//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5.2: A colorful birthday (part 2) 
// Story: Rainbow in the sky 
// by Shiron 
//------------------------------//

The sun was already setting when Rainbow Dash finally finished her meeting at the weather factory. She had to pull some strings and redeem some favors, but in the end her request had been checked and accepted. However, until the day of the tornado duty, Ponyville had to prove that they were actually able to complete it. The months preparing for it would be difficult, but Dash knew her team.  

“My team-mates are stronger than they think they are. They’ll easily manage it!” Dash thought with pride. 
“Maybe we can even break the record!”

Dash smiled when she saw Shiron waiting for her. The meeting was busy, yet boring at the same time, and seeing a friend waiting for her cheered her up. She noticed that Shiron had bought some saddlebags and he was reading a book. 
“It’s almost as if it’s Twi that’s waiting for me,” she thought, giggling at the mental image of Twilight with wings.

“Hey there, Shiron. I hope you didn’t have to wait too long,” Rainbow happily greeted her friend.

“No, I just arrived here a few minutes ago,” Shiron replied. He didn’t mention the meeting with Stormchaser, seeing as he promised her to keep it a secret until tomorrow.

“I hope the meeting went well,” he said, putting his book in his saddlebags.

“Yeah, though it wasn’t exactly a piece of cake. I’ll tell you about that on the way,” Dash answered. She signaled him that she was ready to go, but instead of turning to the direction of Ponyville, she wanted to fly somewhere else.

“Aren’t we flying back to Ponyville now?” Shiron asked, confused.

“Nope, we are staying here in Cloudsdale until tomorrow,” Dash answered. “Even an awesome flyer like me needs at least an hour back to Ponyville. Although it’s absolutely amazing flying at night, we wouldn’t arrive there ‘till midnight.“

The real reason was that Dash didn’t want to mention that she knew about Shiron’s flying problems over long distances. For short distances, flying at night would be mostly safe, but flying long distances would be more than a little risky. As much as she loved flying, she would never risk the safety of a friend.

“We’re staying at my parents’ house,” she continued with a smile. 
“They aren’t in Cloudsdale this week, but it’s still nice to pay my old home a little visit.” 

With a grin she shifted closer to Shiron, “Not to mention that I also have some old movies there we could watch.”

“Sounds good…I guess,” Shiron replied, not sure what to expect. Before he was able to ask, Dash already took off and waited for Shiron to follow her.





Rainbow’s parents’ house wasn’t as big as Rainbow’s, but nevertheless it was something special. It was located a little away from all the other pegasi’s houses, but it still was close enough to the arena and the city square. It had a little fountain, and even a garden with flowers. However, how they were able to grow plants on a cloud was beyond Shiron’s knowledge. 
“Maybe some weird magic hydroponics? I should ask Rainbow or Twilight someday…”

The interior of the house was quite cosy; a decent sized hall that lead to the different rooms, stairs to a second floor and an attic, from what Rainbow told him. 

There were pictures on the wall of Rainbow Dash two other pegasi: a stallion with a pale, light grayish blue coat, and the same rainbow colored mane as Dash, and a mare with a pale, light grayish cornflower blue coat and an orange and light scarlet mane.

“That’s an old photo of my Mum and Dad,” Dash explained when she noticed Shiron looking at the pictures. 
“This is my Dad, Bow Hothoof and this is my Mum, Windy Whistles.” 

With a slight blush, she added, “If you tell anypony, I’ll deny it, but my parents’ are even more awesome than me.” Even if they can be quite embarassing sometimes she thought to herself

Shiron followed Rainbow through the house. He couldn’t explain it, but somehow this place felt like home. He could almost feel the love of Rainbow’s parents and all the good memories. 

“A loving and happy family…”  He thought sadly, thinking about his own parents. 
He really missed them. Was he ever going to see them again? 
Despite all the good times he had since he got here, he still had no idea how he had came to Equestria; it was a complete mystery.

“Maybe we should eat something first,” Dash suggested, pulling Shiron out of his thoughts. 
“After all, I promised you some of my cooking after your tasty pancakes last time.”

