Uncompromising
Three years ago...
“What are you saying, newbie?” Spitfire asked. A blue-coated pegasus mare stood in front of her, clad in an eye-catching blue and white uniform that covered her front torso and forelegs. Her exposed flanks bore the image of a white raincloud firing a vibrant, rainbow-patterned lightning bolt, half-obscured by her folded wings.
The rainbow mare gave her yellow-coated commander a vicious stare. Their eyes locked for no more than a second, but that was plenty of time for Rainbow Dash to summon the courage for what she was to do next. Her sky-blue hoof landed on Spitfire's desk. Grasped inside it was a shiny, nickel-coated badge, which bore the likeness of a pegasus pony's head, mane, and wings, shaped to the vague form of a torch. Rainbow Dash retracted her hoof, but the badge did not move. As she had intended, it remained on the desk where it belonged.
The angry pegasus stared back at the fire-maned mare, her usually calm demeanor had by now descended into a burning, unquenchable rage. She had already made her mind up, and there wasn't any turning back now. Silently, she breathed deeply, never allowing her face to betray her feelings, never faltering in her facade of strength and resolve as she allowed two final words to escape her muzzle:
“I quit.”
Spitfire's eyes went wide. Dash's eyes stood still. At first, they appeared to make contact with the commander's, but it soon became apparent that they had aimed for nothing at all, only catching sight of whatever may be directly in front of them, as the pegasus turned to leave the room.
Her expression did not change, her lips did not move, not a single tear was shed. With her eyes still locked forward in defiance, she inched herself to the door. The trip only lasted a few seconds, but it may as well have been months. With every hoofstep, all she could hear was the sound of her dreams imploding, but she fought to drown it out with righteous fury.
“To Hell with the Wonderbolts!”she shouted, inaudibly. Only her innermost self could hear her screams of protest, but that was the only audience she needed.
“To Hell with Lightning Dust!”she continued. Though they had initially gotten along, the rival pegasus soon came to represent all which she despised of the organization.
“To Hell with Spitfire!”Rainbow's conscious cried out, this time so loud it could almost physically manifest and find its way to the ears of the mare herself, the mare who had rewarded dangerous, reckless behavior in the name of giving the ignorant audience ponies a better show.
“And to Hell with me, for ever believing in any of them,”she finished. By this point, she had cleared the door to the office, and slammed it closed with a rear hoof.
In an instant, her mask crumbled. Her pupils shrank and her lips went numb, leaving her mouth wide open as her eyes lost focus, left with nothing to do as Rainbow's mind raced. She had not realized that her wingspan was open, and promptly closed it as her anger gave way to sober reflection and regret.
She turned to gaze back at the door, hoping that by some luck she had simply drempt the last two minutes of her life, praying that she had not just thrown her lifelong dream to the ether. She had no such luck. With the realization sinking in, she faced forward once more. Try as she might, she could neither force nor fake determination, and the empty, shell-shocked husk of a pony trotted somberly away from where she had left her nickel-coated cadet's badge.
***
“You did what!?” Applejack's southern drawl carried a concerned edge to it. However, her pure intentions fell on deaf ears, as Rainbow focused intently on fastening her saddlebags, and on little else.
Her mind had done enough thinking for the day. If Rainbow Dash was to ever get any rest, she had to simply accept and come to terms with what she had done.
“Being a Wonderbolt was your dream!” came another friendly voice.
Try as she might to clear and focus her mind, Rainbow could only continue to be reminded of what had just happened, and her so-called friends weren't helping! “No!”Rainbow scolded herself, “They're only trying to help! They only want what's best for me. It's not their fault that they have questions.”
Rainbow released a leather strap from her teeth, satisfied with how it fit around her waist, and quickly licked her lips to cleanse herself of the putrid taste of leather. “Not anymore,” she stated angrily, keeping her eyes locked to the horizon. In that sky, she saw what could have been. She saw herself performing magnificent aerobatic feats above an adoring crowd, combining a 1080-degree barrel roll with a sonic rainboom while everypony looked on in awe. Just today, she had been on the fast track to making those dreams come true. Now, they had been firmly shredded by a moment of stubborn pride.
“I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight consoled, placing a hoof on the blue mare's shoulder as a show of support, “I know how much this meant to you.”
Twilight and Applejack leaned in to offer their friend a hug. Rainbow shut her eyes. For a brief moment, she allowed herself this gift, this small gesture of friendship that she so desperately needed.
