As Rainbow pushed open the door to Sugarcube Corner, she noticed the music was very quiet and nopony inside was doing much of anything. Rainbow walked in and closed the door behind her.

"Why's it so quiet in here?"

Pinkie Pie jumped from an unseen corner and tackled the blue Pegasus playfully. "We didn't want to start until the guest of honor arrived!"

"So, dear…" Rarity cantered over along with Twilight, Fluttershy, and Applejack. "How did it go?"

"Depends on exactly what you're asking about. I did get to show off some amazing moves, and I got to talk to Soarin' for a while, so that was awesome!"

"Um… what about… did you win?" Fluttershy, as usual, had trouble finding her voice, but regardless sounded very eager.

"Not this year, but I'll get it next time for sure!" Rainbow Dash wore a smile that rivaled Pinkie's own.

"Well, ah'm glad yer gettin' back on the horse…" Applejack responded. She followed the comment with a quick aside to Twilight. "Er, Twi? Any idea how that ridiculous saying got started?" Twilight replied with a simple shake of her head, and a look implying further research was needed.

Rainbow looked across the room to a long table, lined from end to end with various cakes and pastries. She noticed at the far end of the table were a couple of pies. "Pie and cake? Cool!"

Pinkie hopped around to join the others, who were standing in an uneven circle. "Yeah! Normally I stick to cakes and cupcakes and stuff like that, but my Pinkie-sense told me that we'd need pie too! So I asked Applejack to bring a few over!"

Twilight could not contain her curiosity about this remark. She squinted one eye and immediately asked, "What twitch tells you to get pie?"

"It's a combo," Pinkie exclaimed cheerfully. "Eye flutter, knee-pinch, faceplant!" She looked around at her friends' astonished gazes. "Don't worry. I got a hoof-shake, ear-flop, tail-twitch before that, so I was ready! I walked around for ten minutes with a pillow taped to my head, which was pretty fun by itself, but getting the tape off wasn't as much fun. It's like taking off a bandage except I used duct tape and that sticks really well!"

Twilight stared at the incarnation of insanity for a moment. "Faceplant?"

"Yeah, you know like this!" Pinkie went rigid and tipped on her front hooves, but stopped herself before her face hit the floor and righted herself. "Oooh… Sneaky, Twilight!" She giggled, and the rest followed.

The group chatted and laughed for a few minutes before there was a knock at the door. Pinkie let out an excited gasp and shot herself to the door. "Oh. My. Gosh. Rainbow Dash, you won't believe who's here!"

Rainbow thought back to the moment she left Cloudsdale earlier that day. "No way, he made it?" Her eyes were wide with astonishment as she turned towards the door.

"Who made it, sugarcube?"

Twilight and her friends watched as Pinkie let in two Pegasi, one blue with a mane like electricity, and one yellow with a mane like still flames.

"Ooh ooh! Come in! Come in!" Pinkie turned back towards Rainbow with a smile that encompassed a surprising portion of her face. "Isn't this incredible? The Wonderbolts came!"

Soarin' chuckled. "Just two 'Bolts. The rest are still busy. They might come by later." His eyes drifted towards the far edge of the room towards the assortment of pastries.

As Soarin' mingled with the rest of the partygoers, slowly making his way towards the pie, Spitfire took Rainbow aside.

"Soarin' told me about your conversation earlier, and what you said. I guess I was right about you in the first place."

Rainbow blushed. Before she could respond, Spitfire continued.

"I'm sorry about being so cruel when you woke up last year. Soarin' said he did a good job explaining why, but I still wanted to apologize face-to-face. And I'm glad I didn't scare you off. I don't know why you did it, but as for that story Soarin' told you… that's one hundred percent true. And the two of us are the only ones who know, got it?"

"Got it," Rainbow acknowledged with a neutral expression. She couldn't smile because of the topic of the conversation, but she could not frown either.

Soarin' walked over to the two Pegasi, carrying a plate with a large slice of apple pie between his teeth, which he set it down on a nearby table. He bumped Spitfire's shoulder playfully with his hoof. "Playing nice, I hope."

