To Soar Again
To Soar Again
by Zeg
Rainbow Dash was sailing high above a roaring crowd, taking in all of the excited energy they gave off as she looped around in the sky. She pushed her aviator goggles up atop her head, taking a moment to give her spandex covered body a good stretch before looking at the crowd below. She smiled broadly as she waved down to the fans that had turned out to see that night’s Wonderbolt performance.
She looked to her right, catching a signal from her squad leader, Spitfire. Rainbow nodded, quickly snapping her goggles back in place and then banking into a turn toward her leader. Four other pegasi soon joined them in the formation as the entire squad lined up their run for their final stunt of the night, the Wonderbolt Starburst Firework Finale. The six stunt fliers picked up speed as they dove low to the ground, and then as they neared the grandstands they all shot nearly straight upward into the sky. As the group climbed higher, they began to break off formation one by one as they fanned out away from Spitfire. And then all at once, they all collapsed back to a central point near their squad leader, stopping at a hover in the air as they came together as a tight ring of pegasi touching hoof to hoof in mid-air. Spitfire pulled a small sphere from her pocket, and giving a quick nod to the rest of the team, she activated the small device and toss it into the center of the circle as the team simultaneously pushed away from each other in a starburst pattern. The sphere popped, leaving a shower of white sparks trailing behind the pegasi.
A round of accompanying fireworks fired off nearby from the ground, filling the sky with bright explosions. Bright flashes of color reflected off the surface of Rainbow’s suit as she coasted in the air near the fireworks display. She glanced down at the crowd below her once again, a joyful smile spreading across her face as she did so. She reached a hoof out to wave once again, but a bright flash on the ground followed by a concussive boom caused her to flinch and wobble in her flight pattern. Only seconds later did she notice something bright white sailing toward her from where the ground explosion had happened, and it meet her in the sky so quickly that she hadn’t even had time to adjust her course beyond a few reactionary wing flaps. The firework blazed by her in a near miss as it passed by with a shrill screeching noise. All sound other than a high pitched ringing and the rapid drumming of her racing heart had been drowned out. She attempted to resist the natural urge to panic, trying to level out her flight, but very quickly took notice of a searing pain building in her left wing.
The panic returned full force when Rainbow lost control of her flight under the intense pain. She began to tumble end over end, and as she fell she could just make out the flames that had engulfed her left wing. She flailed her forelegs about in an attempt to smother the flames, making very little headway as she tumbled toward the ground.
She felt something collide with her mid-air, and soon realized that Spitfire had flown in to catch her. The two performers quickly came down to the ground to a very rough landing, both tumbling across the grass shortly after they touched down. Rainbow still wasted no time putting her training to use as she attempted to smother the flames, rolling herself over the burning feathers repeatedly.
A team of pegasi in white flight suites quickly surrounded the area, one of them flying in a small cloud and rapidly stomping it to empty rain water over Rainbow to douse the flames. The flames quickly subsided, leaving a wing full of smoldering feathers. Rainbow grit her teeth together as she laid out on the grass on her back, her breaths coming in short, rapid pants that hissed through her clenched teeth. She fought to keep her eyes open as the rescue pegasi worked to treat her, but her vision was already starting to blur to the point that she could no longer make out what was what. All she knew for sure at that moment was that something really horrible had just happened.
---
Rainbow Dash snorted and tossed the bed sheets back as she sat up straight in bed, blinking her half lidded eyes rapidly. She had been jarred awake by something, but her sleep addled mind couldn’t quite figure out what the something had been. She vaguely recalled that she had been dreaming, but the dream had already faded to the point that she could scarcely remember what it had been about. Letting go a tired groan, she pulled at the bed sheets and flopped onto her side on the mattress, her head bouncing lightly on the pillow before she let her eyes slide closed.
Something sounding like two rapid taps echoed through the otherwise silent room. Rainbow’s eyes slowly slid opened again as she stared at the wall across from her, otherwise not budging from her spot hidden under the covers. Her ear twitched in the direction that the sound had come from, but she otherwise didn’t move a muscle.
The sound came again, this time being three rapid taps in a row. The source of the sound was from somewhere in the next room over. Rainbow scrunched her muzzle and let go another annoyed groan as she hooked her hoof under the bed sheets and yanked them up over her head, leaving only the top of the mess of her rainbow colored mane sticking out.
Silence settled into the room for a short time, but just when it seemed like the sound would not make a return there were suddenly three very loud thwacks that echoed in from the next room. The covers flew back as Rainbow sat up straight in bed once again. She glared off in the direction the loud sound had come from for a few seconds before rolling herself out of bed. Her hooves hit the hardwood floor with a loud clack, and she loudly began to stomp her way out of the bedroom, into the adjoined living room, and to the front door.
Gritting her teeth and narrowing her eyes, she pulled back hard on the door latch, yanking it wide open. “What!?” she demanded loudly, but her expression quickly softened when she recognized who was standing on her front porch. “Oh, hey AJ,” she said. She leaned a shoulder against the open door jam, crossing her front legs as she asked, “So, where you trying to buck my front door down for a reason?”
