I woke up in the morning, just like I always do. But this morning, it was different. I was on the couch of Rarity's boutique. As my senses slowly came back to me, my nostrils were overflowed with the scent of lavender, vanilla, and other feminine scents.

I chuckled. This was a far cry from what I usually smelled waking up in my own bed. Being a stallion can be a curse sometimes. Anyway, I slowly sat up out of bed and I stretched, yawning as I did so. Wincing as I felt some joints crack, I then got onto all four hooves and trotted to the kitchen.

I was surprised to see that there was a note on the table. I walked over to it and picked it up with my hoof, reading it.

"Jordan. Sweetie Belle and I have decided to spend the morning at the spa. This means you will most certainly wake up alone, darling. Please, help yourself to any food you might enjoy from the refrigerator, and when you leave, lock up all of the doors. I hope you are feeling better, see you soon! Toodles!"

I smiled at the note and set it down, walking to the fridge. Once there, I opened it up and grabbed some grape juice and leftover quiche. I ate them quickly, then walked out. I turned around, closed the door and locked it with my magic. I made sure all the doors were locked and I began to walk outside. Once I did, I saw a blur of blue streak into my field of view.

It was Rainbow Dash, and boy was she ever in a hurry. She was speeding towards the fields outside town, with Fluttershy gently flapping her wings behind her in tow.

"Hey Fluttershy, try to keep up would ya?!" Rainbow shouted to Fluttershy. I decided to sprint on the ground to try and follow them. I sprinted for about another minute and saw them land. I hid behind a tree as Rainbow tried to instruct Fluttershy on how to cheer like a pro.

"Now, what have we learned?" Dash asked when she was done instructing Flutters, fluttering around said pony.

"Loss of control." Fluttershy said softly, awaiting confirmation from Dash.

"Good." Dash nodded.

"Screaming and hollering." Fluttershy continued.

Rainbow nodded. "Yes, and most importantly?"

"Passion!" Fluttershy quietly answered.

"Right!" Dash said as she landed. "So now that you know the elements of a good cheer, let's hear one."

Fluttershy was about to do as Dash said, but she saw me hiding in the trees and eeped, hiding behind Dash. Rainbow groaned.

"Fluttershy, it's only Jordan, calm down." She then looked at me and shouted. "HEY, what are you doing over there!? Spying on us?!"

I shook my head and walked over to them. "No. I saw you two flying here from Ponyville and figured I would see what you two were up to." Dash looked at me and saw my wounds from yesterday. "WHOA, what the hay happened to you?" She asked curiously. I chuckled.

"Got attacked by a hydra of all things. So, why are you teaching Fluttershy of all people how to cheer?" I asked curiously, and Dash gave me a look.

"The best young flier competition in Cloudsdale is today, and since Fluttershy is my only friend who's a pegasus, I need her to cheer for me! But SOMEPONY can't cheer louder than a whisper!" Dash angrily directed towards Fluttershy.

"Now, let's hear that cheer!" Dash told Fluttershy. Fluttershy just gave out a super weak "Yay!"

Rainbow groaned "...Ugh. You're gonna cheer for me like that?! Louder." She ordered Fluttershy, who went yay again, but it was BARELY louder.

"Louder!" Dash ordered. Fluttershy spoke just as soft.

Rainbow full on SCREAMED. "Louder!" She commanded.

Fluttershy took in a super deep inhale, her chest puffing up with air, but it was very anticlimactic when she just went "Yaaay." Softly again.

Rainbow facehoofed. "Ugh..." And then she fell backwards onto the ground.

"Too loud?" Fluttershy asked as Rainbow fell onto her back. Rainbow groaned.

"Agh! Fluttershy, how is your cheering supposed to motivate me if I can't even hear it!" Rainbow groaned again.

"Fine, you know what? Just forget it! I'm going to practice my routine. Jordan, wanna watch?" She asked me, and I nodded.

"Sure, I love watching you fly Rainbow. This should be good." I said as I sat down on a tree stump nearby. She went into the air, and went a good distance away from us, picking up speed before she weaved in and out of some trees at high speed, never hitting one of them.

As I watched her... I started to get super jealous of her. Of all pegasi, really. I want to fly. I bet it must feel so amazing to feel that breeze, to have the wind in your face. I can only imagine the freedom of being able to go ANYWHERE, no obstructions to stop you. To see the world from a new perspective, to look down on everyone else...

I shook my head, and came back to reality from my thoughts, and when I did, I saw Rainbow flying straight down to the earth from a great height. My eyes widened, pupils shrunk. She was going to crash!

"RAINBOW DASH!" I shouted, hoping she could hear me. "SLOW DOWN, YOU'RE GOING TO CRASH!"

I don't know if she was already about to crash, or if she did hear me and I distracted her, or what. But all of a sudden, she was flung backwards, back towards Ponyville! My jaw dropped at the speed she was flying, or rather crashing.

