Foalhoods

by dog0food

Rating: everyone
Tags: Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 15624

Everyone has a beginning and end. We don’t always know where we’re going, we know where we began

Every creature has a beginning, and an end… And while we don’t always know where we’re going, we always know where we began. And those roots help shape us into who we are going to become.

A series of one shots (one for each of the mane six), cataloguing their foalhoods and what led them to become the ponies they are today. Each one is different, so expect some altering moods (and maybe a more teen rating in some stories) depending on that chapter's star.

Published 2012-08-13 06:24:02 UTC
Last updated 2012-08-13 06:24:02 UTC

The Other Side of the Rainbow

She always left the house with her rainbow mane unkempt and messy. She didn’t bother brushing her hair. What was the point? She just rolled out of bed and went to school. Or didn’t. It’s not like it really mattered what she did or where she went. Sometimes she’d take a nap on a particularly fluffy cloud or enjoy a stroll throughout Cloudsdale. She particularly liked the factory where the rainbows were made. In fact, she made sure to visit it at least once a week. The ponies were nice there. They talked to her, they even knew her name. In fact, the rainbow-maned pegasus thought she might like to work there when she was old enough…

Rainbow Dash had tried to look nice once. For her parents. Her father was a bulky, all business colt with a blue pelt and powerful wings. He didn’t take well to nonsense, or stupid questions, or stupid ponies. Her mother had a beautifully sleek body, luscious blue hair, and nothing was ever out of place. Rainbow Dash had inherited her father’s powerful wings with her mother’s sleek body; her rainbow mane, on the other hand, was a complete mystery. And unfortunately for Dash, her hair seemed to remain in a perpetually messy state.

When her parents did occasionally speak about her, it was always a comment on her hair. She could recall countless conversations she would walk into the kitchen as her mother cooked her father breakfast and he sat at the table, reading the paper. Dash had a fleeting suspicion that they only brought up the topic when she was nearby, and talked loudly enough so that she would hear them.

“That hair,” her mother would often scoff, “looks like a rat’s nest. Don’t you think so, dear?”

“Epitome of, my dear,” her father would grunt, rustling the paper. “And the color. It’s unnatural. Makes no sense. No foal of mine would ever be caught in such a wretched display of disobedience.”

Dash would sometimes make a snappy reply, saying something like, “But I am your daughter!” or “I didn’t choose my mane color. I don’t know why it’s like this, it just is!”

They would always fall silent when she attempted to talk back. Their eyes never once touched Dash. They skipped right over her. Usually they’d begin a breezy conversation, pretending like nothing had ever happened and Dash had never walked in.

“Pass the sugar, would you? The coffee could use some flavor today…”

“Of course, dear. Would you like some toast with your eggs?”

“Splendid, splendid.”

Rainbow Dash had gotten up especially early one morning. She had a foolproof plan that she knew her parents would not only love, but it would force them to acknowledge her. She sneaked into the bathroom, hovering a few inches off the ground so that the noise of her hooves wouldn’t wake up her parents. She had taken a brush to her messy mane. It couldn’t be that hard, brushing her hair. Her mom had so many beauty products laying all about. She probably spent hours in the morning getting ready for the day. Dash found a brush and started digging through the stream of rainbows on the mane she had. After a few painful strokes, with the brush getting stuck in numerous knots, Dash realized that her mane really was a rat’s nest. She sighed. There was no way she’d be able to comb the tangles and disobedience out of her hair.

Next she tried the flat iron her mother often used. Rainbow Dash would watch, in secret, as her mother would apply all her beauty products. She would always walk out of the room sparkling from head to hoof. Dash knew she could never live up to her mother’s expectations of beauty no matter how much makeup she covered herself in, trying so hard to look like a different pony. She had tried, of course. But every failed attempt only caused her parents to ignore her further, and eventually it just wasn’t worth the trouble. At least when she looked bad they talked about her, even if it was only negative comments.

But this time she was sure to succeed. She worked her mane through the flat iron, watching as steam rose up and flushed her cheeks with the warmth. Rainbow Dash smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror. It was working! Dash watched as her frizzy mess slowly straightened and flattened against her face. The tufts of different colors morphed and intersected with each other, no longer confined to their own entanglements, to form a speckled, rainbow-colored polka dot effect on her head. Dash frowned at the result. Her mane was straight and flat against her head now, but the strands seemed to lose sense of themselves. They flopped and wiggled every which way, the reds and oranges mixing, the blues and greens and purples conforming… Rainbow Dash wasn’t even completely sure what her hair color was anymore. And it was pretty speculative to begin with.

But this is what her parents wanted, of that Rainbow Dash was certain. So she gave herself a wary smile, testing the waters. But her smile dropped when she saw the new Rainbow Dash in the mirror. She didn’t like the pony looking back at her. It was one of anxiety and nervousness, more traits both of her parents despised. She just didn’t feel comfortable in her own skin – or in this case, hair – and if she couldn’t sell her confidence, her parents would never acknowledge her.

Her father was always confident and sure, in everything he did. He had to be like that in order to go around selling his products day-to-day and make money for the family. And sometimes he would use underhanded tactics, but how else was he supposed to ensure that his family got the proper care that they needed? Sometimes, when Rainbow Dash skipped school and wandered around town, she would pass by her father on the street. He never saw her, but it gave Rainbow Dash a rare opportunity to follow him and see what his life at work was like.

Dash would watch as her father would go door to door, telling ponies about his products, how well they worked, how great they were, how he swore by them… But Rainbow Dash knew most of his words were a lie. She had never even seen half of the things he was selling, let alone anypony in their house using them. But Rainbow Dash would watch in awe as it worked. He could get anypony to buy anything, just with his words alone. Not only that, but he would scam them multiple times in a week.

“That Super Speedy Vacuum Cleany didn’t work? Well, of course it didn’t work! You didn’t buy the upgraded, improved, all-new and all-satisfying Crisp and Clean Vacuum Dream! It works so well, you really only need to use it once a month to keep the shine to your home. Clouds too moist? This thing dries them out in ten seconds flat! That’s right, ten seconds flat! I swear by it! Use it all the time, myself. Well, actually, I wish I could use it all the time, it’s so much fun and so easy to work! My only issue is that it works so well that I can’t use it more often! But, yes indeedy, I would toss that old issue aside and pick this one right up. Say goodbye to every stain, every cloud dust, to endless nights of constant working. In fact, thanks to this thing, you can spend more time with those delightful kiddies of yours…”

Rainbow Dash knew their house didn’t own a Crisp and Clean… Vacuum… Thing… whatever it was. But by the end of her father’s speech, the family he was talking to sure as a cumulus had one. So that they could spend time with their ‘delightful kiddies’… Her father sure could sell, but he was talking out of his rump most of the time. It didn’t matter how polite Rainbow Dash was, or how out of control she was, or how delightful or how much of a terror, it didn’t matter what she did. Her parents never wanted to spend time with her.

Rainbow Dash flicked her new straightened mane with a hoof. It fluttered up, then fell blandly to her side. She winced at how dry and boring it had turned out. Whenever she watched her mom doing her hair, she always came out with shiny, bouncing locks. And the confidence that she displayed with just a flash of a smile left Rainbow Dash in awe. Why couldn’t she be more like that? If Dash could put on a brave face and strut around like she owned the place, maybe she could get free things and jaw-dropping gazes like the ones her mom received everywhere she went.

All Rainbow Dash wanted was to be wanted.

Rainbow Dash made sure she was sitting at the table that morning, poised with the most self-assured smile she could muster, in a position where her parents couldn’t help but see her as they walked in. Dash just knew that when they trotted in and their eyes fell on her, the reproachful looks they often saved for whenever she was nearby would melt away and be replaced with ones of surprised and delighted approval.

“Oh, honey, you look wonderful!” her mother cooed.

“Well, I say, you do clean up nice,” her father said, nodding slowly. “Although, I wouldn’t expect anything less from a daughter of mine.”

“And with my genes, how could we not help but produce such a beautiful offspring?”

“She’s strong, speedy, splendid, smart, simply stupendous! What were we ever wondering when we wished we had a different daughter? This one is perfect!”

Tears in Rainbow Dash’s eyes, she ran over and hugged her parents. And, best of all, they embraced her. They took her in their arms, they kissed her, and in unison, they looked longingly into her eyes and said the three simple words she always wanted to hear from them…

“We love you.”

Rainbow Dash was crying. She had found a cloud, far away from her home or her school or even the rainbow factory, and buried her face into it. The fluffy, white cotton ball dried her face and collected her tears. She had bawled so hard and for so long that the cloud was filled with water and she had gotten her entire head drenched in her own tears as she buried deeper into it during her throes of sorrow. She could feel her wet hair losing its straightness and turning back into the tangled clump it always was.

She sniffled. She shouldn’t be crying. Nothing had changed, nothing was different… So she shouldn’t feel so sad to be so completely and utterly alone. But she had let herself dream, if only for a moment, that her parents were going to see her efforts and love her for it. How she had gotten such a crazy idea into her head, she had no clue. Instead, they did what they always did, crinkled their noses at the first sight of her and ignored her very existence for the rest of the morning.

