The Royal Canterlot Family

by CartoonNerd12

The Wonderbolt

"What about you and Dad, Mom?" Whirl Wind asked Rainbow Dash.

"Eh, not much to tell there. When your grandpa was still a regular unicorn king, he took me to see the Wonderbolt derby and there I saw a water boy about my age. When Dad took me backstage to meet the Wonderbolts, I saw the water boy again and he introduced himself as Soarin'. He and I hung out for a bit as he told me his dreams of becoming a Wonderbolt. After that, Dad and I would go to the derby every chance we got. Of course, once the curse happened, I couldn't go by myself until I was older. I got to see Soarin' again and he was still the water boy."

"So how did he become a Wonderbolt?" Whirl had to ask.

Rainbow smirked, "With my help."

"Huh?" her son tilted his head in confusion along with his cousins.

She chuckled, "It started one day when I went to see the derby and decided to go see the Wonderbolts after the race…"

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Spitfire greeted the headstrong princess, "Great to see you again, Your Highness."

"Thanks, Spitfire. Say, uh… where's Soarin'?"

Fleetfoot came up, "Busy dumping the water buckets."

"When do you suppose he'll get a promotion?"

"To what?" Fleetfoot joked, "To towel boy?"

"Well, what about Wonderbolt?" Dash inquired.

"You have to pass an audition and a test to be a Wonderbolt." said Spitfire.

Fleetfoot mentioned, "Soarin' has the brains for the test, but he needs to work on his speed and agility to pass auditions."

Rainbow touched her chin in thought, "Hmm…"

Later, she found Soarin' in the dressing rooms, but he didn't notice she was there as he was staring himself in the mirror wearing goggles. He proclaimed, "And now, the great Wonderbolt Soarin' will perform his high fly act for all to witness!" He made cheering sounds before he realized some pony was cheering with him. He turned around and yelped in surprise when he saw who it was. "Rainbow Dash!" He blushed bright red and rubbed the side of his head, "How… How long were you standing there?"

She had a smug look on her face, "Long enough."

He moaned and lowered his head in embarrassment.

She chuckled, "Don't be like that. I won't say anything."

He lifted his head in hope, "Really?"

She smiled, "Really."

"So, um, you came over for some cloud busting?"

"Nope. I came to train you."

"What?!"

"Soarin', let me ask you something. How long have you been the Wonderbolts' water boy?"

"Um…" he thought about it, "For about… ten years now."

"Then don't you think it's time for you to be a Wonderbolt?!"

He sighed, "I wish it was that simple, Dash… But I have to pass an audition first before I can take a test and then see if I got in!"

"Exactly! Look, I've been talking to Spitfire and Fleetfoot, and they think you have the potential, but you need to improve your speed and agility!"

"How do I do that?"

"Very simple. I'll be helping you! You are no doubt aware of the legend of how I performed a sonic rainboom, right?"

He rolled his eyes, "Of course. Every pony knows. It was, after all, how you got your cutie mark." He pointed toward her rainbow lighting bolt.

"But do you know how I got it?"

"Uh… no, actually."

"It was because I went really fast! So whaddya say? Ready to become a Wonderbolt?!"

With a determined look, he proclaimed, "I'm ready!"

"Then let the training commence!"

Rainbow took Soarin' to an open area of sky with a few clouds. Dash wore a cap and whistle and held a timer. She watched how fast Soarin' was going as he did a lap around the clouds. When he stopped, she checked the clock.

"Not bad, but I can see why Spitfire and Fleetfoot think it's not fast enough for a Wonderbolt."

"So what should I do, coach?"

"The first thing to do is set up an audition to figure out how much time we got."

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Spitfire said to Rainbow as they were in the dressing rooms, "This weekend."

"That soon? Why?"

"Wind Rider, one of our most experienced and best flyers, is retiring, so we need somepony to fill in the ranks."

"That's going to be Soarin'!"

"Well, we'll see. Can't guarantee anything."

"But I can!" She flew out.

Spitfire said, "Huh. Too bad she's a princess. She'd make one heck of a Wonderbolt." Suddenly, she heard a clatter and turned back to see what made the noise, but she saw nothing. She shrugged, "Must have been the wind." She trotted off, not aware of the pair of eyes watching her.

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The next day, Soarin' was filling up the water buckets till he noticed a note at the bottom of one the empty buckets. He read it, "'Stay away from the audition, or else!'" Soarin' didn't know what to make of it. He wasn't sure if it was a prank or if someone was actually threatening him. "I got to show this to Dash."

When he met her for his training that afternoon, he showed her the note and she gritted her teeth.

"Who do they think they are telling you what to do?! You want to be a Wonderbolt, right?"

"I do! I really do! But that note is really creeping me out!"

