Canterlot Academy: Knights of the Dark Moon

by LordLycaon

Tryouts

It had been a week. A whole week into the school year, and Twilight had found she loved nearly every minute of it. Her classes were everything she thought they would be, she had friends both old and new with her, and so many fascinating subjects to learn; she was in paradise. All except for one minor little thing that kept her experience from being absolutely perfect, and here it was once again; it was five in the morning when her bloodshot eyes snapped open at the sounds of heavy grunting. She sat bolt upright and irritably snapped at the perpetrator.

“Will you please keep it down!? Some of us were up all night studying!”

Rainbow Dash puffed as she completed her fiftieth wing-up. “No can do, Twilight. I gotta be in top shape for today.” She continued her exercise, puffing each time she pushed herself up.

Twilight rubbed at her tired, dry eyes. “What is so important about today that you have to make so much noise?”

The pegasus looked to her skeptically. “It’s the track and field tryouts today. I’ve only been talking about them all week.”

“You have?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “You might’ve heard me if your muzzle wasn’t so deep in a text book all the time.”

It was Twilight’s turn to roll her eyes. “Studying takes focus and concentration. Some of us actually have to take our studies seriously.”

Rainbow smirked. “Whatever, egghead.”

A pillow whapped her upside the head, with Twilight giving the pegasus a disgruntled glare.

“Why don’t you come and watch me try out, Twi? The others will be there too. You might even have some fun for a change.”

Twilight huffed, but looked to the other mare for a moment before a scheming grin crossed her face. “All right. I’ll go, but on one condition.”

“What’s that?” Rainbow asked, her expression cautiously curious.

“I’ll go if you let me sleep in for the next week.”

Rainbow blinked for a moment, then laughed. “Fine. You put up with me for a whole week so far, so I guess I could cut you some slack and let you sleep in for once.”

“Thank you so very much,” Twilight said sarcastically.

“Don’t mention it.” Rainbow looked out their window. “Well, I’m off to do a couple laps around the yard, I’ll see you at the tryouts, Twilight.”

Twilight watched the pegasus leave, and closed the door behind her. With a grunt, she collected her pillow and tried in vain to get at least some sleep before class.

-o-

Later that day, Twilight sat on the bleachers with Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rarity’s entourage at the race track. She could see Rainbow Dash and Applejack were on the field stretching and limbering up, as well as various other ponies as they went through their warm-up exercises. She was surprised to see Wanderer among those trying out for the team, but didn’t really give it much thought as she yawned long and loudly.

“Didn’t get much sleep, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked in concern as she looked to the tired-looking unicorn.

“It’s pretty hard to get a good night’s sleep when you have Miss Wakes-Up-At-Five-In-The-Morning-To-Do-Wing-Ups for a roommate,” Twilight said before another huge yawn took her.

Fluttershy giggled at her friend’s amusingly irritated tone, and nodded in understanding. “I know what you mean, but Rainbow has always been like that. She likes to get up early to go through her daily exercises so that she has more time in the day to do what she wants to get done.”

“Admirable,” Rarity chimed in, “but all mares do need their beauty rest, or we’d all look like ragamuffins.” She turned away from the small mirror she was using to make sure she looked perfect as always, gasping when she saw just how bad Twilight appeared. “Oh, darling, you look absolutely dreadful! Those bags under your eyes make you look so rough. Here, I’ll fix you right up. Boys?” Her three sycophants were quick in bringing her her make-up kit.

“Rarity, you don’t have to—“ Twilight protested.

“Tut, tut, dear. I can’t leave you like this. It would be absolutely wrong of me.”

Twilight hesitated, then sighed upon realizing that Rarity simply wasn’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer. Not really having the energy to fight any further, she said, “Oh, all right. Just don’t go overboard, okay?”

“Of course not, dear.” The white unicorn worked in a blur, a cloud of make-up obscuring Twilight’s head. With a final poof of air, Rarity blew away the cloud and showed Twilight a mirror. Twilight was honestly surprised that she looked like her normal self, the dark bags under her eyes and the admittedly rougher points of her appearance gone without a trace. No over-the-top lipstick or eyeshadow either. She did notice, however, that her coat seemed to have a bit more of a shine to it.

“Wow, thank you, Rarity,” she said with complete honesty.

“Excellent work, Miss Rarity,” Rarity’s first follower said proudly.

“Truly amazing,” the second said.

