Blossomforth with all your might

by Skyeheart

Act 5: Winging it

"I loved number seven," Twilight chatted among the buzz of the stands. "Doing fifteen barrel-rolls in a row can't be easy."

"I give props to number four," Honey said. "He used every aspect of the the arena at least once."

Sherbet spotted Octavia rubbing a hoof against her lower cheek ever so slightly. "Is something bothering you Octavia, dear?"

"I am just pondering...about the contestants we specifically are anticipating."

"We're only up to number ten. Blossomforth and her friend aren't supposed to be up yet if that's what you're wondering."

Octavia gave an indifferent shake of her head. "No, no. That is not it. I speak for our other acquaintance. If what I gather from the clues provided from conversation, Rainbow Dash had signed up early on and would have been one of the first to perform. Yet the competition is growing late and we have not seen her perform."

Sherbet mirrored Octavia's wonderings with a flick of the ear. "That is peculiar now that you mention it. I'd imagine a mare of her boldness would be so eager as to cut in line to perform if she got the chance. I wonder if something is inconveniencing her?"

---

"What do you mean you can't do the Sonic Rainboom?"

Rainbow Dash cringed over the level of disbelief that seemed to emanate from Blossomforth as the initial shock wore off her. "I mean I really can't do it. Ever since that day I won that race against Billy and Hoops I've never been able to repeat the Sonic Rainboom."

"But you've kept telling me you could do Sonic Rainbooms in your sleep," Fluttershy protested.

"I...sorta...kinda...fibbed a little." The anxious mare looked like she was about to tear her own wings off. "I-I figured I could get it ready by the time of the competition, but I still keep failing! I don't know why or what's keeping me from doing it, but I just can't make the impossible possible anymore!"

She then curled up into a ball, laying against a bucket. "Billy and his posse were right all along. I can't go out there. Everypony's gonna see me fail!"

"But Rainbow, what about everything you told us about-"

"You don't get it!" the cyan pegasus snapped at her inward lifelong friend. "They don't expect greatness from you in this area, but they expect it from me! And I'm not going to be able to deliver! I didn't accidentally sign up or come here to have fun, I came here to win! Because losing is one thing a Wonderbolt never does! This is just a contest for you, but for me, this is my reason for living! I don't care for animals, I don't care for flowers, I care for FLYING! And how can I call myself a flier if I go out there with no Sonic Rainboom? The Wonderbolts will never let a loser like me join. Princess Celestia will probably banish me to the Everfree Forest! My life is ruined!"

Blossomforth looked to the shivering and spastic mare before her, then to her contestant badge, rotating it around in her hoof. This sounded an awful lot like the tirade she was given back at the library. And yet despite that, despite her nerves getting frayed to the very ends of their neurons, despite being dragged around, teased, and force fed confidence by every other pony...

"What makes you so important?"

"Huh?" Fluttershy and Rainbow both looked into her piqued eyes.

"So it's okay if our reputations get put on the line, but not yours? After everything you've done, everything you've said, just to keep us in the game, YOU'RE backing out?"

Rainbow Dash was taken aback, unable to immediately grasp where the conversation had turned. "B-but I-"

"Do you realize how selfish and foalish you're acting right now? Are you really that starved for self-satisfaction that you think you're the only one that matters in this tournament?"

The white mare towered over her still but breathing body. "News flash for you, Rainbow. Just because Fluttershy and I don't share your aspirations for flying, doesn't mean we've thought any less of this contest! We worked just as hard as you did, weathered all the slings and doubts, and still came here expecting the possibility of being booed and humiliated. Everypony who entered did! But that's still not stopping them from charging out those doors and giving their all for the crowds."

"But, ummm...aren't we hiding here too?" Fluttershy asked.

Blossomforth nodded. "Yeah, and that's just yet another lapse of judgement we can account to my scatterbrainess. Seeing us here, thinking back on my time in Manehattan, our fillyhood secret paradise, has just made me realize something. I don't give a molting feather to the opinion of anypony in those stands except my friends. And the only thing I need to do to get them clapping is to just fly out there and participate."

