Hearts of the Skyby drakathownzChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 1Hearts of the Sky by drakathownz ~~~~~~~~~~ DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters, backgrounds and setting of this story ~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 1: Not a single cloud in the sky blocked the dazzling view of the rapidly moving, rainbow-maned Rainbow Dash who was practicing her tricks as usual. Everyone in town could see the rainbow-coloured trail following Rainbow Dash's fast moving figure but one pony on the ground was following the mach pegasus in the sky. Her sapphire eyes avoided the view of her long, pastel pink mane as she starred at the performing Rainbow Dash as she began to lower to the ground in front of her one-pony audience. Rainbow Dash then panted for a moment as asked "What did you think of THAT, Fluttershy?" The pale yellow pegasus replied with "That was AMAZING Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow Dash then sighed heavily as a thought entered her head. 'The Wonderbolts come to Ponyville tomorrow morning and I still don't have as much skill as I should have. I'll need to try harder to impress the Wonderbolts in full.' "Is something bothering you Rainbow Dash?" asked Fluttershy. "I don't know. It's just that I feel so excited and nervous about the Wonderbolts coming to Ponyville. I don't know if they'll think I'm good enough to join." replied Rainbow Dash with a slightly worried voice. "Don't think like that Rainbow Dash." assured Fluttershy with her soothing voice. "I'm sure if you show them what you just did they'll say that you're an amazing flyer. I've never seen another pegasus who can fly as good as you Rainbow Dash." "I guess you're right." sighed Rainbow Dash as she began to hover in the air. "Are you going to try again?" asked Fluttershy. "Yeah! The more the better, right?" answered Rainbow Dash with a blush on her cheeks. Rainbow Dash then took off to practice her same moves again, giving a lot of entertainment to Fluttershy. * * * "And that's everything!" said Soarin as he examined his saddlebags and a checklist. Soarin then left his packed things in his bedroom and began to head for the dining room in the Wonderbolts House. As the pastel blue pegasus entered the dining room, he saw only three of his fellow Wonderbolts in the room, one of them being Spitfire. 'The other guys must have eaten early and be asleep right now. At least there's somepony to talk to here.' thought Soarin as he slowly glided to his space at the table. "Oh hey Soarin." said Spitfire in her usual attitude. "Hey Spitfire" replied Soarin as he laid his eyes on the tasty looking apple pie on his plate. "You're lucky they did pie for us today. I'm sure you'll be happy with that before we get going." explained Spitfire. "Hmph, yeah!" munched Soarin. A Wonderbolt mare asked "Hey, are you looking forward to heading out to Ponyville tomorrow Soarin?" Soarin swallowed his mouthful and answered "You bet!" A Wonderbolt stallion mentioned "Did you guys know that the ponies who saved Equestria with the Elements of Harmony live in Ponyville?" "Of course we do." replied Spitfire. "One of them saved most of our lives at the Best Young Flyer Competition. Man, that was some time ago now." The Wonderbolt mare then asked "Wait, I remember that happening. Wasn't the pony who saved us the one with the rainbow mane?" "Yeah!" replied Spitfire. "I think it was. I think her name was Rainbow Dash." Soarin swallowed his last piece of pie and said "That was the pony who saved my pie at the Grand Galloping Gala!" "Thinking with your mouth again are we Soarin?" asked the Wonderbolt stallion. Soarin then laughed at the stallion's joke. A bell began to ring signalling the Wonderbolts to go to bed for the night. "Good thing they rang it now. We need that rest before our travels tomorrow." said the Wonderbolt mare as she started to head for her bedroom. "Good night everypony!" she said as she walked to the corridor leading to the mares bedrooms. The Wonderbolt stallion said nothing but glided towards the corridor Soarin entered the dining room from. This only left Soarin and Spitfire in the dining room. As Soarin started to head to his bedroom in the stallions corridor Spitfire placed her hoof on his back. "Before you go, I need to speak to you about something." Spitfire explained. Soarin turned around, forcing Spitfire to remove her hoof from Soarin's back and asked "What did you need from me?" "I've noticed you've been looking at that photo of you at the royal wedding a lot." Spitfire explained. "Is something up?" Soarin sighed and explained "I don't know Spitfire. There's something with that photo that catches my eye. I know I'm in the photo but there's a mare in the photo who looks so cute. I just can't get her image out of my head." Spitfire raised an eyebrow. "Let me get this straight. That photo has a mare you like on it? Do you think she's nearby?" "Well, the photo was taken at Canterlot. She's just such a cute looking pegasus. If only if I spoke to her at that party then I wouldn't be wanting to search for her." sighed Soarin. "So you're suggesting that she could be anywhere? We are spending a week in Ponyville as of tomorrow. Maybe she could be there." suggested Spitfire. "Maybe. But what if she isn't?" asked Soarin. "It's just a matter of luck Soarin." stated Spitfire. Soarin then took a big yawn. "I just want to get some rest now. Night Spitfire." Spitfire stood still as Soarin turned towards the stallions bedrooms. "Maybe you should take that photo with you to Ponyville." suggested Spitfire. "If you think it'll help." Soarin paused for a few seconds. "Maybe it will. Good night Spitfire." said Soarin as he began to walk into the corridor to the stallions bedrooms. Spitfire looked around for a few seconds and glided to the mares bedrooms. Soarin was eventually back in his bedroom. His bags containing his Wonderbolt suit and everything else he packed for the trip to Ponyville were still where he left them. He then approached his chest of drawers which had the photo from the royal wedding on the top and picked up the photo. 'Hopefully Spitfire's idea of taking the photo with me will be a good idea.' thought Soarin as he placed the photo in his saddlebags. He then walked towards his bed and jumped onto it, letting go of any thoughts he had as he drifted to sleep. * * * Rainbow Dash struggled to get to sleep tonight. Her mind was still focused on worry if the Wonderbolts didn't like her skills. She still felt as if she wasn't good enough. Even though Fluttershy thought that the Wonderbolts would like her skills, Rainbow Dash still had doubts about that. Maybe she was thinking too negatively about it that it's causing nerves. 'Maybe a drink will fix this.' thought Rainbow Dash as she hopped out of her bed and wondered around her cloudy house to retreive a glass of water. As she got back to her bedroom, she gazed at the poster of the Wonderbolts. She then thought 'I've met at least two of the Wonderbolts in different times. I know Spitfire pretty well. Maybe if she saw my skills, they'll think differently. It just depends if Fluttershy's guess is right or not.' Rainbow Dash then nodded her head, took a drink from her glass of water and hopped into her bed. Chapter 2Chapter 2: The sun began to rise in the sky, welcoming a new day in Equestria. The sound of birds chirping spread across the great outdoors, allowing the beautiful sound to awaken Soarin from his sleep. He took a big long yawn and stretched before fully opening his eyes and hopping out of bed. 'Man, that was some real sleep. Now I need to try and remember what's up today.' Soarin thought. He looked around his bedroom and saw his saddlebags in a corner of his room. He remembered that today would be the day him and his companions in the Wonderbolts are travelling to Ponyville. He also remembered that he would be staying there for a week. Soarin thought 'Looks like it's goodbye to this place for a while. Hopefully Ponyville has somewhere that sells pie.' Suddenly a knocking sound could be heard on Soarin's door. "Yo Soarin! We gotta get moving!" shouted the muffled voice of a stallion "Get your things and go to the dining room!" Soarin then felt his stomach rumble violently. 'Hopefully we're gonna eat before we go.' thought Soarin. Soarin then gathered his bags and left his bedroom without a single thought of missing his bedroom. He's been performing for a few places in Equestria this year and those involved going away for a week. Ponyville was the fourth place him and his fellow Wonderbolts were going this year. As he arrived at the dining room, he saw all the other Wonderbolts sat around the table eating their breakfast. Soarin placed his bags in the pile of bags his companions had created. He then took his allocated seat and helped himself to some slices of strawberry jam toast. The stallion Soarin was speaking to last night then said "What a surprise! Soarin's the last one here! Like that's happened before." Everyone around the table including Soarin laughed since Soarin was always the last to arrive at breakfast. "You're sure good at making us laugh! You should have been a comedian instead of a Wonderbolt!" laughed Soarin. "You think so?" asked the stallion. "You would certainly get a better audience than the so-called 'Great and Powerful' Trixie." explained the mare who Soarin spoke with last night. "Wouldn't we all?" asked Soarin with a grin on his face. Everyone laughed again. Spitfire was very quiet after the laughter took place. She was the only pony in the room wearing her Wonderbolt suit. She quickly finished her breakfast and got up from the table. She stood in front of the fireplace in the dining room and hovered in the air ready to make a speech. She then asked "Can I have everypony's attention please?" with a loud voice. Everyone else stopped what they were doing and looked at Spitfire who started her speech. "As all of you are aware, we will be departing for Ponyville after everypony has finished their breakfast. We will be staying there for a week. The arrangements for where we are staying have been made. We will be staying at the Ponyville motel which is located next to the hospital. At 1pm we will be doing our opening performance above Ponyville town centre. After that, you will be free to do as you wish on the condition that you have finished your unpacking at the motel. Are we clear?" "Yeah!" shouted the Wonderbolts. Spitfire continued her speech "As for the rest of the week, here's what we'll be doing. On Monday, we'll be spending two hours in Ponyville town hall. This will be a chance for us to meet some of the ponies who live in Ponyville and to sign some autographs. On Tuesday, we'll be racing our first derby race in the morning. Wednesday will be the day we do an Iron Pony competition against some of Ponyville's competitive ponies. The Iron Pony competition may have some earth ponies and unicorns playing so we'll need to play fair with them. On Thursday we're going to race our second derby race in the afternoon. On Friday, we'll be doing our final derby race in the morning and huge performance on Friday evening. Saturday will be a day free from performances and sport. That'll be our chance to pack our bags for going back and to speak with the residents of Ponyville. We will head back home on Sunday. Am I clear on that?" "Yeah!" shouted the Wonderbolts again. "Just remember to wear your suits in each event which all of you never fail to do." said Spitfire. "That's all guys. Thanks for your time." Spitfire then landed and left the dining room. Everyone started to get back to eating their breakfast and soon they finished. "Well, best be hitting the road. This is gonna be a long trip." Soarin said to his fellow Wonderbolts as he gathered his bags and left the dining room in the same exit Spitfire took. * * * Rainbow Dash had woken up from her sleep. She took a moment in bed to realize who she was and where she was and hopped out of bed. She then went downstairs to have her breakfast. As she poured some milk into a glass, she saw the time. 'Oh my gosh! 10 AM!!!' thought Rainbow Dash in shock. After she'd made her breakfast, there was a knock at the door. 'Strange, nopony ever knocks. Most of my friends can't even get here.' Rainbow Dash thought as she approached the door. She then opened the door to reveal none other than her friend Fluttershy. "Umm, Hi Rainbow Dash." said Fluttershy. "Hope I wasn't interupting anything." "No, not at all. Come in Fluttershy." said Rainbow Dash. "Thank you." smiled Fluttershy as she walked inside, closing the door behind her. Rainbow Dash glided over to the table which she put her breakfast on and took a bite at her slice of toast. "I've just heard from Twilight about what the Wonderbolts will be doing today." said Fluttershy. "She told me because she can't get here and she hasn't seen you yet." Rainbow Dash swallowed her mouthful and asked "What's going on?" "Well, I think they're doing one of their performances after they arrive." replied Fluttershy. "Sounds like them through and through." said Rainbow Dash. "Hopefully I'll be able to pull off my tricks in front of them this week." "I'm sure you will." assured Fluttershy. "Have you still got those worries about it?" Rainbow Dash replied "I'll have to look for Spitfire since I can trust her the most. I think they'll react differently if she sees it." "Are you really sure about that?" asked Fluttershy. "What about that pony on your photo from Twilight's brother's wedding? Isn't he a Wonderbolt?" "Wait, when did you see that?" asked Rainbow Dash in response. "Umm, well, you were carrying it back to Ponyville after the wedding party." replied Fluttershy. "Now you've mentioned it, the photo does give me an idea that he's a Wonderbolt since he's wearing their goggles in the photo but I don't think I can remember his name." explained Rainbow Dash. "But still, the visit from the Wonderbolts will be awesome!" Rainbow Dash then took a big gulp of her milk. Fluttershy watched quietly. "I-I have something to ask you Rainbow Dash." said Fluttershy. "What do you need Fluttershy?