Friend-Abided Revelation
What better a canvas then the skies above Ponyville?
Although the town’s resident Wonderbolt and hero Rainbow Dash didn’t ask herself this quite so elegantly, she did ponder its basic idea. She loved attention. Not the kind of jealous or addictive attention that others fed on. The thought of a certain traveling magician popped into her head. But the kind of attention that recognizes something...awesome. She decided that was the best way to describe it. Plain and simple. She was going to do something awesome and she wanted to be recognized for it. And that could only happen if ponies were there to see it. Thus, the prospect of Ponyville’s skyline being a canvas was diluted in her mind to “everyone will for sure see if I do it above the town.”
This stream of thinking occurred almost as fast as Rainbow Dash flew. And that was obvious by the grin on her muzzle and the spark in her eyes. So it was obvious to the ponies around her, namely, Rarity. Rarity, who had just ten minutes prior awoke to the sound of pounding on her door was feeling a small pounding in her skull as she stared expectantly at her pegasus friend. After all, it had been Rainbow Dash who had unexpectedly woken her up early in the morning, “quite out of character for her,” she thought, and was now staring off into space, seemingly lost in her own dreams. Not sure whether to close her front door and pretend like this never happened or try to bring Rainbow down from cloud neighn, Rarity likewise stood in silence in front of her friend.
Deciding that either decision may lead to her returning to her bed, she decided that it was upon her to break the silence.
“Rainbow...To what do I owe this...surprise?”
The pegasus, always attracted to the mention of her own name, quickly returned to the situation in front of her.
“Oh Jeez, sorry, Rares. I kinda got lost there. Um...what was the last thing I told you?”
With an expression relaying the confusion of both mares, she answered, “Well, Rainbow. You just finished knocking on my door and then remained silent as I opened it.”
“Perfect! So I can still tell you about my plan!”
Before Rarity could begin to formulate a question regarding this “plan,” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and hovered past her inside. The slight gust of air created as the pegasus shoved past her woke Rarity up a little more. Enough for her to regain some of here usual composure.
“You know it is quite uncouth for a pony to simply invite themselves into another’s home, Rainbow. I...”
Rarity’s speech was simultaneously halted by both the sight of Rainbow Dash raiding her kitchen and the sound of her crunching down on a bag of chips that she had somehow already gotten into.
“Oh yeah, sorry about that. But what I’ve got to tell you just can’t wait!”
“Really? Because you seemed fine with making we wait a minute ago while you stood outside my door ogling the sky.”
Between bites full of chips, Rainbow managed to dismiss Rarity’s facts once more and kept to her own pace of the conversation.
“Yeah, yeah. And don’t worry about the food. I got so excited this morning I forgot to eat breakfast.”
“Um...yes. Then I suppose this is fine...You mentioned something about a plan?”
The ceaseless crunching of chips was finally put to rest by a massive swallow by Rainbow, freeing up her mouth to smile proudly for a moment before revealing her intentions for this unorthodox visit.
“Yeah! I have the perfect plan for everyone in town to see the new addition to Sonic Rainboom!”
Rarity was truly not expecting that form of response. Whether it because of its actual relevance or failure to explicitly include her, she couldn’t be sure. She was, however, quite awake now.
“That is definitely something, Rainbow. I wasn’t even aware you were working on the Rainboom.”
“That’s cause I’ve been secretly practicing with Spitfire. She gave me a couple tips to help me go even faster and even...Um...actually I can’t tell you everything.
Rarity grinned briefly, amused by the way her friend whispered about her one on one with the Wonderbolt captain, as if it was a crime and she had to keep it a secret. She was then quite intrigued by Rainbow’s last statement.
“Oh...is that so? Does it have to do with your plan?”
“No, no. There’s just a...twist...that I don’t want to give away is all. As for the plan, it’s soooo obvious. To make sure everyone sees it, I’ve got to do it right over Ponyville!”
It was this out-of-the-blue enthusiasm that often impressed Rarity about Rainbow Dash. As a designer, she could relate to the effect as she herself experienced quite sudden bursts of inspiration. Thus, it made it a tad harder to immediately try to get Rainbow to abandon the idea.
“Rainbow. A Sonic Rainboom right over the town? Do you remember how powerful it is when you do it?”
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“Yeah, I know! It’s the best flying maneuver maybe ever and Ponyville gets to see it up close! Just how awesome is that!”
The duality of Rainbow’s clueless excitement and Rarity’s foreseeing dread would have been quite comical to a third party.
“No, Rainbow Dash. It would certainly not be...awesome. At least not when it destroys half of Ponyville.”
