Chapter 1
Chapter One
Rainbow Dash paced back and forth, critically examining her pupil. “Okay Fluttershy, time to show me your warface.”
It was a beautiful morning (thanks to her own awesome weather skills, Rainbow congratulated herself), and she was spending her lunch in the park with Fluttershy and Dinky Doo.
Dinky looked up, sipping at a cup of juice as she watched from the sides. “Ooh! That sounds dang’rous!”
“Dangerous? Oh my…” Fluttershy eeped, shrinking down slightly. “Could we try practicing cheering some more? I think my screaming and hollering has really gotten better.”
Dash facehoofed. She liked Fluttershy, she really did, but there were sometimes her meek and mild nature could really grate on a pony. “Come on, Fluttershy,” she urged. “I need to have a really strong cheering section to stand out when we get to Cloudsdale!”
As if reading her thoughts, Dinky nodded eagerly to Fluttershy. “Rainbow Dash is gonna be in the Best Young Flyers compe—competing—compe—contest!—with Mommy and Miss Cloud Kicker!”
Rainbow hid a smile behind her hoof as she nodded. The Best Young Flyers Competition wasn’t just any old event. It was the biggest and most important contest for pegasi in the entire year! The Wonderbolts watched the up and coming flyers at the competition and almost all of the Wonderbolts had placed high in such competitions themselves.
If Rainbow Dash was going to make it to the Wonderbolts she had to place well. And by place well, Rainbow meant win. No point shooting for second place, after all. She was shaken from her daydreams of glory when Dinky suddenly gasped, struck by inspiration. “You should sign up too, Miss Fluttershy!”
Fluttershy swallowed nervously. “N-no, thank you, Dinky. I’m not an expert flyer like Rainbow Dash or the weather team. And the idea of all those ponies … watching me …” she squeaked gently. “I’d rather help Rainbow Dash out by cheering for her, like this: Yay.” Rainbow sighed and started doing wing-ups in the grass, hooves folded behind her back as she waited for Fluttershy to muster up the courage to continue.
“A’kay!” Dinky sat back on her safety blanket, Favorite. “So ya gotta do the warface thing, ‘kay? Like this--Grrrrrr!” Dinky growled adorably.
Fluttershy cooed gently at her. “Aww … you mean like this?” The canary yellow pegasus oh-so-gently bared her teeth and gave a slight growl that inspired thoughts of constipation rather than a warface. Still, Dinky decided to humor her by letting out a little squeak and cowering under Favorite, giggling gently. Not catching on, Fluttershy gasped and threw her hooves up to her mouth. “Omygoodness! I'm so sorry Dinky!”
“It's a'kay!” Dink chirped.
But Fluttershy was in full nurturing mode. “I didn't mean to scare you! Oh you must've been so afraid!” She scooped the little filly up and gave her a fierce hug--about the only fierce thing Fluttershy was capable of.
“Only a little, but it's fine! Favorite helps me be brave.” Dinky beamed as she hugged her blanket around herself and Fluttershy. “Do you have a Favorite too? 'cause that might help you be brave.”
“I don't have a Favorite,” Fluttershy answered, smiling as she nuzzled Dinky. “But I do have my teddy bear.”
Dinky looked up at her curiously. “Ooooh! What's his name?” Fluttershy whispered something softly. “Huh?” She leaned closer, tilting her head to better hear her.
“Um, Mister Snuggy-Wuggy Bear.” Fluttershy blushed faintly at the admission.
“Aww!” Dinky squealed. “That's cute!”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and cleared her throat as she finished her wing-ups. “All right, come on guys. There’s gonna be a lot of ponies cheering for me at the competition and I want to be sure that you can stand out.”
“Yeah!” Dinky cheered as Fluttershy set her down. “Cuz yer gonna do the Rainboom and win and be really, really cool!
Her excitement was infectious. Fluttershy started hovering off the ground. “I'm so excited for her I could just--shout!” She took a big, deep breath as Dinky covered her ears with her hooves. “Woo-hoo.” Having gotten that out of her system, Fluttershy looked down at Dinky. “Sorry, I'm just a big old loud mouth sometimes.”
“It's okay! I'm 'cited for Rainbow Dash too! And Mommy!” Dinky beamed.
Fluttershy smiled. “Well you're a very good filly.”
Dinky traced her hoof shyly across the grass and blushed. “Thank you, Miss Fluttershy.”
Rainbow shook her head, almost able to taste the cute in the back of her throat. Then she heard a sound that made her ears perk up. It was the sound of something crashing into the bushes. “By the pricking of my hooves, something derpy this way moves.” She cast a knowing look into the bushes.
Sure enough, a familiar gray pegasus, her mane and coat liberally coated with twigs and leaves, stumbled out of the bushes a moment later. “H-hi everypony!” Derpy sheepishly giggled. “Had a bit of a rough landing...”
Rainbow rolled her eyes knowingly as Dinky quickly scampered over to the newcomer and latched onto her. “Mommy!”
“Muffin!” Derpy beamed as she hugged her back. “Oh my sweet, sweet little filly...”
Fluttershy let out a soft aww before coughing slightly. “Um, excuse me. Sorry about that. Rainbow Dash? I need to go check on the animals before we go to Cloudsdale tomorrow. I need to make sure Angel has everything he needs. I’ll see you later.” She flew off with a wave to Rainbow Dash, Derpy and Dinky.
After she was gone, Derpy looked back to her daughter. “Muffin, were you helping Rainbow Dash get ready for the big competition?”
“You know it!” Dash answered for her, glee written all over her face. “In the Best Young Flyers Competition! Totally gonna win and be awesome!” Dash danced around Derpy and Dinky in a circle, pumping her front hooves up in the air for emphasis.
“Yeah, you are!” Dinky bounced happily around Derpy. “An' Mommy'll win too!”
