There was nothing in the world quite as invigorating as flying through the sky. Soarin took off from Cloudsdale after another day working in the Academy, his trademark smile returning to his face. He never imagined he'd take so naturally to a training job, that had always been Spitfire's forte. Still, traveling all over Equestria was something best left to the younger generations. It was only for special events that he and his crew would come out to fly, but they still amazed the crowds whenever they did.
The commute to and from Cloudsdale could be a drag, but he allowed his mind to wander for the routine trip. How long had it been, ten years ago? When Rainbow Dash had finished annihilating every Academy record she could get her wings on, and graduated to the Wonderbolts with the highest honors anypony had ever received. Soarin always enjoyed her company, ever since that one Grand Galloping Gala. Every time he'd seen her since then, she'd been proving herself as one hell of a pegasus. Fighting the changeling invasion, having the raw guts to chew out Spitfire in her own office, and of course her final exam. He, Spitfire and Fleetfoot had been the judges, and her performance was unanimously the best they'd ever seen.
She made an amazing fourth to their squad. Spitfire, Fleetfoot and her would go out partying and generally causing trouble after every show. Soarin had his fun, but he was always a bit more restrained than the others. Over time, however, things had changed between him and the brilliant Rainbow Dash. He began favoring her over his other wing mates, and it seemed the feeling was mutual. He was sure that Spitfire would have blown a gasket when she found out, but his captain surprised him again.
She changed their formations to let the two of them fly together more often. They split into duos to do more shows across Equestria. The biggest surprise came a year after Rainbow joined, when she did something truly bold. She requested a 'joint housing unit' for her and Soarin, normally reserved for married couples. They'd been an item 'officially' for a little over six months at this point. When Soarin heard what she'd done, and that Spitfire had approved it, he wasn't sure how he should feel.
Rainbow Dash's explanation was calculated, though he could tell that was just her way of hiding her emotions. "We spend pretty much all day together anyway. This is just easier for everypony involved," she had said. For two years, they flew around Equestria by day and settled into their common home by Luna's light. It wasn't always smooth sailing. Like all couples they did fight, and boy was she scary when they did. Still, they had to work with each other the next day, so they tended to make up quickly as well.
A dreamy smile overtook Soarin's face as he recalled another memory. Rainbow Dash did everything fast, she didn't slow down for an instant. He'd always wondered what the nature of their relationship was, but he'd been rebuffed whenever he asked. He'd asked her to marry him, once.
"I thought we already were?" was her response. She accepted his necklace (which they couldn't wear at work due to their flightsuits) and life went on in much the same way as it had been. Soarin realized that, to Rainbow, this was exactly what she imagined marriage to be like. A pony she loved to hang out with, talk to, and on the occasion have a bit more 'fun' with. She had everything she wanted, or so he thought.
In true Rainbow Dash fashion, one day she had decided that everything had to change. "I want a foal, we should get officially married," she'd said, as casually as if she were planning a trip to one of their favorite restaurants.
Soarin practically choked on his coffee. When he finished composing himself, Dash was just looking at him impatiently, awaiting his response. "Well?" she asked him. Still, words escaped him. All he could managed was a stunned nod.
That was good enough for Rainbow Dash. She told Spirtfire less than an hour later that she would be resigning from active duty. Spitfire took it all in stride when Soarin announced likewise, though he'd recovered enough of his mind by that point to give his reason. Married, and planning on having a foal, and just this morning he'd been thinking about the show in Baltimare. All he could think about now was that he would be getting married.
The wedding was planned for two weeks after the announcement. Nopony who knew Rainbow was surprised by the lack of a real time table. Rarity expressed her delight that she wasn't going to elope and would actually calm down enough to have a proper ceremony. Soarin and Rainbow decided that it might be wise to keep the details of the last two years secret from her.
