//------------------------------// // A Crash Course // Story: Home Sweet Home // by ACTASAP //------------------------------// Even after her eyes had opened, Rainbow Dash still laid in place, waiting to fully wake up. Her thoughts drifted back to the waitress at Morrow’s Diner and how her family adored her. That wouldn’t be so bad if she wasn’t convinced that this mare had feelings for her husband. So she wanted to knock her down a peg in her family’s eyes by showing them that anything the waitress could do she could do better. The first thing she had to do was escape from the spooning position her still asleep husband held her in. She gently slid his left fore hoof off of her waist until it was resting at his side. The hard part was going to be getting out of his right fore hoof which lay underneath her and wrapped around her chest. She slowly peeled the hoof off her chest and then, after carefully grabbing a pillow, slipped out of his hoof and put the pillow in her place. Rainbow Dash took a moment to admire her work from the air. It was hilarious, and even a little cute, seeing Thunderlane snuggling with the pillow. She was tempted to plant a kiss on his forehead, but she knew that would probably wake him up. Instead, she silently flew out of the room and down the stairs, into the kitchen. She opened up a kitchen cupboard and searched through it’s contents, moving on to another one when she didn’t find what she was looking for. She ended up searching through four cupboards until she finally found her target, a box of pancake mix. Her son certainly seemed to love the pancakes he got at the diner yesterday, but Rainbow was willing to bet that they made them using a store-bought mix, and she was going to prove it. She looked to the side of the box to read the instructions and couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw how easy it looked, and she couldn’t help but chuckle. All she had to do was stir the pancake mix with some water and then pour it in a pan and let it cook, flipping them on occasion. How much more simple could it be?. -------- Thunderlane wasn’t sure why he was cuddling with his wife’s pillow but he put it back on her side of the bed. Just like yesterday, Rainbow was absent from the bed but he figured she was making some coffee before they went out for their morning flight. The dark gray stallion really wanted to go back to bed until his alarm went off, but that would just make it harder to get up later if he got too comfortable. The gray stallion forced himself out of bed and started to make his way downstairs. However, he stopped halfway down when he heard some grunting coming from the kitchen, followed by a string of expletives that made it easier for him to identify the voice as his wife’s. Thunderlane slowly crept down the stairs, careful not to make any noise, and peeked into the kitchen to see Rainbow standing in front of the stove. She was holding a spatula and it looked like she was trying to jam it into whatever was in the pan on the stove. “Rainbow, what are you doing?” A puzzled Thunderlane asked as he walked into the kitchen. Rainbow Dash froze in place for a brief moment before slowly turning to face him, looking like a deer in the headlights. “Hey, I was planning on surprising you and Silverwing by making breakfast…surprise,” she said with a nervous chuckle. “So what’s the problem?” Thunderlane asked, making Rainbow’s brows furrow. “The problem is that I can’t lift these stupid pancakes to flip them. I finally got the spatula underneath one but when I tried lifting it, that part of it just broke apart,” Rainbow complained before resuming to slip the spatula under the pancake. She was basically ramming into it at this point and using so much force that the pan was actually moving. Thunderlane placed a hoof over hers to stop her and he slowly turned her around so she could face him, while using his other hoof to turn off the burner. “Stop and calm down for a second before you end up hurting yourself. Instead of getting angry, try to think why this is happening. Did you cover the pan in butter or olive oil?” Thunderlane asked but Rainbow quirked her eyebrow. “No, why would I do that?” she asked with a slightly snarky tone. “Because that’s what you do to prevent food from sticking to the pan, like your pancakes are doing now,” Thunderlane explained matter-of-factly to match her snarkiness. Rainbow looked confused by this and she grabbed the box of pancake mix and stared at the side of. “It doesn’t say anything about that in the instructions. All it says is to set the burner to medium heat, mix water with the pancake mix, pour the batter into the pan, and flip on occasion until they’re golden brown. It doesn’t say anything about covering the pan in butter or olive oil.” “Well it is considered common cooking knowledge, so most instructions probably won’t include it,” Thunderlane mentioned. Rainbow’s ears flopped down for a brief moment before she quickly lifted them up, accompanied with a pout. “It should be included, it’s not common knowledge for everypony,” Rainbow stated. As much as Thunderlane loved his wife, her prideful nature could get a little annoying at times. He had to wonder if he was this bad on that camping trip they went on a few years ago. “I really do appreciate the gesture, but maybe you shouldn’t have been so impulsive about this, since it’s something you don’t have much experience with,” Thunderlane suggested, earning a glare from Rainbow. “So you’re basically saying I shouldn’t try anything new at all,” Rainbow said with a raised voice that threw Thunderlane for a loop. “You know that’s not what I’m saying. What I meant was that you