“Any luck?” the purple equine inquired, eyes glimmering with hope as Fluttershy descended from Cloudsdale. The yellow’s pony drooped shoulders, lowered head and slowly flapping wings said it all, Rainbow Dash was still depressed.
“Twilight, I’m worried. It’s been almost three weeks now.”
Twilight let out a sigh and gazed up at the cloudy city in defeat, wishing there was something she, or anypony could do to cheer up her friend. She turned to the shy pegasus and uttered the only words that, after twenty one days of failed attempts at uplifting Dash’s spirits, seemed appropriate.
“I guess, we just have to leave her alone.”
Twilight gently licked her lips as the words burned on their way out. She hated to give up on her friend, but so far, no one had been able to talk to her. The only slight assurance of her decision came from looking at Fluttershy, who gave a hesitant nod of approval. As much as it pained them to accept, Rainbow Dash had to do this on her own.
Scootaloo watched Twilight and Fluttershy from a nearby tree. Upon hearing the news, she bit her lower lip and looked up at the cloudy city where her hero resided, broken and disheartened.
“Rainbow Dash…”
Rainbow Dash let out another low groan as she wallowed in a pool of her own frustration and shame. For what seemed like the 1,000th time, she turned to look at her shelf; upon it sat two golden crowns, both glimmering in the light as the sun reflected off the winged head pieces. Her legacy, her annual grand achievements, the physical evidence that not only defined her, but also solidified a well-known fact: The Best Flyer in Equestria.
The pegasus felt the pressure behind her eyes begin to grow as she allowed her gaze to pan to the right. She gritted her teeth as she desperately tried to force the memories from her head.
Everything was perfect; two years ago, she had won the competition by saving Rarity with a spectacular Sonic Rainboom. Last year, she went into the competition fearless, not only fixing up the sloppiness from the previous year’s routine, but adding a few extra tricks and performing two sonic rainbooms, one right after the other. It went down in history as “The Double Rainboom.” Such a feat was legendary beyond legendary, and she was more than determined to top that this year with what she knew would be “The Triple Rainboom”. Reports went out in the newspaper, ponies were clamoring for her attention, desperate to know how she was going to pull of three consecutive rainbooms back to back, but Rainbow Dash always answered the same way: “You’ll just have to see at the competition”.
This statement is what caused the biggest turnout to the “Young Flyer’s Competition” that anypony had ever seen. Ponies from Ponyville, Fillydelphia, Detrot, Las Pegasus, Idahoof, Mareyland, and many other places all gathered at Canterlot to witness the great feat.
There she was, slicing through the wind like the fantastic flyer she was known as, completing the Double Rainboom with ease. The crowd roared as she soared higher and higher, hundreds of eyes focused on her as she elevated, soon disappearing from view. Within seconds, she cut through the sky downward, the gush of wind tousling the manes of the audience ponies nearby, their screams filled the air and rand like a joyful tune in Dash’s ear before suddenly replaced by a sharp ring, then silence as she tore through the sound barrier. A Triple Rainboom was right around the corner. A smile curled onto her face as she basked in what she knew was already a successful feat; everything was going according to plan, she timed it perfectly. Rainbow gave her eyes a split second to gaze left and right relishing the awed faces of the earth ponies and unicorns who were unable to witness the competition from a sky line view, but gathered together to watch as the cerulean pegasus kicked back up into the sky.
But a split second proved to be too long.
When her eyes focused back in front of her Rainbow noticed she was too close to the ground to kick back up for the Triple Rainboom. She was just in time, however, to shift her body weight so that she didn’t hit the ground face first. All she remembered was the sharp sting that ran through her left foreleg and hoof before blacking out. When she awoke, she was in the hospital, her friend’s faces gleaming with joy at her still being alive, but for her it was bitter sweet. The crash had disqualified her, and what she expected to be a three peat was now a constant reminder of what a failure she was. Her perfect record destroyed because of one tiny miscalculation? Everything she stood for now meant nothing because she wanted to take less than a second to bask in the affection of her fans? It wasn’t fair!
