Nineteen
Rainbow Dash rolled over in her cloud bed, exhausted from her air show the night before. She let out a small moan as light suddenly filtered into the room, shining directly in her face.
"Mmmph," she muttered sleepily, "Can somepony please turn off the sun?" She thought she heard a giggle, but it sounded as if it were miles away from her in her half-awake state.
Rainbow lazily opened her eyes, blinking a few times. A pink blur was in front of her, like somepony had tossed a blanket over her head.
She sat up and rubbed her eyes, blinking once more. This time, the image of her friend Pinkie Pie standing over her came loud and clear. A little too clear.
"GAH!" she screamed, reflexively shooting into the air. Pinkie smiled up at her.
"Happy birthday, Rainbow Dash!" she yelled as Rainbow calmed down and lowered herself to the floor. Rainbow laughed and greeted her friend with a hug.
"Thanks Pinkie!" She paused for a second. "Why are you in my house?" Pinkie giggled.
"I wanted to be the first one to tell you 'happy birthday' silly! And to tell you to hurry up and get ready, because we have to get to your special birthday breakfast party!" Rainbow's eyes lit up.
"A special birthday breakfast party?! For me?!" She hugged Pinkie again. "This is awesome!"
Pinkie laughed and handed her a brush as she hovered in front of her mirror. "And when that's over, we can get ready for your party in Cloudsdale! Then we can get ready for your party in Ponyville!" Rainbow looked back at her.
"Whoa there Pinks, what's with all the parties? Not that I mind, of course."
"Well, I wanted you to have a special breakfast, so that'll be just us and the rest of the girls, and I wanted you to have a party, but not everypony can come down to Ponyville, so I arranged a party for you in Cloudsdale, and I also wanted you to have a party, but not everypony can get to Cloudsdale, or can get the 'Walk On Clouds' spell, so I planned one here as well!" Rainbow smiled at her friend.
"Thanks Pinkie, it's really nice of you to go to such lengths for my birthday." She went back to running the brush through her wild mane. "I don't know how this could get any better!" Pinkie smiled knowingly. Rainbow looked at her. "Pinkie, what do you know that I don't?"
Pinkie giggled excitedly. "Well," she said, twirling a bright pink curl around her hoof, "You said you didn't know how it could get better, but I do!"
"Really? Tell me! Tell me now!" Pinkie smiled.
"Are you ready for this?" Rainbow nodded excitedly. Pinkie took a deep breath, pretending to be dramatic. "I invited Soarin to all your parties, and he said he'd be there to all of them!" Rainbow beamed happily and let out a little squeal.
"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" she gushed, brushing her hair harder. "I can't believe I get to spend my birthday with my best friends, and my boyfriend!" Rainbow put down her brush and twirled happily through the air. Pinkie laughed as she watched her. Rainbow paused. "Whoa, who would've thought that I'd be twirling around my room and using a hairbrush all because of a boy."
"That's love girlfriend, no doubt about it. It changes you." Rainbow gave Pinkie a smug look.
"Mmhmm, by the way, how's Pokey?" Pinkie smiled.
"Oh he's fine, we're doing great! Just yesterday, he did the swee-" She paused and glared at Rainbow. "Hey, wait a second!" Rainbow snickered. "How'd you know I had a boyfriend?!"
"Twilight told me," Rainbow said with a laugh. "How come you never wanted to tell me?!"
"The same reason why you never wanted to admit you were in love when you and Soarin were in that fight last month." Rainbow raised an eyebrow.
"Fear?" Pinkie shook her head.
"Pride." Rainbow laughed and flew out of her room, Pinkie giggling and following behind.
"So Pinks, I say we should get to that breakfast! What do you think?" Pinkie smiled.
"Um, duh! We can't keep everypony waiting on your nineteenth birthday!" Pinkie suddenly stopped smiling. "That reminds me, I still need to give you your present!"
"Present? Pinkie, you're giving me three parties. In one day. I think that's a good enough present for me!" Pinkie waved her hoof dismissively.
"Oh please, since when do you not get an actual material present on your birthday?" Rainbow looked at the ceiling.
"Okay, you have a point. What'cha got?" She rubbed her hooves together excitedly. Pinkie reached behind Rainbow's couch and pulled out a box wrapped in a bright pink bow. Rainbow stared at it blankly.
"You hid it behind my couch?" Pinkie shrugged and thrust the package towards her.
"Open it!" Rainbow pulled the ribbon off the box and flipped the lid off the top. Inside of it sat a badge.
It was gold, and had streaks of red and blue through it. As she examined it, she saw that it looked like her cutie mark, the red and blue streaks outlining the lightning bolt.