Dash didn’t know why she bothered trying. It always got her hurt in the end, and she hated feeling this way. That was the last straw, she decided. If her parents wanted to ignore her, fine, they could go ahead and ignore her. But, and Dash’s tearstained face managed a determined grin, they were going to be sorry when Dash became the most awesome pony in all of Equestria. And then, when they wanted to hang out with her and finally call her their daughter, Dash could give them a disapproving face and shrug them away. She’d leave them behind in her dust and all they’d be able to do was watch and wish they had loved her back when she still called them her parents.

Rainbow Dash went to school that day, although she showed up late. The teacher was used to Dash coming in whenever she felt like it, so nopony said anything as she strutted in and took her usual place in the back of the classroom. All traces of her earlier meltdown gone, Rainbow Dash leaned back in her chair with a small smile playing on her lips. Not caring was refreshing, she thought. She wasn’t weighed down by thoughts of her parents not liking her. She didn’t care about the snickering ponies she past as she sat down. She was going to show all of them, she had decided. When she was the coolest pony in Equestria, whatever happened when she was a young foal wouldn’t matter. Everypony would love her then, everypony would look at her then, everypony would remember her then… And she wasn’t going to fail, she wasn’t going to give anypony a chance to look at her the way her parents often did, she wasn’t going to be anything but awesome.

The teacher passed out a written test. Rainbow Dash groaned. She had always struggled with written tests. In fact, she would usually schedule her afternoon naps to coincide with them. Whenever she did badly, which she usually did, her father would give her that look… Or rather, not give her a look, but Rainbow Dash could feel his anguish boring into her even when he wasn’t looking at her. He saw her as nothing but stupid. The truth was, Rainbow Dash couldn’t read very well. That didn’t make her dumb. She knew the answers, usually, but as she stared at the paper it was as if the letters got all mixed up. And in an embarrassed panic, she’d just write a quick yes or no answer in an ‘explain’ question, or fill out the bubbles in a multiple choice test randomly as the letters danced meaninglessly across the page.

Rainbow Dash hated reading, anyway. It only proved her father more right. She just wasn’t smart. It was just like how she hated fashion. No matter how hard she tried to look good, she just proved her mother more right. She just wasn’t pretty. So Rainbow Dash shunned these things, determined to find more awesome subjects that would help prove her amazing talents to everypony, rather than focus on the things she couldn’t do.

This test wasn’t any different than the others. She filled in things randomly and quickly, just wanting to be done with it. She was the first pony to hand hers in. Everypony looked at her as she walked up, and Dash thought back to her mom, always confident, always catching everypony’s eye… Rainbow Dash mimicked her mom’s strut, her smile, once in a while glancing at a pony and raising an eyebrow cockily at them. They’d blush furiously and look away or immediately pretend they hadn’t been staring. And Dash’s smile changed from fake to genuine. Whatever she was doing, it was working. It didn’t matter that she was going to fail the test, she realized how easy it was appear like she knew what she was doing. It was just like her father selling his products in the clouds, Rainbow Dash realized how easy it was to sell herself.

Later that day, the class was taken out to work on their flying skills. Dash had never flown much. She was afraid to try, because if she failed she knew it would just give her parents another reason to despise her. The most she ever did was hover a little above the ground, but that was only whenever she was alone and could afford to do something stupid like crash.

Rainbow Dash gulped inwardly as she gazed at the obstacle course in front of her. She was standing in line on a cloud, thousands of feet in the air. The point of the exercise was to dive down through the three hoops placed at every thirty feet, then pull back up the ninety feet and dodge around the various clouds scattered throughout the sky. Rainbow Dash had never attempted anything like it before, but then again, she rarely went to flight school.

One by one, the pegasi attempted the course. The teacher had warned them before they started that this was an advanced course and she didn’t expect any of them to get it on their first try. Most of the pegasi couldn’t manage the ninety foot climb back up after their drop and had to be rescued by flight assistants positioned next to every hoop. A few did manage to get through every hoop and fly back up, but were tired out from the extensive climb and their wings either gave out on them halfway through the second part or they lost control and spun through multiple clouds. Every single pony had to be retrieved by a flight assistant at one point during the obstacle course.

And then, lastly, it was Rainbow Dash’s turn. She stared down the cloud, eyes wide and hooves shaking. Her mind went back to her parents, thinking of her as nothing more than a failure, not even bothering to pay attention to her attempts because they knew she could never measure up. Rainbow Dash frowned at the thought, then took a deep breath. She was going to prove them wrong, right here and right now. She was going to show them just how awesome of a pegasus she was.

And with that thought, Rainbow Dash dropped. At first she went horizontally down, wings still tucked in, eyes closed, still thinking about how she was going to show up her parents… Then she felt the wind rippling through her mane and the plummeting feeling of her stomach. She opened her eyes, which instantly met her with tears as the wind gushed into them. It took her a second to catch her breath, which the wind had knocked out of her. But when she managed to breathe, she quickly moved onto the next step… The next step… The next step… What was next?

Rainbow Dash realized, in a panic, that she didn’t know what she was supposed to do next. Whenever she had flown, it was just a couple inches off the ground and she was only going straight. Dash was nearing the first hoop now, and if she didn’t go through it the right way the flight assistant watching her would pluck her up and send her back. And she’d be the only pony to fail at the very first hoop.

No. Rainbow Dash wasn’t going to fail again, not anymore. She breathed deeply and closed her eyes. What was the next step? Without thinking or commanding it, she felt her body turning… And suddenly she wasn’t facing with her stomach facing the ground, but with her head facing downwards, plummeting at speeds she couldn’t even comprehend. She had no idea what she was doing, and she was pretty sure that if she hit the ground now it would hurt a lot more crashing with her head than it would have with her stomach, but it felt right so she listened to her body as it told her what to do.

Next, she spread out her wings. Of course! She needed her wings to fly, obviously… But she didn’t flap them, she didn’t need to. She was already going ridiculously fast, the wind the only sound inhabiting her eardrum. Instead she angled them to maximize her speed, and she felt herself shoot down through the first hoop. She glanced back, unsure if what she was doing was right, although it felt right and it was coming so naturally to her… The surprised and awed expression of the flight attendant, one that mimicked all the ones she had seen those colts use whenever her mother walked by them, caused Rainbow Dash to smirk and let out a chuckle. She not only was doing it right, but she was passing… with flying colors.

Literally. She could see a trail of rainbows following her as she went, undoubtedly coming from her hair as it whipped through the air. It was incredibly beautiful, something she had never associated with herself. And in that moment, she couldn’t have loved her messy, rainbow mane any more.

She went through the second and third hoops only seconds later, and realized that now she was supposed to pull up. This is where most of the other pegasi had failed… They had flattened their wings and attempted the long climb back up, flapping fervently. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, knew better. She didn’t know how, but she did. Instead of a direct trajectory up, Rainbow Dash shifted her wings, adding momentum by flapping them now for the first time, and allowed the power from her drop to shoot her like a cannon back up. She only really needed her wings for the last thirty or so feet, finally feeling some of the resistance from that pesky gravity as she finished the trek upwards.

It didn’t matter. Rainbow Dash had inherited her father’s powerful wings, which could easily carry the sleek and speedy body that resembled her mother’s upwards without much sweat. In fact, and Rainbow Dash let out a wide grin at this realization, she didn’t feel tired in the slightest. She was more than ready to tackle the obstacle course in front of her. The very one that had caused her hooves to shake and her mouth to go dry only a few minutes ago…

Rainbow Dash realized just how agile and fast her body really was. It was as if she had Rainbow Senses and could tell when a cloud was close or just the right way she was supposed to move in order to slip between two particularly closely grouped, narrowly-gapped clouds. She had never in her entire life had more confidence and pride swelling through her. Soon, she noticed that she had gotten farther than any of the other pegasi. Not only that, but some of the flight assistants were struggling to keep up with her.

“Okay!” she heard one of them shout, panting. “You’re done! Slow down!”

Done? Rainbow Dash flipped over so that she was flying backwards now. And she could see everything behind her. The clouds were distant dots now. She had evaded each and every one of them, she realized with a grin. And now there were two flight assistants failing to catch up to her even now, as she flew backwards.

“Hey!” the other one shouted. “Look out for that –”

Raising her eyebrows, Rainbow Dash flipped around. Only to be met with a cliff. She smashed right into it, the wind beneath her wings gone, completely flattened and groaning in pain.

“Mountain…” the pegasus finished, wincing slightly. The pair of them helped pull Rainbow Dash free, who moaned softly.

“Hey, kid, you okay?”

Dash blinked a couple times. Since when were there four of them? She shook her head, then looked again. Hey, where’d the other two go? Whatever. She felt a little dizzy and numb, but otherwise…

“I’m great!” She grinned up at them.

“Heh. That was some fancy flying, kid,” the other pegasus pony said. “You did better than most of the advanced fliers we see on this course.”

“Except for the crashing part,” the other one mused.

Rainbow Dash beamed at them. She had never been praised before, but she liked it. A lot. ‘So awesome,’ she thought happily. ‘I’m so awesome.’

“Hey, Rainbow Crash! Nice to see you actually show up for once.” Rainbow Dash glanced lazily at the large form of Billy standing in her path. Ever since she showed everypony up at the advanced flight course, she had earned a flock of admiring fans. ‘And,’ she thought to herself, ‘some jealous neigh-sayers. Whatever.’ Billy fell under the latter. He had come up with the hilarious nickname Rainbow Crash to try and undermine her accomplishment by reminding the other ponies that she still managed to fly straight into a mountain upon completing the course.

