Fiery had finally found the candy-coated building known only as ‘SugarCube Corner’ after much time searching around and even getting directions from nearby ponies. Looking inside, he saw that despite all the decoration to look like the inside of a gingerbread house, that it looked fairly normal for a small restaurant.

He went inside and took a seat at a nearby table, glancing up at a clock that was conveniently placed on a nearby wall. ’1:15. Great, got 15 minutes to waste then I guess.’ He thought to himself as he sat on the wooden floorboards of the restaurant. ‘Too bad it’s not made out of frosting or something.’ He thought with a slight chuckle. As he was waiting, he was unaware that his ‘date’ was already in the same building as him.

On the floor right above the restaurant, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight were all there, helping Fluttershy get ready. “Alright Fluttershy-“ Twilight said. “Do you remember the plan?”

With a nervous nod, Fluttershy responded. “Y-Yes Twilight, I-I do.”

“Oh, don’t worry Fluttershy dear.” The white unicorn chimed in. “We’ll be there for you the entire way. Really, I’m more surprised at the fact of how well you’re taking this, right Twilight?”

“What? Oh, uh, yeah Rarity.” Twilight answered, her mind wandering about other things.

Rarity picked up on the clue and spoke. “Twilight dear? Is there anything bothering you?”

“Hmm? Oh, sorry Rarity. No, not really, was just thinking that we had everything set up right for the date. We have the lunch here in which Rarity and I will be sitting not too far away to keep an eye on you two.”

“After that you two will be going to that delightful new remake of a classic romance that recently came out at the local theatre.”

“W-what’s the movie called again?” Fluttershy asked in a low tone, still extremely nervous about the date, even if she didn’t show it on the outside.

“’Mare in the Wind’, but you needn’t worry about that dear. Again, Twilight and I will be sitting a few rows behind you two and will even arrive there before you two as to avoid any suspicion, so if he tries anything dirty we’ll be there to help you out Fluttershy.”

Blushing, Fluttershy tried to defend Fiery. “O-Oh, um, t-that’s very nice of you Rarity, b-b-but I-I think… eep.” Her precious mind couldn’t handle imagining such things, and her face only became redder.

“Now now, just leave everything to us Fluttershy. Right, after the movie you two will be going to the park to enjoy a relaxing time by the pond until one of you has to go. Twilight and I won’t be far off either, so if you need any help, just come seek us out.”

With another nervous nod, Fluttershy understood the plan. “B-But what if he knows something is up?”

“Don’t worry dear, I’m sure you can figure something out to get away for a few seconds. If it really does get bad though, we’ll be there in a jiffy.” Rarity said with a wink.

Twilight looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was almost time. “Well, Rarity and I should probably get a seat downstairs. Fluttershy, you come down at 1:30 exactly, as he should be coming in through the door at that time.”

Fluttershy nodded one last time, before opening her mouth to ask a question. “Yes dear?”

“U-Um, w-w-what if he wants to do something else?”

“Preposterous, he must stick to the plan, I even wrote that on the note! Besides, if he doesn’t stick to the plan, it could throw the entire date out the window and there would be no point of doing the date in the first place!”

Rolling her eyes, Rarity intervened. “Twilight, darling, not everything has to be precise to the schedule you made.” She then looked at Fluttershy with a smile, ignoring the glare that Twilight was making at her for mocking her schedules. “Fluttershy, if he does want to do something else, just hear him out and decide for yourself if it’s something that you would want to do as well, so long as it’s something that we can follow you and make sure you’re alright.”

“O-Oh, um, a-alright.”

“Now come along Twilight, we need to be ready downstairs.” Rarity said as she began to walk out of the room, before looking back at her friend and smiling again. “You’ll do great darling, I promise.”

“A-Alright, i-if you say so.”

On the outskirts of Ponyville, our favorite lazy, cyan pegasus pony was in her bed, sleeping soundly on her day off when she was suddenly rudely woken up from her nap. With a yawn and a frustrated face, Rainbow Dash began to make her way to the door of her house. “I swear Derpy, it better be something good.” She said to herself, thinking the visitor was the local mailmare. However, the knocking had a different rhythm to it than the mailmare, but Rainbow’s brain hadn’t fully woken up yet.

With another large yawn, Rainbow opened up her door, and answered her visitor with an annoyed tone, eyes still closed from being tired. “Yeah?”

The pegasus standing there smiled and replied. “Well, I haven’t had a greeting quite like that in a long time.”

With the voice entering her mind, Rainbow opened one eye, and saw somepony she wouldn’t be expecting. “Sp-Sp-Sp-Sp-Sp-“ She began to repeat, both of her eyes now wide open and her brain fully functioning. ‘The Wonderbolt Captain?! Here?!’ She thought to herself, with multiple other thoughts going through her mind afterwards while she kept repeating the first syllables of her guest’s name.

“Hey, you alright there kid? Didn’t scare ya by coming here, did I?”

Rainbow stopped her attempt to say Spitfire’s name, and a huge grin grew on her face, with a fan-girl-like scream right afterwards. She dove at Spitfire, surprising the yellow pegasus. “Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh-“ Rainbow kept repeating as she rubbed her face into Spitfire’s chest, making sure it was all real.

