Rainbow's Redemption

by AstonMartinLover

The Greatest Failure

Chapter 10: The Greatest Failure

Discord grinned as his rock army descended on Ponyville. The town was still in shambles following Grey Dash's attack. An easy take.

The stone soldiers marched through the town square. Fillies and mares hid indoors and watched through windows.

The mane five met in Twilight's library. "I heard Princess Celestia surrendered to Discord." Applejack said.

Twilight Sparkle shook her head. "No way. The Princess would never give the throne back to Discord without a fight. This must be a mistake..."

"But what are we to do?" Rarity demanded. "We only have five elements! The element of loyalty was destroyed!"

Fluttershy kept watch on the window. "Oh no! Everypony get down! They're headed this way!"

The soldiers broke open the door. Discord slithered into the library grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh look at all of you! My precious little ponies. How I've missed you."

"Save it Discord." Twilight snarled. "You're not welcome in Ponyville. Leave. Now."

Discord chuckled. "What? Hold on. I count five. I'm certain there were six of you before."

Twilight felt like she'd been punched in the heart. "She...She's not here anymore."

"Well where is she?" Discord asked tauntingly.

"She's...she's not one of us anymore. She did a terrible thing and..."

"Oh really? Oh I do love it when a pony snaps. Makes them so much more fun. If only we could invite her to this little party. Oh wait! We can!"

Grey Dash trotted into the library. Fluttershy's mouth gaped."R-Rainbow Dash?"

Grey Dash sneered. "Wow. They really are morons."

She stomped her hoof on the ground. Holes formed in her legs. All color she had was replaced by black. She returned to her original form.

The mane five collectively gasped.

"It never was Rainbow Dash." Applejack snarled. "It was you. And Discord. All along."

"YES! AND YOU FELL FOR IT!" Discord boomed. "Oh it was a classic troll wasn't it? Haha. You should see the looks on your faces."

"Well it was partially my troll too master." Grey Dash chimed in.

Applejack charged at the changeling. Grey Dash sidestepped her, sending her crashing into a bookcase. She laughed.

"You guys are such suckers. And now you've driven away the key to your survival."

Discord and the rock creatures left. Grey Dash shot them a final sneer, then followed her master.

There was a moment of silent sorrow among the remaining five. Twilight shuddered. "We have made a horrible, horrible mistake. Changelings. HOW DID WE NOT CONSIDER THAT?"

"It's been months since wedding." Applejack said gravely. "I guess...a lot's happened since then."

Twilight buried her head in her hooves. "We drove away our best friend. We turned on her. Why? Why were we that weak?"

"Discord played us." Applejack replied. "And he did a bang up job. We gotta make this right."

Rarity sighed. "What do we do?"

"I know." Said a voice from upstairs.

There was a flapping of wings. Thunderspark touched down in front of them.

"I'm going to get her back. But I can't go alone. I need a team."

Applejack glared at him. "What do you care about getting her back?"

Thunderspark rolled his eyes. "Well first off, the fate of Equestria might depend on it. Second off, I'm under orders from Princess Celestia. And thirdly I...I don't know. I guess I kinda...like...her. But let's forget all that. We need a method of transportation."

"Don't you have wings?" Rarity inquired.

"Yeah. Best wings in Equestria. But that would mean I'm going in solo. We need group transport."

"The balloon." Pinkie Pie said. "We can take the balloon!"

"Get together as many supplies as you can." Thunderspark said. "We'll roll out in seventy two hours."

Applejack cleared her throat. "Excuse me? Who elected you leader?"

Thunderspark laughed. "I just did. Cause I'm awesome. Now get moving."

A rock guard opened the door and threw in a wriggling sack. "Take your garbage."

Spike the dragon removed himself from the sack. Rarity ran up to give him a hug. "You better not have touched a spike on his adorable head!" She shouted at the guard as he left.

"Group hug!" Pinkie Pie shouted. They all piled onto Spike who turned red from all the attention.

"Hey guys I missed you too!" He got up and dusted himself off. "So what'd I miss?" He looked around. "Where's Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo ate some fresh looking fruit off of some strange trees deeper in the forest. They had spent all day walking further and further into this strange forest.

"So where are we going?" Scootaloo asked.

Rainbow Dash sighed. "I'm not quite sure yet squirt. Someplace far away. Any place that'll take in a washed up flyer who can't fly. And her filly sidekick of course."

