Dreams and Nightmares

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8

Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Opportunity Knocks Google docs

The sun hung high in the clear blue sky above the Manehattan Pegadrome, cleared by the combined efforts of the entire city's weather team. Today was the day of the world famous All Equestria Pegasus Spectacular, and the stands were packed to bursting with excited spectators from all around, eager to catch a glimpse of the greatest fliers in Equestria. Throughout the day, they had been entertained by many talented ponies, but in truth everything up to this point had all been but a warm-up for the final event, the climax that everypony had been waiting for.

The crowd was almost silent, with only a hushed murmuring of excitement betraying their anticipation. The announcer's voice boomed out from the loudspeaker system: “Fillies and gentlecolts! I am proud to introduce our final act for this festival, and let me assure you that we have been saving the very best for the very last! Please, stamp your hooves for the incredible... the astounding... the unstoppable... Wonderbolts!”

At this cue, a pounding rock beat sounded out through the speakers, and everypony stared up into the sky, each hoping to be the first to catch a glimpse of their heroes. “Look!” A young filly yelled out, pointing up towards the sun, and suddenly thousands of eyes were squinting at it. Sure enough, emerging from the light was a dark shape... no... six dark shapes flying in such close formation that they looked like a single entity. They dived down towards the stands with dark clouds of smoke streaking out behind them. The cheers from the crowd were deafening now, almost drowning out the amplified music.

Just a moment before they would have crashed into the crowd, the ponies turned and split into two groups, skimming so low and fast above the spectators that many a mane-style was ruined by the wind in their wake. Once they had cleared the end of the stands, they arced back up skywards, then turned to charge towards each other, spreading out slightly to allow the two halves of the team to pass through each other when they met.

However, two of the ponies in the centre of the group must have been flying just ever so slightly too close and, as they crossed, for a split second two wing-tips met. At such high speeds even this minor collision sent them spiralling out of control. One corrected in time and recovered from her tumble, shooting upwards into the sky. But the other was not so fortunate. Despite his best efforts to perform an emergency stop, he ploughed into the ground, carving a trail of disturbed earth behind him as he slid. He finally came to a halt when he smashed, head-first, into a pie seller's stall.

A shocked gasp rose up from the crowd, and then silence. Most could only look on in disbelief, while the closest ponies leapt from the grandstands and charged towards the stricken pegasus in the hopes of offering whatever aid they could provide...

“I'm alright, doc, really,” insisted Soarin for what seemed like the thousandth time. His costume had been removed- well, torn off actually so that the doctors could see the extent of his injuries. Angry red scratches marred his chest and legs, souvenirs of his long slide across the ground, and a bandage was wrapped tightly around the top of his head. “It wasn't as bad as it looked. I'd scrubbed most of my speed by the time I hit the ground, and the slide took the majority of the energy out of what was left.”

He was lying on a hospital bed in the Pegadrome medical centre. It was a bare, white, clinical place, as might be expected from such a facility. Fortunately, nopony else was injured during the day, so after the initial chaos of medical staff fussing all around him subsided he was left almost alone. Only one doctor remained, examining every inch of his body for even the slightest bit of damage.

“With all due respect Soarin,” said the doctor, “only one pony in this room is a qualified doctor, so I'll be the one who decides whether you're alright or not, okay?” Doctor Diligent was an old, experienced pegasus, and the personal physician for the Wonderbolts. His mane and coat were both grey, although Soarin never thought it polite to ask whether this was his natural colouring or due to his advanced years. On his flank sat the image of a bone saw, more evidence of his age since such implements were rarely used nowadays. Nopony ever felt inclined to ask how he came by it.

It was that moment that Spitfire chose to burst in, her eyes full of worry for her fallen team-mate. “Soarin!” She dashed to his bedside. “I'm so sorry, it's all my fault, I was too close and-”

Soarin interrupted her by gently placing his hoof across her mouth. “Don't you go worrying yourself about that. It was just as much my fault as yours, these things happen.”

“All too often, recently...” muttered Doctor Diligent under his breath. It was true enough. In recent months there had been several accidents, although this was the first to happen in an actual show rather than just in training. Nopony had been seriously hurt, but the doctor seemed to be getting increasingly worried and, lately, irritated by the number of injuries. “I've told you before; you're taking too many risks.”

Spitfire sighed. They'd been having this argument all too often over the last few months. “We aren't doing anything different. It's just a run of bad luck, is all. What's important is that Soarin is okay.” She paused. “Er... you are okay right?”

“For Princess Celestia's birthday celebration, you mean?” interrupted Diligent before Soarin had a chance to answer. “I can count, you know. With all the recent accidents, you've burnt through your entire supply of reserves.”

“It's not a problem, Spitfire,” Soarin reassured her, flapping his wings to lift himself into the air. “See? I didn't hurt my wings at all. I can fly just fine.”

“No!” the doctor yelled, as he dragged Soarin back down to the bed. “What did I just tell you? I'm the doctor here! You had a serious accident and hit your head hard. It's impossible to know what internal damage there could be! If you were to have another accident now then it could aggravate the injury and cause you serious, lasting damage! You are officially grounded for the next fortnight!”

“Now hang on a minute th-” Spitfire started to protest, but Diligent cut her off.

“Oh, no. Don't you try to argue with me on this one. I've caved in enough times to your pressure, but now I've had enough. Soarin is not flying at Celestia's party and that is final.” His face was grim, and Spitfire could tell that there was no point in arguing with him.

There was a brief pause, then his expression seemed to somehow grow even more determined, as he reached a further decision. “In fact, if there are ANY more injuries before Soarin is recovered, even as much as one tiny splinter, then Celestia help me I will ground the whole bucking lot of you! Permanently!”

That was unexpected. For a moment the two Wonderbolts could only stare at him in shock, their mouths agape. While they had had disagreements in the past, this was the first time that he'd ever dropped an ultimatum like that on them.

Spitfire was the first to recover the power of speech. “You... you can't do that...”

“I can and I will,” snapped the doctor. “I have the authority to ground you for medical reasons. Since you seem to all have some sort of death wish, I think insanity should be reason enough to do that!” There was another pause, and he seemed to recover some of his composure. “Look... maybe you think that if you want to risk your necks then that's your own problem. But I am responsible for your safety. Don't think this is just about you, either. It was a miracle that nopony else was hurt today- just imagine if you'd managed to crash into the spectators!” He shook his head. “Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a report to write on this incident before tonight.” With that, he left the pair alone.

For a while, they just sat there in silence, their spirits broken. Soarin spoke first. “So... I guess that means it'll just be the five of you at the celebration then... There's no way we can train someone in all our routines in just a week!” It was true. Finding a pony skilled enough in such a short space of time would be hard enough, let alone training them.

Unless... unless that pony already knew all the Wonderbolts moves. Spitfire grinned as she remembered a certain pegasus who had not only displayed great flying skills, but also an in-depth knowledge of everything Wonderbolt-related. She wouldn't put it past her to have already memorised all their routines... “Oh, I don't know about that Soarin. I've still got a trick or two up my sleeve...”

It was the following morning in Ponyville, and Rainbow Dash was busy with her usual morning routine: having a lie-in. A knock at the door woke her from her doze. Suddenly she was fully alert- it wasn't often that anypony came up to visit her. Only Fluttershy could reach, and she wasn't one for dropping by unannounced. Oh, and Pinkie occasionally, using some contraption or other to pull herself up off the ground.

However when she opened the door, it wasn't Fluttershy or Pinkie waiting for her. “Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoooooosh!” She squealed with glee as she recognised her hero, Spitfire, waiting outside her door.

This is just like one of my dreams, she thought. Wait... maybe this is one of my dreams. She slapped herself across her face with her hoof. Nope... not asleep. She winced. That had hurt.

“Er...” Spitfire was temporarily at a loss for words, as one might expect somepony to react when the pony they were trying to talk to started attacking themselves for no apparent reason. “Hello, Rainbow Dash. Nice to... see you again.” She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts and get back to her original reason for being there. “Listen, I need your help.”

“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!” I must be dreaming! Rainbow readied her hoof again for another slap, but Spitfire saw it coming and grabbed her leg before she could go through with it.

“Please, Rainbow, the last thing I need right now is another injured pegasus. Can I trust you not to punch yourself again?” Rainbow nodded, and Spitfire released her hoof. “Now, Soarin has been hurt and...”

“Oh no! Is he alright?” Dash gasped, her concern for one of her idols momentarily granting her the power of somewhat coherent speech. In her head though, thoughts were racing. Could this really be going the way that I think it's going? She hardly dared to believe that it could be true. She bit her lip, waiting in eager anticipation to hear what Spitfire would say next.

“Don't worry, Rainbow; he's going to be fine. But he's out of action for a couple of weeks and we have a big performance coming up for Celestia's birthday celebration, so I was wondering if you would be interested in stepping in and-”

That was it; she couldn't hold it in any longer. “This is so totally awesome!” She was beaming from ear to ear- her dreams really were coming true! This is totally the BEST DAY EVER!

Wait... what if Spitfire thinks I'm happy about Soarin getting injured? She'll take it all back and I'll never get another chance! “Er... not about Soarin that is. Well, except that if he hadn't got injured you wouldn't be asking me to join the Wonderbolts!” Wait... did Spitfire actually say that? She'd never actually said that! “You... you are asking me to join, right?”

“Well...” Spitfire paused, looking a little sheepish.

Rainbow was aghast- I've read it all wrong! I wasn't being invited to join at all, and now I've made a complete foal of myself!

“It's not a permanent position. Not yet. For now it's just a one night deal, I can't make you any promises beyond that.”

Aw, hay, I'll take that. “Thank-you! Thank-you! Thank-you! Thank-you! Thank-you!” She embraced Spitfire rather more tightly than the other pegasus looked comfortable with.

She gently pushed Rainbow away. “Now, we've got less than a week before the performance, so I'm going to need you to work hard to learn our routines. Am I right in thinking that you already know our moves?”

Rainbow nodded eagerly. “I practice them every day already! Well... as well as you can on your own, anyway.”

“Okay, that's good,” said Spitfire. “But doing a trick on your own is one thing; it's totally different if you're flying in formation with other ponies. For the first couple of days we'll work on just me and you flying together, then for the remainder of the week the rest of the team will come down and we can practice in full formation. Ponyville is as good a place to practice as any, and it might help you if you're somewhere familiar. Now, let's start wi-”

A new voice from down below on the ground interrupted Spitfire in mid-flow. “Rainbow? Are you awake up there? Can you come down? I need to talk to you!”

“That's Twilight,” explained Dash. “Oooh! I've got to tell her! Just... stay up here and don't let her see you! I'll be right back!” Stay cool Dash, stay cool. She wasn't quite sure how she was going to break the news. It's not like there's anything bad about it that needs careful handling, of course, but somehow it would just feel anticlimactic to just come out and say it.

She fluttered nonchalantly down towards the ground, attempting to appear as if nothing was out of the ordinary. However, for Rainbow, 'fluttering' and 'nonchalant' were hardly normal behaviour, so Twilight already looked slightly suspicious that something odd was going on. “Well hello there Twilight, nice day we're having today, isn't it?” Yep, nothing suspicious about that at all.

“Yes, I guess it is.” Twilight narrowed her gaze at her friend. “Of course, it was supposed to be raining today, according to the weather schedule. Not that I'm complaining; I'm on important business and frankly I was worried I was going to get soaked. Applejack won't be very happy if her trees don't get some water though.”

“Oh, sorry. I was... busy.” Busy getting recruited by the Wonderbolts!

“Busy napping, you mean?” Twilight sighed. “Well, as long as we get some rain at some point today, I guess it's not really a problem.”

Rainbow shook her head. “Sorry, Twi, I'm kinda busy all day. All week in fact.” Busy training with the Wonderbolts!

Another frustrated sigh from Twilight. “Well, anyway. That isn't actually why I'm here. I'm here to give you this...” She reached into her saddle bags and pulled out a small envelope with her magic. It was edged with gold, and marked with the royal seal. “It came through this morning via Spikemail. Princess Celestia has invited all of us to her birthday celebration this weekend!”

“Oh... sorry Twi, I don't think I'll be able to go with you guys.” Rainbow feigned disappointment. She would of course be going, just not with Twilight and the others. “I'm going to be... busy.” Busy performing with the Wonderbolts!

“What?” Twilight stared at her friend in disbelief. Dash felt a pang of guilt- she couldn't stand letting ponies down, even when she had a good reason. “What could be more important than the Princess's birthday? Can't you see that this invitation is in her own hornwriting? It's addressed to you personally! Is this about the Gala? Don't worry; it's not going to be anything like that! We'll all be together, you'll see! It'll be fun!” When Dash didn't seem to respond to that, Twilight played what she presumably thought was her trump card. “The Wonderbolts will be there...”

“You bet we will be!” All of a sudden Dash was right up in Twilight's face, grinning wildly.

“Oh... good.” Twilight appeared rather shocked at Dash's sudden change of heart, apparently not immediately noticing what Dash was telling her. “We... as in you and us or... as in you... and the... Wonder...”

“Whad'ya mean me and the Wonderbolts?” Rainbow was really enjoying the confusion all over Twilight's face. It wasn't often that she got to outfox the bookworm. “I am a Wonderbolt!”

“You... you got into the Wonderbolts!?” Realisation finally dawned, and Twilight was smiling along with Rainbow now, overjoyed at her friend's success. “Oh that's great news! So what you're saying is that you can't come with us... because you'll be up there performing?”

“Yep!”

“And you won't be able to do the weather patrol this week because you'll be so busy practising?”

“Yep!”

“And that's why you didn't make it rain today as well!”

“Y-” She paused. “Er... well actually no, I really was just busy napping until like five minutes ago actually...”

“Oh.” Twilight's grin vanished. “Let me guess, you're too busy to fix that now?”

“Sorry Twi, I really am,” Rainbow admitted. “It's only a few days until the celebration, and I've got a lot of training to do. You know I don't like to leave Ponyville in the lurch but... it's kinda my big break you know? I have to impress the others so that they'll take me on permanently. The other pegasi should be able to cover my weather duties; I just haven't had time to ask anypony yet.”

“It's alright Rainbow, I understand. You helped me make my big break yourself, remember? Although neither of us knew it at the time. I'll talk to the mayor and get her to reassign another pegasus to do the weather this week.”

“Oh, and can you let everypony else know as well? I'd love to dash round and see the looks on their faces myself- yours was priceless by the way- but I think Spitfire wanted to get started with the practice as soon as possible.”

“Sure thing, Dash.” Twilight nodded. “Good luck! I mean... break a leg! Or a wing I guess...”

“Save that for the performance itself!” Dash laughed. “I don't think you're supposed to say that just for practice! Later!” She rushed up back to her cloud home, eager to get back to her Wonderbolting. “Sorry that took so long, but I just had to let somepony know.”

“It's alright Rainbow, being a Wonderbolt isn't all about work 24/7, you can take five minutes to talk to a friend, you know. Especially about something as important as this.” Spitfire lowered her goggles, grinning at Dash. “That said... playtime's over. You ready to fly?”

“Always!” Dash dropped into her ready position. This is actually happening! Training with the Wonderbolts... well, a Wonderbolt anyway. Wait... I was right the first time! There are TWO Wonderbolts here right now! “We gonna race?”

“No, Dash.” Spitfire shook her head. “That's not what the Wonderbolts are about. You need to learn how to fly in formation, remember? So just stick close and follow my lead.” Spitfire leapt into the air and shot off.

“Aw yeah!” Dash dashed off in pursuit, glad to see that she could easily keep pace with Spitfire. Not that I'm not the fastest flier in all Equestria of course but... well this is Spitfire we're talking about here, the leader of the Wonderbolts! If there's anypony who can beat me at speed, it's her.

“Closer, Dash,” Spitfire instructed. Rainbow obliged, drawing alongside her on the left. “Closer.” Okay then... she halved the gap between them, it felt dangerously close now, and just a slight deviation could send the pair of them crashing into each other. “Closer.” Really? Well... nopony said being a Wonderbolt was supposed to be easy. She closed in just a little bit further, so that their wing-tips were almost touching. “Good, that's perfect.” Well it was hardly as if we could have gotten any closer than this...

She hadn't ever flown this close to another pony before. Not at this sort of speed at any rate. She could feel Spitfire's wing-beats pushing the air aside. Spitfire looked back over her shoulder- behind them were two trails, one of black, sparking smoke, the other a rainbow. “You do know how to make a smoke trail, right?” she asked.

