//------------------------------// // Chapter II - Life of a Rainbow // Story: A Rainbow Swiftly Lost // by Ferlathin //------------------------------// A Rainbow Swiftly Lost By Ferlathin Chapter II – Life of a Rainbow Rainbow Dash opened the door to her house. "I'm home!" she called out. Nopony answered. Ahh, well. She must have fallen asleep, again. Rainbow thought to herself, and sure enough, after a quick look into her somewhat messy kitchen, she continued to the living room where she found her grandmother, Vega, asleep in her rocking chair. Rainbow smiled as she heard the familiar snoring and she covered her grandma with a blanket from the nearby sofa. She knew that her grandma would wake up just in time for dinner, she always did. Rainbow went back into the kitchen where yesterday's dishes still remained unwashed. She immediately began to wash up, so that she would be able to cook dinner. She had grown accustomed to cooking dinner and doing other chores at the house since her parents weren't around and she didn't want Vega to have to do them all the time. She didn't mind doing it at all, as she was usually was out practicing new tricks during the day. Coming home to cook dinner and just not having to do anything special felt relaxing. Here at home there were no eyes following her every move, and whatever happened in here didn't matter, she could be herself, out there she had to be 'Rainbow Dash - the most awesome pony around!'. The dinner started out with its usual conversation. "Is the soup okay? Not too hot?" Rainbow asked nervously. "Rainbow, my little Rainbow. What have I taught you?" Vega replied calmly. "Umm. ... Was it... Nah..." Rainbow rested her head on her hoof while thinking. As she remembered what her grandma used to say she lit up. "I remember! It's not always important what other ponies think." "That's right, my dear. Especially here in your own house." she continued, "Your life would become utterly dull if you never dared to do something that might end up with you being somewhat humiliated." "Meh." Rainbow tried to defend her way of thinking. "It can't possibly be wrong to care about one's status, among other ponies." "Status is not everything." Vega said kindly. "You see, I was once just like you. Always trying to be the best at everything, and I assure you, it all went quite well. I was very athletic back then, but then one day I met him..." she looked away with a dreamy expression. Rainbow knew that Vega was thinking about her grandfather, Jerrod. Rainbow had never met him, but she had heard countless stories about him. Vega didn't mind telling them and Rainbow loved to listen to her stories. "Tell me another story about him, grandma, please!" she said pleadingly. Vega smiled, "Not right now, let's finish up here first." As they were finishing in the kitchen Vega said. "Now go up and brush your teeth, and I'll be waiting for you in your room." "With a story?" Rainbow said excitedly. "With a story." Vega replied, she patted Rainbow's mane and smiled. "Off you go!" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rainbow rushed upstairs and into the bathroom. She brushed her teeth quickly and literally flew into her bedroom. Vega was already there. Rainbow wondered how she got there so quickly. "Now now, was that really a proper brushing, little Rainbow?" Vega said whilst smiling. "... Totally." A moments silence, Rainbow continued "No..." she trotted out back to the bathroom and did a 'proper brushing' of her teeth. As she came back Vega said, "That's better. A little bird whispered in my ear that you wanted to hear a bedtime story, eh?" Rainbow had jumped into bed, under the cover and nodded as she looked at her grandmother. "Did I ever tell you of how I met him?" Vega asked. "Nope. I don't think you've told that one!" Rainbow replied. Vega sat down in her chair next to Rainbow's bed, and opened a book. She was just about to start to read when Rainbow asked, "What's that book?" "Well it's my diary, of course, how else would I remember all these things! I'm getting old, you know." Vega continued, "It's a book where you write down what your heart cherishes, moments of joy and sadness. You can also describe those days where you learned something important. But most of all, it's for remembering things." "Uh, okay. Sorry for my interruption. Go on, grandma!" Rainbow said. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Vega's diary, entry #305 – Jerrod Dear diary, Today I met somepony special, Jerrod was his name. He was so kind and honest, and seemed nervous, he was very cute. All my life I've strived to be the best with pretty much everything. If there was a competition, I had to be there, and I had to win, usually I did win and I felt such joy when doing it. I honestly believed that it was what life was all about, winning competitions - how wrong I was. It was between two competitions he introduced himself. He politely said, "Hello there, miss, may I introduce myself?" "Well of course!” I said. ”Like I could stop you! I've got a few minutes before I need to prepare for the next race!" I said. "My name is Jerrod, and I was wondering if you'd like to join me for a walk, miss ..." he said, waiting for me to say my name. "Vega." I said in response. "Vega... " His gaze drifted away up on the sky. "It means, 'falling star', right? It's beautiful, Now Miss Vega would you like to accompany me?" he asked. His eyes were sincere and he emanated such self confidence, yet I saw a tiny bit of nervousness in his gaze. Who was this mysterious stallion, I wondered, I couldn't say anything but yes. "Yes... Yes I would." I felt like a little filly when I said that. During our walk, just outside the racing area, Jerrod told me about life and things I had never even thought of. before, about the stars above us, the nature around us, the ground below us, and how everything was connected. Then how he, I and everypony were connected, I just walked beside him, listening to him talk. Not once did I get bored, for he spoke in such a way that it never got boring. It was now getting late. I had totally forgotten about the race that I obviously missed. When the thoughts came, I missed a race! What will they think of me! What if... What if, I just ignored them. I had found something, something more important than winning races and being the best. I had found my special somepony. Somepony that I knew I would like to spend the rest of my life with. I had heard about what love could do to ponies, but I never imagined that it would actually be like this. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - As Vega briefly took a pause, she looked up over the book. Rainbow was sound asleep. Vega sighed and thought to herself, Well. I hope she got the gist of it. As she walked downstairs to her room she mumbled to herself, "Maybe it's time to buy her a diary. I think she's old enough for it now." Vega decided to buy one the next day. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rainbow opened the door with a bang. "Rainbow... What have I said about slamming the door..." Vega noticed the rather upset facial expression on her granddaughter. "My dear, what has happened to you?" Rainbow just stood in the doorway for a while, counting to ten to lose some of her anger. She slowly turned around and closed the door, and then she couldn't hold back any longer. She cast herself in to the embrace of her grandmother. "Oh grandma. Something terrible happened today!" she said. "What could possibly have upset my little Rainbow this much?" Vega asked. "I... I got a massage." Rainbow managed to keep her voice steady. "That doesn't sound terrible, didn't it feel wonderfu-" Vega got interrupted mid-sentence. "No! You don't understand. They saw me, us, they thought that we were cuddling. They even got a picture!" Rainbow did her best to make her grandma understand the embarrassment she felt. "Aha. Was it that beige colt I saw outside the other day? He looked so sincere. Almost as if he reminded me of somepony." Vega said. Vega had obviously not understood how dire the situation was. Rainbow sighed. "You just don't get it, do you." She dried a tear before she continued. "What will people say. 'Rainbow Dash used to be cool, but now she only cares about relationships'." Vega put one of her hooves on either of Rainbow's shoulders. She then shook her lightly. "Hey! Listen to me and listen good, for what I'm about to say is important." She waited for Rainbow to make eye contact. "Life is not only about being 'cool', and being in a relationship does not make you any less cool than you already are!" Vega said emphatically. "But I... ... Bah! I wish my mother was here, she'd understand!" Rainbow screeched and with tears in her eyes, she broke free from her grandmother and flew up to her room. Vega remained in the hallway for a bit, not entirely sure what had happened. "What have I done... I raised my voice, against Iris' daughter." She went over to her rocking chair and sat down, she looked up towards the heavens, "Iris my daughter, how often I wonder where you are." she spoke seemingly to no one but continued. "Rainbow is growing up. I should know how she feels, I was just like her." she sighed. Rainbow did not show up for dinner either and as it was time for bed Vega went up to her granddaughter's room and knocked on the door. "Rainbow... May I come in?" Vega chose her words carefully. There was no response from inside the room. Vega opened the door slowly and peeked inside. In the dim light she could see Rainbow lying on her bed with one of her hooves hanging down on the other side of it. On the bedside table she saw the silhouette of something, but she could not really make out what it actually was. The object was small, thin and not really that long. Vega gasped. By Celestia! It can't be... It mustn't be. She rushed over to the bed. "Rainbow, Rainbow, wake up!" "Uuuh. Wh.. What?" Rainbow said sleepily. "You're okay!" Vega said. She's okay! As she stood there, next to the bed she saw that the mysterious object was only a pencil. "I'm so sorry! I... I shouldn't have raised my voice, earlier." Vega said, with tears in her eyes. Rainbow sat up in her bed. "I'm sorry too, grandma! I didn't mean to yell at you." she said sincerely. "My little Rainbow. You're the only one I have!" Vega said as she hugged the little filly, she continued. "A long time ago, when I had my first argument with my mother, she gave me my first diary. She said that it could help me understand my feelings, as it never objected or argued with anything that I felt, and trust me, it helps writing things down. I'll be right back!" Vega turned around and trotted out of the room, only to soon come back with a book. "Here you go, Rainbow. I'm sure your mother would have wanted you to have this by now." Vega said kindly, as she gave the book to Rainbow. The cover of the book said, My Diary, Rainbow froze as she read it. "Is there anything wrong?" Vega asked. "It says diary... Can't I call it journal instead? Pleeeease!" Rainbow said. "Journal eh, why would you want to call it that?" Vega asked curiously. Rainbow blushed. "Well..." "You may call it whatever you like, Rainbow. And if you want me to call it a journal, I'll call it a journal, no problem." Vega patted the little blue filly. "Now it's time to back to sleep, I'm so sorry I woke you up." Vega turned around and trotted out of the room, she got as far as the doorway. "Vega..." Rainbow said. "Yes?" "Thank you." