Apple Coloured Rainbow

Chapter Three

Rainbow Blitz dropped his duffle bag beside his seat as he leaned back into his chair after waving goodbye to Applejack, sighing as he rubbed his face.

Despite Applejack saying she was fine with him being away for their first anniversary and the fact that he knew she wasn’t lying to him, Blitz felt terrible about being away.

As much as he hated to, Blitz knew that he would need to push AJ out of his head soon so he could focus on the show and mentally prepare himself to get ready for all the tricks he would need to do with Blaze.

She was a good Bolt that relied on speed and agility for her stunts, which Blitz could respect immensely. Sure she wasn’t a star like Firestorm or Glide or Fleetfoot but she was still an impressive flyer nonetheless.

And despite how good he was, Blitz knew he was still too new on the field to be considered a big star and had quite a ways to go before he could stand next to his idols in front of the cheering crowds.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the instructions for him to get to the training center. It was just past Canterlot, so they wouldn’t spoil the show for everypony while they practiced and got him up to speed. Stretching his neck to the side, he saw that he had a lot of walking to do once he got to Canterlot before he would be picked up by Nightingale sent by the team to take him the rest of the way to the training field. The directions made sense, he guessed, if he didn’t try to think all the way through of the steps he had to do. Applejack would have such an easier time with these instructions; she had a much better sense of where she was going than him when they were on the ground.

Blitz sighed as he thought of his marefriend. He still needed to get her something, even if all he had planned was for them to go the rodeo or a carnival. And he guessed he needed to get his other friends something while he was out on tour and they were easier to shop for than Applejack. A book for Dusk, some cooking stuff for Bubbles, some fashion frufru stuff for Rares and something related to animals for Flutters; that was easy enough But Applejack; he groaned as his mind came up completely blank for what to get her. Something told him getting her rare apple seeds would not be an accepted anniversary gift but she wasn’t all that into jewelry so thatwas out.

He could ask some of the girl ‘Bolts for suggestions, but he felt that he should at least get the first anniversary gift right on his own before resorting to asking for help.

“Why does this have to be so hard,” he groaned as he pushed his mane out of his face. Rolling his head to the side, he watched the scenery go past him for a bit before he fished out his latest Dashing Dare book and started to pick up where he had left off.

Getting comfy, he started to enjoy the second best-no, flying was the second pleasure in his life. His ear flicked as he tried to figure out where he placed reading in his life but shook his head as he really didn't care that much and just wanted to read his book.

Blitz shifted himself upright as the train began to slow down, with Canterlot’s train station coming into view from the window. Putting his book away in his bag and getting to his hooves, he waited for more of the crowd to get off before making his way to the doors. Turning his head, he took in the sight of Canterlot and was amazed by the dazzling view of the city.

Taking a deep breath in from the high altitude air, he pulled out the instructions again and looked at them before he looked at the street sign for where he was. Seeing that they were very straightforward, he began to walk down the sidewalk, taking in the sights while keeping an eye on the stores to see if there was anything he could pick up for AJ as an anniversary gift but there was nothing he could see that said Applejack to him and he was on schedule at the moment. Seeing that the assigned meeting spot was a couple blocks down the street, Blitz huffed the duffle bag on his shoulder higher and continued on his way to meet Nightingale.

He got a few looks from the ponies as he looked out of place from the fancy Canterlotians and briefly wondered if he had packed his suit or not. He really hoped it was the former as Captain Firestorm had insisted on being professional before every show and that meant he had to have his suit ready which meant he would need to spend the night before the big show ironing out all the creases. He’d gotten really good at it since he had moved near Applejack and started helping out with the laundry, and Granny had been overjoyed to have him around as he had done such a good job while making a lot of unsubtle jabs at Applejack and Big Mac for not being able to do even the most basic of folds without a sleeve sticking out or hang the pants correctly. Even a few of the female Bolts teased him about being so handy at his laundry skills that he’d make a perfect wife one day.

That’s if he had packed it with him and wasn’t completely screwed. He didn’t have a lot of bits on him and…

Facepalming, he realized he would need to go to the bank after the show which meant shopping in Canterlot was completely out of the question.

Rolling his eyes at his stupidity, he turned the corner and continued to bob and weave his way through the seemingly complicated avenues before he finally reached the meeting spot and saw Nightingale waiting next to a carriage with the animals pulling it ready to go.

“Hey there Blitz,” Nightingale said, waving to him, resting her back against the carriage with her left hoof on a wheel.

