//------------------------------// // Chapter 16: Sonic Rainboom // Story: Shisno Chronicles: Friendship is Magic // by nightelf37 //------------------------------// Chapter 16: Sonic Rainboom Preceding the events of "A Dog and Pony Show" and following that of "Fall Weather Friends"… In the Golden Oaks Library… Chronicle had overslept and could not be woken up even if Spike would poke his rump. When he finally rose, he found that the was now alone in the upper floor. Deciding not to go down just yet, he activated Surveillance. He decided to check on Fluttershy, and saw that she was standing out in the meadow with Rainbow Dash, who was pacing in mid-air behind her. He 'opened' a second "window" in his device and he was now looking through Rainbow's camera as well. "Now, what have we learned?", he heard the sky blue pegasus say. "Lots of control.", the other replied. "Good." "Screaming and hollering." "Yes. And most importantly?" "Passion." Are they talking about what I think they're talking about? "Right!" Rainbow then landed in front of Fluttershy. "So now that you know the elements of a good cheer, let’s hear one!" Oh. They're not. The soft-spoken pegasus inhaled a bushel of air and let it go on a single word… "Yay." …that was is no louder than her usual speaking voice, causing Rainbow to put a hoof over her own face with a disgusted groan. "You’re gonna cheer for me like that? Louder." "Yay." This was barely louder than the last one. "Louder!" "Yay." This was a bit louder, but not enough. "LOUDER!!", Rainbow then shouted with such force the camera on her actually shuddered a bit. This time, Fluttershy sucked in every molecule of air her lungs will hold and cut loose. "Yaaay." Only a bit louder than her previous attempt. This time, Rainbow not only groaned and covered her face, but keeled over backward. "Too loud?" Chronicle gave a groan and decided to check on the others and nearly balked; everypony else was in the library sorting out the shelves, although Spike was missing. The camera on him was working when he checked, but all he was getting was static. Just then, as he 'closed' all the 'rectangles' showing the others, he glimpsed somepony he hadn't seen before. In the bushes in view of his camera on Fluttershy was a mare whose coat was white as a ghost. Her eyes were baby blue, and her mane was baby pink, which was held up in a very light yellow bandanna, which looked like the ones the spa twins wear. However, her eyes were not on Fluttershy, but on somepony in the sky. He then came to the only other conclusion; this pony was watching Rainbow Dash. But why was she hiding like that? Adjusting the 'rectangles' so that they were side-by-side, he kept one eye on the "spy" and the other on Rainbow. At the right 'screen', said pegasus was now standing on a cloud, a moving bank of them a few paces away. At the left, Fluttershy was looking up and so was the "spy". "Yay.", said the former. Rainbow took a a deep breath, bounced on the cloud as if it were a diving board, and plunged into space. She pulled up just short of the ground and buzzed through the flowers, streaking the air with her multicolored mane. "And now, Phase One of my routine.", she said to herself. Phase One consisted a close slalom through a row of trees, followed by a straightaway run that blew Fluttershy’s (and the "spy"'s) hair sideways. "Ooooh.", said Fluttershy while the spy gave a light smile. Rainbow gained altitude and stopped. "Phase Two." This phase consisted of her diving toward a large cloud and flying tight circles around it, causing it to spin in place. As she did the same to two others before zipping away, Chronicle was impressed with how fast Surveillance's cameras can go to catch up with her. On the ground, Fluttershy’s eyes had started turning in opposite directions to follow them all, but she quickly shook some sense into herself. As for the "spy", she retained her focus all the way. "Way to go." Rainbow climbed again. "Here we go…Phase Three. The Sonic Rainboom!" "The Sonic Rainboom?", the spy said out loud to herself, but Fluttershy was too focused on her friend to notice. Once the sky blue pegasus reached an appropriately extreme height, she cut a couple of vertical loops and went into a screaming dive, one foreleg extended to cut the air resistance. The wind peeled her lips back from her teeth and plastered her mane to her skull, and a rounded wave front formed in front of her due to the sheer speed and started to build. Chronicle was surprised to see that he could see the mach cone, waving it off as being filtered by the cameras. "Come on…" Both sides of the wave front stretched as if made of elastic; now every extra foot that she flwe caused more resistance to build up. Eventually, she stopped dead in midair, unable to punch through. "Uh-oh." She was flung backward and out of sight, screaming all the while, and while Fluttershy put a hoof over her mouth worriedly, the "spy" drooped her ears and took off, revealing her to be a pegasus. It also showed her tail, which was unruly like Rainbow's but colored a solid baby pink, and a cutie mark depicting a single tornado like the ones on Dizzy Twister. He wasn't able to figure out more since Fluttershy was on the move and soon the "spy" was out of sight. Setting the incident behind him for now, he turned off Surveillance and put it away, deciding to head downstairs. Rather than jump down from where his bed was to the floor below, he decided to take it slow and walked down the stairs—noting that it needed a bannister—and casually made his way to the door. Just as he opened it, he heard a crash down ahead that kicked up enough dust to reach him. He coughed from the dust, then continued down as it cleared. By the time he could see the ground floor, he could see that all the books have tumbled off the shelves and Twilight, Rainbow, and Rarity were sprawled out on top of them. As his charge lifted her head, her mouth jammed full of scrolls, the two earth ponies popped their heads up from the scatter before Fluttershy flew in through the window further down the stairs to the left. "Rainbow Dash, you rock. Woo-hoo.", she said before taking in the disaster area with a soft gasp. "Did my cheering do that?" "Nope.", Chronicle said as he walked down. "It was like this when you entered. I'm guessing somepony else was the cause." One rule of his agreement concerning his Surveillance forbid him to relay to the other four what the two pegasi were doing at the time without their permission. Rainbow stood up with a sheepish laugh. "Sorry about that, ladies.", she said to the others before saying the next sentence with an annoyed tone. "That was a truly feeble performance." "Actually, it wasn’t all bad. I particularly liked it when you made the clouds spin.", Fluttershy replied. Rainbow gave an angry sigh. "I’m not talking about my performance, I’m talking about yours! That feeble cheering!" "What are you two arguing about?", Twilight asked. "Were we arguing? I’m sorry.", Fluttershy said as Chronicle walked up next to her. Rainbow gave another sigh and turned to the other girls. "I wish you guys could come to Cloudsdale to see me compete in the Best Young Flyer Competition." "What’s that?", Twilight asked again. Pinkie gave the answer in an excited manner. "It’s where all the greatest pegasus flyers get together and show off their different flying styles." She reared up. "Some are fast!" She raced around the room, throwing books here and there as she swerved about, then stopped to balance on one front and one rear hoof. "And some are graceful!" Judging from the way she yelled and stumbled across the floor before crashing down, she certainly is not. At least around these books. Applejack turned to face Rainbow. "Gol-lee. I’d love to see you strut your stuff in that competition." "Yeah. I wish you guys could be there. Fluttershy’s a great support, but her cheering isn’t exactly inspirational." Pinkie stood up, an open book on her head. "Ooh! I’d love to see you make a Sonic Rainboom! It’s, like, the most coolest thing ever!" She then jumped in place the book falling off. "Even though I’ve never actually seen it, but I mean, come on, it’s a Sonic Rainboom!" Applejack and Rarity had followed her movements with noticeable puzzlement, and Twilight wasn't doing any better. "How not cool could it possibly not be?" "What’s a Sonic Rainboom?", Twilight then asked. "Seriously?", Chronicle asked her in turn. "For a well-read mare, you know so little of the outside world. Even I know what it is thanks to a book." Pinkie then leaned into the bookish unicorn's face. "You really need to get out more." She jumped up to a loft. "The