That Awesome Pegasus with the Iridescent Mane

Just outside of Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, looks down from a fairly tall cliff with a nervous look painted on her face. Near the ground, hovering in place, was her close friend, Rainbow Dash.

"Come on, Twilight! This is only a medium dive!" Rainbow Dash shouts impatiently from the ground.

"It might be easy for you, Rainbow, but I'm still getting the hang of this flying business!" Twilight Sparkle retorts while nervously looking over the edge of the small cliff.

"How is this going to help in flying again?" She adds with a raised eyebrow
Rainbow rolls her eyes.

"Every filly and colt has to do this jump for summer flight camp!" she replies.

"All you have to do is jump, extend out your wings, and pull up once you’re close to the ground; it's a simple bravery test," she continues.

The violet Alicorn remains silent while looking down from the edge, causing Rainbow to groan. ‘She was the one who asked me for help.’ Twilight wants to become more assured at flying, and this dive is one of the best ways to do so. Rainbow had to do this jump when she was a filly, of course, because of how awesome and confident she already was at the time; the jump she did was easily twice the length.

"Alright, how about I use the incentive then?" Rainbow shouts while pulling out a small but thick book from her saddlebag.

“What incentive…” Twilight asks.

Twilight’s eyes widen, and she gasps when she recognizes the book that Rainbow is now attempting to balance on her snout.

"That’s my foalhood copy of Advanced Organizational Magic for Fillies and Colts! That's one of my favorite comfort reading books, Rainbow!" she exclaims.

‘She reads this for comfort!?’

Well, at least it caught her attention now. Rainbow tosses the small book into the air, prompting Twilight to dive down the plunge, pulling up only a hair's length from the ground, using the momentum to launch into the air and catch the small textbook with her teeth.

Rainbow falls on her back, laughing as Twilight Sparkle gently lands with her book, now being carried via her Alicorn magic. Twilight did not look as amused as Rainbow did.

"What? You did the dive, didn’t you? Another successful lesson taught by flight teacher Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow says while lounging on the grass, wearing her best smug smile.

"Don’t quit your day job, Rainbow," Twilight simply replies.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, still, I bet I can be a great teacher!” says Rainbow as she waves a hoof around.

Twilight playfully rolls her eyes and smiles at her friend.

“I gotta go now, Rainbow, I’m expecting a delivery, I’ll see ya later!” She states cheerfully.

The rainbow-maned Pegasus lazily waves her hoof while still lying on the ground.

“Tomorrow’s lesson is on looping, so eat a light breakfast. Trust me on that one!” she shouts.

Twilight playfully shakes her head and holds her smile as she starts walking back to her home.

Twilight Sparkle giggles at a passage in her textbook as she waits at the entrance of Golden Oak Library. Yesterday, she received a letter from Princess Celestia stating that she was sending an important spellbook for Twilight to cross-reference with her other spellbooks via her new personal royal courier. Although she is no longer Celestia’s student, she still enjoys doing these kinds of assignments.

She takes a look at her surroundings. Ponyville is in its usual hustle and bustle. Twilight spots Rainbow Dash flying back to her own home in the clouds quite quickly. In the market, she sees Rarity frantically buying fabrics. Pinkie Pie is doing… something on top of the Cakes’ confectionery. From where Twilight can see Canterlot in the distance, she sees a red streak coming toward Ponyville—actually, it seems like it's flying toward her!

Before she can take cover, Twilight notices that the red streak is a dark red Pegasus. ‘Ah, he must be the courier,’ taking a closer look, she notices that his flying is kind of erratic and jerky like he's constantly correcting himself, and while he’s clearly not too slow, he's certainly not as fast as Rainbow Dash. ‘Aren't the royal couriers known for their speed and precision?’ He lands in front of Twilight quite gracefully and bows in front of her, ‘still not used to that.’ He has a slightly curly dark purple mane and is in the uniform of the royal couriers, a dark grey buttoned shirt with black saddlebags and a gold-trimmed scarlet bandana wrapped around his neck with a badge the size of a Bit pinned on his shirt.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle, I have a package for you from Her Majesty, Princess Celestia,” the Courier says, bowing as he presents a small, book-shaped package on his hoof. His voice was deep and carried a slight accent that Twilight couldn’t quite place.

“Umm, thank you, courier!” Twilight says a bit nervously but politely. She accepts the package with her magic and takes another look at the courier; she’s seen him from somewhere before. Those amber-colored eyes of his are very familiar.

“Say, courier, what's your name?” she says in her best princess-sounding voice.

He stops bowing, stands back up, and gives a polite smile.

“I am Crimson Stride of the Applewood Royal Courier Station,” he states in a professional-sounding tone.

Twilight Sparkle grins as she now recalls where she’d seen him before.

“I know you! You went to Canterlot Academy with my big brother, Shining Armor! It’s great seeing you again, Crimson Stride!” she chirps.

Crimson’s face lights up, and he grins at Twilight.