Canterlot Castle was given as the location for his wedding, with an all star cast present. Soarin was no stranger to high-profile events, but the ponies Rainbow Dash could pull out was impressive even to him. All four princesses, their respective spouses, the other four element bearers, the rest of the Wonderbolts and a cast of hundreds of friends and admirers. It was quite the spectacle. Soarin had to wonder, as he looked among her friends, if they had anything to do with Rainbow's sudden desire for a family life. Rarity and Applejack both had young foals with them, Crystal Clarity and Golden Delicious respectively. Pinkie Pie was starting to show a little bit, suggesting that a third foal would be joining that group soon enough.
The wedding had been delightful, and more than he could have hoped for. Just like his proposal, however, life continued on as it normally did. Rainbow wanted to move back to Ponyville, and Soarin did not mind. It was actually very common for new parents to live on the ground, at least until the foal learned to fly. It was a good way to avoid accidents. Cloudsdale was safe enough, but Rainbow was dead set on being closer to her friends again.
Soarin's mind came back to the present as the familiar houses came into view. He noticed, as he flew lower, that the streets and skies seemed rather empty. It only took him a few moments to notice that he was the only pegasus in the town. Rainbow Dash must have called another Weather Meeting to prepare for the Cloudsdale Water Funnel. It hadn't been in Ponyville in years, and Rainbow was determined to break the record this time around. Soarin spotted a large collection of ponies off on the other end of town, and grinned knowingly. She was hard at work, as always.
He touched down in front of his home with a practiced and graceful flair. It looked like dinner would be on him tonight, but he could manage. Rainbow was a good cook, which came from years of living on her own and needing to keep her athletic figure, but she made sure they split it up evenly. The idea of being a house mare still terrified her, so she liked to make him take on some of that work. He walked into his home, and instantly knew something was wrong. He could hear something coming from deeper in the house, and it only took him a minute to identify it as muffled sobbing.
Only one pony that could be, and he had to wonder what the cause of Prism Bolt's distress was. His son was like most colts. He was polite, a little rowdy and had a knack for getting into trouble: nothing too out of the ordinary yet, but he was still young. His coat was jet black, but he had his mother's mane. He stood out in a crowd, but he never seemed to mind.
Soarin's mind worked through the possibilities as he made his way to his son's room. Bullied at school? Tripped and hurt himself? Just lonely? All were possible, he supposed, and he pushed the door open with a calm greeting.
"Hey, champ! What's wrong?" he asked, putting on a large smile for the colt that was huddled on his bed looking positively miserable.
Prism Bolt only wailed louder, managing out an explanation between anguished sobs. "Waahhh! M-Mommy hates me!"
"Nine point one?! You been slacking off on me, Thunderlane?" Rainbow Dash shouted at the black pegasus as he finished his trial run. "You did better than that the last time we did this, have you been sitting on your flank for the last twelve years?"
"Hey, I've been busy, ok? It isn't always easy to find time to train," he shot back at her. Rainbow Dash had been more aggressive than normal today, and it didn't take a therapist to see that she was trying to work off some steam.
"Oh? Like what, being all lovey-dovey with Cloudchaser? She's not here for this one, so you've gotta do the work for two!" Rainbow said. She was upset that Cloudchaser couldn't help them this time around, the mare was a real morale booster. Rainbow prepared to move on, ready to see the next wing power trial.
"Hey! Raising a foal is hard work! I know everything is easy to you, but we're not all you!" Thunderlane said.
It was obvious to every pony there that he had just struck a nerve. Rainbow Dash stopped in her tracks and rounded on him with a snarl. She looked more like a bull than a pony right now.
The lightning had struck, quite literally. Before Rainbow Dash could say anything, a bolt of lightning struck between the two ponies. They both jumped back in surprise and looked up. Thunderlane was confused, Rainbow looked livid.
There was a single black storm cloud in the early evening sky, with a blue-maned pegasus standing atop it. "All right, everypony! That's enough for today! Go home and train on your own for tomorrow, we'll meet again the day after!" Soarin said.
Rainbow Dash didn't speak to argue with him, which was something she learned in the Wonderbolts. If you didn't agree with another leader, you let the recruits leave and took it up with them after the fact. Soarin wanted words with her, which was the only reason he'd have done something so dramatic. There was also the fact that he wanted to stop a fight.