Ponies like him didn’t matter, Rainbow Dash decided. They were the minority, anyway. Most of the ponies had fallen in love with the expert way that Dash could soar through the sky, so effortlessly and engaging the wind like an old friend. Still, there was that nagging feeling as Billy laughed at her. If ponies like him still didn’t see how awesome she was, then there was more of a chance that her parents wouldn’t see it either.

“Outta my way,” Dash growled. Then she smiled cockily. “Can’t keep the ponies waiting.”

“What are you going to do this time, Rainbow Crash? Manage to hit a tree up in the clouds?”

“Nah, I’ll save the pint-sized stuff for ponies like you,” Dash teased, her confidence rising. “I’ve got bigger and better things on my mind.” She pushed past him and moved to the front of the line. Rainbow Dash always made sure to show up for flight tests so that she could amaze the ponies with her stunts and moves. Sure, maybe she still skipped out on written tests and boring lectures, but hadn’t she proven what you were supposed to prove at flight school? She could fly, better than any other pony in her class, better than most of the ponies in all the other classes. She was basically the best, most awesome pony, so who cared if she skipped out on the small, boring stuff? Rainbow Dash only felt good when she was in the sky, so that’s where she planned on staying.

Today was no different than every other time she showed up for a flight test. She took to the sky, smiling the entire time, and zipped through every obstacle course with ease. She would even do a little extra, pandering to the crowd as they were wowed by her loop-de-loops and daring nose dives. When she touched back down, the teacher would roll her eyes at Dash’s arrogance, but ultimately give her the highest grade in the class. And Rainbow Dash would smirk, already confident about the score she would receive.

Her home life hadn’t changed despite this ability she discovered that she had. Dash had tried, on multiple occasions, to show off her skills to her parents. Talking to them about it only resulted in her parents having a separate conversation, ignoring her completely. So Dash changed tactics, instead attempting to show them how good of a flier she was by doing her tricks right in the house. Normally, they would ignore her. But if she ran into a cabinet or broke a dish, somepony (usually her mom) would scream loudly and kick her out of the house. It wasn’t Dash’s fault that their home was too small and crowded for her to really exhibit her skills…

Dejected, Rainbow Dash would float outside and wonder whether she preferred being completely ignored or treated like a wild animal… On one of these such occasions, Dash found herself heading towards the Rainbow Factory, her favorite location. Her favorite employee, Cloud Spice, was in charge of giving the rainbows that overwhelming flavor that they were known to have. Rainbow Dash fondly remembered the first time she had met Cloud Spice.

Rainbow Dash had decided to skip out on school for the very first time. She half-hoped that her parents would find out about it and chastise her, showing that they cared. But she also just decided that she didn’t feel like going. Besides, there was going to be another written test and she was sick and tired of failing. So, Dash spent a day walking around Cloudsdale. She did that a lot just to get out of the house, so one would think this activity would have lost its marvel, but visiting all the shops was a lot more interesting when it was midday and most of Cloudsdale was at work or school.

As she went, she got stares from the shopkeepers and the few pegasi that were out and about. Dash found this strange at first, until she remembered that she was a foal that was supposed to be in school. With a nervous chuckle, she scrambled to stay out of the line of sight of the ponies. The last thing she needed was one of them calling the police and getting her sent home, embarrassed and a failure.

This act led her into an area of Cloudsdale she had never visited before. She followed the clouds up to a building that immediately caught her eye. Spilling from it were streams of every color, matching her own messy mane perfectly. The sight took her breath away. She had seen rainbows in the sky before, yeah, but this was different. The rainbows in the sky seemed to sparkle and gleam in a way her mother’s hair could, but her own mane would never be capable of replicating. The rainbow stream was liquid and spilled out in a similar way that her own untamable mane did.

Suddenly smiling, Dash inched closer. She glanced around, but there was nopony in sight. With a guilty grin, she stared into the rainbow and was greeted with her own reflection. A giggle escaped her lips as she realized that peering into the rainbow made it look like she had no mane. Her smile turned into one filled with sadness when she thought about how her parents would probably prefer her as this hairless creature than the way she was now. And just as a sigh was about to escape her lips, a voice came up behind her that turned that breath into a strangled scream.

“Hey now, are you supposed to be here?”

Rainbow Dash whipped around. Standing in front of her was a large, white pegasus with warm, yellow eyes and a billowing, fiery red mane. For a cutie mark he sported two red hot chili peppers, crossing at the tip. Dash’s wide eyes and defensive stance immediately gave the pony his answer. He chuckled.

“Alright, calm down. Want me to give you the tour?”
Rainbow Dash perked up slightly at that. She was still a little nervous and suspicious, but she said, “Okay…”
“Great. Might as well be learning something if you’re gonna skip out on school, right? Name’s Cloud Spice by the way. What’s yours?”

Rainbow Dash regarded him with narrowed eyes. Why did he need her name? Cloud Spice rolled his eyes in that special way that Dash often tried to imitate and laughed again. “Come on now, I don’t buck.”

“Rainbow Dash,” she muttered, looking at her hooves.

“Rainbow, eh? Shoulda realized, I guess, with that spectacular mane you’ve got…” Rainbow perked up at that. Did he just… compliment her mane? Cloud Spice went on, oblivious to her reaction to his comment. “Well, looks like you’ve come to the right place! You know, rainbows are known for their beauty, but have you ever tasted one? You see, my job is to add that special fierceness, that brashness and boldness, that flare… the extra little, heh, spice that rainbows have. Go on and give it a taste. I know it won’t disappoint!”

Rainbow Dash hesitated, but after a quick smile and encouraging nod from Cloud Spice she found herself standing over the rainbow stream once again. She let her face hover over the rainbow for a moment. It felt… hot. Then, without giving herself time to think, she dunked her head in and gave the rainbow a lick. When she pulled out, she had a choking look on her face and Cloud Spice watched with a playful smile as her entire face changed into every color of the rainbow.

“Gah!” Rainbow cried out. “H-Hey! What gives?!” She whirled around and glared at Cloud Spice, panting. He broke out into full on laughter.

“Sorry, kid!” he managed in between spurts of silent, choking laughter. “But I thought you might have that special fiery personality needed to make a rainbow. Thought I might fish it out of you with a little prank… Didn’t know you were brave enough to dunk your whole head in, though!”

Cloud Spice, the prankster. Rainbow Dash had left disgruntled and angry after that, but she kept coming back. And soon, Cloud Spice and her became something of… friends.

Rainbow Dash was pulled out of her thoughts to the usual greeting from Cloud Spice. “Hey ‘Bow! Came by to add some spice to your life, I suspect.”

“Only you, Spice,” Dash replied with a grin. He smiled back and sat down next to her.

“So, how’s life, kid?”

“Aced my latest flying exam,” Dash said with a chuckle. “Was there ever any doubt?”

“You keep the skies hot and spicy,” Cloud Spice agreed with a sly wink.

Rainbow Dash thought about flying. The cold wind in her mane, the temperature dropping as she climbed higher and higher, the way she could leave everypony flushed from the freezing gust of wind she could produce if she went just fast enough… “I prefer to keep things… cool,” she finally said.

Cloud Spice chuckled. “Alright, no more rainbow meals for you. I get it. But hey, I’ve got somethin’ that you’ll definitely find… cool.”

“Yeah?” Rainbow’s ears perked up. “Alright, Spice, what is it?” Cloud Spice picked up a flier he had with him with his teeth and placed it in front of Rainbow Dash. The cyan pegasus stared at it for a moment, trying to steady her gaze to focus on the words as they popped out at her. She could tell that featured on it were a group of very awesome-looking pegasi wearing blue flight suits and goggles.

“The… uh… Wonder…”

“The Wonderbolts,” Cloud Spice finished for her. “They’re an aerial group of amazing flight ponies. Definitely up your alley. They’ve got a show coming up here this weekend. I had planned to go, but we’re some pegasi short here, so I gotta take the weekend shift. I was thinkin’ you could take my ticket. For a young flier with as much potential as you, I thought you’d like to watch some professionals in action.” He produced the ticket, golden and shiny, from under a wing. Dash stared at it, her mouth opened in a small ‘O’ shape.

She looked at him. Then back at the ticket. Then back at him. He nodded, wearing an amused smile. Grinning back, Rainbow Dash took the ticket. “Wow. Thanks, Spice! Sorry you have to work and all, but man… Wonderbolts, huh?”

“The greatest, fastest aerial stunt team in all of Equestria,” Cloud Spice said, driving the point home.

Rainbow Dash was silent for a long time, thinking. “Wow.”

If there was one thing that Dash knew, it was that going to the Wonderbolts event would be easy. That was one great thing about having parents that didn’t care. She didn’t need to check things over with them, didn’t need to worry about some family event going on, she didn’t even have to worry about her parents worrying about her going off to some show all alone and getting pony-napped or something. Yep, that was definitely one of the pluses…

The stadium was situated in a particularly busy area of Cloudsdale. It made sense, Rainbow Dash thought, for such a big event to be where the life of the city was. Except Dash had never ventured this far out before and she was a little overwhelmed by the flashing lights and bustling crowds. She wasn’t scared, though. No, because she was Rainbow Dash. She was awesome. And if she showed fear, her parents would have looked down on her like a bug that needed to be squashed and quickly disposed of.

