I have to get out of this. I have to get out of this!
Lightning burned red with rage, trembling in place and gritting her teeth as she glared at the cheerleader’s uniform, that pink monstrosity. The folds of the skirt, which alternated between dark and light purple, were lined with bright pink at the bottom edges, and the top was all pink, lined with faint purple at the collar and sleeves. She wanted nothing more than to tear it to pieces. She glanced at the clock. It'll go quick. I know it will
She had never considered what would happen if she was to lose that race, the moment she readily consented to the bet without so much as a second thought. The bet didn't matter, Lightning had thought; all that mattered was getting the chance to knock her rival down a peg.
Two of her Washout teammates, Short Fuse and Rolling Thunder, were with her the day she crossed paths with Rainbow Dash, one summer evening at Marjorine’s Restaurant & Bar in Ponyville.
After only a few minutes of putting on a polite conversation, Rainbow and Lightning could not help themselves but to start rattling off threats, taunts, and insults.
“You love to talk a big game,” Rainbow had said, "Why don't you put your money where your mouth is."
“Anywhere, anytime,” Lightning had replied, scowling all the while.
They had chosen the Ponyville track as the battleground, and on that fateful night a crowd of spectators had gathered; Rainbow’s little friend Scootaloo had spread the word all around town. Lightning had not wanted the additional pressure of a large audience, but she would sooner die than try to back out.
“May the best flier win,” Lightning said. Rainbow only laughed, and said nothing in reply.
The race began with the blowing of a horn courtesy of Rainbow’s friend Pinkie Pie, and the two pegasi took flight.
Due to some recent stunt-related injuries, Lightning had not raced competitively for over a month, and after just the first few seconds she felt her muscles tighten and her wings weaken. Rainbow, meanwhile, was hardly out of breath even after the second lap. Despite Lightning being relatively out of shape, she was able to make pace with Rainbow for almost the entire race. But while Lightning was batting her wings with every ounce of strength she had, Rainbow had saved her greatest effort for the last stretch, where she pulled ahead to take the lead.
Lightning watched Rainbow cross the finish line a few yards ahead of her, to the sound of the entire crowd cheering. And the sound of the crowd was enough to make her want to come to a stop right then and there, but she gritted her teeth and swallowed her pride and trudged on toward the finish line, crashing into the grass.
Gasping for breath, Lightning Dust saw her vision go dark as she struggled to pull herself off the ground. She spat out dirt and glanced over her shoulder, as the crowds descended upon Rainbow, cheering and waving their hooves in the air.
Lightning sat up, too exhausted to cry or scream or curse somepony out. She only had enough strength left to meekly sit there, defeated.
After the crowds began to clear, Rainbow trotted toward her, after picking up her gear bag off the field.
“Nice race,” Rainbow managed, keeping her distance as she noticed Lightning’s shortness of breath, “But…A deal is a deal.”
Only then did Lightning remember the arrangement they had made, and even though the race had ended, her heart was still beating out of her chest, electrified with panic. Dress-up...Cheerleader...Whole day...Fuck. She managed to keep herself composed, in the moment, though Rainbow could tell she was ready to burst underneath.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Rainbow teased, before leaving Lightning there on the ground.
Only after everypony had left the field did Lightning allow any tears to spring free.
Rainbow had arrived at Lightning’s apartment promptly at 10 a.m, the following day. Lightning had taken her sweet time marching to the door, as if she was walking the plank into shark-infested waters. When she finally opened the door, no amount of huffing or puffing or puppy-dog eyes were going to earn her any favors.
“Alright, loser, put this on,” Rainbow snickered, holding up the outfit by its hanger. Lightning flinched at the sight of the thing, and she took a cautious step back as if she was staring down some venomous snake.
“I guess it’s too late to ask you to please not do this,” Lightning sighed.
“C'mon, you'd be totally fine with it if it was you who won,” Rainbow pointed out, “You said may the best flier win, and she did, so you gotta follow through with what you said you would do.”
"I wasn't really listening, OK?" Lightning stammered, "I'll do anything else. Just not this."
Rainbow shook her head, implacable.
"What do you want?" Lightning asked, desperately, "Bits? I have bits. I'll pay you."