Then, with a sob, Rainbow broke away. She trotted forward but a few steps, then turned back to face her friends. An earnest smile graced her features, and a lone tear made its way downward through the acres of fur covering her cheek. “Thanks, guys,” she sobbed. The five others looked to their pegasus friend with understanding. They might not have agreed with her decision, but they resolved to do whatever it took to help her through it.
After all, that's what friends are for.
Rainbow looked forward once more. She stashed away her smile, and wiped away her tear with a hoof,as she spread her wings once more to do what she does best. She gave her friends one last glance, biting her tongue to hold back another tear, and took her running start off of the academy runway. Before she had even left the pavement, her bright blue wings had caught the wind, and lifted her gracefully from the platform. Twilight and the others looked on in awe, as Rainbow Dash soared up into the air, her coat nearly blending in with Celestia's sky, as if she had been born for it.
All of a sudden, a yellow mare with a fiery orange mane ran to join them on the edge of the cliff. “Rainbow Dash!” she yelled, frantically. By now, she didn't bother trying to act tough. Rainbow Dash was a good pony, and she deserved the truth. “Rainbow Dash!” she repeated, but the only ponies around to hear her were Rainbow's friends, who looked back to see Spitfire in a speedy gallop toward the edge.
The five looked on with worry, as they pondered whether they should let their friend leave, or interfere. Not a soul dared speak, no pony wanted to be the one who determined their friend's fate, be it for better or worse.
But, as Spitfire had spotted the blue pegasus, and was ready to take flight to catch her, one voice broke the silence.
“No!” came the timid, yet confident voice of a lemon-coated young mare. Spitfire stopped in her tracks, and turned to face her, a look of panic dominating her face. Fluttershy continued, “Rainbow Dash doesn't want anything to do with you!”
Spitfire stood stunned, unable to retort, or to even move, as her mouth lay agape in the face of her accuser.
“Rainbow Dash came to this academy to prove that she was good enough for the Wonderbolts. But she already knew she was. Everypony knew she was. Instead, she ended up learning something else. Something more important. She learned thatyou'renot good enough forher.That she doesn't need you.”
“You're right, Fluttershy,” Twilight joined in, stepping forward to confront the commander, “The Rainbow Dash I know doesn't need ponies like you.” Gazing to her friend in the clouds, she turned back and added, “I know this was her dream, but that doesn't mean it will be her only one. Rainbow Dash will find a better dream to follow, one that doesn't involve the likes of you! And whatever that dream may be, Celestia as my witness, I swear to do whatever I can to help her see it come true!”
“Same goes for me,” Applejack asserted, as she joined Twilight in confronting Spitfire.
“And me,” said Rarity.
“Count... me... in!” Pinkie Pie stated, grumpily.
“Me too,” Fluttershy concluded.
Spitfire shrank back, wondering what she had done to become the villain of the piece. She looked to Rainbow, who was slowly fading into the horizon, and assured herself, as painful as it was, that her friends were right. She's going to be a-okay.
“You're right,” the commander sighed, “Rainbow Dash is lucky to have friends like you.”
The others stood surprised by her answer. After all they had thought this mare to be, after all her organization had put Rainbow through, maybe she wasn't such a bad pony after all. Had they made a mistake?
But before they could act on these fears, the cyan pegasus dipped down and disappeared below the clouds, never to resurface. The deed was done.
***
Two years ago...
“I've seen penguins fly faster than you, Twilight!” the rainbow-maned pegasus taunted, the wind flowing freely in her mane as she sped through the many colorful rings and makeshift blocks of their homemade obstacle course. “In fact,” she teased, peeking at the orange filly gliding along beside her, “I'm flying with one right now!” And with that, Rainbow Dash took off like a shot, quadrupling her speed in an instant as she left the other two fliers in the dust. A bright, rainbow-patterned trail displayed where she had been, but where she currently was was a bit harder to pin down.
“Hey! No fair!” Scootaloo yelled. She then summoned every last bit of strength she could muster into her scrawny little wings, and sped ahead with all the determination of her hero and mentor, clearing theobstacles with every bit as much speed and precision as she did.
This left Twilight on the sidelines, but she honestly wasn't concerned with winning. Instead, she took the opportunity to rest atop one of the blocks, as she watched with a joyous smile the orange-and-purple trail of light slowly catch up to the tip of the rainbow trail.
And catch up she did. In the span of only a dozen seconds, Scootaloo had completely closed the gap with Rainbow Dash, and the two flew neck-and-neck for the finish line at the end. Rainbow even found herself accelerating to keep pace with her protege, a fact that she wasn't sure was making her mad, or ecstatic! Reinvigorated with a sudden burst of energy, Rainbow Dash soared even faster, cutting through a row of dummy clouds like a hot knife through butter as she drew ever closer to the finish line, only to find the filly with the purple mane right beside her, like she had never left.
