Rainbow Dash smiled happily as she tore through the skies. The wind swept through her mane as her wings flapped as hard as they could, propelling her forward at grand speeds.
Beneath her, a sea of trees were nothing but blurs as she kept her gaze down toward them. Every detail was held within her sights as the many shades of leafy greens and earthy browns were all that she saw. But eventually, her smile turned to one of excitement as she spotted her target. A difficult to miss blotch of white that offset the typical colors of nature's splendor.
Diving straight down, Rainbow Dash flapped her wings even harder, not letting up even as her muscles began to ache. The ground came closer and closer to her, zooming up into her field of vision until it was all that she could see. At the last second, she pulled up, bringing her to land sharply on the ground, impacting the grassy earth with a heavy thud.
A startled gasp was heard as Trader fell backward, taken by surprise by the sudden appearance of the mare. It had been two days since both pegasi had seen each other at the party and Rainbow Dash's arrival was all but unexpected.
“Rainbow Dash...” the stallion murmured, picking himself up and taking a deep breath to calm his rattled nerves. “What are you doing here?” He looked about his immediate area, not seeing any particular reason for the cyan mare's presence. “If you're looking for Applejack, she's back up at the farm taking care of the-”
“I'm not here for Applejack,” Rainbow dash replied, eying Trader with an expectant look, as though he was supposed to inherently know what was going on. As the stallion remained quiet, the impatient pegasus frowned as she took it upon herself to elaborate. “The Wonderbolts are in Cloudsdale now, they just got back from their last show off in Trottingham the other day. Remember? You said you'd take me to go see them.”
A simple stare was the first reaction that the stallion held, looking at Rainbow Dash with a mild sense of surprise. “Now?” he questioned, not expecting for her to take him up on his offer so quickly.
“Well yeah,” Rainbow Dash said. “They're there right now, and you never know when they might have to head off again.” She wrapped her hooves around Trader's foreleg and began to pull on him, trying to yank him into the air with her for them to get moving. “Come on. We need to get going.”
Despite her urgency, Trader shook his head and pulled his leg away from the excited mare. “Now hold on,” he said. “I know I promised you and everything, but I can't just up and leave.” He nodded toward the trees around them, several of which were already stripped of apples. “I need to pick the rest of these trees. Applejack's my friend and everything, but I still have to do my job.” Though he was greatly improving his apple bucking ability, he was still somewhat slow and couldn't waste any time.
Huffing in frustration, Rainbow Dash flew into the air. She didn't fly up and leave. Instead, she darted straight into the nearest apple-filled tree, disappearing into the thick, green foliage. The top half of the tree rattled and shook with a heavy force. Then within moments, the red apples fell from the branches and landed in the waiting basket.
Before the apples even touched the basket however, the speeding pegasus was already flying into another nearby tree, only appearing as a streak of light blue. Just like with the last one, the tree shook and apples fell from the limbs. It continued like that for many trees, the baskets being filled with apples in a speed that caused the stallion to gape in shock. Barely a few minutes had passed and the entire section of trees was devoid of apples.
Rainbow Dash landed before the stallion again, a smirk filled with pride etched onto her face. “There,” she chided, “I think you've done enough work to earn a break.”
Once again, the unexpected had come to face Trader, forcing him to simply stare in surprise at what had just occurred. “Heh, well... I...” he tried saying, able to see he was being backed into a wall. “I really should make sure it's alright with Applejack. She might need my help with something, need me to stay here just in case.”
A narrow glare from the mare made the hairs on the back of the pegasus' neck stand on end. “Fine,” Rainbow Dash said, ready to play the game Trader was making for her, aiming to win. “Let's go ask her then.” Taking off again, the cyan-coated pony rushed through the air toward the farm.
His frown deepening, Trader went after her, unable to keep up with her speed and eventually making it to the farm minutes after her own arrival. Just outside the barn, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were already in a discussion. A slight look of confusion was worn on the farmpony's face as the pegasus looked to be doing most of the talking. As Trader approached, a look of relief flashed onto her expression.
“There you are, Trader,” Applejack said expectantly. “Now, what in tarnation is goin' on? Rainbow says you wana take a break?”
“What?” Trade blinked, having no idea what the rainbow-maned mare had told his boss. “N-no, I mean, well kind of... but-”
“He just wants to take off for a bit,” Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Most of his work's done and we need to get to Cloudsdale pronto.”
