Arby Works

Spiiike and Technobauble Spike's Obnoxiously BIG Adventure Cover by Arby Works and Spiiike. "After a Show..." by Arby Works.

Alrighty, I'll get back to you proooobably in about 3 years. in all seriousness, I've got a pretty big que, so expect the image sometime later. "I has a Book" for Vanilla Belle.

Nah, I just... post it in the topic and it merges my posts. IT actually takes me pretty long to do one. Thank yooou.

Thanks. Another done. The Games We Play: Supplementary Materials Title Page for AbsoluteAnonymous. Metal Mask OC for Thanqol. Finally finished this old crap.

High above Ponyville, Rainbow Dash flew through the sky with her usual flair. She sped through cloud formations with ease, taking advantage of the few that were there for practice. Whenever she eased off from a sharp turn, she caught a glimpse of the ground below. Every time she did, she spotted one thing: A foal playing in a pond with her mother. “Ugh, foals... I do not want a foal, EVER. It would totally slow me down,” Rainbow said during a longer turn. She spent the next hour in her continuing show-to-no-one before stopping. She bucked the clouds away quickly and flew towards Ponyville's town centre to grab a quick bite to eat. A barely bustling barrage of ponies awaited during the supper rush. Rainbow quickly trotted through the streets to find Applejack's apple cart. I feel like apples right now,Rainbow thought as she pressed through the small crowd. To the left, Rainbow heard a foal start crying, mother instantly cooing. To the right, she heard a foal screaming while slamming something, mother sweetly saying, “please stop.” Up ahead, Rainbow spotted a mother cleaning up a mess of oatmeal made by a giggling baby. Turning her head slightly, she found a foal chewing on his bottle's bottom. Rainbow frowned at every sight of an out-of-control foal, further supporting her distaste of a foal. “Slow me down, AND annoy the hay out of me. Not worth it,” Rainbow grumbled before reaching a familiar apple stand. Rainbow stepped forward and looked at the bushels of apples while Applejack dealt with a customer. Golden delicious or red gala... I guess I'll take a small bag of golden delicious apples,Rainbow thought as the customer picked up his bag and left. “Well howdy Rainbow. What brings ya here t'day?” Applejack asked, setting the bits in a small register. “Well, just finished a bout of flying and I'm hungry, so I thought, 'why not apples?' So now I'm here,” Rainbow said, quickly grabbing two bits and dropping them on the counter. “Well, an apple a day keeps th' doctor away, as they say,” Applejack chuckled happily. “I'll say. So, I'll take a small bag of golden delicious apples please,” Rainbow said with a small bounce. Applejack quickly fetched a small bag and handed it to Rainbow. “Help yerself,” Applejack replied. “Thanks!” Rainbow exclaimed, quickly knocking five apples into the small bag with a hoof. She bit the handles and prepared to take off. “Shee you later, Applejock,” Rainbow said with a muffled voice. “Heh, see ya 'round, RD,” Applejack said. Rainbow took off for her house, forced to smell the scent of fresh apples from the bag. She looked down, giggled at the sight of the food, and focused on flying once more. She touched down on her front door moments later, opened the door and was met by Tank. The slow tortoise looked up at Rainbow, eyeing the bag she had brought. “Jusht applesh, Tank,” Rainbow said, kicking the door closed before she walked to the kitchen. She set the bag down on the island top and sat down on a bar stool. Tank flew to the counter top with his little propeller contraption and slowly lay down. Rainbow dumped the contents of the bag on the counter, and set one of the apples in front of Tank, who immediately began nibbling on the golden treat. Rainbow hungrily got to tearing apart an apple with her teeth, swallowing each chunk she tore off. Within a few seconds, Rainbow looked over to her kitchen sink, spotting a full sink, a borrowed copy of the latest Daring Do novel, 'Daring Do and the Redsteel Brigade' sitting on the edge of the sink, and the little compost bin next to it all. She took one last bite of her apple and tossed the apple core over her shoulder, towards the compost bin. Instead of hearing a satisfied “thunk” as the apple fell into the bin, Rainbow heard a different “thunk”, followed by a splash. She ignored it and looked over at Tank, watching as he continued his slow nibble of the apple. “Aww, you're such a little cutie,” Rainbow said with a giggle. “But if you tell anybody I said that, we're through. Professionally,” she warned him. Rainbow promptly pushed herself to her hooves and trotted over to her room quickly, opening the door and looking over at her desk. My Daring Do novel is due at the library tomorrow... I'll take it now, or, after I use the bathroom,Rainbow thought, stepping back and trotting down her hallway to the bathroom. Tank continued nibbling on his apple, as slowly as possible. Soon, he finished eating the skin off of a small portion of the apple, taking his sweet time. He eyed the sink for a second before going back to eating. A quick flush was heard, followed by a sink running tap water. It stopped and a few seconds later, the door opened and Rainbow Dash trotted down the hallway. She spotted her apples still out and about on the island and trotted over, picking the bag up. She walked over to the fridge, opened it, and set the apples in the fruit drawer before closing it and the fridge. She spun around, now facing the sink, only to have fear burst into her mind. Apple core, on counter... book, not!? NOT!? IT'S IN THE SINK!Rainbow thought, allowing her adrenaline to spike. She dashed across the kitchen, using her wings for an extra burst of speed. She stabbed her hoof forward like a spear, creating a mess as she splashed it into the sink. She fumbled around, touching a scrubby, a cloth, and finally the book. She put it in the arch of her wrist and pulled it out, looking at the soaked novel. “Oh... oh no. Oh no no no NO! This can't be happening,” Rainbow said as she opened it up, only to see the pages falling out from their own weight and soggy state. Rainbow stared in horror as the pages fell out and the realization kicked in. This book isn't mine,Rainbow thought, her eyes shooting open wide and her jaw dropping. “Tank, do you have 12 bits 5 cents?” Rainbow asked in a panic as she attempted to 'fix' the book. Tank slowly looked over at Rainbow just as the pegasus turned her head over to the tortoise. He blinked and shook his head before slowly turning back to chew on the apple. “Oh horseapples.” Rainbow Dash sped through the streets of Ponyville, zipping around. She did not feel like talking to Twilight and explaining how she had ruined a book due to carelessness. She needed money, and fast. She asked around for quick jobs and all she got were part time jobs throughout the week, none of which she could get, then quit when she got the money; they all had her starting the next day and the paycheck... her own Weather Team paycheck wouldn’t come in until Friday. She couldn't go five seconds without spotting a foal in tears, or making a scene. Even the two Cake Twins couldn't prevent themselves from joining the bandwagon of problematic foals. Rainbow trotted over to one of the stand owners, none needing help. “I need to make money fast, by tomorrow. Need help?” Rainbow asked a random pony. “Uh, no,” Bon Bon said before trotting away. “I need quick cash, need anything done?” Rainbow asked another. “Hmm... nah,” Carrot Top said before trotting away. “I need money, I'll roll around in the mud for quick bits!” Rainbow exclaimed in desperation. Rainbow got no reply from this pony, Derpy just gave her a deadpan stare before flying off. Rainbow sighed, not getting anything. She hung her head, ears drooping as the situation seemed hopeless. A pair of ponies, carrying a sleeping foal on their backs trotted over and tapped Rainbow on her shoulder. The spectral maned mare turned around to spot the mare and stallion approaching. The mare was peach coloured with a cyan mane with a short cut. A horn protruded from the mane. The father was a brown stallion with a shaggy black mane. No horn or wings; an Earth Pony. “Um, hello... I heard you need money, Rainbow Dash, and I was wondering if you could foalsit for us tonight?” The mother asked. Rainbow's eyes widened at the request and she leaned over, spotting the sleeping foal. She grit her teeth, but stopped, letting out a very long sigh. She needed cash, and if this could get her it, fine. “Okay, how much?” Rainbow asked. “Well, about 40 bits. We'll be gone from seven PM to one AM,” the father stated. Rainbow rubbed her chin, pretending to think about it. In reality, she had settled on her choice but didn't want to seem too desperate. She let out an 'um' and 'ah' now and then to try and seem less desperate before shrugging. “Sure, I'll take it. Just show me the place and I'll begin,” Rainbow said as nonchalantly as possible. “Alright, thank you!” The mother exclaimed. “Well, please follow us,” the father said. Minutes later, Rainbow arrived outside a humble little house in Ponyville. It looked like any other house with the exception of a few toys in the window: A rattle, a ball, and a little cow. Rainbow had to smile, if only slightly, at it. She didn't know these ponies but had seen them here and there... and the parents knew her from various events. The front door opened, and all four ponies entered. The mother sat down on the couch, lifting her foal off of her back with unicorn magic. “Alright, this is the living room. The foal has a little chair over there.” The mother pointed to a small moon chair. “Near the window is the playpen,” the mother said as she cradled the baby, gently waking it up. Rainbow looked over towards the window and saw the rattle, little cow, and ball. In front of it lay a small area with a net and several more toys inside, along with a little blanket and pillow. A few seconds passed before the father emerged from whatever hallway he came from. In his mouth was a piece of paper which he set down on a table near the couch before sitting down next to his wife. “This is a list of things to do, not much since our foal is generally well behaved. Thanks, miss, for helping us on such short notice,” the father said while he looked over at the foal. “Oh, I totally forgot to ask, but what are your names?” Rainbow asked, scratching the back of her head. “Oh, I don't blame you for not remembering us. I mean, you're the greatest flier in Equestria,” the mother replied in her same sweet voice as the foal giggled away. “I'd expect you to get mobbed often.” Rainbow felt her face glow red and an uncontrollable giggle escape from the praise. “Aww, I'm not that awesomely known,” Rainbow said, refusing to make eye contact. The parents watched their foal before it burst out giggling. The three adults giggled and Rainbow started losing her doubts. “My name is Left Wing,” the father said through his giggles. “Mine is Winnie, pleasure to formally introduce ourselves. We only met once at Sugarcube Corner.” She looked over at Rainbow, who was trying her very best to remember. “We walked in to buy some sweets and there was a party there hosted by your pink friend for a filly and her friends, about her Cutie Mark if I remember.” Rainbow smirked at the memory. Apple Bloom wanted her Cutie Mark, and she had spent the whole day trying things out with me. I probably gave the Crusaders the idea of trying as many things as possible, as quickly as possible... heh, sorry guys,Rainbow chuckled, no longer feeling any doubt from the upcoming job. Half an hour later, the parents had left. Rainbow was left alone with the foal, who turned out to be a filly. Rainbow idly watched as the filly paraded around her playpen like she was King of the Monsters. She roared about, knocking down blocks and shaking the little cow around in her mouth. Rainbow found herself watching the small filly for a few minutes, giggling at the little one's antics. “Oh, I guess I should look at that list,” Rainbow said to herself, losing most of her smile as she pushed herself to her hooves and trotted over to the table. She looked at the note, seeing a small list: 1: Allow her to take a few naps between 7:30 pm and 8:30 pm. 2: Feed at 9 PM. 3: Play the song in the player at 9:30 PM to help her relax. 4: (Advise) play with her at 9:45, but be gentle. Try to ease her into her crib. 5: Bed by 10 PM. 6: Keep an eye on her until we return. If she wakes up, check the necessities. Rainbow scratched her head. Necessities? What are those, again...? Uh, check diaper... burp... bottle? Babies can drink cider, right? Or is that apple cider or... milk? Jeez,Rainbow sighed. She looked over at the foal romping around as she allowed another smirk. Maybe babies aren't so bad... Rainbow trotted over to the couch and sat down, staring directly at the wall. Then it hit her. “I have nothing to do but watch the foal,” she said to herself. The foal obliviously turned her head towards Rainbow, teething on the small cow before going back to destroying Pokyo. Rainbow looked back at the foal, watching her in utter glee as she reduced the fictional city to absolute rubble. Rainbow frowned, tilting her head to the side. Should I let the little filly engage in such acts of awesome destruction?She pondered, coming to her logical conclusion that, yes, she should. She decided to allow the little filly to explore. She stood up and trotted over to the playpen, then opened it up, allowing the baby to stumble out into the wider living room. The baby still had the cow in her mouth as she slowly trotted towards the couch, attempting to crawl onto the cushiony softness of the sofa. Rainbow quickly hoisted the foal onto the couch and watched her immediately dig in between the cushions. Rainbow watched curiously, only to discover the filly simply wanted to burrow itself. Rainbow frowned, leaned forward and bit the tail of the filly, gently pulling her out of the sofa. The foal twisted its head and looked at Rainbow with her eyes wide, slowly watering before her mouth started quivering. “Oh no,” Rainbow said, the horror hitting her. “Ubwah... WAAAAAH!” the foal burst out crying. “Oh, no, I'm sorry... uh, what's your name again?” Rainbow tapped her head, thinking. “Our little filly, she's named Whiskey. She takes after her father, being an Earth Pony,” the flashback Winnie said in Rainbow's mind. “Oh, yeah. I'm sorry, Whiskey!” Rainbow said as she flipped the foal around and held her upright. Whiskey continued to bawl and Rainbow looked around. She quickly flew over to the playpen to grab the little cow, stopping when she set the foal down. Oh, the little cow is in the couch,Rainbow thought. The bawling foal's crying slowed down when she began to rip apart the rubble, stacking it once more. Rainbow dove back into the couch and fumbled around before finally wrapping a hoof around the little cow. She yanked it out and spun around to face Whiskey, only to see the foal was gone. “Uh, what?” she asked herself. She frantically looked around the living room for any sign of movement. Nothing. Her panic meter exploded and Rainbow's mind went frantic. Oh no, oh no no no. The baby’s gone! Where is Whiskey!?She thought, taking off down a hallway to the right. She saw one door and a dead end. She galloped over to the door and threw it open, feeling a rush of cold coming from inside. She peeked inside, seeing nothing but a bit of light illuminating a staircase to the basement. Rainbow shuddered and closed the door. No way any foal would willingly go into a basement...she thought, turning back to the living room. She ran as fast as she could, slipping on the rug and letting out a grunt upon hitting the floor. She quickly pushed herself to her hooves and looked at the living room. Behind me was the hallway and the playpen. In front of me is a bookshelf and some chairs. To the left, the front door. To the right, the couch and another hallway,Rainbow thought quickly before darting down the next hallway. More confusion followed, as on the right hand wall were two doors, the nearest one with the words “Whiskey's Room” on the wall while the furthest one has just “Master Bedroom”. To the left was the kitchen itself and Rainbow stuck to her gut, opening the door to Whiskey's room. Inside, she's met by an otherwise clean room with the exception of one remarkably cheerful filly sitting in the centre of the room, staring back at Rainbow... with the little cow in her mouth. “Woah, how did...” Rainbow dropped the question, instead rushing forward and lifting the foal onto her forelegs. “Okay, I have you, lets go... um, play?” Rainbow asked, quickly shuffling out to the living room. She set the little foal down in the playpen and closed the gate as fast as possible, making sure the foal stayed in. “Okay, stay there. I'll be back, gotta go find some way to keep you occupied,” Rainbow said, cantering into the kitchen. I'm starting to remember why I don't want foals... they can teleport, or something,Rainbow bit her lip at the thought. Unlike Twilight, there's no sound. Ugh, I should get a little bell collar, or something.Rainbow chuckled at the thought and forgot why she went in there. Food? No... wait, find a way to occupy the little tyke. Yeah. I should probably check the food before I do. I mean...Rainbow shook her head and looked around, spotting several cupboards. She trotted over to the closest one and ripped it open, only finding cake pans and mixing bowls. She grit her teeth and closed the cupboards, then shuffled to the ones over the stove. “Next to stove, door. Closet? I dunno, but I should check after,” she said to herself before she opened this one. She found spices and salts of various kinds in the cupboard, neatly organized. Rainbow saw nothing related to baby food and closed the cupboards. That covers this wall,Rainbow thought. A rattle was heard in the living room, throwing Rainbow off slightly before smiling. Well, I guess they can be nice when they don't teleport,Rainbow thought as she quickly moved over to the sinks. She opened the cupboard and finally found an assortment of baby things. “Baby Formula, pureed vegetables, oatmeal? Seems simple enough. I'll just serve her oatmeal and formula, I guess,” Rainbow said. She closed the doors and turned around, forgetting her original reason for coming out here only to freeze. There is no rattling...Rainbow thought. “Oh no,” Rainbow said. She ran back out to the living room to see the playpen's gate wide open and the toys sprawled about the room. Rainbow facehoofed quickly and began to gallop, only to stop when she remembered the rug. She peered down the hallway with the basement staircase and saw the door slightly open. Rainbow's eyes widened and she frantically shuffled her hooves to the basement door. She opened it, the door ominously creaking. The pegasus gulped and stepped onto the first stair, another ominous creak escaping from it as she did so. She fumbled around for a light switch, not finding anything. She sighed, and spread her wings out just