She backed away, and took a few steps back towards the door. "No more running and hiding. I'm going to face that audience and flap my wings like no tomorrow. And if they boo or laugh or even write me down as the worst flier in history, so what? I know five ponies out there...well five ponies and one dragon, then again Trixie's in here so four ponies and one dragon...who have their own gold medal with my name on it!"

She then turned to Fluttershy. "And they've got one for you too. Well...partner?"

"Um...I..." The hesitant pegasus looked from one friend to another. Tentatively lifted a hoof...and then slapped it alongside her fillyhood friend's offering one, scrunching her most fierce and courageous face. "Okay! I'll do it! I'm going to be brave, this time for real! If...if you're really going to face an onslaught of ridicule and criticism, then I'm not letting you do it alone!"

She then immediately withdrew some of her sudden spunk. "Um...if that's okay with you, that is."

The two then looked to the last inspiree. "How about it Rainbow? Would it help if we dared you?"

Rainbow shakily pawed the floor with a hoof. "Ahhh...well..."

Fluttershy reached out and lifted her hoof to hold warmly. "It's okay Rainbow...everything will be alright...I won't let a single one of them badmouth you..."

Rainbow was dead silent for some time, her head down so that her mane shadowed her eyes. Then finally, a faint chuckle escaped from her lips.

"Heh...heh heh. Funny...all these years I've spent protecting ponies like you, and now you're the ones ready to defend me."

She wiped a tear from her eye, heaving a another sighing snicker that carried anxiety out by the breath. "Man, I must have really zonked out if you guys had to go and twist my wing like that. Thanks a bunch Flutters, you too Blossom. What you two just did for me now, that was super cool."

With renewed vigor, the proud mare stood up straight and cut ahead to the door. "And no way is this pony going to be letting anyone outcool her. If you two will excuse me, I've got a Sonic Rainboom to do."

Her hoof had barely touched the knob when it swung open to the frazzled curled mane and annoyed frown of the backstage manager.

"Oh for the love of- there you are! Do you have any idea how messed up the program is because of your antics?" Lucy Packard waved her clipboard frantically. "This job is stressful enough as it is without having to reshuffle lineups, swap cues, and budget the competition time, by myself, five times over! Honestly, you're the ones supposed to be jumping through the hoops, not me!"

"Trixie's reaaaadyyyy~!"

Out of the dressing rooms stepped the beautiful magician with the butterfly wings. Her silvery mane was done up in a wavy perm full of volume, glossed over to make it shine and sparkle as much as possible. Accompanying her wings was a frill of tropical feathers with matching bedazzled choker and bracelets. A midnight eyeshadow decorated her visage, she even had a pair of false eyelashes to complete the look.

"Ugh...look, we're almost outta time for this, thanks to you all treating the janitor's closet like a clubroom. So if we're going to make this happen, you'll just have to go out there together!"

Lucy fervently motioned for both rainbow Dash and Trixie to go. As they walked to the platform, Trixie gave Rainbow Dash a vain smile. "Best of luck to you. And not to worry, Rainbow Dash, Trixie won't try to upstage you too much."

---

"And now, for our next competitor, contestant number twelve, Trixie Lulamoon!" Madden pulled his shades down to get a better look at what he thought he saw coming out. "Uhh... and apparently contestant number two, Rainbow Dash."

"Wait a minute, those two are putting on their routines at the same time?" Twilight asked out loud to nopony in particular.

Spike scratched his chin from atop the unicorn's backside. A boastful unicorn entertainer with newfound vanity and a brash athletic pegasus showoff, one spotlight to share, add them together and...

"Yep, this isn't gonna end well."

"Welcome ponies of all ages, to the greatest performance in the history of the Cloudiseum! Prepare for the dazzling and awe inspiring beauty that is the Great and Powerful Trrrrrrixie!"

A scattered assortment of fireworks burst in the background as Trixie already began to drink in the ardor that the crowd gave her. She then began to lightly twirl as the music she had arranged began to play.

Honey just stuck a hoof to her temple and gave a half moan, half sigh. "Here we go folks..."

