The hurricane was something well beyond the means of the pegasi to control, as if the nature itself were enacting vengeance upon ponykind for an unforgivable sin. The wind made breathing impossible, but she had to try. The Princesses, her friends, indeed Equestria was counting on her.
Dash knew that it could broken up with a Sonic Rainboom. The force of the prismatic explosion could, if done within the eyewall, disrupt the storm enough for the pegasi to gain collective control of the storm.
Dash tore into the storm, even at one point laughing at it. The whipping rain stung her profoundly and the wind kept shifting her path. Her trademark confidence was misplaced, though she wouldn’t relent.
It was too much though. She had no energy left. The hurricane mocked her as she fell.
~(0)~
*BBBZZZZTTTT*
The klaxon effect of the alarm was met with a crushing descent of a cyan hoof. Rainbow Dash’s cerise eye glared daggers at the radio clock. It was just too damn early. Still though, she had to do this though. The wedding in Canterlot was a few days away and she’d yet to do the Sonic Rainboom how she wanted.
She rolled from her all too comfortable cloud bed and hoofed it over to the bathroom, the cotton-quality floor giving a spring in her step. Her last few weeks had been miserable. The same nightmare had plagued her sleep and had gotten worse each night. It was metaphoric for something, but like a lot things dealing with philosophy, she thought it was nonsense.
She wanted to make the wedding the best ever. The princess asked her to do a Sonic Rainboom when the couple, Twlight’s brother Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, were introduced to the masses of ponies. Being Twilight’s friend, ever loyal to the Princess, the Element of Loyalty, and her own pride damned her to perfection. Her idea was break the barrier while in ascent and to arc over the entirety of Canterlot.
That was the idea anyway.
Rainbow had made the attempt well over a hundred times since the wedding invitation first came and she had yet to do it. She was the only pony to ever do what was once a theory, a legend. What’s more, she sought to do it whenever and however she wanted. Her own stubborn pride would demand nothing less.
Rainbow glanced outside and let out a groan. After splashing water on her face to try and bring reality into sharper focus, she moved through her cloud home in the direction of the door. She would try it before breakfast, eat, and try again. She would try it a hundred more times if need be. She told herself that anyway, though her well founded confidence had suffered. Simply put, she was more than simply physically tired. But her friends and the Princess were counting on her.
The sun was just peaking in the east as she checked on Tank, who tucked his shell still asleep. “I envy you, buddy,” she remarked as she trotted outside.
She stretched her wings and body doing her version of Ponyoga. She even assumed a postured she dubbed the “Downward Winona”, much to Applejack’s chagrin. Letting out a breath to try and rid her body of the feeling of pending failure, she took flight over towards the Everfree.
She was gaining speed over Ponyville while most of the other ponies weren’t even up yet. She let the wind blow into her prismatic mane and tail. Her routine was involved slaloming through the treetops that poked out over the Everfree before trying to gain enough speed for the Sonic Rainboom. The barrier always seemed impossible break again.
It was easy enough with the assistance of gravity, but while fighting against it while flying updwards? There was the rub and the source of her frustrations.
She sighed as she flew over Sweet Apple Acres. Of course, Mac and AJ were out bucking apples and doing various other chores. She’d normally stop by and have breakfast with her best friend and occasionally torment the red stallion as well, but she didn’t have time. Practice called.
She found her course and focused on expansive evergreen canopy came into view. Rolling to her right with her hooves fully extended, a beat of her wings accelerated the cyan pegasus as she broke into her obstacle course. The tree tops were tighter than the clouds she used at the Best Young Flyer competition, but it suited her. It was an exercise of agility that she'd do with all the grace of a dancer.
Dash was finishing her course when she breathed in again and turned her wings upward. Her body in full extension, she beat her wings fast enough to draw praise from a hummingbird. The wind creased her face as she accelerated. The barrier and the crackles of energy that accompanied it began to form. Maybe now would be it? Her wings were spending their energy quickly, but she trained relentless for this.
The barrier didn’t break. For that matter, it actually catapulted towards the forest below.
It proved too much again for the ever confident pegasus as she fell. However, she trained her body to glide against the will of gravity. She found herself slowing as a sigh escaped. Her body was weary from the effort and her hyperactive metabolism, a result from her finely toned muscles, demanded fuel. She turned towards Sweet Apple Acres. Apples awaited her.
