A Test of Loyalty

by KendallBunny

Rating: everyone
Tags: Sad, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Slice of Life, Wonderbolts
Length: 3475

Rainbow Dash finally achieves her lifelong dream.

Rainbow Dash finally achieves her lifelong dream, but as time passes, she starts to spend less and less time with her friends. After leaving them in the dust, how will her Loyalty ever be attained again?

I'm not much for writing Fanfics, this is my first shot at one. Advice is encouraged.

Published 2012-09-09 09:04:04 UTC
Last updated 2012-10-17 01:41:26 UTC

The Best Birthday Ever

"Now Rainbow Dash, if you would please wake up, I mean, if you don't mind, that is-"
The cyan pegasus instantly bolted upright, interrupting Fluttershy's gentle prodding. Rainbow Dash then noticed the yellow mare huddled on the floor, eyes wide in shock.
"Heh, uh, sorry Fluttershy.."
"It's alright" she replied, standing up, "I just get easily startled sometimes".
Rainbow Dash just chuckled. "Yeah, so, what do you need?
"Well, um, since it's your birthday, all of us are having a breakfast at Sugarcube Corner, and-"
"Oh, Ponyfeathers! I forgot my own birthday!" Rainbow exclaimed excitedly, causing Fluttershy to wince at the noise.

The two pegasi started towards Sugarcube Corner, flying over produce carts and groups of chatting ponies. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon, but most of the residents of Ponyville liked to start their day off nice and early. Well, all of the residents except Rainbow Dash. She usually slept in really late, but today was her birthday, and she didn't want to waste an hour of daylight on her special day of the year.

