“Rainbow Dash, you're up next,” an older pegasus with a clipboard said.
The cyan mare turned around in the direction of the voice. Her so called nerves of steel weren’t exactly present that day. Dash was shaking while her heart was racing. She was jumpy, tense, excited, yet in fear of the task before her. This was her one shot, the chance to make her foalhood dream come true.
The pegasus with the clipboard abruptly left the cloud room, closing the door behind her. Rainbow Dash was left alone in nervous anticipation of what was to come. She started to pace the well lit, small room, wanting to get her mind off the task that lay ahead. Circle after circle she walked, trying to change her thoughts.
Sports, sports, I like sports. What is the Cloudsdale Weather Corporation doing today? How’s Scootaloo? Did I remember to do my laundry? I wonder what the Wonderbolts are- Crap!
Everyday of her life prior had been devoted to one moment. As foal, she bought everything and literally all Wonderbolts memorabilia with her monthly allowance. Posters, plushies, saddle bags, clothing, games, cups, and almost anything else that had the Wonderbolts subject matter. Her parents had thought she had a hoarding problem and almost wanted to seek help. Needless to say Rainbow Dash was always criticized for a messy room as a foal.
When she was young, every day was spent training. Timing laps, flying longer, harder, and faster. One or twice a week, Fluttershy would be recruited to help time and judge. The number of bandages and splints Rainbow Dash had gone through were astronomical. Always pushing the envelope just a little too far. All in her desire to be better, greater, and faster than everypony else, just like a Wonderbolt. Now was her time.
A couple of days ago she received a letter back from the Wonderbolt Academy, informing her of a call back. She and a few other selected were called to the Wonderbolts HQ for one last test. A test that would either make or break their careers as professional fliers. Every Wonderbolt had to pass this final performance test to get in, it was a right of passage. Failing would mean total shame on the part of the contestant. Almost no one made it back to this stage if they failed, in the history of the team only three pegasi had retested. None of them passed the second time, through. It was now or never.
Thinking only made her more anxious, her pace increased as she kept walking around the holding room. Noises from outside could be heard as the pony in front of her in line was out, performing. Citizens of Cloudsdale were encouraged to come out and watch the sporting events, which only added to the stress. The Wonderbolts claimed that it was a major part of performing and had to be added into the test. The crowd cheered loudly, screaming in excitement from the pegasus performing above. Whoever was on stage above was most likely a shoe in.
The butterflies in her stomach seemingly turned into birds. Her whole body twitched a little, from all the stress. Mind racing, repeating her routine over and over, until she could physically visualize herself doing it. Her cyan wings flared out, stretching and preparing for the extreme forces ahead. The holding room was right below the stadium. A small staircase on the other side of the room was the next. Its cloudsteps illuminated from light streaming through cracks at the top of the door.
The only thing putting her mind at ease was the thought of every Wonderbolt before her had been in this very room. Soarin, Spitfire, Fleetfoot and all the others had gone through the same test laid out before her. Her friends were supposed to come, but Rarity’s fashion show may or may not have run late, they promised however to come.
Rainbow Dash’s thoughts were interrupted by a knocking at the door, opposite to the entrance from the outside. Maybe it will go away if I just don’t think about. She returned to her nervous pacing, while the knocking on the door persisted.
“Hello? Is anypony in there? Rainbow Dash?”
Upon hearing the voice, Dash knew instantly who it was. Rarity’s fashion show had not gone overtime. Her friends had made it after all. Quickly, she broke her pacing circle and ran toward the door. The door flew open as Dash yanked the handle. Before her stood the best sight she had seen in quite a long time. Twilight Sparkle stood right in front of the entrance, close behind were all her friends. Dressed to the nines in Canterlot’s newest fashions, Rarity at the forefront of that.
“I didn’t think you guys were going to make it!” Rainbow leaned over and gave a hug to Twilight, but quickly retracted back. “But, you know it would have been cool if you stayed. I’m fine here.” Dash’s hooves still were slightly shaking.
“And miss yet another chance to see the best young flier in all of Equestria? I think not!” Rarity cheered, moving past Twilight into the room, followed by the others.
“Rarity asked slash forced the ponies behind the scenes to put her showline first. I have never seen a strange pony cry like that before in my life!” Pinkie Pie happily exclaimed, hopping into the room.
“I still know the cloud walk spell, and I rarely have a chance to use it. So... I had to!”
“Thanks, girls.” The sight of all of her friends around her helped putting the cyan mare at ease, but only slightly. The task ahead still loomed.
“You’re gonna do great, sugarcube, I just know it. Just remember your routine, and you’re a shoe in for sure. Spitfire would be a foal not to take you aboard the team.” Applejack walked over and gave Dash a firm pat on the back, trying her best to put her at ease.
“Yeah, Dashie! You’re a shoey-duey in for sure!”
The compliments helped, but nothing except the end of the performance would soothe her restless mind. The cheers coming from outside grew ten times in intensity, it had to be the pony on stage finish his or her performance. Yells and screams echoed through the small holding room, while they cheered for more. A real party was erupting right above the mane six’ heads.
“When do you go?’” Fluttershy questioned, everypony in the room was barely able to hear her small voice over the roars of the crowd.
