Rainbow Dash zoomed around the purple, starry sky. She liked flying at night. The way the rainbow-blur she always left behind her when she flew looked against the stars seemed really cool to watch, for her anyway. Sometimes she wished there would be more ponies out at night than just her.
Ignoring the painful aching in her wings and the annoying sick feeling in her stomach, she zoomed upward to preform another one of her amazing tricks.
Without warning, the slight pain in her wings became a giant aching. She couldn't fly with her wings hurting that much and she wanted to land - and fast. Unfortunately, the only place to land was the Everfree forest. Disregarding the dangers of the forest she tucked her wings into splints and headed for the ground.
She wasn't surprised, and luckily, wasn't hurt when she landed in a pile of dust, broken twigs, and leaves. "Who's there?" called some pony. Rainbow Dash scuttled to her feet.
"I ain't scared 'a you! Show yourself!" she yelled, getting to her feet. She still felt dizzy, and her wings were stiff and sore. A pony stepped out of the shadows - a pony who could only be Twilight Sparkle."Rainbow Dash! What are you doing here?It's almost midnight," she exclaimed. It really was remarkable how she always knew the time.
"The question is: What are you doing here?" Rainbow asked, rubbing her head and fighting a strange tickle in her nose.
"I was visiting Zecora to get a book I wanted to borrow. Now can you tell me what you were doing?" Twilight replied.
"Well, yah know. . . I was flying. And then I . . . I guess I just maybe saw something down here, and I . . . ACHOO! . . .decided to land so I could uh, maybe, like, check it out," Rainbow Dash sneezed.
"You probably saw , you should probably stay with me for the night, since it's going to rain tomorrow," Twilight said. Rainbow Dash usually slept over at some- pony's house when it rained. Her home was below the biggest rainclouds, and she didn't like getting wet.
"Sure, but I . . .just feel kinda-whatever. Just forget it,"Rainbow replied, and then Twilight and Rainbow Dash trotted toward the Treebrary.
Rainbow Dash was feeling sicker and sicker. Her wings still ached, and she was getting cold. Rainbow never got cold, and never had, except for the time when she had to work for the Weather Patrol during a blizzard. But that was way different then a plain summer night.
When they finally reached the Library, the first thing Rainbow wanted to do was go to bed. "Rainbow Dash, you look a little sick, no offense. Is that why you want to go to bed?" asked Twilight.
"Well, yeah. I guess you're right. I just really wanna to get some sleep, is all," groaned Rainbow Dash, slowly climbing up the stairs.
"Oh! Rainbow Dash, you left your calendar behind the last time we had a sleepover." The unicorn handed Rainbow a small scroll. Rainbow Dash looked annoyed, but took it anyway. The only reason she had ever made a calendar was because Twilight basically forced her to. She kept trying to "accidentally" leave it at Twilight's, but it never worked.
Then both ponies turned out the lights and went to bed.
Next morning, Rainbow Dash still felt sick. "I think I'm really coming down with something that's NOT just a cold," she moaned as she collapsed out of bed. In a minute, Rainbow Dash was back in bed with a thermometer in her mouth. "Yep. I was right," she said when the buzzer beeped in her mouth and she could take it out. "I'm sick." To make time fly, she began fumbling with her calendar. Then, she saw something that made her choke. "Meet the Wonderbolts . . . next-gulp- Friday?" she read.
About a week ago, Rainbow Dash had one the Best Young Flier's grand prize was a whole day with the Wonderbolts, but two of the Wonderbolts had gotten badly hurt when Rarity kicked them in her panic to stay alive. So Spitfire, captain of the Wonderbolts, wanted to make it up for her with another day with them.
Twilight walked into the room. Rainbow was still holding the calendar, and she was so shocked (and sick) she couldn't say a word. Tears stung Rainbow's eyes. It was hard to breathe with the lump in her throat, and her sky-blue wings were shaking.
Though she was strong enough to keep the feeling from exploding, the state of being sick made it impossible for her to keep it from showing.
"Rainbow Dash, are you OK?" asked Twilight Sparkle. "Nooooo," moaned the pegasus. Then Twilight saw the calendar. . .and the schedule for next Friday. "Can I do anything to help about it?" asked the unicorn, before she even knew what to say. "Maybe. . . you could. . .ACHOOO! . . .find some pony to take my place," sneezed the rainbow-maned pegasus. "You can't fly when your sick, you know." "Maybe if I took you to the Ponyville Hospital, you'd get better in time for next Friday,"said Twilight, ignoring Rainbow Dash's request.
"I can't be that sick," Rainbow said blankly.
"Yes, you can, and you are," answered Twilight Sparkle, holding the thermometer. Rainbow Dash didn't want to miss a single chance with the Wonderbolts, but she didn't want to stay sick, either. And more than anything, she wanted to get back in the sky. She thought her wings would explode if she was grounded to long.
"Sure, I'll go. But I still think some pony should take my place,"said Rainbow, wiping her eyes. Rainbow Dash stood up, but it just made her feel sicker.
"Alright," sighed Twilight, and, using her magic, picked up the ill pony and trotted to the hospital. When Rainbow Dash was sound asleep in one of the rooms, Twilight stepped outside to think.If Rainbow Dash wanted me to find a pegasus to take her place with the Wonderbolts, thought Twilight. Then that's just what I'll do. And she galloped toward the houses in Ponyville.
Knock! Knock! She knocked on the first door. An earth pony popped out, but before ten seconds just stared at her and said, "Go away if you're not going to do anything!" and shut the door.
"Well, that was easy!'" said Twilight, rolling her eyes in nopony in particular. "Hhhhhhh." After what seemed like hours of knocking, kicking, talking, and walking, she finally decided to just come back to Rainbow Dash and give up. But that would hurt Rainbow Dash's feelings. She had seemed so hopeful, so desperate for some pony to take her place, which was very unlike herself.
"I'll go talk to her about it," she said at last. And she ran back to the hospital. "Excuse me, can I visit my friend Rainbow Dash?" she frantically asked the doctor.
"Oh! You mean the pony who's sicker than a rain cloud on a summer's day at the beach? I guess so," answered the doctor. Must be pegasus jokes, she thought as the doctor led her to the pegasus's room, for she could not quite understand him. But who would joke about being sick? "Here you are! She should be right in here." And the doctor walked back through the hall.
The violet unicorn stepped into the room, where her friend lay in a bed that could hold three ponies. Her face was pale, she looked sleepy, and her wings drooped limply by her sides. Her voice was barely a whisper when she said, "Hey, Twilight." The unicorn sprinted toward the bed.
"Rainbow Dash, a-are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine," Dash lied. Her wings felt as if they were on fire, and her throat was sore. "So, did anypony say yes?" asked Rainbow. Twilight suddenly remembered why she had come to the hospital. She shook her head sadly, and took a checklist out of her saddle bag. The checklist showed pictures of all the pegasi in Ponyville's faces. Next to each picture was a big red X. Strangely, Dash didn't look disappointed. "There's another pegasus on there," she said, pointing to the bottom of the checklist. "Or did you just forget to check it off?" Twilight looked at the list and gulped. Reluctantly, she walked over to show her friend who the mysterious pegasus was. As soon as Rainbow Dash saw why the pegasus hd no check or X, she began to loose hope. But she didn't give up.
