Rainbow Dash hopes for Thunderlane to befriend the rest of her friends, but Applejack's stubboness isn't helping.
Rainbow Dash continues to grow her friendship with Thunderlane after a good couple of weeks, and her friends have warmed up to him, his brother and the Pegasus Twins slightly, except Applejack, who is still on the fence, Plus Rumble also has his trials and errors with The Cutie Mark Crusaders, including romance & jealousy.
But when Celestia invites the Elements to Canterlot for a Talent Show, this is Thunderlane's chance to really get in good with his new friends, but jealousy & resurfacing of old rivals make that harder.
Rainbow Dash was flying threw the sky doing a few flips and turns mid-air effortlessly, her little stunt included flying fast upside down and then dropping down before rolling into a straight dash and finishing off with a tree spiral and dashes straight down.
(Basically she flies in circles at the bottom and as she goes up the circle space decreases til she gets to the top and then flies straight through the "tree").
Rainbow grinned and turned to Rumble, "Not much to it, now you try it"
Rainbow Dash was doing her routine training with Rumble, the little brother of her friend Thunderlane. She had promised Rumble a couple weeks back she would teach him some flying techniques, so far he's a good learner but very nervous. "Are you sure Rainbow? It looks hard"
Rainbow nodded her head, "I think you can do it, I got faith in you, go on kid". Rumble nodded and then took a breath. He attemped the maneuver he saw Rainbow do but he couldn't do it too accurately, "Shoot!"
Rainbow flew over and patted his back, "Relax little guy, don't worry if you can't get it straight away, just do your best, that's all that matters to me"
"Ok", Rumble tried again but somehow did worse than before, "I didn't even have a good start"
"Don't worry, you'll get it, some things take a while to grasp, don't beat yourself up over it"
Rumble's ears drooped a little, "But I want to do well so you don't feel like you're wasting your time"
Rainbow flew up to him and rubbed his mane, "Kid, the only way you'd be wasting my time is if you didn't try, and you're definatley trying, like I said, I care just as much about the effort, some things take a while to do, I wasn't born with the ability to do a Sonic Rainboom, and even after I did it the first time it took a while for me to do it again, if you keep trying, you'll get it, and you'll make me very proud of you"
Rumble looked up, "You really mean that Rainbow Dash?"
Rainbow gave him a cheerful smile, "Of course, I don't give sappy speeches for fun, personally I hate them, but when I do give one, you better believe I mean it, and it's something to remember, because I don't like giving sappy speeches twice"
Rumble smiled and hugged Rainbow Dash, "You're the best Rainbow Dash"
"Yeah, I know", Rainbow returned the hug, "Now lets get back to your brother, he's waiting for you at home"
Rainbow and Rumble flew off to the house where Thunderlane and Rumble lived and Rainbow knocked. Thunderlane opened the door and greeted them, "Sup Dash, hey bro", he patted Rumble's head as he went in the house. He looked to Rainbow, "Did he do well?"
"He still needs some practice but he's doing a hell of a job, give it some time and he'll be a real pro, imagine this" she put her hooes up like if imagining a headline, "The first colt in The Wonderbolts"
Thunderlane looked a bit impressed, "Whoa, that good?"
Rainbow nodded, "Yeah, he has an awesome teacher after all", she buffed her chest a little. Thunderlane wanted toroll his eyes at that but that's Rainbow's personality, besides it's nice that she's being a good friend to his little brother.
Rumble nodded in agreement to Rainbow's assesment, "Rainbow's the best, she's also really sweet"
"Come on kid, don't embarrass me", Rainbow said playfully.
Thunderlane chuckled lightly, "Wow you, sweet? I have to see that to believe that"
"Watch it Thunderlane", Rainbow put a hoof near his chin, "Unless you want to get on my bad side"'
Thunderlane put his hooves up defensively, "Relax, I'm just kidding, you know I like you Dash"
Rumble giggled, "You like Rainbow Dash"
Thunderlane blushed, "That's not what I meant!"
"You're kinda blushing bro", Rumble grinned smugly at Rumble.
"No I'm not! Besides what about you? You like her too"
Rumble nodded, "Yeah, I do, and if you steal her away, I might beat you up", Rumble said with confident smile.
Thunderlane then noogied his brother, "You, beat me up? I don't think so". Rumble looked very annoyed, "Ow! Come on Thunder quit it, not funny, ow!"
Rainbow Dash chuckled, "You two have a great sibling relationship, just like Applejack and Apple Bloom"
Thunderlane put let go of Rumble, who proceeded to go inside, but not before sticking his tongue out at Thunderlane, though Thunderlane was oblivious. He then asked Rainbow, "Speaking of Applejack, how has she been lately?"
Rainbow scratched her head, "She's been well, she doesn't talk about you much, but when she does, it's not anything too negative"
"...Too negative?"
Rainbow caught herself, "Uh, I mean...look she's just getting used to you, just relax a moment"
"I know she said she's cool with me but I get the feeling she doesn't really like me much still"
"It's not that she doesn't like you, she just needs to get to know you better"
"I just have that strange feeling", Thunderlane looked sadly to the side.
Rainbow put her arm around his neck in a sorta friendly hug way, "Relax Thunder, you worry too much, just let your buddy Rainbow Dash handle this, you're a great guy, sure you have faults and you can be really annoying sometimes but you're still kinda sorta cool"
Thunderlane groaned a bit, "Is this supposed to make me feel better? Because you're sending mixed messages"
"Hey I already gave one sappy speech today, I'm not giving another, man up already", she hit his arm a bit to toughen him up, Thunderlane rubbed his arm a bit after that, "Fine then"
"Stop worrying, even if they don't like you, which they do, I still like you, you're my friend"
"That's also a little worrying to me, what if I come between you and your friends? You're the Elements of Harmony, I don't wanna be the reason for any of you breaking away from each other, especially considering you saved the world many times, last thing we need is for somepony like Chrysalis showing up and attacking a divided elements"
"Come on, like you said, we're the Elements of Harmony, to deny you as a friend would go against our elements; Fluttershy's Kindness means she would never do something so mean-spirited and she'll be kind to you in general, Pinkie's laughter means she wants us and you to be happy, Rarity's generosity means she won't be selfish about such things, Twilight's magic, well Friendship IS Magic, my Loyalty means I'm loyal to my friends AND you, and Applejack's honesty means...it means...um...damn how can I put this?"
Thunderlane went gloomy, "It may mean that the truth may hurt"
Rainbow groaned, "She won't, in fact I'm gonna give a Pinkie Promise right now that things will be fine between you and my friends" she put her hoof up in a threatening way, "So stop worrying before I literally knock some sense into you"
Thunderlane put his arms up defensively, "Ok, fine, I won't worry"
"Good, anyway I need to head off, see you around, and tell your bro to keep practicing"
"Will do, see ya Dash"
Rainbow Dash flew off, "What a worry wart, Applejack's cool with him, she said so herself, she would be dishonoring her element if she didn't...wait why didn't I tell him that a moment ago? Eh, I'll remind him later"
She then saw Twilight and Spike walk out of Sugarcube Corner with Spike writing on some paper.
"Ok, we have the orders ready, so next is..."
"Hey Twilight!" Rainbow called to her.
Twilight looked up and saw Rainbow Dash approach her, "Hi Rainbow, what brings you here?"
"I saw you heading out Sugarcube Corner with a massive list, planning something big or are you just having Spike list things for fun cause you enjoy being little miss perfect"
Twilight furrowed her brow, "Rainbow that made little sense, but yeah there's gonna be a big deal over in Canterlot", she showed Rainbow a flyer, "There's gonna be a big entertainment show, some professional entertainers will be there, like The Wonderbolts, plus several amateur acts that if look well enough, can be turned into something major, a make or break moment for ponies wanting to get in show business"
"Wow, that's so cool, think I'll be able to go? I'll show off for The Wonderbolts to keep me fresh in their minds and help them make the decision to pick me sooner".
Twilight chuckled, "Rainbow I think you've done plenty to get their attention, just be patient".
"Still think you can get me a ticket?"
"Actually we're all going, Celestia not only get passes for us, the girls, & Spike, she's also letting the Cutie Mark Crusaders come"
Rainbow blinked in surprise, "Really?"
"I told her I'd like for all our friends to come, especially ones closer to us".
Rainbow smiled hard "Sweet, so just us elements, Spike, the fillies, what about Thunderlane, did you get him a pass?"
Twilight raised her eyebrow, "Thunderlane? I didn't ask Celestia for a pass for Thunderlane"
Rainbow's smile turned into a confused frown, "What? Why didn't Thunderlane get a pass?"
"I didn't really think to get him one, must have slipped my mind"
"I thought we wanted to be close friends with him, make him part of the group, you know that his brother looks up to me right?"
"Yeah but..."
"He's become pretty close to me lately and I want to share that with all of you, he's a nice guy and the other girls are taking a liking to him, in fact I think Rarity has a crush on him"
Spike dropped the list and quill, "WHAT!?"
Rainbow nodded, "Yeah I know, bad, but that's how Rarity is".
Twilight got confused, "Wait, why do you think it's bad?"
Rainbow blushed a little, "Um...because Spike likes her and I cherish his feelings on the matter..."
Twilight gave Rainbow an unconvinced look, Rainbow then shook her head a bit, "Don't change the subject! Like I said, what about Thunderlane?"
"Well I guess I can get him a pass, maybe I can get Rumble, Flitter & Cloudchaser all passes if you'd like"
"Perfect, the more the merrier, this is awesome, maybe I can do a little show with them, we'll ALL get into The Wonderbolts, maybe they can be my personal team, they will call me 'Captain Rainbow Dash', that's so awesome!"
Rainbow Dash flew off, leaving Twilight and Spike.
"Spike send a letter to Celestia and see if she can arrange for Thunderlane and his friends to come"
"How come Thunderlane gets special treatment? I mean lets say hypothetically, Fluttershy wanted to bring Derpy along, does that mean that Golden Harvest, Dr. Hooves and Dinky have to come along too? Or what if Pinkie Pie wanted to bring Lyra & Bon Bon or something?"
"Well Rainbow really wants this so I guess we should give them a chance, who knows this might turn out pretty well", Twilight gave an optimistic smile.
"I hope so", Spike said.
They continued to get ready for the event, Twilight next headed over to Sweet Apple Acres for some extra stuff.
Twilight and Spike made their way to Sweet Apple Acres, along the way Twilight had asked Spike to send a letter to Celestia, asking her for a letter. After some walking, they got to the barnhouse on Sweet Apple Aces.
"Here we are, lets talk with Applejack", Twilight said and knocked on the door.
The door opened and they were greeted by Applejack's sister Apple Bloom, cheery smile and all.
"Howdy Twilight, anything ah can help you with?"
"Hi Apple Bloom, I just need to speak with Applejack"
"Sure thing" Apple Bloom went in the house, "Hey Applejack! Twilight & Spike are here!"
"Coming!" Applejack said and went down, "Thanks Apple Bloom, I got it from here"
"No problem sis", Apple Bloom said and walked of.
Applejack approached Twilight in with her usual friendly attitude, "Great tah see ya Twilight, are yah here to check up on how things are going for this little event that Celestia's hosting?"
"Yeah, I just wanna see if things are going well, it's only two days before the big event, we're all gonna be leaving for Canterlot soon, I want to make sure things are set up properly"
"Relax Twilight, you old pal Applejack's got this, the desserts will be ready and we'll all be en route to Canterlot"
Twilight nodded, "Good, I gotta make sure everyone else is ready, I may need to do some rearrangement with the rooms too"
Applejack got a little confused, "I thought yah had the rooms ready by now?"
"I did until a little bit ago when Rainbow Dash asked me to get Thunderlane and his friends some passes"
Applejack's friendly demeanor faded into a more serious one, "Thunderlane? She got you to get passes for Thunderlane?"
"I haven't gotten a response from Princess Celestia yet, Spike sent the letter on the way over here, so-", At that moment Spike spat out a letter, "Oh, great timing", Twilight used her magic to lift the letter and read from it, "Dear Twilight, having a few extra friends won't hurt one bit, I'm glad that you and you're expanding your circle of friends, you're showing what being Princess of Friendship is all about, Yours Truly, Princess Celestia"
Twilight rolled up the letter and teleported it away, "Wow it's so great how she's able to reply to my letter almost instantly"
Applejack tapped the ground to her her attention, "Focus Twilight, why are you letting Rainbow Dash bug you into bringing Thunderlane along?"
"Well it seemed important to her, she did mention wanting to show off in front of The Wonderbolts and that she wanted her own team that would consist of Thunderlane, Flitter, Cloudchaser & Rumble"
"Still, he's getting special treatment, suppose I wanted to-"
Spike waved his hand a bit, "I already tried that speech with Twilight"
Twilight rubbed her temple a bit, "It's not gonna hurt to have Thunderlane come Applejack, even Celestia is fine with it"
"Besides I thought you were ok with Thunderlane?" Spike asked.
Applejack glanced to the side a bit, "It's not that, I have no issues against the guy, I just don't think he should be shoehorned into our group, our friendship started with The Elements of Harmony, it made our friendship special, Thunderlane just seems well...there"
"What about Spike?" Twilight put a hoof on Spike's shoulder, "He's not an element but he's still a close friend"
"Yeah but in Spike's case, he's like family to you, that's like if Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo wanted to join our little circle of friends, they're already family so it wouldn't be out of place, in fact they're practically already close friends to us, the girls do look up to yah"
"Well technically Scootaloo isn't related to anyone of us", Spike pointed out in a 'Matter of Fact' way, "So she would probably be in Thunderlane's position"
Applejack looked annoyed at Spike's statement, "Well she's close to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle so I don't think that counts"
Twilight interjected, "And she became close by being their friend, no element required, we don't need our friendship to be elements only, Thunderlane deserves an opportunity to be all of our friend, in fact I will personally give Thunderlane the news that he will be joining us"
Applejack sighed, "If you say so Twilight, maybe we should give the guy a chance, he seems nice enough, maybe I'm just being a little stubborn"
Spike scoffed, "A little?" One glare from Twilight shut him up.
"Well I'll see you all later, gotta check on the orders", Applejack said and closed her door as Twilight and Spike waved good-bye.
"Lets to Thunderlane's house Spike", Twilight said and walked toward the direction of his house.
Later, the duo arrived at Thunderlane's house, "This is it Spike", Twilight procceded to knock on the house door.
Spike stood with his arm crossed in a bored way, "Do you think he'll even wanna come Twilight?"
"Not sure Spike, we're about to find out".
Thunderlane opened the door and found Twilight & Spike outside, "Hi Twilight, Hi Spike, what's up?"
Twilight put on a friendly smile, "I got some good news for you".
Thunderlane looked interested, "Huh? What is it?"
"You see, Celestia is hosting a big event, a talent fair so to say, and I'm here to announce that you will be getting a personal pass from Princess Celestia to be there!" with the way she said it, Pinkie's party cannon would really come in handy.
Thunderlane's eyes grew wide, "Really? Like a VIP?"
"Yeah, you, your brother, Flitter & Cloudchaser will be attending and you also will be able to perform, in front of The Wonderbolts"
Thunderlane's smile started to grow wide, "That's so cool, wait why does Celestia want me there though?"
"Rainbow Dash helped with that, she talked to me and I asked Celestia to give you a pass, you'll be traveling with me an my friends tomorrow, one day before the event in question, I need to figure out the room arrangements but that's no big deal, but the question is, do you even wanna come?"
"Are you kidding? I'd love too! Thanks Twilight, you're awesome", Thunderlane said while pulling Twilight into a hug, then breaking it once he realized what he did, causing both to blush a little, "I'm sorry, was that out of line?"
Twilight shook her head, "No that's fine, a little unexpected but I understand your excitement, besides we're friends now so hugs are ok"
"Just wanna be sure, you're not just a friend, you're a princess"
Twilight put her arms up, "Oh please don't feel intimidated by that, I'm just another pony like you"
"So humble too, you're pretty awesome Twilight"
Twilight blushed more, "You're really sweet, especially for a jock, I can see why Rainbow Dash speaks well of you"
Spike scoffed,, "Well? She seems to insult him quite a bit"
Twilight shot Spike an angry glare to shut him up.
Thunderlane waved it off, "It's fine, I know I have my faults so-"
"Everyone has faults Thunderlane, even me, and while Rainbow Dash acts high and mighty, she has a fair of faults as well, so don't them get you down"
"I won't, never do, it actually motivates me somewhat"
"Good, well I should get going now"
Thunderlane frowned, "So soon? You can stay a bit longer if you'd like, I don't mind"
Twilight smiled at his kind nature, "Thanks, but I need to prepare for everything else, but don't worry, we'll chat tomorrow, you can bond with all of us"
Spike pointed a finger at Thunderlane, "Just don't bond with Rarity TOO much"
"SPIKE!"