“Of course I do...” Rainbow looked a little dejected. “It's just... rainbows are sort of my thing, you know? I mean... a trail's a trail, right?”

Spitfire sighed. “The Wonderbolts are a team. It’s not about your own personal glory. That’s why we all have the same uniform. If you want to be part of the team, then you have to follow the rules. Do you want to be part of the team?”

“Of course I do!” Dash swept her wings out, flinging more moisture from the air into her trail. The rainbow behind her vanished, replaced by a mass of dark cloud. Her ears drooped a little as she looked behind her. Relax Dash, she thought, you’re joining the Wonderbolts. No need to get upset over what kind of trail you’re leaving.

“Good work, Dash,” Spitfire encouraged her. “But there is one other thing. The Wonderbolts are all about synchronised flying. So you need to match your wing-beats to mine. When mine go up, yours go up. When they go down, yours go down. Got it?”

“Got it.” It was harder than it sounded though. The shapes and weights of the two ponies, as well as how exactly they moved their wings, were just subtly different. When Rainbow first tried to match Spitfire's beat, she found that she was actually starting to pull ahead of the other pony. Then when she slowed down to try and get back in formation, their wings fell out of step again. After a few attempts, and just as many failures, Rainbow growled with frustration. “It's no good! I just can't keep pace with you and keep in step at the same time!”

“You just need practice!” replied Spitfire. “This isn't my natural beat either, you know. I had to learn this myself once. This is the Wonderbolt beat, and every Wonderbolt has to learn it. Don't worry; all of us had this problem to begin with. Believe it or not, the hardest part of being a Wonderbolt isn't the tricks, or the speed, it's keeping in formation and keeping in time. Once you've mastered that, the rest will seem easy!”

I certainly hope so, because I'm concentrating harder now than I have on any trick ever before. Even the Sonic Rainboom had only really needed raw speed and power- this was totally different. Concentrate... concentrate... oh buck this! “This is impossible!”

“Of course it’s possible!” Spitfire laughed. “We do it all the time. Just keep practicing.”

“But... all this... trails, and flapping...” Rainbow shook her head. “When are we going to do some tricks?”

“We can’t start on tricks until you’ve got formation flying sorted.” Spitfire frowned. “What’s the matter, I thought this was supposed to be your ultimate dream?”

“It is!” protested Dash. “It’s just... I don’t know, it’s not quite what I expected...”

Spitfire snorted. “If you were expecting training to be fun then I’ve got some bad news for you. You’ll get the glory, the exhilaration, the speed and so on soon enough. But to get there you’re going to have to train hard. Being a Wonderbolt isn’t some sort of pleasure cruise. Now are you going to buckle down and put in the work, or am I going to have to find some other pony who will?”

“No!” Rainbow replied quickly. “Wait... I mean yes! Um...” She paused. “I mean, yes I’ll put in the work, and no you don’t have to find somepony else. Just... I don’t know, have you got any pointers? I mean... you’re the expert here.”

“Now that’s more like it.” Spitfire grinned. “You need to put more thought into how you move your wings. If you try to match your wing-beat to mine, you go too fast. So all you need to do is-”

A terrifying roar bellowed out from down below, interrupting Spitfire mid-sentence. “That came from the Everfree Forest...” muttered Dash, suddenly breaking formation and slowing down to a hover. “A little too close to Ponyville for my liking...”

Spitfire banked around and halted herself alongside Dash. “Lesson adjourned then I guess... if that thing's as dangerous as it sounds then protecting the town takes priority. Let's go show whatever that thing is what the Wonderbolts are made of, shall we?”

“Aw yeah!” replied Dash enthusiastically, and they shot off side by side towards the source of the noise.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A Dangerous Game Google docs

A trail of destruction wound its way through the Everfree forest. Trees, rocks, and basically anything else unfortunate enough to get in the way had been flung aside, leaving a vast scar in the tree-line. All of the destruction would have made finding the source of the trouble easy even if it wasn't yelling and roaring so loudly that it could be heard for furlongs around.

When they reached the end of the trail they both let out a shocked gasp as they saw what was waiting for them. Towering over the surrounding trees was a colossal monster with two giant legs and two massive arms, its pale skin pockmarked with patches of moss and dirt. In its right hand it held an entire tree, apparently plucked straight from the earth to act as a rudimentary club. Its left hand was empty, but clenched into a fist big enough to dwarf even Big Mac. Two pin-prick eyes, at least in relation to the rest of its face, stared off into the distance from beneath a large overhanging brow. Beneath them, a row of chipped teeth jutted up from an under-bitten jaw.

“A hill giant...” Spitfire had never seen one before, but she'd heard stories. They lived deep in the Everfree forest, and generally stayed away from pony folk. However, every once in a while one would get lost, wander into a border town somewhere, and wreak havoc. They weren’t aggressive, as such, but if they got confused- which wasn't particularly uncommon since they were not known for being very bright- they tended to lash out. Once they got going, they could demolish an entire town more or less by accident.

Neither of them was going to let that happen here. “Keep him distracted- I'm going to get help!” Dash shot off at top speed towards the town.

Spitfire dived towards the beast. A lone pegasus couldn't do much against a giant. Indeed an entire army of ponies couldn't really hope to harm one, but keeping it occupied for a bit shouldn't be too hard. In the past, well organised groups of unicorns had proved effective at scaring them off with a flashy light show.

I'm sure I can manage something similar, she thought. It isn't about actually hurting the thing; just about tricking it into thinking that it's about to get hurt.

Kicking up a trail of smoke, she flew as close as she dared in front of its face. The creature choked; loud deep coughs which sounded more like explosions than mere movements of air. It fanned the air with its free hand, trying to clear the fog and work out what had just happened. Finally spotting Spitfire, it pointed and grinned widely.

“PONY!” It spoke Equestrian, but very slowly, dragging even such a short word over several seconds.

Well OK then, that wasn't exactly what I was aiming for, but for a distraction it works just fine. “That's right, you big brute. Pony and proud. Catch me if you can!” She dove back in, spinning around it, while darting back and forth at high speed. All the while staying close enough to tease it and keep it interested without getting hit. The giant, for its part, was doing its level best to swat her out of the air, giggling all along in its deep, booming voice. Yeah right... all fun and games, she thought, right up until somepony turns into a pancake.

However while it was big and powerful, it was also slow and clumsy- and she was small and fast. She effortlessly dodged around its slow, ponderous swings, always keeping her eye on where its hand was. “Is this the best you can do?” she taunted. “I can keep this up all da-”

THWACK. With all her attention on the giant's free hand, she hadn't been paying enough to the one holding the massive club. The blow sent her tumbling sideways, smacking hard into a nearby tree and dropping to the ground. A sharp shock of pain shot through the left side of her body where she had hit the trunk.

The giant guffawed merrily, enjoying its victory. Then in an instant the laughing stopped, and it pointed menacingly at Spitfire. “AGAIN!”

Well I certainly don't need any encouragement to get off the ground as soon as possible. She spread her wings and... Pain! No, it's too much. Her earlier confidence evaporated into despair as she realised that she wasn't going to be flying anywhere soon.

For a moment, there was silence between the pair of them, but then it seemed to dawn on the giant that his game was over, and he did not seem to be very happy about it.

“SMASH!” He raised his club above his head, both hands clasped around it for maximum power. Spitfire closed her eyes, and braced herself for what was about to come.

“Stop that right this minute!” Spitfire peeked her eyes open, hoping to see what had postponed her execution. A pale yellow angel with a flowing pink mane had dived down between her and the giant, and was hovering just inches in front of the creature's face. She was apparently engaged in a staring competition with eyes that were bigger than she was. The giant blinked, and dropped the club on the ground behind it. “Now just what exactly do you think you're doing?”

Spitfire almost felt sorry for it, even if it had been just seconds from turning her to mush. Tears were welling up in it's eyes! What exactly is going on here?

“SMASH?” it suggested, sheepishly.

Wrong answer. “No!” The pegasus pushed forward even further, causing the giant to try to pull back. It lost its balance and fell on its backside with a colossal thud that shook the ground like an earthquake.

It looked dejectedly down at the floor, unwilling to meet its opponent's gaze. “SORRY...”

I can't believe it. Did a single petite little pony just defeat a hill giant with a stern talking to?

The newcomer's voice changed tone; soothing the creature rather than scolding it. “It's alright, you didn't know any better. I know you're a long way from home, and you're scared-” It was scared? “-but if you just take a moment to look behind you, you'll see the path to take you home...” The pony gestured at the long trail of collapsed trees that the giant had left in its wake.

Slowly, the giant nodded and pulled itself to its feet. It looked once at its club, then at Spitfire, then at the flying pegasus, then down at the ground in shame again, and finally back towards the depths of the Everfree forest. With a slow, thumping gait, it set off back to where it had come from and, more importantly, away from Ponyville.

“Fluttershy!” So transfixed had Spitfire been at the scene transpiring in front of her that she hadn't noticed Dash landing beside her. “Come quick, I think Spitfire's hurt!”

“Oh no!” The pegasus- Fluttershy, presumably- dropped down to the ground and rushed over to her; speaking in a quiet, apologetic voice. “I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry...”

“Sorry?” Despite the pain she was in, Spitfire couldn't help but laugh in surprise. “What in Equestria are you apologising for? You just saved my life!” Now that I think about it, Fluttershy looks familiar somehow. Did we meet back at the young fliers competition? Yes... she was there in the background, one of Rainbow's friends. I didn't think much of her at the time since she was so quiet, but I guess I must have been mistaken. Dash clearly went to her for help, and it was a good thing that she did.

“I know, but if I'd been just a little bit faster then I'd have got here before he hit you and then you wouldn't have been hurt and everything would have been fine and everypony would have been happy but now you're injured and it's all my fault and I'm really, really sorry...” Fluttershy paused for a moment to catch a well needed breath. “Can you ever forgive me?”

“Ten times over Fluttershy, don't you worry. Now let's get out of here before some other-” She tried to stand, however she was painfully reminded of what Fluttershy had been apologising for in the first place and let out an almighty yelp of anguish.

“Oh no!” Fluttershy winced slightly in empathy, examining Spitfire's injury. “It looks like your wing is broken. Please, try not to move it. We have to get you to my cottage; it isn't far from here. Don't strain yourself. Dash, can you help me carry her?”

As the other ponies lifted her off the ground, Spitfire finally succumbed to the pain and gladly let the black fog of unconsciousness take her from the waking world to a dream. She was flying high above the world without a care in her head and, more importantly, everything wasn't hurting so bucking much.

When she awoke some time later, Spitfire was lying on a bed in a small little cottage. The pain had faded a little, her wing had been bound up in a sling, and her face was full of rabbit. Noticing that she was awake, the bunny hopped over to Fluttershy, who was standing across the room talking to Rainbow Dash. It tugged gently on her mane to get her attention.

“What is it, Angel?” asked Fluttershy, looking down at her companion. He pointed towards Spitfire. Fluttershy glanced over to see that Spitfire was conscious. She smiled and trotted over to the bedside, followed by Dash.

“Oh good, you're awake. I'm afraid I've never had to deal with a broken pegasus wing before, but I fix up bird wings all the time and I guess it's probably more or less the same. In fact it's a lot less fiddly since your wings are so much bigger. Still, now that you're awake again I'll go into town and fetch Nurse Redheart so that you can-”

“No!” interrupted Spitfire quickly before Fluttershy could get away. “Nopony outside of this room must know of this!” If Doctor Diligent finds out that I've broken my wing... “You've done a great job so far Fluttershy; I'm sure you can handle it just fine.”

Dash looked confused. “Not that I'm saying that Fluttershy isn't capable, but wouldn't you rather have a professional? I mean... wings are kinda important to a pegasus. I know I wouldn't want to take any chances with mine if I were in your position. No offence, Fluttershy.”

“Oh, none taken.” Fluttershy shook her head. “I really would rather you went to a real doctor, Spitfire. Although if you want to stay here then of course that's fine too I wouldn't want you to think I was trying to get rid of you because that wouldn't be very polite and I'm sorry if I've offended you...” She paused. “Aren't you an important flying star though? Don't you have your own doctor who you'd like to take a look at you?”

“Yeah... well that's kind of the problem...” Spitfire looked down at her hooves sheepishly. They deserve to know the truth. “You see, you remember when I told you that Soarin got injured?” Dash nodded. “Well Doctor Diligent, the Wonderbolts' personal physician, told us that too many of us had been getting hurt lately, and that if there were any more accidents then he'd shut down the Wonderbolts for good.”

Dash gasped in shock. “C-can he do that?” she asked nervously. “This is some sort of joke, right? Is Fluttershy in on this? Is this all a set up? Oh, I get it! Your wing isn't injured at all! The giant was an illusion created by Twilight! Wait... the invitation to join the Wonderbolts... was that part of the prank? Where's Pinkie Pie? I know she's behind this!”

“It's not a prank, Dash. In answer to your sane question... officially, yes he can shut us down,” admitted Spitfire. “In practice, I could probably go appeal to Princess Celestia and get her to overrule him, but these things take time. We'd certainly miss the celebration, and I'm afraid that would mean you could miss your chance to fly with us Dash... I'm sorry, my recklessness has let you down...”

“Oh no, it's my fault,” insisted Fluttershy. Does she have some sort of apologising compulsion? Trying to blame yourself for absolutely everything that happens just doesn't seem healthy. “If I'd just come quicker then you wouldn't have got hurt in the first place and-”

“Would you two please stop saying how sorry you both are?” Rainbow interrupted angrily. “It's clearly this doctor's fault! What does he think he's doing trying to shut down the Wonderbolts? He sounds like a right nasty piece of work! Just point me in his direction and I'll show him-” She was rearing on her hind legs, boxing the air with her front hooves.

“No, Rainbow.” Spitfire thought back to all the times that Dr. Diligent had looked after them over the years. No matter how annoying he could be, I can't bring herself to hate him. “Please don't speak about him like that. I know that it might not seem like it from where you're standing, but he really isn't a bad pony. He just doesn't want anypony to get hurt, and he's prepared to go to great lengths to achieve that. If you do become a Wonderbolt permanently someday then sooner or later you'll find out first hoof why that's normally a good thing. Just very inconvenient in this particular instance...”

“But... you didn't get injured being a Wonderbolt,” Fluttershy pointed out. “You got injured fighting off a giant. Surely that doesn't count towards the ban. If you just explain it all to him, I'm sure he'll come around.” She smiled sweetly.

Perhaps he would if it wasn't for all the times we tried to pull a fast one on the doc. Hiding illnesses or minor scrapes before a performance to avoid being benched was a pretty common occurrence. “Yeah... well unfortunately we haven't always been entirely honest with him in the past. He'd just think I was trying to cover up a training accident. You two are the only other ponies who saw what really happened, and I think he'd claim that both of you have motive to lie. Rainbow for obvious reasons, and Fluttershy to help Rainbow. I'm not saying that there's no chance of convincing him... but I'd rather not take that risk.”

“So... you want us to keep all this a secret?” Dash stood tall and proud with her eyes closed; holding her hoof to her heart. “You can count on us, we won't tell a soul, right Fluttershy?”

“Right!” affirmed Fluttershy. “If it's that important to the pair of you then you can rely on me.”

“I mean it!” Spitfire insisted. “Aside from us three and the other Wonderbolts, nopony must know. Not even your closest friends. I don't want to risk this getting out at all, even after the performance is finished. You understand that, right?”

“Don't you worry,” Rainbow assured her. “Although you really can trust our friends to keep a secret as well...” She paused, hoof held to her mouth in consideration. “Well... maybe not Twilight. I know she's had trouble keeping secrets in the past. Applejack isn't particularly good at hiding things either. Rarity can be a bit of a gossip sometimes too, and Pinkie Pie... well she does make a big deal out of the whole 'Pinkie Pie swear' thing, but frankly I'm always cautious about trusting Pinkie with anything important if I don't have to. No, never mind, you're probably right. Let's keep this between ourselves.”

“Excuse me but... when is this performance?” asked Fluttershy nervously.

“In a week,” Dash replied. “Ooooh I just can't wait!”

