My Adventures With Rainbow Dashby FireFlash13231ChaptersPrologue: We're HomeChapter 1: FireFlashbackChapter 3: How We MetChapter 4: The Apples (Part 1)Chapter 4: The Apples (Intermission)Chapter 2: Rainbow DashbackPrologue: We're HomeIMPORTANT NOTICE! This is a sequel, so in order to understand the plot fully, read my first fanfic, The Lost Wonderbolts! On the way home, Rainbow, Soarin, and Spitfire chattered about new tricks and speed records and things like that, leaving me to think. It had been seven years, yet the Shadowbolts had finally found me again, and I knew that I would have some explaining to do when Soarin and Spitfire confronted me about the pegasi ponies who had captured us. Rainbow drifted over to me and put her hoof over my shoulder. "What's on your mind?" she asked, genuinely concerned, Not really listening, I replied, my floaty voice giving away the fact that I was deep in thought. "Memories....." "I remember too! Those were the days!" She flipped around and sped forward, pulling off a rapid sonic rainboom, before turning around and gliding back over to me. "Ah, memories." "No, not the good memories...do you remember my story about how I met you?" "Oh no...the Shadowbolts haven't found you, have they?" "Not exactly...two of their new recruits did. They captured the three of us, and thankfully did not have enough time to report to a high-ranking officer before we escaped.-" Rainbow cut me off. "How do you know that they were new?" "The marks on their outfits. The symbol on the flank represents authoritative ranking. Can I finish what I was saying?" "Sure, go ahead." "I'm sorry, but now that the Shadowbolts know that I'm here in Ponyville, I might have to leave. I will never forget the seven years we spent together as friends...I don't want to leave you behind, Rainbow Dash..." I broke off, as my voice cracked and my eyes started tearing up. "You don't have to leave." She replied firmly, though there were tears in her eyes as well. "I will fight to keep you by my side because...well...I love you, Fireflash." Crud. Now Rainbow AND Spitfire are BOTH in love with me. And the Shadowbolts have found me after seven long years... Outwardly, I admitted the truth. "I love you too, Rainbow Dash." Oops. Did I really just do that? She leaned in and kissed me, all thoughts instantly erased from my mind as I kissed her back, closing my eyes. We hovered for a few moments, and when we finally broke apart, Soarin called over to us. "Hehe. Enjoying yourselves?" We both blushed, having completely fogotten that Soarin and Spitfire were there. He laughed. "We're home, everypony!" Spitfire yelled. There it was, the Cloudsdale stadium, where me and the rest of the Wonderbolts performed. And it was the place where Rainbow Dash and I first met... I called out to her. "Want to do a sonic smash? It would be just like the old days." We took off into the sky, Soarin and Spitfire watching from below. We flew towards the ground side by side, a large mach cone forming in front of us. As we broke through, a flaming rainbow trailed behind us, and the force from the double sonic boom shattered most of the nearby clouds. As we landed, our eyes met, and all the memories came flooding back, everything that had happened before and after we had met seven years ago... Chapter 1: FireFlashbackIMPORTANT NOTICE: In case you didn't read the prologue, this is a sequel to The Lost Wonderbolts, so read that first. It was so long ago. So much time has passed since I lost my family... It was the day that I had passed the final exams in flight school, and graduated at the top of my class. My parents, Midnight and Blaze, were there to pick me up and take me home to celebrate. It would have been the happiest day of my life, but instead it became the day that haunts me in nightmares to this day. My parents had a secret...I never found out what it was, but it was enough for the Shadowbolts to have a reason to hunt them down. Later the same day, there was a knock at the door, and when my mother answered it, the Shadowbolt second in command was standing there. "I was tipped off by a pegasus named Blitz that I could find Blaze here. He is wanted by the royal captain of the Shadowbolts for questioning." he said, his authority and intentions clear. He was not leaving without my dad. He started to walk in, but my mother, Midnight, stopped him. She yelled over her shoulder. "Blaze! Grab Fireflash and RUN!" The Shadowbold bucked her out of the way and she fell to the floor, unconcious. My father picked me up, threw me onto his back, and flew through the house, just in front of the Shadowbolt, and flew out a small window, thankfully not large enough for the Shadowbolt to fit through. I cried for a long time, having thought that my mom, Midnight, was dead at that point. We flew for a very long time, and we were within two days' journey of our 'destination' when I finally asked. "Daddy, is mommy...is she...dead? Will I never see mommy again?" He flew us down to the ground. "My little Flashie, your mommy isn't dead. We had a plan all set up for when this happened. We are going to wait in Ponyville for your mommy, and everything will be all right." I sniffled. "Mommy's okay?" "Yes, she is. Everything will be all right." We continued our journey, though I was a little bit more optimistic at this point. I would have had no way to be prepared for what happened next. Blaze had flown us within four hours of reaching Ponyville when a team of Shadowbolts caught up to us. He dropped me as gently as he could into the Everfree Forest, and banked sharply to the right, taking off at full speed. "Don't worry, my little Flashie! I'll be all right!" he yelled as he blazed a trail through the sky, confusing the Shadowbolts by leaving a huge trailing cloud of smoke behind him. The Shadowbolts gave up following him, and searched for where he had dropped me, knowing they could use me as bait. The only thing they found was a trench where I had skidded though the dirt, and a smoldering bunch of grass at the end. I had flown off continuing in the direction of Ponyville, knowing I could wait for my parents there, but unsure now that I would ever see either of them again. Chapter 3: How We MetWhen Rainbow snapped out of her flashback, she saw the three of us watching her, our eyes full of care and worry. "Are you all right?" I asked. "What's on your mind? Don't worry, you know that you can tell me anything. "I was remembering when I lost my parents..." "I just had a flashback to when I lost MY parents." I replied. "What do you think it means?" "I don't know, but it's time for a trip down memory lane...we haven't been down that way in a long time. You remember how we met, don't you?" There was a smile on her face, but the tears in her eyes betrayed her thoughts as I too remembered the tragic conditions of our acquaintance... Author's Note: This is FireFlash's POV again. I flew on towards Ponyville, tears streaming from my eyes, as I was sure that I would never