Author's Note

Hello! I usually put this at the end of a story but I thought it'd make sense to give a little context. The first chapter of this story takes place right after Secrets and Pies. It also runs off of Friends Forever comics 11 and 36 being canon, and will call back to those occasionally. That's all the context I feel is necessary so, enjoy the story!
I always appreciate comments and likes, no matter what you say! I want to improve as a writer, so anything you say is helpful, even if it's just pointing out spelling or grammar mistakes!

Also, sorry for the lack of Spitfire in this chapter. She'll be important next chapter, I promise!

Shout out to my editor for this chapter, The Fan Without a Face. Check out their channel here: https://www.fimfiction.net/user/224464/The+Fan+Without+a+Face

Baking is Magic (Edited)

Rainbow's wings ached as she came down for her final descent.

Though she was a trained athlete and an experienced flier, the Wonderbolt training regimen was an entirely different beast, even worse than in the Reserves, but she was starting to get used to it. At the very least, she knew she could hold onto her lunch today.

When Rainbow Dash landed, Spitfire gave her a small grin before tossing her a water bottle with her wing. "Nice job today, Crash. Looks like you won't be stuck on cleaning duty," Spitfire snickered before turning her attention to another Wonderbolt. "Flat-foot! You trying to make us look like amateurs?"

Fleetfoot scoffed and waved a wing in Spitfire's direction. "Yeah, yeah, I'll get the mop."

Rainbow sighed in relief before emptying the water bottle. The cool liquid refreshed Rainbow, giving her just enough strength to make it to the locker rooms. She got out of her uniform before hopping into the shower.

As she washed the grime from the day away, she listened to what little conversations she could hear in the locker room. A few members were talking about the training while others had their own completely unrelated conversations. She overheard Misty Fly and Surprise talk about their plans for the weekend, while Spitfire mentioned visiting her mother in Cloudsdale. It made Rainbow realize something... She hadn't really made any connections with the Bolts.

They were her team and she trusted them deeply but she never really got to hang out with them outside of training. It was hard to consider any of them friends. Obviously, it's not like she came in expecting to make friends with everypony like Pinkie tried to do.

Yet... The only members of the Wonderbolts she was somewhat close with were Spitfire and Soarin, both of which were ponies she'd helped out in the past, but not talked to all that much on a personal level later. How come nopony ever asked me to hang out after practice? Am I not awesome enough? Why haven't I ever asked them to join me? Rainbow paused in the shower, placing a hoof to her muzzle. Am... Am I still still viewing them as above me...? Was that why she couldn't call any of the Bolts her friends?

Rainbow stomped her hoof. That's it! No more acting like a fan pony. I'm a Wonderbolt now. They're not above me. We're a team! And why wouldn't anypony want to be my friend? Plus, getting closer could improve our teamwork. These thoughts lead Rainbow in a new direction. But... Who should I start with? I've already spent time with Spitfire and Soarin... I helped Soarin out of his funk on mount Everhoof and Spitfire with the foals at flight camp. Spitfire's the captain though... The thought made her feel like a teacher's pet. Just thinking about it made her shudder. Soarin is the second-in-command... But I feel like I at least know him better than Spitfire. There wasn't much to him really. Like pie, works hard and has imposter syndrome.

Rainbow nodded as she locked in which Bolt to start with. She turned off the shower head and rushed to find Soarin. Luckily, he hadn't left yet. She dashed in front of him, landing with a wide grin.

"Soarin, how'd you like to spend some time with the Bolts' newest flier~?" Rainbow puffed out her chest proudly as she spoke.

Soarin looked at her with a wry expression before responding. "Crash, is this like last time you came to me to talk? I don't really have an interest in Wonderbolt fashion."

Rainbow huffed, being reminded of her previous ill advised attempts at interaction, before raising a wing to her face. "N-No! I just want to hang out! And you seemed like the easiest to talk to."

"Oh, I'm easy now? You sure know how to make a stallion feel appreciated," Soarin teased before starting to walk past the rainbow mare.

Rainbow grumbled and stepped in front of him again. Ease up on the ego Dash. We're equals. "Look, what I mean is, of all the Bolts, you're the one I feel like I know best. But I don't know if I could really say any of you are my friends. And I want to get to know you better. So... Do you want to hang out sometime?"

Soarin examined the pegasus in front of him, taking a beat before answering. "Eh, sure why not? We got the weekend off so we can hang out then. Meet me by the compound entrance tomorrow. I have just the thing we could do."

Rainbow beamed with excitement before shooting into the air victoriously. "Yes!" she exclaimed before slowly hovering back down. She tried to play it cool, leaning against a nearby wall. "I mean... Sweet. See you tomorrow."

Soarin chuckled before giving her a playful smile and walking past her. "Yeah, see you tomorrow, Crash." With a quick wing gun, Soarin took off, headed towards the barracks.

