To Be a Wonderboltby AvabronyChaptersChapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 1Chapter 4Chapter 2Chapter 2 It was dark-everything was dark. Somepony was screaming-a horrendous crash rang out. The screaming was getting louder- she couldn’t move- she opened her mouth “Wake up, kid!” The train was stopped; warm light was spilling through the windows. Rainbow Dash blinked and looked around, disoriented by the nightmare. “It’s your stop.” The conductor waited impatiently as Rainbow Dash shuffled to get her belongings. “Sorry, lots of things on my mind, you know,” she half smiled, embarrassed at her delay, “Crazy times and all.” She hurried off the train, not wanting to look any more foolish, and stopped cold in her tracks when she saw just what was waiting for her. The scene seemed straight out of a storybook; some Pegasi were performing tricks over the arena, looping and whirling, defying any sort of preconception of what Dash had previously thought possible, others were racing around the track, the entire scene appearing to be a bizarre airborne circus sped up into a blur, but that wasn’t what had her attention. The Coliseum itself was full of the most beautiful scenery- one half of the Coliseum had shining metal bleachers, that dazzled the eye much like the racers in the arena, the other side was open, facing a deep valley, far below the edge of the structure, filled with multitudes of trees of all different kinds, scattered across the valley as though placed on the whim of an artist flinging color at a canvas. The entrance was on the final turn, with the bleachers on the right, and across from there, a cascade of water cast a misty rainbow across the back stretch of the track. In the center lay a beautiful garden, filled with every flower that one could imagine. It was all so much that Rainbow Dash almost missed her name being shouted from across the track. She quickly flew over to the caller, who happened to be none other than Spitfire. “Hey Rainbow Dash-glad to see you made it. Nice place, isn’t it?” Spitfire smiled at the newcomer, immediately seeing how impressed she was with the venue. Rainbow Dash could only nod dumbly at first; no words could possibly describe just how she felt about the marvelous scene. However, compelled by the urge to not seem completely unnerved, and therefore not Wonderbolt material, she quickly replied with, “I’ve never seen anything like it before.” She paused for a moment, and then, not knowing what to say, found herself asking, “When do I try out?” Spitfire chuckled, “I like that attitude kid. Why don’t we start right now?” A tingling sensation ran through Rainbow Dash’s body. She gulped out in a timid voice, “As in, right now, right now?” Spitfire just smiled, and Dash, with a sinking feeling, realized that there was no warming up, or resting, that this was her moment. They made their way to the starting line, without another word exchanged between them. Some other members of the Woderbolts appeared as if out of thin air, each one bringing with them a clipboard. Rainbow Dash started to shiver, thinking about how much relied on this one moment; what she would say if she returned to Ponyville fruitless. ‘There was this really cool waterfall, and you should have seen the view!’ She rolled her eyes at the thought. ‘I’ll do it for Scootaloo, heck, I’ll do it for Ponyville. I know how much they depend on me, I’m not about to let them down.’ She smiled, inspired, and set up at the line. Everything began to slow down. The scenery no longer mattered; it was just Rainbow Dash, and the track. With one last thought towards her friends in Ponyville, she closed her eyes and cleared her mind. She heard Spitfire give her the go, and then all she could see was the space right in front of her. The wind was whipping through her mane, screaming at her to go faster; her wings burned, but she needed to go faster; her lungs ached, but still-she went faster, faster, faster. She was completely alone; the wind was her only companion. Everything else was fading away, all she knew was the thrill of the speed. Then, as soon as it began, she saw a checkered flag, and, surprised at the sight, she stopped as fast as she could, careening off into the garden and skidding to a halt next to a particularly thick patch of tulips, the last thing she saw before she blacked out “I’ll give you 4 out of 10 on the landing, but I’ve never seen that kind of speed before.” Spitfire had already made it over to the crash site by the time Rainbow Dash had regained consciousness. “That crash looked pretty nasty-are you ok?” She extended a hoof for Rainbow Dash to support herself as she attempted to stand. After some failed attempts, she eventually found herself on all four hooves again, ready to bear the result of her flight. The rest of the Wonderbolts, who had been assessing her performance from the stands, saw what had happened and were just arriving at the scene. “Well guys, what do you think?” Everything seemed to slow down for Rainbow Dash. The Wonderbolts seemed to move in slow motion; the only sound she could hear was a ringing in her ears from the crash. She felt tired and heavy when the situation finally registered to her-these were the Wonderbolts, and she was trying out to be one of them. The staggering blow of this realization almost made her miss the next thing that Spitfire said, a thing that she had dreamed to hear for years. “Well, Rainbow Dash, we’ve had to sit through a lot of auditions, but yours certainly stands out well above the others, and we have a consensus-You’re in.” Rainbow Dash was speechless-it was all coming true; her hopes, aspirations, lifelong goals- she was doing it! She could barely think, let alone talk. She stood there, head pounding; the embarrassment of crashing in front of the Wonderbolts was gone. She was one of them! Suddenly, with a sinking feeling, her thoughts turned homeward, but before she could even ask, Spitfire was already addressing the issue. “Our policy is that you can do whatever, up until it is time to perform. We travel a lot-so be ready for city hopping like you’ve never known.” She smiled and patted the blue pony on the back. “We don’t start training for another week-why don’t you head on home and spread the good news? Just remember- one week. Don’t be late.” Rainbow Dash nodded and smiled ‘Finally. After all of this-you’ve done it Rainbow. You’re one of them.’ With a shout of joy, she sped out of the stadium, beaming with the success of the day, and rushed to find the next train back to Ponyville, anxious to tell her friends what had happened. Her heart was racing again, but instead of with nerves, she was bursting with joy. Chapter 3Chapter 3 The night was pitch-black; the darkness blanketed everything around. Squinting, she made out the familiar skyline of Ponyville. There was a loud crunching noise, and she saw homes begin to crumble. A huge mass reared, and then she heard the screaming. The screaming was getting louder, the shape was getting closer-she couldn’t move-she was stuck-she was “Stuck.” Rainbow Dash opened her eyes slowly, wondering how long she had been talking in her sleep. She thought back to how vivid the nightmare was, and how real it seemed. Looking out the window, she found that she was nearly home. The train slowed to a stop, and she gathered her belongings, shaking the memory of the dream from her head and muttering about how she had wasted her time packing for the trip. She had barely stepped off the train when she was knocked over, scattering all of her possessions across the ground. “Rainbow Dash! You’re back! I wasn’t expecting you home so early! If I knew you would be here, then I would have had a ‘welcome-home-from-your-trip-Dashie-we-hope-you-had-a-good-time’ welcoming party, or maybe a surprise ‘welcome-home-from-your-trip-Dashie-we-hope-you-had-a-good-time’ followed by a ‘I-hope-that-you-were-surprised-by-the-surprise-‘welcome-home-from-your-trip-Dashie-we-hope-you-had-a-good-time’-party party,’ and then I would follow it up with a ‘I-really-am-just-in-the-mood-to-party-right-now-so-why-don’t-we-all-just-party-again’ party, or maybe a-” Rainbow Dash, having given up the fruitless attempts to physically remove the hyperactive pony, decided to try to get her attention. After a few moments of waiting through ceaseless chatter, she finally was able to squeeze in a sentence. “Hey, Pinkie, I know you’re excited and all, but can you get up? I can’t feel my wings anymore.” Pinkie Pie blinked for a moment, looked down, and, with an embarrassed countenance, got off her friend. Rainbow Dash stood up and grinned. “Aren’t you going to ask me how I did, Pinkie?” A thoughtful expression spread slowly across the pink pony’s face. “Didn’t I?” She thought for another moment, and then, gasping at her mistake, exclaimed, “I didn’t! How DID you do, Dashie? Did you do well? Did you do badly? Did you do well but think you didn’t? Did you think that you did well but didn’t? I once thought that I baked a batch of cupcakes well, but I actually forgot the sugar-the sugar, of all things, I still don’t know how I forgot-and so I decided to surprise the Cakes by selling it before they knew what I did, but then I tasted one and was like ‘blech eww groos bleeh’ because there was no sugar…” Pinkie Pie went on to describe the various attempts she made to cover up the mistake, and how the shenanigans just ended up piling on to her desperate situation, but Rainbow Dash paid her no mind. She was drifting back to the try-out flight, re-living every experience in vivid detail. She found herself back on the track, feeling the wind, the thrill of the speed. Then, she saw the flag waving again, but something was amiss. Time was slowing down in her vision, everything was getting darker. She focused on the flag, the rapidly whipping fabric appearing to become fatigued, getting slower and slower with each passing second. Time stretched, and, for a fleeting moment, and just a moment, when the folds lined up the checkers just right, she saw a chunky glimpse of the skyline of Ponyville. The sight shocked her to the core, ‘What is going on?’ she wondered to herself. She shook her head, trying to forget the perturbing scene, and, finding that Pinkie was in the finishing stretch of her story, took the opportunity to announce the result. “I made it in, Pinkie.” Pinkie Pie, who was in the middle of a sentence, froze, and with wide eyes looked at her friend disbelievingly. Seeing this, Rainbow Dash began to laugh, and a warm feeling was starting to grow inside of her. “I’m a Wonderbolt now.” The phrase struck her to her own core, lighting a fire inside her that warmed her soul. She took in a breath of air, but it wasn’t any breath-it was the breath of a Wonderbolt; she blinked, but it wasn’t just anypony blinking-this was a Wonderbolt; she felt herself begin to tear up, her heart racing as much as it had the moment she started the race. “I’m a Wonderbolt!” The joy was overwhelming at this point, and she was in such a state of euphoria that she almost missed Pinkie Pie turning, jumping onto the nearest raised object, and proclaiming that everypony at the station was in the presence of a Ponyville hero. From there, everything seemed like a dream. It was a full week of nonstop congratulations, presents, and ecstasy. She could barely sleep at night, not able to stand her excitement at what she had accomplished. To everypony in Ponyville, it seemed like the week was completely stolen away, and that almost as soon as the town hero had arrived, it was time for her to go on her way. There was not a single sight that didn’t seem melancholy to Rainbow Dash on her final day. She wandered around the streets, taking in all the sights just like she had for the first time all those years ago. She chuckled at the silly childhood memories, and walked in ominous silence as she recalled dark ones. She thought back to day she first met Twilight, and how on that day she had made her closest friends, saved Equestria, and stepped forward into a new chapter of her life; now she knew that she was only hours away from entering the next one. She thought back to all the good times her friends had had together, and all the obstacles they had worked to overcome, at almost all costs. It seemed like only yesterday that she had done the Sonic Rainboom, and now she was already a Wonderbolt. It seemed like only yesterday that she was organizing, in secret, Pinkie Pie’s surprise birthday party. She looked up at the sky, and thought about how it seemed like only the day before that she had gotten her cutie mark, and graced the skies with her signature Sonic Rainboom. She closed her eyes, taken in by the emotions that were now swirling through her as she remembered Discord, and how she had tried to leave her friends, and swearing to herself that she would never, ever do it again. She felt herself beginning to cry, knowing that she was about to leave them, and maybe never go back, and she stopped in her tracks. She stood still, wondering if she should just not get on the train, wondering if it was really all worth it. Her inner interrogations were interrupted by the arrival of none other than the pink party pony of Ponyville. “Hey, Rainbow Dash! I really hope that you’re packed, because I have a super special surprise waiting for you back at Twilight’s! I really hope that you will be able to make it, because I think that you will really like it.” Rainbow Dash, snapped out of her thoughtful reminiscing by Pinkie Pie, waited a moment to regain her composure and then agreed to follow. Pinkie Pie, delighted at her successful invitation and at the success of her friend, wasn’t able to form a word through her nonstop giggling. Soon they reached the Library, and, upon entering, Rainbow Dash was welcomed with a cheer, confetti, and the joyous faces of all of her friends. “Oh, wow!” She was taken aback by the enthusiasm and by the sheer surprise, and felt herself get immediately sucked into the festivities. One moment she was being welcomed by Twilight, the next she was at the punch bowl with Applejack, who gave her a congratulatory hoofshake, along with a pat on the back. Then, when she looked around the edges of the room for Fluttershy, she almost tripped over herself when she saw her right in the middle of the room, surrounded by the party guests, dancing her heart out. Rarity had taken the day off from designing a new line of dresses just for the party, and even went as far as to offer Rainbow Dash a free new dress, which Rainbow Dash politely declined. “It’s not that I wouldn’t love a new dress, Rarity. It’s that you work so hard that if you were to make me a dress, I would happily pay for it.” Rarity smiled and replied that she understood, and to not think that she wasn’t going to make the dress anyways. “It’s my gift to you, Rainbow Dash. I simply could not let your achievement go without a present.” The rest of her friends had picked up on the conversation, and all agreed to the statement. Rainbow Dash looked at them all, smiled, and said, “Look, guys. I know that you all want to reward me for this, but trust me-you all being here for me,” she felt herself begin to get choked up looking into the caring eyes of her best friends, “that is better than any gift you can possibly give me.” She blinked a tear out of her eye, and stood there in silence, wanting that perfect moment to last forever. All too soon, however, it was time to leave. She solemnly promised to always write, and that she would return as soon as she could. With her eyes beginning to water yet again, she got on the train, and watched as the faces of her friends, the station, and, eventually, the skyline of Ponyville disappeared into the dark. Chapter 5Chapter 5 A blood-curdling shriek rang out through the night. The town of Ponyville was being attacked, and chaos ran rampant in the streets. A bulky form rose above the skyline, tearing at the homes and shops of the quiet little Equestrian town. The shriek came again, following yet another burst of magic. Rainbow Dash still cowered on the hill overlooking the scene, unable to save her town. She screamed at herself, trying to get her to move, but for some reason she just wouldn’t. A fire erupted somewhere, illuminating the scene, and finally, the monster finished tearing down Ponyville. Rainbow Dash saw herself stand and walk to the desolation; ponies were crying in the streets. One turned