"Are you sure you'll be alright without me?" Dusk asked once more, as Twilight shelved another book.
"Dusk, I told you, we'll be fine," she assured him. "I've got our friends helping me put away the books, so we'll be done in no time."
"Come on Dusk," Applejack put in, piling up some more books, "have a lil' faith in us. Ah do know that B comes after A, ya know, so ah can sort through a library as easy an apple orchard. 'Sides, y'all have an appointment ta keep with Rainbow."
"I know, I know, I just... don't like leaving my work when the job's not done..."
"Dusk, darling, it will be done and to a reasonable standard, I promise you," Rarity vowed. "Now, run along or you'll be late and I know how you like to be punctual."
"Okay, I'll get going." He halted at the door, glancing back a little. Then, he shrugged and hurried off to their usual meeting point.
Apart from leaving Twilight when he still had duties to perform, there was another reason for Dusk's apprehension. Today was the day of the Flyer's Competition, the day he and Rainbow had been practising towards. His nerves were on edge, his heart was pounding against his chest as he ran. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, perhaps he should just tell her to use clouds, it would be easier.
No, he told himself firmly mentally. You've been training for a week now and it looks great. You even have stage two down without any flickers at all. You can do the whole of your actions in your sleep, so don't let her down now by backing out. That was the old Dusk.
He spotted Fluttershy not too far off, and galloped up to her, as she beamed at his arrival.
"There you are Dusk, thank goodness." She let him catch his breath before speaking again. "We were afraid you weren't coming... I mean, I wasn't, I knew you were coming... I mean, I was worried but er... don't be mad..."
"I'm not.. not mad Fluttershy, just nervous," he said in a would-be casual voice. "I mean, it's not like I have to do my talent in order to help my friend win the grand prize before thousands of watching Pegasi..."
"Oh my." She looked sympathetically at him. "It's very brave of you to do this, I don't think I'd be able to. I'm sure you'll both do great."
"Thanks... I needed that," he said, returning a smile.
"There you are, finally!" He looked up to see Rainbow atop a cloud. "You ready for this?"
"Ready, waiting and fully enabled." He prepared for phase one. "Whenever you're ready!"
"Roger that! Remember Fluttershy: control, scream, passion," she recited. "Alright, let's do this!"
With that bold declaration, she jumped off the cloud like a pony diving into a swimming pool, swooping and cutting through the air as if it were water, flowers and plants bending in the wind she created. Dusk tensed himself up. Time for phase one.
Dusk conjured up his colour pillars, making them glow brighter as she passed through around them all. Once she was done, she soared off, Dusk making the pillars dissolve and fly ahead of her, as she swept past Dusk and Fluttershy.
"Woooo," she cheered feebly. Dusk gave her a brief raise of his eyebrow, before returning his focus.
Phase two. He weaved the clouds with the colours, just as Rainbow reached them. Focusing with all of his might, he kept them there as she spun around them, not once did they flicker or fade. It was just right and looked brilliant.
"Way to go," came another quiet cheer from Fluttershy. Now that Dusk was done with his part, he could at least offer his own support.
"Come on Rainbow Dash! Show the Sonic Rainboom who's boss!" he yelled. Then, an aside to Fluttershy: "You think she can do it this time?"
"I don't know, but let's keep cheering. Maybe she will." That was the response she always gave... and the result was usually the same. "Go Rainbow, go."
Dusk had his eyes fixed on her performance. She was starting her descent, accelerating to incredible speeds. The mach cone formed around her, she was making progress. Come on, Rainbow, come on. The cone narrowed... just a little more speed... she almost had it.
Then, she stopped for a second... before the barrier bounced back on her, sending her careering away, screaming all the while. Well... that certainly hadn't happened in any of her previous attempts.
"Oh my. Do you think she's okay?"
"I don't know... let's see..." Checking her trajectory, he estimated that she'd hit somewhere near the centre of town. Ushering Fluttershy, they followed her trail back towards Ponyville, tracking her to the library. "Of course... come on."
They hurried up to the open window, where the trail of cloud ended and peered inside. Dusk was the first to arrive and it was a complete mess. Books and scrolls that might have been neatly shelved were scattered all over the floor, as were the ponies that had been sorting them. He jumped through the window, as Twilight spat out three scrolls in her mouth. He helped her up swiftly to her hooves.
