Authors Note: Okay so I did say I was gonna review the finale, but to save time I thought I'd leave it out for now. Besides, since this chapter is relatively short I thought I'd get it out quicker if I just skipped it.

Also, on an unrelated note, does anyone remember in chapter one where I said that my authors note was one of the longest ever… HA! I didn't even know what a long authors note even was back then! Oh naïve little Past Me.

TheMouseOfAwesomeness- Yeah, I love writing Misty Fly and Surprise's interactions. Honestly I could happily keep writing about little mishaps between those four mares for the rest of the story, but we have other stuff to cover. And hell yeah, battle-scarred Rainbow Dash was EPIC!

Captain Alaska- Thank you; crazy shit is what I do best! And I'm not gonna lie, I was imagining Feather Duster with a German accent for ages after I wrote that part. It's back to my preferred voice now, but God it was funny! And that Big Bang Theory scene makes me laugh every time… I also believe that Sheldon and Misty Fly would be pretty good friends, though Sheldon probably has some weird horse phobia. And I HAVE to make Surprise own one of those posters! xD

Luna'snight625- Yeah, that's probably for the best… and if all slumber parties were that exciting I wouldn't have hated them when I was younger. xD

YoungBlood23- Glad you enjoyed it so much, and I don't mean to cause any offense, especially since I have a friend from Germany- I know they can be lovely people.

SU-152 ex Dshk- I haven't got Fallout 4 yet but I'm pretty sure that since Christmas isn't that far away now I won't have long to wait. And ya never know; with Surprise's wackiness she sure could be working for a secret government agency.

Litestardt- Sorry 'bout Spitz- she's a sleep kicker. And I'm glad you liked the meaning to the chapter. It's very rare that I see something with a moral of 'if you're not comfortable with talking about something then just don't do it and wait until you are ready'. It's sort of a way of me saying that peer pressure sucks. Of course there were other morals in there and if you got all of them then you're a star. :D

MidnightBlaze16- I shall do no such thing! You shall suffer as I play around with my pony pawns, making them do my bidding to appeal to your shipping nature. I have become like a god!

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"Welcome to Fun Friend Facts, the most popular game show in this kitchen!" Soarin jumped onto the table, speaking into a wooden spoon and pretending it was a microphone. On the left side of the table sat Rainbow Dash, her arms folded on the surface in front of her, and on the right side sat Braeburn, looking a little tired and with an amused smile on his face.

"On today's show our contestant Rainbow Dash will be answering questions in order to receive her prize," Soarin put a plate on a table, "The last cookie!"

"Yum." Rainbow Dash played along, licking her lips and staring wide-eyed at the treat. Braeburn rolled his eyes and sighed, but knew that if he didn't play along something else was going to happen. He knew pretty darn well how these things with Soarin worked and had figured out a long time ago that he had to let it run its course.

"Okay Miss Dash," Soarin got down from the table and walked around to stand beside her. "The questions you will be answering this evening all focus on your friend Braeburn Apple. Are you ready?"

"Hey yeah!" Rainbow pumped a hoof in the air. She loved how Soarin could make anything exciting, even arguing over who got to eat a snack. She bet that if he and Pinkie Pie sat down and discussed party games, they would never run out of possible things to converse about.

"And are you ready, Mr Apple?" Soarin held the wooden spoon out from Braeburn to speak into, and the light gold earth pony leaned forward, speaking half-heartedly into the kitchen utensil.

"Eeyup."

"Then let's get this show on the road!" Soarin then proceeded to hum a short game show jingle, ending it by spinning in place and doing jazz hooves. "Okay Miss Dash; question one." He cleared his throat. "Has Brae had a date in the past six months?"

Rainbow Dash bit her lip and hummed in thought, while Braeburn gave Soarin an unamused look, which was returned with a smirk that kinda made the earth pony want to rip his friend's head off his shoulders.

"No," Rainbow decided, and Soarin spread his wings out as far as they would go in approval.