Trixie:"I feel pretty...oh so pretty...I feel pretty and witty and gay!
And I pity...any girl who isn't me today~!
I feel charming...oh so charming...it's alarming how charming I feel!
And so pretty...that I hardly can believe I'm real~!"

She winged over a paparazzi group where the reflective surfaces of their lens mirrored her gorgeous appearance as she looped backwards.

Trixie:"See the pretty mare in that photo there.
Who can that attractive mare be?
Such a pretty face,
such a pretty wing,
such a pretty smile,
such a pretty me~!"

As she pirouetted across the sky, Rainbow Dash psyched herself up below. "C'mon, Rainbow Dash. You can do this. Just remember the routine. Phase one."

Gunning in low, Rainbow winged in low and across a series of cloud pillars, swerving in a half scissors maneuver. She was at the third to last column however, when she jumped her timing by a fraction of a second, slamming and bouncing off the obstacle and into the wall.

"Oof, WAAAH!"
*thud*

The jock trio didn't miss a beat. "Nice work, Rainbow Crash!" Hoops teased.

Trixie looped the sky, her horn's magic tracing a skywriting of her cutie mark.

Trixie:"I feel stunning...and entrancing...
Feel like soaring and dancing with glee~!
For I'm loved...by each and every pony~!"

Up in the stands, a particular group voiced their concerns.

Manehattan mares:"I take it you've met our friend Trixie,
the cockiest mare in our town.
You'll know from the minute you meet her,
that she has the biggest head all around."

Sherbet:"She thinks she's so cute, she thinks she's so fine."
Octavia:"She's clearly never heard of pearls before swine."

Twilight:"I'm starting to regret giving her those wings.
She's prancing around like she's some sort of king."

Honey:"Such narcissism! Such an ego!"
Spike:"It pains me to say this is the Trixie that we know!"

Manehattan mares:"Modest and pure,
polite and refined,
well-bred and mature,
and out of her mind!"

"Time for phase two." Rainbow sped up over the edge of the arena to some stray clouds. Altering her doughnut loops, she began to spin them simultaneously. Two...then three...then four...

All of a sudden a chuck of the nearest cloud broke off and was caught in her slipstream. Coming around the next loop, Rainbow caught a faceful of water vapor and was sent spiraling out in a flip. The clouds, no longer held in place by her vortex, spun out of control. One even barely missed the Princess and her guards as they ducked down to avoid the ballistic cloud missile. Rainbow winced. If she didn't get banished for such a poor showing, she'd almost definitely get sent to the moon for attempted assault on royalty.

Trixie leapt daintily from the tips of her hooves from one puffy tuff to the next, glittery sparkles descending from her wings.

Trixie:"I feel pretty...oh so pretty...that this city should give me its key.
A committee...should be organized to honor me.
I feel dizzy...I feel sunny...I feel fizzy and funny and fine~!
And so pretty...Miss Equestria can just resign!"

Trixie:"See the pretty mare in that sky so clear~"
Pegasi:"We see her, yes!"
Trixie:"Who is that attractive pony~?"
Pegasi:"Trixie! It's Trixie!
Such a pretty mane,
such a pretty tail,
such a pretty flank-"
Trixie:"Such a pretty meeeeee~!"

Honey:"Pretty annooooying~"

"Looks like this is my last chance to turn things around." Rainbow steeled herself as much as she could. She had fumbled almost every part of her routine. There was only one part left. If she was going to win, she had to pull it off flawlessly. "Phase three. The Sonic *gulp* Rainboom. Wings, don't fail me now!"

She rocketed upwards at a lightning pace speed, racing for optimal altitude. From the other side of the arena, another pony rose more slowly, her voice crescendoing into a final verse by the increasing light of the sun. As her body eclipsed the burning sphere, prismatic light refracted from her gossamer wings to fill the whole stadium.

Trixie:"I feel lovely...and so comely...
of my beauty we all can agree~!
For I am the...marvelous, gorgeous Trixiiiiiie~!"

There was but only the faintest second of a warning under the intense heat of the sun above and the oohs of the audience below. A near silent sizzle...a blackening wingtip...a thin wisp of smoke...