Spike stepped back but gave Thunderlane an 'I got my eyes on you' look and gesture.
Twilight rolled her eyes, "Ignore Spike, bond with whomever you want, see you at the train tomorrow".
"Ok, see you tomorrow, and if you see Rainbow Dash, tell her I said thanks"
"I'm sure you'll be able to tell her yourself tomorrow, but I'll still relay the news"
"Thanks, like I said, you're the best", Thunderlane then closed his door.
Twilight walked off, "He's really nice, such a caring personality, handsome too, maybe Rainbow struck some gold on this one"
"For everyone else's sake, lets hope so"
Twilight groaned, "Stop being so negative"
"Just being honest"
"Well sometimes misplaced honesty can lead to bad things", Twilight's demeanor went serious, "Something a certain farm girl needs to remember", Twilight said with a serious tone on the last part.
Meanwhile back at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack was inspecting the desserts but still kinda lost in thought about the Thunderlane business. Sure she said she's fine with him, and she has nothing personal against him, and yes she thinks he's a pretty ok guy but she still doesn't like how he seemed forced into things, she wonders what Rainbow Dash is up to with Thunderlane.
Apple Bloom, who was also inspecting some desserts, noticed her sister was pretty out of it.
"You ok Applejack?"
Applejack was still a bit out of it, almost like she was in deep thought. Apple Bloom waved her hoof in front of Applejack, "Applejack, snap out of it!"
Applejack shook her head, "Oh sorry about that, must'a been deep in thought about somethin', no biggie, lets just get this stuff ready to be loaded into the train tomorrow"
"Sure thing, I gotta get ready too, maybe there's some crusading to be done in Canterlot, glad Rumble is coming, with him with us maybe the numbers will be in our favor"
"How are things with you and Rumble, he being a good colt?" Applejack asked the last part pretty sternly.
"Yeah, he's really nice, I wish he would talk more, he seems so quiet, I think he's nervous, and it doesn't help that Sweetie Belle occasionally gives him nasty glares"
Applejack's interest peaked, "Sweetie Belle? What for?"
"Not sure, I get the feeling she doesn't like him, hope that's not the case, if she doesn't like him it will be hard to continue crusading"
"Hard? So you would still keep Rumble even if Sweetie Belle doesn't take to him?"
"Duh, of course, I'm not gonna give him the boot because Sweetie's not giving him a fair chance, that's pretty mean and selfish, right sis?"
Applejack felt some sweat break, "Uh Yeah sure", then she did a nervous laugh, "But still, what do you think caused Sweetie to sour on him"
Apple Bloom scratched her head in thought, "Maybe it's because Scootaloo just sprung him in on us, she made him a crusader without really consulting us, funny that he originally didn't even wanna join us, I guess she managed to change his mind on the subject"
Applejack scratched her head, "I thought she talked to y'all before taking him in?"
"She asked us about the possibility of him joining, we didn't really give the ok though, don't get me wrong, ah don't mind him with us, he's really sweet but I guess he was sorta...shoehorned in, but maybe it's a good thing, gives us a chance to know him, no regrets, well not for me at least"
"Yeah maybe", Applejack found this little development weird and close to home for her, what's ironic is that she feels the same way about Thunderlane that Sweetie Belle feels about Rumble, yet while her little sister likes Rumble, Sweetie's big sister likes Thunderlane, bit of a mind swap on things.
"Maybe we just need to bond with him, if this trip goes well, we can all be like one happy family, right sis?"
Applejack's guilt peaked at Apple Bloom's innocent smile, "Maybe, time will tell, for now lets just get back to the pies, we need to finish that order", she went back to work, still a bit out of it.
Apple Bloom looked a little suspicious at Applejack but she didn't want to press the issue right now, she decided to just move on and do what she needs to do.
Meanwhile at Rainbow Dash's house, she was going over some flight plans on how to woo the Wonderbolts, figuring out the perfect formations that would put keep all of them on The Wonderbolts' radar until it was time for them to consider new recruits, easily earning all of them a spot.
She tossed away several papers trying to figure things out, until she got a light bulb in her head.
"That's it!" she went to work on the diagrams, "This is gonna be so cool, Wonderbolts here we come!"
The next day came, Twilight & Spike approached the train station and met with the other elements sans Rainbow Dash, as well as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, everyone had bags packed for their stay.
"Hello everyone, ready for Canterlot?" Twilight asked.
Rarity spoke first, "Yes, I always enjoy the fine culture of that city"
Applejack spoke next, "Fine culture? I still think the ponies in that city are off their rockers a bit, um no offence to you or your family Twi"
Twilight waved her hand dismissively, "None taken, I know how some ponies in Canterlot are like sometimes"
Spike looked around, "Where's Rainbow Dash? She's gonna be late"
"I'm sure she'll be here soon", Twilight turned to Applejack, "Applejack you have the desserts ready to be loaded?"
Applejack nodded, "Yup, Big Macintosh is here to help pack everything", she turned to her brother, "You got everything ok Big Mac?"
Big Macintosh patted the cargo, "Eeyup!"
"Pinkie you have all the desserts?" Twilight asked.
Pinkie nodded in her hyperactive way, "Yupper Roonie! The Cakes did a GREAT job on it too!"
"Ok, I think this trip will go well, all we need to do is wait for-"
"I'm here!" Rainbow came in.
"Rainbow Dash"
Rainbow landed next to them, "Sorry I'm late, I went to Thunderlane's house to remind him, he just needs to find Flitter and Cloudchaser, so they and Rumble should be here shortly"
Apple Bloom grinned widely, "Ah can't wait for Rumble to get here, he's always a treat to be around"
Scootaloo nodded, "Yeah, he's like our apprentice almost, we teach him the ways of crusading and soon we'll be an unstoppable Quartet!"
Sweetie Belle looked to the side a bit, "Yeah, unstoppable", her voice almost non-caring. This did not go unnoticed by the Crusaders, but Apple Bloom decided to ignore it, Scootaloo looked a bit worried though.
Apple Bloom continued, "Anyway...I'm eager to try out new ideas with Rumble, or old ones"
"Yeah, maybe he's the missing piece to those ideas", Scootaloo said.
Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes, she really did not care.
Twilight chuckled at their happiness, "Well the train's gonna be here soon, so hopefully they hurry up"
"Don't worry, he's super excited to come, he won't miss this", Rainbow said.
"Well we're excited to have him, right girls?" Twilight asked.
Rarity nodded, "Of course, having a nice charming stallion like him to keep us company is most delightful"
Spike grumbled at the 'Charming Stallion' part.
"I'm excited too! He's a new friend for us to hang out with and do things with!" Pinkie said ecstatically.
"Um...I'm happy too", Fluttershy said in her usual shyness.
Applejack nodded a bit, "Uh-huh, sure, ah guess". Sweetie noticed that, now she feels a bit less alone.
Soon Thunderlane arrived with Rumble, Flitter & Cloudchaser, carrying their baggage.
"Sorry we're late, the mares needed to finish their manes", Thunderlane explained.
"Yeah, don't wanna look bad for a trip to Canterlot, I can't believe we're actually going!" Flitter stated while flying for joy.
"Yeah, and with The Wonderbolts no less, this is gonna be so cool", Cloudchaser stated while doing a little 'oh yeah' motion.
"Well we're glad you all could make it", Twilight said.
"Sure...I'm stoked as well", Applejack, then approached Thunderlane hoof out, "Put it there partner"
Thunderlane shook Applejack's hoof, "You too Applejack"
Although Applejack initiated the hoof-shake, she still didn't feel it.
Rainbow approached Thunderlane, "You ready to wow the Wonderbolts?"
"Yeah, little nervous though"
"Don't be, I got some cool moves for us to do that will guarantee all of us access into The Wonderbolts"
"That would be a dream come true", Cloudchaser said.
"Being in The Wonderbolts wasn't really in my career goal but performing for them still seems very prestigious", Flitter stated.
Scootaloo approached Rumble, "I envy you so much Rumble, you get to fly with Rainbow Dash"
Rumble put his hoof on her shoulder, "You'll fly soon too Scootaloo, then we can be flight buddies, that sounds good right?"
Scootaloo smiled with a small blush, "Thanks, you're a really nice kid". Apple Bloom nodded in agreement, "Yeah, he is", she turned to Sweetie Belle, "Right Sweetie?"
Sweetie shot a glance at Rumble and then looked away, "Sure thing". Apple Bloom looked even more annoyed now.
Rainbow noticed the weird tension among the foals so she broke it with a boastful statement, "Point is, all 6 of us will be the premiere fliers of this town soon enough"
Twilight grabbed some passes, "Here, before I forget, take these passes, it's your ticket into Canterlot and all the backstage stuff"
She gave passes to each of them as the train arrived.
"Here's the train, hop on everyone", Twilight said as everyone boarded the train.
"All aboard to Canterlot!" The Conductor said as the train started it's route to Canterlot.
After Big Mactintosh set the desserts down he attempted to leave the train, before he saw that it was moving, "Oh no". He went to the door but it a too late, he wouldn't risk jumping out and possibly injuring himself.
Twilight approached him, "You can stay if you'd like, I had an extra pass for you just in case you decided to come"
Big Macintosh took the pass and sighed, "Oh well"
Applejack approached as well, "Relax, it's no big deal if no farm work is done the next few days, we have plenty on the market, just stick around and enjoy yourself bro"
Big Macintosh simply went to sit somewhere, Twilight grabbed a book from her packed bag and gave it to Big Macintosh, "This should help you pass the time"
Big Macintosh nodded and took the book, "Thanks you kindly Twilight", he sat back and read his book.
"Thanks for that Twi", Applejack said.
"No problem, the more the merrier", Twilight said and walked back to the group with Applejack.
Pinkie Pie sat next to Thunderlane, "Isn't this exciting? You're going on a BIG adventure with us!"
Rarity spoke up, "It's not that big Pinkie, we're not engaging in a battle with the fate of Equestria on the line"
Rainbow Dash chuckled, "Yeah I'd doubt he'd wanna join us in fighting villains like Queen Chrysalis or King Sombra"
"Yeah, sounds dangerous, what were they like?" Thunderlane asked.
"Pretty evil, but nothing we couldn't handle, just a usual day for us like no other", Rainbow Dash boasted.
Thunderlane looked a bit impressed despite noticing Rainbow's obvious boast, "You're all pretty brave, I don't think I can handle fighting evil queens and shadow kings"
Applejack approached him, "So if there's a major crisis sometime soon, would you stick with us or just leave us?"
Rainbow looked confused and annoyed, "AJ what are you doing?"
Applejack did a 'relax yourself' gesture, "Easy there Rainbow, I'm just asking an honest question, so Thunder, what would you do?"
Thunderlane rubbed his head a bit, "Um...well I wouldn't want to abandon you, so I would do what I could to help..."
"And how exactly?" Applejack got closer and had a stern look on her face.
Twilight interrupted, "He would do what he can do, but I personally would not let him do anything that would endanger him, remember Applejack, he's not an element nor does he have access to any kind of magic, to expect him to fight is very dangerous especially if he has no formal training"
Rainbow got in Applejack's face, "Yeah seriously, don't bother him about this"
"I'm just askin', I just wanna be sure what he'd do if something happened, this way we can make a proper battle plan"
Thunderlane looked to Applejack honestly, "Believe me Applejack, I would never ditch you in a major battle, none of you"
"That's nice to hear, just stay true to your word", Applejack then got in Thunderlane's face, "Ah don't like dishonesty", Applejack said that with the darkest tone that freaked Thunderlane out a little.
"Applejack, step back", Twilight said very sternly. Applejack sat down away from Thunderlane but continued to eye him.
Rainbow Dash sat next to Thunderlane with her arm around his neck & shoulder, "Relax Thunder, all you have to do to prove yourself to us is be a true friend, you don't need to endanger yourself to do so, and if there IS danger, we got your back, you and your friends"
"Don't forget Rumble", Apple Bloom chimed in.
"Yeah, Rumble too, we're all best buds, now let's have a hoof bump to show it", Rainbow said while holding her hoof out.
Thunderlane obliged with the hoof bump.
"That's so sweet", Twilight said.
"...It's not 'sweet', it's awesome", Rainbow stated.
Scootaloo yawned a bit, "I'm bored, come on crusaders, lets explore the train"
"Sis can we go explorin'?" Apple Bloom asked.
"Sure, just be careful", Applejack replied.
"Wait", Twilight turned to Fluttershy, "Um Fluttershy would you mind watching them?"
Fluttershy nodded, "Ok"
Flitter stood up, "I'll go too, 4 foals seems like a lot for one mare, besides I'll feel better if I can see if Rumble's safe"
"Thanks for that Flitter", Thunderlane said.
The crusaders moved to another cart, followed by Flitter & Fluttershy.
"Funny that those two have similar names", Spike stated.
Everyone eyed Spike a bit.
"What?" Spike shrugged, "What!?"
"Was that really necessary?", Applejack asked deadpanned.
"I thought it was a pretty cool fun fact", Thunderlane stated.
Applejack glared at Thunderlane, "Oh did you now? What was the fun part?" Applejack asked while putting on a seemingly innocent face.
"Um...the names?"
Applejack just stared a moment, "The names? Was that the fun part?"
Thunderlane sweated bullets and gulped nervously, "Yeah?"
Applejack just stared as she took her hat off to dust it , "That's nice", she then put it back on her head.
Everyone in the room looked a little uncomfortable.
"So..." Rarity attempted to think of something to break the awkwardness, "Thunderlane, how long have you known Rainbow Dash?"
"Well she's the captain on our weather team, and one thing we had in common is our athleticism and our desire to be a Wonderbolt, hence why we went to the Academy together"
"Ah yes, you saved me when we fell out of that balloon, I really appreciate that by the way", Rarity said, then walked over to nuzzle Thunderlane a bit.
"It was nothing, I did what any other pesusai would do".
Rainbow looked a bit unhappy at seeing the nuzzling, then she spoke up, "Ok, ok, enough with the mushy stuff"
Pinkie turned to Cloudchaser, "You saved Fluttershy that day as well".
"Yeah, well sorta, she's a Pegasus too so it seemed weird to save her".
"Weird?" Applejack asked sternly, earning a slight glare from Cloudchaser in return, as if saying, 'Don't even start with me'. Rarity however shot a glare at Applejack, ending the talk right there.
Cloudchaser saw the situation settle so she followed up on her previous statement, "I don't fully blame her, sometimes it's hard to catch yourself when flying, so perhaps I did some good".
Rarity clapped her hoof a little, "That's all good, so how long have you been friends with Thunderlane?"
"For years, one of the reasons me and Flitter foalsit his brother, he's a sweet boy"
Rarity nodded, "He seems sweet, adorable little colt too"
"Yeah, very shy, except with people he knows, like me, Flitter & obviously Thunder, but I think Fluttershy can relate to him, being shy herself, hell maybe they can have a shy off, I give a point to Rumble for being cuter, though Fluttershy would win for longevity".
Applejack glared at Cloudchaser, "You tryin' to say something about Fluttershy?"
Cloudchaser looked a bit unhappy as she spoke to Applejack, "What are you talking about Applejack?"
"You making fun of Fluttershy's shyness?"
Cloudchaser glared a moment, "No, I'm just saying Rumble may outgrow it, Fluttershy hasn't yet, not that it's a bad thing, some ponies are just naturally shy"
Applejack crossed her arms in an annoyed tone, "Fluttershy has more guts than you're giving credit"
Cloudchaser was getting annoyed, "I'm sure she's got guts, I saw her during tornado day, I know she helped save Equestria, I'm just saying she seems naturally shy, some ponies are like that, my sister is sorta like that so..."
Applejack scoffed a bit and looked to the side, "I doubt your sister saved Equestria, ah wouldn't compare them"
That shocked everyone and struck a nerve in Cloudchaser, who proceeded to get in Applejack's face.
"Listen you! You think that just because Thunderlane won't say anything to you doesn't mean I won't! I get the feeling you don't want us here, I'm here to tell you I don't care what you think, I'm here whether you like it or not. Myself, Flitter, Thunderlane and Rumble will be around your friends for quite a bit, so if you don't get your act together-"
"You threatening me!" Applejack shouted, getting in Cloudchaser's face.
Twilight used her magic to separate them, "That's enough! You need to stop fighting!"
"Hmph, she started it", Cloudchaser said.
"Screw this, I'm leaving", Applejack put her hoof up to Twilight who wanted to protest, "Don't! I'm not staying, I'm leaving, I don't feel like discussing this any further", Applejack made her way to another cart.
Cloudchaser huffed a little, "Why the hell is she acting like this? I thought she put this bullshit behind her!"