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Umm, well, after the Wonderbolts have finished their performance, I'll need you to help me by gathering some fruit for my animal friends. I'm very low and the next market day is not until Saturday. If you find some fruit trees anywhere then I'll be grateful. Well, that's if you don't mind." replied Fluttershy. "Could be a chance to return a favour to you since you helped me to find a pet." explained Rainbow Dash as she looked at a bed where her pet tortoise Tank slept. "And for helping me with the tornado. Sure, I'll do it!" "Oh, thank you! I knew you would be interested." thanked Fluttershy with a friendly hug. Rainbow Dash accepted Fluttershy's hug as a friendly gesture. After Fluttershy had finished thanking Rainbow Dash, she began to head for the door. "Goodbye Rainbow Dash." said Fluttershy. "See you at the Wonderbolt's performance!" said Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy then took off and left Rainbow Dash's cloudy house, heading back to her cottage in the outskirts of Ponyville. Rainbow Dash then saw her empty glass and plate on a table and decided to clean them. 'Hmm, strange how Fluttershy remembers my photo from Twilight's brother's wedding. Maybe I should find it and see who was in it as well as me. I could have sworn that it was one of the Wonderbolts.' thought Rainbow Dash as she placed the glass back in it's cupboard. Rainbow Dash then glided to her bedroom and found her photo album which she had since she was a filly. As she looked through the pages of her photo album, she saw photos of her days at Flight Camp, her life in Cloudsdale and Ponyville and the moments she had after meeting Twilight. She soon found the photo of her at the Royal Wedding of Shining Armour and Princess Cadence. She examined the photo to attempt to identify the stallion next to her. Rainbow Dash thought 'He's a Wonderbolt for sure. I have a feeling as if I met him in Canterlot before that but I don't recall his name.' She then examined the photo further. 'I don't get why, but I feel something for him. Something I can't seem to identify. Maybe I'll know if I actually speak to him this week.' thought Rainbow Dash as she felt something strange in her chest. 'It'll still be awesome with the Wonderbolts visiting Ponyville for the week.' * * * The train arrived at Ponyville at 11:15am. "We're here guys!" announced Spitfire. "We can't be sitting around anymore. C'mon! Move your flanks!" "Geez, we're early and you're pushing us like we're late." sighed a Wonderbolt mare. Spitfire, Soarin and the rest of the Wonderbolts left the train to find themselves face to face with none other than the Mayor of Ponyville. She gave them a welcoming smile. "You must be Mayor Mare." said Spitfire. "Nice to meet you, I'm Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts." Mayor Mare continued to smile and responded to Spitfire's introduction. "Welcome to Ponyville Spitfire. And welcome to the rest of you. I'm surprised that you made it early." "Yeah, looks like Soarin didn't hold us back this time." joked Spitfire. The other Wonderbolts except Soarin laughed. 'I wish they could stop making that joke about me now. They've dragged it too far.' thought Soarin after Spitfire's joke. "Well, I'll have to lead you to where you'll be staying." said Mayor Mare as she started to lead the Wonderbolts to their temporary home in Ponyville. "And please remember that I'll be in Ponyville if you have any problems about your stay." "Thanks." said Spitfire "I'm sure that we'll be fine here." Mayor Mare lead the Wonderbolts through the outskirts of Ponyville and through the centre. As they passed through the areas of Ponyville, Mayor Mare told the Wonderbolts about the different landmarks in Ponyville as if she was a tour guide. They soon reached a large, modern looking motel next to Ponyville hospital. "And this is where you'll be staying, Ponyville Motel. It's of modern building standards and it's a beautiful place to stay. I hope you enjoy your stay here and please let me know if anything goes wrong." explained Mayor Mare. "Thanks for the tour." said Spitfire. "We'll need to sort our rooms and bags and then we'll do our first performance." "I'll leave you to it." said Mayor Mare as she began to walk away "Goodbye!" After Mayor Mare left the Wonderbolts, Spitfire then turned to her followers. "Alright guys. We have a section of the Motel just for us." explained Spitfire. "If you follow me, I'll take you to your rooms." The Wonderbolts followed Spitfire without question into the Motel and to their bedrooms. Chapter 3Chapter 3: The Wonderbolts had been placed in their rooms for their week in Ponyville. Soarin's room felt as if he had gone to Appleloosa for the week with the sandy-coloured wallpaper and the portraits of cactus plants and western movie style buildings. As he was unpacking his bags, Soarin noticed that his room had all sorts of awesome features to it. This included a bed that could fit two ponies on it, a private shower room with a mirror and a TV. 'I'm going to love it here.' thought Soarin as he placed his shampoos and coat wash in the shower room. Soarin had finished unpacking at 12:20pm. Before he went to put his Wonderbolt suit on he had a quick look of the photo of him and the rainbow maned mare. 'Maybe I should take this with me. I can see if I can place the photo in my suit when I'm doing the performance and get it out afterwards.' thought Soarin. He then took the photo, laid it on his back and carefully put on his Wonderbolt suit. Soarin thought 'It worked. It's in. Now I can focus on the performance.' as he left his motel room. After Soarin left his bedroom, he found himself face to face with Spitfire. "Hey Soarin, looks as if you're ready." said Spitfire. "Guessing the others are already done?" asked Soarin. "No. Most of them seem to have suit problems again." sighed Spitfire. "Happens every time I swear." "Yet the guys have a problem with how I wake up slowly yet I can get a suit on faster than they can." explained Soarin. "I see your point." said Spitfire. Soarin and Spitfire then laughed amongst each other as they waited for their companions to get prepared for the performance that was going to start in twenty minutes. * * * Both the Market Square and the Town Hall areas of Ponyville were already crowded with ponies eager to watch the performance of the Wonderbolts. Fluttershy was stood on an edge of the crowds in the Market Square. 'Where could Rainbow Dash be? I bet she'll be with the ponies by Town Hall.' thought Fluttershy as she looked at the crowd of ponies she was stood in. 'In that case, I wonder where Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack would be?' A sound of someone approaching could soon be heard. Fluttershy turned to the source of the sound to see Rainbow Dash's figure flying at a high speed towards her direction. Fluttershy then turned towards Rarity's boutique to see the front door opening and the figures of Rarity and Sweetie Bell leaving the building. This signalled Fluttershy to hover in the air to make herself seen by her friends. Soon Fluttershy was approached by Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Sweetie Bell which allowed her to land. "Hey Fluttershy!" greeted Rainbow Dash. "Why hello Fluttershy!" said Rarity at the same time as Rainbow Dash. "Umm, hi!" replied Fluttershy. "I'm surprised that you came to see the Wonderbolts Fluttershy." said Rarity. "Umm, well, I thought it would be nice to see then while they're here." responded Fluttershy. "I'm surprised that you would see the Wonderbolts Rarity." said Rainbow Dash. Rarity laughed at what Rainbow Dash said. Sweetie Bell then put her hoof on Rarity's leg. "When will the Wonderbolts start Sis?" she asked. "About ten minutes." replied Rarity. "I'm sure you can manage that can you?" "Well sure." replied Sweetie Bell. "Don't worry Sweetie Bell. They'll be in the sky before we know it." assured Fluttershy. Sweetie Bell smiled at Fluttershy's words as if they were literal. A loud whizzing could be heard. This turned the crowded Market Square silent. Rainbow Dash mumbled "Oh my gosh I can't wait to see what they're gonna do!" Fluttershy, Rarity and Sweetie Bell just stared in the same direction the rest of the crowd were. Suddenly a number of black clouds appeared from a number of tiny figures in the sky. The figures then went towards each other and bounced off each other, leaving a large amount of coloured clouds which made a huge bang. Everyone in the crowds began to cheer as if they were at a pop concert. Even Fluttershy's cheering could be heard in the crowd. The figures of what everyone identified as the Wonderbolts then did individual tricks. One of then did many loops at a high speed, another performed an uncountable amount of barrel rolls in a row. There were even tricks that some of them did in twos. One of the pairs did a half loop starting and ending when they met, making a brief appearance of a heart outline and turned to perform some syncronised twists. The crowd then went crazy. All of the Wonderbolts then worked together to make a giant circle in the sky which transformed in shape as the trick went on. The shape slowly transformed from a circle to an oval which then transformed into a square. The shape then transformed back into a circle and the Wonderbolts then left the circle at the same time and met with each other, causing a firework display as they split from each other. The crowd of ponies in Ponyville were screaming as the Wonderbolts finished that performance. As the noise died down, the crowds began to shrink with most of those in the crowds talking amongst themselves. "Oh sweet Celestia, that was truely AWESOME!!!" Rainbow Dash shouted with glee. "I couldn't agree more Rainbow Dash." said Rarity. "They were so dazzling." Sweetie Bell stood there as if she was still watching the Wonderbolts performing. Fluttershy giggled and said "Sweetie Bell, the Wonderbolts aren't performing anymore." Sweetie Bell's attention was still focussed on the sky. "Never mind her Fluttershy. She clearly loved it too." said Rarity. Sweetie Bell then shook her head at a rapid speed, turned towards Rarity and shouted "That was the best thing I've ever seen!" "Glad you liked it Sweetie Bell." said Rarity with a smile. "Ok, now the Wonderbolts have finished their performance, I need to find some fruit trees." said Rainbow Dash. "I promised Fluttershy that I'll do it since she can't get anything until the next market day so see ya!" Rainbow Dash then left Fluttershy, Rarity and Sweetie Bell as quick as the wind. "We'd best be going as well." explained Rarity. "I've got some work to do." "And I've got some crusading to do!" explained Sweetie Bell. "I'll see you both later. I have to get back to my animal friends anyway." explained Fluttershy. The three mares then walked their separate ways. * * * "Well, that was an amazing performance!" complimented Mayor Mare. "We think that too Mayor." said Spitfire. "I'm sure everypony will be excited to meet you in Town Hall tomorrow. You really made those crowds go wild!" explained Mayor Mare. "And we'll be excited to meet them." said Spitfire with confidence. "Well, it was nice meeting you. See you tomorrow!" said Mayor Mare. "We'll see you tomorrow afternoon!" said Spitfire as she turned to leave the Mayor's house followed by her companions. As the Wonderbolts were outside, Spitfire explained "You guys showed a lot of guts today so I'll let you guys have the time to explore Ponyville as you wish. Just don't cause any trouble." The other Wonderbolts nodded in agreement and went off to do as they wished. 'This could be my chance to find that cute looking mare. Maybe I should get my suit off and start searching.' thought Soarin. Chapter 4Chapter 4: Now that the opening performance for the Wonderbolts visit to Ponyville was over, Soarin could prepare to start his search for the rainbow-maned mare in the photo from the royal wedding in Canterlot. His first stop was his room in the Motel so he could remove his suit. 'Back in the western movie flick of a room.' thought Soarin as he entered his motel room. He now had the privacy and freedom to remove his Wonderbolt suit and recover the photo from his back. 'Why did I even place the photo on my back in the first place? Maybe it gave me some good luck in the performance.' Soarin thought. Soarin then placed the photo along with a water bottle and a small bag of money into his saddlebags and left his motel room with his mind focused on his search. 'This search for that mare could be a good chance to know Ponyville inside and out.' Soarin thought. As Soarin made it outside the motel, he began to explore Ponyville's streets. His first destination was the Market Square. It seemed very quiet other than the few mares walking into the spa and a unicorn mare walking out of what looked like a posh clothes shop. 'Not a busy time of day I'm guessing.' thought Soarin as he took a stroll through the Market Square. Without a thought of what was happening around him, he bumped into someone, knocking him and the pony he collided with over. As Soarin landed, his photo flew out of his saddlebags. "Watch where you're going!" yelled the voice of a mare. Soarin looked up to see a white unicorn mare with a stylish, dark purple mane and ocean blue eyes glaring down at him. "Sorry, must have daydreamed for a sec." said Soarin as he got himself up from the ground and picking up the photo. The photo caught the mare's eye as she saw something familiar about it. She asked "Can I see that photo you just picked up?" "Huh? Why?" asked Soarin. "I'll explain when I see it." replied the mare. "Ok then I guess." answered Soarin. A blue aura then surrounded the photo as the mare's magic picked up the photo out of his hoof and faced the mare. "Oh by Heavens! Is that YOU with one of my FRIENDS?" asked the mare in a shocked voice. "I know I'm in that photo but I don't know who the mare is in it." replied Soarin. "Are you one of the Wonderbolts by any chance?" asked the mare. "Heck yeah! Name's Soarin!" replied Soarin. "Well Soarin, I think my friend would love to meet you in pony." explained the mare as she handed the photo back to Soarin. "She's a huge fan of you lot you know." "Almost everypony is!" boasted Soarin. "I'll be sure to tell her once she gets back that you lot are exploring Ponyville." explained the mare. "Wait, she's not here?" asked Soarin. The mare replied "She's getting some fruit for my friend Fluttershy. Knowing her dazzling speed, she'll be back in less than an hour." "And I don't think you've mentioned her name to me yet. And yours as well." explained Soarin. "Oh how rude of me. I'm Rarity. And my friend's name is Rainbow Dash." replied the mare. "Is there any reason why you have that photo of you with her?" Soarin sighed. He knew that this would lead to him telling Rarity who he only knew for two minutes about his affection for this Rainbow Dash. 