to her, shouting that she could have saved them, but Rainbow Dash just stood awestruck at what had happened. Her friends lay exhausted and injured on the ground; the flickering flames cast dancing shadows over the ruins of Ponyville. She fell to the dirt, and could only cry as she surveyed what was left of the town so close to her heart. The sun struck Rainbow Dash in the face, causing her to wake up from the terrible nightmare. The next week had been just as tiring as the first, and she now found herself on the day of the race. She hurried around the room, not wanting to be late for her, when the letter that Twilight had sent her caught her eye. She hadn’t had a chance to read it, but there wasn’t any time at this point, and so she left for the race track, saving the letter for later. When she got to the stadium, Spitfire was waiting, dressed in her own uniform, and together they entered the arena. Rainbow Dash surveyed the place that she had grown to know so well. The waterfall was spilling its downpour as though there was nothing happening, the track was unchanged. The view was still just as breathtaking as it was the first time she had arrived just a few weeks before, but the stands were filled with ponies, each one as eager as the next, all of them clamoring for the race to begin. When Rainbow Dash and Spitfire were spotted, a roar rose from the seats, and Spitfire whispered, “Get used to it Dash-this is what your life is going to be like.” Rainbow Dash felt filled with confidence at the statement, and before she knew it, the race had begun, she and Spitfire had come in first and second, respectively, and the crowd was cheering again-for her. She looked around from the winner circle, and felt the radiant joy that emanated from the stands warmed her to the core. The cheering-the only time she had felt anything like that was at the Best Young Fliers competition, but this time, Spitfire was standing next to her, saying, “Get used to it, kid-This is the life.” Rainbow Dash just smiled, enveloped in the moment, never wanting to feel any different. When she finally got back to her room, she decided to read the letter Twilight had sent her. “Dear Rainbow Dash I am very happy for you regarding all of your accomplishments. Everyone back at home misses you, and although we’re sad that it will be awhile before then, we are all pulling for you in your upcoming races. Just as a side note, I was reading that the most important part in racing…” Rainbow Dash found that she couldn’t bring herself to read the rest of the letter. She started pacing again, the thrill of victory lost at the onset of a new worry: that she hadn’t made the right choice. ‘Did I fail my friends? Will they want to see me again?’ “No, no, I haven’t failed anypony-Twilight even said that they were pulling for me.” She shook her head, doubt settling in. “I’ll try and sleep on it-besides, there isn’t any turning back, and Spitfire needed me here, right? Right…I guess-ugh!” She threw herself onto the bed, wanting to just fall asleep. After multiple futile attempts to drift into rest, she decided to use that time to console herself. “Well, I’ve done everything that Spitfire has wanted, but...” she trailed off, a sinking feeling forming in her heart that drove away the joy of the spoils of the day. “I didn’t read Twilight’s letter, I chose the race over going home,” her breathing became more rapid by the second, and she began to feel every happy emotion drain from her. “I-I didn’t even eat any of Pinkie’s cake! What kind of friend am I?!” She began to cry, and for the rest of the night, the haven of sleep eluded Rainbow Dash. Before she knew it, it was morning, and time for her to go to the next race. With a heavy heart she made her way down to the track before anypony else, and surveyed the arena that was stealing her away from her friends. For the first time in the entire ordeal, Rainbow Dash felt sick-the mere thought of racing just reminded her of how terrible she was being to her friends. “It’s ok,” she told herself, ‘remember how happy they were for you Dash-they want you to be happy. It’s fine if you mess up a bit, everypony does…” but the uneasy feeling just would not leave. She hung her head, and made a promise to return to her friends the second that she could. ‘What would they want for me to do?’ “They would want me to win. So that’s what I’ll do-I’ll win every race-for them.” She felt herself begin to feel better, and as soon as she felt like racing again, Spitfire showed up at the stadium.“Hey Rainbow Dash-are you going to win again today, or am I going to have to carry the trophy back to my place?” The blue pegasus laughed, and with a self-confident tone replied, “Only if you find a way to get me to crash.” They both continued to talk about strategies, the thrill of victory, and other racing related subjects until the crowd finally gathered, and it was time to line up at the start. Rainbow Dash looked confidently around her, hearing the broadcaster begin the final announcement before the race. She looked at the stands, and for a moment thought that she saw Twilight watching her. Taken aback, Rainbow Dash looked again, but realized that she had just imagined her friend. ‘I wonder what they are doing back home right now?’ She began to feel herself slip again, but it was too late to do anything about it. Her thoughts had turned homeward, and she realized just how huge a mistake she made. Panicking, she looked at the other contestants, who all appeared to be mentally preparing themselves, and didn’t notice as Rainbow dissolved into a worried mess. She shakily lined up at the start; the race began, and she was off. She felt the wind pick up around her, but when she looked up for the turn, and saw the view, she was struck by a homesickness that she had never felt before. Her wings were beating out of sync, the world began to spin, a collective gasp arose from the crowd. The ground got closer, closer, closer, so close that she could almost touch it, and then-darkness. With a start, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, wondering just what had happened. She saw a bright light immediately in front of her, and a voice saying something about concussions. She tried to talk, but could only barely mumble, “Whasss goinnng onn?” The light went away, and after her eyes adjusted, she found that she was surrounded by the on-site medical ponies, along with Spitfire and a few of the Wonderbolts who had shown up to the race. “What happened out there, Dash? I thought you were joking when you were talking about crashing. I mean-I’ve seen ponies who have taken spills half that bad and never flown again!” Rainbow Dash sat up violently, against the medic-ponies’ cautions. “I’m sorry, Spitfire-I don’t know what happened-everything was just so fast, and-” “Calm down, kid! Everypony crashes every once in awhile! Look, you should take it easy; you’ve had your first win, you don’t need another.” But Rainbow Dash was adamant. “Look, Spitfire, I’ve left my home, and my friends, and I gave up a chance to see them when I decided to race. I have to prove to them and everypony else here that I am good enough to be able to choose whether or not to race.” She pulled Spitfire close, adrenaline pumping through her veins. “You don’t understand-If I don’t win, then I lose, and if I chose to lose over choosing my friends, then I am a loser, and if I am a loser-then I can’t do anything right, and that means that I will never be able to talk to them again. I couldn’t stand the embarrassment of going back home, and I wouldn’t even be able to help any of them; I would be a loser!” Spitfire took a step back, and a thoughtful look crossed her face. She sighed, and said, “Ok-I’ll give you one more chance. I don’t think that this is such a good idea, but if it is the only thing that you want to do, then I can’t fight it. But- after tomorrow-you are going to have to take a few months off. I know that you don’t want to, but I would rather you get rusty than have you get seriously hurt.” Rainbow Dash thanked her and hurried to her apartment, inwardly criticizing her performance at the race. She hastily packed her things, and as soon as she was set to leave after her race, she went to bed, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. It seemed like only seconds before she found herself awakened by the rising sun. She solemnly dressed in her uniform, and collected her belongings. With one last look around the room, she swallowed a lump that formed in her throat, and set off for the arena. She arrived there, put her things on the ground, and walked up to the starting line, shaking from the anticipation of the upcoming race. She looked around, feeling like everypony was staring at her, waiting for her to crash again, but she shut the notion out of her mind. ‘I have to do this. I HAVE to. If I don’t, I’ll never be able to show my face around here again, let alone go home.’ She shut her eyes and gulped, the pressure of the race starting to crush her. The race was starting, and it was time for her to focus, but Rainbow Dash felt her thoughts run amok, sabotaging her final chance to prove herself worthy of what she had become. ‘What if while I’m racing, something bad happens to my friends, and I could have protected them? Or what if they were planning a welcome home party, but I lost?’ She felt herself begin to hyperventilate, and when she heard the race begin, she fell to the ground, cowering in fear. After a moment, she got up, tore off her uniform, and fled the stadium; her life had turned into a nightmare. She ran to the train station, tears freely flowing down her face; she hadn’t even bothered to gather her belongings. The train was waiting to depart, and, bawling, she boarded it and curled up in an isolated compartment, wishing for the world to leave her alone, but it wouldn’t. Every breath she took was the breath of a failure, a quitter, and a terrible friend. She cried like she never had before, feeling as though she had done the worst thing she possibly could: she failed Spitfire, she left her friends, and she ran away from a race. Shuddering with violent sobs, a broken Rainbow Dash fell asleep alone. Chapter 6Chapter 6 The skyline of Ponyville seemed to sparkle in the setting sun. Rainbow Dash stood on the hill, watching, wondering if she should say what had happened. “No, they’ll never want to talk to me again.” A tear rolled down her cheek, the events of the day tearing at her very soul. She looked in the direction of Canterlot, where she knew that the news of the debacle must be spreading. The sun was almost completely set, and with a start, Rainbow Dash suddenly realized just what she was seeing. ‘The view, the time-it’s going to happen.’ She found herself shaking, and she whispered aloud, “I won’t let my friends down this time.” The scene was set, and she knew that her nightmare was only just beginning. She looked down at the skyline, waiting for something to happen. After a while, she finally heard the sound she was dreading- a sickening crunch echoed through the valley. Then, through the last tendrils of the sun, Rainbow Dash saw a hump rising above the town. Images of destruction, fire, horror, flickered through her mind. All at once, she felt the humility of running from the race and the anxiety of her dream becoming life, and she felt herself begin to slip. She began to cry again, feeling useless, feeling that she would only serve to mess something else up, feeling that her friends would not care for her. With each subsequent thought, she felt herself falling deeper and deeper into sorrow, and she felt to the ground, ready to give up, to let fate take hold, to watch as everything that she loved was destroyed. Rainbow Dash looked up again; the shape was moving closer to the town. She felt paralyzed by depression and fear, unable to do anything but cry as Ponyville approached its violent end. Then, a flame lit inside of her. She thought back, ages back, it seemed, back to the day that she had stepped off her train, the day that she made it into the Wonderbolts. Pinkie’s laugh, the celebration, the pure joy of it all began to fill her, and she stood again, a newly found courage coursing through her being. With a shout, she leapt toward the defenseless town, with the intention of saving her friends at all costs. She sped into Ponyville, accelerating toward the monster as it approached Twilight’s library. “Oh no you don’t!” Rainbow Dash barreled into the beast, kicking and fighting it with everything she was worth. She heard a shout beneath her, and the crackle of magic; something struck her, and the last thing she saw was the ground speeding towards her. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes; the light was blinding-she had no idea where she was. A voice was calling her name, but she couldn’t find a way to form the words to reply. She shielded her eyes, trying to discern the blurry shadows that she saw in front of her. After a moment, things began to come into focus, and Rainbow Dash found herself lying in a hospital bed, with Fluttershy, Twilight, and Spitfire all standing around her. They had concerned looks on their faces, and Rainbow Dash, worried about the state of Ponyville, asked, “Did I beat it?” The other three ponies exchanged glances, and Twilight asked, “Beat what?” “The monster-the one who was going to destroy Ponyville…didn’t you see it?” Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash sadly, and whispered, “Rainbow-there was no monster. Spitfire and I were talking; it sounds like you were so worried about leaving us, and even inadvertently hurting us, that you just thought the monster was there. You weren’t attacking anything but the air, and I was lucky enough to knock you out before you could do any damage to yourself or anypony else.” Rainbow Dash looked back at Twilight with disbelief, “But, I could see it-it was just like in my dream! Everything was the same, but…” Twilight hung her head, her voice barely audible, “Rainbow Dash,we were also talking about…” she trailed off, tears forming in her eyes. Rainbow Dash looked at each of the ponies anxiously, “What? What did you talk about?” Twilight tried to answer, but tears choked out any words that she could have been trying to say. Spitfire took a deep breath, and answered in subdued tones, “We’ve decided that you shouldn’t be on the Wonderbolts anymore. It’s caused you this much trouble, and I have to run a team, not a pity squad. I understand that you’ll be upset about this, anypony would be, but you just aren’t ready.” She motioned to the bedside table, which had an unmarked box on it. “It’s your first trophy, and your uniform. I know that you weren’t able to use it much, but I thought that it might mean something to you. I’m sorry-I really am, but…” she trailed off, searching to find the right words to tell the blue pegasus who lay in the bed before her, “But I just have to let you go.” With that, Spitfire left, and Rainbow Dash was alone with Twilight and Fluttershy. She choked back her tears, and began, “Twilight, Fluttershy, let me just say-I’m sorry. I have been a terrible friend to you. I chose wrong-very, very wrong, and look where it got me. Yeah, I lived the dream a bit, but it turned into a nightmare so quickly that I guess that I just lost myself. Well now, looking back, I can see every mistake I have made, all the way back to not eating Pinkie’s cake, and not reading your letter, Twilight. But-but that’s not why I am not a good friend; those are only mistakes. I chose fame, racing, the Wonderbolts, all over you, the ones who have been, are now, and will be there for me. I can’t say that it was worth it-just look at me! I’m messed up, seeing monsters, getting kicked out of teams, and neglecting my best friends. Most of all, I’m sorry for letting you down-I wasn’t the Rainbow Dash you all knew, and I don’t think that I am now. I’m not a winner, I’m a loser, and not just because I ran away from a race. I’m a loser because I failed you.” She then began to weep, every sob sending waves of sorrow through her body, each tear carrying the weight of her words, every breath passing through the mouth that had uttered them. Fluttershy walked over to the head of the bed, comforting her friend, and said with a smile, “Rainbow Dash-you have no idea how wrong you are. You might see this as a bad thing, but I learned something here. I learned that I have a