Rebuilding a Rainbow

Being in the public's eye is fun, right? No, it's only fun if your name is Surprise, which unfortunately wasn't Soarin's name. He had thought it was fun when he was first accepted onto the team and even for awhile after that, but he soon realized just how much it bothered him. He couldn't do anything without it being in the newspaper and last night was no different, even if he had planned it that time, a decision he regretted when he read the words he had said in an article.

"Arg! Rainbow's gonna kill me," Soarin groaned as he handed Fleetfoot her paper back.

Fleetfoot looked over the article one more time and nodded in agreement. "I know i would kill you for that," she said and the shrugged as he gave her an annoyed look.

"Dashie won't kill you! Being in the newspaper is fun! My fans always love when i'm in the newspaper, they think it's fun too!" Surprise chuckled as she flew over to the two.

"Rainbow will probably think different than you Surprise," Spitfire added as she came trailing after Surprise who she was helping fix her mane for the show, before she had flew off after the sound of her friends. "But, she probably won't hate you Soarin because you stood up for her. I know i wouldn't hate you for that, i'd be mad though with all the stalking from the paparazzi she's gonna get," she finished with a shrug as she got back to shoving Surprise's mane into the correct spot in her suit, now that it was almost completely straightened. She did this for every show because Surpise's usual puffy mane was just too puffy to fit into the suit and had to be straightened to do so, but she didn't mind until the energetic pony started moving around.

"Well lets hope i'm dating a pony like Spitfire not Fleetfoot," Soarin said with a chuckle, which earned him a glare from Fleetfoot.

"Hey! What about me?" Surprise asked as Spitfire finished putting her mane into it's correct spot. She was saddened a bit that she had come all the way over here to be in the conversation and was being left out.

"Rainbow isn't going to handle the paparazzi like you do, no pony else does," Soarin said with a chuckle as he nudged Surprise with his hoof to cheer her up. "I guess your just special," he added, which cheered the energetic pony up almost immediately and earned him a big hug.

"Oh, your so sweet Soain!" Surprise said, in an even higher pitched voice than she usually had, due to her excitement. She then noticed him struggling to breath in her hooves and let go of him, "Opps, sorry." She apologized with a chuckle as she turned and hopped off, announcing that she was going to eat before the show, behind her.

"She sure is something special," Fleetfoot said with a chuckle as she watched Surprise hop off. Spitfire and Soarin glared at her once she had finished speaking and she held her hooves out as she said, "Wait not in a bad way, i meant in a good way!"

"Get that, Fleetfoot," Soarin said with a chuckle that Spitfire joined into.

"Oh, shut it you two," Fleetfoot said with a roll of her eyes.

Meanwhile...

Rainbow was sitting in Twilight's library, tiredly. She had never done much with her mane, but anypony could tell that she was sporting her bed mane, as was everyother pony in the room. Around her sat all of the elements of harmony, appearing about as tired as Rainbow was, well all except Pinkie.

The pink pony seemed to be fully awake, but she had big dark eye circles underneath her blue eyes. She had broken right into Twilight's house in the middle of the night claiming that she saw Chrysalis going through her room and that the elements of harmony needed to get up and stop her now. So, Twilight jumped right out of bed and the two of them woke everypony up, slapped their elements on their necks and headed out to try and find Chrysalis, but they all came up empty hoofed.

Now, it was the early hours of the morning and everypony was exhausted from the lack of sleep they had gotten as well as all the searching they had done before Celestia's sun had even come up, which made everypony quite irritable.

"Do i really have to send Celestia a letter? " Twilight asked as she dipped a quill into a tub of ink. She was exhausted, having gotten only a few hours of sleep before Pinkie woke her because of how late she stayed at Rainbow's and how long it took her to get comfortable with her not so new wings, considering it had been quite awhile since she first received them.

"Don't worry about it, dear," Rarity began, stopping only to let a yawn out. "No pony knows if she was actually here, so we shouldn't bother her," she finished with a sigh.

"But, she was here Rarity! I saw her with my own two eyes!" Pinkie yelled as she jammed her head against Rarity's and made her eyes bulge out at her.

"M-maybe you were just seeing things because you were tired," Fluttershy suggested.

"You don't see things when your tired!" Pinkie exclaimed, taking her attention off of Rarity, who was glaring at the pink pony and looking to Fluttershy.

"Actually, Pinkie you can see things if you are really tired," Twilight corrected, letting the quill rest on the desk once again, so that she could take the strain of using magic off of her tired head.

