It was a beautiful sunrise. A sunrise that crept over the hills oh so drearily. A sunrise that dazzled with a brilliance that Celestia would have no doubt been proud of. But most importantly, It was the sunrise that awoke a sleeping Spitfire from her slumber. Still in her dreamy state, she yawned, stretched and looked out at the sunrise, then back at her clock.
"Six am. Today is going to be great!"
With this newfound revelation, she quickly sprung from her bed and trotted over to her wardrobe. Upon opening her closet doors, she was momentarily mesmerised by the sight; there in front of her, hung her perfectly ironed, dry cleaned, official, one-of-a-kind, members only, Wonderbolts uniform. She stood there awhile, stunned yet again by the sheer awe the uniform itself seemed to emit. She grinned giddily and eagerly changed into her uniform before staring at her own reflection for a moment. She approved of what she saw, and puffed out her chest in pride, just fantasising about all the possibilities of the adventures that could happen.
Distracted by her daydreaming, she took a step down the stairs, only to be met with the lack of surface. Her momentum however, did not cease, as her head collided with the hard, sturdy edge. And then again. And then again. And then again, as her body tumbled unyieldingly down the cacophony of never ending platforms that make up the Canterlot Palace steps.
Her body finally came to a sudden halt at the bottom of the stairs. Dazed, and with an agonised groan, she attempted to lift herself back up onto her feet, but failed, as a searing pain crept up through her left wing and hind leg, temporarily rendering her to lose all balance and collapse.
"Well that wasn't how I planned to start the day..."
Spitfire grumbled uselessly at her situation. What even happened? She was Captain of the Wonderbolts for Celestia's sake! The Captain of the Wonderbolts does NOT fall down the stairs and wind up in hospital! She falls down the stairs and gets back up like nothing happened, because she was tough! Heck, the Captain of the Wonderbolts should not have fallen down the stairs in the first place! She groaned again as she tried to think clearly about what she was going to do. Who to choose, who to choose..?
Her train of thought was focused until an unexpected jolt of pain shot through her wing as she realised she had brushed it against the corner of monitor next to her. Frustrated, she slammed an angry hoof onto the side of the bed.
"I don't know!"
She rubbed her temples as she just tried to escape from the responsibility she had laying in front of her. She started to imagine being away from where she was. She thought about how much she would give just to be up in the air, saving innocent ponies from dangerous ursers, dragons and out of control carriages… She imagined dining in expensive restaurants, signing autographs, chatting idly with fellow celebrities… But most of all, she imagined the shows… The shows she would be missing out on… Oh how she wanted so desperately to be performing her signature, death-defying, stunts. How she craved the feeling of the gushing wing combing through her hair. She craved the adrenaline. The speed. The lightning… But most of all, the roar of the fans. The fans as they cheered her name… And as she imagined the wonderfully welcome chanting of her loyal fan-base, one specific pony came to mind. One cheering fan. One talented pegasus. One colourful character… Her thoughts stumbled onto her biggest fan. The perfect recruit…
"Rainbow Dash."
Satisfied with her choice, she smirked at her fellow Wonderbolt members crowded around her bed.
"Rainbow Dash? That name sounds familiar… Have we saved her once before?" One of the members asked.
Soarin rolled his eyes and face-hoofed. Spitfire noticed this, as she too, was unimpressed by her team member's lack of social protocol. She was about to inform her clueless team member in on the profile of said chosen pony, when Soarin beat her to the punch.
"Rainbow Dash is just the ONLY pegasus EVER to pull off the infamous Sonic Rainboom! Geez Snow Storm, do you live under a rock or what?"
Snow Storm, embarrassed, bowed her head. Happy with the dominant effect he had had on her, he continued.
"Not only that, but Rainbow Dash has won EVERY Best Young Flier's Competition ever since she first competed as just a wee filly! She's quit the achiever."
"Yes," Spitfire interrupted Soarin's giddy smile of admiration, "and she is also a very athletic, super-focused, talented young pegasus."
"But does she have any experience? I mean talent or no, she is still a rookie."
Snow Storm looked uncertainly at her Captain as she pondered on this. Despite her having a valid point, Spitfire was still confident in her decision.
"A rookie with a darn good resume! She may not be a Wonderbolt, but she has saved Equestria from disaster more than once. I think that in itself justifies us trusting her with such a task."
Snow Storm was about to interject, but decided against it as she received a very stern glare from her Captain.
"Rainbow Dash is the perfect candidate. She's hardworking, honest, strong, and most importantly, she's loyal,"
SPitfire could see the gradual trust building up towards this idea in each of her tem members' eyes. Satisfied, giving everypony in the room a warm smile of assurance, she concluded;
"And she is the perfect pony to fill in as a temporary Wonderbolt."
Ponyville was alive and bustling with the clip-clopping of busy ponies going about their day. It was your ordinary day for everypony, including Rainbow Dash.
Yes, the rainbow maned, cyan mare's day had started off like any other; being awoken from her castle in the sky by and over-eager Pinkie Pie, guffawing about something completely random and inaudible. Today, it was a new prank. Rainbow Dash had listened intently and snickered in delight with the pink mare as she explained the details of this newfound master plan.
