From Everypony's Point of View

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Author's Note

Keep in mind while reading this that this is my first fic and I don't have a proof-reader either, so constructive criticism or any advice is appreciated. Also, this first chapter might be a little bit rushed and not as good as it should be. I had to write it a second time because my computer decided to shut off in the middle of me writing it the first time and I hadn't saved it, so I had to write it all over again. So I apologize ahead of time if the first chapter isn't any good. Enjoy.

End Author's Note

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  It was another wonderful day in Cloudsdale; Celestia's sun was shining, the weather perfect (thanks to the weather patrol), and a cyan pony with a rainbow mane and tail was snoozing lightly on a stray cloud above the main plaza in Cloudsdale.

  That is, it was perfect until a certain gray-coated mailmare flew right into Rainbow Dash. She was startled and barely had time to open her wings and land lightly on the soft, silk-like cloud that was the structure of Cloudsdale.

  "Oh, I'm so sorry Rainbow," said Ditzy Doo as she landed clumsily in front of her, "I didn't see you there! Honest!"

  Rainbow ruffled the feathers on her wings and said, "It's okay Derp- I mean Ditzy. I needed to get up anyways. Today's the big day!" She always tried to avoid using Ditzy's derogatory nickname. Not because it hurt her, but because it just felt wrong calling her 'Derpy' because she had a lazy eye and was very clumsy.

  Ditzy caught the hurried exchange and chuckled lightly. "Well that's good. What's so important that it has you excited?"

  Rainbow gasped and stared at Ditzy wide-eyed. "You don't know?! The Wonderbolts are throwing a huge event this afternoon! They're having a contest to see if anypony has what it takes to be recruited! And I plan to win!" As if to show how fast she was, she circled around Ditzy ten times in less than a second, then jumped over her and landed right in front of her, staring right into her eyes with her meanest game face.

  "I'm sure you'll win Rainbow Dash! In the meantime, I'm a bit late for a delivery, so I'll see you later!" She hopped up into the air and flew clumsily away, almost running into another pegasus.

  Rainbow chuckled as she watched her friend fly away. I wonder how she can be so confident, she thought, Oh well. I guess that is a good thing considering all she's been through. Anyways, I should probably go see Twilight and the others to see if they can come watch me try out for the Wonderbolts! Twilight can do her cloud-walking spell so they'll all be able to come!

  With that thought in mind, she flew past stands an buildings to the end of Cloudsdale, where she dived down towards Ponyville, where all of her best friends lived.

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   "Aaaaaw, are you sure you can't come??" Rainbow was in Ponyville's library with her six best friends Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Spike. After she had announced her plans for the day, Rarity had said she couldn't come due to orders she had to fill.

  "Come now my darling, surely you could manage without me," said Rarity as she looked sadly at her friend, "I just have too many orders to fill, and I simply cannot postpone them any longer if I am to get full compensation! You know how bad the economy is these days. I need the extra bits to take care of Sweetie Belle and myself, as well as manage the boutique."

  "But you have to come! I can't do my best knowing that not all my friends are there! Can't Sweetie Belle help you or something?"

  "No, Sweetie Belle has school today, silly. I'm not going to have her skip classes just to help her sister make dresses. Very important dresses at that. I truly am sorry, darling."

  "But-"

  "Girls! Enough!" yelled Twilight, whom had been silent during the exchange. Once the two had died down, she said calmly, "Rarity, surely the dresses aren't that important."

  "But they are, Twilight! And like I said, I need the extra bits," said Rarity quite angrily.

  "Well then, can't you spare an hour or two to watch Rainbow perform? You could leave right after she's finished so that you don't lose too much time."

  Rarity sighed loudly and sat on her haunches to think. After a few minutes, she said quietly, "Alright, if it's that important to you Rainbow Dash, I'll go; however-"

  Rainbow jumped up and hugged her tightly. "Ooooh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll make sure that it's worth your time!"

  Rarity quickly threw her off and glared at her slightly. "I was not finished! I said I will come. But only if you help me fill out my orders when all is said and done." She smirked slightly, knowing that Rainbow would never agree to such terms.