see either of my parents again. Suddenly, barely audible over the wind rushing by my ears, I heard somepony sobbing. I pulled up short, and looked around. Following the source of the crying, I saw a small cyan pegasus filly. She had a rainbow mane and tail. I flew over to her, and put my wing over her. "It'll be all right..." I whispered. She looked up from two ponies who were evidently her parents. Her eyes were glistening with tears, and she tried to control her sobbing as she asked me "W-w-who are y-you?" "I'm FireFlash. I'm lost and looking for Ponyville. Can you help me?" "I w-w-would, b-but I just l-lost m-my p-p-parents, and...and..." She broke off and continued crying. "I just lost my parents too, and I need to find somewhere to stay. Please help me." She stopped crying momentarily, and she looked up at me, her purple eyes glistening. "All r-right. I'll h-h-help y-you. P-ponyville is this w-way." She took off at an incredible speed, trying to put as much distance between her and her dead parents. I took off after her, but keeping up was a challenge, as my mind kept drifting. Those glowing purple eyes...that cyan coat...that flowing colorful mane...I had to admit, she was pretty cute... "Fireflash? Hey! Fireflash! HEY!" I jumped as I snapped back to reality. The pegasus filly was waving her hoof in front of my face. "Snap out of it! We're here!" We looked around, seeing the city around us. It was the first time that I'd been this far from home, let alone by myself. I turned back to the cyan pegasus. "You never introduced yourself. What's your name? I already told you mine." "I'm Rainbow Dash...my parents were Rainbow Shine and Clear Sky..." "Just try not to think about it. Trust me, it works." I had already hardened my heart against losing my parents to the Shadowbolts, but this filly...she...softened it, in some way. I knew it would be interesting if I ended up growing up with her. "So, where to first?" she asked. My stomach rumbled, deciding our first objective. Rainbow giggled, and I smiled. Her laugh was cute too. "All right then, let's go get some food." She said, a sparkle in her eye. I was glad that she had at least been able to find a bit of happiness in this tragic moment. We trotted off side by side towards a store called Sugarcube Corner, and I hoped that they had good food. As we opened the door, the bell above it tinkled, and the colt behind the counter turned around. "Hey! I've never seen you two around here before! But that's not important. What do you two little ponies want?" "I want a chocolate chip muffin please." I said. "I want a blueberry one!" Rainbow said. That'll be four bits, you two." the colt said, handing us our muffins. I started to speak, but Rainbow put her hoof over my mouth. "I can tell without you even speaking, if you tell it, you'll take forever!" she hissed in my ear. She turned back to the colt. "Do you want his long version, or my short version?" she asked. "I am kind of busy. What's your story?" "My parents are dead, he has no idea where his are, thanks to the Shadowbolts, so we're broke orphans." I had to admit, she had a way of fitting in all the details, and STILL got to the point in under ten seconds flat. "Oh...I'm so sorry, I had no idea...you can have them for free. I'm really sorry for you two." he said, his voice full of empathy. "It's all right..." Rainbow sighed. "Thanks for the muffins." We trotted out the door, happily eating our delicious muffins, ready to start our new lives together in Ponyville. Chapter 4: The Apples (Part 1)We wandered the streets, and though it was the middle of the day, nopony was outside enjoying the sunshine. As we explored the town, I saw an apple orchard. I was still hungry, so I flew over to the nearest tree. Not seeing any juicy apples, I flew around some more, looking for a good one. Rainbow walked over to me, a smirk on her face. "Still hungry?" "Well duh!" I retorted while flying around the orchard. "Except for that muffin, I haven't eaten in two days!" Spotting a promising tree, I zipped over, a flame-colored trail tailing behind me. I spotted a red, juicy-looking apple and picked it, drooling in anticipation. I flew back over to Rainbow and took a bite. "Mmf! Thith ith delithuth!" I exclaimed through my mouthful of apple. Out of nowhere, a little orange filly shot past Rainbow at tremendous speed, tackling me sideways. "You no-good apple-theivin' varmint!" a voice yelled. I couldn't see her face, but she was tough. I was getting pummeled, and a dust cloud had formed around the scuffle. Over the sound of Rainbow's snickering, and the little orange filly punching me, I hear another voice. "Applejack, lay ahf the poah foal!" The filly stopped punching me for a moment, but I didn't take my hooves away from my head in case she turned her attention back to me. "But Granny Smith-" "Don't you 'but Granny' me! Yer gonna hurt 'im if'n you keep poundin' on 'im like so!" They turned to me. I lay on the ground, hooves over my head. My blue coat and flame-colored mane were now a dusty mess. An old green pony walked slowly over to the three of us. "Ah haven't seen you youngn's around here before." The orange filly named Applejack interrupted. "You colorful ponies look funny!" "Now Applejack, be nahce." the old green pony said. "So wheah ah you two from?" "Well, we lived in Cloudsdale..." I said. "Whaddaya mean, lived?" Your cutie marks are both lahtnin' bolts, couldn't y'all just fly back on up?" I turned and looked at my cutie mark, a combination of my parents' marks. The black lightning bolt from my mother, and the flames from my father. A flaming black lightning bolt to remind me of them forever... I turned back around and sighed. "We both lost our parents on the same night...hers were killed accidentaly by the Shadowbolts, and mine were probably captured by the Shadowbolts. We came here to start over, as we have no parents, and no homes to return to, as we're both very lost." "Well, y'all are welcome to stay here with the Apple family for as long as y'all need tah, ye hear? Yer gonna make some good friends heah in Ponyville, let me assure you. Now let's all go over to the barn and get some proper introductions done." The four of us trotted over to the barn, and when we went inside I took a mouthful of hay from the corner, and started munching it happily. "Ah'm Granny Smith-" "An ah'm Applejack!" Rainbow snorted and I coughed through my mouthful of hay. I could tell that the orange filly must be quite a handful. "Now as ah was sayin', ah'm Granny Smith, this here's Applejack, and Big Macintosh is out workin' in the fields." "Ah still think you colorful ponies look real funny!" Applejack said. "What're y'all's names? Ah've never seen you two here at Sweet Apple Acres befoah!" "I'm FireFlash, and this is Rainbow Dash. We're from Cloudsdale originally, but since we lost our parents, we've decided to start over in Ponyville together." "That's a mighty sad story. Yer gonna have to explain it to me in detain when