"I don't want your bits," Rainbow said, sharply, "Quit being such a baby, and put it on!"
Lightning scowled and snatched the uniform out of Rainbow’s hooves.
“Whatever. You'll pay for this someday, Rainbow Dash,” Lightning grunted, before slamming the door.
“Oh, I'm sure,” Rainbow snickered.
Inside, Lightning Dust stared down at the uniform, a loaner from the Cloudsdale University cheer team. The sports administrators had found it a strange request, but Rainbow Dash was not a pony they could refuse.
She slipped her hind legs into the skirt, before giving it a shimmy to squeeze the band around her hips. Glancing in the mirror, she noticed the skirt left her rump almost entirely exposed. For fuck’s sake. I look like some slutty teenager. She fidgeted with the top, fitting her wings through the slots in the fabric, which was soft and flexible, but tight around her chest. She had never liked the way she looked in dresses or skirts. All she ever thought about were the names the other girls in school would call her whenever she tried dressing girlier or letting her mane grow out, or made any attempt to be more normal. There were times she wanted nothing more than to be porcelain and passive, fragile and soft like the girls that the boys all seemed to like, instead of hard and hostile and self-sufficient. She looked in the mirror and she thought of all the boys on her old flight team who she had crushed on, only for them to let her know that they saw her more like a brother than as a girl, through varying degrees of kindness. She would pine and stay up at night and scream into her stuffed animals, wishing she didn’t look the way she did, wishing somepony would give her a chance to be something else. She couldn’t blame everypony else though, as much as she wanted to; they only reinforced what she already thought, what she already knew, that she wouldn’t ever be the type of girl to be prom queen, that she would suffice as a punchline but not as a real friend to anypony. And now she got to see what she could have been, some giggly little doll on the cheer team who winked at the football players and kept her head empty of all thoughts. It was so stupid to have ever wanted that, but she wanted that. She didn’t want to be an outcast, she didn’t want to be laughed at. But looking at herself in the mirror, she could see as clear as day that it couldn’t have ever been any other way. I do look ridiculous. They were all right about me.
She took a great deep breath, and rubbed her hoof against the softness of the fabric to try and comfort herself.
Throwing the front door open, she had expected Rainbow to burst into laughter at the very sight of her. But Rainbow seemed more endeared than anything else.
“Aww! You look adorable!” Rainbow beamed.
“Shut up,” Lightning growled.
Rainbow continued gushing and grinning and inspecting Lightning from additional angles, all while Lightning felt herself shrink.
“This is going to ruin my life,” Lightning said.
“Oh, calm down, you big baby,” Rainbow said, “You’ll survive. You remember the routine, right?”
“Yeah,” Lightning sighed, “Rainbow….Please. Please don’t do this. I’m begging you.”
“Are you kidding? You look so cute in that, I never want you to take it off! Let’s go, c’mon. We’ve got a big day ahead of us,” Rainbow said, taking Lightning by the hoof.
Their first destination was downtown Ponyville. Lightning tailed Rainbow with her head hung low. Rainbow led her right into the town square, right in the middle of the morning rush. Lightning recognized a few faces, much to her chagrin. Bon Bon. Redheart. Filthy Rich. She saw a couple snickering at her from across the street. She saw a gaggle of schoolgirls laughing and pointing. She saw an old mare gasp and recoil in shock and confusion.
“Alright. Here should be good,” Rainbow said.
Lightning glared at her.
“There’s too many ponies,” Lightning said, hiding her face in her hoof, “Can’t we do this somewhere less public?”
“Nope. Here’s good,” Rainbow smirked, “Go on. I’m waiting.”
Lightning caught her breath, struggling to open her mouth to speak.
“HEY EVERYPONY!!!” Lightning shrieked. The whole square came to a stop, as if they had been eagerly awaiting a reason to stop and stare.
Lightning’s heart was beating so fast she thought she might faint right then and there. But she cleared her throat and persisted.
“ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR! WHO IS IT WE’RE CHEERING FOR? RAINBOW DASH! RAINBOW DASH! FIVE, SIX, SEVEN EIGHT NINE! WHO’S THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME? RAINBOW DASH! RAINBOW DASH! JUMP AROUND! SCREAM AND SHOUT! SHE’S WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT! C’MON! EVERYPONY EVERYWHERE, NOT A PONY CAN COMPARE! RAINBOW DASH! RAINBOW DASH! RAINBOW DASH!”
The crowd took over for her right as her voice began to give out. Rainbow grinned, as the crowds closed in around her, pumping their hooves in the air, cheering her name and yelling out in jubilation. Lightning felt like throwing up. Rainbow hardly needed a cheerleader, the whole town already loved her.
Rainbow glanced over at her, while the crowds kept barking out their praises.
“Pretty good,” Rainbow acknowledged, “See? That wasn’t so bad.”
“Did your ego really need all that?” Lightning seethed.
“No. But yours could use an adjustment,” Rainbow smirked.
It took all Lightning had not to burst into tears. Rainbow noticed, and quickly reached for Lightning’s hoof, dragging her out from the crowds.
“Are you OK?” Rainbow asked, taking flight with Lightning at her side.
Lightning stuttered over her words.
“This is humiliating,” she choked through her tears.
"Oh, c'mon, I told you, you look adorable!" Rainbow reminded, "It's not that bad. We’re almost through, OK? We just need to pay a visit to one more stop."
Rainbow spread her wings, and Lightning followed suit, struggling not to bury her face in her hooves to hide her shame, and escape all the laughter of the crowd.
They took flight together, leaving the crowds in the street below. And Lightning caught sight of their destination then, a blink in the distance, a floating city in the sky.
The whole way to Cloudsdale, all Lightning could think about were the smirking faces in the crowds, who would only ever think of her as some ditzy cheerleader freak, having to scream out praises for her greatest enemy. Part of her almost felt relieved; there was no possible way she could reach a lower point than this.
Lightning felt her heartbeat speed up, tagging along behind Rainbow as they passed by cloudbursts and rainbow rivers. They were approaching the Wonderbolt Academy, where countless cadets were busy darting through the cumulus clouds, following the directions of their belligerent drill instructors. There was a time when she knew every single name on the Wonderbolt roster. They were her idols, once. Spitfire and Soarin, Fleetfoot and all the old greats. Her imagination was always more reliable than any friends in her life had been. Now the team was made up of strangers; each year another veteran retired, and more and more fresh faces rose through the ranks. Lightning's heart burned with envy. I should be with them.
Rainbow touched down at the Academy landing strip, with Lightning close behind. There were a couple of Wonderbolt officers milling about the grass nearby, and she could hear them chuckling to each other at the sight of her.
“Rainbow, please, not this,” Lightning said, weakly, “I’d rather do it in front of all of Canterlot than here.”
“Too bad it’s not up to you,” Rainbow said. Although she wanted to be conscious of Lightning's feelings, she also did get some thrill out of punishing Lightning, after everything she had done. “Let’s go. Once you do this, you’re off the hook. OK?”
“OK…” Lightning said.
Lightning was relieved to find the halls of the Academy mostly deserted; most of the Wonderbolts were outside at that time, running drills. But there were a few ponies they passed, none of whom Lightning knew. They stopped and laughed just like everypony at Ponyville had, and Lightning tried her best to keep her head held high. But she could only do it for so long, before the laughter began ringing in her ears, making her want to shrink and disappear.
They found Soarin, Misty Fly, Fleetfoot, and Thunderlane in the cafeteria. At the sight of Lightning, all four burst into laughter. Rainbow cracked a grin, leading a blushing Lightning deeper into the cafeteria.
"Awwww," came Fleetfoot and Misty, each hiding their mouths with their hooves, "No way!"
“Well, if it isn't Lightning Dust,” Thunderlane said, raising an eyebrow. Beside him, Soarin was laughing so hard he had nearly fallen out of his chair.
"What's this supposed to be?" Soarin asked, skeptical. Lightning was blushing beet red. She adjusted her skirt.
“She lost a bet,” Rainbow smirked, “She’s got a whole routine she practiced, you guys should hear it.”