“Likewise, Princess, I was not sure if you would have remembered or even recognized me!” Crimson Stride says in a friendly tone.

“J-just Twilight is fine, Crimson, and of course, I remember you,” Twilight replies with a giggle.

"In fact, I remember you gave Shining Armor a good amount of trouble back then!" Twilight says with a raised eyebrow, laughing at the memory.

Crimson relaxes his professional demeanor and grins smugly at Twilight.

"A good forty percent of that trouble was his fault!" Crimson laughs in reply,

"Well, apart from that time, I kicked the polo team captain right in his face, but he was asking for that: he tripped me and Shining." Crimson continues,

Twilight Sparkle smiles and relaxes her composure a bit.

"It was a wonder how my brother always managed to reign you in," she says with a grin

"Princess Cadence helped a lot. I recognize that I might have overreacted at times. I was tense from moving to Canterlot, and Shining Armor and her helped me mellow out again," he replies with a smile.

"Those two were some of the few friends I made in Canterlot," He adds in a quiet tone.

As the two catch up, Twilight remembers something about Crimson, the flying accident he was involved in.

"I'm curious, Crimson, but is it alright if I ask you how well you are holding up from that flying accident you had years ago?" she says in the most caring tone that she can muster.

Crimson Stride pauses and stiffens but relaxes, giving Twilight Sparkle a friendly smile.

"It's fine Twilight; I've been, doing better; I have ways of dealing with what happened.," he replies while readjusting his wings.

He looks away for a moment before looking at Twilight again with a polite smile.

"Say, how is Shining Armor adjusting to married life? And also to him being a Prince now?" Crimson asks.

Twilight observes how he quickly changes the subject, and she decides to move on as well. A wave of sadness washes over her; even though Crimson was more of a friend to Shining Armor and Cadence back then, she wishes she had been friendlier to him during that time.

As she catches up with Crimson Stride some more, Twilight notices from the corner of her eye that a certain rainbow-maned Pegasus has left her home and is now flying about again.

Rainbow Dash zooms out of her home at her usual fast pace. She nearly forgot to feed her pet tortoise, Tank, but it seems he didn't mind the late breakfast or that he didn't notice he missed breakfast. Regardless, with that now done, all she has to do is clear up the sky a bit, and then it's snagging an apple or two from Applejack's orchard and finding a nice, comfy cloud to nap on for the rest of the day.

She notices something while flying over Twilight Sparkle’s library: that red Pegasus talking to Twilight Sparkle looks very familiar; he almost looks like…can’t be him, she hasn’t seen that guy in ages. 'Better take a closer look.’ Rainbow figures she’ll fly by them so fast that he won’t notice her in time. As she flies quicker and closer to Twilight and this unfamiliar but familiar-looking Pegasus, time slows down, and Rainbow’s reflexes heighten; she takes a good look at the Pegasus. ‘Okay, he’s a courier. Hmm, long curly mane and… amber eyes, wait a minute, h-he’s looking at me,’ she realizes in that split-second they are locking eyes. This guy must have incredible reflexes, just like…
“Crimson Stride…” she whispers.

Distracted by the realization, she careens through between Twilight and Crimson, crashing into a mattress sold in the market.

“Now, if that isn’t an example of how firm but comfortable my mattresses are, I don’t know what to tell ya, ma’am!” a salespony says gleefully.

“I’ll take two!” an excited unicorn mare calls out.

Rainbow groans out loud.

After getting her bearings and her composure back, Rainbow Dash calmly trots her way toward Twilight, and this Pegasus she knows for sure is Crimson Stride, her old foalhood friend; they went to summer flight camp together when she was a filly. Crimson was the only colt there who never bullied her and Fluttershy. He was always up for flying stunts with her, and he was one of the few pegasi who could keep up with her, thanks to his stamina. Rainbow hasn’t seen him since his family moved out of Cloudsdale; a couple of years afterward, she moved out to Ponyville.

As Rainbow approaches the pair, she quickly shoots an apologetic smile at Twilight, whose mane is now swept to the side. She then looks at the red pegasus, quickly glancing at his flank. She instantly recognizes his cutie mark: a pegasus wing with a lightning bolt streaking behind it. Her magenta eyes then lock on to his amber eyes once again.

‘It’s him,’

She quickly shakes off the nervousness she didn’t realize was building. She puts on a wide, confident grin, and a rush of fond memories and excitement washes over her.

"Hey, Crimson Stride, is that really you bro?!" Rainbow Dash greets him while adopting a pose that looks like she's about to pounce on him.

He pauses for a bit upon hearing her scratchy voice, then returns Rainbow Dash’s grin with one of his own.

“Ah, so that was you, Rainbow Dash!” he says, grinning and striking a similar pose.

“Ha! You still got the best reflexes I've ever seen!" she says, smiling.

Rainbow grins widely at Crimson, and he smiles at her.