"See, I leave the library for five minutes..." He dusted her down. "You alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine... thank you," she said sincerely. They gazed into each other's eyes for a few seconds in silence, lost in their depths, until Fluttershy caught up.
"Rainbow Dash, you rock, woo-hoo." She stopped cheering when she saw the state of the library. "Oh my... did my cheering do that?"
"Heh heh, sorry about that ladies," Rainbow apologised, as she stood up. "That was a truly feeble performance."
"Actually, it wasn't all bad," said Fluttershy. "I particularly liked it when you made the clouds spin."
"Ugh. I'm not talking about my performance, I'm talking about yours. That feeble cheering!" She put a leg around Dusk. "You should take a leaf out of his book. He can be just as shy as you, but at least he can give a good cheer."
"What are you two arguing about?" asked Twilight, as Dusk's cheeks flushed pink.
"Were we arguing? I'm sorry," said Fluttershy inconesquetially.
"We're preparing for the Best Young Flyer Competition in Cloudsdale," she explained, ignoring Fluttershy.
"What's that?"
"It's where all the greatest Pegasus flyers get together and show off their different flying styles!" Pinkie piped up. "Some are fast!" She zoomed around the room on her hooves. "And some are graceful." She tried to do a ballet-style demonstration, but lost her hoofing and fell, making Dusk chuckle a little.
"Golly. Ah'd love ta see you strut yer stuff in that competition," expressed Applejack.
"But you guys will be there!" They looked at her bewildered at this. "Dusk, didn't you tell 'em?"
"Oh..." He shifted his gaze to his hooves. "I meant to but... with all the practice it er... slipped my mind."
"It's cool," she said casually. "At least I know they're coming now. Fluttershy's a great support, but her cheering isn't exactly inspirational, and Dusk'll be backstage, so he can't do much hollering."
"OOH!" Pinkie popped her head out of the books again. "I'd love to see you make a sonic rainboom! It's like, the most coolest thing ever! Even though I've never actually seen it, but I mean COME ON! It's a sonic rainboom! How not cool could it possibly not be?"
"What's a sonic rainboom?"
"Come on Twilight!" Rainbow said impatiently. "Even Dusk knows what a sonic rainboom is, and he's even more of an egghead than you."
"Rainbow, please," Dusk said, flushing again. Twilight frowned at Rainbow and looked to him for an answer, but it was Pinkie who explained.
"The sonic rainboom is legendary! When a Pegasus like Rainbow Dash gets going soo fast... BOOM! A sonic boom and a rainbow can happen all at once!"
"Um... pretty much what she said, in laypony's terms," Dusk agreed. "From what she's told me, and from what I've read, Rainbow's the only Pegasus today who can perform the move."
"Dusk, I told you... It was a long time ago... I was just a filly."
"Yeah, but you're gonna do it again, right?" Pinkie asked hopefully.
"Are... you kidding? I'm the greatest flyer to ever come out of Cloudsdale! I could do sonic rainbooms in my sleep." There was that false confidence again, Dusk thought. If they'd actually seen her, as he had...
"Wow." Twilight smiled in admiration. "If you pull that off, you'll win the crown for sure!"
"The grand prize is an entire day with the Wonderbolts. A whole day of flying with my life-long heroes... It'll be a dream come true!"
"Yay," came another quiet cheer. Rainbow frowned at her friend.
"I'm gonna go rest up. Don't wanna over prepare myself, y'know." She laughed nervously, then rounded on Fluttershy. "You, on the other hand, better keep practicing. At least I'm guaranteed a cheering section to match my spectacular performance, when the rest of you get there."
"See you in Cloudsdale," Dusk promised, holding up a hoof, which she bumped.
"Better be there. Great work today Dusk, we're gonna be awesome!" She then soared back out of the window, Fluttershy about to follow.
"She's practiced that move a hundred times, and she's never even come close to doing it. I don't know if I can cheer loud enough to help her. I'll be so glad when you all arrive." Flying gently, she followed Rainbow Dash off.
Dusk watched them go, before turning to see that every eye, every inquisitive gaze was on him. He felt a little under the knife, before smiling brightly around at them.
