//------------------------------//
// 5. Hope is a Ray of Sunshine 
// Story: Ex-Wonderbolts new job 
// by Jetto 
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Chapter 5: Hope is a Ray of Sunshine

It didn't take a genius to figure out who this mysterious mare was. Even though Soarin was vague on the details regarding that part, Prince Blueblood had no troubles putting the pieces together. The lonely mare in the bar, drinking herself over her supposedly two-timing coltfriend, suddenly getting hit on by an unworldly charming stallion (this was a fact he could not deny), yet still refusing, despite heavy intoxication and emotional turmoil. Today, on the other hoof, she was the smiling and sober one, while Soarin was on the verge of collapsing under heavy, every bit justified, depression. Prince decided to stay quiet and see how things would develop from here.

"You don't seem too good," the mare started, curiously looking at Soarin's sad eyes "rough day, I assume?"

"You have no idea," he replied, concentrating his eyes on the glass of multicolored drink just served before him "Just... reality is catching up to me, but I'll be fine. Probably."

The mare looked at him and hummed, but after a short pause decided to shrug it away and didn't press the issue. This was not her reason for meeting him.
"If you say so. When I was looking for you, I realized I didn't even know your name..."

"Soarin." he admitted, allowing himself a weak smile at her. She nodded back.

"Sunny Rays," she replied, finally banishing the mystery for times to come "but yes, I know who you are. You probably don't realize it, but you're pretty popular these parts. Just ask for a tall, blue haired pegasi hunk and suddenly everypony is all over you. In a good way." she admitted with a giggle. Soarin couldn't help but smile as well. After a rough day like this one, even a simple compliment was enough to lift his spirit up several stories. Considering what happened back then and seeing her right now, he could tell where she was going with this speech.
"Anyway, I wanted to see you again to apologize for my earlier behavior. But more than that, I wanted to say... thank you!"

Soarin sighed with great relief. He definitely knew where this was going and what she was going to say, but it was good to know that his hunch was confirmed. He smiled and let her talk.

"Turns out, he wasn't cheating on me at all. That mare he was with... she was just a jeweler and she was making him a special order..." she turned towards him to showcase her chest, now adorned with a state of art silver necklace with a large topaz inside "...my engagement necklace!" she almost squealed the answer out, nearly crying from the joy, as she hugged her prize near her heart. 

Soarin nodded with a smile.
"Congratulations then, Miss Rays," 

"Not for much longer, though! I'll be changing my name soon." she quickly replied. It wasn't too often that ponies took new names after marrying their significant others. In fact, not many ponies even had last names to begin with, that was a tradition usually shared by nobles and wealthy families and even then not everypony was too keen on keeping the tradition alive. The sheer fact that Sunny Rays was ready for such ordeal spoke highly about the strength of their relationship. 

One toast later, once she calmed herself down, she changed her expression to a more serious one, as she pierced Soarin with a glare. After a short while, she finally asked.
"Why?"

Soarin blinked "Why what?"

"Back then, why did you help me?" she asked.

Soarin shrugged "I just... I dunno, I guess I just hate to live in a world where somepony is unhappy. Especially when I can do something about it." he proudly admitted. Sunny Rays nodded, not objecting that explanation, but she was far from done with her questions.

"Okay than, second question, if you don't mind me asking, that is?" she quickly asked, covering herself in a light blush. Soarin shook his head and prompted her to continue " You knew this was all a misunderstanding, right?"

"I suspected this was the case, yeah."

"How so?"

"Mostly because I knew who Miss Emerald Breeze was. I was lucky with that one, though. But," he looked her deep in the eyes "even if I didn't know her, I would've said the exact same thing," that declaration provoked an eyebrow raise from both the mare, and Prince Blueblood, who still carefully observed "do you know why?" he asked. Sunny Rays shook her head and waited impatiently for the answer.

"Because of..." he paused, prompting Sunny Rays to lean in closer "...your..." she gulped with anticipation, nodding to him to continue "...love!" he announced dramatically. 

She blinked "Love?"

"Love." he confirmed "Miss Sunny Rays, I might not look like it, but I don't really like to brag..."

"No way!" she deadpanned, rolling her eyes.

"...but I don't get shot down that easily. Laugh if you want to, but if I want some mare to be interested in me, I usually can do it no problems. Don't ask me how I do it, I just do. However, there are several exceptions. Like ginger maned ones..."