"Hey, Twilight, you know this guy right here?" Rainbow asks

"Yeah, he went to the same academy as my brother!" Twilight answers with a smile

"Well, Crimson Stride here is also a great friend of mine, Fluttershy's too. The three of us went to summer flight camp together and we stuck by one another; he's one of the best fliers I know too," Rainbow brags.

Crimson gives Rainbow Dash a slightly nervous but polite, friendly smile

"I'm glad you still think of me in such a positive light, Rainbow,” he replies

Rainbow flashes Crimson a wide grin.

"Think nothing! I know you’re a great flier!" Rainbow says while spreading her wings for effect.

Crimson Stride grins at his old friend. Seeing her again is an unexpected joy to him. ‘She even still thinks I’m great at flying…’

"Thanks, Rainbow, but compared to you, I would hardly say I'm great," Crimson says with a polite smile

"Come on, Crimson! Don't be so modest, bro!" Rainbow says with a grin.

"Rainbow's right; I remember your speed helped out my brother a couple of times," Twilight adds.

Crimson smiles at the two mares, and Rainbow returns the smile with a smirk.

“I haven't seen you since ya moved out of Cloudsdale! Where have you been, bro? You just disappeared on me and Flutters.” Rainbow asks while grinning.

Crimson shuffles around a bit nervously before answering.

“Do you remember my dad? He was an Equestria Ranger. Well, he got promoted to Chief and was to head the Canterlot chapter of the Rangers; thus, my family had to move there. I had to finish school at Canterlot Academy. Afterward, my dad retired, and we moved to Applewood, where I joined the Royal Couriers,” he explains

“Have you made any friends since then, Crimson?” Rainbow asks curiously, hoping her question doesn’t sound a certain way.

Crimson paused for a moment.

“Other than Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, before they graduated and got busy with their duties, no,” Crimson replies plainly.

Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle look at him sympathetically.

“Well, you are already a friend of my big brother's, so I’d be quite glad if I could also be your friend!” Twilight chimes in cheerfully.

“Yeah! And you always had me and Fluttershy!” Rainbow adds excitedly.

Crimson smiles and nods at the two mares again.

“Thanks, you two,” he says softly.

Something suddenly catches Twilight’s attention, and she leaps inside her library.

“Oh, I have to get started on this book; I’ll see you two later! It was great catching up with you, Crimson Stride!” said Twilight with a sweet smile.

Rainbow Dash perks up and grins at Crimson.

“Hey Stride! Let's see Fluttershy. She’ll be stoked to see you again, and along the way, I can give you a tour of Ponyville!” she says excitedly.

“I am free for the rest of the day. Lead the way, Dash!” Crimson answers

“You know I always do, bro!” Rainbow replies while still grinning and raising a foreleg.

“Afterwards, we could race or something!” She adds

Crimson stiffens a bit but otherwise nods and follows Rainbow.

While flying to the edge of the Everfree forest, Rainbow Dash was telling Crimson Stride stories about what happened to her and her friends while flying loops and circles around him, and he was listening intently. ‘She’s still as energetic, boastful, and confident as I remember her,’ He's heard about the exploits of Rainbow and her friends over the past couple of years. They defeated Nightmare Moon, brought Princess Luna back from exile, overpowered and reformed Discord, and defeated King Sombra to save the Crystal Empire. These are amazing, fantastical stories. ‘And yet, not only does she remember me, she's still excited to see me after all these years,’ He takes a deep breath and picks up the pace, flying closer to Rainbow. He didn't expect Twilight to remember the accident. Combined with the praise he got from Rainbow, it brought back some anxiety that he keeps buried in the depths of his mind. But he's going to push through. He hadn't had one of those in months, so why should today be any different?

Rainbow Dash and Crimson Stride land in front of a small cottage with an opened stable door. He takes a look around. The cottage seems to be surrounded by and made of nature. The trees have birdhouses and, of course, birds. Various small animals roam in and around the house. The whole area is surrounded by loads of flowers and flowering plants. Rainbow nonchalantly trots to the opened stable door and shouts inside.

"Yo Fluttershy! I got somepony here that you'll wanna see!" she says excitedly.

Crimson can’t suppress his grin as he sees a familiar cream-colored Pegasus with a long, wavy pink mane slowly walk outside.

"Why hello there, Rainbow Dash, and who was it you said I want to see—” She starts before stopping herself.

The timid Pegasus freezes upon seeing Crimson Stride.

"Hey there, Fluttershy," Crimson says with a smile.

Fluttershy shakes off her stunned expression, widens her eyes, smiles wide and friendly, and quickly pulls Crimson into a hug.

“CRIMSON STRIDE! It has been so long!” Fluttershy yells in the quietest shout Crimson has ever heard while rubbing her cheek against his.

“What brings you to Ponyville, Crimson?” She adds while pulling away from the hug.

Crimson grins at Fluttershy.

“Courier work, mostly; I was just delivering something to Twilight Sparkle, and then Dash almost crashed into me. She then wanted to give me a tour of the town, and I knew I couldn't say no to her. She would have dragged me all around Ponyville herself anyway if I refused," he explains while smirking at Rainbow.

