Chapter 153: Parental Correction
For the Wonderbolts, it was just another day of practice. Flying around the academy, rehearsing for yet another upcoming show. Although Thunderlane had recently joined the ranks as a part time member, he had yet to take part in any performances. He didn't mind that at all though, he appreciated being helpful in his own way. The rest of the Wonderbolts were especially impressed by his cooking, it was better than anything any of them had ever been able to whip up.
"I really need to ask Thunderlane if he'll be willing to give me and the other bolts some cooking lessons," Soarin thought to himself, as he whizzed around corners and alternatively dove up and down in the sky. "Celestia knows, Rainbow Dash especially could use 'em."
Just then, out of the corner of his eye, Soarin spotted two ponies he didn't recognize. But they looked almost similar to Rainbow Dash.
One of them was a pegasus stallion of modest build who looked fairly old if the five o'clock shadow on his face was any indication. His coat was a pale, light blueish-gray in color, his eyes a moderate amber, and his mane and tail were the same color as Rainbow Dash's but styled into a buzz cut. Most odd, however, was the green jacket he wore, which almost concealed his cutie mark depicting a rainbow and a cloud with a horseshoe in front.
And the other was a pegasus mare with the same cyan coat as Rainbow Dash, not to mention the same deep reddish-pink eyes. Although her mane and tail were light scarlet with orange streaks, they were styled the same way as Rainbow Dash's. And she wore a bright yellow jacket that did not cover her cutie mark, a cloud with an image that indicated the wind whistling past.
What Soarin (and the other Wonderbolts) found most odd, however, was that the two ponies were holding up Rainbow Dash flags and seemed to be waving them while cheering. But their voices couldn't be heard clearly from so high up.
Spitfire gave a whistle, and all the Wonderbolts skidded to a halt. She glared at her teammates. "Okay, does somepony wanna explain who let these ponies onto the academy?" She firmly demanded. "You know the rules, no civilians allowed on academy grounds without prior permission. How many times do I have to repeat myself?"
"Don't look at me, Captain!" Soarin innocently protested. "I've never even seen them before in my life, I sure as hay didn't invite them." And one by one, all the other bolts nodded.
"What?! Are you telling me they snuck on here without permission?" Spitfire grumbled.
Fleetfoot nodded. "It would appear to be so, boss. Want us to shoo them away?"
But to the surprise of everyone, Rainbow protested. "No, you can't do that! Those are my parents!"
As soon as those words had escaped the rookie's lips, all her teammates turned their attention toward her and glared at her with suspicion. "What do you mean? I thought you said your parents were divorced, Dash!" Misty Fly remarked. "That's what all of us believed. Heck, that's what everypony in Cloudsdale assumed."
"Have you been lying to us this whole time?!" Fleetfoot complained. "What else have you been keeping secret from us? Maybe you don't actually like pies?"
"What?! Why would I hate pies?! And what do pies have to do with this?" Rainbow insisted as she threw up her hooves. "I was... gonna tell you guys the truth, honest. It just sort of... slipped my mind is all."
"Well, if they are your parents," Spitfire began with a serious expression. "You've gotta introduce us. After all, it's not often we have family visit. I think the last one to do so was Soarin's mom, Mrs. Amy Rogers. She was a lot of fun."
A faint blush formed on Soarin's cheeks, as the Wonderbolts all flew down to greet the cheering ponies. Spitfire was the first one to introduce herself. "Are you the parents of Rainbow Dash?" She asked the two.
Both ponies nodded, and the mare held out a wing which Spitfire shook. "We sure are. And let me tell you something, Rainbow Dash may have gotten her father's mane, but she inherited my natural cuteness," The mare boasted. "The name's Windy Whistles, and this is my husband, Bow Hothoof."
"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Bow Hothoof eagerly exclaimed, his eyes lighting up not unlike that of a foal in a candy store. "When we first heard our little Dashie had finally become a Wonderbolt, we were practically beside ourselves. We just knew we had to come and see for ourselves," He wiped a lone tear from his eye. "It's true what they say, they grow up so fast. Seems like only yesterday I was taking her to her first ever Wonderbolts show."