“No, don’t, I think I might die,” Fleetfoot laughed, “Y'know, I kind of like her better this way. You want to cheer us on from the sidelines, Lightning Dust? That’s the closest you’ll ever get to being a part of the team, aww, poor little Lightning. We need to get her some pom-poms!”
Lightning flinched. Ordinarily she would have been quick to defend herself, but she felt so weak and helpless then that all she could do was take it all in force.
Rainbow’s smile began to fade.
“You actually thought you had a chance against one of us?” Thunderlane laughed, “Crazy. You’d think you’d get it through your head by now, you’re not cut out for this stuff. Stay in your lane and keep doing your stunts or whatever.
"I don't know, this might be her true calling, it's not a bad look on her," Misty remarked.
The other Wonderbolts murmured in agreement, inspecting Lightning from other angles while Lightning frowned and continued to turn red.
“Alright guys, go easy,” Rainbow said, softly.
“Don’t feel bad for her now, Dash,” Misty Fly said, “She almost got your friends killed, you’re always reminding us!”
“I know, but…” Rainbow said, “Don't take it too far.”
“She took it too far when she almost caught a conviction for reckless flying,” Soarin countered, "She put ponies' lives at risk, Dash, that's serious."
“Y’know, maybe it’s not her fault. She might not have been able to read the rules and regulations handbook, the dumb bitch,” Fleetfoot laughed.
“I guess it’s true what they say about blondes,” Thunderlane snickered.
“What’s the meaning of this?”
The Wonderbolts’ laughter shut off like a switch had been flipped, when Spitfire came storming in from another corridor. Rainbow turned red; she had not meant for Spitfire to find out about all this.
“Rainbow Dash,” Spitfire said, glancing between her and Lightning, “Do you have authorization to bring a civilian into Wonderbolt facilities?”
“No, ma’am,” Rainbow admitted, “Sorry, ma’am.”
“What is this supposed to be, some joke?” Spitfire demanded, glaring at Lightning Dust, “Answer me, washout, what is your purpose here? Trying to find out our secrets?”
“N-No, m-ma’am, I…” Lightning stammered.
“SHUT YOUR MOUTH!” Spitfire roared, “I recall telling you never to step hoof back in this building.”
Lightning hesitated, before her rage took the better of her.
“....Maybe I just wanted to check to see if anypony’s beaten all the records I set in the two weeks I was here,” Lightning fired back, catching Rainbow by surprise. All eyes drifted up towards the banners that hung in the rafters of the cafeteria. They did not bear Lightning’s name, but they all knew that Lightning had surpassed all the times listed, back during her time as a cadet.
“I guess not. You all love to talk down to me, but we all know it’s because you’re jealous. I beat all your records. I earned my place here. I was the best flier you ever had, and you threw me out.”
"Hard to take you seriously when you're dressed like that," Misty said, dryly. Spitfire took a step closer toward Lightning, who tried her best to stand her ground.
“I'll tell you what I told you before, since you still haven't learned a thing," Spitfire said, "Being the best should never come at the expense of ponies’ safety. Ponies like you think they can get away with doing awful things, just because you thought you were trying to be good. You don’t even know what good is. All you care about is how to further your own ends, how to get ahead of the competition. And where has that led you?”
Spitfire eyed her up and down, and Lightning lowered her head, ashamed.
“You’re not worth my time. You’re not worth anypony’s time,” Spitfire spat, “So get out.”
Lightning could not stop herself from crying this time, spinning around and shuffling out of the cafeteria, her skirt ruffling as she went.
Rainbow glared at Spitfire, who was unrelenting. Soarin, Misty, Fleetfoot, and Thunderlane seemed uneasy, perhaps regretful, but did not dare step out of line to go pursue her. Rainbow did, however, turning around to catch up to Lightning, who had run into one of the locker rooms.
“Lightning!”
Rainbow found Lightning by the lockers, her head buried in her hooves, sniveling and sobbing in silence.
“Lightning,” Rainbow said, more gently. She checked over her shoulder to make sure they were alone.
“Stop,” Lightning said, struggling to speak through the tears, “Please, stop.”
“Lightning, I’m sorry,” Rainbow said, speaking to Lightning’s back, “This got way out of hoof. They shouldn’t have said all of that. Lightning! Listen to me, please stop crying.”