Sonic Rainboom is legendary! When a pegasus like Rainbow Dash gets going so fast…" She jumped over the edge and plunged into the piled books, landing hard enough to clear a space on the floor. "…BOOM! A sonic boom and a rainbow can happen all at once!" "And I read that there are other Special Sonic Booms as well. Like a Fireboom, a Thunderboom, a Frostboom, and even something called a Whispering Yay Woosh. But the Sonic Rainboom's is the stuff of legend and is the most well-known." He then mumbled, "Personally, I think the Woosh is awesome." "And Rainbow Dash here’s the only pony to ever pull it off.", Applejack finished. Rainbow played it off. "It was a long time ago. I was just a filly." "Yeah, but you’re gonna do it again, right?", Pinkie said. This inquiry left the pegasus flat-hoofed for a second, but she gradually recovered her usual braggadocio, but Chronicle and one other pony noticed. "Are you kidding? I’m the greatest flyer to ever come out of Cloudsdale. I could do Sonic Rainbooms in my sleep!" "Wow! If you pull that off, you’ll win the crown for sure!", Twilight said. "The grand prize is an entire day with the Wonderbolts! A whole day of flying with my lifelong heroes. It’ll be a dream come true!" Fluttershy gave off a weak "Yay." Chronicle just smacked himself on the face. The blue flying ace, threw her a fed-up look and then turned back to the rest. "I’m gonna go rest up. Don’t want to over-prepare myself, you know?" She then gave a brief laugh, then rounded on Fluttershy. "You, on the other hand, better keep practicing!" She trotted toward the window. "I need a cheering section to match my spectacular performance." With that, she flew out over the balcony and away. Back inside, Fluttershy turned despondently toward the room. "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." She then flew out the window as well. "Well, guess we better get this cleaned up.", Twilight sighed. "Again." She then proceeded to levitate a book. "Just where is Spike, anyway?", Chronicle said as he joined them. "Have you forgotten?" The unicorn stallion tapped his head with a hoof to try and remember, then that was what happened. "Oh, right. Now I remember where he is." As it was, Mystic Shield had decided to go on a field trip to a place (its name he couldn't remember) beyond Whitetail Wood with his class and requested Twilight that he needed Spike for this. Chronicle didn't join them due to his contract requiring him to protect his charge, and Twilight was too busy studying to join. Others didn't come as well, including Heartstrings as she was still recovering a bit from her bipedal running during the Running of the Leaves. That was a week ago. They were bound to return in two days from now. Just then, Rarity poked his charge in the rump with her horn, jerking her body and forcing her to 'drop' the book. "Go on, go on." "Go on, what?" "Find a spell that will get us wingless ponies into Cloudsdale. Didn’t you see how nervous she was?" "I did.", Chronicle said as he began to sort out books. Applejack however didn't see it. "Nervous? Have you spit your bit or somethin’? She was tootin’ her own horn louder than the brass section of a marchin’ band." "Oh, puh-lease. I’ve put on enough fashion shows to recognize stage fright when I see it. We’ve got to find a way to be there for her." Rarity then slammed Twilight away with her rump. "Now go on!" The pony on the receiving end fetched up in a pile of books and stuck her head out of it with a loud groan. "How am I supposed to find a flight spell in this mess?" "A flight spell? One sec.", Pinkie said as she zipped away and returned an instant later, carrying a book in her teeth which she tossed across the room. "Page twenty-seven." On these words, the book landed in front of Twilight, open, and she magically flipped the pages. "How’d you do that?", Applejack asked. "It landed on my face when Rainbow Dash knocked me into the bookcase." "Here it is!", Twilight announced as she levitated the book. "A spell that will allow earth ponies to fly for three days." She then walked ahead with it. "Ooh…it looks really difficult. I’m not sure I can do it." "You’ve got to try!", Rarity pleaded. "Okay." "I think, 'non-pegasus ponies' would be a more accurate term.", Chronicle commented as he put away another book, then looked over. "Glimmer Wings, huh?" "It's specifically for earth ponies, although I think unicorn ponies can be targeted without problems. But who’s gonna volunteer to be the test subject?" An uneasy look passed between the two earth ponies—clearly neither of them was hot to pull guinea-pig duty. Rarity lowered her eyebrows determinedly, then spoke up before Chronicle could. "I will! For Rainbow Dash, I will go first." "I was going to volunteer, but she beat me to it.", he said. "Can't you do both of us?" "Sorry, but it looks like this spell uses a lot of magic. And I'm not sure if supplying me with yours can help. I was still strained after that Ursa Minor incident even with you providing me your magic, even if I did feel like I could cast some more." "All right." "Here goes." Twilight lowered the book and she got her horn going in fourth gear with a strained grunt. Ribbons of brilliant blue light began to wind around Rarity’s motionless form and contract toward her. As Twilight gave it her all, the white unicorn was slowly lifted free of the ground and enveloped from head to tail like a caterpillar forming a cocoon. Finally, a ball of light emerged from the violet unicorn’s horn and floated slowly across until it was halfway between the two. Here, it stopped and emitted a blinding white flash that threw everypony back. Once it faded, everypony got up, very woozy and unsteady on their legs. A pattern of multicolored light spot then projected itself in the room. Twilight smiled and the others gasp happily at the sight. "I think it worked." Rarity now had a pair of multicolored, translucent butterfly-like wings. "Sure did.", Chronicle agreed. "I want to learn that spell too." He earned a funny look from the others. "What? Wings are wings, and until I can somehow find a way to get temporary bird-like wings, preferably pegasus wings, these'll have to do." C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP—?—C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP—? Eyecatch (video-type) - The show's logo appears in the center of the screen, then multicolored, translucent butterfly-like wings emerge from behind it as if opened. C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP—C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP En route to Cloudsdale… Taking a balloon that was used during the Running of the Leaves, Twilight Sparkle and the others made their way to Cloudsdale. Rarity had gone on ahead, wanting to "try out her new duds" as Chronicle put it. He discovered that the balloon had come from Cherry Berry, who also happened to be a skilled hot air balloon pilot. Aside from selling cherries in the marketplace, she rents hot air balloons (under Twinkling Balloon Services) for others to use. Right now, he could see another of those balloons far ahead, and he thought he could see three familiar faces. As well as one new one, but he wasn't able to pay it much mind as they all began to stare in awe at the sight ahead. Chronicle had already seen it a few times before, but it still got him every time. Cloudsdale was up ahead, an entire city built in the sky, made of clouds, had rainbow waterfalls in places, and was breathtakingly spectacular. "Cloudsdale…", he sighed. "So nice to visit again." "Again?", asked Applejack. "Later, once we meet up with the others. Wouldn't want to explain my story twice." "All right." A minute later, they were nearing their friends' location. Already they could hear their voices from above. "Why so shocked?", they heard Rarity say. "We couldn’t leave our favorite flyer without a big cheering section." "We?", they then heard Rainbow Dash say. "That's our cue.", said Pinkie. At once, their balloon ascended and broke through the clouds. All four ponies saw their pegasi friends—accompanied by Rarity—give smiles upon seeing them. "I…I can’t believe it!", Rainbow managed to say. "It’s incredible!", said Fluttershy as the balloon touched down. Ordinary ones would've broken through, but all of Cherry Berry's balloons have their baskets (in case it tips over) coated with a special material that allows it to sit on clouds safely. As it was, Cloudsdale clouds are different from those created through the natural water cycle. "This is so cool! You guys made it!" "Sure did!", agreed Pinkie as she and Chronicle hopped over the side. Rainbow's good cheer instantly gave