“You’re the best, Miss Rarity,” the third was quick to add.

“Thank you, darlings,” she said with a small smile, absently tossing the make-up kit to the trio. They stumbled over each other to catch it, only able to save it at the last moment.

“Ooh, I can’t wait to see if Applejack and Rainbow Dash make the team! I’ll be so excited for them! If they make it, we’ll have to throw them a party! It’ll be so much fun!” Pinkie said as she bounced in place excitedly. “I wonder if cake would fit a made-the-cut party?” She then smacked her forehead. “Oh, what am I saying? Of course cake goes good with everything!”

The girls talked amongst themselves as they awaited the arrival of the coach.

-o-

Down on the field, Rainbow and Applejack finished their warm-up exercises. The two watched the others continue their routines, eager to prove their mettle to their fellow athletes and coach.

“So, Applejack, what are you trying out for?” Rainbow asked her as she trotted in place.

The earth pony took a long swig from a bottle of water. “Ah’m tryin’ for the hurdles and the long jump. If Ah’m gonna make the Royal Guard, Ah’m gonna need quick reflexes and quicker reaction time.” She set her bottle of water aside. “What about you?”

Rainbow snorted. “Ha! Like you even need to ask. I’m gonna be a racer. Likely the best on the whole team, being the fastest flier in all of Equestria; I’m a shoe-in to win.”

“We’ll see about that.” The two turned to see Flash Sentry approach, his grin wide. “You’ll have to beat me to be the best.”

Her grin matched his own. “Oh, yeah? We’ll just see about that, fly boy. This isn’t the hoofball team, you know.”

Before Flash could retort, a loud, shrill whistle rang out over the yard. All of the ponies cringed and covered their ears at the offensive sound.

“Alright, you ponies! Line up!” shouted a loud, gruff voice.

As the contenders raced to do as ordered, Rainbow Dash had a look at the coach. Flanked by two goat assistants, stomped a large, muscular minotaur. He walked bipedal, his bulked out arms behind his back as he scrutinized the assembled ponies, his beady, yellow eyes looking each one over as he walked. His gaze settled on Rainbow a moment before snorting dismissively and addressing them all.

“So you all think you got what it takes to be on my track and field team?” A few murmurs of agreement were cut short as he shouted. “Well, you don’t! I haven’t seen this many flimsy ponies since… well, ever! My name is Iron Will and that’s Coach Iron Will to you! Once I’m done with all of you, you’ll be the toughest lot to ever trot out of the Academy.” He pointed a finger Flash’s way. “You. What’s your name?”

“I’m—”

“Doesn’t matter! All that matters is that each of you are going to give a hundred and ten percent and then ninety percent more!” He turned suddenly on them, the entire gathering flinching away. “I want earth ponies and unicorn try-outees over there and the pegasi over there!”

Pinkie whispered to Twilight. “Is ‘try-outee’ even a word?”

Twilight whispered back. “I don’t—”

“Quiet in the stands!” Iron Will bellowed so loud the ponies swore the entire mountain shook. The minotaur walked towards the earth pony and unicorn groups and looked each one over.

“Alright, time to see what you foals are made of. Only way to do that is with a race, one-on-one, one lap around the track.” He pointed one meaty finger at Applejack, then at Wanderer. “You and you, up front, now!”

The two ponies quickly trotted up to the starting line and limbered up for their race.

Wanderer stretched his neck and gave Applejack a roguish smile.

“Here’s to a good race,” he said, offering her a hoof.

She smiled in turn and shook the offered hoof. “You too, partner.”

“Just to let you know, I don’t plan on losing.” He hoofed at his chin confidently.

The blonde earth mare smirked. “Wouldn’t want it any other way.”

The two set themselves at the starting line, each coiled like a spring, ready to leap at a split-second’s notice. Iron Will watched them for a long moment before blowing his whistle.

The two took off like shots. Applejack and Wanderer kept neck and neck the whole race until they rounded the last turn. Wanderer sprinted ahead, laughing confidently.

“Oh, no, ya don’t!” Applejack lowered her head and sprinted forward. She dashed ahead of Wanderer, who could only look on in shock. The finish line was just ahead and he too lowered his head and charged.

As they crossed the finish line, Applejack beating Wanderer by a foot, Iron Will clicked his timer.

“Hmm, not bad for foals.” He looked to the two as they tried to catch their breath. “Not bad, not bad.” The minotaur walked away and had two more ponies get to the line for their race.