"Right, let's get this all cleared up, we don't want to be late," he said brightly.
"Dusk, are you saying you actually found a way to get all of us into Cloudsdale?" Twilight asked.
"Indeed. I already found it in preparation to help Rainbow. It's right here on the..." He looked to see the respective shelf was empty, the books still scattered. "Oh... right... this might take a while. I did find a flight spell though..."
"Flight spell? One sec." Pinkie ran off, then came back a second later with a book, tossing it to Twilight. "Page twenty-seven."
"This is it! This is the book!" He gazed at Pinkie, amazed. "How did you do that?"
"It landed on my face when Rainbow Dash knocked me into the bookcase."
"Oh... well, lucky for us then." He let Twilight flick through it. "She has the right page."
"Here it is!" She halted at the correct page. "A spell that will allow Earth ponies to fly for three days. Ooh, it looks really difficult... I'm not sure I can do it."
"Come on Twi, I promised Rainbow Dash that we'd be there for her." He placed a hoof on her shoulder. "If anypony can pull if this spell, it's you. I know it.
"Yes Twilight." Rarity came to offer her support. "You've got to try!"
"Ok... if you believe in me, Dusk... I'll try." She gave him one of her warm smiles, then frowned. "But who's gonna volunteer to be the test subject?"
Nopony stepped up for the task. Even for Dusk, this was nerve-wracking. He didn't like the idea of wings just sprouting out of his back. He didn't really like flying all that much, not after... last time. But he was priority. He was about to volunteer himself, but was beaten to the chase.
"I will!" Rarity bravely stepped forward. "For Rainbow Dash, I will go first."
"Here goes..." With one last smile from Dusk, she stood to focus.
Shutting her eyes, grimacing in concentration, Twilight's horn began to glow. A strange blue aura snaked in from it, wrapping itself around Rarity. She stood determined, as she was lifted gently off her hooves, being further consumed by the magic. Soon, it engulfed her entirely, shrouding her from view. Once it had, a blue orb emerged from Twilight's horn. It shone brightly, then burst like a balloon, sending her flying backwards.
Dusk picked himself up, rubbing his eyes, as the force from the light burst had sent them all to the floor. The others picked themselves up too. He looked to the results. Had it worked alright? That answer was soon discovered, as he felt his eyes widen in shock.
Rarity floated before them. Only now, she had a pair of majestic, beautiful wings keeping her aloft. They were like the wings of a butterfly, delicate and lovely, shining light through the transparent colour spots on them, sparkling in the light.
"I think... it worked," said Twilight weakly. That spell had taken a lot out of her.
"My..." Rarity was in awe of her new wings. "They're... why they're... gorgeous! Oh this is wonderful, I'm as light as a feather, graceful as a swan. Oh, I could get used to this."
"Better not, it's only fer three days," Applejack warned. "Still... those are some mighty fine wings."
"Oooooh... shiny..." Pinkie was wide-eyed and staring. Wrenching his gaze from them, Dusk moved to support Twilight, who was having trouble standing.
"That was... that was tough..." she said, just as weakly as before. "I don't think I... have the strength to... do that again..."
"Take it easy Twi, you did beautifully. You're right though, another try at that and it may knock you out." He levitated the book over. "Let's see... let's see... ah, here we are! A much simpler spell to let Earth ponies walk on clouds. Even I could do this one."
"Wonderful! It's just a pity you can't all look as stunning as me," Rarity said ruefully.
"Pink, you still have that hot-air balloon from the Running of the Leaves?" Dusk asked her.
"Sure do! It just needs some air in it, and it'll be set!"
"Well, that's dandy," Applejack said. "Now we can all get ta Cloudsdale and Twah'light can take it easy fer a bit."
"Alright, let's go then!" Dusk paused and looked around, feeling a little more sheepish. "Right after we clean all of this up, methinks."
The time it took for them to clear up the books gave Twilight plenty of time to recover from the massive amount of energy she used for the spell, with Dusk making regular checkups on her to make sure she was alright, bringing her some tea and food to get her strength back. It was no trouble for Dusk. He would do anything to help her out, in anyway he could.