  Rainbow Dash moaned loudly and thought about it for a moment. "Fine," she said grumpily, surprising everyone in the room besides Pinkie, whom was chasing her shadow, "I'll do it. But only if you come!"

  Applejack, who had been silent as well, said, "Wow, Ah didn't know this was so important to ya, sugarcube. Are ya'll really that desperate for us all to be there?"

  "I am not desperate Applejack. I just really want my friends to be there when I get recruited into the Wonderbolts."

  "When does this little fiasco start anyhow?"

  She gasped and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Oh no! It starts in an hour!" She grabbed Fluttershy, much to her surprise, and as she burst through the door with Fluttershy just behind her, she yelled, "I'll meet you guys there before it starts!"

  Twilight smiled then looked at everypony else. "Well, we should probably get there before she does. Knowing Rainbow Dash, she'd probably freak out if we weren't there when she started. Are you girls ready?"

  "Hey!" said Spike, quite angrily, "I am not a girl."

  Twilight chuckled slightly. "Sorry Spike. Is everypony ready?"

  When she got a yes from everypony, she shut her eyes tight and focused on casting the spell that allowed then to walk on clouds. It was a simple spell, but it used up a lot of energy, and it didn't help that she was casting on four other ponies and a dragon, as well as her.

  Her horn lit up and they were all covered in a purple aura of magic. After she was finished casting the spell, she opened her eyes and quivered slightly as her energy was drained. "Alright, let's all get outside and into Pinkie's hot-air balloon."

  "Okie dokie lokie!" said Pinkie Pie, but other than that, nopony else said anything, and they all hopped into the hot-air balloon and were on there way to Cloudsdale Stadium.

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  Fluttershy watched as Rainbow Dash frantically rummaged through her house to try and find the perfect thing to wear to the Wonderbolts try-outs. "Um... Rainbow Dash? You really don't have to, um, wear anything special. It's really not that big of a deal, you know."

  Rainbow was making too much noise too hear Fluttershy's quiet remark. She was too busy looking for the perfect outfit. "Maybe I should wear a dress that compliments my mane? No, a dress would slow me down. Maybe I should wear a collar to make me look more sophisticated? No, sophisticated people are boring. Maybe I should wear a hat? No, no, no!!" She finally confronted Fluttershy, pouting slightly, "What do you think?"

  Fluttershy looked down at Rainbow and smiled. "Rainbow, it's really not that important. If you ask me, I think you should just go as is." She dropped her head down when Rainbow Dash looked at her with an astounded look on her face. "That is, if it's okay with you..."

  Rainbow looked up at the small clock on her wall and flew towards her door, opening it with so much force it nearly flew off it's hinges. "It doesn't matter! We're running out of time! Come on!" With that, she flew speedily out the door.

  She looked behind her at Fluttershy, who was following very slowly. Too slowly, in her opinion. She flew back to her oldest friend and looked at her, wide-eyed. "How can you be so slow?! We're gonna be late!"

  Fluttershy simply looked her in the eyes and said, "Well, the stadium is right next to your house, and, um, we still have about half an hour until we're late."

  "But the Wonderbolts won't be impressed unless I'm early!" Without waiting for her to reply, she flew at top speed towards the stadium, leaving Fluttershy behind.

  Fluttershy smiled after her. "Oh Rainbow Dash, we really are going to miss you when you leave." Fluttershy knew full well what would happen if Rainbow Dash was accepted into the Wonderbolts. She would start hanging out with them and would barely have time for her friends in Ponyville, or in Cloudsdale for that matter. Then the fame would go to her head and she'd completely forget about them. At least, that's what happened to her old friend Fleetfoot, another pony in the Wonderbolts.

  She smiled at the thought of her old friend, then noticed that she had made it to the stadium. She met up with her other friends right at the front, and waited patiently until the try-outs begun.

  Rainbow Dash, however, wasn't so calm. She hurried to the front of the stadium where she was supposed to sign up to enter the contest. She found the stallion that was handling the papers and flew towards him.