“Oh dear...” Fluttershy looked dejected. “I'm sorry girls, but I don't think this is going to work. You're welcome to hide here Spitfire, and I'll happily look after you, but there's no way that your wing is going to heal up in just one week. When you don't show up for the celebration, your doctor is sure to realise that something is wrong. Perhaps it's better to just come clean now and hope for the best? He's more likely to believe you if you're honest from the start.”

“Oooooooor...” A mischievous grin appeared on Dash's face. “I could pass myself off as you! Once I'm all suited up who will know the difference? Sure it'll be a little disappointing that nopony will know it's really me being awesome flying with the Wonderbolts, but as long as you know it's me I'll be able to prove myself and then I can fly as myself once you're all healed up! Plus that means that I get to lead the Wonderbolts which would be totally awesome! Perfect plan.”

“Um... Dash?” Spitfire held her good wing against Rainbow's. “I hate to rain on your parade, but we don't exactly match. Don't you think somepony would notice that? I mean, we could dye your coat and mane easily enough, but wings are... delicate. Applying the wrong sort of coating will cause the barbs of the feathers to clump together, and you won't be able to fly. I'm sure there are products available that reduce that, but not enough for a Wonderbolt performance.”

“Well, I guess you'll just have to bring another pony into this little ruse of yours,” suggested Fluttershy. “We'll just have to find another yellow pegasus somewhere. Let's see... there's that photographer pony that chased me back when I was a model... but I don't know her name, or where to find her. Oh! I met a nice young colt in the cloud factory in Cloudsdale... but no, I guess we need a mare. Ah! I know I've seen some around Ponyville, if we just go to the town square I'm sure that... why are you guys looking at me like that?” Fluttershy’s jaw dropped open in terror as realisation dawned.

“Eep!”

Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Flutterbolt Google docs

“No!” protested Fluttershy, panic rising in her voice. The thought of performing in front of so many ponies brought back horrible memories of her modelling career and all the... attention that she'd had to deal with. All I ever wanted was a quiet life with my animals- how do I keep getting into situations like this? “There must be thousands of yellow pegasi out there who are much better at flying than I am! Why does it have to be me?”

“Well... like I said I want to keep the number of ponies who know about this to the minimum. If we brought in a new pony then that's another potential leak, especially if none of us know her that well.” Spitfire looked rather confused. “You know, most ponies would jump at a chance like this. What's the problem, exactly?”

“Fluttershy isn't most ponies...” explained Dash. She shook her head. “This is a bad idea. Look, I know that Fluttershy saved your flank out there, so I can see why you might have got this idea into your head that she's some sort of big awesome hero pony but...” She paused. “Well I don't even know where to start on how wrong that is. No offence, Fluttershy.”

“Oh, none taken. I'm really not very awesome,” agreed Fluttershy happily. “Besides, we don't even match.” Fluttershy held up her wing against Spitfire. Although they were both yellow, Fluttershy was much paler than the deep, fiery yellow of Spitfire's coat. “It's no good, of course I'd love to help-” she lied, unconvincingly “-but it looks like you're just going to have to find somepony else.”

“Sure it doesn't really work when we're right next to each other,” admitted Spitfire. “But don't you worry; it's not as if you have to fool anypony close up. You'll be all the way up in the sky and travelling really fast. Nopony will get that good a look at you. You're definitely a close enough match to pull this off.”

“It's all irrelevant anyway,” insisted Rainbow. “Fluttershy has never been a strong flier. There's no way that she's fast enough to keep up with me and the Wonderbolts at full speed.”

“She don't have to be.” Spitfire smiled. “Being a Wonderbolt doesn't have anything to do with speed.”

“It doesn't?” asked Rainbow; her face scrunched up in confusion.

“No, Rainbow. It's about precision, grace, and working as a team.” She looked over at Fluttershy. “I don't think that you'll have a problem with any of those. Sure, you do need some speed, but you won't need to do a Sonic Rainboom to keep up. I'm sure you'll be fine.”

“But... but... but... I can't.” Fluttershy hung her head in shame. Why can't she understand how hard this is for me? She loves to perform, loves to have everypony looking at her, but I'm different! I want to help but... it's like there's a giant wall across the path that she wants me to take. It isn't just that it'll be hard, it's... impossible. I can't even conceive of being able to do it. When I try to imagine myself appearing in front of a whole stadium of ponies, all I can summon up is a big black nothingness in my mind. “I just can't... I'm sorry. I just... can't.”

Rainbow Dash placed herself between the increasingly insistent Spitfire and the increasingly upset Fluttershy. “That's enough. Remind me why you needed my help, Spitfire.”

“Because Soarin got hurt in-”

“Right. But the Wonderbolts are more than just six ponies, right? So why didn't you get in one of the reserves?”

“Well... we've had a bit of an injury crisis recently, so we're all out of-”

“EXACTLY!” Rainbow yelled. “Being a Wonderbolt is dangerous! That's fine for me, danger is my middle name, but you want to put Fluttershy through all that? Her middle name is... I don't know, bunnies or something.”

“But... we don't have a choice. If this gets out, then by the time the Wonderbolts are back in the air we'll be at full strength again. It could be years before we have another opening. This is your big break, Rainbow, are you really going to risk that?”

“You betcha! I'll take my chances. I'm not saying that becoming a Wonderbolt isn't important to me... but friends are even more important. More than anything else. Friends. Come. First.”

Friends come first. Fluttershy looked down at the ground. Then she closed her eyes, trying not to think about what the words coming out of her mouth meant as she said them. “I'll do it.”

“Huh?” Rainbow stepped back, and turned to look at her. “Sorry Fluttershy, I didn't catch that... it almost sounded like you said... but I KNOW you didn't say that.”

“I said...” Fluttershy gulped. “I said I'll do it.”

“What?” Rainbow's jaw dropped. “You don't have to do this, Fluttershy, really.”

“No, I know, but I want to do this.”

“No you don't,” countered Rainbow. “You do NOT want to do this.”

“Okay, you're right, I don't want to do this,” Fluttershy admitted. “But I do want to help you. I hate performing in front of other ponies... and I'm not very fond of danger either... but friends come first. You said it yourself.”

“That wasn't what I meant.”

“But it was true. I know how important this is to you. Ever since we were fillies you've been telling me about how you're going to join the Wonderbolts some day, and now that you've got the chance I'm going to do everything I can to help you do just that. I'm doing this whether you want me to or not.” She paused, dropping her gaze back down to her hooves. “Although... I can't promise that I'll be any good.”

There was a brief pause, then suddenly Rainbow leapt on her, grasping her in a tight hug. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou...” Fluttershy was surprised to see that her friend was crying into her mane. “I'm sure you'll do great. You have no idea how much this means to me...”

Fluttershy smiled. “Oh, I think I've got a pretty good idea.” She stood up straight, a serious look on her face. “I swear that from this day onwards, I will be a coward no longer! For you, Rainbow, I will be as strong as I can be!” There was a knock on the door. “Aaaaaah!” She tore herself from Rainbow's grip and leapt behind the sofa. A moment later she peeked over the top, blushing as she realised her mistake. “Er... starting from now.” She fluttered over to the door, and opened it.

It was Twilight. Apparently the weather ponies had caught up on the rain that Dash had missed earlier, because it was absolutely tipping it down outside and Twilight was completely soaked. “Oh Fluttershy, I'm sooo glad you're home right now! I don't think I could take another minute of this rain! Can I come in?”

Nervously, Fluttershy glanced over to Spitfire, lying in plain sight and not about to move any time soon. She was shaking her head urgently. “Um... no, actually. I think you should stay outside.” She smiled apologetically.

“Oh. Okaaay...” Twilight stared inquisitively at her friend, confused by her odd behaviour. “Never mind, I guess being dry is overrated anyway,” she added sarcastically. Then she spotted a blue shape trying to hide inside. “Wait... Rainbow, is that you? I thought that you were supposed to be so super busy today that you couldn't even tell everypony your good news?”

“Oh... um... hi Twi.” Giving up on trying not to be seen, Dash came to join Fluttershy in the doorway. All the better to block any attempted entry by Twilight. “That's right but... obviously I had to tell Fluttershy in person, I mean, we've known each other since all the way back in Cloudsdale so we're the absolute closest of friends.”

“If you say so...” Although it was true that the pair had known each other longer than any of the other ponies, they didn't really spend that much time together, and didn't have a lot in common. “Well, in that case, you'll definitely want to come to Princess Celestia's birthday celebration so you can watch her perform!”

“Oh, yes, I'd love to come,” replied Fluttershy, but then Rainbow Dash poked her in the flank and shook her head. Oh yes, that's right. If I'm pretending to be Spitfire then I won't be able to come with Twilight and the others. I can hardly be in two places at once. “I mean... no. I'm sorry I can't come.” She desperately tried to think of an excuse, but came back empty-hooved. “I'm going to be... busy.”

“Busy?” Twilight sighed. “Too busy to see your so called best friend fulfil her dream? Too busy to attend Princess Celestia's birthday party?” Fluttershy nodded, still wearing a rather fake looking smile. “Don't tell me that you got recruited into the Wonderbolts too!”

Fluttershy gasped in shock, her eyes widening in shock and fear. “How did you-?”

Before she could blab out the truth, Rainbow interrupted her by shoving her hoof in her friends mouth. “Oh Twilight, don't be silly! Fluttershy in the Wonderbolts? That's ridiculous!” She laughed nervously. “Fluttershy is just going to be busy doing... Fluttershy stuff. You know. Looking after animals and whatnot. I'm not upset, it's fine.” She looked down at her wrist. “Hey, is that the time? You'd best be getting back to town before you catch a cold. Bye Twi!” She slammed the door in Twilight's face.

“You aren't even wearing a watch,” Twilight muttered, but the door didn't have much to say on the matter. She sighed again and turned back towards Ponyville, beginning the long, damp trek back to the library. Something weird was definitely going on there, but since Fluttershy was involved, she was sure it wasn't anything nefarious. She supposed that it wasn't really any of her business.

It was just a shame that two of her friends now wouldn't be there to help celebrate Celestia's birthday. She'd been so looking forward to all seven of them spending time together, and to have not one, but two of them turn out to be no-shows was an unexpected disappointment. Dash would still be there of course, but Twilight knew she'd be way too busy with the Wonderbolts to spend any real time with her friends. And she couldn't believe that Fluttershy had just blown her off like that; that really wasn't like her at all.

Unless... unless she really was going to be joining the Wonderbolts as well and just didn't want anypony else to know about it. She'd certainly reacted rather strangely when Twilight had jokingly suggested it... Twilight laughed. What was she thinking? “Oh, Twilight...” she said to herself. “You do get some funny ideas sometimes.”

Rainbow wiped her brow in relief. Who knew that just talking to Twilight could be so nerve racking? “Phew... that was close. What were you thinking, Fluttershy? You nearly blew it! Couldn't you tell tell she was joking?”

“I know, I know. I'm sorry...” Fluttershy hung her head in shame. “I just panicked. Oh... why am I such a loud-mouth?”

“It's all right, Fluttershy,” Spitfire reassured her. “Is there anywhere better I can hide? That wouldn't have seemed so suspicious if you hadn't had to leave her standing in the rain.”

“Oh, I don't get that many visitors. Twilight was only here to give me that invitation,” Fluttershy explained. “You shouldn't get up if you don't have to.”

“Well OK then. I should be fine here on my own I guess. Even if somepony does come I can just pretend that nopony is in.” Spitfire paused. “It is all right to leave me alone, right? I don't need constant medical attention or anything?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh no, I'll need to change your bandages once in a while but I don't need to be here all the time. But why wouldn't I be here? I don't have anywhere important to be and I'm happy to stay here and help in any way I can.”

“Oh, so all of a sudden you're so confident that you can become a Wonderbolt that you don't need to even train?” Spitfire laughed as Fluttershy froze, apparently having briefly forgotten her predicament. “I can't really help any more, but I'm sure Dash can show you the basics. The other Wonderbolts will be here soon to teach you the more complicated stuff.”

Thunder rolled outside. The weather ponies certainly seemed eager to make up for the initial tardiness of the rain. Fluttershy peeked out of the windows. “Do we have to start right this second?” Not that she'd have felt particularly enthusiastic even if it had been a bright summer's day.

“Are you kidding? This is perfect!” exclaimed Dash. “The weather doesn't matter because we can just fly over the clouds, and once we're above them nopony will be able to see us from the ground. Isn't that how you'd prefer it Fluttershy?” The other pony nodded, although somewhat half-heartedly. “Great, then let's go!” She threw open the door, and shot up into the sky.

Following behind, Fluttershy carefully pulled the door shut behind her, then lifted herself up off the ground, circling upwards slowly. The dark rain-clouds floated ominously above her, but she closed her eyes and punched her way through into the sunlight. With clouds as far as she could see below her, and only empty skies above, it really did feel like they had the world all to themselves.

So... What now? This morning Dash had been the pupil, but now she seemed to have been promoted to teacher. How had Spitfire started? “Right! Lesson one. Flying in formation. Follow me!” She shot off.

Fluttershy just stayed where she was, looking mournfully after Rainbow. Dash sighed. Apparently being a teacher is the harder of the two jobs. Doing her best to maintain her composure, she banked around to face Fluttershy. She relaxed her wings into a glide, using air resistance to slow herself down to a stop next to her friend. “What gives? Don't tell me I have to start with teaching you how to fly forwards...”

“You were too fast!” Fluttershy explained. “I knew there was no way I was going to catch you so I decided to just let you fly. You always enjoy zooming around so I thought I'd let you have your fun because once I start going you'll have to slow down for me, and I know you don't like that.”

“This isn't for my benefit, Fluttershy.” Rainbow paused. Actually, I guess that all this is for my benefit. Fluttershy wouldn't even have been up here if it wasn't for me. “I mean... it isn't about me enjoying myself on a flight. If you really want to do this, then we need to train you up, and fast. I know! If you can't keep up with me, how about you set the pace, and I'll match you.”

“Oh... OK then.” Fluttershy moved off at, to Rainbow's eyes at least, a snail's pace.

Well, it was a start at least. Rainbow pulled alongside her. “Right, good. But it's no use me following you, you need to practice following me. I know you can go faster than this, so I'm just going to go a little quicker, and you match my speed, OK?”

“OK, I'll try...” Fluttershy replied. Dash pushed forward and began to pull ahead, being careful not to go too much faster and lose her. To her relief, Fluttershy was able to keep up, and matched speeds with no problem. Success! Although not one that's going to impress a crowd. Baby steps...

“Right, that's good, but we need to be flying closer together.” Rainbow gestured inwards with her foreleg. “Wonderbolts fly wing-tip to wing-tip.”

“OK then...” Slowly, agonisingly slowly, Fluttershy began to drift sideways towards Dash. Every now and then she would panic, and drift away again, but for every one flap back she was taking two flaps forward. Then suddenly... their wing-tips touched, just gently. “Eek!” She slid away again, all the way back to where she had started. “I'm sorry...”

“It's not a problem,” Rainbow reassured her; trying to keep the frustration out of her voice. “Just a little touch doesn't mean the end of the world. Now come back, only not quite so close this time.” It didn't take quite so long on the second attempt, and soon they were flying together side by side. “Great work, Fluttershy. That's perfect, just hold there.” Now what's next... ah yes. “You remember how to make a cloud trail, right?”

“Oh... I was never very good at weather... To be honest, I haven't really tried since I was a foal.”

“But you do know how. Come on Fluttershy, it's our latent talent. Every pegasus can control the weather, even you. Just because you never use it doesn't mean it isn't there. You won't be able to pass for a Wonderbolt if you don't make a smoke trail. A pegasus can feel the air around herself, and the moisture in it.” Dash knew that Fluttershy had heard this all before, but talking her through it would help remind her. “We can use our wings to reshape it into clouds, or rain. Give it a try.”

“Alright then...” Fluttershy closed her eyes as she focussed on the air around her body. A trail of fluffy white clouds began to form behind her.

Unfortunately, that wasn't good enough for Rainbow Dash. “Right, that's a start, but Spitfire's trail doesn't look like that. It needs to be all black and sparky and cool and stuff. You've gotta kick some more energy into it.”

“Oh... OK. I'll try...” Fluttershy concentrated, forcing the air together more tightly, compacting it down with more force, and power, and... SPARK! Lightning fizzled in the cloud behind her. She screamed, breaking formation with Dash and jumping further up into the sky. The smoke trail petered out behind her.

