Rainbow Dash flattened herself against her black storm cloud. The cloud skidded silently across the cool night air as she beat her wings to propel it forward. She kept her ears perked and alert, listening intently. The initial chatter of young fillies and colts parading through Ponyville was the first sound Dash's ears detected. Her hearing range skimmed the area for her next victim. Crickets chirped and a group of fillies were singing:

"Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!"

It was Dash's ideal time of playing pranks. She grinned mischievously. Nightmare Night was definitely her favorite holiday. Giving the jumpy ponies a good scare in the Shadowbolt costume Rarity sewed for her made the event more of a thrill than just appetizing. And thrill was Dash's passion—much more satisfying, in contrast to some excessive sugar.

Eventually, after strolling with muted movements, Dash heard the nearby clopping of hooves. She swiftly advanced closer 'till her cloud hovered just above the pony. Dash lifted her hooves high, snickered, and brought them down as hard as she could.

BAM.

The yelp of a stallion sounded along with a loud crack of thunder. She snickered again and peered over her cloud to see whom she frightened this time. Her sly smirk was wiped off when she processed what her eyes perceived.

"Uh oh."

It was in the infamous costume. It was one of her idols. It was a Wonderbolt.

"Ack, sorrysorrysorry! I didn't mean to! Oh-my-gosh I really didn't! It was an, uh, accident!" She stared in horror at the Wonderbolt. He looked shaken up, just like anypony would. Dash was relieved, however, that he didn't run away screaming like the young ponies did. It wouldn't be a pleasant sight.

"Geez, I walk in Ponyville and next thing I know somepony pulls a pegasus prank on me..." he muttered under his breath. He cleared his throat. "It's fine..." Dash didn't feel like it was fine. She had to sincerely apologize. This was somepony she always dreamed of one day becoming respected by as an equal. How could that ever happen if she didn't show any respect?

"I'm really so sorry!" she continued. "You're a Wonderbolt. You're an idol to all pegasi!"

"Ah,"the pegasus said after a brief moment. "I'm not a Wonderbolt. We're supposed to dress up on Nightmare Night, aren't we?"

Dash stared blankly at him. He wasn't a Wonderbolt?

Phew. Thank Celestia…, she thought. Of course he wasn't a Wonderbolt. A Wonderbolt that came to Ponyville 'cause he, what, had a sweet tooth and a craving for Sugarcube Corner treats? Gosh, I'm an idiot. Dash sighed with relief that she didn't just blow her reputation with the Wonderbolts.

"Oh, if that's the case, never mind." She said brightly. "How much did I scare ya? A lot?"

"Yeah, it sure made me jump." He agreed.

"Hey, where'd you get that Wonderbolt costume?" she inquired, veering the subject to his authentically made Wonderbolt uniform she was eyeing curiously. "You're not from around here, so Rarity couldn't have sewn that for you."

"I got it at a costume store over in Fillydelphia," He replied. "By the way, who's Rarity?"

"She's one of my friends and a local clothing designer here in Ponyville." Dash answered. "Let's get outta the way; Nightmare Night traffic's getting intense." She gestured her head at the crowds of fillies and colts shuffling towards the houses surrounding them. He concurred and extended his wings to take off and Dash did the same.

The strokes of their wings carried them off the ground then Dash quickly swooped down to get hold of her storm cloud. "Actually, wanna pull some pranks?" Her mischievous grin returned to her face.

He beamed back. "Sure!" Thus they both hopped securely on the cloud prickling with static. "We aren't gonna give them heart attacks, right?" he checked.

"Of course not!" Dash rolled her eyes. "What's your name, anyway? Mine's Rainbow Dash."

"You can call me Flight." He said.

Their wings revved and the two zoomed across Ponyville, ears pricked as they clung close to the cloud.

"Hear that?" she hissed. Flight didn't respond for a couple seconds, pausing in concentration on what Dash was listening to. He distinguished some remote conversation and hoofsteps. Then came the rattling of candy inside a bag.

"Yeah." Flight said. With the ease of two ponies, they glided the cloud to a cluster of colts. "I'm ready when you are." He whispered in a voice only Dash could hear. On her signaling nod, they thrusted their hooves high in the air. The pair then struck the cloud in unison.

BAM.

