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Wonder

“And…” Rainbow shouted as she flicked a card up into the air. As it fell in front of her face, she swiftly snapped it up with two fingers. “Tada!” She stood proudly, turning the face of her card towards Sunset.

Sunset smirked, plucking the card from Rainbow’s grasp.

“It’s your card, isn’t it?” Rainbow’s mouth was drawn into a proud smile. Using her fingers, she ruffled through the remaining deck of cards, effortlessly cutting and shuffling it with her right hand. “No no, don’t need to say anything. Of course it is.”

Wow Rainbow, careful. If your ego gets any larger it might eclipse the sun. Sunset stared at the jack of clubs, raising an eyebrow. “And what if I said it wasn’t my card?”

“Then you’re lying.” Rainbow shot the deck from her right hand to her left, a satisfying riffling noise echoing through the air. “I’ve practiced this trick for weeks until it was flawless.”

Sunset’s eyes widened in surprise. Wow. Gotta admit, that’s some dedication. With a grin on her face, she passed the card back to Rainbow. “Well, the trick is good. But it’s no hoofdini.”

Rainbow picked the card from Sunset’s hand, her prideful smirk having been replaced with an unimpressed frown. “Wow, control yourself Sunset. I can only handle so much praise at one time,” she said with a deadpan tone.

“Oh sorry Miss Copperfi-”

“Yeah yeah,” Rainbow snickered, placing a hand swiftly upon Sunset’s face as she playfully pushed it away. “I’ll do a trick that’ll impress you eventually. You’ll see.”

----------

“And then, ka-pow! I’ll punch him right in the kisser!” Rainbow slammed her fist into her palm, beaming as she spoke.

“Oh will you now?” Sunset asked, raising an eyebrow. At least she has an active imagination. She thought with her gaze locked onto the street ahead. “So, what’ll you do after you punch him? Tackle him for hurting your friend?”

Sunset waited for a couple of seconds, but no reply came. She turned her head, noticing that Rainbow has vanished from her side. Instantly, her heart started to race and adrenaline pumped through her veins. “Rainbow!? Rainbow!” She screamed, scanning her vision across the road in hopes of catching sight of her six colored hair.

The first thing that caught her eye was the building that sat on the opposite end of the street. Bright lights ran up the building sides, rising all the way to its roof. The words ‘Ponyville Theatre’ adorned the front in bright colorful lettering while the two panels above read ‘Wonderbolts! World’s Greatest Magicians perform tonight!’

Don’t tell me...

She lowered her gaze to the ticketing counter at the front and sure enough, Rainbow was standing in front, her head staring upwards at the posters that lined the entrance.

Sunset raced over, a mixture of relief and anger filling her heart. “Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow didn’t budge. Upon reaching, Sunset could see that Rainbow’s mouth was drawn into a large smile and her eyes were practically glittering with wonder.

“Rainbow!”

“Huh?” Rainbow gave several blinks as if she was just snapping out of a trance.

“Don’t you dare run off like that again! You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“But… Sunset look.” Rainbow pointed to a poster of an orange-haired girl holding an ace of spades. Her entire body was obscured with darkness, except for her hair, her smile and the card in her hand. Large yellow and blue text at the bottom read ‘Wonderbolts’ followed by a symbol of thunder striking from a dark cloud.

Wow that symbol looks… familiar. ...Oh! Sunset realized that if the thunderbolt was colored like a rainbow, it would have been almost identical to Rainbow’s very own magician symbol she designed.

“Wonderbolts? Are these the ‘world’s greatest magicians’ you keep talking about?” Sunset asked, taking a step closer to the poster. She ran her eyes up and down the mysterious figure’s form.

“Yup! That right there’s Spitfire. She’s the leader of the Wonderbolt Troupe! And probably the greatest magician that’ll ever live!”

“Ever live? I find that hard to believe.” Sunset swung her attention back to Rainbow, who was bouncing on her spot. Wow, I’ve never seen her so excited before.

“Well, don’t take my word for it. Let her prove it to you!”

“How?” Sunset asked. She stared at Rainbow with a perplexed expression. However, as Rainbow gazed back with a large, growing grin, it started to sink in what Rainbow was implying. “Oh no no no. We don’t have the time or the money.”

