• Published 22nd Mar 2013
  • 963 Views, 19 Comments

Fly me to the Moon - englishwitch



Rainbow Dash risks all to break a world record and achieve her deepest dream

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Chapter 3

Fly me to the moon.
Fanfic by Englishwitch

Chapter 3

The group of ponies and one griffin scanned the sky desperately.

“There!” Gilda pointed a claw at a white contrail racing downwards like a daytime shooting star.

Twilight gasped, “She’s coming in too fast.”

Applejack leaned over the edge of the basket. “RAINBOW!”

Gilda stared at the numbers on display in the magically enchanted sunglasses, they were diving so fast the numbers were just a blur. Gilda recognised a free-fall when she saw it. Rainbow wasn’t in control of that dive. “She’s gonna slam into the ground.”

The griffon leapt out of the basket, spread her wings and dove down at a sharp angle.

Rainbow continued to fall, getting faster with every passing second. She fell past Gilda. The griffon roared with shock and frustration.

Gilda tucked in her wings, legs and even her tail, stream-lining her body as much as possible. She dove in Dash’s wake, riding the clear air make in the ponies slipstream. Dash was falling so fast an air-cone was forming around her. Gilda stretched out her talons and ground her teeth. She could feel the air fighting, pushing, trying to force her back. She’d never flown so fast before but it wasn’t fast enough. She roared and pushed back against the air and the laws of physics. She flapped her wings. Dash’s tail came in range. She snapped her talons to a close. She had her.

BOOM

Gilda’s foreleg was nearly wrenched out of its socket from a sudden burst of acceleration from Rainbow Dash. She was blinded by an explosion of rainbow coloured light. Rainbow Dash had fallen so fast she’d achieved an unconscious Sonic Rainboom and Gilda was being pulled along for the ride.

Their course was straight down and the ground was getting closer, now faster than ever.

Keeping her grip on Rainbow’s tail with one claw Gilda pushed her other foreleg through the violent churning slipstream, forcing it forward with brute strength to Rainbow’s flank. She grabbed it tightly, her claws dug into the soft flesh. Droplets of blood flew into her face, Gilda ignored them and pulled Dash closer to her body. The move was slow; gravity wasn’t surrendering its hold on the pony’s dead weight. She had to do it, had to pull her closer.

She hugged Dash’s back legs to her chest. The ground was upon them. It would have to do.

Gilda opened her wings as wide as she could. The wind was like a battering ram against her. She roared in agony. It felt like her wings were going to be torn off. “COME ON!!!” She tried, forcing her wings to tilt, to change the angle of the fall.

...***...

Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie were thrown off their hooves from a massively powerful shock-wave as a screaming rainbow flew over their heads, barely twenty feet off the ground. The rainbow shot across the countryside, losing height at a frightening rate until it crashed into the trees of the Everfree forest.

There was a flash of light next to the three ponies; Twilight had teleported herself and Applejack to the ground.

“C’mon.” AJ broke into a gallop, racing toward the trees, the others fell in line behind her.

...***...

Less than half a mile into the woods they found Rainbow Dash and Gilda.

The griffin was holding the pony tightly in her forelegs. Gilda was sporting a nasty looking cut on her forehead and her left wing was bent at a painful angle but she didn’t seem to notice. All her attention was on Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow’s hair was singed at the tips, sweat was dripping off her body and her suit had been torn around Rainbow’s haunches and where Gilda’s claws had grabbed her flank.

Despite it all, Rainbow was beginning to stir. She groaned and her legs started to move.

...***...

Rainbow’s eyes opened slowly.

The world was too bright, voices too loud. Brightly coloured shapes danced around her. Her head started to hurt.

Then suddenly the pain was gone and reality crept back into place.

She was in a hospital bed at Ponyville General. Surrounded by her five best friends.

Fluttershy started to tear up.

Twilight smiled in relief. “Thank Celestia you’re okay.”

“We’re so glad to have you back sugar-cube”

“Darling, we were so worried.”

“We should have a party to celebrate. But later, because the doctors took all my party supplies. They said it wouldn’t help you get better, which is just silly, because a party always makes everything better.”

Rainbow looked to each of them in turn. “Umm....hi....so.....who are you?”

Their eyes widened in fear.

Rainbow grinned. “Gotcha.” she laughed,, then had to stop, it hurt to laugh.

The five mares sighed with relief, almost all of them were even able to smile.

“Not funny Dashie.” Pinkie said, although her giggles took away any seriousness her sentence would have had.

Dash nodded her head, but she kept smiling. She looked down at herself, her wings and haunches were bandaged, so was her flank and was it her imagination or were her mane and tail a little shorter than they had been before?

She looked back up at her friends. “So, what happened?” she looked at each of them in turn. “Last thing I remember is equalling the old record, did I do it?”

None of them spoke but a voice came all the same, “You did it Dash.”

The curtain next to Rainbow’s bed was pulled aside, revealing the other bed in the hospital room and Dash’s room-mate.

Gilda was in a sorrier state than Rainbow was, her left wing was bandaged to a metal frame, keeping it straight and still to aid its healing, she had more bandages wrapped around her head and shoulder. Yet, despite all her injuries, Gilda was smiling.

“Last reading before you started coming down was 39.2 Kilometres.” Gilda said to her old friend. “You smashed the record. Higher than anyone has ever flown before.”

“YES! ow.” Dash winced and rubbed her shoulder with her hoof gently. It didn’t matter, she could tolerate the pain. She had done it, broken a world record, gone down into the history books.

She looked around the room with a prideful smile. She couldn’t have done it, never would have had the courage to even try, without her friends.

They weren’t tears, they were liquid pride. “Thanks you guys. Thanks, so much.”

Comments ( 4 )

Liquiiiid Pride!
Awesome. I like the idea that there's more to Dash and her dreams than just 'Wonderbolts, Wonderbolts, Wonderbolts', ya know? Well done. :pinkiehappy:

Oh, and I was totally listening to Bowie's Space Oddity for the last chapter. (Ground control to Major Dash!)

Would have expected a little more "Thanks for risking your own life for saving me, Gilda!" at the end, otherwise great story ;)

BOOM
Gilda’s foreleg was nearly wrenched out of its socket from a sudden burst of acceleration from Rainbow Dash. She was blinded by an explosion of rainbow coloured light. Rainbow Dash had fallen so fast she’d achieved an unconscious Sonic Rainboom and Gilda was being pulled along for the ride.

Achiement Unlocked
Unconscious Sonic Rainboom.

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