Chapter Two
Choosers can't be Beggers
“Please?”
“No.”
“Please, please, please, please?”
“I said no!”
“Oh come on!” Rainbow Dash cried, bringing her hooves down with an unsatisfying thump onto the cloud she was sprawled on.
The rainbow-maned pegasus had been pleading with the small purple dragon walking below her for the last hour. The dragon refused to change his resolve however, instead doing his best to ignore or deter her frantic pestering, a fact that irked Rainbow to no end.
“For the last time Dash, I’m not going to bother the ruler of all of Equestria…” he emphasized that point to her, hoping it would sink in. “Just so you can get a ticket to the next Wonderbolts show!”
“Don’t be such a baby, Spike!” Rainbow Dash called down from her perch. She watched as her friend attempted evasion by dipping underneath some thick bushes behind the town hall. She waited for his inevitable attempt at freedom, chuckling to herself that Spike thought he was faster than the mare.
She was undoubtedly surprised then when he bolted out of the underbrush quicker than she’d ever seen him run. He didn’t get more than fifty feet though before Dash dropped down from her cloud bed onto the grass, directly blocking Spike’s path.
“Nice try, you’re not getting away so eas-”
Spike abruptly turned to his left and ran off before she could finish her sentence, something that served more to annoy Dash than actually escape. After mumbling in frustration for a moment, she decided to try a new tactic.
With a swift flap of her wings and an acrobatic motion that would’ve impressed even most Pegasi, Dash landed directly in front of Spike once again.
“Come on, please? I’ll do anything!”
Spike spun on the spot, getting ready to dart off again, when the pegasus’s statement registered in his mind. He eyed the cerulean pony questioningly, his frown slowly twisting into a smirk.
“Anything..?” Spike spoke slowly. Rainbow gulped, worrying what she’d have to do just to get that prized ticket. She swallowed her pride instead, determined, and stared directly at Spike in full force.
“Anything!” she said defiantly, and then a little less confidently, “Well, ya know, within reason.”
Spike chuckled at this, deciding he should probably take advantage of this sudden opportunity. It was rare the colorful pony would ever be willing to do favors.
“Alright then.” He dropped the small load of books he’d been carrying, and thought a moment.
“There’s a gem I’ve always wanted to try, a rare one called the Emerald Crystal. I’ve been hearing rumors that there’s one somewhere in a clearing in the Everfree Forest. Do you think you could…?”
“Wait, wait, did you say Everfree Forest?” Rainbow interrupted. “What’re you trying to do, get me killed!?”
“Hey let me finish!” exclaimed Spike, annoyed. “First off, it’s in a pretty big clearing, so there shouldn’t be any dangerous monsters or anything. Second off, it’s like halfway in the middle of the Forest, which is why most ponies I know won’t go near it.”
“So you’d rather ask your best friend to risk her life!” Dash cried, feeling betrayed. Then, remembering her resolve, she puffed up her chest a bit in false bravado.
“…not that I couldn’t do it of course. It’s just that I can’t believe that you…!?”
“Do you want your ticket or not?” Spike said forcedly. Dash promptly shut up and nodded fiercely. The dragon let out an exaggerated sigh of frustration before continuing, insuring the mare wouldn’t try to interrupt again.
“As I was saying, the reason most ponies don’t go near the diamond is because it’s way out in the Forest. But you’ve got something most ponies around here don’t have, at least the ones I know.”
“What?” asked the pegasus, obviously confused. Spike face palmed.
“Wings, Dash. You can just fly into the clearing, grab the diamond, and then fly out again!”
Dash brightened up considerably. “Heh, I knew that!” she said, flapping her wings and staring at them as if she’d forgotten they existed. She turned back to Spike, a large smile on her face.
“Alright dude, you’ve got yourself a deal. I get you this Gerald Crystal thingy…”
“Emerald”
“Yeah, whatever. I get you this crystal, and then you get me admission to the Wonderbolts, right?”
Spike nodded. “I’ll send a letter off to Celestia, soon as I get to Twilight’s”
Dash’s face gave away her increasing excitement, growing more intense by the second. Then something occurred to her, and her elation lowered a few notches.
“Wait, what about the princess, she won’t get mad will she?” Rainbow asked anxiously.
“To be honest, I doubt she’ll mind. Twilight gets all jumpy about stuff like this, but I guess I’ll just avoid telling her that I…”
What happened next nearly caused the baby dragon to choke and die of a heart attack at the same time when he realized he was suddenly several hundred feet in the air, and feeling like he’d just been hit by a train.
A very colorful, flying train.
“D-da…!?” he coughed, the embrace preventing air from entering or escaping his lungs.
“YYYEEESSS!” screamed Rainbow Dash, not noticing her friend’s predicament. A stream of incoherent excitement flowed from her mouth, until she finally heard Spike’s strangled voice.
“A…A-a...!”
“Huh?”
Dash’s hold loosened slightly, allowing some air through Spike’s lungs.
“AIR!” he screeched.
“O-oh sorry”
She lowered the dragon to the ground, and immediately Spike began gulping down oxygen rapidly. After a split second of concern, Rainbow Dash’s mind wandered, and her previous smile returned.
“I bet Spitfire will be there!” she continued ecstatically, thinking of the various autographed trinkets she’d displayed in her home of her idol.
“Don’t get so excited yet, you still have to get the gem.” Spike said between coughs.
“Heh, yeah, like that’ll be hard. Like you said, all I gotta do is sweep in and grab the thing and bring it back, easy peesy!”
She babbled on and on after that, speaking of all the things she would do at the event as the two of them approached the Ponyville library.
The confidence in the prismatic mare was brimming. She was sure to get that ticket now! Sure, it was true she’d been to every Wonderbolt show since she’d been a filly, but this time it was different. This time she’d finally decided to apply to join the prestigious team, something any pegasus could do at the conclusion of a performance, but which few ever had the honor of receiving acceptance.
Of course, she’d never tell her friends how nerve-racking it felt to her. It was embarrassing to even admit she hadn’t applied yet, especially since they’d often voiced it odd she hadn’t been brought on the team already.
If she had to fetch some lousy diamond just to reach her dreams, what did it matter? It was a small price to pay for the opportunity to become a true celebrity.
It was with these thoughts that Rainbow Dash soon took off towards the infamous Everfree Forest after ensuring the dragon had sent the letter. She shot across the sky, the wind resistance bringing a welcome challenge, and closed her eyes to imagine what it’d be like to be a Wonderbolt. Fierce courage caused her to push harder, and she opened her eyes briefly spotting Fluttershy’s cottage approaching rapidly in the distance.
As she returned to fantasizing, any fear or doubt vanished from the young mare’s mind. There wasn’t a thing in the world that could bring her down. Destiny was calling her name. Everything she’d gone through didn’t matter now, because after this weekend, she’d finally accomplish her biggest dream.
There was a fatal flaw in her logic though. Destiny may have been calling her name, but it was for a different reason than she thought. You see, Dash’s life was about to change beyond all comprehension, and it wasn’t from being accepted into the Wonderbolts.
No, it was something much, much bigger, because as hard as it may be to believe, Rainbow Dash would in fact be monumental in causing the end of Harmony in Equestria as we know it.