Velocityby TheLastBrunnenGChaptersVelocityHome AwaySkywritingWe Few, We Happy FewSomewhere to BeVelocitySpitfire looked up from the morning’s copy of Equestria Daily as a flash of blue caught the corner of her eye. “Hey Dash, what’s up? How’s our newest recruit coping with stardom?” “I’m late,” whispered Rainbow Dash to midair, eyes glazed and staring somewhere through and past the Wonderbolts’ captain. “Are you kidding?” Spitfire chuckled. “I was telling Soarin' last night, if the mighty Rainbow Dash is up before noon, I consider it early.” Dash continued her unbroken and glassy stare. “I’m late.” Spitfire's snort ruffled her newspaper. “No you’re not. I called off morning practice today, remember? After that last show I figured we could use a little extra rest. And today’s the day you decide not to sleep in!” The fire-maned mare shook her head and returned to her paper. “Newbies. Go figure.” Dash wandered slowly, aimlessly, out of Spitfire’s office on halting and irregular hoofsteps. She stumbled absently into the Wonderbolts’ dressing room. Two pegasi were conversing over coffee, their lightning-barred azure uniforms hung carefully in lockers labeled “Fleetfoot” and “Rapidfire”. Rainbow's voice held low, barely betraying the edge of annoyance. “I’m late.” The stallion of the pair rolled his eyes. His companion, a white-maned mare, laughed. “You? Late? Dash, I’ve seen you nap through an entire practice, wake up with seconds to spare, and still end up in formation before either of us could blink.” Dash's ear twitched as she repeated in dead monotone, “I’m late.” “Yeah right. It’s physically impossible for you to be late for anything, RD.” The mare turned her back on Dash and sipped her coffee, her fellow Wonderbolt doing likewise. Dash trudged down the empty hallway, directionless and dazed. Her eyes were blank and her expression unreadable, depthless. She meandered down corridor after corridor, bumping into doorways and walls formed of cloud-stuff, solid enough to hang “The Wonderbolts Need YOU!” posters on but not solid enough to rouse the young Wonderbolt from her fugue. She passed waiting rooms and conference rooms, meeting rooms and restrooms. Trophy cases and grand, dramatic photos of legendary Wonderbolts from years gone by passed her on both sides. She’d memorized the photos and their subjects’ histories years ago, and a few of the newer trophies even bore her name, yet none of registered or slowed her shambling, shellshocked gait. She wandered into the wing of private suites, past rooms with glittering nameplates she’d long idolized: “Blaze.” “Misty.” “Fire Streak.” “High Winds.” Toward the end of the hallway she passed her own room, the “Rainbow Dash” plaque still sparkling, bold, and brassy. Finally she found herself before a room labeled “Soarin’”. She paused, closed her eyes and whispered “I’m late,” and let herself in. The pale blue stallion was sitting on a long, low couch, his casual smile ever-present. He looked up and perked his ears, eyes suddenly overwide. “RD! Hey, how are you?” He managed a too-big smile and continued, “I’d tell you to knock first, but you know you’re welcome here anytime. You’re up early, I see.” Her voice was harsh and tense as she stepped in and eased the door closed. “I’m late.” “Huh? For what? Morning flight time is canceled. I was just about to look over Spitfire’s reviews from the last show, if you want to join me. She was…” “I’m late,” she growled, volume rising and brow furrowed. “Um, I heard you the first time. Like I said, nothing going on today. No reason to get all worked up.” Rainbow leapt across the room and hoisted the stallion by his crest. Her voice was ice and steel, and her eyes burned holes through the shaking pony in her grasp. “I’m late!” Soarin’ trembled in the smaller pegasus’ grasp. He raised his hooves in mock surrender and pleaded, “What the hay, Rainbow? What’s going on?” She let him go suddenly, dropping him onto the couch where he panted and crept backwards. Dash backed up a few steps and drew a sheaf of papers out of her flightsuit pocket. She stared at the cover sheet for a few long moments then threw the papers at him , the stapled pages fluttering like tiny wings. He recoiled a little as the papers settled onto the couch at his side. Looking down at it, he flipped the pages with trembling hooves. Suddenly he froze, eyes wide and pupils shrinking. He looked up, jaw slack as the papers shook. Across the room Dash stamped her hooves, grit her teeth, and screamed, "I'm late!" Soarin' looked down into his hooves again. “No,” he mumbled. “You… You can’t be late. We… It was just that one time, after your first show.” He looked back up at her pleadingly. “You’re sure?” She stood shaking, muscles coiled and ears pinned back, before she broke visibly, shoulders slumped and wings drooping. The few steps it took her to cross the room and reach the couch echoed in the stillness. She lay down, defeated, next to her one-time idol. Her head rested on his chest as she closed her eyes and whispered “I’m late.” She reached for his free hoof and placed it gingerly on her stomach. She shook, fighting nausea and tears as he pulled her closer. She placed her own hooves across his, cradling her stomach with his arm. His words came in shivering whispers. “Dash…” He swallowed hard and lay his muzzle across her head. “I want you to know, I’ll be here for you. We can…” “Velocity.” Soarin’ looked down, his trance broken. The papers he'd forgotten he was holding floated to the floor. There below the Cloudsdale General Hospital logo was a scribble of red ink with a circle around the words, "Test Results: Positive, estimated early first trimester." “Velocity,” Rainbow Dash repeated, her voice strong and clear. “I want to name our foal Velocity, if it’s a filly.” Author's Note TMP Prompt # 121. The prompt: “I’m late! I’m late! For a very important date!” Home AwayAfternoon breezes whistled through the manes of two ponies gliding lazily in the sunny summer skies between Ponyville and Cloudsdale. The larger pegasus was so purely azure-blue that her feathers vanished against the cloudless dome, leaving the illusion of tiny fluttering rainbows fluttering through the sky. The other, much smaller and riding atop the larger, was a darker deep-sea blue, her mane striped evenly between midnight indigo and forest green. They flew in silence for long minutes stretching into hours, circling, soaring, gliding above the pastoral scenery below before one of them broke the silence. “Mom,” the little pegasus piped up over the rush of wind, “why can’t I live with you? Dad said you got a really great job, and you got your house back, and Miss Spitfire said she wouldn’t mind.” She felt a deep heave from the mare below her. “It’s… complicated, Vee.” Rainbow Dash made a slow, banking turn as she caught a rising thermal, letting it carry her higher while she rested her wings. “I’d love to have you, you know that, but I can’t. The job is great, yeah, but the house isn’t really mine. I’m - I’m sharing it with someone. It’s her house, and I know she loves you to death, but it’s kind of a small place. Maybe one day.” The filly buried her muzzle in her mother’s parti-colored mane. “Yeah, but Miss Spitfire says - “ “Vee, I only get to have you for one afternoon a week and one weekend