Rise of the Element Gang, Book 2: Friendship Adventures

by Power of Six

Chapter 7: Sonic Rainboom

Chapter 7: Sonic Rainboom

Shield’s view

While we were waiting for Dash, I was helping Fluttershy work on her cheering. With her being about just like Dusk before I introduced him to the world of sports, I knew I had to get her to really cheer if Dash was ever gonna win the Best Young Flyer Competition. We just gone over the basics and it was time to see if she got it all down.

“Now, Fluttershy, what have we learned?” I said, making sure she got everything she needs to know.

“Loss of control.” She said with a serious look, getting the first part of cheering.

“Good.” I said, waiting for her to get the rest.

“Screaming and hollering.” She got two and three.

“Yes, and most importantly?”

“Passion.”

“Right!” I then got right in front of her. Now was the moment of truth. “Now that you know the elements of a good cheer, let’s hear one!”

“Yay.” She said, doing the worst cheer I’ve ever heard.

“Ugh! You’re gonna cheer for Dash like that?” I said to her, disappointed for not trying hard enough. I need her to give a real good cheer. “Do it louder.” She gave that same cheer again. “Louder!” she did that cheer again. “LOUDER!” She took in a real deep breath and, just when I thought she was finally gonna get it…she did that darn worthless cheer again. I actually got on my back, frustrated by all that.

“Oh, too loud?” Fluttershy asked me, worried she might’ve yelled too loud.

Looks like I had my work cut out for me.

---

Dusk’s view

“Are you sure you’ll be alright without me?” I asked once more as Twilight shelved another book.

“Dusk, I told you, we’ll be fine.” she assured me. “I’ve got our friends helping me put away the books, so we’ll be done in no time.”

“Come on, Dusk,” Dog put in, piling up some more books, “have a lil’ faith in us. Me and AJ know that B comes after A, ya know, so we can sort through a library as easy an apple orchard. ‘Sides, y’all have an appointment to keep with Rainbow.”

“I know, I know. I just…don’t like leaving my work when the job’s not done.”

“Dusk, darling, it will be done and to a reasonable standard, I promise you.” Rarity vowed. “Now, run along or you’ll be late and I know how you like to be punctual.”

“Okay, I’ll get going.” I halted at the door, glancing back a little. Then, I shrugged and hurried off to our usual meeting point.

Apart from leaving Twilight when I still had duties to perform, there was another reason for my apprehension. Today was the day of the Flyer’s Competition, the day me and Rainbow had been practicing towards. My nerves were on edge, my heart was pounding against my chest as I ran. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, perhaps I should just tell her to use clouds, it would be easier.

No. I told myself firmly mentally. You’ve been training for a week now and it looks great. You even have stage two down without any flickers at all. You can do the whole of your actions in your sleep, so don’t let her down now by backing out. That was the old Dusk.

I spotted Fluttershy not too far off and galloped up to her as she beamed at my arrival.

“There you are, Dusk, thank goodness.” She let me catch my breath before speaking again. “We were afraid you weren’t coming…I mean, I wasn’t, I knew you were coming…I mean, I was worried but er…don’t be mad.”

“I’m not…not mad, Fluttershy. Just nervous.” I said in a would-be casual voice. “I mean, it’s not like I have to do my talent in order to help my friend win the grand prize before thousands of watching Pegasi.”

“Oh, my.” She looked sympathetically at me. “It’s very brave of you to do this, I don’t think I’d be able to. I’m sure you’ll both do great.”

“Thanks…I needed that.” I said, returning a smile.

“There you are! Finally!” I looked up to see Rainbow atop a cloud with Shield sitting next to her on a cloud of his own.

“Yeah, what took ya so long?” Shield said as he rode his cloud down to me and Fluttershy. “We’ve been waiting for two hours.”

“Sorry, got a little busy making sure everything will be okay at the library.” I said to him, scratching the back of my head.

“You got to chill out more, dude.” Shield said to me.

“Well, at least you’re here now.” Rainbow said to me as we all looked to her. “You ready for this?”

“Ready, waiting, and fully enabled.” I said to her, prepared for phase one. “Whenever you’re ready!”

“Roger that! Remember, Fluttershy: control, scream, passion.” she recited. “Alright, let’s do this!”

With that bold declaration, she jumped off the cloud like a pony diving into a swimming pool, swooping and cutting through the air as if it were water, flowers and plants bending in the wind she created. I tensed myself up. Time for phase one.

I conjured up my color pillars, making them glow brighter as she passed through around them all. Once she was done, she soared off, me making the pillars dissolve and fly ahead of her, as she swept past me and Fluttershy.

“Nice! That’s the way to do it!” Shield said as he cheered.

“Ooh.” she cheered feebly. Me and Shield gave her brief raise eyebrows before I returned my focus to the routine.

Phase two. I weaved the clouds with the colors, just as Rainbow reached them. Focusing with all of my might, I kept them there as she spun around them, not once did they flicker or fade. It was just right and looked brilliant.

“Way to go.” came another quiet cheer from Fluttershy.

“Now for the finish! You can do it, Dash!” came another great cheer from Shield.

Now that I was done with my part, I could at least offer my own support.

“Come on, Rainbow Dash! Show the Sonic Rainboom whose boss!” I yelled to show Rainbow my support before I whispered to Fluttershy about the little doubt I had about the last phase. “You think she can do it this time?”

“I don’t know, but let’s keep cheering. Maybe she will.” That was the response she always gave…and the result was usually the same. “Go, Rainbow, go.”

“Give it all you got, Dash!” Shield cheered out, speaking at the right volume for a cheer.

I had my eyes fixed on her performance. She was starting her descent, accelerating to incredible speeds. The mach cone formed around her, she was making progress. Come on, Rainbow, come on. The cone narrowed…just a little more speed…she almost had it.

Then, she stopped for a second…before the barrier bounced back on her, sending her careering away, screaming all the while. Well…that certainly hadn’t happened in any of her previous attempts.

“Rainbow Dash!” Shield said in concern.

“Oh, my. Do you think she’s okay?” Fluttershy said, worried about her fellow Pegasus.

“I don’t know.” I answered, worried about Rainbow as well.

“Do you know where she landed?” Shield asked.

“Let’s see…” I said as I then tried to estimate where Rainbow Dash would land. “Judging her trajectory, I believe she’d hit ground somewhere near the center of town. Come on!” With that, we followed her trail back towards Ponyville, tracking her to the library. “Of course.”

“Come on, let’s see if she’s okay.” Shield said, running off towards the library.

We hurried up to the open window, where the trail of cloud ended and peered inside. I was the first to arrive and it was a complete mess. Books and scrolls that might have been neatly shelved were scattered all over the floor, as were the ponies that had been sorting them.

“You okay, Dash?” Shield said as he helped the Pegasus to her hooves.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Rainbow said as she then dusted herself off before smiling gratefully at Shield. “Thanks, Shield.”

I jumped through the window, as Twilight spat out three scrolls in her mouth. I helped her up swiftly to her hooves.