"But, i'm not tired!" Pinkie exclaimed, annoyed that no pony believed her.

"I found her passed out on the ground while we were searching," Rainbow added, now laying on the her stomach, her right hoof rested against her cheek to hold her head up.

"I'm not tired!" Pinkie yelled, stomping her hooves angrily on the ground.

"Sugarcube, you've been tired all week," Apple Jack said, which only caused the pink pony to scream even louder.

"I'm not tired!!!" Pinkie repeated.

"Oh, Pinkie please! It is too early for that screeching of yours," Rarity complained as she rubbed a hoof around her horn, dramatically.

Pinkie opened her mouth to yell some more and Rainbow shoved her hoof into it, stopping her before even a little sound came out. "Pinkie enough!" She moaned, rolling her magenta eyes in her head. She too had had enough of Pinkie's yelling and had peeled herself off the ground to put an end to it all.

While, the room was quiet once again, Twilight decided to speak up. "Pinkie, you told me you hasn't slept in a few days because the baby Cakes sleep all day and then cry and keep you up all night," she said and some of the other mares nodded in agreement, having heard the same thing from the pink, party pony when they found her sleeping in a bazaar location earlier in the week.

Pinkie's body relaxed after Twilight spoke and she sat, obviously giving up on the argument because she knew she was right. At this time, Rainbow removed her hoof from her mouth and she said, "I have been tired, but i was eating lots and lots of cupcakes, so i wasn't just imagining things, Chrysalis was really there."

"Well, if anypony sees her again, i'll tell Celestia, but for now stay here and get some rest, Pinkie," Twilight said with a relieved sigh, now that the whole argument was over.

"Yes, and we should all do the same, i'm exhausted!" Rarity added as she went to take her element off, but was stopped by a buttery colored hoof.

"We should keep the elements on, in case she does show up, if that's okay with you," Fluttershy suggested.

"Good idea, Fluttershy," Twilight said with a smile. She then looked to no pony in particular and said, "Girls, keep your elements on, but do go home and get some rest. I think Rarity spoke for all of us when she said she was exhausted."

Everypony nodded and started filing out of the room except Pinkie and Twilight who were headed to the next level of the library. They reached the top of the stairs and started getting into their beds right as Rainbow closed the front door, starting on her way home.

Rainbow walked peacefully for a couple minutes and then she found herself just centimeters away from a strange unicorn, stallion's face. She opened her mouth to tell him off, but before she could even manage one word the flash of his camera blinded her.

"Ah! What is wrong with you?!? You know that hurts, right!?" She screamed, rubbing at her eyes with her hooves.

"Oh, um, yeah," the stallion replies with a chuckle as he looked at the picture he had just snapped of her. "You know, your really photogenic, ever think of being a model?" He asked as he let camera fall from his hooves and hang from his neck as it was before.

"You think i don't know that? And, who are you?!" She demanded, letting her hooves fall to the ground again, the sleepy expression she had returning once again. She gave him no time to answer and instead took to the air, knowing he would follow if he was this interested in her picture and talking to her.

"Well, the ponies that read my column call me Shot," he began, trailing after her from the ground, as expected. "Now, i have a few questions for you, before all the other ponies show up hoping to make some bits off your answers and pictures," he said, rather quickly as he floated a notepad and quill from his saddle bags with his magic. He was clearly not one to dance around the topic or be considerate of the pony he was stalking, which is why he usually always got what he had come for as well as why he had one of the most popular columns in Equestria.

"Shot, huh? Must be fun when your out," she commented, cutting his words off and flying up higher in an attempt to shake him.

"Yeah, it's great," he replied quickly and then floated a notepad and quill from his saddle bags. Now, i have a few questions for you, before all the other ponies show up hoping to make some bits off your answers and pictures," he said, rather quickly and loudly, so that the airborn pony could hear him. He was clearly not one to dance around the topic or be considerate of the pony he was stalking, which is why he usually always got what he had come for as well as why he had one of the most popular columns in Equestria.

"Shoot," Rainbow said, chuckling at her cleaver word play.

Shot, on the other hoof was not the least bit amused at her comment and just rolled his eyes then continued to quietion the pegasus. "So, Rainbow what's it like dating a world famous stallion?" He said, not even bothering to look up at her, instead he stared down at his notepad, ready to write.

"What are you talking about?" Rainbow asked, lowering herself, so she could find out where he got that idea from.

"All of Equestria knows your dating Soarin, so what's it like?" He asked with an annoyed tone.

She gave him a strange face and then tilted her head. "Wait, what? Where did you hear this?" She asked.