"Oh wow," Rainbow said softly, turning the badge in her hoof.
"Do you like it? I figured you could wear it on your uniform!" Rainbow smiled at her friend.
"I love it!" She pulled Pinkie into another hug. "Thanks so much Pinks!"
Pinkie laughed and walked towards the door of Rainbow's house. "Well, come on! We don't wanna be late!" She bounced out the door and onto the cloud ladder Rainbow kept outside for her non-flying friends.
Rainbow smiled and darted out the door after her friend. "I'm coming Pinks! Can't forget the birthday girl!"
---
A few minutes later, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash trotted, well, glided for Rainbow Dash, casually through the streets of Ponyville. Man, it's good to be home, Rainbow thought, looking around as ponies she knew, and didn't know, wished the Wonderbolt a happy birthday.
Pinkie looked up at Rainbow Dash. "Wow, somepony's gotten popular." Rainbow stuck her tongue out at Pinkie.
Suddenly, a letter fluttered down to her. Rainbow looked up and smiled at the grey pegasus mare above her. "Hey Derpy! What's up?!" Derpy smiled.
"Hey there Rainbow Dash! Happy birthday!"
"Thanks Derpy!" Pinkie smiled up at Derpy.
"Hey Derpy!" she called, darting in and out of the bakery across the street from where she stood, "Catch!" She threw a little brown bag up to the two pegasi. Rainbow caught it and handed it to Derpy, who looked inside.
"Awesome!" Derpy pulled out a light brown muffin, still slightly steaming from the oven. "Thanks Pinkie!"
"No problem!" Pinkie called cheerfully to her as she flew away.
Rainbow looked at the letter Derpy dropped for her. She smiled when she saw the return address. "It's from Soarin!" she squealed, ripping it open. Pinkie watched excitedly.
Rainbow pulled out a letter. Lowering herself down to Pinkie, they began to read.
Dear Dashie,
Happy birthday. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I am honored to be your boyfriend. I love you with all my heart, and I couldn't imagine a better girl for me than you.
"Awww!" Pinkie gushed. Rainbow blushed as they kept reading.
"I love you too," she whispered automatically. Okay, enough with the mushy stuff. You're awesome, but you know that already. Now that you're nineteen, you're finally even with me.
"When's his birthday?"
"April seventeenth." So, I wanted to get you a super awesome present for your birthday. Problem is, I can't find the perfect one for you yet. So, I'm gonna have to miss your birthday breakfast, only because I want to give it to you the first time I see you. Pinkie and Rainbow gasped.
"What?!" Pinkie yelled at the paper. Rainbow shushed her and kept reading. You can kill me for it later. I promise I'll be there for another party, although it might have to be your Ponyville one, depending on the gift.
I love you, please don't kill me 'til after you see the present.
Love, Soarin. Rainbow crumpled up the letter and looked at the ground sadly. Pinkie put a hoof around her.
"It's okay Dashie, you'll still be able to see him. Come on, let's go have fun with our friends, and order you ice cream for breakfast." Rainbow brightened.
"Okay, but only because you promised me ice cream."
---
A few minutes later, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash sat in a booth with their friends at their favorite restaurant. Twilight Sparkle took a sip of her orange juice and looked at Rainbow Dash.
"So he's not gonna be here, so what? He'll still be at at least one of your parties, plus, you two aren't big on P.D.A, so you'll still have your quote-unquote 'alone time'." Rainbow giggled.
"Speaking of alone time," she countered, "How's you're little boyfriend doing?" Twilight spit her juice back into the cup. Her friends laughed.
"H-how did you know I was dating somepony?" Rainbow looked at her.
"It's so funny how you guys think you can keep anything from me anymore. I already know that Pinkie's dating Pokey," Pinkie blushed, "Fluttershy's into Big Macintosh," Applejack giggled as Fluttershy sunk down in her seat. "A.J has Caramel now," Applejack stopped laughing. "You've got somepony, and Rarity has a special long-distance relationship with Fancy Pants in Canterlot." The girls giggled and Rarity looked proud.
"And we are making it work perfectly." Rainbow smiled at her.
"And anyway, why would I be worried about Soarin? It's not like he's with Whirlwind or anything, and he cared enough to send me a letter. What do I have to be scared about?"
---
"I CAN'T FIND HER A PRESENT!" Spitfire watched as Soarin paced around his room.
"Soarin, calm down!" she said calmly. Soarin was not calm; he had been hyperventilating for the past twenty minutes.