Thunderlane threw one last glare at Rainbow Dash before he left. The rest of a pegasi left with only small murmurs between themselves. They all knew how intense Rainbow Dash could be, but that was the first time they'd seen her get close to coming to blows over something like this. Soarin touched down on the ground next to her, and she glared daggers at him. Once she was sure they were alone, she went off.
"The hay was that about, Soarin?! The Funnel Drill is in a week, we've gotta be training twice as hard if we want to break the record!"
As angry as Rainbow Dash could get, Soarin had learned over the years how to stay calm in the face of her storm. "You've been out here for over four hours, Dash. You know as well as I do that this isn't about the Funnel Drill," he said, keeping his posture straight and his tone level. "You always work yourself into a frenzy when you don't want to deal with something else."
Rainbow Dash winced, there was no point in denying it to him. She remained silent for a moment before saying "How is he?"
"He was pretty upset. I made him some dinner and put him to bed," Soarin answered. He was prepared to continue when she surprised him yet again. He saw something he'd never seen before.
Small streams of tears were working their way down her cheeks, as she rubbed her eyes to try and push them away. Rainbow Dash never cried. She'd gotten misty eyed a few times he could recall, notably at their wedding and when Bolt was born, but she never let herself really cry. Once the floodgate had opened, it came as a torrent. Rainbow Dash collapsed on the ground with a choked sob, totally losing herself in despair.
Soarin laid down next to her, draping a wing over her shaking form and just letting her cry. It felt odd to him, but he knew that she was dealing with something very new right now. A parent's fear of pushing their child away.
"Oh Soarin, what have I done? I didn't mean to scare him, but it was just... that look in his eyes and... I just reacted... " she managed out through the occasional sniffles.
Soarin remained at his wife's side, offering her all the comfort he could. "Bolt wouldn't tell me much, and I didn't want to make him more upset. What happened with you two?"
"Well...."
"C'mon, Bolt! You can do it, just spread those wings and let 'em rip!" Rainbow Dash called from the air. She was only about five feet off the ground, where she did circles around the little colt who was sitting on the ground.
Prism Bolt looked up at his mother with an odd expression, his wings firmly glued to his sides. "Nuh uh! I dun wanna!" he called back to her, watching her circle him. "It's too high!"
Rainbow Dash hovered in place, watching the colt's gaze. "So? We're born to fly. Sometimes you gotta just take a jump and go for it!"
His eyes were still full of fear, but Bolt did as instructed. He jumped and tried to flap his wings. The result of his jump was him landing flat on his face back on the earth. He whimpered a little bit, but Rainbow Dash didn't let up.
"Again!" she said to him. "Come on, you can do better than that! You have to flap your wings!"
Again, Prism Bolt jumped, this time getting a few solid flaps of his wings. He got a little bit of air time, but the flaps slowed quickly and he fell back to the ground.
"Again! Flap harder this time, put some muscle into it!" she encouraged him.
"No!" the colt shouted back at her. "I don't wanna!" He turned to walk away, looking more than a little disheartened from their 'training'.
Rainbow Dash wouldn't let him give up, however. She'd seen it a hundred times before, if you push a little further, you could do things you never thought you could. Her time as a Wonderbolt came to the surface, and her attitude changed instantly. "Don't you walk away from me! We don't give up because something is hard here!"
As soon as she said it, she realized a very important difference. The ponies she used that attitude on were full grown mares and stallions, they could take it. Bolt was a colt, he was her colt.
Rainbow Dash had been subjected to her fair share of injuries. She'd been whipped by a manticore's tail, slapped by a dragon and had hundreds of flying accidents.
The sight of Prism Bolt galloping away while crying hurt more than anything she'd ever felt in her life. She was stunned for a moment, her mind catching up on what she had done. She knew she had to follow him, but before she could another voice greeted her.
