The bright midday sun shone down on the quiet, peaceful village of Ponyville. Suddenly the tranquility was shattered with a loud "WOOSH" as a rainbow colored streak sped through the sky, made three loops in the air, doubled back on itself and wove through the loops it had made. Finally the streak slowed enough to reveal the one who made it-a bright blue pegasus pony with a rainbow-colored mane and tail.

"Yay! Woo-hoo! GO DASHIE!" shouted Pinkie Pie, as Rainbow Dash slowed and made a perfect landing just a few feet from the bubbly pink pony, who was, as usual, bouncing with excitement.

"Oh yea! Am I awesome, or am I awesome?" smirked Dash, striking a pose. Suddenly, she blushed as her crowning moment of awesome was interuppted by a loud grumble from her stomach. "Heh. And awesomely hungry. C'mon, Pinks, lets go grab some lunch.", she suggested, taking off in the direction of the Ponyville Cafe.

"Okie-dokie-loki" replied Pinkie, bouncing along beside her.

As they went along, Dash glanced over at Pinkie and smiled. Pinkie had always been a big support to her, cheering her on, even when some of her tricks went haywire. At first, Dash had just assumed that it was part of the party-loving pony's normal, bright and bubbly nature - just "Pinkie being Pinkie" as some put it. It wasn't until after the Gilda incident a few years back that she had really started to notice that Pinkie was just a little extra bright and bubbly around her. And even then, it had taken until six months ago for Dash to realize that she felt the same way. She remembered the night she had finally told Pinkie how she felt, and chuckled to herself as she remembered Pinkie's typically Pinkie-like response - throwing a party.

As they got near the cafe, they were spotted by Twilight, who was heading toward the library with a load of scrolls in her bags. She waved at them and trotted over. "So, how's Ponyville's newest happy couple?"

"Oh, hi Twilight. We're doing great." Pinkie gushed. "Dashie was just practicing some new tricks this morning. You should have seen her just now, she was all, like, 'WOOOOOSH' and then she went 'loop and loop and loop' and then 'SWOOOSH' back through the loops." - Pinkie pantomimed the actions, waving her hooves about wildly - "and then she landed and her tummy was all, like 'grumble' and so was mine and so we're going to get some lunch. Do you wanna have lunch with us?"

"Um, I just ate, actually. I was headed to the library to drop off these supplies and then Fluttershy had asked me to stop by and help her with a few things. Maybe some other time, though."

"Okie-dokie-loki" replied Pinkie, bouncing onward.

"Later, Twilight" called Dash, as she flew on to keep up with her perpetually bouncing fillyfriend.

Dash and Pinkie took a seat near the edge of the outdoor pavilion of the cafe. They had no sooner placed their orders, when a head popped over the hedge that bordered the pavilion. Dash turned to look and saw the familiar cock-eyed face of the local mail-mare, Ditzy Doo. "Oh, hi Ditzy. How are you?"

"Muffiny brightness." Ditzy responded, rummaging in her pack for a moment, before producing a letter in a big, official-looking envelope, along with a small form. "Grand muffins for flashy skys. Officiate." she said.

Dash signed for the letter, and waved as Ditzy continued on her rounds. She had an odd manner of talking, but Dash and the others had found that they could follow her easily enough once they got used to it.

"Ooohhh. Looks important." opined Pinkie. "Are you gonna open it, Dashie? Are you? Huh? Huh?"

Dash looked at the envelope. The sender's name set her heart racing immediately. "Cloudsdale Flight & Racing Commission - Events Planning Department". Hurredly, she tore open the envelope and began reading:

Dear Miss Rainbow Dash:
It is with great pleasure that The Cloudsdale Flight & Racing Commission hereby informs you that you have been selected as a contestant in this year's X-treme Flight Spectacular, to be held this year in the royal city of Canterlot on November 17th . Enclosed please find the required paperwork, waiver of liability, etc. Please return all required forms as soon as possible. Also enclosed please find a ticket for a private suite at the raceway for the accomidation of any friends or relatives you may wish to invite.

Best Wishes,
Star Cloudmane, Planning Supervisor
Cloudsdale Flight & Racing Commission

"Sweet! This is so awesome! Do you know what this means?" gushed Rainbow Dash, her face aglow with excitement.

"A PARTY!" exclaimed Pinkie, now out of her seat and bouncing around wildly. As she said this, she threw her hooves in the air and streamers and confetti appeared out of nowhere.

"More that that!" Dash continued excitedly, brushing a streamer out of her mane. She still wondered where exactly Pinkie's seemingly limitless supply of the things came from. "This could be my big chance! The Wonderbolts are always at the X-treme Flight Spectacular, looking for new talent. If I win, they'll notice me and sign me up for sure."

"YAY! Wonderbolt Dashie!" interjected Pinkie. "WOOOSH! SONIC RAINBOOM!" - she pantomimed the move, bringing her arm down quickly to mimic the steep vertical descent. As she leveled her arm off, there was a faint 'pop' and multicolored streamers flew out from her hoof.

Dash rested her chin on her hoof in thought. "Y'know, I've already done that twice. I should come up with something even more extreme, some kind of new variant..."

"More extreme than a SONIC RAINBOOM? That's gotta be impossible, but then everyone thought the Rainboom was impossible until you did it that one day when we came to see you but then Rarity decided to compete but then her wings were like 'crumble' and she was like 'AAAAAHHHH!' but the Wonderbolts were like 'ZOOM' but then they got knocked out but you were like 'WOOOSH! BOOM!' Hero Dashie!..." - Just then, their food arrived, causing the bubbly pink pony to change focus instantly - "Oooh! Yummy!" she exclaimed, immediately digging in.

Dash marveled that Pinkie had never passed out from lack of air during her rambling run-on stories. As she brushed stray streamers aisde to make room for her plate, she suddenly paused, examining the corkscrew shape of one. "Hmmm..." she thought out loud, "that gives me an idea..." Putting the streamer aside, she tore into her lunch, managing to finish at the same time as Pinkie. They paid quickly and hurried off. There was a party to plan, after all.