‘Okay, this is quite the odd greeting.’ “Hey, um, you’re Rainbow Dash, right? Mind getting off of me?”

Rainbow stopped her fangasm and snapped back into reality, quickly getting off one of her greatest heroes. She began to blush and began to rub the back of her head in embarrassment. “Oh, u-um, sorry about that. I-I just-“ But she stopped as Spitfire raised her hoof to silence Rainbow after getting off her back.

“It’s alright, I understand how it is, I get it all the time.” She said with a smile, trying to make Rainbow feel more comfortable.

“So, um, w-what brings you to Ponyville?” Rainbow asked with nervousness, not wanting to offend her guest.

“You actually.” Spitfire said with a smile as she pointed her hoof at Rainbow.

“M-M-Me?!”

Spitfire nodded. “Yep, you. Our manager saw one of the letters you sent us, and because we’re in need of a new team member for our summer lineup, and because he had heard about all of the accomplishments you’ve achieved, he’s sent me over to come evaluate you.” After hearing this, Rainbow stood completely still, mouth agape. “Um, Rainbow?” Spitfire reached a hoof out too see if she was okay, and upon poking her, Rainbow fell to the ground, stunned at the news. “Well, I guess she took it better than expected.”

“Of course!” Rainbow suddenly yelled, getting back up.

“Ah!” Spitfire screamed, startled by the sudden revival of the cyan pegasus. “Uh, I mean, great!” She looked over her shoulder to the ground underneath them, then pointed towards it. “If we’re going to test you, we should see how well you do with warming up. Come on.” She ushered Rainbow to follow her as she sped off towards the ground.

“Right behind you!” Rainbow called out, only to let out another fan squeal before following her hero.

For the past fifteen minutes, a certain pink party pony was annoying our ‘hero’, talking non-stop to distract him from the stairs. Fiery had covered his ears, but could still hear the drilling of the insistent talking. Right before he was about to snap and tell her to shut up, Pinkie Pie had seen Rarity and Twilight coming down the stairs, making her stop. “Well, I gotta get going! See you later Fifi!” She said as she began to hop away, back into the direction of the kitchen.

With a relieving sigh, Fiery uncovered his ears and looked up at the wall. “God, she talked for ten minutes non-stop!” He said to himself quietly. “Just what the hell is she?” Before he could think of anymore things to say though, he turned towards the stairs of the restaurant that lead to the second floor of the building and saw Fluttershy coming down then. With a wave, he was able to get her to notice him, who walked towards him and sat across him, face bright red. “Hey Fluttershy.” Fiery greeted her with a cheery tone.

“H-h-hello F-Fiery.” She greeted back.

Even though he didn’t know her too long, her name alone gave it away to Fiery that Fluttershy wouldn’t probably be the best of conversation starters. He cleared his throat and smiled at her. “So… How have you been doing since the last time I’ve seen you?”

“O-Oh, u-um, I-I’ve been great.” She answered with a small smile. “H-How h-have you b-been?”

“I’ve been good I suppose. Haven’t really gotten any leads of any possible gigs, but perhaps that’s just normal when nopony knows you and you’re new to town.” He said, before realizing that he was about to go on a rant about how his life was going. He quickly stopped himself and asked her a new question. “So what do you do for a living? I guess it’s something with bugs?” He asked, motioning towards her Cutie Mark.

“I-I t-treat s-small c-critters and other animals w-who have gotten hurt, and need help.”

“Is that so? I suppose that makes you a veterinarian then?”

“Oh no, I-I just like to help the little animals who are need of help, that’s all.” She answered, beginning to feel more relaxed. “Dr. Treats is in charge of the local pet hospital. She mostly does all the jobs by herself and-“

“Wait, you mean she has to take care of the entire town’s pet population by herself?” Fiery interrupted.

Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, she does. I wished I could go in and apply, but…”

“But…?”

“I-I-I g-get too nervous! I-I always try to go in and talk to her, b-but I always feel like I have butterflies in my stomach and I never go in because I’m too afraid that I would get rejected!”

Fiery stayed silent for a few seconds, studying her to see if there would be any way to convince her otherwise. So far, she had covered her face with her mane, and tried to hide underneath the table in embarrassment, earning a little chuckle from him. “Are you really afraid of being rejected? I mean, call me crazy, but if I was the only veterinarian in a town of… how many ponies live here?”

“T-T-Thr-Three thousand and t-twenty two?” Fluttershy answered, poking her head out from underneath the table.

“Okay, and say that for every pony who lives here, there was one pet. Now, that’s 3,022 pets that you have to take care of all by yourself. Granted, there’s another pony in town who takes care of some of the pets-“ He said pointing towards Fluttershy. “But I still think that I would be way too overwhelmed by all the pets that come in because of the fact that I’m basically the primary source of treating pets. Now, say that the other pony-“ Again, pointing to Fluttershy. “Were to come in one day and say that they wanted to apply for a job at my establishment. Now, do you think I would say no when I know they have prior knowledge of treating animals with various diseases and sicknesses… They do know that you treat animals, right?” Fluttershy nodded. “Alright. So say I know all of this, do you really think I would turn that pony away? Just because it means another pony working at my establishment even though I know that the applicant knows how to treat the animals? Or do you think I would more than likely hire them on the spot knowing that not only could they help me out with working on various animals that I might not know about, but also help me be able to take breaks and even days off?”

