A deep purple, vast enough to encompass a world of it's own, mixed with faint twinkles and pink clouds appeared to my eyes. It was perfect; this was my first day on the job, and I sure as heck wasn't going to be late. Getting up at the crack of dawn was never that hard for me to begin with as I'd grown accustomed to waking up to the sun's light having slept outside much of my life, but this time it was especially easy.

I was both nervous and excited. Definitely I was still psyched about my new situation, and settling into my new life, but now I wanted to make a good impression to the other ponies here. At the same time though with my relationship with Rainbow so well it felt like I could only be so nervous about anything.

I took a shower, ate a couple of apples and brushed my teeth in ten minutes flat and I was out of the house. I actually wasn't even really sure where we started for the job, so I headed for Rainbow's, though of course I was headed there regardless of where I knew we were supposed to start. I was every bit as excited to see her again as I was to start working with her.

As I glided over Ponyville the sun's light pierced over the horizon and lit the rooftops with the first snippets of bright gold. Slowly but surely the first couple doors were opening and you could see the first couple ponies waking up and opening their front doors to step outside. I had my sight sets on a house of white clouds on the other side of town. The closer I got the wider my smile was.

I soared right up to the front of her house and landed right into a gallop up to her front door where I paused for a second, staring up and around at it looking for her. It was completely quiet, so I made my way to the side of her house where her bedroom is and peeked my head in the window. There she was, sleeping soundly in her puffy white bed across the puffy white room. She was neighing obnoxiously with every breath, her mouth opening wide enough to sneak a watermelon in whenever she inhaled.

I had never seen this form of sleeping for her - not this deep, at least. For someone who was so tough and prideful, she sure was adorable when she slept. I've also never heard anyone snore louder. I giggled and indulged for a few more seconds and then sat down beside her window, staring into space. Hmm... well now what? Come back later? I didn't want to wait that long; plus, she had to get up soon anyway, she had told me yesterday that she wanted to get an early start today in preparation for our job. How do I wake her up? I took another quick peek at her through the window.

Suddenly I felt a side of me that I didn't even know I had until just the other day- a prankster side. I don't know why, but pranks have never really been my thing, at least not since foalhood. Maybe I wasn't comfortable enough with anyone to really do them. But with Rainbow loving them so much, I guess I just never realized how lighthearted and joy inducing they can be. I had to try and silence my laughing just thinking about it.

Geez, where do I start? I hadn't brainstormed ideas like this since I was back in Cloudsdale as a 9 year old. It couldn't be anything painful, of course. I put my hoof to my chin and thought through some things, but I wasn't too pleased with any of them. Well after a few minutes something came to my mind alright, and I grinned deviously just at the thought of it. I hopped off the cloud and curled my wings for a speedy dive towards Ponyville, pulling them at the last second for a routine landing in front of my third favorite place in town; Sugarcube Corner.

I walked gently through the front door, hitting it open with my head; I knew this place would be open this early since a lot of ponies eat breakfast here. Standing on the other side of the counter, moving back and fourth like a pink hummingbird was exactly who I came to see.

"Hey there Pinkie, good morning!" I said, moving infinitely slower than she was as she whizzed back and fourth with various baking things in her mouth and hooves. To my surprise she ignored me for a solid ten seconds while I kind of watched in fascination at her motions. Then she came to a complete halt, stopping all motions and setting her face in her hooves with her front legs on the counter staring at me with a beam as wide as her eyes.

"I like you a lot, Sonic."

"S-say what?"

"Everytime I've seen you you have a big happy smile! And you're so nice! I'm so glad for Rainbow."

Phew! Really, I should've known she meant it like that.

"Uh," I said before my own chuckling interrupted me. I was stuttering amidst my laughter and embarrassment. This wasn't the first time I reacted like this in the last couple days. "Actually, Pinkie, I was sort of wondering if you could help me with that."

"Sure!" she said, with an absurdly excited smile.

"You know, that is if you're not too busy around here," I said with a shy chuckle.

"I'm done for now. I already know who's coming in here and what they're getting. Breakfast is almost always the same. That's why I was so busy when you came in here," she exclaimed. "Now what can I help you with? Huh? Huh?" she asked, gleefully impatient.

"Well, she needs to be waking up, and I was just wondering if you could help me of think of a fun way to do that," I told her, with an encouraging grin. "She told me you two are the biggest pranksters in town, so I thought I'd enlist your help."

She gasped, her eyes getting so wide that they twinkled with excitement.