When he was gone, Rainbow let her excitement show again, doing a little dance in place. "I got this friendship in the bag! And after Soarin, the rest of the Bolts will be a piece of cake!" Rainbow snickered to herself until she noticed Fleetfoot near the entrance of the locker room. She jumped a bit at the sudden realization that somepony was watching her the whole time.

"You're talkin to yourself again, Crash. You sound like a crazy pony," Was all the light colored athlete said in response, a slight smirk on her face.

"No I don't!" Rainbow screeched, completely red faced before taking off, leaving the compound and that awkward moment behind.

***

Rainbow tapped her hoof incessantly, keeping an eye on the sky for her company. The newest Wonderbolt was up bright and early today, a rarity for her. She just couldn't stop thinking about how excited she was to actually hang-out with one of her idols. Sure, she worked with Soarin, but hanging out with somepony outside of work was completely different to hanging with them at work. But he was late! Then a thought crossed her mind.

Soarin never told me what time he wanted to hang out! Rainbow groaned at the sudden realization. What if he meant later on? Did I wake up early for nothing? Am I gonna be waiting here all day? What if he- Oh. There he is.

Soarin glided down to where Rainbow was waiting, small bits of cloud in his mane from... Well, Rainbow didn't really know why he had clouds in his mane. He also had a few scuff marks as well as the trademark bags under his eyes. She raised a brow and gave him a prod in his side. "You just rolling out of bed or something? What's with messy mane?"

Soarin noticed the rogue puff and shook his mane, dispersing it into the ground below. "What d'you mean rough? This is just me Crash. Don't have anyone to show off to today."

Rainbow leaned in closer, giving him pouty eyes. "Aww... I'm not worth showing off to, Clipper?"

Soarin pushed her face away with a grin. "You wanted to hang out, so you get the real Soarin, not the mask. Consider yourself lucky. Not many ponies get to meet the real, raw Soarin."

Rainbow cracked up at the corny pose Soarin was taking. "Sure, sure. Let's just get to it already! You said you had something in mind? Is it some super-awesome secret techniques? Ooo! You gonna show me that famed 'Mastery of Lightning' you bragged about last week? Or-or are you-" Rainbow's rambling was interrupted by a hoof to her mouth.

"Easy now. I figured we'd do something we could do together. Just follow me and you'll see what I've got planned."

Rainbow moved Soarin's hoof away from her mouth, giving him a slight squint at his answer. "Alright..."

Soarin nodded and took to the sky with Dash following his lead. They made some small talk as they flew but Rainbow was honestly more in her own head than the conversation. Soarin said he had something planned for today, but what could it be? There was also something a little weird pulling at the back of her mind. Why did Soarin come to the gate from the south? The barracks are to the north! Was Soarin doing something before we met up? That would make some sense and explain why he seemed a little frazzled. Maybe he was in a rush to finish something.

The two pegasi kept flying until they arrived in Cloudsdale. Rainbow seemed surprised that Soarin was so willing to fly openly in a city where they were so likely to get swarmed by fan ponies, but it seemed like he knew exactly how to avoid the crowds. Soarin knew the streets of Cloudsdale like the back of his hoof, taking back roads and alleys to keep them from sight. Even in moments where they had to navigate a crowd or two, Soarin knew just how to fly past them without making a sound.

I never realized how quiet of a flier Soarin is. Dash mused, finding a new found respect for the stallion as they continued to fly on.

Eventually, the two arrived at what looked like a bakery. There was a big sign over it that showed a very familiar looking pony, holding a whisk and bowl, along with the name of the Bakery. "Whisk It For The Biscuit...? And is that... High Winds on the sign?! When did THIS get here?!" Rainbow gawked at the sign before Soarin graciously picked her jaw up from the floor.

"This place has been here forever. Billboard's new. You comin, or what?" Soarin made his way toward the bakery with a confident stride.

Rainbow quickly picked up the pace and caught up with him, her shock still clear on her face. "But why is High Winds on the billboard? Do the owners even have permission for something like that? There's no way High Winds could have time to be a Wonderbolt AND a baker!"

"You'd be surprised, Rainbow Dash," With that, Soarin pushed open the door to reveal a number of fillies and colts, along with their parents enjoying cakes and pies of all kinds. The smell of baked goods filled Dash's nostrils, so sweet that it almost gave her a sugar rush. It was like being at Sugar Cube Corner all over again.

At the counter stood that same pony on the billboard outside, High Winds, happily handing a bag of sweets to a Cloudsdale family. Soarin approached the counter, greeting High Winds with a cheery demeanor.

Rainbow stood stock still until Soarin ushered her over with a hoof. "Don't be rude, Crash."

Rainbow approached the counter, still grappling with her bewilderment. "How... How are you able to be a full time Wonderbolt AND run a Bakery at the same time?"

