"Do you have to bring the bunny?" Rainbow deadpanned as Fluttershy got ready for the day.
"Well...I can't leave him here." Fluttershy argued softly. Rainbow rolled her eyes and slipped her bag over her shoulders. She hesitated for a moment before tucking Firefly's pistol into her inside jacket pocket. Fluttershy stared with wide eyes as she caught sight of the movement.
"I-Is that a gun?! Rainbow what are you carrying that for?!" Fluttershy panicked.
"Shy, remember at the gas station? When those guys came after you?" Rainbow asked softly. Fluttershy gulped and nodded slowly.
"Those two were Knights of Celamont. This City, sworn to protect and serve. This city is crawling with those Magian pricks and I'm not gonna give them a chance to...to..." Rainbow sighed and shook her head.
"I-I understand Rainbow." Fluttershy said softly, cradling Angel in her arms. Rainbow smiled slightly and snatched up her keys.
"Alright, lets go. Theres somethin I wanna show you." Rainbow grinned, racing outside with Fluttershy trailing behind her.
"Be careful you two!" Firefly called after them. Rainbow waved goodbye as they took off down the road. Firefly lifted her wrist and spoke softly.
"Baby bird has left the nest. Do you have visual?" she placed a finger against her ear as she waited for a reply.
"Copy that Mama Bird. Baby Bird is in sight." came the reply.
"Good, don't lose her." she ordered. She sighed softly, leaning against the frame of her door.
"Be careful out there Dash."
"Ugh, I knew we shoulda flown." Rainbow grumbled.
"But we don't have our Flying Licenses. I-I don't think our permits would let us fly in the city." Fluttershy stammered.
"Yea, you're right. Still, this sucks. I didn't think Celamont would have crazy traffic. Its so old-fashioned. Heck, the Princess still gets around with a chariot." Rainbow argued to no one in particular.
"Well, we could just park somewhere and walk." Fluttershy suggested. Rainbow grinned, tugging on the wheel and flipping around a turn, parking in front of a bakery.
"Bingo." Rainbow hopped out of the car
"A bakery? Why a bakery?" Fluttershy asked.
"We can smell our way back to the car if we get lost." Rainbow reasoned as she made her way down the sidewalk.
"Lost?! But I thought you knew this area!"
"I do, kinda. I was little when we came through here. It was before we met Shy." Rainbow explained.
"But there's somethin really cool over here. I never shared it with anyone, not even my mom." Rainbow smiled as she lead the way, her hands tucked into her jacket and Fluttershy walking beside her. Rainbow took a quick glance around, grinning as she led the way to a large hedge, digging through it and opening up a path.
"After you." she smiled, holding the opening for Fluttershy, following behind and covering up the hole. Fluttershy gasped, staring with wide eyes
"Oh my gosh. Rainbow! This is the Royal Garden! We aren't suppose to be here!" Fluttershy panicked.
"Relax Shy. Just look at this place! Isn't it amazing?" Rainbow asked, spreading out her wings and shooting up into the air, bringing several bunches of roses and petals along with her. Fluttershy simply watched as Rainbow flew freely through the air, weaving and rolling about before diving straight down and flipping to a stop at the last second.
"That was incredible Rainbow, but if we get caught here..."
"Shy, relax." Rainbow chuckled, grabbing her hand gently and tugging her along. Fluttershy let herself be pulled along, eeping as Rainbow lifted her off the ground, the two of them spinning about slowly in mid-air.
"Look down." Rainbow whispered. Fluttershy glanced down, her cheeks flushed as she stared at the flowers. The fallen petals from Rainbows flight fit together perfectly to spell out a simple question.
Will you go out with me?
Fluttershy was dumbstruck. She shifted her gaze to her friends face. Rainbow cleared her throat, making a point not to look at her friend while maintaining her gentle hold of her. Fluttershy, slowly hooked her arms around her friends neck, gulping as she leaned towards her.
"Rainbow...I..."
"HEY! What are you doing?!" a guard yelled.
"Crap." Rainbow grumbled.
"Alright you two, come on." Firefly said, arms crossed as she waited for them.
"Had I known they were here with you Ma'am I wouldn't have taken them into custody." the guard began to apologize.
"No its fine. You were just doing your job. With what I've been hearing lately I should be apologizing to you." she sighed.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Rainbow asked. Firefly cleared her throat.
