The Dashing Rainbow soared through the sky in her awesome-powered hyper-carriage towards the not-so-secret-anymore hideout of her latest enemy: The Egghead Unicorn! "This is for you President Fluttershy," The Dashing Rainbow said to herself as she flew toward this new loser's base, "Nopony holds my friend's library card hostage! Nopony!"
The loser hideout was in sight. The Dashing Rainbow ensured that she had enough egghead repellent on. Though she was immune to all forms of losery, eggheadery, drawlery, and even snootery, President Fluttershy insisted she protect herself.
With a final increase of the throttle, The Dashing Rainbow leapt out of the carriage and fell effortlessly into the gaping hole that was left in its wake. The carriage itself was beyond repair and cost 15 rainbillion bits. That was a number accountants had to invent just so they could count The Dashing Rainbow's wealth. One rainbillion is a one followed by a billions zeros. At the time of President Fluttershy's library cardnapping, The Dashing Rainbow was estimated to be worth somewhere in the galaxy, ballparks are nowhere near large enough, of two hundred and fifty-seven million rainbillion bits.
"That's the third one today, "The Dashing Rainbow said, "I guess I'm slowing down a bit."
Inside the hideout of the pathetic Egghead Unicorn, The Dashing Rainbow made her way to the egghead sanctuary. "Figures it would be a library," The Dashing Rainbow laughed. The egghead's henchponies got in a single file line to attack The Dashing Rainbow one at a time. One by one, they fell to a flick of her mane and even a flick of her tail. One opponent she felt generous and merely flapped her wings at him. Unfortunately, she flapped too hard as he was launched into space. He was fine as he left at such velocity that he took part of the atmosphere with him. Also, before he left the planet he was sent flying through a grocery store and swept up the entire produce in his wake. So he was sent hurtling into space with air to breathe and food to eat. The Dashing Rainbow is merciful after all.
The last minion The Dashing Rainbow had to face was none other than The Egghead Unicorn's number one assistant, Spork. The bizarre hybrid of dragon and loser made for a sad sight, and was said to be invincible. The Dashing Rainbow knew his weakness. It was a villain that she defeated a short while ago. A certain white unicorn with a violet mane, and a jewel thief named Rawrity. Spork was madly in love with the jewel thief and The Dashing Rainbow knew all about it. When the minion charged to attack, The Dashing Rainbow merely tossed a photo at Spork and waited.
Spork stopped his charge and gazed at the photo of the white unicorn. He sat down and handed The Dashing Rainbow the key to the secret loser lab. The Dashing Rainbow unlocked the door and immediately side stepped as a blast of pure Loser energy shot where she was and disintegrated Spork.
The Dashing Rainbow walked into the library and said awesomely, "Give me back that library card and you won't be hospitalized for long."
The Egghead Unicorn's feeble mind raced. She had plotted for this moment and now that it was here, the sheer weight of her eggheadery came crashing down. She began crying the most egg headed cry imaginable. It was filled with vague book references and stories that occurred decades ago. The Egghead Unicorn tossed President Fluttershy's library card to The Dashing Rainbow and said, "Why? Why must my egg headed ways always lead to the stealing of library paraphernalia from world leaders? Why must I use words like paraphernalia when stuff works so much better?"
"I don't know," The Dashing Rainbow said, "I don't try to understand Loser. Well time to get you to that hospital." Then with a great punch to the face, she launched The Egghead Unicorn to the nearest ICU.
"I never miss," The Dashing Rainbow said awesomely and headed back to the capital to return her friend's library card.
"Heh," Rainbow Dash said, "Another masterpiece! Fluttershy'll love it!"
She looked outside and saw how late it was, "Oh man, I really lost track of time. Better get some sleep if I'm gonna make the try-outs today."
Rainbow walked over to her cloud bed. She loved it since it was oversized and could just blindly jump and land comfortably at any angle. She readied herself for a jump and decided against it.
'I wish Fluttershy could go, but dang 300 bits for tickets at the gate is way too much,' Rainbow thought to herself, 'and I know I saw Fluttershy scrambling earlier looking for work from ponies. She never carries her grooming stuff with her. She must've been trying to gather up the cash to come with me. I know she couldn't do it cause when I saw her at Sugarcube Corner with AJ she looked really down.'