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rainbow opened the door to her house, slowly and silently. She tried her best not to be heard as she crept up to her room. Once there, she did not know how she should behave, there were just so many new feelings, all mixed up. She recalled what Vega had said a few days ago, and started to write her first journal entry. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rainbow's journal, entry #1 – Sonic Rainboom It was the last day of summer flight camp and all of Cloudsdale had gathered for the big race. The race started with me being challenged by two other colts. I naturally accepted as I knew my honor would be restored if I won. This was a chance for me to stand up for myself, and prove that I wasn't 'all about relationships'. The picture that had been taken and the rumors, had spread since yesterday and I intended to keep my pride. Fluttershy was holding the racing flag and as she 'dropped' it off we went. Everything was fine through the first three checkpoints. I was leading by several meters, but then suddenly my opponents caught up. One of them tried to fly in front of me and slowed down, to help his friend. It worked to a degree, but as he had to constantly check where I was, he didn't see what was in front of him. I lured him into flying straight into a cloud pillar. With him stuck I now had to focus on the second contestant. He was now a bit further ahead, I just had to catch up with him. It took a few checkpoints but I finally caught up with him, as I was about to overtake him, he noticed me. His eyes were focused and then I saw a glimpse... of evil. He suddenly flew at me, pushing me way off track. "Hahaha. How's it going, Rainbow Crash, see you at the finish line, if you get there. Bwahahaha." he said sarcastically. The goal was now just a few checkpoints away and I was way behind. I just had to win. I hastily recalled something Swifty had said, a few days earlier. "To be able to do it, multiple conditions have to be met. Firstly you have to want to do it, and not just an usual feeling of 'want'. When the time comes, you'll know what I mean. Secondly you have to believe in yourself and in that you actually can do it. Thirdly you need to be flying downwards and bend your wings just as I told you, to optimize your speed. The rest is up to you, Rainbow. I believe in you." I thought to myself, I have to do it. I want to... No. I 'need' to. I then quickly flew back on to the track. Fortunately for me the last three checkpoints were downhill from there, and then a steep turn up towards the goal. I started to chase the naughty colt who pushed me off track. I felt that I was flying fast now, faster than I had ever flown before. I need to be faster. ... Rainbow, you can do this! I remember thinking. I bent my wings just as Swifty had told me, leaned forward and gathered all my strength. *Hhnnnggg* Just. A. Little.. Bit... Faster... As I closed in on the colt in front of me it suddenly happened, just before I was about to go through checkpoint sixteen, the one at the lowest altitude. I overtook him, flew through the checkpoint and I started to fly up, towards the goal. I turned my head around and took a quick look behind me. What I saw was amazing, the colt behind me seemed to move in slow motion in comparison to me. I also had a rainbow colored trail behind me, and I noticed that I had gotten my cutie mark, a cloud with a rainbow colored thunderbolt. I was so happy. As I flew up towards the goal I knew that the competition had ended, the poor colt didn't stand a chance. I crossed the finish line first, but didn't stop right away. I continued to create a full rainbow, as it was complete I flew back up to the goal to receive the crowds standing ovation. I could finally relax as I stood there, exhausted but happy. I had actually pulled it off, a 'Sonic Rainboom'. I could almost not believe what just had happened only a few moments earlier, and it was all thanks to him, Swifty. I noticed Swifty standing some distance away. He had Fluttershy beside him. I raised one of my hooves and waved. It was then I saw it, Fluttershy trotted in front of Swifty and leaned in and kissed him! I just could not believe what I saw at that moment, my facial expression must have looked like somepony in shock, something within me hurt so much. I just couldn't watch it, Swifty and Fluttershy. How could I not have seen this! I thought to myself. I turned away, my eyes were getting wet. There is nothing left for me here. I might as well go home. I thought as I started to trot homewards. I heard a faint "Rainbow...!" from Swifty. I ignored it, and continued on. I figured that if it was important, he would talk to me pony to pony, not shout it over half the square. And why would he need me anyways. He had Fluttershy. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - "Hmm." Rainbow sighed. "That'll do for now." she said as she finished her first entry in the journal. Vega knocked on the door. "Are you alright in there, Rainbow?" she asked. "Yea. Why wouldn't I be?" Rainbow replied. "I heard that you sighing..." Vega said kindly. "Well. It's nothing, really..." Rainbow blushed slightly. "There is this colt..." Vega's eyes widened. "And?" she asked, eagerly awaiting the latest gossip. "... It's complicated." Rainbow finally said. "Oh dear..." Vega recalled the last time she had said that in what possibly was a similar situation. "Don't worry, Rainbow time heals all wounds. I'm speaking from experience. Let's get you to bed and then we can see what we can do about it tomorrow. It'll be a bright new day after a good night's sleep." Vega said. "... Mmm." Rainbow sighed. "Maybe it's good to get some sleep..." Rainbow went to bed as Vega trotted out. The morning came and nothing did actually feel better, at least not for Rainbow. She woke up, slightly later than usual due to that she didn't have any 'musts' today. After eating breakfast with Vega she decided to go out. Somewhat curious about what Swifty actually wanted, Rainbow flew towards his house. As she got there it didn't seem that anypony was home. She knocked... twice, still no reply. A few minutes went by without anything really happening. Rainbow felt it was simply too silent. She flew up, circled around the house and looked in through the windows. There was not much to be seen. The place seemed to be empty except for a book that lay on the floor in one of the rooms upstairs. "Ohoy there!" a voice behind Rainbow shouted. She turned around to see who was talking to her. It was the mailpegasus. He continued, "You looking for the Swifts?" "Uhh, yeah. Where are they? The place seems so empty..." Rainbow asked. "They left early this morning, moved out. I'm not sure where to, but they sure aren't living here anymore!" he said. "Moved out!? But..." Rainbow fell silent. "Yup. That's what they did. Anyhow, I need to get back to work. Can't stand here and chat all day. There's mail to be delivered, you know!" he said, and continued towards the next house. Moved out!? Why didn't he tell me! Where did he go! There were many questions in the little filly's head. Rainbow waited until the mailpegasus had gone and flew back up to a room and peeked inside, she saw the book again. She took another quick look around, she didn't see anypony. Then she quickly flew through the open window in to the room and fetched the book. As she got back out she looked at the book. It was brown and the front was blank, there was no title. She opened it and read the first words. Training Journal of Rainbow Dash Rainbow got a tear in her eye. Did he forget it? Or did he leave it for me? she wondered as she left the house. She blinked the tear away as she continued on the road. I need to talk to somepony! Rainbow thought to herself. After wondering who she could talk to, she realised that Fluttershy was the only one she could possibly confide in. Her other pony friends had gone on vacation after summer flight camp ended. Reluctantly she persuaded herself to go see her friend, the sun was still high as she steered her hooves towards Fluttershy's home. As she arrived she noticed a lot of commotion outside the house. The front door was open, Rainbow knocked it lightly. "Anypony home?" Rainbow said. "I'm coming out, just a second!" a voice from inside said. Soon she appeared in the doorway. She was a beautiful orange mare, with one of the friendliest smiles Rainbow had ever seen. This must be Flutttershy's mother! Rainbow thought to herself. "My name is Dash, is Fluttershy in?" Rainbow said. "Ah. You're that one who won the race! You managed to do such a wonderful rainbow, I'll never forget it!" her eyes drifted away towards the sky as she said it. Rainbow blushed. "It wasn't that hard to pull off..." Fluttershy's