Rainbow Dash relaxed into the warm whirling waters of the Wonderbolts' locker room hot tub. During her first few days at training camp, she wondered why the locker room was equipped with a hot tub, but after those first few days of her intense training regime, she realized how relaxing the water was to aching wings. Air sprints, circle whirls, tornadoes, as well as long days of studying the formation books time and time again. Rainbow never thought she'd have to get studying advice from Twilight Sparkle to get into the Wonderbolts! Rainbow Dash never worked this hard in her entire life, but she was sure the hard work would pay off when she was finally wearing that blue and gold uniform.
“Hey Dash!” Spitfire said as she walked by dash, peeling off her jumpsuit.
“Hi Spitfire! Did you see the practice show?”
“Oh yeah!” Spitfire said as she turned on the shower beside Rainbow. “You sure can fly, but you were out-flying a few of the formations.”
“Well, I was just trying to stand out!”
Spirfire laughed as she shook the water out of her mane. “Rainbow, the point of flying in formation is not to stand out.”
“Well, what do you think my chances are?” Rainbow asked, emerging from the tub, stretching her aching wings.
Spitfire hung her jumpsuit in her locker for the cleaning crews to wash. “Sprinter doesn’t talk to me about that kind of thing, and even if he did, it wouldn't be right for me to say.”
“Well, there's five of us left and four spots open...”
“Yep. And even if you don't make it this year, you can always try out next year.”
Rainbow shot in front of Spitfire, blocking her path, splattering her with water still clinging to her wings. “Why do you say that? Did you hear something? I'm not gonna make it am I?!”
“Rainbow, I don't know! Like I said that's all up to Sprinter. Just don't worry about it. No matter what happens, you're a good flier. One of the best I've ever worked with.” Rainbow had been working with Spitfire the entire three weeks, but the yellow mare's praise still made her giggle like a fan girl.
“Rainbow Dash, please report to my office with your formation book” Sprinter's voice crackled over the PA system.
“Oh, coach needs me!” Rainbow said, drying herself off and grabbing the formation book from her locker.
Rainbow Dash pushed her way into the cramped coach’s office. Sprinter, was one of many of the Wonderbolt's trainers, handling recruitment and the b-squad specifically. He sat behind his weathered desk in the office, flipping through his notes and several copies of the formation book. The walls in the cramped office were covered in old yellowing pictures of the stallion flying with the Wonderbolts, with some newer pictures of him welcoming in some of the Wonderbolt's biggest stars, like Soarin, Spitfire, and Fleet Foot. He didn't look a day older than the pictures on the walls, and had a streak of white through his light blue mane.
“Have a seat, Dash.” Sprinter said, waving across his cluttered desk. Rainbow Dash smiled widely, plopping down in front of the desk and setting down her formation book.
“Dash, how long have you been here?”
“Three weeks, Coach.” Rainbow said obediently. “Three and a half if you include the couple of nights I spent at the try-out field to get ahead in line.”
“You are certainly dedicated,” Sprinter said with a sigh. “You know, when we start doing conditioning, a lot of folks actually back out. And we cut people almost every week. When this process started, we had over one hundred ponies. Now we're down to four.”
“No, no, coach. We have five, including me.” Rainbow Dash corrected.
Sprinter shook his head slowly. “No, we're down to four. We only have four spots on the final team, so I had to cut somebody. I'm sorry Dash- you're off the team.”
Rainbow felt as if her stomach dropped through the floor, and her mouth hung open in disbelief. “Wha-- what?”
“You made it this far, Dash; that's not to shabby.”
“But...this is my life! My dream!” Dash said, fighting tears welling up in her eyes. “Wasn't I good enough?”
Sprinter smiled weakly, “Dash, you're one of the best fliers I've ever seen.”
“Well what's the problem?!” Rainbow Dash said, now fighting back the oncoming sobs. “Was it because I was late?”
“No Dash, you were late to roll call a few times, but that's not it...”
Rainbow looked at her hooves, “Well what was it?”
Sprinter ran his hooves through his mane; the crying mare in front of him was tearing his heart out. “Look, it's like this-” he began, reluctantly. “There's more to being a Wonderbolt than just being a good flier. You have all the ability, but you just don't follow the routines.”
“I just want to get noticed!...”
“Dash, the Wonderbolt's routines are actually very mathematical- A plus B equals C. I flew with the Wonderbolts, A-Squad, for fifteen years and each night we did the same formations and movements. When we fly in formation, we're not six pegasi, we're one formation. There's absolutely no room for showboating or improvising,” Sprinter slammed the formation look back down angrily, “Dammit, Dash, I've told you this all before! I really hoped you'd get it before I had to make a cut! You have more raw talent than any of these other fliers, but you just can't get around that ego of yours.”
Dash cringed from Sprinter's rage, feeling like she wanted to crawl into a corner and hide. “If you give me a chance- ”
“I'm sorry Dash, you've had three weeks worth of chances.” Sprinter said, feeling pretty low himself. “In the end, I gotta make a cut. And I hate doing it, but you're just not Wonderbolt's material. I gotta think of the team in the end. It's not like you don't have the skills: it took Rapid Fire two tries to get on the A-squad, Spitfire spent two years on the B-squad before she became a headliner, hell, I quit my first year of training camp and it took me two more years to get the guts to come back and try again. This ain't the end Rainbow Dash. You've got the skill and the guts, all you need is a little team spirit.”
"I just worked so hard..."
Sprinter put his arm around the pegasus's neck, “Look girl, I know it hurts right now, but you'll feel better in time. Why not get with some friends down at the weather service, do some local shows and learn a bit about flying as a team? Come back next year, and we'll try this again!”
Rainbow internally winced about going though the try-out process a second time. The last few week were exhilarating and fun, but very challenging at the same time. To get to where she was, this close to succeeding, she'd had to sleep outside in line, endure 16-hours days of conditioning and flying, all after studying formations and maneuvers all night. She'd done things that even she though impossible, learned how to do tricks she'd never even knew existed. Rainbow had no doubt the second time would be just as hard, if not harder. But she also knew nothing in Equestria could stop her from being there next year
“You really would let me come back?” Rainbow said timidly.
“Dash, I would kick your plot between your ears if you didn't!” Sprinter laughed, “But I advise between now and then, you do something to learn about team work.”
Rainbow let herself smile, “I will." As she turned to leave, she asked, "Can I still call you coach?”
Sprinter laughed, “That' what my jacket says!”
Going back to the mundane work of pushing clouds was possibly the worse part of not making the team. Rainbow Dash had gotten used to waking up every morning to conditioning, then putting on the jumpsuits for practice. Now, shaking out rain and pushing clouds felt so monotonous and dull, Rainbow almost wanted to cry. On the bright side, after a few more hours of work, Rainbow could head over to Fluttershy's cabin to be re-united with her pet tortoise, Tank. She'd missed her little friend, and half of her letters from Wonderbolts training camp were to Fluttershy, asking how her pet was. As Dash was finishing up her duties, she spotted Scootaloo sitting on a cloud nearby, enthusiastically waving at Rainbow who flew to meet her.
“Hiya squirt,” Rainbow said, greeting her young friend.
“Hi, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo said with a smile, “Mom just said you were back in town. I can't believe the Wonderbolts didn't take you!”
Rainbow Dash gave a half-hearted smile, “Don't sweat it, Scoot. It's their loss.” Of course Rainbow was devastated, but she would never let Scootaloo know that. Half for pride, and half for not wanting the young pegasus to feel bad for her hero. Dash did care for her enthusiastic little admirer and president of her fan club.