should’ve learned a little more about cooking before attempting this. We’re meeting with AJ today, you could’ve gotten a quick cooking lesson from her and tried this tomorrow,” Thunderlane corrected her with a firm voice. “But I could have done it if the instructions didn’t leave out an important detail,” Rainbow countered, sticking in her nose in the air. “Y’know that kind of attitude is only going to lead to more mistakes that could cause more problems next time,” Thunderlane warned her but she rolled her eyes at this. “I think you’re overreacting, I only made one mistake and the worst thing that happened was that some pancakes are stuck to a pan. For somepony who’s never really cooked before, I’d say that’s something to be proud of.” Her voice boasted the usual confidence. as she patted herself on the chest. “True, it could have been worse, but your mistake is a bit more of a problem than you make it out to be. We’ll probably have to scrape these pancakes out and it’s gonna be difficult to clean off the pan,” Thunderlane told her, pointing to the residue from the pancake she had managed to lift part of, but Rainbow waved a dismissive hoof at this. “It’s just a pan, it can’t be that hard to clean. Even if it is we can always just buy another one, it’s not like we can’t afford it with my salary,” Thunderlane scowled at that last part. He had been willing to cut her some slack since her heart was in the right place but now her flippancy was getting frustrating. “Sure, if it’s too much trouble to take care of things properly or act responsibly we can just frivolously spend our money to replace those things. What a great lesson to teach Silverwing. Let me guess, if you had accidentally started a fire then it wouldn’t have been a big deal because we could always buy a new house, right?” Thunderlane’s tone was a little angrier than he intended, but he felt it got his point across. However, the daggers in Rainbow’s eyes made it abundantly clear how she felt. “My point was that the worst thing that happened was a pan might have been ruined, but it can be replaced. It’s not the end of the world so there’s no reason to get all bent out of shape, oh wait, you already have,” Rainbow responded with a fierce voice. The husband and wife stared at each other intensely, but their confrontation came to an end when they heard the sound of a small voice. Their faces wiped clean of all emotions, except for concern, and they slowly turned their head to see their son entering the kitchen. “Mommy….Daddy…..what’s going on?” He asked as he rubbed his tired eyes. Thunderlane glanced over at his wife to see her with the look of a foal who had gotten her hoof caught in the cookie jar. Sweat was racing down her forehead and she was biting her lip so hard he was surprised that she wasn’t drawing blood. After the argument they had, the gray stallion thought he should feel a little satisfaction in seeing Rainbow struggle to explain what happened to her son, but he didn’t. Anypony who knew Rainbow Dash knew just how much she valued her reputation, but when it came to their son, she always worked even harder to keep it intact. Everytime they’d go to visit her at the Wonderbolt’s camp she’d always be in the middle of some extravagant stunt and when she landed she’d actually pull the “Oh hey, didn’t see you guys there?” line. He always thought it was a little over the top, but Silverwing was wowed by it every single time. Then there was the flight back home and how their conversations normally consisted of how cool mommy was. Thunderlane let out a small inaudible sigh. He wasn’t sure if he was about to do the right thing, but it would certainly make everypony, including himself, happy. “Sorry, bud, did we wake you? I was trying to make some pancakes for breakfast but I guess I’m out of it this morning because I screwed up big. Look the pancakes are actually sticking to the pan.” Thunderlane held the pan upside down and even shook it a little but the pancakes didn’t fall out, making Silverwing laugh. “Yeah, I guess it is pretty funny but I still feel like a big doofus for screwing up. I’m very lucky mommy came down when she did and she told me what I was doing wrong so I’ll never make that mistake again. I’m starting to wonder how we lasted this long without mommy’s help,” Thunderlane spoke with a voice so sincere that it could have even fooled Rainbow. “Mommy should stay home with us everyday, she makes everything better,” Silverwing happily stated. Thunderlane let out a small chuckle as he nodded in agreement, but his eyes were focused on his wife, who looked to be at a loss for words. A smile quickly replaced the stunned look on Rainbow’s face, letting Thunderlane feel like his lie was worth it. However, her smile faded almost as fast as it appeared and she hung her head down low. When she lifted it back up, a small grin had returned to her face, but he could notice a trace of guilt in her eyes. “As much as I’d love to take the credit for being the pony who saved breakfast, I can’t because your father’s story was a lie. Remember two days ago when you tried to do that sonic rainboom and how you made a mistake by trying something you weren’t ready for? Well that’s what happened to me. I’ve never cooked before, I don’t really know anything about cooking but I still thought that I could do it just as well as professionals, but dad’s already showed you how well that turned out. So, sorry for ruining breakfast.” Rainbow’s eyes were glued to the floor during her confession, which Thunderlane guessed was so she could avoid eye contact with Silverwing. It was as if she expected him to be hurt or upset by this, so he hoped his wife