Rainbow’s expression fell into despair. Her bouncing stopped immediately and the joyful atmosphere around them seemed to cease altogether. “Sunset…” Rainbow dragged her name as she said it.

“Look, I’m sorry Rainbow. We barely have enough cash to keep us fed as it is.”

Rainbow gave a depressed sigh and folded her arms with a frown. “I… I know.” She reluctantly muttered. “I just thought… you know, nevermind.” Silently, Rainbow began to shuffle away, her shoulders drooping as if they were being weighed down.

The sight crushed Sunset’s heart. She turned back to the poster, her eyes focused entirely on the symbol at the corner. A million thoughts ran through her mind but one in particular stood out to her.

These magicians are her heroes. Who knows how long they’ll be here?

“Wait.”

Sunset’s voice stopped Rainbow in her tracks. She turned back with a small glint of hope in her eye. “If, and I mean if we get tickets. You have to promise me you’ll work super hard for our next few jobs alright?”

Rainbow shot up into the air then into Sunset’s arms. “Yes! Yes I promise! I’ll work triple hard! Rainbow Dash’s word!”

Sunset couldn’t help but smile at Rainbow’s enthusiasm. She strolled to the ticketing counter with Rainbow right behind her.

“Two tickets to the next Wonderbolt show please.”

“Alright!” The man at the counter answered. “Just in time too, the next show starts in a few minutes! That’ll be ten dollars!”

Rainbow winced upon hearing the price. Sunset did too, though she did it internally. She handed the ten bills to the man, who passed them each a ticket stub in return.

“Oh thank you thank you thank you Sunset! You won’t regret this!”

“I better not.” Sunset said smugly. “Though I gotta ask, why didn’t I hear anything about their show in the papers?”

“They don’t announce when they arrive!” Rainbow replied enthusiastically as they strolled through the main doors of the theatre. “Their shows appear out of nowhere and only for a random amount of time. You could have the Wonderbolts pass by your place, do a couple of shows and leave. And you wouldn’t even know they were there!”

“So their shows are like…. magic?” Sunset joked with a playful smirk on her face. Rainbow merely rolled her eyes and picked up her pace.

“Come on! Let’s get in before the show starts!”

-----------

Sunset shuffled nervously in her cushioned seat. She was seated at the second row from the front, though she wouldn’t have been able to tell. The lights had been shut off completely, drenching the room in darkness so thick, she couldn’t even see Rainbow seated beside her.

She didn’t know how long she had been waiting. It felt like the better part of an hour, though inside her mind, she knew it had probably only been five minutes.

Suddenly, a spotlight clicked itself on, shining a blinding light onto the stage. Sunset lifted her hand to shield her eyes and, finally being able to see the people around her, she wasn’t the only one.

“Good evening ladies and gentlemen.” A voice echoed from in front of Sunset. Once her vision had time to adjust, she lowered her hand and spotted the orange-haired girl in the poster standing on the stage. She was dressed in a black magician’s outfit, complete with the white bowtie and black cape while a top hat sat on top of her head.

Spitfire, was that her name? Sunset thought, watching her scan the audience slowly.

“My name is Spitfire…”

Well that answers that.

“And you’re all lucky enough to be passing by the theatre where we’re hosting our show. Not only that, you decided to get a ticket to watch our performance.”

Yeah a five dollar ticket each. Sunset drew an agitated breath at the thought. However, a quick glance at Rainbow staring at the stage with glittering eyes reminded Sunset why she agreed in the first place. She returned her gaze to Spitfire, smiling softly. Let’s just hope I enjoy it as much as she does.

“Call it luck. Fate. Destiny. But the chances of all of you happening across our theatre when we’re hosting our first show here… well, that’s pretty amazing. So, I think it’s only fair that we, the Wonderbolts, give you the single, most amazing show of your life!” Spitfire extended both of her arms outwards and all of a sudden, the speakers roared to life with an energetic tune while the stage was illuminated by countless lights.

And the sight Sunset saw made her, and everybody around her, drop their jaws in awe.

