Dashie's First Day

by ForteFermata

Chapter 4

Rainbow Dash stepped up to the starting line. She was ready. She was confident. She was going to blow them away.

"On your mark. Get set. Go!" Rainbow Dash shot off, speeding through the first three rings. As she neared the fourth, she dove, passing underneath it. This was all part of her plan, though, and she tilted her wings, slowing her down and sending her upwards. She climbed, looping around upside down above the fourth ring. She grabbed the top, flinging herself around and through, adding even more to her momentum. She zoomed towards the fifth ring, closing her wings as she drew near. She popped through the smaller ring like a cork from a bottle of her dad's apple cider, then snapped open her wings, again gaining altitude. After climbing for a minute, throwing a few spins and barrel-I mean aileron (Why'd you lie Peppy?) rolls for good measure. After a moment of climbing, she dropped again, diving almost perpendicular to the ground. The ground rushed towards her, and she planned to pull out just before hitting it. She didn't quite achieve that feat, however.

A sudden updraft buffeted her small frame, throwing her off course. Rainbow Dash began to wobble, then spun out.

"Whoa!" She yelled as she struggled to recover, but to no avail. Her wings refused to cooperate, and she began to plummet, an uncontrolled fall that undoubtedly spelled disaster. Or, it would have if Mr. Gale hadn't shot up and plucked her from the sky. He brought her back from the course and dropped her off with the rest of the class.

"Very impressive Miss Dash," he said as she walked back to the class, her head down. "But maybe next time, you could simply do the assignment, hm?"

"Yes sir." Rainbow replied, the sound of defeat in her voice. She scowled as she passed the jocks, who had already begun to snicker.

"Hey look everypony! It's... Um..." The short grey one started, but he couldn't come up with an insult fast enough.

"Hey, look everypony, it's Rainbow Crash!" The dark brown jock said, covering for his friend and enticing laughter from almost the entire class. The tall tan jock laughed, but then stopped a moment.

"Hahaha! Wait..." he thought a moment. "She didn't crash though..."

"Shut up Hoops!" The brown one said. "She would have!"

"Oh, okay." Hoops replied before laughing again. "Good one Dumb-bell."

Rainbow Dash glared at the jocks, then turned and ran to the end of the line. Bulk Bisceps watched her, and as she took her spot, he walked over to her.

"Hey, Rainbow..." He started to say, placing a hoof on her shoulder. Dash just shrugged it off and turned away. Bulk looked at Rainbow for a moment before turning back to his spot in line. When he got back, Fluttershy looked up at him.

"What did you say to her?" the pink maned filly asked, the concern evident in her voice. Bulk jumped a little, not noticing the small filly until she spoke.

"I just tried to console her, but she shrugged me off." He explained, then he frowned. "I was just trying to help..."

"It's okay. You tried your best." Fluttershy told him. "I think she just needs a friend." With this, Fluttershy walked over to Rainbow. "Um... Rainbow?"

"What do you want?" Dash asked harshly, not turning to look at her visitor. Fluttershy backed away a step at the hostility in Rainbow Dash's voice. She wanted to just apologize and leave. It was obvious that Rainbow was upset, and Fluttershy hated confrontation. 'No,' she thought. 'I can't run from this. Rainbow Dash is my friend, and right now, she needs my help.'

"I, uh, just wanted to say..." Fluttershy again fought the urge to hide behind her mane. "I just wanted to say that, um, your flight was very impressive."

Rainbow Dash snapped. "Impressive? What do you know about good flying?! You flunked, you failed out of basic flight school! You wouldn't know good flying if the Wonderbolts themselves came and took you on a personal tour of Equestria!" She yelled. Rainbow was furious. She was mad at Mr. Gale for saving her. She could have recovered! She was mad at Fluttershy for thinking she could cheer Rainbow up. Who was she to think she could help Equestria's next great flyer? But most of all, Rainbow Dash was mad at herself.

"Just... Just leave me alone!" Rainbow Dash yelled. Fluttershy backed away, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She turned and ran back to her place in line, next to Bulk Bisceps. The large colt looked at her, concerned, but before he could say anything, a voice stopped him.

"And finally, our last flyer of the day will be... Fluttershy." Mr. Gale called out. Fluttershy froze. This is what she had been afraid of all day. She had been so worried about Rainbow, her fear of flying had been all but forgotten. Now, however, it came back to her all too clearly. Her legs buckled underneath her, and if it weren't for a gentle nudge from Bulk, she might never have made it to the start line.

At the signal from Mr. Gale, Fluttershy took off hesitantly, and her flight was shaky at best. Her flying wasn't helped by the fact she was still upset over what Rainbow Dash had said to her. Her wings pounded, working to keep her aloft. She almost reached the first ring when...

WHOMP!

Fluttershy fell flat on her face, just a couple of feet away from the ring. Mr. Gale trotted over to her.

"Fluttershy, have you been doing those flight exercises I gave you to do over the summer?" All he got was a slight nod as Fluttershy buried her face in her hooves. Mr. Gale sighed. "Okay." He stood up and looked back to the class. Since his attention had been on the flyers, he hadn't heard any of what had transpired between Rainbow and Fluttershy.

"Rainbow Dash, would you please come and go with Fluttershy to the councilors office?"

Comments

[MattTheGreat]

I lerv it ser merch!

[ChaosSapphire]

Very nice!
but..poor fluttershy

[Rainbow87dash]

Awesome

[ThatBronyWithTheClipOns]

After climbing for a minute, throwing a few spins and barrel-I mean aileron (Why'd you lie Peppy?) rolls for good measure.

Who's is Peppy? Also barrel rolls and aileron rolls are different from each other. Still a good chapter, but this sentence needs a touch up.