Just For Kicksby DRKSEEKERSChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 1Inspiration of Loyalty Ponyville’s weather forecasts were carried out with extreme precision, earning the weather team the grand title of “Best Weather Team in Equestria” which was bestowed by princess Celestia herself. The ceremony had been held in Canterlot and by Celestia was it grand, and each Pegasus had received a golden plaque bearing their names in raised letters and an enclosed envelope that the held the offer of a lifetime. In each envelope lie a letter that dropped the jaws of everypony who read it. It was an offer for a spot on the new Canterlot weather team. Princess Luna had convinced her sister that a weather team as efficient as Ponyville’s would help ease the burden of running a kingdom by dealing with pesky matters such as weather. However both secretly viewed weather management in Canterlot as a chore and were content with paying a team of capable Pegasi to handle the matter for them. However the two quickly came across a problem. There simply was no weather team as efficient as Ponyville’s in all of Equestria. No matter how good a city or towns weather reports were, they just never seemed to match the reports coming from Ponyville, and Canterlot was such an uptight city that they could not afford to have stray clouds lying about. Lest they feel the wrath of Equestrias’ most elite complain that the a cloud is blocking their perfect view of the Canterlot City Bank. This problem plagued them for many days until one star filled night a certain princess of the night had an idea. Sister, sister! All the sleeping sun goddess could do before an excited Luna busted through her door was scream and hide under covers. Ahhhh! Sister you must wake up you’ll….. That’s rather foolish don’t you think? The now awake sun goddess soon realized her current state as that of a school filly. Blushing madly she got out of bed and composed herself as well as any princess could while wearing Starswirl the bearded pajamas. Well I doubt that completely destroying ones door and interrupting her slumber is any better. The princess of the night glanced over her shoulder and soon realized the extent of the damage caused by her entrance. The door was completely off its hinges and lied on the ground in several hundred pieces while the frame was littered with cracks. Blushing, the young princess turned to face a chuckling sun goddess. I…I’m sorry, I just couldn’t contain my excitement and well….I might have gotten a little carried away. Do not worry sister, it is only a door. Are….are you sure? Yes now I believe that you wanted to tell me something? Immediately Luna’s demeanor changed form one of remorse to one of excitement as she remembered her purpose for destroying her sisters’ door and invading her privacy. Ah yes, I finally think that I’ve found a solution to our weather problem. You have? Yes I believe I do, it’s so simple in fact, and I’m a little embarrassed that it wasn’t our first choice. Well go on sister I would love to hear it. Well as you might recall over the past few days we have been having problems finding a capable team of Pegasi that could match Ponyville’s own weather team. Well while looking over some reports an idea crossed my mind. If we can’t find a team as good as Ponyville’s then why don’t we take Ponyville’s! It took Celestia a good moment to let what Luna had said sink in. However her initial reaction was one of shock rather than excitement. Take! Sister do you mean to tell me that you would be willing to ponynap our own citizens because we do not wish to do our chores? I must say I’m surprised that even you would suggest such a thing. What? No I mean why don’t we try to convince the weather team from Ponyville to come and join ours. Perhaps we could offer them a sizeable sum of bits and a lavish lifestyle in exchange for their services or maybe…….Wait, you truly think that I would suggest such a horrid thing as ponynaping? Celestia’s cheeks were now a shade of red that would put Big Macintosh to shame. Well...I...uh how about we talk about this another time when both of us have clearer heads? There was a slight pause until Luna spoke. I suppose that would be best. Goodnight sister. Goodnight sister. With her sister returning to her nightly duties Celestia turned to face her bed and chuckle at the thought of her as a school filly. Over the course of the next few days the two princesses had finalized their plan to convince Ponyville’s weather team to come to Canterlot. They had both decided that the weather team was to be offered a substantial amount of bits and private rooms in Canterlot Castle. Along with many other perks such as royal discounts at stores and free tickets to the grand galloping gala and even private dinners with the Princesses. They decided to unveil their proposal to the weather team during the ceremony of the “Best Weather Team in Equestria.” It was decided almost a week prior that Ponyville would be the recipient and the sisters thought the perfect time to act. They had plenty of time to prepare their little speech seeing as how the event was a month away. Line breaker So here we are again, in the Canterlot Castle Ball room surrounded by a plethora of Pegasi, mouth agape and eyes widened by the letter that lay in their hooves.. Luna sensing the shock in everypony, decided to break the moment of silence. Ladies and gentilecolts of the Ponyville weather team, before you lie’s the offer of a lifetime. As you are all aware Canterlots’ weather is managed by Celestia and I using our magic. However we must also manage a kingdom as well, and cannot always attend to something as small as weather. That is why Celestia and I have decided to form Canterlots first ever weather team! However, Canterlot is the most prestigious city in all of Equestria and deserves the best that the kingdom has to offer. With that being said, no other weather team in all of Equestria comes close to the skills displayed by Ponyvilles own weather team. So on behalf of Princess Celestia and myself, we cordially invite the Ponyville weather team to come to Canterlot and be a part of its first weather team ever! Celestia, sensing that her sister had spoken her part flew down gracefully from their small balcony overlooking the ball room. Celestia had always found speaking to her subjects from higher ground to be a bit discomforting. If there was anything she valued more than the happiness of her subjects it was how they perceived her. She despises the expectations placed on her which force her to detour from showing any real emotion. Deep down she was a Pony like them, she felt happiness, anger and even sadness just as they do, but yet she cannot express her emotions the same way her subjects do. She shrugs the thought off for there is a room full of ponies to attend to. My loyal subject’s what my sister says is true. We are looking to create a weather team for Canterlot, and we decided that the perfect ponies for the job would be Ponyvilles’ own weather team. I can assure you that if any of you accept this offer than you shall not regret it. You will all be paid ten times your current salary and will even reside within Canterlot Castle. Please do consider this offer for….. The sun goddess was cut off when she realized that no pony seemed to show any interest in what she was saying. They were all looking at her but not a single one even attempted to feign interest in their proposal. Does anypony here understand what Luna and I are offering? Celestia was not irritated for she knew what it was like to be forced to listen to something one would otherwise ignore. Well… we don’t mean to be rude your highness's but Ponyville has always been there for us. Sure it may not be as classy as Canterlot but then again we aren’t classy ponies, and well…our captain would have our heads if she found out that we were leaving Ponyville for fame and fortune. Your captain? Yes your highness, she’s the reason why we’re here. If it hadn’t been for her, the Ponyville weather team wouldn’t be where it is today. Who is this captain? Ahem Celestia turned to the source of the noise and found a cyan Pegasus beaming proudly with her chest out. That would be me your highness. Rainbow? I had no idea that you were the captain of Ponyvilles’ weather team. Really? Cuz I’m pretty sure I mentioned it the last time we spoke which was probably at the wedding? I must not have been paying very good attention and for that I am sorry. Don’t worry about it princess, whats this I hear about you trying to steal my weather team for Canterlot? Princess Celestia chuckled at Rainbows choice of words. While I assure you Rainbow that your team is good, they are not so good as to drive a princess to theft. I can also see that your sense of loyalty seems to have rubbed off on your team. He he I guess so huh? By now everypony had stopped listening and returned to the festivities, and a curious Luna sensing that her sisters speech and most likely her own went unnoticed, flew down to her sister and Rainbow so as not to be the odd one out. Hello everypony, did I miss anything? Not at all Luna I was just talking to Rainbow Dash here. She’s the captain of the Ponyville weather team and… And the bearer of the element of loyalty too if I’m not mistaken? Yeah that would be me. So why do you two even need a weather team for Canterlot, I thought that you two can just use magic to manage it. Both Alicorns exchanged a nervous glance as they decide whether they should tell Rainbow their true reason for assembling a weather team. Luna began to mutter a response but was cut off by one of Celestia’s hooves jabbing her side. Ahem, well if you must know Rainbow Luna and I are not only in charge of the sun and moon but the kingdom of Equestria as well, and… Celestia soon received a night blue hoof to the ribcage as Luna jumped in to salvage what she could. What my sister means to say is that no other city in Equestria has their weather controlled by magic and we don’t want to play favorites. Isn’t that right sister! Celestia was too busy rubbing her side to notice Luna’s remark. Even though I’m older she can still punch harder than me. Who can punch harder than you? Are you two in some kind of pony fight club! What? No Rainbow I assure Luna nor I are in a …Pony fight club. Ahem, Both Rainbow and Celestia turned to face a serious Luna. Has something happened sister? Yeah did I do something wrong? With a heavy sigh Luna lowered her head and looked at the ground. No you two haven’t done anything wrong; I’m just a little upset that not a single pony accepted our offer. I don’t think I’ve ever been rejected before? This whole weather team thing really means that much to you two huh? Yes, Luna and I desperately wanted this to work and are a little saddened to see it fall apart. Well I wish I could help but I could never leave Ponyville especially for a place like Canterlot, no offense but this city is full of…. Before Rainbow could finish her sentence Luna turned her gaze from the floor to Rainbow with a wide smile that even Pinkie would have a hard time trying to beat. Rainbow! What I was only gonna say uptight? No not that I mean you can help us! I can? She can? Um your highness's I think it would be best if you take your conversation to a more…private place don’t you think? Celestia turned to face the guard that had addressed her only to see over his shoulder the irises of every Pony in the room. Nervously she asked. Guard, where are you posted? The front gate your highness, the commander heard someone shout “Rainbow” and sent me to investigate. Uh Celestia. Yes Rainbow? The front gate is all the way on the other side of the castle isn’t it? I...I think so, guard is this true? Yes mam, the only reason I arrived in such record time was because of my magic. As the guard left, Rainbow and Celestia turned to a blushing Luna. She laughed nervously as she spoke. He he well I believe he has a point perhaps we should go to the throne room to discuss this further? Yes that will do nicely, would you be so kind as to oblige us Rainbow? Sure why not. Line breaker The walk two the throne room lasted only ten minutes, and then the grand doors opened to an even grander room. Paving the way as some sort of road was a golden rug with dark blue outlines; the ceiling was littered in images which depicted Equestrias history featuring the two princesses more than once. To the left of the entrance was a large dining table made of everfree, a mysterious tree in the dark forest that went extinct some two hundred years ago. The table held many plates and dishes as though a feast was to happen at any moment. Behind the table was an archway that lead to a balcony overlooking Canterlot Castle gardens. However as beautiful and majestic these things seemed, none even compared to the thrones of the Deities. Two thrones stood next to each other both very different, but complimented each other perfectly. Lunas’ throne was dark shade of violet with matching armrest that curled down in a spiral form. The chairs design resembled a toilet with a wide lumbar support and the actual chair part was a mystery as a continuous fog streamed form it and gave who ever sat there a “floating” effect and the lumbar was cushioned with dark storm clouds. Princess Celestia’s throne was colored a golden yellow and its armrest were flat with shining orbs at the end, whenever she was alone in the throne room she would open the orbs which contained cider so strong that even the apple family couldn’t compete with it. The lumbar support was the same style as Lunas and reclined all the way as for the part where She sits, it was a cushion made up of clouds. Now Luna I believe you had an idea. Yeah what was that all about back there? Well while you two were talking something one of the Pegasus said sparked an idea in me. That one Pegasus whose name I believe was blunder plane or something of the sort had said that without Rainbow the Ponyville weather team wouldn’t be where it is today. Yes I remember somepony saying that sister but I still don’t see your point. His name was Thunder Lane by the way, and I don’t see what this has to do with me. Don’t you see Rainbow? The only reason The Ponyville weather team is any good is because of you! Without you they would just be an adequate run of the mill weather team. You trained them to do the best they can and then some and you even inspired them with a sense of loyalty to Ponyville so strong that they even turned down an offer from Celestia and I. Sister what exactly are you suggesting? Yeah cuz you’re starting to creep me out a little. What I’m suggesting is that we offer Rainbow the opportunity to train a weather team for Canterlot! Celestia simply stood still with a monotone expression and turned to a confused Rainbow. Rainbows’ face betrayed her feelings of skepticism. Well now that I think about it, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea. What do you think Rainbow? Well…It sounds like a good offer but I’m needed in Ponyville your highnesses. Lunas expression changed from excitement to a serious yet amused tone. Oh do not worry Rainbow you would only be here to train the weather team and once they are ready you are free to go. What do you say? Rainbow if I may? Nah go ahead. While this is very sudden, I do hope that you will consider our offer. You will of course be compensated and Luna and I will personally oversee Ponyville’s weather in your absence. I’m sorry Celestia but no amount of bits could make me leave Ponyville, and no offense but I would much rather run the towns weather than somepony else. Oh Rainbow please reconsider, if there is anything that Celestia and I can give in exchange for your services please make it known. Luna! Celestia shot her sister a dirty glare, she too wanted one less chore to deal with but she didn’t want it so badly as to try and bribe the element of loyalty, not to mention a close friend of Twilights’. This is her decision Luna and we are to respect her choice and another thing… Well your highness's, there is one thing I’ve always wanted… Both Lunas’ and Celestias’ ears perked up and their heads turned to the cyan Pegasus. Ever since I was a filly I’ve kind of always wanted to be a wonder bolt. That's really the only reason i work so hard. So if you two could maybe... get me into the tryouts…then ill train your weather team. Luna stood dumbfounded and all she could mutter was Is that all? She once again found Celestia giving her a dirty look. Are you sure Rainbow? Is there nothing else you desire? Celestia asked, with a hint of astonishment in her tone. Luna was faring no better as her face betrayed her shock. Here they were, offering somepony the offer of a lifetime. Anything she wanted could be hers, yet Rainbow only desired something as simple as an audition for the wonderbolts. Luna found herself wondering why Rainbow had not asked for an actual spot on the team. She brought it up and Rainbow simply replied I don't want any special treatment and im afraid that the other members will think less of me if just asked for the spot without trying to get it. So do we have a deal? Celestia and Luna exchanged a quick glance and turned to Rainbow with wide smiles and even wider eyes, and in perfect unison the two Princesses responded. Deal! Chapter 2It had been a week since the events at the Ceremony where Rainbow had agreed to train a weather team for Canterlot and she had arrived in Ponyville three days ago. She had yet to tell anyone of her friends about the events of the night that occurred in the throne room. If there was anything Rainbow hated it was seeing her friends sad. She couldn’t shake the feeling that by accepting the Princesses offer, she was somehow betraying her friends. She was lying in her bed in her luxurious cloud home, unable to sleep and aware that Luna’s moon would be out for a few more hours, she got up and made her way to the kitchen. Along the way she heard a what sounded like distant thunder but thought nothing of it. “Man how am I gonna tell everypony?” she thought aloud. She cast her thoughts aside as she poured herself a glass of water from a cloud pitcher, the cold liquid making it way down her parched throat, soothed her mind and her body. Well im sure ill figure something out, after all I am Rainbow… her thoughts were cut short by a loud crash and the sound of breaking glass. She quickly put her cup on a nearby cloud counter and cautiously moved towards the source of the noise. Much to her dismay she had no broom or lamp conveniently lying around to use as a weapon, at least none in her kitchen which received all its light from windows and the fridge. The one time I need a broom its not…The sound of something bumping into a wall behind her snapped her out of her thoughts and triggered an immediate reaction. Without even a second thought Rainbow randomly bucked behind her hitting something hard, sending a wave of pain through her left hoof. Great, just what I need, as much as she would have liked to tend to throbbing hoof her attention was needed elsewhere. Without considering the repercussions she called out into the darkness of her living room. “Hello? Is anypony there?” she could make out a broken window from the little light that the moon gave the room. Where is that switch, she began fumbling around the walls until Ah ha! There you are. Once she had found the switch she wasted no time in flipping the little bugger. At once a nearby lamp powered on and revealed a sight no pony could ever expect to be prepared for. Lying on the ground in her cyan drapes was a pegasus colt, unconscious and bleeding. Rainbow immediately yelped in surprise and terror at the sight of the injured colt. “What the hell!” As if her words were roars of thunder the colt awoke and clumsily jumped on all fours. “Wha huh ohhh”, and as quickly has he got up he passed out. A now stunned Rainbow simply stood as this colt lye unconscious on her floor with scratches all over him, obviously received from him breaking through her window. She sighed and spoke “I guess everything can get explained later”. She soon began to drag the colt outside and onto the steps leading into her house. By Celestia is he heavy, she thought as she struggled to get the colt nearly twice her size onto her back. “You better hope that nurse Red heart isn’t passed out on the front desk buddy” she said aloud to no one in particular. With a flap of her wings Rainbow began to make her way to Ponyville hospital, with a million questions in mind for a certain unconscious colt. “Oh my head agh ahh, where am I?” “You’re in Ponyville hospital” Said a pearl white pony with a nurse cap on. “And you are very lucky” “Lucky? Like lucky to be alive?” “No, lucky that Ms.Dash requested that you not be thrown in prison for breaking and entering!” “What? What the hell is going on here and, wait why the hell am I hoof cuffed to the bed!” As the mysterious colt began to lose his temper with the judgmental nurse a tall doctor entered the room confused as to what the situation was. “What on earth is going on here? Nurse