Dash snapped. “Alright, that's, enough!” She shot up in front of Fluttershy, staring her right in the face. “This is ridiculous! It's like teaching a foal. First you can't even fly in a straight line, then you take forever just to get in formation, and now you're afraid of your own lightning? Really? If we're spending this long on basic stuff, how are we going to be ready for performing with the Wonderbolts in just a week? Why do you have to be so... so... useless?!”

“I'm sorry that I let you down...” Fluttershy sniffed, tears welling in her eyes. “You're right, I really am useless... I'm not helping at all, am I?”

Celestia, what have I done? Fluttershy's doing me a massive favour, and I've gone and yelled right in her face for her trouble. “You're helping me more than I could ever ask for... It's not that there's anything wrong with your clouds it's just... I wanted them to be just like Spitfire's. We'll make the white clouds work... somehow.”

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy dried her eyes. “I don't want to ruin your big day, Dash.”

“If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even be getting my big day,” Dash reminded her. “Let's just concentrate on something different for now. How about we try flying with our wing-beats in step with one another? It's hard, but it isn't scary, or dangerous or anything like that. Just concentrate really hard on my wings, and try to make yours move in time with them. Put everything else out of your mind, and don't look away.”

She started off slow, and Fluttershy followed. She was trying her hardest, but their wing-beats still weren't synchronised at all. However, Rainbow wasn't getting frustrated this time, because teaching Fluttershy to flap in time was only half her plan. With Fluttershy focussed entirely on Dash's wings and her own, Rainbow began to slowly pick up the pace.

As she had hoped, Fluttershy didn't even notice, and naturally increased her own speed to match. Before long, the clouds were really shooting past below them. Dash smirked- she'd always suspected that Fluttershy had some real speed hidden inside her; it was just that she got scared whenever she went too fast and slowed down. The air whistled past her face, giving her a feeling of freedom and power that she could only experience through speed.

Fluttershy could feel it too. Confused by the unfamiliar sensation, she stopped concentrating on Dash's wings, and suddenly realised just how fast she was going. She panicked, screaming as her wings locked up and folded against her back. Without any more lift holding her up, she began to plummet to earth like a stone. The earth charged upwards to greet her and...

Suddenly she was floating. Her wings still weren't flapping, but she wasn't falling any more. “I've got you, Fluttershy!” Dash had caught her, and was now flaring out her wings to act as an air break to bring them to a safe stop. They slowly dropped down to ground level, and Dash released her.

“I'm so-” started Fluttershy, but Dash cut her off.

“No, I'm sorry. That was a mean trick. I shouldn't be forcing you into doing something you aren't comfortable with yet. I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier, as well. I was just so frustrated... you know how much this means to me! But that's no excuse. Remember, if you really don't want to do this, I'll understand. If push comes to shove, we probably could find another pony to stand in for Spitfire. I won't think any less of you if you don't want to fly with me any more. I've been a terrible friend. Please forgive me.”

“Oh, Dash. Of course I forgive you.” Fluttershy placed a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. “I want to help you in any way I can. I do get scared sometimes... a lot of the time actually... but I'm not going to let that get in the way. Not this time. If you're happy to keep training me, then I'm happy to keep being your student. Friends?”

They slapped hooves. “Always,” Rainbow replied. There was a smile on her face, but behind the scenes a nasty thought lingered. This isn’t going to work...

Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Suited For Success Google Docs

The Sun peeked its way over the early morning horizon. Alright! Time to get going! Dash leapt out of bed and rushed outside. She had been lying awake for what seemed like hours, itching to get back to training. The deep bags under her eyes betrayed the fact that she hadn’t had much in the way of sleep, but for once she was eager to start the new day as soon as possible.

At close to full speed, it didn’t take her long to get to Fluttershy’s cottage. However, just as she was about to knock, she paused. It’s still quite early, she thought, Fluttershy’s probably still asleep. She made her way over to the window, trying to peek inside and see if there was any movement.

“Um... Dash, why are you staring through my window?” Dash froze as she heard the unmistakable voice of Fluttershy coming from nearby.

Rainbow turned to face her, blushing slightly. “Oh... sorry Fluttershy. I just wanted to make sure that you were awake before I knocked. I guess you are. I wanted to get an early start today, but I didn’t expect you to be so keen to get going too!”

“Oh, I’m always up this early,” explained Fluttershy. “I have to feed all my animals. I was just about to let the chickens out. I’ll just be a few more minutes, then we can start. Um... if that’s okay with you?”

“Hey, no problem.” Rainbow’s stomach growled. “I just remembered that I haven’t had breakfast yet anyway. Take all the time you need.”

“I have plenty of hay,” offered Fluttershy, “take as much as you want. Spitfire is already up, so you don’t have to worry about waking her.”

“Thanks ‘Shy!” Dash pulled open the door of the cottage and stepped inside. Spitfire was indeed up, more literally than Dash had expected. She was out of bed, and tucking into some of Fluttershy’s supplies herself. “Hey Spitfire, I didn’t expect you to be walking around already. Are you sure that’s alright?”

“Morning Dash,” replied Spitfire, through mouthfuls of hay. She’d stripped out of her Wonderbolt uniform, and Dash couldn’t help but think she looked a little odd without it. Every time Rainbow had seen her before, she’d been in costume. “Fluttershy says it’s fine as long as I don’t do anything to put strain on my wing.” As Rainbow joined her and started to eat, Spitfire frowned slightly. “You know, I can’t help but feel we’re taking advantage here a little. After all that she’s already doing for us, here I am sleeping in her house, and here we both are eating her food...”

“Well you can hardly stay at mine if you can’t fly,” Rainbow pointed out. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy doesn’t mind. I’ll make it up to her later, pay for her lunch and stuff. Whether she likes it or not!”

“How did the training go yesterday?” asked Spitfire. “I tried to talk to Fluttershy about it, but she wasn’t very forthcoming.”

Dash stopped eating, and looked down at her hooves with a sigh. “Look... I don’t want Fluttershy to hear this. She’s trying so hard, and I don’t want to put her off any more than she already is... I’m not saying she’s completely nowhere, but she isn’t Wonderbolt standard, and she isn’t going to get there in six days. If we try to put her in one of your normal routines, she’s going to struggle to keep up. Or worse, get herself hurt. Plus I don’t think she’s ever going to get over her fear of loud noises, so we’re stuck with white clouds for her trail. I’m still not sure that this is going to work.”

Spitfire nodded. “Honestly, I was already kinda thinking that. But don’t worry, I have a few ideas on how to modify one of our routines to suit her better. I’ll work on it today. Not like I’ve got anything better to do.” At that moment Fluttershy walked in, so they left it at that.

“You ready to get going?” asked Rainbow.

Fluttershy glanced around the room, as if looking for an excuse to delay. “I... I guess so,” she said eventually.

Rainbow felt a pang of guilt. She’d been getting that a lot lately. “If you want to wait a little...”

“No.” For a moment, Fluttershy’s voice was surprisingly firm. But then it swiftly returned to its normal, quiet levels. “Um... I mean, please stop. If you keep trying to talk me out of this... I might just give in.” She closed her eyes, and shook her head. “And I really don’t want that to happen. I need all the practice I can get so... yes, I’m ready to go.”

Dash grinned. By Fluttershy’s standards, that was almost assertive, she thought. “Alright then, let’s go!”

Credit where it was due, Fluttershy really was giving it her all. They trained from dawn all the way to dusk, with only a brief break for lunch. Fluttershy’s confidence seemed to grow throughout the day, and although she was still having some problems with speed, her precision flying was excellent.

As the light faded, Dash was thinking that it was about time to call it a day. “Good work, Fluttershy. I think we deserve a rest though.” She yawned. “Wow! These early mornings really take it out of me. I could sleep for a week right now.”

“I think you’d miss something important if you did that...” Well, that wasn’t Fluttershy’s voice. For a start, it belonged to a stallion. Rainbow turned to see who it was that was speaking. In the growing gloom of the approaching night, she hadn’t spotted four pegasi approaching. Two stallions, two mares. Dressed in Wonderbolt costumes.

Of course, she thought, tomorrow we’ll be flying with the whole team.

“Where are your manners, Rainbow?” the stallion asked, with a cheeky grin on his face. “Aren’t you going to introduce us to your friend?” His name was Lightning Spark; she’d met him back at the young fliers competition. He was Soarin’s brother, and they shared the same dark blue mane. Lightning also had a blue coat, though it was a darker shade than his brother’s.

“Oh right.” She gestured at each Wonderbolt in turn. “Fluttershy, meet Lightning Spark, Ice Wind, Surprise, and Stormy Skies. Guys, this is Fluttershy.”

“Um... hi.” Fluttershy blushed, uncomfortable as always at being the centre of attention.

“Yeah, yeah, pleased to meet you and all that,” said Ice Wind, in a dismissive tone. She was one of the ponies that had tried to save Rarity at the young fliers competition. As such she had subsequently been saved by Rainbow, but they’d never actually spoken before. Now that Rainbow thought about it, it was a little odd that she’d never thanked her for saving her life. Her coat was yellow, and her mane two tones of blue. “Where exactly is Spitfire? She’s supposed to be training you! We’ve only got a few days left, for Celestia’s sake!” Dash decided that she didn’t much like Ice Wind.

“Oh right.” Rainbow winced. “You guys don’t know that yet. I’m afraid that there’s been... a complication. Spitfire broke her wing-” gasps all round from the Wonderbolts “-but it’s alright! We already have a replacement!” She put her foreleg around Fluttershy. The pair of them had forced grins on their faces.

Ice didn’t look impressed. “What, this little thing?” She snorted. “Celestia’s mane! I thought carrying one newbie was going to be a stretch, now you expect us to take on a complete unknown as well?”

“Now come on Windy, give her a chance,” interjected Surprise. Her mane was yellow, and her coat white. Dash knew her only by reputation; she was supposedly the ‘party mare’ of the Wonderbolts. Although if her competition was Ice Wind, gaining that reputation couldn’t have been that hard. “For all you know, she could be every bit as capable as Dash is.”

“Who said I was convinced that Dash here can cut it either?” countered Ice Wind.

“Now, now. That’s enough arguing.” The last of the ponies was Stormy Skies. He was the oldest, and most experienced, Wonderbolt of all. His coat was grey, and his mane completely white, but he could still keep up with ponies half his age while barely breaking a sweat. “Let’s just talk this over with Spitfire before we make any rash decisions. It’s nice to meet you Rainbow Dash. You too, Fluttershy.”

“Right back at’cha!” replied Dash, relaxing a little. “Spitfire is resting in Fluttershy’s cottage, just follow me.” She took the lead, with Fluttershy flying beside her; perhaps out of habit from the day’s training. Then again, perhaps it was a defense mechanism against the new, and not universally friendly, arrivals.

However, Surprise didn’t seem to have picked up on this, and inserted herself in between the two of them. “Don’t you guys worry about Windy,” she reassured them, in a conspiratorial whisper. “She’s always like this with new ponies. Once you get to know her, she’s a real sweetie!”

Yeah right, thought Dash, I’ll believe that when I see a pig do a sonic rainboom.

They arrived at the cottage, and Fluttershy lead them inside. It was a little cramped with all seven of them, but not enough to be uncomfortable. Spitfire smiled at them, glad to see her teammates arrive. Then she saw the expression on Ice Wind’s face, and the smile vanished, to be replaced with a concerned frown.

“Let me guess,” she sighed. “Ice Wind is convinced that these two are the worst pegasi in the whole of Equestria? And that now the Wonderbolts are doomed to fade into obscurity because our reputation is about to be dragged into the mud?”

“Pretty much,” admitted Lightning, smirking slightly. Clearly this was a bit of a Wonderbolt in-joke. “Just like when I joined. Just like when Surprise joined.”

“This is different!” protested Ice Wind. “We didn’t thrust you two into a performance a week after you started.”

“Rainbow Dash is as strong a flier as any of you,” countered Spitfire, in a stern voice. “You of all ponies should know that, Ice. As for Fluttershy... well okay, in normal circumstances I wouldn’t be picking her. But our hooves are tied. No offence, Fluttershy.”

“Oh, none taken,” replied Fluttershy. “I know I’m not as good a flier as any of you.”

“But that doesn’t matter,” Spitfire continued. “I’ve been working on a routine that will play to your strengths. What we’re going to do is-”

“You must be joking!” interrupted Ice Wind. “A new routine as well? How do you expect us to learn that in just five days?”

“Settle down,” growled Stormy Skies. “Spitfire is the leader here, not you. It’s a tall order, but we’re the Wonderbolts. Greatest fliers in all Equestria. Perhaps if you don’t think we can make it, then you’re the one who doesn’t belong here...” Ice Wind scowled at that, but stayed silent.

“It’s not an entirely new routine, just a variation.” Spitfire sighed. “Look, this was supposed to be a happy moment. We can argue later. Lightning, did you bring it?”

“I sure did.” Lightning Spark reached over into his saddlebag, and pulled out a piece of blue cloth, decorated with flashes of yellow...

“Is that... is that what I think it is?” Rainbow was giddy with excitement, all thoughts of Ice Wind now banished from her mind.

“Yep. Your very own Wonderbolt uniform.” Lightning passed it to her. “I’m afraid I only brought one, though.”

Rainblow squealed with glee, holding the uniform up against herself. Aw yeah! How I’ve dreamed of this...

“Don’t worry, Spark. Fluttershy can borrow mine.” Spitfire picked up her outfit from where it had been neatly folded, and passed it to the nervous Fluttershy. “Don’t worry, I washed it.”

“Oh... that wasn’t what I was...” Fluttershy blushed. “Thank you. It’s... very nice.”

“Well why don’t you two go upstairs and try them on?” suggested Spitfire. “I think that Rainbow’s going to explode soon otherwise. I have things to... discuss, with Ice Wind here.” At that, Rainbow shot upstairs, needing little encouragement. Fluttershy followed behind at a more leisurely pace.

Dash struggled with the costume, falling over herself as she tried to pull it on as fast as possible. After what seemed, to her at least, an age, she finally pulled the costume closed. As a finishing touch, she pulled on the goggles.

It was an odd feeling. It wasn’t often that she wore something that covered her entire body, head to hoof. The costume was tight, but stretchy, so that it didn’t really restrict her movement. But far more important than that was what it symbolised. It gave her a feeling of power, like she could do anything that she wanted.

What she really wanted right now was a mirror. Fortunately, Fluttershy had a full length one across from her bed. Dash flew over, and stuck some poses in front of it, admiring herself from every angle. “Aw yeah!” she said to herself. “Rainbow Dash always dresses in style!”

“Oh, yes, Dash. You’re looking very... um... cool?” Fluttershy hadn’t been in as much of a hurry as Dash, but her more careful dressing had been more efficient. She was now suited up as well. There was something slightly comical about the sight of her dressed as one of Dash’s idols, and despite herself Rainbow couldn’t help but giggle a little.

“Sorry, Fluttersy,” Dash apologised, trying to suppress her laughter. “I don’t mean to be rude. It’s just... I can’t say I ever thought I’d see you dressed like that.”

“Well... I don’t think I was really expecting it myself.” Fluttershy giggled a little as she looked at herself in the mirror. “It is pretty funny seeing myself like this. So... do you think it works? Can I pass for Spitfire?”

“Hmmm...” Dash looked her over. Fluttershy’s mane was the wrong colour of course, but they could fix that easily enough. She winced. That’s not the only problem with it. “Ah... I didn’t really think about this before but... we’re going to have to cut your mane.”

“Oh... right. Of course.” Fluttershy looked down at her hooves. “Spitfire does have hers cut very short, I guess I have to match.” Ever since they’d been foals, Fluttershy had always worn her mane long. Rainbow never usually gave much thought to mane-styles herself, but even she had to admit that the style suited her.

“I’m sorry, it just didn’t occur to me until I saw you in the outfit...”

“No, it’s alright, really.” Fluttershy smiled meekly. “With all the things I’m already doing, cutting my mane is the least of my problems! Shall we... shall we go down?”

Dash nodded, and the two of them headed downstairs. Lightning whistled as they swung into view. “Lookin’ fine, ladies!” Dash grinned at the compliment, but glanced over at Fluttershy to see how she’d react. Fortunately, the mask covered the inevitable blush that Dash just knew must be going on beneath the surface.

