//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: The Best Young Flyer // Story: The Rainbow Connection // by Locomotion //------------------------------// “Wakey-wakey, Rainbow Dash. Rise and shine, my little pony.” Rainbow Dash groaned slightly, still half-asleep. “Maybe later, Mom,” she muttered, turning away from the pink, blue-maned Pegasus mare standing next to her bed. Firefly stifled a chuckle as she watched her daughter trying to return to her slumber. “What, and miss out on your big day? I should certainly hope not, young lady,” she teased. “What?!” Rainbow Dash sat bolt upright, startled. “Aw, heck, I totally forgot today was my wedding day! What time is it?” “Calm down, honey,” soothed Firefly, “it's still only 8 o'clock in the morning. We've still got a good four hours to get ready.” Rainbow Dash sat back against the headboard, heaving a sigh of relief. “Well, thank Celestia I didn't sleep in then,” she remarked. “I guess I should have had a good, long talk with Pinkie about that hen party she threw for me. Imagine nearly letting it drag on into the early hours of the morning!” “Never mind, Rainbow; at least you were careful enough not to have had too much to drink that night,” replied her mother brightly. “You just take it easy for the moment.” “Okay, Mom,” said Rainbow Dash with a yawn. “Ah well, time to get some breakfast, I guess.” “All taken care of.” Rainbow Dash's father Solar Blitz, a pale indigo stallion whose mane and tail colours matched those of his daughter, came trotting into the room balancing a tray on his back. On the tray, Rainbow Dash noticed a plate of freshly cooked hay fries and a bowl of fruit salad, with a glass of apple juice to go with it. The rainbow-maned mare gazed in disbelief. “You...you did all this for me?” she gasped. Solar Blitz smiled and nuzzled her fondly. “Well, it being a special day and all, your mother and I just thought it'd warrant special treatment on your part,” he replied kindly. “Aw, thanks, Dad,” smiled Rainbow Dash, and gratefully returned the nuzzle before making a start on the lavish meal laid out in front of her, while the two older ponies both sat down by her side. As their daughter ate her breakfast, Firefly gazed dreamily out of the window as the sun gently peeked over the horizon under Celestia's guidance. She had always loved the effects of a summer sunrise such as this – the beautiful golden glint in the morning sky, the soft, gentle light that it cast on the landscape...it was as if Luna had used what little of the night she had left to make for an ethereal start to the day. But on this occasion, of course, it seemed to signify so much more than that. “You know, Dash,” she murmured, “it still staggers me to think that our own little filly is finally getting married after all this time.” “I'll say,” agreed Solar Blitz heartily. “Ten years ago, you never seemed to have time for colts, and now look at you – twenty-four years old, and you've found a stallion you love more than being a Wonderbolt. And from the same team too – incredible, isn't it?” Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I always knew my destiny would be in the Wonderbolts,” she observed, “but I never thought that said destiny would actually be one of them.” “I don't think any of us did,” chuckled her father. “Still, that in itself is a bit of a surprise, especially when you come to consider what a charmer Soarin Starr can be. When you told us the two of you were dating, I just knew he was the right guy for you.” “Ah, don't go on, Blitz!” chided Firefly, playfully punching her husband's shoulder. “The number of times you played with that pony's head in front of Rainbow Dash, anypony would think you didn't trust him!” “I've already had to tell you a thousand times, babe,” protested Solar Blitz, “I was only joking!” “Yeah, sure,” teased Firefly, and turned her attention back to Rainbow Dash; “Your father does make a good point, though, and that's how lucky you are to have a stallion like him.” “You can say that again,” mused Rainbow Dash. “I can still remember how it all began...” So far, things hadn't been going too well for Rainbow Dash. She was doing her level best, but her fears of losing the Best Young Flyers' Competition were playing on her mind so much that she could barely concentrate, and the change of music to a more graceful tune wasn't helping either. It was almost impossible to believe that, just the other day, her unicorn friend Rarity had been the one to insist that she and her other friends – Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Twilight Sparkle – accompany her and Fluttershy to Cloudsdale to cheer her on; instead, she had taken advantage of the beautiful wings that had been conjured up for her by Twilight and entered herself into the competition at the last minute! Of course, Rarity was only taking part for the sake of being recognised. Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, had a far more ambitious motive; the Wonderbolts were judging the competition, and the winner would be allowed to spend the day with them. Unfortunately, her eagerness to win had become somewhat inhibited by the trouble she had had with trying to fly fast enough to create a rare optical phenomenon known as the Sonic Rainboom, something she had already managed to achieve once, and was hoping to do again. Her fears certainly seemed justified, what with her not being able to build up enough speed, and after being mocked by three obnoxious stallions who had constantly bullied her in her youth, she therefore felt as though the stunt routine she had been practising so meticulously was doomed to failure. Now, with so little time left, Rarity and Rainbow Dash were both having to perform their routines at the same time. As Rarity danced gracefully through the air, Rainbow Dash attempted to weave her way through the cloud slalom course. But such was her anxiety that she threw a steering wobble and bumped into one of them, dropping out of the air in the process. “Nice work, Rainbow Crash!!” jeered one of the stallions, and all three laughed horridly. Rainbow Dash glowered at them, but deep down, she felt even further disheartened. Still, maybe the next part of her routine would be enough to save her bacon – or so she hoped anyway. Climbing back into the air, the rainbow-maned mare flew up to a small group of clouds and started to circle round each one. The slipstream from her wings gradually caused them to start spinning like carousels, slowly at first, then faster...and faster......maybe her routine still had a small chance of success, she thought. But just as she had got the fourth cloud spinning nicely, a lump of stray cloud hit her in the face, knocking her off course again. She bumped into the larger cloud with such force that she sent it flying towards where Princess Celestia herself was watching – but cloud is a fragile substance, and so it simply disintegrated on impact, without inflicting any injury on anypony. Nevertheless, the six Wonderbolt judges didn't seem very impressed with how Rainbow Dash was doing so far. Rainbow Dash watched, almost despairingly, as Rarity began to fly up towards the sun for her grand finale. After both her mishaps, the white unicorn looked certain to win the competition now. “Looks like this is my last chance to turn things around,” the rainbow-maned Pegasus thought aloud, trying in vain to steel herself. “Phase Three – the Sonic...Rainboom. Wings, don't fail me now!” Screwing her eyes shut and clenching her teeth with exertion, she turned and started to climb higher and higher, trying to gain more than enough altitude for what she hoped would be her saving grace. But no matter how much height she gained, she couldn't escape the notion that now could well be her darkest hour. Unless she managed to pull off that legendary Sonic Rainboom... Having climbed to her maximum altitude, Rarity angled her wings down towards the Cloudaseum below, with the sun beaming a magnificent display of lights onto the whole city. “Look upon me, Equestria,” she cried regally, “for I am Rarity!” The crowd gasped in amazement as the lights danced around the arena – but not for long. With little more warning than a wisp of smoke and steam, her wings, made of little more than gossamer and dew, began to sizzle ominously. Picking up the noise, Rarity anxiously glanced over her shoulder, and was horrified to notice that her wings had completely vanished! She hung in the air for a few seconds – and then, as if the laws of physics had suddenly remembered what they should be doing, the white unicorn plunged down towards the Cloudaseum. But she didn't stop there; though the clouds had easily been able to support her weight earlier, the loss of her wings now meant that they could no longer break her fall, and she simply fell right through them. Three of the Wonderbolts dived after her, trying to fly her to safety, but Rarity was in such a panic that she wouldn't stop flailing her legs. As they closed in, she punched and kicked them so hard that all three were knocked out. Just as Rainbow Dash was almost as high as she could go, she suddenly became aware of frantic screaming. Opening