"Its not important right now Dash." She said softly. Rainbow wanted to argue, but with Fluttershy tugging on her arm she lost any reason to. Rainbow sighed and decided to let it go, for now. The guard held out Firefly's pistol, having confiscated it from Rainbow.
"I found this on her, no license."
"I see. That would be my fault. I gave it to her for protection."
"Well, thats all well and good, but she'll need a license for that. I'm just happy she didn't draw it on me." the guard chuckled lightly. Firefly faked a smile as she took the pistol, holstering it and letting out a sigh.
"Well, thank you sir. I'll be taking them off your hands now."
"Alright then, try and keep em out of trouble Ma'am." he said with a salute. Firefly rolled her eyes as she left, glancing left and right before giving Rainbow the pistol back. Rainbow tucked it into her jacket, ignoring the worried glance from Fluttershy as they walked to the car.
Rainbow stayed silent on the entire drive home, Firefly looking at her through the rearview mirror. She wanted to say something, but she knew better than to pest the girl. When she was ready to talk, she would come to her. Once back at Firefly's home, Rainbow stepped out of the car and marched inside without a word. Firefly sighed, glancing over at Fluttershy.
"You should go talk to her."
"M-Me? Why me?" Fluttershy asked.
"I'd have thought it was obvious by now." the older Skyborn sighed, crossing her arms.
"Fluttershy, how many of Dash's friends have you met?" she asked.
"Um...well..." Fluttershy blinked as she tried to remember. "None really..."
"She doesn't have any other friends Fluttershy. Just you. The little girl who saw through her tough shell, that was there when she needed someone to talk to, that stood by her side through everything. She needs you." Firefly said with a smile. Fluttershy chewed on her lip for a moment, her nervousness fading away and replaced with a determined look as she held out Angel.
"Can you hold him for me please?" she asked softly. Firefly chuckled, taking the bunny and watching as Fluttershy marched into the house.
"We'll just wait out here." Firefly said with a grin, Angel snoring in her arm.
"R-Rainbow?" Fluttershy called out.
"GO AWAY!" Rainbow screamed from behind her bedroom door. Fluttershy took a slow breath and pressed her hands against the door.
"Rainbow...Can we talk? Please?" she asked softly, her forehead against the door. "Please Dashie?" she gasped as the door flung open, Rainbow Dash standing in front of her, her eyes puffy and red from crying.
"J-Just go away Shy..."
"Yes."
"huh?"
"I'll go out with you." Fluttershy said simply. Rainbow Dash just stared, unblinking at her friend, unsure if she was dreaming or imagining things.
"Rainbow? Are you okay? Please say something..." Fluttershy began to panic. Firefly peeked her head in, Angel sitting atop her head.
"Hows it going?" she whispered.
"I think I broke her..." Fluttershy whimpered.
"Eh, she'll be fine. I'm ordering Pizza if you two get hungry." Firefly chuckled as she ducked back into the kitchen. Fluttershy turned to Rainbow, gasping as she was tackle hugged to the floor.
"Thank you so much Shy!" she squealed. Fluttershy smiled, wrapping her arms around her,
"You're welcome" she said softly. The two of them sat up, cheeks flushed and stammering. Rainbow cleared her throat as she stood, holding out her hand.
"We should get out there before Auntie eats all the pizza."
"I heard that!" Firefly called from the kitchen. The two girls shared a giggle as they left the hall hand in hand.
"I dunno if I'm ready for this." Rainbow admitted. Fluttershy smiled gently
"I don't know if I am either...but we both want this..." She pointed out. Rainbow nodded and sighed.
"I-I know Shy. I'm just not ready for more school." She said, staring at the doors to the Flight Academy.
"We worked hard to get here Rainbow. It wouldn't mean anything now if we didn't try." Fluttershy continued, waiting until Rainbow smiled to give her hand a gentle squeeze.
"Thanks Shy. Come on! We're gonna be late if we just stand around here all day!" Rainbow chuckled, pulling Fluttershy along. The halls were packed with Avaros and Grifanions flying this way and that, all dressed in the uniform of their chosen class and acquired rank. The two rookie fliers took it all in with wide eyes, until a rather pissed flier crashed between them.