The stage was filled with several men and women, each with a different hair color, performing a different act at different parts. At the left side, a girl with pale white hair was levitating off the ground as she flew around in small circles. While at the back, a tall, spiky haired man strolled through a wall of fire, emerging completely unscathed.

However, the one thing that truly caught Sunset’s eye was their costumes. Every single one bared the same color scheme and logo. Be it the unitard the levitating girl was sporting or the shirt the green-haired man wore, all of them were colored a bright blue and yellow with a thunderbolt striking right down the middle. Sunset took another glance at the back of the stage, watching the man return into the fire before stepping out on the other side once more.

Wonder how his blue hair doesn’t get singed right off. Sunset turned and couldn’t help but giggle upon spotting Rainbow’s expression. Her jaw had fallen as far as it could go. Yet the sides of her mouth was pulled upwards into the largest smile Sunset had ever seen. It was as if Rainbow was at a candy store and every passing second was a different treat.

“But, let’s start simple shall we?” With a snap of Spitfire’s fingers, the stage lights vanished, cutting the other acts from view. “Let’s start with…” Without warning, she rakishly threw her cape in front of her.

What’s that supposed to d- Before Sunset had a chance to finish her thought, the cape fell to the floor and no one stood behind it.

Spitfire had vanished.

Hushed whispers dotted the crowd. Sunset could hear scattered voices saying ‘where did she go?’ and ‘is this part of the act?’

Suddenly, the theatre’s lights cut back on, giving everyone full view of the stage. However, that only turned the hushed whispers into loud speaking and murmuring. Even Sunset sat dumbfounded once she had seen what was in front of her. Or more accurately, the lack of it.

For the stage sat empty.

There were no tracers of the awe-inspiring acts that stood there mere minutes ago. The floor was pristine and the curtains looked exactly as they did before the show began.

Sunset spotted Rainbow glancing around excitedly, the grin still very much sprawled on her face.

“A disappearing act!” Spitfire’s loud voice resonated from the middle of the theatre. Sunset swung her head to the back, spotting the magician standing with her arms outstretched, her suit and cape having been replaced with a yellow and blue jumpsuit. The top hat on her head had disappeared completely, allowing her spiky fiery-colored hair to stand out.

The crowd erupted into a deafening applause. Sunset began to clap when a loud, joyful scream erupted from beside her. She turned, spotting Rainbow leaping up from her seat and clapping wildly, causing the people around her to give odd, judging stares.

But knowing Rainbow, she wouldn’t care. Sunset smirked wide, returning her attention to Spitfire.

Spitfire took a bow. With confident, faultless strides, she strolled down the aisles. Every clap, shout and praise seemed to energize her, causing the smile on her face to grow with every passing second. The same infectious spirit had started to spread to the people she passed. And even Sunset found it hard to resist grinning wide as Spitfire crossed her path,

Once she returned to the stage, the lights above the audience dimmed, causing the clapping to slowly cease.

“Now that the prologue is out of the way…”

Rainbow leaned into Sunset. “That was the prologue!?”

Sunset gave a soft giggle, returning her focus to Spitfire.

“Let’s begin with Act 1.”

----------

“And…” Fleetfoot begun speaking. She brought a lighter close to the deck of cards and, in a flash of fire and smoke, it disappeared. That is, except for one. “Is this your card?”

The audience member nodded enthusiastically. His applause came with that of the hundreds in the audience. With a smile, Fleetfoot took a bow before exiting off the stage and the volunteer returned to his seat. Mere moments later, Spitfire returned once more.

“For this next trick…” Spitfire deftly played with a coin in her right hand. It swung under, over and around her fingers, doing tricks that Sunset wouldn’t have even thought possible. “I’ll need a volunteer.”

Sunset turned to Rainbow, whose eyes were surprisingly locked onto her own feet. Her eyes showed a silent longing and her cheeks were a soft red.

Wow, shyness. Didn’t think that girl had that emotion in her. She turned her attention back to Spitfire, who was glancing out towards the crowd.

“A lot of hands. But I don’t see any-”

“Over here!” Sunset shouted, raising a hand high up. Spitfire locked gazes with her and Sunset gave a beaming grin.