Rainbow let out an awkward little cough as she stopped dead in her tracks. “Ehehe … uh, sure. I'm sure Ditzy will do awesome too, right Derps?”
Derpy nodded, smiling proudly. “I'm there to have fun!”
“Winnin's fun, right?” Dinky asked innocently.
The grin on Derpy’s face fell a fraction and she started to rub the back of her neck sheepishly. “Well--”
Fortunately, Rainbow Dash knew just what to say. “Sure is!” she rubbed Dinky’s head fondly.
Recovering, Derpy cleared her throat. “It's fun too.”
“But it's more fun when ya win, right?” Dinky pressed. Rainbow started to nod when Derpy’s wing ‘accidentally’ opened up in front of Dash’s face.
“You should always try to win, Muffin.” She nuzzled her daughter, then let her gaze flicker back to Rainbow.. “But if you don't, that's all right too.”
“Huh?” Dinky asked, looking as confused as Rainbow felt.
Ditzy elaborated. “You should try your hardest to win, but go to have fun too.”
Gently pushing Derpy’s wing out of her face, Rainbow stepped forward. “And we are totally gonna have fun by being the most awesome pegasi ever, right Dinks?”
“Yah-HUH!” The little filly bounced up. “'Cause you're jus' that!”
Rainbow mussed Dinky’s mane. “This is gonna be so cool! You and Fluttershy have really been doing good work training to be my--er, I mean our--” she corrected after a sheepish look at Derpy, “--cheering section!”
Dinky gasped loudly in amazement. “Rilly!? We're that good?”
“You're better than good--you're amazing!” Rainbow grinned.
“AWE-some!” Dinky hugged Dash tightly. “Thanks for teachin' us to be so cool! I wanna get it juuuust right for cheerin' you on!”
“Well, I can't wait to show you your very first Sonic Rainboom, Dinks!” Rainbow grinned and booped Dinky’s nose. She was still getting used to being a godmom. Well, sorta; Derpy had asked her way back when she was pregnant with Dinky. Rainbow had even been the first pony--aside from Derpy and the doctors and nurses but they totally didn’t count--to even see Dinky when she was born.
A flicker of guilt made its way into ruining Rainbow’s awesome mood. She used to be really close to Dinky and Derpy, but as she got older and more involved with her training and her lessons with Princess Celestia, she had less and less time to be there as a godmom. She still remembered being stunned when she came into Ponyville right before the Nightmare Moon stuff and seeing just how big Dinky was and how much time she had missed. Totally not cool.
So when Rainbow moved to Ponyville she decided to make up for lost time with her. The more time she spent with her, the more Rainbow wanted to see Dinky happy. “When I do it, it's gonna be for you!”
“Whoooaaaaa...” Dinky said in awe as her nose was beeped.
Derpy laughed as she went over to Dinky and picked her up. “Now that's something to look forward to!”
“Yeah!” Dinky cheered, waving her hooves in the air.
Rainbow flew up a bit. “Come on you two, let’s go into town. Muffins are on me!”
Derpy’s ears immediately perked up. “Muffins?” She quickly scooped Dinky up and deposited her on her back. “Hooray!” The two pegasi took off into town, while Dinky cheered loudly, clinging onto her mother's back.
Her practice session having gone over awesomely, Rainbow Dash zoomed through Ponyville feeling as happy and energetic as Pinkie Pie, tossing out smiles and wave to practically everypony she and Derpy passed.
Afterwards, they stopped in front of Sugarcube Corner and walked inside. Cloud Kicker was just on her way out, and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw Derpy. She hurriedly hid a paper bag behind her back. “Derpy! Rainbow! Hey … what a surprise to see you here.” She grinned awkwardly. “I was just leaving, so … ”
Derpy’s wonky eye started to stray, as if trying to see behind Cloud’s back. She sniffed deeply. “Muffins!”
Kicker groaned. “C’mon Derpy, these are my muffins! There are plenty left for you to--”
“MUFFINS!” Derpy glomped Cloud Kicker, Dinky holding on tightly. With a strain, her tiny horn lit up and Cloud Kicker’s bag of muffins jerkingly made its way over to her.
“Thanks Miss Cloud Kicker!” Dinky beamed. “I can have some of your muffins though, right?” Her pleading look withered CK’s defenses before they could even be formed.
Cloud sighed. “Of course you can…” she looked to the wall-eyed mare still hugging her closely. “...and you too Derpy.”
Rainbow smirked. “Heh, guess I won’t have to pay for the muffins after all.” They quickly moved aside to take up some seats at a nearby table as they began their muffin-brunch.
“So are you guys totally excited or what?” Dash asked, wings buzzing in excitement. “The Best Young Flyers Competition is almost here! And guess who is totally going to enter and own that contest?” She flew up a bit, buffing a hoof against her chest as she puffed up slightly.
“Me!” Derpy smiled widely. “Or--wait, you signed up too, right?”
Rainbow facehoofed.
Cloud Kicker snorted as she elbowed Derpy gently. “Dash, not sign up for a contest? Get real Derpy. I'm in too, by the way.”
Rainbow recovered quickly, grinning. “Oh, I know! This is gonna be awesomely sweet! The three of us are gonna totally own that competition! I mean, I’m going to come in first cuz, let’s face it, after doing a Sonic Rainboom in Nightmare Moon’s face, this contest is gonna be a breeze--but you two are gonna be awesome too!” she added quickly after Cloud Kicker and Derpy gave her a warning look.
Derpy shook her head and chuckled. “Modesty, thy name is Dash.”
“‘Modesty?’” Cloud Kicker repeated in a bad imitation of Rainbow’s scratchier tones. “What sorta made up word is that? Stop making stuff up, Derpy.”
Dash snorted. “Oh ha ha. Very funny, you guys.”
