Soarin Skies, adopted son of two rich and famous athletes, is forced to follow family traditions; his father's legacy. Following through all but one, he fails to stop himself from falling for an ordinary village mare; Rainbow Dash.
Spectrum Skies always wanted his eldest, but also adopted son, Soarin Skies, to follow traditions. His family's legacy.
Following through all but one, Soarin fails to stop himself from falling for an ordinary village mare, Rainbow Dash.
The two fall instantly in love, but Spectrum has other plans. He wants his son to marry Spitfire, a promising Wonderbolt.
How will Spectrum react to Soarin going behind his back and marrying Dash? How will Dash react to her father's death and mother's disappearance?
What will the couple do, when Spectrum threatens to kick them out of the house?
And most importantly, what will Soarin's younger brother, Speedy, do when he comes back from college to find his entire family ripped apart?
After all, if you want happiness, you'll have to sit by a few tears as well.
Cloudy Quartz looked down upon the baby carriage with a small smile on her face. She and her husband, Spectrum Skies had just adopted a baby colt, and they were both beyond happy about it.
A pair of strong hooves suddenly wrapped around her waist, as she turned and gave the newcomer a big grin. Spectrum looked down at his wife with a smile of his own, letting go of her, and moving to the crib to look down at his son.
"Look at him, Cloudy. He's going to grow up into a fine young gentlecolt," he said softly. Cloudy hummed slightly, before nodding and coming closer to him.
"That he is, Spectrum," she said happily, picking up the sleeping baby-blue colt.
Cloudy's silvery pink mane brushed his small face, as the colt's emerald eyes opened wide to see his new cream colored mother. He let out a soft, cute giggle.
Spectrum smiled upon seeing the close encounter between mother and son. He walked up to them, and placed his chin on his wife's shoulder.
"He's adorable, and he likes you," he said. Cloudy chuckled, and placed her son into the dark blue stallion's hooves, and ruffled his light multicolored pastel mane happily.
"Don't worry, with a father like you, I'm sure you two will get along just fine," she said. Spectrum smiled, and nodded.
"He's going to make me a proud father," he said. Cloudy nodded.
"Of course he will, Spec. Why wouldn't he?" she asked. Spectrum sighed, and shrugged as he bounced the blue colt in his hooves as he heard his soft giggles.
"I don't know... I wouldn't want him to let me down. He's going to continue my legacy, you know that right? He's going to take over the Wonderbolts someday," Spectrum said. Cloudy's eyes widened.
"Really?" she asked in surprise. Spectrum nodded.
"Of course, there's not going to be anypony else who deserves that title more than him," he said. Cloudy gave her husband a slight smile, and nodded back to him.
"Our son..." she started. Spectrum let out an airy chuckle, as he bumped his forehead to her's.
"Soarin Skies."
"SOAAARINN!" a small cream colt with a shocking bright yellow and blue mane yelled to his older brother. Soarin Skies popped his head from around the corner of the wall, and gave him a big cheesy grin.
"Oh, Speedy. You ruin everything," he said, running a hoof through his blown back navy mane. Speedy blew cold breath up to prevent his shaggy hair from going into to his eyes, but failed miserably.
Speeder Skies spread his wings out and raced after his older brother. Soarin scoffed, simply taking off with a special move of his own, and flew faster in front of him.
"Oh forget it, Speedy. You're never going to be as fast as your's truly," he said in a teasing manner, looking back at his little brother.
"You might be like, twenty-three-"
"Twenty-two," Soarin quickly corrected. Speedy grumbled, and rolled his eyes.
"Yeah yeah, twenty-two years old. And I might be like, fifteen, but that doesn't mean you're faster than me!" he insisted. Soarin shrugged, before giving his brother a cheeky smile.
"Oh Speedy, you know I'll always be faster than you. Besides, Mom and Dad love me more than you!" he teased. Speedy scoffed, and shook his head, as the two continued their little race.
"No! No they don't! They love me more!" he said. Soarin chuckled.
"Keep on dreamin' boy. You know it's not true," he said, before doing a flip in the air and landing in front of his brother.
Speedy shot him a glare, before landing beside him.
"Boys! Where are you?" Cloudy Quartz yelled from the first floor of the mansion. Soarin and Speedy quickly popped their head over the balcony, and grinned.
"We're right here, Mom!" they shouted back. Cloudy quickly snapper her eyes up, and set them on the two colts. She smiled as she saw them playfully shoving one another.
"Oh there you are! I've been looking everywhere for you! Speedy, it's time for school. Soarin, Spitfire's here to see you," she explained. Soarin and Speedy both shrugged, before spreading their wings and flying down to their mother's level.
"Right, right. She said she would be coming today," Soarin said, before disappearing into the next room. Cloudy looked after her son, before turning to the younger of the two.
"Come on, young boy. Me and your father have to talk to you about something," she said, before pushing the colt into the family room, where Spectrum was waiting for them.
"There you two are! Speedy, come here," Spectrum said from the large couch with a slight frown. Speedy raised his eyebrow, but proceeded to sit on the small seat in front of the dark blue stallion.
"What is it, Dad?" he asked. Spectrum smiled.
"How would you feel about going away for a few years? Going to school away from here?" he asked. Speedy's eyes instantly widened, as he shook his head.
"No! No, why can't I keep going to school here, in Cloudsdale?" he asked. Spectrum just shook his head.
"Because you are my son, and my son must follow my legacy," he said simply. Speedy groaned.
"Gah... I remember Soarin telling me about this talk, the legacy talk. But he's your older son, right? Why can't he follow it? Why do I have to?" he asked. Spectrum quickly looked over to his wife, as both had the same thought.
Speedy was their real son. Their own, flesh and blood, while Soarin wasn't. They had told Soarin about being adopted on his eighth birthday, and he hadn't taken it well. Thankfully though, he had gotten over it in a few months.
Spectrum had already taught Soarin everything he could possibly teach, and now he had to do the same for his real son... it wouldn't feel right if he didn't.
"I went to that school... your brother went to that school... now it's time for you to do the same. Would you really want to risk letting me down?" Spectrum asked. Speedy looked down, and shook his head softly.
"But... But I'll miss you," he said, beginning to tear up. Spectrum tutted, before pulling him in for a strong hug.
"I'm going to miss you too, Speedy... but don't worry, you'll be back in just a few years!" he said. Speedy sniffed.
"How... How many years?" he asked. Spectrum backed away, and chuckles nervously.
"Um... Just... Ten..." he said softly.
"WHAT?!"
"There you are, you big goof! I've been looking everywhere for you!" a firey orange mare called out to a baby-blue stallion. Soarin snorted.
"Oh please, Spitty. Stop acting like some damsel in distress... I know you better than that," he said. Spitfire groaned.
"Yeah yeah... And don't call me Spitty! You know I don't like it," she said. Soarin shrugged.
"Whatever."
"Anyway, you wanna go for a fly and then catch some lunch later?" she asked hopefully. Soarin shrugged.
"Sure, why not?"
Soarin and Spitfire had been childhood best friends; both were on Soarin's father's ariel flight team, The Wonderbolts. The two had been through quite a lot together. Spitfire was Spectrum's favorite. She always had been. Spectrum loved her.
And even though they didn't know it, he expected Soarin to as well.
"Soarin, come in here for a second," Spectrum called out to the baby-blue stallion. Soarin trotted inside the large room, and sat across from his father.
"What is it, Dad?" he asked curiously. Spectrum beckoned him closer with a grave look. Soarin instantly knew something bad was happening, and he was all ears.
"Your grandmother... she's not getting better," Spectrum started. Soarin gasped.
"But the doctors said she would be okay by now!" he exclaimed. Spectrum sadly shook his head.
"My mother was a headstrong woman... I'm afraid she'll take things too far and end up doing something to herself," he said. Soarin put a hoof to his mouth, and shook his head.
"No, Dad. She'll get better, I promise," he said. Spectrum sighed.
"I sure hope so, Soarin. In the meantime, I need to ask you a favor in her consent," he said with a hopeful look. Soarin only nodded.
"Of course, Dad. Anything at all. You name it, I do it," he said.
"I need you to go and pick up a few supplies for her from Ponyville," Spectrum said. Soarin shrugged.
"Sure, I'd be happy to," he said, beginning to get up.
"Oh, one more thing," he said. Soarin stopped, and looked back.
"Yes?"
"I need you to take Speedy with you. And on your way, you need to talk to him about going abroad for school," Spectrum said. Soarin's eyes widened.
"It's that time already? He's going away?" he asked. Spectrum nodded.
"Yeah... he'll be leaving day after tomorrow if all goes as to planned," he said.
"You sprung it on him last minute, didn't you," Soarin asked with furrowed eyebrows.
"But Soarin, I don't want to go to boarding school!" Speedy whined to his older brother as they boarded the flying taxi. Soarin shrugged, as he gestured for the drivers to take off.
"Honestly Speedy, it doesn't matter. If you're Skies' blood, you gotta go, whether you like it or not," he said with a wink. Speedy groaned, and shook his head.
"Now's not really the time for jokes, Soarin," he said. Soarin chuckled, and nodded.
"You're right, you're right. I'll stop, even though I won't like it," he said. Speedy glared ahead of him, and crossed his hooves in annoyance.
"Soarin, why do I have to go?" he asked. Soarin sighed, and draped a hoof around the younger colt. "Do Mom and Dad not love me? Is that why they're sending me away?"
"Now Speedy, you know how true that is- HEY!" Soarin started, before being interrupted by a hard punch in his left shoulder. Speedy growled at his brother, before slumping back down in his seat.
"SOARIN!" he whined again.
"Alright, alright. I'll stop, even though I won't like it," Soarin repeated again. Speedy sighed, before slumping back down in his seat.
"Do Mom and Dad think I'm a disgrace to the family? That I shouldn't even be living in their house?" he asked. Soarin lightly tutted, and wrapped a hoof around the colt.
"Speedy, you know that's true- HEY!" he started, before being interrupted again by his brother, who punched his shoulder. "Well, ouch," Soarin said sarcastically. "You know I'm just teasing you."
"Yeah, but still. It's not fair. Can't you go for me?" Speedy asked. Soarin simply shook his head no. The younger colt groaned, just as the carriage landed with a thump on the ground.
"Oh look! We're here!" Soarin said cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood. Speedy looked up at him, and shook his head.
"Agh..." he moaned. Soarin frowned.
"We'll talk more about this later, okay?" he said, as he helped his brother out of his seat. Speedy shrugged.
"Whatever... why are we here again?"
"To pick up supplies for Grandma," Soarin replied. Speedy nodded.
"Where do we need to go to get them, then?" he asked. Soarin quirked his eyebrows.
"I'm... not really sure. Maybe we can ask one of the locals if they know," he said, waving the drivers of their ride goodbye.
"That mare seems friendly, why don't we ask her?" Speedy asked, pointing to a random orange pegasus filly. Soarin looked down at the colt, and nodded, as the two began fluttered over to the stranger.
"Uh... excuse me?" Soarin started, making the mare turn around. She eyed him closely, before turning to Speedy. By the looks of it, she was around the same age as him.
"Come looking for trouble?" she suddenly asked, walking a few inches closer to the colt. Speedy gulped.
"What?" he asked nervously.
"I'll have you know that there is no way you're going to be messing with this wedding," she continued. Speedy looked over to Soarin with a terrified look.
"What wedding?" Soarin suddenly spoke up. The mare turned to him with a smug smile.
"The wedding of my big sister's best friend, of course," she said like it was obvious. Soarin opened his mouth to speak, but decided against it.
"Who's your sister?" Speedy asked. The mare laughed.
"You must be new around here," she said. Soarin and Speedy both nodded. "Thought so," she finished, sticking out a hoof. "The name's Scootaloo," she said, blowing back her short purple mane.
"Oh! Well, nice to meet you, Scootaloo. I was wondering where the nearest... uh... hospital, was?" Soarin asked uncertainly. Scootaloo raised her eyebrow.
"Hospital? Why would you need a hospital? You don't look very sick to me," she said. Soarin nodded.
"Not for me, for a family member," he said. Scootaloo shrugged.
"What are you looking for, though?" she asked.
"A few medicines," Soarin said.
"Well why didn't you just say so? My sister works at a local pharmacy. She might be able to help you get a few things on a discount," Scootaloo said, beginning to trot ahead. "Come on, I'll lead you there!"
Once she was a safe enough distance away, Speedy turned to Soarin.
"I don't like her."
"Honestly, Applejack. I don't see the reason why you're so worked up about this," a cyan mare said to an orange mare as she put a few boxes in a package. "I mean, all you have to do is go and marry that dude."
"Yeah, a dude who I've never even met before!" her friend replied. "Rainbow Dash, how would you feel if your parents had set up an arranged marriage for you before they passed away?"
"I dunno, probably not very good," Rainbow Dash replied with a slight smile. Applejack frowned.
"Exactly! Dash, I don't want to do this! And-" she started, before being cut off.
"AJ! The ceremony's beginning!" Dash said suddenly, as faint music was heard from outside the shop. Applejack snapped her head towards the door, before her hoof was grasped tightly and she was led outside.
"Rainbow Dash! Let go of me right this instance!" she yelled as Dash spun her and started dancing.
"No way! This is the best part about any wedding! Come on! Dance with me!" she yelled over the progressively louder music. Applejack just shook her head, and started trotting away. "Suit yourself," Dash said, shrugging and continuing her motive.
"Here we are!" Scootaloo said, pointing her hoof towards a small corner shop. Soarin looked around him in awe. It was such a quiet, peaceful town. A few breaks between every couple of straw houses. Nothing like Cloudsdale.
Scootaloo walked into the building, just as loud music began to play around the three ponies. Soarin and Speedy raised an eyebrow at each other, and turned to the young orange mare.
"What's that?" they both asked together. Scootaloo rolled her eyes.
"Honestly, haven't you guys ever been to a wedding before?" she asked, walking into the shop. Soarin and Speedy both shook their head no, as Scootaloo sighed and started calling a name.
"Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!" she cried, but received no answer. She quickly put two and two together, and nervously turned back around. "They're probably outside, the ceremony's starting. My sister's big on dancing and all," she explained.
"Well, then we should go outside, right? I need to get back home before sunset," Soarin said.
"Say, where do do you live exactly?" Scootaloo asked.
"We live in Cloudsdale," Speedy jumped in. Scootaloo's eyes widened.
"Cloudsdale? But that's where all the big important pegasi ponies live! Who are you?" she asked suspiciously. Soarin nervously laughed, and shrugged.
"That's not important. I need to talk to your sister. Speedy and I are really running tight on schedule right now," he said. Scootaloo turned to the younger stallion.
"Speedy? Is that your name?" she asked. Speedy nodded.
"Uh... yes?" he said. Scootaloo groaned.
"Such a cliché name..." she muttered under her breath.
Soarin roamed through the streets of Ponyville curiously, trying to remember what Scootaloo had told him. The grounds were just a few blocks away, and he could use the music to guide him through the town.
An orange mare with a dirty-blonde mane suddenly jumped at him out of nowhere, as the two of them screamed.
"Ah!" Soarin yelped. Applejack looked at him in surprise, before dusting herself off and helping him up.
"Sweet Celestia, mighty sorry," she apologized. Soarin nodded.
"That's alright, but, I had a quick question," he said. Applejack nodded.
"I'm looking for a mare named Rainbow Dash, do you know where I could find her?" he asked. The mare's eyes widened, as she nodded.
"Yeah, why're you looking for her?" she asked.
"Her sister told me she works at a medical store. I needed to buy a few things," Soarin explained.
"If Scootaloo trusts you, then you're probably okay," she said. "The name's Applejack. My wedding's in a few days, Rainbow Dash is just around the corner over there."
"Oh... okay, thank you. Any chance you could tell me what she looks like? I don't want to stumble into the wrong pony," Soarin said with an embarrassed smile.
"Oh trust me, you'll know when you see her," Applejack said, before trotting away with a smile.
Soarin wandered in the direction where Applejack had pointed out, and started hearing progressively louder music.
"What the..." he mumbled under his breath, coming through a clearing to a giant platform.
It looked like the entire town had come to celebrate this wedding. Ponies were eating, playing, dancing, and just having fun with one another.
He started to search for the mare he had originally come for, remembering her name. Rainbow Dash, she shouldn't be that hard to find. Just... look for rainbows, right?
This task proved much easier than he had first expected, because right there, in the middle of all the commotion, was a mare. A cyan blue mare, with a shock of rainbow resting on her forehead. Rainbow Dash. Soarin instantly knew.
She was dancing. Her mane swinging around behind her. Her movements so intense, anyone could see them from a mile away. Soarin stared at her, simply dumbfounded.
Any ordinary pony would look past this mare, concluding that she was just as crazy as the rest of the ponies in this town, but Soarin was different.
There was something drawing him towards her. Something making him want to pounce right into the spot next to her. Something that made him want to dance with her...
Something that made him want to be with her.
He cautiously approached the mare, her mane flicking in his face once, before quickly moving around. She faced him in surprise.
"Hello, I'm new here, and was looking for-" Soarin started, before being cut off.
"Applejack? Oh! You must be Key!" she exclaimed excitedly. Soarin raised an eyebrow.
"Key? Who's that?" he asks curiously. Dash grinned.
"Applejack told me you were supposed to be funny, I can see what she means! You two will be very happy together!" she said, beginning to trot out in front of him. "Come on, I'll show you to the shop."
Soarin, relieved that he was finally getting what he first wanted, sighed and quickly fluttered his way over to the cyan mare. She beamed, looking him over.
"Though, I do remember AJ telling me you were going to be an earth pony..." she said, quirking her eyebrows. Soarin, still not having a clue of what she was talking about, simply shrugged. Letting the matter slide into nothing.
"Scootaloo! Scootaloo!" Rainbow Dash called out, pushing the door open to the small pharmacy. Soarin followed closely behind, making sure to look around for Speedy too.
Scootaloo and Speedy were both sitting on the couch awkwardly. Like they had just flung on there last second as they heard the door open. Soarin spotted Speedy's angry face, and knew the two were having a fight.
"There you are," Dash said, trotting over to Scootaloo, and gesturing over to Soarin.
"This is Key, AJ's future husband," she introduced, oblivious to the truth. Scootaloo looked over to Soarin, and smirked, knowing well what was really happening.
"Oh, this is Key, is it?" she started, getting up and sticking out a hoof. "Nice to meet you... Key. I'm Scootaloo."
"Uh... pleasure?" Soarin said uncertainly. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, and dragged him over to the counter.
"So... what do you like to do in your free time?" she asked. Soarin raised an eyebrow.
"Er... I go flying a lot," he said. Dash perked up.
"Flying? Me too!" she exclaimed. "Favorite sport?"
"Sweet Celestia, same!" she said, just as the doorbell rung. "I'LL GET IT!"
Soarin watched after the quick mare as she scurried over to the front door of the shop. She really was something. A little crazy, she got a little too overexcited at times, but she definitely was a pony worth taking note of.
Rainbow Dash returned a few minutes later with a newspaper in her hooves. She was scanning the text with a bored expression. She quickly looked up, and into the eyes of Soarin.
Dash threw the paper in front of him, and shrugged.
"The paper just came in. I was just reading an article on the Wonderbolts," she said. Soarin tilted his head, and picked up the newspaper with a curious vibe. He had never gotten to read what the press thought of his team... so this was a first.
On the front page, there was a giant picture of Soarin's family. The captain team. His father, Spectrum, standing tall with his wings wide open. His mother, Cloudy, with her head resting on Spectrum's shoulder. Soarin was besides them, with a cheeky grin, and giving Speedy a rough noogie.
He closely examined the picture. The family really did look good. But one thing was standing out the most. Their pride. You could easily tell from Spectrum's facial expression that he was a stallion of great importance. That his team would one day lead Equestria to great victory. His legacy would never be broken.
Soarin then thought back to the time when he was given the legacy talk. Just like Speedy had. But since he was the eldest son of the family. Spectrum went far deeper into the topic than he had with his younger child.
There were so many things that Soarin had heard that day. Mostly about how disappointed Spectrum would be if he ever were to betray him. From then on, Soarin knew he couldn't do anything to let his father down.
Spectrum was a stallion of many words. Some wise, other's not so much. But at times, he could be quite stubborn. He had a tendency to act in the moment. Failing to process things in his mind before blurting them out loud.
It could be quite frustrating, to be frankly honest.
"Uh... hello?" a voice sliced through his thoughts. Soarin looked up to see Rainbow Dash with an impatient look plastered across her face. Soarin chuckled nervously, before sliding the newspaper away.
Dash quickly picked up the paper and looked at the picture of Soarin's family again. She tutted.
"The Skies family; big and rich," she started. Soarin looked up. She was starting to talk about his family. "Sure, they seem nice and all, but I'm positive they're actually all stuck up snobbish brutes, especially this guy," she said, pointing to Spectrum Skies; Soarin's father.
Soarin raised any eyebrow. "What's wrong with Da- I mean... Spectrum?" he asked, quickly fixing his mistake as he said it. Dash shrugged, and examined the picture.
"He seems... distant. I don't know, just a thought. Oh, and look at this dude, what's his name, Soarin Skies?" Dash guessed, looking at the portrait closely. "I bet he's the worst of the entire family."
Soarin snorted, and shook his head. If only she knew... he thought to himself with a small smile. Dash quirked her eyebrows, and looked up to him.
"Say, he looks exactly like- wait..." she started, trailing off at the end. Soarin only nodded, holding out a hoof.
"Name's Soarin. Soarin Skies," he said, staring at Dash's dumbfounded look. "Son of... the snobbish brute."
Dash gasped, as her face scrunched up. Her eyebrows lowered, and she plastered a whine face on.
"Eek..." she mumbled, before semi-crying loudly. Soarin's eyes widened, as he quickly jumped and held her.
"Oh! Oh! Sorry, sorry! Didn't mean to make you cry and all..." he said uncertainly. Dash sniffled.
She pointed to the paper, to the picture of Soarin, and then to the stallion standing in front of her. She had a pained expression on, as she repeatedly pointed back and forth, from the paper to Soarin.
Soarin kept nodding.
"Alas, sorry to disappoint. I knew you were expecting some other stallion, but got stuck with bad ol' me," he teased. Dash shook her head.
"Why are you here?" she said in a low voice. Soarin shrugged.
"Actually, I came with my little brother Speedy, are you going to call him names too?" he asked her with a raised eyebrow. Dash quickly shook her head. "Good. Anyway, I came with Speedy for a package of medicines. I heard you worked at a pharmacy, so your little sister Scootaloo led me here," he said.
Dash sighed. "What was it that you needed?" she asked, deciding to be polite and not risk upsetting him. Soarin shrugged.
"Just give me something like this," he said, pulling out a piece of paper Spectrum had given him. Dash looked it over, and nodded, disappearing into the heart of the shop.
She returned a few minutes later with a few bottles in her hooves, tossing them to Soarin.
"Great! Thanks. How much will that be?" he asked. Dash shook her head with a frustrated groan.
"Nothing, nothing. Just take it," she said. Obviously because of her little slip-up from before. Soarin shrugged, throwing a bag of bits to her.
"Keep the change," he said, beckoning Speedy over. The two nodded, and quietly left the shop without another word.
A few seconds later, the door opened again, welcoming a little orange stallion.
"Oi. I'm Key," he said, waving to Rainbow Dash, who had an angry expression on her face still from what had happened with Soarin. She looked over.
"Did you hear?" Rainbow Dash asked Applejack a few days later. Applejack raised her eyebrow.
"Hear what?" she asked. Dash rolled her eyes.
"The Skies family is hosting a big birthday party for Cloudy Quartz tonight!" she exclaimed in excitement. Applejack shrugged.
"So...? I'm not exactly sure why you're so excited about this," she said with a hint of doubt. Dash sighed.
"AJ, don't you get it? Cloudy Quartz's birthday is the same is my father's birthday! Today!" she said. Applejack's eyes widened, as she stared at her friend in shock.
"Really?" she asked.
"Well, yeah! When your a fan of the Wonderbolts like I am, you tend to get to know these minor details," Dash said. Applejack thought about this, and nodded, deciding it was just Rainbow being Rainbow.
"I guess," she said. "And... what exactly has gotten you so excited?" she asked. Dash slapped her forehead.
"Sometimes, I wonder how I even get along with you," she muttered under her breath before looking up again. "Listen, my family's throwing a party for Dad, and Soari- I mean, the Wonderbolt family is throwing a party for Cloudy!" she exclaimed.
"And..."
"And, you know how Ponyville parties are. Sure, they have a lot of fun activities and such, but imagine a Cloudsdale birthday bash! Think about all the fun we would have!" Dash said, stomping her hooves on the ground.
"Wait... are you saying we should crash the party?" Applejack asked with her eyes wide. Dash nodded excitedly.
"Finally! You get it! YES! That's exactly what I'm saying!" she said happily. Applejack instantly backed away.
"Rainbow, we can't! Imagine all the trouble we'd be in if we got caught!" she said in a hushed whisper. Dash shook her head, and put her hooves on the mare's orange coat.
"AJ, don't tell me you've never wanted to see what a Cloudsdale birthday party's like," she said seriously. Applejack avoided the magenta gaze of her friend. "Come on! We'll have so much fun!"
"Uh... what about wings? Don't I need wings to get up to Cloudsdale?" Applejack said, trying a different route to her protests. Rainbow Dash shrugged.
"Duh, that's why we have Twilight with us," she said.
"And do you really think Twilight would approve of this?" Applejack asked, crossing her hooves and giving her friend a snarky smirk. Dash slumped down, before quickly brightening up again.
"Then... we just won't tell her exactly what we're doing!" she said. Applejack sighed.
"How are we going to explain why I need wings?" she asked. Dash shrugged.
"Um... just wing it. Follow my lead, okay?"
"... Okay..."
"Wait, what?" Twilight sputtered out in confusion. Dash and Applejack looked to each other.
"We were wondering if you could make some wings for AJ," Dash said. Twilight's eyes widened.
"Why in EQUESTRIA would you need wings for Applejack?" she asked in disbelief. Applejack laughed nervously, before glancing over to Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah, Dash. Why in Equestria would I need wings?" she asked, forcefully putting pressure on the words she spoke. Dash just smirked.
"Well, Twilight. Have you ever wanted something so badly, you would do anything to get it?" she asked, walking up to the purple unicorn. Twilight raised her eyebrow suspiciously.
"Why do you ask?" she asked. Dash then slauntered over to Applejack and draped a hoof over her.
"Because that, is exactly what is happening to AJ," she said simply. Applejack's eyes widened.
"Wait, what?" she sputtered out. Dash nodded quickly.
"Let me explain," she began, trotting to the other side of the room, both pairs of eyes on her. "You see, AJ here desperately wants to be able to fly. To put it simply, she wants to become a pegasus, even if it is just temporary."
Applejack gasped, but kept her mouth shut. She didn't want to make it seem more suspicious to Twilight than it already was. Twilight though, eyed the cyan mare.
"Uh... is this true, Applejack?" she asked, turning to the orange country-pony. Applejack's eyes darted around. It was incredibly difficult for her to lie like this, but she had to on the sake of her best friend's happiness.
"Erm... yeah, Twi. Yeah it is," she said, taking off her hat and putting her head down. Twilight backed away slightly, for she knew Applejack would never tell a lie. She sighed.
"Oh... alright, fine," she said. Dash and Applejack both looked at each other with big grins. They were going to get to go to the party together after all! "On one condition."
The two both stopped in their tracks, and looked over to the unicorn. Twilight nodded. "You both are going to have to come and help me clean out the library this weekend," she said.
"Don't you like, have Spike to do that for you?" Dash asked, crossing her hooves in mid-air. Twilight shrugged.
"Maybe, but even with both of us working together, it still takes a lot of time. And how much ever I love organizing books, I could really use those spare hours reading," she said.
Applejack slumped down. "Okay okay, we'll do it."
Twilight clapped her hooves happily. "Oh yay! Okay, let me just find the spell, and I'll give you the most beautiful wings you've ever seen!" she said, before rushing into the next room.
She emerged moments later, carrying a heavy book in her hooves, flipping the pages one-by-one.
"Did you find it?" Dash asked her hopefully. Twilight nodded, tapping her horn on the bottom of a page.
"Here it is!" she exclaimed, looking over the spell. "Agh, it still hasn't gotten any less difficult than the last time I used it," she said. Applejack walked up to her.
"Do you think you'll be able to do it?" she asked. Twilight took a deep breath, and nodded.
"If wings is what you want, then it's wings you'll get!" she exclaimed, putting the book down, and summoning the magic from her horn.
Twilight took a deep breath, as she began to cast the spell. Applejack was lifted into the air, as the magic began to work it's way around her.
The entire room sparkled as a giant pair of butterfly wings emerged from Applejack's back.
"Woah..." Dash said, as she saw the process happen. The last time Twilight had performed the spell, she hadn't been there. She was too busy practicing for the Best Young Flyer's Competition back then.
Twilight gasped, as she released the spell, and lowered Applejack to the ground. "There... you... go..." she panted out.
Applejack gaped at the wings that were now resting on her back.
"Wow..." she muttered.
"Go... live... your... dream... as... a... pegasus..." Twilight said again. Applejack quickly looked over to Twilight, and gently flapped the new extension on her back.
"This is amazin'!" she said, beginning to fly around the room. Dash laughed victoriously, and pumped a hoof in the air.
"Aw yeah! AJ's got wings!" she said, fluttering up and flying by her friend.
A little while later, Rainbow Dash and Applejack flew out of the library, waving goodbye to their purple unicorn friend.
"Thanks again, Twi," Applejack said, turning back to Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah. What she said," Dash said quickly, grabbing Applejack's hoof. "C'mon, AJ! We're gonna be late!" she insisted, trying to fly faster. Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"Where are you two heading?" she asked. Dash laughed nervously, and shrugged.
"Uh... my dad's birthday party, of course!" she said. Applejack quickly nodded.
"Yep! It's gonna... be a blast!" she said. Twilight gasped.
"Oh that's right! Your father's birthday is today!" she said. Dash nodded. "Well, I guess I'll see you there at the party!"
"Oh! Uh... yeah! At the... party. Okay! We gotta dash. See ya'!" Dash said quickly grabbing Applejack and flying her out of the scene.
"You ready?" Rainbow Dash said, trotting over to Applejack casually. The orange mare nodded.
"I sure hope so..." she replied with an uncertain look. Dash rolled her eyes.
"Oh relax, AJ. It's gonna be fine," she said, hitting her friend's back slightly. Applejack just shrugged, and sighed. She looked up to the excited fanfilly, and shook her head.
"Are you sure this is even a good idea?" she asked. "Can't we just have fun here, at your dad's birthday party?"
"AJ, look around you. Do you think we'll have a good time here?" Dash asked, gesturing into the party.
Rainbow's mother, Firefly, had set-up the town center into a wonderfully lit hall, shimmering lights, and ponies dancing, and having a blast everywhere.
Applejack nodded.
"Yes! We will! That's my point," she said. Dash rolled her eyes again.
"But now, think about the Wonderbolt's party," she said, as she forced her friend to look off into space. "You picturing it clear enough?"
"Uh... yeah, think so," Applejack said, leaning her head towards the cyan mare. "Why am I doing this again?"
Rainbow Dash sighed.
"Whatever. Anyway, we're gonna be late!" she exclaimed, spreading her wings out. Applejack quirked her eyebrows.
"What now?" she asked with a pained expression.