'Well, Spitfire didn't react badly to me saying it, and Rarity seems like a nice mare, hopefully she doesn't react badly to it.' he thought. "The photo is with me to help me find this Rainbow Dash. When I look at the photo, I see that cute mare smiling and it makes me feel as if something's missing from my life." explained Soarin. "You understand, right?" Rarity looked puzzled "Are you telling me that you have a crush on Rainbow Dash?" Soarin sighed and confessed "Yes." as he dropped his head down. "I just don't know what to say. The moment Rainbow Dash hears that there's a Wonderbolt that is attracted to her, she'll go crazy! I know that you two would get along pretty well and she'll adore you for the fact that you're a Wonderbolt." explained Rarity with a positive attitude. "And nothing else?" asked Soarin. "Well, if you show that you're a nice pony then you may see Rainbow's true affection." replied Rarity. "But we've never seen her showing any form of affection so it may take some time." "So anyway, can you take me to her?" asked Soarin. "May I recall that I said that she's currently running an errand for one of my other friends." replied Rarity. "And I have to deliver an order to Canterlot." Soarin then noticed the saddlebags on Rarity's bag. Rarity continued "I could take you to my friend Twilight who could give you a personal tour of Ponyville. I'll explain everything to her once we get to her library and I'm sure she'll be happy to help you out. Maybe she could take you to Rainbow Dash once she gets back." "Sounds great. Lead the way." replied Soarin. Soarin followed Rarity out of the Market Square. They went through the peaceful streets of Ponyville until they found themselves at what looked like a large tree with windows. Rarity approached the door on the large tree and knocked it. The door opened, revealing a unicorn mare with all shades of purple on her coat, mane and eyes. "Oh, hey Rarity." greeted the mare. "I need to speak to you about something Twilight." said Rarity. "What do you need?" asked Twilight. Rarity began a small speech "I have a stallion with me who is looking for Rainbow Dash but she's getting some fruit for Fluttershy. I thought you could give him a tour of Ponyville to pass the time and then take him to Rainbow Dash once she gets back." Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Any reason why he's looking for Rainbow Dash?" she asked. Rarity whispered what Soarin had told her in Twilight's ear. "WHAT!" shouted Twilight in shock. "But how?" "He's the one to ask about it. We only bumped into each other." explained Rarity. "I just don't know how Rainbow will react to this. She wouldn't want any random stallion coming up to her like that." said Twilight. "Wait, did I tell you he's a Wonderbolt?" asked Rarity. "I must have forgotten to mention that." "I still don't know how she'll react to it though." sighed Twilight. "I mean, he's a Wonderbolt and Rainbow's a big fan of the Wonderbolts. I can tell that something fishy is going to happen." "I understand how you feel about it Twilight." assured Rarity. "I didn't get what he was on about at first either. But we've got to do something about this." Twilight then took one look at Soarin who was standing around casually. "I just don't know what to do." she explained. "We could just do what I suggested to do in the first place." suggested Rarity. Twilight sighed. "I know that Rainbow's been doing a lot of practice for when the Wonderbolts visit Ponyville. This could be a chance of getting help for her if she was to have a Wonderbolt see what she's been doing lately. I'll do it for her." "That's more like it." said Rarity. "Now I have to travel to Canterlot to deliver this order. I'm already late as it is. See you later Twilight." "See you soon Rarity!" said Twilight as Rarity began to turn and leave. Now it was just Soarin and Twilight. Twilight left the library, closing the door behind her with her magic. "So, are you Rarity's friend Twilight?" asked Soarin. Twilight smiled and replied "Yes, my name is Twilight Sparkle. Since Rarity has to deliver one of her orders to Canterlot, I'll give you a tour of Ponyville. This is to allow some time for Rainbow Dash to finish her errand for my friend Fluttershy. What's your namr by the way? Rarity didn't mention it." "Name's Soarin!" replied Soarin. "I'm one of the captains of the Wonderbolts!" "Nice to meet you Soarin." said Twilight. "So, to start the tour, you're stood near the Ponyville Library at the moment." "I'm guessing you live there?" asked Soarin. "Yes. I live there with my assistant Spike." replied Twilight. ""He should be napping now. Now if you'll follow me, I can show you the rest of Ponyville." Twilight took Soarin down the path to the Market Square. Soarin said "I've been here. This was the place I walked into Rarity." "I was going to ask where did you meet Rarity." explained Twilight "But anyway, this is the Market Square. We usually have market days here every Saturday. Also, this part of Ponyville is where Rarity lives." Soarin raised an eyebrow in interest. Twilight continued "She lives in her Boutique. If she didn't tell you, she makes beautiful dresses. She made the dresses my other friends and I wore at the Grand Galloping Gala and the bridesmaid's dresses at the Royal Wedding in Canterlot." "Sounds like her through and through." said Soarin. "She sounded like the kind of mare who would be a fashion designer. Shame she doesn't make our suits." Twilight then turned which gave Soarin the signal that she was going to take him to another part of Ponyville. As Soarin followed Twilight through the streets of Ponyville he thought 'I wonder if she's taking me to another part of town that I've already been to...' "I'm sure you've been to the Town Centre where Town Hall is located?" asked Twilight. "I've been there but I didn't get a decent look at the area." replied Soarin. "Then we're going there next!" explained Twilight as she lead Soarin to an opening which turned out to be Ponyville Town Centre. Soarin took a look around as Twilight lead on, explaining the sights and sounds of Ponyville Town Centre like a tour guide. Twilight explained "As you can see, Ponyville Town Hall is the tallest building in the main district of Ponyville. The Hospital and Motel are in another district of town. The Town Hall is where most of the events are held in Ponyville and it's where the Mayor does her speeches. We did try to have the Summer Sun Celebration there but I'm sure you would have heard about what happened then." "You mean the mare who wanted night to last forever?" asked Soarin. "Yes, that was a legend which happened to come true but Nightmare Moon was stopped by the Elements of Harmony." answered Twilight. "I've heard of the Elements of Harmony." said Soarin. "I've heard that six ponies from Ponyville had their power." "You've heard it right Soarin." said Twilight. "You're looking at the Element of Magic now." Soarin gasped "You wield the Element of Magic?! Who wields the other Elements?" "Rarity has the Element of Generosity, my friend Pinkie Pie has the Element of Laughter, my friend Applejack has the Element of Honesty, my friend Fluttershy has the Element of Kindness and Rainbow Dash has the Element of Loyalty." explained Twilight. "I made friends with all of them when I first moved to Ponyville from Canterlot but I didn't believe that I needed friends to stop Nightmare Moon." "But it turned out that you did?" asked Soarin. "You got it." answered Twilight. "So now I know that this Rainbow Dash is the wielder of an Element of Harmony." said Soarin with a grin. "That sounds awesome even thinking about it!" "I imagine you'll like Rainbow, Soarin. You do have a lot in common with her and you have a similar personality to her." explained Twilight. "And she's incredibly cute." sighed Soarin. "She'll be back soon. But for now, we best go to the other side of Town Centre." said Twilight. "Yeah, I guess you're right." explained Soarin. Twilight lead Soarin towards a building which looked as if it was decorated by a baker since it has such bright colours and a giant cupcake at the top of the building. This gave Soarin the idea that it was a cake shop. "This is Ponyville's most popular cake shop." explained Twilight. "It's called Sugar Cube Corner and it's where my friend Pinkie Pie lives." "Pinkie Pie? Just hearing her name makes her sound like a funny pony." said Soarin. "She runs the best parties in town." said Twilight. "Sounds like an awesome pony." said Soarin with a grin. "The Cakes are the owners of Sugar Cube Corner and they let Pinkie live there as a lodger." explained Twilight. "The Cakes? You mean this cake shop is run by cakes?" asked Soarin. "No." replied Twilight "It's run by Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Two earth ponies who make amazing cakes and other bakery food." "Wait, bakery food? Does this include pie?" asked Soarin. "Well, maybe. I'm sure they'll do some pie." answered Twilight. 'Oh man! So I can get some pie here!' thought Soarin. "If you get the chance, I'm sure you'll get to have a good look at Sugar Cube Corner but we'd better move on." said Twilight. "We're going to the outskirts next." Soarin then followed Twilight out of the Town Centre and kept going through the streets of Ponyville until they found themselves at the train station. "Yeah, I've been around here alright." said Soarin. "I'm staying at the motel here and I arrived at the train station with the guys earlier." Twilight raised her eyebrow. "Maybe I should have explained to you about this part of the outskirts but oh well." she explained. "Maybe I should show you Sweet Apple Acres. It's not too far from here." The two ponies then began to travel past the hospital and kept traveling until they reached a long pathway surrounded by apple trees. As they were walking down the pathway, Soarin said "You said this place was called Sweet Apple Acres? I can see why it's called that since there are so many apple trees here." "You can say that, but it's the farm that makes this place full of apple trees." explained Twilight. "It's run by my friend Applejack who is a very honest pony." "Didn't you say that she wields the Element of Honesty?" asked Soarin. "Yes, I think I did." answered Twilight. "But anyway, I've heard that the Wonderbolts were touring Equestria. Is Ponyville your first stop for the tour?" "Well, no." answered Soarin. "Ponyville's our fourth location. If you wanna know where we were first, we went to Manehatten." "Where else have you been?" asked Twilight. "We've been to Fillydelphia and Trottingham." answered Soarin. "Those were long journeys as well. I felt as if we were going to leave Equestria at one point." Twilight giggled. "I'm sure it wasn't that bad." Soarin raised an eyebrow. "Ok, I'll get you a ticket from Ponyville to Fillydelphia and you can see for yourself how long the trip is." he explained. Twilight just giggled even more. Soarin just sighed in disgust. Suddenly, Twilight and Soarin soon found themselves facing a large, brick-red barn with paper-white wooden beams holding the structure of the barn. It was surrounded by small patches for growing vegetables. Soarin was amazed at this sight. He had never really seen many farms due to his life as an elite flyer entertaining crowds in Canterlot and making appearances in Cloudsdale. It gave him the feeling that he had missed for years. Twilight came to a halt followed by Soarin. "What's going on?" asked Soarin. "I'll see if Applejack is around before I can take you to see the actual farm. She knows it a lot more than I do." explained Twilight. "Fair enough." said Soarin. "You stay here while I see if AJ's around. If she isn't then I'll take you to the western outskirts. That's where my friend Fluttershy lives." said Twilight. "Sounds good to me." said Soarin. Twilight strolled up to the barn and knocked on the door. There was no answer. Twilight knocked the door again. There was still no answer. Twilight waited around until the door suddenly opened to reveal a yellow filly with a red mane and tail. Her mane had a pink bow tie on the back of it. "Hi Twilight!" said the filly with a cowpony accent. "Hey Applebloom, is Applejack around?" asked Twilight. Applebloom took a moment to think. "Oh yeah, Ah think AJ's buckin' some apples at the far end of the acres. Ah don' think she'll be back until the evenin'." Twilight took a deep breath. "That's a shame. Maybe I'll explain everything to her later. By the way, did you see the Wonderbolts performing over Ponyville earlier?" "AJ and ah saw them from Town Hall! They were amazin'!" replied Applebloom. "Never seen anypony fly so good like that in mah life!" "Glad to hear that you liked it. Have a good afternoon." said Twilight. "See ya later Twilight!" said Applebloom as Twilight began to turn and leave. Twilight returned to Soarin and said "Applejack's not around. Come on, I'll show you the western outskirts." Soarin nodded and followed Twilight back through the vast apple orchard. 