The colts squealed at the unexpected boom and skittered off. The two chortled together.

"This is really fun, Rainbow Dash!" Flight cried in the midst of their laughter.

"Yup, it is!" Dash said mirthfully. "Alright, you up for some more pranking?"

"Absolutely."

"Bawk bawk bawk bawk bawk bawk bawk" Pinkie's chicken sounds faded in the distance while they rolled on their backs, cracking up.

"Heh heh. I'm glad I pranked ya, Flight. If I saw what you were dressed up as, I woulda steered clear of pranking you. Then I wouldn't have ever gotten to know you." Dash said, still laughing a bit.

"Ditto." He said. "So you wouldn't prank a Wonderbolt, huh?"

"No, it would ruin my chances into getting in their group if they ended up disliking me. I've always wanted to join, ever since I was a filly. I'm pretty lucky, though, I got to speak to them a couple times. Like, I got to meet them at the Best Young Flyer Competition. I won." She added proudly. "It was so awesome!" Dash's magenta eyes were shining, though nopony could see through her glaring Shadowbolt goggle lenses. "What do you think of the Wonderbolts?"

"They're really talented fliers. I like watching them. I admire them." He said. Rainbow Dash was not impressed.

"That's all?"

"Uh, yeah." He had his eyes fixed longingly at Sugarcube Corner. "Wanna go eat? I'm starved."

Looks like that pony did have a craving for Sugarcube Corner treats.

"Sure, let's go." She replied. Dash kicked her storm cloud into a dispersed puff of vapor. They trotted in through the sweet shop's pink door. When they walked in they saw Mrs. Cake standing at the counter dressed in her Raggedy Ann costume. Bat and spider decorations dangled from the ceiling and eerie Nightmare Moon statuettes were displayed around the shop.

"Oh, Rainbow Dash! Welcome!" she greeted Dash. She turned her eyes to Flight. She gasped. "Congratulations, Dash! This is so wonderful! You are truly growing up!" Dash slapped her hoof on her face.

Great. Now she thinks Flight's a Wonderbolt and that I've completed my dream then start a commotion. GREAT. She thought drearily.

"A Wonderbolt?" she said. "No, no, no, no, no, no."

"A Wonderbolt?" Mrs. Cake gasped again. "My, I can't believe you're dating a Wonderbolt! You don't have to try hiding it!" Then Dashed realized what Mrs. Cake meant. She glanced around the room. Everyone in the room was staring dumbstruck at them and Flight was looking very, very, uncomfortable.

"He's not a Wonderbolt and I'm NOT dating him!" She exclaimed.

"Oh." Mrs. Cake and all the others looked disappointed. After a moment of awkward silence, Mrs. Cake spoke again. "Well, what would you two like to eat?"

Rainbow Dash didn't feel very hungry. "A small chocolate chip cookie." She answered. She'd lost most of her appetite after the dreadful misunderstanding. But Flight obviously hadn't.

Licking his lips, he scanned the available snacks. "The cherry pie, please." His ruffled feathers were just smoothing to their original sleek shape.

"Okay, coming right up." She said quietly, still embarrassed of her assumption. Mrs. Cake paced over to a large criss-crossed cherry pie. She placed it carefully in both hooves and carried it to a yellow round table. "There's your pie." Mrs. Cake grabbed a chocolate chip cookie and placed it by the pie. "And the cookie."

Rainbow Dash thanked her and paid her six bits for their purchase. She and Flight plopped into their seats. Rainbow started nibbling away her cookie slowly, due to lack of hunger.

He pushed his goggles up, revealing emerald green eyes. "Man, I've been digging a snack the whole night!" he said before plunging his face into the pie, scattering crumbs across the table. A memory and nostalgia flashed through Dash's mind.

"You saved it, thanks." Soarin' was saying gratefully to her. He hungrily gorged down his apple pie in a manner identical to Flight. Rainbow had just rescued the Wonderbolt's pie from smashing into the ground. His munching seemed to blend in with the present and Dash barely heard her friend speak.

"Rainbow? You alright? You're pretty quiet. I can give you some of my pie, if you want." He offered, his mouth full. Cherry filling was dripping from his chin. The truth dawned on her. This stallion was a Wonderbolt.

She trained her gaze on him. "Soarin'?"