"No pain," I added before she could speak. She looked like she was going literally burst for a moment, and then suddenly she just stopped, with complete control and pure deviousness.

"Come with me," she muttered.

I couldn't wait to try this. Rainbow was going to wake up alright. Pinkie had an entire stash of prank items in one of the back closets, and after giving me a hyped up explanation of each one, she let me decide. I settled on something fun and quick; it was a giant Pinkie Pie mask that she assured me Rainbow had never seen before. It had Pinkie's huge blue eyes and grin, and it was massive; three times her usual head, and every aspect of it was exaggerated to a totally manic level. It was obvious to me that Rainbow loved Pinkie as a friend but equally as obvious she also seems to be the only pony that can legitimately freak her out. And in the brief amount time I've already spent with Pinkie, I'd say I feel exactly the same way. Which is why this was such a good prank that I could hardly stand it.

I carried the mask with my two front legs and flapped away until I was back at her puffy front door, and my heart was already tickled in anticipation. I could already her scream and then the laughter the would follow it. I chuckled with glee and put the mask on top of my head, and ever so slightly nudged the door open. It creaked open, and her bed came into view, but through these tiny black holes over the eyes, I saw something rather important was missing. Rainbow herself. Her bed was empty and unmade.

I took the mask off and looked around. I walked over to the window and peered around the sky for a dash of rainbow. Nothing. Hmmm! I trotted back to the front door and checked the sky out there real quick. Well, shoot. I had to have just missed her. I wasn't gone for but fifteen minutes. I stood there still for a second and looked into Pinkie's big blue eyes. Do I save you for another day? I walked back to the front door and looked out over the horizon. The sun was a little more up now, but still no sign of her. I glided down to the path below leading back over the hills to my house. I slung the mask over my back and trotted off towards it, wondering if maybe she went there looking for me. Our plan was to meet as soon as we woke up, so I knew my house was a safe bet. I was gonna have to hide this mask or catch her coming around a corner.

Suddenly I saw three young stallions - all three of them pegasus - standing on the path as it topped over of one the little hills, talking to each other with the sun rising behind them. I knew they must have been weather ponies, so I excitedly called out to them, ready to make friends with my working partners.

"Hello there!" I called friendlily, trotting up to them. Their heads turned to me in unison, but their smiles faded from their faces. They looked me over as though they already knew a lot about me and were seeing how I measured up to whatever they'd heard. I walked up to them, not losing my energy. "So... are you guys weather ponies?"

"Yeah," answered the one on the left. He resembled Thunderlane though his mane was longer and a brighter color blue against his charcoal coat. The three of them continued staring at me. I brushed it off though, trying to ease them up a little bit. I went to introduce myself, but the middle stallion, a blue-eyed brown-haired stallion beat me to it.

"So... you must be Sonic," he said with an eyebrow raise.

"Yeah, very good," I replied with a beam, "nice to meet you guys," I continued with sincere enthusiasm. After not getting what I was hoping for, I went ahead and asked for it. "What are your all names?"

"Thorn," said the pony on the far left, pointing to the pony on the far right. "Crescent Moon," he continued, and brought his eyes on me. "And I'm Cloud Chaser," he said, rather reservedly.

"Do you guys know what time we start today?" I asked. Cloud Chaser and Crescent Moon looked at each other as Thorn interrupted.

"What is that on your back?" he asked, pointing to the giant Pinkie Pie mask that was still strapped across my back.

"Oh," I said, the question eliciting a smile and blush from me. "It's kind of a... long story. I was going to play a little, uh, well my best friend, she loves pranks like these," I muttered embarrassingly. Once again they all three gave each other a quick glance. They still hadn't smiled at yet. What am I doing wrong? "So uh, you guys know what time we start today?"

"Heh, why don't you just ask your girlfriend?" snickered the one in the middle, Crescent Moon. "It's up to her when we start."

"Alright," I said, embarrassed again. "Well, I'll see you guys later today then, huh?"

"Guess so, Big Shot," muttered Cloud Chaser.

"Big Shot?" I asked, taken aback, and rather hurt. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," he said with a chuckle, downplaying it. I looked down and thought, not knowing what they could be referring to. I'd only got here a week ago and I'd never met them before.

"Look guys," I started shyly, "if this is about Rainbow, then... I can assure you, I-"

"You want Rainbow you got her, we don't care," said Thorn on the right, defensively, and a hint of insecurity.

