Spectrum Rush the Awesome charged across the battlefield, greatsword clutched in her draconic hands. Her allies lie scattered around her, all unconscious from the monster's vicious attacks. Spectrum was barely holding on herself. Her wings ached and body was about ready to give out. But she couldn't stop until the beast had fallen. She just needed one-

"Natural 20!" Rainbow shouted at the top of her lungs. The table of ponies around her erupted into cheers, even High Winds, who sat behind her OM screen couldn't help but smirk.

"Spectrum Rush, as you swing your greatsword once more at the creature who has caused so much pain and suffering to your friends... How do you want to do this?"

Dash's eyes lit up as she described how Spectrum tears down her enemy in a blind rage, unsure if she could save the party, but knowing that she could at least end this villain's reign of terror.

O&O is so much cooler than Quibble made it sound!

With the villain defeated and combat over, High Winds called the session there. Everypony breathed a sigh of relief as Rainbow looked to her friends at the table.

Soarin sat across from her, a goofy grin on his face. Fleetfoot sat next to him with Surprise on her other side. Next to Dash was Misty Fly and Silver Zoom.

Who knew most of the Wonderbolts had an O&O game going?

As everypony got up to leave, Soarin nudged Rainbow's side. "Told yah. I knew you'd enjoy this."

Oh yeah! Soarin knew.

"Alright, alright. Don't get a big head on me, crusty. That's my job! I just saved your flank afterall!" Rainbow gloated as she walked out with him.

Soarin smirked and gave a little shrug. "I don't know about that~ I'm the one who gave you that advantage on the last roll. You wouldn't have gotten that crit without me."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. That was true, but that still felt like she saved him in her mind.

As she left, Rainbow said her goodbyes to each of the Bolts. Once they were out of the mess hall, Rainbow returned to her conversation with Soarin.

"Do gotta hoof it to you though. This is a much easier way to make friends than what I was doing. I actually feel like I'm learning about everycreature every session." Rainbow couldn't help but feel pride at how far she'd come. She actually felt like she could call the Wonderbolts her friends. Not just Soarin and Spitfire, but all of them.

Though, they did still like to remind her of her first attempt to befriend them… She really was never gonna live that moment down.

"Glad I could help, Dash." Soarin seemed to be a lot happier around Rainbow lately, and she picked up on that.

Soarin was usually cheery, but Rainbow had come to learn that Soarin hid his true feelings a lot. His sunny demeanor before was mostly an act. Truth is, he wanted others to be happy, even when going through dark times. And he was willing to act as positive as he could as long as it made them smile in turn.

While she appreciated the levity before, she'd come to prefer his real smile. A smile that reminded her of spending time with her closest friends.

Someday. Maybe. I'll tell him. She thought before remembering her gift.

"Oh! I actually got something for you, Soarin!" The rainbow mare pulled out a small package from her saddle bags. It wasn't warm anymore as she'd forgotten about it until now, but it smelled like pie and it even smelled... Good?

Soarin looked quizzically to the bag before grabbing it and opening the top. Inside was a small blueberry pie maybe, about the size of Soarin's Hoof. He held it and examined the pastry closely.

"This doesn't seem half bad. You get this from Pinkie Pie?" Soarin asked, still sizing up the dessert.

"Nope! She helped me a bit, but I made that one by myself." There was a little pride in Rainbow's voice, but her usual ego was toned down quite a bit.

Soarin flinched a bit as he looked nervously at the pie. With a shaky smile he turned to Rainbow. "Oooooh, thank you Rainbow... You shouldn't have."

Dash didn't buy this act for a second.

"Oh come on, quit being a drama queen and try it! I worked really hard on this one. And even Pinkie made sure I followed every step properly." Rainbow huffed at his stalling tactics.

Soarin sighed and bit the bullet or pie in this case, though depending on how it tasted, a bullet might actually end up being more accurate.

Immediately, he was shocked. The pie was... Not bad? It wasn't great or anything but this was hooves down the best thing Rainbow had ever baked for him. He actually willingly finished the small pie, turning to Rainbow with a shocked smile.

"Dang Rainbow, you've actually improved a lot! I'm impressed!"

Rainbow chuckled softly, keeping her ego in check as she took the compliment. "Thanks Soarin. I know it's not amazing or anything, but I'm getting closer. Maybe someday I can make one that you'll like as much as Pinkie or Applejack's."

Soarin was blown away. He was unsure this was the same competitive pony who told him she'd surpass him some day. It was refreshing to see Rainbow being humble. Because of that, he decided not to take a shot at her.

"Heh. Yeah, maybe someday. Still got a long road ahead though." Soarin's tone was encouraging, this most recent dessert proving to him that she could get there.

"I know, Soarin. But I've got time." Rainbow beamed, that feeling of pride returning to her.

I can do this! I'm not trying to be better than Pinkie. I just want to make one Soarin will like.

As Celestia's sun set, leaving the two in the chilly air of the early night, Rainbow and Soarin said their goodbyes and headed off in different ways. Rainbow was quick to get to bed that night, she needed to be up early for a certain new project.

***

Rainbow wiped a few beads of sweat from her forehead as she took a moment to admire her work. She eyed up the building, scratching her chin as she tried to think of anything else to perfect the look.

Is this too much color or should I get some more...? She's not exactly the most cheery pony ever. Suddenly, Rainbow got an idea!

After a few finishing touches, it was time to show Spitfire the results of her work. She zipped off to find her, the process only taking a few minutes for the lightning fast pegasus.

