The morning sun shone warm and bright against Rainbow Dash's folded wings, as she stood at attention with-
Whoa... Deja vu!
Dash looked around, the sensation that she had been in this very spot before tugging at her mind. Dash had been day dreaming to pass the time. It was the kind of daydream you lose yourself in. You stare at the ground or at some distant object (or worse case scenario, at someone close to you) but you don't really see it. Thoughts drift out of reach, your vision's there but not there, and you lose all sense of time.
Well of course this feels familiar, you've done this before! Well maybe not this exactly, but you've had to stand at attention like this every morning for nearly 2 months. The only reason it feels any different at all, is because you've had a few days off.
Rainbow Dash's final examination had already begun. There she stood with the other thirty eight ponies in her group (thirty nine including the one that was already in the air), waiting for her name to be called. Once the drill instructor yelled out her name, she would have five minutes to get up in the sky and put on the show of a lifetime; five minutes, no more, no less. There was no going back now.
They were being called alphabetically. Dash was the 27th in line, which meant that she had a little over two hours to wait before her name was called (the third pony from her group was already in the air, a one minute intermission was given in between each performance to give everypony a little more time to prepare). All in all, the exam would last about four hours.
Rainbow Dash should have been more nervous than she was, but for some reason her mind was calm. Clearer than it had been in quite some time actually. She thought back to the previous day and smiled. Between her day with Pinkie Pie, and her send off this morning, she'd been having a pretty good time. Rather than concentrate on the other pony's performances, she chose to reach back into her recent memories, reliving the build up to this moment.
*****
Dash rose that day at 6 A.M. sharp, waking up a few seconds before her alarm clock went off; she slid the button to the off setting before it could begin to pierce the morning with its demanding screech. For a few minutes, Rainbow just laid in bed, her arms folded behind her head as she stared up at the ceiling, trying to remember what she had dreamed. She had heard that if you don't think about your dream as soon as you wake up, you'll forget it, but this particular dream seemed to have already been completely faded by the time her eyes were fully open. Now, only fragments remained.
"Cotton candy... Pink... Maybe? Bubbles... Warmth... Laughter? Hmm..."
Dash smiled. Whatever the dream had been, she remembered enough to know that it had been a good one, and that was enough for her. Rainbow sat up in her bed and stretched, her popping joints competing in volume with her yawn. Dash swung her hind legs out of bed and looked down, as usual Tank was looking up at her from his little bed at the edge of her own.
"Sup?" Dash asked, getting in another good stretch before hopping out of bed.
"Big day," he replied.
As usual, his words came out in an indecipherable squeak.
"Eeyup," Dash replied with a nod, walking over to her window to draw the blinds and let the sun in.
"You nervous?" he asked, slowly making his way out of his bed.
"Me, nervous?"
Dash pondered this a moment, before giving her answer through a cocky grin.
"Hell no."
Rainbow took a quick shower and made her and Tank breakfast, taking the morning at a nice, easy pace. At eight she'd have to be back at Pegasus Hell, but until then she was going to treat this morning just like any other morning. Or so she thought. There was something strange about the way she felt and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't quite figure out what it was. Finally, it hit her, what felt so off was just how calm she really was.
Just before, the test she had been stressing her mind into near insanity, and now, on the day of the test nonetheless, she felt so calm it might as well have been just another morning! Dash was truly at ease. She should have been freaking out, or at least nervous, not feeling the slightest worry at all was strange indeed.
"Maybe my fear drove me crazy," she said out loud.
Dash decided to head out at half past seven, it left her with enough liberty to take her time getting to the camp and not worry about being late.
As Dash stepped out of her home and onto the cloudy surface that served as her house's foundation, a peculiar sound reached her ears. It was as though a wave of muffled whispers had suddenly been snuffed out entirely. Curious, Dash peeked over the edge of her cloud. She was greeted by a roar of voices.
"GOOD LUCK, RAINBOW DASH!"
The entire town of Ponyville was gathered underneath her home. Some held signs, others were sporting rainbow colored wigs that matched her own mane, some shouted while others expressed their praise through more subtle means; everypony was giving their support for their favorite flier. Dash blinked, taken back by the sight. A big sendoff had been the last thing she was expecting. She stepped off her cloud, her wings gently fluttering her to the ground. Dash quickly picked out her friends and went to join them, working through the hugs, greetings, brohoofs, pats on the back, and the various other congratulations of the town's residents as she made her way towards them.