"What's wrong with gingers?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" he threw his hooves in the air, then slammed the counter "I just... I don't know, I try so hard but every single time, it just... ugh, it makes no sense! What's their deal? Seriously? It's just a mane color, there's no relation with their personality or biology, at least not that I noticed. Is this some kind of conspiracy against us, hunters? Is the entire Equestria plotting against handsome stallions interested in banging cute mares without any responsibilities tied to it? Since when is this a crime? The answer is IT'S NOT! I know, I checked the codex many times! I just want to bang a ginger mare at least once in my lifetime, is that too much to ask? ARGH!" he finished by downing the rest of his drink straight into his throat. Meanwhile, Sunny Rays waited patiently, wide eyed and spooked, but confused more than anything else. She waited a minute for Soarin's complexion to go back from steaming red to its original color before speaking again.

"You're feeling better now?" she asked carefully.

"Yes... a little bit." he answered, still fuming from the recent rant. He coughed and continued "Anyway, aside from, ekhem, 'gingers', the most common reason I'm rejected, is because of love. Or to be precise, if someponys love is strong enough, there's no way any hunter could force their way through it. That day, you were very drunk and defenseless, yet still had the strength to reject me. That in itself speaks volumes of your dedication. And he seemed like a nice stallion from your stories. You could either break up and lose him forever, or cause a lot of fighting before misunderstanding is cleared up... or you could do nothing and trust my hunch."

"So all of this... was just your hunch? I could've made a big mistake by not acting, because you had a hunch?"

"It's hard to explain, but yeah, there's no other way to judge it. If love made sense, they'd have an university dedicated to it already, now wouldn't they?"

Sunny Rays opened her mouth and raised a hoof, but paused and thought about it "That..." she said, scratching her head "... kinda makes sense, in a twisted sort of way. I can't argue with that." although she could, since there were already many theories and science publications of said topic. None was even close to figuring it out.

"And even if I was wrong," he shrugged "this is something you had to deal with eventually anyway. I'm glad it turned out fine though. One depressed pony in a bar is more than enough."

"Speaking of which, what exactly did you mean by 'reality catching up'? Maybe I can help you with that?"

Soarin shrugged. Not like there he had anything to hide.
"I need a job, but Ponyville has none. So no, not really. Unless you're hiring."

"No, I'm not. Sorry."

He sighed yet again. Just when he thought some liquor and a nice conversation could make his problems go away, they tumbled right back and hit him just as hard as before. The conversation stopped, as they sat in awkward silence, sipping their drinks right after Soarin got himself a second one. It would seem like this was going to be the end the entire evening, but once again, fate said otherwise.

"Hey dude, where ya been yesterday?" asked a familiar voice of a pony that just approached him. Soarin turned to see Hemp Leaf, his faithful disciple, a pony of questionable talents and hobbies, but honest heart. His companions in crime, Poindexter and Bulk Biceps, were also nearby "We were like, totally in a pinch there! We thought you abandoned us, man!"

"YEAH!" agreed Bulk Biceps.

"Speak for yourself," protested Poindexter, the forever acne faced slim nerd, a rather non-charming fellow at first glance, but a true treasure of a friend once you get to know him better "I had it all under control yesterday!" he admitted, beaming proudly.

"Dude, she, like, splashed a beer into your face!"

"Pfft, details. It's the experience that matters the most and I gathered almost enough to go up a level soon!” a short pause “And it was a bourbon!"

"Umm, dude, this is a one story building! You can't go up a level, there isn't like, any."

"T-that's not what I meant!" protested the nerd.

"I think," interjected Soarin "he means becoming better at something by doing it."

"YEAH!

"Oooooooh!" Hemp Leaf nodded "Why didn't you say so, man?"

"YEAH!"

Poindexter deadpanned at his friends before facehoofing "...I'm surrounded by idiots!" he mumbled under his nose.

"YEA-- hey!"

Soarin chuckled at them. Even though they were only slightly younger than him (yes, even Bulk, much to his shock), they still felt like a group of undisciplined, inexperienced foals with great potential, that he, as their mentor and teacher, had to groom into fine stallions. It was a long road, bumpy one with lots of trials, errors and bruises (literal and metaphorical), but one that they all looked forward to. Or at least, he hoped he could keep up with it, considering what his life would become eventually. Long working hours, exhaustion and low pay. Would that be enough to cover this lifestyle anymore? Keeping up with his friends in Ponyville, these three and still finding time for himself suddenly seemed like a true challenge he might not endure. He heard about tough adult life while growing up, but never got a taste of what that truly meant. Was this it? It kinda sucked, but that's life for a pony who always had everything. Well, not everything, but a lot anyway. That, or he was just over dramatizing the situation.

"Yo boss, you listenin'?" asked Hemp Leaf, pulling Soarin out of his contemplations.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, I kinda dozed of."

The trio exchanged glares, than looked at Saorin.
"Are you okay?" asked Poindexter, others nodding as well.

"Yeah, sure I'm fine..." he said, not believing it himself. They didn't seem like ones to buy it either "... well, not really. It's a long story."