Rainbow walked over to her mirror and looked. She was not entirely pleased with what she saw, 'some friend I am. I knew she was trying to get cash. I should've asked how much she was able to scrounge up and try to help with the rest. It's not like Fluttershy hasn't done that for me before.'
Rainbow closed her eyes and stretched her wings. She was tired and whenever she was tired and thinking of Fluttershy the same image appeared in her mind. An image of failure and betrayal. She opened her eyes and was glad that there were no tears this time. 'Does this mean I don't care anymore,' she thought. She shook her head and made her way back to bed. She could still see Fluttershy's face. It had a look that was screaming, 'Please help me!' and all Rainbow could think at the time was 'Fight your own battles for once,' and sped off away from Flight School.
"I will never fail her like that again," Rainbow said smiling a little as a tear rolled down her face. 'I still care,' she thought.
She looked at her bed again and felt it. Every time she spoke with Fluttershy, Rainbow would see her so happy and confident. This made that feeling in Rainbow's stomach grow each time. Now it physically hurt. Rainbow knew she was jealous of Fluttershy's happiness, and felt awful for it. Now she saw her bed and all she could think was how empty it was. 'Darn you Fluttershy,' Rainbow thought.
She crawled along the middle of the bed and when she reached the cloud pillow, she ripped it in half and place a half on either side of the bed. Rainbow laid down on the left side of the bed and with a hoof gently stroked the other pillow. She was picturing somepony laying next to her, not anypony specifically just an idea of having somepony there to talk to and share her day. She was about to fix the cloud pillow and decided to try sleeping like this for one night. She fell asleep rather quickly and had an interesting dream.
She was lying in bed when there was a light tap on her door. Slowly she got up and when she opened it, Fluttershy was standing right outside. She had a glow to her that captivated Rainbow.
"Oh hello Rainbow," Fluttershy said, "May I come in."
"Sure," Rainbow said and when she was about to move out of Fluttershy's way she was already inside. Rainbow shook her head and closed the door. "So," began Rainbow, "What brings you out here?"
Fluttershy looked down at the cloud floor, "Oh it's Applejack."
"What's wrong," Rainbow asked discarding the immediate thought that Applejack hurt her, "Is she alright?"
"Oh she's fine," Fluttershy said walking slowly closer to Rainbow, "It's just that we... Well we broke up."
"Why? I thought you were falling in love with her."
"I thought I was but I realized something Rainbow," Fluttershy was face to face with Rainbow now.
"What's that?"
"That I was being unfair to Applejack," Fluttershy didn't wait for Rainbow to respond, "The thing is that I can't be with somepony when I'm really in love with somepony else."
"Who're you in love with?"
"Let me show you," Fluttershy said and began kissing Rainbow softly.
Rainbow stirred from her slumber and opened her eyes. She rolled over onto her back and noticed she was still on the left side of the bed. She stretched and thought about the dream that woke her. "Fluttershy," she said softly before cringing, "Gross!"
She saw the sun was rising over the horizon and decided it be best to get up. After stretching her wings and some quick pushups, she staggered her way to her kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. 'What should I have for breakfast,' Rainbow thought just before there was a light tap at her door.
"That's funny," she said out loud. The same thing happened in her dream. She walked to the door and opened it with her eyes closed saying expecting to be wrong, "Good morning Fluttershy." Her eyes shot open when she heard the response.
"Oh good morning Rainbow," Fluttershy said surprised that her friend knew she was there.
Rainbow just stared at Fluttershy and the fact that there was a soft glow on her coat did not escape her. "So I take it you wanna come in," Rainbow asked knowing the response.
"Oh," Fluttershy said, "I would like that."
Rainbow, still being sleepy, let out a long yawn and when she opened her eyes Fluttershy was no longer outside but right next to her.
'How can I be having the same dream twice?'
"So what's up," Rainbow asked just going along with the 'dream', "I take it you wanna talk about AJ?"
"Why yes I am here to talk about Applejack."
"Ok let's just get this over with," Rainbow said, "I gotta wake up and get ready for the tryouts." She walked right up to Fluttershy and leaned in to kiss her. And kept leaning until she heard Fluttershy speak.