“Hey, Nightingale,” Blitz said, waving to the mare. “How are you doing?”

Nightingale waved back to him, stretching out her arms with her pulled carriage cutie marks visible before putting them behind her head. “I’m good, you ready to go?”

“Sure.” Blitz hurried over, inwardly shaking his head. It was still hard for him to believe that a pony who looked just like one of Nightmare Moon’s fake Shadowbolts had turned out to exist in real life, until Princess Luna had privately explained that her other half had seen more than a few ponies while flying through Canterlot the night she’d escaped the moon and had simply borrowed their images when she’d tried to draw Blitz away from his friends during their trip through the Everfree. She herself had eventually approached the mare when she had seen that Nightingale was having some issues with her current boss and recommended that she take a position as support staff with the Wonderbolts. The pegasus mare had gladly taken the job when she was offered it, and was quite happy with her new lot in life.

Throwing his duffle bag into the carriage, he joined Nightingale up front as he usually did when she taxied him or the other ‘Bolts around.

“So how are things back in Ponyville?” she asked him, keeping an eye on the road.

“Good, nice and slow right now,” he replied, shifting to get comfortable. “You?”

“Eh, can’t complain,” she said as she turned down a street that Blitz could tell was the start of a downward slope despite the near perfect leveled street. “Me and Steep Descent had a nice date a few days ago; kinda hope he’s the one you know?”

“That’s good; I’ll tell AJ when I get a chance. She’s rooting hard for you two,” Blitz said before he hastily added in,me too. He still found it a little amusing that the inspiration for one Shadowbolt had wound up dating the inspiration for one of the other two, but wasn’t about to say as much to her. Besides, she and the Descent brothers had already been told about that incident when Luna had brought them together soon after Nightingale had gotten her new job, and all three had gladly accepted the princess’s apology for her unwilling role in what had been, technically, identity theft.

“How are you guys going, by the way?” she asked, giving him an amused look.

“We’re doing good,” he told her with the buildings getting less fancy and well kept as they got lower in the city, the recently built gatehouse appearing rather quickly.

“How long have you guys been going out anyways? Like a year or so?” She grinned, giving him an elbow poke to the side as they pulled up to the gatehouse with the guards doing a routine security check.

“Almost a year now,” Blitz told her after they were past the border of the city. “Our first anniversary is in just a little while, but we’re holding off on celebrating until after we both get some stuff done. Like this tour.”

“You’re missing your first anniversary with her?” she winced and shook her head. “And she’s cool with this?”

“Yeah,” Blitz replied. “She knows being part of the Wonderbolts has been my dream since… well, forever. And we’ve promised to do something together after. And besides, it was her idea for me to actually do this.”

“Still, not the smartest of ideas,” she told him as she took them on a switchback path down the mountain with Blitz holding on tight to the side of the carriage as there were a lot of bumps that made him feel as if he could go sailing into the mountain with the right jolt. “She might just be saying she’s cool with this but she could really be saying that she doesn’t want you to go without making you feel bad directly.”

Blitz could barely hold back the scowl that was threatening to erupt. “I know Applejack,” he said. “She doesn’t lie, or tell half-truths. If she says she’s okay with me going out of town for a while, even if it means delaying something else important to us both, she means it.”

“Hey, I’m just saying that’s what passes for normal girlfriend code Blitz,” she told him with a serious look, her hands still steering the carriage down the rocky path. “If she really is that cool with you being away on you guys’ first anniversary, then great! If not… well,” she shrugged her shoulders.

“Right,” Blitz rolled his eyes as he did his best not to panic and flap his wings as Nightingale made a very sharp turn on a very small ledge.

“So… what did you get her?” she asked in a sing-song voice.

“Well, I haven’t quite figured that part out yet,” Blitz admitted with his shoulders slumping. “I was hoping I’d think of something while I was out here, but I just don’t know.”

“Well it should mean something to you guys,” she said, tilting her head to the side. “Nothing too risqué; would send the message that you just view your relationship with her as an easy fuck.”

Blitz snorted. “Believe me, we figured out that we meant a lot more to one another than that before we became an official couple.”

“Good for you, Blitz, you’re already more mature than half of the stallions in Equestria,” she grinned, patting him on the head playfully. “So come on, tell me what else you got in mind for her. You’ve gotta have something in that noggin of yours.”

“I told you, I’m completely stumped; I mean, Applejack isn’t into jewelry, and the only other things I can think of are rare apple seeds. And I know that apple seeds are not what you get a girl for your first anniversary,” Blitz said with a whine.