in case this staircase decided to give. She placed a hoof on the rail, not providing much support. Every bit counts, I guess,Rainbow thought as she found herself stepping down at a normal pace. Finally, her hooves made contact with solid concrete ground and she let out a huge sigh of relief... but discovered that being downstairs was an even worse experience. Drips of water could be heard a few seconds, an odd growl reminiscent of a dark cave was heard. Darkness surrounded Rainbow with a little glow from the top of the stairs. Of all the places to put a window, they put them right next to the door?Rainbow thought to herself, trying to keep her nerves in check. “Um,” she tried to speak through the lump in her throat, “Whiskey? Are you here, lil' gal?” Rainbow asked, nervously turning her head. Rainbow sighed, a failed attempt to appear unphased by the looming darkness. She attempted to swallow the lump in her throat, only to lightly choke. If she spoke, her voice would be cracking. She stepped to the right of the staircase, heading towards what could only be the front of the house. A quiet giggle echoed throughout the dark basement and Rainbow stopped dead in her tracks, frozen by fear. Wait, what am I scared for? Just a baby... in a basement... that's dark and very ominous,Rainbow thought as she slowly stepped forward. Another giggle sounded and Rainbow felt the hairs on the back of her head stand up as goosebumps flushed throughout her body, the chilling sensation of the experience almost dragging out a shiver from the otherwise brave mare. “EYAGH!” the foal screamed out, slamming her rattle on a metal bin. “AUGH!” Rainbow screamed, startled by the sudden outburst. She quickly shuffled backwards, to the bottom of the stairs and was shaking from the paranoia of being startled. She kept her body low as the baby's giggles echoed throughout the room more. She smiled while keeping her brow arched, doing her best to hang onto what little composure she had left. “Heh, o-okay, little... Whiskey, it's time for your... uh, fav... favourite flier Rainbow Dash to take you upstairs. Maybe some snacks? Uh, yeah. Sna-snack time!” Rainbow sputtered out through her shaking. The foal's giggling stopped and Rainbow was left with her consciousness to keep her company. The eerie silence made way for the sound of Rainbow's own heartbeat and breathing to occupy the area, and Rainbow felt her panic button being slammed over and over again, regardless of her attempt to stay collected. A slap to the rump from a rattly object ended that. “AUGH NO!” Rainbow screamed, jumping up into the air, flapping her wings as she latched herself to the ceiling. She immediately looked at what hit her to see Whiskey, giggling on the ground while slapping the rattle on her head. Rainbow grunted and dropped to the ground. She gave Whiskey a long hard stare before scooping her up in her forelegs once more and looking around the room. She then paused, tilting her head up to spot a light with a pull string. She didn't move, unable to believe she missed that and reached up and gave the string a tug with her teeth. The basement was illuminated with three lights and Rainbow sighed. “Just a laundry room. Of course,” Rainbow cursed at herself as she shut the light off and quickly flew upstairs, closing the basement door as she did. Minutes later, Rainbow had set the foal in a high-chair in the kitchen while she looked at the box of oatmeal. The belt keeping the foal in place had been fastened as tight as Rainbow could manage without actually hurting her... and for extra insurance, she was tied to the chair by the leg. The kitchen was humble, having a stove, cupboards, and a standard island. No back door, oddly enough. “Okay, I have the mix, and I have the water, just... add the blueberries,” Rainbow said to herself. She quickly trotted across the kitchen, around the island, and opened the freezer. She peeked inside and grabbed the bag of frozen blueberries with her teeth, then trotted over to her mixing bowl on the island. She turned her head to check the stove. Water, boiling, she thought before looking to the other side of the island to spot Whiskey sitting in her high-chair, playing with the little cow and a few blocks. Rainbow immediately went to open the bag of blueberries and poured them in, not thinking about the amount she actually needed. Satisfied with what some could call 'the Mount Olympus of Berries', she set the bag aside and grabbed a wooden spoon, looking up to make sure that Whiskey was still firmly in place. “Ughwah!” Whiskey exclaimed in an excited giggle fit from her high-chair as the little cow collided with a block. Rainbow smiled again before letting out a sigh. “Okay, I guess that little scene in the basement was funny,” Rainbow chortled. “You win this time, Whiskey.” The foal obliviously giggled at Rainbow, which the pegasus could only assume was a gloat from those without words. Rainbow chuckled and switched the wooden spoon from her hoof to her mouth and began mixing the oatmeal and berries together. A few seconds later, what some would call 'blueberries with oats', Rainbow decided was adequate enough for her eventual food-making. She looked up again to see Whiskey hadn't moved. Rainbow let out a sigh of relief. Looks like the worst is over. She's let out that freaky foal energy, I hope,Rainbow thought before she picked up the bowl and trotted over to the stove on her hind hooves. She checked the water, making sure that it was, in fact, boiling. “Hmm, I dunno...” she muttered as she continuously looked back and forth between the bowl and the water as it boiled away. “Eh, what could possibly go wrong?” Rainbow chuckled to herself as she tilted the bowl, dumping the berries and oats combo into the water. She shuffled back, eyes glued to the pot as she set the bowl back on the island. She picked up the wooden spoon next and shuffled back over to the stove and attempted to blend her creation into something resembling cooking oatmeal. She smirked and allowed herself a moment to gloat. “Ah, something that didn't result in me saying 'oh no'. Thank Celestia, because if I did, I'd be...” Rainbow paused, scratching her head. “It's too qui...” she shifted her gaze over to the high-chair and noticed it was gone entirely. Rainbow stared with wide eyes, unable to believe that this happened again. “OH NO!” Rainbow shrieked, stumbling forward as she held back a freakout. Instead, Rainbow decided to stick with slamming her face into a mess of oats she made on the island. She slapped her hooves on her head and half pushed, half dragged her head across the mess of oats before she ran into the living room. She looked at the clock near the door to gauge her time. “Wait, it's already 9:03 PM? Shoot, the baby needs to be fed for real! How long did... ugh, I just HAD to find rope,” Rainbow cursed at herself as she redid her routine from earlier. She ran down the short hallway. She ran downstairs (without hesitation this time). She ran into Whiskey's room... nothing. She ran back into the living room and decided to check out the room itself. She ran to the couch, bending over and checking under the flaps to find an old knitting magazine, a doll of a rock monster, and the little cow. The little cow. Rainbow gulped, feeling the paranoia from earlier settling in. Again, she realized how quiet the house can get when the baby wants to be a ninja. She stood up and looked around frantically. She trotted over to the bookshelf on the opposite side of the room and looked on all shelves and then over at the chairs. Without any regard for keeping it tidy, she lifted the edge of the chairs up and found... no baby. She bit her lip, stood up and looked around the room one last time. She saw the front door slightly open and unlike before, Rainbow's mind blocked out everything. “OH NO!” She cried once more before dashing towards the door, opening it... ... and to her relief, she saw something good. Trails. The baby dragged the chair out and left trails with the legs but... how did she open the door?Rainbow shuddered as she pondered possible Pinkus Piecus-genes in the baby. Don't need another one in Ponyville. She stepped out into the dark outside, and was met with a warm breeze providing the perfect cool. This is the ideal night, I couldn't ask for better,Rainbow thought as she allowed herself to savour the moment. She quickly focused on the task at hand and followed the trail as it went around the house to the right in the little patch of grass with a ball. The high-chair was tipped over, the part where the rope was tied leading into the bushes, where a giggling filly could be heard. All anger and frustration once again diminished as Rainbow smiled at the display of innocent, harmless fun on the foal's part. “Whe~ere's Whiskey?” Rainbow said in a mock playful voice. A little giggle came from the foal and Rainbow did her best to suppress a laugh. She took a few more quiet steps forward towards the bush. “Whe~ere's Whiskey!?” Rainbow said a little louder. More giggling came, but no rustling. The baby must not be moving anymore, Rainbow thought as she leaned in to pounce. She took a step forward and lunged a hoof into the bush, pulling the leaves out of the way. “THERE SHE I....” She stopped, not finding a baby. Her face contorted into an expression of confusion and she pulled a few more leaves out of the way as she frantically searched. All she found was a torn rope, still tied to the high-chair. She heard a door close, followed by a click. Rainbow shot to her hooves and quickly galloped around the house to the front door and saw the door had indeed closed. She gripped the handle with her hoof and tugged on it. “What th... the foal locked me out!” Rainbow exclaimed, grunting as she tugged harder. “She wasn't in the bush, that rustling was her running! The little criminal!” She almost screamed as she began to pound on the door. Inside, the little foal was giggling away, oblivious to the problems with what she was doing... Rainbow groaned, trying not to break down. She pounded several more times on the door before admitting defeat, slamming face first into the door and sliding down, allowing her face to rub against the door. A click sounded and Rainbow's ears perked up as she shot to her hooves. The door opened slowly and the foal dropped to the ground, stumbling as her hooves made contact with the surface. The foal immediately ran off into the kitchen, giggling uncontrollably. Once again, Rainbow found herself unable to hold onto her grudging hatred of this job for long. The pegasus quickly flew around, lifted the high-chair up and flew in, closing the door as fast as possible. She flew into the kitchen and set the high-chair where it had been before, legs down and watched as the foal circled it, the little cow in her mouth once more. Sighing for probably the 100th time, Rainbow trotted over to check on her oatmeal. She looked into the pot to discover her oatmeal's frozen blueberries had wound up turning the oatmeal into blue mush with oats. “Argh, what the...?” Rainbow asked herself as she quickly turned the burner off and removed the pot from the element. She looked over at her mush and frowned. “I spoke too soon, I guess,” Rainbow said, letting out a long sigh. “Jeez, the gals will never let me hear the end of this if the word gets out... which is why nopony will ever hear of this,” Rainbow said to no one in particular. Rainbow Dash opened up the cupboard with dishes and fished out two bowls and two glasses. She set them down one-by-one on the island and trotted over to the stove once more, grabbing the handle of the pot and lifting it over to the island and tilted it into the bowls, releasing the yogurt-y food into edible proportions. She set the warm pot down on the counter and stirred the bowls with the wooden spoon before finishing up. Rainbow tilted her head, looking at the 'food' from another angle as if she could find one that made it look half decent to no avail. She sighed again, and picked up the smaller bowl and took it to a window, opening it to allow it to cool. She looked over to see the foal hadn't left, still making the little cow seem like it possessed divine powers by emulating flying effects. Rainbow looked to the wall, spotting a clock. It read 9:45 PM. “We're behind schedule, little buddy. We need to hurry up. I'll go give you a bath,” Rainbow said as she looked over at the window for a second. She quickly trotted over and grabbed the bowl, closed the window, and set the bowl down on the island before trotting over to the base of the high-chair, and lifting the rather compliant foal up onto her forelegs. “Wait, where is the bath?” Rainbow asked out loud as she looked around the kitchen. She looked over at the door next to the stove and shrugged, trotting over to it and opening it, revealing another staircase leading upstairs. She quickly pulled the string and turned the light on, revealing a slightly more cared for staircase than the one in the basement. She flew up the stairs, finding another door at the top. “Jeez, somepony went a little nuts with the doors, here... and they aren't even saloon doors,” Rainbow muttered as Whiskey waved the little cow around. Rainbow stepped into yet another darkened room, this time with moonlight as an added luxury. It was a little dusty in one corner, Rainbow could tell, but the rest of the room remained a mystery. She quickly looked up for a light string and found nothing. She turned her head to beside the door and found a switch. She quickly flicked it and the lights came on, revealing a rather spacious attic with several mats and a few chairs... and to top it off, a large window showing most of Ponyville's centre. Rainbow let out a whistle of awe before turning to spot another room on the far side of the attic, the word 'bathroom' inscribed on a plaque nailed to the door. “Thank Celestia for labels,” Rainbow said out loud. She flew slowly to the door and looked down to face the little foal in her forelegs. Whiskey was happily giggling away, holding the little cow out as if it were flying. Rainbow opened the door as gently as she could. She took one step inside the moonlit bathroom before fumbling around the walls inside the door for a light switch. Hitting one, she flicked it and saw a bathroom, well taken care of and a little large for a typical household. It was as large as the living room even. “Okay, little gal. It's time to give you a bath,” Rainbow said. She set the little foal down and closed the door, locking it just for insurance. She watched as the foal immediately stumbled towards the bathroom toys located in a bin next to the tub itself. Rainbow trotted to the porcelain tub and examined it. Clean, decent size, and to top it off, it had childish taps with dinosaur silhouettes on them. Rainbow looked around for the plug, spotting a rubber one on the rack with the toys. She bit it and quickly tossed it into the tub, happening to score a bulls-eye on the drain. “Alright, plugged, and baby is prepped except for the diaper.” Rainbow turned her head, watching Whiskey as he dumped the basket onto the floor. “Whiskey, we may have time to play after we clean you, but not right now.” Whiskey stuffed the little cow in her mouth and looked up at Rainbow, wide eyed and curious. Rainbow smiled before turning back to the tub and twisted the taps for hot and cold water. The tub spout started spewing the water at a gentle pace, prompting Rainbow to turn them up a little bit more. It came out at a satisfying speed and Rainbow watched as the tub slowly filled up. She stuck a hoof into the tap water and felt it wouldn't be hot enough for her and almost turned it up. “Oh, right, babies are more sensitive,” Rainbow said to herself. She turned around to check on Whiskey and saw the toys all over the floor and Whiskey nowhere to be found. Once more, Rainbow felt herself panicking. “Oh n... okay, if I say that again, I'm going to snap for real,” Rainbow mumbled. She looked over to the door. “Okay, it's closed and still locked.” She turned her head towards the windows in the room. “Closed, Whiskey hasn't fallen out yet.” She turned her head back to the tub to see Whiskey had firmly planted herself in the centre of the tub, a little boat floating in the wavy water, and that little cow planted on top of the boat. “Okay, please don't do that again? I like the concept of being fast, but I don't want to lose you. I really need this cash,” Rainbow said with a pleading voice, her brow arched upwards. Whiskey stared at Rainbow with a dumbstruck look, expected of a foal, and Rainbow facehoofed when she realized. “I think my brain cells are dying one-by-one,” Rainbow sighed as she leaned on the edge of the tub. Whiskey went back to giggling while pushing the boat around as the tub filled up to a nice volume. Rainbow twisted the taps off and watched as Whiskey splashed around a bit before turning her head to the wall to see a clock. “They sure like their clocks around here... but, it's 9:58 PM. Jeez, I'm way behind schedule. Never thought I could be sl...” Rainbow stopped, her eyes widening at the realization. “Sl... slouching like a lazy oaf,” Rainbow said to herself as she immediately pushed herself into a standing position. “Yeah, that's it. I'm slouchy.” She quickly turned to the rack, desperate to ignore what she thought. She looked through several bottles on the rack and found one that stuck out. “Johnson's No Tears Baby Shampoo,” Rainbow said to herself as she grabbed the bottle quickly and turned back to the tub, only to see that Whiskey had apparently utilized Foal Instant Transmission and vanished without a trace once more. “A ninja. This baby is going to be a ninja. Plain and simple. No doubts about it,” Rainbow grunted as she sighed out loud. She slowly turned around, expecting to see the door open and having to chase the foal. Instead, she was met with her legs being shoved and Rainbow herself fell backwards into the tub head first, splashing into the ankle deep water. She closed her eyes, preparing for the hard contact with the porcelain tub only to hear a squeak and something soft pressing against her head; the little cow. She opened her eyes, watching the ceiling. Through the water in her ears, she heard the muffled giggles of Whiskey and light clopping, obviously the foal running around in the bathroom. Rainbow growled and pushed herself up to her hooves, shaking the water out of her mane. She stared directly at the foal, growling as she resisted the urge to lash out at the little menace. Whiskey stopped running and stared back at Rainbow, noticing something off. The joys of facial recognition at work. “Listen, you will get into the bath and you will get clean, and I don't care if it wasn't on the list but you are going to be clean within the next five minutes, missy... AND THAT. IS. FINAL.” Rainbow stomped her hooves on those last three words as she approached the foal. Whiskey stared at Rainbow for a few seconds before her eyes started to water, and her lip quivered. Rainbow's anger immediately vanished, replaced with worry and regret. Her face contorted, expressing her regret fully as her prowl towards the toddler lost all malice. She quickly and quietly made her way to Whiskey, just as she started to howl, completely broken by Rainbow raising her voice. “Oh no, I'm so sorry, Whiskey. I didn't mean to lose my temper,” Rainbow spat out as she quickly lifted up the foal into her forelegs, flying over to the tub once more. Whiskey only cried harder and buried her head into Rainbow's sopping wet mane, allowing the waterworks to spill. Rainbow didn't know what to do then, but she sighed and leaned her head, cradling the baby's head between hers and her shoulder. She pet the back of Whiskey's mane and cradled her properly. “I'm sorry, Whiskey. I didn't mean to lose my temper. I'm just too used to living life in the fast lane and... winning, all the time. Just, c'mon, be a good girl and take a bath,” Rainbow said as softly as her voice could allow. The softer voice seemed to work, as Whiskey's crying slowed down and she loosened up. Rainbow gently set Whiskey into the tub and Whiskey sat there, slowly playing with the small boat and the little cow, still in there. Whiskey started giggling slowly as she started to forget Rainbow's loss of temper. Rainbow smiled, the feeling of regret and guilt washing away. “That wasn't so hard,” Rainbow said to herself as she picked up the shampoo. Kinda forgot the diaper, but...she erased the thought, setting the shampoo back down. She quickly reached in and unwrapped the diaper from around Whiskey's bottom and pulled out the soggy mess, tossing it into a nearby trash bin. “Now, let's bathe you, lil' Whiskey.” 