  "Why hello there," said the stallion, whom Rainbow noticed was High Winds of the Wonderbolts, "Are you here to enter the Wonderbolt Try-Outs?"

  She simply nodded and signed her name on the papers, then was given her number, seven, her lucky number. She was relieved to have gotten her lucky number. It had done wonders for her in the past. She placed the number on her flank, just next to her cutie mark, then was lead to the room where the contestants waited to be called out.

  She was quite surprised when she entered the room. There were only five other competitors! That amazed her, mostly because the Wonderbolts were so famous. Then again, it was a good thing as well. Now there weren't so many ponies that could possibly outshine her! There were two particular pegasi that caught her eye. A plump, brown stallion, and a light yellow mare with a beautiful pink mane. Ha! That big brown stallion won't stand a chance against me! I mean, just look at him! he's so... well, fat. And that mare over there? She's sweating like crazy! She's probably not cut out to be a Wonderbolt anyways.

  Then she thought back to the Best Young Flyer competition. A lot of those ponies didn't seem fit to beat her either, but many of them came close. I guess I shouldn't be so quick to judge, she thought. Oh well. At least the other three looked like worthy opponents.

  There was a loud screech that made Rainbow and two other ponies nearly jump out of their skin, then a deep stallion's voice came over the intercom. "Contestant number twenty-three, please step out into the stadium. It's your time to shine!"

  A large, mean looking green stallion got up and walked out of the room, leaving the rest sitting there in silence. Nopony really felt like talking to complete strangers.

  The rules of the contest were a bit strange. Or at least one of the rules, in Rainbow's opinion. It stated that all contestants that were not called upon were required to stay in the room until called upon. She just found that a bit odd.

I wonder why they want to keep us in the dark until we actually get out there, she thought. Maybe they just want to surprise us? Eh, it doesn't matter. I'll win no matter what kind of contest this is!

   She sat on one of the three couches in the lobby next to a very young-looking teal mare with a green mane and tail. She looked rather nervous, but tried to make it look otherwise. A bit too hard, Rainbow thought.

  "Hi! My name is Rainbow Dash." She extended a hoof towards the mare and smiled slightly, so as to look friendly.

  The mare looked at her a bit shocked and shook her hoof. "My name is April Showers. You can call me April." She smiled a bit nervously and added, "I recognize you from the Best Young Flyer competition. Why be so nice to your opponents?"

  Rainbow kept up her friendly smile and said, "Well, 'cause you looked a little nervous, and that means that you won't give it your all, and if you don't give it your all, you won't be much of a challenge. And if you aren't much of a challenge, I'll be sure to win. And you wouldn't want that, would you?"

  April looked at her with a shocked expression. "Well, of course not! And you shouldn't be so confident in yourself. You never know when someone might outshine you." She added a little smirk to that last part, which really ticked off Rainbow Dash. Who was she to mock her, the fastest pegasus in all Equestria?

  "Well then, may the best pegasus win!"

  "Agreed."

  After that, nopony else said a word until they were called upon to go into the stadium.

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  The good part of an hour had passed, and two more ponies had gone out to perform. Rainbow Dash was growing quite bored when the stallion on the intercom finally said, "Contestant number seven, please step out into the stadium. It's your time to shine." It was getting quite annoying hearing him say almost the same thing over and over again, but at least it was the last time she would hear him say it.

  She got up from the couch she had been sitting on and stretched her hooves, then walked out the door with an air of confidence. She was gonna win this easy!

  When she walked out the door into the actual stadium, she couldn't believe her eyes. Literally. She thought she was seeing things. There's no way this is what they want me to do to prove myself to the Wonderbolts! A foal could do this in their sleep!

  Right in front of her was a simple course meant for foals. It started with a semi-small course with a few sharp turns, then went straight into a fairly large, yet simple-looking maze. The very last part of the course was a series of small hoops set up at various heights and angles.

Oh well. Can't really compla-

  Before she could finish her thought, she was interrupted by the very loud voice of a mare, whom seemed to be the announcer, saying, "And now for our next contestant, number seven, Rainbow Dash!"