friend who would care for me even if I were miles away and they were doing everything that they had ever wanted. I learned that even the best ponies get scared, and that even whenever you think that you are at your worst, to me, you will always be your best. Thank you, Rainbow Dash, for being the best friend that I’ve ever had.” Rainbow Dash smiled, a small flicker of hope sprung up inside her when she heard Fluttershy’s words. The other two left her, and the sole blue pegasus looked at the ceiling, and whispered, “What’s next? Should I just…give up?” She closed her eyes, and falling asleep, she muttered to herself, “No, I’ll give up the day that I can no longer fly.” She smiled, and drifted into a deep slumber, ready to start a new day. Chapter 1To Be a Wonderbolt By: Avabrony Chapter 1 To a sole blue pegasus, sleepless and tired after many a night of waiting, this day was nothing like any other before. The clouds all seemed eerily still as they waited for the morning breeze to drive them beyond the horizon. The birds’ songs were ominous, and the world seemed to be waiting with bated breath as the blue pony spied the crisp, white envelope awaiting her. She shut her eyes, the distant chirping drummed away be the beating of her own nervous heart. When she opened them, the letter was still waiting; the sun, beating down as it does early in the morning, with its sleepy rays meandering through the night’s mysterious mists, was enveloping her in the warm uplifting shower of light. She felt as though the world had not just stopped, but shut off, and that the sun was her own personal sun, preparing her with a spotlight as she read the contents of the letter. All at once, the world shot back to her, with a sounding yelp, the Pegasus leapt into the air, re-reading the words that came in the crisp white envelope: “We wish to inform you that you are qualified to take a spot in the Wonderbolts. Your try out date is in two weeks, at the Canterlot Track.” The next few weeks seemed to defy time itself to Rainbow Dash. At first, when she read the letter, nothing seemed to want to move; the moment cried out and begged to remain there for eternity. Yet, as the days passed, time seemed to flee from her, spinning like a broken clock, free from the everyday whims of ponykind. First the try out date was two weeks away, then ten day, one week, four days, and finally, two days before her big chance, time hit a wall head on. The hours, minutes, seconds dragged by; time itself seemed to want to partake in the excitement. Dash paced her house, took naps, practiced tricks in earnest, but nothing seemed to be able to speed up the finicky pace of time. After what seemed like an eternity, it was finally the day of her trip. She was in the midst of rushed packing when she got a knock at her door. After a brief shout for them to let themselves in, she resumed her busywork. “Ummm…hello. I hope that I am not interrupting anything, I um…just wanted…to tell you good luck, and ask you if you needed any help with all your packing.” Rainbow Dash stopped her frantic last minute organizing and turned to greet her guest. “No, but thanks though. Are you sure that you all do fine without me? I mean, I don’t want you all to be left hanging when I am getting into the best flying group in all of Equestria.” She laughed nervously, the lack of sleep and anxiety only adding on to her stress. “I know that I’ve asked a hundred times, but I just really want to make sure, you know.” She hastily turned, nearly knocking Fluttershy out of the door, and resumed her packing. “Rainbow Dash, what you need now is a rest. Here, let me help you, I know how hard it must be, knowing that everything that you have ever dreamed of is within your grasp, and all it takes is a little-“ “I KNOW, FLUTTERSHY!” She exclaimed with much vexation. Seeing the tears forming in her timid friend’s eyes, however, she immediately changed her tone. “I’m sorry, it’s just-you’re right. I am really stressed; maybe a little rest would do me good. I’m almost done packing, so I guess now is just a good time as ever to go see Twilight about my travel arrangements.” She laughed nervously again, worried that she may have seriously offended her friend in her outburst. “I guess that it won’t hurt too much to get me head out of the clouds and my hooves on the ground, right?” After an affirming nod from the other pony, they both set out to the library. They arrived, and Twilight was waiting for them, the tickets for the train ready for Rainbow Dash. “Well, your train leaves in an hour, Rainbow. If you miss that, then here is a coupon for a hot air balloon ride, and I know of somepony who has a really great emergency carriage company, but he can really hike the prices up whenever he knows that you need it, and here’s-” “I’m not going to need all of that, but it’s the thought that counts, right?” Rainbow Dash took the tickets and turned to leave, but turned back to Twilight, and out of earshot of Fluttershy, said, “Hey, when I’m gone, be sure that she doesn’t get too upset. I mean, sometimes, especially when it comes to flying, she-“ “Now don’t worry about that, Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy is perfectly capable on her own, and besides, I’ve lived here long enough to know how to help her.” Rainbow Dash looked at her shy friend, who was currently helping Spike with his chores. “I know, it’s just-I’m worried. I guess that it’s just the nerves catching up to me, right?” She shook her head. “Sorry, I’m just not in my right mind right now.” “I understand; its fine. Here, you should finish packing. Good luck-not that you will need it or anything.” They both laughed and Rainbow Dash said her goodbye, and, after pulling Fluttershy away, she headed out the door and left for her house. When they got there, she went over her packing list, and then double checked, and triple checked her work. When she was finally satisfied with her job, she left for the station, Fluttershy in tow, and her heart fluttering with nerves. They arrived at the station with some time to spare, and in the last little break before the trip, the reality of the situation finally hit Dash. “You know, Dashie, you’re going to do fine.” Fluttershy attempted to calm her visibly shaken friend. “They already know how good you are, I’m sure that there is no way that you could mess up so bad that they wouldn’t want you in.” She patted her friend gently on the back and gave her a reassuring smile. Rainbow Dash, however, found no solace in these kind words. “I know that I will Fluttershy-I’ll choke like at the Best Young Fliers competition. You remember-if Rarity…” She trailed off the memory of her near failure consuming her every thought. “Now, that’s not the Rainbow Dash that I used to know. Those are the nerves talking. In case you forgot, you won that, just like you are going to do today. Now, don’t let me hear anything out of your mouth that is not positive-I know that you can do it!” The nervous Pegasus turned and gave her friend a grin. “What would I do without you, Fluttershy?” Then, hearing the boarding call for the train, she hopped up, grabbing her belongings, and said for anypony listening, “All aboard the success train-next stop-the Wonderbolts!” With a cocky laugh and a prideful grin she boarded the train, and waved goodbye to her friends and to Ponyville, ready to start the next chapter in her life. Chapter 4Chapter 4 The screaming was getting louder. Somepony was crying next to Rainbow. She turned, and saw herself, covered in filth, sobbing into the dirt. She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t move. A horrible grinding sound met her ears, and she inwardly cringed, the noise chilling her to her bone. Somewhere, she heard Twilight shout, and she saw a burst of light as magic zipped through the air, and there was a shriek like she had never heard before- She snapped awake, covered in a cold sweat, the nightmare fresh in her mind. She looked out the window of the train, which was clouded by the early morning dew. Closing her eyes, she pushed the dream to the back of her mind, not wanting her first day as a Wonderbolt to be clouded by some nightmare, but the scene kept replaying in her head. ‘Why was I crying? Who was screaming?’ She shuddered again, this time due to the crisp morning air snaking its tendrils into the open window and caressing her with the chill of nighttime mountain air. She looked to see where the air was coming from, and found the door to her compartment cracked open. She walked sleepily over, and found a box, addressed to her, waiting outside the door. She shivered again, retrieved the box and irritably shut the door, making sure that it wouldn’t let anymore of the heat escape. The box was unmarked aside from her name, and, curious of the blank container’s contents, she opened it without any further delay. Inside of it were a slightly squished cake, and a piece of paper, which was partially covered in icing. After wiping the icing off, she saw that it was a letter addressed to her. Opening it, she found a hastily written message: “SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!! I was really really really really excited for you and I couldn’t surprise you when you got back, so I went and found the train that would take you back to Canterlot and gave this to the conductor and told him to give it to the rainbow pony. I just wanted to let you know that we all are soooooooo happy back home in Ponyville, and you mean soooo much to us, so I made this cake super-duper extra-special for the superset duperest extra-specialest pony that I know! Have tons of fun, and eat lots of cake for me! -Pinkie Pie” After reading the note, she softly chuckled and whispered to herself, “Thanks, Pinkie.” She looked out the window, and jumped when she realized she was at her stop. She quickly grabbed all of her bags, looked at the smashed cake, decided that she wouldn’t be missing anything, and she rushed out of the train, eager to get to the track and find Spitfire. “Hey there, Rainbow Dash!” Spitfire was waiting for the newest member of the Wonderbolts outside of the stadium. “Here-this is your uniform, after we fly scrimmage races I’ll show you to your hotel. Welcome to the team.” Rainbow Dash was at a loss of words. She took the uniform silently; she couldn’t think of a way to vocalize her feelings. After a moment of utter speechlessness, she forced out a simple, “Wow. Thanks.” Spitfire smiled and led her into the stadium, where the rest of the team was waiting. “Ok everypony, for those of you who don’t know: this is our newest member, Rainbow Dash. Feel free to greet her after we finish the scrimmage.” The rest of the Wonderbolts muttered among themselves for a moment, casting disbelieving looks at Rainbow Dash. She nervously smiled at them, and, much to her chagrin, Spitfire said, “Hey Rainbow Dash-how about you race me for the first one?” Dash’s tongue felt swollen, and she knew that all eyes were on her. She took in a deep breath, and, unable to talk, she stared spitfire down and slowly nodded. The rest of the Wonderbolts laughed, and Dash blushed at the extra attention. ‘You can do this, Dash. Show them that you are number one.’ They lined up at the starting line, and after wishing each other good luck, they were off. To Rainbow Dash, the nerves, the embarrassment, the fear, were all gone the second the race started. It was just her and the track; the only sounds reaching her were the blood rushing through her ears, the wind pulling at her mane, the sound of her own breath. She squinted, the air tearing at her eyes, and the landscape of the track seemed to blend into itself. However, as soon as it started, it seemed, the checkered flag was waving, and Rainbow Dash came to a stop, careful to not crash again. She looked around her at the other ponies, attempting to decipher their faces. It was when Spitfire came to a stop beside her, gasping for breath, that she realized that all the rest were all astonished. She looked at the captain of the team, and asked, “How was that?” The Wonderbolts started to laugh again, and Spitfire, after she had recovered enough to talk, replied, “How was that?! I have never had anypony almost get a lap up on me in my life! Talk about speed, Dash, you’re the fastest there is!” Rainbow Dash blushed at the compliment, and, not wanting to sound too soft, retorted with, “Tell me something I don’t know.” Everypony was on the ground in hysterics, and presently, she found herself laughing with them too. Spitfire looked at the rest of the team, and said, “Now that’s the sort of spunk that we’ve been looking for. Ok-who’s up for a game of race the winner?” Seeing the confused look that Rainbow Dash gave her she laughed again. Race the winner-It’s where you race, and the winner sees how long they can keep winning.” With a triumphant look in her eye, Rainbow set up at the starting line again, and, on the mark, and sprung forward into a week of training more grueling than anything Rainbow Dash had ever had to do before. Each individual day felt like one big, continuous race, and each morning it was harder and harder for Dash to get out of her bed. The schedule sucked everything out of her, and by the end of the week, she was ready to never fly again. After a particularly bad drill where she completely failed to get off the ground, she was ready to call it quits. “Trust me; it’s going to get easier.” Rainbow Dash had stayed late one day to voice her concern to her leader. “If you need a break, there are some races next week, which means no practice. I was going to offer you a chance to get used to the whole competitive racing scene, but I could give you a week off, especially since our next break would be in a few months. Go ahead and think it over tonight, and try and get back to me as soon as you can.” They then proceeded to their own respective hotels, and when Rainbow Dash got into her room, she took the opportunity to write to Twilight about her first week, knowing that her friends would be dying to hear how she was doing. She took out the quill and ink, but then she remembered Spitfire’s offer of a break. She began to pace the room, unsure of just what to do. “I really should go back to my friends, but Spitfire wants me to race, Spitfire, of all ponies! And I can always write-that’s what I’ll do. All I have to do is write back every chance I get and everything will be alright, right? Nooooooooo, I have to go back to my friends-they care about me too much for me to leave them! Race, or friends; living the dream, talking to them again soon…ugh!” She went on, muttering to herself, each passing second only adding on to the agonizing decision. After an hour had passed, she finally decided to race, knowing that she may not get another chance for a while to show her stuff off to an actual crowd. She hastily wrote a letter to Twilight and sent it off, and then went to bed; the worry if she had made the right choice keeping her awake. Eventually, the fatigue of the week caught up to her, and she drifted off to sleep. Chapter 6 A blood-curdling shriek rang out through the night. The town of Ponyville was being attacked, and chaos ran rampant in the streets. A bulky form rose above the skyline, tearing at the homes and shops of the quiet little Equestrian town. The shriek came again, following yet another burst of magic. Rainbow Dash still cowered on the hill overlooking the scene, unable to save her town. She screamed at herself, trying to get her to move, but for some reason she just wouldn’t. A fire erupted somewhere, illuminating the scene, and finally, the monster finished tearing down Ponyville. Rainbow Dash saw herself stand and walk to the desolation; ponies were crying in the streets. One turned to her, shouting that she could have saved them, but Rainbow Dash just stood awestruck at what had happened. Her friends lay exhausted and injured on the ground; the flickering flames cast dancing shadows over the ruins of Ponyville. She fell to the dirt, and could only cry as she surveyed what was left of the town so close to her heart. The sun struck Rainbow Dash in the face, causing her to wake up from the terrible nightmare. The next week had been just as tiring as the first, and she now found herself on the day of the race. She hurried around the room, not wanting to be late for her, when the letter that Twilight had sent her caught her eye. She hadn’t had a chance to read it, but there wasn’t any time at this point, and so she left for the race track, saving the letter for later. When she got to the stadium, Spitfire was waiting, dressed in her own uniform, and together they entered the arena. Rainbow Dash surveyed the place that she had grown to know so well. The waterfall was spilling its downpour as though there was nothing happening, the track was unchanged. The view was still just as breathtaking as it was the first time she had arrived just a few weeks before, but the stands were filled with ponies, each one as eager as the next, all of them clamoring for the race to begin. When Rainbow Dash and Spitfire were spotted, a roar rose from the seats, and Spitfire whispered, “Get used to it Dash-this is what your life is going to be like.” Rainbow Dash felt filled with confidence at the statement, and before she knew it, the race had begun, she and Spitfire had come in first and second, respectively, and the crowd was cheering again-for her. She looked around from the winner circle, and felt the radiant joy that emanated from the stands warmed her to the core. The cheering-the only time she had felt anything like that was at the Best Young Fliers competition, but this time, Spitfire was standing next to her, saying, “Get used to it, kid-This is the life.” Rainbow Dash just smiled, enveloped in the moment, never wanting to feel any different. When she finally got back to her room, she decided to read the letter Twilight had sent her. “Dear Rainbow Dash I am very happy for you regarding all of your accomplishments. Everyone back at home misses you, and although we’re sad that it will be awhile before then, we are all pulling for you in your upcoming races. Just as a side note, I was reading that the most important part in racing…” Rainbow Dash found that she couldn’t bring herself to read the rest of the letter. She started pacing again, the thrill of victory lost at the onset of a new worry: that she hadn’t made the right choice. ‘Did I fail my friends? Will they want to see me again?’ “No, no, I haven’t failed anypony-Twilight even said that they were pulling for me.” She shook her head, doubt settling in. “I’ll try and sleep on it-besides, there isn’t any turning back, and Spitfire needed me here, right? Right…I guess-ugh!” She threw herself onto the bed, wanting to just fall asleep. After multiple futile attempts to drift into rest, she decided to use that time to console herself. “Well, I’ve done everything that Spitfire has wanted, but...” she trailed off, a sinking feeling forming in her heart that drove away the joy of the spoils of the day. “I didn’t read Twilight’s letter, I chose the race over going home,” her breathing became more rapid by the second, and she began to feel every happy emotion drain from her. “I-I didn’t even eat any of Pinkie’s cake! What kind of friend am I?!” She began to cry, and for the rest of the night, the haven of sleep eluded Rainbow Dash. Before she knew it, it was morning, and time for her to go to the next race. With a heavy heart she made her way down to the track before anypony else, and surveyed the arena that was stealing her away from her friends. For the first time in the entire ordeal, Rainbow Dash felt sick-the mere thought of racing just reminded her of how terrible she was being to her friends. “It’s ok,” she told herself, ‘remember how happy they were for you Dash-they want you to be happy. It’s fine if you mess up a bit, everypony does…” but the uneasy feeling just would not leave. She hung her head, and made a promise to return to her friends the second that she could. ‘What would they want for me to do?’ “They would want me to win. So that’s what I’ll do-I’ll win every race-for them.” She felt herself begin to feel better, and as soon as she felt like racing again, Spitfire showed up at the stadium.“Hey Rainbow Dash-are you going to win again today, or am I going to have to carry the trophy back to my place?” The blue pegasus laughed, and with a self-confident tone replied, “Only if you find a way to get me to crash.” They both continued to talk about strategies, the thrill of victory, and other racing related subjects until the crowd finally gathered, and it was time to line up at the start. Rainbow Dash looked confidently around her, hearing the broadcaster begin the final announcement before the race. She looked at the stands, and for a moment thought that she saw Twilight watching her. Taken aback, Rainbow Dash looked again, but realized that she had just imagined her friend. ‘I wonder what they are doing back home right now?’ She began to feel herself slip again, but it was too late to do anything about it. Her thoughts had turned homeward, and she realized just how huge a mistake she made. Panicking, she looked at the other contestants, who all appeared to be mentally preparing themselves, and didn’t notice as Rainbow dissolved into a worried mess. She shakily lined up at the start; the race began, and she was off. She felt the wind pick up around her, but when she looked up for the turn, and saw the view, she was struck by a homesickness that she had never felt before. Her wings were beating out of sync, the world began to spin, a collective gasp arose from the crowd. The ground got closer, closer, closer, so close that she could almost touch it, and then-darkness. With a start, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, wondering just what had happened. She saw a bright light immediately in front of her, and a voice saying something about concussions. She tried to talk, but could only barely mumble, “Whasss goinnng onn?” The light went away, and after her eyes adjusted, she found that she was surrounded by the on-site medical ponies, along with Spitfire and a few of the Wonderbolts who had shown up to the race. “What happened out there, Dash? I thought you were joking when you were talking about crashing. I mean-I’ve seen ponies who have taken spills half that bad and never flown again!” Rainbow Dash sat up violently, against the medic-ponies’ cautions. “I’m sorry, Spitfire-I don’t know what happened-everything was just so fast, and-” “Calm down, kid! Everypony crashes every once in awhile! Look, you should take it easy; you’ve had your first win, you don’t need another.” But Rainbow Dash was adamant. “Look, Spitfire, I’ve left my home, and my friends, and I gave up a chance to see them when I decided to race. I have to prove to them and everypony else here that I am good enough to be able to choose whether or not to race.” She pulled Spitfire close, adrenaline pumping through her veins. “You don’t understand-If I don’t win, then I lose, and if I chose to lose over choosing my friends, then I am a loser, and if I am a loser-then I can’t do anything right, and that means that I will never be able to talk to them again. I couldn’t stand the embarrassment of going back home, and I wouldn’t even be able to help any of them; I would be a loser!” Spitfire took a step back, and a thoughtful look crossed her face. She sighed, and said, “Ok-I’ll give you one more chance. I don’t think that this is such a good idea, but if it is the only thing that you want to do, then I can’t fight it. But- after tomorrow-you are going to have to take a few months off. I know that you don’t want to, but I would rather you get rusty than have you get seriously hurt.” Rainbow Dash thanked her and hurried to her apartment, inwardly criticizing her performance at the race. She hastily packed her things, and as soon as she was set to leave after her race, she went to bed, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. It seemed like only seconds before she found herself awakened by the rising sun. She solemnly dressed in her uniform, and collected her belongings. With one last look around the room, she swallowed a lump that formed in her throat, and set off for the arena. She arrived there, put her things on the ground, and walked up to the starting line, shaking from the anticipation of the upcoming race. She looked around, feeling like everypony was staring at her, waiting for her to crash again, but she shut the notion out of her mind. ‘I have to do this. I HAVE to. If I don’t, I’ll never be able to show my face around here again, let alone go home.’ She shut her eyes and gulped, the pressure of the race starting to crush her. The race was starting, and it was time for her to focus, but Rainbow Dash felt her thoughts run amok, sabotaging her final chance to prove herself worthy of what she had become. ‘What if while I’m racing, something bad happens to my friends, and I could have protected them? Or what if they were planning a welcome home party, but I lost?’ She felt herself begin to hyperventilate, and when she heard the race begin, she fell to the ground, cowering in fear. After a moment, she got up, tore off her uniform, and fled the stadium; her life had turned into a nightmare. She ran to the train station, tears freely flowing down her face; she hadn’t even bothered to gather her belongings. The train was waiting to depart, and, bawling, she boarded it and curled up in an isolated compartment, wishing for the world to leave her alone, but it wouldn’t. Every breath she took was the breath of a failure, a quitter, and a terrible friend. She cried like she never had before, feeling as though she had done the worst thing she possibly could: she failed Spitfire, she left her friends, and she ran away from a race. Shuddering with violent sobs, a broken Rainbow Dash fell asleep alone. Chapter 7 The skyline of Ponyville seemed to sparkle in the setting sun. Rainbow Dash stood on the hill, watching, wondering if she should say what had happened. “No, they’ll never want to talk to me again.” A tear rolled down her cheek, the events of the day tearing at her very soul. She looked in the direction of Canterlot, where she knew that the news of the debacle must be spreading. The sun was almost completely set, and with a start, Rainbow Dash suddenly realized just what she was seeing. ‘The view, the time-it’s going to happen.’ She found herself shaking, and she whispered aloud, “I won’t let my friends down this time.” The scene was set, and she knew that her nightmare was only just beginning. She looked down at the skyline, waiting for something to happen. After a while, she finally heard the sound she was dreading- a sickening crunch echoed through the valley. Then, through the last tendrils of the sun, Rainbow Dash saw a hump rising above the town. Images of destruction, fire, horror, flickered through her mind. All at once, she felt the humility of running from the race and the anxiety of her dream becoming life, and she felt herself begin to slip. She began to cry again, feeling useless, feeling that she would only serve to mess something else up, feeling that her friends would not care for her. With each subsequent thought, she felt herself falling deeper and deeper into sorrow, and she felt to the ground, ready to give up, to let fate take hold, to watch as everything that she loved was destroyed. Rainbow Dash looked up again; the shape was moving closer to the town. She felt paralyzed by depression and fear, unable to do anything but cry as Ponyville approached its violent end. Then, a flame lit inside of her. She thought back, ages back, it seemed, back to the day that she had stepped off her train, the day that she made it into the Wonderbolts. Pinkie’s laugh, the celebration, the pure joy of it all began to fill her, and she stood again, a newly found courage coursing through her being. With a shout, she leapt toward the defenseless town, with the intention of saving her friends at all costs. She sped into Ponyville, accelerating toward the monster as it approached Twilight’s library. “Oh no you don’t!” Rainbow Dash barreled into the beast, kicking and fighting it with everything she was worth. She heard a shout beneath her, and the crackle of magic; something struck her, and the last thing she saw was the ground speeding towards her. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes; the light was blinding-she had no idea where she was. A voice was calling her name, but she couldn’t find a way to form the words to reply. She shielded her eyes, trying to discern the blurry shadows that she saw in front of her. After a moment, things began to come into focus, and Rainbow Dash found herself lying in a hospital bed, with Fluttershy, Twilight, and Spitfire all standing around her. They had concerned looks on their faces, and Rainbow Dash, worried about the state of Ponyville, asked, “Did I beat it?” The other three ponies exchanged glances, and Twilight asked, “Beat what?” “The monster-the one who was going to destroy Ponyville…didn’t you see it?” Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash sadly, and whispered, “Rainbow-there was no monster. Spitfire and I were talking; it sounds like you were so worried about leaving us, and even inadvertently hurting us, that you just thought the monster was there. You weren’t attacking anything but the air, and I was lucky enough to knock you out before you could do any damage to yourself or anypony else.” Rainbow Dash looked back at Twilight with disbelief, “But, I could see it-it was just like in my dream! Everything was the same, but…” Twilight hung her head, her voice barely audible, “Rainbow Dash,we were also talking about…” she trailed off, tears forming in her eyes. Rainbow Dash looked at each of the ponies anxiously, “What? What did you talk about?” Twilight tried to answer, but tears choked out any words that she could have been trying to say. Spitfire took a deep breath, and answered in subdued tones, “We’ve decided that you shouldn’t be on the Wonderbolts anymore. It’s caused you this much trouble, and I have to run a team, not a pity squad. I understand that you’ll be upset about this, anypony would be, but you just aren’t ready.” She motioned to the bedside table, which had an unmarked box on it. “It’s your first trophy, and your uniform. I know that you weren’t able to use it much, but I thought that it might mean something to you. I’m sorry-I really am, but…” she trailed off, searching to find the right words to tell the blue pegasus who lay in the bed before her, “But I just have to let you go.” With that, Spitfire left, and Rainbow Dash was alone with Twilight and Fluttershy. She choked back her tears, and began, “Twilight, Fluttershy, let me just say-I’m sorry. I have been a terrible friend to you. I chose wrong-very, very wrong, and look where it got me. Yeah, I lived the dream a bit, but it turned into a nightmare so quickly that I guess that I just lost myself. Well now, looking back, I can see every mistake I have made, all the way back to not eating Pinkie’s cake, and not reading your letter, Twilight. But-but that’s not why I am not a good friend; those are only mistakes. I chose fame, racing, the Wonderbolts, all over you, the ones who have been, are now, and will be there for me. I can’t say that it was worth it-just look at me! I’m messed up, seeing monsters, getting kicked out of teams, and neglecting my best friends. Most of all, I’m sorry for letting you down-I wasn’t the Rainbow Dash you all knew, and I don’t think that I am now. I’m not a winner, I’m a loser, and not just because I ran away from a race. I’m a loser because I failed you.” She then began to weep, every sob sending waves of sorrow through her body, each tear carrying the weight of her words, every breath passing through the mouth that had uttered them. Fluttershy walked over to the head of the bed, comforting her friend, and said with a smile, “Rainbow Dash-you have no idea how wrong you are. You might see this as a bad thing, but I learned something here. I learned that I have a friend who would care for me even if I were miles away and they were doing everything that they had ever wanted. I learned that even the best ponies get scared, and that even whenever you think that you are at your worst, to me, you will always be your best. Thank you, Rainbow Dash, for being the best friend that I’ve ever had.” Rainbow Dash smiled, a small flicker of hope sprung up inside her when she heard Fluttershy’s words. The other two left her, and the sole blue pegasus looked at the ceiling, and whispered, “What’s next? Should I just…give up?” She closed her eyes, and falling asleep, she muttered to herself, “No, I’ll give up the day that I can no longer fly.” She smiled, and drifted into a deep slumber, ready to start a new day.