"Come on, Twilight," she pleaded. "Give it a try."
As much as she doubted the pegasus would say yes, she didn't want to disappoint her friend either.
The cottage stood high, and birds, mice, and rabbits scuttled about it. Slowly, Twilight Sparkle walked to the door and quietly knocked. No answer. Annoyed, the pony knocked again. Very loudly. "Hello? Oh, Twilight, you should really be more quiet. Angel was trying to sleep," said Fluttershy. A sleepy but stubborn-looking bunny hopped angrily from beneath her hooves and out the door.
"Oh! I'm . . . glad your'e home. Listen, I really need your help," said Twilight, before Fluttershy could invite her in for the afternoon. "Well, you see, Rainbow Dash is really sick, and-" Fluttershy gasped.
"Rainbow Dash is sick? Is she at the Ponyville hospital?" she yelled. "Yes, but-" Fluttershy dashed towards the hospital as fast as her wings could carry her. Which wasn't very fast considering she wasn't obsessed with flying. "Um, excuse me, can I visit Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy found herself asking the nurse.
"Another pony. Sure. You'll find her in room 18#," The nurse replied. Fluttershy dashed towards the room the nurse had directed her, and she practically kicked the door open when she found it. Rainbow Dash awoke with a start.
"What the hay. . .? Oh. It's just you, Fluttershy," she sighed, and snuggled deeper into the covers.
"Rainbow Dash, are you okay?" Asked the other pegasus, rushing towards the bed.
"I . . .I don't know . . .I don't think so," moaned Rainbow Dash. She quickly changed the subject. "So, your'e gonna take my place with the Wonderbolts?" asked Rainbow, her voice almost as soft as the pegasus next to her.
Fluttershy looked puzzled and confused. Just then, Twilight burst into the room.
"Uhh. . .sorry, Rainbow Dash," said Twilight she shook her mane and looked toward Fluttershy."Fluttershy, would you mind if I brought you outside for a while?"she asked,clearly impatient to say whatever she wanted to say. "Is that alright, Rainbow Dash?If I go outside with Twilight?" asked Fluttershy. "Sure, you could go," said Rainbow. She was lying, and she hated to be lying to her friend. She wished you could have somepony to talk to, mostly to distract her from her burning wings,but Fluttershy obviously had no idea whatsoever about Rainbow hoping she would fly with the Wonderbolts in her place.
Fluttershy slowly trotted out the door, through the hallway, and finally, out of the building, all with her unicorn friend not far ahead of her. "What did you want to tell me?" asked Fluttershy quietly.
"Rainbow Dash was supposed to meet the Wonderbolts next Friday. But as you can see, she's really sick, and there isn't a possible way she could get better in just to weeks. So, what she really wants is . . . Rainbow Dash wants somebody to take her place with the Wonderbolts!'" she blurted out. Immediately, she regretted having said it so fast. Fluttershy was more likely to say yes to something when she was happy, not startled.
Fluttershy's wings were cold and clammy, her stomach churning, her mind spinning with so many thoughts it was making her knees quiver. Flying with the Wonderbolts was the same as performing in front of a jeering crowd, or so she thought. And anyway, she was a horrible flier. What could she do to impress the Wonderbolts that wouldn't give her sick friend a bad reputation?
"Um. . . Fluttershy? You still there?" asked Twilight Sparkle.
"Oh! Yes, I'm still here. About the Wonderbolts . . . But Twilight! I can't - I can't fly!" Fluttershy sobbed.
"Don't be silly! Of coarse you can fly. Don't let shyness get the better of you!" the unicorn said sternly.
"But what would I do to impress the Wonderbolts? I don't even know any flying tricks!" Fluttershy cried while she said this.
"Hmmm. I do have a book called, 'Legendary Flying Tricks For Advanced Pegasi,' Twilight suggested, finally calmed down.
"Do you think I'm advanced! And I couldn't try to pull off something legendary!" Fluttershy wasn't looking on the bright side of any of these ideas. But it wasn't her fault. How could she possibly get her wing power up so much that she was able to perform something like a Sonic Rainboom in just two weeks?
"It's called legendary flying tricks, but Iv'e flipped through it a couple of times and really, some of those tricks are just for beginners," Twilight Sparkle convinced her. "Like you."
"I'll just. . . look at the book, maybe." Twilight was relieved Fluttershy hadn't said no. Well, at least, not yet. But Fluttershy had been so nice to Rainbow Dash before Twilight had called her back outside. She might, just might, give it a little try.
When they reached the Treebrary, Fluttershy began to look nervous, as if she were about to change her mind. Fluttershy was about to change her mind, then, knowing that her thoughts might show if she wasn't careful, flew up to the book shelves and began searching for the book. "Hold on," said Twilight Sparkle after what seemed like hours of searching. (It had really only been 10 minutes.)"I've got a better idea." Shwing! The unicorn's horn let up in an amazing shower of sparks, almost blinding Fluttershy. Then gently, the sparks flickered and disappeared, along with all the books. The pegasus and the unicorn now stood in the middle of a circle of glowing books, each swaying and floating in midair as if they all had a mind of their own.
With her horn still glowing, Twilight brought each book up to her face and read the title. She was, luckily, a very fast reader, and they found what they were looking for on book number 9#.
"Here. You can look for it. . . I mean, a flying trick," Twilight Sparkle handed her the book and stepped aside.
"There's a Sonic Rainboom in here," said Fluttershy. She shook her head. If she ever could do a Sonic Rainboom, which she couldn't, it would hurt Dash's feelings. And besides, if her friend was already sick, she couldn't bear to see her even more hurt. Suddenly, she jumped up in excitement.
"Twilight!" she yelled. "This book actually tells you how to do the tricks it tells you about!"
"Well, if it's that easy, just choose a trick," was her reply. Fluttershy flipped through the book until she found something that caught her eye. "Twilight," she began to ask. "What's a Thunderbolt?"
"Iv'e never heard of it. Does it say anything else about it?" The unicorn was finally interested.
"Yes, it does." Fluttershy took a deep breath and began to read: "The Thunderbolt is an art that starts quite like a Sonic Rainboom (see page 23). To perform this legendary trick, one must be flying fast enough that the first step to a Sonic Rainboom, the cloud of wind in front of one's body, will appear in front of his/her hooves. After cloud of wind has been in sight for necessary timing, fly to nearest storm with cloud of wind still at hooves. When lightning erupts from cloud, fly through the second the light comes through the cloud. The cloud of wind will now be mixed with thunder, lightning, and may now proceed to the final step of a Sonic Rainboom."
"That's it?" asked the unicorn.