"You are right about that, except for the crashing part," Rainbow adds smugly.

Fluttershy giggles at the playful glare Crimson throws at Rainbow, who's still grinning smugly.

"I see you two still get along nicely. I’m so very very happy to see you again, Crimson, I’ll never forget how you and Rainbow Dash stood up for me against those bullies in summer flight camp.” Fluttershy says sweetly

That made Crimson remember back to summer flight camp; despite the spectacular way Rainbow Dash showed up to those bullies by beating them in that race and pulling off a sonic rainboom in the process, the bullies would still make snide remarks towards her and Fluttershy. The instance where he got involved was when Fluttershy failed to perform a somewhat difficult flight exercise and almost hurt herself; the bullies were unsympathetic and mocked her flying skills. Rainbow was quick to stand up for Fluttershy, but the bullies held their ground and simply started mocking her, too. Rainbow held her ground, but she was starting to wear down; it was then that Crimson summed up his courage and stepped in; he and Rainbow together stood by Fluttershy and finally got the bullies to bug off. Crimson became fast friends with the two fillies shortly after and stuck with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy until Crimson Stride’s family moved out of Cloudsdale.

“How have you been, Crimson?" Fluttershy says kindly

Her question pulled Crimson out of his thoughts.
"Getting by, I’ve heard you've become an amazing animal expert." He replies.

Fluttershy blushes a bit at the compliment.

“T-thank you! You know I have loved animals since I got my cutie mark,” she responds, her cheeks still pink.

Almost for emphasis, a small squirrel climbed its way on top of Fluttershy and whispered something into her ear.

“Oh my, again? I’ll go talk to them and try to work something out.”

“I’m really sorry Crimson and Rainbow but I have to go now, the squirrels are having trouble again with the rabbits over foraging grounds and I got to try resolving it,” Fluttershy states sadly.

“That’s fine Flutter, I still need to see the rest of the town.” Crimson replies kindly.

“And meet the rest of our friends!” Rainbow Dash adds

The two Pegasi wave goodbye to Fluttershy as they take to the sky and head back into Ponyville.

Finding Pinkie Pie was simple. It only took a few minutes of searching before they located the pink mare on top of the bakery's roof, doing some dance or something. She seems to have some sort of trouble with it, hopping or balancing on one leg while the other three are waving in the air or behind her head. Rainbow Dash and Crimson Stride land in front of her.

"Hey Pinkie, how are you doing and what's with the weird dance?" Rainbow says with a snicker.

"Hey there, Rainbow. Oh, I'm not dancing. This is an exercise I learned from a book I borrowed from Twilight!" Pinkie Pie replies while still focused on her exercise.

"Uh huh," Rainbow says, not fully understanding it,

"Whoa!!" Pinkie Pie shouts, finally noticing the other pony who arrived with Rainbow.

"Who's that guy with you?" Pinkie asks while gesturing to Crimson with her free back leg.

"This is my good friend, Crimson Stride, I haven't seen him since when I lived in Cloudsdale! And Crimson, this is my friend, Pinkie Pie," Rainbow proudly replies.

Pinkie Pie trips over but quickly gets up and takes a close step toward Crimson. She looks at him intently and then looks around him before giving a huge smile.

"It is so good to meet you!" Pinkie Pie cheerfully says before suddenly hugging the pegasus, startling him.

Rainbow starts laughing, and Crimson quickly pulls away from the hug, brushing himself off as Pinkie Pie giggles and bounces.

"L-likewise! I like how cheerful you are, Pinkie!" Crimson replies with a slight nervous smile

“Thank you!” Pinkie replies while still bouncing

Rainbow stops laughing and grins at Crimson; she likes that he's getting along well with her friends. Pinkie Pie's face suddenly lights up, like a light bulb went off in her head,

"I know! When is your birthday, Crimson?!" she asks.

"Um, I think it's fifty days from now?" Crimson Stride answers with light confusion, not sure why she is asking him about his birthday, and when he looks at Rainbow, she just giggles.

The big smile on Pinkie's face doesn't fade, and she takes another step toward Crimson.

"First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Fifty days from now! Secondly, as Ponyville's premier party pony, I'd like to still throw you a party!" She exclaims while still bouncing.

"Thanks, Pinkie Pie, but that isn't necessary," Crimson replies politely.

"Oh yes, it is! It will be to celebrate you and Rainbow Dash reuniting as friends!!" She responds.

Rainbow grins at Crimson.

"Come on, Crimson! You've got to experience a Pinkie Pie party, and she is not going to accept no for an answer by the way." Rainbow says while wrapping a foreleg around him.

Crimson chuckles as the pink mare bounces up and down in front of him.

"Well, alright then, I would love to accept your offer," he answers.

"WOO HOO! I promise to throw you a party later today after you've met the rest of our friends and spent some time hanging out and catching up with Rainbow." Pinkie Pie replies cheerfully.

She quickly looks over to Rainbow Dash, smiles at her, and Rainbow smiles back.