"And hello to you too, Crash," The frizzy maned pegasus responded. "It's not technically my place. Parents own it. They just put me on the sign cause it draws the customers in. But I pick up shifts whenever I get time off. Unlike this lazy bones over here." High Winds nudged Soarin, making him jump a bit.

Soarin grinned and playfully patted High Wind's head. "My passions lie in eating pie, not making it. 'Sides, I need my time off. I'm not a workaholic like you."

High Winds batted his wing away with a hoof. Rainbow just stared at the two ponies. "Wait... Soarin, you used to work here too?"

"Course! When I was little, before I got my Cutie Mark I'd help my parents out with the baking all the time."

That line was what broke Rainbow's mind. Her voice grew higher and the realization hit. "You're SIBLINGS? I know everything about the Wonderbolts! I memorized every little detail that I could! How did I not know that?"

Soarin's tone was surprisingly calm in his response, compared to the overreacting rainbow mare. "Eh. We never told you. We want to keep some things to ourselves, you know? Also nopony ever really asked."

High Winds was quick to chime in to her brother's statement. "Plus, it doesn't really matter. The ponies who watch the Wonderbolts don't care that two of their members are twins."

So many things clicked into place for Dash. A part of her always wondered why the two looked so similar. But twins... That begged another question. "So you're twins... I can see it now but... Are you identical or fraternal?"

Soarin was first to answer. "Identical."

Rainbow cocked her head to the side. "But aren't identical twins usually the same gender?"

High Winds answered this time. "Yup!"

"Oh. Oooooh." Yet another thing I didn't know about Winds. You'd think I'd try to learn everything about my idols... No. Teammate. Rainbow shook off her daze. Winds would be another day. Today was for Soarin. "Well... This is a nice place and all Soarin, but what are we doing here? Your plan wasn't just to pig out on pie, was it?"

Soarin shook his head before grabbing some chef hats behind the counter. "We're gonna bake some pies!"

Rainbow's eyes widened and her heart stopped. "WHAT?!"

***

Rainbow was frozen in place at the counter in the back of the bakery. She looked down at the collection of ingredients in front of her with a sense of dread in her stomach. Rainbow was notoriously bad at baking. It was something she often hid from most ponies to protect her image. She was Rainbow Dash! The pony who was awesome at everything! Just... Not this. She looked up from the ingredients to Soarin who was rambling about something, probably pies.

"Uuuh... Soarin? Are you sure this is a good idea for a hang out? You don't want to do something else? Anything else?"

Soarin turned to Rainbow and gave her the brightest smile she'd ever seen on him. "Of course! This'll be a great way to bond! It's how my sister and I bonded when we were little. Why...? Do you... Not want to bake with me?" Soarin's smile shifted to a frown.

"N-No! It's not that! I'm just... Not sure this is the best way to bond. Maybe we could trade flying techniques or something."

Soarin's frown deepened as he slumped a bit. "No, I get it Dash. I just thought this would be a fun way to get to know each other. But we don't have to."

Despite giving her an out, Rainbow suddenly didn't want to take it. Yes, she'd recently learned about being honest about her feelings to friends, even if those feelings might hurt them but... She didn't hate the idea of baking with Soarin. She was just worried about messing up and looking dumb in front of someone she looked up to. Biting the proverbial bullet, she took in a steadying breath before putting on her trademark confidence.

"I just didn't expect it is all! We can bake together. Just don't be surprised when my pie comes out better than yours!"

That seemed to cheer Soarin up as he turned back around to the recipe book. "Sweet! Let's get to it then! The first step to any good pie is the crust. We need to make sure it's perfect before we can even think about the filling."

Rainbow rubbed the back of her head and flew over to the recipe book. "Don't you guys have crusts already? Can't we just use one of those?"

"We could, but all of our pies are hoof made. It wouldn't be our pie if we just took one High Winds made."

Rainbow huffed and grumbled to herself. "Riiiight..."

"C'mon! It'll be fun, I promise!" Soarin trotted back over to the counter with all the ingredients and tore open a bag of flour with his teeth. "First off, we need two and a half cups of flour!"

Rainbow was hesitant but opened a cabinet to grab a bowl for the mix. She placed it on the table before looking at the bag of flour. "Right... How much is a cup again...?"

Soarin giggled and pointed to a series of measuring cups, each listed with their size on the handle. Rainbow grabbed the one labeled, "1 Cup," and dipped it into the bag of flour. She then poured it into the bowl, repeating the process until she had the proper amount. So far so good.

Soarin proceeded to the next step. "Now we need a half a tablespoon of sugar and half a teaspoon of salt," as he said that, there was a voice that called his name from the front counter, making it hard for Rainbow to make out what Soarin told her.

"Oh. Sounds like High Winds needs me! We got a rush. You got this Rainbow, right?" Before giving her time to answer, Soarin rushed off, leaving Rainbow alone before she could answer.

