One Wish

by Scribblestick

Take Wing

Rainbow Dash walked out to a training field in full swing. The newest cadets ran basic drills at one end, while the veterans rehearsed for an upcoming show in Baltimare. Rainbow Dash scanned the skies for her Rainboom Squad, but saw no sign of them. “Those jokers better not be slacking off,” she muttered as she spread her wings and took off.

It took her three complete circles around the field to spot her three trainees. She only found them because she happened to look up at the exact moment Skypuff’s tail flicked out beyond the edge of a cloud. Rainbow Dash pumped her wings, breathing heavily as she ascended. She hadn’t climbed to this altitude in a while. Better get used to it. You’ll be spending a lot more time up here now.

Despite her slow ascent, the three Wonderbolts were startled when she rose into view. They leapt to their hooves and stood at attention while Rainbow Dash folded her forelegs over her chest. “Just what in the hay do you think you’re doing?”

“Altitude training, ma’am,” Skypuff said quickly.

“Really. Didn’t know Wonderbolts were professional cloud-loungers.”

“This exercise is about exposure,” Skypuff explained. “See, I used to spend days way up high with my folks when they were working in the Cloudsdale observatory.”

Rainbow Dash help up a hoof. Skypuff fell silent. Dash grinned. “Working smarter. I can appreciate that.” The three pegasi relaxed, but not for long. “The goal is to fly at this altitude, though, so let’s practice that. Give me three laps around the perimeter at this altitude. Land here when you’re done.”

The Rainboom Squad took off. Though Gale beat the others for raw speed, he lagged behind Skypuff, who was used to working in the thin air. Rainbow Dash followed them at a distance. Thinner air means less oxygen and lift. She winced as her lungs and wings slowly caught fire. Once you start feeling dizzy, you’re in trouble.

For Dash, that moment came far sooner than she would have liked. Before her students finished their second lap, she had already landed to catch her breath. No big deal. You don’t stay here long for the Rainboom anyway.

The three Wonderbolts were gasping for air by the time they landed, though Skypuff recovered far more quickly than her companions. “Good work,” Dash told them. “Remember, the Rainboom takes a lot of speed, so you need time to accelerate. I recommend staying up here only as long as you need to.” The others nodded in acknowledgement. “Speaking of which,” Dash continued, “let’s work on those dives. Stratus, show 'em how it’s done.”

Stratus stepped to the edge of the cloud and prepared to jump. The other two stood close enough to watch. “What’s the target?” he asked.

“See that cloud?” Dash pointed with a hoof. Stratus nodded. “Dive at that cloud as fast as you can. Don’t turn away until the last second. Remember, the goal is to accelerate the whole way down, until you break the visible spectrum of light into a million glorious pieces.”

Gale and Skypuff chuckled, but Stratus focused on his objective. He lunged forward and downward, flapping his wings furiously as he fell. At the last instant, his wings flared, and he shot out across the grounds before taking a wide loop to return to his cheering companions.

“Not bad,” Dash said. “Gale, you’re up.”

Gale nodded and stepped forward before plunging off the cloud. His descent was significantly faster, and Dash thought she saw the beginnings of the Mach cone that always came before a Rainboom. It’s not so hard. She smiled as Gale ended his dive. “Good speed, but that recovery could have been smoother,” she said.

Skypuff stepped forward, but Dash held up a hoof. “I think it’s time I show you three a thing or two,” she said. The others looked at each other with a combination of wide eyes and eager smiles. Rainbow Dash took a deep breath to steady her nerves, the leapt off the cloud and plummeted. She stretched out her body to reduce air friction, all the while beating the air with her wings. It wasn’t her fastest dive by a long shot, but she felt a sense of pride as the cloud streaked closer. She felt the air begin to push back against her, and she smiled. I’m closer than I thought.

A part of her wanted to go for it, but she restrained herself. She raced toward the cloud as long as she dared. Then, she flared her wings and prepared to level out.

That was where it all went wrong.

The instant she opened her wings, something in her right wing gave out. Before she could react, the wing crumpled completely, fluttering uselessly by her side. The sudden shift in resistance sent her spiraling downward. She yelped in surprise and tried to compensate, but her right wing wouldn’t hold up against the rushing winds. She flew through the cloud and straight toward the runway. She saw a few eyes look in her direction, a few mouths open in shock. A sharp pain stabbed through the base of her wing as she tried to open it again. For the first time in a while, she felt afraid for her life.

She shouldn’t have worried, with so many skilled fliers hanging around. Gale was the first to catch her, followed by Skypuff and Stratus. The three helped her to the ground, then stood back while she caught her breath.