~(0)~
“Ah don’t know, RD,” Applejack spoke as she bucked another tree. The apples fell into the buckets spread out to collect them, save one which was snatched by the cyan pegasus, “Aren’t ya being too hard on yourself?”
“AJ, you don’t understand,” the cyan pegasus spoke as she hovered near the farm mare, “It’s everything to me. It has to be awesome!”
“Now Ah know that darned pride of yours won’t have it any other way,” the farm mare was looking over the orchard for the choicest of her crop, “but ah don’t think they’ll fret if ya don’t do it the way ya want to? The Princess weren't specific on how ya should do it.”
Dash understood her friend was speaking the truth as she saw it. But it wasn’t her own heart. She sighed, seeing no solution to her dilemma. She took a bite and tried to place the stench of failure with her sweet, subtle aroma of the apple. Various other smells assaulter her nose, though they weren't unwelcome.
Granny Smith and Applebloom were busy prepping the ingredients for Applejack’s chosen menu while Mac left for town to get a few remaining items. The smells assault her stomach which launched a voluminous growl in protest. She didn’t have time though to quash the uprising with anything else than her pilfered fruit.
Applejack read her longtime friend like an book, “Maybe you’re just trying too hard.”
“Huh?” The cyan pegasus spoke, launching a few apple bits.
Applejack wiped the chunks of apple off her face, “Ah’m saying maybe you need to take a break, sugarcube. How long have y’all been at it? Two, three weeks now?”
“I can’t stop trying AJ,” Dash was lost trying to explain her frustrations to her friend. How do you communicate a point of pride, especially of her pride?
“Ah’m not saying you should,” the orange earth pony moved a few more empty buckets under another tree, “but Ah think ya need a break.”
Applejack looked to her flying friend and occasional athletic nemesis square in the face as she drifted to her, “Look, even the earth needs a break once in awhile. If ya overstress the soil for years, without tillin’ under older plants and such, ya can’t grow anything anymore. The soil gives out because there ain’t nothin’ left that made the plants grow. There just ain't nothing left for it to give.”
Applejack gave another buck as the apples fell from that tree, “If the ground needs a break once in a while, what’s that say for a pony?”
Rainbow’s mouth hung upon. She didn’t expect such a dead on observation from her farm pony friend. She looked goofy with bits of leftover apple still present. Applejack cantered to her friend and hoofed it close for her while Dash digested the apple and her friend's point.
“You know, you’re right AJ!” Rainbow chirped as her face brightened. She had been training for weeks without a break and it was wearing on her. She even had foregone her beloved afternoon naps to train, “I think I’m going to see what the girls are up to.”
“Ya do that. Tell Twi that Ah said hi!”
“Will do. Thanks AJ!” The cyan pegasus flew off towards Ponyville. She had to apologize to her lonely napping cloud.
Applejack chuckled quietly, “Darned fool mare.” Her own stomach protested the remark as she caught scent of the pie crusts Granny Smith was baking. “Speakin’ of break,” she turned towards the large barn the family called home.
~(0)~
The day had been a good one. Dash picked up the newest novel in her favorite series, “Daring Do and the Trials of Marecules” from Twilight and helped Rarity by modeling a few of the dresses that the fashionista was making for the wedding.
Later, she was later treated to lunch by the eternally hyper Pinkie Pie. Pinkie had even showed Rainbow her new party cannon. Though Rainbow wasn’t sure why the pink party pony was ecstatic about the larger caliber and was dumbstruck when Pinkie fondly called it “Vera”, she was happy for her pranking pal.
After some dinner and chilling with her pet Tank, Dash was lazily drifting through the nighttime sky over the Everfree Forest. Flying always cleared her head and, though she didn’t ever say so, her heart. She managed to put her failures behind her long enough that she felt refreshed. She noted to herself to thank Applejack later.
For now though, the bright full moon kept the evening lit enough that she could make out the various shades of green on the trees below while the mostly clear sky provided an awesome backdrop to the stars above. Rainbow was just thinking about returning home to see what Daring was up to when a dark purple blur caught her attention in the distance.