“See? I leave the library for five minutes…” I said as I dusted her down. “You alright?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you.” she said sincerely. We gazed into each other’s eyes for a few seconds in silence, lost in our depths…until Fluttershy caught up.

“Rainbow Dash, you rock. Whoo-hoo.” She stopped cheering when she saw the state of the library. “Oh, my…did my cheering do that?”

“It wasn’t you, but this was the work of a Pegasus.” Shield jokingly said with a smug.

“Heh, heh, sorry about that, guys.” Rainbow apologized, as she stood up. “That was a truly feeble performance.”

“Actually, it wasn’t all bad.” Fluttershy said. “I particularly liked it when you made the clouds spin.”

“Ugh! I’m not talking about my performance, I’m talking about yours. That feeble cheering!” She then put a leg around me. “You should take a leaf out of his book. He can be just as shy as you, but at least he can give a good cheer.”

“I’m glad you appreciate my efforts, Rainbow.” I said as I removed her leg from me, my cheeks flushed pink. “But if anyone is a cheer expect, it’s Shield. He practically helped me to develop that side of me.”

“What are you two arguing about?” Twilight asked.

“Were we arguing? I’m sorry.” Fluttershy said inconsequentially.

“There’s no need to apologize, Fluttershy.” I said to the timid Pegasus before answering Twilight’s question. “They aren’t arguing. Rainbow is just a little frustrated, that’s all.”

“Well, what’s got her tail in a twist?” Leon asked as he and the others walked over.

“Well, these two got just about everything down,” Shield said, pointing to me and Rainbow, “but we’re still working on Fluttershy’s cheering. We need to make sure she’s ready for it.”

“What’re ya’ll talkin’ about?” Dog asked, confused.

“We’re preparing for the Best Young Flyer Competition in Cloudsdale.” Rainbow explained.

“What’s that?” Twilight asked, curious about it.

“Only the biggest flying competition in Cloudsdale!” Shield said before Pinkie interrupted him.

“Yeah, it’s where all the greatest Pegasus flyers get together and show off their different flying styles!” Pinkie piped up. “Some are fast!” She zoomed around the room on her hooves. “And some are graceful.” She tried to do a ballet-style demonstration, but lost her hoofing and fell, making me chuckle a little.

“Golly. I’d love to see ya strut yer stuff in that competition.” Dog expressed. “Kinda makes me wish I could walk on clouds like ya, Shield.”

“But all you guys will be there!” Shield said as they looked at him bewildered at this. “Dusk, didn’t you tell them?”

“Oh…” I shifted my gaze to my hooves. “I meant to, but…with all the practice it, er…slipped my mind.”

Shield laughed before he said “Classic Dusk. Even when he remembers everything, he ends up forgetting something.”

“It’s cool.” she said casually. “At least we know they’re coming now. Fluttershy’s a great support, but her cheering isn’t exactly inspirational. And Dusk’ll be backstage, so he can’t do much hollering. The only pony who would be really hollering is Shield.”

“OOH!” Pinkie popped her head out of the books again. “I’d love to see you make a Sonic Rainboom! It’s like, the most coolest thing ever! Even though I’ve never actually seen it, but I mean, COME ON! It’s a Sonic Rainboom! How not cool could it possibly not be?”

“What’s a Sonic Rainboom?”

“Come on, Twilight!” Rainbow said impatiently. “Even Dusk knows what a Sonic Rainboom is, and he’s even more of an egghead than you.”

“Rainbow, please.” I said, flushing again. Twilight frowned at Rainbow and looked to me for an answer, but it was Pinkie who explained.

“The Sonic Rainboom is legendary! When a Pegasus like Rainbow Dash gets going soo fast…BOOM! A sonic boom and a rainbow can happen all at once!”

“Um…pretty much what she said, in layponie’s terms.” I agreed. “From what she’s told me and from what I’ve read, Rainbow’s the only Pegasus today who can perform the move.”

“Yeah, and that makes me and her the only ponies in Equestria who can do the Sonic Rainboom and prove the legend was true.” Shield said, complimenting Rainbow.

“Guys, I told you. It was a long time ago. I-I was just a filly.” Rainbow said, feeling embarrassed by the compliments.

“Yeah, but you’re gonna do it again, right?” Pinkie asked hopefully.

“A-are you kidding? I’m the greatest flyer to ever come out of Cloudsdale! I could do Sonic Rainbooms in my sleep.”

There’s that false confidence again. I thought. If they’d actually seen her as me and Shield had…

“Wow.” Twilight smiled in admiration. “If you pull that off, you’ll win the crown for sure!”

“The grand prize is an entire day with the Wonderbolts. A whole day of flying with my life-long heroes, it’ll be a dream come true!”

“Yay.” came another quiet cheer. Rainbow frowned at her friend.

“Really need to work on that cheer, Fluttershy.” Shield said, feeling disappointed in Fluttershy’s efforts.

“I’m gonna go rest up. Don’t wanna over prepare myself, y’know?” She laughed nervously, then rounded on Fluttershy. “You, on the other hand, better keep practicing. At least I’m guaranteed a cheering section to match my spectacular performance when the rest of you get there.”

“See you in Cloudsdale.” I promised, holding up a fist which she bumped.

“Better be there. Great work today, Dusk! We’re gonna be awesome!” She then soared back out of the window, Fluttershy and Shield about to follow.

“She’s practiced that move a hundred times and she’s never even come close to doing it.” Fluttershy said, worried about Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah, even if I can get Fluttershy to really yell, I’m not sure if our cheers will be enough to help her.”

“We’ll be so glad when you all arrive.” Fluttershy said before she and Shield took off. With Fluttershy flying gently and Shield running just as fast as our daredevil Pegasus, they followed Rainbow Dash off.

I watched them go, before turning to see that every eye, every inquisitive gaze was on me. I felt a little under the knife before smiling brightly around at them.

“Right, let’s get this all cleared up. we don’t want to be late.” I said brightly.

“Dusk, are you saying you actually found a way to get all of us into Cloudsdale?” Twilight asked.

“Indeed. I already found it in preparation to help Rainbow. It’s right here on the…” I looked to see the respective shelf was empty, the books still scattered. “Oh…right. This might take a while. I did find a flight spell though.”

“Flight spell? One sec.” Pinkie ran off, then came back a second later with a book, tossing it to Twilight. “Page twenty-seven.”

“This is it! This is the book!” I gazed at Pinkie, amazed. “How did you do that?”

“It landed on my face when Rainbow Dash knocked me into the bookcase.”

“Oh…well, lucky for us then.” I let Twilight flick through it. “She has the right page.”

“Here it is!” She halted at the correct page. “A spell that will allow Earth ponies to fly for three days. Ooh, it looks really difficult…I’m not sure I can do it.”

“Come on, Twi. I promised Rainbow Dash that we’d be there for her.” I placed a hoof on her shoulder. “If anypony can pull this spell, it’s you. I know it.”

“Yes, Twilight.” Rarity came to offer her support. “You’ve got to try.”

“Okay…if you believe in me, Dusk, I’ll try.” She gave me one of her warm smiles, then frowned. “But who’s gonna volunteer to be the test subject?”