"Cloudy Quartz's party, duh," Dash replied, before fluttering up above the ground. She looked behind her, and nodded towards her friend, gesturing for her to come.
Applejack sighed, and floated into the air herself with the giant wings she had gotten earlier that day.
"How long does this spell last for again?" she asked.
"Three days," Dash said. Applejack nodded, before the two looked around them. Once they knew the coast was clear, they stealthily flew up and away from Ponyville.
"This party's great!" Spitfire exclaimed to Soarin, as the two poured punch into their glasses. Soarin made a disgusted face.
"But it's like, so... formal," he said, looking around him.
The mansion was pure white, decorated with light shimmers of ribbons and few balloons here and there, but nothing big. It seemed pretty... bland.
"Well, you are in the house of the Captain Wonderbolt family... what do you expect?" Spitfire said in a joking manner. Soarin smiled towards the mare, before they both took off into the air.
A little distance away, Spectrum was standing with his wife, looking upon the scene.
"Ah... don't you think they'll make an excellent couple?" he asked. Cloudy raised her eyebrow.
"What? What do you mean?" she asked. Spectrum turned to her in excitement.
"Okay, I think it's finally time I reveal to you my big plan for Soarin's future," he said. Cloudy sighed, and turned as well, facing her husband with a knowing look.
"This should be good," she mumbled underneath her breath.
"I want Soarin to marry Spitfire!" Spectrum exclaimed. Cloudy took a few steps back.
"What do you mean... you want?" she asked.
"I mean, I'm going to make Soarin propose to Spitfire, they seem to get along so well. And I know she'll be the perfect mare for our family," Spectrum said. Cloudy shook her head.
"But, Spectrum. Nowadays, parents let their children decide on who they're going to marry," she said. Spectrum shrugged.
"So? Things might have changed for other ponies, but I know Soarin will follow through his family's legacy," he said.
"Legacy? How does the Skies' Legacy match into this?" Cloudy asked.
"Look, my father chose my marriage, his father chose his marriage, his father chose his marriage, and so on. Now it's Soarin's turn. And as his father, I chose Spitfire as a bride," Spectrum explained.
"That's... so cruel," Cloudy said. "Do you mean to say your father chose our marriage? That our relationship was forced?"
"Well... no. I fell in love with you, and since my father hadn't already picked my bride, he approved. Our love was never forced, honest," Spectrum said. Cloudy sighed.
"But I still don't think you should do this to Soarin. What if he doesn't want Spitfire as his bride?" she asked. Spectrum nodded.
"Don't worry. He does. He's already fallen for her, I can see the way they talk to each other," he said. Cloudy rolled her eyes.
"Whatever. This... this isn't a great idea, Spec," she said.
"Don't worry, honey. Everything will turn out fine," Spectrum said, putting a hoof around his wife. "I just know it."
"He's my son. He would never betray me."
"Woah... look at this place!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she floated through the mansion.
She and Applejack had been able to sneak past the guards with the help of a little potion they had 'borrowed' from Zecora. It took a lot of convincing, but they were able to get enough for the guards to fall asleep as they entered the house.
Sure, it didn't seem completely... legal. But they weren't going in to steal anything... or murder anyone. They just came to see what a Cloudsdale party was like.
And worst come to worst, Dash would just have to say that she knew Soarin personally. Which wasn't a lie.
"Uh... y-yeah... so... h-high..." Applejack said, fluffing up her wings a little more. Dash snorted.
"Yeah, you better get used to it," she said, laughing to herself. "You're gonna have those on your back for a few days now."
Applejack gulped. "Uh... yeah," she said uncertainly, flying closer to her friend.
The two ventured into the main reception hallway where the party was being held. Light music was played, and many ponies were slow dancing on the middle floor.
Dash looked around her in awe. It was so... beautiful, the entire arrangement. She glanced around to see if she could spot anyone familiar, but it didn't seem so. Though she did notice Spectrum Skies and Cloudy Quartz at the side of the room, which didn't help her excitement to simmer down.
"AJ! AJ!" she suddenly said, pointing over to the Wonderbolt couple. "Look!"
Applejack shrugged. "So what?" she said, mentally knowing what Dash was about to do.
Rainbow Dash gasped.
"APPLEJACK!" she yelled. "HOW COULD YOU SAY SUCH A THING?"
"Uh..."
"Spitfire, where are you taking me?" Soarin asked his firey orange friend. Spitfire shrugged.
"I don't know really. I'm just bored of this party," she said. Soarin raised his eyebrow.
"But I thought you loved this party?" he said with a smirk. Spitfire rolled her eyes.
"Oh shut up, Soarin," she said, waving her hoof in his face as she flapped her wings harder. Soarin chuckled.
"Fine, fine. I'll shut up."
"Good."
"Good."
"Well... fine."
"Fine."
The two laughed to themselves, before venturing back into the main hallway.
"Woah, look at all these trophies," Rainbow Dash said with wide eyes, looking over the large rows of flying rewards and other various activities.
"There sure are a lot of them..." Applejack said in equal astonishment. "Best Equestrian Flying Team, Best Team Captain, Best Wonderbolt Generation... they've earned just about everything!"
"Wouldn't you love to be a part of their team?" Dash asked with a dreamy gaze. Applejack backed away.
"Maybe for you, but I'll probably stay down by the farm," she said. Dash laughed, as she and Applejack began to search the trophies for more interesting facts.
"I can't believe I'm actually in the house of the Team Captain and his family..." Dash said, in a starstruck form. Applejack nodded.
"Must be a dream come true for you, eh?" she asked. Dash nodded.
"Oh yeah," she said, watching her friend flap her wings to gain altitude. "Be careful, AJ. You don't wanna accidentally knock something down..."
"Nah. It's okay, Dash. I've got it under control," Applejack replied confidently, rising higher, and beating her large wings faster. "Wo-oah!"
"APPLEJACK!" Rainbow Dash cried, as Applejack's wings hit the largest trophy on the top shelf. She gasped, as her friend fell, and the trophy began to wobble. "HOLD ON!"
Rainbow Dash jumped up, and quickly pushed the orange mare out of the way, spreading her wings wide. Unfortunately for her, the feathery extension on her back provided anything but comfort internally. For it had just brushed the moving trophy, causing it to collapse to the floor.
Applejack fell to the ground, along with Rainbow Dash, who instantly sat up, just in time to see the trophy crash to the floor, and crack in various places.
All the commotion had attracted a few... onlookers, upon the scene. Spectrum and Cloudy were both gaping at the cyan mare, and their beloved trophy. Spitfire and Soarin, who had been flying by at the time, stopped and looked curiously. Soarin, who instantly recognized the two mares, made a face and tried to stop himself from cracking up into fits of laughter.
"Oh... oh goodness..." Cloudy said, putting her hoof to her mouth and looking at the cracked figurine. Spectrum gasped.
"My biggest achievement!" he exclaimed. Soarin, who observed Rainbow Dash's scared face, simply chuckled.
He flew down to the scene, and held a hoof out for her. "Here," he said, as Dash shook her body and cautiously accepted the hoof.
"Uh... hehe..." she laughed nervously. Soarin shook his head, and shot her a quick wink, before flapping his wings and returning by Spitfire's side.
He shot her one last smile, before disappearing into a cloud.
"Seriously? That's what happened?" Firefly asked her daughter the next day. Rainbow Dash sighed.
"Well, to be honest, it wasn't entirely my fault. If AJ hadn't-" she started, before being interrupted.
"Hey hey, don't blame this on Applejack. It was your fault you even crashed that silly party!" Firefly exclaimed. Dash rolled her eyes.
"Mom, haven't you ever wanted to see what a Cloudsdale party is like?" she asked, leading her on. Firefly slumped down in distress Dash smirked in victory. "I know that look."
"Yeah yeah, whatever. But that doesn't give you an excuse to enter a high-class party with no invitation!" Firefly said. Dash sighed once again.
"Okay, okay, fine. I know what I did was wrong and it won't happen ever again, 'kay?" she said, turning her statement into a question. Firefly shook her head.
"Actually no, Rainbow. It's not okay. You need to go apologize," she said. Dash gaped at her mother in shock.
"Wait.. what?" she said in a low voice. Firefly simply nodded.
"Yeah, you need to let the Wonderbolt family know that you're sorry. You can take Scootaloo with you," she said. Dash raised her eyebrows.
"Take Scootaloo with me where?" she asked. Firefly rolled her eyes.
"Take her with you to Cloudsdale to tell Mr. Skies you apologize," she explained. Dash groaned.
"Aw man... Mom, do I have to?" she whined. Firefly nodded sternly, stiffling back her silent giggles at her daughter's childish attitude. Dash moaned quietly, before slowly fluttering off the ground.
"Come on, Scoots. We have to go apologize for something that totally wasn't my fault," she said in a bored tone. Scootaloo popped her head into the room, and laughed.
"Shouldn't we take AJ with us or something, she was partially the reason this whole thing happened," she said. Dash shook her head.
"I wish. But AJ's out of town with Key, something about wanting to get to know him more," she said. Scootaloo shrugged, and hopped down to her sister's level.
"Oh well, should we go then?" she asked. Dash nodded.
"Whatever."
"Okay so, you're saying the Princesses need to get a show in Vanhoover by next week?" Spectrum Skies asked his agent at the cloud mansion. "But Rapidfire's on leave currently."
Soarin silently strutted into the room and looked upon the situation.
"What's this about a show in Vanhoover?" he asked. Spectrum sighed, and looked over to his son.
"Princess Celestia's friend from another part of Equestria is going to Canterlot for a visit. We need to somehow fit a show when she's on her way as a surprise," he said. Soarin nodded.
"Oh... but what about Rapid?" he asked. Spectrum nodded.
"That's exactly the problem... without Rapidfire in Squad Three, we won't have enough flyers to complete the ariel triangle in the middle of the current performance we're rehearing. And we can't leave it and make a new routine, since there's barely enough time," he explained. Soarin furrowed his eyebrows.
"Can't we just modify the triangle?" he asked. Spectrum shook his head.
"That's basically impossible considering the amount of pizazz it would amount to in the show. We don't have enough time to create a new crowd-attractor," he said. Soarin sighed.
"Sweet Celestia... what are we going to do then?" he asked hopelessly. Spectrum closed his eyes.
"I don't think there's really anything we can do, Son. Unless we get some amazing flyer in on time... but the chances of that happening are very-"
His voice was interrupted by the front doorbell ringing, and Cloudy Quartz entering the room. She smiled towards her son and husband.
"Don't worry, I'll get it," she said, before trotting to the door and opening it wide. There in front of her, stood the last pony Spectrum wanted to see at that moment. Rainbow Dash. Soarin's eyes widened as she entered the room and turned to Spectrum.
Spectrum eyed her angrily, still not forgetting what had happened at his wife's birthday party a few days ago.
"Oh... it's you..." he said in a displeasing tone. Dash looked up at him with big eyes.
"Uh..." she started. "He...llo..." she mumbled, cutting her words. Spectrum raised his eyebrow.
"Why are you here? We're very busy at the moment," he said curtly. Dash gulped.
"Right," she said, turning to her little sister for moral support. But Scootaloo had her focus elsewhere- she was looking directly at Speedy who was on the stairs looking down upon the ponies. Scootaloo glared at him, as the colt happily returned the gesture.
Realizing she wasn't getting anywhere with her sister, Dash turned back to Spectrum Skies.
"Sorry for intruding upon you like this, Sir," she said, regaining her confidence, "but I wanted to tell you something."
Spectrum sighed. "Go on."
"Uh... I just wanted to say... that I'm really very sorry for what happened at Mrs. Quartz's birthday party," Dash explained. Spectrum tilted his head. He never expected an ordinary village mare to apologize to such a high-class pony like himself.
"It's fine," he said with a wave of his hoof. Dash bit her lip, before noticing Soarin standing behind Spectrum. He though, was busy laughing hard to himself. Dash glared at him, but at her angle, it seemed as if she was looking at Spectrum.
"Is something wrong...?" Spectrum asked her, noticing her facial expression. She quickly looked to him, and shook her head politely.
"Oh no, nothing at all, Sir," she said cautiously, only making Soarin laugh harder.
Spectrum was beginning to lose it. He didn't know what was wrong with this mare, she was just so... agh. He didn't like her one bit at all.
"Look, if you don't have a real reason for being in my house, I suggest you leave instantly," he said. Dash's eyes widened, as she backed away. She definitely wasn't expecting that, and neither was Soarin.
He looked between her and his father in shock, before clearing his throat.
"Uh... Rainbow Dash," he said, their eyes making perfect contact with each other. Soarin's instantly looked over to the exit, as Dash took the hint and nodded.
"Oh! Yeah... okay, I'll just... be off now!" she said, scampering over to the door, her wings outstretched. But of course, that wasn't the smartest idea.
Her wing bumped into a giant trophy on a table in the middle of the room, as it rocked off and fell with a smash onto the floor. Even though it was made of cloud, it was still a hard hit, and the trophy cracked.
Dash stopped dead in her tracks, and looked behind her at the broken figurine. She gasped, and diverted her eyes to look at Spectrum, who was wearing an unreadable expression at that moment.
Cloudy instantly flew over to her husband, in fear of him lashing out. Spectrum was a wee bit tender when it came to this sort of thing; especially when it included one of his trophies or achievements.
Spectrum gaped at Dash, his ears lowering and turning redder by the second. Dash gulped, she knew what was about to happen.
"You... you... you IMBECILE!" he yelled. Dash's eyes widened as he shouted at her. "LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE YOU PATHETIC LITTLE-"
"DAD!" Soarin's voice cut into his. Spectrum looked at his son in shock and anger. Soarin flew between him and Dash, and held a hoof out to protect her. "SHUT UP, WILL YOU?"
Spectrum tilted his head back. "What... what are you doing? Taking the side of this middle-class mare?!" he exclaimed. Soarin shook his head.
"It was just a simple accident! We all make mistakes!" he persisted. Spectrum took a few deep breaths, as Cloudy looked at her son with a concerned look. He would never defend a mare like Dash without a good reason.
Rainbow Dash on the other hoof, was looking more embarrased than she ever had before. Her hoof was to her mouth, as she looked upon the scene in shock.
"An accident like this has already occurred once, it ruined my beloved wife's birthday party!" Spectrum started, before turning back to Dash. "And it was all because of her!" he said, pointing an accusing hood towards the cyan mare.
"Dad! Just let it go! What's done is done!" Soarin exclaimed, turning around and walking back to the paralyzed mare. He put a protective hoof around her, and snorted.
Cloudy eyed the two curiously; something was definitely up between them. She saw it at the party, and now here. She was positive they had met before.
She then thought back to what Spectrum had told her at the party a few days ago- he already had Soarin's plan for the future set, but Cloudy was certain Soarin would argue until daylight's end about the matter.
Though it wasn't like she had any say in her husband's decision. He made the rules around the house, and everyone honestly preferred it that way.
Not until now, at least.
"Okay, so now that this is settled," Soarin started, turning around to the front door. "I'll be out for a little while, follow me, Dash."
And with that, Soarin led the cyan mare out the house, Spectrum standing stone still looking out after the two of them.
"What you did back there..." Rainbow Dash started once the two were a safe distance away from the house. Soarin looked back at her and shook his head with a small smile.
"Hey, don't worry about it. My father tends to get a little... jumpy over that sort of thing," he said. Dash nodded.
"Well, thanks. It really wasn't nessecary though," she said. "I would have been pretty awesome back there by myself."
Soarin rolled his eyes. "Really now? Because how I remember it, you were so nervous you were practically shivering!"
Dash snorted. "Yeah yeah," she said with a grin. Soarin sighed, and fluttered a little lower, heading for ground level. Dash followed shortly after she noticed what he was doing, and the two landed softly on the clouds below.
"I dunno, what do you wanna do?" she said, letting loose her casual self. Soarin chuckled, before pointing into the bustle of the main city.
"You're from Ponyville, correct?" he asked her. Dash nodded. "And you haven't explored Cloudsdale, correct?" Dash nodded again. "Great! Wanna fly around the city?"
Dash jumped up and squeed uncharacteristically. "Ooh yes!" she exclaimed. Soarin chuckled, before spreading his wings and taking off once again.
"Follow me!"
"Woah..." Dash said, eyeing the glorious city of Cloudsdale. Soarin smiled, and began his tour, mocking a cheeky guide.
"And here we have the Central Park, little colts and fillies enjoy coming here to play," he said in a low voice. Dash giggled, and grinned upon the sight of the foals chasing each other in the clouds.
"Aw... they're so cute!" she said, pushing her cheeks up and cooing. Soarin held in light laughs, and continued through the town.
"Here's the Main Plaza, pegasi come here to shop, eat and hang out," he said, eyeing a few fanfillies who were running up to them with papers. "Oh no..." he mumbled, before grabbing Dash's hoof and immediately taking off into the sky.
Dash gasped. "W-What are you doing, Soarin?" she asked, looking around as the two acsended higher and higher in the air. Soarin shook his head, and gestured below them where a mob of ponies flew upwards, chasing them.
"No time to lose, Dashie," he said, not thinking before he spoke. "Fanfillies are any Wonderbolt's worst nightmare."
Dash's eyes widened in realization, before she began pushing her own wings, beating them harder to make them gain speed.
Sooner or later, the ponies left them be, and the two stopped flying higher, gasping for air.
"Oh sweet Celestia..." Soarin said, panting. Dash breathed slowly, before snapping her wings shut and closing her eyes. "Dash?" Soarim said, as she began falling. She opened her eyes, and winked at him.
Finally getting her gist, Soarin closed his wings shut too and let himself free fall into the air. Once he was besides Dash, he looked at her with a goofy smile.
"This is fun," he said relaxing into the breeze. "How often do you do this?"
"At least once a day," Dash said quickly. Soarin's eyes widened.
"Wow... I should really get out more," he said. Dash laughed, and nodded.
"Maybe that's true," she said, before the two landed with a bounce on the puffy cloud floor of the city.
"Come on, Señorita," Soarin goofed, dragging the cyan mare through the city. They stayed high in the air in fear of being close-to mobbed again.
"Well then," Dash said with a surprised tone as she let Soarin glide her through. She smiled upon seeing his happy face, and how excited he was.
Suddenly, she pushed her feathers out, stopping herself from going any further. Soarin instantly looked back, just in time to see her smirking and pulling him around.
She twisted him in a circular motion until they were muzzle-to-muzzle, causing him to blush profusely.
She laughed nervously, realizing what she had done. "Hehe... oops," she said with a shrug, releasing him and chuckling to herself. Soarin tilted his head in confusion. He knew she was being playful and teasing.
He quickly joined in on her laughter, as the two guffawed endlessly above the hustle-and-bustle of the city.
"... And to conclude our tour, here we see the Cloudiseum! Where big sport-related events take place! Most of the Wonderbolt's Cloudsdale shows happen here," Soarin said, pointing to a large building below them.
Dash gasped in awe as she saw a game of Air Hoofball taking place. Soarin grinned. "Wanna get seats?" he asked. Dash looked up with wide eyes.
"You mean it?" she asked hopefully. Soarin nodded.
"Sure! It'll be fun, come on!" he said, leading her inside the building.
Of course, they were able to get box seats, high up above the rest of the crowd. Being a Wonderbolt was the main reason, of course. Dash looked down upon the game, hooting and hollering everytime the home-team made a shot.
Soarin eyed his companion closely.
The way her mane swooshed in the air everytime she screamed, the way her voice jingled in his ear like bells... he could definitely conclude one thing by the end of the day.
"I love her."
Too bad he couldn't have her.
"You wanna grab something to eat?" Soarin asked Dash on their way out of the stadium. Dash shrugged.
"Meh... I could go for some food," she said with a giggle. Soarin grinned, and grabbed her hoof, leading her to a local diner nearby.
Once they entered, the two immediately grabbed two hayburgers and dropped a few bits on the countertop. Before the salespony could recognize Soarin, they were out the door.
"The way she looked at you..." Dash said, laughing as she remembered the face the mare behind the counter had given them when they threw the money at her. Soarin grinned, leaking out a few laughs of his own.
"Priceless!" he exclaimed.
Dash checked the clocktower in the middle of the town; towering high into the air.
"Oh Celestia... I need to be home soon," she said, looking up into Soarin's eyes. His smile faltered.
"Aw man... but we were having so much fun," he pleaded. Dash sighed, and shook her head.
"Sorry, Soarin. I'd stay longer, but the flight home's going to be a bit of a challenge, considering it's nearly dark," she said, fluttering up into the air. Soarin bit his lip.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked hopefully. Dash shook her head again.
"No... my mother wants to have a day with the family... with Dad..." she said in a low voice. Soarin could instantly tell something was wrong with Dash's family... something horrible, and tragic. He decided not to mess with it further.
"Oh... sorry..." he said. "There's a carnival coming up next week in Ponyville, you wanna go?"
Dash instantly brightened up. "Oh? Heck yeah! I've never actually been to one..." she said. Soarin's eyes widened.
"You've never been to a carnival before?" he asked, the mare shaking her head. "Say no more, Señorita! We are going whether you like it or not." Dash chuckled.
"Suits me perfectly fine," she said, clicking their hooves together. She laughed. "See ya' whenever, Soarin," she said, waving him a merry goodbye. Soarin smiled, and returned the gesture, watching her figure become smaller, and smaller, and smaller...
"Mom?" Rainbow Dash called out slowly, knocking on the door to her parent's room. She anxiously waited until hearing a small voice from the other side of the plain wood.
"Come on in, Sweetie," Firefly said softly, as the cyan mare opened the door and slauntered into the small area. Her mother was sitting besides a bed with a cold towel in her hoof, looking over at Rainbow Blaze; Dash's father.
"How is he?" Dash asked, seating herself besides the bed. Firefly's ears drooped.
"I... I don't know. Without enough money to have a proper checkup at the hospital, we can't be sure what's wrong. And... without that information, I'm afraid I can't give him anything from the shop," she said. Dash closed her eyes, letting the horrid news sink in.
"Do you think... do you think he'll-" she started, before being cut off.
"Honey... the best we can do it as least try being positive..." Firefly said, placing a hoof on her shaken daughter's shoulder. Dash bit her lip, and nodded, looking back at her father.
Blaze's mane was wet, and moist- hanging down below his eyes. His cheeks were tinted pink, and his eyelids shut tightly. His coat was pale, and a soft plum blanket wrapped his body whole. His teeth were clenched, making it seem as if he was fighting something back internally.
"Dad..." Dash sighed out, tracing a hoof down his face. The periwinkle stallion grunted at the touch. "How long has it been since he became ill?"
"Today... today marks four months, sweetheart..." Firefly said, beginning to choke on her words. Dash's throat clamped up and tightened painfully as she fought back tears.
There was another soft pat on the door, before Scootaloo inched her way inside. She gasped upon seeing the sight in front of her.
"Mom...? Dash...?" she asked, walking up to her elder sister. Firefly looked at her youngest daughter, and pulled her in for a quick hug. Scootaloo was still a bit young to understand fully what was going on, but Firefly intended on her feeling the up-most support she could give her.
"Scoots..." Dash began, gesturing her over besides her. Scootaloo obliged, and kneeled down next to the bed. Dash sighed, before continuing, "I want you to know that whatever happens next... I'll always be behind you, okay?" she asked.
"Yeah... of course, Dash," Scootaloo said. "I know that."
Dash nodded, before embracing her little sister. "I know you do..." She didn't want Scootaloo to see any weakness in her, making her try her best to ignore the pounding ache in her chest.
Blaze coughed, before opening his eyes slightly. Dash instantly brightened up upon seeing her father awake, and crouched down, resting her head on her hooves as she stared at the stallion.
"Dad?" she asked softly, as Blaze looked at her with a painful expression.
"Oh... Dashie... Fire... Scoots..." he choked out. Firefly sniffed, knowing what was about to come next. "My... I'm... I'm running... I'm running out of..."
And then he stopped, closed his eyes, and went back to sleep. His soft snores the only sound in the room.
The dam broke. Tears immediately began streaming hard out of Rainbow Dash and Firefly's eyes. Scootaloo looked at all of them, shocked upon seeing such a reaction from her family. She didn't understand what Blaze had said, since he hadn't finished his sentence. But she could tell it was something awful. Cautiously, she put a concerned hoof on her sister's shoulder.
"Dash...?" she gasped out. Rainbow ignored her, continuing to cry freely into the bedsheets.
"Sc-Sc-Scoot-Scootaloo..." she stammered. "Don't y-y-you s-see? H-H-He's... he's d-d-dying!"
And then they were all crying.
"Alright, so I'm thinking bright blue tapestries, long flowing cake, a big chapel..." Spectrum droned on to his wife. Cloudy rolled her eyes at her husband's excitement.
"I hope you realize that we're going to need to talk to Soarin about this at some point," she said. Spectrum simply shrugged.
"Better later than sooner," he said, before flipping through a nearby magazine. Cloudy grunted.
"Spec... you need to get Soarin's okay with this all before going ahead with it," she persisted. Spectrum shrugged again.
"Relax, Clouds," he said. "Everything's going to turn out perfect."
"And what if Soarin doesn't want to marry Spitfire?" Cloudy asked, beginning the same conversation the two had had on the day of her birthday party.
"And what if he does?"
"Excuse me?"
Spectrum sighed, and closed the light book, turning to his wife with a faltered smile. "Honey, I've seen the way they look at each other. I've seen the way he's interacted with her... I know for a fact he's fallen for her," he said.
"Well... as long as he's okay with it in the end... I suppose it's alright," Cloudy gave in. Spectrum clapped his hooves happily, and grinned from ear-to-ear.
"Wonderful!" he exclaimed.
"Have you talked to Spitfire's father about this whole thing?" Cloudy asked. Spectrum nodded.
"Yeah, but he hasn't told Spitfire about it just yet. I plan on talking to him in front of her as a nice surprise," he said with a wink. Cloudy chuckled.
"You really do like her, don't you?" she said with a smile.
"Oh yeah, I know she'll be the perfect mare for this household. No one else could replace her," Spectrum replied before somepony entered the room suddenly.
"Mom! Dad!" Soarin burst in, looking at his parents. Spectrum and Cloudy instantly looked up with surprised faces.
"Something wrong, Soarin?" Cloudy asked with a concerned look. Soarin quickly shook his head.
"No, everything's fine. In fact, it's better than fine," he said. "I'll be going to the carnival with... a friend this weekend." Spectrum raised his eyebrows, beginning to have a hunch on who this mystery pony was.
"Oh? Are they a mare or stallion?" he asked, just to confirm his suspicions. Soarin gave him a confused look.
"Uh... she's a mare, but what does that have to do with anything?" he asked him. Spectrum smiled internally, and shook his head.
"Nothing, nothing. You go on and have fun, Son," he said, chuckling, and passing a secretive wink towards the cream mare sitting besides him. Soarin nodded.
"Okay, thanks." And with that, he was out the door.
Once he left, Spectrum turned excitedly to Cloudy. "Don't you see? He's going with Spitfire!" he exclaimed. Cloudy raised an eyebrow.
"How can you be so sure?" she asked. "What if it's just a mare who he met?"
"Oh trust me, it's not. I can just feel it. Everything is turning out just perfectly."
Soarin landed with a soft boom on the ground outside the lively carnival. He instantly began looking around for the cyan mare whom he was expecting.
"Where could that mare be...?" he asked himself, before somepony suddenly jumped on his back. He let out a quiet yelp, before turning around and resting his eyes on Rainbow Dash. She giggled at his reaction.
"Hey, I've been looking everywhere for you," she said. Soarin chuckled inwardly, and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Oh hehe... I just arrived and was looking for you, actually," he explained. Dash smiled, before grabbing his hoof and leading him to the middle of the event.
"Scootaloo's here too, somewhere," she said. Soarin nodded.
"Yeah, so is Speedy," he said, before the two locked eyes in utter realization.
"Uh-oh," they said together with wide eyes. Dash shook her head.
"Eheh... I'm sure it'll be fine. What's the worst that could happen?"
"It's you," Scootaloo said with a glare, looking upon a cream-coated colt standing in front of her. Speedy smirked.
"What's a lowly damsel in distress doing out here at such a festivity?" he asked her in a cunning voice, their hatred oozing out as they continued to throw insults.
"Hm. Well, if you forgot, you're in Ponyville. Not Cloudsdale," she said. Speedy raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, and?" he said, waiting for a response.
"In Ponyville, I'm the captain," Scootaloo said in a dangerously low voice. Speedy glared hard at her.
"So. What." he said, breaking each word. Scootaloo breathed in his face, edging closer to him.
"I suppose we'll just have to find out," she said simply, before flicking her tail in his face and slauntering away.
"Wanna go on any rides?" Soarin asked the mare who was busy fangirling besides him. Dash blushed, before shrugging.
"Sure," she said, rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof. Soarin grinned.
"Okay! Which one?" he asked her, looking around. "There's the Jungle Explorer, Mega Launcher... oh look there's a Ferris Wheel and-"
"How about the Teacups?" Dash cut in. Soarin stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening. Dash raised her eyebrows. "What? Did I say something wrong?"
"The... T-T-Teacups?" Soarin stammered out, memories from when he was just a small colt pounding at his head. Dash nodded slowly.
"Uh... yeah?" she said nervously, unsure of why the Wonderbolt was acting this way. Soarin gulped.
"But... there are so many other wonderful rides to go on! Why the... Teacups?" he asked her. Dash shrugged again.
"They seem so fun! I've looked at them in books, and I've already been on some of these other rides-"
"I thought you said this was your first carnival," Soarin said, finishing her sentence before it was even half-way completed. Dash nodded.
"It is! Fluttershy hates riding these kinds of things, they're too scary for her. So sometimes, Twilight makes some sort of simulator for her. I've been in there a few times... it's kinda boring. But she never made one for a Teacup ride," she explained. Soarin gave her an amused look, before sighing.
"The Teacups are so... spinny, though," he said. Dash rolled her eyes.
"Are you telling me the great Wonderbolt Soarin Skies is afraid of some little carnival ride?" she asked him, crossing her hooves with a smug smirk planted on her face. Soarin scoffed.
"Yeah right. As if!" he said, giving her a look. Dash shot him a coy smile.
"Alright then, prove it," she said. Soarin was left dumbfounded.
"Prove it... how?" he asked. Dash rolled her eyes.
"Dumbo..." she muttered underneath her breath, before looking back up at the baby-blue stallion. "Come on the Teacup ride with me. It'll be fun! Promise." She smiled.
"Grrrr... okay okay. Fine. But just to prove you're wrong!" Soarin said, stomping his hoof and beginning to make his way to the tent where the ride was being operated. Dash just stared after him, and laughed, shaking her head.
"Ooh!" Speedy said, trotting over to the giant rollercoaster in the middle of the carnival. "This one looked epic."
"Nuh-uh-uh little Mister," a new voice interrupted him. Scootaloo emerged from behind the cream colt holding a stick of cotton candy. Speedy's eyebrows flattened.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her with an unamused glare. Scootaloo scoffed.
"Well then, if you're going to be so impolite about it," she started. "You can't go on this ride." Speedy gasped.
"What?! Why?!" he asked her, yelling. Scootaloo smirked.
"Mister Speeder Spectrum-Cloud Skies," she boomed. Speedy raised an eyebrow at the usage of his full name. "You are not to go on this ride until you follow through with a little assignment I have for you."
"Just repeat what I say," she said. Speedy quirked his eyebrows.
"That's it? Okay. Bring it on, sucker!" he said, becoming confident in his actions. Scootaloo chuckled evilly.