"HOW CAN I CALM DOWN, FIERY?! IT'S DASH'S NINETEENTH BIRTHDAY! IT'S HER LAST YEAR BEING A TEENAGER AND I HAVE TO GET HER A GIFT THAT CELEBRATES IT!" Spitfire rolled her eyes.
"Geez, what are you going to get her for her twenty-first birthday?"
"It depends on whether we're dating or not. Now, would you please do something more than sitting there and not making me feel better?" Spitfire shrugged.
"Okay, okay. If you really want to get her something special,"
"Get her something personal?" Spitfire nodded. Soarin groaned.
"I've tried that, but what do you get for the girl who has everything?"
"Nothing." Soarin glared at her. She snickered. "Just kidding. Look Soar, what you need to do is get outside. Stop pacing around your room and actually go somewhere. Maybe you can fly around town, or tour Canterlot or something. You never know where an idea will pop up." Soarin stopped pacing and lifted into the air.
Flying over to the door, he stopped to glare at Spitfire.
"I hate it when you're right."
---
Soarin flew through the morning air, Canterlot beginning to take shape under him.
"Finally. I thought I would have to keep flying forever." He dipped down to the capitol city, landing softly in the main square of the bustling city. He watched the prim and proper ponies trot by, their airs of superiority and perfume hitting Soarin like a baseball bat to the face.
"Man, why would Spitfire suggest this place? Rainbow hates fancy stuff." He sighed. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a look around."
Soarin walked slowly down the street, looking at ponies walking by and in store windows.
Suddenly, he stopped. A bright red scarf sat in the window of a shop. "Wow, that looks like her hair." He brightened. "That's it!" He bolted inside the shop, emerging a few seconds later with the scarf in a small bag.
"She's gonna love this," he thought aloud as he took off into the air again.
---
Soarin's next stop was Trottingham. He scanned the streets and windows for something else. "Aha!" he thought, looking at a night light for a foal that was shaped like a star. Rooting through another bag, he pulled out a disposable camera with his mouth.
Snapping a picture of the light, he dropped the camera back into his bag.
"Okay, that's item number two to go with the scarf, and the book." He flapped his wings once, jetting him into the air again.
"Now let's see what they have in Manehattan."
---
Soarin had been going around Equestria for hours, stopping at every city he saw. Eventually, he stopped for a break in Cloudsdale. He looked at the clock tower casually, just finishing up checking the items in his bag.
Suddenly, Soarin gasped. "How is it already three?! The party's starting, I'm in the same city, and I already told my girlfriend that I couldn't see her until I got her present." He began to hyperventilate. "Oh bad, oh bad, this is bad, this is BAD! I ONLY HAVE TWELVE ITEMS, AND I STILL NEED SEVEN MORE! PLUS I HAVE TO PUT THE BOOK TOGETHER AND MAKE SURE IT LOOKS NICE AND PICK UP CRAFT SUPPLI-"
Soarin's rant was interrupted by a hard whack on his head from Spitfire as she flew by. "Keep it together dude, I'll tell R.D that you couldn't make it and that you'll see her at the party in Ponyville, okay?" Soarin smiled weakly and nodded.
"Thanks Fiery." Spitfire shrugged.
"It's cool dude, just don't forget me on my birthday." Soarin smiled at her.
"Wouldn't dream of it," he said to her as she started to fly away. He looked back at the clock.
"Hmm, I guess I should get out of here before she tells her; I have a strange feeling that something might explode."
---
Something did explode. Rainbow Dash.
"HE'S WHAT?!" Spitfire held her ears.
"Now I know why you two are so into each other; you like yelling! Right in my ear! A whole lot!" Rainbow ignored her.
"How can he be missing another one of my parties?" She sounded hurt. Spitfire placed a hoof on her shoulder.
"R.D, he's just trying to get your present together." Rainbow suddenly felt anger bubble up inside her.
"This had better be the best freakin' present I've ever had," she muttered, taking a frustrated bite of cake.
---
"This had better be the best freakin' present she's ever had," Soarin grumbled as he flew through the streets of Ponyville. Along his way, he'd obtained six more items for his gift, leaving one more to be acquired.
"Okay, so I've gotten eighteen items. I need one more, and then I can work on the book and get to the party by eight." Rooting through his bag, he hardly noticed when he started to walk right towards a pole. That is, until he walked into it.
"UMPH!" He bounced back onto the ground. He winced and rubbed his head, looking up at what he'd slammed into. "Stupid po-"
He stopped suddenly. An old flyer for the Wonderbolt's air show from the day before was still taped to the pole.
Soarin's emerald eyes lit up as a smile crossed his face. "I think I might be done."