"Dude," she began, looking around at everypony, her eyes still filled with surprise.
"What's going on?"
Twilight Sparkle was the first to step forward.
"Well, yesterday we realized that you hadn't really been given any kind of send off or anything for this Wonderbolts thing. Seeing as how you're Ponyville's only applicant this year, that simply would not do! So, I got everypony together to show you that you've got the whole town behind you!"
"You did all of this... For me?"
Twilight smiled, clearly proud of her work.
"Well, I can't take all of the credit... After all, it was Fluttershy that first brought this problem to my attention!"
Dash looked over at Fluttershy, who quickly looked the opposite direction, her cheeks burning a deep scarlet.
"Oh wow, guys, this is... This is... Wow..."
Dash didn't know what to say, her friend's actions had quite literally taken her breath away. She held back a few touched tears, a wide smile taking their place.
"I don't know what to say, thank you everyone. Thank you all so much!"
Rainbow Dash looked from one face to the other, her grin growing by the second.
The next moment, Pinkie Pie rushed to her side, throwing an arm over her.
"So, Dashie, got any words for your adoring fans before you leave?"
Dash thought for a moment, closing her eyes. When she opened them back up, her grateful smile was replaced with a cocky grin.
"Just that you guys better get to work on my statue! Otherwise, how will ponies passing through know that this is the town that made me?"
She took off into the sky, making a few well placed twists and turns as she tore through the air. The crowd roared its approval.
Before making her exit, Dash hovered a few feet above everyone's heads. All traces of any fear or lack of confidence long gone.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta go become the first ever Wonderbolt to come out of Ponyville!"
As Dash sped off towards the testing grounds underneath Cloudsdale, the crowd's chanting became inaudible as the speeding wind around her drowned out their voices.
"RAINBOW DASH! RAINBow Dash! Rainbow Dash... Rainbo-"
*****
Rainbow Dash's actual arrival at the testing grounds was less glamorous. Everypony was to be in formation at o eight hundred hours sharp, the skies were filled with Pegasus filing into their spots. Unknown to Rainbow Dash, her arrival was watched with a little more interest than most of the other candidates.
On the ground below, Rainbow Dash's primary drill instructor, Rain Twister, stood with two other ponies. A young stallion and a much older one, they were both dressed in Wonderbolt formal attire. Twister silently nudged the younger Wonderbolt that stood to his right, then looked up at Dash. The young pony followed his gaze, not saying a word while he looked Dash over as she swooped in with the crowd.
"That the pony you were talking about?" he asked, his question answered with a nod from Twister.
"That's her alright," he replied, looking over to make sure the older Wonderbolt had also been able to spot her.
After a few seconds of quiet observation, Rain Twister spoke up again.
"Out of all my years working this place, this year's batch has been the most promising I've ever seen. And she's the star of the lot."
The young Wonderbolt smirked, the rest of his expression hidden behind his goggles.
"The standout in a group of standouts."
Finally, the elderly Wonderbolt joined in their conversation.
"This year is gonna be one to remember."
Dash looked around after she took her place in formation, there were Wonderbolts everywhere! Not just the regular camp coordinators either, but members who actually performed and toured too! She felt her heart beating faster in her chest as she fought back the urge to smile. So many famous Wonderbolts were here, and soon she'd actually be able to perform in front of them. Her dream was finally about to come true! After everypony was in formation and the morning cadence had passed, the senior instructor, Streak, began to speak over the crowd. She spoke strong and proud, no other sound was made over her booming voice as she paced in front of them.
"Alrighty then! You've all known this was coming and you should know what to do by now, but just to be safe I'm gonna go over the details of your final examination one last time! There are five hundred and eighty two of you, and forty five of us here to test you. As you can see, we have guests here today to help us better judge your performances! You will be divided up into twelve groups of thirty-nine, and three groups of thirty-eight. There will be two Wonderbolt captains, and one of our senior staff members to a group. Whichever one of our senior staff members calls your name, is the one you will report too.
Once you are with your group, you will all line up shoulder to shoulder in alphabetical format. Once in alphabetical format, you will each have one minute to prepare yourselves, and then five minutes to get up in the air and put on an aerial display worthy of Wonderbolt standards. After all of you have been tested, we will announce the lucky fifteen who have passed the test. Any questions?"