"Yep. That's it," Fluttershy answered uneasily. A deep part inside of her had always envied Rainbow Dash's amazing flight skills the minute she met the pegasus. She realized she had ignored that part of her for WAY to long. It was time to let the real her escape. She even felt as if she had a passion for flying, just like Rainbow Dash, even though she wasn't good at it at all. But the strangest thing was, she found herself really wanting to try this new trick. "Twilight," Fluttershy quavered.
"What?" asked Twilight Sparkle. She was holding her breath, hoping that Fluttershy hadn't changed her mind.
"I want to try a Thunderbolt." Twilight Sparkle fell silent. She stared at Fluttershy with her mouth wide open. Fluttershy. . . wants to. . . in front of the. . . all for Rainbow Dash. . .she might blow it. . .The unicorn couldn't even think in full sentences. It was simply just to amazing.
"And one more thing, Twilight," said Fluttershy, who was very uncomfortable with Twilight staring at her. "I'd like you to help teach me how." Fluttershy meant exactly what she had just said. She promised herself then and there, that whenever a friend needed a favor, she would always be there, even if it meant showing her face to the Wonderbolts.
"Alright. . . then, if your'e absolutely SURE you can do this, I'd be happy to help. But first we'd better tell Rainbow Dash," Twilight explained. Fluttershy had almost forgotten that part. But she was even more excited to see the look on Dash's face when she told her she would fly with the Wonderbolts in her place.
The two ponies arrived for the third time at the hospital, and this time without bothering to ask the doctor of the nurse if they could visit their friend. Having learned not to kick open the door, Fluttershy gently knocked on the door to room 18#. No answer. "Do you think they moved her to another room?" asked Fluttershy.
Twilight's voice dropped to a whisper. "She's probably asleep. We should be quiet." Carefully, the pegasus and the unicorn opened the door and stepped into the room. Rainbow Dash, as Twilight predicted, was asleep. Just looking a her made Fluttershy step back. "Come on, Fluttershy," Twilight Sparkle urged. Soundlessly, Fluttershy glided toward the bed and brushed the other pegasus's rainbow-colored mane. Gently, Rainbow Dash's eyes fluttered open. " Hello, Rainbow Dash," she said. "I'm going to take your place with the Wonderbolts." What happened next was the most unexpected thing. Rainbow grabbed Fluttershy into the bed and hugged her, and Twilight couldn't help but join in. "Thank you so much, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed despite her half-lost voice. Fluttershy was so excited she couldn't even say anything. Then, when all three ponies had their voice back, Fluttershy continued. "And I'm gonna try to do a Thunderbolt."
"Wow! Ya sure you can pull that off?'Cause I don't even know what that is," asked Rainbow, still to excited to criticize.
"Twilight's going to help me," Fluttershy answered. "Right, Twilight?"
"Of course! And I brought the book, too." Twilight Sparkle carefully brought out a brown book with a golden spine from her saddle bags, the only thing she did without using her horn.
"Okay, guys. Don't let me take all your time, `cause you got a lot of practice ahead of if you wanna try something like a Thunderbolt, whatever that is," Dash teased, playfully rolling her eyes. "Plus, I don't want either of you to catch a cold."
"No time to explain, Fluttershy," Twilight Sparkle said, galloping toward the door. "Like Rainbow said: We got a LOT of practice ahead of us."
"Okay, ready to start practicing?" asked the unicorn. She and Fluttershy stood in the middle of a large, grassy field, the best and clearest space to fly in and easiest, to Twilight, to perform spells.
I.. .I think so," Fluttershy sputtered. She was determined to fly at her very best, like when she had flown to catch Rainbow Dash when Discord had taken over her mind. Now she wasn't even sure she could fly fast enough to even start the Thunderbolt, let alone do the whole thing.
Twilight Sparkle's horn let up in a purple-blue glow, then a bright yellow glow, then finally, a glow of blinding white. "What are you doing?" asked Fluttershy. Twilight had mentioned nothing about magic. She really, Fluttershy realized, hadn't mentioned anything at all.
"Obviously! I'm finding a storm cloud," the pony yelled with gritted teeth over a abnormally loud cracking noise that didn't seem to come from anywhere. Then suddenly, a ball of light appeared in front of both Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle, who was now breathing heavily at the effort. Then the ball erupted into a giant slash of lightning, sending both ponies flying in opposite directions.
"There," Twilight panted. In the clear blue sky now lay a remarkably black storm cloud, shooting chains of lightning every ten seconds. She turned to Fluttershy, who was already standing on a nearby cloud. "Ready?"
"Ready." Fluttershy took a deep breath, spread her wings as if she were about to take off for a flying race, and dashed from the white cloud. She was flying faster than she had ever flown, and it felt good. Really good. She began to understand why Rainbow Dash loved flying so much.
She soon found that there wasn't much room flying only a few yards above the ground, so she sped up to the top of the sky, where the sun was shining brightly. She then performed two loop-the-loops like she had seen Rainbow Dash once do, even though hers were quite a bit off. And, still going at more-than-top-speed, she started down, down, down. Waiting, watching for the first step to appear in front of her outstretched hooves. She soon found it almost impossible to watch for it, since she was flying so fast her eyes hurt and she had to close them. But the freedom of flight still felt so good, she just didn't want to close her wings until the trick was done. So, despite her loss of sight, she kept flying.
Twilight Sparkle saw that her friend needed help. She probably got so startled at her speed that she closed her eyes, so she didn't notice the cloud of wind when it appeared at her yellow hooves. She wanted to do something, but what? Suddenly, she had an idea. It might not work, she thought. But it's worth a try. Her horn once again began to glow as she tried to focus a thought into Fluttershy's mind. This was a spell she had never quite mastered, and it was so hard it could be dangerous. She carefully focused the thought in her own head, then with her horn still glowing, tried to teleport it into Fluttershy's.
Fluttershy had know idea if the cloud of wind was there or not, and the thought was troubling her. Without warning, she felt a voice in her head telling her something, and strangely, the voice sounded exactly like Twilight's. Fluttershy! the voice yelled at her. This is Twilight speaking. Don't stop flying. The cloud of wind's right at your hooves. I moved the storm cloud. Just keep flying down and. . .The voice faded to a whisper and slowly disappeared. Without thinking, Fluttershy stopped flapping her wings and opened her eyes. Because she stopped flying, she saw the cloud of wind in front of her and she then knew exactly what was going to happen; it was what happened to Rainbow Dash when she was practicing to do a Sonic Rainboom - and failed.
The cloud of wind acted as a slingshot, sending the terrified yellow mare flying into the air. Fluttershy did manage to slow down, but not enough to sop herself from crashing into the daisy patch at the edge of the field.
The pegasus shook her wings, the only part of her body that was able to move. The shock of flying that fast had completely paralyzed the rest of her body. She shook her wings again, then slowly began to flap them up and down without actually lifting off the ground, hoping that the wind her wings were pushing onto her neck and mane would slow the fast beating of her heart. Then she heard it: a small groan coming from within the tall, lush green grass of the meadow. She snapped into focus, stretched her legs and galloped toward the noise.