Thinking about it for a few seconds, she answered him. “I-I suppose Dr. Treats would like some help… Ooh, but what if she said no?” She asked Fiery with a worried look.

“Then continue to persevere. Continue to come back to her establishment every day until she said yes.” He answered with a smile.

“B-But I couldn’t do that! I-I mean, I just couldn’t.” She said while shaking her head.

“Okay… Then how about I go in and help you?” He suggested.

Fluttershy stopped shaking her head and looked at Fiery with a surprised look on her face. “You… You would do that?”

He shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, it’s not like I have anything else going on and-“ But he was stopped as the yellow pegasus dived across the table and began to hug him.

“Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, than-“ But she suddenly stopped, realizing she was doing. She jumped off him, flying in the air a bit and ‘eep’ed, her face becoming more red by the second. “I’m so sorry!” She exclaimed, surprised that she would even do such a thing.

Fiery laughed a bit and brushed himself off, smiling at the yellow pegasus. “It’s no problem, just… tell me the next time you’re going to do that?” He then looked around the restaurant, then looked back at Fluttershy who had just settled herself back down across from Fiery. “Where’s the waiter?” He asked.

Fluttershy’s face was blank for a few minutes, before she covered her mouth with her hoof and began to giggle some, but stopped when she realized how rude it was. “O-Oh, um, ‘SugarCube Corner’ doesn’t have a waiter or waitress Fiery.” She answered, then pointed towards the counter where Mrs. Cake stood. “You have to go up and order.”

“… Oh.”

After eating their sugar-induced lunch, the two ponies made their way a few blocks away to the movie theater. On the way, Fiery pulled Fluttershy to the side, surprising her. “Hey Fluttershy?”

“Yes Fiery?”

“I know this might be a little selfish, but, do you mind we go do something else?”

She stood still for a few seconds, remembering the words Rarity had told her. After some thinking, she agreed that despite all the hype Rarity and Twilight were giving about the movie, she wasn’t really a movie-pony herself and would like to skip it as well. On the other hoof, Rarity and Twilight were bound to have already entered the movie theater and had gotten their seats. Suddenly, her thoughts were cut off by Fiery’s voice once more.

“If not, that’s alright too.” He said with a forced smile. ‘Please let us do something else, please let us do something else-‘

“F-Fiery?”

“Yes?”

“D-do you really not want to go see this movie?” She asked, a little concerned.

“Well, not really.” He answered, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away from her.

“Is-Is it because of me?”

Fiery snapped his head back to look at Fluttershy, and could see tears forming at the edge of her eyes. “W-What?! No! No, nothing like that!” He answered quickly, trying to make her feel better. “It’s just, I’m not really the type to enjoy these films and-“ But his sentence was cut short as a loud explosion-like sound erupted from above them. The two looked up to see a circular rainbow ever expanding while a stream of a rainbow followed in its wake. “Whoa…”

Fluttershy seemed to have forgotten all about the movie and smiled a bit looking at the signature rainboom. “It seems that Rainbow Dash is in high spirits.”

Fiery looked back down at Fluttershy with a confused look. “Somepony you know?” He asked, noticing a cyan pegasus making the trail before looking back down. Fluttershy only nodded. “Should we go greet them instead of going to the movies then?” He asked, hoping she would agree.

Fluttershy looked back down at Fiery and was ready to agree, when she suddenly remembered what had happened the first time she and the five friends she was with first met Fiery. “O-Oh, u-um, p-p-perhaps that isn’t such a good idea.” She said in a soft tone, but one that was still loud enough that Fiery heard.

“Nonsense, what harm could come of it?” He asked, then began to make his way to hill in the park where the rainbow trail ended.

“Wait!” Fluttershy called out, but it seems she didn’t yell loud enough, as Fiery continued to make his way to the park. Leaving her with no other choices but to follow him, Fluttershy began to fly after him. “Oh, I do hope nothing bad happens.”

As Rainbow Dash landed on top of the hill where Spitfire was waiting, she began to pant hard at the extreme amount of stamina she had use up in order to accomplish the Sonic Rainboom. Spitfire greeted Rainbow as she landed with a large smile. “Nice job kid, can’t say I’ve seen anypony else be able to pull off such a feat, let alone more than four times in their lifetime.”

“T-Thanks... Spitfire... S-So what’s... next?” She panted from exhaustion.

“Whoa, hold on to your tail kiddo, you’re obviously tired after doing that. How about we take a little rest?” She suggested, and Rainbow gladly accepted by collapsing onto the ground as her legs gave out. She walked over to Rainbow and sat next to the colorful pegasus who continued to pant heavily. “Hey Dash?”

“Yeah?”

“Mind if I ask you what made you want to become a Wonderbolt?”

Getting her breathing under control, Rainbow brought her head up and answered with pride. “Because you guys are the best of course!”

“Yes, but that couldn’t be all of it, right? I mean, there must’ve been something or somepony in your life that made you want to become a Wonderbolt.”