"Yeah?" Immediately he shut his mouth, knowing what he was responding to, but opened it again. "You guessed, huh?"

"I'm not just guessing. I know." Dash would've been happy as a lark learning that he was a Wonderbolt, but she just felt plain stupid. She thought that she was being idiotic inferring that he was a Wonderbolt but really, that was foolish. She sighed. "Uh, I'm an idiot for thinking I'm an idiot." Rainbow grumbled. She put her head face down on the table and groaned.

"You're not an idiot. Don't be silly." said Soarin'.

Dash turned her head upwards to look at him. "So I'm an idiot for thinking I'm an idiot for thinking I'm an idiot." She frowned. "Now that's weird."

"You're not stupid at all." He lowered his voice to avoid straying ears. "I'm sorry I lied about me not being a Wonderbolt." He began, but his attempt of privacy was fruitless.

"So you are a Wonderbolt." Mrs. Cake said just too loudly.

"He's a Wonderbolt?"Surprised murmurs arose about the room. For the second time that night, eyes were on them (Soarin' with the most concentration). The two felt wearisome with all the questioning looks they were receiving. Soarin' stood up.

"Yes, I'm a Wonderbolt." He confirmed. "I'm visiting Ponyville and I really need to talk to my friend." He sat back down. In a scarce whisper only Dash could hear, "C'mon, let's go somewhere we can speak alone." After swallowing the last of his pie, Soarin' took Dash by the hoof and led her out of Sugarcube Corner.

When they reached a tree that was secluded from the ponies they settled down side by side. "So what are you doing in Ponyville? Shouldn't you be in Canterlot? And why did you say that you weren't a Wonderbolt?"

"Well, we got a day off from practice for Nightmare Night so we could celebrate. I didn't want to go to another one of the boring Canterlot parties where you couldn't have time to yourself. So I came to Ponyville to see what it was like. I walk in and BAM you pranked me." Soarin' explained.

"And you lied because…"

"..you seemed afraid-"

"I was not afraid!" she interrupted.

"Well, you were nervous about pranking a Wonderbolt. Anyways, I wanted to get to know you without you having to show the respect all our fans do. Without the formality or admiration. I told you I wasn't a Wonderbolt." He said. "It was really amazing getting to know you, Rainbow Dash."

Dash realized that she felt very close to the Wonderbolt. She herself felt very well acquainted with him. She no longer felt like a squealing fan when she was around him. She felt like they were better than friends. Getting to know Soarin' had been absolutley incredible.

"It's been great." Rainbow murmured. "The best Nightmare Night I've ever had. Thank you," She smiled at him. "for getting to know me." Dash pulled her goggles up just below her ear. Now their eyes truly met, no longer concealed by thick goggles.

Their gaze flitted to the clear night sky studded with stars. All the pegasi on weather duty the day before arranged for the night to be cloudless so the moon was visible and luminous throughout the holiday. Moonlight filtered through the tree branches and onto Dash and him.

"Well, I better get going," she said, noting the hush falling over Ponyville as Nightmare Night was closing to an end. "And you should, too," Rainbow added to Soarin'. "You have lots to do with your next show coming up."

"Yeah, I'll be off." He stretched. "And, before I leave, are you coming to the show?"

She nodded enthusiasticly. "Of course I'm coming! I'd never miss a Wonderbolt performance!"

"Cool! I'll keep an eye open. Maybe I'll have time to talk to you after the show. Bye, Dash." Soarin' smiled wide and unfurled his wings.

"Bye." She responded. Following that, he glided into the sky. Yawning, Dash too stretched. "Man, I'm beat." Rainbow puffed. She heaved herself up in the air and, with her remaining energy, flew home.

There was Fleetfoot: petite but very nimble and winning almost all the races. She was the swiftest pegasus in Equestria! And Spitfire covered all general aspects of a Wonderbolt's skill: speed, strength, energy, agility, endurance, and of course guts, earning her the exclusive position of team captain. Then there was Soarin: sturdy, strong, however he was still amazingly fast—

Soarin'. Rainbow Dash snapped into reality. She was loafing! The cyan pony shoved more spoonfuls of cereal in her mouth. She gagged at the overwhelmingly numerous jumble of her late breakfast. Spitting out the unnecessary oats back in her bowl, she glanced at the clock. It was noon. Though Rainbow had an hour till the Wonderbolt performance, she wanted to be early. She literally couldn't wait. The impatient pegasus grunted and chewed hastily the remaining cereal in her mouth. After five grueling (for Dash) minutes, the white plastic bowl was scraped clean of oats. She dropped it in the sink.