Kicker shrugged. “I thought so.” She nudged Rainbow with a wing. “Seriously though, we know you’re gonna kick major flank in that contest. Just don’t expect us to make it easy for you. We’ll be nipping at your hooves all the way to the winner’s circle.”
Rainbow laughed. “Yeah you will. Hope you’ve got a place on your wall for your second place medal.”
Cloud Kicker shrugged again. “Hey, so long as I place in the top three, I can totally pick up some hotties to celebrate afterwards.” She grinned. “That’s a better reward than any first place tiara, or whatever it is.”
“What?!” Rainbow goggled at her. “Are you saying that you’d rather bang some random ponies you just met instead of getting to spend the entire day with the Wonderbolts?!” She looked to Derpy to make sure she was hearing this correctly. The gray pegasus just shrugged and bit into a muffin.
After thinking for a moment, Cloud Kicker nodded. “You’re right…” she conceded, making Rainbow nod. “It’d be much better if I won and could get a threesome with Soarin’ and Spitfire.”
Dash’s eye started twitching uncontrollably. “Y-you…” She ground out between clenched teeth. Stupid Kicker putting stupid thoughts in her head! Grr!
“Or would you like them to be saved for you?” CK winked at her friend as Rainbow’s face lit up in a mammoth red blush. “Yeah, I thought so.”
“Ugh!” Rainbow threw her hooves in the air as she fluttered up over them. “You’re hopeless!”
Cloud smirked. “Jealous, Dash?”
Rainbow landed back down in her seat and snorted. “In your dreams, Cloud.”
Cloud Kicker tilted her head in thought. “Hmm … yeah, you’d be there. With twins. Ooh, or maybe I could find two sets of twins with you in the middle...”
“Why do I even bother?” Rainbow grunted, shaking her head at CK. She just didn’t get it. This wasn’t any old event--this was the Best Young Flyers Competition! This was her chance to prove that she was just that: the best. The Wonderbolts themselves would be judging the competition, and they’d spend an entire day with the winner. Princess Celestia would be there too! And half of Cloudsdale! Everypony would get to see Rainbow Dash at her best. Let her see why she’s Celestia’s student, why she should be a Wonderbolt. Why they shouldn’t call her Rainbow Crash and dismiss her first Sonic Rainboom as a fake and...
Rainbow blinked. Huh. Thought I was over that. Weird.
“Rainbow?” Derpy fixed her roving eye on her. “Are you okay?”
Quickly shaking out the cobwebs, Dash flashed her a winning smile. “Course I am! I mean, I've totally got this in the bag. I mean, I performed a Sonic Rainboom in Nightmare Moon's face. I'm gonna blow all of Cloudsdale away with it! It's cool that you guys are entering too, but you know you're just competing for second place, right?”
Cloud grumbled slightly. “Yeah, yeah, we get it.”
Rainbow didn’t even hear her. “The Wonderbolts will probably make me a member on the spot!” Her eyes sparkled as she fantasized about donning the blue and gold uniform. She snapped back to reality in time to see Derpy and Cloud looking at her a touch crossly and she guessed that she was overdoing it. “But can you just imagine how awesome it'll be, the three of us showing up and dominating that contest?” She asked eagerly, throwing a hoof around both of their necks. “We're gonna own Cloudsdale, and every loser who ever gave us trouble is gonna choke on our wake!”
Derpy rolled her eyes. “Again; modesty. You should try it sometime, Dash.”
“Oh come on Derpy, I--we--deserve this!” Rainbow insisted. “Just think about all those featherbrains from Flight Camp who called us Rainbow Crash, Derpy Hooves--in a mean way--or Cloud … uh.” She paused. “Okay, so they didn't have a name for CK, but you know they called her nasty stuff. It's time we showed them what we're made of!” She tossed her hooves upward in what she knew was an awesomely dramatic pose.
Derpy looked at herself, then at Cloud Kicker and Rainbow Dash. “Fur and feathers?”
Rainbow facehoofed again. Hard. “Derrrrrrpy...”
The gray mare shot her friend her most bubbly, faux-innocent smile. “Yeeeesss?”
Rainbow shook her head at Derpy’s…derpyness, when the door opened and Applejack, Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy walked in. She quickly waved them over to the table, Pinkie Pie fetching some additional seats. “Hey guys!”
Applejack tipped her hat as she sat down. “Howdy Rainbow. Cloud Kicker. Ditzy.” She smiled at Dinky. “Sugarcube.”
“I’m not a sugarcube, Imma muffin!” Dinky pronounced grandly, ruining it by giggling as she happily started sipping a celebratory milkshake Pinkie had brought over as a reward for Dinky’s excellent cheering.
Fluttershy meanwhile gently sipped at a special tea she had brought in a thermos.
“You feelin' okay Miss Fluttershy?” Dinky asked, a sentiment echoed a moment later by Rarity.
“I think I strained my voice.” Fluttershy answered in a hoarse whisper. “I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash, I just wanted to cheer for you really hard.”
Dinky hopped off her seat and made her way over to give Fluttershy a get-better hug. “You did a rilly good job, too!”
Rainbow Dash nodded and patted her friend on the back. “S'okay Flutters. You did awesome! I'm sure with a little rest, you'll be all set for the competition!” She looked at the others. “What about the rest of you? All ready to visit Cloudsdale and see the most awesome competition ever?”
Cloud Kicker got up and fetched a tray of extra food back to the table. “Yeah, with Dash, Derpy and me there, it should be an awesome show.”
Rarity daintily bit into a cruller. “Well I certainly love to opportunity to travel.”
“Same here,” Applejack nodded, before adding. “Ah think. Ah dunno about all them clouds, though.”
But Rainbow waved her fear aside with a hoof. “Eh, no big deal Applejack. Twi's got that covered, right Twi?”