Shuffling her front hoof on the ground, Rainbow looked back at the ground and started to speak in a low tone. “Well…” Before she could get anywhere with her statement though, the sound of somepony running up the hill that the two pegasi were sitting on had attracted their attention. The pony that appeared before them was a brown stallion with a red mane, panting slightly at his climb up. Just by looking at him and remembering him, Rainbow began to get red in the face with anger. “You!” She screamed out, quickly going into the air and flying right into his face, only to quickly remember what happened last time she did that and backed off a few feet. “What are you doing here?!” She asked bitterly.

‘Do I know her from somewhere?’ Fiery thought to himself as he tried to catch his breath. ‘Wait, isn’t she the pony who did that rainbow thingy a few moments ago?’

“Somepony you know Dash?” Spitfire asked, completely confused by the sudden confrontation.

Dash, not wanting to blow her chances of ever joining the Wonderbolts, quickly began to try to come up with an excuse of how she greeted the stallion. “O-Oh, u-um, uh, h-he’s a friend! Yeah! Isn’t that right?!” She lied as she quickly flew right next to Fiery and wrapped her hoof around his neck, strangling him in the process.

“Agh! Too tight! Too tight!” Fiery squeaked out, pulling at her leg. Not wanting to murder the stallion right in front of Spitfire, Dash let go enough for him to breath, but still kept a tight grip around his neck to prevent him from escaping. As he began to get his breathing under control once more, he heard Rainbow whisper into his ear.

“If you do anything to embarrass me in front of her, I’ll make sure you’ll never see tomorrow.” She threatened while keeping a large grin on her face for Spitfire.

Before Fiery could ever confront Rainbow about the lie, all three heard a new voice from behind Rainbow and Fiery, causing the cyan pegasus to let go of Fiery and turn around. “F-Fiery! … W-Wait!...” Fluttershy said with her best effort as she climbed the hill.

“Fluttershy? What are you doing here?” Rainbow asked as she flew over to her best friend and landed softly in front of her.

“O-Oh, h-hello... R-Rainbow.” Fluttershy responded with the best of her ability. “H-How are you...?”

“Um, good?” Rainbow said as she raised her eyebrow in suspicion. ‘What in the world is Fluttershy doing here with that jerk?!’

“Rainbow? Everything alright?” Spitfire called from the top of the hill, wondering what the multi-colored mane’d mare was up to.

“Yeah! Everything’s alright!” Rainbow called back, then turned back to her friend. “Be right back Fluttershy.” She said to the yellow pegasus, then turned to the top of the hill and began to fly back, stopping to say something to Fiery before getting to the top. “You stay here. I’m not done with you yet.” She told him quietly, trying her best to not arouse any suspicion with Spitfire.

‘… Am I missing something here?’ Fiery thought to himself, still not placing the pieces together and remembering what he had done when he first met the cyan pegasus as Fluttershy had finally caught up to him and sat next to him. He turned to the yellow pegasus and asked. “Did I do something to upset her?” He asked as he pointed to Rainbow. He assumed Fluttershy might have known something since she and the rainbow mare seemed to know each other.

“O-Oh, u-um, s-she just doesn’t like new ponies?” Fluttershy said with the best effort that she could muster up. She didn’t lie often, but she did when she needed to, and that was mostly to ensure somepony’s feelings weren’t going to be hurt in the end.

“Okay, so how does she have any friends then?” Fiery asked, seeing right through her lie and having a smug smile on his face.

“U-Um, s-she… just does?” She said with a smile to make herself try to be more convincing.

“Uh-huh…”

Meanwhile- “So Dash, who are the new ponies?” Spitfire asked as she looked at Fiery and Fluttershy.

“O-Oh, um, just some friends, you know?” She said with her most convincing smile.

Taking a closer look at the two ponies, Spitfire noticed something about both of them. “Is that the mare who went crazy at the Grand Galloping Gala a few years ago?” She asked, a raised eyebrow as she looked at Dash.

“Oh, uh, yeah. She’s a real nice mare though!” Rainbow Dash quickly said, defending her best friend. “She just really wanted to meet the animals and everything sort of got out of hoof…”

Spitfire began to snicker some, remembering that night, but turned to Dash with another smile. “So who’s the other pony then?” She asked, still laughing a bit.

“Just some random pony who ended up insulting both me and my friends and then puked all over me.” Dash said in a bitter tone, but also low enough that Spitfire hadn’t heard her.

“Excuse me?”

“He’s uh, just a friend.” She responded as she turned her head away from Spitfire.

“Just a friend, huh?” Spitfire asked, not believing Dash’s lie for a moment. She turned to look at Fiery, who was still busy talking to Fluttershy, when she ended up seeing his Cutie Mark on his flank. ‘A guitar, eh…? Hmm, perhaps I should check it out. But first-’ “Hey Dash?” Spitfire turned her head to Dash.

“Yeah?”

“You know, if you ever want to be a Wonderbolt, then you’re going to have to work with rest of the team.” She said, then turned in the direction of the other two ponies. “How about you go over and with the help of your friend Fluttershy, go do some tricks up in air that will impress me.”