a month.” Dash did a slow barrel roll before leveling out above a few patchy, low clouds. “Can we please, please, not spend it talking about Miss Spitfire?” “Okay, but she says she wouldn’t care if I came to live with you. She’s always off practicing with the other Wonderbolts, and even when she’s home all she does is study film, and read reports, and work stuff.” She lay her head against Rainbow’s muscular neck and continued, “All my friends say it’s supposed to be so cool, living with two Wonderbolts, but half the time I’m just sitting home by myself.” The older mare’s brow furrowed and she turned her head a little, her daughter’s whipping blue-green mane filling her peripheral vision. “What about your dad? Soarin’s always been good to you. If that’s changed, if he’s neglecting you, kiddo, then let me know and I’ll hand him his flank!” “No, he’s great, really. He’s just… he works a lot more now. Miss Sp… Uh, my other m.. you know, um, her.” The filly swallowed hard and paused a moment, biting her tongue before she went on. “She keeps him busier now. Makes him practice more, gives him stuff to do at home, like paperwork and junk. Sometimes I sit next to him at his desk and we pretend it’s his homework, so we can do our homework together. It’s about the only time I get to spend with Dad anymore.” The thermal faded and Dash swept powerful wings time and again against currents and eddies of air as she banked herself and her diminutive passenger through white cloudy drifts. “Kid, I’m sorry. I swear, if there were a way to change it, I would.” Rainbow heard sniffling and felt the shudders start from behind her. “Dad says nothing could stop the great Rainbow Dash when she puts her mind to it. He says you were a Wonderbolt too, for a little while, until… until I came along. Maybe that’s why you don’t love me anymore. Maybe that’s why you never found a way for me to live with you, ‘cause if I weren’t here, you’d still be a Wonderbolt.” In an instant Rainbow folded her wings and turned down, plummeting earthward in a breakneck stoop-dive. If her daughter yelped in panicked surprise, Dash heard nothing or didn’t acknowledge it. They hurtled down, down, down, until at the last moment Dash slammed into a tiny wisp of a cloud, her wings held wide as she waited to see if it would hold their weight. Having not fallen through, she lifted the dark filly off her back and dropped her roughly on the cloud. Taking the shaking, wide-eyed filly’s cheeks in her own trembling hooves, Dash knelt low, muzzle to muzzle with her daughter as tears choked her gravelly voice. “Velocity Diane Dash, don’t you ever, ever say that again. Never! If it meant I could stay with you, I’d tear my own wings off. Forget the Wonderbolts! Nothing, and I mean nothing at all, is more important to me than you. Do you understand?” The smaller pony stood on her hind legs and shoved her mother away, pushing a hoof into Dash’s panting chest. “Yeah? Well, Miss Spitfire says you even know the Princesses, and if you wanted me back, they’d make it happen ‘cause you’re some kinda hero. If that’s true then why do I only see you once a week?” Dash stood frozen, chest heaving and eyes watering for a few long moments before falling heavily hack on her haunches and hanging her head, streaks of multicolored mane covering half her face. “I tried, Vee. I tried. At the custody hearing, it was my dumb luck to get the one judge in all Equestria who thought having two moms would be an awful way to raise a foal. I asked Celestia herself, flew all the way to Canterlot and begged her in person to please, please, overrule that idiot horse’s decision. Told her I was just with your dad for one night, that I could raise you myself… I never thought I’d see the Princess cry, Vee. It was just one tear, but there it was. She told me she couldn’t change court decisions like that, just for one pony, or else there wouldn’t be laws at all. Even after I moved in with Twilight, Celestia still refused to change the ruling. I know I get another hearing in two years, but…” She swallowed amid wrenching sobs as tears fell like rain, boring tiny holes through the cloud. “I promise, Vee, I swear, if there was anything I could do…” “Mom?” With that one word, strength seemed to flow back into the Best Young Flier and one-time Wonderbolt. Her tears slowed and she lifted her chin to find a little indigo head nestled into the crook of her neck and small arms wrapped around her. “Mom, I’m... I'm sorry I said all that. I love you, please forgive me, I…” “I love you too, Velocity.” She held the embrace for long minutes, before reaching down to plant a kiss on the smiling filly's navy muzzle. “Now come on, let’s hop down to the Library before I have to take you back to Cloudsdale. Remember last time, when Twi levitated that ice cream cone and made you jump for it? Well, I brought some cupcakes for Twi and me this morning. If Spike didn’t scarf 'em all, I bet if you ask her nicely she’ll give them all wings and we can chase dessert for flying practice!” Author's Note TMP Prompt # 173. The prompt: Rainbow Dash the foalsitter. SkywritingDearest ~~Velocity~~ Vee, Hey kiddo! Yeah, I know, it’s not like me to write anything longer than a grocery list, so - surprise! Okay, you’re a smart filly, which means you probably figured out that Twilight’s making me write this. Well, not making me, really, but when she explains things to me in that “logical librarian” voice, they kinda make sense. There’s some stuff I need to explain to you now that you’re old enough to ~~comprehend~~ get it. I only get to see you a couple of hours a week, and ~~buck if~~ no way I’m gonna spend that time rambling about a bunch of heavy depressing stuff. Totally uncool. So, thanks to Twi and her neverending supply of paper and ink, here we go. First off, don’t ever do what I just did and call her Twi. Last time you were here, you were calling her Twi, Twilight, Sparky, Twily, and T-Spark. Only our friends and I get to call her Twi and only her brother calls her Twily. Nobody calls her Sparky, and don’t ask why unless you’re standing a hundred paces off and hiding behind something fireproof. Seriously, just… don’t. My mane still hasn’t grown back all the way. You call her Miss Twilight, okay? She likes it, actually - says it makes her feel like a real librarian, or like a teacher. I’ll make you a deal, though - you can call her T-Spark behind her back as long as I can too. Best! Nickname! Ever! And about Twi - yeah, we’re together, like fillyfriend and coltfriend together , except without the colt part. It’s not as complicated as it sounds, I promise. If you ask anypony about your real mom having a marefriend, Spitfire will probably say it’s sick, and your dad - well, let’s be realistic, Soarin’ would probably say it’s totally hot. Just know that Twi’s amazing and awesome and keeps my head on straight. She loves you like - well, like a daughter. Kinda means you’ve got three moms, I know, but life is funny sometimes. I think we’re gonna make it official pretty soon. We could make a huge deal out of it - big heroes, Celestia’s student, two Elements of Harmony, whatever - but I think we’ll just go by the courthouse and sign some papers, do it real quiet-like, ya know? Whoa, stop the presses, Rainbow Dash could make headlines and skips