Now, it was her turn. As the pair neared the final stretch of the race, Scootaloo seemingly lagged behind, and Rainbow picked up the pace to try to seize her brief advantage. But in the final second of the race, the pegasus filly shot ahead like a bat out of hell, her speed now dwarfing that of her mentor, as she rocketed into the thin, red strand of tape, severing it in two with Rainbow Dash only millimeters away from doing the same.
The two pegasi then crashed headfirst into a cushioned pillow cloud, laughing gleefully at the results of the race. Twilight Sparkle spread her wings and flew from atop the block to join them.
“Phew! Wow, girls, that was one tough workout,” said the violet-coated alicorn.
“How would you know?” Scootaloo giggled, “You missed half of it!”
“Well, I was there in spirit,” Twilight blushed. Watching the two pegasi frolic and play like this put a very special kind of smile on her face. It had been exactly one year today since Rainbow had left the academy, and Twilight was doing exactly what she had promised to do. She had found Rainbow Dash a new dream, a new goal to pursue. She wasn't sure how badly her friend missed her old dream, but she was definitely getting over it. Training Scootaloo to become her successor was all she really needed. And personally, Twilight liked this dream a lot better.
“Don't get cocky, pipsqueak. Iletyou win that one!” teased Rainbow, as she glided her way to Fluttershy for a glass of water.
“Did not!” the filly retorted.
“Did to!” Rainbow shot back.
“Did not!”
“Did to!”
“Prove it!” Scootaloo finally yelled, eagerly, as she spread her wings as wide as they could go, “Let's have a rematch!”
Rainbow looked to her wing, which she had to admit, was feeling a little bit sore after the last race, and decided to let her down easy, “In a bit. Take a few practice runs, I'll join you when I feel like it.”
Scootaloo fastened her goggles, and took off from the starting line at nearly mach speeds. Rainbow stayed where she was, and Twilight landed beside her for a chat.
“I see Scootaloo's getting to be almost as good a flier as you are,” the alicorn opened.
“Yeah, well, don't count on her getting anywhere better than 'almost'. I'm still number one,” Rainbow boasted, with a hopeful subtext. “It feels good, though,” she admitted, “seeing this little filly get to be so good, and being able to just say 'Hey...'”
She paused as a bright purple-orange blur sped past them, carrying behind it a gust of wind strong enough to flow triumphantly through the manes of both winged mares.
“'Hey' what?” Twilight inquired, a bright smile illuminating her features.
“'Hey,'” Rainbow continued, “'I taught her that.'”
“Thirty-five seconds!” Scootaloo screeched, as she excitedly loop-de-looped through the air like a songbird on caffeine, “My best time yet!”
A happy tear came to Dash's eye. “Yeah, but still a half-second off of mine!” she teased.
“We'll see about that!” Scootaloo yelled as she shot off through the starting line yet again. Rainbow could only gaze in awe. Seeing her succeed was her new dream, and it was coming true.
***
One year ago...
It was a very cloudy day in Ponyville. The local farmers had asked for a touch of rain, to help water their crops. The sky-blue mare was where she usually was, micromanaging the weather for the benefit of all the good ponyfolk around town. Though not a job she would want to perform for the rest or her life, she did find it to be fun, fulfilling, steady work. Whether she was packing clouds, destroying them, raising the temperature, lowering the temperature, or just passing time performing unholy experiments on miniature hurricanes, it was good to be Ponyville’s resident weathermare.
Rainbow started the day by packing a few storm clouds over Sweet Apple Acres, then set about packing a few of the larger ones to get better coverage, until she had eventually encompassed the entire town. From there, the ponies who hated rain promptly trotted indoors, while the more open-minded mares and stallions opted to stay outside or even play in it. Rainbow Dash always loved a good storm, and this might have been one of her best yet.
Of course, one would be cheating to attribute this particular storm to her entirely.
“Where do you need these two?” asked the orange filly, who was quickly growing into an orange young mare.
“Eh, we’ve got enough coverage for now,” Rainbow surmised, “Just put those two back where you found ‘em, and save ‘em for later, I guess.”