way to sheer panic. "WAIT!!" The eight hooves made contact with the clouds but did not fall through, instead sinking in slightly as if the two were standing on a mattress. Pinkie gave a huge grin, leaving all three flyers greatly confused. Twilight and Applejack did likewise a moment later. "How’d you do that? Only pegasus ponies can walk on clouds." "Pretty cool, huh?", Pinkie giggled as she turned cartwheels. "I found a spell that makes temporary wings.", Twilight explained. But it was too difficult to do more than once. So I found an easier spell that lets the rest of us walk on clouds." "I taught her the spell. Very useful." "You did?", asked Fluttershy. "Uh-huh. I've actually been to Cloudsdale before. It was during one of my previous contracts." F—L—A—S—H—B—A—C—K "A Canterlot noble named Perry Pierce had requested me to escort his prestigious pegasus son to a school there." Chronicle and his client were sitting in opposite ends of a desk, discussing the terms of his contract. There was a window to their left showing Princess Celestia's setting sun. The then-freelancer 'took' the contract and started reading it. "Hey, is this Perry guy related to Pokey Pierce?" "Please do not interrupt, Pinkie. Although now that I think of it, I'm starting to wonder if they are." Chronicle then 'put down' the contract on the desk and said. "You want me to escort your prestigious pegasus child to school?" "Yes. That's right.", Perry answered. "And the school is in Cloudsdale?" "Yes. That's right." "And he's got…bully issues." "Yes. That's right." "I appreciate the job offer, but… You do know I'm a unicorn pony, right?" "Yes. That's right." "And you know that only pegasus ponies can walk on clouds without falling through, right?" "Yes. That's right." "Then why ask for my services if I will be unable to perform them just because of my race?" His face then changed expressions. "Because I know of no pegasus who can perform this job. And if there is, I'm short of time to look for them." "…All right. But how do I get to Cloudsdale and stay up there without constantly staying on some sort of aircraft?" "I have something to handle that." E—N—D—F—L—A—S—H—B—A—C—K "And so, along with the job, he taught me the spell that grants me the ability to walk on clouds." "But there's still that 'Magic Sickness' issue.", Twilight said. "How did you get around that?" "Well, it was cast on me by his assistant who took me and the child there. It's quite a long story. Maybe I can tell you another time." He then turned to face Rainbow. "Anyway, what's important is that we're now here in Cloudsdale." "And we came to cheer you to victory.", Applejack finished. "To be honest, I was starting to get just the teeniest, tiniest bit nervous.", Rainbow admitted. Chronicle rolled his eyes at this. "But I feel a lot better now that you guys are here. Hey! We’ve got some time before the competition. Why don’t Fluttershy and I show you around Cloudsdale?" There was enthusiastic agreement from the other four mares, while the sole stallion in the group just gave a curt nod. Before they started walking, he turned to Applejack and said. "Could you pause for a minute? There's something I need to do." "What?" He flared his horn and a magical clone appeared atop her back. "Last time I did this, my clone fell through the clouds. Very awkward. As it turns out, spell effects don't get copied." He then cast the cloud walking-spell and when the clone jumped off, he landed safely. C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP—C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP Later… As the group neared the top of a ridge, Rainbow announced, "Here it is. The greatest city in the sky!" While everypony else save Fluttershy made expressions of awe, Chronicle and his clone looked on calmly as they saw a vista ahead. They could also see a few familiar faces from Ponyville. Rainbow looked ahead with a healthy dose of civic pride, which quickly vanishes at the sound of Rarity’s voice. "Ooooh…" As it was, she was admiring her winged reflection lovingly in a window of a clothing shop. "…ahhhh!" Rainbow was uncertain as to what to make of this. "Uhhhh…" Walking on, she and Fluttershy led the rest of the group. "Some of the greatest pegasi in history came from Cloudsdale.", she continued. "Ooh, wait for me!", Rarity said as she flew away from the shop window to catch up. Elsewhere, three stallions in hard hats, tool belts, and orange safety vests were doing construction work. Two gripped the ends of a tape measure in their teeth to size up a column, while the third used a jackhammer on the cloud foundation. The one with the free end let go, allowing it to snap back into his partner’s mouth, and the jackhammer jittered away over the edge as all three looked off to one side and see Rarity flitting by on her new wings. "Those wings are gorgeous!", one of them said. Chronicle rolled his eyes at the sight of their being distracted. Typical construction catcalls. "Why, thank you!", Rarity replied as she swooped down over the others. Be careful with those wings, Rarity.", Twilight warned. "They’re made from gossamer and morning dew, and they’re incredibly delicate." "Don’t worry, Twilight. I’m sure they can’t get worn out from too much attention." "Ouch.", Chronicle remarked, taking fun in the comeback. "I'm still wondering if those Glimmer Wings are worth learning." He then mused to himself. "Maybe I can reinforce them with magic." "Since we’re up here, I’d sure like to get a look at where the weather’s made.", Applejack said. Rainbow seemed to brighten up at this. "Great idea! Come on, girls!" She proceeded to fly ahead. "To the weather factory!" I hope it's kid friendly…, Chronicle thought, nightmares from the "Rainbow Factory" book Blue Diary gave him months ago coming to mind. C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP—C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP En route to the weather factory… As they crossed a street, the eight (seven if the clone is not counted) encountered some familiar faces. Chronicle was the first to greet them. "Derpy Hooves! Bon Bon! Lyra! Carrot Top! Dinky!" "Hi!", chirped the unicorn filly. "Hey, guys!", greeted Heartstrings. "What brings you here to Cloudsdale?", he asked, his friends still staring in disbelief that there were more non-pegasi in Cloudsdale aside from them. "We decided to see the Best Young Flyer Competition!" "And I'm taking part!", finished Derpy. "You?", the stallion was shocked. "But aren't you a mother?" "Still just about young enough to qualify. I'll be too old next year and I wanted to show little Dinky I'm not just a klutz." At this, she picked up her daughter and hugged her. "Oookay.", Chronicle managed to say as his friends regained their composure. "As for how we got here, I won a lottery two days ago and got tickets for a tour to Cloudsdale.", Bon Bon explained. "And as for how we're able to walk on clouds, which only pegasi can normally do, we've been cast a cloud-walking spell by the guy who took us here." "And in the event we would want to visit Cloudsdale again, I also learned it too." "I see. Say, we're headed to the weather factory. Thinking of coming?" "Sure!", said Carrot. Derpy however backed out and said, "I think I'll sit this one out." "Aww…", complained Dinky. "I wanted to go." Rainbow told Chronicle, "There was a…disastrous incident last time she was there. It's one of the reasons she decided to be a mailmare instead of a weather pony." C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP—C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP Finally… Leaving Derpy and Dinky to go elsewhere ("I'm gonna buy souvenirs."), the group, now added up by three, made their way up the cloud equivalent of a narrow road winding along a cliff to a building complex built on it. A rainbow laced down into one wing, waterfalls of its light trickle over the edges like a fair number of Cloudsdale's buildings (and Rainbow's house). Black storm clouds hung over other areas and crackled with lightning. Upon reaching the place, they were stopped by an official, but Rainbow vouched for everypony and they were granted access, but not without donning the appropriate safety attire, which consisted of white hard hats and coats. And thanks to a spell from Rarity, the clone Chronicle was donned the clothes without having to push his body around, which would not be safe for his integrity. The group made their way to one of the entrances in the factory, its door hissing upward as a magic sensor (explained later) detected one worker and ten escorted visitors. Rainbow led them through and into the factory, keeping her voice