“Alright, you maggots! Listen and listen good!”
It was late-morning in Ponyvile as Midnight wore his cap and whistle and walked in front of the ponies to represent Ponville in the Relay Race event: Rainbow Dash, Bulk Biceps, and Fluttershy.
“We’re all ears,” Fluttershy responded, “Right, everypony?”
“Are you kidding, `Shy?” Rainbow Dash shook her multi-colored mane confidently, “We are so on top of this, eh Bulk Biceps?”
The workout-aholic pegasus stallion was kissing his muscles when Fluttershy’s addressing him got his attention.
“Huh-huh-huh!! I’m all muscles! YEAH!”
“Good attitude, Bulk Biceps,” Rainbow raised a brow and smirk only for Midnight to speak again.
“But it’s gonna take a lot more than muscles and ‘yeah’s to get Ponyvlle into the Equestria Games. You guys are the aerial relay team ergo it’s your job to insure we qualify at the tryouts, and I’m sure I needn’t remind you all how much I-”
Midnight caught himself and noticed the others looking at him, making him clear his throat, “I mean… Ponyville wants to qualify for the games, uh heh…”
“Pbth, are you kidding, Midnight? With me on this team, it’s in the bag,” Rainbow waved it off with a wing.
“Oh yes, I really-really-really want to qualify for Ponyville,” Fluttershy said with sweet hopefulness.
“BRING IT ON!!” Bulk shouted and snorted, looking ready for anything.
“Gimme a ‘P’ for Ponyville!” Pinkie cheered, having popped out of nowhere and garbed in a cheer-leading outfit, with gold and pink ribbons in her mane and tail, waving her pompoms in the team’s faces.
“P… Ponyville!”
“P!!!” Bulk added with a smile, causing Pinkie to fall back from the force of his cheer.
“Oh thanks Pinkie Pie, that was a scar-” Fluttershy caught herself before correcting, “Uh… great cheer!”
“Just make sure you have one ready for when we qualify for the Aerial Relay,” Rainbow bragged.
“AND AFTER THAT, FOR WHEN WE WIN GOLD MEDALS AT THE EQUESTRIA GAMES!!” Bulk butted in.
“Okay, now can we-” Midnight tried to say as he wanted to get things back on track when they heard:
“Not so fast!”
They looked down the path to see her strapped to a wagonful of pastries, coming their way with a helpful smile, “If yer gonna be good, yer gonna be better with some o’ mah Apple Brown Bettys in yer bellies! They’re perfect.”
The team couldn’t deny the bettys looked quite delicious, when Pinkie popped out of them, yelling, “‘P’ for perfect!”
Midnight sighed as they all started snacking. Groaning impatiently, he yelled, “Relay Team, fall in!”
Startled by the harsh whistle that followed, the team dropped their bettys and hurried to stand in line in front of their coach.
“It’s time you all showed me what’cha got! Put some bend into those knees, flap those wings!”
Midnight flapped his own wings to get aloft, forcing his relay team to gaze up at his authority, “And I wanna see all four hooves off the ground at the count of three!”
Putting on their game faces, the team waited for Midnight to give the count, which he did rather quickly after a smirk, “1-2-3-GO!!!”
Unsurprisingly, Rainbow streaked up in a technicolored pillar that quickly faded while Fluttershy and Bulk weren’t exactly as quick, Fluttershy did okay, but Bulk Biceps’ beefy body strained his teeny wings a great deal that he grunted and growled with unrelenting effort just to get to Fluttershy’s level in altitude.
“Don’t forget to flap and breathe!” Midnight reminded and quickly regretted it as, for some reason, the moment Bulk exhaled he lost concentration in maintaining the rate of his flapping. As he went down, he frantically dragged Fluttershy down with him and Fluttershy 'eep'd as she quickly grabbed Midnight's tail-
“OOF!!”
Bulk accidentally belly-flopped on top of Midnight, Fluttershy’s front half trapped under his foreleg, her rear hooves flailing upwards. Rainbow Dash hovered just above them when Pinkie popped up, “P is for…”
“Psst,” Rainbow got Pinkie’s attention and shook no while Midnight just sighed.
At their house, Blueblood were having breakfast, Blueblood sipping his morning coffee as he looked over his morning paper.
“Mail-call!”
He looked to see the front door had opened to let in his roommate, Soarin, as the boisterous pegasus ambled in, having just returned from his morning flight. In his workout shirt was stowed a few envelopes as he came in and shook off the remaining adrenaline.
“Ah, Soarin, good workout?” inquired Blueblood with an amused raised brow while he levitated a plate of eggs, toast, and hay-bacon for his friend as Soarin sat down and slapped the mail onto the table.
“You know it, thanks,” Soarin scarfed down a few strips of hay-bacon before asking, “What’s on that rag that’s so interesting?”
“Oh, just skimming the real estate section,” Blueblood shrugged, “Since I plan to get more serious in my relationship with Rarity, I’m wondering if she would consider moving out of her boutique into a house with me.”
“Whoa-ho! That’s kind of a big next step, Blue, a house?” Soarin sipped some orange juice before looking at the mail.
“Well what about you?” Blueblood gave his roommate a teasing look. “How far have you taken it with Miss Rainbow Dash?”
“Huh... “ Soarin felt some of his enthusiasm deflate. “Honestly, Blue? … I’m wondering that myself.”
“Forgive me, I didn’t mean to rub any salt into a wound,” Blueblood felt concerned by Soarin’s tone.