"That's correct!" He announced, and Rainbow whooped with pride. Braeburn rubbed his temples with his front hooves, the look on his face suggesting that he wanted to ram Soarin's face right through a wall.

"Next question please," Rainbow sat up determinedly.

"Certainly Miss Dash." Soarin affirmed. "Okay, question two!"

"Oh dear," Braeburn prepared himself for the approaching humiliation.

"Does Brae have to use mare's shampoo to get his mane that shiny?"

Humiliation incoming…

"Yes!" Rainbow Dash slammed a clenched hoof on the table, shouting out her answer confidently.

Coming in for landing…

"That one's correct, too!"

And it's hit!

"Ah hate ya both right now." Braeburn informed his two torturers, staring down at the table with annoyed green eyes.

"We love you too," Soarin dismissed him with a wave of one hoof, though he looked back a moment later. Even if your mane does smell like strawberries."

"Guys can smell like strawberries too!" Braeburn insisted, making a pouty face.

"If it helps ya sleep at night, keep telling yourself that. Now we're onto the third and final question!" Soarin announced, making a 'dun dun dun' noise into the spoon he was still holding. "How old was Brae when he hit puberty?"

"SOAR!" Braeburn flushed pink and slammed his front hooves on the table, looking mortified. Rainbow snorted at his reaction and rubbed her hooves together in thought.

"Hmm…" She hummed, clicking her tongue and staring intently at Braeburn, which somehow made him feel even more uncomfortable. "Fourteen?"

"Close enough- fifteen!" Soarin gave Dash the point anyway. Braeburn planted his face on the table and muttered a few things against it that were probably best left unheard. "So we have our winner; congratulations Miss Dash!"

"Woohoo!" Rainbow Dash jumped up and looping around the room a couple of times while Braeburn remained motionless in his position slumped on the table. Soarin applauded and picked up the spoon again, turning to face an imaginary audience and speaking in his presenter voice again.

"Join us next week when we ask: What rodent does Braeburn resemble most?" The earth pony weakly looked up from the table. "Why can't Braeburn grow facial hair? And where have I hidden Braeburn's anxiety pills?"

"Wait, what was that last one?" Braeburn's ears perked up and he sat straighter.

Soarin ignored him. "All of this and more next time on Fun Friend Facts!" Soarin hummed an outro tune and did a stupid dance, before grabbing the cookie on the plate and eating the whole thing, looking over at Rainbow Dash to see that she was giving him the stink eye.

"How come Ah never get t' be the contestant?" Braeburn asked, crossing his arms on the table in front of him. Soarin swallowed the last of the treat in his mouth and smirked at the light golden stallion.

"Sorry buddy, you just don't have a face for television," the pegasus teased. Braeburn, stupidly curious, raised a brow.

"Well what do Ah have a face for?" He questioned. Soarin slowly lifted the wooden spoon back up and spoke lowly into it.

"The pathetic quiz subject."

"Do ya want me to shove that spoon through yer head?" Braeburn asked, though Soarin didn't get a chance to answer before Rainbow Dash jumped up onto the table to get their attention.

"Shut up a second," she silenced the two stallions, and they obediently looked up at her, though Braeburn barely refrained from telling her to get off the table… one more thing for him to clean.

"What's up Dashie?" Soarin leaned against the table, balancing the wooden spoon on the tip of one front hoof. Rainbow Dash looked like she could barely contain her excitement.

"I've got some awesome news. I was gonna tell you earlier but I figured we'd finish the game first."

"Very thoughtful of you," Soarin said at the same time Braeburn said 'Ah wouldn't have minded a bit.'

"Okay, so Twilight and the rest of my friends sent me a letter this morning…" she stopped for a second to squee, and then started hopping up and down on the table, much to Soarin's amusement and Braeburn's slight horror. "THEY'RE COMING TO VISIT TOMORROW!"

"Whoa!" Soarin exclaimed, putting his front hooves on the table. "That's great!"