Whilst Pinkie and Applejack all lent their efforts to clean up, Rarity was being constantly distracted by her new wings. She'd already flown all around town,showing them of to everypony and, once she came back, she just kept admiring herself in the mirror, cooing and awing over them. Dusk didn't say anything, but she was starting to get on his nerves.
Soon, they had it all cleared away. Pinkie had her hot air balloon all gassed up, and Dusk and Twilight performed the cloud walking spell on Pinkie and Applejack respectively, then performed it on each other. Dusk, who wasn't as proficient in magic as Twilight was, needed a few tries to get it right. They all proceeded to climb into the basket, as Rarity flew on ahead of them. All, except Dusk, who paused at the basket, feeling his stomach doing flips again.
"Dusk? You okay?" Applejack asked.
"I um... well... um..." He wasn't quite sure how to explain. "You see the... the thing is I... I..."
"Dusk, are you afraid of heights?" Twilight inquired.
"Not heights, per say. Just... flying, I guess... a uh, recent fear..." He rubbed the back of his head. "Kind of stupid, huh?"
"Don't be silly, everypony is afraid of something." She held out a hoof. "Come on, it'll be fine. We're all going to be here with you, this'll be nice and gentle."
"Yeah Dusk, come on!" Pinkie encouraged. "It'll be as smooth as icing on a cupcake."
Feeling a little less scared with those assurances in mind, Dusk took Twilight's hoof and hauled himself into the basket with the others, as Pinkie took them up into the clouds. At least this certainly was a lot more gentle than last time... but Dusk still felt his nerves heighten, along with their altitude as they climbed higher. As such, he lay down on the basket, trying his best not to look over the side.
The girls were all excited, both to set hoof in the city of the clouds and to see Rainbow perform. Whilst Dusk was a little excited too, he was mostly nervous and scared. Even more than ever, his fear of somehow failing in his role at the contest plagued his mind. There were so many ways this could go wrong, so many possible trips or falls that could mean disaster. He just tried not to think about it... as best he could.
After a few minutes, they arrived at their destination. Dusk was still wrapped up in his thoughts, as the others all climbed out onto the clouds. Fear had now gripped him completely, so much so he couldn't move from the spot. He was feeling a strong trepidation to leave the balloon. He'd never walked on clouds before. How would it feel? Would he fall straight through them?
"Hey, where's Dusk?" Rainbow asked them, as he crouched low.
"I think he's still in the basket," he heard Twilight say. "Don't worry, I'm sure he's fine. You all go on ahead, we'll catch up."
"Okay... see you later then." Cringing at how almost disappointed she sounded, Dusk heard hooves approaching the basket. Why was he acting like this? Why did he have to be such a coward?
"Come on Dusk, it's fine," Twilight coaxed. "It's just like walking on the ground."
He popped his head up, enough to see Twilight smiling gently at him. Feeling a little braver, he stood up to the edge.
"Okay then..." Shutting his eyes, he jumped out of the basket and landed softly on the clouds. It felt like walking on a mattress, soft and plushy.
"See, you're just fine." She smiled at him. "Have a little more faith in me, I'm offended."
"Sorry Twi... I'm just nervous..."
"You'll be fine. It's natural to feel nervous for something like this. You're not even going out on-stage, you'll be on the sidelines."
"But what if I mess up?" All of his fears came spilling out at once. "What if I miss a cue, make her lose the grand prize? I've never done anything this big before! I've never let so many ponies see my talent!
"Dusk, we all think your talent is wonderful." She always had a knack for making him feel better. Rainbow Dash has already said you've done great in practice. You never let me down in the library, so I know you'll do great here."
"But this isn't the library, this is a big contest, with hundreds watching." He sighed, looking up at her."Do you really think I can do it?"
"Dusk, are you the pony that came for us in the Forest?" He nodded. "Are you the pony who stood up to a hydra?" Another nod. "Exactly. If you can be brave enough to do those, you can be brave enough to do this. For Rainbow."
"Okay... thanks Twi. I'm just being pathetic... still, that's me I guess."
"You're not pathetic Dusk, you're not even close," she said firmly. "You're a great assistant and a great friend, to do this for her."
"You... really think so?"
"Absolutely. You had faith in me in the Bog and on Winter Wrap Up, despite my doubts. I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't do the same." She beckoned him along. "Now come on, Rainbow's going to give us a tour of Cloudsdale."
