Breeze in the Storm

The light emanating from Celestia’s bright sun peered over the horizon as it reflected off the star atop the Castle of Friendship just on the outskirts of Ponyville. Residents of the small Earth pony village had begun to awake and had started their morning routines. An orange Earth pony dawned her straw hat and headed into Sweet Apple Acres, A white Unicorn began to gather the materials needed for her day of filling orders inside Carousel Boutique, and a certain mulberry colored Alicorn was reorganizing her library for the umpteenth time; much to her student’s dismay. Every home, whether it be a small cottage or a large castle, began to spring alive… all except for one. A certain cloud manor right outside the town had remained dark, cold, and empty. This was no surprise to any of the ponies in Ponyville for they all knew where this specific rainbow-maned Pegasus was: Rainbow Dash was performing with the Wonderbolts as they travelled Equestria on their Stunts of the Summer Tour. All of her friends knew that this was a dream come true for her and, sure, they had less time to be together as friends, but they knew that she was doing what she loved and was happy. They all could just imagine how excited she was for today’s show.

“Crash! Wake up!” boomed Spitfire’s commanding voice through the hotel room’s door, “We are meeting in the lobby in ten and leaving in fifteen.”

“Uggggghhhh…” Rainbow Dash let out a long sigh as she rolled out of bed and staggered towards her closet. She grabbed the essentials: Flight suit and goggles, a few water bottles for the practice ahead, and a few pens in case she ran into any fans. With all these items placed within a Wonderbolts duffel bag, she entered the bathroom and flipped on the lights. The reflection that stared back wore a face of pure exhaustion. She was used to these early practices by now and usually faced them with more excitement than the other Bolts. What she wasn’t used to, however, were their travel schedule. It hadn’t dawned on her until she boarded the train after their second show in Fillydelphia just how taxing this really was. She always saw the team perform at high levels on a consistent basis, so she always thought she would ease right into it. C’mon, she was Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty and the savior of Equestria on more than one occasion, these long tours would be easier than clearing the skies in Ponyville. The expression from the mirror proved the contrary. Dash splashed water on her face and tried to rub the sleep from her eyes.

Ok, I’m tired, she thought to herself, what am I saying?! I can’t be tired! Those ponies are counting on us for great show. We can’t let a little lack a sleep take that from them. With that she looked back at the mirror, nodded to herself, and grabbed of bag. She headed out the door and trotted to stairs and, in turn, the lobby.

Ok, Rainbow, put on a brave face… let’s at least not look extremely tired…”

“Jezz, Crash, you look extremely tired,” teased Fleetfoot once Dash entered the lobby.

Well, off to a great start…  Rainbow thought to herself. She looked around the Mare-iot Waterfront Hotel to see the rest of the team: Rapidfire was leaning against a wall talking with Blaze, Soarin and Misty Fly were in the midst of a conversation as they ate their breakfast at one of the tables in the lobby, and standing in front of Dash were Fleetfoot and Spitfire looking at her as she stared blankly back.

“Uh, Rainbow Dash? You still with us?” asked Spitfire, cutting through the groggy haze that had taken over Dash.

“Wha- Oh, yea, yea, I’m great,” she replied, attempting and horribly failing to play off her apparent fatigue.

“Are you sure you’re not too out of it to practice?”

“Huh? Me? Ha, you must really not know me if you’re sayin- hmph!” she was cut off as she walked face first into the front desk.

“Um… Spitfire should we fly to the practice grounds or should we be walking to make sure she doesn’t get hurt?” Fleetfoot asked with a hint of sarcasm.

“Well babysitting isn’t really in the job description, but we’re probably going to need to hold her hoof to get her to practice.” replied Spitfire.

The two had a small laugh at this. Rainbow Dash wasn’t going to take it. This teasing quickly turned her sleep deprived eyes into the confident and bashful glare that she was known for.

“Like I said I’m fine,” Rainbow replied, “I’m so fine that I bet I could beat all you to the stadium.” Within the next second, both Fleetfoot’s and Spitfire’s heads snapped towards the confident mare, showcasing devilish grins.

“Whatcha wager?” Spitfire said.

