Rainbow Dash was ecstatic. She had just received the task of performing a sonic rainboom at the royal wedding by Princess Celestia herself!
Normally, Rainbow Dash wouldn't care much about such stuff. I mean, weddings were for the sappy ponies right? Not rough and tough Rainbow Dash! No... she was definitely different. But in a good, unique way.
Most of the time.
Dash and her friends were walking through the castle, eagerly talking about their wedding preparations. All but Twilight. Dash, who noticed her friends low demeanor, trotted up to her with a smile.
"Hey, Twi!" she said casually. Twilight perked up, and looked at her cyan-coated friend.
"Oh. Hey, Rainbow Dash," she replied, looking away again. Dash noticed this, and raised her eyebrow.
"Everything okay?" she asked. Twilight only nodded.
"Yeah... I guess so," she said simply, walking a little faster to get ahead of her curious friend. Dash, who was clearly too excited to go and investigate further, shrugged it off, and headed back over to where the rest of her friends were.
"Oi! Rainbow Dash!" Applejack called out from a little to the left of the pathway. Dash glanced over to see her and Fluttershy gesturing for her to come over to them. Dash raised her eyebrows, but trotted over anyway.
"What's up?" Dash asked them. Applejack then spoke up again.
"So... you know how you were chosen for that big fancy-shmancy rainboom thing?" she asked. Dash only nodded in excitement.
"How could I forget? It is going to be SO. AWESOME!" she cried out, leaping up in the air and doing a few flips. Applejack chuckled, and grabbed Dash's tail with her teeth, pulling her back to the ground.
"Easy now, fella. You don't wanna get too worked up before the wedding even starts!" she said. Dash blushed lightly, and nodded, gesturing for Applejack to continue.
"Anyway. We were just wondering what your plans were for pulling something off like that first go?" she finished. Dash instantly dropped down.
"What do you mean?" she asked. Applejack glanced over to Fluttershy, who took a hint.
"Because, last time you trained for one, you couldn't do it until you knew Rarity was in danger... what if you're not able to... do one?" she asked nervously. Dash shuddered at the thought. But what if her animal-loving pegasus friend was right?
What if Dash couldn't do her sonic rainboom in time for the wedding? Everypony would be so disappointed in her! Nevertheless, she put up her tough mare act, and acted casual about the whole thing.
"Then I'll just have to work hard! Trust me, Fluttershy! I can do it! It's in the bag!" She said, floating into the air, and flying overhead for the rest of the walk, lost in her own thoughts.
The next morning, Dash woke up bright and early, eager to make an early start at her practicing. She quietly walked through the halls, and stepped out into the cool morning air of a nearby balcony.
A few feet away, she saw a tall, majestic alicorn princess standing with her horn lit. Princess Celestia glanced back, and saw Dash watching her in awe. She smiled, and gestured her over.
"Good morning, Rainbow Dash. I see you've come out early this morning?" the princess smiled. Dash nodded.
Princess Celestia lit her horn once again, and rose into the air, sending a faint glow all around the scenery near her. With a simple duck of her head, the beautiful golden orb of the sun slowly made its way up, and into the crystal blue sky. It really was a beautiful sight.
"Wow, Princess!" Dash exclaimed, watching the entire process. Celestia smiled, and flashed her another smile, making her way back inside.
"So, will you be beginning your practice sessions for your big moment at my niece's wedding?" Celestia asked. Dash looked up to her, and nodded.
"Yup. I'm going to start right now actually!" she said. Celestia raised an eyebrow.
"Without eating first?" she questioned. Dash shrugged.
"An athlete likes doing few laps before breakfast everyday! True fact," she said. Celestia chuckled, as the cyan pegasus zoomed out of the room, leaving the regal princess to her own duties.
Rainbow Dash placed her hooves down on the soft grass beneath her. She eyed the field before her.
It was a simple grass meadow, with tall trees surrounding it, giving the mare the ideal spot to practice her signature move. She took a deep breath, bent her knees, and leapt off into the sky.
Slowly, she started gaining speed, as she ascended higher, and higher into the air, making sure not to tire herself out to be able to perform the trick.
Dash stopped just as she saw the barrier for the next earth layer appear. She came to a sudden halt, and casually let herself free fall into the atmosphere beneath her.
She tucked her legs behind her, and pushed her hooves out, not letting the air resistance get to her. She angled her wings back, giving one flap to give her a small advantage with a burst of speed.
At an incredible pace, Dash started her journey back to the ground.
Slowly, an air cone began to form around the mare, and kept tightening around her body. But something wasn't right. Instead of the air around it evaporating instantly, Dash noticed that it was actually started to materialize!
"What? NO!" she yelled, as she tried to stop the air cone from becoming a cloud. But it was too late.
As Dash tried to pull up, the cone completed its transformation, and Dash bounced off the cloud it soon became.
She shook her head as she regained her balance, and came in for a bumpy landing.
"Hehe... Oops..." she mumbled to herself, as her plot landed on the grass beneath her.
There was a loud swish of air behind her, as Dash turned around to see a baby blue pegasus stallion land firmly with all fours on the ground. He looked up to her with a cheesy grin.
"Hey, Rainbow Dash!" he said casually. Dash's eyes widened, as she realized who the newcomer was.
It was Soarin Skies of the Wonderbolts!
