A young Rainbow Dash slumped in her chair as her father sat beside her as the school principle regaled the filly’s latest crime. The irate blue pegasus refused to look at the pink mare who glowered more so at her than the stallion. “Mister Prism, I must say I am highly disappointed in the behavior of your daughter. This is the third fight she’s gotten into this month and I will not tolerate such coarse behavior from one of my students.”
Ever to come to her daughter’s defense, he calmly tried to rebuke Principle Feather Fall’s accusations. “I have heard Dash’s side of the story. She was trying to get some bullies to back off from a friend of hers.”
Feather’s wings fidgeted in irritation. “Mister Prism. The circumstances and reasoning behind her actions is not what she is being punished for. Those so-called bullies never laid a hoof on anypony, and in case you are unaware of this sir, this is a school. Children bickering and arguing is par for the course,” she narrowed her eyes at the ornery filly who cast the mare a brief evil eye. “Coming to blows however, is not tolerated.”
Prism looked at Rainbow with an unreadable expression. “I’m sure Rainbow Dash is very sorry for what she did. Am I right?”
“No,” Dash replied tersely as she refused to look at either adult. “Dumbbell shouldn’t have picked on Flutters like that.”
Prism turned to fully look at his daughter and summoned his fatherly command voice. “Dash.”
The filly flinched at her name being spoken in such a tone. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled under her breath.
“Louder please.”
Rainbow sat up straight in her chair and spoke louder, but in an emotionless tone. “I’m sorry for knocking the jerk out of Dumbbell, Sport Nut, and what’s-his-name.”
That was all her father required and he turned back to Fall who was clearly expecting something more tactful. After a few seconds she tossed her hooves in mild exasperation. “It should not be me she’s apologizing to anyway. You will have detention for one week and I want a public full apology from you Miss Dash to the three students you harmed.”
The blue filly rolled her eyes. “What about the three stooges? Are they going to make an apology to Flutters?”
Prism remained silent to hear Fall’s response. Feather sat back in her chair, keeping her posture immaculately straight. “The teacher did not see them break any rules of conduct and she reported that you were the one who started the fight so we cannot verify your claim that they were indeed partaking in bullying. As such they cannot be punished.”
“What?!” Dash jumped in her chair to be on all fours with her tiny wings buzzing angrily. “Those jerk wads made Flutters cry!”
Fell saw she was getting nowhere with the filly and turned to the father. “I will expect an apology from Miss Dash by Monday. If she does not,” Feather glanced at the snorting filly, “then I’m afraid I will have no choice but to expel her from Cloudsdale Elementary.”
Prism didn’t like it, but this was the third school his daughter would be kicked out of and there weren’t any more within a reasonable range to take her to. Assuming they would accept her after one look at her record. “You’ll have that apology Miss Feather Fall.”
“Fat chance,” Dash growled. A silent reprimand from Prism got her to back down, causing her ears and wings to droop. “Yes Miss Feather Fall,” Dash moaned despondently.
“Good.” Fall closed Dash’s file and turned to Prism. “I want the apology on my desk first thing Monday morning so I can review it.” She nodded to the stallion. “That will be all.”
Prism gave a terse nod in return and used a wing to gesture Dash to the door.
The walk through the nearly empty school halls and out to the front yard was spent in silence. The cloudstone streets of downtown Cloudsdale were packed with pegasi going to and fro. It was the start of the weekend which meant other fillies and colts were either playing or had their muzzles pressed against the glass of candy and toy stores. Prism could tell Rainbow was putting up a tough shell to hide her dejection. Dash didn’t want to speak until they had walked far enough away from school grounds and looked up to her father.
“Dad?”
He turned to regard her with a quizzical look. “Hmm?”
“Was…” she clammed up for a moment as she was afraid of the answer before continuing. “Was I wrong to fight those bullies?”
Prism saw an empty bench over by a cloud sculpture park and started walking over to it. “Rainbow. You did what you did to protect your friend, and I couldn’t be prouder of you for it.”
The pair reached the bench and he sat down while Dash buzzed her little wings to join him. The small filly propped herself up on his large frame so she didn’t have to crane her neck so high to meet his eyes. Prism wrapped a loving wing around her. “But perhaps you could have tried to defend her in another way. Or try-” He tickled her nose with the tip of his other wing’s primaries. “Showing those bullies that what they’re doing is wrong without stooping down to their level.”