"Rainbow," Fluttershy said almost about to fall over, "What are you doing?"
Rainbow opened her eyes, saw a very nervous Fluttershy, and asked, "This isn't a dream is it?"
Fluttershy shook her head, "I know I'm not dreaming."
Rainbow straightened up and said, "Wait a second. This was exactly like my dream! When I opened the door you were glowing!"
Fluttershy said, "Well before I came over I took a bath and didn't have time to dry myself off properly. And the sun is coming up so it probably shone off of my coat."
"That makes sense," Rainbow said, "Ok then. How about this? You were outside one second and inside the next! Explain that!"
"Well after you invited me in, you began yawning. I walked in before you finished. You must be very sleepy still."
"That makes sense too, and I'm not that sleepy anymore." She thought for a moment and then thought of something.
"Ok," Rainbow said certain that this was a trap, "If it's so early why do you want to talk about Applejack?"
"Oh Applejack asked me to see if you could send a few rain clouds over to her southern field," Fluttershy said.
"Ok making sense there too," Rainbow said. Then she thought of something. "What were you doing at Applejack's house?"
"Oh Applebloom and her friends were having a sleep over and I helped."
"Yeah that makes sense," Rainbow said defeated. She looked at Fluttershy and asked, "Can we pretend this never happened?"
"No."
"What? Why?"
Fluttershy looked down in thought and then said, "I need to know why you did that." She looked Rainbow in the eye and was not angry just concerned, "I'm not going to give you the 'You are a dear friend and I just don't see you that way' speech since I know you aren't like that. Since you're not a fillyfooler I would like to know why you tried to kiss me."
Rainbow sighed and told Fluttershy the dream she had but not of her jealousy. Unfortunately, Fluttershy knew that there was more to it.
"Rainbow I need you to tell me what's wrong," Fluttershy said, "If not for me, do it so you can get it off of your mind before your tryouts."
Rainbow sighed. That was typical Fluttershy. She wasn't concerned with herself she was worried about Rainbow's focus. "Ok," Rainbow said, "Promise me you won't hate me."
Fluttershy said nothing. She just waited.
"It's just that," Rainbow said, "I'm jealous of your relationship with Applejack."
"I hate you," Fluttershy said with a straight face.
Rainbow was stunned for a moment, and then confused when Fluttershy started giggling.
"Oh I'm so sorry Rainbow," she said between giggles, "I just couldn't help myself." She stopped giggling and asked, "Why would you be jealous of me?"
"Well," Rainbow said, "You're so happy, and more confident, and braver. All the things I always hoped you would become you finally are, and it's because you found Applejack. I hate myself for thinking it but every time I see you with her, I know that I'm alone. Everything I do, I do alone. I work alone. I train alone." Rainbow let out a heavy sigh, "I sleep alone. So yeah, a part of me wishes your relationship with AJ would come to an end, and I hate myself for it." Rainbow looked at Fluttershy and said, "I'm sorry."
"Rainbow," Fluttershy said, "You have nothing to be sorry about. I'm the one who owes you an apology. I have been caught up in my own happiness that I ignored my oldest friend." She smiled to Rainbow Dash and said, "Now that we have that out of the way, what do you say you get some clouds over to Sweet Apple Acres? I'll make you breakfast."
Rainbow laughed, "Ok Fluttershy. I certainly wouldn't want to the love of your life to be mad at you!"
"Rainbow," Fluttershy said, "I, um I do love her." She nodded happily with a big smile on her face.
Rainbow smiled at Fluttershy and was relieved when she did not have the feeling in her stomach. She took off to the sky and began gathering clouds for Applejack
Fluttershy flew back to Sweet Apple Acres and thought about what Rainbow told her. 'Am I really that overbearing with my happiness? I wish Rainbow didn't feel so bad about us, but still, it's nice that we can talk about it.' Fluttershy remembered that Rainbow always had trouble sharing her feelings with other ponies even Fluttershy who she knew would never think poorly of her. She hoped that Rainbow would be able to find somepony that she could trust and share her life with one day.
It wasn't long before she arrived at Sweet Apple Acres and could see a lovely collection of rain clouds to the south. Sure enough when she landed Rainbow Dash was there waiting for her.
"So," Rainbow said with a grin, "Where's that breakfast?"
