Authors Note: It's time to start the big 1-0!

Ten chapters in two months? That's an academy record!

So, this chapter is the beginning of what I'd like to call the 'Golden Horseshoe Mystery' (you can tell I put a lot of thought into that name…NOT!) For the next few chapters Rainbow Dash will be trying to figure out who put the horseshoe from the last chapter into the tempest cloud cluster, causing her to get struck by lightning. I'll continue this note at the end of the chapter because at this rate my pre-chapter rants will become longer than the actual chapters.

So, to celebrate ten chapters of this story I figured that you guys would like to see a little more SoarinDash, so here it is. Enjoy!

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"Dismissed!"

Rainbow Dash felt relief wash over her as Spitfire let the cadets leave. After yesterday's events all she wanted was to flop down on her bed and take a good long nap. Her cheek was still sore from the times Spring Song had hit it and her tummy still bore that bruise, which had turned a blue colour. The cyan mare began to trot away when suddenly she was surrounded by the other cadets, who all began bombarding her with questions.

"Are you okay?"

"What happened?"

"Does it still hurt?"

Paradise slunk to the front of the group and, as if given an order, the rest of the cadet's ceased to make a sound. The green mare cleared her throat and spoke solemnly.

"I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash. I should've tried to stop you from flying into the clouds," she sniffled, hanging her head. Rainbow put a hoof on her friends shoulder.

"It's okay, Paradise, it was my fault for being such a…pea brain," Rainbow quoted Paradise, who let out a little giggle. Just then, Rainbow Dash was knocked to the floor by something heavy. Once her vision had cleared from the impact, Dash felt something hugging her tightly.

"Oh, Rainbow Dash, I was so scared when you got struck," Stargazer's hippie voice rang out, alerting Rainbow Dash that it wasn't Spring Song tackling her again. She heard a few quiet sobs and realised that they were coming from the charcoal mare. Rainbow sat up and pulled Stargazer into an embrace, letting the pegasus weep into her fur. Stargazer seemed more worried than anypony else and that surprised Rainbow.

"Hey, calm down, Stargazer. I'm fine," Rainbow stroked the mare's fluffy white mane. She noticed that Stargazer was wearing a necklace made completely out of bottle caps. She had worn a similar one yesterday and Rainbow had tried not to say anything about it. Stargazer must have some crazy hobbies.

"I know," Stargazer choked out through sobs. Smart Set flapped over to the mare. "C'mon, Stargazer, let's go to the mess hall," he assisted the mare to her hooves and led her away.

"Come on, Rainbow Dash, I'll get you a snack," Lullaby began trotting after them. The other cadets began ushering Rainbow to the door. As glad as Dash was to be the center of attention, she was still pretty confused and mad about this whole situation. Who had hidden that stupid horseshoe up there and what the hay was wrong with Spring Song. Why did she have to be so mad when Rainbow hadn't even done anything wrong?

Spring Song was at the back of the group, hanging her head making her short blonde mane dangle, hiding her face. Rainbow wanted to know what went on inside the pink mare's head. Was she sorry for what she did? Did she even care?

Rainbow Dash had so many questions, and right now she wanted answers more than anything.

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The only time that Braeburn wished he wasn't an earth pony was when he had to pull food out of the ovens. He couldn't use magic to lift the trays out like a unicorn, so the only tool he had was his mouth. The real trouble was grabbing the oven glove in his mouth before sticking his head in the oven to get a hold of its contents.

This was what Braeburn was doing now, pulling out a blueberry pie and placing it on the windowsill to cool down. He managed not to burn his tongue this time, but he'd lost count of how many times he'd had the misfortune to do so before. Apart from that one flaw, he loved his new job, especially if it meant he could hang out with his old high school friend.

He turned away from the windowsill for a second to close the oven, relieved to have gotten the hard part of pie baking out of the way. He turned back a second later and was startled to see that the pie was gone.

"Wait- what the-" Braeburn looked left and right and groaned at what he saw. Soarin was sitting on the counter on the far side of the room, the plate of pie beside him. His mouth was full and he had blueberry juice splattered on his cheeks. They just stared eachother for a minute before Soarin spoke with a mouthful of pie.

"What?"

"Ya know that was for the cadets, right? Now Ah hafta bake another one," Braeburn scolded his friend. Soarin just shrugged and swallowed his mouthful.

"Well, that's what you're paid to do, so just keep baking," he smiled. Braeburn just shook it off, since the earth pony found it difficult to be mad at anyone. Whenever someone new came to Appaloosa he would greet them with a wide smile and plenty of enthusiasm, to show how nice his hometown was. Braeburn loved his town because it was almost completely populated by his large family. He personally thought that all towns should be like that, full of happy families.