"Soarin', you've got to prove that you're brave! Wonderbolts are fearless! By going to the audition, you're making a point you can't be scared off easily!"

"You're right, but I would feel more at ease if we knew who sent that note."

"Leave that to me."

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Twilight examined the note and questioned the two pegasi, "And you're sure you have no idea as to who could have sent this incriminating letter?"

"None," answered Soarin'.

"Think you can figure out who did?" Rainbow asked her sister.

"I'll try, but it will require hard investigating. It could take weeks before we even get a lead."

"We haven't got weeks! Soarin' has to audition in two days!"

"Then we better get started. Show me where you found this."

Moments later, they were back at the derby where Soarin' showed the girls where he got the water for the buckets. "It was in this bucket that I found that creepy note."

Twilight looked it over, but couldn't find anything out of place with it and decided to look down on the ground. Suddenly, something shiny caught her eye and she lifted it up with her magic.

"What is that?" Rainbow asked.

"It looks like a pin, and it has initials. SNN."

"SNN?" Soarin' and Rainbow said together.

"What does that mean?" Soarin' inquired.

"I'm not sure. We'll have to ask around."

And ask they did, but got nothing until finally, at Donut Joe's, while they took a break, Twilight had the pin on the table and Joe noticed it.

"Hey, a Starry Nights Nightclub pin!"

"You know about this?" Dash held the pin up.

"Sure do. In fact," he took out his own pin, "I'm a member."

"How did you get one?" Twilight questioned.

"Well, how did you get yours?"

"We found it," said Rainbow.

"Ah, since it's an exclusive club, I can't say much, but what I can tell you is that you use the pin as a way to get in."

"And where do we find this exclusive club?" Twilight asked.

Joe had them lean in closer so he could give them the directions.

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It was nighttime as Twilight, Rainbow, and Soarin' were under the cover of darkness. They made their way to the edges of Canterlot to find the club. Twilight and Rainbow had to drastically change their appearances since they were princesses and could be easily recognized. Dash wore heavy mascara and a black wig with an outfit to match. Twilight also had heavy mascara on and felt undignified in it, wearing a blonde wig to go with it.

Twilight muttered, "I still can't believe you talked me into this."

Rainbow whispered, "Hey, you said you wanted us to wear disguises."

"I didn't mean like this!"

Soarin' quickly changed subject to avoid listening to the squabbling siblings, "Say, uh, it sure was nice of Joe to lend us his pin and a friend's, as well."

Twilight nodded, "It was. Make sure once this is over, we give them back."

"So, Twi, what's the plan when we get in?"

"Well, I'm thinking of talking to the manager of getting a list of all Starry Nights Nightclub members."

"What do we do in the meantime?" Soarin' asked.

Rainbow wrapped a hoof around him, "What else? We party!"

Soarin' blushed at the princess's touch and how that he was this close to her. He could smell the fragrance coming off of her. It wasn't a bad smell. In fact, just by smelling it, he wanted to get closer, but Rainbow had moved away before he could.

"I think we're here." she pointed out.

Sure enough, there was a line in front of a building. They took their places as they got ready with the pins they had on. As they got closer, a burly bodyguard admitted the ponies. Once they were in, they gaped at the sight. There was strobe lights flashing and lighting up the dance floor as ponies were dancing on it. There were booths on the side as they were getting served. The trio decided to grab a booth.

A waitress came up to them, "What will you have?"

"We'll have a couple of pints of apple cider." said Rainbow.

"And I'll have an iced tea." said Twilight.

"Coming up," she was about to leave when Twilight spoke up.

"You wouldn't happen to know where the manager's office is?"

"It's on the second floor."

Soarin' whispered, "There's a second floor?"

"Thank you." Twi said and the waitress shrugged and left.

When they were given their drinks, Rainbow exclaimed, "This place is awesome! Remind me to get my own pin for this place."

"I'm going to go to the second floor, so please, don't overdo it," her sister pleaded.

"Please! Like I can go overboard!" she grabbed for Soarin's hoof, "Come on, Soar! Let's bust some moves!"

He nervously chuckled, "If you say so, coach." With a tug, he was out on the floor. He tried copying Rainbow's moves, but he got a little clumsy and bumped into some pony, "Sorry!"

The pony started turning, "You better be! Or I will…" She stopped midsentence when she took a good look at him. "Hey… you're kind of cute."

Soarin' stammered and started sweating, "Thanks…"

"Name's Lighting Dust. How about you?" she flirtatiously said.

"Oh, I'm… Soarin'."

"Soarin'. That's a nice name. You a flyer?"

"Uh…"

Rainbow had been too busy dancing to notice Soarin' bumping into someone, but when she saw him talking to a mare, she felt a strange pang in her heart that she couldn't figure out why she was getting it. She went to them, "Soar, who's your friend?"

