Captain for a Day

by Pretzelninja

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, Slice of Life, Wonderbolts
Length: 1716

Rainbow Dash becomes the substitute captain for the Wonderbolts for a day.

After Spitfire hurts her wing, Rainbow Dash volunteers to substitute as captain for the Wonderbolts on their last show of the season.

Published 2012-08-26 06:54:02 UTC
Last updated 2012-08-26 06:54:02 UTC

Best Day Ever

Ponyville was preparing for the Wonderbolts to come to town and do their last show of the season, which happened to be in 2 days! Everypony had been setting up banners and posters all over the place as ponies and other creatures from all over Equestria started coming into town. Rainbow Dash, who had got a ticket as soon as she was legally able to, was talking about this show for the past month; much to the annoyance of her friends, who had kinda avoided her to spare themselves another speech.

Dash had been practicing every one of her best tricks to show off in front of the Wonderbolts. She was almost certain they would have no other choice but to let her join after they saw the crazy aerodynamic maneuvers she was able to pull. Nothing was going to get in between her and her life dream.

Everypony lined the streets as the Wonderbolts limo-chariot pulled into downtown Ponyville, being escorted by some off-duty officers in the royal guard. All of the fans cheered and screamed as the limo-chariot passed by. Rainbow Dash was right in the middle of the crowd doing the same thing.

“This is sooo awesome!” she thought, screaming “I love you!” at her passing life-long idols.

Then suddenly the sunroof in the top of the limo opened and Soarin's head popped out. He waved at the crowds of people on the side of the road as he passed them. Everypony screamed and cheered, but not as loud as Rainbow Dash. Her voice was loud enough to rival Luna's causing Soarin to make eye contact with Dash as he winked and smiled at her. The amount of awesomeness in the situation was too much for Dash to handle. The world around her began to swirl and she fell against the ground unconscious.

Rainbow woke up in a bed she knew wasn’t hers. Then she recognized the florescent lights on the ceiling and the funny smell lingering in the room. She was laying inside a room at the hospital, with a curtain separating her and another one of the beds.

“What happened?” she asked herself aloud.

“Oh your awake” a mares voice behind the curtain said, startling Dash. “I think you were the one who passed out when Soarin winked at you”

The cyan pony blushed, happy to know the other mare couldn't see her.

“Oh... Yeah that’s right” Rainbow said. “How long has it been?”

“I'm not sure but I would think about 2 days, you must have been really tired or something”

A surge of realization ran through Rainbow Dash's body, causing her joints to contract and her eyelids to open real wide.

“Oh crap! I'm going to miss the Wonderbolts! Or have I already!?” Rainbow said, shooting straight up in bed.

“ No you haven’t missed them. Haha, They cant start without their captain!” said the mare.

“What do you mean?” Rainbow dash said, as the curtain was pulled back by the other mare.

She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Right in the bed next to her was Spitfire. The Captain of the Amazing Wonderbolts.

“Oh my gosh!” Dash said, almost having a Rarity-like fainting moment. “What are you doing here”

“Well I was getting a quick checkup before the big show started and they ran out of rooms downstairs because of all these tourists, so they put me in here. That's when I recognized you.” Spitfire said.

“This is amazing!” the cyan pony said, her health returning.

A stallion walked through the door dressed in a white lab coat. He was holding a clipboard suspended by an aura of blue magic in the air.

“Well spitfire your tests have come back.” the stallion said.

“Good, I'm ready to get out of here and start the show.” the Wonderbolt eagerly said, getting off the bed.

“I'm sorry Spitfire but I'm afraid you cant.” he said. “Your wings have undergone too much stress lately, to preform today would really hurt your muscles.”

“WHAT!?!” Spitfire and dash said in unison.

“I have to preform today!” Spitfire said. “Its the last show of the season and I'm the captain!”

“I'm sorry miss but I cant let you do that.” the doctor said, leaving the room. “I'll leave you to try and figure out what you have to do about the show, just know you can not preform.”

“This is bad.” the Wonderbolt said,hanging her head. “Were going to have to cancel the show”

“Wait! No you don’t!” Rainbow said. “I can preform for you!”

Rainbow Dash hopped out of her bed and stood as tall as she can, trying to look capable of the task of leading the Wonderbolts.

“Oh please, how do you expect to do that” Spitfire said. "The doctor hasn't even said you could leave yet."