Red heart, explain… The doctor stopped midsentence once he made eye contact with the colt. “Oh yes now I see, eh nurse would you be so kind as to leave the patient and I alone for a moment, patient confidentiality and what not.” Hesitantly the nurse replied, “of course doctor, I’ll be in the break room” and with a huff the disgruntled mare left the room. As soon as the nurse left the doctor turned to the colt with a wide casual smile on his face, “So I hear you broke into Ms.Dash’s home, why it’s not the smartest thing anypony could do I must say it’s one of the bravest things..” “What? No doc you got me all wrong, I didn’t break into anypony’s home.” “Are you sure?” That’s not what Ms Rainbow told me, she said you crashed through her window and…” he was cut off by a low cough emanating from what he believed to be the door. There stood a not too happy Rainbow Dash, her body soar from having to carry somepony twice her size across town in the middle of the night and then having to remain in the hospital for him to regain consciousness, unable to sleep in the uncomfortable chairs. In short her peaceful night was ruined and the cause was staring at her, with his hoofs cuffed to the bed. “If you don’t mind doc, I have a few questions I’d like to ask him” She gestured at the mysterious colt with her hoof. “Not at all Rainbow!” As the doctor left the room the bounded colt thought he could see the doctor mouthing “good luck” to him. As the door shut all that remained was an awkward silence. Rainbow finally got a chance to get a good look at the colt in question. His coat was a faded purple and his mane and tail were rough and unkempt, and were a dark blue with gray streaks running through them. He had purple eyes and a palm tree for a cutie mark and around his neck was a blood red bandana. The colt was the first one to break the silence. “ So, you must be Rainbow Dash?” “Who wants to know?” Rainbow yelled. “Easy there, why are you so hostile?” “What do you mean why? You broke into my house!” “I did not break in; I just couldn’t find the door so I made one.” The colt was now relaxed and had a smile on his face. Oh Celestia I hope she doesn’t kill me, the colt thought to himself. “What! It was five feet from the window you came in. What kind of thief are you?” “For the last time, I am not a thief!” The colt with his grin gone decided to put an end to the argument. “ Look Rainbow…” “How do you know my name huh?” “Will you just let me talk, sheesh” Why Celestia and Luna respect this rude mare is beyond me. “Do you want the long version or the short version?” “Version for what?” By Celestia is she thick! “Never mind ill just start at the beginning, names Kickback by the way.” Rainbow simply stood, huffed and sat on a nearby chair as Kickback began to explain his reason for crashing through her window in the middle of the night. Once she made herself comfortable Kickback took a deep breath and began his story. It was the day after Celestia and Luna had offered Rainbow the opportunity to train the Canterlot weather team that wonderbolt scout Kickback had arrived in town. He had just arrived at the wonderbolt headquarters when a light blue pegasus colt stopped him on the way in. “ Kick? Is that you?” Kickback turned around to see Soarin, one of the wonderbolts top fliers standing behind him with his face covered in what seemed to be pie crumbs. “Soarin? Hey Soarin how’s it goin!” The two promptly made their way to each other, but before they could shake hoofs Kick tripped on a rock and face planted the hard Canterlot cement. “ Ouch.” Kick said with his face in the ground in a melancholy voice as if he hadn’t just completely eaten it. “Still clumsy as ever I see” Said Soarin in a light chuckle. “So how was Manehattan? Any new talent out there?” Trying to compose himself Kick managed to get a reply out. “Oh ha ha. As for Manehattan, things didn’t go so well.” “Why what happened? Spitfire said that there was a colt there with a lot of potential?” “Oh he has potential alright!” Kick managed to say while rubbing his aching nose. Soarin, now noticing that Kick’s nose was bleeding a bit had decided to take the conversation into the wonderbolt headquarters. The building was massive as it wasn’t a building so much as an arena. With multiple wings residing in it, it wasn’t uncommon for recruits to get lost in the behemoth. The outside of the building was unique in that it did not match the standard architecture of Canterlot. It was more of a Cloudsdale atmosphere with elaborate arches and statues of past wonderbolt's. “Alright Kick, go get that thing looked at while I take care of something real quick.” “Alright, see you around Soarin.” With that the two waved goodbye as Kickback made his way to the medical wing of the building. “So you fell?” Asked a silver coated nurse. “No! for the last time I didn’t fall! I just did a gravity check.” Kick replied with a nervous grin. “Look can you just fix me up please? I have somewhere to be right now.” Rolling her eyes the nurse opened a nearby drawer and pulled out bandages and began to wrap Kick’s nose. It was done so fast that before he knew it, Kick found himself being pushed out of the medical room and the door being shut behind him. Well she didn’t waste any time… Kick’s thoughts were cut short when he noticed the bandages on his nose. “OH COME ON!” He shouted so loud that everypony waiting in the nearby chairs jumped or gave him a surprised look. Kick, ignoring the stares he was getting from everypony, made his way out of the medical wing and began walking to what he hoped was the mess hall. “Maybe a snack will make me feel better.” As soon as Kick opened the large double doors into the mess hall he was greeted by a few stares and a roar of laughter. It didn’t surprise him though, after all who wouldn’t laugh at a fully grown colt with his nose wrapped in Starwsirl the bearded bandages. One laugh stuck out in particular. “Soarin show yourself!” Kick shouted. Soarin was struggling to laugh and swallow an entire pie at the same time when Kick finally found him among the horde of ponies. “Keep eating like that and you’ll have a heart attack Soarin.” Kick said with a smile. “Ill probably work off the meal from laughing at you so hard. I think I feel a six pack coming on ha ha.” Many of the ponies had returned to their meals while a few were still chuckling at the sight of Kick. “ So tell me Kick, what the hell happened in Manehattan?” “You know, I’m still not sure. All I know is that he probably wont be doing any flying for a few weeks.” Kick took a seat next to Soarin and gave a deep sigh. “ Look, id rather not talk about it ok. So is this the something you had to take care of” Kick said gesturing to all the empty pie tins lying around Soarin’s bloated belly. “What? Today was pie day. Besides, I actually do have some real business to deal with, im just getting some much needed R&R before I head out.” “What do you mean much needed? I thought wonderbolt’s only perform during the season? Or did they change the rules again while I was gone?” “No its nothing as strenuous as performing, they’ve just had me running around Equestria as a scout nonstop.” “Isn’t that my job? Or did that change while I was gone?” With a light chuckle Soarin responded “Well I guess there aren’t enough of you guys to go around and apparently the princesses are creating a weather team for Canterlot, so we have been put in charge of finding Ponies that can handle the job. Been searching since about a week after you left.” “A week after I left? That’s about three months Soarin, not that I doubt your abilities as a wonderbolt but scouting isn’t really your strong suit. How many have you guys rounded up? Now laughing Soarin tried to get a response out. “Well believe it or not we haven’t really been looking. The princesses were originally going to take the weather team from Ponyville instead of training one but none of them accepted the offer.” “Really? I find that hard to believe, and I thought you said you were “working” sounds like you’ve been doing the exact opposite for the past three months.” Soarin’s cheerful grin turned into a guilty smirk. “Yeah well flying all over Equestria pretending to work is actually a lot of work.” “I can only imagine.” Kick replied in a sarcastic voice. “So what’s this real business you have to deal with?” “ Well, since none of the ponies on the Ponyville team accepted the offer the princesses decided to try and convince their captain slash trainer to at least come for a while and train a weather team for Canterlot. She accepted but under one condition.” “And what would that be? Wait why wouldn’t they just get one of the wonderbolt’s to train them?” “She would accept only if she was offered the opportunity to try out for the wonderbolts. Also we aren’t really a weather team; I don’t think Spitfire can even tell the difference between clouds. I don’t think I can either!” “Ah I see, so im guessing you’re going to Ponyville to scout this mare?” “Yup and nope, her name is Rainbow Dash if I remember correctly and it won’t be a scouting mission. The princesses gave specific orders that she be accepted into the wonderbolts without any questions asked. I would just be there to give the illusion that she is being scouted when in reality she is already a member.” “Wow, way to undermine my principals and my job. What’s next are we gonna start allowing earth ponies into the team?” “Actually we do, who do you think makes all our food? I wouldn’t trust a unicorn with fire even if my life depended on it. “ Now face hoofing Kick gave a deep sigh as he turned to the mess hall’s kitchen only to see an entire staff of earth ponies cooking up blue ribbon worthy meals. “I need a vacation” he said with heavy groan. “I think I can help you with that” Said Soarin in between inhaling pies. “What do you mean?” A now curious Kickback asked. “Well im going to Ponyville to basically pretend to do your job and if you stick around here im guessing Spitfire’s gonna chew you out about whatever happened in Manehattan.” A now interested Kickback fixed his posture in the chair. “Go on.” “Well how about you got to Ponyville in my place while I stay here and do Celestia knows what.” “How is that a vacation?” Any signs of Kick’s interest had faded. “All you would have to do is do your job without actually doing it and relax while you’re there. Seeing as how I don’t know a thing about scouting you’ll be there for awhile.” “I don’t know Soarin, sounds risky.” “There is no risk, its as simple as eating pie.” “How would you know; you don’t eat you inhale!” Now laughing Soarin replied, “True, so what do you say?” “It’s not like you to pass up a vacation.” “Sue me, besides i really do need to catch up on this weather team nonsense and get to scouting." It took Kick a good ten minutes before he responded. “Alright ill do it, who knows maybe I might have some fun in Ponyville. I hear they have the best apples in Equestria.” “There you go, just one thing though.” “What?” “Make sure she doesn’t find out that she is already accepted, I’ve met her before and if she found out she got in without a tryout, it would hurt her, probably make her think that she doesn’t deserve the position. Which she DOES by the way, we actually had you scheduled to scout her before this whole weather team nonsense. Don’t know why though, we already knew we wanted her.” A now smiling Kickback turned and got up from his chair. “Where you going?” “Well Ponyville is a day by train, so if im going to get there the fastest way possible I better go a reserve a slot.” Soarin now confused asked“a slot for what?” “A slot on the fastest way to get anywhere of course.” “You don’t mean…” “Yup, the wonderbolt stunt cannon.” Kick now with a wide smile on his face made his way out of the mess hall, leaving behind him a now fat Soarin unable to lift himself with his wings. “I woke up late on the day of my appointment and rushed to the cannon. The crew was off duty and I wouldn’t get another chance to use the thing for weeks, so I may have shot myself out of the thing without knowing how to use it. I really just loaded TNT into the barrel and jumped in and lit a match.” Kick said to Rainbow, indicating that the story was over by taking a deep breath. As far as she was concerned he was there to scout her. He had carefully left out the parts about him falling and how Rainbow was already a wonderbolt. Let’s hope that was enough to get me off her bad side He thought to himself. It was now dark out and Rainbow was somehow still awake, all her attention on Kick. “Alright I believe you” Rainbow said almost in a suspicious tone, “but to be safe im gonna have one of my friends check in with the princesses to make sure you’re a scout.” With that Rainbow turned and began to make her way out the door and almost did until she heard Kick shout, “STOP!” She turned around to see Kick pointing to the cuffs on his hooves. “Do you think you could take these off? My hoofs are starting to ache and I think they are turning purple from the lack of blood, hard to tell when your entire coat is a shade of the damn thing.” Rainbow looked at him then the cuffs and then back at him and began to chuckle. “Yeah no problem I’ll get somepony to take em off, right after I get some much need sleep.” Before Kick could protest Rainbow had left and shut the door leaving behind an annoyed Kickback. Well, Kick thought, looks like this is gonna be one hell of a vacation. Deciding that there was nothing to do but sleep Kick moved towards the lamp to shut it off. However his hoof stopped a mere three inches from the switch. Surprised he cast a glance over his arm and saw that he was as far as the cuffs would allow. With a heavy sigh, Kick fixed himself in the bed as best as he could without dislocating a leg and closed his eyes to get some much needed rest. Just before it all went black he swore he could hear some tape ripping. Chapter 3The journey from Ponyville hospital to Twilight's library wasn't much of a journey. It took Rainbow around five minutes to get there. She was about to raise her hoof to knock on the door when she noticed a light in the library go off suddenly. Twilight must be getting ready to go to sleep she thought to herself. Rainbow contemplated just leaving and returning in the morning, but her curiosity as to whether Kickback's story was true or not got the best of her as she raised her hoof to knock on the door. As her hoof made contact with the wooden door she could see lights begin to turn on in the house. "I'm sorry but the library is... Rainbow? What are you doing here so late?" Said a puzzled twilight through the open doorway. "Yeah sorry Twi but can i come in? I need to talk to you." " Sure thing Rainbow." Twilight now had an excited smile on her face as Rainbow made her way to a couch lying in the main room. " So what did you want to talk about?" She asked. Rainbow took a seat on the couch and looked around the library. There were books everywhere, there was so many that Twilight had piles of them off to the sides because she lacked shelf space. She then heard Twilight speak and made eye contact with the book worm. With a nervous grin Rainbow replied " well I need you to send a letter for me to some pony." Again puzzled Twilight responded, " well not that I'm not happy to help but why didn't you just drop it off at the local post office?" " Because the letter is for Princess Celestia." Rainbow replied. Twilight's ears perked up and a wide smile appeared on her face. " Oh, well in that case of course ill send out your letter. Let me just go get spike," Without even a second thought twilight teleported somewhere else leaving behind a little bit of soot on the ground where she stood. Rainbow took this time to explore the library. The place was much bigger than most ponies would think. The shelves were stacked incredibly high, and the slightest disturbance could bring down their contents. How Twilight managed to not be drowned by an ocean of books was amazing. Rainbow decided to go into a nearby room which was much bigger and proved difficult to walk in as books littered the ground. Realizing that it would take a map and a Daring Do adventure hat to navigate the place; Rainbow took flight and hovered to the other end of the room. After narrowly avoiding death at the hands of the " Guide of the to do list ", Rainbow came upon the kitchen. It was modest, not as large as Rainbow's, but nice all the same. It had all the basics of a kitchen, a stove, sink, fridge and surprisingly many cupboards. There was a simple wooden table with some simple wooden chairs. It was obvious to Rainbow that Twilight cared little for luxuries, she didn't have time to. Between her studies and her friends it mattered little whether she had the latest, or most popular thing; and Rainbow admired her friend for that. Deciding that she had seen enough of the tree house, Rainbow made her way out of the kitchen only to end up in the lobby again. " Wow...really? A loop?" Face hoofing, Rainbow heard a sharp and quick sound that startled her. She looked up to see Twilight smiling with a drowsy Spike on her back. "Whats wrong with him?" Rainbow asked gesturing to Spike with her hoof. " He's been at Rarity's all day helping her with her dress designs. Poor guy's spent. Took me awhile to find him since he fell asleep in Rarity's purple fabrics. " " Will he be ok enough to send the letter?" " Oh of course, he can do that it his sleep. He actually has before." Twilight said with a motherly smile. Twilight moved to a nearby couch and set down spike while pulling out a blanket over him via magic. She turned to Rainbow and spoke " So whats this letter about, if you don't mind me asking." Rainbow instantly looked away from Twilight and began to fumble with her hoofs. Damnit, I cant tell her yet; but i cant just not tell her anything. She's bound to find out anyways. Oh well, here it goes. " Hey Twilight, you know how the weather team and i went to Canterlot...." Kickback opened his eyes in time to see the silhouette of somepony lunging at him. He quickly tried to roll over but the cuffs on his hoofs denied him much movement. The attacker landed on Kick knocking the wind out of him. " What the he..." He was cut off when the attacker began to wrap his mouth with something. Through his own thoughts and his loud grunts Kick could hear the attacker speak. " That outta teach you to go snooping in young mares homes..." Oh you have GOT to be kidding me. Kick thought to himself as he realized who the attacker was. " Stop squirming damnit, you're just making this hard for me and yourself." Kick managed to undo whatever was binding his mouth. " Look lady, for the last time I am NOT a peep...." He was cut off by a punch to the side of his head rendering him unconscious. The attacker got off of Kick and made their way to a nearby cabinet. She reached inside and grabbed something before turning around and making her way to a window next to Kick's bed. As Luna's light shone down through the glass, the attacker's face became visible only to reveal a white coat with a little hat with even a smaller red plus sign on it. Time to get to work , she thought aloud as she began to unravel something and wrap Kick. " So I had to end up carrying him to the hospital where he told me the same story im telling you." Rainbow took a deep breath as she waited for Twilight's reaction. It never came. Rainbow and Twilight maintained eye contact, Rainbow had a nervous grin on her face as Twilight stood motionless and expressionless. " Hey Twi? You there?" Immediately Twilight shook free of her drone like state and magicked a quill and paper in front of her and began writing. " Uh Twi, what are you writing?" asked a very confused Rainbow Dash. " Writing your letter of course. However im very happy for you. Training a weather team for Canterlot must mean a lot to you." Twilight responded, however her face was blocked by the massive sheet of paper in front of her. "Thanks and it does, but i haven't told you what the letter is about yet." Responded an even more confused Rainbow. "True , but im sure its something along the line of asking the princess if Kickback is indeed who he says he is. Am I right?" This time when Twilight spoke she lowered the paper revealing a raised eyebrow and a cheeky smile. Wow is she good/ Rainbow thought to herself. Wouldn't be surprised if she had her own version of Pinkie Pie's Pinkie sense. " Well?" Asked a curious Twilight. " Yeah you got it, if he's telling the truth and is really a wonderbolt scout then that means i have a shot of getting into the wonderbolts." Rainbow began to jump at the thought of her being a wonderbolt. " If it doesn't then i can just have him arrested for breaking and entering," she said in a casual voice. Twilight had finished the letter and tied a red ribbon around it. She turned around to Spike and raised her hoof and lowered it onto his belly. " Uh Twi, do you think thats a good idea? Cant you ju7st wake him up?" " Oh its ok Rainbow he wont feel a thing." Twilight then pushed down on Spike's belly, gently enough so as to not