"I know right!" Rainbow jumped down from the table, relieving Braeburn, and started hopping frantically from hoof to hoof, overjoyed. "The best ponies in Equestria are gonna be right here in Cloudsdale!"

"It sure will be good t' see Applejack again." Braeburn agreed, beginning to wipe down the table.

"Hey?" Soarin felt a question nagging in the back of his mind. "Is Scootaloo coming?"

"She sure is!" Rainbow Dash confirmed, and Soarin felt a lot happier. He really did like Scootaloo, and considering he barely knew anything about the little filly aside from his interactions with her at the Spring Celebration and the many things that Rainbow had told him about, he felt like he'd known her forever. She was close to his heart for reasons he couldn't explain even if you'd asked him to focus and write them down, and because of that the idea of seeing her tomorrow made his heart flutter with anticipation.

"Her friends are coming as well," Rainbow told him, "Apparently they want to try and get their Cutie Marks in cloud bouncing." She snickered. Soarin chuckled along with her. Those three fillies sure did want their Cutie Marks really badly.

"Ya never know Dashie, they could pull it off. Cloud acrobats would be pretty fun." Soarin thought about that idea. Maybe he could help them out- oh boy he was seriously thinking about making cloud acrobatics a thing that exists in the world.

"I'm just so excited. I want everyone to meet Cinder, and maybe they'll make friends with some of the other Wonderbolts, and I can take Twilight on a flight through the obstacle course, that'd be hilarious, and Applejack can help Braeburn cook, and me and Lullaby will take Fluttershy all over Cloudsdale, and-"

"You'll get to tell 'em that you n' Soarin are a thing." Braeburn added.

You could practically hear the sound of a record scratching.

The silence that followed was just as bad.

And then Rainbow Dash blinked, chuckling nervously and gulping.

"Um… yeah… that… heh…" She scratched her rainbow coloured mane and swallowed hard. Soarin sarcastically cocked an eyebrow.

"Something the matter?" He asked. He was actually seriously confused, but didn't want to freak Dash out or anything so kept his usual playful voice.

"N-n-no." She was stammering… okay, something was definitely going on, and it was bothering Soarin.

"Dashie… are you ashamed of me?" Again, he was trying to be seriously but it came out playful. He decided to use that as his tactic to get Rainbow Dash to tell him everything; he was aware that if a pony asked questions sternly then it would likely freak out whoever was being asked the question. He may be a big goofball, but he's not stupid.

"Are you listening to yourself?" Rainbow made a 'psh' noise. "How could any mare be ashamed of you? You're a freaking Wonderbolt for crying out loud!" Rainbow waved her hooves around.

"Is it 'cause I'm too childish?" Soarin asked out of the blue. He had been thinking 'What would Brae say about me', and that was the first thing that had come to mind.

"Hey, I can be pretty childish sometimes. I like childish ponies!" Rainbow shook her head, grinning as she thought of Soarin's goofy tricks and phrases.

"Is it 'cause he ate the last cookie?" Braeburn guessed, and Soarin nodded.

"What? No!"

"If it makes ya feel any better it was delicious!" Soarin licked his lips and let his tongue loll out of his mouth in ecstasy as he remembered the taste of that awesome cookie.

"Ah can make some more," Braeburn suggested.

"Or I could get some from the store… it wouldn't be the same but hey, they're still cookies."

"Or we could have doughnuts instead."

"They can be cookie flavoured."

"SHUT UP ABOUT COOKIES!" Rainbow Dash yelled to get them to stop talking, and they did as they were told. "It's nothing to do with you Soarin… it's kinda about me."

"Oh dear," Braeburn sighed.

"What?" Rainbow Dash asked, a little snappily since she was miffed at being interrupted like that.

"That's the classic 'marefriend excuse'." Braeburn chuckled. Rainbow Dash had no idea what the earth pony meant by that, and kinda felt a little dumb for not getting it. By the looks of things, Soarin understood what he was saying, and that just made her feel even worse.