“Mom's writing an article about it for Flight Illustrated,” Scootaloo said, “She wanted me to ask if you wanted to make some comments.”
“Your mom writes for Flight Illustrated?”
“Yeah, she probably loves stunt flying more than me and you put together!” Scootaloo said with a laugh.
“You know, I don't think I ever met your parents,” Rainbow realized.
“Well, she said if you wanna stop by her office tomorrow morning, she'd love to hear about your time in training camp.”
Rainbow tapped her chin, a thought coming to her. “Say Scoot, does your mom do any stunt flying herself?”
“She used to fly with Team Blitz in Phillydelphia, but she says she likes being a writer better.”
Sprinter's advice to Rainbow about starting her own stunt group kept ringing in her head. If she put together her own stunt group, she could really learn a lot before training camp next year. She knew plenty of talented fliers in the weather service. Perhaps the group did well enough, Rainbow could get some special consideration at the next try-outs.
“Alright, let you mom know I'll be there.”
Scootaloo gave an enthusiastic hop, “Okay Rainbow Dash! Her office is above the cafe in the square. Look for the door marked 'Firefly'”
Rainbow smiled distantly, “Firefly...that would look good on a marquis next to me...”
“Huh?”
“Nothing, Squirt. Just let her know I'll be there.”
Fluttershy poured two cups of tea for herself and Rainbow, but the latter was occupied playing with Tank, whom she just re-united with. Rainbow was so happy to see Tank happy again, and though he couldn't talk, it was obvious that he had missed his master.
“He was worried sick about you,” Fluttershy said, “Every day he'd sit by the door and hope you'd come home.”
“Well, I'm home now, little guy.” Dash said, snuggling the beaming tortoise.
“I took him flying as often as I could,” Fluttershy said as she sipped her tea. “I had to send his flight harness off to be repaired. It's due back today.”
“What happened? He didn't crash, did he?”
“Nothing like that, just got tangled in some trees when he flew a little to fast.”
“To fast?!” Rainbow asked, a grin creeping onto her face. “That's my boy!"
There was a knock at the door and Fluttershy trotted to answer it. “That must be the harness now.”
Fluttershy opened the door to see a smiling blonde-haired pegasus handing her a box. “Delivery for Fluttershy!”
Fluttershy took the package, “Thank you so much, Derpy.”
The greyish mare scowled, producing a clipboard for Fluttershy to sign. “I'm Cloud Kicker!” She grumbled around the clipboard as Fluttershy signed. “Why does everyone think I'm Derpy?”
“You two look alike!” Rainbow finally said.
Cloud Kicker looked at Rainbow with resentment, “We look completely different! Derpy is blueish gray, I'm grayish blue. She has a bright blonde mane mine is dark blonde, not to mention my eyes are violet and her's are yellow.”
“But you work the same job; it's easy to get you two mixed up.”
“We do not work the same job!” Cloud Kicker corrected, “Derpy delivers the mail, I ship dedicated freight. Derpy goes through the mail service but I deliver direct. I flew this box all the way from Cloudsdale and it only took me an hour.”
Rainbow Dash's interest was peaked, “That's pretty fast.”
“Faster than the mail,” Cloud Kicker bragged.
“Say Cloud, you know anything about stunt flying?”
“I was with the Junior Speedsters,” Cloud Kicker said, “Made it to their top team three years in a row. Never did much after flight school though.”
"I'm thinking of putting together my own little stunt team for some local shows- would you be interested at all?
“Been a while since I did any of that, Rainbow, but it sounds like fun.”
“How about we meet at my house tomorrow after work so we can talk about it?”
“Sure thing, Rainbow, your on. Anybody else coming by?”
“One other, maybe.”
“Well for a good stunt team we'll need at least four.”
“Then provided Firefly is interested, we only need one more.”
“Well what about Fluttershy there?” Cloud Kicker asked. “She flies pretty well.”
Flutteshy hid her face behind a wing, “Oh no, um, I can't do any stunts, and even if I could I wouldn't want to do it in front of a crowd...”
“Well, we've got time to find somebody.” Rainbow said, “I gotta go by Sugar Cube Corner to get some of Tank's turtle-treats,”
“Tortoise treats,” Fluttershy corrected.
“Whatever.”
Pinkie Pie and Pokey Pierce pulled the last batch of tortoise treats out of the oven, setting the baked treats on a cooling rack. Pinkie was certainly excited to have her friend home, but felt bad that Rainbow was cut. She planned a 'Don't be Sad About Not Making the Wonderbolts, Dashie, Because Your Friends Still Love You' Party for Rainbow, but the pegasus assured her she preferred not to have one. Still, Pinkie insisted on putting on baking a small cake for the pegasus with the words “You're still awesome Rainbow” written on it in rainbow colored frosting.
“There's Rainbow now,” Pokey said, carrying the box of treats out front, Pinkie following close behind with the feel better cake.
Pinkie immediately tackled Rainbow in a huge hug, with Pokey standing well back, knowing Pinkie's group hugs were hard to escape from once you fell into them.
“I'm sooooo sorry Dashie,” Pinkie said, “Those big mean meanies not letting you fly with them!”
Rainbow blushed at the attention, “It's all right Pinkie. I've just gotta try again next year.”
“Pinkie baked you a feel better cake,” Pokey offered.
“Aww, thanks Pinkie Pie!” Dash said, “I missed you guys.”
“We got Tanky-wanky's treats right over here” Pinkie said.
Just then, everyone in the room heard a loud, joyful squeal outside, circling the building at an alarming rate.
“Oh bananas,” Pinkie said, her voice instantly more solemn “It's Surprise...”
Rainbow dashed to the window, seeing a blur spinning around the building and giggling, just before a white coated pegasus burst through the doors and spun around like a small tornado. The pegasus looked almost like a flying version of Pinkie Pie, minus the bright pink colors. Even her cutie mark was similar, but the balloons on her flank were a dark purple and arranged in a circle.
“Hi'ya Pinkie!” Surprise said, “I was in town and I thought I'd stop by to see you!”
“Well thank you for stopping by,” Pokey said.
“Wow, are you two related or something?” Rainbow asked.
“She wishes,” Pinkie grumbled.
“No silly, we just look alike!”
“I look much more like me than you do!” Pinkie shot back, “You so rip off my style!”
“Pinkie, honey, just be nice.” Pokey said.
“That was some pretty impressive flying,” Rainbow said, “How fast can you go?”
“Thank you!” Surprise said with a gleeful smile, “I guess I'm pretty fast. When I was with the Wonderbolts, I was a bit faster. Pinkie's yummy cupcakes made me pack on a few pounds since then!”
“You were with the Wonderbolts? I've never heard of you.”
“Only the B-Squad,” Pinkie pointed out curtly.
“I was only an understudy,” Surprise admitted, “I did small-time shows and filled in when somepony got sick, but it was sooooo boring just doing the same routine over and over again!”
“How'd you like to be with a local team? One where we can all do something creative?”
“That sounds like fun!”
"Well, how about you stop by my place tomorrow night? I've got a few others stopping by; maybe we could get something going!”
"Count me in!”
Pinkie Pie took Rainbow aside, “Dashie, are you sure you wanna work with Surprise? She's all giggly and random!”
“That's the pot calling the kettle black.”
“Silly Dashie- cookware doesn’t talk!”
“Pinkie, I need talent, and she's got talent!”
“Don't say I didn't warn you Rainbow", Pinkie grumbled as she trotted behind the counter and shooed Surprise away from her coltfriend.