Rainbow Dash swallowed, hoping she had heard everything Streak had said correctly. Of course no one said anything, to have actually asked a question would have most likely ended in an instant fail for the stupid pony who had asked.
Streak smiled, finally coming to a halt in front of the crowd's center.
"Very well then. Wait until you name is called, and good luck to you all!"
She walked away and Rainbow watched as the fifteen staff members walked forward, one at a time they began to call out names. Rainbow had a good while to wonder what proctors she would be placed with, before her name was finally called. She walked over to the pony that had called her, her excitement beginning to fade as she saw whose watchful eyes she had been placed under.
Surprisingly enough, Rain Twister was the staff member, on his sides were the two Wonderbolts who would be helping him judge her. To his left, was a younger Wonderbolt she didn't recognize, and to his right, was an old Wonderbolt that she wished she didn't recognize.
As she walked up to take her spot, Rain Twister greeted her.
"Good morning, Ms. Dash."
Dash halted, turning to face her superior with a salute.
"Good morning, Sir."
Twister saluted her back and she eased up.
"Ms. Dash, this is Crimson Blaze. I doubt you know him, he's only a few years out of here himself."
Crimson smiled, nodding towards Dash.
"And this is Dusk, whom apparently you already know?"
Rainbow Dash nodded, unconsciously letting her gaze drop towards the ground as the old Wonderbolt greeted her.
"Ah yes, Rainbow Dash, how many years has it been now? Nearly a decade I believe!"
Dash nodded, still not quite looking Dusk in the eye.
"C'mon now, don't act so bashful! After all, your old man and I used be great pals, that is of course before I became quite so bloody old myself!"
He chuckled and Rainbow Dash still didn't say a word. After a moment, it became obvious that her lack of communication was starting to make Dusk unsure of his memory of her.
"You are Thunder Hooves' boy right?" he finally asked, continuing to stare at Dash, his age whitened mane blowing in the morning breeze.
"Uh," Dash began, a blush rising in her cheeks. "Daughter..."
Dusk grunted, taking a few more seconds to look her over.
"Hm, it would appear so. Please excuse me, my old eyes aren't quite what they used to be; Thunder Hooves' daughter. And a what a beautiful mare you turned out to be, eh? Why, you could probably even give your mother a run for her money in her prime! Speaking of which, what's Lightning been up to these days anyway?"
Rainbow's throat sealed up, it was a question she hadn't been expecting and it took her a second to squeak out an answer.
"Oh... Um... She passed away... A while back..."
Dusk gasped, surprised by the news. His surprise only upset Rainbow Dash more. Her mother, Lightning Strike, had been taken away from her by an undiagnosed illness when she was thirteen. Dusk, being a long time friend of her father's, had been by a lot in those days, doing what he could to cheer her dad up. How he could have forgotten something like that was beyond her, and the more she thought about it, the more frustrated at him she became.
"Thunder must have been so upset... She always was the love of his life, the perfect gentle balance to his bold ways... Hell of a flier too! I never understood why she didn't go out to follow in the hoofsteps of her husband. She was great, she would have definitely made it! Course, she probably wouldn't have been quite as known as Thunder, but then again who was!? Your dad, had it! He knew what it meant to wear the uniform and he was a legend even amongst his fellow Wonderbolts!"
Dusk babbled on a little while longer and Rain Twister raised an eyebrow at Dash. This was exactly the kind of thing she had been trying to avoid. Unlike some of the other ponies here who had Wonderbolt alumni in their genes, Dash had intentionally never mentioned anything about her father's status. She had done her best never to mention anything about her parents, period! And that wasn't just here at Pegasus Hell. Not even her own friends knew that Dash's pops had been the Thunder Hooves. Rainbow Dash had always done her best to keep it a secret, so that when she finally became a Wonderbolt herself, nopony would ever be able to accuse her of only making it just because of who her daddy was.
"So, how is Thunder?" Dusk finally asked.
Now Dash was pissed. She glared at him, though he seemed not to take notice.
"He's still dead," she answered flatly.
Out of all the things this old bastard had forgotten, how could he have forgotten that? He had even attended his funeral! There was a moment when Rainbow thought she was going to give the old pony a piece of her mind for being such a shitty friend, but her anger were interrupted as Crimson Blaze called out the next pony in their group.