15 minutes later, Whiskey, all wrapped in a towel, happily nibbled on blueberries with oats in her high-chair. She occasionally pretended to feed the little cow and giggled whenever the food slid off of her spoon and splotched onto the tray. To Whiskey it was being eaten by the littlest cow, and to Rainbow, it was a cute mess. She discovered that her oatmeal attempt turned out to have the sweetest taste allowable for enjoyment and happily ate the mess... of course, after cleaning the mess of oats on the island. She peeked at the clock to spot the time at 10:18 PM. Whiskey was supposed to be in bed by now. Rainbow quickly finished up the rest of her blueberries and oats and set the dish in the sink, turning the tap to fill it up for soaking. She trotted over to Whiskey who managed to devour half of her food and left the other half as a pile at the feet of the little cow. Rainbow trotted over to the high-chair and quickly unfastened the buckle on Whiskey. She hoisted the foal out of the chair and set her comfortably in her forelegs, keeping herself up with her wings yet again. Whiskey reached out, grabbed the little cow and giggled as she squished it, extracting a squeak from the toy. “Okay, it's time to get you to bed,” Rainbow said, flying over to the door to Whiskey's room. Whiskey let out several laughs of glee as Rainbow flew. Rainbow gently pushed the door open and turned the light on. Whiskey's room, now that Rainbow had a good look, was rather clean and even had a nice scent to it. A caramel fragrance added to the creamy coloured walls of the room felt just right and Whiskey's room itself seemed to favour super-deformed versions of normal items, such as ponies, carts, even castles. Everything had a cartoonish look and by comparison to some of the toys in the room, the cow looked beat up and old. Why did the foal favour this toy above the others? Rainbow set Whiskey down on the floor to let her play with the little cow some more and quickly trotted over to the crib. She looked at the rail and quickly unlatched the metal hooks and slid the edge down. She turned around to see Whiskey had vanished. She suddenly recalled she left the door open. “Oh for the love of Celestia,” Rainbow said in a dull tone reminiscent of an automated message. Rainbow dashed into the kitchen and quickly looked around for any sign of the foal. Nothing so far, but as usual, that was the way this baby seemed to work. Rainbow flew over to the living room and landed in the centre. It had been cleaned up from the earlier mess, including the bit of dirt tracked in from the high-chair. Rainbow snorted in annoyance, arching her brow in order to get her game face on. “This baby really wants to do this. She really wants to compete for who's in charge, it seems. I'll meet her stupid challenge and I will prove I can do this. Because I. Need. CASH!” Rainbow shouted out as she took to the air once more, no longer relying on her legs to carry her around. She flew down the hallway to the basement door and flung it open. She took off into the dark basement and gave the light string a quick tug, illuminating the room. She looked over to the right to see the bin with the washer in it and, now that she studied the room, there was a back door covered by an old blanket. She cocked her head before shaking it and looked to the left, spotting multiple baskets of clean laundry, yet to be folded. Rainbow stepped quietly and slowly, using her wings for leverage to reduce noise as she walked towards the laundry. She was a few inches away from the first basket which was filled with clean towels. She reached out a hoof and poked the pile and a giggle came from the towels. “GOTCHA!” Rainbow shouted, lunging forward and wrapping her forelegs around the the towels in a mock tackle. Rainbow tumbled forward, knocking down the towels into the cold concrete floor of the basement and she wrapped her hind legs around the pile of towels as well. She patted the towels a few times to make sure she got her target, only to find the pile falling apart in her legs. “Oh for the love of... WHISKEY!” Rainbow shouted out into the basement. The foal's giggling was now heard upstairs before a slam indicated the door was shut. Rainbow shot up to her hooves, leaving the towels on the floor, and flew over to the stairs, up the stairs, and right to the door. She wrapped a hoof around the doorknob and twisted it, pushing the door gently. It didn't budge. She put her other hoof on the door and flapped her wings harder, pushing harder in the process. The door budged a little bit and a foal's giggling on the other side served only to increase Rainbow's determination. She stopped pushing, flew back and prepared to ram the door. She flapped her wings hard and flew into the door, pushing it open with ease and then slamming into the wall just outside. She tumbled to the ground and Rainbow quickly pushed herself up, staggering from the impact. She saw the image of Whiskey taking off down the hallway towards the living room. She spun around and closed the door quickly, noticing nothing was used to hold the door shut. Rainbow's eyes widened in realization. “Oh,” Rainbow groaned, “Pegasus foals fly all over the place, Unicorn foals get surges of magic, makes sense that Earth Pony foals get bursts of strength from time to time. Explains how she knocked me in the tub,” Rainbow said to herself, her anger vanishing. Instead, Rainbow was replaced with a desperate determination. She just wanted this foal to stay in line and get to bed and she found herself regretting taking this job even more. She flew into the living room and saw nothing, prompting her to drop to the floor in front of the couch. She moved the flap and saw Whiskey sitting underneath, little cow in her mouth, and giggling when Rainbow found her hiding spot. Rainbow grinned maniacally and lunged a foreleg forward to grab the foal. Whiskey effortlessly bucked her leg away and shuffled out from under the side of the couch and took off into the kitchen. Rainbow grunted and yanked her leg back before hovering in the air and flying into the kitchen. Whiskey was sitting on the stove, slapping the panel with the dials and Rainbow lost her desperation, filling up with panic instead. She dashed forward and lifted up Whiskey, just as one of the elements turned on, the small fire starting. Rainbow quickly touched town, holding the foal in her forelegs. Whiskey looked at Rainbow with a dull look before peeking around Rainbow's head, catching a glimpse of the fire on the stove. Rainbow realized that she left it unattended and quickly set the foal on the ground and spun around. She trotted to the stove and turned the dial off before realizing the fire wasn't going away. Something was burning on the stove. Rainbow's panic button had been smashed to pieces by now. She dived for the sink, barely missing Whiskey who began to pout and tear up. Rainbow looked in the sink, spotting one of the dishes she left to soak. The water had cooled off by now and Rainbow couldn't be more thankful. She wrapped a hoof around her larger bowl and spun around, tossing the water in the general direction of the stove. The water extinguished the flames and then Whiskey burst into tears once more. Rainbow allowed her softer nature slip through once more and she set the bowl down, stepped forward, and lifted Whiskey into her forelegs. “There there, it's fine, the fire is gon...” Rainbow paused. She looked around the floor, looked at the crying Whiskey, and looked around the kitchen next. She didn't want to look at the stove... but she did. There, she saw what had happened. What was burning was now charred, black and falling apart from the water hitting it. A burnt mess is all that was left of the little cow toy Whiskey had paraded around all night. “Oh no... no no no,” Rainbow said to herself, shaking her head in denial. She flew forward, landing on her hind legs in front of the stove. She leaned forward and removed one leg from Whiskey, cradling her with the other as she poked the charred mess. It broke apart and crumbled like a cookie. Rainbow forgot all aggression and frustration she felt the entire night and then she began to tear up herself. “I'm so sorry, Whiskey... I couldn't take care of you properly, I ruined the schedule, I lost my temper at you, and now, because I'm the worst foalsitter ever, your... favourite toy is burnt. I'm... I'm sorry,” Rainbow said, unable to hold back the tears. Rainbow was too caught up in the current events to notice or hear the front door opening, or to hear the hoofsteps of the two parents. “Hello, we got off early and...” the mother spoke, stopping when she saw the scene inside the kitchen. Rainbow looked over to the mother who looked at the scene in confusion. She looked over at the soaking stove, then to the charred cow toy, then to the two ponies present and in tears. “What is going on here, Rainbow Dash?” Winnie asked. “Hey, what happened dear?” Left Wing said as he entered the kitchen. Rainbow looked at the two parents with her mouth agape, tears flowing freely. She looked over at the charred cow toy and then down at Whiskey. Whiskey had calmed down a bit since her parents arrived at home and reached out for them. “I'm sorry. I'm a bad foalsitter,” Rainbow said. She wrapped her free hoof around Whiskey before holding her out to her parents. Winnie levitated Whiskey over onto her back and Whiskey calmed down entirely, wrapping her legs around Winnie's back before slowly falling asleep, sniffling now and then. Winnie and Left Wing looked back at their daughter before back at Rainbow, no anger present on their faces. “I'm... I'll send money in to replace the cow later. Don't,” Rainbow hiccoughed, “worry about paying me,” Rainbow said, slowly trotting to the short hallway. Left Wing and Winnie didn't move, instead stepping forward. Rainbow looked up at Winnie through her tearful eyes. Winnie only smiled back and Rainbow let confusion fill her mind. “Mistakes happen, don't worry about it. The important thing is that Whiskey didn't get hurt tonight,” Left Wing spoke softly. “The safety of our daughter is all that matters. Even if that was her favourite toy, we can always replace it. Don't worry about the money, we'll still pay you. You sounded like you needed it for a reason.” Winnie set a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. This only served to make the Pegasus cry more. She still didn't wail like some folk who cry but she did sniffle and snort every few seconds. “I needed it because I'm an idiot. I ruined a library book and the library is owned by one of my friends. I wanted to hide what I did by buying a new book and replacing the one that was ruined. I was being selfish and I was nowhere near qualified to foalsit for you,” Rainbow choked out. Rainbow felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders. I admitted I did something wrong and even if it felt bad to admit I ruined something borrowed, this feels muchbetter than trying to cover it up, Rainbow thought. Left Wing and Winnie shook their heads. “No matter, you ruined something and wanted to replace it. That is a true sign of taking responsibility, even if it is dampened by an attempt to cover it up. Take the money and tomorrow, tell your friend the truth. It's worth it in the end,” Winnie replied. Rainbow smiled. It's a relief to know they aren't getting angry at me... even if I deserve it,Rainbow thought. She quickly wiped away her tears, sniffling a few times as she felt herself losing that urge to bawl. In just a few seconds, the only evidence of her crying would be her puffy red eyes. “Thanks, that's actually something neat to learn. I'm really sorry I messed up... but, I did actually have fun with Whiskey a few times. Even when she was being a little nuisance, no offense,” Rainbow said, waving a hoof. The two parents nodded in agreement. “I did find parts where I could overlook the things she did. The pros outweigh the cons in terms of foalsitting. Enjoying those few moments are worth the otherwise chaotic night I went through,” Rainbow chuckled. “Just imagine it happening the entire day for ten years,” Winnie chuckled out, nudging Rainbow's wing. Rainbow's eyes widened in fear at the realization, but she soon rolled her eyes. “I may take up that challenge, some day.” The following day, Rainbow had checked her saddlebags. All on tight. She checked her forehead for any signs of a fever, just in case. She checked her hooves to find any shaking, none. She sighed and took a deep breath. She pushed open a door and stepped into the door, closing it behind her. “Oh, hello, Rainbow Dash. Here to drop off your library book, I assume?” Twilight Sparkle asked. The lavender unicorn was just finishing up a report, from the looks of it, as she was cleaning up a mess of parchment on the floor. “Yes and no,” Rainbow said, stepping towards Twilight. She craned her neck and reached into the left bag and pulled out the soggy remains of 'Daring Do and the Redsteel Brigade' and held it out for Twilight to see. Twilight's eyes shot open wide and she obliviously released her magical grip on a parchment she was picking up. “Bu... th... you...” Twilight sputtered out, unable to form words. “Listen, Twi, just take this,” Rainbow said as she turned her head, digging her nose into the other bag and pulled out a brand new copy, setting it on the floor next to the ruined copy. “I accidentally knocked the book into a sink full of water and I'm truly sorry, so I bought a new copy after earning some money at a quick job.” Twilight's look of shock didn't last long after that and was replaced with a smile instead. She lifted the book up with her magic. “Is Spike here?” Rainbow asked. “Yep. Just upstairs,” Twilight replied. “Spi~ike!” Twilight called. A door opened elsewhere and Spike soon followed, running up to Twilight. He looked at the ruined book on the ground and shot Rainbow a look of utter sympathy. “My condolences,” Spike said, bowing in Rainbow's direction. “What? No, I replaced it,” Rainbow said defensively. “Oh, right,” Spike said, sheepishly grinning. Twilight trotted to the bookshelf where the Daring Do novels were set. Spike cocked his head. Rainbow sure is in a good mood for having destroyed a Daring Do book,Spike thought, scratching his head. “Spike, take a letter!” Rainbow exclaimed, sitting down on the floor. “Huh?” Spike said, broken from his train of thought. Rainbow stared back blankly. “Oh, right,” he said, running over to Twilight's desk and grabbing blank parchment and a quill. “Dear Princess Celestia, no matter how badly you may mess something up, and no matter how much you think somepony will get angry and yell at you for being a klutz, it's always better to tell the truth and be honest about a mistake. If you hide all your mistakes, you'll be hiding most of your life, because everypony makes mistakes,” Rainbow said, full of pride. “Signed by your loyal future Wonderbolt, Rainbow Dash!” Spike nodded, finishing up the writing. He rolled up the scroll and and took a deep breath. He held it in front of him and blew a burst of green flames over the paper. Spike and Rainbow watched as the letter teleported to Princess Celestia and Rainbow couldn't have felt better at that moment. “Thanks, Spike, for writing my letter,” Rainbow said as she looked over at the little dragon. “Don't have to thank me, it's kinda my job, and all,” Spike said, rubbing the back of his head to appear modest. Rainbow smiled and looked over at Twilight. “And thank you for not exploding when you saw the book,” Rainbow chuckled. “Don't worry, we all make mistakes. It's impossible to be mad at a friend for long, especially when they admit, own up, and even try to fix their mistake,” Twilight said, putting the book in its proper chronological order. “Right... and another thing I learned, which I'd rather not embed on paper, is that no matter how chaotic a life of watching over a foal may be, the joy of helping a life grow into something beautiful is always worth the mess that comes with it,” Rainbow said as she thought of the many times Whiskey expressed her glee, even through her anger. “Woah, you foalsat? I didn't think you’d have the patience,” Twilight said while walking back to Rainbow and Spike. “You must have been really scared of Twi's reaction, hehe.” Spike laughed as Twilight gave him a playful smack on the head. Rainbow rolled her eyes and chortled, looking back at Twilight and Spike. “If anybody questions this, let's just say that I needed cash...” Author's Note:Greetings readers. This is a one-shot I made after being given the idea to write one around Rainbow Dash foalsitting. I didn't think much or even use Baby Cakes as much as a reference, opting to try and recollect a babysitting experience I went through with my baby sister. The result was a little less happy than this fic, mostly because real life is harsh. Thanks to all who read this fic. I hope you enjoyed it and are able to look at it and smile, and maybe even agree with or relate to Rainbow Dash. This fic was edited by Void Chicken and Scootalloo of FiMFiction.net. Thanks, Mr. Masato/Arby Works.

Alrighty. Also: Update, I finished a new picture.

I do have some examples of freehand drawings pre-outline. Plain ol- sketches: Apple Siblings BR Celestia Mare Do Well Alley Apples Scootaloo A Rarity Amongst Sisters

I'll only need details, m'boy. Context, what's going on, etc. I'm a fan of Sonic, yes, but I am embarrassed by my dA username. ;-;Alrighty, thank you. I've been told I need some work and I'm practicing. Thank yooou.