He didn't want to pass his depression around, but they did not seem like a bunch that would give up that easily, so reluctantly he told them everything. About the rent, his awesome and broke roommates, the situation in Ponyville and future prospects of working on an assembly line, which he was not thrilled about. And unfortunately, none of them knew any other place that would be able to hire him instead, only further cementing his not so bright future. From the looks of it, they felt sorry and offered their help if need be, further proving to be a great bunch which he was proud to call his disciples and friends. 

"Bummer, man..." Hemp Leaf said "but, you know, we're still gonna go hunting, yeah? We have so much more to learn, yo!"

"Hemp, his life is hanging on a thread and all you think about is getting laid?" asked Poindexter, looking accusatory at his friend. He shrugged.

"Well yeah, I can't really go upstairs without his help, you know."

"It's up a level, you dolt!" said Poindexter.

"That too!" added Hemp Leaf, prompting a facehoof from his friends and a stiffed laughter from Soarin. He couldn't help but smile, despite everything. How could he not, surrounded by such good friends (despite that whole broken bottle incident)? He waved his hoof to calm them down.

"Everything will be fine. Just remember what I told you and keep trying, I know you can do it without my help." he reassured them, though it didn't sound nearly as convincing as he wished it to be.

"But still, man," Hemp Leaf started "it won't be the same without you."

"True." Poindexter nodded.

"YEAH!"

"How much bits would you pay for that?" suddenly asked Prince Blueblood.

"GAH!" the trio of stallions suddenly gasped and stepped back, as they noticed Prince for the first time "Woah, bogus! When did you get here?" asked Hemp Leaf, still breathing heavily.

Blueblood rolled his eyes "I was here from the beginning," he answered "but never mind that, how much would you pay for Soarin's help?" he asked once again. Before any of the three could answer, they were interrupted by a hoof slamming the counter. Soarin wasn't amused by that question. He was rarely seen angry and this felt like it was the closest they ever seen him be.

"I will NOT take any money from my friends!" shouted Soarin "No you, not them or anypony else. Do I make myself clear?" 

Prince didn't even flinch at that "I'm not telling you to," he rolled his eyes, then turned back to his three disciples "all I was asking, was how much is his help worth to you? I heard all the stories and as far as I can tell, he turned..." he started pointing his hoof at each of them "... a nerd, a stoner and a giant lump of muscles, into half-decent if inexperienced stallions, all in the span of three days!" there was a short pause, before he realized something how bad it sounded, he added "No offense."

"Nah bro, it's cool." Hemp admitted, waving his hoof.

"We were kinda lame before he appeared." added Poindexter, scratching his head as he averted from Prince's gaze.

"YEAH!" Bulk added, also turning his head away.

"So how much would that be worth?" Prince asked them "Two nights, around seven hours total, hmm... something around 200 bits, divided by three," he closed his eyes to make some more calculations in his head "yes, that sounds about right. And that's including a huge discount. Of course, that's not final, I'm just not sure how much you should charge for these."

Soarin blinked. Gauging friendly advice and tips on dating in terms of bits was a concept so alien to him, he half assumed Prince Blueblood to be joking. But then again, even he didn't have a sense of humor twisted enough to imply such outrageous ideas, especially given the circumstances. And that knowledge alone scared him more than anything right now.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"All I'm saying is that if you're good at something, you might as well get paid for it."

Confusion rose with every word he heard "There's no way..." he started slowly, but was quickly cut of.

"It's called 'Matchmaking', or 'Matrimonial Consultation' or whatever fancy word you make up for your own brand. It's fairly popular in Canterlot and Manehattan, especially among the less sociable types that have worked hard to obtain a considerable income, but lack certain skills that they did not learn during their college years," his eyes slowly shifted at the 'Disciple Trio', as all three of them smiled sheepishly, nervously whistling while averting their eyes "it's a legitimate business, so long as you keep it clean of course. And the best part is, there are no certificates, no schools or any other requirements other than having to be good at it."

Soarin opened his mouth to counter his friends suggestion, but no sound came out as he realized that there was nothing he could say. He turned away from Blueblood and locked his eyes into first object he could, which ended up being an empty glass of his drink. The thought of using his hunting skills to gain money was preposterous and evil, at least that's how he always imagined it. Back in the Everfree forest when they encountered the 'dream ghost', it made him realize his worst fear. The fact that hundreds of mares wanted him dead wasn't the scary part, but rather the fact that there could, sometime, somehow, be a reason for anypony to hate him. That in living his life, he could leave somepony hurt. He heard stories of those like him, stallions that used their wit and charm to get everything, from bits, power, trust, all because they could manipulate a gullible, lovestruck rich mare. He vowed to himself that he would never become 'that guy', which meant separating his love life and work as much as possible. Some would call it naive and idealistic. Soarin called it 'the right way'.
But matchmaking... that was something that never occurred to him. He knew there were ponies who lived by giving paid advice, but he never liked that idea. Love wasn't supposed to be a commodity bought by bits, it was a privilege for everypony no matter the age, gender, social status or wealth. Paying for it seemed wrong... is what he would normally say, but life taught him something. 

