Twilight waited patiently for Rainbow Dash to get back from flying Applejack across the gap. Twilight and her friends were in Cloudsdale to support Rainbow in the Best Young Flyers competition, and while they were quite happy about it, not actually having wings was presenting its problems. For example, Cloudsdale was built by pegasi for pegasi, so naturally there weren’t many flat areas where one could simply walk about. This meant that there were times when those of her friends without wings would need to be flown across wide gaps. This was one of those times.
Twilight took a deep breath, steadying herself, calming herself. She made sure not to look over the edge of the cloud and down the large, empty gap to the hard earth below. Where even the tall hills looked like small bumps scattered about the land. Twilight shivered.
“Hey!” called Rainbow Dash as she neared the edge of the cloud. “You know, I really wish I could’a shown you around more.” Rainbow fluttered above the cloud for moment to steady herself, then landed. “Hey, are you okay?” she asked, eyeing Twilight. “You don’t look as... awesome as usual.”
“Yeah... Heh heh, I’m fine.” Twilight took another deep breath, once again calming herself.
“All right, if you say so. Well, come on then, our friends are waiting.” Rainbow took off and flew in a circle around Twilight, in order to pick her up. Twilight braced herself. She felt hooves underneath her forelegs, grabbing her. Before she knew it she was in the air, with the wind flying through her hair and everything passing by in a slight blur. The very safe cloud Twilight had been standing on was soon behind them, and the Cloudsdale Cloudosseum loomed ahead. Twilight could see her friends waiting on the other side, which momentarily reassured her.
But, as with all good things, it came to an end far before Twilight felt it should. She made the mistake of looking down. She inwardly cursed her curiosity for it. From up there, the ground seemed so far away. It seemed far enough away that you could just fall for minutes before hitting it. Far more than enough time to realize that your death is upon you, have your life flash before your eyes, say your final goodbyes, and then just wait for the ground to finally arrive, ending your suffering. Twilight imagined it akin to watching a train wreck, seeing the impending fate, but not being able to stop it.
Soon Twilight realized that her eyes were again closed and that her muscles were clenched tight. Rainbow Dash didn’t seem to have noticed. In fact, the other side of the gap didn’t seem very much closer than before. It seemed that the flight was happening agonizingly slowly.
And then Rainbow Dash did something completely unexpected. She swooped. Twilight’s stomach lurched and she screamed. Rainbow seemed to take that as a sign of encouragement, and pulled back up in a tight curve, while banking to the right.
“Rainbow! Please stop! Let me off!” yelled Twilight over the howling wind.
“What? You want to stop now?” said Rainbow, evening them out.
“P-Please,” pleaded Twilight, holding onto Rainbow’s forelegs for dear life.
“All right, I guess.” Soon, the wild ride was finally over. As Rainbow Dash set Twilight down, Twilight immediately ran away from the edge of the cloud. She was in such a hurry, she stumbled and fell, but she quickly stood up and got safely to her friends.
“Hey, Twilight? What happened back there? Did I do something wrong?” asked Rainbow, walking over to her with a slightly hurt look on her face. These feelings were all new to Twilight. Sure, she had read about ponies with a fear of heights, but reading it and then actually feeling it are two completely different sensations. And now, while she was still sorting out her feelings, ponies were asking her about them? There was no way Twilight could answer questions about a subject she was still researching.
Twilight didn't know what to say. She was conflicted. “No! Er, yes. Er, I don’t know!” exclaimed Twilight, her eyes wide and her voice quivering slightly.
“Look, is there a problem or isn’t there? I gotta know, Twilight!” said Rainbow, a look of pained desperation painted plainly on her face. Twilight couldn't avoid that face, and she couldn't lie to it either. All she needed was a few minutes. Just a few. Enough time to completely sort out her emotions.
“I-I need to think about some things. I’ll talk to you after the competition.” Twilight galloped off into the stands.
Rainbow Dash stood there, dumbfounded. “What just happened?”
“I don’t know,” said Applejack, “but I’ll go talk to her. You gotta go sign up, don’t you? Rarity went on ahead, why don’t you catch up with her.”