"Right behind you." Feeling much better now, they hurried to catch up with the group. Dusk felt his eyes widen again.
He'd read about Cloudsdale, seen pictures of it. But it was nothing until you saw it up close. It truly was the greatest city in the sky, with the buildings floating majestically in the air, elaborate pillars and columns adorning them. The ancient Pegasi had been masters at crafting and shaping the clouds into works of art, to make their city truly spectacular. Dusk was glad to see they hadn't failed to disappoint.
Rainbow, who was showing them the view from the cloud, grinned at the sight of him.
"There's my colour bender!" She gave him a hoof bump. "Glad to see you could make it."
"You know me Rainbow, I never break a promise, Pinkie or otherwise."
"Awesome. I knew I could count on you..." She murmured to him. "Thanks for coming through for me, I was feeling just tiny bit nervous."
"So was I," he murmured back, throwing a smile Twilight's way. Then, more loudly: "Okay then, far be it from you to pass off an opportunity to show off. A whole city in the clouds, just waiting for us. Where should we go first?"
"Well, since we're up here, ah'd sure like ta get a look at where the weather's made," Applejack suggested.
"Great idea! Come on girls, and Dusk," she added, "to the weather factory!"
The factory was just as impressive as the rest of the city's architecture. As they approached it across a long bridge, Dusk could see it as it towered over them. Rainbow falls cascaded to the clouds below, a trumpet-like device pumped out the shapes of clouds at regular intervals and fierce storm clouds reigned thunder and lightning all around them, making Fluttershy jump a little every time it did.
They were made to wear hard hats and jumpsuits, for their own safety and to ensure they didn't interfere with the weather operations being performed by the workers there. Dusk exchanged his own trilby for a white hard hat, to keep the place sterile, and followed the tour group inside, feeling excited to be part of such a unique opportunity to see this all happen.
The first room they entered was kept at low temperatures, where the Pegasi made the snowflakes. It was very quiet,to keep their focus on their incredibly delicate task, as each was hoof-made. Rarity's wings, however, blew a draught through the room and sent a good number of them scattering. Deciding to move on swiftly, Rainbow led them out, as the workers dashed around to get them back.
The next room was where they made the rainbows, that involved mixing all of the colours that made them up in large bowls in a sort of liquid state, that flowed from bowl to bowl via long shoots to be processed later. Pinkie actually dipped her hoof in to taste it, turning every colour of the spectrum, before running off to find some water whilst everypony laughed.
"Yeah, rainbows aren't really known for their flavour," said the suitably named Pegasus.
"Good thing too," remarked Dusk. "If they were, we might all be eating rainbow-flavoured cupcakes, courtesy of the Sugercube Corner."
"Woah!" Dusk turned to see three, stocky Pegasus ponies marvelling at Rarity's wings.
"Oh, where'd you get those amazing wings? I want a pair!" asked the chocolate-brown one.
"Hmm..." Rarity seemed to like getting all of the attention. "Yeah, I guess I could see that."
"Oh hey look, it's Rainbow Crash again!" Dusk felt his blood boil, to his surprise. While he had never experienced it himself, Dusk knew enough about bullying to know when he saw it.
"Heheheyeah! Rainbow... Umm..." He paused, apparantely unable to think of a witty edition. So, he just went with: "Crash!"
"Rarity!" Rainbow sounded scandalised, and Dusk couldn't blame her. "What're you doing talking to these guys?"
"Oh, they were just admiring my wings Rainbow Dash," she said casually.
"Yeah, you should forget the sonic rainboom and just get yourself some wings like these!" They all let off another round of stupid guffawing, before flying off to do... whatever it was they did here. Jerks, Dusk thought angrily, but he didn't have the courage to say that to their faces.
Or stand up for her, he thought guiltily. Still, he thought Rainbow wouldn't let their taunts get to her.
However, Rainbow seemed to have taken the worst of their taunting. She was hanging her head in defeat, her eyes fixed sadly on the floor. She needed her confidence, and all of this certainly wasn't helping her.
"Uhh... C'mon everypony. Why don't we go see how clouds are made?" suggested Fluttershy tactfully, walking alongside Rainbow. "Don't listen to them. You're gonna win that competition for sure!"