y'all feel ready, ah might be able tah help y'all feel better." Granny Smith said. "Yer free to stay here at Sweet Apple Acres for a while." "Thank you." I said, lowering my head appreciatively. "We'll help earn our stay by doing odd jobs around the farm that flying would make much easier. "Thank you kindly, FireFlash and Rainbow...erm..." "Dash." "Right. Miss Rainbow Dash. Could you two please go an' find Big Macintosh fah me? It's almost dinnertime." "All right, I'm on it." I trotted out the door, took off, and soared into the fields, leaving Granny Smith, Applejack, and Rainbow to plan dinner. As I soared through the sky, i gave me time to think. A lot of time. And what could possibly be on my mind other than the filly I met? Rainbow Dash...the name had a pretty ring to it. It matched her well...she flew fast...and she was cute when she flew- *THUD* Snapped out of my trance, I looked around for the source of the sound. I saw a large red pony, and flew over to him. He was kicking the apple trees and knocking the apples into baskets. "Are you Big Macintosh?" I asked, surprised at his immense strength. "Eeyup." He replied, picking up the baskets and carrying them on his back. "Well, uh, Granny Smith wanted me to tell you that dinnertime is soon." Big Macintosh hefted the buckets of apples onto his back and trotted off towards the barn, and I flew alongside him. I tried multiple times to strike up a conversation, but I soon realized that he was the silent type and stopped trying. When we arrived at the barn, there was tomato soup, fresh bread, and apple pie for dessert. "This looks delicious!" I said, mouth watering at the smell. "I can't wait to eat!" "Eeyup." Big Macintosh agreed "Is that all you ever say?" I said, turning to look at him. "Nnope." "Ughhhh..." I facehoofed, though I probably should have seen it coming. Rainbow collapsed to the floor in laughter, rolling around with her hooves shaking. She was trying desperately to control herself, and having little success. "What? It wasn't that funny...was it?" Rainbow stood up, eyes watering. "Eeyep!" She managed to say, before losing it again. This time Applejack started laughing too. "Laugh at me if you will." I said, annoyed. "But can we please at least eat first? I'm starving!" "Eeyep! Let's eat!" Rainbow choked out, still laughing hysterically. "It's not that funny." I said, facehoofing again. "Okay, fine. Let's eat!" "Chow time, everypony!" Granny smith called. Rainbow and I trotted over to the table, eager to get started. "Ohhhhh, this looks delicious." I reapeated. "I can't wait to eat it! I started immediately on the food, tearing off a chunk of bread, dipping it in my soup, and devouring it. Rainbow looked at me questioningly. "Why aren't you waiting?" I looked up from my food momentarily. "What? When I said I couldn't wait, I meant it!" I went back to enjoying the food, eating happily. "Yeh sure are hungry!" Applejack said. I rolled my eyes. "I haven't eaten in two days." I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "I wonder why I'm hungry." I went back to my food. When I finished, I was still quite hungry, so I asked for more. "Granny Smith, could I please have some more soup?" "Of course!" Granny Smith brought me another bowl of soup. By the time I had finished, so had everypony else. "You two already told us that you both lost your parents, but ah'm still a bit confused. Could ya fill in the details a bit?" Granny Smith asked. I began to recount the events that Rainbow and I had been through, and it was hard to keep myself from crying again. When I finished, I couldn't hold it in any longer. I burst into tears, and buried my head in Rainbow's shoulder. She put her wing around me, a soft look in her eyes. "Now, now, mah little ponies." Granny Smith comforted. "Bic Mac, Applejack and ah will take good care of ya." "Yeah!" Applejack said. "We're gonna be great friends someday! "Eeyup." "Thank you, all of you." I said, wiping away my tears. "We really appreciate what you're doing for us." I stifled a yawn with my hoof. "Well, it looks like we'd better be going if we're going to find somewhere to sleep." Rainbow decided. "You two do't have to leave, ah'm sure that ah can find you two somewhere to sleed." "Thank you again everything that you're doing for us. I really appreciate it. You all can get the sleeping arrangements set up. I'm going to fly around, I haven't been in the air that much recently." I said, stretching my wings. "All right, I'll come and find you once everything's been set up." Rainbow replied. I took off and soared out the barn door. I was alone once again, and my thoughts immediately began to wander again. It was hard for me to believe; I was only seven years old, yet I was an orphan, and would probably never see my parents again. Rage against the Shadowbolts flared up inside of me. I flew over to the nearest tree and bucked it with my hind legs as hard as I could. A bunch of apples fell out of the tree, pattering as they landed on the ground around me. The sound was...calming, somehow. It cooled my anger, and I walked over to another tree and punched it with my front right hoof. A single apple fell from the tree, and I caught it. It looked ripe and juicy, but for some reason I could not bring myself to eat it. Instead I just held it in my hoof, gazing at it, my mind full of unanswered questions. Why did the Shadowbolts want my daddy? are my mommy and daddy alive? And more pressing at the moment, do I love Rainbow Dash? I wasn't sure if I had a crush on the cute, rough'n'tumble filly, but something about her...drew me. I hoped that she would at least be my best friend. "You gonna eat that?" I nearly jumped a mile, my wings carring me into the air reflexively. I whipped around to see Rainbow Dash, who was now munching on the apple I had been holding seconds before. "What?" She asked in between bites of apple. "Why are you staring at me like that? You weren't eating it..." I sighed. "Rainbow Dash, you amaze me." In more ways than one... I thought to myself. "Bed locations for you have been set up. You going?" she asked. "No, I was just going to get some random cloud and pull it down here." I replied. "Really? Me too! You wanna put our clouds next to each other?" "Well...I...uh..." I felt my face turning bright red. Rainbow giggled. "Not like that! I just need somepony by my side after...you know..." The smile vanished from her face, and I comforted her, putting my wind around her. "We'll be fine. I'll go get us a cloud. I took to the skies, leaving Rainbow Dash sad and sullen on the ground below. I looked around, trying to find the biggest, fluffiest cloud in the area. Spotting a nice one, I flew over to it and starting jumping up and down on it to knock all of the water out. After it was empty, I figured that it was light enough for me to be able to push it towards the barn where Rainbow was waiting. I was still only a little foal, so I knew that it would be a difficult task. I placed my frond hooves