Twilight looked a bit surprised by Cloudchaser's tone and usage of words, but knew she was just frustrated, "She's just a bit moody"
"I don't like how she's treating me, my sister and Thunderlane, and I swear if she does ANYTHING to Rumble-"
"She won't, I won't let her, no one will", Twilight said.
Thunderlane approached Cloudchaser, "Relax CC, let her cool off, maybe she needs a little time to adjust"
"She 'adjusted' last time and she's still like this, I don't trust her"
"Maybe you should go cool off too, go find The Crusaders and see if you can assist Flitter & Fluttershy", Thunderlane offered a smile in hopes that it would lighten her mood
Cloudchaser huffed and left without saying a word. Twilight approached Thunderlane with a regrettable look, "Sorry you're still going through this"
"Well maybe I'm just an acquired taste, takes a while for people to like me but when they do, they can't get enough of me", Thunderlane said with a confident smile.
"Don't get too big of a head Thunderlane", Rainbow Dash teased.
Thunderlane groaned, but Twilight patted his back, "Don't worry about it, so far I like spending time with you, you're very caring".
Thunderlane smiled, "Thanks Twilight, you are the Princess of Friendship for a reason".
That caused Twilight to Squee smile, but caused some jealousy from Rainbow Dash.
Meanwhile Cloudchaser found Flitter & Fluttershy as they watched the Crusaders.
Flitter notices Cloudchaser, "Hi Sis, what's up?"
"Nothing". Flitter could sense Cloudchaser's anger, "You ok sis?"
Cloudchaser waved it off, "I don't wanna talk about it right now"
Flitter shrugged and decided to leave it for now, meanwhile the Crusaders were deciding what to do.
"I know, lets parasailing on my scooter down one of the long ramps", Scootaloo said.
"That's gonna hurt us", Rumble pointed out.
"Well we could offer to shoe shine the Canterlot Royalty", Apple Boom stated.
"Not many ponies wear shoes, besides I doubt they'd let kids like us do something like that anyway", Rumble stated.
Sweetie Belle looked annoyed, "Gee, maybe we could just stand guard and do nothing like the Canterlot guards"
"I don't think we'd be allowed to do that"
Sweetie Belle growled, "Well what ideas do YOU have then!?"
Rumble was taken back a little by her attitude but still pondered and thought up, "How about volunteer at the ticket booth? Just sell tickets"
Sweetie Belle looked like 'what?', "That's boring, selling tickets isn't special, any moron can do that"
"You never know", Rumble pointed out, "Besides it's safer and not doing anything that's misbehaving"
Sweetie shot her hands up in an annoyed way, "Ugh, you're so boring!"
Apple Bloom whacked Sweetie Belle's side, "Be nice!" Sweetie rubbed her side a bit, that was really annoying.
"Yeah, he's new, give him time to adjust", Scootaloo said, patting Rumble's back a bit.
Sweetie Belle huffed, "Well do you girls want to sell tickets?"
Apple Bloom thought a moment, "We can put that in the 'idea' pile, keep brainstorming"
Sweetie Belle reluctantly decided to deal with it and kept brainstorming, though her attitude did not go unnoticed by Cloudchaser, "She's acting no differently than Applejack! What is she a brat?"
"Oh no, Sweetie Belle is usually very sweet, she's probably a little moody", Fluttershy said.
"Rumble told me that she hasn't been too friendly with him, though he probably wants to believe he can be friends with her, she better not do anything to hurt him though or she's gonna have to deal with me", Cloudchaser's look showed she was ready to throw down on anypony who upset Rumble.
Flitter calmed Cloudchaser, "Relax, don't make a big deal, maybe Flutters is right, she's just a little moody, maybe this is how she deals with change"
"So dealing with change means acting bratty?"
Flitter shrugged, "Depends on the individual I guess"
Cloudchaser sighed, "Fine whatever, but I'll be watching her"
Back with Applejack, she's pacing around trying to wrap her head around things, she doesn't wanna be selfish but she doesn't like this little situation. Her brother was there simply watching his sister pace.
"This is ridiculous, Cloudchaser has some damn nerve telling me off like that, I mean I'm just trying to make sure this is a good crowd and I'm the bad one? Do you think I'm being a lousy friend Big Mac?"
Big Macintosh simply stated, "That ain't up to me, that's up to your friends"
"But my friends are being thick headed"
"Somepony's being thick-headed, not sure if it's your friends though"
Applejack glared, "What's that supposed to-" she head the door open and saw Rarity come in, "Hello Applejack, mind if I come?"
Applejack nodded, "Sure, of course"
Rarity approached Applejack, "Look darling, I get that you have some reserves about this sudden injection but I think you're being a bit harsh, why is this a big deal? Keep in mind all six of us barely knew each other when we first met yet it instantly hit off"
"But the difference is we got to know each other a little beforehand, Rainbow was already best friends with Fluttershy and we all knew Pinkie Pie, however Rainbow Dash only really knows Thunderlane, and even they were barely friends, she only befriended him because she was getting bored of us"
"She wasn't bored of us, just what we do, keep in mind Thunderlane and his friends are Pegusai like her and they love flying like she does"
"What about Twilight & Fluttershy? They can fly"
"Well Twilight may have wings but she's a unicorn first and she's not much into flying for fun, Fluttershy isn't competitive and she prefers the ground more than flying, so Rainbow found some friends that has something in common with her, nothing wrong with that"
Applejack rubbed her temple, "Maybe you have a point there, but ah still think she's tryin' to replace us, and ah don't like Cloudchaser's attitude"
"Can you blame her? You were hardly being fair to Thunderlane, plus what you said about her sister, you and I know how much of a sour spot that can be, if the situation were reversed, would you have acted any differently?"
Rarity got Applejack there.
"But still, what about the fact that he was shoved in with us with barely any consent?"
Rarity rubbed her forehead a bit before speaking again, "We represent the Elements of Harmony, as Generosity I generously offer my friendship, if you can't honor your element of friendship, you're being dishonest with yourself".
Applejack sighed, "Damn Rarity, yah know me as well as my Big Brother over there".
"Because I care for you, and I hate to see you unhappy, if youre unhappy, I'm unhappy".
Applejack smiled to Rarity and gave her a nice hug, "Thanks Rarity, you're the best". Rarity returned the hug with a genuine smile, "Anytime Applejack, I'm here for you"
Applejack broke away, "Guess I should get back and apologize to Thunderlane"
Rarity nodded and took Applejack back, "You can come too Big Mac, the food will be fine"
Big Mac nodded and followed.
As Applejack approached the others, she went to Thunderlane, "Sorry, I'm still getting used to yah being here, nothing personal, it's not you, its more me and Rainbow Dash"
Thunderlane nodded, "It's fine, I just hope the awkwardness goes away soon so we can all be buddies"
Applejack nodded, "Where's Cloudchaser?"
"She went to cool off, she'll be back soon"
As the train approached the station, that's when Cloudchaser arrived with everyone else, so Applejack took the opportunity to speak with her.
"Hey Cloudchaser, sorry I was out of line before, didn't mean to upset yah, we cool?"
Cloudchaser huffed a little, "Can you assure me you won't relapse this time?"
"I'm still getting used to yah, but I'll do mah best"
Cloudchaser sighed, "Fine, just please don't let it happen again", Cloudchaser then walked off, leaving Applejack somewhat unhappy.
"So long as you do your part", Applejack simply stated and followed the group.
Big Mac helped some of the Canterlot assistants load the food and desserts into the castle while the ponies approach Celestia's castle.
"Wow, this place is so cool", Thunderlane said, looking up at it.
"It's awe inspiring for sure", she looked to the top, "Oh look, there's the Wonderbolts!" Twilight pointed to the sky.
It was the whole group led by Spitfire, Soarin & Fleetfoot, they landed behind the castle away from the group.
"Lets go meet them!" Rainbow shouted and attempted to rush off but Twilight used her magic to pull Rainbow back, "Not yet Rainbow, be patient"
Rainbow huffed and flew back to the group.
"Lets go see who else is here", Twilight said and they went in to see who else would be participating.
"This is so cool, it's like a huge party! I wonder if they'll let me plan help it!" Pinkie shouted.
"I think they have this under control", Twilight pointed out.
"Aw, well it's fine, this place is packed though, I see a lot of ponies here, I see Vinyl Scratch, I see Octavia..." Pinkie froze, "I don't believe it..." Pinkie's perkiness faded a little.
Her shouting caught the attention of the pony she was gawking at.
"Pinkie Pie?"
Pinkie smiled and nodded feverishly.
It was Cheese's turn to smile big, "PINKIE PIE!"
They ran at each other and hugged hard, squeezing each other like squeaky toys.
"I missed you!" Pinkie said.
"I missed you too!" Cheese said.
"I missed you a lot!"
"I missed you a super lot"
"I missed you a super DUPER lot!"
"I missed you a super duper mega lot!"
"I missed-"
"We get it!" Rainbow shouted, "You missed each other! Enough with the sappy reunion!"
They let each other go, both chuckling awkwardly with a small blush on their face. "Sorry Dashie, I just missed him a lot"
"Me too, I had a feeling you'd be here though, my Cheesie sense told me so"
Thunderlane nudged Rainbow Dash, "I take it they have history?"
"Yeah, he planed my Birthiversary, that's my birthday and anniversary of when I moved to Ponyville, and she rivaled and befriended him there, he's a cool dude, likes Polka Music"
Twilight went to Cheese and shook his hoof, "Well it's nice to see you Cheese, wonder who else is here?"
Soon some smoke came into the area, causing everypony to cough, when it dissipated, a familiar unicorn stood there.
"The Great and POWERFUL Trixie...has arrived". Trixie did a mini light show with her horn.
Twilight looked surprised to see Trixie, "Wow, so you're here too?"
"Of course, Trixie is a showpony, an entertainer, and what better place to entertain than Canterlot, in front of Princess Celestia herself", Trixie posed a bit more.
"Well it's nice to see you, good luck", Twilight said. Trixie scoffed, "The Great and Powerful Trixie does not need luck, she has the skill"
Thunderlane nudged Rainbow again, "Isn't she the one who boasts about her magic ability, and endangered Ponyville on some occasions? Like when she enslaved it?"
"Yeah, according to Twilight, she said she was sorry, then did that lower lip quiver, Twilight forgave her but I still think she's full of crap"
"Trixie heard that Rainbow Dash!"
"Tch, yeah whatever"
Twilight glared, "Be nice Rainbow Dash"
"Yes, don't be uncouth", Rarity stated.
"Miss Rarity?" Rarity heard. Rarity turned around and was face to face with Coco Pommel, "Coco, darling, it's great to see you", Rarity hugged her, "What brings you here?"
"I'm doing a fashion show, I worked really hard and designed everything from scratch, I hope the judges like it, maybe you'll like it too"
"I'm sure I...oh no"
They turned to see another fashion pony, Suri Polomare. Coco got nervous and backed away.
"Hmph, Suri Polomare, I take it you're having a fashion show too?" Rarity asked with little care in her voice.
"Of course darling", Suri said with a smug smile.
"I also take it you probably ripped off another idea from somepony else?"
"I don't need to be judged by you, okay, I'll leave that up to the top Fashion designers in Equestria" Suri then walked off.
Thunderlane nudged Rainbow, which annoyed her, "Can you stop nudging me!?"
"Sorry I'm just a little lost, who was that?"
"Suri Polomare, during a trip to Manehatten she ripped off one of Rarity's designs, or rather she made Coco do it, eventually with our help Rarity got new designs out, and Coco got the guts to ditch that tramp Suri and do things honestly, amazing since she seems as shy as Fluttershy, but it turned out well for her, she deserves better"
Applejack huffed, "Wow, ah can't believe they got con artists here, next thing you know we'll be seeing Flim & Flam"
"You mentioned us?" an unwelcome familiar voice behind Applejack said. She turned to see Flim & Flam, "You two are here?"
"Of course, me and my brother have a great idea for the nobles of Canterlot to invest in" Flim stated.
"Now if you don't mind, we're off to see that Suri Polomare girl", Flam stated.
"Yeah, from what I've heard, she's got a good business style"
The brothers walked off.
Thunderlane was gonna nudge Rainbow but she glared, which reminded him what she said, "Those were the cider guys right? The one that tried to run the Apple Family out of business"
"Yeah, they had some run ins with AJ, couple of crooks honestly"
"Wow this is almost like a reunion of sorts, I wonder who else is here?" Twilight asked.
"I'm not sticking around, last thing we need is another rotten face to deal with", as Rainbow walked off she came face to face with the last pony she wanted to see.
"YOU!"
Thunderlane noticed the pony, he too glared, "I remember you"
Cloudchaser also looked displeased, "You have some nerve showing your face around here"
The pony in question was Rainbow Dash's Wonderbolts academy's roommate, Lightning Dust.
"You're seriously here?" Rainbow asked with great displeasure in her face.
Lightning returned the bad attitude, "Got a problem? Deal with it, I'm here to show the world, including The Wonderbolts who Lightning Dust is, when I'm done, Spitfire will realize her mistake at The Academy and welcome me into The Wonderbolts on a red carpet"
"It was no mistake you deserve what you got", Rainbow said sternly.
"Well see about that, when I DO get into The Wonderbolts, I'm gonna fly so well that I become the new captain and I will personally make sure you and your friends NEVER get in!" Lightning Dust said and flew off.
Rainbow Dash growled as Trixie approached her, "Trixie knew one day you'd make an enemy of somepony, looks like Trixie was correct"
Rainbow glared at Trixie, "Shove off! I have a plan to perfect, Thunder, CC, Flitter, Rumble, follow me!" Rainbow said and flew off with her team.
Trixie huffed, "How brash"
Twilight sighed, "This may end up in disaster"
Applejack had some concerns, "They better not screw things up for Rainbow Dash, ah hope she banked on the right ponies". Twilight glared at Applejack a bit for her comments, but didn't want to say anything much about it.
Soon all the ponies made their way to their rooms to plan for the upcoming event.
Twilight arrived in a room with her friends; also joined by Trixie, Coco & Cheese. "Ok this will be one of the rooms we're gonna be staying in", Twilight said.
Applejack looked around, "So what are the new sleeping arrangements?"
Twilight poofed up a little clipboard, "I have that figured out, we're gonna have this room like always, us elements & Spike, I can also get a bed for Big Macintosh, I managed to get another room and that's where Thunderlane, Flitter & Cloudchaser will be staying; Rainbow Dash may want to join them so they can come up with any strategies they may need, but for now she will be staying with us while the foals will have their own room"
Applejack put her hoof up, "Um Twilight, when you say 'foals', do you mean Rumble as well as mah sister, Rarity's sister & Scootaloo?" Applejack put slight emphasis on the 'sister' part.
"Um yeah, I don't think the fillies would mind", she turned to the fillies "Isn't that right girls?"
"Yeah we would" Sweetie Bell bluntly stated, causing Apple Bloom to strike her arm, and Sweetie Belle yelping in pain, "What gives Apple Bloom!?"
"Come on girls, lets not resort to violence", Twilight stated with a serious face.
"Ah don't mind Rumble staying, neither does Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom said. Scootaloo nodded, "I'm cool with him"
Applejack spoke up, "If Sweetie doesn't want to, then ah don't think Rumble should stay with them, it shouldn't be a majority vote, it should be unanimous"
Rarity cleared her throat while glaring at Applejack, "Applejack, remember what we discussed"
"This has nothin' to do with Rumble", Applejack insisted, "I'm just going with what's better for the girls"
Twilight sighed, clearly annoyed, "Fine, Rumble can stay with his brother & friends, better?"
"Sounds fair", Applejack stated.
Rarity however looked somewhat unconvinced, Coco went to her.
"You look unhappy Miss raruty, what's wrong?" Coco asked in a hushed tone.
"Nothing darling", she turned to leave, "Come with me Coco, while we have time lets take a walk and catch up a little, I'd like to hear what you've been doing lately" Rarity said and walked off with Coco.
Pinkie went to Cheese, "Lets go check the party stuff!"
"That sounds great!" The energetic duo left in a rush.
Trixie approached Twilight, "Well Trixie must be off, good luck with that headstrong friend of yours, Trixie has a feeling that other Pegasus will give her a run for her bits", Trixie said and left the room.
"Speaking of Rainbow Dash, I'm gonna go check on her", Fluttershy said and left.
"Come on girls, lets head to our room and plan for our Cutie Marks", Apple Bloom said and left with her friends.
Twilight smiled but noticed Applejack and approached her, "Are you ok AJ?"
Applejack raised her eyebrow a little, "Of course, why wouldn't ah be?"
"You look a little concerned, is it because of Flim & Flam?"