“Sounds good,” Shiron agreed; which was seconded by his stomach.

Rainbow couldn’t hide her amusement, especially after her own stomach made its opinions known. 

Laughing, both ponies went to the kitchen. 

“Family,” thought Shiron, looking at Dash.





A few minutes later, both ponies were sitting in the kitchen eating hay fries and some mixed fruits bars Rainbow Dash had made. 

Dash had called her parents’ a few days earlier and asked them if it would be okay if she would stay over with a friend. Of course, they agreed and her mother had even bought some fresh fruits for them.

“Wow, these fruit bars are amazing!” Shiron complimented, taking another one.

“Told you I can make amazing food,” Rainbow smiled with a wink. 
“I just don’t like others knowing about that.”

“Why that?” Shiron asked confused. “You didn’t even tell the others?”

“It’s a bit complicated, but I hope you don’t mind the fact I can cook keeping it a secret,” she replied. 
With puppy dog eyes she looked at Shiron, “Pwetty pwease?”

“Come on, that’s unfair!” Shiron gasped out in mock pain, clutching his chest.

“A mare does what a mare has to do,” Dash laughed. Fluttershy got her stare and Dash had her puppy eyes. Of course, she would only use it on her friends, and only in desperate situations. No one else must ever see the softer parts of her personality. She will never let that nightmare see the lights of day again.

When Shiron accidently dropped his fork, he noticed that it was embed partially into the cloud. He hadn’t been in Equestria too long, but that was not how clouds worked. 
When he picked up the fork, there was something odd on it.

“What is this?” asked a confused Shiron, holding something that looked like frozen vegetables in his hooves.

“Uhm, my alfalfa?” Dash answered sheepishly. 
“What? I was a young filly who didn’t like vegetables, and since we didn’t had a pet–” 
“Ah, the old ‘give it to the dog’ trick…”
 “– I… Well, clouds are a very good place to hide stuff...” she explained, giving a strained smile..

Trying to change the subject, Dash started, “You know; we have the house all for us. No one will disturb us and we have enough time until we have to leave tomorrow.” 

With an almost seducing grin she looked at Shiron 
“You know what this means?” she asked while leaning closer to Shiron, who started to blush at both the tone of her voice and how close she was getting to his face. Not to mention the implications… “A whole night of awesome and scary movies!”





Together, Shiron and Dash were sitting on Rainbow's old bed in her old room. Although she had moved to Ponyville years ago, her parents had never touched her room. Wonderbolts posters were hanging on the walls together with a poster of Princess Celestia. Shiron even saw a Wonderbolts plushy and a teddy bear which Dash quickly shoved into the floor. It was nice to see that the speed and adrenalin loving mare also had a soft side.

He didn’t know why Dash was hiding it from her friends, but he felt somewhat happy to see this side of Rainbow Dash.

Dash had made sure that the room was as dark as possible before she started the movie. Shiron wasn’t told what she had started, but it was some sort of space movie with a group of griffins finding an alien spaceship full of odd looking eggs. The griffins had already entered the spaceship when one of them was attacked by some sort of face hugging monster.

Shiron knew that ponies usually didn’t like any kind of violence—despite Equestria’s army being the largest of all the nations—but some of the more violent movies and TV shows became quite popular. 

Of course, most movies didn’t have any alicorns. Especially in action movies. After all, you just fire a magic-death-ray of doom at the problem and it will probably go away.

The griffons just had eaten lunch when one of them started to cough, and some creature escaped his chest. Shiron cowered behind the bed, wings over eyes, while Dash silently ate her popcorn.

The creature just escaped when Dash announced, “Be right back; need popcorn.” She silently left the room.




As soon as Rainbow Dash left the room, she went to the attic. She knew that Shiron loved a good prank, and right now, Dash couldn’t resist the prank she had planned. Last year, she had played the same one on Applejack, and it was glorious. Of course Applejack later played one of her own pranks on Dash in retaliation. Good times, good times...