Even if they weren’t here with her now, Rainbow Dash did everything as if her parents were watching. Because one day they would be, and she didn’t want to ruin her one chance to impress them by showing any weakness. So Rainbow Dash stood tall and proud as she strutted up to the stadium where she was about to see Cloud Spice’s favorite aerial team perform. She handed her ticket with a bored smile that said she did this kind of thing all the time. And, although she got weird looks from others for being a foal apparently all alone at a Wonderbolts event, she strolled to her seat as if she knew exactly what she was doing.

Rainbow Dash had no clue what she was doing. Or what she could expect from a Wonderbolts show. But she had front row seats, which were second best only to the box seats. ‘Cloud Spice must be a really big fan if he got such good seats,’ Rainbow Dash thought to herself as she settled in. Ponies around her were munching on peanuts and popcorn. Part of Dash wished she had some money that she could use to buy herself something to eat. But that required parents who were willing to give her an allowance or some extra change to buy nice things.

This ticket to this event was the first gift Rainbow Dash had ever been given. Or could at least ever remember getting. And just being at the show, regardless if she didn’t really know what it was all about, was enough for her. She cherished every minute of it. The grimy smell of the stadium, the sounds of the sea of ponies around her murmuring, the feeling of anticipation as she waited for the show to begin. Smiling, she began to daydream about how she could thank Cloud Spice for everything he did for her.

For taking her in that first day and talking to her when he could have ignored her or told her to go away so he could get back to his work. And after the way she had abruptly left, he was all smiles when she came back a few days later. He even remembered her name. Rainbow Dash had initially been confused and suspicious of the attention she got from Cloud Spice, but eventually those feelings ebbed away to be replaced by happier, warmer ones.

She remembered the first time she had finally broken down and cried in front of him. Usually she saved an overflow of emotions for when she was alone on a particular large and fluffy cloud, but she had been having a bad day and found herself walking to the Rainbow Factory. Cloud Spice had invited her inside for some food (“No, not rainbows,” he had said with a chuckle. “Unless you wanna give ‘em another go.”) and Dash had rudely turned down his offer. Cloud Spice must have realized something was up right then and there, Dash had trouble hiding her rage sometimes. But if he did notice something was up, he didn’t show it. Instead, he smiled and offered her the opportunity to watch him at work. Not many ponies got to have the inside look on how rainbows were made, he had told her, but he was willing to make a special exception for his good friend. He finished with his usual, playful wink.

It was a nice gesture, and a really cool experience. But instead of accepting, Rainbow Dash flared her wings in anger and started yelling at him. She didn’t know what possessed her to do it. Probably because he was too nice, and he was paying attention to her, and she just wasn’t used to adults that were, well, anything like Cloud Spice.

“Stop talking to me!” she had shouted. “What are you playing at, anyway? What do you want from me? You can’t have any normal adult friends? What are you, some kinda weirdo? That’s exactly what you are! Who would actually want to make rainbows taste like that, anyway? You’re just… You’re just some sort of freak. A… A sad freak that nopony likes and so you make rainbows spicy to get back at them and you talk to little ponies because you have nopony else, because nopony likes you!”

She had yelled herself hoarse. And then she had stood there, bristled, staring angrily, thinking of more mean things she could say as soon as she caught her breath that would wipe that stupid smirk off that stupid pony’s face. But the entire time she had rampaged, he just smiled and waited patiently. When Dash just stood there, panting, and it became apparent she had no more gas left, he said, “You done?”

“No… I… You…” Dash’s ears flattened and she sat done. She could feel the tears rushing up, feel that familiar tingling sensation in her nose, and she looked hastily away. “Yes…”

“Good,” Cloud Spice said. And he walked slowly over to her and nuzzled her softly. And that did it for Rainbow Dash. The flood gates opened, and soon she was clutching Cloud Spice and bawling. He didn’t ask any questions, only sat there silently while Dash clung onto him and released all the anguish she had been holding in.

It was the first time anypony had nuzzled her. It was the first time she had ever cried in another pony’s arms. It was foreign and scary and embarrassing… But she couldn’t let go.

They stayed like that for a long time. Until Rainbow Dash finally couldn’t cry anymore. She let go as soon as she couldn’t find any excuse to hold on any longer. And then she sniffled softly, her face flushed, and she couldn’t meet Cloud Spice’s gaze.

“Now, how about that exclusive look into rainbows?”

Rainbow Dash managed to look up at Cloud Spice, eyes wide. She hiccupped and they both laughed. Then she nodded. He gestured for her to follow him inside. And just like that, everything in the world was alright again, her embarrassing sappy moment was forgotten, and Rainbow Dash found herself smiling.

Rainbow Dash smiled at the memory. She was definitely going to need to think of something big to thank Cloud Spice for everything he did for her. Everything. And then she heard the sound of a horn that snapped her out of her thoughts. And an announcer’s voice, booming and clear, seemed to be coming from the sky.

“Mares and Gentlecolt… I’m proud to give to you all today… The Wonderbolts!”

They came shooting out of seemingly nowhere. The crowed oohed and ahhed. Rainbow Dash watched them hungrily. They were fast. And Cloud Spice liked them… They were wearing impressive blue suits and goggles that made them look like royalty among the sea of ponies below them. Rainbow Dash imagined herself wearing one of those suits. Cloud Spice had said that she had potential… She watched as one of the ponies did a flip in a perfect circle, spinning so fast over and over again that it looked like he had become just a giant loop and there was nothing left of his body. And then another pony, this time a girl, flew through him. Not the circle, but him. How could they possibly be that precise? One mistake would send them crashing into each other…

Rainbow Dash watched, completely silent and with her mouth slightly ajar, as each stunt got comparably better than the last. At one particular daring dive, she realized afterwards that she had stood up in anticipation and anxiousness of the trick. With a nervous smile to the disgruntled ponies behind her, she sat back down. While Rainbow Dash was the best in her class, nay her school, these ponies were probably the best in the world. Dash realized that this was it. In order to be the most awesome pony in existence and prove to her parents that she was a pony worth paying attention to, she had to become one of these guys. A Wonderbolt. She imagined herself in the blue suit and goggles and a little squeal of excitement escaped her lips. And then she watched as one of the Wonderbolts did another nearly impossible feat and she squealed even louder. Then coughed, blushed furiously, and went back to watching in silent awe.

“Omigoshomigoshomigoshomigoshomigoshomigosh…”

“Uh… Little foal… It’s over now. Your parents are probably waiting for you outside…”

“Omigoshomigoshomigoshomigoshomigoshomigosh…”

“Yeah… Um. See, the thing is, I kind of have to clean –”

“Omigosh! The Wonderbolts! Did you see them?! They were like swoosh and vroom and –”

“Yeah. Yeah, they sure are great. Whatever. You really aren’t supposed to stay here this long after the show. I have to clean all of this, you see? So unless you want to do it, I suggest…”

Rainbow Dash didn’t pay the janitor another thought. If he didn’t want to rave about the Wonderbolts with her, she wasn’t going to bother with him anymore. She hopped out of her seat and dashed away. She knew one pony that loved the group as much as she now did. And so she was off to see him now and thank him for the tickets and talk in an excited, high-pitched voice about how awesome the show was.

“…you go home.” The janitor was left all alone, surrounded by a huge, empty, dirty stadium. “Right. Well. Back to work, then…” He sighed.

Rainbow Dash thought her life would never have happiness in it again. Fire burned in her cerise eyes. She coughed and wheezed as the smoke that had entered her lungs tried to make its escape. She couldn’t tell whether her eyes stung from the heat or her own salty tears. It didn’t really matter, though. Nothing mattered.

Dash had been so excited only a couple of hours ago. She had flown as fast as she could (which is really saying something) back to the Rainbow Factory. It didn’t matter how late it was, she knew Cloud Spice would still be working. Or, she had hoped, since she actually didn’t know where he lived or how to find him otherwise… Except the sight that had met her eyes made her wish she could tear out her own eyeballs. And the pain in her heart made her wish she could rip that out as well. And the pulsing in her brain made her wish that she could just puncture a hole in her skull and make everything just go away…

Fire. Fire everywhere. Bright and burning, the flames cackled insanely, lighting up her eyes and making her appear ghostly in the moonlight. The Rainbow Factory was being engulfed in flames.

Rainbow Dash dug further into her cloud, pushing away the memories of what had happened. Her normally cyan blue coat was matted and singed, covered in thick, black ashes. Patches were missing and her fur was sticky with blood. But she didn’t care. She didn’t care that she was soaking the cloud red. Or that she was nearly coughing her own lungs out of her mouth from the amount of smoke she had inhaled. Or that she was alive… None of it mattered, because Cloud Spice was dead.

She conjured up his smiling face one last time, only for a different image of him to swim to the surface… She let out another gasp and tears streamed down her cheeks, snot dripped steadily out of her nose. The flames seared her mind. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t resist the images from plaguing her every thought.

“No!” she had screamed. Her smiling face had immediately dropped at the sight. “Fire! Fire! Help!” No one was around. The ponies that were in there were working overtime, taking over the late, late shift… Cloud Spice was in there. Rainbow Dash didn’t have time to think. Thinking was for written tests, which she always failed. This was a time for acting. And so, with Cloud Spice the only thought in her head, Dash darted into the building that was billowing with smoke and being eaten alive by the ravenous flames.

