With the stunning revelation of their meeting in the past weighing heavily on their hearts and minds, Rainbow Dash and Soarin stared at each other silently, neither one knowing what to say. As the two stood there, virtually frozen in time, both had a new set of questions for the other beyond any prior questions.
While that scene played out, Twilight gazed at the two pegasi with a new sense of reverence and intrigue. Just like Rainbow Dash and Soarin, Twilight had some questions of her own, except hers were mostly intended for her Wonderbolt-admiring friend. Although now, a new concern arose; there was a nervous tension in the air, and the silence wasn’t really helping.
“Excuse me, you two,” Twilight politely called out.
“Yeah, Twilight?” Soarin asked.
“How does it feel knowing you and Rainbow Dash have this sort of…connection?”
“Mind-blowing…”
“Yeah,” Rainbow agreed. “Just like that day we found out I caused you and the others to get your Cutie Marks; we formed a special connection and didn’t realize it until years later.”
“Whoa… That’s cool…” Soarin beamed.
“So…thirteen years, huh?” Rainbow asked. “What have you been up to in that time?”
“I’ve done a lot,” Soarin answered. “A lot of really cool stuff…and some stuff I’d…rather forget… How about you?”
“A lot of ups and downs…” Rainbow confessed. “I got by with my parents and a couple friends pretty well, but there’s also a load of stuff I’d like to forget.”
“I see…”
“Friends don’t keep secrets, Soarin; as bad as some of those memories were…I can still tell you, as long as you don’t mind sharing your secrets with me.”
“Very well.”
“Hey,” Twilight cut in, “going off of what Rainbow said, don’t be a stranger. While there might be things you’d like to keep to yourself or between each other, you’ve got plenty of friends you can turn to for advice. My door is always open if you’re ever around and you’ve got something weighing you down.”
“Thank you for that, Twilight,” Soarin replied, happily drawing the librarian into a warm hug of gratitude. “I’ve actually come to depend on my teammates in the same way, almost like one big family.”
“Twilight and the others have been like that for me,” Rainbow admitted. “She’s served as peace-keeper, advisor, mentor, and a lot of other things.” She joined the embrace between Soarin and Twilight. “They’ve all kept me on track, and I’d be seriously lost without them. As much as I argue or complain, I can’t imagine going even just a day without my friends backing me.”
“Rainbow…” Twilight whispered, crying softly. “Thank you… You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that.”
“I just want you to know how much I love and appreciate you for all the stress you put up with.”
“Rainbow, that’s really sweet of you,” Soarin whispered, smiling.
Rainbow Dash returned the smile, and she, Soarin, and Twilight held their heartfelt embrace for a while longer, wanting to take in as much of the love and gratitude as they could. With the bond of friendship—and of family—between them secured, they broke the embrace.
“Rainbow Dash, thank you for that,” Twilight said, happily. “I feel so much better now.”
“Any time!” Rainbow declared. “Just say the word!”
“I should also tell you that I’m…incredibly proud of you for the way you’ve handled this. I am still here if you need to talk, and I’m also happy to give you whatever advice I can.”
“Thanks, Twilight.”
The alicorn smiled in response to the warmth filling her home before her mind lit up with a new discussion topic.
“Hey, Rainbow, I was wondering about something.”
“Oh? What?”
“What’s it like having a Wonderbolt captain as your mother?”
“It’s awesome; the kids at school were always so jealous of me. Although, having to leave the team did take the wind out of Mom’s sails. She smiled and told Dad and I how happy she was to have us around, but not being able to wear that flight suit anymore changed her more than she’ll likely let on.”
“Oh?”
“You could talk to her about it, but the truth of the matter… She was broken after that accident…in more ways than one.”
“I caught that; she was upset about having to retire, but she was also happy to be alive.”
“You didn’t see her the way I did, Twilight. My dad and I had to step up and manage the housework ourselves, and most of the time, I was stuck taking care of Mom while Dad was at work. Meanwhile, Dad had to constantly remind her to take things slowly. I saw the physical pain she was in, and that destroyed me, especially when she smiled and tried to tell me that everything was fine. It hurt that she lied to me like that!”
During the dark turn in the exchange, Rainbow Dash had backed Twilight against the library’s front door.
“I’m very sorry, Rainbow,” Twilight whimpered.
“Rainbow, please calm down,” Soarin begged.
