Chapter 44
The DJ was there testing the setting up. After reviewing the music selection one last time the three pegasi took off and did some light maneuvers to warm up.
“The wind is blowing me around a little,” said Fluttershy. “I hope it dies down by the time we go on.”
“Don't worry,” said Firewing. “I'll just leave you a little extra room. It's not too bad, I can adjust to it.”
“Yeah, it is pretty choppy,” agreed Dash. “If I wasn't performing in front of a crowd I'd enjoy flying in this but I don't want to look bad in front of everypony.”
“We'll just have to be careful that's all,” said Firewing. “Especially you on that ending maneuver.”
“Yeah, I'll hit it even a little higher up than I planned,” said Dash. “Looking bad in front of the home crowd is one thing, but crashing would just stink.”
Firewing laughed. “Just be careful, okay?”
“You too, and watch out for Fluttershy,” said Dash. “At least when I'm flying I'll be alone.”
“We'll be fine,” said Firewing as she looked at Fluttershy with smile. “I've flown sky dancing in worse than this and never collided with any pony.”
“Look!” said Dash, “they're gathering already.”
“It looks like almost everypony is here,” asked Fluttershy nervously. “What do we do now?”
“I guess I'm ready,” said Firewing. “We land and wait for for the Mayor to introduce us.”
“Okay,” said Dash, “Firewing lead the way.”
The three flew down and landed in front of the crowd. The Mayor stepped out to talk with them one last time.
“Are you all ready?” asked the mayor.
“Yep, all warmed up and ready to fly,” answered Dash.
“I'll take off from the ground when the music starts and get up to altitude,” said Firewing. “Once there, I'll do my routine and land just as the music ends. We can start whenever you're ready.”
“Alright,” said the mayor, “if you're ready, I'll introduce Firewing and we'll get started.”
“Good luck roomie, give 'em a show,” said Dash.
Firewing smiled. “Thanks, you'll see my best.”
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy walked over to their friends in the front row to watch Firewing perform.
“Thanks again girls for what you said at the celebration,” said Dash. “It really meant a lot.”
“No problem RD,” said Applejack. “We meant it all.”
“Everypony, may I have your attention please!” announced the mayor. “The show is about to start. Our first performer is Firewing who will do a solo routine. Mares and stallions, colts and fillies, I give you; Firewing!”
The crowd cheered and Firewing did a slight bow. The DJ started the music and Firewing took off.
Firewing flew an extended version of the routine she used in the tryouts. She added many moves and tricks that she used in other competitions over her years of flying. All the ponies are mesmerized by Firewing's skills but the pegasi are in awe of her precision and grace.
“And Rainbow Dash is better than her?” commented Rarity. “Unbelievable.”
“She is lovely in flight isn't she?” said Fluttershy. “But yes, Rainbow Dash won the individual contest.”
Pinky Pie was grinning from ear to ear. “Wow, I knew Dashie was good but not that good.”
“She must really be the best if she beat Firewing and that Windyday,” added Applejack. “I just gotta see her fly someday.”
“This is really something,” said Twilight. “I wish I could have gone to Cloudsdale too Fluttershy.”
Firewing continued long past the three minutes allowed in her tryout routine. At last she went into her ending move. She performed the move, landed and bowed. The crowd cheered as she bowed again to the crowd.
To Rainbow Dash's eyes it looked like she landed heavily and the half Immelmane before that wasn't as refined as it usually was. She went to her friend. Rainbow Dash smiled and waved to the crowd exhorting them to cheer louder. While they were distracted she had a quick word with Firewing.
“Are you okay?” asked Rainbow.
“Fine but watch yourself up there,” said Firewing. “The air is more disturbed than before. I struggled to get that half Immelmane and caught a downdraft that just wasn't there a second before.”
“Okay, guess I'll take that ending up another fifty hooves,” said Dash. “Take some time to recover if you need it. I'll talk to the Mayor.”
“Do that,” said Firewing. “That landing was pretty jarring. I'll nod when I'm ready.”
Rainbow Dash trotted over to the Mayor who was about to speak.
“Take your time,” said Dash. “Firewing is okay but she needs a moment to recover.”
Mayor Mare was thrown off her plan. “Alright, um, why don't you explain to the crowd what we just saw. I was just going to introduce you and Fluttershy and don't really have anything prepared.”
Rainbow Dash was a little annoyed but agreed.
“Rainbow Dash is going to tell us about what we just saw,” announced the mayor.
The crowd was confused but applauded anyway.
“Thank you Ms. Mayor,” said Dash. “Hey Weather Team! Why don't you guys fly like that?”