could see the look of indifference on their son’s face. “That’s OK mommy. Breakfast must be really really really hard,” the little colt said, followed by a barely audible sigh of relief from Rainbow. “Yeah, it is, that’s why we should be thankful for your father. If a super awesome pony like me struggles doing this, imagine how hard it must be for daddy who does this everyday,” she told him. Thunderlane interpreted this as her way of thanking him for trying to take the blame. “Thank you daddy.” Despite never feeling like his work around the house was unappreciated, it warmed Thunderlane’s heart to hear his son actually thank him for it, even if Rainbow basically pushed him into doing so. “Don’t mention it, it’s what I do. Why don’t you go play while I try to fix this mess, with just a little bit of help from your mother.” Thunderlane could see his son’s face light up before he trotted out of the kitchen so fast you’d think there was a fire. “Remember, no playing ball in the house,” Thunderlane called out to Silverwing, and a low groan was heard immediately afterward. Thunderlane chuckled at his son’s response but when turned to his wife, his expression changed to an apologetic stare. “...I’m sorry about that little fight we had.” “Yeah, me too. I guess I was being a little too hard on you.” Thunderlane opened up the pantry and rummaged through the various foods to search for breakfast. “Also it was really cool of you to try and cover for me back there.” “I should feel upset at you for ruining that award-winning performance,” he said with a chuckle,  “but I’m proud of you for telling the truth.” “Well what kind of role model would I be if I didn’t take responsibility for my failures. In fact, I was thinking maybe you could give me a few cooking lessons, if that’s all right with you,” Rainbow meekly asked. Thunderlane turned to give her a hearty smile. “I’d like that.” ------- Rainbow could see several rows of apple trees in the distance, letting her know that they were close to Sweet Apple Acres. She turned her head slightly to the right where her husband was flying right alongside of her. He nodded, signaling that he saw the trees too, and they began to lower their altitude, while Silverwing clung tightly to mother’s back. Rainbow spotted a familiar face at the entrance and gave him a friendly wave before landing right at the fence. The blue, male pegasus waved to his friends before approaching them. “Don’t ya think you’re a little early for our Hearth’s Warming party? It’s not even Nightmare Night yet,” Soarin’ spoke with a faux serious voice that Rainbow smirked at. “Well this year I figured I better get here early, maybe now I can actually get the first tankard of cider instead of Pinkie,” Rainbow jokingly replied. It took a few seconds but a grin slowly started to crack on Soarin’s face as he let out a small chuckle. “It’s good to see you again Rainbow, and I’m happy to hear about your vacation. You’re an amazing Wonderbolt, even better than I ever was, but I always felt like you worked a little too hard. So it’s nice to see you get some time off to relax with your family.” “Heh, it is nice to be back home but being with Silverwing doesn’t really give me much time to relax,” Rainbow chuckled. “Is that so? Have you been giving your mother a hard time?” Soarin’ asked the little foal. “Uh-huh,” Silverwing replied while nodding his head innocently and the three adults snicked amongst themselves. “Well why don’t you give your mom a break and go play with Starking. He’s been anxious to see you for a while now because he has something big to tell you,” Soarin’ said with almost child-like glee. “Pinkie told me that he started fl-” Rainbows sentence was cut short by Soarin’s quick intervention “Ahp ahp ahp, you’re going to have to wait a bit longer to hear that story. I’ve already told Thunderlane about it, but I know Starking would want to tell Silverwing himself, and AJ would probably kill me if I told you about it before she did.” Soarin’ then turned his attention to Thunderlane and briefly shook his hoof. “Always nice to see you around here too Thunderlane, and how have things been with you?” “Oh same ol’ same ol’, though things are already starting to get more exciting with Rainbow being back home and I’m sure it will continue that way for the next three months,” Thunderlane answered. “I’m sure they will too and I’d love to talk with you about that over a pint of cider, but I don’t think I’ve got time for that,” Soarin’ told him. “That’s all right, I don’t either. Somepony’s got to watch after our kids while our wives are chatting,” Thunderlane replied as the two stallions shared a friendly laugh. Rainbow was happy to see her husband getting along so well with her ex, though she did find it a little weird to see them as close friends. She thought back to when she was younger and how Thunderlane used to hate Soarin’ because he was jealous of the crush she had on him, despite not having met him at that point. However, she shook those thoughts from her head and ignored that weirdness because the less she thought about her lovesick teenage years the better. A deep “ehem” suddenly filled the air, as the four pegasi turned to see Big Macintosh standing just a few yards away, giving Soarin an impatient stare. “I guess I better get back to work, got a lot to do before Nightmare Night later this week. You’ll have to stop by some other day when I’m not working in the fields and you can tell me about what’s been happening with the Wonderbolts.” The pegasi family gave their friend a quick goodbye wave, as he rejoined his brother-in-law, and then made their way down the dirt path that led to the farm house. They