Applejack said nothing for some time, stuck in a silent pause as her gaze drifted between her two friends, seeing Rainbow Dash's eagerness and impatience bubbling out of her like hot water. “This is about the Wonderbolts, isn't it?” she asked, her deadpanned expression aiming toward her cyan friend.
An excited nod, rivaling that of Pinkie's own happiness, was the pegasus' response. Her entire body was almost shaking as she was awaiting for her friend to relinquish her worker over to her. Trader was quick to notice it as well, part of him silently hoping that Applejack would force him to continue working.
“Well,” the farmpony replied, “Ah guess if it's that important to ya, Rainbow. As long as his work gets done, Trader can take off for a few.”
“Yes!” Rainbow Dash cheered triumphantly before shooting off of the ground at an amazing starting speed. “Okay, come on, Trader. Let's go!” Hovering in the air, the pegasus waved her forelegs up towards the sky, beckoning for them to depart without another wasted moment.
Trader looked back to Applejack for a second, a hint of reluctant in his eyes, before he flapped his wings and went after his fellow pegasus. The cowpony watched as her friends elevated higher and higher, eventually disappearing within the fluffy clouds.
As the two pegasi flew toward the city nestled in the clouds, though it went against her natural pride, Rainbow Dash intentionally slowed her high flying speeds. There was no doubt in her mind that the stallion accompanying her wouldn't be able to match her top speeds, she was at least considerate enough to take it into account and soar at an average speed.
Even with the stunted flying however, Rainbow Dash found herself still alone, with Trader repeatedly falling behind as he had trouble keeping up with her. “Come one, Trader,” she called out in her growing indignation. “It'll be winter by the time we get there!” Stopping to hover in place, she looked behind herself and was surprised to see how far behind the stallion really was.
As Rainbow Dash flew back to where Trader was catching up, the white-coated continued to fly forward as fast as he could, his breathing beginning to turn heavy as he pushed himself. “Sorry, Rainbow Dash,” he said almost breathlessly. “I'm just not that fast of a flier.”
“What's the deal?” the mare questioned, taking the statement with a grand amount of disbelief. “Speed's like the first thing they teach you back in flight camp.”
Trader looked down at the far away ground, his expression becoming embarrassed slightly. “Well,” he murmured, “I never went to flight camp.”
Rainbow blinked in surprise, having expected most pegasi to have been through the Cloudsdale flight camp at one point while they were a foal. “Really?”
“Yeah,” nodded the stallion. “My parents weren't able to afford it. We lived in Ponyville at the time and they couldn't get residency in Cloudsdale, so it was too expensive to send me there for flight camp.” As Rainbow Dash developed a pitying look about her, the white pegasus shrugged. “It's not too bad. It's not very often that my lack of flying ability has really effected anything.” A small smile developed on his face. “Besides, I probably wouldn't have been friends with Applejack had I gone.”
“Then we wouldn't be going to Cloudsdale now,” Rainbow Dash thought aloud.
A light chuckle escaped the stallion. “Exactly,” he said pointedly. “Now, let's get going.”
Taking her flying much slower, Rainbow Dash stayed beside the pegasus and they each flew at a brisk pace. Even with the mare's natural needs for speed and adrenaline fueled flying, she was content with simply taking it easier for the sake of her companion.
They took the extended time to chat idly while they continued to reach their destination. It was mostly about Rainbow Dash's love of all things Wonderbolt related, how it was her dream to someday join them, as well as the few times she had meet several of the members for various reasons.
Eventually, they stopped talking as their eyes laid upon where they were headed. The massive plumes of white cotton candy making up the foundations for the magnificent city of Cloudsdale was the first thing they noticed. Fluffy white buildings were nestled atop the cloudy platforms, with small puffs of clouds that held decorative columns that were for esthetic purposes. Pegasi of all colors flew about the sprawling city, as busy as Canterlot on any given day.
But the sights and sounds of the high-flying city weren't what the two ponies were looking for as Rainbow Dash and Trader flew above it all. Their gazes were focused on locating one building in particular, the very building that was causing the cyan mare's heart to beat faster with excitement.
Far toward the very edge of the city, there was one building in particular that everypony there knew of. It was as large as the great Cloud Colosseum. Shaped like a large rectangle, it was decorated with pillars running across the sides and statues of several pegasi by the front entrance.