“F-Fluttershy?” Dash repeated with anxiety. She knew that Fluttershy wasn’t exactly the best flier, and that this would quite possibly go all downhill. She shook that anxiety off though, and saluted Spitfire, determined to not let her hero down. “Anything you say Spitfire!” She replied, then flew over to Fluttershy. As Rainbow Dash got close enough, she could hear the conversation of the two ponies.

“So I guess we should get going then?” Fiery asked, feeling kind of bad now that he realized he sort of forced Fluttershy to come to the park before she ever got a chance to answer his earlier question. Fluttershy only nodded, and the two ponies turned and began to walk away when they heard Rainbow Dash call out for them.

“Wait!” She yelled before landing in front the two of them. “You can’t go yet!”

“Um, okay?”

Pointing her hoof at her friend, Dash called out her friend’s name. “Fluttershy!”

“Y-Yes?” She responded timidly, hiding behind Fiery.

“I need your help.”

“M-My help?”

Dash nodded, then pointed to Spitfire at the top of the hill. “You know who that is, right Fluttershy?” The two ponies looked back at Spitfire, who seemed to notice the two looking back at her and waved at them, and then the two ponies turned back to Rainbow Dash and shook their heads. She let out a groan and facehoofed. “That’s Spitfire! Captain of the Wonderbolts!” She exclaimed.

“O-Oh, I suppose I didn’t recognize her without her uniform on. What’s she doing here?” Fluttershy asked, not really sure what was going on.

“Who’s the ‘Wonderbolts’?” Fiery asked, but his question was completely ignored.

Dash, for no explainable reason, decided to see if anypony else was listening in by turning her head left, then right, then left again, and saw that the coast was clear. She leaned in, and with a smile, answered her friend. “She’s here to recruit me!” She whispered with excitement. She could barely contain her fan-girl squeal she was so excited just saying those words.

“Oh! Congratulations Rainbow!” Fluttershy let out, and began to hug her friend, knowing how much joining the Wonderbolts meant to her.

Rainbow Dash, not usually the one to show her emotions like this, decided to let it slide just this once and began to hug her friend back. “Thanks Fluttershy, but I haven’t joined them just yet. I need your help.”

“And I’m just being ignored here in the background.” Fiery grumbled under his breath, somewhat upset that he never got his question answered.

“M-My help?” Fluttershy asked, somewhat nervous at the comment.

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Spitfire has asked me to do some more tricks, but… she’s asked me to do them with you.”

“M-M-Me?” Fluttershy repeated again, now completely nervous. “B-But Rainbow! You know what I’m like at flying! A-And besides, I-I could never pull off the tricks that you do…”

Placing a hoof on her friend’s shoulder and giving her a reassuring smile, Dash did her best to convince Fluttershy. “That’s not true at all Fluttershy. You’re a great flyer! And besides, all you need to do is just follow my lead, I’ll be doing the rest.”

“Ooh, I-I don’t know…” Fluttershy said softly, looking down at the ground. She turned her head in the direction of Fiery, who only sat there absentmindedly looking at the sky.

“Please Fluttershy? For me?” Rainbow began to plead, putting her lower lip out and beginning to give her friend a quivering look.

With a sigh and one determined look later, Fluttershy answered. “Alright, I’ll do it!”

Fiery, snapping out of his daydreaming, looked back down at the couple of pegasi. “Wha? Huh? Did I miss something?”

As Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash made their way up into the sky getting ready to do some tricks, Spitfire made her way over to Fiery who was beginning to watch the duo in the sky. As she placed herself right next to the brown stallion, she looked up into the sky along with him, looking at Rainbow Dash looping around in the air a few times, going through all the rings that Fluttershy had made out of the clouds.

Seeing enough of the tricks that Rainbow Dash was doing, Spitfire decided in her mind to tell Mr. Fancypants about Rainbow Dash at a later date, but with that out of the way, all she needed to find now was a musician to take the place of the last pony who made the introduction music to the Wonderbolts at events. Her first so-called ‘target’ was sitting right next to her, and in order to find out how good he is, the best way is to start with small talk. “So what’s your name?” She asked, causing Fiery to stop looking up into the sky and look back down to the pegasus sitting beside him.

“It’s Fiery. I think the rainbow one said your name was Spitfire?”

Spitfire nodded. “Glad to know she’s already introduced me.” She said with a slight chuckle, then continued the small talk. “So how long have you been in Ponyville?”

“... A little over a week.”

“That so? Come from one of the big cities beforehoof?” He simply shook his head no. “I see.” ‘Not much of a talker I guess.’ She thought with a sigh.

Up in the sky, Rainbow had stopped doing her tricks and was watching Spitfire and Fiery from behind a cloud. “I don’t like this.” She said to herself, wondering what in the world was happening down there.

“Is everything alright Rainbow?” Fluttershy asked with concern as she flew up to her friend. “You’ve stopped doing tricks.”

“Huh? Oh, sorry Fluttershy, mind just went a little blank.”

“Did it really? You should go to the clinic and-“

“I’m fine Fluttershy.” Dash snapped. Fluttershy recoiled a bit, afraid at the sudden outburst of her friend. Dash saw this and sighed. “Sorry Fluttershy, I didn’t mean to yell at you like that. It’s just, there’s something fishy going down there, but I also don’t want to screw up my chances of joining the Wonderbolts.”