had only taken a few steps down the path before Rainbow leaned toward her husband and whispered “Yesterday Pinkie told me Starking starting flying. What’s the story behind that?” Her husband gave her an impish smile as he replied “You’ll just have to wait a few more minutes to find out,” which Rainbow pouted at. As frustrating as it was to be teased by all this buildup, Rainbow had to admit that it piqued her curiosity. Her mind wandered as she tried to figure out how an earth pony could possibly fly. Had science made some kind of advances that she was unaware of that gave the foal artificial wings or allow him to actually grow his own? She silently chuckled and allowed herself to get lost in a thought about the sweet, innocent Starking becoming some kind of cyborg pony. As the farmhouse drew closer Rainbow could see her old friend sitting on the porch with her two children close by. The one-year-old filly seemed to be sleeping peacefully in a toddler carrier, while the four-year-old colt was fidgeting with his mane. An elderly Winona was also there and was sitting very close to Starking, as if she was watching over him. Starking’s face immediately perked up when he spotted the pegasi family and he called out to them, which also got the attention of his mother. Applejack gave a hearty smile to her friends and waved to them with as much enthusiasm as her son. Silverwing’s tail was wagging the instant he heard his best friends voice and he wasted no time dashing towards the farmhouse, his parents following close behind. Starking was about to run to them but Applejack placed a hoof out to stop him, keeping him from getting too excited so he wouldn’t injure his brittle bones. “Yer a little early for our Hearth’s Warming party, don’t ya think? Applejack greeted her with a chuckle as they drew closer, but Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Your husband already made that joke.” “He did? Dang, Ah thought Ah was bein’ clever,” Applejack looked disappointed for a moment but it only took a second for her to perk up again. “Oh well, Ah’m sure he made it funnier, he always was better at that kinda stuff than me.” “I’ve really missed you and the rest of the gang,” Rainbow said with a hearty smile as she extended right hoof out for a hoofbump, and Applejack was more than happy to return it. “We’ve missed you too and you can’t imagine how happy we are to have you back for the next three months. Then again, Ah’m sure they told you that yesterday durin’ breakfast.” While his mother was distracted, Starking crawled off the porch to see his best friend and the two colts gave each other a gentle hoofbump, emulating their parents greeting. “Guess what I did? I flew! I finally flew!” Starking’s face beamed with excitement but Silverwing stared at his friend in confusion. “How did you do that, you haven’t grown wings yet?!” Silverwing asked, checking his friend’s back to see if any wings started to sprout out. The adults immediately shifted their attention to their children’s conversation, especially Rainbow Dash, who was eagerly awaiting Starking’s response. “My dad put me in this thing, I think it was called a harness, and then he put it on too and flew around the farm, so I got to fly too. It was awesome!” This was the best explanation Rainbow could hope to get from a four-year-old foal. After all that build-up Rainbow was expecting something much more grandiose, and yet a heartfelt smile found its way to her face. Unfortunately, her son didn’t seem as touched by this, judging from his dull expression. “Oh, then that means you didn’t actually fly, your dad did and he just carried you,” Silverwing pointed out with a disparaging tone. “Well I….I...” Starking struggled coming up with a response as a tear started to form in his eye. Rainbow could see Applejack and Thunderlane giving Silverwing an icy stare, and she couldn’t blame them. After all, he was being nasty to his best friend, but she didn’t think yelling at the kid would solve anything. So she quickly thought of something to say before they could scold him. “I wouldn’t be so quick to judge his methods of flying if I were you kid. After all, it’s the same way your Aunt Scootaloo used to fly.” Thunderlane and Applejack’s glares started to soften now that Rainbow was handling the problem. “It was?” Silverwing asked with a somewhat shaky voice. “Yeah, I don’t think we ever told you this but your aunt Scootaloo can’t fly. She always wanted to be just like me, kinda like you, but her wings were never strong enough to lift her off the ground for more than a few seconds. It broke my heart knowing that this little pegasus’ wish to fly would never come true, so I decided to help her out. I held her up high in my hooves as I flew around, letting her experience the excitement of soaring through the sky with a relaxing breeze flowing through her mane. I helped make her dreams come true and Starking’s dad did the same thing for him,” Rainbow told her son, whose expression had guilt written all over it. “I’m sorry Starking,” Silverwing said with genuine remorse in his voice. “That’s OK,” Starking responded with a few sniffles, drying whatever tears may have formed in his eyes. Rainbow looked to her husband and best friend to see them giving her an approving grin that filled her with pride. Thunderlane approached the two colts and knelt down, allowing them to get on his back. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way why don’t we get down to some serious playtime?” The dark gray colt’s sentiment was accompanied by two replies of “Yeah!” and then they were off, with Winona running after them, leaving the two mares alone to chat. “Ah really appreciate you talking with yer son like that and getting him to apologize to Starking,” Applejack said “No problem. That was a really cool thing Soarin’ did for your kid and I wanted him to recognize that too. It’s all about communication,” Rainbow replied with a cocky tone, feeling much more confident as a mother than she had since she got here. “It certainly makes me wish you were here to keep him in line more often,” Applejack started to chuckle at her friend’s boastfulness but slowly stopped when she noticed the confused look on Rainbow’s face. “What do you mean by that?” Rainbow curiously asked, but AJ gave her a nervous stare. “Well, yah see…..sometimes yer son can be a bit of a bully.” Applejack nervously admitted and while Rainbow’s head jerked back, her face displayed no malice expression. “What does he do?” Rainbow asked with no trace of emotion in her voice. “There have been times where he tries to pressure Starking into doin’ dangerous stunts that would seriously hurt him. He’ll also call him names like baby or sissy whenever he won’t do what he wants to do. There was one time I had them roll a ball to each other instead of throwing it so it wouldn’t hurt Starking, but Silverwing complained about this saying that was how babies played,” Applejack explained, but Rainbow’s face remained a blank slate. “What does Thunderlane do about this?” “Usually he’ll give him a stern talkin’ to and make him apologize, but sometimes he’ll punish him by takin’ him home and groundin’ him,” Applejack answered, and Rainbow’s expression finally changed into a defense stare. “So what’s the problem then if he’s getting punished for this bad behavior? Sure it’s not good that he’s acting up but he’s a kid, kid’s act up and they eventually outgrow it. Do I need to remind you of all the times I used to torment Thunderlane when we were younger?” Rainbow tried not to raise her voice too much so neither of their families would hear this. “Look, Ah ain’t trying to attack yer son and Ah understand that he’s just a kid, but he keeps doin’ it even after bein’ punished. We just saw him insult mah son right in front of us, even though he’s gotten in trouble for doin’ that before. Ah’m just worried that this could escalate further and Starking could actually get hurt,” Applejack took on her own defensive tone but still managed to keep her voice calm so Rainbow would understand that she had no malicious intent. Rainbow’s expression softened as did her voice, “I can understand why you’d be concerned, what with Starking’s medical condition, but I don’t think we should worry about this too much. Sure, that was a crummy thing Silverwing did but don’t forget that both of them were very happy to see each other and to play together again. They really are good friends, and as Silver gets older he’ll realize that and treat him with more respect.” Applejack let out a sigh before saying “Ah guess yer right, Starking certainly was happier than a pig at suppertime when he heard Silverwing was comin’ over.” “See, I don’t think he’d be that excited if he felt he was being visited by a bully. Besides, if my son does start acting up I’ll just step in and say something to him to get him to stop, just like I did back there. I know how to get through to him,” Rainbow proudly boasted. “Ah don’t doubt that with the way that kid talks about you. Ah’d even say that he listened to you better that one time than he normally does for Thunderlane.” Rainbow Dash chuckled lightly at  Applejack’s remark. “Heh, yeah it reminds me of myself when I was younger. My dad or some other adult would always try to tell me something important but I’d always ignore it but I would certainly listen whenever I’d hear a Wonderbolt say the exact same thing in an interview.” Applejack was about to respond but when she opened her mouth the only sound that was heard was the peeps of a little filly saying “Mama”. Both mares perked up their ears and turned their heads quickly to see AJ’s one-year-old daughter, Swift Apple, waking up from her nap and fidgeting in her seat. “Aw, I’m sorry my sweet little apple. Did we wake you?” Applejack cooed as she rushed over to her daughter and scoop her up in her hooves. The baby gave a few short nods in response as her mother gently rocked her. “Well Ah guess Ah’ll put yah in yer crib fer the rest of yer nap, but first you should say hi to yer Aunt Rainbow.” Applejack held her daughter out to see the cyan mare with the rainbow mane. “Hi,” the baby filly muttered with barely any energy behind it. Rainbow couldn’t tell if she was just tired or shy, although it was probably both. “Hey kid, I heard you started flying recently, how’s that been going?” Rainbow asked but Swift didn’t respond. Instead, the little filly stared at her for a few seconds before turning herself around and buried her head in her mother’s chest, attempting to fall asleep again. “Sorry Rainbow, but Ah guess she ain’t feelin’ too chatty today,” Applejack apologized before giving her daughter a quick kiss on her forehead. “No sweat, I understand. We pegasi need all the sleep we can get so we can be super awesome later,” Rainbow told the small filly, but AJ smirked at her. “Well you would know. With all the times Ah caught yah nappin’ in mah trees Ah actually considered chargin’ yah rent,” Applejack joked. “You should feel honored that the second-in-command of the Wonderbolts once slept in your trees. If word got out that was where Rainbow Dash took her naps they’d probably declare this entire farm as a national landmark,” Rainbow claimed in an over the top manner that the farm mare snickered at. “OK, Ah’m gonna put Swift back in her crib for the rest of her nap, maybe