Hope in the Storm

by PegasYs

Chapter 6: Weight

The dreams came back.

But they were different now. I cried myself to sleep almost every night, thinking about Aero, wishing he was still here, wishing I had somepony to protect me. Ever since Aero had left, the memories of my mother's death became fresh in my mind. I had never felt more alone in my entire life, and Fluttershy wasn't exactly the most helpful pony. She would sheepishly tell me that everything would be alright. I found myself being awoken in the middle of my sleep, from the same nightmare, night after night.

I dreamt I was alone, standing in the middle of a small cloud. My mother would be flying away with Aero and Valiantwing, and Aero would be calling me to join them in the sky, but I had no wings. I would try to call them back, try to get them to help me, but my voice didn't work. I would turn around, find my wingless back, and suddenly fall through the cloud floor, into a dark abyss below me. I would wake up in a cold sweat, crying out for somepony to help me.

I missed home terribly. I missed Aero more than anything, except my mother. I still wrote to Valiantwing, telling him I was fine, and he would write back every day about home. Aero would write to me as much as he could. They were concerned about me; they kept making sure I was okay. I was lonely, but I was doing very well in classes, and started getting a big head when it came to flying. Valiantwing kept telling me how proud I made him with doing so well in Flight Camp, and couldn't wait to see his precious little daughter again.

It was now late autumn. The high altitude coupled with the fall weather made the air chilly, even in the middle of the day. Wind blew over the city constantly. Summer Flight Camp had ended, and the official year of Flight School had started up. It was pretty much more of the same thing, but more ponies could be found in each class, and the school was beginning to feel a little bit more crowded. The bullies no longer bothered me, and pretty much stayed away. On the outside, I was an overconfident filly who believed she was the hotshot of Cloudsdale. This was only to hide how I was really feeling at the time.

The class was performing an obstacle course this morning. I had just passed the finish line behind a few other foals, and was panting heavily, lying on my back, trying to catch my breath. Flying kept my mind off home, it was the only thing that kept me from running away, and trying to make my way back to Canterlot. Well, that and my dream of becoming a Wonderbolt. I noticed the two bucks who had bothered me at the beginning of the year laugh and fly back towards the track. I turned to see what it was that they were laughing at, and saw Fluttershy sprawled out on the cloud floor. A flag was covering her head. She looked to see the bullies approach her. She became red in the face, and cringed in embarrassment. I flew close to get a better look. The foals were laughing at her, and I could make out their lips moving, no doubt saying mean things about her.

I felt angry and scared. It wasn't right. They were making fun of her. She reminded me of somepony who was in her situation only a few months ago. She cringed from the bullies standing over her. I didn't know what I was supposed to do. At that moment, I remembered something Aero told me, the day I had my first bully troubles.

Loyalty means you will never leave your friends hanging.

Aero would want me to be loyal to every pony who was in danger, especially to my friends. Fluttershy didn't deserve this. I suddenly knew exactly what to do.

Compelled by anger and adrenalin, I swooped down in front of the ponies, cutting them off from Fluttershy.

"Leave her alone!" I yelled. I sounded more confident than I felt.

"Ooooh, what are you gonna do Rainbow Crash!"

"Keep makin' fun of her and find out!" The words just came out of my mouth, and I couldn't really place where they came from.

The dark brown one spoke up, "You think you're such a big shot? Why don't you prove it?!"

There was no backing out now, "What do you have in mind?"

They looked at each other for a moment, "We could beat you in a race any day! Tomorrow, after school, in the Cloudiseum. Unless you're too scared!"

I had never raced a pony before. I didn't know how well I would actually do, but I had to keep them from bothering Fluttershy, if only for a little while.

I spoke up, "See ya there! Get ready to lose!"

They had completely forgotten that Fluttershy was there. Good. Aero would have been proud that I had stuck up for my friends. They flew off in the other direction, leaving me and Fluttershy alone on the obstacle course.

"T-thanks Rainbow, that was really humiliating..." she stood up onto her hooves, and gave me a grateful smile, "I d-don't think they would have ever left me alone if you didn't show up."

"No problem, Fluttershy, they're both just big bullies. You shouldn't be treated that way by anypony. Let's go back home."

As we walked back to our room, I thought about how I didn't think of Fluttershy as a true friend until I saw her in the same situation I was in a few weeks ago. She was always kind to me, but I never saw her as a real friend. I knew then that we had to stick together, for her sake and for mine.

The events of that afternoon had shaken me more than I felt as I was walking away. Fluttershy and I returned to our room after walking around the school for a little while, just talking about random things. Fluttershy was a lot more talkative than I thought, she mostly had something to say about whatever it was we were talking about. If she wasn't so shy around new ponies, she would have been liked by a lot more of the foals at the school. She wasn't so bad once you got to know her.