Nopony stepped up for the task. Even for me, this was nerve-wracking. I didn’t like the idea of wings just sprouting out of my back. I didn’t really like flying all that much, not after…last time. But I was priority. I was about to volunteer myself, but was beaten to the chase.

“I will!” Rarity bravely stepped forward. “For Rainbow Dash, I will go first.”

“Here goes.” With one last smile from me, she stood to focus.

Shutting her eyes, grimacing in concentration, Twilight’s horn began to glow. A strange blue aura snaked in from it, wrapping itself around Rarity. She stood determined, as she was lifted gently off her hooves, being further consumed by the magic. Soon, it engulfed entirely, shrouding her from view. Once it had, a blue orb emerged from Twilight’s horn. It shone brightly, then burst like a balloon, sending her flying backwards.

I picked myself up, rubbing my eyes, as the force from the light burst had sent us all to the floor. The others picked themselves up too. I looked to the results. Had it worked alright? That answer was soon discovered, as I felt my eyes widen in shock.

Rarity floated before us. Only now, she had a pair of majestic, beautiful wings keeping her aloft. They were like the wings of a butterfly, delicate and lovely, shining light through the transparent color spots on them, sparkling in the light.

“I think it worked.” Twilight weakly said. That spell had taken a lot out of her.

---

Shield’s view

As I rode my cloud while traveling with Dash and Fluttershy to Cloudsdale, I talked with Fluttershy to get her to really cheer.

“Don’t be afraid to be assertive, Fluttershy. That’s part of the whole thing with cheering.” I said as we closed in on my Pegasus friends’ hometown. “Just speak up.”

“Here we are, Shield.” Dash said to me as we moved to a place to land. “And we got some spare time before the competition.”

“Well, well, well.” a snarky voice said as we got to a good landing spot and saw three pegasus stallions right in front of us. One was brown, one was a gray short stack, and one was some light brown tall stack. They were all wearing white hard hats and shirts. “What do we have here?”

“It’s our old friend, Rainbow Crash!” the big guy in the middle said.

“Get kicked out of any flight schools lately?” the brown guy who was actually talked earlier said as the three of them had a laugh.

“Friends of yours?” I asked Fluttershy.

“Not really.” She said to me. “That’s Dumb-bell, Hoops, and Score. They’ve been picking on Rainbow Dash since we were foals.”

I took a wild guess and figured which was which. The brown one had to be Dumb-bell with that dumbbell cutie mark of his, the tall stack was Hoop with those basketballs on his flank, and that leaves that short stack as Score. Though I’m just guessing.

“I didn’t get kicked out.” Dash said as she glared at them.

“Face it, Rainbow Crash,” Dumb-bell said to her, “flight school had too many rules and not enough nap times for you.”

“Ha-ha! Ask her about the Sonic Rainboom!” Hoops said, trying to make a joke.

“That’s nothing but an old mare’s tale.” Dumb-bell said. “You don’t have the skill to try something like that!”

“Now wait just a minute!” Fluttershy said, surprising everypony, even me. Before she then got back to being timid “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m trying to be assertive.” She then shook it off and got back to that assertiveness. “Anyway, she is gonna do a Sonic Rainboom!”

“No, she’s not, ʹcause there’s no such thing!” Dumb-bell said to her.

“Then show up at the colosseum and see for yourself!” Fluttershy said before she got all timid again. “If you’re free.”

That definitely ruined the whole assertiveness there as those jerks just laughed. Now these guys were really ticking me off.

“Oh, don’t worry, we’ll be there.” Dumb-bell said as those three were gonna take off.

Right there, I then decided to show off my own assertiveness by pulling that blowhard Dumb-bell down.

“Listen here, bub!” I said to him, glaring at him. “Nopony talks to my friends like that! Dash here has got more skill than you and your pals combined! Insult her again and you three will be the ones to crash!”

“Oh, I’m so scared!” Dumb-bell said to me sarcastically before she looked at Dash with a smug. “You let your boyfriend here do your fights now, huh, Rainbow Crash?”

“I’m not her boyfriend! /He’s not my boyfriend!” Me and Dash said at the same time.

“And she is gonna do a Sonic Rainboom!” I said to him. “Show up at the coliseum and you’ll see. She’ll blow you out of your seats!”

“Heh, we’ll see. Let’s go, boys!” he said before he and Score flew off.

“See ya then, Rainbow Crash!” Hoops said as he then went off to catch up with those other jerks.

“Did you see that?” Fluttershy said after those three left, somehow feeling proud of herself. “I was so assertive!”

“You okay, Dash?” I said, trying to see if those jerks got to her.

Dash sighed before she then said “Those guys are right. I’ll never be able to do it.”

“Oh, don’t listen to them.” I said to her, trying to bring her spirits back up. “They’re just jerks. They don’t know what they’re talking about.”

“Shield’s right, Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy said, trying to help cheer Dash up. “Just because you failed the Sonic Rainboom a hundred thousand times in practice, doesn’t mean you won’t be able to do it a stadium full of impatient, super-critical sports fan ponies.”

“Not really helping here, Fluttershy.” I said to her as I knew she was just making this worse and it showed when Dash screamed.

“What do I do?” Dash said as she started panicking. “Everypony’s gonna see me fail! The Wonderbolts will never let a loser like me join! Princess Celestia will probably banish me to the Everfree Forest! My life is ruined!”

“Rainbow Dash, get a hold of yourself!” I said as I tried to calm her down. “Princess Celestia won’t banish you. You’re being hysterical like Dusk when he gets stressed. Now, look at me. I know you haven’t done it in a while and you’re really stressed out, but I do know that this doesn’t mean you won’t be the best out there. You got more skills than any pegasus I’ve met.”

“Yeah, but the Sonic Rainboom is my only shot in even getting a chance at winning.” Dash said, still doubting herself.

“Rare…” Fluttershy said as we looked to see here looking shocked. I was kind of confused as she was looking behind us, not at us.

“Rare?” Dash said as I tried to see what Fluttershy was looking at. “The Sonic Rainboom is way more than rare!”

“Dash, I think she’s trying to say ‘Rarity’.” I said to her as I couldn’t believe what I was looking at it.

“How is that any different from what she said?” She asked me.

“Because she’s not talking about that rarity! Look behind you!” I said as Dash finally turned around. “Is that…?”

“Rarity!” Dash said, just as shock as me and Fluttershy as we saw Dusk’s fashionista cousin in the air with these strange butterfly wings. “Are you…flying?”

“I most certainly am.” Rarity said to us as she then flew down.

“Looks like the spell worked.” I said, still couldn’t believe that Rarity could now fly.

“Aren’t my wings smashing?” Rarity said, enjoying her new wings. “Twilight made them for me. I just adore them!”

“So where are the others?” I asked her.

“I believe they are still on their way.” she said to me. “Come now, as we could leave our favorite flyer without a big cheering section.”

After she said that, we then watched as a hot air balloon popped up out of nowhere with Dusk and the others in the basket.

“Hey, guys!” Dusk said to us as the balloon landed in front of us. Rainbow grinned at the sight of him.