"Where's that gonna be?" Scootaloo asked.

"I don't know kid. If I knew I'd tell you." Rainbow said gravely. She had begun to wonder herself if there was an end to this forest.

"Well we could always go back to Ponyville right?" Scootaloo said cheerfully.

"Yeah. Of course." Rainbow Dash said half-heartedly. She still hadn't told the filly of her plans. And they did not involve going back to Ponyville. Ever.

Another thought had crossed her mind recently. Her wings. They would still take some time to heal. But she had become unsure of whether she would ever fly again.

"Hey Scoots. I want you to try as hard as you can to fly. Right now."

"Right now?"

"Right now. Give it your best shot."

Scootaloo dropped the berries she was munching on and got into an athletic position. She stretched her legs, cracked her neck, and stretched her stubby little wings.

"I got this Rainbow."

She jumped up, her wings flapping manically. Her face scrunched up as she tried to stay in the air. It was no use. She came crashing down to the ground.

Rainbow Dash had paused, staring at the filly. She reminded her so much of herself. And it was making her uncomfortable.

"Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo asked. "Are you okay?"

Rainbow Dash shook herself. "What? Oh yeah. I'm fine. You're doing it all wrong. I want you to get a running start."

"A running start? But what does running have to do with flying?"

"You gotta crawl before you can walk. You gotta walk before you can run. You gotta run before you can fly. You want to fly?"

"Oh yes yes Rainbow Dash I do!" Scootaloo said hopping up and down.

"Then run. Let your momentum take you."

Scootaloo set herself up again. She began running forward. She was rather fast on the ground. Rainbow Dash followed her running as she began getting some ground lift.

She began flapping her wings again. Her face was contorted in desperation. She got a good two feet off the ground.

"Look Rainbow Dash! I'm doing it!"

"Alright keep it up Squirt. You're almost there."

Suddenly Scootaloo lost it. Her wings began flapping too hard. She panicked. She fell. Dash dove underneath her, cushioning her impact with the ground.

Rainbow groaned as she pushed the panting filly off of her. "Nice try squirt."

Scootaloo collapsed to the ground next to her. "Sorry Rainbow Dash. I really tried that time."

Rainbow Dash nodded. "I know. I know. It was a good try. You'll get it. You just gotta stop panicking."

Scootaloo looked at the setting sun. "Can't believe it. The day's over already. Could we maybe rest up? I'm exhausted."

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Yeah. That's alright. Get some sleep Scoots. I'll try and get some too."

14 years earlier

Filly Rainbow Dash lined up at the start of the course. Her instructor leaned over her.

"I want you to control your breathing. Keep your wings loose. Most importantly don't panic this time."

Rainbow Dash shuddered. She had been laughed at so many times. The other fillies in Flight camp were amused at her apparent fear of heights. The last time she had flown, she had panicked and fallen from the sky.

The other students were merciless in their insults. One of the other fillies in particular was driving her crazy. His name was Thunderspark. He'd invented a new nickname. Rainbow Crash.

"Hey Rainbow Crash? Can I borrow your wings? It doesn't look like you'll be using them for anything!" He laughed with the other fillies.

She took a deep breath. Not this time. This time she would fly. She had even asked her dad to take time off from his job to see her.

Dad's job. He had gotten it about a month ago. He was with a new group of athletic stunt ponies. They called themselves the Wonderbolts. Lightning had to squeeze into a tight fitting blue and yellow lightning bolt flight suit every other day to perform.

He was an amazing performer. One of the fastest. One of the most agile. THE most determined.

But today, at his daughter's insistence, he had taken a day off from the Wonderbolts to come see her flight trial.

The look on little Rainbow's face was one of pure determination. "No time for fear. Not today." She muttered to herself.

"Alright. When you're ready Dashie." The instructor said.

"Yeah, could you make this quick Crashie?" Thunderspark asked. "This is getting boring just watching you warm up to fail again."

"HEY!" Lightning Dash shouted. "Give her a chance punk! You wanna mess with me?"

The young black filly backed off. "Of course not Mr. Dash sir. Very sorry sir."

"You better be sorry. I know your daddy. And he wouldn't mind if I slapped you around a bit."

Thunderspark cowered behind his friends. "Very sorry sir."

Rainbow Dash winced. This wasn't what she had wanted her dad to do.

But forget all that now. It was time to looked over. Her dad gave her a hoof's up. She smiled back, then extended her wings and lifted off.