Dumbstruck, she looked at the bowl and ingredients on the table, trying to remember what Soarin had just said, but for some reason, it was gone. "W-Wait... What was it again...? Half a tablespoon of salt and half a teaspoon of sugar...? Soarin! Is that right?!" Sadly, she got no response from the counter. Not feeling like wasting any more time, Rainbow shrugged and went along with what she thought he'd said.

Soarin wasn't back yet so she moved on to the next step. She dumped the bowl of flour into a blender before popping the lid on and hitting the button to start it up. "This isn't too hard. I think I got this!" Rainbow patted herself on the back as Soarin walked back in.

His eyes quickly landed on the blender and the pie crust batter mixing inside. His eyes grew wide as he rushed over to stop the blender as fast as possible. Rainbow just looked confused at him.

"What the hay, Soarin? Why'd you freak out like that?"

"You don't put the mix in the blender, Crash! You have to mix it by hoof!" Soarin almost seemed a little offended that Rainbow would take a shortcut like that.

"That just seems arbitrary to me. Why hoof mix it when the blender is right there?"

"Cause that's not how we make it! There's a method to our pies and if we don't follow it, it'll all come out wrong." Soarin sighed and calmed down, pouring the mix back into the bowl from before. "Look just... Pass me some butter from the fridge."

Rainbow shrugged and grabbed the first butter she found, tossing it Soarin's way. Unfortunately, Soarin wasn't prepared and the stick of butter clocked him in the head. Rainbow put her hoofs to her mouth and tried her best not to laugh as the stick of butter slid down Soarin's muzzle, revealing an unamused expression.

"Oops. Sorry," Rainbow said, through muffled laughs.

Soarin grinned and took what butter he needed from the stick before throwing the rest of the butter back at Dash. She caught it easily, being more prepared than Soarin was. Soarin tossed the butter he needed into the bowl before looking back to Dash. "That was the unsalted butter, right?"

Rainbow paused and looked to the stick of butter in her hooves. It was definitely NOT unsalted butter. Rainbow waved it off and put the stick back in its place. "I'm sure it's fine."

The two continued their pie crust until the mix was ready for assembly. Soarin explained a few of his family methods but all the info just went in one ear and out the other for Dash. It was super hard to focus on the stallions words with something she didn't really care for.

Soarin emptied the bowl on the counter and split the mix into two equal chunks. "Now we flatten it and, when we're done, we'll throw the crust in the fridge."

"Flatten the dough, got it!" Rainbow pounded at the dough making the table jump and startling Soarin. She kept pounding at it, shaking the table and knocking ingredients over. Honestly, this was Rainbow's favorite part, just letting out her aggression on a dessert she didn't care for was strangely cathartic. Until she saw Soarin's look of concern.

"Uh... Rainbow Dash. Might want to be a bit more careful with the dough. You're trying to flatten it, not beat it up." His method was a lot smoother, forming the dough into a round disk shape and patting out any rough edges.

"I thought beating it was a baking thing...?"

"You beat eggs, not pie crust."

Rainbow grumbled again and followed Soarin's instructions. Unfortunately, the damage was already done. Her crust was already looking a bit malformed and lumpy compared to Soarin's. Soarin simply shrugged and took the crusts to the fridge. Rainbow was incredibly bored now.

"Uuuuugh! Are we done now?! That took like thirty minutes," Rainbow groaned at Soarin.

"You gotta have patience Dash. Now we wait one hour for the crusts to form."

"An HOUR?! We're just supposed to sit here for an hour now?!"

"It's the process. We don't wait and the crust won't stick together well."

Rainbow's scowl could give Fluttershy's stare a run for its money. Soarin picked up on Rainbow's frustration and bumped open the freezer. The freezer was lined with different flavors of ice cream. "Yeeeeah, the waiting gets to me too. That's why we got this. Pick a flavor."

Now THIS was something Rainbow could get behind! Rainbow quickly swooped up a tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream and dug in. Soarin chuckled and grabbed the chocolate ice cream tub. The two spent a few minutes cooling down with their icy dessert of choice before Soarin broke the silence.

"Hey uh... Rainbow Dash. I know you're not the biggest fan of pies so... I just wanted to say how much it means that you stuck around." The smile that Soarin gave her reminded her why she was still here. It reminded her of the smiles Pinkie used to give whenever she, 'ate,' one of her pies, in spite of her own dislike of the pastry.

"Aww, it's nothing. I may not care for baking but friends gotta compromise, right?" Rainbow returned his smile, her anger and frustration from before melting away.

Soarin gave her a sly expression, pointing his spoon of ice cream at her. "You seemed pretty confident in your baking skills before. Or was that more Rainbow Crash bravado?"

Rainbow took the challenge on the chin and puffed out her chest. "Oh, I'm still an awesome baker! Just not something I do for fun, Clipper."

