Rainbow Dash Seeks an Editor

by Dusk Raven

1: Blue Fast Needs Editor Badly

“Ugh, I can’t take it anymore!” Rainbow stood up from her position at a desk in Twilight’s library. “I’m going to stretch my wings, you keep going.”

“Rainbow, wait-!” was all the library’s owner was able to say in response before Rainbow opened the balcony window and flew out into the open sky. In the span of a moment, she was out of speaking range and flying around Ponyville, taking part in her deepest passion in life.

Anypony who knew anything about Rainbow Dash didn’t need to be told just how much she loved flying. Even if it wasn’t her special talent per se, she practiced her flying skills and pursued her dream of joining the Wonderbolts with an unmatchable passion - the passion of those who know what they’re best at and enjoy that above all else. There was no greater determination than that shown by those who know that if they follow their special talent, hone it, and master it, they can achieve their dreams.

But of course nopony could function, either in society or as an individual, if they did just one thing every day. Behind every ace flyer, star celebrity, or other renowned expert was a pony, and ponies needed to live, not just exist as machines that endlessly performed a single task. Perhaps they might be more effective at their special talents if they devoted themselves completely to them - but at what cost? Thus, they always had hobbies, side-interests, and personal lives - and Rainbow Dash was no exception, though many who casually looked at her would see only an athlete.

This was understandable, since aside from napping, Rainbow Dash’s hobbies weren’t well-known - and in some cases only her close friends knew of them. This was sometimes intentional - there were some things Rainbow Dash preferred to keep away from the public eye, such as anything that might threaten Rainbow’s image as a cool, awesome, radical athlete. But in some cases she simply had hobbies she pursued indoors, where she was naturally insulated from spectators. Fitting that category was reading, though at one point she had been embarrassed enough about such an “egghead” hobby that she kept a tight lid on it.

But even less known than her love of certain adventure stories was writing fanfiction of said adventure stories. Rainbow had a terrible weakness for awesome things, and in the case of her beloved Daring Do, she felt she could only add to its greatness. Had to add to it, in fact.

But when at last she had finished the draft of her first epic tale of non-canon Daring Do awesomeness, there was only one pony in town who’d really appreciate it on anything close to Rainbow’s level, and that was Twilight. And though Twilight was a speedy reader, Rainbow just couldn’t stand sitting around, waiting around for Twilight to finish reading the first part, as she looked over Rainbow’s work with increasingly judging eyes. Especially not after the first words out of Twilight’s mouth were some silly bit about spelling. So what if Rainbow had spelled “Excruciating” as “Exscrewtiating?” Twilight clearly understood it, and she could help Rainbow fix those errors anyway.

So Rainbow Dash, rather than deal with the tension of having her work silently judged right in front of her, decided to head outside, and enjoy the rush of air and the pleasant exertion of flapping wings. She wanted to do something she was unquestionably amazing at - because, while she couldn’t admit it, she wasn’t sure her own writing was quite as good.

But as Rainbow flew circles around the library, the town square, and the local windmill, she started feeling better. Now in her element, she felt her usual hard-earned confidence return to her. Of course her story would be good. Okay, maybe a few touch-ups, and maybe she could use a little more practice, but she thought her work was good for a first try. Actually, it wasn’t just good, it was great. She’d thought about it and planned it while flying, while pranking, and even while going into the Everfree for a taste of inspirational danger (though that time, the Everfree just turned out to be mildly creepy instead of actually dangerous, something that had been happening more and more lately). Her story had been thought out, but it had also flowed quite well on its own once she started writing. She was sure she’d properly recreated the feel of a Daring Do adventure. There was nothing to be afraid of.

After a half-hour’s worth of flying, Rainbow returned to the library balcony, feeling quite pleased about her decision to go for a flight around town. Her nerves soothed, she opened the door and proceeded inside with the air of a best-selling author about to ask her publisher how sales were.

“Soooo,” Rainbow said, with casual coolness, “What’d you think? How far did you get?”

Twilight seemed oblivious to Rainbow’s confidence as she replied, “I’ve just finished chapter six.”

“So fast?” Rainbow grinned. “You’re getting through it pretty quickly.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “There’s thirty chapters, Rainbow. I’m only twenty percent done.”

“I know that.” Rainbow turned her head to the side and closed her eyes, as if unconcerned with such trivial details. “I’m just trying to give you a bit of encouragement.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, even though Rainbow wasn’t looking. “I would have made more progress, but the spelling and grammar errors kept slowing me down!”

