What if you're the type of pony who loves one thing, then it gets old, boring, and you find a new hobbie? Are you stuck with your old cutie mark for life?
During Rainbow Dash's more boisterous years, being cool was the ultimate thing for her. Speeding through the clouds, being part of the Wonderbolts, and being totally un-lame was her teenage dream. But she's grown up now, and while everypony is fufilling their dream, she feels like being the sportiest pegasus isn't her destiny anymore.
My name is Rainbow Dash. The cyan blue pony with a mane of many colours. I'm known all over Equestria. I'm here to tell you a rather spectacular tale of something that very rarely happens in Equestria. You see, you probably know me as the tomboy, competitive pony you often see. I've been like that since I was a filly. I was always trying to impress my parents, and everyone around me. Being the fastest and coolest pony on the block was the old way I could think back then. My mind was full of rainbows, and that was that. There was no thinking before I acted.
I aimed to be the best of best. I'd race every colt and filly in Cloudsdale. I couldn't wait to get my hooves running, my wings pumping, spinning through the air at the speed of light! My desperation to have friends covered everything else. When I completed my first Sonic Rainboom, that was it. It was sealed, for what I thought was life. My cutie mark, a rainbow lightning bold striking from the clouds. It was so cool!
But that was then. Years I was the sportiest, coolest pony, and I never wanted that place to fade. I continued to force myself to be the best, even if it mean't cheating. That's when I discovered my place in the Elements of Harmony. I was loyal through and through, my friends were important, even if sometimes the vision of winning clouded my every thought. Meeting my five great friends was one of the best things to ever happen to me.
Then came the dream of the Wonderbolts. The top of the top, every pegasus looked up to them like overlords. They were Equestria's best fliers! The first time I saw them I was taken back by everything they had to offer. They performed for the Princess herself. How much cooler did it get than that? I instantly wanted to be part of them. I wanted to show off more than I already did. Even to the point when the Shadowbolts looked like a good option, until the calls of my friends summoned me back to using my head.
You guys know the rest. I found my rival, Lightning Dust, too, and that pressured me even further to keep my rank at the top. I was scared that if I slipped I'd never be able to climb back up. I was a coward, I claimed to be scared of nothing. Nothing but failure.
The very thought of being thrown back in the ranks to a pony who was mocked for what she could and could not do was the enough to drive me mad. Being cool was my epitome of awesomeness, and I was convinced then it would be my dream. But every pony grows up, from the strictest of fillies to silly Pinkie Pies, we may hold our personalities through thick and thin, but the outer shell of our fillyhood is slowly stripped away, leaving the talent we prospered and loved the best.
And believe it or not, being sporty and flying was not what was left behind for me. Not at all. Everything alike that was being peeled away from me, to leave behind a fresh Rainbow Dash. A new start. But could I really start my dream over?
It all began on a day I was flying through the topmost areas of Cloudsdale, enjoying the wind in my mane, the ruffling in the feathers of my wings. The sun shone bright across my body, and I couldn't of felt better. The morning was a time to get out and about, see everypony, greet the sky with the biggest of smiles, and I had nothing to feel sad about. I found myself spinning, singing joy straight out of my heart.
"Don't remind me, that some days I'm a windshield, and other days I'm just a lucky bug!" I had exclaimed, soaring through a cloud and landing neatly on the white, rolling ground. A warm light lit up inside of me as my voice struggled to be let out again. "As cold iron rails leave old mossy trails through the country side!"
Then I'd heard a voice behind me. My heart grew cold as a stone, and it weighed me down.
"Nice singing Dash!" That was Soarin, I could tell by the faint huskiness in his stallion tone.
"I never knew you could sing so well!" Spitfire, I knew her voice too well.
I spun around, eyes wide as moons. "Where did you two come from?" I said, looking between them, embarrassment turning my cheeks bright red.
Soarin chuckled and swiped his mane from his face. "We were out stretching our wings when we heard you."
"You have a pretty voice, Rainbow." Spitfire smiled, blinking at me softly with glittering eyes.