“Next.” Rainbow Dash gulped, the nervous butterflies which had become birds, now turned into hawks. It was now or never, at most she had a couple of minutes while the Wonderbolts debated whether or not to accept the pony into their group. The deliberation among the elite fliers never took long, you either impressed or didn’t, passed or failed. The cheers above kept coming while the crowd started stomping on the bleachers.
The applause above began to fade as an announcer took up a microphone. That was surprisingly quick.
“We, ladies and gentlecolts, we have our first pass of the day here!” The crowd went ballistic. “Let’s all give her a round of applause, well done. Next up is... a Rainbow Dash from the Ponyville weather team.”
Rainbow Dash’s nerves solidified, everything in her life up to this point had been in preparation for this event. All the workouts, stunts, tricks, and diets, all was about to be put to the test. Her heart rate spiked as her breathing increased, she knew the routine move by move, step by step, but she was still shaking.
“Come on, Rainbow Dash, you’re up,” the pony with the clipboard said, opening the door from the outside. Its light streaming in, illuminating the darker room.
“You’re gonna do super dooper, Dashie,” Pinkie Pie cheered, hugging Dash.
“Yes, go get them, darling.”
Rainbow’s friends surrounded her, giving her a large group hug. Although she wouldn’t say it, the cyan mare was really happy her friends had come.
“Come on, we don’t have all day!” The pony held open the door to the outside world, motioning with her hoof for Rainbow Dash to come out. The cheers echoing from outside started to dissipate, leaving a murmur over the fans.
“We will be there watching you, you can do this, Rainbow.” Twilight walked over to her rainbow maned friend and gave her another separate hug of her own. Quickly her friends shuffled one by one out the door, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, followed by Twilight. Thus, leaving her alone in the room with the other pegasus at the entrance to the stadium above.
Hoof step by hoof step she slowly made the journey across the holding room. Time seemed to slow, as she walked. Each breath was audible in her ears, while she made it to the stairs. The light coming from outside was blinding, having just been in a relatively dark room. Step by step she ascended from darkness, her mind went blank as she walked up the stairs. The roars from the crowd were put behind her, while she solely focused on her breathing.
Out of the darkness and into the light, her cyan coat and rainbow mane sparkled in the incoming sunlight. As much as the mare tried to relax she couldn’t, Dash’s mind was going a hundred miles a minute, remembering everything in preparation for this event. The years she had spent watching, studying, and learning from Wonderbolts performance clips. One event seemed more prevalent than the others.
***
“That was a very nice presentation, Fluttershy. I think being an animal doctor is a great profession, very well thought out oral presentation.” The teacher was writing things down on a clipboard, while she searched for the next the name on the list. “Anypony gonna volunteer?”
“Um... thank you...” Filly Fluttershy squeaked, leaving the front board and practically running back toward her seat. Everypony looked around, panicking, not wanting to be picked next. Each pony sunk down into their desks trying to make themselves as small as possible, trying desperately not to be picked.
“Okay fine, seems I will have to pick somepony how about... Rainbow Dash.”
Filly Dash sat in the back row of the classroom, she especially had hidden from the teacher. The filly had sunken so far into her desk that she was practically on the floor. Upon hearing her name everypony turned around to the back, gazing at the desk at which she sat, all eyes were now upon her, not that she cared. Rainbow loved the attention, but hated the oral presentation part most of all.
“Come on up, I hope your dog didn’t eat your presentation this time, like yesterday. Oh, and I talked to your parents yesterday, you don’t have a dog.” The teacher’s eyes beamed down on Dash with a disapproving look. All she did, was smile back.
“Got rid of it because it ate my homework,” Rainbow remarked, flashing an arrogant smile, while she walked up to the board. The teacher’s head fell into her hooves as she shook her head.
“Alright, class, next up for our future job presentation is Rainbow Dash. So, Rainbow, what do you want to be when you grow up?”
The cyan filly reached the board and grabbed some chalk with her mouth. She stood up on her hind legs, gaining more height, as she began to draw something on the board. Stroke after stroke, Dash formed the picture in front of her from sheer memory. The amount of time the rainbow maned pony had spent researching this symbol was astronomical. So much, so that she could draw it blindfolded.
With the last line complete, she put the chalk back on the tray and reached to grab two erasers. Smack after smack, the young filly hit the chalk filled erasers together, creating a white powder mist that quickly filled the small classroom. Everypony began to cough wildly when inhaling the white particles.
“Rainbow Dash...” the teacher tried to scold, coughing uncontrollably. “Stop that right now, young lady.”
The dust began to settle in the classroom except for the area around the chalkboard, everypony finished coughing and looked back up to the front of the room. Once the air started to become still, the cyan filly jumped out onto the teacher’s desk. She was outfitted in all Wonderbolts appear, including a set of aviator goggles. A poorly drawn Wonderbolts insignia was behind the decked out Dash.
“A Wonderbolt! Doing tricks everypony can only dream of. Pushing the limits of Equestrian physics, wowing audiences all over the world. That’s what I am gonna be,” Rainbow Dash affirmed with enthusiasm in her voice. Most of the class just sat there, not really knowing what to make of the show before them. The room was all quiet, until somepony spoke up.
“Rainbow Crash, a Wonderbolt? Nope! They don’t have enough nap time for you.” A young colt remarked, with a basket ball cutie mark. Half the class broke out in laughter at his snide comment. Dash pulled the goggles up to her forehead, and looked intently back at the pegasus with the basketball cutie mark.