“There’s my color bender!” Dash said as she went up and gave the Fire Dragon a hoof bump. “Glad to see you could make it.”

“You know me, Rainbow, I never break a promise, Pinkie or otherwise.” He said to her.

“Well, you all made it just in time.” I said to them before I saw that Rarity was the only who got wings. I was going to ask when…

“Sure did!” Pinkie said as she jumped out of the basket.

“Wait!” I said as I thought she was going to fall through the cloud but I was shocked again when I saw Pinkie standing on it like me.

I was even more shocked when the others were able to do the same.

“How’d you do that?” I said, wondering how they could walk on clouds. “Only Pegasus ponies can walk on clouds and I thought I was the only one land pony that could do that.”

“Pretty cool, huh?” Pinkie said as she cartwheeled away.

“Turns out that temporary wing spell was too difficult do more than once.” Dusk said as he explained. “So I found an easier one that let the rest of us walk on clouds like you, Shield.”

“You really couldn’t do it again?” I asked him.

“Yeah, it’s not really a spell any of us are ready to use yet.” I said as I thought back to what happened at the library.

---

Dusk’s view

Looking back to after Twilight cast that spell, I was glad to have found a substitute or else I wouldn’t be able to help Rainbow and me and the guys wouldn’t have been able to go anywhere.

“Sweet Celestia!” Rarity was in awe of her new wings. “These wings…why they’re…gorgeous! Oh, this is wonderful! I’m as light as a feather! Graceful as a swan! Oh, I could get used to this.”

“Better not. It’s only for three days.” Dog warned. “Still…those are some mighty fine wings.”

“Yeah, now I wish I volunteered for this.” Leon said, amazed by Rarity’s wings.

“Oooooh…shiny.” Pinkie was wide-eyed and staring. Wrenching my gaze from them, I moved to support Twilight, who was having trouble standing.

“That was…that was tough.” she said, just as weakly as before. “I don’t think I…have the strength to…do that again.”

“Take it easy, Twi. You did beautifully. You’re right though. Another try at that and it may knock you out.” I levitated the book over. “Let’s see…let’s see… Ah, here we are! A much simpler spell to let Earth ponies walk on clouds. Even I could do this one.”

“Wonderful! It’s just a pity you can’t all look as stunning as me.” Rarity said ruefully.

“Pink, you still have that hot-air balloon from the Running of the Leaves?” I asked her.

“Sure do! It just needs some air in it and it’ll be set!”

“Well, that’s dandy.” Applejack said. “Now we can all get ta Cloudsdale and Twilight can take it easy fer a bit.”

“Alright, let’s go then!” I paused and looked around, feeling a little more sheepish. “Right after we clean all of this up.”

---

“So after that and testing it out, we all got into the hot air balloon and flew all the way up here.” I said as that little reminisce.

“Now Dusk’s here to help out and the rest of us can cheer ya to victory!” Dog said.

“Awesome. I knew I could count on you.” She murmured to me. “Thanks for coming through for me. To be honest, I was feeling just a tiny bit nervous.”

“I know the feeling.” I said to her.

“But I feel a lot better now that you’re all here.” Rainbow said to me. “Hey, we got time before the competition. Why don’t me and Fluttershy show you around Cloudsdale?”

“A tour is an excellent idea.” I said and everypony else agreed with me.

Walking along the clouds, I now understood why Shield like to use them so much. It felt like walking on a mattress, soft and plushy.

“Here it is, the greatest city in the sky!” Rainbow said as we got to an edge and I felt my eyes widen with awe.

I’d read about Cloudsdale, seen pictures of it. But it was nothing until you saw it up close. It truly was the greatest city in the sky, with the buildings floating majestically in the air, elaborate pillars and columns adorning them. The ancient Pegasi had been masters at crafting and shaping the clouds into works of art, to make their city truly spectacular. I was glad to see they hadn’t failed to disappoint. Everypony else had agreed to that. Well, most of everypony did, Rarity was more admiring her new wings in the mirror. The sight of it was a bit…uncomfortable to watch. Though this gave an excuse to show my own discomfort. Though apparently this didn't get past Twilight who managed to see through it.

“Dusk, are you okay?” Twilight said with concern.

“Yeah, Twilight. I’m fine.” I said as confidently as I could but her concern got me to speak the truth. “Sorry, I’m just…a little nervous, that’s all.”

“You’ll be fine. It’s natural to feel nervous for something like this. You’re not even going out on stage, you’ll be on the sidelines.”

“I know, but that’s how it was when I worked with Racer.” All of my fears came spilling out at once. “What if I mess up? What if I miss a cue and make her lose the grand prize? She could lose her chance to live out her dreams because of me!” I was actually starting to hyperventilate.

“Dusk, calm down.” She said to me. “Breath, breath.”

“Sorry, Twi.” I said as I finally calmed down.

“Dusk, we all think your talent is wonderful.” She always had a knack for making him feel better. “Rainbow Dash has already said you’ve done great in practice. You never let me down in the library, so I know you’ll do great here.”

“But this isn’t the library, this is a big contest with hundreds watching. I haven’t done this kind of thing in years.” I sighed, looking up at her. “Do you really think I can do it?”

“Dusk, are you the pony that came for us in the Forest?” I nodded. “Are you the pony who stood up to a hydra?” Another nod. “Exactly. If you can be brave enough to do those, you can be brave enough to do this. For Rainbow.”

“Okay…thanks, Twi. I’m just being pathetic. Still, that’s me, I guess.”

“You’re not pathetic, Dusk, you’re not even close.” she said firmly. “You’re a great assistant and a great friend to do this for her.”

“You…really think so?”

“Absolutely. You had faith in me in the Bog and on Winter Wrap Up, despite my doubts. I wouldn’t be a good friend if I didn’t do the same.” She beckoned me along. “Now, come on, let’s go see Cloudsdale.”

“Right behind you.” I said, throwing a smile Twilight’s way.

Feeling much better now, we hurried to catch up with the group.

“Some of the greatest pegasi in history came from Cloudsdale.” Dash said as we kept on moving through the city in the clouds that was just waiting for us. This was something that Rainbow would take the opportunity to show off.

I knew that Rarity had to be falling behind while getting lost in her wings so I decided to get her back with the group. The guys apparently thought the same thing as all four of us said “Rarity!”

“Oh, wait for me!” Rarity said as I watched fly to catch up.

While we walked, I managed to hear the sound of a jackhammer going and looked to see some construction workers working on a cloud. Seems like no matter what kind of city you go to, there is always gonna be a construction site to see. One of those workers was working the jackhammer while the other two were working with the measuring tape. Being pegasi and having no…well, digits, they had to use their mouths to stretch it. I watched as the one holding the hook and the one working the jackhammer looked away, their jaws dropping in surprise. This also caused the tape to retract into the case and the jackhammer to go and fall off the cloud. Hopefully that thing doesn't fall on anything or anyone important. With all three of them looking away, I looked to see they were looking at Rarity. Typical. A bunch of male construction workers getting distract by some mare walking by, flying by in this case. And I thought I wasn’t in a world that had clichés like that.

“Those wings are gorgeous!” one of the workers said to my cousin.