"Ok, then I haven't done or said anything to offend you guys, have I?" I asked.

"Nah, not necessarily," said Cloud Chaser. "I would just say you gotta earn respect here. Blowin' into town with a smile ain't enough."

"Guys," I started, with an appeasing and frustrated chuckle, "I'm just- I'm just trying to be friendly." I'm not sure how well I hid my disappointment and dejection. Suddenly there was a new, familiar stallion voice from behind.

"Hey Sonic, what's going on buddy? What's up guys?" said Thunderlane friendlily, running up beside me.

"You two are friends?" asked Crescent Moon, seemingly somewhat surprised and speaking for all three of them.

"Of course! Sonic here was one of my best friends at junior speedster flightcamp. Ain't that right?" he said with a smile to me, which felt very good right about then.

"Hm... interesting. Well, don't mean to be rude but off to get breakfast, see you around Thunder," said Cloud Chaser, and the three of them spread their wings and lifted off towards Ponyville. I stood there, somewhat deflated, though I felt better with my only other friend in the world right next to me. I took a deep breath and smiled at him, but I was too late, he had caught on.

"Eh, don't worry about them, they're just a little jealous. Rainbow is famous and pretty desired," he said. I couldn't feel bad for loving Rainbow Dash and vice versa, but I still really wanted to fit in here and make friends.

"Huh. 'Earn respect' he says," I muttered dismissively, thinking about my past.

"Huh?" he asked curiously.

"I don't understand," I said to him, as we started moving slowly back towards the path. "I thought this was the friendship capital of the world? When someone wants to be friends with me I-"

"It is!" he said, rather gleefully. "Those are just three stallions, Sonic, no one cares what they think. They'll get over it and you they'll love you by the end of the week. Bet on it."

I didn't know about the last part, but at least he was right about the first part; it was just three stallions. Everyone seemed so friendly the days before, I knew it had to be just a small number like that.

"Thanks," I remarked, shooting him a smile. I had almost forgotten I was looking for Rainbow. Now that we're like this, I feel like I almost reflect upon her when it comes to other ponies, so I wanted those reflections to be positive, and it was all the more reason for me to hit it off well and really make a permanent home in Ponyville and be a part of a friendly community that I can call my own.

"We screw up here and there, but I love 'em, they've seen a lot," he continued, before hanging his head low in disappointment. "You'd be surprised how bad we can slip up sometimes. The best turn against the best. We've always made up in the end, but I just hope it stays like that. There's still some ponies here who have a thing or two to learn about the friendship thing, but it's gotten pretty good on the whole. I think you'll be just fine," he said with a wink, that warmed me up a little bit. "You were like one of my best friends when we were little, I was so sad the day you left. I can tell you haven't changed much either, so I know they'll come around," he added.

"That means a lot to me, and you haven't changed either," I said sincerely with a grin. He couldn't hide being flattered, but he shrugged it off like the good stallion he is.

"Well like I said yesterday, you come in here and pull the sword out of the stone right when you walk in, the ponies that tried it aren't gonna like it," he said with a smirk.

"So what about you, huh? Which one of those mares is your soulmate?" I asked, giving his smirk back.

"Don't be ridiculous," he said with an embarrassed chuckle.

"Oh shut up!" I laughed, "I don't have to be a mare to know that you're a handsome devil!"

"I'm sorry, what was that?" he asked, turning his ears my way.

"You're a handsome devil?"

"One more time..."

"Ummm..." I rambled, shaking my head with a smile.

"Yeah well here's the thing, it's nice and all hearing that from you but it'd feel a lot better coming from Princess Luna."

"Princess Luna?" I repeated, amused and confused.

"Yeah, you know! The night princess. Oh that's right, you've probably never met her. Well, she's really cool, and *really* pretty," he said with a dreamy expression. I laughed out loud for a solid few seconds.

"Well, good luck with that," I told him. "You are really funny, do you know that? In a good way."

"Oh good, because I was about to ask funny how, like a rodeo clown or something?"

He can usually rattle off jokes with little emotion - more interested in the reaction from his audience - but now he was laughing heartily with me.

"All kidding aside," I said, getting it under control. "You and Rainbow gave me a chance when I was the new kid on the block, despite what it might've done to you guys' image. I did not and do not take it for granted."

"All kidding aside, there was always something about you. You have a twinkle in your eye and an appreciation for others that really sticks out."

"You know something?" I remarked, as his comment had really touched me in a way that no besides Rainbow had ever done. "I missed you a lot."