out on the chance? No joke, kid! Some things in life are more important than glory. You taught me that, you little stinker. Where was I? Oh, right - heavy stuff. Sheesh, this is never easy. Harder face to face, I guess, so I hope this is better than nothing. You’ve asked me before what went down between me, your dad, and Spitfire. I've been putting you off for years, ‘cause this one’s a tough one to pin down. Lucky for us Twilight’s got plenty of quills and ~~a buck-ton~~ a lot of patience. From the top: Yeah, I made the Wonderbolts. Lifelong dream, flying with my heroes, all that junk. Soarin’ and I decide to celebrate one night, and bam! What are the odds that I’d get pregnant? About one to one, apparently. I hid it for a while but it’s not the kind of thing you can hide forever in those Wonderbolt uniforms. Spitfire’s the Captain, and when she found out her newest recruit had a passenger, she totally blew up. Maybe it had something to do with her wanting your dad all to herself. Fired me on the spot, kicked me out... so totally un-awesome. Soarin’ and I tried to make it work but when two ponies aren’t meant to be together, it ain’t gonna happen. Long story short, he and Spitfire tied the knot and she made him sue for custody. Courts love granting custody to the father, especially when every rumor mill in Equestria thinks your mom’s a fillyfooler. Not that they were wrong, but still doesn’t make what happened any easier to swallow. Celestia wouldn’t fix it, even for me, and since you see me only on weekends, you probably figured out the rest. Sorry if all that sounded bitter or spiteful or really un-cool. I don’t mean to unload all this on you, Vee. But you’re old enough to know the truth, and just knowing what’s what can help, even if the truth sucks. Thank your Aunt AJ for teaching me that one. Speaking of my friends, if you never knew, your middle name really does matter, and not just when somepony yells “Velocity Diane Dash!” when you’ve really ~~bucked~~ messed up. Your Aunt Pinkamena Diane Pie, alias Pinkie the Permanent Party Pony, is your namesake. When everything went off the deep end and I knew I might have to give you up, all my friends were there for me, but Pinks really went out of her way. I couldn’t flip a cloud without finding her there trying to make me and my huge filly-gut self smile. That’s where you picked up Diane. And you’re Velocity because - well, ‘cause your mom was and still is the fastest flyer in Equestria. And don’t you forget it! Still, when it’s all said and done, kid, I’ve been called a lot of things. Bearer of the Element of Loyalty, Wonderbolt, Best Young Flyer, you name it. In the end, the only featherin’ title that matters is the one you gave me, and that's "Mom". See you next weekend, kiddo! You’re the best, Vee. Love, Momma Dash Author's Note TMP Prompt # 187. The Prompt: “From the Heart” We Few, We Happy Few“Look, Momma - Royal Guards!” shouted a tiny indigo-tailed filly, pointing a hoof toward two massive snow-white stallions flanking a gate, their gleaming golden armor sparkling in Canterlot’s afternoon sun. “Can we watch? Can we, please?” Rainbow glanced around then looked down and smiled. “Might as well, Vee. Twilight's still wrapping up her visit with the Princess, so we've got a few minutes to kill,” she said as she led the pair toward a nearby bench. “Cool of her to bring us along for a weekend in Canterlot. You better remember to thank her, kiddo.” As they sat, mother tapping her hooves absently and daughter staring with rapt attention, a third guard approached the gate and saluted crisply. “Private Heater reporting, Sir. Lieutenant Vambrace, I relieve you.” One of the guards returned the salute and with a deep and booming voice said, “I stand relieved. Carry on, Private.” He spun on his hooves and marched toward a low building nearby as the new guard slid into his place, indistinguishable from the first. The diminutive sea-blue filly leapt off the bench and began bouncing in place, wings fluttering. “Momma! I know what I want to be when I grow up!” she said, saluting and making her best attempt at a stoic face. “I want to be a Royal Guard. I’ll wear armor and carry a spear and keep all the bad ponies out and everything!” Rainbow rolled her eyes and rubbed her temple before forcing a weak smile, “Vee, you're awesome, and with me in your corner you're gonna fly like all unholy Tartarus. But a Royal Guard? Sorry to burst your bubble, but think about it. How many Guards have we seen this weekend?" Scrunching her brow and cocking her head, the filly thought for a moment then shrugged and said, "Um - I dunno. A lot?" "Yeah, and how many of 'em were blue? Or shorter than Applejack's dog? Or for that matter, how many were mares?" Dash ran a hoof through Velocity's green-and-blue striped mane and watched her bounce slowly to a halt. "Guards come in two flavors, Vee. White stallion and grey stallion. Catch my drift?" Face drooping, the filly mumbled “I… I guess so.” She fell back on her haunches and kicked at a pebble when she heard heavy hoofsteps and a stallion’s booming voice behind her. “Excuse me, ma’am,” called the towering guardpony, nodding to Dash, “I overheard your daughter saying she’s interested in the Royal Guards. If it’s okay with you, I can take her to meet some of my squad.” “Nah, that's okay. We gotta jet in a few minutes,” she said, waving a hoof. As her filly looked up and whimpered plaintively, she groaned, “Awww, good grief, Vee, not the face! Not the whimper! Oh, alright. Short trip, kiddo. And don't do anything I would do." Dash raised an eyebrow and glanced at the stony-faced Guard, adding, "Sure you're cool with this?” “No trouble at all, ma’am. That’s our post across the street. I’ll have her back momentarily.” Leading the cantering filly across the road and into the guardpost, the stern-faced stallion looked down and asked, “So you want to be a Guard, Miss…?” “Velocity!” she said, “But everyone calls me Vee. And I do want to be a Guard, really bad, but Momma says I’ll be too small when I grow up, and I’m the wrong color, and I’m not a stallion, and - “ Holding a hoof up to silence her, the Guard locked eyes with her as a thin smile crept across his muzzle. “Well, Miss Vee, what the Guard wants is ponies who are honest and true, brave and bold. Does that sound like you?” “Totally! I’m always good, and Momma taught me to stand up for myself if anypony gives me trouble, and I never tell fibs! But what about all that other stuff, mister?” Looking side to side, the stallion reached up with a powerful hoof and removed his crested helmet. As he did his body shimmered and shrank, and where once a thick white stallion stood there was now a slender burnt-orange mare, still wearing the golden body armor of a Royal Guard. Velocity's eyes went wide and she whispered, “But… But how…?” “What matters is what’s on the inside, Miss Vee,” said the orange mare, voice soft and breezy as she smiled and knelt to eye level with the filly. She tapped the helmet with a hoof and added, “The rest is all appearances.” Grinning widely, she rose to her hooves and motioned for Velocity to follow. "Come on, I'll take you to meet the rest of my squad. If you thought I looked different off duty, wait'll you see the rest of us!" Minutes later the filly burst from the