“What the heck are you doing?” She heard Rainbow lean over and speak in a hushed tone.

“Rainbow here would like to volunteer!” Sunset pointed at Rainbow, giving her a side wink as she did so.

“Wait what!? I’m not going t-”

“Is that so? Well, then let’s welcome Rainbow!” Spitfire shouted and a round of applause followed her words. Sunset quickly pushed Rainbow forward, not even giving a second glance at her angered glare.

Rainbow nervously took the spotlight. Her fingers trembled softly as she approached Spitfire. As they met, Spitfire shook Rainbow’s hand with full confidence, a bright grin on her face.

“Love your hair.”

“T-thanks.” Rainbow stammered, a speech pattern Sunset was definitely not used to hearing.

“Well, up for helping me with a trick?”

“Y-yeah. O-of course.”

“Actually, think of it more like a bet.” Spitfire flourished the coin once more before holding it up in front of Rainbow’s face. Sunset couldn’t see the coin with any detail from where she sat, though if Rainbow’s jaw hitting the floor was any indication, it was probably beautiful. “This is my lucky coin. It’s one of a kind so there’s no more like it in the world.”

Rainbow recoiled upon hearing the words.

“Here’s the bet. You have three chances. If you can grab the coin from my fingers before I hide it, you get to keep it. Wonderbolt’s promise.”

Spitfire’s words seemed to ignite a spark within Rainbow. Her awed, dumbfounded expression had given way to one of confidence. Though Sunset could see that her hands were still trembling slightly, she couldn’t help but smile.

That’s the Rainbow I know.

“So, up to take the bet?” Spitfire asked, gesturing to Rainbow.

“You bet I am.”

“Very well!” Spitfire held the coin out front with two fingers, grinning wide. “Whenever you’re ready!”

Rainbow flicked her fingers by her side several times to warm them up. The tip of her tongue had found its way out of her mouth as she bounced on the spot. Suddenly, she shot her arm out almost quicker than Sunset could see.

She must’ve gotten it.

“Ooo, close.” The hand that Spitfire held the coin with was now turned over in a fist. She turned it upwards, revealing the circular object sitting squarely in the middle. “Try again.”

Rainbow’s smile had vanished. Her eyebrows furrowed and the nervous shivering had stopped completely. Sunset knew what those tells meant.

She… she really wants this.

Rainbow attempted to swipe the coin once more. This time, it happened even quicker. Before Sunset had time to process what happen, Spitfire’s voice came through the speakers.

“Almost! One last try Rainbow,” Spitfire said. With a wave of her hand, the coin reappeared at her fingertips.

Rainbow took a deep breath of air. She closed her eyes for a couple of seconds before opening them up.

The next several seconds passed by in silence. The tension in the theatre was so thick, it took a while before Sunset realized she was no longer drawing breath. Suddenly, there was a flash of movement from the two girls and the front and Sunset swore she could hear the audience take a gasp of air simultaneously.

Spitfire’s hand was in a tight fist, a smirk on her face. “Good try Rainbow. But that was three tries.”

Aw Rainbow… Sunset frowned, wondering just how heartbroken Rainbow must’ve been. She turned to catch Rainbow’s expression and, to her absolute shock, she saw Rainbow’s signature smirk plastered on her face.

“You’re right. That was three tries,” her voice was filled with confidence. There wasn’t a single hint of doubt or worry as she spoke, “good thing three tries is all I needed.” Pushing her thumb up, Rainbow revealed the shining coin that was hidden in her hand.

Sunset leapt out of seat in joy, cheering loudly.

And the audience followed suit.

Spitfire opened her hand in shock. Upon laying eyes on her empty palm, she turned her attention back to Rainbow with a soft, caring smile.

Rainbow flourished the coin, turning to the audience and giving a bow. The people around Sunset rose from their seats to give her a standing ovation. As the cheering continued, Sunset felt her happiness slowly give way to pride. She watched as Spitfire shook Rainbow’s hand. She could see that Spitfire was muttering something to Rainbow, but couldn’t discern what it was through the thunderous applause. Rainbow swiftly descended the steps and returned to the audience, praise showering her every step of the way.

