'Spirit of Loyalty'
by milesprower06
Chapter 3
Encore Performance
When Twilight landed in the center of Ponyville, she immediately started coordinating a search pattern for Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy checked her house of clouds, Applejack started to check her acres of farmland, Pinkie Pie and Rarity took the blocks around Sugarcube Corner and Carousel Boutique, respectively, and Twilight and Spike began searching the meadows around Ponyville.
“What if she doesn't want to be found right now, Twilight? If she's as upset as we think she is, wouldn't she want some time alone?” Spike asked, riding along on the purple unicorn's back.
“She said she'd meet us at Pony Joe's after the auditions. Until we find her and make sure she's alright, time alone can wait.”
“But I'm sure she was planning on meeting you guys with good news. Joining the Wonderbolts meant the world to Rainbow. Maybe she just needs a little time.”
“Not with disappearing without a word to anyone, Spike.”
Suddenly, off in the distance, there was a loud bang and flash of white light, followed by an expanding rainbow in all directions.
A Sonic Rainboom.
That had to be Rainbow Dash! Twilight immediately took off for the origin of the expanding rainboom. As she closed in on the meadow, she saw a rapidly-moving figure in the sky, whirling and spinning, and she instantly recognized it as Rainbow's routine for this morning's audition.
As she entered a thicket of trees separating the adjacent meadow, there was another explosion, and the resulting burst of wind rushed through the small forest. A second Rainboom.
Twilight quickened her pace to make it to the other side of the forest patch. She knew Rainbow's routine by heart, and wanted to get to her before the third and final Rainboom and she ended up taking off someplace else.
Spike held on for dear life.
Twilight came to the second meadow just as Rainbow Dash was careening towards the earth in a bomb dive, a mach cone forming around her figure, and pulling up just time as the mach cone shattered, and a third Sonic Rainboom erupted in her wake, as she skidded to a halt on the grass, her back to Twilight.
As the last Rainboom subsided, Twilight hurried to catch the sky blue pegasus, whose chest was heaving from her routine.
“Rainbow!”
Dash turned her head to the source of the sound, and Twilight saw her friend's eyes glazed with tears. Rainbow didn't seem the least bit pleased with her friend's presence, as she abruptly took to the skies again, towards her cloud home low above Ponyville.
“Rainbow, wait!”
“Twilight!” she heard from multiple directions. The other four came from all directions into the meadow, also having seen the multiple-rainboom spectacle.
“Where'd she go?” Applejack asked.
“I think it's time to dig out that Cloudwalker spell again.”