When they arrived at Sugarcube Corner, Twilight, Rarity, Spike, and Applejack were waiting there for the two.
"Hey, uh, where's Pinkie?" Rainbow questioned.
As soon as she had asked, the pink pony popped out from the kitchen carrying a tray of food.
"I made some of your favorite super-duper-scrumptious haycakes for your birthday!" She exclaimed, setting down the pan.
"Aw, thanks Pinkie!" Dash sat down at the table with everypony else and began eating her delicious haycakes.
"So, this is like the best birthday present EVER!" The birthday mare said through a mouthful of food, "I mean, really guys-"
"You ain't seen nuthin' yet" Applejack smiled, winking at Twilight. The purple unicorn reached into her saddlebag and got out seven blue tickets.
"This is a gift from all of us" Twilight Sparkle smiled, setting them on the table in front of Rainbow.
"Tickets to the WONDERBOLTS FAll SHOW IN CANTERLOT?! You guys.. I can't believe it. This is absolutely awesome. THANK YOU!" Rainbow Dash cried.
Rarity stepped forward, holding a beautiful magenta sweater with white trim.
"I absolutely had to make you something to wear tonight" Rarity said, handing the sweater to Rainbow.
"Geez, guys, I-I can't say thanks enough, really.." The cyan mare stepped forward, tears of joy threatening to overtake her.
~~~~
The day went by pretty fast after that. Pinkie Pie threw a huge party, and every pony in Ponyville was invited. They danced, played games, listened to music, and did what Rainbow Dash loved to do the most - hang out with her friends.
Soon, it was time to get ready. Everypony was excited, especially Rainbow. Rarity insisted she make everypony presentable for the trip to Canterlot, so they were all stuck at her Boutique for a good hour. Pinkie Pie was chatting with Twilight and Spike while the purple unicorn brushed her mane, Fluttershy was admiring the outfit Rarity had chosen for her to wear, Applejack was worriedly fidgeting with her outfit, most likely complaining about it being too fru-fru, Rarity was applying false eyelashes, and Rainbow was striking poses in the mirror.
"So, isn't it going to be cool seeing the Wonderbolts perform, Twilight?" Spike asked.
"Cool?", Rainbow answered him from across the room, "It's going to be AWESOME!!"

Rainbow Dash felt excitement bubble up inside of her. She was about to see the Wonderbolts perform! She'd seen them before, but that was long ago, and now she would see them in less than an hour!
"Pinkie Pie, keep still!" Rarity complained as she fixed the pink pony's hair. It had fallen out of her bun in several places.
Rainbow trotted over to Twilight and Spike. As usual, the unicorn was reviewing a checklist.
"Spike, do we have drinks?"
"Check."
"Uh, umbrellas? In case it rains?

The stadium was huge. There was rows of seating for a few thousand ponies, and about five box seatings, most likely for the Canterlot Elite.
The seven found the place where they would sit, and settled down. After a few minutes of chatting, an announcer's voice echoed through the stands.
"Fillies and Gentlecolts! Welcome to the Wonderbolts' Fall Show! We are proud to present.... The one and only.. WONDERBOLTS!
Three pegasi - Spitfire, Soarin, and Fleetfoot - flew above the stands with lightning speed, and left a trail of smoke behind them. Rainbow gasped in awe. Her lifelong heroes were right there before her eyes, doing tricks, spins, dives, dodges, and everything in between. The noise of the crowd was automatically shut out of the cyan pegasus' mind as she focused intently on the Wonderbolts.
Applejack prodded Rainbow in the side. "Hey, you okay? You kind of zoned out there"
Dash sighed. "They're just.. so amazing."
"I agree" Fluttershy smiled.
Rainbow looked back to the Wonderbolts. They landed on the announcer's platform and whispered something into his ear. He nodded, and Fleetfoot stepped to the mic. She had a very soft, feminine voice. "We have a surprise. We heard of a certain pony who has been perfecting her flying skills and has an extreme talent for speed. We'd like to let her show her skills. So, we would like to step forward.. Miss Rainbow Dash!"
Dash was shocked. She didn't know what to say.
"Darling, you'll do amazing" Rarity reassured her.
The cyan mare flew up confidently. She'd never been so excited in her life. She shook hooves with Spitfire, and the orange Wonderbolt whispered into her ear, "Begin when you're ready".
Rainbow inhaled. She shot down the platform, and came up through the hoops in a record speed. She spun around a cloud to form a massive tornado of air, and shot up to the sky.
"I can't perform the Rainbow now, can I?" She asked herself nevously. The last time she accomplished the move she had been pushing herself to save Rarity.
"It's worth the try" She panted.
She got her speed going super fast. She could feel the wind zipping past her, the air forming around her.
"Almost there."
The air was becoming tighter, but she could feel herself slipping.
"Come on!"
She pushed herself forward with a surge of energy, and shot through the sky. She could hear the crowd's cheering. She turned right as she neared the stadium floor and jolted upwards. She landed on the platform she had started on.
Her friends were there, clapping their hooves and jumping in the air. Dash smiled. Without her friends, she would be nothing.
Spitfire trotted over to Rainbow.
"Wow. You're amazing!" She exclaimed, impressed.
"Thanks!" She replied, trying to keep her cool.
The Captain of the Wonderbolts went back over to Soarin and Fleetfoot, the three of them whispering among themselves.
Rainbow flew back to her friends. They were excitedly waiting for her.
"Dashie, you were like, ZOOM, and then, PHEW, and then, BAM! Pinkie exclaimed, running all over the place. Dash chuckled. After congratulating her, they started back towards home.
"Hey, we should have celebratory smoothies" Rainbow said, pointing to a smoothie shop.
"Okay!" Everypony exclaimed in unison.
"Wait," Twilight prodded Dash in the shoulder, "The Wonderbolts want to talk to you."
Rainbow turned around. There they were, right in front of her. Her heroes.. wanted to talk to her? She couldn't believe it.
"So.." Soarin said, looking at the other two, "We were thinking.."
"You're very talented," Fleetfoot spoke,
"Would you like to join our elite flying group, Rainbow dash?" Spitfire finished.

The Train Ride Home

Dash couldn't hold it in. She squealed. Had her lifelong dream just become true? She could barely speak.