Rainbow Dash eyed the crowns again. She clutched her pillow and sent it flying across the room at the headpieces, cursing herself in her head as her mind questioned if she even deserved them. She glared as she watched them land, facing away from her as if even the golden objects themselves were ashamed to be in her presence. Rainbow dash pressed her hooves against her eyes, forcing trapping the oncoming tears that had desperately been trying to escape for the past three weeks.
“You want us to what?!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed in confusion, staring at Scootaloo bewildered on how the orange coated pony could be serious.
Before the three fillies stood a large two part contraption; a 15-foot tall tower in front of a see saw device. One of the platforms on the see-saw had a giant red “X” marked on it to indicate a landing point.
“It’s simple! I sit on the other side, you guys jump off the tower, land on that “X” and it will catapult me into Cloudsdale and I can talk to Rainbow Dash and try and cheer her up!”
“Ain’t that a might bit dangerous, Scoot?” Applebloom inquired looking up at the tower.
“Nonsense! I’ve seen Rainbow do it hundreds of time! Now hurry up, we’re wasting time!”
Sweetie Belle and Applebloom looked at each other and shrugged. The two fillies climbed the tower and as they reached the top took a moment to observe the amazing view of Ponyville they had.
“Wow, Ah can see the farm from all the way up here!”
“You guys ready?!” Scootaloo shouted up at them as she plopped herself on the other side of the see saw, “On three! One…two…”
Sweetie Belle and Applebloom looked at each other and nodded. Without hesitation they both leaped off of the tower and allowed gravity to throw them down onto the platform at the most maximum speed possible. Scootaloo raised her hooves in the air noticing the two fillies jumped too early.
“I never got to threEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” the organe filly shouted as she was shot through the sky and up towards Cloudsdale. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle watched their friend as she soared.
“Wow, did that just work?”
“Ah think it did…we’ve never done somethin’ right on the first try before.”
Sweetie Belle gasped. Her eyes gleamed with excitement as she looked at Applebloom. “That must mean this is our special talent!”
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER CATAPULTERS!”
The two fillies stared at their flanks, which despite their success, were still blank. They both sighed in disappointment. Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened as a thought crossed her mind.
“Maybe we need to catapult more stuff!”
A rush of excitement ran through Applebloom, which soon evoked the same hopeful gleam in her eyes, as she contemplated her friend’s brilliant idea.
“Oh yeah! C’mon!”
The two fillies ran off in an attempt to solidify as factual what they believed to be their special talent.
Rainbow Dash stretched her legs and wings as she lazily moseyed out of bed. She gently pushed the door open and shielded her eyes as the rays of the sun beamed their way into the shadowy parts of her room washing away the darkness that had captivated it for so long.
“I guess I’ll–“
Her sentence was cut short by a young filly that slammed into her chest at full speed. The two tumbled across the floor and against Rainbow’s bed knocking the “Daring Do” books off the mantle on the right side. Rainbow rubbed her forehead.
“Owww… watch where you’re going kid…”
Scootaloo stood up slowly and rubbed her head.
“Sorry, Rainbow Dash, it’s just that I… hey… I’m in Cloudsdale? I’m in Cloudsdale! It worked! I can’t believe it worked! This is so awesome!”
To Be Continued...
Scootaloo suddenly began prancing around on the clouds, flipping, rolling and laughing as she finally was able to visit the sanctum of her fellow pegasi.
Rainbow Dash scratched her head. “Since when did you become airborne? Sheesh, how long have I been cooped up in here?”
“21 days, 11 hours, 28 minutes and 42 seconds. I counted.”
“Weird, kid…weird. But at least you learned to fly.”
“Not yet, I actually got catapulted up here!”
“That explains the crash landing, well, I’m gonna take a walk around Clousdale, kid. I’ll catch ya later.”
“Can I walk with you? I’ve never been to Cloudsdale!”
“Ehh, sure, I guess…”
“Wow, touring Cloudsdale with Rainbow Dash, sooooo awesome!”