"Alright, enough of this soft stuff, what are we little fillies or something?" he said, looking ahead with a smile. He sounded just like someone else I know. "You met Applejack yet?"

"Apple who?" I asked.

"Yeah, you'll definitely wanna do that. So you've never heard of their family?" he asked as though I should have.

"What are their names? The Apple Family? Should I have?" I asked, and he laughed.

"You're in for a treat and a surprise, that's all I'll say, but yeah, great family," he assured me. "You wanna make some friends in Ponyville, that's a great place to start. Has Dash introduced you to her main group of friends yet?"

"Well, I've met Pinkie, and Rarity, but I still need to meet her other three best friends, but apparently some are out of town right now."

"So uh, do I even wanna ask about the mask?" he said, pointing to my back.

"Nah," I responded with a chuckle. Suddenly we heard a raspy female voice from somewhere in the sky, I think just in front of us.

"There you are!" said Rainbow Dash.

I looked up and expected to see her lovely smile outlined against an increasingly blue sky, but instead I couldn't see hardly anything outside the rest of her body. That's because she had this bizarre-looking mask on her face; swirly glasses, a mustache, a red clown nose, and to top it all off, an arrow meant to look like it was going through her head. I didn't know what the mask was about but I shook my head with delight anyway. This'll be good.

"Catch you later buddy," said Thunderlane with a lazy salute as he turned to walk the other way.

"You can hang out with us if you want, I don't think she'll mind," I told him.

"I'm a lot of things, Sonic. A third wheel isn't one of them," he replied with a smile and a wink.

"What in the world of sports is that on your back?" she asked in a gasping tone. It was odd to not see her expressions with the mask on. I knew it looked familiar somewhere, it was right on the top of my head too.

"I was gonna ask the same thing about your face," I said with a laugh. She zoomed to the ground and threw her mask off, her eyes glued on my back as I reached around for it.

"Is that a... giant Pinkie mask?" she inquired in disbelief and visibly a little frightened by it.

"Uh... yeah," I muttered, embarrassed.

"What were you gonna do with that?" she said with wide eyes. Now I was stuck. I chuckled in my embarrassment, and trying to think of words when staring directly into her eyes is especially distracting.

"Well, you were kinda still asleep when I went over to your place this morning and I was... trying to be creative I guess."

She wasn't angry at all (not like she really would be), and in fact she gasped with excitement, which froze me in place with the same.

"You're telling me we had the exact same idea?" she proclaimed, doing a back-flip right in front of me. "I went to Pinkie's this morning and got this mask to wake you up with!"

"What?" I replied, shocked. "I was there twenty minutes ago! Picking out a mask to wake you up!"

"Get out!" she shouted.

"What? Oh, ok," I said, pretending to be dejected.

"No, not really!" she said.

"I know!" I said, giving her a wink and a smile.

"Ugh! How do I keep falling for that?" she asked herself. I couldn't hide how much fun I was already having. "And of all the masks, you grabbed the giant *Pinkie* one. I'm impressed Sonic," she said with an admiring smirk, before she squeaked again. "I can't believe we had the same idea!" she reiterated, and gave me an especially bright smile.

For the first time this morning I really saw her. I still couldn't believe how beautiful she had become. It was the kind of beautiful that you stopped whatever you were doing and took some time to appreciate the first time you saw it each day. I decided to start talking before I got too distracted, though she really seems to like it.

"We need to talk," I said with a kind of smirk to make sure she knew it wasn't anything serious.

"Oh yeah?" she replied with a curious sneer.

"Yeah. Just how famous how are you?" I asked. She was definitely pleased with the question, she couldn't hide that. Not that she really even tried to.

"Pretty famous," she replied shamelessly, even striking a pose.

"Yeah, I know that," I said with a laugh. "But what I want to know is how many times you've saved Equestria, exactly? I mean you mentioned Nightmare Moon and Discord, but... it seems like there's even more to it than that, based on what I've heard in the last 24 hours from other ponies," I continued. She was ridiculously flattered; she laughed gently and her cheeks turned a bright red.

"Yeah, well, I'd be happy to tell you more about it a little later," she said.

"I'm sorta surprised," I remarked, "I thought you'd tell me all about it a little sooner," I continued, reassuring her with a complimentary smile.

"Well," she started, turning her head in the other direction. "My friends tell me I brag too much. I wanted to tell you about all that stuff, but I -," she said with an eye roll as though she didn't want to be reminded of it, before she finally came back to my eyes with a faint smile that hit me right in the heart. "I guess I also wanted to hear about you too."