“How’d you do that?” Wanderer asked, as he finally caught his breath and stood straighter.

She smiled at him. “Did lots of runnin’ back on the farm. Plenty o’ open space for a mare to stretch her legs.”

He gave an impressed snort. “I’ll bet. You sure showed me up.” He laughed. “I’m Wanderer, by the way.” Again, offering his hoof to her.

“Applejack. Good to meet ya,” she said as she shook his hoof.

The two earth ponies shared a friendly smile and turned to watch the others race.

-o-

After he was through with the runners, Iron Will approached the assembled pegasi.

Upon the bleachers with the others, Twilight took her time to examine the obstacle course they were approaching.

There were cloud rings set in sharp angles, designed to test a pegasus’ reflexes. A number of sturdy looking clouds were set for fliers to spin and gain momentum and test their endurance at high speeds. At the end of the course, a long metal tube was set up, probably as a test for maneuvering in enclosed spaces.

Next to her, Fluttershy, also looking downwards gasped slightly. “Oh, no,” she whispered.

“Something wrong?” inquired a worried Pinkie Pie, while the others gave the pegasus slightly confused stares.

The pink-maned pegasus vigorously shook her head. “N-nothing’s wrong. Why would anything be wrong?” Her friends switched from concerned to suspicious, though they didn’t press the matter. Yet, to Twilight, it seemed, if she wasn’t imagining things, that Rainbow’s formerly cocky grin had also faltered somewhat.

For a brief moment, she started to worry about her friend and hoped that her normal confidence was not just a cheap facade. Twilight didn’t really doubt Rainbow Dash’s abilities, but if she got stage fright, it could be bad. Yet she forced them down when Iron Will called for volunteers for the first run of the course, and Rainbow Dash immediately threw up an eager hoof.

The minotaur grunted and pointed to the golden-maned pegasus. “You, get ready,” he said to another pegasus who had spoken up at the same time as Rainbow. This one had a coat of a greener shade of blue than Rainbow’s. Her mane consisted of three varying colors of gold, and her cutie mark was a white lightning bolt with three golden stars underneath.

“Yeah!” The pegasus flapped to the starting line and readied herself.

Twilight, having never seen a pegasus obstacle course trial before had kind of expected her to carefully work their way through the rings, taking time to navigate the tight turns. In retrospect, she realized that that expectation had been kind of stupid, given most pegasi’s innate love of speed.

At the whistle, the pegasus took off, and had already passed the first three rings by the time Twilight caught up with her flight.

Expertly angling through the other cloud rings, she only managed to clip one of them on her pass, a feat Twilight would have completely thought of as impossible at those speeds, had she not just seen it for herself. Bursting out of the last cloud ring, she spun the clouds at steadily increasing speeds and came out of her spiral with little trouble. She then sped through the tube, her eyes squinting at the wind resistance. After speeding through, she raced for the finish line, a golden streak of light trailing behind her. As she blew past the finish line, the minotaur clicked his timer. He raised one eyebrow at the time shown.

“Not bad, newbie, not bad.” He called on another pegasus to the line.

Rainbow smiled and approached the golden-mane pegasus. “That wasn’t too shabby. What’s your name?”

The other pegasus glanced at her, her expression stoic. “Lightning Dust,” she said bluntly.

Rainbow frowned instantly at the other mare’s attitude. “Well, don’t get comfy, Lightning Dust. I’m gonna blow your time out of the sky.”

Lightning Dust glared at her. “And who are you supposed to be?”

“I’m Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in all of Equestria!” she boasted, rather loudly.

“Well, Miss Fastest-in-Equestria, up to the line!” Iron Will called to her.

“Right, Coach!” she said quickly, ignoring Lightning Dust’s snicker.

Twilight saw Rainbow Dash flicker a glance over at them, before trotting over to the start. She didn’t honestly know if Rainbow Dash had it in her to match Lightning Dust’s performance, but Twilight could see a determined fire in her eyes when she stretched her neck before getting into a takeoff pose.

At the whistle, she took off in a rainbow-hued trail of light. Since she knew what to expect this time, Twilight’s eyes never left her when she shot through the first rings even faster than her predecessor. Too fast. There was no way she could do the required turns at this speed. She would shoot out of the curve and-

Twilight’s mouth fell open when her friend executed several seemingly impossible high-speed turns perfectly and came clear of the rings without clipping a single one. Her mouth fell even further as Rainbow spun around the clouds, handling the increased velocities with little difficulty.