The grass parted beneath her hooves, revealing her unicorn friend, Twilight Sparkle. The reason why she had been groaning was quite clear: she was sprawled out over a flat rock, her eyes closed, and, to Fluttershy's horror, the tip of her horn burnt a dangerous shade of black. "Twilight! Can you hear me?" she frantically asked the half awake, half asleep unicorn.
"Yes. . .I can. . . hear. . . you," breathed a voice that was barely a whisper. The unicorn sadly opened her eyes, turned to face Fluttershy, and said, "It was all my fault."
"About what? Me failing? It wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have stopped flying. And why are you worrying about me anyway?" Fluttershy tried to sound comforting. "Your horn. . .it's burnt," she pointed out. "Can you still do magic?"
"Not for a week, I can't, after what happened." Twilight Sparkle managed to get to her feet. Then she said, as if her horn didn't matter, "I didn't know you could fly that fast."
Fluttershy shrugged. "Me neither," she admitted.
"What do you mean, 'Me neither'? The fastest I've seen you fly was 2.3-" The shaking unicorn felt stupid two seconds after mentioning the 2.3 situation. Fluttershy began to look sad and embarrassed; she didn't want anyone to think of her as a bad flier, not necessarily a good one, just maybe an OK flier. She soon realized if she did do a Thunderbolt, she was going to get a very different reputation.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't of said that. . .about 2.3," Twilight Sparkle apologized.
Being an agreeable pony, Fluttershy answered, "It's OK. Everypony makes mistakes sometimes." Then she remembered. "Twilight, should I start practicing again?" she asked.
"You can, but how are you going to go to the storm cloud with your eyes shut and no voice to guide you to it? I can't do magic," Twilight Sparkle asked.
"I don't know. . .how about I just stay away from the Thunderbolt and try flying really fast without closing my eyes?" Fluttershy suggested. She thought that was a better idea, and it was reasonable. Twilight loved reasonableness. But then there were only about two weeks. . .
"That's a perfect idea! I can't believe I didn't think of that before!" the unicorn exclaimed. She jumped off the ground. "Owww. . ." she giggled when her burnt horn lit up in electric bolts. "Maybe I shouldn't do that," she laughed.
Practice began again very soon, and it started with her weaving in and out of the pine trees at the edge of the field. . .
"Again?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yep. Just this last time, OK?" Twilight Sparkle answered. The pegasus flew slowly to the other side of the pine trees, panting the whole time she did so. She then began weaving in and out, for the 5th time, wings aching, tail flying. "I don't think I can do anymore," she panted at the end.
"You're not going to," said the unicorn. "Maybe you should try the Thunderbolt again?"
"No, I mean. . . I don't think. . .that I can. . . practice anymore," Fluttershy panted.
"Did you close your eyes?" asked Twilight.
"On the 1st and 2nd try, I did, but not on the 3rd and 4th and 5th try," Fluttershy whispered and hovered toward the ground.
"Then I guess practice is done for the day," said the unicorn, and it was, to Fluttershy's relief.
Rainbow Dash lay in bed, wide awake. She really wanted to see Fluttershy try to perform a Thunderbolt, if there even was such thing. She could ask the nurse, probably, but there wasn't any chance of that at 10:00 at night. And besides, the only time the nurse came into the room was to take her temperature or give her medicine. And, of coarse, she couldn't talk with a thermometer in her mouth or a bunch of purple goop sliding down her sore throat. She shifted upward so she could rest her wings on the pillow that was too flat and had a scratchy pillowcase.
I wonder how Shy's doing, she thought. She's probably super tired. Ow. . .! Why do my wings STILL hurt?
Rainbow began to think back to see if she had ever heard of a Thunderbolt, and just how legendary it was. The name seemed familiar, as if she had heard it before. Yes, she remembered; it was the day before the Best Young Flier's Competition, when she had dropped by at Twilight's to see if she had a book about something even more legendary than a Sonic Rainboom. . .and that was when she had seen 'Thunderbolt' printed in big black letters next to a sketch of a big arch of lightning and a faceless pegasus leading the arch on plain white wings. The figure it had shown had no mane, no tail, no cutie mark, and looked quite like the models Rarity used to make was all too clear: nopony in all the history of Equestria had ever seen a Thunderbolt, except the pony who did it millions of years ago, and that meant that they must've written the book. . .
Rainbow Dash snapped out of her thoughts. She just had to see Fluttershy, maybe just to help her out in practice or cheer her on or - she didn't care. She just really wanted to see her. Maybe they could visit me sometime, she thought. Anyway, it's pretty boring in here with just me. . . the rainbow-maned pegasus drifted soundlessly to sleep, left her thoughts hanging in the air, and dreamt of flying again, back in the sky, the only place, she found out, that could drown her sickness as she took to the air.
Fluttershy woke up thinking about flying practice, and how much her flying had improved. She fed her mice and didn't bother to wake up Angel, who was rather lazy and usually slept until Fluttershy nudged him to give him a carrot. Too bad the pegasus had figured out that Angel just pretended to be asleep so he could get his treat.
Fluttershy trotted out the door and looked at the morning sun. Without Rainbow Dash to clear the clouds, it was hard to see the sky, and she decided it would be easier to practice if the sky was clear. She took to the air and started pushing the clouds away, and occasionally giving the bigger clouds a hard kick that made them evaporate into thin air in a puff of white. She then flew to Twilight's Treebrary,found Spike sleepily cleaning up a pile of books and mopping the floor, and decided that her unicorn friend had already gotten up.
To get ready for another day of flying practice, she dashed towards the meadow, half gliding, half flapping. Gliding was something she almost never did, and she thought if she was going to do a Thunderbolt she should get into new habits.
Twilight Sparkle was already standing in the middle of the field, and luckily, she looked as if she had just came there, for she was trying to catch her breath as if she had ran all the way.
"Ready?" she asked.
"For what? I mean. . . you never told me what we were going to be practicing," Fluttershy protested.
"I was thinking you might want to try the Thunderbolt again," Twilight suggested. The same storm cloud they had tried to use yesterday was hovering in midair, still shooting out chains of lightning.
"OK. . . but, I was thinking, if I'm flying down, how am I going to fly through the cloud? I didn't see it at first, but in the book it said you have to fly into the underside of the cloud," said Fluttershy.
"The book said when the cloud of wind has been in sight for a necessary amount of time, you have to fly into the underside," Twilight reminded her.
"How long is that? About two minutes?" the yellow pegasus asked.
"I would say about just one minute, and when did you get the time to think up all these questions?" asked the unicorn suspiciously.
Fluttershy blushed. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"I mean, how did your mind get so energetic?" Twilight answered, giggling as if it were a joke.
"Um . . .well, I cleared the clouds in Ponyville today-" Fluttershy started to explain.
"You cleared the clouds? Fluttershy, when did you get to be so much like Rainbow Dash?" Twilight Sparkle blurted out the question that had bothered her the minute Fluttershy had said yes to take Rainbow's place.
"I'm not like Rainbow Dash. . . I'm just . . .but Twilight. . . there isn't anyponyelse who's kind enough. . .," Fluttershy sobbed.