against the cloud and pushed as hard as I could, flapping my wings as rapidly as possible. Slowly, the cloud began to pick up speed as I pushed it steadily towards the barn. It was hard work, but eventually I got the cloud back to the barn. She looked at the cloud, then at me, clearly impressed. "That's a big cloud! How did you manage to even move it?" "I learned in flight school that if you're moving clouds, it's easier to stomp out all the water first." "I never learned that!" Why not? Everypony knows that." "I dropped out of flight school because it was too boring." "It was the first day of classes!" "I skipped a lot of classes to do solo flying sessions...by myself..." She flopped onto the cloud and stretched out her hooves, letting out a long, sad, sigh. "I heard so many stories of a pony performing the legendary sonic rainboom at my flight school...was that you? "Yes, it was." "Whoa! Then wouldn't you be famous or something? Why would you drop out?" Because nopony was my friend. They never asked, because everypony thought that I was too much of an elite flyer to ever want to hang out with them." "So you were worshipped for your ability and not you incredible personality? That's terrible..." I put my wing around her as she started to cry again. "Don't worry, I'll be your friend. Not just because you could beat me in a race, but because you can make me laugh, and because it's actually kind of fun to hang out with you." Instead of the expected happy reply, she narrowed her eyes. "R-really? I d-don't believe you." She said, still sniffling slightly. "Really. And...you're actually kind of cute." Instead of calming down, she laughed coldly. "I don't believe you. You're not the first foal to say that. How many others do you think wanna learn how to break the sound and spectral barriers?" "Oh that's easy! I've done it tons of times!" "Then what is it you want from me?" Rainbow said angrily. "My fame? That's all that I have." I could almost feel the hatred dripping from her voice...the voice of the only friend I had... "I want your friendship." I lowered my head and closed my eyes. "I understand if you don't want mine." I heard her shuffle nervously on the cloud, then felt her gaze rest back on me. "You're the nicest, cutest, fastes, best filly I've ever met." I hoped with all of my heart that she would believe me. I raised my head, and saw that the dark fire had faded from her eyes, to be replaced once more with tears. "D-do you r-really think so?" She mumbled happily. "Yes, I really do. You are the only friend I have right now, and I don't want to lose that in a filly as wonderful as you." She stopped crying, and a smile returned to her face. "Somepony who likes me for...well...me! Thank you so much, FireFlash!" She tackled me onto the cloud and hugged me tightly, and I hugged her back. We had bouth found friendship after tragedy, and we had found it in each other. We both began crying again, happy that we had both found somepony that we could always count on. Chapter 4: The Apples (Intermission)AN: Like the chapter title says, this is just a short intermission between part 1 and part 2 of the chapter. I couldn't make it flow otherwise. "And that's pretty much our first day in Ponyville." I finished. "I fell asleep soon after that." "I always thought that you two had just been friends for a long time. I had no idea that you had been through so much together." Soarin said. "Spitfire said nothing, she just stared into my eyes, her eyes full of sympathy. "Oh, it's not that bad, really." I replied. "You don't have to feel so bad for us, we can take care of ourselves." "Oh, and our second day in Ponyville was a lot more interesting." I added. "Why? What happened?" Spitfire asked. "Granny Smith took us on a complete tour of Ponyville." I answered. "Then she gave us a few chores, and the rest of the day off." "Wow, sounds like a long day." Soarin said. "Ponyville is a big city." "It is big. And it was a long day." I replied. "Wait, you forgot the part where the barn caught on fire and you put it out!" Rainbow interrupted. "Oh yeah. That..." "Come on, tell us, Fire!" Soarin urged. "Yeah! Please?" Spitfire added. "Well, okay..." I mumbled, memories flooding back into my mind once more... Chapter 2: Rainbow DashbackI realized suddenly that Rainbow and I had been staring at each other during the entire flashback, and I immediately tore my gaze away and walked back over to Soarin and Spitfire. "What was with the staring contest?" Soarin asked. "It was like you were locked together with your eyes or something." Spitfire added. "It was a flashback to when I lost my parents...it eventally led to me meeting Rainbow." The three of us turned and looked back at Rainbow Dash, who was still staring straight ahead, locked in a flashback of when SHE lost HER parents..... Author's Note: This is written first person from Rainbow's POV, not FireFlash's. This is Rainbow's past here. It was seven years ago, and my parents had just introduced me to my idols, the legendary Wonderbolts! I was ecstatic! When Fleetfoot, the captain of the Wonderbolts, shook hooves with me, I couldn't help but let out my happiness. "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! I can't believe I'm meeting the captain of the Wonderbolts!" "Hey Rainbow," Fleetfoot said. "Your parents tell me that you're the fastest filly in Equestria. Wanna prove it in a race?" "OhmygoshohmygoshohmygoshYES!" I said. "I can't believe that I'm racing against the Wonderbolts!" The course was long, tricky, and dangerous, full of sharp turns, steep dives, and tiring climbs. After finishing in third place out of the twelve Wonderbolts and myself, Fleetfoot and the others congatulated me on a well run race. "You're fast for a little filly, miss Rainbow Dash. How would you like to be a Wonderbolt some day?" "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! I can't believe that I'm being asked if I want to joint the Wonderbolts! Eeeeee!" The Wonderbolts and my parents laughed. "Sounds like somepony's got themselves a new catch phrase!" Fleetfoot commented. After many hoofshakes and goodbyes, my parents and I left, and I was evidently disappointed. I was flying home with my parents, and we were passing over the Everfree Forest when diaster struck. A flame-colored colt came shooting by, his burning tail and mane streaking smoke behind him. A few seconds later, two of the dreaded Shadowbolts came tearing though the sky, leaving lightning trails on either side of the flaming pony's smoke trail. The lightning hit both of my parents and me, sending them falling to the ground and me crashing into a tree. I flew to the ground as soon as I recovered, and when I found my parents, both of them had broken necks from the impact. I flew to their sides, the tears welling up in my eyes. "M-m-mommy? D-daddy?" I knew that they were dead. No pegasus, not even the legendary captain of the Redwings, Jet Stream, could have survived a fall like that. I cried myself to sleep, dreading the arrival of the next day. Little did I know that the next day would change my life forever...
