//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 - Welcome To Ponyville! 
// Story: YouDash 
// by Capulus 
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	As you fly through the airspace in between Cloudsdale and Ponyville, you have to hold back your laughter. You are happier than you have been in years! You just left the Wonderbolts, not even four hours ago. During your last show you announced publicly that you were quitting. You hadn’t told your teammates, Spitfire and Soarin’, so, needless to say, they were surprised. You hadn’t told them because you knew that they would talk you out of it. They were your two closest friends, and as such, you tended to cave when they tried to change your mind. 

You had been in the Wonderbolts since you were 20, and four years later, you hated every part of being famous. The fact that everything you said was eventually used against you, the less than flattering photos in Mare’s Weekly along with all the gossip made for an unhappy Wonderbolt. So you decided to quit. 

Four hours ago, you announced publicly, in the middle of a full Cloudaseum, that you were leaving the prestigious flying group. Three hours ago you had left most of your money with your family, who had moved to Cloudsdale when you started making money. --a massive improvement from the original two bedroom apartment in Manehattan that barely held your parents, two brothers, sister, and pet cactus-- Two hours ago you used the rest to buy a house in Ponyville, and one hour ago you had bade your two closest friends farewell, telling them to visit you anytime. 

You never wanted to see Cloudsdale again. Not because of the dark rumours surrounding it --The Rainbow Factory, or some other nonsense like that-- but because of the fact that everypony there always wanted to get your autograph/photo/hair/spit/first born child and you hated it more than anything. So you decided to move to Ponyville, and get a --moderately-- fresh start.

As you fly, you close your eyes, thinking back to the training Spitfire gave you when you first met just after you joined the Wonderbolts. Everypony had seen her public persona --lighthearted, fun to be around, nice-- but when she was training she pushed the one she was training to their limits. She was tough, unyielding, but, somehow, still fun to be around.

You remember how she taught you to fly without seeing. By reading the air currents, and telling if you were close to the ground, or if you were about to hit a cloud. --The one disadvantage of being a pegasus is that clouds go from fluffy air to floating brick walls-- Unfortunately, she never taught you how to know if somepony was about to hit you, and you wished she had as something hits you in the side. 

Your eyes shoot open, and you see a blue mare struggling to get away, --your legs being tangled in a way that brings a blush to your face-- and you realise why when you see the ground rushing up to meet you. Acting on instinct, you wrap your hooves around her, --prompting her to start trying to push you away-- and your wings snap out. The air pushes against you, and you both touch down softly. You let go of the mare and she stumbles backwards as your legs untangle, an angry look on her face.
“What the hay was that for? We could have been hurt!” You take note of the ‘we’, not the usual ‘me’.
“We weren’t, were we?” You say, a mischievous smile on your face. She looks taken aback, but rallies quickly.
“Why were you even flying with you eyes closed in the first place? If you hadn’t of, I wouldn’t have hit you!”
“I’ve been taught to, and I felt like honing my skills. I don’t really get much of a chance when I’m training.”
“Training? Are you an athlete?”
“Kind of.”
“Do you want to be an athlete?”
“Not really.”
“Then why do you train?”
“Always good to keep in shape.”
“Well, that’s what I was doing! A spot opened up on the Wonderbolts a few hours ago! One of them quit after a show, and now they’re advertising a spot!” You smile at the speed the owners of the Wonderbolts recovered.
"Are they now? I hadn't heard the news."
"I know! It's awesome! I may get to join the Wonderbolts! Yes!" She jumps up and down in excitement. Then she stops and looks at you.
"I haven't seen you around town before. Are you new?"
"Yeah, this is my first day here."
"Well, maybe I can show you around some time! Funny though, because I felt I've seen you somewhere before..." You don't want her knowing right away, so you quickly change the subject back to what you were originally talking about.
“Of course. And maybe we could get to know each other? I’ve never been to Ponyville. You could introduce me to some ponies, if you felt like it.”
“Yeah, I’d love to!” She then facehoofs and says;
“Oh yeah, I promised a friend of mine I would help her set something up, so I’ll see you later, okay? My name is Rainbow Dash.”
“Of course. Goodbye, Rainbow Dash.” You say, as she flies off, and you think how fortunate you are that you almost always wore the Wonderbolt getup in public, thus making it harder for ponies to recognise your face. You sigh with relief, and continue into Ponyville.

As you walk into town, you relish how quiet it is, compared to almost everywhere you have been with the Wonderbolts. You can also smell nature, which is definitely unfamiliar in the cities around Equestria.You can smell something baking, also unfamiliar in the city. Usually the smell of thousands of ponies put together overrides the smell of baked goods. You haven’t actually eaten home cooked stuff since your days of living in Manehattan as a young colt. You smile as you remember playing on the streets, and trying to get away from school. --or at least, your mother, as school had been a luxury you couldn’t afford-- But those days are behind you now.

As you walk through the colourful streets, past the groups of contented ponies, you find yourself feeling more comfortable than you have in years. You haven’t felt like this since... Since... Your mind pulls out a blank card. I’ve never felt like this... No wonder it’s so strange. You eventually find yourself at your new house, and pull out the key you received from the real estate agent in Cloudsdale. Slotting the key into the lock, you feel a slight sense of apprehension. Why? You take step back and look at the house. Seems fine, but... A bit too quiet. Almost as if the house itself is hiding something... You shrug and push the door open. 