“How about a race, put your money where your mouth is, kid. I bet you don’t even lift.” Rainbow Dash jumped down from the desk and began trotting toward his. Her young bright magenta eyes pinned firmly on the colt. His eyes shot side to side trying to break eye contact, but Dash was determined, nopony was going to talk to her like that. Without her knowing the teacher had gotten up and was standing directly behind her. With a swift hoof she stopped the cyan filly on her march toward the back of the room.
“And where do you think you’re going?” The teacher's eyes filled with disappointment, and a little frustration.
“Oh, just going to have a friendly little chat with my good friend over there. That’s all, ma’am.” The cyan pegasus smiled ear to ear, laughing to herself all the while.
“Oh, okay. Then I will have to ask you both to stay after class, so I can have a friendly chat with you.”
Both colt and filly sighed.
***
That was the day the dream became a goal, one that she would stop for nothing to achieve, and henceforth it was solidified in her brain. She was going to prove that colt, now a stallion, wrong. That one encounter back at school started the drive, the urge, the passion to become the greatest and be the best. From that day onward her Wonderbolts memorabilia collection started to grow exponentially. Every weekend, after Dash received her small weekly allowance, the first place she went was to the local convenience store to pick up all the items she could buy. Whenever the Wonderbolts had indorsed a diet or workout book, Rainbow Dash was one of the first to know, and have it memorized. This was her lifelong dream, and it was about to be decided in the next 15 minutes.
She emerged from the last step out of the holding room and walked into the insanity of the stadium. Although an optional free event, every single seat had a pony sitting at it, and even more crowded the stairs, as well as hallways. Heck, maybe all of Cloudsdale was in attendance. Bright colors of all the other pegasi were scattered about the track. It was similar to a sea of moving colors. Never had she performed on this level before in her life.
The Wonderbolts had their own private section on the front of the track, so they could see everything. Each one dressed in their full uniform, ready for the last contestant of the day. Spitfire was at the head, wearing her normal captain get up, like the one Dash had seen her wear at the Wonderbolts Academy. Black aviator sunglasses stood atop her eyes, shrouding them in mystery. Rainbow Dash guessed that she probably hadn’t even clapped for the pony that went before her. In all the years she had attended the captains rarely have ever clapped, the only clap she ever saw was for Soarin’s entrance into the elite fliers. And all he got was one small silent clap.
The cyan mare walked forward, close to an X on the clouds, that was the starting point for the performance. Even though the crowd wasn’t cheering, the noise level was high. With each step she felt as if she was walking to her doom, the executors chair. The single most hardest challenge she was ever going to face in her life, was staring her right in the eyes. And it was in the form of a pony wearing dark black aviator sunglasses.
With each step she could hear her heartbeat, and lungs inhale and exhale. The nerves were building, just waiting to be released. Rainbow closed her eyes as she continued to walk.
Focus on your surroundings, nothing else. Every hoof step was accompanied by a soft push back from the fluffy white cloud bellow. Upon reaching the X she turned her head, breaking her concentration. To her delight, her friends were right where Dash was hoping to see them, first row, sitting side by side. Rarity and Pinkie Pie held up a ‘Go Rainbow Dash’ sign, Fluttershy weakly gave a wave, Applejack smiled and tipped her hat, and Twilight cheered. This helped calm the stressed mare, having your life goal be decided by only 10 minutes can be stressful.
“Okay, Ladies and Gentlecolts. Last contestant of the day, Rainbow Dash. Are you ready?”
The announcer's words filled her cyan ears; it was now or never. Dash widened her stance, flexing her leg muscles. With a quick flip, her mane was put behind her head, no obstructions over the eyes. Her wings began to flex and flap, warming up the muscles for 10 minutes of sheer torture in the form of sharp turns, impossible speeds, and intense g-forces.
Last step, goggles. A set of cyan hooves moved up her forehead, revealing a set of aviator goggles, Wonderbolts edition. Moments later they were fit tightly over her magenta eyes. Rainbow Dash focused on her heartbeat, nothing else.
All the noises around her disappeared, the crowd and wind all went silent to her. The only thing she heard was a ‘thump, thump, thump’, followed by slow methodical breathing. Focus, focus, focus. The cyan pegasus shook her head and opened her eyes. Instantly the noise of the crowd came right back to full volume, excitement filled their cheers of the show sure to come. She had a reputation, ever since saving the captain, co-captain, and another Wonderbolt from a free fall. Being the only pony in centuries able to do a Sonic Rainboom gets you recognized, but not exactly on the team of the elite fliers.
Spitfire turned her clipboard to the last page, a blank piece of paper, with the name ‘Rainbow Dash’ printed clearly on the top. A pair of golden hooves reached into her pocket and pulled out a black pen. Her face, an expression of solid steel, while she raised the pen in her mouth, ready to criticize.
“Well, good luck to you, Rainbow Dash of Ponyville. Your five minutes start on the conclusion of the countdown.” Every pony in the audience erupted with cheers, eager for the show ahead.
“Five.”
Focus.
“Four.”
Focus.
“Three.”
Focus.
“Two.”
Focus!
“One!”