mother continued, "Sorry! Fluttershy, right! ... Fluttershy! somepony wants to talk to you!" she shouted inside. She turned back towards Rainbow, "I'm sure she'll be down shortly!" A brief moment later Fluttershy appeared. "Oh, it's you! Hi Rainbow!" she said. "'Sup Fluttershy!" Rainbow replied. "I'm moving! Tomorrow I'll be living and sleeping on the ground, in my own house! How great is that! I'm so excited!" Rainbow noticed her actually bouncing on the spot as she said her last sentence. "Moving out? ... You too?" Rainbow said and looked away. "What do you mean by 'you too'?" Fluttershy asked. "... You should know." Rainbow murmured. Fluttershy who didn't hear Rainbow's last statement and stood there, with a confused look all over her face. She did clearly not know. Rainbow continued, "Well. Swifty has moved too." Fluttershy gasped. "He has!? Where to! He never told me!" her voice was so sincere that Rainbow simply had to accept that she wasn't lying. Fluttershy would never lie anyway, she wasn't like that. "I stopped by his house this morning only to see it completely empty except for this journal. The mailpony said they left this morning." "That's your training diary, right?" Fluttershy asked as she eyed the book. "Journal, training journal." Rainbow corrected. "Hmm.. Why would he leave that anyway, did he forget it?" Fluttershy thought out loud and continued, "Do you want to help me with a few things? It'd be so much easier with some help!" Fluttershy suddenly stopped. "Well... If.. If you're free..." she said with her cautious voice. "Sure. Some training is just what I nee-" Rainbow stopped mid-sentence as she thought of Swifty. Too soon, try to not think of him. She reminded herself. "Sure, that sounds good." Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were moving stuff all afternoon. It certainly wasn't 'a few' things she'd bring down. Rainbow thought to herself more than once. Fluttershy had quite a nice house, it was built on top of a hill just outside Ponyville and it had a big garden at the back. By the time they had finally moved everything down from the old house and then inside Fluttershy's new house it was getting dark. "Hey Rainbow... Wanna sleep over?" Fluttershy asked. Rainbow looked at the yellow little pony. Her eyes screamed 'that's what little fillys do!' but as she didn't want to say it like that she said. "Well... You know. It's the first night in the new house and everything. First night alone, as well?" Fluttershy nodded in response. Rainbow continued, "Since you live by yourself now, you have to get used to it. If I sleep over now, it would just get much worse tomorrow, trust me." Rainbow had turned away as she was saying it, she did not really want to look into Fluttershy's eyes. But as Rainbow turned back towards Fluttershy she saw how frightened her friend was. Rainbow quickly added. "But I'd gladly come back sometime when you've settled in to sleep over. Besides, you have all your kind animals, don't you? They'll surely want to keep you company!" Somewhat comforted by that Fluttershy managed a tiny smile. "It'll be alright, Fluttershy! Don't you worry!" Rainbow said and patted her friend. "I really need to get back up there, but it was nice to see where you live, and to be able to help you out!" "Thanks a lot for today, Rainbow!" Fluttershy said, as Rainbow prepared to take off. "See ya next time, Fluttershy!" Rainbow said and took off. Fluttershy waved as her friend flew up towards the clouds. When Rainbow got back up to Cloudsdale the sun was completely gone. The only thing that shone on her path was the faint white light from the moon. Rainbow went straight to bed as she got home. The following morning came and Rainbow felt tired, very tired. Vega came in to the room and politely asked Rainbow to get up. "Hey! Sleepyhead! It's time to wake up. It's almost noon!" Vega said. "Just.. Let me sleep a little bit more..." Rainbow said with a tired sigh. "Oh no. You're so getting up right now, lady!" Vega said. "Make me." Rainbow said with a smile, her eyes were still closed. "Is that a challenge?" Vega said with a grin. "You'll be up and flying within thirty seconds, my little filly." "Give it your best shot, grandma. I won't move a wing." Rainbow said confidently. "Remember that you brought this on yourself, Rainbow!" Vega said, happy to get a challenge in her normally dull everyday life. Vega placed herself in front of the bed, pulled the cover away. Rainbow just laid there, pretending to sleep. Vega placed both her hooves just below Rainbow's left wing and started to poke and tickle. It didn't take long until Rainbow's serene facial expression changed into a much more strained one. Not long thereafter the first snicker came. Then it just became too much. Rainbow couldn't take it anymore. "Hahaha. P-please s-stop it! Hihihi." she begged her grandma. "Nope. Not until you're up!" Vega said mercilessly. "But I am up! Look!" Rainbow rolled down on the floor and slowly stood up. Still giggling a little. "Wow.. ..." she tried to catch her breath. "I had no idea that I was ticklish." she said, smiling. Vega snickered. "Well, I was a filly once too, you know! What do you think my mother did to me when I refused to get up?" "You.. You're cool, grandma!" Rainbow said sincerely. "I'm grandma to the coolest filly in town, just trying to keep up." she patted Rainbow's mane and continued, "Let's go down and eat some breakfast!" They went down to the kitchen and made breakfast, as they were eating Vega suddenly said, "So what are you going to do now?" "What do you mean, now?" Rainbow looked at her grandmother with one eyebrow raised. "Right now I'm gonna finish my breakfast then go outside and practice and stuff." "I meant... What will you do next, school is over with. Will you apply to flight school, what's it gonna be?" Vega said kindly. "I... I don't know. I haven't really thought about it." Rainbow said thoughtfully. "I think you should do it. Flying and practicing is all you do anyways. Might as well do it under somepony's guidance." Vega said. "Fair enough. I'll apply." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rainbow crash landed just outside her house. Just a moment later she got up and hurried towards the door. She started to knock frequently and as Vega finally opened the door Rainbow threw herself into her grandma's open arms. "My my, what has gotten into you? You look terrified!" Vega asked her granddaughter. Rainbow was shaking slightly and didn't respond. "Calm down! I'm here, nothing will hurt you." Vega said soothingly. It took several minutes for Vega to make her granddaughter calm down. Finally Rainbow said, "It... it was horrible. I was there for so long. How did I not notice, until now." "What's going on, dear. What's so horrible?" Vega asked. Rainbow told her grandmother what had happened. Vega let out several gasps as the story progressed. Rainbow finished her story, "... And then I crash landed just outside. And the rest you already know." "The most important thing is that you're here now. And that you're safe." Vega said, and patted Rainbow's mane. The rest of the day went by without anything interesting happening. Rainbow followed Vega around in the house and helped her by doing some cleaning, laundry, washing etc. Eventually it got darker outside as the sun set and Rainbow went to bed. An hour went by but she just could not sleep. She tossed and turned but couldn't find peace, she gave up trying for a while and trotted over to her desk. There her journal lay, waiting for her. She opened the journal, picked up the pencil and started to write her second entry. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rainbow's journal, entry #2 – Flight School It's been quite a while since I wrote something in here, not much has been going on lately. Roughly a week after summer flight camp ended I applied to flight school, I naturally got in. Now I've been here for about three months, the full length is six months, so I'm halfway through. It's just... not as fun as I thought. Flying is fun, practising is fun, but at the rate they're doing it here it just feels forced. They're not considering how we feel and say, 'Everypony should do this, everypony should do that.' I find their way of thinking when it comes to working out rather annoying. On several occasions, me and the coach have had an argument. Take a week ago for example. "Work it, Rainbow Dash. You need to fly faster, otherwise you won't get any lunch today. I need to see some serious effort." the coach said sternly. "I'm doing my best, coach." I replied. "That's it, get down here." the coach said. As I flew down to him he said. "Listen, missy, doing your best will get you nowhere, here at flight camp, we do as I say. Now get down and give me twenty-five push ups." "What. Why!? What did I do!?" I complained. "Just do it." he said. "This... is... re-dicu-lous." I murmured in between the push ups. I really didn't like him he was always hard on me. Towards the other ponies, especially the colts, he was so much more forgiving. I think you kind of see where I'm going with this, journal. Yesterday we had yet another argument. During the day it had been a lot 'Rainbow Dash this' and 'Rainbow Dash that.' A lot of 'punishments' and similar stuff. I just could not take it. "Well... Your way of training... Sucks!" I screeched at the coach. Taken somewhat by surprise, apparently, he took a few seconds to counter this 'problem' of his. "So, what are you going to do about it? You know that you can't do anything as long as I'm in charge." he said. I vented all my anger towards him that I had gathered over these three months in one go. "There's several points that you totally ignore when it comes to working out. You just don't get it, do you. The individual aspect. Everypony doesn't need to do the same thing to be trained most efficiently." I paused briefly. "You just act like as if you were some kind of infinitely wise pegasus who knows everything. The reason you're always so harsh on me is that you know... " I paused dramatically. "That I know, that deep down you're no good at coaching at