Rainbow hated getting up early in the morning, but Firefly wanted to interview her just after breakfast. So, after a generous helping of pancakes at the cafe, the mare trotted up the stairs of the nearby office knocked on the door marked Firefly. She was just about to push open the door when a thin pegasus stallion wearing a tie tapped her on the shoulder. The stallion had a neatly combed mane, closely cropped to his head, a pair of thick black glasses and an adding machine as a cutie mark.
“Are you Rainbow Dash?” he asked, in a nasally voice, much deeper than Rainbow had expected.
“The one and only!”
“My name is Hayek; I'm Scootaloo's father. She talks about you all the time.”
“Nice to meet you!” Rainbow said, trying to hide her amazement that the stallion in front of her, who could be easily be described as a “dweeb” could father someone a wild as Scootaloo.
“Scootaloo and Firefly talk about you all the time, it's nice to finally meet you,”
“Uh...likewise, do you like stunt flying too?”
“Not really, I'm a financial planner!”
“Wow that sounds...exciting...”
“Oh it is!” Hayak said. “I wonder Rainbow, perhaps you'd like to see me about putting together an investment plan sometime. After all, retirement is always just around the corner!”
“Sure, maybe we could do that sometime.”
“I'll look forward to it. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to meet a client. A pleasure meeting you.”
Rainbow watched the stallion leave, “He seems like a party animal,” she quipped to herself.
Inside the office Dash was greeted with walls full of writing awards and certificates of merit. Aside from the Daring Do series, Dash never liked reading much, even magazines about flying and things she enjoyed, but it was still impressive to know that a writer with such merit was living jut above the cafe she got her lunches.
“Ranbow Dash!” A salmon colored pegasus mare said with a smile, “I'm glad you showed up; Scootaloo said you liked to sleep in,”
“Sure do,” Rainbow said, “At training camp they didn't tolerate that though- up 6am every morning no matter what. It's gonna be rough getting back into my nap routine.”
“I know it must be rough being cut like that, but I'd like to hear about Wonderbolts training camp from an insider.”
“Well, there's a few inside things I'm not supposed to talk about,”
“Then just tell me what you can. For example, what is Soarin' like in real life? Does he really love pie as much as people say?”
For about an hour, Rainbow reminisced on her recent experiences flight school. The long days of training, the friends she made, the good and bad times. All the while, Firefly tapped away at a typewriter, only occasionally asking for more details. Of course Rainbow couldn't talk about a few of the Wonderbolt's specifics. Such an old and well-known stunt team had a few trade secrets. Rainbow also left out the details to why she'd been cut. Not so much because she was ashamed of it, just because the pain was still very fresh in her mind. Firefly was respectful enough not to ask about it.
“Well thanks for talking to me about this,” Firefly said, “I can see why my daughter follows you around. You know she wants to fly with the Wonderbolts someday. I'm sure she's let that on.”
“I heard you were with a group called Team Blitz,”
Firefly got a nostalgic look in her eyes, “Yeah, me and some friends from Phillydelphia. We were quite a set. Flight Illustrated did a spread on us, and we won Best Young Flier in the team category once.”
“So what happened?”
“I met Hayak, fell in love, wanted to raise a family. Can't do that when your doing six shows a week all over Equestria.”
Rainbow was a little nervous now about asking, but she was convinced Firefly was just what she was looking for. “Say, Firefly, I'm putting together a little local group,” Rainbow offered a little reluctantly, “Do weekend gigs, just for kicks!”
“After your experience at the Wonderbolt's training camp, you've gotta know stunt flying isn't always fun.”
Rainbow shrugged, “Maybe that's why I wanna start my own group,” she offered. “I mean, maybe it got a bit too...well, Coach called it 'mathematical'. Why not make it fun? If we're having fun, then everyone else will have fun too.”
“I like how you think,” Firefly said as a smile crept across her face.
“We're meeting tonight, if you're interested.”
“I don't know. I told Hayek I was done with that kinda thing.”
“You're not being gonna be touring or anything, just weekends and stuff.”
“Who do you have so far?”
“Well, there's me, Cloud Kicker and another pegasus named Surprise.”
Firefly let out a laugh, “Cloud Kicker?! She was kicked out of Junior Speedsters after getting in a fight with her coach. Bucked him in the jaw and broke it in four places. Surprise was cut from the Wonderbolts B-Squad when she hit the mayor of Manehatten with a cherry pie. I guess he didn't find it as funny as Surprise did.”
“I didn't know that- ”
“So, you have me, the small timer. You, the reject. Surprise, the has-been, and Cloud Kicker, the thug.”
“I guess...”
“Well, could be worse. I'll be there.”
Just a bit later that night, RD sat on a broad cloud just in front of her cloud home, waiting anxiously for her new stunt team to arrive. Fluttershy, overcome with curiosity herself, had arrived with a few of her bird friends, reasoning that the new stunt team could use some music to perform by. Rainbow was too nice to her dear old friend to let her know that the singing of her birds wouldn't really be appropriate for stunt flying.
“I know I can't fly very well, but I'll help you in any way I can,” Fluttershy said. “Do you need me to cheer?”
“I just want your honest opinion on how we do.” Rainbow said, stretching her wings.
“Are you sure?” Fluttershy said, timidly, “What If you don't fly well?”
“Then let me know!”
Fluttershy blushed, “Rainbow, I don't want to be...judgmental,”
“Just be honest Fluttershy. Nopony will be angry.”
Just then Rainbow caught sight of the three Pegasus she'd spoke to before, all three flying at amazing speed.
“It looks like they're racing!” Fluttershy observed.
Rainbow grinned happily. “Competitive- that's good!”
In the front of the three was Firefly, Cloud Kicker a close second. Surprise seemed less interested in the impromptu race, keeping up with the others but bouncing and spinning happily through the clouds. Firefly's speed was now quite impressive, and Rainbow grinned, thinking she was the easy winner, but Cloud kicker was pushing herself and rapidly catching up.
“Firefly is going a little too fast, isn't she?”
Rainbow's eyes widened as she realized Fluttershy was right. “Firefly! Slow down or your gonna --”
It was just a few seconds to late for Firefly to realize she was flying far to fast to stop. Scootaloo, now visible on her mother's back, leapt off at the last second, tumbling across the ground. Firefly, with no time to stop, careened into one of Rainbow's fountains in front of the house, skipping off and smacking into a wall. Cloud Kicker landed softly, then Surprise touched down gracefully.
“Oh yeah! First place!” Cloud Kicker said doing a victory dance.
“We were racing?” Surprise asked.
Firefly pried herself off the wall, having left a large smudge of rainbow extract on the otherwise white wall. “Hey! I was here first!”
“But you crashed!” Cloud Kicker said, “I win by default.”
“Mom didn't crash!” Scootaloo defended, “She just landed really really fast!”
"Sorry, crashing voids the race!” Cloud Kicker said continuing her dance.
Firefly grumbled, “I was still faster than you...”
Cloud Kicker growled, “You wanna see how fast you'll fly with a fat lip?!”
Rainbow stood in between the two, “Guys! It doesn't matter who won!”
Fluttershy laughed, “Wow Rainbow, it almost sounded like you said it didn't matter who won.”
“I did!” Rainbow said stomping a hoof, “Let me get something clear right now ladies- if we're gonna do this, we're a team! We don't compete with each other, we compete with everybody else.”
Cloud Kicker rolled her eyes like a teenager being scolded, but smiled at Firefly. “Yeah, we both were pretty fast there.”
Firefly smiled, “Well, you've got some serious speed too,”
Surprise tackled both of them, in a surprisingly Pinkie-like group hug. “Now we're all friends again!”
“Girls, you all have experience in stunt flying,” Rainbow said, “Well, all but you, Squirt.”
