The Day Before...
Misty Fly soared high in the morning sky. Her dark blue and gold Wonderbolts uniform made her easy to spot against the pale blue background. She gazed down, carefully scanning everything below her. After apparently failing to find what she was looking for, she banked to the right and moved to another patch of sky to continue her search.
Suddenly her wings flared flat to the strong headwind, acting as an airbrake, and coming to an abrupt halt. She tucked her wings tight against her barrel and entered a steep dive, making slight adjustments as she honed in on her target. At the last moment her wings flared again, bringing her to a near stop as she landed gently on the white cloud.
She looked over and saw the rainbow-colored tail hanging limply off the edge. It emerged from a piece of cloud being used as a fluffy blanket. And emerging a little further up was a blue snout with the rest of the head hidden by what appeared to be a bit of cloud shaped like a hat and tipped over the face. As if she needed any more confirmation as to what the mare was busy doing, she heard soft, raspy breathing accompanied by the occasional snore.
Misty Fly trotted over to where the mare’s barrel was hidden by the cloud and began to violently shake.
Instantly the mare bolted upright, the bit of cloud vanishing to reveal the wide-open red eyes and rainbow mane. “Uh? Wha?” asked the disoriented mare.
“There you are! We need you back at HQ pronto!” said Misty Fly.
“Wait – what?” ask the mare, still trying to get her bearings after being rudely awakened.
“Spitfire wants you to report now,” she explained.
Rubbing her head, the mare said, “Ah don’t understand. She wants me?”
Misty continued, “Spitfire said ‘Go get Rainbow Dash and bring her back here ASAP,’ so here I am.”
Looking at her blue hoof, the mare seemed to come around, “Oh, Ah get it.” She looked at Misty, “Still, ain’t this Rainbow Dash’s day off? What’s Spitfire need?”
Misty huffed, “I don’t know. But we have to get flying.” She took to the air and hovered above the cloud impatiently.
“Ah don’t think –”
“Look, Rainbow Dash, if you don’t want to be in trouble with Captain, then we have to go now!” she said, crossing her forelegs.
“Oh, don’t want there to be trouble,” the mare mumbled. She approached the edge and looked apprehensively at the ground far below.
“What are you waiting for?” demanded Misty.
Gulping, “Rainbow Dash” took a step off and plummeted towards the ground. With a startled cry, she furiously flapped her wings, slowing her descent before gradually climbing back up to the cloud.
Shaking her head, Misty commanded “Quit showing off and come on!” before heading north, with a blue pegasus struggling to keep up....
At first, Applejack simply focused on flying. Flap wings down, raise wings, repeat. Exhale with down stroke, inhale with up stroke. Forelegs straight ahead and rear legs splayed back. Bank slightly for course corrections. Maintain visual with wingmare. Avoid clouds.
But as time went on, she noticed that flying became easier. Her flapping found a natural rhythm and corrections became more precise. It seemed that in addition to Rainbow Dash’s form and pegasus flying magic, she also gained the muscle memory and flight instincts that belonged to her friend.
After half an hour, Applejack at last felt at ease. She could feel the air beneath her wings, the wind blowing through her feathers and whipping her mane back and forth. At this altitude the air was cold and quiet and sweet. She stole glances at the ground below, beholding the majesty of the fields and forests and rivers and towns spreading out to the far horizon. For the first time in her life, Applejack began to understand why Rainbow Dash loved flying so much. She almost felt like a natural-born pegasus herself. A smiled grew on her face and she shouted, “Yee haw!”
Misty Fly slowed down and assumed a position next to the blue pegasus, almost wingtip to wingtip. “You feel alright, Dash?” she asked.
Applejack smiled mischievously, “Well, let’s just say that though Ah don’t feel like mahself today, Ah do feel pretty dang good.”
Misty gave “Rainbow Dash” a strange look but didn’t press the issue.
After another hour of flying, the pair approached a large cloudbank that formed a nearly impenetrable wall in the sky. Applejack slowed down, unsure if they would go around or over or try to bust straight through it. Unconcerned, Misty took the lead and banked left to fly alongside the cloud. Applejack decided to follow the Wonderbolt and quickly fell in behind her.
Suddenly Misty made a sharp right turn and disappeared into the cloud. Shocked, Applejack almost missed the turn point but banked hard to the right, unexpectedly finding herself in an artificial tunnel within the cloud. Following the contours, she began a shallow dive that progressively grew steeper and steeper. An end appeared out of nowhere and her pegasus senses took hold, snapping her into a vertical climb into another branch of the tunnel. Then she banked to the left, followed by a hairpin turn to the right, then barrel rolled until she broke into open sky. Getting her bearings again, she beheld the hallowed flat mesa that had been home to generations of Equestria’s best flyers.
Applejack flapped harder and harder to catch up with Misty. The pair descended towards the landing strip where a large group of pegasi gathered.
Misty flared her wings at the last second, coming to an abrupt halt and landing gracefully on the runway.