“Heh, I see you got your money’s worth?” Sunset asked as Rainbow retook her seat.

“More than you know.” Rainbow passed the coin to Sunset.

Up close, Sunset could see the detail of the coin. However, it was vastly different than the shining gold item she had imagined. It was made of a dull copper alloy. ‘Well-worn’ would have been a kind way to describe its state. It was badly blemished from repeated use. Though the one thing that stood out was the symbol that was embossed on it. It resembled a thunderbolt, much like the Wonderbolt’s insignia.

“Why’d you look so shocked when you saw this? It’s just a coin.” Sunset returned it to Rainbow, who took it into her hands. She held her palms tightly together, as if the coin was part of her life.

“It’s the Wonderbolt coin. There’s a long history behind it I’ll tell you some other time.”

“Right. And Spitfire said something to you after you grabbed it?”

Rainbow turned to Sunset with a smile. “I’ll tell you later.”

-----------

Fire lit Spitfire alight.

The crowd gasped in a mixture of shock and horror. They sat on the very edges of their seats as the flames continued to spread throughout the girl on the stage.

“Heh, no need to fear. We did say this would be our last trick wouldn’t we?”

Sunset didn’t like the way Spitfire said her words.

The other Wonderbolts quickly assembled beside her. They turned to the crowd, each holding the hand of the person beside them. Then at once, they gave a bow.

“We would like to thank all of you for coming to our show! We are the Wonderbolts! And we hope you take this display of magic and the feeling of awe with you home tonight!” Spitfire said, seemingly unphased as the searing fire grew wilder and wilder with each passing second.

Sunset was half tempted to rush up to put out the flames, but she had to constantly tell herself that it’s all just an act. They know what they’re doing.

Without warning, the entire stage lit up in a blazing torrent. The crowd gasped as the bright flash appeared and disappeared quicker than they could comprehend. And, as the smoke cleared, the stage stood empty. There wasn’t a prop, imperfection or Wonderbolt left standing. Even the speakers had fell silent, the lively, blood-pumping music was no longer filling the stadium.

Sunset was the first to stand, though she did so filled with worry. She attempted to find traces of the magicians that stood there just a moment ago, though she could see nothing out of place.

The audience soon followed Sunset’s gesture and shot up from their seats. The difference being that a round of thunderous applause followed their stand. Several members, including Rainbow, whistled loudly. While several others screamed for an encore.

Sunset soon allowed her worry to melt away. This must’ve been part of the plan. And she too began joining in with the standing ovation.

After a short while, the audience started to clear out. Sunset turned, ready to take her first step out of her aisle when she felt her jacket being tugged from behind. She swung around, spotting Rainbow staring up at her.

“Don’t go,” Rainbow spoke.

“Huh? Why? The performance’s over.”

“Not for us.” Rainbow brandished the coin in her fingers. “Remember when I said I’d ‘tell you later’? Well, Spitfire told me to stay till everyone else has left.”

Sunset raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth to protest. However, seeing Rainbow’s wide, confident smile told Sunset that she wasn’t lying.

At least, she hoped Rainbow wasn’t lying.

Sunset retook her seat, watching as everyone around her slowly took their leave. It didn’t take long before the theatre was empty. The only two visible souls being Sunset and Rainbow.

“So, think it was worth the $10?” Rainbow asked, flicking the coin between her fingers.

“Was it worth it for you?” Sunset shot the question back to her.

“Yes! A hundred times yes! It would’ve been worth it even if it was $20!” Rainbow shouted, raising her arms in the air.

Wait till you’re the one paying. Sunset thought. She gave a glance down to Rainbow’s fingers, watching the coin slide, swing and shoot in a flash of movement. The sound of clicking metal echoed on the walls of the empty hall. Gotta admit. Sunset spotted the coin vanishing from her left palm before appearing in the right. Rainbow’s ridiculously talented. She looked up and realized that Rainbow wasn’t even paying attention to what she was doing. Her eyes were locked onto the stage while her mouth was drawn into a nervous frown.

After a couple of silent minutes, Sunset finally spoke up. “I don’t think they’re coming.”

