//------------------------------// // Party time! // Story: On a wing and a rainbow // by Killbles //------------------------------// "Congratulations Rainbow Dash, you are now officially a Wonderbolt!" announced Thunder Head excitedly. Thunder Head was one of the Pegasi on the selection board for the Wonderbolts and after seeing Dash's performance, he and the rest of the board of selectors had agreed unanimously agreed that Rainbow Dash was what they were looking for. She and two other entrants had been selected from the hundreds of ponies who had tried out almost a week ago. Earlier that morning, the team doctor had pronounced Rainbow fit for stunt flying and she had formalised her membership shortly after. She and the two other new recruits were now standing in Soarin's spacious office. Soarin and the new Vice-Captain, Juggernaut, were also present in addition to the board of selectors. Thunder Head handed her an official Wonderbolts uniform and a pair of stylised flight goggles to Rainbow before shaking her hoof. "Well done all of you, I hope the best for all of you in the future." He and other selectors shook the recruit's hoofs again before departing. "Alright, as you all undoubtedly know I'm Soarin and this is Juggernaut, or 'Jugs' as we like to call him" Said Soarin, "Juggernaut, as vice-captain, will be overseeing the initial stages of your induction. He is now your new best friend." Juggernaut smiled menacingly at this. He was a large charcoal grey Pegasus with unnervingly similar coloured eyes. His cutie mark was hidden by his uniform. Although Rainbow had never met him before he didn't look particularly friendly. 'He's probably like a nasty Drill-sergeant' she thought to herself. Taking this as his cue, Juggernaut took a step forward. "Recruits!" he barked, his voice laden with authority, "I am Juggernaut, I will be your flight and drill instructor for the duration of your indoctrination! While we are in session, you will speak only when spoken to, and the FIRST and LAST words out of your miserable, filth-encrusted pie-holes will be sir! Do you worthless maggots understand!" "Sir, yes sir!" they chanted. Rainbow noted with concealed amusement that Soarin's ears sprang up at the word pie. "Good! I do not want to repeat myself. Your first session will start tomorrow at 0500 sharp! I will not tolerate any late arrivals. Do I make myself clear?" "Sir, yes sir!" They chanted in unison again 'Cripes!' Dash thought to herself. 'Definitely Drill-sergeant nasty!' "So what do you think?" Soarin asked after the trio of recruits had left the room. He casually pulled a steaming hot pie out of the second drawer on his desk. "How did yo-" Juggernaut started but was cut off by Soarin. "Don't ask. I just pulled umm… Baked goods…Out of my desk. Deal with it." Juggernaut eyed him suspiciously. Accepting that he wouldn't get a logical explanation from the pie-loving Pegasus he voiced his opinion. "This lot will be good fun to train up. They all look like they are up to the challenge." "Good, good." Soarin said as he munched his pie. "Anything else?" "You've got a crazy taste in the ladies, sir." Juggernaut replied with a small grin. Soarin nearly spat out his pie in surprise. He managed to regain his composure and rounded on the grey Pegasus. "What?" he said incredulously. "I saw the way you were looking at that cyan mare. You've got a thing for her, right sir?" He gave Soarin a sly wink. "How would you know?" Soarin replied defensively. "I'm just god at reading ponies. Don't ask. Deal with it." Juggernaut replied with a trace of amusement in his voice. "Haha real funny, smart guy." Soarin replied sarcastically. Juggernaut snickered as he left the office, leaving Soarin in silence only broken an occasional munch as he devoured his pie. This is probably why he nearly hit the roof in surprise when a voice broke the silence. "Uh… Hi?" Rainbow said in confusion as Soarin nearly leapt out of his chair. "Oh sorry, is this a bad time?" She pawed the ground nervously. "Ah… Rainbow, you startled me." Said Soarin, his demeanour returned. "Can I help you?" "Umm… Well, one of my friends is having a party to celebrate me joining the Wonderbolts and I was wondering… would you want to go with me? I mean if you want…" She suppressed the urge to laugh at how much she sounded like Fluttershy. She would have never imagined that she would ever sound like her perpetually nervous friend. "What you mean like a date?" Soarin asked with a hint of amusement. "Wha- No!" replied