"Would I!" Yes!!" She happily exclaimed.
"It's a deal, then" Spitfire said, shaking hooves with her. The other Wonderbolts followed with the same gesture.
"I'll go pack my things, right now!" Rainbow exclaimed. She still couldn't believe it. Obviously, she would wake up soon, and find out that this was a dream. Was it a dream, though? A million different thoughts were running through her head.
"Take your time. Your first show is in two weeks, you have time to relax" Spitfire smiled. The three Wonderbolts took off, leaving Rainbow standing there, dumbfounded.
"Wow!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, skipping over to the cyan pegasus.
"Did you really get a contract with the Wonderbolts?" Rarity asked, amazed.
"Yes. In fact, my first show is in two weeks!" Dash replied.
Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Spike ran over, drowning Rainbow in hugs and congratulations. She honestly hadn't felt love for her friends like this before. She always thought they were important to her, but she just then realized that they would be there for her forever, cheering for her in the stands.
The night lasted a long time. The friends all went to get celebratory smoothies, and then boarded the train back to Ponyville.
"Guys, I think it's time to get some sleep" Twilight yawned. Everypony nodded their heads in aggrement, and headed off to their own bunk.
Dash couldn't sleep, though. She was way too excited, even if she felt like her hooves would fall off. The train would arrive at Ponyville in the morning, and she would train harder than she ever had.
Rainbow wouldn't be there for much longer, though. This saddened the cyan mare for the first time in a while. What would her friends do without her, the Element of Loyalty? No, she had to visit them frequently. Being a Wonderbolt wouldn't take away her friendships, would it?
"No, it wouldn't" Dash reassured herself. She closed her eyes, and finally let herself drift into slumber.
The next morning was bright and sunny. Rainbow opened her eyes as it shined in through her window. She hopped out of her bunk and headed into the main car, where her friends had already awoken. Pinkie was chatting with Fluttershy, who was half asleep, Twilight was drowsily levitating a coffee mug, while AJ, Rarity, and Spike were sitting on the couch.
"Morning, Dashie!" Pinkie shouted, causing the others to wince.
"Morning" Rainbow replied, seating herself beside Twilight at the table. Her previous nights' sleep might have been a little poor, but her excitment restored her energy. Everypony else didn't look so lucky, though. The room was silent for the most part, besides the occasional slurping of Twilight's coffee.
Rainbow finally broke the silence. "Wait, I'm still a Wonderbolt, right?"
Everypony laughed. "Well, duh!"
"I thought it was all a dream, that's all," Dash chuckled, "I'm sure glad it wasn't, though."
A thought occoured to her. She had impressed the Wonderbolts enough to receive an invitation to join their team. How had they even known she was practicing for their team in the first place? She had never told them, had she? Unless..
Realization hit her.
"Thank you, so much!" Rainbow shouted as she trotted over to hug each of her friends.
"For what?"
"I know you set that up, you told the Wonderbolts' how hard I have been working!"
"Darn it, who told her?" Applejack smiled.
The lack of energy in the train seemed to have dissapeared in that moment.

First Show

"Thank you so much, guys, for helping me pack" Rainbow Dash spoke while tossing the last few of her items into a cardboard box.
Today was her moving day, and she was to perform the night after she arrived. She had been training for almost two solid weeks for this night. Her friends had been there through all of it, helping her get everything ready, get herself ready (according to Rarity), and pack all of her things to be moved into her new Cloudsdale home. Still, she would really miss Ponyville.
"You guys are coming with me, right"? She asked her friends.
"Of course, Rainbow, we wouldn't miss your first show for the world" Twilight replied confidently.
"Thanks" Dash said, feeling better already. As much as she hated to admit it, she really did need her friends there, at least for her first show.
After loading everything into the moving vehicle, all seven of the ponies and a baby dragon packed into a flying chariot parked behind the vehicle. When the two vehicles lifted off, all of them waved their goodbyes to Ponyville. For everypony else, this goodbye was temporary. For Rainbow Dash, this goodbye meant more than it should.
The chariot was very nice, mostly because it was used to escort the Wonderbolts to their destinations. They had been kind enough to allow Rainbow's friends in too. Voices filled the air as everypony chatted about going to Cloudsdale again ever since the Best Young Flier's competition. A certain cyan mare was silent, though. Dash didn't know if it was from nervousness about becoming a Wonderbolt, or sadness about leaving Ponyville behind. Somehow, though, Rainbow fell asleep.
A hoof prodded the pegasus in the shoulder.
"Wha-what is it?" Rainbow stammered sleepily.
"Look, we're almost there!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.
Everypony looked over the side of the chariot. Cloudsdale was just coming into view, and it was beautiful. The tall pillars stuck out, along with the flowing streams of rainbows and pure white clouds that made up the city. Rainbow was looking forward to seeing Cloudsdale again, and she smiled. Spike, having never seen the city before, was staring in awe.
The chariot landed on a small patch of clouds with a gate connecting it to the city. All seven of them hopped out and headed over to a dark green pegasus stallion who was letting ponies in the gate.
"Here's a map of our city, and have a nice day!" The stallion shouted happily, while handing each of them a map. He shot uneasy glances at the earth ponies and Spike. He obviously hadn't heard of the cloud-walking spell before.
Rainbow stopped to look at the map.
"We need to head left, that's where the Highcloud Condos are, where my new home is supposed to be".
They walked past numerous buildings, including the Cloudsdale Mall and a restraunt before finally reaching the Celebrity District. Dash could already tell that the Wonderbolts dwelled here because of the signature emblem that adorned the gates. Inside, there were nice restaunts, some houses, and some apartment buildings. They arrived at a noticeably large one, and right above the door were the words "Highcloud Condos".