"I'm sorry! I really am. . .I just wanted to know why you like flying so much all of the sudden!" the unicorn frantically exclaimed.
"Well. . .I just can't explain it!" Fluttershy sniffed. "When I'm flying really fast. . .I have these feelings. . .but they're good feelings that make me want to keep flying. . .and I feel so. . .I don't know how to explain. . .I just feel so free up there," the pegasus explained.
"That's what Rainbow Dash said when she was telling the story of how she got her cutie mark," Twilight remarked. "You probably just feel the same way."
Fluttershy rubbed her eyes. "I guess so. . .," she whispered.
"So you're not mad at me?" the unicorn asked.
"Oh, no, I'd never be mad at my friend," Fluttershy answered truthfully.
"Well, in that case, let's get practicing!" Twilight Sparkle yelled.
Fluttershy stood on a white cloud hovering in the sky above the meadow, crouching on her knees. She once again spread out her wings as if she were about to start a flying race.
"Whenever you're ready," Twilight called out from below. Fluttershy eyed the storm cloud, which she had placed farther up in the sky. The pegasus took a deep breath and jumped off the cloud, and for a moment she let herself fall. Then she spread her wings and caught herself, flew up close to the sun, and performed two circular loops that were perfectly smooth, not squarish and wobbly like her first two.
She then began to fly in a downwards direction, and, although she had practiced, she had to fight to keep her eyes open as she beat her wings against the sky, increasing speed with every flap as the feeling of flight slowly crept into her body.
She was shocked and surprised when the cloud of wind formed in front of her, but she knew from experience that to stop flying was not an option. She wondered how long a minute was, for her eyes were hurting so bad tears were starting to fling behind her, even though she wasn't actually crying.
"Fluttershy! Fly to the storm cloud!" she heard a voice yell from the ground. Good. Now it was time to put on a show - if she flew fast enough.
Looking out of the corner of her eye, she saw the storm cloud a few yards to her left, only it was much higher then she was.
Quickly, she changed her downward path and made a left turn, followed by quick flap upwards, all with the cloud of wind still at her hooves. When she got closer to the storm cloud, she began to wonder if she would make it in time for the lightning to come through, but she realized she was too close to the storm cloud to think. With hooves outstretched, she began to fly towards the underside and was amazed to see a chain of lightning forming in the cloud, and she realized she would make it.
With one last huff she flew through the storm cloud at the same time as the lightning. . .
CRASH! With a humongous crashing sound, Fluttershy found herself being electrocuted as she and the lightning bolt met inside the thick black cloud, and in horror she realized she couldn't pull away from the chains rapping around her body. Every time the lightning pounded on her skin she felt as if she were on fire. The pain was unbearable; she just had to get out of it. In panic, she flung her hooves at the cloud, which made the black puffs disappear along with the lightning. With a small shriek, Fluttershy let herself fall and landed softly in the lush grass, quickly accompanied by her friend.
"Fluttershy! What happened?" she asked. Fluttershy didn't answer. And it was not because she didn't know what happened, not that she knew why she had been electrocuted. She stayed silent because the pain still overwhelmed her, lighting up inside her like tiny fireworks. The pegasus stayed sprawled out on the ground, until all she could see was a pitch black wall ahead of her. She soon realized she couldn't open her eyes, that she had fallen asleep, and was being lifted off the ground by some sort of magic. . .
The fallen pony awoke in her own bed in her own room, but she didn't have time to worry about who brought her there. She had another thing to worry about, something that mystified her completely. Her wings and shoulders were drenched with water, while the rest of her body felt burning hot. She soon found she liked the coldness the water was giving her, and that if they hadn't been soaked it would've been really, really painful.
A sudden clopping of hooves made Fluttershy sit up. "Who's there? Twilight? Is that you?" she asked, although the clopping sounded so faint it might as well have been the wind.
Twilight Sparkle stepped into the room. "Oh good. You're awake. And yes, of course it's me. Who'd you think I was? Nightmare Moon?" she laughed. Suddenly, her laughing expression turned serious as she walked closer to the bed. "Fluttershy," she said. "I need to talk to you."
Fluttershy shrank down in her covers. "About what?" she whispered nervously.
"You know you got electrocuted, right?" the unicorn asked softly.
"Well, yeah, but-" Fluttershy stuttered.
"You could've been killed," Twilight said. "And I think if it's that dangerous, you should quit trying."
"WHAT?" Fluttershy nearly jumped out of bed. She turned to face the pony next to her and felt anger rush into her body. "Did you just say 'quit trying' ?!" she screamed.
"Get a hold of yourself. And yes, I did say 'quit trying' ," Twilight Sparkle said impatiently, her cheeks also flushed with anger.
Fluttershy couldn't take it anymore. With incredible speed, she flew out the open window and began to cry when she reached the farthest willow tree. The tree was her place to be alone, although her animal friends came by to see what the fuss about practically every time.
One of her many raccoons nuzzled up to her and snuggled in her rose-pink mane, hoping to cheer up the broken pegasus. "What's wrong, Fluttershy?" he chirped in raccoon.
"Everything," was Fluttershy's sobbing answer. Then, she began to tell the raccoon - and the crowd of animals that had formed behind it - the story of how she happened to be helping Rainbow Dash, her new passion for flight, and the storm cloud incident that had struck her with it's fierce bolts.
A mischievous little monkey happened to overhear the conversation and looked up from his bag of nuts. Though he was apt to cause trouble, he also had some pretty smart ideas and could be quite remarkable if he wasn't stealing the chicken's eggs. With a distracting screech, he swung from the branches and landed expertly on Fluttershy's head.
"Yes, I know, I should have been more careful," Fluttershy whimpered through her tears. The monkey shook his head in annoyance and leapt onto the ground. In a hurried tone, he began chattering to the broken little pegasus.
"Really? You think I should?" she asked after what seemed like a long time. She got to her feet and wiped her eyes. She brushed her mane out of her face to see the monkey more clearly, but the pink strands of her mane would only stay behind her ear for a few seconds. She shook her head and tried to focus on what the monkey said. Sure, he was daring enough to lie to her face so he could get a second helping of his food, but this had nothing to do with snacks.
"You know what? You're right," she said at last. "Rainbow Dash needs help, and I'm going to give it to her. No matter what Twilight says, I'm going to practice on my own! And I'm going to perform with the Wonderbolts!" she announced. The animals started screeching and clapping, thudding and screaming, their way of cheering. Fluttershy had to join in before she reached the meadow.
The yellow pegasus had flew to the field. The storm cloud was still there, to her surprise. Maybe she didn't kick it as hard as she thought.
She hesitated, then tried to figure out why she had been electrocuted in the first place. She came up with the conclusion that the cloud of wind hadn't been strong enough, that it was supposed to act like a shield so it would get electrocuted, not her. So that would mean two minutes, not one.