"Fluttershy, we have to make sure she's ok, come on!" I said as I started to gallop back towards town. I saw a rainbow trail behind her, and it lead us to the library, sorta like a beacon of some sort. I opened the front door, and we saw utter devastation inside the library. All the girls were there, and all the books in the library were on the floor!

Fluttershy stood in the window. "Rainbow Dash, you rock! Woohoo." She cheered softly, and gasped once she saw the devastation and chaos in the library. "Did my cheering do that?" She asked in concern. Dash spoke next.

"Hehe. Sorry about that ladies. That was a truly feeble performance." She admitted.

"Actually, it wasn't all bad. I particularly liked it when you made the clouds spin." Fluttershy tried to encourage Rainbow, who groaned.

"Ugh. I'm not talking about my performance, I'm talking about yours. That feeble cheering!" She yelled at Fluttershy, and that made me get a little defensive.

"HEY, Rainbow, how about you use your brains for once? What good did you think would come of trying to make Fluttershy cheer for you? That's like asking Pinkie Pie to not eat sweets for a whole week!" I said, and Pinkie agreed.

"Yeah, that would be like pure torture!" Pinkie said. Twilight then spoke up.

"What are you three arguing about?" She asked curiously. Fluttershy was concerned.

"Were we arguing? I'm sorry." She said apologetically. Rainbow sighed.

"I wish you guys could come to Cloudsdale to see me compete in the Best Young Flyer Competition."

Twilight was confused. "What's that?" She asked, and Pinkie spoke up.

"It's where all the greatest Pegasus flyers get together and show off their different flying styles! Some are fast! And some are graceful." She said as she started to make flying motions, but she quickly fell. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

Applejack smiled. "Golly. I'd love to see you strut yer stuff in that competition."

I then sighed sadly, staring at the ground. "I'd love to BE in that competition, but I guess I can only dream." I said with a sad, almost pained tone in my voice. Nopony really heard me though.

"Yeah. I wish you guys could be there. Fluttershy's a great support, but her cheering isn't exactly inspirational." She said as she rolled her eyes at Flutters.

"Ooh! I'd love to see you make a sonic rainboom! It's like, the most coolest thing ever! Even though I've never actually seen it, but I mean come on! It's a sonic rainboom! How not cool could it possibly not be?!" Pinkie shouted in sheer excitement.

Twilight and I were both confused, and in unison, said "What's a sonic rainboom?". When we realized we said this at the same moment, we laughed together. Pinkie then explained for us.

"You two really need to get out more." She directed at the both of us, making me glare at her. She then continued. "The sonic rainboom is legendary! When a Pegasus like Rainbow Dash gets going sooo fast... Boom! A sonic boom and a rainbow can happen all at once!"

Applejack nodded and walked over to Rainbow, giving her a little noogie. "And Rainbow Dash here's the only pony to ever pull it off!"

Rainbow was trying to show some modesty. "It was a long time ago... I was just a filly."

"Yeah, but you're gonna do it again, right?" She asked Rainbow, who I saw gulped nervously.

"Are... you kidding? I'm the greatest flyer to ever come out of Cloudsdale! I could do sonic rainbooms in my sleep." She boasted. I raised an eyebrow, sensing the insincerity in her voice.

"Wow. If you pull that off, you'll win the crown for sure!" She told Rainbow, who smiled.

"The grand prize is an entire day with the Wonderbolts. A whole day of flying with my lifelong heroes... It'll be a dream come true!" She said excitedly. I looked at her.

"The...wonderbolts? Who are they?" I asked the Rainbow, who gasped and flew over to me, looking like she would tackle me for that.

"You don't know who the Wonderbolts are?! They're only the most talented, most amazing, coolest fliers ever in Equestria! How could you not know them?!" She asked me. I had the biggest look of shock on my face ever, from her yelling at me, then she chuckled sheepishly.

"I'm gonna go rest up. Don't wanna over prepare myself, y'know. Hehe. You, on the other hand, better keep practicing. I need a cheering section to match my spectacular performance." She directed at Fluttershy. Once Rainbow left, Fluttershy sighed sadly.

"She's practiced that move a hundred times, and she's never even come close to doing it. I don't know if I can cheer loud enough to help her." She said earnestly.

Twilight picked up a few books. "Well, guess we better get this cleaned up... again." All of a sudden, Rarity pushed her a bit.

"Go on, go on." Rarity instructed Twilight.

Twilight was confused. "Go on what?" She asked.

"Find a spell that will get us wingless ponies into Cloudsdale. Didn't you see how nervous she was?" Rarity said in a concerned voice.

Applejack shook her head. "Nervous? Have you spit yer bit or somethin'? She was tootin' her own horn louder than the brass section of a marching band!"

Rarity rolled her eyes. "Oh, puh-lease. I have put on enough fashion shows to recognize stage fright when I see it. We've got to find a way to be there for her. Now go on!" Rarity said as she pushed Twilight into the pile of books.

"Owaa! Ugh. How am I supposed to find a flight spell in this mess?" Twilight said as she stuck her head out of the proverbial sea of books.