I had several reactions to her remark. I guess I was deeply flattered that she was trying to do something like that for me, and I absolutely adored her for it. But on the other hand I didn't want her to feel like she had to hold back from me.

"You don't have to hold anything back from me, Rainbow. I want to hear all about what you've done, seriously," I assured her, and she looked appreciative. "You're the most amazing pony I've ever met. I *need* to hear what great things you've done."

"Well alright then," she replied with a proud smile, and her eyes flashed me her loving, romantic side.

"And can you please start with the elements of harmony? Because I thought they were like friendship elements, but then I heard from like three different ponies that there's more to it than that but they all told me they'd let you tell me, and-" I asked, before she cut me off with an absurdly excited smile.

"You don't know about that?" she asked, her eyes sparkling. Now I was starting to get really excited myself. Whatever this was, it was big.

"I told you, I've been living out west mostly, and - apparently in a cave," I said, hiding my memories and rather embarrassed. Instinctively we both started walking towards town side by side.

"It's no problem, Sonic. I'm always surprised at how many ponies haven't heard of me when I go to Manehattan and some other places further away," she said, throwing her hoof out at me.

"Trust me, if it was up to me I never would've left you that day," I remarked sadly.

"Trust me, if I was a little older and stronger, you never would've left," she said with an dash of protective love. I'm still getting used to this, having her right here to make everything better that is. For someone as wild and adventurous as she is, she sure knows how to make my heart serene.

"I knew you were gonna become famous. Even when I was out there alone somewhere, I always knew you were gonna make it. You were too awesome, too tough, too fast..."

"Well, I-" she started, laughing in embarrassment. I knew she loves this kind of thing, which is why I was so happy to give it to her. "You know, you were so fast when you were little. You were just completely out of control," she said bluntly with a chuckle. "But now, from what I've seen, it's like you're a different flier. I really think both of us can make the Wonderbolts, and not just the reserves."

"You think so?" I asked eagerly. On the Wonderbolts with Rainbow Dash? When and where?

"Yeah, I do. Today will be important for that though," she said.

"Why's that?"

"Well, Spitfire's going to be here today. She's evaluating our team's speed and efficiency in setting up the rainstorm," she said.

"Rainstorm?" I shouted. "Oh, yes!" I proclaimed, spinning around. I got my second name from rain. I have an unshakable love for it. That's why I didn't consider it a coincidence that my two biggest loves shared the same name. Well, kind of.

"This is your chance, Sonic. She knows it's only a matter of time before I become a first-teamer but now she can see what you're made of!" she exclaimed.

"Oh jeez. Is it gonna be that hard?" I asked nervously.

"No, we've got this! I've had this date circled for a long time. I always want our team to impress her; not that I care what she thinks, but given her rank, it's important," she continued.

"What do you think of her?" I asked, sensing they may have had some kind of rivalry. She pshed and whipped her tail.

"We're kind of rivals, I guess. She's got the higher rank right now, but that won't last," she told herself with a growl. "I used to admire her, actually. I suppose I still do somewhat, but she's done some stuff in the past I don't really like. Like this one time she totally just straight-up lied to me to try and trick me into getting her team a faster qualifying time!" she proclaimed. "And this other time, she doted all over Lightning Dust, though I guess she came around at the end-"

"Lightning who?" I asked.

"Long story. But just - we gotta do well today!!!" she proclaimed desperately, jumping in front of me and staring me down with puppy eyes for extra emphasis.

"I'll try my best," I said, quietly and seriously. I looked away up into the sky and thought to myself, feeling uneasy. I could see this was of the utmost importance to her. Up until then I had no idea what we were even doing today, since we'd been so distracted by catching up. I knew now this was my opportunity. My opportunity to impress not only her and Spitfire, but show this town that I was committed to them, and that they could count on me. I just wish I'd known beforehand. I could see her looking at me concernedly out of the corner of my eye.

"Hey, I think I just saw the eyes of a wolf a second ago," she said and put her arm around me, and even though there wasn't anything fierce about the way I was looking I was suddenly was filled with an unbreakable confidence and reassurance and I indulged in all the warmth of her being around me. "Sorry Sonic, I may have built it up too hard. Besides, together, you and I will be unstoppable!"

"You think so?" I asked.

"I know so! Wonderbolt races, Rainbow first place, Sonic second place! The best two flyers in Equestria!" she proclaimed, running her off across the air like a newspaper headline.