And then in an instant, a flash of flame devoured the fragile strips keeping Trixie aloft. With a blink of the eyes and a bead of sweat dripping down her forehead, the unicorn looked over her shoulder to find her backside was bare.

"Uh...oh..." she whimpered.

Then she fell like a rock, a flailing, screaming for her life rock.

"Oh no!" Twilight exclaimed. "Her wings evaporated into thin air!"

Plummeting past the Cloudiseum, a collective gasp of horror erupted from the stands. Everypony knew a fall from that height would only result in one thing!

A trio of the wonderbolts dove from the stands straight for her, Honey only half a second behind.

"Hang on Trixie!"

Rainbow turned her head down to the sound of the screaming, eyes widening to see the now wingless unicorn shrinking in the distance. "Yikes!"

The three professionals closed in on the pony in peril. But Trixie was so frantic and panicked, and the fact that her eyes were squeezed shut didn't help, as their hooves reached out to grab them, her own wild hooves gave them a good knocking.

"Ooh!" One.
"Aah!" Two.
"Uuh!" Three KOs.

Now one pony in danger had turned into four. It all rested on Honey now. The archeologist pushed her wings to the limit, muscling against the building G-force meter by meter.

Almost got them...almost...

A visible dome of air suddenly blocked her view. A stretching sensation overwhelmed her body. She could feel her inertia shifting drastically.

Oh no...the sound barrier!
*Snap*

Honey took a mighty recoil punch to the face, sending her back up into a low hanging cumulus.

"Even Daring can't catch her!" Blossomforth exclaimed from edge of the platform.

"Oh, I can't watch!" Fluttershy ducked under her hooves and squeezed her eyes shut.

A downward rush of wind prompted her to peek out of her hooves though. "W-what was that?"

Blossomforth pointed down, almost tumbling off the edge. "Omigosh! Fluttershy, look!"

No good. At this point someone would have to be traveling at supersonic speed to beat them before the ground does! I can't even make that on my best day! What do I-

A blur of rainbow brushed past straight down, nearly knocking Honey off the cloud. "What the- who?"

"Hold on everypony! I'm coming!"

Rainbow could feel her old foe, air resistance pressing against her. But she kept pushing back harder. She wasn't even thinking about how thick the air was getting or how she wouldn't be able to pull up at this speed or even that she had probably just abandoned her final performance mid-routine as well as her last chance to avoid losing the Young Best Flier's competition. No, there was just one thought on her mind.

I've got to save them.

Her eyes watered against the wind, her lips stretching out at the folds. The dome of air was completely visible now.

A similar image flashed through her head as she locked in on the hapless ponies. The image of a little butter yellow pegasus filly plummeting to earth, she plunging after her once she realized she was gone to what she thought at the time was the most evil of places, trying to save her from all those creatures and then...kinda getting saved herself. And then...and then everything that happened afterwards. How she stuck up for her in school, how her friend comforted her when she lost or felt insecure, the past few days of supporting her and training, and just a few minutes ago, when her warm smile brought her out of that closet...

The dome began to compress and sharpen into a cone.

She was right. That Blossomforth mare was completely right. All the races she's won, all the games she's played, winning them was good, but really feeling it...the rush...that sense of accomplishment...it just never tasted that sweet when she had it all by herself. The day she met Fluttershy...that moment she knew there would always be someone there to personally say to her 'yay', albeit softer than preferred, going for the gold just got that more exciting. Because she had won the real prize that day...her first friend. No amount of gold medals or trophies or prizes could ever trade up for the ponies that would be there to celebrate, to console, to cheer long after the games were all played and done with.

And that's why...that's why it didn't matter if she lost now. Because she had that to look forward to regardless. Her friend Fluttershy, and Fluttershy's friend Blossomforth, and Blossomforth's friend Trixie...and a friend of a friend of a friend was her friend too!

And I never...leave my friends hanging!

What happened next was almost too amazing to describe unless seen by one's own eyes. The tip of her hoof poked through the tip of the cone, and time stood still. Her body completely disappeared into a buildup of pure white light, a surge of energy greater than any lighting bolt filled her blood and coursed through her veins.