Scootaloo popped a quick salute. “Aye aye, ma’am,” she said. She then about faced completely and brought her rear hooves to bear against one of the dark gray masses. Not hard enough to destroy it, but plenty hard enough to send it spinning over in the direction of Canterlot, where it coasted to a stop about halfway between the two settlements. She then grabbed the second one in her forehooves and started to pull, just a little bit, making sure to keep the cloud’s consistency intact, while still allowing her freedom to work. Once satisfied with her grip on the storm cloud, Scootaloo wound her arm back and flung it in the very same direction as the first. Gently flapping her wings for lift, she watched intently as the cloud started on its long journey for Canterlot Castle, only to tire and run short of steam about a quarter of the way over. As it began its drop from the sky, the gray mass began to lock on to a most peculiar target: The other storm cloud.
Eventually, the two clouds collided in a flashy display of thunder and lightning gone amok. For several seconds, deadly blue bolts of electricity shot out at least a hundred feet in every direction from the merged cloud, thankfully hitting nothing more than air. In the wrong situation, this could be bad news. As it stood, it was one hell of a light show, and little else.
Soon, the charge fizzled out, leaving the merged cloud to harmlessly dissipate into the wind. Scootaloo, having had her kicks, turned to rejoin her mentor, only to find her hovering right behind her, a disappointed snarl etched onto the blue mare’s features. Scootaloo gasped in shock, and her wings locked up for but a moment, costing her about ten feet of altitude that she quickly regained after she was able to move again.
“Scoots,” Rainbow began, her expression unchanging, “What in the hay was that?”
“Um, i- it was a...” Scootaloo stuttered, timidly.
“It was reckless, that’s what it was,” Rainbow admonished, “Don’t do stuff like that.”
“I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash,” the filly said, her head drooping low so as to avoid the soul-numbing look of disappointment from her mentor, “It’s just that you’re always telling me to push myself as hard as I can...”
“Not like that,” Rainbow interrupted, “Not when it puts anypony in danger, including yourself. I’ve had bad experiences with recklessness, and I’d rather you not have to go through what I did.”
Scootaloo listened intently, her ears perked as she tried to keep herself from ever making the same mistake again.
After the lecture, Rainbow smiled and asked the orange pegasus to go home. “The greatest flier in Equestria needs to get a bit of shuteye,” she joked, running her hoof through the filly’s purple mane, “Come back in an hour or two, then we’ll continue where we left off.”
Scootaloo nodded, said “Goodbye,” and descended below the stormy cloud cover to a rain-drenched Ponyville. From her bird’s eye view, Scootaloo soon spotted her house amongst all the others. However, she did not fly down to it. Instead, she kept flying, looking for a completely different house altogether.
She flew northeast along the muddy trails of the town, her coat and mane getting soaked as she continued her journey towards Ponyville's outskirts. Finally, after about a minute of flying, she had spotted her target: a large, red barn on the top of a hill. Scootaloo angled in, towards the barn, and descended to approach it. She came to a coasting stop near the barn’s entrance, briefly trotting along with her momentum to keep from stumbling and falling into the mud, and proceeded to step inside the wide open door of the hopefully dry structure.
“Scoots?” came a pleasant young voice from inside, “That you?”
Scootaloo shook the water from her mane and coat, then took a moment to respond to the voice, “Yeah, Apple Bloom. It’s me,” she replied in a chipper tone.
A lemon-coated earth pony filly with a red mane stepped out from the shadows, and into the illumination of the only lantern in the structure. Clenched in her teeth was a single unopened letter, postmarked for the day before. “I got your mail, Scoot,” said the earth pony, somberly, “I still don’t like any of this one bit. Rainbow Dash needs you now more than ever, you just can’t do this to ‘er,” Apple Bloom protested, but still set the letter down onto a picnic bench, which her violet-maned friend anxiously approached.
“It’s for her own good,” Scootaloo assured her, as she fiddled with the letter in her hooves, “Rainbow Dash wants to see me succeed, and that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.”
“But joinin’ the Wonderbolts? Ain’t that gonna open some old wounds for ‘er?”
“If there’s one thing I know about Rainbow Dash, it’s that she’s resilient. She doesn’t get stuck on silly grudges. Trust me, she’ll...” the pegasus stuttered, and took a deep breath before she could finish her thought, “She’ll barely even know I’m gone.”
The earth pony shook her head softly. “You know that ain’t true,” she stated, a blank, unbelieving expression dominating her face, “Rainbow Dash loves you, the same way that Applejack loves me. You two are sisters, and sisters just don’t do this kind of thing to each other. They don’t walk out on one another like this. They don’t abandon their sisters in their time of need.”