“Well mornin’ to you too,” Applejack responded with a quick nod. She meet the cross greeting with a quick grin and a question. “Was wonderin’ if you were goin’ to be ready any time soon. So... are ya?” she asked as she looked over Rainbow’s rat’s nest of a mane and matted fur.
Rainbow furrowed her brow, her eyes darting about between blinks. After a moment of puzzled thought, she finally shook her head as she asked, “Ready?”
“Yeah, you know... you promised that we’d get out for a bit today.”
Rainbow reached one of her forehooves up across her chest to her opposite shoulder, scratching at it idly as she strained her thoughts to remember the promise. “I... don’t remember that,” she said as she slowly shook her head.
“Well I’d imagined that I’d have to remind ya. You didn’t seem too interested, but you did promise.” Applejack glanced around past Rainbow, taking a quick peek into the living room. “Ya mind if I come in for a bit?”
“Oh uh, sure, no problem,” Rainbow said as she stepped back from the door into the apartment. Applejack followed in behind her, pushing the door closed with a back hoof.
“Place still looks nice,” Applejack commented as she glanced around at the living room. It was the main room of a modest apartment sized for one, with a single bedroom in the back and kitchenette attached to the right side of the living area. The living area was sparsely populated with furnishings. There were two sky blue, pony-sized couches that sat facing a long table in front of them, and a smaller but taller table with a lamp that sat between them. Along the wall opposite from the kitchen was a single bookcase that held only a few books and a picture frame.
“Yeah, thanks,” Rainbow commented dryly as she walked to the other end of the room, stopping just at her bedroom doorway to glance back. “Just give me a minute to get ready and we can go... where ever it was we were going, I guess.”
Applejack had made her way to one of the two couches, taking a seat and stretching her legs out to make herself comfortable. She leaned an elbow over the armrest as she glanced over at Rainbow. “Well, I never did tell ya where we were goin’, on the account that it was supposed to be a surprise.”
The mention of the surprise seemed to spark a memory. “Oh... right,” Rainbow said as she rolled her eyes. She sat in the bedroom’s doorway, leaning against the jam as she brought her forelegs up to cross them across her chest. “The one you bugged me about every time I saw you for nearly a month straight? The one that I had to make you promise not to speak another word about if I promised to go see this surprise some day?” She pointed a hoof to her friend. “That surprise?”
“Yep,” Applejack said with a single nod.
Rainbow rubbed a hoof against her forehead, quietly thinking for a moment before flipping the hoof to the side. “I don’t suppose I could talk you into putting it off, could I?”
“Nope,” Applejack said with a quick shake of her head.
Rainbow’s chest heaved in a silent sigh as she let her forehooves fall back to the floor. “Didn’t think so. Well, I did promise, and you kept your end of the promise.” Rainbow began to turn into her room as she stood, mumbling, “I hate pity parties,” under her breath.
“You say somethin’?” Applejack asked as she perked her ears up.
Rainbow flinched, gritting her teeth slightly when she realized her grumbling had nearly been overheard. She glanced back over her shoulder to her friend, managing a brittle smile. “Nothing. I’ll be out in a minute. Just hang out here for a bit,” she said as she disappeared into her bedroom.
She made her way to the apartment’s bathroom through another door just off her bedroom. She pulled the door closed as she tapped the light switch, and then looked into the vanity mirror above the sink to survey the damage. The normally separate bands of colors in her rainbow mane had mingled together into a frizzy tuft on her head. Her fur coat had uneven flat spots here and there and other spots that stuck up seemingly everywhere else. Hooking her hoof into the strap of a bristle brush laying on the sink, she began to try to tame the mess of wild hair. Her coat mostly smoothed out as she ran the brush over it with only a few trouble spots that refused to lay down, but her wild mane proved to be much more resilient, being so tightly knotted together that she could barely even pull the brush through. She strained her shoulders and gritted her teeth as she forced the brush through her mane, trying to make it at least somewhat presentable.
Her eyes came across something reflected in the mirror. She went dead still when she noticed it, and just stared at it for a moment. She could see her left wing, extended from the strain of pulling the brush through her mess of hair. She turned it slightly, looking at the little tufts of plumage that still clung to the otherwise bare wing. It looked like a mostly plucked, scarred chicken wing the way it just hung there at her side. The healing process had left the injured wing unable to grow back most of its feathers, and the few that did grew in at odd angles in clumps. She let out a snort as she forced her crippled wing to fold itself back in place out of sight, and then continued to work on her mane.
---
Back in the apartment’s living room, Applejack had taken to glancing about the room as she waited, and when her eyes fell upon the bookshelf she walked over to get a closer look. She found a few volumes of Daring Do books laying over each other on the top shelf, and a thick layer of dust on their covers. The shelf just below the top shelf held the picture frame, and Applejack lowered her head to take a closer look at it. The simple, golden frame held a photo of Rainbow Dash and Spitfire and a few others, six ponies in total. Each of them were wearing Wonderbolt flight suits. Applejack gave a thoughtful hum as she stared at the picture for a moment.