“Spitfire has explained our predicament,” announced Stormy Skies. “We thank you for agreeing to assist us, Fluttershy. We are all very grateful.” He glared at Ice Wind, who appeared to be sulking. “It’s going to be a difficult few days, but Spitfire’s routine sounds like it should work. I have every confidence that we can be ready in time.”

“Oooooh! You must be so excited!” Surprise rushed over to Dash, smiling widely.

“You bet I am!” Dash grinned. “I’ve been dreaming of joining the Wonderbolts my whole life!”

“Well of course, but...” Suprise gasped. “Wait! She hasn’t told you yet?”

“Told me what?”

“Well... since Fluttershy is going to be making a white cloud trail,” Spitfire explained, “I think it might be a good idea to let you keep your rainbow trail after all. That way she won’t look quite so out of place.” Rainbow grinned widely, but Spitfire wasn’t finished. “As you know, we’re a display team. So appearances are very important. That means we need to be symmetrical. Your rainbow trail doesn’t match our cloud trails... so you need to be in the centre of the formation.”

Dash froze. “But that means...”

Surprise laughed. “That’s right! You aren’t just going to be flying with the Wonderbolts, you’re going to be leading the Wonderbolts!”

Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Pretty in Orange Google Docs

Fluttershy looked down at the curls of pink hair littering the floor of her cottage. I know it’s a silly thing to get upset about, she thought, but I feel like I’ve lost a part of myself. Um... which I guess is sort of true. Her head certainly felt lighter, and a little colder than usual. Although that’s probably just my imagination playing tricks on me.

“Want to take a look?” asked Surprise, picking up a mirror in her mouth.

“Um... not really,” admitted Fluttershy. Oh, I hope she doesn’t think that I’m upset with her... “But thank you for cutting it for me.”

Surprise laughed, muffled somewhat since her mouth was occupied. “It’th not that bad! Really!” Before Fluttershy had a chance to look away, Surprise thrust the mirror in front of her face. “Thee?”

“Oh...” Fluttershy’s eyes widened. She dipped her head forwards, then to the side, getting a good look at her new mane. Surprise certainly knew what she was doing. It was a lot shorter, of course, but fluffier as well, standing up in a series of wavy spikes. Just like Spitfire’s. Behind her, her tail had gotten a similar treatment. It was a little shorter, and a bit ragged around the edges. Well, it isn’t really me but... how would Rainbow put it? “I look... um... cool?”

“I thought you looked pretty cool already.” Lightning had been relaxing nearby, watching the makeover as it progressed. “But yeah, you look extra cool right now, for sure!”

She blushed, as usual unable to take a compliment. Oh, you silly foal, she thought to herself. He talks like that to everypony. Well... everymare anyhow. She was starting to relax a little around the Wonderbolts, as she got to know them a little better. Apart from Ice Wind, of course, who continued to be obnoxious.

There was a knock on the door, but Rainbow didn’t bother to wait for an answer and just burst in. “Hey guys are we... whoa!” She stopped mid sentence as she spotted Fluttershy. “Morning Fluttershy, you’re looking... different.”

She doesn’t like it. “Um... good different, or bad different?”

“No, not bad,” replied Dash quickly. “Not at all. Just... well it seems that you’re full of surprises these days! First the Wonderbolt outfit, now your mane; it’s like you’re a whole different pony!”

“Oh... okay.” I know she meant that as a compliment, Fluttershy thought, but I’m not sure that I want to be a different pony.

“So anyway,” Dash continued. “As I was about to say, are we ready to go? We’ve got a lot of training to do, and only a few days to do it in!”

“Just a little longer,” replied Surprise. “I think we should be testing out Fluttershy’s full disguise today, so I just need to apply the dye. It’s temporary, so it should just wash out at the end of the day.” She started laying towels on Fluttershy, around the side of her mane and tail. “Now hold still, we don’t want any getting on your coat.”

“Orange... yellow...” Rainbow looked at the series of bottles that Spitfire had prepared. “Hair bleach? Pink? What do you need those for?”

“Oh, that’s just in case we can’t get all the colour out at the end of the day,” explained Surprise. “I don’t think we’ll need them, but I wanted to be sure. We’re trying to be covert here. If somepony sees Fluttershy out of costume with the wrong mane colour, they might get suspicious. Besides, I thought that she’d prefer to look her normal self as much as possible. Am I right?”

Fluttershy smiled. “Thank you so much, you needn’t have gone to so much trouble just for me.”

“Are you kidding? It’s the least I could do!” Surprise finished with the towels, and started to work the dye into Fluttershy’s mane. “So, have you guys ever been to one of Celestia’s birthday celebrations before?”

“Celestia’s birthday?” Rainbow’s face scrunched up in confusion for a moment, before the cogs turned and she realised what Surprise was talking about. “Oh right! You know, I was so focused on the performance that I completely forgot what it was all in aid of!”

“That’s alright Dash,” said Fluttershy. “I probably would have forgotten myself, what with everything else to worry about. But I always remember when Princess Celestia’s birthday is, because it’s only five days after mine.”

“Yeah, I guess that would make it-” Dash froze. “Wait... Fluttershy, that’s today!”

“No it isn’t!” Fluttershy giggled. “Don’t be silly Rainbow, we still have plenty of time before Celestia’s birthday!”

“Not Celestia’s birthday! Your birthday! Your birthday is today!” Dash let out an aggravated sigh. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Oh, I didn’t want to make a fuss.” Fluttershy smiled sweetly. “We’re going to be so busy with training; I don’t want my birthday to distract us. Besides, Pinkie Pie will remember. She always remembers everypony’s birthday. Except for her own, for some reason. I’m sure she has some sort of surprise party planned for tonight.”

“Ooh!” Surprise perked up. “Surprise always loves a surprise party! Can I come?”

Rainbow shrugged. “I expect so, Pinkie Pie wouldn’t mind, and I assume Fluttershy wouldn’t either?” She looked at Fluttershy, who nodded in agreement. “How about you, Lightning?”

“Will there be pretty mares?” he asked, with a grin.

Rainbow smirked back. “Not as pretty as me, of course, but yeah. All of our friends are mares, except for Spike.” She paused. “Now that I think of it, there’s a bit of a stallion shortage in Ponyville in general...”

“Sounds like my kind of party! I’m in!”

“All the Wonderbolts are welcome to come,” confirmed Fluttershy. “Um... at least as far as I’m concerned, anyway.”

“Even Ice Wind?” asked Dash.

“Oh...” Fluttershy paused. I hadn’t thought of her... well, it would be a little rude to invite everypony but her. “Yes, she can come too. Maybe a party will help her relax a little.”

“Great!” Dash grinned. “Everypony is invited! This is going to be so cool!”

However, not every pony was as pleased by this as Dash. Unseen by the others, Spitfire was loitering at the top of the stairs, listening in to their conversation. “Not everypony...” she muttered to herself, looking down at her hooves.

“So, how do I look?” Fluttershy stepped into view. With the mane dye now applied, and dressed in her Wonderbolt outfit, she was barely recognisable. The only things that gave her away were her voice and her mannerisms. She lacked Spitfire’s confident expression, and proud stance.

“Pretty good,” replied Dash. “If I didn’t know better, and I was at a distance, you’d have me fooled for sure.”

“All that’ll be for nothing if you can’t fly well enough,” Ice Wind pointed out. Dash glared at her.

“Yes, well we’ll see the proof of that soon enough,” interjected Stormy Skies. “Dash, you’ll be leading the formation, but that doesn’t mean you’re in charge. Follow my instructions to the letter, understand?”

Dash saluted. “Question the orders of a living legend? Not this pony!”

“Right, let’s start things off slow,” he continued. “You’ve both flown in pairs, so let’s just step it up to threes for the first hour or so. That’s how the new routine starts, anyway. Dash, you’re with me and Lightning, Fluttershy, you’re leading the mares.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Rainbow interrupted. “Why exactly am I on team stallion?”

“Well let’s see...” Ice Wind grinned. “Firstly, we’ve got uneven numbers, so somepony has to. Secondly, you’re standing in for Soarin. So as far as we’re concerned, you’re a stallion. Finally... well frankly the first time I saw you I mistook you for a stallion anyway.”

Lightning groaned. “For Celestia’s sake, Ice, will you give it a rest?”

“How about everypony gives it a rest?” Stormy Skies hardly raised his voice, but something about the way he scowled at them silenced them all. “Ice, keep the point scoring for when we aren’t training. As you have been so keen to point out, we’re on a tight schedule here. Dash... congratulations! You followed my instructions to the letter for, what, five seconds? Let’s have some professionalism here, and get to work.”

They lifted off into the sky. Flying in threes wasn’t really that different from flying in pairs. In fact, leading was in many ways easier than following, at least while they were just flying in straight lines. All Dash needed to be careful of was maintaining a constant speed, and keeping her wings moving to the correct tempo. Fluttershy, on the other hoof...

“Faster!” yelled Ice Wind. At height, it was always hard to get a good sense of speed. With the ground so far away, even at full pelt it could feel like you were barely moving. At Fluttershy’s speed, it looked stationary. If there had been a headwind, they probably would have been. “This isn’t an afternoon stroll, this is supposed to be an air display! Is this the best you can do?”

“I’m sorry...” replied Fluttershy, her voice wavering. She tried to beat her wings harder, moving all the way up from a snails pace up to that of a tortoise. Ooooh... I’m so high up, she thought. Without the cloud cover from the previous two days, the ground seemed a long way down. That made it even harder than usual to keep her calm, and to keep her pace up.

“Don’t be sorry, be fast!” Ice Wind was not the most pleasant pony at the best of times, and the frustration of dealing with Fluttershy’s poor pace was not helping things.

“Come on Fluttershy,” Surprise encouraged her. “I know you can do it!” In contrast to her companion, Surprise was an apparently endless reservoir of calm support. This only made Fluttershy feel worse; letting Surprise down was almost as bad as putting up with Ice Wind’s anger.

“Oooh... I can’t...” Fluttershy closed her eyes, as tears began to well up within them. The worst thing about this is.... I know I can go faster, she thought. I’ve done it before. Why can’t I do it now? But most of the time, when she had flown fast it had been because she had needed to. To save a friend. To escape danger. It wasn’t something she could just turn on.

She cast her mind back, trying to remember the feelings that had spurred her on before. Discord. Her eyes snapped open. If I can’t fly faster... Ice Wind wins! She stared at Ice through narrowed eyes. “You’re a big, dumb, meanie!” As she shrieked the final word, she suddenly shot forward.

Unprepared for Fluttershy’s sudden change of pace, the two Wonderbolts were left floating in her wake. Ice grinned. “Now that’s more like it!” The pair of them rushed after Fluttershy, falling back into formation. Dash spotted the sudden change of pace, and guided her team around to pull alongside.

“Way to go, Fluttershy!” she shouted, raising her voice to be heard over the rushing wind. “I didn’t even have to trick you into it this time!”

“It’s alright,” admitted Stormy Skies. He was keeping his voice level, but Fluttershy caught the hint of a smile on his lips. “I’d prefer faster, but that’s good enough for what we need. Now let’s see if you can keep it up.”

“She fought off a dragon?” Lightning laughed, pushing open the door to Fluttershy’s cottage. The light was fading on another day of hard work, and everypony was glad to be off their wings. They had spent the day working through every part of Spitfire’s routine, although at much lower speeds than they would have to in the real performance. There had been no major issues, so everypony was in good spirits. Even Ice Wind was keeping quiet, which was the closest to happy that Rainbow had seen from her so far.

“You betcha!” replied Rainbow Dash. “Of course, I’d already softened him up for her.”

Surprise gasped. “Wow, Flutter, there’s more to you than meets the eye...”

“I didn’t fight him,” explained Fluttershy. “I just explained the situation to him calmly, and he understood. Dragons really aren’t that unreasonable if you just take the time to talk to them. I do wish you wouldn’t exaggerate so much, Rainbow. I’d hate anypony to start thinking of me as a violent brute.”

Stormy Skies snorted. “I think that’s rather unlikely...”

“Oh yeah?” Dash grinned. “Wait till I tell you what Twilight saw her do to a bear...”

“No!” interrupted Fluttershy, shaking her head urgently. “It was a massage! I keep trying to tell you...”

“Yeah, well remind me never to let you give me a massage then...”

There was a brief silence, as the ponies settled themselves down to rest their weary bodies. “We did good work today,” Stormy Skies congratulated them. “But things only get more intense from here on in. Everypony should rest well tonight, we’ve got a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”

“After Fluttershy’s party, that is!” interjected Surprise.

Stormy Skies grinned. “Alright, that’s fair. Just as long as nopony gets too carried away.”

Dash sighed. Her wings ached like they never had before; she felt like she’d just flown to the moon and back. “Don’t worry, I don’t think that I could get carried away right now, even if I wanted to!”

“There you are Dash! I’ve been trying to catch you all day!” The unexpected shrill voice of Pinkie made Rainbow jump. She was standing in the open doorway, apparently having just arrived. “I could see you all flying around, but you were so high up! I tried bouncing, then I tried jumping... I even tried leaping, but I just couldn’t reach! Then I came here to bring Fluttershy to her party, but then you were here instead! Hey, are you coming to Fluttershy’s party?” She turned her head slightly to the side. “What are you doing in Fluttershy’s cottage without Fluttershy anyway?”

Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, but Rainbow quickly shoved her hoof in it. “No, let me explain, Spitfire, we were just... coming here to wish Fluttershy a happy birthday!” She decided to change the subject, which with Pinkie was never particularly difficult. Especially if there was a party involved. “And I’d love to come to the party, is it alright if we bring some friends?”

“Of course!” Pinkie bounced on the spot. “The more the merrier! It’s in Applejacks barn, right abouuut.... now!”

“Great!” Rainbow started pushing Pinkie back out of the door. “You just go make sure everything’s ready, and I’ll make sure Fluttershy gets there.”

Pinkie beamed. “Okie-dokie-lokie!” Dash slammed the door in her face.

She let out a sigh of relief, along with the rest of the room. “That was too close...”

“I’m sorry...” Fluttershy looked down at her hooves. “I’m not very good at this, am I?”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” Surprise consoled her. “I don’t think she spotted anything strange. Just go get yourself back to your normal self so we can check out this party already.”

“Okay...” Fluttershy started walking upstairs, but was met by Spitfire on her way down.

“So... you’re all off to the party then?” she asked. She was trying not to let her feelings show, but the smile on her face was clearly faked. “Well, have fun...”

“Oh no...” Fluttershy picked up on her feelings immediately. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think. You’ve been here alone all day, and now we’re leaving you alone all evening as well... Don’t worry, I’ll stay here with you if you want. Everypony else can go enjoy the party.”

Even in her dejected state, Spitfire couldn’t help but laugh. “You can’t back out of your own birthday party, Fluttershy! Don’t you worry, I’m a big girl, I’ll be fine.”

“Well... why don’t you come as well?” suggested Dash.

“Did you forget the whole ‘trying to keep her injury hidden’ thing?” asked Ice Wind.

“No, I didn’t,” snapped Dash, shooting her a look that could shatter glass. She turned back to Spitfire. “Nopony here knows you, not outside of your uniform. You could just pretend you know Fluttershy from Cloudsdale, and that you’re here to visit on her birthday.”

“That... could work,” agreed Stormy Skies.

“I don’t know... I have a pretty distinctive look...” Spitfire flicked her mane with her hoof.

Dash grinned. “You sure do, but don’t worry, I have an idea to solve that little problem. I think a little turnabout would be fair play...”

Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Party Soft Google docs

Somepony knocked on Applejack’s barn door. “Shh!” Twilight hissed. “That must be her.” She nodded at Applejack, who walked over to the door to open it.

Outside, stood a yellow pegasus with a pink mane. “Well howdy there, Flutter- whoooaa nelly... Er...” She paused. “Ah’m sorry, but you look mighty similar to a friend of mine. Can ah help you?”

“You mean Fluttershy?” Spitfire grinned. They’d quickly coloured her mane and tail with the pink dye before heading out. Ending up looking a bit like Fluttershy had been an unintended side effect. “I’m a... friend. From Cloudsdale. That’s why I’m here. I heard you’re throwing her a birthday party?”

“Well then ah’m mighty pleased to make yer acquaintance!” Applejack stretched out her hoof to her. “Mah name’s Applejack. What’s yours?”