The Weather Team laughed and a couple of partially eaten apples landed near Rainbow Dash. The crowd joined in on the humor between the Weather Team and their old boss.
“Firewing just performed the routine that she did during the tryouts with a lot of added tricks thrown in,” said Dash. “I won't go into the names and all that but I'm sure you all noticed how sharp all her moves were. That is the kind of stuff I learned from her. And that big barrel roll with the spins was what she learned from me. I wish they had given us more time in the tryouts because I could watch her fly all day. In a few moments you'll get to see her do something different while I fly up and get ready for my routine. Before taking up stunt flying, Firewing was an accomplished sky dancer. I guess that only you pegasi know what that is but maybe seeing this little demonstration will help it become more popular.” She glanced over at Firewing who nodded. “I see Firewing is ready so I'll turn this back over to the mayor.”
“Thank you Rainbow Dash,” said the mayor. “The next part of the show will feature Firewing who will be assisted by Ponyville's own special pegasus, Fluttershy.” There was some applause and a lot of murmuring at this announcement as Fluttershy trotted out and stood next to Firewing. “When Firewing and Fluttershy are through, our guest of honor, Rainbow Dash, will perform her routine. Maestro, if you please.”
The music began and the three pegasi took off. Rainbow Dash simply climbed in a wide arc while Fluttershy and Firewing made lazy circles up to a much lower altitude. As Rainbow Dash was almost to her preferred altitude, she heard the music change and looked down to see Firewing and Fluttershy begin to dance. Rainbow Dash leveled out and glided, watching the show and resting. She smiled at the thought of Fluttershy performing in front of a crowd. Fluttershy was so caught up in wanting to sky dance that she wanted to do it regardless of who was watching.
The wind buffeted Rainbow Dash and she suddenly dropped in altitude and then rose again. It was more noticeable as she glided gently rather than cutting through the air at speed. She watched Fluttershy and Firewing and they didn't seem to be having much trouble with their dancing. The dance came to an end and the pair landed to the applause of the crowd. Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. 'It's showtime,' she said to herself and dove into her routine.
Rainbow Dash did her best to duplicate the precision and speed that she had shown during the tryouts. This was for all the ponies in her adopted home. She flew as well as she ever had and the applause started before she was halfway through. Twice she felt the turbulence that was plaguing the fliers but she easily compensated and continued towards her final move.
Her timing was right on the mark as she nosed over into her dive. She plummeted towards the ground and started slowly spinning. Again she felt the turbulence but she doggedly continued on. She neared the point where she had to start her flat spins and tried to pull up slightly. Almost nothing happened but she threw herself into the flat spins anyway as her speed was bringing her closer to the ground at an alarming rate. She could tell that the flat spins were not slowing her fast enough and she was rapidly using up the cushion she had added to make the maneuver safe. With no time to think she flipped over and before she tried the second set of flat spins, again tried to pull up. She felt her wings bite into the air and it changed her trajectory slightly. Again she went into her flat spins as the ground continued to race towards her. One, two, three, four and pull up and out of the spins.
As Rainbow Dash swooped up towards her stall she barely felt the sting of her tail hitting the ground. She was rising now and she felt a wave of relief wash over her. She stalled and dropped toward the ground. She landed and bowed as the crowd went wild. She held the bow, panting, reluctant to let the crowd see her face. Firewing raced to her side before she could rise.
“You just had to show off in front of your friends didn't you?” She hissed at her friend but then she noticed that Rainbow Dash still had not moved and was shaking. “Are you alright?”
“Wasn't...on...purpose! Almost..I..almost crashed!” Rainbow Dash's voice was a trembling whisper.
Firewing gasped as the crowd continued applauding and cheering. Trying to give her friend some time to pull herself together, she faced them with a smile on her face.
“Wasn't that the greatest stunt EVER?!” shouted Firewing.
The crowd doubled their cheers. Only the pegasi stared on in silent disbelief. They knew that no pony would try that sort of move on purpose.
Firewing nudged Rainbow Dash, trying to rouse her. “That was the stunt she performed during the tryouts! The judges couldn't believe what they saw and unanimously proclaimed her the greatest flier in Equestria!”
Rainbow Dash was slow to recover. Still trembling she raised her head and smiled at the crowd. It was a mask but no pony was close enough to see the fear in her eyes. She turned, faced the crowd and bowed dramatically.
The pegasi could not believe their ears but they had just seen what they all considered to be an insanely dangerous and impossible stunt. They too joined in the cheering and the Weather Team swooped down to surround Rainbow Dash. They picked her up and carried her from the field. Another group grabbed the startled Firewing and treated her similarly.
