The six mares talked amongst themselves giddily as their apple carriage continued down the road towards Canterlot, their faces bright with anticipation.

“I can’t wait!” Pinkie Pie chirped. “This’ll be the bestest-best party ever! Everypony in Canterlot’s gonna have a blast!”

Applejack chuckled. “Ah can’t wait to start sellin’ mah apple pastries,” the orange farmpony said. “Apple Brioche sent me her secret recipe fer, well...Apple Brioche, and this is mah first time makin’ ‘em.”

“You’re gonna knock ‘em dead, AJ!” Dash said excitedly. “As for me, I can’t wait to hang with the Wonderbolts!” She pumped a forehoof into the air. “I’m finally getting to meet Spitfire and Soarin’ again up close!”

At the mention of the name of the male Wonderbolt, two pairs of eyes flicked towards Twilight Sparkle, who did her best to hide her blush.

“Ya sure he’s gonna be there, Dash?” Applejack asked.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and blew a raspberry at her friend. “Pfft, duh! I mean, Spitfire’s the flight leader, and Soarin’s the second-best flyer. He’s not the fastest, Fleetfoot’s got that covered, but he’s pretty nimble, has more stamina and can glide in the air the longer than most of the other Wonderbolts.”

Rarity failed to hide the smirk on her face as she looked at Twilight out of the corner of her eye. “And how would you know, Dash? Did anything happen after the Young Flier’s Competition?”

The sky-blue pegasus narrowed her eyes. “Right,” she drawled sarcastically. “Soarin’s not the type to get caught up with groupies. He told me so himself.”

This time the other five mares looked to her with rapt attention. She didn’t talk much about her day with the Wonderbolts after the Young Flier’s Competition. She often got too hyped-up and started to natter on about everything that happened with a speed that almost rivaled Pinkie Pie’s rapid-fire speech.

“All those gossip papers talking about how Soarin’ slept with this mare or that filly are wrong. Spitfire even told me after he turned her down for drinks or dinner a couple of times that she thought he was a coltcuddler.”

The lavender unicorn’s eyes grew wide. She felt heartbroken after they fell out of contact and heard the rumors, but having those rumors, well...dashed, lifted her spirits. Oh Celestia, did I just think that? she thought with an inward chuckle.

Her gaze flickered to Rarity and Applejack, both of whom seemed to divine her thoughts, and they smiled knowingly.

“Anyway, I asked him about it after doing a couple of wind sprints on clouds that Spitfire set up, and he laughed when I asked him if he was a coltcuddler,” Rainbow Dash went on. “He said that he had a friend from when he was in Flight School that he had a schoolcolt crush on. I asked if she was in Flight School, too. He said she was actually a unicorn from one of the more prestigious academies in Canterlot.”

“A unicorn, really?” Rarity asked, feigning curiosity. She leaned closer. “Do tell.”

“You seem awfully interested,” Dash said warily.

“I love hearing a good love story,” the powder-white unicorn replied simply.

“What makes you think it’s a love story?”

Rarity paused a moment, taken aback by Rainbow Dash’s question. “Well...”

“You just said that the rumors ‘bout Soarin’ weren’t true, right?” Applejack cut in. Rainbow Dash nodded. “Well, if’n you think about it, if he ain’t ruttin’ around with every mare that throws herself at ‘im, and he ain’t a coltcuddler, then he must have somepony on his mind. Ah mean, he is a red-blooded stallion with red-blooded stallion needs, ain’t he?”

As Dash looked away in thought, Rarity nodded her thanks at Applejack. The orange farmpony winked in reply.

“I guess you’re right,” Dash finally said with a nod. She shook her head, remembering her tale. “Anyway, he told me that he was really into this filly before he joined the Wonderbolts. He even got all misty-eyed when he mentioned it. I didn’t want to hear any details, but he told me that she was the only mare that he was with.”

“What was her name?” Fluttershy asked.

“That was the weird thing,” Dash replied. “I asked him a couple of times who this unicorn mare was. He never told me her name, only that she was ridiculously smart and really beautiful. He also said that he wished he could apologize for falling out of contact.”

“That can happen, being a celebrity,” Rarity said. “Right, Twilight?”

The lavender unicorn jumped at the mention of her name. “Huh? Oh, right.”

“How would she know, Rare?” Dash asked indignantly.

“Hellooooo?” Pinkie drawled in a sing-song voice. “She’s Princess Celestia’s private student and we helped her save Princess Luna, remember?” She hopped up excitedly. “Ooh, ooh! And she saved Ponyville from the Ursa Minor, too, and we helped her defeat that meanie-pants Dis...”

“What meanie-pants are ya talkin’ ‘bout?” Applejack asked.

Pinkie Pie looked at her five dumbstruck friends. “Wait, too early? Ohhhh...” She nodded slowly. “Yeah, too early.” She turned to Rainbow Dash again. “Anyway, she’s not a celebrity-celebrity, but Twilight’s kinda famous, she just doesn’t talk about it a lot.”

Rainbow Dash nodded. “I guess...”

“So he said, if given a chance, he’d apologize?” Applejack asked.

“Yeah,” Dash replied. She looked from her to Rarity. “Why are you two so interested all of a sudden?”

Rarity smiled. “It’s always nice to meet a celebrity who’s honest and charming,” she replied, her words taking on an undertone that only Twilight and Applejack would understand. “Besides, it’s not everyday that you get to meet a celebrity and get to know him up close and personal.” She glanced at Twilight. “He seems like a real stallion to me.”

“I thought you wanted to try and hook up with the Princess’ nephew,” Rainbow Dash said.

“I do,” Rarity replied, “but I’ve not heard much about the Princess’ nephew. Soarin’, on the other hoof...” She couldn’t resist smirking one final time in Twilight’s direction. “Well, you’ve told me so much about him, Rainbow Dash, that I can’t help but be intrigued.”

At that the sky blue pegasus doubled over laughing. “I don’t think Soarin’ would be interested in you, Rarity.”

Rainbow Dash missed the secretive glance Rarity gave Applejack and Twilight Sparkle. “One would be surprised at how the world works, Rainbow Dash. You never really know a pony.”

Author's Note

Special thanks goes to Aurora for giving me the opportunity to write this follow-up! Hope y'all enjoy! Now to watch 'The Best Night Ever' again...