The sound of birds chirping in the morning awoke the sleeping polychromatic-haired girl. She groaned and opened her eyes. On the second day of school and all of the students were supposed to start preparing for the games coming up in a week. She rubbed her eyes with her fists and walked over to her bathroom. Her hair was a mess and her eyes looked bloodshot. Rainbow sighed and went straight for the shower; most likely the one thing that could wake her up.
After the nice steamy shower, she grabbed her towel and walked back to her room to change into her clothes. (The one underneath)
After getting dressed, she ran downstairs to the kitchen where she saw her parents getting breakfast ready. Her dad saw her first.
“Hey, look who it is.” Her mom poked her head out from around the corner and smiled when she saw her daughter walking toward the kitchen.
“Good morning, Sweetie. How’d you sleep?” She gave her daughter a quick kiss on her cheek. Rainbow smiled.
“I slept well. It’s still different from waking up in Canterlot. I like it better here though. I feel more comfortable with the other people around here. Homier.” She went to the topic of why she was there. “What’s for breakfast?” Her dad chuckled.
“Breakfast’s on the table. It’s your favorite.” Rainbow Dash looked towards the table to see a plate of waffles. They then looked at the clock to see it was only 8:00. She blinked in surprise.
“Wow. I woke up early.” She snorted to herself. Her dad brought her into a one-armed hug.
“I can agree with you there. Now start your breakfast otherwise you’ll have less time.” Rainbow gave him a small two-fingered salute with a smirk on her face and dug into her meal while her parents laughed. After a few minutes, the rainbow-haired girl ran up to her room to grab her things. When she came back down, with her bag, shoes, phone, and bag, it was 8:10. She smiled at her timing. She turned towards her parents.
“I’ll see you later.” She gave her parents each quick hug and ran outside just in time to see Fleetfoot and Spitfire walking toward her house. Hey guys.” She ran up to them and gave them hugs.
“Hey, Crash. Feeling better?” Rainbow nodded. Fleet squeezed her shoulder.
“Great. Today we’re gonna need all the good energy because we’re gonna have to start preparing for the games.” The three girls groaned. Spitfire elbowed Dash.
“Hey. Who knows. Maybe we can make you our top student. Then CPA will have a real challenge against us.”
“Top student, eh?” Rainbow rose a brow. “Hate to break it to you Spits but, I’m not the kind of person who gets top grades here.” Fleetfoot playfully pushed Rainbow.
“Well, now you will be. Besides, we’re gonna help you get to that spot. It’s what friends are for after all.” Spitfire nodded.
“Fleet’s got a point. You’re gonna take down those Crystal Prep students like they’re thin paper and you’re the heavy wind. Good simile, right?” Rainbow and Fleetfoot both rolled their eyes and sighed.
“Whatever you say, Spits. Whatever you say.” Rainbow looked over at the yellow-skinned girl next to her and shook her head while giving her a slight shove. A small thought popped into Fleetfoot’s head.
“Say, Dash. What exactly happened between you and Soarin? He looked very happy holding you. Also, what was with the hickey yesterday? Someone got excited.” Rainbow’s cheeks flushed a bit.
“He’s terrible when it comes to hiding his feelings for me. He also had a hard time spitting the words out of his mouth which made it even more obvious. In other words, we’re dating now. Also, a boyfriend can get touchy with his girlfriend so no big issue there.” The two girls walking with her gaped in shock. Then Fleetfoot squealed and started bouncing.
“Oooh! I’m soooo happy!!” Spitfire only slapped Dash on the back and smirked.
“I’m happy for you, Crash. Congrats.” She gave Dash a side hug and the three friends walked onto campus.
~/\~
The three girls ended up catching up with Lightning Dust as she dragged Dash to their first class of the day. The turquoise-skinned girl looked over at her friend.
"What were the three of you talking about?" Rainbow snorted and rolled her eyes.
"Those two want to make the top student of CHS. I told them that that's probably not going to happen because I'm not one of those kinds of students." Lightning shrugged her shoulders.
"Who knows? It could happen. Besides, if you were, we could kick their butts. After all, we are better than ever without us now." Something flicked on in Rainbow's head.
"Don't we have a free period with everyone?" Lightning Dust nodded. "Let's all meet up in the band room. I want to talk about something." The turquoise-skinned girl nodded her head and the two girls walked to class.