He went to the closet where he kept all his ingredients and found another bag of flour before re-emerging and spreading a layer of the white powder on the counter top. The door suddenly creaked open and Rainbow Dash stuck her head in, the band aid under her eye must have fallen off during training because it was nowhere in sight and allowed him to see the scar it had covered. It seemed to be healing well; then again, Braeburn wasn't a doctor, so he couldn't be too sure. She looked a little worried about something.

"Hey, Soarin," the cyan mare greeted her mentor, who lit up at the sight of her. Soarin swallowed another mouthful of pie and wiped some of the blueberry juice from around his muzzle.

"Afternoon, Dash, how are you?" he asked her politely, though he winced a little at the sight of her cut. She had taken off her cadet uniform, showing off the purplish-blue bruise on her abdomen. She brushed her mane of her eyes before replying.

"I'm cool, I just needed to tell you that I'll probably be a little late for our training session," she informed the pale blue stallion, who raised a concerned eyebrow.

"How come?" he asked. Rainbow placed a hoof to the scar under her eyes and stroked it, comforting herself.

"I just wanted to go down to Spitfire's office to thank her for catching me, yesterday. I never got a chance before," she explained, taking her hoof away from her scar and instead diverting her gaze to the big bruise on her belly, pressing a hoof on it gently. Braeburn felt his cheeks ignite at the mention of the fiery maned mare. He thought back to yesterday when he had shown her how to make pie. He had assumed she'd walk off halfway through his explanation, but she had stayed there the whole time he'd talked, listening with interest. She hadn't done much talking, except a few 'okay's' or nods but Braeburn didn't really mind. At least he was brave enough to actually talk to her now. He'd discovered that once he started speaking to her it became much easier.

"No problem, Dashie, you go ahead. I'll be outside waiting for you when you're done," Soarin replied, earning a grin from Rainbow Dash.

"Thanks, Soarin, I'll be out ASAP!" she promised, turning around. Unfortunately, she didn't turn in time and bumped into the doorframe, yelping as she knocked her head on it.

"You okay?" Soarin chuckled. Rainbow laughed nervously and rubbed her head where she'd bumped it.

"I meant to do that," she insisted before dipping her head. "Okay I lied; I didn't mean to do that. I'm such a klutz." she admitted. "Don't laugh," she turned and bumped into the doorframe again. "UGH! When am I gonna learn?" she asked herself, still laughing. Soarin laughed along with her, even after she'd left.

"I wouldn't laugh," he said, though Braeburn was pretty sure he couldn't hear her now. "It's one of the reasons I love you."

Braeburn's ears pricked up. "What was that?" he asked Soarin, who turned to meet his friends gaze. Soarin shrugged again.

"What?" the pegasus stallion repeated the same answer from earlier. Braeburn was relieved he finally had something to tease Soarin with. He trotted over to the Wonderbolt.

"You just said that…you…" Braeburn began, only just managing to talk through his chuckles. Soarin's ears pricked up as he realised what Braeburn was getting at. He just dismissed it with a flick of his hoof.

"Oh, I just said I loved her. But, ya know, I said it chastely, like I say it to my mom," he explained. Braeburn wasn't convinced at all.

"That's where yer wrong, mah overweight friend," he prodded Soarin's tummy. "Usually, we say 'Ah love you' ta our parents in a silly way. Go on, pretend Ah'm yer mom and say ya love me," Braeburn instructed his pegasus friend, who shifted his eyes awkwardly, unsure how to respond.

"Luvoo," he said, barely audible. Braeburn raised a hoof, having got his point across.

"Ya see?" he smirked. Soarin blushed and shook his head in denial.

"I don't, because Rainbow Dash is one of my best friends and nothing more," he insisted. Soarin was a much better liar than Braeburn, so good that Braeburn was wondering if he had made a mistake after all.

"If ya say so," Braeburn shrugged. "But Ah'm pretty sure ya do, so ya should just ask 'er out," he added, returning to the counter to mush up some apples. He was relieved to finally have something to tease Soarin with. He sure wasn't gonna let this go any time soon…

"Says the guy who can barely talk to his crush," Soarin shot back.

…Much like Soarin wasn't gonna let that go. Braeburn flushed red again, focusing all his attention on the apples he was mushing beneath his hooves. That lasted about four seconds before he began teasing Soarin again.