Lightning desperately tried to get control of herself, but she was overcome by emotion then.
“No, no…She’s right. You’re right. They’re all right. I never should’ve….Fuck. Fuck!” Lightning yelled, collapsing against the lockers.
Lightning caught her breath, picking at her skirt and leaning against the lockers.
"I wanted to be one of you so badly. My whole life," Lightning said, "And after I fucked everything up, I thought the next best thing would be to try and prove to you all that you made a mistake passing me over. But that'll never happen. I won't be good enough to be anything other than a joke to you guys. A fucking loser who you get to dress up and parade around town."
“Lightning," Rainbow said, "You need to stop thinking that the Wonderbolts are the end-all-to-be-all. I love being a Wonderbolt, but there are days where I can’t stand it. Teammates, the pressure, the work, it’s a lot,[/i....You get to run your own team, one who loves and looks up to you. You have fans all over Equestria. There are a lot of days where I envy you, Lightning. If I didn't have any respect for you as a flier, I wouldn't have bothered racing you. Yeah, I beat you yesterday, but on another day you could’ve beat me, you know that.”
Lightning calmed herself down, glancing at Rainbow, skeptically.
“This whole bet was just a way for you to bully me," Lightning said.
"It was a way to get you to put your ego in check, and stop taking yourself so seriously," Rainbow said, "But it got taken too far, and I'm sorry, Lightning."
Lightning eyed her.
"....It's OK," Lightning said, rubbing her eyes, "It's OK. It was almost....kinda....fun, I guess. And maybe you're right, maybe I do stuff without thinking too much, and maybe I have an ego problem. I'm the one who should be sorry."
Rainbow raised an eyebrow, as if she was expecting a more comprehensive apology. Lightning glared at her, and groaned.
“Alright,” Lightning said, supposing she owed Rainbow more than that, "I’m sorry. For everything. For the stuff at the Academy, with your friends….For Ponyville, and Scootaloo. For how I treated you, for how I’ve always hated you…That was all shitty. I'm shitty. I’m sorry.”
Rainbow smiled.
“Well,” Rainbow said, “After today, I guess we’ll call it even.”
Lightning smiled back. She turned to hug Rainbow, hesitantly. But once Rainbow reciprocated her, Lightning fell into the embrace. She felt safe. She felt warm. She felt free.
“Friends?” Rainbow asked.
Lightning sniffled and pulled away for a moment, before leaning back in for another hug.
“Friends,” Lightning smiled, "But that doesn't mean I'll go easy on you the next time we race."
"Be careful," Rainbow smirked, "The next time, it's cheerleader for a week."
Lightning laughed, glancing down at herself and laughing again at how ridiculous she looked.
Rainbow perked up at the sound of hooves squeaking against tile. Soarin, Thunderlane, Misty, and Fleetfoot had arrived, all glancing at the ground. Lightning's smile faded, and she braced herself for a sequel to the verbal assault she had endured earlier.
"Hey, Lightning," Soarin said, clearing his throat, "We're, uh....We're sorry."
Lightning glanced at Rainbow, who seemed pleasantly perplexed.
"We're sorry we laughed at you," Fleetfoot added, "We just....Well, ever since you started your own team, the competition may have gotten to our heads."
"I get it," Lightning said, "I haven't made much of an effort to put the bad blood behind me, so I'm sorry too."
"We should all go training together sometime," Misty added, hoping for some reconciliation, "You can bring your teammates too."
"And maybe you can dress up and cheer at our races, too," grinned Thunderlane. Fleetfoot jabbed him in the side.
Lightning stifled a laugh, glancing down at herself. She sighed, and admitted to herself she was not as repulsed by this look as she had convinced herself she was. Part of her felt free, even, to have been forced into this predicament, to prop herself up as the pink, preppy pony she had always wondered about becoming.
"I'll think about it," Lightning cooed, smiling to herself while Soarin and Thunderlane both pumped their hooves in the air and gave a small cheer.
Lightning shot a glance over at Rainbow.
“....So, uh, can I take this off now?” Lightning asked.
Rainbow rubbed her chin and gave it some thought.
“I don’t know. You do look super cute.”