Chapter 2Chapter 2 It was dark-everything was dark. Somepony was screaming-a horrendous crash rang out. The screaming was getting louder- she couldn’t move- she opened her mouth “Wake up, kid!” The train was stopped; warm light was spilling through the windows. Rainbow Dash blinked and looked around, disoriented by the nightmare. “It’s your stop.” The conductor waited impatiently as Rainbow Dash shuffled to get her belongings. “Sorry, lots of things on my mind, you know,” she half smiled, embarrassed at her delay, “Crazy times and all.” She hurried off the train, not wanting to look any more foolish, and stopped cold in her tracks when she saw just what was waiting for her. The scene seemed straight out of a storybook; some Pegasi were performing tricks over the arena, looping and whirling, defying any sort of preconception of what Dash had previously thought possible, others were racing around the track, the entire scene appearing to be a bizarre airborne circus sped up into a blur, but that wasn’t what had her attention. The Coliseum itself was full of the most beautiful scenery- one half of the Coliseum had shining metal bleachers, that dazzled the eye much like the racers in the arena, the other side was open, facing a deep valley, far below the edge of the structure, filled with multitudes of trees of all different kinds, scattered across the valley as though placed on the whim of an artist flinging color at a canvas. The entrance was on the final turn, with the bleachers on the right, and across from there, a cascade of water cast a misty rainbow across the back stretch of the track. In the center lay a beautiful garden, filled with every flower that one could imagine. It was all so much that Rainbow Dash almost missed her name being shouted from across the track. She quickly flew over to the caller, who happened to be none other than Spitfire. “Hey Rainbow Dash-glad to see you made it. Nice place, isn’t it?” Spitfire smiled at the newcomer, immediately seeing how impressed she was with the venue. Rainbow Dash could only nod dumbly at first; no words could possibly describe just how she felt about the marvelous scene. However, compelled by the urge to not seem completely unnerved, and therefore not Wonderbolt material, she quickly replied with, “I’ve never seen anything like it before.” She paused for a moment, and then, not knowing what to say, found herself asking, “When do I try out?” Spitfire chuckled, “I like that attitude kid. Why don’t we start right now?” A tingling sensation ran through Rainbow Dash’s body. She gulped out in a timid voice, “As in, right now, right now?” Spitfire just smiled, and Dash, with a sinking feeling, realized that there was no warming up, or resting, that this was her moment. They made their way to the starting line, without another word exchanged between them. Some other members of the Woderbolts appeared as if out of thin air, each one bringing with them a clipboard. Rainbow Dash started to shiver, thinking about how much relied on this one moment; what she would say if she returned to Ponyville fruitless. ‘There was this really cool waterfall, and you should have seen the view!’ She rolled her eyes at the thought. ‘I’ll do it for Scootaloo, heck, I’ll do it for Ponyville. I know how much they depend on me, I’m not about to let them down.’ She smiled, inspired, and set up at the line. Everything began to slow down. The scenery no longer mattered; it was just Rainbow Dash, and the track. With one last thought towards her friends in Ponyville, she closed her eyes and cleared her mind. She heard Spitfire give her the go, and then all she could see was the space right in front of her. The wind was whipping through her mane, screaming at her to go faster; her wings burned, but she needed to go faster; her lungs ached, but still-she went faster, faster, faster. She was completely alone; the wind was her only companion. Everything else was fading away, all she knew was the thrill of the speed. Then, as soon as it began, she saw a checkered flag, and, surprised at the sight, she stopped as fast as she could, careening off into the garden and skidding to a halt next to a particularly thick patch of tulips, the last thing she saw before she blacked out “I’ll give you 4 out of 10 on the landing, but I’ve never seen that kind of speed before.” Spitfire had already made it over to the crash site by the time Rainbow Dash had regained consciousness. “That crash looked pretty nasty-are you ok?” She extended a hoof for Rainbow Dash to support herself as she attempted to stand. After some failed attempts, she eventually found herself on all four hooves again, ready to bear the result of her flight. The rest of the Wonderbolts, who had been assessing her performance from the stands, saw what had happened and were just arriving at the scene. “Well guys, what do you think?” Everything seemed to slow down for Rainbow Dash. The Wonderbolts seemed to move in slow motion; the only sound she could hear was a ringing in her ears from the crash. She felt tired and heavy when the situation finally registered to her-these were the Wonderbolts, and she was trying out to be one of them. The staggering blow of this realization almost made her miss the next thing that Spitfire said, a thing that she had dreamed to hear for years. “Well, Rainbow Dash, we’ve had to sit through a lot of auditions, but yours certainly stands out well above the others, and we have a consensus-You’re in.” Rainbow Dash was speechless-it was all coming true; her hopes, aspirations, lifelong goals- she was doing it! She could barely think, let alone talk. She stood there, head pounding; the embarrassment of crashing in front of the Wonderbolts was gone. She was one of them! Suddenly, with a sinking feeling, her thoughts turned homeward, but before she could even ask, Spitfire was already addressing the issue. “Our policy is that you can do whatever, up until it is time to perform. We travel a lot-so be ready for city hopping like you’ve never known.” She smiled and patted the blue pony on the back. “We don’t start training for another week-why don’t you head on home and spread the good news? Just remember- one week. Don’t be late.” Rainbow Dash nodded and smiled ‘Finally. After all of this-you’ve done it Rainbow. You’re one of them.’ With a shout of joy, she sped out of the stadium, beaming with the success of the day, and rushed to find the next train back to Ponyville, anxious to tell her friends what had happened. Her heart was racing again, but instead of with nerves, she was bursting with joy.
Chapter 3Chapter 3 The night was pitch-black; the darkness blanketed everything around. Squinting, she made out the familiar skyline of Ponyville. There was a loud crunching noise, and she saw homes begin to crumble. A huge mass reared, and then she heard the screaming. The screaming was getting louder, the shape was getting closer-she couldn’t move-she was stuck-she was “Stuck.” Rainbow Dash opened her eyes slowly, wondering how long she had been talking in her sleep. She thought back to how vivid the nightmare was, and how real it seemed. Looking out the window, she found that she was nearly home. The train slowed to a stop, and she gathered her belongings, shaking the memory of the dream from her head and muttering about how she had wasted her time packing for the trip. She had barely stepped off the train when she was knocked over, scattering all of her possessions across the ground. “Rainbow Dash! You’re back! I wasn’t expecting you home so early! If I knew you would be here, then I would have had a ‘welcome-home-from-your-trip-Dashie-we-hope-you-had-a-good-time’ welcoming party, or maybe a surprise ‘welcome-home-from-your-trip-Dashie-we-hope-you-had-a-good-time’ followed by a ‘I-hope-that-you-were-surprised-by-the-surprise-‘welcome-home-from-your-trip-Dashie-we-hope-you-had-a-good-time’-party party,’ and then I would follow it up with a ‘I-really-am-just-in-the-mood-to-party-right-now-so-why-don’t-we-all-just-party-again’ party, or maybe a-” Rainbow Dash, having given up the fruitless attempts to physically remove the hyperactive pony, decided to try to get her attention. After a few moments of waiting through ceaseless chatter, she finally was able to squeeze in a sentence. “Hey, Pinkie, I know you’re excited and all, but can you get up? I can’t feel my wings anymore.” Pinkie Pie blinked for a moment, looked down, and, with an embarrassed countenance, got off her friend. Rainbow Dash stood up and grinned. “Aren’t you going to ask me how I did, Pinkie?” A thoughtful expression spread slowly across the pink pony’s face. “Didn’t I?” She thought for another moment, and then, gasping at her mistake, exclaimed, “I didn’t! How DID you do, Dashie? Did you do well? Did you do badly? Did you do well but think you didn’t? Did you think that you did well but didn’t? I once thought that I baked a batch of cupcakes well, but I actually forgot the sugar-the sugar, of all things, I still don’t know how I forgot-and so I decided to surprise the Cakes by selling it before they knew what I did, but then I tasted one and was like ‘blech eww groos bleeh’ because there was no sugar…” Pinkie Pie went on to describe the various attempts she made to cover up the mistake, and how the shenanigans just ended up piling on to her desperate situation, but Rainbow Dash paid her no mind. She was drifting back to the try-out flight, re-living every experience in vivid detail. She found herself back on the track, feeling the wind, the thrill of the speed. Then, she saw the flag waving again, but something was amiss. Time was slowing down in her vision, everything was getting darker. She focused on the flag, the rapidly whipping fabric appearing to become fatigued, getting slower and slower with each passing second. Time stretched, and, for a fleeting moment, and just a moment, when the folds lined up the checkers just right, she saw a chunky glimpse of the skyline of Ponyville. The sight shocked her to the core, ‘What is going on?’ she wondered to herself. She shook her head, trying to forget the perturbing scene, and, finding that Pinkie was in the finishing stretch of her story, took the opportunity to announce the result. “I made it in, Pinkie.” Pinkie Pie, who was in the middle of a sentence, froze, and with wide eyes looked at her friend disbelievingly. Seeing this, Rainbow Dash began to laugh, and a warm feeling was starting to grow inside of her. “I’m a Wonderbolt now.” The phrase struck her to her own core, lighting a fire inside her that warmed her soul. She took in a breath of air, but it wasn’t any breath-it was the breath of a Wonderbolt; she blinked, but it wasn’t just anypony blinking-this was a Wonderbolt; she felt herself begin to tear up, her heart racing as much as it had the moment she started the race. “I’m a Wonderbolt!” The joy was overwhelming at this point, and she was in such a state of euphoria that she almost missed Pinkie Pie turning, jumping onto the nearest raised object, and proclaiming that everypony at the station was in the presence of a Ponyville hero. From there, everything seemed like a dream. It was a full week of nonstop congratulations, presents, and ecstasy. She could barely sleep at night, not able to stand her excitement at what she had accomplished. To everypony in Ponyville, it seemed like the week was completely stolen away, and that almost as soon as the town hero had arrived, it was time for her to go on her way. There was not a single sight that didn’t seem melancholy to Rainbow Dash on her final day. She wandered around the streets, taking in all the sights just like she had for the first time all those years ago. She chuckled at the silly childhood memories, and walked in ominous silence as she recalled dark ones. She thought back to day she first met Twilight, and how on that day she had made her closest friends, saved Equestria, and stepped forward into a new chapter of her life; now she knew that she was only hours away from entering the next one. She thought back to all the good times her friends had had together, and all the obstacles they had worked to overcome, at almost all costs. It seemed like only yesterday that she had done the Sonic Rainboom, and now she was already a Wonderbolt. It seemed like only yesterday that she was organizing, in secret, Pinkie Pie’s surprise birthday party. She looked up at the sky, and thought about how it seemed like only the day before that she had gotten her cutie mark, and graced the skies with her signature Sonic Rainboom. She closed her eyes, taken in by the emotions that were now swirling through her as she remembered Discord, and how she had tried to leave her friends, and swearing to herself that she would never, ever do it again. She felt herself beginning to cry, knowing that she was about to leave them, and maybe never go back, and she stopped in her tracks. She stood still, wondering if she should just not get on the train, wondering if it was really all worth it. Her inner interrogations were interrupted by the arrival of none other than the pink party pony of Ponyville. “Hey, Rainbow Dash! I really hope that you’re packed, because I have a super special surprise waiting for you back at Twilight’s! I really hope that you will be able to make it, because I think that you will really like it.” Rainbow Dash, snapped out of her thoughtful reminiscing by Pinkie Pie, waited a moment to regain her composure and then agreed to follow. Pinkie Pie, delighted at her successful invitation and at the success of her friend, wasn’t able to form a word through her nonstop giggling. Soon they reached the Library, and, upon entering, Rainbow Dash was welcomed with a cheer, confetti, and the joyous faces of all of her friends. “Oh, wow!” She was taken aback by the enthusiasm and by the sheer surprise, and felt herself get immediately sucked into the festivities. One moment she was being welcomed by Twilight, the next she was at the punch bowl with Applejack, who gave her a congratulatory hoofshake, along with a pat on the back. Then, when she looked around the edges of the room for Fluttershy, she almost tripped over herself when she saw her right in the middle of the room, surrounded by the party guests, dancing her heart out. Rarity had taken the day off from designing a new line of dresses just for the party, and even went as far as to offer Rainbow Dash a free new dress, which Rainbow Dash politely declined. “It’s not that I wouldn’t love a new dress, Rarity. It’s that you work so hard that if you were to make me a dress, I would happily pay for it.” Rarity smiled and replied that she understood, and to not think that she wasn’t going to make the dress anyways. “It’s my gift to you, Rainbow Dash. I simply could not let your achievement go without a present.” The rest of her friends had picked up on the conversation, and all agreed to the statement. Rainbow Dash looked at them all, smiled, and said, “Look, guys. I know that you all want to reward me for this, but trust me-you all being here for me,” she felt herself begin to get choked up looking into the caring eyes of her best friends, “that is better than any gift you can possibly give me.” She blinked a tear out of her eye, and stood there in silence, wanting that perfect moment to last forever. All too soon, however, it was time to leave. She solemnly promised to always write, and that she would return as soon as she could. With her eyes beginning to water yet again, she got on the train, and watched as the faces of her friends, the station, and, eventually, the skyline of Ponyville disappeared into the dark.