“I'm just here to watch,” Scootaloo said with a smile.
“Point is, we have a chance to become the only show in town,” Rainbow said, “Ponyville doesn't have a stunt team.”
“Ponyville barely has a post office,” Cloud Kicker said. “We'd be a bit better off in Cloudsdale,”
“Too much competition,” Rainbow said, “You can't throw a snowball in Cloudsdale without hitting a stunt team. We work in Ponyville and we're guaranteed get work.”
“Rainbow is like, a local legend in Ponyville,” Surprise said, “Everyone either loves her or hates her!”
"And either way, they'd pay to see her,” Cloud Kicker said, “I mean hey, if they hate you, their money still spends just as well,”
“Exactly! Wait, people hate me?”
Surprise giggled, “Nopony important,”
“Eh, well...anyway I think if we kept local, we could draw in some big crowds!”
“A crowd anyway,” Cloud Kicker said, “There ain't enough ponies in Ponyville to make a large crowd,”
“Right, but enough talking, let's get to flying!” Rainbow said, “I asked my friend Fluttershy here to give us her opinion on our flying, and she's not gonna show us any mercy! Right?”
Fluttershy cowered back a back, “Oh...sure,” She said timidly, “I can be very critical,”
Cloud Kicker grumbled, “Rainbow, Fluttershy is a dirt lover. What does she know about flying?”
“Oh, I like to fly!” Fluttershy said, “And I was Rainbow's chief cheering section for the best young flier competition!”
“Yeah, right.” Cloud Kicker said skeptically, “Let's get flying girls.”
The quartet took off, drawing from their diverse knowledge of formation flying to improvise a short routine. They all knew the basic formations: Flying V, Diamond, Column, and Wall. However, the switching the formations was a bit rough. It seemed all four ponies assumed they would fly in the lead, resulting in a few bumps and pushing, until one pegasus managed to get in front of the others. More than once, Rainbow or Firefly would out-fly the others, leaving the rest of the group far behind them. Firefly seemed to have trouble corners, often flying far to fast to make tight turns and spun almost out of control. Rainbow was aware that there would be some problems with their first time in the air, but was pleasantly surprised that her new team mates had almost no problem keeping up with her. There were troubles, but they all seemed skilled fliers.
“Alright guys, try some solo stuff!” Rainbow shouted, “Firefly, Go!”
Fireflyy did a few quick loops, the three other members of the team cheering her on. Her speed in the loops was impressive, and she followed it by a fast dive toward the ground, leaving a bright red contrail, flying through a bed of flowers before climbing and allowing them to drift around her like falling snow.
She flew to Cloud Kicker, tagging her with a hoof. “Your turn Cloud.”
Cloud followed suit, pitching and turning with an aggression that Rainbow had never seen. She sped up to a small cloud, spinning round it gracefully turning it into a gigantic C and K before kicking a cloud above it, sending a lighting bolt into the pair of clouds making them crackle and glow.
Cloud darted to Surprise, tagging her in turn. “Go for it Surprise!”
The white pegasus giggled insanely, and unlike her teammates she flew slowly and delicately. She wasn't fast or aggressive like the others, but she preformed like she was part of a beautiful ballet in the air. Rainbow thought it looked a touch weak, until Surprise began her tight spins. Spinning faster and faster, pulling in a few nearby clouds, twisting them into a spectacular double helix that whirled around her like an aura. She cartwheeled through the air toward Rainbow, tagging her.
“Bring us home Dashie!”
Dash grinned, flying to the gathered clouds and gathering them with stunning speed. Her teammates were all seasoned fliers, but they were all still amazed at the mare's sheer velocity. Rainbow spun the clouds faster and faster, a ball of cracking lighting gathering at it's center, growing and growing in brilliant intensity before bursting in a massive ball of light and sound that was nearly blinding.
The four pegasi laughed and gave high-hooves all around. Scootaloo hopped and cheered at the display, Fluttershy only smiling distantly before letting out a soft “Yay!”
“That's all we get?” Cloud Kicker asked at the half-hearted cheer.
“That's about as good as it gets from Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said, “But seriously, Fluttershy, what do you think?”
“That was really nice,”
“Was there anything you didn't like?” Firefly asked.
Fluttershy shrunk back a bit, “Uh, not really,” She said quietly, “You all did your best.”
Fluttershy, we don't need a pep talk,” Cloud Kicker said, “I know that it wasn't all perfect, let us know where we can improve!”
“Oh it was all very...nice,”
Rainbow sighed, “Fluttershy, you told me you were gonna be critical!”
“Oh, but, um, I am. It was...nice.”
The quartet of ponies all exchanged looks. Obviously Fluttershy wasn't going to be critical at all, being she was so afraid of saying what people didn't want to hear. Rainbow turned to Scootaloo hoping to get a more honest critique from her.
“How about you Squirt? What do you think?”
Scootaloo was still excitedly hopping about, “Aww! It was SO COOL! The way you all were flying around, then the clouds getting all twisted up, and the lightning! I mean wow! Mom I didn't know you could fly like that! And Surprise, that was soooo cooool!”
Dash put a hoof to her face, “This is crazy! I know that our first time flying together; we weren't the most awesome thing ever.”
“But you were!” Scootaloo insisted.
“Thanks kid. You're real kind, but we don't need kind. We need sompony who will drive us!” Rainbow Dash said, tapping a hoof to her chin.
Firefly nodded, “What we need is a trainer who won't spare our feelings! And someone that really knows good flying.”
“Sompony as mean as me,” Cloud Kicker added, “Only, meaner,”
“Yeah!” Surprise agreed, “I mean, we were a bit sloppy there, and if we had somepony not afraid to be a big mean meanie pants and knew stunt flying, we could really get shaped up.”
Rainbow thought, “A big mean meanie pants, eh?” She said, half to herself, “I think I know someone...”
“Don't you mean somepony?” Scootaloo asked.
“Nope, not somepony. Can you guys stop by tomorrow same time?”
“Sure!” Firefly said, “I haven't had this much fun in years!”
“Same here,” Cloud Kicker said, “You guys seriously kick flank.”
“I'll bring cookies!” Surprised offered.
“Allright then, I'm gonna go recruit our new trainer.”
Outside of Ponyville, at a clearing in the Everfree forest, Rainbow Dash took a break from her weather duties, perching on a cloud just above a tattered log cottage. She gathered her courage, not having seen this particular old friend in quite a while. The cabin was fairly spartan, and somewhat lopsided, made from mud an twigs. Rainbow landed just outside the hut, raising a hoof to knock on the door only to see that instead of a door the hut had an animal hide blocking the entrance.
“Uh, Gilda?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Are you home?”
The griffin pulled open the door, glaring at the pegasus, a scowl on her face as always. “What are you doing here?”
Rainbow smiled, “Hi Gilda. Nice to see you.”
“Whatever,” Gilda said dismissively, “You're here, you might as well come in.”
Rainbow entered the hut, the inside being as spartan as the outside. The cabin had only a few furnishing, a large nest in the corner stood in for a bed, and a few open shelves held a few jars and miscellaneous bowls and silverware. Off to the side was another small room, likely no larger than a closet. The center of the room had a bubbling cauldron over an open fire that was vented into a hole at the peak of the roof.
“You hungry?” Gilda asked, scooping a wooden bowl into the cauldron that contained some kind of stew.
“Uh, a little," Rainbow said.
Gilda shouted at the back room, "Gregory! Get your lazy, pansy ass in here!"
