//------------------------------//
// Chapter 12: The Barrier 
// Story: Rewritable 
// by Detsella Morningdew 
//------------------------------//

       Rainbow Dash trained me hard. Really hard. Even with my new-found ability, it was extremely difficult.

So I was very grateful when school ended. At least I had time to relax.

But the harder I trained, and the better I got, the happier Rainbow seemed to be.

She started to race me.

And for real this time.

Of course, she always won. But she wasn't holding back anymore, either. And she was almost ecstatic about it.

I also learned another technique. At high speeds, it was hard to turn. Very hard. But all I had to do was shape my field. Flatten it out. Instead of eliminating all air resistance, I was using it to my advantage.

And finally, after more than four months of training, I felt it. The resistance.

I could feel the barrier.

My goal was in sight.

But still out of reach. I still wasn't strong enough. I could get up to the barrier, and feel it's resistance, but I could go no further.

But there was something I could do to get there. Make myself strong enough.

Make my "shield" less efficient.

If I made myself fight against the air resistance, I would become stronger.

Then when I attempted to break the barrier, I would regain that efficiency. Then, I would succeed.

But I would have to reduce the efficiency gradually. I still wanted to be able to keep up.





It took me another four months, and a lot of patience, before I finally gave up on completely removing my air shield.

As I thought about it again, the thought of completely removing it while keeping up with Rainbow Dash was absurd.

But before those four months were over, something else noteworthy happened.

Discord.

I had wanted to see him before. I was obviously crazy.

The whole time, I shut myself up in my bedroom, and shut off my Sight.

If I left it on for much longer, I would have lost my sanity.

Chaos magic is not something I want to see again in any significant amount.

And I thought Pinkie was weird.





As Twilight described what happened afterwards, I had to admit that some of his pranks were funny. But he was not somepony (is that even the word) that I wanted to meet again.

But that encounter got me thinking about the different kinds of magic again.

Which also contributed to my impatience.

But it really shouldn't matter too much. A 50% increase in efficiency is pretty good.

And so the day came; the one I had designated. It was the day I would attempt the Sonic Rainboom for the first time.

And for good measure, I made it a race.

I set up a cloud for us to start on. I placed it at the top of my flying range.

You see, the magical field has a limit to its range.

It also happens to be at the highest breathable range as well. Maybe there's a reason for that.

But I convinced Dash that a race from the top of our flying range to the bottom would be a great idea.

She seemed to think that it was hilarious, but she wouldn't tell me why. But I had an idea. This was the perfect conditions for a Sonic Rainboom, and both of us knew that well. She just didn't know that I knew that.

Needless to say, she was very confident in her victory.

I prepared myself, shaping my field to its most efficient form. The shallower the angle, the better.

Rainbow started the countdown. "Three....two....one....GO!"

We both shot downward. Neither of us paced ourselves as we usually did. Both of us knew that the Rainboom increased your speed.

Rainbow looked at me, surprised that I was keeping up so well.

Cones formed around both of us. I couldn't see the compressed air, but I did see the compressed magic. I couldn't help but notice that my cone was significantly smaller.

Then Dash, slightly ahead of me, broke the barrier.

And then I did, too.

I looked behind me, and there were two circles of rainbow light: one large, one small. The funny thing was, I couldn't hear the explosions. I was traveling faster than sound.

I did it.

I looked back in front of me, and gasped slightly. The air was filled with magical energy, swirling around on its own.

It was a whole different world. Everything was clearer. I could see everything. Ponies were no longer vague blobs of light. I could see their exact magical capacity, even their talents...

And I almost crashed into the ground, pulling up easily. I didn't even need to use my special trick. The air seemed to just carry me.

I landed at the finish line. Rainbow Dash had already won, of course.

She was looking at me with a mixture of shock and extreme pride.

I, however, wasn't paying attention. I was more focused on what I had just seen.

What happened back there?

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash tried to get my attention.

"Record! Record!"

"What record?"

"No, you! That's your name, remember? But I was trying to say---wait. I don't think you're exactly blank anymore."

"Wait, what?"

Rainbow sighed. "Okay, I'll explain it in simpler terms. You got your cutie mark."

I looked at my flank. Sure enough, there was a mark there. Three four-pointed stars.

"But back to the subject."

"There was a subject?"

"Nevermind that. How?"

"How what?"

"How did you do the Sonic Rainboom?"

"Oh, that."

"Yes, that. How did you do that? You weren't even that close yesterday."

"Didn't Twilight explain it to you?"

"Yes, but it didn't do any good."

"Okay, basically, I removed almost all of the air resistance. That's why wingpower measurements don't work for me."

"Don't remind me."

"But the point is, I used the same magic that allows us to fly, and used it to direct the air around me. I can go about twice as fast as normal this way."

"Really?"

"Do you honestly think that I could keep up with you without it?"

"No, I guess not. It just seems like cheating, doing that."

"Well, if a unicorn found out a way to do magic, would that be considered cheating?"

"No...I guess..."

"Then why should this be any different? If you learned how to do the same thing, you could do the Sonic Rainboom in a fraction of the time. Maybe even do it vertically."

"Really?"

"Of course. I was meaning to show you in the first place. I just wanted to see what it was like, first. Plus, I think Ponyville might thank me. It seems my Rainboom causes a lot less property damage."

Rainbow dash deflated slightly.

But I knew what the problem was.

"Of course, you can just use my modifications to get up to speed. If you drop it just before you break the barrier, it should create a sufficiently impressive explosion."

She brightened up considerably.

Always know your audience.

"Of course, forgive me if I try to develop a silent Rainboom. You know, for when you need to be quiet."

That got her attention.

"Like a stealth mission?"

"Precisely."