guardpost door and galloped to her mother’s side, throwing her hooves into a wide hug. “Enjoy your tour, Vee?” Dash asked, smiling as she tousled the little filly’s mane. The filly stepped back and bounced form hoof to hoof. “I did! I did!” she gushed, grinning and panting. “It was so cool, Momma! Now I know for sure I wanna be a Royal Guard when I grow up!” Stooping down, Rainbow's smile faded slowly as she lay a gentle hoof on the her daughter's withers. “Vee, honey, we talked about this. I’m so sorry. I don’t think you can be a Royal Guard.” She sighed and added, “You can’t change who you are, sweetheart.” “It’s okay, Momma,” said the beaming filly as she nuzzled her mother’s cheek, “I don’t have to.” Author's Note TMP Prompt # 279. The Prompt: Changing of the guard. I wrote this with an anonymous filly and her mother in the TMP version, but as soon as I submitted it I knew it had to be rewritten as a Velocity story. Headcanon: guard armor and/or helmets contain the illusion magic, though officers have the option to turn it off, and high-ranking officers (eg., Shining Armor) are required to deactivate it. Luna's personal guards are no different, though their armor's illusions are a little more advanced. The title is a reference to Shakespeare’s Henry V and to Band of Brothers. Somewhere to Be“This is my day off, for Celestia’s sake!” growled Rainbow Dash, “So why am I here on my own time, busting clouds and ducking lightning bolts when I have a game to get to?” “Tell it to the Everfree, Boss,” said Raindrops as she sped past Dash, dropping under a cloudbank to split a steel-grey puff cleanly down the middle. Popping up above the cloud layer, Rainbow spun around, squinting as she eyed every cloud in the sea of storms that had spilled out unexpectedly from the wild depths of the Everfree forest. “All weather ponies, form on me!” she shouted. Spotting pastels and wings flitting among the clouds below, she yelled again over the din of wind and rain, ignoring the hoarse scraping on her vocal cords, “I said on me, ponies! Now!” Seconds later a half dozen dripping wet pegasi climbed up to her altitude and held there, tired and sullen and glaring at her. A green pony spat from under a drooping lavender mane, “What gives, Boss? We’ve been out here for an hour already. This isn’t the time for a team pep talk. If we want to go home, then we should be in there busting clouds, not – ” Rainbow shook her head and winced as she strained to shout over the roiling thunderheads below. “Change of plan, Merry. At this rate we’ll be here all afternoon and I’ve got somewhere to be. Much as I love you featherbrains, there’s no way I’m spending my personal time poking a bunch of cumulonimbus one at a time.” Pulling the ragged group into a close huddle, she dropped her voice to its usual gravelly level. “Okay, new strategy. Instead of busting these clouds here, we’re going to send the entire cell straight back to the Everfree.” Smiling as shaking heads and dropping jaws greeted her, she continued, “Merry, Drizzle, Dewdrop, you three cut around the left side. Stack up vertically and stagger. Don’t split the clouds, just trail the outside edge. Airheart, Sunlight, Raindrops, you mirror them but on the right side. Same pattern, same tactic - don’t cut the clouds, just feather the border.” “And you, RD?” Sunlight offered, wiping his goggles with a soggy hoof, “You aren’t just gonna supervise, right?” A daredevil’s grin crossed the azure pony’s muzzle. “No way in Tartarus, Sun! I’ll give you about half a minute then I’m gonna thread this cell right up the middle. If you turkeys have done your jobs, the whole heart of the storm will get sucked up in my wake. I’ll be able to draw off the worst of it and lead it right back where it came from. Are we shiny, weaterponies?” Merry chuckled, “Never a dull moment with you in charge, is there, RD?” “Not when I’ve got someplace to be!” she laughed, then dropped her smirk and furrowed her brow. “Alright, ponies, playtime’s over. No mistakes! I don’t plan to be the next name on the 'In Memoriam' board. Places, everypony, now on my mark – three, two, one … Go! Go! Go!” Six pegasi sped off, circling the growing storm, slicing its rolling and jagged edges neatly as if a giant hand had gathered the thundering chaos into a drawstring sack and pulled it tightly closed. Dash took several deep breaths, closing her eyes for a long moment, then rocketed off into the wall of grey. Her chest heaved and burned, her wings ached, and every feather and hair felt like hot needles as lightning arced all about. Driving rain stung her eyes as hammer-like winds tore and beat at her from all sides. Onward she tore, her rainbow contrail carving a knife-edge line straight through the thunderhead. The six ponies completed their circuit of the storm and met above the fray, panting and winded. Airheart and Dewdrop held each other for support and Drizzle gnawed nervously on his hooves as the others stared into the cloudbank, wide-eyed and trembling. Dash’s trail faded into the storm and they waited for long and tense seconds. A cheer went up from all six as Merry suddenly pointed a hoof at the far side of the stormcell. There, headed straight for the Everfree, was a lone blue pegasus popping out of the storm, trailing a vortex of rainbows and grey-black thunderclouds in her wake. Slowly at first and then with building speed the storm cell began rolling back toward the forest wilds. Rainbow made a wide circle over the receding thunderheads back to the cheering ponies. “Remind me,” she started as she wheezed and gasped, “please, remind me never to suggest that again!” One hoof on her aching side and grunting as she reached back with another to massage a wing joint, she continued, “Okay, you six bust up the stragglers then head home. We all earned our overtime today!” She called behind her as she sped away, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta be somewhere, I’m already late, and Rainbow Dash is never late!” Half an hour later, exhausted and wet and bruised, she sat on the sidelines of the hoofball field at Cloudsdale Middle School. Diminutive pegasi darted this way and that across the field before a cheer went up. Over the roar of applause an announcer’s voice blared through a loudspeaker, “Goal for Cloudsdale! The CMS Manticores take the lead 1-0 early in the first period. That was Velocity Dash with the scoring kick.” Zipping to the sidelines, a little midnight-blue filly with a striped indigo-and-green mane lit in front of Rainbow, hopping and bouncing. Grinning ear to ear, she asked, “Did you see that kick, Mom? Did you see me score?” “Totally!” Dash yelled, pumping her hooves in the air. “That was awesome, kid! Just like I taught you.” “I didn’t see you out front before the game,” called the filly over her shoulder as she flitted back toward the field, “did you have trouble getting here?” The blue mare sat back and waved a hoof at her daughter. “Nah, just another day at the office, kiddo. Wouldn’t miss this for the world! Now get out there and show ‘em who’s boss, Vee!” Author's Note TMP Prompt # 249. The Prompt: Time for the big game. "Are we shiny, weaterponies?" - do I need to tell you this is a Firefly reference? The six weatherponies are canon background characters, some using their fan-given names, some with names from actual toys.