"Riiiight. Cause Rainbow Dash is awesome at everything, huh?" Soarin smirked before putting the spoon back in his mouth. After swallowing that bite, he leaned against a nearby counter. "You know, I'm starting to believe that. But we'll have to see how this pie turns out."

Rainbow nodded and went back to her ice cream, occasionally taking breaks from it to get to know Soarin better.

***

An hour passed much sooner than Rainbow expected it would. Somehow they got on the topic of Ogres and Oubliettes. She'd never really played it normally, mentioning that one time with Discord, Spike and Big Mac. Quibble also talked about it a few times in his letters, but Soarin's explanation caught her attention way more. Maybe it was because Soarin was better at describing the action side of the game but she was almost tempted to try it sometime.

Before she could ask about it more, a timer dinged, letting the ponies know their hour was up. Rainbow was first up, zooming to the fridge to pull the pie crusts out. "Finally! Now, what comes next?" Rainbow found herself actually excited to bake with her new friend.

The excitement wasn't lost on Soarin. He took a step up to the fridge and pointed towards the lines of fruit in the fridge. "Don't get too excited, Crash. I might start to think you like baking." Rainbow rolled her eyes and scanned the fruit. "Now we decide what filling to go with."

Rainbow's eyes landed on a small basket of blueberries and scooped them up. At the very least, she could pop a few in her mouth while they were baking.

"Blueberry it is. Set those on the table and I'll get the pie tin."

Rainbow did as she was told, placing the pie crusts on the cutting board and setting the blueberries aside. Soarin placed a pie tin on the counter and handed a rolling pin to Rainbow.

"Now roll the crust out till it's nice and flat. I got the under crust, so you're in charge of the top." Soarin got to rolling out his pie crust, leaving Dash with a few questions.

"Um... Alright... What's different about the top?" Rainbow cautiously rolled the dough out, following Soarin's example.

"Well, once you're done rolling it out, you cut the dough into strips."

"Right... Is this good?" Rainbow's dough was flattened but was tearing on the ends, making it look messy.

"Not quite. You gotta fix the tears. Like this," Soarin demonstrated how he fixed the edges of his dough. Once again, Rainbow followed his lead and produced something that was at least presentable.

Soarin then rolled his dough onto the rolling pin before placing the crust in the pie tin.

"Cool! Now we take the blueberries, add sugar, flour, cinnamon and lemon juice." Soarin explained as he overturned the basket of blueberries into a bowl.

One of the berries tumbled out and onto the counter before quickly being scooped up by Rainbow. "Wait, you put lemon in blueberry pie?"

"Yeah! It adds a little bit of kick to the pie! Trust me, it's great. Now pass me the lemon juice." Soarin held out his hoof for Rainbow.

Rainbow scratched her head a bit before looking in the cabinet and finding an assortment of identical looking bottles. She hesitated as she tried to figure out which one was the lemon juice. Most of the bottles were labeled but two of them had the labels scratched out. None of the labels read, Lemon Juice, so she just grabbed the one on the right, unaware that the faded label once read, "Vinegar."

Before she could hand it to Soarin and get corrected, High Winds called for Soarin again. He groaned and moved from the pie.

"Sorry Dash. Sounds like they need me again. Just... add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, half a cup of sugar, four and a half tablespoons of flour and a teaspoon of cinnamon to the bowl," Soarin's voice trailed off as he walked out of the room before he popped his head back in to add something. "Oh! And grab the secret ingredient! It's a family staple. Should be in the leftmost cupboard. Can't miss it!" And then he was gone again.

Rainbow's brain stuttered for a bit as she tried to remember everything he said. She quickly gathered the remaining ingredients and did her best to remember the measurements. She wasn't completely off all things considered. The measurements for the lemon juice were right... If it was actually lemon juice. And the only measurements she mixed up was the Cinnamon and the Flour!

Now it was time for the secret ingredient. Rainbow flew over to the cupboard Soarin mentioned and found a bottle that showed a cheery looking pony on it. Soarin was right, she definitely couldn't miss the bottle. It was the only thing in the cupboard. Curiosity got the better of her. She uncorked the bottle and sniffed its contents. It had a familiar scent of ozone...?

Is it... Lightning? Her question was suddenly answered when the opening of the bottle zapped her hoof with just enough force to make her jolt.

Rainbow stumbled back, crashing into the countertop and falling to the ground. While she recovered, the bag of flour on the counter tipped over, spilling onto Rainbow and covering her in white powder. Rainbow sneezed, kicking up the flour and making an even bigger mess. Luckily, she was able to keep hold of the lightning in a bottle, which she promptly recorked.

Soarin stumbled back in, alerted by the noise. "Rainbow Dash, are you alright?! What's going on in here?"

Rainbow coughed as she got back to her hooves. "I'm fine just... Had a little mishap." Rainbow offered the bottle to Soarin with a shaky smile. "One secret ingredient."