Rainbow dismissed her complaints with a gesture from her hoof. “Well, if I stopped and looked up every fancy word in the dictionary, I wouldn’t have any time for the important stuff! I mean, I’m not an egghead.” She glanced sideways at Twilight, looking a bit sheepish, and starting to wish she had been a little more careful with her spelling. “...I mean, not exactly.”

“Speaking of the important stuff…” Twilight frowned, looking intently at Rainbow, who avoided her gaze, “...those needed work too.”

“...What kind of work?” Rainbow examined a writing quill on a nearby desk, pretending to look coolly disinterested, but she started fidgeting with the quill as her nervousness slowly grew stronger. She couldn’t even think of a witty comeback. Twilight may have been lacking in coolness, awesomeness, and radicalness, but she knew her stuff when it came to books, and that wasn’t something Rainbow could just ignore. She was starting to get a sinking feeling about how her work had looked to Twilight.

“Yes,” Twilight said. “For starters, you often tell the reader something about a character, or what they’re doing, instead of showing us through their actions. This is a principle referred to in writing as ‘show, don’t tell’ and…”

And with that, Twilight dove at full speed into what Rainbow called ‘egghead stuff.’ Rainbow suppressed a growl of boredom and let herself zone out… but somehow, Twilight’s words got to her. The concepts flew over her head like clouds on a windy day, but Rainbow couldn’t ignore the lecturing tone, and she couldn’t shake off the gist of the words - that her work wasn’t good enough. With each new subject Twilight mentioned, each new critique, Rainbow felt her pride in her work slowly eroding. It didn’t matter that Twilight was trying to make it better, like a sculptor chipping away at marble - Rainbow still felt each sharp hit of the chisel, like it was cutting away at her very pride.

This wasn’t how Rainbow thought her story would be received. And deep down, she knew Twilight was right.

Finally, Rainbow Dash looked straight at Twilight and gave the bookworm her full attention - right as Twilight said, “...And the idea that Ahuizotl would even make such a blunder when he-”

“Fine!” Rainbow, in a burst of speed and frustration, rushed towards the desk on which her story lay, and swept the entire thing onto the floor, pages floating to and fro as they fell to the ground.

A moment passed, as a stunned Twilight stared at Rainbow, who quickly grew sheepish and embarrassed, glancing away as she grimaced. “I’m sorry, that was uncool. And… kinda stupid.”

After a brief moment, Twilight’s expression changed from surprised to sternly exasperated. She seized the scattered papers with her magic and, without even taking her eyes off of Rainbow, sorted the pages into their proper order before placing them neatly on the table. Once the glow of her magic left the stack, she said “I would like to finish your story, if that’s all right.”

Rainbow finally looked back at Twilight, the statement putting a halt to the free-fall that her mood had taken. “...Really?”

“Yes, really. I enjoyed the premise, and you’re great at writing action scenes. And for the most part you have Daring Do’s personality down pat, other than...” Twilight sighed. “I’m just saying, there is room for improvement. And you can improve, Rainbow. Just because it isn’t the best right now doesn’t mean it can’t be.”

“But…” Rainbow sighed in turn. “I… I really put a lot of work into it…”

“And it shows. I can see you really spent a lot of time, thought, and effort on this. It wouldn’t be anywhere near the level it is if you hadn’t done so.” A smile crept onto Twilight’s face, one that reassured Rainbow with its sincerity - but only a little.

“That’s the thing! I did everything I could, and... well, it’s obviously not enough for you.” Rainbow stamped a hoof on the floor, half-heartedly. She didn’t have the willpower at that moment to really show how she felt.

Twilight closed her eyes, her hoof rising up to her face - only to shift direction and move to her chin instead, as if in thought. Finally, she opened her eyes and spoke. “Rainbow, the first time you ever raced, did you win?”

“Yes!” As happy as the memory was to Rainbow, it just served to illustrate her own failure at the completely unrelated skill of writing. “I was always great at… well, maybe not great, but I’ve always been good, and I’ve only grown better!” Rainbow really couldn’t compare the two - with racing and flying, she’d always known she was destined for greatness - and she knew what she had to do to improve!

Twilight’s hoof restarted its journey to her face, slapping audibly against it. “Okay, better example - the Sonic Rainboom. When you were practicing for the Young Flyers Competition, at first you couldn’t successfully create a Sonic Rainboom. But you kept at it, practicing and improving, until by the time Shining and Cadance were married, you could do it practically on command.”