VelocitySpitfire looked up from the morning’s copy of Equestria Daily as a flash of blue caught the corner of her eye. “Hey Dash, what’s up? How’s our newest recruit coping with stardom?” “I’m late,” whispered Rainbow Dash to midair, eyes glazed and staring somewhere through and past the Wonderbolts’ captain. “Are you kidding?” Spitfire chuckled. “I was telling Soarin' last night, if the mighty Rainbow Dash is up before noon, I consider it early.” Dash continued her unbroken and glassy stare. “I’m late.” Spitfire's snort ruffled her newspaper. “No you’re not. I called off morning practice today, remember? After that last show I figured we could use a little extra rest. And today’s the day you decide not to sleep in!” The fire-maned mare shook her head and returned to her paper. “Newbies. Go figure.” Dash wandered slowly, aimlessly, out of Spitfire’s office on halting and irregular hoofsteps. She stumbled absently into the Wonderbolts’ dressing room. Two pegasi were conversing over coffee, their lightning-barred azure uniforms hung carefully in lockers labeled “Fleetfoot” and “Rapidfire”. Rainbow's voice held low, barely betraying the edge of annoyance. “I’m late.” The stallion of the pair rolled his eyes. His companion, a white-maned mare, laughed. “You? Late? Dash, I’ve seen you nap through an entire practice, wake up with seconds to spare, and still end up in formation before either of us could blink.” Dash's ear twitched as she repeated in dead monotone, “I’m late.” “Yeah right. It’s physically impossible for you to be late for anything, RD.” The mare turned her back on Dash and sipped her coffee, her fellow Wonderbolt doing likewise. Dash trudged down the empty hallway, directionless and dazed. Her eyes were blank and her expression unreadable, depthless. She meandered down corridor after corridor, bumping into doorways and walls formed of cloud-stuff, solid enough to hang “The Wonderbolts Need YOU!” posters on but not solid enough to rouse the young Wonderbolt from her fugue. She passed waiting rooms and conference rooms, meeting rooms and restrooms. Trophy cases and grand, dramatic photos of legendary Wonderbolts from years gone by passed her on both sides. She’d memorized the photos and their subjects’ histories years ago, and a few of the newer trophies even bore her name, yet none of registered or slowed her shambling, shellshocked gait. She wandered into the wing of private suites, past rooms with glittering nameplates she’d long idolized: “Blaze.” “Misty.” “Fire Streak.” “High Winds.” Toward the end of the hallway she passed her own room, the “Rainbow Dash” plaque still sparkling, bold, and brassy. Finally she found herself before a room labeled “Soarin’”. She paused, closed her eyes and whispered “I’m late,” and let herself in. The pale blue stallion was sitting on a long, low couch, his casual smile ever-present. He looked up and perked his ears, eyes suddenly overwide. “RD! Hey, how are you?” He managed a too-big smile and continued, “I’d tell you to knock first, but you know you’re welcome here anytime. You’re up early, I see.” Her voice was harsh and tense as she stepped in and eased the door closed. “I’m late.” “Huh? For what? Morning flight time is canceled. I was just about to look over Spitfire’s reviews from the last show, if you want to join me. She was…” “I’m late,” she growled, volume rising and brow furrowed. “Um, I heard you the first time. Like I said, nothing going on today. No reason to get all worked up.” Rainbow leapt across the room and hoisted the stallion by his crest. Her voice was ice and steel, and her eyes burned holes through the shaking pony in her grasp. “I’m late!” Soarin’ trembled in the smaller pegasus’ grasp. He raised his hooves in mock surrender and pleaded, “What the hay, Rainbow? What’s going on?” She let him go suddenly, dropping him onto the couch where he panted and crept backwards. Dash backed up a few steps and drew a sheaf of papers out of her flightsuit pocket. She stared at the cover sheet for a few long moments then threw the papers at him , the stapled pages fluttering like tiny wings. He recoiled a little as the papers settled onto the couch at his side. Looking down at it, he flipped the pages with trembling hooves. Suddenly he froze, eyes wide and pupils shrinking. He looked up, jaw slack as the papers shook. Across the room Dash stamped her hooves, grit her teeth, and screamed, "I'm late!" Soarin' looked down into his hooves again. “No,” he mumbled. “You… You can’t be late. We… It was just that one time, after your first show.” He looked back up at her pleadingly. “You’re sure?” She stood shaking, muscles coiled and ears pinned back, before she broke visibly, shoulders slumped and wings drooping. The few steps it took her to cross the room and reach the couch echoed in the stillness. She lay down, defeated, next to her one-time idol. Her head rested on his chest as she closed her eyes and whispered “I’m late.” She reached for his free hoof and placed it gingerly on her stomach. She shook, fighting nausea and tears as he pulled her closer. She placed her own hooves across his, cradling her stomach with his arm. His words came in shivering whispers. “Dash…” He swallowed hard and lay his muzzle across her head. “I want you to know, I’ll be here for you. We can…” “Velocity.” Soarin’ looked down, his trance broken. The papers he'd forgotten he was holding floated to the floor. There below the Cloudsdale General Hospital logo was a scribble of red ink with a circle around the words, "Test Results: Positive, estimated early first trimester." “Velocity,” Rainbow Dash repeated, her voice strong and clear. “I want to name our foal Velocity, if it’s a filly.” Author's Note TMP Prompt # 121. The prompt: “I’m late! I’m late! For a very important date!”
Home AwayAfternoon breezes whistled through the manes of two ponies gliding lazily in the sunny summer skies between Ponyville and Cloudsdale. The larger pegasus was so purely azure-blue that her feathers vanished against the cloudless dome, leaving the illusion of tiny fluttering rainbows fluttering through the sky. The other, much smaller and riding atop the larger, was a darker deep-sea blue, her mane striped evenly between midnight indigo and forest green. They flew in silence for long minutes stretching into hours, circling, soaring, gliding above the pastoral scenery below before one of them broke the silence. “Mom,” the little pegasus piped up over the rush of wind, “why can’t I live with you? Dad said you got a really great job, and you got your house back, and Miss Spitfire said she wouldn’t mind.” She felt a deep heave from the mare below her. “It’s… complicated, Vee.” Rainbow Dash made a slow, banking turn as she caught a rising thermal, letting it carry her higher while she rested her wings. “I’d love to have you, you know that, but I can’t. The job is great, yeah, but the house isn’t really mine. I’m - I’m sharing it with someone. It’s her house, and I know she loves you to death, but it’s kind of a small place. Maybe one day.” The filly buried her muzzle in her mother’s parti-colored mane. “Yeah, but Miss Spitfire says - “ “Vee, I only get to have you for one afternoon a week and one weekend a month.” Dash did a slow barrel roll before leveling