"Just listen to me!" Rainbow Dash tried to remain calm. "These ponies have known me for years… Scootaloo looks up to me… their friend Rainbow Dash is the tough, awesome daredevil that laughs in the face of danger and mocks any mushy shtick. I'm just a little nervous…" she outright admitted, turning pink and looking ashamed of herself for saying such a thing.

"What does this have t' do with Soarin?" Braeburn asked, missing the point. Rainbow decided that it was time to confess what had been bothering her ever since the mere idea of a relationship with Soarin started rattling around in her skull.

"I…" she remained standing, because she was under the impression that if she sat down she would never be able to get up again due to all the guilt and embarrassment that would weight her down once she was finished speaking. "I don't… do… this!" She gritted her teeth.

"Still not getting it…" Soarin tilted his head. Rainbow snarled and face hoofed, not at Soarin but at herself for not being able to find the right words to explain this conundrum.

"I don't get into relationships! I don't go around with a stallion as more than a friend! I don't friggin' kiss ponies, and I only ever blush when I fail at a stunt!" She began to rant, blowing her mane out of her magenta eyes in frustration. "If ponies know that we're a couple then they'll just wonder what the heck happened to me. Pinkie Pie would go overboard and Twilight would wonder if I hit my head in a race or something. Rarity would just go on and on about how I should act now that I'm 'a real mare', and Applejack would probably call me out for being a… gushy mushy filly. I… I don't know what Fluttershy would do but she'd probably wonder if I'd switched bodies with somepony…" she sighed and let her gaze sink to the floor. "And Scootaloo would never look at me in the same way again. I'm meant to be 'the cool pony', and now that I'm dating you I won't… I won't be as awesome as I used to be."

Soarin looked over at Braeburn, who appeared to be just as confused as he was.

"You don't want them to know about us… because you think you'll seem less cool?" Soarin spoke slowly, trying to process this. He tried to imagine himself in her position… but found that he couldn't. He wasn't good at putting himself in another pony's position, so he found himself thinking about his own experiences with Rainbow Dash. He tried really hard to confess to her, and it had hurt when he'd screwed it up because he'd wanted it… them, to happen so badly. He would happily show her off to the entire world without the slightest bit of hesitation. He was so proud to have her as his marefriend that it surprised even him. The tabloid magazines had always seemed to expect him to go after one of the female Wonderbolts, as if any other mare wasn't enough for him, but those were just ways for the press to stir up celebrity rumors (boy he hated those!). But none of the lady Wonderbolts seemed right, and he'd never seen that as a bad thing… but Rainbow Dash was something else. Again, he couldn't describe what he felt because his grasp on words wasn't exactly something to be proud of, but all he knew was that… no amount of pie could give him joy as equal to the happiness he felt when he was with Dashie. She wasn't a Wonderbolt, but he wasn't ashamed of that. But he was a Wonderbolt… how could she not be pleased to date him?

"Soarin"? Rainbow had started waving her hoof in front of his face. Soarin blinked a couple of times and shook his head.

"Huh- what?" He asked dumbly.

"You drifted off fer a second there," Braeburn was the one to reply. "Seriously, you were just standin' there like a statue for about two minutes."

"Oh… I was just trying to think of something helpful to say," he shook the last of the muddled thoughts out of his head.

"Did ya think o' somethin' then?" Braeburn looked questioningly at his friend.

"No…" Soarin let his ears droop and he chuckled dorkily. Braeburn smacked his forehead with a hoof and Rainbow Dash let out a little laugh at his silliness. Oh Soarin, the big doofus.

"But like I said, this has nothing to do with you. This is just me and my pride." She chuckled in spite of herself and blew her mane out of her eyes a second time.

"Rainbow, don't you think that you're looking at this wrong?" Braeburn asked, attempting to be the mature one in this situation. Rainbow raised a brow and tipped her head to the side until it was resting on her right shoulder.

"How am I looking at it wrong?" She asked as if Braeburn had just gave her the most ridiculous question in the entire history of Equestria.