'Shame that this Applejack wasn't around. Hopefully I'll get a chance to meet her and see that farm later in the week.' thought Soarin. As they left the site of Sweet Apple Acres, Twilight pointed Soarin in the direction they needed to go to reach the western outskirts. They trekked through more of Ponyville's streets until they came to a fountain which was surrounded by fields and trees as far as the eye could see. Soarin gained the feeling as if he was starting to explore Equestria's countryside rather than a part of Ponyville. Twilight and Soarin followed a long pathway surrounded by beautiful trees and fields filled with the sound of birds singing and the fresh smell of cut grass. As they walked, they saw the view of what looked like a green-roofed grotto which felt like a safe haven for animals and plants since it had a lot of bird houses and animal dens around it. "What is that grotto?" asked Soarin. "You'll find that it's a cottage." replied Twilight. "It's where my friend Fluttershy lives. She may be a little shy but she's very good with animals." "So she's a vet of some kind?" asked Soarin. "She's an Animal Caretaker." replied Twilight. "I'll give it to you for the guess of her being a vet though. She'll nurse a sick animal back to health even if it took her everything in her cottage." "Sounds interesting." said Soarin. They soon reached a small bridge going over a small stream. The cottage was directly over the other side of the bridge. "I'm sure Fluttershy will be in since she's waiting for Rainbow to deliver her the fruit. Let me explain everything to her before you come to the door." explained Twilight. Soarin nodded and stayed in silence. Twilight then approached the door of the cottage and knocked. It only took a few seconds for the door to open which revealed a pale yellow peagsus mare with a long, flowing pastel pink mane and tail. She greeted "Hi Twilight." with a calm, soothing voice. "Hey Fluttershy. I have something to tell you." explained Twilight. Fluttershy stood still and asked "What is it?" "I've been showing one of the Wonderbolts around Ponyville since Rarity couldn't do it and it turns out that he has a crush on Rainbow." explained Twilight. "What! A Wonderbolt who loves Rainbow Dash?" gasped a shocked Fluttershy "B-But how?" "He has a photo of him and Rainbow at my brother's wedding and he's using it to help find her. He happened to bump into Rarity who explained who Rainbow was to him and he's now stood on the bridge waiting for me to finish explaining this case to you." replied Twilight. Fluttershy took a peek around Twilight to see an unfamiliar pale blue pegasus stallion with a navy blue mane and tail. This caused her shy side to kick into play as she began to shiver. "Are you alright Fluttershy?" asked Twilight. Fluttershy hesitated for a while and answered "W-Well, I've n-never seen that s-s-stallion before." Twilight then explained in a soft voice "It's ok Fluttershy. He's a nice stallion. His name is Soarin and I hope that everything will be fully explained to you when Rainbow Dash gets back. Just don't have any fear of him. Maybe while you're waiting for Rainbow Dash to get back, get to know him." "B-But..." Twilight interupted "It'll also be a good letter to Princess Celestia. You know that she expects us all to give reports on friendship now." "Y-You really think so?" asked Fluttershy. Twilight nodded confidently. "I still don't know." said Fluttershy. "Just have confidence in yourself. Soarin's a nice pony. You'll get on with him pretty well." explained Twilight. Fluttershy took a big gulp of air and said "Ok. I'll do my best." "That's what I like to hear." said Twilight as she beckoned to Soarin. Soarin was by Twilight within five seconds. "Soarin, this is Fluttershy." said Twilight. "Umm, nice to meet you." said Fluttershy. Soarin reached his hoof out to Fluttershy's and said "Nice to meet you too Fluttershy." As Soarin's hoof was touching Fluttershy's, she looked at Soarin and gave him a cute smile. Twilight observed on Soarin and Fluttershy and said "I'm sure you two will get along really well. Since Rainbow Dash will be coming here, this is the end of the tour Soarin. I hope you enjoyed it. Maybe tomorrow you can see Sweet Apple Acres in full if Applejack's around." "Sounds good." said Soarin. "Catch ya later Twilight." Twilight smiled and turned to leave. This left Soarin outside Fluttershy's cottage. "Umm, Mr. Soarin, did you want to come in? Rainbow Dash will be here any minute now." offered Fluttershy. "Sure." replied Soarin as he walked through the door of Fluttershy's cottage. Chapter 5Chapter 5: "Feel free to take a seat Mr. Soarin." said Fluttershy. Soarin looked around the sanctuary-feeling cottage interior to find some sofas by the stairs. He sat on the one closest to the stairs and placed his saddlebags on the floor in front of the very comfortable sofa. Soarin felt as if he was resting on the softest cloud when he was sat on Fluttershy's sofa. As Soarin got comfortable, Fluttershy glided in with two mugs of hot drinks. "Did you want any tea Mr. Soarin?" asked Fluttershy. "Umm, not really. I don't drink tea, but thanks for the offer." replied Soarin. "And by the way, you don't need to call me 'Mr. Soarin', just Soarin is fine." "Ok Soarin, if that's what you want." said Fluttershy as she sat on another sofa. "If you don't mind me asking, why have you got a crush on Rainbow Dash?" Soarin sighed and answered "I've had hold of a photo from the Canterlot Royal Wedding of me and a rainbow-maned mare. The mare in the photo who I think is Rainbow Dash after meeting your friends just looked very cute. I thought that I should find her and us touring Equestria has given me many chances to do that. Now it looks like I'm close to seeing her since I've heard that she's coming here." "Can I see the photo?" asked Fluttershy "Well, that's if you don't mind." Soarin opened his saddlebags, pulled out the photo and passed it to Fluttershy. Fluttershy then examined the photo. "You see? When I showed this to your friend Rarity, she identified the mare without a problem." explained Soarin. "This is strange, Rainbow Dash has exactly the same photo." said Fluttershy. "She does?" asked Soarin. "I'm sure of it." replied Fluttershy. "And I must mention that Rainbow Dash has been practicing for your visit. She's felt as if she isn't good enough to show you or your colleagues her skills but I think they're amazing." "Are you sure about that?" asked Soarin. "If she wanted a Wonderbolt to see how she does, I'll be happy to watch her and give an opinion, but it'll only be my opinion and not the opinion of the Wonderbolts as a group." "It'll still make her happy." said Fluttershy. "Hmm, although I could mention this to the guys if she's as good as you think she is. If all the guys saw her fly and found her amazing, she could end up joining us." explained Soarin. "Oh my goodness! She'll be all over the place if that happened!" gasped Fluttershy. "She's always dreamed of joining you, it'll be perfect for her." "She really does sound like a true fan." said Soarin. There was a sudden knock on the door. "Oh my, she's here!" gasped Fluttershy. "I'll explain everything to her so that she doesn't get startled by you being in here." "Whatever suits you Fluttershy." said Soarin with a smile. Fluttershy then nodded at Soarin and went to answer the knock on the door. Fluttershy opened the door to reveal her friend Rainbow Dash with two baskets full of different fruit. "Hey Fluttershy, here's the fruit you wanted." said Rainbow Dash. "Umm, thank you Rainbow Dash." grinned Fluttershy who was pleased that she got some fruit for her animal friends that'll last for the week. "No prob. Guess I should get to practicing." said Rainbow Dash as she began to hover in the air. "Wait Rainbow Dash, I need to tell you something." Fluttershy mentioned. Rainbow Dash landed and asked "What is it?" "Umm, well, Twilight visited here a few minutes ago with a stallion. The stallion is one of the Wonderbolts and he's actually here to see you." explained Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash was frozen after hearing the news. Fluttershy asked "Are you ok Rainbow Dash?" Rainbow Dash hastily asked "Where is he?" "Well, he's in my cottage..." Rainbow Dash then screamed in excitement as she barged past Fluttershy to enter the cottage. As she entered the cottage, she noticed a pale blue pegasus stallion sat on a sofa. The stallion stared at Rainbow Dash and stood before approaching her. He then greeted her with "What's up." Rainbow Dash could feel her heart pounding faster than her flying speed. She knew that this could be her chance to prove herself to one of the Wonderbolts. With that in mind, she remained silent. The stallion then said "You seem to be the silent type. The name's Soarin. I'm a Captain of the Wonderbolts." Rainbow Dash then shook her head and said "Name's Rainbow Dash." "I've heard that you've been doing some tricks to show us." mentioned Soarin. "I want to see what you can do." "Ok. After all, I can't turn down anything from the Wonderbolts." replied Rainbow Dash with a smile on her face. Fluttershy then said "Do your best Rainbow Dash. I'm sure Soarin will like your flying skills." Rainbow Dash then nodded at Fluttershy and said "Will do Fluttershy. See ya later!" Rainbow Dash then sped out of Fluttershy's cottage followed by Soarin.. Soarin followed Rainbow Dash to a field where she had been doing her practice. "Ok, before I begin, I have been practicing these tricks for at least two weeks now." explained Rainbow Dash. "I don't think they're my best but if I heard from a Wonderbolt, then it'll mean something to me." "So, let's see what you've got." grinned Soarin. Rainbow Dash then flew towards a cloud in the sky and landed on it to mark where she was going to start. Rainbow Dash bounced on the cloud like a diving board and took off to begin her performance. Her first trick was a series of loops, twists and barrel rolls. She even managed to do a loop whilst doing a barrel roll at the same time. Her second trick involved two clouds which she sped around until they formed the shape of her cutie mark. This was followed by a shot towards the sun, posed for a second and pierced through a number of clouds, making a visible rainbow turbulence appear behind her due to the sun exposition and raindrops from the clouds. She then flew around in circles at a rapid speed, making a rainbow-coloured tornado. After the tornado was formed, she made a large rainbow from one part of the ground to the other. Soarin couldn't believe his eyes. The performance he just witnessed made him feel as if he was watching the Wonderbolts doing a performance without him. Rainbow Dash then landed in front of Soarin and asked "What did you think of that?" in her cool attitude. "That was incredible!" replied Soarin. "Those tricks are flawless! You certainly are Wonderbolt material Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow Dash's eyes became wide and she was soon bouncing with joy cheering to herself. "I'm afraid to tell you that what I said is not the official word of the Wonderbolts." explained Soarin. "If you want an opinion from the Wonderbolts as an organization then you'll have to perform those tricks in front of us when we're together so we can all agree on an opinion from us." "Well, are you planning anything that could help it?" asked Rainbow Dash. "I'll have to speak with Spitfire about it. Maybe if she's kind enough, I'll give you some training to help you improve your flying talents." replied Soarin. Rainbow Dash smiled with glee after hearing what Soarin said. Soarin still had the thought of his love for Rainbow Dash in his head. He was beginning to fear how she would react if he told her. 'Hmm, I can't just declare my love for her now. If I'm to get close to her I'll have to get to know her. Maybe I could hang out with her when I'm not doing any Wonderbolt business.' he thought. Rainbow Dash then looked at Soarin and asked "Hey, did you want to hang out somewhere?." Soarin then thought back to when he walked past a cupcake themed building when he was given a personal tour of Ponyville from Twilight. “Should we go to the cake shop?” he replied. “You mean Sugar Cube Corner?” Rainbow Dash replied “My friend Pinkie Pie works there. Don’t worry about her though, she may act crazy at times but she’s cool.” “Hmm, hopefully she isn’t too crazy.” said Soarin. “You just need to get used to her.” explained Rainbow Dash. “Anyway. One, two, three, GO!” Rainbow Dash took off and sped away from Soarin, signalling him to follow her at her speed. As Soarin chased Rainbow Dash in the sky, he felt the wind flinging his mane back and the cool air blasting on his body as if he was sat in front of a fan. It felt strange to be flying at high speed without his Wonderbolt suit on but it then made him remember the days before he joined the Wonderbolts and how he won every race with his friends as a young colt. He then remembered that was the main reason he became a Wonderbolt. Rainbow Dash began to descend from the cool blue sky to the grassy ground in front of a building that looked as if it were made by a cake decorator since it had what looked like a giant pink cupcake on the roof. The roof itself was the colour of dark chocolate with a line of what looked like white icing along the edges of the roof. The building itself was a yellow colour which looked similar to the inside of a regular sponge cake. To Soarin, it was the first time he could really analyse the building since Twilight was in such a haste to show him the rest of Ponyville when he passed it initially. Luckily he could identify the building as Sugar Cube Corner since Twilight and Rainbow Dash told him the name of the place. Rainbow Dash began to slowly descend to the ground followed by Soarin who descended at the same speed as Rainbow. Without a word, the two pegasi walked into Sugar Cube Corner to find themselves stood in a queue of ponies. “So Rainbow, what do you get when you come here?” asked Soarin. “I don’t buy much from here.” Rainbow replied. “I mostly come here with my pals. Especially when Pinkie Pie throws one of her awesome parties.” “Surely there’s something here for you.” complained Soarin. “Well, come to think of it, I get myself some cherry or chocolate muffins. Oh, and if I’m lucky, I’ll get an apple pie.” explained Rainbow. “They do apple pies?” asked Soarin in excitement. “I wouldn’t put your hopes up. They’re only served on certain days but I can’t remember what days they do them.” explained Rainbow. Soarin thought ‘I sure hope that today’s one of the days they do the apple pie. But come to think of it, I should be thinking of how to get Rainbow to like me. I mean, she already likes me for being a Wonderbolt. I reckon she’ll take some convincing to see me on the inside rather than the outside...’