Rainbow, who often expressed her excitement by raising herself into the air, was quickly snapped out of her euphoria, and floated back down to level with Rarity.
“What do you mean?”
“Rainbow, you of all ponies should know that your trick is capable of...immense damage. I fear having it too close to Ponyville could cause unexpected consequences.”
The flash of anger or resentment that Rarity expected from her friend was strangely absent in the face of what appeared to be overwhelming confusion.
“Don’t you think I can do this? I get what you’re saying here, Rares. But trust me I can handle my own stunt.”
Again, Rarity had been surprised by an answer Rainbow Dash had given her this morning.
“No, Rainbow. It’s not that I don’t think you can do it. I think that you doing it might be a tad...destructive.”
The resentment that Rarity had expected earlier then bubbled out, catching the unicorn off guard once more.
“Really? Cause you seem to be saying exactly that. I can do this without destroying the town. Is that what you want me to say?”
“I would love for that to be the case, Rainbow. But you have to realize that that’s just not how it will go.”
“I don’t have to realize anything here. The only thing I don’t get is why you don’t want me to have this!”
Just as Rainbow Dash’s anger had taken Rarity by surprise, the fashonista’s anger would similarly catch her off guard.
“Are you not listening to me, Rainbow!? I doesn’t matter that you’re doing a trick. It matters that what you’re doing is dangerous.”
“And why can’t you listen!? I’m telling you that I can handle it. I’ve always been able to handle my stunts even if their dangerous.”
“Yes, but this time it is dangerous for somepony other than yourself!”
“...”
“...Rainbow Dash?”
The pegasus whose friend now stared both questioningly and worringly at her did not hear the calls of her name. She was in another state of mind; another world in her eyes, contemplating what Rarity had just asserted.
“Dangerous...to others?”
Rainbow Dash wanted nothing more but to dismiss the claim. She was an Element of Harmony afterall, a hero. And heros aren’t dangerous to others. They save others. However, as she continued to think, she realized that there was nothing heroric about what she planned to do. The trick, in all honesty, was for herself. Rainbow tried to rationalize that her perfrmance would be for the enjoyment of ther residents of the town. But even she couldn’t believe her own lies anymore. She would be flying to fulfill her own need for adrenaline and sense of self pride. The skies of ponyville were a perfect canvas...for the art of fate. And if fate didn’t smile on her, it would be frowning on the residents of Ponyville.
“RAINBOW DASH!!!” The yell quickly broke Rainbow out of her trance. Blinking a few times, Rainbow Dash finally came to her senses and her eyes readjusted onto her friend.
“R...Rarity.”
“Yes, deary. It’s about time. I’ve been calling your name for a while now. You need to stop blacking out on me.”
Rainbow knew her friend and thus recognized Rarity’s mild attempt at humor as a subsequent attempt to clear some of the tension between them. But to fully dispell such tension would be on her soulders. Sighing, Rainbow Dash prepared to do one of the things she really hated in life.
“...You’re right, Rarity.”
“Excuse me?”
Another sigh.
“I said...you’re right. I guess if something wen’t wrong or...if I couldn’t fully control it...somepony could get hurt if it happened over town.”
“Why...yes, dear. That is what I’m getting at...But in no way am I discounting your ability! I am just worried is all. If something happened, even if it wasn’t your fault, you could be held accountable.”
Although another silence fell between the two friends, both ponies could tell that it was born out of emotional exhaustion rather than animosity. To prove this sentiment, Rarity ended such silence rather quickly.
“That being said, if you were to perform your trick somewhere safe, I’m sure we could draw quite the audience as long as they watched from a...safe distance.”
Hearing these words, the spirit Rainbow Dash carried with her that morning returned almost to full force.
“Really!? You’d help me find ponies to watch!?”
“Why of course! We’re friends and I do love your tricks, darling. I agree that other ponies deserve a chance to enjoy them.”
And other ponies would. With help from Rarity, Rainbow Dash spent the rest of the day scouting the outskirts of town for a safer place to perform. Eventually, coming upon an empty field, Rainbow began practicing her craft as Rarity headed back into town to fulfill her promise of drawing a crowd. Soon, most of Ponyville had come and stood at the edge of the field, far enough away from Rainbow’s planned spot that no pony would have a chance at getting injured.
The field was quiet. No bug nor other tiny creature scurried about and Rainbow Dash could hear only a small breeze passing through and the pounding of her own heartbeat. As she began a slow ascent into the sky, she thought of the irony of how quickly she would try to descend back towards the ground. Looking over at her crowd, with Rarity standing proudly at the front, she realized one thing before she began. Rainbow Dash would not be doing this for herself alone. Now, she would be doing it for Rarity as well.