“What the hay?”
Rainbow gave a flap of her wings and flew to where she would get a better view of the streaking...whatever. As she drew close, the purple streak seemed to be laughing for no reason as it suddenly turned towards her!
Rainbow banked up in time to avoid a collision. The purple streak was emitting small sparks of light within its trail. Rainbow even swore a pony was at the head of it. “Get back here!” Rainbow called as took off after the streak, emitting a prismatic trail of her own.
Anypony that night would have swore they were seeing things as rainbow and sparkling purple lines played in the air above the forest. Barrel rolls, loops, and all sorts of aerial maneuvers would have done the Wonderbolts proud were on display. Rainbow didn’t have an issue keeping up with the purple trailing form, but she had to admit whoever this pony was, she was good. Dash and the mysterious pony were matching move for move. Rainbow, not for the first time that day, was enjoying herself. She was even laughing along with the purple trailing pony.
The aerial ballet continued for long while as the moon kept them lit. Rainbow knew it was a pony, but couldn’t place the laugh. Not in the chaos of the game they were playing. The streaking pony suddenly shot up began turning wide circles. Rainbow hovered as she watched the purple streak began to herd the clouds towards the center of the growing vortex.
“Oh boy,” Rainbow let out an audible gulp as the clouds were turning faster and faster. Something about this scene was all too familiar. The clouds began turning into a stretching funnel. Rainbow gulped again. On sheer instinct, she shot towards the swirling clouds as purple streak broke away. She had to stop it. A tornado wasn’t beyond her means to control in the early stages, but it was difficult. The idea was to disrupt the vortex before it grew out of control. Suddenly, she had an idea.
Rainbow didn’t think the streaking pony meant to hurt anypony. Out here in the middle of the Everfree, it wouldn't likely do any real damage. But she put those thoughts aside as she went flat out into the funnel. Her wings beat furiously as she fought for breath, focusing hard as she accelerated. That familiar barrier formed, the energy crackles danced about her. Her skin and mane were waving furiously as the clouds turned in an odd, hypnotic dance. She was so close.
*KRAKOW*
The barrier yielded as the sound of the Rainboom echoed across the vast Everfree. The ensuing colorful explosion broke the funnel cloud in its wake. Rainbow was streaking higher as she glanced down, watching the prismatic ring expanding outward while her own rainbow trail marked her passage.
“OH YEAH!” Rainbow was rightfully congratulating herself as the purple streaking pony left the vicinity, a hearty laugh going with it as the cyan pegasus was left doing a jig over the pine trees.
~(0)~
“Rainbow Dash, that’s your cue,” Princess Celestia whispered, reminding the pegasus of her role. With a smirk, she dropped the bridesmaid dress and took off skyward. She had gotten this down so well now.
Rainbow loosed the Sonic Rainboom and quickly began arcing over the entirety of the multitudes below. Her rainbow trail dazzled the royal couple and the masses as she yelled, “Best. Wedding. Ever!” Between the Changelings defeat and the pending celebration, it was hard to argue with that sentiment.
~(0)~
Dear Princess Celestia,
Yeah, today was awesome! But I learned something. It’s always good to push yourself to be the best, but sometimes things can get so hard, or just seem that way. When it does, and if you let it get to you, your mind can work against you and those things become impossible. I've always believed it's necessary to push through it until you do it.
But sometimes, it’s important to step away and take a break to clear your head. When you doubt yourself, it isn’t an easy thing to overcome. But refreshing your perspective, as Twilight would put it, can do wonders.
Sincerely,
Rainbow Dash
P.S. Tank says Hi.
Celestia rolled up the letter and the accompanying report from Twilight and set it aside. She looked to Luna, glaring at her little sister, “Luna. We talked about this. You can’t just peer into another pony’s dreams like that.”
Luna wore a mischievous grin as she worked through her stack of pancakes, “True, dear sister, but sometimes our ponies need that little extra push, do they not? Besides, it’s not like I peak all the time.
Celestia sipped her tea as she kept her gaze on her troublemaking sister. After a sigh, she relented “As you will. Just, please, keep it to a minimum.”
Luna shifted to a sultry smirk, “Agreed. Now do you want to know what your ‘Faithful Student’ dreams about?”