At first she clamped her hooves over her eyes. Her stomach dropped. She knew she was airborne. But that was the easy part. Controlling her fear. That was the difficulty.

But as she felt herself lift higher, she knew she had to look.

She removed her hooves and opened her eyes. The clouds passed by underneath her. She gasped, feeling a wave of panic grip her. But this time, she made an honest effort to force it down. No time for fear now. Time for triumph.

She slowly placed her front legs ahead of her.

With a slight hesitation, she turned and banked left. It was amazing.

"I'm doing it. I'm doing it!" She shouted. She laughed with glee. She turned and banked right sharply.

"WOOOOH!" She shouted as she turned around to fly over the rest of the students. She saluted them as she passed over.

A tear came to Lightning Dash's eye as he watched her. "My little Dashie can fly."

Rainbow Dash touched down to applause from Lightning and the instructor.

"That's my girl!" Lightning shouted. "Come here you!"

He pulled the panting filly into an embrace. "I knew it was gonna happen someday. Great job squirt."

Rainbow Dash laughed. "Daddy? I was just wondering...could I have a lollipop?"

Lightning Dash laughed and hugged his daughter again. "Sure. You can have anything you want. Let me tell you why. Cause you're gonna be something special."

Now it was time for intense training. Rainbow Dash looked at the finish line a mile away. Today, at her fathers insistence, she was going to get her time trails done early.

"Alright. What'd I tell you about staying loose?"

"Uh...stay loose." Rainbow Dash replied.

Lightning Dash glared at her. "So? GET LOOSE!"

Rainbow Dash sighed. She began stretching her legs and wings.

"Alright. You ready?"

"I got this daddy. I promise." Rainbow hunkered down into her startup position.

"You want any water? A lollipop or something?" Lightning asked nonchalantly.

Rainbow lost her focus. "Uh..."

"No uh. You have one objective. It is getting to the end of this lane as fast as possible. Don't even let your old man distract you. Now go."

Rainbow Dash lunged forward. She was unprepared. She immediately heard dad blow the whistle. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and flew back to the start line.

"What was that?"

"I don't know daddy...I...I messed up." She looked at him sadly, her ears flattening.

He sighed, then patted her on the head. "I know squirt. It's okay. Try again when you're ready alright?"

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. I got this."

She got back into her start up position. Lightning held the stopwatch in his hoof.

"Go."

Rainbow bolted off the line. She could barely make out a slight jet stream coming off her tail as she lunged forward, crossing the line.

Lightning stopped the clock. "13 seconds. Come on back."

Rainbow came back, excited about her time. "Yes! I am the sky master!"

Lightning shook his head. "Rainbow, what did I tell you about straightening out your feathers?"

Rainbow Dash looked at her stubby little wings. She facehoofed.

"I'm sorry daddy. I forgot..."

"You forget important things squirt. Your feathers are all bunched up. You gotta straighten them out at least once a day. It'll shave at least 1.5 seconds off your time. Go again."

"But daddy..."

"Go again." Lightning repeated sternly.

Rainbow huffed loudly. Then she got back into position. There was the whistle. She was off like a flash. Her frustration just built onto her speed. She was soaring towards the mile mark. She thundered past.

"Ten seconds flat!" Lightning shouted. "Come on back squirt!"

Rainbow Dash came back, panting heavily. "Ten seconds flat? Is that good?"

"That's a solid start." Lightning said excitedly. "Come on home, I got a present for you."

The two of them flew together, back to the house. Rainbow Dash was thrilled. Flying right up there alongside her hero.

And he was proud. He kept looking over at her flying. He didn't smile much. But he had a wide one now.

"Look at you. These are gonna be your skies one day. Even Ironwing himself will bow to you."

Rainbow Dash had never felt such joy before. "Really? You think so daddy?"

"You'll break all my speed records squirt. Calling it right now. You're gonna be the fastest."

The two continued towards the home in silence, enjoying each others presence. They touched down.

"Alright. I got this from my job. Figured any up and coming flyer needs it."'

He handed her a sloppily wrapped box. Dad never was one for wrapping things.

She threw caution to the wind and tore open the box. She reached inside.

Flying goggles. More specifically, Wonderbolt flying goggles. They bore the iconic insignia of the Wonderbolts on the side.

Rainbow Dash's mouth gaped. Most unicorns or earth ponies would think nothing of a simple pair of goggles.