~/\~
“Since we're close to the games,” Rainbow’s math teacher had been going on about different ways to beat the CPA students in math,” we’re going to start practicing more challenging math equations. Now, who can answer this equation?” She wrote a question on the board.
Rainbow looked over the problem before her eyes widened and she raised her hand.
“Miss Dash,” her math teacher called on her, “would you do the honors of answering this question?” Rainbow stood up, walked up to the blackboard, and grabbed a piece of chalk. It only took her thirty seconds for her to finish the question before turning back towards the rest of the class with a smile on her face. “Well done,” her teacher said before she walked back to her seat. Lightning Dust, who was sitting next to her, slapped her on the shoulder. The two cracked a smile.
~/\~
Lightning Dust and Rainbow Dash walked over to the band room after they had finished two of their other classes after math which made them sigh in relief.
“So, what exactly did you want to say to the whole group during the free period? I mean, we still have to wait a little bit longer till they get here, but what was the main reason?” Rainbow walked over to one of the back corners of the room and grabbed a guitar case and brought it over to her friend. She set it down and opened it revealing her guitar. Lightning Dust gasped in awe at its beauty. “Is that...?”
“This is my baby. My favorite guitar that I rock on. Well, sometimes. Other times, I play calmer songs like the one I wanted to sing with you guys. Do you play an instrument?” The turquoise-skinned girl nodded her head and walked over to another corner to pick up her guitar.
“Yeah, this is mine. Though, I don’t think it’s as nice as yours.” Rainbow snorted.
“You kidding? It looks awesome on you.” Lightning blushed.
“Heh, thanks. Now I wonder if -“ She was cut off by Surprise entering the room.
“You need a drummer to play your song?” She walked up to the drums behind the two girls. LD and RD blinked before shrugging their shoulders.
“You know,” Dash said while putting a finger to her chin, “we could let ‘em know that we’re still rock n roll.” Lightning Dust’s eyes widened.
“You mean “Rock N Roll” by Avril Lavigne?” Rainbow nodded. The two girls looked at Surprise. “Hit it,” Lightning called to her, and the two guitarists began to sing.
By the end of the song, Surprise, Lightning Dust, and Rainbow Dash had all ponied up. They heard clapping and turned to see the rest of the group applauding for their little performance. The three girls gave them small waves.
"When did you guys get here?" Dash asked.
"Oh, not a long time," Fleetfoot responded, "just long enough to hear the end of the song." The three girls holding instruments blinked before shaking it off. "Anyway, why did Dash want us over here?" The rainbow-haired girl cleared her throat.
"Well, something reminded me about getting back together and being better than ever which reminds me of a song I sang back at Canterlot High. The song only had five singers, but the instruments were one electric guitar, one bass, one keytar, one tambourine, and one drum set. Though, later on, our band ended up having two electric guitars. Just a little heads up." Rainbow scratched the back of her neck. Misty Fly stepped forward.
"What was the name of your band?" Dash sighed.
"It was called ” The Rainbooms”, but no doubt that the girls ended up changing the name so... I'm out of options for a good name for this band." The other thirteen students looked at one another before nodding. Blaze laid a hand on Rainbow's shoulder.
"You said it yourself, Dash. If the other students from your old school changed that band name, why not call this band “The Rainbooms” instead?" The rainbow-haired girl could only stare.
"But why?" High Winds slapped her on the back.
"Because you're our friend and we respect you, Dash." Dash smiled.
"I guess it is better than ever than ever now, huh?" They all nodded. "Well then, what exactly are your instruments?" Fleetfoot, Misty Fly, and High Winds picked up their own tambourines, the Streak twins, and Wave Chill picked up their own keytars, Blaze and Rapidfire picked up their own basses, and finally, Spitfire and Soarin picked up their electric guitars along with Lightning Dust who stood next to them. Rainbow smiled. Her new band, with a total of thirteen members who appreciate her for the way she was. Her boyfriend walked up to her.
"So, what's the new plan? You are the lead member after all." Rainbow blinked. She was the lead band member. Hopefully, she wouldn't abuse the spot again. "No. I'm not going to follow that path again. I saw what happened last time, I'm going to be a good leader who cares about her band members before herself. You can do this, Dash. Let your friends help you through tough times." She nodded to herself before walking over to her guitar case. The other twelve band members looked at one another, wondering what their lead member was grabbing. She came back with sheets of paper. Music sheet paper to be exact. She handed one to each member. They looked at them before understanding what she was trying to say.