“Come on, Sunset. Just five more minutes,” Rainbow begged.

Sunset was about to protest when a voice called out from the stage.

“Yeah. Just five more minutes!” Spitfire spoke in a playful tone as she strutted onto the stage.

Sunset saw Rainbow’s eyes practically light up like lights on a Christmas tree when the magician reappeared.

“S-Spitfire!” Rainbow stuttered, pocketing the coin.

“Heh, hey Rainbow Dash. Come on.” She gestured, prompting Sunset and Rainbow to sprint up and join her as she made her way backstage.

Spitfire pushed the back curtains aside, strolling down the large corridors lined with doors.

“That was an amazing show, Spitfire!” Rainbow shouted with her mouth drawn wide.

“Thank you! Glad you two enjoyed it!” Spitfire thanked before turning her attention to Sunset. “You must be Rainbow’s… urr… s-sister?”

Sunset giggled. “Guardian.”

“Oh?” Spitfire said with a hint of shock. She stuck her hand out towards Sunset. “Nice to meet you…?”

“Sunset. Sunset Shimmer,” she took her hand, giving a firm shake.

“Well, hope you two are hungry.” Spitfire spoke, stopping right in front of a door with a large star emblazoned on the front.

“Now that you mention it…”

Sunset smiled softly as she spotted Rainbow rubbing her belly.

Spitfire pushed the door open and took a step in. As the duo followed behind, their nostrils were immediately hit with the scent of freshly cooked treats. Sunset gave her nose a soft rub, feeling as if the smell had punched her from the sheer intensity.

At the same time, her eyes caught sight of the enormous size of the room. It resembled more of a suite from a hotel rather than a dressing room, with a kitchen, two bathrooms and a large king sized bed. However, what truly caught her eye were the Wonderbolts that were seated around, chatting and eating happily from their plates.

“Bolts, meet the girl who took the coin.” Spitfire gestured towards Rainbow, whose eyes glimmered and shone like diamonds.

“Please tell me this isn’t a dream,” Rainbow muttered under her breath.

Sunset shot her hand forward, giving Rainbow a slight pinch on her arm and causing her to yelp in pain.

“Hey, what do you know. Not a dream.” A playful smirk accompanied Sunset’s words. Rainbow shot her a death glare before turning back to her heroes.

“Well, nice to meet you Rainbow Dash,” Soarin greeted, lounging at the back of the room beside Fleetfoot. “Come on, grab a plate from the buffet table and join us!”

The squeal Rainbow emitted forced Sunset to place a finger on her ear just to protect her hearing. If there’s a better reason to not make Rainbow too happy, I haven’t heard it. Actually I might not hear anything ever again if she squeals like that once more.

Rainbow zipped towards the buffet table, loading her plate before joining the Bolts in their chat. Sunset took her time to fill her plate with several cuts of meatloaf, slices of pizza and a cookie before taking a seat away from the group. She ate in silence, occasionally glancing up at Rainbow to see her talking with animated gestures. All the while a huge, unwavering smile was stuck on her face.

Suddenly, Sunset heard a voice speak from beside her. “Not joining your kid?”

Sunset turned, spotting Spitfire taking a seat beside her. She chuckled, staring as Rainbow whipped out the coin, passing it to the other Bolts.

“Not my kid,” Sunset clarified, forking another slice of meatloaf into her mouth. “Plus, this is her moment. I can spend all the time I want with her later. But this is a once in a lifetime chance for her.”

“Mind if I ask how you two afforded our tickets?” Spitfire asked. “Not that I’m assuming you’re poor, it’s just-”

“You wouldn’t be too far off,” Sunset admitted, turning to Spitfire. “We don’t earn a lot in our line of work.”

“Then why come to our show?”

Sunset heard Rainbow’s laughter echo through the room, along with that of the other Bolts.

“Because you’re all her heroes.”

Spitfire seemed speechless for a second. She gave Sunset a beat, as if expecting a longer answer. “That simple?”

“When I was young, I never even got a chance to try to fulfill my dreams. The way her face lit up when she saw your poster hanging from the theatre wall...” Sunset paused, shaking her head and chuckling slightly. “I can skip a couple of meals a day for a week or so to earn back the cash. It won’t kill me. But this experience will never come again. Not for her.”