"Rainbow Dash, there you are! We've got all the pegasi grouped up at the track like you wanted." The yellow pegasus named Sugar Twist said to her.
Right, her job. That was important, she should take care of it. "Right. Yeah, I'll be right there..."
As Soarin listened to Rainbow, everything became clear to him. She tried to push him, much like she did with Fluttershy, Scootaloo and any other pegasus she'd ever worked with. To a child, however, a louder voice meant an angry voice. Bolt thought she was upset with him, and Rainbow had distracted herself from the problem instead of confronting it herself.
Now that Prism Bolt had time to solidify his fears, they were not going to be easily dispelled. Soarin doubted if their son would want to fly with his mother anytime soon. Rainbow was still lost in her own depression, not really knowing how to recover from such a situation. She was never this emotional, even her pregnancy mood swings had been more anger than depression. The both of them were going to be healing some pretty nasty scars from this.
"Dashie," he said, knowing that she hated him calling her that outside of their home. "He thinks that he's a bad pegasus because he's afraid of flying. He thinks you are ashamed of him."
Rainbow sniffled once or twice before responding. "You know that isn't true, Soarin. He's my colt, I love him more than anyone else. I just... wanted to help him push beyond his limits..."
Soarin smiled as he pulled his wing closer, nuzzling up against his wife. "But he doesn't have your dream, Dash. He doesn't want to be the best of the best, he just wants his mother, who excels at everything she does, to be proud at what he can do. Him not flying never bothered him until you started questioning it. You know the kids at school teased him for being afraid of heights for the last three months?"
Rainbow turned towards Soarin in surprise. "What? How come you didn't tell me?"
Soarin gave a goofy smile. "A colt's promise, just between us guys. But Dash, he didn't care. He just let it roll right off of him. But when you noticed..."
"He asked me to train him, because he sees me train all the other pegasi," Rainbow concluded, understanding what Soarin was getting at. "He only started caring about it because I cared about it."
Soarin nodded. "Exactly. You didn't even notice it, but he's put you on such a pedestal that he's terrified of disappointing you."
Those words struck deep inside Rainbow Dash. Yes, they hurt, but they also reminded her of something else. "I know what to do," she said, standing up. "We're going to Fillydelphia tomorrow, the three of us."
Soarin retracted his wing so she could stand. She looked determined now, a side of her he was much more used to seeing. "What for?" he asked, wondering what plan she was hatching.
"We're gonna see my sis."
The tension on the train ride was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Rainbow Dash and Prism Bolt were avoiding each other as much as they could, but Soarin knew it wasn't out of hostility. Neither of them were sure how to mend those bridges they'd damaged the other day. When Rainbow had announced her plan, Soarin had thought it brilliant. It was certainly a better idea than just ignoring the problem and hoping it got better.
"Hey champ, we're here," Soarin called gently, nudging Prism's sleeping form. He'd drifted off about an hour ago, after the excitement of riding a train had worn off.
Bolt yawned, stretching out as he looked up to his father. Rainbow was already moving to collect their things, leaving Soarin to deal with their son. "Do we have time to see Aunt Spitfire before the show?" he asked.
Soarin gave a cunning smile at the question. "Oh, we're not here to see Aunt Spitfire or Aunt Fleetfoot. Your mother's sister is putting on a show here, so we decided to come visit her. Now come on, time's a wasting!"
The three of them set their saddlebags and headed out into the city. Nothing compared to Manehatten or Canterlot, but certainly much larger than Ponyville. Rainbow Dash and Soarin had seen it plenty of times before, but Prism Bolt was not so fortunate. His eyes shot upwards, taking in all of the huge buildings and sights around him as they walked down the street. He was silent in a sort of overwhelmed wonder, until the family arrived at Fillydelphia Festival Grounds.