“Oh it’s not bad! It’s… I dunno,” Soarin shrugged. “It just feels like Dash isn’t all that serious about it, and I get that she’s reluctant about ‘mushy stuff’ an’ all but-”
He stopped talking when he noticed among the postage an envelope bearing the official seal of the Wonderbolts and opened it.
“Yes?” Blueblood said to pro him along, only for Soarin to raise a fore-feather as if to say ‘just a minute’ as he read the message and Blueblood saw Soarin slowly become crestfallen.
The next day, at the Ponyville Train Station platform, Team Ponyville was preparing to leave for the tryouts, their coach, Midnight calling, “Alright, alright! Everypony on board! C’mon, c’mon, we haven’t got all day! Remember, this is our- Er! I mean… Your moment!”
As the team clambered on, Midnight muttered, “Stupid ‘no alicorns’ rule…”
“Hey coach!”
He looked to see Rainbow land in front of him, looking her confident self.
“Ready to blow some minds?”
“I will be when the whole team’s on board,” Midnight huffed.
“BTW, have you seen Soarin? I gotta tell ya, Midnight, I am stoked to be trying out for the games with Soarin!” Rainbow bounced on her rear hooves and threw some mock punches with her forehooves, her eyes narrowed with cockiness.
Her words however caused Midnight to look at her in confusion that made way for realization, She doesn’t know!
Then he said aloud, “Uh… Rainbow? About Soarin…”
“Yeah? What about Soarin?” Rainbow got down on all four hooves, not really noticing Midnight’s hesitant words.
“Well… y’see, he’s…” Midnight hated to rain on Rainbow’s parade when he saw his salvation fly down, “right-behind-you-see-ya-on-board!”
Rainbow was a little weirded out by Midnight’s quick exit but turned to see Soarin, saddlebags strapped to his barrel, an apologetic smile on his face.
“Soar!”
She went over and gave him a warm hug before doing her mock-punching the air thing again, “You ready to get your game on?! We’re gonna blow the competition away! Heh-heh, geddit? Blow? `Cause we’re pegasi?”
“Uh, heh-heh, yeah… good one, Dashie,” Soarin chuckled hesitantly and finally Rainbow noticed an odd lack of oomph in her Soarin.
“Soarin, what’s up? I thought you’d be psyched!”
“Uh, Dashie…? I’m not playing on Team Ponyville,” Soarin said sadly as he pulled out the message he got. “I got this summons from Spitfire - I’m to report to her once we arrive at Rainbow Falls; I’m flying for the Wonderbolts, who’re gonna represent Cloudsdale in the games…”
Rainbow was stunned. She’d been up late last night, so excited to be on the same team as Soarin, that she’d almost not gotten a wink of sleep! She’d imagined it, the both of them, stepping into the arena, the roar of the crowd cheering their names, the both of them would set the record for the fastest relay team in Equestria Games history!
“...No… big, Soar,” Rainbow forced herself to hide her disappointment. Maybe if she acted like it was no big deal, Soarin wouldn’t feel as bad.
“You’re still a Wonderbolt, so… You have an obligation to your team, I totally understand.”
“...Really?” Soarin looked surprised by how well Rainbow seemed to be taking this, and for a split second Rainbow couldn’t sworn she’d seen a flicker of disappointment in Soarin’s eyes.
“Well then… good luck to you, Dashie. And may the best flyer win.”
“You know it,” Rainbow and Soarin both spat on their hooves and bro-hoofed, and Soarin watched sadly as Rainbow boarded the train, feeling hurt.
She doesn’t care…? Soarin sighed morosely and boarded, deaf to his Ponyville friends as he went ahead to the cart in front of theirs.
Taking a seat, Soarin watched the passing scenery, feeling hurt. Seeing the foliage blur past until the flurry of motion became unbearable to even hi pegasus eyes. So he looked forward, his gaze falling upon a particular tree growing near the train tracks. He followed the tree, watching it slowly approach before it whisked by his window almost faster than his eyes could perceive, before gradually fading into the distance behind him.
Sighing, Soarin wondered, Was that life? One could look forward or back but the present moment moved quicker than one liked, preventing one from enjoying all there was to enjoy in the moment. Maybe it was, from time to time, and yet time stood still for nopony, and all one could do was live as best as one could before the moment was gone.
“Hey Soar!”
Soarin looked up to see, “Oh! Hey Thunder, Helia…”
Thunderlane was with his teammate, Helia, a light opal-coated pegasus with a golden mane, and a cutie-mark that was a raining cloud. Which was weird, because one time Soarin swore she’d had a sunflower for a cutie-mark. The both of them were a part of Team Ponyville’s Air Sprinters, but right now the both of them looked at the Wonderbolt with concern in their eyes.
“Are you okay, Soarin?” Helia asked. “I heard that you have to compete for Cloudsdale.”
“Bummer, I was excited to see you and Dash clean up on the Aerial Relay event!” Thunderlane sighed.
“I was too but… that’s not… what’s got the wind out from under my wings,” Soarin slumped in his seat.
“Dash… was like it was no big deal when I told her at the train station! We’d been looking forward to this for weeks and when it turns out it can’t happen she’s all ‘no big’?!”
“Huh, y’know that doesn’t sound like Dash to me,” Thunderlane considered, rubbing his chin with his forefeathers.
“Well, maybe she was just being understanding, Soarin,” Helia assured. “Nopony holds it against you; we understand your obligation to the Wonderbolts.”
“That’s what she said…” Soarin grumped, ignoring the stifled chuckle from Thunderlane while Helia elbowed him in the barrel for being crude.