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Chapter 1

THE SPIRIT OF LOYALTY

by NorthCrusader

Rainbow Dash was ecstatic by the wild cheers of her audience below. She ascended to the sky, taking in every shout of joy, every stomp of hooves, with the grace of a bird. She suddenly paused in mid-flight. She made sure everybody was watching her. The crowd was silent, anxiously waiting for her next move.

She bolted to a large cumulus cloud and flew in circles. Moments later she increased her speed. Just watching her spin around continuously made most of the ponies nauseous. She yielded after a minute of spinning, and came to a complete stop. The cumulus, once an irregular shape, now took the form of a vanilla ice cream swirl.

The spectators praised her. She took a bow as she descended from the sky. Fans formed a circle around their idol, some wanting to comment on how great a flyer she was, others pushing and shoving just to get her autograph. The crowd was in a frenzy when Rainbow floated a few feet above them.

“My loyal fans!” she said loudly. “I’d like to thank you all for coming to see my awesome performance!” The crowd roared with acclaim. The cheers turned into chants of her name and stomping hooves accompanied the rhythm. “But the show’s not over! First, I’m taking a five minute breather. Then for the grand finale, I’ll be performing the super-awesome, grand-spanking, totally radical, never-been-done-before, Rainbow-Time Extraordinaire!”

Reaction to what she said varied from excitement to confusion. Rainbow Dash smired and continued. “I’ve been practicing this thing every single day for two months to make this perfect! I’ll fly up, loop-de-loop pass some clouds, do a barrell-roll, zigzag around, punch a hole in a cloud, write my name in the sky, then fly at the top of the air, zwoop straight down for the biggest, largest sonic rainboom the world has ever seen! Then I’ll fly down and bounce off a trampoline and land safe and sound!”

Everyone was overwhelmed by the seemingly impossible feat that was described to them. Some did not know how to react. Despite their skepticism, they cheered for Rainbow. A wide grin was locked on her face.

After waving to her fans and spectators, Rainbow Dash hovered to a tree to rest her body and wings. Once she was comfortable her best friends - and a little pegasus named Scootaloo, who was accompanied by two other fillies her age - approached her from the sidelines. Rainbow greeted them was a smile full of smugness.

“Hey guys, enjoying the show?” she asked.

“You were amazing!” Scootaloo said. “You’re the most awesome pegasus in the world, maybe the whole universe!”

“Yeah, you rock!” Sweetie Belle added. She looked to her friends to see if she had the terminology correct, something Rainbow could not help but to silently laugh.

“Thanks girls,” Rainbow said. Scootaloo pulled out a water bottle from her backpack and gave it to her. She drank until the plastic bottle was crushed in her hoof.

“I don’t see any need to outdo yourself,” Applejack said. “Besides, I thought you were mighty boastful back there.” Most of the mares, except for Pinkie Pie and the fillies, nodded.

“Come on, I wasn’t boasting,” Rainbow said defensively. “I’m just simply showing off my skills, that’s all. There’s a difference, you know.” Scootaloo gave her another bootle of water, in which was finished in less than ten seconds. “Besides, I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time.”

“You’re not going to try that Rainbow-Time trick, are you?” Fluttershy asked.

“Of course I am! Why do you ask?”

“It’s just that… well, it sounds dangerous. What if you get hurt?”

“Fluttershy, most things in life are dangerous. You have to learn to face danger head-on. That’s what I learned when I made my first sonic rainboom.” She laid on her stomach on the grass and did thirty rounds of wing-ups.

“I have to agree with Fluttershy on this matter,” Rarity said. “We have watched you practice for weeks, and it has occurred to us that sometimes you don’t know your own speed.” A thought came that made her place her hoof close to her mouth. “What if you miss the trampoline?”

“Seriously, I’m the incredibly awesome Rainbow Dash! I have keen eyesight that any of you!”

“There you go boasting again,” Applejack said accusingly.

“I’m not boasting!”

After completing her wing-ups she laid on her back while putting her forearms behind her head, and pulled her upper body up to do thirty rounds of curl-ups.