"Is he now?" Dusk asked, shaking his head as this 'new revelation' rolled over him.
"I'll have to send flowers to his widow, Lightning must be so devastated! And then there's that boy of theirs too, little Rain something..."
With that Dusk turned away from the now completely flabbergasted Rainbow Dash, and went to greet the approaching pony.
Dash's mouth dropped open, she couldn't believe that everything her and Dusk had just talked about was already lost on the old pony.
"Wha- Huh? Is... Is he fucking with me?" she asked Twister, blinking a few times as she took their conversation in.
Her question was answered by Twister's hard hoof colliding into the side of her head; she staggered to the side, seeing stars.
"Ow! Son of a bitch, ow!"
She rubbed the side of her temple, the pain passing quicker than she had expected.
"Watch your mouth, Ms. Dash! His memory may not be what it used to be, but he is still your superior and you will give him the respect he deserves!"
Dash scowled, still rubbing her face as she took her spot in line.
*****
"Rainbow Dash, you're up."
Dash looked up and nodded. While waiting for her name to be called, Dash had decided to lose herself in her thoughts. She found that her mind was mostly still stuck on yesterday, and on the fun her and Pinkie Pie had had together. With her mind now fully snapped back to reality, Dash had sixty seconds before she had to be up in the air and giving her performance to end all performances; fifty seconds now. For the second time that day, Dash was surprised by how calm she was.
At that particular moment, she still had no idea what kind of performance she wanted to give, and it wasn't bugging her in the slightest! One thing Rainbow knew for sure was that she did not, under any circumstances, want to use the Sonic Rainboom. It was a great technique, one that could boost her to the top fifteen in ten seconds flat if she did it right, but it also seemed like kind of a cheap way to win. Not to mention, if she could make it without resorting to using a Sonic Rainboom, it would make her victory even sweeter. Sweet... The word hung in her mind, turning her thoughts back towards Pinkie Pie.
Ahh, Pinkie Pie... Dash thought to herself, her lips curling into a smile.
Energetic... Creative... Unpredictable... Fun... She's the physical representation of everything a great performance should be...
"Thirty Seconds, Ms. Dash."
Planting her hooves firmly on the ground, Dash unfolded her wings and spread them wide. She knew what kind of performance she wanted to give, now all she needed was to decide which moves to use. Rainbow Dash began to mutter to herself, racking her brain for the perfect combination of moves that would leave her judges speechless and with no choice but to proclaim her one of the-
"-Fifteen-"
-finalists. Looking up at the skies ahead, Dash noticed that the field not only had various terrains and obstacles available for ponies to enhance their performances, but it also had a variety of different clouds in the sky.
"Ten. Nine. Eight-"
Rainbow started to stretch the rest of her muscles and began to clear her mind. Dash knew what she wanted to do and she knew the moves she needed to pull, now she just needed to let her body work its magic and a position in the Wonderbolts was as good as hers.
Rain Twister continued to count down the seconds leading to her performance.
"Four. Three. Two... O-"
In an instant, Rainbow Dash had kicked off the ground and taken to the skies, her trademark speed wowing the audience as she sped through the air. Dash darted from one cloud to another, separating the rainclouds from their waterless brethren. Using her skills as a weather pony (and a few tricks she had picked up from watching Applejack), she corralled all the rain clouds into one spot in the center of the sky, leaving only two out of the bunch. One of these, Dash placed a few feet above the rest of the rain clouds. The other, Dash snatched with her teeth.
Still moving at supersonic speed, Dash began to speed towards the ground. As she began to land, she pulled up, breaking into her classic high speed strut before slowing to a halt directly below the pile of clouds she had assembled; the lone rain cloud still remained clenched in her teeth.
"Energetic..."
Dash used this time to catch her breath, and to scan the faces of the crowd watching her. While the exam proctors remained unfazed, the rest of the ponies were looking on in wonder. Dash tried to look as at ease as she could, as she prepared the next part of her performance.
Adjusting her mouth's grip on the cloud, Dash swung her head back and flung it hard up into the air. Dash took a couple steps back and watched it go. To her delight, she saw that her aim had been true and the cloud was now hurtling into the center of the cloud pile above. Rainbow took to the air again, racing to beat the rain cloud before it hit its target. Dash soon passed the cloud and flew up about a dozen feet above the pile of rain clouds, and above the rain cloud that rested above the pile. She waited until the timing was just right, before speeding down and kicking the raincloud that floated above down into the pile.