“Why, thank you.” Rarity said to him right before she did a loop above us.

“Be careful with those wings, Rarity.” Twilight warned her. “They’re made from gossamer and morning dew.”

“Yeah, and they’re incredibly delicate.” I said, advising my cousin to fly with caution.

“Don’t worry, darlings.” Rarity said to us. “I’m sure they won’t be worn out from too much attention.”

“Rare, you know that’s not what we meant.” I said to her. “If you lose those wings, you might fall. Please, just be careful.”

“Fine, Dusk. I will make sure not to damage them.” She said as we kept on moving.”

“Well, now that we’re here in Cloudsdale, where should we go first?” I asked, wondering where we should make our first stop at.

“Well, since we’re up here, I’d sure like to get a look at where the weather’s made.” Applejack suggested.

“Great idea. Come on, guys,” she added, “to the weather factory!”

The factory was just as impressive as the rest of the city’s architecture. As we approached it across a long bridge, I could see it as it towered over us. Rainbow falls cascaded to the clouds below, a trumpet-like device pumped out the shapes of clouds at regular intervals and fierce storm clouds reigned thunder and lightning all around them, making Fluttershy jump a little every time it did.

We were made to wear hard hats and jumpsuits, for our own safety and to ensure we didn’t interfere with the weather operations being performed by the workers there. I exchanged my own trilby for a white hard hat to keep the place sterile, and followed the tour group inside feeling excited to be part of such a unique opportunity to see this all happen.

“Oh! Just got a chill up my spine.” Leon said as we all felt the temperature drop a bit.

“Shh!” Rainbow shushed him before she explained at a low volume. “This is where they make the snowflakes.”

“That’s explains the cold.” Leon said, speaking quietly.

“It has to. Don’t want the snowflakes to melt before being sent for the snow.” I said, speaking at the same volume.

“That’s right. Each one is hoof-made.” Rainbow said as we saw some of workers making and examining snowflakes. “As you can see, it’s a very delicate operations.”

“Amazing.” I said in awe of the concentration and incredibly work of these snowflake crafters. “This almost makes me wish I was born a Pegasus here in Cloudsdale.” I looked to see Dog giving me a raised brow in confusion. “I said almost.”

We were gonna look back at the workers when…

“Oh, the snowflakes look even better from up here.” Rarity said as we all looked to see her flying near the ones at the ceiling.

“Rarity, get down from there! Before you…” I said to her, but it was already too late as the gust from her wing flaps caused all the snowflakes to start flying around the room and leaving the workers trying their best to catch all of them before they fell on the floor.

“We better move on before Rarity ruins winter and causes a drought.” Rainbow said before a snowflake shattered on the floor.

“And here’s where they make the rainbows.” Rainbow said as she led us into a room filled large bowls that had the multicolor fluid in them and even flowing from bowl to bowl via long shoots. With the pegasi present mixing them, I had to guess that this fluid were the colors that made the rainbow before being processed into light.

I always did wonder what the rainbows here in Equestria started out as before becoming light. Didn’t actually think it would be a liquid. Pinkie actually dipped her hoof in some of the liquid to taste it, turning every color of the spectrum.

“Ah! Spicy!” Pinkie said as she then ran to find some water whilst we all laughed.

“Yeah, rainbows aren’t really known for their flavor.” said the suitably named Pegasus.

“Good thing too.” I remarked. “If they were, we might all be eating rainbow-flavored cupcakes, courtesy of the Sugarcube Corner.”

“Whoa!” I turned to see three, stocky Pegasus ponies marveling at Rarity’s wings.

“Oh, where’d you get those amazing wings? I want a pair!” asked the chocolate-brown one.

“Hmm…” Rarity seemed to like getting all of the attention. “Yes, I guess I could see that.”

“Oh, geez! Them again.” Shield said in displeasure.

“You know them?” I asked him, curious about this.

“Met them when we got here.” Shield answered me, glaring at the three. “That’s Dumb-bell and his crew, Dash’s bullies from she was a filly. They’re real jerks.”

“Oh, hey, look! It’s Rainbow Crash again!” I felt my blood boil, to my surprise. They definitely sounded like how Shield described them.

“He, he, he, yeah! Rainbow, uh…” He paused, apparently unable to think of a witty edition. So, he just went with: “Crash!”

“Rarity!” Rainbow sounded scandalized, and I couldn’t blame her. “What’re you doing talking to these guys?”

“Oh, they were just admiring my wings, Rainbow Dash.” she said casually.

“Yeah, you should forget the Sonic Rainboom and just get yourself some wings like these!”

“Oh, go dunk your head in the rainbow pool, Dumb-bell!” Shield harshly said to him. “Besides shouldn’t you be working? You’re dressed like it and bothering us and spending the day looking at mares isn’t very productive.”

“Well, at least we aren’t cheering for a loser like Rainbow Crash.” They all let off another round of stupid guffawing, before flying off to do…whatever it was they did here.

“Jerks.” I said angrily.

“I know, right?” Shield said to me.

However, Rainbow seemed to have taken the worst of their taunting. She was hanging her head in defeat, her eyes fixed sadly on the floor. She needed her confidence and all of this certainly wasn’t helping her.

“Uhh… Come on, everypony. Why don’t we go see how clouds are made?” Fluttershy suggested tactfully, walking alongside Rainbow. “Don’t listen to them. You’re gonna win that competition for sure!”

“Are you kidding? I can’t do the Sonic Rainboom and just look at these boring, plain old feathered wings. I’m doomed.”

“Rainbow, come on.” I decided to try my hoof at cheering her up. “You and I have been training hard to win this. Despite all of my doubts and fears, I know that I’m ready for it and I know that you are too. Those guys aren’t in the Flyer’s Competition, they’re just jealous of you because of how awesome you are. They know it, we know it, and I know it.”

“Dusk is right.” Shield said to her, trying to cheer her up. “You got the skills nopony else haves.”

“Thanks, guys, but…what’s the point?” Feeling disheartened, neither me or Shield didn’t know what else to say. I just hoped that Rarity would stop showing off as she was part of the problem.

Unfortunately, my hopes counted for nothing. By the time we reached the cloud bellows, where water was evaporated to make the clouds in the sky, the workers were all stopping to admire Rarity’s wings, while she was acting like a celebrity among her adoring fans.

“What? These old things?” Rarity said modestly, soaking in on the attention. “Go ahead, everypony! Photos are encouraged.”

All the while that happened, Rainbow was becoming more and more stressed, crouching on the floor and shaking, her eyes wide with fear.

“Rarity, we’re supposed to be helping Rainbow Dash relax, remember?” Twilight said to her with a glare, trying to stop Rarity from damaging any more of Rainbow’s confidence. “Put your wings away and stop showing off.”

“Oh, pfft!” rarity scoffed as she started flying higher. “How can ask me to put away perfection?”

When she stopped, she actually flew right up against the sun in a way that her wings created a kind of colored disco ball effect. I grudgingly had to admit to myself that it was quite beautiful, but Rarity wasn’t meant to be the focus here.

Rainbow, who was shivering on the floor, looked like she was about to start crying.