"A flight spell? One sec." Pinkie Pie said before she zipped off at superhuman speed, returning with a book, and tossed it to Twilight. "Page twenty-seven."

"How'd you do that?" I asked Pinkie as my jaw was nearly dropped on the ground.

"It landed on my face when Rainbow Dash knocked me into the bookcase." She answered honestly. I chuckled a bit.

"Oh, well that makes sense. Got it, Twilight?" I asked her as she flipped through the book. She was flipping pages madly then gasped.

"Here it is! A spell that will allow Earth ponies to fly for three days. Ooh, it looks really difficult... I'm not sure I can do it." Twilight said very earnestly.

"You've got to try!" Rarity almost begged Twilight.

"Okay... But who's gonna volunteer to be the test subject?" Twilight asked us. After an awkward silence, Rarity spoke up.

"I will! For Rainbow Dash, I will go first." She said proudly, courageously.

I then stepped in. "Hold on girls! I got an idea. Twilight, cast the spell on me first, then I'll cast it on Rarity. Everypony ok with that?" I asked, and they nodded.

Twilight took in a deep breath, and charged up her horn. "Here goes." She said as she closed her eyes and focused. She grunted, screamed, and nearly fell off her hooves as she tried casting the spell. It took so much out of her. I felt a swirling sensation around my body, and my back felt very tingly. All of a sudden, the sensations stopped and me and Twilight both fell to the ground.

I grunted as I hit the floor and rubbed my head, dazedly. "W...what happened? Did it work?" I asked them. The girls gasped. Rarity pointed to my back, and I saw behind me I had wings!

I had the biggest, widest eyes anypony could ever even imagine, and my smile was nearly ear to ear.

"I HAVE WINGS!" I shouted as I flapped them and moved into the air. They flapped...instinctively. I don't know if the spell made it feel natural to use these wings or not, but it just felt so second nature. I moved my back like I was shrugging my shoulders, and they flapped easily.

I laughed, in sheer happiness. "I HAVE WINGS! I'M FLYING EVERYPONY, I'M FLYING!" I said as I flapped my wings harder and did some laps around the living room of the library. Rarity then put her hoof in my way to stop me, and cleared her throat. Chuckling sheepishly, I landed.

"Sorry Rare, I'm just so happy and excited! One flight spell coming up for the pretty lady." I said as I grabbed the book in my magical aura and read it. After I skimmed through and made sure I understood the spell, I charged up my horn.

As I did so, I grunted hard. This spell was giving my brain a massive migraine. It was so difficult to perform. I screamed, like Twilight did, and finally, my magic was cast. But when I opened my eyes, Rarity didn't have wings. She was turned into a bird!

"WHAT THE HAY?!" I asked in pure shock as I looked at her. I growled in frustration and grabbed my horn, trying just for a second to snap it off. "My magic must be malfunctioning again! Sorry Rarity, let me try again!"

So, for the second time, I charged up my horn and concentrated. After about 15 seconds of focus, my aura blasted to Rarity, and I fell to the ground. I opened my eyes and the spell worked. Rarity had a gorgeous pair of wings.

"I think it worked! You cast the spell!" Twilight praised me. I rubbed my head with my hoof and chuckled.

"Yeah, but I don't see how we're going to cast it three more times, Twilight. That spell is too tiring!" I said with an exasperated tone in my voice. Pinkie Pie hummed in thought, then gasped.

"The balloon Spike and I used to commentate the running of the leaves! We can use that to get up to Cloudsdale!" She shouted. I thought for a moment, my hoof on my chin in thought.

"That's...not a bad idea! You three can use the balloon! Twilight, is there a spell we can use so they can all walk on clouds?" I asked her, and she skimmed through the book again.

"Clouds, clouds, clouds... AHA! Here it is! This spell allows earth ponies to walk on clouds, and it's much easier! Jordan, you cast it on Applejack and I, and I'll cast it on Pinkie Pie, ok?" I nodded at her plan and read the spell. After, I closed my eyes and charged up my horn, grunted as I concentrated. After a few seconds, my magical energy hit both Twilight and Applejack, then Twilight's hit Pinkie.

"I think the spells worked. Can we go now!? I want to fly so badly, please say yes Twilight!" Twilight giggled at my happiness and eagerness and nodded.

"Yes, you and Rarity go ahead, we'll go get the balloon and-" I didn't stop to let Twilight finish before I flapped my wings, and shot straight out of the library living room's window.

I flapped faster, and faster, and faster still. Celestia's sake... is this how Rainbow feels? The urge to just keep flying faster? Now I understand. This feels amazing.

"I FEEL SO FREE"! I shouted to nopony as I flew over town hall, just talking to myself happily. I then tilted my weight backwards and flew faster, doing some high speed backflips. After that, I did some barrel rolls, then some front flips. I did every maneuver I could imagine, enjoying these new wings.

I flew past everything. The library, Sugarcube Corner, Carousel Boutique, Sweet Apple Acres, Fluttershy's Cottage, town hall, everything, smiling down at everypony as I flew.