It hit the same moment that the cloud coming from below did, and the results were even better than Dash had imagined. The massive group of clouds scattered like marbles, each of them bursting open with a mighty crash. The skies began to darken as the clouds rained down on the cheering ponies below. Rainbow Dash smirked as she took a bow, readying herself for the dramatic conclusion to her display.
"Creative..."
Now that the stage had been set, Rainbow Dash began to slowly make her way up higher into the sky. She wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed, but she knew that she couldn't have much more than two minutes left. As she climbed higher and higher, the air grew colder. Dash's breath frosted in the air before her. If she flew up much higher, she'd put herself in danger of freezing her wings. Finally, she stopped, spending a few moments hovering above the field before she snapped her wings shut.
Dash could almost hear the gasps from the crowd, as she began to free fall towards the earth. Faster and faster she fell, the ground was only a hundred or so feet away from her now. If she didn't pull up perfectly, she would soon be turned to jelly against the unforgiving earth below.
"Unpredictable..."
With less than ten yards between her and death, Rainbow Dash spread her wings and arched her body. The result was a high speed glide that only the most experienced of fliers would have even conceived attempting. With a few well timed flaps of her wings, Rainbow Dash brought the gliding into a series of somersaults that, combined with the still falling rain, left behind a rainbow colored blur.
Finally, Dash let her hooves hit the ground, bringing her show stopping performance to a skidding end.
"Anddddd fun!" Dash shouted, throwing her hooves up into the air as the other ponies applauded.
Rainbow walked over to the judges with her head held high, basking in the sheer awesomeness left behind in the wake of her performance. They didn't say a word, but Dash was sure that she saw a faint smile hiding behind Twister's straight laced face.
"Thanks a million, Pinkie..." Dash whispered under her breath as she took her place back in line.
The entire time she had performed, Rainbow had kept her friend's face and thoughts of the day before on her mind. It had proved to be just the fuel she needed. If she did manage to snag a spot in the Wonderbolts, she would have to dedicate the win to her.
After the unused time from her performance had expired, Twister called the next name.
"Rainbow Flare, you're up."
From the opposite end of the line, Dash thought she made out somepony talking.
"I'd hate to be the one that has to follow that..."
*****
About an hour and a half later, Rainbow Dash and the rest of the ponies were all together again, standing at attention in one gigantic group as the test's proctors discussed the results among themselves. For most of the ponies, the wait was maddening. For Dash, it was just boring. Finally, after a decision had been reached, the head instructor, Streak, stepped up and retook her spot before the crowd of Wonderbolt hopefuls. In her hooves was a clipboard that held a few pages of unknown writing. Streak looked down at the paper and began to speak over the crowd.
"Melody Lyric... Starlight... Moonshine..."
Rainbow Dash held her breath and began to count as Streak continued to call out names.
What are the names for? Are these they ponies that made the cut?
For the first time that day, Dash began to feel a sense of dread wash over her. Now was the real moment of truth, she would soon know whether she was a Wonderbolt or not.
As the thirteenth name was called out, the knots in Rainbow's stomach further tightened.
"Thunderlane..."
Dash held her breath, that was name fourteen. If Streak didn't say her name next, then... Then...
"Oh God, please let it be me," Dash muttered to herself.
"Lightning Bright..."
In that moment, Dash felt the devastation hit her like a ton of bricks. She was on the verge of tears, when something strange happened. Streak continued to call out names.
"Bolt... Jupiter Breeze..."
Dash felt her hope rushing back as everypony realized that the names Streak was calling out must have been from the list of ponies who didn't make the cut. Most of the ponies in the crowd were relieved, while the ones whose names had been called were devastated.
Better you than me, Dash thought, listening attentively and hoping that her name wasn't called.
Finally Streak reached the end of her list, she called off the last few names just as she had done the first; in her dull, droning tone.
"Raspberry Swirl... Pumpkin... Ocean Mist..."
With that, Streak straightened herself back up and tossed the clipboard to the ground beside her.
"Anypony who didn't hear their name called is to remain here to receive further instruction. Everypony else, better luck next year."
Dash blinked, she was in shock. Had her name really not been called? Was she really a Wonderbolt? It seemed too good to be true.