With one last exhale she took off, her wings beating equally as fast as her heart. Immediately upon takeoff, a rainbow trail began to follow her. The wind snapped her mane viciously to the back of her head, the goggles were the only thing allowing her to see through the speeds she was obtaining. Dash couldn’t hear it, but the audience was already starting to follow in love with her not yet begun routine. First obstacle, the cloud weave.
The pegasus zigzagged through each one with ease, her rainbow streak left behind in the air, making it look like a tied up shoelace. Every cloud spun with the force she was creating. Her heart began beating faster and faster, lungs taking in more and more oxygen to feed power into her wings. This was a new level, even for Rainbow Dash, something was different, she couldn’t tell what but she felt more powerful, stronger.
With each pass of the clouds her wing got within inches of touching, almost as if she was clipping them. Spitfire looked up, not amused by the performance before her. Still with a stoic facial expression she looked on. Rainbow Dash had caught the attention of the other members of the Wonderbolts, including the co-captain Soarin. All eyes were on Dash, excitedly anticipating what was to come.
Last cloud, Dash, now time for the Filly Strut. Doing good. Determination set in, as if this was her last show and she was doing the grand finale. Her eyes were glued straight ahead in focus, all noises of the crowd drowned due to their unimportance to the task before her. After breaking the cloud weave she broke to the right, lowering herself onto the track that surrounded the arena. Only millimeters from the ground, her hooves began to move like she was trotting, head held high with a cocky smile. The crowd went crazy. Rainbow’s mane was flowing in the wind while she quickly circled the arena.
Spitfire looked up at the display before her, still not amused. The pad of paper was blank, nothing had been written down yet. Inside the captain’s head, one could see gears turning, so to speak. Silently evaluating every last detail of Dash’s Filly Strut. Posture, form, figure, grace and speed, all taken under harsh scrutiny.
“Whoo, go Rainbow Dash!” The cyan pegasus’ friends cheered, loving every second of their companion’s routine so far. Even Fluttershy joined in and gave her best shot as well, which was more like normal speaking volume to everypony else. Not that it mattered to Rainbow Dash, it was the sentiment that counted.
Finishing her lap of the arena, Dash took off for step two of her three part routine. Her routine was short, elegant, and simple, she wanted everypony to remember the feats. Not some overly complicated thing with hundreds of small moves, ‘go big or go home’ was her philosophy.
Step two, Buccaneer Blaze, crowd favorite. With a complete 90 degree instantaneous turn, she took off straight up into the sky, heading toward the center of the stadium. By this point the goggles on her face were stuck to her head like glue, no force was going to take them off. The wind kept whipping through her mane and tail, trying to rip them off seemingly.
At bottleneck speeds, Dash reached her desired location and began spinning and spinning. Quickly a cloud formed around the super sonic mare and lightning crackled, getting more and more intense by the second, culminating in a large flash that overtook the stadium and temporarily blinding some of the awestruck onlookers.
The Buccaneer Blaze had no effect on Spitfire, who stood there deep in thought. When the beam of light broke inside Rainbow’s intricate maneuver, its lights flashed upon the golden mare’s sunglasses, who wasn’t giving away a smile or anything. The other Wonderbolts had their eyes fixed at the true performance in front of them. Some ponies in the audience couldn’t keep their mouths from hanging wide open.
Again, something was off, she had more power than usual. In practice by this point she was almost completely depleted, but now she felt like she had just started, with the tanks more than full. She broke her routine, and decided to do a little freestyle. Point to point the mare darted leaving a rainbow and lightning covered trail. The crowd was going crazy, loving every second of the spectacular light show before them.
The amount of energy was so overwhelming that Rainbow Dash began to spin again, creating another, larger, Buccaneer Blitz. Once again, Spitfire was not impressed, while she continued watching the performance before her.
Final step. The Sonic Rainboom, I can do this. Almost there. With the immense speed which she had created, Rainbow flung herself up into the atmosphere. Her muscles were fatiguing, but her mind was not processing it, being too occupied.
The nerves which she had felt at the start of the race, came back. Although now able to do the Sonic Rainboom on command, it was no walk in the park. Not every attempt was successful, she had the same nerves right before she did one at the Royal Canterlot Wedding. Her last practice run, she had gotten it, but doubt filled up inside.
Once reaching a point high, high above the arena below, Rainbow paused a second for a quick breather. Now, or never.
The cyan mare folded her wings and began her descent, quickly a mach cone formed around her. The mane and tail attached to her were as flat as a board while they struggled to keep up with the quick moving body, to which they were attached.
The feeling was incredible, the speed, the crowd, the challenge, everything culminating. Rainbow never felt like this before, every vein and muscle fiber, full of power, ready to work at the call. Oxygen levels were higher than normal, for this part of the workout, her lungs sucking in the cold air like a jet engine.
Dash pulled her wings in, stiffened her frame to create the most streamline position possible. Everything around her appeared to be flying in the opposite direction, while she rocketed on toward the stadium below. The crowd's cheers erupted into a frenzy, watching the mach cone form over the mare's head. Everypony that was anypony knew what was to come next.
The cyan pegasus reached the brink, one more burst of energy was all that was needed to break the light spectrum and send her into the history books, very similar to a trigger on a gun. Wonderbolts, here I come! The stadium was approaching fast, while she maintained her current speed, the goal was to a Sonic Rainboom right in front of the audience.
About 100 yards from the stadium she pushed through the wall, ponies for centuries had been unable to. A loud bang verified she had indeed broken the light spectrum. Upon breaching the barrier, the mare's speed instantly doubled.