Rainbow’s ears drooped. “So fighting is wrong?”
Prism looked at her contemplatively, not saying anything for a few seconds. He pulled her in closer with his wing. “Fighting for what is right when fighting is all you can do, is not wrong Rainbow Dash. If that wasn't true, we wouldn’t have police or the Royal Guard. But the police and Guard know one thing you don’t.”
The little filly nudged his ribs with a playful hoof. “Pah, all they know better than me is how to stand like a statue all day.”
Prism grinned at bringing out his daughter’s good humor a little. “Well that too. But they also know what battles to fight with spears, and what battles are better fought with nonviolence.”
Dash scratched her head as her young mind tried to make sense of her father’s words. “But what if I can’t use a spear and they won’t listen to words?”
“That’s when you use this lump of fat,” he bonked her on the noggin with a hoof, “you call a brain to think of something else.”
It wasn’t the straight answer she was hoping for. Dash rubbed the spot where he tapped her. “That sounds like something an egghead would do. Besides, I can’t just sit there and think when my friend is in trouble. Can’t you just tell me what else I can do besides fight and talk?”
The left side of Prism’s lips tugged downward. She needs to learn how to think on her hooves, and figure this sort of thing out herself, he mused. “I can’t tell you that because every situation is different, and any solution I give you will not always work. That’s why you have to think for yourself.”
Rainbow was not a fan of vague answers and lolled her head to the side in exasperation. “Yes, Dad.” She slumped a little and let the side of her face drag against his fur a bit as disappointment coursed through her voice.
Prism kept his hug tight to let her know he was not angry or disappointed in her. The filly wrapped her hooves around his barrel, or tried to anyway, to return the affection. Father and daughter maintained the embrace for several seconds until a nearby grey pegasus stallion grabbed his ear with an announcement. “Get you’re Wonderbolts tickets! Only twenty seven bits a pop. You won’t find another ticket anywhere but here, hurry, hurry, hurry!”
Prism got an idea and pushed Dash back a bit to speak with her. “Since your heart was in the right place, and those bullies got off scot-free how about I take you to the Wonderbolts’ show?”
The filly hung her tongue out in disinterest. “No thanks. I’d rather just go home.”
Prism wasn’t going to take no for an answer and started making his way over to the scalper. “You’d rather mope at home all day than see the amazing Wonderbolts?”
Rainbow blew an irritating lock of multicolored hair out of her eyes as she trotted over to be side by side with her father. “All they do is fly around and stuff. Pegasi do that all the time, its nothing special.”
He cast her a sidelong glance with a hint of a smile. “Have you ever been to a WB show before?”
He knew the answer and the filly knew that he knew. Her face scrunched up in annoyance at a potentially wasted afternoon. “Well, no. But I’ve heard about them,” she flustered as Prism bought the tickets. “If I wanted to spend all day watching ponies fly I would just look out a window. Maybe if they were doing something cool like airball or hoofball then I'd be all over that.” Dash received a few abrasive stares from fans who also rushed over to buy tickets, but the filly didn’t care what they said or did.
Prism tucked the tickets into his feathers for safekeeping and started cantering towards the stadium. “And what did you have planned this evening that this would be interrupting?”
Rainbow remained standing by the scalper and groaned loudly before galloping after her father. “Well I have a stupid apology to write and it’ll take all night to keep from gagging on it.” She stuck her tongue out as if she had a bitter taste for emphasis.
The purplish stallion hid a laugh at his daughter’s antics. “Well there’s plenty of time for that tomorrow.”
The path between them and the stadium ran out of road so he took to the air with the little blue filly right behind him. Despite her sour face, he smiled at her. She’s so young and already a strong flier.
The pair flew along in a dense cloud of pegasi, all racing to see the airshow. Rainbow Dash’s sardonic expression softened a bit as she surveyed the large throng of ponies all going to the same destination. Why are a bunch of ponies who just fly around all the time so popular? She scoffed at the crowd. Whatever, I’d rather hang out with dad than write a dumb old apology anyway.
As they expected, getting into the stadium was a crowded affair, and with the lines at the concession stand lapping the stadium, getting snacks was out of the question. Dash groaned at the sight of the end of the line so her father nudged her towards the large openings to the stands. “I’m sure a vendor will be out there to grab some popcorn later, let’s go find some seats.”
“Yeah, okay.”