"Sounds like a plan Pinkie!" she says gleefully before turning to Crimson Stride

"Alright, bro, now let's meet Rarity, she probably won't be too busy today!" Rainbow says enthusiastically

Crimson follows behind the eager Rainbow as they take off, and Pinkie Pie waves them off.

The pair of Pegasi soon approach a quite elegant-looking Boutique that's designed to look like a carousel; Rainbow Dash stops at the entrance and knocks on it a couple of times before opening the door herself.

"You sure it's fine just to walk in?" Crimson Stride asks with a little bit of uncertainty.

"Rarity won't mind unless she's swamped working on something," Rainbow replies.

Crimson looks around the boutique while Rainbow calls out Rarity's name.

"Yo Rarity, are you home?" she shouts out

"Just a minute, Rainbow Darling!!" Rarity yells from the back of the boutique.

The two wait for Rarity for a bit, and soon, a very attractive white Unicorn with a violet mane and sapphire-like eyes enters the room carrying some fabrics.

"Rainbow, could you be a dear and tell me which of these fabrics feel more—" Rarity asks before she stops mid-sentence and looks at Crimson Stride, who's giving her a polite smile.

"Why, who is this?" Rarity asks while looking at Crimson’s amber eyes with a very friendly smile.

"Rarity, this is Crimson Stride! He’s a very good friend of mine." Rainbow presents.

Rarity looks at Crimson.

"It is so very nice to meet you, Crimson Stride," she says with a friendly smile.

“I-It's nice to meet you too Rarity!” Crimson replies, taken aback by how pretty Rarity is.

The fashion-minded unicorn then looks at Crimson again and examines him, or, rather, his courier's uniform, before giving him an approving smile.

"My, your uniform is lovely. Are you one of the Royal Couriers?" Rarity says with an impressed smile.

Rarity's guess surprises Crimson, but he keeps his cool and replies.

"Umm, yeah, yeah, I am one," he answers.

"It has a professional elegance despite its simplicity, and the scarlet and gold bandana with the silver badge accents it splendidly!" Rarity explains.

Crimson Stride gives Rarity a shy but grateful smile.

"Thank you Rarity, that's quite the compliment!" he replies

Rarity steps really close to Crimson and now gives him a provocative smile, which makes Crimson a little nervous, but he's able to keep calm.

"Yes, well, I must say you also look quite handsome in it," she says in a sultry tone. Her sapphire eyes narrow, and her smile turns into a grin.

Crimson Stride completely freezes up at the compliment; his wings flare out, and he feels his face get hot. Rainbow Dash, who had been snickering at herself until now, also gets stunned at the compliment. Rarity then giggles and gives both Pegasi a sly grin.

"T-thank you, Rarity, t-that means a lot from a Unicorn like you," Crimson stammers out, his face still warm.

Rarity smiles at Crimson and gives him a wink.

"You are quite welcome, Darling," she says slowly.

Rainbow recovers her composure after a bit and looks at Rarity.

"Well, umm, Rarity, thanks for letting us visit you, but we gotta go now; I still have to introduce Crimson to Applejack," she says.

"Very well then, Darlings! Oh, and Crimson Stride dear, please don't be a stranger," she says with a smile and narrowed eyes.

Crimson Stride is quick to leave the Boutique, and before Rainbow can follow him out, Rarity gives her a knowing grin and a wink.

Rainbow Dash follows Crimson Stride out and starts teasing him, who's still blushing a bit.

“You turned into a deeper shade of red when Rarity said how handsome you look in your uniform,” Rainbow teases.

"You're imagining things, Dash," replies Crimson while still trying to shake the blush from his face.

Rainbow snickers again at Crimson's embarrassed expression.

"Still getting complimented by a pretty Unicorn like Rarity is quite flattering," Crimson says while regaining his composure.

Rainbow playfully rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, whatever, handsome, hehe…." she responds, still snickering.

"And what was that stunned expression you made when she called me handsome?" He says smugly.

That catches Rainbow Dash off guard, she didn't realize that he noticed.

"N-nothing. Hey, see that barn surrounded by apple orchards? That’s Applejack’s place! Come on, let’s race the rest of the way, right to Applejack’s barn!" she shouts out to change the subject.

Crimson hesitates to respond, causing Rainbow to notice and glance back at him.

"Bro?" she asks with a head tilt.

"Um, yeah, you're on!" He quickly answers.

"First Pegasus to the barn wins then!" Rainbow says with a determined grin.

The two Pegasi take off flying, and Rainbow Dash takes an early lead as usual. She turns around briefly to tease, but she notices something off about the way Crimson Stride is flying. She remembers that he was always very precise and swift in his movements. Right now, it looks like he is putting too much effort into flying straight, and his movement is jerky and frantic.

"Come on, bro! Keep up!" Rainbow shouts out.

That hated feeling of dread started setting in as soon as Crimson started to match Rainbow’s speed. He tried to keep up with her, but his mind raced, and he was trying to fight off that anxiety. His breathing became short, and his vision started to blur.

