"Can I come with you guys?" I ask, pouting as the eight of them get ready to depart.

Spike, Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Princess Metamorpha are all going to board a chariot supplied by Celestia that will bring them directly to Canterlot. This is an issue of international security and diplomacy, as far as I know, so it might be illegal for me to go...

"I dunno," Twilight mutters. "I don't know if Celestia would want you there..."

"Yeah, but what am I supposed to do while I wait here?" I ask with a hefty sigh. "I'm so used to having stuff to do..."

"Like what?" Rainbow Dash demands. "There's plenty to do here! You could visit Sweet Apple Acres, take a jog, read a book..."

"Yeah, but none of those are nearly fun enough," I respond. "Okay, reading a book I get, but I'm used to having technology, y'know? Like, a DS, or a computer, or an iPad - normally when I'm bored, I go on the Internet and look at pictures of funny cats for an hour and a half!" They all give me strange glares, even Metamorpha (who's still a bit hungover.) "It's sort of a culture shock for me, y'know?"

"Alright," Twilight sighs. "Then if this is going to be so hard for you, then maybe somepony should stay behind with you..."

"Who?" I ask with a frown. "I mean, you're all the Elements of Harmony, right? Aren't you crucial for this?"

"Who told you about that?" Twilight asks.

"Rainbow Dash."

Twilight sighs, and casts a glance at the cyan Pegasus. "Rainbow, would you mind staying behind with Peter, to keep him busy?"

I can tell that she's having a conflict of interests. She wants to go with them to keep her country safe, but at the same time, she wants to stay with me because she has a crush on me - as she told me under the influence of the truth serum she ingested.

"I-I don't know about that...." Rainbow Dash mutters. "I mean, I should go with you guys - this is a Changeling!"

"I assure you, I am nothing like my mother," Metamorpha announces. "I am not a warmonger."

Rainbow Dash fidgets, and I really wish I had a cell phone or something so she could go ahead with them. "I'll stay." We all turn towards the yellow Pegasus, and we're not surprised whatsoever. "I can stay...besides, my animals need to be looked after, and Peter can help me."

"That's a good idea," Rainbow immediately announces. "Yeah, that's be a great idea!" I raise an eyebrow as her cheeks flush a tiny bit. Is she trying to stay away from me?

In all honesty, I'd understand that, and I'm sort of grateful for it, too.

"Alright, it's decided then," Twilight announces. "Come on, Princess Metamorpha - let's get going."

"Right," the Changeling mutters. I cast a look at Rainbow Dash as she turns to leave, and I sneak in a small wink, just to mess with her. She lets out a strangled yelp before running out of the library.

"That's strange," Fluttershy mutters as the door slams shut behind Rainbow Dash. "What could've made her act like that...?"

"I honestly don't know," I lie. "In any case, let's get to caring for your animals."

Fluttershy lets out a hefty sigh as we finish the surgery.

"Oh, thank goodness you caught that," Fluttershy announces as we set aside the tools. I gingerly pick up the unconscious bear cub, and bring it to the bear waiting anxiously outside. A shiver goes down my spine at the thought of giving a bear its cub and not getting mauled.

"He's going to be fine," I announce as I give the bear her cub. She hugs it close, and looks down at me with what seems to be a smile. Then she bends down, gives me a lick, and walks off to tend to her injured baby.

When I return to Fluttershy, I find that she's discarding of the debris that had impaled the cub's stomach. I help her in wrapping the bloodied and splintered wooden fencepost up. We quickly discard of it, and she sighs as we set about throwing out our gloves.

"I didn't know you were a veterinarian," she announces.

"I'm not," I respond. "I didn't even have a doctorate yet when I arrived in Equestria. I only had a Bachelor's in medicine." I sigh as we finish cleansing her emergency room, which is in her basement. "Of course, I ended up having to drop out of college for everything that happened, but...life is life."

"Uh...what happened?" Fluttershy asks. "That is, if you want to talk about it. I'm sorry if I'm prying..."

I set my jaw as I force myself not to suppress the memories. I let them wash over me for a moment, and the regret goes away: just like my therapist said it would.