Applejack, however, hadn’t quite figured out that trick. She swooped down at a high speed and valiantly attempted a running landing, working her legs as if she were galloping. Unfortunately her right forehoof clipped the tarmac. Applejack careened forward, her wings flaring as she tumbled halfway down the runway. She wound up sprawled with her back on the ground and her legs in the air and a headache to boot. “Ow,” she groaned.
“Crash! What’s going on!?” she heard an angry voice demand.
Scurrying to her hooves, she soon stood before Spitfire herself.
“Ah heard you were lookin’ fer me, Spitfire,” she offered.
Leaning forward until they were nearly muzzle to muzzle, Spitfire narrowed her eyes and scowled over her sunglasses. In a low, harsh voice she reprimanded, “You know better than that! Address me by my rank in front of new recruits!”
Blinking, Applejack said, “Oh, beg yer pardon, Captain. Meant no disrespect.”
Captain scowled for a few more seconds before turning to the group of pegasi. In a voice worthy of any drill instructor, she announced, “I’ve seen you Wonderbolt wannabees in action and I can say I’ve never been more unimpressed in my entire life. Right now none of you are good enough to even serve in our cleanup crew scrapping gum off the bottom of the grandstands. That’s why I recalled Rainbow Dash to show you what a true Wonderbolt is capable of. She’s going to set the bar for all of you underachievers by performing her signature sonic rainbow.”
Applejack blinked, “Ah – uh – what?”
Captain turned and stared expectedly. After an awkward pause, she barked, “That’s your cue!”
“Well – yah see –” stammered Applejack.
Pointing to the sky, she ordered, “Get yer flank up there and just do it!”
Snapping to attention, Applejack saluted with her left forehoof, “Yes ma’am!” Before she could be chewed out by Captain again, she took to the sky. “What a mess this is. Hope Rainbow Dash is having a better day being me,” she mumbled to herself as she climbed high above the training grounds.
Not really sure of the exact mechanics of a sonic rainboom, she remembered the few times she had seen Rainbow Dash perform the feat. The only thing that came to mind was to go fast – really, really fast. That, and a cocky attitude born of overflowing confidence. Applejack couldn’t match the self-confidence, but she could use Rainbow Dash’s skills to go fast.
Turning to the far end of the mesa, Applejack took a deep breath then dashed for all her might. Wings down, wings up, wings down, wings up. Faster. Wings down, wings up. Faster! Downupdownup! She reached the other side of the mesa. Dang!
She entered a shallow bank and made a wide turn in the sky. Must go faster! She leveled out and tried again. Wings down, wings up, wings down, wings up. Faster. Wings down, wings up. Faster! Downupdownup! Faster still! But again she found she had reached the other end of the mesa without succeeding at the spectacular stunt.
She spiraled down towards Captain. “Captain, Ah don’t think Ah can do it.”
“Crash –” growled Captain.
Taking a deep breath, she tried, “About that. There’s really somethin’ yah should know ’bout me –”
Gritting her teeth, Captain vowed, “If you don’t go up there and give it everything you’ve got, so help me Celestia –!”
Applejack didn’t need to hear the rest of the threat before she shot back up into the sky. She was letting down Rainbow Dash! She was giving her friend a bad name in front of the new recruits. Applejack had to do more.
She reached far back to the first time she’d seen her friend do a sonic rainboom. It was in Cloudsdale, during the Young Flyer’s Competition. She’d done it while saving Rarity and the Wonderbolts. But how? Well, they were falling so she shot down after Rarity and them and – Wait! She was going down! She used gravity to increase her speed. Well, since this was Applejack’s first time, maybe she needed that extra boost too.
Applejack climbed higher and higher into the sky. The air became thin and each flap was harder than the last. She looked down and saw the tiny mesa far below. She almost pulled a Fluttershy and stopped flapping in fright but managed to keep herself aloft. She kept climbing higher, gasping for a breath in the thin air. She climbed until she couldn’t climb any higher.
She took a couple of deep breaths and steeled herself for her last shot. Nothing would be left on the table. She was boldly going where no earth pony had gone before.
Applejack leaned forward and entered a steep dive. Must go faster! She pumped her wings hard. Must go faster! – UpDownUpDown – Faster! The air piled up before her, creating an invisible impenetrable barrier. Faster still! – UPDOWNUPDOWN – The mesa quickly grew larger in her field of view. Faster damnit! The mesa was almost all she could see! She was going to slam headlong into the ground! She pulled up and entered level flight mere feet before certain death. It’s now or never! She gave it everything she had. Suddenly she felt a pressure wave move through her body and witnessed an explosion of colors before her. A sonic rainboom! She had done it! “Yee haw!” she shouted in triumph as she experienced the pure joy of flying.
Reaching the end of the training grounds, she slowed down and banked back towards the Academy. She came in fast but had learned her lesson and landed on her hooves. She saw Captain and galloped over to her in excitement. “Did’ja see! Did’ja see!”
Captain glared at Applejack through the frames of the sunglasses. Only tiny, jagged pieces of glass remained from the shattered lenses. “What the buck was that!”
Baffled, Applejack replied, “A sonic rainboom. Ah thought yah wanted me to do it.”
