Fluttershy didn't even know she could make such a loud sound herself, which immediately drew the attention of the other ponies.
"Did you hear Fluttershy speak up just now?" Rarity asked.
"I did, I heard it even from this far away."
Applejack, who was standing with Rarity, felt that was likely the loudest she had ever heard the shy mare speak since they met.
"Wow! Should we throw a 'Celebrate Fluttershy Speaking Up For The First Time' party?!"
Fluttershy's face grew redder with each tease from her friends until she finally collapsed onto the ground and buried her head completely, much like an ostrich from the Zebra continent.
"Give her a break, you guys. Fluttershy speaking up is perfectly normal."
Aurora stroked Fluttershy's mane, signaling the others to stop their teasing.
For an introverted pony, even well-meaning teasing from friends can make her quite sensitive, so it's important to be mindful of the boundaries when joking around.
"I'm sorry, Fluttershy, we were just a bit surprised. You were great just now, and you have a lovely voice; it would be wonderful if you spoke up like that more often."
Rarity walked over and, along with Aurora, helped Fluttershy up from the ground.
"Oh... I'm fine. I just feel so embarrassed. I hope I didn't interrupt your conversation..."
"What?! Interrupt?! Is there any pony here louder than me?!"
"Enough, Pinkie Pie! You're being way too loud."
Applejack covered her ears, looking displeased at Pinkie Pie, who had been deliberately shouting right next to her, making her eardrums ache.
She had heard that Pinkie Pie moved from the Rock Farm to Ponyville because her excessive noise had triggered a landslide. At first, Applejack thought it was just an exaggeration, but she later learned it was the truth.
However, after Pinkie Pie's outburst, Fluttershy did feel a bit better.
"I'm serious, Fluttershy, you really should work on your personality. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with you, but I'm worried that you're always thinking of others first. Some ponies might see you as a pushover and take advantage of you."
Applejack was a straight shooter, and seeing Fluttershy so timid always made her worry that some bad pony might take advantage of her when her friends weren't around, potentially betraying her kindness and leaving her heartbroken.
Facing Applejack's warning, Fluttershy didn't dare to respond.
Only she knew the truth: when buying supplies for the animals she had adopted, she had indeed been taken advantage of more than once, both openly and discreetly. But she was used to enduring it, feeling that it was better to suffer a little loss than to argue.
"By the way, Fluttershy, do you have any new information about the Pegasus who created the Sonic Rainboom?"
Seeing that Fluttershy was still avoiding the topic of her timid nature, Rarity changed the subject to divert everyone's attention.
Rarity had always been very invested in the Sonic Rainboom. After all, many ponies, both present and absent, had discovered their talents because of it—from Rarity, Fluttershy, and the absent Twilight Sparkle nearby, to Applejack all the way in Manhattan.
Whether that Pegasus had done it intentionally or not, it was something they were all grateful for.
"Me! Me! And me! I also got my cutie mark after seeing the Sonic Rainboom!"
"Take it easy, Pinkie Pie, we haven't forgotten you."
"Oh, right! So who forgot me?"
Pinkie Pie shot a sharp glance in their direction.
However, Rarity was just an ordinary Unicorn living in Ponyville and lacked the connections to find a Pegasus living in Cloudsdale, so she had to rely on Fluttershy, who was from Cloudsdale, to handle it.
"I asked my parents and my brother, Zephyr Breeze, to help me ask around in Cloudsdale, but they didn't find anything..."
It wasn't surprising that Zephyr Breeze didn't have any news; Fluttershy knew what kind of pony her brother was, and he probably hadn't taken his sister's request to heart at all.
But even her parents had replied saying they didn't know who it was, so Fluttershy was truly out of options.
"So you still haven't found out who the pony that performed the Sonic Rainboom is?"
Aurora asked, surprised, and the other ponies responded by nodding in unison.
She had been wondering why Rainbow Dash wasn't there, but it turned out they still hadn't identified the pony.
Is Rainbow Dash really that hard to find? Logically, she should know she performed the Sonic Rainboom. You'd think she'd be flying all over Equestria like a lost angler, asking every pony she met, "Excuse me, where am I? I performed a Sonic Rainboom and flew too fast, now I'm completely lost."
"Flying Light, do you know who it is?"
Since Aurora had once investigated the Sonic Rainboom with two other ponies, they hoped she might know something they didn't.
Seeing everyone looking at her with anticipation, a drop of cold sweat rolled down Aurora's forehead.
She had originally intended to simply say she didn't know and let them meet and get to know Rainbow Dash on their own later.
But with four ponies looking at her with wide, watery eyes, she couldn't help but be reminded of the times Twilight would look at her with that inquisitive gaze. If Twilight were here, she would surely be doing the exact same thing.
That would mean five ponies staring at her with huge, wide eyes.
'Gulp! Refusing them would definitely be bad for my heart!'
Who could refuse five cute ponies looking at them with such innocent eyes?
"Stop looking at me like that, I surrender!"
Aurora sat down on the ground and raised both hooves in an elegant French gesture.
"The investigation into the Sonic Rainboom was interrupted due to some unforeseen events, so we don't know who the pony who performed it is either. However, a friend of mine went to Cloudsdale on business a few years ago and seems to still be there. I can write to her and ask her to help look into it."
Aurora's answer made their faces light up with joy.
"Wow! Flying Light, you even know ponies in Cloudsdale?"
"She just happened to be there on business. And you know her too—it's Fleur Dis Lee, remember? She moved to Cloudsdale to design new uniforms for the Wonderbolts."
"Fleur Dis Lee? Is it... that Fleur Dis Lee?!"
Rarity asked hurriedly, though she was already certain in her heart. After all, what other fashion designer could be designing uniforms for the Wonderbolts besides that Fleur Dis Lee?
Upon receiving confirmation from Aurora, Rarity took a deep breath, clutched her forehead, and collapsed backward, only to be caught by Applejack, who was used to such dramatics but still looked speechless.
She was clearly accustomed to dealing with Rarity's occasional dramatic outbursts.
Meanwhile, far away in The House of Academic Studies in Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle discovered a strange string of numbers: 1027277167.
"What on earth could this mean?"
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