Her confusion only grew when Rainbow Dash missed the entrance of the last obstacle. Instead of flying through it like the first pegasus had, she swerved and flew below the tube, followed it to its end, and flew for the finish line. The ponies had to brace themselves as she flew past, for fear of being blown away by the following gust of wind.

Next to her, Fluttershy gave a sigh of disappointment, but it couldn’t have been that bad, could it? After all, Rainbow Dash had completed the rest of the course perfectly.

Yet Iron Will had a fierce look on his face when he approached the pegasus.

They exchanged a few words and Rainbow Dash returned to the start line. Twilight’s confusion was overridden by relief. She would get a second chance at the course.

At the whistle, she took off again, repeating the first parts of the course just as well as she had earlier and went for the tube. However, once she came close she swerved at the last moment with a barely audible squeak of fright and once again flew past the tube, going over it with her eyes closed.

“Newbie! Get your flank down here right now!” Iron Will bellowed, motioning to the ground angrily.

Rainbow Dash complied and landed in front of him, her head slightly lowered.

“I don’t know what you’re playing at, but I don’t find it funny. Hit the bleachers, kid. I’ll have a talk with you when the others are done.” His glare burned figurative holes into her face.

She replied quietly, hanging her head in shame.

“What was that?!”

“Y-yes, Coach Iron Will!” Rainbow responded loudly with a salute.

The minotaur grunted and turned back to the assembled pegasi.

Rainbow joined her friends in the bleachers, each of them smiling at her.

“You were amazing, Rainbow Dash! You totally blew the others away! Literally!” Pinkie said with an almost impossibly wide smile.

“Indeed, darling. It was simply stunning the way you handled those obstacles. I was very impressed.” Rarity said, her entourage quickly agreeing with her.

“You did great, Rainbow.” Fluttershy said, resting a hoof on her friend’s shoulder.

The cyan mare blushed at all the compliments, rubbing at the back of her head. “Heh, thanks, you guys.”

“So, why didn’t you go through the tube?” Twilight asked curiously.

Rainbow looked to the tube out of reflex and shuddered. “I just didn’t want to show up the others, you know? Not on the first day. That wouldn’t be very cool.”

“Really? You were doing so well until then. What stopped you?” Twilight asked again, frowning softly at Rainbow’s obvious avoidance of the question.

“I just didn’t, okay?” Rainbow snapped at her.

All of the others were taken aback by her outburst, except for Fluttershy who looked at her friend with a mix of understanding and concern.

“Sorry,” she apologized and stood up. “I’ll go get us some drinks. I’ll be right back.” She trotted off quickly.

“Well, that was certainly rude. Whatever could be wrong with her?” Rarity said once Rainbow had left.

“Oh, please don’t be mad at her. She’s just…” Fluttershy caught herself and looked away.

“She’s what, Fluttershy? I’ve never seen Rainbow like that before,” Twilight said as she watched her roommate gather some water bottles at the snack stand.

“It really isn’t for me to say,” Fluttershy said, still not looking at them directly.

“What happened, Fluttershy?” Twilight pressed. “We won’t say anything to her. If we know what’s wrong, maybe we all can help her.”

“I…”

“Honestly, darling, we won’t say a thing.” Rarity said, sitting next to the pegasus.

“We Pinkie Promise!” Pinkie chimed in.

“What?” Twilight asked her.

“It’s a promise you make that, once you make it, can never be broken. Because breaking a promise is the fastest way to lose a friend forever!” she answered Twilight, the two being eye to eye at the explanation, barely an inch of space between them.

“All right, we Pinkie Promise not to tell.” Twilight said, pushing the energetic mare back out of her personal space.

“You have to do the motions and recite the words, too.” Pinkie added.

“Seriously?” Twilight deadpanned.

“Yepper! All right, ladies, repeat after me: Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” As she recited the promise, she crossed a hoof over her heart, then fluttered her front hooves, and finally placed a hoof over one eye.

After a stunned moment, the two unicorns looked to each in slight confusion, but did as instructed nonetheless.

Fluttershy smiled at them, but was clearly still obviously nervous. “All right, but you can’t tell Rainbow it was me who told you.”

“We promise,” the three said together.