Twilight smiled and nodded. “Of course!” She magicked up a scroll with a list. “I have everything ready for our trip. The air balloon is ready, the supplies are packed, and I have the most recent edition of ‘Cloudsdale’s Top Places to Visit.’”
Kicker looked at Twilight. “Cloud-walking spell, or thunderforged shoes?”
“Shoes? But don't those hafta be nailed onto your hooves?” Dinky gulped nervously sinking down in her seat.
A gentle pat on the shoulder reassured Dinky as Twilight looked to Cloud Kicker. “Cloud-walking spell.” She answered both of them at once. “Thunderforged shoes have the disadvantage that they are the only things that actually touch clouds.”
“Oh phew!” Dinky exclaimed gratefully. “'Cause that's too much like gettin' a shot.”
Rainbow privately agreed. Not that she was scared of needles or getting shoes fitted, she wasn’t scared of anything! But she just really didn’t like ponies touching her hooves. Or the idea of ponies hammering things into her. A disgusted look crossed Rainbow’s face as her imagination did Cloud Kicker’s job for her and made a crass innuendo--in Cloud’s voice--about things she’d like to hammer into Rainbow. Stupid Kicker.
Fortunately, Rainbow was saved from her own mind by Twilight’s reassurances to Dinky. “You don't have to worry about shoes until you’re a bit older.”
“Ah'd prefer th' shoes,” Applejack grumbled in between bites into an apple. “It'd at least be sumthin' solid unnerneath mah hooves.”
Twilight looked vaguely offended. “Please, Applejack, magic is perfectly safe.” Applejack didn’t reply but her dubious look said enough. Rainbow bit into a donut and rolled her eyes. If Applejack’s great-great-great grandparents hadn’t done it, she didn’t want any part of it. Of course, this just provided her the opportunity to tease AJ about just how high they’d be when they were in Cloudsdale. Rainbow made a mental note to bring that up at some point during the visit.
“Yeah, the big advantage of shoes is that most ponies don't have a mage on Twilight's level handy to cast spells.” Cloud shrugged, somehow managing to support both ponies at once.
Applejack nodded. “Ain' nuthin' against magic, Ah just prefer sumthin' a little more long-term than a spell.”
“The spell last three days in any event, so there isn't any risk as long as everypony remembers that.” Twilight said. “I even have it scheduled to be renewed every morning just to be safe.”
Rarity idly tapped her hoof against her chin. “I suppose I could try to learn the spell too.”
Twilight’s eyes gleamed. “I'd be happy to teach it to you if you like, Rarity!”
“Can I learn it too?” Dinky asked eagerly.
“Hmm.” Twilight rubbed her chin as she thought. “We can try during your next lesson, Dinky. Though it’s a tricky spell to pull off.
Dinky’s reaction as instantaneous. “YAY!” She got up to give Twilight a milkshake-stained hug. “Thanks!” Twilight’s smile was touch strained as she hugged Dinky back, feeling the glop of the milkshake against her coat.
Rainbow found this rather amusing. “Heh, hey Twi? You got some milkshake right … here.” She tapped the side of her muzzle.
“Muffin…” Derpy sighed as she pulled Dinky back with an apologetic look at Twilight, cleaning her daughter up with a napkin. Once free of Dinky’s grip, Twilight started cleaning herself off as well, albeit somewhat more frantically and vigorously.
“See?” Dash grinned at the others. “Twilight's got it covered! It'll be awesome having you all up there to watch the competition!”
Pinkie bounced excitedly. “Oooh, I'd love to see you make another Sonic Rainboom!”
“Yeah!” Dinky cheered as she squirmed, trying and failing to scramble out of Derpy’s grasp.
“The Wonderbolts will be there! And the Princess!” Rainbow’s eyes were practically shining with glee. “They're all going to see me at my best! This is gonna be the Best. Day. Ever!”
Twilight nodded, taking a small sip of her coffee. “So what does the competition involve?”
Dinky gave the answer Rainbow Dash was thinking. “Flyin', silly!”
Reaching across the table, Rainbow playfully ruffled Dinky's mane. “Yep, you said it kiddo.” Eggheads really do overthink everything.
“It is pretty simple,” Cloud agreed. “Everypony does their routine, and whoever does the best one wins.”
Twilight leaned forward, clearly interested. “Oh, so it’s basically a stunt contest? Like a basic magic duel, but for pegasi.”
Cloud Kicker shrugged. “Well, it's a bit more complicated than that. You get judged on a bunch of different criteria, and they add it all up to decide on your final score.”
“Like coolness, awesomeness, radicalness and style.” Rainbow elaborated.
Twilight looked at her sideways. “…Aren’t those all the same thing?”
Rainbow shot her a flat look. “You just lost fifty awesome points.”
Rolling her eyes, Cloud Kicker decided to translate Rainbowese for those present. “Coolness is more of an internalized thing, while awesomeness is all about impressing others, and being radical is about constantly pushing your limits and exceeding the expectations of others.”
Everypony just looked at her for a second, Dash as surprised as the others. “…how?” She managed to get out.
“Believe it or not, I do pay attention to that kinda thing.” Cloud smiled. “After all, it's important to you.”
“Aww.” Fluttershy whispered, her voice starting to sound better.
Deciding to spare Rainbow the embarrassment of getting all sappy, Cloud went back to her original subject. “The competitions also about the little technical stuff. How well you cross your I's and dot your T's.” She grinned as Derpy gave her a suspicious wall-eyed look.
Pinkie tapped her muzzle, deep in thought. Suddenly her face lit up. “Hey! If Dashie's first Sonic Rainboom gave us all our cutie marks and made us friends, then maybe having a whole bunch of ponies watching it will make us even more friends!” She gasped at the implications. “We'll have friends with a whole city of ponies! So many birthdays! So many parties!” She squealed as she started bouncing and cartwheeling around Sugarcube Corner.