Fluttershy laughed and led Rainbow inside. Applejack was making apple pancakes and Applebloom was working on some schoolwork.
Applebloom looked up and said with a smile, "hey sis! Heya Rainbow! You here for breakfast too?"
"Well I was promised some breakfast if I delivered some rain quickly," Rainbow said. She then looked at Fluttershy and asked Applebloom, "Um why did you call Fluttershy sis"?
Applebloom looked a little embarrassed and said, "Well since Applejack and her got together we've spending a lot a time together, and, I dunno, it just sounds right."
Applejack laughed and said, "Thank ya Rainbow. I'm mighty grateful that ya'll decided to do your job today."
"Yeah your gratitude is overwhelming there AJ," Rainbow said rolling her eyes.
Fluttershy giggled at the little argument between the two ponies and set up Rainbow's plate. She was about to give Applejack a playful nuzzle and remembered what Rainbow told her. She instead poured some batter onto a pan and could not help giggle when Applejack nuzzled her. She immediately felt guilty but noticed Rainbow was talking to Applebloom.
"Yeah I still kinda feel bad for being a bad sport," Rainbow said, "Is she still mad?"
"Nah," Applebloom said, "She and Sweetie Belle came by and told me what happened. Scootaloo was little upset at the time but as she told the story, she became happier. I think she finally sees that she could be your equal."
Rainbow blushed at that and began to eat her breakfast. Once she finished she handed her plate to Fluttershy and said, "Thanks Fluttershy. For everything. Well I gotta get ready for the tryouts today."
"I'll see you out, Rainbow," Fluttershy said.
Once both ponies were outside Fluttershy said, "Rainbow I'm sorry."
Rainbow looked at her, "What do you have to be sorry for?"
"Well, I've been really insensitive to you. I know you have a hard time trusting ponies, so I just want you to know you can always come to me."
"Fluttershy, I'm happy that you're in love with Applejack. I really am. And I'm glad I told you about my jealousy. I knew that you of all ponies would never judge me for it." Rainbow sighed and remembered what she was thinking back home, "Hey, I saw you looking for work. Were you trying to get money for a ticket to the tryouts?"
Fluttershy looked down and said, "Yes but I was only able to gather up 138 bits."
"Darn I only have something like 80 bits back home."
"It's ok Rainbow. I just wish I could be there to cheer you on, and see your dream come true."
"You really have that much faith in me?"
Fluttershy nodded, "Oh of course. You are the best flier in Equestria for a reason."
Rainbow blushed and with a nervous cough took off back home. Fluttershy saw her fade into the distance and then made her way back inside.
The rest of the day passed rather quickly for Rainbow. She didn't do any training to avoid any injury. She spent the day reflecting on the letter she received from Soarin' that he personally wanted her there at the tryouts, and called in a favor to get her allowed to participate. Once it was afternoon, she made her way to Ponyville square with her saddlebag containing what she would need for the weeklong event. Normally, she would be in a Fluttershy state of panic. No, an old Fluttershy state of panic. Rainbow thought that if Fluttershy could pony up then so could she. She wasn't surprised to find all her friends there at the square waiting for her.
Pinkie Pie unfurled a huge banner that read "Go Dashie!" The pink pony ran up to Rainbow and gave her a hug, "This is so exciting! I can't wait to hear that you're going to be a Wonderbolt!"
"Pinkie let Rainbow breathe." Twilight Sparkle nodded to Pinkie and said to Rainbow, "I know you don't really believe in luck, and neither do I. Still, I just want to wish the best anyway. We all have faith in you."
"Yes Rainbow. This is your passion and I know you will shine across Equestria in your own way." Rarity gave Rainbow a hug and said, "It could be just the motivation I need to spur my own career."
Rainbow laughed, "Thanks Rarity." She looked to her friends and said, "I promise that I'll do my best, and become a Wonderbolt." She saw Fluttershy standing next to Applejack and Applebloom and thought they made a very cute family. She gave them a warm smile and boarded the carriage.