her eyes and looking back down, she could just about make out the outline of Rarity, now wingless, plummeting with the unconscious Wonderbolts towards what she knew could well be their deaths. “HOLD ON, RARITY!” she shouted, redirecting her course accordingly. “I'M COMING!” and she dived after the four ponies. Slowly – too slowly for her liking – Rainbow Dash started to gain on Rarity and the Wonderbolts. Through the haze of what few clouds were left, she could see that they were running out of time, so if she was to save them, then there was only one thing she could do – it was a big risk, but one she had to take. Flapping her wings even harder, she gathered speed again, and an air cone began to form around her. Now or never, she thought... At last, everything around her seemed to go completely mute as she burst through the sound barrier. With a final brave effort, she caught up to the four ponies, clung onto Rarity for dear life and, with all three Wonderbolts perched on her back, levelled off for a few miles before gently angling herself upwards again and climbing back towards Cloudsdale. Looking back over her shoulder, she could hardly believe her eyes as she saw the rainbow-coloured trail she was creating – after so many failed attempts at a Sonic Rainboom, she had finally pulled it off! It came as an even greater amazement, though, when she came into land at the Cloudaseum to the sounds of wild cheering from the whole audience. For one of the few times in her life, Fluttershy was literally bouncing with excitement, and even the three stallions had been rendered absolutely speechless. “I did it!” she gasped, as some of the resident Pegasi came forth to take the unconscious Wonderbolts away for medical attention. “I did it!” “You sure did,” agreed a deeply grateful Rarity, now being held in the air by two other Pegasi herself. “Thank you, Rainbow Dash. You saved my life.” “Oh yeah. I did that too,” remarked Rainbow Dash. Then, overcome with delight at having managed to wow the crowd, she raised a joyful hoof and proclaimed, “Best day ever!” Shortly afterwards, Rarity was lowered gently into the safety of the balloon that Twilight and the others had used to travel to Cloudsdale. Once inside the basket, she apologised ruefully to them all, Rainbow Dash in particular, for having nearly stolen the rainbow-maned mare's thunder. “Aw, it's okay,” replied Rainbow Dash. “Everything turned out alright, right?” But then her face fell, and she stared ruefully down at the clouds; “I just wish I could have met the Wonderbolts when they were awake.” But she had spoken too soon. Barely a second after she had finished talking, she felt somepony tapping her shoulder. Rainbow Dash turned around, wondering who would be trying to get her attention – but when she did, she had a job trying to suppress her inner fan-filly, for there, standing just behind her, were the very three Wonderbolts whom she had rescued earlier. “So you're the little pony who saved our lives,” one of them spoke up. “We really wanted to meet you, and say thanks.” Rainbow Dash was so overwhelmed with delight that the only reply she could manage was a long stream of, “Oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh-oh-my-gosh!” It was almost as if she was dreaming the whole thing – and yet, there they were, three of Equestria's elite flying team, standing right before her, thanking her for saving their lives! At that very same moment, Princess Celestia herself stepped forward. “Hello, Twilight Sparkle,” she greeted them warmly, “and hello to your friends too.” “Princess Celestia,” ventured Rarity, “I am sorry I ruined the competition. Rainbow Dash here really is the best flyer in Equestria.” Celestia smiled and nodded. “I know she is, my dear,” she agreed, and turned back to the crowd; “That's why, for her incredible act of bravery, and her spectacular Sonic Rainboom, I'm awarding the grand prize for best young flyer to this year's winner, Miss Rainbow Dash!” The crowd broke out into another chorus of cheers, and Rainbow Dash herself beamed with joy as she was presented with a small, golden headband with a wing on each side and a bolt of lightning on the front. Against all the odds, she had done it – her attempt at a Sonic Rainboom, that elusive optical phenomenon that many had dismissed as a mere ponies' tale, had finally paid off. And in more ways than one, too; not only had she achieved fame among the residents of Cloudsdale, but she had saved the lives of some of her foalhood heroes and won them a new respect for her. This really was her best day ever!