She wasn’t prepared for the heat. She felt like she was on fire, or would burst into flames at any moment. The smoke, which quickly overtook her, singed her eyelashes and caused her to double over in a fit. She couldn’t open her eyes without them searing in pain. But Rainbow Dash was the fastest pegasus alive. Or, she would be. She could handle anything. Besides, wasn’t she the coolest thing in existence? So with her eyes closed, she jumped into the air and whizzed through the smoke. The gusts of winds that she could conjure whipped the smoke and sent it creeping down another pathway. It was enough of a relief for her to open her eyes and see where she was going.

But her eyes met nothing but red, yellow, and orange. “Cloud –” She fell into a coughing fit, having inhaled some smoke. She fell to the ground, struggling to breathe. “C-Cloud Spice!” Ignoring the pain, she perked up, listening… “Cloud Spice!” She tried to think where he would be. But her brain wasn’t working properly and she screamed in frustration. Instead of thinking, she pushed off and back into the air. If thinking wasn’t going to work for her, she was going to have to rely on natural instinct…

She let her wings lead her. They had never done her wrong before, so she didn’t expect them to now. As she past more and more flames, continuing to send the smoke away with her wings, she began to recognize some of the half-eaten structures that the flames had not quite destroyed. And she realized exactly where she was going.

“Cloud Spice!” she tried again. She had been into the backrooms once before. It was the special place where Cloud Spice spent hours working away with his concoctions, perfecting that spicy blend that made it into the rainbows… And then she heard it. The smallest cough…

“Spice!?” She zoomed towards the noise. “Cloud Spice!”

He was there. On the ground next to his work table. His normally crystal white coat turned jet black. The fire in his hair was ashen and missing in patches. Even his normally bright, yellow eyes seemed somehow darkened. But he was breathing. Rainbow Dash let out a breath of relief. He was alive.

“C-Come on, Spice. Get up. I’m gonna get you outta here…”

“’B-Bow…?” He looked up at her through only half-seeing eyes.

“It’s okay, Spice. You’re gonna be okay.” And she believed that. Dash really believed it.

“Heh… Hey, kid… How was… the show…” Cloud Spice managed a smile. Although his body was ragged with pain and he couldn’t move, he didn’t let any of that show to the scared little foal in front of him. He also realized that there was no way Rainbow Dash could carry Cloud Spice, a rather large, full grown pony, out of the burning building. But he was glad to see her. If these were going to be his last moments, he wanted to spend it with the little foal he had grown to love. The little girl that he had often thought of as a…

“That isn’t important right now!” Rainbow Dash had said sharply, nudging him. “Come on… Get up! We gotta go! Now!”

Rainbow Dash had braved the flames for him. Cloud Spice’s grin widened. She was such a strong pony. She had to be strong, didn’t she? He had known something was up in her home life, noticed something odd from the first moment he laid eyes on her. Why was a foal like her not at school with the other ponies? And she was always so suspicious. At first he thought perhaps she was homeless. But he had tracked her once, watching her very carefully, and he saw that she did have a home. And a family. How odd… But she wasn’t just another troublemaker, she wasn’t just another rebel. There was definitely something different about this one…

“First…” Cloud Spice began, before falling into a coughing fit. When he regained his breath, he continued, “T-Tell me about the Wonderbolts…”

Rainbow Dash frowned. They had to go, like, now. What game was Cloud Spice playing at this time? “They were… awesome. You were totally right. It was the coolest thing ever.” She flashed him a smile. But it didn’t reach her eyes. “Y-You should have b-been there…” Oh no. The tears were coming… She blinked rapidly, biting her lower lip.

“The next one, eh?” Cloud Spice said, consoling her. “We’ll go together.”

It wasn’t a lie. Cloud Spice had vowed to be there for this foal, no matter what. Was he going to let something as trivial as dying get in his way? He looked into her eyes, those fiery, sad eyes that recognized the lie in his words. He could see the cogs working in her brain, processing, struggling to realize that there was no out for him…

“Please.” That was all she said. It was all she could say. “Please…”

Cloud Spice wished more than anything he could protect her. From this, from everything bad in the world, from the parents that seemed to ignore her, from the foals that bullied her, from her own bad dreams…

“Remember tonight for the Wonderbolts,” he said. “Promise me, Rainbow Dash…”

Rainbow Dash blinked. It was the first time Cloud Spice had called her by her full name…

Cloud Spice laughed. He wasn’t sure he should say it. Wasn’t sure how she would react. But he could feel the darkness tugging at his eyelids. He could feel the clouds beckoning to him in his brain. He was running out of time. If he didn’t say it now, he would never get another chance. And if he had time to think about what he wanted his last words to be, he would have decided those three little, but powerful ones were probably it. “You know, Rainbow Dash… You were… You were always like… like a…”

Cloud Spice struggled to keep his eyes open. Tears were streaming out of them from the stinging smoke. And also, if he were ever to admit it, the feelings that were overtaking him. He didn’t want to go. He had never not wanted to go before. He had never found somepony he wanted to make smile more in his life. He had never wanted a foal. He had never been very good at sentimentality or showing his emotions… But he was a fighter. He had survived so much, struggled through everything life threw at him, and risen where most ponies had fallen. He was a pony of action, fun, and big adventure.

And now, when it mattered most, he found himself losing the fight. “You were always…”

Rainbow Dash watched the light go out of his eyes.

Life goes on. Rainbow Dash had learned that the hard way. She had also learned about loss the hard way. Getting close to ponies, finding warmth in their hugs, sharing your secrets and feelings… It only led to pain in the end, didn’t it? Wasn’t it easier to keep everything inside, to deal with it yourself, to never get too close… So that when that pony that you cared for and loved died, it wouldn’t hurt so badly.

Rainbow Dash kept the promise she had made to Cloud Spice. She took all the memories she had of him, bundled them up with a neat little bow, and tucked them far away into the recesses of her mind. Instead, she focused on the Wonderbolts. How awesome they were. How much she wanted to be just like them. And she threw herself into her training, struggling to become the very best. Besides, when she was concentrating so hard on a particularly deadly move there was no time to think about… about other things. And when she came home so tired and sore that she just plopped into bed and went to sleep, there was no time for infecting dreams about… about other things.

And when good news finally came to Rainbow Dash, the smile almost reached her eyes.

She had qualified for Junior Speedsters Flight Camp. Only the fastest of the fast from each school were allowed to go. It was an intensive, month-long training facility for the speediest creatures of flight in all of Equestria. For a foal like Rainbow Dash who dreamed of nothing more than to be considered the fastest flier in all of Equestria, this was a big deal to her. The problem was the permission form. It needed to be signed by… parents.

‘Great,’ Rainbow Dash thought grumpily. ‘It’s gonna be hard enough to get them to talk to me, let alone discuss signing a form getting me to go away to…’ And then Dash smiled mischievously, an idea forming in her head.

It began like a typical morning. Her father sat at the table, reading the paper. Her mom cooked him breakfast. Rainbow Dash would scrounge for the leftovers. But today, Rainbow Dash stood in front of her father, hidden behind the paper, and cleared her throat loudly. Nopony stirred. But Rainbow Dash could tell that both of her parents had tensed, not used to Dash making her presence known so directly.

“Hey mom, pops,” Dash said, adopting her cocky attitude. It was enough to make her father lower his paper and glare at her. “I’ve got a question…”

“Excuse me?” her father interrupted. “I don’t believe I will be talked to in such an… informal manner.”

“Fine. Father. Whatever.”

“I’d prefer Mister Dash,” he snapped.

Rainbow Dash wasn’t going to lie, that one stung a little bit. But she shrugged it off and continued, “Okay, Mister Dash. I’ve got a, uh, proposition to make.” She hoped she was making herself sound smart enough for her father. He was a seller at heart, so it was going to take a lot to impress him.

“A proposition?” Her mother gave a shrill laugh. “You can’t honestly be asking for more than what we’re already providing for you?”

“You mean the fact that you’re allowing your own daughter to live in the same house as you?” Rainbow Dash whipped back, not being able to stop herself.

“You have your own room!” her mother shouted back, forgetting her eggs and turning on Rainbow Dash with the skillet waving around in her hoof. “It’s furnished with a bed, even!”

Rainbow Dash hadn’t come to argue about her living arrangements, no matter how unsatisfactory they were. She turned back to her father. “I was accepted into the Junior Speedsters Flight Camp, you know.” He didn’t say a word. But he was leering at her from behind his paper, so Rainbow Dash continued with a small smile. “It’s only for the fastest and best fliers, you know. The only thing is, in order to go, I need you to sign a form.”

“Hmph. What makes you think we’d do that?” her mother asked.

“That’s all it takes,” Rainbow Dash added, staring her father down and ignoring her mom. “Just gotta sign it. No money, no help transporting me. You don’t have to pack or anything. And, the best part is, I’ll be out of this house… for an entire month.”

That got her mom to shut up. And it made her father lower the paper.

“So, you’re saying that if I sign this form,” her dad started, talking slow and carefully.

“I’ll be outta your hair for an entire month,” Rainbow Dash finished for him. ‘Look at us, finishing each other’s sentences,’ Dash thought bitterly, ‘How cute.’

“What’s the catch?” her mom asked.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Nothing. I guess I’ll be having a good time, if that counts as one.” They both glared at her. She gave a guilty grin and added, “But they’ll be working us really, really hard. I’ll probably come home sore and tired and incapable of showing my face around… So really, it’ll feel like I’m gone even longer.”