He groaned and then floated a newspaper out, jamming it in her face. "Here!" He said in an even more annoyed voice than before. "All these athletes are dumber than a box of rocks," he mumbled under his breath as she scanned the article over.

Rainbow glared at him, hearing what he had mumbled and then brought her attention back to the article, to look over it for what had to be the tenth time by now. She sighed, looked back to the angry writer and then took off, leaving nothing but a furious unicorn and a rainbow trail in her wake.

"That's it! I'm done with athletes! First, Fleetfoot screams in my face and now this mare! I'll stuck to stupid princesses!" The unicorn grumbled as he tucked his things away in his saddle bags and stormed off.

Rainbow flew right to her house, hoping to lock herself away in there and avoid the swarm of paparazzi she knew where coming after her, but she soon realized that was no longer an option. Before her where a swarm of pegasi, cameras strapped to most of their chests, notepads and quills in their hooves. "Oh, buck," she grumbled and turned to fly off in the other direction, but she hadn't reacted fast enough because they had spotted her and were following.

She groaned as she turned to look back and saw that they were still following her. She was still exhausted from the lack of sleep she had gotten and all the physical work she was doing just to avoid the aggravating ponies behind her was making her even more tired. She passed by cloud after cloud, miserably because she could just imagine herself laying there, doing what she wished to do the most, sleeping.

Now, she was slowing down, a lot and the pegasi behind her were closing in. She sighed and then pulled her wings back in, so that she could land on a nearby cloud, when she was grabbed and pulled into the cloud she was just about to land on. She went to scream, but a hoof was slapped over her mouth as she listened to the paparazzi that was following her fly by, having no idea where she was.

After, whoever had grabbed her no longer heard the ponies who had been pressing the mare they pulled her out of the cloud and chuckled.

She grumbled and turned to fling a hoof at whoever had grabbed her, but was meat with a gray hoof, giving her a second to realize who she was about to hit really was. "What the buck Thunderlane?!" She yelled, pulling her hoof away from him. She was mad that he had scared her and was now laughing about it.

"You know, normal ponies would say thank you," he said between his chuckles as he too pulled his hoof back and let it rest on the cloud beneath him.

She cracked a smile and said, "Okay fine, thanks."

He nodded and said, "Your welcome," with a smug smile as he got up and signaled for her to do the same. "Okay, now get your lazy flank up, i got work to do, and my boss isn't very understanding," he added with a chuckle as he grabbed a hold of the cloud she was still seated on.

She shrugged and said, "I think she'll be different today, if you let me nap here," with a smile as she laid back and stretched herself across the cloud.

"Fine," he said, his chuckling gone and just a smile printed on his face as she looked up at him. "But, i'm not picking up your slack," he added.

Rainbow rolled onto her stomach and supported her head on her hooves, still looking up at him. "Oh, come on, please," she pleaded with big eyes.

He sighed and crossed his hooves across his chest as he said, "Okay, but just this once." He then took off to continue his work, the smile still printed on his face.

"Once? We've played that card at least thirty times by now," Rainbow's mind commented as she laid her head down on the cloud and adjusted her position to get a bit more comfortable. She smiled a bit at her mind's comment and then closed her eyes as she thought, "Yeah, and it's just too easy."

"Look, Scoots," a colt called as he poked at Rainbow's nose and caused her to stir.

"I wouldn't poke her," Scootaloo said as she glanced at her sleeping idol.

"Oh, come on. What's the worse she'd do to me," the colt chuckled as he poked at her nose once again.

Suddently, Rainbow's eyes flung open and angry expression took over her face. The colt went to pull his hoof back once he saw this, but he wasn't fast enough because before he knew it she had pulled him back by it and pinned him on the couch she was now rested on.

"Rainbow, stop!" Scootaloo called as she jumped to her hooves.

"Thunder, help!" The colt called, only to see the mentioned pony chuckling by where he was pinned.

By now, Rainbow had figured out who she had pinned and groaned as she let go of him. "Rumble!" she grumbled as she sat down and rubbed at her eyes, which were hurting a bit from the rude awakening.

"I told him not to poke you," Thunderlane said with a chuckle as Rainbow stopped rubbing at her eyes and looked over her surroundings.

"How'd i get here?" She asked, recognizing the house as his immediately from the times she had fallen asleep at work and woke up here.

"How do you always get here?" Thunderlane asked in a taunting manner.

"Oh, yeah," Rainbow said with a chuckle, realizing he had carried her here as he always did instead of leaving her out on the clouds when he left work. "So, clouds all managed?" She asked, in an attempt to change the subject.