Dash, a blush tinging her cheeks a light red. "You sure about that?" Rainbow mumbled something under her breath Soarin didn't quite catch. It almost sounded like a 'No', but he wasn't sure. He disregarded her apparent lack of silence. "Sounds good Rainbow, when is it?" She visibly perked up at his response. Some of her usual confidence seemed to return. "It'd be tomorrow night, is that still good?" "Sounds fun, I'll see you there." He gave her a wink and a small smile which caused her to turn a deep scarlet. She turned and left as quickly as possible with a quick 'thanks', trying unsuccessfully to conceal the source of her embarrassment. Soarin absentmindedly etched a small heart on his desk with a quill. "Oh Dashie… what am I going to do with you?" he muttered quietly. The craving for another pie suddenly filled his head. Looking around cautiously he leant over next to his desk. "Pie" he said quietly. Pulling open the second drawer with a deft motion he found another steaming hot pie waiting for him. "Works every time…" he muttered to himself before tucking in with unrestrained gusto. The next day arrived in a blur for Rainbow. She was up earlier than she ever had been before to be at training on time. She grumbled to herself as she flew towards the training arena. The sun had just started to rise above the horizon when she arrived. Although it was near the end of summer, the air was chilly and oddly refreshing. When she arrived at the arena, she saw the other two recruits there already. Juggernaut was nowhere to be seen. She landed gracefully and trotted over to the other two pegasi. One of them was a mare and one a stallion, the stallion had a coat of deep blue and a black mane, his cutie mark was the head of a lion. The mare on the other hand had a maroon coat and an ashy blue mane, her cutie mark was a single flame. Although she had seen them both before she had never talked to them and didn't know their names. "Hi, I'm Rainbow dash" she said as she approached them. "We know who you are." The stallion replied gruffly "You won the best young fliers competition a while ago." While he wasn't being outright rude, he wasn't being particularly friendly. The mare was much nicer though. "You'll have to forgive Silver pride. He's grumpy in the mornings. I'm Shadow Light by the way, but you can call me Torchie" "Why Torchie?" Rainbow asked her in confusion. "I'm good with fires and pyrotechnics. That's why I have a flame for a cutie mark." Rainbow shrugged. She'd heard worse names. "So you two know each other then?" "Me and Silver have been friends for a while. We went to school together and we kept in touch after we left. Don't ask how we both got through the selection process though. It was some miracle I reckon." "Well you must both be really good fliers to have been chosen." "Thanks, but I doubt we're as good as you. You've pulled off a sonic rainboom! I was there when you did that, it was amazing!" Torchie replied with excitement. Silver looked slightly less happy with what she said but kept his opinion to himself. "Uh-oh Look sharp," Rainbow muttered as she saw Juggernaut soar over the lip of the arena. "Here comes the hurt." The three of them spread out in a line and stood at attention as Juggernaut landed in front of them. "Good morning recruits!" barked the grey Pegasus. "Today, we will be commencing your indoctrination into the Wonderbolts. Now you've obviously got some talent or the selectors wouldn't have chosen you, but frankly I don't give a damn if you can do a triple inverted summersault while doing a barrel roll, to me you are a raw recruit, fresh out of flight school! We will be covering everything from basic flight all the way up to advanced team manoeuvres! I expect great things out of you, everything will perfect up to my standard! I don't care if you think it's good enough, it's good enough when I say so! Do I make myself clear?" "Sir, yes sir!" "Good! From this moment on, you are now part of a team! You must learn to act and think as one. To help with this, you will no longer refer to yourselves as 'I' or 'me'. You will refer to yourselves as 'This recruit'. This will force you to think as a group rather than yourself. Any questions?" "Sir, no sir!" "Good! To start off, ten laps around the track. Let me say you don't want to finish last." The running lead into calisthenics, then flight drills, then more running, then more calisthenics, then more flight drills, it seemed to just go on forever. Rainbow was