“Your dive was nice, ma’am,” Gale said.

“Don’t patronize me,” Dash snapped. Now that the shock had passed, embarrassment began to set in.

“The dive was fine,” Skypuff agreed. “It was the turn that went wrong.”

“Yeah, thanks, I was there for the whole thing,” Dash said. The edge had fallen from her voice, replaced with a kind of dull monotone. She cleared her throat. “Okay. So, not my best demonstration.”

“No, but catching you was good practice,” Stratus said. Rainbow Dash sent him a look that was half withering glare and half grateful smile.

“All right, enough chatting. Let’s get back up there.” Rainbow Dash started to take off, but grimaced as her wing seized. She landed roughly on her hooves, sending a jolt of pain through her joints.

“Easy there, coach,” said Gale as he took a look at her wing.

“I’m fine,” Dash said. Gale raised an eyebrow. “Okay, it stings a little.”

Gale looked more closely at her wing. “It’s not broken, but it could be sprained,” he said. “You should definitely ice it and rest before flying again.”

“I don’t have time for that. I have—I mean, you have a lot of practice to do, and I can’t fix your form if I’m watching from all the way down here.”

“That may be, but we’re Wonderbolts,” Gale said firmly. “We do it safely, or we don’t do it at all.”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t ignore that mantra, not after she’d spent her entire Wonderbolts career drilling it into everypony’s head. “You’re right,” she admitted. “Sorry. Guess I got carried away.”

“Get yourself better, coach,” Stratus said. “We’ll be here when you're well.”

The three took off into the sky to practice their dives. Rainbow Dash’s heart sank as she watched them. It’s not you I’m worried about.

---

“Yep. Definitely a sprain,” said the field medic. He retrieved an ice pack and pressed it against the base of Rainbow Dash’s wing. She flinched at the cold. “You weren’t doing anything crazy, were you?”

The office was cramped. Rainbow Dash ached to be outside. “Just trying to show 'em how it’s done,” she said.

“Hmph. Surprisingly, I didn’t expect you to hurt yourself today. I thought you’d accepted the limitations that come with age.” The medic jotted a few notes. Dash braced herself for the verdict. “A couple days’ rest, and you should be fine,” the medic said. “You’re free to continue training your team so long as your hooves remain firmly on the ground.” The medic looked Rainbow Dash in the eye. “It could have been a lot worse, you know. Torn muscles and ligaments, broken bones—I’ve seen it all from ponies who push themselves too hard. At your age, an injury like that could take months to heal.”

“Yeah, I know.” Dash had seen it, too, and it made her shudder. “I’ll be more careful.”

Dash made her way back outside. The Rainboom Squad was still practicing dives, just as she’d instructed. She couldn’t see much from her vantage point. The trio had climbed even higher than before and dove as a group. It’s a game! She smiled. They were trying to see who could get the closest to the clouds without bursting through them. Smart way to make the practice more interesting.

“Hey there, coach.” Rainbow Dash turned to see a uniformed pegasus gliding her way. It was Winter Gust, current commander of the Wonderbolts. Dash gave him a quick salute. “Heard you pulled a muscle. Everything okay?”

“Yep. Couple days' rest and I’ll be right back up there,” she said.

Winter Gust nodded. “Glad to hear it. I’d hate to lose my best instructor to injury, especially if she was doing something dumb when she got hurt.” He fixed her with a raised eyebrow. “I saw that little stunt you tried. Are you sure everything’s okay?”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “I’m sure,” she said. “I just… wanted to see if I still had it.”

“'Course you still have it. You’re a legend,” Winter Gust said. Dash looked down. “Okay, so maybe you don’t have all of it,” Winter Gust admitted. “You have enough, though. And you have determination. Whatever you want, you’ll find a way to get it.” He gave her a smile. “Just promise me you’ll be careful, all right? I’d hate to see my old commander get sidelined permanently.”

Dash returned the smile. “You got it, boss.”

Winter Gust left. Rainbow Dash watched her students practice, but her mind was elsewhere. She’d obviously jumped into things too quickly. She would have to take it slower if she hoped to fulfill Cloudwing’s wish. Right now, that meant getting her wing back into shape.

By the time her trio landed, exhausted, Dash had a new plan in mind. “Good work out there today,” she told them. “I didn’t see much from down here, but it looked good. Smart thinking on the team diving.”

“Skypuff’s idea,” Stratus said.

“Like you said, coach, you gotta work smarter,” Skypuff added.

Dash grinned. “Smarter. That’s right. Come on, let’s get some grub.” As the four pegasi walked toward the mess hall, Dash reviewed her plan. For her, working harder wasn’t an option. Smarter would have to be enough.