Chapter 2- A Big Accident and A Hero
The show so far has been amazing, Spitfire’s agility has really come up top today, and Fleetfoot’s speed has allowed them to perform a lot more tricks than normal. I loved Soarin’s nose dive during the second routine, he spiralled down towards the earth at speeds almost as high as the Sonic Rainboom. Soarin’ is known as the power flier of the team, so of course he’d be able to do a trick that advanced. Each Wonderbolt has shown their strengths in the performance, and I assess each and every move in attempt to learn each trick they do.
It is now the second part of the show and it’s Soarin’s solo performance. I have been eagerly awaiting this for the entire night, so once I hear his name being announced, I stand up and cheer louder than I have all night. My friends stare at me for a few moments, but since they know about mine and Soarin’s history, they brush off my outburst and turn back to the show.
Around us, the audience are cheering and stamping their hooves. Soarin’ flies out into the middle of the stadium and floats there until the music begins. Suddenly, he is zooming upwards towards Luna’s moon, and all that we can see of him is the silhouette of his strong body. He brings his form into a ball and allows himself to plummet back down towards the crowd; a few gasps echo the Gorge as he draws closer and closer to us, not even moving a muscle.
Once he is barely a nose away from falling to his death, he straightens out and gives a powerful flap of his wings. He zips past the VIP box, his smoke trail following behind him. He glances back at me and surely enough, he winks at me. I stare back, my mouth left hanging as the wind left in the Pegasus’ trail blows my hair across my face.
I turn to face Applejack, who must have seen what just happened since she was right next to me, and stare at her in shock. “Did he just... Was that at me?”
Applejack smiles slightly, “Eeyup, Ah’m pretty sure it was, Sugarcube.”
My eyes widen as I glance between the ponies around me. “So, I didn’t imagine that?”
“No, Rainbow, you didn’t.” Twilight stands up and walks over to me, placing a hoof around my shoulders. “Well, we wrote to the Wonderbolts HQ when asking for these tickets, and we happened to get a reply from Soarin’. He said he may be able to get them for us, if he happened to know the pony it was for, so we informed him that it was for you.”
I look up at the purple Unicorn, Soarin’ got these tickets for me? Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh.
“He actually remembered me?” I whisper in astonishment.
It’s Rarity’s turn to tell the story, it seems, since she now switched places with Twilight. “Of course he did, darling, he even referred to you as ‘Pie Girl’ and ‘The awesome Pegasus who saved my life.’ Anyway, he said that he felt really guilty about the events which occurred in the Gala, and also at the Royal Wedding, which is why he gave us the VIP tickets to give him an opportunity to hang out with you.”
“Soarin’ remembers me? He knows me?” My wings shoot up in excitement as I jump up and down like a filly in a sweet shop.
I hear a few giggles behind me and glance back to find the five ponies watching me, an amused expression across every one of their faces.
“Thank you guys, so much, this is the best present ever!” I say as I throw myself into a group hug with them.
“Well you better get back to watching the show, you’re missing it!” Twilight reminds me and I instantly run back to my spot.
It seems like the other Wonderbolts have now joined Soarin’ in the Gorge, and they are flying together in an arrow shape across the sky. The two Pegasi at the back of the arrow trail off, spiralling down towards the ground before gliding over the audience who are sitting right at the bottom of the Gorge. Each Wonderbolt follows in suit until only Spitfire is left in the air.
The Wonderbolts then begin to fly upwards again, their bodies grazing over the walls of the Gorge. I watch in awe as they join back in their legendary arrow formation, and fly over the audience.
I watch Wave Chill and I realise that something is not right, he is shaking and swaying slightly, his wings look like they’re in pain as they quiver with every flap he forces upon them. Without any warning, he crashes into the far side of the cliff causing a loud bang to echo throughout the Gorge and the whole crowd goes silent, as if waiting for something else to happen. The Gorge may not be a risk for an avalanche, however, with an impact like that the whole thing could come tumbling down and I know every pony is waiting for this to happen.
The air between us all seems tense and time seems to freeze until the ground below us begins to shake as if it’s starting time up again. Urgently, I glance at my friends, who are all pale at this moment. I nudge them and urge them to run back to safety, but none of them move an inch.
The ground is shaking more, and a loud scream fills the Gorge. “Go now!” I yell at my friends and they suddenly all oblige, and not a moment too soon, for the ground below us begins to crumble and the whole Gorge begins to fall apart.
I look around frantically and see rocks falling all around me. Some Pegasi are flying an unconscious Wave Chill to safety as the screams of distressed ponies are all around me. That’s when I spot him. Soarin’. He is flying in attempt to dodge some falling boulders, but I can see that he isn’t going to dodge the one that is falling straight for him.
Without a second thought I fly at him as fast as I can, almost reaching Rainboom speed in an instant. My hooves are wrapped around him as I dodge some more falling boulders, but I’m not exactly watching where I’m going, I’m paying more attention to the falling boulders of death around me.
Soarin’ yells out in fear and he flaps his wings in attempt to save us, but it’s too late, we’ve crashed into a small cave at the bottom of the Gorge. I groan as I fly face first into the back of the cave and I collapse to the floor. Soarin’ has escaped from my grip so he didn’t experience the impact I just did, but he’s floating behind me, watching me with concern.
“Are you okay to fly? We need to get out of here before-“Soarin’ is cut off by a loud rumble as the cave entrance is sealed off with a pile of falling rocks. “Horseapples,” he yells before I fade into unconsciousness.