Scootaloo started thinking about Apple Bloom’s words. Suddenly, the envelope felt a lot heavier in her hooves, as if its contents now affected not only her own life, but also carried the fate of somepony else she had cared deeply about. She closed her eyes, and tried to breathe in, before finally giving her friend an answer. “You don’t know Rainbow Dash like I do,” she assured, more for her own benefit than that of Apple Bloom, “She’s... she’s strong, ya know? She’s the kind of pony who can get past anything, no matter what life throws at her.”
“Big Macintosh is strong,” the lemon-coated filly argued, “Don’t mean we like to go around testing it by hurling boulders at him.”
Scootaloo couldn’t help but snicker at that remark, but then seemed to devote her time more to viciously attacking the envelope before her, and less to continuing the conversation.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!
The thin, protective layer of paper ripped away to reveal a slightly thicker layer of the same material. Inscribed on it was a message, addressed to the orange filly herself, and originally sent from Commander Lightning Dust, current captain of the Wonderbolts.
“Trust me,” Scootaloo said, with a nervous quiver of uncertainty permeating her tone, “This is what's best for everypony. You'll see.”
***
Yesterday...
Silence. No pony dared speak a word. Look where that had gotten them last time. Instead, they just stood there, waiting in the clearing outside Rainbow's house in the clouds, staring up at it, blankly. Twilight looked to her lemon-coated pegasus friend beside her, and bit her lip anxiously. Fluttershy looked back, but kept a far better poker face than the alicorn could. The rest could only gaze in silence at the home above them. Rainbow had not set hoof outside in months, not since Scootaloo left, and had stopped accepting visitors after the newly-anointed Wonderbolt had shown up at her door last month. No pony had seen her since. Twilight had volunteered to bring her groceries every week, a task which she has stuck to dutifully, and never once failed, but even this had not earned her an audience with the sky blue pegasus.
Now, something had happened. Something that may very well shatter what little mind Rainbow Dash had left. She was bound to hear the news eventually, so better that a friend tell her instead of letting her live in ignorance. The only question was simple:
Who was going to tell her?
After several minutes of silence, Twilight Sparkle finally took a deep breath and a step forward.
“I'll do it,” she murmured, grabbing Rarity's news clipping in her teeth and spreading her long, purple wings, “Don't worry, girls. Rainbow Dash will be fine. We'll get through this. We always have.”
Twilight Sparkle took to the air, making her way upwards to the floating mansion. There was no sense of urgency. Twilight was in no hurry to emotionally shatter her best friend, but it had to be done. It had been a beautiful, sunny day in Ponyville, not a single cloud anywhere in the sky, and no threat of any showing up before nightfall. Flying in weather like this had used to be something that Twilight enjoyed doing with Rainbow Dash. More often than not, Rainbow's adopted sister would be with them, as well. Twilight never was the fastest flier, but that didn't stop her from flying for fun.
But now, flying over to Rainbow Dash's house was not what it used to be. With each beat of her wings, Twilight could not feel eagerness, or hopefulness, but only fear. Fear for what she might find, and how her friend might react.
Twilight finally touched down on the cloudy surface, and stepped up to her door. Exhaling audibly, she placed her hoof to the door, and knocked.
“Go away,” came the sobbing reply, “It's not Monday yet.”
“Rainbow Dash, let me in, I need to tell you something.”
“Just leave me alone right now, Twilight. I don't want to talk with anypony right now”
“Rainbow Dash, you can't just...”
“I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE, TWILIGHT!” the pegasus interrupted, no longer bothering to keep an indoor voice.
“It's about Scootaloo!”
The house went silent. Not a peep could be heard from the inside, much less the shouts which Rainbow had recently taken to. After a pregnant pause, Twilight heard the sound of a lock coming loose, but nothing else. Cautiously, Twilight wrapped the door handle in her magic, and pushed down. The door eased open with a creak, to reveal Rainbow Dash standing in the middle of her well-kept living room, her back turned towards Twilight.
Twilight stepped inside, and tried to approach her friend.
“That's far enough,” the pegasus deadpanned, “What do you want, Twilight? What happened to Scootaloo?”
Twilight floated the newspaper clipping over to a table beside Rainbow Dash. The pegasus glanced over to it, and her nostrils began to flare in anger. Hurriedly, she turned away from it, and tried to bring her excited breathing back under control.
“Read it to me,” she sobbed, now hyperventilating.
“Are you sure?” Twilight asked, uneasily.
“Please, Twilight. Just give me this.”
Twilight floated back the clipping, and glanced at it, then Rainbow Dash, then back at it before she started.