The crowd was now in a full out frenzy, if somepony looked in they would almost say it could have been a riot. Ponies jumped to their hooves and cheered: 'Rainbow Dash'.
Normally by this point, Rainbow's body was spent, but something was off. Everything felt great, every muscle fiber felt relaxed, amply supplied with oxygen. After a Sonic Rainboom, there was nothing more she could give to go any faster, but this time, there was a potential. The forces that were supposed to hold her back and slow her down, seemed not to apply. Feeling the opportunity, Dash pounced on it, pushing herself into a more streamline position, forcing herself to go faster.
The world seen through her goggles started to fade into black and white, the colors melted as her speed increased. At first, Dash was concerned, but the feeling was exhilarating to say the least. All sounds disappeared, not able to keep up with the super sonic pegasus. Her nerves had disappeared, she accomplished it, performed a Sonic Rainboom right over the audience.
The mare felt something new, another mach cone forming around, right after breaking the through the first barrier. It was the same sensation as earlier, like she had some kind of control of when to break through the wall. Not really knowing what was going to happen, Rainbow pushed through. All the bright colors that filled her eyes were gone now, being completely erased and replaced with a bright white. The cyan pegasus was scared, having no idea what she was doing, but the sensation of speed was overwhelming, and glorious. The white light got brighter and brighter, while she kept pushing on faster and faster. Until she was overcome with a blinding white light, brighter than sun, everything from there on was black.
After the first Rainboom exploded, the stadium was shaken with a great deal of force coming from the wave. The boom was almost deafening, but ponies still cheered. The remaining members of the mane six cheered wildly, as their friend had done it. But, then something happened that not even Spitfire could have predicted, another explosion, this time louder than the first. A rainbow was already being formed in the first boom, but it was blown apart by a larger and more forceful one. Its colors shot into the audience, bouncing off the ponies and causing some to fall over due to the force. The arena was shaken to its core, the beams holding up the bleachers vibrated like twigs in a storm. Massive amounts of dust and debris were stirred up, making it impossible to see anything. Ponies throughout began to cough, swatting at the dust. The once roaring observers had become silent.
Slowly the dust began to settle around the stands, revealing many covered in soot. The infield however was mixture of lightning, rainbows, and debris. Everypony stared on quizzically, having no idea what had just occurred before them. Not a single soul dared to speak, each onlooker’s eyes were glued to the center of the arena, trying to get a clue as to what had just happened.
Before fully clearing, one clap sounded out. Instantly everyone looked toward the pony who had just clapped, and the sight that met them was a shock. Spitfire had clapped. Her black aviators had been thrown off from her face, eyes wide open, mouth agape. Her uniform was covered in brown dirt that had been stirred up. Then she clapped again, everypony stared dumbfoundedly, not having a clue in Equestria what was going on.
Clap..............................................Clap.................................Clap..................Clap..........Clap.....Clap..Clap..Clap.Clap.
The rest of the Wonderbolts followed suit, and began to clap along with their captain. Some even dared as to cheer, the crowd soon caught on and burst into open admiration.
“Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!”
“A double Sonic Rainboom!” Fluttershy screamed in excitement, jumping up and down on the cloud upon which she sat. All her friends’ mouths hung wide open, as they themselves started to cheer.
Whistles, howls, cheers, chants, and screams filled the arena, bouncing off the stands. The lightning and dust in the infield started to slowly disperse. Everypony was eager to see their shoe in Wonderbolt, they had to accept Rainbow Dash. The only pony to ever do a double Sonic Rainboom, nopony even thought it possible.
Finally all the dust lifted, each member of the crowd stood up, trying to get a sight of the history making mare. Their heads swiveled in unison, right, left, up, down, each turn yielding nothing. The onlookers fell silent once again, trying to find the cyan mare, but she was nowhere to be found. Everything was quiet, until...
“Where's Rainbow Dash?!” Pinkie Pie screamed, running into the inner arena, trying to get a better picture.
***
Vision soon returned to Rainbow Dash. She found herself in a world unlike she had ever seen before, quickly she studied her body, checking for injuries and finding nothing. While checking her hooves she looked down expecting to see green grass, but to her surprise there was nothing, just an infinite space. Her wings were closed, she was not hovering. Dash became a little panicked, looking around for an answer, but the only objects in sight were tiny orbs, giving off bright lights.
“Hello? Where am I? What is this place?”
Out of the corner of her eye, a moving multi colored orb got closer and closer. At first she was concerned about the intentions of the hovering thing, but then it started to morph into something she did recognize. Princess Celestia fully formed from the orb, standing tall and upright staring at the cyan mare. Her white coat was sparkling magnificently, even more than usual. Without any hesitation, Rainbow Dash trotted over to her goddess of the sun.
“Congratulations, Rainbow Dash, I knew you could do it.”
The cyan mare walked up close to the glowing alicorn, who held out her hoof for a hug, which was quickly returned. She was giving Dash a sense of safety, now that her princess was here.
“But, I don't understand. I'm not an egghead, I didn't create new magic like Twilight. What did I do?” Celestia held out her hoof, laying it on the cyan mare's shoulder.