“Is it bad when I have large blocks of time set aside for ‘Pinkie will host a party?’” Twilight asked the rest of the group. As one, everypony shook their head. Even Dinky.
Rainbow Dash coughed. “Right … anyway, there's a whole bunch of cool stuff to see in Cloudsdale! The weather factories, the museums full of ancient Pegasoplis stuff---s'actually pretty cool, not lame like most museums—”
“Hey!” Twilight frowned at the affront to museums and cultural heritage. “Museums aren't boring!”
“Uh, yeah, they are.”
“No they aren't!” Twilight argued. “Why would you think that?”
Rainbow shrugged. “Cuz I get bored whenever I'm in 'em. Duh.” Sometimes it felt like Dash had to explain everything to Twilight.
Cloud Kicker rolled her eyes. “Rainbow just has no appreciation of history.”
“Yes I do,” Dash countered. “Just not the boring stuff.”
“You said the Agricultural Revolution was boring,” Twilight pointed out with a frown.
With a groan, Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Beeecause it was?”
That drew in Applejack, who sounded outraged. “Now how couldja think somethin' as important as th' Agricultural Revolution's borin'!? Why, that helped shape farmin' into what it is t'day!”
“Oh come on Applejack!” Rainbow looked at her as if she had grown a second head. “You can't tell me that farming and watching stuff grow is as cool as watching a Sonic Rainboom!”
“It's far more important!” AJ pressed.
Dash flinched as if stung. “Hey! A Sonic Rainboom saved your life. Twice! From Nightmare Moon and from living a totally boring Manehattanite life!”
“The Agricultural Revolution put more food on more tables'n ever before in history!” Applejack crossed her hooves stubbornly.
Twilight nodded. “I agree with Applejack. The Agricultural Revolution shaped Equestria in many important ways.”
Rainbow Dash crossed her own hooves, no less stubborn than Applejack. “Well, my Rainboom stopped Nightmare Moon. And without it there'd be eternal night and stuff and no crops. So my Rainboom is even more important. So there. Nyah.”
“I'm not saying what you did wasn't important, Dash, just that the Agricultural Revolution was important too--” Twilight began.
Rarity interrupted her and the argument by loudly clearing her throat. “Perhaps we could simply say that both are important, and leave it at that?” After getting all three to nod—some more reluctantly than others—she turned to Rainbow. “What else can you tell us about Cloudsdale, darling? Are there spas, theatres, fine dining?”
Dash grinned. “Oh yeah, the food!” Her mouth watered, clearly displaying her sense of priorities.
“What kinda food?” Dinky asked innocently.
“Pegasus stuff you can only make up in the sky. Cloudberry pie, lightning toasted sandwiches, snow chilled ice-cream…” She rubbed her belly. “Maybe I can get my dad to cook us some authentic pegasi meals. It’s been a while since I had a homecooked meal.”
Pinkie leaned in, almost having her snout touch Rainbow’s. “Your dad? Will we get to meet him?!”
“We could meet your mommy an' daddy?” Dinky gasped excitedly. “That'd be so COOL!”
Derpy agreed. “It's been a long time since we last saw each other.”
“Her parents are pretty nice, right, Fluttershy?” Cloud Kicker asked her. Fluttershy nodded and took another sip of tea.
“Well, I'm certainly looking forward to meeting them.” Rarity smiled.
Rainbow Dash sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. “A heh, sure … I mean, y’know, if we have time and stuff.” She paused as everypony looked at her curiously. “I mean, they could be busy.”
“…too busy to watch you in th’ Best Young Flyers Competition?” Applejack narrowed her eyes, skepticism plain on her face.
Dinky nodded. “You're fibbin', Rainbow.”
That made Rainbow wince. Caught out by the goddaughter. Harsh. “Yeah, well … I mean, I’m sure they’ll be there.” She grinned weakly. “But, they may have different seats or something.”
“Then we’ll just have to hunt them down when they come to see you get first prize,” Cloud Kicker slapped her on the back, smiling. “Won’t we?”
A sickly grimace was all Rainbow could muster. “Yeah … sure.”
“Sounds like a great time.” Twilight smiled at Rainbow. “We're looking forward to you, Cloud Kicker, and Derpy's performance.”
Derpy smiled, hugging her daughter and pulling her into her lap. “Thanks! I'll do my best.”
“Should be pretty good.” Kicker agreed. “Looking forward to making Rainbow work for her win.”
Dash snorted. “Bring it on CK. First place is mine—” She grinned fiercely at Cloud Kicker, but then added “But the top three spots are ours!”
“Yeah!” Dinky cheered as she finally wriggled out of her mother’s grip and ran over to glomp Rainbow Dash. “What’re we waiting for already? Let’s go let’s go let’s go!”
Stats
Page generated in 0.038 seconds
Total duration
986 users online
1,082,876 hits today, 2,079,588 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2023
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2023 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Nice to see another installment in the Dashverse. Because Rainbow Dash is awesome.
2899682
2899685
Always.
Huh. Didn't expect to see another entry in the Dashverse before 'Hot Heads, Cold Hearts, and Nerves of Steel' wrapped up. What's the dealio, Trinary?
On to the story: it's an interesting take on the episode it's based on, in a manner akin to 'May the Best Friends Win' (although that one was an amalgam of 'Griffon the Brush Off' and 'Boast Busters'). I'm curious to see where this goes.
Hardly needs to be said, but I'm tracking this sucker.
I really need to follow this series...
I really do.
~Skeeter The Lurker
2899708
Not Trinary, but I know the answer. Short version is, inspiration struck.
This is looking good, and after the comments about Cloud Kicker in the last entry I am really hoping to see something develop between her and Rainbow in this story. Of course, she is probably going to try to leverage it into a foursome when Rainbow wins, but that is just how she rolls.