Spitfire leaned back into her chair. She rested her elbow on the back seat, pressing her hand softly into her mouth. Her eyes told Sunset she was lost in her thought, though what she was thinking, Sunset had no idea.

“What do you work as?”

Sunset placed her plate softly down onto the small round table between them. “Nothing nice.”

“Ah,” Spitfire raised her head, understanding Sunset’s reply perfectly. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. Wonderbolt promise.”

“How good is a Wonderbolt promise?” Sunset asked cautiously.

“You get kicked out of the troupe if you break a Wonderbolt promise so… pretty good.”

Sunset smiled for a moment, before allowing it to melt into a frown. “I know what you’re thinking. No, it’s not a good line of work for Rainbow.”

“Then why are you still in it?”

“Because…” Sunset stared at Spitfire with deadly serious eyes. “It puts food on the table.” She turned to Rainbow, spotting her vanishing the coin with one hand. The other Bolts gave a round of applause and Rainbow’s grin only grew wider.

“How did you find her?” Spitfire asked.

“Starving, on the streets.”

“So you took her in?”

Sunset bit her lip, sighing. “She’s so young. And to see what kind of hand life dealt her, I couldn’t just stand by and watch her live like that.”

“But your profession…” Spitfire’s tone changed to one of concern.

“Heh, well, like I said, it feeds her. And I know it’s wrong to ask a kid to be part of this but I don’t have a choice. No one wants to hire me and after this, no one else will.” She drew a long, slow breath. “So I suppose the question is, which is worse? Being raised by a criminal but getting to eat?” Sunset shut her eyes tight. “Or starving on the street, yet away from all the terrible people?”

A moment of silence fell between the two girls.

“I don’t know the right answer.” Spitfire’s reply brought a sliver of calm to the storm of feelings that were in Sunset’s heart.

Even then, thinking about her reply, Sunset felt the atmosphere of the room drop significantly. The weight of the air around her threatened to squeeze all the breath from her lungs. She bit her lip, replying with shaky breath.

“I don’t either.”

Spitfire tapped Sunset’s shoulder. When she opened her eyes and turned back up, she saw a cup of water in Spitfire’s hand.

Sunset grasped the plastic with a soft smile, before lifting it to her lips and taking a gulp.

“You care a lot for her don’t you?”

She lowered the cup, placing it beside her plate.

“More than I can say.” Sunset gave Spitfire a small smile. One Spitfire returned in kind.

“Sunset! Sunset!” Rainbow’s voice drew both girl’s attention to her as she dashed forward. “Look at this cool trick the Wonderbolts taught me!” She placed the coin in her palm before closing her fingers around it. After giving it one firm shake, she reopened her fist and the coin had vanished.

Sunset’s eyes shot wide. “Whoa, that’s… pretty good.”

“Pretty good?” Rainbow repeated joyfully. “I got a pretty good out of Sunset!”

“Told you that trick impresses everyone!” Fleetfoot shouted from the back.

“Hey! Don’t teach her any fire tricks alright?” Spitfire said.

“Of course not!” Soarin replied. “But on a totally unrelated note, do you have a match?”

Spitfire raised an eyebrow. “Nope. I’m single.”

The entire room burst into laughter. And though Sunset didn’t chortle at first, she soon joined the joy that was filling the air, giggling along with the Wonderbolts. Along with Spitfire.

And along with Rainbow.

----------

“Thank you for letting us be part of your group, if only for a little while,” Sunset said as she strolled with them to the exit.

“Hey, as long as you two had a good time.” Spitfire smiled.

“The best time!” Rainbow added, grinning from ear to ear.

“That’s good.” Spitfire stopped at the large door which read ‘EXIT’ in big red letters. “You better keep our tricks safe, you hear Rainbow?”

“Wonderbolt’s promise!” Rainbow answered confidently, puffing her chest out slightly.

“Well, thank you again Spitfire, but we should get goi-”

“Wait!” Rainbow shouted. She took several steps towards Spitfire, staring up at her with a bright beam on her face.