“It’s alright Rainbow, I understand.” Fluttershy responded with a compassionate smile.

“By the way Fluttershy…” Dash continued, her tone changing from one of jealousy and annoyance to one of questioning.

“Y-Yes?”

“Just what were you doing with that jerk in the first place?”

Back down on the ground, Fiery sighed as he continued to watch Fluttershy and the rainbow one, even if they had stopped doing tricks. “Man I could go for a smoke right now.” He said under his breath, but Spitfire seemed to have overheard him. Pulling out a little box from one of her flesh pockets, she opened said box to reveal a small stick. Fiery saw this and was genuinely stunned. “Wait a minute, you guys have smokes here?!”

“Yeah, and? They help me relax.” She responded, taking the stick she took out and placed it against her mane, where it magically began to light. She then took the lit stick and tried to hoof it over to Fiery. “Here.”

“B-B-But- I thought she said you guys had no cigarettes!” He exclaimed, still looking stunned at the small stick.

“Cigarette?” Spitfire repeated, confused. “You mean a Pixie Stick?” She said, motioning to the stick. “What in Equestria is a cigarette?”

Mouth wide open, still stunned, Fiery ended up hesitating for an answer for the question. ‘Fuck! Me and my big mouth!’ “U-Uh, u-um, P-Prench thing?” He said, smiling widely.

“You’re from Prance?”

“Y-Yeah, I am. Anyways-“ He quickly tried to change subjects. “I-I heard Pixie Sticks were really bad for your health.” ‘If this is my substitute for cigarettes, might as well learn a bit about them.’

“Where on Terra did you hear that from?” Spitfire asked, eyebrow raised, only to lower it seconds later. “Wait, let me guess, Prance?” Fiery nodded to the question, making Spitfire laugh a bit. “Oh, the Prench and their health concerns.” She said softly, before looking back at Fiery and smiling. “Can’t believe you thought they’re bad for your health! Pixie Sticks have been around for hundreds of years, and I’ll be damned if I’ve heard any stories about these being bad for your health.”

“So, they’re not bad for you health?”

Spitfire shook her head. “The worse that they do is make your coat smell really weird for a few hours after smoking one, and if you do it indoors they usually leave a lingering smell, but other than that their mostly harmless.” She said, hoofing over the Pixie Stick to Fiery again, who finally grabbed it with his own hoof.

Before smoking it, he had to ask her one more question about it. “So no cancer?”

“Cancer?!” Spitfire said in a surprised voice and giving him a weird look. “What in Tartarus did they teach you in Prance?!”

“I’ll take that as a no then.” Fiery said quickly, then took the stick into his mouth and began to inhale. He began to smoke it just like a cigarette. Inhale, breathing in some of the chemicals, and then exhaling, letting the smoke come out of his nose and mouth. Within minutes he could feel the result of the new sensation, making him more relaxed than any cigarette could. “W-Wow.” He tried to get out between coughs. “This stuff is strong.”

“Well what do you expect? They’re Pixie Sticks. Now, if you’ve ever had a Cerdoan Cigar, man, those things will knock you out unless you’re really used to Pixie Sticks.”

“Cerdoan?” Fiery asked, coughing a bit afterwards.

“Yeah, you know, the pig island nation south of the badlands? Great Pixie Cigars there, but they’re extremely expensive and hard to get into the country thanks to the ban of the Cerodan Cigars in Equestria. Apparently it has to do something with the Princess being upset at the leader there or something like that. All I know is that, if you ever do get the chance to smoke one, enjoy it while it lasts, because you’ll probably never end up smoking one again.” Spitfire explained as she took out her own Pixie Stick and lit it with her mane again.

As Fiery watched her light her Pixie Stick, he made the following comment. “Must be nice, having your mane be your own personal lighter.”

Spitfire shrugged again. “Meh, it’s alright. My mom, on the other hoof, would beg to differ; there’s a reason why I don’t have any little sisters or brothers.” This made Fiery go into a laughing fit, hearing such a story. Spitfire, of course, joined him. After each of them had settled down, Spitfire continued the conversation. “So I notice your Cutie Mark is a guitar. Guessing it’s your special talent?”

“Ding ding ding! We have a winner!”

Spitfire rolled her eyes. ‘Walked right into that one.’ “So you play in a band, or know anypony really famous, or anything like that?”

Fiery simply shook his head. “Nope.”

“Really? Nothing?” She asked, surprised by the answer somewhat.

“Nope.”

‘Well there goes one lead.’ “That’s too bad.” She said, taking another hit of her Pixie Stick. “I’ve heard that ponies who get music-related Cutie Marks make it big. Ponies think it that it’s so common, getting music Cutie Marks, but really it’s not all that too common. Really, it’s sort of rare to have a musical talent and be destined for it.”

Fiery looked at Spitfire and raised his eyebrow. “And you know this, how exactly?”

“The owner of the Wonderbolts, my boss, has a few friends in the music industry and they occasionally do studies on how many ponies have music-related Cutie Marks. So far, they’ve found that if your Cutie Mark has something to do with music, there’s like an 80-95% chance of making it big. Kind of believable too, considering my boss’s younger daughter is in the music business.”