Chapter 1: Cloudwalking Sky Cruising Rainbow Dash Pegasus Uniforms 1:1 The Proposal Perched atop a cloud above a field lingering near Ponyville lay Rainbow Dash. Lazing around, she simply stared at the sky watching the few clouds above float; a contrast of white and blue that almost had a hypnotizing effect. Usually, she would have been napping, flying, showing off, or doing weather related jobs. Today, she simply spent it watching the clouds. She let loose a sigh, her mind in a dizzy state. “Clouds have it nice. Floating in the wind, no cares at all,” Rainbow Dash sighed once more as she continued to stare at the clouds in an almost trance-like state. Rainbow Dash mentally exhausted herself for the sake of training. The pressure of a watching audience is sheer torture, so removing that pressure is a huge killer on the mind. “Huhn,” Rainbow Dash said out loud, breaking her trance. "All that time competing really isn't nice to me in the sense th-” “Ra~ainbow!” a voice called out from down below. Her trance-like state officially gone, Rainbow Dash peeked over the clouds edge towards the ground. The source of the voice is none other than one Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow Dash wanted to simply ignore it and go back to doing... nothing, but she should at least see what's up first before deciding to reject Twilight's offer. She didn't bother standing up and rolled off the cloud. Rainbow Dash began to let herself fall nose first akin to a bomb. Twilight gasped, preparing her magic and just before Rainbow Dash slammed into the ground, her wings extended outwards and she slowed down. Her lower body swung forward, nearly slapping Twilight in the face with her back hooves. Her hind legs swung back and she finally made contact with the ground. The landing itself shot a jolt of pain up all of Rainbow Dash's legs. “Yeah Twi...?” Rainbow Dash yawned, the jolt of pain not enough to wake her up. Twilight stared for a few seconds before shaking her head, disoriented from nearly getting thwacked across the face, and quickly put her best smiley face on. “Sorry to disturb you Rainbow Dash, but Rarity and Applejack wanted to talk to you. We were at the Library but we split up. We're going to meet in 10 minutes whether we found you or not,” Rainbow Dash let out a groan before wiping her face with her hoof. “She, err, they didn't happen to say why, did they?” Rainbow Dash asked sarcastically. Twilight merely giggled at Rainbow Dash's response. “C'mon, let's go,” she said while Rainbow Dash let out a sigh and lazily hovered behind Twilight as they moved through the field of grass back to Ponyville. Twilight and Rainbow Dash arrived at the Library after exactly 10 minutes of walking (Twilight 's magic does wonders), to find Pinkie Pie standing in the centre of the room, staring directly at the door with wide eyes. Twilight stopped dead in her tracks as she entered the tree house. Rainbow Dash, walked around Twilight, didn't care about Pinkie's current... antic and simply ignored the mare's babbling. “Ooh! You guys took forever to get back! Twilight and I must have had the same idea to go and check the fields since there are so many low clouds and silly Dashie expects to be able to hide from everybody in the most obvious place ever bu~ut as I walked...” Pinkie never seemed to stop so Twilight sighed before she closed the door and stepped in. Rainbow Dash walked over and sat down in a chair. Jeez, I am so beat and exhausted. All this training to get used to background noise is tricky as hay. Rainbow Dash thought during a yawn before leaning back, embracing the chair's mold as comfortably as possible. Twilight quickly trotted upstairs. Pinkie Pie rambled on about how she Twilight and Rainbow Dash earlier before breaking out into song about her trip back. Eventually, Twilight came back down, this time carrying Spike. The purple dragon was nose deep in a letter, writing words as Twilight spoke. “... Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight said as she came within earshot. Spike finished writing, and rolled up the scroll. Rainbow Dash pondered the thought of it being some friendship report on loyalty. Looking at the two, it hit her: they weren't gone long enough to write a normal friendship report. This only caused Rainbow Dash to rub her temples in the sheer opposite of a reverie and decided to stop thinking about it all together. Spike took a deep breath as he held the scroll in front of him and he quickly unleashed a breath of fire, burning the scroll in a green flame. He watched as it vanished and magically flew to Canterlot. Rainbow Dash continued to watch Spike as he jumped down and walked towards Twilight's work area; it lay riddled with books and notes regarding dresses. Oh no... I have to do something involving dresses? Wait, maybe it's just Twilight's subject of the week. Rainbow Dash thought as she became more alert. The mere thought of being Rarity's living mannequin was a sheer a nightmare in her exhausted state; too much going on to process or even care about what is going on. She looked away from Spike to see that Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity had all come in to the Library. Pinkie Pie bounced around, still rambling on about SOMETHING. Rainbow Dash didn't notice the drool, too caught up in her thoughts and promptly wiped her mouth. She looked back to Spike only to see Spike finishing up his tidying of Twilight's work area. Ugh, the training is... Rainbow Dash didn't finish her thought as Rarity approached her. “Oh my stars, darling. You look absolutely exhausted. I do say you're admirable for your ability as a flier but please dear, take it easy once in a awhile. You cannot afford to live tired all the time, dear,” Rarity said followed by a smile. Rainbow Dash stared back than smiled quickly at Rarity's concern. The white mares smile grew before she turned away to walk over near Spike who was stacking the books. Rainbow Dash sighed, fighting back a yawn. Twilight started grabbing more books while Applejack and Pinkie conversed. “So~o Appleja~ack, do you think her answer is yes?” Pinkie Pie asked. Applejack looked up at the ceiling for a second, thinking. “Hmm... Ah 'spose so but it all depends on whether or not Rainbow Dash'll be dedicated t' th' task,” Applejack said. Rainbow Dash stared at Applejack long enough to warrant an acknowledgement as the Earth Pony slowly trotted closer. Applejack wore a smile with a look of slight interest. “Jeez RD, you look more tired than Ah do,” Applejack said as she approached Rainbow Dash sitting lazily in her chair. “Ugh, how many of you are going to say that...?” Rainbow Dash said as she rubbed her eyes. Applejack let out a small chuckle as she realized that Rainbow Dash has had probably heard that comment several times. Rainbow Dash sighed and added, “ Sorry, just a little exhausted. I guess I have a slight headache, what with my overexertion. It kinda ruins everything else I'm trying to focus on,” Rainbow Dash said. Applejack smirked. “Well, Ah learned mah lesson during last year's Applebuck Season,” Applejack said, a slight eye twitch. “Anyways, we were lookin' fer ya with hopes ya would sign something Twilight cooked up fer Sweet Apple Acres,” Rainbow Dash thought for a second, wondering what it would be. Knowing Twilight, it had to be something full of rules, instructions, and sheer strictness. Well, it is for Sweet Apple Acres... can't be all bad... Rainbow Dash thought, adjusting her seating position. “Mind explaining it to me first?” Rainbow Dash said in annoyance, still fighting back yawns. “Ah think it'd be better if Twi did it. She did cook 'er up,” Applejack said as she turned to walk back to Pinkie Pie, who just finished her rambling. Rainbow Dash sighed. She watched Applejack's entire short walk back for reasons escaping her; probably out of boredom. Her eyes were locked onto the back of her head. Her golden mane bobbing with each step she took, her hat perched atop of her head. Rainbow Dash stared at it vividly, wondering how that thing hasn't fallen apart or been replaced yet. Lucky break, or Rainbow Dash just doesn't know the benefits of taking care of one's stuff. AJ turned to talk to Pinkie Pie, showcasing her entire body to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash stared, entranced by Applejack's physique. Applejack's body showed the fruits of physical work; truly a character worthy of Rainbow Dash's competition. She continued to stare at her rival, feeling an odd sensation. It's a wave of pleasure in contrast to her tired state of mind. This odd pressure built up in her chest... almost restricting her breathing in a pleasant way. Explanation impossible, but Rainbow Dash usually felt this after showing off. Pride...? No, it's not that. It's the feeling... of knowing somepony else will benefit from your work. Satisfaction of a customer, which... feels awkward. Once again, Rainbow Dash found herself lost in thoughts. She quickly shook her head as her mind became plagued with various answers to her question, each different variations of things she already thought; all pointing to pride. Rainbow Dash had never won anything, let alone competed against Applejack. She sighed, her mind slightly eased. “Ra~ainbo~ow...” Twilight called out with a mellow tone, just short of whispering; directly into Rainbow Dash's ear. Rainbow Dash didn't notice Twilight approach until she nudged Rainbow Dash's shoulder. “Huhn...?” Rainbow Dash said, drool escaping the corner of her mouth. Twilight giggled and picked up a tissue with magic, wiping Rainbow Dash's mouth. “Sorry, I thought you were falling asleep,” Rainbow Dash sighed, thinking clearly but also slightly annoyed; this time because Twilight ruined a pleasant feeling in her head. Indescribable feeling, yes. Mildly annoying, definitely. Bu- “Hey, I asked Applejack and she told me to ask you why I'm here. What gives?” Rainbow Dash said, her voice slightly louder. This showed she was slightly more aware and awake than when Twilight found her. Twilight cocked her head. “Oh? I thought...” Twilight sighed before smiling. “Well, Rarity wants to observe you flying in various uniforms,” Twilight said. “Huhn? Doesn't she know that... ugh, frilly clothes get in the way of flight?” Rainbow Dash said with an annoyed tone. That's all I am today. Annoyed. Annoyed, and tired. “Well dear...” Rarity said, walking over to Rainbow Dash. “I'm testing some athletic-related attire. Jumpsuits, team uniforms and all that pizazz. I though that I could make more business if I invested more into the sports industry,” Rarity said. Rainbow Dash blinked, and started thinking. Athletic sports often call for proper uniforms... and teams pay loads... and I'm the only athlete around. “Well, okay I guess,” Rainbow Dash said, wondering what Rarity has been able to cook up... or what she will cook up. If it has the slightest hint of frou-frou, I'm going to bail faster than a Sonic Rainboom. As long as I don't have to run a marathon for her uniforms, I'm all good. “Well, actually, that is sort of a white lie. The Sports Industry could use a little more style in their uniforms and I could make some more money and finally be able to pay for some ads in bigger cities. But, well, Applejack's reason is the other,” Rarity said as she left to talk to Pinkie Pie and Applejack. Rainbow Dash quickly looked around to find Spike and Fluttershy. Fluttershy was listening to Spike talk, smiling and nodding every few seconds. Twilight popped into her view, staring right at her. “Applejack wants to create a team for a special project or really, plan. One that has to be verified by Princess Celestia before we can confirm anything. Basically, Applejack is competing with some other businesses in a national competition. She has to grow, maintain, and sell more apples, while putting out a better campaign ultimately making more bits than other businesses,” Twilight said, stopping before she went into extreme details. Rainbow Dash merely nodded. “Well, what does this have to do with me, or... well, us. What does it have to do with uniforms and what does this have to do with verifician or whatever from Princess Celestia?” Rainbow Dash said as she slowly got out of her chair. “You enter in teams which need approval from the Managers. Princess Celestia and the Master of Ceremonies, plus the judges. Sweet Apple Acres needs more than just Big Mac and Applejack to do it. It helps to have teammates advertising,” “Where you come in is you can fly banners, and pull off performances during the sales month declaring something like 'I can fly this good because of Sweet Apple Acre's Apples!' Something that helps ponies who would otherwise ignore it,” “As for the uniforms, you gotta look stylish, not to mention the eventual mass harvest is usually a fierce battle requiring able-bodied Ponies,” Twilight said. Rainbow Dash hummed in her thoughts. It explains why everypony's talking to everpony, and why I need to test uniforms. Applejack has to make sure that Pinkie and Rarity could help if they are assisting. Or were they assisting? Maybe it will be just Big Mac, Applejack, and myself... possibly Twilight as well helping. She sighed and wondered how she missed out on such a competition before. Maybe it is once every two years? Rainbow Dash took a quick stretch. “Well, sounds like fun since you put it that way. What does the winner get?” Rainbow Dash asked, interested in the big prize. Twilight raised a hoof and opened her mouth, preparing to explain... only to say nothing. She placed her hoof on the ground and giggled. “Hehe, well, I'm not really sure. I had already started organizing and planning in my head the practices and drills that Applejack said we should do when she started rambling on about the Tomato family,” Twilight said. Rainbow Dash perked up. Practice? Drills? Make anything a competition with the word 'athlete' in the description and I'm there! She thought as she trotted over to Applejack with Twilight following. “So you can do it?” Applejack asked. “Y~yes!” Pinkie said, doing a quick salute. Applejack turned to see Rainbow Dash and Twilight approaching. “Apples... I'm in!” Rainbow Dash said, unable to contain her excitement. “Yee-haw, for once, we have a team!” Applejack exclaimed, doing a quick jump of excitement. Rainbow Dash smiled as she watched Applejack visually express her excitement. That giddy feeling she had earlier returned. She slowly forgot her question about the prize. “So, um, what is the point, first? Oh, and the prize?” Rainbow Dash asked, chuckling at her slight forgetfulness. Applejack turned towards Rainbow Dash. “Well, multiple farms compete 'n aim for the grand prize: free shipping and free product placement,” Applejack said. Rainbow Dash stared, unsure of whether or not to feel happy or disappointed. “Gosh... I can't imagine how much we'll save on shipping and how much we'll make on new customers,” Applejack was giddy with excitement. Rainbow Dash realized it isn't pride or generosity. She was happy that Applejack is happy. She smiled uncontrollably. “So, um... Another question,” Rainbow Dash said, watching as Applejack turned and smiled at Rainbow Dash, causing a flutter in her chest. Her smile seems different... She coughed and began speaking. “S-so, um... who all, of all of us, are competing and, y'know, doing what?” Rainbow Dash asked. Applejack giggled. “Sorry, mah mind is all jumpy. In previous years, we just had Big Mac 'n Ah,” She let loose another giggle. “*ahem* Well, y'see, you would be best for carrying banners or skywriting with them clouds, an during the competition, you could fly bushels of apples to judges and customers or help with harvesting since it's such a fierce harvest,” Applejack said. Rainbow Dash stood on her hind legs and punched the air with her forehooves. “YES! Now I can show off my stuff! Maybe the Wonderbolts will see how great I am and invite me to join,” Rainbow Dash said. “Haha, well, Twilight will be helping with organization throughout, thankfully. Last year, we lost so many apples when I was in charge... Hooboy,” Applejack said, recalling a chaotic experience. Rainbow Dash wondered for a second. “Wait, how do you grow Apples in a month?” Rainbow Dash pondered. Apples aren't insta-crop... well, Zap Apples are, but those don't count. Applejack let out a light chuckle. “We don't. Th' judges are notified of how long a crop grows and we plant them beforehand. We planted apple trees at this year's location about 6 months ago. Every week, either Big Macintosh 'er I go there to check on 'em. With two weeks to the competition, and people starting to prepare, we gotta get ready. I was hopin' ya could begin advertising Team Apples as soon as possible,” Applejack said as she fantasized about victory, becoming as entranced with victory as much as Rainbow Dash is. “Got it. I just need a place to start,” Rainbow Dash said as she looked over at Rarity. “Well, I'll have it done as soon as I know what fits, what works, and what lasts on you first, dear. I can only create the uniform when I know what works,” Rarity said, bringing a chest over with magic. “Anyways, when does this great harvest begin? And what do we do beforehand?” Rainbow Dash asked as she didn't care about being Rarity's test subject anymore, now that the reasons have been explained. The chest opened up revealing ten uniforms, all expressing simplistic designs; merely placeholders until Rarity can know what uniform fits best. Applejack chuckled at Rainbow Dash's question. “Well actually sugarcube, the harvest begins when the contest does. We harvest half the apples at the start and begin preparing the stand. Baking pies and other related goods which Pinkie an' Ah'll be handling will be done after... than advertising it to show our campaign skills, which you and Rarity will handle with her designing the ads an' uniforms,” she paused, letting Rainbow Dash think. Rainbow Dash nodded, taking it all in. She didn't realize, due to her distraction and being tired, that Rarity already managed to slip on the first uniform. How did... is Rarity learning from Pinkie Pie? “Twi will be handlin' the organization, making sure we don't lose any crops for... various reasons,” Applejack said. “Fluttershy'll be handling the stand, along with me, as well as handlin' any critters that come by,” Applejack said. They were all staring at the uniform Rarity had managed to slip on Rainbow Dash's body. It was simple and fit snugly on her. It was orange with a few brown stripes simply because Rarity could not stand the sight of a plain uniform, placeholder or not. It had a few things on it for advertising, such as flips for banners or clips for dragging a cart, and so forth. Rainbow Dash examined herself and did a crouch. Feels good. Not great, but good, she thought. “First, let me tell you the name of our campaign of advertisements. Applejack gave me a fabulous idea simply by mentioning your name, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said as she looked over to Rainbow Dash to make sure nothing was out of place. “Uh huh,” Rainbow Dash said, getting slightly annoyed at how close Rarity was getting. A little too close. “It is a great name. We kinda just had to get you here,” Twilight said. “Dashie. It is the COOLEST thing ever, even more than your fantabulous Sonic Rainboom!” Pinkie said, bouncing. Rainbow Dash did a double take. “Woah, what can be cooler than that?” Rainbow Dash asked in surprise. They all giggled except for Rarity, who was still examining Rainbow Dash and the uniform. “Well, the slogan and campaign is...” Fluttershy said, trotting up to Pinkie and Applejack. “'Enjoy the Apple Spectrum!'” they all said at once. “All that buildup for so little payoff?” Rainbow stared in disbelief. Her friends stared at her in slight