down. "This is where they make the snowflakes.", she explained, indicating several of them under a magnifying lens on a table, being inspected by workers dressed for the cold—fur-lined lab coats, with earmuffs over the hard hats. "Each one is hoof-made." So Parasol works here too., Chronicle wondered as he noted the faces of two of them as they stood at workstations on opposite sides of a large vat of flakes. And wait…that can't be Noteworthy. Can it? A relative, perhaps? "As you could [sic] see, it’s a delicate operation." "Hmm…the legend of Snowdrop comes to mind.", muttered the mare-faced stallion. "You read that legend?", Twilight whispered. "Mm-hmm. Very tear-jerking tale. From what I read, she was one of Princess Luna's cherished ponies." He then lowered his voice further. "I wonder if her passing was one factor behind her transformation into Nightmare Moon…" Meanwhile, Rarity flew up to check out a couple of large specimens hung from the ceiling. "Ooh, the snowflakes look even better from up here!", she said. But the air currents created by her flapping not only caused these two to swing on their wires, but also sent all the regular-size ones every which way on the production floor. Grumbling ponies galloped after them, many with bowls balanced on heads to catch them, but the sound of delicate flakes shattering on walls and floor came through all too clearly. Bon Bon and Carrot Top gave a disapproving look at the Glimmer Wing-wearing unicorn. "We better move on before Rarity ruins winter and causes a drought.", Rainbow suggested. She winced at the tinkle of another broken flake. "Yeah. With winter coming shortly…", Lyra started. Just then, Chronicle started up upon sensing something. His time as a bodyguard had given him the intuition on whether they were being watched. He turned to Twilight and said, "The rest of you go on ahead, I think I'll see what I can do about this mess." He then gave a wink as well. Twilight didn't understand the wink, but decided that he knew what he was doing and agreed. As she left with the rest to the next area, Chronicle made a glimpse back as he made to walk after them, then suddenly teleported. When he emerged, he promptly landed on one of the workers, then took off her hat, revealing a familiar very light yellow bandanna under it holding back baby pink hair. "All right, missy.", he said. "I want to know why you've been spying on Rainbow Dash a few hours ago." This seemed to surprise the "spy", who spoke in a highly feminine voice. "How do you know that?" "Let's just say you're not the only one who knows a thing or two on espionage." She gave a sigh. "All right. But could you promise not to tell anypony else? And move somewhere discreet?" "Okay." He then got his companion moving and out of the factory. "That's an amateurish move for a spy." "That's because I'm not. Not the assassin or infiltrator type anyway. I'm an undercover Wonderbolt. You can call me Skyla." She raised a hoof to shake. "Chronicle." He returned the greeting. "So… Let me ask again. Why have you been spying on Rainbow Dash?" "Okay, do you know how we recruit Wonderbolts?" "No." "We have the Wonderbolts Academy, of course. However, the only way to get in is by invitation letters." "And there are undercover Wonderbolts like you investigating potentials like Rainbow Dash?", Chronicle guessed. "Uhh…that's right." "HOT, HOT, HOT, HOT, HOT!", a voice came. The two of them turned to see Pinkie Pie headed their way. Without missing a beat, Chronicle conjured a barrier for her to slam into, which she did. "Pinkie Pie.", he greeted. "What's up?" "Too spicy!" "Too spicy? That's weird coming from you." Pinkie then turned to Skyla and said, "Hi!" C—TS—LH—GH—BB—A—RD—R—F—PP—S Erstwhile… Rainbow Dash led her company (sans Rarity, who was off elsewhere) to a large round chamber. Three workers criss-crossed its upper reaches, each with a net on a long pole—similar to a pool skimmer—over one shoulder. A freshet of rainbow light spilled out of an aperture near the open ceiling level, down through several suspended pools, and toward the floor. Other pegasi were at work on these platforms, using their own skimmers to keep debris out. "And here’s where they make the rainbows!", she finished as the others followed her through the area. Pinkie dipped one front hoof into the pool and licks it, smacking her lips to get the taste. "Pinkie Pie, I think that's industrial solvent!", gasped Bon Bon. Pinkie's face then cycled through a quick series of colors and painful contortions, accompanied by a brief burst of flame from her mouth, and she gasped for breath once she was back to her normal pink. The stuff had disagreed with her so badly that she almost couldn't get her next word out. "Spicy!" As she galloped off, Twilight gave a smile, Applejack laughed, and Carrot groaned. "Okay, now I get what Mystic Shield meant by tasting a rainbow.", Chronicle commented. "Yeah.", Rainbow agreed. "Rainbows aren’t really known for their flavor." "I seriously hope they're not made out of…" He didn't know how to put this without sounding like a madpony. "You know…unless…" "If you're thinking about that tale of the 'Rainbow Factory', that's just a old filly's tale.", said the worker who looked like Noteworthy as he overheard. "A scary story mothers tell their foals to scare them into behaving." "I'd still like a deeper tour sometime, if just to allay my fears." "You'd have to ask the boss for that. I believe Rainbow Dash here can take you there." Chronicle turned to face her. "Perhaps another time." "Pinkie Swear?" "Pinkie Swear." And the two of them performed the necessary motions, remembering to close their eye before putting their hoof into them. "I think she's lucky she only breathed fire instead of, say, her mouth being covered in severe chemical burns.", Bon Bon said. "And the fire breathing's already strange to me." From what I know, a rainbow is basically just refracted light, so tasting liquid rainbow would probably be like a mouthful of laser beams. However, given that they are like this in Equestria… Chronicle's thoughts were interrupted by a "Whoa!" He would've described the voice that made it to be like that of a typical high-school bully. The two turned to see a trio of pegasus stallions (all clad in white hard hats and lab coats like the rest) crossing the floor and keeping their eyes trained on Rarity, who was out for a midair stroll. "Well, if it isn't Billy Dumbell, Hoops, and Score.", the unicorn stallion said mostly to himself. Billy had a dark brown coat, light tan hair, a barbell cutie mark, and blue eyes set unusually far down toward his nose. Hoops, the largest of the three, had a dark tan coat, brown hair, and a cutie mark of three basketballs. Score, the shortest and bulkiest, had a gray coat, dark gray/black hair, and a cutie mark of two footballs. All of them had their manes hanging down into their faces, obscuring the eyes of the latter two. "You've met them?", asked Rainbow. "Uh-huh. Remember that prestigious child I talked about? These guys tormented him as well. Or at least they would have were it not for me." "Oh, you were his bodyguard, right?" "Mm-hmm." "Oh, where’d you get those amazing wings?", they heard Billy ask. "I want a pair!" "Hmmm…yeah, I guess I could see that.", Rarity replied. Just then, the trio noticed one particular pony. "Oh, hey, look, it’s Rainbow Crash again!" Hoops laughed at that. "Yeah! Rainbow…um…" He fumbled for the words. "…Crash!" Chronicle turned to Rainbow and said, "Can't believe Spike wasn't the only one…" "Rarity!", she scolded as the others went over. "What are you doing talking to these guys?" "Oh, they were just admiring my wings, Rainbow Dash." "Yeah. You should forget the Sonic Rainboom and just get yourself some wings like these!", Billy teased, then laughed heartily before suddenly stopping, then turning their gaze on one other pony. They retained this silence for six seconds. "Finally noticed me, huh?", Chronicle finally said. "If it isn't that unicorn who's been taggin' with that kid!", said Billy. "I see you finally managed to find jobs.", the unicorn snarked in return. "And you, you're hanging out with this loser?" The jock pointed at Rainbow while saying this. Chronicle responded by flaring his horn and generating his "magic horn blade", but much shorter as if not wanting to attract too much attention. Rainbow slumped despondently at this. "Just a new contract is all. And I discuss their terms with no one." He then lengthened his blade and positioned himself so that it was between his companions and the trio. "And if you dare speak ill of any of my charges again while I'm around, I'll make that