“I’m sorry,” Rainbow whispered. After wiping her eyes, she directed her answer to Twilight’s prior question down a lighter path. “As I said before, I was proud of Mom. Dad and I basically got free tickets to all of their shows, though I think that may have just been Mom pulling some strings for us. I didn’t get to go to every single show Mom was in, but she always told us about them as soon as she got home, so it was like we were there, anyway.”
“That’s why I dreamed of joining the Wonderbolts. I wanted to be able to fly high and potentially inspire others, just as my mom inspired me. When she had to retire, things just didn’t feel right. That’s when I started pushing myself harder than before. I wanted to continue the legacy my mom had started, and now, I am so close, it isn’t even funny.”
“When my mom was able to, she worked with me, and even tested me through races and stuff. When I was able to set out on my own, I did just that. I moved here to Ponyville and got into weather management, and then Twilight showed up, and things went from there.”
Twilight smiled proudly at all the memories her time in Ponyville had created.
“I wouldn’t mind hearing about all of that sometime,” Soarin said, calmly. “It’ll be nice hearing it from you rather than from the headlines.” He then burst out laughing.
Rainbow Dash and Twilight returned Soarin’s enthusiastic laughter with a wave of their own laughter. A while later, the room fell silent again, allowing Rainbow to continue.
“I still dream of joining the Wonderbolts, and I can’t wait to see my parents’ faces when I get to wear the uniform.”
“As I said before, keep up what you’re doing, and you’ll get there for sure,” Soarin proudly replied.
“What do I do until then?”
“Do what you’ve been doing the whole time I’ve known you,” Twilight answered with a smirk. “Just keep being your loyal stunt-flying self.”
“I’ll do that,” Rainbow laughed. “Just be careful what you wish for.”
“Thanks for the warning,” Soarin joked.
“Well,” Twilight began, “you heard your mother, Rainbow. You two have a lot of lost time to make up, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she starts watching her mailbox like a hawk for any letters from you.”
“She would…” Rainbow noted, smiling.
“Well, you’ve got plenty to talk about,” Twilight observed. “There’s the stuff you two have done in the thirteen years you’ve been apart, you can share whatever hopes and dreams you may have, you can vent any hidden frustration you may have…” She glared at Rainbow. “…appropriately…” She switched to a smile. “You get the idea.”
“Definitely,” Soarin agreed, knowing exactly what he wanted to discuss.
“Yeah, sure,” Rainbow added, “and we’ve got plenty of time to catch up.”
“True,” Twilight noted, “but wouldn’t you prefer someplace quiet to go and hang out or talk; somewhere just the two of you can go? No doubt there are things that you wouldn’t want someone else—not even me—to overhear.”
Rainbow wracked her brain for a response, completely missing Twilight’s hint. Soarin, on the other hand, was surprisingly not anywhere as clueless.
“Yeah,” he said. “Rainbow, how’d you like to walk with me for a bit? I wouldn’t mind a personal tour of Ponyville, and I could stand to keep my hooves on the ground for a change.” He laughed as “Drill Sergeant Mode” Spitfire filled his mind.
“I don’t know…” Rainbow replied, still missing Twilight’s hint. “Soarin, don’t you have an airshow or something you need to get ready for? I mean, it’s getting kind of late, and you don’t want Spitfire flipping out or something.”
“Rainbow,” Soarin answered, trying not to laugh, “I’m all done for today, and it isn’t even that late; I’m just killing time by being here. And as far as Spitfire’s concerned, she knows about me coming to visit you. My exact words: ‘Spitfire, I’m flying down to Ponyville for a bit to speak to Rainbow Dash. Is that alright?’ Her exact response: ‘Yeah, that’s cool. Just make sure to come back at a decent hour.’ Seriously, I’m good for it; I made sure to check my schedule and everything.”
“Well, in that case, sure,” Rainbow answered, casting a side glance back toward Twilight, “since she’s so eager for us to leave.”
“Took you long enough to catch on, Captain Oblivious,” Twilight smirked. “Enjoy your walk, you two.”
“Don’t worry,” Soarin replied. “We will.”
As Twilight stepped away from the door, Rainbow Dash and Soarin smiled at one another for a bit before Soarin began to chuckle softly. One playful shove from Rainbow Dash later and Soarin’s chuckling increased. With a playful shove of his own, Soarin had Rainbow Dash giggling just as he was.