Prologue: We're HomeIMPORTANT NOTICE! This is a sequel, so in order to understand the plot fully, read my first fanfic, The Lost Wonderbolts! On the way home, Rainbow, Soarin, and Spitfire chattered about new tricks and speed records and things like that, leaving me to think. It had been seven years, yet the Shadowbolts had finally found me again, and I knew that I would have some explaining to do when Soarin and Spitfire confronted me about the pegasi ponies who had captured us. Rainbow drifted over to me and put her hoof over my shoulder. "What's on your mind?" she asked, genuinely concerned, Not really listening, I replied, my floaty voice giving away the fact that I was deep in thought. "Memories....." "I remember too! Those were the days!" She flipped around and sped forward, pulling off a rapid sonic rainboom, before turning around and gliding back over to me. "Ah, memories." "No, not the good memories...do you remember my story about how I met you?" "Oh no...the Shadowbolts haven't found you, have they?" "Not exactly...two of their new recruits did. They captured the three of us, and thankfully did not have enough time to report to a high-ranking officer before we escaped.-" Rainbow cut me off. "How do you know that they were new?" "The marks on their outfits. The symbol on the flank represents authoritative ranking. Can I finish what I was saying?" "Sure, go ahead." "I'm sorry, but now that the Shadowbolts know that I'm here in Ponyville, I might have to leave. I will never forget the seven years we spent together as friends...I don't want to leave you behind, Rainbow Dash..." I broke off, as my voice cracked and my eyes started tearing up. "You don't have to leave." She replied firmly, though there were tears in her eyes as well. "I will fight to keep you by my side because...well...I love you, Fireflash." Crud. Now Rainbow AND Spitfire are BOTH in love with me. And the Shadowbolts have found me after seven long years... Outwardly, I admitted the truth. "I love you too, Rainbow Dash." Oops. Did I really just do that? She leaned in and kissed me, all thoughts instantly erased from my mind as I kissed her back, closing my eyes. We hovered for a few moments, and when we finally broke apart, Soarin called over to us. "Hehe. Enjoying yourselves?" We both blushed, having completely fogotten that Soarin and Spitfire were there. He laughed. "We're home, everypony!" Spitfire yelled. There it was, the Cloudsdale stadium, where me and the rest of the Wonderbolts performed. And it was the place where Rainbow Dash and I first met... I called out to her. "Want to do a sonic smash? It would be just like the old days." We took off into the sky, Soarin and Spitfire watching from below. We flew towards the ground side by side, a large mach cone forming in front of us. As we broke through, a flaming rainbow trailed behind us, and the force from the double sonic boom shattered most of the nearby clouds. As we landed, our eyes met, and all the memories came flooding back, everything that had happened before and after we had met seven years ago...
Chapter 1: FireFlashbackIMPORTANT NOTICE: In case you didn't read the prologue, this is a sequel to The Lost Wonderbolts, so read that first. It was so long ago. So much time has passed since I lost my family... It was the day that I had passed the final exams in flight school, and graduated at the top of my class. My parents, Midnight and Blaze, were there to pick me up and take me home to celebrate. It would have been the happiest day of my life, but instead it became the day that haunts me in nightmares to this day. My parents had a secret...I never found out what it was, but it was enough for the Shadowbolts to have a reason to hunt them down. Later the same day, there was a knock at the door, and when my mother answered it, the Shadowbolt second in command was standing there. "I was tipped off by a pegasus named Blitz that I could find Blaze here. He is wanted by the royal captain of the Shadowbolts for questioning." he said, his authority and intentions clear. He was not leaving without my dad. He started to walk in, but my mother, Midnight, stopped him. She yelled over her shoulder. "Blaze! Grab Fireflash and RUN!" The Shadowbold bucked her out of the way and she fell to the floor, unconcious. My father picked me up, threw me onto his back, and flew through the house, just in front of the Shadowbolt, and flew out a small window, thankfully not large enough for the Shadowbolt to fit through. I cried for a long time, having thought that my mom, Midnight, was dead at that point. We flew for a very long time, and we were within two days' journey of our 'destination' when I finally asked. "Daddy, is mommy...is she...dead? Will I never see mommy again?" He flew us down to the ground. "My little Flashie, your mommy isn't dead. We had a plan all set up for when this happened. We are going to wait in Ponyville for your mommy, and everything will be all right." I sniffled. "Mommy's okay?" "Yes, she is. Everything will be all right." We continued our journey, though I was a little bit more optimistic at this point. I would have had no way to be prepared for what happened next. Blaze had flown us within four hours of reaching Ponyville when a team of Shadowbolts caught up to us. He dropped me as gently as he could into the Everfree Forest, and banked sharply to the right, taking off at full speed. "Don't worry, my little Flashie! I'll be all right!" he yelled as he blazed a trail through the sky, confusing the Shadowbolts by leaving a huge trailing cloud of smoke behind him. The Shadowbolts gave up following him, and searched for where he had dropped me, knowing they could use me as bait. The only thing they found was a trench where I had skidded though the dirt, and a smoldering bunch of grass at the end. I had flown off continuing in the direction of Ponyville, knowing I could wait for my parents there, but unsure now that I would ever see either of them again.