all. You have truly not understood the meaning of working out. You're just doing as you've 'always done'. And let me tell you what. I know of a colt at my age, who is a so much better coach than you'll ever be." As I stood there, glaring angrily at the coach, I realised that several other ponies had heard half the argument. I didn't care. What I said was the truth, no matter how harsh it seemed. The other ponies started to whisper to each other. Nopony had ever dared to lecture the coach like that. "What if Rainbow is correct..." I heard one of them whisper. "Silence!" the coach shouted. "It seems like we have... a disbeliever." he paused and let an evil grin spread on his face. "Now... What do we usually do with 'disbelievers'?" he asked the crowd. A moment of silence ensued whilst the pegasi were looking at each other nervously. Suddenly somepony shouted, "We punish them!" The coach's evil grin grew even wider. "That's right, my friends, and what punishment do you think suits this pegasus?" he pointed at me. Yet another brief silence before somepony slowly said, "The cloud arena... Alone..." My blood froze, or so it felt. I gulped, and turned towards the coach. I couldn't believe it to be true. I had only heard stories about what horrors that was released in the arena. Even the bravest of warriors would have had second thoughts. "Aah. The arena... Hmm. That seems... suitable." the coach said while nodding to himself. "B-but. I thought that was just an old pony's tale?" I said, somewhat frightened now. "Everypony thinks that. Since nopony ever lives to tell the tale." he looked fanatical now and the ponies around us looked straight forward with a blank expression in their eyes. By Celestia, they're all mad! I need to get out of here. I thought to myself. "Wait! What's that over there? It's Celestia! look!" I pointed my hoof towards the sky behind the coach. A surprised murmur broke out and everypony turned around to see. I took the chance to jump off the cloud and fly away, as fast as I could. I knew I didn't have long since Celestia actually was not there. "She's getting away! Get her!" the coach roared furiously. Luckily enough I had been correct earlier. Not one of them was an as good flier as I was. I had little trouble shaking them off and got away safely. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Time went by and Rainbow Dash grew older. She wasn't a filly anymore. She had started to work as a weather pegasus. The pay was okay but most of all, she got to be outside while working. and she could work at her own pace as long as the job got done within the time limits. This day had started like any other. Rainbow had come to work, got her assignments for the day, done a few of them, taken a nap, done a few more, practicing a new trick for a bit, and done the last. Since today's forecast was sunny the job was easily done. Rainbow yawned. This isn't so bad, after all. Working and stuff, feels good to be outside, and I can practice as well, as long as I'm working at the same time. She thought to herself. "Ohoy there, Rainbow! Lost in your own thoughts again?" a co-worker shouted towards her. "Uhm, hi?" she answered, slightly confused. "What are you doing here? Aren't you working?" "Nope, my shift ended thirty minutes ago. Didn't yours as well?" he asked. "Aah. I must have forgotten..." Rainbow replied. "Time flies here at work." Literally... she thought to herself. "Thanks for reminding me!" she smiled at her co-worker who politely waved in return. Rainbow clocked out from work and headed home. She made it to her house without anything interesting happening on the way. Just as Rainbow had opened the door, she started to smile as the smell of freshly cooked food greeted her. "I'm home!" she shouted towards the kitchen. "I know, Rainbow. I heard you ages ago." Vega replied. "Anything I can help out with?" Rainbow asked politely. "You can set the table, if you want to." Vega said. "I'll get right on it, grandma!" Rainbow said as she trotted past her grandmother in the kitchen fetching some plates. After they had eaten, Rainbow put her two rear hooves on the table, leaned back and balanced the chair. "Thanks grandma, that was sweet!" "Ey! What have I said about such behaviour!" Vega instantly said and pushed the hooves off the table, gently but firmly. "Where's that wonderful little pegasus you used to hang out with anyways, she used to keep you in check. Fluttershy... That's her name, isn't it?" "Oh, she... She moved down to Ponyville quite a while ago. I helped her move her stuff." Rainbow answered. "Okay. So, have you been there since? If I recall correctly she was a quite good friend of yours, was she not?" Vega asked curiously. "Uhm. No, I haven't." Rainbow admitted. "I even promised her I would sleep over someday, when she had settled in." "Ah. A slumber party eh?" Vega said and smiled. "A sleepover, grandma." Rainbow corrected. "But yeah. You're probably right. I should check on her, to see how everything's going. If I don't get back I'm probably staying at her place overnight. So don't you worry about me!" Vega just smiled as her grandchild jumped of the chair and trotted up the stairs to her room. 'Probably staying at her place'. 'Don't worry'. She sure doesn't know how it is to be a parent. She thought to herself. "Be careful, Rainbow!" she shouted to the blue mare on her way outside. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - As she flew, Rainbow tried to come up with a good excuse for not having been over until now. From a distance she could see various things in the backyard of Fluttershy's house. She could also see the smoke coming up from the chimney. Rainbow found it all quite pretty, and tranquil. She landed just outside the front door, but took quite some time to knock as she still had not come up with an excuse. Eventually Rainbow figured that she just had to improvise. *Knock knock* After about a minute of waiting Rainbow knocked again. "Ohoy in there, anypony home?" Still no answer. She trotted around the corner and peeked through the window. She let out a giggle. Rainbow went back to the door, knocked a third time and said, "I know you're in there! I saw you!" From inside she heard a muffled reply, "No you didn't!" "You're behind the sofa!" Rainbow said with a smile. "No I'm not..." the Fluttershy said from inside. "Oh come on, Fluttershy! It's me, Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow finally said. "R-rainbow...? ..." The upper part of Fluttershy's door opened slowly. "It really is you!" Fluttershy said. She opened the door and let Rainbow Dash in. "Of course. Who else would it be?" Rainbow said gladly. "Uhm, I don't know! Anypony!" Fluttershy replied. "I'm so happy to see you again! It's been so long." "Eheh... Yeah, I meant to..." Rainbow said excusingly but got interrupted as Fluttershy hugged her. "Let me show you around! This is Angel... Angel this is Rainbow Dash!" she pointed her hoof towards a white rabbit who happily jumped up on Fluttershy when he noticed that she was speaking about him. He saluted Rainbow as he heard her name. After about half an hour of touring the house, introducing Rainbow to each and every animal by name, they ended up in Fluttershy's living room, where they started. "Anyway... That's pretty much it!" Fluttershy said. "So, what did really bring you down here, Rainbow?" "I haven't really had anypony to hang out with, since you left, and I figured that it might just be nice to have some company." "Ooh. Will you be staying the night?" Fluttershy asked excitedly. "Yeah. If it's okay with you, Fluttershy!" Rainbow replied. "If it's okay! I'd like it very much! My first slumber party! It's gonna be soooooo much fun! I'm so excited!" she suddenly interrupted herself. "Hihi. Now I sound like Pinkie Pie." "Who's Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow asked, raising one of her eyebrows. "Ah, you haven't met many ponies from Ponyville, have you? I'll introduce you to my best friends tomorrow!" The evening came and the night followed. The two old friends went to bed. They didn't go to sleep though, they remained awake and spoke with each other about everything from ponies in Ponyville to mad coaches at the flight school. The two didn't get any sleep until the small hours. Fluttershy got up early as usual, as if she had slept all night. "Ugh. How can you get up now?" Rainbow asked sleepily since she had just woken up as Fluttershy got out of her bed. "Got to feed the animals!" she chirped. "Where do you get all the energy... ..." *ZzzzZZZzzz* Rainbow went back to sleep. Fluttershy let her sleep a few more hours, but as it got closer to noon she decided that it was time to get up. "Raaiiiinboooow... Time to wake uuuup!" she poked her pegasus friend. "Get off me." Rainbow answered grumpily. "But don't you want to get out in the sun! And meet a lot of lovely ponies! Make some friends!" Fluttershy said encouraging. "You're not my mom!" Rainbow said and turned her back towards Fluttershy. "Oh dear. I think I know just the thing." Fluttershy muttered to herself. She trotted away towards the kitchen. As Rainbow heard that Fluttershy was trotting away she smiled victoriously. The smile didn't last very long though, as Fluttershy poured a bucket of ice-cold water over her head. Rainbow gasped and immediately got up and shook the water out of her mane. "Wha.. Why did you have to do that?!" she asked her friend. "Err, well. You didn't get up, this is what I usually do to my animals when they're lazy!" Fluttershy replied. "But I'm not one of your animals, Fluttershy!" Rainbow pointed out. "Still, it worked didn't it? You're up!" Fluttershy said with an incredibly cute smile on her face. Rainbow gave up. There was no reasoning with this kind pegasus. "But look at the sheets! All wet!" "I was going to switch them anyway. I'll just hang them up in the backyard. Be right back!" Fluttershy trotted out with the sheets on her back. Soon she came back and said, "Ready to take a walk? I'll show you around town!" "Sure." Rainbow replied. Fluttershy was thinking of introducing Rainbow to Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie as they toured the village. She'll get to know the rest of Ponyville anyway. She thought to herself with a smile. They headed towards Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow noticed an orange mare laying in front of a tree, obviously taking a break. Her mane was blonde and she wore a brown hat. She had three red apples on her flank. Is this the Applejack pony that Fluttershy was speaking of? she thought to herself. Her thoughts were confirmed as Fluttershy greeted the pony. "Hi there, Applejack! How are you?" Fluttershy asked with her normal quiet voice. "Hi Fluttershy! Howdy! Ah'm mighty fine, thanks! But who's this new face, friend of yours?" Applejack answered and eyed Rainbow Dash. "Applejack, meet Rai-" Fluttershy got interrupted by Rainbow as she tried to introduce her. "Hi. I'm Rainbow Dash." Rainbow said. "Hi there, Miss Dash! A pleasure to make your acquaintance!" Applejack said while shaking Rainbow's right forehoof with both of her forehooves. "So what brings ya out to Sweet Apple Acres?" "Oh, I'm just showing Dash around town." Fluttershy answered. "Ah. Since you're here anyway, care to do some applebucking?" "Applewhat?" Rainbow asked. "Applebucking! Sure ain't as easy as it looks. Lemme show ya." Applejack said and walked up to a nearby tree, she placed a few buckets under it and turned her rear towards it. Then she kicked the tree with both her rear hooves. Pretty much all the apples fell down and somehow they managed to get right into the buckets. "That's applebucking right there! Care to help out? We've got a lot to do, since the Summer Sun Celebration is held here in Ponyville in only two weeks!" "Actually... Rainbow Dash already has a job. She works as a weather pegasus!" Fluttershy said. "But you sure ain't working now!" Applejack pointed out, looking at Rainbow. Rainbow sighed, "It's my day off, and-" she got interrupted by Applejack. "Sounds to me like you're just lazy, Ah bet fifteen bits that you can't manage to buck as many trees as ah do in half an hour." Rainbow froze. Her eyes narrowed and she leaned forward and whispered. "It's on." "Girls..." Fluttershy tried to intervene but it was too late. "Spit on it?" Applejack said and spat on her left forehoof. "Whatever." Rainbow replied and did the same, as their hooves met she said, "You'll be the judge, Fluttershy! Fortunately Fluttershy had a watch on her. "Okay... Ready? Set. Go!" she said. It took a while for Rainbow to get the feel of it, but now she felt pretty confident. Applejack was still ahead, but she thought she was gaining just a little bit. "Ten minutes to go!" the competing ponies heard Fluttershy say. Come on, Rainbow. Show this workhorse that you're an awesome athlete. Rainbow thought to herself as she gave it her all. "Aaand... time's up!" Fluttershy finally said. Both Applejack and Rainbow came trotting slowly towards Fluttershy. It was obvious that they both were quite tired. "So... What's the score?" Rainbow asked. "Umm. If I've calculated correctly... Fifty-two for Rainbow Dash..." Rainbow smiled proudly. "And... Fifty-six for Applejack!" the smirk on Rainbow's face dropped immediately. "Yeeeeeeeeeeehaw! Don't you fret, sugarcube, nopony has ever beaten me on this. Not even Big Macintosh. Actually mah old record was fifty-five so you did mighty well for a first-timer!" Applejack said soothingly. "Here, take these. It's ten bits." she handed the bits to Rainbow. "Ah would have paid anypony ten bits for doing this much work anyway. Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the competition!" she said and waved as Rainbow and Fluttershy turned to leave. "Now you know Applejack!" Fluttershy said happily. "I... I lost..." Rainbow said. She couldn't really believe it herself yet. It was the first time she had lost in any kind of competition. "Heey. Chin up, Rainbow! Applejack has been doing this since she was a foal, and you just came here for the first time, and gave her some serious competition. You did more than well back there!" Fluttershy said in an attempt to cheer up her friend. Rainbow seemed only slightly soothed, but as they continued on the way in to Ponyville she appeared to be back to her normal self. "Let's see. The next pony I'd like to introduce you to is Rarity! She's a fashion designer and lives in her boutique." Fluttershy said. "Eeew. Fashion." Rainbow said and stopped. She had a strange look in her eyes as she looked at Fluttershy. Rainbow had never really cared about fashion. She was a pony that didn't care about what she was wearing or how she had her mane, as long as it was awesome. "You'll like her. She's incredibly generous... And quite the lady." Fluttershy said and started to trot again. After a short while they ended up outside the Carousel Boutique. "Wow. That's quite a funny looking house." Rainbow said. "You think so? I haven't really thought about it." Fluttershy replied. "She's usually inside, let's go have a look!" She raised her hoof and knocked on the door. "Come iiin!" a voice hummed from inside. "Hi Rarity! Are you in here?" Fluttershy said, trotting towards the room where she thought she might find Rarity. She found her snow white unicorn friend in her working room. Rarity's mane was purple and neatly curled around her neck. Rainbow noticed the three diamonds on her flank, her cutiemark. "Mmm. Hi Fluttershy!" Rarity said without giving her friend a look. She stood bent over a pony mannequin dressed in, what Rainbow assumed to be, the latest fashion. "Oh wait. You? It... It's not Tuesday is it? Have I forgotten?" Rarity continued slightly nervous. She reassured herself, clearly thinking out loud. "It can't be. Yesterday was Saturday and this delivery is due tomorrow, and that's Monday." Fluttershy giggled. "It's not Tuesday, Rarity. I've got somepony I'd like to introduce you to!" "Aah. Is it that stallion you used to dream about, heh! I always knew you were romantic, Fluttershy!" Rarity replied. Fluttershy blushed. "What! No!! It's not... I'd like you to meet Rainbow Dash, a foalhood friend of mine!" Rarity finally took her eyes off the mannequin. She took one glance at Rainbow and immediately trotted over to her. "I love how you did your mane, dear!" Rarity said and ruffled Rainbow's mane with curiosity. "And one can't even feel that it's dyed! And the tail as well! And it matches your cutiemark! That's just, beautiful!" Rarity said as she eyed Rainbow in amazement. "Uuuh. Dyed? I've never dyed my mane..." Rainbow said. "Heh. Don't be silly. Of course you have. Are you telling me that those are your real colours? That your mane and tail actually were rainbow coloured from birth?" Rarity said. Rainbow and Fluttershy exchanged a glance that said. 'Not this again...' "Mmm. It's the truth. I've always looked like this. Fluttershy can confirm that." Rainbow said happily. "You... You're not really saying..." Rarity backed slowly and shifted from looking at Fluttershy to Rainbow. "You're pulling my leg here, aren't you?" Fluttershy's honest look and Rainbow's confident smile convinced Rarity that they were not making a joke. "Wow. It really is true then... That's just..." Rarity said. "Awesome! I know right!?" Rainbow replied with a smile. "I was going to say peculiar but I guess awesome is a way of describing it." Rarity said. "So... What is it that you do anyway, Rarity?" Rainbow asked politely. "I run this boutique! I'm a fashion designer, I design clothes and dresses for a living. I've got many customers around Equestria, currently I'm working on the outfits for the Wonderbolts. They're-" Rarity said but got interrupted. "The Wonderbolts!? The most amazing fliers in all of Equestria!? You are doing their outfits?" Rainbow said in excitement. "Yes. As I was saying I have built up quite a reputation over the years. The Wonderbolts are having some kind of show a month from now. Roughly two weeks after the Summer Sun Celebration. so I really need to hurry it up." "Aaaw. If I only could go..." Rainbow said without trying to hide her longing. "Anyway, you've already been taking up too much of my precious time! I have to get back to working, as I said earlier I need to send them a sample by tomorrow! It was really nice to meet you Rainbow Dash!" Kindly but firmly the ladylike unicorn showed the two pegasi out of her boutique. "So.. That's Rarity!" Fluttershy said. "She actually makes the Wonderbolt's outfits..." Rainbow said, still seemingly in her own little world. "Oi! Rainbow! Helloooo?" Fluttershy poked her friend. "I.. uh, wha?" Rainbow responded. "I'm talking to you!" Fluttershy said while smiling happily. "You seemed to be in another world!" "Oh... Heh. I've always been a fan of the Wonderbolts. They're the most awesome pegasi in Equestria!" "Who's awesome?!" a pink pony asked. She must have appeared from nowhere. Her mane was also pink, but slightly darker, on her flank she had three balloons. "You're... Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow asked. "I sure am! Nice to meet you! You must be... Hmm..." Pinkie Pie eyed Rainbow thoroughly. "… Rainbow!" Rainbow gasped in surprise and looked at Fluttershy who shrugged. "How did you...?" Rainbow asked. "How did I what?" Pinkie replied happily. "How did you know my name! We've never met, have we? Fluttershy, did you tell her about me?" Fluttershy shook her head in response. Rainbow turned back towards Pinkie and waited for her explanation. "Earlier today, I felt a twitch, a winch and a flinch." Pinkie Pie illustrated each empathised word and continued. "That just had to mean I was about to meet a new pony today, and then I had a... " Pinkie stopped mid-sentence and shook her whole body and rolled her eyes. " ... Which could only mean that the new pony's name would have to do with its cutie mark. The second I saw you I knew that it was you who were new, 'cause I know eeeeeeeverypony in Ponyville, and I didn't recognise you! And then just guessing your name, well, duh! I saw the rainbow and the cloud so it was either Cloudy or Rainbow I went with Rainbow and it seemed to be correct!" "... " Rainbow was speechless. "You... You felt a what, what and a what?" "A twitch, a winch and a flinch!" Pinkie replied. "But... What... That doesn't even make sense!" Rainbow tried to understand. "It makes Pinkie sense!" Pinkie said. "Rainbow, just give up! Nopony understands Pinkie sense, except Pinkie Pie herself!" Fluttershy said. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rainbow sat on the opposite side of Fluttershy in the train compartment. There was a slight breeze coming from the open window. Fluttershy seemed to have fallen asleep, she was lying there, so peaceful. Rainbow figured now was a good time. She took forth her journal and eagerly started to write down the events of the past week. So much had happened. She could almost not believe it. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rainbow's journal, entry #3 – Friendship and Nightmares The first mentionable thing happened roughly two weeks ago. All of Ponyville had gathered in the town hall to witness Princess Celestia raise the sun. It was the Summer Sun Celebration. Everypony was excited since the Summer Sun Celebration had never been held in Ponyville before and generally, meeting Princess Celestia is a good reason to be excited. Yet it didn't turn out as everypony thought, the night ended in horror. Celestia did not show up. Instead a huge black alicorn appeared. She swore that this would be the last day and that she would bring night eternal to Equestria. Nopony knew who she was, except a lavender pony, I recognized her as Twilight Sparkle. I had met her the day before, as she was inspecting Ponyville. Celestia had sent her to make sure that everything was perfect for the Summer Sun Celebration. Twilight said that the alicorn in front of everypony was no other than Nightmare Moon! As the panic erupted Nightmare Moon disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke. I followed the smoke out of the town hall but my hunt was futile as the cloud moved at an unnatural speed. The events that followed need to be told by a more visual storyteller. However, I can hastily summarise it all. We – I, Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity – went into the Everfree Forest where we eventually found the ruins where the Elements of Harmony were hidden. As we got there Nightmare Moon appeared and we had to fight. It turned out each of us represented an Element of Harmony. I represented Loyalty, Pinkie Laughter, Fluttershy Kindness, Rarity Generosity, Applejack Honesty and Twilight the Element of Magic. Together we defeated Nightmare Moon who turned out to be Princess Celestia's younger sister, Luna. As we got back to Ponyville, Pinkie Pie threw a party for us being all awesome and for saving Equestria. Twilight got a new assignment from Princess Celestia, to study the magic of friendship and report back to the princess from her new home in Ponyville. Twilight was to live in the Ponyville library, which seemed to suit her well as she almost always was immersed in her books anyways. A few days after the events at the Summer Sun Celebration, I was out flying, just like any other day. I had finished work early and had the afternoon free to do whatever I wanted. I noticed Rarity standing outside the library and decided to join her. "Hi there Rarity! What 'cha doin'!" I said. "Ah, hello there, Rainbow!" Rarity replied. "I was just about to return this book to the library, but it seems to be closed for some reason!" On the door to the library there was a sign. It said: Closed, for now, due to important meeting Will be open again, later this afternoon. "Important meeting, eh?" I said. "Yes. Sure seems like it." Rarity said and frowned. "I really don't have time for this! I have a business to attend to!" "You know what, Rarity? Why don't you give the book to me, and I'll make sure that it gets returned by the end of the day!" I said. "You'd do that, Rainbow? You really don't have to, you know!" Rarity said, somewhat relieved. "It's fine. I've got nothing to do anyway!" I replied. "Thank you so much, Rainbow!" she said as she gracefully trotted away. I got curious about this important meeting and decided to try to sneak a peek and see what they actually were doing in there. I gave it my best shot and circulated around the library but all the curtains were drawn so I couldn't see a thing. I decided to leave it for now. I returned several hours later, just before the usual closing hour and found the library to be open to the public once again. I knocked. "Come in!" Twilight said from inside. As I entered she said: "Rainbow! How good to see you. You're just the one I was looking for, actually!" "Yeah? Why's that?" I replied. "I had a visitor, today. Somepony special from Canterlot. He's an old acquaintance of mine. A writer to be more specific. And he-" "Oooooo." I interrupted her. "Was he good looking? What did you do? I couldn't see in anywhere. You... You didn't do... " I hesitated. "... anything naughty did you?" Twilight blushed heavily. "No! Of course not! He's a writer! We studied writing technique, I've been thinking of maybe picking up on writing novels myself. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I got these-" "Ooo ooo!" I interrupted again. "I almost forgot! Rarity ment to return this book, earlier today, but you were evidently busy with that writer of yours." I said teasingly. I showed Twilight the book I received, she immediately levitated it over to her to get a better look at it. "Aah! Yes. I think she said she'd return it today. How could I have forgotten about it... Spiiiiike!" she called out for her baby dragon assistant who came down the stairs. "Could you put this book where it should be? Thanks!" Twilight said and turned back to me. "As I was saying, I got-" "!!! Are those tickets to the Wonderbolts show next weekend!?" I said overly excited as I noticed the two tickets that Twilight levitated up from the table behind her. "Well. I was trying to tell you but you kept interrup-" "Can I have one, pleeeeeeeeeease! I've wanted to go since like, ever!" Twilight covered her face with a hoof and sighed. "Yes Rainbow. Can you let me finish a sentence, for once? ... Thank you! I got these two from my visitor. I however can't go myself. I'm quite busy around here and I need Spike with me, so he can't go either. I figured that you might want to go, so I'll just give both tickets to you, then you can take anypony you want!" "Ohmigosh. Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" I said and hugged my somewhat startled friend in front of me. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rainbow hastily looked up from her book. Fluttershy seemed to still be deeply asleep. Outside the world was moving on and the sun was still up. It means that there's still some time. Rainbow thought to herself, as she knew she'd arrive at Ponyville station after sunset. What she didn't know, was that Fluttershy was not at all asleep. Sure, she was resting, but not asleep. Fluttershy had been watching her friend in her 'moment of weakness' as Rainbow herself would have called it. Fluttershy enjoyed seeing her friend write since it seemed to make her happy. Rainbow's eyes returned down to the book and she continued to write. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rainbow's journal, entry #4 – Wonderbolts It was finally time. I thought the day would never come. Friday morning. Finally! I thought to myself as I got up from bed. The Wonderbolts' show was tomorrow, and the train to Canterlot was leaving just before noon today. "Have you packed everything you need?" Vega asked as we were eating breakfast. "Yes, grandma! It's not like I'll be gone forever!" I replied, happily. "Just don't forget something to write on and a pencil." she said. "Why would I need that?" I asked. "Well. Where else you like them to sign their autographs, your flank?" Vega said teasingly. "I... What!? Eeew. Yeah. I'll better take something." I said. "Thanks for reminding me!" I packed the last things and went on my way. "Be careful, and come back safely!" Vega shouted after me. "Always!" I shouted as I trotted down the street. I had decided to give the second ticket to Fluttershy. I figured that she could use a vacation from her animals. When I got to her house I knocked politely as usual. "Fluttershyyyy, it's mee Rainbow!" I said. "Just a minute!" Fluttershy replied from inside. Literally more than 5 minutes passed and I got somewhat bored of standing outside a closed door. I checked if it was open, and it was. Inside I saw Fluttershy wandering around like a lost soul. "So much to do. So much to do." she repeated to herself. "Uuuuh... Fluttershy?" I said hesitantly. "Rainbow! I... I'm having second thoughts... about leaving!" she said. "Why is that? You seemed happy to go to Canterlot just the other day!" I replied. "But what about my animals! How will they survive without me!" she said helplessly. "Well, they did actually survive just fine before you got down here, you know!" I said, somewhat teasingly, but as I saw how worried she was I continued, "I've managed to get Twilight to agree to let Spike come here and feed them and take care of them! So it should be alright! It's just for two days you know!" I said reassuringly. "Come on now, Fluttershy! The train leaves in half an hour!" I managed to convince Fluttershy that everything would be okay and we trotted down the street towards the train station. Finally. I thought once again. There was nothing special about this train ride, other than that I felt like it took forever to get to Canterlot. Sure. It was a four hour ride, but as I was quite anxious to get there it felt much longer. When we arrived at Canterlot Station, I could barely hide my excitement. I bounced up and down all the way from the station to the hotel, which apparently was included in the ticket. "Rainbow! You're acting like Pinkie Pie! Get a grip on yourself!" Fluttershy finally said. "Heh. Yeah. I guess I am. But I'm so excited!" I said. Fluttershy smiled. "It's been a long time since I saw you this excited, Rainbow!" We checked into the hotel. When we showed our tickets to the receptionist he nodded, gave us our room key and said. "The