"Well, if you're such an expert on this kinda thing, prove it!" Braeburn challenged the blue stallion. Soarin stood up straight.

"Ya know what, I will. I am gonna take Rainbow Dash on a day around Cloudsdale and nothing will happen, Wonderbolt's word," Soarin accepted, determination sparkling in his green eyes.

"You're on," Braeburn agreed, slitting his eyes. Soarin raised his hoof.

"Actually, I'm gonna add a little to the challenge," he grinned. "If I'm wrong and something does happen I will…fill my Wonderbolt uniform with apple sauce and fly around the track two hundred times."

Braeburn trotted into the closet again and came out a few seconds later with a few tins of apple sauce. He slammed them on the counter.

"You've got yerself a deal," the earth pony chuckled.

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Spitfire scrawled her signature on the last piece of paperwork and slid it to her outbox pile. She let out a silent cheer and placed her head on her desk, relieved that she'd finally finished her work and had the rest of the day to just chill out. She could really use a nap and she didn't have any work to do later, so now was the perfect time to take a couple of winks. She reclined back in her swivel chair and folded her hooves behind her head.

"All I really need is two seconds of quiet," She thought, shutting her eyes and relaxing her mind.

Just then, somepony knocked at the door.

"Ugh! I didn't mean that literally!" she mentally yelled and sat back up in her chair, putting her professional face back on. She swore that if this was Surprise with a bunch of confetti to throw over her she'd-

"Ma'am, are you in there?"

Oh, it was just Rainbow Dash. Spitfire smiled a little as she heard the voice of her secret idol.

"Come in, Dash," she invited the blue mare inside. Rainbow Dash entered the room, wearing that classic 'Rainbow Dash Grin' of hers. She pulled up a chair and sat on the other side of Spitfire's desk. "Did ya need somethin'?" the golden mare asked the cadet, folding her arms.

"I just never got a chance to thank you for catching me yesterday, is all," Rainbow Dash shrugged. "I've never felt so useless in my life," she hung her head in shame. Spitfire felt her heart ache for the younger pegasus as she saw tears glisten in her magenta eyes. She pushed a box of tissues over to her and Rainbow grateful pulled a few out, dabbing hurriedly at her eyes. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I don't usually cry," she insisted, putting on her tough-mare face. Spitfire rolled her eyes.

"It's okay, Dash. We all cry sometimes," the fiery maned Wonderbolt reassured her friend. Rainbow looked up at that.

"Even you?" she asked. Spitfire shifted in her seat a little. She shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah…ya know… because I have allergies," she insisted. Rainbow seemed convinced at that and tossed the ball of tissues into the trash can by the side of the desk. While Rainbow was distracted with binning her soggy tissues, Spitfire let out a little sniffle. She didn't want to think about it. She never wanted to think about it. The captain decided to change the subject.

"So, Rainbow Dash, what exactly happened up in the storm clouds? If ya don't wanna talk about it, I understand," she asked the rainbow maned cadet. Rainbow hesitated before replying.

"I…I just wasn't looking where I was going and that's when I was struck," she told the Wonderbolt, who raised an eyebrow.

"You sure 'bout that?" Spitfire questioned Dash. Spitfire had a built-in lie detector and she had a nagging feeling that Rainbow Dash wasn't being completely honest. "You can tell me anything, ya know? Was there somepony up there with you?"

Rainbow seemed a little startled at that. She looked away hastily. Spitfire put on a serious face and cleared her throat to make sure that Dash was paying attention to her.

"If there was somepony with you, I have to know. I was gonna announce it tomorrow in an academy assembly but you might as well know that whoever put the horseshoe up there must be punished, so right now we need as many suspects as possible," she informed Rainbow Dash. Academy assemblies were only held if there was an announcement or an emergency. Usually it was the first one, but this was most certainly an emergency. Whoever put that horseshoe up there was in BIG trouble.

"Fine, I'll tell you who was up there…but you didn't hear it from me," Rainbow decided, absentmindedly playing with her tail, which she had folded over her legs. "It was…Spring Song."

"Oh, her," Spitfire pulled open one of her desk drawers and fumbled through the folders in there. They were the cadets' reports and she'd made sure to put them in alphabetical order so she wouldn't get confused. Rainbow Dash, Ray, Smart Set, Spring Song! She pulled out the folder and pulled out the pink mare's application. "Okay, then let's have a looksee," Spitfire muttered. "Spring Song, aged 20, female, lives in Las Pegasus, clean record, bipolar, parents were both in the delivery service, and she suffered from a busted hoof last year," Spitfire read the application out loud.