She snapped out of her calculations and took to the air. Once again she performed two, circular loop-the-loops, and started to fly down, down, and even farther down. Two minutes, she decided, would be about how long it took for her to feed her animals. She kept her downward path and was so busy thinking she scarcely noticed the cloud of wind when it appeared. She let a cry of delight out of her mouth when she saw it.
Thirty seconds passed.
One minute passed.
A minute and a half passed.
A minute and fifty-five seconds.
"Come on! Come on!" she screamed through gritted teeth as the cloud of wind began to get thinner around her body. Yes! Two minutes had passed. Fluttershy made a sharp turn to the underside of the cloud, and saw the lightning form in the cloud. She held her breath and blinked back the tears that were there because she was flying so fast. "Ahhhhhh!" she screamed as she and the lightning met with a crashing noise that numbed her ears. "I did it! I didn't get electrocuted!" she exclaimed. Then she turned towards the cloud of wind in front of her, and saw that the outside was covered in layers of bolts of lightning. "AHHHHHH!" she screamed and stopped flying. Shoot. That wasn't what she meant to do. SHISH! she was shot into the daisy patch, at the end of the field, with her wings locked to her sides.
The patch was not a comfortable place to land in at all. A bumblebee buzzed buzzed angrily at Fluttershy and threatened to sting her if she so much as touched her flower home, the flower's perfume was so strong it was making her sneeze, and thorny weeds thrashed their thorns through her mane and coat.
"I have to try again!" she said to herself. "I almost had it, and now I know what to expect. Let's try this a. . .gain. . .AAACHOOO!" she sneezed, getting to her feet. "These flowers really need to control their smell," she muttered. She began to flap her wings to get a lift off. Surprisingly, she didn't feel her hooves being lifted off the ground. Instead, she felt like somepony had just stabbed a needle in her wing. Really hard. She strained her neck and turned around to see one of the many thorny weeds clinging to her right wing, each thorn holding on like frightened baby birds, refusing to let go. Annoyed, she took the plant between her tongue and teeth and pulled. She only succeeded in pulling the worn out and slightly out of line feathers.
"I've got to ask somepony to take this out for me. Hmmm. . . Rarity? She's too busy with her dresses. Pinkie Pie. . .? Probably not. Twilight would get suspicious, so that leaves me with. . .Applejack!" she exclaimed, happily galloping toward the apple farm.
Apple trees stood high on endless green hills, working ponies moaned with heat as they bucked the trees, and on the tallest, greenest hill of all, stood a gigantic red barn. An earth pony with a light orange coat, a picture of three tiny apples on her flank, and a tipped up brownish hat lay beside the barn. A spilling cart of freshly picked apples stood beside her.
"Excuse me! Sorry! Look out!" Fluttershy said politely as she clumsily made her way through the apple fields. She wasn't usually clumsy, but the thorn in her wing had prevented her from flying. Therefore, prevented her from being her normally graceful self.
"Hey there, Sugar Cube! What brings yah here tah the farm?" Applejack asked when Fluttershy finally reached the building.
"Well, you see, I got this thorn stuck in my wing, and -"
"And yah want me tah get it out for yah?" AJ caught on quickly.
"Yeah, just, don't make it hurt." Fluttershy knew her friend held the Element of Honesty and would warn her if anything was going to hurt, but she wasn't sure she trusted her completely.
"Ah can't promise yah that it's gonna be 100% all comfy cozy, but Ah'll do my best. 'K Sugar Cube?" Applejack asked, then, without waiting for an answer, went back into the barn to get a rope. When she came out she was holding a rope in her teeth. In one end the rope had a big loop, and the other was connected to the barn door.
With great skill and talent, AJ threw the looped end onto the weed, nearly missing Fluttershy's wing. Slowly, she began to pull the giant red door closed. The hooks slowly unhooked themselves and were dragged behind by the rope. After one last stubborn little hook gave up holding on, the weed fell to the ground and gave Fluttershy her freedom to take to the air.
"Whhhhoooooo-hoooooooo!" she screamed joyfully as she performed a backflip on the warm air currents. All the working ponies looked up to see what the commotion was all about. Fluttershy shrank back with embarrassment. Fluttering to the ground, she yelled to the ponies to return to work.
Applejack, surprised at Fluttershy's reaction, eyed her friend up and down. Something had changed in Fluttershy, and she wanted to know what and why. She wasn't going to let her friend get away without having to talk to her first. Besides, would Fluttershy feel better if she had somepony to talk to.
"Uh. . .Ah dun't mean tah be rude, but, can Ah ask yah something' , Sugar Cube?" Applejack wanted to know what was going on, but she didn't want Fluttershy to get stressed out. Maybe tricking her into spilling her thoughts would be better than just making her blurt out whatever she had on mind.
"Oh, anything. Go right ahead," Fluttershy said, swishing her tail back and forth.
"How much dah yah like flyin'?"
"Well, what do you mean?" Fluttershy had never been asked such a question. She began to feel troubled and queasy.
"Ah meant what Ah said and Ah said what Ah meant," Applejack replied.
"Flying, well. . .I just think it's like the most incredible thing! WhenI'm flying so fast especially. It's just so wonderfully amazing, I just don't even know what to say!" Fluttershy explained, flittering up towards the sun.
"And what gave yah this new passion for it?" AJ was acting unsuspectingly curious.
Fluttershy let herself fall from the sky. She was beyond scared admitting to her friend that she was performing with the Wonderbolts. Word would get around Ponyville. Everypony would come to watch. Just the thought of so many ponies made her get stage fright.
"HEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYY-YAAAAAHHHHH!" a piercing shriek flew from behind Fluttershy. She peeked around her shoulder and turned to see Angel, her rabbit, angrily running at her on all fours. Fluttershy had forgotten to feed him that morning and was he happy about it? No way. "Ti! Ti! Ti!" he screeched at her.
"What's that lil' rascal sayin'?" Applejack asked.
"I'm sorry, Angel! You know I had to practice for the Thunderbolt," Fluttershy answered to something only she understood. "Because the Wonderbolts won't except a simple loop-the-loop! Rainbow Dash can do a Sonic Rainboom. If I'm taking her place, I've got to show something that's 100% COOL!" The conversation was like listening to someone talking on the phone. The only pony understandable was Fluttershy, who herself was acting odd.
"Rainbow Dash is sick! I thought I told you that. And in case you were wondering, you can't fly when you're sick," Fluttershy told her bunny. "Look, I'm sorry. To make up for not feeding you this morning, IF Applejack says yes, you can have that basket of apples over there."
AJ didn't care that the rabbit hadn't asked permission before he stuffed his face with apples. She had heard everything Fluttershy said and thought she might have figured something out. If she put all the information together, that would make. . .starting with the Wonderbolts, Applejack remembered the Best Young Flier's Competition and how sad Rainbow sounded when she couldn't spend the day with two of the Wonderbolts, Rapid Fire and Soarin', because of Rarity's remarkably strong kicks. She also remembered how excited Rainbow Dash had been when she learned she getting another day with her heroes. If Fluttershy was performing for the Wonderbolts, then something must be wrong with Rainbow. Could it actually be true that she was. . sick?