“Oh you better believe it’s not something you get a girl,” Nightingale said with an air of authority that made Blitz snort. “Not if you don’t ever want to have sex again, that is.”

“Right…” Blitz said, rolling his eyes. “I was also thinking of going out on a date with her to either a carnival or a rodeo, since that is something she likes, but I’m not sure if that will be enough or not.”

“You could try cooking dinner for her, that’s a good staple if you can’t think of anything else,” Nightingale said with a shrug as they got closer to the bottom of the mountain. “You cancook, right?”

“Not amazingly,” he admitted as he scratched the back of his head. “I can do a few things, like throwing together a quick salad, but I mostly rely on takeout or what my friends or family bring me.”

“So you either get good fast or that’s that idea out of the picture,” Nightingale let out a grunt of annoyance as they got on a very bumpy stretch of road and Blitz couldn’t help himself from flaring out his wings in fright. “Not sure what else you can get her then.”

“Great,” Blitz grumbled as he rolled his eyes as that was one idea shot down.”Still no closer to figuring out what I should get her.”

“Eh, you’ll figure it out; you’re lucky like that,” she said before pulling up to a stop near halfway down. “I think you should get inside; you seem a bit twitchy and the road is only getting worse from now.”

Blinking in surprise and horror that this was only going to get worse, he made his way off the seat and, while keeping a deathgrip on the side of the carriage, inched his way to the door and managed to open it without falling off the side of the mountain. While he normally didn’t have any fear of heights, the small glance he had of the rest of the way down made him instantly understand how some could actually be afraid of heights.

Sliding inside the carriage that actually had a seatbelt for him to use, Blitz did his best not to panic as carriage began to rock back and forth violently and not to swear at Nightingale who was now singing a merry song that was just putting him even more on edge.

“Annnd we’re here, Blitz,” Nightingale called out to him after a long terrifying period of time had passed with Blitz sure that he now had some gray to his colourful mane. “You awake in there?”

“Yeah I’m awake,” he said as he made his way slowly out of the carriage, his heart only starting to slow down now. “Don’t know how I could have slept with as wildly as you were driving.”

“Speak for yourself; I’ve seen how you fly,” Nightingale told him as he finished climbing out, grabbing his bag. “Field’s over that way, and I’ve got to get this thing back to the storage unit. See ya!”

As he watched her driving back up the mountain again, Blitz shook his head. “That mare…”

Shouldering his bag, he headed off to the barracks to report in and stash his gear when he stopped and realized he would more than likely have to go back up that road later on this week. With a groan, he made his way towards the barrack when Firestorm flew over the barracks and landed in front of him.

“Ah good, you could actually come Ditz,” the stallion said, reaching out to shake his hand with Blitz doing his best not to cringe at his colthood nickname which had, to his annoyance, become his official nickname when he’d joined the team after Fire Streak had retired to go into teaching at their academy full-time. He’d been stuck with the moniker as a result of a horrendous series of missteps after a training practice that first day, and despite his attempts to get it changed, it was what they called him when not using his real name. “That’s really great; while Thunderlane lives in the same town, he doesn’t have the same speed or power you do.”

“But I’m going to guess he is a bit more reliable than me?” Blitz asked with an arched eyebrow, feeling he had a guess to why Thunderlane was mentioned.

“Yeah…” Firestorm had the decency to look embarrassed. “We had to decide if we wanted somepony more flashy and skilled over one that we could completely trust to stick to the routine.”

“That whole jab aside,” Blitz said while rolling his eyes before looking the pegasus in the face. “I’m still honoured to be picked boss.”

“Look Blitz, you’ve proved yourself countless times in the past so this is your big chance with us,” Firestorm patted him on the shoulder. “So come in, get changed and we’ll start you with what you need to know. Blaze is waiting for you right now and she’s eager to start.”

“Right,” Blitz nodded his head as he ran inside, spying the quarters that had the stallion stencil on it and entered the room. Throwing his duffle bag on the bench, he quickly began to change into his uniform, and made his way onto the training field; feeling completely confident in leaving his belongings alone like this. Stepping outside, he could already see Blaze, Glide, Firestorm, Silver Zoom and Surprise in the air, doing what his training told him was a loose warm up.

Flapping his wings as he called out to them; as it was not only proper etiquette to do so but also a safety concern as to prevent mid air accidents, he saw them slow down to greet him.