But to a pegasus, this was a gift from the gods.

And from this day, a dream was planted in the head of the tiny filly. She was going to be a Wonderbolt. This much was certain.

After that, Little Rainbow Dash began patrolling the skies around flight camp as though she owned them. This was much to the chagrin of Thunderspark.

Being the overachieving pony of the group, he was quite annoyed by the superiority complex that Rainbow had created for herself. Today Rainbow flew over a few fillies.

Two of them were taunting the other. A small, innocent looking yellow coated, pink maned pony who seemed completely helpless.

"Hah! My baby brother could fly better than you!" One of the antagonists taunted.

Rainbow Dash touched down in front of the nervous filly. "Leave her alone!"

"Ooh! What're you gonna do Rainbow Crash?"

"Keep makin fun of her and find out!" Rainbow Dash shouted back.

"You think you're such a big shot? Why don't you prove it?" The other filly demanded.

"What do you have in mind?" Rainbow Dash fired back.

"How bout a race?"

"Sure. I could use some practice on you two." Rainbow taunted.

The two fillies stormed away, leaving Rainbow Dash alone with the nervous filly. "Hey? You okay? Those guys didn't hurt you did they?"

"N-No." The filly stammered. "I'm sure they didn't mean anything by it."

Rainbow extended a hoof. "Rainbow Dash. You?"

The filly shakily accepted her help. Rainbow helped her to her hooves. "F-Fluttershy. Um...thanks."

"No problem. Thanks for giving me a chance to race those suckers."

Fluttershy was a strange looking filly. She was abnormally large for her age. She could barely fly.

"But um...thanks Rainbow Dash. You really didn't have to do that?"

Rainbow shrugged. "If I don't, who will?"

Fluttershy seemed hurt by these words. She looked down at the cloud, her face showing signs of imminent tears.

Normally, Rainbow Dash cared little for the feelings of other ponies. She prided herself on her ability to tell it like it is. But she saw now that this was not the filly to tell it to.

"Oh no! Not saying you don't have other friends or anything! No no no."

Fluttershy sniffled. "Well...I mean...I don't have any friends. But that's okay. I guess I'm just not good at it..."

"Well I mean...I'm your friend." Rainbow said.

"R-Really?" Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow shrugged. "Sure. You seem cool."

The overgrown filly hugged Rainbow Dash tight. Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Um...okay. You're a little weird. But that's cool."

Fluttershy backed off immediately. "You don't like hugging? I'm sorry. It's just...I've never had a friend before."

She looked around and then whispered in Rainbow's ear. "What do friends do?"

Rainbow sighed. This filly was crazy. "We race..."

"I can't race." Fluttershy interrupted. "I'm a weak flyer."

Rainbow arched her eyebrow. "No kidding. Anyway uh...we hang out. And we go on adventures and stuff."

"Adventures? I mean...that sounds kinda scary."

Rainbow put a hoof on her shoulder. "You're alright Fluttershy. Stick with me and there won't be anything to be scared of."

The three fillies lined up at the start line. Fluttershy waved them on, and the race began.

Rainbow got out to an early lead. The first one crashed through a column.

The second was into playing dirty. He shoved her off the race path.

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash shouted. She tore downward, after him. He was blown aside by her speed.

A bubble seemed to form around Rainbow Dash as she continued downward.

It sharpened up into a sonic cone. Rainbow grunted with determination. Then. It happened.

She hit the air a good twenty feet off the ground and sent a rainbow explosion everywhere. She was blasted back up towards Cloudsdale. At first she was stunned. She looked back and saw the rainbow explosion, and the rainbow trail that followed her.

Then she looked back towards Cloudsdale and grinned. A sonic rainboom. The cloud and the lightning was emblazoned on her flank. She was too excited to notice.

"But I'm telling you! I DID do a sonic rainboom!"

The instructor shook his head. "How come nopony saw you?"

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Are you kidding? EVERYPONY saw me! Is this some kind of cruel joke?"

The instructor looked down at Rainbow Dash sternly. "Look. Nopony has ever successfully performed a sonic rainboom. And I can safely say, whatever you did, it was not a sonic rainboom. Please end this."

Rainbow Dash's mouth gaped in disbelief. "What? You think I'm lying? I probably have the scorch marks in my mane to prove it!"