Rainbow was silent for a moment. “So… you’re saying I’m…” Rainbow swallowed, as if to metaphorically gulp down both her pride and her shame. “It’s going to be a while before I… do a good job?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes. It takes time, patience, effort, and determination. But just like winning a race, the results are worth it. You just have to not give up, Rainbow.”

Well, Rainbow wasn’t acquainted with giving up, and she had no plans to change that. Still: “...If it’s like perfecting the Sonic Rainboom, it might be easier if some evil pony kidnapped you and our friends and forced me to write fanfics to save you all…”

Twilight’s brow and mouth tightened into her best “does not approve” face. Rainbow chuckled and waved her hoof in appeasement. “I’m kidding! If that happened I’d just beat the bad guy up and save you all.”

Twilight cracked a smile at the signs of Rainbow’s returning good mood. Still, she continued: “Well, you just have to keep up the effort. But it’s also best not to do this sort of thing alone.”

Rainbow titled her head. “What do you mean?”

Twilight smiled more fully. “Few writers can succeed on their own. Due to various factors - from personal bias to things simply escaping their notice during writing - authors make mistakes, and that is where editors come in!” Twilight’s voice was taking on that giddy tone Rainbow recognized as her ‘I know something and I’m going to talk about it!’ voice - usually about a ‘something’ that Rainbow herself found boring.

“An editor?” Rainbow was curious where Twilight was going with this but was also wondering if Twilight was about to break into another ‘egghead stuff’ lecture.

“Yes!” Twilight’s smile broadened. “An editor helps you proofread, corrects errors in spelling and grammar, and points out any flaws in the writing so you can correct them! They are often essential to a work’s success, making sure a story is as good as it can be!”

“You seem really excited by this.” Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, yes! You see, Rainbow, as your friend, your proofreader, and your fellow Daring Do fan, I would like to volunteer to be your editor!” Twilight closed her eyes and placed a hoof on her chest. “It would be my honor to help you grow as a writer.”

Rainbow had two thoughts in response to this, in rapid succession. The first was that, perhaps, she did have hope as a writer. It would be harder than she thought, and would definitely take longer - but she didn’t want to just quit. She believed she could write the best Daring Do fanfic ever, and she just needed to do some more training. She could do this.

Her second thought was much more succinct, and less hopeful: This is gonna involve so much egghead stuff! Ugh...

“Uh, Twilight, I appreciate the offer…” Rainbow shifted slightly. “But I need to think about this for a bit. This is a lot to take in, and I’m tired.”

Twilight opened her eyes, returning her hoof to the ground. “It really is important to have an editor, perhaps even a writing tutor. I could definitely help with everything you need to write a great work of fanfiction!”

Rainbow trotted across the room, gathering her saddlebags from next to the balcony exit, before moving to the desk on which her draft sat. “I get that, Twilight. But a lot’s been going in my head about this-” She paused as she gathered the pages and carefully placed them in her saddlebags, “-And I need to think about a few things.” Her draft safely packed away, she made her way to the balcony.

Twilight extended a hoof towards Rainbow. “Take your time, but just remember what I said! It really would help you to have an editor!”

“I’ll think about it,” Rainbow repeated, slightly impatiently, before taking off and flying towards her cloudborne home, ignoring Twilight’s call of, “Can I at least read the rest of…?”

In truth, it wasn’t the things going through her head that concerned her, but the things going through her heart. More than she wanted to admit, that fanfic meant a lot to her. Twilight had given her encouragement - but she had also shaken Rainbow’s faith in her writing, and in a way, herself. Rainbow would of course continue to work on her story… and she probably would get an editor. Rainbow couldn’t just accept failure like that, and she’d make sure her story was as good as it could be, no matter what it took.

But until then, it was still a failure.

Author's Note:

And thus this little project begins! I've been planning it for quite a while, but sadly various factors - such as laziness, perfectionism, and lack of confidence - delayed me somewhat. This is, however, something I very much want to write, and I have every intention of seeing this through. Obviously, the subject of writing will be a major theme, but I'm planning on having a few other issues addressed in here as well!

In this chapter, Rainbow gets to play the role of "first-time writer who learns the hard way how inadequate she is." It's a phase every writer goes through at some point - there's no way to learn how to fly unless you fall. Or something.

Comments

[Csquared08]

I really, really appreciate that chapter title.

I also appreciate this story.