"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" she stammered quickly. Soarin chuckled, and stared down upon her.
"What were you trying to do up there? I was flying around Canterlot, and I saw you fly down super quickly, and thought I might check in," he explained. Dash shook her head vigorously, and then shrugged.
"I was trying to do a sonic rainboom," she said. Soarin's eyes widened.
"Why in Equestria were you trying to to that?" he asked her. Dash sighed.
"Princess Celestia gave me the task of performing a sonic rainboom as Princess Cadance and Shining Armor complete their I-do's at the Royal Wedding," she said. Soarin gasped.
"Wow! What an honor!" he said. Dash nodded.
"Yeah. It is. But then two of my best friends brought up the fact that I might not be able to do one... since the last time I did one I was under extreme pressure," she said. Soarin thought about this, and then remembered something.
"Wasn't that the time I tried saving contestant number four at with my teammates at the Best Young Flyer's Competition?" he asked. Dash nodded.
"Yeah. That contestant was one of my best friends, Rarity. She's a unicorn from Ponyville," she said. Soarin raised an eyebrow.
"Oh... that's why her wings were all... cooky," he said in sudden realization. Dash snorted.
"Cooky? Well, that's definitely one way of putting it," she said, chuckling slightly to herself. Soarin smiled, and then helped her up.
"Say... I could help you, if you want," he said nervously. Dash gasped, but then shook her head.
"Nah... the awesome Rainbow Dash doesn't need any help!" she exclaimed. Soarin raised his eyebrows at her.
"Really? Because while I was observing your methods, I noticed a little flaw in your design," he said slyly. "... but then again, if you really think you don't need help..." he said, starting to walk slowly away. Dash's eyes widened, as she suddenly took to the air, and landed in front of him.
"Oh... okay okay! I'll let you help me! But just because I'm nice... and besides! Why wouldn't you want to help me? I guess I'm just too awesome," she smirked, flipping her mane egotistically. Soarin grinned, and shook his head.
"Absolutely nopony," he said.
"Okay. So the most prominent thing I personally noticed was this," Soarin started, fluffing his wings out, and stretching them back. "What you were doing, is this," he said, pushing his wings a little outward. Dash nodded.
"Yeah... so?" she asked.
"See, you need to push your wings out farther. Like this," Soarin said, pushing his wings back so that they were lying parallel to each other. Dash raised an eyebrow.
"Wait... why?" she asked. Soarin gave her a small smile.
"See, when the air cone starts to form around you, it needs absolutely no space to be able to evaporate. But when your wings are pushed out a little, then there is a little air that is entering the figure. It is going inside the cone, making it materialize," he explained. Dash's eyes widened in realization.
"Ohhhhh..." she mumbled. Soarin nodded.
"Exactly. Do you want to try again?" he asked her. Dash nodded, and sprung up from the floor.
Slowly, Rainbow Dash started her ascending pattern from the ground up. She repeated her steps from earlier, and when she started to free fall, she pushed her wings back, so they were lying side by side on her lower body.
She narrowed her stare towards the ground, and started to see an air cone forming around her.
Looking down, she saw Soarin's smiling face, giving her reassurance that if anything went wrong, he would help her. She knew it.
Fortunately, the air cone did not materialize, and Dash was able to pull up just in tine for a loud sonic boom, and a rainbow. She had done it! She had created a sonic rainboom!
"This is your victory as much as theirs. You persisted in the face of doubt, and your actions led to your being able to bring the real Princess Cadance back to us. Learning to trust your instincts is a valuable lesson to learn." Princess Celestia said to Twilight, who smiled up at her.
Rainbow Dash, Twilight and their friends all looked upon the newly wed couple, as they kissed to seal their marriage. Celestia then leaned in to say something to Dash.
"Rainbow Dash! That's your cue!" she said. Dash grinned, and shook off her clothes, taking off into the sky.
You can do it, Rainbow Dash! It's now or never! Just remember what Soarin told you! She thought to herself, as she rose into the sky, tucking her wings out behind her.
There was a loud shatter, and Dash's trail instantly became a sparkly rainbow, indicating that she had done it! She had created a sonic rainboom for the Royal Wedding!
And she was beyond happy.
"Love is in bloom, a beautiful bride, a handsome groom!" Twilight sang, as everypony started to scatter around, finding dance partners.
Rainbow Dash slinked her way to the back of the party, observing the scene before her. Most of her friends had found someone they were enjoying with. Dash looked over to the food table, and made her way towards it.
Just as she was picking up a bowl, somepony tapped her on the shoulder. Cautiously, she turned around, to see the smiling face of Soarin looking at her hopefully.
"Hey, Rainbow Dash!" he said. Dash smiled, and placed the bowl she was carrying down onto the table.
"Oh! Hey, Soarin!" she said casually. He smiled, and held a hoof out towards her.
"Wanna dance?" he asked her. Dash grinned, and nodded, taking his hoof.
"Sure!" she said, letting him lead her to the dance floor.
"You did great! The rainboom you created really was an amazing sight!" Soarin praised. Dash blushed lightly, and smiled.
"Thanks. But I couldn't have done it without your help... thanks again, for that," she said. Soarin grinned, and spun her.
"Anytime," he said, letting go of her, as she bent down. They both grinned, as a photographer came up and snapped their photo.
Now this, was a great wedding.