“Um… well, if I win, you let me finish the show with any move I want.” Dash replied with a boastful smirk.

“Ok, and if any of us win, you’ve got to treat the whole team to dinner at any restaurant in town.” Dash pondered this. Could she afford to pay for a full team of world class athletes at some high end restaurant?

Well I guess I just won’t let that happen. “You’re on!”

Overhearing the conversation, Misty Fly interjected, “Ha! Well, it has been awhile since I’ve had a free meal.”

“Sure Soarin would love to grab some food without having to pay.” Added Fleetfoot, nudging the blue-coated stallion. Soarin gave her an annoyed look and raised a hoof as if to argue, before quickly putting it back. Dash let out a single chuckle at this. Guess he realized that fact wasn’t up for debate.

“Well if that’s settled, let’s get going then,” said Spitfire as she motioned towards the main entrance. “Hope you got plenty of Bits, Crash.”

The Wonderbolts stepped out of the hotel to take in the early Baltimare air. They all loaded their bags and equipment into a small carriage to transport them to the stadium.

“You know what, you guys can fly, I’ll take one for the team and ride with the gear,” said Rapidfire. “You know, make sure it gets there safe.” Spitfire rolled her eyes and let him go. After loading her bag into the carriage, Rainbow looked around at the surrounding buildings and landmarks. She was used to big cities especially after her many visits to Manehattan and Canterlot. This was her first time in this city, however, and since she was in such a daze after getting off the train, also the first time she was able to take in the sights. She was so caught up in looking at them, she hadn’t realized the rest of the team had begun to make their way to the stadium and towards their free meal on the town… All except for one.

“First time in Baltimare?” said Soarin.

“Yea, not usually a sight-seer,” replied Rainbow Dash, “but there’s something special in seeing or trying something new, you know.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I get it,” Soarin said, “But unless you’re looking for a bank to rob so you can pay tonight, you might want to catch up with the team.”

“Huh?! Wha-” With that, a rainbow stream of light shot towards the direction of the stadium. Soarin let a small laugh as he stretched his wings and followed the rest of the Bolts.

Rainbow Dash quickly caught up with the rest of the Bolts, who were flying at a leisurely pace due to their head start on her. Before they realized how quickly Dash was coming up behind them, she had already overtaken them, sending Fleetfoot spinning out as she passed. Within a minute, Dash was long gone and the stadium was in sight. Once she could see it, she decided to slow down and began to think which move she was going to in the show. The Sonic Rainboom was a little too cliché. What about the Buccaneer Blaze? No, the Super-Speed Strut. Maybe that new move she was thinking of. While in the midst of thought, she heard a thunderous boom. Rainbow Dash paused and looked around. Not a single cloud in the sky. Where could that have come from? Just then, a blue dot came in view and was slowly but surely getting larger. It was when she saw it was Soarin that she let a short yell made a break for the stadium, but just as she was about to make it, she was sent spinning into the turf within the stadium. When she shook off the landing she saw a hoof belonging to Soarin offering to help her up.

“How- what- yo- You caught up so fast!” Rainbow Dash said as Soarin helped her up. She noticed it was just the two of them at the stadium as the rest of the team were still on their way. The only other pony who was there was Rapidfire along with the rest of the gear; however, he was too far away to overhear their conversation and had no interest from getting up from his bench.

Soarin looked down at the mare with a grin, “Well, I really only wanted to be second place,” he said was he stretched out his tired wings, “so if you hadn’t gotten tired at the end you would have won.”

“Hey! I wasn’t tired!”

“Then why did you slow down?” he asked genuinely. Dash was reluctant to tell him that it was her ego that cost her the race.

“Well... I was so confident I had won that I began thinking of what move to close the show with…”

Soarin let out a chuckle. “The ever bold and brash Rainbow Dash!” His laughter eventually led to her laughing with him.

“Yea, I guess I could have waited. But I have so many awesome moves that picking one would have taken the whole practice.”

“Oh, really? Mind sharing some of these daring maneuvers?” Rainbow didn’t expect him to be interested in her ideas. She always knew her stunt concepts were awesome, but as still the new member to the team, she never really thought they’d listen to her, especially after what happened in Ponyville.