Suddenly you are blinded as the lights flick on and a large crowd yells;
“SURPRISE!” You step backwards, but recover and blink to clear your eyes. --A tip from Soarin’ after you asked what happens if the sun blinds you while flying--  When it clears, your view of most of the room is obscured by a violently pink pony, who is bouncing up and down, a huge smile on her face.
“My name is Pinkie Pie! I’m the Party Pony! Did I surprise you? Did I? I just thought, that if somepony bought this house then they must be new, and if they’re new, they don’t know anypony yet, and that means that they have no friends, and if they have no friends, they must be lonely, and I just can’t stand seeing lonely ponies!” She says this all in one breath, and you wonder how she does it. But then you realise she is looking at you expectantly.

“O-oh yeah. Thank you... um... Pinkie. You did surprise me... Thanks.” She smiles and bounces away. You see Rainbow Dash standing on the edge of the crowd, --that is quickly aiming for the food and music-- a smile on her face. You walk over to her.
“Thanks for helping to set this up, Rainbow.”
“I was happy to. Happy to help somepony new to town!"
“Thanks. Nice to know somepony likes me. I have a feeling we're going to be good friends. If you want to be mine, of course.”
“Hey, everypony needs friends.”
“So that’s a yes?”
“I guess it is.” She smiles and you feel something odd at the edge of your mind. It felt like something giving it a kick. You mentally shake yourself and say;
“Well, do you want to introduce me to anypony?”
“I think you would like my friends! Come on!” She grabs your hoof and leads you through the crowd, to a small group of six ponies sitting at your dinner table --Five mares, Pinkie Pie, a lavender unicorn who has an air of intellectuality about her, a white unicorn with a curly purple mane, an orange earth pony with a Cowfilly hat perched on top of her head, and a yellow pegasus, who is barely speaking. And one colt, who is sitting next to the yellow pegasus, and you see he is holding her hoof under the table--. 

You suppress a laugh as you say;
“Nice to know you feel so at home in my home.” They all jump with surprise and you have to hold back another laugh at the unison of it. “Don’t worry. I’m hospitable. If somepony will direct me to the kitchen and teach me how to make it, I’ll get us some hot chocolate, alright?” You all laugh lightly, and the lavender unicorn says;
“Alright, enough of that. I’m Twilight Sparkle. This--” She gestures to the other unicorn. “--is Rarity.” She nods.
“Hello, nice to meet you.” You give a little bow, eliciting another chuckle from the group --You know this type of mare-- 
“This--” The Cowfilly. “--is Applejack.”
“Howdy, nice ta meet ya.” You smile warmly. Your kind of mare, --Not like that-- she looks athletic. Perhaps she likes to race. I guess we’ll see. 
“This--” The yellow pegasus. “--Is Fluttershy.” She looks away, hiding her face in her mane. The colt looks at you apologetically.
“Sorry. She isn’t used to strangers. Admittedly, she warmed up to me pretty fast, but, we all know why that is.” The mares nod slowly, with the exception of Fluttershy --Who is still staring at the floor like she would at a long lost sibling-- and Rainbow Dash, who you notice looks almost mournful for a moment.

But then it passes, and Twilight says;
“And I’m guessing you already know Pinkie and Rainbow Dash. Apparently you two had a little run in earlier.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t watching where I was going.” You smile nervously. “I'm glad I didn't hurt her with my foolishness."
"Hey, you were doing pretty well though. You dodged that cloud as if your eyes were wide open. The only pony I've ever seen do that is... Spit...Fire... Wait! That's where I know you from! You're the Wonderbolt!" Your face falls as she says this. Ah well, so much for a fresh start... It was only a matter of time before somepony recognised me. You think.
"What do you want signed, then?" She looks at you with confusion.
"What do you mean? Why would I want anything signed? I think it would be more awesome to be your friend."
"Thanks. Spitfire and Soarin' are good friends, but they're kind of far away in Cloudsdale."
"Wh-what? You're friends with Spitfire and Soarin'?"
"Yep. They were the best trainers you're ever likely to meet, and I eventually became friends with them. It wasn't hard. I spent most of my time with them."
"Well, would you mind training me sometime? It would be so awesome to be trained by a Wonderbolt!"
"Ex-Wonderbolt. But, I'll still train you, if you're fine with my regime."
"I don't care what it is, if it means I might be a Wonderbolt some day!"
"Alright then."

You sit down and sigh with relief, glad that you haven't been rushed by the ponies in the crowd, as that is usually what ends up happening. And your wings are killing you, so it's nice just to be able to collapse into a chair and relax. You love flying, but flying for that long can be a bit tiring. It’s nice just to sit and rest for once, without worrying about Spitfire finding you and making you train more.
“So, what do ponies do for fun in Ponyville?” Twilight bites her lip as she thinks, then says;
“Well... Lot’s of things!” The other mares nod in agreement.
“Applebucking!” Says Applejack.
“Shopping!” Says Rarity.
“Reading!” Says Twilight.
“Umm... Looking after animals.” Squeaks Fluttershy.
“PAAAARTIIIIES!” Cries Pinkie Pie.
“Anything else?” You ask, a little disappointed.
“Racing!” Says Rainbow Dash.
“Ah! Now you’re talking!” You say. You love racing, but never really did much as a Wonderbolt. It was more just shows and things. There were never enough challengers.
“We’ll have to have a race some time. Maybe, later today?”
“Rainbow! He only just got into town!”
“This may be the only chance I ever get to race against a Wonderb-- Ex-wonderbolt, Twilight.” She corrects herself when you frown at her. 
“Yeah, I want to see what you can do. And, how about now? I haven’t raced in years.”
“What about my party?” Pinkie asks.
“I doubt anypony will notice if I leave. Come on, Rainbow. Let’s go.” You stand up and hold out a hoof. She takes it, and, ignoring Pinkie’s protests, you sneak out through the back door and take off into the sky.

A/N
--Alright, here we go. This is not the finished version. I just wanted to get this out, so that people would know that, yes, I’m working on YouDash at last. Hope you enjoy it.--