Soarin raised an eyebrow at Dash but didn't question her. "If you say so. I gotta get back to the counter. We're gettin slammed out there. Just add the secret ingredient, mix the blueberries and add them to the tin. Hopefully, I can join you soon." Soarin turned and left once more, not even looking at the bowl of blueberries.

Rainbow sighed and rubbed the spot on her side where she ran into the table before heading back to the bowl.

Soarin didn't really say how much needed to go in the bowl so she just put all of it inside. A small puff of storm cloud landed in the bowl, electrifying the berries and giving them a soft glow.

Satisfied, Rainbow carefully started mixing the berries together. She didn't want to touch them, so at first she tossed the bowl, hoping it'd work like a salad. It wasn't very effective. The stickiness of the berries made some of them stay in place while other berries just tumbled onto the floor. Rainbow almost slipped on them as she reached for a nearby wooden spoon.

After a bit of light mixing, Rainbow decided it was enough to pour them into the tin. The berries tumbled out, not all of which made it into the tin before rolling onto the floor. She sighed and looked towards the door to the counter.

"Soarin! I put the berries in the tin! Are you done yet?!" Rainbow shouted to her teammate.

"I uh... Still got a rush! But you're almost done! Just take the strips you cut before and put them on top of the pie in a lattice pattern," Soarin's reply come in a bit muffled.

"A what pattern?"

"Lattice! You have seen pies before, right?!"

Rainbow huffed and dipped her head a bit. We're supposed to be doing this together. She shook her head and decided to give Soarin a piece of her mind when she was done. Rainbow did her best to make a lattice pattern, but without Soarin there to guide her hoof it came out very sloppy. It didn't look much like a lattice at all, but it wasn't about the appearance. It was about taste and she followed the recipe perfectly! She thought at least.

Soarin still wasn't back, so she decided to take the initiative. She grabbed the pie tin and walked it over to the oven, carefully placing it inside and closing the oven door. It was then that Soarin finally rushed back inside.

"Alright! I'm back! Next step is to-"

Rainbow interrupted and gestured to the oven. "Don't worry about it! I finished everything. Just got to cook it." Rainbow had a smug look on her face, rather proud she handled almost all of the filling by herself.

"Wait, really...? Huh. Maybe I did misjudge you," Soarin complimented as he walked over to check the oven. He looked it over and smiled before setting the temperature to 350 degrees. "Rather impressive Rainbow. You might have a baker in you yet."

Rainbow grinned smugly and lifted her head up high. "You can praise me all you want, but pictures will cost extra."

Soarin rolled his eyes and gestured to the flour and blueberries on the floor. "How about you clean up your mess and we'll go for a fly. Got another hour before the pie's done."

"I thought you'd never ask!" Rainbow sped through her cleaning, eager to finally get some flying in with Soarin. Once the kitchen was spotless, the two headed out, leaving just before the pie in the oven sparked with electricity.

***

Rainbow and Soarin both zoomed into the kitchen, tapping the counter at the same time before busting out into boisterous laughter.

"I win! Told you I was faster! Beat you by a feather, Clipper. Or should I say, Slipper~?" Rainbow beamed confidently.

"I only slipped at the start cause you tripped me, Crash. And you didn't even win! I was miles ahead." Soarin stepped closer to Dash, a competitive smirk on his face.

Rainbow met him, getting her face within inches of his for her taunt. "Sounds like delusions from last place to me."

Soarin pushed further, pressing his forehead to Rainbow's. "Only delusions I see are from you. Probably inhaling too much of my cloud trail."

"Oh yeah? Well-"

The two ponies banter was interrupted by the shrill beeping of the oven. It filled the room with an ominous feeling as they realized the oven window was clouded with smoke. Soarin pulled back from Dash, making her fall on her face.

"Uh-Oh. That's not good," Soarin said, as he reached a tentative hoof towards the handle.

Rainbow got up and watched Soarin from a distance as he slowly cracked open the oven. Black smoke seeped through the opening and quickly filled the room, making both ponies cough as they tried to wave away the vapors. When the smoke cleared, Soarin grabbed a dishrag and grabbed at the edge of the pan. He had to move quickly as the sticky, hot contents bubbled past the ineffective cover. Soarin's lips got slightly burned as a bubble burst near his mouth, causing him to swiftly drop the "pie" on the counter.

The wretched confection was scorched black as small ripples of electricity ran along the surface of the open pie face. The lattice of pie crust Rainbow tried to place had burst, leaving curled up crust in a mess that did nothing to contain the blueberry filling. Probably the result of Rainbow forgetting the egg wash. The smell was off, more sour than sweet and filling the room with its pungent scent. The smell wasn't helped by the black smoke coming off the pie and filling the room.

Rainbow rushed to open a window, sticking her head out of it to get a fresh whiff of clear air. The smoke eventually cleared out of the kitchen, but the stink lingered.