From the back room emerged another griffon, somewhat more slender than Gilda and surprisingly a bit more feminine. So much so that if Rainbow hadn't heard his name, she'd have thought it was a female. He had a pair of brilliant almond-shaped yellow eyes and seemed to walk with a grace and poise Rainbow never saw in a griffon.
"What do you want?" Gregory grumbled, still staying sophisticated.
"Soup's on, and bring us another bowl. We've got company,"
"Hmm," Gregory said looking Rainbow Dash over, "Well, well, another one of your 'special friends' Gilda?"
"Uh . . .I know Gilda from flight school," Rainbow said, extending a hoof. "Nice to meet you,"
"Like your hair," Gregory said, bumping a fist into Rainbow's hoof.
"I don't suppose you've ever met my husband," Gilda said, "Griffon are kinda rare, so everybody's gotta get themselves hitched. Kinda just how it is. Gregory's ain't bad, a bit of a homebody,"
"Says you!" Gregory said dipping a bowl into the stew. "I'm going on a visit to Cloudsdale tonight to see a 'special friend' of mine! He's a doctor."
"Niiiice! You go get'cha some, Greg." Gilda said, sitting in a bean bag chair and pulling the thin griffon onto her lap, "You eating, Dash?"
"Uh, is there meat in there?"
"Is rabbit meat?"
"Yeah. No thanks."
"You ponies don't know good food," Gregory said with a smile.
"So, you didn't come here to check out my lap candy," Gilda said, "What do you want?"
"Well I'm putting together a stunt team-"
"No way Dash. I don't fly with ponies."
"I don't want you to fly with us, I want you to train us."
"Train you?" Gilda grumbled, "I've never trained ponies."
"Well, we don't have anyone now," Rainbow said, "I mean, beside me. I know how to fly, but I don't know a lot about putting a show together."
"Forget it, I had a bad experience in Ponyville."
"What? All those party gags?" Gregory said, nuzzling Gidlda's neck, "Come on babe, that was funny."
"You weren't even there dude!"
"I sure wish I was! Hoof buzzer, that's classic..."
Gilda sighed, "I guess it wouldn't hurt to check out what you guys got. I ain't gonna show you any mercy Dash- if you guys suck I ain't gonna waste my time."
"That's just it Gilda! I mean your a little rude sometimes, but your always honest and critical, and that's something we could use."
Gilda nodded, "Alright Dash, but once I get you guys working, you may regret it."
The next day the four pegasi were again gathered in front of Rainbow's home on a platform Rainbow had prepared. The four of them stretched and warmed up with a few short flight. Scootaloo hadn't arrived just yet, her mother saying she was meeting with some 'potential clients', All of the ponies wondered who Scootaloo knew that would want a stunt team performance, but Firefly said the filly was intent of helping out somehow.
“So, where's this trainer?” Surprise said around a mouthful of the cookies she'd brought.
“Yeah! My wings are itching for action!” Cloud Kicker said rearing back.
“Hey don't worry. She likes to be fashionably late.” Rainbow said with a smile.
True to form, Gilda soared in from the sun, spiraling gracefully before landing on the cloud in front of her. The four pegasi looked curiously at the tall griffon ahead of them.
“Sup?” Gilda said.
“Guys, meet Gilda Griffon, the only griffon to fly with the junior Speedsters.” Rainbow said proudly.
“And I was a trainer for the Iron Squadron,” Gilda bragged, “They won the Griffon invitational twice when I worked with them,”
“Yeah! I read about them!” Firefly said, “People called them the dream team!”
“So she knows how to train griffons,” Cloud Kicker said, “So what? Ponies don't fly the same,”
“Damn straight,” Gilda shot back, “We flew better.”
“No way!” Cloud Kicker growled, “I don't have to take that kinda lip from some beak-faced clod!”
“Oh yeah?” Gilda shouted, “Show me what you got dude!”
Cloud Kicker scowled, “C'mon girls let's do what we did yesterday!”
The others followed Cloud Kicker into the air, again bumbling through a series of formations, out flying each other other and bumping together clumsily.
“Weak!” Gilda shouted ofter them, “Those formations are for school fillies! And you can't even do them right!”
The four pegasi then broke off into the solo acts, Firefly again dipping low toward the ground, and allowing flower petals to fall around her.
“Pheh, that sucks!” Gilda shouted, “Every place you perform supposed to have a flower garden?!”
Cloud Kicker was next, again spelling her initials and lighting them ablaze.
“What's that stand for? Crap Kicker?” Gilda grumbled, “And sky-writing is dorky- what if your in a round arena? Then it's backwards for half your audience!”
Determined the impress the belligerent griffon, Surprise did her graceful dance, then whirled the clouds as she did the day before.
“Double helix? That's like a noob move!” Gilda shouted, “You flew with the Wonderbolts and that's all you've got?!”
Next Rainbow again performed a move with the ball lighting, Gilda shielding her eyes.
“The Buccaneer blitz? Pull that shit at night and you'll blind everpony in the stands!” Gilda shouted, “Booo!”
Cloud Kicker landed in front of the griffon, gritting her teeth in anger. “Knock it off!” She shouted.
“You look a lot like Derpy, but I know how to tell you two apart,” Gilda said, “Derpy doesn’t SUCK!”
“I'm warning you!- ”
“What? You gonna sock me?” Gilda said, “First, you need to drop the attitude, I'm trying to help.
"And second?”
The griffon grabbed a handful of Cloudkicker's mane and pulled her to within a feather's width from her face. “I'd take you apart.” Gilda tossed Cloudkicker backward, and the pegasus backed up a bit, fighting the urge to fly off and hide.
“I like your spunk,” Gilda growled, “But put that attitude into your flying, not your mouth.”
“Yes, ma'am,” Cloud Kicker said with mock respect.
“Don't call me ma'am,” Gilda said, “That's what people call a lady, and I ain't no lady.”
“Gilda, do you think we got what it takes?” Rainbow asked hopefully.
Gilda scoffed, “You wish dude,” She said, “You got speed and agility, but that ain't worth shit if you can't stow your egos and fly like a team.”
“Well we're wiling to learn,” Firefly said, “Right girls?”
The quartet nodded in agreement.
Gilda grinned, satisfied, “Alright, first of all, Rainbow leads the formations. No more of this fighting each other for the lead. And we're gonna have come up with some real formations, and team maneuvers that nobody else has. I think I've got a few ideas,”
“What about the solo stuff?” Cloud Kicker asked,
“Yeah, yeah, we can work that in,” Gilda relented, “But none of this school talent show crap is gonna cut it unless your audience is in diapers. You're gonna have to push it to the limit, and I'm just the griffon to show you how.”
The team smiled, all except for Cloud Kicker, who opted for her sideways sneer. They all knew that even if she was gruff,and a bit rude, Gilda would certainly whip them into shape.
“Guys!” Scootaloo said, struggling and straining her wings to reach the cloud they were on, “I've got good news!” Scootaloo landed on the cloud heavily next to Gilda, staring with curiosity at the creature, having never seen a griffon before.
“Keep lookin' kid! This is as pretty as I get!”
“Are you a griffon?”
“Naw, I'm a pony who hasn't taken off her Nightmare Night costume yet!”
Scootaloo blinked, then smiled. “That's an awesome costume!”
Gilda slapped her forehead, “Sheesh kid, you fall on your head?”
“All the time, that's why I wear a helmet!”
“C'mon squirt, what's the news?” Rainbow said, fearing Gilda was about to punt Scootaloo like a football if the conversation continued.
“I got you guys a show, in two weeks!”
“Are you serious?” Rainbow asked,
“Yeah! It's gonna be in the park, the main gazebo.”
