Author's Note
SPOILER!!!
I know there’s already an episode where Rainbow Dash joins the Wonderbolts,
but this is not the same. She’s not nicknamed “Crash”. I changed it up for the purpose of my own twists and ideas.
Prologue
The sun had just risen and Rainbow Dash had just arrived in Cloudsdale, her saddlebag on her back. She landed on the runway and looked around, spotting Spitfire nearby. She trotted up to Spitfire and opened her mouth to introduce herself.
“Rainbow Dash!” Spitfire said before Rainbow could speak, “Glad you could make it,” She hoof bumped Rainbow, “The barracks are over there,” She pointed to a nearby building. “Go get changed and meet us for practice in 5 minutes.” She turned away from Rainbow and blew her whistle as some ponies who were flying by.
Rainbow Dash trotted over to the barracks and changed into her uniform. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. “I’ve finally made it,” She said to herself. “I’m a Wonderbolt!” She flew up and did a backflip, landing gracefully on the ground. She tucked away her saddlebag in a locker and then sped back outside to join the others in practice.
Spitfire blew her whistle and all the Wonderbolts gathered around her to hear the itinerary for the day. She pulled out a clipboard and read off it, reading and explaining the drills. Each of the Wonderbolts committed the order of the drills to memory and when Spitfire blew her whistle again they all took off into the air and started doing their drills, working specifically on synchronization.
Around noon they took a short break to drink some water and stretch. They read over the second set of drills and got started. Rainbow Dash kept anxiously looking at the position of the sun, at Spitfire and at the other Wonderbolts, wondering when practice would be over. Her wings were aching and sweat was dripping off every inch of her body. She was struggling to breathe, her chest heaving in and out as she tried to catch her breath.
She pushed herself even harder and made it through the end of the day. The sun had just touched the horizon when Spitfire blew her whistle again and all of the Wonderbolts landed on the runway.
“Good job today team,” Spitfire said, patting each of the Wonderbolts on their backs. “Now off to the barracks to rest up for practice tomorrow.”
The other Wonderbolts trotted happily to the barracks to shower and rest. Rainbow Dash groaned to herself and lagged behind, her body aching. Her wings were throbbing from the pain, and her lungs ached from all the heavy breathing. While she usually flies most places she slowly walked to the barracks. She took off her uniform and hopped into the shower. She washed the sweat out of her fur and rinsed off. She then dried off with a towel and exited the shower.
She walked into her room and collapsed on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. “The others didn’t seem like that practice was such a big deal. But I feel like I’m dying.” She sighed and rolled over, putting her face in the pillow. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to survive being in the Wonderbolts…” She thought sadly.
She suddenly sat up in bed, “No, I have to push myself. This has been my dream since I was just a filly.” She said aloud to herself. “I can do this!” She stretched and laid back in her bed and closed her eyes. Both anxious and excited for practice tomorrow.
One of the Wonderbolts rushed down faster than any of the others and caught Rainbow Dash not far from the ground. The others stared down at them from the clouds in awe. The impact of being caught woke her up. She opened her eyes and looked up at the pony who caught her. She couldn’t tell who it was, he was wearing his Wonderbolt uniform and glasses which covered his face.
He held her in his forehooves and carried her back up to the clouds. He set her down on her hooves and then pushed up his glasses to reveal his face, “Are you okay?” He asked her.
“Soarin…” She said staring up at him. Ever since Soarin had joined the Wonderbolts, Rainbow had had the biggest crush on him. And here he was, standing right in front of her, having just saved her life. “Umm, yeah. Yeah, I’m okay…” She said awkwardly, looking down at the cloud beneath her hooves.
“Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh… That was so embarrassing…” She thought to herself, her face turning a bright red.
Soarin looked down at her, his eyebrows knitted together in worry. His cheeks were flushed a light red. Rainbow didn’t know if it was because of the practice or because he liked her too. Before she could thank him for saving her, Spitfire darted over, “Dash! Are you okay?” She asked, she checked Rainbow Dash all over for injuries, her face expressing concern for her safety.
“Yes ma’am,” Rainbow said sounding slightly defeated, slightly ashamed that she had fallen asleep and disrupted practice. Spitfire seemed to relax a little.
“Good. I have to say that I am very disappointed that you didn’t take the proper precautions and tell me that you weren’t fit for practice today,” She said sternly. “But I am glad that you’re okay,” Spitfire smiled at her. But her expression stiffened again, “You need to get some rest. From now on, you’re going to have to build up your strength until you can keep up with the others during practice. I’ll lay out some separate drills for you to do tomorrow.”
With her expression still stern and in ‘coach mode’ she turned to face Soarin and asked, “Soarin, will you take her to the barracks?”
“Yes ma’am,” Soarin said with a nod. He led Rainbow to the barracks and to her room, staying close to her. “Look, Dash… Being a Wonderbolt is tough, it took me a while to catch up with the others during my first week too. There’s no need to be embarrassed. Ask any one of us, the story of all of our first week is just about the same,” He said with a smile.
A slight blush creeped up onto her face. “Thanks…” She said softly.
“And besides,” He turned to face her as they walked, “Practice isn’t meant to build strength. It’s meant to maintain the strength and endurance you already have and to work on synchronization with the rest of the team,” He smiled at her, “You just need some more time to build up the strength and endurance equal to the rest of us. Which shouldn’t take too long considering how tough and determined you are.” He smiled at her again.
Rainbow Dash smiled back, “Thanks Soarin. That makes me feel a lot better.” She said as they walked side by side back to her room. She was still really tired and a little dazed from her fall earlier but she tried to maintain her balance as to not collapse again.
He walked into her room with her, helped her take off her uniform and put her into bed. “Rainbow Dash…” He paused. “I just wanted to say that I’ve always kind of-”
He was interrupted by a loud snore coming from Rainbow. He looked at her and smiled, he stared at her for a minute, just watching her sleep. He heard Spitfire blow the whistle from outside and he hurried back outside for practice.
He trotted out of her room and the barracks to get back outside to finish practice. He pulled his glasses back over his eyes and flew into the air. “I wish I had the guts to tell Rainbow Dash that I like her…” He thought to himself.
Soarin had had a crush on Rainbow Dash since the day they met at the Grand Galloping Gala, ever since she saved his apple pie. He was impressed by her speed, bravery and confidence. None of the Wonderbolts noticed, but he did. He had mentioned her to Spitfire that night and since then the Wonderbolts had kept an eye on her.
At first his crush was just small, but it grew each and every time he saw her. Now that they were both Wonderbolts and they saw each other everyday, he didn’t know how much longer he could hide his crush from her. It became harder to hide everyday because everyday it grew more and more.