"Dad, please, don't!" Rainbow whined. "You're gonna embarrass me in front of the team! How did you even know I was a Wonderbolt?"
Bow simply explained. "Your honorary little sister, Scootaloo, told us. She literally came crashing through my lawn to see your childhood home. It's just like you left it."
"But now we're gonna have to update the shrine, we need something from your actual Wonderbolts career!" Windy exclaimed! "Oh, I have an idea! Good thing I brought my camera! Bow, can you do me a favor and bring Dashie close?"
"Sure thing, hun!" Bow eagerly nodded, as he wrapped a wing around Rainbow and pulled her up to where she was right beside his chest. Windy snapped the picture a second later, amidst giggles from some of Rainbow's fellow Wonderbolts. "Ooh, that's one for the album!" Windy declared.
"Well, Mr. and Mrs. Dash, or do you prefer Bow and Windy?" Spitfire asked.
"Call us whatever you like," Windy smiled. "We're just glad to be here."
Spitfire sighed in spite of her better instincts. "Well, we're glad to have you here. But if you wouldn't mind waiting in the mess hall, that would be great. We're right in the middle of flight practice, and I wouldn't anything to happen to you or for you to be a distraction."
"No problem, we can wait in the mess hall. Just don't keep us waiting," Bow proudly declared. "We wanna hear all about Rainbow's big debut, and when her next show's gonna be. We're not missing it for the world!" And then he and his wife made their way across the academy grounds, and entered the mess hall.
Rainbow quickly found herself feeling like a bug under a microscope, as her teammates all turned to her and shot her varying glances of frustration. All conveyed the same thing though: "You have a lot of explaining to do."
It wasn't long before the cyan coated speedster found herself in Spitfire's office, still facing down the angry looks her fellow Wonderbolts were shooting her. Even Soarin looked like he was about to lose his patience.
With a sigh, Rainbow cleared her throat. "I suppose I have to clear up a bit of a misunderstanding," She tellingly massaged the back of her neck with a hoof as her cheeks started to flush red. "Well, about the 'my parents are divorced' thing? I never actually said that was the case, I just let you all assume that."
"But what about that other stallion you were always hanging out with as a filly? You know, the one who looked like he could be your older brother?" Misty Fly demanded. "If he's not your father, who is he?"
"His name's Rainbow Blaze, he was my flight coach, and that's all he was," Rainbow explained. "He was the one who was divorced."
"And why didn't you ever mention anything about your actual parents?" Fleetfoot inquired. "They seem pretty nice."
Rainbow shook her head. "Well, it's just... my parents and I have a... delicate relationship, that's all. They mind their business, and I mind mine. Let's just say they have a tendency to be... embarrassing. I mean, you saw how they were gushing over me on the runway."
Misty Fly, Fleetfoot, and Surprise all snickered to each other. "Yeah, we noticed," Surprise commented. "But it's not like we haven't had embarrassing parents visit us before. Besides, you all put up with my wackiness, and I do some pretty out there things."
"That's different," The rookie protested with a shake of her head. "Your kind of crazy is like Pinkie Pie crazy, there's a certain natural charm to it. My parents are on a whole different level, almost like Discord levels of crazy. I don't hate 'em or anything. They're my parents, so of course I love them. But, well... the whole reason I even moved to Ponyville in the first place was to get away from them. Their affection was smothering and over the top, I just couldn't take it. That's why I spent so much time with Rainbow Blaze. He and Fluttershy's parents were kind of like a second family to me. And Blaze taught me everything I know."
"Well, why didn't you just say all that from the start?" Soarin inquired, patting Rainbow with a wing. "If you think you're the only one who's had to deal with their parents embarrassing them, you really don't know your Wonderbolts. You should've seen what my mom was like last time she was here. She brought along my baby pictures to show everypony, I thought I was gonna die of embarrassment."