Turning her head to glance around at the rest of the room, Applejack casually walked over to the other side of the living area to peek through the entryway that led to the kitchenette. The dome light wasn’t turned on, and the small area was mostly dark as it had no windows. The entire thing wasn’t much bigger than a walk-in closet. There was just enough space for an oven and stovetop, a single sink, the fridge, a pantry, and a small bit of countertop space all lined up against the wall. Applejack tilted her head curiously at a pile of dishes that were stacked up in the sink, and a second pile that had been started next to it on the countertop.
“Hey, I’m ready now,” Rainbow said as she walked into the living room. She swept a forehoof over her bangs a few more times in a final attempt to tame the last few wild hairs that refused to conform with the rest. She gave her head a light shake, and then noticed Applejack glancing back to her from the kitchen door. “Are you snooping?” she asked as she squinted her eyes suspiciously.
“I ain’t snoopin’,” Applejack quickly protested as she pointed a hoof into the kitchen. “Just noticed you got a lot of dirty dishes goin’. If your landlord isn’t fixin’ the sink for you, I could probably get my sister over to fix it up.”
Rainbow arched her neck slightly to look into the kitchen. She winced slightly when she realized she could see the stack of dirty dishes all the way from where she was standing. “Actually... it’s not broken,” she said as she sat back on her haunches. She glanced off to the side, scratching at her neck nervously as she said, “I just haven’t felt like cleaning them.”
“Oh,” Applejack said quietly. She gave the stack of dirty dishes one last quick glance before shrugging it off. “Well, I suppose we should get ourselves goin’. It’s past noon.”
“Wow, is it really?” Rainbow asked as she glanced over her shoulder at a wall clock. The clock fashioned to resemble her cloud and rainbow lightning bolt shaped cutie-mark read nearly twelve-thirty.
“Is sleepin’ all you been up to lately?” Applejack asked with a slight grin as she trotted over to the front door and opened it.
“No... I just... stay up late,” Rainbow said. She glanced around the room looking for something, finally finding it laying between the couch and the lamp table. Grabbing the rainbow colored cloth with her teeth, she give it a quick whip with her neck to spread it out over her back. The cape unfolded across her back, covering her wings and sides completely all the way back to the root of her tail. She lined up the strap on the top edge of the cape to wrap it around her neck, pushing the tip through a golden buckle with her forehooves and then giving it a quick tug with her teeth to tighten it before fastening it in place. “Kay, lets go,” she said as she trotted out of the doorway ahead of her friend.
---
“And so, at the end of it all, this uppity mare made Apple Bloom tear down all them shingles cuz she didn’t like how they looked on the shed after all. I tell you what, my sis was fit to be tied,” Applejack said, letting go a chuckle. She and Rainbow Dash walked alongside one another through the streets of Ponyville as she recounted her story. “She still finished it though. Earned every last one of them bits and then some. I kept tellin’ her that there was probably a good reason why nopony else had taken a job that paid like that, but she wouldn’t listen.”
Rainbow snorted a laugh. “That sounds like it was really something.”
A loud growling noise interrupted the conversation. Applejack stopped dead in her tracks and blinked a couple times before eying her friend suspiciously. “Well that sounded like a bear snorin’.”
Rainbow cringed and tucked a hoof against her belly in response. “Uh, sorry,” she said through a sheepish grin.
Applejack snickered in response. “I guess you didn’t get to eat yet since I just dragged your lazy rump outta bed, did you?” Glancing down the street, she spotted a familiar shop that gave her a quick idea. “Say, how about we get somethin’ at Sugarcube Corner? It’ll be my treat.”
The mention of Ponyville’s popular sweets shop caused Rainbow to stop. She glanced down the street to the shop and then glanced around a bit nervously. “You don’t think it would be kinda busy?” she asked as her ears splayed back against her head.
“Eh,” Applejack commented with a shrug. “Lunch rush is probably done by now.”
Rainbow pursed her lips and let out a quiet groan as she considered her options. She stared indecisively down the street for a moment longer, then deadpanned when her stomach decided to make itself noticed once again with another loud growl. “Alright alright, fine!” she said as she took off in a trot toward the shop. “Just something quick.”
Applejack nodded as she quickly caught up with her friend. “We’ll just stay long enough for a quick somethin’ then get on our way.” She reached the door first, giving it a push. The jingling sound of the shop’s bell welcomed them as they stepped inside.
“Just one minute!” a familiar voice rang from the kitchen at the back of the shop. Rainbow and Applejack spotted an empty table just near the doorway and both trotted over to take a seat. The rest of the shop was vacant at the moment, and the sound of some sort of kitchen appliance running was the only sound that echoed through the shop. The appliance whirred to a stop seconds later, and shortly thereafter Pinkie Pie leaned out from the kitchen doorway to glance into the main shop area.
“Oh! Hey guys!” Pinkie Pie hopped over to the table, a huge grin and some smudges of flower decorating her face. “I haven’t seen you in a while, Dashie.”
Rainbow did her best to put on a smile. “Heh, yeah. What’s up, Pinkie? Watching the shop today?”