wake him or hurt him but hard enough to actually squeeze a little green flame form his nose. The fire enveloped the letter and in an instant it was gone. Twilight turned around to face Rainbow and spoke, " Well im sure we can expect a reply soon. Until then I think you should go get some sleep Rainbow. From what you said, it sounds like you didn't get very much sleep." Rainbow hadn't noticed it but she was truly tired. She had stayed awake for at least 24 hours. Normally she gets a solid ten hours of sleep and an additional three or more from her naps. " Yeah i guess you're right," " Of course i am." Rainbow made her way to the front door , but before leaving she turned to face Twilight who was also showing signs of fatigue. Her mane was nappy and she began to yawn. " Hey Twi, could you do me another favor?" " Sure whadya you need?" Twilight was having a hard time trying to speak between yawns. " Do you think we could keep all this a secret form the rest of the girls? Im not ready to tell them yet." " Really? this is such a big thing for you, im sure the girls would love to be a part of it; or at least congratulate you." " I know but, i just feel horrible about taking the offer. Im not sure really." " Well if thats what you want then my lips are sealed." " Pinkie promise?" "Pinkie promise! But you do know that you'll have to tell them eventually right?" " Yeah i know but ill deal with that problem later. Right now i need some rest. Night Twi." " Goodnight Rainbow." With that Rainbow closed the door, and with the help of Luna's beautiful moon and stars, took flight and made her way home. Chapter 4Canterlot Castle is known for being silent during Luna's night. Not a light visible; no it seems as though it becomes the embodiment of night itself. In earlier times the castle was believed to have been haunted; villagers reported hearing strange sounds emanating from the castle grounds. In reality it was just Celestia and her sister playing tag. The strange sounds and creepy laughter was just them enjoying themselves. Sadly, tonight there was no laughter; Celestia stood tall and regal, this was not the time for games. As she addressed Spitfire, her eyebrows furrowed . The two were in the throne room and it was well into Luna's night. Normally at such a late hour Celestia would be preparing for bed as her sister watched over the city; but once Twilight's letter had arrived that all changed. Spitfire was not dressed in her iconic uniform and instead was just well, naked. She didn't have time to change, a messenger had woke her up stating that Celestia demanded her presence at the castle at once. " I thought the wonderbolts were professionals!" Celestia said in a scolding voice to the wonderbolt captain. " I assure you your highness I had no idea that this would happen. Kickback wasn't event supposed to go originally." " That does not make it any less of problem. Your scout had one job, ONE JOB, and it was to simply pretend to do his actual job. Now how in Equestria did something as simple as lying turn into ponies being shot out of a cannon into a mare's home?" Spitfire was quick to speak her mind. " Your highness if I may say so myself I fail to see the problem, yes the manner in which the situation was initially handled was highly unprofessional but at the same time your highness; he is one of our best scouts." Spitfire had a small smirk on her face, the fact that she was being chewed out by Celestia didn't seem to faze her. In fact the only thing that did seem to surprise her was her choice of words. " I don't care if he's the best scout in wonderbolt history, how can i be sure that he wont let slip the information that she is already a wonderbolt; he's a liability." "Well, I spoke with Soarin and he said he made it clear to Kick that Rainbow Dash is not to know of her being a wonderbolt. He said he trusts in Kick's ability to handle the situation ;but if it may please you I have an idea that will ensure that Kick doesn't let his stupidity get the better of him." " Don't you trust in him?" "I trust him to handle the job he's paid to do and nothing more; but what if some pony were to go Ponyville and keep an eye on the situation and ensure everything goes according to plan?Would that put you at ease?" Celestia's ear's perked up and her attention focused on what Spitfire had just said. " Why yes that would indeed put me at ease but who could we possibly send, my sister and I are far too busy with our royal duties here and after this incident i don't trust a wonderbolt to handle a situation like this. Spitfire flinched at Celestia's last remark Kick you're so gonna get it next time I see you. Casting off her thoughts of pain for a certain Pegasus she opened her mouth to the princess only to stop and realize that she couldn't think of anypony to send. The two mare's simply stood in silence for a moment as they began to ponder who they could possibly send. The silence was broken by Celestia when she have a loud " Ah hah" and signaled one of her guards in the room to her side and she began to whisper something in his ear and once she moved away the guard took off out of the throne room. " What was that all about?" asked Spitfire, her face displaying her confusion. " Ive sent for the captain of the guard here at the palace, he will go to Ponyville and ensure that the operation runs smoothly." " But wont the Ponyville residents get suspicious when they notice a fully armored guard randomly walking the streets?" " Oh not to worry he happens to have family in Ponyville so everypony will just suspect he is visiting... oh my aren't you two quick." It was at that time that Shining Armour entered the throne room and to his side the guard sent to retrieve him stood at attention with a serious expression." You called your highness?" " Indeed i did, i have a mission for you" Celestia responded with a pleased tone off voice. Without waiting for his response she continued" I need you to go to Ponyville first thing in the morning and"...." I cant " His reply was stern. " There was an incident on the Equestrian Griffon kingdom border and im needed there. In fact i leave tomorrow morning." Celestia's facial expression changed from pleased to one of defeat. She knew that duties came before her and her sisters own desire to do less work. She hung her head in defeat remained silent. Shining Armour, being the loyal soldier he is assumed it was a serious mission and whispered into the ear of the guard sent to retrieve him. Once again the guard took off from the throne room. Spitfire, seeing as how she could do no more than take up space, bid her farewell's to the princess and Shining and began to make her way out of the throne room. Although it was late she had a certain vice captain to check up on in the hospital. Soarin had gotten a pretty bad stomach ache after inhaling thirty pies and forgetting to remove the tin. Not long after Spitfire left, a small Pegasus came into the room. Celestia wearily looked up and noticed that Shining was talking to the small Pegasus. The Pegasus had a pearl white coat and two golden olive branches formed in the shape of a claw as a cutie mark, he had no tail however which struck her as odd. The Pegasus was a guard as whoever they were had armour covering their hooves, shoulder and wings along with a smoothly rounded helmet similar to the other guards but this one lacked the iconic blue mane poking out of it. Shining had stopped talking and the small guard saluted and Shining left the throne room. Celestia simply stood there waiting for something to happen. The small guard made his way to Celestia's throne. Upon closer inspection she realized he had golden eyes. He immediately bowed and introduced himself. " Vice captain Gideon reporting for duty your highness." The colt's voice was shockingly deep but not so deep as to mistake him for a much larger pony. " Ive been ordered to take Captain Shining Armour's place on a assignment. Permitting you allow such an action of course your highness." Celestia stood up and descended down to the bottom of the throne. The stallion was still bowing when she made it to the bottom. " Rise." The small colt looked up and stood at attention, his face serious and eye's furrowed. Celestia smiled at the thought of him protecting herself and Luna., Well this ought to be interesting" Gideon your name was it? Take a walk with me, I have some questions to a ask you." Celestia was now walking towards the balcony with Gideon trailing along. " Tell me Gideon" she said with a heavy sigh," What makes you qualified to take the place of captain Shining Armour?" " Well your highness to be honest im not qualified to be in your presence let alone take on an assignment meant for the captain. The only combat experience I have is fending off monsters of chaos and changelings." " Only discord's minions and changelings?" Celestia said with a slight chuckle. By now both of them were on the balcony overlooking Canterlot. There was a silence as the two overlooked the beauty of Canterlot's city and Luna's night. " Strange." " Your majesty?" " How come ive never seen you before?, in fact, why wasn't i aware that Shining Amour had a vice captain?" " Well it might have something to do with the fact that i was hired during Discord's attack so I didn't really get a chance to fill out the paperwork;Technically im not on the payroll. There was a pause,and then both of them erupted in a mild laughter. Trying to catch her breath she spoke;" well you better get a move on." " So you're letting me go?" "The next train for Ponyville leaves in about an hour and unless you want to take a cannon i suggest you get a move on." Celestia had a small smile on her face but still focused on watching the city. " I...I will leave at once, but um mam how will I blend into the town's populace. I don't know anypony in Ponyville?" Celestia turned and began to walk towards Gideon. " Oh not to worry I will arrange you quarter and an alibi." " Very well your majesty." Gideon made his way out of the throne room and soon disappeared around a corner which lead to his quarters. Celestia immediately magicked a piece of parchment and quill and began to write something while chuckling to herself. While writing, the guard that had been sent to fetch Shining and Gideon peeked around her leg and snagged a look at what she was writing. Celestia picked up on this, " You know thats an invasion of privacy right?" She said it in a playful voice. The amour clad soldier in question looked like any other guard, mane fitted helmet with armour covering his hooves and wings. With a smile of his own he spoke his soft deep voice. "Your highness Ive worked here for years and if there is one thing I learned its that if you truly didn't want me to see this, id most likely be on the moon right now. However you do know that in order for this to check out, somepony will have to..." " Oh im well aware of what must be done in order for this to work. In fact im looking forward to it." " I think its highly unnecessary." His voice just as playful as Celestia's, only with a touch of stallion." If I recall you personally know this Kickback don't you?" His tone as teasing as a sibling. Before all the blood in her body could rush to her head, Celestia sought to change the subject. " Necessary or not im doing it and that's that." Celestia rolled up the scroll and placed her seal upon it. Still holding the letter via magic she faced the guard and spoke, " Now come along, we have a train to catch, and the walk from here to the station is quite a journey." With a sigh the guard responded with a simple " as you wish." After a series of unsuccessful teleportaitons, Celestia and her escort arrived at the train station, the guard's amour covered in soot and Celestia's mane standing straight up. " I told you we should have taken the carriage" barked the guard. "Oh hush now its nothing some spit and cloth cant fix. Now where is that Gideon fellow ? The train leaves in ten minutes. If he's late ill have him moonside in a second." " You would really do that to somepony for being late?" " Of course not , I would most likely launch them out of the wonderbolt stunt cannon; oh where is he!" " Well that explains those random booms , I thought they were just my flashbacks coming and going." It was just then that Gideon had arrived and began to look for his train when he heard somepony calling out his name. Lets see, seat number 105MM, MM? The hell does that mean? Wheres a conductor when you need one. Wait.. whose that? He recognized the voice calling him as that of his princess. " Your highness?" He called out. Celestia soon caught sight of Gideon, it wasn't that hard to be honest. He was the only pony at the station besides her with a white coat , also the fact that he had all of his gear on might have made it easier to spot him. Despite Canterlot's strange fashion craze of new things, toting military breastplates wasn't in that season. " Gideon there you are, Ive been searching all over this station for you." Her tone resembling that of Rarity's drama queen voice. " No she hasn't, she's just been here calling out your name and nothing more." The guard's tone of voice was betraying how tired he was, soon it would be time for Celestia to raise the sun. " He he, well not to be rude but the train does leave in 5 minutes." " Oh yes here, take this scroll. In it contains the details for your mission. you are not to look at it until you reach Ponyville, understood." " Yes sir, um i do have one ques..." Not more than a second after Gideon spoke Celecstia's hoof made contact with his face with enough force to render him unconscious. " Is he out cold already?" the guard asked somewhat shocked at how hard his princess could punch. " Hmph, now then, take off his clothes will you, not very stealthy to have him running around with his armour." " You realize that everypony here just saw you hit him right?" He was right; everypony nearby had stopped what they were doing if they hadn't already when Celestia arrived. All of their jaws were now sharing theirs coat's color with the ground. " Well aren't you going to say something?" " Why me? I just stripped a stallion in public ; and now i have to explain why the sun princess clocked him in the face?" " The moon is lovely this time of year don't you think?" " Fine", with a grunt the guard stepped forward to address the still amassing crowd. "Greetings citizens...this uh, altercation is just um.. a game. Yes that's it; a game, and its called uhh Alicorn tag yeah and instead of a simple nudge you have to punch your opponent in the face in order to not be it anymore. The crowd stood silent for a minute but the sound of a last boarding call quickly snapped them out of their trance and the bustle that was the train station quickly resumed itself. "Alicorn tag, really?" "Oh can we just hurry up please, im tired." The princess and her escort arrived at Gideon's train with the guard dragging him by some rope. They then threw unconscious guard into the train and Celestia put the scroll into a satchel and magicked it on Gideon's body. " That could have gone better" Said the guard; eyelids becoming heavier with each step. " I agree, next time we launch him out of the cannon." The two began to make the long walk back to the castle; both too tired to realize that they could just teleport there instead. As a conductor moved an unconscious Gideon to his seat; the sound of the engine roaring became louder and the train groaned. Soon the carriage was being pulled forward, while the passengers prepared for a quiet ride to Ponyville. Chapter 5Kickback woke up when he felt the sting of the sun on his face. His head was throbbing but he wasn't sure why. He looked at the ceiling; just thinking about what he had gotten himself into. He moved one of his legs to scratch an itch, only to have it tugged away by the hoof cuff. He gave a deep sigh only to have the warmth of his breath wrap around his mouth, as if something was blocking him from exhaling freely. It struck him as odd and so he gave himself a quick look; only to growl at what he saw. All over his body was medical tape featuring Star swirl the bearded. The only area that didn't feature the iconic beard and hat was the slit where his eyes were. He tried to wriggle the tape off but whoever did it also stuffed his mane and tail in there too and only caused him pain in movement. He couldn't yell either; any attempt he made to make a coherent sentence came out as a loud grumble. Between one of his mumbled rants, he heard the faint sound of ponies talking in the halls. One voice stuck out in particular. Oh no it cant be her; wait. Now I remember oh yeah, thats how all this tape crap got on me. It was then that the door swung open and in came a caramel colored doctor with nurse Red Heart trailing behind. At the sight of each other both Red Heart and Kick furrowed their eyebrows, but Red Heart had a wide grin on her face. " Now lets see, Kickback you.... thats.. new." Of course he was referring to Kick's outfit of beards and wizard hats." How did this happen? " I cant say I know doctor, but it looks like he doesn't mind, why don't we just leave him in there for awhile?" The doctor sighed " Nurse Red Heart for the last time; please stop terrorizing the patients in their sleep. Not everypony is what they appear to be. For all you know he could be a famous celebrity or a wonderbolt ." Not bad Doc; if Kick's mouth wasn't covered a smile of relief would have been visible to all. Seems that not everypony around here is crazy " Now please untie him, Ms Sparkle will be here any minute to pick him up. The last thing I need is for her to poke around the hospital and point out our "inefficiencies" and annoy the patients with her studies." With a frown Red Heart began to undo the tape binding Kick's mouth. Once free he immediately began to yell at the nurse. " What the hell is wrong with you lady! You cant just go around tying up people in a hospital, especially if you work here. I ought to..." Kick was cut off by a swift hoof to the face rendering him unconscious. "Was that necessary nurse?" "For his own safety I believe it was." The two shared a chuckle and a security pony came in to undo Kick's cuffs. Once Kick was free the guard threw him over his back and they all made their way to the lobby.Twilight had arrived at the hospital some time later, and was greeted by a large security pony with an unconscious Pegasus on his back. " Ms Sparkle?" "Yes?" "I believe this is yours", and with that said the guard promptly bucked Kick off of him and into the ceiling. He was there for a few seconds until he finally detached and fell flat on his head. Twilight gave the guard a look, witch caused him to whistle and trot away. She heard a groan and realized it was emanating from the stallion in front of her. " I'm probably gonna have brain damage by the time I'm done here." Kick was sitting and rubbing his head." So who are you pretty lady?" Twilight was smiling, " Its good to see you again Kick." " How do you know my name?" " You don't remember me? We took classes together at Canterlot University ." "Nah" " What! How can you not remember the time when you made paper airplanes out of an entire notebook and threw them all over class and managed to hit me in the eye twice?" " OH; Twilight? Now I remember you. Yeah you got so mad about that and turned me into a turtle for an hour and threw me into a biology class. The scars still haven't healed." The two reminisced on the lobby floor for awhile until a nurse asked them to stop blocking the route to the emergency room; so the two decided to take a walk around Ponyville instead. They passed all the most well know locations in Ponyville such as, Sugar cube corner and the apple farm; which took them some time to go around. They shared old stories of Kick terrorizing Twilight during school and how she punished him with near death experiences. " Good times" Said Kick with a deep sigh."Everything's all about work now though. Which is fine since I enjoy what I do. What about you; what you been up to, last I heard you lived in Canterlot's library like some evil troll thing." " Oh ha ha Kick, well if you must know I'm in Ponyville to learn about friendship. Among other things which all come down to my love of my friends." " Never thought I would hear you talk about anypony that way besides your brother. No offense but you didn't seem to have any friends during school; at least none that I could see. Maybe you befriended a clan of invisible dragons?" Both of them chuckled. " Well now that you mention it, I do remember hearing strange voices during lunch." " So why are you here right now and not with your friends? I'm sure you'd rather be with them than catching up with me." " Actually thats why I'm here; it seems you're here to scout one of my friends for the Wonderbolts." The two were now outside Twilight's library . "Something like that I guess, what is this place anyways?" "This is the Ponyville library and its also my house." "You live in a library? My head hurts to much for me to be surprised, speaking of that