Her parents had went aside and had a separate conversation that Rainbow Dash was not allowed to be a part of. But when they came back, they had agreed to sign the form. Rainbow Dash hid her smile. Success.

And that led to Rainbow Dash not waving her parents goodbye or getting one last hug before being shipped off to Junior Speedsters Flight Camp. The closest they showed to any acknowledgement that she was leaving was the noticeably happier tone that the whole house took on. From all three of them.

Rainbow Dash was bunked with a creature she had never seen before in her entire life. The strange bird-lion hybrid had taken one look at her and shouted out of their cabin to one of the directors, “I said no ponies!”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at her. She pouted. Obviously this thing had no idea who Dash was, but she was about to find out. “And I said I wanted my bunkmate to be nothing less than awesome,” Rainbow Dash retorted. “Guess we both didn’t get what we wanted.”

“Less than awesome?” the creature repeated, looking at her in disbelief. “I’m half eagle, half lion, and one hundred percent awesome!” The half eagle, half lion creature struck a pose, her eyes closed, taking her own glory in.

Rainbow Dash just blinked. “Half lion, eagle…?”

The creature opened her eyes and glared at Rainbow Dash. “I’m a griffon, you lame-o! That’s ten times cooler than a pegasus.”

Rainbow Dash had never heard of a griffon before. So she assumed that this bird creature was probably just blowing smoke about how great they were. She grinned. Besides, this sounded like a challenge. And Rainbow Dash liked challenges. It was another chance just to prove how great she was. “Well, I’m twenty percent cooler than any pegasus, and twenty times cooler than any griffon!”

The griffon stared at her for a moment. Then smirked. “Prove it.”

Rainbow Dash had been waiting to hear those words. She took Gilda outside and stood in front of her, a smile playing on her lips. “Watch this.” And Rainbow Dash began to fly around and around in circles until a small, rainbow colored tornado began to form. It was one of her tougher tricks that she had been working on. And then, just for added effect, Dash sent it flinging towards the griffon. The bird-lion, with widened eyes, jumped out of the way.

“Whoa! Hey! What’s that all about?” The griffon glared at Dash, who just broke out into laughter. “It’s headed for our cabin!” Dash just gave her bunkmate a look, then darted over and canceled the tornado with a quick, counter-clockwise spin. Then she landed next to the griffon, looking quite pleased with herself.

“How was that?”

The griffon looked at Rainbow Dash with an angry expression on her face. Dash just looked back, smirking. Finally, the griffon’s face softened and she rolled her eyes. “Looks like they stuck me with the only pony in all of Equestria that isn’t a total loser,” the griffon responded, giving the cyan pegasus a onceover. “I’m Gilda.”

“Name’s Dash. Rainbow Dash.” And it was Rainbow Dash’s turn to strike a cool pose.

Gilda snickered. “Not bad, not bad…”

The pair became fast friends. They realized they were both quick, they both loved a good prank, and neither of them were opposed to playing a little… dirty. Gilda became the first creature that Rainbow Dash could call a friend that was actually her age.

Junior Speedsters Flight Camp was one of the greatest experiences in Rainbow Dash’s life. During the day, she worked extremely hard and showed up all the competition. Although they were never pitted directly against one another, Rainbow Dash went by times and execution to decide how well she was faring against the other campers. Gilda was the only speedster that could come close to matching her agility and precision.

At night, the two would stay up late, talking, laughing, pranking… Rainbow Dash never let herself get too close. Whenever Gilda would bring up something lame, like family or friends or life back home, Rainbow Dash would chuckle and say something like, “G, you’re such a sissy.”

Gilda would bristle and snap back with something like, “I am not!” Then Rainbow Dash would zoom over so quick that Gilda wouldn’t notice her and poke her in the side. That act would send Gilda flying, and Rainbow Dash would be on the floor, laughing so hard. “Heh, yeah, hilarious…” Gilda would mumble, feeling the warm spot where Rainbow Dash touched her tingling.

The month went by extremely fast. Rainbow Dash felt like she had just gotten there, and they were already leaving. Dash had won a few end of the year medals, including ‘Most Impressive Youth’ and ‘Fastest Young Flier’. At the banquet, she was overcome with such giddiness that she found herself sharing a little more personal things with Gilda than she ever meant to.

“You know, I’m gonna be a Wonderbolt one day,” Rainbow Dash said, talking quietly to her friend amongst the crowd of murmuring ponies all throughout the cafeteria.

“No way, Dash! You can’t be one of those lame-o flight ponies,” Gilda said.

“The Wonderbolts are unquestionably, undeniably, unstoppable!” Rainbow Dash retorted, defending her favorite pony team. “I’m totally gonna be one of them!”

“You shouldn’t,” Gilda grumbled, crossing her arms. “You should do something better. We should start our own group, Dash. We’ll be the best fliers in all of Equestria! You and me. Together.”

Rainbow Dash frowned, thinking about that. But then another thought entered her mind, of a certain white pony with flaming red hair, and she looked away, her eyes suddenly stinging. “I’m going to be a Wonderbolt,” she whispered, staring at her hooves.

Gilda got really angry about that for some reason. “Fine, whatever. I’m out, Dash. This party is getting lame anyway.” And Gilda stalked off. Rainbow Dash watched her go, suddenly relieved to be alone. She had thought she was going to start crying in front of her friend. She wondered if she should be worried about the way Gilda was acting. ‘Nah,’ she thought. ‘She’s been ruffled all day. Must be cause it’s the last day of Junior Speedsters.’

When Rainbow Dash eventually made her way back to the room, she opened the door to hear Gilda… sniffling? The noise stopped as soon as Dash opened the door, but she had been sure she heard it.

“G?” she called out tentatively. “G, you okay?”

“Fine!” Gilda yelled back. She had burrowed herself into her pillow. Rainbow Dash walked over to her and touched her friend’s side hesitantly with her nose.

“Hey, G, what’s up?”

Gilda shuddered at her friends touched and rolled away. “Don’t touch me,” she growled. Dash raised an eyebrow, but took a step back.

“Okay… What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” she snapped. There was a long silence as Rainbow Dash waited rather patiently. She wasn’t completely sure what to do. It seemed as though Gilda was in the middle of a breakdown. Which, Rainbow Dash realized, could lead into really mushy, close stuff that she had told herself she didn’t want to have to deal with anymore. Not after… other things that had happened in her life. But then again, somepony else had helped her through her hard times, where she had sat there, crying, yelling at that somepony to go away when she really didn’t mean it…

Rainbow Dash left. Her friend didn’t want her, right? Besides, crying wasn’t something she was adept at handling. Gilda would be better off figuring that stuff out for herself. Anyway, she was probably just upset Junior Speedsters was over. Rainbow Dash was, too. She was going to miss her best friend, she was going back to a life where nopony really paid her any mind. Except, and she allowed herself a smile, her many adoring fans at school.

Rainbow Dash went back to her room later that day to collect her few things for the trek home. Gilda was there, already packed, seemingly fine again.

“Hey, G,” Dash said with a smile, ignoring her friend’s earlier breakdown.

“Yeah, hey, Dash,” Gilda said, wearing a smile that Dash suspected was fake, but didn’t read too much into it.

“I guess this is it, huh?” Rainbow Dash continued, putting her things into her saddlebag. “It was really fun hanging out with you –”

“It was,” Gilda jumped in quickly. “Heh, yeah, it was really cool. Dash…”

“We should definitely hang out again sometime!” Rainbow Dash continued. “You can visit Cloudsdale or I can visit you… wherever you live.”

Gilda’s smile faltered. “My kind doesn’t like ponies very much.”

“Then you can visit me,” Rainbow Dash said with a shrug. “It’ll be fun.”

“Yeah… fun…”

Rainbow Dash finished packing in silence. Gilda just watched her, sitting with a stony expression on her bed. When Dash was done, she glanced over at Gilda and raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“Nothing,” Gilda said quickly, turning away. Rainbow Dash thought she saw her friend blushing, but she couldn’t fathom why.

“Well… See ya around, G,” Rainbow Dash said, rather awkwardly. She wasn’t good at goodbyes. The last time she had to say goodbye…

“Yeah… See ya, Dash.”

For a moment, it looked like Gilda was going to go in for a hug, but Rainbow Dash had put a hoof up to do their usual shake, and there was an awkward scuffle between them. Gilda gave up and stepped back. She seemed to sigh inwardly.

“Bye, Dash. Don’t stop bein’ cool.”

“Never! You too, G.”

And with a brush of her wing against Dash’s cheek, surely an incidental touch as she sidled past her, Gilda was out the door and gone from Rainbow Dash’s life.

Rainbow Dash had enjoyed Junior Speedsters Flight Camp so much that she intended on doing more stuff like it. In fact, there was another flight camp set up for the whole summer that she could register for and go to. It was for everypony and situated right in Cloudsdale. She might have missed the first month due to Junior Speedsters, but after a quick explanation of why she couldn’t attend earlier to the directors they managed to squeeze her in.

And her parents were fine with it, seeing as how it meant more time away from them. Rainbow Dash’s life just kept on looking up. Parents that didn’t care equaled more fun things for her to do, and more fun things for Dash to do meant less time to think about things that made her vision go all blurry. ‘Yep,’ Rainbow Dash thought, ‘life is great.’