“Well, regardless of what you think, we all care about your safety,” Twilight said. “The last thing we want is for you to end up in the hospital.”

“Don’t be silly!” Pinkie said. “I’m sure Rainbow Dash is gonna pull off the most awesome, spectacular, flawless, super-duper, greatest stunt in the world! I’m so excited I could burst into a million confettis!”

“At least somepony here has faith in me,” Rainbow said. The mares gave a questioning look to Pinkie Pie.

“I have faith in you,” Scootaloo said. “I always have.”

“Yeah, us too!” Apple Bloom added, bringing Sweetie close to her.

Rainbow Dash winked at them.

Chanting and stomping was heard from the distance. Taking the chanting of her name as cue, Rainbow Dash stood on all fours, stretch her wings and join her adoring public. All except for Pinkie and the fillies stood in bewilderment at their friend’s arrogance.

“Twilight, is she going to be okay?” Fluttershy asked.

The unicorn looked into the pegasus’ wide, distressful eyes. “I hope so,” she answered, trying to reassure her.

“Don’t worry, Rainbow Dash is the greatest stuntpony of all time!” Scootaloo said. “She knows what she’s doing!”

“For her sake, I hope so,” Rarity added.

“Come on, let’s go!” Pinkie called. “I don’t wanna miss any of this!” She cartwheeled into the crowd, with the three fillies attempting to imitate her. The rest glanced nervously at each other, then walked back into their places at the spectators’ side.

The number of ponies increased since Rainbow announced her stunt. It seemed as if all of Equestria wanted to witness her go beyond the impossible. Her fan club was also present throughout the show, with rainbow wigs on their heads and blue wings on their backs.

Two earth ponies were seen placing a giant trampoline in the middle of the arena. Several pegasi were in the sky setting up the obstacle course. The pegasi formed holes in the clouds for Dash to fly through. Some took cirrus clouds and reformed them into odd shapes. Others gathered smaller clouds together to form a supercloud for her to punch. Impatience loomed over the ponies. They chanted her name and stomped their hooves.

At last, Rainbow Dash appeared before them. They stomped on the ground so much that it might have budged the earth from its axis. Rainbow a few moments to take in the admiration of the ponies. Finally, she held out her arms to silence them.

“Alright Equestria, today I’m going to perform the greatest stunt of all time! The Rainbow-Time Extraordinaire!”

The crowd went wild; their loud cheers were capable of destroying eardrums. Rainbow’s VIPs - Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and Spike - sat in a special spot in the front. While Pinkie and the fillies waved and cheered for her, the others gave Rainbow concerned looks. “For those who missed the briefing, I’m gonna go over it one more time.”

She rose a few feet into the air and pointed to a line of weirdly-shaped cirrus clouds. She explained she was going to do barrel rolls and backflips around them, which resulted in a collective ooh from the crowd. Rainbow pointed to a cloud that looked like a slingshot, which will lunge her straight into the supercloud so she can, in her own words, “Punch it in the face!” which caused laughter from some of the younger audience members. Rainbow Dash continued to explain her process, and the ponies listened to her every word. Her friends, except for Pinkie and the Crusaders, were not as excited.

“After that, I’ll fly straight into the air, higher than I ever have before! With enough force I’ll swoop down and create the largest sonic rainboom in history! Bigger than the first one! Bigger than the second one! Even bigger than the royal wedding!” She raised her arms to silence the cheering ponies. “And last, but definitely not least, I’ll fly straight down on this trampoline, do a backflip and land safe and sound, ending the Rainbow-Time Extraordinaire!”

The mass of ponies jumped up and down, yelling and screaming in delight. Finally, the moment had come to for Rainbow to perform her incredible stunt. Unfortunately, the silence gave her great discomfort. Most could see the change in her face, including her friends.

“Oh, this is too horrible!” Fluttershy whispered. “I can’t watch! Tell me when it’s over!” She curled into a ball and covered her eyes with her wings.

“But you’re going to miss Dashie’s super-duper, awesome flying trick!” Pinkie said, but Fluttershy ignored her.

