wouldn’t be so bad,” she reasoned. “I do like Moonglo’s cookies after all.” Skydancer whinnied in defiance. “I still don’t like the holiday, Skydancer. I think it’s quite dumb.” Stormy looked down at the heart in her hand and slipped it into a pocket inside her overcoat. She patted it before climbing aboard Skydancer.

Reluctantly, Skydancer turned and made his way down from the cloud cover. As he and Stormy rode for the Color Castle through a gently falling snow, that glittered and gleamed off the trees, sprite houses, and ground. Stormy dismounted in front of the Color Castle, hesitating for a few seconds. Skydancer trotted off, whinnying his disapproval one last time. Stormy’s boots crunched in the snow as she made her way across the bridge and entered the Color Castle.

The sprite band was just finishing up a lively number and Buddy Blue was bowing to his pleased audience, who clapped loudly. “Bravo!” called Red Butler.

“Another one!” added Canary Yellow.

“We need a break first!” answered Buddy Blue. “Let’s dig in to some great food!”

In agreement, all the guests crowded around a table piled with sweet treats and punch. They chattered excitedly, looking forward to tasting some of the fine food made especially for the holiday. No one turned to notice that Stormy stood in the doorway to the dining area, leaning against the frame. She watched the scene before her, reasoning with herself as to why she had decided to come again. She was about to turn and go, when Moonglo turned and spotted her. “Stormy! You came!” she called out happily and smiled.

Stormy quickly thought of a good reply. “I heard that your cookies would be here so I figured I’d grab some to snack on later when I’m working.”

Rainbow took a step forward from the group. The others were uncertain as of what to say. Each of them knew that one wrong thing said would make Stormy turn and leave. “We’re happy you came to join us. There’s plenty of cookies too!”

Smiling, Stormy crossed the room to the table with the others and grabbed a plate. She piled it with a bunch of cookies, and took the offered glass of punch that Lala Orange handed her. She and the others feasted on the treats, talking excitedly and sharing stories. No one said a thing when she wrapped a few cookies up in a napkin and stuck them in her overcoat for later. They had pretended not to see, but shared a knowing glance.

The party continued into the evening, with Buddy’s sprite band performing again and again. Everyone else danced to the lively music. Stormy watched them from the wall, nodding her head to the beat. She didn’t want to engage in such a foolish thing. She looked over when Rainbow joined her against the wall.

“I’m glad you came to join us, Stormy.”

“It still doesn’t mean I like Valentine’s very much.”

Rainbow smiled. “I know that. You came for the cookies, right?”

Stormy couldn’t stifle the laughter that burst forth. “Maybe!” she giggled. “But, it was fun to spend time with all of you too.” She patted her coat where she knew the rainbow heart was hidden. “It’s not so bad to spend time with people who care about you.” She looked over at Rainbow. “Always better with those cookies though!” The two girls laughed again and looked out on the party scene before them. Yes, Valentine’s was quite all right with friends…and good cookies too!

Lemme know what you think about it. I do enjoy feedback. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

[Major Ursa]

Very nice story. Keep it up.

[Chibi Rachy]

haha thanks Tis only my second RB fic

[FanChan]

That was a cute story ^_^ It's kind of funny, 'cause I made a little RB V-Day comic, and it kind of relates to your story. Hehe. I'm hoping to finish it today and get it up here. Forgot all about it @_@

[Chibi Rachy]

thank you How does yours relate to my story? I'm quite curious now, and eager to see your comic when you finish it!

[Rainbow Brite]

Very cute story!!

[Chibi Rachy]

Very cute story!!

Aww thanks

I read it to my students today. Some of them had found my story folder at school where I'd been making additions to it one day during planning. So today after our Valentine's party had died down and the parents had left, I sat and read them my story to fill the time we had left until dismissal. Even the boys sat and listened!