It was a carriage by name only. Carriages are normally small, but this one was huge. There were twenty pegasi already onboard and the majority were older than she was. Some she recognized from the independent circuit. Now she began to feel panic set in. She found her way to a seat and looked out the window to her smiling friends. She smiled weakly and when her eyes met Fluttershy's her smile became much broader. Fluttershy believed in Rainbow and that was enough for her. She still felt very nervous but now it was more manageable. She was planning in taking a nap during the trip but a pegasus walked up next to her and started talking.
"Hi there," said a pegasus stallion. His mane was gray and his coat a sandy brown. She could see part of his cutie mark and it looked like a broken halo. "This seat taken," he asked.
"No," Rainbow said sitting up, "Not at all." She moved closer to the window and the stallion sat down.
He stuck out his hoof and said with a smile, "Grey Ring." Rainbow shook his hoof and before she could say anything, he said, "Rainbow Dash."
She smirked and said, "Yup the one and only."
"Yeah I thought I recognized you," he said excitedly, "Best Young Flier, performer of the Sonic Rainboom, future Wonderbolt. Yeah you're pretty famous!"
"Yes," Rainbow said with growing pride and fading nerves, "yes it's all true!" She looked to him and he didn't look like an athlete. "Are you going to try out?"
He laughed, "No I'm not an athlete. I just like to go and cheer on folks trying to live their dreams."
"So what do you do?"
"I'm a soldier."
"Oh well, thank you."
"For?"
"It's a thing I do whenever I get to meet soldiers," Rainbow said, "my uncle served in the army and I never got to meet him. I heard he died in battle protecting a village that was along the Everfree Forest. I was taught by my dad to always be respectful to those who are willing to put their live up to protect others. So thank you."
The stallion said, "Well I haven't seen any combat."
"And I hope you never do," Rainbow said warmly. She yawned and said, "I'm not gonna be much of a companion. I plan to sleep through the trip."
"Don't worry about it. I brought a book to keep me company."
Rainbow smiled and rested her head on the side of her seat. There was an itchy feeling that she couldn't shake that she had met this stallion before. She had met quite a few ponies in her life but this one seemed important somehow. She shrugged it off and fell asleep unaware that the pony she had been searching for years was sitting right next to her.
---
Back in Ponyville, Fluttershy watched the carriage carry her oldest friend off to her destiny, and felt terrible that she couldn't be there for her. 'I should have worked harder,' she scolded herself. She laid down and felt a small nudge. She looked up and saw it as Pinkie with a box.
"Pinkie? What do you have there?"
Pinkie set the box down and opened it. She took out a bag and began to count out bits. She looked at Fluttershy and said, "You should be there with her to cheer her on."
"I can't take your money. Three hundred bits is a lot."
Pinkie looked at Fluttershy and said, "You were there for me when I needed it and now I'm here for you." She handed Fluttershy the bag and gave her a hug.
"I expect to hear that Dashie is a Wonderbolt when you two get back," Pinkie said smiling.
Fluttershy nodded and took off after saying, "Thank you so much Pinkie!" She flew after the carriage as fast as her wings could carry her. The carriage was much faster but she knew where it was headed so she wouldn't be too far behind. She hoped to get there and be able to show Rainbow her full support.
---
Back on the carriage, Rainbow was fast asleep. Grey Ring was content to read his book quietly and would occasionally glance to Rainbows flank. He was feeling quite eager.
Rainbow awoke with a nudge. She stirred and saw Grey Ring looking at her with a smile.
"We're here," he said.
Rainbow yawned and said, "Thanks. I appreciate it." She made her way off the carriage and saw the sight of a lifetime. The Wonderbolt training camp was huge. The obstacle course alone amazed her. Both cloud and brick structures dotted a large section of the north camp. Rainbow felt her wings twitch at the thought practicing the masterful maneuvers needed to conquer that beast. 'Easy girls,' she thought to herself. She turned her gaze to a large building that made the Wonderbolt gym. Compared to the obstacle course, this was boring, but she knew that inside had to be Spitfire and the rest of the team. 'Soon to be my team, Rainbow thought with a giggle. The Wonderbolts probably lived there and had everything they would ever need. Rainbow got in line and heard a voice shout.
"Rainbow Dash," shouted the voice.
Rainbow turned and saw Soarin' waving her over. She tried to trot over there as cool as she could, but instead galloped squealing the whole time.
Soarin' laughed and said, "I'm glad you could make it Rainbow. I had to call in a few favors to make this happen for you."
