This was it.
Years of accumulated training has lead up to this moment. She felt her heart skip a beat. No, she thought. I can't be nervous. She adjusted her hooves on the fluffy gray cloud, listening to the rain fall down steadily. Four pegasi were adjacent to herself. One, a turquoise mare, was named Lightning Dust. She had been Rainbow Dash's rival for the past three years at the Academy. She didn't know a day when Lightning wasn't glaring at her. Another was a white stallion with a light grey mane, a determined look set in his eyes. She didn't know his name, but she had often seen him around the Academy. And at last was the cream colored mare. Her pink mane was frizzy and her eyes drooped with exhaustion. She would be easy to beat.
"Ya know the rules!" A dark gray stallion called out on top of his cloud. A whistle hung from his neck and his hard gaze raked over the new recruits. "First one to pass the course becomes a Wonderbolt. I don' want no cheatin', ya hear?"
It sounded easy enough, but it wasn't. The pegasi had to pass a massive thundercloud that randomly gave off bolts of electricity, then glide through a field of tornadoes unharmed, then they had to navigate through a massive amount of fog to get to the finish line.
They had all undergone many tests before this one, all testing their limits. Rainbow Dash had witnessed many pegasi fail the tests and drop out of the Academy. She was of one the few who had made it to the final test, the test that could change her life. It was, by far, the most difficult test a pegasi could go through. But she was ready to prove herself.
On the sidelines, a pale blue pegasus stallion stood with his eyes alight with excitement. It was his turn to preside over the Final Trial, to determine who the next Wonderbolt would be. He had a basic knowledge of all the recruits, especially the rainbow-mained one. She was famed for being the first pegasi ever to perform the elusive Sonic Rainboom. She had must've done it three times. Soarin' was impressed, but she still needed to pass this test in order to become a Wonderbolt. No exceptions.
"Ready?" The gray stallion gruffly shouted from his cloud.
Rainbow Dash licked her lips.
"Set?" He lifted the whistle to his mouth.
Her wings snapped open.
"GO!" His whistle was barely heard over the sound of the pegasi taking off. The world around the recruits erupted into a raging storm. High winds blew from every direction, throwing the tired cream-colored mare into the white stallion. Rain came down and battered them in the face, smudging the lenses of their goggles. Rainbow Dash let out a grunt of pain as hail abruptly hit her forehead, and soon huge amounts came from the cloud-covered sky. She braved on, ignoring the sharp jabs of pain that accompanied the hail. Her wings beat the air, and through the thick, tense air she climbed, half blind from the hail and rain. She was aware of another presence by her side, and saw a flash of turquoise. Lightning Dust, she thought. She tried to force her way through the difficult weather, but found no way of escaping.
Then, she was met with a great thundercloud. It was so large, its expanse shadowed both the East and West horizon. Lightning bolts erupted from its surface, like great tentacles that snapped at whatever it touched. The face of the great thundering beast glared down her, making her stop, just for a heartbeat. A flash of yellow tore past her eyes and she was met with an aqua mare. She sped past, yelling over her shoulder, "Too slow, Rainbow Crash!" she turned away and dove easily between the bolts.
She snorted angrily and forced her wings to move at a fast pace as she deftly avoided the snaps of lightning that lit the surface of the cloud. The air frizzled from the electricity, and she feel her fur rising on her back as she narrowly missed another strike. Her eyes set on a small turquoise blur that skimmed the surface of the thundering madness. Smirking, she lowered herself on the cloud, letting her hooves gingerly caress the outer layer of the cloud. She felt the great booms of the lightning underneath her periwinkle hoof. Finally she met with Lightning Dust, her golden tail tickling her nose. She smiled and swerved around the pegasus, sliding sideways as to run atop the hefty black cloud. Her hooves beat steadly on the gray ground, and she met the surprised gaze of Lightning Dust. Smirking, she maneuvered her hooves off the cloud just as a lightning bolt erupted. Lightning Dust was so surprised by her sudden appearance that the lightning strike met her hoof, causing her to scream out in pain. Dash abruptly stopped, cringing. She hadn't meant to harm her. She quickly dove underneath the now unconscious pony and let her rest on her back. She flew away from the storm, her breath billowing out in short gasps and dropped her off on a soft, white cloud, before returning to the race.
Rainbow Dash streaked through the first obstacle course, desperately hoping that she had made up lost time. As the last bolt dissipated, she ripped up through the rough winds, and was met with a new obstacle. A large field of tornadoes met her gaze. They were not too close to converge into one, but each was enough to throw an inexperienced pegasus every which way. But she wasn't an inexperienced pegasus.
She spun through the air, wings beating at exactly the right pace. The first tornado approached, its absurd wind pattern tearing at her mane and tail. She gingerly entered the winds of the tornado, jarring her from her place and spinning her in a clockwise direction. She beat her wings along with winds, howling filling her ears and leaves from distant trees plastering her flight goggles. When she was at maximum speed, she saw another tornado close by, its wind going at a similar pace and direction as the current tornado. She spent a few minutes catching glimpses of the other tornado, making sure her observation was right. Her wings dug heavily through the air, making sure she didn't fall into the heart of the tornado. Finally, Dash folded her wings and pushed off from the tornado, causing it to warble. She rocketed to the next one, a smug look on her face. I figured out your little trick, Wonderbolts.
She landed in the next one, her wings aching under the harsh weight of the winds. She willed her self to pull through, and the next three minutes were her observing another nearby tornado. This one was larger, but its pattern the same. Copying her previous move, she landed deftly on the outer ring of the thrashing tornado. She carried on with the same technique, eyes darting and wings flashing. And after what seemed like an hour, she reached the last tornado, huge with large wind-filled appendages that lashed out into air. She breathed in, her lungs being filled in with tangy, dirty air, and let go.