Fluttershy took in a calming breath and began her tale…

-o-

'It was back when Rainbow and I were just little fillies living in Cloudsdale, before we even got our cutie marks. We would always go out in the town park to play together. One day, though, Rainbow had an idea she said would be fun.'

“Come on, Flutters!” Rainbow called from Cloudsdale’s edge, waving her hoof towards it. “Hurry up! Before somepony sees us!”

“I-I’m coming, Dashie!” a young Fluttershy called back as she galloped over to her friend as fast as her spindly legs could carry her. When she got to the edge, she looked over it, letting out a tiny “eep,” at the sight of the distant earth below. “D-Dashie? Are you sure this is a good idea?”

Rainbow scoffed with a cocky smirk. “You worry too much. Come on, we’ll be fine.” She flapped her wings and hovered past the edge. “Look, if it’ll make you feel better, we’ll take it slow as we go down, okay?”

Fluttershy looked back down over the edge, gulping nervously. She was scared, but she trusted Rainbow completely. After a minute of consideration, she nodded and joined her friend past the edge. Rainbow nodded with a grin as she led the way down to earth, going slow, just as she had promised.

'When we got to the surface, we landed in a small forest. There were all kinds of wonderful little animals everywhere, and seeing them all made me feel a little safer. We wandered through the forest for a little while, admiring the scenery, exploring little holes in the ground, that sort of thing. Eventually…'

The two young pegasi had been wandering around for a good few minutes - just observing the trees, listening to the animals, feeling the rare sensation of solid earth beneath their hooves - when they stumbled across a cave. It was fairly small; too small for a bear or anything like that to live there. In fact, it didn’t look lived-in at all to start with anyway. Of course, Rainbow Dash wanted to do the most reasonable thing possible.

“Let’s check it out!” she exclaimed, feeling adventurous. Fluttershy almost panicked, stepping in front of her friend before the younger filly could get very far.

“Wait, Dashie! We don’t know what’s in there! It could be dangerous!”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. Fluttershy was never the truly adventurous sort. “Don’t worry, Flutters. If you don’t wanna go in, that’s fine. I’ll be careful.”

“But-”

“Look, if something happens, I’ll come right out. I promise.” Her magenta eyes were full of their usual sincerity. Fluttershy eventually gave in and stepped aside. Rainbow gave an appreciative nod and headed into the cave. Fluttershy, meanwhile, sat down and waited for Dashie to come back out. It shouldn’t take her too long, right?

'I waited for about twenty minutes. After that, I got worried and went in after her. The cave went on for a good while. It was probably a tunnel of some kind, now that I think about it. Anyway, I eventually found Rainbow near the end of the cave.'

It was just barely bright enough for her to see. Rainbow thought she saw some kind of cave paintings on the walls or something, but she couldn’t be totally sure without a good amount of light. She turned at the sound of hooves trotting, and smiled when she saw Fluttershy approaching.

“Hey, you came after all!” she greeted. “Come here. I think I might’ve found something cool.”

“Are you all right, Dashie?” Fluttershy asked, concern evident in her voice. “I was worried. You’ve been in here for a while.”

Once again, Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “I’m fine, Flutters. Really. Now come here and check this out!” She pointed to the wall where she thought she saw those cave paintings. She felt like she was in one of those adventure novels that her dad had her read. Admittedly, cave paintings weren’t as cool as ancient lost treasures, but it was at least a start.

“Um… what am I looking for?”

Rainbow ignored the question for a minute and scrutinized the wall a bit. After a minute, she came to a realization and sighed, feeling stupid. “Nevermind. There’s nothing…” She looked away from the wall, then caught sight of something sparkling at the end of the cave. “There!” she shouted suddenly, making Fluttershy jump up and hover in the air for a bit.

Rainbow stopped at the end of the cave, eyeing the thing she had spotted. It was shiny, even in the cave’s darkness. She beamed widely, wondering what, exactly, it could be. Maybe a large gemstone, or at least a rock filled with gemstones. It could even be gold! Without hesitation, she grabbed at it and began pulling, trying to free it from the wall it was stuck in.

“Dashie?” Fluttershy said worriedly. She didn’t like the idea of pulling a rock out of the wall of a cave. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Come on, Fluttershy, what’s the worst that could happen?” Rainbow replied. She immediately went back to tugging at the rock, soon managing to pull it free. “All right! Score! Let’s get out of here and see what we-!” She stopped when something fell on her head. A tiny pebble. Another fell, hitting the ground with a dull tink. She then looked to where she had gotten the shiny rock. There were cracks all over it, and they were spreading.