"No, i left it to the other ponies while i brought you here because those ponies with the cameras found you again," he said with a shrug. "Looks like Ponyville's gonna have to wait another day for that rain," he added with a chuckle.

"Looks like it," she said with a chuckle.

By now, Rumble was board with the older ponies and hit Scootaloo on the arm. "Let's go Scoots, i'm board," he said annoyedly and started off to the doorway of the room.

Scoots on the other hand was not board and listening intently to the conversation before Rumble had poked her. She sighed and turned the follow him when she heard Rainbow spoke.

"She can stay," Rainbow said, now noticing the younger ponies' conversation.

"Yeah, but he wants to go," Scootaloo said as she glanced back to Rumble who was waiting in the doorway.

"So?" Rainbow asked.

"I'm gonna go," the orange pony responded and took off after Rumble. The two disappeared in his room.

"What's up with those two?" Rainbow asked, glancing back to Thunderlane.

He shrugged and said, "I don't know, they've been hanging out in his room since they started going out. They only stopped to poke some fun at you today."

"Going out?" Rainbow asked, glancing at him with a expression that read, "Oh, come on stupid, what do you think is going on?"

"Yeah," Tunderlane said, confused as to what Rainbow was hinting at.

"His room," she continued, with the same expression.

"Shit."

"Exactly," Rainbow said with a sigh as she got off the couch and the two of them took off to the room.

"Scoots!" Rainbow yelled as she flung the door open and spotted the two teen ponies muzzle to muzzle.

"Dam it, Rumble! Mom's gonna kill me for this, i'm supposed to be watching you!" Thunderlane complained as he stood beside Rainbow in the doorway.

Rumble shrugged and stood up with a smile. "It's not me, so why do i care?" he asked with a smug expression.

"Because i'm gonna kill you for touching my sister," Rainbow grumbled as she grabbed a hold of the colt.

"Rainbow!" Scootaloo called, recovered from her embarrassed state and stepping into save her coltfriend's flank.

Rainbow sighed, glared at Rumble and let him go. "Scoots, we're leaving," Rainbow said and turned to leave the room. "Good luck with that one," she grumbled to Thunderlane as she left, the orange filly following after her silently.

"Scootaloo, what were you thinking!?!" Rainbow groaned as she stared at the mentioned filly who was now seated before her on a cloud, still silent. "I mean i get your all weird and stuff now, but come on Rumble?" The cyan mare continued, taking the silence as a cue for her to continue.

"Rainbow!" Scootaloo complained, her cheeks flashing red again.

"Well, it's true," Rainbow responded with a chuckle, though Scootaloo just glared at her, not finding it the least bit funny. "Oh, don't be so mad, you set yourself up for that one," she added.

"I know," Scootaloo sniffled.

"Rumble, really?" Rainbow added with a chuckle. "You know he's bad news."

"He's the only colt that would give me the time of day!" Scootaloo yelled, her eyes teary and her face mad. She was sick of the talk already and going through a lot currently, so she raised her voice at the pony she usually was very calm with.

"Oh, Scootaloo," Rainbow said with a sigh as she pulled the orange filly in for a hug, being able to relate to the subject.

"Don't touch me!" Scoots complained as she pushed Rainbow off of her and crossed her forelegs.

Rainbow was taken back for a moment by the filly's words and actions because she was her biggest fan. Just like if you were the Wonder Bolt's fan you would love a chance to hug Surprise, not push her away and tell her not to touch you, it was the same with Scootaloo and Rainbow. She looked over the filly before her with tears running down her cheeks and the angry face that was trying to hide the sadness she felt and saw herself in her. She sighed and then began to speak.

"Look i get," Rainbow began, but was cut off by the angry filly.

"You don't get it, Rainbow! You had your cutie mark before everypony else, so you weren't picked on a-and shunned a-and lonely!" The orange filly yelled, stopping to end the little, sad list she began, so that she wouldn't look like such a pathetic loser. "N-no, pony ever talks to me, since Apple Bloom and Sweetie got their c-cutie marks, because i'm the last one and their too busy with their talents and all! The last one in the entire school, Rainbow! The whole school!" She screamed, using her hooves for emphasis as tears rolled down her face.

"I get it Scoots," Rainbow began once more in a sympathetic voice, but again was interrupted by Scootaloo.

"No you don't!" She yelled back and then a cyan hoof was shoved into her mouth.