you could use some of that time to deflate that ego,” Applejack playfully chided her before heading back inside the farmhouse. Rainbow tried waiting patiently for her friend to return but it only took ten seconds for her to grow bored. The cyan pegasus took to the sky, scanning the farm to find Thunderlane and the kids. She spotted them playing a game of hide and seek with Starking laying his head against a tree as he counted to ten. Thunderlane was a few feet away hiding behind a tree, but she could see him trying to stick his tail out the side so the frail colt could spot him easily. Once Starking finally lifted his head off the tree, he immediately took notice of the light gray tail sticking out from the tree. When he was caught, Thunderlane put on his best “oh darn” face but then joined him in looking for Silverwing. Rainbow stared fondly at this cute scene, but that feeling was lost when she saw where her son was hiding. The light gray pegasus colt was sitting on a cloud, snickering as he watched his dad and best friend wandering around aimlessly, searching for him. Rainbow was disappointed to see that AJ’s claims about her son seemed to be spot-on. She considered going over there to tell them where he was hiding but dismissed the idea when she noticed Winona barking at the cloud Silverwing was on, catching the attention of both ponies. Thunderlane flew up to the cloud and gave the boy a disappointed stare before picking him up and bringing him back down to the ground. “What are they doin’?” Rainbow looked down to see that Applejack had return, so she landed back down too. “They’re playing a game of hide and seek,” Rainbow answered, purposely leaving out her son’s cheating. “That’s nice to hear. It’s one of the few physical games Starking can play without the risk of hurtin’ himself, and Ah know Silverwing enjoys it too,” Applejack commented, making Rainbow wonder if this was not the first time he did something like this. It actually reminded her of the time her and AJ competed with each other in the Iron Pony Competition, and all the tricks she pulled to keep herself from losing. “So, how was breakfast with the girls yesterday?” Applejack asked. “It was great seeing all of them and hearing what they’ve been up lately. Which reminds me, have you talked to Rarity lately?” “No.” “Well you’re going to want to do that soon because she has some big news.” Rainbow hoped that her tease of information made AJ just as curious as she was when Pinkie told her Starking had flew. “Ah’ll have to pay her a visit some time soon. Ah wish Ah could’ve been there, especially since Pinkie told me you were going to Morrow’s diner. Mah family loves eatin’ there every now and then, what did you think of it?” “The food was pretty good and I liked the coffee, but I think I’ve had better. It was a cool place, but I’ve been to diners all around Equestria and I’m not sure this one would make my top ten,” “Then Ah’m guessin’ yah didn’t have a pastry while you were there, cause if yah did Ah’d guarantee it’d at least be in yer top five. That Cinnamon Swirl really can bake, and Ah can’t imagine there’s another diner with service better than hers.She’s really good with Starking too and always ask me about him when we run into each other. She even gave him an activity book and some other toys back when he had a nasty fracture and had to stay inside.” Applejack spoke with pure admiration that caused Rainbow’s smile to drop. “She certainly seemed nice and my family seems to adore her, but… I don’t know, I guess I’m just not as fond of her as you and the rest of our friends are,” Rainbow admitted. “Why’s that?” Applejack curiously asked with a hint of disappointment in her voice. “I don’t know. I guess she’s just a little too peppy and perky for me.” Rainbow excuse was met with a raised eyebrow from Applejack on an otherwise blank face. “She’s too peppy and perky for yah and Pinkie Pie ain’t?” “Hey don’t forget it took me a while to warm up to Pinkie after I met her,” Rainbow defensively pointed out, which didn’t even seem to faze AJ. “Then maybe in time you’ll warm up to her too.” “Maybe but I wouldn’t get your hopes up,” Rainbow flatly said, making Applejack frown. “Did somethin’ happen between you two yesterday?” the orange mare asked with a serious, and slightly concerned, tone. Rainbow paused for a moment, debating with herself on if she should tell AJ that she suspects the waitress has feelings for her husband. Her friends certainly didn’t seem to take her suspicions too seriously, so would her best friend also dismiss her claims. Then again, she was the element of honesty, so if there was any pony’s input she valued on this subject it was hers. “I….I just felt uncomfortable with how friendly she was with my family. Whenever she talked with Thunderlane she came off as a teenage schoolfilly with a crush. Every time I’d glance back at my family’s booth she’d always be there, wrapped up in a conversation, making them laugh, and staring at my husband with affectionate eyes and a flirty smile.Then there were moments like that with Silverwing too, like when she’d wrap her hoof around him or tussle his mane. He even seemed more excited to come back to the diner than he was to come here and play with Starking. It’s almost as if she’s trying to be their mother and wife, in fact, right as we were leaving she…” Rainbow stopped when she noticed Applejack staring at her as if she was a crazy pony rambling to herself. “....Oh nevermind, you probably just think I’m crazy just like our friends did and I’m sure Thunderlane would think that too if I brought this up to him,” Rainbow said with a sigh, hanging her head low in dejection. The confused look on Applejack’s face was replaced with one of sympathy and she gave Rainbow a comforting pat on the shoulder. “Yeah that all does sound crazy to me, but Ah wasn’t there yesterday so maybe Ah’m not the best pony to judge. Also Ah can actually understand where yer comin’ from since I sometimes Ah can’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy whenever Ah see Soarin’ chatting with some random mare,” Applejack confessed. “Really?” Rainbow asked, her tone barely concealing her surprise. Applejack nodded in response “Even though Soarin’ left the Wonderbolts he’s still remembered fondly and Ah know there are some mares who’d walk to Tartarus and back just to be with him, so sometimes I have to wonder ‘why me?’ Why would a famous celebrity like Soarin’, who could have any mare he wants, settle for a simple apple farmer like me?” “Settled?!” Rainbow slammed her hoof on the ground and gave her friend a firm look. “Don’t you dare think that, not even for a second! Soarin’ didn’t settle, he chose to be with a mare that loved him for who he was and not a mare who was attracted to him for superficial reasons, myself included. Think about that love note he left for you out of baskets of apples on Hearts & Hooves day, or how he surprised you at his last Wonderbolt show by proposing. You two have even dealt with the hardships of raising a disabled son who can break his leg just by running, and your marriage is still just as strong as ever. He’s not going to throw all that away just because a bunch of mares are swooning over him.” Applejack smiled at her “You’re right, I know he’d never leave me for another mare, just like I’m sure you know that Thunderlane would never leave you either, even if Cinnamon really does have feelings for him.” Rainbow’s eyes shifted downward, staring at the ground and seemingly hesitant to speak “But what if….what if she’d be a better wife and mother than me?” “Rainbow, that would be like me worryin’ that there are other apple farmers better than me. Some might be. Some might not. That’s not important; what is is that Ah do mah best with mah own farm, not comparin’ mahself with them. Besides, Thunderlane and Silverwing obviously think yer doing a good job since they’ve got nothin’ but nice things to say whenever they talk about you; and I ain’t never heard them talk about Cinnamon Swirl the way they do you,” Applejack assured her “Yeah, you’re probably right,” Rainbow said with a smile but her voice lacked her usual confidence and sincerity, something Applejack picked up on. “If yer still feelin’ nervous about this, the only other advice Ah can give ya is to talk with yer husband about this. Ain’t no better way to lay yer worries to rest.” It took a lot of willpower for Rainbow not to sneer at this advice. Was she just supposed to go up to him and say ‘You know that waitress you’re good friends with? Well I think she wants to be more than just friends with you.’ She could see his reaction now; he’d give her a confused, blank stare for a few seconds, maybe even chuckle a little, say something like “You’re cute when you’re jealous,” and then insist that they’re just friends and there’s nothing else between them. Though if Thunderlane told her that he didn’t have romantic feelings for her then she’d believe him, but that doesn’t mean she’d trust Cinnamon Swirl. “Mom! Mom!” A voice shouted out. Rainbow and Applejack turned their heads to see Silverwing running towards them. Thunderlane wasn’t far behind him, with Starking riding on his back and Winona walking by his side. “Mom, could you do some of your tricks for me and Starking?” Silverwing pleaded with puppy dog eyes that Rainbow couldn’t say no to. Besides, a few stunts would probably be good to help clear her mind of this whole business with the waitress. “Excuse me, Applejack, but my fans demand a performance, and who am I to deny them such an awesome display.” Rainbow then took off with enough speed that Applejack had to hold onto her hat to keep it from blowing away. First, Rainbow flew straight towards the apple trees, weaving through them, as if she was a ball bouncing off a wall. She then zipped over to a nearby rail fence, gracefully flying between the rails but then did several somersaults around it until she built up enough momentum to launch herself in the air with the speed of a bullet. The ‘ohs’ and ‘ahs’ she heard from the kids let her know that they were impressed but that wasn’t good enough for her. Rainbow wanted to make them cheer so loud their voices would go hoarse, and she knew just how to do it. She was going to find the biggest cloud in the sky, punch several holes in it, and then fly through all those holes with rapid speed. Her heart raced with excitement when she spotted a cloud that was about twice as big as a normal one, perfect for her big finishing stunt. She dashed towards it with an excited smirk on her face, but then her eyes went wide with fear. Once again, her wings suddenly started to feel stiff and cramp, just as they did when she did the sonic rainboom for her son two days ago. She hadn’t even been trying to do the rainboom and yet her wings ached just as much as they did that time. Just trying to flap her wings to stay airborne was causing her a lot of pain, and her heart skipped a beat as she felt herself start to drop. She tried to ignore the pain and flap anyway, but it proved as effective as trying to walk through a tidal wave. Thankfully she was able to give herself a big enough surface area just in case she crashed, just as her Wonderbolt training taught her. Time seemed to slow while she plummeted towards the ground, hearing the gasps of her family and friends