“That's as big as Ponyville venues get,” Firefly said, “Good job Scoot!”
“Thanks Mom!”
“Whoa, hold your horses,” Gilda said, “If you want me to get you guys ready to perform in two weeks, you're gonna need some serious work.”
“Whatever it takes,” Rainbow said, “We're gonna rock Ponyville,”
“Hold on, we don't have a name yet!” Surprise said, “We can't just perform without a name!”
“How about the Sky Bandits?” Firefly offered,
“Too comic book,” Rainbow said.
“How about the Cloud Queens?” Cloud Kicker said.
“Sounds like a gay rights group,” Gilda said, with a laugh.
“How about, 'the Rainbow Dash Experience, featuring Surprise'?” Surprise said with a giggle.
“Too...confusing.”
“Um, I sorta already named you guys,” Scootaloo said shyly, “I had to call you something when I booked you, so I called you the Dash Pack.”
“Hmm, easy to remember,” Firefly said.
“Kinda rolls off the tongue,” Cloud Kicker reasoned.
“Yay! We're the Dash pack!” Surprise said pulling all the mares into a group hug, (wisely avoiding Gilda) with the other mares returning the hug enthusiastically.
There in a Cloudsdale high-rise, Spitfire and Soarin' were eating their evening meal, hungry after a long day of practice. Spitfire's home was surprisingly humble for a celebrity, well furnished and cozy, but still somewhat small. Since the mare spent most of her time on the road, she didn't feel the need to keep a large home. Spitfire always liked to invite Soarin' over, even though the two spent so much time together. The stallion was a bit absent minded at times, but he was a good friend and kept the waves of male suitors from bugging her. Soarin', of course, only considered Spitfire a friend, and Spitfire was more interested in mares, hence the need to push off male attention.
As the two ate, there was a knock at the door and Spitfire rose to answer, finding Derpy grinning at her with a postcard in her mouth.
“Postcard for Spitfire!” Derpy said cheerfully.
Spitfire got tons of mail of course, but most of it was delivered to her fan club. Very rarely did she get letters at her home address. Spitfire took the postcard, the front bearing a detailed photo of Ponyville's market, with the words: “Ponyville, Farm Capitol of Equestria!” on the back was a message in the crude handwriting Spitfire recognized as Rainbow Dash's.
Hey Spitfire!
Just wanted to let you know I'm not bitter about being cut. Sorry about leaving without saying goodbye, I was having a bit of a bad day (naturally) and didn't want to talk to anypony. I want to let you know I'm with a new stunt team called the “Dash Pack”. We're practicing now for our very first show! I know how busy you and Soarin' must be, but if you'd like, I can get you into our show next Saturday at the Ponyville park gazebo. I can't imagine we'll be as good as you guys, but I'd like to think after all our hard work so far, we'll be able to put on an entertaining show. If you two need incentive, let Soarin' know one member of our group, Surprise, makes some might good cherry pie! Well, I gotta get back to practice- hope you can make it to the show!
Awesomely Yours,
Rainbow Dash
Spitfire grinned as she saw Soarin' reading over her shoulder, licking his lips at the thought of cherry pie.
“Well, Rainbow seems to have bounced back pretty quick."
“Oh yeah! I think that would be something to see!” Soarin' said. “Rainbow can really fly,”
“Are you thinking of going?” Spitfire asked.
“Well...yeah!” Soarin' said with a smile. “You remember Surprise, that girl can fly and bake! What a woman...”
Spitfire laughed, “Well it would be nice to spend a weekend in Ponyville. Relax a bit, kick up our hooves.”
“And you can visit Berry Punch,” Soarin' said waggling his eyebrows.
Spitfire sneered playfully, “She was just a temporary thing, I'm over her.”
“The way you talk, sounds like you want to have another temporary thing,”
Spitfire playfully bumped Soarin' as she took her seat, “Soarin' your terrible!”
“You love it.”
Rainbow was surprised at how hard she worked, this time without Sprinter's whistle pushing her on. Gilda was a demanding trainer, and while she constantly criticized the team, it was all entirely constructive. Her and Cloud Kicker had more than a few spats, always ending with Gilda challenging Cloud to “prove herself” and the ill-tempered mare working even harder to impress the griffon. Scootaloo was there for every practice, trying her best to make herself useful by bringing water and snacks to the mares, and writing down the routines on a clipboard and arranging them for “Peak Awesomeness” as she often put it. The little pegasus seemed oddly adept at arranging the movements, and the routines they'd done so far seemed well put together.
“Okay losers,” Gilda shouted, “Let's rock this routine, and do it like you mean it!”
The four pegasi took off, all leaving brilliant contrails at their speed.
“Rainbow! Don't out-fly the formation!” Gilda reminded, “Only fly as fast as your slowest member! Keep that diamond tight!” Dash complied, and the team flew in an amazingly tight diamond, only inches from each others wingtips.
“Bank right, climb, then fish hook!” Gilda shouted. The team banked right across the sky, then climbed strait up and curved outward in separate directions, their contrails forming what looked like a four-pointed fish hook.
“Sweet move. Now, re-group in a line!” Gilda commanded, “And do the four-filly strut! Keep it close- noses to ass!”
Rainbow in the lead, the team arranged themselves in a strait line, nose to tail, and moved their legs in a confident gallop as if they were running across the ground at incredible speed.
“Keep those hooves close to the ground but don't touch it! That's it! That's the money shot!”
“They're looking better,” Scootaloo said, “Not one of them crashed this time!”
“This ain't even the tough part yet kid,” Gilda said, cupping her hands to shout at the team, “Surprise! Break off and toss the pie!”
Surprise broke off from the strut, the other three pegasi forming into a “v” formation with Firefly at the lead. Surprise gleefully grabbed a pie from the ground and circled around at amazing speed, head-on toward the formation and tossing the pie directly into Firefly's face, making a brilliant splatter.
“Follow left Firefly! And be careful dudes, she's blind until that pie comes off!” Gilda bit her lip at the risky maneuver, but totally blind with the pie pan covering her face, Firefly turned to follow Surprise in a winding chase as if she was mad at the unwarranted attack. Rainbow and Cloud Kicker banked left across the sky, staying out of the way of the chase. Firefly followed Surprise by feeling the pony's wake behind her with her wings. It was risky, but Surprise tried hard to make sure Firefly exactly where to turn. Firefly eventually caught up with Surprise, bumping her with her flank and wiping the pie filling from her face. Surprise toppled from the sky as if she was unable to fly, squealing happily as she fell. Gilda's eyes widened as Surprise toppled a bit more than normal toward the ground.
“Alright, recover!” Gilda shouted. The white mare continued to drop like a rock, alarmingly close to the ground.
“Surprise! Recover!” Gilda shouted, real fear audible in her voice. Surprise giggled and regained her wings just before smacking into the ground, her hooves just brushing the grass.
“That scared the shit out of me,” Gilda said, breathing heavy.
Scootaloo grinned, “The crowd will love that!”
“Yeah, but it's dangerous. I never seen anyone recover that low. She's got some skill.”
The Dash Pack again flew in formation, this time whirling around one another in a quadruple helix, turning perfectly in the formation, closer and closer until they were pinwheeling around one another with hooves touching.
“Buckin' A girls! Crowd loves the windmill, now climb and get ready for the Blitzkrieg blast!” Gilda commanded. The pegasi shot upwards until their speed faltered and they stalled, turning in place and diving at incredible speed, each spinning around a per-arranged cloud, spinning around each other and then around the cloud, lighting beginning to crackle and arch.
“Keep control of that lighting! If that touches you, you're fried!”
