Rainbow Dash looks away, her excitement building more and more as Captain Spitfire flies closer. She tries to keep her composure, her inner fanfilly screaming at her to begin dancing again as Captain Spitfire lands behind her, the yellow pegasus wearing a tan aviator jacket. "Evening, Rainbow Dash." Omygosh! It is true! She is here to see her!
Rainbow casually turns, doing her best to project an aura of awesome coolness, "Evening, Captain Spitfire. Long ways from the Wonderbolt Academy; what brings you to Ponyville?"
"Oh, you know," Spitfire tosses her two tone orange mane seductively, "Just got back from banging your stallion." Spitfire rolls her eyes, holding up a letter in her hoof, "I ca-"
"OMYGOSH!" Rainbow claps her hooves to her face, pulling down her eyelids, "Really? Ahhh, and I told him I wanted to watch!" Rainbow snorts, looking back to Sweet Apple Acres. "Ah well, he can always tell me about it. Ooh, maybe next time he'll be okay if I join in!"
A raspy voice tries to get her attention, "Dash."
Rainbow Dash puts a hoof back on the ground, the other one against her chin as she mulls over the possibilities, "So, what position did you start in? Classic?" She puts her front hooves on the ground, forelegs slightly bent while her hind legs stand straight. She glances back at her raised flanks, "Nah, he doesn't like that as much. But he might do it if you were uncomfortable. Foaling?" Rainbow rolls to her side, one back leg lying on the ground while the other raises a few inches. Spitfire gives a long sigh, putting one of her hooves over her eyes as Rainbow continues, "That's a bit more adventurous. Would that be more up your alley for the first time?"
The Wonderbolt is slightly louder this time, "Rainbow."
"He really likes 'F' to 'F'; you know, face to face," Rainbow rolls on her back, legs spread wide, "But that can be pretty weird, definitely not for the first time. Not what you would be expecting. Though he doesn't mind face to face with the mare on top." Rainbow's rolls back over, standing up as she says, "Omygosh, what if it isn't the first time?" Her front hooves go to her mouth, pushing her lips together as her voice goes up an octave, "That would be So Awesome!"
"Rainbow Dash!" Spitfire shouts, standing as tall as she can and glaring down at the cyan pegasus.
A smirk crosses Rainbow's face, "Maybe you-" before she notices Spitfire's stern expression, her grin turning sheepish as she rubs the back of her head.
"And here I thought the Prankster of Ponyville could recognize a joke." Spitfire stares at Rainbow Dash, raising the letter, "Because that's what I thought this was."
Rainbow's face falls as she recognizes the letter in Spitfire's hoof, "Oh. So, you didn't do anything with Doug."
Spitfire smirks, winking at Rainbow Dash, "Trust me, Dash, if something happens between me and Doug, you'll be there. I've been waiting for three years to pay you back for that comment; my ears aren't that old." She shakes the letter back and forth, "Now, you care to explain to me what this is?"
Rainbow Dash sighs, her frown still on her face, "It's my letter telling you that I won't be trying for the Wonderbolts any more. I thought I was pretty clear about that, you know, in the letter."
Two yellow hooves go to the sky as Spitfire gets in Rainbow's face, "Oh, and what horrible thing happened that you, one of the most promising fliers we've ever had, that made her decide that she isn't good enough to even apply to become a Wonderbolt?" Spitfire increases her glare at Rainbow, stepping forwards as Rainbow Dash slowly backs up. Rainbow sits down, Spitfire looming over her and staring down.
Rainbow looks to the side, trying to hide her face and lowering her voice as Scootaloo rides by, the filly slowing down as she gets in earshot. "It's... it was..." Rainbow looks over at Scootaloo as the filly slowly pushes the scooter closer, sighing, "Dark magic. Basically knocked out my magic, entirely. Had to start over from scratch; I'm flying at a 25k level, now."
Spitfire's stare at Rainbow lightens before she moves closer. She nudges Rainbow, muzzle to muzzle, before they both lay down in the shade of one of the trees. Spitfire reaches a hoof towards Rainbow, saying, "Well, that was... unexpected. You want to talk about it?"
A cyan hoof meets the yellow one, "Well... not really, but I probably should, you know?" Rainbow smiles as Scootaloo comes closer, the filly dismounting from her scooter and walking over, sitting next to her dam. Rainbow rubs the filly's head as she pulls her close, "So, end of last year, I got involved in something that I probably shouldn't have been, it backfired. The doctors who rescued me weren't able to close off the wound in my magical core, not initially. With Princess Celestia's help they ended up buying enough time to induce a coma and hook me up to some life support something or other, so I didn't die from thaumic deprivation. Once I was completely empty they were able to seal the wound. I'm slowly regaining it, but it's going to be a long time before I'm ready again."