This was just what Rainbow Dash needed to recover fully. She had pulled off yet another impossible trick! True, it hadn't been planned, but her quick reactions and flying skills had saved her life. Now she was being carried like a hero! “You're charmed Rainbow Dash,” she thought to herself. “If that didn't kill you, then nothing can!”
She laughed aloud and twisted to look for Firewing. Firewing was not enjoying this ride as much as Rainbow Dash and glared back at her. Dash shrugged as if to say 'what can I do?' and laughed again. Firewing shook her head, smiled and started to chuckle to herself. Rainbow Dash was just irrepressible and always would be.
The impromptu celebration of the Weather Team brought the show to an abrupt end. The Mayor was caught off guard and could do little except to shout for everypony to go to the party. Rainbow Dash's friends were mixed in with the crowd and swept along to where the tables of food were set up. They found their way to the head table where the Weather Team had deposited Rainbow Dash and Firewing.
Rainbow Dash was seated to the right of the mayor's empty seat with Firewing next to her. Fluttershy tried to sit near the end of the table but Twilight directed her to sit next to Firewing. Of all the ponies present, she was the only one who did not look happy.
“What's the matter Fluttershy?” asked Firewing. “You did great up there.”
“I thought Rainbow Dash was going to do the safe version of that move,” said Fluttershy angrily. “When this is all over she has some explaining to do.”
“It wasn't planned that way Fluttershy,” explained Firewing. “Rainbow Dash almost crashed. She caught a bad downdraft and couldn't pull up.”
Fluttershy was shocked. “Really? I couldn't tell.”
“When I ran up to her after she landed I was going to let her have it too,” said Firewing, “but then I saw how she was shaking. She was really scared. That's why she stayed in that bow so long.”
“Oh my! I had no idea!” gasped Fluttershy.
“She even increased her safety margin and it's a good thing she did,” added Firewing. “If she hadn't done that, well, I don't want to think about it.”
Fluttershy got up and went around Firewing to nuzzle against Rainbow Dash. “Oh Dashie, we almost lost you didn't we?”
“Yeah, I barely pulled that one off,” said Dash. “Sorry if I scared you. I was pretty scared too.”
Mayor Mare made it through the crowd to the stage. “Fluttershy, please take your seat. That was a nice job you did today.”
“Thank you. Ms. Mayor,” said Fluttershy. She returned to her seat between Firewing and Rarity.
“What was that all about?” asked Rarity.
“Oh Rarity, we almost lost Dashie,” said Fluttershy. “That landing she did wasn't the way she planned it. She almost crashed. She's alright but it scared her pretty bad. The air was rough today and a downdraft caught her by surprise.”
“Thank Celestia she was able to save herself,” said Rarity. “I'll need to hear more about this later. Don't say anything until we're alone; she probably doesn't want this getting out.”
“Yes, good idea,” agreed Fluttershy.
The meal was served to the head table while the rest of the ponies served themselves. The party lasted the rest of the afternoon. Rainbow Dash and Firewing spent much of the time answering questions and giving hoof prints and autographs.
Even Fluttershy received some attention. Most of the earth bound ponies had never seen sky dancing and now thought Fluttershy an accomplished dancer. After all, wasn't she flying with a Wonderbolt? The pegasi knew better but were still surprised that she had done as well as she did and many offered their congratulations.
* * *
There was no need to serve supper as the ponies had been nibbling on various treats all afternoon. As the sun started to set and the shadows got longer, the party started to break up. Firewing joined Rainbow Dash and her friends in Twilight's library.
Rainbow Dash slumped onto Twilight's sofa and sighed. “That was some day. I'm more tired than I was after the try outs.”
“Me too,” said Firewing. “I guess it wasn't such a good idea to come here to relax.”
“I know you wanted to rest and tomorrow you have to fly back to Cloudsdale,” said Fluttershy sadly.
“It's alright and it isn't your fault anyway,” said Firewing. “You can't blame the town ponies for wanting to honor Rainbow Dash. I'll have to go through it again when I get back to Manehatten.”
“I don't envy you that, said Dash.
“Not coming home with me?” teased Firewing.
“No way,” said Dash. “I have to start training, remember. I'll be talking to Immelmane tomorrow after the inquiry and I know he'll be giving me some things to work on.”
“What are you going to tell him about that ending move today?” asked Firewing.
“The truth,” said Rainbow Dash. “I don't want that to ever happen again.”
“You don't want what to ever happen again?” asked Applejack.
“She almost crashed today,” said Rarity. “Fluttershy told me.”
Twilight, Applejack, Pinky Pie and Spike spoke as one. “Crashed!?”