"Hey! watch where you're walkin!" she roared, her hands shifting into talons. Rainbow slid between her and Fluttershy, her eyes glowing dimly.
"Rainbow don't." Fluttershy whimpered, putting a hand on her shoulder. The Grifanion in front of them blinked, watching Rainbow's impressive wings fill the hallway and hover protectively over Fluttershy.
"Well, aren't you just big an bad? Gotta give ya props for standin up for your girl. Names Gilda, Commander of A Flight, best flight there is. Make sure I see you there Rookie." Gilda chuckled, her talons shifting back to hands.
She flicked her hair out of her face and turned down the hall, racing a group of Avaros to class. Rainbow let out a slow breath, her eyes fading back to normal and her wings vanishing.
"Rainbow...you didn't have to do that." Fluttershy admonished softly
"Yea I did Shy. That chick was Grifanion. You let them walk over you once and they won't stop, ever." Rainbow turned and stumbled, putting a hand to her head.
"Rainbow! Are you ok?" Fluttershy asked in a panic.
"I-I'm fine. Just gotta sit down real quick." She said quickly, her stomach doing flips. It had been a while since she had last used magic and it had hit her pretty hard. She leaned against Fluttershy, her friend half-carrying her to class. Their teacher spared them a glance.
"New Recruits to the front." he said simply, his rough voice grabbing the attention of the new cadets rather easily. Each new cadet lined up, side by side and ready. The teacher held his arms behind his back, walking down the line and looking each cadet up and down.
"As of today, all of your skills, talents, smarts, strengths and abilities, don't mean jack shit." he said simply.
"You might have been the hotshot of track in your old school, fastest flier or what have you. But here, you're just another cadet. You will earn your place here with blood, sweat, and tears. Understood?" he asked softly, answered only with murmurs.
"I asked if you maggots understood me!" he yelled.
"SIR, YES, SIR!" they answered, Fluttershy hiding behind her hair. He stood in front of her, crossing his arms.
"Speak up Cadet." he demanded.
"s-sir, yes sir." she mumbled.
"I SAID SPEAK UP!" he screamed, tears stinging Fluttershy's eyes. Rainbow grit her teeth, pushing in front of her friend.
"Hey! Just leave her be! She isn't even here to be a cadet, she just wants her fliers license. You don't have to jump down her throat!" Rainbow yelled, the class falling silent. She gulped, realizing she had just yelled at her teacher.
aw shit she thought to herself as he stood upright.
"Whats your name cadet?" he asked softly.
"Rainbow Dash...Sir." she mumbled, managing to keep eye contact. She was already screwed, no reason to back down now.
"Cadet Rainbow Dash, since you're friend here is simply here for a license, you can cover her physical training, as well as your own." he chuckled, crossing his arms.
"Or is that too much for you to handle?"
"Pfft, bring it old man." Rainbow grinned.
"You'll refer to me as Commander Chrome Mist, Cadets will stay in formation!" he called out, each cadet snapping to attention. Fluttershy squeaked as Chrome Mist pointed to her.
"You there, name?"
"F-Fluttershy..."
"Miss Fluttershy, allow me to apologize for my outburst before. It seems there was a mistake in your class assigning. Only those with Military careers in their future join this class. You're stuck for it at this point, but you'll be required to complete some kind of work here."
"I-I'm good with animals." she mumbled.
"Good. You'll be my assistant then. Since your friend there is doing double duty you'll make sure she doesn't die of exhaustion." he said, moving to the head of the group. Fluttershy was left standing there with wide eyes.
"D-Die?!" she squeaked, blinking as Rainbow tugged on her arm.
"Shy, chill. I'm not gonna die, I'm sure as heck not gonna let some old wrinkly soldier yell at you either. I've got this." Rainbow assured her. Fluttershy sighed and shook her head.
"I'm sorry Rainbow..."
"Hey, like I said, its no biggie. Now come on, before Commander butt-munch catches us chatting." Rainbow joked, following the cadets ahead of them.
"Alright, spread out an stretch." Chrome Mist ordered, pointing to a bench for Fluttershy to sit at. Next to the bench was a cooler full of bottled water and a basket of towels. She watched as Rainbow began to stretch, spreading out her wings and letting them get some air.
"Cadet Dash, you've got 10 minutes to lap this track twice. Once for you and once for your friend."