The stallion smiled when he saw Dash and said, "This is Lighting Dust."

Lighting slit her eyes, "So, you, uh, his girlfriend?"

There was a pause as the two briefly exchanged glances before they protested, "No!"

"Really?" LD raised her brow, but then grinned, "Well, then," She came between them and gave RD a bit of a push, causing the pegasus to give an annoyed look. "How about we hang out together?" she talked straight to Soarin'.

He winced, "Oh, I would, but I'm kind of busy."

"Plus, he needs his rest!" Rainbow pointed, "He's got to train for his Wonderbolt try-out!"

"You're trying out for the Wonderbolts?! So am I!"

"What?!" both of them said.

"Yeah! My grandfather is a Wonderbolt, so I'm going to take his place."

"Your… grandfather?" Rainbow inquired.

"Oh, come on, you should know who he is! The great Wind Rider!"

"Wind Rider…" Rainbow pondered on this and then she gasped.

"What is it?" Soarin' questioned.

"Spitfire told me that Wind Rider was retiring! I bet it was him who wrote the note!"

"What note?" Lighting Dust asked.

Soarin' handed over the note and Lighting read it over.

"Well… I guess he wanted to ensure my chances of winning the audition."

"So he did write the note!" Rainbow shouted.

"Afraid so."

"Well, what does he mean by 'or else!'?" Soarin' wanted to know so badly.

LD could only shrug, "Not sure. My gramps takes things seriously, but I don't know that he'd make good on his threats."

Soarin' muttered, "Great…"

"Hey, now that we know, we can do something about it…" Rainbow assured him. "You go on home so you can rest up while I'll deal with this dude."

"Are you sure?" he asked with concern.

"Positive." she turned to Lighting Dust, "And you're going to lead me to him."

Lighting glared at her, but then her face softened, giving off a sickly sweet smile, "Of course, follow me." She led the way.

RD winked at Soarin' before following after the light green pegasus.

They went down a staircase, and LD pointed to a door ahead. "He's in there." She stood aside as she let Rainbow in first. Then, in one quick shove, RD fell to the floor as Lighting locked the door on her.

"Hey! Let me out!" Rainbow pounded on the door.

"Not a chance! With you out of the way, I have a chance at dating Soarin'! I saw the way you two were looking at each other. You may not be an item now, but who's to say that won't change?!"

Rainbow slightly blushed before she yelled out, "You're nuts! If this is how you handle love rivals with your jealousy, then you should know that Soarin' won't go out with you after this!"

"How is he supposed to know? You won't be around to tell him!"

"I'm warning you, Lighting Dust. You better let me out!"

LD scoffed, "Like you're in any position to stop me?"

"You'll see, my mother will have the guards searching for me and when they do find me, you're going to be in big trouble!"

Lighting laughed, "The only way your mom could order royal guards around is if she was Queen Celestia herself!"

"She is."

Lighting stopped laughing for a moment before saying, "You're bluffing."

"Am I?"

"You're lying! There is no way you can be one of the princesses!"

"Who is one of the princesses?" an elderly pegasus said.

"Grandpa!" Lighting Dust exclaimed.

"What's going on here?"

"You see, Gramps…" After a moment of storytelling, LD opened the door for Wind Rider to see the mare. "And she claims she's one of the princesses. I don't buy it for a second."

"Oh, yeah?" Rainbow took off her wig and wiped off her mascara, causing Wind Rider to gasp.

"I remember you! You were with Spitfire when I overheard about the audition for that second-rate flyer!"

"Well, that second-rate flyer is going to spin circles around your granddaughter because he was not scared for a second when he received your threatening letter!"

"Wait…? She really is a princess?!" Lighting cringed.

"I thought I couldn't get caught. How did you know where I was?" Wind Rider asked.

Rainbow smirked and held out the pin, "You dropped something."

Wind smacked his face and uttered, "I knew I shouldn't have gotten that second one…"

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Twilight had came back with a list and saw Soarin' was about to leave, "Soarin'? Where's my sister?"

"About that…"

Once he finished relented the whole tale, Twilight had a look of worry in her eyes, "And you just let her go off by herself?!"

"She said she would take care of it!" he said in defense. "You know how tough she is!"

"That may be true, but toughness or no toughness, you don't let some pony meet another pony alone!"

"I think I saw them go that way!" he pointed in the direction.

"Let's go." They rushed down the steps.

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Rainbow Dash faced the two pegasi, "Look, I'm willing to make a deal if you want to escape charges."

They nodded.

"Good, how's this?" She pointed to Wind Rider, "You don't threaten Soarin' anymore." She turned to Lighting, "And you keep your distance from him and me."

Lighting grumbled in agreement.

"Rainbow!" two voices said.

She turned to see her sister and trainee.

