'No points for second place!' Dash thought to herself over and over again. She pushed herself harder and harder until it pained her. She liked the pain. She finely manipulated her strong wings to maneuver around a cloud. She looked behind her to see the competition trailing far behind and exhausted. 'I got this one in the bag!'
She saw the finish line and pulled her wings in for a bit more speed. The feeling of the cool air through her hairs and feathers was exhilarating. Adrenaline coursing through her being, she pushed herself even harder, assuring her victory. She closed her eyes to take in the full experience, to feel every emotion all at once.
The checkered flag waving, she crossed-
Rainbow Dash regained consciousness from yet another restless night. Her blankets and pillows were scattered randomly about her bed. She cracked an eye and noticed she was oriented differently than she remembered and shifted to see her alarm clock.
'Two minutes...' she thought to herself, '...I had two more minutes before I had to wake up...damn you brain.' She rolled back over and squeezed her eyes shut, dreading the inevitable. Rainbow tried to remember the dream she was having but no matter how hard she tried she could not recall. Dash rolled on her back and slowly opened her eyes to the ceiling of her cloud house.
Rainbow quickly shut her eyes to the loud chimes of her alarm as she swung a hoof over to quiet the clock.
'I guess now's a good a time as any...' Dash kicked off the covers and rolled on her front. Her head sunk into the pillow. After a few moments of mental preparation, she lifted herself off the bed and moved to sit at the edge. She breathed slowly in and out, closing her eyes once again.
Dash pushed herself off the bed and onto her hooves. A few audible pops sounded as she arched her back and stretched her legs. She looked over to the bathroom, 'Shower?...no...breakfast?...no...?'
A series of knocks resonated through her small home. "Dash? You ready to go?" Dash's ears perked up to the sound of Derpy's voice. A small smile grew on her muzzle.
"Yeah! Be down in a sec!" Dash threw her lab coat into a saddle bag and tossed the straps over her back. Walking down the hall to the stairs, she saw her reflection in a mirror, causing her to stop. She looked herself from head to hoof. 'Everything appears to be in order' she thought. Dash turned her body to look at her sides.
She looked down her rainbow mane over to her back, where she moved her wing stubs slightly and then to her flank, still bare. "Yup, everything's in order" she sighed and continued her walk to the door.
Dash looked down over the side of the chariot. Derpy was pulling the cart over a primary school. There were young fillies running about and playing with one another. She saw them jumping and trying to flap their small wings hard enough to generate lift. Most of them just made it a few inches before landing again. Each attempt was greeted with praise and recognition. Rainbow skunked back into the chariot and hung her head. A moment passed and Dash looked over to Derpy, still diligently pulling the cart.
"Thanks again Derpy, you know, for all the help." Dash finally said. She turned her head to Dash with a smile.
"Oh it's nothing ya big silly!" She responded with her eyes closed.
"Derpy watch in front if you!" Rainbow yelled, pointing a hoof to a fast approaching chariot. Derpy maneuvered to avoid it and continued towards the rainbow factory.
"Oh! Sorry. I get distracted easy." Derpy apologized with her ears flat against her head.
"I know you do, it's ok." Answered Dash. Derpy's ears perked up once again accompanied by her ever-lasting smile. "But really, I do appreciate all the rides." Dash used to feel weird apologizing all the time, but over the years she's gotten used to it. Everypony always had to accommodate or take care of her, and Dash hated every minute of it.
Derpy landed at the entrance to the factory and Dash hopped out of the chariot.
"See you inside?" Dash asked.
"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute." Derpy took off to go park the chariot. Dash watched as she smoothly ascended. Watching ponies fly truly made her happy, but at the same time...something was missing. Her soft smile faded as her attention was grabbed by the rising sun.
Rainbow adjusted her bag and turned to the entrance of the factory.
"Hey look! It's our resident blank flank!" Dash closed her locker and turned to the voice with her eyes closed.
"Hi Rhine Ice." Dash said to the white stallion leaning against the line of lockers in the break room. "Can we not do this today?" She stepped to move past him but he moved to block her. Rainbow looked to another pegasus in the room. The pony made eye contact, rolled her eyes and continued eating her breakfast. Dash looked back to Rhine. "Please?" She begged, "I have work to do."
"Pft! Like they need you at all." He looked her up and down again. He laughed as he walked out with his laboratory coat and hard hat. Dash didn't say a word. She simply slipped on her coat and placed her helmet atop her head and followed suit.
In the hall she saw her boss, Convective Thermal speaking to the factory forepony. Rainbow liked her supervisor...to an extent.
"Dash! I wanted to see you!-One second sir?" The forepony returned a nod and Thermal turned to Dash. She pulled a lab coat out of her saddle bag and gave it to Dash. "I had this made for you," she leaned in and began with a hushed voice, "I know how hard all this is for you and I thought this might help."
Dash looked it over but didn't see anything special about it. "Well? Try it on already." Thermal said with a smile. Rainbow removed her coat and replaced it with the new one. She looked it over. Nothing was different at all until her eyes were drawn to her back. The two holes that were normally there for wings were seamlessly patched. Dash's ears fell a little to the sides of her head and her eyes softened.
"M-ma'am...you-" she began but was quickly interrupted by her supervisor.
"-Think nothing of it. I'll see you out on the line." Thermal placed a hoof on the young mare's back and turned to leave. Dash was speechless at the act of kindness. She was filled with humbling emotions mixed with a little annoyance and anger. She looked back at her old coat still in her hoof and closed her eyes with a deep exhale. She returned to her locker and placed her old coat back on its hook.
Dash took a deep breath and headed out into the hallway and onto the factory floor.