Caught up in their own merriment, Rainbow Dash and Soarin headed for the door. Twilight, unsure of how to properly respond to the display, silently opened the door with a bit of her magic, allowing her friends to leave.
Ponyville Park is recognized by all the town’s inhabitants as the ideal place to go for anyone wishing to enjoy the weather, have a picnic with loved ones, or just laugh and hang out with friends. On a hill overlooking the playground, two friends did just that.
Rainbow Dash and Soarin smiled as they watched the activity of other ponies around them. Occasionally, Rainbow would take a quick peek at the sky or fly around a bit, but she mostly enjoyed the walk she and Soarin had just taken. Wanting a place to relax and talk about whatever, they had chosen to visit the park at Rainbow’s request.
“So…” Rainbow said, looking over to Soarin. “Anything in particular you’d like to know about me? Aside from me being one of Equestria’s greatest heroes and future Wonderbolt, of course.”
“To tell you the truth,” Soarin answered, “I’d like to know about your past. I want to know how the daughter of a Wonderbolt entertained herself.”
Rainbow sighed and shifted her gaze between Soarin and the sky.
“You don’t have to tell me the rough parts, Rainbow. There’s no rush on that. Just tell me the parts you enjoyed; tell me about your family and your friends, or tell me about some of your favorite Wonderbolt memories. I’d like to know about the stuff that made you happy,” Soarin calmly added.
Rainbow met Soarin’s friendly gaze with a warm smile of her own.
“Those green eyes of yours could probably make Princess Celestia spill her deepest secrets,” Rainbow quipped. “Not to mention that smile…”
Soarin grinned a bit before making a reply.
“Thanks, Rainbow. It’s good to know that my charm is at such a high level; I just hope they don’t start to consider me a threat to national security.”
Soarin’s joke elicited a torrent of laughter from Rainbow Dash. As the Wonderbolt admired his own quick wit, his friend’s laughter quickly overwhelmed him. Just as in the library, both Rainbow Dash and Soarin found themselves caught in a hurricane of their own laughter.
Naturally, such a spectacle doesn’t go unnoticed, especially when the epicenter of said hurricane consists of the local show-off and a Wonderbolt. Among the responses directed their way, which ranged from “they’re crazy” to “how cute,” there were those who couldn’t help but join in the outburst. The odd scene lasted a few minutes until Rainbow Dash and Soarin were alone and fighting for breath.
“Threat to national security…” Rainbow wheezed. “I’ll have to remember that one.”
“Now that we’ve got that out of system,” Soarin began, “I can say what I meant to say before.”
“And that is…?”
“Your eyes; they’re so pretty. What color are they? Pink? Rose? They say that you can learn a lot about someone by looking into their eyes. I look into your eyes, and I see…a sense of peace…but I can also see a lot of pain…from time long passed.”
“Thanks for the compliment, Soarin…” Rainbow softly replied as she teared up. “My eyes are sort of a magenta color—my dad’s eyes—and there is a lot of pain in my past. The only reason I was ever at peace back then was because my parents always stuck by me, and there was also Fluttershy. Moving to Ponyville was the best thing for me because I was able to reconnect with Fluttershy and make a lot of new friends; I was able to make a fresh start with myself.”
“Come here, Rainbow,” Soarin softly commanded, holding his hooves out in open invitation.
After staring at Soarin for a bit, Rainbow Dash accepted the invitation. Without missing a beat, Rainbow dove into the welcoming embrace and wept openly. As she cried, she remembered all the times she was teased in school or falsely accused of lying or fighting or something else; she remembered the drama that had caused.
“You got to hear a bit of it, earlier,” Rainbow said. “After my mom had her accident, everything had changed. She goes from being away from home a lot to being stuck at home and not being able to do much. As time passed, she would get more and more ambitious; she’d try to run or fly before she was barely able to walk.”
“It was painful having to watch that, and it was painful to hear my mom cry; she always tried to stay strong…for me. My dad could see that, as well; he could see that the major reason Mom pushed herself as hard as she did wasn’t just because of her independent nature—it was so she could take care of me. When she was finally able to fly again, that was when she started training me and testing me. She was never able to rejoin the Wonderbolts, but having her as a coach and personal trainer was an acceptable substitute.”
“I love my mom so much… She’s been through too much for the sake of her family, but that’s just how she is; wife and mother first, and Wonderbolt second. Dad once said that her loyalty to her friends—the same sense of loyalty that I live by—was one of the reasons he fell in love with her. The way he put it was that she’s beautiful on the inside as well as the outside, and I totally agree with that.”