The fury in her eyes matched her voice, “You know better than to do that at low altitude!” She pointed her right foreleg over to the cadets, many of whom were lying on the ground. “Half the class needs to go get checked out by the flight doctors. Some have concussions.” She swept her left foreleg. “And the rainboom caused structural damage to our facilities.”
Applejack surveyed the wounded pegasi. Those that weren’t hurt were staring back at the blue mare in fear. She glanced off to the other side and saw buildings with shattered windows, holes in the roofs, and large cracks running throughout. Even the massive cloudbank that shielded the Academy now had large fissures, large enough to fly a pegasus chariot through. “Oh,” remarked a sullen Applejack.
“This is coming out of your paycheck,” growled Captain.
“Rainbow Dash” flew through the air. “That’s one chewin’ out Ah’ll never forget,” she grumbled. “Ah didn’t even know there were so many swear words until today.”
“Count yourself lucky that there’s a weather emergency, otherwise she’d have probably thrown you in the brig after the stunt you pulled,” Misty retorted.
“She was yellin’ so much, Ah couldn’t get a word in edgewise,” Applejack continued.
Misty sighed, “Well, Rainbow Dash, you do have a history of ticking off Spitfire. Remember last week when you buzzed the tower? Spitfire spilled a cup of coffee all over her new uniform.”
“Ah can honestly say that Ah don’t remember that,” Applejack said, almost letting a chuckle slip into her voice before becoming somber again.
“Then there was that Wonderbolts show in Ponyville where you caused total chaos,” Misty added.
“Yeah, that wasn’t the best day,” she admitted.
“And that doesn’t count the pranks you’ve pulled over the last couple of months,” Misty finished.
“Yeah, the pranks do seem to get out of hoof,” acknowledged Applejack with a grim expression across her face.
“Just don’t piss off Spitfire again and things will blow over,” reassured Misty.
Applejack smiled a little, “Thanks for the advice. Ah’ll pass it along.”
Giving “Rainbow Dash” another strange look, she asked, “‘Pass it along?’”
“It’s a long story,” Applejack remarked before quickly saying, “But first, Ah want to know what we’ve got to do.”
“A group of storm clouds broke loose from their holding pen,” Misty explained. “We’ve got to get them put back ASAP.”
“That don’t sound like a major emergency,” noted Applejack.
“Well, if they rain, then either the weather factory will have to work overtime to make more or someplace will experience a drought, like say, your friend’s farm. And if they all rain in the wrong place... well, that could cause a flood. And nopony wants that.”
“Ah can see that,” conceded Applejack.
“There they are,” said Misty as she pointed off in the distance.
A large black mass was pushing east. The formation was so tight that it was hard to tell where one cloud ended and the next began. Still, Applejack counted at least two dozen distinct clouds, each one nearly the size of Twilight’s castle and as dark as charcoal. Just looking at them filled the earth pony-turned-pegasus with a deep sense of foreboding, rekindling foalhood memories of cowering in fear during thunderstorms.
The closer they got, the larger and more ominous they became. “We got to move all of them?” clarified Applejack.
“Yeah, we’ll be lucky if we finish by sunset,” complained Misty.
Pushing her foalhood apprehension back down, Applejack screwed up her courage and with bravado declared, “Well, let’s get a goin’!” She swooped down to what looked like a good, stable place to push.
“Rainbow Dash, you might not want to –”
Crrck-BOOM!!!
Applejack blinked. Electricity crackled through her mane and tail, both now standing on end. Wisps of smoke rose from her singed fur and feathers.
“That was the biggest lightning bolt I’ve ever seen,” Misty noted dryly.
Applejack coughed, “Yah don’t say.”
The night was exceptionally dark. The waning crescent moon of the night before had vanished, leaving the land longing for the moon’s return. The thousand dim stars fought the darkness but provided only the faintest of light. And it was quiet. Gone was the normal hustle and bustle of the day. The only sounds came from the flapping wings of a lone pegasus out in the night.
Applejack struggled though the night sky. It was so dark she wasn’t sure she was heading in the right direction. Her pegasus vision might be better than her earth pony’s, but it still paled in comparison to a bat pony’s. She could only make out the vague shapes of hills and lakes. At this point, she navigated more by dead reckoning than anything else.
Applejack also struggled because she was bone tired. Performing a sonic rainboom had been exhausting enough. But moving dozens of storm clouds all afternoon had sapped what little energy she had left. It had been just after sunset when they completed their assigned duty, and she had bid Misty farewell. Sure Misty had invited her back to her house for the night, but Applejack wanted to get back to Ponyville. If only home wasn’t so far away... wherever it was.
At last she felt she could fly no more. She desperately needed rest before she fell out of the sky. In the distance lay a small hamlet. Applejack almost lost hope when she realized that she didn’t have any bits on her to pay for a hotel room. But she was in luck! Reflecting the lights from the houses was a small cloud.
Applejack swooped down onto the mass. She fell into the fluffy goodness and, letting her pegasus instincts take over, pulled some over to form a soft, warm blanket. Within seconds she was fast asleep.