The place looked relatively deserted, despite who was inside the building itself. Only one pony was nearby, guarding the archway that made up the entrance to the building, and going against what would otherwise make the area empty. He was a burly stallion, nearly twice the size as an average pegasus, with an ashy coat and blotchy, gray mane. The stallion's gaze was locked into a surly look of fierceness, looking as though he could make even the captain of the royal guard quiver in his armor.
Ignoring the stallion's combative appearance however, Trader didn't miss a beat as they flew closer toward the entrance. As the guard's eyes shifted toward them however, the white-coated stallion stopped, causing Rainbow Dash to follow suit. “You should probably wait here for a second,” he said, turning to her for a second as he gestured for her to stay put. Not wanting to ruin her chances at getting inside the building, Rainbow Dash complied and landed on the soft cloud underneath of them, waiting patiently as Trader approached the bulked stallion.
The guard's gaze noticeably softened as he saw Trader's coming, turning into a welcoming smile as the expression was returned to him. Though they were a good distance away, the lack of anyone else being nearby allowed Rainbow Dash to hear their voices clearly as they began to talk.
“Well I'll be, if it isn't Trade Jack,” the stallion said with a laugh, his booming voice sounding very deep. “What brings you this far up in the clouds?” The stallion's eyes shifted toward Rainbow Dash for a split second before being re-focused on the smaller stallion before him. “Who's the mare?”
Trader's smile became one of uneasiness as he too looked toward the waiting pegasus for a moment. “Well, that's my girlfriend Rainbow Dash.” The aforementioned mare felt herself taken aback by the sudden claim, even if she knew the one making it knew it was an outright lie.
The guarding stallion suddenly burst into laughter, sounding like a crackle of thunder in his throat. “By Celestia,” he mused, “she's quite the looker. I gotta say, that's one thing about you I don't understand. You seem to have awful luck anywhere else, but it seems when it comes to mares, you're outright the luckiest stallion I've ever seen.”
A weak chuckle left Trader, he smiled meekly as he said, “Heh, you may be right. I certainly do feel luck to be with such a beautiful gal. Anyway, I'm here because I've told her about my time here. I figured you could let me in to, you know, try and impress her.”
There was a bit of a pause as the ash-coated stallion looked between the two pegasi making a request. Then, a large smile made his lips spread wide as he stepped aside from the entrance. “Of course,” he said cheerfully. “You know it's not usually allowed, but I'm sure everypony's willing to make an exception with ya. It's not like you burned any bridges when you left.” Almost immediately, the stallion's smile was replaced with a deep frown as he muttered, “Sort of.”
Trader shared in the frown before he turned toward the waiting Rainbow Dash and beckoned her forward. As she stood beside the white-coated pegasus, her body flinched slightly as she felt Trader nuzzle against her for a moment. “Okay, sweetie,” he said, “let's go inside to meet some of the guys.”
All that Rainbow Dash could do was give a quick nod as they trotted into the building. There was a tense silence between both ponies as the distance between them and the guarding stallion increased. After she was certain he wouldn't be able to hear them, the cyan mare eyed Trader for a moment with a flattened expression. “You're 'beautiful girlfriend,' huh?” she remarked, making the stallion laugh uneasily.
“It was a little last minute, but it seemed like the best option,” he admitted. “I figured me trying to impressive a girlfriend looked a lot better than me taking a friendly fan to see her idols.”
“It's not like you needed to lie,” Rainbow remarked. “What if he didn't believe you?”
“Why wouldn't he?” Trader asked rhetorically. “It's not like we have a nefarious agenda or anything. Besides, I made it believable enough, since it wasn't a complete lie.” Trader then came to trot ahead of the mare as Rainbow Dash stopped for a second, a thought buzzing in her mind as she questioned whether or not she had just been complimented by the stallion. Pushing the thought out of her mind, she quickly galloped forward to catch up with her companion.
The massive building they were in became a long hallway with many different branching rooms that led to other places. As they passed them by, Rainbow Dash could see many different pegasi as they went about their day. Some were in rooms with training equipment, working out their wing muscles to improve their flying, while others relaxed in rec-rooms designed specifically for that purpose.