I curled up in my bed, dreading the sleep that I wish I didn't have to go through. Standing up to the bullies had made me feel a lot more confident in myself, but it made me think of Aero, and how he had stood for me. As I was lying in bed, I began to miss him terribly. Thoughts of Aero and thoughts of my mother came hand in hand now. Memories of her passing brought hot tears to my eyes. I tried not to sob; I didn’t want Fluttershy to be concerned about me. Instead I just lay there, with my eyes closed shut, trying to imagine Aero with his tail wrapped around mine, telling me the story my mother had told me. It seemed like it had been years since I had heard it.

Sleep closed around me. It was the same dream. I was standing on the cloud, only something was different. The sky was completely dark, and I couldn’t see anypony. I called out, begging for somepony to help me. Suddenly, the sky lit up, and a burst of color filled the now blue sky. A rainbow, more beautiful than anything I had seen in my life flashed in front of my eyes. I started to cry.

“Don’t cry, sweetie, you’re not alone,” a voice echoed, seeming to come from everywhere.

I stopped, “H-hello?”

She was standing in front of me. It was then that I realized that I was laying on my bed, in my bedroom, back in Canterlot.

She smiled, and sat down on the edge of the mattress, “I’m so proud of you honey. You have proven to me how strong you can be. Sticking up for your friends makes me so very, very proud of you.”

I sniffled, “Why? Why did you have to leave? I miss you, mommy. I’m scared. I j-just want everything to go back to the way it was!” I sobbed into my sheets.

She shushed me softly, “I never left you honey, I’ve been with you the whole time. You have stayed strong. I know it hurts, I know it’s hard sometimes. But you have to remember, I am always with you. I have always been with you.” She brushed my mane softly. It felt so real. I looked up into her magenta eyes. Her white mane had been replaced with that of a beautiful rainbow. She motioned her head over to the floor. I caught sight of Aero, sitting on his haunches, tears of regret wetting the carpet at his hooves.

“You’ve been given a gift, Rainbow. The gift of life. Something that you needed more than me. You may not see me, but I’m closer to you than I ever was. You were always special, honey,” she touched my mane, and turned my head to face her, “you just needed a little love, and confidence to let it show.”

Aero jumped up on the bed, and wrapped his tail around mine. It felt less real, like Aero was only an illusion. My vision began to turn black around the edges. My heartbeat began to accelerate rapidly.

“Do you know why I love you?”

Somehow, everypony at school heard about the race happening after school. At least thirty pegasi were packed in the bleachers, watching intently at the three of us waiting at the starting line.

Hoops said something to me, and I gave a response that I can’t even remember. My mind was focused on the race. Fluttershy raised the flag, and I felt adrenalin course through my body as I waited for the flag to fall. She paused for a second, and after what felt like minutes, dropped the checkered flag.

I was gone, speeding out of the starting position faster than I had ever flown before. The bullies were keeping pace, but not very far along into the race, Dumb-bell crashed into a pillar, and I lost sight of Hoops.

Excitement was the only thing I was feeling, despite my initial nerves about the race. I had never flown like that before. The speed, the adrenalin, the wind in my mane.

I liked it. A lot.

Out of nowhere, Hoops came crashing into my side, sending me off course. I wasn’t gonna let him beat me, and ruin Fluttershy’s honor. I sped up, flying at a breakneck speed, and zoomed past him. I headed toward the last checkpoint before the finish line.

Something inside me sparked as I was speeding downwards at near sonic speeds. The air around my body warped, and it felt like I was being wrapped in a tight blanket, trying to keep me from continuing forward. The words my mother said to me suddenly became clear in my head.

You’re not alone.

I’m always with you.

You were always special; you just needed a little love, and confidence to let it show.

Something around me broke. I was sent flying through the air, up towards the sky. All I heard was a loud crack from behind me, and I was sent back towards the clouds. I looked behind, and saw a trail of rainbow following me. Not only that, but I caught a glimpse of my flank, with the picture of a rainbow lightning bolt and a white cloud. It was my cutie mark! I knew at that moment that my mother was truly inside of me, and I had no reason to have any doubt in myself, or in her.

I found myself smiling cheek to cheek as I flew fast the finish line, creating a huge rainbow spanning over all of Cloudsdale. I was met by a huge group of fillies and colts cheering for me at the end of the race.

“Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!” they chanted, lifting me into the air. I couldn’t contain the joy I was feeling at that moment. I had won the race, and I had my cutie mark! These ponies were celebrating me, and they had completely forgotten about my nickname. Suddenly, a group of instructors came through.

The one at the lead, the mare who had given the opening speech the first day of Summer Flight Camp, shouted over the crowd, “Alright, everypony! That’s enough! I want you all to go to your dorms this instant! If I catch any of you outside of your rooms, there will be severe consequences!”

The crowd fell silent, and began to disperse. I was dropped softly onto the cloud floor. The head mare of the school approached me with a stern look on her face.

“Rainbow Dash, please come with me.” She turned and started walking away. I gulped, knowing full well that I was going to be in a lot of trouble. I followed after her slowly, trying not to think about the consequences of what had just happened.

