Chapter 1: Finding The Right Home
The Winter Wonder
Written by: Alex A
Chapter 1: Finding The Right Home
The cold chill brushed off the arctic blue fur of a stallion . As he stood on the textured surface on one of the many clouds floating in the area around a town, which had become rather famous over the last few years. His mane blew in the wind, there he saw patches of clouds bringing in frozen rain for winter. While his eyes were currently fixed on the ground below, his ears were distracted by something other than the nature around him.
“Soarin, are you sure you’ve got the tail to do this?” a dark coated stallion asked, as he looked towards his friend with a smirk. While they were standing on a cloud.
Soarin sighed, “Like I’ve been saying all week Rapid Fire, I’m good. Besides, I need another job to keep me occupied for the winter,” he said, while refocusing on the ground below.
Rapid rolled his eyes in response. “Say, who was the stallion who spent last winter drinking and getting wasted every second?” he retorted with a snicker. Reminding his friend of the holiday the Wonderbolts had every year, a time where Soarin and all the other members of the team had no shows for three months. It was a time where they’d just go out and enjoy partying, but this year Soarin intended to keep up with his more natural traits of flying. Since all the jobs for the Cloudsdale weather team had been taken, Soarin knew he had to find someone who could help him get a weather job in this town, but he didn't have the guts to speak up and ask the mare that was head of the team.
Soarin stopped looking at the ground below him and turned to face his friend, the same black coated stallion who held an array of yellow and red in his mane with two very distinctive orange orbs which screamed the words fire. Soarin raised an eyebrow at him, “When I asked you to come with me, I wasn't really expecting you to just stand here and mock me.”
Rapid raised his hooves, “Woah lieutenant,” he started, trying to hold his laughter. “I’m just here for some company, it’s you whose gotta get your own flank down here and ask her if you can get a job.”
Soarin’s eyes swung back over the edge of the cloud, as he looked back into hid thoughts questioningly. Her rainbow mane and tail were something of an icon, but Soarin wasn't interested in her looks, her raw talents. He knew as well as everypony else that Rainbow Dash would get into the Wonderbolts soon enough, but the question was causing him not to go an inch closer as if she’d actually give him a job or not. Soarin closed his eyes as he thought hard about his next few movements.
Rapid shook his head playfully, “Soarin, buddy. You really need to stop acting like a little filly when it comes to this. Remember how you were with Spitfire when you first came into the Bolts?"
Soarin shivered slightly at the thought, opening his eyes and getting back up again on his hooves. “I know, but I’ve never done anything like that around Rainbow Dash before. Only remembering that I just drop a pie in front of her and letting her save it,” he replied.
Rapid Fire sighed heavily, “You really need to stop worrying like a little filly,” he said teasingly.
“I’m not a filly! It's only coming from the stallion who wets himself if he has to fight against a baby purple and green dragon,” Soarin quickly snapped as he reminded his friend of the time.
“He was the size of a mountain when we came to help, I swear!” Rapid Fire shouted, remembering back to the embarrassment he got from his team mates when the dragon had actually turned out to be the size of a foal and Twilight Sparkle' s assistant.
“What are you two doing here?” Rainbow Dash asked hovering above the two stallions, who both turned around with surprised faces at the thought of being caught red hoofed.
“Uh,” Soarin responded as Rapid Fire smiled sheepishly.
“Uh ain't an answer Soarin” Rainbow replied jokingly, landing on the cloud and trotting up to the stallion, “Hows your wing doing?” she asked with a curious look.
“I-It’s good,” Soarin replied happily as he exchanged glances with Rapid as the other stallion kept his smile.
Rapid Fire opened his wings to take off. "I’ll leave you two alone to talk. And I’ll see you around Soarin, I’ll make sure to tell Spitfire where you are", he said before flying away.
“Thanks,” Soarin said sarcastically as he saw the disappear out of sight.
Rainbow rolled her eyes, “Yeah, so anyway, what’s up?” she asked hitting Soarin playfully on the shoulder.
The stallion rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he found the courage to ask his question, “Well, I was wondering if you needed anyone for maybe helping out for the winter-"
“Woah,” Rainbow interrupted, “You mean you want a spot on the winter weather team?” she asked quizzically. Soarin nodded in response to her question, leaving the mare with a dumbstruck expression, “Why? You're a Wonderbolt!”
“I know, and I’ll even work voluntary. It’s just I kinda don’t wanna spend the next few months drinking and going to parties when I could be flying instead,” Soarin interjected.
Rainbow thought hard about the stallion’s question, she didn’t need anyone for the winter especially, but this wasn’t just some random pegasus. Suddenly, a smirk formed on her lips as a light bulb seemed to switch on within her head. She looked towards the stallion with a mischievous look. “Tell you what Soar, how about if I do this for you and get you in. You’ve gotta do somethin for me,” she asked.
Soarin turned slightly uneasy, but answered the mare’s question, “Uh, sure, no problem!”
“So um...why are we doing this?” Soarin asked looking to Dash as the pair trotted up towards a shop in the middle of Ponyville, the outside structure looking as if it was selling something fancy with the windows displaying a few items of clothing.