  There was a deafening roar as the surprisingly large crowd cheered, and Rainbow could see her friends in the front row at the front of the stadium. She waved at them, and they waved back eagerly.

  "Well, looks like she already has quite a few fans. Then again, that is expected from the winner of this years' Best Young Flyer competition!" Another load roar from the crowd. "Well, Rainbow Dash, I can already tell what you're thinking! 'This should be simple! A foal could finish this in a heartbeat!' Am I right? Well, you could never be more wrong! This course, although simple in design, is full of tricks meant to slow you down. Let's just see how fast you can manage to finish. I got one last question for you Rainbow Dash, and that is, are you ready?!"

  Just as the announcer said those last words, there was a bright flash behind her and a huge dragon came up behind her, forcing her into the course.

  After the first turn, she risked a quick glance backwards and saw that the dragon was now gone. Phew, she thought. At least I won't have to deal with that thing during the whole thing.

  While she was thinking, she nearly ran straight into a wall on the second turn. Not given enough time to think, she tucked her wings in and dived under it instead of flying over it, then flapped her wings twice and was back to her normal speed in no time.

  The announcer said something, but she wasn't listening. She was in the zone. Nothing could distract her when she was in the zone.

  After a few undisturbed turns, she made it to the straight-away towards the maze entrance. But just as she picked up speed, a small portion of the left cloud-wall suddenly detached itself from the rest and nearly squished her against the opposite wall.

Whoa! That was too close! I should really be more careful on this course. The announcer continued to scream out to the crowd.

  She arrived at the entrance to the maze and thought lazily, Well this should be easy. The walls are made of clouds. I can just fly right through them! But she thought better of it a moment later, knowing it wouldn't be that easy.

  She flew close to the nearest cloud-wall and looked at it with a critical eye. She noticed a second later that the walls were surrounded by a white aura of magic, making them as hard as a block of steel. Ha! I knew it!

  She then took an immediate right, then kept going towards what she thought would be the end.

  But, like everything else on this course, it had a bit of a twist to it. It seemed like the maze had a certain enchantment on it that made Rainbow turn back and go the same way she had just come without her realizing it. But after a few minutes, she figured out when to trust her senses and when not to.

    Eventually, she made it to the end. That's when she really got ticked off; just as she reached the exit to the horribly confusing maze, it suddenly closed itself up, becoming nothing but a cloud-wall.

  "Aw, come on!" Rainbow yelled in frustration. She nearly turned the other way to find another exit when she noticed something peculiar about the used-to-be-exit; it wasn't surrounded by that mysterious aura! Which meant only one thing.

  She prayed to Celestia she wasn't making a mistake and flew straight towards the wall where the exit used to be. She then sighed in relief as she escaped successfully.

  The announcer was still shouting almost incoherently. That is, Rainbow couldn't understand what she was saying because she was still in the zone.

  The final part of the course now stood in front of her. Now all she had to do was fly through the small hoops without contact while avoiding any traps set upon them.

Alright. Let's do this!

  She sped forward at half her fastest speed, which was still incredibly fast, and flew through the first two hoops in ten seconds flat (which was impressive, considering they were set about 110 meters apart). She expected something to happen, but nothing did.

  She then flew through the third hoop with no contact, but again, nothing. An idea then came to her head.

That's it! They set up traps in the first two parts of the course to make me think there would be more at the last part! Then they left it alone to mess with my head. By now she had already passed through another hoop successfully. Well, you can't trick me that easily! She then sped forward at top speed, leaving a rainbow trail behind her.

  Rainbow dashed through four more hoops, then finally faced the final hoop.

This is it! I'm almost at the end!

  Just then there was another blinding flash, and the dragon from earlier appeared magically in front of her, scaring the buck out of her.

  She did a barrel-roll in mid-air, barely escaping the dragon's snapping jaws. What was she going to do? How was she going to get past this humongous thing?!

  None of her tactics seemed to work. She tried going around it, over it, and even tried to confuse it. But the dragon simply mocked every move she made, keeping her away from the final hoop.