“Umm… well, I’ve got this one idea. It has the team making a circle around Spitfire as I spiral around the outside as we fly up into the sky, having a rainbow streak circle around the team as we go up into the clouds.’ It was obvious that Dash was getting caught up in her concept and was loving every second of it. The more she told something that had only been within her mind made it seem that it was getting closer to a reality. “Then, all of you guys would come out of the sky and create a Wonderbolt symbol which I would fly through as I do a Sonic Rainboom!” As she said this, she jumped for joy as she pictured the entire scene. When she looked down at Soarin, stood in place with widen eyes. She realized what she was doing.

“I mean, it’s just a stupid idea that I thought up… nothing compared to what you guys think of.”

Soarin finally broke his silence, “That actually sounds pretty awesome!”

“Yea like I said, stupid id- wait, what?!” Rainbow Dash couldn’t believe that he was agreeing with him. She was always confident when around friends but now this was a Wonderbolt, one of her heroes and teammates, thinking her trick was awesome!

“I’m serious! This could be a great close to a show!”

“Really?” She couldn’t believe that her idea was actually getting so much attention, even if it was just one pony. She didn’t know what to say or do besides put on a big grin. When she noticed it, she did her best to hide from him because she didn’t want her prideful and self-assured image to be any more damaged than it already was. She didn’t do a great job of it apparently.

“I don’t know what you’re so happy about, Crash!” Spitfire landed on the turf field as the rest of the team followed suit. “Tonight, you’re leaving dinner much lighter than the rest of us!”

“Yea, really appreciate the win for the team, Soarin,” Fleetfoot said as she landed next to him, giving him a nudge.

“Ugh,” Rainbow Dash let out a low sigh. After her talk with Soarin so completely forgot the stakes in the race. Not only did she lose, which as annoying her the more she thought about it, but she was paying for her team tonight.

“Yea, thanks for that Soarin,” she said and also giving him a nudge.

“Ok, first: stop with the nudging,” Soarin said, “and second: Spitfire, I need to ask you something.” A stepped towards the Wonderbolt captain as she landed.

“Um, Ok? What’s up, Soarin?” she asked.

“I know Dash lost the race, but could you still let decide the finish of the show?”

“What?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Was he really pitching her idea to Spitfire?

“Well, what does she have in mind?” Soarin started to explain Dash’s maneuver as Rainbow stood off the side, trying to contain her excitement that her idea was being endorsed. While she attempted to let him explain it, she couldn’t help chiming in to correct him on small mistakes he made during his explanation.

“…Then, she finishes off with one of her Sonic Rainbooms.” Soanin finally finished. Spitfire looked at him and then over at Rainbow Dash. She stepped towards her looked her in the eyes.

“Alright, it’s in.” The grin on Dash’s face could reach for miles if her face allowed it as she shot in the air and began to do her infamous victory dance.

“Aw, yeah! I got a move in the Wonderbolts show! And it’s awesome! And it closes… out the show!”

“Hey!” Spitfire yelled up to the celebrating Dash, “If this new move is in, we better get to practicing it.”

“Uh… Yes, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am.” Rainbow Dash said as she descended.

“Man, this move is definitely going to work up an appetite.” Fleetfoot said as she followed the Wonderbolt captain.

Ok, maybe Soarin was right about looking for a bank…

Soarin. He was still standing there with her. She was extremely thankful towards him. He supported her stunt idea, even though the two of them weren’t very close friends, but she never would have presented her idea to the rest of the team because she wasn’t close friends with them, either. So, why did she share the move with Soarin? Why did she trust him more than the rest of the team? She didn’t know, but what she did know was that this dinner might give her a chance to become closer with the team. Maybe it won’t be that bad…

“Rainbow Dash, you ready to go?” Soarin asked.

“Yeah, let’s get practicing,” she replied. “And Soarin…”

“No need to thank me,” he said, “Just pay the bill for all my pies tonight, OK?” With that, she rolled her eyes and the two blue Pegasi went out and joined their team to prepare for their show and their debut of Dash’s move.