“Being the daughter of a Wonderbolt was awesome, just as I said before. I bragged about it constantly, which got everyone rather annoyed with me. There were many that expected me to be just as great, if not better, but there were also many that doubted me. I got a lot of my talent from my mom, and I was actually labeled a copycat for that.”
“The day I got my Cutie Mark will be a day that I’ll never forget. It all happened at Summer Flight Camp; if I’m not mistaken, it was around the time we had bumped into each other that one time.”
“You already had your Cutie Mark when I saw you that day,” Soarin recalled, releasing Rainbow from the comforting embrace the two shared, “so this is something that happened before our chance encounter.” He made himself comfortable in the grass. “You’ve got my attention, Rainbow; go right ahead.”
“It started as a normal day; I got up and had some morning lessons. After that, we had some free time; I used that time to just fly around and stuff. Then, I noticed Fluttershy was practicing something; I didn’t catch all of it, but apparently, it was yet another epic fail for her. Suddenly, I hear voices below, and I get curious. I look down, and there’s Fluttershy being harassed by a couple of the same creeps that bothered me.”
“I live by the rule that if you mess with my friends, you mess with me. I wasn’t about to just hang back and let Fluttershy get picked on, so I swooped down and told them to leave her alone. They weren’t afraid, but neither was I. They ended up challenging me to a race; they were hoping to shut me up and humiliate me. It didn’t work.”
“Let me guess,” Soarin smirked, “you flew circles around them.”
“They certainly learned not to mess with me,” Rainbow laughed. “Actually, after the race started, one of them tried to knock me off-course. I didn’t take too kindly to that, so I got my wings going as fast as I could, and soon, I’m going faster than I had ever flown before, but I was far from done. I keep going, and suddenly, it feels like the wind is trying to restrain me, and I can literally see the air resistance around me. That was the first time I did the sonic rainboom, and that was when I had truly discovered my need for speed and I loved it.”
“The sonic rainboom earned me my Cutie Mark, it won me that race, and it got a lot of attention directed my way. Later that day, I noticed that Fluttershy had also got her Cutie Mark. We both wrote home about it and had our own little celebration. My parents were so proud of me because I did so much; I stood up for Fluttershy, I made a legend come true, and I had my Cutie Mark.”
“So you were more or less on top of the world,” Soarin noted.
“Yep,” Rainbow replied. “If anything, it stopped the ‘copycat’ taunts, and it had made me into a living legend.”
“The day I got my Cutie Mark was far from legendary,” Soarin confessed, “but it was still memorable.”
“What happened?”
“I was hanging out with Spitfire and some other friends; just killing time, really. I was trying to mimic a Wonderbolt trick I had just saw, and possibly put my own spin on it. Long story short: I didn’t replicate that trick, but I did manage to create a rather nasty lightning storm to the dismay of everyone in the area.” He laughed at the memory. “That bright idea earned me my Cutie Mark, and there was much rejoicing…by my family, at least.” He laughed again. “My friends didn’t really like me for celebrating their potential ends. ‘Oh, hey, Soarin, nice Cutie Mark. Too bad we’re all dead now!’”
“I’ll bet Spitfire never let you live that down,” Rainbow laughed.
“You’d win that bet,” Soarin replied. “Whenever I’m asked a Cutie Mark question, Spitfire likes to jump in and mention how I earned mine by causing a lightning storm. The look on her face is priceless…”
“So what did you do after getting that picture with my mom?”
“I just kept focusing on getting good enough to join the Wonderbolts. As you might expect, I was highly athletic, but not necessarily super competitive; that was Spitfire. I mostly ran track and lifted weights; actually made it to being captain of the varsity track team. But as much as I worked to keep myself in good physical condition, I also kept my social life going.”
“I stuck by my friends, and did my best to keep up a good reputation; I wasn’t the guy everyone idolized, but I did have my friends, and I was OK with that. Unfortunately, as we all finished school, everyone except Spitfire moved away, and we eventually lost contact with each other.”
“Spitfire and I got into the Wonderbolt academy, and we passed with flying colors. We both made it in, and they ended up making Spitfire the captain after the last guy retired.”