“I'm alright,” insisted Dash. “I managed to adjust and pull off the move... barely. Tail still stings a little though.” She curled her tail up beside her and tried to examine it.
“Let me see,” said Firewing. She and Dash examined the injury. “Not too bad. Doesn't look very swollen, just a little scrape and you lost a few hairs.”
“Yeah, I'll live,” said Dash. “Guess I should get home and clean it up.”
“Nonsense,” said Rarity, “Twilight and I can do it now. We can be more gentle and do a better job with our magic.”
“That's right,” said Twilight. “Spike, the first aid kit please.”
“Sure Twilight,” said Spike.
The two unicorns fussed over Rainbow Dash who looked a little apprehensive.
“Are you going to tell us what happened?” asked Pinky Pie. “I thought you were just doing one of your awesome-super-spectacular-thriller-diller tricks.”
“It was supposed to be the same ending I used when I came home,” said Dash, “but I caught a bad downdraft. It was like all the air was gone. I just kept falling. I was able to pull up a little after the first set of flat spins and that saved me. I got out of the downdraft and finished the move.”
“That was quick thinking,” said Firewing. “It's a good thing you're a great flier. Most ponies would have panicked and crashed.”
“I was lucky,” admitted Dash.
Firewing laughed, “Yeah, that too.”
“You'd better be more careful,” said Applejack. “Crashing would be bad but crashing right after you become a Wonderbolt would be downright embarrassing.”
The ponies laughed.
“I was being careful,” said Rainbow Dash in a serious tone. “I changed the original move to come out higher and when we realized the air was really choppy I moved it up even higher. If I hadn't done that I'd have hit the ground hard.”
“Here's the kit Twilight,” said Spike.
Twilight took the kit with her magic. “Thanks Spike. Ready Doctor Rarity?”
“Ready, Doctor Twilight,” giggled Rarity.
Rainbow Dash, though apprehensive, lay still and allowed her friends to tend her wound.
“Rarity, try to part her hair and I'll put the ointment on,” said Twilight.
“Alright, how's this?” asked Rarity.
“That's good.” Twilight levitated a dab of ointment out of the jar and onto the wound. “There! That should do it. Now to bandage it.”
This was not to Rainbow Dash's liking. “No, don't. I don't want any pony to see a bandage on my tail; they'll know I was injured.”
“It will heal faster if it's covered,” said Rarity. “I might have a solution. Twilight, hold the pad in place and I'll weave some of her hair over it. It's on the underside of your tail Rainbow Dash, no pony will see.”
“Well, okay, you can try,” said Dash.
It took Rarity some time to weave Dash's hair over the patch but at last it was done. Rainbow Dash took a look and smiled. “Thanks Twilight, thanks Rarity, that feels a lot better. Looks good too, I mean you can't tell it's there. Heh.”
“Didn't know you were that vain,” said Firewing, with a smile.
Dash shook her head. “Vanity has nothing to do with it. I just don't want to have everypony asking what happened to my tail.”
“I understand,” said Firewing, “especially when we see the Wonderbolts tomorrow.”
“Right!” said Dash. “I guess we should get some rest soon. We have a lot of flying to do tomorrow.”
“How long will you be gone?” asked Pinky Pie.
“I'm planning on flying back tomorrow night,” said Dash, “as long as the inquiry doesn't last too long.”
“Me too,” said Fluttershy.
“I'll be heading back to Manehatten after the inquiry so I won't be seeing you for a while,” said Firewing. “I'll try to stop by before I start my training.”
“We'll be glad to have you, Firewing,” said Applejack. “There's still a lot of Ponyville you ain't seen.”
“I'll be sure to have your other outfit ready,” said Rarity.
“Stop by my place when you're ready to leave tomorrow,” said Fluttershy. “I'll give you a quick tour and we can leave from there.”
“Sure, we can do that,” said Firewing.
“Don't forget to stop by my shop too, Fluttershy,” said Rarity. “I have some more finished designs for you to take along.”
“Looks like we'll have to get up early,” groaned Rainbow Dash.
Spike and the ponies laughed. The after party continued for a while but soon Applejack and Fluttershy say their farewells to Firewing and the rest soon follow.
Firewing and Rainbow Dash flew up to Dash's house in the sky and packed the few things they were taking with them to Cloudsdale. Firewing was soon sleeping on her bed of clouds but Rainbow Dash found it difficult to fall asleep at first. There had been the week of the try outs, the victory dinner and dance, the flight home, a day of practice yesterday and the performance and party today. It had been a long day and had almost been her last. Tomorrow was the inquiry in Cloudsdale.
Rainbow's last thought before sleep took her was, “No matter what, I'm taking Thursday off.”