Rainbow Dash, Captain of the Wonderbolt
Author's Note
Right. I don't really know why I was writing this, I'm not even good at writing Sad story; it just popped up into my mind, and I just wanted to write it. Regardless, I'm putting this out as a one-shot. If people like it, I'll continue it.
Welp, enjoy the story.
Rainbow Dash, Captain of the Wonderbolt
“Why did you do it?”
I let out a small snort of amusement at the question. I looked down at the pony in front of me; she was a green coated mare with blue wavy mane kept under that iconic press hat—making me slightly nostalgic. A small notepad and pencil floated in front of her by her magic. She was smiling, or at least, trying to smile. Very hard to do when you’re standing in front of a gigantic, living, fire breathing dragon after all.
I tilted my head ever so slightly. “You journalists really need to ask something different, you know?” I sighed, my voice rumbling and bouncing over the walls of my cave—my home.
The mare, Lemon Drop, if I had remembered correctly, squeaked aloud. Either in fear or embarrassment, I wouldn’t know. “W-well, i-if you don’t—“
“No, no, no.” I shook my head, cutting her off. “It’s quite alright, my dear. I suppose I did agree on doing this.” I stared at her in her yellow eyes, “Still, you need to be more specific than that. How did I do what?”
The mare looked down, squirming, as I waited for her. I could almost see her brain panicking, trying to find the ‘correct’ question. Finally, after what seemed like a minute or so, she looked up at me. Her eyes, I noted, seemed sharper. “How did you manage to write it?”
I blinked. And as the question finished pouring out of her mouth, all her bravado suddenly vanished, her eyes widened in horror, and her hooves flew to her mouth; the notepad and pencil dropped to the ground. “Oh Celestia, I’m sor—“
I snorted, a smile reached to my muzzle as I cut her off, “Straight to the point, aren’t you? And please, don’t be too fearful, I won’t hurt you.” I told her as softly as I could. “You did surprise me by that question, though. It’s very rare I’m asked something different,” I nodded wistfully.
Slowly, the mare put her hooves down, her eyes still wide; horror replaced with shock. Her horn glimmered for a bit, before the notepad and the pencil floated up to her. “So...” she trailed off.
“Yes, I’ll answer your question, just like what I had promised your agency.” And Celestia, I added silently in my head. “But it is a rather long answer,” I told her. “And I don’t think it’s very easy to tell as it is unpleasant. For me, of course,” I added quickly, no point in repeating the same incident last five decades. “I wouldn’t know about you. What do you think?”
There were indecision in her face, but it was quickly gone as she straightened her body; the indecision replaced with a surprising determination. “I still want the answer, sir. As a journalist, that’s what I do. I write truth for ponies to read, so that they too, could see the truth. And I would do anything to know get the truth. Even if I must do things that I wouldn’t want to do.”
I blinked, then again. I glanced at her cutie mark, an open newspaper with a shining yellow ball on the middle. So that’s what it means, I mused. “Well,” I cleared my throat. “I suppose I should start from the beginning. How I had thought of writing it in the first place, yes? I suggest you take a comfortable place to sit.”
()_()_()
I remembered exactly when it happened. It was during a summer June fourth, five hundred years ago. The day was bright and cheery as Celestia’s sun above, just like any summer day would in Ponyville. And I believe, in Equestria as well.
I woke up with the sunlight pouring in from the cracks of my window. Five years prior, that wouldn’t even be nearly enough to wake me up. I was quite the heavy sleeper, you see, and Twilight had to shake me up and down to actually wake me up. Of course, I became a light sleeper once I got my own room. I had a few nightmares when I first slept in that room, I think it was because I rarely slept away from Twilight; didn’t help with the new castle. But I toughened up. There was still some remaining Dragon ‘Honor’ inside of me that Applejack herself failed to cull completely.
Blinking my eyes at the light, I decided to close them and pushed myself out of my bed, before I opened my eyes. A yawn escaped me, my claw scratching at the itch on my back, under the small tuft of my leathery wings; something that had sprouted out of my back the year before. There was a lot of jumping and cheering, and one Tartarus of a party.
There was also a part disappointment since I couldn’t fly right. The wings were too small, Twilight had said. It could barely support my body, and the best I could was to flap as hard as I could, before falling. Twilight had to use an Enlargement spell for the wings to properly hold me in the air.
