> Peace and Quiet > by ArtsyUnicorn > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > New Friends and Old Friends > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It’s been a year since the Crystal War ended, slowly but surely Equestria is being re-built and everything is going back to normal (or whatever normal is). Everyone has been building homes, getting new jobs according to their cutie mark. Maud has gotten interested in rocks again and is currently doing research in Canterlot. Pinkie has started working in a bakery call Sugar Cube Corner; she hopes to open her own bakery soon. Rainbow Dash and Soarin have gotten jobs in the weather factory (and not the rainbow factory cause who wants to work there?) Rainbow has been employee of the month for about two months now because she is the best when it comes to cloud busting and weather control of everything so far. Soarin mainly works in producing rain, snow, thunderstorms basically, but he wishes to do some extreme flying stunts one day, just like Dash. It’s been different getting used to not kicking flank every day, but that’s good! Dash is using those skills to bust the clouds every day and keep the weather clear for fun sunny days instead of dark, gloomy, depressing days like they used to endure. Now it’s just been days of relaxation, sleeping in till 8:00 instead of 5:30, life has been pretty good for everyone so far. Now we tune into Rainbow and Soarin’s house where it’s their day off. “Is that the new Daring Do book? I knew you would like A.K Yearlings stuff” Soarin said as he sat down on a very hard pillow. “Yes in fact it is, is that Tank you’re sitting on?” Dash asked, Soarin noticed that it was in fact Dash’s pet Tank he was sitting on. “Just because we moved in together doesn’t mean that you get to sit on my pet Soarin.” Dash said with a laugh. Dash and Soarin had begun to live together shortly after they were sent home when the war ended; they haven’t killed each other yet so that should be a good thing! All of a sudden a knock was heard on the door of the small cloud house. “Telegram for Soarin!” it was the mail mare Light Wing, this time with a telegram from another pony. This pony must not live in Cloudsdale since he or she didn’t come to meet him in person. As Soarin looked over the telegram, an expression of excitement and curiosity washed over his pale blue face. “Whoa what did you get in the mail? I haven’t seen you this excited over paper when I got you that comic book for Hearths Warming” Dash said as she put her book down. “Huh? Oh it’s nothing but I got to head down to Canterlot for something real quick” Soarin said as he gathered his saddle bag, he took the telegram with him so that Dash couldn’t see it. “I’ll see you in a little bit, and comb your mane, its better now that your growing it out” Soarin said as he kissed her forehead. Rainbow Dash was a bit confused, not because of the fluttery feeling she got whenever he kissed her, because he got a telegram from a stranger and just left to go somewhere. It was definitely weird because he really never did this, maybe it was nothing and he was visiting a friend but after reading all of those mystery novels she was a bit curious. Time to do some sleuthing, so she flew down to the little town of Ponyville to pay her friend pinkie a visit. "Rainbow you are over thinking things, take a break from reading those mystery novels, get some rest, and have a cupcake cause I just baked a batch of marble” Pinkie said as she gave her a cupcake, Pinkie did make really good treats in fact the Cakes had more business than they did a couple years ago. “But if you really think the stallion of your dreams is being strange maybe you should talk to Maud, she’s in Canterlot right now though”. “Well actually the truth is I like going places with him where ever he goes, today he just left” Dash said with a pout. “Just how many ponies have you killed with that adorable pout? I didn’t even know you were possible of being cute.” Pinkie said as she cleaned the countertops. “Well I’ll see you later, don’t steal too many cakes” Dash said as she flew about the sky for a while, Rainbow loved to just fly around the sky, it was so relaxing, you could see everything from the sky, and resting on the clouds was always fun.‘Pinkies right, I read too many mystery novels, it’s ok if he leaves without me sometimes, I’m just letting my heart speak for me’. Soon she saw a familiar Pegasus in the distant and went to find her. “Hey Fluttershy! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you that you had long hair when I last saw you” Dash said as she caught up to the yellow Pegasus. “Oh Rainbow Dash, you’ve changed a lot too, your hair is so short compared to the long ponytail you had back in flight school” the two sat on a large cloud to catch up on lost times and memories, now as they talk about the present, some interesting questions are asked, and some beans are spilled. “I heard that your dating Soarin now, is that right?” Fluttershy asked as she laid on her back. “Yeah, for about four months now, it’s pretty interesting too because I never imagined myself having a boyfriend, then I again I thought I wouldn’t live past 20, but I’m 21 years old right now and here I am” she said, “what about your love life? I barely know anything about that, but I know you had a crush on Rain Cloud back in flight school”. “That’s right I did, but that dream died once Clear Skies started dating him and stuff. I have a crush on this one guy, Big Macintosh but I doubt he would like a little weakling like me” “Come on Flutters it’ll be okay, I know you’ll find someone, you just have to have the courage and let your heart take control! But if your following your heart just remember to take your brain with you” Dash says as she sits up getting ready to take off, “I’m going to head home now, it was great talking to you again though Flutters” Rainbow