"Yes i do, and you'd know that if you'd just listen to what i'm trying to tell you!" Rainbow said, annoyed that she kept getting interrupted for the same stupid reason. "Now, are you gonna be quiet and listen?" She asked, her voice no longer even the listen bit sympathetic sounding.

Scootaloo nodded and the hoof was removed from her mouth, but the tears kept coming.

Rainbow sighed as she shook the spit from her hoof and began to speak once again. "So, your picked on because you don't have your cutie mark, well i was picked on because of my mane and tail," Rainbow began. "And you feel, like everyone's against you, i did too, so you look for somepony to be on your side, to you is Rumble. For me it was a teammate, just like Rumble. So, you do anything just to keep him on your side, because, well it just feels so good not to be alone again, right?"

"Yes," Scootaloo said with a sigh as she moved her eyes off of Rainbow, still embarrassed by it all.

"Well, i did it too, and you know what, it felt awesome to have somepony on my side again, so i kept doing whatever it took to keep him there, until i realized that he wasn't really on my side, he was just taking advantage of my situation. So, i left him and it sucked to feel alone again, but that all ended when i became friends with Fluttershy, who i knew was always on my side and not because she wanted to use me, but because she was a good friend and could relate to the situation, since she was picked on as well. Sure, they still picked on me, but it felt so much better to be able to go over to Fluttershy and feel not so alone about the whole situation, ya know?" Rainbow continued.

Scootaloo nodded and asked, "So, what your saying is i have you?" To which Rainbow nodded and she flung her hooves around her thankfully. "Thanks, Rainbow," she said as she squeezed the cyan mare.

"Your welcome," Rainbow responded as she hugged Scootaloo back. "Now, lets go kid, it's time to bring you back home," she added as Scootaloo broke off the hug.

"I guess so," the orange filly said with a slight smile as she opened her wings and jumped down, using them to make her landing easier on her hooves. She landed and then Rainbow followed her down a big smile on her face now. She tilted her head a bit as she took in Rainbow's expression, wondering why she looked so happy after what they had talked about.

"Hey, Scoots, we haven't had a lesson since your wings grew, huh?" Rainbow asked, her smile still as big a before.

Scootaloo shook her head and said, "No, but what does it matter if they grew?"

Rainbow opened her mouth to speak and noticed a piece of straight, blue hair sticking out from behind a bush, so she closed her mouth, thought for a moment and then said, "Just keep up, change of plans." She then took off on hoof, leaving a surprised Scootaloo who took a second to realize what was happening and follow.

Scootaloo ran behind Rainbow purposely, so that she would have time to stop the tears and the wind could clear off any evidence that they were there. Once she figured that was all down and over with she caught up with Rainbow and noticed the two of them were running the familiar route to the older mare's home, or at least the ground underneath it. "I thought we were going to my house," Scoots said, glancing over at the cyan mare running beside her.

"I said change of plans," Rainbow said as they reached the ground beneath her house and she grabbed a hold of the Scootaloo so that she could fly her up to the her door step.

"What are we doing here?" She asked as Rainbow walked up to her door and fumbled with her keys, she stood watching.

"A lesson," Rainbow replied as she flung the door open and pulled Scootaloo in before anymore paparazzi showed up. Scootaloo did as told and then stood waiting for some instruction from her teacher, but all she got was one word, "fly."

"I can't fly, you know that," Scootaloo said with a sigh, but instead of a real reply from her teacher she got the same word she had just heard, fly. "I'll try again," she said and let her wings stretch out so that she could begin flapping them.

Rainbow watched as the younger mare flapped her wings with a smug smile because she knew what was going to happen already, the filly was going to fly. Just as expected a couple minutes later the filly was flying and not that two inches off the ground for two seconds kind of flying that she usually did, real flying. "I thought you couldn't fly," she said smugly as the filly finally realized she was flying and her face light up.

"I did too! Rainbow look i'm flying!" The filly called as she flew up higher and higher.

"Yeah, just watch out for the c-," Rainbow began, but stopped when Scootaloo hit the ceiling and locked her wings up in shock so that she could catch her. "Ceiling...."

Once, Scootaloo realized she had just hit the ceiling she laughed along with her savior, who was already doing the same. "Stupid ceiling," she said between her chuckles.

Rainbow nodded in agreement and said, "Looks like we're gonna have to start those lessons again, huh?"

"Definitely! I'm gonna be the fastest flier in Equestria one day! Watch your flank Rainbow!" The over joyed filly shouted as she jumped out of Rainbow's hooves and posed.

"We'll have to see about that one, kid," the older mare said through her own chuckles.