“You betcha! The Cakes are making a special delivery. As for what’s up, just the usual. Baking, parties, the sky. All those kinds of things,” Pinkie chattered on with her happy smile. She took notice of Rainbows waning smile at the mention of the word “sky”, and quickly bit her lip. “Uh, so!” she said quickly with a slightly nervous chuckle. “I’m guessing that you two came here for something. What can I get for you?”
Applejack pointed to Rainbow, indicating that she should order first. “Well,” Rainbow said thoughtfully. “I was thinking a strawberry milkshake.” Her stomach seemed to agree as it let go a rumble.
Pinkie laughed a bit and nodded rapidly. “Good choice. And what about you, AJ?”
“A milkshake does sound kinda good. How bout a vanilla one?”
“Okie dokie lokie! I’ll have them out before you can say lickity banana splitity three times fast!” Pinkie disappeared in a quick sprint to the kitchen, leaving a pony shaped cloud of flour dust in her wake as she did.
“Licky... split... what?” Rainbow said as she shook her head after Pinkie had disappeared. Applejack just let out a chuckle as she shook her head too, shrugging her shoulders. Only a short moment later did Pinkie reappear as quickly as she had left, clamping a serving platter in her teeth that had two milkshakes sitting on it. She set the platter down on the table and grinned from ear to ear.
“Theeeere you go! One strawberry and one vanilla milkshake.”
Applejack pulled her hat from her head quickly, and reached a hoof inside to scoop out a hoofful of bits that she set on the table. “This here treat is on me,” she said as she pushed the bits to the edge of the table near Pinkie.
Pinkie nodded and scooped up the bits with her hooves. “Gotcha! Well, if you two need anything else, just give a shout. I have to get back to baking. Got this really huge Germane chocolate cake order to finish.” She stood on her back hooves and spread her forelegs out as wide as she could to show her friends just how big this order really was.
“Nice,” Rainbow said. “How many cakes is it?”
“Oh, just one. But it’s huge!” Pinkie said as she hopped off back to the kitchen. The sounds of kitchen appliances spinning up again echoed through the room shortly afterward.
Rainbow blinked a few times and then turned to ask Applejack a question. “If the cake is so big, how does it fit in the oven?”
Applejack took a sip of her milkshake and smacked her lips. “Pinkie could probably bake a house if she wanted to.” The two friends shared a quick laugh and then turned their attention back to their milkshakes.
The shop’s door opened to the sound of the bell announcing another arrival. At the door stood a tan teenaged filly wearing a set of light blue saddlebags that seemed to bulge with some sort of square contents. Her short cut mane rustled slightly at the warm breeze that gusted in through the door around her. She quickly closed the door behind herself, and then just as she turned to walk into the shop she noticed Applejack and Rainbow Dash sitting at the nearby table. Letting out a quick little gasp of surprise, she trotted over.
“Hey, Scoots,” Rainbow said, putting a smile on for Scootaloo as she walked up to the table. “Haven’t seen you in awhile. How you been?”
“Hey!” Scootaloo said excitedly as she pulled a chair back to take a seat at the table. “I don’t think we’ve gotten to hang out in like... a year.” She blinked as she lingered on thought for a moment. “It really has been a while. But yeah, things have been good. I was just doing a delivery. Pinkie said she needed a bunch of pecans for something, so I went and fetched some from Canterlot. Got there and back in less than an hour! It’s such a beautiful day out today to. Awesome flying weather.” She froze the moment the words had left her lips, her eyes going wide with surprise at what she had said. She forced a quick, nervous laugh. “I mean y-yeah, it’s a clear day and all. And... well... oh geez, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“Stop,” Rainbow said flatly as she pointed a hoof at Scootaloo. The forced smile on Scootaloo’s face faded almost instantly. “Look, I don’t need you doing that too.”
Scootaloo shifted nervously in her chair as she glanced around. “I-I didn’t mean it. I know it’s probably something you don’t like talking about.”
A loud slurping sound at the other end of the table caught their attention. Applejack finished off the rest of her milkshake and let the straw go. “Scoots, I think she means she doesn’t want any pony feelin’ sorry for her,” she offered.
“That,” Rainbow said as she pointed at Applejack. “Exactly that.”
Scootaloo tapped her forehooves to the table as she thought. “Oh, yeah I can see how that could get annoying. I’m sor—er....” She winced slightly as she caught herself in the middle of the apology.
Rainbow sighed and then put a smile on for Scootaloo. “Look, I wasn’t mad at you or anything. I just don’t want my friends doing the ‘feel sorry for Rainbow Dash’ thing any more. Yeah, I can’t fly, big whoop. No matter how sorry you guys feel about it, it ain’t changing.”
“Ah,” Scootaloo trailed off, a somber tone on her voice as her eyes darted over to share a quick look with Applejack. She seemed to perk up a bit as she thought of something else to talk about. “I still want to hang out with you again for a while soon. You got so busy when you started touring and then I got my part-time job going. It just seems like we haven’t really had time for each other.”
“Yer comin’ to the thing today ain’tcha?” Applejack mentioned. She got a questioning look back from Scootaloo. “You know, the thing... at the place?” There was still nothing but a confused look in response.