scuffle we had last time look like a play fight." At those words, Billy and his posse backed away, not once showing fear in their faces, then left without a word. Once they were out of earshot, Chronicle sheathed his "blade". Luckily, Bon Bon, Carrot, and Lyra were at the back and did not clearly see what he did. "Umm…was that what you call a bluff?", Fluttershy asked. "Maybe.", he replied coyly. "Depends on how they take it." She had no idea what to interpret from his words, so she decided to change the subject. "Oh, come on, girls. Why don’t we go see how clouds are made?" As the group headed out, she addresses Rainbow. "Don’t listen to them. You’re gonna win that competition for sure." Rainbow turned to Chronicle, who made a gesture of understanding and backed away out of earshot (knowing he can know what they said anyway later through Surveillance), then said, "Are you kidding? I can’t do the Sonic Rainboom. And just look at these boring, plain old feathered wings. I’m doomed!" Her three friends present shared a concerned look at this. The other three were unsure of what to do and remained neutral. C—TS—LH—GH—BB—A—RD—R—F—PP—S—BD—H—S Later… The group made their way to an immense circular chamber with a domed, open ceiling. Several pegasi were hard at work here, stirring large kettles that sent up thick white clouds of vapor, while others pumped the bellows to heat the ovens on which they sit. One mare with a wisteria coat, pink lace hair with baby pink streaks, charm pink eyes, a cutie mark of a rainbow, and the name Rainbowshine, flew to one empty kettle and tipped in the contents of a bucket on her head. Instantly, the vessel erupted to life in a geyser of clouds. At this point, the real Chronicle, Skyla, and Pinkie Pie (now having recovered from her disastrous rainbow taste-test), were returning and making their way to the rest. When Twilight and the others turned, saw her, and asked who she was, the Chronicle clone said, "Ask him later. My memory doesn't get updated to whatever he discovers." He then turned to a very uneasy Rainbow, then to what had grabbed her attention; a babel of admiring voices from a number of workers—Rainbowshine among them—as they looked at Rarity, who was showing herself off once more. "What, these old things? Go ahead, everypony. Photos are encouraged.", she was saying. Rarity's friends and the three accompanying Ponyvillians were slightly fed-up, except for Rainbow, whose nerves are starting to chew her up again, and Skyla, who was more than just fed-up. She seemed to be insulted for some reason. The real Chronicle noticed this and asked, "Do you have anything against Glimmer Wings?" "No. What I am against are over-their-head show-offs, no matter their wings." At this point, the three have joined the main group. As the showboating unicorn played to the crowd, Twilight stepped over for a word. "Rarity, we’re supposed to be helping Rainbow Dash relax, remember? Put your wings away and stop showing off!" Rarity just flew higher with a contemptuous sigh. "How can you ask me to put away perfection?" She ended up directly in front of the sun, so that its rays shone through her wings and threw pastel spots over the gathered workers. Pinkie was the only Ponyville resident to join the workers in voicing their awe at the display. Seeing the end product of her impromptu light show, Rarity let a wild laugh ring over the crowd. "Just great.", said Chronicle as he dismissed his clone. "Maybe I should start calling her 'Vanity'." Twilight meanwhile turned to Rainbow, who was now sitting on the factory floor with her head propped on her front hooves. "Rainbow Dash, are you okay? You don’t look so good." "Of course.", she replied, obviously hyperventilating. "Why wouldn’t I be okay? Everyone’s so in love with Rarity’s wings that they won’t even notice when I totally blow it in the Best Young Flyers Competition!" Just then, Rainbowshine zipped forward. "Hey, there’s an idea!", she suggested to Rarity. "You should enter the competition!" An elder worker spoke up, "Yeah! I could watch you fly all day long!" "There really isn’t anypony who uses their wings quite like me. Perhaps I should compete." Rainbow gasped, "What?!?" With that, Rarity shifted away from the sun as more awed mutterings came. The cloud crew followed her off the production floor as well as Lyra, Carrot, and Bon Bon (though they walked at a slower pace), leaving one shocked blue pegasus to gape after them. Her other five friends and Skyla gathered around, then she said, "What am I gonna do? I’ll never win the competition now." C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP—S—C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP—S Eyecatch (video-type) - The show's logo in the center of the screen, with the multicolored, translucent butterfly-like wings from last time appears. The wings then fold up and disappear behind the logo, then two helices of rainbows come out from the sides, followed by a sonic boom that absorbs its colors. C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP—S—C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP—S For some reason, Skyla went closer and began to pat Rainbow on the head in an attempt to comfort her. Chronicle's friends turned and faced him, all of them silently asking one question; Who is she?" Knowing he needed to explain, he said, "Girls, this is Skyla. Skyla, this is…" He proceeded to name each of his friends, ending with the absent Rarity. "Quick question.", Pinkie said. "What's does Skyla have to do with Rainbow Dash to be this concerned?" "Aren't we all?" "We're her friends. But what about Skyla? What is her relationship? Is she an old friend? Just like that meanie-pants-of-a-griffon Gilda?" She turned angry upon mentioning her. "Well…" Chronicle was unsure of what to do. "Let's just say that in a way she's like Scootaloo." "Oh!" The others murmured the same as well, agreeing with his story. Skyla however was confused and turned to face him, still patting Rainbow. "Scootaloo? Who's that?" "Somepony who looks up to her." He then gave a wink. "Oh. I see." Skyla looked to the others. "Umm…we should be heading for the Cloudosseum now. Let me take you there." C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP—S—C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP—S Later… After consoling Rainbow Dash enough for her to move, and leading her and her friends to the Cloudosseum, Skyla took them to their places, Rainbow backstage with the rest of the competitors (Rarity was already there), and her friends in the stands. As for Skyla herself, Chronicle assumed she went off somewhere to change into her Wonderbolt outfit. Naturally, since they were outside the weather factory, they discarded their white hats and coats. As Chronicle sat with his friends, he recalled that he summoned a clone to guard the balloon, which was parked outside. He also remembered that before parting ways, he gave a Pinkie Swear to Skyla (in Pinkie Pie's presence so she would explain it to the white pegasus) that he won't let Rainbow Dash know about what she told him. When asked what was it she told him, he said he could not tell because it would risk breaking his promise, and knowing what would happen if one breaks a Pinkie Swear (or Pinkie Promise as she sometimes calls them)…he shuddered from the thought. Shaking the memory off his mind, Chronicle decided to do a once-over of the area. Amidst the trumpet fanfare and the cheering fans that filled the stands, one section seemed different. Here, clouds at three levels have been set up as box seats, with a single large, ornate seat placed dead center at the lowest level. Above it were a large emblem depicting Princess Celestia’s sun cutie mark within a heart, and a statue of a winged unicorn walking on a cloud. Apparently, this was her private lodge. Deciding he could afford to be a little naughty, though not too naughty, he 'pulled out' Surveillance, though not all the way out of "hammerspace" and decided to take a look at the backstage area through the camera on Rainbow. From what he could see the gathered competitors were talking excitedly among themselves, each with a number pasted over his/her cutie mark. Many of them he was familiar with back in Ponyville, even Derpy. One however—wearing a "5"—looked just like Doctor Whooves, down to the hourglass cutie mark. That can't be the Doctor. Regeneration doesn't happen this early. Rainbow herself—wearing number 2—was pacing nervously by herself before the entire group started to move out. Behind them, a pegasus he knew by the name Medley knocked at the closed door of a dressing room. It opened and Rarity put her head