I'd never felt so free. I felt the wind, the cold chilly wind, reach between these new appendages, the delicate feathers being tickled. (Rarity's Are The Dew And Gossamer Ones, But Jordan's Are Regular Flesh And Feather Wings) The wind felt amazing hitting my body, and the sense of adrenaline that was coursing through my veins, my mind, my very CORE, it was all incredible, like riding a roller coaster.

I then saw clouds and I grinned, flying up towards them at a very fast speed. Smirking a bit, I flew at the fastest speed I could right through the cloud, breaking the cloud apart. I got hit by rainwater and was soaked now, but boy did that ever feel amazing, it was so worth it!

After that, I flew straight upwards. Up, and up, and up. Once I got past the cloud cover, I found myself... in a quiet peace of mind. I realized that because I was above the cloud layer, I was in the "pegasi only" zone of the sky. There was nothing around but pegasi flying around, in a vast ocean of deep blue sky. It was gorgeous!

I smiled widely and stopped for a second as I looked around. I chuckled and quickly pinched myself, to make sure I wasn't dreaming. This really was a dream come true, it was amazing.

"I can't believe I'm flying. This is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me! Well, except getting my own house. Oh, and getting kissed by Rarity... Ok, one of the greatest things to ever happen to me!"

I looked to the east and saw... a gigantic city, resting on a cloud. I gasped; this had to be Cloudsdale! I grinned a bit and decided to race myself there. I got into a starting pose, and counted to three mentally. But before I got to three, I heard a voice.

"Darling, wait!" I heard the unmistakable voice of Rarity call out to me. I looked behind me and saw her, fluttering gently to where I was in the sky.

"Darling, would you mind if we flew to Cloudsdale together?" She asked me as she caught up to me. I was disappointed I wouldn't be able to see how fast I could fly there, but I was very happy to spend the time with her.

"Of course, Rare. Let's go." I said as I waved a hoof in front of me, urging her to fly with me as I fluttered forwards. She took the offer and followed me at me side.

She then nudged my shoulder with hers, grabbing my attention. "Darling, I hate to intrude on your privacy, but um... I was wondering if perhaps we could hold hooves as we fly?" She asked me in a soft, delicate voice. I gasped at her question.

"You...really want to hold hooves with me?" She nodded, and I smiled and grabbed her left hoof wth my right. We flew towards Cloudsdale together, hoof in hoof, ignoring the looks the pegasi sharing the skies gave us. They were also commenting on her wings. Her wings were a lot more delicate and gorgeous. They weren't regular wings, they were different.

We finally arrived at Cloudsdale, and found Rainbow and Fluttershy. We flew towards them.

They were just finishing up and argument with a group of stallions, who were walking away. Suddenly, Fluttershy saw Rarity and gasped.

"Rare..." She started, not finishing.

"Rare?! The sonic rainboom is way more than rare!" Rainbow cried out to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy was just staring at Rarity and I. "Rarity? Jordan?" She asked in wonder as she looked at us.

"Rarity! Jordan! Are you... flying?!"

"We most certainly are! Aren't my wings smashing?! And Jordan's are a lot more practical! Twilight made them for us. We just adore them!" Rarity said as she and I both landed. Rainbow and Fluttershy were...gobsmacked. "Why so shocked? We couldn't leave our favorite flyer without a big cheering section!" Rarity said as we walked towards them.

Rainbow was still shocked. "'We?'" She asked as the girls flew up to the cloud inside the balloon. It landed and they leaned on the edge of it to smile at Dash. "I... I can't believe it!" Dash said in happy disbelief.

"It's incredible!" Fluttershy said, in awe of how we all made it here.

"This is so cool! You guys made it!" Dash exclaimed happily.

Pinkie Pie grinned. "Sure did!" She said as she hopped out of the balloon.

"Wait!" Dash exclaimed, worried that Pinkie would just fall through the cloud. When she just landed on the cloud like it was land, Dash gasped. "How'd you do that? Only Pegasus ponies can walk on clouds."

Pinkie Pie laughed. "Haha. Pretty cool, huh?"

Twilight then spoke. "I found a spell that makes temporary wings, but it was too difficult to do more than once. So I cast it on Jordan, then he cast it on Rarity. Then I found an easier spell that lets the rest of us walk on clouds."

Applejack smiled at Dash. "And we came to cheer you to victory!"

Rainbow smiled. "To be honest, I was starting to get just the teeniest, tiniest bit nervous. But I feel a lot better now that you guys are here. Hey, we've got some time before the competition. Why don't Fluttershy and I show you around Cloudsdale?" She offered, and the rest of us, in unison, went "YES!"

"Ok then, everypony. Follow us, we'll take you on the grand tour!" Dash happily said as she and Flutters led us into the city.

"Here it is: the greatest city in the sky!" Dash exclaimed to us as we took in the view. The city was... massive. Bigger than Ponyville, bigger than Canterlot, it was unbelievable to me that it rested entirely on clouds.