Applejack shook her head, "I ain't worried about those nimrods"
"Does this have to do with Thunderlane? Don't tell me you still hate him"
"Ah don't hate Thunderlane, never have", she looked down, "But ah just can't shake this feeling"
"Just remember, you said on more than one occasion you're ok with him, you're the Element of Honesty, you need to prove it"
"Twi, I'm not the one who's element you should be questioning", Applejack said with a slight attitude.
Twilight understood what that meant, "Rainbow hasn't done anything against her element, everyone else is fine with Thunderlane, why aren't you?"
Applejack sighed, "Ah still think he needs to prove himself"
"He will, just be patient", Twilight reassured, "Now I need to go talk to Celestia, in the meantime please try to lighten up". Once Applejack nodded, Twilight walked off to find Celestia while Applejack pondered to herself.
"Thunderlane's a nice guy, I really need to relax, can't let this get to mah head" she decided to take a nice walk.
In the a Canterlot Royal Garden, Rainbow's team was flying through, practicing the moves Rainbow Dash laid out for them. They had been flying for a small amount of time but it's already strenuous.
"Come on team! We need to be fast and agile!" Rainbow shouted.
The team did their best but they were still getting used to the plans and Rainbow seemed more than motivated to get the best out of them.
"Cloudchaser, use your flexibility! Flitter show some grace! Move faster Thunderlane! And keep practicing that spot Rumble! Remember The Wonderbolts are gonna be watching, don't screw this up!"
The Pegusai were getting a little stressed, "Rainbow relax, we're gonna pull this off but don't go nuts over it", Thunderlane stated.
"Yeah you'll pull this off with a LOT of practice, keep flying, we're gonna wow the Wonderbolts", Rainbow then muttered, "And shove this in Lightning Dust's face"
Fluttershy had gotten there and watched the Pegusai fly around, she noticed that Rainbow Dash was really barking out orders.
"Wow she's really determined, is it because of The Wonderbolts or is it because of Lightning Dust?"
While flying Rainbow noticed Fluttershy and got an idea, she then flew closer to her, "Hey Fluttershy, can you help us with something?"
Fluttershy looked up, "Sure, what is it?"
"Be our cheerleader, cheer like when I performed the Sonic-Rainboom, they could use the motivation!"
Fluttershy looked down a bit, "I don't think I can do that again, I only did it because I got really excited"
"Just try, they could use the motivation, it doesn't have to be loud, just shout encouraging things to them!"
"Ok" Fluttershy cleared her throat, "Um go team, woot woot, you got this", she had barely yelled though, causing Rainbow to face hoof and rub her face down. "Come on, try to really get to them", Rainbow stated.
Fluttershy took a breath and tried again, "Cloudchaser rules the sky, Flitter is a natural, Thunderlane makes the sky better looking, Rumble is such a cutie"
Thunderlane stopped and grinned a bit, "Better looking huh?"
"Keep flying Thunderlane!" Rainbow shouted, making Thunderlane fly quicker, then she turned to Fluttershy, "You need to work on the cheers a bit, those sounded too generic, and half barely had anything to do with flying"
Rumble then flew over to Fluttershy, "So you think I'm cute?" he gave her his attempt at a suave smile. Fluttershy giggled at this a bit, he was already a jock in the making.
"Get back up there kid", Rainbow said, to which Rumble obeyed, but not before waving bye to Fluttershy.
"Wow, first Thunderlane, now him, those boys the attention of the girls", Fluttershy stated.
Another Pegusai arrived, "Nothing wrong with that after all"
Rainbow and Fluttershy turned to see Soarin of the Wonderbolts.
"Holy crap, it's Soarin!" Rainbow said, trying to contain her excitement, though her eager smile and slight blush didn't help.
He approached Rainbow and Fluttershy, "I thought you would be here Rainbow Dash, you were always our most loyal fan, and an awesome flyer in your own right", he observed the other Pegusai, "Looks like you've assembled your own team too, that's good, being a Wonderbolt means good teamwork, great intuition"
Rainbow puffed her chest out a little, "Naturally of course, once we're done I'm sure you'll want ALL of us, we'll be fine additions to The Wonderbolts, in fact why don't you speak with them yourself, see what your future recruits are like"
"If you don't mind", Fluttershy added.
"Of course not", Soarin said with a smile.
Rainbow Dash called out, "Yo team, Front and Center!" The others flew down to meet Soarin. "Soarin, meet Thunderlane, Flitter, Cloudchaser & Rumble"
Cloudchaser was in awe, "Wow, you're THE Soarin, so cool to meet you"
Soarin waved it off, "No need to make a big deal, I started off as a fan too"
Flitter blushed "You're a lot cuter up close".
Soarin blushed as well, "Uh thanks".
"Don't start flirting Flitter, we don't need that type of reputation", Rainbow stated.
"Well Flitter's not totally wrong, he is cute", Fluttershy said behind her own blush.
Thunderlane looked surprised, "You really know how to get the mares to like you Soarin"
Soarin shrugged, "Yeah, just a natural part of life for me", he looked to Rainbow, "Works wonders sometimes".
Rainbow blushed a bit, though Thunderlane looked a bit concerned, "Right..."
Rainbow turned to Rumble, "Do you have something to say to Soarin?"
Rumble shook his head and stepped back a little.
"Poor kid, he's a little shy, especially in front of big shots, but he opens up once you get to know him", Rainbow said.
Soarin chuckled a bit, "I know I'm a Wonderbolt but it doesn't mean I'm unapproachable, I'm pretty normal myself outside The Wonderbolts gig, Spitfire takes this a LOT more seriously than I do, I do love being a Wonderbolt but like I said I'm still just a pony"
"Wow so modest", Flitter said with a love sigh. "He's so sweet too", Fluttershy stated. Rainbow nodded, "He is a handsome colt, but like I said, let's not butter him up too much, we wanna impress him with our skills, not the flirting"
Soarin blushed a bit at the compliments, "Don't worry Rainbow Dash, I'll judge honestly", he started to make his way out, "Well I need to be off, Spitfire's waiting, I just wanted to check on potential entrants, I saw some other Pegasus flying through, she meant business, she even had lightning behind her"
Rainbow rolled her eyes, "Ugh, sounds like Lightning Dust"
"Oh, Spitfire told me about her, she said she has great potential but a bit of an ego, and a bit reckless, I should probably have been at the Academy to help with that".
"No matter, me and my team have this" Rainbow boasted.
Cloudchaser stepped forward, "You're not really gonna consider Lightning Dust for the Wonderbolts after all of that are you?"
"We have to give her a chance, besides Spitfire thinks she has potential if she gets her act together", Soarin explained.
"That's a BIG if though", Rainbow Dash said.
"Still, most ponies deserve another chance, so long as they don't screw it up, anyway I should be off before Spitfire gets annoyed, she's pretty scary when she's unhappy, bye everyone, keep up the good work, you got a good flyer in Rainbow Dash", Soarin left the room.
Rainbow grinned, "You hear that? A Wonderbolt says I'm a good flyer, you have a great leader in me team"
"Don't get a big head about it", Cloudchaser said. Thunderlane nodded, "Yeah seriously", he sounded a bit envious of Soarin.
"Watch it, or I'll make you do 20 laps around the castle", Rainbow warned.
Cloudchaser simply rolled her eyes and went back to the sky to continue flying. Thunderlane also went to start flying, a little concerned about how Rainbow Dash had her eyes on Soarin.
Rainbow could sense Thunderlane's jealousy, she found it flattering that Thunderlane seemed jealous, she doesn't blame him, Soarin's a very handsome colt, but not the only fish in the sea.
"You know Fluttershy, it's not too late to join my team, you can be a Wonderbolt too", Rainbow offered.
Fluttershy shook her head, "No thanks, I'm not much of a flyer, but I will cheer you on...well on the inside"
"Fine then", Rainbow said and continued flying.
Meanwhile Applejack is still walking, she wasn't alone, there were plenty of ponies in the castle, some professionals, some talent.
"Wow, this place sure is crowded, wonder if Big Mac's here, probably watching the family desserts".
She noticed Pinkie Pie talking with Cheese Sandwich, they seemed really happy.
"Wow, Pinkie looks really happy to be with Cheese, he's a nice fella though, long distant too, so he can't steal away mah friend", Applejack then realized what she said and shook her head, "Gah, what am ah saying? That was really selfish of me, what am I worried about anyway, Pinkie ain't bored of us, she wouldn't ditch us for some guy", Applejack shook again, "Land sakes Applejack, what's gotten into you?"
She some laughing from Pinkie and Cheese, "Maybe I am a bit jealous, Twilight is right, I'm too possessive, I need to befriend Thunderlane, for real this time, ah need help though, I'll talk to Pinkie, she's good at this kind of stuff, fact is she's one of the reasons we're all friends in the first place", Applejack walked over to Pinkie, "Mind if I join yah both?"
Pinkie smiled, "We'd love it if you came"
"Yeah, the more the merrier!" Cheese said.
She walked and talked with the duo.
Time went by and Rainbow's team grew tired after a long time of practice.
"Good work team, I think we have everything nailed down, especially in the short time we had, hopefully tomorrow we can squeeze in some extra practice, but for now go rest".
The team landed, Rumble started making his way out the room, "I'm gonna meet up with the Crusaders".
"I'll go with you, come on Fluttershy, you know where the rooms are", Flitter said.
The 3 walked off leaving Soarin, Thunderlane & Rainbow behind.
"Well since you all did well, I'm gonna treat you to something nice", Rainbow said.
"You don't have to do that Rainbow", Thunderlane stated. Cloudchaser nodded, "Yeah, no big deal"
"Hey, I wouldn't be much of a coach if I didn't show my team a little gratitude".
Thunderlane & Cloudchaser glanced at each other for a moment, then nodded.
"Ok we'll go", Thunderlane said.
The trio left to find a place to grab something to eat.
Meanwhile in another part of the castle, Lightning Dust is practicing her own moves, "Wait til the Wonderbolts see this, they'll be begging me to join, Spitfire will regret giving my lead pony badge to Rainbow Dash", she continued flying, unaware she had an audience of the Flim Flam brothers & Suri Polomare.
"She's pretty good, sure fired Wonderbolt for sure", Flim stated.
"Yeah, sure is, anyway why are we here Suri?" Flam asked.
Surti turned to Flim with a sinister like smile, "To give her an offer, should she become a Wonderbolt, she could be an excellent sponsor for our business".
Flim scratched his head, "Why would she want to sponsor us?"
Suri turned back to Lightning Dust, "Because we all have a common enemy, if we want to stick it to The Elements, why not get those who despise the Elements as much as we do? She'll get in The Wonderbolts, but if she doesn't...well we can make a little back-up plan".
"What type of back-up?" Flam asked.
"We'll figure something out, after all, we're all good business ponies after all".
They heard another voice, "If you were all good business ponies, you wouldn't have been easily bested and humiliated by the friends of Twilight Sparkle"
They turned to see Trixie.
"Oh it's you, that Trixie girl", Suri said with very little enthusiasm
"Mind your tongue, Trixie has challenged The Elements on more than one occasion, so Trixie knows more of their power than you"
"That 3rd person talk is like, really annoying okay, can you talk like a regular pony for once?" Suri stated.
"Trixie is no regular pony, she's a pony of her own", she flipped her mane a bit to show off.
Suri looked at her with slight disgust, "Yeah whatever, why are you here?"
"Like you, Trixie has come to see this Lightning Dust pony, this Lightning Dust pony seems like quite the pony, especially to get that Rainbow-mane nuisance all riled up, so Trixie applauds her for being able to so such a feat".
"Well just remember, we were here first, don't think you can steal her away as a sponsor, she's gonna work for us", Suri warned.
"Technically one can have more than one sponsor, but Trixie's reasons for observing Lightning Dust have little to do with that".
"If you say so, now that I care that much", she gestuered for the brothers to follow her, "Come on boys, lets go give Lightning Dust our business proposition"
"Yes ma'am", the brothers said.
They approached Lightning Dust when she landed, Suri spoke first, "Hello Lightning Dust, my name is Suri Polomare, these boys are The Flim Flam Brothers"
"Hello!" both said.
Lightning Dust didn't look impressed, "What do you want?"
Suri chuckled a bit, "I'll get to the point, I see that you're destined to do great things, a Wonderbolt in the making, a big star if you will, so we'd like to know if you would be ever so willing sponsor our business, you promote us and we'll promote you, you can be the big star we believe you can be, we'll make millions of bits and live the way we're meant to live", Suri stuck her hoof out for a hoofshake, "What do you say?"
Lightning Dust needed a few seconds to take that in, "You want me to sponsor you? What is your business anyway?"
"Personally I'm gonna start my own fashion industry, the boys are a little new to that but they have excellent business savy, they're very convincing, and should our business expand, they may try their own ideas, work with me and I will put your face on every t-shirt, I can even make a custom Wonderbolt outfit for you, so...what will it be?"
Lightning Dust thought for a bit, "Give me some time to think about it, I'll give you an answer tomorrow".
Suri smiled a bit, "Of course, take your time, I'm confident you'll make the right choice", Suri started to walk, "Lets go boys".
The brothers smiled. "She's quite the mare, isn't she Flam?" "Sure is Flim, my type of mare"
Flim glared a little, "Just remember, I saw her first". Flam glared back, "No you didn't, I saw her first"
While the brothers argued and followed Suri, Trixie approached Lightning Dust.
"Looks like you have a lot riding for you potentially".
Lightning Dust eyed Trixie a bit, "What do you want? Wait aren't you that Trixie chick that's responsible for some Ursa Major thing?"
"THAT WASN'T MY FAULT!" Trixie stopped and calmed down a bit, "Sorry, that still bothers Trixie a little, to be blamed for something that you had no control over".
Lightning nodded a bit, "I get that, I know what it's like to be blamed for something that's beyond your control, it ruined my dream of being in the Wonderbolts, but I have a chance to redeem myself"
"Trixie is glad she has someone to relate to, you yourself aren't alone in this, Trixie will let you finish your training, but Trixie has one thing to say".
"You're gonna offer me a sponsorship deal too?"
Trixie shook her head, "Not that, Trixie wants you to know that while you may feel hatred for others, you don't have to be alone on this, when I first saw you I could sense that there's a chance you felt like somepony wronged you, especially from the tone in your voice, if you need some guidance on how to deal with the hatred, that's what Trixie is here for". Lightning Dust looked curious, "Uh, what?"
"Don't worry about it, I'll leave you to your practice, good bye for now Lightning Dust", she pulled Lightning into a brief hug, really confusing her. She doesn't know Trixie and yet she was just hugged by her, though it didn't last. After the hug Trixie had left Lightning to her business.
Lightning Dust now had several conflicting emotions; revenge on Rainbow Dash, getting into The Wonderbolts, Sponsoring Suri & The Flim Flam Brothers, Friendship with Trixie, not to mention that random and awkward hug; but for now she needs to focus on her training, she continued to practice her moves.
At the room with The Crusaders, the foals are plotting for their Cutie Marks while Flitter is combing Fluttershy's mane.
"I can't wait to see Soarin again, he's such a cutie", Flitter said.
"He's also a sweetheart", Fluttershy added.
Sweetie Belle noticed what was happening and spoke to the other crusaders, "How come we don't comb each other's manes?"
"Because that's lame", Scootaloo said, with slight attitude. "Yeah it's not really mah type of thing", Apple Bloom added. "And I'm not a filly", Rumble acknowledged.
Sweetie glared at Rumble a bit, "Like I'm letting you anywhere near my mane".
Apple Bloom grew frustrated, "I'm getting really tired of you being mean to Rumble, one more crack and you're gonna be sent out of this room and back to yer sister"
Sweetie Belle did an unlady like snort, "Fine, whatever"
Rumble looked a little unhappy, "Sweetie Belle, why don't you like me? I like you"
Sweeite Belle turned away, trying to hide a blush, "Just don't talk to me"
Scootaloo was really starting regret the idea of Rumble in the Crusaders due to the rift it's causing between her friends, though she maintained some hope that things could iron out.
Apple Bloom nuzzled Rumble a bit, "Don't worry, ah still like yah". Rumble blushed a bit and nuzzled back, "Thanks, you're sweeter than your family's desserts".
Sweetie & Scootaloo rolled their eyes, mostly for different reasons. Flitter and Fluttershy however, giggled when they heard that.
"Hes such a sweetie", Fluttershy said.
"He's like his brother, hitting on all the girls, except he's got cuteness overload on his side", Flitter said.
Meanwhile Applejack was walking looking for Thunderlane, "Ok, just find Thunderlane and make peace, ah hope Pinkie's advice works"
She started walking down the hall that had the room the crusaders were in.
Meanwhile Apple Bloom continued to nuzzle Rumble, Rumble then noticed the smell of her hair, "Your hair smells like apples"
Apple Bloom giggled, "Well ah DO live on an apple farm"
"Ugh get a room you two", Sweetie Belle said, though blushing in her own right. Scootaloo just blushed a bit envious like.