event starts tomorrow at 4 PM, you'll be picked up at 2 PM, make sure that you're on time and outside by then." "Why so early?" I asked curiously. "That's only what I've been told. See for yourself tomorrow." he said blankly. Our rooms were quite nice. It was one of the more exclusive hotels in Canterlot. I remember thinking about who could possibly have gotten these tickets and why we would have to leave the hotel so early, but only briefly, as my mind was focused on that I'd actually see The Wonderbolts the day after. After a real feast in the hotel restaurant, Fluttershy and I went up to our room. We talked for a few hours about this and that, old memories and such. Quite a while later, Fluttershy went silent for longer than usual. I guessed that she didn't want to talk anymore, so I said good night. I wondered what would have made her so quiet all of a sudden. I remember thinking, What were we talking about... Old memories... suddenly I thought of Swifty. My lust for talking vanished right away. She must have remembered him, as well. I realised. I wondered where he was, if he had met his special somepony, and if I'd ever see him again. I blinked a few times, and took a deep breath. Everything's fine, Rainbow. You're here to watch the Wonderbolts! You should be happy! I thought to myself just before I fell asleep. I woke up the following morning before Fluttershy, for once, as I got up and did my morning routines I watched my yellow friend lie there, sleeping. There was something magical about Fluttershy. Even more so when she was asleep. I tried to gently wake her up. "Hey, Fluttershy. It's time to get up!" I said as smoothly as I could. "Uuuuh." was the only response I got. Fluttershy turned around. "Oh no, you're not doing a Rainbow on me!" I said. I smiled and thought, Well, I just might do a 'Vega' on you then. I pulled the bed cover and started to tickle the little timid pegasus in front of me. Fluttershy gave in to the tickling almost right away. "H-hey! P-please stop!" she said in between giggles. "As long as you wake up!" I said. Fluttershy stood up, "I'm awake already!" she said and continued, "You sure do have your own tricks to get people out of bed." I nodded. We ate breakfast and hung out by the hotel pool until it was time to leave. Right outside the hotel there was a carriage waiting. "I assume you're Miss Rainbow?" a white stallion said. "I sure am!" I replied. "This way please." he pointed at the chariot. "They're... they're treating you like royalty, Rainbow!" Fluttershy said. "Why wouldn't they? See what it says on our tickets? VIP!" I replied. "VIP? I don't understand..." Fluttershy said and looked at the ticket. "It means Very Important Pony. That's why we've gotten all the exclusive stuff. And the tickets themselves probably cost a fortune." I explained. The carriage ride didn't take long and soon we were outside the arena where the event was being held. Yet another pony was waiting for us, and showed us where to go. "So, why are we here so early? The event doesn't start for another hour and a half!" I asked curiously. "You honestly don't know?" he replied with a smile. "Hey! You know, don't you!" I started to be slightly angry, nopony was telling us what was going on! "Everypony knows what VIPs do before an event. You'll see soon though. It's not far. Over here!" he said and started to trot towards the arena. We entered the arena. It may have looked big from the outside, but when we saw the whole thing... It was just breathtaking. "It... It's so big!" Fluttershy said in amazement. I could only agree, I had never seen such a big building. We walked around it once and the guide told us about when it was built and how many ponies that could be here and watch simultaneously. "This way, ladies!" the guide said and entered a door. We followed him down some stairs and in through a corridor. Suddenly he stopped in front of a door, pointing at it with one hoof and said. "This is as far as I go. You must go the last part alone." As he saw how nervous Fluttershy became he added, "It's quite fine, Miss Fluttershy, it's just down the corridor and then the third door on the left." "Third door to the left, eh?" I said. "Let's go Fluttershy!" I managed to get Fluttershy to follow me and we left the guide where he stood. He closed the door behind us and we heard him trot away. "One... Two... Three! This is it!" I said. "Oh... Are you sure, Rainbow?" Fluttershy said anxiously. "I'm quite sure I can count to three, Fluttershy." I said. "Let's see what kind of exclusive things that are hidden behind this door!" I said and opened the door. As the door swung open I realised what was going to happen. My whole body froze. Fluttershy looked at me and noticed how I didn't move a muscle. "What's wrong, Rainbow? Is it... Is it a monster?" Fluttershy said, hiding behind me while sticking out her head just a tiny bit so that she could peek inside. "..." I couldn't say a word. "Eeh. Rainbow? It's nothing in there. Just looks like a normal dressing-room to me." She trotted past me and looked around. "Hellooo, anypony here?" she asked. A yellow pony came out from another room with a puzzled look. She had orange mane. I recognised her immediately. Fluttershy however, did not. "Hi there, who are you?" she asked innocently. "That's what I was about to ask you! You're in my dressing-room, you know!" the yellow pony asked sternly. "Eeep. Uh. I... we... they said... that we should come in here." Fluttershy replied. "Who did tell you to go into my dressing-room?!" she asked. "Th... the.. ... guide?" Fluttershy replied, more like a question than a statement. "... Wait. Did you say we?" she turned around and saw me standing in the doorway. I realised that my jaw had dropped and I blushed. I trotted into the room and cleared my throat. "Hi... " I said while giving her a sheepish smile. "... You... You're Spitfire!" "I sure am! Oh, that reminds me, I was told that some VIPs were coming by today. You must be Rainbow Dash, eh?" Spitfire replied. Her voice was now a lot more soft, probably her normal one. "Uh... I ... Yes?" I said in astonishment. She knew my name?! I thought to myself. "The name sure suits you! I like the looks of your mane and tail! Anyways... Who's your friend?" Spitfire asked, and turned towards Fluttershy. "I'm... Fluttershy." she said shyly. Spitfire politely held out a hoof to greet her. "Nice to meet you, Fluttershy!" she said. I was only slightly envious. But Spitfire turned to me and did the same. "And nice to meet you too, Rainbow Dash!" "I.. uh... Likewise!" I stuttered. I couldn't really believe it. I stood in Spitfire's dressing-room and shook her hoof. It's like... like a dream come true. Fluttershy noticed me dreaming away in my own little world and said, to make me snap out of it, "Rainbow has adored you Wonderbolts her entire life. Don't you have anything to ask Spitfire, now that you finally meet?" she poked me as she said it. "Right... Right! I've been your fan my whole life! You're the youngest captain of the Wonderbolts ever, right? And you're female! How cool is that!" I said. "That's correct! You sure do know a lot, Rainbow!" Spitfire replied. After a moment of awkward silence Fluttershy spoke up. "So... I guess you didn't know that you'd grow up and become captain of the Wonderbolts... How did it all happen? Where are you from? How did you get your cutiemark?" I mentally hugged Fluttershy. Spitfire liked to tell the story and both me and Fluttershy appreciated it. We made the most out of the time we spent together with Spitfire. Many questions, answers and laughter later Spitfire spoke up. "Oh my, time flies, eh? It's already half past three. I'm supposed to be on a coordination meeting with our coach and the rest of my crew in ten minutes! I need to get ready!" "Wow, is it that late already? We better go then!" I said, and turned around to leave my idol in peace. "See you in half an hour, then?" Spitfire asked as we left. "Huh?" I looked at her puzzled until I remembered, "Right! The show! I had almost forgotten! Will definately see you in half an hour!" I said. We walked the corridor back towards where we came from. As we opened the door the guide surprisingly was on the other side. Fluttershy did of course gasp as she was startled. "I did not mean to scare you, sorry." he said flatly. "No problems. She's a bit... eh, like that. It's normal. Where's our seats?" "VIP-section is this way!" he said and trotted away towards some stairs. When we got up to the VIP-section I was a bit overwhelmed by the view. We had the best 'seats' in the whole arena. Fluttershy and I sat there for a while, talking about and admiring the amazing view. Ponies had started to flow in below us where the common ponies' seats were. When there was approximately five minutes before the show started, the arena was pretty much full. I noticed a quite big balcony beautifully decorated lying a bit further ahead, to the left of us. I remember thinking, Who's that for... and just as I thought that a bright light came from behind. I turned around and there she was. Princess Celestia. Fluttershy poked me as my jaw had once again dropped, I immediately stood up and bowed my head for the royalty. The big white alicorn strode past us down to the balcony where she received the cheers from the spectators. "And now... The moment you've all been waiting for. Heeeeeeeeeeere's The Wonderbolts!" the presenter called out. A massive amount of cheering, screaming and stomping broke out. The Wonderbolts entered the arena from a door in the middle. They graciously flew a few laps around to get some speed and then they set off. The show lasted for about 40 minutes and with countless tricks. I knew them all. There were cork-screws, barrel rolls and loops. I wouldn't be able to copy all of them though, obviously, since the Wonderbolts were amazing fliers and have had training from the best of the best. The show seemed to have come to an end and the presenter called out that it was time for the big finale! Everypony was waiting excitedly, including me and Fluttershy. She had actually been cheering and screaming