The grounds were used for carnivals, parades and the like. Today, however, it was filled with wooden ramps, pipes, loops and many other geometrically unsafe designs. Rainbow Dash walked up to the crudely defined entrance line, and instantly realized her mistake in doing this at the spur of the moment. Of course a show like this would be sold out well before the entrance date, so getting in might be a problem. She could try to use her fame to squirm in, but she didn't want to steal the attention that other ponies had worked hard to cultivate. She wasn't the attention hog she was in her younger years. She'd had her time to shine, it wasn't fair to steal theirs.
Then, an opportunity presented itself to her. On the other side of the barricade she saw a very familiar orange coat. She was moving deeper into the festival grounds, so Rainbow knew she had one chance. She had to be loud, short and identifiable. Something quick that her 'sis' would recognize in the noise of the crowd.
Rainbow Dash had training with speaking at high speeds, which resulted in a rather shocking bellow from the mare. "Hey, squirt!" she shouted above the din of the crowd, which actually succeeded in silencing quite a few of the ponies around her and drawing more than a few looks.
Scootaloo turned in surprise, and identified her 'big sis' instantly. "Rainbow! I didn't know you were coming, it's been forever!" she shouted, running to the barricade and jumping over it. The two exchanged a quick hug, before Rainbow waved Soarin over.
"Heh, just look at you, squirt! I'm seeing your face everywhere! Doing pretty well for yourself in this stunt racing stuff, eh?"
"Oh you have no idea, I'm booked for the next six months! It's a good thing I've got a good 'Chief of Staff' around here, or my crew wouldn't be able to keep up. You remember Rumble, right?" Scootaloo and Rainbow began talking, reminiscing about old times, as Scootaloo pushed the barricade open to let the family in. A few guards looked their way, but did nothing to stop any of them. "So where are you guys sitting? I promise I've got better ones for you," she asked Rainbow Dash in passing as she walked back to the other two.
Soarin, always the gentlecolt, nodded his head simply. "Scootaloo, it's good to see you doing so well for yourself. You've meet Prism Bolt before, right?"
Scootaloo took the moment to look at the timid pegasus in front of her. "Yeah, when he was a tiny foal! How's it going, kid?" she asked extending a hoof to him.
Prism slowly raised his own for a hoofbump, blushing a bit at seeing a real, live star like this. "Hello Aunt Scootaloo," he said politely, making Scootaloo blink in surprise.
"I'm an aunt now? Wow, that is some promotion!" she exclaimed, before feeling Rainbow Dash's hoof wrapping around her. The two mares stepped away for a moment and shared a quick back and forth of whispering. Prism Bolt looked to his father, who just shrugged. Soarin had some idea what was happening, but Rainbow rarely told him the full extent of her plans.
The two mares broke up, and Scootaloo came back over. "Say, why don't you two adults go check out the seats I've got for you?" she said, waving a staff member over. "I could take you backstage to check out the rides and all the behind-the-scenes stuff, ya know if you want to," she tempted Prism Bolt. His eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"Wha?! C-Can I mom?" he asked, turning back towards his mother, who nodded with a smile.
"You make sure to do exactly what Aunt Scootaloo tells you and you can go. Be careful."
The colt was practically skipping behind the stunt racer as they moved off through the crowds.
"So..." Soarin began. "Think this will work?"
Rainbow Dash nodded. "I know the words to say, but he needs to hear them from somepony that isn't you or me. I think Scootaloo is perfect for this."
"Wow! This is so cool!" Prism said for what had to be the fifteenth time. Every place Scootaloo took the little colt seemed like the most amazing thing in the world. Scootaloo didn't mind, she remembered being that awestruck the first time she'd seen these places, and that was when she was a racer!
"You think so? Hah, it took me forever to figure out how good I was at this. I was too worked up with trying to fly when I was a filly, didn't pay attention to what I was good at."
Prism Bolt stalled for a moment, looking up from the custom-designed scooter that his aunt would be using shortly. "You weren't good at flying when you were little?"
Scootaloo just chuckled. "I couldn't fly when I was little, still can't."
Prism was shocked that such an awesome pegasus couldn't fly! More importantly, she didn't seem bothered by it at all. "Really? Wow, that must have been hard."