Apple Bloom shot a glare at Sweetie Belle for her crack.
"Get a room? For what?" Rumble asked.
Apple Bloom smiled deviously, "For this", Apple Bloom gave Rumble a kiss on his cheek, causing him to blush madly.
Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle gawked at that. They couldn't believe what they saw.
Apple Bloom gave Rumble a love gaze, "Liked that, didn't yah?"
Rumble gulped and scooted backwards, "Uh yeah, sure?"
"Hey, don't leave", Apple Bloom walked toward Rumble, "That was just the appetizer, we're just getting-" then she tripped and fell on Rumble.
Flitter and Fluttershy noticed what happened and blushed when they saw Apple Bloom on Rumble. Sweetie & Scootaloo also looked surprised. Apple Bloom and Rumble were blushing as well.
"Sorry about that", Apple Bloom said.
They both tried to get up but tripped over each other's tails and fell again, this time with Rumble on top.
Scootaloo had giggled a bit, just based on how awkward that looked. Sweetie looked like she was blushing angrily and turned away, "That clutz"
Outside Applejack heard some thumping, "What's going on in there? Ah hope they're not playing rough"
Inside Rumble's face turned redder, "Wow this is awkward".
"Ah kinda like this, plus yer close enough for this", Apple Bloom said and leaned in to kiss Rumble, causing him to blush madly and also causing Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to stare wide-eyed, jaw dropped and blush heavy. Flitter & Flutteshy also looked surprised at what they saw.
Applejack entered the room, "Hey are ya'll playing-" she noticed Rumble on top of Apple Bloom, locked in a kiss, "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE!?"
Everyone noticed Applejack, even more the rage in her eyes.
Apple Bloom broke her kiss and realized the situation that Applejack discovered, "Crap...Rumble, you should run"
"But I..."
Applejack's eyes showed nothing but rage & fury, "I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU'D TRY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MAH SISTER!"
"You just crossed a very fine line boy, yer gonna pay the price now", Applejack said with malicious intent in her voice.
"But Applejack!" Rumble pleaded.
"RUMBLE JUST RUN!" Apple Bloom shouted.
Applejack ran to grab Rumble but he flew up and dashed out the room.
As Applejack turned around Flitter grabbed Applejack from behind, "Don't you dare hurt him!"
"BUZZ OFF!" Applejack freed herself and buck-kicked Flitter in the face, knocking her out, then she ran after Rumble.
Fluttershy tended to Flitter, "Oh no, Flitter", she checked and saw some blood come out of her mouth, she was out cold, "Girls, quick, go find the others, let them know about Applejack & Flitter, hurry!"
The girls didn't waste time, they ran to find their sisters & friends while Fluttershy rested Flitter on the bed.
Meanwhile Rumble was maneuvering around, doing his best to keep away from Applejack, however the in his halls of the castle were a maze in his panicked haste to get away from Applejack. He couldn't fly as fast or as long as he wanted due to his wings still being somewhat sore from all the training Rainbow Dash put him through.
"Rumble! Where the hell are yah!?" Applejack was still steamed, "When I find yah I'm gonna break every bone in your perverted little body!"
Rumble was getting more frightened by the minute, he needed to find a hiding place. He searched around carefully, hoping he would not run into Applejack. As he walked he tried several doors, most of them locked though.
"Ruuuumbleeee!" he heard Applejack call in a sing-song voice, causing his heart rate to acceletate, "You can't hide forever, I'm going to find yah, and I'm going to make you pay!" her voice getting more sinister with each word she spoke.
Rumble panicked with tears in his eyes and flew around. Applejack stormed around the halls, most ponies nearby hid in their rooms, not wanting to see an angry Applejack storm the halls.
Eventually Rumble found a closet to hide in and waited, hoping that Applejack would eventually give up the search.
"Rumble you are trying mah patience! The more I wait the more this is gonna hurt yah! Show yourself boy!"
Rumble was sitting and hoping she would leave, he was really scared, he started mumbling to himself.
"I wanna go home, I wanna go home, I don't wanna be here, I want to go back home, home is safe, it's not safe here!" He soon started sobbing, "I wish she would go away, please something make her leave"
His heart sank when he heard the knob turning.
"No, no, no, just go away! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you mad, I didn't try to take advantage of your sister! I swear I wasn't, please just don't hurt me!"
The knob turned more and the door opened, Rumble started screaming in fear and turned around and cowered.
"NO! GO AWAY! I'M SORRY DON'T HURT ME!" Rumble was hysterical now, tears rolling down his face, the door opened, Rumble started hyperventilating, "I JUST WANNA GO HOME NOW!"
He felt a hoof grab his shoulder and it turned him around, causing him to scream little more, "NO! PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!"
"Rumble stop screaming, it's me!"
Rumble took a good look at the pony, "Rainbow Dash?"
Rainbow smiled, "Yeah, it's me little guy"
Rumble grabbed Rainbow into a strong hug, "I'm so happy it's you, you'll keep me safe right!?"
Rainbow patted his head, "Of course, you're my friend, don't worry I'm here for you"
Thunderlane and Cloudchaser also approached him, relieved he's ok.
"Scootaloo found us and told us what happened", Cloudchaser said.
"You're safe now Rumble", Thunderlane reassured.
Soon Applejack found Rumble, "There you are!" she approached Rumble with rage in her eyes but was blocked by Rainbow, Cloudchaser & Thunderlane, "Get out of my way"
"I'm not gonna let you hurt him!" Rainbow shouted.
"I said move", Applejack got closer but Cloudchaser stepped up.
"Try something and you'll regret it, after what you did to my sister and what you tried to do to Rumble, it's taking a lot for me not to hurt you, I'm only holding back out of respect for Rainbow Dash, but it's a very thin line!"
"The little bastard tried to have his way with mah sister, you best-"
"What did you call my brother?" Thunderlane was steamed now.
Applejack looked Thunderlane straight in the eye, "You heard me, yer brother, is a little, bastard"
Thunderlane gritted his teeth, he was furious, "You hurt my friend, you threaten my brother, you chase him and scare the life out of him, then you have the nerve to insult him? Why you...you're nothing...nothing...but a real..." Thunderlane was so steamed he couldn't think of the word he wanted.
"You're a real bitch!" Cloudchaser finished.
Applejack glared at Cloudchaser, "Watch your damn mouth or I'll-"
"DON'T YOU DARE THREATEN MY FRIEND! IN FACT I'M DONE WITH YOU!" Thunderlane shouted in Applejack's face, then went to his brother, "Lets go, we're need to get away from here"
Rumble sniffled a little, "I wanna go home".
Rainbow looked over to Rumble, "You don't need to go, we'll keep you safe from her".
Thunderlane sighed, "Sorry Dash, but I'm with Rumble here, I don't think it's safe for him to be here anymore, not with Applejack", Thunderlane saying the last part with some malice.
"But Thunder, the competition tomorrow, we can send Applejack home".
"You're kidding right?" Applejack said.
Rainbow glared, "Keep your freaken mouth shut!", Applejack turned away and huffed while Rainbow turned back to Thunderlane, "Come on Thunder, I need you...I...I, dammit Thunder I want you here, please don't go".
Thunderlane sighed, "I want to be here too, but I need to think of my brother, not to mention Flitter's hurt, I'm not sure if she'll be able to compete anyway, besides you don't need us, you're an awesome flyer, you'll get into The Wonderbolts and be a star, like Soarin said, you're a great flyer".
Rainbow shut her eyes, she was sad and really angry, but she understood this situation, "You're right Thunder, not about The Wonderbolts or me being a great flyer, which I am, you're right about your brother, and Flitter, don't worry about me".
Applejack rolled her eyes but kept to herself for the moment.
"Lets go Rumble", Thunderlane said and turned back to Rainbow Dash, "We're gonna go pack up, come see us off if you'd like" Thunderlane, Cloudchaser and Rumble walked off. Rumble looked to Rainbow a bit sad, he felt bad about leaving her, but he felt too scared to be around Applejack.
Rainbow turned to Applejack, "I hope you're happy"
"Hey his brother started it", Applejack argued.
Rainbow grew furious and got in Applejack's face, "THIS HAPPENED BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T GIVE THUNDERLANE A CHANCE! WHO ARE YOU TO DECIDE WHO I CAN AND CAN'T BE FRIENDS WITH!?"
Applejack grew frustrated, "Maybe if you didn't go off and start treating them like your best friends in the world and trying to replace us-"
"I wasn't trying to replace you! Notice that I wanted ALL OF YOU to like them! Look at Fluttershy, she's become friends with Flitter, Twilight herself likes Thunderlane, everyone else is cool but you just don't want to share! Well you know what, you're getting your wish, I'm done with you!"
Applejack's eyes shot wide, "What did you say to me?"
"I'm done, finished, I want nothing more to do with you, any of our friends who want to join me are more than welcome to, but not you, I despise you!"
Applejack couldn't believe what she was hearing, "Did you forget about your element?"
"Screw the elements, they don't define me", she turned away, "Good-bye Applejack", Rainbow said and walked off.
Applejack was still infuriated, "What does Thunderlane have that we don't anyway? Why are you so concerned about being his friend!?"
Rainbow stopped and turned around, "Ever think that maybe I want a little more than a friendship from Thunderlane?" she then continued to walk, leaving Applejack alone, a little regret starting to build within her.
Applejack walked made her way back to her room, thinking about what transpired. Between seeing a colt on top of her sister, sending her into a lunatic rage, being told off by one of her friends and then losing said friend, things weighed heavy on her.
She in her mind tried to justify it, she stated that she didn't want Rumble doing anything inappropriate with her sister, which he did, but thinking back she realized how badly she may have scared him, especially when she caught up to him, the way he looked at her, the same fear in his eyes was similar to how ponies first reacted to Nightmare Moon, she had become as scary as the same mare that brought her friends together initially.
She saw Cheese and Pinkie talking at the door to the room, but when Cheese saw Applejack coming, he started to back away, much to Pinkie's confusion.
"Cheese, where are you going?"
"I'm sorry Pinkie, I...I can't be here right now, I'll...I'll talk to you later *gulp* If I'm able to...bye", Cheese trotted off before Applejack got there.
Applejack looked confused as to why Cheese left, "Where is he going?"
Pinkie gave Applejack and unusually angry glare, Applejack can almost feel the disdain coming from Pinkie's eyes.
"He probably left because he saw you coming", Pinkie said with a cold unfriendly attitude.
Applejack felt herself starting to sweat, "Uh, why would he do that?"
"Oh I don't know, maybe he didn't want to be chased through the castle! Maybe he knows you'll treat him badly like you treated Thunderlane!" Pinkie was clearly angry, something Applejack isn't entirely used to.
"What? I would never, Cheese is a nice fellow, it's great that you can see him after all this time", she put on a nervous chuckle, hoping Pinkie would lighten up.
"Oh, so that's it, you're fine with us being friends as long as its long distance huh? You're a big dumb meanie Applejack, I don't want to speak to you!" Pinkie then turned her head away and trotted off.
As childish as the insult was, Applejack knew that coming from Pinkie, it was one of the worst things that she can say to someone she considered a friend. She then noticed Rarity, Coco & Sweetie Belle approaching, but Coco stoped in her tracks when she saw Applejack.
"Coco, what's wrong?" Rarity asked.
"Sorry Miss Rarity, I need to be off, talk to you later...if your friend's ok with it", Coco then left in fear.
Rarity turned to call for Coco but she was long gone, she then faced Applejack with a look of anger in her eyes.
"Rarity, I swear-" Applejack tried to speak but Rarity put her hoof up, signaling to stop, then she just walked away.
Applejack really liked Rarity, while she cared for all of her friends equally, she was probably closer to Rarity despite their differences, so for Rarity to not even bother speaking to her just tore Applejack's heart out.
Sweetie Belle had mixed feelings, while she didn't like Rumble that much, even she was frightened of how Applejack reacted to the situation, she almost felt bad for Rumble, but she also feels bad for Applejack because she knows why she reacted like that, she understood Applejack's frustrations on the sudden inclusion of the new ponies.
Sweetie Belle approached AJ hugged her a little, "Don't worry about Rarity, she'll come around, soon things will be back to normal"
Applejack sighed and returned the hug, "Ah doubt it, but ah hope yer right"
Twilight arrived in the area after having checking on Flitter briefly in the medical care area, but when she saw Applejack, she felt a bit enraged, "Careful Sweetie Belle, she might chase you around as well".
Sweetie turned to Twilight, "Come on, she made a mistake, we all make mistakes".
"Mistake? No a mistake would be knocking over a glass of water, or spilling ink on a dress, or even someone making a typo in a book, those are mistakes, but chasing a poor defensless colt through a castle with malicious intent is far from a mistake, it's BEYOND a mistake, but you know what mistake I made? My mistake was thinking that you", Twilight pointed at Applejack, "Could put aside your stubbornness for the sake of our friend Rainbow Dash, who just wanted some new friends that she was more than willing to share, as an Element of Harmony you shouldn't push away, you should be trying to get closer like all of us have, in case you didn't realize I, like Rainbow, enjoyed Thunderlane's company, Rarity enjoyed it, Pinkie enjoyed it, Fluttershy didn't just enjoy Thunderlane's company, she also enjoyed the company of Flitter, a friend who's similar to her, now Fluttershy's in the medical area in tears over what happened to Flitter, you broke her jaw with your kick, the doctor said a kick that hard in the wrong place, COULD HAVE KILLED HER!"
Applejack was feeling in a dark place now, there was definitely no going back this time.
"You can't be selfish with friends, what if one of us befriends Derpy, are you gonna chase around Dinky and threaten to beat her down? Speaking of whom suppose the girls wanted Dinky in the Crusaders and she's too afraid because you might hurt her, Derpy probably will go against the idea of Dinky being anywhere near the crusaders, same situation with Dinky's sister Amethyst Star, thus potentially keeping more ponies away!"
Applejack looked away, "Ah have no problem with Dinky with Apple Bloom, she's not a colt ah barely know"
"She's not, but she's a filly you barely know, what makes you think she doesn't probably swing that way anyway? What if SHE and Apple Bloom get together, and you wouldn't know it because of that ideology".
Applejack started feeling even more stupid.
"And speaking of Apple Bloom, she's now ashamed and nearly terrified of how you acted, she's afraid to make any more friends, also she told me something VERY interesting, SHE made the first move, not Rumble, just like Rainbow Dash said, Apple Bloom ended being the one who made the first move, AND Rumble fell on her BY ACCIDENT, because of something SHE did, and SHE was the one who kissed him, so you just blamed Rumble for something he had NO control over"
Applejack couldn't believe it, "Th-there's no way mah sister would-"
Twilight turned to Sweetie,"Sweetie Belle, you were there, mind confirming the story?" Sweetie Belle looked to the side a bit. "Sweetie Belle, I know you and Rumble aren't the best of friends, BUT I do expect you to do the right thing, do I need to tell your sister you're being part of the problem?"
Sweetie Belle grumbled then gave in, "Fine, it's true, Apple Bloom made the first move, she nuzzled him, and then fell on him, then when they were trying to get up, he fell on her, then she kissed him, that's when you came in".
Applejack was speechless, she wanted to believe Sweetie Belle was lying, but she can sense she was telling the truth, Sweetie Belle wouldn't make up a story like this, she respected The Apple Family to never slander them, plus she wouldn't willingly say something to help Rumble.
"Thank you Sweetie Belle", Twilight said.
Applejack was wrapping her head around this, Rumble was innocent, she just ruined a chance at new friends, plus damaged her relationship with her current friends, even her own sister was losing faith in her.
"Twilight, I swear, I'm so sorry, I never meant to take things this far" Applejack got a little teary eyed, "Yah gotta believe me".
Twilight sighed and closed her eyes while rubbing her forehead, "Sorry Applejack, but after so many false hopes, I just don't know if I can believe you, you talk about Rainbow not being true to her element, I say she's not the one not being true to her element, I don't think you deserve The Element of Honesty right now"
That pierced through Applejack's heart like a spear. Despite her feelings on Rainbow Dash's loyalty, all this time she herself was the one failing her element.
"Now, in light of what happened, there's one room free due to Thunderlane leaving, it's better for you to take that room, the rest of us will have the original sleeping arrangements, but no one really wants to share a room with you at the moment, except maybe Big Macintosh, this rule effective immediately".
Applejack sighed, "Fine then, I'll put mah bags in the other room". Applejack had left to the room and grabbed her belongings. She trotted to the new room as Twilight turned away, still very ashamed of her friend. Applejack had simply sat down in the darkness of the other room, but she knows she deserves this. "How could I be so cruel? Who am I?"
