Chapter 3- Finding the Rainbow
After making his way into Ponyville, Flamebolt was greeted by the spontaneous Pinkie Pie. With her cooky attitude, she started driving Flamebolt crazy so he tried and tried to get as far away from her as possible but she was always there. Finally he got away and found a crystal castle by the edge of Ponyville. Making his way in he meet Spike and Twilight and found out that the pony he was looking for was none other than Rainbow Dash herself. Eventually Pinkie Pie reunited with Flamebolt and the others and the three volunteered to help Flamebolt find Rainbow Dash, now the search begins for the rainbow pegasus.
Time went by as Flamebolt followed Twilight, Pinkie and Spike through the streets of Ponyville, looking for Rainbow Dash. There were a few stares from the locals and some were talking, either about the new stallion and his more wild and rebel looking appearance or Twilight and her position as princess, which was still gossip worthy as when she was first introduced as such.
Looking around, Flamebolt took in the sights around him, but was unwilling to speak to anypony or make a comment as the group made their way down the road.
"Sooo...where are you from?" Twilight asked, trying to make small talk to fill the void of silence.
Flamebolt didn't answer, his gaze was still drawn to the scenery around him. He had wanted to look at the town a bit and see what it had to offer as well, but his view was quickly obstructed by a hoof. A purple hoof was waving in front of his face and snapped him out of his thoughts.
"I said, where are you from?" Twilight asked again.
"Where else, Cloudsdale like most pegasus." he snorted in an impassive manner, avoiding eye contact.
"Oh wow, I've been there a few times myself, but I don't think I've ever seen you around" the Alicorn noted.
"That's because I don't stick around too long...Been traveling around Equestria mostly, just came here from Griffinstone" he said, rather unenthusiastically realizing he said more than he initially intended.
"Griffinstone?! How cool! I was just there with Rainbow Dash a while back helping a Griffin with a friendship problem, who was also Rainbow's friend!" Pinkie exclaimed. "They were so grumpy and big meanies, but nothing a little friendship can't fix!"
"Really?! That's so cool!" He sarcastically said before revealing a frown. "Not! I don't care what you did there!" he exclaimed.
Spike eyed him, not liking the attitude he's been giving both Twilight and Pinkie. "You know, you don't have to be a jerk about it. They're just try to make conversation and to get to know you bit."
"Like I care what you think of me pipsqueak. And I didn't agree to follow you three just so you could ask a bunch of question about me I' don't want to tell you." he picked up his pace so he wouldn't have to be so close to the others. All he wanted was to be alone with his thoughts, but with the ponies pestering him, it was hard to do that.
"Why are we helping him again?" the baby dragon questioned.
"As the Princess of Friendship it's my duty to help others, even if they don't want assistance. Besides, once we find Rainbow Dash we'll know more about him and understand why he's so desperate to find her. I bet we'll be able to help with his attitude in no time" Twilight answered.
Spike sighed. "I guess"
As Spike and Twilight debated over helping the pegasus, Flamebolt was lost in his own thoughts. 'The sooner I find Rainbow Dash the better, I don't need them asking a bunch of questions I don't want to answer'
Looking over to all the buildings and examining the town he wasn't watching where he was going and almost ran right into Pinkie Pie who had suddenly appeared before him. The pegasus jumped back in surprise, his face dropping once he saw who it was.
"Do you like parties?! I love parties, I throw them all the time for my friends and we have so much fun! Do you like sweets too? Because I make the most delicious sweets in all of Equestria, well, maybe not all of Equestria, but they're pretty good!" she exclaimed not hearing the conversation that was said earlier, hopping alongside him. "You should come by and try some…"
Flamebolt lowered his ears, becoming frustrated by the pink mare and her constant rambling and shouted, "WILL YOU STOP TALKING FOR ONCE!"
The three stopped and stared at him along with any of pony that was near them, becoming silent as they watched him. His breathing was heavy, his body tense as he gritted his teeth in pure agitation. He could feel his blood beginning to boil."I didn't ask for you to come with me and I certainly didn't ask to be bombarded with a thousand questions I don't want to answer! All I wanted to do was find Rainbow Dash and leave! But clearly that isn't going to happen!" he stared directly into Pinkie's face with anger, not caring if anypony else was staring at him and his outburst.
"If I hear one more question I'll just go and find the pegasus myself" He added.
Pinkie Pie's lips began to quiver, her ears low and her hoof shuffling slightly. She hadn't meant to make him upset, she just wanted to put a smile on his face and make a new friend.
"B-but…" She tried to get her words out.