shock. It's punny and nice, but I was expecting something huge for something that was... described as being huge. Rainbow thought. “What!? That's a tad rude, Rainbow Dash. Honesty is the best policy but it is the idea of somepony else.” Rarity moped as she puckered her lip. The others simply looked at Rainbow each with a slight glare, except for Fluttershy who couldn't (unless conditions required the Stare). Rainbow looked at her friends. “What? I expected something a little better than the 'Apple Spectrum'. Do apples usually come in a full spectrum?” Rainbow scoffed as she did a few jumps and push ups. “But the uniform is comfy and seems good so far. Not perfect, kinda itchy near my hooves,” she finished off. With what seemed like teleportation magic, the uniform was off of Rainbow almost instantly. Rarity was already grabbing the next one. Applejack sighed at Rainbow's reaction. “Well, Ah'm sure the slogan'll grow on ya,” she said letting out a small chuckle. “It is a genius idea in my opinion. A spectrum of colours always remains visible when in the sky where the only contrast is blue. Even on the ground, the contrast there is usually grass or dirt roads,” Twilight said while grabbing a book with magic. The title read Spectacle Prisms: The Entire Colour Spectrum Reference Guide. She quickly opened up to a page near the front and read it while Rainbow yawned. She really needed sleep. “Even so, you'll be a perfect living advertisement, with the athletic physique, and the uniform plans I have prepared,” Rarity said as she pulled out another jumpsuit. “This one is a slightly different design from the last one; different material mixed with the same material to see how different fabrics react with skin. Is it too itchy? Does it pull on your coat? Those are the sort of questions I want answered...” her voice seemed to grow muffled. Rainbow diverted her eyes to the ceiling of the room staring up. There were some garbled sounds that sounded like voices. Ugh, I'm going to pass out soon, I can feel it. Voices are gibberish, my body feels numb. Kinda like a sugar crash. She looked down just as Rarity was lifting a front hoof to put into the uniform. “Oh, dearie. Maybe we should continue this... some other time,” Rarity said. Rainbow looked over to see Rarity looking right at her. Everybody else looked at Rainbow when Rarity mentioned this. Spike walked up in front of her, held up his hand to her face and snapped. Rainbow quickly shot her head back. “Hnn, no, no. I'm... I'm fine,” she said with a yawn. My legs feel weak... still, gotta stay awake. This actually sounds interesting, to an extent. Rainbow thought. She looked over to Twilight. Egghead has her nose in that book. Too distracted to notice anything. Hmm, Applejack... she looked over to Applejack. “So, um, when exactly is the competition-contest thingy again?” Rainbow Dash asked as Rarity finished putting the uniform on Rainbow. Hmm, what bugs me... Rarity's gonna wanna know... She looked at Rarity who waited for some kind of sign, eyes closed and breath held. Rainbow closed her eyes and shook. “Itchy all over,” Rarity's eyes shot open wide as she immediately tore off the uniform; having heard it was a complete failure left no reason to keep it. “One month. Gotta start finalizing everythin' soon and usually now is when th' other businesses are finishing up an' takin' the rest of the time t' relax. Have none o' that on the Apple Family,” Applejack said. AJ shook her head, Rainbow giving her a deadpan stare. “Okay, terrible lie. We're pretty much 'wingin' it so to speak,” Applejack said with a sheepish grin. Rainbow shot a quick smile while rolling her eyes at the pun. Rarity fished out design number 3 made with a visibly smoother material. That uniform's fabric looks similar to uniforms that official teams use. Finally, something familiar. She didn't wait for Rarity to fit it on and she immediately got to jumping into it as Rarity let out a small gasp from Rainbow's enthusiasm. She merely held the uniform up as Rainbow quickly got into it. Rarity zipped it up and Rainbow Dash looked at her body. “Perfect,” she said. “I recognized it was similar to actual uniforms and I was right,” Rainbow Dash said as she shot a quick pose. “Fabulous!” she magically picked up a small notepad and wrote in it. “Number three,” she said and closed the notebook placing it back in the box. “Goodie! We can finally get our uniforms and we can get into that old fashioned team spirit and I, PINKIE, CAN BE A CHEERLEADER!” Pinkie said as she bounced. “Give me an A, give me a C!” she said as she trailed off bouncing around in the background. Fluttershy walked up. “Oh, um, Rainbow, I... want to ask you a favour,” Fluttershy said, getting quieter. Rainbow Dash looked over at Fluttershy. “Well okay. What is it?” Rainbow asked, doing a few push-ups in the basic uniform. Fluttershy simply stared at Rainbow, mouth moving but no sound. Rainbow cocked her head. “What was that?” Fluttershy clenched her eyes tightly, hiding her face. “Um... I was wondering... If... if you could... If you're free... um... help me... with the... flying thing...” Fluttershy said. Rainbow stared for a second before letting a chuckle escape. “Sure. Just name the time and place,” she said, withholding a yawn. “Oh, um, next... year?” Fluttershy asked in confusion. Rainbow stared with a look of disbelief. She sighed. “How about tomo...” Rainbow let out a large yawn. “... tomorrow?” she asked, starting to doze off again. “Oh, um, that sounds wonderful but, I may... have stuff with the animals...” she said trailing off. “But after, we can,” Rainbow sighed. “Well, I can wait. No rush, Fluttershy...” she yawned once more. Rarity was already fishing out sketches, Pinkie Pie was bouncing around wearing a cheer leading outfit she got from the Pinkie Pie Space Time Continuum Void she seemed to have... Applejack watched everybody talk, and Twilight was still reading. Spike finally stepped forward as he quickly stole a glance at Rarity and went to open his mouth when he quickly felt a familiar sensation. He burped, a green ball of flame exiting his mouth. It flew upwards and with a quick pop, the green flames disappeared and a scroll appeared. Twilight's attention shifted from the book to the letter. “Ugh, timing,” Spike said as he sighed, grabbing the scroll and unrolling it. Spike cleared his throat.“My faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, I approve of the proposed plans for the Sweet Apple Acres team along with the Manager of the Market Harvest contest, Flat Breadbasket...” Spike let out a giggle which he instantly tried to contain, shared with Rainbow Dash and Twilight while Applejack glared at them. “... Oh... um, we wish you and the rest of the Sweet Apple Acres team luck, Princess Celestia,” and Spike rolled up the scroll and walked over, placing it on Twilight's workbench. “Dandy, she didn' need to know the members of th' team,” Applejack said. “Well, that's a huge load off my mind,” Twilight said as she quickly resumed reading. “So... um, we can leave a week early...” Fluttershy said. Rainbow stared. Huh... what are these plans? Ehn, I'm sure I'll find out later. For now... She yawned once more, prompting a yawn from Rarity as she walked over. “Ah, dearie, I... *yawn* I think you should keep this suit to get used to the feel. Maybe tug around a banner or cart now and than,” Rarity said. Rainbow wearily looked over at her and yawned while nodding. “Hey, guys...” Rainbow said, gathering the attention of Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and to an extent, Twilight. “I'm... gonna sleep...” Rainbow said. She saw spots in her eyes, small at first before obscuring her vision in flashing lights. The world's sounds died out and gravity vanished. ... a sugar crash? Special thanks to Scootalloo and AzuNyan for editing. Chapter 1.2: Crates and Photos The following day, Rainbow Dash awoke in a bed. Looking around to see her surroundings, she soon discovered the bed to be located on the second floor of Twilight's bedroom in the Library. It was dark outside, getting brighter, indicating that it was morning. If there's one thing Rainbow Dash is known for, besides her rainbow mane, it is not being good at getting up early. She tossed and turned in bed before coming to the realization that no, sleep wouldn't return. She sighed and sat up in bed before starting to stretch her upper body. First the wings, then the arms, then the neck. Huhn... must have passed out,” she thought before proceeding to roll out of bed. She took a look out the window, spotting the uneasy weather. Rainbow forgot that the weather today was going to be a light shower. She sighed once more before glancing at the sleeping figures of Twilight and Spike in their respective beds before trotting down the small staircase when something caught Rainbow's eye. Books scattered everywhere as usual but one book stood out... the one Twilight was reading before she passed out. She took the time to get a better look at the book; it had a cover that radiated the colour spectrum. She was curious as to what Twilight was reading but her thought process was interrupted by a stomach rumble. She erased other thoughts from her mind and decided to ask questions later as she trotted down to the first floor of the library to raid Twilight's kitchen. Later on, Applejack and Rainbow Dash approached a field on Sweet Apple Acres. Wide open field surrounded by various apple trees. This field was always open for various things; Sisterhooves Social, Iron Pony now, training of any kind... now, it was training for this competition. “So, um... what exactly are we doing here again?” Rainbow asked. “Well, fer starters, we gotta get you into th' habit of trailin' objects while flyin'. Can't have ya crashing when yer load throws you off,” Applejack said. “Would you care to elaborate? I mean, the Best Young Flier in Equestria can't possibly have any problems flying,” Rainbow Dash said, letting loose a small chuckle. Applejack nudged Rainbow's side. “Well, th' constant flyin' added on with the weight, could prove to be an issue. Delivery ponies often have some trouble regardless of the fact that they often haul large load,” Applejack said before reaching the center of the clearing. Placed there among the short grass was a small box with a harness bearing the clips similar to the uniform Rarity made, just worn down. “Thankfully, I'm not like those Mail Ponies. I'm made of MUCH tougher stuff, this training is useless,” Rainbow Dash said, stomping her hoof into the ground and striking a pose. Applejack stared at Rainbow for a few seconds before picking up the harness between her teeth and tossing it. “Jus' put 'er on, RD,” she said, shooting Rainbow a playful smile. Rainbow looked at Applejack, mind going blank at the warm smile. The harness landed in front of her and Rainbow glanced down to the ground for a second. “When I shout, fly over to where I'm standin'. There, you'll pick up a crate of apples an take 'er down to the other side of the field. Drop it off an return here. 30 crates total,” Applejack said as she turned to leave. Rainbow simply nodded and watched Applejack walk off to the other side of the field. She blushed before quickly averting her attention to the harness. She sighed. “Well, okay. I guess a little bit of training never hurt nopony... I guess I have two training sessions today,” she said as she lazily slipped her head into the harness, placing her hooves into the two openings. Once she fit her body into the harness, she quickly checked herself to make sure she did it right. It was a black harness with metal clippings. Basic harness. She turned her head and noticed the strap. Satisfied with putting on the harness, she grabbed the strap and tightened it, before using the tip to finish tightening it. She tucked the valence strap underneath the harness itself and quickly did a few pushups and jumps. The harness fit snugly and she smirked. “Simple task... I'll be done by noon,” she said. She turned and looked over to where Applejack stood. It was far off yet she could still see the orange Earth Pony. She sat down, forced to wait. “It's been 10 seconds and I'm already bored as hay,” Rainbow said as she began tapping her hooves against the grass. She looked up at the clouds which were starting to drip. The light showers were beginning... and it slowly unnerved Rainbow. Rain, plus the weight she would be carrying... “Maybe I should ask AJ to wait a while... maybe the Pegasus ponies need an extra hand with... the weather...” she said as she caught herself fumbling around with the grass to distract herself... which worked well. Too well. Applejack was shouting at Rainbow now, annoyance. “Hey, earth to cloud pusher!” Rainbow snapped out of her thought process and turned. “Uh... sorry?” Rainbow said, smiling and kicking the grass at her hooves out of the way. “We don't have time to be sorry, we gotta practice, sugarcube,” Applejack shouted. Rainbow sighed and stared at the ground. She jumped one more time. “Alright, let's do this then,” Rainbow shouted out one last time before giving her wings a quick flutter. “Alrighty then, let's get 'er done,” Applejack said. “Ready...” she shouted. Rainbow quickly got into a racing position, bending her front hooves slightly to take off. “Set...” Rainbow looked to the left, right, then to the sky... nerves starting to tingle. “GO!” The shove off. Rainbow took off into the skies as fast as she could with the slippery ground. She got reasonably high at 30 hooves since she figured there would be several other Pegasus ponies zipping around at light speed in the competition. She approached the side of the field where Applejack was and immediately tilted her wings, sending her into a dive bomb towards Applejack's location. She slowed down, wings flapping as she landed, ready to hook on the first crate... and it was huge. IT was almost as large as Rainbow Dash. No wonder Applejack wanted her to get used to it. Applejack wasted no time or words talking to her as she proceeded to crab the six clips. Rainbow only then noticed where the clips on her harness were; one just below her scruff, one on the top of her harness where the main clip was, and four on the straps around her legs. It was an awkward flying position but considered the norm for delivery ponies with large loads. Applejack clipped the five clippings on faster than Rainbow could take in. She was still having that uneasy feeling of potential failure coursing through her mind... why again? She's flown through much worse before... granted, she was usually alone or on a job site, here, it was just her best friend, light showers an- “Get a move on, Rainbow!” Applejack shouted breaking Rainbow's thoughts. Rainbow shook her head. “Got it!” she said as she fluttered her wings, taking it easy. She didn't know how well the straps – or herself – would hold. She got off the ground and then the crate was lifted off the ground... ... Light...? she thought. Well, lighter than I thought... considerably heavy, but not heavy enough to cause any problems... repeated hauling... wait, stop. Gotta fly. C'mon Rainbow... show Apples a dash. She started to really flap her wings, and started speeding off in the other direction, the crate acting as a light anchor; helpful in the sense that it doesn't permit her to fly way too high. She flew for a few seconds, not going too fast as to not test the straps or the harness. After 12 seconds, she descended, going in for the slowest landing possible. She let the crate droop down and touch down before landing herself. Immediately, she released the clips on her harness and she took off at her fastest work out speed arriving at the other side of the field in 4 seconds easily. “That was a lil' bit slower than what I'd expect, RD,” Applejack said with a small smile as she grabbed the next clips. “WHOA, what!?” Rainbow said. Dang... disappointed Applejack... this is only a training session, my first one too so... she thought as she pondered her next words as Applejack clipped it. “Don't you worry none, it's only yer first,” Applejack said in a muffled voice as she clipped the first clip. Rainbow immediately tried not to think due to the double meaning... but she was relieved Applejack realized her situation. “Don't worry, these straps an th' harness are as strong as your take off,” Applejack said as she finished clipping. Rainbow nodded and flapped her wings for a second before taking off, faster than before. She flew much faster than before also, getting to the other side of the field in only 7 seconds. She wondered if she'd be practising on a larger field soon... she killed the thought as a droplet of water landed on her nose. Ignoring the tingling sensation, she focused on flying. More rain dropped as Rainbow tried to remember her training from the past few days. “Disconnect... disconnect... the Wonderbolts are watching me... thousands are watching me...” . . . Rainbow touched down, ready to pick up the last crate and this time, she had to catch her breath. This was tedious, simple to do, yet it was draining. She thought at first she'd be exhausted but then she learned it wasn't so heavy... she gave it no more thought as she approached Applejack. She was damp from sweating slightly, and from the light rain. “Last one, RD,” Applejack said as she proceeded to clip the straps on. How was this, Applejack...? Rainbow thought, trying to look athletic. Rainbow was actually glad she had to stop now. She wished she was in her cloud home right now, lying in her cloud bed... her exhaustion hadn't completely faded from the previous days. Minor headaches but not enough to impede any activity. Applejack finished the clipping and Rainbow Dash took off faster than before. She no longer flew in a trapezoid cycle motion but this time, in an arch motion. She heard a click from below as she reached the pinnacle of her arch and she sped to the ground, slowing down as she got closer and quickly unclipped the crate. She turned and took off, for the last time, towards Applejack and... Twilight Sparkle and Rarity? They were located under a small tree. She braced herself, landing directly in front of the group in what one could call a battle-ready pose and then... another click with a blinding flash. Rainbow stood straight as she blinked. “Woah, what gives?” Rainbow said as her eyes quickly recovered from the flash. “Well, I arrived recently with the camera like Applejack and Twilight requested and I set it up ready to take a photo or two of you flying, simply to test out the Camera... and my, the photos I've taken so far are fan-TASTIC! They capture the excitement of competition, the colours of your mane...” Rarity said as she nudged the camera's tripod. “... well okay then. So, why are you two here? I mean, besides camera... testing...” Rainbow said as she fiddled with the harness. “Well, I am here to keep track of your time and to also give you...” she said as she began to rummage through a bag on her back. She pulled out a clipboard with what looked like a timetable on it. “... your schedule,” Rainbow stopped fussing with her harness, out of frustration and slight curiosity. She saw it and saw how it was... oddly specific. “7:30 AM: Wake up... 7:32 AM: Get out of bed... 7:35 AM: Make be...” she stared dumbfounded. She turned her gaze to Twilight who gave a proud smile at her organizing skills. “Okay, Twilight, you gotta know by now... I'm no morning person, not to mention I'd much prefer to fly how I want to,” Rainbow said. “Apples, help please?” Rainbow quickly asked. Twilight's face twisted into a pout and Applejack walked over and started loosening the harness around Rainbow Dash's figure. “But I planned everything out perfectly; your diet, sleeping habits, timing, space for work, how to get out of bed...” she said, pausing. “... well, that last one may be a little... heh, unnecessary...” she said, letting a small chuckle escape before coughing and continuing. “... but I believe this is the healthiest schedule you can get. At least try?” Twilight insisted, not wanting her work to go to waste. Rainbow gave her a cold stare. “No.” Twilight's face twisted into an even larger pout. “Pleeease? I spent so long on this... scheduling the writing, and the supplies...” “No.” “Please?” “No.” “Pretty please?” “NO.” “Two days?” Rainbow grit her teeth then sighed.