Dash flies off to home, it’s been awhile since she had seen an old friend that wasn’t buried deep in the earths soil, but it was always nice to know that you have friends. > What a Surprise > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A couple weeks later Dash arrived home just in time to see Soarin walk in the door with multiple bags in hoof; Rainbow Dash’s curiosity was getting the best of her every day, now she plans on confronting him just like Daring Do in the 4th book. “Hey Soarin! So what did you do in Canterlot? I bet it was awesome right?” she asked as he set down the bags. “Hey Rainbow, I just went shopping for some stuff and had an important meeting with a couple ponies. What did you do today?” He asked her as he sat down reading the mail. “I got together with some old friends, so what’s going on?” “Huh? Oh yeah good that you got together with your old friends Dash!” he smiles while putting on a saddle bag “I’m going to head out again because I have to meet someone who is an professional at something” he said while leaving the room. “Ok, um bye?” Rainbow Dash mumbles as she sits down on the floor, this was strange of Soarin because he’s never busy, ponies wouldn’t dare to hire him for a job. But at this point she was starting to get mad at him for not hanging around her or wanting to be alone, what is going on? Her birthday was near so maybe he was planning something, but he has been seen chatting with other mares and very little stallions at cafes, stores, you name it. Maybe it was some Rainbow had said that got to Soarin, she couldn’t tell anymore. That night it was hard for Rainbow dash to sleep, she had too much on her mind such as: ‘am I losing the love of my life?’ or ‘why is he spending so much time away from me?’ and even ‘could he be cheating on me? No that’s stupid cause I’m the only one who can tolerate and love him’ thought of despair were invading her mind, they wouldn’t leave her alone and slowly the darkness was slowly eating away at her mind. Weeks of no “I love you” hugs, sweet but powerful kisses on the forehead, barely a word has been said and she’s been feeling lonely. All she wanted in life was someone who could hold her in the cold lonely nights, someone who could say one word and she would feel better, someone who always stayed by her side always. Now he was slipping out of her hoofs. Suddenly she felt the bed dip on the left side; she turned her head to see Soarin was home again. “Rainbow you’re still awake? You should be sleeping, we have a lot of work to do tomorrow and you need all the rest you can get” he said as he rested a hoof on her head, patting her soft mane. “I can’t sleep without you, why have you been so distant lately?” she asked while sitting up. Soarin noticed the worried tired look in her teary eyes; he hesitated for a moment before answering. “It’s something important, I know you want answers but I can’t say it just yet. But I promise it’ll be worth it when you find out.” He said as he pulled her into an embrace. “Close your tired eyes, relaxing them, count from one to ten and open them. All these heavy thoughts will try to weigh you down, but not this time. Way up in the air, you're finally free, and you can stay up there, right next to me. All this gravity will try to pull you down, but not this time” he sang to her, her favorite song as she started to fall asleep close to him. It was times like this when Dash felt safe and loved; those moments were slipping away but why? Maybe the thoughts were just getting to her and covering her common sense, Soarin was definitely noticing how she felt whenever he left, he wanted to believe that she wasn’t thinking the worst but alas he was wrong. The next morning the cold air hit Dash’s back, it was morning and Soarin was gone? No just in the kitchen thank Celestia; she trotted around the corner to see that he fixed breakfast and didn’t burn down the kitchen. She sat down to eat the food he prepared, it was only an hour till they had to be at work, might as well enjoy they time they spend together. They got ready for work and flew towards the weather factory, as Dash got to busting the clouds Soarin decided to slip away from his station for a bit, so she decided to do the same thing. As Rainbow Dash followed him, she saw him meet up with another mare, the conversation followed like this “So does your mare friend suspect anything? Because something this big will not be able to be a secret any longer, I can get you the ponies you want to talk to but it will cost you” the mysterious mare said to him, ‘What in the world is she talking about? Guess I’ll have to go under cover and investigate like daring Do’ thought Rainbow Dash, She decided that after work she would go talk to her friends and interrogate them. The first stop on the list is Pinkie Pie, this pony never lies but she also never tells another pony’s secret, so this nut would be hard to crack. As she was about to knock on the door, a loud crash inside of the bakery happened, what was that pony what to? “Pinkie what are you doing in there? I heard a crash” Dash said as she tried to peek her head in through the door; however she was stopping by a nervously sweating pink pony. “N-nothing Rainbow Dash! Nothing is going on in this bakery that is really important!” she was acting strange and was covered in frosting, being covered in something was Pinkies specialty but she was acting very suspicious “Well can I ask you a few questions about Soarin, a certain few ponies?” she asked trying to ignore the sweat puddle forming underneath the pony. “Soarin?! Other ponies?! I don’t know any ponies here! STOP INTERROGATING ME!!” and with that Pinkie slammed the door on Dash’s face and went back to doing whatever that heck she was doing in the first place. Now Dash was getting worried, suspicious, and angry for having a door slammed in her face. Now it was time for Maud’s