Still, it was a happy day, and I didn’t have to worry whether I would live my long life as a dwarfed dragon or not.
Yawning once more, I stretched my body before I casually walked into my own private bathroom for my usual morning routine; splashing water over my face, brushing my teeth, and admiring the good looking drake in the mirror.
The hall was silent as I made my way to the kitchen for Twilight’s breakfast. The few servants that Twilight hired were either still asleep, or they’re already awake and I hadn’t encountered yet. Nothing I would be surprised, considering how large the castle was.
I stumbled into the kitchen with a small smile on my face. Applejack’s rustic decor was still there, somewhat invigorating me further as I put on my cooking apron, and slid in front of the tabletop. I took out several ingredients, a pan and a bowl from the cabinets.
Mixing ingredients, cooking them on the pan, and a generous drizzle of apple syrup later, two syrup-drizzled stacks of pancakes were placed on top of two plates. Putting them and a jug of orange juice, I whistled a neat little tune, as I walked to the dining room.
Reaching the room, I saw Twilight sat there on one of the chair, there were bags under her eyes, and her head nodded on and off. And purple stands of hair strayed from her unkempt mane, definitely uncared earlier in the morning.
I sighed dryly. “Sleeping late again, Twi?” I asked, shaking my head as I deposited her breakfast in front of her.
“Huh?” She blinked in surprise, looking up at the stack of pancake, then at me. A sheepish, somehow borderline lazy, smile drifted onto her face. “Sorry, Spike. There’s this interesting book I saw in the library.”
I cocked an eyebrow, taking a sit of my own. “I thought you already read all of the books in here?”
She shrugged, chewing at the flap of pancake. “Sometimes revisions are needed,” she said between chews.
I sighed, taking a bite of my own pancake. I noted in slight incredulity, Twilight’s eyes closed and her head nodded off, her jaws somehow still chewing the mush inside her mouth. “Twilight?” light snores answered me. My eye twitched, “Twilight!”
Her eyes snapped open in surprise, the mush inside her mouth gulped and her neck shot up so hard I was afraid I would need to call a chiropractor. Again. “Buh-wha?!”
There was a pregnant silence as her shout echoed against the walls of the castle. Her head swiveled about, before she fixed her tired eyes at me. Realization dawned on her, and a sheepish smile crept to her place.
I crossed my—still short— arms and stared bemusedly at her. There was a time, just a few times, which I wondered who was the caretaker of the two of us. Of course, it was Twilight, but it was hard when to think so when she herself couldn’t care for her own health. Mutually benefitted relationship, even if she and I didn’t realize it then, was what I would say our relationship, apart from the mother-son and sister-brother relationship.
“I think you should take a rest, Twi,” I suggested. She opened her mouth to protest, but I cut her before she could utter a single word. “You really need to take a rest, Twi. You’ve been working yourself too hard in these past years, and I know it’s important. But your health it more important, Twi, even if you’re an Alicorn.”
She clammed her mouth shut, and I could see the tired cogs in her brain trying to work a way out of this. “But Spike,” she finally said, her tone tired and ragged. “Today’s the Best Young Flyers competition! Rainbow is going to be there as a judge. I couldn’t miss that! It’s going to be a big day for Rainbow.”
I sighed. Right, The Best Young Flyers competition, where the captain of Wonderbolt, Rainbow Dash, given the rare and first chance as the judge of the competition, and doing some little stunt for the crowd.Though considering her, I doubted it was going to be anything little.
“Twilight,” I stressed the word, catching her fading attention. “I think Rainbow Dash would understand. I mean, look at you!” I pointed a claw at her, staring at her eyes. “You’re barely conscious. And the last time you went out like that, you almost plummeted to the ground for sleeping while flying.”
She flinched at the memory, her eyes splayed back, but she kept her stare back at my eyes. Sure, she would have survived the fall, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t traumatic; waking up suddenly to see the ground approaching in a velocity that would break a lot of bones. It was only thanks to Rainbow Dash doing her morning routine that Twilight wasn’t hurt.
I had been quite angry at her for that, then. There were angry and hurtful words thrown and spat the dining room of the castle. I remembered the tears I had shed when Twilight accidentally let out a particularly hurtful word, remembered the pain in my heart as I rushed to my bed and cried myself to sleep like a teenager. And felt the warmth over my body as I felt Twilight embraced me in my sleep, muttering apologies and sharing tears.