would you happen to have an ice pack in there?" A very noticeable bump began to form on Kick's head."Yeah no problem let me open the door." Kick was sinking into one of the beanbag chairs lying around; with a pack of ice resting on his head. Twilight sat across from him in a wooden chair,sipping a cup of tea. "So Kick." "Yeah?" "Earlier when you said "something like that", what did you mean? Are you here to recruit Rainbow Dash or not? Wait a minute how did you even become a scout?" "I just met the right people I guess, I don't really know why I became one; but I enjoy it so thats that. As for Rainbow Dash; I'm here to scout her. Weather the Wonderbolts accept her comes down to how well she preforms at the academy. Although I'm pretty sure she should have no problem getting in." " You say that as though she were already a Wonderbolt. What makes you so sure she wont have a hard time?" "uhhhh, call it a hunch. " Twilight stared at Kick suspiciously; she didn't trust the fact that he said he had a "hunch". She had a good reason not to trust that phrase when it came out of his mouth. Last time she heard him say that was when she overheard him telling his friends that he was sure he would ace a test. They asked him why he was so confident, and he told them it was a "hunch"; ten minutes into the test Twilight had stretched her already sore neck only to see kick with a folded up piece of paper on his lap. Normally she would just ignore cheaters and leave them to their fate; but in Kick's case she felt like she could have some fun. With a small amount of effort she had cast a spell on the paper making it stick to any surface it touched. Kick spent a good part of the allotted time just trying to unfold the page and look at the answers. By the time everypony had been told to turn in their test; Kick was busy trying to detach his wing from the paper. This little memory made Twilight chuckle; so much so that she couldn't hear the faint gasps of Kick trying to breath as he sunk down deeper into the bean chair."Twi...light.." "Huh? Oh my, hang on Kick ill get you out of there!" Twilight got up spilling her tea and teleported Kick out of the bag and onto a nearby rug. The two shared a sigh of relief for a few seconds until Kick smelt something burning. The tea was close enough to the fireplace and his tail to cause a fire. He looked at his tail and immediately began to run all over the library flailing his burning tail around. Twilight screamed and began to cast a spell on him, as her magic bolt made contact with him the fire vanished. For a few seconds at least; when it came back his mane and tail were on fire. Spike came down stairs to investigate the noise, only to have his jaw drop at what he saw. A stallion was running around the the library on fire spreading the flames, and Twilight was panicking reading her safety "know how to" books. He composed himself and ran over to a nearby lever and pulled down with all his might; and as soon as he pulled it down the buildings sprinkler system began to go about putting out the fires, and eventually Kick.Spike had collapsed form exhaustion since the lever was designed to be pulled by either magic or a stallion as large as Big Mac. It was during this return to peace that the door to the library opened; revealing a cyan Pegasus mare. "Hey Twi did you pick up that sc...the hay happened here?" Rainbow stood puzzled as her scout was covered in ash and appeared to have had his mane and tail almost burned off. Twilight was lying on the floor covered in books and soaked from the still ongoing sprinkler system. Spike was on the floor either sleeping or unconscious. " You know what it doesn't matter hey you uh, Kickback right?" " That's right?" " Now that Im done with weather duty for the day; mind if I talk to you about Wonderbolt stuff? Oh and if you don't mind could you sign some things? Rainbow had a sack around her bulging with Wonderbolt memorabilia." You don't know my name and you want me to sign to stuff. I'm not even on the team." "I don't want you signing anything until you clean yourself up, no way I'm letting you in my house covered in that stuff." Rainbow was gesturing to all of the ash covering his coat; Twilight took a moment to compose herself."I'll get on that as soon as I help clean this place up; would be rude of me to nearly burn down Twilight's house and not help fix it. " No its OK Kick; I wouldn't want to get in your way of recruiting Rainbow." " Are you sure? Because its no big deal." " I'm sure sure, you two go." Kick decided that Twilight wouldn't be changing her mind soon; so he choose to just comply rather than argue with her. He made his way to what he hoped was the bathroom and not some closet filled with random junk; but hopes are for the weak. As soon as he opened the door a large box fell out landing on his back nearly squishing him. By Celestia this town is a death trap! Kick managed to slide the box off his body and pack into the closet, this time placing it on the floor. " Hey Twi wheres your bathroom?" " Upstairs first door on the left, oh and watch your step please; I don't want you stepping on Spike.""Thanks." While Kick went upstairs to clean himself up Twilight got to work cleaning up the mess of burned and soaked books lying around. Rainbow grabbed a broom and began to help by sweeping the ashes into a pile; the two worked for a good while before Kick came back down. By the time he had, they were almost done, all that was left was for Twilight to cast a spell that would repair the books with the ashes." What do you want me to do with this little dragon fella?" " You can just put Spike on the couch over there." After doing so Kick looked at Rainbow and they both nodded at each other signaling that they were ready to depart. As they were walking out the door Twilight spoke Kicks name; saying that she forgot to give him something, and magicked a scroll out of nowhere and gave it to him. He instantly threw it into Rainbows sack and told a surprised Twilight that he doesn't like opening letters in public and that he would "deal with it later". After Rainbow said Goodbye to Twilight Kick turned to take flight only to stop when he heard Rainbow clear her throat. " Aren't you forgetting something Kick?" " What is there something wrong with my hair?"" Aren't you going to say bye to Twilight? I thought you two were like old friends or something?" " We are; which is why she knows that I never say goodbye, I don't like goodbyes. The few times I do say them are by mistake or I truly mean it." "What do you mean?" Rainbow had raised a curious brow. "He doesn't like goodbyes, because to him it means he will never see that pony again. So instead he just says something like see you later or most of the time he doesn't say anything at all; that way well at least to him, it seems like he never left." "OK...well thanks Twilight but we gotta get going." Without waiting for a reply Rainbow took off dragging Kick by his bandanna. " I can fly you know!" " Sorry but im kind of in a hurry." After dragging Kick for half a mile Rainbow arrived at her cloud mansion. She turned around to see that kick had acquired a beard of clouds along the way but he didn't seem to notice. She couldn't help herself; she immediately began o laugh in such a way that Kick thought she might be having some kind of a seizure. As soon as Rainbow composed herself she unlocked her door and walked in gesturing Kick with a wave to follow. The first that surprised Kick was how big the house was compared to how it looked on the outside. The house was beautiful on the outside but it did no justice to what lay indoors. Elaborate columns adorned the many arches that defined Rainbows cloud home." How does a weather pony pay for this?" His eyes widened when he realized he said that aloud; he cast a frightening glance to Rainbow who surprisingly didn't seem to be mad. "I didn't mean it that way its just...." "No its ok, its actually a funny story; I got all of my furniture for free pretty much and I used the bits I saved to fix up the house into what it is today. Originally it was a one bedroom cloud house with a simple kitchen and bathroom, and an old rainbow fountain. I had saved up money ever since I was a filly and put hundred of the bits I earned from chores or odd jobs into a bunch of jars labeled "first house", and thats how I paid for the mansion's renovations. As for how I got all the furniture and beds and almost everything not bolted into the walls for free; well some pony just gave them to me. I was shopping for a lamp and on my way out of one of Ponyville's shops when I came out see an earth stallion in a business suit running around screaming my name and tightly holding a briefcase. I had just moved into Ponyville about a week ago so I didn't really know anypony; save for Pinkie Pie, but she kind of found me when I got there. I walked over to the stallion and told him who I was; turns out he was an old friend of my father's and that the briefcase he was holding was for me. As soon as he hoofed over the case he took off towards the train station screaming at me to not open the case until I got home. I didn't get much time to talk to the stallion, not even his name, he spoke and I listened and it was all over in less than a minute. So I stood in front of the town hall for awhile thinking about what just happened and decided to just go home and deal with it later. Later on as I was getting ready to go to sleep I felt something poking me in the back and remembered that the case was still there. I grabbed the case and decided to just open it and see what was in the stupid thing; when I did I was blinded by the light reflecting from all the bits stored in there. I was surprised that the case wasn't as heavy as it should have been; but inside there was a scroll with my name written on the cover. I opened the letter and...oh wait I think I still have it; why don't you take a seat while I go get it." Kickback didn't have time to even ask her where her living room was before she bolted off into Celestia knows where. He decided to take this time to explore the cloud mansion; from room to room he wandered, the kitchen, workout room, rainbow waterfall, which was his favorite room. Very few cloud homes still had rainbow bird baths let alone an entire waterfall, he looked into the falls source and its small pool of colors and had a thought. I wonder what it taste like? Does blue taste like blueberries OH maybe yellow is banana. I'm sure Rainbow wont even notice let alone mind. What followed was a spectacular display of speed as Kick darted out of the room and around the mansion searching for something to remove the spicy pain that his tongue was being subjected to. After what seemed like hours( in reality he running for about ten minutes) Kick accomplished nothing and found himself laying down in a long hallway; panting and suffering from a lack of oxygen. He looked around and spotted a wooden door large in size compared to the others in the mansion and it had a very large symbol on it. It looked familiar to him; and needless to say he has never forgot anything ever since he forgot to raise his hoof to speak during one of Twilight's presentations. He got up to investigate the door and realized that the symbol was that of the wonderbolts. He looked around to see if Rainbow was near and sure enough, he could hear her calling out his name. He had to find out what made the contents that lye beyond that door worth a door so massive. However now was not the time seeing as Rainbow had spotted him and was flying through the hall at breathtaking speeds. "Where have you been, Ive been looking all over the place for you? Come on I don't wanna keep my friend waiting and I found the letter if you still want to read it." "This place is massive; how often do people get lost around here? I wasn't here for more than five minutes and I ended up nearly getting killed by your rainbow fountain." "You drank out of the fountain? I mean its not the first time some pony has; one of my friends did about a month ago and her tongue turned rainbow colored for a week; It helped her sell cupcakes though." "Will my tongue turn rainbow like you? I mean not that its a bad thing...I mean I like your mane, it looks good on you you uhhh; I think I'm ready to see that letter." Rainbow led Kick through her maze of a home and back to the living room where she had two mugs of hot chocolate waiting next to an old scroll; along with pink a maned mare sitting sitting on the couch. Before they were within hearing distance of the mare Kick leaned over to ask Rainbow who she was; to which Rainbow replied" Shes one of my best friends, and her is name Fluttershy; so be nice or else. Kick took the warning about as seriously has had Twilight's in the past. The two sat and Kick introduced himself to Fluttershy who seemed to be very nervous. Apparently Fluttershy was there just to chat with Rainbow. Rainbow hoofed Kick the scroll to read while she and Fluttershy left to the kitchen taking with them the two mugs. The scroll had obvious signs of being exposed to the harsh conditions that was Rainbow's cabinet. Kick decided that he might as well solve the mystery of how a weather pony could afford such a lavish home. " My Dear Dashie If you are reading this then You've finally grown up and moved out of the house. I know its scary at first but trust me; nothing tops that time that I visited a rock farmer and his daughter nearly gave me a heart attack with one of her welcoming parties. To this day your mother questions why I even bothered going there but between you and me I prefer the rural life over the city. However the city is not without its benefits; when you were born I was so happy that I ran outside the hospital jumping and flying with Joy, so much so that a local hobo asked me if I was a mental ward escapee. I replied no but between the laughs I doubt he believed me. The poor colt was still young, in the prime of his life I would say; and here he was spending it begging for bits. Now I couldn't simply let something like this go by on your birthday! After all it was a time to celebrate and I knew what this colt was going through; so I decided to sit down and talk with the young lad. I got him up on his hooves and asked him if he had any dreams. To my delight he replied yes, of course I asked him what they were and he responded by saying that he wanted to be a doctor, and a fashion designer , and an engineer, the list was endless; and by the time I thought he was done; he took a deep breath and I didn't have it in me to listen to the rest so I cut him off by shoving my hoof in his mouth. I looked him in the eyes and I could see that this young lad was truly serious about everything he was saying; so i made a decision that your mother has never let me live down until now. I took out my checkbook and made it out to this colt whose name I never got; in fact to this day I still don't know him, Id like to think it was something memorable like Prince Consuela Banana Hammock or something of the sorts. I basically gave this stranger who I have never met before all of my life savings. The young colt was so happy that he asked my name and I told him to which he replied that he has every intention of paying me back and then some. However I already had the most valuable thing in the world; you. So I told him not to worry about it. I never heard from the colt again until the day of your graduation when he sent me a letter saying that he would like to meet me. I agreed and we arranged a meeting at a wonderbolts show, I hardly remembered who this colt was and let alone what he looked like so you can imagine finding him through the crowd of ponies was a very difficult task. Thankfully i didn't have to; the kid found me and he had one of his escorts or bodyguards, I don't remember, take me up to his box seat. he immediately greeted me with a hug and offered me a drink, I declined seeing as how I had to be at your graduation thirty minutes ago; so I got straight to the point and asked him why he wanted to meet. he said that he had spent over a year trying to find me so he could return a favor; one that he said was long over due. My memory instantly returned and I realized where this was going, and I think he picked up on it. He took out several briefcases, and opened them. I almost lost all ability to breath at the sight of all the bits. He said that he had finally managed to complete everything on his list accept for one thing and asked if I would help finish this last task. I said sure without really giving a second though and by this time I was almost an hour late to your graduation and I could already hear your mother fuming from across Cloudsdale. He said that the only thing he had not been able to accomplish on his list was task of asking me a question. " Ask away" I said ; surprised that this is what he wanted my help with. "Why did you help me" he said; I looked at him with a surprised " Most ponies would have laughed off the my list of dreams; but not you... why?" " You've just answered your question." " I...Have?" "I helped you because you had dreams, you had goals, you had passion. I helped you because I wanted to set an example for my daughter; to make a statement that beautiful things like her can happen everyday on any scale. In succeeding you have already repaid me, but if you don't mind I have a favor to ask of you." Of course anything for you!" ' These massive amounts of bits that lay before me you initially intended on giving them to me right?" " Of course," " well do you mind giving them to my daughter instead, she's graduation from high school today and I have a feeling she will be moving out soon seeing as how she has been looking at real estate in Ponyville." " Say no more ill have the briefcases delivered to her the day she moves to her new home, just tell me when and where and how much." The stallion looked at me with teary eyes and said to me," Its great to see you again, truth be told there were times when i was willing to give up but your act of kindness motivated to push my limits and achieve my goals; and for that I thank you." I gave the lad a hug and took off towards your school hoping that your mother wouldn't kill me on sight." My hoof hurts right now Dashie and quite frankly you know the rest, this treasure trove of bits is for you and your new life in Ponyville. I just know you'll be a Wonderbolt ; I know this because like that young stallion you have a dream. Dreams aren't cheap though; so take these bits and get to work. I believe in you; but what matters most is that you believe in yourself. Take care sweetie, I love you." Kick put the scroll down in amazement, I cant believe that this guy wrote all that down in one sitting. I got tired just from reading that thing. Wait he said briefcases, sweet Celestia this mare is probably loaded! He could hear the two mares in the kitchen laughing and giggling; he decided that it was time for him to leave seeing as how Luna's moon was due to rise soon. He went to the kitchen to say bye only to see Fluttershy crying which concerned him greatly; seeing as how a few seconds ago they were laughing. " Is everything all right?" He asked. Yeah I juts got done telling Fluttershy here who you were and why you're here." " Then why is she crying?" " I'm just so happy thats all." Her response so soft and subtle Kick almost missed it. " Well if you ladies don't mind; I need to check into a hotel and seeing as how I don't know my way around here, I should probably try to find one before it gets dark." Fluttershy gasped and faced Rainbow," Oh rainbow you cant let him go out all alone looking for a hotel at this hour! he might get lost or wander into the Everfree forest or get lost AND wander into the Everfree forest. Why not let him stay in one of the guest rooms?" " No really, its no big deal I can ju.." Rainbow stuffed a nearby cloud cake into his mouth and spoke. "No guest of mine is going to stay at a hotel when I have a perfectly good guest room somewhere in this place. Besides I'm sure seeing as how Fluttershy is here I don't have much of a choice." After swallowing what he could of the cake and coughing up the rest Kick managed to get a thank you out before Rainbow and Fluttershy began to walk out of the Kitchen. He looked to see if they could still see him and once he decided that the coast was clear; he turned to the cake and eyed it mischievously. Fluttershy had left and Rainbow returned to Kick so she could show him to his room for the night. She expected to come back to the kitchen and see Kick waiting for her; but instead she came back to see him completely devouring the cloud cake. She stood still watching him for awhile; and it took him a good while to notice her standing there. " umph..agh...hofe...foo arnt.. mag" His words barely audible due to the massive cake that was only halfway into his mouth. Rainbow looked at him and began to laugh; so much so that Kick to laughed from sheer nervousness and partially for the sake of laughing. After swallowing he tried to ask her why she was laughing; she replied in between breaths" You eat... just like him!"