"That explains a lot," Rainbow Dash murmured, gritting her teeth.

"What? The busted hoof explains something?" Spitfire asked. Rainbow shook her head.

"No, the bipolar part, ma'am, 'cause Spring Song has a really bad attitude," the rainbow maned cadet explained. Spitfire didn't have a doubt in her mind that the two pegasi didn't get along.

"Listen up, Dash, in life there are gonna be ponies that you either get along with or don't," Spitfire gripped her pencil in her hoof as she continued her sentence. "And believe me; the ones that you don't get along with can make your life Tartarus! Equestria is full of a bunch of motherbu-" the pencil in her hoof suddenly snapped due to the fact that she was clenching it rather hard. Rainbow Dash raised a brow, clearly feeling uncomfortable. Spitfire cleared her throat and adjusted her shades, leaning back in her chair again.

"…Equestria is full of awful ponies," she finished her sentence in a more appropriate way. "But, listen to me, Dash. You can't show these ponies that you're bothered by what they do to you. Judging by that hoof shaped bruise under your eye, Spring Song really let you have it, and she will get punished for that, but for now you should just pretend she doesn't exist. Ignore. Ignore. Ignore," she repeated, wanting to jam all this into Rainbow Dash's head. "If she talks to you, Ignore. Ignore. Ignore. I know that you probably want to slap her into next week…"

Rainbow Dash nodded at this, smirking a little.

"…but no matter what she does, even if she provokes you, Ignore. Ignore. Ignore!" Spitfire said, again. "That way, she'll move on to somepony else."

Rainbow Dash stood up, determinedly. "Got it: Ignore. Ignore. Ignore!" she copied Spitfire, who stood up and hoof-bumped Dash.

"Now get outta here, Soarin's probably waitin' for you," Spitfire smiled at her blue friend. Rainbow Dash gave the captain a salute before flying out of the room.

"Yes, ma'am, thank you, ma'am!" she called over her shoulder. Spitfire closed the door and sat back at her desk, brushing the remains of her pencil into the trash can. She was glad that her pep-talk had cheered Dash up. Spitfire had had a few problems with bullies when she was a little filly, but there was always somepony there to make the world seem bright once again. She put her head in her hoof and tried to forget that last part. She was too riled up after her talk with Dash to take a nap now, so she pulled out the book she kept on the side of her desk: Anger Management for Dummies and opened it up to chapter 12: Why Is Letting Go So Difficult?

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"You have to go a little faster, Dashie!" Soarin yelled up into the sky. He never thought he'd have to tell Rainbow Dash to pick up speed. He was trying to teach her a Tornado Twirl, where a pegasus flew swiftly through the air while spinning in order to create a thin hurricane trail. When done correctly it looked pretty awesome. But for some reason Rainbow Dash didn't seem to have her head in the game today. Maybe she wasn't in the right condition to practice today. Soarin could be putting too much pressure on her. He decided to call her down.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash, could you come down here a sec?" he yelled up to her. Rainbow obediently flapped down to the ground and folded her wings to her body. "Is something bothering you, Dashie? If I'm putting too much strain on that struck wing, just tell me," he told her, putting a hoof on her shoulder. Rainbow shook her head.

"Nah, I'm fine. It's just…I have a lot on my mind right now," she replied hesitantly. Soarin stood beside her and wrapped a comforting wing around her waist.

"Are you thinking about what happened yesterday?" he asked her, squeezing her a little. Rainbow Dash nodded, sitting on her hindquarters. Soarin sat down beside her and sighed. He wished there was some way to cheer her up. Then he remembered what he'd said to Braeburn earlier. "Hey, I know how to turn that frown upside down," he chirped, grinning down at her.

"What?" Rainbow asked, blowing her mane out of her eyes. Soarin stood up and spread his wings, as if he could take off at any moment.

"How would you like to go for a little trip?" he proposed. Rainbow seemed baffled by the question.

"What do you mean?" the cadet asked her mentor, standing up as well.

"We could go for a trip all over Cloudsdale. We could go to the museum, the theatre, everywhere! I'm sure that'll cheer you up," he explained. Rainbow lit up, especially when he said that he'd pay for everything they did.

"Ya mean it?" Rainbow glowed, smiling like there was no tomorrow. Soarin nodded, flapping into the air.

"Yep, I mean every word. So, let's go to the kitchen, grab some snacks and hit the road! I mean, we would hit the road if Cloudsdale had roads," he added, rubbing the back of his head. Rainbow flapped into the air and flew in circles around Soarin repeated her signature 'ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!'

