//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 
// Story: To Be a Wonderbolt 
// by Avabrony 
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Chapter 5
A blood-curdling shriek rang out through the night. The town of Ponyville was being attacked, and chaos ran rampant in the streets. A bulky form rose above the skyline, tearing at the homes and shops of the quiet little Equestrian town. The shriek came again, following yet another burst of magic. Rainbow Dash still cowered on the hill overlooking the scene, unable to save her town. She screamed at herself, trying to get her to move, but for some reason she just wouldn’t. A fire erupted somewhere, illuminating the scene, and finally, the monster finished tearing down Ponyville. Rainbow Dash saw herself stand and walk to the desolation; ponies were crying in the streets. One turned to her, shouting that she could have saved them, but Rainbow Dash just stood awestruck at what had happened. Her friends lay exhausted and injured on the ground; the flickering flames cast dancing shadows over the ruins of Ponyville. She fell to the dirt, and could only cry as she surveyed what was left of the town so close to her heart.
The sun struck Rainbow Dash in the face, causing her to wake up from the terrible nightmare. The next week had been just as tiring as the first, and she now found herself on the day of the race. She hurried around the room, not wanting to be late for her, when the letter that Twilight had sent her caught her eye. She hadn’t had a chance to read it, but there wasn’t any time at this point, and so she left for the race track, saving the letter for later. When she got to the stadium, Spitfire was waiting, dressed in her own uniform, and together they entered the arena.
                   Rainbow Dash surveyed the place that she had grown to know so well. The waterfall was spilling its downpour as though there was nothing happening, the track was unchanged. The view was still just as breathtaking as it was the first time she had arrived just a few weeks before, but the stands were filled with ponies, each one as eager as the next, all of them clamoring for the race to begin. When Rainbow Dash and Spitfire were spotted, a roar rose from the seats, and Spitfire whispered, “Get used to it Dash-this is what your life is going to be like.” Rainbow Dash felt filled with confidence at the statement, and before she knew it, the race had begun, she and Spitfire had come in first and second, respectively, and the crowd was cheering again-for her. She looked around from the winner circle, and felt the radiant joy that emanated from the stands warmed her to the core. The cheering-the only time she had felt anything like that was at the Best Young Fliers competition, but this time, Spitfire was standing next to her, saying, “Get used to it, kid-This is the life.” Rainbow Dash just smiled, enveloped in the moment, never wanting to feel any different.
When she finally got back to her room, she decided to read the letter Twilight had sent her.
“Dear Rainbow Dash
I am very happy for you regarding all of your accomplishments. Everyone back at home misses you, and although we’re sad that it will be awhile before then, we are all pulling for you in your upcoming races. Just as a side note, I was reading that the most important part in racing…”
Rainbow Dash found that she couldn’t bring herself to read the rest of the letter. She started pacing again, the thrill of victory lost at the onset of a new worry: that she hadn’t made the right choice. ‘Did I fail my friends? Will they want to see me again?’ “No, no, I haven’t failed anypony-Twilight even said that they were pulling for me.” She shook her head, doubt settling in. “I’ll try and sleep on it-besides, there isn’t any turning back, and Spitfire needed me here, right? Right…I guess-ugh!” She threw herself onto the bed, wanting to just fall asleep. After multiple futile attempts to drift into rest, she decided to use that time to console herself. “Well, I’ve done everything that Spitfire has wanted, but...” she trailed off, a sinking feeling forming in her heart that drove away the joy of the spoils of the day. “I didn’t read Twilight’s letter, I chose the race over going home,” her breathing became more rapid by the second, and she began to feel every happy emotion drain from her. “I-I didn’t even eat any of Pinkie’s cake! What kind of friend am I?!” She began to cry, and for the rest of the night, the haven of sleep eluded Rainbow Dash.
 Before she knew it, it was morning, and time for her to go to the next race. With a heavy heart she made her way down to the track before anypony else, and surveyed the arena that was stealing her away from her friends. For the first time in the entire ordeal, Rainbow Dash felt sick-the mere thought of racing just reminded her of how terrible she was being to her friends. “It’s ok,” she told herself, ‘remember how happy they were for you Dash-they want you to be happy. It’s fine if you mess up a bit, everypony does…” but the uneasy feeling just would not leave. She hung her head, and made a promise to return to her friends the second that she could. ‘What would they want for me to do?’ “They would want me to win. So that’s what I’ll do-I’ll win every race-for them.”
 She felt herself begin to feel better, and as soon as she felt like racing again, Spitfire showed up at the stadium.“Hey Rainbow Dash-are you going to win again today, or am I going to have to carry the trophy back to my place?”