  "How in Equestria am I supposed to get past this thing," she thought out loud. She pondered her possibilities and had a sudden idea. "I'm not sure if this will work, but it's worth a try!"

  She flew up and over the dragon, and again it mocked her moves. But this time, she would get past! She was certain of it.

  To everypony's surprise, and much to the dragon's surprise, Rainbow Dash formed a magnificent rainbow. Then she did something that surprised everypony even further. She flew below the rainbow and formed another one, making a double rainbow. And it was one of the most beautiful rainbows ever seen in the history of Equestria!

  The dragon stared, dumbfounded, at the double rainbow. Rainbow Dash saw this as an opening and flew straight for the last hoop, speeding through it and landing on the stadium's backstage entrance, right where she had started.

  The dragon then magically disappeared the same way it had came, and the crowd went absolutely ballistic.

  The announcer said something again, but this time, Rainbow listened. "Wow! Quite a stunning performance Miss Dash! Now, make your way back out of the stadium, and you will be contacted within the next week! Onto the next competitor!"

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  Rainbow Dash proudly walked out to the Cloudsdale Stadium's entrance, being greeted many times on her way, and was even asked to sign an autograph! That last part made her smile; she knew she was good, but she didn't expect to have fans yet!

  What surprised her more than anything was when she actually made it out of the stadium. Right before her eyes stood all eleven of the Wonderbolts! She nearly fainted.

  She could name each and every one of them. There was Spitfire, Soarin', Surprise, Fleetfoot, Blaze, Fire Streak, High Winds, Lightning Streak, Misty, Rapidfire, and Wave Chill, all wearing the trademark Wonderbolts outfit.

  "Y-you're the Wonderbolts! Wh-what do you want?"

  Soarin', the leader of the group, said calmly, "To congratulate you on your performance, of course. That was simply amazing! Even by my standards. Your reaction time, speed, and creativity might just get you a spot on the Wonderbolts."

  Rainbow gasped loudly and grinned at the thought. Her, a Wonderbolt? It was only her life-long dream!

  Her thoughts were cut short when Spitfire said with a chuckle, "Don't get too cocky, now. Just because you're good and have most of our approval, that doesn't mean that you will become the next Wonderbolt. Remember, there are still two ponies that haven't done the course yet, and three more that already have. You'll never know if you're the best until you get word."

  She then walked up to Rainbow Dash and put a hoof on her shoulder. "But expect to hear from us in about a week. Best wishes to you, Rainbow Dash. Fly steady."

  After that, they all flew back into the stadium to watch the last two contestants. Rainbow still couldn't believe that she had just talked to the Wonderbolts... again! Now she was positive that she had won!

   A few seconds later, somepony cleared their throat somewhere to the left of her and she turned to see her friends standing there beaming at her.

  "That was a simply fantastic display, darling!" said Rarity. "I am rather glad that you convinced me to come see this little event. Glad to know I didn't miss out on anything."

  Pinkie Pie just stood there with her jaw looking like it had been dislocated for a second before saying all in one breathe, "That was awesome! My favorite part was the double rainbow thingy. That part made me smile because it reminded me of how I got my cutie mark, which made me think of my parents. Come to think of it, I haven't seen them in a while. Do you think I should go visit them? I think I should. Oh well, maybe we'll find out if I do in a later chapter!"

  Everypony just looked at her like she was crazy. Nopony bothered to ask about what she had just said; it was Pinkie Pie, after all.

  Applejack was the next to appraise Rainbow's performance. "Tha' was a mighty fine job you done out there RD. Ya'll'll win that spot in the Wonderbolts fer sure!"

  Rainbow stood there blushing brightly. "Aw shucks, thanks you guys. We should probably get back to Ponyville. I did promise to help you with your orders, Rarity."

  "Well, I say, you really do keep loyal to your promises, don't you darling?"

  "Of course I do! I am the Element of Loyalty, aren't I?"

  Twilight, Spike, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity all stepped into Pinkie's hot-air balloon and were off towards Ponyville while Rainbow and Fluttershy simply flew down.

  "So, what did you think of the contest, Fluttershy?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Wasn't it awesome?"