Chapter 1Inspiration of Loyalty Ponyville’s weather forecasts were carried out with extreme precision, earning the weather team the grand title of “Best Weather Team in Equestria” which was bestowed by princess Celestia herself. The ceremony had been held in Canterlot and by Celestia was it grand, and each Pegasus had received a golden plaque bearing their names in raised letters and an enclosed envelope that the held the offer of a lifetime. In each envelope lie a letter that dropped the jaws of everypony who read it. It was an offer for a spot on the new Canterlot weather team. Princess Luna had convinced her sister that a weather team as efficient as Ponyville’s would help ease the burden of running a kingdom by dealing with pesky matters such as weather. However both secretly viewed weather management in Canterlot as a chore and were content with paying a team of capable Pegasi to handle the matter for them. However the two quickly came across a problem. There simply was no weather team as efficient as Ponyville’s in all of Equestria. No matter how good a city or towns weather reports were, they just never seemed to match the reports coming from Ponyville, and Canterlot was such an uptight city that they could not afford to have stray clouds lying about. Lest they feel the wrath of Equestrias’ most elite complain that the a cloud is blocking their perfect view of the Canterlot City Bank. This problem plagued them for many days until one star filled night a certain princess of the night had an idea. Sister, sister! All the sleeping sun goddess could do before an excited Luna busted through her door was scream and hide under covers. Ahhhh! Sister you must wake up you’ll….. That’s rather foolish don’t you think? The now awake sun goddess soon realized her current state as that of a school filly. Blushing madly she got out of bed and composed herself as well as any princess could while wearing Starswirl the bearded pajamas. Well I doubt that completely destroying ones door and interrupting her slumber is any better. The princess of the night glanced over her shoulder and soon realized the extent of the damage caused by her entrance. The door was completely off its hinges and lied on the ground in several hundred pieces while the frame was littered with cracks. Blushing, the young princess turned to face a chuckling sun goddess. I…I’m sorry, I just couldn’t contain my excitement and well….I might have gotten a little carried away. Do not worry sister, it is only a door. Are….are you sure? Yes now I believe that you wanted to tell me something? Immediately Luna’s demeanor changed form one of remorse to one of excitement as she remembered her purpose for destroying her sisters’ door and invading her privacy. Ah yes, I finally think that I’ve found a solution to our weather problem. You have? Yes I believe I do, it’s so simple in fact, and I’m a little embarrassed that it wasn’t our first choice. Well go on sister I would love to hear it. Well as you might recall over the past few days we have been having problems finding a capable team of Pegasi that could match Ponyville’s own weather team. Well while looking over some reports an idea crossed my mind. If we can’t find a team as good as Ponyville’s then why don’t we take Ponyville’s! It took Celestia a good moment to let what Luna had said sink in. However her initial reaction was one of shock rather than excitement. Take! Sister do you mean to tell me that you would be willing to ponynap our own citizens because we do not wish to do our chores? I must say I’m surprised that even you would suggest such a thing. What? No I mean why don’t we try to convince the weather team from Ponyville to come and join ours. Perhaps we could offer them a sizeable sum of bits and a lavish lifestyle in exchange for their services or maybe…….Wait, you truly think that I would suggest such a horrid thing as ponynaping? Celestia’s cheeks were now a shade of red that would put Big Macintosh to shame. Well...I...uh how about we talk about this another time when both of us have clearer heads? There was a slight pause until Luna spoke. I suppose that would be best. Goodnight sister. Goodnight sister. With her sister returning to her nightly duties Celestia turned to face her bed and chuckle at the thought of her as a school filly. Over the course of the next few days the two princesses had finalized their plan to convince Ponyville’s weather team to come to Canterlot. They had both decided that the weather team was to be offered a substantial amount of bits and private rooms in Canterlot Castle. Along with many other perks such as royal discounts at stores and free tickets to the grand galloping gala and even private dinners with the Princesses. They decided to unveil their proposal to the weather team during the ceremony of the “Best Weather Team in Equestria.” It was decided almost a week prior that Ponyville would be the recipient and the sisters thought the perfect time to act. They had plenty of time to prepare their little speech seeing as how the event was a month away. Line breaker So here we are again, in the Canterlot Castle Ball room surrounded by a plethora of Pegasi, mouth agape and eyes widened by the letter that lay in their hooves.. Luna sensing the shock in everypony, decided to break the moment of silence. Ladies and gentilecolts of the Ponyville weather team, before you lie’s the offer of a lifetime. As you are all aware Canterlots’ weather is managed by Celestia and I using our magic. However we must also manage a kingdom as well, and cannot always attend to something as small as weather. That is why Celestia and I have decided to form Canterlots first ever weather team! However, Canterlot is the most prestigious city in all of Equestria and deserves the best that the kingdom has to offer. With that being said, no other weather team in all of Equestria comes close to the skills displayed by Ponyvilles own weather team. So on behalf of Princess Celestia and myself, we cordially invite the Ponyville weather team to come to Canterlot and be a part of its first weather team ever! Celestia, sensing that her sister had spoken her part flew down gracefully from their small balcony overlooking the ball room. Celestia had always found speaking to her subjects from higher ground to be a bit discomforting. If there was anything she valued more than the happiness of her subjects it was how they perceived her. She despises the expectations placed on her which force her to detour from showing any real emotion. Deep down she was a Pony like them, she felt happiness, anger and even sadness just as they do, but yet she cannot express her emotions the same way her subjects do. She shrugs the thought off for there is a room full of ponies to attend to. My loyal subject’s what my sister says is true. We are looking to create a weather team for Canterlot, and we decided that the perfect ponies for the job would be Ponyvilles’ own weather team. I can assure you that if any of you accept this offer than you shall not regret it. You will all be paid ten times your current salary and will even reside within Canterlot Castle. Please do consider this offer for….. The sun goddess was cut off when she realized that no pony seemed to show any interest in what she was saying. They were all looking at her but not a single one even attempted to feign interest in their proposal. Does anypony here understand what Luna and I are offering? Celestia was not irritated for she knew what it was like to be forced to listen to something one would otherwise ignore. Well… we don’t mean to be rude your highness's but Ponyville has always been there for us. Sure it may not be as classy as Canterlot but then again we aren’t classy ponies, and well…our captain would have our heads if she found out that we were leaving Ponyville for fame and fortune. Your captain? Yes your highness, she’s the reason why we’re here. If it hadn’t been for her, the Ponyville weather team wouldn’t be where it is today. Who is this captain? Ahem Celestia turned to the source of the noise and found a cyan Pegasus beaming proudly with her chest out. That would be me your highness. Rainbow? I had no idea that you were the captain of Ponyvilles’ weather team. Really? Cuz I’m pretty sure I mentioned it the last time we spoke which was probably at the wedding? I must not have been paying very good attention and for that I am sorry. Don’t worry about it princess, whats this I hear about you trying to steal my weather team for Canterlot? Princess Celestia chuckled at Rainbows choice of words. While I assure you Rainbow that your team is good, they are not so good as to drive a princess to theft. I can also see that your sense of loyalty seems to have rubbed off on your team. He he I guess so huh? By now everypony had stopped listening and returned to the festivities, and a curious Luna sensing that her sisters speech and most likely her own went unnoticed, flew down to her sister and Rainbow so as not to be the odd one out. Hello everypony, did I miss anything? Not at all Luna I was just talking to Rainbow Dash here. She’s the captain of the Ponyville weather team and… And the bearer of the element of loyalty too if I’m not mistaken? Yeah that would be me. So why do you two even need a weather team for Canterlot, I thought that you two can just use magic to manage it. Both Alicorns exchanged a nervous glance as they decide whether they should tell Rainbow their true reason for assembling a weather team. Luna began to mutter a response but was cut off by one of Celestia’s hooves jabbing her side. Ahem, well if you must know Rainbow Luna and I are not only in charge of the sun and moon but the kingdom of Equestria as well, and… Celestia soon received a night blue hoof to the ribcage as Luna jumped in to salvage what she could. What my sister means to say is that no other city in Equestria has their weather controlled by magic and we don’t want to play favorites. Isn’t that right sister! Celestia was too busy rubbing her side to notice Luna’s remark. Even though I’m older she can still punch harder than me. Who can punch harder than you? Are you two in some kind of pony fight club! What? No Rainbow I assure Luna nor I are in a …Pony fight club. Ahem, Both Rainbow and Celestia turned to face a serious Luna. Has something happened sister? Yeah did I do something wrong? With a heavy sigh Luna lowered her head and looked at the ground. No you two haven’t done anything wrong; I’m just a little upset that not a single pony accepted our offer. I don’t think I’ve ever been rejected before? This whole weather team thing really means that much to you two huh? Yes, Luna and I desperately wanted this to work and are a little saddened to see it fall apart. Well I wish I could help but I could never leave Ponyville especially for a place like Canterlot, no offense but this city is full of…. Before Rainbow could finish her sentence Luna turned her gaze from the floor to Rainbow with a wide smile that even Pinkie would have a hard time trying to beat. Rainbow! What I was only gonna say uptight? No not that I mean you can help us! I can? She can? Um your highness's I think it would be best if you take your conversation to a more…private place don’t you think? Celestia turned to face the guard that had addressed her only to see over his shoulder the irises of every Pony in the room. Nervously she asked. Guard, where are you posted? The front gate your highness, the commander heard someone shout “Rainbow” and sent me to investigate. Uh Celestia. Yes Rainbow? The front gate is all the way on the other side of the castle isn’t it? I...I think so, guard is this true? Yes mam, the only reason I arrived in such record time was because of my magic. As the guard left, Rainbow and Celestia turned to a blushing Luna. She laughed nervously as she spoke. He he well I believe he has a point perhaps we should go to the throne room to discuss this further? Yes that will do nicely, would you be so kind as to oblige us Rainbow? Sure why not. Line breaker The walk two the throne room lasted only ten minutes, and then the grand doors opened to an even grander room. Paving the way as some sort of road was a golden rug with dark blue outlines; the ceiling was littered in images which depicted Equestrias history featuring the two princesses more than once. To the left of the entrance was a large dining table made of everfree, a mysterious tree in the dark forest that went extinct some two hundred years ago. The table held many plates and dishes as though a feast was to happen at any moment. Behind the table was an archway that lead to a balcony overlooking Canterlot Castle gardens. However as beautiful and majestic these things seemed, none even compared to the thrones of the Deities. Two thrones stood next to each other both very different, but complimented each other perfectly. Lunas’ throne was dark shade of violet with matching armrest that curled down in a spiral form. The chairs design resembled a toilet with a wide lumbar support and the actual chair part was a mystery as a continuous fog streamed form it and gave who ever sat there a “floating” effect and the lumbar was cushioned with dark storm clouds. Princess Celestia’s throne was colored a golden yellow and its armrest were flat with shining orbs at the end, whenever she was alone in the throne room she would open the orbs which contained cider so strong that even the apple family couldn’t compete with it. The lumbar support was the same style as Lunas and reclined all the way as for the part where She sits, it was a cushion made up of clouds. Now Luna I believe you had an idea. Yeah what was that all about back there? Well while you two were talking something one of the Pegasus said sparked an idea in me. That one Pegasus whose name I believe was blunder plane or something of the sort had said that without Rainbow the Ponyville weather team wouldn’t be where it is today. Yes I remember somepony saying that sister but I still don’t see your point. His name was Thunder Lane by the way, and I don’t see what this has to do with me. Don’t you see Rainbow? The only reason The Ponyville weather team is any good is because of you! Without you they would just be an adequate run of the mill weather team. You trained them to do the best they can and then some and you even inspired them with a sense of loyalty to Ponyville so strong that they even turned down an offer from Celestia and I. Sister what exactly are you suggesting? Yeah cuz you’re starting to creep me out a little. What I’m suggesting is that we offer Rainbow the opportunity to train a weather team for Canterlot! Celestia simply stood still with a monotone expression and turned to a confused Rainbow. Rainbows’ face betrayed her feelings of skepticism. Well now that I think about it, that doesn’t sound like a bad idea. What do you think Rainbow? Well…It sounds like a good offer but I’m needed in Ponyville your highnesses. Lunas expression changed from excitement to a serious yet amused tone. Oh do not worry Rainbow you would only be here to train the weather team and once they are ready you are free to go. What do you say? Rainbow if I may? Nah go ahead. While this is very sudden, I do hope that you will consider our offer. You will of course be compensated and Luna and I will personally oversee Ponyville’s weather in your absence. I’m sorry Celestia but no amount of bits could make me leave Ponyville, and no offense but I would much rather run the towns weather than somepony else. Oh Rainbow please reconsider, if there is anything that Celestia and I can give in exchange for your services please make it known. Luna! Celestia shot her sister a dirty glare, she too wanted one less chore to deal with but she didn’t want it so badly as to try and bribe the element of loyalty, not to mention a close friend of Twilights’. This is her decision Luna and we are to respect her choice and another thing… Well your highness's, there is one thing I’ve always wanted… Both Lunas’ and Celestias’ ears perked up and their heads turned to the cyan Pegasus. Ever since I was a filly I’ve kind of always wanted to be a wonder bolt. That's really the only reason i work so hard. So if you two could maybe... get me into the tryouts…then ill train your weather team. Luna stood dumbfounded and all she could mutter was Is that all? She once again found Celestia giving her a dirty look. Are you sure Rainbow? Is there nothing else you desire? Celestia asked, with a hint of astonishment in her tone. Luna was faring no better as her face betrayed her shock. Here they were, offering somepony the offer of a lifetime. Anything she wanted could be hers, yet Rainbow only desired something as simple as an audition for the wonderbolts. Luna found herself wondering why Rainbow had not asked for an actual spot on the team. She brought it up and Rainbow simply replied I don't want any special treatment and im afraid that the other members will think less of me if just asked for the spot without trying to get it. So do we have a deal? Celestia and Luna exchanged a quick glance and turned to Rainbow with wide smiles and even wider eyes, and in perfect unison the two Princesses responded. Deal!
Chapter 2It had been a week since the events at the Ceremony where Rainbow had agreed to train a weather team for Canterlot and she had arrived in Ponyville three days ago. She had yet to tell anyone of her friends about the events of the night that occurred in the throne room. If there was anything Rainbow hated it was seeing her friends sad. She couldn’t shake the feeling that by accepting the Princesses offer, she was somehow betraying her friends. She was lying in her bed in her luxurious cloud home, unable to sleep and aware that Luna’s moon would be out for a few more hours, she got up and made her way to the kitchen. Along the way she heard a what sounded like distant thunder but thought nothing of it. “Man how am I gonna tell everypony?” she thought aloud. She cast her thoughts aside as she poured herself a glass of water from a cloud pitcher, the cold liquid making it way down her parched throat, soothed her mind and her body. Well im sure ill figure something out, after all I am Rainbow… her thoughts were cut short by a loud crash and the sound of breaking glass. She quickly put her cup on a nearby cloud counter and cautiously moved towards the source of the noise. Much to her dismay she had no broom or lamp conveniently lying around to use as a weapon, at least none in her kitchen which received all its light from windows and the fridge. The one time I need a broom its not…The sound of something bumping into a wall behind her snapped her out of her thoughts and triggered an immediate reaction. Without even a second thought Rainbow randomly bucked behind her hitting something hard, sending a wave of pain through her left hoof. Great, just what I need, as much as she would have liked to tend to throbbing hoof her attention was needed elsewhere. Without considering the repercussions she called out into the darkness of her living room. “Hello? Is anypony there?” she could make out a broken window from the little light that the moon gave the room. Where is that switch, she began fumbling around the walls until Ah ha! There you are. Once she had found the switch she wasted no time in flipping the little bugger. At once a nearby lamp powered on and revealed a sight no pony could ever expect to be prepared for. Lying on the ground in her cyan drapes was a pegasus colt, unconscious and bleeding. Rainbow immediately yelped in surprise and terror at the sight of the injured colt. “What the hell!” As if her words were roars of thunder the colt awoke and clumsily jumped on all fours. “Wha huh ohhh”, and as quickly has he got up he passed out. A now stunned Rainbow simply stood as this colt lye unconscious on her floor with scratches all over him, obviously received from him breaking through her window. She sighed and spoke “I guess everything can get explained later”. She soon began to drag the colt outside and onto the steps leading into her house. By Celestia is he heavy, she thought as she struggled to get the colt nearly twice her size onto her back. “You better hope that nurse Red heart isn’t passed out on the front desk buddy” she said aloud to no one in particular. With a flap of her wings Rainbow began to make her way to Ponyville hospital, with a million questions in mind for a certain unconscious colt. “Oh my head agh ahh, where am I?” “You’re in Ponyville hospital” Said a pearl white pony with a nurse cap on. “And you are very lucky” “Lucky? Like lucky to be alive?” “No, lucky that Ms.Dash requested that you not be thrown in prison for breaking and entering!” “What? What the hell is going on here and, wait why the hell am I hoof cuffed to the bed!” As the mysterious colt began to lose his temper with the judgmental nurse a tall doctor entered the room confused as to what the situation was. “What on earth is going on here? Nurse Red heart, explain… The doctor stopped midsentence