Chapter 3: How We MetWhen Rainbow snapped out of her flashback, she saw the three of us watching her, our eyes full of care and worry. "Are you all right?" I asked. "What's on your mind? Don't worry, you know that you can tell me anything. "I was remembering when I lost my parents..." "I just had a flashback to when I lost MY parents." I replied. "What do you think it means?" "I don't know, but it's time for a trip down memory lane...we haven't been down that way in a long time. You remember how we met, don't you?" There was a smile on her face, but the tears in her eyes betrayed her thoughts as I too remembered the tragic conditions of our acquaintance... Author's Note: This is FireFlash's POV again. I flew on towards Ponyville, tears streaming from my eyes, as I was sure that I would never see either of my parents again. Suddenly, barely audible over the wind rushing by my ears, I heard somepony sobbing. I pulled up short, and looked around. Following the source of the crying, I saw a small cyan pegasus filly. She had a rainbow mane and tail. I flew over to her, and put my wing over her. "It'll be all right..." I whispered. She looked up from two ponies who were evidently her parents. Her eyes were glistening with tears, and she tried to control her sobbing as she asked me "W-w-who are y-you?" "I'm FireFlash. I'm lost and looking for Ponyville. Can you help me?" "I w-w-would, b-but I just l-lost m-my p-p-parents, and...and..." She broke off and continued crying. "I just lost my parents too, and I need to find somewhere to stay. Please help me." She stopped crying momentarily, and she looked up at me, her purple eyes glistening. "All r-right. I'll h-h-help y-you. P-ponyville is this w-way." She took off at an incredible speed, trying to put as much distance between her and her dead parents. I took off after her, but keeping up was a challenge, as my mind kept drifting. Those glowing purple eyes...that cyan coat...that flowing colorful mane...I had to admit, she was pretty cute... "Fireflash? Hey! Fireflash! HEY!" I jumped as I snapped back to reality. The pegasus filly was waving her hoof in front of my face. "Snap out of it! We're here!" We looked around, seeing the city around us. It was the first time that I'd been this far from home, let alone by myself. I turned back to the cyan pegasus. "You never introduced yourself. What's your name? I already told you mine." "I'm Rainbow Dash...my parents were Rainbow Shine and Clear Sky..." "Just try not to think about it. Trust me, it works." I had already hardened my heart against losing my parents to the Shadowbolts, but this filly...she...softened it, in some way. I knew it would be interesting if I ended up growing up with her. "So, where to first?" she asked. My stomach rumbled, deciding our first objective. Rainbow giggled, and I smiled. Her laugh was cute too. "All right then, let's go get some food." She said, a sparkle in her eye. I was glad that she had at least been able to find a bit of happiness in this tragic moment. We trotted off side by side towards a store called Sugarcube Corner, and I hoped that they had good food. As we opened the door, the bell above it tinkled, and the colt behind the counter turned around. "Hey! I've never seen you two around here before! But that's not important. What do you two little ponies want?" "I want a chocolate chip muffin please." I said. "I want a blueberry one!" Rainbow said. That'll be four bits, you two." the colt said, handing us our muffins. I started to speak, but Rainbow put her hoof over my mouth. "I can tell without you even speaking, if you tell it, you'll take forever!" she hissed in my ear. She turned back to the colt. "Do you want his long version, or my short version?" she asked. "I am kind of busy. What's your story?" "My parents are dead, he has no idea where his are, thanks to the Shadowbolts, so we're broke orphans." I had to admit, she had a way of fitting in all the details, and STILL got to the point in under ten seconds flat. "Oh...I'm so sorry, I had no idea...you can have them for free. I'm really sorry for you two." he said, his voice full of empathy. "It's all right..." Rainbow sighed. "Thanks for the muffins." We trotted out the door, happily eating our delicious muffins, ready to start our new lives together in Ponyville.
Chapter 4: The Apples (Part 1)We wandered the streets, and though it was the middle of the day, nopony was outside enjoying the sunshine. As we explored the town, I saw an apple orchard. I was still hungry, so I flew over to the nearest tree. Not seeing any juicy apples, I flew around some more, looking for a good one. Rainbow walked over to me, a smirk on her face. "Still hungry?" "Well duh!" I retorted while flying around the orchard. "Except for that muffin, I haven't eaten in two days!" Spotting a promising tree, I zipped over, a flame-colored trail tailing behind me. I spotted a red, juicy-looking apple and picked it, drooling in anticipation. I flew back over to Rainbow and took a bite. "Mmf! Thith ith delithuth!" I exclaimed through my mouthful of apple. Out of nowhere, a little orange filly shot past Rainbow at tremendous speed, tackling me sideways. "You no-good apple-theivin' varmint!" a voice yelled. I couldn't see her face, but she was tough. I was getting pummeled, and a dust cloud had formed around the scuffle. Over the sound of Rainbow's snickering, and the little orange filly punching me, I hear another voice. "Applejack, lay ahf the poah foal!" The filly stopped punching me for a moment, but I didn't take my hooves away from my head in case she turned her attention back to me. "But Granny Smith-" "Don't you 'but Granny' me! Yer gonna hurt 'im if'n you keep poundin' on 'im like so!" They turned to me. I lay on the ground, hooves over my head. My blue coat and flame-colored mane were now a dusty mess. An old green pony walked slowly over to the three of us. "Ah haven't seen you youngn's around here before." The orange filly named Applejack interrupted. "You colorful ponies look funny!" "Now Applejack, be nahce." the old green pony said. "So wheah ah you two from?" "Well, we lived in Cloudsdale..." I said. "Whaddaya mean, lived?" Your cutie marks are both lahtnin' bolts, couldn't y'all just fly back on up?" I turned and looked at my cutie mark, a combination of my parents' marks. The black lightning bolt from my mother, and the flames from my father. A flaming black lightning bolt to remind me of them forever... I turned back around and sighed. "We both lost our parents on the same night...hers were killed accidentaly by the Shadowbolts, and mine were probably captured by the Shadowbolts. We came here to start over, as we have no parents, and no homes to return to, as we're both very lost." "Well, y'all are welcome to stay here with the Apple family for as long as y'all need tah, ye hear? Yer gonna make some good friends heah in Ponyville, let me assure you. Now let's all go over to the barn and get some proper introductions done." The four of us trotted over to the barn, and when we went inside I took a mouthful of hay from the corner, and started munching it happily. "Ah'm Granny Smith-" "An ah'm Applejack!" Rainbow snorted and I coughed through my mouthful of hay. I could tell that the orange filly must be quite a handful. "Now as ah was sayin', ah'm Granny Smith, this here's Applejack, and Big Macintosh is out workin' in the fields." "Ah still think you colorful ponies look real funny!" Applejack said. "What're y'all's names? Ah've never seen you two here at Sweet Apple Acres befoah!" "I'm FireFlash, and this is Rainbow Dash. We're from Cloudsdale originally, but since we lost our parents, we've decided to start over in Ponyville together." "That's a mighty sad story. Yer gonna have to explain it to me in detain when y'all feel ready, ah might be able tah help y'all feel better." Granny Smith said. "Yer free to stay here at