relieved when Juggernaut called an end to the activities. The sun had risen and was now high in the sky. Her muscles were burning and sweat poured off her body. Both Silver and Torchie were in similar states. Although Juggernaut had been joining them in all their exercises and drills, he appeared no different to when he had arrived this morning. Rainbow marvelled at the hunky Pegasus' endurance. "Fall in recruits!" he barked. They quickly assembled in front of him. They had quickly learnt that any instructions were to be obeyed immediately. "Good work! While you have not exceeded my expectations, neither have you failed them! Your next training session is in three days, until then this is a regime you should follow to maintain and improve your endurance and strength." He handed each of them a few pages of text. "In addition, you will study the material provided on weather patterns. You will be quizzed at our next session. Any questions?" "Sir, no sir!" "Good! Dismissed." With that he left the arena with a couple of strong wing beats, leaving the trio of recruits to their own devices. 'This recrui- I reckon he's crazy…" Said Silver bluntly. "He's like a machine" agreed Torchie The trio stood there for a moment nodding in agreement. Although Dash had only known Silver and Shadow for a few hours, she felt strong bond with them already. "Are you guys doing anything later?" "Not really. Why?" asked Torchie "One of my friends is throwing me a party, would you want to come?" "Sounds fun! Where is it?" replied Torchie gleefully. "Bakery in Ponyville called Sugarcube Corner" "We'll be there! Won't we Silver?" Torchie said. Silver looked less than happy with her making decisions for him. "Yeah, whatever." He grumbled. A jab to the ribs from Torchie forced a smile onto his face. "I mean…uh, Sounds fun." "Cool! I'll see you guys later then!" Rainbow grinned and took flight, her wings throbbing after the intense training session. She did a lazy spin in the air, relishing the freedom she had after the oppressive training session. She had been flying for a few minutes when a yellow Pegasus slotted in right next to her. "Hello Rainbow Dash." Said Spitfire ""Spitfire" Rainbow replied coldly. Although she had no proof that the yellow Pegasus had tried to hurt her, she didn't trust her old hero anymore. "I see you just had training. Don't tell me Soarin had Juggernaut training you? That big grey oaf is practically useless." Rainbow glared daggers at Spitfire. It seemed that Spitfire wasn't afraid of voicing her opinion of her teammates, at least in private anyway. "What do you want Spitfire?" Rainbow growled, she considered flying faster and leaving the fiery Pegasus behind but decided against it, Spitfire obviously wanted something with her. "Nothing… Nothing… I just wanted to congratulate you on your success with Soarin." She said in a voice so sweet it made Rainbow want to puke. "I have no idea what you are on about." Rainbow feigned "Oh please, I know it all. But YOU. Are. Going. Too. Far. Back off, he's mine. Don't you dare try anything." She made a threatening gesture. "Or else." Rainbow would have never admitted that she was slightly frightened by her. Spitfire gave shoved her violently before vanishing in a blur. "Ok… She's officially crazy" Rainbow said aloud to herself. The evening rolled around quickly, the encounter with Spitfire put Rainbow slightly on edge. She was momentarily surprised when she heard the knocker on her door rap. She opened the door to reveal Soarin holding a white rose in his mouth. "Hi, Raanmow!" he said through the flower. Rainbow couldn't help herself from giggling at him. "I've never been one for flowers Soain, but it's very nice. Thank you. She blushed slightly as she took the rose from him and placed it in a vase. "Are you ready to go?" he asked, his mouth now free of the flower. "Yeah, let's go." They jumped off the cloud and plunged a short distance before taking flight. A few lights in the distance marked their destination. "Hey Soarin, wanna race me there?" "Yeah, you're on!" "3…2…1… GO!" yelled rainbow quickly. She shot of the mark immediately, with Soarin close behind her. She laughed as she drew ahead of the stallion, leaving a rainbow trail behind her. Soarin flew through the rainbow trail and suddenly gagged as he inhaled the spicy trail. Rainbow laughed louder. The race forgotten, they hung in the air laughing hysterically at Soarin's misfortune. They suddenly remembered they were supposed to be racing