To Be a Wonderbolt

by Avabrony

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The night was pitch-black; the darkness blanketed everything around. Squinting, she made out the familiar skyline of Ponyville. There was a loud crunching noise, and she saw homes begin to crumble. A huge mass reared, and then she heard the screaming. The screaming was getting louder, the shape was getting closer-she couldn’t move-she was stuck-she was
“Stuck.” Rainbow Dash opened her eyes slowly, wondering how long she had been talking in her sleep. She thought back to how vivid the nightmare was, and how real it seemed. Looking out the window, she found that she was nearly home. The train slowed to a stop, and she gathered her belongings, shaking the memory of the dream from her head and muttering about how she had wasted her time packing for the trip. She had barely stepped off the train when she was knocked over, scattering all of her possessions across the ground.
“Rainbow Dash! You’re back! I wasn’t expecting you home so early! If I knew you would be here, then I would have had a ‘welcome-home-from-your-trip-Dashie-we-hope-you-had-a-good-time’ welcoming party, or maybe a surprise ‘welcome-home-from-your-trip-Dashie-we-hope-you-had-a-good-time’ followed by a ‘I-hope-that-you-were-surprised-by-the-surprise-‘welcome-home-from-your-trip-Dashie-we-hope-you-had-a-good-time’-party party,’ and then I would follow it up with a ‘I-really-am-just-in-the-mood-to-party-right-now-so-why-don’t-we-all-just-party-again’ party, or maybe a-”

Rainbow Dash, having given up the fruitless attempts to physically remove the hyperactive pony, decided to try to get her attention. After a few moments of waiting through ceaseless chatter, she finally was able to squeeze in a sentence. “Hey, Pinkie, I know you’re excited and all, but can you get up? I can’t feel my wings anymore.” Pinkie Pie blinked for a moment, looked down, and, with an embarrassed countenance, got off her friend. Rainbow Dash stood up and grinned. “Aren’t you going to ask me how I did, Pinkie?”

A thoughtful expression spread slowly across the pink pony’s face. “Didn’t I?” She thought for another moment, and then, gasping at her mistake, exclaimed, “I didn’t! How DID you do, Dashie? Did you do well? Did you do badly? Did you do well but think you didn’t? Did you think that you did well but didn’t? I once thought that I baked a batch of cupcakes well, but I actually forgot the sugar-the sugar, of all things, I still don’t know how I forgot-and so I decided to surprise the Cakes by selling it before they knew what I did, but then I tasted one and was like ‘blech eww groos bleeh’ because there was no sugar…” Pinkie Pie went on to describe the various attempts she made to cover up the mistake, and how the shenanigans just ended up piling on to her desperate situation, but Rainbow Dash paid her no mind. She was drifting back to the try-out flight, re-living every experience in vivid detail. She found herself back on the track, feeling the wind, the thrill of the speed. Then, she saw the flag waving again, but something was amiss. Time was slowing down in her vision, everything was getting darker. She focused on the flag, the rapidly whipping fabric appearing to become fatigued, getting slower and slower with each passing second. Time stretched, and, for a fleeting moment, and just a moment, when the folds lined up the checkers just right, she saw a chunky glimpse of the skyline of Ponyville. The sight shocked her to the core, ‘What is going on?’ she wondered to herself. She shook her head, trying to forget the perturbing scene, and, finding that Pinkie was in the finishing stretch of her story, took the opportunity to announce the result.

“I made it in, Pinkie.” Pinkie Pie, who was in the middle of a sentence, froze, and with wide eyes looked at her friend disbelievingly. Seeing this, Rainbow Dash began to laugh, and a warm feeling was starting to grow inside of her. “I’m a Wonderbolt now.” The phrase struck her to her own core, lighting a fire inside her that warmed her soul. She took in a breath of air, but it wasn’t any breath-it was the breath of a Wonderbolt; she blinked, but it wasn’t just anypony blinking-this was a Wonderbolt; she felt herself begin to tear up, her heart racing as much as it had the moment she started the race. “I’m a Wonderbolt!”