At flight camp, Rainbow Dash ran into a lot of ponies that she was already familiar with. Billy and Hoops, the residential bullies, were up to their usual tricks. They would go around picking on the weaker ponies, and Rainbow Dash found herself running into them a lot more often than she would have liked. She had been trying to enjoy herself and try out as many of the different obstacle courses set up around the camp as possible, but the cackling laughter of two of her worst favorite ponies kept egging her on, like a challenge.

At flight camp, there was a particularly annoying and shy pegasus that Rainbow Dash found herself running into a lot. She was gangly and yellow and her wings seemed to be permanently stuck to her sides. Rainbow Dash couldn’t remember her name immediately, although she had met her a few times.

She would often stand behind her in line and wait impatiently as she worked up the courage to attempt the obstacle course. And nearly every single time, she would fail. Rainbow Dash inwardly sighed as she watched the pathetic attempts. She felt bad for the pony, sure, but why couldn’t she just spread her wings and fly? It was incredibly easy, or it had been for Rainbow Dash, so why couldn’t this pony do it? Still, no matter how annoying this pegasus could be, Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but feel her heart pang for her. After all, Rainbow Dash had been that scared and shy once, a very long time ago… Key words being a very long time ago. This pony was probably a year older than her and she still hadn’t gotten a handle on her flying. ‘Come on,’ Rainbow Dash thought bitterly as she watched the yellow pegasus trip over a cloud hoop, ‘how lame is that?’

Regardless, Rainbow Dash took it as her job to protect this shy and sorry excuse for a pegasus. Billy and Hoops liked to pick on her a lot more than the others, and it just so happened that Rainbow Dash was always around to jump in before things got really out of control. Or maybe it wasn’t a coincidence but actually Rainbow Dash keeping close tabs on the yellow pegasus that she could never remember the name of. Either way, Rainbow Dash always jumped in just in time to defend this pony’s honor.

“Lay off her!” Rainbow Dash piped up, diving between Billy and Hoops and… what’s her name, on one particular occasion of abuse.

“Oh, look, if it isn’t Rainbow Crash!”

“If I’m going to crash into anything, it’s gonna be you two in a second!” Rainbow Dash bristled, preparing to strike, but Billy and Hoops would laugh and stalk off. She sighed and turned to the yellow pegasus.

“Th-Thanks,” the yellow pegasus muttered, hiding behind her pink bangs.

“No problem,” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “They’re just jerks.” She had the urge to ask the pony her name, but decided against it. Instead she flew away, a particular dangerous-looking obstacle course catching her eye…

It was supposed to be just any other occasion of saving this yellow pony. But it was a routine act of heroism that turned into the most important day of Rainbow Dash’s life.

“Nice going Clutchershy!” Billy shouted, laughing. Rainbow Dash was far away, but she could already hear the annoying laughter of the pair of bullies. She turned to see them flying down and pointing at… Clutchershy? No, she was pretty sure that wasn’t her name… Butterfly? Cluttershy? …Fluttershy! That had to be it!

“Ha! My baby brother could fly better than you.” She heard Hoops’ insult as she got closer, flying over quickly to defend the poor, unwilling pegasus pony. She zoomed through the clouds, circling around Billy and Hoops like a hawk, and then landed in front of Fluttershy.

“Leave her alone!” Rainbow Dash shouted, leaning forward, ready to attack.

“Ooh, what are you gonna do, Rainbow Crash?” Hoops asked, grinning slyly.

Rainbow Dash was feeling brave. She was a little sick and tired of Billy and Hoops constantly making fun of Fluttershy, who seemed incapable of saying a single word to save herself. It was up to Rainbow Dash to defend her honor, she decided. “Keep making fun of her and find out!”

Billy stepped forward, no longer smiling. “You think you’re suck a big shot? Why don’t you prove it.”

Rainbow Dash grinned. She knew she was better than these two. She was completely confident in her abilities to beat them in basically anything. Except maybe stupidity. “What do you have in mind?”

And next, she found herself standing on a cloud, Billy and Hoops beside her. A race, they had proposed. Rainbow Dash wouldn’t admit it to them, but this was her first ever race. At Junior Speedsters they had been all about speed, but racing… Not camp, not school, not anywhere had they attempted to pit the students against each other in a race. Dash might have played around, racing Gilda a bit. But it was never anything serious and there was never a clear start and finish.

This was her first race. She was going to blow everypony away and hopefully keep those goons from picking on Fluttershy once and for all! She glanced at Hoops, hoping to put him off with one of her cocky grins.

“You’re going down!” he shouted at her, frowning.

“In history, maybe!” It had just been a remark. Words. Nothing else. She had no idea just how truthful she was being when she made that statement. “See you boys at the finish line.”

This was the race where she got her cutie mark. And performed the legendary Sonic Rainboom that no other pony had ever been able to replicate. Rainbow Dash whizzed past her competition almost immediately, a cloud of rainbow dust in her wake. The sudden rush of flying against another pony… It was a greater thrill than Rainbow Dash had ever imagined! And she realized, maybe more than how much she loved to fly, she wanted to win! And she didn’t just want to win, she wanted to win big. Rainbow Dash pushed herself farther and harder than she had ever pushed before, both hooves thrust in front of her. The wind was blasting against her and she thought her skin might rip off from the pressure… But then, the most amazing thing happened.

Everything went silent. Rainbow Dash turned around to see the most glorious rainbow in her wake. And, even better yet, she felt a tingling feeling on her flank and noticed the most awesome cutie mark had appeared. A three-colored rainbow lightning bolt shooting out of a cloud.

When she finally slowed down enough that noise caught up with her, she was immediately bombarded by the booming sound of cheering. She touched down onto a cloud as she was engulfed in a herd of ponies, all of them wanting to touch her, all of them wanting to congratulate her, all of them wanting to admire her. It had finally happened. She had become the most awesome pony in all of Equestria!

She had strutted home that day, showing off her flank to everypony that past. Even though the one pony she truly wanted to show her flank to wasn’t around… But she pushed that thought back. She couldn’t wait to show off this development to her parents. There was no way they could deny how cool her cutie mark was. They were finally going to love her, she was so sure of this fact.

Her parents ignored her as she walked in. Nothing new. She hummed a little happy tune to herself and trotted around the kitchen a few times, wiggling her flank. They continued to ignore her. She flew into the air and hovered around, practically waving her backend in her parent’s faces.

“Oh, you have a smudge on your rump,” her mother finally said.

“It’s not a smudge!” Rainbow Dash protested. “It’s my cutie mark. I broke the sound barrier today and won a race and got my cutie mark!”

“Sure, whatever,” her mother replied. She was busy cleaning the dishes. Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to speak, but she just made strangled, angry noises. Instead, she stomped off to her room.

They didn’t care. Of course they didn’t care. They never cared. Rainbow Dash sat on her bed, holding back tears, staring at her cutie mark. She thought it was awesome. And that was all that mattered. She had broken the sound barrier today! Everypony outside loved her and wanted a piece of her. Who cares if her parents didn’t? When she was a Wonderbolt, they’d see. When they finally saw her in action, they’d fall in love with her the same way every other pony did…

But after she had shown her parents her cutie mark, something changed in the way they acted towards her. Instead of constantly wanting her out and away from them, they never seemed to want her to leave the house.

“No more of that flight camp nonsense,” her father said one morning. “You can stay at home and help your mother clean the house.”

“But there’s only a week left!” Rainbow Dash had groaned.

“And you have three months of chores to catch up on,” her father said, turning the page of his newspaper. “So get to it.”

Rainbow Dash hated chores. But she realized that with her speed, she could get them done quickly and still manage to turn it into a practice session. She would zoom through, soap bars attached to her wings, scrubbing walls and floors at breakneck speed. By the end of the week, the house looked better than it ever did under her mother’s care. If her parents noticed how well she was doing, they never said anything. Instead, they seemed to get even grumpier at her success.

With school restarting the next day, Rainbow Dash was in her room, packing everything she’d need for the morning. ‘Finally back to school!’ Rainbow Dash thought excitedly. She never thought she’d miss school this much. ‘Back to training and flying outside, with the wind in my mane… So awesome!’

Her father walked into her room, interrupting her thoughts. Rainbow Dash frowned. He never came into her room… “Your mother and I decided,” he began, with a little cough, “that now that you’ve got that thing on your rump –” his face jerked disdainfully towards Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark “—you don’t need to bother with school anymore. So don’t bother going. We’ve unrolled you.”

Rainbow Dash’s mouth dropped. But before she could find the words to respond, he left her room. Dash stood there for a few moments, clutching her saddlebag filled with the few things she owned that she could take with her to school. Her eyes stung, but she refused to cry. Instead, she felt the rage bubbling up within her…

“Why?!” she yelled, zooming out of her room and getting right into her father’s face. “Why do you hate me so much? Why are you doing this to me? Are you jealous of my cutie mark? Because it’s so much better than yours?!” Her father’s cutie mark was one of three bits, cluttered around his rump. And her mother’s was just a brush. They were both really stupid. Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark was totally awesome.

“It seems all you are capable of asking,” her father said through gritted teeth, “are stupid questions.”

“I’m not being stupid!” Rainbow Dash retorted, screaming. “I hate you!” It was the first time she had ever actually said it, although she often thought those words.