Sweet Apple Acres for a while." "Thank you." I said, lowering my head appreciatively. "We'll help earn our stay by doing odd jobs around the farm that flying would make much easier. "Thank you kindly, FireFlash and Rainbow...erm..." "Dash." "Right. Miss Rainbow Dash. Could you two please go an' find Big Macintosh fah me? It's almost dinnertime." "All right, I'm on it." I trotted out the door, took off, and soared into the fields, leaving Granny Smith, Applejack, and Rainbow to plan dinner. As I soared through the sky, i gave me time to think. A lot of time. And what could possibly be on my mind other than the filly I met? Rainbow Dash...the name had a pretty ring to it. It matched her well...she flew fast...and she was cute when she flew- *THUD* Snapped out of my trance, I looked around for the source of the sound. I saw a large red pony, and flew over to him. He was kicking the apple trees and knocking the apples into baskets. "Are you Big Macintosh?" I asked, surprised at his immense strength. "Eeyup." He replied, picking up the baskets and carrying them on his back. "Well, uh, Granny Smith wanted me to tell you that dinnertime is soon." Big Macintosh hefted the buckets of apples onto his back and trotted off towards the barn, and I flew alongside him. I tried multiple times to strike up a conversation, but I soon realized that he was the silent type and stopped trying. When we arrived at the barn, there was tomato soup, fresh bread, and apple pie for dessert. "This looks delicious!" I said, mouth watering at the smell. "I can't wait to eat!" "Eeyup." Big Macintosh agreed "Is that all you ever say?" I said, turning to look at him. "Nnope." "Ughhhh..." I facehoofed, though I probably should have seen it coming. Rainbow collapsed to the floor in laughter, rolling around with her hooves shaking. She was trying desperately to control herself, and having little success. "What? It wasn't that funny...was it?" Rainbow stood up, eyes watering. "Eeyep!" She managed to say, before losing it again. This time Applejack started laughing too. "Laugh at me if you will." I said, annoyed. "But can we please at least eat first? I'm starving!" "Eeyep! Let's eat!" Rainbow choked out, still laughing hysterically. "It's not that funny." I said, facehoofing again. "Okay, fine. Let's eat!" "Chow time, everypony!" Granny smith called. Rainbow and I trotted over to the table, eager to get started. "Ohhhhh, this looks delicious." I reapeated. "I can't wait to eat it! I started immediately on the food, tearing off a chunk of bread, dipping it in my soup, and devouring it. Rainbow looked at me questioningly. "Why aren't you waiting?" I looked up from my food momentarily. "What? When I said I couldn't wait, I meant it!" I went back to enjoying the food, eating happily. "Yeh sure are hungry!" Applejack said. I rolled my eyes. "I haven't eaten in two days." I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "I wonder why I'm hungry." I went back to my food. When I finished, I was still quite hungry, so I asked for more. "Granny Smith, could I please have some more soup?" "Of course!" Granny Smith brought me another bowl of soup. By the time I had finished, so had everypony else. "You two already told us that you both lost your parents, but ah'm still a bit confused. Could ya fill in the details a bit?" Granny Smith asked. I began to recount the events that Rainbow and I had been through, and it was hard to keep myself from crying again. When I finished, I couldn't hold it in any longer. I burst into tears, and buried my head in Rainbow's shoulder. She put her wing around me, a soft look in her eyes. "Now, now, mah little ponies." Granny Smith comforted. "Bic Mac, Applejack and ah will take good care of ya." "Yeah!" Applejack said. "We're gonna be great friends someday! "Eeyup." "Thank you, all of you." I said, wiping away my tears. "We really appreciate what you're doing for us." I stifled a yawn with my hoof. "Well, it looks like we'd better be going if we're going to find somewhere to sleep." Rainbow decided. "You two do't have to leave, ah'm sure that ah can find you two somewhere to sleed." "Thank you again everything that you're doing for us. I really appreciate it. You all can get the sleeping arrangements set up. I'm going to fly around, I haven't been in the air that much recently." I said, stretching my wings. "All right, I'll come and find you once everything's been set up." Rainbow replied. I took off and soared out the barn door. I was alone once again, and my thoughts immediately began to wander again. It was hard for me to believe; I was only seven years old, yet I was an orphan, and would probably never see my parents again. Rage against the Shadowbolts flared up inside of me. I flew over to the nearest tree and bucked it with my hind legs as hard as I could. A bunch of apples fell out of the tree, pattering as they landed on the ground around me. The sound was...calming, somehow. It cooled my anger, and I walked over to another tree and punched it with my front right hoof. A single apple fell from the tree, and I caught it. It looked ripe and juicy, but for some reason I could not bring myself to eat it. Instead I just held it in my hoof, gazing at it, my mind full of unanswered questions. Why did the Shadowbolts want my daddy? are my mommy and daddy alive? And more pressing at the moment, do I love Rainbow Dash? I wasn't sure if I had a crush on the cute, rough'n'tumble filly, but something about her...drew me. I hoped that she would at least be my best friend. "You gonna eat that?" I nearly jumped a mile, my wings carring me into the air reflexively. I whipped around to see Rainbow Dash, who was now munching on the apple I had been holding seconds before. "What?" She asked in between bites of apple. "Why are you staring at me like that? You weren't eating it..." I sighed. "Rainbow Dash, you amaze me." In more ways than one... I thought to myself. "Bed locations for you have been set up. You going?" she asked. "No, I was just going to get some random cloud and pull it down here." I replied. "Really? Me too! You wanna put our clouds next to each other?" "Well...I...uh..." I felt my face turning bright red. Rainbow giggled. "Not like that! I just need somepony by my side after...you know..." The smile vanished from her face, and I comforted her, putting my wind around her. "We'll be fine. I'll go get us a cloud. I took to the skies, leaving Rainbow Dash sad and sullen on the ground below. I looked around, trying to find the biggest, fluffiest cloud in the area. Spotting a nice one, I flew over to it and starting jumping up and down on it to knock all of the water out. After it was empty, I figured that it was light enough for me to be able to push it towards the barn where Rainbow was waiting. I was still only a little foal, so I knew that it would be a difficult task. I placed my frond hooves against the cloud and pushed as hard as I could, flapping my wings as rapidly as possible. Slowly, the cloud