“My mom’s replacement,” Rainbow noted, “Solar Flare—I liked that guy, actually. He started the same time Mom did, but he always seemed to get the short end of the deal. He was usually the last one to get promoted, and he wasn’t even considered for the captain’s seat. That guy worked his tail off to give the fans a good show; sometimes, he’d dedicate a performance to someone he knew, and he was no stranger to improvising.”
“I have a picture of him,” Soarin smiled, “signed, of course.”
“Who doesn’t?” Rainbow laughed. “He would sometimes offer ideas for a new show, whether they were his, or something a fan wanted to see. When my mom retired, Solar was her first pick for the captain’s seat. The first show he led was dedicated to Mom as thanks for being such a great friend and leader.”
“Spitfire’s a good leader, but she isn’t necessarily a good captain; you’ve seen that yourself. Sometimes, that desire to be the best clouds her judgment, like with Lightning Dust. That was embarrassing… Your mother was never that blind, and neither was Solar.”
“Mom didn’t think Spitfire would last very long as captain. She runs the team well, but that ‘blindness’ and clouded judgment you mentioned has always been one of her major flaws; I didn’t think it was that bad, but Mom did. She also thinks Spitfire has a tendency to get a little too arrogant.”
“Yikes! Remind me never to let those two meet…”
“Yeah…”
“So how did you occupy yourself?”
“After I got my Cutie Mark, I was living the dream, or so I thought. I ended up getting lazy and careless, and my bragging got out of control, but I was way to proud to admit that. Just as fast as my fame hit me, it disappeared. I was constantly being asked about the sonic rainboom, but when I couldn’t repeat it, everyone started to turn on me.”
“They accused me of faking the whole thing, and they even went as far as suggesting my mom set the whole thing up. I was desperate to prove them all wrong; I was determined to do another rainboom, no matter what it took. I became…almost suicidal, for lack of a better term.”
“It was this new level of recklessness that caused them to start calling me things like ‘attention seeker’ or ‘Wonderbolt reject’…” Rainbow took a moment to wipe tears from her eyes. “I was viewed as so much of a threat and a delinquent, that I was kicked our of Summer Flight Camp. My parents were furious.”
“The next year, my parents put me through Junior Speedsters Flight Camp. I met a griffin named Gilda, and she became my only real friend there. I no longer associate with Gilda; she and I parted ways after Junior Speedsters, and she randomly showed up in Ponyville to catch up, but she was no longer the kind of friend I wanted. She treated everyone like dirt, when they were just trying to be nice.”
“After I got out of Junior Speedsters, I just focused on finishing school. Mom’s accident caught us off-guard. Some of the kids that taunted me had the nerve to…make fun of her. I got into multiple fights over it, but as Mom got better, so did I.”
“I finished school, moved to Ponyville, and started from scratch. With the exception of Fluttershy, I had some new friends, a new home, and a new life. I got comfortable with the way things were here, but I never forgot my parents. Sometimes, I’d fly to Cloudsdale for the weekend, and the three of us would go watch the Wonderbolts perform or something.”
“Things were calm, for the most part, but then Twilight showed up, and we got the Elements of Harmony. That was when we dealt with Nightmare Moon. It just happened to be the Summer Sun Celebration, and Twilight was sent to check on the preparations. She knew about Nightmare Moon, and it was a good thing she did, because otherwise, who knows where Princess Luna would be?”
“After that, we had accepted the hero role. We dealt with Discord, helped clear the changeling invasion in Canterlot, helped restore the Crystal Empire, and did some other cool stuff. Pretty much all that’s left is my nomination into the Wonderbolts.”
“That’s awesome,” Soarin noted. “No doubt your parents are proud of you. I know that my parents are proud of me.” He stood up and looked toward the sky.
“My parents are proud,” Rainbow agreed. “I just wonder what Dad’ll say when Mom tells him about you. I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up getting a letter or a visit from Dad.”
“Well, keep in touch, Rainbow; with them and with me.” He smiled at Rainbow Dash. “I should get going; don’t want Spitfire to worry.”
“Right; take care of yourself.”
“You, too. Our next shows are in Manehattan, so it might be a while before you and I see each other again, but I will write to you. Any time you’d like to hang out or something, just let me know.”
“Definitely! I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you and hanging out again, for sure. Good luck out there!”
After the two exchanged a quick hug, Soarin was in the sky and headed for Canterlot. As Rainbow Dash watched him leave, she looked ahead to when she would see him again. When Soarin was fully out of sight, Rainbow returned home.