"THAT'S IT! I'M GONE!" he shot to the sky without another word, leaving a cloud of dust behind. The three stood there, coughing and swiping the cloud of dirt away from their faces.
"What a grouch...he didn't have to be such a meanie" Pinkie frowned. "All he had to do was say please..." she looked as if she were on the verge of tears.
Spike went and comforted the pink mare, perking her up slightly. "That stallion is an even bigger jerk than I thought, he didn't deserve to yell at you like that"
Twilight dusted herself off and looked around the area to see if she could spot him, but he was already gone with no clue which directions he went. "Come on, we can't lose him" she said firmly. "I'm going see if I can figure out which way he went, you two go and keep looking for Rainbow Dash."
The two saluted before taking off in the opposite direction from where Flamebolt had left while Twilight headed off toward his direction.
'Why is he so intent on finding Rainbow Dash?' Twilight thought to herself as she flew.
Not so far outside of Ponyville, a small group of furry critters had gathered around a shy yellow pegasus. "There you go Mr. Squirrel, now you can share those acorns with the others" Fluttershy smiled as she watched him climb up the tree to share with the other squirrels.
Flutershy was a more timid yellow pegasus that never liked all the intense flying that most pegasus did. She was always kind hearted and enjoyed the beauty of nature and the cute furry animals. She is the bearer of the Element of Kindness and even though she always seems scarred, she will do her best to fight through and help her friends whenever they are in need.
A small white rabbit tugged at her mane, thumping his foot impatiently. "What is it Angel Bunny?" he pointed to his open mouth, waiting. "Oh, are you hungry?" she pulled out a carrot for the little bunny to eat.
Overhead, Flamebolt was heading to the forest to find the rainbow maned pegasus, his eyes scanning the ground like a hawk. "Where could she be?" he muttered to himself.
His patience was running thin with his search."Gah! This is so frustrating!...If that annoying pony would of just shut up, I probably would of found her by now." Rubbing his forehead to soothe the small migraine he was getting from the yelling earlier. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. "What's done is done, I need to get back to finding her."
He started scanning the ground again and noticed Fluttershy who was surrounded by many wildlife creatures.
"A pegasus! Doesn't look like she fly's much, but it's worth a shot to get a better idea where to look." His wings flared up as he shot downwards towards the mare.
"Snack time" the shy pegasus called out as the critters gathered closer, but their gazes turned away from the food and looked up to the sky, hearing a whistling sound. Fluttershy noticed they were looking up so she followed suit and saw a pegasus coming at her at high speed. Before any creature could react, the pegasus landed with abrupt force sounding like a crash. The loud landing spooked the animals and caused them to scatter and run back into the Everfree Forest.
"W-wait, come back!" she called out, terrified of the landing that had just happened in front of her. She became silent as she saw the stallion's figure appear from the giant dust cloud that formed from the landing. Fluttershy shook as she saw the figure walking toward her out of the dust cloud, becoming bigger and larger in appearance as it got closer to her, causing her to begin to tremble.
"Hey you, can you answer a question for me?" he asked in a rough tone, his now visible gaze was cold and unemotional.
The shy pegasus squeaked in terror and scurried off back to her cottage in a hurry with Angel Bunny on her heels.
Flamebolt sighed and grumbled to himself, following the pegasus to her home. He looked around the area and knocked on her door "Hey! I just wanted to ask a question!" he only got a silent response.
"What a waste of time!" he kicked a rock angrily. "I doubt that mare would of been any help anyways, she looked to scared and weak. Guess I'll continue my search for Rainbow Dash somewhere else..." he flapped his wings and took off once more, heading back towards Ponyville.
Back in Ponyville, Pinkie and Spike were looking all around town for the rainbow maned pegasus. They searched high and low, in every nook and cranny of town, but came up empty hooved/clawed.
"Did you have any luck Pinkie?" Spike asked, turning to the pink mare.
"Nope!" she bounced over to the baby dragon, back to her old cheery attitude. "Don't know where she could be and we've looked everywhere!" she flared her hooves before dropping onto her back in exhaustion.
A shadow loomed over her and a familiar face looked down at the mare. "What in tarnation are you two doing?" The shadow asked.
Pinkie hopped up to her hooves and hugged the mare. "Applejack!" her gaze looked over behind the farm ponies shoulder to see the last friend of their group. "Rarity!" she called out to the mare.
Applejack is country spoken orange earth pony but as strong as an ox, maybe even five boxes. She's always seen wearing her trusty cowboy hat. She's the bearer of the Element of Honesty and is always working hard for her family at their famous apple farm. Next to her was Rarity, a white unicorn with a well brushed mane and tail. Her passion of make beautiful dresses reached many heights in the fashion world. As the bearer of the Element of Generosity, she shows sympathy to all and is willing to help make anypony beautiful when they need it, even though she hates anything dirty or repulsive.