"Are you kidding? I can't DO the sonic rainboom, and just look at these boring, plain old feathered wings. I'm doomed!"
"Rainbow, come on." Dusk decided to try his hoof at cheering her up. "You and I have been training hard to win this. Despite all of my doubts and fears, I know that I'm ready for it and I know that you are too. Those guys aren't in the Flyer's Competition, they're just jealous of you because of how awesome you are. They know it, we know it and I know it."
"Thanks Dusk but... what's the point?" Feeling disheartened, Dusk didn't know what else to say. He just hoped that Rarity would stop showing off, as she was partof the problem.
Unfortunately, his hopes counted for nothing. By the time they reached the cloud bellows, where water was evaporated to make the clouds in the sky, the workers were all stopping to admire Rarity's wings, while she was acting like a celebrity among her adoring fans. All the while, Rainbow was becoming more and more stressed, crouching on the floor and shaking, her eyes wide with fear.
They tried telling her to put her wings away, but they'd really gone to her head, saying that they couldn't ask her to put away 'perfection'. She actually flew right up against the sun, so her wings created a kind of coloured disco ball effect. Dusk grudgingly had to admit to himself that it was quite beautiful, but Rarity wasn't meant to be the focus here.
Rainbow, who was shivering on the floor, looked like she was about to start crying. Dusk asked her if she was doing okay, as did Twilight.
"Of course! Why wouldn't I be ok? Everyone's so in love with Rarity's wings that they won't even notice when I totally blow itin the Best Young Flyer's Competition."
"Hey! There's an idea!" cried a Pegasus worker to Rarity. "YOU should enter the competition!"
"Yeah! I could watch you fly all day long!" agreed an older flyer, rather like Granny Smith.
"There really isn't anypony who uses their wings quite like me. Perhaps I should compete," decided Rarity, as she moved away from the sun.
"WHAT?" Both Rainbow and Dusk expressed their disbelief at the same time, though the latter more out of anger than fear. "What am I gonna DO? I'll never win the competition now..."
Dusk had to admit that, with her nerves and Rarity's vanity, this seriously decreased their chances of winning. He'd never lost his temper in his life, but it was near breaking point with all that was happening. All of their training, all of their practice, and it looked like it was about to be nothing.
He hoped that wasn't the case and told himself to believe in his friend... but it was becoming harder and harder to regardless.
Their tour of the factory was soon at an end. Leading a terrified Rainbow away with him, doing his best to console her, Dusk knew that the time they had been waiting for was now. It was time to fly. They separated from the rest of the girls at the viewer's stands, where they would be cheering her on.
Rarity had already entered herself in for the contest. They'd all tried to talk her out of it, to dissuade her from competing but her mind was set. She wanted to show off her wings to all and this was her chance to do it.
"Good luck Dusk," Twilight wished him, as they were about to head off. "Try your best to give support for Rainbow, I think she really needs it."
"So do I. Cheer for us." They exchanged a hug, then Dusk went to take his position.
The arena itself was, like the rest of Cloudsdale, a marvel of cloud-based architecture: wide, vast and huge, with flags adorning the top of it, seating for over five thousand ponies. Dusk watched the pre-contest announcing, as Princess Celestia arrived in the royal box, smiling and waving to everypony. Then came the Wonderbolts, true masters of the air. They swooped around in the sky, let off some fireworks and took their places in the judging box. That would no doubt put a smile on Rainbow's face.
Standing backstage, but away from the other flyers with a view of the vast arena before him, all Dusk had to do now was wait for Rainbow. He had a good view from where he was, but he was also unseen, out of the way. A shadow among shadows. This was perfect. It was almost like how he used to be, only now he was hiding with good reason. This was Rainbow's flight, not his. He would remain anonymous the whole time. If only Rarity could recognise that...
He couldn't help but be angry with her, even though she was one of his friends. She was going against the very point that she'd come up for in the first place, caught up in her own glory. Dusk wanted nothing more than to tell her what he thought of her, but he just couldn't pluck up the nerve to. So, he'd stayed silent, just glaring at her disapprovingly. If she had noticed, she'd ignored them.