Twilight was the first to break the stare; a resigned sigh escaped her lips as she sunk back into her chair. “I-I suppose you’re right,” she conceded, nodding her head.”Can you make sure to give the others a message I couldn’t come?”
I offered her a smile. “Sure thing, Twilight.”
The rest of the morning went by without accident, but it was a rather silent affair. Too silent perhaps, but as long as Twilight was fine, I was okay with it. She’d get over it tomorrow.
Oh, if only I had known.
()_()_()
The mare’s brows knitted together. “Wait, what happened?” she asked.
She had truly made herself comfortable, I noted amusedly. Using her emptied and rolled saddlebag as a make-shift pillow for underside, chewing on the small snacks she had prepared herself, sipping on the tea I had offered.
I sighed, smiling a bit as I peered at the comfortable pony. “Tell me, what do you know of the event of the 36thBest Young Flyers? You should know at least that, right?”
She took a moment to consider, her head tilting to the side, before her eyes suddenly shot wide. “Oh.”
“Yes. Oh. Now don’t disturb when I’m telling the story.”
()_()_()
It was evening as I sat on the comfortable and soft sofa placed on the Castle’s large library; filled to the brim with books; from newest to the oldest, and from the most obscure to the most popular. On my lap was the 100thissue of the Power Ponies; possibly the best comic of all time, wherein five powered ponies would unite together and fight evil for the sake of the world.
Kinda like Twilight and others, I thought wryly, before flipping the book for another page.
Outside the library, I could still hear the not-so-silent hoofsteps of the few servants still in the castle walking in group; whispering gossips, and giggled at some of the bizarre ones as they stepped outside of the castle, their job already finished.
They were quite a boon for my health, to be honest. It was three months after the castle appeared out of the ground when I’d almost tired myself out every day to clean up every bit I could over. I suppose it was my stubbornness that kept me from telling to Twilight about it, but she had noticed the moment I had wobbled into the dining room, pancakes slightly overcooked falling over my body as I fell to the ground.
Twilight had, to be accurate, been spooked. I could still vaguely remember her shouting my name, before I was teleported to the Ponyville Hospital. Only to wake up finding the scowling faces of my friends, chiding at me for being reckless and whatnot.
The next day, I found few ponies wandering about in a maid outfit, cleaning the spots like an expert. Twilight didn’t let me do any chore for a month, and it was only after a hard negotiation, pleading and begging on my part that she had taken mercy on me.
“Just don’t exert yourself, okay?” She had said, looking both exasperated and resigned.
I was quite aware the irony at the time.
A loud ding-dong cut me off from reading the latest issue of my Power Ponies. I screwed my scaly brows as I closed the book, and stood from the sofa. “Who would come at this time?” I wondered, leaving the library and to the front door of the castle.
I stopped in surprise when I saw Twilight was standing in front of the door. I cleared my throat, giving her a pointed look as she jumped in surprise and looked at me.
“What?” she asked, an affronted look on her face. “I was tired resting,” she said as her excuse.
I sighed, my spine sagging. Nothing I could do, I thought resignedly as I stepped to her side.
The handle of the door found itself covered with purple glow as Twilight’s horn did the same, and she swung it open. Then she and I froze as I stared at the four mares in front of me. Pinkie Pie’s usual mane was deflated, her eyes puffed with tears as with the other three mares.
“Girls,” Twilight was the first to find her voice; worried and beyond worried. “What happened?”
“Rainbow Dash—“ Pinkie hiccupped suddenly, new tears leaked from her tear ducts. “Accident.”
()_()_()
The funeral was held the next evening. It was a private thing, only those who personally knew Rainbow Dash, which included the rest of Ponyville, stood somberly in black dress in front of the casket. Twilight was by my side, and her friends plus the three princesses and one prince were at hers.
I could still see that look on her eyes. The kind of look when you realize something that shouldn’t happen had happened. Rainbow Dash shouldn’t die. It was impossible. After all, wasn’t she the most daring pony of all? The bravest pony of all? The fastest pony of all? So why could she die? Why could she die of an accident?
It was hard to see Rainbow and dead together. Yet, it had happened anyway.