---
After raiding a craft store, Soarin sped back to Cloudsdale. Bursting through the front doors to the Wonderbolt's base, he ran through the halls, his bags struggling to hold all his supplies.
"I'm almost there," he told himself as he started down his hallway. "I'm almost there, I'm almost there."
"Soarin?" He froze. Rainbow Dash stood behind him, examining his saddlebags. She looked at him suspiciously. "What are you doing?" Soarin gulped. Ignore, ignore, ignore, ignore, IGNORE!!!!
Soarin tried to walk forward a little, as if he hadn't heard her. Rainbow watched him walk away from her.
I know he did not just walk away from me. "Soarin!" He could hear the rage building in her voice.
Soarin swallowed and broke into a run. "SOARIN!" He could hear her wings flapping as she began to chase after him.
He continued to ignore her as he neared his door. Nearly breaking it open trying to open the door, he darted inside, saying quickly, "SORRYDASHBUTIGOTTAGOGOENJOYYOURPARTYI'LLBEWITHYOUSOONIJUSTGOTTADOTHISONETHINGREALQUICKILOVEYOU'KAYTHANKSBYE!"
With that, he slammed the door, leaving a confused, hurt, angry, and upset birthday girl at his door. It's my birthday, she thought, tears filling her eyes as she stared at his door, And I'll cry if I want to.
---
Rainbow flew slowly back to her party. Her friends and family cheered when she flew through the door of her old house, where her parents and siblings still lived.
Twilight was the first to notice Rainbow's red eyes. "Rainbow," she said slowly, "What. Happened?"
Rainbow sniffed and looked at Twilight sadly. "I saw Soarin." She smiled.
"So? You've been wanting to see him all day." A tear dripped off Rainbow's face and onto the floor.
"He ran away from me when I said his name." It was almost like the room itself gasped along with everypony else.
"WHAT?!" the girls yelled in unison. She nodded, fully crying now. Her friends surrounded her.
"Okay, okay," Applejack said calmly, "It's alright. This isn't the first time you've come to us crying about him, and I doubt it'll be the last. Now, think about this y'all. Soarin said that he needed t' get her a good birthday present. Ever think that the present that he'd been getting together for her all this time might have been with him?"
Twilight nodded. "That makes sense. See Rainbow Dash, it's okay. He was probably just hiding your present." She walked closer to Applejack as the rest of the girls started to try and cheer up Rainbow Dash.
"Right?"
---
After hours of working, Soarin finally let himself out of his room, his present for Rainbow Dash hidden in his saddlebag. He glanced at a clock nearby.
"Okay Soarin, it's seven thirty, your present is ready, and you're going to go see your girlfriend. Sure, she's going to kill you, but she's going to see you first." Soarin took a deep breath and started out the door, flapping once to jet him into the air and darting through the night sky to Ponyville.
Landing outside of the small town, Soarin looked around. He was standing in the middle of a field, the field he'd taken Rainbow Dash to on their first date. Soarin smiled at the sweet memory.
"Soarin!" Rainbow Dash flew down to meet him. He smiled up at her, earning him a shy smile in return.
"Happy birthday Dashie," he said, stepping up to her and nuzzling her cheek. She cursed herself for blushing and giggling happily.
"Okay, I have to admit, I want to be mad at you, but I can't do it because I'm so happy to see you!" Soarin laughed as she threw her hooves around him and kissed his cheek.
She looked down at his bag. "What's in there?" Soarin smiled.
"You're gonna love this." He pulled out a rainbow colored book with a picture of Rainbow Dash and Soarin relaxing together on the cover. Rainbow gasped.
"I remember that picture!" Soarin laughed.
"Hold on, this book has to be explained." He flipped to the first page, where a big number one was cut out of colored paper. The flyer for the air show sat under it. "The only way I've been able to meet a girl as amazing as you was through the Wonderbolts."
Rainbow smiled as Soarin kept flipping through the book, explaining every single picture or artifact, and how it related to her, him, or them.
Rainbow was almost in tears when he got to number nineteen. Soarin flipped the last page. "And for number nineteen, for your nineteenth birthday."
Rainbow gasped. A diamond ring sat on the page. A smile stretched across her face. "Oh. My. Gosh." Soarin smiled shyly.
"Well, I guess you know what I'm gonna say next." Rainbow nodded silently.
"I know. And, well...yes." Soarin beamed and pulled the ring off the paper, slipping it onto Rainbow's wing.
Rainbow smiled and surprised him with a quick kiss. "Best. Present. Ever." Soarin smiled.
"What?"
"You."
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Just so you all know this is my first Fanfiction so some criticism would be nice!
DASHIEFAN1 IS OUT,PEACEY!!!!