"Well, Ah'm gonna let yah go now. Just giddy-up outta here and we all keep workin'."Applejack decided it was best to keep her thoughts to herself then risk losing her kind, loving friend.
It was only 11:00 a.m. and the afternoon was already more boring than the other days at the hospital. Rainbow Dash longed for companionship and had given up trying to calculate if she could be let out by next Friday. One, there wasn't a single chance saying it was Saturday and she was still feeling sick, and two, the thoughts mixed up and churned so hard it gave her a headache, not that she didn't have one already.
"Hello, Rainbow Dash!" the nurse bounced cheerfully into the room. Ugh, not again. . .Rainbow thought.
"Now, Dearie, I need you to roll over for a few seconds." The nurse had never said this before. Although she was, she had to admit, a little nervous, RAinbow, who didn't like being called 'Dearie', obediently rolled over onto her stomach.
"What are you doing?" she managed to whisper.
"Oh, don't you worry, dear. If we do this you'll be able to fly again by tomorrow. The sooner your wings are strong enough, the sooner you can get out of this place," the nurse answered. Rainbow Dash heard a shuffling of hooves, then what sounded like the nurse reaching for something. More shuffling. Soon Dash could feel the nurse's warm breath on her neck.
Then it happened. The nurse stabbed a gigantic needle into Rainbow Dash's left wing, and Rainbow wanted to practically scream with the humungous amount of pain that had just been added to her wing. OhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygosh! she screamed in her head. Ahhhhhhhh. . . .
The shot was over and Rainbow Dash had closed her eyes when the aching feeling the shot gave her seeped into the sky-blue feathers and the base of her wing and shoulder. By the time she opened her eyes there was an embarrassingly large white bandage covering the center of her wing.
Ugh. What a stupid, boring, NOT cool day.
Fluttershy flew to her house in a hurry. She didn't actually know why she was going so fast, but she wasn't going to her house just to hang out. The truth was, she was just going to clean up, but after that she was going to visit Rainbow Dash. And right now, so she told herself, she looked like a rat's nest.
Fluttershy pulled the brush through her tangled mane. She scrubbed her hooves. She shook the leaves and twigs from her . She was all ready. After putting a few strands of her mane into a pretty side braid, she set off for the hospital.
Fluttershy had practically memorized the route to room #18, where she would find the pegasus that been her friend for as long as she could remember. As she galloped lightly through the twisting halls, she couldn't help but think about when Rainbow Dash wasn't sick, when she still had wings that had unimaginable power, a beautiful, brash rainbow mane, and a flying talent that was stronger than all of the Wonderbolts combined. The mixed up thoughts almost made her cry as she stepped into the room.
"Hey, Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash moaned without bothering to look up.
"Hey, Rainbow," Fluttershy said. "Are you OK? You sound quieter than last time."
"Not exactly OK. I think the nurse just stabbed a sword into my wing or something,"Rainbow joked. "So anyway, how's the flying going?"
"Great. I think I got my wing power up at least your minimum speed,"Fluttershy added, lying down next to the bed.
"Fluttershy, you really don't have to do this. If you don't want to, then don't."
Fluttershy was shocked at her friend's thought.
"But Rainbow Dash. . ." she began. "I just. . .well, the flying, it just feels so good! The speed, and the wind, and the rush of air all put together is just so. . .so. . .amazing!"
"I know how you feel." Rainbow, being the Element of Loyalty, was not only loyal to her friends, but to their feelings and emotions, too.
"Well, um, are you feeling any better?" Fluttershy asked awkwardly.
"Not better. Worse. My wings are probably gonna explode," Dash admitted.
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
" 'Was afraid you'd get lost with me and not really focused on what's important."
"OK. Umm. . .you can let me know if you want anything. Like the new Derring Do book. . .," Fluttershy offered.
"Hey! You have that? I've been waiting for like, EVER for it to come out," Rainbow Dash said excitedly.
Fluttershy was glad her friend was back to her normal self. Gleefully, she opened the window and zipped back to her cottage home. She was sure Rainbow Dash would be glad to get some fresh air and sunlight.
After fetching the book and giving it to her friend, Fluttershy decided to call it a day and stop practicing. She soon got bored just sitting on the couch talking to Angel, so she decided to drop by at Sugar Cube Corner. She was just about to ask for an apple-blossom cookie for one of her animals when she saw the tray of cakes.
Just about every kind of cake in Equestria was there. An idea popped into Fluttershy's head. When it was her turn to order she asked for her dish for the animals and then she asked for a cake.
"Which kind, dearie? There are many different kinds, after all," said Mrs. Cake, owner and baker at Sugar Cube Corner Bakery.
Fluttershy once again walked over to the cake tray and eyed each each pastry. Strawberry. Chocolate. Vanilla. Carrot. They were all plain cakes, nothing she was looking for, until she found the perfect one.
With it's round sides streaked with rainbow frosting, a big circle of fluffy, cloud-like whipped cream around the edge of it's face, and tiny little violets decorated at the bottom of the cake, it really was the best on the tray. After she ordered and payed, she hopped out of the door and ran straight to her cottage.
With a quill and paper, she wrote in neat mouthwriting: Get Well Soon! She stuck the note onto the cake's plate and, with the present on her back, hurried back towards the hospital.
It was late afternoon by the time she reached Ponyville Hospital, and the sun cast a bluish yellow glow in the sky. Fluttershy flew up and began checking each of the windows; she couldn't tell room 18# by the window sill, just by the number. Window sills don't have numbers.
At last she found the room she was looking for, with the window's curtains pulled loosely to the side. Rainbow Dash lay in the huge green bed, her back turned to the pegasus leaning into the room. Sound asleep she was, and couldn't here the flapping of strong wings against the warm, summer breeze.
Fluttershy knew Dash was asleep, but it just made the surprise better. Balancing the plate on her nose, she placed it carefully on the night table beside the queen-size bed. After she had nudged the pegasus awake without letting her see her, she raced out the door and stopped after she was a safe distance away to watch the window. I took a long time, but eventually two, pale, sky blue hooves reached out and weakly grabbed the cake. After a an even longer while, she saw Rainbow Dash peek out the window and give her a small smile and a wink. Rainbow frosting was smothered around her mouth and a dot of whipped cream covered her nose. Fluttershy couldn't help but laugh out loud at the rainbow-maned pegasus's hilarious mess.
"You might want to clean your face!" she yelled back.
Ah don't believe it, Applejack thought as she paced back and forth in the middle of the night. Fluttershy is actually gonna strut 'er stuff (whatever it is) with tha Wonderbolts? OK, somepony's gonna get tah the bottom 'a this. And tha pony's gonna be. . .ME! Wai, huh? Somepony had just rushed across the sky and had had a near-miss with the roof. Shaking her head to make sure she wasn't dreaming, she walked towards the window to see if that somepony was still there and was highly surprised to see Fluttershy tear through the blue-black night sky, flying so fast several apple trees let go of their apples.
"Fluttershy!" she yelled after her. Fluttershy stopped midair.