The blue pegasus laughed, and with a self-confident tone replied, “Only if you find a way to get me to crash.” They both continued to talk about strategies, the thrill of victory, and other racing related subjects until the crowd finally gathered, and it was time to line up at the start. Rainbow Dash looked confidently around her, hearing the broadcaster begin the final announcement before the race. She looked at the stands, and for a moment thought that she saw Twilight watching her. Taken aback, Rainbow Dash looked again, but realized that she had just imagined her friend.  ‘I wonder what they are doing back home right now?’ She began to feel herself slip again, but it was too late to do anything about it. Her thoughts had turned homeward, and she realized just how huge a mistake she made. Panicking, she looked at the other contestants, who all appeared to be mentally preparing themselves, and didn’t notice as Rainbow dissolved into a worried mess.
She shakily lined up at the start; the race began, and she was off. She felt the wind pick up around her, but when she looked up for the turn, and saw the view, she was struck by a homesickness that she had never felt before. Her wings were beating out of sync, the world began to spin, a collective gasp arose from the crowd. The ground got closer, closer, closer, so close that she could almost touch it, and then-darkness.
                   With a start, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, wondering just what had happened. She saw a bright light immediately in front of her, and a voice saying something about concussions. She tried to talk, but could only barely mumble, “Whasss goinnng onn?” The light went away, and after her eyes adjusted, she found that she was surrounded by the on-site medical ponies, along with Spitfire and a few of the Wonderbolts who had shown up to the race.
                   “What happened out there, Dash? I thought you were joking when you were talking about crashing. I mean-I’ve seen ponies who have taken spills half that bad and never flown again!” Rainbow Dash sat up violently, against the medic-ponies’ cautions.
                   “I’m sorry, Spitfire-I don’t know what happened-everything was just so fast, and-”
                   “Calm down, kid! Everypony crashes every once in awhile! Look, you should take it easy; you’ve had your first win, you don’t need another.”
                   But Rainbow Dash was adamant. “Look, Spitfire, I’ve left my home, and my friends, and I gave up a chance to see them when I decided to race. I have to prove to them and everypony else here that I am good enough to be able to choose whether or not to race.” She pulled Spitfire close, adrenaline pumping through her veins. “You don’t understand-If I don’t win, then I lose, and if I chose to lose over choosing my friends, then I am a loser, and if I am a loser-then I can’t do anything right, and that means that I will never be able to talk to them again. I couldn’t stand the embarrassment of going back home, and I wouldn’t even be able to help any of them; I would be a loser!”
Spitfire took a step back, and a thoughtful look crossed her face. She sighed, and said, “Ok-I’ll give you one more chance. I don’t think that this is such a good idea, but if it is the only thing that you want to do, then I can’t fight it. But- after tomorrow-you are going to have to take a few months off. I know that you don’t want to, but I would rather you get rusty than have you get seriously hurt.”
Rainbow Dash thanked her and hurried to her apartment, inwardly criticizing her performance at the race. She hastily packed her things, and as soon as she was set to leave after her race, she went to bed, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
It seemed like only seconds before she found herself awakened by the rising sun. She solemnly dressed in her uniform, and collected her belongings. With one last look around the room, she swallowed a lump that formed in her throat, and set off for the arena. She arrived there, put her things on the ground, and walked up to the starting line, shaking from the anticipation of the upcoming race. She looked around, feeling like everypony was staring at her, waiting for her to crash again, but she shut the notion out of her mind. ‘I have to do this. I HAVE to. If I don’t, I’ll never be able to show my face around here again, let alone go home.’ She shut her eyes and gulped, the pressure of the race starting to crush her.
The race was starting, and it was time for her to focus, but Rainbow Dash felt her thoughts run amok, sabotaging her final chance to prove herself worthy of what she had become. ‘What if while I’m racing, something bad happens to my friends, and I could have protected them? Or what if they were planning a welcome home party, but I lost?’ She felt herself begin to hyperventilate, and when she heard the race begin, she fell to the ground, cowering in fear. After a moment, she got up, tore off her uniform, and fled the stadium; her life had turned into a nightmare.
She ran to the train station, tears freely flowing down her face; she hadn’t even bothered to gather her belongings. The train was waiting to depart, and, bawling, she boarded it and curled up in an isolated compartment, wishing for the world to leave her alone, but it wouldn’t. Every breath she took was the breath of a failure, a quitter, and a terrible friend. She cried like she never had before, feeling as though she had done the worst thing she possibly could: she failed Spitfire, she left her friends, and she ran away from a race. Shuddering with violent sobs, a broken Rainbow Dash fell asleep alone.