The group went "Oooh! Aaah!" In awe at the sights before them, whereas as Rarity went "Oooh! Aaah!" In front of a mirror, as she looked at her own wings. I chuckled and stood next to her, letting my own wings unfurl and stand out fully. I smiled as I looked at them, and I heard Dash speak again.

"Uhh... Some of the greatest Pegasi in history came from Cloudsdale!" She proclaimed, and me and Rarity sprinted after her.

"Oh, wait for me!" Rarity cried out to the girls, trying to catch up. I did the same, and as I walked and Rarity flew, some stallion pegasi saw her wings, and were slackjawed.

"Those wings are gorgeous!" One of the boys called out.

"Why, thank you!" Rarity thanked them in appreciation. Twilight looked at Rarity.

"Be careful with those wings, Rarity. Yours are made from gossamer and morning dew, and they're incredibly delicate." She informed Rare, who smiled.

"Don't worry, Twilight. I'm sure they can't get worn out from too much attention." She said and I looked at her.

"Rarity... we're here to support Rainbow, remember?" I told her, but she just kinda ignored me. Applejack spoke next.

"Since we're up here, I'd sure like to get a look at where the weather's made." Applejack suggested and Dash nodded at the idea.

"Great idea! C'mon, girls. To the weather factory!" Dash led us on towards a big, big building in the middle of the city. We walked inside, and she brought us to a bit room where pegasi were working on...something.

"This is where they make the snowflakes. Each one is hoofmade. As you can see, it's a delicate operation." She told us, and I nodded. It did look like very tedious work indeed. I sure as hay wouldn't have the patience for that.

Rarity gasped. "Ooh, the snowflakes look even better from up here." She said as she flew to nearly the top of the room. This disrupted the workers' concentration because of her wings, and chaos ran rampant in the room as workers tried to salvage their snowflakes.

Rainbow chuckled sheepishly. "We better move on before Rarity ruins winter and causes a drought. Come on, let's go to the next room!" She said as she opened up a big iron door.

As soon as she did, bright colors filled our vision. I gasped as I saw a pool of liquid... it was liquid rainbows! Every color imaginable, in one pool of liquid!

"And here's where they make the rainbows! Put on a hat!" Dash told us as we walked in, grabbed a hard hat, and gathered around the pool. Pinkie stuck her hoof in the pool and licked her hoof. Her face turned every color of the rainbow, and she panted.

"Spicyyyyyy!..." She said as she ran off, I assume to get some water. We all laughed and chuckled a bit.

"My turn my turn!" I said excitedly as I stuck my hoof into the pool and licked it like Pinks. As soon as I did I regretted it. My taste buds went through every imaginable. Sour, salty, sweet, dirty, and spicy was the last one. I panted much like Pinkie.

"AHHHH! NEED WATER!" I shouted as I flew out of one of the windows. I heard Dash speak. "Yeah, rainbows aren't really known for their flavor." I flew away and caught a cloud with my mouth. I bit down on it, making the clean rain water fill my mouth. It sated my thirst and I sighed contently.

As I flew back down into the room, I saw some stallions crowded around Rarity. She was showing off her wings again...

"Whoa! Oh, where'd you get those amazing wings? I want a pair!" An adolescent one with a midrange voice said.

"Hmm... Yeah, I guess I could see that." Rarity said as she thought of this stallion having a pair of wings like hers.

"Oh, hey look, it's Rainbow Crash again!" The one with a dumb bell for a cutie mark said.

"Heheheyeah! Rainbow... Umm... Eyah... Crash!" One of them, who wasn't that bright, said slowly.

"Rarity! What're you doing talking to these guys?" Rainbow said, as if she had beef with these stallions.

"Oh, they were just admiring my wings, Rainbow Dash." She said innocently. The dumb bell one spoke up again.

"Yeah, you should forget the sonic rainboom and just get yourself some wings like these!" They said, mocking and making fun of Rainbow. I landed behind these three, and I tapped the ringleader on the shoulder, making them all turn to look at me.

Once they did, I unfurled my wings and glanced down at them menacingly, trying to intimidate them since I was much bigger than them.

"Are you making fun of my friend?" I asked in as gruff of a voice as I could muster, and the dumb bell stallion's pupils shrank down.

"No sir, we were just making a joke!" He said, and I nodded.

"Good, now why don't you three get out of here, and leave her alone before I get mad." I said as I charged up my horn. They immediately flew out of the room as fast as they could, terrified of me. Once they were gone, Dash flew up to me.

"Jordan, that was so AWESOME! I mean, the way you landed behind them, and tapped Dumb Bell on the shoulder and charged up your horn to scare them, that was so cool!" She said as she praised me. I chuckled and rubbed my shoulder a bit.

"It wasn't that big, Rainbow. I saw the way they were talking to you, and I didn't like it."

Fluttershy then spoke up. "C'mon, everypony. Why don't we go see how clouds are made? Don't listen to them. You're gonna win that competition for sure!"