Scootaloo stopped to think for a moment. "It was for a while. I mean I used to think 'Why am I the only pegasus that can't fly?' Let me tell you, it was even worse because I wanted to be just like your mom when I was little. But she told me once, it doesn't matter if I could fly or not. She was who she was, and I was who I was. I may never be the flier your mom is, but you don't need wings to soar!"
Prism's next question was quiet. "Mom... said that?"
"She sure did. But even though I found something only I can do, I still try to fly, every single day. Maybe one day I will, maybe I won't. I think the important part is to try. What do you think?"
Prism looked bashful now, having the question posed to him. "I think...flying is scary. I mean, what if your wings stop working or you hit something or a dragon comes up and..."
Scootaloo laughed, causing Prism to stop with a blush. "Well of course, lots of things can go wrong in the air. But lots of things can go wrong on the ground, too. A really smart pony once told me that it isn't bad to be scared, we all have things we are afraid of. But we've gotta fight against our fears. We can do it a little at a time, but we can't just hide from them."
Prism looked downcast now. "That's easy, you and my mom aren't afraid of anything."
Scootaloo came in close, whispering to the colt. "Keep a secret? The corkscrew scares me out of my mind every time. It's why I stop my wings when I hit it."
"Really?"
"Yep. I'm always so scared of losing control that I let myself slow down on it. I lose a lot of time there. So how about we make a deal."
"A deal?"
"Sure! We'll fight our fears together. I'll keep my wings flapping at least part of the way through the corkscrew, and you'll try to fly when you get home." She saw the colt's terrified expression and continued. "Not high in the sky, we start small. Try standing on a chair, that isn't too high is it?"
He shook his head.
"Then you stand on the chair and fly at that level. When you think you're ready, you'll move higher. When I feel comfortable, I'll go a little further with my wings flapping. Sound good?"
Prism nodded. Standing on a chair and flying at that height, he could do that. He wasn't sure how much further he'd get, but he could at least promise to try if such a popular pony wanted to have a contest with him. "Ok, I'll try. I promise."
"Cross my heart and hope to fly..."
"Stick a cupcake in my eye!" Prism finished. "I didn't know you knew Pinkie Pie!"
Scootaloo laughed. "Everypony knows Pinkie Pie."
Prism was in much higher spirits when he rejoined his parents at the ring side seats. His first interest was spotting the corkscrew, and it really did look like a tough one. They had to go upside down on it, but how would they stay on the track?
The race began, and even Rainbow had to admit that these ponies had some serious skill. She may have been an ace in the skies, but she doubted she could compete with them on the ground like this. Scootaloo took to the front of the pack instantly. She was the only pegasus in this race, and the only one in the sport that used her wings. The rules were very clear, the skater could not leave contact with the track unless it was a part of the course, like a jump. With normal pegasus wings, trying to add speed might cause an unintentional lift off, and disqualify them. Scootaloo had no risk of that.
Prism was most interested as they entered the corkscrew. Sure enough, as soon as she hit it, her wings stopped flapping. It was a three loop corkscrew. The first loop went by, then the second, but on the start of the third her wings began beating again. Slowly at first, but they were certainly doing it. Prism was possibly the only fan that noticed this, but he had a reason to. He had made a Pinkie Promise. If Aunt Scootaloo was willing to fight something that scary, then he had to at least try.
As Rainbow Dash followed the ponies through the corkscrew, she raised a hoof to her mouth for a moment. Soarin looked over to her. She'd been through maneuvers far worse than that before. "You ok?" he asked.
She took a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, just thinking about that made me kind of sick. Don't know why."
The racers quickly entered the home stretch, a long jump leading right towards the finish line. Scootaloo had the lead, but a green earth pony was coming up behind her, gaining fast on the downhill. They took the jump almost side by side. The earth pony had mass, propelling him like a bullet, but Scootaloo spread her wings to give herself more lift. She didn't fly, but they extended her jump enough that she crossed the finish line in the air, a few feet in front of her competitor, who lost speed on the landing.