Both ponies’ eyes went wide in realization as more rocks fell from the ceiling, each being larger than the last.

“Run!” Rainbow cried, dropping the rock she had just picked up. Fluttershy was already a ways ahead of her, quickly making it out of the cave. Rainbow wasn’t so lucky. A large rock fell on her back, and when her wings spread in reflex, another rock landed right on top of her right wing, trapping her as the cave fell apart around her, blocking her only exit.

“RAINBOW!” Fluttershy screamed, hoping beyond hope that her friend was all right. She desperately began moving rocks out of the way to try and reach her best and only friend. Many of those rocks were too heavy for her to even hope to lift, however. Panic began to take over. She took several deep breaths to try and calm herself down. “Rainbow! I-if you can hear me, don’t worry! I’ll go get help! I’ll be back, I promise!”

With that, she took off for Cloudsdale, flying as fast as her weak wings would allow.

-o-

“I managed to get back home and tell my and Rainbow’s parents what happened,” Fluttershy said, nearing the end of the story. “We gathered as many able-bodied ponies as we could, and I led them back to the cave where Rainbow had been trapped. We managed to dig her out, but her wing was broken, and she…” She hesitated. “She just wasn’t the same for almost a month. Ever since that day, she’s been terrified of enclosed spaces.” She looked over at the tube that Rainbow had been so reluctant to fly through. “That’s why she avoided the tube. Even something like that scares her.”

“That… actually explains a lot,” Twilight commented. “When we first met, I’d moved the desks in our room closer to the middle. She insisted that she wanted them away from her side of the room because they would get in the way of her morning exercises. She seemed to be acting a bit strange about it, but I’d assumed it was just a pegasus thing.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “While pegasi aren’t exactly comfortable in tight areas, we can usually make do. Rainbow Dash is claustrophobic almost to an extreme.” She sighed, looking away. “She tries to put on a brave face and say that she’s fine whenever she’s faced with that fear, but…”

“Still, if she doesn’t fly through the tube, chances are she won’t be able to make the team,” Rarity said, subdued some by the tale.

“Yeah, and if Rainbow Dash doesn’t make the team, she’ll be all sad and mopey. We can’t let that happen! We have to help her!” Pinkie said with determination.

Twilight considered the dilemma for a moment. Getting over a real phobia was not something a pony just did at the drop of a quill. However, Rarity was right: if Rainbow didn’t do something about it, she wouldn’t make the team, regardless of whatever feats she showed off to the coach. Not making the cut would be something an athlete like Rainbow Dash would not handle easily.

‘How to approach this?’ she thought to herself.

Fluttershy looked at Twilight as the unicorn appeared in deep thought. “What are you thinking about, Twilight?”

“I’m trying to figure out a way to help Rainbow,” she said as she tucked a part of her mane behind an ear thoughtfully. “But a phobia is not something so easily overcome with just a few pretty words and moral support.”

“There has to be a way, though!” Pinkie argued. “I don’t wanna see anypony sad, especially not a friend!”

“But what can we do?” Fluttershy asked. “Rainbow won’t talk about that day with anypony, not even me.”

“We won’t have to,” Twilight said, a slow smile creeping across her face.

“You have a plan in mind, don’t you, Twilight?” Rarity asked at Twilight’s smile. The smile proved infectious as the white unicorn found herself following suit.

“Yes. The beginnings of one, at least. I’m still fine-tuning it. This is what I have so far…” She quietly relayed her plan to the other three. Soon, they were all smiling wide at the idea of helping their friend.

-o-

Rainbow Dash was making her way back to the bleachers when she saw the other four mares apparently discussing something. She furrowed her brow, but shrugged, taking care not to drop the water bottles she had gathered for them.

“What were you guys talking about?” she asked as she passed out the water.

“Oh, nothing important, dear,” Rarity said.

“What? I thought we were trying to figure out how to help—” Pinkie started, but was interrupted when Twilight shoved a hoof over her mouth.

“We were, uh… talking about our homework. Right, Pinkie?” Twilight shot the pink mare a pointed glare, and Pinkie answered with a nod.

Rainbow narrowed her eyes at them, and soon managed to put two and two together. “Nice try, guys, but I’m not gonna talk about it.”

“We wouldn’t want you to, Rainbow. We just want to talk about how you’re going to get through that tube.” Rarity nodded toward the suspended obstacle.