So Dusk waited, tensed and ready for Rainbow's routine. He barely even acknowledged the other contestants, as they soared and showed off their stuff. Rainbow would beat them all, hooves down. But soon, they were nearing the end and Dusk had begun to feel nervous. Where in the world of Equestria was she? The contest was almost over and she hadn't performed.
Just as he was about to go and find her, the announcer called him back, had him tensed once more.
"And now, for our final competitor of the day, contestant number fifteen!" That was Rainbow! It was time to- "Uhh... And apparently contestant number four..." What, Rarity? She was going on with her? She had done her best to look as glamorous as possible but, in Dusk's opinion, she looked ridiculous.
Feeling more angry at her than ever, Dusk tapped into his power to get himself ready. Instead of the rock and roll track Rainbow had prepared, it was replaced with a ballroom waltz. Rarity, Dusk thought bitterly. He'd liked that music... anyway, time for phase one.
Ignoring Rarity's prancing, he set up the colour pillars, eliciting a few gasps from the crowd. She weaved in and out with ease, lighting them up as she did. That's it Rainbow, he thought, you can do this. Just one more...
Then, at the last one, she flew straight through it, as Dusk lit it up. The effect blinded her, making her crash into the side of the arena. Dusk cringed at the sight of it. Okay, one slip up, they could still do this. He twirled the colours around her, moving them up into the air for phase two.
Dusk held the clouds with all of his might, as she spun them in whirls of colour, making the audience marvel at them. This was going well, no slip ups here... but something went wrong in that instant. Somehow, she dislodged his colour cloud from the sky so it went spinning off towards the royal box. Celestia and her guards ducked as it approached, shutting their eyes as it exploded in a light flare.
Feeling rather alarmed that he'd almost blinded royalty, Dusk halted his spell. It was all up to Rainbow now. She had to turn this around now, because of she didn't... no, she would, he could feel it. Deciding that there wasn't much point in staying here, he hurried to the box the girls were in, so he could cheer on Rainbow with them. She needed the support, now more than ever.
"Dusk, that was beautiful," Twilight congratulated, as he sat next to her. "You really helped to make a difference in that performance, good work."
"Rainbow did the flying, I was just on the lights..."
"Yeah, but ya still did a mighty fine job on them 'light's-a yers," pointed out Applejack.
"Did you see that?" Pinkie squeed. "Rainbow was all like 'veeeeeow' and Dusk was all like 'bing'! It was absoluter-colour-ristic-super-flappy-docious!"
"I was merely the marble, Rainbow was the sculptor," he said modestly, chuckling at Pinkie's comment. "Now, phase three. Come on Rainbow, you can do it!"
He kept his eyes on her, as she climbed higher and higher into the sky. Rarity was climbing too, though Rainbow was faster. Soon, the former of the two reached the sun and stopped. Dusk knew what was coming... wait, what had Twilight said about the wings? They were made from gossamer and morning dew. That meant...
"Oh no," he said, louder than he intended.
"'Oh no' what?" Applejack asked, looking worried. "Somethin' wrong?"
"Very wrong..." Despite all she had done, she was still his friend. Could she hear him from here? "Rarity! Get away from the sun! Get away!"
"Look upon me Equestria, for I Am Rarity!" she cried, spreading her wings against the sun's rays, beaming coloured light down on them all. She hadn't heard him, she couldn't there was nothing he could do...
"Dusk what is it?" Twilight was looking worried too.
Though he wasn't much of scientist, Dusk knew exactly what this meant. "Twi, Rarity's wings are made from water-based components. So, what happens to water when it's hot enough?"
Twilight's eyes widened in shock, just as they heard a high pitched scream of terror. They all looked up to see Rarity, flailing her legs wildly as she fell from the sky, her wings completely gone.
"Oh no! You were right, her wings evaporated into thin air!"
They could only watch as she fell even faster. The Wonderbolts immediately leaped into action, swooping down to save her. Dusk couldn't really make out what was happening, but her hooves must have been flailing too much for them. She'd knocked them out, and now, they were falling too. They only had one, last hope before they hit the ground and became pony jam.
"Hold on Rarity, I'm coming!" In the blink of an eye, she was off after them.