I was normally warmed at praise from the Wonderbolts, but this was different. I wasn't a singer! Singing was... totally uncool! I mean... wasn't it? But then I backtracked. Did I care? They said I was good, and I felt good! This is where my stubbornness started to fade, and I saw the light of new hobbies. But it was just a hobby, right? I was still the coolest, fastest pony in Ponyville.
At least I thought that was the case. Because as I said, the stubbornness was only fading. Things were yet to get a lot worse, or better, mind you. But my life has had twists and turns since then. And this is only just the beginning of my life. Whether I have to start it over or not. I'm still Rainbow Dash. And I may not be able to tell you my story in ten seconds flat, but it's worth listening to anyway.
After my bump into Soarin and Spitfire, I got thinking. Did I have any other talents? Cool talents of course. I mean, what pony wanted their best skill to be something totally, like, weird? I mean, that's what I was thinking then. My mind was full of sporty junk that had been forced upon me through years of panic about anything else being the wrong way to go. I had to find a way to clear my head.
The very next day after that shenanigan, I payed a visit to the best homey town in Equestria: Ponyville. It was a rather uneventful day. It was hot and sweaty, and I was bored out of my brains. I'd popped into Twilight's library to get out of the heat, but all she did was droan on about books. I said I had to be somewhere and slipped out, not regretting my little white lie one bit.
So I'd visited each of my close friends through the day; Fluttershy and her chickens, Applejack and her apple-bucking, Pinkie and her cakes, Rarity and her dresses. It was all their dream, doing what they do best, and they loved it. Maybe, yes, what they did bored me down to the marrow in my bones, but to them they were living life to the fullest, even if it mean't pushing themselves the extra distance.
I did that right? I pushed myself? I mean, I raced all the time! I was sporty, and I cleared the clouds for the whole of PonyVille! Yes, sometimes I was lazy, but the other pegasi didn't mind doing my job now and then. It was their job too, though. I mean, was this what I really wanted to do?
To shrug off my boredom that day, I'd slipped down to the lake and taken a quick dip. It was great to get out of the heat, and I was alone with my thoughts. I'd washed my mane, and as I waded through the cool water, I'd closed my eyes and sung.
"This is a world, of dreams, and reverie. Where I felt the stars, explode, around me." I'd splashed around, having the best time of my life, listening to my voice echo off the water and the surrounding rocks.
Could a day racing really compare to this? What was I saying! Being athletic was my life! This was a one time thing for today. But then again, I could remember other times feeling this great. I could recall a million times even!
One in particular, it was a cold spring day, and I was going a bit of cleaning about my house. It was odd for me yes, knowing my lazy self I often let the cloud-bunnies gather in every knook and crannie. But the very thought of the Wonderbolts popping in to say hello, or even Lightning Dust barging in from time to time, to see my clutter was unnerving. So away I went with tail and wing, blowing things about, dusting things off.
I'd recited a rather particular tune as I'd whirled around like Hurricane Dash. "You would not believe your eyes, if ten million fireflies, lit up the world as I fell asleep. 'Cause they'd fill the open air, and leave tear drops everywhere, you'd think me rude but I'd just stand and... stare."
The chorus had almost lifted my roof with a melody that played my heart strings like a gently strummed guitar. "I'd like to make myself believe, that planet Earth turns, slowly. It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep, 'cause everything is never as it seems." I'd echoed myself as I slowed to a halt, letting out a gusty sigh of content. "When I'm asleep."
By this stage in my story, you've probably guessed the talent I've kept hidden under my wings for a long time now. Also, you'll be wondering what happened to old stubborn Rainbow Dash. She's still here, I'm still here. My stubbornness comes to show at about this point, when I start to deny all traces of what was happening.
Did someone say loser? I hope not. My main thought track was that things were getting out of hoof. Singing wasn't my talent for sure, it was a hobby in all it was. I was at war with my own self conscience, one half telling me to cast aside this foolish hobby of mine for something cooler, the other reminding me that my own sportiness had started off as a hobby itself, and it just took a little time and nurturing to get it to grow into what I have now.