"I had to do some things," I respond. "Some things that I'm not exactly proud of. But it was all for a good cause."

Fluttershy nods, and leaves it at that. "Okay. In that case, let's get upstairs - I have something I want to give you."

I nod, and we walk up the stairs. Once we get there, she stands up straight, and clears her throat.

"Peter, I didn't know why that cub was in pain until you found the small nub of wood. Thanks to you, we were able to remove the wooden splinter from its chest, stitch the wounds closed, and possibly save its life." She reaches into her kitchen cabinet, and pulls out a small bag. "Uhm...please, take uhm...ten bits?"

"Uh...how much is a bit worth?" I ask, wanting to know whether I could save her some money. "Like, how many bits is it for a candy bar?"

"One bit."

I nod. So one bit is basically equivalent to one dollar. "So...ten bits?"

"Oh, is that not enough?" Fluttershy asks. "Uh...twenty! It's...it's all I have, b-but you can have it!"

"You only have twenty bits?" I ask, surprised. She nods, and I shake my head. "Don't pay me, Flutters. Keep the money. You need it far more than I do."

"Peter, you...you don't have any money."

"Yet I don't need any, because for the time being, Twilight is supplying for me." I smile at her. "So, keep your bits, Fluttershy. And if you try to force me to take a payment, I will give it right back."

Fluttershy blushes as she looks away with a small smile. I smile as she timidly approaches me, and quickly hugs my legs. Due to her stature, she can't really hug my torso, so I bend down to hug her properly.

"You're a sweetheart, Flutters," I say softly. "Now, come on. Let's go finish with those burrows."

She nods, and we both leave through the back door to attend to the rest of the small burrows.

One Hour Later...

I turn in surprise as a wall of cheering catches my attention, and smile despite myself as I watch Rainbow Dash flying towards Fluttershy and myself. Damn, but can she fly...

"I think she's going to do a Sonic Rainboom," Fluttershy whispers, smiling to herself.

"A Sonic Rainboom? The shit is that?"

Fluttershy gives me a small smile. "Wait and see."

I sigh as I look back to the sky, and watch as a conical image forms around Rainbow's hooves. After a moment, the cone's apex is split, and the pent-up energy is released as an incredibly large explosion. My jaw hangs open as I watch the colors shimmer through the sky.

After a minute, I'm still staring at where the Sonic Rainboom once was, and my jaw is still hanging open. I barely even notice as Rainbow Dash softly lands next to me.

"Sup?" Rainbow asks. "Uh...Pete? You okay?"

I shut my jaw, and turn to face the cyan pony. I stare at her in shock, unable to comprehend what the fuck I just witnessed...

"How are you still alive?"

"Huh?"

"Rainbow Dash, you split the light spectrum. You went faster than the speed of light - the kinetic friction against the air alone should've sloughed your skin right off!"

Rainbow Dash shrugs. "Peter...whatever, that's not important right now."

"Not important?" I ask. "Rainbow, you should be a heap of gesticulating meat!"

The cyan Pegasus sticks out her tongue in disgust. "Whatever. Anyway, guess why I did that Sonic Rainboom, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy frowns. "I don't know, Rainbow Dash. Was it to impress Peter?"

A strange noise escapes from the back of the Pegasus' throat as her cyan cheeks turns crimson. "N-no!" She responds, taking a defensive stance. "Geeze, Fluttershy, you forget that I'm not into romance or shit!"

"I'm sorry," Fluttershy mutters. "But...Why did you do the Rainboom, Rainbow Dash?"

"We made a treaty with the Changeling Empire!" Rainbow Dash responds with a grin. "Guess what? Queen Chrysalis has been overthrown! I dunno how, but the rebels totally kicked her flank!" Hovering a bit in the air, she makes few punching and kicking movements. "From what I'm told, it was basically all the Changelings against her small amount of royal guards! It must've been awesome!"

"But...why wasn't Metamorpha there?" I ask, confused. "Wouldn't she want to see her mother overthrown? I mean, didn't Twilight say she was the head of the rebellion?"