out above a few patchy, low clouds. “Can we please, please, not spend it talking about Miss Spitfire?” “Okay, but she says she wouldn’t care if I came to live with you. She’s always off practicing with the other Wonderbolts, and even when she’s home all she does is study film, and read reports, and work stuff.” She lay her head against Rainbow’s muscular neck and continued, “All my friends say it’s supposed to be so cool, living with two Wonderbolts, but half the time I’m just sitting home by myself.” The older mare’s brow furrowed and she turned her head a little, her daughter’s whipping blue-green mane filling her peripheral vision. “What about your dad? Soarin’s always been good to you. If that’s changed, if he’s neglecting you, kiddo, then let me know and I’ll hand him his flank!” “No, he’s great, really. He’s just… he works a lot more now. Miss Sp… Uh, my other m.. you know, um, her.” The filly swallowed hard and paused a moment, biting her tongue before she went on. “She keeps him busier now. Makes him practice more, gives him stuff to do at home, like paperwork and junk. Sometimes I sit next to him at his desk and we pretend it’s his homework, so we can do our homework together. It’s about the only time I get to spend with Dad anymore.” The thermal faded and Dash swept powerful wings time and again against currents and eddies of air as she banked herself and her diminutive passenger through white cloudy drifts. “Kid, I’m sorry. I swear, if there were a way to change it, I would.” Rainbow heard sniffling and felt the shudders start from behind her. “Dad says nothing could stop the great Rainbow Dash when she puts her mind to it. He says you were a Wonderbolt too, for a little while, until… until I came along. Maybe that’s why you don’t love me anymore. Maybe that’s why you never found a way for me to live with you, ‘cause if I weren’t here, you’d still be a Wonderbolt.” In an instant Rainbow folded her wings and turned down, plummeting earthward in a breakneck stoop-dive. If her daughter yelped in panicked surprise, Dash heard nothing or didn’t acknowledge it. They hurtled down, down, down, until at the last moment Dash slammed into a tiny wisp of a cloud, her wings held wide as she waited to see if it would hold their weight. Having not fallen through, she lifted the dark filly off her back and dropped her roughly on the cloud. Taking the shaking, wide-eyed filly’s cheeks in her own trembling hooves, Dash knelt low, muzzle to muzzle with her daughter as tears choked her gravelly voice. “Velocity Diane Dash, don’t you ever, ever say that again. Never! If it meant I could stay with you, I’d tear my own wings off. Forget the Wonderbolts! Nothing, and I mean nothing at all, is more important to me than you. Do you understand?” The smaller pony stood on her hind legs and shoved her mother away, pushing a hoof into Dash’s panting chest. “Yeah? Well, Miss Spitfire says you even know the Princesses, and if you wanted me back, they’d make it happen ‘cause you’re some kinda hero. If that’s true then why do I only see you once a week?” Dash stood frozen, chest heaving and eyes watering for a few long moments before falling heavily hack on her haunches and hanging her head, streaks of multicolored mane covering half her face. “I tried, Vee. I tried. At the custody hearing, it was my dumb luck to get the one judge in all Equestria who thought having two moms would be an awful way to raise a foal. I asked Celestia herself, flew all the way to Canterlot and begged her in person to please, please, overrule that idiot horse’s decision. Told her I was just with your dad for one night, that I could raise you myself… I never thought I’d see the Princess cry, Vee. It was just one tear, but there it was. She told me she couldn’t change court decisions like that, just for one pony, or else there wouldn’t be laws at all. Even after I moved in with Twilight, Celestia still refused to change the ruling. I know I get another hearing in two years, but…” She swallowed amid wrenching sobs as tears fell like rain, boring tiny holes through the cloud. “I promise, Vee, I swear, if there was anything I could do…” “Mom?” With that one word, strength seemed to flow back into the Best Young Flier and one-time Wonderbolt. Her tears slowed and she lifted her chin to find a little indigo head nestled into the crook of her neck and small arms wrapped around her. “Mom, I’m... I'm sorry I said all that. I love you, please forgive me, I…” “I love you too, Velocity.” She held the embrace for long minutes, before reaching down to plant a kiss on the smiling filly's navy muzzle. “Now come on, let’s hop down to the Library before I have to take you back to Cloudsdale. Remember last time, when Twi levitated that ice cream cone and made you jump for it? Well, I brought some cupcakes for Twi and me this morning. If Spike didn’t scarf 'em all, I bet if you ask her nicely she’ll give them all wings and we can chase dessert for flying practice!” Author's Note TMP Prompt # 173. The prompt: Rainbow Dash the foalsitter.
SkywritingDearest ~~Velocity~~ Vee, Hey kiddo! Yeah, I know, it’s not like me to write anything longer than a grocery list, so - surprise! Okay, you’re a smart filly, which means you probably figured out that Twilight’s making me write this. Well, not making me, really, but when she explains things to me in that “logical librarian” voice, they kinda make sense. There’s some stuff I need to explain to you now that you’re old enough to ~~comprehend~~ get it. I only get to see you a couple of hours a week, and ~~buck if~~ no way I’m gonna spend that time rambling about a bunch of heavy depressing stuff. Totally uncool. So, thanks to Twi and her neverending supply of paper and ink, here we go. First off, don’t ever do what I just did and call her Twi. Last time you were here, you were calling her Twi, Twilight, Sparky, Twily, and T-Spark. Only our friends and I get to call her Twi and only her brother calls her Twily. Nobody calls her Sparky, and don’t ask why unless you’re standing a hundred paces off and hiding behind something fireproof. Seriously, just… don’t. My mane still hasn’t grown back all the way. You call her Miss Twilight, okay? She likes it, actually - says it makes her feel like a real librarian, or like a teacher. I’ll make you a deal, though - you can call her T-Spark behind her back as long as I can too. Best! Nickname! Ever! And about Twi - yeah, we’re together, like fillyfriend and coltfriend together , except without the colt part. It’s not as complicated as it sounds, I promise. If you ask anypony about your real mom having a marefriend, Spitfire will probably say it’s sick, and your dad - well, let’s be realistic, Soarin’ would probably say it’s totally hot. Just know that Twi’s amazing and awesome and keeps my head on straight. She loves you like - well, like a daughter. Kinda means you’ve got three moms, I know, but life is funny sometimes. I think we’re gonna make it official pretty soon. We could make a huge deal out of it - big heroes, Celestia’s student, two Elements of Harmony, whatever - but I think we’ll just go by the courthouse and sign some papers, do it real quiet-like, ya know? Whoa, stop the presses, Rainbow Dash could make headlines and skips out on the chance? No joke, kid! Some things in life