“Wonderbolt stunt goes wrong, seven injured,” she began, her heartbeat accelerating anxiously, “Following a botched stunt performed yesterday at the Cloudsdale Colosseum, seven members of the renowned aerobatics team had to be moved to Hurricane Memorial Hospital for treatment. Scootaloo, known for being the youngest flier to ever join, and the only Wonderbolt to ever pull off a legendary sonic rainboom...”
Of all the tears Rainbow had shed, she allowed one to be in pride. She had done it, she had successfully passed on her legacy, if only briefly, to another pony.
“...had unfortunately fractured both of her wings during the accident. Even with surgery, it is expected that she will never fly again.”
“Never fly again”
“Never fly again”
Never fly again.
Scootaloo would never fly again.
“Lightning Dust...” the blue mare's mind raced, “She is to blame...”
Rainbow did not flinch upon hearing the news. Not physically, anyway. She remained perfectly still, silent, not giving her friend the time of day.
“Spitfire... She allowed her to stay in the academy.”
Everything opened up at once for Rainbow. All the doors and windows which had previously been closed, and her mind had opened wide to all of the betrayal. Betrayal. Betrayal.
“Lightning Dust...”
Betrayal.
“Spitfire...”
Betrayal.
“They lied to me...”
Betrayal.
“This is their fault...”
Never fly again.
“Lightning Dust... Spitfire...”
Recklessness
“They...”
Betrayal.
“...must...”
Recklessness
“...all...”
Never fly again.
“...die.”
***
Today...
She stared down at the stadium, gently beating her wings to stay in place where she was. Below her, thousands of Canterlot ponies had gathered to watch the Wonderbolts perform. The mob of equines all beat their hooves on the ground in anticipation, all eager to start the show. Then, at long last, flying in from directly north of the stadium came a dozen blue-uniformed pegasi flying in formations of three. The four wings of pegasus ponies all bedazzled the crowd with various stunts and shows of prowess, at one point even staging a mock aerial battle.
Having been to many Wonderbolt shows before this one, Rainbow could tell that the team had added a few more dangerous stunts to their repertoire since Lightning Dust had taken over as captain. However, a casual viewer or non-pegasus would simply think them par for the course for Wonderbolts. Every stunt seemed to be executed near-flawlessly. Even the reckless stunt that had crippled Scootaloo, which involved using a tornado to lift a boulder, had gone off without a hitch this time around.
But Rainbow Dash wasn't here to watch. For this occasion, she had donned her old academy uniform, a blue and white jumpsuit that she had never actually taken off prior to her leaving the academy. Its value was little more than symbolic, but it still held great significance for the cyan pegasus who wore it. Only recently, she had thought of the jumpsuit as a bad memory, a thing to be forgotten. Now, after having a particularly enlightening chat with Twilight, she held it in far more positive esteem.
After all, what’s a Wonderbolt without her uniform?
Since this would be Rainbow’s first real show as a member of the team, she had decided to make the grandest entrance she could. Just before the end of the show, she had planned to swoop down on the crowd and mystify the audience with the sort of aerobatic feats that ponies can only dream of. The kind that the Wonderbolts had chosen her for, to begin with. The kind that she had always dreamed of performing since she was a little filly.
As Soarin’ wrapped up his set, an eagle-eyed observer could notice Fleetfoot preparing to take center stage. Unfortunately, the former Captain Spitfire was nowhere to be seen, along with around half of the team that Rainbow knew from her childhood. Whether Spitfire had been in the accident, retired, or simply had not shown up today had escaped Rainbow Dash’s memory, but it hardly mattered anyway. Captain Lightning Dust was most certainly here. She had been standing on the sidelines co-ordinating the other fliers, and had planned to hop in personally for the grand finale.
But before the finale could start, every Wonderbolt on the team was expected to perform a specific solo routine, and Rainbow Dash had been practicing hers since she was very little, preparing for this day nearly her entire life.
***
A loud buzzer rang throughout the stadium, and Fleetfoot slowly started to trot into view. However, before he could begin his set, a rainbow-maned, sky-blue pegasus soared over him at supersonic speeds. She proceeded to fly several laps around the stadium’s interior, with a massive trail of dust following behind her at every turn. The determined mare didn’t let up for even a second, and ended her first stunt with a spinning ascent into the air, twirling the dust behind her into a glorious cyclone, before bucking it with her hind legs to dissolve it peacefully into the air.