Among the many ponies they saw, Rainbow Dash saw several familiar faces. Even though Wonderbolts usually kept themselves covered with their uniforms, she could still make out the members on the spot. She was becoming more and more excited as she just wanted to run up to one of them and try and gain their attention. Among the Wonderbolts were ponies who she didn't recognize. The giddy mare quickly realized who they were, cloudies who helped the actual members with whatever they needed. She was surprised by how close they all seemed, sharing a heavy feeling of teamwork among them, despite their different jobs. It became clear to her why Trader was so easily welcomed back.
At the end of the hallway, there was a large entryway, wide enough to fit several ponies all at once. As they went inside, Rainbow Dash was awestruck at what she saw. It was a massive chamber, reaching up to the ceiling in height and about the size of a large stadium. On the far left of the room, a group of Wonderbolts were busy working out their routines for a coming show, flying through the air with a synchronized grace that almost made Rainbow faint.
The right of the room had two tracks made into the cloud floor. One was much larger than the other, clearly to help the fliers with their speed and endurance, while the smaller one had several obstacles to help them with control. Rainbow Dash's eyes were riveted on the spot as several Wonderbolts were already using the tracks, becoming blue blurs as the speeding color of their uniform was all that could be seen from them.
“It's nice, isn't it?” Trader said with a laugh, seeing the mare's reaction to it all.
“It's amazing!” Rainbow Dash breathed, having never thought she would actually be able to see the Wonderbolts' training hall.
Another chuckle of amusement came from the stallion as he began to look around the large room. “Well, it can get even better. If I can find Soarin, I'm sure he wouldn't mind meet-” Before he could finish, Trader's sentence was destroyed as a speeding shape suddenly crashed into the pony. It was another stallion, flying toward them at unparalleled speeds. The two pegasi rolled across the cloud floor like a wheel before Trader found himself on his back, pinned down by his opponent who was grinning from ear to ear.
“I gotcha!” he said triumphantly. It was obvious by the uniform he wore that he was a Wonderbolt, while his long mane was swept back, looking as though he had been flying against a violent windstorm.
“Oh... hey, Soarin... good to see you too,” Trader muttered in reply, groaning slightly from the two hooves being pressed against his chest.
Soarin looked bemused as he released the stallion from his pin. “It's been ages since I've seen you last,” he said. “How has ol' Trade Jack been?”
“No worse for the wear,” Trader replied as he picked himself up. “I'm actually living in Ponyville now.”
Soarin nodded his head in affirmation. “Yeah, I heard you left Manehattan. Figured you would've flown up here for a bit to say hello though.”
“You heard that?” the white stallion muttered, a look of worry crossing him for a moment. “Well... I would probably say hi more often, but you're usually too busy anyway. I'm actually here now to introduce you to somepony.” He extended a hoof outward toward the cyan-coated pegasus. “This is Rainbow Dash, a friend of mine from Ponyville.”
Looking at the mare for a moment, a large smile developed on Soarin's face. “Rainbow Dash,” he said with a tone of familiarity. “It's been a while since I've seen you too. Not since that wedding, I think.”
“Oh, h-hi, Soarin,” Rainbow Dash returned, becoming sheepish in a matter of moments as the Wonderbolt eyed her.
Trader was surprised himself as he realized they knew one another, how far he didn't know but there was still knowledge of one another. His own thoughts on it were halted however, as a new, but familiar, voice spoke up among them.
“What's going on here?” The three pegasi turned to see another Wonderbolt flying down toward them. A mare with a fiery red and yellow mane, looking as though it had been set ablaze. As she landed next to them, her eyes drifted toward Trader, causing her to step back in an obvious display of surprise. “Trader? What are you doing here?”
“Hey, Spitfire,” Trader greeted, his uneasy smile returning to him. “I'm just... you know, visiting old friends and the like. There's no problem with that, right?”
“The fact that you really shouldn't be here is,” the captain of the Wonderbolts replied, her tone becoming calmed as she addressed the stallion.
“Come on, Spitfire,” Soarin urged. “It's Trader we're talking about here. You and I know it's alright for him to be here.”
“Maybe,” the mare murmured. Her eyes eventually found their way to Rainbow Dash, causing her to raise a questioning eyebrow. “And we're allowing guests in here now too?”
With quick steps, Trader began pushing the mare away from Soarin and Rainbow Dash, off toward another part of the room. “Nothing special,” he replied as he continued to push her away. “Let's leave them alone for a moment though, we can catch up.”
Getting out of earshot for Soarin and Rainbow Dash, Trader eyed Spitfire flatly, muttering, “If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to throw me out of here.”