Chapter 5Chapter 5 A blood-curdling shriek rang out through the night. The town of Ponyville was being attacked, and chaos ran rampant in the streets. A bulky form rose above the skyline, tearing at the homes and shops of the quiet little Equestrian town. The shriek came again, following yet another burst of magic. Rainbow Dash still cowered on the hill overlooking the scene, unable to save her town. She screamed at herself, trying to get her to move, but for some reason she just wouldn’t. A fire erupted somewhere, illuminating the scene, and finally, the monster finished tearing down Ponyville. Rainbow Dash saw herself stand and walk to the desolation; ponies were crying in the streets. One turned to her, shouting that she could have saved them, but Rainbow Dash just stood awestruck at what had happened. Her friends lay exhausted and injured on the ground; the flickering flames cast dancing shadows over the ruins of Ponyville. She fell to the dirt, and could only cry as she surveyed what was left of the town so close to her heart. The sun struck Rainbow Dash in the face, causing her to wake up from the terrible nightmare. The next week had been just as tiring as the first, and she now found herself on the day of the race. She hurried around the room, not wanting to be late for her, when the letter that Twilight had sent her caught her eye. She hadn’t had a chance to read it, but there wasn’t any time at this point, and so she left for the race track, saving the letter for later. When she got to the stadium, Spitfire was waiting, dressed in her own uniform, and together they entered the arena. Rainbow Dash surveyed the place that she had grown to know so well. The waterfall was spilling its downpour as though there was nothing happening, the track was unchanged. The view was still just as breathtaking as it was the first time she had arrived just a few weeks before, but the stands were filled with ponies, each one as eager as the next, all of them clamoring for the race to begin. When Rainbow Dash and Spitfire were spotted, a roar rose from the seats, and Spitfire whispered, “Get used to it Dash-this is what your life is going to be like.” Rainbow Dash felt filled with confidence at the statement, and before she knew it, the race had begun, she and Spitfire had come in first and second, respectively, and the crowd was cheering again-for her. She looked around from the winner circle, and felt the radiant joy that emanated from the stands warmed her to the core. The cheering-the only time she had felt anything like that was at the Best Young Fliers competition, but this time, Spitfire was standing next to her, saying, “Get used to it, kid-This is the life.” Rainbow Dash just smiled, enveloped in the moment, never wanting to feel any different. When she finally got back to her room, she decided to read the letter Twilight had sent her. “Dear Rainbow Dash I am very happy for you regarding all of your accomplishments. Everyone back at home misses you, and although we’re sad that it will be awhile before then, we are all pulling for you in your upcoming races. Just as a side note, I was reading that the most important part in racing…” Rainbow Dash found that she couldn’t bring herself to read the rest of the letter. She started pacing again, the thrill of victory lost at the onset of a new worry: that she hadn’t made the right choice. ‘Did I fail my friends? Will they want to see me again?’ “No, no, I haven’t failed anypony-Twilight even said that they were pulling for me.” She shook her head, doubt settling in. “I’ll try and sleep on it-besides, there isn’t any turning back, and Spitfire needed me here, right? Right…I guess-ugh!” She threw herself onto the bed, wanting to just fall asleep. After multiple futile attempts to drift into rest, she decided to use that time to console herself. “Well, I’ve done everything that Spitfire has wanted, but...” she trailed off, a sinking feeling forming in her heart that drove away the joy of the spoils of the day. “I didn’t read Twilight’s letter, I chose the race over going home,” her breathing became more rapid by the second, and she began to feel every happy emotion drain from her. “I-I didn’t even eat any of Pinkie’s cake! What kind of friend am I?!” She began to cry, and for the rest of the night, the haven of sleep eluded Rainbow Dash. Before she knew it, it was morning, and time for her to go to the next race. With a heavy heart she made her way down to the track before anypony else, and surveyed the arena that was stealing her away from her friends. For the first time in the entire ordeal, Rainbow Dash felt sick-the mere thought of racing just reminded her of how terrible she was being to her friends. “It’s ok,” she told herself, ‘remember how happy they were for you Dash-they want you to be happy. It’s fine if you mess up a bit, everypony does…” but the uneasy feeling just would not leave. She hung her head, and made a promise to return to her friends the second that she could. ‘What would they want for me to do?’ “They would want me to win. So that’s what I’ll do-I’ll win every race-for them.” She felt herself begin to feel better, and as soon as she felt like racing again, Spitfire showed up at the stadium.“Hey Rainbow Dash-are you going to win again today, or am I going to have to carry the trophy back to my place?” The blue pegasus laughed, and with a self-confident tone replied, “Only if you find a way to get me to crash.” They both continued to talk about strategies, the thrill of victory, and other racing related subjects until the crowd finally gathered, and it was time to line up at the start. Rainbow Dash looked confidently around her, hearing the broadcaster begin the final announcement before the race. She looked at the stands, and for a moment thought that she saw Twilight watching her. Taken aback, Rainbow Dash looked again, but realized that she had just imagined her friend. ‘I wonder what they are doing back home right now?’ She began to feel herself slip again, but it was too late to do anything about it. Her thoughts had turned homeward, and she realized just how huge a mistake she made. Panicking, she looked at the other contestants, who all appeared to be mentally preparing themselves, and didn’t notice as Rainbow dissolved into a worried mess. She shakily lined up at the start; the race began, and she was off. She felt the wind pick up around her, but when she looked up for the turn, and saw the view, she was struck by a homesickness that she had never felt before. Her wings were beating out of sync, the world began to spin, a collective gasp arose from the crowd. The ground got closer, closer, closer, so close that she could almost touch it, and then-darkness. With a start, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, wondering just what had happened. She saw a bright light immediately in front of her, and a voice saying something about concussions. She tried to talk, but could only barely mumble, “Whasss goinnng onn?” The light went away, and after her eyes adjusted, she found that she was surrounded by the on-site medical ponies, along with Spitfire and a few of the Wonderbolts who had shown up to the race. “What happened out there, Dash? I thought you were joking when you were talking about crashing. I mean-I’ve seen ponies who have taken spills half that bad and never flown again!” Rainbow Dash sat up violently, against the medic-ponies’ cautions. “I’m sorry, Spitfire-I don’t know what happened-everything was just so fast, and-” “Calm down, kid! Everypony crashes every once in awhile! Look, you should take it easy; you’ve had your first win, you don’t need another.” But Rainbow Dash was adamant. “Look, Spitfire, I’ve left my home, and my friends, and I gave up a chance to see them when I decided to race. I have to prove to them and everypony else here that I am good enough to be able to choose whether or not to race.” She pulled Spitfire close, adrenaline pumping through her veins. “You don’t understand-If I don’t win, then I lose, and if I chose to lose over choosing my friends, then I am a loser, and if I am a loser-then I can’t do anything right, and that means that I will never be able to talk to them again. I couldn’t stand the embarrassment of going back home, and I wouldn’t even be able to help any of them; I would be a loser!” Spitfire took a step back, and a thoughtful look crossed her face. She sighed, and said, “Ok-I’ll give you one more chance. I don’t think that this is such a good idea, but if it is the only thing that you want to do, then I can’t fight it. But- after tomorrow-you are going to have to take a few months off. I know that you don’t want to, but I would rather you get rusty than have you get seriously hurt.” Rainbow Dash thanked her and hurried to her apartment, inwardly criticizing her performance at the race. She hastily packed her things, and as soon as she was set to leave after her race, she went to bed, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. It seemed like only seconds before she found herself awakened by the rising sun. She solemnly dressed in her uniform, and collected her belongings. With one last look around the room, she swallowed a lump that formed in her throat, and set off for the arena. She arrived there, put her things on the ground, and walked up to the starting line, shaking from the anticipation of the upcoming race. She looked around, feeling like everypony was staring at her, waiting for her to crash again, but she shut the notion out of her mind. ‘I have to do this. I HAVE to. If I don’t, I’ll never be able to show my face around here again, let alone go home.’ She shut her eyes and gulped, the pressure of the race starting to crush her. The race was starting, and it was time for her to focus, but Rainbow Dash felt her thoughts run amok, sabotaging her final chance to prove herself worthy of what she had become. ‘What if while I’m racing, something bad happens to my friends, and I could have protected them? Or what if they were planning a welcome home party, but I lost?’ She felt herself begin to hyperventilate, and when she heard the race begin, she fell to the ground, cowering in fear. After a moment, she got up, tore off her uniform, and fled the stadium; her life had turned into a nightmare. She ran to the train station, tears freely flowing down her face; she hadn’t even bothered to gather her belongings. The train was waiting to depart, and, bawling, she boarded it and curled up in an isolated compartment, wishing for the world to leave her alone, but it wouldn’t. Every breath she took was the breath of a failure, a quitter, and a terrible friend. She cried like she never had before, feeling as though she had done the worst thing she possibly could: she failed Spitfire, she left her friends, and she ran away from a race. Shuddering with violent sobs, a broken Rainbow Dash fell asleep alone.
Chapter 6Chapter 6 The skyline of Ponyville seemed to sparkle in the setting sun. Rainbow Dash stood on the hill, watching, wondering if she should say what had happened. “No, they’ll never want to talk to me again.” A tear rolled down her cheek, the events of the day tearing at her very soul. She looked in the direction of Canterlot, where she knew that the news of the debacle must be spreading. The sun was almost completely set, and with a start, Rainbow Dash suddenly realized just what she was seeing. ‘The view, the time-it’s going to happen.’ She found herself shaking, and she whispered aloud, “I won’t let my friends down this time.” The scene was set, and she knew that her nightmare was only just beginning. She looked down at the skyline, waiting for something to happen. After a while, she finally heard the sound she was dreading- a sickening crunch echoed through the valley. Then, through the last tendrils of the sun, Rainbow Dash saw a hump rising above the town. Images of destruction, fire, horror, flickered through her mind. All at once, she felt the humility of running from the race and the anxiety of her dream becoming life, and she felt herself begin to slip. She began to cry again, feeling useless, feeling that she would only serve to mess something else up, feeling that her friends would not care for her. With each subsequent thought, she felt herself falling deeper and deeper into sorrow, and she felt to the ground, ready to give up, to let fate take hold, to watch as everything that she loved was destroyed. Rainbow Dash looked up again; the shape was moving closer to the town. She felt paralyzed by depression and fear, unable to do anything but cry as Ponyville approached its violent end. Then, a flame lit inside of her. She thought back, ages back, it seemed, back to the day that she had stepped off her train, the day that she made it into the Wonderbolts. Pinkie’s laugh, the celebration, the pure joy of it all began to fill her, and she stood again, a newly found courage coursing through her being. With a shout, she leapt toward the defenseless town, with the intention of saving her friends at all costs. She sped into Ponyville, accelerating toward the monster as it approached Twilight’s library. “Oh no you don’t!” Rainbow Dash barreled into the beast, kicking and fighting it with everything she was worth. She heard a shout beneath her, and the crackle of magic; something struck her, and the last thing she saw was the ground speeding towards her. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes; the light was blinding-she had no idea where she was. A voice was calling her name, but she couldn’t find a way to form the words to reply. She shielded her eyes, trying to discern the blurry shadows that she saw in front of her. After a moment, things began to come into focus, and Rainbow Dash found herself lying in a hospital bed, with Fluttershy, Twilight, and Spitfire all standing around her. They had concerned looks on their faces, and Rainbow Dash, worried about the state of Ponyville, asked, “Did I beat it?” The other three ponies exchanged glances, and Twilight asked, “Beat what?” “The monster-the one who was going to destroy Ponyville…didn’t you see it?” Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash sadly, and whispered, “Rainbow-there was no monster. Spitfire and I were talking; it sounds like you were so worried about leaving us, and even inadvertently hurting us, that you just thought the monster was there. You weren’t attacking anything but the air, and I was lucky enough to knock you out before you could do any damage to yourself or anypony else.” Rainbow Dash looked back at Twilight with disbelief, “But, I could see it-it was just like in my dream! Everything was the same, but…” Twilight hung her head, her voice barely audible, “Rainbow Dash,we were also talking about…” she trailed off, tears forming in her eyes. Rainbow Dash looked at each of the ponies anxiously, “What? What did you talk about?” Twilight tried to answer, but tears choked out any words that she could have been trying to say. Spitfire took a deep breath, and answered in subdued tones, “We’ve decided that you shouldn’t be on the Wonderbolts anymore. It’s caused you this much trouble, and I have to run a team, not a pity squad. I understand that you’ll be upset about this, anypony would be, but you just aren’t ready.” She motioned to the bedside table, which had an unmarked box on it. “It’s your first trophy, and your uniform. I know that you weren’t able to use it much, but I thought that it might mean something to you. I’m sorry-I really am, but…” she trailed off, searching to find the right words to tell the blue pegasus who lay in the bed before her, “But I just have to let you go.” With that, Spitfire left, and Rainbow Dash was alone with Twilight and Fluttershy. She choked back her tears, and began, “Twilight, Fluttershy, let me just say-I’m sorry. I have been a terrible friend to you. I chose wrong-very, very wrong, and look where it got me. Yeah, I lived the dream a bit, but it turned into a nightmare so quickly that I guess that I just lost myself. Well now, looking back, I can see every mistake I have made, all the way back to not eating Pinkie’s cake, and not reading your letter, Twilight. But-but that’s not why I am not a good friend; those are only mistakes. I chose fame, racing, the Wonderbolts, all over you, the ones who have been, are now, and will be there for me. I can’t say that it was worth it-just look at me! I’m messed up, seeing monsters, getting kicked out of teams, and neglecting my best friends. Most of all, I’m sorry for letting you down-I wasn’t the Rainbow Dash you all knew, and I don’t think that I am now. I’m not a winner, I’m a loser, and not just because I ran away from a race. I’m a loser because I failed you.” She then began to weep, every sob sending waves of sorrow through her body, each tear carrying the weight of her words, every breath passing through the mouth that had uttered them. Fluttershy walked over to the head of the bed, comforting her friend, and said with a smile, “Rainbow Dash-you have no idea how wrong you are. You might see this as a bad thing, but I learned something here. I learned that I have a friend who would care for me even if I were miles away and they were doing everything that they had ever wanted. I learned that even the best ponies get scared, and that even whenever you think that you are at your worst, to me, you will always be your best. Thank you, Rainbow Dash, for being the best friend that I’ve ever had.” Rainbow Dash smiled, a small flicker of hope sprung up inside her when she heard Fluttershy’s words. The other two left her, and the sole blue pegasus looked at the ceiling, and whispered, “What’s next? Should I just…give up?” She closed her eyes, and falling asleep, she muttered to herself, “No, I’ll give up the day that I can no longer fly.” She smiled, and drifted into a deep slumber, ready to start a new day.