The instructor sighed. "Look Rainbow Dash. This has been very amusing. Now take the rest of the day off. Try and learn the value of telling the truth."

Rainbow Dash was left dumbfounded. "What about my cutie mark?"

The instructor was already gone. Rainbow Dash sighed.

"So I hear you performed a 'sonic rainboom' today." Lightning Dash said when Rainbow got home.

"Yeah! I did! I can't believe it!" Rainbow Dash said excitedly.

"Neither can I." Lightning Dash said sternly. "What have I told you about dishonesty? Nopony wins when you're dishonest."

Rainbow Dash was crushed. "You...You don't believe me?"

"Well quite frankly, there's nothing to believe squirt. You couldn't possibly have done it. You just learned how to fly a week ago."

"But daddy..."

"No buts. I want you to apologize to your instructor tomorrow okay?"

"Dad! Look at this!" She showed him her lightning bolt cutie mark.

Lightning Dash trotted up to his daughter. "Wow! What is it?"

"I don't know! I got it when I did the sonic rainboom!"

Lightning Dash shook his head. "I told you to stop that. Don't lie to me. What would your mother say?"

Rainbow Dash stammered in frustration at this parental injustice. "My mom? I don't know dad! I never knew her! You tell me! What would she say?"

Lightning Dash was very mad now. He grabbed the filly by her mane.

"She hated it. More than anything in the world. She hated dishonesty. And you show her some respect you hear me? She gave her life for yours. The least you owe her is the truth."

"Daddy, I'm not lying!" Rainbow Dash insisted.

Lightning Dash pointed to her room. "I think you should go to bed. Now."

Rainbow Dash's ears flattened. She looked down and slowly trotted off to her room, her heart heavy with sadness. Even her own father didn't believe her. And now she had made him mad. Madder than she'd seen him in a long time.

That night Rainbow Dash hatched a plan. Nothing much mattered to her now. She had to prove to her father that she could perform a sonic rainboom. She had to.

The next morning her dad didn't speak to her. He was still upset about the night before. "I'm gonna go to school daddy."

Lightning nodded. Rainbow turned to leave. She turned back again.

"Daddy?"

Lightning looked up. "Yes?"

"I-I love you daddy."

Lightning cracked a smile. He nodded, then looked back down at his paper.

But Rainbow Dash was not going to school today. No. Today she was going to the coliseum. Today the Wonderbolts were performing.

Today she was going to prove that she could pull off a sonic rainboom. In front of her father.

She had taken some bits from him the night before. She used these to get into the stadium. She found an upper deck seat. "And now everypony! Let's welcome the Wonderbolts!" The coliseum announcer boomed.

Rainbow Dash got up and stomped her hooves with the other ponies.

There was her daddy. Flying out there in his flight suit, twisting and turning, executing the most difficult maneuvers, and taking good care to make them look simple.

Lightning Dash looked up at the sky. Dark clouds had moved in. He turned to the Wonderbolt captain.

"Hey Titan! Those clouds look a bit dangerous. We may have a lightning storm out here soon."

The young pegasus known as Titan nodded. "Let's not risk it." A bolt shot down into the stadium. More bolts struck the barrier surrounding the performing area.

Titan gestured to the other Wonderbolts. "Let's take a break. Get flying when the storm eases up."

The others nodded in agreement and headed towards the seats.

Rainbow Dash saw them leaving. She panicked. Was that it? Were they done? Were they coming back? Was daddy leaving?

She knew it was now or never. She slowly trotted up towards the railing.

None of the security cared. She was just a filly. Nothing to worry about.

Rainbow Dash jumped onto the railing and leapt off into the center.

She extended her wings and took a glide around the stadium. She saw security pointing at her and screaming.

The Wonderbolts were grouped on the far side of the stadium. Thunder boomed.

"Hey Dash." Titan said. "Isn't that your daughter?"

Lightning Dash spun around. "Where?"

He spotted her. She had gotten into position, flying higher and higher to prepare for her rainboom.

"Oh Celestia no." Lightning said under his breath. He dashed past the others and flew off after his daughter.

Rainbow Dash had a determined expression upon her face as she continued to rise above the coliseum. "You'll see daddy. You'll see."

Lightning Dash came speeding up behind her. "What do you think you're doing?"

Rainbow Dash spun around. "Daddy! I'm gonna prove it! Watch me! I'll do a sonic rainboom right now!"

Lightning Dash shook his head. "No baby. This weather is too dangerous. Come with me!"