quite a lot which surprised me, since she was usually a quite shy and timid pegasus. I figured that she liked it as much as anypony else, so it was all good. The Wonderbolts had met in the middle of the arena, and they were talking to each other. Suddenly they spread out. I counted ten pegasi hovering seemingly at random places around the arena. I didn't see Spitfire amongst them so I figured that she would be doing something special. On a given signal the ten pegasi started to spin, creating whirlwinds on their spot. I searched for Spitfire but couldn't see her anywhere. I heard a cheer from the crowd below me. I followed their gaze and saw Spitfire approaching quickly from the left side. I could see from my position that she was flying extremely fast. She was heading towards the closest little whirlwind, i.e. the closest Wonderbolt-pegasi. A gasp was heard from the ponies below. I knew that they were thinking exactly the same thing I was thinking. She's going to crash into the other pegasi! However, that was not what Spitfire had in mind. When she came close to the whirlwind she turned away in the last second making it an almost 90 degree turn at the range of maybe one meter from the pegasi. She then continued in a straight line towards the next one and the one after that. And while she was practically bouncing between the other Wonderbolts the one she had 'bounced' took new positions almost instantly and without ever coming close to another 'stationary' Wonderbolts member. It was almost too good to be true. It felt like chaos due to the small whirlwinds who hovered at one angle, then quickly afterwards took a new position. Spitfire's straight lines were the only thing you could keep your eyes on. The trick ended almost as sudden as it started, and it was then the beauty was revealed. All the Wonderbolts had gathered together again to give the crowd a chance to read a message. The characteristic black smoke Spitfire had left behind hung as letters in the air. It read: Thanks for coming! Have a nice day! A deafening roar of cheers, screams and stomping once again filled the arena. The Wonderbolts flew up to the middle again, bowed in every direction and took the crowds standing ovations. They also flew one lap around the arena slowly, during which they shook Princess Celestia's hoof as they flew past her. Spitfire even waved at me when she passed. I felt incredibly honored. I sighed when the common murmur erupted as everypony below started to trot out of the arena. "Why are you sighing?" Fluttershy asked me. "I... Well... It's over. I don't want it to be over." I said sadly. "You can't live in a dream, Rainbow! You are needed in Ponyville, and if you practice well enough you could send in your application to the Wonderbolts eventually!" Fluttershy said soothingly. "Our train leaves in roughly 40 minutes, at half past five. We better get the carriage back to our hotel to get our stuff." "Yeah. I guess." I replied. Fluttershy started to trot towards the exit but turned around as she noticed me not following. "Are you coming?" she asked. "I'll be right there, can I just have a minute? I want to remember this moment." I said. "Sure. I'll meet you downstairs." she said. I took a deep breath, and trotted to the edge of the balcony. I closed my eyes and pictured me as a member of the Wonderbolts and all the fame and happiness that came with it. When I opened my eyes Spitfire was there, hovering just in front of me. "... Hi..?" I said tentatively. "Hi, Rainbow. What did you think of the show?" she asked. "Wow. It... it was amazing! You are awesome, Spitfire! That last trick... incredibly good." I said honestly. "Oh, that was nothing! But thank you!" Spitfire said, but I noticed that she appreciated my compliments. She smiled. "We kind of ran out of time earlier. I wanted to give you something! I'll be back in a minute!" she said and flew down towards the where she had entered the arena. Shortly she returned with a rolled-up poster. "... Don't... tell me it's what I think it is." I said as I hardly dared to accept the gift. "I think you know what it is, Rainbow. And I want you to have it. I've got so many anyway, it isn't really a big deal for me. I overheard you saying that you wanted to memorise this moment. With this, I'm quite sure you'll remember!" "May I...?" I asked. "Of course!" she replied. I slowly took off the rubber band and rolled up the poster. I let out a gasp as I watched it. Spitfire giggled. "I knew you'd like it!" It was a special poster of the Wonderbolts. Usually the posters only had three or four Wonderbolts members on them, but this one had all eleven, and each one of them had signed their autograph on it. Just above their picture. The poster was invaluable to me, and extremely valuable to anypony. I could surely sell it for several thousand bits but I never would. "I... I can't accept this." I said. "It's... too generous." "Nah. It's fine, as I said, it isn't such a big deal for me. Just a poster, I had a feeling that you'd treasure it more." "... How could I ever..." I started but I couldn't keep my voice steady. "T-thank y-you!" I said and bowed. "Hey! I'm not Princess Celestia! No need to bow! Remember, I was just a mare like yourself once. Just believe in yourself and everything is possible!" she said as she flew away. She turned around and shouted. "Until we meet again, Rainbow Dash!" then she was gone. Fluttershy opened the door behind me and said, somewhat stressed. "Um.... Still here? Could we perhaps, go? ... If you don't mind?" "Yeah... I'm coming right away!" I replied and hurried after Fluttershy. We made a short stop at our hotel to get our stuff, as we entered the hotel the receptionist said. "I heard of your late arrival, hence I took the liberty of carrying your luggage down, it's over there, and don't worry, we've been keeping an eye on it." "Sweet! Thanks!" I replied. We grabbed our luggage and hurried towards the train station. Luckily we made it just in time. We found our train compartment and could finally relax. It had been quite an exhausting weekend. Fluttershy seemed to fall asleep almost immediately. To briefly summarise it – Most. Awesome. Day. Ever. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Rainbow and Fluttershy got off the train as it arrived in Ponyville. The sun had set and the moon shone a spooky white light over the ground. It had been an amazing weekend and they were both quite satisfied with it. When they arrived at Fluttershy's house they found Spike asleep inside. Rainbow wished Fluttershy a good night and decided to take Spike home to the library. She knocked lightly on the library door. "Twilight!" Rainbow said. "Just a minute... You know the library is closed, right?" Twilights voice said from inside. A few moments later she opened the door. "Rainbow! Hi! How was the show?!" Rainbow trotted inside the library. "It was awesome! Though I actually just came by to bring home Spike. He's asleep." she said. "Ah yes, he is. I'll take him up to his bed right away. Twilight carefully levitated Spike in front of herself as she trotted up the stairs. Soon thereafter she came down again. "Now... Tell me everything!" she said, curiously. "I... eh. I just wanted to say thanks. If you ever see your friend, tell him that I appreciated it so much! I'm actually kind of tired, it's been a long day. Maybe we can talk tomorrow?" Rainbow said. "Of course, Rainbow. How inconsiderate of me. Maybe we can gather everypony, you know, me, Rarity, Pinkie, you, Fluttershy and Applejack. And you can tell us about it?" "Yeah. Sounds good. Then I don't have to repeat it and it sounds like good fun. Good night, Twilight!” Rainbow flew up towards Cloudsdale. As she approached her house she could tell that something was wrong. In the darkness she could distinguish that one of the windows on the second floor were open. Vega would never forget these things. Hmm... she thought to herself as she came closer. She knocked on the door. She knocked again a little harder this time and realised that the door was not properly closed as it slowly swung open. "Hello? Vega, are you in here?" Rainbow asked. Nopony answered. Maybe she's out. She thought to herself, she decided to take in the dry clothes that were on the line outside and close the window she saw earlier was open. When Rainbow entered the kitchen to make supper she saw a note lying on the kitchen table. She sat down and started to read. To Rainbow Dash Hi there my little Rainbow. I'm so sorry I could not say this in person and explain everything. I'll do my best to do it in this letter. I knew this day would come, eventually. But it has always seemed so distant. Now that it's time, I'm not sure that I'm prepared. As I feared a dire situation has arisen. I've been summoned by nopony other than princess Luna herself. I wanted so badly to see you one last time. To answer this summon will be the most important thing I'll ever do in my whole life. I can not tell you what I'm about to do or where I am going, but I can tell you it's for the good of Equestria. Do not try to follow me, Rainbow, for nopony will ever know anything about where I am or how to find me. They wouldn't even recognise me in broad daylight. I'm quite sure that you'll be able to take care of yourself. Check your bank account in Ponyville, I and both your parents have been saving some bits for whenever you'd be moving to your own place. I'm sure it'll be more than enough. But still please try to have a job. The days pass so much faster when you've got a job. Lastly I'd like to remind you to find somepony special to be with. Having somepony that you love and that loves you back gives so much. It's really special. The bond between a mare and stallion can be so strong. You can't possibly imagine what can be done if it's strong enough. Much love - Vega Rainbow's eyes were getting wet. Where did she go?! Why can't I follow. Why now! The questions were buzzing in her mind. She read the letter twice, to let it sink in. As she finished, she blinked away the 'tears' and looked outside the window thoughtfully. Where are you, now? I miss you... so much.