“Rainbow, are you okay?” I asked her with concern.

“Yeah, you don’t look so good.” Twilight said, just as concerned as I was.

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be okay?” Rainbow said, obviously trying her best to conceal her panic. “Everyone’s so in love with Rarity’s wings that they won’t even notice when I totally blow it in the Best Young Flyer’s Competition.”

“Hey! There’s an idea!” a Pegasus worker cried to Rarity. “You should enter the competition!”

“Yeah! I could watch you fly all day long!” agreed an older flyer, rather like Granny Smith.

“There really isn’t anypony who uses their wings quite like me. Perhaps I should compete.” Rarity decided, as she moved away from the sun.

“WHAT?!” Both Rainbow and I expressed our disbelief at the same time, though the latter of us more out of anger than fear.

“What am I gonna DO?” Rainbow said after Rarity moved away, taking her adoring crowd of fans with her. “I’ll never win the competition now!”

I had to admit that, with her nerves and Rarity’s vanity, this seriously decreased our chances of winning. I’d never lost my temper in my life, but it was near breaking point with all that was happening. All of our training, all of our practice, and it looked like it was about to be nothing.

I just needed one more thing, just one, to set me off… And it came.

---

Our tour of the factory was soon at an end. Leading a terrified Rainbow away with me, doing my best to console her, I knew that the time they had been waiting for was now. It was time to fly. We separated from the rest of the girls at the viewer’s stands, where they would be cheering her on.

Rarity had already entered herself in for the contest. We’d all tried to talk her out of it, to dissuade her from competing but her mind was set. She wanted to show off her wings to all and this was her chance to do it.

“Good luck, Dusk.” Twilight wished me, as we were about to head off. “Try your best to give support for Rainbow, I think she really needs it.”

“So do I. Cheer for us.” We exchanged a hug, then I went to take my position.

---

Rainbow Dash’s view

Okay, first I was nervous because I couldn’t be able to get the routine right and would totally blow the competition in front of everypony in Cloudsdale, but now I was freaking out. Without the Sonic Rainboom, there’s no way I can beat Rarity. At least she was in her dressing room, ʹcause I did not want her to see me like this. I’m glad that my friends were there to support me, but it didn’t really help with how I was feeling right now. At this point, I was doomed. If I went out there, I’ll be nothing but a laughing stock!

---

Dusk’s view

When I got into position, I got a good view of the stadium. The arena itself was, like the rest of Cloudsdale, a marvel of cloud-based architecture, wide, vast and huge, with flags adorning the top of it, seating for over five thousand ponies. In the lower stands, I saw Rainbow Dash’s bullies which again got my blood boiling. But that boiling cooled when I looked and saw my friends in the seats above them, all of them ready to see the show and Pinkie wearing that foam finger I gave to her a while back. With this, I watched and listened to the pre-contest announcement.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, please rise and join me in welcoming our beloved Princess Celestia!” the announcer said as Princess Celestia arrived in the royal box, smiling and waving to everypony. “Please welcome our celebrity judges for the Best Young Fliers Competition, the Wonderbolts!” Then came the Wonderbolts, true masters of the air. They swooped around in the sky, let off some fireworks and took their places in the judging box. That would no doubt put a smile on Rainbow’s face. “And now let’s see who will take the prize as this year’s Best Young Flier!”

---

Rainbow Dash’s view

Okay, now I was feeling a little better! The Wonderbolts as this year’s judges? How awesome is that? Though my stress came back when…

“Okay, contestant number 1, you’re up!” the backstage manager said and I watched as the first flier went on to perform.

That’s when I realized it. After she was done…I was gonna go up next!

“Okay, number 2, let’s go!” the manager said after the previous flier was done.

Oh, man! This was bad! I couldn’t do my routine now, not like this! I had to figure out a way to get me some more time. That’s when I thought of it. While nopony was looking, I snuck over and switched tags with number 5.

“She’s talking to you.” I said to him.

“Oh! Um…” He said, dropping the hay in his mouth before he ran off. “Oh, I guess that’s me.”

This was perfect! All I had to so is switch tags with somepony and I’ll be able to get myself ready to go out there. It was perfect. Though, after number 3 went up, I switch tags with number 6 just to be safe.

“Okay, number 4, time to go!” the manager said.

“I’m number 4 and I need just one more itsy-bitsy minute.” Rarity said as she popped out of the dressing room. “Be a dear and have somepony go ahead of me.”

“Look, I don’t care who it is, but somepony’s gotta go on!” the manager said and one of the competitors went on ahead.

Now I was in trouble. I know Rarity and there’s no way to tell how long she’s gonna take before going on. What was I going to do? That’s when I saw it. There were only 15 competitors here. So going last would be enough time for Rarity to do her thing and give me a chance to impress the judges.

---

Dusk’s view

Standing backstage, but away from the other flyers with a view of the vast arena before me, all I had to do now was wait for Rainbow. I had a good view from where I was, but I was also unseen, out of the way. A shadow among shadows. This was perfect. It was almost like how I used to be, only now I was hiding with good reason. This was Rainbow’s flight, not mine. I would remain anonymous the whole time. If only Rarity could recognize that…

I couldn’t help but be angry with her, even though she was one of my friends. She was going against the very point that she’d come up for in the first place, caught up in her own glory. I wanted nothing more than to tell her what I thought of her, but I just couldn’t pluck up the nerve to. So, I’d stayed silent, just glaring at her displeasingly. If she had noticed, she’d ignored them.

So I waited, tensed and ready for Rainbow’s routine. I barely even acknowledged the other contestants, as they soared and showed off their stuff. Rainbow would beat them all, hooves down. But soon, I was getting nervous as more and more competitors went on, none of them being Rainbow. I was sure she would have taken stage by now.

---

Shield’s view

While the competition kept going and the guys and the girls talked about the competitors like number 7 and her 15 barrel-rolls.

“What do you think, Shield?” Leon asked me, snapping me out of it.

“What?” I said, trying to figure out what to say. “Oh, I don’t know.”

“Hey, you okay there, Shield?” Twilight asked me. “You seem a little distracted.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just wondering where Dash is.” I said to her. “The competition’s almost over and we haven’t seen her do her routine yet. I’m starting to worry.”

“Yeah, and come to think of it, I wonder how come we haven’t seen Rainbow Dash or Rarity yet.” Applejack said.

“That’s it! I’m calling Dusk to see what’s going on.” I said as I got my comm out.

---

Dusk’s view

Now I was worried. We were nearing the end and Rainbow Dash was nowhere in sight. Where in the world of Equestria was she? The contest was almost over and she hadn’t performed. Just as I about to start pacing, I heard I was receiving a call on my comm and got it out.

“Yeah?” I said as I answered it.

“Dusk, what the heck is going on over there?” I heard Shield’s voice from the comm. “Why hasn’t Dash showed up yet?”

“I don’t know, I’ve been waiting here backstage the whole time. I thought Rainbow would’ve done the performance already.” I said, seeing he was sharing the same concern. “I have no idea where she is.”