“You have done something today, that has never been done before. About 20 percent cooler than what Twilight Sparkle did.” Celestia winked slyly while saying that. “Something better than a great unicorn like Twilight Sparkle could never do, because she doesn’t understand the meaning of being awesome. The lessons you have learned throughout your life have taught you well.” The great alicorn walked around Rainbow Dash, resuming her position on the other side of her. Dash's magenta eyes followed the princess the whole time, still not completely understanding what was going on. “You have proven that you're ready.”
Celestia dropped her hoof off Rainbow's shoulder and began to walk away, implying that the mare should follow.
“Can somepony please tell me what’s going on!” The cyan pegasus hurried up, and began to trot next to her princess. Images of her past popped up on little screens from out of nowhere, all the lessons she had learned, all the cool tricks she had performed, Pinkie Pie's parties, time spent hanging with friends, times of being awesome, and just everyday life, were all included and appeared before the two.
“You've come such a long long way,” Celestia began to sing. The pair kept walking past all the images of her past, images of Dash and her friends, playing and partying together came up, which made her smile on the inside.
“Why are you singing?”
“And I have watched you from the very first day.” Both, alicorn and pegasus stopped before a certain memory and began to watch it. Pinkie Pie slowly lured Spike off the front porch to a waiting Rainbow Dash on a cloud. Once Spike was far enough out, she jumped on the cloud causing a loud boom, the scrolls he was carrying were sent flying. The baby dragon tried to pick up the scrolls, but instead he hiccuped and mailed them all on accident. The next image, the prank where Pinkie and her painted Applejack's apples different colors, which the angered earth pony quickly threw at them in good fun.
The cyan pegasus laughed, remembering that day quite well. The last image was the moment when the pink pony pranked Rainbow Dash with the dark circle around the eye, and how both laughed it off in good fun, while Fluttershy toyed with a fake turtle.
“To see how you might grow, to see what you might do, to see what you've been through. And all the ways you have made me proud of you.”
Dash's eyes began to sparkle, hearing the words of the most powerful alicorn in all of Equestria. Her pupils were getting wider and wider, while a smile began to form on her face.
“It's time now, for a new change to come.” Out of nowhere, Celestia reappeared and walked up alongside the rainbow maned pegasus. Rainbow Dash's eyes quickly readjusted, putting the princess in her line of sight. Celestia kept walking, stopping right in front of her.
“You've grown up, and your new life has begun. To go where you will go, to see what you will see.” The white alicorn raised her hoof and scanned the sky, showing the pegasus everything around her. The bright orbs had centered, almost like they were making a floor.
“Um, aren’t I already grown up? I own a house, and a pet, doesn’t that count?”
“To find what you will be. For it's time to fulfill your destiny.” Celestia took off gently, lifting herself a couple feet off the ground. The most powerful set of wings in all of Equestria opened wide. Upon expansion, her large perfect figure glowed a brighter white, causing Rainbow Dash to shield her eyes.
A rainbow colored orb followed out of her cyan chest, and hovered in front her. She looked on, confused at what was going on, never had she fully realized what was happening. The ball of light quickly started spinning around her, Rainbow's magenta eyes struggled to keep up as it moved faster and faster around her entirety. The weight of her body was taken out from under as the orb picked her off the ground, causing her mane and tail to flutter almost as if caught in a gale.
“No! No! No! Celestia, save me, what is this?”
Meter after meter she was raised up into the sky, while Celestia watched from below. The light was becoming so powerful, glowing brighter and brighter while its rainbow color intensified. A tingly feeling on her forehead started to cause some discomfort, but the overall feeling was incredible. The power that this rainbow ball contained was immense, like nothing she had ever felt before. The mare tried to move, but was unable to, being pinned back in the sky. Eventually the pegasus gave in and let the orb overtake her. Its light got brighter and brighter, blinding Dash, but before she knew it, her eyes were once again covered in darkness.
***
The ponies in the audience were on edge, wondering if the cyan mare had indeed died in the double Sonic Rainboom, which many were starting to believe. The crowd was hushed, almost as if beginning to mourn their loss of the only pegasus in all of the universe to break the light spectrum twice. Pinkie Pie and others were standing, trying to figure out was happening, before something magnificent happened.
A light as bright as the sun appeared high above, on the side of the infield, closest to the rest of the mane six. Everypony immediately turned their heads in excitement over to where it was happening. Out from the bright light appeared a cloud, followed by a loud crash of thunder, causing the cloud to form a lightning bolt, with three colors, blue, yellow, and red. Slowly the cloud, resembling Rainbow Dash's cutie mark descended, giving off vibrant colors of the rainbow, while it increased in size.
Eventually, reaching the ground, the cloud began shining brighter than the sun, once again, causing everypony to shield their eyes from the intensity. The few who dared try looking into the great ball of light could make out a figure inside, hunched over.
Applejack was one of those ponies, through the blinding light, she tried to look on. The figure inside looked familiar, like one of her best friends. And upon seeing the figure open its wings, she knew it could only be one pony.
“Rainbow Dash? Is that you?”
The haze around the figure lifted, revealing that Applejack indeed was correct. Rainbow Dash stood with head bent over before all her friends. The mare's rainbow mane covering her face. Almost as if coming from a daze, Dash lifted her head, revealing something new. A bright aurora formed around her coat, everypony gasped. While lifting her head, the rainbow mane uncovered a sight nopony had ever expected, a horn.