Truth was, Dash couldn't even afford a trip to the hospital after all of her failed attempts of tricks over the past couple months, and she wasn't exactly insured. So she was as eager as ever to get out of the hospital before she had to start another "loan."

“I have studied all of the Wonderbolts tricks and formations! I know everything about you and your team! This would be easy.” Dash said. "And well... I don't really have any... lets just say I'm not in good hands ok?"

"Good hands?" Spitfire began to ask. "Ohhh"

Spitfire considered Dash's idea for a moment. Staring at the ground below her, taking what seemed like forever to the cyan pony standing in front of her. "An uninsured pony becoming captain of the Wonderbolts on their most important show of the season?" she thought. "Seems like the kind of risk I like to take!"

“Well... If your telling the truth about knowing all of our stuff. I guess its better to give some sort of show then no show..” the captain said.

Rainbow's eyes lit up as she jumped up in the air.

“You mean yes?!” she said starting to shake with excitement.

“Yeah sure”

“OHMIGOSHOHMIGOSHOHMIGOSH, this is the best day of my life!” rainbow said doing a flip.

“Well we better get going to the prep tent, I'll have to explain this to the other Wonderbolt's” Spitfire said leaving the room followed by the overjoyed Pegasus.

"Lets go out the window, I don't want to deal with all of the papers" Dash said smiling sheepishly.

"OK fine, but lets hurry"

Rainbow dash walked out of the changing room set up in the big prep tent dressed in a blue jumpsuit with lightning bolts on it, and stepped into a room filled with other Wonderbolts.

“Attention everypony!” Spitfire shouted, at the sight of Dash walking out. “As you might have heard I cant fly for the time being, so filling in for me as captain for today will be Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow Dash smiled as all of the other Wonderbolts looked her over, nodding their approval. She started to get an amazing feeling inside.

“Uh... lets get this show started.” Dash said nervously smiling at the very people who had been displayed on posters all over her room since she was a filly.

"I cant believe this is happening!" she thought.

All of the other team members smiled back and walked outside of the tent to take positions.

“Good luck” Spitfire said and patted Rainbow on the back.

All of the Wonderbolts were in position on the ground ready for takeoff with Rainbow Dash in the front. Then Spitfire started the countdown.

“3...2...1... GO!"

Every one of the pegesi shot off of the ground simultaneously and raced away from the tent. The air field was about a half mile away and they flew in a V formation like all great winged creatures. Upon arrival they did a flyby on the field and over the stands where hundreds of thousands of fans were sitting and cheering. They went wild when they passed low overhead, letting their audience feel the wind given off as they flew by.

“OK formation 4!” rainbow said as they all formed a giant W for "Wonderbolts" in the sky, the crowds cheers could be heard from up in the clouds.

The Show lasted for about an hour, with Rainbow Dash loving every second of it. At the end of the show all of the Wonderbolts looped around the crowd of fans and started heading back to the tent in the same V formation of which they came in.

“You lead us back Soarin'” Dash said. “Ill be right back”

“Uh...Alright” Soarin said, taking the lead position.

Rainbow Dash came back around and looped around the stands again. Every one of the fans were cheering for her, this was her big moment. She knew what she had to do.

"Wings, don't fail me now!"

She flew straight up into the air. Passing all of the clouds until the ponies below her could barely be seen. Then... Dash stopped flapping and slowed, everything around her stopped, making her feel weightless. Dash, flipped around, pointing her nose toward the ground and shot straight down, picking up extreme speed. As the moved she shredded through the clouds reducing them to nothing.

“Just a bit faster.” she thought, taking her wings to the maximum.

Then suddenly the air around her turned white and began to bend around the mare causing a loud “BOOM". A flash of colors enveloped out from around her, completing her Sonic Rainboom. The crowd went crazy. She pulled out of her dive and headed back to the tent, felling more awesome then she ever had before.

“That was truly amazing” Spitfire said. “I saw it all the way from the tent”

“Yeah that was radical!” said Soarin. “You were awesome out there”

All Rainbow Dash could do was stand there and smile, truly speechless of her life-long idols complimenting her at her flying abilities.

“We can use talent like you” Spitfire said.

“Really?” Dash said, her mouth dropping.

“Yeah! How bout we sign you two a 2 year contract?” Soarin asked.

For Rainbow Dash, the amount of awesomeness was again too much for her to handle. The world around her began to swirl and she fell against the ground.

“I'll take that as a yes”