“Okay, I guess,” responded Rainbow Dash, uncertainly. Applejack and the rest of her friends walked up to the stands, leaving Rainbow alone. She sighed and then flew off towards the enrollment booth. It was down a long outdoor hallway lined with large puffy white cloud pillars. It wasn’t the first time Rainbow had been down it, nor did she think it would be the last. Cloudsdale never seemed to change all that much, except its position in the sky. That was one of the good things, Rainbow Dash thought. If it didn’t change much, then she wouldn’t have to learn what felt like a new city every few years.
Twilight, however, was the opposite. She was changing every day. Whether it be from her books or her friends, she was always learning something new and changing because of it. But now Rainbow Dash had gone and made Twilight angry. She had made Twilight so upset that she could barely even speak to her.
Being in this city was also digging up painful memories. Memories not easily forgotten. Memories of her mom. She had decided that the perfect day to leave her and her father forever was also the day of an extremely important showcase of Rainbow Dash’s. She left without a trace. No note or anything. Rainbow Dash knew she needed to patch things up quickly with Twilight or else she’ll leave Rainbow as well. Who was she kidding? That line had gotten crossed the moment Rainbow Dash had done that stupid trick.
Lost in her train of thoughts, Rainbow didn’t notice how close she was flying to the cloud pillars. Quite close, as it happened. She clipped her wing on one, causing her to lose balance and veer off headfirst into the next pillar.
Rainbow Dash sat up, rubbing her head. She had hit a particularly dense bit, giving her a worse bump than it would have otherwise. It was at that moment, when she was still dazed and recovering, that somepony she didn’t want to see showed up.
“Hey, Rainbow Crash!” mocked her childhood bully.
“Ugh, I don’t have time for guys right now. I’ve gotta go,” said Rainbow Dash, with an almost noticeable hint of disgust in her voice. She stood up and swayed a little, almost falling over, causing her bullies to laugh hysterically. As soon as she regained her balance, Rainbow swept past them.
“Oh, I don’t have time for you either,” he said as Rainbow was walking away. “I gotta go get my seat. I need front row seats for Rarity’s performance. She has awesome wings, unlike your scaredy-cat unicorn friend.”
In the time of a single heartbeat, Rainbow Dash's face filled with the kind of pure hatred that only the lord of Tartarus himself could surpass. She was on the bully in an instant, shoving him against a pillar so hard that it sent cloud-stuff flying everywhere. “No one bad mouths my friends,” she said in a deathly quiet voice filled with fury and on the verge of exploding. He merely smiled. A cold smile that only someone who knew something you didn't and intended to make a fool out of you because of it would have.
“Hmph, I guess you care more about your friends than you do your own mom.” Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened and her courage shattered. She lost all strength to hold him up. She backed off, letting him down. She needed to get away, to run away. He was right, Rainbow’s mom hated her so much that she didn’t even show up to her own daughter’s showcase. Between Twilight and now this, she couldn’t stand it anymore, she couldn’t handle it. Her eyes began to water up as she took off as fast as she could, just flying away and leaving that stupid competition behind.
Rainbow Dash didn’t know where she was flying, she just knew she needed to be away. On the other hand, she couldn’t just abandon her friends, could she? Rainbow needed a place to cool off and to rest. She needed to think some things over. She didn’t know how long she flew, but Dash soon arrived at the nearest bathroom and walked up to the sink.
Rainbow looked into the mirror and saw her own terrified face staring back at her. Her eyes were wide open, she was shaking uncontrollably, and she was breathing very hard. Rainbow Dash turned on the faucet to cold and splashed it in her face. She looked into the mirror again.
“You can’t do this, Dash,” Rainbow muttered to herself. “He was right; you are nothing but a hypocrite.”
“Rainbow Dash?” said a very familiar voice behind her. Rainbow looked into the mirror and saw Twilight walking out of a grey stall.
“Oh, uh, hey, Twilight. I-I gotta go, see ya.” Rainbow began to quickly walk out of the bathroom.
“W-wait,” said Twilight as Rainbow reached the door. Dash tried to put on a happier face and then turned around. Twilight was standing there facing Rainbow with a slightly confused look on her face. “I heard what you said.”
