Sleep was not a problem for Tai. Pinkie Pie's party had worn him out, so it was no surprise that he slept for quite a while. The sun was already rising by the time Scootaloo woke him up.
"Rainbow Dash says she has something special planned for us today!" Scootaloo said excitedly.
"What is it?" Tai asked, still half asleep.
"She wouldn't say." Scootaloo said "She just said she was sure we were going to like it. Oh I'm excited just thinking about it! Now come on, we've gotta get ready! We only have one hour!"
"Alright. Alright." Tai said "Why don't you go ahead and freshen up? And when you're done I'll take a quick shower."
"Sure. Do you know where the bathroom is?" Scootaloo asked "If not I'd be more then happy to show you."
Half an hour later Tai was fully awake, and despite a little bit of difficulty managed to take a shower. Scootaloo had already done the same. Just as he finished drying off Scootaloo called out "Breakfast is ready!" Breakfast wasn't anything special. It consisted simply of oatmeal and fresh squeezed orange juice, not that it didn't taste good. Scootaloo's parents took the time to get to know Tai on a personal basis. They were pretty friendly, if perhaps a bit too lovey dovey. And they seemed to love to unintentionally embarass Scootaloo. Small wonder why she never really talked about her parents.
"Remember to be back by sundown!" Dizzy Twister said, as Tai and Scootaloo left the house to meet up with Rainbow Dash.
"We will mom." Scootaloo called as she hopped onto her scooter "We promise." She led Tai down to the park where Rainbow Dash was waiting.
"Right on time." Rainbow Dash said "Guess you guys can't wait to see what my surprise is huh?"
"You betcha!" Scootaloo said.
"Well hop aboard Scootaloo!" Rainbow Dash said "And Tai, you know to how flap your wings, right?"
"I think so." Tai said "Twilight gave me a couple of pointers yesterday."
"Then follow me! Don't worry, I won't fly too fast. Not with a passenger onboard." Rainbow Dash said. And once Scootaloo was safely aboard she took off into the sky. Tai followed, a bit slowly. He was able to flap his wings enough to keep himself airbone, but he didn't dare try to flap them any harder for fear of losing control.
"Pardon me Rainbow Dash, but where are we going?" Tai asked.
"We're going to Cloudsdale to see The Wonderbolts!" Rainbow Dash said.
"The Wonderbolts?!" Scootaloo asked excitedly.
"The one and only!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Are you sure they're going to want to see me?" Tai asked.
"You betcha!" Rainbow Dash said "Now come on! Time waits for noone!"
What Tai didn't know was that Twilight had specifically arranged for Rainbow Dash to take him and Scootaloo to Cloudsdale. She didn't want Tai to be around for this. "Now I just have to remember that spell." Twilight thought to herself. She carefully began to charge up her horn, after a few minutes of building up power she cast an extremly powerful violet red blast at the ground. There was a blinding flash, and then a familiar figure emerged.
"Come on everypony. Smile, smile, smile. Fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine. All I really need is a-" Discord sang. He had been taking a shower just a moment ago, but now he realized he'd been summoned by Twilight. "Hey! Seriously Princess! Why must you always insist on summoning me at times like this?" Discord said "Surely it wouldn't hurt to give me a little warning the next time."
"Enough games Discord! I called you here for a reason!" Twilight said.
"Well obviously. I mean it's not like this how is you get your kicks or anything." Discord teased. Twilight growled at him. "Okay, okay. Sheesh, can't you take a little joke?"
"Stop fooling around Discord!" Twilight ordered.
"You're no fun." Discord said "Anyway what are you trying to blame on me this time? Whatever it is I didn't do it."
"Oh really? Well then how else could the connections between Equestria and the Digital World suddenly be cut off? And how else could Tai have been brought here and turned into a pony?" Twilight asked "Surely you must know something about this." Twilight said.
"I don't even know who this 'Tai' is that you speak of." Discord said.
"Don't play dumb with me. You said it yourself that you could overhear everything that went on around you while you were trapped in stone." Twilight said "Surely you have to know about Tai."
"Even if I do, which I don't, I couldn't be responsible for bringing him here." Discord said "Abducting other living creatures isn't really my style. I mean, where's the fun in that?"
"Well if you didn't do it then who did?" Twilight asked.
"I'm afraid I can't help you with that." Discord said "Even as a spirit of chaos and disharmony there's only so much that I can do. Not to mention there are things that even my powers don't grant me. Like for example, I can't kill anyone, not that I would want to. Whoever, or whatever did this has powers that exceed even my own. Trust me when I say it pains me to admit that."
"So I guess asking you to send Tai back is out of the question, correct?" Twilight asked.
"Ooh! Look at the big brain on Twilight!" Discord teased "But seriosuly, you are correct."
"Just great." Twilight said sarcastically "Some ally you're turning out to be."
"Well excuse me pr" Discord said.
"Don't even think about finishing that sentence!" Twilight said "I've heard that joke before, and it wasn't funny the first time."
"You never let me have any fun!' Discord pouted.
"I'm not trying to be mean Discord." Twilight said "But my patience with you is growing thinner by the moment."
"Look I'm really sorry okay. I mean it. This whole 'reformed' thing isn't as easy as it looks. I'm trying my best. So I would appreciate it very much if you would cut me a little slack." Discord said "If you want I could offer to see if I can find out anything, but only if you stop picking on me all the time. So can we agree to 'bury the hatchet' as it were?"
"I guess we could do that, for now anyway." Twilight said "But don't try anything funny."
"Oh believe me princess. If I try anything, it won't be funny." Discord said.
"I guess I should consider that a compliment." Twilight said.
"Indeed. Now then I must be off. See you later, and good luck." Discord said, and with a snap of his fingers he was gone.
Tai never knew about Twilight's little "chit-chat" with Discord. He and Scootaloo had spent the entire day with the Wonderbolts. Tai especially found himself getting along nicely with co-captain Soarin. The guy reminded him a lot of himself.
Of course Tai still befriended the others Wonderbolts as well. Fleetfoot challenged him to a race, which to his surprise he won. Spitfire gave him some great advice on how to build up his wing muscles (she also did the same for Scootaloo). And Misty Fly showed him how to make the most of his pegasus magic.
All were sorry when it was time to leave. "Do come back and visit us again soon." Fleetfoot said.
"Maybe next time you're here we can have a pie eating contest." Soarin said "And I should warn you, I'm pretty good."
"Remember what I told you about your pegasus magic." Misty Fly said.
"And don't forget those excersie routines. They'll come in handy sooner then you might think." Spitfire said.
"I'll do my best to remember you all, and everything you taught me." Tai said. And with that Scootaloo climbed onto his back and the two of them set off for home.
Tai was finding life as a pony to be pretty simple so far. Of course he knew that fate often had a strange way of making things that seemed simple anything but.