Rainbow stood firm in the middle of the arena. She lowered the top half of her body, bracing herself for what was to come. Dash gazed at the heavenly obstacle course, now having second thoughts. The words of her friends echoed in her mind. Her thoughts were betraying her. She turned her head to see her friends looking back. There was a mix of anxiety and concern on their faces. However, only one caught her eye.

Scootaloo.

She never took her eyes off Rainbow. The innocence on her face caused Rainbow Dash’s lips to curl into a little smile. The filly was as happy as she could be, just like the days when she watched Rainbow practice her stunt.

Thanks to Scootaloo, Rainbow found the strength, courage, and will to go on. She nodded to a stallion who turned the hourglass upside-down, then she crouched, pacing herself and counting down. At the last grain of sand she stretched her wings and launched herself into the sky, and the ponies cheered.

She flew to the oddly-shaped cirrus clouds. Rainbow dodged each extended ends of the clouds with a series of backflips and barrel rolls. There were collective gasps at her swift movements. She flew into the holes located at the center of the small cumulus clouds. They were scattered at different directions, but she flew through them.

Her next target was the cloud in the shape of a slingshot. Rainbow swiftly placed herself on the soft pad and pulled back as far as she could. She released herself from the pad, launching like an arrow from a bow. The intense speed watered her eyes, but she shook off the feeling and focused on her target. She was close to the supercloud, and then, boom! the giant cloud was demolished, much to the delight of the ponies.

“Did you see that!” Scootaloo yelled. “That was amazing!”

Pinkie, along with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, howled and jump. Even Rainbow’s other friends could not close their mouths.

Rainbow flew in different directions with a trail of clouds from the explosion. She smirked to herself as she spelled her name across the sky. Cheers, yells, and jubilant cries filled the air when RAINBOW DASH #1 was written in the clear blue.

“I’ll be a timberwolf in a woodchipper,” Applejack said. “She looks amazing! But I still think she’s as nuttier than Granny Smith’s apple pecan pie!”

“Normally I would agree with you my dear,” Rarity said, “but I have to admit, what she has done was… quite exquisite.” She had stars in her eyes. “She was swift, yet so elegant in her movements, graceful like a ballerina.”

“It is pretty impressive, isn’t it?” Twilight added. “But she’s not finished yet. She still has to make that sonic rainboom. What do you think, Fluttershy?”

There was no answer from her. Twilight looked to her side to see that Fluttershy was frozen, her mouth hanging open. Her wide eyes were glued upward.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash flew straight into the sky. When she looked down she saw the earth disappear under her. Going farther, she gazed at the heavenly collection of clouds. Dash looked across and saw the moon on the other side. The sky was no longer bright, but dark once she reached the troposphere. Her body shivered from the drop in temperature, but she kept going. When she reached the highest point everything was… silent. Peaceful. All the worries that she had left before this moment was gone from her.

But there was a lingering feeling inside her. Rainbow could not put her hoof on it, but it felt like everything around her was slowing down, as if something was stretching time.

Rainbow looked down. The earth was under her. After spending a few moments taking in the view, she held her breath and braced herself from the great drop. Rainbow tightly shut her eyes.

Then she fell from heaven.

The dive back to earth started rough. The brutality of the increasing speed threatened to blind her. The once freezing temperature rose once she was close to the atmosphere. Rainbow was diving with tremendous speed that everything around seem to stand still. It was time to pick up the pace. The greatest even in Equestrian history was about to begin. Soon the sky was going to be filled with colors. Rainbow Dash increased her speed to dangerous levels. The wind pierced against her blue skin. Suddenly, she felt the air pressure becoming weak. She saw a multicolored facade. This was it. The moment everyone has been waiting for.

She closed her eyes. She increased her speed one last time.

Everyone watched Rainbow fall to earth in terror. What was once a spectacle of physical prowess became a horror show. Luckily, there were pegasi on standby in case anything happened to her.

Pinkie Pie, along with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, cried out in terror, but only Pinkie was running in circles. Scootaloo remained fixed on the sky, eyes focused, not uttering a word.

“Rainbow, don’t you dare die on me,” Applejack muttered. She was on the verge of tears.