each other and shot off again towards the town. "I still reckon I won." Said Soarin impassively, as they covered the last few meters on foot. "As if. I clearly won. I was miles ahead of you slow-poke." Rainbow teased back. "You say that. You'd just never admit you lost." "Whatever." Rainbow pouted. Soarin brushed up against her friendlily to show he was just teasing. Rainbow loosened up a bit. They approached the door which had a large banner hanging from it. The banner depicted Rainbow in a Wonderbolts uniform with a large rainbow trail behind her. The loud noise of conversation and laughter came through the open door. "Ladies first." Soarin said, gesturing to the door with a hoof. Rainbow walked inside and was surprised to see the vast majority of Ponyville present. Somehow alerted to Rainbow's presence, Pinkie Pie jumped up on a table sending a tray of muffins flying, much to the distress of Derpy. "Everypony! RAINBOW IS HERE!" Pinkie yelled out. A sudden silence filled the room as everypony looked at her and Soarin standing in the door. "WOOOOO! Go Rainbow Dash!" yelled Derpy through a mouth full of muffins. Following her cue, the remainder of the room broke down into cheers and applause. "Aww… Thanks guys." Said Rainbow slightly embarrassed by the warm reception. The assembled ponies cheered and returned to their conversations. Soarin nudged Rainbow gently and she trotted inside. She threaded her way through the crowd towards some of her friends near the drinks table. "Hi Rainbow!" said Twilight as she neared them. "Hey girls." She said. She grabbed a cup of punch from the table and sipped it experimentally. "Good party?" "I think Pinkie dear has outdone herself" Rarity remarked. Rainbow looked around for the pink party pony and saw her bouncing around excitedly in the middle of the room. She suddenly bounded towards a pair of pegasi who had just entered. "Oh dear…" remarked Rainbow. "I'll be right back, gotta go save some friends from Pinkie…" She wriggled her way back through the packed room and burst out next to Pinkie who was by now, thoroughly scaring the new arrivals. "Hey Pinkie I know you're excited, but would you mind not scaring them off?" "Oh hey Rainbow! Do you know Silver and Shadow? We just met and I was just telli-" Rainbow shoved a hoof in her mouth to shut her up. "Sorry about that, Pinkie can get… excited when she meets new ponies." She smirked. "To say the least." Pinkie mumbled in agreement through Rainbow's hoof. Rainbow led Silver and Shadow through the crowd back to where her friends were. She introduced the two new Wonderbolts to the rest of her friends. Silver had become a lot more amicable since their last encounter and was getting along well with her friends, while Shadow's slightly more eccentric personality seemed to be in tune with Pinkie. If slightly less crazy. She absentmindedly wandered over to the food table where Derpy was demolishing the last of the muffins with gusto. "Heya Rainbow." She said when she noticed her. "You enjoying the party?" "Yeah, it's great. You enjoying your muffins?" "MUFFINS!" Derpy yelled needlessly before chomping down on another one with a contented smile. She munched cheerfully for a moment "Hey isn't that stallion over there a Wonderbolt? What's he doing here?" "I invited him" "That was nice of you, he's cute." She said. She grabbed another muffin and gulped it down. "Yeah… Thanks." Said Rainbow awkwardly. She wandered away before the ditzy Pegasus could say anything else. A beautiful slow track started playing as she meandered her way through the crowd aimlessly. "Hey Dash, want to dance?" came a voice from behind her. She turned around to see Soarin seemingly materialise out of thin air. He offered a hoof to her. After a moment of hesitation she took his hoof and let him lead her to the dance floor. They slowly swayed to the music. Rainbow snaked her head around Soarin's neck and gently laid her head on the back of his neck. She felt him momentarily tense up for a moment but he relaxed and returned the gesture. She felt him quietly hum along to the music, a gentle thrumming that tickled her throat. They moved to the slow beat of the music, lost in their own world. On the edge of the dance floor Twilght prodded Rarity. "Hey look at Dash!" she said with a barely suppressed squee of joy. The pair of unicorns let out a soft 'Aww' as they watch Soarin and Rainbow Dash dance together. "That is just simply adorable." Said Rarity quietly, as if her voice would break some sort of spell on the entwined pegasi. As the song ended, Rainbow broke the contact with Soarin reluctantly. She took a step back from him. She looked up at him only to find him staring back at her. Like two magnets, she slowly found herself drawn to him. 