Captain Spitfire looks down at Scootaloo, a cross between a worried stare and a conspiratorial gaze as she moves closer and her voice lowers, "Is this, how shall I say, is this going to come back to you? As in, do I, as Captain of the Wonderbolts, need to worry about somepony finding out?"
Rainbow Dash shakes her head, "No; Princess Celestia knows, a bunch of doctors, the rest of Herd Apple, maybe a few ponies on the weather squad. No idea who else, though a lot those ponies might not know the dark magic part, just that something happened, and not much besides dark magic can really do this." She looks down at Scootaloo, slowly stroking the purple mane, "I did it for this little squirt here. The ritual transferred some of my magic to her, so that she could fly. Thought it was going to be safe, but things went wrong, and here I am."
Spitfire nods, moving away to a more comfortable distance, "Good, because I heard some rumors about something happening to a certain pegasus, but I didn't want to fly to any conclusions. So, you said your magic was completely knocked out, as in, to nothing? Newborn foal? And you've gone from flying at a 30k level, a true beginner, to flying at 25k in three months?"
A slight shrug, followed by a nod from the cyan mare, "Well, maybe three and a half months, but yeah. Could barely even move my muscles, much less fly, when I first woke up. Next day I was able to lift myself, and the day after that I tried to practice using some of Fluttershy's techniques for slow flight; she has really good control, but her power is low. I thought, you know, I might be able to do a passable job with that, but I just wasn't making a lot of progress. I'm still trying to use her techniques, but I'm having a really hard time with it. Not seeing a lot of progress, that is."
"Still, most pegasi take a year to advance one k, the best new fliers doing two k a year, and you're doing it in a month. Or less. A couple years from now, you'll be back to flying where you were before, about a six dan A, right?"
"Well, if that keeps up, sure." Rainbow sighs, her head sinking to her hooves, "But it's been really frustrating, you know. I feel like I'm reverting back to Junior Speedsters, and I'm Rainbow Crash again. All speed, no control. And there is no way I'm going to get into the Wonderbolts in a month, flying like that."
"Well, Rainbow, what is your goal? Is it to become a Wonderbolt in a month?" Rainbow starts to nod, but catches herself as Spitfire continues, looking in the direction of the Academy, "Or is it to become a Wonderbolt? Because those aren't the same thing." She turns her head back, watching Rainbow's reaction.
"Well, I've always wanted to be a Wonderbolt. I've wanted that my whole life, you know?" Rainbow smiles as she looks over at Spitfire, "I've had posters of you girls in my room since I was a filly! Well, maybe not you, heh, since you're only a couple years older than me. And then I transferred out to work weather while you continued on the fast track to the Wonderbolts." A distant look works its way into Rainbow's eyes as she reminisces about what could have been.
"Heh, Fleetfoot and I couldn't stand you back then, you know. This uppity little youngster, faster than she has any right to be, as long as she was going in a straight line." Spitfire winks at Rainbow, the cyan pegasus giving a short chuckle.
"Heh, yeah, that was totally me back then. Thought I was so awesome, so happy that I could go so fast, and crashing everywhere else. It's just, with this, I was so focused on trying to make it happen this year that I tried to work on my control, hoping to get a passing grade that way. And it was really tough, still is, and felt like I was taking two flaps forward, one flap back."
"It being tough and you feel like you aren't making progress - that's normal, Dash." Spitfire reaches a hoof out again, meeting Rainbow's and briefly smiling before adopting a stern expression, falling back into more of her drill instructor voice, "If all you practice is getting your control back, sure, you'll fly better, but for how long? If your power keeps on increasing this rapidly you're going to lose all that time you spent practicing. It's like you practiced the timing for a fog course, where you can't see the upcoming curves or obstacles and must anticipate when you're supposed to make each turn, and then your speed doubles. Or even increases twenty percent, and now your timing is all off and you need to relearn everything."
Rainbow nods, "You know, that's a really good point. I hadn't thought of that, 'cause my speed has always come so naturally to me; all I ever had to work on was control. Once this happened to me, I figured all I had to do was work on control again, and everything would be fine." She sighs, looking down at her hooves, "Guess I need to change my game plan, huh?"
Spitfire smiles, "Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you. You might still want to work with that herdmate of yours anyway; Fluttershy, right? If just to make sure your control doesn't revert too badly." She pats her hoof on Rainbow's, "Now, need anything else? Because I'd really like to burn this letter and forget I ever saw it."
Rainbow grins, "Heh, yeah, you can do that. Like you said, it'll be a couple years, at least, but you can count on seeing me again!" She rubs the back of her mane, "Though, I wouldn't mind if you could give me a few pointers on speed exercises, ways to train to go faster."
"Sure, Rainbow Dash, I'll send a packet with a few of the routines we use." The two sit in silence for a few seconds; Rainbow has a contented smile, enjoying the company, while a grin slowly creeps over Spitfire's face. "So, is Doug free tonight?"
Rainbow rolls her eyes, "You realize, I know you're joking, but I really, really wish you weren't."