"Soar, I thought I told you to go home."

"I would have, but your sister made a good point that you shouldn't have been left alone with some pony you didn't know. I never should have let you go like that."

"Relax. I got the situation all under control. Right?" She eyed the two ponies behind her.

"She does." said Wind Rider bitterly.

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The day of the audition came and Soarin' was the best flyer there was, and then he took the test. Once he received his test back, he was shocked to see he passed with flying colors! He shared this with his coach as they met on some clouds.

"See?! What did I tell you?!" Rainbow excitedly said.

"I just…I can't believe it's finally happening for me…I would still be a water boy if it weren't for you…"

"Hey, I just helped improve your speed. The rest was up to you."

"I don't know how to thank you, Rainbow Dash."

"Just you being a Wonderbolt is enough for me. You finally achieved your dream."

"I did…Now that I have it, what do I do now?"

"I guess…you look for a new dream."

"A new dream…?" he thought it over until his eyes widened in realization.

"Well, I have to get going. Mom and Rarity won't like it if I'm late for dinner. See ya at the derby next week. This time, I'll get to see you race." she smiled as she took off.

He smiled too as he watched his new dream fly away, Someday, Rainbow… I hope to tell you how I feel…

At the same time, she was thinking the same thing, Someday, Soarin'… I will tell you how I feel about you…

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"And I did tell him, while the whole suitor thing was happening." Rainbow told her son.

Whirl grinned, "That was so awesome!"

Screw Ball had finished off her hot chocolate and she noticed every one of her cousins were done drinking, too. "We finished our cocoa. Can we go play?"

The kids agreed.

The mothers smiled and Twilight said, "Alright. Go ahead."

There was cheering as the kids ran out.

The girls smiled as they grabbed the empty cups, but to their surprise, there was a bright flash and the cups were stacked up and glistening clean.

Fluttershy knew who did it and started searching around, but the next thing, she knew she got lifted up and got twirled around before her husband dipped her. She giggled, "Discord." She ended up staring lovingly at him.

The rest of the girls noticed their husbands by the doorway smirking away.

"Were you boys listening in on us?" Rarity questioned.

Fancy came closer to her, "We were just passing by when we heard you telling stories to the children."

"About how we met, no less." Spike smiled at his wife.

Applejack blushed.

Cheese mentioned, "And hearing them made us fall in love with you again…"

Pinkie had near tears in her eyes, "Oh, Cheesy… really?"

Soarin' answered for him, "Really…" He faced his wife.

Flash told Twilight, "Just hearing how your sisters met their loves reminded of how we first met."

His wife smiled.

Pinkie jumped, "I got an idea! Let's go back to the underground kingdom!"

There was excited chatter as the husbands and wives left the room in love.

Author's Note:

Happy Hearts and Hooves Day!

Comments

[Skye Mist]

D'aww!

And I always loved the head cannon that Wind Rider is Lightning Dust's grandpa.

[Godslittleprincess]

6936043 That would make sense actually.

Also, the Tangled reference was cute.

[Skye Mist]

6937190 Wait, there was a Tangled reference I didn't catch?!

[Godslittleprincess]

6937200

"Just you being a Wonderbolt is enough for me. You finally achieved your dream."
"I did…Now that I have it, what do I do now?"
"I guess…you look for a new dream."
"A new dream…?" he thought it over until his eyes widened in realization.

[Skye Mist]

6937203 Oh god, I'm so stupid!

[SuicidalAngel]

Awww!!!
This is so cuteee!!

[Godslittleprincess]

So, now that Valentine's Day has passed, what other kinds of stories you going to put in this series?

[CartoonNerd12]

6944564 I take it you haven't read The Midnight Dance and it's sequels, they were the stories that started this whole thing.

[CartoonNerd12]

6987213 As an author it's hard to remember some of the things you wrote, but I am trying to remember where it says that it's been ten years from when Sombra was cursed, because I don't think I gave out an exact timeline of when the curse happened. I could be wrong, since it has been awhile since I've written these stories.

[Godslittleprincess]

6989789 In Sweet Pea, when Sweetie wishes to see her parents, Sombra says that Celestia had been running the kingdom by herself for 10 years.

[CartoonNerd12]

6989908 Ah. Well the best answer I can give to that is dragons age differently, and it is entirely possible, because the show doesn't give us exact details of dragon biology.

[Godslittleprincess]

6995601 "sigh" Don't you hate it when you love a series so much that you read it enough times to find plot holes?

[Phantom-Dragon]

By any chance there'll be a story involving Moondancer in the series?

[Godslittleprincess]

Hmm, I wonder if Lightning Dust is ever going to reappear in this series. I mean, probably not since Rainbow Dash and Soarin already ended up together, so Dash isn't going to need a rival anymore.