are more important than glory. You taught me that, you little stinker. Where was I? Oh, right - heavy stuff. Sheesh, this is never easy. Harder face to face, I guess, so I hope this is better than nothing. You’ve asked me before what went down between me, your dad, and Spitfire. I've been putting you off for years, ‘cause this one’s a tough one to pin down. Lucky for us Twilight’s got plenty of quills and ~~a buck-ton~~ a lot of patience. From the top: Yeah, I made the Wonderbolts. Lifelong dream, flying with my heroes, all that junk. Soarin’ and I decide to celebrate one night, and bam! What are the odds that I’d get pregnant? About one to one, apparently. I hid it for a while but it’s not the kind of thing you can hide forever in those Wonderbolt uniforms. Spitfire’s the Captain, and when she found out her newest recruit had a passenger, she totally blew up. Maybe it had something to do with her wanting your dad all to herself. Fired me on the spot, kicked me out... so totally un-awesome. Soarin’ and I tried to make it work but when two ponies aren’t meant to be together, it ain’t gonna happen. Long story short, he and Spitfire tied the knot and she made him sue for custody. Courts love granting custody to the father, especially when every rumor mill in Equestria thinks your mom’s a fillyfooler. Not that they were wrong, but still doesn’t make what happened any easier to swallow. Celestia wouldn’t fix it, even for me, and since you see me only on weekends, you probably figured out the rest. Sorry if all that sounded bitter or spiteful or really un-cool. I don’t mean to unload all this on you, Vee. But you’re old enough to know the truth, and just knowing what’s what can help, even if the truth sucks. Thank your Aunt AJ for teaching me that one. Speaking of my friends, if you never knew, your middle name really does matter, and not just when somepony yells “Velocity Diane Dash!” when you’ve really ~~bucked~~ messed up. Your Aunt Pinkamena Diane Pie, alias Pinkie the Permanent Party Pony, is your namesake. When everything went off the deep end and I knew I might have to give you up, all my friends were there for me, but Pinks really went out of her way. I couldn’t flip a cloud without finding her there trying to make me and my huge filly-gut self smile. That’s where you picked up Diane. And you’re Velocity because - well, ‘cause your mom was and still is the fastest flyer in Equestria. And don’t you forget it! Still, when it’s all said and done, kid, I’ve been called a lot of things. Bearer of the Element of Loyalty, Wonderbolt, Best Young Flyer, you name it. In the end, the only featherin’ title that matters is the one you gave me, and that's "Mom". See you next weekend, kiddo! You’re the best, Vee. Love, Momma Dash Author's Note TMP Prompt # 187. The Prompt: “From the Heart”
We Few, We Happy Few“Look, Momma - Royal Guards!” shouted a tiny indigo-tailed filly, pointing a hoof toward two massive snow-white stallions flanking a gate, their gleaming golden armor sparkling in Canterlot’s afternoon sun. “Can we watch? Can we, please?” Rainbow glanced around then looked down and smiled. “Might as well, Vee. Twilight's still wrapping up her visit with the Princess, so we've got a few minutes to kill,” she said as she led the pair toward a nearby bench. “Cool of her to bring us along for a weekend in Canterlot. You better remember to thank her, kiddo.” As they sat, mother tapping her hooves absently and daughter staring with rapt attention, a third guard approached the gate and saluted crisply. “Private Heater reporting, Sir. Lieutenant Vambrace, I relieve you.” One of the guards returned the salute and with a deep and booming voice said, “I stand relieved. Carry on, Private.” He spun on his hooves and marched toward a low building nearby as the new guard slid into his place, indistinguishable from the first. The diminutive sea-blue filly leapt off the bench and began bouncing in place, wings fluttering. “Momma! I know what I want to be when I grow up!” she said, saluting and making her best attempt at a stoic face. “I want to be a Royal Guard. I’ll wear armor and carry a spear and keep all the bad ponies out and everything!” Rainbow rolled her eyes and rubbed her temple before forcing a weak smile, “Vee, you're awesome, and with me in your corner you're gonna fly like all unholy Tartarus. But a Royal Guard? Sorry to burst your bubble, but think about it. How many Guards have we seen this weekend?" Scrunching her brow and cocking her head, the filly thought for a moment then shrugged and said, "Um - I dunno. A lot?" "Yeah, and how many of 'em were blue? Or shorter than Applejack's dog? Or for that matter, how many were mares?" Dash ran a hoof through Velocity's green-and-blue striped mane and watched her bounce slowly to a halt. "Guards come in two flavors, Vee. White stallion and grey stallion. Catch my drift?" Face drooping, the filly mumbled “I… I guess so.” She fell back on her haunches and kicked at a pebble when she heard heavy hoofsteps and a stallion’s booming voice behind her. “Excuse me, ma’am,” called the towering guardpony, nodding to Dash, “I overheard your daughter saying she’s interested in the Royal Guards. If it’s okay with you, I can take her to meet some of my squad.” “Nah, that's okay. We gotta jet in a few minutes,” she said, waving a hoof. As her filly looked up and whimpered plaintively, she groaned, “Awww, good grief, Vee, not the face! Not the whimper! Oh, alright. Short trip, kiddo. And don't do anything I would do." Dash raised an eyebrow and glanced at the stony-faced Guard, adding, "Sure you're cool with this?” “No trouble at all, ma’am. That’s our post across the street. I’ll have her back momentarily.” Leading the cantering filly across the road and into the guardpost, the stern-faced stallion looked down and asked, “So you want to be a Guard, Miss…?” “Velocity!” she said, “But everyone calls me Vee. And I do want to be a Guard, really bad, but Momma says I’ll be too small when I grow up, and I’m the wrong color, and I’m not a stallion, and - “ Holding a hoof up to silence her, the Guard locked eyes with her as a thin smile crept across his muzzle. “Well, Miss Vee, what the Guard wants is ponies who are honest and true, brave and bold. Does that sound like you?” “Totally! I’m always good, and Momma taught me to stand up for myself if anypony gives me trouble, and I never tell fibs! But what about all that other stuff, mister?” Looking side to side, the stallion reached up with a powerful hoof and removed his crested helmet. As he did his body shimmered and shrank, and where once a thick white stallion stood there was now a slender burnt-orange mare, still wearing the golden body armor of a Royal Guard. Velocity's eyes went wide and she whispered, “But… But how…?” “What matters is what’s on the inside, Miss Vee,” said the orange mare, voice soft and breezy as she smiled and knelt to eye level with the filly. She tapped the helmet with a hoof and added, “The rest is all appearances.” Grinning widely, she rose to her hooves and motioned for Velocity to follow. "Come on, I'll take you to meet the rest of my squad. If you thought I looked different off duty, wait'll you see the rest of us!" Minutes later the filly burst from the guardpost door and galloped to her mother’s