"Was this the song you were talking about?" Blaze asked. The rainbow-haired girl nodded her head.
"Yeah. This song is called Better Than Ever. I mainly sang it after my friends and I reunited again after Princess Twilight helped reunite us again after Sunset Shimmer had torn us apart due to her mean words. It's a song about proving that we managed to show that, well, we're better than ever. Saying we're more powerful than before and we're not hiding anymore." She looked up at her friends who smiled at her. "Shall we start?" They all nodded.
One! Two! Three!
There was a time we were apart, but that's behind us now
See how we made a brand new start, and the future's looking up
Ah-oh ah-oh
And when you walk these halls you feel it everywhere
Yeah we're the Wonderbolts forever
Ah-oh yeah
They all began to pony up.
We are all together
Ah, ah, ah-oh-oh-oh
Now it's better than ever
Ah, ah, ah-oh-oh-oh
You can feel it, we are back
And I'm so glad that we're better
Better than ever
Whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh
Oh yeah, we're better than ever
whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh"
Rainbow took a solo.
"There was a time we couldn't see
Past the differences"
Blaze stepped in next.
"That separated you and me
And it left us on our own"
Surprise took the final solo.
"But now you walk these halls
And friends and everywhere"
Everyone joined together.
"Yeah, we're the Wonderbolts forever
Ah-oh, yeah!
We are all together
Ah, ah, ah-oh-oh-oh
Now it's better than ever
Ah, ah, ah-oh-oh-oh
Now that we are back on track
Yes, I'm so glad that we're better
Better than ever
Whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh
Oh yeah, we're better than ever
Whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh
Oh yeah, we're better than ever
Whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh
Oh yeah, we're better than ever!"
The ears, wings, and, for Rainbow Dash, tail, all magically disappeared. Surprise was bouncing in her seat.
"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!!!! We need to do that more often! It feels so AWESOME!!!!!!" Rainbow and the others in the room shook their heads and chuckled.
'Oh, Surprise." Spitfire shook her head. While the others were grouped, talking, Rainbow walked away, Deep in thought.
"Don't let selfishness take control of you like it did last time. Stop it. Stop it! STOP! IT! You're not that person anymore. You made that mistake once before, don't let it happen again. Control your emotions, Dash. You know what happens when fear takes over you. Conceal it and they won't find out. On both of those things. Your powers will only grow stronger and you need to keep them under control. With your friends by your side, they will make sure you are safe. Same thing with your boyfriend. He loves you. He trusts you. THEY trust you. But at the same time, you need to trust them. You can do this as soon as you feel ready to do so. Be the awesome girl everyone knows you are. You're mother fucking Rainbow Dash after all. You can do this, Dash. Believe in yourself." After giving herself the pep talk, she turned around to face her friends who were staring at her. She blinked.
"What?" Fleetfoot pointed at her hand.
"What happened to your hands?" Dash looked down at her hands and gasped. "Shit!"
"Uh......nothing?" She removed her guitar from around her body and set it back in the case. Then looked down at her palms. They were covered in small snowflake patterns. She looked at the back of her hands to see that they too were covered in little snowflake patterns. She took a deep breath and clasped her hands to her chest. "It's okay, Dash. Breath. Just breath. It'll be over soon. One more class, and then you can go home, put on the satin gloves, and act like this never happened. But this is happening in front of them! Oh, why now?! WHY NOW?!?!" Her breaths became ragged and she began panicking. She pressed her back against the wall, trying to calm down. Nothing helped. Her hands felt cold. The chill began climbing up her arms to her shoulders. Something warm was placed on her shoulders and she looked up. Soarin had his hands on her shoulders.
"Dash," he whispered, "what's going on?" She looked away.
"There's a secret I've been hiding. A big one. Only my parents know about it because I was born with this, I don't know, power. This other kind of magic. I can make ice and snow appear out of nowhere. It comes from my hands. I've been able to control it for years, but sometimes, when my emotions get the best of me, especially fear, my magic goes out of control. My parents were always by my side to comfort me when I lost control, but I never expected that it could happen at school." She sighed. "We still don't know where these powers came from and how I got them. It doesn't make any sense." She looked down. "They're going to leave me. I know it." Two arms suddenly wrapped around her midsection. She blinked in surprise to see Surprise hugging her tightly.