“Remember that mare you tried to save at the Young Flyers Competition?” Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Uh, probably couldn’t forget if I tried...wait-”
“Darling! I’m so glad you could come over,” Rarity exclaimed happily as Rainbow and Soarin trotted up to the door of the building, when her eyes set upon the stallion her face became even more excited, “I see you also brought someone to try on some Stallion Wear as well,” she said looking up and down Soarin’s figure making him feel slightly awkward.
“Yeah, you sure this isn’t gonna take to long though,” Rainbow asked hesitantly.
Rarity waved a dismissive hoof, “Oh of course dear, it’ll only take a few minutes,” she replied happily, welcoming the ponies into the store. When they entered their senses immediately came to the smell of different perfumes and orders which would usually make any ordinary pony gag, but somehow Rarity wasn’t phased by it. “This way if you please,” she asked trotting over to a large dresser which had many racks of clothing hanging in an orderly fashion. “I’ll need to go get some things for… oh, please excuse me dear I don’t think we’ve ever met,” Rarity said with a smirk, “Are you Rainbow’s friend?”
“I… uh…” Soarin exchanged a few glances with Dash before continuing, “I guess, but um, we’re just friends,” he said hoping he hadn’t made things even more awkward.
Rarity nodded. “Well I can see Rainbow has a fine choice in stallion friends,” Rarity proceeded to say, “Well I’m Rarity, you may have heard of me,” she said holding out her hoof delicately.
Soarin carefully shook the mares hoof, “Uh yeah, I’m Soarin... I think I remember meeting you at the Young Flyer' s competition. You were so busy paying attention about showing off your own wings out to everypony, that they burned out with the sun and you were about to fall to your death. And while me and my teammates were trying to save you, you knocked us out", he said, trying to hold a friendly smile as Rarity’s eyes turned stone cold.
A few moments of silence broke, as Rarity looked at the wonderbolt seriously, “Let us never speak of that incident again.”
“Okay, I won't,” Soarin quickly replied as the mare trotted off to find some more clothing. The stallion turned to see Rainbow standing with a bored looking plastered expression.
“So, how come you're helping out with the clothing?” Soarin asked.
“Long story. You see, I kinda smashed through her window last week,” Rainbow said hesitantly.
“How’d you do that?” Soarin replied.
“I was trying out the latest Wonderbolt’s trick from the last show I saw, I was doing it well and then I kinda lost concentration and flew out of the sky", she admitted, “But still, I tried my best".
Soarin pondered for a moment before speaking up again, “Was that the Wonder Helix?” he asked casually. Rainbow nodded as a smile came to Soarin’s muzzle, “Well I can show you how, but guess I'll have to wait,” Soarin replied as Rarity came back over with a stack of more clothes.
“Okay, let us begin!” Rarity said happily.
The next few minutes turned into hours as the two pegasi were forced to wear clothes of all different varieties. Soarin resorted to just trying to think of other things, while he had Rainbow and Rarity look at him with various clothes on. But in the end, the fashionista finally ran out of clothes for the two to try on and after many hours they were finally let out from the shop.
Soarin sighed in a tired state as Rainbow trotted along side him, “You said it was only going to be a few minutes,” he asked looking to the mare with a questionable look.
Rainbow snickered, “Yeah, I probably should have told ya. When Rarity says minutes, she means hours.”
Soarin rolled his eyes, suddenly realising the loss of light from the sun, “Uh, I should probably start heading back to Cloudsdale before it’s too late,” Soarin said, he turned to see Rainbow with a raised eyebrow.
“Uh Soar, you can’t expect to have a job in one town, but live in another city,” Rainbow informed.
Soarin’s expression turned slightly to one of worry, “Well I don’t have anywhere to stay around here, do you know anyone?”
Rainbow thought for a few moments.“I think I might know just the right ponies”.
“Hey Rainbow, what’s up?” Rumble asked as he opened the door, before leaning on the frame of the doorway.
“Hey squirt, I need to speak to your brother, is he in?” Rainbow asked exchanging a few glances with Soarin.
Rumble nodded and turned back towards the corridor of the home, “Hey Thunder! Can you stop making out with that blow up doll and come to the door, Rainbow wants to talk.”
A few moments later, a dark coated stallion appeared at the doorway with a slightly embarrassed look on his muzzle. He trotted up to the two ponies holding a sheepish grin. “Hey, uh… what can I help with?”
Rainbow smirked and turned to Soarin, “You know Soarin from the Wonderbolt’s right?” she asked.
Thunder’s eyes widened when he instantly recognized the stallion, “Uh, hell yeah, what’s up?”
Soarin looked cautiously at the stallion as he asked the question, “Well, I kinda need a place to stay. You don't mind right?
Thunder’s eyes widened when he heard what the stallion in front of him was asking, “Sure, come in,” he replied happily, opening the door wider to allow him to enter.
Rainbow spread her wings and gave Soarin a smirk, “Have fun.”
Soarin smiled back at the mare before trotting into the home, he hoped that the next three months would be as fun as he hoped.
To be Continued...