She flew back down, towards the sides of the stadium, and aimed for a large bucket of water laying next to a bench. With her front hooves extended, Rainbow grabbed the bucket tightly and flew another lap with it, careful not to spill even a drop. She then stopped in the dead center of the stadium, and launched the bucket far into the air with a swift kick. Tiny droplets of water scattered into the air above the crowd, each one lacking the weight to find its way back down. Instead, they formed a hazy mist that broke the rays of moonlight above into a mighty rainbow. The audience sat stunned. Some even checked their programs in curiosity, and a few didn’t even think this pegasus was even a Wonderbolt at all.
Noting her skeptics, Rainbow Dash took to the air once more, and sped around the thin mist until she had compacted it into a petite raincloud. A quick buck made the newly-formed cloud fire off a single bolt into a nearby lightning rod, after which Rainbow Dash put her forehooves in front of her and began to dig into the cloud.
Meeting little resistance, Rainbow found herself pushing effortlessly through the densely-packed water vapor, emerging on the other side with a massive hole to show for it. Pulling a quick 180, the pegasus flew right back into the hole, but did not fly all the way through, as she did before.
The suspenseful eyes of the Canterlot elite looked on in amazement. For the time being, not a single pony could focus their attention on anything besides the miniscule rain cloud in the center of the stadium.
After a few silent moments, the cloud began to rumble, them split open with a menacing crack of thunder as Rainbow Dash appeared from between the two halves, holding one in each hoof.
She threw both halves into the sky, she proceeded to start on her grand finale. The trick that would cement her forever in the annals of Wonderbolt history. The trick that nopony would ever forget.
An eager grin coating her face, Rainbow Dash sped into the air at top speed. Her rainbow contrail followed her up further than anypony would care to guess, only stopping at the very edge of the breathable atmosphere, where Rainbow stared back down at Canterlot with a smile.
For a final time, she darted back down to Equestria, her speed growing by the second, as she tilted her wings to provide one final touch to her performance.
Once, she span. 360 degrees at this speed was considered a very daring stunt, even for the most experienced fliers.
Twice. 720 degrees at mach speed had only ever been pulled off a few times in the entire history of Equestria, and nopony ever wanted to try it again.
Thrice. 1080 had never even been attempted before. Most pegasi call it suicide. Perhaps Rainbow had not truly learned her lesson about being reckless. Or perhaps she simply made an exception.
But even after she had spun her way into history, Rainbow’s performance was still yet to meet its climax. As she sped closer and closer to the stadium, the mare began to glow with her namesake. A bright rainbow-tinted cone of energy enveloped her as she neared her destination.
Rainbow closed her eyes, and released herself to her instincts. A resounding “boom”, louder than any gunshot, could be heard from the entirety of Canterlot, and the visual evidence had been visible from every corner of Equestria.
***
Far away from Canterlot, in a library in the small village of Ponyville, a sleepy young alicorn had stayed up for a session of late-night studying. However, her concentration died a quick death after her eyes glimpsed a confirmation of her worst fears right outside of her window.
Set against the starry night sky was an ever-expanding ring of rainbow-colored light, emanating from overtop the Canterlot stadium high in the mountains. Most ponies would be overjoyed to witness such a sight. Twilight Sparkle, on the other hoof, knew very well that it could only mean one thing.
***
Rainbow Dash turned on a dime, and narrowly avoided plowing into the floor of the stadium, instead skimming along the surface before she could carefully slow to a full stop. All around her were ponies stunned and bedazzled by what they had just witnessed. For the most part, anyway.
A small squad of other pegasi flew over the side of the stadium in search of her. There were about seven, all of whom were clad in the golden armor of Celestia’s royal guard.
Though unwelcome, Rainbow Dash had been expecting them.
BAM!
The two halves of Dash’s raincloud finally reunited overtop the stadium, and began firing sharp sparks of electricity wherever they pleased. The crowd erupted into panic, everypony fled from their seats in search of the emergency exits, which left the guards forced to ignore the sky blue pegasus, and instead focus on helping everypony get out of the stadium safely. When one of the guards turned to look for her, he found that she had already disappeared amongst the chaos.
***
A lone pegasus mare stood in her team’s locker room. Her coat was a familiar cyan, but her mane and tail bore a light blonde coloring. The uniform she wore bore the insignia of the Wonderbolts, however, it was not in their traditional blue coloring. Rather, it had been the bright red “Commander” variant which had been introduced only recently, since Spitfire’s replacement last year.
The pegasus was rather calm. Serene, even. News of what transpired outside had yet to reach her ears. As far as she knew, Fleetfoot was in the middle of his set, and the grand finale was up afterward. Lightning Dust had opted to pass the time by tidying up. She showered, styled her mane, pressed her uniform, and carefully studied her routine. The spaces were too confined for her to practice it, but memorization never hurt anypony.