It seems while I was busy blooming new eras of talent that my self esteem was left to wilt. This in itself prospered my personality to this day, whittling away the less important sides at the time. This brings me to the popularity side of things. I was desperate to be on the scene, refusing to be an outcast at any one time or moment. I wanted to be admired, I wanted ponies to look up at me like a role model, the pegasus who was envied for her ambitious qualities.
Singing never really came to me during my filly years, which I spent earning my cutie mark. It seemed that when my talent for flying and being the fastest pony in Ponyville appeared in full color on each of my flanks, it had to be true. This was my destiny, to be the best they'd ever seen. But has anyone really seen what was going on inside of me?
On the inside I was falling apart. Life was getting so hard, and admitting it was even harder. Dealing with it was the worst part. I felt like an urchin, trying to latch on to any host that passed me. I needed friends who understood me. Friends who didn't care whether I made a fool of myself, or I wasn't the top of the game.
That's where Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie come into my story. Without those five mares, I would be lost for thought. Having friends so close to cheer me on was the biggest help I could of asked for. Even if I was shy of acting up in front of them, I had learnt to laugh at my mistakes and shrug off my embarrassment. I had everything I wanted, great friends, I had fun everyday, and I was ready for the Wonderbolts. What was missing?
I was missing a friend that shared my talents, my favorite things to do. I wanted someone to share the skies with, to be lazy with, to laugh together with somepony. I felt greedy asking for more than I already had, and I often got frustrated with myself for not being more grateful. That all changed when I met a pony who was my complete opposite.
I first saw this pony when I'd met Lightning Dust. She'd been milling around, not talking to anyone, not straying near us. The whole group of us, me, Lightning, and the Wonderbolts must of seemed quite a rowdy crowd for a quiet pony like herself. At the first moment I'd found, I slipped away and trotted up to her, wondering who she was.
She was a dark grey pegasus with bright gold eyes. Her red, almost pink, mane had swished over her eyes when she turned to face me. I cast a glance at her side, but I was surprised to see that she was completely blank flanked. Her sides even looked a little duller than the rest of her shiny coat, but I looked away as not to upset her, and met her gaze.
"Are you okay?" I said nervously, finding my voice had grown very tight and high pitched as if I was nervous.
She blinked slowly. "Yes, I'm fine." She said with a smooth voice that felt amazing to listen to. She folded her wings to her side, studying me as if I was book. Her glowing eyes bore into me, and I let myself shiver.
"My name is Rainbow Dash," I had said politely, looking at the ground and scraping it with my hoof a little.
"I'm Rhythm." She said quietly, looking away.
The rest of our story is longer even than the one I've come to tell. The point given is, Rhythm shared my talent, and she was just as shy as I was. She'd even gone to the distance to appear blank flank, when in truth she'd painted over her cutie marks. In the years to come me and Rhythm became closer and closer, and as our trust strengthened, we'd shared our voices together. We weren't much of a duet, our voices were very different, but we both took to it naturally. She had a soft, rosey smooth voice, and I had to deal with the natural huskiness of my speaking voice let alone my singing voice.
Knowing I wasn't alone soothed me, but not quite. Neither of us ever planned to share our talents. But Rhythm was lucky. Her name, her cutie mark, everything showed that she would be exceptional if she had opened the curtains she kept drawn to the crowd and let Equestria hear her. I was different, I had other things, cooler things right? I was the sporty pony, and I had my cutie mark for that.
I knew that would never change, and neither would the fact that no-one knew that singing was growing into something more than a hobby for me. It was a secret, and I was determined to keep it behind iron bars. Nopony heard anything, saw anything, suspected anything. I left no traces, nothing to follow my back on.
I was always convinced that me and Rhythm were odd ones out when it came to our underground specialty. But I hadn't noticed that all around me there were ponies that shared our love for melody. When Rhythm was confident enough with me to break out of her dark shell and be her bright and bubbly self around me, she offered to show me to ponies who also loved music. I was scared, what if I knew them? Rhythm had told me that it didn't matter.