As quietly as possible, Dash took her costume out of the box. It wasn’t easy to put on the costume, but she was sure Shiron would like it. She just hoped that this prank wasn't too much for her friend. After all, pranks were supposed to be fun, not cruel... 
“Oh well, he’s a strong colt, he’ll be able to take it.”

As soon as Dash put on the whole costume, she searched for a mirror and looked her reflection. After all these years, the costume still looked awesome. Even the second mouth of the helmet was still working.

With only the muted sound of her hooves on the clouds, she sneaked back into the hall. When she left, she made sure that the door to her old room wasn’t fully closed. 

“I forgot how heavy this thing is,” she thought, trying to ignore the small ache building up in her back. She used the black mechanic tail to grab the popcorn she already had prepared and entered the room again.

She was just in time; one of the griffons had entered the ventilation corridors to search for the creature, but was only able to see a fast moving shadow. Dash saw that Shiron liked the movie despite it being scarier in completely darkness.

Rainbow sneaked a bit closer to Shiron; the black helmet almost sparkling in the light of the projector. Just in time, when the alien appeared for the first time, she shouted, 
“Bwuh!”, whilst using the second mouth.

She completely caught Shiron by surprise, and causing him to jump up a good meter in the air. 

“Gotcha’, Shiron!” she laughed, rolling on the floor, missing the flash when Shiron saw her costume. When she opened her eyes, Shiron was gone.

“Uhm, Shiron? Where are you?” Dash asked, taking her helmet off.

A second later another flash filled the room and Shiron reappeared; his mane was a mess and he wore a look of shock and confusion on his face. Dash giggled, realising what Shiron just did. She would have to explain that to him later.

Looking back at Dash, now with the helmet off, Shiron joined in to the laughter. 

“You know–” he started after he recovered from the sudden scare “–I’ll get you back for this...” Both ponies laughed and enjoyed the rest of their movie night.





It was a lovely day and Applejack had just finished harvesting the last of the apples. In a few hours, they would all celebrate Rainbow’s birthday. Of course, Twilight would have to use her cloudwalking spell on them again. It was a weird feeling, like she had horse-shoes on, but they weren’t there. 

Carrying all the equipment up to Rainbow's house and enchanting it all to float on clouds took time, and it wasn’t easy to do it discretely. Fortunately, Shiron had been able to distract Rainbow with their trip to Cloudsdale.

Applejack was about to walk home when she heard a familiar sound from the sky. It sounds like a sleeping pony, most likely a certain multicoloured pegasus. She searched the sky and her trees for some signs of her napping friend. Soon she was able to see a low cloud close some trees. AJ walked closer to the cloud, ready to wake her when she noticed something else.

Instead of a rainbow colored tail hanging over the cloud, there was a black tail and a part of a white wing. 

“Only a few weeks, and Shiron is already acting like Rainbow,” Applejack thought with a small smile. Of course staying with Rainbow Dash would rub off on him. 

“It’s nice to see him warm up to us.” 

“Howdy partner,” Applejack called to her sleeping friend. 
“It’s time to wake up.”

“Urghh…5 more minutes,” was the only answer Applejack got. A very tired answer, she noticed.

“No time for napping,” Applejack tried again, “we have to meet with Twilight for the last preparations for the party.”

Although it took him some time, Shiron finally got up. After stretching his wings and limbs, he looked down.

“Did ya enjoy your little nap?” AJ asked grinning at her sleepy friend.

“Sorry, Applejack,” Shiron apologised with a yawn, “Rainbow kept me awake all night.”

“Whoa there, lover boy, that’s more about Rainbow and you than I wanted to know.” Applejack laughed at Shiron, who looked confused at her.

“What?” Shiron asked, before until his brain finally booted up, and saw the implications. 

Blushing, he quickly denied, “Oh, no! Nonononono! Not what you think. We only watched some of her movies,” 
With another yawn he added, “Very creepy movies. “ 

Shiron looked at Applejack with his eyes half-lidded, “Well, at least my room is now zombie-pony-proofed and aliens-that-lay-eggs-in-your-chest-proofed.”

“Let me guess, Dash showed ya’ one of her costumes?” Applejack guessed, already knowing the answer.