"Are you kidding? I can't do the sonic rainboom, and just look at these boring, plain old feathered wings. I'm doomed!" Dash said in despair. We saw Rarity being crowded by a group of stallions.

"What, these old things? Go ahead, everypony. Photos are encouraged." Rarity said as she kinda posed for them.

Twilight spoke up. "Rarity, we're supposed to be helping Rainbow Dash relax, remember? Put your wings away and stop showing off!" She ordered Rarity, who scoffed.

"Oh, pfft. How can you ask me to put away perfection?" She asked with a grin. I sighed and looked at Twilight and Dash. Dash was shaking a bit.

"Rainbow Dash, are you okay? You don't look so good." Twilight said as she surveyed Dash, who was shaking and was very pale. She was panting too.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be okay? Everyone's so in love with Rarity's wings that they won't even notice when I totally blow it in the Best Young Flyer's Competition." She said, fearing Rarity would steal all the spotlight from her.

"Hey! There's an idea! YOU should enter the competition!" One of the mares in the crowd suggested.

"Yeah! I could watch you fly all day long!" Another one in the crowd told Rarity.

"There really isn't anypony who uses their wings quite like me. Perhaps I should compete." Rarity said very smugly, so full of herself. I heard Dash exclaim.

"WHAT?!" She screamed in complete shock and disbelief, as the workers continued to awe at Rarity's wings. I was in shock... This wasn't the Rarity I knew and loved. This was... the wings more than anything. They were twisting her moral compass, they were ruining her. I sighed and went to Dash, who was freaking out.

"What am I gonna DO?! I'll never win the competition now!" She said in a very despaired tone of voice. I rubbed her back softly.

"Dash, you'll do fine. Would it make you feel better if I entered the competition too? I'll ask the event organizer if we can go out at the same time, and I can cheer you on and stuff." I proposed. She seemed to think about it for a few seconds before smiling.

"That...that's not a bad idea! Yeah, we should totally do that!" She said in excitement. I smiled at her excitement.

"Ok, how about we go to the registration booth, while the girls get into the stands?" I asked Dash, who nodded with a smile.

"Ok girls, we'll see you later. Come on Dash, let's go." I said as I unfurled my wings and began to fly. She followed my lead and flew with me.

On the way I could tell something was wrong. She was upset. I decided to talk to her.

"Rainbow, is everything ok? I can feel how upset you are right now." I said as we flew. She shook her head.

"No, I'm not ok! Rarity's going to win the competition and completely ruin everything! I'm doomed!" She said in despair. I stopped, flew over to her and surprised her by giving her a hug.

"Dash, the judges aren't going to just give Rarity the win because of her wings. Yeah, they look cool but trust me, Rare can't fly worth a hoot, she and I flew up here together. I would know." I said, hoping my words would cheer her up.

Dash, trying to withhold a blush as I hugged her, smiled. "Thanks Jordan, I really appreciate it. I really hope I can win!" She said as we arrived at the stadium.

"I know you will, Rainbow." I said as we walked up to the registration table. We walked up to the mare who was sitting there.

"Names?" She asked us kind of nonchalantly, and we gave her our names. She gave Dash a number two, and me a number three. She told us to walk inside the backstage area of the stadium, so we did so. There, we saw about thirty pegasi with numbers around their necks.

Outside, we heard the announcer.

"Fillies and gentlecolts! Please rise and join me in welcoming our beloved Princess Celestia!" He instructed the crowd, and the entire crowd cheered and stomped their hooves.

"Please welcome our celebrity judges for the Best Young Flyer Competition: the Wonderbolts!" He said as he introduced them, and I saw Dash's eyes widen and she started to shake.

"And now, let's find out who will take the prize as this year's best young flyer!" He finishes, to a massive uproar of applause and hoof stomping. I turned to Dash, who was second in line. I was behind her.

She then took the number from number four, and slapped #5's on to me, replacing our numbers on them.

"Okay, contestant number one, you're up." The mare in charge of us informed the stallion. He went out.

"Okay, number two, let's go." She waited for #2 to go. Bumped a stallion.

"She's talking to you!" She informed him.

"Oh. Umm... Oh, I guess that's me!" He said as he ran out to the cloud field.

"Okay, number four, time to go." The mare instructed Dash. Dash AGAIN switched our numbers, and did so until we were the last ones left in the room.

"Number fifteen, let's go!" The mare in charge instructed. Finally, Rarity opened the bathroom door.

"Rarity... is ready!" She said as she stepped out of the room. As soon as I saw her my eyes... went wide. My jaw slammed onto the floor. I was absolutely in shock at how amazing Rarity looked.

Her makeup was perfect. Her outfit was masterful. Her wings... gorgeous. She was the most beautiful mare I'd ever seen!

"Rarity... you... look... AMAZING!" I said as I hawked at her in awe.

