"Ah! Another day of flying high!" Rainbow Dash sighed fondly as she touched down on the ground. Dusting herself off and stretching her arms and wings. The newly ascended goddess of loyalty enjoyed the boost to her already impressive speed. "Hm. I wonder if Princess Celestia knows how to move at the speed of light. She IS the sun goddess after all."
"Looks like I'm not the only one who's going to be among the group who received training from an avatar." Steel chuckled as he flew down from the cloud he was using to watch Rainbow Dash perform her aerial tricks. "You had one heck of show going on up there."
"Enjoy the view, soldier boy~?" Rainbow Dash cooed affectionately before hugging her boyfriend. "Or were you just waiting for a chance to ground me?"
"Couldn't chain you down even if I tried." Steel smiled. "You know, I'm surprised the Wonderbolts haven't already made you a member yet."
"Yeah, well, their initial recruitment option kinda sucked." Rainbow Dash sighed as she remembered when Spitfire and Fleetfoot had wanted her as a replacement for Soarin so they could compete in the Unity Games. It had been a fair while since then, but Rainbow Dash still looked upon that moment with disdain. "Sometimes, I can't help but feel that maybe joining the Wonderbolts isn't really worth it. I mean, trying to scoop up another team's member just because they would be disqualified if they didn't have three? Aren't they supposed to have an alternate member for this kind of thing?!"
"Maybe they forgot to bring one, or their own egos overrode common sense." Steel shrugged. "But Rainbow, do you honestly feel like giving up on your dream? I can't tell you what to do, that's something you have to decide for your self. But all the same, I think you'd love to have someone lend you an ear to talk about your troubles."
"Honestly, I'm stuck solidly in the middle." Rainbow Dash handed the towel back to Steel. "If they showed their faces to me right now? Well, I don't know what I'd say."
"Interesting choice to mention the Wonderbolts." Steel stated as he looked up and saw several figures descending towards them. "I think they heard you."
"Huh?" Rainbow Dash turned around, and saw the Wonderbolts descending towards her and Steel. She was still a bit conflicted on whether or not to be excited to see them, so Rainbow Dash adopted a neutral tone and expression on her face. "Oh, you guys. What's going on?"
"We've seen your flying skills, and heard about your recent ascension." Spitfire announced with a smile. "And we've decided that we'd be honored to have you join our ranks."
". . . Are you saying that you're only willing to have me join now because of my goddess status?" Rainbow Dash asked crossly as she glared at Spitfire and Fleetfoot in particular. "I still haven't forgotten that you tossed Soarin under the bus and tried to get me to ditch my team just so you could make it to the Unity Games. Or did you not tell any of the other Wonderbolts about that?"
"Hey! There's no need to be hostile about that!" Fleetfoot said defensively. "That was a long time ago! And we really are sorry about it too!"
"Yeah. No hard feelings, right?" Soarin said nervously as he promptly took a big step away from his two fellow Wonderbolts.
"I'm not hostile or mad about what you did." Rainbow Dash answered flatly. "Just incredibly dissapointed. I looked up to the Wonderbolts ever since I was still a mortal. There was nothing more I wanted than to be one. But the stunt you tried to pull back at the qualifier makes me think I'm better off flying solo. Plus, I'm the goddess of loyalty right now. If I joined, you guys wouldn't actually have to try at winning. Honestly, where's the fun in any of that?"
"You tell 'em, babe." Steel chuckled. "I could say the same for any time the guys and I spar."
"But you just said that you'd always wanted to be a Wonderbolt!" Spitfire snapped! "With you, we'd be unbeatable AND you'd get to fulfill your life's dream!"
"Geez, is it that hard for you to take 'no' for an answer?" Rainbow Dash sighed in annoyance. "Alright, I know what'll get my answer to stick with you: a race. The first one to reach Castalot Castle will get to decide whether I join or not. I'll be fair and give you a ten second head start."
"Heh! Thanks for the handicap!" Spitfire smirked. "But I'm a pro at flying! I'm not the leader of the Wonderbolts for nothing!"
"Then show a 'newbie' like me how it's done." Rainbow Dash smirked in return. "Or are your just blowing out hot air to keep yourself afloat in the sky?"
"Quit yapping and get on your mark." Spitfire snapped with a frown as she got into a starting position. Rainbow Dash following suit, but choosing to simply stand instead. "Pretty courteous of you to give me another handicap." And a few seconds later, Steel signaled the race to start! Spitfire took off like a bullet! Leaving a smoking trail behind her as she flew!
As she watched Spitfire take off, Rainbow Dash smirked as her hair began to glow! Lightning crackled across her entire body, but it was mostly concentrated in her wings! Steel and the remaining Wonderbolts watched in awe as Rainbow Dash took her starting position!
"The handicap was actually for me." Rainbow Dash said as her wings were poised to lift her off the ground! "Needed some time to prep this new technique I've been working on, so here goes nothing! STORMING SPECTRUM!" And Rainbow Dash launched herself into the air! If Spitfire's take off was like a bullet, then Rainbow Dash's was like a laser! A rainbow trail of lightning streaked across the sky!
Rainbow Dash's new technique was so fast that it even made Spitfire tumble as she passed by her! Reaching Castalot Castle in almost no time at all! When Spitfire finally arrived, Rainbow Dash was waiting for her. A triumphant smile on her face.
"Best two out of three?" Rainbow Dash teased as Spitfire landed on her knees with her jaw on the ground. ". . . Is that a no?"
And with that, Rainbow Dash flew back to Steel. Her boyfriend rewarding her victory with a kiss. A few minutes later, Spitfire arrived with her fellow Wonderbolts following close behind.
"Well, you beat me fair and square." Spitfire said in defeat. "Guess you don't need to join us if you can beat us in a race, right?"
"Hmm." Rainbow Dash scratched her chin in thought. "I won't join you guys, BUT. That doesn't mean you can't have my support."
"What do you mean?" Soarin asked.
"How about I become your patron goddess?" Rainbow Dash asked with a grin. "I'll have to iron out the details and approval with Princess Celestia, but I think we can all get what we want in the end. You get the support of a goddess, and I technically get to be part of the Wonderbolts like I always wanted."
"Huh." Fleetfoot said in awe. "Why didn't we lead with that?"
"Ego, Fleet." Spitfire answered. "Lifts you high easily, and crashes you down HARD. And yeah, that deal sounds pretty nice."
"Great!" Rainbow Dash grinned! "Now all I gotta do is get Princess Celestia's approval! Later, slowpokes!" And as Rainbow Dash flew off to Castalot, Steel watched her with a loving smile.
"I swear to Faust I need to marry her." Steel thought out loud.