“Oh, you did?” said Rainbow, looking down. “I suppose you’re just here to tell me I’m right, eh? You’re going to tell me that you’re too afraid to be near me anymore, and then you’re going to move back to Canterlot, just to get away from me. Am I right?”
“I heard what you said,” said Twilight, “and I disagree with you. You are not a hypocrite. You are a good and loyal friend.” Twilight smiled.
“No. No, you hate me and you want me to leave, right?” asked Rainbow.
“No, why would you think that?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.
“W-well...” stammered Rainbow Dash, “because it’s true, right? I messed up while flying you over, and now you hate me, right?” It had to be true, what else would explain how Twilight had acted?
“Oh, Rainbow.” Twilight put a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. She had a gentle, calm expression on her face. “I’ll admit I got quite scared while you were flying me over, but you stopped what you were doing when I asked anyway. And when we landed, I was too confused by my own feelings to properly convey them to anyone else. So, I panicked and ran, just like you tried to run from the bathroom a minute ago. I don’t hate you.”
“Then why are you here?” asked Rainbow. “If you’re that scared, why haven’t you just gone home?”
“Because I’m here to support you, Rainbow Dash. We all are. Trust me, I’m not leaving.”
Rainbow Dash smiled and her eyes watered up, but she quickly blinked them away and hoped nopony had noticed. “Thank you, Twi.”
“No problem. Now, do you want me to go with you to the registration booth?” Just then, an announcement rang throughout the stadium saying that there was five minutes left before registration closed.
“No time. See ya!” Rainbow exclaimed as she took off at maximum speed. Twilight smiled and walked off back to her seat, happy with how things turned out.
After registering, Rainbow Dash sat in the back room for a while, thinking about her upcoming performance and thinking about her situation with Twilight and how awesome Twilight had been about it. But her mind kept drifting to the one problem that still remained. No matter how much she tried to hide it, it would keep coming back until it was resolved. The only problem was that she had no idea how to resolve it. So, Rainbow Dash tried to forget, and she tried to move on with her life. But it wasn't always that easy.
Rainbow Dash pushed the thoughts out of her head and went over to the curtain to see where her friends were sitting. When she looked out at the huge crowd, though, the horrid thoughts broke down the wall that she had created to hold them in. She was reminded of that time. A time she frequently tried to forget. Rainbow Dash could never forget though. It would still linger in the back of her mind, waiting to break free and torment her once again. Such as right now. It was clawing at the bars, trying to convince her she was a failure. That day; that horrible, horrible day changed her life forever.
Thankfully, Rainbow Dash was saved from her own mind as the announcer introduced the Wonderbolts themselves.
With smoke trailing out behind them, the Wonderbolts flew side by side from behind the announcer. Rainbow's eyes widened as they then sharply pulled up in perfect unison. Her heart raced as they got into a perfectly straight pillar. If one of them was going too slow or too fast, it would ruin the whole thing. It was a pillar of awesomeness, as far as Rainbow Dash was concerned. The Wonderbolts got into a tiny circle and exploded outward with a firework going off from the center. Pure unadulterated awesome. They separated into groups of three, then got into their judging seats.
Rainbow Dash looked around the stadium one more time and came upon the testosterone filled ponies. Plastered on their face was the stupid grin of a pony that had had a little too much cider could have. In other words, the bullies. All three of them. This brought Rainbow right back to her problem. Her mother. But before Rainbow Dash had any time to dwell on it, the competition started.
The first pony went and flew out of the curtains to perform. When Rainbow Dash’s number came up, she switched it with somepony elses. When it was Rarity’s turn, she wasn’t ready yet, so she couldn’t go out.
Rainbow Dash continued her charade for the rest of the competition, until it was just her and Rarity left.
“Number fifteen, let’s go!” said the supervisor, nudging Rainbow Dash. Just then, Rarity stepped out of the dressing room in the silliest getup Rainbow had ever seen. She looked, quite frankly, like a giant peacock.
“Rarity... is ready,” she said, with the most self important voice Rainbow Dash had ever heard.
“Look, ladies. I don't know what to tell you,” said the supervisor. “There's only time for one more performance. If you both want to compete, you'll just have to go out there together!”
“Well, Rainbow Dash?” asked Rarity. “Shall we?”