“Fine, if it satisfies your... lust for organization,” Rainbow said, giving in. Twilight squealed with joy, Rainbow Dash sighed, Applejack finished loosening Rainbow's harness and Rainbow wiggled out of the harness. She shook herself quickly and sat down on the ground. She examined the schedule. Just looking at it got Rainbow tired. “As for why I am here, I just need some approval from the lovely mare who shall be sporting the uniform for our Ad campaign... speaking of ads,” she grabbed two photos that came out of the camera. “here are the two photos I took in glorious quality,” Rarity said as she let the photos float to Rainbow's hooves. She looked over and was taken aback for a second. One photo was a zoom of her flying, carrying the crate. A look of pure determination and pride on her face, her rainbow mane and tail fluttering in the wind, the light rain and clouds as the perfect background... the second photo was of her landing. Standing ready for action, ready to pounce... she smirked at them. “Ya look fantastic, sugarcube,” Applejack said as she looked over at the photos Rarity had taken. “Y'all look perfect fer advertisin',” Rainbow once again blushed for a second at another compliment from Applejack. She pushed the thought back once more and loosened up a bit, no longer nervous. “Well, I'm sure I'll look even better in the uniforms...” Rainbow said. She turned to Rarity. “Speaking of which, you said something regarding the team uniforms?” Rainbow said. Rainbow looked to the left, seeing Twilight and Applejack talking. Obviously about planning and keeping a record of their crops. “Why yes, dear. I have several designs ready for you to try. Not too simple as that would be positively boring, not too detailed because quantity does not equal quality... Just perfect,” Rarity said. “Cool. Where are they?” Rainbow asked as she did a quick stretch, finding the strength to stand up from the ever so relaxing sit she just had. “Oh, they're at my boutique,” Rarity said as she proceeded to pack up the camera she had brought. Rainbow stared at Rarity without saying a word until “... you couldn't bring them with you?” Rarity lifted the camera off of the tripod, placing it in the case. “You can't expect me to do that in this weather, with you being all wet.” Rainbow sighed before smiling. Exhausting week and her friend's antics still amuse her... in various ways. She turned, looking over towards the skies above the field. The soft rain pelted the leaves of the trees... a calming sound. She shut out the noises her friends made as they talked, listening to the rain... raining... ... Well, it seems I'm getting far more excited than I thought... Author's Notes: Special thanks to Scootalloo for editing this fic/ Chapter 1.3: Farm Work and Motivation The next day... Rainbow Dash left her cloud house. The events of yesterday were a blurry memory, mostly due to Rainbow still being half asleep. She lazily looked outside through the window, staring at the sunrise. People always said they were beautiful... Rainbow didn't really care. It was bright and interfering with her sleepy time. She slammed her head back into her cloud pillow face first, hoping to fall asleep again. She lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling for a few seconds. “Darn it, didn't this just happen?” Rainbow said to herself as she rolled over in bed and stared up at her cloud ceiling, unable to sleep anymore.. She sighed and prepared. She turned her head to her wall. Next to a Wonderbolts poster, the schedule Twilight wrote up for her... or actually, the revised version. Twilight wound up rewriting it to.. not confuse Rainbow. Now, it only encompasses when she should start practising up to when she should stop. Mondays to Wednesdays, starting at 9, arrive at Sweet Apple Acres. 9:10, commence the crate exercise again. 10:00, break. 10:15, commence the crate exercise again, this time using barrels; difference being the barrels contain apples and are open top... of course they aren't real apples, just a placebo so real apples aren't wasted. 12:00... lunch. 1:00, Aerial Practice (choice of nothing, with banner, with chute, or with weights)... and that was it. She could end the practice when she wanted but she had to do at least half an hour. All in all, it was short, sweet, to the point... Then on Fridays and Saturdays, she had to practice the other necessities; tending to Applejack's Apple Cart in the Town Square, or applebucking, or even baking with Pinkie Pie and/or Applejack. Sunday's and Thursday's were no practice days due to those being taken up by other things; weekly Weather Team meetings, or leaving to check on their crops at the contest grounds, or other things. Today was Wednesday, already up to her first day off tomorrow. “Well... might as well start...” Rainbow said as she rolled out of her soft cloud bed and quickly glanced at the mirror. Frazzled mane... she grabbed a brush off of her nightstand and did a few brush strokes just so it looked more like “Rainbow Dash” rather than “Rainbow Dash struck by lightning”. She tossed the brush in what she thought was the general direction of her nightstand and trotted out to her living room. The sun's rays coated her room and now she got why people said sunrises were beautiful. It gave her cloudy living room a golden colour and it made Rainbow admire her room. The golden rays gave her living room a beauty that reminded her of somepony... somepony clad in a stetson hat, golden mane and- “Woah, what the hay?” Rainbow asked herself as she snapped out of her trance. Just shortly after, her room dimmed as a rogue cloud blocked out the sun. Rainbow looked out of her windows and saw that an armada of clouds swarmed the skies like a wave of bees and Rainbow didn't like that. Early or not, she sees a mess of clouds that doesn't sit with her... she deals with it. It was only 6:50 am and Rainbow was now ripped and raring to go. She ran over to her front door and grabbed her saddlebags off of the hooks and put them on, tightened them, opened the door, and took off after she closed it. “Consarn it, why is it always a cloudy mess this early?” Applejack cursed the skies as the clouds above floated carelessly. For a moment, Applejack grew envious. Clouds had no cares, no problems, they floated along not choosing where they float or where they eventually build up with other clouds. Nor do they choose when a rainbow-maned cyan Pegasus blasts them to kingdom come. “What in the hay, Rainbow is up this early? Mus' be som' sorta special occasion... or she jus' couldn' get back ta sleep,” Applejack said as she trotted through the acres early morning, pulling a cart full of baskets as she set them out for the day's applebucking. Above the acres, Rainbow Dash sped around doing loops, spins, anything to add more pep to her daily routine. She usually tended to Sweet Apple Acres first. “Always doing the acres first, not out of favouritism, but... well, they are up bright and early in a literal sense... I understand why, but it does help that nothing obscures the sun and... stuff...” Rainbow said as she darted along, clearing the skies early. Surely somepony would question her later on about doing her job early, it wasn't like her at all... and surely, she would go to bed early. She decided to ignore the thoughts as she focused on cloud clearing. Around 10 minutes later, the fleet of clouds had been reduced to one cloud, which Rainbow pushed out of the way. She positioned it directly above the acres and landed on it, lying down as she watched Applejack's pre-buck work. It wasn't chilly but it wasn't hot either... actually, it's what some would call the perfect temperature for most things (unless you really like snow sports). Working, flying, messing around... Rainbow could see why someponies enjoy mornings. “Why the hay do I keep thinking about mornings today? And sunrises, and... ugh, whatever. I need to distract myself,” Rainbow stated, making it her immediate task. She hopped off of the cloud and air-bucked it, sending the mass of condensed water to oblivion before she soared down to where Applejack was pulling the cart and placing baskets. She slowed down coming in for a feather-light landing, the only noise being made was when her hooves touched the ground. Oddly graceful for Rainbow, but another self question pushed to the back of her mind. Applejack didn't seem to notice as she pulled the cart along through the acres. She stopped and stepped out of the harness for a second to place some baskets down and when she did, she noticed Rainbow. She stopped moving as she stared for a few seconds, Rainbow only letting her. She knew this was odd, especially due to the time and place. “... howdy,” Applejack said as she grabbed three baskets piled up and walked over to a set of trees. “Oh, hey...” Rainbow said, losing any planned greetings she had before. “... so, um... early morning,” Rainbow said. This is awkward...ish. Rainbow thought. “Fer you, maybe. Heh, what brings ya out here this fine, early mornin'? Decided ta clean th' clouds early from now on?” Applejack said as she placed the baskets around the trees. “No, nothing like that!” Rainbow said defensively. Applejack looked at her for a second before smirking. Rainbow realized that she got worked up over a simple question. “Err, no. I mean, I just woke up early and couldn't fall asleep again...” she turned towards the sunrise. “Man, the sunrise actually does look kinda nice...” Rainbow said. Applejack returned to the cart and grabbed a few more baskets. “Heh, well, ya get used ta it down here... not so much that it loses it's pep,” Applejack said as she trotted over to more trees. “Heh, yeah...” Rainbow said, at a loss for words. Early morning, with Applejack, alone. Odd situation and Rainbow seemed to be locking up. Applejack placed the baskets down, returning to the cart's harness, placing it on and pulling it some more. “...um, would you like some help Applejack?” Rainbow blurted out. Wait, why did I say that? she thought to herself. Applejack seemed taken aback slightly by the offer, but she didn't turn it down. “Well shoot, that was unexpected, but feel free Rainbow. Jus' take a few baskets and set them around some trees. How many, ya be the judge based on th' apples hangin',” Applejack said as she returned to the cart. Rainbow smiled happily. This could be considered practice, but... if Twilight were to find out, surely this would be tacked on to Rainbow's already busy (to her) schedule. She thought no more about it as she fluttered up and caught up with the cart and was about to grab some baskets when... “Hey, you don't mind if I use my wings... right?” Rainbow asked, wondering if it took some of the luster away from Earth Pony hardwork. “Not at all. This ain't no competition,” Applejack said as she stopped the cart and stepped out of the harness. Rainbow and Applejack spent the next 30 minutes grabbing baskets and placing them around trees. Rainbow didn't notice but after a while, they covered a good portion of land before running out of baskets... not to mention Rainbow never got bored or tired once during the work. “Well, that's enough fer today. In about an hour, after th' other chores 're done, we'd usually start bucking,” Applejack said. Rainbow sighed. This actually somewhat pleasant time with Applejack was ending. “I'd offer to help buck, but... ya know...” Rainbow said as she let loose a small chuckle. Applejack shot her a look. “Too lazy? Ah knew that,” she said as she cracked a smile. Rainbow cocked her head. “What? No! I mean, maybe, but I have... practice...” Rainbow said as she trailed off. Applejack chuckled again as Rainbow hung her head. “Ah understan', just messin' with ya,” Applejack said as she turned to return to the barn to drop off the cart. Rainbow motioned to follow, but stopped. She stopped flying and landed, deciding to walk. She approached Applejack. “... so, want some... um, help with your chores until I have to leave? Still quite a ways away from 9...” Rainbow offered, trailing off near the end. Applejack was even more surprised by this offer. “... are ya feelin' well, Rainbow? 'cause you offered to help me... twice,” she said as she eyed Rainbow suspiciously. “... or is this sum kinda plot ta suck up fer sumthin'?” Rainbow did a quick gasp before taking a proud stance. “What!? No, nothing like that! I just thought maybe you could use some help since I have nothing to do and I can be the one to offer that help with the things that you do even if you are used to doing it and... stuff...” Rainbow said, once more trailing off. Applejack had a look of surprise on her face. Granted, Rainbow was the Element of Loyalty and as she said, “I never leave my friends hanging”, she isn't particularly known for doing it out of the blue especially early morning. Applejack gave Rainbow a warm smile that made her blush. Rainbow quickly turned her head forward. “Well, that's swell. Ah 'spose ya can. Thank ya kindly sugarcube,” Applejack said. Rainbow let out a sigh of relief. She was quite happy. Happy that... she decided to do labour until she was supposed to actually be doing something. Probably for the hundredth time this week, she ignored the thought. It's starting to become a daily occurrence. . . . “I'm gonna need one heck of a shower...” Rainbow said. She examined her body. Covered with mud, hay, and feathers. One could mistake her for somepony whom was tarred and feathered out of town. She turned around to marvel at the work she had just finished the work she was responsible for causing. Earlier, she wasn't paying attention as she carried a bucket of slop for the pigs to eat and she wound up loosing balance and fell onto a fence. Said fence decided that the weight of a Pegasus was the cutoff line and broke releasing a hoard of pigs which ran around causing a huge ruckus around the farm. Thankfully, they never got into the orchards but the chickens can't be too happy about the damage to their specified area. After a few minutes, Big Mac came in and was forced to help round up the pigs which Applejack was able to do but Rainbow only managed to snag one pig with a lasso she made only to be dragged around, being swung around like a flail into hay, mud, and other various things. “Well, maybe next time, y'all will pay attention,” Applejack said as she chuckled. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were walking to a nearby lake to wash off, Applejack only slightly. “Not my fault the slop looked like... ugh,” Rainbow facehoofed, trying to forget the events of the past 10 minutes. “Huhn... I probably need to start practising...” Rainbow thought as she started trotting a little faster to the lake. “Well, good luck 'n stuff. Can't imagine how much pegasi need ta practice for, well, things,” Applejack said, speeding up too to keep up with Rainbow. “It's actually harder than it lo... err, I mean, it's easy, peasy,” Rainbow said avoiding the subject of any imperfections Rainbow could make while flying. She began a jog, not wanting to be mucky any longer... and wanting to beat Applejack there. “Aheh, well it can't be all that hard fer someone like you,” Applejack said with a hint of sarcasm as she sped up as well. “Totally easy, but not as easy as this grunt work you do,” Rainbow said as she began a full on run, lake only just ahead. “That a challenge?” Applejack and Rainbow were fully racing now. “Maybe it is,” “applebucking with me from now on?” “You're o-” Unable to finish the sentence, the ground beneath Rainbow and Applejack vanished as they tumbled into the lake, landing on top of each other in the water. The water turned brown as the mud washed off along with the feathers and hay Rainbow was coated with. Applejack lie under Rainbow, stetson floating away slowly. “I do recall somepony losin' her concentration jus” a few minutes ago,” Applejack chuckled as she stood up, pushing Rainbow off as she wadded over to her hat. “Pft, I told you” Rainbow said, spitting out some water as she turned to look at Applejack. “I didn't lose my concentration. It just... made me... nauseous...” she looked over at Applejack whom turned to look back at her, stetson now resting atop her head again. Her wet coat, mane and tail dripping into the shallow water... it was a nice view. “There a difference?” Applejack laughed as Rainbow stood up herself and stepped out, shaking herself dry. “Totally. Twilight knows this... I think...” Rainbow said. “Heh, well alright then,” Applejack said as she stepped out and placed her stetson on the ground as she shook herself dry. “Well...” Rainbow looked back towards Sweet Apple Acres. “Race ya back?” Rainbow redid the crate exercise the next day, this time faster than before since she knew the strength of her harness. Rarity constantly teased Rainbow about the uniform as she took pictures. Rainbow soared through the skies, trying to find a line of flying best suited to carrying crates. She never knew what was in these crates. Not apples, she knew that much. She had to get into the hang of flying around with crates and later on, she'd learn finesse with the open ended apple-filled barrels. Twilight was constantly watching and observing Rainbow, taking notes as she studied her flight pattern, how she looked (fatigued, full of energy, etc) as she flew, and other things. Spike was there as he was supposed to be taking notes as an audience member. He wrote one word: “good” and the rest of the time he watched Rainbow and drew doodles of various things... him with Rarity, him if he was a fully grown Dragon (out of growth, not greed), his ideal house... Twilight was writing every little detail about Rainbow down to the positioning of her feathers while she flew. Applejack was busy bucking for the day, Pinkie Pie was busy doing... Pinkie Pie things, and Fluttershy was tending to whatever animal needed it. “Only twice and Rainbow is already used to it,” Rarity exclaimed as she abused the snap button on the camera. “Just look at her physique, her style, her... Ooh, how marvellous!” “Uh huh,” was Twilight's reply. “And how swiftly she drops off a crate and picks a new one up...” *snap* “Uh huh.” “And sweet Celestia, her landings and takeoffs have such finesse!” *snap* “Uh huh.” “Ooh, at this rate, she'll be done before the schedule says so.” “Uh hu...” Twilight diverted her gaze from her parchment to Rarity. “... SHE'S NOT STICKING TO THE SCHEDULE!?” Twilight shouted at Rarity. “Good heavens, it's nothing to get worked up. She'll just have more time to rest-” “But too much time means she'll be too relaxed, AND THEN SHE WON'T WANT TO PRACTICE ANYMORE!” “But Twilight, dear-” “AND APPLEJACK WON'T WIN BECAUSE THE ADVERTISEMENT WI-” Spike proceeded to nudge Twilight in the side. She turned her head, quickly staring at Spike, face inches away from his. “Twi, chill. If Rainbow wasn't dedicated, she probably wouldn't be practising right now,” Spike said with an annoyed gaze. Twilight looked directly ahead. With a sigh, she said, “you're right... I'll just... have to make a new schedule to take this extra break time into account.” She went back to recording Rainbow's... everything. Spike and Rarity both sighed at the same time, looked at each other at the same time due to the synchronization, both