"Ohmigosh, thank you thank you thank you," Rainbow rambled. She gained her composure slightly and asked, "But why did you pick me?"
"Well for starters," Soarin' said, "You're the Best Young Flier in Equestria. Also, you saved my life. I do not forget things like that. I owe you."
"Well we are definitely even then," Rainbow said with a grin.
"Nope," Soarin' said, "This isn't me paying you back. This is me giving you the chance you deserve but can't afford." He looked at Rainbow and continued, "I started looking you up right after the competition. I found out you work on the weather team in Ponyville. Weather work is important but among the lowest paying pegasus jobs around. I knew you wouldn't be able to afford the entrance fee, so I made certain that you were allowed anyway. All you have to do is register. Do you have your paperwork?"
"Um," Rainbow sputtered, "What paperwork?"
Soarin' laughed, "You are just like Spitfire. That's ok. The folks at the table have the records we'll need. As long as your flight license is up to date we should be good to go."
"Flight license," Rainbow asked her dream falling apart, "I don't have a flight license."
"What," Soarin' asked, "How can you not have a flight license? You need one to have any kind of pegasus job."
"Well," Rainbow said, "When I applied for the weather job in Ponyville they told me I needed one. When I said I didn't have one the practically threw me out. I insisted that they let me show them what I could do. I impressed them and got hired."
Soarin' face changed from confusion to anger and said quietly motioning to a nearby tent, "Get inside. I would like the both of us to be able to save face." When both were inside, he said, "So you got your weather job by showing off. Did you honestly think that would work here?"
Rainbow said nothing though that was exactly what she planned. "What is the big deal? It's just a piece of paper.
"No. It's not just a piece of paper. It's proof that you can be depended on to work in a group. You don't have one so that tells me you expect all the attention to be on you. I don't know how closely you've been following the Wonderbolts, but it's a group not an individual. We all have to look out for each other. I just don't see how you are capable of that."
Rainbow looked at him and said, "Just give me a chance."
"No," Soarin' said, "You see there is a lot that you learn in the process of getting that flight license. The most important is safety." Soarin' sighed, "Ok here's what we can do. You need to get that license. I can get you set up with a tutor. Once you have that you can tryout next year." He saw Rainbow's face and said, "I meant what I said that I want you in the Wonderbolts, but this is just the way it is. Focus on the safety lessons. Those will help you the most." Soarin's face became saddened, "I've lost too many friends due to careless accidents."
"What do you mean?"
Soarin' sighed and said, "I know how you feel. This is a big chance for you, and you deserve it." He smiled at Rainbow and said, "If were up to Spitfire and me, you wouldn't even have to go through all this. I just want you to understand how important it is to be safe." He motioned for Rainbow to take a seat.
Rainbow sat down, "I take precautions. Maybe I'm not as careful as I can be, but I can only come up with new tricks if I'm pushing myself."
"Believe me, Rainbow, I understand. We take big risks, but there are things that are worth more than perfecting a new trick." He laughed and said, "I know you're thinking that I can't be the same Soarin' that you met at the Gala." Soarin' sighed and said, "I tend to only be able to relax once a show is over. Let me tell you a little story. Spitfire and me started as a team. We worked the-"
"Independent circuit for five years before joining the "Blazing Buccaneers". After that, you went back to the independent circuit and two years later joined the Wonderbolts."
Soarin' just stared at Rainbow and soon said, "Ok then, looks like you know your share about us."
"I'm a huge fan!"
Soarin' laughed, "I can see that. Well, Spitfire is known for her daredevil ways, and I was no different. That's really how we became friends. Our constant competitions and rivalry caused us to get better, and in the end, we decided that we should team up. I remember working a show and only being paid in a hay sandwich and some juice." Soarin' looked at Rainbow and saw her hanging on his every word. He cleared his throat and said, "I don't want to waste too much of your time, so let me skip ahead. Spitfire wanted to come up with more and more daring tricks. I agreed that we needed them to attract attention to ourselves, but I never thought about anypony getting hurt. Naturally, that changed one day during a show. We were working a show in a small town and were about to do a move that required us to coat part of our uniform in kerosene. We had some flint tucked into our horseshoes, so when we did our 'collision' the spark would ignite the fuel. We then zigzagged toward the ground leaving a trail of smoke and flame in our wake." Soarin' looked out the window and said, "I remember how happy Spitfire was. She had a huge smile on her face and we were at the end of the stunt. She was able to shake the smoldering part of her uniform off, but I couldn't. The suit I was wearing underneath melted and became stuck to the burning suit. As soon as I noticed it, the rest of my suit burst into flame. I don't remember much after that, except that I was out of action for a long time." He shook his head, "If it wasn't for Spitfire, I probably wouldn't be flying at all. I'm glad that I haven't gone paranoid over safety, but I learned to be cautious. Believe me Rainbow, I know you'll be a great addition to the Wonderbolts."