"Yea, yea, start the timer old man." Rainbow called back, crouching down.
"Three, two, one, Mark!" he called, Rainbow shot off from the start line with enough force to bring several cadets with her. Chrome Mist stood in place, bracing himself against the wind with his own wings. Fluttershy stared with wide eyes, seeing one of his wings with a split in the middle.
He seemed unfazed though, watching as Rainbow soared around the track with a smirk. He couldn't help but chuckle as she rounded the last turn, flashing a grin at the cadets as she set off for lap two. The other cadets talked amongst themselves as they watched, muttering about how Rainbow was a show off.
"You cadets better be stretching over there, you're next." Chrome Mist said absentmindedly, glancing at his stopwatch as Rainbow came to a stop in front of him. She skid to a stop, panting slightly and wiping a bit of sweat from her forehead.
"How'd...I...do?" she asked.
"Well, lets check. The track takes an average cadet a time of 5 minutes and 23 seconds to lap." he murmured, picking up his clipboard from the bench.
"Yea?! and?!" Rainbow asked.
"Well, I'd say its a new academy record, wouldn't you?" he asked simply, handing her the clipboard. Under her lap times it read
Lap 1: 2min, 07sec.
Lap2: 2min, 00sec.
Rainbow sighed, handing back the clipboard.
"Something wrong cadet?"
"Yea, I can be faster than that. I must be off or somethin'." Rainbow mumbled.
"Well, how about you get some water and try again." Chrome Mist suggested, patting her shoulder as he passed by, ordering the other cadets to begin their lap.
"That was amazing Rainbow. But, are you really sure about this?" Fluttershy asked, holding out a bottle for her. Rainbow accepted it, popping off the lid and pouring the contents over her head.
"Relax Shy. You get an easy ride to your license, I get to show off. Its a win-win situation." Rainbow grinned, her friend blushing as she stared at the hair sticking to her face.
"I better get back to it, save me one of those bottles!" Rainbow called as she headed back to the track, joining the cadets on their lap. Chrome Mist however went over to the bench, sitting beside Fluttershy.
"Tell me what you know about Rainbow Dash."
"Cadet Rainbow Dash to the Col's office, Cadet Rainbow Dash to the Col's office." a voice called over the loudspeaker.
"Aw crud. Sorry Shy..." Rainbow apologized, blinking as Fluttershy kissed her cheek.
"Its okay Rainbow. Maybe they just want to give you an award or something." she reasoned, packing up their picnic.
"I'll make it up to you, I promise." Rainbow swore as she rushed to the office. She checked her reflection in the window quickly before knocking on the door.
"Enter!" a voice called. She took a slow breath as she stepped inside. Colonel StormFeather and Commander Chrome Mist stood in the office waiting for her.
"Take a seat cadet." Storm said softly.
"Am I in some kind of trouble sir?" she asked, hesitating for a moment.
"Not specifically."
"What did I do?"
"Well to begin, you step out of line, you talk back to your higher ups, you have trouble with authority..."
"With all due respect, sir, I only step out of line to defend my friends." Rainbow argued.
"There is no reason to defend anyone from a teacher Cadet." Storm retorted, leaning back in his chair.
"But there are other things I have heard. Your incredible track record, flight times, Pt scores, academics could use some work, but all in all you are the perfect candidate."
"Candidate? For what?"
"Promotion. Moving from the ranks of Cadet into the higher ups. Tell me cadet, how'd you like a squadron?" Storm asked.
"A-a Squad? You're offering me a squad? Whats the catch?" Rainbow asked. Storm chuckled.
"See commander? Test scores have nothing to do with smarts." Storm pointed out, turning his attention back to Rainbow.
"The catch is that you need to learn to listen to orders, and your squad will be made up of your seniors. You'll have to earn their respect if you expect any of them to take you seriously. And there won't be any response to submitted papers on disobeying soldiers. You'll be on your own."
"Tch, is that all? I'll have them flying circles around this school in a month." she blinked as he tossed her a uniform, a pair of Officers Ranks sitting on top.
"Alright then Lieutenant, do your parents proud."
"Check.me.out!" Rainbow beamed, standing in her quarters in her new uniform.
"I'm so happy for you Rainbow." Fluttershy giggled. Rainbow raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms.