turn to be questioned, hopefully she could tell her something. “Hey Maud, so can I ask you some questions?” she asked as the pony was sorting through a gem bin, there were a lot of gems. “If it has anything to do with other ponies then I can’t answer them because I don’t hang around most of them” she said bluntly, Maud wasn’t going to give her answers either and instead received a blunt answer. “So you’re an anti-social pony?” Dash asked her, “No, I’m just anti idiot, and sadly there are a lot of idiots in this world Rainbow Dash” What a smart flanked answer, but then again this is Maud were talking about. Dash was getting pretty annoyed at this point; maybe dear old Fluttershy would provide answers. She arrived at the cottage just in time to hear Fluttershy trying to get a chorus of birds to sing some songs, it was a fail but they were getting better! “Hey Fluttershy do you know anything about everyone’s strange behavior lately? It’s real weird and it’s like everyone is avoiding me like the plague” She said like the birds stopped singing. “I promised I wouldn’t say anything to you Dash, but please don’t take it the wrong way! You’re still my friend... I just have to stay away from you for a couple more days” Dash couldn’t believe what she had just told her, this was probably the most honest answer she has ever gotten, but all Dash could concentrate on was how angry she was right now. Dash blew up, she launched into the sky yelling profanities, angst shouts, and tearful yelps as she kicked every cloud in the sky, and she was off duty for now. The ponies gathered in town to see the angry blue blur clearing the entire sky, they say that if she went on any longer she would have made a legendary sonic rain boom. As the pony finally calmed down the crowd was full of cheers, and someone decided to say something. “Dude you just cleared the entire sky in like ten seconds! How can you do that? Do you work for the weather factory because they should totally hear about this” he said as he flew towards her place of work, ponies congratulated her and cheered but Dash was still angry that everyone she knew was avoiding her, and she had no idea why. She flew back home and basically shut herself out from the outside world, nobody wanted to be around her anyway so why bother even trying. Days turned into a week of loneliness only comforted by her books, when finally someone decided to come over and knock on her door, Dash dragged herself over to the door to find a couple ponies: Fluttershy, Derpy, Lyra and Bonbon. “Oh great, what do you want? An autograph or picture cause I don’t give any out” Dash stated as she was about to shut the door. “We’ve come to get you out of your house and take you to the royal garden for fresh air and quality time with your friends!” Said Derpy “You’ll have to fight me!” Dash yelled as she tackled one of them and sent her flying towards another cloud. “We knew you’d say that” Said Lyra as she grabbed Maud and sent her towards Rainbow, let’s just say that Dash was helpless and soon they found themselves in the royal garden in Canterlot. Soarin, Pinkie, and some other ponies were there as Dash was finally dragged to the garden, she was teaming mad at this point. “Why did you bring me here? I thought you all hated me and wanted to stay as far away from me as possible!” Dash yelled at them, sure she thought that this place was beautiful but she didn’t exactly like the ponies there. “Rainbow I was the one behind all of this! We don’t hate you we just had to stay away from you or you would gather suspicion from what we were planning” Soarin said try to calm down the angry mare. “Oh yeah like I wasn’t suspicious enough! You talking to mares secretly, going away for long periods of time, my boyfriend and my friends ignoring me and refusing to talk! That’s not suspicious at all Soarin!” She yelled at him, it broke both his heart and hers to be yelling now, it was something neither of them ever wanted to do towards each other but now it was happening. “Rainbow Dash calm down and let him explain something!” Pinkie said trying to calm everyone down but it wasn’t work, everyone was at each other’s throats right now. “No I can’t calm down Pinkie! I have shut myself out from the world for about a week now, everyone has just ignored me, the one who I thought was my special some pony basically abandoned me and left me alone with my horrible thoughts and tears. It would have made this past two months easier if you all just explained what was going on but no.” Dash was full on crying right now, Soarin looked terrified he never knew she felt this bad, and when she said ‘Thought was my special some pony’ a little part of him just died right there. He flew over and held her in a tight embrace. “I’m sorry, I never wanted you to feel this way Rainbow, I only this moment to be full of smiles, cheers and memories” He said as he wiped her tears. “What do you mean by moment?” She asked as he let go of her, he sat back down and took hold of her hoof. “The one I’ve been waiting for, for so long. Rainbow Dash, I can't really think of a way to say this because words fall short whenever I want to tell you how special you are to me, but all I can say is that my world is full of smiles when I think about you. You are the first and last thing on my mind each and every day. Now I want to share that felling with you every day for the rest of our lives” The other ponies watched as he pulled out a velvet colored box and opened it to show the silver band, Dash smiled brightly and stared her misty eyes into Soarin’s. No words had to be said at this very moment, the other ponies cheered and smiled brightly at the two ponies as Rainbow Dash accepted the silver band and shared a heartfelt kiss. What a day, full of tears, cheers, emotions but most importantly love. Now the two flew off hoof in hoof, now engaged to spend the rest of their lives together