Rainbow Dash turned and kept climbing.

"Look I believe you okay! We can talk about this on the ground. Now come back! It's not sa-"

There was a scorching sound. Lightning was cut off. Rainbow Dash turned around.

Lightning had been struck. There was a burn down the side of his suit. His eyes went out of focus. He plummeted towards the coliseum.

"DADDY!" Rainbow Dash shouted. She blasted down after him. The coliseum had no field. It was a straight drop to the ground, thousands of feet below them.

Rainbow Dash shut out all fear and misguided pride from her head. All she saw was her father tumbling towards the ground. And she could not allow him to hit the ground. Not a fiber of her being would allow it.

She put a hoof out in front of her and blinked away tears as the wind tore at her coat.

"C'mon! C'mon!" She shouted as she continued, closer and closer, towards her careening father.

The bubble was back. The sonic rainboom. She could do it again. It could save him. She made her wings flap even harder as she moved closer and closer towards her father.

The other Wonderbolts were in the air now too. But the filly had a massive head start. She could get to him first.

The bubble became a sonic cone. Rainbow's face contorted in determination as she got closer and closer to him.

Only a few more feet. She could make him out clearly now. He was looking pale. He was still. Perhaps he was already gone. But this was another thought that Rainbow refused to accept.

She reached out. She could feel his coat now. She could feel it's warmth. The warmth it had brought her when she was just an infant. The warmth when she had gotten a fever, and her dad had stayed home all day to take care of her. The warmth of a father determined to make sure his daughter did not waste her life.

So close. Rainbow reached out her hoof to grab him. Suddenly her momentum stopped. The sonic cone had become a barrier.

She could not break through it. It tightened around her, stopping her. She was ricocheted back up, towards the coliseum.

"DADDY!" She screamed as her father continued careening towards the earth.

She felt something grab a hold of her. One of the Wonderbolts.

Her hoof remained extended towards where her father had just been. She was silent now. In shock. Another Wonderbolt headed towards the ground. Far too late to save Lightning Dash.

A few more inches. She would have had him.

The Wonderbolt known as Titan touched down in the Cloud Coliseum with little filly Rainbow Dash in his arms. He set her down in one of the seats.

"Hey. Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Rainbow Dash looked at her hooves in disbelief. She had been so close. She pounded her hooves down on the cloud and let out a blood curdling moan of agony.

She buried her head in her hooves now. She refused to believe what had just happened. She couldn't compute it.

She began punching the ground viciously, taking out the rage of her failure on the coliseum. Titan grabbed her and held her hooves.

Tears streamed down the filly's face. "WHERE'S DADDY?" She moaned. "I wanna see daddy!"

Titan hugged her. "Shhh. He's...he's gone sweety. I'm sorry." A tear had come to his eye too.

Rainbow Dash sobbed into the chest of this pegasus she had just met. "I'm so sorry." Titan said softly. He was sobbing as well. "But...it's gonna be okay."

Rainbow Dash wailed in despair. She pushed Titan away and trotted towards one of the coliseum walls. Titan watched her. "I need you to stay nearby sweetie. We gotta find you someplace to stay tonight."

Rainbow Dash buried her head in her hooves again. "I'm so sorry daddy. I couldn't catch you. I'm so sorry."

She felt a rage build inside her. She began punching the walls as hard as she could. Each hit sent a wave of pain through her hooves. But she didn't care anymore.

After a while, her hooves lost their feeling. She began shaking violently, her sadness becoming too much for her body to handle. Her legs had become too wobbly to support her weight. She collapsed to the ground.

She felt a hoof on her shoulder. She turned. It was the filly from the day before. Fluttershy.

"I'm really sorry Rainbow Dash." She said softly. Her big, teal eyes seemed a bit watery themselves.

Rainbow Dash tried to stop the tears but couldn't. She hugged her new friend. "I couldn't save him Fluttershy. Why couldn't I save him?"

She patted her on the back. She searched for words of consolation.

"There there. You did the best you could."

It was all she could manage. Rainbow looked at her through tear soaked eyes. These words were enough. She hugged her even tighter. From this point on, their were no words shared between the two. Just mutual sorrow.

The other Wonderbolts lined up around her now, grave expressions on their faces.

"One of our own has fallen today." Titan announced to them. "His daughter is now an orphan. If there is no objection, I will take her in for the time being."