side, throwing her hooves into a wide hug. “Enjoy your tour, Vee?” Dash asked, smiling as she tousled the little filly’s mane. The filly stepped back and bounced form hoof to hoof. “I did! I did!” she gushed, grinning and panting. “It was so cool, Momma! Now I know for sure I wanna be a Royal Guard when I grow up!” Stooping down, Rainbow's smile faded slowly as she lay a gentle hoof on the her daughter's withers. “Vee, honey, we talked about this. I’m so sorry. I don’t think you can be a Royal Guard.” She sighed and added, “You can’t change who you are, sweetheart.” “It’s okay, Momma,” said the beaming filly as she nuzzled her mother’s cheek, “I don’t have to.” Author's Note TMP Prompt # 279. The Prompt: Changing of the guard. I wrote this with an anonymous filly and her mother in the TMP version, but as soon as I submitted it I knew it had to be rewritten as a Velocity story. Headcanon: guard armor and/or helmets contain the illusion magic, though officers have the option to turn it off, and high-ranking officers (eg., Shining Armor) are required to deactivate it. Luna's personal guards are no different, though their armor's illusions are a little more advanced. The title is a reference to Shakespeare’s Henry V and to Band of Brothers.
Somewhere to Be“This is my day off, for Celestia’s sake!” growled Rainbow Dash, “So why am I here on my own time, busting clouds and ducking lightning bolts when I have a game to get to?” “Tell it to the Everfree, Boss,” said Raindrops as she sped past Dash, dropping under a cloudbank to split a steel-grey puff cleanly down the middle. Popping up above the cloud layer, Rainbow spun around, squinting as she eyed every cloud in the sea of storms that had spilled out unexpectedly from the wild depths of the Everfree forest. “All weather ponies, form on me!” she shouted. Spotting pastels and wings flitting among the clouds below, she yelled again over the din of wind and rain, ignoring the hoarse scraping on her vocal cords, “I said on me, ponies! Now!” Seconds later a half dozen dripping wet pegasi climbed up to her altitude and held there, tired and sullen and glaring at her. A green pony spat from under a drooping lavender mane, “What gives, Boss? We’ve been out here for an hour already. This isn’t the time for a team pep talk. If we want to go home, then we should be in there busting clouds, not – ” Rainbow shook her head and winced as she strained to shout over the roiling thunderheads below. “Change of plan, Merry. At this rate we’ll be here all afternoon and I’ve got somewhere to be. Much as I love you featherbrains, there’s no way I’m spending my personal time poking a bunch of cumulonimbus one at a time.” Pulling the ragged group into a close huddle, she dropped her voice to its usual gravelly level. “Okay, new strategy. Instead of busting these clouds here, we’re going to send the entire cell straight back to the Everfree.” Smiling as shaking heads and dropping jaws greeted her, she continued, “Merry, Drizzle, Dewdrop, you three cut around the left side. Stack up vertically and stagger. Don’t split the clouds, just trail the outside edge. Airheart, Sunlight, Raindrops, you mirror them but on the right side. Same pattern, same tactic - don’t cut the clouds, just feather the border.” “And you, RD?” Sunlight offered, wiping his goggles with a soggy hoof, “You aren’t just gonna supervise, right?” A daredevil’s grin crossed the azure pony’s muzzle. “No way in Tartarus, Sun! I’ll give you about half a minute then I’m gonna thread this cell right up the middle. If you turkeys have done your jobs, the whole heart of the storm will get sucked up in my wake. I’ll be able to draw off the worst of it and lead it right back where it came from. Are we shiny, weaterponies?” Merry chuckled, “Never a dull moment with you in charge, is there, RD?” “Not when I’ve got someplace to be!” she laughed, then dropped her smirk and furrowed her brow. “Alright, ponies, playtime’s over. No mistakes! I don’t plan to be the next name on the 'In Memoriam' board. Places, everypony, now on my mark – three, two, one … Go! Go! Go!” Six pegasi sped off, circling the growing storm, slicing its rolling and jagged edges neatly as if a giant hand had gathered the thundering chaos into a drawstring sack and pulled it tightly closed. Dash took several deep breaths, closing her eyes for a long moment, then rocketed off into the wall of grey. Her chest heaved and burned, her wings ached, and every feather and hair felt like hot needles as lightning arced all about. Driving rain stung her eyes as hammer-like winds tore and beat at her from all sides. Onward she tore, her rainbow contrail carving a knife-edge line straight through the thunderhead. The six ponies completed their circuit of the storm and met above the fray, panting and winded. Airheart and Dewdrop held each other for support and Drizzle gnawed nervously on his hooves as the others stared into the cloudbank, wide-eyed and trembling. Dash’s trail faded into the storm and they waited for long and tense seconds. A cheer went up from all six as Merry suddenly pointed a hoof at the far side of the stormcell. There, headed straight for the Everfree, was a lone blue pegasus popping out of the storm, trailing a vortex of rainbows and grey-black thunderclouds in her wake. Slowly at first and then with building speed the storm cell began rolling back toward the forest wilds. Rainbow made a wide circle over the receding thunderheads back to the cheering ponies. “Remind me,” she started as she wheezed and gasped, “please, remind me never to suggest that again!” One hoof on her aching side and grunting as she reached back with another to massage a wing joint, she continued, “Okay, you six bust up the stragglers then head home. We all earned our overtime today!” She called behind her as she sped away, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve gotta be somewhere, I’m already late, and Rainbow Dash is never late!” Half an hour later, exhausted and wet and bruised, she sat on the sidelines of the hoofball field at Cloudsdale Middle School. Diminutive pegasi darted this way and that across the field before a cheer went up. Over the roar of applause an announcer’s voice blared through a loudspeaker, “Goal for Cloudsdale! The CMS Manticores take the lead 1-0 early in the first period. That was Velocity Dash with the scoring kick.” Zipping to the sidelines, a little midnight-blue filly with a striped indigo-and-green mane lit in front of Rainbow, hopping and bouncing. Grinning ear to ear, she asked, “Did you see that kick, Mom? Did you see me score?” “Totally!” Dash yelled, pumping her hooves in the air. “That was awesome, kid! Just like I taught you.” “I didn’t see you out front before the game,” called the filly over her shoulder as she flitted back toward the field, “did you have trouble getting here?” The blue mare sat back and waved a hoof at her daughter. “Nah, just another day at the office, kiddo. Wouldn’t miss this for the world! Now get out there and show ‘em who’s boss, Vee!” Author's Note TMP Prompt # 249. The Prompt: Time for the big game. "Are we shiny, weaterponies?" - do I need to tell you this is a Firefly reference? The six weatherponies are canon background characters, some using their fan-given names, some with names from actual toys.