Later at the train, Rainbow Dash & the others are seeing Thunderlane and his friends off.
"Are you positive you can travel Flitter? Is your jaw ok?" Fluttershy asked.
Flitter nodded since she couldn't speak, and she nuzzled Fluttershy a bit.
"Hope you have a safe travel dears" Rarity said.
"Thanks Rarity, have fun at the event", Cloudchaser said.
Apple Bloom hugged Rumble and whispered in his ear, "I'm so sorry this happened to you", a small tear rolled down her eye.
Rumble hesitated to hug back, still paranoid about Applejack but simply stated, "I don't blame you for this"
Rainbow Dash also hugged Rumble, "When I get back, I'll fly with you some more"
Rumble nodded, starting to feel a blush from being hugged by a mare he has a small crush on, and a filly he was starting to like.
Twilight approached Thunderlane, "I'm sorry we put you in this situation, maybe inviting you was a bad idea, not that I didn't enjoy your company, I just hate what Applejack did to your brother".
"It's ok Twilight, you meant well, it means a lot that you wanted to bond with me and my friends, you're I'm honored that you even gave us the time of day, you're the best princess".
Twilight blushed a little, "Thanks, I hope we can chat again soon"
Rainbow went to Thunderlane and gave him a little hug, "See you later bud"
Thunderlane hugged back, "Sorry about this, I feel bad leaving you like this".
Rainbow Dash patted his shoulder, "Hey, you gotta do what's best for your brother, don't worry about it"
Rumble approached Thunderlane, "You don't have to come, I can go home with Flitter & Cloudchaser, or just Flitter if Cloudchaser wants to stay too"
"Thanks for the offer bro, but I think it's best for us all to leave, give Applejack a little space".
Rainbow looked surprised, "You're concerned about Applejack?"
Thunderlane did an 'eh' gesture wit his hoof, "I know she didn't like me and I'm still pretty mad she chased and threatened my brother but I almost feel bad for her, I'm a big sibling too I know what it's like, not that it justifies her actions but I can't help but feel bad for her".
Cloudchaser scoffed, "I don't". Thunderlane gave a somewhat hopeless glance to Cloudchaser before focusing back on Rainbow.
"I'll make this up to you, we can try this again some other time, just go out there and do what you need to do", Thunderlane put his hoof on Rainbow's shoulder, "You're a very special mare Rainbow, you got this".
Rainbow blushed a little but shook it off, "Don't give me that sappy stuff, you know I hate that"
Thunderlane chuckled, "Sorry couldn't help it".
The train then arrived, Thunderlane and his friends boarded it.
"Good luck Dash", Thunderlane said.
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you a bunch already...but thanks", Rainbow said.
The others waved good-bye before the door closed. The girls watched sadly as the train went back to Ponyville. Thunderlane himself had a small hint of regret, wondering if this is even a good idea.
The girls went back inside the castle, a feeling of dejection.
"So what do we do now?" Fluttershy asked.
"Lets go find Coco & Cheese, I hope Applejack didn't scare them too badly", Rarity said.
They approached a hallway where most of the ponies for the talent show were gonna be and saw Cheese talking with Coco.
"Cheesie! Coco!" Pinkie shouted.
Both noticed the girls but looked to see if Applejack was among them, luckily she wasn't.
"Hello my fine fillies, good to see you", Cheese greeted.
"Yeah, um...where's your new friends, and um...where's Applejack?" Coco asked.
Twilight sighed, "Thunderlane went home with his friends, and Applejack is in a room by herself, hopefully thinking over her outrageous actions", Twilight said.
"I hope she comes around, she usually seems so nice, it's a shame to see her act like that", Cheese said.
"So the mighty Applejack has fallen", they heard the voice of Flim say.
Flim, Flam & Suri approached the group.
"What do you 3 want?" Twilight asked with unhappiness in her voice.
"We just overheard that unfortunate incident with Applejack, heard her shouting for miles, and here we thought she was a calm, cool & collected pony", Flim taunted.
"What happened with Applejack is none of your business", Twilight said.
"Sensitive topic princess? Unhappy that not all your friends are perfect like me?" Suri asked.
Rarity stepped forward, "Do NOT talk to Twilight like that Suri, and you're not perfect, far from it in fact"
"Say that now Rarity, but soon I'll be a rich success, while you and Coco beg to work for me, who knows maybe I'll give you a job, a job scrubbing the floors" Suri stated.
Spike stepped up, "Rarity would never work for you, she's great in every way, Coco wouldn't either for that matter"
"Step aside young dragon, this is an intelligent conversation going on", Flam stated.
Now Cheese stepped up, "I don't appreciate how you are talking to these fine ponies and dragon, now if you would be so kind as to leave, we don't want any party fouls among us"
"Oh yeah well...ugh it's you again, what do you want?" Suri asked, referring to Trixie.
Trixie stepped forward, "Leave, now, I wish to speak with them".
"Wow, you're finally using pronouns, whatever though, we've made our point, lets go boys", Suri said and left with Flim & Flam.
Twilight turned to Trixie, "What do you need?"
"Please verify for me, what happened with Applejack? And where are your other friends?"
Twilight looked down a little, "Well she kinda got mad at that little colt for being in a...questionable position with her little sister and engaging in a kiss, and things just went crazy, Thunderlane went home with his friends since his brother was scared and one of them got hurt in the process, wait why do you need to know this?"
"I just want to be in the loop, for all I know she could be going crazy, I don't want to chance getting in her crossfire".
"She's calming down, and by herself with a lot of reflecting to do, hopefully she comes to her senses and we can start forgiving her".
Rainbow huffed a little, "She better, she really screwed up big time".
Trixie pondered this situation briefly, then spoke, "Thanks for the info, now Trixie must", Trixie then walked off.
Twilight sighed, "That mare can be pretty weird at times, oh well nothing to be that concerned of".
Trixie made her way to where Lightning Dust was training, she was taking a breather, "Got a minute?"
"What is it Trixie?" Lightning Dust asked.
Trixie approached her, "Just thought you should know that Rainbow Dash's team left, so she'll be going solo, you don't have much competition anymore".
Lightning looked curious, "They left huh? Wonder why? Maybe they were intimidated by me"
"Something about her friend Applejack chasing a colt".
"Was that the shouting I heard before? I thought some mare was in a bad mood over something stupid, oh well, I was still gonna crush her, it's just that much easier now, thanks for the tip Trixie"
"Think nothing of it, just a friendly gesture, like you, Trixie isn't much of a Rainbow Dash fan", Trixie said and walked off, leaving Lightning Dust to ponder, "Something about that mare is so freaken weird, oh well, at least she hates Rainbow Dash too" Lightning continued her little break and drank from a bottle of water.
Back in Applejack's room, she paced back and forth a lot, "I can't believe this, everything I did with them, all the time I spent and for what? For it to go down the drain over some crap like this!? They're supposed to be MY friends, they're gonna choose them over me!?" She punched a wall, but despite her anger, she couldn't hold back her tear, "Why is this happening? I love my friends, Twilight, Spike, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy...*sigh* Rainbow Dash, and Rarity, especially Rarity, what if she never speaks to me again? What of none of them want anything to do with me again, ah can't lose them, ah just can't" she wiped her tears, "Thunderlane...a shouldn't be blaming him, this wasn't his fault, ah messed up, ah should have been more honest with him, ah did fail my element"
Her moment was interrupted when Big Macintosh entered the room.
"Big brother...ah don't know what to say".
Big Mac just stood there, Applejack continued to speak, "Ah bet you're ashamed of me, ah don't blame yah, ah wish I could take it all back, ah really do, what should ah do, I need your help big brother"
Big Mac simply said one thing, "You know what you need to do, but for now keep away from the others, you all need time apart from each other, I'll be keeping you company for the night, but you need to fix this", he saw her saddened look so he offered one more piece of advice, "You're a strong mare Applejack, ah ain't happy 'bout what you've done, but you are mah little sister, I'll never stop caring for yah"
Applejack smiled for the first time in a while, "Thanks big brother, you don't speak much but when you do, it's always worth the listen"
Big Mac nodded, "Eeyup"
Applejack hugged Big Mac before getting ready to call it in for the night, big day tomorrow.
It was the big day, ponies were lining up for their performances, professional, mediocre and amateurs alike. The stage was being set up for flight performances, fashion shows, music concerts and various entertainment spectacles.
There was a special seat for Equestria's princesses up on the top of the bleachers, which is where Twilight was heading.
Twilight approached her chair alongside Princess Cadance, Princess Luna & Princess Celestia.
"Hello my fellow princesses", Twilight said with a bow.
The other princesses returned the bow.
"Well it looks like the show will start soon, is your friend Rainbow Dash ready?" Celestia asked.
"Yeah, she's excited, though slightly disappointed that her team went home"
Celestia nodded, "I am sorry to hear about that horrible situation with Applejack, rage can be a pony's worst enemy"
Luna nodded, "I too know what it's like to have such an emotion"
Cadance approached Twilight, "Things will get better, Applejack seems like a nice mare, she just reacted in the heat of a moment"
Twilight sighed, "That's true, still doesn't justify her actions, she will have a lot to make up for"
"You won't cut her off will you? The way you described Applejack it seems like you don't want anything to do with her, that would be just awful", Cadance said.
Twilight arched an eyebrow, "Why would that be awful? I mean I have no intention to cut her off, she deserves another chance and I want to still have her around, why do so many ponies seem to feel for her, I don't get that, she chased a colt and threatened him, that's not something to just brush away".
Celestia put her hoof on Twilight's shoulder, "I know you're very disappointed but the reason we're concerned is that stuff like this can ruin lives if not handled right, suppose she was cut off, it wouldn't help things, it would make it worse, the rage within her would build up and could lead to her own self-destruction, if you can forgive my sister for her actions as Nightmare Moon, and forgive Discord for his crimes, not to mention my sister forgiving me for the 1000 year banishment, I think you can forgive Applejack and try to help her, if she truly felt threatened by Thunderlane's presence, you needed to understand that".
"But we tried, what was I supposed to do, keep Thunderlane away? That wouldn't be fair to him, she was being stubborn", Twilight argued.
"Be nice Twilight, like I said, she went through a lot, she's only a pony".
Twilight grew annoyed, "But that doesn't justify her actions!"
Luna gasped, "Twilight, watch your tone with Celestia, she's your mentor AND your superior"
Celestia shot a small glare at Luna, "Luna, that isn't necessary, Twilight's frustration is understandable, let me handle this".
Luna lowered her head, "My apologies sister".
Celestia turned back to Twilight, "My point is that while it's true Applejack should never have done that, you must try to see things from her point of view right now, she's probably hurting right now, don't leave someone in their time of need, she needs reassurance that her friends will be there for her, if you remind her of the magic of friendship, she will remember the joys of making new friends, you can still salvage this".
Twilight nodded, "Sure thing princess"
Shining Armor arrived in the area, "Twily, you're here!"
Twilight smiled upon seeing her brother, "Shining, it's so good to see you"
Twilight gave Shining a hug then asked, "You're here to watch the competition as well?"
Shining nodded, "Yeah, I wanted to stay at the Crystal Empire just in case something happened, but Cadance insisted, she said the Empire will be fine without us for a few hours, besides I figured you'd be here so why not see the little sister that I miss so much".
Twilight smiled, "You're always so nice, but that 'little sister' comment has me wondering about something".
Shining sighed, "Let me guess, it has to do with your friend Applejack?"
"Yeah, tell me, hypothetically if it were me and Thunderlane as a filly and a colt, and you saw that moment, would you have chased him around as well?"
Shining chuckled a bit, "I'll be honest, if I saw that I probably would have, in fact even if I saw that at your current age I would have done that, I'd do anything to protect my little sister"
Twilight nodded, "I see, do you think she was in the right?"
"No, I never said what I would do is a good thing, but that's natural impulse, if you feel that she needs to make up for this then that's understandable, but be sure to forgive her".
Twilight nodded, "Right, well I want to see Rainbow Dash for a moment before the competition, is that ok Princess Celestia?"
"Twilight you don't need my permission, stay with them as long as you wish".
"Thank you Princess Celestia, bye Luna, bye Cadance, bye BBBFF", Twilight said and left with a positive mood.
Luna pouted a bit and turned to Celestia, "How come she only referred to you as Princess?"
Celestia sighed, "Luna, it's not that big a deal". Luna blushed in anger, "Fine, have it your way"
Shining and Cadance smiled awkwardly at that little exchange. At that moment, Spike rushed up to them, "Hey Cadance! Great to see you! Did you bring the special gem Celestia mentioned?"
Cadance giggled, "Sure thing Spike, hold on". Spike looked very excited, "Crystal Empire Gems are the best!"
Shining chuckled at Spike's enthusiasm, as did the two princesses.
Later on Twilight met up with her friends at the buffet area. "Is Rainbow Dash ready?"
Fluttershy spoke first, "She's a little nervous, she's going on soon"
"She's also a little bummed that Thunderlane isn't here, poor Dashie", Pinkie Pie said.
Twilight noticed Rainbow just sitting there twirling a straw in her drink, Twilight approached her, "You need to get ready, the flight show's first".
Rainbow sighed, "What's the point, it doesn't feel that special anymore".
"But you heard what Thunderlane said, he wants you to do well, do it for him".
"I'd rather do it alongside him, I don't know why I just really feel odd not having him or the rest of the team with me on this", sigh continued twirling her drink.
Twilight patted Rainbow's back, "This is your dream, how would Thunderlane feel if you gave up your dream because of him?"
"I don't know Twilight, it's hard to focus when I feel partially responsible for what happened, it was my idea to bring Thunderlane and now he and his friends have been affected in the worst way possible, it's kinda my fault his brother is probably scarred for life".
Twilight shook her head, "No it's not, you did a good thing, what happened was on Applejack, but we will deal with this, we will eventually forgive her, and we will have Thunderlane back with us".
Rainbow wasn't too convinced, "I almost doubt it, I want to still be his friend, but I feel like it's gonna be really hard...but I care about him, I care a whole lot, I just want him here right now, to hoof-bump him, to ruffle his hair, to mess with him, and to show him I care deeply about him"
A voice behind her said, "Well look who's all mushy now". Rainbow turned around and saw Thunderlane standing there. "Sup Rainbow, miss me?"
Rainbow simply stood there for a moment.
"Rainbow, are you ok, why are you...HOLY SHIT!" Rainbow had tackled Thunderlane with a hug.
"You're back! I'm so happy you back!" Rainbow gave Thunderlane a big kiss on the cheek and ruffled his hair, "I knew you'd come back!"
Thunderlane blushed and awkwardly chuckled, "Of course, what are friends for?"
Twilight approached Thunderlane, "You came back! I'm so happy to see you again", she gave Thunderlane a hug of her own, "I thought you were gonna stay home though? What about your brother and friends?"
"What about us?" Twilight looked and saw Cloudchaser with Flitter and Rumble.
Rainbow Dash smiled ear to ear, "All of you came!?"
"Duh, we're a team, besides we're not gonna let you have ALL the fun", Cloudchaser said with a grin.
Flitter nodded, still unable to speak, Rumble also nodded very shyly.
"How'd you get here though? What made you change your minds?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Well", Thunderlane started, "When we got home, we all felt a little bad, at the moment Rumble was still scared and Flitter was still hurt, but something in me nagged to go back, in fact while home sleeping, I realized I kinda just left you on your own when you really needed us, and after all that hard work we put in training, I didn't want that to go to waste"
Cloudchaser stepped in to talk, "The next morning he asked us to watch Rumble and take care of him because he was gonna come back to Canterlot, that's when we decided he's not going by himelf, we're all going, we weren't gonna let any one pony stop us from doing something we worked for, we weren't gonna be intimidated to staying away, so we grabbed our bags and here we are".
Rainbow flew a few somersaults in excitement, "This is so awesome, I swear I could kiss all of you!"
Rumble flew up to her, "REALLY!?"
Cloudchasher pulled Rumble back, "Easy hot shot, your manly aroma is what caused trouble for you before".
"Besides, you already kissed me", Thunderlane said with a small blush, "But you can kiss Flitter & Cloudchaser".
Cloudchaser glared at Thunderlane, "Keep dreaming Thunder"
"Hey I'm game if you are", Rainbow said while starting at Cloudchaser, shifting her eyebrows up and down with affectionate eyes.
Rumble was confused, "This might sound weird, but I kinda wanna see them kiss, I don't know why".
All ponies except Rainbow and Cloudchaser blushed heavily.
"Don't worry kid, one day we'll treat you and your brother to a show, but for now we have another show to prepare for", Rainbow said.
"Right, lets do a few warm up wing ups, get our adrenaline going", Thunderlane suggested.