"That's why she wasn't there! It would've been too risky! She ended up drinking 'cus she hadn't heard back yet, and she was worried that all the rebels had been killed. But no - they got Chrysalis off the thrown, and now Metamorpha's the Changeling Queen!"

I nod, and Fluttershy claps. I don't feel incredibly enthusiastic, as I don't know anything about the Changelings past what Metamorpha looks like. Freaky bug thing...

"Anyway, how'd you like that Rainboom, Pete?" Rainbow Dash asks with a cocky grin. I raise an eyebrow with a smirk.

"Oh, so it was just to impress me..." I remark. Rainbow lets out a small "urk!" as she turns crimson yet again.

"N-no it wasn't!" She whines, frowning as she protests. "I just...I just wanna know what you think of it, y'know?"

I sigh, and decide to indulge her. "It was awesome," I respond, smiling as my enthusiasm comes back ten fold. A grin plays across my face as I remember the rush I got from seeing that blast... "Scratch that, it was fucking amazing! That explosion? Frikkin' awesome, that was like, the coolest thing I've ever seen!" I blush as I realize that I lost control over myself for a moment in my fervor to explain how fucking amazing!!! that Rainboom was. "But, uh...yeah. It was cool."

Rainbow Dash snickers lightly, and she gives me a large smirk. "At this rate, I'd say you've already got a crush on me."

I chuckle in response. "Fat chance. It takes more than breaking the laws of physics to make me like someone." I shrug. "Although, it does act as a catalyst for any sort of affection..."

"What's a catalyst?"

"Makes reactions occur faster," I respond with a cocked eyebrow. "Duh."

"Shut it," Rainbow spits. "Anyway, I think I'd better get in the sky - I've got a lot of cloud busting to do, y'know? See ya later, gu-" Her voice catches in her throat as her eyes widen, and she stares right at me. I frown, looking to Fluttershy for some sort of explanation. "Oh...my...gosh."

I move to the side, but her gaze doesn't follow me. So, I look in the same direction as she is, and I see that there's a small orange Pegasus, grimacing as she flies towards us. She's doing a really shit job of it, though - she keeps having to stop to regain her balance...

"SCOOTALOO!" Rainbow Dash screams with a grin, almost making me go deaf. "YOU GO, GIRL!"

Scootaloo's about to crash, but seems to get a second wind from Rainbow's cheering as she continues to fly towards us. I watch, rather unimpressed, as she stumbles to a landing a few yards away from us. Rainbow Dash starts to approach her, but Scootaloo takes to the sky once more, and Rainbow lets her fly the rest of the way.

When the orange Pegasus reaches Rainbow Dash, the latter embraces the filly in a strong hug, grinning as she giggles like a little girl. "Oh, I'm so proud of you, Scoots! You did a great job! You'll be doin' your own Sonic Rainbooms in no time, girly!"

Scootaloo giggles, as well, and I can see that she's crying a bit. I feel a bit of lighthearted warmth in my chest: she probably couldn't fly at all until recently, and that's why Rainbow is so proud of her.

"But it wasn't nearly as good as you," Scootaloo mutters, frowning as she pulls away from Rainbow Dash.

"So?" Rainbow asks, grinning as she pulls Scootaloo back. "Scootaloo, I don't care if you're as good as me! I just want you to be the best that you can be! Yeah, it's a slow start, but you're makin' progress, buddy!" Rainbow Dash grins, and I allow myself a small, warm smile at how caring she is for the small filly. "But, damn, Scootaloo, what was it like? Was it exciting? Were you scared?"

"Nah, I wasn't scared!" Scootaloo responds.

"That's my Scootaloo - takin' her challenges head on!" Rainbow grins, and I smile to myself as I turn away from her.

"C'mon, Fluttershy," I say softly, a newfound respect for Rainbow Dash spurring me onwards. "Let's get the rest of these burrows done, okay?"

"Alright."

Throughout the rest of the day, I can't get out of my head how happy those two seemed, and I realize that I know literally nothing about Rainbow Dash: yeah, she knocked me out with a vicious punch, and she likes to fly, and she's sort of a bitch, but besides that...I don't know anything.

In all honesty, I'd rather like to find out a bit more about her...

Author's Note

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