“I’m Windburst.” Spitfire placed her hoof in Applejack’s, only for Applejack to grab her foreleg in both hooves, almost shaking it out of its socket by her firm hoofshake. She winced in pain as the motion disturbed her injured wing.

“Oh my!” Applejack gasped as she spotted Spitfire’s sling for the first time. “Ah’m so sorry, ah didn’t see that you wus hurt.”

“It’s alright,” Spitfire replied. “Actually, that’s the other reason I’m here. I’m staying at Fluttershy’s while I heal up. Getting around Cloudsdale without wings is a nightmare!” They’d knocked up a quick back-story for ‘Windburst’ on the way over. Unfortunately, she realised that she’d already pretty much burnt through it all in the first minute. How in the hay am I supposed to keep this up all night?

“Come on!” Rainbow Dash whined. “Hurry it up, it’s cold out here!” Applejack stuck her head further outside. She caught sight of Dash and the rest of the Wonderbolts, with Fluttershy in tow.

“Well why didn’ya just say so?” She pulled the door wide open. “Come on in y’all! Everypony is welcome! ‘Specially you, Fluttershy! Not much of a birthday party without the birthday mare, now is it?”

“Oh thank you Applejack, but you really shouldn’t have gone to so much...” She froze, her mouth dropping open as she caught sight of the inside of the barn. Pinkie had, as usual, outdone herself. Every beam and column in the barn was decorated with garlands of flowers, and the floor was littered with multicoloured petals. Somehow, Pinkie had managed to coax in a multitude of birds, squirrels and rabbits, who fluttered, scurried and bounced around the room. Best of all, Twilight, Pinkie and Spike were there waiting for her, smiling in welcome. “Oh my...”

“You like it?” Pinkie grinned.

“Of course I like it!” Fluttershy replied, gratitude radiating from her voice. She glanced around. “There’s... no balloons?”

Pinkie nodded. “Uh-uh! Balloons go pop! I like it when they do, but I know how you hate sudden loud noises, so your party is a balloon free zone! I’ve thrown you a super special quiet party!”

“Oh, thank you Pinkie!” Fluttershy smiled. She paused. “But where’s Rari-”

“Aaaah!” Rarity squealed, appearing from the back door. “Fluttershy, what happened to your mane?”

Before Fluttershy could answer, Ice Wind interrupted. “You!” She glared at Rarity with contempt. All the little creatures scattered into the shadows and crevices around the barn. One of the garlands slipped loose from its beam, and dropped to the ground.

“Er... yes, me...” for once, Rarity was lost for words. “I’m Rari-”

“I know who you are.” Ice Wind charged forwards, thrusting her face just inches from Rarity’s. “You made that abundantly clear the last time I met you. Just before you nearly killed me and two of my team-mates!” She jabbed Rarity in the chest with her hoof.

“Ah...” Rarity giggled nervously. “That was you... Yes... well... I’m really sorry about that... I mean... in the heat of the moment... falling through the air... I panicked...”

“Back the hay off!” Rainbow pulled Ice Wind back. “I’ve had it just about to bursting with you! Look at that!” She pointed over to Fluttershy, who had retreated to a corner of the barn when the shouting started. Her lips were quivering, and tears began to form in her eyes. “This is her party! How dare you ruin this for her?”

“Too far, Windy, too far...” Surprise hissed.

The silence in the room was deafening. For a moment it looked like Ice Wind was going to argue, but then she dropped back. She spoke in a calm, regretful voice. “No, you’re right. That was out of line. I was planning to keep quiet, just for tonight. Really. Then I saw-” briefly, the venom returned to her voice “-her, and I just... I just lost control. Forget it. For tonight, a truce. Okay?”

Dash glared at her through narrowed eyes for a few seconds. “Fine. A truce. For Fluttershy. But I will not be forgetting this.” She spat on her hoof, and held it out towards Ice Wind.

“Fair enough.” Ice Wind spat on her own hoof, and slapped it against Rainbow’s. “Don’t think this means I’m going easy on you tomorrow though.” She looked around, suddenly aware of everypony’s eyes on her. “I guess I’ll just... take some air for a minute.” She trotted outside, glancing over her shoulder to see if everypony was still watching her as she left.

Even after she had gone, nopony really knew what to say for a few seconds. Surprise spoke first. “I’d best go after her...” She headed towards the door.

“How do you put up with her?” Dash asked.

“Really... once you get to know her...” Surprise sighed. “You’ll see. Trust me.” She disappeared outside.

“Are you okay there sugarcube?” Applejack had trotted over to Fluttershy to comfort her. “Jus’ don’t think about it, okay? Don’t let that big meanie ruin your party.”

“It’s alright, Applejack.” Fluttershy sniffed. “It’s Rarity I’m worried about...”

The unicorn had barely moved since Ice Wind had confronted her. However somehow Fluttershy’s words seemed to break the spell. She collapsed onto the barn floor. “Uuuugh!” she groaned. “Well, I certainly thought I’d put that sorry episode behind me. Lovely bunch, these Wonderbolts of yours, Dash...”

“Hey!” protested Lightning. “We aren’t all like that... Believe me, I’m as shocked as you are.” He grinned. “So you’re the mighty Rarity then? Who knocked out three of our finest members in as many seconds! Don’t worry, we don’t all hold a grudge.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Rarity said. “I wasn’t thinking. Of course it’s unfair to tar you all with the same brush. I just... wasn’t expecting such a performance. Although I admit in many ways I probably deserved most of it...”

“You apologised to her already, Rarity,” Twilight pointed out. “It’s not like you can turn back time and fix things. She was out of line.” She glanced over at the two colts. “Dash was right, how do you put up with somepony like that?”

“Ice Wind has...” Stormy Skies paused. “She has her own way of doing things, but she’s good at her job. I’m willing to put up with a little aggravation for that.”

Lightning smirked. “That’s why we haven’t thrown Dash out yet!”

“Hey!” Dash protested.

“What?” Lightning smiled innocently. “I was just saying how good you are at your job! I can’t imagine what you thought I was suggesting?”

Everypony laughed at that, dispelling some of the tension from the room. Fluttershy dried her eyes, and the party began to swing back into gear.

“Sooo...” Rarity sidled up to her. “As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, what have you been doing to your beutiful mane?”

“Oh...” Fluttershy brushed her shortened mane gently with her hoof. “Surprise cut it for me. Do you... do you like it?”

Rarity paused for a long time. “It’s very... modern...” She sighed. “I do wish you’d run these things past me, dear. Don’t you worry, this can still be salvaged. Come with me if you want to look fabulous!” She led Fluttershy away to a corner, levitating a comb from her saddlebags to begin fussing around with her mane.

Spitfire sighed. She was actually somewhat relieved that Ice Wind’s display had drawn the attention away from her. She’d recognised Rarity herself, but bit her lip and kept her mouth shut to stay in character. Now she wondered how she’d have reacted if that hadn’t been the case. Probably not as violently as Ice Wind, but she’d certainly have wanted to give Rarity a piece of her mind. She was glad that she hadn’t gotten the chance now. Watching Rarity chatting and laughing with Fluttershy, it was hard to maintain the grudge.

“So... how long’ve ya known Fluttershy?” Spitfire jumped at the unexpected voice. She turned to see Applejack smiling at her.

“Oh...” Try not to panic, try not to panic! “Well, from back when we were foals actually. We met in Cloudsdale at... um... school?”

“Ah can see how you two mighta got along!” Applejack smiled. “You seem almost as nervous as she does.”

“Oh...” Spitfire guessed that she was a little on edge. Well why not play up to that? That way she’ll never take me for a Wonderbolt. “Oh yes, that’s how we met. Somepony was setting off fireworks, and we both hid under the same cloud.”

“Aw well ain’t that just swell. Although...” Applejack scratched the bottom of her chin with her hoof. “It ‘aint half strange that Fluttershy never mentioned you before.”

Spitfire laughed uncertainly, shifting her eyes from side to side in search of an escape. Well, at least Operation Act Nervous is going well... “Yes... well... you know Fluttershy. Never much of a talker. It was a long time ago, after all.” She felt beads of sweat beginning to form on her brow. I’m a natural! Now how do I stop? “Well, I can’t monopolise all of your time! I’m just going to... stand over there now.” She retreated.

“Alrighty then!” Applejack called after her. “You have fun now!” She sighed to herself. “Well she seemed like a mighty nice pony. Ah’m glad that Fluttershy has some friends outside of the six of us.” She went to rejoin the rest of her friends, having completely missed that anything was out of the ordinary.

The party continued into the night. Ice Wind slunk back in at some point. She stayed by herself in one corner, aside from occasional visits from Surprise, but didn’t cause any more trouble. The rest of the Wonderbolts mingled with the Ponyville contingent, and the initial awkwardness quickly faded.

Lightning was particularly keen to mingle. He chatted with Pinkie and Applejack, and Rarity too, which earned him some unfriendly looks from Spike. Eventually he settled on Twilight, who seemed happy to respond, although mainly because he was willing to listen to her talk about books. Fluttershy watched from the sidelines, sipping on a drink.

“Hey, ‘Shy, what’s up?” Rainbow interrupted her thoughts. “You’re looking a little down...”

“Oh... um... nothing,” Fluttershy replied quickly. She blushed. Rainbow followed her gaze to Lightning and Twilight.

She laughed. “No way! Do I detect a little Flutter-crush?” She suddenly turned more serious. “Listen, Fluttershy. Lightning... I know he’s been... nice to you. But you’ve gotta understand that that’s just how he acts. I mean...” Her voice trailed off.

Fluttershy nodded. “Thanks Rainbow, I appreciate your advice. Um... I know that sometimes I can come off as a little... naive. But I’d actually already worked that out for myself. Not that I’m not grateful that you’re trying to help. It’s just nice to have a stallion pay attention to you once in a while, even if you know he's just a flirt.”

“You hate ponies paying attention to you...” Rainbow pointed out.

“Well... there are different kinds of attention,” Fluttershy explained. “Um... actually Rainbow, I’m a little surprised that you haven’t seemed to show much interest.”

“M-me?” Rainbow’s jaw dropped open.

“Why yes,” continued Fluttershy. “I mean, you’ve always been in awe of the Wonderbolts. It would only be natural to start having... certain feelings towards them. Do you like Lightning? He’s certainly very outgoing, I think you two have a lot in common. Or maybe Soarin? I’ve never really met him, but I’m sure he’s nice. Then again, maybe you prefer Stormy Skies? He is a living legend after all, and I know some mares like an older stallion.” She glanced away nervously. “Um... and if... maybe you like Spitfire? Don’t worry, that’s not a problem. Whatever your personal tastes are is fine with me...”

Dash had been unable to speak throughout Fluttershy’s short speech. She was shocked to discover that she was actually blushing. “But... what... I...” She shook her head. “Are you teasing me? You aren’t supposed to tease me! You’re Fluttershy!”

“Oh, was I teasing you?” Fluttershy looked aghast. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. All I’m trying to say is that if you want any advice, I’d be happy to help as best as I can.”

“I don’t need any advice!” Dash protested. She looked around for a distraction, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. “Twilight!” Lightning had been snagged by Spike, who seemed to have something important to say to him, leaving the unicorn alone.

“Oh hello Rainbow.” Twilight trotted over to join them. “And you too, Fluttershy, are you having a good time?”

“Oh yes.” Fluttershy nodded. “Me and Rainbow were just discussing how she fe-”

“So!” Rainbow interrupted, before Fluttershy had the chance to swing the conversation back towards that particular topic. “I saw you talking to Lightning, there. How was that going?” She raised her eyebrows and wiggled them slightly.

“Oh, it was just wonderful!” Twilight grinned. “It’s so rare that I get to talk to somepony who cares about books as much as I do.” Dash and Fluttershy looked at each other in disbelief. Lightning had not struck either of them as much of a bookworm. “You know, it turns out he likes the exact same books as I do!”

“Let me guess, you told him which books you liked first?” Rainbow suggested. “And then he just happened to have read the exact same ones? I don’t suppose he told you why he liked them?”

“Well of course he...” Twilight paused. “You know, I was so busy explaining them all to him that he barely had a chance to get a word in edgewise. I guess that was a little rude of me...”

“Sooo... you didn’t get the impression that maybe, just maybe, he was interested in something other than books?” Rainbow asked.

“Oh, no,” Twilight replied. “I mean, that was all we talked about. I can’t imagine what else...” She broke off mid sentence. “Ooooooh... I see.” She laughed. “Now don’t be silly, Rainbow, just because a mare is talking to a stallion doesn’t mean that there’s anything else going on. Besides, I wouldn’t want to step on your hooves.”

“What?” Rainbow groaned loudly. “Why does everypony seem to assume that I’m interested in absolutely everypony else?” Suddenly, the whole room seemed to have gone silent. Rainbow realised that everypony in the room seemed to be looking right at her. “Oh... horseapples.”

“Great party, Pinkie Pie!” Surprise exclaimed. “They don’t do them like this up in Cloudsdale!” The evening had passed in a blur, and it was well past midnight.

“Hey, I should come up to Cloudsdale and throw one for you!” Pinkie suggested.

“Um...” Surprise flapped her wings.

“Oh, don’t worry!” Pinkie laughed. “Twilight can make me a pair of those in a snap! Right Twi?”

“Well...” Twilight paused. “I’m not sure that’s an entirely good idea... You remember how that ended last time, right?”

“Okie dokie lokie!” If Pinkie was upset by Twilight’s reluctance, she didn’t let it show. “In that case, since you’re training Dash in flying, maybe I can train you in party planning! Then you can throw yourself a party!”

Surprise scratched her chin. “Hmmm... well, maybe after we’re done with the celebration...” She shook her head. “I don’t know Pinkie, I love partying, but I think actually throwing a party seems like a lot of work. All the preparations... then cleaning up afterwards? Not sure that sounds so much fun...”

“Oh don’t be silly!” Pinkie giggled again. “Planning a party is the funnest part! And tidying up...” She paused, suddenly looking confused. “You know, I never really think of that...”

Applejack sighed. She looked around the barn. The flowers were starting to wilt a little, dropping petals all over the floor. All the little animals had been cute and all, but they’d also taken care of their business. All over the place. Discarded plates, cups and other rubbish had managed to get just about everywhere.

“Well...” she muttered to herself. “Looks like ah’ve got a busy day tomorrow...”

“And so have we,” Stormy Skies added. “If you don’t mind, I think we should all be getting some rest.”

Reluctantly, the Wonderbolts said their goodbyes. Along with Dash and Fluttershy, they began to make their way to the exit.

“Hey come on!” Pinkie protested. “The party’s only just getting started! Just because the ‘bolts have to go doesn’t mean you do too, Fluttershy! Or Windburst! Come on, stay a little longer!”

“Oh right...” Fluttershy froze. “Um... well I’m sorry to leave, Pinkie, but I have to get up early tomorrow. To look after my animals. If... that’s okay?”

“And I have to...” Spitfire paused. “Actually, I don’t have to do anything. Sure I can stay.” She grinned, turning to the other Wonderbolts. “You go enjoy your rest. I’ll just stay here and party a little longer.”

“I hate you,” Lightning muttered under his breath, although with no real malice in his voice. “And I will be getting revenge.”

“Sleep well!” Spitfire called after them as they departed. “Try not to wake me in the morning!”

Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Nightmares Google docs

Twilight adjusted the focus on her telescope. “Alright then... Where are they?” Something flashed in front of her scope. She quickly swung the telescope around, trying to track it, but it was already gone. She sighed in frustration. “This is impossible!”

“Why don’t you just watch?” asked Spike. “You don’t need the telescope to see.” Up in the sky outside the window, the Wonderbolts were practicing their routines. Most of Ponyville had been keeping an eye on the skies since they had started, and Twilight was no exception.

“But they’re so far away!” replied Twilight. “I won’t be able to bring it to the actual performance, so I want to get a closer look at them while they’re still practicing. This is a great opportunity to study pegasus flight with the very best pegasi in the business. I can’t waste this chance!”

Spike groaned. “Can’t you just sit back and enjoy it?”

“No. There are only four days left and I need to make every second count.” She fiddled with the focus again. “Now... where are they?”

***

Applebloom’s brow clenched. This was a tricky problem, and required careful consideration. “How about... Cutie Mark Crusader mountain climbers?”

“No...” Sweetie Belle shook her head. “We tried that one already. We need to try something new. I know! We can ask my sister to throw us a cutie mark crusader fashion show!”