Spike looked at Rarity in a daze, floating off of the ground and levitating toward her slowly with hearts in his eyes. "What are two doing?" Rarity asked as she pushed Spike back to the ground.
"Spike and I are looking for Rainbow Dash, you haven't seen her have you?" she asked, getting right in Applejack's face.
The farm pony pushed her back gently so she had some space. "Nope, why are ya'll lookin for her?" she questioned.
"Oh, well we met this new pony today and he was looking for Rainbow Dash, but he's not very friendly and he's very grumpy, but he's going to be my friend I can feel it!" Pinkie exclaimed with confidence. "We told him we'd help him look for her, but so far nothing."
"A new pony? Looking for Rainbow Dash?" Rarity asked.
The baby dragon snapped out of his trance and planted his feet on the ground. "He's a real jerk alright, yelled right at Pinkie and then took off".
Pinkie frowned for a second and nodded but she perked back up.
"What does he look like? Maybe we can help" the farm pony offered.
"He has a blue coat and he's bigger and broader than your average stallion. He also had a wild and bright red and yellow mane, like fire." Pinkie Pie reported, like she studied his whole body somehow in such a short time around him.
Applejack and Rarity exchanged a glance, unsure how she was able to identify all that before turning their attention back to their pink maned friend. "Shouldn't Twilight be here? Maybe she would know where Rainbow Dash is" Rarity asked.
"Twilight didn't know either." Spike answered.
"Besides, she went after that pony" the pink mare informed them.
"I suppose we should go find Rainbow Dash ourselves then, after all, we can cover more ground now that we're all together" Rarity reminded them. All in agreement, the four went in search of their rainbow maned friend.
Back over near the Everfree Forest, Twilight was searching for Flamebolt in the air. "Where could he have gone?" she asked herself, scanning the ground and the skies. She spotted Fluttershy's cottage and descended toward it, landing elegantly. She noticed a small crater by the cottage and shook it off. She hustled to the front door of the cottage to check on Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy?" she knocked on the door, but there was no reply. "It's Twilight" she tried knocking again.
The door creaked open, only to see the shy mares eye from the other side. "Tw-Twilight?" she was shaking slightly, still scared from the previous events. "I-is that s-scary pony g-gone?" she asked, her eyes flicking around frantically.
The alicorn eyed her friend, tilting her head curiously. "What scary pony?"
"I-it was tall and h-had a s-scary look in its eyes" Fluttershy whimpered.
Twilight thought about it for a moment before realizing who it was. "Do you know where he went?" she asked.
"I-I ran away before h-he could say anything" she apologized, opening the door some more once she got more comfortable.
"It's alright, the pony is gone. He probably went back to searching for Rainbow Dash instead," she looked back to the sky. "I'll need to continue looking for her, who knows what the stallion wants with her."
"Rainbow Dash? He's after her?" her door swung open with the look concern for the pegasus mare.
"I don't know, all I know is that he's been searching for her. Maybe you can help us find her" Twilight asked while putting a gentle hoof on her shoulder.
Fluttershy nodded slightly, getting confirmation from Angel Bunny to go and help the in search. "I'll do what I can" she promised.
"Great, let's go!" she grabbed the shy pegasus and the two took off to the skies.
Meanwhile on the other side of Ponyville, Flamebolt continued his search but was turning up empty hooved. "Gah! This is impossible, I haven't had any luck finding her!" he zipped around a little longer before stopping in another section of town, searching the ground quickly.
"Where could she even be?!" he sighed and looked to settle somewhere to rest. He noticed a good sized cloud to relax and take a break and landed on it. He decided to rest a bit since he wasn't getting anywhere with the searching.
The fluffy cloud greeted him, a warm ray of sun streaming down upon the fluffy white cloud, helping calm him and feeling pretty soothing for his body. "Now this is what I'm talking about, clouds like these are perfect for a day like this," he shifted around to get comfortable and folded his hooves behind his head, closing his eyes.
"You said it!" a voice rang out, catching him by surprise, breaking him out of his comfort and back on his hooves.
"Who's there?" he asked while looking around, but didn't seen anypony else around.
"Try looking down!" the voice called out, turning his attention to below him where he saw a pegasus resting on another cloud below his.
Flamebolt blinked, wondering how he missed that second cloud. "Who are you?" he asked.
The pegasus stood on the cloud, wings extended and flew to the level of his cloud, fluttering before him.
"The names Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in all of Equestria!" she exclaimed. "Nice to meet ya!"