Soarin stared at the abomination before him, almost in awe of it. It took Rainbow waving a hoof in front of his face to break him out of his trance.

"Rainbow I... I don't know what to say..."

Rainbow looked to the baked bad before forcing her gaze away, lest she also fall under it's trance. "I'm... Sure it doesn't taste as bad as it looks. It's not pretty and doesn't... Smell remotely edible, but I'm sure it's fine," Rainbow tried in vain to justify her mistake but Soarin was still stuck by the blackened mess. "L-Look! I'll try it and tell you what it tastes like!"

Before Rainbow could reach for a fork to taste the putrid pastry, Soarin shook his head and held a wing in front of her. His tone was deadly serious, like a hero preparing for a noble sacrifice.

"No... I'll taste it. It was my fault it got this bad. I was too distracted to notice the monster we were creating. So now, it falls to me. If I don't make it... Tell Spitfire of my sacrifice."

"S-Soarin...?" was all Rainbow could mutter as he walked in slow motion towards the pestilent pie. Celestia's sun shined off Soarin's head, illuminating him in light and causing Rainbow to have to put a hoof to her forehead if she wanted to watch his approach. The pie stood tall, a monument to the hubris of ponies.

Slowly... Soarin grabbed a fork from the drawer and pierced the syrupy flesh of his chosen foe. Electricity ran up the fork handle into Soarin's hoof but he shook it off with a simple grunt. Soarin would not be defeated like this! Not by a pie, his favorite sweet contaminated by an evil most foul!

With a thrust, he hit his mark, piercing the crust below before quickly shooting the fork up and into his mouth. Time stood still as the battle for Soarin's taste buds began. His expression remained neutral, putting on a brave face for his subordinate. He stayed there, motionless for a moment, and then two... And then three. Until he finally swallowed. His turn to dash was almost anticlimactic.

"You know, it's actually not that-" Soarin's body was suddenly attacked all at once. His mouth burned from the heat and overuse of cinnamon, causing him to cough up what he'd had in his mouth. The hairs of his coat stood on end as lightning entered his system, making him go bug eyed. The crust was overly salted, drying out his mouth and making him desperate for a glass of water. This wasn't helped by the taste of vinegar, causing his stomach to groan in displeasure.

Soarin placed a hoof on the counter top to steady himself and keep from falling, but the, "edible," bomb he'd just consumed was threatening to overwhelm him.

Rainbow rushed to his aid, helping steady him as he rode out the attack on his systems. "Soarin! Y-You're gonna be fine! Just hold on."

Soarin chuckled weakly and wiped his muzzle. "I... I think I'm through the worst of it. I just need to-"

A surge of energy bubbled up from Soarin's gut to his throat before being released from his mouth in the form of a large lighting bolt that struck the nearby wall, causing a loud crack of thunder. The sound and sudden burst of energy was enough to deafen Dash briefly and cause her to lose grip on Soarin. He fell to the ground, coughing and wheezing. "D-Dash..."

"Oh no! Soarin! Hey, talk to me, buddy. Stay with me!" Panic shook through Rainbow as she looked at the crumpled form of her friend on the floor.

"D-Dash... Did you... Use... All the secret... Ingredient," Soarin slurred through coughs and gasps for air.

Rainbow teared up a bit as she nodded, worry gripping her heart. "I... I didn't know how much you wanted me to use... There wasn't much so I used it all."

Soarin groaned as Rainbow lightly cradled his head in her lap. "It's... Alright... It was on me... I should've stayed..."

"N-No! It's all on me! I don't know squat about baking, but kept at it anyway! I'm probably the worst baker in all of Equestria! And now... Because of that you're..." Rainbow couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence. Luckily, Soarin didn't let her.

"I lived a good life... Performed for ponies... Lived my dreams... Traveled the world... My only regret is that I didn't eat enough pie." Soarin let out a weak chuckle as his eyelids grew heavy.

"N-NO! You're gonna be alright! I'll... I'll go grab help!" Rainbow started to get up but she was stopped by Soarin.

"I... I have one more thing to say..." By the tone in his voice, it didn't sound like Soarin had a lot of strength left.

Rainbow teared up more as she looked to the weakened stallion below her. "Wh-What is it...?"

"I... I..." Soarin's eyes closed as his body went limp. Rainbow would've broken entirely if not for him suddenly shooting up from the ground with an impossible speed.

"I got you Crash! Should've seen the look on your face," Soarin chuckled loudly at Rainbow's stunned expression.

Her stunned expression very quickly turned to anger as her face grew hot. "This... Was all a PRANK?! Are you KIDDING me Soarin! I was... I was worried about you, you jerk!"

Soarin giggled louder and wiped a tear from his cheek before shaking his head. "Sorry Dash. I just had to get you back for last week. Think, now we're even."

"L-Last week? I didn't even pull a prank on you last week!" Rainbow was fuming, but her curiosity to Soarin's motives overtook her anger.