Chapter 1Hearts of the Sky by drakathownz ~~~~~~~~~~ DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters, backgrounds and setting of this story ~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 1: Not a single cloud in the sky blocked the dazzling view of the rapidly moving, rainbow-maned Rainbow Dash who was practicing her tricks as usual. Everyone in town could see the rainbow-coloured trail following Rainbow Dash's fast moving figure but one pony on the ground was following the mach pegasus in the sky. Her sapphire eyes avoided the view of her long, pastel pink mane as she starred at the performing Rainbow Dash as she began to lower to the ground in front of her one-pony audience. Rainbow Dash then panted for a moment as asked "What did you think of THAT, Fluttershy?" The pale yellow pegasus replied with "That was AMAZING Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow Dash then sighed heavily as a thought entered her head. 'The Wonderbolts come to Ponyville tomorrow morning and I still don't have as much skill as I should have. I'll need to try harder to impress the Wonderbolts in full.' "Is something bothering you Rainbow Dash?" asked Fluttershy. "I don't know. It's just that I feel so excited and nervous about the Wonderbolts coming to Ponyville. I don't know if they'll think I'm good enough to join." replied Rainbow Dash with a slightly worried voice. "Don't think like that Rainbow Dash." assured Fluttershy with her soothing voice. "I'm sure if you show them what you just did they'll say that you're an amazing flyer. I've never seen another pegasus who can fly as good as you Rainbow Dash." "I guess you're right." sighed Rainbow Dash as she began to hover in the air. "Are you going to try again?" asked Fluttershy. "Yeah! The more the better, right?" answered Rainbow Dash with a blush on her cheeks. Rainbow Dash then took off to practice her same moves again, giving a lot of entertainment to Fluttershy. * * * "And that's everything!" said Soarin as he examined his saddlebags and a checklist. Soarin then left his packed things in his bedroom and began to head for the dining room in the Wonderbolts House. As the pastel blue pegasus entered the dining room, he saw only three of his fellow Wonderbolts in the room, one of them being Spitfire. 'The other guys must have eaten early and be asleep right now. At least there's somepony to talk to here.' thought Soarin as he slowly glided to his space at the table. "Oh hey Soarin." said Spitfire in her usual attitude. "Hey Spitfire" replied Soarin as he laid his eyes on the tasty looking apple pie on his plate. "You're lucky they did pie for us today. I'm sure you'll be happy with that before we get going." explained Spitfire. "Hmph, yeah!" munched Soarin. A Wonderbolt mare asked "Hey, are you looking forward to heading out to Ponyville tomorrow Soarin?" Soarin swallowed his mouthful and answered "You bet!" A Wonderbolt stallion mentioned "Did you guys know that the ponies who saved Equestria with the Elements of Harmony live in Ponyville?" "Of course we do." replied Spitfire. "One of them saved most of our lives at the Best Young Flyer Competition. Man, that was some time ago now." The Wonderbolt mare then asked "Wait, I remember that happening. Wasn't the pony who saved us the one with the rainbow mane?" "Yeah!" replied Spitfire. "I think it was. I think her name was Rainbow Dash." Soarin swallowed his last piece of pie and said "That was the pony who saved my pie at the Grand Galloping Gala!" "Thinking with your mouth again are we Soarin?" asked the Wonderbolt stallion. Soarin then laughed at the stallion's joke. A bell began to ring signalling the Wonderbolts to go to bed for the night. "Good thing they rang it now. We need that rest before our travels tomorrow." said the Wonderbolt mare as she started to head for her bedroom. "Good night everypony!" she said as she walked to the corridor leading to the mares bedrooms. The Wonderbolt stallion said nothing but glided towards the corridor Soarin entered the dining room from. This only left Soarin and Spitfire in the dining room. As Soarin started to head to his bedroom in the stallions corridor Spitfire placed her hoof on his back. "Before you go, I need to speak to you about something." Spitfire explained. Soarin turned around, forcing Spitfire to remove her hoof from Soarin's back and asked "What did you need from me?" "I've noticed you've been looking at that photo of you at the royal wedding a lot." Spitfire explained. "Is something up?" Soarin sighed and explained "I don't know Spitfire. There's something with that photo that catches my eye. I know I'm in the photo but there's a mare in the photo who looks so cute. I just can't get her image out of my head." Spitfire raised an eyebrow. "Let me get this straight. That photo has a mare you like on it? Do you think she's nearby?" "Well, the photo was taken at Canterlot. She's just such a cute looking pegasus. If only if I spoke to her at that party then I wouldn't be wanting to search for her." sighed Soarin. "So you're suggesting that she could be anywhere? We are spending a week in Ponyville as of tomorrow. Maybe she could be there." suggested Spitfire. "Maybe. But what if she isn't?" asked Soarin. "It's just a matter of luck Soarin." stated Spitfire. Soarin then took a big yawn. "I just want to get some rest now. Night Spitfire." Spitfire stood still as Soarin turned towards the stallions bedrooms. "Maybe you should take that photo with you to Ponyville." suggested Spitfire. "If you think it'll help." Soarin paused for a few seconds. "Maybe it will. Good night Spitfire." said Soarin as he began to walk into the corridor to the stallions bedrooms. Spitfire looked around for a few seconds and glided to the mares bedrooms. Soarin was eventually back in his bedroom. His bags containing his Wonderbolt suit and everything else he packed for the trip to Ponyville were still where he left them. He then approached his chest of drawers which had the photo from the royal wedding on the top and picked up the photo. 'Hopefully Spitfire's idea of taking the photo with me will be a good idea.' thought Soarin as he placed the photo in his saddlebags. He then walked towards his bed and jumped onto it, letting go of any thoughts he had as he drifted to sleep. * * * Rainbow Dash struggled to get to sleep tonight. Her mind was still focused on worry if the Wonderbolts didn't like her skills. She still felt as if she wasn't good enough. Even though Fluttershy thought that the Wonderbolts would like her skills, Rainbow Dash still had doubts about that. Maybe she was thinking too negatively about it that it's causing nerves. 'Maybe a drink will fix this.' thought Rainbow Dash as she hopped out of her bed and wondered around her cloudy house to retreive a glass of water. As she got back to her bedroom, she gazed at the poster of the Wonderbolts. She then thought 'I've met at least two of the Wonderbolts in different times. I know Spitfire pretty well. Maybe if she saw my skills, they'll think differently. It just depends if Fluttershy's guess is right or not.' Rainbow Dash then nodded her head, took a drink from her glass of water and hopped into her bed.
Chapter 2Chapter 2: The sun began to rise in the sky, welcoming a new day in Equestria. The sound of birds chirping spread across the great outdoors, allowing the beautiful sound to awaken Soarin from his sleep. He took a big long yawn and stretched before fully opening his eyes and hopping out of bed. 'Man, that was some real sleep. Now I need to try and remember what's up today.' Soarin thought. He looked around his bedroom and saw his saddlebags in a corner of his room. He remembered that today would be the day him and his companions in the Wonderbolts are travelling to Ponyville. He also remembered that he would be staying there for a week. Soarin thought 'Looks like it's goodbye to this place for a while. Hopefully Ponyville has somewhere that sells pie.' Suddenly a knocking sound could be heard on Soarin's door. "Yo Soarin! We gotta get moving!" shouted the muffled voice of a stallion "Get your things and go to the dining room!" Soarin then felt his stomach rumble violently. 'Hopefully we're gonna eat before we go.' thought Soarin. Soarin then gathered his bags and left his bedroom without a single thought of missing his bedroom. He's been performing for a few places in Equestria this year and those involved going away for a week. Ponyville was the fourth place him and his fellow Wonderbolts were going this year. As he arrived at the dining room, he saw all the other Wonderbolts sat around the table eating their breakfast. Soarin placed his bags in the pile of bags his companions had created. He then took his allocated seat and helped himself to some slices of strawberry jam toast. The stallion Soarin was speaking to last night then said "What a surprise! Soarin's the last one here! Like that's happened before." Everyone around the table including Soarin laughed since Soarin was always the last to arrive at breakfast. "You're sure good at making us laugh! You should have been a comedian instead of a Wonderbolt!" laughed Soarin. "You think so?" asked the stallion. "You would certainly get a better audience than the so-called 'Great and Powerful' Trixie." explained the mare who Soarin spoke with last night. "Wouldn't we all?" asked Soarin with a grin on his face. Everyone laughed again. Spitfire was very quiet after the laughter took place. She was the only pony in the room wearing her Wonderbolt suit. She quickly finished her breakfast and got up from the table. She stood in front of the fireplace in the dining room and hovered in the air ready to make a speech. She then asked "Can I have everypony's attention please?" with a loud voice. Everyone else stopped what they were doing and looked at Spitfire who started her speech. "As all of you are aware, we will be departing for Ponyville after everypony has finished their breakfast. We will be staying there for a week. The arrangements for where we are staying have been made. We will be staying at the Ponyville motel which is located next to the hospital. At 1pm we will be doing our opening performance above Ponyville town centre. After that, you will be free to do as you wish on the condition that you have finished your unpacking at the motel. Are we clear?" "Yeah!" shouted the Wonderbolts. Spitfire continued her speech "As for the rest of the week, here's what we'll be doing. On Monday, we'll be spending two hours in Ponyville town hall. This will be a chance for us to meet some of the ponies who live in Ponyville and to sign some autographs. On Tuesday, we'll be racing our first derby race in the morning. Wednesday will be the day we do an Iron Pony competition against some of Ponyville's competitive ponies. The Iron Pony competition may have some earth ponies and unicorns playing so we'll need to play fair with them. On Thursday we're going to race our second derby race in the afternoon. On Friday, we'll be doing our final derby race in the morning and huge performance on Friday evening. Saturday will be a day free from performances and sport. That'll be our chance to pack our bags for going back and to speak with the residents of Ponyville. We will head back home on Sunday. Am I clear on that?" "Yeah!" shouted the Wonderbolts again. "Just remember to wear your suits in each event which all of you never fail to do." said Spitfire. "That's all guys. Thanks for your time." Spitfire then landed and left the dining room. Everyone started to get back to eating their breakfast and soon they finished. "Well, best be hitting the road. This is gonna be a long trip." Soarin said to his fellow Wonderbolts as he gathered his bags and left the dining room in the same exit Spitfire took. * * * Rainbow Dash had woken up from her sleep. She took a moment in bed to realize who she was and where she was and hopped out of bed. She then went downstairs to have her breakfast. As she poured some milk into a glass, she saw the time. 'Oh my gosh! 10 AM!!!' thought Rainbow Dash in shock. After she'd made her breakfast, there was a knock at the door. 'Strange, nopony ever knocks. Most of my friends can't even get here.' Rainbow Dash thought as she approached the door. She then opened the door to reveal none other than her friend Fluttershy. "Umm, Hi Rainbow Dash." said Fluttershy. "Hope I wasn't interupting anything." "No, not at all. Come in Fluttershy." said Rainbow Dash. "Thank you." smiled Fluttershy as she walked inside, closing the door behind her. Rainbow Dash glided over to the table which she put her breakfast on and took a bite at her slice of toast. "I've just heard from Twilight about what the Wonderbolts will be doing today." said Fluttershy. "She told me because she can't get here and she hasn't seen you yet." Rainbow Dash swallowed her mouthful and asked "What's going on?" "Well, I think they're doing one of their performances after they arrive." replied Fluttershy. "Sounds like them through and through." said Rainbow Dash. "Hopefully I'll be able to pull off my tricks in front of them this week." "I'm sure you will." assured Fluttershy. "Have you still got those worries about it?" Rainbow Dash replied "I'll have to look for Spitfire since I can trust her the most. I think they'll react differently if she sees it." "Are you really sure about that?" asked Fluttershy. "What about that pony on your photo from Twilight's brother's wedding? Isn't he a Wonderbolt?" "Wait, when did you see that?" asked Rainbow Dash in response. "Umm, well, you were carrying it back to Ponyville after the wedding party." replied Fluttershy. "Now you've mentioned it, the photo does give me an idea that he's a Wonderbolt since he's wearing their goggles in the photo but I don't think I can remember his name." explained Rainbow Dash. "But still, the visit from the Wonderbolts will be awesome!" Rainbow Dash then took a big gulp of her milk. Fluttershy watched quietly. "I-I have something to ask you Rainbow Dash." said Fluttershy. "What do you need Fluttershy?