"I mean, Lt Dash." Fluttershy saluted cutely, causing the Skyborn before her to blush and clear her throat.
"They say I've got a few days to get in the swing of things and then I've gotta get a squad to listen an respect me. But how hard can that be?" Rainbow asked.
"Well, not a lot of students care to listen to you...you have a habit of showing off and it makes them look bad." Fluttershy pointed out.
"I can't help being awesome! Its not my fault they can't keep up with me." Rainbow argued.
"Its not a race Rainbow. The cadets here are suppose to work together as one. Standing up and taking the lead is one thing, but abandoning others in the dust is something completely different." Fluttershy explained. Rainbow sighed, plopping down on her bed, Fluttershy resting her head on her shoulder.
"Thanks Shy." Rainbow mumbled, wrapping an arm around her.
"Squad! Form up!" Rainbow called out, gritting her teeth as her squad remained a jumbled mess.
"Day one...no progress..." Rainbow mumbled under her breath.
"Alright, look guys, you obviously don't like me. I get that. But I wanna show these guys that we can be the best, that WE are the best. I can't do that without you. So what do ya say?" Rainbow asked. A few looked between themselves and stood.
"Alright then, but no boasting or showboating." one enlisted demanded.
"You got it. Now, can we work as a team?" Rainbow asked. She bit her lip as they continued to murmur amongst themselves.
"We'll give you a week. You screw up once and we'll show the higher ups just how bad we can be." the same enlisted spoke up. Rainbow sighed to herself.
"Alright, deal. Now come on, lets get some drills goin'." Rainbow ordered. The enlisted raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms.
"Ugh, please?" she asked.
"Sure thing ma'am." he jokingly tossed back, the others following him as he did some running drills.
"This is messed up." Rainbow grumbled under her breath.
"You're tellin' me. That kid needs to pull his head out of his ass and show you some respect." Gilda said as she landed beside her.
"Heard you got promoted, thought I'd lend a helping hand. Look Dash, the guys beneath us? They just wanna get a rise outta ya. They NEED to look good or they get washed out. He won't let the group look stupid, it'll put him at risk." Gilda revealed.
"You've gotta show him who the boss is, think of it as a test, got it?" she asked.
"A test huh?" Rainbow mumbled, flaring out her wings and hovering as her squad came to a stop.
"Alright listen up! No more playing around guys! We need to show them we're the best. Form up in ranks, wingtip apart." she ordered. The squad merely stared at her, looking between her and the enlisted that stood in front of her.
"Forgetting something?" he asked, crossing his arms.
"Yea, I am." she growled, hovering in front of him.
"Laps, now. And if you don't finish before the rest of us you can spend the rest of the night out here, got it?!" she yelled, causing him to flinch.
"Hey! who says I gotta do a damn thing you want?! You're just some rookie who got lucky!" he said as he shoved her.
"Heh, you really shouldn't have done that." Rainbow sighed, unpinning her ranks and dropping them as she took her basic stance.
"You think you're so big an bad? Think I'm so useless? Why don't ya prove it?"
"I don't hit girls."
"Really? You had no problem pushing me just now, I've got plenty of witnesses to that." Rainbow said, pointing to the squad.
"Pfft, they follow me Liuetennent They didn't see anything."
"But I saw plenty." Gilda called out, her ranks shining in the sunlight.
"And I believe they will take the word of one of their best commanders over a bunch of washout punks." she grinned.
"Come on Comet, show her what you're made of, that is unless you're just a chicken." Gilda taunted. Rainbows blood felt cold as ice as his name reached her ears. She grit her teeth and clenched her fists so hard her hands started to bleed.
"Come on! You win and you can have my rank and position. But if I win you shut your damn mouth and get your sorry ass in line, got it?!" she demanded so harshly that even Gilda flinched. Comet sighed, removing his PT shirt and raising his arms. It was obvious he had been trained for Basic Combat, but not much else.
He rushed forward, throwing a few jabs that Rainbow palmed away, getting a feel for his pattern of attack before sliding backwards out of a quick hook, her palm resting on his elbow as she stepped in, grabbing his wrist and hooking her foot around the back of his leg, roaring as she tossed him, the poor soldier to be landing on his arm with a sickening snap. Rainbows' eyes widened as the sound reached her.
"MEDIC!"