“Yes, she did.” Shiron answered. “She caught me by surprise, and it seemed that I kind of teleport when scared. Well, at least that’s what Dash said. I didn’t really notice anything special.”

“Don’t try to think about that sort of thing too long. Ah’m sure Twilight will help ya’ with your magic when ya’ ask her,” Applejack replied, a little surprised that he seemed to learn a new spell by accident. She didn’t know much about unicorn magic, but she knew that teleporting was a complicated spell. Not to mention dangerous when used willy nilly.

“Well, we should get going to Twilight’s now,” Applejack continued. 
“We might still have some time left, but there are still some last-minute things to talk about.”

“I know,” Shiron replied, “luckily Dash is busy trying some new tricks. She won’t be home for some time.”

“Good, Ah’m sure she’ll like her party.” she finished before both ponies started to walk to Twilight’s.




 
 
        It was a perfect day for Rainbow Dash; she and Shiron had arrived early in Ponyville, and there wasn’t any work to do. What’s even better was, that today was her birthday and anniversary of moving to Ponyville. All in all, it meant that she was able to spend a whole day with her best friends.

Sure, she loved big parties and usually her ‘birthdayversary’, as Pinkie called it, was followed a big party. But this time she just wanted to spend the day with her best friends. It was the first year she was able to spend it with her new friends: Twilight and Shiron. Although she knew Twilight for a reasonable time already—and had a lot fun with her—she knew her for less than a year.

Of course there also would be a big after-birthday party this weekend; Dash would never throw away an excuse for a party. Today however, she just wanted some quality time with the most important ponies and dragon in her life. Sadly, neither her parents’ nor Stormchaser were able to attend the party, but she would just visit them soon.
 
            Rainbow landed in front of her cloud house where her friends most likely already waited for her. It wasn’t easy to plan a surprise party when your target already knew about it, but it was the thought that counted. 
“This day is going to be perfect~” Dash sang in her head.
 
            Dash reached out her hoof to open the door when she heard whispering. 
“I think she’s coming!” 
Although clouds were decent at sound absorption, Dash was almost sure that this voice had been Pinkie’s. 
“Not too loud, or she might hear us!” another voice whispered; most likely Twilight.
 
            When Rainbow opened the door to her house, the whole room was dark. She walked few steps forward, when suddenly the light went on. Dash could see all the happy faces of her best friends.
 
            “SURPRISE!” they cheered; smiling at the birthday mare.
 
            It always amazed Dash what Pinkie was able to do in less than half a day. Her whole living room had been decorated with streamers, balloons and games. Tables full of food and presents had been placed next to the walls, while the biggest table already had been prepared for the party guests.
 
            Before Dash could even thank her friends, they already group hugged her and wishing her the best for her birthday. Rainbow tried her best hold back her tears of happiness, but she failed. The love she felt was too strong and Dash felt the tears in her eyes. They were more than her best friends; they were her family, all of them.
 
            “Thank you so much everyone,” Dash thanked, brushing a tear away, “I’m so happy you all are here to celebrate with me.”
 
            “Awww, our little Dashie is such a sweetheart,” Pinkie said, making her pegasus friend blush and the other guests laugh.
 
            “That’s enough sappiness; it’s time to party!” Rainbow Dash declared.
 
            All of her friends cheered with her and soon the room was filled with music and laughter. While Dash went to the table to eat something she was able to see Twilight and Fluttershy dancing. Well, Fluttershy was dancing, what Twilight was trying to do completely escaped her. Either way, it was still funny and kind of cute, all that matters to Dash was that Twilight was having a good time.
 
            Dash took a corncob and a mug of cider before she joined Spike, Rarity and Shiron who were sitting at the big table.
 
“I hope you’re enjoy the party,” Dash asked to her friends.
 
“Yes, it is a rather nice get-together,” Rarity answered, sipping on her cider.
            
“A nice get-together?” Spike asked. “This party is awesome!”
             
“Yes, Pinkie has really outdone herself this time,” Shiron agreed.
 