“Let me guess, she has a Cutie Mark related to music?”

Spitfire nodded. “Though it’s sort of weird.”

“Hmm?”

“Last I heard, she was having some trouble paying off some bills when she apparently has like six or seven figures in the bank. She and her roommate don’t like to think that they have it good, yet they have supposedly one of the most extravagant houses here in Ponyville.”

“That so.”

“Mmhmm. At one of the parties that my boss hosted, he apparently went on about how he was so proud at all the money his little Vinny made doing business deals behind the back of her roommate and stored away in her bank account.” Once he heard the name ‘Vinny’, Fiery began to cough uncontrollably. Some of it from the smokes, and some of it from being surprised that his so-called roommate could have made a bunch of money and kept it a secret. “Hey, you okay?” Spitfire asked, patting Fiery’s back.

“Y-Yeah.” He finally got it under control. “You were saying?” He asked, coughing one last time.

“Well… I don’t really know if I should continue telling somepony I just met-“

“Please tell me?”

Spitfire raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “And what’s it to you?”

‘Quick Joseph, think up of an excuse!’ “I-I like to know the lives of celebs?” He said with the most unconvincing grin seen to pony kind.

“Is that right?” Spitfire asked with a small grin of her own. “Well in that case, how about you tell me a little about yourself first?”

“M-Myself?”

“Sure. If I’m going to tell you-“ But her comment was cut off as Rainbow Dash had finally touched down from the sky, panting hard once again.

“S-So-... So how... did I do?...”

Spitfire gave Rainbow Dash a reassuring smile and nodded. “Great job kid.”

“Then?”

Spitfire nodded again. “I’ll have to go talk to the owner about setting up a practice run with you in the Wonderbolt Training Grounds. You’re not done yet, but let’s just say that you’re pretty much in at this point, kid.”

The entire time Spitfire had been talking, Rainbow Dash had been smiling and her smile only got bigger as each word escaped Spitfire’s mouth. Suddenly, she could no longer contain her excitement, and began to let out the biggest squeal she had ever produced, rocketing up into the air with newfound vigor.

“Well, I take it she’s happy about it.” ‘Whatever “it” is.’ Fiery commented as he watched Rainbow Dash launch up into the air.

“Seems like it.” Spitfire added as she too watched Rainbow Dash rocket up into the air. She then turned to Fiery with the same smile. “Well, I suppose I should get going. Long way to fly to Cloudsdale, you know? Don’t really want to get back home before sundown.”

Fiery looked back down at the smiling Spitfire. “Alright then, um, good talking to you?” He said, unsure if that was the way to go to end their conversation, but Spitfire seemed to not mind.

“Yeah, good talking to you too Mr. Fiery. Hope to do it real soon again… You’re real cool, you know that?”

“Oh, uh, thanks.” ‘I think.’

With that, Spitfire took off, leaving Fiery all alone on the ground. He was just about ready to leave, forgetting all about Fluttershy, when she too touched down right as he turned to leave. “Fiery?” She called out.

Fiery turned to Fluttershy, then became red in embarrassment, even facehoofing himself. “Crap!”

“Are you alright?”

“Y-Yeah, I’m alright!” ‘Alright that I forgot that “I was supposed to be on a with a girl who you’re only doing this date so you don’t get bitched out by her friends and almost left without telling her” alright!’

“Oh, that’s good.” She said with a sigh of relief. “U-Um Fiery?” She continued.

“Yes?”

“B-Because it’s getting l-late, d-do you mind i-if-“

“Want me to walk you home?” He finished for her, and she gave a timid nod in return. Fiery simply smiled and waved a hoof for her to follow him. “Sure, I’ll gladly do that Fluttershy.”

Up in the sky, Rainbow Dash had finished celebrating and began to watch the couple walk out of the park, a look of suspicion on her face. “I don’t care what Fluttershy told me.” She said to herself. “I just know there’s no way she would be the one to ask that jerk out on a date!”

The entire walk to Fluttershy’s house, the two ponies had been quiet, and unaware that a certain cyan pony had been following them up in the sky from the park. Fiery had been in deep thought about what Spitfire had told him, finishing his Pixie Stick long ago and throwing it on the ground before stomping on it to kill the flame. Fluttershy, on the other hoof, had been curious as to why Fiery wasn’t saying anything.

Once the couple had reached their destination, they ended up saying goodnight to one another. He began his walk back to his own home, when something crashed into the ground in front of him. At least, that’s what he presumed.

When all the dust settled down, and Fiery as no longer blinded by the dust particles in the air, he looked to see a very pissed-off Rainbow Dash looking right at him. “Can I help… you?” He tried asking, but was beginning to feel hostile intentions from the cyan pony, not sure exactly why.

Rainbow trotted up to Fiery with the same pissed-off look on her face, and began to talk to him in a threatening tone, poking him with each word she spoke. “Listen jerk, I don’t know who you think you are, but nopony gets away with throwing up on me and then dates my friend a week later!”