"My uncle Harvey's a really strange guy, almost two faced you might say," Fleetfoot chimed in. "Sometimes he's super sweet and embarrassing, like whenever he comes to visit me. But other times, by Celestia is he scary when he's angry."
Misty Fly added. "Even my parents were embarrassing the first time they saw me as a Wonderbolt. They cheered so loud, I thought for sure I was gonna be deaf."
"And, well, you already know my mother, Stormy Flare." Spitfire reluctantly added to the conversation.
Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, but she seems tame. I wish my parents could've been more like her. More focused on the support and less on the embarrassment. Not that I didn't appreciate having them cheer me on."
Spitfire frowned, however, leaning back in her desk chair. "Well, my mom wasn't always like she is now. She used to be worse."
Her curiosity aroused, the cyan coated speedster inquired of her captain. "What do you mean?"
Before Spitfire could answer, Soarin began. "You ever wonder how Spitfire got her embarrassing nickname?"
"You mean-" Rainbow started, only to be interrupted.
"-Not in front of the captain, she'll hear you!" Soarin protested. "Anyway, how she got is quite an interesting story. I can't tell it to you outright, 'cause I made Spitfire a promise not to say anything. But I can whisper some of the less important details." And he proceeded to do so.
Rainbow's face morphed into the most cheeky grin it had ever adopted. "Oh!" She remarked, barely able to suppress the giggles.
Soarin also barely resisted the urge to giggle. "Yeah, so anyway, Spitfire had a little talk with her mom after that. And it straightened everything out. She still occasionally makes an off hoof comment about when Spitfire was younger, but for the most part she just shows up when she can to cheer her little Wonderbolt on."
"And whenever I get a day off, I always make sure to fly home and visit her. That way she doesn't get lonely," Spitfire finished. "So don't you see, rookie? Embarrassing parents is almost like a rite of passage for Wonderbolts. We all have to deal with them sooner or later. And it's better than just ignoring them or letting ponies get the wrong assumptions."
Rainbow looked down at the ground in shame, unwilling to look back up. "I hate to admit it, especially to you guys, but you're right. All this time, I've avoiding my parents instead of trying to set them straight. And that gave the impression that I took all their support for granted."
"Hey, we all make mistakes. And your folks don't seem too mad about it," Soarin commented in observation. "I'm sure if you had a talk with them and told them how you feel, they'd understand. Parents aren't perfect, but if they really love you then they'll respect your right to be treated as an adult and not be embarrassed all the time."
"Actually," Rainbow commented, looking back up at her teammates. "I have a better idea in mind. If you're all interested, that is."
Sometime later, Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles were most surprised to be invited back out onto the runway. And they were even more surprised that a small stand had been erected for them. They sat down on it, suspecting nothing.
And that was when their eyes beheld their daughter, all clad up in her Wonderbolts flight suit, and standing before a microphone. "Mom and Dad," She spoke, her voice sounding serious yet also partially shameful. "I know I haven't exactly been the model daughter. For years I've been avoiding you, and letting everypony think you were someponies you weren't. So, this is probably a lot later than it needs to be. But I hope this at least begins to make up for how horribly I've treated you."
No sooner had the cyan coated speedster finished speaking those words, when there came a loud roar. Bow and Windy looked up, and could hardly believe their eyes! All the Wonderbolts came flying past in formation, and Rainbow soon flew up to join them, taking lead in the formation in the shape of a V.
The bolts soon swooped around and zoomed through a rainbow waterfall, coating themselves in different colors of the rainbow, and lining up from left to right to match their own rainbow. After a few tricks, they flew through a normal waterfall to rinse off, and then all parted to give Rainbow room to pull off her signature Sonic Rainboom.
Once the rainboom had dispersed, the bolts all landed one by one from the sides of the formation, ending with Rainbow landing in front. Her eyes firmly locked onto her applauding parents.
"You did all of this for us?" Bow Hothoof asked his daughter.
Rainbow nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys sooner about me being a Wonderbolt, or how much your cheering and fanponyism was bothering me. I just didn't want to sound ungrateful."