A quick glance at the clock on the wall told her that it was just about time for the finale, and she started for the door at a steady trot. However, she had stopped dead in her tracks when the locker room door swung open in front of her, with the blackened silhouette of a pony standing just on the other side of it.
Lightning Dust was startled, at first, but was able to calm herself after the initial surge of adrenaline.
“Fleetfoot?” she guessed, “You done already? That’s gotta be some kinda record.”
The pony did not answer her. Instead, it began to motion forward. Taking a single step into the well lit locker room, it allowed its bright, rainbow-colored mane to bathe in the illumination of the overhead light fixtures. Lightning Dust gasped, she felt her legs go numb as she stumbled back several steps, placing her next to a row of lockers marked for Wonderbolts with names from “Q” to “V”.
“What do you want!?” she stammered, trying to regain her composure. The rainbow-maned mare continued her advance slowly but surely, not pausing to meet Lightning’s questions for even an instant.
“You want another shot at the academy?”
Lightning Dust needed a straight answer more than anything else right now. Though she had never feared her old rival to be the violent sort, a strange feeling in her gut told her that something had gone horribly wrong. It was only then that she consciously noticed Rainbow’s old cadet uniform. In that instant, her heart rate doubled.
“Actually, to hell with the academy,” Lightning pleaded, as she started to slowly retreat along the row of lockers beside her, “You want to be on the team? I can do that.”
The mare did not stop. She had adopted an expression one could only describe as “dead”. A soulless glare pierced through the pupils of her eyes, and stared unflinching at the red-suited pegasus before her.
“What do you want?” came a shouting whisper from a desperate mare. Luckily, at that moment, Rainbow Dash seemed to stop, and she turned her gaze to a locker that stood directly opposite Lightning Dust.
“Scootaloo,” read the name on the door. Lightning glanced at the name, then struggled to fit together as many pieces as she could, before Rainbow could continue her march.
“I can pay for her surgery!” she bellowed, hoping it would be what she needed, “I’m so... so very sorry for what happened to her,” she broke out into tears, only now realizing the sheer gravity of what her reckless stunt planning.had done, just in time for the dazed pegasus to resume her slow trot, “It was my fault. I should have been more careful. But I can fix this. I can get her the best surgeons in Equestria.”
Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust now stood only a hoof’s length from each other. Neither pony made an effort to move, they both just stood there, watching the other one, waiting for her to make the first move. Lightning Dust’s eyes darted around the room, looking for anything that might help her out of this. Then, she realized it. The door out of the locker room, Rainbow had never closed it. She could get out from there, provided she could get past her right now.
Lightning Dust mentally readied herself, and told herself repeatedly that it was just a straight shot out, that she was only a quick gallop away from freedom. But as she took off for her destination, she found herself being held in place by a bright blue hoof. Physically, she could have forced her way past it, but mentally, the shock stopped her cold for but a second. Just long enough for the hoof to grasp onto her face, and to throw it into the door of Scootaloo’s locker.
Lightning Dust had retained her consciousness, but her eyes had slapped shut for much of the ordeal. Now, she found herself belly-up on the ground, with an indescribable pain dominating her skull. A warm trail of red liquid streamed down the mask of her jumpsuit, and some of it had even smeared on to the locker, partially obscuring the name of the crippled filly.
Lightning’s body convulsed, every muscle in her body contracted, then relaxed, then contracted again repeatedly. She no longer had control. A state of pure, unfiltered panic had finally consumed her body, and it showed no sign of giving it back.
Rainbow Dash stood above her, glaring down at the helpless Wonderbolt with dead eyes. Slowly, she rose her left forehoof, then brought it down on the neck of her paralyzed victim.
As her throat closed, Lightning Dust struggled for a great many things. For control over her body, for a way out of the locker room, and more urgently, for oxygen. Her mind raced as her peripheral vision began to fade. The edges of the world went black, and the blackness fought to overtake what remained of the light. Still, she did not give up. There simply had to be a way out of this. There always is. But by then, all that remained of the visible world was the expressionless face and colorful mane of her attacker, with a single tear dripping down from her cheek.
Author's Note
Looking back on this story, I think I was a tad hammy and too susceptible to "Lavender Unicorn Syndrome". Still, the folks I showed it to seemed to like it, so I figure there's no harm in posting it here.
Anywho, please leave comments telling me what you liked or didn't like. Simply hitting one of the buttons does not help me become a better author.