---

Rainbow Dash’s view

Okay, just turned from bad to worse. Everypony had gone up except for Rarity. Now I was done right scared to go out there. How long does it take four one girl to put on makeup? At this rate, I have no chance in winning. Is this how Dusk and Fluttershy feel like when they get like this? Man, I really own them an apology.

“Number 15, let’s go!” the manager said to me.

Just when she said that, Rarity came out of the dressing room.

“Rarity…is ready.” She said as she stood in front of us. I would’ve said she went a little overboard there, but I was too busy with my life falling apart.

“Look, ladies, I don’t know what to tell you.” the manager said to us. “There’s only enough time for one more performance. You both want to compete, you’ll both have to go out there together.”

“Well, Rainbow Dash, shall we?” Rarity said to me and I tried my best to look like I was ready.

---

Dusk’s view

“Okay, that’s it! I’m going to check on Rainbow right…” Just as I was about to go and find her, the announcer called me back and had me tensed once more as I put my comm away.

“And now, for our final competitor of the day, contestant number fifteen!” That was Rainbow! It was time to… “Uhh… And apparently contestant number four.” What, Rarity? She was going on with her? I know my cousin does her best to look as glamourous as possible, but in my opinion, she looked ridiculous. She looked like a butterfly in a carnival peacock costume.

Though Rainbow wasn’t doing much better. She looked actually frightened. Kind of like how I was when I faced a crowd when I was a colt. Well, congratulates, Rarity. You completely destroyed Rainbow’s confidence and made her get stage fright. Thanks to my super-hearing, I was able to hear what Rarity was saying over the roar of the crowd.

“Good luck, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity calmly said to Rainbow, who was just shook with fear. “Just do your best.”

That was easy for her to say, she had practically everypony’s eyes on her while Rainbow was a nervous wreck.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of changing our music.” Rarity said to me. “That ‘Rock’n’Roll’ doesn’t really match my wings.”

Feeling angrier at her than ever, I tapped into my power to get myself ready. Instead of the rock and roll track Rainbow had prepared, it was replaced with a ballroom waltz.

Rarity. I thought bitterly. I’d liked that music…

Anyway, time for Phase 1.

Ignoring Rarity’s prancing, I set up the color pillars, eliciting a few gasps from the crowd.

“Come on, Rainbow Dash. You can do this.” Rainbow said as readied herself. “Just remember the routine. Phase 1.” She then went off and weaved in and out with ease, lighting them up as she did. Our friends cheering her on.

That’s it, Rainbow. I thought. You can do this. Just one more…

Then, at the last one, she flew straight through it, as I lit it up. The effect blinded her, making her crash into the side of the arena. I cringed at the sight of it.

“Nice work, Rainbow Crash!” One of the bullies from earlier said before he got hit in the head with a rock.

No doubt that came from Shield who was trying to defend Rainbow and keep her from losing here regained confidence.

Okay, one slip up, we could still do this.

“Time for Phase 2.” Rainbow said as I twirled the colors around her, moving them up into the air for phase two.

I held the clouds with all of my might as she spun them in whirls of color, making the audience marvel at them.

Shield’s view

As we watched Dash going into Phase 2, we all saw that she was doing better. She almost had Phase 2 done.

“Look, Phase 2 is working.” Fluttershy said as we all watched how awesome it was going.

“Yeah, it is! Way to go, Rainbow Dash!” I cheered out.

Dusk’s view

Looks like Rainbow really regained her confidence there. This was going well, no slip ups here…but something went wrong in that instant. Somehow, she dislodged my color cloud from the sky so it went spinning off towards the royal box. Celestia and her guards ducked as it approached, shutting their eyes as it exploded in a light flare.

Feeling rather alarmed that I’d almost blinded royalty, I halted my spell. It was all up to Rainbow now. She had to turn this around now, because of she didn’t…no, she would, I could feel it. Deciding that there wasn’t much point in staying here, I hurried to the box the girls were in, so I could cheer on Rainbow with them. She needed the support, now more than ever.

“Dusk, that was beautiful!” Twilight congratulated as I sat next to her. “You really helped to make a difference in that performance, good work.”

“Rainbow did the flying, I was just on the lights.”

“Yeah, but ya still did a mighty fine job on them lights of yers.” Applejack pointed out.

“Did you see that?” Pinkie squeed. “Rainbow was all like ‘veeeeeow’ and Dusk was all like ‘bing’! It was absoluter-color-ristic-super-flappy-docious!”

“I was merely the marble, Rainbow was the sculptor.” I said modestly, chuckling at Pinkie’s comment. “Now, Phase 3. Come on, Rainbow, you can do it!”

I kept my eyes on her, as she climbed higher and higher into the sky. Rarity was climbing too, though Rainbow was faster. Soon, the former of the two reached the sun and stopped. I knew what was coming. She was going to use the sunlight to refract the color of her wings on the whole stadium. She showed to be quite the Icarus here.

Wait! I thought as it had hit me. What had Twilight said about the wings? They were made from gossamer and morning dew. With her that close to the sun, that means…

“Oh, no.” I said, louder than I intended.

“‘Oh, no’ what, Dusk?” Dog asked, looking worried. “Somethin’ wrong?”

“Very wrong.” Despite all she had done, she was still my friend. Could she hear me from here? “Rarity! Get away from the sun! Get away!”

“Look upon me, Equestria, for I…am…Rarity!” she cried, spreading her wings against the sun’s rays, beaming colored light down on them all. She hadn’t heard me, she couldn’t. There was nothing I could do.

“Oh, boy. This is not gonna end well.”

“Dusk, what is it?” Twilight was looking worried too.

“Twi, Rarity’s wings are made from water-based components. So what happens to water when it’s hot enough?”"

Twilight’s eyes widened in shock, just as we heard a high pitched scream of terror. We all looked up to see Rarity, flailing her legs wildly as she fell from the sky, her wings completely gone.

“Oh, no! You were right! Her wings evaporated into thin air!”

We could only watch as she fell even faster. The Wonderbolts immediately leaped into action, swooping down to save her. I couldn’t really make out what was happening, but her hooves must have been flailing too much for them. She’d knocked them out, and now, they were falling too. They only had one last hope before they hit the ground and became pony jam: the only Pegasus I knew was fast enough to get to them.

“Hold on, Rarity, I’m coming!” In the blink of an eye, Rainbow was off after them.

“Oh, I can’t look!” Fluttershy said as she covered her eyes.

I watched with baited breath as she flew faster and faster to catch up. The mach cone formed around her again, then it narrowed…wait, was that lightning forming around it? I hardly dared to believe it. Me and the others all gasped at the sight of it. They knew too…but could she actually do it? Rainbow needed to close the distance, this might be the only way.

“Shield, is that what I think it is?” I asked the only pony who would be able to identify this phenomena.

“Yeah, it is. She’s gonna do doing!” Shield said excitedly. “She already got the wind force barrier!”

The wind force barrier is what Shield calls the mach cone. When that forms, it is a definite sign that the Sonic Rainboom was about to happen. All she need to do was break that barrier and she’ll be moving faster than the speed of sound. I saw hints of color form around her, the lightning getting brighter. After watching Shield do it, I knew this was it. She was gonna break the barrier! And just like that…

BOOM!

