Rainbow Dash finds herself off flight status after being injured while on Weather Duty, and ends up back at home. In the midst of the pain in her wings, and self-doubts about her future, she hears the stories of her father--and her namesake--that remind her of who she is.
For her future may be closer than she realizes... and there is nothing to fear.
An Entry for the Wonderbolts Site Contest. Originally written for Haphazred of Quills N' Sofas for the 2023 Hearth's Warming Fic Exchange, based on the following prompt: “Pegasi! Not Rainbow Factory pls” Song requested: “Stress” by Jim’s Big Ego. Preread by DarkCyan. Cover art by Xiaowu07. MT File and story notes whenever I get around to them.
Chapters (7)
Sounds touching, allow me to be your 1st reader/viewer.
I forget if I called it out when I was beta-ing this story initially, but I still love Spitfire's letter -- it's a perfect blend of professional, warm, and dry humor.
I also think this chapter does a great job of marking time passing with little vignettes of RD's grounded life, each small on its own but adding up to a greater whole (in which she's still not talking to her parents, but maybe finally almost ready to.)
Ahh shit, you made me tear up. (Again? Pretty sure it's again.)
I loved this story when I proofread it, and I love it now -- the places where I recognized changes, only felt stronger, and everything that I thought was great in the earlier draft is still just as strong now.
I haven't read a lot of Wonderbolts-as-pseudo-military fic, nor do I have any personal military experience to draw on, but I really enjoyed the way you threaded your worldbuilding of the Forces throughout this fic, and the different perspectives RD and Bow had on their experiences ... and the difference in their experiences, too. (It can be easy, I think, to assume that the way something is is how it always was or always will be, and as someone who's been in my own industry for long enough to see a few things change, sometimes even for the better, I really resonated with the parts where Bow was talking about how the good old days weren't all good, even if there are still parts he misses.)
And of course that conversation is also the emotional core of the fic; I was trying to think of how to describe just what I like so much about it, and I think at its heart, it's because it's just so sincere. RD and Bow are seeing each other, and engaging with each other, and it doesn't try downplay just how much Bow cares, even as it still acknowledges their tension around how he often shows it.
I'm glad to have had the excuse to read this one again. :D (And as an aside -- what a lovely and appropriate cover art, too. :) )