Author's Note

It's finally time for something that, for me, has been a long time coming. Spitfire bashing and feels being touched abound this chapter. And because this is all plot relevant, if you don't read, you may get confused later.

Chapter 53 - Fall of an Idol (Rainbow Falls AU)

Before the actual Equestria games could begin, there were some qualifiers to take care of, and one such qualifier was taking place at Rainbow Falls. However, it seems that Zanth had scouted the place out, and yet, he was maliciously laughing.

"Can these ponies be clumsier? I didn't even do anything yet, and already one of those Wonderbolts; specifically, the one I was going to target; sprained his own wing. If these ponies are THIS clumsy, then sending this world into total despair will be easier than I thought. Now all I have to do, is sit back and watch the fireworks." Zanth said as he started to hone his gauge onto the track below.

"So, here's the plan: Fluttershy, you'll be our starting flier. Bulk, you'll be right after her, and then I'll finish things off." Rainbow Dash said.

"You really think this is a good situation?" Fluttershy asked.

"It's the best we got. And I believe in you guys." Rainbow Dash said. She noticed Spitfire waving at her. "...Be right back." She said before flying over to Spitfire. "Hey, where's Soarin?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Well, he ended up getting himself injured. Now I could very much put a different Wonderbolt in his place, bu--" Spitfire was saying, when she noticed Rainbow Dash suddenly had a dark look on her face. "...What's with that look?" Spitfire asked.

"...Are you seriously about to ask me if I want to replace Soarin on your team?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Uh yeah. Figured you'd want--" Spitfire was saying.

"Where is Soarin?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Wh-what?" Spitfire said, worried.

"I asked you a question: Where is Soarin? And you better answer me honestly." Rainbow Dash said.

"He's at the infirmary, but I don't see why--" Spitfire said before Rainbow Dash suddenly took off. "...What is going on?" Spitfire asked.

"Beats me." Fleetfoot said. "This is new." She added.

Rainbow Dash noticed Soarin on the hospital bed, currently sleeping. "...When do you think he'll wake up?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Well he'll be awake in a few hours. Visiting hours will still be active though if you wish to talk with him." The doctor said. "He's lucky it's just a minor wing spring. Very treatable, and he'll be flying again in a couple of months; though he'll miss the Equestria Games because of it." The Doctor added.

"...That's not my concern. I'm just happy to hear he'll make a recovery. If he wakes up, tell him I'll want to talk to him." Rainbow Dash said. "Just say that 'Rainbow Dash' will have a message for him." She added.

"...I see, and what pr--" The doctor tried to say but Rainbow Dash rushed off again. "...In all my years as a doctor, I've never seen behavior like this before." The doctor said.

Luna was currently working on some paperwork when Rainbow Dash started to tap on her window. Using magic, Luna opened the window. "Oh. Rainbow Dash. Didn't expect to see you today." Luna said.

"I'm in." Rainbow Dash said simply.

"...I beg your pardon?" Luna asked.

"The Shadowbolt program; I'm telling you I'm accepting your invite." Rainbow Dash said.

"But there's still a couple of months left." Luna said. But the look in Rainbow Dash's eyes told her everything. "...But recent events have made you come to your decision early because of something you hold very seriously. After all, I don't think a pony like yourself has ever shown this much loyalty to anything. First Scootaloo, and now Soarin. These past few years have been testing your dedication to loyalty and what it means to you." Luna said.

"One could say that. I just know the pony I thought I could become loyal to, has turned out to be willing to throw one of their own team members under the bus so to speak." Rainbow Dash said.

"I see. Well then Rainbow Dash, you can hold onto this." Luna said before handing over a skull pin. "That pin is for those that accepted being a part of the Shadowbolt Program only. Hold onto it." She added. "Oh, and take this too." Luna then handed over a different pin, this time with a lightning bolt on it. "I don't know why I had this thing laying around, but I think it fits you perfectly." Luna said.

"...Thanks Luna. Now I've got some unfinished business to take care of." Rainbow Dash said before flying off; almost pulling off a Sonic Rainboom with very minimal effort.

Even Zanth noticed that, and he suddenly got the shivers. "Whoa. I don't know what I'm feeling right now, but it isn't the despair I'm trying to spread. Whatever just awoke within that mare isn't any form of negativity at all, but rather a fierce competitive edge that will mark the end of an era for the Wonderbolts." Zanth said.

Rainbow Dash returned to Spitfire shortly thereafter.

"Where on Eques did you go?" Spitfire asked.

"To take care of some things. I can't believe that you would ever think about replacing Soarin Winds. You've made your loyalty very clear when it comes to your own team: You don't have any loyalty what-so-ever." Rainbow Dash said. "He sprains his wing, and your first thought is to have some pony from some other team take his place just to tempt them with the prospect of winning?" She asked.

"Hey now, this is a simple misunderstanding, I can explain." Spitfire said.

"Save it. Soarin was right: The wonderbolts have become nothing more than publicity glory hounds. And to top things off, their leader is a two-timing, back-stabbing mare who thinks of nothing more than getting a gold medal and being at the top of the charts." Rainbow Dash said.