“I can’t, for the life of me, think of anything worse that can happen,” Rarity said, “but this is by far the worst!”

“Just stay calm,” Twilight pleaded, “Rainbow Dash will be okay! You know how she likes to surprise us!” She wanted to believe her words, but she was too worried. Like Scootaloo, Fluttershy also kept her gaze to the sky with her mouth agape.

The crowd was in a violent panic. Little foals cried their hearts out. Other than the pegasi ready to catch her, there was nothing anypony could do but watch.

And then.

BOOM!

A giant multicolored orb exploded in the sky. Rays of colorful streams of light scattered through all directions. The blue sky was covered in a blanket of rainbow. The sound of the explosion were like several rolls of thunder. The ponies were silent at the stunning sight. It was like a foal with a white canvas that was painted with different colors, mixing with the natural earth.

On that day all of Equestria head a million voices shout with joy. Rainbow Dash had made the greatest sonic rainboom of all time.

Everyone sang their praises to the one and only Dash. Foals danced with each other and sang how she punched a hole in the sky. Many have fainted during the latter half of the performance, but fortunately came to once it was over. Others never pulled their eyes away while their brains tried to make sense of what had happened.

Pinkie Pie jumped up and down with the excitement of a foal. Her poofy mane shot confettis everywhere. She pulled out an accordion and played a celebratory song. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle dance, but Scootaloo was too stunned to move.

Fluttershy slowly turned away from the sky and stared at her friends. Suddenly, in a moment they’ll never forget, she yelled and screamed like a crazed fan whose favorite team had won a game.

While everyone else celebrated, Twilight focused on the sky. She had a feeling that something was not right. She looked around and tried to process the feeling. What was it that made her feel uneasy? Twilight stared at the sky once more… then her eyes grew at the horrifying revelation.

Rainbow Dash never came down.

Twilight began to breath heavily. She darted her eyes back and forth, feeling as though she was lost in the mass of ponies. She desperately tried to find her friends to tell them what she had found out. Twilight ran so fast that she did not noticed Spike until he yelled for her to stop. Then her mouth moved faster than her voice when she spoke about the Rainbow Dash, the sonic rainboom, and how she was in trouble, much to his confusion.

“Slow down, Twilight! What are you trying to say?”

“Rainbow Dash never came down!” Twilight yelled. Her words caught the ears of nearby ponies.

“... What are you talking about?” Spike stammered.

“Listen to me! Have you seen Rainbow Dash after the sonic rainboom?”

“What’s all the ruckus about?” asked Applejack. She, Rarity, and Fluttershy heard yelling from a picnic table. Twilight gave them a distressful look, which made them nervous. “What’s the matter?” Applejack asked again.

“... Rainbow Dash never came down,” Twilight said, her voice shaking.

“What do you mean?” Rarity asked.

“After the sonic rainboom, she was supposed to jump on the trampoline… but she never did.”

The mares shared glances, all of them unwilling to believe what happened to Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy was the first to react. A lump formed inside her throat, her lips quivered. Small tears flowed down her cheeks and she cried silently. Rarity held her close while trying her best to hold back her own tears. Applejack refused to believe. She knew Rainbow Dash would get hurt doing something dangerous, but not like this. Spike hid his face behind his rainbow wig.

The mares and the little dragon gazed at Pinkie and the Crusaders. They were dancing while Pinkie played the accordion.

“Should we tell them?” Spike asked, wiping his eyes.

“Absolutely not!” pleaded Rarity. “It will be too hard on them, especially Pinkie! And the girls… they’re just children. And Scootaloo… oh heaven have mercy on her.”

“Rarity, you darn well we can’t do that,” Applejack said. Her voice was full of force, but with a hint of sadness. She covered her face for a moment.

“... Applejack,” Rarity began.

Applejack wanted to say something else, but she ran away. Fluttershy continued to cry, so Rarity levitated a handkerchief to wipe her eyes. Twilight looked up at the sky, praying nothing terrible happened to her best friend, but her thoughts worked against her. Spike sat on the ground and watched Pinkie and the Crusaders dance to the accordion. More tears fell from his eyes when he gazed at Scootaloo.

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