smirked, and went back to doing what they were doing before... at the same time. Meanwhile, in the air... Alright... I have to do this in record time. For advertisement, for my friends, for Sweet Apple Acres, for Applejack! Especially for Applejack because... she thought before she coughed as she landed and undid the clips on the crate and took off back to the other side of the field. ... beca~ause she's only my friend and nothing else. No other reasons. Yep. She landed again with such grace that she heard a squeal from Rarity in the distance. And maybe, just maybe, I can catch the eyes of certain ponies... specifically, ones with a blue uniform, and national fame. She clipped the next crate and took off again, making sure to not make it too rough or too light to maximize speed. Because my face will be plastered everywhere and then, they can't miss me. I'll be constantly on their minds... Applejack will never get me out of her mind! she giggled at the thought before realizing what it was she thought, “Whatev's,” Rainbow growled as she landed and undid the clips. She mindlessly continued the exercise, effortlessly doing it now. It was another few minutes before she completed the exercise. Rarity had taken what seemed to be thousands of pictures, Twilight made a 30 page analysis of Rainbow's flying, Spike completed a small comic book he was drawing. “Aha, the photos are perfect for the campaign!” “My analysis is complete!” “King Leonheart slayed the Jabberwocky!” Rarity and Twilight looked at Spike in disbelief. “Err, I mean... Rainbow was excellent,” Spike said, chuckling as he hid the notebook behind him. Twilight sighed and Rarity chuckled. Rainbow trotted up to them unnoticed. “So~o, howwassit!?” Rainbow asked excitedly. Twilight looked at her notebook. “Well-” “GREAT! I knew it,” Rainbow said before she took off into the skies once more. She did a few laps of the field before landing near them yet again. “Photos? How were they? Are they as cool as I am?” Rainbow asked, still full of excitement. Rarity looked at the photos. “Well dear-” “Ha! Glad you got my cool side,” Rainbow said as she trotted over to Spike. Spike grimaced as he knew what was going to happen. “Aa~and any notes?” Rainbow asked as she took the notebook from Spike. “Hey, wai-” Spike attempted to say before Rainbow read the cover. “'King Leonheart the Legendary Dragon'?” Rainbow asked in confusion. Awkward silence followed as the three ponies stared at Spike. Twilight shot a look at Spike, her infamous “unamused” stare. “... Hey, I wrote 'good' down?” Spike said as he put on a hopeful smile. Twilight sighed, Rarity giggled, and Rainbow let out a laugh. “Don't worry about it. I just know I'm going to be amazing. Don't sweat it Spike,” Rainbow said as she took a proud stance. “Spike, you're hopeless,” Twilight said playfully. She put her notebooks in her saddlebags and levitated them onto her back. Rarity packed up the camera and showed the photos of Rainbow flying around to Spike and Rainbow herself. Impressive shots, nice angle... Rainbow gave it the Rainbow 'Seal of Approval'. Spike packed up his notebook in the only way he could... closing it and tucking it under his arm. Not much packing there. Rainbow merely walked over to a box that was perched up against a tree and removed the harness on her and set it in. She placed the top on the box and she turned. She was already used to her training and now she had to prepare for barrel training. Odd. A few days ago, she was doing her specialized training, designed by herself, which was actually a challenge. This just seems so redundant. Surely there's something else she could be doing. Her previous training, perhaps. What she was doing... Flying to places with lightning and attempting Sonic Rainbooms. Noise, nerve, speed, and endurance training all in one go. Author's Note: Special thanks to Scootalloo for editing this fic. Chapter 1:4: Fluttershy and Bonding Up above Ponyville, on a 'landing pad' made of clouds, waited Fluttershy. It was after Rainbow's schedule later that day. Down below, Applejack merely watched from her stand (well, the best she could, given the buildings were in the way). Fluttershy kept her eyes on the sky, looking around every time she heard a quiet 'woosh'. Quiet... she darted her eyes across the blue sky. Applejack doing the same. 'woosh' Fluttershy squeaked and turned around, seeing a fading rainbow trail heading up. She looked up. 'woosh' “Eep!” Fluttershy looked to her left. 'Wooooosh!' Fluttershy didn't squeak. This was closer and lasted longer. She darted her eyes around nervously as if trying to watch a bee. She turned around... “....... aaaaaaaaaauuuuUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhh.........” Fluttershy looked up and then down off the cloud. Below, Rainbow was dive bombing towards Ponyville town square, spinning like a drill. To others, this looked amazing; a new daredevil trick from the Best Young Flier, Rainbow Dash? To Rainbow Dash, this was the perfect time to pray to the divine and panic. She attempted to level herself out, only to stop and start spinning rapidly the other direction. She was zipping towards Ponyville at insane speeds, surely this would lead to her destructive technique, the Atomic Rainboom... in Ponyville Town Square. Rainbow did not dare try to fly upwards, because... wait, why isn't she? She opened her wings as wide as they could through the spinning and immediately tilted them slightly. She slowly levelled out, her spinning becoming small circles in the sky before Rainbow could actually do something. She realized she was no longer screaming, too caught up in panicking to notice. She twisted her wings a certain way, then she felt a lot of force on her. She levelled out, no longer spinning or flying in circles but parallel to the ground. How did she know this? Her face was practically grinding against the ground. She was soaring towards the Library's front door. She gave her wings powerful flaps as she slowed down and she put her hooves on the ground, breaking and sliding as she slowed down. She was going to slam into the door... no. Twilight would never let her hear the end of it. She gave her wings a strong flap, the most powerful she could muster... Then she practically stopped just on the door the instant it... opened? Spike, standing there, flinched when he saw Rainbow suddenly appear and stop not even a foot away. “... uh, yes, Rainbow?” Spike asked awkwardly. Rainbow looked around before letting out a giggle. “Oops, sorry Spike. I was just...” she turned around to see that she actually scared many ponies as she zipped by like a rocket. “... dropping by...” she saw ponies picking up bags, chairs, things dropped. “... to see Twilight I guess...” she said as she turned away as Spike stepped to the side. Rainbow entered the Library as Spike walked out, watching Rainbow curiously as he closed the door behind him. The library was quiet. There was some sounds of paper crumpling and a very aggravated “AUGH”. Rainbow walked towards the stairs leading to Twilight's room. At the top, she knocked on the door with her hoof and waited patiently. It felt like 5 minutes passed but only 5 seconds actually did. The door opened. “Oh hello Rainbow, I...” she paused. “Don't people usually knock at the front door?” Twilight giggled. Rainbow chuckled. “Well, can't help it that I maybe kinda sorta literally slid in through the front door as Spike was leaving. Speaking of Spike, where's he going?” Rainbow asked as she walked in, closing the door behind her. Twilight walked over to her work desk, sitting down as she picked up a quill and began writing on some parchment. Around the desk was a lot of crumpled parchment. “Spike is just going to-” “To help Rarity?” Rainbow interjected. Twilight looked at Rainbow in surprise. “Actually, he's gone to help Applejack.” Rainbow stopped all movement and then stared upwards, trying to picture and think of any reason Spike would want to help Applejack. Apples? Didn't Spike decide th... wait, Applejack is usually done bucking this time of day... she should be in the Town Square now... Rainbow stopped thinking before she hurt her head. Spike was probably learning how to man the stand. “So, what do you want to talk about?” Twilight asked as she wrote something down. “You said you had something you wanted to see me for,” she said. Rainbow flinched. “Uh, yeah, I thi...” she stopped as she processed the tone Twilight spoke in. “... very funny,” Rainbow said, noticing the sarcasm. Twilight giggled. “Sorry, but I did hear your commotion outside,” Twilight said as Rainbow kicked the floor. “Pfft, whatev's. I kinda left Fluttershy hanging, or... standing on a cloud,” Rainbow said as she turned. “Also, Rarity wanted to see you in about... half an hour,” Twilight said as she turned to Rainbow. “At Sugarcube Corner. She's meeting Pinkie there as well and soon, Applejack,” she said. Rainbow stopped for a second. “Not Spike?” Twilight turned back to her work to hide the sly smile appearing on her face. “Oh, don't worry about him. He has some other business to attend to afterwards,” Rainbow gave it no more thought as she did a quick stretch, still a little tense from flying fast and spiralling like a drill... then proceeding to break so suddenly and fast. “Well okay then. I need something to do for the next half hour...” Rainbow said as she opened Twilight's room door. Twilight scribbled something down again before turning to Rainbow, “Why not practice flying with Fluttershy? I'm sure she could use some training. She does have some serious potential,” she said. “Potential? When exactly did you see this 'potential'”? Rainbow snorted at the thought, not out of rudeness but... well, it's Fluttershy. “I do understand you were busy at the moment...” Twilight said. Rainbow cocked her head. “Busy doing what?” she replied. Twilight giggled. “Protecting your Cloudsdale Clo-” Rainbow flinched and an annoyed look grew on her face “Augh, y'know what, I actually don't have time. Gottapracticeokay,thanksbyeTwilight,” Rainbow blurted out before zipping down the stairs. Twilight let out another giggle as she closed the door with magic and wrote some more things down. “Way To Make Rainbow Blush #34: Mention the time she thought a small cloud was Cloudsdale,” “Alright then, I'm going to help you fly better, so let's set some rules...” Rainbow said, marching back and forth in front of Fluttershy; both pegasi atop a cloud. Fluttershy stood there, attempting to stand tall, like a Royal Guard; a stern look on her face. “Yes sir! Err, I mean... ma'am...” Fluttershy said, growing quieter and losing her tall stance. “Rule #1... FLY FAST!” Rainbow said as she stomped her hoof on the cloud. This extracted a squeak from Fluttershy as it was sudden. “Yes ma'am...” “Rule #2: buck 1,000 clouds a day,” Rainbow declared. Fluttershy winced. “B... buck 1,000... clouds?” she asked, nervously. Rainbow stopped, narrowing her eyes as she thought. “... okay, maybe 1,000 is a little excessive... given it's you... and... it's a lot of clouds...” Rainbow stared around, observing the skies. “... but get used to bucking clouds. As a Pegasus, clouds are much harder to buck given we're supposed to be able to stand on them. It's kinda like...” Rainbow looked upwards, thinking of a comparison. “... bucking a cloud. Shoot, just get used to it,” she said. Fluttershy nodded. “Yes ma'am...” “Rule #3: NEVER question my reason for training you,” Rainbow declared, growing a little red in the face. “Yes ma... am?” she was slightly confused, but decided not to ask. Rainbow thought again. She really thought she would have more than this. If only she had a mind like Twilight's, then she could... study all the possibilities. The thought made Rainbow queasy, but books aren't all bad... “... Rule #4... create a... Sonic Rainboom by the end of... the week...” Rainbow blurted out. Fluttershy just gave Rainbow Dash a blank stare, shaking. “A S... s... Sonic R-rainboom!?” she asked, completely scared by the thought of attempting it. “... ugh, scratch that. Let's just practice a little bit,” Rainbow said as she walked over to the edge of the cloud. Fluttershy peered down to the ground, then off into the distance at several cloud formations Rainbow made. Several clouds shaped into rings. Easy stuff for Rainbow. Very easy. She could be doing practically anything and do it flawlessly but to Fluttershy... it looked terrifyingly hard. “Just follow my movements and you'll be fine. This is just to see where you're at,” Rainbow said as she immediately began flying at a veeeery slow pace... for Rainbow. Fluttershy flapped her wings slowly, then began a flutter. A little bit faster and she finally got airborne as she began following Rainbow Dash. She was a much faster flier but the thought that she had to do a small obstacle course unnerved her to the point where she was almost too scared to even hover... but she kept it up. She slowly caught up to Rainbow. Rainbow whistled at this and began flying faster... backwards. “Oh, don't do this. Fly normally... and faster, please,” Rainbow said in annoyance. Fluttershy gulped. They reached a ring higher up. Rainbow turned around and flew upwards. Fluttershy flapped her wings harder and gently flew upwards and flew through the ring. Rainbow, after clearing the first ring, flew downwards to the next ring. Fluttershy locked up after this however and instead dropped down. Rainbow flew through the ring and stopped. She noticed a lack of gently flapping wings... she turned around to see Fluttershy no longer above nor in front. Immediately... “Woah, flap your wings Fluttershy!” Rainbow shouted. Fluttershy immediately tried that and gave them a very weak flap before starting a steady flapping. She stopped falling and gently, slowly, flew up back to the second ring. “Sorry, I just... it's so much...” Fluttershy said as she floated through the second wing. “Ugh, this is taking forever,” Rainbow said as she flew faster to the third ring which wasn't far off. Fluttershy gulped. This is so... I can't do this... I... why can't I do this...? I've done so much before... caught Twilight with Rainbow... I flew to Cloudsdale with ease... even caught up to Rainbow Dash when pulling Twilight and Applejack and the balloon... I can do this... I can! Fluttershy thought to herself as she started flying faster. She slowly caught up to Rainbow as she flapped faster. Rainbow realized Fluttershy was picking up speed. She turned her head to see how close... Fluttershy had a rather aggravated face, like she wanted to hurt Rainbow. Her snout scrunched up, brow arched... Fluttershy was simply determined but Rainbow was slightly unnerved. “Um, 'shy, you seem kinda mad...” Rainbow said as she kept looking behind her at Fluttershy and ahead. Fluttershy flinched. “Oh, I'm sorry, I was just... determined...” she said quietly as the two pegasi adjusted their course and flew upwards slightly. “Well anyways...” Rainbow said, shaking off the previous moment. “I didn't really expect you to accept... err, well, I did but...” Rainbow coughed as she turned right to the next ring, Fluttershy following suit. “I mean, you just said you were determined. Whyzzat?” Rainbow asked as she dropped altitude after clearing the next ring. “It's just... I've done so much in flying...” she said. Rainbow noticed they were flying much faster than before, something Rainbow would consider casual speed as they cleared the next ring below and flying back up. “We saved Twilight when she first came to Ponyville... with help from Applejack... then the flight to Cloudsdale... it was long but I did it just fine, yet I'm getting scared by this...” they flew through the next ring, Rainbow realizing they were going at a pace faster than she ever thought Fluttershy could reach. “... then I caught up to you when you thought the small cloud was Clo-” Rainbow coughed several times loudly. Fluttershy flinched. “Oh, I mean... you know...” Rainbow sighed. “Well, I understand. Twilight did mention that you had some potential. You did catch up to me,” Rainbow said. They flew through another ring, this time throwing Rainbow off. This was much faster than she expected she'd had to go for this little course. Now the turns were getting harder. She looked back for a second; Fluttershy didn't seem to be having trouble at all. Rainbow's inner athlete kicked in; she was getting worked up over a practice with Fluttershy. “Well, let's test that potential. Fluttershy, beat me to the end,” Rainbow said, cracking a cocky smile. Fluttershy once again flinched. “Be... beat you!?” she asked, shaking now. “Yes... beat me,” Rainbow said as she prepared to take off. Fluttershy squeaked as she noticed Rainbow was about to take off. She prepared to fly at her fastest which she thought she long since beat. “No more rings. Let's race...” Rainbow looked down at the ground to see where she was. Currently, they were flying over... Sweet Apple Acres. How did she always wind up here... “... From here, to...” she looked to her right, spotting a lone cloud far off on the other side of Ponyville. “That cloud!” she pointed with her hoof. Fluttershy looked over at the cloud Rainbow pointed to. It was easy to spot. “Rea-onetwothree,go!” she blurted out before taking off. Fluttershy squeaked once more, and did her attempt at a take off. She flapped her wings as hard as she could, speeding up. Fluttershy surprised herself with the speed she was gaining. Slowly, her flapping fast but graceful, she caught up with Rainbow Dash. They zipped over Ponyville. Below, one could easily tell Rainbow but the other speeding blur? nopony knew. Rainbow was busy smiling away. Fluttershy was actually not far behind Rainbow. She was only a tail's length away. Rainbow was certain she was far ahead. Granted, Rainbow wasn't giving her all, but she didn't expect Fluttershy to actually keep up with her. This was nothing more than a quick ego boosting race... Rainbow wasn't sure why she she was getting aggravated by Fluttershy, nor why she was doing this 'race'... but she dropped her doubts when she saw a pink maned yellow Pegasus flap past her. She grit her teeth and prepared to fly much faster but- “I... I won?” Fluttershy said as she touched the cloud, Rainbow simply slamming into the side. Rainbow groaned and crawled onto the cloud. “Uh, that's because... I let you win. Yeah,” Rainbow said as she buried her face in the cloud, trying to hide the flustered look on her face. Fluttershy bought it instantly. “Oh, I see... I mean, you're the Best Young Flier... and all...” she said. “... but I was so fast, wasn't I? I hadn't expected this... yay...” she said, letting out a cute little giggle. Rainbow Dash merely stared off the cloud. “... Actually, I wasn't giving it my all but, you did beat me to this cloud, Fluttershy. That was much faster than I expected... you did great,” Rainbow said, letting out a chuckle. Fluttershy gave Rainbow a surprised stare. “Well thank you, Rainbow Dash. I would love to fly with you again. That was so fun... but it was also scary...” Fluttershy said as she jumped with excitement before slowing down. Rainbow stood up and stretched. “It was more fun than I expected...” she looked off the cloud towards Ponyville. “... evenifIdidn'twin...” she said quietly. “Still, you're not that bad of a flier,” she added. “Well, when can we do this again?” Fluttershy asked. Rainbow's ears perked up. “Whenever I've got time, 'shy,” the cyan pegasus replied. Later on, Rainbow and Applejack were walking back from Ponyville town square, Applejack flagging Rainbow Dash down after her little session with Fluttershy. Rainbow offered to help – again – by pulling the cart for Apples while Applejack pulled the stand. Bit of repair was needed; it was an old thing. “Soooo... Ah take it