"Alright. Now say, If you must cross a course cross cow across a crowded cow crossing, cross the cross coarse cow across the crowded cow crossing carefully."
Scootaloo narrowed her eyes at the colt's sudden confusion. She laughed to herself as she watched him thus struggle.
"Uh... If you must course a cow... and... cross a crowded carefully... and... oh what was it... crowded cow?" Speedy guessed, laughing nervously at the end. Scootaloo's wings flared out in victory.
"Beeerrrppp! Incorrect! I win! You lose! HA!" she said, beginning to dance around like a chicken. Speedy crossed his hooves angrily across his chest.
"Oh for ponies sake..." he said with an annoyed glare. "You watch your back, Scootaloo Dash! Next time we meet, it won't be so simple."
And with that, he stomped off in the other direction, away from her.
"Rainbow Dash... are you sure about this?" Soarin asked as he and Dash boarded a blue teacup with red roses on it. Dash happily nodded.
"Oh yeah. This Rainbow is as sure as Dash," she said. Soarin raised an eyebrow, but decided to leave it be.
"Ooookay..." he said cautiously, taking a seat in the car slowly. Dash grinned, and sat opposite him, closing the door to the cart with a swift motion of her hoof.
The operator yelled out a few words, before turning a crank and starting up the ride.
Dash and Soarin instantly were spun around the small tent, Soarin's eyes following the ceiling. He felt like he was going to be utterly sick.
Soarin held in his discomfort, and put on a fake smile for the mare sitting with him. Dash put her hooves to the side of the seat in awe, feeling the motion of the swing absolutely astound her.
"Woo-oah!" Soarin suddenly, said, turning around and sticking his hooves out of the teacup. His face was slowly bearing a bright murky green color.
Dash saw this, and giggled.
"Oh come on, Dashie," Soarin started.
"Dashie?" Rainbow asked between her laughs. Soarin backed his head away.
"Oh, sorry," he said sheepishly. Dash waved a hoof in front of her face with a smile.
"Nah, Dashie's cool. It's... unique," she said. Soarin raised an eyebrow at her, and shrugged, nodding his head.
"Oh... okay! Well, Dashie, how much more of this do I have to take?" he asked her. Dash grinned playfully.
"Shouldn't be much longer until the ride's over, I suppose."
"Will I see you again?" Soarin asked a few hours later, as the duo exited the carnival. Dash put on a thoughtful look.
"Hm... I dunno," she said. Soarin scoffed.
"And why's that?" he asked her with a growing smirk. Dash teasingly tapped his muzzle.
"How can I be seen with such a coward?!" she said, before bursting into a fit of laughter. Soarin rolled his eyes.
"Haha, very funny," he mocked. Dash smiled.
"Okay okay, back to reality," she said. "Sure, I'll see you again, but you're gonna have to work for it," she said with a devilish grin. Soarin raised his eyebrows.
"Oh?" he asked. Dash nodded.
"See ya', Soar," she said, opening her wings wide, about to take off into the air.
"WAIT!" Soarin suddenly yelled, stopping her mid-flight. He beckoned her down and took her hoof in his.
Bending down, he lightly kissed it, patted it, and gave it back to her.
"For m'lady," he said with a smirk. Dash giggled uncharacteristically, and shook her head, taking flight and soaring into the air. Soarin looking after her with a small smile.
He was tired of that silly village mare acting like she was something better than him. Which, of course, she was obviously not. Sure, she enjoyed having imaginary power over the colt, but that wasn't going to last much longer.
Speedy had overheard her conversing with a few of her friends the last time he was in Ponyville. She claimed to be going to Speedy's school this afternoon after school and give him a 'good talking to', which probably meant she was coming to make more fun of it.
Not on my watch, Speedy thought as he saw the orange filly crouched down by a nearby bush. He smirked, as she emerged and trotted up to him; her figure bouncing in the clouds beneath her.
She stopped suddenly in front of Speedy with wide eyes as the cream-coated colt held out his hands besides him with a smug look. Scootaloo gaped.
"Speedy? Who's this?" a mare asked from besides him, attracting the attention of a few other fillies and colts around them. Soon enough, there was a small crowd surrounding Speedy and Scootaloo. Speedy shook his head.
"This is the same girl, who I was talking about earlier," he started, earning looks from the ponies around him.
"You mean... the filly from... Ponyville?" a colt spat out, saying the town's name like it was poison on his tongue. Speedy only nodded.
"Mhm."
"Ponyville?" everypony chorused. Scootaloo furrowed her eyebrows, looking at Speedy. She demanded an explanation.
"Yep," Speedy said, crossing his hooves. There was a collective gasp around the courtyard, as the ponies around Scootaloo began touching her, and ruffling her hair in a manner that was far from affectionate.
"Ew!"
"Yuck, look at her hair!"
"So oily!"
"And her hooves!"
"So skinny!"
"No wonder she's from Ponyville-"
"I'm sure her family doesn't even feed her."
"-If she even has one!"
"Hahahaaa!"
"Yeah, that's right!"
"She must just live on the-"
"-STREETS!"
Everypony errupted into giggles and hard laughter; including Speedy. Tears begun to form around Scootaloo's eyes. She felt... horrible, at the least. She wasn't accustomed to ponies bullying her this way.
Speedy began to notice the mare's soft cries, as he silently shushed the other's around him. He lowered his eyebrows, and have her an apologetic look.
What had he done?
"They did what to you?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, looking over her younger sister with an angry look. Scootaloo nodded shyly, glancing away.
"Yeah..." she said softly, biting her lower lip. Dash facehoofed.
"And you didn't do anything?" she asked in a low voice. Scootaloo shook her head no.
"They were surrounding me, Sis! I couldn't do anything!" she said. Dash took a deep breath, trying to contain herself from bursting.
"How could you just... stand there?" she began. "Haven't I taught you anything?"
"I'm sorry, Dash but-" Scootaloo started again before being cut off with Dash's hoof slapping her face.
"What sorry?" Rainbow said, her voice getting louder with every syllable. "Around the house you act like some big grandma, telling everypony this and that, expecting nothing in return because you have nothing to give."
"Sis-"
"Rainbow Dash, maybe if you could-" Blaze cut in, slowly walking into the room.
"Dad! Please! Not now!" Dash said, not bothering to look over. "You could have told them anything back, hon, just because you're a mare from the village, doesn't mean you have any less power over those old goons."
Blaze suddenly noticed two ponies coming in the door without noticing; Soarin and Speedy. He waved out to his daughter, trying to get her to stop talking before things got out of hoof.
"Rainbow, they're right-"
"What did I say, Dad?!" Dash said again, momentarily forgetting about her father's condition. Blaze rolled his eyes, and hastily sat down on a nearby chair. Things were just getting good.
"Alright, alright. Carry on," he said with a small smile. Dash nodded over to him, before returning her gaze to her younger sister.
"You can't expect me to just sit around here and do nothing. Why, if it was me, I'd definitely have gone up to them and given them a what-for," she said, beginning to back up towards the front door. "This is my sister, for goodness sake. Those ponies hurt her!"
Scootaloo gave her a small nod, tears threatening to escape from her eyelids. Speedy and Soarin looked upon the scene in utter confusion.
"Let me just meet that goon and buffoon," Dash started again, referring to Speedy and Soarin, not knowing they were standing right behind her. She continued to step back, making generous hoof motions as she did. "He makes such big poses shmoses on covers of magazines and all that trash... the nerve of him, ugh." Dash cried out in disgust, thinking back to when she first met Soarin and embarrased herself.
"Rainbow, they're be-" Blaze tried again, still not succeeding.
"Oh just let it go, Dad. Big in money, small in heart, ponies like that never chang- WOAH!" Dash said, bumping into somepony behind her. She turned around to see Soarin standing there with a smug smile on his face.
"Very nicely said, Deary," he started, purposely using a childish nickname for the cyan-coated mare. "Did you write the lines yourself?" He had decided to take a more joking approach at the situation. Dash crossed her hooves.
"Yes," she said loudly, butting her head out to show her passion. Soarin chuckled.
"Right right," Soarin said before turning to the periwinkle stallion sitting back, observing the scene. Blaze looked closely at his daughter and Soarin as they looked at one another. He could tell they had met before. "Hello, Sir," Soarin said, bowing to show respect to the elder stallion. Blaze smiled, before getting up, showing the slightest amount of pain that inched through his insides while doing so. Dash gave her father a worried look, but it vanished as Blaze bowed back to the Wonderbolt.
"Hello, very nice to meet you," he said, before turning to his daughter. "Rainbow, this is their first time in our house, go get them something to eat."
Dash snorted.
"They must have already eaten before they came, they have ponies to do everything for them, right," she said, giving Soarin a look of disgust. She seemed to have forgotten everything he had done for her, though she was just much too rallied up with the current situation at hoof.
"Still, I'll get something running for them," Blaze said, beginning to limp away to the kitchen. Soarin's eyes widened.
"No no! That's quite alright! There's no need for that," he said, but Blaze shook his head.
"Nonsense! I'll get it done for you in just a second," he said, disappearing through a nearby door. Soarin looked over to Dash.
"You also... don't-" he started, before Dash stuck her nose up in the air and stomped away to the back of the room. Soarin gulped, before looking over to the cream-coated colt besides him who had stayed quiet through the entire encounter. He leaned down behind him, and placed a hoof on his shoulder.
"What's the name again?" he asked, looking over to Scootaloo. Speedy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"Speedy...?" he said, clearly confused. Soarin tutted, and shook his head.
"Not you, her's," he said again. Speedy's eyes widened in realization.
"Ah! Scootaloo," he said. Soarin nodded, before slowly trotting over to the orange filly. He knelt down in front of her with a smile.
"Hi, Scootaloo," he said softly.
"Hi..." Scootaloo replied. Soarin's smile widened, as he made eye-contact with her.
"Awe... such pretty eyes!" he exclaimed in a voice just above a whisper. Dash glared as she observed the three ponies in front of her. Soarin then turned accusingly at his younger brother. "Hey, look," he started, earning Speedy's attention.
"What?"
"You should never hurt anyone's feelings. Especially not one of a beautiful girl like Scootaloo," he said. Scootaloo blushed, listening intently. "Now... say you're sorry."
Speedy looked away. Soarin frowned.
"Hm... and anyway. Asking for forgiveness is nothing... but the one who forgives, has a heart made of pure gold, am I right?" Soarin said, turning to Dash at the last part. She gave him a sweet glare, making Soarin chuckle and turn back to the younger ponies in the room. "Now come on... apologize."
"I'm... I'm sorry Scootaloo," Speedy said, looking at the orange filly. She gave him a small smile, and nodded.
"It's... it's okay," she said. Speedy grinned.
"Friends?" he asked. Scootaloo shrugged.
"Friends."
And with that, Speedy leaned in and gave Scootaloo a small peck on her cheek. Soarin's mouth instantly curled into a large smirk, and Dash gasped, clearly horrified.
"Mmf!" Dash said, as Soarin chuckled and trotted over besides her.
"Hello Ma'am," Soarin said jokingly. Dash crossed her hooves once again, and looked away.
"Hmph."
Soarin gave her a coy grin.
"You say... now that these two are friends... then us two..." he said, bumping her shoulder with his. Dash raised her eyebrows.
"Friends...?" she asked, not fully understanding. Soarin scoffed.
"Yeah. I'm just asking to be friends, nothing more," he said, putting his hooves up in the air defensively. Dash looked away.
"Hm." She bit her bottom lip. Soarin held out a hoof for her.
"Friends Ma'am?" he asked her with a smile. Dash took a deep breath, and nodded, taking his hoof.
"Friends," she said. Soarin chuckled.
"Okay Ma'am. Okay," he started. "Oh and, your father was going to get something to eat and..." he said, purposely cutting himself off. Dash's eyes widened.
"Dad is-" she said, but was cut off by Soarin. His lips met her cheek in an adorably quick way. Dash's eyes widened even more than they already were, before she let out a high pitched squeal of surprise.
"MmmmmmmMMMMM!"
"I'm telling you, AJ. Something's off about that boy," Dash said later that day as she was walking through town with Applejack. She had just finished explaining what had happened earlier, and her friend was less than surprised.
"But maybe he's-"
"You're right!" Dash cut in. "You're absolutely right, AJ."
Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Right about what?"
"Oh you're a genius! Why hadn't I thought of it before?! All this closeness, this bonding, all of this... he's doing it because of that!" she said. Applejack's eyes widened. Her friend had finally caught on to what she had been trying to say for such a long time!
"Aha, finally! You get it! He's-"
"-Trying to steal my shop!" Dash finished for her. Applejack stopped where she was and gave the blue mare a confused look.
"What? No! What I've been trying to tell you is... maybe he's fallen in love with you!" she exclaimed, clapping her hooves together. Dash raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah right. No one in this town has a thing for me, and now you're telling me Soarin Skies of the Wonderbolts has fallen for me? You're funny, AJ. Real funny."
"Dash, don't you see? He's trying to get close to you... because he wants to get to know you better! He loves you!"
Dash just shook her head. "Uh huh... keep on dreaming," she said as she roamed ahead of the blonde mare.
Besides, she thought to herself. How could somepony like him ever fall for me?
"You look gorgeous, darling!" Rarity exclaimed, admiring her work as she stared at Applejack. The orange mare blushed lightly, before bowing in respect.
"Gotta thank ya' again, Rarity," she said. "Without you, I don't know how I would look right now."
"Oh nonsense, I'm sure you'd have looked splendid, even without my help!" Rarity said, before a certain cyan mare entered the room. Rainbow Dash's eyes widened upon seeing her best friend in her dress.
"Wowie, AJ," Dash said, whistling. "Key won't be able to take his eyes off of you."
"Oh shut up," Applejack mumbled, though she had to admit her dress did look amazing on her. It was a long white one, with light frills on the edges. She had a small cowboy hat on her mane; an ivory one. "Don't you two have to get ready too?"
Rarity's eyes widened. "Oh you're absolutely right!" she exclaimed, looking over to Rainbow Dash who just shrugged.
"Eh, I'm in no hurry to get in a dress," she said. Rarity rolled her eyes.
"Isn't there somepony you'd like to impress tonight?" she asked with a knowing look. Dash quirked her eyebrows.
"What? Who?" she asked, clearly confused. Rarity chuckled.
"Applejack told me all about your crush for that Wonderbolt boy," she said. Dash's eyes widened as she looked over to the cowgirl who was silently laughing.
"What?!" she exclaimed. "What are you talking about? I don't-"
"Oh darling, don't even try denying it," Rarity said, before ushering them both out the room with a frantic wave of her hooves. "Now go on, I put your dress in the spare room upstairs, best get ready, don't you think?"
"Yeah, whatever," Dash said dumbly, opening her wings and taking off into the air.
Rainbow Dash admired herself in the mirror of the small room. Her dress was absolutely perfect, and suited her quite nicely, too.
It was a simple white dress with a light pink tinge to it. Two long golden shoes covered her front hooves, and her mane was held back with a brace resting behind her ears. Her mane was combed out and down, pulled forward and the top resting on her forehead. Her wings were freshly waxed and polished, giving off a shine of their own.
She truly looked stunning.
"Lookin' beautiful, Princess," someone chirped from the doorway. Dash's eyes quickly widened as she immediately registered the voice and turned around to lay her eyes on a baby-blue colt. He was wearing his Wonderbolt formal attire suit, and hosting a smirk on his lips.
Dash groaned.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, turning back around to fix the golden brace in her mane. Soarin raised his eyebrows.
"The wedding's about to start, and ponies were beginning to wonder where you were," he said. "Never did I imagine you were up here fixing your outfit."
"Oh shut up," Dash said with a roll of her eyes. She propped up and trotted over to him. "Let's go then, shall we?"
Soarin nodded, before pulling something out of his suit.
"Before we do, I wanted to give you this," he said. Dash gasped as a giant red rose emerged in his hooves. He smiled, before clipping it onto the front of her dress. She blushed.
"Oh... I... thank you," she mumbled, her face turning bright red. Soarin's smile widened cutely.
"No problem, Dashie," he said, pecking her cheek.
I knew it! I just knew it! Dash thought to herself. He really is after my shop. All this intimacy... this affection... there's only one real solution for it all...
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss," Twilight said, closing a heavy book and watching Applejack and Key close the gap between them.
Dash grinned widely, looking upon the scene. She was so proud of her best friend; she knew she couldn't be any happier.
"You look... engaged," Soarin piped up from besides her. Dash rolled her eyes.
"AJ did it. She actually did it!" she exclaimed, squeeing in delight, and choosing to ignore the stallion's remark. Soarin smirked.
"Oh? Were your expectations for her that low?" he asked with a cunning smile. "What a friend you must be."
"Oh shut up," Dash repeated from earlier.
Later on, Dash made her way to the refreshment table, where she immediately began picking up some random junk to treat herself.
"Quite the sweet-tooth, aren't we Princess?" Soarin said, coming up from behind her. Dash groaned.
"Why are you here anyway? How are you in any way related to the bride and groom?" she asked. Soarin chuckled fondly.
"Well, as a matter of fact, Applejack herself invited me," he replied causally. Dash's jaw dropped. "She said I should take it as an opportunity to spend time with you, actually."
"What?!" Dash exclaimed, slumping down in her place. It made so much more sense now...
"Look, what you want from me... I can't give you," Dash said, sighing. She needed to get right down to business. Soarin hummed in confusion.
"What? Why not?" he said, taking her hoof and giving her a lustful expression. Of course, he had thought she was talking about something completely different. Dash's body twitched beneath him.
"I just.. can't, okay? Dad wouldn't let me," she said, thinking up a lame excuse. Soarin rolled his eyes.
"Don't worry," he started in a husky whisper. "I'll get permission from him."
"No, Soarin. I'm sorry, but my shop is mine, and I'm not going to let you-"
"Wait... your shop?" Soarin cut in. "Who said anything about your shop?"
Dash sighed in frustration.
"You did! Remember? All this intimacy... this affection, you really thought I didn't notice any of it? Seriously?!" she softly yelled. Soarin grumbled something under his breath; it was inaudible.
"Oh come on..." he said. "I'm being so obvious it's hard to be more discreet!"
"Agh, just leave me alone, and remember, you're not getting my shop," Dash said finally, turning and trotting away from him. But she didn't get very far before Soarin grabbed her hoof and pulled her back towards him.
"Hey hey, where do you think you're going? I wasn't finished with you, you know," he whispered. Rainbow Dash gasped as she was released from Soarin's strong hold.
"Uh..." she stammered out. Soarin's face suddenly erupted in the biggest smirk he could muster.
He quickly reached into his suit and pulled out a velvet box, opening it, and showing what was inside to the mare. Dash gasped as she saw a golden ring.
"Wha... w-w-what?" she gasped out. Soarin smiled cheekily.
"Seems like a wedding is the perfect place to propose a wedding, eh?" he asked, looking at Dash's heavy blush.
"S-S-S-Soar-rin?" she said, stuttering. Soarin held his pose for a little while longer, before he burst into a fit of giggles.
"Just messin' with ya!" he said, pulling another large smirk as he saw her face turn bright red in embarrassment and anger. Dash quickly looked away.
It was a hayfry. Soarin had tried to trick her with a hayfry.
"Haha, very funny," Dash mumbled in annoyance. Soarin laughed.
"Y-Y--You're right! It-It-It is funny!" he exclaimed. Dash rolled her eyes, before crossing her hooves and attempting to walk away again. Unfortunately, Soarin grabbed her hoof again.
"Soarin, let go of me," Dash said. Soarin shook his head, and pulled her closer, she was facing away from him, and his chest touched her back.
"Listen..." he whispered. "Listen real closely..." Dash looked up into his eyes with a confused look. "That shop of yours... that I'll end up getting anyway."
Dash smiled upon hearing his teasing remark, she gave him one final look, before twisting out of his hooves and trotting away with a small grin.
Spectrum Skies knew everything about was going on in his house.
Usually.
But how would he have knowledge on his son's playful antics of dragging a quite flustered cyan mare back to their house? Especially considering his feelings of hatred towards her.
"Why am I here again?" Rainbow Dash asked Soarin as they stood on his balcony. Soarin smirked.
"Why? Don't friends have these little playdates with one another every now and then? Aren't they usually at somepony's house?" he asked her with an innocent smile. Dash grumbled.
"Well, you didn't have to be so... over the top about it. We're just friends, you know," she replied with a smart gaze. Soarin rolled his eyes.
"Yeah. Just friends. Keep telling yourself that, Princess," he said. "It's bound to change sometime soon anyway."
"It is not!" Dash exclaimed with a slight blush. Soarin gasped dramatically.
"Oh? Is the amazing Rainbow Dash blushing now?" he teased. "Is it because of her profound feelings towards the co-captain of the Wonderbolts, or is he just bugging her?"
"Oh shut up," Dash said with a roll of her eyes. Soarin giggled under his breath, and raised his eyebrow as he saw her flare her wings out.
"Leaving already?" he asked her. Dash shrugged.
"Yeah."
"If you'd like, you can stay for dinner."
"I doubt your father would approve."
Soarin grimaced. She was right. He had even deliberately left out the small detail of the cyan mare's visit to his father.
"Maybe you can stay in my room? So Dad won't notice," he suggested. Dash shook her head.
"I'm not sure I'd like to take that risk, to be honest," she replied with a sad smile. Soarin suddenly grinned.
"That smile tells me otherwise," he said cheekily. Dash rolled her eyes again, before fluttering into the air in one swift flap of her wings.
"I'll see you around, Soar," she said, before quickly taking off into the night sky of Cloudsdale.
Soarin's jaw dropped. Had she really just called him... Soar? His cheeks flushed red as he recalled the last time someone had said that to him.
"Nice to see you finally alone," somepony spoke up from behind him. Soarin's eyes instantly widened as he quickly turned around in fear of seeing his father. What he saw though, game him quite a small surprise.
His mother.
"Mom?" Soarin asked her curiously. "What are you doing here?"
Cloudy Quartz sighed, as she trotted up to her son.
"You know you can tell me anything, right?" she asked him with a pained expression. Soarin raised his eyebrow, and nodded.
"Yes," he replied. "Of course I do."
Cloudy gave him a frown.
"Then tell me who that girl is."
Soarin's did a double take. Had she really been spying on them? Of course she was, how else would she have knowledge on the rainbow maned mare?
"Uh... what do you want to know about her?" he asked cautiously.
"Lets start with her name?"
"Rainbow Dash."
"Her age?"
"Twenty-one."
"Where does she live?"
Soarin paused.
"Ponyville."
Cloudy sucked her breath in, her mind grazing over to her husband.
"How did you two meet?" she asked. Soarin's looked off in thought.
"Actually, it was when Dad sent me to get medicine for Grandma," he started. "When I arrived in Ponyville, it appeared as if I had stumbled in on a wedding preparation party. There was a lot of singing and dancing, and right in the middle of it all, Rainbow Dash."
Cloudy smirked as her son revealed his story.
"I don't know exactly what it was about her, that made me want to just... I don't know, go up to her? I wanted to talk to her, to dance with her, to just... get to know her, I suppose." Soarin smiled. "Later on, when I did get my chance, she ended up making a big fool of herself, not knowing who I was."
"Wow..." Cloudy mumbled.
"Yeah," Soarin said, looking off into the distance.
"What a meeting..." Cloudy said.
Soarin hummed in response, before the two stood in silence for a few minutes. Soarin suddenly then leaned on the railing of the balcony, and gazed out into the city with a love struck expression plastered on his face.
"I love her."
The words had come out of his mouth so smoothly, Cloudy had to make sure she had heard him right. Soarin smiled cutely, before continuing.
"I really really love her..."
Cloudy gulped. Now that she knew about her son's feelings towards this mare, it would be even harder on him once Spectrum revealed the news.
No.
Now that she knew, she'd do anything in her power to stop her husband. Her son deserved happiness; even if it did involve a few tears.
"She is a little crazy... no, scratch that. She's completely crazy," Soarin piped up again. "But... I guess that's what makes me even more in love with her."
Cloudy walked up to him and placed a comforting hoof on his shoulder. She'd support him through and through.
"And... Spitfire?" Cloudy knew she was treading on dangerous paths here, but she needed to know.
"What about her?" Soarin asked, his smile faltering slightly.
"What do you think of her?" Cloudy asked again. Soarin bit his lip, and somehow, Cloudy knew.
"What do I think of her? She's great, she really is. But... my love for her is completely platonic. It's friendship, nothing more. I doubt we'll ever be more than friends..." he said. "I just... don't see us together, you know?"
"Yeah..." Cloudy sighed, closing her eyes. "I know."
"Why did you want to know anyway?"
"What?"
Soarin shrugged. "Why did you want to know about how I felt for Spitfire?"
"Oh... no reason..." Cloudy said, before turning around.
"Night, Mom," Soarin said softly. Cloudy gave him a small smile, and nodded.
"Come on in, Stormy Flare, Fire Breath, take a seat," Spectrum Skies said, ushering two golden-coated ponies inside the large mansion.
He had invited Spitfire's parents to finally (properly) propose his plan for Soarin and Spitfire's marriage. Of course, he had already talked to Fire Breath about the whole ordeal, but they hadn't gotten an actual chance to sit down and discuss. Having Stormy Flare there was a bonus, too.
"Spectrum, it's been a while," Stormy said politely, taking a seat besides Cloudy Quartz on a large cloud couch in the main living room. Spectrum smiled, and nodded.
"It's nice to see you again," he said. The three had flown together through some retirement shows for the Wonderbolts, but Stormy had yet to meet Spectrum's wife.
"Cloudy Quartz, I presume," she said, sticking out a hoof to the cream mare sitting besides her. Cloudy shot her a light smile, before turning back to her husband.
"Spectrum, before we continue with this, do you mind if I speak with you?" she asked. Spectrum gave her a curious glance, but complied nevertheless.
"Uh... sure, right this way," he said, leading her to the next room. "We'll be back in just a bit. Feel free to make yourselves comfortable."
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Cloudy asked for the umpteenth time that week. Spectrum groaned.
"Not this again..." he mumbled under his breath. "Cloud, it's going to happen sooner or later. If we want the wedding to take place as soon as possible, we'd better get the whole agreement thing under the bus."
"Yes, but... don't you think you should speak with Soarin before this?" Cloudy asked with a silent plea in her eyes. Spectrum shook his head firmly.
"No," he said. "I don't need to."
"Spectrum, be reasonable. Soarin's going to have to spend the rest of his life with this mare," Cloudy spoke. "Don't you think he deserves some sort of say in this?"
"Of course not. I know what's best for my son," Spectrum replied. Cloudy rolled her eyes, thinking over to Soarin.
"You're going to get it for this, sooner or later," she mumbled under her breath.
"What was that?" Spectrum asked. Cloudy jumped, startled. She quickly shook her head.
"Nothing, nothing, let's get back to Stormy and Fire," she said, leading her husband back to the family room.
"Now, I've already spoken with Fire Breath about this, but I'm unsure about Stormy's knowledge," Spectrum explained, looking over to said mare. Stormy shook her head.
"Actually, Fire decided to leave me out of this one. I'm completely clueless," she said. Spectrum nodded.
"That's fine," he said.
"So... I'm wondering," Stormy started again. "Why exactly are we here?" She turned to Fire Breath, who looked over to Spectrum.
"I think Spectrum would do a better job at explaining," he said. Spectrum shrugged.
"I guess," he said. "Anyway, I wanted to propose something, actually."
"Oh?" Stormy asked, looking over to the stallion sitting besides her. Fire clasped her hoof in his.
"We want Spitfire to wed Soarin."
Spitfire, who had accompanied her parent's to the large Cloud mansion, was trotting down the hallway, hearing small voices in the main family room a few doors away. Her curiosity getting the best of her, she cautiously poked her head inside.
"We want Spitfire to wed Soarin." That was all she heard, but her mind instantly began racing like crazy.
Nopony had bothered to tell her why she was here, her father just gave her a cheeky look, smiled, and trotted away. But now that she knew, her emotions are running wild.
Her parents wanted her to marry Soarin?
Her teammate.
Her partner.
Her best friend.
And most importantly...
The stallion she loved with all her heart?
They wanted her to unite with the colt she had fallen for all those years ago? The colt who had always stuck by her side when things got rough, when the Wonderbolts went through hard times... when she was experiencing any sort of negative emotion...?
Her parents wanted her to marry somepony who she knew all secrets of... who she trusted with her life... who quite possibly even loved her back?
Spitfire may have been blind with love... but she was no idiot. She had observed how Soarin interacted with other mares his age. The way he dismissed them, the way he brushed past them without a single glance back.
Come to think of it, he had been doing that a lot more over the past few weeks. Was he finally seeing things in her that she had always silently begged him to see?
Was he possible falling in love with her?
Her galant thoughts were interrupted by the ponies in the room.
"What?" Stormy asked with a shocked look on her face. "You want my daughter to marry yours?"
Spitfire braced herself. What would her mother say? She had always been a tad overprotective of her... would she deny the proposal that Spitfire had ached for, for so long?
"Yeah," Spectrum said. "What do you say?" he asked, casting Fire Breath a hopeful look. The golden stallion nodded back to him. He knew his wife well enough.
Stormy suddenly broke into a wide grin.
"That... that sounds like an absolutely amazing idea!" she exclaimed.
Spitfire breathed a sigh of relief. She was... she was getting married to Soarin Skies?!
"Oh the way Spitty talks about him!" Stormy continued.
Spitfire cringed at not only the use of the nickname... but also since she knew her mother was about to break into a rant that could very well ruin her reputation in the 'non-embarrassing' book that she kept hidden away in a very secluded part of her brain.
"She would go on... and on... and on... and on about that boy!" Stormy said excitedly. "Why, almost anypony can tell she's head over heels for him!"
Spectrum grinned.
"That's awesome, Stormy!" he said happily. "Meaning their feelings are completely mutual!"
Spitfire inwardly gasped, before breaking into a huge grin.
Soarin reciprocated her feelings? He loved her back?
"Oh my god..." she mumbled underneath her breath. "Can this day get any more incredible?"
Cloudy gulped upon hearing Spectrum's remark. She knew the truth... but he didn't. What would be his reaction when he finally found out about Rainbow Dash?
She began to consider the many options at hoof.
He could of course, accept Rainbow Dash into the family, making everyone happy...
But even she knew that was quite the stretch.
He could not accept her, and force Soarin into an unhappy marriage.
This definitely seemed like the option suited most for her husband... but maybe he could see the light? There were of course, more options to be considered before that though.
He could accept her, but Soarin uncovers hidden feelings for Spitfire?
Cloudy laughed at that.
He could not accept her, and Soarin could just keep seeing Dash, and not want anything to do with his family... but would that cause him to do something as stupid as... run away?
Even that option was a little too much.
He could not accept her, and Soarin could just give up and not see any of them...
'Quit getting ahead of yourself, Cloudy,' she scolded herself. 'You know Soarin better than all of these choices... you know he'd do the right thing...'
"You know... usually when you invite somepony on a date, it's two ponies alone," Rainbow Dash remarked as she entered a lunch eatery with Scootaloo. Soarin and Speedy were in front of them instantly with big grins.
Scootaloo's eyes widened. "Wait what?" she stuttered. "I thought we were going to buy me a new scooter! Hate to break it to ya' Sis, but this doesn't really look like a mechanical store." Dash shrugged.
"We can do that another time," she said, before turning back to Soarin. "Now Mister, answer my question."
Soarin chuckled, before pressing on his signature smirk. "You know, Princess," he started. Dash rolled her eyes at the nickname, but let him continue. "I never did say this was going to be a date."