Rainbow Dash had just came to, and had no idea where she was. One minute singing with Celestia, the next, who knows where. Her cyan hooves moved toward her face, rubbing her eyes, trying to reacquaint herself with the bright sun. A couple stray strands of her mane hung before her magenta eyes, and using her hoof she tried to push them back, but was unable to; stopped by some unknown prominence on her head. Dash felt a strong object protruding out of her skull, Well, thats new.
The other's of the mane six looked on in shock, their mouths wide agape, unable to comprehend the sight before them. Only one year ago, Twilight had become an alicorn, now Rainbow Dash. Their eyes were trying to take in as much information as possible, nopony could believe their eyes. The crowd gasped, seeing something no one expected to see in anypony’s wildest dreams, not even Pinkie Pie's.
“You’re a princess, too? Oh, come on, I call next year!” AJ moved closer, trying to get a better picture. Her mouth hung wide open in astonishment.
“Sorry, darling. But, it is I who will become an alicorn next.” Rarity stepped in, pushing Applejack to the side, while the others moved closer for a better look.
“Oh, oh, oh, can I be an alicorn, please, please, please!” Pinkie Pie jumped happily around the scene, a smile ear to ear on her pink face. Everypony turned their head toward their pink friend, just imagining the thought of a Princess Pinkie Pie. An alicorn to preside over parties, living in the royal castle along with Luna and Celestia. Twilight cringed at the idea, her private studies would be interrupted constantly by the Princess of Parties. Peace and quiet would be thrown out the window altogether, making sleep and study impossible, it was terrifying.
“Celestia, no!” Twilight screamed, her right eye starting to twitch. The others just stared on, not knowing what to do.
The purple alicorn looked around at all her friends, just realizing what she had said. Quickly, she raced to Dash’s side, smiling ear to ear and throwing open her hooves for an embrace. The purple alicorn grabbed her friend in a giant hug, Rainbow Dash didn't know what to make of it, but just went along with it anyway.
“Oh, Rainbow Dash has a horn, this is amazing! A new study buddy!” Twilight cheered, while the others began walking over to the cyan alicorn, although already having experienced this before, each pony was as enthusiastic as ever.
Pinkie Pie jumped up and down, throwing streamers and confetti, that she got from somewhere unknown to everypony, including Celestia herself.
“Alicorn Party!” The pink earth pony cheered, blowing on a kazoo.
From out of nowhere, the same giant white pony that visited the cyan mare, landed behind the whole scene. The crowd once again gasped, their princess was before them. Even Spitfire herself was taken back at what was happening. The alicorn's large white hooves gently touched down on the cloud, barely making a sound at all, before she began to speak.
“Behold the Princess of Awesomeness!”
“Huh?” the mane six said in unison, along with Rainbow Dash herself.
“Hold on a second!” Pinkie Pie grabbed a glass of water, from nopony knows where. And gargled the water for a moment, before quickly spitting it out. Accidentally spraying Fluttershy in its path. The yellow mare sat there and groaned weakly, but nopony could even hear it.
“A princess?” The cyan alicorn looked around, especially to Twilight.
“Since you've been in Ponyville, you've displayed the charity...” Rarity raised her head, proudly. “Compassion...” Fluttershy drooped her head, not wanting to gain any attention. “Integrity...” Applejack gave a quick tip of her hat. “Optimism...” Pinkie Pie bounced in with a an audible, spring. “Leadership...” Twilight smiled, and gave a wave. “And most importantly, devotion, of a true princess.” Each word resonated inside the former pegasus, questions of how, why, and what was going to happen next, floated in her mind.
“Does this mean I won't be hangin' with my friends anymore?” If being a princess meant leaving her friends, then she would decline the offer in a second. Nothing was going to take away the five ponies that had made her life so special up to this point. Without them, she would have barely even had the strength to perform in front of the Wonderbolts. There was nothing in the world that could separate her from them, an unbreakable bond.
“Not in the same way as before, but yes, you will still hang with your friends.” Dash's face lit up with excitement, and joy. “You are an inspiration to all of this.” Something Celestia rarely ever did happened next, she bowed, before all the ponies in the audience to see. The rest of the mane six began bowing, one by one, eventually spreading to the audience, and the Wonderbolts. The whole stadium bowed in respect to their new princess.
***
“We are gathered here again today in the celebration of a momentous occasion,” Celestia began, standing in the center of the royal Canterlot castle. The building sparkled, decorated head to toe in lavish accessories. Thousands of ponies lined the great fortress hoping to get inside, to see history in the making. The lucky few on the inside were lined neatly and orderly, before their princess. Every alicorn dressed to toe in only the best, most lovely clothes made by the one and only, Rarity.
Luna stood on Celestia's left, wearing a moon crescent, the sign of the thing she presided over. Princess Cadence to her right, hair elegantly styled into multiple bows and braids, stood wearing a heart. And beside the pink alicorn was Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Magic, wearing her Element of Harmony, smiling. She was so happy that she would have a new study buddy.
The rest of the mane six were present as well, standing neatly off to Twilight's right. Each one wearing a specially crafted outfit made by Ponyville’s own Rarity. Everypony present except for Rainbow Dash herself.
“Are we gonna have to do this every year, if so I need more cider,” Luna whispered into her sister's ear. Celestia just continued to smile, going on. A small pitcher of pure cider sat behind the curtain to the stage, already half empty.