We'd flown down to the park, humming a beat we'd conjured together. She had led me down to the grass area by the fountain in Ponyville. There was a clean white filly with a two-tone mane lying on the soft earth, and a mare who sat strangely on the edge of the fountain, leaning back her with legs hanging over the edge. I recognized the filly immediately.
"Sweetie Belle!" I had exclaimed.
She was shocked to see that I was the pony Rhythm must have mentioned to them before. Before I even had a chance to voice my fears, she'd read my mind and reassured me that she wouldn't tell anyone about our meeting, if I kept it from Scootaloo. It was two sided promise I was willing to keep.
"This is Lyra," Rhythm had explained, introducing me to the turquoise Earth Pony.
Once the introductions were well through, we'd joined together as one. It was more amazing than any race I'd had, any competition or audition. With Lyra's skilled hooves plucking at her lyre with a long, smooth melody, we began to sing parts of our song.
"I opened my eyes," Rhythm started off for us, her hips swaying, "last night, and saw you in the low light."
"Walking down by the bay, on the shore, staring up at the planes that aren't there anymore." Sweetie Belle sang, looking as if it made her warm just by using her voice.
When it was my turn, I felt excitement rise in me, and it came out in the form of my lyrics. "I was feeling the night grow old and you were looking so cold."
Then warmth exploded inside of me as we sang together, each of our different voices weaving together into a knot. "Like an introvert, I drew my over shirt, around my arms and began to shiver violently before you happened to look and see the tunnels all around me, running into the dark underground, all the subways around create a great sound to my motion fatigue, farewell, with your ear to a seashell you can hear the waves in underwater caves, as if you actually were inside a saltwater room."
It was at that very moment I knew that music was the very fabric of what I wanted to do. My fears had been banished by our harmonious voices and I wanted nothing more than to share my voice with the whole of Equestria. I was going to get over this hurdle, I was a changed pony. No longer was I the competitive pegasus of before. I was ready, and I had a feeling that so were my new friends.
I cannot put into detail the feeling of staring out with eyes that glow with self-pride, and have it reflected by three other pairs. Sweetie Bell's soft smile, Lyra smirking as she watched me, and Rhythm looking mischievous. Because this was not the end of my story. Just because I have now realized what lies in store for my future, doesn't mean its all going to flow in and it the frame perfectly. I have so much more to tell you.
After our day together, Lyra had planned us to meet at Sugarcube Corner. This where my nerves began to rise again like clouds floating into the sky. Pinkie Pie and the Cake family were sure to be there. What was Lyra planning? To scare me away from the ground to become a pony living half a life, droning on being sporty when it was just her fillyhood dream?
Oh, how I was wrong. When I arrived I saw more ponies than I had expected. I was greeted by a bouncing Pinkie Pie, who was speaking so fast that I couldn't understand anything she said. She'd led me through the ponies, some I recognized, to Rhythm, Lyra and Sweetie Belle. Beside them were two ponies I was less familiar with, two mares, one a dusky gray, the other bright white with hair I almost envied.
"Dash!" Rhythm beamed. "Come on, come on!" She'd rallied, herding me towards them. "This is Vinyl Scratch and Octavia!"
Vinyl stared at me through wide rimmed glasses, and I blinked with awe as she bobbed her head as if to a tune. Octavia looked more sophisticated, holding herself elegantly up on her hooves. She rested one leg on a cello. She dipped her head to me, but neither said anything.
"What are we all doing here?" I had asked, shaking out my mane and looking around, spotting each of my old friends inbetween the ponies that had gathered.
All together, the five ponies around me spoke together in perfect synch. "We're going to perform!"
I'm the kind of pony that wants to show off, but gets nervous when it comes to the real deal. If you haven't noticed already. Being the best I can and proving it are on two different sides of the scale here, and I find it hard to balance the two. Being told that I had to perform on stage, in front of my friends, and a great deal of PonyVille was enough to make me feel lightheaded.