‘I can't lose control, not in front of her! Focus on the barn!’

“Crimson!”

The shout from Rainbow Dash pulls him out of his panic. Crimson realizes they have already arrived at the barn, and he has landed awkwardly on the ground. He notices that Rainbow is looking at him with a questioning expression.

"Crimson, are you okay there, bro? That was a rough landing, and you know I’m familiar with those," she asks with a light chuckle.

"Oh, uh... yeah, I'm good! I uh just zoned out," he responds quickly.

Rainbow raises an eyebrow but moves on.

"Well, it was still close, but I won; that was fun!" Rainbow says in a playful, smug tone.

"Sure, that was a lot of fun," Crimson Stride responds while still catching his breath.

He puts on a friendly smile so as not to worry about Rainbow Dash, but his thoughts are still racing.

‘It is getting worse. You almost had a breakdown just from flying too fast. Keep it under control. You're barely holding it together. She, of all ponies, does not need to know.’

Crimson Stride shakes off those thoughts when he notices a pair of earth ponies approach him and Rainbow, one, a massive red stallion with an orange mane pulling a cart loaded with apples, and alongside him, an orange-cream mare with a blonde mane with emerald eyes wearing a light brown Stetson hat.

"Howdy there, Rainbow Dash; how did ya know I was making cider? Oh, and who's your friend here?" the mare asks while looking at Crimson.

“Wait, you’re making cider?!” Rainbow shouts excitedly.

“I-i mean, Applejack and Big Mac; I’d like you to meet my old friend from Cloudsdale, Crimson Stride, and Crimson; this is my best friend Applejack and her brother Big McIntosh!” she quickly adds.

Applejack tips her hat at Crimson and smiles warmly.

"Nice ta meet ya, Sugarcube!" she greets cheerfully.

“Eeyup! Pleased to make your acquaintance, sir!” Big Mac adds.

The nickname Applejack gives Crimson Stride is a bit of a surprise, but he returns their friendly greetings with a nod.

"Likewise, it's nice meeting the two of you!" Crimson replies warmly.

Applejack looks over Crimson and gives him a sly smile.

"You know, Crimson Stride, apart from your mane and your wings, you look a bit like my brother," she says with a slight giggle.

That catches Big Mac’s attention, and he looks over Crimson from hoof to mane.

"Nnnope," the tall stallion simply responds.

Now, it was Crimson’s turn to look over the huge stallion. Crimson and he were close to the same height, with Big Mac being a bit taller than him, and his build was more strength-oriented than Crimson’s athletic build. What’s more, is:

"He’s a few shades more vivid than I am." Crimson Stride states.

"Eeyup." Big Mac adds.

Applejack and Rainbow share a laugh, and Big Mac waves goodbye and leaves the trio of ponies, heading for the town and still hauling the cart loaded with apples.

"Let me get y’all some mugs and a barrel of cider, plus some apples. We can have a little picnic out here and chat!" Applejack cheerfully says.

While Applejack walks towards her barn, Rainbow Dash looks at Crimson Stride.

“Hey Crimson, is everything alright? You seemed kind of tense after our race." Rainbow states with concern.

"It's nothing, just tired, that’s all," he replies

Rainbow is unconvinced and is about to press further when Applejack returns with the cider and apples, and Crimson moves to help Applejack set up. The three ponies then sit under a tree and have a relaxing picnic, talking and laughing.

"So, Crimson Stride, I have an important question to ask you," Applejack says as she takes another sip of her mug.

Crimson sits up and looks at Applejack curiously.

"What's the question?" He asks.

"Do you prefer apple crisp or apple pie?" she asks with a genuine smile

Crimson pauses at Applejack's question.

"Uhhhh....apple crisp, I suppose. But, what kind of question is that?" he asks with a head tilt.

Applejack chuckles a bit and smiles.

"Sorry, I always have to ask that. So what brings ya to Ponyville?" asks Applejack.

"I was making a delivery to Twilight Sparkle from Princess Celestia; I'm a Royal Courier,” replies Crimson Stride.

“Where do ya usually go?” Applejack inquires.

Crimson Stride begins to describe his flight route.

“I'm often sent all over Equestria, but we have routes that are assigned to us, and my route starts at my home station in Applewood, then goes to Canterlot, and finishes in the Crystal Empire, with an optional rest stop in either Cloudsdale or Ponyville,” he explains.

“Ain’t that almost a full day on the train?” Applejack questions.

“Good couriers are faster than the trains,” Crimson answers honestly ‘but I’m just barely faster nowadays.’

“So y’all are a fancy delivery service?” Applejack jokes.

Crimson chuckles a bit at Applejack's joke.

“Well, yes, but mainly on behalf of the Princesses, Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and now Twilight Sparkle, but we do jobs for anypony who can afford us, which isn't many,” he explains.

"I bet you've gotten used to meeting the Princesses then," Applejack says teasingly.

Crimson Stride sighs.