once he made eye contact with the colt. “Oh yes now I see, eh nurse would you be so kind as to leave the patient and I alone for a moment, patient confidentiality and what not.” Hesitantly the nurse replied, “of course doctor, I’ll be in the break room” and with a huff the disgruntled mare left the room. As soon as the nurse left the doctor turned to the colt with a wide casual smile on his face, “So I hear you broke into Ms.Dash’s home, why it’s not the smartest thing anypony could do I must say it’s one of the bravest things..” “What? No doc you got me all wrong, I didn’t break into anypony’s home.” “Are you sure?” That’s not what Ms Rainbow told me, she said you crashed through her window and…” he was cut off by a low cough emanating from what he believed to be the door. There stood a not too happy Rainbow Dash, her body soar from having to carry somepony twice her size across town in the middle of the night and then having to remain in the hospital for him to regain consciousness, unable to sleep in the uncomfortable chairs. In short her peaceful night was ruined and the cause was staring at her, with his hoofs cuffed to the bed. “If you don’t mind doc, I have a few questions I’d like to ask him” She gestured at the mysterious colt with her hoof. “Not at all Rainbow!” As the doctor left the room the bounded colt thought he could see the doctor mouthing “good luck” to him. As the door shut all that remained was an awkward silence. Rainbow finally got a chance to get a good look at the colt in question. His coat was a faded purple and his mane and tail were rough and unkempt, and were a dark blue with gray streaks running through them. He had purple eyes and a palm tree for a cutie mark and around his neck was a blood red bandana. The colt was the first one to break the silence. “ So, you must be Rainbow Dash?” “Who wants to know?” Rainbow yelled. “Easy there, why are you so hostile?” “What do you mean why? You broke into my house!” “I did not break in; I just couldn’t find the door so I made one.” The colt was now relaxed and had a smile on his face. Oh Celestia I hope she doesn’t kill me, the colt thought to himself. “What! It was five feet from the window you came in. What kind of thief are you?” “For the last time, I am not a thief!” The colt with his grin gone decided to put an end to the argument. “ Look Rainbow…” “How do you know my name huh?” “Will you just let me talk, sheesh” Why Celestia and Luna respect this rude mare is beyond me. “Do you want the long version or the short version?” “Version for what?” By Celestia is she thick! “Never mind ill just start at the beginning, names Kickback by the way.” Rainbow simply stood, huffed and sat on a nearby chair as Kickback began to explain his reason for crashing through her window in the middle of the night. Once she made herself comfortable Kickback took a deep breath and began his story. It was the day after Celestia and Luna had offered Rainbow the opportunity to train the Canterlot weather team that wonderbolt scout Kickback had arrived in town. He had just arrived at the wonderbolt headquarters when a light blue pegasus colt stopped him on the way in. “ Kick? Is that you?” Kickback turned around to see Soarin, one of the wonderbolts top fliers standing behind him with his face covered in what seemed to be pie crumbs. “Soarin? Hey Soarin how’s it goin!” The two promptly made their way to each other, but before they could shake hoofs Kick tripped on a rock and face planted the hard Canterlot cement. “ Ouch.” Kick said with his face in the ground in a melancholy voice as if he hadn’t just completely eaten it. “Still clumsy as ever I see” Said Soarin in a light chuckle. “So how was Manehattan? Any new talent out there?” Trying to compose himself Kick managed to get a reply out. “Oh ha ha. As for Manehattan, things didn’t go so well.” “Why what happened? Spitfire said that there was a colt there with a lot of potential?” “Oh he has potential alright!” Kick managed to say while rubbing his aching nose. Soarin, now noticing that Kick’s nose was bleeding a bit had decided to take the conversation into the wonderbolt headquarters. The building was massive as it wasn’t a building so much as an arena. With multiple wings residing in it, it wasn’t uncommon for recruits to get lost in the behemoth. The outside of the building was unique in that it did not match the standard architecture of Canterlot. It was more of a Cloudsdale atmosphere with elaborate arches and statues of past wonderbolt's. “Alright Kick, go get that thing looked at while I take care of something real quick.” “Alright, see you around Soarin.” With that the two waved goodbye as Kickback made his way to the medical wing of the building. “So you fell?” Asked a silver coated nurse. “No! for the last time I didn’t fall! I just did a gravity check.” Kick replied with a nervous grin. “Look can you just fix me up please? I have somewhere to be right now.” Rolling her eyes the nurse opened a nearby drawer and pulled out bandages and began to wrap Kick’s nose. It was done so fast that before he knew it, Kick found himself being pushed out of the medical room and the door being shut behind him. Well she didn’t waste any time… Kick’s thoughts were cut short when he noticed the bandages on his nose. “OH COME ON!” He shouted so loud that everypony waiting in the nearby chairs jumped or gave him a surprised look. Kick, ignoring the stares he was getting from everypony, made his way out of the medical wing and began walking to what he hoped was the mess hall. “Maybe a snack will make me feel better.” As soon as Kick opened the large double doors into the mess hall he was greeted by a few stares and a roar of laughter. It didn’t surprise him though, after all who wouldn’t laugh at a fully grown colt with his nose wrapped in Starwsirl the bearded bandages. One laugh stuck out in particular. “Soarin show yourself!” Kick shouted. Soarin was struggling to laugh and swallow an entire pie at the same time when Kick finally found him among the horde of ponies. “Keep eating like that and you’ll have a heart attack Soarin.” Kick said with a smile. “Ill probably work off the meal from laughing at you so hard. I think I feel a six pack coming on ha ha.” Many of the ponies had returned to their meals while a few were still chuckling at the sight of Kick. “ So tell me Kick, what the hell happened in Manehattan?” “You know, I’m still not sure. All I know is that he probably wont be doing any flying for a few weeks.” Kick took a seat next to Soarin and gave a deep sigh. “ Look, id rather not talk about it ok. So is this the something you had to take care of” Kick said gesturing to all the empty pie tins lying around Soarin’s bloated belly. “What? Today was pie day. Besides, I actually do have some real business to deal with, im just getting some much needed R&R before I head out.” “What do you mean much needed? I thought wonderbolt’s only perform during the season? Or did they change the rules again while I was gone?” “No its nothing as strenuous as performing, they’ve just had me running around Equestria as a scout nonstop.” “Isn’t that my job? Or did that change while I was gone?” With a light chuckle Soarin responded “Well I guess there aren’t enough of you guys to go around and apparently the princesses are creating a weather team for Canterlot, so we have been put in charge of finding Ponies that can handle the job. Been searching since about a week after you left.” “A week after I left? That’s about three months Soarin, not that I doubt your abilities as a wonderbolt but scouting isn’t really your strong suit. How many have you guys rounded up? Now laughing Soarin tried to get a response out. “Well believe it or not we haven’t really been looking. The princesses were originally going to take the weather team from Ponyville instead of training one but none of them accepted the offer.” “Really? I find that hard to believe, and I thought you said you were “working” sounds like you’ve been doing the exact opposite for the past three months.” Soarin’s cheerful grin turned into a guilty smirk. “Yeah well flying all over Equestria pretending to work is actually a lot of work.” “I can only imagine.” Kick replied in a sarcastic voice. “So what’s this real business you have to deal with?” “ Well, since none of the ponies on the Ponyville team accepted the offer the princesses decided to try and convince their captain slash trainer to at least come for a while and train a weather team for Canterlot. She accepted but under one condition.” “And what would that be? Wait why wouldn’t they just get one of the wonderbolt’s to train them?” “She would accept only if she was offered the opportunity to try out for the wonderbolts. Also we aren’t really a weather team; I don’t think Spitfire can even tell the difference between clouds. I don’t think I can either!” “Ah I see, so im guessing you’re going to Ponyville to scout this mare?” “Yup and nope, her name is Rainbow Dash if I remember correctly and it won’t be a scouting mission. The princesses gave specific orders that she be accepted into the wonderbolts without any questions asked. I would just be there to give the illusion that she is being scouted when in reality she is already a member.” “Wow, way to undermine my principals and my job. What’s next are we gonna start allowing earth ponies into the team?” “Actually we do, who do you think makes all our food? I wouldn’t trust a unicorn with fire even if my life depended on it. “ Now face hoofing Kick gave a deep sigh as he turned to the mess hall’s kitchen only to see an entire staff of earth ponies cooking up blue ribbon worthy meals. “I need a vacation” he said with heavy groan. “I think I can help you with that” Said Soarin in between inhaling pies. “What do you mean?” A now curious Kickback asked. “Well im going to Ponyville to basically pretend to do your job and if you stick around here im guessing Spitfire’s gonna chew you out about whatever happened in Manehattan.” A now interested Kickback fixed his posture in the chair. “Go on.” “Well how about you got to Ponyville in my place while I stay here and do Celestia knows what.” “How is that a vacation?” Any signs of Kick’s interest had faded. “All you would have to do is do your job without actually doing it and relax while you’re there. Seeing as how I don’t know a thing about scouting you’ll be there for awhile.” “I don’t know Soarin, sounds risky.” “There is no risk, its as simple as eating pie.” “How would you know; you don’t eat you inhale!” Now laughing Soarin replied, “True, so what do you say?” “It’s not like you to pass up a vacation.” “Sue me, besides i really do need to catch up on this weather team nonsense and get to scouting." It took Kick a good ten minutes before he responded. “Alright ill do it, who knows maybe I might have some fun in Ponyville. I hear they have the best apples in Equestria.” “There you go, just one thing though.” “What?” “Make sure she doesn’t find out that she is already accepted, I’ve met her before and if she found out she got in without a tryout, it would hurt her, probably make her think that she doesn’t deserve the position. Which she DOES by the way, we actually had you scheduled to scout her before this whole weather team nonsense. Don’t know why though, we already knew we wanted her.” A now smiling Kickback turned and got up from his chair. “Where you going?” “Well Ponyville is a day by train, so if im going to get there the fastest way possible I better go a reserve a slot.” Soarin now confused asked“a slot for what?” “A slot on the fastest way to get anywhere of course.” “You don’t mean…” “Yup, the wonderbolt stunt cannon.” Kick now with a wide smile on his face made his way out of the mess hall, leaving behind him a now fat Soarin unable to lift himself with his wings. “I woke up late on the day of my appointment and rushed to the cannon. The crew was off duty and I wouldn’t get another chance to use the thing for weeks, so I may have shot myself out of the thing without knowing how to use it. I really just loaded TNT into the barrel and jumped in and lit a match.” Kick said to Rainbow, indicating that the story was over by taking a deep breath. As far as she was concerned he was there to scout her. He had carefully left out the parts about him falling and how Rainbow was already a wonderbolt. Let’s hope that was enough to get me off her bad side He thought to himself. It was now dark out and Rainbow was somehow still awake, all her attention on Kick. “Alright I believe you” Rainbow said almost in a suspicious tone, “but to be safe im gonna have one of my friends check in with the princesses to make sure you’re a scout.” With that Rainbow turned and began to make her way out the door and almost did until she heard Kick shout, “STOP!” She turned around to see Kick pointing to the cuffs on his hooves. “Do you think you could take these off? My hoofs are starting to ache and I think they are turning purple from the lack of blood, hard to tell when your entire coat is a shade of the damn thing.” Rainbow looked at him then the cuffs and then back at him and began to chuckle. “Yeah no problem I’ll get somepony to take em off, right after I get some much need sleep.” Before Kick could protest Rainbow had left and shut the door leaving behind an annoyed Kickback. Well, Kick thought, looks like this is gonna be one hell of a vacation. Deciding that there was nothing to do but sleep Kick moved towards the lamp to shut it off. However his hoof stopped a mere three inches from the switch. Surprised he cast a glance over his arm and saw that he was as far as the cuffs would allow. With a heavy sigh, Kick fixed himself in the bed as best as he could without dislocating a leg and closed his eyes to get some much needed rest. Just before it all went black he swore he could hear some tape ripping.
Chapter 3The journey from Ponyville hospital to Twilight's library wasn't much of a journey. It took Rainbow around five minutes to get there. She was about to raise her hoof to knock on the door when she noticed a light in the library go off suddenly. Twilight must be getting ready to go to sleep she thought to herself. Rainbow contemplated just leaving and returning in the morning, but her curiosity as to whether Kickback's story was true or not got the best of her as she raised her hoof to knock on the door. As her hoof made contact with the wooden door she could see lights begin to turn on in the house. "I'm sorry but the library is... Rainbow? What are you doing here so late?" Said a puzzled twilight through the open doorway. "Yeah sorry Twi but can i come in? I need to talk to you." " Sure thing Rainbow." Twilight now had an excited smile on her face as Rainbow made her way to a couch lying in the main room. " So what did you want to talk about?" She asked. Rainbow took a seat on the couch and looked around the library. There were books everywhere, there was so many that Twilight had piles of them off to the sides because she lacked shelf space. She then heard Twilight speak and made eye contact with the book worm. With a nervous grin Rainbow replied " well I need you to send a letter for me to some pony." Again puzzled Twilight responded, " well not that I'm not happy to help but why didn't you just drop it off at the local post office?" " Because the letter is for Princess Celestia." Rainbow replied. Twilight's ears perked up and a wide smile appeared on her face. " Oh, well in that case of course ill send out your letter. Let me just go get spike," Without even a second thought twilight teleported somewhere else leaving behind a little bit of soot on the ground where she stood. Rainbow took this time to explore the library. The place was much bigger than most ponies would think. The shelves were stacked incredibly high, and the slightest disturbance could bring down their contents. How Twilight managed to not be drowned by an ocean of books was amazing. Rainbow decided to go into a nearby room which was much bigger and proved difficult to walk in as books littered the ground. Realizing that it would take a map and a Daring Do adventure hat to navigate the place; Rainbow took flight and hovered to the other end of the room. After narrowly avoiding death at the hands of the " Guide of the to do list ", Rainbow came upon the kitchen. It was modest, not as large as Rainbow's, but nice all the same. It had all the basics of a kitchen, a stove, sink, fridge and surprisingly many cupboards. There was a simple wooden table with some simple wooden chairs. It was obvious to Rainbow that Twilight cared little for luxuries, she didn't have time to. Between her studies and her friends it mattered little whether she had the latest, or most popular thing; and Rainbow admired her friend for that. Deciding that she had seen enough of the tree house, Rainbow made her way out of the kitchen only to end up in the lobby again. " Wow...really? A loop?" Face hoofing, Rainbow heard a sharp and quick sound that startled her. She looked up to see Twilight smiling with a drowsy Spike on her back. "Whats wrong with him?" Rainbow asked gesturing to Spike with her hoof. " He's been at Rarity's all day helping her with her dress designs. Poor guy's spent. Took me awhile to find him since he fell asleep in Rarity's purple fabrics. " " Will he be ok enough to send the letter?" " Oh of course, he can do that it his sleep. He actually has before." Twilight said with a motherly smile. Twilight moved to a nearby couch and set down spike while pulling out a blanket over him via magic. She turned to Rainbow and spoke " So whats this letter about, if you don't mind me asking." Rainbow instantly looked away from Twilight and began to fumble with her hoofs. Damnit, I cant tell her yet; but i cant just not tell her anything. She's bound to find out anyways. Oh well, here it goes. " Hey Twilight, you know how the weather team and i went to Canterlot...." Kickback opened his eyes in time to see the silhouette of somepony lunging at him. He quickly tried to roll over but the cuffs on his hoofs denied him much movement. The attacker landed on Kick knocking the wind out of him. " What the he..." He was cut off when the attacker began to wrap his mouth with something. Through his own thoughts and his loud grunts Kick could hear the attacker speak. " That outta teach you to go snooping in young mares homes..." Oh you have GOT to be kidding me. Kick thought to himself as he realized who the attacker was. " Stop squirming damnit, you're just making this hard for me and yourself." Kick managed to undo whatever was binding his mouth. " Look lady, for the last time I am NOT a peep...." He was cut off by a punch to the side of his head rendering him unconscious. The attacker got off of Kick and made their way to a nearby cabinet. She reached inside and grabbed something before turning around and making her way to a window next to Kick's bed. As Luna's light shone down through the glass, the attacker's face became visible only to reveal a white coat with a little hat with even a smaller red plus sign on it. Time to get to work , she thought aloud as she began to unravel something and wrap Kick. " So I had to end up carrying him to the hospital where he told me the same story im telling you." Rainbow took a deep breath as she waited for Twilight's reaction. It never came. Rainbow and Twilight maintained eye contact, Rainbow had a nervous grin on her face as Twilight stood motionless and expressionless. " Hey Twi? You there?" Immediately Twilight shook free of her drone like state and magicked a quill and paper in front of her and began writing. " Uh Twi, what are you writing?" asked a very confused Rainbow Dash. " Writing your letter of course. However im very happy for you. Training a weather team for Canterlot must mean a lot to you." Twilight responded, however her face was blocked by the massive sheet of paper in front of her. "Thanks and it does, but i haven't told you what the letter is about yet." Responded an even more confused Rainbow. "True , but im sure its something along the line of asking the princess if Kickback is indeed who he says he is. Am I right?" This time when Twilight spoke she lowered the paper revealing a raised eyebrow and a cheeky smile. Wow is she good/ Rainbow thought to herself. Wouldn't be surprised if she had her own version of Pinkie Pie's Pinkie sense. " Well?" Asked a curious Twilight. " Yeah you got it, if he's telling the truth and is really a wonderbolt scout then that means i have a shot of getting into the wonderbolts." Rainbow began to jump at the thought of her being a wonderbolt. " If it doesn't then i can just have him arrested for breaking and entering," she said in a casual voice. Twilight had finished the letter and tied a red ribbon around it. She turned around to Spike and raised her hoof and lowered it onto his belly. " Uh Twi, do you think thats a good idea? Cant you ju7st wake him up?" " Oh its ok Rainbow he wont feel a thing." Twilight then pushed down on Spike's belly, gently enough so as to not wake him or hurt him but hard enough to actually squeeze a little green flame form his nose. The fire enveloped the letter and in an instant it was gone. Twilight turned around to face Rainbow and spoke, " Well im sure we can expect a reply soon. Until then I think you should go get some sleep Rainbow. From what you said, it sounds like you didn't get very much sleep." Rainbow hadn't noticed it but she was truly tired. She had stayed awake for at least 24 hours. Normally she gets a solid ten hours of sleep and an additional three or more from her naps. " Yeah i guess you're right," " Of course i am." Rainbow made her way to the front door , but before leaving she turned to face Twilight who was also showing signs of fatigue. Her mane was nappy and she began to yawn. " Hey Twi, could you do me another favor?" " Sure whadya you need?" Twilight was having a hard time trying to speak between yawns. " Do you think we could keep all this a secret form the rest of the girls? Im not ready to tell them yet." " Really? this is such a big thing for you, im sure the girls would love to be a part of it; or at least congratulate you." " I know but, i just feel horrible about taking the offer. Im not sure really." " Well if thats what you want then my lips are sealed." " Pinkie promise?" "Pinkie promise! But you do know that you'll have to tell them eventually right?" " Yeah i know but ill deal with that problem later. Right now i need some rest. Night Twi." " Goodnight Rainbow." With that Rainbow closed the door, and with the help of Luna's beautiful moon and stars, took flight and made her way home.