"Wouldn't yer friends be happy for ya? It'd be a little mean t' make fun o' you… Applejack doesn't seem the type t' do that anyways." The earth pony explained. Soarin scoffed and shot a playful sideways glance at his friend.

"You're kidding right? Back in school you were always complaining about how your cousin AJ was always beating you at hoof wrestling and lassoing your legs together and putting you in headlocks."

"Ah'm sorry Ah said anythin'…" Braeburn's ears drooped and his hat partially fell over his eyes as he hung his head in embarrassment.

"And I specifically remember one time where you told me that she gave you the nickname 'Blondie'.

"Ah'm sorry!" Braeburn was turning redder by the second, not helped by the fact that Rainbow Dash was struggling to stifle her chuckles.

"And after one of her visits she switched your shampoo/conditioner to just conditioner and you freaked out the whole day because you were afraid your mane looked ratty-"

"Ah said Ah'm sorry!" Braeburn yelled loud enough for Soarin to stop talking, and Rainbow Dash completely cracked up. Soarin joined in; pleased that he had managed to make Rainbow a little happier, even if it meant that he had to humiliate his friend… it was a win-win for him at least.

"Okay, maybe after a while I'll get over myself and tell them," Rainbow decided, but then her expression turned strangely desperate. "But for tomorrow please can we just keep this a secret? I'm not trying to be cruel or anything but I'm just not comfortable with it now… can I hold off from telling them just a little longer so I can get a grip?" She asked Soarin. As mentioned before Soarin had no idea what it was like in Rainbow Dash's head at that moment, but he did know that nopony likes to do things that make them uncomfortable, so he'd better go along with what she wanted; anything to make Dashie happy after all.

"Of course," Soarin agreed. "If you don't want to tell them then that's okay with me."

"Well you can't tell them either," Rainbow clarified, wanting to cover every point. "And neither can you," she turned to Braeburn. The earth pony sat down in a chair and raised his hoof a little.

"Ah'm just gonna stay outta yer way. Ah have work t' do… and so do you!" He looked over at Soarin. The co-captain scoffed and smirked proudly.

"Thankfully I've come up with a plan to get out of work," he said.

"When did ya create a plan t' get outta work?" Braeburn asked, genuinely curious.

"About six seconds ago when you told me I had work to do." Soarin replied, and Braeburn rolled his green eyes, then tipped his head back, then just flopped over the back of the chair in exasperation.

"So, what's the plan?" Rainbow asked, pleased to know that Soarin was planning to hang around with her and the others. Even though she had no intentions of telling them that the two of them were more than mentor and trainee, she did want them to get to know him so that they'd be a little more accepting when they finally did find out.

"I'm gonna ask Surprise if I can be your friends' Academy tour guide. Since she loves me she'll let me do it, and then it'll just be us for the whole day." He seemed pleased with himself for coming up with an idea like that. Braeburn finally sat up again, though he still had a hint of annoyance on his face.

"Ah can't believe ya get paid t' slack off," he sighed. "You dedicate each an' every day to nothin'!"

"No, I do a lot of stuff!" Soarin argued. "Air shows, training Dashie, and for an hour every day I've been attempting to master Tuvan throat singing. Rainbow narrowed her eyes in thought.

"What's Tuvan throat singing?" she asked. Braeburn jumped to his hooves.

"Don't-"

Too late.

Soarin placed his hoof against his throat and a deep warbling sound emitted from it, occasionally changing pitch as he tightened and untightened it. He then stopped, grinning and looking around as if expecting applause.

Rainbow Dash was standing there with her jaw hanging open, confused as to what the heck she had just witnessed while Braeburn stared at the cyan pegasus with a look that may as well have been a Las Pegasus sign flashing 'I TOLD YOU SO!'

He still felt proud of himself for actually putting effort into learning something new. Braeburn should be proud of him but no, he was being a rigid tailhole as usual.