'Oh please, oh please, oh please…'she thought as the distance closed inexorably between them. Again she could feel his pleasantly warm breath washing over her. It made her feel all tingly and alive. Their nuzzles were about to touch when suddenly a pink pony burst in between them and grabbed them both in tightly and hugged them. "Here's to Dashie joining the Wonderbolts! Hip hip! Hurrah!" her cry was echoed by the room at large. Pinkie looked down at Rainbow who by now was glaring at the earth pony. "What? Did I interrupt something?" she said obliviously. Dash wriggled out of the tight hug and stomped off with a disappointed sigh 'Jeez! I can never catch a break!' she thought As the night progressed, the party intensified. Some liquor was brought out as the young colts and fillies either fell asleep or were taken home. The music was loudly blaring and Rainbow felt like her head might explode from the number of 'congratulations' she was getting. She was walking towards the drinks table when someone bumped into her. "Hey watch it." she yelled out. She didn't see who it was but was surprised when she turned back around to find a note attached to her cup. She took it off and read it quickly. 'Follow me' S. She scanned the room and say Soarin standing near the door looking at her. He made a small movement with his head before walking outside. Rainbow followed him. As she walked out the door unnoticed she saw him down the street waiting patiently. She quickly trotted over to him. "I see you got my message" he remarked/ "Yeah… Suppose I did." She pawed the ground nervously "I thought you could use a break from the party. You looked like you were going to explode or something." He smiled softly "Thanks." "Do you want to go for a quick fly? It's a beautiful night." He unfurled his wings and launched himself into the sky, Rainbow following him. They banked and wheeled around the sky playfully, zigzagging between tufts of cloud. Exhausted from the long day of Training and the party, Rainbow settled on a high cloud and faced the moon. A soft 'poof' announced Soarin landing next to her. He lay down next to her and stared at the moon. "You ok Dashie? You seem a bit distracted." Rainbow shivered at the use of her pet name, she wasn't used to the idea of him calling her 'Dashie'. She rolled over and looked at him. "I'm fine." She lied "Are you sure about that?" "Ok… fine… I kinda bumped into Spitfire after training. It's had me on edge all day." "I see." "What's with her anyway?" she asked "She seems… so possessive of you" Soarin blanched at the comment "Truthfully… Me and Spitfire have a bit of history together. We dated for a while a few years ago and we've kind of had an on-off thing ever since." Rainbow stared incredulously at him. "No way! How come nopony has ever heard of it then?" "I'm good at keeping my private life… private." Rainbow laughed at that "You're into the crazy mares aren't you? First Spitfire then m-" She quickly cut herself off before she finished the sentence "Pardon?" asked Soarin, his green eyes twinkling with amusement. "Uhh… nothing." Lied Dash, she buried her head in the cloud so Soarin wouldn't see her blush. "I do like you." She whipped her head up. "What?" "I like you." Soarin grinned "What?" Soarin didn't answer her again but instead leant in and kissed her. Surprise overwhelmed Dash and she was paralysed with a mixture or excitement and surprise. His lips were much softer than she thought was possible. As she overcame her shock, she stated kissing him back. They slowly drew apart and looked into each other's eyes. "I like you to" said Dash quietly. A huge grin spread to Soarin's face. He returned his gaze to the moon. Dash rested her head on his shoulder and followed his gaze. 'Best. Night. EVER!' she thought excitedly. High above the pair a yellow Pegasus snarled in fury. Spitfire had followed them discreetly from the party and had managed to observe them unnoticed. See took off in the direction of Canterlot, a howl of fury escaping from her. "What the hay was that?" asked Soarin, hearing a loud howl in the distance. "I don't kn-" Rainbow didn't finish her sentence. She saw a small yellow blur winging through the night sky away from them. "Uh-oh… This is gonna be bad."