"Alright Pinkie pie, have you got everything ready? Oh this is gonna be GREAT!"
Giggling, Pinkie Pie responded;
"Everything is set and ready to go! The glue should be dry by now! I wonder who we'll get to watch first?"
"I hope its someone good! Haha! I'd love to see TWILIGHT try her luck at this. I'll bet not even her fancy magic can beat THIS super glue! OH! Or even Applejack! Maybe she'll lasso it and take the whole pavement with it!?"
Rainbow and Pinkie collapsed onto their backs laughing until they could hear the distinct click-clack of an approaching victim. Shushing themselves, the pair hid behind the alleyway wall and watched as and unsuspecting blue-robed pegasus, trotted his merry way into their little joke.
It had been an eventful day, to say in the least, for Soarin. It wasn't everyday after all, that his Captain would order him to individually invite the mare he had been admiring ever since the pie incident at the gala, to become a temporary replacement. Soarin had no romantic interest in, what he considered, despite himself, the beautiful mare. No, he was a lone timberwolf… But that didn't stop him from having tremendous respect and admiration for the lightning-fast, agile, pie-protecting pegasus.
Trotting his was through the lively little town of Ponyville in search of Rainbow Dash, he had to admit, he much preferred its cute, little markets to the boisterous malls of Canterlot. The air was much fresher he had noticed shortly after arriving, and the scent of wild daisies and other miraculous flora was invigorating to him. He couldn't help but take his time to explore every nook and cranny of the quaint, welcoming town.
He had seen Sugarcube Corner, Sweet Apple Acres and the Golden Oaks Library. He had even visited the markets and couldn't resist a delicious looking, hot apple pie. Upon buying said delicacy, he had noticed the mare attending the stall had looked very familiar, and wondered if she was the same friendly earth pony that served him at the Gala.
It was almost noon when Soarin starting to get desperate. There had been no sign of Rainbow Dash ANYWHERE! He had even stopped to ask some of the fellow ponyfolk if they had seen her around. He best lead he had was when a rather glamorous mare had pointed him towards an earth pony by the name of Pinkie Pie working at Sugarcube Corner, unfortunately that had soon been a waste upon hearing that both Pinkie and Rainbow had disappeared early this morning and haven't been seen since.
On the verge of giving up, he had been distracted from previous losses by a faint glimmer in the distance. Curiosity getting the better of him, he quickly trotted up to the source of the glimmer; a shiny, perfectly golden coin.
Hiding and snickering behind the wall, Rainbow and Pinkie listened out for the disgruntled attempts of their victim, as they realise that their little 'reward' was superglued to the pavement! Rainbow was killing herself laughing on the inside as she imagined the face of the colt as he walked away, humiliated and exhausted!
Ears perked, she suddenly heard the click- clacking of hoofsteps come to a gradual cease. She overheard his cheery tone as he spoke aloud to himself that one, priceless line;
"Haha, it looks like my luck is beginning to turn!"
A large, goofy grin was plastered on Soarin's face as he stared at the lovely piece of paradise right in front of him. A golden bit, laying in the middle of the road, with nobody around to claim it. All his. Chuckling to himself, he couldn't believe today could have an up side.
"Haha, it looks like my luck is beginning to turn!"
Rainbow and Pinkie had to cover there mouths in order not to burst out laughing! Eventually, Rainbow couldn't take it any more! She needed to see the poor sucker's face!
She turned her head around the wall, and to her horror, found her idol standing there, about to fall for her diabolical trap! Soarin! She needed to do something! What if he didn't have a sense of humour? What if this hurt his feelings and he hated her forever!? What if all that happened, and he decided to tell the PRINCESS of what happened and the Princess hated her forever!? Then she would NEVER get to live her dream! Panicking, she sought for a solution! Think, think, think, THERE'S NO TIME! She needed to do something, and she needed to do it NOW!
Soarin was lowering his head to pick up his little token of luck, when out of nowhere, a hysterical, familiar cyan pegasus came galloping towards him from an alleyway. She was screaming something so loud, Soarin only just heard it before the mare body slammed him into the ground.
"NOOOOOOOOO!"
The cyan mare lay on top of him, dazed by the sudden collision. Fortunately for her, she had had a soft landing. Unfortunately for Soarin, he did not, and the impact left him feeling sore, dizzy, and very confused.
"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! I'm SO sorry! Here let me help you up!"
The rainbow maned pegasus attempted to helped the mildly concussed Wonderbolt to his feet, and tried to steady his swaying movements, all the while, having panic-ridden thoughts whir through her head.
"Are you okay!? I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you so hard! Can you walk!? Do you need any help!? Ohgoshohgoshohgoshohgo-"
The panic-ridden pegasus was cut off by Soarin's sturdy hoof being placed over her mouth to silence her. His head was throbbing and the last thing he needed was some girl yammering on about something he found completely inaudible in his current state. Shaking his head to try and bring himself back into focus, he locked eyes with a very worried Rainbow Dash and let out content gasp.
"Rainbow Dash! I have been looking for you EVERYWHERE!"