An explosion of color erupted below them, sending a shockwave for miles and making a far more spectacular show than Rarity did. My mouth hung open at the sight of it. An actual Sonic Rainboom! First, the only non-pegasus manages to do it, and now I’ve seen it be done by an actual Pegasus! This was the third time I’ve seen one! Yet…for some reason, I felt familiarity with it. It was the same kind I felt when I saw Shield’s Sonic Rainboom. This was little strange. Why did it look familiar for?

“A Sonic Rainboom! She did it! She did it! WHOO!” Fluttershy screeched unexpectedly.

We continued to gaze in awe, as she caught all four of the falling ponies just before they hit the ground, soared back up with a rainbow trailing behind her and made it so it crossed the whole of the stadium above. As she arrived back and Pegasi removed her of her load, all of the spectators went wild, cheering and whooping at the spectacular show that they had seen, confetti and streamers descending from above.

We all cheered also began to cheer loudly for our friend, jumping up and down and grinning like fools. I, so caught up in the excitement of it all, swept Twilight up in a hug, which she, to my surprise, returned happily. After a few minutes, we suddenly remembered ourselves and let go of each other, flushing heavily and looking at anything but the hug recipient.

Once the crowds had cleared, we went down to meet her in the arena. Pinkie bought the balloon around, so that Rarity could climb inside. As never had the cloud walking spell cast on her and the Pegasi holding her were getting worn out, this gave them a chance to rest and her a chance to put her hooves on solid ground. She was certainly a lot more humbled now than before, my anger for her faded along with her wings.

“I want to apologize to all of you for getting so carried away with my…beautiful wings.” She looked as if she would cry, but she got a hold of herself. “I guess I just lost my head.”

We assured her that it was all fine and that she was forgiven, even me. She fixed her gaze on me, her expression softening further. She smiled thankfully at me, then turned to Rainbow.

“And I’m especially sorry that I was so thoughtless as to jump into the contest at the last minute after you two had worked so hard to win it. Can you ever, ever forgive me?”

“Don’t worry, cuz.” I said to her with a forgiving smile. “Happens to the best of us."

“Aw, it’s okay.” she said nonchalantly. “Everything turned out alright, right? I just wish I could have met the Wonderbolts when they were awake.”

“Hold that thought, Rainbow.” I could barely keep a grin off my face as I pointed behind her…to where her heroes stood waiting to meet her. She could barely contain herself at the sight of them

“So you’re the little pony who saved our lives.” Spitfire said, the fearless captain of the team. “We really wanted to meet you, and say thanks.”

Rainbow gave out another rapid round of “oh, my goshes” at this, making me grin even more at how happy she no doubt felt right now. The Wonderbolts, however, weren’t the only important ponies that came to see them.

“Princess.” I sunk in a low bow as the Princess and her royal guard arrived.

“Hello, Twilight Sparkle, and hello to your friends too.” she greeted warmly

“Princess Celestia, I am sorry I ruined the competition.” Rarity said, giving Rainbow a smile as she spoke. “Rainbow Dash here really is the best flyer in Equestria.”

“I know she is, my dear.” the Princess agreed. “That’s why for her incredible act of bravery and her spectacular Sonic Rainboom, I’m presenting the grand prize for best young flyer to this year’s winner, Ms. Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow’s face lit up at this, the Princess proudly placing the golden winged crown atop her head. She knew that I wouldn’t want public acknowledgment of my contribution, but that heart-warming smile on her face that she sent my way was all I needed. I modestly tipped my hat to her, as she was paraded off by the rest of our friends, letting off more ‘oh, my goshes’. It had been worth it…just for that.

I stayed with Twilight, Rarity, and the Princess, standing back to let Rainbow enjoy her victory…as well as to hear today’s lesson on friendship. The Princess, however, sent me a conspiratorial smile. She knew who had done all of those shapes, but she said nothing. Feeling just as elated as Rainbow, I smiled back at her, as I sat back to listen to Twilight (and Rarity’s) report on friendship, taking it all in.

Even I have to agree that Rarity learned more about friendship than the rest of us. This came to show us how important it is to keep your hooves and to be there for your friends.

Oh, almost forgot one little part…

“This is the best day ever!” Rainbow said as our first brought her back and she stood in front of us.

“Hey, Rainbow Crash.” We turned to see Dumb-bell and his crew stand behind Rainbow.

“Dash.” The middle member of the group said, correcting his friend.

“Oh, uh, sorry. Rainbow Dash.” The stallion to the far right said. I had to guess that was Dumb-bell with that cutie mark of his.

“Dumb-bell? What are you guys doing here?” Shield asked, surprised to see them.

“Oh, we just wanted to congradulate Rainbow Dash for winning the competition.” Dumb-bell said.

“Yeah! That Sonic Rainboom was awesome!” The middle stallion said.

“Oh, thanks, guys.” Rainbow said to them, surprised to hear compliments from them.

“Sorry for giving you such a hard time before.” Dumb-bell said to her.

“Oh, that’s okay.” She said. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Hey, do want to hang out with us?” Dumb-bell asked. “Many you can show us how you did that incredible trick!”

“Sorry, boys. But there’s only gonna be one person hanging out with me.” Rainbow said which even got me to raise a brow before she dashed over and grabbed Shield.

“Dash, what are you doing?” Shield said, surprised by this. All of us were surprised by this.

“What does it look like? You and me are gonna hang out with the Wonderbolts!” Rainbow said to him. “I asked if you could come along and they’re cool with it.”

“Really? Awesome!” Shield excitedly said to her before speaking to us. “We’ll see you guys later! Looks like me and Dash got some plans!

“That’s alright! See you two back at home!” I said to them.

“Whoa, Shield!” Rainbow said as she flew off with Shield. “You’re a lot heavier than you look.”

“Well, that was weird.” Leon said, confused by this.

“Well, Shield’s her partner and she is the Element of Loyalty.” I said to him. “It would make sense she would help him hang out with the Wonderbolts like that.”

As I watched Rainbow Dash and Shield being escorted away by two members of the Wonderbolts, I found it hard to argue with her: this truly was the best day ever. Well, perhaps one thing could be said: the best day ever so far. We would no doubt celebrate back at ground level. For now though, my daredevil friend had a celebration of her own to attend with my athlete friend as her guest.

Author's Note:

Well, it looks like Dusk and Rainbow Dash had done it. Dusk managed to help Rainbow Dash win the Best Young Fliers Competition and Rainbow Dash had earned her chance to hang out with the Wonderbolts. All the while with learning a new lesson on friendship. Hopefully this has helped Dusk become more confident in shown his own magic in an event such as this. Though it comes to question: what exactly Dusk had found familiar to the Sonic Rainboom? Is there a sort of connection between them? More moments in friendship next time!

Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to update again. Had a lot of stuff to deal with. I hope you guys like this chapter! Just wait as you will find out what will happen when Dusk comes across a certain zebra. Well, that's all I got for this chapter! Don't forget to comment and rate the story to tell me what you think!