“Ah don’t know,” Applebloom scratched her chin. “What do you think, Scootaloo?” Scootaloo didn’t answer; she was too busy staring out of the clubhouse window. Applebloom groaned. “Scootaloo-ooo! Wake up!”

“Huh? What?” Scootaloo finally responded, although she kept her eyes fixed on the display outside. “How about Cutie Mark Crusaders flying display watchers?”

“We did that all day yesterday!” exclaimed Applebloom. “Ah don’t know what sort of cutie mark you expect to get from that, anyhow.” She snorted. “Oh look! There’s Scootaloo, with a big picture of Rainbow Dash on her rear!”

“Really?” Scootaloo spun around in excitement, twisting to get a good look at her flank. Realising that nothing had changed, she frowned at Applebloom. “Not. Cool.” She turned back to the window and cried out in frustration. “Aw, great! You made me miss Rainbow doing a loop!”

Applebloom growled, but Sweetie Belle put a hoof on her shoulder to calm her. “Just leave her alone, Applebloom. It’s only three more days, let her have her fun.”

***

“Good morning, Applejack!” Rarity smiled at her friend as she sauntered up to her stall in the marketplace. “I was looking to buy some...” she paused. Applejack’s cart was almost completely cleared out. Only a single solitary apple was left, along with a few other less desirable vegetables. “Oh. Well, you must have been busy today...”

“Yep!” replied Applejack, with a smug grin on her face. “We’ve got ponies from all over coming down today! Ah think they all heard about the Wonderbolts doin’ their practicing and wanted to get a good look-see. Certainly been good for business; ah oughta ask them to come back next week!” She frowned, noticing Rarity’s annoyance. “Sorry, Rare’, ah’ve still got plenty of apples back on the farm if you want. Just din’t figure on this being so-”

She was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Pinkie Pie, who crashed into her cart, knocking it over onto its side. Rarity leapt back in fright as a plume of dust was tossed into the air.

“Rarity, is that you?” Pinkie asked, as she pulled herself out of the wreckage.

“Well yes, dear, but what do you think...” Rarity stopped as she got a better look at Pinkie. “Why are you wearing a blindfold?”

“Well, duh!” exclaimed Pinkie, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “The Wonderbolts are practicing for Celestia’s party!” She waited for a moment, clearly satisfied that she had explained herself perfectly.

“So...?” prompted Applejack.

“Soooo, if I see them practicing, that’ll ruin the surprise!” Pinkie continued. “And if I ruin the surprise, that’ll ruin the party! And I wouldn’t want to ruin any party, let alone Princess Celestia’s birthday!” She paused. “Isn’t everypony wearing blindfolds?”

Applejack sighed. “No Pinkie, just you. Look, if you don’t want ta ruin the surprise then that’s fine. But you can’t just wander around without being able to see what’s goin’ on. Look at the mess you’ve made!”

“Nu-uh!” replied Pinkie. “You won’t trick me that easily, Applejack. I’m not looking at anything until they’ve finished practicing. Besides, it’s fine, look!” She held up her hoof. A piece of string was tied to it, with Gummy attached to the other end. His mouth was clamped around Applejack’s last remaining apple. “See! I have a guide alligator, so it’s no problem. What are you guys doing at Twilight’s anyway?”

“Um...” Rarity looked around. They were standing in the town square, in the completely opposite direction to Twilight’s library from Sugarcube Corner. “Pinkie, I think you’re a little lost.”

“Oh, don’t be silly!” Pinkie giggled. “Gummy’s been living in Ponyville all his life. I’m sure he knows how to get to Twilight’s by now!” Gummy dropped the apple, and started pulling on the string. “Gotta go girls! Bye!” Pinkie hurried off to follow him.

Rarity and Applejack stared down at the abandoned apple, which was now glistening with alligator drool. “So...” Applejack turned to Rarity. “You still want ta buy an apple?”

“I think I’ll pass,” replied Rarity.

Across the square, Pinkie crashed into another stall. Applejack sighed. “How much longer we gotta put up with this?”

“Just two more days...”

***

“Alright everypony,” Stormy Skies cast a critical eye over the Wonderbolts. “The light’s starting to fail, so this will be our last trial run before the real thing. Let’s make it count.”

Dash moved into her starting position. On Stormy Skies’ signal, she shot forward. We’ve gone over this routine so often that I could do it with my eyes shut! I know every move, every mark, every trick!

It just... flows. It’s natural. Routine. Like I’m flying in a trance. Almost as if I don’t even need to concentrate any more. I am one with the wind. I’m dancing through the air. I am a Wonderbolt!

I’m...! I’m... flying straight at Ice Wind!

She swerved, narrowly avoiding a collision. Ice Wind did the same, however that put her into the path of Lightning, who dodged into the path of Stormy Skies and Surprise. Wonderbolts were shooting off in every direction, and the display fell apart. To her relief, Dash saw that everypony was still airborne, and nopony had been hurt.

“Oh my!” exclaimed Fluttershy. “Is everypony alright? What happened?”

“Rainbow Dash happened!” growled Ice Wind. “She was out of position.”

“I’m so sorry, guys,” Dash appologised. “I thought it was all going so well and... I must have lost concentration.”

Stormy Skies sighed. “Well, I guess that’s that then. Everypony go get some rest. Tomorrow’s the big day.”

“Whoa!” Dashed flew in front of the rest of the ponies to block them. “We can’t just leave it there! We’ve got to go again!”

“No, Dash,” replied Stormy Skies. “I said that this was the last run, and I meant it. The light is fading, and without floodlights it’s too dangerous to practice at night. We just had one close shave, there’s no way I’m going to risk another.”

“Don’t worry, Rainbow,” comforted Surprise. “We’ve had plenty of good runs today; don’t let one mistake get you down. It’ll be fine tomorrow, you’ll see. Just go home and try to get some sleep.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. There was clearly no point in arguing. But all she could think of was how much was riding on this. Just a few minutes ago, she’d felt so confident, but now... If I mess up like that tomorrow, I might never get another chance.

***

It was dark. Beyond dark. Pitch black. Fluttershy wasn’t even sure whether her eyes were open or closed. “Um... hello?” she asked, her voice barely audible even though there were no other noises to drown it out. She wasn’t sure that she wanted an answer. There was something out there; she could feel it, and it made her skin crawl.

A pair of eyes flashed open in front of her, somehow visible despite the lack of a light source. Fluttershy leapt backwards, but in the dark she couldn’t see anywhere to hide from the gaze. There was a faint glimmer of light from beside her as another pair appeared out of nowhere. Then another. And another. Many, many eyes, staring at her from in front, her sides, behind, above and even below.

She screamed, and ran for all she was worth, but it didn’t make any difference. The eyes followed her wherever she went, easily keeping pace without any apparent effort, and never looking away.

She flew into the air, pushing herself to her limits. However this only seemed to draw more eyes to her, until the air around her was made up more of eyes than of darkness. Oh... I never thought I’d want to go back to pitch black...

That was when the whispering started. Barely audible at first. “Fluttershy...” Just a single word, but soon repeated, over and over again. “Fluttershy... Fluttershy...” Although each individual word was soft and quiet, as they multiplied and overlapped they grew into a deafening cacophony that drowned out even her screams.

Fluttershy shot upright, never so relieved as to find herself in her own bed. She breathed heavily, her coat drenched in sweat. Another loud noise made her squeal again, but she quickly realised it was just Spitfire snoring from the other room.

She looked down at the bed, unwilling to return to it and re-enter the nightmare she had just left. “I just need to calm down a little,” she said, mainly to hear the sound of her own voice. She crept downstairs, carefully so that she wouldn’t wake Spitfire. When she let herself out of the front door, she was greeted by the freezing night air, but the chill was somehow reassuring. A reminder that she was in the real world, and safe from the eyes. Until tomorrow.

***

The sun blazed high in the sky. Rainbow was lined up alongside the other Wonderbolts. Below them, Princess Celestia looked up, her hooves cupped around her mouth to amplify her voice.

“Ready, set, go!”

The other Wonderbolts shot away into the distance. Not a problem! Dash stormed forwards, throwing everything she had into the pursuit. With my speed, I’ll catch them in ten seconds flat! The air whistled past her face as she accelerated. Let’s see them outrun a sonic rainboom! The air blasted outwards around her in an multicoloured explosion, propelling her forward to join the others.

“Way to go!” Fluttershy cheered, though her faint voice made her ‘cheer’ seem like little more than a whisper. She appeared alongside Dash, beating her wings hard to keep pace.

“Wow, Fluttershy!” Dash gasped in surprise. “You’re actually keeping up with me! I guess all that training has finally paid off.”

“It sure has!” Spitfire agreed. “In fact, I think that Fluttershy is ready to join the Wonderbolts full time!”

“Wow!” Dash grinned. “You and me, Wonderbolts together! This is totally the best day ever!”

“Hang on a moment!” Ice Wind interrupted, diving in front of Dash and forcing her to a stop. “Fluttershy is in the Wonderbolts. You are outa here.”

“W-wha...?” Dash couldn’t believe it. Surely they can’t be choosing Fluttershy over me?

Ice Wind laughed for what seemed like several minutes before answering. “I said that we went with Fluttershy. Your pitiful performance was hardly enough to qualify you as a Wonderbolt. In fact, we’ve decided that you’re not even fit to be a pegasus.” She slapped her hooves together.

Dash’s wings ignited in flame. For a moment, she thought she could pick out Spitfire’s face within the fire, glaring at her in disappointment. Then her wings were gone; burned into ashes. With nothing holding her up any more, she fell. Screaming, Dash began to wave her legs uselessly in the hope of doing... something. Anything. She looked down to see the surface rushing up to meet her...

She shot up into the air, smashing her head against the ceiling, which was fortunately made of clouds. “Not the wings! Anything but the wings!” She quickly checked her back to confirm that her wings were still firmly attached.

Well, duh, of course they are. It seemed ridiculous now that she had properly woken up, but somehow she had been convinced for a moment that the dream had been entirely plausible.

Ugh... I need some air. She wasn’t sure what time it was, and she wasn’t sure that she wanted to know. It was still night outside, and there was no sign of the sun. She shot out into the darkness, glad to feel the rush of speed. See, it wasn’t real.

But even though all the details hadn’t been particularly realistic, she knew that some parts of it held some truth. Tomorrow was her big day. She shuddered. Maybe it’s already today... At the start of the week, it had seemed like an opportunity, something she’d looked forward to all her life. Now she was dreading it more than anything she’d ever known. I’ve let myself think that I’m already a Wonderbolt, but if I mess this up... I’ll lose that forever.

She looked down, suddenly catching sight of a familiar yellow shape trotting along on the ground. She swooped down to greet her. “Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy screamed, diving into a nearby bush. She peeked out, spotting Rainbow. Blushing, she pulled herself out and walked over to greet her.

“Sorry, Rainbow,” she said. “I thought you were... someopony else. What are you doing up this late?”

“I could ask you the same question,” replied Dash. “Let me guess, can’t sleep?” Fluttershy nodded. With a yawn, Rainbow stretched out each of her limbs in turn. “Same here.”

“Really?” Fluttershy looked surprised. “What do you have to worry about? Tomorrow’s the day you finally get to join the Wonderbolts!”

Rainbow snorted. “Yeah, sure. Assuming I even get in.”

“Oh, Rainbow,” Fluttershy smiled. “You don’t have anything to worry about. You’re the strongest flier I’ve ever known. Is this because of that mistake you made in the last routine? Well, everypony has made mistakes at some point over the last few days. Even Ice Wind. Even Stormy Skies. Spitfire and Soarin actually got themselves injured. I’m sure that you’ll do fine in the actual performance. And even if you don’t, everypony has seen what you can do in training. I don’t think they’d hold a single mistake against you.”

“Really?”

“Oh yes.” Fluttershy paused, unwilling to meet Rainbow’s eyes. “Um... I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but Stormy Skies has been talking to Spitfire quite a lot after you leave for the day. I... know it’s rude to eavesdrop but... I might have overheard a teeny little bit of it... Let’s just say that you don’t have to worry about what happens tomorrow.”

“Oh,” Dash paused. Then she laughed. “Well of course they’re already impressed! I’m the coolest pony on two wings!” She looked down at Fluttershy. “So what’s got you so upset then?”

“I’m not sure I want to talk about it.”

“Come on Fluttershy, I told you what was upsetting me. It’s only fair that you do the same...”

“Well...” Fluttershy sighed. “It’s really just the same old problem. I hate to be the centre of attention. And tomorrow... everypony will be looking at me. I just don’t know if I can do it.”

Rainbow snorted. “Fluttershy, you’ve been doing it all week.”

“Huh?”

“What, you think nopony has noticed our awesome flying displays these last few days?” She gesticulated at the sky. “Everypony in Ponyville has been coming up to me and saying how awesome we looked!”

“Huh...?” Fluttershy looked nonplussed. “Nopony said anything to me.”

“Exactly!” Dash grinned. “Because nopony knows it was you. And nopony is ever going to know. So it’s like they’re not even watching you at all. Besides, even if they did, do you know what they’d see?”

“No?”

“They’d see the best friend a pegasus ever had.” Dash dropped to the ground beside Fluttershy, putting her foreleg around her.

“Oh... you don’t mean that.” Fluttershy gently pawed at the dirt with her hoof.

“You bet I do!” Dash retorted. “Seriously, what you’re doing is... awesome. You’ve gone right to the top of my list. Fluttershy, you are the best pony I know.” She suddenly dropped into a whisper. “Just don’t tell Pinkie I said that.” She lifted off again. “Later, ‘Shy. Sleep well.” In a flash, she was gone.

Fluttershy smiled before hearing a cough behind her. Angel was standing nearby, frowning at her. He motioned to his wrist, and pointed back towards her cottage.

“Yes, you’re right,” Fluttershy agreed. “I should get some rest. I’m sorry that I woke you.”

Angel pointed up at Rainbow’s departing form, and crossed his forelegs.

Fluttershy sighed. “I know it’s not nice to lie, Angel. But it was what Rainbow needed to hear. If she’s confident tomorrow she’ll do just fine."

Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Dreams Google docs

Rainbow peeked out of the carriage door. She blinked as a camera flashed in her face. The grounds of Canterlot castle were packed with photographers and other onlookers, keen to see the guests and performers arrive.

“This is so cool!” Rainbow squealed. She was dressed in her costume, and couldn’t wait for her premier performance. By tonight, everypony in Equestria will be chanting my name!

Fluttershy was not so enthusiastic. “I can’t do it... I can’t do it...” She shivered in her seat, flinching every time that a flash of light went off outside. Unlike Dash, she kept as far from the windows as she could, terrified to reveal her face.

“Hey, relax, okay?” Surprise put her hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Why don’t you put on your goggles?”

“O-okay...” Fluttershy reached up, and pulled them down over her eyes.

“Good, now just think of it like this. Your body is covered by your suit. Your mane and tail are dyed orange. Your eyes are behind your goggles. How much of you can those photographers actually see?”

Fluttershy paused, thinking over what Surprise had said. “...They can see my wings. And my snout.”

Surprise snorted. “Well that’s hardly any of you at all! You might as well be on the other side of a wall, even when you’re right in front of them.”

“Thanks, Surprise,” Fluttershy said. She smiled slightly. “I think I’m feeling a little better.” It was just as well that she did, because at that point the carriage ground to a halt, and the door swung open.

“Alright, everypony,” Stormy Skies growled. “Form up around Fluttershy. Don’t let them get too good a look at her. No schmoozing today, we’re just going straight to our starting places. Wonderbolts, move out!”

They stepped outside, and immediately took to the air. Flying in close formation, with Fluttershy in the centre, they lifted high above the red carpet and headed towards the palace. A couple of pegasus photographers followed, but they quickly returned to the ground when the next carriage arrived, leaving the Wonderbolts to their own devices.

Rainbow sighed. She was a little disappointed to miss her first chance at the spotlight, but the last thing they had needed was for Fluttershy to freak out and give the game away. The important thing is the performance, she thought, I’ll have plenty of time for my adoring fans once I’m a full Wonderbolt.

“See you soon!” Surprise waved as the ‘mares’ team split from the ‘stallions plus one’ team. Surprise, Fluttershy and Ice Wind went to hide in some clouds, while Lightning, Stormy Skies and Dash settled at the top of the waterfall overlooking Canterlot.