Chapter 4Canterlot Castle is known for being silent during Luna's night. Not a light visible; no it seems as though it becomes the embodiment of night itself. In earlier times the castle was believed to have been haunted; villagers reported hearing strange sounds emanating from the castle grounds. In reality it was just Celestia and her sister playing tag. The strange sounds and creepy laughter was just them enjoying themselves. Sadly, tonight there was no laughter; Celestia stood tall and regal, this was not the time for games. As she addressed Spitfire, her eyebrows furrowed . The two were in the throne room and it was well into Luna's night. Normally at such a late hour Celestia would be preparing for bed as her sister watched over the city; but once Twilight's letter had arrived that all changed. Spitfire was not dressed in her iconic uniform and instead was just well, naked. She didn't have time to change, a messenger had woke her up stating that Celestia demanded her presence at the castle at once. " I thought the wonderbolts were professionals!" Celestia said in a scolding voice to the wonderbolt captain. " I assure you your highness I had no idea that this would happen. Kickback wasn't event supposed to go originally." " That does not make it any less of problem. Your scout had one job, ONE JOB, and it was to simply pretend to do his actual job. Now how in Equestria did something as simple as lying turn into ponies being shot out of a cannon into a mare's home?" Spitfire was quick to speak her mind. " Your highness if I may say so myself I fail to see the problem, yes the manner in which the situation was initially handled was highly unprofessional but at the same time your highness; he is one of our best scouts." Spitfire had a small smirk on her face, the fact that she was being chewed out by Celestia didn't seem to faze her. In fact the only thing that did seem to surprise her was her choice of words. " I don't care if he's the best scout in wonderbolt history, how can i be sure that he wont let slip the information that she is already a wonderbolt; he's a liability." "Well, I spoke with Soarin and he said he made it clear to Kick that Rainbow Dash is not to know of her being a wonderbolt. He said he trusts in Kick's ability to handle the situation ;but if it may please you I have an idea that will ensure that Kick doesn't let his stupidity get the better of him." " Don't you trust in him?" "I trust him to handle the job he's paid to do and nothing more; but what if some pony were to go Ponyville and keep an eye on the situation and ensure everything goes according to plan?Would that put you at ease?" Celestia's ear's perked up and her attention focused on what Spitfire had just said. " Why yes that would indeed put me at ease but who could we possibly send, my sister and I are far too busy with our royal duties here and after this incident i don't trust a wonderbolt to handle a situation like this. Spitfire flinched at Celestia's last remark Kick you're so gonna get it next time I see you. Casting off her thoughts of pain for a certain Pegasus she opened her mouth to the princess only to stop and realize that she couldn't think of anypony to send. The two mare's simply stood in silence for a moment as they began to ponder who they could possibly send. The silence was broken by Celestia when she have a loud " Ah hah" and signaled one of her guards in the room to her side and she began to whisper something in his ear and once she moved away the guard took off out of the throne room. " What was that all about?" asked Spitfire, her face displaying her confusion. " Ive sent for the captain of the guard here at the palace, he will go to Ponyville and ensure that the operation runs smoothly." " But wont the Ponyville residents get suspicious when they notice a fully armored guard randomly walking the streets?" " Oh not to worry he happens to have family in Ponyville so everypony will just suspect he is visiting... oh my aren't you two quick." It was at that time that Shining Armour entered the throne room and to his side the guard sent to retrieve him stood at attention with a serious expression." You called your highness?" " Indeed i did, i have a mission for you" Celestia responded with a pleased tone off voice. Without waiting for his response she continued" I need you to go to Ponyville first thing in the morning and"...." I cant " His reply was stern. " There was an incident on the Equestrian Griffon kingdom border and im needed there. In fact i leave tomorrow morning." Celestia's facial expression changed from pleased to one of defeat. She knew that duties came before her and her sisters own desire to do less work. She hung her head in defeat remained silent. Shining Armour, being the loyal soldier he is assumed it was a serious mission and whispered into the ear of the guard sent to retrieve him. Once again the guard took off from the throne room. Spitfire, seeing as how she could do no more than take up space, bid her farewell's to the princess and Shining and began to make her way out of the throne room. Although it was late she had a certain vice captain to check up on in the hospital. Soarin had gotten a pretty bad stomach ache after inhaling thirty pies and forgetting to remove the tin. Not long after Spitfire left, a small Pegasus came into the room. Celestia wearily looked up and noticed that Shining was talking to the small Pegasus. The Pegasus had a pearl white coat and two golden olive branches formed in the shape of a claw as a cutie mark, he had no tail however which struck her as odd. The Pegasus was a guard as whoever they were had armour covering their hooves, shoulder and wings along with a smoothly rounded helmet similar to the other guards but this one lacked the iconic blue mane poking out of it. Shining had stopped talking and the small guard saluted and Shining left the throne room. Celestia simply stood there waiting for something to happen. The small guard made his way to Celestia's throne. Upon closer inspection she realized he had golden eyes. He immediately bowed and introduced himself. " Vice captain Gideon reporting for duty your highness." The colt's voice was shockingly deep but not so deep as to mistake him for a much larger pony. " Ive been ordered to take Captain Shining Armour's place on a assignment. Permitting you allow such an action of course your highness." Celestia stood up and descended down to the bottom of the throne. The stallion was still bowing when she made it to the bottom. " Rise." The small colt looked up and stood at attention, his face serious and eye's furrowed. Celestia smiled at the thought of him protecting herself and Luna., Well this ought to be interesting" Gideon your name was it? Take a walk with me, I have some questions to a ask you." Celestia was now walking towards the balcony with Gideon trailing along. " Tell me Gideon" she said with a heavy sigh," What makes you qualified to take the place of captain Shining Armour?" " Well your highness to be honest im not qualified to be in your presence let alone take on an assignment meant for the captain. The only combat experience I have is fending off monsters of chaos and changelings." " Only discord's minions and changelings?" Celestia said with a slight chuckle. By now both of them were on the balcony overlooking Canterlot. There was a silence as the two overlooked the beauty of Canterlot's city and Luna's night. " Strange." " Your majesty?" " How come ive never seen you before?, in fact, why wasn't i aware that Shining Amour had a vice captain?" " Well it might have something to do with the fact that i was hired during Discord's attack so I didn't really get a chance to fill out the paperwork;Technically im not on the payroll. There was a pause,and then both of them erupted in a mild laughter. Trying to catch her breath she spoke;" well you better get a move on." " So you're letting me go?" "The next train for Ponyville leaves in about an hour and unless you want to take a cannon i suggest you get a move on." Celestia had a small smile on her face but still focused on watching the city. " I...I will leave at once, but um mam how will I blend into the town's populace. I don't know anypony in Ponyville?" Celestia turned and began to walk towards Gideon. " Oh not to worry I will arrange you quarter and an alibi." " Very well your majesty." Gideon made his way out of the throne room and soon disappeared around a corner which lead to his quarters. Celestia immediately magicked a piece of parchment and quill and began to write something while chuckling to herself. While writing, the guard that had been sent to fetch Shining and Gideon peeked around her leg and snagged a look at what she was writing. Celestia picked up on this, " You know thats an invasion of privacy right?" She said it in a playful voice. The amour clad soldier in question looked like any other guard, mane fitted helmet with armour covering his hooves and wings. With a smile of his own he spoke his soft deep voice. "Your highness Ive worked here for years and if there is one thing I learned its that if you truly didn't want me to see this, id most likely be on the moon right now. However you do know that in order for this to check out, somepony will have to..." " Oh im well aware of what must be done in order for this to work. In fact im looking forward to it." " I think its highly unnecessary." His voice just as playful as Celestia's, only with a touch of stallion." If I recall you personally know this Kickback don't you?" His tone as teasing as a sibling. Before all the blood in her body could rush to her head, Celestia sought to change the subject. " Necessary or not im doing it and that's that." Celestia rolled up the scroll and placed her seal upon it. Still holding the letter via magic she faced the guard and spoke, " Now come along, we have a train to catch, and the walk from here to the station is quite a journey." With a sigh the guard responded with a simple " as you wish." After a series of unsuccessful teleportaitons, Celestia and her escort arrived at the train station, the guard's amour covered in soot and Celestia's mane standing straight up. " I told you we should have taken the carriage" barked the guard. "Oh hush now its nothing some spit and cloth cant fix. Now where is that Gideon fellow ? The train leaves in ten minutes. If he's late ill have him moonside in a second." " You would really do that to somepony for being late?" " Of course not , I would most likely launch them out of the wonderbolt stunt cannon; oh where is he!" " Well that explains those random booms , I thought they were just my flashbacks coming and going." It was just then that Gideon had arrived and began to look for his train when he heard somepony calling out his name. Lets see, seat number 105MM, MM? The hell does that mean? Wheres a conductor when you need one. Wait.. whose that? He recognized the voice calling him as that of his princess. " Your highness?" He called out. Celestia soon caught sight of Gideon, it wasn't that hard to be honest. He was the only pony at the station besides her with a white coat , also the fact that he had all of his gear on might have made it easier to spot him. Despite Canterlot's strange fashion craze of new things, toting military breastplates wasn't in that season. " Gideon there you are, Ive been searching all over this station for you." Her tone resembling that of Rarity's drama queen voice. " No she hasn't, she's just been here calling out your name and nothing more." The guard's tone of voice was betraying how tired he was, soon it would be time for Celestia to raise the sun. " He he, well not to be rude but the train does leave in 5 minutes." " Oh yes here, take this scroll. In it contains the details for your mission. you are not to look at it until you reach Ponyville, understood." " Yes sir, um i do have one ques..." Not more than a second after Gideon spoke Celecstia's hoof made contact with his face with enough force to render him unconscious. " Is he out cold already?" the guard asked somewhat shocked at how hard his princess could punch. " Hmph, now then, take off his clothes will you, not very stealthy to have him running around with his armour." " You realize that everypony here just saw you hit him right?" He was right; everypony nearby had stopped what they were doing if they hadn't already when Celestia arrived. All of their jaws were now sharing theirs coat's color with the ground. " Well aren't you going to say something?" " Why me? I just stripped a stallion in public ; and now i have to explain why the sun princess clocked him in the face?" " The moon is lovely this time of year don't you think?" " Fine", with a grunt the guard stepped forward to address the still amassing crowd. "Greetings citizens...this uh, altercation is just um.. a game. Yes that's it; a game, and its called uhh Alicorn tag yeah and instead of a simple nudge you have to punch your opponent in the face in order to not be it anymore. The crowd stood silent for a minute but the sound of a last boarding call quickly snapped them out of their trance and the bustle that was the train station quickly resumed itself. "Alicorn tag, really?" "Oh can we just hurry up please, im tired." The princess and her escort arrived at Gideon's train with the guard dragging him by some rope. They then threw unconscious guard into the train and Celestia put the scroll into a satchel and magicked it on Gideon's body. " That could have gone better" Said the guard; eyelids becoming heavier with each step. " I agree, next time we launch him out of the cannon." The two began to make the long walk back to the castle; both too tired to realize that they could just teleport there instead. As a conductor moved an unconscious Gideon to his seat; the sound of the engine roaring became louder and the train groaned. Soon the carriage was being pulled forward, while the passengers prepared for a quiet ride to Ponyville.
Chapter 5Kickback woke up when he felt the sting of the sun on his face. His head was throbbing but he wasn't sure why. He looked at the ceiling; just thinking about what he had gotten himself into. He moved one of his legs to scratch an itch, only to have it tugged away by the hoof cuff. He gave a deep sigh only to have the warmth of his breath wrap around his mouth, as if something was blocking him from exhaling freely. It struck him as odd and so he gave himself a quick look; only to growl at what he saw. All over his body was medical tape featuring Star swirl the bearded. The only area that didn't feature the iconic beard and hat was the slit where his eyes were. He tried to wriggle the tape off but whoever did it also stuffed his mane and tail in there too and only caused him pain in movement. He couldn't yell either; any attempt he made to make a coherent sentence came out as a loud grumble. Between one of his mumbled rants, he heard the faint sound of ponies talking in the halls. One voice stuck out in particular. Oh no it cant be her; wait. Now I remember oh yeah, thats how all this tape crap got on me. It was then that the door swung open and in came a caramel colored doctor with nurse Red Heart trailing behind. At the sight of each other both Red Heart and Kick furrowed their eyebrows, but Red Heart had a wide grin on her face. " Now lets see, Kickback you.... thats.. new." Of course he was referring to Kick's outfit of beards and wizard hats." How did this happen? " I cant say I know doctor, but it looks like he doesn't mind, why don't we just leave him in there for awhile?" The doctor sighed " Nurse Red Heart for the last time; please stop terrorizing the patients in their sleep. Not everypony is what they appear to be. For all you know he could be a famous celebrity or a wonderbolt ." Not bad Doc; if Kick's mouth wasn't covered a smile of relief would have been visible to all. Seems that not everypony around here is crazy " Now please untie him, Ms Sparkle will be here any minute to pick him up. The last thing I need is for her to poke around the hospital and point out our "inefficiencies" and annoy the patients with her studies." With a frown Red Heart began to undo the tape binding Kick's mouth. Once free he immediately began to yell at the nurse. " What the hell is wrong with you lady! You cant just go around tying up people in a hospital, especially if you work here. I ought to..." Kick was cut off by a swift hoof to the face rendering him unconscious. "Was that necessary nurse?" "For his own safety I believe it was." The two shared a chuckle and a security pony came in to undo Kick's cuffs. Once Kick was free the guard threw him over his back and they all made their way to the lobby.Twilight had arrived at the hospital some time later, and was greeted by a large security pony with an unconscious Pegasus on his back. " Ms Sparkle?" "Yes?" "I believe this is yours", and with that said the guard promptly bucked Kick off of him and into the ceiling. He was there for a few seconds until he finally detached and fell flat on his head. Twilight gave the guard a look, witch caused him to whistle and trot away. She heard a groan and realized it was emanating from the stallion in front of her. " I'm probably gonna have brain damage by the time I'm done here." Kick was sitting and rubbing his head." So who are you pretty lady?" Twilight was smiling, " Its good to see you again Kick." " How do you know my name?" " You don't remember me? We took classes together at Canterlot University ." "Nah" " What! How can you not remember the time when you made paper airplanes out of an entire notebook and threw them all over class and managed to hit me in the eye twice?" " OH; Twilight? Now I remember you. Yeah you got so mad about that and turned me into a turtle for an hour and threw me into a biology class. The scars still haven't healed." The two reminisced on the lobby floor for awhile until a nurse asked them to stop blocking the route to the emergency room; so the two decided to take a walk around Ponyville instead. They passed all the most well know locations in Ponyville such as, Sugar cube corner and the apple farm; which took them some time to go around. They shared old stories of Kick terrorizing Twilight during school and how she punished him with near death experiences. " Good times" Said Kick with a deep sigh."Everything's all about work now though. Which is fine since I enjoy what I do. What about you; what you been up to, last I heard you lived in Canterlot's library like some evil troll thing." " Oh ha ha Kick, well if you must know I'm in Ponyville to learn about friendship. Among other things which all come down to my love of my friends." " Never thought I would hear you talk about anypony that way besides your brother. No offense but you didn't seem to have any friends during school; at least none that I could see. Maybe you befriended a clan of invisible dragons?" Both of them chuckled. " Well now that you mention it, I do remember hearing strange voices during lunch." " So why are you here right now and not with your friends? I'm sure you'd rather be with them than catching up with me." " Actually thats why I'm here; it seems you're here to scout one of my friends for the Wonderbolts." The two were now outside Twilight's library . "Something like that I guess, what is this place anyways?" "This is the Ponyville library and its also my house." "You live in a library? My head hurts to much for me to be surprised, speaking of that would you happen to have an ice pack in there?" A