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Umm, well, after the Wonderbolts have finished their performance, I'll need you to help me by gathering some fruit for my animal friends. I'm very low and the next market day is not until Saturday. If you find some fruit trees anywhere then I'll be grateful. Well, that's if you don't mind." replied Fluttershy. "Could be a chance to return a favour to you since you helped me to find a pet." explained Rainbow Dash as she looked at a bed where her pet tortoise Tank slept. "And for helping me with the tornado. Sure, I'll do it!" "Oh, thank you! I knew you would be interested." thanked Fluttershy with a friendly hug. Rainbow Dash accepted Fluttershy's hug as a friendly gesture. After Fluttershy had finished thanking Rainbow Dash, she began to head for the door. "Goodbye Rainbow Dash." said Fluttershy. "See you at the Wonderbolt's performance!" said Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy then took off and left Rainbow Dash's cloudy house, heading back to her cottage in the outskirts of Ponyville. Rainbow Dash then saw her empty glass and plate on a table and decided to clean them. 'Hmm, strange how Fluttershy remembers my photo from Twilight's brother's wedding. Maybe I should find it and see who was in it as well as me. I could have sworn that it was one of the Wonderbolts.' thought Rainbow Dash as she placed the glass back in it's cupboard. Rainbow Dash then glided to her bedroom and found her photo album which she had since she was a filly. As she looked through the pages of her photo album, she saw photos of her days at Flight Camp, her life in Cloudsdale and Ponyville and the moments she had after meeting Twilight. She soon found the photo of her at the Royal Wedding of Shining Armour and Princess Cadence. She examined the photo to attempt to identify the stallion next to her. Rainbow Dash thought 'He's a Wonderbolt for sure. I have a feeling as if I met him in Canterlot before that but I don't recall his name.' She then examined the photo further. 'I don't get why, but I feel something for him. Something I can't seem to identify. Maybe I'll know if I actually speak to him this week.' thought Rainbow Dash as she felt something strange in her chest. 'It'll still be awesome with the Wonderbolts visiting Ponyville for the week.' * * * The train arrived at Ponyville at 11:15am. "We're here guys!" announced Spitfire. "We can't be sitting around anymore. C'mon! Move your flanks!" "Geez, we're early and you're pushing us like we're late." sighed a Wonderbolt mare. Spitfire, Soarin and the rest of the Wonderbolts left the train to find themselves face to face with none other than the Mayor of Ponyville. She gave them a welcoming smile. "You must be Mayor Mare." said Spitfire. "Nice to meet you, I'm Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts." Mayor Mare continued to smile and responded to Spitfire's introduction. "Welcome to Ponyville Spitfire. And welcome to the rest of you. I'm surprised that you made it early." "Yeah, looks like Soarin didn't hold us back this time." joked Spitfire. The other Wonderbolts except Soarin laughed. 'I wish they could stop making that joke about me now. They've dragged it too far.' thought Soarin after Spitfire's joke. "Well, I'll have to lead you to where you'll be staying." said Mayor Mare as she started to lead the Wonderbolts to their temporary home in Ponyville. "And please remember that I'll be in Ponyville if you have any problems about your stay." "Thanks." said Spitfire "I'm sure that we'll be fine here." Mayor Mare lead the Wonderbolts through the outskirts of Ponyville and through the centre. As they passed through the areas of Ponyville, Mayor Mare told the Wonderbolts about the different landmarks in Ponyville as if she was a tour guide. They soon reached a large, modern looking motel next to Ponyville hospital. "And this is where you'll be staying, Ponyville Motel. It's of modern building standards and it's a beautiful place to stay. I hope you enjoy your stay here and please let me know if anything goes wrong." explained Mayor Mare. "Thanks for the tour." said Spitfire. "We'll need to sort our rooms and bags and then we'll do our first performance." "I'll leave you to it." said Mayor Mare as she began to walk away "Goodbye!" After Mayor Mare left the Wonderbolts, Spitfire then turned to her followers. "Alright guys. We have a section of the Motel just for us." explained Spitfire. "If you follow me, I'll take you to your rooms." The Wonderbolts followed Spitfire without question into the Motel and to their bedrooms.
Chapter 3Chapter 3: The Wonderbolts had been placed in their rooms for their week in Ponyville. Soarin's room felt as if he had gone to Appleloosa for the week with the sandy-coloured wallpaper and the portraits of cactus plants and western movie style buildings. As he was unpacking his bags, Soarin noticed that his room had all sorts of awesome features to it. This included a bed that could fit two ponies on it, a private shower room with a mirror and a TV. 'I'm going to love it here.' thought Soarin as he placed his shampoos and coat wash in the shower room. Soarin had finished unpacking at 12:20pm. Before he went to put his Wonderbolt suit on he had a quick look of the photo of him and the rainbow maned mare. 'Maybe I should take this with me. I can see if I can place the photo in my suit when I'm doing the performance and get it out afterwards.' thought Soarin. He then took the photo, laid it on his back and carefully put on his Wonderbolt suit. Soarin thought 'It worked. It's in. Now I can focus on the performance.' as he left his motel room. After Soarin left his bedroom, he found himself face to face with Spitfire. "Hey Soarin, looks as if you're ready." said Spitfire. "Guessing the others are already done?" asked Soarin. "No. Most of them seem to have suit problems again." sighed Spitfire. "Happens every time I swear." "Yet the guys have a problem with how I wake up slowly yet I can get a suit on faster than they can." explained Soarin. "I see your point." said Spitfire. Soarin and Spitfire then laughed amongst each other as they waited for their companions to get prepared for the performance that was going to start in twenty minutes. * * * Both the Market Square and the Town Hall areas of Ponyville were already crowded with ponies eager to watch the performance of the Wonderbolts. Fluttershy was stood on an edge of the crowds in the Market Square. 'Where could Rainbow Dash be? I bet she'll be with the ponies by Town Hall.' thought Fluttershy as she looked at the crowd of ponies she was stood in. 'In that case, I wonder where Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack would be?' A sound of someone approaching could soon be heard. Fluttershy turned to the source of the sound to see Rainbow Dash's figure flying at a high speed towards her direction. Fluttershy then turned towards Rarity's boutique to see the front door opening and the figures of Rarity and Sweetie Bell leaving the building. This signalled Fluttershy to hover in the air to make herself seen by her friends. Soon Fluttershy was approached by Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Sweetie Bell which allowed her to land. "Hey Fluttershy!" greeted Rainbow Dash. "Why hello Fluttershy!" said Rarity at the same time as Rainbow Dash. "Umm, hi!" replied Fluttershy. "I'm surprised that you came to see the Wonderbolts Fluttershy." said Rarity. "Umm, well, I thought it would be nice to see then while they're here." responded Fluttershy. "I'm surprised that you would see the Wonderbolts Rarity." said Rainbow Dash. Rarity laughed at what Rainbow Dash said. Sweetie Bell then put her hoof on Rarity's leg. "When will the Wonderbolts start Sis?" she asked. "About ten minutes." replied Rarity. "I'm sure you can manage that can you?" "Well sure." replied Sweetie Bell. "Don't worry Sweetie Bell. They'll be in the sky before we know it." assured Fluttershy. Sweetie Bell smiled at Fluttershy's words as if they were literal. A loud whizzing could be heard. This turned the crowded Market Square silent. Rainbow Dash mumbled "Oh my gosh I can't wait to see what they're gonna do!" Fluttershy, Rarity and Sweetie Bell just stared in the same direction the rest of the crowd were. Suddenly a number of black clouds appeared from a number of tiny figures in the sky. The figures then went towards each other and bounced off each other, leaving a large amount of coloured clouds which made a huge bang. Everyone in the crowds began to cheer as if they were at a pop concert. Even Fluttershy's cheering could be heard in the crowd. The figures of what everyone identified as the Wonderbolts then did individual tricks. One of then did many loops at a high speed, another performed an uncountable amount of barrel rolls in a row. There were even tricks that some of them did in twos. One of the pairs did a half loop starting and ending when they met, making a brief appearance of a heart outline and turned to perform some syncronised twists. The crowd then went crazy. All of the Wonderbolts then worked together to make a giant circle in the sky which transformed in shape as the trick went on. The shape slowly transformed from a circle to an oval which then transformed into a square. The shape then transformed back into a circle and the Wonderbolts then left the circle at the same time and met with each other, causing a firework display as they split from each other. The crowd of ponies in Ponyville were screaming as the Wonderbolts finished that performance. As the noise died down, the crowds began to shrink with most of those in the crowds talking amongst themselves. "Oh sweet Celestia, that was truely AWESOME!!!" Rainbow Dash shouted with glee. "I couldn't agree more Rainbow Dash." said Rarity. "They were so dazzling." Sweetie Bell stood there as if she was still watching the Wonderbolts performing. Fluttershy giggled and said "Sweetie Bell, the Wonderbolts aren't performing anymore." Sweetie Bell's attention was still focussed on the sky. "Never mind her Fluttershy. She clearly loved it too." said Rarity. Sweetie Bell then shook her head at a rapid speed, turned towards Rarity and shouted "That was the best thing I've ever seen!" "Glad you liked it Sweetie Bell." said Rarity with a smile. "Ok, now the Wonderbolts have finished their performance, I need to find some fruit trees." said Rainbow Dash. "I promised Fluttershy that I'll do it since she can't get anything until the next market day so see ya!" Rainbow Dash then left Fluttershy, Rarity and Sweetie Bell as quick as the wind. "We'd best be going as well." explained Rarity. "I've got some work to do." "And I've got some crusading to do!" explained Sweetie Bell. "I'll see you both later. I have to get back to my animal friends anyway." explained Fluttershy. The three mares then walked their separate ways. * * * "Well, that was an amazing performance!" complimented Mayor Mare. "We think that too Mayor." said Spitfire. "I'm sure everypony will be excited to meet you in Town Hall tomorrow. You really made those crowds go wild!" explained Mayor Mare. "And we'll be excited to meet them." said Spitfire with confidence. "Well, it was nice meeting you. See you tomorrow!" said Mayor Mare. "We'll see you tomorrow afternoon!" said Spitfire as she turned to leave the Mayor's house followed by her companions. As the Wonderbolts were outside, Spitfire explained "You guys showed a lot of guts today so I'll let you guys have the time to explore Ponyville as you wish. Just don't cause any trouble." The other Wonderbolts nodded in agreement and went off to do as they wished. 'This could be my chance to find that cute looking mare. Maybe I should get my suit off and start searching.' thought Soarin.
Chapter 4Chapter 4: Now that the opening performance for the Wonderbolts visit to Ponyville was over, Soarin could prepare to start his search for the rainbow-maned mare in the photo from the royal wedding in Canterlot. His first stop was his room in the Motel so he could remove his suit. 'Back in the western movie flick of a room.' thought Soarin as he entered his motel room. He now had the privacy and freedom to remove his Wonderbolt suit and recover the photo from his back. 'Why did I even place the photo on my back in the first place? Maybe it gave me some good luck in the performance.' Soarin thought. Soarin then placed the photo along with a water bottle and a small bag of money into his saddlebags and left his motel room with his mind focused on his search. 'This search for that mare could be a good chance to know Ponyville inside and out.' Soarin thought. As Soarin made it outside the motel, he began to explore Ponyville's streets. His first destination was the Market Square. It seemed very quiet other than the few mares walking into the spa and a unicorn mare walking out of what looked like a posh clothes shop. 'Not a busy time of day I'm guessing.' thought Soarin as he took a stroll through the Market Square. Without a thought of what was happening around him, he bumped into someone, knocking him and the pony he collided with over. As Soarin landed, his photo flew out of his saddlebags. "Watch where you're going!" yelled the voice of a mare. Soarin looked up to see a white unicorn mare with a stylish, dark purple mane and ocean blue eyes glaring down at him. "Sorry, must have daydreamed for a sec." said Soarin as he got himself up from the ground and picking up the photo. The photo caught the mare's eye as she saw something familiar about it. She asked "Can I see that photo you just picked up?" "Huh? Why?" asked Soarin. "I'll explain when I see it." replied the mare. "Ok then I guess." answered Soarin. A blue aura then surrounded the photo as the mare's magic picked up the photo out of his hoof and faced the mare. "Oh by Heavens! Is that YOU with one of my FRIENDS?" asked the mare in a shocked voice. "I know I'm in that photo but I don't know who the mare is in it." replied Soarin. "Are you one of the Wonderbolts by any chance?" asked the mare. "Heck yeah! Name's Soarin!" replied Soarin. "Well Soarin, I think my friend would love to meet you in pony." explained the mare as she handed the photo back to Soarin. "She's a huge fan of you lot you know." "Almost everypony is!" boasted Soarin. "I'll be sure to tell her once she gets back that you lot are exploring Ponyville." explained the mare. "Wait, she's not here?" asked Soarin. The mare replied "She's getting some fruit for my friend Fluttershy. Knowing her dazzling speed, she'll be back in less than an hour." "And I don't think you've mentioned her name to me yet. And yours as well." explained Soarin. "Oh how rude of me. I'm Rarity. And my friend's name is Rainbow Dash." replied the mare. "Is there any reason why you have that photo of you with her?" Soarin sighed. He knew that this would lead to him telling Rarity who he only knew for two minutes about his affection for this Rainbow Dash. 