"Eh, I'll rinse it later." RD shrugged. She leaped to the mirror and hurriedly ran a comb through her rainbow mane until it had a convincingly straight look. Of course, it was still tangled and messy, but it didn't really matter. Dash pushed opened the door, froze, grabbed a fair amount of bits, and left her mansion.

Rainbow Dash whipped her wings back and forth as she flew the simple route to Cloudsdale, where the Wonderbolt show was taking place. The young mare was eager to see her friend, Soarin', again. Sometimes Dash would jolt with surprise when she would think of how she actually spoke casually with somepony she idolized a great deal of her life. But a few days had passed since Nightmare Night and the fact of her and the Wonderbolt's companionship had sunk in. Doubt twinged in Rainbow when it crossed her mind of how she would access the celebrity. Would Soarin' be able to pick her out amongst the stadium teeming with fans? Dash closed her eyes and beat her wings quicker and tried to dismiss the worries that raided her hopeful mind.

She focused her attention on the vast sky and the approaching massive expanse of clouds that RD easily identified as pegasi appeared to be on their way to the bustling winged pony city. She wondered how many of them were there to spectate the performance. Then she smugly wondered how many were there to personally speak to Soarin'.

The whistling wind shooting through Dash's mane halted when she hopped on the cloud stairs at the entrance to Cloudsdale. She trotted through the gold rimmed square archway. Rainbow Dash paused to intake the magnificent city busy with pegasi weather workers. Rainbow falls poured into a colorful mist at peaks. Spectacular cloud structures towered here and there. Dash tore her dazzled eyes from the vibrant sights that enveloped her and continued her flight to the colosseum.

When Dash arrived at her destination, an extensive line of talkative and enthusiastic ponies of all ages stretched before her to purchase admission. She hurtled herself to the end of it to claim the spot before anypony else could. Each minute Rainbow walked a few steps as the pegasi filed through. She anxiously peered to see how many more ponies were left in front of her. A couple mares and a stallion. Dash counted. She tapped her hoof as they headed in one by one. Finally it was Rainbow's turn.

Her irritation from the lengthy wait evaporated and she bouncily strode to the desk where a dull expressioned female pegasus sat.

"Fourteen bits," said the mare dryly.

Rainbow Dash dropped the fourteen out of the fifteen bits she brought. "Thanks!" she exclaimed, elated.

"Uh huh." The pegasus turned her gaze to the next pony.

RD walked inside the stadium and surveyed the available spots. After a moment of browsing, she located the only cloud strip without anypony settled on it. She immediately perched on it.

"Dangit," somepony muttered. Rainbow had beaten them to the seat.

Rainbow ignored them and overlooked the bottom of the colesseum, searching for Soarin's navy mane. The announcer was just starting to introduce the Wonderbolts before their beginning race.

"The team captain and the most talented flyer—SPITFIRE!" Spitfire practically flared to the starting line from the colesseum basement. "The swiftest pegasus—FLEETFOOT!" Fleetfoot zipped in. Each time a Wonderbolt was named, cheering ensued. The announcer declared Surprise and Rapidfire. Rainbow knew the drill of the announcing order. Soarin' was next.

"Yes," she breathed, excited to see him.

"The quick yet extremely durable stallion—SOARIN'!" The pale cornflower pegasus streaked to Rapidfire's side.

Rainbow joined in the applause and hailing. "YEAH, GO SOARIN'!" Dash screamed. Her shouts were pointlessly drowned in the rest of the cheering, but she couldn't help herself.

The rest of the Wonderbolts were announced and all were arrayed at the starting line.

"Aaand for the first event," the announcer said, "the Wonderbolts will race fifteen laps and, while doing so, perform epic stunts that will blow your minds!" He nodded to the pegasus athletes. "On your mark-" The Wonderbolts crouched simultaneously. "Get set-" Their wings unfolded and outstretched. "GO!"