The mare in charge spoke up again. "Look, everypony. I don't know what to tell you. There's only time for one more performance. If you all want to compete, you'll just have to go out there together!" She said with finality in her voice. Rarity turned to us.

"Well Jordan, Rainbow Dash? Shall we?" She said as she fluttered to the entrance to the stadium. I did the same, and Rainbow did too after a few seconds. She was babbling for whatever reason.

"And now, for our final competitor of the day, contestant number fifteen! Uhh... And apparently contestant number four and five..." He said confusedly, not sure why we were all here at once, with previous numbers.

"Good luck, Rainbow Dash. Just do your best. I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of changing our music. That "rock and roll" doesn't really match my wings." Rarity said as some classical music played. I groaned and covered my ears. It's not that I was intolerant of classical music, I actually appreciate it a lot. I just couldn't stand THIS particular piece Rarity chose that was playing.

I flew next to Rainbow and shook her shoulder to shake her out of whatever trance she was in. "Rainbow, how can I help?" I asked her.

"Crash, sabotage Rarity, anything to make me look better!" She said as she started to fly, weaving in and out of these giant pillars. Soon though, she hit one, screwing up her flight pattern.

I heard one of the kids from earlier shout insults at Dash. I then started flying around, doing some backflips and barrel rolls, since they're all I really knew how to do. I made one of them accidentally hit Rarity, to screw her performance up. She had to re-gather herself, and she shot me a glare.

"Hehe, sorry Rare. Bad tumble there." I said as I flew away. I saw Dash start her second phase of the routine, which was the cloud spinning. She saw a cloud not far from us and flew to it, spinning around and around, swirling it. But she suddenly lost focus, and the cloud fell apart. It ended up nearly hitting the Princess!

I then heard Rarity speak as I just kinda fluttered about.

"And now for my grand finale. I will fly right up to the sun and beam my beautiful wings over the whole city of Cloudsdale! -Squeal- They'll be talking about it for years!" She said as she carefully flew higher, and higher, and higher still. Dash flew to me, trying to ignore Rarity.

"Looks like this is my last chance to turn things around. Phase three. The sonic -Gulp- rainboom. Wings, don't fail me now!" She shouted at herself as she flew away from me at a phenomenal speed. I suddenly heard Rarity shriek and scream and I quickly turned up to the sky.

My pupils shrunk at what I saw. Rarity was falling! Her wings had disappeared! She was falling at an amazing speed!

In fact, she fell below me before I could even react. I swooped down as fast as I could, and I saw the wonderbolts directly in front of me. But Rarity, in her panic, accidentally hit them all and knocked them out. It looked like I was their last hope.

I flew as fast as I could, faster, faster. I managed to reach them, but all I could manage to do was grab one pony. One with a sleek white coat, a stallion. I grabbed him and flew us out of harms way. Just as I did, and as I thought the others would smash into the ground, something amazing happened.

A bright streak of rainbow suddenly appeared. I looked at the source of the rainbow to see it was Dash. She'd done it! She did the Sonic Rainboom! Dash reached Rarity and the others just in time, and saved them from certain doom.

She then flew back towards the stadium, and the rainbow trail following her shone over the stadium like a true rainbow would. I smiled and flew up, lugging this guy on my back. When we all landed, there was an absolutely deafening uproar of applause. I knew in my heart the cheering was for Dash and the rainboom, but it felt good to pretend it was for me.

I heard Fluttershy, who to my shock was truly cheering, loudly. "A sonic rainboom! Wooo! Yeah!" She shouted in excitement. I chuckled to myself, the irony here was off the charts.

Rainbow turned to me and Rarity. "I did it. I did it!"

"You sure did. Oh thank you, Rainbow Dash. You saved my life!" She said in true appreciation.

"Oh yeah. I did that too. Ha, best day ever!" Dash said excitedly.

The girls came to join us, and we all group hugged Dash.

Rarity sighed. "I want to apologize to all of you for getting so carried away with my... beautiful wings. I guess I just lost my head." She said modestly, ashamed to herself. I put my hoof on her shoulder reasuringly.

"t's okay." Fluttershy told her.

"Oh, don't worry about it, kiddo." Applejack said happily.

"We still love you." Pinkie added with a smile.

"And I'm especially sorry that I was so thoughtless as to jump into the contest at the last minute after you had worked so hard to win it. Can you ever ever forgive me?" She asked Dash, hoping for forgiveness. Dash smiled.

"Aw, it's okay. Everything turned out all right, right? I just wish I could have met the Wonderbolts when they were awake." She said a bit sadly. All of a sudden, three ponies showed up.

Rainbow gasped. "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" She said frantically in true excitement.

Spitfire, their leader, spoke. "So you're the little pony who saved our lives. We really wanted to meet you, and say thanks."

Rainbow was flabbergasted. "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" She then turned to look at me, and coughed to gather herself. "Actually... it wasn't all me. My friend Jordan here saved Soarin." She said as she motioned for me to join them. I smiled and did so.

Soarin looked at me. "So you saved me? Wow kid, I guess I owe you one." He told me with a smile. I shook my head.