“She’s been going on about some sort of surprise,” Rainbow said as she dismissively waved a hoof at Applejack.
“Oh!” Scootaloo said as she seemed to suddenly perk up a lot. “Oh oh oh yeah, that. That’s today, isn’t it? I got so busy with work I just about forgot. Thanks for reminding me. Of course I’m going to be there!”
“Wait,” Rainbow interjected. “Are you telling me you know what this surprise is?”
Scootaloo grinned as she nodded her head excitedly.
Rainbow cast a worried glance over to Applejack. “So, just how many know about this thing?” she asked as he ears splayed back.
“Oh, just a few,” Applejack said as she dismissively waved a hoof in the air.
“A few like, most of Ponyville a few?” Rainbow questioned as she squinted one eye at her friend.
“No, a few like... a few.” Applejack said simply. Rainbow huffed a snort at the unsatisfactory answer and leaned on the table, propping her chin up under her forehooves. She fished around for the straw sticking out of the remainder of her milkshake with her lips for a second, and upon finding it proceeded to sulk for a bit as she worked on finishing it off.
Scootaloo stood and turned from the table, stopping shortly to look over her shoulder. “Let me just drop this stuff off and I’ll go with you guys over to... the place.” She grinned widely at the shared secret between her and Applejack, especially when she noticed the annoyed little grunt that escaped from Rainbow Dash. Trotting off over toward the kitchen area of the shop, she called for Pinkie Pie.
A split second later, Pinkie appeared from the doorway in a puff of flour dust. “Hiya, Scoots! Did you get them?”
“Sure did,” Scootaloo said as she nosed open the flap on one side of her saddlebags. She began to take the boxes out one by one, stacking them up on a countertop. She finished placing the last of six boxes and smiled happily to Pinkie. “Half a dozen two pound boxes of pecans, straight from Crazy Nut’s Nut House.”
Pinkie clapped her forehooves together excitedly. “Goodie goodie! I can finish the Germane chocolate cake frosting now. And this is for you!” She reached over to a small pouch sitting on the counter and snatched it up with her teeth. Giving it a quick flick with her neck, she tossed the pouch toward Scootaloo, who deftly caught it in her saddlebag before using her wing to close to bag’s flap.
“Thanks, Pinkie!” Scootaloo said over her shoulder as she trotted back to the table. “So, we ready to go yet?” she asked to Rainbow and Applejack, her excitement practically bubbling over as she danced on her forehooves.
Rainbow gave one more good sip on her straw, causing a slurping sound to echo through the room. She let the straw go and smacked her lips. “Yeah, lets get going,” she said as she pushed herself up from the table.
Scootaloo skipped over to the door and pulled it open for the rest of the group. As the ponies were leaving the shop, Pinkie waved a hoof from behind the counter as she was balancing the half dozen boxes of pecans on top of her head. “You guys have fun!” she called out. After the door closed, she hummed a happy little tune as she trotted into the kitchen with the boxes.
---
The group of three were now well on their way to the place. Scootaloo seemed to be almost unable to contain her excitement. One would have thought that the surprise was for her the way she was humming and skipping down the streets of Ponyville. Rainbow Dash had taken notice, and it put a smile on her face to see the young filly so energetic and happy.
“So, how much further is this place?” Rainbow asked as she turned her glance to Applejack.
“Well,” Applejack said as she stopped and turned to face her friend. She then hummed in thought for a moment before saying, “I think we’re here,” with a confident nod.
Rainbow blinked back, and then glanced around. They were still in Ponyville, standing outside right next to the Golden Oak Library.
“Waitaminute,” Rainbow said as she squinted her eyes at the familiar library. She shot a questioning glare back to her friend. “The library? Seriously?”
Applejack looked up at the library and the nodded. “Yep, this is the place.”
Rainbow did a facehoof and then mumbled, “If this is about some book, I’m going to throw it at you.”
“It ain’t about a book,” Applejack said as she rolled her eyes and walked up to the library’s front door.
Scootaloo skipped around in front of Rainbow Dash, the excited grin not falling from her face for a single second. “Wait until you see it, you’re going to be so surprised,” she said, and then scampered off to catch up to Applejack.
Rainbow let go a light sigh and looked up at the towering tree. “Well, lets see what this is about,” she said as she followed.
Applejack gave a quick knock on the library’s door. A muffled call could be heard from inside the library, and then a few seconds later the door glowed as it opened up. Twilight Sparkle stood at the other side of the door, a smile lighting her face. “Oh good, you’re all here. Come in!”
Applejack gave a courteous nod as she walked in. “Howdy, Twilight. I got the rest of the group rustled up so now we can do this thing. My sis is already here, right?” On that question, Apple Bloom stepped up from the basement stairway. Both her long mane and tail were braided and both tied off with a small red bow at the end, and a white and blue checkered kerchief held her bangs back out of her eyes. “Ah, there she is,” Applejack said as she trotted over.
“Heya, Sis. Oh hey, Scoots! That everypony?” Apple Bloom asked as she glanced around at the ponies entering the library.