"No way," she said out loud in disbelief.
Most of the other ponies were already flying away in disappointment. Others weren't as thrilled about the idea of not making the team and having to be 'persuaded' by the instructors to take their leave.
"Please tell me this isn't a dream..."
Dash smiled. She didn't think she had ever been so happy, today was quickly becoming the best day of her life!
After everypony whose name had been called had been escorted off the field, a well known Wonderbolt by the name of Soarin stepped up, addressing the remaining fifteen ponies.
"Congratulations to everypony who made it this far. Unfortunately, your trial isn't over just yet."
There were groans all around.
"You've gotta be kidding me," Dash muttered with a sigh. "What the hell else do you want from us!?"
Soarin laughed nervously, it was obvious that he felt bad about the situation.
"We're really sorry guys, but we had to do something to drop the numbers a bit."
He began to pace back and forth, further explaining the situation to the ponies.
"The candidates this year have been a real doozy, literally the best bunch of fliers Pegasus Hell has ever seen! We can only pick one pony out of all of you, and at the end of the training there were still way too many left! So we did what we normally do for the true final test, but instead made it our semi-final. This made it easier to choose the top fifteen and it's made it easier for us to choose the next Wonderbolt! Now, don't worry you guys, your efforts weren't completely in vain. All of you are now official Junior Bolts! Even though you're technically in the Wonderbolts, you won't be assigned to a team and you won't be performing any shows. Not yet anyway."
The pony next to Dash, Night Glider, asked what the actual final would be and Soarin continued.
"Oh, well since we've already had you guys do a big performance and everything, we were just gonna do something really simple for the, uh... Final, final. A race, that's it. You all will just have a standard three lap race around Wonderbolts Stadium one month from now. No fancy tricks, no special skills, just a plain old race. The pony that comes in first will be the next official Wonderbolt."
There were groans all around. Dash herself was a little disappointed, but felt that it was still better than being one of the ponies that left with nothing.
"Alright guys, one month, simple race, get ready. All of Equestria will be watching!"
Soarin stepped back and the rest of the Wonderbolts and the Pegasus Hell drill instructors stepped up, congratulating their former pupils and future members on a job well done.
*****
As she flew home, Dash thought about everything that had occurred, and in the end decided that she was okay with it. Fancy displays were fine in all, but all of her life she had settled most major disputes with a race. It felt right that her Wonderbolts membership would be decided the same way. For a few minutes, Rainbow Dash flew without thought. Her time in Pegasus Hell, and the past few days of stress, had kept her from enjoying what had made her want to be a Wonderbolt in the first place: the simple joy of flying.
She grinned as she cruised through the air, the cool wind blowing against her sore muscles. However, her thoughtless flight wasn't kept for long, as thoughts of her friend Pinkie Pie once again found a way to creep into her mind.
"I really owe you one, Pink. Hehe, who would have thought beauty and creativity could go together so well!"
Dash tilted her head, going back over what she had just said.
"Huh... Where did that come from? That's kind of a weird thing to think about a friend..."
Dash continued to fly through the air, trying to figure out why she would say such a strange thing for no apparent reason.
"I guess its not that weird though. I mean, its true! Pinkie Pie is beautiful, gorgeous really! Like, model gorgeous!"
Dash laughed out loud, the thought of Pinkie Pie as a model was a pretty far fetched one.
"Sure she's pretty enough, but she would never stand still long enough for that kind of thing!"
Rainbow laughed again, continuing to try and rationalize her earlier thought.
"Then again, maybe being so animated isn't such a bad thing. Who doesn't enjoy a fun loving beauty? And boy is she a beauty! Breathtaking eyes... Pretty, pink curls that smell like cotton candy..."
Rainbow's eyes began to droop, her mouth tweaking into a dreaming smile.
"Soft, full lips... A body to die-"
Dash suddenly came to a screeching halt, her eyes widening as she snapped back to reality. She hovered in the air, not believing what she was saying.
"Oh my god... Why am I- What the hell- No, no, no, no! Not cool, not cool!"
Dash's heart was beating about a million times a minute, her face was a bright, embarrassed crimson.
"This is not happening..."
Rainbow Dash took off again, speeding towards her home as fast as she could. Her trial with the Wonderbolts had passed, but now it appeared that something much worse was beginning to rear its head.