“Yep, if anypony knows how to set up a party, then it’s Pinkie,” Applejack added, who just joined the friends; carrying a tray with some apple fritters and a mug of cider.
 
         “And as long as you don’t try to plan a party for Pinkie, everyone is happy,” Rainbow giggled. 
“But seriously, her parties are the best, and I’m happy all of you were able to come,” Dash added with a warm smile.
 
         “We would have never missed the birthday or anniversary of one of our best friends,” AJ said, putting a foreleg on Dash’s back. ”So, how did ya’ meeting with the higher ups go?” Applejack asked.
 
 “Well, it wasn’t easy, but if we prove that we can manage the tornado duty, then we’ll get the job,” Dash explained before taking a swig of some cider, “I’ll tell you all later about the details.”
 
 When Dash saw Fluttershy, Pinkie and Twilight still dancing to the music, she got a wonderful idea. It was time for some fun.
 
         “You know, there may be lots of games,” Dash started, addressing Shiron, “but do you like dancing?” She asked with a grin.
 
 	“Thanks, but I don’t really dance. I would prefer some games,” Shiron answered, not realising it was a loaded question.
 
“Dancing it will be, then,” she declared with a smirk, “I’m sure it’ll be fun.” 
Before Shiron had a chance to protest, Dash already grabbed his hoof and dragged him along with her.
 
            As soon as Dash left the table with Shiron, Rarity put a hoof under her chin. Silently she started to scheme on the little plan she had thought of since the beach party. Spike gave Rarity an odd look when she grinned like an evil mastermind.
  



            After an hour of partying, and some more or less successful attempts of Rainbow Dash to show Shiron how to dance, Pinkie decided that it was time to give the birthday mare her presents. All of them gathered in front of the table with the presents.
 
            One by one, Dash opened her presents; a new dress from Rarity, a book from Twilight, a comic about a heroic pegasus pony from Spike, a beautiful blue bow from Fluttershy, a new ball from Pinkie Pie and some new flying goggles from Applejack.
 
            “I wonder what this might be,” Dash said when Shiron gave her his present.
 
            It wasn’t big, but despite its deceptive size, it actually was quite heavy. When she opened it, she found a book about acrobatic flying written by Spitfire herself! Although Dash wasn’t into reading, she was nevertheless happy. After all, it was the thought that counts and Dash knew Shiron long enough to know that he thought she might like it.
 
            “Thank you, Shiron,” Dash thanked, giving him a hug, “This means a lot to me.”
 
“Actually, there is a bit more,”,Shiron said mysteriously, “Just open it.”
 
            Rainbow Dash didn’t really know what to expect, but she opened the book she almost forgot how to breathe. 
“Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh!” Dash exclaimed, not believing what she was seeing. Right there—on the first page—was a signing from the Wonderbolts:
 
            “To Rainbow Dash; our greatest fan,

We wish you the best for your birthday. Never give up your dream, because someday, it will come true.
 
Best wishes, 
Spitfire, Soarin’ and Stormchaser’”
 
Without warning, Dash assaulted Shiron with a big and happy hug, making both ponies fall over. “Oh thank you thank you thank you!” she squealed, hugging the blushing stallion. 
“This really is the best day ever!”
 
            Applejack couldn’t suppress a giggle while Rarity once more smiled a secret smile. They all knew that Rainbow Dash sometimes forgot to keep her ‘coolness’ and was just being herself without hiding any part of her personality.
 
            After Dash recovered from the sheer joy of receiving her gift, she jumped in the air, flying loops chanting, “I’m gonna’ be a Wonderbolt! I’m gonna’ be a Wonderbolt! I’m gonna be a Wonderbolt!..”
 
            “Whoa, there! Simmer down there for just a sec. Ya’ still have a long ways to go!” Applejack attempted to calm Dash, while helping Shiron up.
 
“Yeah, but they said that my dream will someday come true,” Dash shot back, still giddy with joy, “I mean, who wouldn’t accept an awesome flyer like me joining the Wonderbolts?”
 