when they realized that this was not part of her act. Then Thunderlane took action and shot into the air as if he had been fired from one of Pinkie’s party cannons. Rainbow had never seen such a determined look on her husband’s face, that alone made her want to believe he’d catch her, but unfortunately she was falling faster than he was flying. He seemed to notice this too and tried flapping his wings harder and faster but it still didn’t look like he was generating enough speed. The cyan mare closed her eyes and braced for impact but instead she felt herself come to a sudden stop. A wave of relief had washed over Rainbow when she opened her eyes and saw that she had stop about seven or eight feet off the ground. The next thing that caught her attention was the light blue fur she was now laying on, which she easily recognized as Soarin’s back. “I’d say that makes us even for the incident at the Best Young Flyer Competition, but I still owe you for saving me at Rainbow Falls,” Soarin’ said with a friendly chuckle after they landed and Rainbow carefully lifted herself off his back. She looked to the sky to see Thunderlane lightly panting and although he looked relieved, she also noticed a small amount of insecurity hidden in his eyes. “Mommy! Mommy! Silverwing shouted, running up to her as fast as his little legs would allow him. “What happened mommy?!” Rainbow could see the tears forming in her son’s eyes and gave him a light pat on the back “It’s OK, I just had a little accident but I’m fine now.” Applejack, Starking, Big Macintosh, and even Winona were also gathering around Rainbow, giving her concerned stares that felt like a bunch of cold hooves gripping her heart. Before any of them could say anything, Thunderlane landed right in front of his wife and pulled her into a hug. “Thank you Soarin’. I...I don’t even wanna think about what could’ve happened if you weren’t here. We really owe you,” Thunderlane said with a tone as soft as Fluttershy’s. “Don’t sweat it, you would’ve done the same for AJ if she was in trouble too,” Soarin’ modestly pointed out. Rainbow could hear her husband mutter something under his breath that sounded like “How? I couldn’t even save my own wife.” Thunderlane released her from his hug and looked her straight in the eye when he asked “Is there something wrong with you? This is the second time you’ve nearly crashed while performing a stunt since you’ve came home.” All eyes were glued on Rainbow as they waited for her explanation and her mind was going a mile a minute trying to think of one. She considered just lying to them but if she had to be frank with herself and there was no way they’d believe if she tried to pass this off as a simple accident. Besides, maybe this is something she shouldn’t keep from them since her wings have been giving her problems for the past month and it was only getting worse. With a heavy sigh, Rainbow finally looked to her husband and said “For about a month my wings would sometimes hurt after I’d perform one of my stunts.” “And when were you planning on telling me about this?” Thunderlane asked with a low irritated voice. “I didn’t think it was that big of deal at the time. The pain wasn’t too bad and it didn’t really affect my stunts too much except for a few botched landings, and it would usually go away after a few hours or after a hot shower. It also only happened after I would preform a big move like the sonic rainboom, this was the first time it happened during a normal stunt,” Rainbow retorted defensively to match her husband’s tone. “So this has happened multiple times and that wasn’t enough to convince you that this was something to be concerned about?! Besides, you mentioned that it would happen after doing the sonic rainboom, so what made you think it wouldn’t happen when you did the rainboom for us two days ago?!” Thunderlane’s tone raised even higher, no longer concealing his frustrations. Rainbow tried to avoid eye contact with her husband. She knew he had a point but she didn’t want to admit it. “Can’t we not do this now?” Thunderlane opened his mouth as if he was about to shout but then he paused and looked behind him. Both Soarin’ and Big Mac were pretending to look away, while Applejack kept her head down with her hat covering her eyes. Starking and Silverwing were watching them but they both looked confused, and even a little scared. The dark gray stallion turned back to his wife, giving her a more empathetic expression. “You’re right, that’s not important right now. What’s important is getting you to a hospital.” Although Thunderlane’s voice became kind and soft, there was a bit of firmness to it. Rainbow nervously hesitated for a few seconds as she considered arguing against this idea. She always hated going to the hospital because it usually meant that she’d be restricted from flying for some time, and she doubted this would time would be different. However, if she had to be grounded then now was the time to do so before she had to go back to the Wonderbolts in three months. These bouts of pain were getting more serious too and if she had crashed there then she might have spent the rest of her three-month vacation in a body cast. Ignoring it hasn’t worked so far, so maybe it was time to finally go to a hospital. “Guess we’ll have to cut our reunion short,” Rainbow said to Applejack, who gave her a warm smile. “Don’t worry about it, we’ve got plenty of time to get together again once yer feelin’ better,” Applejack responded and Rainbow nodded in agreement. Rainbow called to her son, who still seemed confused by all of this but he waved goodbye to Starking and then followed his parents as they left the farm in silence.