What if I fainted on stage? What if I lost my voice and made a fool of myself, just standing there with an open mouth, knees buckling with fear? These were my worst of fears that day, and the warm smiles of my fellow musicians wasn't enough to lay my hay.
Rhythm had trotted onto the small stage and folded her wings, blinking at me expectantly. Vinyl sauntered off to engineer the sound a little more, if that was possible, while Sweetie Bell, Lyra, and Octavia waited for me to go ahead and join the pretty pegasus already waiting.
My heart had felt like a heavy weight in my chest, and I pushed myself to slip over beside her, unable to meet the gaze of anyone in the crowd, eyes glued to my hooves. I felt the soft brush of Sweetie Bell's flank against mine, and she blinked gently at me.
"I have to do this in front of the CMC!" She said, forcing a smile. "Without getting embarrassed too."
I had snickered gently and nuzzled her, lifting my head finally and staring over the happy ponies here to listen to our music. My anxiety had floated away when I realized none of them looked angry, and none were laughing at me or the others. I could see my friends too, looking proud. Proud of.... me.
The music started behind me, a faint backing track from the speakers, the gentle pull of the lyre, followed by the cello. I could hear Rhythm tapping her hoof gently to the beat.
"High rise, veins of the avenue, bright eyes and suttle variations of blue." she softly sang, never pulling her honey gold gaze away from the crowd.
As you can probably imagine, I was getting more and more tense. I'd never sung this song! I knew parts of it, it was something me and the others had put together. But I could barely remember what I sang and when, so I felt as rigid as a statue as Sweetie Bell sang the next line.
"Everywhere, is balanced there, like a rainbow above you." she hummed gently, staring at me. Had she mean't me? "Street lights, glisten on the boulevard, and cold nights make staying alert so hard!"
Rhythm had pressed up against me, ushering me to remember what came after her lines. "For heavens sake, keep me awake, so I wont be caught off guard. Clearly I am a passer by, but I'll find a place to stay. Dear pacific day, wont you take me away?"
My voice rose into my throat, and I squeezed my eyes tightly shut, then opened my mouth and sang, stopping myself from forcing the words. "Small town, hearts of the New Year, brought down by gravity crystal clear, city fog and brave dialogue converge on the frontier. Make haste, I feel your heart beat, with new taste for speed, out on the street, find a road to a humble abode, where both of our realms meet."
"The silver sound is all around," Sweetie Bell had echoed me, making up for the tension rising in my the threatened to turn my singing into an off pitch gurgle, "and the colors fall like snow. The feeling of letting go, I guess we'll never know."
Suddenly, everyone was singing. Rhythm, Sweetie Bell, Lyra, Octavia, Vinyl Scratch, and the crowd. And so was I.
"Cheer up and dry your damp eyes, tell me when it rains. And I'll blend up that rainbow above you, and shoot it through your veins! Cause your heart has a lack of color, and we should've known, that we'd grow up sooner or later, cause we wasted all our free time alone!"
I could feel my hips swaying to the music, a happiness rising in my heart and my soul that I cannot explain to you easily. A warmth on a summers day, a melody sung to me in my sleep, a kiss on my forehead, a smile through the rain. The warmth of my friends on either side of me, dancing as freely as I was, as if no-one was watching. This was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. Though flying through the clouds had once tasted like the sweetest of freedom, it didn't compare to this.
"Your nerves gather with the altitude, exhale the stress so you don't become unglued. Somewhere there, is a happy affair, a ghost of a good mood." Lyra sang as she strummed at the harp-strings. "Wide eyed, panic with the getaway, the high tide could take me so far away. VCRs, and motorcars unite on the Seventh Day. A popular gauge, will measure the rage, of the new Post-Modern-Age. Cause somewhere along the line all the decades align."
Behind me, Octavia had let her voice escape softly. "We were the crashing white caps, on the ocean, what a lovely seaside holiday away. A palm tree in Christmas lights, my emotion, struck a sparkling tone like a xylophone, as we spent the day alone."