Rainbow Dash's eyes widened considerably. "W-W-Whaaat?" she said, her voice suddenly going a whole octave higher. "D-Didn't you?"
"Though, we can always change that... if that's what your heart desires," he said smoothly. Dash gritted her teeth in annoyance.
"I hate you," she said with a glare. Soarin rolled his tongue before replying.
"Love ya' too!" he said quickly before grabbing Speedy and rushing to the nearest empty table. Dash sighed, turning to her little sister who was looking back at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Looks like we're doubling," Scootaloo said. Dash grumbled something under her breath, before following Soarin and Speedy to the table they had picked out. Scootaloo slid into the seat next to Speedy, and Dash did the same with Soarin.
"What'll you be having, Dashbug?" Soarin asked sweetly, laying his head on her shoulder. Dash snorted loudly, causing a few ponies from other tables to look over, but quickly covered it up with a cough- sliding Soarin away from her.
"Nothing you'd have," she replied snootily. Speedy almost choked on his water, giving the filly sitting besides him a mortified look. Scootaloo looked confused.
"Oh rrreally, Princess?" Soarin continued. "Because I happen to think of myself as quite the mmaster," he rolled his tongue for emphasis, as Scootaloo quickly covered her ears. She glanced over to Speedy who nodded in agreement.
"Next time they say anything remotely close to... that," he whispered, "we're out."
Scootaloo nodded. "Agreed. I happen to know a few great eateries downtown," she said. Speedy smirked.
"Ooh, intriguing," he said smoothly, looking back over to his older brother and flustered partner. He knew he had it bad for this girl, but he didn't expect it to go this far. He shook off the disturbing thought out of his mind, and shrugged.
"Anyway, that aside," Dash piped up, her ears still a faint shade of pink, "we should definitely order. I don't know about you guys, but I'm hungry." Soarin nodded in agreement, slipping his hoof over the seat behind her. Dash raised her eyebrow at him, sighed, and looked over to the younger lot of the group. "Well, kids?"
"Kids? We're fifteen!" Speedy and Scootaloo exclaimed at the same time, before looking at each other and giggling. Dash looked amused, but decided not to pressure it.
"Uh... okay. Well, not-kids?" she tried, causing Soarin to bite his lip to prevent him from smiling. "What do you want?" Speedy and Scootaloo both shrugged nonchalantly.
"I... guess I'll have the hayfries," Scootaloo said, placing her menu down. Speedy nodded in agreement, looking to his own menu, and back to his brother.
"Make that two," he said. Soarin nodded.
"Three," he said. Dash shrugged.
"Wow, originality. How pleasant," she said, before sighing in defeat. "Fine. Four."
Soarin glanced at her. "Or you could always share with me, Dashidoo," he said in a sickeningly sweet voice. Dash gave him a confused look.
"How many nicknames do you even have for me?" she asked him with a small pout. Soarin grinned.
"More than I can count, Rainy," he said, picking up four trays of hayfries from the counter nearby. Scootaloo and Speedy looked between them, finally settling on something together.
"We're out," they said, picking up their meals and walking towards the door. Dash and Soarin barely noticed them pass by; too caught up with other things to worry.
"Those two are disgusting," Scootaloo finally settled on saying to the colt across from her. The two had roamed Cloudsdale for a bit, finally settling on a small local restaurant to eat in.
"They are... but let's face it, they'd make a pretty cute couple," Speedy said. Scootaloo shrugged.
"Heh... they are kinda awesome together..." he said. Speedy nodded.
"Mhm, though I doubt Dad agrees," he said. Scootaloo raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"Yeah... I think he's got some crazy plan to set Soarin up with Spitfire or something," Speedy explained. Scootaloo's eyes widened.
"No way!" she exclaimed. Speedy nodded again.
"It's true," he said.
"How do you know?" Scootaloo suddenly asked. Speedy gulped, looking away with a small tint of red in his cheeks. Scootaloo reclined back in her seat in full understanding.
"Mm... you eavesdropped, didn't you," she said, more of a statement rather than a question. Speedy gulped, but nodded.
"It's not my fault! He and my mother were talking, and they weren't exactly very quiet about it," he said. Scootaloo sighed, looking off. Speedy frowned. "What's the matter?"
"I'd hate to see Dash heartbroken because she can't be with him..." she said softly. Speedy bit his lip, and nodded sadly.
"I understand. Soarin would probably be the same."
"Yeah..."
"You're too much, My Lady," Soarin said with a small smirk as the two ate their lunch. Dash chewed slowly, before throwing him a sly smile.
"Oh? How so?" she asked in mock confusion. Dash broke into a grin, and met Soarin's gaze with one of her own quirky winks.
"I know the truth... about us," Soarin suddenly said. Dash raised an eyebrow.
"Enlighten me," she said as Soarin draped a hoof around her back. She leaned into his touch, sighing in contentment. Soarin shot her a smile.
"I know... I know how we feel for one another," he started. Dash jolted awake from her trance to give him a questioning look.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, her voice getting higher and higher.
"I know... that you know... that I'm in love with you."
He said it so simply, Dash had to make sure she heard correctly.
"Come again?"
"I love you, Rainbow Dash."
Something inside the cyan mare broke. She was so incredibly happy with his confession, yet she was also confused. How could somepony of such high descent, somepony so important... famous... ever fall for an ordinary mare such as herself? Soarin didn't let her react, and continued on his thought.
"And... I know you love me too."
Rainbow Dash's breath hitched, as she quickly turned to face him. She didn't think about what she was doing, and she definitely didn't consider the consequences. Dash grabbed Soarin's chin with her hoof and pulled him in.
When their lips met, it was as if a million sparks exploded all at once in the air. Soarin's voice got muffled- not that he was complaining. He pulled her in closer, resting his hooves above her waistline. She explored a little herself, her hooves reaching to comb through his hair.
They broke off a few seconds later, their foreheads lingering on one another.
"I do, Soarin," Dash suddenly said. "I do know... that you know... that I love you."
Spectrum gazed down at his son with a stern look. Soarin's eyes widened as his father asked the question he'd been dreading the most. Did he know about Rainbow Dash?
"What?" Soarin asked, stalling and buying time to think of a suitable approach to the situation. Spectrum's glare softened; he thought Soarin was nervous... that he didn't want to admit to his feelings towards Spitfire.
"You're in love, aren't you?" he repeated.
At that moment, Cloudy Quartz and Spitfire entered the room. Cloudy gasped upon hearing her husband's question. Was he finally revealing his plan to him?
Spitfire broke into a grin. Finally! She would be able to approach Soarin in a much more intimate manner after today.
Soarin gulped. "Uh... yeah," he finally settled on saying, bracing himself for the incoming scolding. "Yeah... I am."
Spitfire silently cheered in her mind, and Cloudy winced as she realized whom her son was referring too. Spectrum let out a low laugh.
"Yes!" he cheered, turning to his wife. "Didn't I tell you?" he asked with a happy expression. Cloudy bit her lip, while Soarin looked confused.
"Wait... what?" he asked, trying to make sense of what was going on.
"Oh do I know my son or what?!" Spectrum said, putting his hooves on Soarin's shoulders.
Soarin did a double-take.
"Oh Son..." Spectrum started again. "Today... today you have made me a very happy man."
Soarin was confused. He had always thought his father would be angry, or at the least, disappointed, when he found out about Rainbow Dash. He didn't at all expect him to be so overly joyed.
"I... I don't know what to say! You're... you're happy I have these feelings for her?" Soarin asked nervously, giving a peek at Cloudy and Spitfire sitting on a couch looking upon the two. Spitfire looked the happiest she ever had, while his mother was giving him a look of concern. What was going on?
"Oh... of course I'm happy! I can't believe this is actually happening!" Spectrum said again, enveloping his son in another hug. "I told your mother... but she didn't believe me! And now... ahh!"
Soarin cautiously hugged back, while looking at his mother. He gave her a relieved look, mouthing the words, 'he knows?' Cloudy simply shook her head. Oh boy...
Soarin quirked his eyebrows. His father... didn't know? Then what was all this about?"
"I just hope... that you'll make Spitfire happy too," Spectrum finished.
All the blood drained from Soarin's face as his eyes widened in realization and pure shock. Wait... what? Spitfire? Who said anything about Spitfire?
Spitfire, who had been smiling like an idiot, suddenly lowered her gaze.
She understood.
She understood why Soarin had just looked at her like that. She knew.
Spitfire turned to Cloudy, biting her lip.
Cloudy only nodded back to Spitfire, confirming her suspicions.
Soarin didn't love her.
He never loved her.
He loved somepony else.
Somepony else that wasn't her.
"What... what was that all about?" Spitfire asked, turning to Cloudy. Spectrum had trotted off happily and left Soarin to walk off too... though him in utter confusion.
Cloudy sighed, turning to the younger mare in pity.
"I'm really sorry, Spitfire... I know how much he meant to you," she said softly, pulling Spitfire in for a tender hug. Spitfire breathed out something inaudible.
"So it's true... he really doesn't love me," she said, her face solemn and looking down. Cloudy nodded.
"Yeah... his heart is set on another," she said.
"Who is she?" Spitfire suddenly asked. "When did he meet her? How did he fall in love with her?"
"Well, from what I know... her name is Rainbow Dash, and she's from Ponyville," Cloudy explained. Spitfire's eyes widened.
"Ponyville? Is that why he didn't tell Spectrum about anything? Because he was afraid?" she inquired. Cloudy nodded again.
"Yeah... I can only imagine Spectrum's reaction to all of this," she said.
"I just can't believe it though..."
"What?"
"Soarin usually tells me everything! I'm his best friend... I should have known about this," Spitfire said. Cloudy shook her head.
"Don't blame yourself... nopony here is to blame, honestly," Cloudy said. "Soarin doesn't really have much control over his feelings like this."
"You're right... but... I kind of regret not noticing it sooner," Spitfire said.
"I understand... how... how did you feel about him?" Cloudy asked. Spitfire gave her a small smile.
"He... he was my best friend. I always meant for our relationship to somehow develop into something much, much more than that... it was all I ever craved and ever wanted as a child, and still do," she explained, before her expression darkened. "But after hearing about Rainbow Dash... I think it's time to forget about Soarin... my dream is impossible, it'll never happen. I don't want Soarin to marry me because he was forced... I always imagined him marrying me because he loved me, not because his father made him. I'd never want that," she continued, before stopping and looking up to the cream-coated mare.
"I see..." Cloudy said, trailing off. "I myself haven't met Rainbow Dash personally, but she's supposedly a very nice mare from what I've heard from Soarin."
"Would you like to meet her...?" Spitfire asked. "Tomorrow, perhaps?"
Cloudy quirked her eyebrows. "What are you saying?" she asked. Spitfire smiled.
"I'm saying that maybe we should head out to Ponyville tomorrow morning to meet Rainbow Dash," she said. "I remember seeing her at your birthday party actually, now that I think about it."
Cloudy's eyes widened in realization. "Oh you're right! I didn't even remember," she said. Spitfire nodded.
"Right, so how about we go tomorrow morning, bright and early. I'd like to also meet the mare who captured Soarin's heart," she said. Cloudy grinned.
"I'm totally on board with this," she said, before standing up and heading towards the door. "See you in the morning?"
"Mhm, though I have to speak with Soarin before heading to bed myself..." Spitfire said, fluttering out the opposite door where she had seen Soarin go through earlier.
She walked into the top floor's balcony and saw Soarin gazing out into the night. She gulped, before walking to him with a confident stride.
Soarin's head turned as he grazed his eyes over the golden mare standing in the doorway to the balcony. He nervously licked his lips and beckoned her forward. Spitfire placed her hooves on the railing as the two stood in silence for quite some time. Soon, Spitfire broke the ice with a question that made Soarin shudder.
"Who's the girl?" she asked. Soarin's eyes closed as he looked at Spitfire.
"Spitty..."
"Nuh-uh," Spitfire interrupted. "One, I don't want to hear it, and two, I don't want to hear that nickname escape your lips anytime soon, got it?" This made Soarin smile.
"Alright, alright," he said, before taking a deep breath.
"So?" Spitfire asked again. "Who is she?"
"W-Well, her name's R-Rainbow Dash..." Soarin started, stammering out his words like they were poison threatening to drop onto his tongue. Spitfire nodded encouragingly.
"Yes? What else?" she asked.
"She lives in Ponyville," Soarin said, becoming more confident with his words. "And she has a little sister named Scootaloo who Speedy has a threateningly large crush on." Soarin chuckled inwardly, as Spitfire smiled.
"Aha, that's adorable," she said softly, looking into his eyes. Soarin raised an eyebrow.
"Spitifre? Is something wrong?" he asked. She shook her head quickly. "Oh come on, you know I know you better than that, tell your Uncle Soarin what's the matter."
"Uncle Soarin?!"
"Answer the question."
Spitfire inhaled, before closing her eyes and looking at the baby-blue stallion who had an increasingly worried facial expression plastered across his face.
"Well, I'm just finding out now that the guy I've been pondering over for years likes somepony else!" she suddenly blurted out. "And boy that sure feels wonderful."
Soarin froze.
"Wha... what?"
Spitfire's cheeks instantly started burning a bright shade of pink. She gasped as she realized what had just slipped out of her mouth.
"Uh... I..." She stumbled over her words, not knowing what to say. Soarin was shaking slightly as he looked at her with wide eyes. His gaze suddenly softened.
"Spits... why didn't you tell me?" he asked softly. Spitfire shut her eyes tightly closed, tears threatening to escape.
"Well, you know I've never been very good around my words... and I couldn't stand the thought of rejection," she explained quietly. "Though judging by what happened back there, turns out that's all I'm getting."
Soarin sighed as he pulled in his best friend for a bear-hug. Spitfire sniffled into his coat and shook her head.
"So what if the stallion I've liked for so long likes someone else?" she mumbled. "It's my own fault for not acting sooner... I should have told you before all of this, Soar. I'm sorry.
"Shut it, you have absolutely nothing to apologize for," Soarin cut in harshly. "Spitfire, I'm the one who should be sorry... I'm so, so... so sorry about all of this."
"I heard she's from Ponyville," Spitfire said, breaking away from his embrace as Soarin nodded.
"That's right..." he said softly. "And... Father hates her, so I... I don't know..."
Spitfire smiled softly.
"It'll be alright..." she said. "I know it will."
"Are you ready to get going?" Cloudy asked, looking over to Spitfire as the two stood outside the cloud mansion. Spitfire nodded enthusiastically.
"Oh yeah! After talking to Soarin, I'm more than ready to finally, personally, meet Rainbow Dash," she said. Cloudy nodded.
"We have mutual feelings then, come on!" she exclaimed, before spreading out her wings and taking flight, Spitfire tagging behind her shortly after.
When the two arrived in Ponyville, they instantly began asking around for the rainbow-maned mare, trying to desperately find her.
"Have you seen Rainbow Dash anywhere?"
"Do you know where Rainbow Dash could be?"
"Where does Rainbow Dash live?"
"She's right over there," somepony suddenly said, gesturing over to said mare who was currently doing a few tricks in the sky. Cloudy and Spitfire looked at each other, both bearing impressed looks.
"Uh... Rainbow Dash?" Spitfire suddenly called out; she and Cloudy both moving towards her. Rainbow Dash's ears perked up in surprise, as she looked below her to see the faces of two of her idols.
She squealed.
"C-C-C-Cloud-dy Q-Q-Quar-rt-tz? Sp-p-pit-tfir-re?" she stammered out. Cloudy smiled up at her, before raising herself off the ground and flying up to her.
"That's us!" she said. Spitfire nodded, following the older mare.
"We... uh... wanted to talk to you," she said. Rainbow Dash tilted her head in confusion.
"What? Why?" She couldn't understand why two of the most elite Wonderbolts wanted to talk to her. Sure, she was used to prestigious presence, being around Soarin so much. But it was still a little shocking.
"It's about... Soarin..." Cloudy said, as the three went to sit on a nearby cloud. Rainbow Dash instantly blushed profusely.
"Oh! Uh... what about him?" she asked nervously. Spitfire smiled fondly.
"He's kinda... head over hooves for ya', Rainbow Dash," she said. Dash's eyes widened further.
"W-W-W-W-What-t?" she stammered, getting more anxious by the second. Cloudy let out a soft giggle.
"You two would be so cute together," she said, before her smile faltered. "But... there's something you need to know."
Dash quirked her eyebrows. "What?"
Spitfire bit her lip.
"You see... Rainbow Dash, Soarin's father, Spectrum, has a crazy plan of getting him married... to me."
Dash's expression dropped, fear creeping into her eyes.
"W-W-W-What?" she asked. "B-B-But... So-oarin..." She closed her eyes. "No..."
Spitfire frowned. "I'm sorry..."
"Oh trust me, I am too," Rainbow Dash suddenly said, looking up. "He was just... he was playing me this entire time! I should have suspected it sooner... bad boys in the business will always-"
"What?! No!" Cloudy cut in. "He didn't know, Rainbow Dash!"
Dash's eyes softened. "Oh... sorry."
"It's fine."
"So... what now? What am I supposed to do?" Dash asked. Cloudy sighed.
"I... I'm not sure... I know how much you two love each other..."
Dash's eyes widened as she said those words, but didn't protest to the idea, making Cloudy smile.
"I don't know, Rainbow Dash. I suppose... I suppose Soarin will have to tell Spectrum about his feelings... and after that, we can only hope for the best, okay?"
Dash nodded in response, gulping back tears.
"We better head back to Clousdale," Spitfire said. Cloudy looked at her, and nodded.
"You're right. Ponies will start wondering where we are," she said, before turning back to Rainbow Dash. "Don't worry... things will turn out fine. Trust me."
"Dad... I need to talk to you," Soarin said quietly, entering the living room where Spectrum was standing. The older stallion instantly turned around with a bright smile.
"Sure, Soarin! C'mere," he said, beckoning him forward. "What do you want to talk about?"
Soarin gulped. "It's uh... it's about this whole marriage thing," he said. Spectrum's expression turned even happier. He patted his son on the back and nodded.
"Go ahead, I'm listening," he said. Soarin bit his lip, and looked away.
"You see... I'm... I'm not in love with Spitfire like you think I am," he said. Spectrum's smile faltered.
"What? But... I thought you said you were in love," he insisted. Soarin nodded.
"I am... but not with Spitfire," he said.
Spectrum's face darkened as he backed away from Soarin.
"Who is it?" he asked.
Soarin parted his lips slightly.
"Her name is... Rainbow Dash," he said in a voice just barely over a whisper.
The look on Spectrum's face was unreadable as his mind registered who the mare his son was so smitten for was. Rainbow Dash... the mare who had ruined his most prized trophy? The mare who had made such a fool of herself when she had come to 'apologize', and ended up breaking yet another trophy of his?
"The mare who... you yelled at me for?" Spectrum finally said, breaking the eerie silence in the room. Soarin's eyes widened as he remembered the instance. He gulped, and nodded.
Spectrum's eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly. Unfortunately, Soarin noticed.
"Soarin," Spectrum started. "What is your last name?"
Soarin broke eye contact with his father for just a minute. He knew where this was going.
"Skies..." he mumbled. Spectrum nodded.
"Skies. Soarin Skies," he said. "Soarin Skies... of the Wonderbolts. Soarin Skies, son of Spectrum Skies and Cloudy Quartz-Skies. Soarin Skies, first in command of squadron two. Soarin Skies, heir to the Wonderbolts. Soarin Skies... Skies. Soarin Skies..."
Soarin took a deep breath, letting his father continue.
"Soarin Skies... the pony who I thought truly understood me. The pony who I thought would remember what I was always so persistent about," Spectrum said. "Remind me, Soarin Skies, what was that?"
"Y-Y-Y-Your-r-r... Y-Your l-legac-cy-y..." Soarin was stammering by now.
"That's right, Soarin Skies. My legacy," Spectrum said in mock excitement. "The legacy I thought I could carry through for many generations to come."
"What are you saying, Father?" Soarin asked softly. Spectrum looked at him, his eyes narrowing.
"I didn't expect my son to turn against me like this... I didn't expect him to deny what was truly right for him."
Soarin's jaw dropped.
"I didn't expect my son to throw away every lesson I've ever given him."
Soarin's eyes widened.
"I didn't expect my son to betray me in such a horrendous manner."
"But... I don't have any control over my feelings!" Soarin said, his voice raising.
"I thought as much. Now tell me, where does Rainbow Dash live?" Spectrum asked.
"P-P-Ponyv-ville-e."
"That's right. Where do you live?"
"C-C-Cloud-dsdal-le."
"Correct. Who are Rainbow Dash's parents?"
"Two workers from the village."
"Mhm. Who are your parents?"
"The two captains of the Wonderbolts."
"Did you really think such a low-class girl could ever fit in to our family?" Spectrum suddenly bellowed. Soarin took a step back as his father begun yelling at him.
"Did you ever think of how underrated the Wonderbolts would be if you got together with such a mare?"
Soarin bit his lip hard, looking down at his hooves.
"Well? DID YOU?"
"N-N-No, Father..." Soarin said, his voice cracking.
"Sometimes I wonder why I even brought you into this house!"
Soarin's head instantly snapped up, his vision becoming foggy. Tears began to bundle up in his eyes, as with Spectrum too.
Spectrum shook slightly, leaning back to sit on the large couch in the room. He closed his eyes, putting his face in his hooves.
Soarin breathed heavily, the stallion's words replaying in his mind.
Sometimes I wonder why I even brought you into this house.
Sometimes I wonder why I even brought you into this house.
Sometimes I wonder why I even brought you into this house.
Sometimes I wonder why I even brought you into this house.
Sometimes I wonder why I even brought you into this house.
Sometimes I wonder why I even brought you into this house.
Sometimes I wonder why I even brought you into this house.
"D-D-D-Dad-d-d..." Soarin whispered, slowly making his way over to the older stallion. Spectrum looked away as his son knelt down at his hooves, putting his front legs together in a plea.
A week later, Soarin trotted through the cloud mansion, his head hanging low as he recalled what his father had told him. That he would have to forget about Rainbow Dash if Spectrum was to forgive him.
It was... too big of a sacrifice. Soarin loved Rainbow Dash... and he also loved his father. He couldn't choose. He just... couldn't.
His father's approval had always meant the world to him. Without it, he never did anything. He always wanted his consent before going forth with anything possible, but now... now things were different.
He was almost willing to just grab Dash's hoof and take her away and-
No.
No.
No. He'd never resort to an elope. Something told him Rainbow Dash wouldn't be completely on board with that. Looking at her values... her family... she seemed like the type of pony who always would ask before doing anything out of the ordinary. She'd never agree to an elope. And frankly, Soarin wasn't too keen on the idea too.
Not only that... it would break his mother's heart. After all the support she gave him, after everything she did for him? He could never let her down like that. Never.
It was too much of a risk.
"Soarin?" a soft voice called out to him, snapping him from his thoughts. Soarin looked up and stared right at Speedy, who had tears in his eyes and was standing in the corner of the room.
"Speedy?" he asked, walking up to him. Speedy flinched. "What's wrong?"
"What did Dad do, Speeder?" he asked with a cold tone; purposely using the colt's real name. Speedy tried hard to fight back his tears, not letting himself act vulnerable in front of his brother.
"He... he said... it's time..." Speedy said slowly. Soarin's eyes widened in understanding.
"Oh... oh man..."
"I'm leaving, Soarin..."
Soarin paused, looking away. Why was everything going badly for him all of a sudden?
"I... I..." he started, unable to form a proper sentence. Speedy gave him a hopeful look.
"Isn't there anything you can do? Anything you can do to stop him?" he asked. Soarin shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Speedy... but things between Dad and I aren't exactly clean at the moment... he'd never listen to me. He's too... he's too stubborn."
There.
He said it.
He said the only truth that was real. His father's stubbornness.
What dad would separate two brothers? What dad would make it his personal goal to make his sons' lives miserable?
What dad wouldn't take his children's feelings into account before his own? What dad would be so incredibly selfish?
It hurt, Soarin thinking about such things. He had never gone behind his father's back, viewing him in these ways. But right now, everything was just crumbling apart.
He had to forget Rainbow Dash.
He had to marry Spitfire unwillingly.
And most of all...
He had to see his younger brother go off to a place he didn't even want to go to.
Legacy be damned, the Skies' family was falling apart.
"College isn't that bad," Soarin tried as he and Speedy sat outside in a nearby bench on the outskirts of Ponyville. The young colt gave him a look.
"Really?" he asked. Soarin shrugged.
"It all depends on where you are, what time you're there... and who you meet," he said. Speedy nodded.
"What if I befriend the worst ponies ever and become a laughing stock for the entire school?!" he asked. Soarin shook his head.
"Speedy, that isn't going to happen. Just stay safe, and you'll be fine," he said. Speedy suddenly sniffed lightly.
"Soarin... I'm going away for ten years... what if things aren't okay here when I come back?" he asked. Soarin's eyes widened at the suggestion. He knew what his brother was talking about, with all the drama going on lately.
"Now... now you listen up," Soarin said, tears threatening to clog up in his eyes. "Nothing... nothing bad... nothing bad is going to happen... okay?"
"But what if-" Speedy tried.
"I'm... I'm Soarin Skies. Nothing is going to happen while I'm around," Soarin cut in. Speedy gave him a small smile, before gulping and looking away. Soarin did the same, not wanting the colt to see his tears.
"Are... are you going to be okay, Soarin?" Speedy asked softly. Soarin let out a breath of air, before shaking his head hard.
"NO!" he suddenly yelled, clasping onto his brother's figure and wrapping his hooves around him tightly.
Speedy gasped from his place in Soarin's chest. "Soarin..?"
"NO SPEEDY!" Soarin howled, tears slipping out hard and fast from his eyes. "I'm... I'm not going to be okay, alright? Everything... everything is just so horribly wrong! I want to be with Rainbow Dash... I want to make Dad happy... I want Mom to stop worrying so much... I want you to stay with me... I want everything to just go back to being okay."
Speedy suddenly relaxed and tightened his hold on his older brother.
"I do too, Soarin!" he said, tears falling freely. "I just want Dad to stop being so mean, I want Mom to get out of her shell... I want Scootaloo to... just be herself more often... and I want you... I want to stay with you... I don't want to leave you... you're... you're my only brother and I just-"
Both stallions, young and old, were broken. They cried and cried till there were barely any tears left. They held on to each other... they cherished every last second they had with each other.
Since both of them knew things weren't going to be alright.
Since both of them knew everything was about to fall apart.
"So I heard Speedy went to college yesterday," Rainbow Dash said as she and Scootaloo sat in their living room a few days later. Scootaloo only nodded sadly in reply.
"I know..." she mumbled. Dash gave her a sympathetic smile.
"You doing alright?" she asked. Scootaloo shrugged.
"Whatever." She got up and began walking away. Rainbow Dash groaned, leaning back in her seat as her father walked in. Blaze shot her a pained grin and took a seat besides her.
"Dad?! Are you okay?" Rainbow Dash asked, putting a hoof on his shoulder. Blaze bit his lip, seeming to fight something in his mind. He nodded.
"I'm fine, Cherie," he said softly. Rainbow Dash didn't look so certain.
"I can tell something's up. What's going on, Dad?" she asked, her voice dripping with concern. Blaze took a struggling breath, before looking at his daughter straight in her deep magenta eyes.
"My heart is failing, Rainbow Dash," he suddenly said. "I haven't got much time yet."
Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as she gaped at her father in shock.
"What?! But the doctors said you were getting better!" she exclaimed. Blaze only shook his head.
"Things got out of control, and we don't have enough money to pay for doctor services anymore," he explained. "Without the bits, I can't get an operation."
"But there has to be some other way! Dad... I can't lose you," Rainbow Dash said, burying her face in her hooves. Blaze smiled at her.
"Hey, honey... I may not have much time left... heck, I could go any day now... but please promise me something," he said, lifting Dash's chin up to look at him.
"What?" Rainbow Dash asked in a quiet voice.
"Promise me you'll find happiness," Blaze said in a voice just above a whisper. "Promise me you'll not only find a way to be free again, but your sister too."
Rainbow Dash looked up at him in shock.
"Scootaloo is just a filly, Rainy... she still doesn't know the many dangers of the world. I'm trusting that you'll keep her safe, and out of harms way," Blaze continued.
"Dad..."
"Please, Rainbow Dash... please fulfill a dying stallion's last wish..."
"DAD!" Dash suddenly cried, latching onto her father as if her life depended on it. Hers didn't... but his definitely did. Blaze gasped as she made contact with him, smiling weakly and pulling her closer.
"Don't you worry pretty little thing... you'll lose me... but you won't lose your mother, or your sister. You'll still have ponies to look out for you... you won't be alone... you won't be alone... I'll make sure of it."
"Dad... is it really time?" Dash asked softly. Blaze only nodded, pulling his oldest daughter closer to his heart. She gasped upon hearing it's extremely soft thud.
"I'm afraid so... you'll be alright, okay?" Blaze said, stroking her mane as Dash's sobs erupted.
Rainbow Dash cried and cried, and cried like she never had before, since she knew it was time. It was time to say goodbye to the stallion who had always supported her, who had been there all throughout her life... her father, who she loved to dearly and would never forget, no matter where life took her.
"Anyway, I'm going to go get some water, alright?" Blaze said, pushing her away gently. Rainbow Dash nodded, sitting back down on the small sofa as her father got up slowly and trotted into the kitchen.
Dash took this moment to think to herself.
What was going on with Soarin? He usually sent her letters almost every day, but she hadn't heard from him in a while. Was something wrong? Did Soarin's dad do anything?
Rainbow Dash knew very well that if she lost him, she wouldn't be able to live with herself anymore. Her father was already on the verge of dying, Scootaloo was isolating herself because of Speedy, her mother was never much of a help... and if she lost Soarin, she would be completely alone.
Rainbow Dash hated being alone.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a crash from the kitchen. The crinkling of glass followed, as Rainbow quickly heaved herself up and ran into the room.
She stood in the doorway, looking down on the ground in absolute shock.
Rainbow Blaze was lying there, and he wasn't breathing.
"No... no... no no no no no..." Rainbow Dash mumbled continuously as she leaned forward and knelt in front of her lifeless father. Tears began welling up in her eyes as she shouted endlessly. "No! NO! NOOOOOOOOO!"
She gulped, biting her lip as she threatened to explode in cries. No. She had to stay strong.
"MOM! MOOOOOOM! SCOOTALOO! SCOOTALOO! MOM! MOM! SCOOTALOO!" she kept yelling, her throat beginning to choke up. Firefly came rushing into the room, looking upon the scene.
Her eyes widened as her heart melted as she saw her husband dead on the floor.
"BLAZE! NO! NOOO!!!!!!" she wailed, collapsing and sobbing hard.
Scootaloo ran into the room, already with a pretty certain idea on what was going on. Once she laid eyes on her father on the ground and the shattered glass on the other side of the room, her heart stopped.
"DADDY?! DADDY?!!!" she screamed. She never called her father that unless of dire emergency. Rainbow Dash's jaw was still wide open as she began screaming and pushing her little sister away.
"QUICK YOU ROTTEN FOOL! CALL THE POLICE! AN AMBULANCE! SOMETHING! IDIOT!" Rainbow Dash was ranting now, and Scootaloo knew it. She didn't take her words to heart as she quickly nodded and left the room.