Instead of moving over to the winners circle, Scootaloo came right over to Prism and his parents. "Hah, did you see that?"
"Yeah! The third loop, just like you promised!"
Rainbow Dash and Soarin looked very confused, but Scootaloo just laughed. "Sorry, Pinkie Promise between friends," she explained with a wink.
Prism Bolt spoke up next, turning to his mother. "Um, mom? When we get home could... um... we practice flying again? I won't be scared this time, I promise!"
Rainbow Dash gave her son a warm and heartfelt smile. "Don't you lie to me, young stallion," she said. "But that's ok, we can start with what you are comfortable with. We'll go nice and slow, I promise," she said with a nuzzle.
Soarin mouthed out his thanks to the stunt racer, watching as mother and son reconciled. The heartwarming scene was broken up shortly, as a familiar white stallion came trotting up to them.
"Rainbow, Soarin! It's been forever, how are you?" he called, pulling up next to Scootaloo. Where as Scootaloo wore her racing suit, Rumble wore a staff vest, very much like the ones they had seen earlier. Scootaloo quickly placed a peck on his cheek, causing Rumble to blush a little bit, and the crowd to start cat calling. It was already well known that Scootaloo and her Chief had more than a work relationship, but the crowd still ate it up.
Scootaloo looked to Rainbow Dash with a challenging smile. Rainbow raised her hoof to stroke her chin. "Hmmm, I dunno," she responded. "I mean I kinda see what you're saying, but I don't think it's all that."
Soarin was in the middle of greeting Rumble when he caught the conversation. Both stallions looked over to the two mares in confusion.
"You think that's something?" Scootaloo began. "You should see him at the 'after party'. His hind legs always kick out whenever I..."
Rumble nearly died, as his face burned so red he might have been mistaken for part of the Apple clan. "S-Scoots!" he said, cutting her off. Rainbow Dash took another look at him and sighed.
"Ok, I gotta admit you were right. He's cuter than Soarin when he gets embarrassed," she said, sharing a laugh with her sister. Rumble, for his part, looked totally mortified.
Prism Bolt looked to his father with a confused expression, and Soarin deflected the question before it even began. "She's just teasing him," he explained, hoping that would stave off the question for at least a few years. He had to struggle to avoid rolling his eyes at the joke those two had pulled. She got older, but pranks were still in her blood. The only change had been now they were more wordplay than physical.
"So," Scootaloo began, "you gonna stick around for the party? You're always welcome, and it's usually pretty calm for the first hour or so," she said, tossing a glance towards Prism Bolt.
"Oh, I think we could show up for a little bit," Soarin responded. "Post-show parties are always the best kind, from one professional to another." The five ponies began making their way back to the staging area, chatting pleasantly in the afterglow of a fantastic day.
The day had started tense, with the unknown causing apprehension between mother and son. As they boarded the train to go home after the party, all of that fear had vanished.
Prism Bolt awoke the next morning, hopping out of bed and ready to get to work. He was gonna do it today, today he was gonna fly! He ran downstairs, and was surprised to find his father home, but no sign of his mother. Dad would normally be working with mom at home.
"Where's mom?" he asked as he looked around the kitchen.
"Oh, mommy wasn't feeling too well, so she went to see Nurse Redheart. She'll be back in the afternoon."
Bolt kicked his hooves softly. "Aww, she was gonna take me flying today!" he whined.
"I could go with you, if you want?" Soarin offered, but Prism Bolt shook his head.
"Nuh-uh! I'm gonna practice and surprise mom! I'll be able to fly when she gets back!" He ran out the door quickly, while Soarin called after him.
"Make sure you eat...oh why bother?" he gave up halfway through the call. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, and he was his mother's son without a doubt.
Prism felt a little silly standing on top of one of the park benches, flapping his wings. He didn't care what anypony thought. He was going to fly, like he promised. Slowly, he felt his hooves leave the ground as he hovered a few inches above the wood. His heart began beating quickly against his chest as he looked down, seeing the ground below the bench as much further away than it was. His wings began to slow, and he felt himself touch down again.