out. "I’m going to be a while!", she said as she lifted one gleaming front hoof, blew a bit of dust from it into Medley’s face, and slammed the door. Curious as to what Rarity was doing, he decided to take a peek. But only a quick peek; he's not going to disrespect her privacy so liberally. However, before he could do so, he felt a chill of dread as Pinkie Pie's voice echoed in his head, making ghost noises. Remembering the terms of his Promise with her concerning Surveillance, he quickly put it away. Okay. I'm not a pervert. As he regained his composure, he took another look at what his friends were doing. They were sitting around waiting, just like the rest. Pinkie however was laughing while holding a “#1” foam finger aloft on one front hoof. This boggled him greatly as he glanced up, seeing Lyra reaching down through the cloud seat above them, almost as if she was trying to get the foam finger. And then he remembered something. Right. Trade with other thumbed creatures like griffons or even a minotaur. Yeah, I do remember seeing one before. He grumbled and decided to poke his head through the cloud seat he and his friends were on and saw Billy, Hoops, and Score, whose laughter was far from lighthearted. He grumbled in disgust before pulling his head back out. As he did, he then saw somepony come up on a cloud that took him well above the top-level seats. Chronicle recalled his name as he saw the blue stallion with gray-white hair, a dark gray jacket trimmed in white (that hid his cutie mark), sunglasses, and a headset microphone that amplified his voice. It was Madden, the Cloudsdale-famed event announcer. "Fillies and gentle-colts!", he announced. "Please rise and join me in welcoming our beloved Princess Celestia!" The cheering intensified as the fanfare played again and said princess descended from the sky and into her seat, flanked by two guards, before waving to the crowd. "Please welcome our celebrity judges for the Best Young Flyer Competition…the Wonderbolts!" On cue, six pegasi flew overhead, leaving gray cloud contrails in their wake. They wore goggles and blue/yellow full-body jumpsuits decorated with lightning bolts on each hoof. Each jumpsuit had a winged lightning bolt where a cutie mark would normally go. In an instant, the Wonderbolts launched into a near-vertical climb, then formed a single-file line that became an impossibly tight cluster before they fled apart in a burst of fireworks. Their six trails formed an outline in the sky that bore some slight resemblance to a head-on view of a pegasus with wings spread. Cheers erupted from the audience as three of the Wonderbolts settled into the box seat to Celestia’s left and the other three rose to a box seat further above. Chronicle couldn't find any sign of Skyla anywhere, though he managed to locate her shortly after, standing alongside the other three Wonderbolts. She wore their uniform and had taken off her bandana, letting her mane hang loose. "And now, let’s find out who will take the prize as this year’s Best Young Flyer!", Madden continued. Chronicle decided to take this time to check on Rainbow again. From what he could see in the backstage, coming into view was a light tan mare with bright orange hair, a pink sweater that hid her cutie mark (which was three tornadoes likke Dizzy Twister), a pair of half-moon glasses on a chain, and a headset mic. Her mane was curly, but her tail was straight. From what he could tell from her ID, she was the stage manager Lucy, whose voice carried a nasal accent and marked her as an older, hard-bitten type. "Okay, contestant number one, you’re up!", she said. On the end of this, Dizzy Twister, designated #1, trotted eagerly past Rainbow. The latter looked toward her own rump and let off a startled yell; her number was 2. Outside, Dizzy flew through the curtain and into the arena. Back backstage, Lucy called, "Okay, number two, let’s go!" Now in a total panic at being called up on deck, Rainbow looked here and there quickly. "Um…" She then found #5, a stallion chewing on a tuft of hay (and the Doctor Whooves lookalike. She slunk quickly behind him. "Come on, come on, we ain’t got all day!" Upon reaching him, Rainbow switched their numbers, then called out to him. "She’s talking to you!" Spooked, he let the hay fall out. "Oh! Uh…" He trotted ahead. "…well, I guess that’s me!" As she watched him head out with a smirk, back in the seats, Chronicle mused as he observed, Definitely not the Doctor. His voice is higher than even mine. C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP—PC—S—BD—H—S—M—L Later… While stallion #12 (a Caramel-lookalike) flexed a foreleg muscle to mare #6 (Parasol from Ponyville), Rainbow reached in and swapped the mare's placard for her #5. "Okay, number four, time to go!", Lucy called. The dressing room door opened and Rarity stepped up—mane in curlers, and face covered with her favorite mud mask. "I’m number four, and I need just one more itsy-bitsy minute. Be a dear and have somepony go ahead of me, hm?" "Look. I don’t care who it is, but somepony’s gotta go on!" #7, a stallion, was raring to go. "Let’s do this!", he said as he reared up, then galloped out. Rainbow made a little noise of surprise upon seeing her #6. "What am I gonna do?", she said, then she quickly noted Derpy, who was #15. C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP—PC—S—BD—H—S—M—L Later still, back at the stands… Twilight Sparkle and the others were talking with each other in their box seat. Pinkie's foam finger was already taken by Lyra, who was hugging it like a doll, much to Bon Bon's concern. "I loved number seven!", Twilight said. "Doing fifteen barrel rolls in a row can’t be easy!" Fluttershy put out her opinion. "My favorite is number ten. She just looked like such a nice pony." "I can't believe number six, Derpy, managed to make such a screw-up so spectacular.", Chronicle commented. "Mommy's the best!", they heard Dinky call from the box seat above. "Hm. Wonder how come we haven’t seen Rainbow Dash or Rarity yet.", Applejack pointed out. "The competition’s almost over.", "Who knows? From how Rarity was showing herself off with those wings, I'm guessing she's working overtime at the dressing room. As for Rainbow, I can only imagine how she's feeling right about now." "Why don't you check on her?", Pinkie suggested. "Okay. But you know the rules we made and sealed with your Promise." "We're not allowed to peek into one another's activities through your cameras without your consent. And Rarity or Applejack have to ask permission to know what your cameras on the Cutie Mark Crusaders are seeing." "Right." With that, he moved to their backs and 'took out' Surveillance. What he saw made him just want to teleport there right now and comfort her; Rainbow's nerves had reduced her to a bug-eyed, twitching wreck huddled at the base of a column. The backstage was empty at this point, the rest of the contestants already having done their part. Lucy came over and prodded her with a hoof. "Number fifteen, let’s go!" Just then, the sound of an opening door caught both of them off guard. They turned to one of the dressing rooms, which had mist swirling out of it and a hazy silhouette visible beyond. As the figure stepped forward, Chronicle did his best not to shriek at the sight. The vainglorious unicorn had donned a headdress of pink feathers whose base fit over her horn, as well as a garment styled to resemble her wings—yellow-dotted pink upper portions arcing over her flanks, and yellow-streaked blue ones riding low toward the floor. The two sections joined at a pink collar fringed with fluffy yellow/blue feathers, and she wore heavy makeup and yellow/pink anklets on each foreleg. "Rarity is ready!", she said. "Look, ladies.", Lucy said, remaining calm as Rarity approached. "I don’t know what to tell you. 