began to pick up speed as I pushed it steadily towards the barn. It was hard work, but eventually I got the cloud back to the barn. She looked at the cloud, then at me, clearly impressed. "That's a big cloud! How did you manage to even move it?" "I learned in flight school that if you're moving clouds, it's easier to stomp out all the water first." "I never learned that!" Why not? Everypony knows that." "I dropped out of flight school because it was too boring." "It was the first day of classes!" "I skipped a lot of classes to do solo flying sessions...by myself..." She flopped onto the cloud and stretched out her hooves, letting out a long, sad, sigh. "I heard so many stories of a pony performing the legendary sonic rainboom at my flight school...was that you? "Yes, it was." "Whoa! Then wouldn't you be famous or something? Why would you drop out?" Because nopony was my friend. They never asked, because everypony thought that I was too much of an elite flyer to ever want to hang out with them." "So you were worshipped for your ability and not you incredible personality? That's terrible..." I put my wing around her as she started to cry again. "Don't worry, I'll be your friend. Not just because you could beat me in a race, but because you can make me laugh, and because it's actually kind of fun to hang out with you." Instead of the expected happy reply, she narrowed her eyes. "R-really? I d-don't believe you." She said, still sniffling slightly. "Really. And...you're actually kind of cute." Instead of calming down, she laughed coldly. "I don't believe you. You're not the first foal to say that. How many others do you think wanna learn how to break the sound and spectral barriers?" "Oh that's easy! I've done it tons of times!" "Then what is it you want from me?" Rainbow said angrily. "My fame? That's all that I have." I could almost feel the hatred dripping from her voice...the voice of the only friend I had... "I want your friendship." I lowered my head and closed my eyes. "I understand if you don't want mine." I heard her shuffle nervously on the cloud, then felt her gaze rest back on me. "You're the nicest, cutest, fastes, best filly I've ever met." I hoped with all of my heart that she would believe me. I raised my head, and saw that the dark fire had faded from her eyes, to be replaced once more with tears. "D-do you r-really think so?" She mumbled happily. "Yes, I really do. You are the only friend I have right now, and I don't want to lose that in a filly as wonderful as you." She stopped crying, and a smile returned to her face. "Somepony who likes me for...well...me! Thank you so much, FireFlash!" She tackled me onto the cloud and hugged me tightly, and I hugged her back. We had bouth found friendship after tragedy, and we had found it in each other. We both began crying again, happy that we had both found somepony that we could always count on.
Chapter 4: The Apples (Intermission)AN: Like the chapter title says, this is just a short intermission between part 1 and part 2 of the chapter. I couldn't make it flow otherwise. "And that's pretty much our first day in Ponyville." I finished. "I fell asleep soon after that." "I always thought that you two had just been friends for a long time. I had no idea that you had been through so much together." Soarin said. "Spitfire said nothing, she just stared into my eyes, her eyes full of sympathy. "Oh, it's not that bad, really." I replied. "You don't have to feel so bad for us, we can take care of ourselves." "Oh, and our second day in Ponyville was a lot more interesting." I added. "Why? What happened?" Spitfire asked. "Granny Smith took us on a complete tour of Ponyville." I answered. "Then she gave us a few chores, and the rest of the day off." "Wow, sounds like a long day." Soarin said. "Ponyville is a big city." "It is big. And it was a long day." I replied. "Wait, you forgot the part where the barn caught on fire and you put it out!" Rainbow interrupted. "Oh yeah. That..." "Come on, tell us, Fire!" Soarin urged. "Yeah! Please?" Spitfire added. "Well, okay..." I mumbled, memories flooding back into my mind once more...
Chapter 2: Rainbow DashbackI realized suddenly that Rainbow and I had been staring at each other during the entire flashback, and I immediately tore my gaze away and walked back over to Soarin and Spitfire. "What was with the staring contest?" Soarin asked. "It was like you were locked together with your eyes or something." Spitfire added. "It was a flashback to when I lost my parents...it eventally led to me meeting Rainbow." The three of us turned and looked back at Rainbow Dash, who was still staring straight ahead, locked in a flashback of when SHE lost HER parents..... Author's Note: This is written first person from Rainbow's POV, not FireFlash's. This is Rainbow's past here. It was seven years ago, and my parents had just introduced me to my idols, the legendary Wonderbolts! I was ecstatic! When Fleetfoot, the captain of the Wonderbolts, shook hooves with me, I couldn't help but let out my happiness. "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! I can't believe I'm meeting the captain of the Wonderbolts!" "Hey Rainbow," Fleetfoot said. "Your parents tell me that you're the fastest filly in Equestria. Wanna prove it in a race?" "OhmygoshohmygoshohmygoshYES!" I said. "I can't believe that I'm racing against the Wonderbolts!" The course was long, tricky, and dangerous, full of sharp turns, steep dives, and tiring climbs. After finishing in third place out of the twelve Wonderbolts and myself, Fleetfoot and the others congatulated me on a well run race. "You're fast for a little filly, miss Rainbow Dash. How would you like to be a Wonderbolt some day?" "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! I can't believe that I'm being asked if I want to joint the Wonderbolts! Eeeeee!" The Wonderbolts and my parents laughed. "Sounds like somepony's got themselves a new catch phrase!" Fleetfoot commented. After many hoofshakes and goodbyes, my parents and I left, and I was evidently disappointed. I was flying home with my parents, and we were passing over the Everfree Forest when diaster struck. A flame-colored colt came shooting by, his burning tail and mane streaking smoke behind him. A few seconds later, two of the dreaded Shadowbolts came tearing though the sky, leaving lightning trails on either side of the flaming pony's smoke trail. The lightning hit both of my parents and me, sending them falling to the ground and me crashing into a tree. I flew to the ground as soon as I recovered, and when I found my parents, both of them had broken necks from the impact. I flew to their sides, the tears welling up in my eyes. "M-m-mommy? D-daddy?" I knew that they were dead. No pegasus, not even the legendary captain of the Redwings, Jet Stream, could have survived a fall like that. I cried myself to sleep, dreading the arrival of the next day. Little did I know that the next day would change my life forever...