"Noo... But your friend Pinkie came by and gave you the most amazing looking pie ever! And you just threw it away. I get you don't like pie but hellooo, you have a pie enthusiast right here!" The Wonderbolt spoke with an almost comic level of seriousness, which would’ve been admirable if it wasn’t about pie.

Rainbow stuttered, taken aback by the stallion's answer. "All of this... Was for that?!"

Soarin's serious tone only grew. "I hate wasting good food, Rainbow Dash. Especially pies made by one of the best bakers in Equestria."

Rainbow stared at Soarin, trying to process everything that just happened. "So... You're saying you pranked me and made me think you were dying... Cause I didn't give you the pie Pinkie made?"

"Well, I didn't mean for it to go that far, the pie we made was pretty bad. But when I saw how bad of a baker you were, I had to play it up a bit. I uh... Probably went a bit far, huh? Sorry about that." Soarin rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Ya think?!" Rainbow shouted in her frazzled state.

The two stood there in silence for a moment before they both burst out in laughter. As much as it scared her, Rainbow had to admit that Soarin was a great prankster. Soarin was just happy Rainbow was being a good sport about it.

When the two ponies finally composed themselves, Rainbow let out a tired sigh of relief. "How did you even do the whole lightning thing? Was that real?"

"Oh yeah, it was real! Party trick I picked up a while ago. I can put small bits of storm cloud in my mouth and make it look like I'm breathing lightning. I could teach it to you some day."

"You better! That was awesome!" Rainbow cheered loudly, as she thought back to their first meeting. "Wait... Is THAT why you were covered in clouds this morning?"

Soarin pressed a hoof to his nose. "It's not some secret ingredient of my family. Just a fun use of a party trick. You really think we'd put actual lightning in our pies? We'd get sued from here to Manehattan if we did that."

Rainbow shook her head as she realized all the clues leading up to here. "High Winds never even needed your help, did she?"

"Nope. She was in on it too."

"Wait... So is the pie...?" Rainbow looked to the smoldering remains of what could've been a tasty treat.

"Oh no, it's awful. But not as bad as I made it seem, believe me I've tried A LOT of bad pies in my time. I'm a pretty good actor, huh?" Soarin smirked and put a hoof to his chest.

Rainbow couldn't help herself from taking the shot. "You're an alright actor. Don't get too big a head."

"Coming from the queen of inflated egos? Riiiight. And I was good enough to fool you." Soarin jabbed her teasingly in the chest.

Rainbow was gonna shoot back with her own insult, but Soarin's stomach growled angrily at him.

"We should... Clean this up before the smell makes me actually throw up," Soarin suggested.

"Agreed!"

***

Both Soarin and Dash got a chewing out by High Winds for the lingering smell of burnt blueberries in the kitchen and were promptly kicked out for the day. As they walked away the two couldn't stop laughing. Even when one would stop, all that it would take was a look from the other to get them started again. It took a while before either was coherent enough to speak.

"You know... I didn't think baking would actually bring us closer but... I don't think I've laughed this much in a while. I feel like I learned a lot about you today, Soarin."

Soarin nodded as he settled down from his giggle fit. "Glad you enjoyed yourself. Been wondering why we didn't do anything like this sooner."

Rainbow paused and sighed. "Guess... Even with my, 'inflated ego,' you mentioned, I had a hard time seeing us as on the same level. I spent so much time looking up to you guys, I guess I was still seeing you and the rest of the Bolts as idols instead of equals."

"Rainbow, you are one of us. Don't know why you need somepony like me to tell you that. You made it. You can relax."

"Well... Yeah I see that now. Just hard to break that thought, you know?"

Soarin paused and went quiet, thinking for a bit. "Yeah, I think I get it. Honestly, I found it a little hard to approach you too. Even after you came to find me on Mount Everhoof, I couldn't help but compare myself to you. Everywhere I looked you came out on top. You just seemed to have everything figured out." Rainbow looked to him for a bit, speechless.

He... Looks up to me?

"Buuuut... Now I know I'm at least a better baker than you~"

Rainbow lightly pushed him and rolled her eyes at his light jab. "Yeah. One thing you're better than me at. Don't think it'll stay that way. Now I have a reason to get better."

Soarin smirked and waved her off. "I'd like to see you try!"

"Oh, I'm gonna be better than you! So you better brush up before I leave you in the dust!"

"Speaking of leaving ponies in the dust..." Soarin took off at blinding speeds, leaving nothing but rushing wind in his wake. "Last one back to the compound's on toilet duty for a week!" Soarin shouted from the air.

"Hey! No fair! Soarin!" Rainbow took after him, tearing through the sky at speeds that would make jets dizzy.

In the fading sunlight of the day, high above the ground below, Rainbow had one thought in her mind as she raced with Soarin.

I finally have a friend in the Wonderbolts!