"Now listen here Rainbow, if you'll just--" Spitfire tried to say.

"You don't get to call me Rainbow anymore Spitfire. From here on out, we're rivals. And when the Equestria Game finals come up, I won't be racing for the gold. I'll be racing for Soarin. And when I race for some pony besides myself, I can't lose." Rainbow Dash said before returning to her own team.

"...Fleetfoot, why do I have a bad feeling about things suddenly?" Spitfire asked.

"I do too captain." Fleetfoot said.

With fierce determination, Rainbow Dash had pulled off a Sonic Rainboom during the finals, and thus won the gold medal. While the competitions were still ongoing, Rainbow Dash was visiting Soarin Winds in the infermory.

"Heh. About time you got here. Looks like you won the gold." Soarin said.

"Yeah. And you should know: Spitfire was going to try and tempt me with joining the Wonderbolts team and doing the Equestria Games with them. I refused of course, amongst other things." Rainbow Dash said.

"...Wow. I can't believe she'd do that. Guess I better turn in my resignation then, because I'll be accepting Luna's offer for sure after a stunt like that." Soarin said.

"Yeah. By the way, this is for you." Rainbow Dash said before slipping the gold medal around Soarin's neck.

"Huh? But you won this fair and square." Soarin said.

"Yeah. But I won it for you. I didn't win it for myself. Next Equestria Games, I want us both to put Spitfire in her place." Rainbow Dash said.

"...Heh. I can agree with that." Soarin said.

A couple of days later, Rainbow Dash was tossing away all her Spitfire memorbellia with a sad expression on her face. Just as she prepared herself for a mid-day nap, suddenly Daring Do popped into her home. "...Mom? What are you doing here?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Heard what happened from Twilight." Daring Do said. "So, I asked her where I could find you." She added.

"Tch. I just need some time to myself. I don't need to be babied." Rainbow Dash said.

"Didn't come here for that. Came here because I know what it's like to look up to a certain pony and find out they aren't at all what you expected them to be like." Daring Do said.

"You mean you had your own 'Spitfire' in a way?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yeah. Her name was Madison Goldman. If that name doesn't ring a bell for you, don't worry, she was before your time kiddo." Daring Do said. "See, I had one adventure before my first ever written book that I never wrote about. Before that adventure, as I was growing up, I adored Madison Goldman like a hero. The books she published of her own adventures always made me want to get into archology. I eventually did, but after doing so, I soon discovered something horrible about the pony I had been idolizing: That she was a fraud, and her adventures were fake." She explained. "It turned out, Madison always followed closely behind real adventures, waiting for them to fall into some trap, before going off to claim all the glory for herself. In short, she never once had a real adventure." The yellow pegasus said.

"...So, this leads into the one adventure you never wrote about huh?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yes. Very much so. My first ever outing was actually to find a lost city. Not some mystical treasure that belonged in a museum, or something that could've caused the end of the world as we know it, but rather I was following the trail that would help me discover the ancient lost city of Ponyopolis." Daring Do said.

"What?! But I think a book like 'Daring Do and the Forgotten City' would've made for a great read." Rainbow Dash said.

"...There is no pleasure that can be taken, for falling into a trap set by the pony you had learnt the real face of. Turns out, all the traps the adventurers Madison Goldman had been following, were creations of Madison herself. And Madison had created one, hoping to take the glory away from me, just as she had countless others." Daring Do said. "...There was just one difference between me and her other victims." She added.

"What difference was that?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Madison Goldman may have been a Unicorn, but all of her victims were earth ponies. They weren't able to fly their way out of trouble like I could. And just like that, I could easily escape Madison trap, however, by escaping her trap, the place we were in began collapsing, and while I was able to speed fly my way out of there before the only clue to the lost city of Ponyopolis was gone forever, Madison Goldman was not so lucky." Daring Do said. "That's because as it turned out, Madison Goldman could not use teleportation." She added.

"...So she was buried in that chamber, and the city of Ponyopolis became lost forever along with her." Rainbow Dash said.

"I never wrote about this adventure, and I never told any pony about this adventure before now either. So promise me you'll keep it under your hat." Daring Do said.

"...I pinkie promise to never tell any pony without your permission mom. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Rainbow Dash said.

"...For some reason, I can trust that." Daring Do said.

"You should really come by and hang out with my friends more mom. Think you'll enjoy time here in Ponyville." Rainbow Dash said.

"Heh. You know what? I think I will. So long as you don't mind being a guide for your own biological mother." Daring Do said.

"I don't mind at all one bit." Rainbow Dash said with a grin. "...Though really, thanks mom. I needed to hear that story." Rainbow Dash said.

"Any time kiddo." Daring Do said. "I wouldn't mind helping you dispose of this stuff that you want to get rid of either." She added.

"Tempting, but this is something I have to do by myself. You'd understand, right mom?" Rainbow Dash said before grabbing the pile of stuff she was going to throw out and leaving.

Daring Do smiled. "Believe me kiddo, I know the feeling." She added before taking out a very burnt photograph that was so burnt, you couldn't tell what the subject matter was anymore. "...I know the feeling all too well." She added before tossing the burnt photo into Rainbow Dash's own fireplace.