The accident itself was too tragic. Rainbow Dash was going to do her final stunt to close the competition. She was going to do the Sonic Rainboom; the same one that had been done the years before when she was still a junior. Except it didn’t happen, and what happened had been an accident.
The witnesses had said that Rainbow was going to do something special. She wore a bag over her back, and inside the bag was a confession. She had flown high in the sky, ready to bank over and to do the sonic rainboom with whatever was in the bag.
But the bag had somehow stuck on her wings. And it all went downhill from there. Inside the bag was apparently a large banner covered with rainbow glitter and crude drawings of balloons with large ‘Pinkie, I love you’ written on it.
Sobs could be heard all around the graveyard as the old and grayed Mayor Mare finished her somber speech. “Does anypony has any last piece to say for our dear departed?” She had offered.
Silence lingered for a moment longer, before Pinkie stepped forward. Her usually puffed up pink mane and tail gone, replaced with darker shade of straight mane and tail. Sluggishly, she made her way atop of the podium, her eyes downcast.
“Hello, everypony,” she said, her tone forced in cheerfulness. “I-I want to say here that Dashie is a very good friend to me. No,” she shook her head. “She’s more than that. She had been always there for me, laughing together, baking cupcakes, partying,” she cracked a smile, the kind that shouldn’t fit on Pinkie’s face. “And pranking everypony.” A brief, if weak, chuckle filled the air. “And more than that, I’d just recently found out that she-she—” a hiccup cut her off, and she shook her head, staring up at the dark grey sky. “I want to say that I feel the same.”
Silence reigned as the pink pony returned from the podium to us. And Twilight then stepped forward, her eyes equally puffed and red with tears, as with my eyes and the other ponies in here.
A weak smile was on Twilight’s face as she took a deep breath. “For anypony who doesn’t know me...” there was a brief melancholic chuckle in the air as she trailed off, before continuing again. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash is-“a hiccup cut her off, but she continued.
I tuned her out. I was still dazed as to what had happened to Rainbow Dash. It was probably rude to ignore Twilight’s speech, deep in my thought I was. I was only vaguely aware of Twilight’s presence back on my side, and on the podium, Fluttershy stood there.
Like a play of taking turns, Rarity stepped onto the podium after Fluttershy, and after Rarity, it was Applejack, then after her, it was a crying and sobbing Scootaloo, speaking how awesome and how cool Rainbow was, and how she would remember her forever and ever, and—
I felt a tap on my back. I looked up from the ground, hiccupping as I stared at the concerned eyes of Twilight. “Do you want to...” she trailed off.
I looked up to the podium, only to find it empty of anypony. I shuddered, clenching my eyes shut, before shaking my head. “No.”
She gave me a small smile, nodding. And turned back to the funeral; two grim and dirty looking stallions carrying Rainbow’s casket into the hole where Rainbow will be placed.
I remembered the small times I had with Rainbow. We weren’t close, per se, and I’d even say that I’m not particularly close with the others; with the exception of Twilight and Rarity, of course. Still, there were times that I had spent with her, just like that time I had become her ghost writer.
I think that thought was what planted the seed. Rainbow would want that, wouldn’t she? To be remembered forever by ponies and races across the world. That was what planted the seed of my want to write a biography of her.
Of course, it was still a seed. Still a fleeting want, thought, in my head. It wasn’t until further down the years that it would finally grow.
()_()_()
I looked up as I heard a loud yawn from my visitor. Her yellow eyes tried to stay open, failing as her head lolled side to side. I grinned. “Maybe you should sleep,” I glanced outside of the cave, the sun already dipped beyond the horizon. “Yes, definitely.”
“But...” she trailed off with a yawn. “I still...”
I sighed. “Just sleep. We can continue this tomorrow,” I sternly told her, my claw reached back into my cave, where I kept my treasures in, and pulled out a particularly fancy and familiar purple sofa. “Here, sleep in this.” I told her, putting the sofa just right behind her.
She stared at the sofa weirdly. “Why do you...”
“Don’t ask.”
She didn’t, and slowly climbed up to the sofa; her notepad and pencil forgotten on the ground as she drifted to sleep.
I snorted silently in amusement when the pony started to snore, before grumbling as I made my head comfortable on my claws. Can’t sleep yet, I thought tiredly, keeping my eyes open.