"Just reminding her not to go spreading secrets."

"Good. Hey, speaking of secrets, mind if I have a word with her?"

"Say no more. I'm going to go have some fun. It's been a while since I've been to a party instead of a gala." Spitfire smiled and turned around, heading towards the blindfolded pink pony who was busy tacking a paper tail to the wall, completely missing the poster she was targeting.

As soon as Spitfire was out of earshot, Soarin' turned towards the younger blue Pegasus and cut right to the chase. "I thought you looked familiar the first time I met you. Dash is not a common name. Your dad…"

"Yes," Rainbow replied. She didn't mean to cut him off, but the subject still was, and probably always would be touchy. "His name is Perfection Dash. And he did do what the newspapers said he did."

"Wow. I understand a lot more now."

"You can't understand just from what's in the papers." Rainbow squinted suspiciously. She expected sympathy, but this sounded more like empathy, and she was not sure where this conversation would go.

"No, I really do understand. I knew your father." Soarin' paused, stood next to Rainbow, and gently unfolded his wing across her back. "Can you keep another secret?"

The now-confused tomboy stared at the idol beside her. She was already keeping a secret she never expected. What else is he hiding? She stared into the other Pegasus's green eyes and nodded.

"Good. Although I would have told you anyway if you said no." The edges of Soarin's mouth lowered into a much less cheerful expression. "Soarin' isn't my full name. Years ago… when I left the house I grew up in, I shortened it. I didn't want to be reminded of the pain I grew up with every time somepony said my name."

"That's it? Your secret is you dropped part of your name? Unless your name was Soarin' Dash or something, I don't see where this is going." As soon as she said it, she noticed her hero shift slightly.

"Actually… I'm Perfection's youngest brother."

Rainbow's eyes widened. "What?" She looked around and noticed Pinkie turn around and look at her inquisitively. Rainbow made a small turning gesture at her, who turned back around and finished tying Spitfire's blindfold. "You're my uncle?"

"Unless there are two ponies named Perfection Dash serving life in Canterlot."

Rainbow moved out from under Soarin's wing. "My… father… never mentioned you." Rainbow still hated calling that pony her father. Even after their encounter earlier today, his actions were something she would have to live with forever. "I hate to ask, but this isn't some sort of joke is it?"

"I'm not joking. I was still a little colt when he left, but I know what he grew up with. Our mother threatened to 'make' my cutie mark if I didn't earn one."

"That's what she did… with him…" Rainbow stood frozen. "Nopony else could know that." She sat next to Soarin for a moment. She watched as Spitfire pinned the tail to the nose of the pony on the wall. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you," Rainbow added.

"It's okay. It's not every day somepony drops something like that on you. I'm surprised myself. Until I put it all together this afternoon, I had no idea you were my niece."

Spitfire returned, laughing. "Rainbow, your pink friend over there is crazy!" She looked at Rainbow and Soarin'. "Are you two going to sit in the corner all night?"

"Nah. We just figured something out." Soarin' turned to Rainbow. "Mind if she knows?"

"I don't mind. I just wish I could tell my friends!" Rainbow smiled.

"If your friends can keep a secret, then go ahead. I just don't want the public thinking we unfairly favor certain ponies. If you want to get to the top, you still have to earn it."

"Omigosh!" Rainbow shouted as she flew to her friends. "Guess what, guys!"

Spitfire watched the excited rainbow-maned Pegasus gather up her friends, then turned back around to Soarin'. "What was that about?"

"You remember when you read about my brother?"

"Yeah. It was terrible what he did. Why are you bringing that up?" Spitfire frowned.

"The paper mentioned his daughter… I mentioned I didn't even know he had a daughter, and you were worried about how she was coping."

"Of course. No pony should have to go through… wait… her? Rainbow Dash?"

With a nod, Soarin' pointed towards six friends just in time to see five of them drop their jaws and look towards him. "I don't think you need to worry anymore."