//------------------------------//
// Take to the Sky 
// Story: Morning Flight 
// by Godzillawolf 
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Rainbow Dash's eyes flickered open, taking in her bedroom. The posters that each morning she'd used to look to for inspiration now looking back with her own face among the team. They were still an inspiration, but for a very different reason. Some might call her narcissistic for wanting to have posters adorned with her own face, and she'd be lying if she said her ego wasn't part of it...But how many ponies could truly say they had everything they'd always dreamed of and more? No practice today, but that didn't mean she'd stopped being a Wonderbolt for even a second.

One breakfast and feeding of her loyal pet tortoise later, there was only way the pegasus could think to spend the rest of her morning.

“Alright, Tank, I'll be back later. I really need to stretch these wings,” she said, petting Tank's shell and getting a smile from the tortoise. 

Rainbow Dash stepped out to the edge of her floating home and into Celestia's sun. After a second of standing on the edge with the light warming her fur, she slid her goggles on as she tipped over the side into a dive.  

= Flight to Neverland - Hook =

The wind rushed past the pegasus's ears with a roar and whistled through her fur as she picked up speed. Watching the ground grow closer and closer with every second. At just the right second, her wings flared open and she went from a dive into an arc. She felt her heart jolt as she finally leveled off into a horizontal flight.

Rainbow admitted she liked a good roller coaster, but if there was one thing that a sports pegasi was good at, it was making their own own. And it was a better way to wake up in the morning than a cup of coffee.

Flying into Ponyville, she weaved through the buildings like a rainbow blur. After being here so long, she barely needed to consciously direct her flight. Ponyville's normal color pallet of various shades of brown and pink streaking by, interrupted only by occasional splashes of color from flora or the more creatively built buildings.  Looking down she saw the ponies going about their day below her, the strange memory quirk they'd exploited to let her study for the Wonderbolts almost subconsciously letting her pick up details one would never expect her to at her high speed.

Bon Bon and Lyra walking by talking about a new recipe of the former's. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon talking about some fancy party or get together their parents were throwing...and making her smile a bit when they actually mentioned inviting the Crusaders. Toola Roola  and Coconut Cream chatting it up like the best friends they were. Pinkie Pie's friend Minty walking out of a clothing store with a new pair of socks. Her nose flared as the heavy scent of flowers intercepted her path and she was just able to give the Flower Trio a wave as she flew overhead.

Pinkie Pie might have been the one who knew literally everything about this town, but Rainbow liked to think she had a pretty good memory of it too. If there was one thing she knew for sure, it was small town or not, Ponyville was alive.

Giving a smirk, she dove under a bridge connecting two buildings, spinning upside down just long enough to give the ponies walking above a salute before banking and heading into the town square. She circled herself around town hall, taking the moment to drop off her weather captain paperwork on the deck of Mayor Mare's assistant through the window without missing a beat. She followed the curves of the building before launching herself back out, carefully evading the support columns.  

As she sped off to the next part of her morning flight, she heard a little filly cry out and saw a balloon rising skywards. Doing a loop de loop, she grabbed the balloon in hoof and dove down. Flying past, she left it right back in the crying Dinky Do's hoof without slowing down.

Amethyst Star gave a grateful cheer and a wave alongside her now relieved little sister. Rainbow Dash spun in the air just long enough to give a salute.

Turning, she dove down just over the town's river, turning on her side so her wing skimmed the surface. As she flew along the body of water, under the bridge over it, the water was launched up in a mist both by her wing and the speed she was going over it. Catching the light just right and adding a larger rainbow to the one she naturally left in her wake. Feeling the cool mist in her face, she kept along with the river until it passed through a familiar apple orchard.  

Weaving through the trees, the pegasus could tell the apples were just about ready for harvest. Looked like Applejack would probably be calling on her 'honorary family' soon for a hoof. Rainbow Dash didn't mind, and not just because of the free cider she got out of it.

Finally coming out of the maze of trees, she banked up and over the Apple Family house and back down into Applejack's rodeo training course the Earth Pony was currently practicing in one of her rare moments of not working her flank off.

Rainbow dove down, sailing close to the ground and next to her friend on a long stretch. Applejack gave a smirk as she noticed her and as she jumped one of the hurdles, the two exchanged a hoof bump before each continued along her own path.

The cyan pegasus flew upwards, higher and higher, until she reached the cloud layer and folded her wings, letting herself fall as she looked down on Ponyville in what seemed like slowmotion. The mountains around it. Spinning around in her descent, she saw Everfree Forest, which this early in the morning still had a fog laying about it that highlighted its otherworldly aura. She could just make out Zecora's home in the depths and the Castle of the Two Sisters (and the Treehouse of Harmony next door) from here.  

After a few moments of what seemed like total weightlessness, she finally went into a full dive.

As she dove, she heard a call and noticed Scootaloo giving her a wave from nearby and a look that Rainbow knew exactly what she was hoping for. Swinging into a horizontal direction, she flew over Scootaloo and grabbed the little filly's hoof before swinging her up onto her back as she continued flying back into Ponyville.  

With her new passenger, Rainbow Dash got a bit more showy, doing tricks through the buildings and up into the clouds as Scootaloo cheered.

Finally reaching Sugar Cube Corner, she saw Pinkie Pie waving and holding out two cupcakes, one orange and one cyan. Pegasus mare and filly exchanged smirks and Rainbow dove to intercept. Pinkie smirked and threw the cupcakes onto a catapult and launched them skywards, just in time for Rainbow to turn just right for her and Scootaloo to catch the confections in their mouths midair.

Giving a wave to Pinkie Pie, Rainbow finally headed back towards her house and banked up. Scootaloo smiled wide as a mach cone began to form, hanging on tight.

The sky exploded in a blast of rainbow light and sound, a rainbow streaking heading off and racing her own shockwave back to her castle in the sky.

As they touched down on her porch, Scootaloo and Rainbow smiled, sharing a hoofbump.

“Nothing like a good flight to wake you up in the morning,” the Wonderbolt said with a smirk, pulling her 'little sister' close as the two watched the rainbow shockwave expand into the distant morning sky.

The End