//------------------------------// // Chapter 1- Dream // Story: Of The Past That Haunts Us // by Dusk_Writer //------------------------------// "You still dream about the people lost in your memory, fabricated by your nostalgia and romanticized by your broken heart." —unknown In a seemingly eternal field of grass stood two lone pegasi with the sun gleaming brightly on their coats. One of them was a colt, and the other a filly. “You're leaving now?” the filly asked the colt standing right beside her. He looked towards the horizon and nodded. “Yeah…they want me straight away.” “Oh…promise you'll write letters? Or visit? Maybe—” “Hey! Calm down!” the colt chuckled, but stopped as the filly’s face fell. He lifted her chin up with his hoof and smiled. “But you know what? I'll be right here, in the same spot next week and I'll tell you absolutely everything!” She sighed. “Alright.” “Hey, come on. Put a smile on that face!” The filly rolled her eyes and put on a smile for his sake. “But…can you promise me you will?” the filly asked, looking into the eyes of her best friend. “I promise…I'll come back.” He never did. “Gah!” A blue Pegasus mare suddenly woke up with a jolt, her heart racing. She looked around and sighed in relief when she saw that she was only in her room. After taking a deep breath she laid back down on her soft cloud bed, pulling her warm covers back up. That dream again, she frowned. She continued to lay there in silence while pondering the meaning of the dream. Why after all these years? I haven't even seen him after…that. Dash sighed and clicked her tongue. After a few moments, Rainbow decided that she needed to go out for a fly to clear her head. Slowly getting out of the addicting warmth of the bed, she walked straight towards the door of her bedroom, not even bothering to freshen up. After walking through the halls of her home, glancing at the small pictures holding different memories along with a few of her trophies and medals, she finally reached the door leading out. She opened the door to her house and spread her mighty wings. The sun was just about to rise, and with the breeze of the night still blowing, it was perfect conditions for flying. With a small smile on her face, she quickly took off at breakneck speeds. “Woohoo!” Dash yelled into the air. This was her definitely her favourite pastime! The cold breeze that still lingered from the night, evaporated the sweat that started to form. Dash took a deep breath and sighed. This is what she lived for. Forgetting all about her troubles, she continued flying further and further, not having a particular destination in mind. Soon enough though, she could see a beautiful field of grass in her line of sight. Swooping down, Rainbow gently came to a halt. She looked around and recognized the place immediately, this was her usual training spot. She took in her surroundings for one more moment, before deciding she needed to get some training in. For her warm ups, she dropped down and started doing her daily one hundred wing ups. 1, 2, 3, 4 ,5… Dash mentally counted in her head. …6, 7, 8, 9, 10… Her mind started to slowly drift off, thinking about the dream once again. Why brain, why?! This is not the time to think about that! Dash internally fumed and tried to shake the thought out of her head, but no matter what she did, it still stayed. Rainbow was in fact so distracted, she didn't notice when she had finished doing her wing ups and accidentally did five more. “Agh! Focus Dash!” she muttered and sighed. She stood up and was about to take off for a few laps, when a voice brought her to a halt. “Rainbow! I knew you'd be here!” Dash turned to look behind her and saw Twilight waving at her. “Oh, hey Twi!” she said, and walked over to the lavender alicorn. “What are you doing here?” She tilted her head. “I was looking around for you because I have something really important to discuss with the rest of the girls at the castle and I just came to get you.” Rainbow shrugged. Rainbow shrugged. “Well, alright. I can continue my practise later.” “So, why are we here Twilight?” Pinkie Pie asked, lightly bouncing in her throne. “Well, since Ponyville is growing more each and every day, I thought why not build a stadium to hold different events? The stadium will hold thousands of spectators and will be large enough for both aerial and ground performances! What do you think?” Twilight smiled brightly. The remaining five ponies muttered to each other. While Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie held excited expressions, Applejack had a worrisome look on her face. “Uh, Twi? While this sounds mighty excitin’ and all, will the construction of this stadium harm any of the trees? The smoke and dust ain't exactly healthy for ‘em.” “Don't worry Applejack. I've already taken your farm into consideration and the stadium won't be built near Sweet Apple Acres. Since your farm is toward the northern side, it'll be built towards the south and hopefully there won't be too much noise entering the town as well!” Twilight beamed as she finished off. “That's great, darling! This is truly going to be marvellous!” Rarity nodded. “One more thing guys. For the grand opening I want all of you to help!” “Sure! What do you need?” Fluttershy asked quietly. “Well, the stadium will be finished a month from now, so I believe that'll be enough time for the preparations. Pinkie and Rarity will handle the decorations, I want you guys to do something simple yet eye catching. Applejack will handle the food and refreshments. Fluttershy, I want you and your animals to perform at the opening. And finally, I've requested the Wonderbolts and they've agreed to perform for us, so Rainbow, I want you to perform with them.” “Really? Aww, yeah!” Dash pumped a hoof into the air. “But,” Twilight continued, “there's one more thing I would like to ask of you,” she said while looking at Rainbow. “What is it?” “Could you possibly let the Wonderbolts stay at your house for a month?” she asked sheepishly. “…I mean, I can but, why?” Dash raised an eyebrow. “Well you see, the lead commanders, Captain Spitfire, Commander Soarin and Commander Fleetfoot are coming to visit for a month to oversee the preparations along with myself. So, since the Ponyville Motel is currently full, I wanted to ask if you could host them. I would've gladly let them stay here, but I know pegasi characteristics and I believe they would be much more comfortable staying in a cloud structure, and since yours is huge I thought it'd be perfect! Also, their fourth squad member, High Winds, is on leave, thus I suggested they add you to the show and since they'll be living under the same roof as you, you could decide the routine together at anytime.” Rainbow blinked. Rainbow blinked. “…You really thought this through, egghead.” “Yeah, well…” She blushed as the others laughed. “Alright, I'll do it!” Dash said as she continued to chuckle. “Yay! This'll be the bestest thing ever!!” Pinkie beamed. Rainbow continued to smile and laugh along with the others, but on the inside, she had thoughts that were completely different to the current situation. What did I just agree to?