“Sup, Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo said with a wide smile as she trotted over to her friend and gave her a quick hug. She let the hug go, leaning back while holding Apple Bloom’s shoulders at legs length. “Is the surprise good to go?”
“Good to go!” Apple Bloom said with a quick nod. “Did ya’ll drag Dash over?”
“I’ve been dragged,” Rainbow said dully as she stood by the doorway of the library. “Still wish somepony would just tell me what this is all about. I really don’t like surprises.”
“Well, how about we just show you then,” Twilight said as she began to trot over to the stairwell in the corner of the room. She stopped just at the edge of the stairs, pointing down as she said, “It’s down here.”
“Oh man,” Rainbow said as she cringed. “Not your creepy mad-scientist basement.”
“Hey, it’s not creepy!” Twilight protested with a frown. She glanced at Applejack as she passed by to descend the stairs into the basement, quickly asking her, “Is it creepy?” The only answer that Applejack gave was a shrug and a hum that sounded a lot like an ‘I don’t know’. Twilight rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Well if you want to know what it is, you’re going to have to brave the creepy basement.” With that, she took the stairs down just behind Applejack, followed closely by Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. Rainbow only hesitated for a few seconds before she clucked her tongue and let go a huff with a moan before she headed to the stairwell to join the rest of the group.
Rainbow looked around herself when she reached the bottom step into Twilight’s basement lab. She picked her way around her friend’s science stuff, passing by a table full of glass tubes and beakers containing strangely colored liquids, and another table with scattered crystal shards laying about it. The rest of the group had gathered near a table in the back of the room.
“So, I guess... this is the surprise,” Rainbow said as she walked up to the table and eyed a white cloth that covered it suspiciously. Some sort of oddly shaped object was obviously being hidden underneath the cloth.
Twilight lit her horn and gave her head a quick flick, causing the cloth covering the surprise to shift off the table to the side. “Ta-da!” she said with a wide grin as she gestured to the now exposed object laying on the table.
Rainbow walked up a couple steps closer and started inspecting the strange looking thing. It looked like it was made up of wood and metal, and the metallic parts shone very brightly with a coating of sky blue paint. It was a complicated thing, made up of a lot of parts that tied together to make something.
Rainbow blinked and looked around at the others in the room, noticing that they were watching her for her reaction. “What is it?” she asked.
“Well, what’s it look like, Silly?” Apple Bloom piped up as she walked up next to the table and tapped the device, causing a quick metallic ting to echo through the room.
Rainbow took another look at it as she glanced from side to side. The interwoven metallic sheets were long, thin, and rounded off at one end and layered on top of one another, and they all connected to a carved wooden frame that ran along one edge. The frame looked like it could pivot in a few spots, and she was able to confirm that by prodding at it. There was some sort of strapping attached to one end of it as well that looked sort of like a body harness. She gently pulled at one end of it, and watched it closely as it unfolded.
“Wait,” Rainbow said as she stepped back and looked to Apple Bloom. “Is this thing a false wing?”
Apple Bloom scrunched her nose up at the description. “Well, kinda, yeah. I guess you could call it that.”
“Why don’t you try it on?” Twilight asked, gesturing to the wing.
Rainbow raised an eyebrow at the metallic wing, and after staring at it for a few long seconds she glanced back to Twilight. “You serious?”
“Of course she’s serious!” Apple Bloom huffed. “We went to lots of trouble to make this thing for ya. Least ya could do is try it on.”
“Now hold up, no need to be getting snippy like,” Applejack said as she patted her sister on her withers.
Apple Bloom stamped a hoof in the direction of her sister. “I ain’t getting snippy like! You know how long we all worked on this thing.”
Rainbow bit her bottom lip and then tried to cautiously piece together her next words. “Well, I... didn’t say I didn’t like it. I mean, I guess it could be better than wearing this cape all the time?” She shrugged.
Twilight gave her a reassuring smile. “I think you’ll like it once you try it on. It’s really well made.”
Scootaloo walked up next to Rainbow and gently tapped her shoulder. “You don’t have to keep it if you don’t like it. But I think you’ll really like it once you try it out.”
With those reassuring words, Rainbow gave a nod and began to undo the strap buckled around her neck. She let the rainbow striped cape slide off her side to the floor next to her, exposing the injured wing that she kept hidden. Her left wing fidgeted as she tried to keep it tightly folded against her side.
“Alright,” Twilight said as she let her magic light up. An aura took hold of the metallic wing cover and lifted it just over Rainbow’s back. Gently levitating it downward, Twilight squinted and pursed her lips as she controlled the spell, making it wrap the harness straps around Rainbow’s body. “Just let me know if anything feels too tight,” she said as she continued to work the spell.
“Okay,” Rainbow said as she watched the straps being buckled around her chest. She then noticed that the spell seemed to pause.
“Rainbow, I need you to extend your left wing,” Twilight said as she motioned at Rainbow’s side with a hoof.
“Oh, right,” Rainbow said as she hesitantly extended her left wing out. The wing cover came down over the wing, resting the carved wooden frame right on top of it. Twilight’s magic willed a set of wooden clips to wrap under and around Rainbow’s wing, where they snapped into place to hold the cover snug.