Hmm. Not an adventure, but I do like the verse. Might read.
Guessing this takes place between your 2 other Dashverse fics?
Does this constitute an alternate universe group yet?
20 to 5:00 time for bed
, hey Trinary posted a new story
, I can sleep when I'm dead...
Woot! Another Dashverse story! Keep up the brilliant writing here, Trinary!
I noticed a certain thing this one has in common with the Winningverse: the fluidity as regards to what name
D(itz/erp)y answers to.
Well here we go. I've made it no secret that Rainbow is my LEAST favorite pony.(I hate braggarts and she reminds of Ryan Locthe for some reason)
but...
You, again, are making an effort to make her more tolerable and I've learned from your previous efforts that Rainbow usually is an arrogant jerk for most of the story than learns something.
What I'm most interested in is the other competitors as they're going in as complete underdogs against a pony who has helped saved the world, has the Princesses backing, and a supermove. (Man,RD would make an excellent antagonist)
The original episode showed Dash going in as the underdog. Here you have reversed that so I can't really root for her.
If I were, say Lightning Dust, I would be pissed that all my years of hard work(my headcanon borrowed from Rated Ponystar that LD worked her way up from nothing) meant nothing because RD happened to be competing during the same year.
Question: Continued Cloud Kicker x RD shipping? Yes please. Nobody messes with RD's head like Cloud Kicker.
Also, can't wait for Divided Loyalty Dinky. "Both Mommy and Rainbow can't win? Who do I choose?!"
2900510 I'm just going to ignore that first bit in the interests of avoiding a flame war.
That said, you do bring up a very good point about how Rainbow has literally every possible advantage here. The rainboom is a proven move for her so there will be (almost) none of the anxiety that nearly crippled her in the episode, and everyone knows just how good she is thanks to the publicity she gained as Celestia's student and the two crises she has just averted.
It honestly seems to me like the best thing for her to do would be to bow out to give others a chance at taking first place, but I cannot see her doing that without some kind of incentive because it really is one of the key steps on her path to the Wonderbolts. Of course, they do know who she is and Celestia is involved so it is possible that they could work something out, but we will have to see how things unfold.
Also, on a totally unrelated note I am wondering if Rainbow is going to ascend like Twilight did in canon because the rainboom seems to indicate that her Pegasus magic is just as strong as Twilight's Unicorn magic and the roll of Celestia's student did switch so it could happen. Of course, a more likely solution is that there will be no ascension because that whole thing was kind of silly, and I am really starting to ramble here so I am going to shut up now.
As I stated, it's just my personal opinion. Don't know why people get upset that not all people like the same things. And yes I know it's odd that I don't care for Rainbow but at the same time can't get enough Lightning Dust. I'm just odd like that.
Not necessarily, because in the first story Celestia admits to telling the Wonderbolts not to take her, which they were all set to do when she was younger. That tells me that in this universe she automatically has a spot waiting for her. Basically rendering the entire Best Flyer competition worthless to Rainbow except as another ego trip.
And yeah, I don't see her bowing out UNLESS she comes to some sort of epiphany about letting others have a chance in the spotlight or something like that. Of course this is all speculation as to what moral this episode is going to go for as I can't see into Trinary's mind.
If I could I bet it's full of Rainbow Dash doing endless rainbooms and making mess.
Yeah that pretty much sums up Rainbow's entire personality.
2900655
I suspect Dash won't be ascended, given that the Dashverse version of Cadance isn't ascended.
2900725 That is really strange that you like Lightning Dust but not Rainbow. Her entire purpose was to provide a comparison to where Rainbow started to highlight the character development Rainbow has received over time so she is very similar to season 1 Rainbow.
As for the contest, that could break any number of ways as you said so we will have to wait and see. Really the only thing it cannot do is end the way the episode did because Rainbow is not the underdog and Rarity is not there to make a mess of everything.
2900922 I was thinking the same thing (mostly because I do not like the random ascension), however she is enough of a mirror to canon Twilight that it is a possibility since the end of season 3.
Personally I hope not. But that is because I hate alicorn ascension in general. Giving characters more power makes them boring to me. Again just my personal taste.
I think because I felt bad for the way she was treated at the end of her episode. (The entire episode made no sense to me) And it showed a character who could match RD at her own game. I guess she has a Green Ranger thing going on which I dig.
2901007
I am very much with you on that, however it does make just as much "sense" as the canon ascension.
This is actually one of the few cases where I do agree with the treatment of the antagonist at the end of the episode. Lightning Dust was reckless and could have caused serious injury and/or damage even if the rest of the cast had not wandered into (presumably) restricted airspace which is absolutely unacceptable to a military unit like the Wonderbolts. That kind of incident demands a serious reprimand, and for a trainee in what is essentially a special forces unit I would expect nothing less than expulsion. After all, real world spec ops training actually includes exercises for the sole purpose of failing candidates out and fewer than one in four candidates generally makes it through. I remember hearing about one "exercise" which consists of nothing but standing in ice water until one of the trainees voluntarily drops out of training.
The other thing to keep in mind is that we do not know if she can reapply next year, because if that is the case then this is little more than a temporary setback to knock some sense into her.
My gosh, this story universe is quite immense. I have no idea where to start reading everything.
2901077
Logic: Buy me! My wings are so pretty! Let's fly to my castle! Tee hee!
Completely disagree. Lightning Dust's behavior can't be considered 'wrong' per say because it was approved on multiple occasions by her commanding officer, in this case Spitfire. Remember, through the episode Spitfire complimented everything LD did. She and the other officers must have been watching them fore evaluation the whole time and didn't say jack. Broke a new record? Impressive!
Used a tornado? Unusual, but creative! Hell RD didn't even tell her that she hurt her wing till the end. Basically I am saying it was Spitfire's fault because she seemed to go out of her way to reward reckless behavior which was something Rainbow called her on.