Rainbow looked at the tube a moment before sighing. “I’m not sure I can,” she admitted quietly.

“Of course you can, darling! We’ve seen you do some amazing things before. We know you can get past a silly, floating, metal tube.”

Rainbow’s ears laid back, her shoulders sagging. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“No, we wouldn’t,” Twilight said, awkwardly placing a hoof on the pegasus’s shoulder. “But we can sympathize. We believe if you face whatever it is that’s holding you back, and give it your all, you can get past it.”

Rainbow seemed less sure of herself. “This isn’t the same, though. It’s…” she growled in frustration and slammed her water bottle down, spilling some of its contents across the bleacher.

“But you’re a super-awesome athlete, Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie chimed with an excited bounce. “We all know it, the ponies on the field know it, and even the coach knows it! That’s why he’ll give you a second chance. Just think of it: if you fly through the tube and prove how awesome you are, and you’ll be even awesomer! Getting over a fear at the same time will make you the awesomest!”

Rainbow looked to her suspiciously. “Who said anything about me being afraid?” The other girls gave Pinkie worried and warning looks.

“Lucky guess.” Pinkie smiled disarmingly.

“Riiight.” Rainbow’s suspicion was not letting up in the slightest.

“We know you can do it, Dashie,” Fluttershy told her. “You’re the bravest pony I know, and I know you can get past this.”

“Flutters…” Rainbow said softly, looking to her long-time friend with a pleading look.

“You can do this,” Fluttershy said firmly.

“Darn tootin’,” another voice said.

They turned to see Applejack join them on the bleachers.

“Do you even know what we’re talking about?” Rainbow asked her in irritation. All the support she was receiving from her friends made her feel weird. Not a bad weird, but something she didn’t completely understand.

“Ah got the gist of it. You're havin’ trouble with the tube thing, right?” The mare asked as she readjusted her Stetson.

Rainbow sighed. “Is it that obvious?”

“To those of us who know ya.” Applejack nodded. “But Ah’ll say this: are ya really gonna let a floatin’ chunk o’ metal get the best o' ya?”

Rainbow looked to the tube again, nervously biting her lip.

“Or are ya gonna to let me win one fer a change?” Applejack asked with a sly grin.

Rainbow turned a glare at her.

If Applejack was bothered by the glare any, she didn’t show it. “Ah make the team and you don’t. Don’t think Ah could ever let ya live that one down.”

Rainbow looked to her friends, all sporting amused or supporting smiles, each of them showing their faith in her. She looked down at her hooves, her expression distant. Was she honestly going to let a thing like a giant tube keep her from her goals? She was Rainbow Dash, the fastest flier in all of Equestria! She couldn’t let something like petty fear stop her, not when her friends had her back. She couldn’t disappoint them, no matter what she had to face.

“You guys are right. I can do this!” She hovered above them, brimming with a new found confidence. She started for the field, but came back a second later. “Thanks, guys,” she said in the sincerest tone she could manage, and bolted for the field.

“Coach Iron Will, I’m ready to prove myself!” she said as she landed behind him, as he clicked the timer for the last pegasus racer.

He barely turned to look at her. “And why should I let you, newbie? You’ve already proven you can’t follow simple instructions.”

“Give me a chance, and I’ll show you just what I can do,” she challenged.

The other pegasi gasped at her tone. Unbeknownst to them, Iron Will smirked in approval. He had a reputation to uphold, however, so he whirled on her and glared fiercely.

“So, you think you’ve got what it takes?” he bellowed, leveling a finger at her.

She refused to back down. “I know I do.”

“Then get up there and put your money where your mouth is!” As she dashed to the starting line, he could only nod in approval.

Once he blew the whistle, Rainbow took off even faster than before. She managed the rings and clouds near perfectly. Her next obstacle, the dreaded tube, was just ahead. As she neared it, images of that day trapped in the cave and of her broken wing flooded her thoughts, threatening to overwhelm her in unreasoning fear. The world slowed down. She almost gave into her slowly building panic, until she glanced at the bleachers. All of her friends were there, yelling and cheering her on, lending her support in any way they could. That feeling from earlier came back and banished her fears. She could do this, and she would!

With a shout, she plunged down the tube. Her eyes were tearing up from the wind resistance and the realization of what she was doing. She was in a place that represented her deepest fear, yet here she was and she was doing it!