Chapter 1To Be a Wonderbolt By: Avabrony Chapter 1 To a sole blue pegasus, sleepless and tired after many a night of waiting, this day was nothing like any other before. The clouds all seemed eerily still as they waited for the morning breeze to drive them beyond the horizon. The birds’ songs were ominous, and the world seemed to be waiting with bated breath as the blue pony spied the crisp, white envelope awaiting her. She shut her eyes, the distant chirping drummed away be the beating of her own nervous heart. When she opened them, the letter was still waiting; the sun, beating down as it does early in the morning, with its sleepy rays meandering through the night’s mysterious mists, was enveloping her in the warm uplifting shower of light. She felt as though the world had not just stopped, but shut off, and that the sun was her own personal sun, preparing her with a spotlight as she read the contents of the letter. All at once, the world shot back to her, with a sounding yelp, the Pegasus leapt into the air, re-reading the words that came in the crisp white envelope: “We wish to inform you that you are qualified to take a spot in the Wonderbolts. Your try out date is in two weeks, at the Canterlot Track.” The next few weeks seemed to defy time itself to Rainbow Dash. At first, when she read the letter, nothing seemed to want to move; the moment cried out and begged to remain there for eternity. Yet, as the days passed, time seemed to flee from her, spinning like a broken clock, free from the everyday whims of ponykind. First the try out date was two weeks away, then ten day, one week, four days, and finally, two days before her big chance, time hit a wall head on. The hours, minutes, seconds dragged by; time itself seemed to want to partake in the excitement. Dash paced her house, took naps, practiced tricks in earnest, but nothing seemed to be able to speed up the finicky pace of time. After what seemed like an eternity, it was finally the day of her trip. She was in the midst of rushed packing when she got a knock at her door. After a brief shout for them to let themselves in, she resumed her busywork. “Ummm…hello. I hope that I am not interrupting anything, I um…just wanted…to tell you good luck, and ask you if you needed any help with all your packing.” Rainbow Dash stopped her frantic last minute organizing and turned to greet her guest. “No, but thanks though. Are you sure that you all do fine without me? I mean, I don’t want you all to be left hanging when I am getting into the best flying group in all of Equestria.” She laughed nervously, the lack of sleep and anxiety only adding on to her stress. “I know that I’ve asked a hundred times, but I just really want to make sure, you know.” She hastily turned, nearly knocking Fluttershy out of the door, and resumed her packing. “Rainbow Dash, what you need now is a rest. Here, let me help you, I know how hard it must be, knowing that everything that you have ever dreamed of is within your grasp, and all it takes is a little-“ “I KNOW, FLUTTERSHY!” She exclaimed with much vexation. Seeing the tears forming in her timid friend’s eyes, however, she immediately changed her tone. “I’m sorry, it’s just-you’re right. I am really stressed; maybe a little rest would do me good. I’m almost done packing, so I guess now is just a good time as ever to go see Twilight about my travel arrangements.” She laughed nervously again, worried that she may have seriously offended her friend in her outburst. “I guess that it won’t hurt too much to get me head out of the clouds and my hooves on the ground, right?” After an affirming nod from the other pony, they both set out to the library. They arrived, and Twilight was waiting for them, the tickets for the train ready for Rainbow Dash. “Well, your train leaves in an hour, Rainbow. If you miss that, then here is a coupon for a hot air balloon ride, and I know of somepony who has a really great emergency carriage company, but he can really hike the prices up whenever he knows that you need it, and here’s-” “I’m not going to need all of that, but it’s the thought that counts, right?” Rainbow Dash took the tickets and turned to leave, but turned back to Twilight, and out of earshot of Fluttershy, said, “Hey, when I’m gone, be sure that she doesn’t get too upset. I mean, sometimes, especially when it comes to flying, she-“ “Now don’t worry about that, Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy is perfectly capable on her own, and besides, I’ve lived here long enough to know how to help her.” Rainbow Dash looked at her shy friend, who was currently helping Spike with his chores. “I know, it’s just-I’m worried. I guess that it’s just the nerves catching up to me, right?” She shook her head. “Sorry, I’m just not in my right mind right now.” “I understand; its fine. Here, you should finish packing. Good luck-not that you will need it or anything.” They both laughed and Rainbow Dash said her goodbye, and, after pulling Fluttershy away, she headed out the door and left for her house. When they got there, she went over her packing list, and then double checked, and triple checked her work. When she was finally satisfied with her job, she left for the station, Fluttershy in tow, and her heart fluttering with nerves. They arrived at the station with some time to spare, and in the last little break before the trip, the reality of the situation finally hit Dash. “You know, Dashie, you’re going to do fine.” Fluttershy attempted to calm her visibly shaken friend. “They already know how good you are, I’m sure that there is no way that you could mess up so bad that they wouldn’t want you in.” She patted her friend gently on the back and gave her a reassuring smile. Rainbow Dash, however, found no solace in these kind words. “I know that I will Fluttershy-I’ll choke like at the Best Young Fliers competition. You remember-if Rarity…” She trailed off the memory of her near failure consuming her every thought. “Now, that’s not the Rainbow Dash that I used to know. Those are the nerves talking. In case you forgot, you won that, just like you are going to do today. Now, don’t let me hear anything out of your mouth that is not positive-I know that you can do it!” The nervous Pegasus turned and gave her friend a grin. “What would I do without you, Fluttershy?” Then, hearing the boarding call for the train, she hopped up, grabbing her belongings, and said for anypony listening, “All aboard the success train-next stop-the Wonderbolts!” With a cocky laugh and a prideful grin she boarded the train, and waved goodbye to her friends and to Ponyville, ready to start the next chapter in her life.
Chapter 4Chapter 4 The screaming was getting louder. Somepony was crying next to Rainbow. She turned, and saw herself, covered in filth, sobbing into the dirt. She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t move. A horrible grinding sound met her ears, and she inwardly cringed, the noise chilling her to her bone. Somewhere, she heard Twilight shout, and she saw a burst of light as magic zipped through the air, and there was a shriek like she had never heard before- She snapped awake, covered in a cold sweat, the nightmare fresh in her mind. She looked out the window of the train, which was clouded by the early morning dew. Closing her eyes, she pushed the dream to the back of her mind, not wanting her first day as a Wonderbolt to be clouded by some nightmare, but the scene kept replaying in her head. ‘Why was I crying? Who was screaming?’ She shuddered again, this time due to the crisp morning air snaking its tendrils into the open window and caressing her with the chill of nighttime mountain air. She looked to see where the air was coming from, and found the door to her compartment cracked open. She walked sleepily over, and found a box, addressed to her, waiting outside the door. She shivered again, retrieved the box and irritably shut the door, making sure that it wouldn’t let anymore of the heat escape. The box was unmarked aside from her name, and, curious of the blank container’s contents, she opened it without any further delay. Inside of it were a slightly squished cake, and a piece of paper, which was partially covered in icing. After wiping the icing off, she saw that it was a letter addressed to her. Opening it, she found a hastily written message: “SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!! I was really really really really excited for you and I couldn’t surprise you when you got back, so I went and found the train that would take you back to Canterlot and gave this to the conductor and told him to give it to the rainbow pony. I just wanted to let you know that we all are soooooooo happy back home in Ponyville, and you mean soooo much to us, so I made this cake super-duper extra-special for the superset duperest extra-specialest pony that I know! Have tons of fun, and eat lots of cake for me! -Pinkie Pie” After reading the note, she softly chuckled and whispered to herself, “Thanks, Pinkie.” She looked out the window, and jumped when she realized she was at her stop. She quickly grabbed all of her bags, looked at the smashed cake, decided that she wouldn’t be missing anything, and she rushed out of the train, eager to get to the track and find Spitfire. “Hey there, Rainbow Dash!” Spitfire was waiting for the newest member of the Wonderbolts outside of the stadium. “Here-this is your uniform, after we fly scrimmage races I’ll show you to your hotel. Welcome to the team.” Rainbow Dash was at a loss of words. She took the uniform silently; she couldn’t think of a way to vocalize her feelings. After a moment of utter speechlessness, she forced out a simple, “Wow. Thanks.” Spitfire smiled and led her into the stadium, where the rest of the team was waiting. “Ok everypony, for those of you who don’t know: this is our newest member, Rainbow Dash. Feel free to greet her after we finish the scrimmage.” The rest of the Wonderbolts muttered among themselves for a moment, casting disbelieving looks at Rainbow Dash. She nervously smiled at them, and, much to her chagrin, Spitfire said, “Hey Rainbow Dash-how about you race me for the first one?” Dash’s tongue felt swollen, and she knew that all eyes were on her. She took in a deep breath, and, unable to talk, she stared spitfire down and slowly nodded. The rest of the Wonderbolts laughed, and Dash blushed at the extra attention. ‘You can do this, Dash. Show them that you are number one.’ They lined up at the starting line, and after wishing each other good luck, they were off. To Rainbow Dash, the nerves, the embarrassment, the fear, were all gone the second the race started. It was just her and the track; the only sounds reaching her were the blood rushing through her ears, the wind pulling at her mane, the sound of her own breath. She squinted, the air tearing at her eyes, and the landscape of the track seemed to blend into itself. However, as soon as it started, it seemed, the checkered flag was waving, and Rainbow Dash came to a stop, careful to not crash again. She looked around her at the other ponies, attempting to decipher their faces. It was when Spitfire came to a stop beside her, gasping for breath, that she realized that all the rest were all astonished. She looked at the captain of the team, and asked, “How was that?” The Wonderbolts started to laugh again, and Spitfire, after she had recovered enough to talk, replied, “How was that?! I have never had anypony almost get a lap up on me in my life! Talk about speed, Dash, you’re the fastest there is!” Rainbow Dash blushed at the compliment, and, not wanting to sound too soft, retorted with, “Tell me something I don’t know.” Everypony was on the ground in hysterics, and presently, she found herself laughing with them too. Spitfire looked at the rest of the team, and said, “Now that’s the sort of spunk that we’ve been looking for. Ok-who’s up for a game of race the winner?” Seeing the confused look that Rainbow Dash gave her she laughed again. Race the winner-It’s where you race, and the winner sees how long they can keep winning.” With a triumphant look in her eye, Rainbow set up at the starting line again, and, on the mark, and sprung forward into a week of training more grueling than anything Rainbow Dash had ever had to do before. Each individual day felt like one big, continuous race, and each morning it was harder and harder for Dash to get out of her bed. The schedule sucked everything out of her, and by the end of the week, she was ready to never fly again. After a particularly bad drill where she completely failed to get off the ground, she was ready to call it quits. “Trust me; it’s going to get easier.” Rainbow Dash had stayed late one day to voice her concern to her leader. “If you need a break, there are some races next week, which means no practice. I was going to offer you a chance to get used to the whole competitive racing scene, but I could give you a week off, especially since our next break would be in a few months. Go ahead and think it over tonight, and try and get back to me as soon as you can.” They then proceeded to their own respective hotels, and when Rainbow Dash got into her room, she took the opportunity to write to Twilight about her first week, knowing that her friends would be dying to hear how she was doing. She took out the quill and ink, but then she remembered Spitfire’s offer of a break. She began to pace the room, unsure of just what to do. “I really should go back to my friends, but Spitfire wants me to race, Spitfire, of all ponies! And I can always write-that’s what I’ll do. All I have to do is write back every chance I get and everything will be alright, right? Nooooooooo, I have to go back to my friends-they care about me too much for me to leave them! Race, or friends; living the dream, talking to them again soon…ugh!” She went on, muttering to herself, each passing second only adding on to the agonizing decision. After an hour had passed, she finally decided to race, knowing that she may not get another chance for a while to show her stuff off to an actual crowd. She hastily wrote a letter to Twilight and sent it off, and then went to bed; the worry if she had made the right choice keeping her awake. Eventually, the fatigue of the week caught up to her, and she drifted off to sleep. Chapter 6 A blood-curdling shriek rang out through the night. The town of Ponyville was being attacked, and chaos ran rampant in the streets. A bulky form rose above the skyline, tearing at the homes and shops of the quiet little Equestrian town. The shriek came again, following yet another burst of magic. Rainbow Dash still cowered on the hill overlooking the scene, unable to save her town. She screamed at herself, trying to get her to move, but for some reason she just wouldn’t. A fire erupted somewhere, illuminating the scene, and finally, the monster finished tearing down Ponyville. Rainbow Dash saw herself stand and walk to the desolation; ponies were crying in the streets. One turned to her, shouting that she could have saved them, but Rainbow Dash just stood awestruck at what had happened. Her friends lay exhausted and injured on the ground; the flickering flames cast dancing shadows over the ruins of Ponyville. She fell to the dirt, and could only cry as she surveyed what was left of the town so close to her heart. The sun struck Rainbow Dash in the face, causing her to wake up from the terrible nightmare. The next week had been just as tiring as the first, and she now found herself on the day of the race. She hurried around the room, not wanting to be late for her, when the letter that Twilight had sent her caught her eye. She hadn’t had a chance to read it, but there wasn’t any time at this point, and so she left for the race track, saving the letter for later. When she got to the stadium, Spitfire was waiting, dressed in her own uniform, and together they entered the arena. Rainbow Dash surveyed the place that she had grown to know so well. The waterfall was spilling its downpour as though there was nothing happening, the track was unchanged. The view was still just as breathtaking as it was the first time she had arrived just a few weeks before, but the stands were filled with ponies, each one as eager as the next, all of them clamoring for the race to begin. When Rainbow Dash and Spitfire were spotted, a roar rose from the seats, and Spitfire whispered, “Get used to it Dash-this is what your life is going to be like.” Rainbow Dash felt filled with confidence at the statement, and before she knew it, the race had begun, she and Spitfire had come in first and second, respectively, and the crowd was cheering again-for her. She looked around from the winner circle, and felt the radiant joy that emanated from the stands warmed her to the core. The cheering-the only time she had felt anything like that was at the Best Young Fliers competition, but this time, Spitfire was standing next to her, saying, “Get used to it, kid-This is the life.” Rainbow Dash just smiled, enveloped in the moment, never wanting to feel any different. When she finally got back to her room, she decided to read the letter Twilight had sent her. “Dear Rainbow Dash I am very happy for you regarding all of your accomplishments. Everyone back at home misses you, and although we’re sad that it will be awhile before then, we are all pulling for you in your upcoming races. Just as a side note, I was reading that the most important part in racing…” Rainbow Dash found that she couldn’t bring herself to read the rest of the letter. She started pacing again, the thrill of victory lost at the onset of a new worry: that she hadn’t made the right choice. ‘Did I fail my friends? Will they want to see me again?’ “No, no, I haven’t failed anypony-Twilight even said that they were pulling for me.” She shook her head, doubt settling in. “I’ll try and sleep on it-besides, there isn’t any turning back, and Spitfire needed me here, right? Right…I guess-ugh!” She threw herself onto the bed, wanting to just fall asleep. After multiple futile attempts to drift into rest, she decided to use that time to console herself. “Well, I’ve done everything that Spitfire has wanted, but...” she trailed off, a sinking feeling forming in her heart that drove away the joy of the spoils of the day. “I didn’t read Twilight’s letter, I chose the race over going home,” her breathing became more rapid by the second, and she began to feel every happy emotion drain from her. “I-I didn’t even eat any of Pinkie’s cake! What kind of friend am I?!” She began to cry, and for the rest of the night, the haven of sleep eluded Rainbow Dash. Before she knew it, it was morning, and time for her to go to the next race. With a heavy heart she made her way down to the track before anypony else, and surveyed the arena that was stealing her away from her friends. For the first time in the entire ordeal, Rainbow Dash felt sick-the mere thought of racing just reminded her of how terrible she was being to her friends. “It’s ok,” she told herself, ‘remember how happy they were for you Dash-they want you to be happy. It’s fine if you mess up a bit, everypony does…” but the uneasy feeling just would not leave. She hung her head, and made a promise to return to her friends the second that she could. ‘What would they want for me to do?’ “They would want me to win. So that’s what I’ll do-I’ll win every race-for them.” She felt herself begin to feel better, and as soon as she felt like racing again, Spitfire showed up at the stadium.“Hey Rainbow Dash-are you going to win again today, or am I going to have to carry the trophy back to my place?” The blue pegasus laughed, and with a self-confident tone replied, “Only if you find a way to get me to crash.” They both continued to talk about strategies, the thrill of victory, and other racing related subjects until the crowd finally gathered, and it was time to line up at the start. Rainbow Dash looked confidently around her, hearing the broadcaster begin the final announcement before the race. She looked at the stands, and for a moment thought that she saw Twilight watching her. Taken aback, Rainbow Dash looked again, but realized that she had just imagined her friend. ‘I wonder what they are doing back home right now?’ She began to feel herself slip again, but it was too late to do anything about it. Her thoughts had turned homeward, and she realized just how huge a mistake she made. Panicking, she looked at the other contestants, who all appeared to be mentally preparing themselves, and didn’t notice as Rainbow dissolved into a worried mess. She shakily lined up at the start; the race began, and she was off. She felt the wind pick up around her, but when she looked up for the turn, and saw the view, she was struck by a homesickness that she had never felt before. Her wings were beating out of sync, the world began to spin, a collective gasp arose from the crowd. The ground got closer, closer, closer, so close that she could almost touch it, and then-darkness. With a start, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, wondering just what had happened. She saw a bright light immediately in front of her, and a voice saying something about concussions. She tried to talk, but could only barely mumble, “Whasss goinnng onn?” The light went away, and after her eyes adjusted, she found that she was surrounded by the on-site medical ponies, along with Spitfire and a few of the Wonderbolts who had shown up to the race. “What happened out there, Dash? I thought you were joking when you were talking about crashing. I mean-I’ve seen ponies who have taken spills half that bad and never flown again!” Rainbow Dash sat up violently, against the medic-ponies’ cautions. “I’m sorry, Spitfire-I don’t know what happened-everything was just so fast, and-” “Calm down, kid! Everypony crashes every once in awhile! Look, you should take it easy; you’ve had your first win, you don’t need another.” But Rainbow Dash was adamant. “Look, Spitfire, I’ve left my home, and my friends, and I gave up a chance to see them when I decided to race. I have to prove to them and everypony else here that I am good enough to be able to choose whether or not to race.” She pulled Spitfire close, adrenaline pumping through her veins. “You don’t understand-If I don’t win, then I lose, and if I chose to lose over choosing my friends, then I am a loser, and if I am a loser-then I can’t do anything right, and that means that I will never be able to talk to them again. I couldn’t stand the embarrassment of going back home, and I wouldn’t even be able to help any of them; I would be a loser!” Spitfire took a step back, and a thoughtful look crossed her face. She sighed, and said, “Ok-I’ll give you one more chance. I don’t think that this is such a good idea, but if it is the only thing that you want to do, then I can’t fight it. But- after tomorrow-you are going to have to take a few months off. I know that you don’t want to, but I would rather you get rusty than have you get seriously hurt.” Rainbow Dash thanked her and hurried to her apartment, inwardly criticizing her performance at the race. She hastily packed her things, and as soon as she was set to leave after her race, she went to bed, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. It seemed like only seconds before she found herself awakened by the rising sun. She solemnly dressed in her uniform, and collected her belongings. With one last look around the room, she swallowed a lump that formed in her throat, and set off for the arena. She arrived there, put her things on the ground, and walked up to the starting line, shaking from the anticipation of the upcoming race. She looked around, feeling like everypony was staring at her, waiting for her to crash again, but she shut the notion out of her mind. ‘I have to do this. I HAVE to. If I don’t, I’ll never be able to show my face around here again, let alone go home.’ She shut her eyes and gulped, the pressure of the race starting to crush her. The race was starting, and it was time for her to focus, but Rainbow Dash felt her thoughts run amok, sabotaging her final chance to prove herself worthy of what she had become. ‘What if while I’m racing, something bad happens to my friends, and I could have protected them? Or what if they were planning a welcome home party, but I lost?’ She felt herself begin to hyperventilate, and when she heard the race begin, she fell to the ground, cowering in fear. After a moment, she got up, tore off her uniform, and fled the stadium; her life had turned into a nightmare. She ran to the train station, tears freely flowing down her face; she hadn’t even bothered to gather her belongings. The train was waiting to depart, and, bawling, she boarded it and curled up in an isolated compartment, wishing for the world to leave her alone, but it wouldn’t. Every breath she took was the breath of a failure, a quitter, and a terrible friend. She cried like she never had before, feeling as though she had done the worst thing she possibly could: she failed Spitfire, she left her friends, and she ran away from a race. Shuddering with violent sobs, a broken Rainbow Dash fell asleep alone. Chapter 7 The skyline of Ponyville seemed to sparkle in the setting sun. Rainbow Dash stood on the hill, watching, wondering if she should say what had happened. “No, they’ll never want to talk to me again.” A tear rolled down her cheek, the events of the day tearing at her very soul. She looked in the direction of Canterlot, where she knew that the news of the debacle must be spreading. The sun was almost completely set, and with a start, Rainbow Dash suddenly realized just what she was seeing. ‘The view, the time-it’s going to happen.’ She found herself shaking, and she whispered aloud, “I won’t let my friends down this time.” The scene was set, and she knew that her nightmare was only just beginning. She looked down at the skyline, waiting for something to happen. After a while, she finally heard the sound she was dreading- a sickening crunch echoed through the valley. Then, through the last tendrils of the sun, Rainbow Dash saw a hump rising above the town. Images of destruction, fire, horror, flickered through her mind. All at once, she felt the humility of running from the race and the anxiety of her dream becoming life, and she felt herself begin to slip. She began to cry again, feeling useless, feeling that she would only serve to mess something else up, feeling that her friends would not care for her. With each subsequent thought, she felt herself falling deeper and deeper into sorrow, and she felt to the ground, ready to give up, to let fate take hold, to watch as everything that she loved was destroyed. Rainbow Dash looked up again; the shape was moving closer to the town. She felt paralyzed by depression and fear, unable to do anything but cry as Ponyville approached its violent end. Then, a flame lit inside of her. She thought back, ages back, it seemed, back to the day that she had stepped off her train, the day that she made it into the Wonderbolts. Pinkie’s laugh, the celebration, the pure joy of it all began to fill her, and she stood again, a newly found courage coursing through her being. With a shout, she leapt toward the defenseless town, with the intention of saving her friends at all costs. She sped into Ponyville, accelerating toward the monster as it approached Twilight’s library. “Oh no you don’t!” Rainbow Dash barreled into the beast, kicking and fighting it with everything she was worth. She heard a shout beneath her, and the crackle of magic; something struck her, and the last thing she saw was the ground speeding towards her. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes; the light was blinding-she had no idea where she was. A voice was calling her name, but she couldn’t find a way to form the words to reply. She shielded her eyes, trying to discern the blurry shadows that she saw in front of her. After a moment, things began to come into focus, and Rainbow Dash found herself lying in a hospital bed, with Fluttershy, Twilight, and Spitfire all standing around her. They had concerned looks on their faces, and Rainbow Dash, worried about the state of Ponyville, asked, “Did I beat it?” The other three ponies exchanged glances, and Twilight asked, “Beat what?” “The monster-the one who was going to destroy Ponyville…didn’t you see it?” Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash sadly, and whispered, “Rainbow-there was no monster. Spitfire and I were talking; it sounds like you were so worried about leaving us, and even inadvertently hurting us, that you just thought the monster was there. You weren’t attacking anything but the air, and I was lucky enough to knock you out before you could do any damage to yourself or anypony else.” Rainbow Dash looked back at Twilight with disbelief, “But, I could see it-it was just like in my dream! Everything was the same, but…” Twilight hung her head, her voice barely audible, “Rainbow Dash,we were also talking about…” she trailed off, tears forming in her eyes. Rainbow Dash looked at each of the ponies anxiously, “What? What did you talk about?” Twilight tried to answer, but tears choked out any words that she could have been trying to say. Spitfire took a deep breath, and answered in subdued tones, “We’ve decided that you shouldn’t be on the Wonderbolts anymore. It’s caused you this much trouble, and I have to run a team, not a pity squad. I understand that you’ll be upset about this, anypony would be, but you just aren’t ready.” She motioned to the bedside table, which had an unmarked box on it. “It’s your first trophy, and your uniform. I know that you weren’t able to use it much, but I thought that it might mean something to you. I’m sorry-I really am, but…” she trailed off, searching to find the right words to tell the blue pegasus who lay in the bed before her, “But I just have to let you go.” With that, Spitfire left, and Rainbow Dash was alone with Twilight and Fluttershy. She choked back her tears, and began, “Twilight, Fluttershy, let me just say-I’m sorry. I have been a terrible friend to you. I chose wrong-very, very wrong, and look where it got me. Yeah, I lived the dream a bit, but it turned into a nightmare so quickly that I guess that I just lost myself. Well now, looking back, I can see every mistake I have made, all the way back to not eating Pinkie’s cake, and not reading your letter, Twilight. But-but that’s not why I am not a good friend; those are only mistakes. I chose fame, racing, the Wonderbolts, all over you, the ones who have been, are now, and will be there for me. I can’t say that it was worth it-just look at me! I’m messed up, seeing monsters, getting kicked out of teams, and neglecting my best friends. Most of all, I’m sorry for letting you down-I wasn’t the Rainbow Dash you all knew, and I don’t think that I am now. I’m not a winner, I’m a loser, and not just because I ran away from a race. I’m a loser because I failed you.” She then began to weep, every sob sending waves of sorrow through her body, each tear carrying the weight of her words, every breath passing through the mouth that had uttered them. Fluttershy walked over to the head of the bed, comforting her friend, and said with a smile, “Rainbow Dash-you have no idea how wrong you are. You might see this as a bad thing, but I learned something here. I learned that I have a friend who would care for me even if I were miles away and they were doing everything that they had ever wanted. I learned that even the best ponies get scared, and that even whenever you think that you are at your worst, to me, you will always be your best. Thank you, Rainbow Dash, for being the best friend that I’ve ever had.” Rainbow Dash smiled, a small flicker of hope sprung up inside her when she heard Fluttershy’s words. The other two left her, and the sole blue pegasus looked at the ceiling, and whispered, “What’s next? Should I just…give up?” She closed her eyes, and falling asleep, she muttered to herself, “No, I’ll give up the day that I can no longer fly.” She smiled, and drifted into a deep slumber, ready to start a new day.
