"Come on Rainbow Dash! We're going to miss the show at this rate!"
"C'mon Scoots, do you really think I would let us miss an airshow by the Wonderbolts?" Asked Rainbow Dash, continuing to flap at a steady pace towards the cloud coliseum.
"But if we don't hurry then we won't get good seats, and then we won't be able to see the show as well!"
Rainbow chuckled slightly "Aren't you forgetting who got the tickets? I've saved the Wonderbolts on multiple occasions and their pie once. They're sure to give us good seats regardless of when we arrive."
Scootaloo grinned in anticipation, her wings buzzing with excitement as she and Rainbow Dash joined the crowd of ponies waiting to get in.
"Spitfire, it's nearly time to start. Are you ready?"
Soarin slowly pushed open the door to the changing room where Spitfire was. Ever since they had lost Scootaloo, Spitfire would take some time before every show to focus on the stunts for the show so that she could try to forget about their loss, even if it was just for the duration of the show. Scootaloo had been missing and given up for dead nearly two years ago,and since then, Spitfire had tried to hide her grief behind training and her drill instructor attitude. But every so often, especially before shows, her facade would slip and she needed time to be alone and grieve without anypony knowing.
As the door opened fully, Spitfire stood and walked towards Soarin, her mouthed twisted in the drill sergeant scowl she usually wore.
"Of course I'm ready, Soarin. I was just going over the stunts in the routine one last time." She said, gesturing towards her clipboard with a wing.
Soarin nodded. "Of course. I just wanted to make sure you knew we were starting soon."
Spitfire nodded sharply. "Thank you Soarin," she said before trotting quickly towards the tunnel that led into the coliseum.
Soarin sighed and followed her, staying a few tail lengths behind her so she could be alone with her thoughts.
The crowd roared as Spitfire dove towards the ground, then pulled up; cutting the 'X' Soarin and Fleetfoot had made in half. She banked sharply, joining the other two in formation for their next stunt.
Flying helped her deal with the loss of Scootaloo. The intense concentration on the stunts and the extreme speed and G-forces were enough to push away the grief for a few hours at least.
Spitfire dove again, in tight formation with her teammates as the soared towards the crowd. Her eyes flew over the crowd, seeing all the ponies' smiling faces and cheering. Her eyes caught the glimpse of a Rainbow colored mane and she smiled, remembering Rainbow Dash at the Academy, how well she had flown.
Spitfire's eyes slid to the left and saw a filly with a purple mane and tail and an orange body cheering loudly, her tiny wings buzzing happily.
The filly looked familiar, but for a moment Spitfire couldn't place her. Then it hit her like a water tower: The filly looked like Scootaloo.
Spitfire was momentarily shocked and overwhelmed by the wave of grief seeing this filly caused. She recovered quickly, but not quick enough. Her wing clipped Soarin's and they both spun in opposite directions.
They recovered quickly and joined Fleetfoot for a quick recovery lap around the coliseum.
"What happened?" Soarin called over the rush of the wind.
Spitfire hesitated for a moment before replying. "I saw a filly that looked like Scootaloo and got distracted for a moment."
Soarin considered this for a moment. "But it couldn't have been, could it?"
"No, of course it couldn't have been. Don't worry, it won't happen again."
Soarin looked at her with concern. "Okay, as long as you're alright."
"Of course I am, now focus. We have to finish this show." Said Spitfire as they finished their lap and started into the next stunt.
"That was so cool!!" Shouted Scootaloo as she and Rainbow Dash made their way through the massive crowd towards the exit. "Did you see when they made that dive and then looped around and did that- wow!" She shouted, overcome by how awesome the show had been.
Rainbow Dash grinned, remembering how much she had loved her first air show. "Told you you'd love a Wonderbolts airshow!"
Scootaloo nodded then hugged Rainbow Dash. "Thank you so much! I loved it!"
The two of them continued trying to head to the exit when Scootaloo noticed a sign. "Rainbow Dash, can we go meet them?" She asked, pointing towards a sign that announced 'MEET THE WONDERBOLTS HERE'.
Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Sorry kiddo, we have to catch the train or we'll have to get new tickets and we'll never make it through that crowd in time to still catch the train."
Scootaloo sighed, prompting Dash to smile and ruffle Scootaloo's mane, saying "Hey, I can introduce you to them some other time. And then you'd get to spend some actual time with them, instead of just a few seconds."
Scootaloo immediately perked up again "Okay, thanks Rainbow Dash!"
Rainbow laughed again at her excitement, intensely reminded of herself as a filly. A few minutes later, they were through the crowd and on the train back to Ponyville.