"We don't care about that silly. Okay maybe we do, but we're your friends. We love you no matter what." Her heart swelled as the rest of her friends circled her. They broke the hug, only to have Fleetfoot latch back onto her friend. Dash sighed and hugged her back.
"I love you, Dashie." Rainbow smiled.
"Love you too, Fleet." They separated. Soarin wrapped an arm around Dash's shoulders and the two shared a brief kiss. Fleetfoot blinked for a moment and pouted.
"Wait. How come I don't get a kiss." The other twelve friends broke out laughing. The teal-skinned girl joined.
~/\~
School had ended and everyone had their own plans and things to get to. Dash sighed as she watched her friends and boyfriend leave for their own things. She turned and walked home while holding her hands to her chest. The rest of the school day had been quiet. Dash didn't say much because she was afraid that she could lose control of her emotions again. Thoughts of what happened back in the music room scared her. What would have happened if she had lost it right then and there? Most likely a complete disaster. She picked up her walking paise, hoping to get home sooner than later. She saw her house up ahead and began running towards it, only to stop. She looked down seeing ice starting to form on the ground. Tears welled in her eyes and she slipped her phone out of her pocket. Opening her phone, she opened her mom's contact and clicked the call button. She felt her heart racing as she waited for her mom to pick up her phone. She heard a response from the other side of the line.
"Dashie? Sweetie, what's wrong?" Rainbow began panicking again.
""H-hey, m-mom, I think it's coming back again." Her mom must have heard the cracks in her voice.
"How far are you from home?"
"Only a few houses down. If you look in the direction of the route I take to school."
"Alright, Sweetie. I'll be right here."
Rainbow looked up the street to see her mom coming out of her house and heading towards her. When Windy saw the look of fear in her daughter's eyes, she immediately pulled her into a hug.
"Oh, Sweetie. Come on. Let's get you home and comfortable."
~/\~
As soon as the two entered the house Bow Hothoof saw the look of discomfort on his daughter's face. He looked at his wife.
"Is it the magic again?" She nodded and he sighed as he brought Rainbow Dash into a hug.
"It's okay, kiddo, you're gonna be okay." Rainbow shivered. Her mom brought her into the living room and wrapped her in an extra-thick blanket and sat down next to her. Rainbow sighed in relief at its warmth. Her dad walked into the living room from the kitchen and handed his daughter a nice mug of hot chocolate. Dash looked at her dad.
"Hey, Dad, can I have my gloves? They make me feel a little bit more comfortable." Bow kissed his daughter on her forehead and nodded.
"Sure thing. I'll be right back." Windy, who was still sitting next to her daughter, wrapped her in a warm hug in a loving manner so her daughter would know that no matter what, even with these powers, she'll still be loved. The two heard footsteps and they turned to see Bow holding a small box. He held it out to his daughter and opened the lid. Inside laid a pair of satin gloves that had always kept Rainbow's magic at bay. She took a deep breath before slipping them on. Once she did, she looked at her gloved hands. She smiled, clasped them to her chest, and laid her head on her mom's shoulder. Her mom rubbed her arm.
"Do you want to lie down, Sweetie?" Rainbow nodded and her parents both lead her to her room. Once they got there, Windy, being the kind mother she was, opened up the duvet on her daughter's bed. Rainbow gladly laid down on her mattress as she brought a pillow to her chest. After a few seconds, her eyelids fluttered shut, and she was out like a light.
~/\~
Bow Hothoof and Windy Whistles watched as their daughter slept. She'd had strange magic pop-ups before, but this one caused her to panic and need assistance to walk home. Panic attacks were rare to ever pop up inside their daughter, This one made them realize that they needed to watch over her very carefully. They walked out of the room and gently closed the door. Windy looked at her husband.
"Honey, what are we going to do? You know what happens when her powers get out of control." Bow Hothoof sighed.
"You're right. She needs to be safe and when she's around other people, her fear could take control of her and who knows what damage could be done. From now on, she's staying home. She needs to be comforted and loved that way she has more of a chance to be out in the open and not be afraid, especially around other people. We have to protect her." Windy listened to her husband's words and realized he had a good point. She nodded.
"We'll let the teachers know tomorrow that she won't be attending school. It's for her own safety.” The two nodded before walking away from their daughter’s room. Little did they know that there was ice showing underneath the door crack.