Sometimes, no matter how true or powerful it is, even love needs some help. 

"I don't know," Soarin finally spoke "it doesn't feel right..."

"What doesn't feel right?" asked Prince Blueblood, smug as always "The fact that there are countless mares and stallions waiting for their special someponies? The fact that there are those who need help, while others don't? The fact that they would pay any amount to have somepony give them some hints? Or maybe the fact that the most knowledgeable 'hunter' in entire Equestria might spend the rest of his life rolling paper on an assembly line?"

"That's not what I..."

"Besides, how can you make everypony happy when they don't even know you can?" asked Prince "Look, do I have to keep on giving you more reasons? Because I'm very bad at motivational speaking."

"Sorry, I'm just not convinced. I never wanted to earn money like... like this!"

"And I never wanted to live in a farm town surrounded by a bunch of good friends," he shrugged "but I'm being too pushy here. After all, it's your life and I can't tell you what to do. Just say no and we will drop this topic immediately."

Prince wasn't surprised in the slightest when Soarin said nothing. Whatever his friend thought right now, he sounded like he wanted to convince himself that this was a bad idea, even though there were no real reasons. He just needed one more push, something to help him spell it out and be done with it already. He looked over the Disciple Trio and waited. The three whispered something among themselves and soon after approached their teacher.

"After some debating, we reached an agreement," said Poindexter, as he reached for a small bag and put it on the counter "we thank you for doing business with you and look forward for future cooperation." he said gladly, while the other two nodded vigorously. Soarin looked a the small pouch, no doubt filled with exactly 200 bits. His eyes and mind went to and from the bag, each of his disciples and finally, to Prince Blueblood himself. Eventually, he sighed and asked.

"Do you really think I can pull it off?" he asked Prince Blueblood. Prince rolled his eyes in response.

"Would I spend five minutes convincing you if I didn't believe it?"

"And what if it fails?"

"Then in far future you will be able to tell your grandfoals that you gave it a try."

He chuckled. That was all Soarin had to hear. Like many of his favorite comic book heroes, he had a great power in his hooves, one that could be misused to cause great evil... but also to help many ponies if used responsibly, like he already did. And if it came to the worst, he could just quit anytime. And who knows, this might be what he was always looking for.

"But I don't know anything about starting a business!" he quickly realized "Where do we even begin?"

"I think I can help you with that!" suddenly announced Sunny Rays, still sitting next to Soarin all this time.

"GAAH!" the disciple trio yelled and stepped back, as they finally noticed her at the counter "When did you get here?" asked spooked Poindexter. She rolled her eyes as Prince explained.

"She was here from the beginning," Prince facehooved "what is wrong with you guys, really?"

Sunny Rays giggled as she shook her head 'It's fine. I think I should introduce myself properly," she reached for her hoofbag and took out a small business card, then handed it to Soarin "Sunny Rays, from 'Sun Ray Start-ups'."

"Start-ups?" asked Soarin, with everypony else being as curious. She coughed and explained.

"You see, that's my special talent," she pointed at her cutie mark. Through dim lights of the bar, they managed to identify a picture of a small sun, with one ray shining upon the small flower. The fact that she let five single stallions check out her flank wasn't lost on them, as they covered themselves in a little blush. She continued.
"I have a knack for starting businesses. From the necessary paperwork, gathering funds from the government, insurance, advertising and all that boring stuff nopony cares about anyway. All of that for a small percentage of your profits for first two years. At your service!" she happily added.

The stallions, all five, looked at her, then carefully inspected the business card, which confirmed her claims. Everything seemed legitimate.

"Start-ups, huh?" asked Blueblood "That's a weirdly specific talent."

Sunny Rays rolled here eyes and pouted "Tell me about it. It took me forever to figure it out, even after I got my cutie mark."

Blueblood shrugged and put a hoof over Soarin's shoulder, then smiled "Well, if that's not a sign to start, then I don't know what is."

There was no turning back. Well, there was, but he didn't feel like it anymore. Only about ten minutes ago he would never imagine that not only would he get a better job, but start his own business to a boot. It was an intimidating thought, but looking at the happy faces of his friends, new and newer (hard to call anypony here an 'old friend'), he couldn't help but feel pumped as well. 
But first things first.

"Okay then, rule number one," he grabbed the bag of bits and threw it back at his disciples "my friends don't pay," he said proudly. He heard Blueblood's coughing, so he quickly corrected himself "until I'm open."