Rainbow dropped to the ground, restlessly pacing on the rocks. “How long until the performance?”

“About another couple of hours,” Stormy Skies replied.

Dash groaned. She wandered around for a little, and checked her reflection in the water. She turned back to Stormy Skies. “How long now?”

“About a couple of hours, minus thirty seconds.”

She sighed, laying down on the rocks. “I’m taking a nap; wake me up when we’re ready to actually do something.” Now that the excitement had died down, the lack of sleep the previous night had begun to catch up with her. She wanted to be as fresh as possible for the performance itself.

***

“For Celestia’s sake, Dash, wake up!” Lightning prodded her hard in the ribs.

“Huh? What?” She opened her eyes. The sky was black, but on the ground below floodlights were beaming upwards so that it seemed almost as light as day.

A voice boomed out from below. “Fillies and gentlecolts...”

“Oh horseapples!” Suddenly Rainbow was upright and alert, rushing around in a panic. “Is my costume straight? How’s my mane? Where are my goggles?”

“No time, Dash!” Lightning said, leaping up into the air to hover alongside Stormy Skies. “Honestly, I’ve been trying to wake you for five minutes. You sleep like a log. Oh, and your goggles are on top of your head.”

“Oh right...” Rainbow pulled them down, then took to the air, positioning herself between the two of them. “Um... perhaps we can ask them to delay for just-”

“...the Wonderbolts!” The voice below finished his introduction with a flourish, and was replaced by the opening chords of their musical accompaniment.

“...Or not.” Rainbow bit her lip, and shot forwards. Beside her, Lightning and Stormy Skies did the same. Behind them, her rainbow trail was flanked by two lines of dark, sparking storm-clouds.

In the distance, three other trails were visible. Fluttershy’s white clouds in the centre, flanked by the trails of Surprise and Ice Wind. The two formations sped towards each other in a head on collision.

Shortly before impact, Fluttershy separated from her group, heading towards the ground. The others merged together into a single formation, with Dash at its centre, shooting upwards into the sky. As they passed the top of Canterlot’s tallest tower, the formation split apart. They spread away from one another, their paths diverging like the plumes of a firework.

Dash turned over in the air, preparing to head back down towards the ground. This high up, the ground seemed to move so slowly, even at top speed. It was almost calm, with the music muted by distance. She took this opportunity to get a good look at the crowd. So many ponies watching me! Now this is what I’ve been waiting for! Of course it’s cool to be performing for the princesses, but my friends will be there watching me too. So I’ll give them something to watch! She sped back towards the vertical trail that they had left on the way up, skimming along its surface as she headed back down.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy was marking out a long, wide circle with her trail, parallel to the ground. Now and again, she would break from the pattern to form a tight vertical loop. As she completed the circle, the others shot down through the middle, then swooped around to pass through the loops that Fluttershy had formed. Timing was crucial; a single hoof out of line would have caused a collision, with no time to react to avoid an accident.

In the centre of the pattern, Fluttershy appeared, slowly rising from the chaos beneath on a column of white cloud. Once she had clear air between herself and the others, she span in a midair circle. Then she dropped onto her cloud trail, and spread her wings as wide as she could. The spotlights clicked off, save for one new light shining from the tallest tower in Canterlot, casting her shadow over the crowd below. The others spiralled around Fluttershy’s tower, their silhouettes rising to join her own as the music reached its climax.

Silence. Then, a rising tide of cheers and applause. The amassed ponies below stamped their hooves in appreciation. In the royal box, Celestia and Luna actually bowed slightly towards the Wonderbolts, while Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rarity cheered along.

Fluttershy was gasping for breath, and sweating hard from the exertion. However, there was a slight smile on her face as she looked down on the crowd.

She’s probably just glad it’s over more than anything else, thought Rainbow. She pulled through in the end, and that’s what matters. She did well today. Although not as well as I did, of course.

Surprise put her hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Don’t worry! You did good. It’s all over now, you can relax.”

“Over?” Dash snorted. “It’s only getting started!” She gestured down at the crowd. “They want more! Let’s go!”

Stormy Skies coughed. “Uh... Dash? That was our whole routine. We haven’t got any more.”

“Oh yeah? Watch this!” Rainbow dived downwards.

“Oh, Rainbow... no...” Lightning shook his head, his voice heavy with concern.

But Dash couldn’t hear him. She was gathering speed as she thundered towards the ground. The wind whistled past her ears, blowing her face backwards in a rather unpleasant expression as a cone of air formed around her.

Just as she was about to hit the ground, the air around her exploded in a sonic rainboom that lit up the night, bouncing her back upwards into the sky. The shockwave blasted away the cloud trails as Rainbow zoomed upwards. The crowd, taken aback by the sudden resumption of the performance, began to cheer once again.

Rainbow grinned widely. They were cheering. For her! For Rainbow Dash, the Wonderbolt! She pushed harder. Suddenly, the sonic rainboom just didn’t seem enough. She wanted to do more. She could go even faster!

The Wonderbolts tried to catch her attention as she rocketed past them, gesturing at her to slow down and fall back into line. She just waved back. “Later!”

Faster, faster, faster, faster, FASTER! Faster than I’ve ever been before. Faster than anypony has ever been before. Wow, this is starting to feel a little... strange. Are the stars getting... darker? Just... fading away. Is it me, or is everything starting to move slower? I’m so tired... Maybe... just a little... nap... She blacked out.

***

Her eyes opened slowly. As she tried to focus, she saw a blob of orange, yellow and blue hovering over her. “S-Spitfire?”

“Um... not quite...” Fluttershy replied. “But at least I had somepony fooled.”

“Oh, right...” Rainbow groaned. Her ears were ringing, and her vision fuzzy. The sounds of cheering crowds and stamping hooves began to reassert themselves. She was glad, for once, to feel solid ground beneath her. “What happened?”

“Well... you did a sonic rainboom, then you shot up into the sky.” Fluttershy paused. “Then... you sort of started falling.”

“I blacked out.” Rainbow winced as a stabbing pain shot through her mind. “I was going so fast that I just blacked out... And then... you caught me.” She looked into Fluttershy’s eyes. “Fluttershy... you just saved my life...”

Fluttershy looked away. “Oh... well, if I hadn’t caught you, I’m sure that one of the Wonderbolts would have instead.”

“Well, yeah,” Rainbow admitted, “but you beat them to it! That’s amazing! You must have been really going for it! How fast do...” She paused. Fluttershy mentioning the Wonderbolts had reminded her of something important. “Oh, horseapples. I’ve really messed this up, haven’t I?”

“Well...” Fluttershy paused. “I think the crowd thought it was part of the act.”

“That wasn’t what I meant... What did the others say?”

“Oh...” Fluttershy sighed, she’d been hoping to avoid this until later. “Well I really can’t repeat what Ice Wind said... Stormy Skies didn’t say anything, but he looked very angry. Lightning and Surprise just looked worried.”

As Fluttershy spoke their names, the Wonderbolts appeared alongside her. They moved slowly and deliberately, and the expressions on their faces were grim. None of them seemed willing to meet Rainbow’s eye.

“Rainbow, we need to talk.” Stormy Skies frowned at her. “We’re all going to meet up with Spitfire to... debrief, first. Come meet us in an hour.” None of the other Wonderbolts seemed to have anything to say, they just flew off towards the stands.

Dash sighed. “Yep, I’ve really messed up.”

***

Rainbow paced up and down. It had been more than an hour. It had been a lot more than an hour. But this time, she had felt no compulsion to sleep through it. I know I’ve made a mistake. A big mistake. Maybe I should just fly away and accept it? I’m not sure I could face a rejection. But... there must still be a chance, right? They wouldn’t have kept me waiting this long if there wasn’t, surely? Somehow, the uncertainty makes it even worse.

Fluttershy sat and watched, her face full of concern for her friend. At first she’d tried to cheer Rainbow up. But with such a long wait, she’d run out of things to say, and now just sat in silence.

The Wonderbolts had a small office in the Canterlot grounds, and they were waiting in the hallway outside of the main meeting room. The walls were decorated with memorabilia and awards, as well as portraits of former Wonderbolt members. Normally, Dash would have loved to visit, but right now she had other things on her mind.

Rainbow came to a sudden halt as she spotted something out of place on the wall. Among all the pictures of past Wonderbolts dressed in their costumes, there was one who was not wearing a costume at all. Dash didn’t recognise him, so she glanced down at the nameplate. South Wind. Wait a minute, is he...?

“I never knew him myself,” a voice said from nearby. Rainbow jumped. Surprise was standing in the doorway, her hoof still touching the door. “He was before my time.”

“He’s... Ice Wind’s brother?” Rainbow suggested.

“No,” Surprise replied, “they were much closer than that. Childhood sweethearts. They met in junior speedsters. Married the day she came of age. Then they joined the Wonderbolts together.” Surprise looked down at her hooves. “That’s when it all went wrong.

“They’d only been training for a few days,” she continued, “when Stormy Skies crashed out of the Wonderbolt Derby. South was the only stallion available. He didn’t want to do it; said he wasn’t ready. Ice thought differently, told him he’d be stupid to let an opportunity like that pass him by, and that she believed in him. So he accepted.

“It wasn’t his fault. Stormy Skies insisted that it could have happened to anypony. Nopony had even got the chance to take a picture of him in costume for the wall. Ice blamed herself; wouldn’t listen to what the others had to say. She told him to go when he didn’t think he was ready, and he paid the price for it.”

“I...” Rainbow didn’t know quite what to say. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“Every time somepony takes a stupid risk, it reminds her of what happened to him.” Surprise sighed. “And with your own situation... well, let’s just say that it came rather too close to comfort. You have to understand, every time she’s hard on you, it’s because she’s worried about what might happen if something goes wrong. Just... remember that, okay?”

Rainbow nodded. “Of course. I-” She paused. Her stomach tightened in anxiety. “Wait, why are you out here? Is it... time?”

“Oh right!” Surprise said, shaking her head. “Of course, they’ll be wondering what’s taking us so long. Please, come on in.” She gestured for them to enter. They walked inside, Rainbow dragging her hooves. Suddenly she wished that she could go back to waiting.

Five Wonderbolts were lined up inside. Spitfire, Soarin, Stormy Skies, Ice Wind and Lightning. Surprise trotted over to join them. Despite having spent the last week training with most of them, they now looked very imposing.

Spitfire cleared her throat. “Alright... We’re here today to decide whether or not you have what it takes to be a Wonderbolt. I’m sorry that it has taken us so long, but we had a lot to discuss.”

“Up until today,” Stormy Skies continued, “we had pretty much made up our minds.”

“You learnt the routines well,” Lightning added. “You’ve been precise, and professional.”

“Not that there haven’t been problems.” Ice Wind frowned. “You haven’t always shown the sort of attitude that we would expect from a Wonderbolt.”

“But today you’ve shown bravery and speed.” Surprise smiled. “And as a result of that...”

Soarin smiled. “Fluttershy, we’d like to offer you a permanent position in the Wonderbolts.”

“Wh-” Dash’s mouth dropped open. “Fluttershy?! You... I...” She froze, as all eyes fixed on her. Remember who just saved your life... Her head drooped. “Well... congratulations, Fluttershy.” I mean, it’s not as if she’ll actually...

“Of course, I’d be honoured to accept.” Fluttershy nodded her head.

“What?” Dash felt everypony staring at her again, but this time she didn’t care. “I’m dreaming again, aren’t I?” Please, Celestia, tell me this is another nightmare! I’m still by the waterfall, the performance hasn’t happened yet! I can take it all back! “I thought you hated all this, Fluttershy?”

“Oh, I know I was a little nervous at first,” Fluttershy explained. “But once I actually tried it, it was actually rather fun.” She paused. “You aren’t... upset, are you? If you don’t want me to...”

“Upset?” Rainbow feigned a laugh. Upset that you’ve stolen my dream out from under me? Hay yes! “Of course not!”

Spitfire coughed. “Now Rainbow, please. Whether Fluttershy joins us or not is not your concern. It’s time to talk about your... performance today.”

Lightning sighed. “You had it in the bag! You did so well in the training, you aced the display...”

“And then you screwed it all up with that... that...” Ice Wind paused as she searched for a word. “That ego trip!”

“What were you thinking?” Surprise asked.

“We’ve told you so many times, being a Wonderbolt is not about personal glory.” Stormy Skies frowned. “What you did was reckless. If you had been hurt, all this mess with hiding Spitfire’s injury would have been for nothing. We could have been disbanded! You lack discipline, and you clearly lack common sense!”

“So that’s why we’ve come to a decision,” Soarin said, his voice grave. “An unanimous decision. Rainbow Dash, you are hereby suspended for two months.”

Dash sighed. “I know, that’s fair, I guess...” She trailed off, pausing in thought. Wait... what did he say? “Um... suspended from what?”

“From performing, of course.” Spitfire grinned. “You’re in.”

“I...” The feeling of relief was so much that she almost collapsed. “B-But all those things you said...”

“Are all true.” Stormy Skies nodded. “You do lack discipline, and you do care too much about your own ego. But you’re young, and a lot of ponies can be that way when they’re young and talented. My job is to make sure they get over that, and believe me when I tell you that I am good at my job. What you did today was stupid and irresponsible, and hopefully your suspension will drive that point home.”

“Don’t think that being suspended from performing means that you get off training, either,” Ice Wind added. “I’m going to personally make sure that you don’t slack off now that you’re in the team.”

“Hang on...” Dash paused. “Soarin said that the decision was unanimous. There’s no way that you agreed to let me in!”

Ice Wind shrugged. “Why not? You’re clearly talented enough. You did well today, at least up to the incident. Why would I object?”

“Um...” Dash glanced away. “Well, Surprise sort of told me about... about South, and after what I did today...” Her voice trailed off.

“Ah.” Ice Wind glared at Surprise. “She did, did she?” She sighed. “Well, I suppose it’s not like it’s some sort of secret. I mean, if somepony bothered to pay attention to the Wonderbolts’ failures as well as their triumphs. Listen, Dash, what you did today was stupid and irresponsible, but I have no interest in ruining your life because of it. I’m only interested in making sure that you don’t ruin it for yourself.

“You’ve clearly got the talent,” she continued. “All you need now is discipline. That’s why I’ve volunteered to take over personal responsibility for your training for the duration of your suspension.” Dash gulped. Ice Wind smirked. “Oh, yes, we’re going to have a lot of fun together.”

“See? I told you that she was nicer once you got to know her!” Surprise grinned smugly.

“Oh, yeah, she’s all sunshine and rainbows now.” Dash shook her head. My head’s starting to hurt with all these surprises. Which reminds me... She turned to Fluttershy. “So... we’re going to be Wonderbolts together, then?”

“Oh,” Fluttershy blushed. “Actually...”

Surprise burst out laughing. “Sorry, Rainbow, that was my idea. I mean... Fluttershy’s cool and all, but she isn’t really Wonderbolt material. No offence, Fluttershy.”

“Oh, that’s alright, I know it’s true.” Fluttershy looked down at the ground. “I hope I didn’t upset you, Rainbow, but Pinkie always says how much you like practical jokes, so when Surprise suggested we pull one on you, I thought it would be okay...” She looked up at Rainbow. “I’m sorry, it was cruel of me.”

The rest of the Wonderbolts were cracking up now. “You should have seen your face!” Lightning giggled, switching into a mockery of Rainbow’s voice. “Congratulations, Fluttershy! Upset, me? Oh no, whatever makes you think that?”

“You were all in on this?” Dash gasped. “That was...” She paused. “Actually, that was pretty awesome. I presume you wouldn’t have done that if you were actually going to reject me...?”

“Oh no...” Fluttershy insisted. “I wouldn’t have dreamed of it.” She smiled. “I knew that you’d been accepted the moment they offered the place to me! Actually, I’m surprised that you believed me at all. I never want to go near a Wonderbolt performance again... except to watch you perform, of course.”

“After my wing gets better, you mean?” Spitfire asked.

Fluttershy froze. “W-what?”

“Well, it’ll still be a while before I can perform again,” Spitfire explained. “We’ve got a performance in Trottingham in a fortnight, then there’s judging the young fliers competition, and after that we’ve got the gala...” She paused. “I mean, you’re the one treating me, surely you knew that I wasn’t going to magically get better after today?”

Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak, but all she could say was: “Eep!”

THE END