"Still, thanks for going along with this," Rainbow Dash veered Soarin back towards the original conversation. "I promise I'll make this up to you…"

There was a minute of silence.

"This is the part where you tell me what I should do to make it up to you," Rainbow whispered for some reason. Soarin couldn't really think of anything that she could do; he was doing this because he wanted her to be happy and comfortable, not because he felt obliged to… okay maybe he felt a little obligated, but this wasn't about him!

"I guess we could just go cloud racing once they're gone?" He suggested one of his favorite activities, making sure that it was one that Rainbow Dash enjoyed as well.

"Is that it?" Rainbow asked.

"…yes?" Soarin couldn't think of anything else even if he focused really hard. Rainbow hesitated before nodding.

"Okay then," she smiled again. "Really, you're awesome for going along with this."

Anything for you Dashie, Soarin thought to himself, not bothering to hide the light blush that dusted his cheeks.

"Guys, Ah don't mind you stayin' here fer a li'l while, but Ah'm headin' back t' the house." Braeburn got Soarin's attention. The pale blue stallion looked up at the wall clock, and was surprised to see that it was already half past seven. Usually all the Wonderbolts left at seven exactly, along with any other employees who weren't security guards or the cadets… seven was also the cadets' curfew, but Soarin had told Fast Clip and Whiplash that he would be spending time with Dashie and Braeburn in the kitchen after hours, so hopefully they had told the rest of the night watch ponies the same thing. They probably wouldn't question Rainbow if she went back to her and Lullaby's room at this time.

"Nah, I'm ready to head home too." Soarin shook his head. "Besides, you need somepony to fly you home remember… and I don't wanna miss the new episode of Sherclop."

"That's on today?" Braeburn sounded dumbfounded. "Okay, we'd better get goin'."

Rainbow rolled her eyes at how much those two loved that crime show. She knew that Twilight and Rarity both enjoyed it, but she had personally never understood the hype. Oh well, mystery had never really been her kind of genre unless it was in one of the Daring Do books. Well Daring Do could make literally anything awesome.

"Yeah he's right, this can't wait. You can go back to your room by yourself, right Dashie?" Soarin asked as he placed a hoof on the door. Rainbow waited for a moment to see if he was serious.

"Soarin I'm not the one who needs a guide to get to my room. Save it for my friends, won't ya?" She smirked. Soarin flushed with embarrassment and mumbled 'I knew that', before pushing the door open and holding it so Braeburn and Rainbow Dash could get out.

"Whoa, since when do you hold doors open fer ponies?" Braeburn asked Soarin, who raised his chest proudly.

"Ponies can change Brae," he said as he overtook his friend and made for the door to the training grounds. Suddenly he felt his hoof side out from under him and the next thing he knew he was face down on the floor. He could hear a mixture of laughing and concerned babbling from above him and when he lifted his head he was met with a worried Braeburn bending over him and a laughing Rainbow Dash hovering in the air a few meters away. He stood up and rubbed his head, looking down at the floor where he had slipped and spotting a melon peel on the ground. It looked like Feather Duster hadn't done her job again.

"Ha!" Rainbow landed on the ground and booped Soarin's nose, making him blush even more than he already was. "Ponies sure can change Soarin, but you're never gonna stop being a clumsy doof." She informed him.

Soarin had to agree with her there.

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Endnote: Okay, so here's a short little chapter this time around. Now the next chapter will most likely be a long one so I'm not sure when it will be out, but hey, won't it be worth it to see the rest of the Mane Six? There's also some important plot progression shoved in as well as development for all the main characters, some Pinkie and Surprise (and Misty Fly) interactions, Fluttershy and Cinder in the same room (:3), and my favourite of all, some more Soarin and Scootaloo moments!

I will definitely not have the next one out before Christmas though, so I'll take the time to wish you all Happy Holidays, and if things go really slow, have a happy New Year, too.

And if you do happen to look on YouTube for Tuvan throat singing check out the clip from The Big Bang Theory for the sound Soarin was making. ;)

Sassymouse out! Peace!