“What is it Dash?”

“Here.” Rainbow held out her hand, one which held a familiar coin between her fingers. Spitfire glanced down, confused.

“That’s yours, Rainbow. You won it.”

“Yeah, I did. But it means more to you than it does to me.”

Rainbow’s words caused Sunset’s jaw to drop. Already, she could feel tears welling up in her eyes but she tried her best to suppress them.

Spitfire grinned, lightly grabbing the coin and bouncing it between her fingers. “Thank you, Rainbow. But I can’t let you leave empty handed.”

Turning to Sunset, Spitfire began speaking, “check your back pocket will you?”

Oh what now? Sunset reached for her back pocket, expecting to feel only the fabric of her jeans. “Yeah there’s nothing in her-” As she reached her hand in, she felt a rectangular object hiding inside. She pulled it out, spotting a folded envelope. “How did…?”

Spitfire gave a wink to the two girls, grinning wide. “It’s getting late. You two should head home while the street’s still full.” She swung around and started to walk away.

Rainbow and Sunset merely stared at her in confused wonder before heading out the door themselves. As soon as the door closed shut behind them, Sunset started to rip the envelope open when she felt two arms wrap around her waist. She looked down, spotting Rainbow giving her a large hug.

“Thank you, Sunset. For everything.”

The urge to cry was getting near impossible for Sunset to stop.

She gave Rainbow a hug in return. “As long as you had a good time.”

“I’ll do something cool for you one day, I promise.”

“Wonderbolt promise?” Sunset asked, giggling.

Rainbow nodded several times. “Wonderbolt promise.” As they broke their hug, Rainbow was the first to stroll forward onto the sidewalk with Sunset close behind.

Ripping open the last part of the letter, she reached her fingers in and pulled out the contents. However, upon seeing what was in her fingers, she screeched to a halt.

In her hand sat two five dollar notes along with a shining, golden ticket. A handwritten note was at the front of it all and it read ‘Use this ticket when you need our help. Wonderbolts always stick together. That means you and Rainbow. Take care of her for us, alright? - SF’.

“Hey!” Rainbow’s voice snapped Sunset out of her daze. She glanced upwards, noticing Rainbow gesturing for her at the traffic light. “Light’s changing! Come on!”

Tucking the contents back into the envelope, Sunset sprinted forward, all while one word rang constantly in her mind.

Wonderbolts...?

----------

Spitfire entered the dressing room, flourishing the coin in her hand. She spotted Soarin seated on her bed, eyes growing wide as a familiar clicking echoed through the room.

“She returned it,” Soarin spoke in disbelief as he pushed himself off the bed.

Spitfire knew he was expecting a reply, yet found it unnecessary to give one. Just ask the question already.

And as if on cue, Soarin spoke, “did you ask her?”

“Nope.” Spitfire gave an instant reply.

“Why not?” Soarin asked. “She returned the coin. She passed the Wonderbolt test. What, were you worried she was going to say no?”

Spitfire laughed, taking a seat on her chair. “Quite the opposite actually.”

“You were worried she would say… yes?”

Spitfire gave a nod as her reply.

Soarin stared at her, dumbfounded. “I… don’t get it. She’s smart. She has stage presence. She’s super talented for her age. She’d be a perfect fit! And the other Bolts already love her!”

“Yeah, I know.”

Spitfire stared at the damaged, worn coin in her hand. Holding it up to the window, she watched as the moonlight glimmered and glittered around it, illuminating it softly. Though it wasn’t made of gold, for a couple of seconds, Spitfire could believe it was. She gave it a small smile before turning her head back up to meet Soarin’s gaze.

“But they don’t love her as much as she does.”

Another small fic based upon @pasu-chan’s 1930’s EqG Swing AU, this time based upon a headcanon I told pasu about!

If you like my work, you can find more at my FiMFiction account. You can also follow me on my Twitter!

You can check out the other Swing AU fics I’ve written here::

The First Act

Attention

P.S. This was supposed to be like 2K words when I started but it somehow turned into 6K words spanning almost 20 pages! I blame Pasu for creating such an amazing AU.

#swing au

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