Rainbow sat with her head in her hands, Gilda resting a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, he had it comin Dash." she tried in vain to comfort her.
"But not from me. Everyone is always tellin me not to lose my cool and I screwed up."
"That you did Miss Dash." Stormfeather said. Rainbow and Gilda quickly stood at attention, relaxing as he waved his hand.
"I'm disappointed. Daughter of one of our brightest and best and unable to control a single squad."
"With all due respect sir, Cadet First Sergeant Comet refused to listen to orders and openly threatened to make the squad look like a bunch of fools to get Lt Dash washed out sir." Gilda defended.
"That as may be, it is not cause to break his arm and fracture his ribs."
"But he started it! He came at me!" Rainbow argued.
"There is always a better way out of situations like this Miss Dash. Hopefully you'll figure that out on Cloud Duty."
"Cloud Duty?! Thats so unfair! Only proven Skyborn can handle Cloud duty!" Rainbow fussed.
"Well then, prove yourself." Storm said simply as he walked away. Rainbow smashed her fist into the wall, causing it to crack before marching down the hall. Gilda glanced at the crack for a moment, deciding to chase after the angered Lt.
"Don't sweat it Dash. At least he didn't try to demote you or anything. I think he believes you, but protocol an all that bullshit." Gilda said.
"Its not fair. I worked so hard to get here...and its all falling apart." Rainbow sighed.
"Hey, like I said, don't sweat it. And Cloud Duty isn't so tough. As long as you can't control weather you just sit around and watch the pro's. You got it off easy." Gilda chuckled.
"I gotta get goin, but when you get a chance, hit me up in the bunks."
"Uh...sure..."Rainbow waved as Gilda left, sighing and staring at the Janitorial office. Normally janitors were laughed at for being the cleaning crew.
But not when it came to cloud duty. Only the toughest of the tough and best of the best could handle Cloud Duty, literally. If you couldn't shift weather than you were a dead man here.
"Here goes nothing..." Rainbow gulped, gasping as the door slammed open. A grizzly figure stood before her, everything about him massive; From his muscles to his facial hair. His right arm was scorched in several places and his sleeveless shirt was burned in patches. Most likely from rogue lightning bolts.
"You the new kid?" he asked, his voice sounding like the very boom of thunder itself.
"Y-Yes Sir." she stammered, gasping as he put a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't get yourself killed." was all he said before whistling, his squad forming up behind him, wings at the ready.
Oh gods, I'm gonna die here
Once outside they began on warm up drills. Regular stretches and PT prep. Things Rainbow was use to. Then the real work started. The Cloud Commander brought out a small thunder cloud, smashing his fist into the side to anger it. In moments it began to suck up moisture from the air, growing and growing until it filled the area.
"We've got three minutes to clear this cloud before it grows to the point that it destroys the academy! GET TO WORK!" he called over the building storm. Rainbow gulped, rushing at the cloud, completely unsure of what to do. It wasn't until a bolt flew past her that she realized she was alone.
"COME ON GUYS! Didn't you hear him?!" she yelled.
"Yea, we heard him. But he wasn't talkin' to us kid." a senior answered. Rainbow grit her teeth, turning back to the storm.
"Son of a..." she swore under her breath, buzzing her wings and rolling around another bolt. They wanted her to do it alone, Fine. She'd show them why no one messed with Rainbow Dash.
She wasn't going to lose to some storm. Gritting her teeth against the wind she began to fly around the cloud, pulling into a loop around it, going faster and faster until the cloud broke under the pressure.
A quick tilt of her wings and she flew around the smaller chunk until it broke into tiny pieces and faded away. It was a good strategy, one the commander would've suggested. But the storm was building too fast for a single Skyborn to handle. Rainbow bit her lip, realizing she was falling behind and in a last ditch effort took to the sky.
"Where the heck is she going?" a cadet asked, the others shrugged as they watched. Without slowing down Rainbow pulled out of her climb and dropped like a rock towards the storm, screaming against the wind as she smashed through the storm cloud. She'd never flown so fast in her life.
Which was probably why she couldn't stop. No matter how much she tried she couldn't slow down. She rolled and weaved through the air, trying to kill off her speed and in her frustration pulled back over the academy, finally able to pull to a stop over where the storm had been. She gasped as she was tackled by several cheering cadets, leaving her completely confused.