Fluttershy approached Flitter, "Are you ok to fly? You're not too hurt are you?"
Flitter simply patted Fluttershy's shoulder as if to say, 'I can handle this'.
Cloudchaser approached Fluttershy, "Flitter's tougher than she lets on, she'll be fine"
"I hope so, I'll be here if you need help though Flitter", Fluttershy assured.
Flitter nodded and hugged Fluttershy before walking off with the others.
"I appreciate your concern for my sister, you're a good friend Shy", Cloudchaser said.
"Thanks, well I guess you should go get ready"
"Yeah, lets go, we could use some of your cheerleading"
Both giggled a bit at the joke and walked off with them.
After a while the competition had started, The Wonderbolts warmed up the crowd with their theatrics, since they were gonna do flight shows first.
Meanwhile Applejack started making her way to where the competition would be, she looked like she was determined to fix everything.
"Ok, ah gotta find the others and pour my heart out, apologize, beg their forgiveness, I'll do what it takes to win them back, then when we get home, I'll make Thunderlane a nice big 'I'm so Sorry' Apple Pie"
She looked found the area where everyone was and looked around among the competitors, "Ok, gotta find them, I'll just ask around", she approached one, the Canterlot Cellist Octavia, "Excuse me, but-"
"Ahh!" Octavia moved away from Applejack.
"Damn, guess more ponies know than ah thought, still gotta try", she noticed Vinyl Scratch sipping some soda, "Um excuse me?"
Vinyl got wide eyed at Applejack, "Hey back off, don't want no trouble!"
Applejack then pleaded, "Please don't run, ah just wanna find my friends, have you seen Princess Twilight Sparkle?"
"Last I saw them, they were at the buffet", Vinyl pointed the direction, "I think they left though"
Applejack nodded, "Thanks...by the way, how many ponies know about what happened yesterday?"
"A lot, when ponies hear an angry pony threaten a colt, word gets around pretty quickly, most ponies were afraid to leave their rooms".
Applejack groaned, "Ah messed up badly, ah need to make this right".
"Better hurry then", Vinyl said and resumed her drink, "Just try to cool it a bit".
"I'll try, thanks DJ", Applejack said and ran to find her friends.
Rainbow and her team are doing their wing ups, near the stage. As Scootaloo watched, she wondered that if she did wing-ups if that would help her fly.
Apple Bloom approached Rumble, "Can ah talk to yah for a moment?"
Rumble stopped and focused on Apple Bloom, "Sure, what is it?"
Apple Bloom rubbed her head a little, "Sorry I got yah into trouble with mah sister, and fer kissing you like that".
"You already apologized, and I already forgave you, it wasn't your fault, you didn't know that would happen, Cloudchaser says I just have manly aroma".
Apple Bloom chuckled, "Well you're very cute, so ah couldn't help myself, you still wanna be a Crusader?"
Rumble nodded, "Of course, I like being with you girls, it's a refreshing sight"
"Even Sweetie Belle?"
"Flitter says she's just trying to get used to me, I think I can get on her good side, she seems very nice usually, maybe it's also because I'm a little cautious about what you want to do for your cutie marks".
"Well ah guess I can't blame yah, we have gotten into trouble and broken some things, though Sweetie Belle can be the same way as you so ah don't get her deal, but we'll compromise, so don't worry about it".
Scootaloo approached Rumble, "Think you could show me how to do the wing ups? Maybe it'll help me fly"
Rumble nodded, "Sure, just do what I do", he continued his wing ups while Scootaloo joined him, though she had a harder time since she wasn't as used to it. Apple Bloom just stood back and watched him work out, it was quite a sight for her, to him he's so cute yet so stallion-like. Sweetie Belle also observed, doing a small huff, "Rumble...can't trust him for a moment".
Nearby, Applejack had finally found her friends, but was surprised when she saw Thunderlane there with his friends.
"They're back? Ah was hoping when I saw them again, ah had a pie ready, oh well I can still do all the apologizing right now", she approached the group and cleared her throat to get their attention, Hi y'all, how ya doin'?"
Twilight and Rarity looked shocked to see Applejack, Fluttershy looked nervous, Rainbow & Cloudchaser had a look of disdain in their eyes, Rumble looked pretty scared but Apple Bloom stood by him so he would feel less frightened, everyone else just looked surprised and nervous.
Applejack approached Thunderlane, "So, it looks like yer back...that's great", she nervously chuckled.
Thunderlane simply nodded, unsure what to make of this.
"That's mighty nice of ya, Rainbow really wanted yah to stay".
Thunderlane nodded again, "Uh-huh"
"Well things are turning out well at least, I made some mistakes that I'm really sorry for, you came to yer senses from your little overreaction, so everything turned out-"
"What do you mean 'overreaction'?" Thunderlane asked, a little unhappy at the choice of words.
Applejack put her hooves up defensively, "Wait, maybe I worded that wrong, but what ah'm saying is that some mistakes were made, but things may turn out well so maybe we put this all behind us and pretend it never happened, deal?" Applejack put her hoof out.
Thunderlane sighed, "With all due respect, it's not as easy as 'putting it behind us', you hurt my friend and scared my brother, we're gonna need more than this"
"Yer right, ah will make this up to yah, ah promise, maybe start with a good old Apple Family Apple Pie"
"AJ, you've apologized before and you still relapsed, how can I trust you, keep in mind I have a brother and friends to worry about"
Applejack wasn't sure how to answer that, but before she could say something, they heard Cheese Sandwich coming.
"Hey there everypony, I got some treats for you!" he was coming with a big tray of cheesecakes, "Hey Thunderlane, you're back! And your friends, and Applejack, are you trying to make amends, that's really nice of you, I'm so-" Cheese however tripped over an article of clothing and tripped with the cakes flying out of his hooves.
The clothing belonged to Coco, she was getting her clothes out for the fashion show later but dropped a piece, which caused Cheese to trip.
"Oh no, are you ok Cheese Sandwich, I'm sorry about this", she then helped Cheese up.
"It's fine my fair filly, accidents happen, besides one time I tripped over something, I ended up having the greatest experience of my life".
Coco looked to where the cakes landed and got nervous, "I don't think that's gonna happen this time".
Cheese got confused but also felt a little nervous when he saw that the cakes landed on Applejack, causing quite the mess.
"Sorry about that Applejack, you should probably go get yourself cleaned up, I'll make this up to you, I'll get more cheesecakes and give you two big pieces, wouldn't that be great!?" Cheese stated.
Applejack started to growl and turned menacingly to Cheese Sandwich, "You...you...YOU!" she walked toward Cheese, "Look what yah did ya clumsy oaf!"
Everyone was shocked to see Applejack yell at Cheese.
"This weren't no accident, yah did this on purprose, didn't ya!?" she got closer and her eyes went more insane, "DIDN'T YAH!?"
"But Applejack!"
"If you don't talk, I'll make yah!" she grabbed his shirt, "Admit you did this on purpose! This was just your attempt at humiliating me! You want to walk out of here yah better start talking!"
"Don't you dare hurt him Applejack!" Pinkie warned.
"Stay out of this Pinkie!" Applejack shouted back.
Coco approached Applejack, "Please stop, you're losing your temper again, think of your friends"
"Coco, stay back if you know what's good for yah", Applejack said with the coldest voice.
"But Miss Applejack" Coco put her hoof on Applejack's arm, causing Applejack to immediately back hoof Coco, knocking her to the floor, much to the horror of those around, not just her 'friends', but other nearby ponies, this was starting to get some unwanted attention, which included Suri & The Flim Flam Brothers, each smiling in delight, for Suri it's seeing Coco get back hoofed, for Flim & Flam is seeing Applejack fall from grace.
Applejack approached Coco, "I told yah to stay out of my way!"
Rarity had enough, she approached Applejack and angrily got in her face, "You...how dare you, how dare you hurt her! You're such a...sucha ya...", Rarity simply finished her statement with a hard slap to Applejack's face.
Something about that slap just knocked Applejack back to her senses, then she realized what she did, "Oh no".
Rarity was still huffing and panting while glaring angrily at Applejack, who at this point was filling up with remorse and regret, "Rarity, ah swear I don't know-"
"You hurt Coco! And you threatened Cheese for an accident that he was MORE than willing to make up for!"
"Ah know, I messed up again but-"
"No buts, it's clear that you're just getting worse!"
Twilight stepped in, "She's right, it's clear to me that you've learned nothing, I'm sorry but since you're not willing to change, you are hearby banned from being in our company"
Applejack sweated, "But sugarcube!"
"Don't 'sugarcube' me", Twilight stated with a stern voice, "I demand you leave our sight!"
"But...Fluttershy you want me to stay right?"
Fluttershy turned to Flitter and simply approached her keeping her back to Applejack.
"Pinkie Pie?"
Pinkie simply approached Cheese and kept her back to Applejack.
She wasn't gonna bother with Rainbow Dash, so she turned for one final plead to Rarity.
"Please Rares, ah need ya, I...I really do care for yah, let me make it up, please"
Despite the tears forming in Applejack's eyes, Rarity turned to Coco, keeping her back to Applejack.
That was a big blow for Applejack, the friend she was closest to the most turning her back on her, that hurt worse than that slap a moment ago.
Applejack notice all the ponies nearby were staring at her, most with disdain, even her own sister looked ashamed of her, Applejack ran away in fear, humiliation and heartbreak.
Twilight had a lot on her mind now, she hated having to say that to Applejack but things must be done.
Suri, Flim and Flam approached Twilight. "It must be tough being the Princess of Friendship, huh Twilight Sparkle, but do go easy on your friend, after all, she only slapped a spineless little traitor", Suri taunted.
Rarity got in Suri's face, "Go away you filthy tramp!"
Suri was taken back a bit, but she decided to leave, "Whatever, okay, it's your problem, not mine".
Before they left, Flim approached Twilight, "So if the Apples go out of business, can we get the Cider Deal for Ponyville?"
Twilight simply glared at him, "Leave my presence at once". Flim backed away and rejoined his group.
Rainbow Dash sighed, "Come on group, we're almost up, just shake off everything and focus"
As she was making her way to toward the stage area, she ran into Lightning Dust.
"So your team came crawling back huh?"
Rainbow Dash glared, "They didn't come 'crawling' back, they just know what it means to work as a team"
"Hey I was a good teammate, you're the one who screwed me over!"
"You endangered my friends!"
"They shouldn't have been there in the first place!"
"Doesn't matter, point is my team is back, so my gameplay is back, which means you're screwed"
Lightning scoffed, "I don't think so", she flew off.
Rainbow Dash turned to her friends, "Lets go team!"
Rainbow and her team got ready for their turn and were formally introduced by Soarin.
"Mares & Stallions, I'd like to personally introduce a rad team, a group that I believe has a lot of potential, give it up for Rainbow Dash, Thunderlane, Flitter, Cloudchaser & Rumble...The Flight of Friendship!"
The team came on the stage.
"Rainbow, did you pick that name?" Cloudchaser asked.
"No, Twilight did, I was gonna change it but then you left so I didn't bother, it's too late now, lets just go for it, we'll change it later!"
They all flew into the sky and performed their tricks, they did a few spins, twirls, and near ground dives, but what was impressive to the judges so far was the proper coordination of the group.
"Ok team, lets do those tricks we practiced", Rainbow said. The others nodded and readied up.
Trick 1, Flitter & Cloudchaser flew in circular hoops while Rainbow Dash, Thunderlane and Rumble flew through them, wowed some but mostly amateurish at best.
Trick 2, they flew around in circles in formation of a sphere, that impressed people, they just need a little more.
Then came the big one, "Ok team, lets do that big one we've been practicing", Rainbow said.
"I don't know Rainbow, what if I mess up, it's pretty tricky", Rumble said.
"Don't worry so much, just give it your all", Rainbow offered an encouraging smile.
Rumble nodded, "Ok, I'll try Rainbow".
Rainbow smiled, "That's all I'm asking".
They put their hooves together and did a "Break!" before flying up.
First they each flew upside down, so far so good, then they let their wings go limp and fell but turned at the last second and caught themselves flying, then they formed a tree formation, causing streaks in the air, while flying up toward the top, Thunder and his friends went through the tree together while Rainbow flew higher and flew back down with a Sonic Rainboom right through the tree streak and landed with the others with a loud thud that caused a mild shake in the area.
All the ponies were impressed and showed it with a standing ovation.
"We did it! We're awesome!" Rainbow shouted.
"Wow, I didn't mess up, that's so cool!" Rumble shouted.
"I'm proud of you kid", Rainbow said and kissed Rumble on his forehead, causing him to giggle and blush, he then flew he sky in excitement.
Rainbow chuckled a bit, "Cute kid"
Thunderlane approached her, "Wow Rainbow, do you have a thing for the colts in my family or something?"
Rainbow simply glanced at him, "Is this about me kissing you before?"
"Sorta, any particular reason you did that?"
"I was happy to see you, what do you not like my kisses?" Rainbow asked with an eyebrow raise.
Thunderlane waved his hooves in a 'no' gesture, "It's not that, I'm just a little surprised you did that, I actually liked it"
Rainbow smiled evilly, "So you LIKE my kisses", she then approached him with evil yet seductive eyes.
"Uh, yeah well, when I say that...", Thunderlane gulped a bit.
"You want more of me?" she got close to his face.
Thunderlane sweated up a storm, then he flew off in fear, causing Rainbow to chuckle, "I got him right where I want him", she left with a confident satisfied smile.
Lightning Dust had just seen the performance of Dash and her Team, she was not pleased, "Dammit, that was good, too good, I can't be an afterthought to Dash, how can I sell myself?" She then remembered what Suri said about Flim and Flam, "Of course, they have golden tongues, they can help me!"
She went to find the group, luckily she encountered Suri tending to her dresses, "Hey Suri, I have to tell you something"
Suri simply turned around with a smile on her face, "Come to accept my sponsorship deal?"
"Yes, I'll work with you, but I need it to be effective immediately"
Suri got curious, "What's the rush?"
"I need the golden tongues of Flim and Flam, I need them to make me out to be a big deal"
"Let me guess, you saw that Rainbow-mane show off and she did well, now you need an edge"
Lightning Dust nodded, "So, will you help?"
Suri put her arm around Lightning, "Of course, IF you don't mind sharing the spotlight"
"Huh?"
Suri grinned, "Let's talk business".
As they discussed plans, Rumble is still flying though the sky in his happiness.
"Wow, first I do that trick, then Rainbow Dash kisses me, I'm so glad I came back here, I just wish that Applejack wouldn't be so mean, wonder where she went?"
As if my happenstance, he noticed on the ground, not too far from the festivities, he saw Applejack alone, he got curious as to why she's there, figuring she'd be on her way home.
"Lets see what she's up to", Rumble flew in close, not too close to be seen but close enough to hear.
"Dammit, I screwed up again! How the hell do ah screw up something so simple!? I can't believe ah threatened Cheese, he's such a nice guy, and Coco, poor girl, now even mah own sister is ashamed of me, soon the whole family will be, I'm the rotten apple of the family" she sighed, "Ah deserve it, I ruined the trust of mah friends, I upset Pinkie Pie, the nicest pony in Ponyville, maybe even all of Equestria, Rainbow Dash already hates me, no more friendly competition with her, and Rarity...that rage in her eyes, she never looked at me like that, even when we'd get on each other's cases over the silliest things she has never been that angry with me, she's never put her hooves on me...except that one time but that was Discord's doing, but this time *sigh* I'll miss her".
Applejack then realized something, "Oh no, what about the relationships between our sisters, my actions will affect those ah care about", the slammed her hoof down, "Damn, why did ah have to scare that colt? I wish he were here, I'd hold him close to me and promise him never to scare him again, I'd even offer to chaperone a date with Apple Bloom if he really wanted to, I'd give him any apple dessert he'd want, but more than all, I'd apologize straight to his face, if I'm lying, I'd leave forever, never come back", she sat in shame, "But what's the point, ah probably don't deserve a second chance"
Rumble's had enough, he at this point believes Applejack is truly sorry for her actions, he doesn't want to here her berate herself any longer, he flew down to her, "Applejack?"
Applejack was surprised to see Rumble there, "Rumble?"
Rumble landed and nodded, "Hi Applejack"
Applejack was a little surprised but shook it away, "You shouldn't be here, ah ain't safe to be around".
Rumble approached her, "It's ok, I'm not afraid of you anymore, you look sad".
Applejack turned away, "I'm fine Rumble, go back to your brother, don't worry about me".
Rumble stood his ground, "I'm not leaving you by yourself, you need somepony with you".
"Rumble!" Applejack faced him, "Just go, leave me be".
Rumble got frustrated and stepped forward to her her, "I heard you say that if I were here you'd hold me close to you and what not, what happened to that?"
Applejack got annoyed, "You were eavesdropping on me!?"