The team was now circling faster and faster around the cloud, and a blinding white ball growing brighter and brighter.
“Keep it close!” Gilda said, “Few more seconds then break off. Do it with some feeling dudes- this is the finale. Give 'em something to cheer about!”
A few seconds later, everypony flew in a different direction as the ball lighting exploded brightly and loudly, sending out a brilliant bluish shock wave. Scootaloo had seen it dozens of times, but she still cheered enthusiastically, amazed by the perfect execution of the risky maneuver. The four landed, breathing heavily with the exertion, all looking toward Gilda to get their trainer's approval. Gilda stood with her arms crossed for a long moment, the silence seeming like it went on for hours. A confident grin finally crept across the griffon's beak.
“You don't suck.”
Rainbow and her friends jumped and laughed at the closest to a compliment that Gilda had ever given.
“What about the solo routines?” Scootaloo said, “I mean, Cloud Kicker does her sculpting, Rainbow does her Sonic Rainboom, Surprise has got the dance- ”
“Yeah, yeah, those are fine,” Gilda said impatiently, “Look, the formation stuff is the toughest in the show. Doing moves solo is easy as cake. Speaking of cake, this griffon needs some grub. I'm gonna bail.”
“Okay Gilda,” Rainbow said, “Thanks for all your help,”
“Whatever,” Gilda said dismissively. “Scoot, make sure everybody does their cool down exercises and gets plenty of sleep. We've got the show tomorrow and if any of you gets cramped wings, I'll kick your flank.”
“Yes Gilda. Let's cool down ladies.” As the Griffon flew off, Scootaloo directed the squad in a number of flexes and stretches designed to help ward off post-performance cramps.
“It takes a lot to impress that friend of yours,” Cloud Kicker said,
“With someone that hard to impress, you can tell you're ready to go when you perform,” Firefly said with a smile.
“She's not so bad!” Surprise said, “people like that always have a soft side!”
“I think her soft side is hard as a rock,” Scootaloo said,
“Well, I guess I better tell you girls,” Rainbow said with a mischievous grin, “I just got a telegram from Spitfire, she and Soarin' are gonna be at the show!”
“Are you serious?” Cloud Kicker said with a gasp,
“Oh yeah, I'm kinda surprised too,” Rainbow Dash said, “But don't be nervous, just try to think of them as just two more faces in the audience.”
“Faces that belong to some of the most super-incredible fliers of all time!” Surprise said.
“Wow! Twist is gonna be so stoked!” Scootaloo said.
“She's coming to the show too?" .
“Well duh, it's her birthday party!”
Rainbow suddenly felt as if a terrible trick had been played on her, “Hold on, Squirt, you mean I just worked my tail off for two weeks, for some filly's party?”
“Well yeah! You can't start at the top,” Scootaloo said.
“Yeah, don't be a gloomy gal,” Surprise chimed in, “Parties are great!”
“I'm supposed to perform for a bunch of kids at the party while they're chomping down cake and ice cream?!” Rainbow said, “This is stupid! Those moves we just did are good enough for any venue in Equestria!”
“Rainbow, we're not going to be doing the Cloudaseum, for our first performance ever. It's a start.”
Rainbow tried to fight off her anger, but after for performing with some of the most legendary fliers in the world, the idea of doing a birthday party felt terrible. “Yeah, you're right...it just...sucks.”
The next morning Rainbow was in her cloud home, sitting across from Gilda, grumpily picking at her breakfast.
“I don't see why we don't eat with the rest of the team,”
“I'm the coach, and you're the captain,” Gilda explained, pecking at a bowl of bird seed. “Captain eats with the coach, the rest of the team eats with the booker. That's Scootaloo. There's a hierarchy to maintain Dash,”
Rainbow picked at her breakfast,
“You're not gonna perform at a empty stomach. Eat.” Gilda said, pointing.
“So I can perform for a bunch of school fillies?” Rainbow said, “Did you know that Gilda? That Scootaloo booked us for a kid's party?”
“Yeah, she told me.” Gilda said, “So?”
“But, if you knew why did you make us work so hard?”
“Because it's a show Dash, and you guys are performers.”
“But it's not that simple- ”
“Yes it is. You book a show, you do it! If you wanna be a pro, Dash, you gotta act like one.”
“But I already invited Soarin' and Spitfire!” Rainbow said, “They're not going to want to hang out at some kid's birthday party!”
“Who cares? They ain't paying you your paycheck.”
“But I want them to see me fly! When I go to Wonderbolts training camp again next year- ”
“Hold on!” Gilda said with a scowl, “You're trying out for the Wonderbolts again?”
“Well, yeah,” Rainbow said, “That's the whole reason I put this group together.”
Gilda crossed her arms angrily, “Rainbow, when I said you were better off without those losers, I meant it. I didn't just say that to make you feel better.”
“But it's always been my dream to fly with the Wonderbolts!”
Gilda slammed the table, “And you flew with them! Dream fulfilled! Now you've gotta live in the real world, don't waste all that talent you've got kissing up to a bunch of ponies who don't appreciate you. I'm serious Dash; the Wonderbolts just want pretty show ponies flying in perfect formations. You're not gonna fit in with them. But you've got three ponies, some of the best performers I ever worked with, willing to give their all.”
“I never thought of it that way...”
“Well you should. For what this team gets in pay, you know that the reason these girls are with you. Because they like to fly with you. And the kind of team chemistry you have with them is rare, Dash. If you left them to get kicked around by the Wonderbolts again, I don't think I could deal with that.”
Rainbow Dash was taken aback by the emotion in Gilda's voice. “I...didn't know you were that serious about this,”
“I am. I don't get behind stuff very easy Dash, and when I do, I don't want these things to be sold out so easily.”
The mare was surprised, completely taken off guard by the emotion in Gilda's eyes. Was she right? Did Rainbow unintentionally put together something worth fighting for, something better than the Wonderbolts? There was only one way to find out- to give it her all.
“I'm sorry, Gilda,” Rainbow said, “I know how much you hate it when people apologize, but I gotta. I have to admit, I was going to take all our hard work for granted. Even though is this show is a small time thing, you've got me, One hundred and ten percent.”
Gilda allowed herself a smile, “If I were any other person, I'd hug you,” she said with a laugh, “Now eat! You're gonna need your energy.”
Soarin' and Spitfire were glad to be walking the calm streets of Ponyville. It was somewhere where they would rarely be hoarded by fans and reporters. The town was small and quiet, even when there was a show they did there, (a rare venue, but it happened) the pair found they could walk down the street and only receive polite greetings. The park's gazebo was overwhelmed with young fillies, their parents, and friends. All were playing games and enjoying snacks; it didn't look like any air show that the pair had attended so far.
"Do we have the right day?" Spitfire asked, "This looks like a birthday party or something,"
"Who cares? They've got snacks!" Soarin said with a grin.
"Hi guys!" Pinkie Pie said, trotting up to the pair. "I'm so glad you made it! I'm Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash's friend."
"Hey'a Pinks!" Spitfire said, "So, this is the air show? Not a birthday party?"
"It's an air show at a birthday party! It's two great things in one!"
"Wow, Pinkie, you got the Wonderbolts for my birthday party?!"
Soarin' and Spitfire looked at the young red-headed filly who obviously recognized them without their flightsuits on. "Uh, sure...little filly!" Soarin said with a broad smile, "Whats your name?"
"I'm Twist!"
"Well, happy birthday, Twist," Spitfire said, "Your birthday entertainment invited us, but Soarin' and I always love to meet a fan. How'd you like an autograph?"
"That would be swell!" Twist said dancing happily.