“Heya Blitz, great that you’re able to make it,” Blaze said, hovering next to him and gave him a light punch on the shoulder. “A shame what happened to Fleetfoot but hey, you’re just as good, if not better, though don’t tell her I said that.”

“Yeah ‘cause we’ll never stop hearing her complain about it,” Glide, the lieutenant of the Bolts, grumbled. “Firestorm will hate me for saying this, but she kinda deserved knocking her wing out of place like she did.”

“How did she injure herself, anyways?” Blitz asked as he started to limber himself up.

“She got cocky during a stunt and hit a pole with her wing,” Glide told him. “Bruised the joint and had it swell up real bad. Docs said she was groundbound for at least a week or two, so she’s on medical leave until then.”

Blitz winced. “Ouch.”

“Yeah; now it makes sense when I tell you guys to leave the bragging for solid ground,” Firestorm said as he flew into the sky with them. “Doing it in the middle of a routine is just begging for Fate to come up and deck ya in the schnoz. Blitz, a couple of laps around the field to get warmed up, after that, Blaze show him what he needs to know. Everypony else, you know what you need to do.”

There was a chorus of affirmatives before Blitz shot off for what was a steady workout for himself with the mares following behind him for their own workouts. As he built up speed and pressure during his laps, Blaze called out to him to slow down so they could chat and prepare for their routine. Spreading out his wings to cut his speed, he let her and the other mares catch up to him.

“So Blitz,” Glide said as she, Blaze and Surprise all flew up. “How’s it going for you, back in Ponyville?”

“Good,” Blitz replied. “No monsters, no end of the world baddies, no nothing dangerous to stop.” He half-smirked, but kept his next thought to himself: Unless you count Rarity’s flirting and trying to get into Dusk’s pants as dangerous, and Dusk’s only halfway trying to stop her at this point.

“That's good to hear Blitzie,” Surprise said, still eerily similar to Bubble Berry. “Speaking of good things, how are you and your marefriend doing?”

“We’re doing good,” Blitz replied. “I think her family really likes me now; Granny basically treats me like a fourth grandkid, Buck thinks of me as another big brother, and Mac no longer polishes the shotgun when we’re alone.” The girls laughed at that one, thinking it was a joke or something, then Glide caught the look in his eye.

“He really did that?” she asked.

“Absolutely,” Blitz said as he kept going. “Of course, I’m not surprised - Dad mentioned once that if it’d been the other way around, me being born a mare and Applejack being a stallion, he’d be doing the same thing whenever AJ came over. And ditto for if I had any sisters and they brought a boy home.” He considered. “Not sure how he’d react if one of them had a marefriend instead, but the point’s moot, since it’s just me. And Scoots, since he’s as good as family too, even if he doesn’t live with any of us.”

“What about if you had daughters, what’d you do then?“ Glide cooed out teasingly with the other two snickering.

“I’d like to say I would be the one but then again, AJ would be their mom…” Blitz trailed off, the idea of having children with her was both scary as all Tartarus and a bit… cool.

“Ain’t you two close to your first anniversary or something?” Blaze asked, tilting her head to him.

“Yeah, like in a month or so,” Blitz replied, hearing the winces already as he started to explain himself for the second time that day. “But we’re holding off on celebrating until after this tour’s over - and before you say anything, we talked it over and she’s fine with it.”

“You sure about that?” Blitz could hear the disbelief in Blaze’s tone. “‘Cause if I had a coltfriend and he had to be away during our first anniversary…”

“Like I said, we discussed it,” Blitz said with a sigh. “She knows being part of this team has been my dream since I was a kid, and she swore she had no problem with it and I believe her completely. ‘Sides, it’s not like we won’t see one another until after everything’s done - I gave her that last pass that Fleetfoot had, the one for the Canterlot show.”

“Okay, okay, you believe that she’s fine with you being away on a very special day; that’s fine,” Surprise said, doing her best to settle the tension. “So other big question; what are you getting her?”

Blitz winced. “That’s the problem, I don’t know,” he admitted. “I’ve been trying to think of something, but nothing seems right.” That got him several sighs of exasperation with Blitz groaning. “I know, I know; it’s not good but I’ve been trying for a while to think of something to get her the right gift to celebrate a year of being together and I’ve got nothing.”

“Well,” Blaze said. “You could-”

“Start practicing for the upcoming tour and talk later.” Firestorm said as he flew by them, looking a bit annoyed.

“Yes boss,” all four chorused, before they put on a burst of speed as their focus turned back to their flying.