Just as I started laughing, Scootaloo the orange filly crossed the path intersection right in front of us as we were now right in front of town. She was scurrying along happily with a purpose until she saw us, and greeted us in the same friendly way she had the day before.

"Hey Rainbow, hey Sonic!" she called to us, running up to us.

"What's up Squirt!" said Rainbow, and they proceeded to do their hoofshake. I swear they look like the happiest big-and-little sister duo there ever was the way they interact with each other. Hmmm... what's something I could say to her that she'd genuinely appreciate?

"You know, that was some crazy skill you showed on that scooter yesterday," I said to her. I didn't know her very well but I was actually very impressed with what I'd seen.

"It was?" she asked, surprised.

"Well sure. I've been to cities all over the place and kids that ride a scooter use their leg to push them off. It takes some serious wing-flapping skills to be able to do something like that."

"Wow, I figured everyone used their wings," she said to herself in thought, but seemed to happy to have done something special.

"Nope. I don't even know if Rainbow could," I said with a quick glance to her and a wink to Scootaloo. Rainbow raised her eyebrow but the filly broke into laughter, but this time not even Dash could keep from smiling.

"But if that's true, then why do I have such a hard time flying?" she asked, her face turning to crushingly disheartened.

"Some wings take longer to develop. Sometimes foals' wings come in really quick, and others' it takes more time. It's nothing to be worried about, I'd say you're at about the latest some ponies get," I said, raising my eyes at her assuredly. I looked over at Rainbow, who was staring at me with fascination. I could see it was improving the filly's confidence somewhat. "In my experiences, some of the best fliers I've known were late bloomers. Did you know you can speed up the development a little bit based on what you eat?"

"You can?" they asked together, with Scootaloo's hyper enthusiasm slightly outweighing Rainbow's.

"Well yeah," I said, smiling at them both. "When I was in Manehattan I once delivered the mail to a pegasus nutrionist. She struck up a conversation and somehow she got to saying that if most kids tweaked their diet a little bit it could bring their wings in faster. I'm sure your wings are right around the corner anyway, but if you want we can sit down later and look at your eating habits, maybe change a few things, and who knows - maybe you'll be flying in a couple months."

The whole time I was talking the filly's eyes got bigger and bigger, eventually turning her face into a giant smile of hope and joy. I barely even finished at all and suddenly the filly was wrapped around my leg, squeezing it with her whole body, and I felt my heart melting away.

"Thank you Sonic!" she exclaimed hysterically. For someone who was trying to make a good impression on this kid, it really seemed like I was succeeding.

"No problem," I chuckled with red cheeks. "I figured you guys already knew this!"

I looked up at Rainbow, who was nearly in tears. There was only so much my heart could take. I'm so glad I delivered mail there...

"Hey we still going to that concert tonight?" asked Rainbow.

"It got cancelled," said the filly, sadly, pulling herself off of me.

"What?!?" shouted Rainbow in utter disbelief.

"But he's having another one at the Crystal Empire in three days," replied Scootaloo.

"Ugh, that's a much longer train ride," remarked Rainbow, but came back around. "But maybe we can all make the trip together, just the three of us," she said, beaming at both of us.

"That sounds awesome!" cried Scootaloo, who felt like an adult.

"Of course it does," she replied proudly.

"I got to go, guys! Me and Sweetie Belle are gonna have a meeting about what we're gonna do for the school talent show next week. See you later Rainbow! Sonic, you and I need to make up a hoofshake," she added, smiling brightly at me.

"Well if you say so," I replied, deeply flattered.

Dash and I stood side by side and watched her run away together. For just a moment it was one of those rare instances that was both awkward and delightful as we stood there silently impressed with each other. I still wasn't sure why she was so impressed with me but I was happy to have made them happy.

"She's like a sister to me," she muttered, still watching her get smaller as she headed down the path towards Sweetie Belle's house. I could see several memories in her eyes as she watched her. I was gonna have to delve into them later. "She really likes you."

"I really like her," I said.

We both smiled at each other. For the first time today Rainbow really let me indulge in her wonderful eyes. She is so loving on the inside, and when it shows through her eyes it's like looking into a snow globe with the utopian world of your sweetest dreams on the inside.

"Shouldn't you two be getting ready for the event tonight?" asked a pegasus passing by.

"Oh yes!" said Rainbow, leading the way in the sky. "Come on Sonic!"