“You're not a cloudie anymore, Trader,” she retorted passively. “I may be captain, but it's not like I'm above breaking the rules.”
“I guess it's all about rules and being captain then?” the stallion questioned. “I suppose some things don't change.”
A frown developed on Spitfire's expression at his words. “That's not fair,” she said defensively. “You know what I had to do to get where I am today.”
“Sacrifices for the greater good I suppose,” Trader replied, almost in a cross tone. “But... sorry, I know neither of us want that brought up. I'm not trying to bother you or anything, just here for a friend and to say hi to Soarin.” A sigh escaped him as he eyed the ground for a moment. “There aren't many chances for me to do that these days.”
“It has been a while since anypony has seen you up here,” Spitfire said, an expression of concern appearing even underneath of her uniform. “Just from... what I've heard, what's happened to you after you left. I hope none of it's true.” The white-coated stallion didn't say a word, his sights continuously looking south as he was unable to look the captain in the eyes. It was all the answer she needed. “Trader... please, I know you're not one to like getting help unless it's earned. But... if you're really in trouble, I could pull some strings and try to get you your old job back as a cloudie.”
Trader shook his head at the offer, finally meet the mare face to face. “No, that's alright,” he said. “I wouldn't want you putting your neck out on the line for me, especially if something were to happen again.” A small, cheerful smile grew on his face. “Anyway, I'm quite happy with what I'm doing now.”
Then, the captain of the Wonderbolts gained a slight grin as she looked at the stallion with a growing mirth. “Oh,” she said knowingly, “I get it. She sure must be something special.”
“Wh-what?” Trader stammered, looking surprised by the sudden statement. “She?”
“Don't try and fool me,” Spitfire chided playfully. “Of course this has to do with a mare, a job with 'benefits' I'm sure.”
Trader gaped at the captain, horrified. “N-no,” quickly blurted out. “It's nothing like that! She's just an old friend!”
“Mm-hmm,” Spitfire replied, unconvinced. “I've seen that look in your eyes before, Trader. After all, I think I'd be able to see it better than anypony else.”
Quickly becoming defensive, the stallion glared at the teasing mare angrily. “I don't have a look!”
Watching the two ponies talk, Soarin began to grin devilishly, finding great amusement even though he couldn't here them. “Ah,” he mused to himself, “they go so great together. It's a shame what happened to them.”
“What happened to them?” Rainbow Dash asked curiously, looking at the two talking with a wondering mind.
Soarin chuckled for a moment as he said, “It's not really my place to say. You'd have to talk to him about it. Anyway, aren't you here for another reason?”
“Oh... well... I,” Rainbow Dash tried saying, quickly losing her confidence around the stallion. “I just really wanted to get in here, look around the training hall, talk to some of the Wonderbolts....”
An amused smile continued to grow on Soarin's face as he watched the mare's reactions. “Well, I'm a Wonderbolt,” he replied. “If you really want to talk to one, why not me?”
Nearly losing her breath at the offer, the cyan mare nodded her head with a grand amount of eagerness. “Yeah, I'd really like to.”
“Alright then,” Soarin said happily. “Why not on Tuesday? I'll have a schedule free day to just relax. I know a great place to go to for lunch and we can talk and just, you know, hang out.”
“That'd be awesome!” Rainbow Dash said excitedly, thinking of no better way to spend a day.
“Great,” the stallion said with cheer. A sly smirk formed on the corner of his mouth. “I can tell all about the more juicy details around here too. Like Fleetfoot's fear of thunder, or how Spitfire snores as loud as a manticore.”
“What did you say I do, Soarin?” A questioning voice asked. Soarin's entire body stiffened like a statue at that very moment, looking as though he would tear right out of his uniform. Jerking his head around, he came face to face with a very displeased looking Spitfire, her gaze on him looking almost as fiery as her mane.
“Oh... I uh... I don't remember,” he quickly said, swallowing a lump in his throat.
“Right,” the captain murmured, sounding unconvinced. “Well, maybe you'll remember while you're doing fifty laps around the track.”
A groan escaped Soarin as he looked pleadingly at the mare. “Oh, come on, Spitfire. Trader's the one who told me.” The very stallion was standing nearby, glaring at his accusatory friend as Spitfire eyed the two of them.