very noticeable bump began to form on Kick's head."Yeah no problem let me open the door." Kick was sinking into one of the beanbag chairs lying around; with a pack of ice resting on his head. Twilight sat across from him in a wooden chair,sipping a cup of tea. "So Kick." "Yeah?" "Earlier when you said "something like that", what did you mean? Are you here to recruit Rainbow Dash or not? Wait a minute how did you even become a scout?" "I just met the right people I guess, I don't really know why I became one; but I enjoy it so thats that. As for Rainbow Dash; I'm here to scout her. Weather the Wonderbolts accept her comes down to how well she preforms at the academy. Although I'm pretty sure she should have no problem getting in." " You say that as though she were already a Wonderbolt. What makes you so sure she wont have a hard time?" "uhhhh, call it a hunch. " Twilight stared at Kick suspiciously; she didn't trust the fact that he said he had a "hunch". She had a good reason not to trust that phrase when it came out of his mouth. Last time she heard him say that was when she overheard him telling his friends that he was sure he would ace a test. They asked him why he was so confident, and he told them it was a "hunch"; ten minutes into the test Twilight had stretched her already sore neck only to see kick with a folded up piece of paper on his lap. Normally she would just ignore cheaters and leave them to their fate; but in Kick's case she felt like she could have some fun. With a small amount of effort she had cast a spell on the paper making it stick to any surface it touched. Kick spent a good part of the allotted time just trying to unfold the page and look at the answers. By the time everypony had been told to turn in their test; Kick was busy trying to detach his wing from the paper. This little memory made Twilight chuckle; so much so that she couldn't hear the faint gasps of Kick trying to breath as he sunk down deeper into the bean chair."Twi...light.." "Huh? Oh my, hang on Kick ill get you out of there!" Twilight got up spilling her tea and teleported Kick out of the bag and onto a nearby rug. The two shared a sigh of relief for a few seconds until Kick smelt something burning. The tea was close enough to the fireplace and his tail to cause a fire. He looked at his tail and immediately began to run all over the library flailing his burning tail around. Twilight screamed and began to cast a spell on him, as her magic bolt made contact with him the fire vanished. For a few seconds at least; when it came back his mane and tail were on fire. Spike came down stairs to investigate the noise, only to have his jaw drop at what he saw. A stallion was running around the the library on fire spreading the flames, and Twilight was panicking reading her safety "know how to" books. He composed himself and ran over to a nearby lever and pulled down with all his might; and as soon as he pulled it down the buildings sprinkler system began to go about putting out the fires, and eventually Kick.Spike had collapsed form exhaustion since the lever was designed to be pulled by either magic or a stallion as large as Big Mac. It was during this return to peace that the door to the library opened; revealing a cyan Pegasus mare. "Hey Twi did you pick up that sc...the hay happened here?" Rainbow stood puzzled as her scout was covered in ash and appeared to have had his mane and tail almost burned off. Twilight was lying on the floor covered in books and soaked from the still ongoing sprinkler system. Spike was on the floor either sleeping or unconscious. " You know what it doesn't matter hey you uh, Kickback right?" " That's right?" " Now that Im done with weather duty for the day; mind if I talk to you about Wonderbolt stuff? Oh and if you don't mind could you sign some things? Rainbow had a sack around her bulging with Wonderbolt memorabilia." You don't know my name and you want me to sign to stuff. I'm not even on the team." "I don't want you signing anything until you clean yourself up, no way I'm letting you in my house covered in that stuff." Rainbow was gesturing to all of the ash covering his coat; Twilight took a moment to compose herself."I'll get on that as soon as I help clean this place up; would be rude of me to nearly burn down Twilight's house and not help fix it. " No its OK Kick; I wouldn't want to get in your way of recruiting Rainbow." " Are you sure? Because its no big deal." " I'm sure sure, you two go." Kick decided that Twilight wouldn't be changing her mind soon; so he choose to just comply rather than argue with her. He made his way to what he hoped was the bathroom and not some closet filled with random junk; but hopes are for the weak. As soon as he opened the door a large box fell out landing on his back nearly squishing him. By Celestia this town is a death trap! Kick managed to slide the box off his body and pack into the closet, this time placing it on the floor. " Hey Twi wheres your bathroom?" " Upstairs first door on the left, oh and watch your step please; I don't want you stepping on Spike.""Thanks." While Kick went upstairs to clean himself up Twilight got to work cleaning up the mess of burned and soaked books lying around. Rainbow grabbed a broom and began to help by sweeping the ashes into a pile; the two worked for a good while before Kick came back down. By the time he had, they were almost done, all that was left was for Twilight to cast a spell that would repair the books with the ashes." What do you want me to do with this little dragon fella?" " You can just put Spike on the couch over there." After doing so Kick looked at Rainbow and they both nodded at each other signaling that they were ready to depart. As they were walking out the door Twilight spoke Kicks name; saying that she forgot to give him something, and magicked a scroll out of nowhere and gave it to him. He instantly threw it into Rainbows sack and told a surprised Twilight that he doesn't like opening letters in public and that he would "deal with it later". After Rainbow said Goodbye to Twilight Kick turned to take flight only to stop when he heard Rainbow clear her throat. " Aren't you forgetting something Kick?" " What is there something wrong with my hair?"" Aren't you going to say bye to Twilight? I thought you two were like old friends or something?" " We are; which is why she knows that I never say goodbye, I don't like goodbyes. The few times I do say them are by mistake or I truly mean it." "What do you mean?" Rainbow had raised a curious brow. "He doesn't like goodbyes, because to him it means he will never see that pony again. So instead he just says something like see you later or most of the time he doesn't say anything at all; that way well at least to him, it seems like he never left." "OK...well thanks Twilight but we gotta get going." Without waiting for a reply Rainbow took off dragging Kick by his bandanna. " I can fly you know!" " Sorry but im kind of in a hurry." After dragging Kick for half a mile Rainbow arrived at her cloud mansion. She turned around to see that kick had acquired a beard of clouds along the way but he didn't seem to notice. She couldn't help herself; she immediately began o laugh in such a way that Kick thought she might be having some kind of a seizure. As soon as Rainbow composed herself she unlocked her door and walked in gesturing Kick with a wave to follow. The first that surprised Kick was how big the house was compared to how it looked on the outside. The house was beautiful on the outside but it did no justice to what lay indoors. Elaborate columns adorned the many arches that defined Rainbows cloud home." How does a weather pony pay for this?" His eyes widened when he realized he said that aloud; he cast a frightening glance to Rainbow who surprisingly didn't seem to be mad. "I didn't mean it that way its just...." "No its ok, its actually a funny story; I got all of my furniture for free pretty much and I used the bits I saved to fix up the house into what it is today. Originally it was a one bedroom cloud house with a simple kitchen and bathroom, and an old rainbow fountain. I had saved up money ever since I was a filly and put hundred of the bits I earned from chores or odd jobs into a bunch of jars labeled "first house", and thats how I paid for the mansion's renovations. As for how I got all the furniture and beds and almost everything not bolted into the walls for free; well some pony just gave them to me. I was shopping for a lamp and on my way out of one of Ponyville's shops when I came out see an earth stallion in a business suit running around screaming my name and tightly holding a briefcase. I had just moved into Ponyville about a week ago so I didn't really know anypony; save for Pinkie Pie, but she kind of found me when I got there. I walked over to the stallion and told him who I was; turns out he was an old friend of my father's and that the briefcase he was holding was for me. As soon as he hoofed over the case he took off towards the train station screaming at me to not open the case until I got home. I didn't get much time to talk to the stallion, not even his name, he spoke and I listened and it was all over in less than a minute. So I stood in front of the town hall for awhile thinking about what just happened and decided to just go home and deal with it later. Later on as I was getting ready to go to sleep I felt something poking me in the back and remembered that the case was still there. I grabbed the case and decided to just open it and see what was in the stupid thing; when I did I was blinded by the light reflecting from all the bits stored in there. I was surprised that the case wasn't as heavy as it should have been; but inside there was a scroll with my name written on the cover. I opened the letter and...oh wait I think I still have it; why don't you take a seat while I go get it." Kickback didn't have time to even ask her where her living room was before she bolted off into Celestia knows where. He decided to take this time to explore the cloud mansion; from room to room he wandered, the kitchen, workout room, rainbow waterfall, which was his favorite room. Very few cloud homes still had rainbow bird baths let alone an entire waterfall, he looked into the falls source and its small pool of colors and had a thought. I wonder what it taste like? Does blue taste like blueberries OH maybe yellow is banana. I'm sure Rainbow wont even notice let alone mind. What followed was a spectacular display of speed as Kick darted out of the room and around the mansion searching for something to remove the spicy pain that his tongue was being subjected to. After what seemed like hours( in reality he running for about ten minutes) Kick accomplished nothing and found himself laying down in a long hallway; panting and suffering from a lack of oxygen. He looked around and spotted a wooden door large in size compared to the others in the mansion and it had a very large symbol on it. It looked familiar to him; and needless to say he has never forgot anything ever since he forgot to raise his hoof to speak during one of Twilight's presentations. He got up to investigate the door and realized that the symbol was that of the wonderbolts. He looked around to see if Rainbow was near and sure enough, he could hear her calling out his name. He had to find out what made the contents that lye beyond that door worth a door so massive. However now was not the time seeing as Rainbow had spotted him and was flying through the hall at breathtaking speeds. "Where have you been, Ive been looking all over the place for you? Come on I don't wanna keep my friend waiting and I found the letter if you still want to read it." "This place is massive; how often do people get lost around here? I wasn't here for more than five minutes and I ended up nearly getting killed by your rainbow fountain." "You drank out of the fountain? I mean its not the first time some pony has; one of my friends did about a month ago and her tongue turned rainbow colored for a week; It helped her sell cupcakes though." "Will my tongue turn rainbow like you? I mean not that its a bad thing...I mean I like your mane, it looks good on you you uhhh; I think I'm ready to see that letter." Rainbow led Kick through her maze of a home and back to the living room where she had two mugs of hot chocolate waiting next to an old scroll; along with pink a maned mare sitting sitting on the couch. Before they were within hearing distance of the mare Kick leaned over to ask Rainbow who she was; to which Rainbow replied" Shes one of my best friends, and her is name Fluttershy; so be nice or else. Kick took the warning about as seriously has had Twilight's in the past. The two sat and Kick introduced himself to Fluttershy who seemed to be very nervous. Apparently Fluttershy was there just to chat with Rainbow. Rainbow hoofed Kick the scroll to read while she and Fluttershy left to the kitchen taking with them the two mugs. The scroll had obvious signs of being exposed to the harsh conditions that was Rainbow's cabinet. Kick decided that he might as well solve the mystery of how a weather pony could afford such a lavish home. " My Dear Dashie If you are reading this then You've finally grown up and moved out of the house. I know its scary at first but trust me; nothing tops that time that I visited a rock farmer and his daughter nearly gave me a heart attack with one of her welcoming parties. To this day your mother questions why I even bothered going there but between you and me I prefer the rural life over the city. However the city is not without its benefits; when you were born I was so happy that I ran outside the hospital jumping and flying with Joy, so much so that a local hobo asked me if I was a mental ward escapee. I replied no but between the laughs I doubt he believed me. The poor colt was still young, in the prime of his life I would say; and here he was spending it begging for bits. Now I couldn't simply let something like this go by on your birthday! After all it was a time to celebrate and I knew what this colt was going through; so I decided to sit down and talk with the young lad. I got him up on his hooves and asked him if he had any dreams. To my delight he replied yes, of course I asked him what they were and he responded by saying that he wanted to be a doctor, and a fashion designer , and an engineer, the list was endless; and by the time I thought he was done; he took a deep breath and I didn't have it in me to listen to the rest so I cut him off by shoving my hoof in his mouth. I looked him in the eyes and I could see that this young lad was truly serious about everything he was saying; so i made a decision that your mother has never let me live down until now. I took out my checkbook and made it out to this colt whose name I never got; in fact to this day I still don't know him, Id like to think it was something memorable like Prince Consuela Banana Hammock or something of the sorts. I basically gave this stranger who I have never met before all of my life savings. The young colt was so happy that he asked my name and I told him to which he replied that he has every intention of paying me back and then some. However I already had the most valuable thing in the world; you. So I told him not to worry about it. I never heard from the colt again until the day of your graduation when he sent me a letter saying that he would like to meet me. I agreed and we arranged a meeting at a wonderbolts show, I hardly remembered who this colt was and let alone what he looked like so you can imagine finding him through the crowd of ponies was a very difficult task. Thankfully i didn't have to; the kid found me and he had one of his escorts or bodyguards, I don't remember, take me up to his box seat. he immediately greeted me with a hug and offered me a drink, I declined seeing as how I had to be at your graduation thirty minutes ago; so I got straight to the point and asked him why he wanted to meet. he said that he had spent over a year trying to find me so he could return a favor; one that he said was long over due. My memory instantly returned and I realized where this was going, and I think he picked up on it. He took out several briefcases, and opened them. I almost lost all ability to breath at the sight of all the bits. He said that he had finally managed to complete everything on his list accept for one thing and asked if I would help finish this last task. I said sure without really giving a second though and by this time I was almost an hour late to your graduation and I could already hear your mother fuming from across Cloudsdale. He said that the only thing he had not been able to accomplish on his list was task of asking me a question. " Ask away" I said ; surprised that this is what he wanted my help with. "Why did you help me" he said; I looked at him with a surprised " Most ponies would have laughed off the my list of dreams; but not you... why?" " You've just answered your question." " I...Have?" "I helped you because you had dreams, you had goals, you had passion. I helped you because I wanted to set an example for my daughter; to make a statement that beautiful things like her can happen everyday on any scale. In succeeding you have already repaid me, but if you don't mind I have a favor to ask of you." Of course anything for you!" ' These massive amounts of bits that lay before me you initially intended on giving them to me right?" " Of course," " well do you mind giving them to my daughter instead, she's graduation from high school today and I have a feeling she will be moving out soon seeing as how she has been looking at real estate in Ponyville." " Say no more ill have the briefcases delivered to her the day she moves to her new home, just tell me when and where and how much." The stallion looked at me with teary eyes and said to me," Its great to see you again, truth be told there were times when i was willing to give up but your act of kindness motivated to push my limits and achieve my goals; and for that I thank you." I gave the lad a hug and took off towards your school hoping that your mother wouldn't kill me on sight." My hoof hurts right now Dashie and quite frankly you know the rest, this treasure trove of bits is for you and your new life in Ponyville. I just know you'll be a Wonderbolt ; I know this because like that young stallion you have a dream. Dreams aren't cheap though; so take these bits and get to work. I believe in you; but what matters most is that you believe in yourself. Take care sweetie, I love you." Kick put the scroll down in amazement, I cant believe that this guy wrote all that down in one sitting. I got tired just from reading that thing. Wait he said briefcases, sweet Celestia this mare is probably loaded! He could hear the two mares in the kitchen laughing and giggling; he decided that it was time for him to leave seeing as how Luna's moon was due to rise soon. He went to the kitchen to say bye only to see Fluttershy crying which concerned him greatly; seeing as how a few seconds ago they were laughing. " Is everything all right?" He asked. Yeah I juts got done telling Fluttershy here who you were and why you're here." " Then why is she crying?" " I'm just so happy thats all." Her response so soft and subtle Kick almost missed it. " Well if you ladies don't mind; I need to check into a hotel and seeing as how I don't know my way around here, I should probably try to find one before it gets dark." Fluttershy gasped and faced Rainbow," Oh rainbow you cant let him go out all alone looking for a hotel at this hour! he might get lost or wander into the Everfree forest or get lost AND wander into the Everfree forest. Why not let him stay in one of the guest rooms?" " No really, its no big deal I can ju.." Rainbow stuffed a nearby cloud cake into his mouth and spoke. "No guest of mine is going to stay at a hotel when I have a perfectly good guest room somewhere in this place. Besides I'm sure seeing as how Fluttershy is here I don't have much of a choice." After swallowing what he could of the cake and coughing up the rest Kick managed to get a thank you out before Rainbow and Fluttershy began to walk out of the Kitchen. He looked to see if they could still see him and once he decided that the coast was clear; he turned to the cake and eyed it mischievously. Fluttershy had left and Rainbow returned to Kick so she could show him to his room for the night. She expected to come back to the kitchen and see Kick waiting for her; but instead she came back to see him completely devouring the cloud cake. She stood still watching him for awhile; and it took him a good while to notice her standing there. " umph..agh...hofe...foo arnt.. mag" His words barely audible due to the massive cake that was only halfway into his mouth. Rainbow looked at him and began to laugh; so much so that Kick to laughed from sheer nervousness and partially for the sake of laughing. After swallowing he tried to ask her why she was laughing; she replied in between breaths" You eat... just like him!"