The alternate ending where LD just gets demoted to Wing pony and admits that Rainbow was right to tell someone makes more sense to me than the abrupt thing we got. The lesson being: If your friend is doing something dangerous/stupid tell someone. Friends don't let friends hurt themselves or others, blah blah blah.
Great
But I thought Rainbow Dash's mom had passed away. I don't think she was ever even mentioned until now. And her being dead was the reason Dash and Celestia developed a mother-daughter relationship.
2901163>>2901077
To toss in my view: I love the episode "Wonderbolt Academy" it highlights the things that make me love Rainbow Dash so much. As for the ending ... to be honest? I was more annoyed with Spitfire at the end than I was Lightning Dust.
This is my bias, since I work in education and all, but if a teacher encourages the wrong behavior in a student, then that makes the teacher responsible for what happens because of it. And for Spitfire to turn around at the end of the episode and go "Oh yeah, Rainbow Dash was right. Lightning, you're fired" was too abrupt and didn't even give Lightning the chance to adjust her behavior. Now, I think LD certainly SHOULD have been demoted for the stuff she pulled. But I think she should've been made RD's wingpony to give her a chance to learn another way, but not be kicked out, which is what the episode made it look like.
In the Elements of Harmony, the episode guide book, it says that Lightning Dust "was stripped of her title" which seems to imply that she wasn't expelled. I happen to prefer that, though that book has gotten stuff about other episodes wrong, so it's still debatable what actually happened.
PS
The bit about Celestia telling the Wonderbolts not to take Dash in R&R was cut after criticisms (that I agree with) for being OOC for Celestia.
2901282
Total agreement. I've managed people before. I can't just fire someone without correctives first. If I don't explain what I expect to be proper procedure I haven't got a leg to stand on if they screw up. Wonderbolt Academy would have been one of my favorite episodes if not for the ending.
2901163 I wholeheartedly agree that Spitfire was too lax and needed to do more to monitor the cadets, but there are a few things you need to consider.
The first is that like any elite unit, the Wonderbolts are always pushing the envelope so they have to be a little bit reckless in training. Most of what Lightning Dust was doing was really just putting herself at risk of minor injuries which is not a big deal in training, and is actually something those kinds of units select for because the individuals tend to know their own limits better than anyone else. After all, pushing the envelope always entails a bit of risk, and most of what she did worked out fine so it is not unreasonable to assume that she knew she could do it ahead of time from her independent training. Really the only major mistake she made before the tornado was pushing Rainbow into things rather than working out a more reasonable solution as a team, but that was less recklessness and more poor teamwork which did not seem to be the focus of those exercises.
The other potential limiting factor is instructors to closely monitor the cadets, but this is a justification for less cadets, not less monitoring. They really should have had a Wonderbolt with each wing pair at all times with Spitfire free to float around which would have stopped the problem before it got out of control, but that is an organizational failure, not a methodology failure.
One other little thing to keep in mind is that Spitfire had not seen what happened when she said the tornado was creative. She probably assumed it was one of the smaller ones that Rainbow whips up from time to time and easily controls on her own. This does not excuse the gross negligence of leaving the cadets unsupervised, but it does at least explain why she did not instantly follow Rainbow.
Now, all that is really an organizational problem rather than a problem with the punishment itself, and my logic above still stands. The Wonderbolts are a very elite unit, and part of the reason elite units stay that way is a willingness to flunk out potential recruits over relatively minor infractions. That does not mean it is nice, but it is necessary to maintain their high standards in all things and history has shown that this kind of overzealous weeding out of candidates produces exceptionally talented individuals at the cost of numbers. Incidentally, this holds true even if you are not trying to create an elite unit in the first place as in the case of the Tuskegee Airmen where brutal training and overzealous washing out to keep blacks out of the sky backfired and produced one of the most elite groups of pilots of WWII.
2901282 As I mentioned above, I agree that Spitfire screwed up big time, but given the status of the Wonderbolts as an elite military unit I do not think expulsion was an unreasonable punishment. For reference, the washout rate among US Pararescue trainees is about 95%, so if you applied that to the Wonderbolts class we see that would mean that the odds are against even one candidate making it through. Of course, the Wonderbolts do not get that kind of training (that would require them to be fully qualified paramedics in addition to their rapid response combat duties) so presumably more of them would get through, but even then I would not expect the average to be much above one per class.
2901372
For such 'elite' unit the Wonderbolts don't seem to do much. They seem more of a government sponsored stunt team and an extension of the weather service. So comparing them to Seals, etc is false equivalence, in my opinion.
Lets take a look at what the Wonderbolts have done so far:
Stunt shows at special events. (Gala, Summer Sun etc)
Judge flying contest.
Rescue falling pony...fail.
Fly a race (Wonderbolt derby)
Fight a rampaging dragon in Ponyville... and fail.
Supervise Tornado day which apparently involves not helping at all even when it fails.
And exactly what military type things did they do at the academy? Most of the exercises were fly through bad weather, clear clouds, find flags.
Changeling invasion? MIA.
Why do I get the feeling that Fluttershy's teddy bear is an actual bear?
2901282>>2901372>>2901344
Well, personally I think that Spitfire decission about LD was correct, and i'm going to give my reasons for that.
First LD didn't even care about the fact that she almost killed several ponies with her actions, rewatch the part where RD calls her out for her actions, she doesn't show any remorse, only AFTER Spitfire chews her out she realizes(too late in my book) that she screwed up.
Second, and related to the first, she didn't move a hoof to save the ponies that she put in danger, the wonderbolts aren't only a stunt team, they are a RESCUE team, and ignoring a group of ponies in danger is a clear sign that she isn't cut to being one.