The pegasus athletes flew in a varying jagged line. Fumes with flickers of electricity billowed in their wake. Fleetfoot led with Rapidfire's muzzle on her tail. Spitfire and Soarin' constantly traded third and fourth place. Five minutes in, Rainbow Dash hardly widened her eyes with astonishment when Surprise skyrocketed to first.

"Poor Fleetfoot." Dash commented with a chuckle, looking sympathetically at the exasperated mare.

Soarin' looped in front of Spitfire in a burst of energy. He was swiveling through the air and in close range to RD. Soarin' did a bland dip past her and in that split second he whizzed by Dash could've sworn his strained frown lifted into a warm smile. She leaned forward and returned him a radiant beam. But the Wonderbolt had already left to a different section of the stadium and didn't see her smile nor maintain his. Spitfire stubbornly flew back into third and their seesaw of places resumed.

In the end, Soarin' won first, Spitfire occupied second, with Fleetfoot ironically in third. Surprise was grinning with fourth place and Rapidfire had barely crossed the finish line after her. All the Wonderbolt's were drained, though Soarin'was pretty pleased with his victory.

The audience whooped their joy of the remarkable race and stunts the Wonderbolts performed. Rainbow Dash had been engrossed as she watched it and was thrilled of Soarin's acknowledgment to her. However, they hadn't spoken and Dash was stumped as to how she would get that chance. Marching in and demanding to see Soarin' wasn't all too appealing for her. When he mentioned to Rainbow that he might have time to talk to her after the show, she was optimistic and confident of them managing to talk. Anxiety throbbed in her chest. She frantically thought of what to do.

"Bingo," she gasped. "I'll just—" I shouldn't say that aloud. Rainbow Dash realized, and then carried on with her idea. I'll just sneak in!

The Wonderbolts had flown back into the colesseum basement as the last of the cheers died away.

"After this half and hour break," the announcer informed the audience. "The Wonderbolts will perform synchronized aerial stunts!"

Everypony descended in babble with one another, while Dash, however, slunk behind the cloud seat. She would take a peek, and seeing that the coast was clear, would go forward to the next cloud. Rainbow was quite experienced in stealth. Of course, if she weren't, she wouldn't have been able to pull of the so successful pranks on Nightmare Night. Continuing that process, she lurked cautiously to the final cloud a short distance from the basement entrance.

Swallowing back down the fearful sensation seeming to well up her throat, Dash hesitated and took another glimpse of the stadium. She just couldn't make herself stop now. The reckless pagasus had done risky acts many times before (the results not always favorible) and was going to do one again.

Just get it over with. Dash silently commanded herself. Expelling any more wary consideration, she rushed in, a rainbow trail flowing behind her. She sighed. Piece of cake.

There was a yellow tiled hall connecting to a cozy lounge. The walls were dodger blue with a lightning stencil striking along it, imitating the Wonderbolt uniform. The tense pegasus slid her hooves across the floor making a muffled brushing sound to avoid being heard. While she scooted herself close to the wall, she heard the Wonderbolts exchanging words with eachother. Rainbow held her breath.

"So much for being the fastest pegasus, eh?" Soarin's voice said, amused.

"I'll beat you next time—I guarantee it," Fleetfoot retorted. "There was just a dumb cloud in the way." The Wonderbolt had accidentally rammed into a cloud during the race. The rest of the team got ahead of her and she caught up into third by the end.

"Ha, you're starting to sound a bit like how Spits did not too long ago."

She laughed. "Kinda, yeah."

Rainbow Dash, as softly as she could, exhaled and drew in another breath. She stood stiffly throughout the two's chit-chat.

"Darn!" Soarin' cursed. "Only fourteen minutes left. I'm gonna go shower and grab a snack. I hatebeing sweaty and hungry for the actual performances." His hooves slapped across the tile floor and gradually hushed into another room. Fleetfoot got up and headed in the opposite direction.

Dash loosened and gingerly stepped forward. She sighed, seeing the room was finally empty. Couches were tucked in corners and a long sofa in particular was centered in the room. Rainbow had to restrain herself from flopping onto its tempting velvet cushions. Behind it was a mannequin suited in a Wonderbolt uniform. She smiled at it, slightly wistful.

---

Note: Sorry the ending of the chapter was a bit abrupt. Please be patient I've been stalling a lot..There'll be more of course! :D