She was in the last tornado, It's big howling winds prominent amongst the others. Dash pulled herself away just in time, to be met with the final obstacle.
She took a sharp intake of breath. Around her was nothing but gray. The winds were gone, the tornado had thrusted her into a world where there was nothing but gray for miles, at least. She instantly panicked. A pegasus had a great sense of direction and the eyes of a hawk, but no pegasi dared venture into such a large amount of fog. They would lose their most acute senses. And here she was, amongst the most daunting thing known to pegasi. Exhaling and inhaling deeply, she ventured in, going completely straight. That's what they always told her. Always go forward.
Eventually, Rainbow Dash moved faster, always going straight. The only sound was her wings and her quickly beating heart. A slight ringing started in her ears, reminding of her of how quiet this place was. Minutes passed, and the fog did not let on. She felt her panic rising again, but shoved it down. It's just fog, she told herself. I'm not scared of anything, so why should I be afraid of fog?
A sudden sound made her jump. It was a deep sound, a sound similar to large wings cutting through the air. Her mind reverted to the time when she was a child, when she read stories of the Great Winged Beast. A monkey-like thing with no fur, only on the top of their heads, and wings that reached six feet wide. Its eyes were round, filled with intellect beyond their years, and had rough skin the color of peaches. It was designed to scare fillies, but when Dash heard this noise, her heart stopped.
But just as soon as it began, it halted. She felt the breath return to her lungs as she ventured on, unfazed by the sound. If there were wings that big, she thought, comforting herself, they would disintegrate the fog. Dash laughed at her self, and continued to speed through the fog. It was all her imagination.
Throughout the rest of the obstacle, she thought she picked up traces of the sound again, but it disappeared soon afterwards. It's just your imagination, it's just your imagination. This helped nothing; she felt the panic rise up in her.
Finally, when the beating of wings reached closer, she whipped around, accusing eyes wildly dancing around the gray landscape. "Who's there?" she cried, her voice echoing through the nothingness. When nothing responded, she continued on, casting frantic glances around as she heard the deafening sound once more. She whipped around, hooves poised and ready to attack and yelled, "Show yourself!"
Then she was met with the source the noise. The sound was not of great wings beating the air, no, it was her own panicked imagination that had caused this. Instead, it was the sound of a regular pony's wings. Her gaze widened as she met the angry gaze of a singed turquoise pony. She quickly approached the shocked cyan pegasus, eyes flashing. "Think you can get rid of me so easily, huh?"
Rainbow Dash stuttered. "But I-"
"A shock of lightning, that's it? You think you take me out of the game, just like that?" She spiraled Dash. "Two can play at that game!" she scowled and then brought her hoof down harshly on Rainbow Dash's wing. She felt it stiffen, and she struggled to keep her composition as it fell loosely on her back. "You'll never be a Wonderbolt." Lightning Dust sneered, speeding away as Rainbow Dash fell through the thick fog.
And suddenly she was falling. Her mind was blank with shock, and she watched as the thick clouds of fog succumb her. Her pale blue wings hit against the nearly solid fog clouds. She saw a lightning streak head for the finish line and she knew that she had lost. An image of the turquoise mare in a bright Wonderbolts outfit drained into her mind, another with her in the back, a look of defeat etched on her tired face. Yellow eyes met magenta ones. "You will never be a Wonderbolt." it snapped.
No. Her wings unfurled and beat quickly through the thick air. I will be a Wonderbolt.
Her wings gathered force. She zoomed through the thick tendrils of fog, leaving a faint rainbow trail behind her, ignoring the panic that rose up in her. When the fog dispersed, she saw the finish line half a mile away. Lightning Dust was halfway there, a triumphant look on her face. Rainbow Dash let out a faint wail of despair. No! She willed her wings to go faster, faster, faster. A faint cone formed around her hooves. Tears gathered around her eyes, but it wasn't from the wind.
Faster.
Faster.
Faster!
The cone broke. A large spectrum cascaded from the explosion. She was suddenly pushed forth, her wings brushing past Lightning Dust. Her eyes widened with anger as she saw the rainbow-maned pegasus quickly pass her. She forced her wings to move quickly, but to no avail. She watched as blue blur cross the finish line, leaving a rainbow trail behind her.
"Rainbow Dash!" her hate-filled scream ripped from her throat, lost in the cold winds.
Soarin' watched, jaw agape, as the rainbow pegasus performed her acclaimed Sonic Rainboom. The large explosion shattered the winds and fog, and a rainbow trail soon emerged, and headed for the finish line. He gawked as he caught a glimpse of the pegasus who had caused it zipped past the finish line, not slowing down. Something was wrong. The pegasus wasn't slowing down. She bounced off a few clouds, as if to lose force. Rainbow Dash soon bore down, the rainbow trail still loyally following her, and hit the ground. Soarin' lifted himself off the cloud, and turned to the gray stallion. "Get some help!" he told him, the stallion's eyes were wide with awe as he nodded.
I did it. She relaxed her whole body, feeling scratches and bruises. She opened her eyes and struggled to get up, but screamed in pain instead. Her left foreleg was broken, and the wing in which Lightning Dust had kicked throbbed in pain, probably broken too. She rested her face in the dirt, her belly brushing against the dusty ground. Her vision was blurry.
A sound was beside her. It was the sound of rushing wings and a scared voice. She blinked, and saw a pale blue stallion looking at her with wide green eyes. "D-Did I make it in?" she asked faintly. Her head wobbled.
He blinked, surprised she would ask such a question in this state. "Uh... y-yeah. I think you did."
"Good." She breathed, and closed her eyes, a smile on her face.