We all began to dance, stepping off the stage and melting into the crowd. I'd greeted my friends with a smile wider than ever before. I was convinced the edges of my lips would stretch past my eyes if I didn't stop grinning. I felt my musical friends weave around me and lead us all back to the stage, and we stared up at the ceiling, singing in perfect harmony.
"Cheer up and dry your damp eyes, tell me when it rains. And I'll blend up that rainbow above you, and shoot in through your veins! Cause your heart has a lack of color, and we should've know, that we'd grow up sooner or later, cause we wasted our freetime alone!"
Sure, you might of thought my story was over once I'd faced my fears and showed my friends that there was a new me. I wish. If things could of ended there, I would of been happy with it. But what I have left out of my story makes me smile to this day.
So, I'd become a popular sensation within PonyVille. The whole group of us was now well known. Octavia and Lyra had joined forces to show classical music to the ponies of the society. Vinyl Scratch was the sound engineer of me, Rhythm and Sweetie Belle. We were living the dream, and at our next performance Sweetie Belle had earned her cutie mark, a delicate music note with golden sparkles.
One day, we'd all turned up to sing for Princess Celestia herself. She was visiting PonyVille, and a grand festival was being held for her arrival. Whilst Lyra and Octavia performed first, I'd walked the streets and sampled some of the sweet treats for sale, bought a caramel apple from Applejack, and went to sit down with Rhythm to observe some of the days festivities.
The WonderBolts, my old idols, had just done a fantastic flying display, and were chatting with their fans nearby. I caught Spitfire's eye and waved, and she blinked at me for a moment, and I could of sworn disappointment had flashed through her eyes. She'd managed to slip away from the others and come over to me, slipping her head out of her costume.
"Hey, Dash," She had said, her voice a little husky.
I dipped my head. "Hello, Spitfire." I could see she was itching to say something, and it unnerved me.
She'd looked away and stared into the distance, then back at me. "You didn't have to lie to us, Dash." she said, scraping one hoof on the ground.
My heart had leaped into my mouth. I hadn't lied to any of them! What was she talking about? Did she think that wanting to be a WonderBolt was a lie?
"Spitfire, I never lied! I always wanted to join your team, but that was then, and this is now..."
She had taken a step back and was lashing her tail angrily. "I mean about your cutie mark. You didn't have to lie to everyone about the fact you don't have one. You were a good flier with or without."
I felt so frustrated that I could of cried. I whirled around and shoved my own flank in my face, and a hoarse scream had escaped my lips. She was right, my cutie mark was gone!
"You don't understand, I used to have one, I mean- I do have one! It was there this morning... I think?"
She was staring at me with confusion, and I could feel Rhythm's gaze on me too. I glared between them, furious that they both looked as if they didn't believe me. "I'm not a blank-flank!" I barked, turning and running away.
I didn't look back over my shoulder at them, but I had run straight to Princess Celestia, who was talking with Twilight. I skid between them, panting to catch my breath.
"Pardon, I mean- excuse me, I- Sorry, Princess, please-"
She'd put her hoof on my mouth, and she smiled softly. I stared at her, shivering. Why did she look so pleased? I was shocked to see that Twilight looked just as proud and bashful.
When the Princess had pulled her hoof away, I let myself speak a little slower. "My cutie mark?"
Celestia leaned down to touch her muzzle to my forehead. "Rainbow Dash, this is something I've done very rarely. But it seems that you of all ponies has had a roller coaster of a journey. When you were young, your destiny was as I once suspected. But now your heart has led you to something that will stick with you forever through your adulthood." She leaned down, her horn glowing softly, and pressed the tip to my flank, and I shivered as cold spread through me, numbing my bones.
Twilight nodded reassuringly to me, and there was a gentle sparkle of golden light, and Celestia lifted her head, smiling. I turned around stiffly to glance at my side. There was a cutie mark there, but not the cloud with the bolt of rainbow lightning that I had earned during the Sonic Rainboom.
This cutiemark was a microphone, a rainbow-colored ribbon weaving around it.