Hovering between two sets of bleachers was an off-white mare selling Wonderbolt merchandise ranging from tee shirts, flags, and hats. Prism saw the mare was desperate to sell so she could unburden herself from the heavy saddlebags. He looked to his daughter and nudged his head towards the vendor.
The mare finished a transaction with three other ponies before it was Rainbow’s turn to pick something. Prism hovered off to the side. “Pick a souvenir, a little bonus for being such a good sport.”
Dash caught that sarcastic glint in his eye. “Riiight.” Rainbow wasn’t going to pass up a free present, but almost everything was the blue and gold of the Wonderbolts. She spun around the increasingly impatient mare searching for what she wanted, which was something unrelated to the Wonderbolts.
“Come on filly, I got other customers behind you.”
Dash was about to give up when one of the flags in the mare’s left saddle bag caught her eye because it was a deep red. Rainbow pulled it out to discover it was attached to a wooden stick. Towards the pole the triangle shaped flag bore the symbol of Cloudsdale. It was left over merchandise from the stadium’s previous event and the mare was surprised she accidentally placed it in her bags in her rush to get here on time.
The blue filly took immense pride in her hometown and was happy with her find. “I’ll take this one.”
The mare and a few customers gave the flag and filly an odd look. Since the Wonderbolts’ headquarters were in Cloudsdale it was not against the spirit of the acrobatics’ team to wave the red flag, but it was unusual not to buy a blue and gold one. The mare was just glad it was being sold and looked to Prism. “That’ll be ten bits.”
Prism fished out the money and paid the vendor. “Okay Dash, let’s grab a seat.”
The task proved more difficult than he had hoped. The stands were crammed and since it was an airshow, they couldn’t simply hover in place when the show started. Rainbow, with the flag tightly clamped in her mouth, helped her father look for seats. After twenty seconds, she saw two ponies get picked up by an usher who discovered they didn’t have tickets and were being led away.
“Ohh!” She tapped her father’s flank to grab his attention and pointed at the now vacant seats on the fifth row. “Down there.”
Prism knew they had to act fast and only nodded to show his acknowledgement and zipped down. He landed and sat down while leaning over the second seat just as two stallions stopped short. “Hey buddy you can’t save seats!”
Rainbow came in for a landing and claimed her seat. Prism sat back in his chair and smirked at the stallions. “I don’t know what you mean. I’m not saving any seats,” he winked at Rainbow who giggled in response.
Neither stallion wanted to start anything with the ushers around. They grumbled a bit before flying off, leaving Prism to lean back and give her daughter a smirk. Rainbow snickered at the event. “He was so going to try and kick your flank Dad.”
“The keyword there, is try.” He used a hoof to messy up her already unruly mane.
Rainbow stood up on her hind legs and play fought with him by punching him as she used her tail and wings to stay upright on two legs. It was not long before the loudspeakers clamored for the anxious and noisy audience’s attention. “Fillies and gentlecolts, welcome to the Buster Storm stadium’s fifty eighth showing of theee Wooooooonderbooolts!” The crowd cheered uproariously. The announcer gave a slight mocking tint to his voice. “Was that cheering or was that mewling? Give it up for the Wonderbolts!”
Caught up in the crowd’s energy, even Rainbow Dash joined in yelling the cheer. “Yeah! Won Der Bolts! Won Der Bolts! Won Der Bolts!” The cloudstone rumbled under the pounding from thousands of hooves to the cadence of the chant.
“Now that’s what I want to hear!” the announcer replied approvingly. “Our beginning line up will be Lightning Flash, Typhoon, Blitz Gerald, Cloud Runner, and the Captain of the Wonderbolts himself, Daredevil!”
The five acrobats marched out of the side wall of the stadium and waved to their fans. Due to everybody standing to cheer at the five athletes walking along the field, and the strict no fly zone now in effect, Rainbow couldn’t see over the ponies in front of her. The little filly was about to break the no fly rule when her father bit down on the scruff of her neck and pulled her up to stand on his back.
He gave her a genuinely happy smile at see the eager blue filly. “I thought you didn’t want to watch.”
Rainbow tucked the flag under her wing to speak with a nonchalance tone. “Yeah, well—since we’re already here I might as well see what all the fuss is about.”
His grin widened. He knew his daughter love athletic events, and fully believed she would love this one just as much as any other sports game. “Well don’t forget to wave that flag when they do a flyby.”