She sat me down in a small chair in her office, and then walked around behind her desk. She sat there silently for a few moments, while I shook with anticipation and worry.

“…So it is true. You don’t understand the magnitude of the stunt you had just pulled out there.” She walked over to the window, and began gazing out over the empty courtyard, “The Sonic Rainboom hasn’t been performed in the recorded history of Equestria. Everypony just thought it was an old mare’s tale. And yet, somehow a foal was able to pull it off.”

“Please, I didn’t know what I did wrong! It just happened; I didn’t mean to do anything!” I pleaded.

She walked over to me and crouched down to eye level, “Miss Dash, you have a very special gift. You aren’t in any trouble for what you did. But, under no circumstances must you ever try to pull that stunt again, understand? The last thing this school needs is a whole bunch of publicity about some filly that became a living legend. We also don’t want any other of the students getting the wrong ideas.” I nodded, not truly believing what I had just heard. A living legend?

I had many questions about what exactly had just happened, but she said no more. She released me from her dark office, and told me to go straight back to my room, and not talk to any other ponies on the way.

As I walked across the courtyard toward the filly dorm rooms, I passed by a group of teachers, talking in shushed tones with looks of worry on their faces. I listened in on their conversation as I walked by. They were talking about one of the students going missing. Apparently whoever it was had disappeared while the race was going on. I couldn’t help but wonder who it had been.

I walked into my small room, and found it to be completely deserted. I hadn’t seen Fluttershy with the group of pegasi at the finish line. None of the students were supposed to be wondering around the grounds right now. She would have been the first pony to retreat to her room. Where could she be?

I realized then and there who the teachers were talking about. I started panicking, searching frantically through the room, trying to find her. Maybe she was hiding under the bed again. I checked, and found no yellow filly under the springboards. Worry for my only close friend left in school caused me to look in every nook and cranny in our room, trying to find her.

Suddenly there’s a knock on the door.

“W-who is it?” I asked meekly. A mare walks into the room. She is the instructor of the maneuvering course.

“Miss Rainbow Dash, have you seen Miss Fluttershy lately? She is your roommate, correct?” I nodded.

“I haven’t seen her since the beginning of the race.”

“Nopony has, we may have to do a search for her. I want you to stay here for the rest of the day, and as soon as she arrives I want you to come to the office and tell us, so we may call off the search. Her parents are here, and are worried sick about her. You have to tell us as soon as you see her, are we clear?” she said, giving me a look the was somewhere between concern and seriousness.

I choked up on my words, and instead just sat down on my bed. The instructor walked out of the room, leaving me alone.

I hoped wherever Fluttershy had gone, she was at least alright. It wasn’t fair. All of the ponies I care about keep getting taken away from me. I sat on my bed, staring at the door, hoping every minute that I would see the reserved yellow pegasus walk through the entrance, and everything would be okay.

Everything would be okay.

A week had passed. Fluttershy hadn’t turned up, and the teachers of the school had called off the search. A service was held for her two days ago, and only a few ponies had shown up. I still held onto the hope that she was okay, that she was safe somewhere else.

Everypony started to treat me differently. Some ponies would see me in the courtyard, and stop to say hi, but most ponies just gave me a strange look, and continued walking. Some of them even sped up whenever I came near. Everypony in the school knew who I was, whether that was a good or bad thing, I still wasn’t sure.

One particular day, I was walking in the late afternoon from the cafeteria towards the courtyard, and saw a young buck was talking with his friends. I walked toward their group, and the foal gave me one look, and started running the other direction. Confused and hurt, I walked up to his group of friends, who gave me nervous looks.

“What was his deal?” I asked.

A tall orange buck spoke up, “Oh, uh… he was late for… dinner! Yeah…”

“…I just came from the cafeteria.” I raised an eyebrow. The pony was running the opposite direction.

A heavy grey pony sighed, “look, not everypony thinks what you did at the race that day was that great. A lot of ponies think there was some sort of magic involved. There are rumors going around the school that you are a sorcerer, or an evil enchantress. I don’t believe a word of it, but you may want to be careful with your actions.” He turned to his friends, and they flew away.

My mood was ruined. I didn’t want to practice flying that evening anymore. I trudged back to my room, feeling like everypony was looking at me, thinking there was something wrong with me. I had reached an all-time low, despite my great mood that I had only a week ago. Everything that could possibly go wrong, had happened.

I made it to the front door of my room. As I pulled the nob with my teeth, a letter that had been placed in the crack of the door had fallen to the floor, in front of my hooves. It had no name on it, nothing on the outside to tell me where it had come from. Curious, I opened the envelope, and began to read the words written on the paper:

Despite my mood, I couldn’t help but chuckle at this. It made me feel a thousand times better, knowing that Fluttershy was alright, and even better, she was happy and safe. At least one weight could be lifted off my shoulders.

It was only a small moment of relief.