"Blaze... Blaze... no... no no no... no it isn't true... BLAZE DON'T LEAVE ME! PLEASE! I'LL KILL MYSELF PLEASE!!!" Firefly kept screaming as Dash began pacing around the room.
"WHERE IS THAT WRECKED SCOOTALOO? SCOOTALOO FIREFLY DASH!!! GET THE HELL IN HERE!!!"
Scootaloo came rushing back in with a nod. "I've got medical ponies on the line. They should be here any minute now," she said. Rainbow Dash collapsed at her sister's hooves and began wailing her eyes out.
"S-S-S-Sc-c-c-cootal-l-loo..." she stammered out. "SCOOTALOO PLEASE... PLEASE STAY WITH ME PLEASE."
"I'm not going anywhere, Rainbow Dash... I'm here, calm down..." Scootaloo tried rubbing circles on her sister's back, but nothing seemed to work on the restless cyan mare.
Three medical ponies barged into the room and observed the scene. Without a word, they picked up Blaze's lifeless body and carried him out onto a tram, where they laid him inside.
Rainbow Dash spread her wings wide, along with Firefly. Dash bent down, allowing a teary-eyed Scootaloo to climb onto her back, as the three took off towards the hospital.
"Don't leave us yet, Dad..."
Rainbow Dash walked through the hallways of the Ponyville hospital, mumbling things to herself. Scootaloo was sitting on a bench nearby, watching her sister's worried pace.
"Rainbow Dash, stop pacing and sit down for a bit. It's going to be alright," she assured. Rainbow Dash shot her an annoyed look, and shook her head.
"You know just as well as I do how far that is from the truth," she said, "Scoots, he stopped breathing."
"It was a heart attack, those can be cured," Scootaloo reasoned. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes as her knees gave out beneath her. She rubbed them with her front hooves before any more tears could escape.
"I... I don't think Dad is going to... going to... survive..." she said softly.
"Think happy thoughts, Sis," Scootaloo tried. Rainbow Dash shook her head, looking into the operation room.
"This thing is going to cost us a fortune..." she mumbled. Scootaloo's eyes widened.
"But don't the doctors give free operations for life-threatening infections if the family is not very well off financially?" she asked slowly. Dash gulped, shaking her head.
"We've already put off so many payments. We haven't even gotten rid of the loan yet, only paying half rent every month... this doesn't look too good," she said. Scootaloo's breath evened.
"I'm sure Mom will be able to do something, right?" she asked. Dash became visibly a little more relaxed as she nodded.
"Of course! We still haven't gotten tax interest back from the pharmacy! That itself should be able to cover a big chunk of it," she said. "Plus Mom's hobbyist job could help."
"I'm so glad we have Mom with us," Scootaloo said, sighing and pulling her sister in for a hug. Rainbow Dash nodded, tightening the embrace and holding onto her younger sister.
"Me too..."
"But Dash... what about Dad?" Scootaloo said. The mention of his name brought tears back into Rainbow Dash's eyes. She looked away, letting go of the hug and walking up to the door of the operation room.
"I need to be in there with him... my father is freaking dying," she said once, just as the door swung open to reveal a very disheveled looking doctor.
"Doctor?!" Scootaloo said, springing up from her seat. The mare looked between them, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.
"I'm afraid... I only bring bad news," she said. Rainbow Dash crumbled to the floor, tears sweeping out of her eyes heavily. Scootaloo gaped silently, dropping besides her sister as the two hugged each other tightly.
"Say it, Doctor. I won't believe it until you've said it," Rainbow Dash said quietly with a shudder.
"I'm so sorry, Rainbow and Scootaloo Dash... but we weren't able to save him. Sorry for your loss," the mare said with a sigh, before retreating back into the lab.
Everything inside Rainbow Dash broke in that very moment.
Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo walked home together, both not in the mood for flying. Dash was an absolute mess; Scootaloo was as well. They bad both lost their only father figure in their life... the only stallion who they had ever fully trusted until recently.
Firefly had gone home early, leaving Dash and Scootaloo the long walk back to their cottage.
"I'm..."
"I just..." both started at once. They gave each other sad frowns, before continuing their journey.
"What are we going to do?" Scootaloo asked softly. Rainbow Dash only shook her head.
"I don't even know."
"How's Mom holding up?" Scootaloo asked.
"She didn't say anything," Rainbow Dash deadpanned again. Scootaloo sighed, looking away as she spotted a nearby father and daughter eating ice cream on a bench.
The sight made her shudder and want to cry again. She wondered if there were even any tears left to shed.
The two entered the house quietly, meeting absolute silence.
"Mom?" Rainbow Dash called out. "We're home!"
Scootaloo put her saddlebag on the kitchen table, but both didn't hear a response from their mother.
"Mom?!" Dash tried again. Scootaloo looked at her.
"She probably went to sleep," she offered. Rainbow Dash could only nod.
"I don't blame her..." she said softly. "I'll go up and check on her, okay?"
"Alright," Scootaloo said, sitting in silence on a sofa in the living room.
Rainbow Dash made her way upstairs, looking at the wide-open door of her parent's room with concern. Her mother never left her door open if she was sleeping.
She made her way inside, gasping in shock at the empty bed.
"Mom? MOM? Where are you?" she tried. Was Firefly somewhere else in the house?
She tried Scootaloo's room, and the small bathroom in the main hallway, but was unsuccessful every time. The only room left was her own room.
Rainbow Dash quirked her eyebrows as she entered her room, not seeing anypony inside. Was her mother not at home? Did she go out for a bit or something?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a small piece of paper on her bed. Dash looked at the cushions curiously, picking up the paper and seeing very familiar print. Her mother's hoofwriting.
Rainbow Dash,
I can't do this anymore. I couldn't stand living like this before your father died, and now that he has, it's time for me to move on. And so should you.
I'm sorry, I really am truly sorry for doing this to you and Scoots. But does it look like I have a choice? I don't. It's not my bloody fault that everything has been going wrong ever since Scootaloo was born. You even got in so much trouble after crashing that party. And don't say I warned you. Because I didn't. I was a stupid, selfish fool, and I made a stupid, selfish mistake.
And I'm making one again today.
Take care of yourself, alright? Find yourself a nice, decent colt, and help your sister with everything she needs. Now that you both are parentless.
I'm sorry it had to be this way. But you know I was never much for long-term relationships.
You're free to be mad at me. For I know I've been deserving enough for that.
Take care of yourself, Rainbow Dash. Don't let the Dash family down. I'm trusting you on this one, okay?
I've never been able to stand myself living with you and your father. I kept all my problems to myself, only telling them to my best friend, Lilian. You know her, she works at the counter on weekdays.
If you have any questions about this, ask Lilian. Don't bother me in places you'll never find out about. Just remember I loved you and your sister very dearly, but it's time for me to leave.
With all the love I can give you,
Your mother,
Firefly.
Cries could be heard all throughout Ponyville that night.
Soarin contemplated his current situation while sitting in the couch of his bedroom. A lamp hung above his shoulders, not allowing much light to get through. Soarin didn't mind though; his mood was anything but merry.
He had two choices. One, to forget about Rainbow Dash like his father had asked him and marry Spitfire unwillingly, or two, go behind his family's back and be with Rainbow Dash; risking his entire legacy and reputation in society.
Soarin had an image to maintain. And to do so, he needed to do what his father thought was the 'right' thing. Of course, he himself and Dash would probably get hurt in the process.
But his heart longed so dearly for the other option. To risk his entire future by being with the mare he actually wanted to be with.
Spectrum's words kept replaying over and over in his mind countless times. He... did have a point, in whatever wretched way to think about it. Rainbow Dash wouldn't bring pride to the Skies' family.
But she would bring pride to him.
Rainbow Dash wouldn't withhold such honor.
But she would for him.
Whenever Rainbow Dash cried, he cried.
Whenever Rainbow Dash laughed, he laughed.
No matter how cheesy that sounded...
But could he risk his father's wrath?
Spectrum was a stallion of few words. But whatever he did say, stuck. He had grown up with the expectation of getting whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.
And right now, he wanted Soarin to marry the mare he chose for him. And he expected to get it.
Because Soarin had never let the his father down. He had always followed through all of the tasks he had given him.
Whatever Spectrum asked, Soarin delivered.
It was Soarin's reputation of being the perfect son... the perfect model figure. Even for his little brother.
Speedy...
If Soarin disobeyed his father, and Speedy came back from college to this huge mess... Soarin couldn't bare that thought. Speedy didn't deserve that. Not at all.
He knew what he had to do. He was going to go through with his father's plan.
He was going to forget about Rainbow Dash.
The streets of Ponyville were dark and damp. Rain splotches covering Soarin's now wet coat. He looked around the usually cheerful town, frowning as he noticed there was nopony in sight.
Every house was empty.
Soarin furrowed his eyebrows, slicking back his wet mane as he made his way deeper into the town.
Ponyville Town Square was crowded. Ponies dressed in black gathering around something in the middle. Soarin gulped, looking at the sea of dark figures. Something was going on. Something big.
He pushed his way through the crowd, looking at everypony's face. They were all looking down, tears staining their eyes as they silently cried.
It looked like... a funeral? But who for?
Soarin tapped the shoulder of a pink mare with a long curly two-toned brown mane. The mare turned to look at him, her black umbrella casting a lone shadow overhead.
"Uh... excuse me, but what's going on?" he asked softly. The mare sniffled, bowing her head low.
"Something terrible has happened. Rainbow Blaze..."
Soarin's mind stopped. Rainbow Blaze? But wasn't that...
Rainbow Dash's father.
Soarin's head snapped up as realization dawned upon him.
Oh no.
"And it's not just that... but Firefly didn't take it too well either," the pink mare continued. "She left."
Soarin's eyes widened as he took in the new information. That was... that was an absolutely horrible thing to do to a young, sensitive mare like Dash.
And imagine what Scootaloo must be going through.
Soarin murmured a soft 'thank you' to the mare, before making his way deeper into the crowd, his eyes darting left and right, looking for Rainbow Dash.
In the middle of the Town Square, an empty path was found, Soarin following it quickly, leading him up to the main ceremony.
A thick black coffin was sitting in the middle of the grass, a periwinkle-coated stallion resting upon it.
Rainbow Blaze.
Soarin looked further ahead, his eyes resting on a cyan mare who's eyes were wrinkled, she was trying her hardest not to cry. Scootaloo was a little farther ahead.
Applejack held Rainbow Dash's hoof in a comforting way, salty tears trickling her own eyes as she stared at her best friend's father.
"We pay our respects today... to honor the wondrous life of a home-style stallion, who loved his wife, and children both very much. Rest in peace," a squire said gently, allowing three other stallions to hoist up the body in preparation to leave for the graveyard.
Soarin watched Rainbow Dash as she suddenly snapped, beginning to struggle under the strong hold of Applejack.
"NO!" she cried out, breaking free from her friend, and running up to her father. She wrapped her hooves tightly around his body, tears now streaming freely out of her eyes.
"NO. NO PLEASE, DAD. DAD PLEASE, YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME. PLEASE! PLEASE YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME!" she kept yelling as ponies ran up to her, trying to pull her away from her father. They all proved unsuccessful.
"NO... NO YOU CAN'T. YOU CAN'T LEAVE. DAD... DAD I'LL BE COMPLETELY ALONE. I WON'T HAVE ANYONE... DAD PLEASE. PLEASE!!!"
Soarin's heart broke at the sight of Rainbow Blaze being carried away and Rainbow Dash being left to wail in the arms of her friends. He looked between everypony, his father's words stinging in his brain.
"Do you really think such a low-class girl could ever fit in to our family?"
"Do you think she'll ever understand us? Understand the legacy I've built for our family?"
Soarin nodded to himself slowly.
"Yes father..." he whispered. "Yes she will."
She was right. Dash was completely alone now. She had no one to look after her... after her parent's depart. He needed to do something. He couldn't stand his lover like this.
He looked back at Rainbow Dash, her limp, crying figure resting on the ground.
"Sis..." someone called from behind her. Dash turned to see Scootaloo running up to her, throwing her hooves out as the two embraced tightly.
It was then when Dash glanced his way, their eyes locking in one, sad instance.
Soarin started walking. He walked slowly up to her, not breaking their eye contact.
He stopped when he was right in front of her, a determined look plastered on his face.
Slowly, he reached his hoof out, gently taking hers and staring deep into her eyes. The corners of his mouth quirked up gently, giving her a comforting, sad smile.
His expression suddenly hardened, Rainbow Dash still looking up at him in shock.
"I've got it!" Spectrum Skies exclaimed suddenly, flipping through a magazine while he sat next to his wife in the living room of the cloud mansion. Cloudy looked up to give him a weird look.
"You've got what, Dear?" she asked nonchalantly, going back to her work. Spectrum snaked a hoof around the mare's shoulders, before showing her an image in the book he was holding.
"Look at this! Isn't it perfect?!" he asked happily. Cloudy shot him a look.
"It's a wedding cake. And a really big one too," she said. Spectrum nodded, his eyes thick with excitement.
"Well, only the best for my son!" he said. Cloudy raised her eyebrow.
"Oh? I didn't know Speedy was getting married. Who's the lucky lady?" she teased. Spectrum's eyes narrowed playfully at her, his hooves crossing accusingly over his chest.
"Oh please, you know who I'm talking about," he said. Cloudy's eyes darkened; she let out a heavy sigh.
"So I'm taking Soarin went through with what you asked him?" she asked softly, her eyes shutting close. Spectrum gave her a curious look, but nodded.
"Yep, he set off to Ponyville this morning to let that... village mare, know of his decision," he said absentmindedly. "He did the right thing, I'm proud of him."
"Right... are you sure Soarin was happy about the situation?" Cloudy asked, knowing full well the correct answer. Spectrum nodded again.
"Of course! Why wouldn't he be?"
"Never mind."
"Anyway, I called the wedding planner a few hours ago, he should be arriving any min-"
Spectrum was cut off by the house doorbell ringing wildly throughout the house. He shot the mare by his side a grin, before pushing himself off the couch and towards the front door.
"And there he is now!" he resumed. Cloudy shrugged, leaning back in her seat as she watched a middle-aged stallion enter the house. His glasses hung low on his muzzle as he inspected the room.
"Hello, you must be Spectrum Skies and Cloudy Quartz, I understand your son will be wed soon?" he asked. Spectrum nodded, as Cloudy remained silent.
"You got that right!" he said, jumping slightly in his place. The stallion nodded, sticking out his hoof.
"I'm Jellion. You're in quite the mood today, Mr. Skies," he noticed. Spectrum winked.
"Of course! Which father wouldn't be when his son is getting married?" he asked. Jellion shrugged.
"Fair enough," he said. "Now follow me, we must pick out the right decorations for the house."
The citizens of Ponyville didn't expect a funeral for such a heartwarming stallion. Nor did they expect such a kind mare to leave everything for nothing. But they definitely weren't expecting Soarin Skies, a famous Wonderbolt to propose to Rainbow Dash, a simple, crazy mare at her father's funeral.
Meh. Worst things had happened in the small town.
It was a quiet wedding. But still a wedding no less. The pony who had taken care of the funeral quickly agreed to preside over the ceremony, and within five minutes of the proposal, ponies were lining up to see the bride walk down the aisle.
Or rather, Rainbow Dash in sticky funeral attire walking down a path made of mud, grass, and sharp bits of cobblestone.
Soarin stood at the end, looking at her in pity. There was no doubt that Rainbow Dash wanted this... but at what price? What would she have to face once Soarin took her home?
Lilian Fly looked upon the scene. She definitely wasn't expecting this. Being a close family friend of the Dash household, she would have expected to know about the romantic relationship between her best friend's daughter and one of the most prestigious stallions on the face of Equestria.
Rainbow Dash gulped, standing opposite Soarin, who gave her a small smile. Tears began forming in her eyes, as she quickly looked away.
"Listen," Soarin whispered to her. "Let me know if you don't want to do this, okay? I don't want to push you into something like this without having your absolute approval."
Rainbow Dash sniffed. Was it even possible for a stallion to be that sweet? Was it possible that this stallion loved her so much, that he risked his entire future just to be with her?
"I... I'm going to be okay, Soar," she started. Soarin smiled at the familiar nickname.
"Alright, Princess. Whenever you're ready," he said. Rainbow Dash bit her lip, allowing the priest to continue on with the ceremony.
"So... I'm thinking a more simple theme for the wedding," Jellion said to Cloudy and Spectrum as they inspected a catalog of his company. "We'll have a nice, big cake and loads of colorful streamers surrounding the room."
"Sounds good," Cloudy said quietly, speaking for the first time throughout Jellion's visit. Spectrum nodded.
"I agree, a simple wedding sounds fun!" he said. Jellion nodded, before flipping to the next page of the magazine.
"Alrighty... now for a dress," he started. "Spitfire would look ultimately best in a long gown with gold trimming to match her coat and mane. She'd look good in a small headpiece. Possibly a crown."
"Well, we also need Spitfire's input on the dress, so why don't we save that for later?" Cloudy snapped. Spectrum's eyes widened as he looked down at his wife.
"Uh... everything okay, Clouds?" he asked. Cloudy sighed, putting a hoof to her forehead.
"Agh, sorry about that... I just can't shake the feeling that something bad is about to happen," she muttered. Spectrum gave her an amused smile.
"Oh don't be silly," he said, turning back to Jellion. "Now, carry on."
"Do you, Soarin Spectrum Skies, take this mare, Rainbow Firefly Dash, to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and health, till death do you part?"
Soarin looked at Rainbow Dash's limp form; he nodded.
"I do."
"And do you, Rainbow Firefly Dash, take this stallion, Soarin Spectrum Skies, to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and health, till death do you part?"
Rainbow Dash gulped, closing her eyes and nodding silently.
"I... I do."
"May I have the rings?"
Scootaloo inched closer to the event, holding out two chains with the rings attached to the ends. She held them up, the priest taking them and handing one to both Rainbow Dash and Soarin.
Soarin took a deep breath, the rain dampening his mane every second. He took the ring, and draped it over Dash's neck. Rainbow Dash sniffled, knowing what was coming next.
Slowly, she took her own chain, fighting back the tears from escaping. She pulled it over Soarin's form quickly, letting it dangle on his neck.
"Then I now pronounce you mare and colt."
Rainbow Dash suddenly pounced on Soarin, surprising them both with a tight hug. She embraced him closely, her tears now falling freely out of her eyes.
"Th-Thank y-you..." she muttered, only audible to him. Soarin smiled softly, enclosing his hooves around her as he pulled her towards him. "Th-Th-Thank you... s-s-so much..."
"Dashie..." Soarin mumbled, letting her latch onto him.
"Y-You... y-you're..." Rainbow Dash started, trying to form words.
"Shh..." Soarin comforted, pulling away slightly as the two leaned in simultaneously, pressing their lips together in a soft, sweet kiss.
"And... they'll declare their love for one another right here! In the middle of the stage so every single audience member has the chance to see them unite together!" Jellion exclaimed, finishing his little tour with a flourish. Spectrum immediately began to clap widely, Cloudy deciding to opt out.
"That was... brilliant! This wedding's going to be amazing!" he said happily. Jellion gave them both a mock bow, a smile playing on his lips.
"I'm sure Soarin and Spitfire will be very happy together," he said.
Spectrum nodded.
"Oh yes they will."
Rainbow Dash and Soarin embraced once more, the ponies around them applauding quietly. It really was quite the turn of events. A funeral to a wedding.
Soarin clamped his hoof around her, looking into her worried, magenta eyes.
"But Soar... your father..." she mumbled. "What are we going to do?"
Spectrum Skies stood ghost still in front of the portrait of his family. Cloudy Quartz was on the left side of the room, looking towards the door in shock. Soarin Skies and Rainbow Dash had just entered, and by the looks of it, at a... new stage in their relationship. Spectrum's eyes hardened as his back faced the two.
"Today... today you have proven... that you are not my son."
Soarin's eyes widened as he stared at his father's back in shock. Rainbow Dash's grip tightened on his hoof as she stared up at him, her face dripping with concern.
"Today you have proven that you are not of my blood," Spectrum continued. "You... you have proven that today."
Cloudy sank back, her worst fear finally coming true at last. Soarin's eyes glistened with tears.
"Dad...?" he whispered. Spectrum didn't move.
"You have lost the right to call me that."
Rainbow Dash sniffed from besides him, worried for Soarin's sake. Soarin took a deep breath, before gently prying himself out of Dash's hold. She gasped as he started walking towards Spectrum.
"Does this mean..." Soarin started, now right behind him. "Does this mean that you no longer have any place for me in this house?"
Spectrum didn't move, silently giving Soarin his answer. Soarin shut his eyes, nodding to himself.
"Okay..." he muttered quietly. "Thank you for letting me stay in your house."
Lilian Fly stood outside the large cloud mansion, anxiously awaiting news of what happened. She desperately wished Spectrum would accept Rainbow Dash into the family, but that probably wasn't going to happen
Her ears perked up as she heard somepony approaching. A colt, looking about sixteen, trotted up to her with a happy face.
"Hello!" he said cheerfully. "I'm Speedy!"
Lilian looked down at the young colt, nodding. "Hello... I'm Lilian. Rainbow Dash's mother's friend."
"Oh, cool! Why are we outside?" Speedy asked.
"Uh... some stuff is happening inside. It's best if we just stay out here for the time being," Lilian said. "Hey... aren't you the colt Scootaloo always talks about? I thought you went to college."
"Oh I did, but first term just ended. We got home leave if we wanted for a few days," Speedy explained.
"Oh. Fun," Lilian said.
"Well, Lili, guess we're out here for a bit then, huh?"
"Lili?" Lilian asked. Speedy shrugged.
"The name 'Lilian' is a mouthful, really. I decided to shorten it for you, you can thank me later," he said. Lilian nodded slowly.
"Right..."
Soarin gulped, walking by Spectrum and turning towards his mother. Cloudy was silently crying in the corner of the room, making Soarin walk up to her sadly.
"S-S-Soarin..." she stammered, erupting into tears and embracing him tightly. "I..."
"Shh, Mom," Soarin said quietly, "it's going to be fine. I'll just... settle down myself."
"Soarin... that isn't necessary! I'm sure I can talk to Spectrum and-"
"No, Mother," Soarin cut in, "don't do that. I'll be fine with Rainbow Dash."
Cloudy clung to her son, before looking over at Rainbow Dash, who was shifting her hooves awkwardly from beneath her. Cloudy sighed, taking Soarin's hoof and leading him towards the rainbow-maned mare.
Rainbow Dash looked at her, watching as she took her own hoof and put it in Soarin's.
"I... I heard about your father," Cloudy started, making Rainbow Dash squeal uncomfortably. "And I just wanted to say that I'm... really sorry."
"Please take care of him," Cloudy said in a small voice. Tears had already started streaming down her cheeks. She quickly turned away. "Now go."
"Mom..." Soarin tried. Cloudy shook her head firmly.
"Just... go. Please, before I do something that I'll regret."
Soarin nodded silently, taking Rainbow Dash and beginning to make his way to the entrance of the house. Rainbow Dash desperately shook her head.
"Soarin... we need your father's blessings," she said, frowning when Soarin ignored her. "Soarin... I need to talk to your father!" she protested again. Soarin didn't say anything. "Soarin I-"
Soarin stopped her by pushing her lightly, shaking his head. Rainbow Dash let out a cry, burying her face in his shoulders. Soarin rested his head on her's, leading her to the front door as they made their exit.
Stepping out of the Skies' household for the last time.
Soarin and Rainbow Dash broke into cries once they shut the door, holding onto each other for dear life. Lilian and Speedy, who had been making small talk, looked over in shock at the couple.
"Rainbow...?" Lilian started softly, reaching out to put a hoof on her shoulder. Rainbow Dash strayed away from the touch, looking behind her. "What happened?" Lilian asked, looking over to Soarin.
Soarin didn't answer. He only stared down at his brother.
"Speedy...?" he asked. Speedy tilted his head in confusion.
"Soarin? What's going on? I-"
"What are you doing here?" Soarin cut in. Speedy coughed.
"Uh... term break. I came to spend it with you guys," he said. Soarin closed his eyes, latching back onto his wife. He took a deep breath, kneeling down and putting his hooves on Speedy's shoulders.
"Now, I want you to listen very carefully to me, alright?" he started, "don't ever question where I went."
"What? I don't understand Soarin, what's-"
"Promise me you'll never ask, or think to look for me after this day," Soarin said. Speedy stopped, looking into the emerald eyes of his older brother, before nodding.
"I... okay, I promise. But Soarin, please tell me what's going on," he said. Soarin sighed, taking Speedy in for a big hug.
"I wish I knew, Speeds..." he said softly.
"Soarin, can't Speedy... come along?" Rainbow Dash said from behind them. Soarin promptly shook his head.
"I'm afraid studies and college are far more important right now," he reasoned. Speedy, still a bit confused, looked back to Soarin.
"Uh..."
"Listen, Speedy," Soarin started again, "I'm going to tell you something. Something I've been using my entire life. A piece of advice your father gave to me when I was very little."
"If you're ever worried, or scared... or are having any second thoughts or doubts about anything... just close your eyes, and think of your parents. Your parents."
Speedy decided not to question the emphasis Soarin had begun putting on certain words, choosing only to nod.
"Um... okay, Soar. I got it," he said quietly.
"Right, now... Rainbow Dash and I best be off, we have to pick up Scootaloo before we..." Soarin said, trailing off and looking at Rainbow Dash. The cyan mare was looking at her hooves in worry.
She quickly looked at Lilian.
"Lilian... please, come with us?" Dash pleaded. Lilian's eyes widened upon the request.
"What? You... you want me to come with you?" she asked. Everypony was now ignoring Speedy's curious glance. Rainbow Dash and Soarin both firmly nodded.
"Yes," Soarin said, "you've been more help to us then I could have ever asked for. Please, Rainbow Dash's right. Come with us."
"I'd... I'd be happy to," Lilian said.
"Very well... we should get going," Soarin said quietly, not quite meeting the eye of his younger brother. Speedy gasped.
"But Soarin! What about Mom and-"
"Don't... finish... that sentence," Soarin breathed, before a single tear ran down his cheek, "I love you."
Speedy gaped as his brother, Rainbow Dash, and Lilian started walking away.
"Soar...?" he whispered. Soarin stopped.
"Oh and, if I were you, I would go back to the school right now."
Scootaloo sat idly in the living room of the Ponyville cottage, waiting for her sister to arrive back from the Wonderbolt's mansion. She didn't know what to expect upon their arrival, but she could only hope for the best.
The door creaked open gently; Scootaloo got up out of her seat to greet Rainbow Dash and Soarin as they entered the house. Lilian followed close behind, and the three of them had pecks of tears pooling around their eyes. Scootaloo gasped softly, instantly knowing what had happened.
"Rainbow Dash...?" she called softly. Said rainbow-maned mare looked up and into the boring eyes of her younger sister. She shook her head, letting her know of the outcome of the visit. Soarin walked up to her, placing a hoof on her shoulder and sighing.
"We're moving away, Scoots," he said solemnly, "there really isn't any other option."
"But I thought you said everything was going to be okay!" Scootaloo exclaimed, close to tears by now. "I thought you guys had everything under control!"
"That's what we thought too," Rainbow Dash spoke, "but turns out Spectrum wasn't as understanding as we thought he would be."
"Well what did you expect?!" Scootaloo yelled, causing the entire room to go deadly silent. "What did you think? He didn't even want Soarin to marry you! Why would you think marrying each other behind his back would cause him any grief or consent!?"
"What in Equestria are you talking about, Scootaloo?" Rainbow Dash said, moving closer to the younger mare. Scootaloo's gaze only hardened further.
"I knew this was going to happen! I just knew it! Speedy had warned me ages ago of his suspicions... I guess I just thought that you two would understand too," she said. Soarin's eyes widened.
"It wasn't our choice," he started quietly, "how were we supposed to know he was going to be so bad?"
"Well of course you'd say that! Now that it's happened," Scootaloo exclaimed. "Look, I'm happy for you guys and everything, don't get me wrong. I've always wanted Rainbow Dash to be happy, and I know you are the only real pony who can do that, but you can't possibly think that everything will soon turn back to normal. If not now, it will take ages for any one of you to turn back around into what you initially thought."
"Woah there, Scoots," Rainbow Dash cut in, "speak English, please. I don't know where you learned those heavy words," she said, attempting to lighten the mood a bit. Scootaloo's glare hardened.
"Oh don't act like you don't understand me," she said harshly. Rainbow Dash gulped, taking a step back as with Soarin. Lilian looked at the young mare, her eyes twinkling as she realized what was going on. She stepped forward, hoping to talk some sense into her.
"This is about Speedy, isn't it," she said softly. Scootaloo sniffed, turning away and crossing her hooves against her chest tightly.
"I'm afraid I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," she said firmly. Lilian rolled her eyes, putting her hooves on her shoulders and attempting to turn her around.
"You're afraid," Lilian said softly; Scootaloo let out an inaudible gasp. "You're afraid that everything is going to change... you're afraid that you might not ever see Speedy again... you're afraid of change, Scoots. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that," she continued, "I'm afraid too, you know."
"You are..?" Scootaloo asked, now finally turned completely to face the light blue mare. Lilian smiled, and nodded.
"Of course I am," she said. Scootaloo bit her lip, before turning to Rainbow Dash and Soarin.
"I'm okay now," she said. Rainbow Dash let go of her hold on Soarin and walked up to her sister. The two embraced in a close hug, before Soarin spoke up.
"When do you guys want to leave?" he asked quietly. Rainbow Dash gulped, pulling away from her little sister. She turned to Soarin and gave him a firm nod.
"As soon as possible. Right now, if we must," she said. Soarin's eyes widened.
"Are you sure, Dashie?" he asked. Rainbow Dash nodded.
"Yes," she said. Lilian spoke up suddenly.
"I think that would be best as well. It seems only fitting to get out of here pronto," she said. Soarin nodded, turning to Scootaloo.
"What do you think, Scoots?" he asked, bending down to her level. Scootaloo shut her eyes tight, thinking it over to herself.
"I say we leave right now," she said. Soarin chuckled under his breath despite the situation.
"Then let's go," he said.
"Just one question," Scootaloo interrupted, "where are we going?"
"Welcome to Manehattan."
Soarin flew slightly ahead of the pack, eyeing the different directions of the large city. Rainbow Dash flew a little behind him, Scootaloo on her back as they made their way inside the town. Lilian flew to Soarin's left, glancing every now and then towards Scootaloo to make sure she was alright.
"You doing okay, Scootaloo?" Lilian called towards her. Rainbow Dash looked over to her little sister who was now clinging to her neck like her life depended on it.
"Are you sure you don't want to fly yourself?" she asked. Scootaloo quickly shook her head.
"Rainbow Dash, you know how I feel about flying, especially going long distances. And we're so high up! How do you guys even survive all the way up here?" she asked.
"Easy!" Soarin replied, tilting his head back slightly as the four pegasi turned a sharp left into a more secluded part of the city. "Forget about your fears, and just go for it! Flying is... flying is my entire life!"
Scootaloo didn't look too convinced.
"Come on Scoots, don't tell me you've never wanted to fly freely over Equestria," Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo shrugged and replied half-heartedly.
"Meh," was all she said. Rainbow Dash frowned.
"I'm gonna let gooo," she taunted. Scootaloo's eyes widened as her hold on her sister grew tighter.
"NO!" she yelled, but was too late.