"As Princess Celestia's personal courier, I should be. Seeing her is always a great honor, but her grace and beauty and the way she always smiles at me when she greets me make me nervous every time I see her," he says while looking away, smiling with a light blush.

Rainbow Dash giggles a bit at Crimson’s shyness.

"I see you're still the same reserved Pegasus I remember from flight camp," she says, smiling at him and looking into his amber eyes.

Crimson Stride looks into Rainbow's eyes. ‘Those magenta eyes…’

"I could say the same for you. You're still the confident filly I remember," he replies, returning her smile.

Rainbow and Crimson remain looking at each other for a few seconds.

“You two need a moment?” Applejack asks with a smirk.

Applejack looks at the two ponies with a knowing grin and clears her throat. They quickly break their eye contact, blushing slightly, which makes Applejack chuckle.

"Well, umm, thanks for treating us for lunch, AJ!" Rainbow quickly states.

Applejack is still chuckling to herself.

"Anytime, Rainbow Dash and it was nice meeting ya, Crimson Stride," Applejack says with a warm smile.

"Same here, Applejack," Crimson responds, shaking off his blush.

The three ponies finish up their food and head into town; Applejack waves goodbye to the two Pegasi before returning to the orchards.

As Rainbow Dash and Crimson Stride wander around Ponyville, Rainbow shows different points of interest to Crimson. Suddenly, she gets an idea and looks at Crimson with a wicked grin on her face.

"You know what's a fast way to burn off the sugar from those apples?" she asks with that grin.

"What?" Crimson asks while having a good idea of what Rainbow has in mind

“Chaser,” Rainbow says while still grinning widely.

Crimson Stride stiffened a bit. When they were foals, Rainbow usually won at racing, so sometimes, she and Crimson would play Chaser instead to make things more even. It was a simple game for two pegasi. One was the lead, and the other was the chaser. The chaser keeps up with the lead until either the chaser gets close enough to touch the lead or tires out and gets left behind, and the lead must always be close but not too close to the chaser. While Rainbow was always faster, Crimson Stride had stamina and could always stay on her tail. Stamina was Crimson’s thing; it was how he earned his cutie mark. ‘But what about now? Just keep it together for her, it's just Chaser.’

Crimson silently exhales but puts on his best confident grin

"Fine, you're on, I'm the Chaser," he states.

Rainbow Dash returns the grin. ‘That's the Crimson I know.’

"Try and keep up!" she taunts while doing a pouncing stance.

And she's off! Crimson Stride launches himself after her, keeping as cool and steady as he can. It still feels good being in the skies, at least; he can see the clouds clearly and feel the wind rush past him. ‘Focus on catching her; the only way you could beat her in Chaser was if you got the advantage of altitude.’ Crimson quickly looks up, and he can spot Rainbow Dash above him, still looking confident and bold. Crimson starts climbing altitude to get above Rainbow, but she notices and counters by speeding up and gaining distance. She does a barrel roll and loops back to where she was, and now she's above him! This is gonna be tough.

"Gotta be quicker bro!" Rainbow teases.

Crimson rolls his eyes and starts climbing again. This time, Rainbow doesn't bother speeding up; instead, she drops altitude a bit and pulls off another loop around him. Their eyes meet for a split second, and she's behind him now. Crimson looks back and sees the familiar playful smile on Rainbow's face; he can't help but chuckle.

"Is that all you've got?" Crimson teases.

"Oh, you know me, I'm just getting started," Rainbow retorts.

"Well then, come at me!" Crimson challenges.

Rainbow Dash gives a short snicker, and she flies closer to him. Crimson tries to grab her, but she loops around him again. Maybe if he tries to predict where she'll be, he could grab her. ‘There!’ He can see her coming from his left. He turns and prepares to grab her, but Rainbow does a barrel roll and dips underneath him. Then Crimson quickly turns and lands a hoof right on her cutie mark!

"Hah! Got you!" he shouts.

Rainbow Dash's expression turned into surprise, with a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Y-yeah, you got me," she concedes, but then Rainbow grows a mischievous grin.

"Now I get to be the Chaser, but I'll give you a head start, Stride," she says with that grin growing wider.

Crimson Stride flies away; he's not able to outpace Rainbow Dash, but he can try outmaneuvering her. First, he has to get altitude again. He looks down and sees Rainbow quickly gain on him. He quickly banks to the left, and Rainbow is quick to follow, but then he does a dive roll to the right and flies under a cloud; Rainbow's above him, so if he can just stay out of her reach and get above her again, and he'll have a chance, and then a rainbow streak flies by him.

"Not gonna happen, Crimson," Rainbow taunts.

Crimson tries getting altitude again, but soon Rainbow reaches him, and she touches his cutie mark!

"Phew, that was tough," she says with playful sarcasm.

“And that was also payback for touching my cutie mark like that!” she adds while grinning.

Crimson can't help but laugh.

"Guess we are tied now," he says with a grin.

Rainbow Dash’s grin turns into a warm smile.

"Last round, and you are the Chaser again, Crimson!" She declares.

