It was a beautiful peaceful day in Cloudsdale, Fluttershy was visiting her parents with Rainbow Dash following the events with Zephyr Breeze, Fluttershy's brother.
Fluttershy's parents had always tended to be too gentle, which had led Zephyr Breeze to behave badly - it took the help of his big sister and Rainbow to encourage him in the right direction.
Ponies who knew the Shy family well always tended to say that the only pony with authority in the family was Fluttershy, which is rather strange when you know Flutthershy in daily life.
"And how has Zephyr been since then?" asked Fluttershy.
"He's doing well, he's in training to run his own establishment, he's changed a lot since he was more confident" replied Mr. Shy.
"I hope he pulls through, because failure is hard to deal with" said Rainbow Dash, who was speaking from experience due to his disastrous start with the Wonderbolts with others called her "Rainbow Crash" a nickname that remind her a lot of unwanted memories.
"Zephyr has more resources than he thinks, and you'll be there if he need" replied Mrs. Shy.
"Indeed, yes" said Rainbow Dash with a slight embarrassed smile. "In any case, Zephyr has always be the most extravagant of your family".
"Sometimes genetics can be strange," Mr. Shy replied with a laugh. "Zephyr isn't too obvious, but Rainbow's is a lot more obvious.
"What do you mean?" said Rainbow Dash with a puzzled look.
"Today you're a flying expert and a Wonderbolt, which isn't surprising when we know who are your parents" replied Mr Shy "I still remember flying school, me and Mrs Shy had already been at school for a year before your parents arrived, They were the new kids on the block, but despite the fact that your father was one of the youngest, he was already much more gifted than the average. As for your mother, although she had a good level at the start, it was complicated for her and it was your father who supported her during school, I think that's where they fell in love".
Rainbow Dash listened fascinated by Mr Shy's tale, she'd never heard this story from her parents, in fact she'd never asked them how they'd met.
"Were you friends even then?" asked Fluttershy.
"No" replied Mr. Shy "Let's just say Bow was quite extravagant and so he very quickly attracted attention and Windy being with him, you could say he put her in the spotlight. Me and your mother were friends at the time, and we actually watched them from afar as curious spectators. But it's true that in retrospect those four ponies were really special."
"Four ponies?" asks Fluttershy, intrigued by the number of ponies quoted by her father.
"Hush, darling," murmured Mrs Shy, giving her husband a swift kick with her hoof.
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash looked at each other in amazement at Mrs Shy's reaction. It was clear that Mr Shy had just said something he shouldn't have.
The meal drew to a close in a bizarre and somewhat heavy atmosphere, followed by a final exchange of courtesies before Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash took off for Ponyville.
On the way home, Rainbow Dash thought hard about what had happened.
"Four ponies? but Mr. Shy didn't seem to include himself and Mrs. Shy in the group and he'd said it himself they weren't friends at school at the time" Rainbow was lost in thought.
"Are you all right?" asked Fluttershy, who was accompanying him to Ponyville.
"I'm not saying your parents are strange, but I've never seen them like this before" replied Rainbow with a questioning look.
"Sure, even I could tell something was wrong, they're hiding something, it's the same feeling with Angel when he tries to hide things from me" said Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy waits, can we stop for a moment?" said Rainbow Dash, landing on a nearby cloud.
"Of course" replied Fluttershy.
"To recap," said Rainbow Dash in a more serious tone than usual, "your father told us about his time at the flying school where my parents were, but he mentioned four ponies and not two, so I'd be willing to bet that this famous group of friends to which my parents belonged was made up of two other ponies, but who ?"
All the questions in Rainbow Dash's mind raced through her head. She caught her head between her hooves and tried to concentrate on her thoughts.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy watched Rainbow, who seemed to be having trouble thinking. She began to think too.
"Four ponies, Rainbow's parents, two ponies, so two missing ponies, a group that was extravagant, hm" Fluttershy was as lost in thought as Rainbow Dash "wait an extravagant pony I know one, Pinkie Pie and everyone in Ponyville knows who it is...." Fluttershy's eyes were wide, her mouth was open and she didn't move as if she'd just understood the meaning of life.
After 42 seconds of intense reflection, Rainbow Dash exclaimed, "I don't understand, it's getting on my nerves, I'm stopping here".
Fluttershy put a hoof on her back to stop her leaving, "I think I know what to do".
Rainbow Dash was surprised, a little vexed at not having found something, but still admiring Fluttershy who had apparently solved the riddle.
"In a school when you're popular everyone knows you so we have to find someone who also went to school with our parents". Fluttershy said.
Rainbow Dash was surprised, it seemed so .... Obvious and simple too.
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash took a moment to reflect. They were the only Pegasus in their group of friends (alicorns don't count). Rainbow had thought of some of the school's former pupils when she was there, but had their parents been to the flying school? Not sure, and then she stared at Fluttershy. She knew that her friend had learned to be more assertive, but confronting her with her former bullies was not a good idea.
Suddenly she had a revelation: her mind was made up, she knew who to turn to.