//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Mending a Broken Rainbow // by malikvamp //------------------------------// Mending a Broken Rainbow- Chapter 4- -Earlier that day- "Woohoo! This is amazing!" Rainbolt shot through the sky, the wind breaking against her. She was an unstoppable force with her eyes set on a beautiful white palace in the distance. "I can't remember the last time I flew this fast!" The sky above had morphed into a canvas painted of reds, with clouds multiplying slowly, but steadily. The evening air was crisp; cold as it bit into Rainbolt's lungs with each new breath. If it were any other time the Pegasus would have hated the feeling, but as she soared through the sky the bitter-sweet cold filled her body with joy. Rainbolt couldn't remember the last time she was this excited over something. The Wonderbolt tryouts. The very thought warmed the Pegasus's chest, her heart beating rapidly. As the Canterlot stadium grew ever closer, Rainbolt began her descent. And then she saw them. The Wonderbolts. Just standing there, watching as the last participant finished his routine with a barrel roll. They clapped, and began packing their stuff. "Wait!" Rainbolt hit the ground before her idols, not caring to slow her descent, and leaving a small crater in her impact zone. "Is there still time for one more audition?" Spitfire, the team captain, stared at Rainbow with a wide-eyed expression, her mouth hanging agape. Behind her, each of the other team members shared similar expressions. For a second it seemed as if Spitfire was going to speak, but she quickly bit her tongue and crooked her brows at the cyan legend. "Please, just give me a chance?"   "Well, if it isn't Rainbow Dash!" Spitfire gave a warm, friendly smile. But something about it seemed off, almost... Guilty. "I have to say, I am a little at a loss for words. We were expecting you months ago." "I- What?" "You already made the team, during the last tryouts," Spitfire's words seemed foreign to Rainbolt, leaving her thoughtless. "Ponyville's mail pony should have delivered the letter to you, but when a different Pegasus showed up with the invitation, we knew Derpy had once again mixed up the mail. We tried to find you, but your house was, well, gone." "You mean I..." a smile began to creep across Rainbolt's face. "already made the tam?" "Well yeah, but we've had a bunch of really amazing try-outs today," several of the other Wonderbolts nodded in agreement to Spitfire's words. "I'm sorry, but if you want to join the team you're going to have to prove that you've still got what it takes." Immediately Rainbolt's wings shot from her sides, fully extending in the cool night breeze. "No problem! I'll have your minds blown in ten seconds flat!" With a single powerful thrust of her wings the cyan Pegasus exploded into the sky, spinning like a corkscrew. She hadn't even begun yet, and already every pair of eyes in the stadium was upon her. With each stare Rainbolt's pride only grew more, feeding her need for attention. This was it. This was her time. Her dream. Three seconds after taking off, and already a cone of air was forming around her. BOOM! All at once the beautiful, starry sky erupted into an array of bright lights, firing off across Equestria. All of Canterlot lit up in bright rainbow colors, and before they knew what happened Rainbolt began her newest technique. With the creation of the sonic rainboom came a trail of rainbow light that followed in Rainbolt's tracks. Maneuvering  left and right throughout the sky, the great flier drew out her signature lightning bolt cutie mark in the sky.    And then she fell, dive bombing towards the stadium below. "Eight," Rainbolt fell at a tremendous speed, feeling the feathers on her wings begging for mercy against the wind. But that didn't matter. "Nine," the Pegasus's body cried out in pain as she moved, fell, faster then ever before. But this was it. It was now or never, and she would hold nothing back. "Ten!" Rainbolt's wings shot out from her sides, challenging the wind at full force. In the blink of an eye she came to a full stop, her hooves scraping against the stadium painfully. It was the closest she had come to a life-threatening collision. Hot tears bit at Rainbolt's eyes as her body began to go limp, dropping her onto the earth below. It took all she had to hold up a veil of strength, pretending as if she was fine before her heroes. Before her the Wonderbolts stood, still as statues, a hint of fear in their eyes. Never before had they seen a performance of that magnitude. Rainbolt