Rainbow Dash launches herself into the air once more, and Crimson follows; as she gains a ton of altitude, Crimson follows. He's gaining on her and gets close to her. She looks back with a smug smile, ‘her smile…’ and suddenly, she does a vertical dive; instinctually, he follows her, but his heart starts racing, and a feeling of dread goes over him, ‘No! Not now, focus!’ But he can't; the sky is spinning, the world is turning, and his breathing becomes rapid. Crimson can feel it, ‘No no no, not in front of her,’ but his vision is blurring, and he can hear her voice, her calling out his name, her scream. Crimson dives through a cloud, which absorbs a good amount of the impact; he gains just enough of his bearings to make a rough landing on a field just outside of Ponyville. He stays crouched on all fours, trying to catch his breath.

"C-Crimson?"

He hears Rainbow Dash's voice, but he can't bring himself to look up; he's afraid she'll see his eyes. He hears other voices; it's Rainbow's friends. They saw the whole thing. ‘I can't hide it anymore. They know. They know I'm broken.’

"It's okay, Crimson," Rainbow whispers as she crouches down next to him. He can't meet her gaze.

"You saw me have a breakdown," Crimson says quietly.

Crimson looks up to meet Rainbow's gaze and notices all her friends looking at him sympathetically, not judgmentally.

"I'm sorry you all had to see that," he manages at last, his voice still low.

Twilight Sparkle approaches Crimson and sits down to meet his eye level; Fluttershy also sits next to Crimson.

"No need to apologize Crimson" Twilight says softly.

"What happened to you? Do you want to talk about it?" Rainbow asks, still crouching down next to Crimson.

He meets her gaze again; he needs to tell her.

"A few years ago, I was flying with..." he starts, then pauses.

"With somepony close to me, something went wrong, and we crashed. I was not hurt that much but she..."

He can feel the tears well up in his eyes, but he pushes them back. ‘I’m not going to cry in front of them too.’

"She was injured badly, while she did recover…"

“I was unable to forgive myself, and since that time, I could no longer enjoy flying—activities I once loved, like stunt flying, racing, and even my job. I found it impossible to do anything in the air without ultimately having a panic attack.” He reveals, head hanging low.

"You can still fly Crimson," Fluttershy whispers.

Crimson looks at Fluttershy attentively.

"What you went through was horrible but I honestly believe that you can learn to love flying again." Fluttershy says softly.

Applejack approaches Crimson and looks into his amber eyes.

“I believe that you can do it!” She says with a warm, empathetic smile

Crimson looks back at her emerald eyes and realizes how sincere Applejack is. Rarity then takes a few steps toward Crimson, her sapphire-colored eyes drawing his attention.

"And Darling, you can not let it hold you back anymore." She tells him, smiling warmly.

Rarity's kind words make Crimson look away from her; Rainbow Dash gently wraps a foreleg around Crimson.

"You got your cutie mark because of your stamina; you don’t give up, you keep going, and I know you can do it if you really try," Rainbow says kindly.

Crimson looks at Rainbow and smiles softly.

"Thanks, Dash," he whispers.

Crimson then gets up, summing up all of his courage; he looks at Rainbow, his amber eyes meeting her magenta eyes.

"Rainbow Dash, will you help me restore my passion for flying?" Crimson asks, his voice still soft but determined.

Rainbow grins and nods, her magenta eyes sparking with confidence.

"You bet I will! You are not doing this alone bro!” She declares.

Crimson nods, and a grin makes its way onto his face.

Now, Pinkie Pie approaches Crimson with a cheery smile, her near-constant joyful mood-lifting his mood a bit.

"You know Crimson, I did promise you a party, and this field is a great spot for one!" she says cheerily.

Crimson laughs a bit at Pinkie's excitement. He was warming up to her cheerful energy.

"Thanks, Pinkie, that's nice of you," Crimson replies.

"It'll be a small one with just the seven of us but I promise you, it'll be fun!" Pinkie replies happily.

The pink mare is quick to set up a party, and everypony is enjoying themselves. Crimson finally feels at ease, surrounded by ponies who didn’t judge him during his panic attack. He looks around at the colorful mares surrounding him and smiles.

Rainbow Dash walks up to Crimson Stride. She looks at him, and he returns her gaze.

"Hey, Dash, thanks again for agreeing to help me; I am sorry that you had to see me in that state," Crimson says softly.

She smiles and shakes her head.

"Don't apologize for that, bro; friends support each other, and I have always been your friend," she replies with an empathetic smile.

The party went on for a while until it was a few hours before sunset. Crimson decided it was time to take his leave and return to Applewood.

"Are you sure you can make it there before sunset?" Rainbow asks

Crimson Stride gave Rainbow a smirk, and a smirk of her own grew on Rainbow in return.

"Next week, you swing by here; we are starting the training!" She shouts happily.

With that, Crimson takes to the sky with a renewed sense of determination. Rainbow Dash watches him fly away with her own determined grin.

***