"Ok," Rainbow said in tears, "I promise I'll work hard and get that license."
"Good," Soarin' said. "Though you can't participate, would you like to stay as my guest?"
Rainbow shook her head and said, "No. I just really want to go home."
"I understand," Soarin' said, "Do you know anypony that can help you study?"
"My friend Fluttershy can help," Rainbow said, "I'm sure she'd probably insist on it."
"Great," Soarin' said, "Let me know once you have that license and I'll try getting something done sooner. I can't promise anything but I will try."
Rainbow nodded and excused herself from the tent. She was about to fly straight back to Ponyville, but wanted to clear her head first. She never realized how vital that paper was. This was just another obstacle in her dream. A dream that she was just told was about to come true. She would get that license and become a Wonderbolt. She decided that a short walk in the woods would help clear her mind, and did not see Grey Ring leering at her.
He saw Rainbow walk into the forest with growing hunger, 'Oh Celestia. I must've been a good colt some time ago. This is going to be too easy. Let's see I've broken mares and fillies. He grinned and thought, 'Let's not forget my personal favorites, blank flanks. But this'll be my first celebrity.'
Rainbow walked thinking about what Soarin' said to her. She wasn't mad. She simply couldn't be mad at him. What he said made sense. The Wonderbolts were a team and that meant looking out each other, but she was a team player. Sure, it was only when her and her friends went on some adventure but it still happened. She kept walking until somepony slammed her into a tree and pinned her face down on the ground.
Before she could attempt to struggle free, an elbow was slammed hard onto the back of her head and she felt a slight metallic taste in her mouth. The world began to spin and whatever pony was attacking her was able to hook one of her forelegs and force them behind her head. They also forced her rear legs open. She began to struggle and received an elbow right to her kidney. She tried to scream in pain and was hit hard in the mouth. The metallic taste became even more pronounced.
The pony whispered into Rainbow's ear, "Quit struggling. I only want to break you emotionally." He gave her a sickening lick inside her ear and laughed.
"Grey Ring," she said spitting blood out of her mouth. "Get off of me," she tried to buck him off and he just laughed. She didn't have the leverage to do anything. She tried to force her rear legs closed but that earned her another hit to her kidney.
"Behave and I may be gentle with you," he laughed. He then hooked her other foreleg behind her head.
Rainbow began to cry and stammered, "Oh Celestia! Please! Don't! Please! Please stop!"
"I love that sound," Grey Ring said, "Believe me you will be crying a lot harder in a second."
At that moment, something slammed into Grey Ring knocking him into a bush. Rainbow was now on her back looking up in a daze. For a moment, she thought she saw Soarin' standing above her, but she shook her head and saw instead bright yellow and pink.
Rainbow was about to thank Fluttershy for saving her but was suddenly too terrified to speak. She was too terrified to move. Fluttershy wasn't mad. She wasn't even enraged. Rainbow didn't know any words that could describe the level of anger that was on the face of the kindest pony she ever knew.
"You keep your hooves off of her," Fluttershy yelled. She crouched down with her forelegs slight more than shoulder length apart and her haunch was slightly raised so she could charge quickly. Her wings flat and would occasionally flutter in rhythm making a rustling sound that reminded Rainbow of the rattlesnakes they saw near Appaloosa.
Slowly Grey Ring made his way out of the bush. He must have fallen down a hill because he was bleeding from his side and head. He looked up and was frozen by Fluttershy's Glare.
Fluttershy glared at Grey and recognized him. She stared at the stallion and all she could hiss was the word, "You!"