The joy was overwhelming at this point, and she was in such a state of euphoria that she almost missed Pinkie Pie turning, jumping onto the nearest raised object, and proclaiming that everypony at the station was in the presence of a Ponyville hero. From there, everything seemed like a dream. It was a full week of nonstop congratulations, presents, and ecstasy. She could barely sleep at night, not able to stand her excitement at what she had accomplished.

To everypony in Ponyville, it seemed like the week was completely stolen away, and that almost as soon as the town hero had arrived, it was time for her to go on her way. There was not a single sight that didn’t seem melancholy to Rainbow Dash on her final day. She wandered around the streets, taking in all the sights just like she had for the first time all those years ago. She chuckled at the silly childhood memories, and walked in ominous silence as she recalled dark ones. She thought back to day she first met Twilight, and how on that day she had made her closest friends, saved Equestria, and stepped forward into a new chapter of her life; now she knew that she was only hours away from entering the next one. She thought back to all the good times her friends had had together, and all the obstacles they had worked to overcome, at almost all costs. It seemed like only yesterday that she had done the Sonic Rainboom, and now she was already a Wonderbolt. It seemed like only yesterday that she was organizing, in secret, Pinkie Pie’s surprise birthday party. She looked up at the sky, and thought about how it seemed like only the day before that she had gotten her cutie mark, and graced the skies with her signature Sonic Rainboom. She closed her eyes, taken in by the emotions that were now swirling through her as she remembered Discord, and how she had tried to leave her friends, and swearing to herself that she would never, ever do it again. She felt herself beginning to cry, knowing that she was about to leave them, and maybe never go back, and she stopped in her tracks. She stood still, wondering if she should just not get on the train, wondering if it was really all worth it. Her inner interrogations were interrupted by the arrival of none other than the pink party pony of Ponyville.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash! I really hope that you’re packed, because I have a super special surprise waiting for you back at Twilight’s! I really hope that you will be able to make it, because I think that you will really like it.” Rainbow Dash, snapped out of her thoughtful reminiscing by Pinkie Pie, waited a moment to regain her composure and then agreed to follow. Pinkie Pie, delighted at her successful invitation and at the success of her friend, wasn’t able to form a word through her nonstop giggling. Soon they reached the Library, and, upon entering, Rainbow Dash was welcomed with a cheer, confetti, and the joyous faces of all of her friends.

“Oh, wow!” She was taken aback by the enthusiasm and by the sheer surprise, and felt herself get immediately sucked into the festivities. One moment she was being welcomed by Twilight, the next she was at the punch bowl with Applejack, who gave her a congratulatory hoofshake, along with a pat on the back. Then, when she looked around the edges of the room for Fluttershy, she almost tripped over herself when she saw her right in the middle of the room, surrounded by the party guests, dancing her heart out. Rarity had taken the day off from designing a new line of dresses just for the party, and even went as far as to offer Rainbow Dash a free new dress, which Rainbow Dash politely declined.
“It’s not that I wouldn’t love a new dress, Rarity. It’s that you work so hard that if you were to make me a dress, I would happily pay for it.”

Rarity smiled and replied that she understood, and to not think that she wasn’t going to make the dress anyways. “It’s my gift to you, Rainbow Dash. I simply could not let your achievement go without a present.” The rest of her friends had picked up on the conversation, and all agreed to the statement.

Rainbow Dash looked at them all, smiled, and said, “Look, guys. I know that you all want to reward me for this, but trust me-you all being here for me,” she felt herself begin to get choked up looking into the caring eyes of her best friends, “that is better than any gift you can possibly give me.” She blinked a tear out of her eye, and stood there in silence, wanting that perfect moment to last forever. All too soon, however, it was time to leave. She solemnly promised to always write, and that she would return as soon as she could. With her eyes beginning to water yet again, she got on the train, and watched as the faces of her friends, the station, and, eventually, the skyline of Ponyville disappeared into the dark.