"This is SO AWESOME!" she squeed as she finally landed. "What are you just standing there for, let's go!" Rainbow lifted Soarin off the ground and flew him back to the mess hall. When they flew through the door into the hall, which was completely deserted except for Braeburn cleaning the tables, Rainbow still refused to put Soarin down. For all Soarin knew, Rainbow Dash could have forgotten she was actually carrying anything.

"What the hay is goin' on?" Braeburn chuckled as he saw his high school friend being lifted by the excitable mare. "Ya sure work fast, Soarin," he added in a teasing tone.

"I'll grab some stuff and then we can leave," Rainbow Dash placed Soarin down on the floor and zoomed through the kitchen and the sound of a fridge opening could be heard. Braeburn sat down on one of the chairs and put his back hooves up on another.

"So, ya never answered me. What's goin' on?" he repeated the question to Soarin, who sat beside him.

"I just invited her to go around Cloudsdale, like I said, and here we are now. You'd better put those cans of apple sauce away, buddy," Soarin replied, poking Braeburn's shoulder.

"So, ya basically asked 'er on a date," Braeburn told him. Soarin raised his hooves and scoffed.

"No way, Brae, this is not a date, it's an intimate trip," he corrected his earth pony friend. Braeburn chuckled and muttered 'date' under his breath. Soarin elbowed his old friend in the ribs.

"What'th not a date?"

Soarin turned to see Fleetfoot poking her head through the door. Braeburn snorted with laughter and nodded at Soarin. "Soarin's just asked Rainbow Dash on a date," he told the light blue Wonderbolt, who gasped with glee.

"I did not!" Soarin insisted, folding his arms. Why couldn't these two believe him? Fleetfoot fluttered over and sat on the other side of Braeburn, after pushing his back hooves off the seat.

"Thith ith great!" the lisping mare squealed. "You're gonna go on a bunch of dateth and then you'll get married and have a ton of foals and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Soarin protested, cutting Fleetfoot off. "This is not a date; this is an intimate trip and nothing more."

"Of courthe it'th a date," Fleetfoot ignored Soarin, who briefly wondered if he should use his 'invisibility' to fight crime or for evil. Fleetfoot gasped and gripped Braeburn's arm. "Maybe we thould make it a double date!" she squeed. Braeburn looked confused.

"Pardon?" he asked her, making Fleetfoot's eyes bulge out of her head.

"Uh… I thaid that I could be in trouble if I'm late," she lied, trying to hide a blush. Braeburn raised a brow.

"Late for what?" he asked her. Soarin laughed silently as Fleetfoot bit her lip, trying to think of a way to reply.

"Late for...lunch!" she decided. Braeburn glanced up at the clock.

"But it's four O'clock in the afternoon," he pointed out. Fleetfoot shifted her eyes, beginning to look flustered.

"I meant…an early dinner. Yeah, I'll jutht be going now," she excused herself, flapping out the door. Braeburn shrugged it off and Soarin wondered how he could be so clueless. At that moment, Rainbow Dash came back out with her saddlebags full.

"Okay I've got apples, some carrot juice, muffins and, of course, some pie," she listed the contents of her bag and Soarin licked his lips as she mentioned pie.

"Let's go, then!" the stallion smiled and headed to the door with Rainbow at her side. Luckily, Rainbow Dash didn't hear Braeburn singing 'Soarin and Rainbow Dash sitting in a tree'. He held the door open for Rainbow Dash as they left, shooting a final warning glare at Braeburn. He closed the door roughly to show the Appaloosan that he meant business before turning to Dash.

"All set?" he checked with her. Rainbow Dash nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course!" she smiled. The two pegasi flapped into the air and headed out to begin their date.

It's not a date! IT'S AN INTIMATE TRIP!

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Endnote: Okay, this chapter was dragging on a little, so I decided to split it into two parts. Nothing really happens in this chapter and I apologise for that but hopefully you'll be satisfied by Dash and Soarin's 'Intimate Trip' in the next chapter.

Anyway, like I said at the start, this is the start of the 'Golden Horseshoe Mystery' arc. To save metaphorical breath I'm just gonna call it the GHM arc. Over the next few chapters there will be a few hints as to who the possible culprits are. Since the Academy Assembly will be in chapter 12, more details will be posted there.

One last thing, I would LOVE for you to PM me your theories on who put the horseshoe in the cloud cluster. I'm not gonna tell anyone whodunit (who did it), but I really wanna know what you think. So, put on your mystery hats my friends because you're gonna need them.

See ya in chapter 11!