Then the world exploded before her. A massive ring of colors lit up the sky and deafened the ears of every creature within a mile with a rocking boom. Then she was there, she was right next to her targets, the ground mere hoof-lengths away. And then she was back up in the sky, speeding back towards the massive stadium at full throttle, a trio of unconscious Wonderbolts on her back and a shocked unicorn cradled in her hooves. And then, she was safely back in the center of the Cloudiseum arena, the arch of her contrail still lasting overhead.

And then time started up again.

Streamers, confetti, and cheers erupted from the stands. A flock from the nearby stands lifted the passengers off her back. Rainbow Dash took a full 360 view around her, as the fact slowly sunk in.

"Whoa...I did it. I finally did it! I can do the Sonic Rainboom again! I-urk!" Her windpipes were suddenly closed by the compression and squeezing of two azure hooves around her neck.

"Ohthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou! You saved me! You saved me! You truly are the greatest flier in the history of the world oh wonderful and amazing Rainbow Dash!!" Trixie continued to kiss the hooves of her savior with every other outburst of subservient praise and hug around the barrel.

"Oh y-yeah...guess I *urf* did that too...best day ever-*ummmph* T-trixie...can't...breathe..."

---

"SHE DID IT!! SHE DID IT!! A SONIC RAINBOOM!! WOOOOO!!!" Fluttershy leapt around and waved her forelegs like a jackrabbit who had gotten into the coffee beans.

Blossomforth was bouncing around in giddy tandem. "And she saved them! Trixie, the Wonderbolts, she was even faster than Daring! That was so awesome!"

After a full minute of unrestrained screaming in delight, the pair finally quieted down to catch their breaths.

"I guess all that cheer practice didn't go to waste after all, huh?" Blossomforth complimented her friend.

"Yes..." Fluttershy panted. "Come on, let's go congratulate her, right now."

"I'd love to...but there's a little problem with that."

"Huh? What problem?"

The euphoria of celebration died down in the two as their gaze dropped to the numbers on their chests.

"Now it's our turn."

---

"*Ahem* Yes, well, if everypony will settle down now, it's time for our final competitor of the day! A duet performance by numbers 13 and 14, Blossomforth and Fluttershy!"

Blossomforth scanned the stands, they were all still galvanized by the Sonic Rainboom, but still and seated and ready to move on to the next act. A few butterflies in her stomach reared their queasy heads. Just because she had resolved to follow through with this no matter what the end result was didn't mean that huge stadium audience wasn't completely unnerving. She looked behind her to see if all the stuff they had taken out of the dressing room storage was accounted for, then to her partner.

"That's our cue. Ready?"

"Um...no." Fluttershy's knees were trembling as her wings were close to locking up. The excitement she had earlier had definitely worn off completely.

"Me neither," Blossomforth agreed. But then she put a hoof over her shy friend's shoulder. "But remember what we talked about. When we go out that doorway, there's nopony. It's just you...me...and our meadow."

Fluttershy closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly lifted her wings up. "Okay...our special place...just for us..."

"Where we played..."

"Where we sang..."

"Where we...flew..."

The pair walked hoof-in-hoof out from behind the curtains, gazing out at the crowd. The ponies fell silent as for the first few moments, no activity came from the two. What were all those cages and baskets behind them?

Then, Fluttershy raised her head, closed her eyes, raised a hoof to her diaphragm, and released the most melodious voice anypony had ever heard.

"Aahaahaahaahaaaaah~"

Blossomforth then echoed a reply. "Aahaahaahaahaaaaah~"

They then leaned together, wings unfolded as the cages and baskets opened up behind them. "Aaaah aaaah aaaah aaaaaaah...aaaaaaaaaah~!"

Suddenly, an explosion of color and smell burst from their vicinity as on the blowing wind, flowers and petals of all sorts erupted from the baskets and a menagerie of robins, mockingbirds, blue jays, cardinals, hummingbirds and more emerged from the gilded metalwork.

The two immediately then broke off the platform in a dive. Fluttershy rolled into a close knit formation with her birds, coming in low with a changing pattern of chevrons, diamonds, and lines. Blossomforth took the higher air, twirling and looping, bringing the light flora into updrafted spiral that began to spread across the entire stadium.