  Fluttershy smiled and looked at Rainbow. "It was, um, very stunning, Rainbow. I'm sure you won."

  Although she was smiling, Rainbow could see that something was bothering Fluttershy. "What's the matter Fluttershy?" she asked, hoping to get an answer from the shy mare.

  She simply looked back at her and said, "Oh, nothing important." She knew that wouldn't fool Rainbow Dash, but she had to try anyways.

  Again, Rainbow saw through the small lie and landed on a large cloud, instructing Fluttershy to do the same. Once she landed softly in front of her, she began talking quietly and calmly.

  "Now Fluttershy, I've known you for quite a long time. Longer than anypony else other than my family. And I can tell when you're bothered by something. I can see that you're bothered by something right now, and I can see that you don't want to tell me. I'm not going to force you to tell me, but I'm not going to leave you alone about it either, because I don't like it when my friends aren't happy."

  Fluttershy simply held her head down, looking at Rainbow Dash through a small gap in her mane. She liked it when Rainbow showed her compassionate  side, but didn't like to bother her with her problems.

  Rainbow sighed and brought a hoof to Fluttershy's chin, pulling her head up to eye-level so she could look her straight in the eyes. She didn't like it when her head was down like that. It made her feel like Fluttershy was afraid of her.

  Her voice got a bit stern, but she still held some composure as she said calmly, "Look me in the eyes when I talk to you Fluttershy. I hate it when you don't. You have truly beautiful eyes Fluttershy, and nopony knows that because you always keep them hidden. Now please... Tell me what's bothering you."

  A few tears welled up in Fluttershy's eyes as she said, "I just don't want to lose you Rainbow Dash. Nopony does. And don't say that you won't leave. Because that's exactly what Fleetfoot said before she left."

  "Come on Fluttershy, please don't cry. I'm not like Fleetfoot. I'm not gonna-" Her speech was cut short as Fluttershy slapped her across the face... hard. She didn't know Fluttershy even had that much strength in her.

  "I wasn't finished dammit! You really need to learn to stop interrupting others when they talk." Tears were now flowing quietly down her face. "I know you Rainbow Dash, more than anypony else. And I know that the fame will go to your head, just like Fleetfoot!"

  She was screaming at this point. Rainbow Dash just sat there quietly and put a hoof to where she had been slapped, listening to everything Fluttershy had to say.

  "The fame will go to your head, and you'll forget all about us! Just ask Fleetfoot. She forgot about me when she joined the Wonderbolts. We.... No, I loved her. And she claimed to love me too. But she never did. She gave me up for the Wonderbolts, without so much as a second glance!"

  All of this came as a shock for Rainbow Dash. She had barely known Fleetfoot before she joined the Wonderbolts, let alone that Fluttershy had loved her. She wondered why she was telling her all of this.

  "I loved her, and she left... And you know what, Rainbow Dash? I LOVE YOU!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, which again surprised Rainbow Dash. She didn't know she could be so assertive. "I love you.... And I don't want you to leave. I couldn't live knowing that the second pony I've ever fallen in love with went to join the Wonderbolts, just like the first. I just thought I'd let you know that before you left. I'll be in my cottage for the next couple of days. Please tell everypony to leave me alone until I come back out."

  And with that, she flew away, leaving a teary-eyed Rainbow Dash behind. She didn't even have the strength to reply. She just sat there, on the top of a lonely cloud, replaying the scene over and over again in her head.

  She couldn't deny that she too had always loved Fluttershy, but she didn't even have the wits to think about it at that moment.

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  A few hours later, Rainbow finally found the strength to get up. Instead of flying down to Ponyville to help Rarity as she had promised, she simply flew up to her house at the edge of Cloudsdale.

  When she got there, she lied down on her bed and cried for the rest of the night.

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Author's Note

Wow. That was intense. Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. It took me five hours to write the re-read for mistakes. But that isn't important. I hope to hear all of your opinions, and if nopony likes my story, I'm gonna keep writing it anyways. Expect to see the next chapter soon.

End Author's Note

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