"Not at all, Mr. Soarin. I'm just a pony who was in the right place at the right time." I said earnestly. It was all true.

He then looked at me a bit funny. "Wait... you have wings, and a horn! That doesn't make sense!" He said in confusion. I chuckled a bit.

"Well, see, there's an explanation for that." I said as I charged my horn. All of a sudden, my wings disappeared. They gasped in shock.

"I'm just a regular old unicorn, Mr. Soarin. Me and my friends decided to come up to Cloudsdale to support our friend Rainbow Dash here in the competition. Me and my friend Rarity got wings, the others just were able to walk to clouds." I explained to them. Soarin nodded in understanding.

"I see. Well hey kid, I still do owe you. If you ever find yourself with that spell on you and you come to Cloudsdale, seek me out. We'll hang out or something." He told me with a smile.

I chuckled. "Might just take you up on that, Mr. Soarin." I then saw them bow suddenly. I turned and saw it was due to Princess Celestia. I too bowed out of respect.

Twilight spoke up first. "Princess."

Princess Celestia smiled. "Hello, Twilight Sparkle, and hello to your friends too." She said as she smiled to all of us.

Rarity sighed. "Princess Celestia, I am sorry I ruined the competition. Rainbow Dash here really is the best flyer in Equestria." She said with some...urgency in her voice, as if she owed it to Dash to rectify her mistakes.

Princess Celestia nodded. "I know she is, my dear. That's why, for her incredible act of bravery and her spectacular sonic rainboom, I'm presenting the grand prize for Best Young Flyer to this year's winner, Miss Rainbow Dash!" She said as two ponies put a crown on Dash, and the crowd uproariously cheered.

Rainbow was happier than I would have thought possible. "Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygoshohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh!" She went once again.

Princess Celestia then spoke. "So Twilight Sparkle, did you learn anything about friendship from this experience?"

Twilight nodded. " I did Princess, but I think Rarity learned even more than me."

Rarity smiled. "I certainly did. I learned how important it is to keep your hooves on the ground, and be there for your friends." She said wisely. I smiled and hugged her.

"Well said, Rare." I said as we hugged.

"Excellent. Well done, Rarity." The Princess approved.

Rainbow then spoke. "This really is the best day ever!" Then, the boys from earlier came up to her.

"Uhh, hey, Rainbow Crash."

"Dash!" His friend corrected.

"Oh! Uhh... Sorry. Rainbow Dash. Uhh, we just wanted to congratulate you on winning the competition." He congratulated.

"That sonic rainboom was awesome!" Another boy added.

Rainbow chuckled. "Heh, thanks, guys."

"Uhh, we're really sorry we gave you such a hard time before." He said in humility.

"Aww, that's okay. Don't worry about it." She said, accepting their apology.

"Hey. Do you want to hang out with us? Maybe you could show us how you did that incredible trick!" He proposed. Dash turned to look at the Wonderbolts, and they flew away together.

"Sorry, boys... But I've got plans!" She said to them as they flew away. I chuckled.

"Well, I hope she sure does have fun with her idols." I said as I watched them go. "This has been a great day for me too. Being able to fly... it was amazing." I turned to Twilight, walked to her, and hugged her.

"Thank you, Twilight. I know casting this spell took a lot out of you, but this was so amazing for me. Thank you." I said as I hugged her tightly. She smiled.

"It was nothing Jordan, I'm glad you had fun. We should all be going home now though." She said. I smiled.

"You guys take the balloon, I'll see you there!" I said as I ran towards the edge of the cloud. Once I did, the girls gasped, including the princess.

"Jordan, WAIT!" Rarity called after me. I then jumped off the cloud, free falling to the depths below. What the girls didn't know is there was a lake directly underneath us. I rotated midfall, and I saw them staring down at me from the edge of the cloud with dropped jaws.

I smirked up at them a bit then rotated again, also shifting my weight forwards so I was diving headfirst. Then, I hit the water. I slammed into the water, creating a huge tidal wave splash. I went 10 or so feet in, but I was able to swim up and out easily.

I chuckled as I got to shore. That was loads of fun, I always did want to try that. I shook the water off of me, and walked southwest to town. Once I got there, I walked to my house, unlocked the door, and walked inside. Elise saw me and attacked me with kisses.

"You look like ya had a crazy day, ah won't even ask." She said with a chuckle. I rolled me eyes.

"Good, it's a long story." I said as I walked to the kitchen. I got some food to eat, then went to the living room.

"I'm going to sleep, Elise. I'll see you." I said as I plopped onto the couch, rolling onto my side and drifting to sleep. I didn't have a lot on my mind, I was too happy from today's events. This was an amazing day, being able to fly. I just wish I could have kept those wings. That was my last thought before I fell asleep.

Author's Note

Heya everypony. I hope you loved this chapter. With that, we are all caught up on both websites! I hope you enjoyed the read, and i'll see you at chapter 20 for The Stare Master! Tata for now!