had outdone herself. "What'd I tell you?" the cyan pegasus coughed in a vein attempt to hide the shakiness of her voice. Even Rainbolt herself was amazed by what she had just done. "Ten seconds flat." "Wow, Rainbow, that was..." Spitfire searched for words. Soarin, the teams second in command, picked up where his captain stopped. "Unbelievable!" "Yeah," Spitfire smiled from ear to ear. "What Soarin said. Welcome to the team, Rainbow Dash!" "Oh my gosh!" Rainbolt, despite her sore state, jumped into the air with joy. "Best. Day. Ever! Oh, but could you please call me Rainbolt?" Before Spitfire could answer, Soaring cut in, trotting over beside the new Wonderbolt. "Of course! You're one of us now, and the Wonderbolts are a family!" "A... Family?" "That's right," Spitfire pushed Soarin aside, procuring her place beside Rainbolt. "Hear that, Wonderbolts? We've got a new member! So what are we still doing sitting around here? Lets celebrate!" "Where are we going?" Rainbolt happily trotted next to Spitfire, as the group departed the stadium. Soarin followed Spitfire's lead, and together the two veteran Wonderbolts created a Rainbolt sandwich. Soarin spoke first. "There's a restaurant in Upper-Canterlot that us Wonderbolts go to a lot to celebrate," Soarin trotted down the street with a generic pride to his step. "This place is divine, possibly the greatest restaurant in all of Canterlot! I'm sure you will love it." "Soarin is friends with the chef," Spitfire whispered, leaning into Rainbow's ear. "So he always gets fresh pie for the whole team." As the group made their way through Upper-Canterlot the new Wonderbolt took in her surroundings. It was as if the city itself was brimming with life. Mares and stallions filled the streets, and all around gigantic restaurants towered, neon lights lighting the dark sky. It was so different from Ponyville, or Cloudsdale, where each and every star could be seen above. Here in Canterlot not a single star could be seen.    "Wow, I've never seen a city so alive!" Rainbolt's eyes sparkled with excitement. "This is amazing! The smallest of shops here are bigger then the largest in Ponyville, and they're all so... Bright!" Spitfire couldn't help but laugh loudly at the cyan Pegasus's excitement, shedding a pearly white smile. "Well, you'd best get used to it, newbie," Spitfire nudged Rainbow playfully as the team neared the largest of all the restaurants they'd seen yet. A large line emerging from it's entrance ran all the way down the block, and many of those in line dressed in a high level of fashion. "Wanna know the best part? Watch this." Nearing the entrance to the building, the Arial Performers strutted proudly past the line and up to a large stallion manning the doors. He was easily double the size of anypony Rainbolt had seen before, and the snarl dominating his face was not that of a friendly expression. However, upon seeing Spitfire, the stallions outlook quickly changed. "Welcome back, Ms. Fire," the door pony grinned warmly, giving a little bow. "Will you be taking your usual table tonight?" "Yes, please," the fire maned mare spoke whilst passing the stallion without so much as a glance. "Prepare an extra seat as well, we have a new member with us tonight." With a simple nod, the unreasonably large stallion called to one of the other employees, and the Wonderbolts entered the building. Four large golden pillars dominated the room, each decorated with regal paintings, and holding the roof several stories above. From the moment she entered the place, a very distinct smell of pie filled Rainbolt's senses. Apple pie, pumpkin pie, berry pie, every kind of pie imaginable. The group began to head to a rather large table in the middle of the room, but a firm grip on Rainbolt's shoulder pulled her away, led by Spitfire. "Where are we going?" Rainbolt continued to follow her idol, but was becoming weary of the mares intentions as they stepped onto the stage, where a small band was performing acoustic music. However, before giving her answer, the Wonderbolt captain walked directly into the center of the stage. Noticing Spitfire's presence the musicians stopped playing and handed her one of the mikes. Turning, the mare gave Rainbolt a quick wink and motioned her forward. Hesitantly, Rainbolt approached. "Attention please!" at the sound of Spitfire's voice, the entire restaurant erupted into cheer. "We have chosen our newest member. Some of you may remember her as the amazing performer of the sonic rainboom, or as the winner of the young fliers competition. Please