Spitfire pulled an archive quality eight by ten photo of her from her saddle bag and began to sign it.
Soarin' laughed, "Did you seriously bring headshots to ponyville?"
"Keep laughing smart guy, what do you plan to sign for her?"
Soarin' thought, then blushed, "Good point. Can I borrow a pen?
On a cloud near the party stood the Dash Pack, joined by Scootaloo and Gilda. Fluttershy flew up and joined them, several of her bird friends sitting on her back.
"Soarin' and Spitfire just arrived," Fluttershy said, "I'm so excited to announce you. Does my mane look okay?"
"You look fine, Fluttershy," Firefly said, putting a harnessed bullhorn around Fluttershy's neck. "Just remember to be enthusiastic!"
"Right!" Fluttershy said, jumping backwards as the megaphone amplified her normally quiet voice.
"Gilda, are you sure you don't want to announce us?" Cloud Kicker asked, trying hard not to roll her eyes.
"Nah, I work behind the scenes," Gilda said dismissively, "And she does that bird thing. Most birds don't like me since I, well...eat them."
Fluttershy shrunk back, raising her wings to guard the birds on her back.
"Relax I already ate,"
"Oh. Um...good." Fluttershy said, her voice still abnormally loud though the megaphone.
"Alright losers," Gilda began, "I know this is just a birthday party, but kids bring their parents, and parents hire stunt teams. Don't treat this like it ain't a big deal, because it is. Keep those formations tight, the timing close, and play to that audience. When they cheer, let it make you fly even harder. Tonight you're not has 'has-been's' and 'wannabe's'. You're not rejects or small timers. You're the Dash Pack. You're four fillies that will give this audience something they'll never forget. It doesn't matter if we're at the Cloudaseum or somebody's back yard; we're still gonna put on one hell of a show."
The four fillies cheered, and Rainbow Dash grinned at her team. If anything they were going to put on an amazing performance, and have fun.
"Hey, Fluttershy, get that shapely flank out there!" Gilda said, smacking Fluttershy on the rump.
Fluttershy jumped off the cloud, trying to fake a nervous smile at the griffin, who made her very nervous. The yellow pegasus flew over the party goers, clearing her throat.
"Um...hello?" She said timidly, "Hello everyone, uh sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to tell you something."
The entire party turned to Fluttershy, who blushed at bit at the attention.
"Fluttershy! Enthusiasm!" Gilda whispered, peeking out of a nearby cloud.
"Right," Fluttershy said, her bird friends beginning to circle her and sing a beautiful fanfare, "Fillies and Gentlecolts, I'd really like to introduce (if it's okay) the most amazing aerial stunt team in all of Ponyville. Prepare yourself, um, please, for the death defying aerial feats of the Dash Pack!"
Fluttershy quickly got out of the way as the four mares spun in the air, up and over the clouds, diving to hover just above them.
"Hey folks, I'm Rainbow Dash, and the Dash Pack and I would like to wish a very happy birthday to Twist! Now let's DO this!"
The crowd, foals and adults alike, roared as the four flew through her routine. Rainbow Dash was so surprised; the sound of the crowd acted like rocket fuel for her and her friends, and they flew faster, cleaner and more acurate than ever before. Every turn was perfect, every move by her and her teammates felt like they were one being. It was a thrill that was shared between all of them, not divided but amplified. It felt like music, like a dance.
Rainbow, inside her head, realized that even when she flew in formations with the Wonderbolts, she didn't feel this kind of thrill. When she was with the Wonderbolts, it was fun, but never felt quite right, like a saddle that didn't quite fit. Now, she felt as if this team completed her.
Below, Spitfire and Soarin' gazed in amazement- RD never flew quite like that with them. The show was unique, the formations they were doing weren't difficult, but they were very dramatic and original. Spitfire smiled to herself, feeling the urge to take to the air and join them. It didn't just look good, it looked fun!
"Ms Spitfire?" Twist said tugging on the pegasus' tail, "Can you fly like that?"
Spitfire had to pause before answering the question, "Sure kid," She finally said, "But, we do kinda different things," She had to be honest, the routines the Dash Pack were doing were something she'd never seen. Not moves done by experts, but talented amateurs using their full range of skills very creatively.
Finally the four mares broke off to do their own individual acts, Something else the Wonderbolts rarely did. Firefly started, flying and spinning with incredible speed. Spitfire had seen Team Blitz when they were together, and she always wondered why none of them tried out for the Wonderbolts when the four of them were faster than most of the fliers on the team.
Next was Cloud Kicker, someone Spitfire knew never got out of junior speedsters. She started to punch and kick at the clouds, forming them into lighting bolts, tornadoes, and a surprisingly accurate representation of Twist's Cutie mark. That made the little filly squeal with delight.
Following right after her was Surprise, they white mare spinning and tipping though the air like a dancer, whirling and hopping about gracefully. Spitfire often saw Surprise flying like that when she was warming up, or just killing time. The Wonderbolts didn't do that kind of flying, but Spitfire always loved watching her.
Saving the best for last, Rainbow Dash darted high into the air, straight toward the sun. Spitfire could only guess that she was going to be doing a Sonic Rainboom. Spitfire had never done one herself, (not for lack of trying) but she knew that if they were done to close to the ground they could cause collateral damage. However, Dash seemed to know this and she climbed high into the air before diving so she could get the speed she needed. Dash needed an awesome amount of speed, and needed to break through a near-mystical barrier that few could push through.
Most magical properties of the Rainboom were a mystery, and what made one pegasus able to do it and another unable was one of the most persistent mysteries in Equestria. Even Rainbow Dash, the element of Loyalty, couldn't do one just on a whim. It was almost as if the Rainboom could only occur when there was a reason for it to happen. The wake was almost a sign that something deeper happened, a true friend was rescued, inspiration occurred, true love prevailed, light came to darkness. Today, Spitfire was about to see one for the first time, and she wondered if it would effect her in some way.
Rainbow turned, into a dive. She was nothing but a faint speck in the sky, and everyone wondered if they'd be able to see the Rainboom from such a distance.
It turned out, from that distance, the Rainboom was almost blinding. The sound seemed to shake the ground beneath everyone's hooves, and the ghostly technicolor shock wave shot outward in a circle, briefly filling the sky with an awesome array of every color imaginable. After a few seconds, with the sky filled with color behind Rainbow as she dove and flew along the ground so quickly the wind tossed balloons, confetti, and table cloths about as if there was an explosion. The brilliant rainbow that trailed her stood like a wall behind her before dissipating.
The crowd stood with silent, open mouthed stares, wordless and breathless, before breaking into thunderous cheers. Even Gilda was visible giving a half-hearted clap. Rainbow could be seen near the horizon making a turn back toward the party, before landing gracefully next to her team, and the applause didn't stop. Twist pushed her way through the crowd and surprised Rainbow with a leaping hug. Dash grinned, this was worth more than flying with the Wonderbolts, somehow it felt all the more fulfilling.
Spitfire and Soarin' approached Rainbow smiling broadly. "That was...amazing," Spitfire said.
"Yeah! I never seen anything like that!" Soarin' agreed.
"Thanks guys,"
"I hope you guys start getting some better venues," Soarin said, "I mean, kid's parties?! What would Coach think?"
"You know," Dash said looking at the smiling faces of the foals present. "I don't have a problem with it. Tell Coach that I'm right where I want to be."
Dash pulled off her flight goggles, slipping them over Twist's eyes. "Happy birthday kid."
"Thank you sooooo much Rainbow Dash!"
"Thank you Kid," Rainbow said with a smile. "For giving me a reason to fly again."
