Rarity has expanded her business into Canterlot and even helped Rainbow Dash fly with the Wonderbolts. This may just be the greatest moment of her life.
And yet, on the train back to Ponyville, she can't help but think about what could still go wrong. Fortunately, one of her friends is here to listen to her worries... though Rainbow Dash seems to have her own concerns at the moment.
A condensed and refined version of an entry in the November 2015 Writeoff Competition. Prompt: Out of Time
Also, in case it needs to be said, the cover image does not accurately reflect the train in the story; it was just the most appropriate thing I could find on Derpibooru.
Chapters (1)
I was going to leave a smartass comment about the train but then decided otherwise.
Excellent manipulation of Rainbow there Rarity
I didn't know I wanted this until right this second.
I'll prepare the octagon.
This is going to sound weird, but I loved this story. I was going to gush and interpret and wonder about Rarity's true intentions here and have all sorts of fun.
Then I hit the author's note and my hype dropped like a hot rock.
A suggestion, if I may: let the story speak for itself and save the opining for the blog posts. It's like explaining a joke in its vicinity. You... you just don't.
Well-done otherwise, but.. ow.
6650511
What author's note? I see no author's note here. There must have been a brief anomaly in the hype field.
(In all seriousness, you have my apologies and my thanks. Also, ten bucks on Spike during Rarimania '15.)
Manipulation: OOOOO
Presence: OOOO
...Composure: O
That was an interesting little read. Nice analysis of the Wonderbolts, too. It's no fun seeing your heroes knocked off their pedestal.
6650543
img00.deviantart.net/9f17/i/2015/261/5/7/business_by_doublewbrothers-d99zumg.jpg
I can only place Spike's odds on silver in good conscience.
It would be pretty crushing for someone you hold in as high esteem as Rainbow clearly held Wind Rider to do that. It was pretty damn nasty. I do think that had Spitfire been made aware of it even before any of the other incidents Rainbow mentioned that she would kick his ass out so fast you would mistake it for a Sonic Rainboom however. There is being a jerk, and there is deliberately sabotaging the future of your team for your own vanity.
6650601
MFW puns.
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Okay actually I freaking love them but that reaction shot is too good.
Well played, Rarity.
Neveralways go full Rarity.Oh, very nice!
I like how each of them helps the other deal with their worries in a way that's utterly them: Rainbow busts Rarity's worries by being her blunt, straightforward self and knowing loyalty.
And in return Rarity goes full Rarity, flipping Rainbow's worries around in a masterful display of social-fu.
This is a nice look at RD's character, and does a good job answering the question of why she would want to join the Wonderbolts after they kept failing to live up to the values she thought they had.
I like this, because it addresses an open issue from the show: why dont the Wonderbolts want Rainbow Dash, when she's clearly better than most of their team? Does Rainbow Dash ask herself this question? And what does she do with the answer?
Part of my explanation would be that the Wonderbolts, like a lot of Equestria's military, becomes rather decadent and non-functional in peacetime. In my chronology, which is not as peaceful as many, Equestria's last major war still ended half a century ago. This is plenty of time for the Equestrian military to degrade into an only semi-functional force.
In my opinion, Dashie has actually grown past her fillyhood dream, and I agree with you that the reason why the Wonderbolts don't want her is that they are afraid of being outshined by her.
Your story was very well done and everypony was completely in character.
6650511 My curiosity abounds. I don't suppose you happen to remember what that particular note said?
6749337
Nope! Way too long ago!
That's a FOME question anyway--I'm sure he'll tell you if he thinks it's appropriate.
6749362 Understandable.
6749363
I'm afraid I don't recall it either. I believe the general idea was an explanation for why I wrote the story and explicitly stating character motivations. As Bookish noted, kind of a bad thing to do.
Damn that was good.
6749949
I'd already opened your blog in another tab with the intention of looking through it for a post -- even though I'm certain I'd find it just as distracting and unnecessary as 6650511.
You can has review!
I honestly don't know how to feel about this.
Mainly because I'm reading it a few weeks after Newbie Dash aired, which revealed that, the Wonderbolts had pretty much wanted her to join them ever since she had joined the reserves, it's just that there are rules that even the former element bearers have to follow.
(And just for the record, I really love Newbie Dash. It's my second favorite RD episode, behind Tanks for the Memories).
Plus there's also the fact that I actually didn't mind Spitfire's behavior in Rainbow Falls (heck, if anything, I think that the episode HELPED her character, by showing that she has a darker side to her)
However, the interactions between the Rare and RD here are pretty touching...
I'll settle for giving it an upvote for now.
7264923
If it's any help, Rarity was working entirely off of speculation.
7264935 I figured that... but getting confirmation of it does help.
And now that I think about it, if anything, that makes the ending of Newbie Dash even better.
I laughed out loud a good bit.
This was a good read and a great rarity.
That's some serious emotional aikido that Rarity just laid down on ole Rainbow.
A nice exploration of Rainbow Dash's relationship with the Wonderbolts. Dash and Rarity are interesting characters to contrast for many reasons, and their relationships with their heroes is one of them. I previously thought of them in different lights in this respect, because to me, Rainbow Dash has consistently been disappointed by her heroes, while Rarity has gotten along with the majority of hers, but I never considered the Blueblood angle, so that's yet another similarity between them.
Also, after what The End in Friend did to these two, it's just nice seeing them paired up for a story and actually written in-character. Wish I'd read this a lot sooner, actually, because it works as a post-episode read for multiple different episodes.