Windy Whistles (alongside her husband) embraced her daughter in a hug. "We would never think of that you, little Dashie. We always knew you the potential to be something truly awesome, you just needed a little push to get out that gate and try. And after that first young flyers competition, I guess we lost track of the fact that you weren't that same scared little filly anymore."
"It's okay, I should've said something," Rainbow apologized. "So, if you guys promise to tone down the enthusiasm just a little, I'm sure I can arrange for you to be at every show I'm a part of."
"You've got yourself a deal, Dash... er I mean Rainbow Dash!" Bow smiled.
All the Wonderbolts let out an aw at the adorable and heartwarming scene. And Soarin found himself thinking. "I really need to pay my mom another visit. It's been ages since I've seen her. I sure hope she's doing okay with her new job."
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Excellent work on this latest chapter. Once more, you did a very good job on the exchanges, characterizations, references to future "episodes" and general "episode" wrap-up in all the right places. I particularly liked your explanation concerning Rainbow's coach as well as the other Wonderbolts' explanations concerning their experiences with their own parents.
And, somehow, I get the feeling Rainbow's parents would get along pretty well with Starlight's dad. :-D
And, yeah, the thought I had earlier about the ideas for "Volumes Eight and Nine" of your re-write series:
"The Parents' Tracks" (obviously, the title change would be because the Cutie Map would not be entering into this at all) Parts One and Two: Part One would be Firelight arriving in Ponyville to pay Starlight a surprise visit and Twilight and Spike trying to help Firelight and Starlight work through their issues. Similarly, Part Two would have Stellar Flare paying Sunburst a visit in the Crystal Empire and Sunburst trying to deal with it with some help from Shining Armor, Cadance and Flurry Heart.
"Non-Compete Clause": The best I can think of would be simply Applejack and Rainbow actually succeeding in reigning in their competitive streaks enough to focus on the job (i.e. NOT ignoring years of character development) and ALL of the obstacles for the teamwork lesson coming from nature itself (both the animals AND the weather) which hinders things by forcing Applejack, Rainbow and the students to constantly modify their plans but also helps by giving them more opportunities to practice their teamwork. Unfortunately, that seems a bit too straight-forward and predictable (even if still LEAGUES better than what we actually got), but maybe YOU can think of some stuff to add by the time you get around to doing the rewrite.
And, of course, "The Break-Up Breakdown" would NOT be an episode at all because, in your universe, Sugar Belle hooks up with Party Favor instead of Mac (meaning there would be no way to make the episode idea work in your continuity AND cutting the episode out completely would allow for extra room to make "The Parents' Tracks" a two-parter).
"Marks For Effort": The re-write would involve Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon trying to learn how to be better friends with each other AND improve their luck making NEW friends. The Crusaders (who already get friendship to a degree that they work as tutors AT THE START of the episode) could be trying to help Diamond and Silver. Of course, they meet Cozy and Diamond gets an odd feeling about her (though she is careful to NOT make this known until she has enough hard evidence to either prove or disprove her suspicions).
Hopefully, at least SOME of this sounds good.
But, at any rate, I'll still definitely be looking forward to more of this.
Omg its rainbow dash Parents
That's right I forgot because of you're a chapter dates was a little older before Rainbow Dash's parents came to the light so now rainbow dash why she lie about that
"Have you been lying to us this whole time?!" Fleetfoot complained. "What else have you been keeping secret from us? Maybe you don't actually like pies?"
"What?! Why would I hate pies?! And what do pies have to do with this?" Rainbow insisted as she threw up her hooves. "I was... gonna tell you guys the truth, honest. It just sort of... slipped my mind is all."
Oh yeah the secret pie thing but to be honest I don't like pies either lol
Oh you named after one of the best writers in the show Amy Keating Rogers nice man
Yeah I did remember hearing a long time ago that Amy is working for Disney now
This is actually a nice take on of the episode but with a Twist instead of Rainbow dash getting all work up and the painful scenes when she yelled at them the Wonderbolts actually talked to her how to deal with parents embarrassment moments so thats cool