He tried again, and the next time he went up he doubled his time in the air. It was almost an hour later when he finally made it off the bench, inching forward until the ground was a good two feet below his hooves. He hovered there, his breathing coming hard as he tried to concentrate. Maybe he could go higher?
He looked down, and that idea flew right out of his mind as he fell the two feet to the ground. Still, he'd made it! He'd flown his height off the ground!
The sound of hooves clapping drew his attention. He turned to see his mother sitting down, watching him with a bright smile. "There we go, now that is flying!"
Prism Bolt smiled, running up to his mother and giving her a hug. "Are you ok? Dad said you were sick."
She shook her head. "No, I'm ok. I just needed to talk to Nurse Redheart about something I noticed. I see you've been busy this morning! I turn away for a little bit, and my little stallion is flying!"
"I can do more!" Prism Bolt promised, flapping his wings out again. He rose to his prior height, now without standing on the bench.
Rainbow saw his wings faltering, and slipped under him so he only fell a few inches onto her back. "Whoa, you're looking a little tired there," she commented. She hadn't been gone long, and he was still asleep when she left. How hard had he been training?
His stomach growled in response to that, and she understood. "Let me guess, you ran out without eating?" she asked.
Prism Bolt nodded sheepishly and Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "All right, let's go get you something to eat," she started. She heard other ponies approaching, and turned her head to see another family coming up.
Specifically, Thunderlane, Cloudchaser and their filly, Whirlwind. Thunderlane exchanged a cautious nod with Rainbow, not having spoken since they almost came to blows.
"Morning you three!" Rainbow greeted happily. "Out for a family outing?"
Just like that, past disagreements were forgotten. "Just out for a little picnic, care to join us?" Cloudchaser invited. Thunderlane shot his dumb smile, same as always. Rainbow may have been quick to anger, but she was quick to forgive too.
"Sure!" said Rainbow Dash, turning to Prism Bolt. "I'm going to go get your father, we wouldn't want to leave him out. Can you help Thunderlane and Cloudchaser set up?"
Prism Bolt nodded, but then something else occurred to him. "Wait, mom! Didn't you have training for the Water Funnel this afternoon?"
Thunderlane winced, he'd been planning to cut out on it after his argument with Rainbow, but Rainbow shook her head.
"I am training, Bolt, for something much more important than some silly record. If I've got fliers as good as Thunderlane, getting the funnel won't be any trouble at all. Now I've got to go get your father, don't cause any trouble!"
She galloped off as Prism Bolt approached Whirlwind, moving to help her with setting out a blanket. Rainbow Dash came running into the house, making Soarin look up.
"Welcome home, dear," he said, moving over to her to nuzzle her. "It's so nice to see Bolt happy in the morning. He went out to practice so he could surprise you."
She nodded. "Yeah, I ran into him. We're going to have a little picnic with Thunderlane and his family. Let's grab that pie you smuggled from AJ's last night after we got in."
Soarin blushed a little bit. "I can't sneak anything past you, can I?"
"Hasn't stopped you from trying!" Rainbow said from the next room. She returned to the front door, where Soarin was waiting. As she passed him, she spoke again.
"Oh right, speaking of surprises. Number two is on the way. Now where is that pie plate-thingy Rarity gave me?"
Soarin was only half listening to her. "Third cabinet, bottom shelf. What do you mean... number two?" he asked, his mind starting to catch up to the words being spoken.
Rainbow Dash grabbed the accessory and zipped by Soarin, placing a kiss on his cheek as she did so. "Unusual bouts of anger, sudden nausea, mood swings, we've been here before," she teased him. "Now come on, move your flank! We've got a picnic to get to!" she said, dashing out the door without giving him another moment to respond or compose himself. He stood there in shock for a moment more. Number two was on the way... and she just said it like... hah, exactly like she'd proposed to him.
Full speed, from start to finish. A smile took over his face as he walked outside and closed the door to their house. "Never change, Rainbow Dash."