After fastening the last clip near the tip of Rainbow’s wing, Twilight let her magic fade and nodded happily at the result. “There. So how does it feel?”
Rainbow gave her left wing a quick flick, and found that it was surprising still light even with all the metal feathers now fastened to it. “It feels... pretty good actually,” she mumbled as she looked the wing over. It conformed to her real, featherless wing and completed it with its mimicked metallic feathers. The paint made it a very close match to her coat as well, so close that it would be likely that from a distance most ponies probably wouldn’t be able to tell it was a fake if it weren’t for the glint of the metal. “I could probably use this instead of the cape,” she said as she turned her wing slightly back to look at the underside.
Wanting to test out just how well made the wing was, she stretched both of her wings out to their full span. The metallic wing followed the motion perfectly. The metal primary and secondary feathers all unfolded and positioned themselves like they should on a real wing. Rainbow wordlessly stared at the wing as her jaw hung slightly open.
“So!” Twilight began as she walked over to the stairway, “Are you ready to go try it out?”
Rainbow blinked, and then slowly turned her gaze to Twilight and stared at her. “Try it out? You mean like... fly?” The only response that she got was a grin before Twilight trotted up the stairs. Standing there dumbfounded for a moment, Rainbow glanced to her side at Scootaloo and asked the question again, her voice sounding both hopeful and doubtful at the same time. “Did she mean fly?”
Scootaloo grinned widely and took off toward the stairway. She paused at the bottom of the stairs to look back, fanning her wings out. “I’ve been waiting for this chance to fly with you again for a while now,” she said before she took off up the stairs.
Rainbow just stood there, her eyes wide with shock and her mouth hanging open. “They’re serious,” she quietly whispered to herself.
Applejack trotted up next to Rainbow and nudged her, chuckling as she said, “Git.” A faint smile tugged at the edge of Rainbow’s mouth, and she took off to trot up the stairway.
Stepping out into the midday sun just outside the library, Rainbow could see Twilight and Scootaloo waiting there for her. She took a few steps into the street, glancing up to the sky that she had believed she would never again be able to touch, but now holding on to the hope in her heart that she just might be able to. “So, how do I do this?” she asked as she maintained her gaze on the clear blue sky above.
“Just like you normally would,” Twilight explained. “The wing is modeled to function exactly like a real pegasus wing.”
“Scoots modeled for me so I could get the parts just right,” called Apple Bloom as she and Applejack stepped through the library doorway.
Rainbow glanced to Apple Bloom for a second before she turned her glance to Scootaloo. “So you helped make this too?”
Scootaloo gave a little shrug. “Well, we all did. I just stood there and let them look at my wing.”
“That was probably the most important part,” Twilight added. “By studying her wing very closely, Applejack and Apple Bloom were able to recreate the parts for one that could move just like it, and I was able to come up with some enchantments to help make it all work like it should. I made it a bit lighter and also put a control enchantment on it, so you should be able to make it move as if it really were a part of your own wing.”
Rainbow extended the new shining wing cover and looked it over. It did feel lighter than she had thought it would, and she could control it easily down to twitching the individual metallic feathers by moving her muscles. “This is so awesome,” she said with an excited laugh.
But there was still the unanswered question of whether it would actually work.
“So, I just take off like normal?” Rainbow asked.
“Sure,” Twilight said, but then added, “though you may want to go easy on it at first, until you get used to flying again.”
“Hey, I haven’t forgotten how to fly,” Rainbow complained with a stamp of her hoof. She put on a confident smile and looked back up to the sky. “In case you have forgotten, I use to be a Wonderbolt. I’ll show you how to do this.”
A chuckle came from Applejack. “This ain’t no competition. Just see what you can do with it for now, nice and easy like.”
Rainbow pondered over the words of caution for a moment, and then looked at the wing again, letting go a thoughtful hum as she said, “Yeah, I’ve done a lot of stunts, but nothing ever quite like this.” Squinting one eye at the wing, she grumbled, “You better not drop me,” at it before looking back up to the sky.
Drawing in a calming breath, she focused on where she wanted to be. She could still feel the magical power within her that allowed all pegasi to walk on clouds and drift through the sky. All she needed to do was focus on that feeling, and let her wings do the rest to take her there. Slowly closing her eyes, she began to take her first steps forward, starting at a canter at first, then speeding up to a full gallop. Letting her instinct take hold, she kicked off the ground with her front hooves, then her back hooves to leap into the air. Her wings beat the air around her swiftly.
Once.
...Twice...
...Three times...
Rainbow opened her eyes when she realized she hadn’t face planted back into the ground. She looked down and saw that she had already gained over two stories in altitude, and was still climbing. “It’s... working,” she said to herself almost breathlessly. A genuine smile spread across her muzzle, and then she propelled herself upward into the sky as she shouted, “It’s working!” at the top of her lungs.
Scootaloo quickly took to the sky herself. She closed the distance to Rainbow, flying up beside her. “Hey! You’re flying!” she said as she did a mid-air backflip and giggled excitedly.