"Uh...Did I win?" Rainbow asked.
"Win? Kid, do you even know what you just did?" the commander asked with a laugh.
"Smashed apart a storm cloud?"
"Ha! Kid, thats the impossible test. No Skyborn can smash a stormcloud by themselves. Why do ya think a team consists of three? You obliterated that thing! With a Rainboom no less. Kid, I'm promotin you to Senior Cloud Specialist."
"A Rainboom?" Twilight asked. Rainbow smirked.
"Yea, its kind of a big deal with us Skyborn. Legend has it only the best can do it and until I pulled it off thats all it was. Just a legend. And then BAM! I go flyin so fast I smash through the sound barrier and light up the sky in an epic Rainbow." Rainbow boasted.
"But thats impossible. Nothing could survive those speeds unprotected. The skeletal structure would shatter under the pressure and muscle mass would turn to jelly." Twilight reasoned.
"Well I'm not any normal person Twi'." Rainbow reminded her. The Magian thought it over for a moment.
"Your mothers magic protected you..." she realized. Rainbow sighed and gave a nod.
"As much as I hate to admit it, yea. There was some part of her that really did love me and I guess she decided to leave that with me." she said softly.
"So...you got promoted. Thats good." Twilight said, trying to change the subject.
"Yea...not really. I was busy almost all day long. No one had ever passed that test. They'd only done it by calling for help or working together. I thought they were screwing with me so I did it alone. After that they realized that I was one of the few Skyborn who could control weather..." Rainbow lowered her head.
"They took away my squad and put me on weather duty. I never had time for anything but work. It was always something happening. A tornado here, a thunderstorm there, too much rain, too little rain. The worst part was, I was good at it."
She wiped the sweat from her brow and nodded to her team.
"Alright, good work guys! Hit the showers and get some rest. I'll clean up here!" Rainbow shouted to them. Her team whooped and cheered as they left. She smiled a little to herself. Just because she had to be stuck here didn't mean they had to be.
She sighed, lowering her goggles and heading back to work, clearing away the remaining clouds before calling it a day. The worn out Skyborn dragged her feet back to her dorm, pushing the door open and freezing in place. There, sitting on her bed in tears, was Fluttershy. She wore a clingy bright yellow dress, her beautiful makeup smudged from her tears.
"S-Shy..." Rainbow stammered.
"R-Rainbow! Oh, I must look terrible..." Fluttershy gasped, trying to wipe away her tears. Rainbow sat in front of her, grabbing her hands.
"Shy, I am so sorry...I got stuck clearing up the sky for the dance..." Rainbow sighed, hanging her head.
"I-its okay Rainbow. I didn't really want to go anyway..." Fluttershy said softly.
"Come on Shy, you spent ages talking about this. I could've been there if I had tried harder."
"You already try too hard Rainbow. I'm worried you're going to hurt yourself. I'm not upset about the dance, really. Its just...I never see you anymore." Fluttershy admitted. Rainbow didn't know what to say. Here she was, 'living her dream', and all of it was falling apart.
"I'll make it up to you, I promise." Rainbow swore, her heart dropping as her friend shook her head.
"You always say that...and then you never show up. I'm sorry Rainbow." Fluttershy let go of her hands and without looking back, left. Rainbow simply sat there, staring at the bed where Fluttershy had been sitting with her heart caught in her throat. Had Fluttershy just dumped her? Her only real friend in the world, had left.
Because of her. Because she could never keep her word, because that stupid weather team would fall apart without her. Sadness turned into anger as she stood, flinging her belongings around the room, her eyes settling on a picture of her first day at the academy. A picture of her and Fluttershy sharing one of their first kisses. She tossed it at the wall before collapsing onto her bed.
"Resigning? But why? You're the best we've ever had!" Stormfeather said as he stared at the forms and hoping to find a flaw in the paperwork. He refused to give up on this girl.
"I don't have a reason to be here anymore sir. All I ask is for a recommendation so I can get a job somewhere." Rainbow said softly. He considered her for a moment.
Brave, bold, strong-headed Rainbow Dash was here in his office an obvious mess of herself. What had torn her down? Had he been to hard on her? No. She was made of tougher stuff than this, the Wonderbolts themselves had attested to that. So why was she quitting on him?