Dash returned the flag to her mouth and saluted him with a foreleg. He chuckled before turned back around to see the Wonderbolts get into position to begin. The blue filly propped her forelegs up onto his head to get a better view.
At the sound of a trumpet, the five fliers shot off into the air, climbing high into the air in a perfect diamond formation. The little filly begrudgingly felt impressed with their speed. As one, the formation activated their smoke and lightning trails. The group dove back down and opened up with a horizontal spin as the four outside fliers spun around the central captain. At the end of the roll the formation broke apart and dove down towards the crowd at steep angles.
One of which directed herself straight at Rainbow Dash. The little filly’s eyes dilated wider and wider as the Wonderbolt streaked down as if she was going to crash into her. The smoke and lightning behind the acrobat only added to the chill that ran down her spine.
Right before she was about to flinch, the Wonderbolt pulled to the side and leveled out a few meters above the crowd. Rainbow followed her flight path with an amazed “Wow,” escaping her lips. Moments later, the next Wonderbolt passed overhead as the athletes preformed a spiraling circuit. The crowd let off ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ as the acrobats snaked up and over each other’s trails, avoiding midair collisions by scant centimeters. The dazzling display ended as the formation returned to the center and the ponies reformed behind Daredevil.
Rainbow was beside herself with excitement as she whooped and cheered at the thrilling death defying stunts and tricks that boggled the young filly’s mind. Dash was enthralled by the performance and vigorously cheered and waved her flag whenever one of the Bolts passed nearby.
Prism only partially watched the show as it unfolded. Most of his attention was directed at his daughter. A proud grin was ever-present on his face as the filly on his back thoroughly enjoyed herself.
The show came to a close an hour and a half later with the Wonderbolts doing one last lap around the stands before settling down at the center of the field. Daredevil grabbed a microphone that was been waiting for him. “Thank you Cloudsdale for hosting our show.”
Thunderous cheering hailed back at him, eliciting a smile out of the waving Wonderbolts. Unbeknownst to Rainbow, Daredevil had a personal tradition of his. After he gave his closing remarks to the crowd he flew up high into the air, took off his goggles and threw them at the crowd below. “A memento to a lucky pony out there,” he shouted to the crowd below.
Dash saw them fall down a few seats to her left and the screaming lucky mare was about to latch onto them when the pegasus to her left tried to snatch them up instead. The interception was a failure and the goggles bounced away from both mares’ hooves and clocked Prism in the side of the head. As her father raised a hoof to shake the stars from his eyes, Rainbow dropped the flag and gripped the errant eyewear before it could fall to the cloudstone below and be fair game for anyone to grab.
The mares groaned in disappointment while Rainbow’s young brain struggled to process what she held in her teeth. She sat on her haunches and held Daredevil’s goggles in her hooves with wide eyed amazement. “Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh!” Her girlish squeals nearly shattered her poor father's eardrums.
The Wonderbolt captain bowed to the crowd one last time and followed his team to the locker room.
Prism craned his head around to witness his daughter explode in excitement. “That was so awesome!” She placed the goggles around her neck and wrapped her hooves around her father in a loving embrace. “Thank you sooo much for bringing me here.”
He gave her a sarcastic look. “Am I to believe that you enjoyed yourself?”
“Did I?! Did you see how they spun around and did that amazing back flip inches off the ground?” She pulled back and mimicked the stunts with her hooves. “They were like marrrrooww eeeerrroww! And that big finale at the end was totally radical!”
Prism pulled the hyperactive filly off his back and set her so she would start flying. Rainbow was too preoccupied with pretending her hooves were Wonderbolts to remember the dropped flag. Prism picked it back up and stuffed it into his saddlebag. “Well we should get on home.”
By now, most of the crowd had departed into the skies so it was easy for father and daughter to do the same. Dash buzzed all around her slower father as they departed downtown Cloudsdale. Rainbow moved to be by his head. “Do you think I could be a Wonderbolt one day?”
Prism saw the mixture of excitement, awe, and determination in the filly’s face. Her forelegs were still hugging the goggles to make sure they were real. “Rainbow Dash. You can do anything you set your mind to. And if you work at it, maybe someday you’ll be the one tossing your goggles at a lucky filly.”
She glanced down at Daredevil’s eyewear. “To be the captain of the Wonderbolts…” A competitive grin came upon her. “Captain Rainbow Dash. I like the sound of that.”