The pair raced from opposite ends of the outer edge of the Cloudiseum, meeting each other full circle. From there they moved to the direct center of the arena, where a huge cumulus cloud was floating. Circling around a few times, they herded the birds around the mass and spun up more drafts that spread the flowers not just left to right, but up and down as well. It seemed as if it were snowing petals in the stadium now.

Then, the two gracefully pranced around the cloud, flittering to and fro as if they were chasing one another in a game of tag, poking their heads around every corner like it was hide and seek. Their wings flapped, blowing tuffs of cloud to one another as if it was a game of catch. The way they galloped on air, and danced among the petals, and hummed in tune with the birds, it was almost as if they were actually in a real flowerfield on the ground.

After a series of turns and curves, the pair began to circle again from the bottom up, climbing to the very top of the stadium. There, they came together, front hooves clasped to one another, and closing their wings, spun downward in a graceful freefall, straight onto the top of the cloud, that everyone just realized had been molded and sculpted by their 'playing' into the shape of a large flower, accompanied by three smaller butterfly shaped clouds and dotted with color by the birds now roosting on the leaves and petals.

Landing on their hind legs, the pair kept one hoof on each other, raised the other one, and unfurled their wings in a whiplike movement to let one last blast of petals fill the air. A split second of silence and stillness told the audience the performance was over.

The cheers that followed were deafening.

Author's Note:

And the competition comes to an end! Stay tuned for the winner's circle!

Comments

[touileasaso]

I loved Blossomforth's speech here. Another great chapter in this story!

[Paleb05]

The song Trixie sings seems familiar, what was it base on? Also, what a nice performance for Fluttershy and Blossomforth.

[punzil504]

What photo? Where?
Which? What? Where? Who, Who, Who, WHO?

Daring coming close to breaking the sound barrier herself makes me wonder... what would her "boom" look like?

[Seether00]

Trixie was just rocking that Rarity impression.

[Hatchett]

This was AWESOME! 120% COOLER!!!!!

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Ah... not really liking Daring not rescuing them. Having Dash do it was too similar to the actual episode for my tastes. Sorry.

[Goldenheart]

Just a nitpick, in your sentences, you're calling Daring, Honey in the sentences when she's going as Daring. When you clash the names together, it gets confusing. Also, you misspelled Cloudiseum in the middle.

[Skyeheart]

3864740

I did that because the tropes are calling it a Meta problem, they can call her Daring, but her real name isn't.

[Golden Fang Ryu Shenron]

Awesome speech from Blossomforth, awesome moment of Rainbow pulling off the Sonic Rainboom, and awesome job to Blossomforth and Fluttershy for doing their wonderful performance!

All around awesome chapter!

[Lord King Cocoon]

Out of the dressing rooms stepped the beautiful magician with the butterfly wings. Her silvery mane was done up in a wavy perm full of volume, glossed over to make it shine and sparkle as much as possible. Accompanying her wings was a frill of tropical feathers with matching bedazzled choker and bracelets. A midnight eyeshadow decorated her visage, she even had a pair of false eyelashes to complete the look.

That spell must've messed with Trixie's head, because that's not Trixie. Too much effort was put into making her Rarity 2.0 rather than Trixie's portrayal of the part. And this applies through the entire story. Was Trixie the best option for this role? Yes. Were there moments where it worked? Yes. Is this how it should've been done? No.

The perm is a nice touch though.

---

Nothing against the song itself. But it's making me wish it actually was Rarity in Trixie's place right now.

Then again, perhaps it makes a little sense considering how she was brought up in Mother Shows Best.

---

I feel like that fall was a little too on the nose. It wasn't original enough.

---

"Me neither," Blossomforth agreed. But then she put a hoof over her shy friend's shoulder. "But remember what we talked about. When we go out that doorway, there's nopony. It's just you...me...and our meadow."

The chapter almost ended without me saying "I ship it". So, I ship it.

---

That ending... I ship it, I ship it, I ship it, I ship it, I ship it!