What It'll Take

by misskitkat

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Wonderbolts, Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Soarin, Rainbow Dash, Romance
Length: 1167

"If you had what it took to be a Wonderbolt, you would already be a Wonderbolt!" Those words wouldn't ever leave Rainbow Dash's mind as she finds out what it really takes to be a Wonderbolt, and if her dream is worth it.

"If you had what it took to be a Wonderbolt, you’d already be a Wonderbolt!”

Spitfire’s words from the training academy burned in Rainbow Dash’s mind. She knew that the captain had just said those words in an attempt to test, and perhaps get some sort of reaction from the cadets, but she couldn’t stop thinking about them.

After all, Rainbow definitely has what it takes to be a Wonderbolt. So why wasn’t she one yet?

Published 2014-03-10 04:30:07 UTC
Last updated 2014-03-10 04:30:07 UTC

Chapter 1

“If you had what it took to be a Wonderbolt, you’d already be a Wonderbolt!”

Spitfire’s words from the training academy burned in Rainbow Dash’s mind, and she nervously fidgeted in her seat, drowning out Twilight’s lectures on aerodynamics. She knew that the captain had just said those words in an attempt to test, and perhaps get some sort of reaction from the cadets, but she couldn’t stop thinking about them.

After all, Rainbow definitely has what it takes to be a Wonderbolt. So why wasn’t she one yet? What was she doing wrong? She sunk down lower in her seat, ears flattening against her head. At this rate, she would never pass the entrance exam. This just meant that she had to train harder. But how hard would she have to train to be a Wonderbolt?

Rainbow Dash shot out of her seat as she rocketed out the window, shouting an apology to Twilight on the way, who had been knocked over and was now sitting underneath a pile of books. Grumbling slightly, Twilight’s face showed a hint of annoyance as she started shelving the books again.

The rainbow maned pegasus shook all doubts from her head as she headed straight for the clouds, landing on a sizable one.

“All I have to do is train harder. The harder I train, the faster I’ll go, and the better I’ll get.”

She continued to encourage herself, jogging lightly in place. Rainbow heard a voice in the back of her head that sounded suspiciously like Twilight Sparkle who said something along the lines of,

“It’s not just about speed, Rainbow! You need to be strong enough to perform the tricks, and most importantly, you need to learn how to work with others! In a team!”

“I know what I’m doing, Twilight! Sheesh.”

And before the voice could return to nagging her, she rocketed from the cloud and shot off into the sky, leaving holes in clouds and a faint rainbow trail in her wake. Getting into the Wonderbolts was everything to Dash. Which also meant that her training and daily exercises were equally as important, if not more.

With this thought in her mind, she continued flying, pumping her wings harder and gaining speed. She flew past the trees in Sweet Apple Acres, stomach so close to the tree tops that it almost brushed the leaves. Speeding past the Boutique, she nearly crashed into a screaming Pinkie at Sugarcube Corner before skyrocketing upwards into the endless sky, higher and higher.

The wind felt absolutely amazing, as per usual, when she swept past tufts of clouds and left them spinning. In the air, Rainbow felt truly alive. Flying was more important to her than anything else. With her wings, she was free. While she was in the air, nothing could stop her.

Rainbow Dash finally realized that she was so high up that breathing had become difficult. Drifting back down, she landed on a small cloud that was lower and took several deep breaths. Her mane was windswept, all the colors standing at attention and looking very much like the hairstyle of a Wonderbolt. Smirking to herself, she stepped off the cloud and plunged towards the ground, Ponyville becoming larger as she neared the ground. Pulling up at the last possible moment, Rainbow zoomed past Pinkie Pie again as she crashed unceremoniously into a trash can, distracted by the shrill cries of her pink friend.

Groaning and silently cursing the loud party pony, she lifted herself out of the disgusting trash and turned the face Pinkie, the mare’s grin large as ever on her face, and her lips already flapping a mile a minute.

“Oh Dashie, that was so cool!! I was right in front of Sugarcube Corner and then I saw you zoom past me and I was scared for a moment so I screamed, but then I saw that it was just you and you were going so fast, Dashie, faster than you’ve ever gone before in your whole entire life, I think! And then you started going higher and higher and higher and I looked up because you were just being so cool and it was amazing!! And then finally I couldn’t see you anymore because you were so high up and it seemed like you had disappeared into the sun and so I got worried because I’m your bestest friend and I care about you a lot and it makes me sad when you get hurt, but then you were coming down and I was like ‘Whew, that was a close one!’ but then you weren’t flying and I thought you were going to hit the ground and I got scared again and started to scream but then you wooshed past me and it was super amazing, even if you did crash into a trash can but that’s okay because-”

“Okay, I get it, Pinkie! Can it, party pony.”

Rolling her eyes and snorting, Dash started to jog in place again.

“Faster than I’ve ever gone in my whole life, huh?”

“Yeah!! Oh and there was this cool rainbow behind you too and even though I’ve seen it a billion times whenever you’re flying through the clouds it still looked really super duper amazingly and spectacularly-”

Dash had already grabbed a cloud and made a hasty escape to Sweet Apple Acres, where she flopped down on the soft white bed and sighed contentedly, closing her eyes and letting herself drift off into a mostly peaceful sleep.

She’d show them. Rainbow Dash, the best flyer in all of Equestria, would show all of the other ponies that she wasn’t just a dreamer. She’d train as hard as she could, and she would prove herself to all the ponies that doubted her. She had waited her whole life to be in the Wonderbolts, and she wasn’t just going to let it stay a dream. Dash would exceed all of their expectations, and show them all what she could really do.

Rainbow Dash was a leader, and she was always speeding out to be ahead of every other pony that challenged her. Following her ambitions, she’d become a Wonderbolt sooner or later, but hopefully sooner. She knew that it wouldn’t be easy, of course, but who would she be if she wasn’t up for a challenge? It would take a lot out of her, and she would have to put everything into this dream that she had ever since she was a little filly. But she couldn’t, and she wouldn’t stop now. Soaring into the sky, she’d push her limits and shut out all of her doubts.

If this is what it’ll take to be a Wonderbolt, she was ready.

Author's Note

Obviously there's no romance of any sort yet, but if I do continue this story, there will probably be elements of it. Anyways, this sort of just came to me and I needed to write it down. Comments are greatly appreciated!