“My most awesome student, Rainbow Dash, has done many extraordinary things since she has began living in Ponyville. She even pranked me and Princess Luna, at the same time.” Celestia looked down upon her sister, both remembering the night, how ever could they forget? “But yesterday, Rainbow Dash did something awesome, she broke the light spectrum twice.” The mane six smiled with glee, remembering the events from the day prior. “Proving without a doubt that is ready to be crowned, Equestria's newest princess.”
Rainbow Dash's father and mother stood about midway back in the audience, both dressed in the nicest clothes, generously given to them by Rarity. The former pegasus' mother welled up with tears, remembering her daughter as foal. Her father looked on, smiling, so proud of his little Dashie.
“Fillies, and Gentlecolts, may I present for the very first time... Princess Rainbow Dash!” Celestia raised her hoof toward the door, at the same moment it was swung open, revealing a smiling, dressed to the nines, Rainbow Dash. Behind her walked four identical, matching Wonderbolts, following closely to end of the newest princess' dress. Taking up the end, were four identical Canterlot guards, wearing their polished golden armor.
“The Princess Rainbow Dash cometh, behold, behold!” The guards and Wonderbolts walked up to the stage where all the alicorns stood, breaking off to the left and right, upon reaching the lavish stage. “A princess here before us, behold, behold!” Spike walked out onto the stage before Celetia, bowing and presenting, an ornate gold and rainbow tiara, one that could even make Diamond Tiara jealous. A bright yellow aurora formed over the object, Spike's que to leave. Gently the white alicorn set the golden piece atop Rainbow's head, who was smiling all the while. Rainbow's friends peered over and smiled, silently cheering their cyan companion on.
“Behold, behold Princess Rainbow Dash cometh.” Rainbow Dash and her fellow princesses walked alongside to the royal balcony, overlooking the courtyard of the castle. The whole entire entrance was cram packed with ponies, trying to get a sight of the newest royal alicorn. Many of which had attended Rainbow Dash's tryout for the Wonderbolts. “Behold, behold, the princess is, the princess is here!”
Confetti and streamers filled the skies, as Princess Rainbow Dash walked out onto the balcony, making her first public appearance. The crowd cheered wildly, while she stood and waved. Celestia leaned in close and whispered into the newest alicorn's ear.
“Say something, Princess.”
Rainbow Dash, took some time to consider what to say. She swallowed nervously before she finally began talking, “Um, a little a while ago, I became an alicorn. And I still have no clue how or why, but I will find out and I will justify being the newest addition to royalty. I'm awesome, and so are my friends!” The mare turned around and motioned for her friends to come out. “Each of you has been awesome, all of you have been there for me, and had a great time with me.” Each of her closest friends began to cry, tears welling in all their eyes in unison. “I would still be awesome, but I wouldn't be as awesome without all of you. Today I consider myself the luckiest pony in all of Equestria. Stay awesome, Equestria!” Dash stood up on her hind legs, holding her forehooves up in victory.
With this the crowd erupted into praise, screaming, 'Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash, Rainbow Dash.' The group on the balcony, as quickly as they came out, returned back inside the castle, where they were greeted by a more than excited Shining Armor.
“Twilight! Your friends are so awesome, we should hang out more, and become friends.”
Twilight looked past her brother and onto his wife. “How many cups of cider has he had?”
“Six,” the pink alicorn stated for a fact.
“Nope.” Twilight reached out and hugged her brother, in a warm embrace. He was quickly pulled back by his wife, as Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie rejoined the group.
“Best coronation ever, can’t wait for the next one!” the pink pony screamed, jumping high into the air.
“We love you, Rainbow Dash.” All of the mane six wrapped themselves lovingly around the newest princess, especially Twilight. Now there was a new pony to roam the castle of Canterlot with, and even better than that it was one of her closest friends.
“I love you too, girls.”
The gates to the royal castle opened, on the one side onlookers tried desperately to get a view of Rainbow Dash. However, they were blocked by a massive line of Canterlot guards. Although unable to get a front row to the sight, everypony cheered happily.
Out from the gates rolled a special chariot, made just for the day. A rainbow chariot with her cutie mark spread all over the elaborate lovechild. Its wheels made of gold, painted with rainbows and gems spread all over the cabin. All of this being pulled by two white Canterlot pegasus guards.
“Life in Equestria shimmers! Life in Equestria shines.” A bouquet of multicolored flowers was thrown over the line of guards, which was easily caught by the cyan alicorn. “And I know for absolute certain, that everything, ‘cause everything...” Rainbow Dash jumped from her special ride, joining her friends who were walking alongside her. Each pony marching along, joining the newest princess in the song. Way above, back at the balcony, Celestia and Luna looked upon each other, so happy about some new excitement in their royal home. “‘Cause everything is gonna be awesome!” Wait, why am I singing now?
The whole city seemed to glow, streaming lights off all around into the outlining countryside.
Rainbow Dash teleported outside the city, outside the parties and craziness, away from her friends. With a loud puff and cloud of rainbow smoke, the newest alicorn stood proudly. Her new figure overlooking the city.
“Everything is going to be just awesome!”
Author's Note
Thanks Everypony! I hope you liked this little fic I put together with help from TheShadow. Tell me what you think in the comments! Should I make another, which pony? As always have a great day.