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, shall we?" Her unstrung opposite number could do little more than smile and gibber weakly. Chronicle couldn't take this anymore and 'put away' Surveillance. "What's going on?", asked Twilight. "It's…ugh. You're gonna have to see once they come out." "You look like you've seen something horrifying." Before Chronicle could reply, they were interrupted by Madden. "And now, for our final competitor of the day…", he announced. The curtain where the contestants emerge parted as Rainbow floated out. "…contestant number fifteen!" Rarity came out after her. "Uh…and apparently contestant number four." Their friends cheered, with Pinkie waving a spare foam finger and Fluttershy barely making herself heard. Chronicle just remained silent however. "Good luck, Rainbow Dash.", said Rarity. "Just do your best." She then leaned in close. "I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of changing our music. That rock and roll doesn’t really match my wings." This was a piece of news Rainbow did not want to hear, judging from her scared gulp. Rarity then did a couple of dance steps and twirled in midair as a pizzicato string introduction was played. "Oh, I can't stand this." Chronicle groaned as he turned away. "Tell me when it's over." Twilight turned to face him. "But the one you called Medley also danced to this sort of music. How is this any different?" "Mixing a dance number and a stunt sequence just isn't right. And Rarity's get-up… it's just…" He shook his head as the music changed into a light waltz. My brother could win this easy. He calmed himself, closed his eyes, and began to put the Best Young Flyer Competition out of his mind for the time being. F—L—A—S—H—B—A—C—K Two years ago, in a forest somewhere in an unspecified Equestria… Chronicle and his siblings (then called Timmy, Tabitha, and Crais) were just about finished with their walking lessons from their Aunt Fanny, whose pony name is Fuchsia. As for the three Timers, they haven't selected theirs at this point in time. "Nice work, kids.", she said as she turned to face the three as they all stopped, then narrowed her eyes on Crais. "You, however…" Fuchsia pointed a hoof at him. "Don't think you fooled me. I heard your wings flapping." The white pegasus was about to speak up when she shoved her hoof to his mouth. "And don't give me that old excuse. You already had two days to get accustomed to your wings." "Told you she'd find out, Crais.", Tabitha snarked. "Just shut up, Tabitha.", the pegasus grumbled in response. "I'll be headed to Calyndar for flight lessons." With that, he took off and headed eastward. "Aunt Selena.", Timmy said, remembering Calyndar's real name once his and Tabitha's younger brother was gone. "Isn't she assigned to some place called 'Lunar Republic'?" "She's the one.", answered Fuchsia. "Now which side of the family was she in again?" "Your father's side. Come on. Let's go see Crais do his stuff." Fuchsia started to walk eastward as well. "Your mother won't be back for a few hours for your magic training." "Right.", said Tabitha as she and Timmy followed. "Because unicorn magic is applied differently than ours." C—T—BD—F—C—T—BD—F—C—T—BD—F Later, at a forest clearing… The three non-pegasi watched as Crais hovered twenty feet above them, his two swords Justice and Retribution summoned. He was having trouble keeping them balanced as he wasn't used to holding them up with red bands. He was swinging his swords with caution, though he was progressively moving faster. "That's it. Keep those steady.", Calyndar said as she flew around Crais. "Soon you'll be swordfighting in the air in no time." Calyndar was a blue-violet pegasus pony with light blue hair tied up in a bun, both mane and tail, and teal eyes. Naturally, her cutie mark was the same as everypony else in the area; the emblem of the Story Crew. "Okay, Crais. Let's put you into a crash course. Are you ready?" The white pegasus stopped swinging. "As I'll ever be." "Okay. Remember, no sword auras, are we clear?", Calyndar reminded. She then clapped her hooves. "Go." On cue, several spherical orbs with insectoid wings, which in retrospect resembled parasprites, emerged from the trees, then started to close in on Crais. At once, he zoomed straight for one of them, swinging his right sword Retribution at it. The slash cut the orb in half and just before it exploded, Crais was already onto the next one. He wasn't exactly graceful in his movements, but they were still smooth. Near the end of the exercise however, one orb tackled him from behind and he started tumbling in the air. Tabitha gasped at this predicament, but Crais managed to recover in time to land his hind legs on another orb and kicked off of it, sending it into yet another orb, making the two explode. He charged straight for the orb that hit him, pointed his forelegs (and by extension his two swords) forward, and began to spin. "Is he…", Fuchsia started. "I think he is.", Timmy answered. Crais pierced through the orb, but when he stopped spinning, he found himself dizzy as he automatically dismissed his swords as he put a hoof to his head. Thankfully, he was still flapping his wings. However, one more orb closed in on him from the right. Fortunately, he managed to see it coming and dropped for a while, letting it pass over him, before flapping again, the force of gravity clearing his head. As the orb turned around for another pass, Crais swung his left sword Justice at it, slicing it in two, then backed away as it exploded. "Crais, you did well.", the pegasus mare said as she approached him. "But you need to build up your recovery time from that spin move of yours." "Yeah, I guess I should." "Woohoo!", cheered Tabitha, alerting the two to her, Timmy, and Fuchsia's presence. "You were great out there, Crai—" E—N—D—F—L—A—S—H—B—A—C—K Chronicle was forcibly 'yanked' from his flashback moment when he suddenly felt a searing sensation in his eyes as an image of Rarity came into his mind. It felt like he something was putting hot iron onto his closed eyes. Of course, he couldn't help but cry out as his eyes seemed to burn, but when the feeling disappeared, he found that his vision was still as good as ever. When he turned around, he saw Twilight was facing him, looking concerned. "Are you all right?" "Yeah.", he managed to reply. "Rarity just came into my mind and for a sudden, my eyes seemed to burn. Vision's still 20-20 though." "Maybe we should see an eye doctor after this." "Yeah." They turned back to the show just in time to see Rarity and Rainbow Dash ascend into the sky, the latter bypassing the former as the wind tried its best to peel her face off. Rarity simply glided serenely up and toward the sun, stopping only when she has centered herself in front of it. If any of their eyes were keener, they would've seen sweat beginning to run down her face due to exertion and/or the heat at this altitude, and she addressed herself toward the crowd far below. "Look upon me, Equestria, for I am Rarity!" She then spreads her wings, creating a spread of pastel-tinted sunbeams that bathed the entire Cloudosseum and elicited awestruck gasps from the fans. "More like 'Vanity' if you ask me.", Chronicle grumbled. "Definitely 'Vanity'." He was promptly smacked in the face by Applejack's hat held by her tail…somehow. "That was a low blow, Chronicle.", the farmpony told him. "Sorry.", he whispered back in apology, then let out a short gasp. He could swear he could see smoke coming from the tips of the Glimmer Wings. And then—as the waltz came to an end—they vanished in a sudden lick of fire, incinerated by the sun’s energy, and left behind only flakes of soot that crumbled away from the showoff unicorn’s back. Her eyes went wide as she realized that the laws of physics have just socked it to her. "Oh, Icarus." Okay. Definitely not using them in hot days. At that second, gravity decided it was time to pull her down screaming toward the Cloudosseum with every limb flailing wildly. "Oh, no!", gasped Twilight. "Her wings evaporated into thin air!" "If there's an alicorn or some other deity in charge of gravity, she sure has a sick sense of humor.", her bodyguard said as Rarity promptly dropped past all three levels of box seats and out through the arena’s open floor. "Time for me to save the day." He was about to take a step forward when Twilight barred him. "No need for that. The Wonderbolts are on the job." Indeed, the said three that were seated near Celestia's box seat sprung into action to dive after her. Just in case however, Chronicle summoned a magical clone on his back, and cast the cloud-walking spell on him. Below, the Wonderbolts were knocked senseless one by one when they caught up to Rarity's windmilling hooves. "They're just a show team.", Chronicle groaned. "And why isn't Celestia coming in to help?! My turn." He turned to his clone, who had jumped off of him. "Jump in after them and once you're in range, teleport them at the Cloudosseum." At once, the clone jumped off after the falling ponies, his horn flaring as he got ready to teleport. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?!", Twilight asked. "Teleportation only affects position and orientation, not momentum! They'll still fall at the same speed and direction as they are right now!" "Well my teleportation can change momentum in respect to orientation.", Chronicle answered. "You saw it at work." "I’m coming!", Rainbow's voice came as she dropped through the Cloudosseum. On seeing her, he took out Surveillance and checked on Rarity's camera. Right now, he could see her continue to flail as the Wonderbolts continued to fall around her, his clone fast approaching and horn flaring, with Rainbow right behind. His hopes of teleporting them back up were dashed however as he saw Rarity's flailing hoof smack the clone and dissipate him immediately. "████!", he swore. At the rate they were falling and their distance to the ground, there was no time for him to try a second time. Not unless he was going to risk his own life as well; his clones weren't as quick-thinking as he is. Beside him, Fluttershy was covering her eyes with a scared little cry. "I can’t look!", she was saying. Immediately, he opened his screen to check on Rainbow and said, "It's up to you now! Do the Sonic Rainboom!" He couldn't tell if she heard, but he could see that if the wind was trying to peel Rainbow’s skull clean last time he saw her try, now it was toying with the idea of turning all of her inside out. There is one difference from her practice session: she now dove with both forelegs extended, not just one. Ahead of her hooves, the rounded wave front began to form just as before. Rarity gave a surprised gasp at this, followed by happy ones from everypony else as Fluttershy uncovered her eyes. Chronicle just tensed up from the building suspense. Can she save them? Will the laws of physics bend enough for her to do that while enduring the G forces pushing at her right now? Does "inertial dampening" happen during Special Sonic Booms? There were too many horrors to comprehend with these "great fall" rescues from great speeds and it was making him nervous. Back below, the turbocharged pegasus’s eyes watered from the air rushing past her face, and sparks began to crackle from the wave front. It elongated just as before, but this time there was no resisting force to slow Rainbow’s flight. With a sudden hard kick of acceleration, she broke through the wave, which turned into a rainbow-hued blast that rippled outward from the spot. She continued her plunge at this insanely fast speed, leaving a sparkly rainbow contrail that persisted in the air long after she had gone. When the burst washed over the Cloudosseum, every jaw hung slack except one, whose owner leaped ecstatically in her seat while yelling at the top of her lungs. "A SONIC RAINBOOM!! SHE DID IT!!", Fluttershy screamed, erroneously sounding like Pinkie. "SHE DID IT!! WHOOOOO!!" Back at ground level, through the cameras of Surveillance, Chronicle saw Rainbow do yet another thing of the impossible; just as she reached the four fallers and caught them, the Wonderbolts on her back and Rarity hanging onto both her forelegs, she then performed a quick 90-degree turn, rocketing along to barely clear the tops of the tall grass right below. And none of them have suffered any horrifying gravity-related effects. As another—though not as sharp—90-degree turn took them back up toward Cloudsdale, Chronicle was overwhelmed by this violation of physics and passed out, nearly falling unconscious as he slammed his head on the soft cloud floor. All of his friends were too busy applauding Rainbow's achievement to notice. At the corner of his eye, he could see a rainbow arc over the the Cloudosseum, with its catalyst rising up through its base later with the trail no longer stretching behind her. Once inside, a squad of pegasi (two of them Merry May and Dizzy Twister) helped the three professional flyers off her back and the two mares held Rarity up while Rainbow settled at the edge of the arena. Her hooves have barely touched down before the crowd exploded into a storm of cheers, confetti, and streamers, and she stared around openmouthed as Fluttershy gave her pipes another workout. "A SONIC RAINBOOM!! WHOOOOO!! YEAH!!" Whether the tears forming in Rainbow’s eyes were due to the standing ovation, or to the fact that she finally got Fluttershy to do a proper cheer, or even both, Chronicle couldn't tell for sure. The hero-of-the-day then turned to Rarity. "I did it! I did it!" Rarity, out of breath, managed to reply, "Yeah…you sure did. Oh, thank you, Rainbow Dash. You saved my life." "Oh, yeah. I did that too." The pegasus gave a laugh. "Best day ever!" "Sure is…", Chronicle muttered as he began to recover. C—TS—A—RD—R—F—PP—PC—S—M—L Sometime after… Twilight Sparkle and the others were preparing to head for home, Derpy and the others already on their way back. Rarity—now out of that eye-sickening costume—sat on the parked balloon while the rest clustered around it on the edge of the arena floor. "I want to apologize to all of you for getting so carried away with my…" Rarity choked back a sob. "…beautiful wings. I guess I just lost my head." "It’s okay." Fluttershy. "Oh, don’t worry ’bout it, kiddo." Applejack. "We still love you." Pinkie. Rarity 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 had worked so hard to win it. Can you ever, ever forgive me?" "Aw, it’s okay. Everything turned out all right, right? I just wish I could’ve met the Wonderbolts when they were awake." A hoof clad a blue jumpsuit sleeve, marked with a yellow lightning bolt, reached in and tapped her on the shoulder. "You might still have that chance.", a familiar voice said. When she turned around, she found herself face to face with the three Wonderbolts who swept down to save Rarity. And Skyla, though she didn't recognize or even meet her due to her breakdown at the factory. Rainbow managed a tiny gasp before getting her tongue in gear. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!", she began to say excitedly. As Skyla moved aside, one of the other three, a yellow-orange mare with a two-tone orange mane, spoke up. "So you’re the little pony who saved our lives. We really wanted to meet you and say thanks." "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" Just then, Princess Celestia came over, accompanied with her guards. Twilight greeted her upon seeing her. "Princess!" All the Ponyville residents save Rarity knelt briefly and stood up. "Hello, Twilight Sparkle, and hello to your friends too." Celestia greeted. "Princess Celestia, I’m sorry I ruined the competition.", Rarity said. "Rainbow Dash here really is the best flyer in Equestria." "I know she is, my dear. 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, Ms. Rainbow Dash." During this, said Best Young Flyer stared in slack-jawed bewilderment until Celestia finished and set a gold tiara on her forehead, which was decorated with a lightning bolt centered above her eyes and a wing near each ear. As her mouth freewheeled again, she is lifted on the heads of Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie and carried away. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!" "Careful or that might be all you can end up saying.", Chronicle teased, getting a glare from her that lasted for only a second. He had long since recovered from his faint. "So, Twilight Sparkle, did you learn anything about friendship from this experience?", Celestia asked her student. "I did, Princess…" The faithful student glanced at a certain friend. "…but I think Rarity learned even more than me." "I certainly did.", Rarity said as Chronicle 'produced' paper and quill to write down the lesson. "I learned how important it is to keep your hooves on the ground, and be there for your friends." "Excellent.", said Celestia. "Well done, Rarity." By this time, the three 'carriers' rejoined them and set Rainbow down, who said, "This really is the best day ever!" They were accompanied by the three bullies, though all their earlier derision has now vanished. "Uh, hey, Rainbow Crash—", Billy began. "Dash!", Hoops corrected as he nudged his buddy in the ribs and Chronicle have them a glare. "Oh, uh—sorry, Rainbow Dash. Uh, we just wanted to congratulate you on winning the competition." "That Sonic Rainboom was awesome!", Hoops reared while saying this. "Heh…thanks, guys." Rainbow was surprisingly cool with them. "Uh, w-we’re really sorry we gave you such a hard time before.", Billy said. "Aw, that’s okay. Don’t worry about it." "Hey, do you want to hang out with us? Uh, maybe you could show us how you did that incredible trick." "Sorry, boys." The recent champion zipped up to where two Wonderbolt stallions were waiting in midair, dropped a foreleg over each one’s shoulders, and started away with them. "But I’ve got plans.", she finished, not looking back. As they flew off, silhouetting themselves against the sun, Chronicle wondered to himself, "Hmm…I better check on that book on Special Sonic Booms again. I wonder if we have the book in the library?"