> Every Rainbow Must Shine > by Cumulus Sky > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Come on Dashie! You’ve got this!” Pinkie was hopping up and down energetically as she cheered Rainbow Dash on. Dash was flying high above Ponyville, at record-breaking speeds. That was her goal, the whole town had gathered around to witness Rainbow Dash break the old speed record of Ponyville, which of course had been set by her. Her wing muscles were aching, flying faster than she ever had before. But she wasn’t about to give in. She’d been training hard all year, and this was her time to shine. As she sped past the Mayor, she could hear a faint yell “She’s done it! She has broken the record!” Rainbow Dash heard the sound of hundreds of hooves stomping on the ground. She was filled with newfound adrenaline. She pulled up into an ark and shot downward as fast as she could. The air surrounding her seemed to curve; it crackled as the power from her speed began to break the barrier. With a loud crack! A spectrum of spectacular colors filled the sky. She had performed yet another Sonic Rainboom. Rainbow Dash slowed her speed as she neared the ground, being careful not to strain her wings too much. She looked back up at the sky; the rainbow she had left behind was still there. There was something about Sonic Rainbooms that still awed her. A bunch of the ponies were still agape staring at the sky. Rainbow let out a little giggle “First timers”. All of a sudden thump! Dash was sprawled on the ground, lying below a very energetic, bouncing Pinkie Pie. “Dashie! You did it! I knew you could. I mean, I thought you could, but I still knew you would!” She turned her head sideways and looked at Dash “What’cha doing down there Dashie?” she giggled. “Uh… I fell” Rainbow stifled a laugh. Pinkie was always going to be Pinkie. Dash got up, brushed herself off and stretched out her wings, they were really sore. She extended them fully and winced at the sharp pain that shot through them “Are you hurt? You might’ve overworked yourself, you need a cupcake and some rest!” Pinkie Pie beckoned at Rainbow. Yelling “Let’s go slowpoke!” as she bounced her way to Sugarcube Corner. “Alright Pinkie, whatever you say.” The crowd was already starting to die down a little bit after Rainbow landed. The rush of adrenaline was over, and she was exhausted. She really could use a cupcake. “Mmm.” Rainbow Dash smiled. “These are some really good cupcakes Pinkie!” crumbs were flying out of her mouth. “Thanks Dashie! I made them just for you! I used a new recipe this time.” Pinkie was rambling on about all the ingredients she had used in the cupcakes, but Dash wasn’t paying much attention. She was a little worried about her wing; she didn’t want to end up in the hospital again. “Look Pinkie, thanks for the cupcake, but I’m gonna go see if Twilight has a book about wing pain, I want to figure out what’s wrong.” “Okey Dokey Lokey!” she exclaimed bouncing around the room. “See you around Dashie!” As Rainbow Dash made her way to Twilight’s she decided to try out her wings and fly. She jumped up into the air and flapped, but winced once more and fell back down to the ground. “Ouch, that’s a no go.” Maybe she had broken a bone? How long would that take to fix? Before she knew it she was standing in front of Twilight’s house. She knocked on the door and to her surprise. A stallion opened the door, who was most definitely NOT twilight. He was tall, stout, with a white coat and a blue mane. His light blue eyes looked down at her. “Hello, are you one of Twi’s friends?” He asked. “Uh, yeah, I am. I’m just here to see if she has a book that I needed.” She said awkwardly, she wasn’t good at talking to new ponies. “Well go on in, she is in the library.” He stepped out of the doorway and beckoned her in. Twilight Sparkle turned around “Oh, hey Rainbow Dash, what are you here for?” “Heya Twilight. I was just wondering if you had a book on wing pains.” “I most certainly do.” She pulled a book down from one of the shelves using her magic. “‘Thunder Roller’s Book of Peculiar Pegasi Wing Pains.’ And if I may ask Rainbow, what happened to your wing? Why do you need this book?” “When I was out there breaking my record, I might have strained myself a little too much; I think I might have pulled a muscle.” She smirked a little bit. “Well, you probably won’t be able to fly to your home tonight. Let’s have you stay here for the night, you can have my bed.” “Nah Twilight, I think I’ll be fine.” She trotted toward the door. “Thanks for the book though, I’ll return it as soon as I’m done.” “Okay Dash, I’ll see you later” She didn't want try to argue with Rainbow Dash, she was usually pretty stubborn. “See you.” She looked back and saw the stallion smiling at her. She gave a tiny smile back and walked out the door. “Okay Dash, you can do this.” She gave yet another attempt to fly up to her house with the book between her hooves. It was harder than it looked. The pain in her wing was getting worse every time she tried. “Give it all you’ve got!” She flapped into the air as hard as she could and just barely made it onto the cloud-balcony of her home. “Phew…Glad that’s over.” She walked into her house and threw the book onto a table; she’d get to that tomorrow. She stretched out her wings one last time before she lied down for bed. Boy, were they sore. She fluffed her cloud pillow and jumped onto her bed, she was really tied too. But the thought of the stallion at Twilight’s kept her awake. Why hadn’t she asked Twilight who he was? What was he doing there anyway? She decided she would ask her tomorrow. But for now, she wanted to sleep. To Be Continued