Dusk watched with baited breath, as she flew faster and faster to catch up. The mach cone formed around her again, then it narrowed...wait, was that lightning forming around it? Dusk hardly dared to believe it. He gasped in time with the girls at the sight of it. They knew too... but could she actually do it? She needed to close the distance, this might be the only way... He saw hints of colour form around her, the lightning getting brighter. How much longer before-
BOOM!
An explosion of colour erupted below them, sending a shockwave for miles and making a far more spectacular show than Rarity did. Dusk's mouth hung open at the sight of it. An actual sonic rainboom! He had seen one! Yet... why did it look familiar, for some reason?
"A sonic rainboom! She did it! She did it! WOOO!" Fluttershy screeched unexpectedly.
They continued to gaze in awe, as she caught all four of the falling ponies just before they hit the ground, soared back up with a rainbow trailing behind her and made it so it crossed the whole of the stadium above. As she arrived back, and Pegasi relieved her of her load, all of the spectators went wild, cheering and whooping at the spectacular show that they had seen, confetti and streamers descending from above.
He and the girls also began to cheer loudly for their friend, jumping up and down and grinning like fools. Dusk, so caught up in the excitment of it all, swept Twilight up in a hug, which she, to his surprise, returned happily. After a few minutes, they suddenly remembered themselves and let go of each other, flushing heavily and looking at anything but the the hug recipient.
Once the crowds had cleared, they went down to meet her in the arena. Pinkie brought the balloon around, so that Rarity could climb inside. As she'd never had the cloud walking spell cast on her and the Pegasi holding her were getting worn out, this gave them a chance to rest and her a chance to put her hooves on solid ground. She was certainly a lot more humbled now than before, Dusk's anger for her faded along with her wings
"I want to apologize to all of you for getting so carried away with my... beautiful wings." She looked as if she would cry, but she got a hold of herself. "I guess I just lost my head..."
They assured her that it was all fine and that she was forgiven, even Dusk. She fixed her gaze on him, her expression softening further. She smiled thankfully at him, then turned to Rainbow.
"And I'm especially sorry that I was so thoughtless as to jump into the contest at the last minute after you two had worked so hard to win it. Can you ever ever forgive me?"
"Aw, it's ok," she said nonchalantly. "Everything turned out alright, right? I just wish I could have met the Wonderbolts when they were awake."
"Hold that thought Rainbow..." Dusk could barely keep a grin off his face, as he pointed behind her, to where her heroes stood waiting to meet her. She could barely contain herself at the sight of them
"So you're the little pony who saved our lives," said Spitfire, the fearless captain of the team. "We really wanted to meet you, and say thanks."
Rainbow gave out another rapid round of 'oh my goshes' at this, making Dusk grin even more at how happy she no doubt felt right now. The Wonderbolts, however, weren't the only important ponies that came to see them.
"Princess." Dusk sunk in a low bow, as the Princess and her royal guard arrived.
"Hello Twilight Sparkle, and hello to your friends too," she greeted warmly
"Princess Celestia, I am sorry I ruined the competition." She gave Rainbow a smile as she spoke. "Rainbow Dash here really is the best flyer in Equestria."
"I know she is my dear," agreed the Princess. "That's why for her incredible act of bravery, and her spectacular sonic rainboom, I'm presenting the grand prize for best young flyer to this year's winner, Miss Rainbow Dash!"
Rainbow's face lit up at this, the Princess proudly placing the golden winged crown atop her head. She knew that Dusk wouldn't want public acknowledgment of his contribution, but that heart-warming smile on her face that she sent his way was all he needed. He modestly tipped his hat to her, as she was paraded off by the rest of their friends, letting off more 'oh my goshes'. It had been worth it... just for that.
He stayed with Twilight, Rarity and the Princess, standing back to let Rainbow enjoy her victory... as well as to hear today's lesson on friendship. The Princess, however, sent him a conspiratorial smile. She knew who had done all of those shapes, but she said nothing. Feeling just as elated as Rainbow, Dusk smiled back at her, as he sat back to listen to Twilight (and Rarity's) report on friendship, taking it all in.
As he watched Rainbow Dash, being escorted away by two members of the Wonderbolts, Dusk found it hard to argue with her: this truly was the best day ever. Well, perhaps one thing could be said: the best day ever so far. They would no doubt celebrate back at ground level. For now though, his daredevil friend had a celebration of her own to attend.