Rainbow let out a laugh herself as she did a quick barrelroll. The move had felt so natural that she could hardly tell her left wing was covered with metal. She even noticed that she could feel the cool air rushing over the metallic feathers as if they were really a part of her. Pushing herself to fly higher, she climbed in the sky past the low hanging clouds, coming to a hover and taking in the sight of the village below. Her chest heaved a happy sigh as she looked over the scene that she hadn’t seen since the accident.
“Hey!” Rainbow called out, catching Scootaloo’s attention. “Betcha can’t beat me to that cloud!” she said as she pointed at a small cloud hovering down below.
Scootaloo slowed to a hover nearby, and glanced over to the cloud. Flashing a quick grin back at Rainbow, she began to dive for the cloud as she said, “You’re on!”
“Hah!” Rainbow called out as she tucked her wings together, free-falling to pick up speed. Scootaloo had actually started slightly closer to the cloud, but was very quickly overtaken. Rainbow sped by, leaving a rainbow colored blur trailing just behind her. The draft caused Scootaloo to wobble in the air slightly, forcing her to slow down to stabilize herself. The rainbow blur continued to speed toward the cloud until it punched a hole straight through it and then looped around vertically in the sky to land right on top of it.
“Still got it,” Rainbow said as she grinned triumphantly atop the cloud.
“Geez, you went all out,” Scootaloo said as she hovered up next to the cloud. Even though she had soundly lost the little impromptu race, she was still all smiles. Rainbow Dash seemed completely transformed from the mare she had been earlier that day. Gone was the weak, forced smile from earlier. For the first time since the accident had happened, Rainbow Dash once again looked like she was full of happiness and life.
Rainbow heard a noise calling from the ground just below, and glanced over the edge of the cloud to see the rest of the group waving up to her. Taking a quick hop off of the cloud, she glided and looped back down to the ground, letting go excited whooping noises as she did. As she approached the ground just in front of her friends, her wings buffeted the air just before her hooves touched down. Looking to her left side, she smiled approvingly at the shining wing as she tucked it away. Scootaloo touched down only a second later and cantered up next to her.
“Well, it looks like it works!” Twilight said excitedly as she approached Rainbow. “How did it feel? Notice anything that felt weird? I can make adjustments to the control enchantment to make it better.”
“It... was... awesome!” Rainbow singsonged as she threw her forehooves into the air, causing Twilight to jump back a step in surprise. “Flying never felt so great! And I really mean that. The speed, the wind, the feel of the clouds under my hooves. Everything was perfect!” Rainbow skipped off her hooves and did a quick back flip as she flapped her wings once. “This is the most awesome thing to happen, ever. I thought I would never get to fly again. But I was flying,” Rainbow noticed her eyes starting to water as she spoke, and her voice starting to shake. “I-I can fly again,” she said as a few tears spilled over down the side of her face.
“Aw, well shucks, wasn’t tryin’ to make ya cry,” Apple Bloom said as she scratched back of her mane with a hoof.
Rainbow sniffed and tried to wipe the tears away as she looked over to Apple Bloom. Taking a quick few steps to her, Rainbow took her off guard by embracing her in a hug. “Thank you... so much.”
“Ah, well, I had a bit of help ya know,” Apple Bloom said as she reached a hoof up to pat Rainbow on her shoulder.
Rainbow released the hug and stepped back, resting on her haunches. She took a moment to dry her eyes and clear her throat. “Sorry, got a bit emotional there. None of you guys saw that,” she said with a quick nervous laugh and shake of her head.
“That’s alright, Dash,” Applejack said. “We all knew flyin’ meant the world to you, so it’s no surprise that you're happy to get back to it. So long as you’re happy, that’s what matters.”
“I am,” Rainbow said as she sat up straight, looking at the group of friends around her. “You guys have no idea how good this feels. I mean there’s so much I need to do now. I haven’t been to Cloudsdale in like... a year. I haven’t been to my old house since the accident happen. Never thought I would get the chance to see it again.”
“I’m sure checking on your home is near the top of your to-do list,” Twilight said. “We shouldn’t keep you waiting either. It would be a shame to make you sit on the ground after giving you that wing. Why don’t you and Scootaloo go check it out?”
Scootaloo’s eyes and grin both widened. “Oh! Oh oh oh, can I?” she asked hopefully as she looked to Rainbow for approval.
Rainbow chuckled and reached a hoof up, ruffling Scootaloo’s mane. “Of course you can hang with me, Scoots. I mean I do kinda owe you big time now.”
Scootaloo shook her head. “You don’t owe me. We did this because we wanted to, that’s all.”
“You guys are the best,” Rainbow said as she held her hoof up. Scootaloo meet the gesture with her own hoof, completing the hoof bump.
“Well, go on you two,” Applejack said as she made a shooing motion with a hoof.
The two pegasi glanced to each other, both flashing the other a competitive looking grin. They took off side by side, quickly soaring up into the sky. One more whooping call from Rainbow’s voice could be heard by the three ponies on the ground. They all smiled up to the sky as they watched the pegasi speed off toward the horizon above the rooftops.