“Fine. And you know what? There’s no reason for you to live here anymore. You’ve grown up enough. You should go out, get a job, and find your own place to live. I want you out by tonight. You hear me, foal?” Rainbow Dash had flown away, back to her room. “By tonight!”

Rainbow Dash had heard alright. Her entire face red hot, she began to pack. Why hadn’t she done this sooner? Why hadn’t she tried to get away before? Why couldn’t she have asked Cloud Spice to live with him, back when… back when she could have… He would have taken her. He was the closest thing to a father she ever had…

Rainbow Dash felt the tears spill out of her eyes. But she didn’t care. She could barely see as she shoved all of her belongings into her saddlebag. Was it pathetic that everything she owned could fit in one saddlebag? A Wonderbolts poster she had stolen from a stand, a couple articles of clothing she did actually own, pencils and papers she needed for school… By the time the sun had set, she was gone. And she didn’t even bother saying goodbye.

Rainbow Dash was at the Rainbow Factory. She had always wanted to work there. They had done a nice job, fixing it up after the fire. This was Rainbow Dash’s first time visiting since the incident. Since the time that a clumsy, tired, overworked employee bumped into Cloud Spice as he was mixing his ingredients… and a small explosion erupted into a death trap of flames. Five ponies had died, a dozen more were injured. And Rainbow Dash had lost Cloud Spice.

She knew the manager, Thunder Spark, as a friend of Cloud Spice’s. Occasionally he stopped by to attempt to tell Cloud Spice off for not working when Rainbow Dash visited. But Cloud Spice’s smiles were infectious and he would usually let the whole thing slide with a sigh, walking away and shaking his head, muttering under his breath. He was a black pony with a stark yellow mane and gray eyes, a cluster of yellow lightning bolts as his cutie mark.

Rainbow Dash went searching for Thunder Spark now, hoping to talk to him about getting a job. She could become the new Cloud Spice, she thought. No, not the new Cloud Spice, there could never be another one of him. But she could be like an apprentice. And maybe one day she could match the fun-loving attitude and bravery that Cloud Spice was known for.

Thunder Spark was in the center of the rainbow-making activity, supervising production. How long had it been since Rainbow Dash had last seen him? He seemed even more grim now than before. Perhaps after losing a friend, it does that to your face. Dash wondered if she shared that look. A brief glimpse in the reflection of the rainbow confirmed her suspicions. Not even in the happy, bright waves of the liquid substance could Rainbow Dash’s heavy features be lightened.

“Hey, Thunder Spark,” Rainbow Dash croaked, walking up to him. He glanced at her and his eyes widened in surprise.

“Rainbow Dash,” he said in that slow, deep voice of his. “I wasn’t expecting to ever see you again.” He looked over her, his misty eyes taking in every feature. They rested briefly on her cutie mark. “You’ve grown up. And you have a cutie mark now. It’s beautiful. Cloud Spice would have… would have been proud.”

Rainbow winced at the mention of Cloud Spice. She sighed, but managed a smile. “Yeah, thanks. Listen, uh, Sparky…” She had often heard Cloud Spice calling him that, and it always managed to make Thunder Spark overlook any rule breaking he might have been performing. Rainbow Dash hoped it would have the same effect with her, but she saw the sad look he got in his gray eyes, remembering Cloud Spice, no doubt. “I was wondering… about… working here.”

Thunder Spark was quiet for a long time. “Work here?” he repeated faintly, thinking it over. “You’re still very young, Rainbow Dash…”

“Well, I’m, uh, done with school, so, I kind of… need a job.”

“Done with school? You look like you still have a year left in you.”

“I finished… early…”

Thunder Spark seemed to catch on. “Rainbow Dash, do you have your degree?”

There was a long silence. Rainbow Dash couldn’t look into his eyes. “No.”

“I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash, but you need to have a degree to work here. It’s part of the rules. And, and I’m afraid they’ve gotten much stricter since… since the incident.”

Rainbow Dash was afraid of that. Here she was again faced with rejection. If she had asked Cloud Spice about this… She felt the anger at the thought flush her cheeks. If Cloud Spice was still around… If Thunder Spark had never asked his friend to take over the late shift… It was all his fault, wasn’t it? Cloud Spice would still be here and he’d have let Rainbow Dash work. Dash couldn’t help herself. She felt the rage bubbling over and she opened her mouth.

“Cloud Spice would have let me!” she barked bitterly. “If he was still around, he would have helped me out! None of this… nothing bad would have happened… And you let him work late! You’re the reason he was there! He’s de… he’s gone now! And… And…” But she couldn’t go on. If she said another word, her voice was going to crack and she would break down and cry.

Thunder Spark was silent for a long time. The only sound was Rainbow Dash’s ragged breath. “I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash. I miss him, too.” The silence stretched on further. “I… I think about that day a lot. I shouldn’t have let him work late. I blame myself everyday. If I had known… I never would have let it happen.”

Rainbow Dash inhaled, then exhaled, inhaled, then exhaled. It helped clear her head. She immediately felt a rush of guilt for accusing Thunder Spark of his best friend’s death. “No… It wasn’t you. I’m sorry. I just… I’m sorry… I’ll go.”

She turned around to leave, when Thunder Spark stopped her with a hoof. “Have you ever heard of Ponyville?”

She blinked and turned around. “No…”

“It’s a small town, just below here, actually. Very close. They have a weather team that works closely with us. And… They aren’t as strict about degrees there. I could write you a recommendation. I know you’re young, but I’m sure they’d let you on as an apprentice, and that’s a start. And you’ll be close. You could even commute.”

The words washed over her. Ponyville. A different town. A new start. And the realization of this new plan clicked in her head. She nodded.

Ponyville. Rainbow Dash didn’t like the ground, not particularly. But she had built her own house of clouds to keep her content. It was a fair distance in between her old home of Cloudsdale and her new home of Ponyville. She could visit anytime… And she did, occasionally. But never for her parents. Sometimes she’d go back just to show off to the fervent admirers, or to snooze on one of her favorite clouds… But most important of all, she visited the Rainbow Factory.

Thunder Spark was a good guy. And he had lots of stories about Cloud Spice to share with Rainbow Dash. Sometimes they would get together on his break and laugh about a particularly stupid thing Cloud Spice did in his youth. Or they would cry, sometimes with tears of joy, sometimes out of a surge of loss for their great friend. Sometimes they wouldn’t even talk about Cloud Spice, they didn’t need to.

Rainbow Dash would relay a story from her weather team duties. She had gotten on thanks to Thunder Spark’s letter of recommendation. They had quickly realized her potential and pushed her up through the ranks. She’d tell him about the new recruit, Derpy, and how she had caused a hoodlum at the office that day. Or she’d talk about this weird pink pony that insisted on throwing her a party and never seemed to stop talking. She told Thunder Spark about Fluttershy, a pony from Cloudsdale, who was also living in Ponyville and how they had become really good friends.

A lot of times, they would talk about the Wonderbolts together. It turns out Thunder Spark was the pony who had introduced Cloud Spice to them in the first place, and the pair had a lot of opinions to share on that subject. Rainbow Dash would squeal with joy at the thought of Fleetfoot or Spitfire, and Thunder Spark would remain his casual, stony-faced self, but a secret smile would play across his face at the mention of his own favorite, Soarin’.

Life at Ponyville really wasn’t that bad. Life without Cloud Spice really wasn’t unbearable. Life without parents who cared about her wasn’t something she couldn’t handle. After all, Rainbow Dash had found her new start. She had her own home, she had her own job, she even had her own friends. She had her memories that reminded her of who she was and her dreams that pushed her forward. Her past was her past. She was ready to move out of the darkness and into a brighter, happier future.

One afternoon talk with Thunder Spark helped to prove that.

“You know, he always talked about you,” Thunder Spark said in his usual deep, quiet, calming voice.

“Who?” Rainbow Dash asked, although she thought she had an idea.

“Cloud Spice. He’d go on and on about you. Sometimes I forgot you were just a kid he met off the street. Sometimes I thought you were…” His voice trailed off.

“What?” Rainbow Dash prompted.

“Sometimes I thought you were like a daughter to him, the way he talked about you,” Thunder Spark admitted. Rainbow Dash looked down at that comment. She never said anything, but sometimes, maybe, she had thought of him like a father, too…

“He wanted you to be his daughter,” Thunder Spark said after a moment.

“He said that?”

“No, but I could tell.”

“Oh.”

“He loved you.”

Nopony had ever said that to Rainbow Dash before. She swallowed and looked up at Thunder Spark. “He didn’t say that, though.”

“He didn’t need to.”

Rainbow Dash had went back to her cloud home and thought about that. He didn’t need to… At first that comment had made Rainbow Dash bitter. She wanted to hear it from him. She wanted somepony to tell her those words she ached to hear. But then she thought back to Cloud Spice’s warm smile, the way he nuzzled her, even his laugh… And she realized that in every single thing that he did, he was saying it.

His laugh, that robust chuckle, told Rainbow Dash, “I love you.”

The soft way in which he nuzzled her cheek, like a father might to his foal, said, “I love you.”

And the way his eyes watched every movement that she made, silently boring into her, trying to get the words across without uttering a single consonant, shouted, “I love you.”

Rainbow Dash cried into her pillow that night. A warm, fluffy feeling that she had never experienced before shuddered through her. It kept her warm that entire night and left her smiling and crying at the same time.

“I love you too,” she whispered into her pillow before falling asleep.