welcome the one, the only, Rainbolt!" Rainbolt had never heard louder cheering in her life. It was exhilarating. The Pegasus's heart beat rapidly against her chest, eyes scanning the vast crowd of sparkling eyes before her. Her dreams had finally come true. "Thank you..." Rainbolt spoke, her voice shaking. "Thank you all so much!" A warm hoof fell gently across Rainbolt's shoulders, the hoof of her hero. "No. Thank you." --------------------- Loud chatter filled the restaurant, but none spoke louder than those at the Wonderbolt table. For the past hour Rainbolt had been undergoing heavy interrogation, as was custom for all new members of the Wonderbolts. From favorite food to favorite princess, the questions were going stranger and stranger. "Alright Rainbolt," Spitfire turned to the recruit, eyeing her skeptically. "You've got to explain something to me." Caught off guard, the cyan Pegasus could only give a quick nod to acknowledge the question at hoof as she chewed a rather large chunk of some fancy food she could not pronounce the name of. "I've been hearing a lot of rumors lately," Spitfire spoke cautiously. "and I was wondering if there was any truth to them. Is it true that you were with a mare in Ponyville?" At the suddenness of the question Rainbolt coughed violently, sending the contents of her food across the table and onto- "My pie!" Soarin screamed in horror as his sacred meal was desecrated. "Noooooo!" "I'll take that as a yes, then," Spitfire laughed, slapping Rainbolt on the back. "So, tell us about her." "You're not mad?" "Mad? Celestia no!" "Oh..." Rainbolt slowly began to smile. "Most ponies look down on filly-foolers." "You know who looks down on filly-fooling?" Spitfire's question went un-answered, and so she continued. "Bigots. Jealous bigots. Now come on, tell me about her! She must be pretty amazing!" "Why's that?" "People like you and me... We're champions," Spitfire spoke in an almost guilty tone. "Idols, even! We pass by the little people like ants. I know it's terrible, but... Well, it's true. We live life day to day, fast as a bullet and never slowing down. Whoever this mare is, if she was able to slow you down, then she is amazing." "Wow, when you say it like that, yeah." Rainbolt paused, thinking of a certain golden-blonde mane dancing in the breeze. "I guess Applejack is pretty amazing." "Applejack, huh?" Spitfire snickered at her minor win. "Now we're getting somewhere. So tell me about this Applejack." After a long pause, and some deep thought, Rainbolt finally spoke. "Applejack was my first friend in Ponyville after... Well after I left home. She's been my closest friend for as long as I can remember and I guess over time I just..." "Fell in love with her?" "Yeah." Rainbolt remained silent for some time, several pairs of eyes centered upon her. How does one describe Applejack, anyways? What exactly was she to Rainbolt, now that they had gone their separate ways. "She's beautiful," Rainbolt finally spoke, cutting into the eerie silence. "And thoughtful, and she's always there when I need her. It's actually because of her that I came back, to try again, after recieving that rejection letter." The Wonderbolts smiled at their new friend, taking in all that she had to say. Applejack was wrong. They did care about Rainbolt. They cared enough to listen, to really listen, and to connect with her. They were not just performers, they were family. "You don't say." Spitfire nudged Rainbolt playfully. "Love truly is a wonderful thing. I bet she has quite the plot, too, huh?" Rainbolt's face erupted bright red, resulting in a flurry of laughter from those around her. "Haha, kidding, kidding," the captain quieted her own laughter before continuing, her expression becoming more serious. "However, I do have one more question for you." "Go for it." "When you speak of Applejack your eyes sparkle," Spitfire stated, taking pleasure in Rainbolt's squirming. "You are obviously deeply in love with her, so..." "So what?" "When are you going back to her, to tell her you made the team? She's probably waiting for you right now." "Oh, no," the very tone of Rainbolt's words erased the smiles from their faces. "She moved on, and so did I. I pursued my dreams, she picked hers." "Rainbow Dash..." a comforting hoof weighed against the cyan Pegasus's shoulder. "Just because you follow different lives, and no longer dream together, that doesn't mean that you can't still care about, and love each other. Just because you are Rainbolt to us, that doesn't mean that you can no longer be Applejack's Dashie."