The design of the building looked like the rest of Cloudsdale, but with more plant life. There were pots of different flowers and trees that really added to the design, and there was a spiraling staircase in the center of the lobby.
"You call this an apartment building.." Applejack gasped under her breath.
They waited there for a while before a professional-looking mare escorted them to Rainbow's new apartment. The Wonderbolts emblem was smack dab in the middle of the door, and the inside was even more Wonderbolt. The furniture was modern, and yellow, blue, and white were the main colors of all the rooms. There was even a takeoff platform from the living room.
"Whoa!" Everypony gasped.
The moving crew arrived to unpack all of Rainbow's things, so she had some time to spare with her friends. They headed back down to the lobby.
"I'm starving, we should go get some food" Twilight said. Everypony nodded in agreement.
Down the hall from the lobby was two large doors leading into an equally large room. There was dozens of tables, and a band was playing elegant music on the stage. Rainbow and her friends seated themselves at a large round table.
"This is the last night we'll see you before your big performance!" Spike exclaimed.
"Yeah" Dash replied, trying to sound casual, but she was really nervous. She could feel the shivers run down her spine.
Rarity automatically detected the cyan mare's nervousness. "You'll do just fine, Rainbow, we're counting on you".
~~~
The next morning was pretty normal for such a big day. It's almost as if she felt at home, even with waking up in a new bedroom. She went downstairs, where Fluttershy and Twilight were waiting for her.
"Hey.. where are the others?" Dash asked. They were all supposed to meet her here in the morning.
"They went to get a little.. something" Fluttershy giggled.
Right after she had said that, the rest of the gang came trotting down the stairs. They were carrying large signs, necklaces, and foam fingers. The signs, in rainbow paint, read, "GO RAINBOW DASH!", or, "RAINBOW DASH IS BEST WONDERBOLT".
Dash smiled. "Didn't this take you a really long time to do?"
"You bet it did," Pinkie exclaimed, "But it's all worth it for our faaavvvorite flyer!"
The seven friends headed to walk around the Celebrity District. It was absolutely amazing. The towering buildings, beautiful and sophisticated architecture, and clothed ponies were the main features. The plant life was very unlike the rest of Cloudsdale. There were different types of flowers sitting in marble pots along the streets.
"Where do we go first"? Fluttershy gasped.
"Ooh.. do they have a bakery here? Because if there is a bakery here, and this place is reeeaally fancy, then the bakery food must be reeaally fancy too, and well made, and REALLY sweet, and I really love sugar! I love sugar so much, and-"
"Pinkie.." Twilight growled.
"Oh, heh, yeah..sorry." The pink pony smiled innocently.
"How about we try Cloudsdale Mall first? I heard it harbors the best pegasi designers' works, and Rainbow, I will not let you go to your meeting without proper attire" Rarity smirked.
"Honestly, I think we should try the Historical section. Cloudsdale has a lot of background" Twilight suggested.
"I.. think we should just walk around..." Fluttershy murmured.
"I agree" Spike replied, "I have so much to learn about this cool place".
~~~
A few hours of hanging out later, the newly appointed Wonderbolt had to go to her apartment to get ready. Twilight and the others headed up to the Wonderbolts stadium, anxiously waiting for the show to start.
About 30 minutes later, an announcer's voice rang out through the stadium,
"Fillies and Gentlecolts!" I would like to present.. the WONDERBOLTS!"
The stars of the show flew out in a perfect triangle, Dashie near the back. They performed their opening show, which was an assortment of flips, smoke trails, and cool displays the wowed the crowd.
Afterwards, Spitfire stepped up to the mic.
"I would like to present to you, Rainbow Dash, our newest member!" She smiled.
Rainbow flew over to her proudly and puffed her chest out, like a hero who was coming to save her city.
"I have so much to say. This has been my lifelong dream. I always fantasized about joining this group, ever since I was a filly. I never actually thought I could achieve this until the day I got my cutie mark. That was the grand moment, guys. I aspired to do more, train harder, and reach my dream. Throughout all of my wins and failures, though, no one helped me push on better than my best friends from Ponyville. Twilight, ever since you moved to Ponyville you've always helped me learn new things, and first introduced the brilliant idea of reading to me. Fluttershy, I've always been stubborn and tough, and you helped me soften up inside and relate to others' feelings. Pinkie Pie, no matter how mad I am about something, you can ALWAYS cheer me up. Applejack, you're the only pony who can beat me in a race, and I love that about you. Rarity, even though I'm a tomboyish athlete, I honestly don't mind when you dress up my hair. You always know how to inspire me. Spike, you're a cool dragon to have as a friend. I honor your devotion to Twilight and all of us. You're always there to take down a friendship lesson. Thanks, guys."
The crowd roared. Rainbow's uniform was hiding it, but tears were flowing freely down her cheeks. She wasn't the only one. All six of her friends were reacting the same way, and even Spitfire was starting to choke up.
The rest of the show was great. Rainbow, being a new Wonderbolt, let her nerve get the best of her at some points, but nopony could notice her minor flaws.
Her friends were waiting for her outside, prepared to give their congratulations. Soon enough, the flash of cameraponies signaled her departure from the building.
"Rainbow!" All six of them exclaimed at once.
To their surprise, Dash looked.. irritated.
"What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked worriedly.
"I messed up!" The cyan mare almost shouted.
"Now, what in the hay are you talkin' bout? If you messed up, nopony noticed it" Applejack reassured her.
"Yeah, I just need to go to bed. Tomorrow, I practice harder!" Dash exclaimed, and shot off to her apartment.
All six of the friends just exchanged nervous glances.