With a cry of victory, she burst from the tube and flew past the finish line. Even Iron Will had to plant his hooves to keep from being blown back. He clicked his timer and his eyes widened.

“A new course record! Not bad, newbie.” The assembled pegasi cheered for her accomplishment.

“Aw, yeah!” Rainbow cheered, raising one hoof in triumph. She looked to the bleachers, and she heard her friends loudly cheering for her. Pinkie even held up a banner with Rainbow’s name and face on it, waving it around proudly. Rainbow could have sworn that the wild, pink mare didn’t have anything of the like earlier.

The minotaur grunted and turned to address all those who’d tried out for the team.

“All right, that’s everypony. I’ll post those who made the cut on the Academy’s bulletin boards. Get some rest. You all did good.” He and his assistants walked away, already in discussion.

As the ponies began to disperse, Rainbow flew to her friends, who instantly surrounded her in a huddle of congratulations.

“You were great, Rainbow Dash! The absolute awesomest!” Pinkie said as she bounced in place.

“I knew you could do it, Dashie,” Fluttershy said with a wide, proud smile for her friend.

“Simply stunning, truly breathtaking,” Rarity beamed, her entourage nodding vigorously in agreement with her.

“Ah knew ya had it in ya,” Applejack said with her sly smile still in place. “Now to see if that was good enough for the coach.”

Rainbow scoffed. “If that wasn’t enough, he has no idea what skill is.” They all shared a laugh at that.

“We all knew you could do it,” Twilight said. She was genuinely happy on two fronts. She had helped her friend with a personal problem and she was finally going to get to sleep in again. Who wouldn’t be happy about that?

Rainbow blushed faintly. “You guys are the best.” She pulled the six of them into a group hug, though another quick glance at the tube caused another shudder.

Unseen to them, another pegasus was watching them in disgust. She glared hatefully at the rainbow-maned upstart before turning away without a word.

-o-

The next morning, Twilight was sleeping rather peacefully. She was having another pleasant dream where she was showcasing her exemplary magical talents for the heads of the Academy Even Princess Celestia was there. Each of them was awed by her amazing talents and mastery of the arcane.

“Truly amazing,” she heard Headmaster Stargazer say, to which the others all readily agreed.

“Indeed so,” Celestia smiled.

Twilight soaked in the praise for the magic she conjured. Truly, what more could she possibly ask for?

“Twilight, could you come here a moment, please?” Celestia asked, a pleased expression on the alicorn’s face.

“Yes, Princess?” She could imagine it now; the Princess was going to ask her to be her own personal student. Such an honor that would be! Her, Princess Celestia’s own protege! It almost made her squeal in delight.

“I have something very important to say,” the alicorn said.

“Yes?” Twilight’s eyes glittered.

“One, two, three, four, five…” the monarch said.

Twilight looked to her with a shocked and confused expression. “W-what?”

“Six, seven, eight, nine, ten…” the Academy’s heads joined in Celestia’s counting.

“But... I... what?” Twilight looked around in fear before the floor collapsed and she fell with a despairing cry, the counting continuing all around her.

She sat bolt upright in shock and saw that she was still in her dorm room. Looking to her side, she saw Rainbow Dash in the midst of her morning routine.

Heat practically blazed from Twilight as she scowled at her roommate. “You… you promised I could sleep in!” Her tone was a mix of frustration and despair.

Rainbow paused in her wing-ups and smiled to her. “I did.”

“What?! It’s still dark out!” A quick look out the window confirmed her words.

“Look at the time.” Rainbow suggested with a wide smirk on her face.

A look at the clock revealed a read of 5:15 A.M.

“I gave you fifteen minutes.”

Rainbow was quick to vacate the room, Twilight’s eyes practically blazing with rage.

“Don’t worry, I promise to let you sleep in, just like I said! I just couldn’t pass this up!” Rainbow said from the hallway, laughing as she headed outside to finish her morning exercises.

Twilight could only fall back on her pillow with a groan. She bemoaned how cruel the world could be.

Author's Note:

This chapter was written by zodiacspear. Thanks, buddy! He's also the guy who wrote chapter 3, and if you haven't checked out his stories yet, do it.

Or I will find you.

Comments

[MrAskAPirate]

“You. What’s your name?”

“I’m—“

“Doesn’t matter!"

FINALLY, somebody gets it!

[Commander Darklight]

oh rainbow classic just classic