thing's went well with Fluttershy?” Applejack asked Rainbow. “It went... better than I thought. She actually...” Rainbow paused, eyes widening. “... was pretty fast,” she said with a suspicious tone in her voice. Applejack cocked her head to the side. “Soun's like y'all 're hidin' somethin'...” Applejack prodded Rainbow. Rainbow shook her head. “Wha? Never. I'm hiding nothing...” Rainbow began trotting faster, dragging the cart behind. “Fluttershy? Fast? What in Equestria would make you say that? Did she beat ya?” Applejack said, darting right to the subject she was sure was the problem. Rainbow spat at the ground. “She only caught me off guard! And I wasn't giving it my all!” she replied defensively. Applejack let out a laugh as she saw how worked up Rainbow Dash got over the subject of her losing a race. They walked in silence for a bit, Rainbow a little too flustered to talk. They approached Sweet Apple Acres, much faster to Rainbow's liking or... was it too slow? Applejack confused her slightly, but she shook it off. “So, how was... your day, Applejack?” Rainbow asked, needing a conversation starter. “Well, it was just dandy. Made a nice profit, ran outta apples 'fore the end o' tha' day. How 'bout yours, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, in an obvious good mood. “Well, as I said earlier, better than I thought. Did some practice, asked Fluttershy to watch my other practice, then I-” “Spiralled through Ponyville to Twi's front door. Heh heh, t'was hilarious,” Rainbow shot her a glare. “... and then Fluttershy and I practiced. Wait, didn't you know all of this?” Applejack laughed. “Yup. Jus' felt like proddin' it from yer mouth is all,” she said. “Fah. Oh well, let's hurry up and drop this off at Sweet Apple Acres so we can head over to Sugarcube corner,” Rainbow said. “Heh heh, alrigh' then,” Applejack said, still in a giggly mood. Eventually, they reached Sweet Apple Acres and Rainbow followed Applejack to where they'd be dropping off the carts; just tucked away behind the barn in a shed. Jumping out of the harness, Rainbow gave her wings a quick flutter, the harness which always is a little tight on her barrel. Applejack was completely used to it by now. “Ugh, I really don't get how people can get used to this. And here, I thought it was bothering me with the jewel carts Rarity made us all pull,” Rainbow said as she did a few more stretches. “Heh, well, ya get used to it. It's not so bad... but ya do have wings...” Applejack said. Rainbow rubbed her wings, rotating them. “Ya want a piggyback, sugarcube?” Applejack said as she began trotting away. Rainbow blushed at the thought but shook her head. “No. I'm not that sore...” Rainbow said as she trotted over next to Applejack. “How 'bout a massage?” Applejack said, nudging Rainbow in the wing. Rainbow picked up on Applejack's sarcasm, but she did like the idea. “Well, since you're offering it... how about you give me one...” Rainbow paused as they walked towards Sugarcube Corner. “... actually, how about when I reeeeeally need it... say, after you take the prize for Sweet Apple Acres?” Rainbow said letting out a smile. “Well a'ight then. T'was a joke but alrighty then. Actually...” Applejack said as they walked into Ponyville. “Let's make it a barter. I give y'all a massage, and y'all give me yer trust,” Rainbow cocked her head. “Trust? Elaborate, AJ. I'm not too keen with Apple family wisdom,” Applejack let out a small chuckle. “Be honest with me from here on. Ever need to cry, use my shoulder. Ever need to talk, ah'm here. Trust and character, Rainbow. Build on that. Make a choice from yer heart and follow it,” Applejack said. Rainbow cocked her head. She was sure Applejack had a point but she was obviously missing it. “Afraid I have absolutely NO clue what you're getting at Applejack, but I get the gist, I guess...” Rainbow said as the walked. Applejack let out a chuckle. “Don' worry, sugarcube. It'll come t' ya in time...” Applejack said. “Whatever you say, Applejack...” Arriving at Sugarcube Corner, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were greeted by Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Twilight. Spike was... busy still, it seems. There wasn't a surprise party, but instead, Pinkie was staring at Rainbow Dash, wide eyed and she was shaking. Holding back from a potential Pinkie outburst it seems. “So, what's up?” Rainbow asked as Applejack and her entered. “Well, several things. First up... Rarity has finished the uniforms,” Twilight said as Rarity levitated a box. Rarity opened up the box and pulled out the uniforms. There were several for Rainbow to wear, and each appealed to Rainbow... each was sleek, each was cool, each expressed the colourful, proud, speedy nature of Rainbow Dash. Uniform #1 was held up, unfolded in front of them all. “Uniform #1 is specially designed for our dear Rainbow Dash and whatever flying she'll be doing,” Rarity said. #1 had the barrel, designed with a white colour scheme with small apple shapes on the front starting with the short wavelength part of the colour spectrum, and as it went to the tail, the apple shapes got bigger and a neat gradient went to the long wavelength colours. The front legs were decorated with warm colours; mostly red. The back, decorated with cool colours. Near the tail, some small, short, streamer-like pieces of fabric were decorated like the warm colours of the rainbow and were also cut into jagged shapes; like a lightning bolt. Rainbow could already picture flying in the uniform. There were a few clips here and there which blended in perfectly; this was meant for pulling banners and nothing more. “Wow... this is amazing, Rarity. It is so cool,” Rainbow said as she poked at the uniform, testing the fabric. It was amazing. Rarity pulled out another uniform... uniform #2 was definitely a warm colour uniform. The barrel was decorated to have multiple clips on it. It was obviously for pulling heavier cargo. The entire uniform didn't seem to have a clear pattern but it flowed; it was an almost fiery design made of orange, red, yellow and brown apples. You'd have to be right up close to notice the apples. From afar, it had a different feel; autumn. Usually the biggest time for applebucking. It was amazingly done. This was a multi-pony uniform; probably the one most of the team would be wearing for various things. The clips worked for pulling carts instead of the usual harness but there was space for that too. It radiated autumn. “This is cool. Way too cool, yet it looks a little excessive for flying related things,” Rainbow said. “That's because it's for Applejack, Pinkie and I too, dear,” Rarity beamed. Knew it... Rainbow thought. Rarity levitated the third uniform out; it was the opposite and had a nice, spring/winter feel. It didn't look like fire, but instead, similar to Applejack's dress for the Gala; it was the uniform Twilight and Rarity would be wearing (Rarity does get a costume change too). “Rainbow Dash, you'll be wearing all of these at some point,” Twilight added. “I looooove mine, it is so radiantly BRIGHT and flamey! Ooh, like an assortment of cupcakes! Or if somebody took a picture of Applejack and Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie – wait, that's me! Ooh, anyways, if they took a picture of us three, and copied that picture, and cut us out and pasted us all over again!” Pinkie piped up. “However, there is one uniform which is only worn by Fluttershy as she is the one tending to the stall at all times,” Rarity said as she pulled out uniform #4. Uniform #4 was something soft; there were no clips at all as this was for tending to the stand only. It had a completely white body with a light gradient of red, orange and yellow on the front hooves from the bottom up to the main body, same as the back legs except blue, indigo, and violet. There was a second part to the uniform that went on like a jacket yet it was free and a cool gradient of green. It was a perfect uniform for somepony like Fluttershy. “Wow, these uniforms are lovely,” Twilight said as she examined them all. “Mine is beautiful, Rarity. I couldn't ask for a better outfit,” Fluttershy said, getting a little excited. “Well, they're all jus' dandy, Rar'ty,” Applejack added as she looked at the warm outfit. “Mine is pretty awesome,” Rainbow said as she examined her personal one. “They all make me hungry for apple pancakes,” Pinkie said as she bounced around the group. “They make me want one,” another voice said. Each pony turned to see Spike enter, holding a suitcase and wearing a fedora. Twilight giggled at Spike's getup. “Ooh, Spike MUST be getting ready for a musical number!” Pinkie boomed. “Gonna moon walk into jail 'cuz you're a smooth criminal, Spike?” Pinkie asked, suddenly in a white tuxedo and hat. Pinkie got several stares. “... anyway, I got it, Twilight. And he even let me keep the hat,” Spike said as he tipped his hat as he walked past Rarity. Just as suddenly as she got into it, Pinkie was out of the white uniform. “Great, which brings me to point #2... Spike, open the suitcase, please,” Twilight said as Spike set the suitcase down between everybody. Rarity folded the uniforms and placed them back in the box. Spike undid the clips on them and opened the uniform. “For Rainbow Dash,” Spike said as he stepped out of the way to let Rainbow see the contents of the suitcase as everybody ooh'd. Rainbow stared, eyes wide. Inside, was an apple-shaped red ruby necklace with beads that were in a rainbow gradient, a pair of brand new goggles, and finally, another uniform. Twilight levitated the necklace out and floated it over to Rainbow. “Applejack, Spike, Rarity and I had this made just for you, Rainbow. For the campaign, and maybe for the inevitable party Pinkie would throw if Sweet Apple Acres won,” Twilight said as she fit it on Rainbow's neck. Rainbow didn't fight at all. It actually looked kinda nice and she did wanna put it on... even if it was a little girly. It fit perfectly, snugly, non-chocking... “Wow, this is amazing... and note, I will be wearing this to the victory party, because we will win for Sweet Apple Acres! For Applejack!” Rainbow said, full of confidence. The confidence must be radiation, because everybody else instantly cheered, forgetting the possibility of losing. “The goggles were also custom ordered... sent a few letters, got a few replies, and then, bam. The Wonderbolts were kind enough to donate a pair of goggles as a bit of a good luck charm and as a ve~ery late apology for the Grand Galloping Gala,” Twilight said as she levitated them over to Rainbow as well. Rainbow didn't even wait. She let out a little squeal as she pulled the goggles onto her face, placing them over her eyes. They were so clean, there were no scratches. They were in mint condition. She wondered if she should even wear them, but... no, she had to do them proud. The Wonderbolts actually know about her involvement? And they remembered her from the Gala? Now she didn't have to worry about catching the eyes of the Wonderbolts; only Applejack! ... err, and others for... advertisement reasons. “And what about the uniform!?” Rainbow beamed, excitedly. “The uniform...” Twilight levitated it out soon as well. Rainbow's jaw dropped, her eyes grew wide. It resembled a mixture of her exclusive uniform and the Wonderbolts uniform. It had the clips on it. “They were more than willing to allow me the honour of using their design in a special design of my own; another part of their apology,” Rarity said as she tried to hold back her excited glee. Rainbow was having a much harder time at holding back an excited fangirl squeal of her own. She was shaking now just like Pinkie Pie was when they first entered. “... let's do this. It's time to begin the Apple Spectrum!” Author's Note: Special thanks to Scootalloo for editing this fic.

Hello. This is my art thread. For this site. Yeah. My Deviant Art Page I do art of many kinds, as visible below: Title Pages: The Games We Play, original fanfic by Absolute Anonymous. The Apple Spectrum, original fanfic by Arby Works. Battle Royale: Friendship Program, original fanfic by Arby Works. Currently, I have five title pages in my que: The Games We Play: Supplementary Materials, progress is at 10%. Living the Dream, 0%. A fanfic by Tailslover13, fic not published, title page at 0%. A personal project of mine. And another project remaining secret. I also happen to do just plain ol' ponies: Applejack Big Macintosh Apple Bloom Rarity Sweetie Belle The Great and Powerful Trixie Chibi Masato (My Ponysona) Program Director of Battle Royale, Miss Princess Celestia Battle Royale, "Canter-Lot" #15: Twilight Sparkle Battle Royale, "Ponyville Orphanage" #15: Spike Chibi Mare Do Well I can also do scenes: The Games We Play Chapter 21 ::SPOILERS:: "Two future Wonderbolts... And miscellaneous things: Art Tutorial for Digital Art Pony Facial Expressions: Rainbow Dash So, to say I'm a small artist is kind of an understatement. I've done, and am doing art, for several big time things (Equestria Daily featured things) and for the moment, my que is full but I do take requests from time to time. I hope you enjoyed this, Mr. Masato/Arby Works.

Well, alrighty then. Thanks for the reply.

Hello. I stated in my "Greetings" topic that I am an artist and I'm not just a Pony artist. I can go ahead and create a thread for Pony art in the Pony Art forum, but what if I want to post my non-Pony art? Would I have to create a thread in the Non-Pony Art forums?

I just love me some walls of text, I'm not one for plain and simple.

Hello all. I'm an artist for whatever, whenever and an author to boot. I've written several fics on FiMFiction, FanFiction, and have a dA account. Now, this is a little text explaining why My Little Pony is special to me, appealing to me as more than a show but a life-changing media. I have a history of depression and shit. Two friends were killed by a drunk driver while I was just tossed into a ditch, I was mugged multiple times ranging from knife and gunpoint, I've been shot, I've had multiple surgeries and may have yet another health issue. Abuse as a child led me to Dissociative Identity Disorder, a mental issue some of you may know as "Split Personality". I indulge in video games and Manga and such to escape my shitheap of a life yet I still required therapy and anti-depressants and such. To summarize, I've had a pretty terrible life. I never saw My Little Pony when it came out. Long after Season 1 ended by like, half a year, I was sitting in my living room, watching ReBoot (great show) and I heard an oddly Canadian-sounding voice to the right. I turn my head to see my brother and two sisters watching Episode 6, Boast Busters. I see a blue mare demand an answer from two small colts only to hear something loud, avert her gaze and stare at the source and a giant bucking transparent blue bear embedded with stars stomps right the hell out of a few trees. The blue mare dashes off following a scream and the two colts run after. I was like, "woah, holy bucki... I'm curious," and so, later that day, I got on my computer and watched the first episode. I was treated to a literally colourful cast of characters, great animation and music and a pretty awesome pilot episode complete with a totally non-lesbian pony named Rainbow Dash, a cute-as-a-kitten pegasus, Fluttershy, an (at the time,) unappealing perfectionist fashionista, Rarity... I was intrigued. I continued watching the series and enjoyed it, but at the time, it was just another TV show I liked. I did, however, take notice of "Lauren Faust" at the end of the intro. While I continued to watch this show aimed at little girls, my life spiraled downwards. Episode 10 was, at the time, my least favourite episode. I didn't feel like watching anymore after, so I stopped for a few days. However, my life decided to throw the death of my dog at me and on top of that, multiple negative reviews all pointing to one thing: I suck as an artist. Depressed, I allowed that to plague my mind the next few days. I was treated with zero respect as I refused to tell others my problems and my mind focused on one thing and one thing only: suicide. My death would relieve me of this shitheap. Sitting alone in my room while home alone also, I had myself everything needed: A noose, a suicide note, a place to hang myself... I just looked over at my computer which was loading up Episode 11 of My Little Pony. To note, I'm somebody who has an odd OCD; everything has to end or be a 5 or a 0. Example is, if I scratch once, I have to scratch five times or if I scratch six times, 10 and if I scratch 11 times, 15. I just... could NOT take, at the time, letting Episode 10 of MLP be the last I watch, so I was going to go to Feeling Pinkie Keen. I start watching and am treated to snow. Nice, snow. I like snow. I'm Canadian. Snow is my bitch. I love love love snow. Snow makes me fall in love with outside. SO ANYWAYS, I watch the episode and am treated to something called "Winter Wrap Up". Okay, what is this? I thought. I watch the intro, get my answer and think, cool. I am then treated to my favourite song of the entire series and then Twilight runs into a problem I'm facing: I want to help but can't. Well, similar. My main issue was, "I want recognition, but can't get it," so I start listening in. I see Twilight fail at her endeavors to help Winter Wrap Up, and as this happens, I find myself chuckling, regardless of my depression. I discover myself heavily immersed in Twilight's quest (that sounds good, right?) to find a way to help out. She finally lands as All-Team Organizer and earns her place among Winter Wrap Up. The episode ends, and I find myself in tears. Twilight has a point. Everybody has a hidden talent and if they're patient, they're sure to find them. Out of my depression for the moment, I decide to watch the next few episodes and while I was at it, I burned my suicide note and undid my noose, returning it to the hardware store. A few days later, I delved into the fanfiction part of the Brony-dom. I read a rather odd gorefic staring Fluttershy and stopped reading immediately. Next, I read RagingSemi's Our Last Goodbye and cried many manly tears, regardless of the clop. I was amazed and surprised at the story. It was amazing to read and made me think heavily a few days later. I mean, I got Super Mario Galaxy and got to the Space Junk Galaxy. I stop and use the look view to examine the level and spot a bigass Galaxy. The soothing music and the thoughts of Our Last Goodbye still in my head, I stared at it for hours, just trying to imagine how Spike and Twilight felt, lingering the universe for billions of years until my alarm rang the next day for school. On Halloween, while handing out candy to little children, I pumped out the first chapter of The Apple Spectrum and posted that stuff. A while later, I posted Chapter 1.2 and I then lost my internet and didn't update until months later and came back to discover I had a few reviews on it, praising it. I was amazed! People like this? was my thought. I immediately found myself writing more of the story and now, here I am, months later with a chapter verging on 100,000 words and I could't be prouder. I was patient and I discovered writing as a new, permanent forte for me. All because My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and the episode. "Winter Wrap Up", convinced me not to commit suicide. My life would have been gone had it not been for this show, or that episode. "Winter Wrap Up" ceased my thoughts on My Little Pony being just another show, it ceased my thoughts of Episode 11 being reduced to simple "Episode 11" status. That is why My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is special to me. I hope to know the users here better. Yours truly, Mr. Masato/Arby Works.