Unlike her usual more abrasive attitude, the Captain of the Wonderbolts, simply allowed the Pegasus mare to lead her along.

Rainbow held her wings over Spitfire's eyes, waiting until they got to just the right spot before finally revealing... "Ta-daaaaa! What do you think of your new place, Spitfire?"

The cloud house had come a long way since Rainbow started this project. Once simple cloud walls had intricate carvings of important Wonderbolt figures, the roof was now made of rippling fluffy clouds in the colors of the sunset and the path to the front door had a flame motif, befitting the fiery Wonderbolt Captain.

The house was beautiful, and Rainbow couldn't help but feel pride in its progress, but Spitfire hadn't given her reaction yet.

The straight faced pony observed the building in silence, carefully taking in every detail of her freshly renovated home. Spitfire stepped closer to run a hoof along the surface of the wall. She then kicked the wall a bit, testing its durability. Rainbow tried to read her commander's expression, but the sunglasses made it hard to see her eyes.

Rainbow watched in a stunned silence, her mind racing. What if she doesn't like it? Did I go overboard? Why won't she say anything?! The tension was killing Rainbow!

After what felt like a minute that felt like an hour, Spitfire finally gave her thoughts.

"This isn't exactly what I was expecting when I hired you." Her commander's first words made Rainbow droop a bit, expecting Spitfire didn't care for her designs. Then, Spitfire tipped her shades to look at Dash. "But I can see myself getting used to it. Great work Rainbow Dash."

The tension in Rainbow's body finally released as she shot up into the air. Her excitement was too much to contain, her body instinctively dancing as she celebrated.

All Rainbow's life, she had been showered with praise, making the brash pegasus crave it more than anything. But with Spitfire, that praise had to be earned. She wouldn't just give it to her over every small accomplishment. To Rainbow, that made it all the more desirable. If Spitfire complimented her, or gave her praise, it meant she'd truly wowed her, and that was the best feeling ever. Truly earning Spitfire's adoration and seeing that stern face smile, filled Dash's stomach with butterflies.

Spitfire shook her head and let out a chuckle. "You truly are something. Don't know how you keep impressing me, but you always find a way."

Rainbow giggled and flew back to the ground. "There's always more to a pony than you think. Even when you think you know them, you can learn something that completely changes your perspective of them."

Spitfire nodded slightly, giving Rainbow a nudge and a playful smile. "When did you get so philosophical?"

Rainbow thought back to when she first asked Soarin to hang out. "I learned a lot from getting to know the Bolts better. Soarin and High Winds being twins, Fleetfoot being a huge bookworm, and even Misty Fly struggling to fly until she got her Cutie Mark. I never would've thought any of these things about them until I actually talked to them. Ponies have secret depths to them you'd never know if you don't give them a chance. It makes me wonder what else I don't know."

Spitfire's lips curled up more and started to walked in front of Dash, making her way inside. "It can take a lifetime to truly learn everything there is to a pony. Guess it's up to you to decide which ponies are worth spending that lifetime with."

Those words struck a chord with Rainbow, pulling her deeper into thought. Who do I want to spend that lifetime with? Maybe for most ponies, there would only be one that comes to mind. But I think for me... There are two.

Rainbow turned her attention back to Spitfire. The mare was most of the way through her doorway, almost ready to close the door.

"Wanna come in?" Spitfire asked.

Rainbow shook her head. "No thanks. I've got some thinking to do."

Spitfire laughed at the excuse. "Alright. Don't hurt yourself. You and Soarin both could do with a few more brain cells up there."

Rainbow smirked at the light jab. "You love us and you know it. Without us, you'd be bored out of your mind."

Rainbow was expecting Spitfire to roll her eyes or deny it. Instead she just gave a playful shrug. "Can't say that you're wrong. See you around Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow nodded and took off. As she disappeared from sight, Spitfire could hear her in the distance. "See yah!"

As the wind whipped through her multicolored mane, Rainbow could feel her thoughts grow clearer.

Not yet. She thought, speeding up as she closed in on her hometown. Someday soon, but not yet.

Life is a mystery, you never know what's going to happen next, but you can steer it in small ways. Who you interact with, how you spend your time, what chances you take. Normally, Rainbow Dash was the type of pony to run into choices headlong, but not this one. Matters like this needed to be handled at the right time.

As she landed on the front steps of the School of Friendship, she knew the timing wasn't right. There was a slight chill that ran up the pegasus' back, an eerie feeling that something dangerous was on the way. For now, Rainbow ignored that feeling.

After all, today was when she would take her students on a field trip to see the Weather Factory with Starlight.

Author's Note

Alright! Now it's done! I am so happy with how this tory turned out, even if the ending might not be liked by everyone who reads it. I know I left a lot open and there are still some questions to ask, but I accomplished what I set out to do with this story. Rainbow is actually friends with the Wonderbolts, not just a member.

Another reason why things were left the way they are, this story is getting a sequel! I wanted this one to be a light-hearted set up piece to the next story. One that works on it's own as Rainbow bonding with her teammates but also allows for further development with Rainbow, Soarin and Spitfire. I hope you'll join me for the next story in this series! After a small break.

I'm probably gonna write one or two shorter stories before I jump into the sequel. Thank you for reading and shout-outs to The Fan Without a Face for editing this chapter. Couldn't have got this story done without you. You can check out their channel here: https://www.fimfiction.net/user/224464/The+Fan+Without+a+Face