The others nodded solemnly. Titan trotted up to Rainbow Dash. "Come with me now sweetie. I'll make a bed for you at my place, everything'll be okay."

The funeral was the next day. The Wonderbolts themselves pulled the wagon containing the coffin.

Little Rainbow Dash was trying as hard as possible not to cry. Lightning would've approved.

It was another stormy day. Rain fell on the proceedings. Rainbow Dash felt the rain hit her mane, mixing with her tears.

But she couldn't. She couldn't stifle the tears. She wept as they brought the coffin out. They laid it down. Each one of the Wonderbolts came up to the coffin and said their goodbyes.

Afterwards, they'd go to Rainbow Dash and shake her hoof, or pat her on the back. Normally, Rainbow Dash would be ecstatic about such a happening. She was a true fangirl. She knew the name and stats of every member of the Wonderbolts. A part of her was excited. But it was drowned out by the sorrow and guilt that was now burying her.

It was her turn to say goodbye. Titan leaned in on her shoulder. "It's okay. Now's the time you gotta be strong. For him."

Rainbow Dash swallowed hard and nodded. She slowly trotted forward. The coffin had emblazoned on the side, the yellow lightning bolt cutie mark of her father. When she saw it, she burst into sobbing.

"I'm so sorry daddy. I'm so sorry I couldn't catch you. I promise I'll never fail again. Never. And..." Her hoof shook as she reached out and touched the coffin. She felt the rain fall all around her.

She tried to shut out her feelings. Tried to pretend this was just some box. That her father was waiting for her at home. That he'd smile as she trotted in, after another successful day of flight camp. But she knew this was pointless. She drew up her shell again, determined not to show any more emotion in front of this crowd of strangers.

"I'm gonna make you proud dad. I promise."

She turned and trotted away. On her way out, one of the Wonderbolts handed her something folded up. It was his flight suit. Complete with twigs and scratches and a scorch mark down the side.

"Has to go to next of kin." The Wonderbolt explained. "Stay strong kiddo."

With some final words, the coffin was lifted up and placed into the cloud. Rainbow Dash buried her face in the flight suit. She continued to sob, now shielding herself from being seen by the others.

"I'll never fail you again daddy."

Rainbow Dash snapped awake. She realized she was sobbing hysterically. She looked around. Scootaloo was awake too. She was gripping her, trying to calm her down.

"Rainbow Dash? What's wrong?"

"I failed him. I failed him Scootaloo. I told him I'd never fail again. But I failed him."

"What? You're freaking me out!" Scootaloo shouted.

Rainbow Dash grabbed her by her around the waist and lifted her eye level. "I tried to catch him. But I failed. He's gone."

"Who? Who's gone?"

"Daddy! Daddy's gone Scootaloo!"

Scootaloo was silent. "Your...your dad?"

Rainbow Dash broke down. "I'm so sorry daddy. I let you fall. I'm so sorry."

Scootaloo came and hugged the hysterical pegasus. "Okay. Calm down. Now tell me what happened. Did you have a nightmare?"

Rainbow Dash nodded through tears. She slumped to the ground, her emotions draining her of energy. Scootaloo gave her a hug.

"Yeah. Nightmares scare me too."

Rainbow Dash looked down at the filly hugging her. Every instinct she had told her to draw up her shell again. To stow away the emotions she was showing. To reject this filly and her heartwarming banter. But this filly was different from everypony else.

Their stories were the same. They had suffered the same loss. The same heartbreak.

Scootaloo had opened up about her past. It was only fair for Rainbow Dash to do the same. So she did.

On into the morning, Scootaloo listened patiently as Rainbow told her story.

Comments

[tubaguy]

Mind blown
Having no idea what was coming I put on this song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5xBkiGsSCY&feature=related
The lyrics may not be relevant whatsoever but dammit, the tits PERFECTLY

[Shadow Scryer]

Erm... So Thunderspark's a girl? I thought filly=female while colt=male. Could be wrong though.

I. Hate, hatehate, hatehatehate, hatehatehatehate, fucking HATE Thunderspark! And after reading that, it's hard to like anyone with a form of electricity included in their name.

[josue]

702560
the hate is real

[TheCrimsonDragon]

A Pegasus named Lightning got struck by lightning. The irony almost makes it not sad. Almost.

[MAHLITTLEPONY]

8494031
And Rainbow Dash shall die from rainbows 😔 ✌️