"What reason did you have to be here before then may I ask?"
"With all due respect, thats a personal matter sir. I just wanna go my own way." she continued, her head down as she choked back a sob.
"Rainbow, your parents had nothing but praise for you. Sure, you could say the same about any parent, but its different with a Wonderbolt. When your mother first started here she had no praise to carry her along even though she had connections with the Wonderbolts. They had nothing good to say about her at all. And look at her now, Head Captain of Alpha Team. You could do great things Rainbow!"
"I DON'T WANT TO! I NEVER ASKED FOR ANY OF THIS!" Rainbow screamed, her eyes glowing for the moment she lost control. She shook slightly and clenched her fists.
"Please Sir...j-just...I can't do this anymore...not alone." she cried, finally breaking down. It was a sad sight to behold. This strong young woman who had come to him and dragged herself to the top, now a broken mess. He stood from his chair, pulling her into a gentle hug.
"I won't approve your resignation. Instead you can take a leave of absence to clear your head and when you're ready to come back, your squad will be waiting for you." he whispered, letting her cling to him as she cried to her hearts content. After being dismissed she went straight to her dorm to pack, leaving him to make an unnerving phone call.
"Get me Spitfire."
"I quit. When Fluttershy left...I had nothing to keep me going. My dads cloudhouse was here in Eravil, and with the Everfree being so close the Weather team needed a hero. So they stuck me here. Queen of the clouds. And I've been here ever since. It was about a year later that Fluttershy graduated and we bumped into each other here. We'd both sorta moved on by that point and for a while all she would do was apologize like it was her fault." Rainbow chuckled to herself.
"But it was my fault. I coulda been there for her. I coulda stayed and helped her like I promised, but I ran away instead."
"But you can go back. You can be the Wonderbolt you wanted to be Rainbow." Twilight reasoned.
"I'm not worth it yet Twi. A Wonderbolt is a person who protects and serves and is always there when they are needed. I'm none of that." Rainbow argued.
"Rainbow, I just saw you take down a storm mason for this town. Is that someone who isn't there to protect and serve? Is that someone who isn't around when they are needed?" Twilight asked, grabbing her hands.
"I was just doing what I had to."
"Sometimes thats all it takes." Fluttershy said softly from the doorway. Rainbow spun, seeing her standing there with Rarity.
"H-How long have you guys..."
"Quite a while darling. We didn't want to interrupt the moment." Rarity answered.
"Rainbow. I know I can't change what happened, but...I'm sorry I abandoned you. I just couldn't do it anymore."
"Shy...how many times do i gotta say it? It wasn't your fault. You did the right thing by leaving. I needed to get out of the academy, get some fresh air. If anything I abandoned you."
"Thats not true. I...watched you Rainbow. Whenever you didn't show up, I went looking for you and I always found you working. You were always working so hard to keep everything together, ever since we were little you've been like that. But you were always trying to make time for me. I felt like I was dragging you down and at the same time...I was so alone. So I made a choice...and now its too late to change it."
"I don't see why, surely you two could...'hook up'?" Rarity suggested. The two Skyborn looked at one another and shook their heads.
"Theres scars there that won't ever heal Rarity. It wouldn't be the same." Rainbow sighed. Fluttershy nodded in agreement.
"Well, it was worth a shot." Rarity mumbled.
"I have a question though..." Fluttershy said softly.
"uh...sure, ask away."
"Why do you always throw yourself into danger?"
"pfft, what? I don't throw myself into danger!"
"Yes you do! When that thing attacked, I could've helped! We all could have! But you fought all alone like you always do!" Fluttershy yelled. Rainbow hung her head, barely realizing she still held Twilights hand.
"Because I dunno what I'd do if I lost you again."
"GWAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"Yes, yes, calm down. I'm trying to watch this!" he sighed, tossing a bone to the beast that hid in the shadows.
"Such a touching tale of love lost. And what a battle! Now, who shall we put to the test next? The baker? the farmer? or the bookworm?" he mused, snapping his fingers and glancing at the cages behind him.
"So many to choose from, but which will be the most entertaining? Choices, choices." he tsk'd and turned back to the crystal ball that floated before him.
"I suppose any will do nicely." he sighed, grabbing a glass of chocolate milk.
"After all, the games have only just begun."