Rainbow Dash smirked as she slipped away from Scootaloo, making sure the distance between them was still relatively short incase anything were to happen. Scootaloo screamed, flailing her hooves around wildly as she began to fall from the sky. Rainbow Dash stuck below her, laughing as she saw what was happening.
"YOU DO HAVE WINGS, YOU KNOW!" she yelled, causing Scootaloo to stop. Scootaloo grimaced as she opened her wings, flapping them hard in the air.
"THIS IS JUST DOWNRIGHT DANGEROUS!" she yelled back, "IS THIS EVEN LEGAL?!"
"OH MY GOD RAINBOW DASH!!" Soarin suddenly yelled, looking at the scene in awe. "SHE'S YOUR SISTER FOR PONY'S SAKE!!"
"THIS IS PRICELESS!" Lilian jumped in. Scootaloo kept flapping, surprisingly holding up besides the three of them.
"YOU ALL ARE MAD! MAD I TELL YOU!" she yelled. Rainbow Dash, Soarin and Lilian chuckled whole-heartedly besides her, as the four of them made their way into the secluded town.
"Oh this is beautiful!" Lilian exclaimed as they landed softly on the grass below. (Scootaloo's landing a little more choppy than the others'). Soarin smiled.
"Yeah... I've always wanted to come here," he said.
"Where are we staying, though?" Rainbow Dash asked, trotting besides her husband.
"Well, we're now the proud owners of Estate Twelve!" Soarin said, sucking out his chest with pride. Rainbow Dash quirked her eyebrow, her expression turning curious.
"Estate Twelve?" she asked. Soarin grinned, before beckoning them all to follow him.
The four walked through the small town, smiling at all the happy school-ponies and the cheeriness of the rest. It really was quite cozy, this part of the city.
"This," Soarin started, "is Estate Twelve."
They were standing in front of a large cottage. A lot bigger than Dash and Scootaloo's old house in Ponyville, but smaller than the mansion in Cloudsdale. The roof was made of light-coated wood, and the top part was a dark tan color. The bottom half was red brick, and there was a single rainbow waterfall flowing from a window on the third floor. There were large plants covering the right side of the house, and left side was occupied by bird houses. A small garden was visible to the back of the cottage.
It was beautiful.
"Welcome home?" Scootaloo said softly.
"Welcome home..." Soarin breathed, wrapping a hoof around Rainbow Dash as she leaned on his shoulder.
"Rainbow Dash! Where do you want these?" Scootaloo called over to her big sister. Rainbow Dash smiled sadly in reply, pointing to a large stack of boxes near the front door.
"Over there's fine, Scoots," she said, returning back to her own moving boxes that were in desperate need of unpacking. She grimaced at the weight of them all, flaring out her muscles in an attempt to make them lighter.
"Come on guys! If we hurry up, we can start moving everything in tonight!" Soarin called out to the foursome. Lilian nodded.
"Soarin's right, let's keep our heads down and work," she agreed. Rainbow Dash huffed.
"Okay okay, I'm going as fast as I can!" she exclaimed, heaving a large box out of the truck. Soarin was able to hire a moving service last minute thankfully, so everything was going to plan so far.
Soarin frowned at Rainbow Dash's words.
"Well could you go a little faster?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows as he returned to his work. He barely even heard Rainbow Dash's reply.
"Okay okay you two, that's enough," Lilian said, heading over to help Scootaloo with her things.
"Hey Rainbow Dash have you seen my scooter?" Scootaloo asked, looking through one of the larger boxes. Rainbow Dash looked up at her, wiping a few tears away from her eyes before shaking her head.
"They're probably in one of the other boxes or something, I don't know," she said, "don't ask me, you know I'm not in the mood for any of this." Soarin visibly pricked at her words.
"Any of this? What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, turning to face her. Rainbow Dash gulped, shaking her head again.
"Nothing, nothing. I didn't say anything," she said. Soarin sighed, tempting to calm himself down as he returned to work.
"What are these?" he asked, holding up a few crumpled papers. Rainbow Dash brightened upon seeing them.
"Oh! Those are my old Wonderbolt posters!" she exclaimed happily, reaching out to touch them. Soarin instantly blocked her view and put them behind his back.
"Why did you bring them? That was very valuable packing space!" he said sharply. Rainbow Dash's eyes widened as she took a few steps back. Soarin panted heavily, closing his eyes and turning his back on her. "Whatever."
"Soarin..." Rainbow Dash started, coming up to him, "are you alright?"
Soarin flared his nostrils. "It's okay. I'm fine, let's just keep working, alright?"
Rainbow Dash nodded and retreated back to her original spot.
"What do you think is going on with him?" Scootaloo asked Rainbow Dash as she took a few boxes from the moving van. Rainbow Dash sighed, looking back at her husband and shaking her head.
"I'm not sure, and frankly, I don't want to find out," she said. Lilian walked up to them.
"He's probably just stressed. All this drama must have taken a toll on him," she suggested. Rainbow Dash's nose scrunched up at the mention of 'drama' as she passed a box to her younger sister. She looked at Scootaloo with teary eyes.
"Oh Scoots! You missed your drama play that you and your friends put on together! If we had stayed back, you could have performed for us!" she exclaimed sadly, tears now falling heavily from her eyes. Scootaloo gave her a look of concern while Soarin just grumbled out of annoyance a little further back.
Soarin turned from the box he was unpacking to face Rainbow Dash as his anger flared.
"Well by all means, just go on back then!" he said, on the verge of shouting.
Rainbow Dash quickly turned to him, her ears budding in color. "Excuse me?!"
"Yeah! That's what I said. If you're so fussy on living here, just go on back!"
"What the hay are you talking about, Soarin?" Lilian said, cutting into the argument before it got out of hand. "You were fine a few days ago."
"Well it isn't exactly a few days ago now, is it?" Soarin said coldly. Rainbow Dash's eyes widened.
"What's the matter with you?" she said, her voice rising by the second.
Soarin wiped the budding tears that were threatening to fall. "Oh? What's the matter with me? Oh I don't know, maybe the fact that I was kicked out of the house I was grown up in? Even if I did never actually belong there?! Huh? Maybe that's what's bothering me!?" he yelled. "Maybe you and your precious baby sister can go talk it all out, because I lost my sibling to studies!"
"And I lost my parents! Both of them!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"I did too! All four of them!" Soarin yelled, "my birth parents never cared about me, now my adoptive parents left me on my own too. How do you think that feels?!"
"My mother abandoned me in my time of need! My father is dead!"
"Well it was bloody likely for your mother to leave you," Soarin said, now losing control of his voice. Rainbow Dash took a step back as his words sunk in.
"What... what are you trying to say?" she asked in a ghostly whisper. "That you never wanted to marry me? Well, newsflash Soarin, it's too late now!"
"I'm not saying anything! Why don't you just shut up and leave me alone?!" Soarin yelled back at her, his entire face burning red.
Rainbow Dash stood shellshocked in front of him, her mouth open; no words dared to escape. She slowly inched away from him, a frown plastered on her face.
"Fine. If that's what you want," she said quietly, turning around and breaking into a run. She zoomed in the direction of the house.
The weight of the situation finally sunk on Soarin's shoulders. He gasped, what had he done?!
"Wait..." he tried, his voice cracking as he called for his wife, "wait... wait... Rainbow Dash!!"
But she had already disappeared into the house, out of sight.
"Rainbow Dash!" Soarin yelled, breaking into a run in the direction of the house. Lilian and Scootaloo exchanged a look that meant the same thing.
"Do you think we should follow them?" Scootaloo asked, furrowing her eyebrows as Lilian nodded.
"Knowing those two? Absolutely."
Soarin burst into the house, looking around frantically for his wife. Rainbow Dash was sitting in front of the fireplace, tears rolling down her cheeks fast and freely. Soarin's eyes widened upon seeing her limp figure.
"Rainbow Dash...?" he called softly. Rainbow Dash made no motion to get up or turn to look at him.
"Get out." Her voice was even, but pained. Soarin's ears flopped down to rest on his forehead.
"Rainbow Dash, please, I came to say I didn't mean anything I said and-"
"I don't need your fake apologies, Soarin," Rainbow Dash cut in, "you said what you said. You can't take it back now. It's too late."
Rainbow Dash suddenly got out of the large couch she was sitting in, turning so her body was facing him. Soarin kept his eyes trained on her, not leaving her gaze.
"Tell me, Soarin," she said in a voice dangerously low, "why did you really marry me? Huh? Huh?"
Soarin was caught off guard. Rainbow Dash didn't let him speak.
"Was it because you pitied me? Because you thought I was helpless because both my parents left me?!" she continued. Soarin gaped at her, quickly shaking his head.
"No! Dashie-"
"Don't you even dare call me that," Rainbow Dash said coldly. Soarin's eyes widened as he took a step back, letting her continue to belittle him.
"Rainbow Dash... I'm so-"
"I know I'm a pathetic isolate little being!" Rainbow Dash suddenly cried out, causing Soarin to gasp at her. "I know I deserved what my mother did to me! I know that I wasn't good enough for her!"
"No! Rainbow Dash I-"
"I know I'm a horrible pony! I know my father never really cared for me! I know my mother never bothered to give me another look while she was living with us!"
Soarin bit his lip. "Rainbow..."
"Shut up! Just shut up!" Rainbow Dash yelled, "I'm a disgrace to the Dash family. A fucking disgrace."
Tears fell from Rainbow Dash's eyes as she cowered away, turning her back to Soarin and weeping silently.
Soarin's gaze hardened as he looked upon her helpless figure. He quickly walked up to her, his head held high. Soarin grabbed her hoof and spun her around, fiercely planting his lips on hers.
Lilian and Scootaloo both stepped back in shock.
Scootaloo cleared her throat.
"Right... well... we should just..."
"Yeah... lets just..." Lilian said, throwing her hooves in the air pointing back towards the moving vans.
Scootaloo mumbled something under her breath. "Great, now we have to do all the work," she sighed. Lilian stifled a laugh from behind her.
"C'mon, it won't be that bad. They already lifted all the heavy stuff," she said.
Scootaloo groaned. "Frick you, Rainbow Dash. Just frick you."
Lilian couldn't help but chortle at that.
Rainbow Dash squeaked from underneath Soarin's hold on her. Tears were still falling from her eyes, but it was like they had been temporarily delayed. Soarin was still kissing her with force unimaginable, and Rainbow Dash couldn't help but melt into his touch.
Their kiss deepened once she started kissing back. Soarin moaned as he slid his hooves around her waist.
"I'm..." He pulled away, before delving back into the kiss. "So sorry..." He kissed again.
Rainbow Dash gasped, "it's... okay..."
Soarin broke away from her mouth and started working to her cheek. He licked away her tears before returning to her lips. He grazed and bit the bottom one, begging for entrance. Rainbow Dash complied, opening her mouth as he slid his tongue inside. Soarin explored her mouth, going to the deepest parts as he continued to kiss her.
Soarin suddenly opened his wings wide, flapping them ever so slightly as guided her to drop to the floor. They landed gracefully, Soarin resting on top of Rainbow Dash as they kept kissing.
Rainbow Dash moaned unhappily as he pulled away from her mouth, going downwards to her neck. He sucked and nibbled as she grabbed his mane and pulled at it with her hooves.
Soarin bit down, sucking a warm spot on her neck and working his way around it. Rainbow Dash let out a hiss of pleasure as she pressed her lips to his forehead.
"Mmm... open your wings," Soarin whispered. Rainbow Dash did as told, spreading them out as Soarin's hooves descended to massage them.
"Ahhh..." she moaned, letting him continue. "Don't... don't stop..."
"I wasn't planning to," Soarin said, making Rainbow Dash squeak as he pressed on a sensitive spot.
"Goddammit get over here you," she suddenly said, grabbing his face and smashing his lips onto hers. Soarin groaned as she flipped them around, putting her hooves around his neck and moving closer to him.
Soarin pulled his hooves around her waist, pressing her body even closer to his.
"Don't we... don't we have a bed," Rainbow Dash suddenly said, breaking away from him. Soarin silently nodded, hoisting them up. They faced each other, before Soarin suddenly grabbed her and began kissing again.
He inched his way towards the staircase, not stopping the kiss. Rainbow Dash groaned as he hoisted her up and started flying towards the bedroom.
He broke away only when they needed to open the door. Soarin pulled Rainbow Dash inside, spinning her around and pressing her to the other side of the door. He locked it with faint click before turning back to his wife.
They stared into each others eyes for a few seconds, gazing intently at one another.
"I'm yours," Rainbow Dash said evenly, not wasting any time and bringing him down onto her. Soarin made a low sound, pushing her up against the door and kissing her back ferociously.
Rainbow Dash wrapped her hind legs around Soarin's middle, their mouths still moving on one another's.
Soarin moaned as he felt Rainbow Dash pushing on him, making him break away from her and looking at her curiously. He saw Rainbow Dash's eyes glaze over the bed and he nodded.
He pressed his lips back to hers, flipping them around and guiding her towards the bed. She giggled as she felt the backrest of it against her hooves, and sighed, falling freely down onto it as Soarin followed suite.
He kissed her deeply, inching his way towards the top of the bed and pulling the blanket over them.
He broke away from her, opening his eyes just slightly so that he could see her. They gazed at each other for what felt like hours, a single line of saliva connecting them.
"Goddamn I love you so much," Soarin said softly, plunging back down to her lips. Rainbow Dash kissed him back hard, turning so that they were side by side.
She climbed onto him, not resting once before grabbing the sides of his face and pulling him back in.
"My turn..." she breathed out, separating their lips and moving down towards his neck.
She suckled and nibbled everywhere, enjoying the pleasurable sounds coming from Soarin's mouth. He grabbed her messy mane, running his hooves through it as she continued to kiss.
She spread her wings, allowing him full access. Soarin grabbed them, moving his mouth to her perked ears. He nibbled and chewed as she suddenly leapt from his arms, squealing.
"Did I just find an extra sweet spot?" Soarin teased, as Rainbow Dash giggled out of embarrassment. His gaze hardened into a lustful one before he brought her lips back on his.
He broke away from her mouth and went towards her ears again, cautiously running a hoof over her right one and kissing it softly. He bit down.
Rainbow Dash made a sound that sounded like it was halfway between a moan and a squeak. He immediately drew back from her.
"Don't. Stop." she said. Soarin smirked, going back to her ear and biting it softly.
Rainbow Dash sighed in pleasure, wrapping her hooves around his waist and kissing his exposed neck.
"You're wonderful," Soarin mumbled, moving away from her ear and back to her face.
"I love you," Rainbow Dash said softly, kissing him again as Soarin murmured something back to her. She ignored him, focusing solely on his now-bruised lips.
Ink Mage (whoops, username change! XD Don't worry, I'm still your old friend Crystal; I just go by a different name now).
Chapter 26: Decisions and Responsibilities
Rainbow Dash laid silently on her bed a few days later, her head in her hooves as her throbbing headache continued to pound at her skull, refusing to stop short and let her get some rest.
Soarin was besides her, also not having much luck in the sleep department. He turned over to face her, and the two locked eyes. He gave Dash a goofy grin, as she rolled her eyes.
"Dashie, are you alright?" he asked, seeing how uncomfortable she was. Rainbow Dash nodded slowly, before grabbing her head from the sudden pain.
"Yeah, sorry... tension headache," she mumbled to him. Soarin's eyebrows furrowed as he examined her.
"A tension headache? Why on earth would you be getting a tension headache in the middle of the night?" he asked. Rainbow Dash groaned, sliding further into the bed as he kept his eyes trained on her small figure.
"No reason... just forget it," she said, trying desperately to close her eyes to get some rest.
Soarin frowned. "You haven't gotten any sleep for the past two days, Dashie. I'm worried," he said.
"Don't then! Just shut up and go to sleep!" Rainbow Dash suddenly snapped, causing Soarin to tumble back in bed. He looked at her with a confused expression.
"Uhm..." he said quietly, shaking his head, "alright then."
Rainbow Dash grumbled something under her breath, turning over so that her back was facing him. Soarin quirked his lip, looking at her suspiciously, before settling into a different position.
The two laid in a uncomfortable silence for many minutes after that. Both knew the other wasn't sleeping, but they didn't do anything about it.
What seemed like hours later, Rainbow Dash blurted out, "I'm pregnant."
Soarin immediately gasped, sputtering into a coughing state. Rainbow Dash turned on her side to face him with a meaningful look. Soarin looked at her in shock, his mouth wide open as they stared at each other.
"... What did you say?" Soarin finally said in a low whisper.
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. "I mean... I'm not completely sure; I haven't taken a test yet... but all the signs I'm showing all point to one thing."
Soarin instantly broke into a huge grin.
"If we weren't laying down right now I'd totally pick you up and spin you around, but since we can't do that..." he said cheekily, bringing her in for a tight hug.
Rainbow Dash giggled under her breath. "So... you're happy?" she asked.
"Of course I am!" Soarin exclaimed, letting go of her and pecking her lips.
"I'll take the test tomorrow..." Rainbow Dash sighed happily, leaning into Soarin as the two closed their eyes, ready for a peaceful night's sleep.
"Sweet Celestia..." Rainbow Dash said softly, not daring to believe her eyes.
"Well? What does it say?" Soarin's voice called from outside the bathroom.
Rainbow Dash grinned, walking up to the door and opening it wide.
"Positive."
Soarin whooped happily, picking her up and spinning her on his shoulders. Rainbow Dash laughed, looking down at him as they came in for another kiss.
"There we go! Now I can spin you!" Soarin teased, breaking away from her.
Rainbow Dash smirked. "Not for long though."
Soarin smiled, grabbing her hoof and leading her outside their room.
"Come on!" he exclaimed.
"Where are we going?" Rainbow Dash asked. Soarin looked back at her before speaking.
"To tell the rest of the family, of course!" he said. Rainbow Dash gasped, before nodding happily.
"Yes! Oh I can't wait to see the look on Scootaloo's face!" she said.
Soarin nodded as the two burst into the living room, immediately startling Scootaloo and Lilian Fly out of their trances.
They quickly stood up, concerned looks on their faces.
"Is something wrong?!" Lilian asked rapidly.
"Did anything happen to you? Do we need to call a doctor? What happened?" Scootaloo cut in.
"What's going on? Why are you looking at us like that?" Lilian stammered, noticing Dash and Soarin's grins.
"WILL SOMEPONY PLEASE TELL ME WHAT IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW?!" Scootaloo bellowed.
"Relax! Scootaloo!" Rainbow Dash said, holding her little sister's shoulders. Scootaloo instantly relaxed, looking at Soarin and Rainbow Dash as they glanced at each other.
Rainbow Dash backed away to lock hooves with Soarin. They smiled at each other, before looking back into the confused eyes of Scootaloo and Lilian.
"We're having a baby!" they exclaimed at the same time.
Chaos ensued from there.
Lilian let out a squeak as her mouth opened in shock. Scootaloo started screaming loudly, filling the air with her 'angelic' voice.
Rainbow Dash and Soarin grinned at the sight. Lilian walked closer to them.
"You're... you're pregnant?" she asked Rainbow Dash. Dash nodded.
"Yep! Proud and true!" she said, making Lilian quirk her head to the side.
"But... when did you guys-" Lilian started, before stopping herself. She looked over to Scootaloo, who was making her way towards them with a smirk on her face.
"Oh that's obvious. After their fight, in their beautiful little make-out... I mean... make-up session," she said slyly. Rainbow Dash gasped, hitting her hoof over her little sister's mouth as she and Soarin blushed profusely.
"Uh... are you okay with this?" Soarin asked Lilian, rubbing his hoof on the back of his neck. Lilian instantly broke into a huge grin.
"Well of course I am! I'm gonna be a kinda-great aunt!" she exclaimed. Rainbow Dash and Soarin laughed, making Scootaloo laugh along with them. Soon enough, Lilian joined them too.
"A new start, a new family," Scootaloo said in a definite manner.
"This shouldn't be too hard..." Rainbow Dash said, reaching up the kitchen cabinets, trying to get a water cup. She winced at the slight jab in her now very large ten-and-a-half month stomach.
Soarin stepped inside the room, raising his eyebrows at the scene in front of him.
"What's going on?" He snickered. Rainbow Dash shot him a look.
"Are you making fun of me?" she asked with a deadly glare. Soarin's eyes instantly widened.
"What?! No!" he exclaimed, putting his hooves up in defense.
"Really now? 'Cause it sounded like you were laughing at me," Rainbow Dash said.
"Uh..."
"You wanna go, punk?" Rainbow Dash suddenly asked, dropping to all fours and narrowing her eyes at him. Soarin gulped, but nothing new was happening. Rainbow's mood swings were always unexpected.
"Right, well..."
"I didn't hear an answer to my question," Rainbow Dash snapped. Soarin darted his eyes away from her.
"I'm taking a shower," he said simply, turning to walk away.
"Wait!" Rainbow Dash suddenly called, making him turn back to look at her.
"Yes?" he asked. Dash's face turned into one of embarrassment.
"Could you... maybe, get the cereal for me? It's up there, but I can't fly to get it," she said softly.
Soarin chuckled. He nodded, fluttering up into the air to look for what she wanted. His eyebrows furrowed as he scanned the cupboards.
"Huh... looks like we're out," he said. Rainbow Dash groaned.
"Argh! Why?! I wanted cereal, Soarin! Now I can't have it! Why does this world hate me so muchhhh?!?!" she wailed. Soarin stiffled his laughs, knowing all too well what would happen if his wife heard.
"Well, we can go the store today to pick some up for you," he suggested. Rainbow Dash's eyes instantly lit up with brightness.
"Yay! Thank you Soarie!" she exclaimed, latching onto his front hoof.
"Sweet Celestia, Dash. I know you have mood swings but don't act like a child," he teased playfully. Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes as he realized what he said wrong.
"Are you calling me a foal?!" she shrieked.
Soarin quickly shook his head. "No! Of course I'm not! I just-"
"I'll make you pay for this. I'll get you back for this!" Rainbow Dash said, storming out of the kitchen.
"Why did I have to come?!" Scootaloo whined, causing Rainbow Dash to shoot her a look.
"You had to come because this a good experience for the family," Dash said, holding her head high.
"Grocery shopping is a good experience for the family?" Scootaloo asked with a raised eyebrow. Rainbow Dash shrugged, going into the various aisles.
Soarin quickly followed after her, making Rainbow Dash smirk behind his back.
She had told him she'd get him back for what he did this morning, and she wasn't kidding.
Lilian and Scootaloo walked in behind the two of them, stopping to browse the different treats in the section.
"Ahhh!" Rainbow Dash suddenly yelped, trying to hold back her fits of laughter. This was her master plan... getting Soarin to think she was going into labor.
Soarin was instantly by her side, holding onto her sides.
"Rainbow Dash?! Dashie?! Are you okay?! Did your water just break?! Oh my sweet Celestia what's going on?!"
"I... think... I... just..." Rainbow Dash mocked fake pain. Lilian and Scootaloo gasped, dropping the items in their hooves and helping Rainbow Dash by picking her up.
"We need to get her to the hospital!" Lilian exclaimed as Scootaloo frantically nodded.
"Yeah!" she agreed.
At this point, Rainbow Dash burst out laughing, causing Soarin and the others to look at her in confusion.
"Uh... why are you laughing?" Lilian asked slowly.
Rainbow Dash just turned to Soarin. "And that was payback for this morning... gotcha!"
Soarin stared blankly as she came up to his side and playfully punched him.
Instead of being angry, he sighed in relief, shooting her a smile since he knew what would happen if he did blow up.
"So... have you guys decided on a name for the foal yet?" Scootaloo asked as she, Rainbow Dash, and Soarin walked through town. "You're due any day now, so if you haven't, you best get a move on."
Rainbow Dash grinned, looking down at her growing little sister.
"Well, as a matter of fact, Soarin and I have made a few little decisions here and there... foal naming was bound to come up at some point," she said. Soarin nodded.
"Right, and being the ever responsible future-parents we are, of course we came up with a few names!" he exclaimed. Rainbow Dash and Soarin brought on uneasy expressions as they glanced at each other and back to the young mare.
Scootaloo deadpanned them a look. "You haven't even thought about it yet, have you," she said with a small glare.
Rainbow Dash and Soarin sighed, nodding in defeat.
"Well... since the topic was going to pop up somewhere, why don't we brainstorm a bit right now?" Rainbow Dash suggested. Soarin shrugged.
"Suits me," he said.
"Right well... our little colt-"
"Filly," Soarin interrupted, shooting his wife a look. Rainbow Dash groaned.
"You've been awfully keen on a daughter, Soar. What if it's a colt? Would you not love him the same?" she asked with a concerned look. Soarin shook his head.
"I never said that... but I can dream!" Soarin announced, holding his hoof into the air. Scootaloo fought back a giggle as he lowered himself back to the side of Rainbow Dash. "I'm just joking with you guys... of course I'd love him if he turns out to be a colt! He is my little Soarin Junior, isn't he?"
Rainbow Dash facehoofed.
"We are not naming the baby Soarin Junior... at least make it something snazzy, like... uh... Dash Junior!" she exclaimed. "A unisex name perfect for our little baby!"
Soarin raised his eyebrows. "Dash Junior? You've got to be kidding me, Dashie..." he mumbled.
Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed slightly. "Are you disagreeing with me?" she asked. Soarin quickly shook his head.
"Well, why don't we think of something different? Scootaloo? Do you have any thoughts?" he asked, turning to the mare in question. Scootaloo nodded happily.
"Yes! I was wondering when you were going to ask me!" she exclaimed. "If it's a filly, something with 'Rain' in it! And if it's a colt, something with 'Strong' in it!"
"Rain?" Rainbow Dash questioned.
"Strong?" Soarin said after her. The two looked at each other, clearly deep in thought.
"I've got it!!" they yelled at the same time.
"Rain Shower!" Rainbow Dash said.
"Strong Winds!" Soarin said.
"What?" they said together.
"Rain Shower?" Soarin asked.
"Strong Winds?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Strong Shower! Rain Winds!" they shouted at the same time.
"SHUT IT!!!"
Soarin and Rainbow Dash both looked over at the voice that interrupted them. Scootaloo was glaring daggers at the two; her suggestion clearly went in a different direction she had hoped.
"What is with you two?! The names you come up with are utter trash!" she bellowed.
Rainbow Dash and Soarin both scoffed.
"Well, lets see if you can come up with a better one then," Soarin said, crossing his hooves in a foal-like manner. Scootaloo grinned devilishly; she nodded.
"With pleasure," she said. "If it's a colt, Strong Sandstorm, and if it's a filly, Raining Dash."
Soarin and Rainbow Dash blinked.
They sucked in breaths, relaxing as the names ran through them a few times. They looked at each other, smiling silently to themselves. Rainbow Dash turned to her little sister, grinning.
"They're beautiful..." she said quietly.
"We'll have to use them, then," Soarin said, closing his eyes and smiling.
"Though... if you don't mind, I thought of a little twist," Rainbow Dash said.
Scootaloo's ears perked up.
"Huh?" she asked. Rainbow Dash nodded.
"Yeah! What about, instead of Strong Sandstorm, we combine the two names and use Stronghold Dash?"
They were silent for a moment.
"Oh c'monnnnnn!" Soarin whined. "Why Stronghold Dash?! Stronghold Skies would make a much better name!"
"Really, Soarin?" Rainbow Dash said, shooting him a look as Scootaloo groaned.
"Yeah, Soarin, serious-"
"AHHHH!!!"
Soarin and Scootaloo were instantly by Rainbow Dash's side as she clutched her belly in pain.
"AHHHHHHH!!!"
"Dashie?! What's going on?!" Soarin asked frantically. Rainbow Dash's left eye twitched in pain and annoyance.
"GET ME TO THE DAMN HOSPITAL YOU FOOL!!!" she yelled. Soarin gulped.
"IS THE BABY COMING?!?!?!" he shouted.
"YES YOU DUMBASS!! NOW GET. ME. TO. THE. HOSPITAL!!!" Rainbow Dash screamed as pain overtook her again. Soarin quickly lifted her large figure onto his back and turned to Scootaloo.
"Let Lilian know what's going on, and then meet us at the Manehattan Hospital," he ordered, before shooting into the sky.
"Be careful..." Scootaloo whispered once they were out of sight.
"It's okay, Dashie... you're going to be fine... you're going to be fine..." Soarin chanted as he knelt besides her on the hospital bed. Rainbow Dash screamed in pain as another contraction hit her like a wave.
"AAAHHHHHHHH!!!" she wailed, squeezing Soarin's life out of his hoof.
"WELL DON'T HURT ME TOO!!" Soarin shouted. Rainbow Dash glared at him as she was instructed to push.
"ARRGHHH REMIND ME TO NEVER HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOU AFTER THIS!!!" she yelled.
Soarin turned fearfully over to the doctors.
"That's just her hormones talking, right?" he asked.
"Alright Ms. Dash, you're doing great! Just one more push and that should do it!"
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Rainbow Dash screamed in pain as the doctors took the newborn baby into their hooves.
"Congratulations Mister and Misses Skies! You've given birth to a happy, healthy baby colt!"
Rainbow Dash quietly let out a weak cheer.
"Yay..." she said, before passing out cold.
Rainbow Dash held her baby boy tightly in her hooves. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked at the beautiful foal in front of her.
They had ended up naming him Stronghold Dash, to Soarin's joking dismay. Stronghold was a magnificent child who was sure to grow into a fine young stallion that the mares would definitely swoon over.
Suddenly, the door to the room creaked open, and Soarin stepped in with a big smile on his face.
"Can I see him?" he asked softly, coming over besides his wife. Rainbow Dash looked fondly at him, placing Stronghold carefully into Soarin's arms.
"There we go..." Rainbow Dash muttered.
Soarin cooed at the sight of his son. "He's beautiful, Dashie... you did a great job," he said softly. "He really took after his mother... he looks almost exactly like you."
Rainbow Dash smiled. "Yeah..."
Stronghold had inherited Rainbow Dash's colorful mane, though his only consisted of blue, green, and purple. His coat was almost the shade of Dash's, only a little darker.
"I wonder what color his... oh!" Rainbow Dash squeaked as Stronghold's eyes fluttered open.
Deep pools of emerald swirled into view. Soarin grinned happily.
"Looks like he got at least one thing from his father," he said softly.
"He's adorable... Stronghold really suits him," Rainbow Dash said, placing a firm kiss on her son's forehead.
Indeed, Stronghold Dash was sure to be a wonderful addition to the family.
"Equestria... the land I love... a land of harmony... our flag does wave... from high above... for pony kind to see..."
Rainbow Dash's voice filled the large cottage as a wake up alarm for everypony sleeping peacefully in their respective rooms. She smiled as she started preparing herself for the day, walking around the house in an attempt to awaken somepony.
"Equestria... a land of friends... where pony kind do roam... they say true friendship never ends... Equestria my-"
"MOOOOOOOOMMM!!!" two unmistakable voice cut her off. Rainbow Dash furrowed her eyebrows as two ponies emerged from the room in front of her.
Stronghold and Soarin rubbed their eyes as they took out their earplugs; which were undoubtedly used to cut out Rainbow Dash's voice. Stronghold trotted up to his mother, causing her to pout childishly.
"You really need to quit singing every morning," he said, "it's gotten a little annoying."
Rainbow Dash gasped, about to reply before her husband cut her off by placing his hoof on her lips. "Yeah, Mom," he shot her a wink, "it's sooo annoying."
"Shut it, you," Rainbow Dash said, crossing her hooves and walking downstairs with her son in front of her. Soarin laughed, following closely behind as they made their way to the breakfast table.