“Let's make that a hundred laps around the track,” Spitfire said in an even tone. “Now get to it, that's an order.”
“B-but I...” the punished Wonderbolt tried saying, eventually accepting his fate with a sigh before turning to Trader. “Well, see you when I see you, Trader. Try not to be such a stranger.” Heaving another dejected sigh, he flew off toward the track, beginning his first lap out of many.
As Soarin served his punishment, Spitire's glazing gaze was directed at Trader. “I think you should probably get going. I'm sure you're eager to get back to your... 'job.'” She uttered the last word with an emphasis that caused the stallion to frown in indignation.
“Goodbye to you too, Spitfire,” Trader replied as he turned toward the exit. “Let's get going Rainbow.”
Though she hadn't had the experience she had expected, Rainbow Dash did enjoy the short time she had within the training hall. Accepting that that time was at an end, she trotted beside her company as they left the building. Once they were both outside, the two pegasi took off into the air, their home of Ponyville in their sights as they soared across the sky.
There was a long silence between the two of them. Trader looked as though he had nothing to say, but in Rainbow Dash's case, she was busy thinking on what had been going on. As she began to piece together everything that had happened, her eyes widened as a sharp gasp of an epiphany hit her.
“I just figured it out,” she said in her realization, making the stallion beside her eye her questioningly. “You and Spitfire, you two were together, weren't you?!”
Trader's eyes widened at the sudden question, making him appear far more guilty than he wanted to. “What?! N-no! That's ridiculous. Where would you get an absurd idea like that?” Though he denied the claims that were made of him, he was betrayed by his own body as his cheeks blushed heavily, made even more clear with his snow-white coat.
“Soarin kind of alluded to it,” Rainbow replied. “He said what happened to you two was a shame.”
“I-I,” Trader tried to say, his eyes forming into a glare toward his friend. “I'm going to have to have a word with him when I get the chance...”
“So it's true?!” Rainbow Dash questioned again, looking both shocked and amazed by the discovery.
Seeing that the topic wouldn't end if he didn't answer her, a dreary sigh was given as his first reply before Trader nodded his head. “Yes, alright, it's true,” he said, sounding more like a confession than an affirmation. “It was... a while back, before she was even captain. It's not like it's unheard of for this to happen among the team, or anything. So it's not like it's a big deal.”
“Is that why you don't work for them anymore?” the cyan mare asked, becoming enamored with every word that the stallion was saying.
“Oh... well, no actually,” the pegasus replied. “I was fired when I was apart of an incident that... set their first race track on fire...” A confused stare was earned from Rainbow Dash at the answer, wordlessly asking for more of an elaboration. “It's a long story.”
Wanting to know more, Rainbow pushed the latter topic aside to continue on their first one. “So, you actually dated a Wonderbolt?”
Trader shrugged, playing it off as casually as he could. “It's not like being a Wonderbolt added anything to it. We just spent most of our time together since we worked in the same place. It was actually her being a Wonderbolt that was the problem.” His gaze locked onto Rainbow's as though he needed to make his next point clear. “Don't get me wrong, she's a great mare and everything, we really had no complaints about one another. It's just that... she always had a first love in her life, the Wonderbolts. She was dedicated to them, making our relationship... a bit nonexistent at times. Then, when she was promoted, she completely immersed herself in the position, which made us grow apart as time went on. The only time we ever really saw each other after that was when I worked, and she was always too busy to even have a simple chat with. When I was fired as a cloudie, it was sort of the final nail in the coffin. The feelings were mutual when we decided to end it, so there's really no bitterness between us.”
“That's too bad,” Rainbow Dash replied, having a hard time seeing the captain of the Wonderbolts having much free time herself.
“It's all in the past,” the stallion returned dismissively. “Just more stuff you can't dwell on. Anyway, you should be excited about yourself, did you and Soarin get a chance to chat?”
“Oh yeah” Rainbow nodded happily. “Well, actually, we really didn't get too long, but he invited me to have lunch with him so we can hang out and talk alone.”
Trader looked surprised at that, eying the mare with a small smile. “Huh, so you've got a date with him, that's nice.”
“What?” Rainbow Dash asked, not understanding where her companion was getting at. “It's not like that, I'm sure he just meant...” Then, the cyan-coated mare's face turned into a mixed expression of shock and sudden realization. Her eyes opened wide as her mouth hung open. “I-I've got a date with Soarin?!”