Fiery stayed silent for a few seconds, trying to decipher what she was saying exactly when it suddenly hit him. “… Oh! Uh, right, the party. Yeah, about that-“

“That’s right! The party! You insulted both me and my friends! If it wasn’t for Spitfire and Fluttershy being right there today I would’ve ended up tearing you a new one the moment I saw you! You have no idea what it felt like, being humiliated that night! Let’s just say that you’re also lucky that I’m in a good mood, so I’m saying this once and only once! Stay. Away. From. My. Friends! If I see you ever try to get close to Fluttershy again, I don’t care who’s there, but I promise it won’t be pretty!”

Despite being insulted like this, Fiery kept his cool. After all, it would only make sense why this girl would be so pissed at him, right? He took in a deep breath and began his rebuttal against the pegasus. “Look, about the party, I apologize about what happened and-“

“Ha! As if I believe that! I know your type bud, and I know that you don’t believe a single word you even say!”

“Listen, if you just let me explain, we can-“

“Explain what? That you’re the type to humiliate both me and my friends and then think he can get away with dating my best friend?! Huh?!”

“Okay, first off, Flut-“

“Don’t even say her name!” Rainbow screamed, poking him even harder than before. “Don’t talk to her, don’t look at her, don’t even think about her! If I catch you doing any of those…” She let out a grunt, stopping herself from saying anymore. With that, she quickly turned around and bolted up into the sky.

Fiery sighed, knowing that if that was the way she was treat him each time they saw each other, that there would be no way of him ever being able to tell her the truth. ‘Perhaps one of the other ponies I insulted that night are a little bit more sane.’ He thought, before beginning his trot back home once again.

As he entered the house that he was calling his current home, Fiery saw that Octavia had been laying down on the couch once again, reading another book. She looked up from her reading material when the door clicked and smiled at the pony coming in. “So how was the date?” She asked, going back to the book.

Fiery shrugged. “Alright I suppose.” He answered, sitting in one of the chairs across from Octavia.

Octavia began to sniff the air, and caught a whiff of something she hadn’t smelled in quite some time. She recoiled and looked at Fiery. “Were you smoking Pixie Sticks?”

Fiery looked up at Octavia and nodded. “You said you didn’t have anything like cigarettes here, yet I smoked a Pixie Stick today. Care to explain that?”

Octavia groaned. “The reason why I lied Fiery is because I can’t stand that smell!” She yelled, placing her book onto the coffee table and beginning to head for the stairs.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m getting some shampoo for that wretched smell!” She called from upstairs. About a minute later she came down the steps with a purple shampoo bottle in her mouth, placing it on the coffee table in front of Fiery. “Now go wash up before I end up throwing up into the trash can!”

“Hold on!” Fiery snapped, his patience wearing thin from all the events that happened from the day. “You know about these! You said there was nothing like cigarettes here and your excuse is because you can’t stand the smell?!”

“That’s right!” Octavia snapped back, picking up her hoof and laying on the couch again. “My father would smoke Pixie Dust in his pipe around the house back on the rock farm and I would always get nauseous from the smell. It was even worse when Shady was living here because he would smoke those things non-stop! I had to pretty much live in my room the entire time he lived here.”

Fiery looked at Octavia, then at the bottle on the coffee table, then back to Octavia. “You really hate the smell?”

“Of course I do! Why do you think I was thinking about never giving back your ‘cigarettes’? Despite the other things that those human smoking sticks do to you.”

“But these could be an alternative for me Octavia!” Fiery pleaded. “I’ve told you what cigarettes do, and Pixie Sticks are basically the exact same thing but without the downsides…! How about I only smoke them outside, just like I promised with the cigarettes?”

Octavia looked up from her book, glaring at Fiery, then looked back at her book. “I’ll think about it. But first, go wash up; I can already feel my stomach turning.”

With a sigh, Fiery reached out for the bottle, but stopped before putting it into his mouth for easier maneuverability. “Where’s Vinyl?” He asked.

“Why? Just to let you know, she hates the smell of those things worse than me, so don’t think about getting close to her so long as you smell like that.”

Fiery shook his head. “It’s nothing like that. I just need to ask her a few questions, that’s all.” He answered, then began his climb up the stairs, leaving Octavia to her reading. When he reached the top of the steps, he began to wonder if he really did smell as bad as Octavia said he did. He raised his leg up to his nose and sniffed, only to recoil at the smell that lingered onto his coat. ‘Must’ve gotten so used to cigarettes I didn’t recognize the smell at first.’ He thought to himself as he entered his room and into the bathroom.

After a quick wash-up and making sure he didn’t stink anymore, Fiery walked over to the door leading into Vinyl’s room, only a few feet away from his own room. He could hear the pounding of club music on the other side of the room, and began to wonder if he should wait until the next morning to talk about it. He chose against that, knowing he wouldn’t be able to rest well until he knew the truth.

He took in a few deep breaths, raised his hoof to the door, and knocked a few times. The noise on the other side didn’t change, so he could only guess that she didn’t hear him. He began to knock harder and harder until, finally, the volume of the music lowered and could hear the fiddling of a lock on the other side of the door. The door began to open, to reveal Vinyl without her glasses on on the other side. She smiled at Fiery and spoke. “Heya Fifi, what can I help ya with?”

Taking in another deep breath, Fiery replied. “Vinyl… We need to talk.”