'Well, Spitfire didn't react badly to me saying it, and Rarity seems like a nice mare, hopefully she doesn't react badly to it.' he thought. "The photo is with me to help me find this Rainbow Dash. When I look at the photo, I see that cute mare smiling and it makes me feel as if something's missing from my life." explained Soarin. "You understand, right?" Rarity looked puzzled "Are you telling me that you have a crush on Rainbow Dash?" Soarin sighed and confessed "Yes." as he dropped his head down. "I just don't know what to say. The moment Rainbow Dash hears that there's a Wonderbolt that is attracted to her, she'll go crazy! I know that you two would get along pretty well and she'll adore you for the fact that you're a Wonderbolt." explained Rarity with a positive attitude. "And nothing else?" asked Soarin. "Well, if you show that you're a nice pony then you may see Rainbow's true affection." replied Rarity. "But we've never seen her showing any form of affection so it may take some time." "So anyway, can you take me to her?" asked Soarin. "May I recall that I said that she's currently running an errand for one of my other friends." replied Rarity. "And I have to deliver an order to Canterlot." Soarin then noticed the saddlebags on Rarity's bag. Rarity continued "I could take you to my friend Twilight who could give you a personal tour of Ponyville. I'll explain everything to her once we get to her library and I'm sure she'll be happy to help you out. Maybe she could take you to Rainbow Dash once she gets back." "Sounds great. Lead the way." replied Soarin. Soarin followed Rarity out of the Market Square. They went through the peaceful streets of Ponyville until they found themselves at what looked like a large tree with windows. Rarity approached the door on the large tree and knocked it. The door opened, revealing a unicorn mare with all shades of purple on her coat, mane and eyes. "Oh, hey Rarity." greeted the mare. "I need to speak to you about something Twilight." said Rarity. "What do you need?" asked Twilight. Rarity began a small speech "I have a stallion with me who is looking for Rainbow Dash but she's getting some fruit for Fluttershy. I thought you could give him a tour of Ponyville to pass the time and then take him to Rainbow Dash once she gets back." Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Any reason why he's looking for Rainbow Dash?" she asked. Rarity whispered what Soarin had told her in Twilight's ear. "WHAT!" shouted Twilight in shock. "But how?" "He's the one to ask about it. We only bumped into each other." explained Rarity. "I just don't know how Rainbow will react to this. She wouldn't want any random stallion coming up to her like that." said Twilight. "Wait, did I tell you he's a Wonderbolt?" asked Rarity. "I must have forgotten to mention that." "I still don't know how she'll react to it though." sighed Twilight. "I mean, he's a Wonderbolt and Rainbow's a big fan of the Wonderbolts. I can tell that something fishy is going to happen." "I understand how you feel about it Twilight." assured Rarity. "I didn't get what he was on about at first either. But we've got to do something about this." Twilight then took one look at Soarin who was standing around casually. "I just don't know what to do." she explained. "We could just do what I suggested to do in the first place." suggested Rarity. Twilight sighed. "I know that Rainbow's been doing a lot of practice for when the Wonderbolts visit Ponyville. This could be a chance of getting help for her if she was to have a Wonderbolt see what she's been doing lately. I'll do it for her." "That's more like it." said Rarity. "Now I have to travel to Canterlot to deliver this order. I'm already late as it is. See you later Twilight." "See you soon Rarity!" said Twilight as Rarity began to turn and leave. Now it was just Soarin and Twilight. Twilight left the library, closing the door behind her with her magic. "So, are you Rarity's friend Twilight?" asked Soarin. Twilight smiled and replied "Yes, my name is Twilight Sparkle. Since Rarity has to deliver one of her orders to Canterlot, I'll give you a tour of Ponyville. This is to allow some time for Rainbow Dash to finish her errand for my friend Fluttershy. What's your namr by the way? Rarity didn't mention it." "Name's Soarin!" replied Soarin. "I'm one of the captains of the Wonderbolts!" "Nice to meet you Soarin." said Twilight. "So, to start the tour, you're stood near the Ponyville Library at the moment." "I'm guessing you live there?" asked Soarin. "Yes. I live there with my assistant Spike." replied Twilight. ""He should be napping now. Now if you'll follow me, I can show you the rest of Ponyville." Twilight took Soarin down the path to the Market Square. Soarin said "I've been here. This was the place I walked into Rarity." "I was going to ask where did you meet Rarity." explained Twilight "But anyway, this is the Market Square. We usually have market days here every Saturday. Also, this part of Ponyville is where Rarity lives." Soarin raised an eyebrow in interest. Twilight continued "She lives in her Boutique. If she didn't tell you, she makes beautiful dresses. She made the dresses my other friends and I wore at the Grand Galloping Gala and the bridesmaid's dresses at the Royal Wedding in Canterlot." "Sounds like her through and through." said Soarin. "She sounded like the kind of mare who would be a fashion designer. Shame she doesn't make our suits." Twilight then turned which gave Soarin the signal that she was going to take him to another part of Ponyville. As Soarin followed Twilight through the streets of Ponyville he thought 'I wonder if she's taking me to another part of town that I've already been to...' "I'm sure you've been to the Town Centre where Town Hall is located?" asked Twilight. "I've been there but I didn't get a decent look at the area." replied Soarin. "Then we're going there next!" explained Twilight as she lead Soarin to an opening which turned out to be Ponyville Town Centre. Soarin took a look around as Twilight lead on, explaining the sights and sounds of Ponyville Town Centre like a tour guide. Twilight explained "As you can see, Ponyville Town Hall is the tallest building in the main district of Ponyville. The Hospital and Motel are in another district of town. The Town Hall is where most of the events are held in Ponyville and it's where the Mayor does her speeches. We did try to have the Summer Sun Celebration there but I'm sure you would have heard about what happened then." "You mean the mare who wanted night to last forever?" asked Soarin. "Yes, that was a legend which happened to come true but Nightmare Moon was stopped by the Elements of Harmony." answered Twilight. "I've heard of the Elements of Harmony." said Soarin. "I've heard that six ponies from Ponyville had their power." "You've heard it right Soarin." said Twilight. "You're looking at the Element of Magic now." Soarin gasped "You wield the Element of Magic?! Who wields the other Elements?" "Rarity has the Element of Generosity, my friend Pinkie Pie has the Element of Laughter, my friend Applejack has the Element of Honesty, my friend Fluttershy has the Element of Kindness and Rainbow Dash has the Element of Loyalty." explained Twilight. "I made friends with all of them when I first moved to Ponyville from Canterlot but I didn't believe that I needed friends to stop Nightmare Moon." "But it turned out that you did?" asked Soarin. "You got it." answered Twilight. "So now I know that this Rainbow Dash is the wielder of an Element of Harmony." said Soarin with a grin. "That sounds awesome even thinking about it!" "I imagine you'll like Rainbow, Soarin. You do have a lot in common with her and you have a similar personality to her." explained Twilight. "And she's incredibly cute." sighed Soarin. "She'll be back soon. But for now, we best go to the other side of Town Centre." said Twilight. "Yeah, I guess you're right." explained Soarin. Twilight lead Soarin towards a building which looked as if it was decorated by a baker since it has such bright colours and a giant cupcake at the top of the building. This gave Soarin the idea that it was a cake shop. "This is Ponyville's most popular cake shop." explained Twilight. "It's called Sugar Cube Corner and it's where my friend Pinkie Pie lives." "Pinkie Pie? Just hearing her name makes her sound like a funny pony." said Soarin. "She runs the best parties in town." said Twilight. "Sounds like an awesome pony." said Soarin with a grin. "The Cakes are the owners of Sugar Cube Corner and they let Pinkie live there as a lodger." explained Twilight. "The Cakes? You mean this cake shop is run by cakes?" asked Soarin. "No." replied Twilight "It's run by Mr. and Mrs. Cake. Two earth ponies who make amazing cakes and other bakery food." "Wait, bakery food? Does this include pie?" asked Soarin. "Well, maybe. I'm sure they'll do some pie." answered Twilight. 'Oh man! So I can get some pie here!' thought Soarin. "If you get the chance, I'm sure you'll get to have a good look at Sugar Cube Corner but we'd better move on." said Twilight. "We're going to the outskirts next." Soarin then followed Twilight out of the Town Centre and kept going through the streets of Ponyville until they found themselves at the train station. "Yeah, I've been around here alright." said Soarin. "I'm staying at the motel here and I arrived at the train station with the guys earlier." Twilight raised her eyebrow. "Maybe I should have explained to you about this part of the outskirts but oh well." she explained. "Maybe I should show you Sweet Apple Acres. It's not too far from here." The two ponies then began to travel past the hospital and kept traveling until they reached a long pathway surrounded by apple trees. As they were walking down the pathway, Soarin said "You said this place was called Sweet Apple Acres? I can see why it's called that since there are so many apple trees here." "You can say that, but it's the farm that makes this place full of apple trees." explained Twilight. "It's run by my friend Applejack who is a very honest pony." "Didn't you say that she wields the Element of Honesty?" asked Soarin. "Yes, I think I did." answered Twilight. "But anyway, I've heard that the Wonderbolts were touring Equestria. Is Ponyville your first stop for the tour?" "Well, no." answered Soarin. "Ponyville's our fourth location. If you wanna know where we were first, we went to Manehatten." "Where else have you been?" asked Twilight. "We've been to Fillydelphia and Trottingham." answered Soarin. "Those were long journeys as well. I felt as if we were going to leave Equestria at one point." Twilight giggled. "I'm sure it wasn't that bad." Soarin raised an eyebrow. "Ok, I'll get you a ticket from Ponyville to Fillydelphia and you can see for yourself how long the trip is." he explained. Twilight just giggled even more. Soarin just sighed in disgust. Suddenly, Twilight and Soarin soon found themselves facing a large, brick-red barn with paper-white wooden beams holding the structure of the barn. It was surrounded by small patches for growing vegetables. Soarin was amazed at this sight. He had never really seen many farms due to his life as an elite flyer entertaining crowds in Canterlot and making appearances in Cloudsdale. It gave him the feeling that he had missed for years. Twilight came to a halt followed by Soarin. "What's going on?" asked Soarin. "I'll see if Applejack is around before I can take you to see the actual farm. She knows it a lot more than I do." explained Twilight. "Fair enough." said Soarin. "You stay here while I see if AJ's around. If she isn't then I'll take you to the western outskirts. That's where my friend Fluttershy lives." said Twilight. "Sounds good to me." said Soarin. Twilight strolled up to the barn and knocked on the door. There was no answer. Twilight knocked the door again. There was still no answer. Twilight waited around until the door suddenly opened to reveal a yellow filly with a red mane and tail. Her mane had a pink bow tie on the back of it. "Hi Twilight!" said the filly with a cowpony accent. "Hey Applebloom, is Applejack around?" asked Twilight. Applebloom took a moment to think. "Oh yeah, Ah think AJ's buckin' some apples at the far end of the acres. Ah don' think she'll be back until the evenin'." Twilight took a deep breath. "That's a shame. Maybe I'll explain everything to her later. By the way, did you see the Wonderbolts performing over Ponyville earlier?" "AJ and ah saw them from Town Hall! They were amazin'!" replied Applebloom. "Never seen anypony fly so good like that in mah life!" "Glad to hear that you liked it. Have a good afternoon." said Twilight. "See ya later Twilight!" said Applebloom as Twilight began to turn and leave. Twilight returned to Soarin and said "Applejack's not around. Come on, I'll show you the western outskirts." Soarin nodded and followed Twilight back through the vast apple orchard. 