Third, during the scene when RD chews her out for her actions, look at the rest of recruits, it's obvious that ALL OF THEM are tired of her reckless attitude, yeah, RD was the one who decided "screw it,i'm leaving", but something tells me that she wouldn't have been the last(look at how they salute RD when she leaves, even before being appointed leader, they respect her more than they respect LD)
In the end, LD deserved being thrown out from the academy, and she has to give thanks to not being put on trial for endangering lives.
2901859
Okay, I'll give you point one. LD was a bit nonchalant about the whole ponies almost died thing. On the others I would have to disagree. (See danger zone comic)
On point two: Gotta disagree. Remember, Lightning was thrown out of the tornado so she wouldn't have had a chance to come back try to help with the saves.
On point three: Why should she care what the others think of her when her commanding officer basically rewarded her for her behavior so far? How is she supposed to know what is acceptable if no one tells her? She's not freaking psychic. She's not Pinkie Pie.
That doesn't make sense. That would be like a solider being charged if a civilian wandered into a military training area and got shot or something.
Also, why does LD get all the blame for the tornado? RD could have said no, but didn't. It took both of them to start the thing. In my mind she is just as complicit and basically threw Dust under the bus. As far Dust knew, no one was supposed to be in the area. The entire plotting of the episode was sloppy.
Hmm... maybe someone should write fic about the court-martial hearing or something. That would be interesting.
2901940
Um, a soldier WOULD be charged with, at least, manslaughter if a civilian were to wander into a military training ground and got shot.
2901940
About point two, If I remember well, I think that the other recruits also got thrown out for the tornado, and they still helped with the rescue.
About point three, she has to care, because it's her duty as a leader, you have to instill respect and loyalty in them, treating all of them like crap isn't going to do you good in the future and, add to that the fact that she never accepts the fact that her actions can put others in danger and you have a disaster waiting to happen.
2901993
Okay maybe that wasn't the best example. What if they wandered on a mortar range or a mine field. Some place they weren't meant to be and the solider didn't see them.
You know what I am going for.
2902035
The others weren't IN the tornado when it started. LD was thrown clear across the base.
I don't remember her treating the others like crap. We barely get to see them interact. It's not like she pulled a Gilda. Worst she did was buzz by them in one scene. Again, Spitfire didn't seem to care (Congratulations on the new record!) so it must be okay.
Personally, I'd say that Lightning Dust's disregard for the fact that she nearly got ponies killed is probably the most damaging thing for her cause. Given that rescue work seems to be part of what the Wonderbolts do, having a recruit show reckless disregard for the safety of other ponies would be an instant disqualification. At the very least, it raises serious questions about whether or not she's morally equipped to be a Wonderbolt.
That said, I'll agree that Spitfire did a lot to enable and encourage Lightning Dust's recklessness. Personally, Spitfire's reaction kind of comes across as her realizing she'd massively dropped the ball, and throwing Lightning Dust under the bus to save her own flank.
2902089
Somebody would still be getting charged, at the very least, with dereliction of duty, because mortar ranges should be fenced off, with on site guards and cameras watching the area, and there's no reason to have a live minefield in a training camp. To put it simply, there is absolutely no excuse for a civilian death on a military site. If a civilian gets killed, or even put in mortal danger, in a training camp, somebody's military career has just ended.
On the subject of the story itself, perhaps I missed something, but did CK and Rainbow Dash just have a discussion about banging and threesomes in front of Dinky?
2901282
Just to toss it in, but Meghan Mccarthy's tweets about what the script for that episode originally look like showed that Lightning wasn't actually expelled. She got demoted to a Wingpony, Rainbow Dash asks if she's alright and LD responds that she made the right call and she was out of control.
I'm not sure what was the reasoning for cutting out this important scene, but that's the call they made in the end.
2902264
Probably time constrains, they have to put the episode in a time slot after all.
2902222
The Twilight and co (not Fluttershy) almost died because of lack of signage?
2902107
Hmm... Spitfire throwing a cadet under the bus because her own bad decisions almost got Celestia's student killed. I could buy that. Happens in military and other organizations all the times. Generals pass down the orders and the lowest ranks get in trouble. I could totally see that.
2901282
To me, it seemed that the Wonderbolt Academy was some kind of military academy, not a normal school. As such, they can't afford to baby the recruits. Either you make the cut, or you don't. The recruits weren't there because they had to be. They weren't there to learn teamwork. LD fucked up, and she got the boot. That's what happens when you put others at risk. I assume that in a team like the Wonderbolts, only the best are accepted. Well, that's how I interpreted the episode.
2902390
No, Twilight and co(including Fluttershy because she forgot she could fly) were almost killed because of the recklessness of a cadet.
2902634>>2902483>>2902390>>2902035>>2901372
Okay, as much as I love discussing about the show, I'm starting to feel a bit annoyed by the fact that the overwhelming majority of the comments (many of them quite long) so far have nothing to do with the story itself. If you wish to discuss the episode further, please do so in a forum or between yourselves through notes.
2902697
Sorry.
Speaking of the story, did you have RD and CK talk about banging and threesomes in front of Dinky, or did she just suddenly disappear during that conversation?
2902697
Sorry, just got carried away there. Nerd fight and all.
So... RD x Cloud Kicker shipping? Yay
or Neigh
?
2902697
Sorry got a little carried away.
2903073
...I did not notice that. I think that makes this all the more unintentionally hilarious now.
Nobody shoot me, but I think I'd rather see more of this than Hot Heads...
2903659
Dinky: Mommy, wut's a 'threesome'?
2907837
i.imgur.com/b42I9GJ.png : A threesome is when three ponies get together and have a private party.
fimfiction-static.net/images/characters/dinkyicon.png : Oh! Hey mommy, can I have a threesome with Alula and Pip for my birthday?
2909681
Kicky: AAAA GODS DERPY WHAT'D I DO!?!
I liked this.