"Mornin', Rainbow Dash, Strongy," Lilian said, walking into the room.
"My my, Lilian, you're healing up nicely," Soarin commented, sticking a stale piece of toast into his mouth. Lilian smiled in his direction, making herself a bowl of cereal.
"Yeah, my leg's almost completely healed!" she said happily.
"Fun," Stronghold said, sitting down at the breakfast table. He turned to Rainbow Dash. "Say, where's Scootaloo?" he asked her.
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen her at all since yesterday morning when she left for that party," Lilian piped up, before shouting up the stairs, "SCOOTALOO!!"
Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Oh please, Lilian. We all know she doesn't answer to that name anymore."
"Oh yes, that's right, I keep forgetting about that new silly name she's brought up for herself," Lilian said, nodding, before both mare's cleared their throat.
"SCOO!!"
At that moment, a young mare waltzed into the room, flinging her furry pink scarf over her shoulder. Dark eyeliner and mascara coated her eyelids, and three ear piercings flaunted themselves on the edges of her right earlobe. A fake mole was drawn on at the edge of the corner of her mouth, and her hair was perfectly styled in a way that was neither short nor long, and messy but not too messy. She was wearing a long flowing midnight blue dress that showed way too much flank for anyone's liking.
Scootaloo had definitely changed the most in the ten years of living in Manehattan.
Soarin instantly gasped upon looking at her attire.
"What in the name of Equestria are you wearing?!" he bellowed, storming up to his sister-in-law. Scootaloo scoffed, flipping her mane in a way that it would spray all over Soarin's face.
"It's called an outfit. And if you had an ounce of sense in you, you'd go to work wearing something darling like me!" she said, flaunting her way to the breakfast table. Soarin gasped.
"Don't use that tone with me!" he said in a harsh whisper.
Rainbow Dash and Lilian couldn't hold back their laughs as they doubled over, clutching their sides. Stronghold smiled widely at Scootaloo as the took a piece of perfectly cooked toast from the toaster.
"Good morning, Aunty!" he said happily, biting into his muffin. Scootaloo snapped her head in her nephew's direction, shooting him a glare.
"Good morning to you too, Stronghold. I see you're keeping up that attitude and diet well. Oh and, don't call me Aunty," she reminded him for the thousandth time.
Stronghold shrugged, just as the doorbell rung.
"Oh!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "That'll be the mailpony!"
She quickly made her way to the door, but to her horror, somepony else was waiting there.
"Good evening Mrs. Skies!!" a painfully fake voice said.
"Lightning Dust," Rainbow Dash glared.
"Oh stop it, Rainbow. You'd think after being neighbors for ten years now, you'd have grown accustomed to my awesomeness, hmm?" Lightning Dust asked, placing her hooves on the filly in front of her.
Rainbow Dash scoffed. "As if," she said, "now what do you want?"
"Well, I'm running late to work, so I was just wondering if you could drop Sandy to school for me?" Lightning Dust asked with a fake smile. Rainbow Dash frowned, looking at the young turquoise colored filly in front of her. Sand Bolt looked back up into her magenta eyes.
"Agh, Lightning," she said with a roll of her eyes, taking Sand Bolt's hoof and leading her inside.
"Lovely. Simply lovely," Lightning Dust said, before spreading her wings and flying away.
Rainbow Dash stared after her figure with a glare. "Bloody liar..." she muttered under her breath, before walking back inside the house with Sand Bolt.
"Who was it, Dashie?" Soarin asked as they reentered the kitchen.
"Your future daughter-in-law," Rainbow Dash said simply, leading Sand Bolt down into the chair besides Stronghold's.
"My future... wait, my future what?" Soarin asked, turning to Sand Bolt and then looking back at Stronghold. Stronghold had a dreamy expression on and Sand Bolt looked bored. He clicked his tongue, before turning to the filly. "Ooh... you like Stronghold, Sandy?" he asked.
"Absolutely not," Sand Bolt said, crossing her hooves.
Stronghold turned to Soarin. "She'll like me one day, it's all a matter of time," he explained, earning a chuckle from Soarin.
"Right right. You're way too young to be thinking about this stuff, Strongy. Enjoy your childhood while it lasts," he said with a wink. Stronghold shrugged, turning back to Sand Bolt.
"Anyway, I'll be off," Scootaloo said, flinging her mane and stepping towards the main door. "Don't expect me tonight, I'll be late," she said, shooting them all a glance and exiting the house.
Rainbow Dash shook her head, sighing to herself as she watched her sister leave.
Speeder Skies lined up at the base of the field, his eyes squaring in on the ball in front of him.
Are you proud of me, Dad?
All he had to do was make this goal, and Cloudsdale would win this match. He had no other choice but to use his signature move. It had taken ages to perfect, and Speedy wasn't sure if he could do it.
Are you proud of me, Soarin?
Speedy closed his eyes, thinking of his older brother and all their fond memories together. He didn't know what happened to him and Rainbow Dash... they had left almost ten years ago... and nopony ever bothered telling him why.
Standing square faced, looking at the goalpost ahead, Speedy made his move. It was quick, agile, and full of force. In an instant, the hoofball was in the net, and the crowd around him went completely insane.
Speedy knew that his parents and friends were watching the match today, and he knew exactly what his father would be telling him when he called only a few hours later. To come home.
And that's what he did.
Speedy stepped inside the large Cloudsdale mansion, smiling at all the portraits of him, his mother, and his father on the wall. There was now only a single picture of Soarin to be seen in the house, and that was tucked far away in a secluded room of the house. Spectrum never bothered to remove it, and Speedy knew he never would.
"Welcome home!"
"Speedy! It's great to see you again!"
"Nice job on that last match!"
"You did so well yesterday!"
"Hello Speedy!"
"What a surprise, Speedy!"
The house's maids and workers all greeted him like their own family as he walked further into the house, looking for his parents. Of course, he knew exactly where they were. They were always there early in the morning. The exercise room.
"Mom? Dad?" he called, entering the sunlit room.
Cloudy Quartz immediately perked up upon seeing her son. Spectrum grinned as Speedy put down his bags and trotted up to them.
"Speedy!" Cloudy said happily, running in for a hug. Spectrum stayed back, but didn't hesitate to return the hug his son gave him after.
"We saw the match yesterday, great stuff," Spectrum said, patting Speedy's back.
Cloudy instantly looked away. Spectrum's eyebrows furrowed as a frown painted his face.
"Why in Equestria would you want to see him?" he asked.
"Um... because he's my brother? He's been away on that trip for almost ten years now, Dad, when is he coming back?" Speedy pressed. Spectrum sighed.
"Well, not today, so get those thoughts out of your head. You have us now," he said.
"Well, yeah... but I am hoping to see Soarin soon," Speedy said, before turning to the door.
"Don't count on it," Spectrum mumbled; but Speedy still heard.
Speedy was utterly confused. He had absolutely no idea where Soarin had gone, and why hadn't he come back yet. Did something go wrong on his trip? Did Cloudy and Spectrum know something he did not?
Just as Speedy was about to start climbing the stairs of the mansion, somepony spoke to him.
"Your father kicked him out."
Speedy stopped. His head jolted towards the familiar voice, and his eyes landed on his mother's figure. Cloudy was standing there with a pained smile, tears brimming her eyes. She walked forwards as she continued to speak.
"Your brother was a wonderful stallion, loyal and proud. He was to bring the Skies family to great victory later on in life," she said. Speedy's jaw dropped, but he didn't interfere.
Cloudy's eyes became glassy. "Your brother followed every rule Spectrum set out for him... every single one. Yet he made one mistake, Speedy. One mistake. Do you know what that was?" she asked. Speedy shook his head to show that he was listening.
"Love," Cloudy said. "He fell in love. He fell in love with the mare your father despised so much."
Speedy was shocked, but still didn't say anything.
"When your brother came come with his new bride that day... our entire family was ripped apart." Cloudy bit back her tears at the bittersweet memory. "Your father said to him that day that he had proven that he was not his son... not our son..."
"P-Proven...?" Speedy said slowly, trying to digest all the information. Specks of tears dared to fall out.
Cloudy could only nod, tears now streaming freely out of her eyes. "He had proven that day that he was not of our blood. That he was adopted."
Speedy's heart stopped for a millisecond. His head snapped up as the tears finally set free. His eyes were wide and his mouth was small as the one secret that was always kept from him was finally released.
"Wha... what?" Speedy said softly.
"I'm sorry for keeping it from you for so long, Speedy... but Soarin was never your real brother. Soarin was never even my real son..." Cloudy said, her voice uneven and unsteady.
"He... he wasn't my... brother..."
"But he was, Speedy," Cloudy suddenly said, "he was... he was your brother. He was my son... he was Spectrum's son... he became a part of our family, we all loved him so much. We decided that the fact that he was adopted would never come in between our family bond. It was never to be spoken of... until that day."
"Mom..."
"Your father acted so irrationally... he acted so cruel. He separated a mother from her son. He separated two brothers that day, without even a second thought. He has never even brought up Soarin since the day he left with Rainbow Dash. He refuses to acknowledge that he even has two sons."
Speedy looked at his mother's limp figure as all her emotions that she kept pent up all these years flew out of her. He watched as she sunk to her hooves, crying.
"Don't cry, Mom... this wasn't your fault," he said softly, bending down and embracing her. Cloudy sniffed, tears still falling onto Speedy's coat. "This wasn't anypony's fault, least of all Soarin's," he tried to comfort.
"Our entire family... it's been ripped to pieces," Cloudy sobbed. "My son... was taken away from me. I haven't seen him in ten years, Speedy. Ten years I have lived without his presence, without the comfort of knowing if he is alright or not. I don't know how life is with him because I don't even know where he is!"
In that moment, Speedy made a decision. He made a mental pact with himself.
I promise you, Mom... I promise you that I'll bring Soarin back. I'll get our family back together... I'll bring Soarin back, Mom. I promise.
Speedy walked into Rainbow Dash's old pharmacy with a smile. It had been a while since had gotten the opportunity to go inside, and the place was still has messy as it had ever been.
Speedy knew that one of the old worker pairs here, Strawberry Scarlet and her husband Blueberry Fernandes, would know where Rainbow Dash and Soarin had disappeared to years ago.
He cautiously approached the counter, where a young mare was working.
"Hello, I'm here on official business regarding Strawberry Scarlet and Blueberry Fernandes? Would you have any idea where they might be?" he asked. The mare looked at him, her eyes widening every second.
"You're... you're... you're Speedy Skies!!" she exclaimed, "world famous champion hoofball player!"
Speedy forced a smile.
"Uh... yeah, that's me... but I really need to see Straw-"
"Could you please sign this for me?" the mare interrupted. Speedy sighed, but took a pen from the countertop and wrote his name on the paper she was offering. "Ahh thank you so much!! My friends are going to be so jealous!"
"... Right, well, could you please direct me in the way of Strawberry and Blueberry?" Speedy asked for the third time. The mare nodded happily, gesturing to the staircase in the corner of the room.
"Right up the stairs, second door to your right!" she exclaimed, returning to her fangirl state over the piece of paper Speedy had signed for her.
Speedy chuckled, rolling his eyes. He quickly thanked the mare and proceeded up the stairs.
"Uh... hello?" he called out after opening the second door. He quickly stepped inside and closed it shut behind him. Speedy looked ahead, staring straight into the eyes of a pale-coated mare with a burning crimson mane and friendly brown eyes. Besides her, was a stallion with an identical coat color and a blazing blue mane. He had a single red scar going down the right side of his face, but his brown eyes provided warmth to whomever stared into them.
"Yes?" Strawberry Scarlet asked, smiling slightly at the newcomer.
"What can we do for you?" Blueberry Fernandes asked with a deep voice.
"Uh... sorry if I interrupted something, I was just wondering if you could answer some questions for me?" Speedy said, more of a question than a statement.
Strawberry smiled. "Well, if we know the answer, then I doubt we would betray you," she said maturely.
Speedy coughed nervously. Something about their presence made his entire body tingle. "Does the name... Rainbow Dash ring a bell?" he asked slowly.
Both of them bit their lips and looked away.
"Yes, actually. Rainbow Dash was a great friend of ours. Daughter of Firefly. We truly felt sorry for her when Firefly left," Blueberry said. Speedy sighed.
"I did too... and my brother, Soarin, did the most," he said, "I was wondering if you had any idea where they went after my father foolishly kicked them out."
Strawberry nodded. "Yes, actually. We do know where they went," she said. Speedy's eyes lit up.
"You do? Could you tell me please?" he asked eagerly.
"Tell you what?" Blueberry asked. Strawberry shook her head, turning to Speedy.
"Sorry about him... he's suffering from short term memory loss. But yes, I will gladly tell you," she said.
"Thanks," Speedy breathed.
Strawberry Scarlet nodded.
"They went to Manehattan."
"Manehattan? Why in Equestria would you want to go there to finish your studies?" Spectrum asked. Speedy could only smile.
"Tradition, Dad. Tradition. You went there to finish college. Grandpa went there... Soarin went there... I guess it's my turn now," he said. Speedy knew that by saying things about the Skies' family legacy and traditions, Spectrum was sure to approve of the idea.
Spectrum sighed.
"But you only just came back! I wouldn't want you to leave us so soon already..." he said.
"Don't worry, Dad... I'll be back in six months time. You'll see me again really soon!" Speedy said. Spectrum nodded.
"Alright. I know how much college meant to you, and I know how much it hurt you when you had to leave to join the hoofball team... but I'm proud of you, Son. You've done good things throughout your life. You've become somepony," he said.
Speedy grinned.
"Thank you, Dad. You won't regret this. I'll be back before you know it!" he exclaimed.
"I sure hope so, Speedy," Spectrum said.
"What's this I hear about going to Manehattan?" Cloudy said, entering the room. Speedy smiled over to her, before Spectrum spoke up from his place.
"Speedy's going to Manehattan to finish college," Spectrum said. Cloudy gasped, turning to her son.
"Really, Speedy? I'm so proud of you! I always knew you'd go back and finish your studies," she said, embracing the light gray-coated stallion into a hug.
"Thanks, Mom," Speedy said. Everything was going according to plan right now... all he needed now was to get to the airport on time and get to Manehattan.
"We'll see you in a bit, I suppose?" Cloudy asked, leading them to the front of the building. Speedy nodded.
"Yes, six months. Though I might have to stay a bit longer if necessary. You don't mind, do you?" he asked. Cloudy and Spectrum both shook their heads.
"Take your time, Son," he said.
"Goodbye, Speedy," Cloudy said, hugging him once again.
"Bye Mom, Dad... I love you both," Speedy said, grabbing his saddlebag and heading out the door.
Once he was fully outside, Cloudy turned to Spectrum, who had tears in his eyes. She glared at him.
"Hurts, doesn't it? Watching your loved ones leave."
And with that, she retreated back into the house.
Manehattan was a beautiful city. Speedy always knew that, but he had yet to see it up close.
The tall buildings, the ponies running to and fro. Speedy was mesmerized by the hustle and bustle of the city.
Now all he needed to do was find his brother.
His sister in-law.
Scootaloo.
Speedy's eyes widened as his old friend's name rang through his head.
Scootaloo smiled widely as she walked towards her friends. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom had always been her best friends ever since she moved to Manehattan.
“Lovely day, isn’t it?” she said, looking up into the sunshine pouring through the trees. The two of them nodded.
“For sure!” Sweetie Belle said, eying Scootaloo’s outfit.
“Hey Scoo? Where did you get that scarf?” Applebloom asked. Scootaloo grinned, looking down at the purple shawl she was wearing.
“Got it on sale a few weeks ago. I guess I never really had the chance to wear it,” she said, beginning to walk.
“Is wearing a scarf really the best idea in this kind of weather?” Sweetie Belle asked, eying her with concern. Scootaloo shrugged.
“It looks cute, so why not?” she said, pursing her lips into a thin pout and looking at the cart in front of her. The three of them grimaced.
“When are ya’ going to tell your brother in-law about this old thing?” Applebloom asked, looking at the rotten pieces of wood strung together with a piece of… was that tape?
Scootaloo sighed. “I’ll do it sooner or later… knowing him, I’m probably going to have to get some sort of part time job to pay for it,” she said, looking at her freshly shined hooves, “but I guess it’ll have to do for now.”
“By the way, Scoo, the curls really suit you,” Sweetie Belle said, as the three of them climbed into the cart. “I’m sure Electron will pass out at your hooves if you continue wearing these adorable outfits and styling yourself in the hottest ways. Every girl at college wishes to be your friend, you know.”
Scootaloo smiled, looking at the two of them. “Whatever. That’s why I have you two,” she said, playing with her curled mane. “And thanks, Sweetie Belle.”
Sweetie Belle nodded, signaling the driver to start the journey.
“Did y’all hear about the new transfer student?” Applebloom asked, fixing the huge bow in her mane.
Scootaloo’s ears perked up. “A new transfer student? This far into the year?” she asked. Applebloom nodded.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s a stallion and by the looks of it, he transferred here from Cloudsdale,” she said.
Scootaloo nodded. “He’ll be instantly popular, then,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes. She knew many ponies who went to Cloudsdale Community College, seeing as she herself was going to go there if she hadn’t moved to Manehattan. The colleges in Ponyville were fine, but she wanted an adventure. And that’s what she got.
“You know, I’m sure all the mares will go instantly nuts over him,” Sweetie Belle pointed out.
Applebloom snorted. “That is, unless… he turns out ta’ look like a donkey!” she laughed. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo chuckled as they pulled into the school driveway.
“We’re here,” the driver said curtly, opening the doors of the carriage and letting the three of them out.
“Thanks, Darling,” Sweetie Belle said, winking at the old stallion as she let Scootaloo lead them out.
“Yeah, thanks. Tell Rainbow Dash to give you a small tip on my behalf. You know, for putting up with me and the girls,” Scootaloo said. The stallion grunted something, but smiled gratefully.
“Have a wonderful day at school, girls,” he said, before riding away.
Manehattan College was a great school. Everypony was welcome, and nopony felt left out at the school. Everypony played a part, whether it be after school book club, cleaning up after the freshman in the chemistry lab, helping with the track team, washing the cars that drove by as part of the fundraiser- there was a little of everything.
Scootaloo and her friends had built up quite a reputation during their four years here. Now as seniors, everypony looked up to them. They were the most popular mares in the grade.
“Morning, Scoo!” somepony said as they passed.
“See you in AP physics, Scoo!”
“Hello, Scoo!”
“How’re ya’, Scoo?”
Scootaloo waved and smiled at all her ‘fans’. She grinned and shook some ponies’ hooves, wishing them good luck on a test they had, or saying good morning to a teacher.
“What I don’t understand,” Sweetie Belle said, smiling at a mare passing them, “is how you can be so popular, yet so kind.”
“You’re too sweet, Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo said, blowing a kiss to one of her friends who was walking into the building.
“Yo, Scoo!” a stallion’s voice rung out. Scootaloo groaned, turning to face a bright orange-coated pony with flaming red hair. He had mares surrounding him, touching him all over his body. He puckered his lips at her. “Movie tonight?”
Scootaloo internally grimaced, offering a wave. “Tell me how it was!” she said, earning a few laughs from the ponies around her.
Applebloom rolled her eyes. “You’re mad, you know that? Electron is the hottest guy in the school, and he has a crush on you! Why don’t you just go for it?” she asked. Scootaloo groaned.
“Because I don’t want to date somepony because of how they think I look,” she said, “however hypocritical that makes me sound, it’s the truth. I want a coltfriend for what he looks like on the inside.”
Sweetie Belle laughed. “Yeah, I-”
At that moment, a carriage pulled into the school driveway. It went unnoticed by Scootaloo and her friends, but everypony else’s breaths hitched at the sight of it.
It had to be one of the most beautiful carts anypony had ever seen- tall, sleek, and agile. It was a bright red color, and had streams of curtain material floating on the sides.
“Honestly,” Scoo was saying to Sweetie Belle and Applebloom as they stood on the road. “I just…”
“Hey!” a new voice chimed in from behind them. Scootaloo’s ears perked up at the rude tone.
Scootaloo shrugged, turning back to the conversation like nothing was happening.
“And then I…”
“Excuse me!” the voice said again.
Scootaloo growled, before turning around. “Who dare disturbs Scoo at six o’clock in the morning?” she said, looking at the huge cart behing her. Her eyes widened as the curtains opened and a stallion became visible.
The world around them stopped as the two stared at one another.
He had a light gray coat, and his mane was a two-toned sleek alignment that was colored blue and yellow. He had on dark shades, hiding his eyes from sight. Scootaloo stared at him in awe. He was… hot.
Scootaloo gaped at the stallion. She couldn’t help but feel as if there was something familiar about him… like they had met before?
And then she saw it. The way his lips creased down… he was frowning. What? He was… he looked… he looked angry?
“You’re blocking the road!” he grunted. Scootaloo’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She scoffed, flipping her mane and walking away from the road. “Good grief…” she heard him say, parking the carriage and stepping out.
The entire ground whistled.
“Wow…” Sweetie Belle said under her breath.
“Gee… he’s…” Applebloom said, blowing softly with her lips.
Scootaloo huffed. “I don’t know who that jerk thinks he is, talking to me like that?” she said, crossing her hooves.
“Who is he?” Sweetie Belle said. “I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before…”
“Same,” Applebloom said.
“Can’t say I don’t feel the same way,” Scootaloo said, narrowing her eyes at the strange stallion who was walking through the grounds.
“What’s his name?”
“Who is that boy?”
Scootaloo breathed lowly, looking at him. She stuck her nose up high, marching across the grounds and walking up to him.
Sweetie Belle and Applebloom stared at her in shock, but Scootaloo didn’t care. She was going to find out who that stallion was if it was the last thing she did.
He saw him arch an eyebrow in her general direction as she approached. The strange stallion looked at her, holding his sunglasses to his face.
“Can I… help you?” he said expectantly, hiding a small smirk at the corner of his lips. Scootaloo scoffed.
“Who are you?”
She didn’t waste time with common courtesy. She just wanted to know why she felt so drawn to him. She had never felt this way about anypony before.
The stallion hummed.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t help but feel like we’ve met somewhere before,” Scootaloo explained, crossing her hooves.
“Maybe we have, and you just don’t remember,” the stallion said with a shrug.
“Uh… that didn’t really answer my question,” Scootaloo pointed out, not wanting to be rude.
The stallion leaned close to her face, a smirk now evident on his face. Scootaloo’s cheeks gradually became redder as he approached.
“Hi,” he said, slipping his glasses off, “… Scootaloo.”
Scootaloo’s eyes widened as she recognized his familiar eyes. She instantly knew who he was… but how?
“I…” she mumbled.
The stallion grinned, leaning closer. “Oh, by the way… If you must cross a course cross cow across a crowded cow crossing, cross the cross coarse cow across the crowded cow crossing carefully.”
Scootaloo gasped. That was… that was the tongue twister she had dared Speedy to do all those years ago at the Ponyville Carnival!
“Finally got it,” Speedy said, clicking his tongue and slipping his shades back on. He whistled as he turned and walked away from her.
Sweetie Belle and Applebloom approached their shocked friend nervously.
“Who’s the cow?” Applebloom asked.
“Why is it crossing a cow coarse?” Sweetie Belle questioned.
Scootaloo felt like she was on fire. “… Speedy?” she said softly, touching her cheeks.
"So you're telling me..." Sweetie Belle said, walking with her two best friends, "you used to be a childhood friend of Speeder Skies, one of the most famous hoofball players in all of Equestria?"
Scootaloo shrugged, stepping into the café.
"I guess. I mean... we didn't start off on very good terms." She stopped to chuckle, "but after a few misunderstandings and some arrangements with his brother and my sister, I guess you could say we became really close friends."
Sweetie Belle and Applebloom gaped at her.
"Hoo damn, Scoo," Applebloom said, "I didn't know you were associated with such important ponies! I mean, you're brother in-law is Soarin Skies! Ex-Wonderbolt!"
Scootaloo smiled softly. "Though I am wondering why he decided to show up here of all places," she said thoughtfully, "and why did he come here of all places? Was it just to see me?"
Sweetie Belle nodded. "Of course it was, Scoo! You guys were so close as fillies and colts, I'm sure he traveled all this way to meet up with you again!" she exclaimed, clapping her hooves together and dreamily sighing.
Scootaloo chuckled. "Yeah, right... I doubt it, but it's always a possibility," she said.
"When did he say he would be here?" Applebloom asked, looking around the outdoor café, "it's already been ten minutes. You hate ponies that come late for appointments."
"He probably got lost or got caught up in something else, I don't know. I trust him enough," Scootaloo said. Sweetie Belle bit her lip nervously. She looked at her best friend.
"Really? Even after all these years?" she asked.
"Yes, of course. Why?" Scootaloo asked.
"Well," Sweetie Belle started, "he is now a super famous athlete and stuff... attention in the media can change ponies. You saw the way he greeted you before school today."
"Hmm... I guess we'll just have to wait and see, right? I mean, there isn't really anything I can do about it until he comes clean about why he's here," Scootaloo explained.
Applebloom suddenly perked up as somepony approached. "He's here," she whispered to the others.
Speedy was indeed walking towards them with a friendly smile. He looked at Scootaloo for a while, before shifting his gaze towards Sweetie Belle and Applebloom.
"Good afternoon," he greeted. The two nodded before looking back to Scootaloo.
"We'll... we'll be on our way now, Scoo. Bye!" Sweetie Belle said, before pulling herself and her friend out from the café. Scootaloo looked after them until they were out of sight, before turning back to Speedy.
"Shall we get a seat?" she asked, gesturing towards the outside tables. Speedy nodded, following his old friend outside. They picked out a table and sat across from each other.
"I'm sure you have a lot of questions on your mind," Speedy started off, leaning in his seat.
Scootaloo nodded. "Yes actually, I do."
"Go on, then," Speedy said. Scootaloo breathed, looking him straight in the eye.
"Why are you here?" she asked bluntly. Speedy sighed, closing his eyes and pushing his hooves together. He turned back towards her with a serious expression.
"A few weeks ago, I came home from ten years of boarding school," he started, "when I did, I was greeted by my friends and my parents, but one thing was missing."
"Your brother," Scootaloo said softly. Speedy could only nod.
"Yes, my brother. Soarin still hadn't come back from his so called 'trip', and I still didn't know why, or where he had gone," he continued. Scootaloo nodded to show that she was listening. "My mom told me a few things that day... a few truths I had been held back from practically my entire life. She told me that my brother was adopted, and that he had been kicked out of the house almost ten years ago by none other than my father."
Scootaloo sniffed gently. She placed a hoof on his shoulder as he looked down at his hooves. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. Speedy shook his head.
"It isn't your fault... my father is just far too stubborn for his own good," he said, "when I saw my mom start crying that day... I knew I had to do something. I knew I had to save her from the pain of not knowing her son was alright."
Scootaloo sighed. "So you came here? To make amends?" she asked.
"Not exactly. I'm here to bring my father and my brother back together," Speedy said.
Scootaloo blinked.
"You... you want to get them back to talking terms? Why?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "What I mean by that is... why now? Don't you know it's already too late?"
Speedy tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean? It's never too late for an apology. Soarin didn't do anything wrong! He just fell in love with your sister! Don't you think it's time for everything to be resolved?" he asked.
"Of course I do," Scootaloo said, "but it's a dream that'll stay a dream, Speedy. Soarin... he's really changed, you know? He... he's become a lot more reserved. He doesn't talk when he's not supposed to, and I can't even remember the last time he made a joke just for the fun of it! Sure, he's put up a picture of Cloudy Quartz and Spectrum Skies in the house, but that's all it is. Merely one picture. Small enough that he barely notices it is even there."
Speedy didn't say anything.
"Do you know, Speedy," Scootaloo started again, "Rainbow Dash always said to me that when I grow older, I'll become a wife and a daughter in-law. She became a wife... but she never got the chance at being a daughter in-law."
Speedy's mouth opened in surprise at her words. Tears were beginning to surface.
"And Soarin? There's not a day that goes by in which he doesn't remember Cloudy and Spectrum. Not a single day. But he knows those memories are just that... memories. And they'll always stay that way, at least in his mind."
Speedy clenched his jaw. "I want to fix that. I want to fix the mess this has become, Scootaloo. Will you please help me?"
Scootaloo looked at him incredulously. "Are you serious? You want me to help you?" she asked. Speedy could only nod.
"Well who else? I can't do this alone, Scoots. I need your help with this... please help me... I can't stand the thought of my brother and father like this anymore. I haven't seen my brother in so long, Scoots! I... I need to do this, and I will whether you help me or not... so please do, I'm begging you," Speedy said, putting his head on the table.
Scootaloo smiled softly. "Of course I'll help you, dummy. Why wouldn't I? I want this just as much as you do," she said. Speedy cracked a smile through his teary eyes.
"Thank you, Scoots. Thank you so, so much."
Scootaloo grinned, her eyes shining. "No problem... but how are we going to do this?" she asked. Speedy gulped.
"I have a vague plan..." he said.
"What is it?" Scootaloo asked.
"Well, I'm going to come to your house, and live with you," Speedy said, just as Scootaloo's eyes widened, "let me finish. I'm going to meet my brother again, without him knowing it's me. I'll need a disguise."
Scootaloo's eyes stayed wide. "What are you planning to do?" she asked.
"You'll know soon enough... but do you have anything I can use? I need to look unrecognizable to Soarin..." Speedy said. Scootaloo sighed, nodding her head as she opened her purse and spilled it's contents.
Boxes of makeup tumbled out, making Speedy's eyes go wide. He gaped as she opened cartons of things he didn't even know the name's of.
Finally, she held up a bright pink tube.
"Do you know what this is?" she asked, opening the tube to look at the cleary pink content. Speedy shook his head.
"No clue," he said.
"These are pink contacts," she said, carefully measuring out a drop. Speedy's eyes widened.
"Contacts? You mean... you're coloring my eyes that... that pink?!" he exclaimed, gripping the edges of his seat. Scootaloo merrily chuckled.
"Without these, Soarin will instantly know who you are. Truth is held in the eyes, Speedy. By seeing your eyes this morning, I knew exactly who you were. We can't risk that happening," she explained.
"I... I guess that makes sense," Speedy groaned, flinching as Scootaloo rubbed his eyes with her hooves.
"This might burn just a smidge," she said, before plucking his eyelids open and dropping the contact in place. Speedy hissed as it made contact with his pupil.
"Aah..."
"Now just blink slowly. The feeling will subside in a few seconds," Scootaloo said. Speedy nodded, following her instructions and grinning.
"How do I look?" he said, fluttering his eyelids. Scootaloo giggled.
"You'll look better once you get the second one in," she pointed out.
Speedy muttered something under his breath. "Damn Celestia for giving us two eyes."
"It'll be over in just a minute," Scootaloo said, repeating the procedure of inserting the contact in Speedy's other eye. Speedy blinked a few times once it was in, before smiling.
"That's better," he said, before gazing at the rest of her makeup. "Now I'm scared again."
Scootaloo laughed. "Don't worry, I won't be using all of this," she said, picking out an eyeliner and plucking it open. She smirked, holding it close to his eyes.
"H-H-Hey!" Speedy squealed as she started drawing around his eyes, "that... that tickles!"
"Close your eyes..." Scootaloo said in a breathy voice. Speedy immediately quieted down, closing his eyes as she finished her work. "All done! You look like a brand new person!"
Speedy grinned, looking at himself in her compact mirror. "Alright! This really does make my eyes look bigger... in a totally manly way, of course."
