Soarin' sat in his Wonderbolt apartment, staring out at a lonesome, rainy night. He knew he should have been sleeping hours ago, but he didn't care, Spitfire's screams about sleep could wait, all he cared about was his own life, specifically his love life.
Times were tough for Soarin'. As he stared out into the night, tears formed in his eyes. Ever since the royal wedding, he hadn't had any proper time with any mare (except the obvious training with the mare Wonderbolts) and it had been bringing him down lately.

Everyone in his squad to his knowledge had a mare/coltfriend and he just didn't feel that special anymore. The last mare he had been with was a mare named Rainbow Dash. They did a lot that night, they danced, talked and even flew together. However because of that one night every Wonderbolt that came to mind was teasing him about being in love with the rainbow maned mare, it made more sense because Soarin' had never had a marefriend before, of course he denied this heavily, which only strengthened the problem and gave him less breathing space.

It eventually became so bad, embarrassing and depressing that he had started isolating himself from other Wonderbolts. Except his good friends Spitfire and Fleetfoot, who tried to make him feel happy and not useless. Soarin' though, still felt empty in his heart. One thing though (that the others didn't know) is that he actually had feelings for Rainbow Dash. That stunning rainbow mane and light blue coat, those beautiful magenta eyes that were easy to get lost in, all topped off with a very likeable personality. Soarin' sat there, thinking about her until he eventually snapped himself out of La-La Land and went back to the dark abyss that was reality.

He had been planning to ask Dash out since he met her but he had always felt that she was too good for him or he didn't have the guts. As he toyed with the idea of going to sleep for a "big day" tomorrow or just read a book or write a letter to his family, Soarin' finally decided he would sneak out for a midnight flight to heal his emotional wounds. the receptionist was renowned for letting Wonderbolts out at anytime, even at midnight, so down he went. The receptionist just happily waved him out the door as she always did, noting that he should be back by dawn. But then again what was she, his mother?

Soarin' stepped outside breathing in some cool and damp midnight air, the rain must've stopped while he was dreaming about Rainbow and he probably didn't hear it stop. He was already feeling refreshed, as not wearing a tight suit and goggles all day had relaxed him, though he could still felt it as if he still had them on. He decided to take an unusual high glide above ponyville, being quiet all the while as it was still about 1:30 AM.

Ponyville was always a peaceful place, day and night and everyone was friendly, unlike places like Phillydelphia where everyone had at least 1 arch-nemesis and a gang war started at the drop of a pebble. It was at this point that Soarin' noticed he was hungry, too deep in though to care, and passing cafes and restaurants wasn't helping him. Soarin' at this point was kicking himself because he didn't bring an emergency snack like he usually did and he felt like an idiot, However on the horizon he noticed, by pure coincidence, that there was an apple farm ahead of him. which made him feel more hopeful.

On his way in he read the sign out the front, it read "Sweet Apple Acres" he precariously perched himself on a branch to grab an apple, not afraid by the fall since, 1: he was a pegasus and 2: the drop was only a few feet, he was worried of making a racket though and disturbing the farmers. He grabbed an apple went to lay down on a nearby branch to eat it, it wasn't comfortable since it was a tree after all, but still let him rest his wings (though he barely needed it) and his body. Once the sweet taste of the apple hit his taste buds he knew he'd picked the right choice coming here as the apples were delicious and perfect for eating. As Soarin' laid back into the tree, he felt himself drifting off, Soarin' knew if he fell into the clutches of sleep he would get a verbal beating from Spitfire because of his show tomorrow. Even so, he couldn't stop himself from falling back down into his dream world as he finally gave in.

Soarin' awoke the next morning to a lot of loud banging noises as if somepony was bringing the trees down with silent chainsaws, he got that sinking feeling that the noises were getting louder which meant they were getting closer. He tried flying off but his wings were quite sore for some reason, "What a time to not be able to fly" he said under his breath. He wondered for a brief moment if "Sweet Apple Acres" was being taken down, his train of thought was cut short when the tree started shaking
violently and he fell to the ground with a loud bang. "Ow celestia, that is going to leave such a bruise" he groaned, wearily picking himself up. It was then he noticed the orange mare standing opposite him, staring blankly at him.

"Whoa! Ya alright sugar cube?" the seemingly innocent mare asked, a look of caring sympathy in her eyes "Didn't notice ya there." she paused momentarily to inspect the stallion "wait, why do you seem familiar?" she asked, shooting him an odd look.

"Soarin' 2nd in command of the Wonderbolts?" Soarin' replied "I was at the-" Soarin' stopped. suddenly he remembered this mare, "hey, you're that mare that sold me that apple pie at the Grand Galloping Gala!".

"You're that colt that Rainbow Dash was with at the royal wedding!" they said at the same time. Soarin' suddenly found himself taking a subconscious flashback to when he met the mare. "uh, Soarin'?" she asked.

"Oh, sorry uh" he sat there for a moment to try remember the mare's name "what's your name?" .

"Name's Applejack, but you can call me AJ" she replied "what was that about?".

"What was what about?" Soarin' asked, confused. It was then Soarin' realized that he'd fallen into unnecessary thought again. He looked back blushing "Oh sorry, i was just thinking" he said embarrassed.

"Sorry i disturbed your train of thought Soarin" she apologized, although Soarin' was grateful "Oh gosh, silly me! I've been meaning to ask what brings you here?" she asked.

"I came here for a midnight flight" he said "but i accidentally fell asleep" Soarin' then realized he was supposed to be with the Wonderbolts right now "You wouldn't happen to know the time!?" he asked frantically "I need to be somewhere soon!".

"I'd say its about..." she did the math in her mind "around 8:30 AM".

"Damn it!" Soarin' suddenly yelled "Spitfire's going to kill me!" he moaned.

"I'm sorry Soarin" AJ said sympathetically "I've been in this type of debacle before" She then awkwardly placed a hoof around him, making the stallion jitter slightly.

"Don't be sorry for me" he replied "its my fault!" he said angrily.

"Maybe a nice walk will help you?" AJ suggested.

"It might" Soarin said, still frustrated with himself.

"I could show you around town?" she suggested, warmly smiling at him.

"Sorry Applejack, but I'd rather be alone" Soarin' said sulkily, as he started his walk, little did he know of an old friend waiting for him.

Author's Note

Second chapter may be a bit of a wait, because i'm writing another fic currently. I got the feeling while writing this that things did happen too fast though. But please do leave feedback!