'Shame that this Applejack wasn't around. Hopefully I'll get a chance to meet her and see that farm later in the week.' thought Soarin. As they left the site of Sweet Apple Acres, Twilight pointed Soarin in the direction they needed to go to reach the western outskirts. They trekked through more of Ponyville's streets until they came to a fountain which was surrounded by fields and trees as far as the eye could see. Soarin gained the feeling as if he was starting to explore Equestria's countryside rather than a part of Ponyville. Twilight and Soarin followed a long pathway surrounded by beautiful trees and fields filled with the sound of birds singing and the fresh smell of cut grass. As they walked, they saw the view of what looked like a green-roofed grotto which felt like a safe haven for animals and plants since it had a lot of bird houses and animal dens around it. "What is that grotto?" asked Soarin. "You'll find that it's a cottage." replied Twilight. "It's where my friend Fluttershy lives. She may be a little shy but she's very good with animals." "So she's a vet of some kind?" asked Soarin. "She's an Animal Caretaker." replied Twilight. "I'll give it to you for the guess of her being a vet though. She'll nurse a sick animal back to health even if it took her everything in her cottage." "Sounds interesting." said Soarin. They soon reached a small bridge going over a small stream. The cottage was directly over the other side of the bridge. "I'm sure Fluttershy will be in since she's waiting for Rainbow to deliver her the fruit. Let me explain everything to her before you come to the door." explained Twilight. Soarin nodded and stayed in silence. Twilight then approached the door of the cottage and knocked. It only took a few seconds for the door to open which revealed a pale yellow peagsus mare with a long, flowing pastel pink mane and tail. She greeted "Hi Twilight." with a calm, soothing voice. "Hey Fluttershy. I have something to tell you." explained Twilight. Fluttershy stood still and asked "What is it?" "I've been showing one of the Wonderbolts around Ponyville since Rarity couldn't do it and it turns out that he has a crush on Rainbow." explained Twilight. "What! A Wonderbolt who loves Rainbow Dash?" gasped a shocked Fluttershy "B-But how?" "He has a photo of him and Rainbow at my brother's wedding and he's using it to help find her. He happened to bump into Rarity who explained who Rainbow was to him and he's now stood on the bridge waiting for me to finish explaining this case to you." replied Twilight. Fluttershy took a peek around Twilight to see an unfamiliar pale blue pegasus stallion with a navy blue mane and tail. This caused her shy side to kick into play as she began to shiver. "Are you alright Fluttershy?" asked Twilight. Fluttershy hesitated for a while and answered "W-Well, I've n-never seen that s-s-stallion before." Twilight then explained in a soft voice "It's ok Fluttershy. He's a nice stallion. His name is Soarin and I hope that everything will be fully explained to you when Rainbow Dash gets back. Just don't have any fear of him. Maybe while you're waiting for Rainbow Dash to get back, get to know him." "B-But..." Twilight interupted "It'll also be a good letter to Princess Celestia. You know that she expects us all to give reports on friendship now." "Y-You really think so?" asked Fluttershy. Twilight nodded confidently. "I still don't know." said Fluttershy. "Just have confidence in yourself. Soarin's a nice pony. You'll get on with him pretty well." explained Twilight. Fluttershy took a big gulp of air and said "Ok. I'll do my best." "That's what I like to hear." said Twilight as she beckoned to Soarin. Soarin was by Twilight within five seconds. "Soarin, this is Fluttershy." said Twilight. "Umm, nice to meet you." said Fluttershy. Soarin reached his hoof out to Fluttershy's and said "Nice to meet you too Fluttershy." As Soarin's hoof was touching Fluttershy's, she looked at Soarin and gave him a cute smile. Twilight observed on Soarin and Fluttershy and said "I'm sure you two will get along really well. Since Rainbow Dash will be coming here, this is the end of the tour Soarin. I hope you enjoyed it. Maybe tomorrow you can see Sweet Apple Acres in full if Applejack's around." "Sounds good." said Soarin. "Catch ya later Twilight." Twilight smiled and turned to leave. This left Soarin outside Fluttershy's cottage. "Umm, Mr. Soarin, did you want to come in? Rainbow Dash will be here any minute now." offered Fluttershy. "Sure." replied Soarin as he walked through the door of Fluttershy's cottage.
Chapter 5Chapter 5: "Feel free to take a seat Mr. Soarin." said Fluttershy. Soarin looked around the sanctuary-feeling cottage interior to find some sofas by the stairs. He sat on the one closest to the stairs and placed his saddlebags on the floor in front of the very comfortable sofa. Soarin felt as if he was resting on the softest cloud when he was sat on Fluttershy's sofa. As Soarin got comfortable, Fluttershy glided in with two mugs of hot drinks. "Did you want any tea Mr. Soarin?" asked Fluttershy. "Umm, not really. I don't drink tea, but thanks for the offer." replied Soarin. "And by the way, you don't need to call me 'Mr. Soarin', just Soarin is fine." "Ok Soarin, if that's what you want." said Fluttershy as she sat on another sofa. "If you don't mind me asking, why have you got a crush on Rainbow Dash?" Soarin sighed and answered "I've had hold of a photo from the Canterlot Royal Wedding of me and a rainbow-maned mare. The mare in the photo who I think is Rainbow Dash after meeting your friends just looked very cute. I thought that I should find her and us touring Equestria has given me many chances to do that. Now it looks like I'm close to seeing her since I've heard that she's coming here." "Can I see the photo?" asked Fluttershy "Well, that's if you don't mind." Soarin opened his saddlebags, pulled out the photo and passed it to Fluttershy. Fluttershy then examined the photo. "You see? When I showed this to your friend Rarity, she identified the mare without a problem." explained Soarin. "This is strange, Rainbow Dash has exactly the same photo." said Fluttershy. "She does?" asked Soarin. "I'm sure of it." replied Fluttershy. "And I must mention that Rainbow Dash has been practicing for your visit. She's felt as if she isn't good enough to show you or your colleagues her skills but I think they're amazing." "Are you sure about that?" asked Soarin. "If she wanted a Wonderbolt to see how she does, I'll be happy to watch her and give an opinion, but it'll only be my opinion and not the opinion of the Wonderbolts as a group." "It'll still make her happy." said Fluttershy. "Hmm, although I could mention this to the guys if she's as good as you think she is. If all the guys saw her fly and found her amazing, she could end up joining us." explained Soarin. "Oh my goodness! She'll be all over the place if that happened!" gasped Fluttershy. "She's always dreamed of joining you, it'll be perfect for her." "She really does sound like a true fan." said Soarin. There was a sudden knock on the door. "Oh my, she's here!" gasped Fluttershy. "I'll explain everything to her so that she doesn't get startled by you being in here." "Whatever suits you Fluttershy." said Soarin with a smile. Fluttershy then nodded at Soarin and went to answer the knock on the door. Fluttershy opened the door to reveal her friend Rainbow Dash with two baskets full of different fruit. "Hey Fluttershy, here's the fruit you wanted." said Rainbow Dash. "Umm, thank you Rainbow Dash." grinned Fluttershy who was pleased that she got some fruit for her animal friends that'll last for the week. "No prob. Guess I should get to practicing." said Rainbow Dash as she began to hover in the air. "Wait Rainbow Dash, I need to tell you something." Fluttershy mentioned. Rainbow Dash landed and asked "What is it?" "Umm, well, Twilight visited here a few minutes ago with a stallion. The stallion is one of the Wonderbolts and he's actually here to see you." explained Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash was frozen after hearing the news. Fluttershy asked "Are you ok Rainbow Dash?" Rainbow Dash hastily asked "Where is he?" "Well, he's in my cottage..." Rainbow Dash then screamed in excitement as she barged past Fluttershy to enter the cottage. As she entered the cottage, she noticed a pale blue pegasus stallion sat on a sofa. The stallion stared at Rainbow Dash and stood before approaching her. He then greeted her with "What's up." Rainbow Dash could feel her heart pounding faster than her flying speed. She knew that this could be her chance to prove herself to one of the Wonderbolts. With that in mind, she remained silent. The stallion then said "You seem to be the silent type. The name's Soarin. I'm a Captain of the Wonderbolts." Rainbow Dash then shook her head and said "Name's Rainbow Dash." "I've heard that you've been doing some tricks to show us." mentioned Soarin. "I want to see what you can do." "Ok. After all, I can't turn down anything from the Wonderbolts." replied Rainbow Dash with a smile on her face. Fluttershy then said "Do your best Rainbow Dash. I'm sure Soarin will like your flying skills." Rainbow Dash then nodded at Fluttershy and said "Will do Fluttershy. See ya later!" Rainbow Dash then sped out of Fluttershy's cottage followed by Soarin.. Soarin followed Rainbow Dash to a field where she had been doing her practice. "Ok, before I begin, I have been practicing these tricks for at least two weeks now." explained Rainbow Dash. "I don't think they're my best but if I heard from a Wonderbolt, then it'll mean something to me." "So, let's see what you've got." grinned Soarin. Rainbow Dash then flew towards a cloud in the sky and landed on it to mark where she was going to start. Rainbow Dash bounced on the cloud like a diving board and took off to begin her performance. Her first trick was a series of loops, twists and barrel rolls. She even managed to do a loop whilst doing a barrel roll at the same time. Her second trick involved two clouds which she sped around until they formed the shape of her cutie mark. This was followed by a shot towards the sun, posed for a second and pierced through a number of clouds, making a visible rainbow turbulence appear behind her due to the sun exposition and raindrops from the clouds. She then flew around in circles at a rapid speed, making a rainbow-coloured tornado. After the tornado was formed, she made a large rainbow from one part of the ground to the other. Soarin couldn't believe his eyes. The performance he just witnessed made him feel as if he was watching the Wonderbolts doing a performance without him. Rainbow Dash then landed in front of Soarin and asked "What did you think of that?" in her cool attitude. "That was incredible!" replied Soarin. "Those tricks are flawless! You certainly are Wonderbolt material Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow Dash's eyes became wide and she was soon bouncing with joy cheering to herself. "I'm afraid to tell you that what I said is not the official word of the Wonderbolts." explained Soarin. "If you want an opinion from the Wonderbolts as an organization then you'll have to perform those tricks in front of us when we're together so we can all agree on an opinion from us." "Well, are you planning anything that could help it?" asked Rainbow Dash. "I'll have to speak with Spitfire about it. Maybe if she's kind enough, I'll give you some training to help you improve your flying talents." replied Soarin. Rainbow Dash smiled with glee after hearing what Soarin said. Soarin still had the thought of his love for Rainbow Dash in his head. He was beginning to fear how she would react if he told her. 'Hmm, I can't just declare my love for her now. If I'm to get close to her I'll have to get to know her. Maybe I could hang out with her when I'm not doing any Wonderbolt business.' he thought. Rainbow Dash then looked at Soarin and asked "Hey, did you want to hang out somewhere?." Soarin then thought back to when he walked past a cupcake themed building when he was given a personal tour of Ponyville from Twilight. “Should we go to the cake shop?” he replied. “You mean Sugar Cube Corner?” Rainbow Dash replied “My friend Pinkie Pie works there. Don’t worry about her though, she may act crazy at times but she’s cool.” “Hmm, hopefully she isn’t too crazy.” said Soarin. “You just need to get used to her.” explained Rainbow Dash. “Anyway. One, two, three, GO!” Rainbow Dash took off and sped away from Soarin, signalling him to follow her at her speed. As Soarin chased Rainbow Dash in the sky, he felt the wind flinging his mane back and the cool air blasting on his body as if he was sat in front of a fan. It felt strange to be flying at high speed without his Wonderbolt suit on but it then made him remember the days before he joined the Wonderbolts and how he won every race with his friends as a young colt. He then remembered that was the main reason he became a Wonderbolt. Rainbow Dash began to descend from the cool blue sky to the grassy ground in front of a building that looked as if it were made by a cake decorator since it had what looked like a giant pink cupcake on the roof. The roof itself was the colour of dark chocolate with a line of what looked like white icing along the edges of the roof. The building itself was a yellow colour which looked similar to the inside of a regular sponge cake. To Soarin, it was the first time he could really analyse the building since Twilight was in such a haste to show him the rest of Ponyville when he passed it initially. Luckily he could identify the building as Sugar Cube Corner since Twilight and Rainbow Dash told him the name of the place. Rainbow Dash began to slowly descend to the ground followed by Soarin who descended at the same speed as Rainbow. Without a word, the two pegasi walked into Sugar Cube Corner to find themselves stood in a queue of ponies. “So Rainbow, what do you get when you come here?” asked Soarin. “I don’t buy much from here.” Rainbow replied. “I mostly come here with my pals. Especially when Pinkie Pie throws one of her awesome parties.” “Surely there’s something here for you.” complained Soarin. “Well, come to think of it, I get myself some cherry or chocolate muffins. Oh, and if I’m lucky, I’ll get an apple pie.” explained Rainbow. “They do apple pies?” asked Soarin in excitement. “I wouldn’t put your hopes up. They’re only served on certain days but I can’t remember what days they do them.” explained Rainbow. Soarin thought ‘I sure hope that today’s one of the days they do the apple pie. But come to think of it, I should be thinking of how to get Rainbow to like me. I mean, she already likes me for being a Wonderbolt. I reckon she’ll take some convincing to see me on the inside rather than the outside...’