"Yeah, so what? You're gonna lose your temper about that too!?" Rumble had a sense of uncertainty in his voice but maintained his composure.
Applejack was feeling angry again, "Boy don't push me right now!" She gave him a threatening glare
Rumble stood his ground with a glare of his own, "Or what? You're gonna hurt me!? Like you said before? Well...go ahead then!"
Applejack raised her eyebrow, "Say what?"
"Hit me like you hit Miss Coco before, I can take it!" He stood there and eyed her, "Do it!"
Applejack looked at him like if he lost his mind, was he seriously asking her to throw a punch at him, "Boy you're crazy!"
"You want to hit me, just to it, release your anger already!" Rumble held his face in position.
"I KNOW I AM! JUST DO IT!" Rumble shouted, his voice showing a little more anger.
Applejack raised her hoof, "You really don't want this".
Rumble was getting impatient, "Just hit me! Do it!"
Applejack continued to hesitate, but Rumble kept shouting.
"DO IT!"
Applejack was really struggling.
Rumble growled, "I said hit me! Quit being such a Bitch about it!"
With one fell swoop she back-hoofed him hard right across his face, causing him to fall over a bit.
She started panting in fury after and adrenaline after the attack, he simply got up and rubbed his face, he had a small bruise from the whack, afterwards he simply asked, "Do you feel better now?"
Applejack couldn't contain her emotion and pulled him into a hug and started sobbing and apologizing, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry boy! I shouldn't hurt you! I'm so sorry", then started kissing the cheek she struck.
Rumble simply hugged her back as she poured out her emotion.
"Do you feel better AJ?"
Applejack wiped her eyes a bit, "Maybe, but ah still should not have hit yah"
"It's ok, I won't tell anyone, I'm sorry I called you a bitch"
"That's fine, maybe I deserved that"
"But you're not one, that's the issue", he looked her in the eyes, "You're a very pretty mare who loves her sister and friends, maybe to a fault, but you care for them, I just wanted you to care for me, my brother and my friends like you care for everyone else, that's one of the reasons I was so upset about you chasing me, not just because you were gonna hurt me, but I thought I'd never get you to love me, all we wanted was for you to love us", Rumble then kissed her cheek and smiled to her, "Cause I want to love you"
Applejack couldn't believe this, the very foal that she terrorized had shown her something she lately thought she would lose.
"Ah want to love you too, yer gonna get that, ah promise", she held him close again, as he continued to hold her, "And ah swear, ah ain't never gonna hurt you again".
Rumble blushed during this, she wasn't so bad, it was nice to be on the receiving end of her affection, plus she was a pretty mare. Soon he broke the hug, "Lets get back to your friends, where you belong"
Applejack nodded and wiped away any excess tears, Rumble then took her hoof, "Mind if I escort you?"
Applejack giggled, "Aren't you just the little charmer, normally ah don't care for stallions to treat me like some Canterlot mare, but I'll make an exception for you".
Rumble blushed a little more and went back to the others with Applejack.
Meanwhile back at the stage, Lightning Dust was performing, she was doing pretty quick tricks and lightning zaps, while Flim and Flam took to the stage.
"There you have it folks, the greatest Pegasus in Equestria, Lightning Dust, she's fast, she's agile, she's got tricks, and to all those interested, she's single", Flam said, raising his eyebrows at the last part.
"Lightning Dust has the skills all pegusai wish they had, even Spitfire herself has endorsed Lightning Dust!" Flim said.
Fleetfoot then shouted, "Get off the stage you morons! The sales stuff comes later!"
Suri pushed her products to the stage, "But this should be seen now, Lightning Dust is our Sponsorship partner! So it's fitting that this gets handed now!"
Soarin stepped in, "Seriously, off the stage! Do we need security!?"
"But...but...watch though! Lightning hit your signature! Wow them now!" Suri shouted.
Lightning grabbed some clouds and put them together, then at high speed, she went through the crowds, seting off some lightning in the process.
"That's a nice little trick she likes to call, 'Lightning Strikes', it's very-" Suri was interrupted when the lightning started hitting parts of the stage and it started crumbling down, "Shit, that's not good, RUN!"
Everyone started running for cover, some were still in harms way though, luckily The Wonderbolts, Rainbow's Group and other capable pegusai helped get some ponies out of harms way.
Twilight, Rarity, Trixie & some other unicorns used their magic to create a protection field.
After Thunderlane got one pony to safety he went back for another, "Everyone else ok?"
He however missed on piece that was gonna land on him.
"Thunderlane, watch out!" Rainbow shouted.
Luckily a pony managed to move Thunderlane out the way just in time.
Thunderlane groaned a bit, "Wow, that was close, thanks for the help..." he was surprised to see who his savior was, "Applejack?"
Applejack tipped her hat somewhat shyly, "Hi Thunder, you ok?"
Thunderlane got up, "I'm fine, little surprised you're here, thanks for saving me"
"Well I had tah protect the big brother of my new little friend there", Applejack said and pointed to Rumble.
Thunderlane looked surprised, "Rumble, you were with AJ this whole time?"
Rumble nodded, "Yeah, we talked for a bit, she's really sorry for what she did, honest"
Everyone eyed Applejack for a moment, "I'll be honest with you all, I was jealous of Thunderlane, ah for some reason though soon Dash would leave us to only be with him, so ah took it out on him, then when Rarity started liking him ah thought she would leave too, soon Fluttershy liked Flitter and ah started thinking our friendship would fall apart, what ah was too stubborn to realize was ah could have easily just accepted him and befriended him, then ah wouldn't be so worried, ah can see he's a true friend for coming back when Rainbow needed him, he wasn't gonna let anything stand in his way, that's a friend, more than I've been lately, so I'm sorry Thunderlane for treating you like garbage, I'm sorry for upsetting you Cloudchaser, I'm REALLY sorry for hurting you Flitter, I'll make it up to yah, ah promise, Cheese & Coco, I'm sorry for before, it'll never happen again"
Rarity approached Applejack and looked in her eyes, she observed for a bit then spoke, "You've been crying before, haven't you?"
Applejack blushed, "It was that obvious? Well before this I kinda poured my heart out to Rumble, so-" Rarity interrupted her by hugging Applejack, "I believe you Applejack, you truly are sorry, I forgive you"
The other obliged by also forgiving Applejack, except Rainbow Dash, who stood there unsure.
"Rainbow? I'm really sorry for acting like this and accusing you of being disloyal to your element, ah know how you truly feel about Thunderlane, ah accept him".
Rainbow groaned then said, "Fine, I forgive you"
Everyone then huddled around Applejack, taking turns hugging her, Big Macintosh had also arrived in time to join the group.
"Yah did it AJ", Big Mac said.
"Thanks big brother", Applejack replied with an honest smile.
The Wonderbolts also noticed this sign of affection. "Wow, happy ending, good to see it", Spitfire said.
Rumble gasped, "Wow it's Spitfire!" He was obviously excited to see her, something Spitfire grinned at.
Rainbow contained her own excitement approached her, "So did you enjoy my team's performance?"
Spitfire nodded, "Yeah, you're a good leader Rainbow, I've got my eyes on you 5, keep up the good work, there may be a spot for all of you on my roster someday"
Lightning Dust also approached Spitfire, "What about me? How did I do? Gonna give me a spot soon?"
Spitfire simply glared at Lightning Dust, "After that crap you pulled, you're lucky I don't have you banned from all flight shows in general! You're not getting in anytime soon!"
Suri popped in, "What!? She was perfect!"
"My decision is final, besides you're really freaken annoying"
"Hmph, like I'm gonna stand here and get by some stallion-sounding mare, let me know when you stop acting gender confused you stuck up little-" with one swift motion, Spitfire knocked out Suri with a strong right hoof.
Flim and Flam were surprised, as was Lightning Dust. The others looked surprised too, though Rainbow Dash & Rarity had a look of satisfaction on their faces.
Flim then picked up Suri, "Ok well we'll be going now", he put Suri on his back while he, Flam and Lightning Dust left.
Rumble approached Spitfire, "Personally I think you look and sound like a pretty mare"
Spitfire grinned and ruffled Rumble's hair, "Smart kid, keep practicing and you're gonna be flying by my side soon, Rainbow Dash, you have a nice little progidy here, don't waste his potential".
Rainbow saluted, "Yes ma'am"
Twilight approached Thunderlane, "I take it the reason your brother charms girls is because he takes after you"
Thunderlane sighed, "Yeah, but he usually has better luck, probably because since he's smaller and younger, mares find him cute and charming, but for me, they just think I'm being a pervert or something".
Twilight giggled, "Well I don't think you're a pervert, you're really nice, you'd probably make a great coltfriend"
Thunderlane grinned, "Wanna find out for yourself?"
Twilight giggled a bit, "Thanks, but I'd rather stay friends for now, besides my brother said he'd beat you down if you tried dating me, besides I think another mare likes you"
Thunderlane grew excited, "Huh? Who, tell me!"
"Uh-uh, you'll just have to find out for yourself", Twilight said with a mischievous grin.
Thunderlane pouted a bit, "You're pretty cruel"
Twilight giggled, "Well you make it kinda easy, you're gonna be a lot of fun, I look forward to your company", she gave him a playful smile.
Thunderlane groaned, between Cloudchaser, Rainbow Dash, now Twilight, he wondered why the pretty mares are always the most evil.
Meanwhile Flim and Flam have taken Suri to a train, "Lets go Lightning, we have another town to get to", Flim said.
Lightning was following but she noticed Trixie standing from afar, "Hold on guys, I have something to take care of!"
"Hurry, the train leaves in 5 minutes!" Flam shouted.
Lightning approached Trixie, "I take it you saw what happened with my show?"
"Obviously, Trixie was right nearby, Trixie had to put up forcefields to protect herself and other ponies".
"I really screwed up, now The Wonderbolts hate me more than ever, I'll never get it", Lightning lowered her head in shame.
"Probably not, but that doesn't mean it's all over for you, you can still make a name for yourself without them, my advice is to take it easy with your stunts, stop trying to outshine others, once you get good enough you won't need to try, your skills will shine for you, Trixie learned that the hard way, plus who knows, it could pay off and you'll realize your dream".
Lightning was a little confused, "Why are you so nice to me? I barely know you"
"Trixie knows of you, Trixie too has been outcasted, so Trixie can relate to you, but Trixie also learned to adapt so things got better", she put her hooves on her shoulders, "You have a ton of potential, you, you just need to work it out better".
Lightning smiled, "Thanks Trixie, it's nice to have at least one person appreciate me, though after today it's gonna be hard to get a gig".
Trixie thought a moment, "Here's a proposition, if you promise not to get too extreme, you can join a show from The Great and Powerful Trixie, you and I can have a little sponsorship deal of our own, but for Trixie it's mostly to help you, Trixie suggests you talk to your partners, if you wish to speak to me again, send me a letter, here's where you mail it to", she gave her a piece of paper with an address, "Trixie will meet you there, for now Trixie has a show to do, good-bye my friend", Trixie gave Lightning a quick hug before sending down a smoke screen, though when it dissipated, Lightning saw Trixie still walking away.
"Your trick didn't work!" Lightning shouted.
"Don't push your luck!" Trixie shouted back.
Lightning shrugged and went to the train with Suri and the Flim Flam brothers.
After the Lightning Dust mess cleared, the show continued, the fashion show was next, Suri was already disqualified for the incident earlier, but another young promising fasion designer shined, that designer was Coco Pommel, who impressed fashionists like Photo Finish & Hoity Toity.
Next came music, with great performances from Octavia and Vinyl Scratch, the two even doing a piece together that impressed everypony.
And finally the entertainment part, Cheese, along with Pinkie whom he invited to do the show with him, wowed everyone with his antics, then Trixie, who put on a decent performance, though most thought she was too much of a show-off, especially Rainbow Dash who booed her several times, drawing Trixie's ire, though Trixie did no act upon it and simply choose to ignore her, like she said, don't try too hard to outshine others, just let it happen naturally. Besides Trixie knew that if she helped Lightning Dust, it would be the ultimate disgrace to Rainbow, while Trixie was somewhat neutral with the other ponies, she still didn't like Rainbow much.
Soon the show finished, the talent received standing ovations, it was time for everyone to head home, Twilight had said farewell to her brother and the princesses and rejoined with her friends.
First Pinkie said good-bye to Cheese, "I'm gonna miss you Cheese, try to stay in contact with me"
"I will miss you as well Pinkie, I hope to come back to Ponyville real soon", the duo hugged before Cheese walked off with his poncho and his chicken.
Trixie tipped her hat to Twilight, "I will see you again soon Princess Twilight Sparkle"
"You could just call me Twilight, bye Trixie"
Trixie then left with her magic show supplies.
Fluttershy and Flitter said their good-byes to Soarin.
"Bye girls, remember, stay pretty", Soarin said.
Both giggled a bit then hugged Soarin good-bye, much to Thunderlane's jealousy.
"I need to learn that charisma"
Rainbow Dash put her arm around Thunderlane, "Hey, if it makes you feel better, you're ok in my book, you're no Soarin but you have your own qualities that make you special"
Thunderlane blushed, "Thanks Rainbow, you're the best"
"I know", she pulled him into an actual hug, "So are you, thanks for having my back today, you're not a lazy chump after all".
Thunderlane pulled back a bit and looked Rainbow deadpanned in the eyes, "You are really something".
Rainbow gave him a sly smile, "Sure am", then she boarded the train, leaving Thunderlane somewhat confused.
Cloudchaser approached him, "When are you gonna tell her the main reason you came back?"
"Give it time, she's a great mare and I want this to work, but I don't want to rush her".
Cloudchaser nodded, "Be careful though, some other stallion could swipe her away, like maybe Soarin"
Thunderlane lightly growled, "That better not happen".
On the train, Twilight approached Rainbow, "So when are you gonna tell him the main reason you want him with us so much?"
Rainbow groaned, "Give me a break, I'm not good with this type of lovey-dovey stuff"
"It's not lovey-dovey, just tell him you like him".
"Give it time Twilight, I got him where I want him", Rainbow smiled sinisterly.
"Just be careful, some other mare may take the chance before you do".
Rainbow had an angry look, "Then that mare will end up with broken limbs".
Rainbow walked down the cart, Twilight sighed, "Better tread lightly on this then".
Also on the train, Rarity was talking with Coco, "I'm so proud of you darling, the fact that Hoity Toity and Photo Finish themselves enjoyed your work is something of great admiration"
"Thanks to you, you're a great inspiration".
Applejack had found herself on the cart with them, "Oh, hi girls".
Coco waved nervously, Rarity waved normally.
Applejack approached Coco, "You ok? Yer not still hurt are you?"
Coco shook her head, "I'm ok, thanks for apologizing"
"Ain't nothing", she gave Coco a quick hug, "Can ah speak with Rarity?"
Coco nodded, "Ok, we'll talk more soon Rarity, I'd like to work out the next visit before you stop at Ponyville"
"Will do darling", once Coco left Rarity focused on Applejack.
"You sure you're ok with me? Ah really messed up, I don't want to lose you as a friend"
"It's gonna be a while before we can fully trust you again", Rarity then pulled Applejack into a hug, "But I'm sure soon things will be back to normal, I'll be with you every step of the way".
Applejack hugged back, "Thanks Rarity".
Rarity felt an urge of guilt, "I'm sorry I slapped you before".
"It's fine, ah deserved that, but to be honest, the thought of losing my friends, especially you, hurt more than any slap could", she looked Rarity right in the eyes, "You mean a lot to me Rarity".
Rarity started blushing a bit, "Thanks dear, you too". They resumed their hug, Applejack rubbing Rarity's mane and Rarity feeling a bit strange inside, she's always liked being with Applejack, but this time it felt different, she didn't know what it was but she didn't care at the moment, all that mattered was her making piece with Applejack.
As the train moved, everything was smoother than the ride to Canterlot; Rarity sat with Applejack & Coco and discussed fashion and farmlife, Twilight sat with Flittershy & Flitter while Fluttershy gawked at how handsome Soarin was, Flitter nodding a lot, Big Macintosh sitting and relaxing on the way back home, Pinkie and Cloudchaser sat with Rumble and the Crusaders as they played a bit on the way home, Apple Bloom being once again, very friendly with Rumble, Sweetie Belle showing attitude and Scootaloo just going with it, Spike was sitting alone, picking his teeth after having stuffed his face with gems that Cadance had given him from The Crystal Empire, and Rainbow Dash sitting with Thunderlane, she had leant up against him a bit, he then put his arm around her very slowly to hold her to him, while she noticed she didn't really care, she figured whatever made him happy, she was not moving as she was a bit tired, besides she kinda liked it, and showed it with a smug smile.
Once again, she has him right where she wants him.
