What Goes Up...

by WonderDash

Calm Before The Storm

I underestimated how fast the Wonderbolts can go when being competitive. Even when they only had two seconds ahead of me when they started, it takes about five minutes to catch to the last Wonderbolt. I'm not trying to go my fastest. Just fast enough to gain some air, but not fast enough the perform another Sonic Rainboom. I definitely don't want to overdo my signature move, because then ponies might not be as appreciative when I do one in the act.

As I finally catch up to the rest, I notice that they've already formed their usual double triangle formation, one triangle consisting of six Wonderbolts, immediately followed by another triangle of six Wonderbolts. I see an empty spot on the front triangle's nose, which I assume is my position.

"Rainbow Dash. Come fly next to me!" Spitfire shouts. With all the wind and noise, it is almost impossible to hear somepony talk.

I descend into the position and adjust my speed to be consistent with the rest of the crew.

"Hey Spitfire, is this the position I will be in when the ev..."

I nearly fly directly into a cloud column. Barely, just barely, I am able to swerve around the column. Thankfully the Wonderbolt behind me saw it coming and dodged the column as well. I need to be a lot more careful if I am going to stay with the Wonderbolts.

I do realize, however, that the Wonderbolts are talking the long route to the stadium. Maybe this is a warm-up course around the city? More like a workout already. It's not fair they don't have a speed limit, while I technically do.

"Yes, Rainbow Dash. It will be. I want you to be next to me side by side during our show."

"Really? That's awesome!"

As we fly on, I notice that this 'warm-up' course seems very similar. I didn't need to think far before I realize that this course is almost exactly like the routine I've performed at the Best Young Flier Competition. Seeing the Wonderbolts doing this course with me, maybe they are going easy on me knowing that I have done this exercise many times.

Knowing the path so well, my mind kicks in to do the rest. Every movement of my body is pure muscle memory, having practiced this course a hundred times. We go through the course two times without the part of trying to perform a Sonic Rainboom.

These times, I actually don't mess up...

"Alright every Wonderbolt, that's for warm-up. Let's head to the backstage."

"Alright!"

"Hoo-Rah!"

"WOOT!"

All the Wonderbolt stallions continue to hoot and holler behind me as we turn towards the stadium, still maintaining formation. The mares are simply amused or indifferent. Either way, soon it will be showtime.

As we get closer, I notice a sudden change of wind. Before it was a light breeze that blew in one direction, but now it's getting stronger and more random by the second. The crew feels the difference as well, but we still keep a rigid formation. For any Wonderbolt, one must be extremely resourceful and decisive when it comes down to this kind of situation. Any sort of mistake, and the whole team could come crumbling down with me.

By the time we get to the stadium, the wind is blowing quite a bit. It isn't enough to impede our performance, but rather a really big annoyance. I turn my head to the left and see Spitfire trying so hard not to look worried. I start to say something when I just stop myself. I knew what she is thinking, hoping that these gusts aren't what she thinks they are.

By the time we got the stadium, it is jam-packed with ponies from everywhere that I could think of. Even now, the line for admission is still incredibly large. I think those workers down there have their work cut out for them. The stadium itself looks totally different when I left a few hours earlier. Rows and rows of seats designed to seat every pony in Equestria surrounds a circular central platform, which is curtained off 360 degrees. Of course, there isn't a roof at all because our act needs as much space as possible.

Spitfire directs us to fly under the stadium to prevent anypony from seeing us. I guess she wants to save the grand entrance for later. Once we arrive at the backstage entrance, the Wonderbolts break formation and land on a platform near the backstage double doors. The ponies behind me rush through doors, taking me with them. Inside, I expect a tight squeeze, but no. For a backstage, this place is really roomy. From one wall to the opposing wall, it is the size of AJ's barn before I took it down. It has all sorts of items sprawled all over the floor as far as to the corners of the room, from hoof-held mirrors to shades, from family pictures to punching bags. I attempt to get to the other side of the room through a sea of random stuff, but I need to watch where I step, or else I could step on something precious to one of the Wonderbolts.

There is a bunch of scrambling of items as the crew tries to put things away. I can see Spitfire embarrassed by the mess. I guess because they want to make a good impression on me. Trust me, they already have ever since I saw my very first Wonderbolt show as a filly.

"Don't worry guys. This is nothing compared to my room."

Everypony gave out a huge sigh of relief. I have no idea why they are fretting over such a trivial thing.

"Heh, sorry Rainbow Dash. We didn't want you to think we're slobs. Life as a Wonderbolt is pretty hectic, in case you haven't noticed today," says Fleetfoot.

"I already have. Trust me. No matter what happens, I will always be your number one fan. Besides, like a fan of flying, who else can I go to when you guys are only official flight performance team that exists?"

They all respond with smile, but continue to clean up at a more relaxed pace. Guess being their number one fan and saving some of their key members means a lot to them, maybe even more than from me to them.

Finally everything is reorganized, and we gather around Spitfire for further instructions and final preparations.

"Alright every Wonderbolt, listen up. We all know today is a very important day. I just want to go over the show routine in order one last time. First we start off with the Scarlet Wing, then the Blue Phoenix, followed up by..."

I already knew all the stuff pretty handily, so I used this opportunity to sneak out to the stage to peek through the curtains. It isn't hard to step away when there are eleven almost identically looking Wonderbolts with crazy hair to pay attention to.

From behind the curtains, I see a massive crowd of ponies which almost seems like a sea of diverse colors if I'm not looking closely enough, making the platform feel like a circular boat in the sea of colors. I scan the crowd for my friends, but in this crowd, it is almost impossible. Failing to find them, I look into a few of the expensive dinner-rooms aligned neatly next to each other that encircles on the rim of the stadium. All the rooms are filled with rich ponies that could afford such luxury at such an event. The very middle box right above the main entrance is reserved for Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Squinting to see further into the box, I see my friends sitting around Celestia. Guess being my friends and close ties with Celestia automatically means free upgrade to the highest VIP (very important pony) box.

Finding what I was looking for, I turn back to the group. Surprisingly, Spitfire is still rambling about the routine.

"... and finally we will have Rainbow Dash to perform a Sonic Rainboom as the grand finale. That about covers it, so any last minute questions?"

Only my hoof goes up.

"Spitfire, could I perform something similar at the end, but on a much grander scale? It's performed exactly like the Rainboom, but with a slight twist. If I succeed, it'll be something beyond your wildest sights. And besides, this is my only night to shine with you guys."

"As leader of the Wonderbolts, I 100% trust you. I give you special permission to break off during The Shockwave to perform whatever you are going to do."

"Thanks, Spitfire."

"Any more questions? No? Then let's get goi..."

A loud slam of a door interrupts Spitfire as a blue pegasus pony rushes in with a clipboard in his mouth. He had on one the best horrified faces that I've ever seen despite his massive shades and headset.

"This is bad! Really bad!" he hollers.

"What is it, Madden?"

"The storm... The hurricane... it's coming this way!"

Comments

[tubaguy]

awwww sheet