            Her friends smiled at Dash’s antics. They all knew how much Rainbow Dash loved the Wonderbolts and that it was her dream to become one of them. Every day she trained to become a better flyer. It wasn’t surprising to see Rainbow that happy by getting a note from the Wonderbolts, telling her to not give up her dream.
 
Once Rainbow calmed down, she looked at Shiron and asked, “You actually met the Wonderbolts? When? I only was away for less than two hours,” she added a little sad she missed her idols.
 
            “As soon as you left got the meeting a mare named Stormchaser approached me,” Shiron answered, “You missed her by a few minutes.” 
Shiron took a letter from the table and gave it to Dash, “She also asked me to give you this.”
 
“Who is Stormchaser?” Twilight asked, “I never heard that name, even though I saw one or two Wonderbolts’ shows back when I lived in Canterlot.”
 
“Stormchaser was the chief of the weather ponies two years ago before she became a Wonderbolt,” Applejack answered.
 
“She was like a big sister to me,” Dash added wistfully. 
“It’s a shame I missed her. She’s always very busy.”
 
Dash took the letter and read it aloud, 

“My dearest Rainbow Dash,
 
I’m glad to hear that you have so many good friends. During the last few months, I always thought about you and wondered how you’re doing. To be honest, I even was a bit worried. However, now I know that it wasn’t necessary.
 
I heard all the stories about you and your friends and I was speechless when I saw your bravery at the Best Young Flyers Competition, not to mention your awesome Sonic Rainboom. Neither I nor the other Wonderbolts had ever seen something like that and we all were very impressed. I’m sorry that I wasn’t able to talk to you after the competition. However, I promise that we’ll meet again soon.
 
Until then, I hope that you will keep up the good work; I’m sure that this is the best way to become a Wonderbolt in no time. I hope that you’ll have an awesome birthday.
 
Best wishes,
Stormchaser”
 
            Rainbow wiped away some tears and carefully put the letter into the book she got from Shiron. It was good to hear from her surrogate sister again. She hadn’t seen her for several months now, but as soon as she would be in Cloudsdale for longer than a day, she would try to spend some time with her again.
 
            “Thanks, Shiron,” Dash whispered tearfully to Shiron before she looked at all her friends, “Thank you all. I hope you know how much I love you all.”
 
“Awww, we love ya’ too, Sugarcube, “Applejack responded  before they all shared a group hug.
 
         “You know, the night is still young,” Pinkie announced cheerfully after the hug broke, “Let’s get this party moving!”
 
            Everyone happily agreed and soon music and laughter filled the air again. For some hours, everyone enjoyed the party and the company of each other.
   




            “Today was amazing!” Dash reminisced, exhausted on her bed. The sheer joy she felt when she got her presents and when she read the letter still lingered in her chest. Sure, presents always were good but all she cared about was to spend time with her friends.
 
            Dash spread out her limbs and looked at the book she got from Shiron. Of course she would never admit that she  loved to read many years ago, but after that day many years ago, she had never gave books a chance again. Maybe she would make an exception for this one book. Not only because it was a present by Shiron but also because it would be perfect to come up with new tricks. Not to mention that the Wonderbolts themselves had signed it for her.
 
            When Rainbow Dash took Stormchaser’s letter, she read it again. She missed her surrogate big sister but Rainbow was determined to make her proud. Stormchaser had taught her everything she knew and Rainbow would never stop to improve her abilities.
 
            With a yawn Dash, was about to put the letter aside, when she saw something odd at the bottom of the letter. There were tiny words, almost as if Stormchaser wanted to make sure that only Dash would read them. 
“Just like old times...” Rainbow thought with nostalgia, remembering all the secret letters they sent to each other for fun.
 
            Dash took a closer look and read the secret message. 
“P.S. I’m happy to see that you found such a cute coltfriend! ^_^”
 
           “Wait, she thinks Shiron is my coltfriend?” Dash thought with a blush, relieved that she didn’t read those words in front of her friends.



E/N: Welp, this is part 2 done. Sorry that it took so long to complete; I blame real-life, homework, Pones, procrastination and RWBY.
Why, Rooster Teeth? Why did you have to kill off Phyrra?!