"Of course," Scootaloo smiled, before opening her foundation brush and slowly moving it in circles around his face. "Atta boy," she joked as she applied the makeup.
Scootaloo nodded once she was satisfied with her work.
"Are you some sort of pro at this?" Speedy asked, looking at himself in her small mirror again. Scootaloo shrugged.
"Well, I mean, I pick up a few things here and there. So yeah, I guess that makes me some sort of pro," she said with a glint in her eyes. Speedy laughed. "Also, we need to head to the salon after this, we're gonna add a streak of green through your main and tail."
"Alright! Good idea!" he exclaimed, running a hoof through his hair. "Oh!" he said just as he realized something, "I almost forgot!" Speedy then promptly pulled out something from his saddlebag.
"What's that?" Scootaloo asked, trying to take a look.
Speedy grinned, before showing her the object.
"No way!!!" Scootaloo yelled, slapping his arm.
"Yes way!" Speedy said back, putting the object on.
"No! Stop!"
"Yes! Continue!"
"My eyesssss!!!" Scootaloo wailed, covering her eyes, "they burnnn!"
"Oi! I happen to think I look smashing!" Speedy replied with a wink.
"Why do you even have something like that anyway?"
"Who doesn't carry around a fake mustache?" Speedy asked, showing off the bright piece of fake yellow hair sticking out of his upper lip. Scootaloo grimaced.
"You look ridiculous!" she exclaimed, "take it off!"
"No way! This just adds to the disguise factor!" Speedy said, picking up his bags and starting to walk out the door.
"Hey! You come back here right now, Mister!" Scootaloo yelled, though in a teasing manner.
She laughed as he strutted out the door.
Sweetie Belle was wrong, she realized. Speeder Skies hadn't changed one bit.
"No. No. Absolutely not," Soarin said, shaking his head at his sister in-law. Scootaloo gaped at him, her eyebrows furrowing and her lips quirking downwards into a pleading pout.
"Oh please, Soarin!" she wailed, "it's only for a few weeks! He'll be gone before you know it!"
"Didn't you hear me the first time? I said no. And that's final," Soarin replied, running a hoof through his messy mane and sighing. Scootaloo huffed.
"It isn't like he's some kind of stranger!" she exclaimed. Soarin raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Who is he then?" he asked.
Scootaloo was currently trying to persuade Soarin into letting Speedy stay with them for a while, and it was not working in the slightest. Of course, she had to get him to comply somehow, without telling him the pony who wanted to crash with them was in fact his brother that he hadn't seen in over ten years.
"He's Sweetie Belle's cousin! He's visiting for a few weeks and he has no place to stay!" she said, turning pointedly towards one of her best friends. Sweetie Belle was standing in the middle of the room looking at the scene in confusion. "Tell him, Sweetie Belle."
"What?" Sweetie Belle asked, tilting her head to the side. She quickly sobered up once she saw Scootaloo's expression. "Ohh... my cousin! Right, right... listen, Mr. Skies," she said, changing her voice into a seductive one. She started rolling her hoof on his shoulders. "I live in a mares only hostel with a few girlfriends... you understand, don't you?" she asked, biting her lip for extra effect.
This was proven useless when Soarin pushed her away, turning back to the orange-coated mare. He groaned, looking into her pleading eyes.
"I already told you, Scootaloo, my answer is no. And there is now way you are going to change that. I haven't even met the boy! I don't even know what his family's like! For all I know, they could be some goons with no sense of self-respect at all," Soarin continued.
"Hey!" Sweetie Belle yelled from her static location. Soarin shot her a look, telling her silently to stay out of the matter. Sweetie Belle silently left the room.
"My. Answer. Is. No." Soarin whipped around, walking further into the room.
"Ugh! You're so mean!" Scootaloo shouted, just as her older sister walked into the room with a bunch of old clothes needing to be washed. (Most belonged to Scootaloo, of course).
"What's this I hear about my husband being mean?" she asked, setting down the basket and looking at her sister and the irritated light blue stallion.
"Rainbow Dash! Soarin isn't letting my best friend's cousin stay with us for a few weeks! Tell him that he's acting irrational!" Scootaloo said, trotting up to her older sister.
Rainbow Dash tutted. "Now now, Scoo, you know how he can be... I say you should just leave the matter be for now."
Scootaloo gaped at her. "Are you serious? Who are you and what have you done with my sister?" she exclaimed, facehoofing and walking back to her brother in-law. Soarin deadpanned her a look.
"My opinion is not changing, Scootaloo," he said.
Scootaloo breathed heavily, something clicking in her mind. She slowly turned back to her sister, giving her a sickly sweet smile.
"Rainbow Dash... he's come from Cloudsdale."
Rainbow Dash's demeanor instantly changed. Her eyes widened and the clothes she was holding in her hooves immediately dropped to the floor. She gasped; she gaped at her younger sister.
"C-Cloudsdale...?" she asked softly.
"Mhmm," Scootaloo said, rolling her mouth for extra effect, "the same Cloudsdale where you loved going as a young mare... remember that? I hear he's also coming from Ponyville."
That was enough for Rainbow Dash. She quickly left her spot in the room and ran up to her husband. She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down to her level.
"Soarin, he's definitely staying here," she said, "he's coming from both of our hometowns! How can we not let him live with us for a little while?"
"Stop that! Scootaloo's trying to buy your support!" Soarin wailed, "you can't actually be falling for this, Dashie! C'mon!"
"But he's from-"
"I don't care! You think we should go to Ponyville and yell to the crowd, 'Hey, you guys should all come and live with us! We have two mad-mares already here! Why not a few more?'" Soarin mocked. Lilian Fly, who had now entered the room, sniggered at the remark.
At this point, Scootaloo had stepped in front of him.
"You're being rude!!!" she shouted in his face.
"Well, I don't care! He's not staying here, and that is fina-"
"He is staying here! And that is final! In fact, I am going to go to the front door and invite him inside right this moment!" Scootaloo said, crossing her hooves and strutting to the door.
Soarin gasped. "Hey! You come right back here, Missy!"
"Don't care~!" Scootaloo sang back, opening the front door. "Come in..." she said softly, letting someone inside the living room and going to stand besides her older sister. This was going to be fun to watch.
At that moment, a newcomer stepped inside the house. Soarin turned to look at the stallion, his eyes widening as he laid eyes on him.
It was a young stallion... he couldn't be more than a few years older than Scootaloo. He had a light-gray coat, with a mane and tail consisting of three colors: blue, yellow, and green. His eyes were bright pink, but they had some sort of haze over them; they were big, with large eyelids. He had a bright yellow mustache growing above his lip, and his wings were specked with blue feathers.
Soarin couldn't help but be immediately drawn to him. There was... there was something almost familiar about him, but he couldn't put his hoof on what it was.
The stallion had tears in his eyes. He had two heavy saddlebags on him; he placed one down on the floor next to him. He quickly wiped his eyes, trying to rid himself of the tears he was shedding.
Soarin was confused. Why was he crying? Had something happened before he arrived?
Soarin's eyebrows furrowed as he remembered what had just happened between him and Scootaloo before this. He coughed, looking back at the stallion with a peculiar stare.
"What is your name?" Soarin asked quietly. He didn't want to admit it, but he had taken an instant mental liking to this young lad. The stallion gulped.
"Uh... it's... it's Spectrum," he said, "Spectrum. That's my name."
Soarin's ears perked up, recognizing the familiar name of his father. Tears sparked his eyes as memories came flowing back to him, but he quickly shook his head from these thoughts. He slowly turned to Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash, who were both looking at him hopefully. Soarin sighed.
"He'll... he'll stay with us," Soarin said quietly, quickly making his way to the door.
"Thank you!" the stallion said quickly, making Soarin stop. He didn't look back at him, but he gulped and nodded his head, before leaving the room. "Thank you so much..."
"Come with me," Scootaloo said with ease, taking his hoof, "I'll lead you to your room."
"Thank you..." Speedy whispered, rubbing his eyes and following his friend.
Once they were a safe distance away from Rainbow Dash and Lilian, Scootaloo turned to Speedy.
"You did great," she said, squeezing his arm. Speedy gave her a weak smile as they entered the large guest room of the house. Speedy gaped at the mare in front of him as she started showing him around.
"Uh..."
"And this is where you'll be staying!" Scootaloo exclaimed, "I took the liberty to get it ready for you earlier today before you arrived. I knew Soarin was going to be stubborn, but I wasn't counting on something like that." She laughed.
Speedy bit his lip. "Scoots... this is... are you sure about giving me this room? Don't you think it's a little too big? I wouldn't want to be a burden on you or your family."
"Uh uh uh," Scootaloo tutted, "this is your family too, Speedy."
Speedy grinned in her direction, before the two sat themselves down on the bed.
"Not so fast," a new voice chimed in. Scootaloo and Speedy both perked up upon hearing the familiar voice. They turned around, just in time to see Soarin standing in the doorway, looking at them with a raised eyebrow. He turned to Speedy. "If you're going to stay with us, in my house, you are going to have to abide by some rules."
"Of course, anything at all," Speedy said, gulping as he looked at the figure of his brother. He was getting close to tears again, but he didn't let him fall.
"One, you will join us for all meals," Soarin said, "two, you will only be allowed to send two letters per week, and three," Soarin stopped, gesturing to Scootaloo, "stay away."
"Of course, Soarin," Speedy said with a slight bow. Soarin twisted his lips and gave Scootaloo an unsure look, but he didn't press the matter.
"And can you please do something about your mustache?"
Scootaloo instantly bent over, howling in laughter. The color drained from Speedy's face; he shot Scootaloo a look, which Scootaloo only countered with a heavy smirk. She wiped tears of mirth from her eyes, pointing at her friend.
"Y-you... bahahaaha!" she burst into a fit of giggles once again, "I-I... I TOLD YOU!"
"I'm not really sure what just happened here," Soarin said, looking between the two of them, "and I'm sorry if that offended you, but the facial hair just makes you look too old. You can't be very old... how old are you, anyway?"
"Twenty-four. My birthday's next week," Speedy said quickly. Soarin nodded.
"Right, so the same age as Scootaloo... my third rule still applies, alright? Stay away," he said cautiously. Scootaloo and Speedy both blushed, but nodded. Soarin quickly looked at the two of them again, before spreading his wings and leaving the room.
"He hasn't changed one bit," Speedy said softly. Scootaloo smiled; she placed her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
Rainbow Dash smiled as she walked into the house with her sister besides her. The two of them had just returned from the long trip to Ponyville to visit their father's grave.
"We're home!" Scootaloo called out, a small colt coming into view. Stronghold walked up to his mother and embraced her. Scootaloo grinned, sending her nephew a wink.
"You're back already?" Stronghold said, leading them into the family room. Rainbow Dash nodded.
"Yes, honey. We just went to visit Grandpa and come back. We weren't going to stay there forever," she said, placing her and Scootaloo's bags on the coffee table in the middle of the room.
"Really? Spectrum told me that you guys were going to go for a week!" Stronghold said innocently. Scootaloo's eyes widened as she sheepishly grinned.
"Oh don't mind him, Strongy... he was just teasing you," she said. Stronghold tilted his head.
"Are you sure? He sounded really confident with himself," he said. Rainbow Dash shook her head.
"He might have just gotten the wrong information or something," she reasoned, giving her little sister a pointed look. The mare in question gave a nervous giggle, before sighing in defeat.
"Alright, I may or may not have accidentally pulled a prank on Spectrum," she groaned out. Rainbow Dash smirked victoriously, beginning to walk further into the house.
"Anyway, now that that's been settled, is anyone up for some lunch? I've made our annual family meal," she said, the other two following her.
Speedy suddenly walked in front of them, his eyes wide and his cheeks red. He quickly looked towards Scootaloo with an accusing stare.
"You told me you'd be back in a week!" he said, pointing his hoof at her. Scootaloo rolled her eyes, walking past him with a huff.
"Oh grow up, it was just a harmless joke," she said. Speedy gaped at her.
"Are you serious?!" he exclaimed. "You got me so worked up about spending a week with Soarin! How dare you! You're so mean, Scoots!" he exclaimed. Rainbow Dash and Stronghold looked at them with amusement in their eyes.
"You're such a colt, Spee- I mean, Spec! Lighten up!" Scootaloo said, quickly correcting her mistake. Luckily, it didn't seem like anyone had caught on.
"Yeah yeah, says you!" Speedy said childishly, sticking his tongue out at her.
Scootaloo suddenly gasped. "Hey! I just noticed! What happened to your mustache?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at his upper lip, which was, to her surprise, mustache-less.
Speedy groaned. "I decided to... uh... get it cut off. You know, with what Soarin told me a few weeks ago. I don't want to seem like some tiny forty year-old stallion," he said.
Scootaloo could hardly contain her laughs. "I-I told you!" she wheezed. Speedy rolled his eyes, leading the three of them into the room where Soarin was sitting. Rainbow Dash trotted up to her husband and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, before turning to her family.
"Now that we're all here, I just wanted to..."
"Forgetting about someone already?" a new voice chimed in. Lilian was slowly walking up to them, her back hunched and a warm smile on her face. "How was the trip to Blaze's?"
Rainbow Dash laughed. "Oh, sorry, Lilian," she said, pulling her mother-figure in for a hug. "It's been a while."
"Yeah, you have no idea how quiet it's been for these past twenty-four hours," Lilian joked, eyeing Speedy. She still was a little unsure about him; he felt too familiar.
"Relax, the amazing Rainbow Dash and her awesome little sister are back and ready for action!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, putting an arm around Scootaloo. Scootaloo smiled at Lilian.
"Anyway, that aside, it was relaxing, to say the least. It's been a year since we last went to visit him and all," she said.
Speedy suddenly cleared his throat. "Uh... look, sorry to interrupt, but I still have no idea what's going on. Scoots didn't tell me where she and Rainbow Dash went yesterday, so I just assumed they went on something business related... but now I'm hearing something about visiting someone?"
Rainbow Dash smiled sadly. "Yeah, it's my father's birthday today. Scootaloo and I always go up to Ponyville this time of year to visit his grave. He... he died a while ago from heart failure."
Speedy's mouth opened and closed. Of course, he knew about how Rainbow Blaze's death took place all those years ago, but hearing about this ritual Rainbow Dash and her sister had to remember him was really touching.
"That's... that's nice of you... I'm really sorry for your loss," he consoled, before sighing, sneaking a quick glance at Soarin. "It's my mother's birthday today, actually."
Soarin's ears perked up. He quickly looked over at Speedy in shock.
Rainbow Dash raised her eyebrows. "Really? Wow... what a coincidence. It's Soarin's mom's birthday today as well," she said thoughtfully. "Don't mind him, Spectrum. Soarin's always a little down in the dumps on this day. He... he had quite the history with his parents before he married me."
Speedy coughed uncomfortably. "I can imagine..." he said softly, "my older brother didn't get along very well with our parents either... it just took one mistake on his part for everything to crumble."
Scootaloo was watching him speak. The way his lips quivered and his eyes shut as he remembered the terrible talk with his mother before coming to Manehattan. She had almost forgotten that Cloudy Quartz and her father shared a birthday. In fact, she even remembered Rainbow Dash talking about how she and her friend had crashed Cloudy's birthday party all those years ago, and had gotten into bad terms with Spectrum Skies.
Soarin got up from his seat on the couch. He obviously didn't want to talk about this anymore. "It's getting late. We should all go to bed. Come on, Strongy," he said quietly, leading his son upstairs. Scootaloo nodded, gesturing for Lilian to follow her to their respective rooms.
Only Rainbow Dash and Speedy remained.
"Uh... Rainbow Dash?" Speedy said softly, looking at the older mare. Rainbow Dash smiled.
"Yes, Spectrum?" she asked.
"I was wondering if it wouldn't be too much to ask you to write a letter to my parents... they've been wanting to know about the kind mare who allowed me to stay with her and her family for a while now."
Rainbow Dash blinked, before breaking into a huge grin. "Of course, Spectrum." She nodded. "I'd be happy to."
"Thank you so much," Speedy said, as he followed her to the desk in the corner of the room. Rainbow Dash lit a candle and dipped the quill into the large pot of ink on the table. "Oh, and... could you not mention the family and anyone's names in it? I wouldn't want them to be intimidated with you guys being ex-Wonderbolts and all." Rainbow Dash nodded.
As she began to write, Speedy watched her from a few feet away with tears in his eyes. This was one of the first steps in his plan. To get Rainbow Dash and his parents speaking again, without them actually knowing.
Once she was finished, she handed the letter to Speedy with a yawn. "There you go, let me know if you need to change anything. I'm going to bed," she said, turning around. "Good night."
"Good night... thank you," Speedy whispered, watching her retreat up the stairs. He sighed, clutching the letter and opening it.
Hello;
So you're the parents of this wonderful stallion. It's very nice to meet you.
I am from a small town in Manehattan and I live with my husband, little sister, mother-figure, and my nine year-old son. We've all managed to make ourselves at home these past few years, and when my sister told us your son was coming to stay, I was overjoyed to see her happy again. My sister and I come from another town, and it's been hard for all of us to adapt to these new conditions and landmarks around us.
My husband is a past professional flyer, but he gave up on that dream long ago when we had our son. We've made our own little world here, and for now, we're happy. Your son has been a wonderful addition to our family, and it's been great getting to know him.
Don't worry about him, he's just fine. You should be proud of him, Mister and Misses.
"So, Scoo..." Sweetie Belle started a few days later as the three friends entered the large college grounds. "The Fall Formal is coming up..."
Scootaloo sighed. "Oh yes. I should begin working on my Princess of the Fall Formal campaign," she said, turning to Apple Bloom. "Would you be willing to help me, Bloom?"
Apple Bloom nodded. "Of course, Scoo. It'll be fun!"
"Who were you thinking about asking?" Sweetie Belle nudged, winking at her best friend. Scootaloo groaned.
"I have no idea. And don't the stallions usually ask the mares?" she pointed out. Sweetie Belle shrugged.
"Well then, who are you hoping will ask you?" she asked.
"The better question is, who is she hoping won't ask her? We all know Scoo's one of the, if not the most popular mares in all of the college," Apple Bloom said in a hushed whisper. Scootaloo laughed.
"Oh well, I'll just see where time takes me, am I right?" she said, sticking out her tongue. "Though I am hoping for a... flattering, date."
"Why not just ask Speedy?" Sweetie Belle shrugged. Scootaloo instantly broke into a giant blush.
"Oh! I... uh... oh look, the bell! I should get going to class now, see you girls later!" she said quickly, grabbing her bags and making her way inside the building.
Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom stared after her.
"She's so totally obvious," Apple Bloom said. Sweetie Belle could only nod dumbly.
"Hey Scoo! Dinner tonight at my place?"
"Uh... no thank you."
"Scoo! Be my date to the formal?"
"Thanks for the invitation, but no."
"Scoo! Hi! Would you like to accompany me to the Autumn dance?"
"I'll pass."
"Hello there, Scoo. Please be my date to the dance!"
"No thanks."
"My friends will laugh at me if you don't be my date to the Fall dance!"
"Tell them to stop, then."
"This has been eating me out from day one! Scootaloo Dash! Be my marefriend!"
"Don't call me that."
"Hey there beautiful. Want to go at it?"
"Absolutely not."
"We're just totally meant to be! Be my date!"
"How about no."
"Remember me? From Class Three engineering? Please go out with me! I'll die of shame and embarrassment if you don't!"
"I'll see you at your funeral, then."
"Do you have a date to the dance yet?"
"As of now, nope."
"Would you like to be my-"
"Nope."
"Hey! Remember me?!"
"Sorry, what?"
"We sat together in freshman year!"
"Uh huh..."
"Be my date to the dance! We have so much in common, and we have so much history together!"
"No thank you."
"You're totally my type, gorgeous! It would be a shame to see you not with your very best at the Fall dance in a few weeks. Allow me to escort you."
"No thanks. I'll pass."
"You're beautiful."
"I know I am... what's it to you?"
"I'm pretty smoking myself."
"I think you're getting this a little mixed up..."
"Allow me to be your date to the dance!"
"Goodbye."
"Scoots!"
Scootaloo groaned, prepared to reject yet another naïve stallion wishing to be her date. She turned around, closing her eyes and trying to make this as painless as possible.
"Look, I'm sorry. But I won't be your date to the dance," she said in a confident voice.
"What? What are you talking about?"
Scootaloo's eyes shot open, just in time to see the figure of Speedy Skies in front of her. She blushed, coughing to cover up her mistake.
"Never mind, I thought you were somepony else," she explained.
"Oh... kay... anyway! I wanted to ask your opinion about my new shoes!" Speedy said with a cheeky smile.
Scootaloo lifted an eyebrow. "Your... shoes?" she asked, looking down to his hooves. They were completely bare.
Speedy suddenly burst into a fit of laughs. "Ha! Made you look!"
"You're so childish!" Scootaloo yelled, throwing her bag at his face. This only made him laugh harder.
"Oh and what's this about the Fall dance? You don't have a date yet?" he asked, giving her a look. Scootaloo huffed, turning away from him and crossing her hooves.
"What about you, then, Mr. Oh-So-Modest? Who are you accompanying to the dance?" she asked with a sad smirk. Speedy sighed.
"Nopony, I'm going solo," he said simply, swinging a hoof around her frame, "although, that could change at any moment."
"You haven't been asked yet?" Scootaloo asked. Speedy bit his lip nervously.
"Uh... no! No I have not!" he said.
"Hey Speeder!" a random voice called out. Speedy groaned, turning around to face a beautiful pink-coated mare. He sighed, shooting a wink at Scootaloo before looking at her.
"Yes?" he asked.
"I heard you didn't have a date to the dance," the mare said shyly, "maybe you and I could...?"
Speedy shook his head.
"Actually, I do have a date. This lovely mare right here," Speedy said, backing up to stand besides Scootaloo. Scootaloo's face erupted into a giant blush as she gaped at him.
The mare scrunched her eyebrows and looked at Speedy.
"You're taking Scoo to the dance!? What? But she's so mean! She rejected all of her invitations, and it turns out she's going with you?! I bet you everything I have she's only doing it because you're so famous and-"
"Stop right there," Speedy said in a harsh tone, stepping forward and spraying his hooves in front of Scootaloo protectively. "I happen to think she's one of the nicest mares I've ever met. And no, she is not going with me because I'm a famous athlete, she's going with me because we are childhood friends."
Scootaloo was satisfied with the look the mare gave to Speedy after that. She quickly scurried away without another word, leaving Scootaloo and Speedy alone again.
"Uh... I didn't know I was going to the dance with you," Scootaloo said pointedly. Speedy laughed, putting a hoof behind his head.
"Well now you do!" he said cheerfully.
Scootaloo frowned. "But I was never asked by a Speeder Skies. Who even is that? I've never heard of him-"
"Well then, would ya' like to go to the dance with me?" he said, nudging her.
Scootaloo blushed as Speedy laughed once again.
"Fine," she said at last, "but only because I'm so nice."
"I still don't understand why I have to be here," Soarin groaned, walking around the outdoor mall besides his wife and son. The three of them, along with Scootaloo and Speedy, had come out to enjoy a peaceful day of shopping at the new center in the middle of town. "I mean, I have no business in a place like this!"
Stronghold nodded, tugging at his mother's saddlebag. "Yeah, Mom! And since when did you like shopping, anyway? You're Rainbow Dash for ponies' sake!" he exclaimed. Rainbow Dash frowned, crossing her hooves and glaring at her husband.
"Now you've done it, Soar. Stronghold had nothing against coming today, and now you've gone and put all these disgusting fantasies in his mind. You should feel guilty," she said, scoffing. "Besides, this wasn't exactly my idea. You know how Scootaloo can be, her craze for shopping had gotten a little out of control if you ask me."
"Scootaloo herself has gotten a little out of control," Soarin muttered under his breath. Rainbow Dash shrugged, pointing to a sports equipment store.
"Didn't you need some new shoes for hoofball tryouts next week, Strongy? Come now, I'll help you pick out the coolest looking ones," she said, leading her son into the store. Soarin glared after the figure of his wife, but followed after her nevertheless, still not changing his expression.
Stronghold nodded in satisfaction when his mother pulled out some bright green shoes from the wrack. She carefully lowered his hooves and slipped them on, smiling as Stronghold flaunted his new look.
"Dad! Dad! Look!" he exclaimed, running to where his father was sitting. "Mom picked out these new shoes for me! Aren't they great?"
Soarin frowned. "Aren't you a little old for neon?" he said, scrunching his eyebrows. Stronghold opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Rainbow Dash had come up besides him.
"Are you disagreeing with my choice, Soarin Skies?" she asked in a low voice. A few onlookers had cast wary glances at them, knowing a fight between a married couple when they saw one. Soarin, not wanting to attract attention, shook his head.
"Um... of course not, Dearest," he said. "Stronghold, they're great! Let's get them to the counter and pay. How much were they again, Rainbow?"
Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Three-hundred-fifty bits plus tax. No sale."
Soarin was sure today was going to be one of the worst in his life.
After paying, the three of them left the shop. Soarin turned to his wife expectantly.
"So... where would you like to go next?" he asked, biting his lip nervously. He was in absolutely no mood to piss off his beloved today. He knew how that would end up.
"Oh I just have to return a few things. It'll only take a few hours at most," Rainbow Dash said absentmindedly. Soarin blanched. Without a word, he quickly followed after her.
"What I don't understand," Soarin said, "is why somepony would buy something if they end up returning it in the end."
Rainbow Dash shot him a look. "Are you mocking me?" she asked, leaning closer to him. Soarin quickly shook his head.
"N-no! Of course not. I was just wondering," he managed to squeak out. Rainbow Dash nodded.
"Right. Well, sometimes ponies don't know whether they'll end up using what they're purchasing," she explained, "and then after buying it, they second-doubt themselves and end up returning it the next day."
"But then why not just return it right after buying it?" Soarin asked.
"Because most ponies have a reputation to keep up! Obviously!" Rainbow Dash screeched. "Honestly, Soar. This is amateur level stuff, you should know this."
Soarin could only nod.
Suddenly, Scootaloo appeared in front of them, wearing a skimpy outfit with her mane tied up. She looked aghast, looking around before spotting her sister.
"Rainbow Dash! Thank Celestia I found you! I have no idea what to wear! Please help me!" she exclaimed, grabbing Dash's hoof.
Soarin's eyes widened as he eyed her clothing. His mouth dropped. "What do you think you're wearing, young lady?"
Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo ignored him. Stronghold was busy looking at Sand Bolt, Lightning Dust's daughter and his neighbor.
"For the Fall Dance? Or just for casual wear?" Rainbow Dash asked. "My sister needs to look the best out of everyone, so I need to know."
Soarin gasped. "Change out of that right this instant!" he kept saying to Scootaloo. She ignored him again.
"Both!" she exclaimed, leading Rainbow Dash into the large boutique.
"Come on, Soarin!" Rainbow Dash said, gesturing for him to follow. Soarin still looked at Scootaloo.
"Scootaloo! Wear something else right now!" he yelled.
"OH GROW UP!!" Scootaloo shouted back to him, entering the store.
Soarin sighed, trailing behind the two of them with a frown.
Stronghold, however, decided to go up to his neighbor, who was sitting on a bench, eating her ice cream. He sat down, looking at her longingly. Well, looking at her ice cream longingly.
"Sandy, can I have a bite?" he asked hopefully, leaning closer to her. Sand Bolt looked at him in disgust.
"Absolutely not. And do not call me Sandy," she replied, going back to licking the sweet treat. Stronghold bit his lip, pouting at her.
"Pleaaassseee?" he whined. "Only a tiny bite! I promise!"
Sand Bolt shook her head. "Nope. I refuse."
Stronghold sighed, deciding to approach the matter in a different way. He yawned, stretching his arms and slinging his hoof around Sand Bolt's figure. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Stop flirting."
Stronghold feigned innocence. "What? I'm not flirting," he said casually.
Sand Bolt, who had had enough of this, swiftly got up and swung her hoof at Stronghold's face, slapping him softly. She quickly ran away after doing so.
Stronghold frowned, leaning back in the middle of the bench, thinking about what had just happened.
"But I didn't even get my ice cream..."
Scootaloo looked at herself in the mirror, running her hooves down her figure. Her lips moved into a thoughtful expression as she thought about what could make the dress look even better. She grinned as an idea dawned upon her, reaching out and grabbing a silver purse from the racks. She nodded at herself in approval.
"Perfect..." she said in a breathy voice.
Suddenly, strong hooves wrapped around her from behind. Scootaloo gasped as she looked into the mirror again, trying to find the culprit. She gasped as she saw Speedy standing above her.
Scootaloo smirked. "How do I look?" she asked, jutting out herself to show off. Speedy eyed her closely, thinking over his answer. His bottom lip jutted out as he leaned in close to her ear.
"In whatever you wear," he whispered sensually, "you look stupid."
Speedy laughed as he let go of her, twirling her around and attempting to walk away. Scootaloo's eyes widened as his teasing words sunk in. She fumed, turning him and slapping him right across the cheek.
She huffed, turning and walking away.
Rainbow Dash looked over the beautiful long black dress in front of her. She hastily took it off the rack, eyeing it before nodding in approval. It was beautiful, not that she'd ever admit it out loud.
She quickly checked around to make sure nopony was watching her, and turned towards the mirror.
'Thank Celestia Scootaloo finished whatever she wanted my help with,' she thought to herself, holding the dress in front of her figure in an attempt to see how it looked on her.
Rainbow Dash squealed in delight once she saw how she looked. It would be a good fit on her, that's for sure. Plus, Soarin would be more than pleased to see her in this outfit.
"Hey, Rainbow Dash, I just- Holy crap what?" a new voice said, making Rainbow Dash jump. She quickly turned around to face her husband, throwing the dress to the ground.
"Oh! Soarin... I was just... I was just..."
Soarin's eyes widened as he looked at the flattering dress on the floor. His cheeks puffed out as he realized what was going on.
"Were you seriously just trying that on?!" he exclaimed, his face becoming redder and redder by the second. Rainbow Dash nervously shook her head.
"Uh... no! That was for Scootaloo, obviously," she said, watching Soarin carefully.
The stallion suddenly burst out laughing.
"A-are y-you... you're k-kidding me r-right!" he said, holding his burning cheeks. This was too good. "Y-you'll look like a buffoon in th-that thing! I-if you won't have mercy on yourself... have mercy on the ponies around you! The ponies who'll have to see you in... in that thing!"
Rainbow Dash scoffed, trotting close to her husband's face.
"N-now Rainbows... if you wanted that, you could have just said so-" Soarin started, but was cut off by Dash's hoof connecting with his face. She slapped him, hard.
Rainbow Dash tutted, before galloping away, out of sight.
Soarin chuckled.
"Eh... she loves me."
Speedy walked through the outdoor mall setting, instantly spotting Stronghold alone on the bench, rubbing his cheek. He looked like... like he had been slapped. Speedy was willing to bet anything it was by their neighbor. She never did like him much, anyway. And, Speedy was sure he had spotted her with Lightning Dust somewhere in the mall.
Speedy quickly walked up to him, noticing Soarin was doing the same.
"Were you just slapped by a filly?" Soarin said, taking a seat on the bench besides his son. Speedy did the same, sitting to the left of Stronghold while Soarin was on the right.
He laughed. "He's such a kid!" he said nervously, thinking back to Scootaloo.
Soarin did the same with Rainbow Dash.
Stronghold thought about Sand Bolt.
"Girls..." the three of them said simultaneously, running their hooves down their cheeks.