"Come here!"
Fluttershy knew AJ suspected something. Why hadn't she just kept her big mouth shut? Now Applejack was sure to know all about the Wonderbolts, Rainbow Dash, and most importantly, her.
When she reached the window her friend didn't try to trick her into admitting something. She didn't bombard Fluttershy with questions. She simply looked her straight in the eyes, leaned closer out the window, and said, "OK, spill."
Fluttershy took a deep breath, not sure how to put the information. "Um. . .uh," she started. Then she decided she wasn't making the situation any better, and she should just do what AJ said. Spill.
"Rainbow Dash got really sick and she was supposed to meet the Wonderbolts next Friday but she couldn't possibly get better in time for Friday and so she asked for somepony to take her place and I was the only one who said yes and I decided to do a Thunderbolt because it was something that'll impress the Wonderbolts and now I can fly really, really, really, really, really, FAST!" Fluttershy blurted.
"Uh-huh." Applejack stared at the pegasus as if she had just spoken in Chinese. There was an awkward silence along with Fluttershy's frantic, short, heavy breaths that showed she was stressed, really stressed. The silence lasted for a minute longer until Applejack grabbed Fluttershy through the window and gave her a big hug.
"Well, congratulations, Fluttershy! Ah knew yah could fly, but, Ah didn't know yah liked it. Yah know wha? Ah think yah really are flyin - How many times did yah say 'really' again?" AJ joked. Fluttershy cracked up laughing.
"Thanks, Applejack. Hey, want to see me practice tomorrow? I'll meet you in the meadow outside Ponyville,"she offered.
"Ahh, thanks, but Ah got a lot 'a apple-buckin' to do."
"OK. Can you come Friday? "
"I'll try."
"Got it," Fluttershy agreed, zipping back through the now pitch black night sky.
Ugghh. This hospital is so freakishly BORING I could, just,spit! Rainbow thought for what seemed like the 50th time that night. She hadn't finished the Derring Do book, and longed to, but couldn't read a thing in the dark of the hospital. She shivered and looked at the open window. Cool nighttime wind swept through the curtains and flooded the room. For a moment the wind seemed to be calling her to soar on their currents, to glide above the land, to fly. Rainbow Dash hated to admit it to herself, but the wind scared her. Like a ghost it had no ending, and it's silent cries for the sick pegasus to take to the air made her think about how nice it would be to fly again, but the thought that she couldn't made her close her eyes and force herself to go to sleep to push the thoughts away. It didn't work. Rainbow couldn't fall asleep and she realized the nightmares weren't worth trying to force herself to sleep. She lowered the covers and lifted one shaky hoof and set it on the cold, dusty floor. She lifted her second hoof onto the floor. Soon she was standing on all for legs, facing the window with a daring expression on her face. She took a few shaky steps towards the window. She spread her crumpled wings out, something that she hadn't done in at least a week. She felt the surging pain rush out of her body as she lifted her wings higher. The wind howled louder than any other wind, and soon Rainbow Dash felt her self slowly being lifted off the ground. . .
Fluttershy awoke to the usual sound of birds chirping and mice rustling. Making sure to feed her animals before she flew out, she got down a bags of seeds, vegetables, nuts, and fruit and took them downstairs. Her pets scampered all over the food and didn't notice Fluttershy sneak out of the house. Once outside, Fluttershy flew towards the meadow, over the daisy/weed patch, and finally to a fresh batch of clouds set at the opposite end of the field. "Let's do this again," she said to herself under her breath. She jumped from the cloud and tucked her wings into a downward glide before making a sharp turn up. She kept her path until all she was so high above the ground the bushes and tulips that dotted the field looked like tiny little points of color. She closed her wings and let herself fall two feet before she spread out her wings and faced the ground, where to her surprise she saw the cloud of wind already at her hooves. She flew even faster then ever until the cloud of wind began to take a rather triangular shape around her body. She kept on flying until she was satisfied with the shape and flew up to the storm cloud and zipped through it's underside. She looked back at the cloud of wind. "Huh?" she asked herself out loud. The cloud of wind didn't have the slightest layer of lightning. It looked exactly like it had two minutes ago, a plain shade of white. Since it was two thin to slingshot her, she purposely allowed herself to stop flying. She was right; the cloud of wind didn't slingshot her. Instead it faded away, and Fluttershy was almost sent falling to the ground.
"Something's wrong," she said as she fluttered toward the ground. She looked back at the storm cloud and waited expectantly for the next lightning bolt to thunder out, but nothing happened. She walked under the cloud to inspect it's underside, and to her horror the cloud was completely white from her view. She knew what that meant. The cloud had run out of storm, and would no longer shoot out chains of ferocious lightning, booms of aggressive thunder, and downpours of soaking rain. It was time to get a new storm cloud.
Cloudsdalle, the biggest city ever to be built in the sky and home to the makings of weather, was not very far away from Ponyville. Fluttershy had flown to the Weather Factory in to time at all and was at the storm section very quickly.
"Um, you wouldn't by any chance let me take one of the clouds, would you?"
"Why sure, if you promise to bring me a fresh batch of water the next week to repay me," answered one of the workers.
"Wait!" he yelled as Fluttershy was about to push the cloud away. "I'm sorry. Because it is freshly made, the cloud is far too hot to touch. Wait a day before you use it. Wear these," he explained, throwing Fluttershy two little slip-on shoes for her front hooves. With the protective shoes,Fluttershy pushed the black cloud out of the building. She wished she hadn't been in such a hurry, because on her way out she bumped into three colts that had been she and Rainbow Dash's enemies ever since Rainbow had done the Sonic Rainboom and saved Fluttershy from their teasing. It never seemed fair that the colts only gave Dash a hard time because they were jealous of her ability.
"Hmm, what do we have, here?" asked Hoops sarcastically.
"It's that old weakling that couldn't fly if her life depended on it!" Dumbbell remarked, sticking his nose in Fluttershy's face. All three laughed so hard Score, who never said a word (at least never loud enough for anypony to hear) started to choke.
"Watch yah doing with that cloud? Using it to kill yourself?" Hoops obnoxious laughter rose up from the group. Fluttershy had to try with all her strength just to keep from tackling them. Yet their taunting made her fell so tiny and weak, she barely had any strength at all. Their voices forced her to think back to the days when she still had to go to Flight Camp. How humiliating it was. Everypony laughed at everything she did, even things like push-ups that used wings instead of hooves. Fluttershy tried to squeeze the thoughts out of her head, but it was no use. "Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Fluttershy can hardly fly!" the chant zipped through her mind.
"Hello! Fluttershy?" Dumbbell yelled directly in her ear.
Fluttershy was about ready to kick him straight in the face when she burst into tears. She set her protected hooves back onto the storm cloud and flew away so fast Score's long, tangled mane flew up out of his face. It was the first time anypony had ever seen his eyes.
Fluttershy was still crying when she placed the storm cloud in the middle of the field. After throwing off the white shoes, she zipped back the way she came, sobbing uncontrollably hard. She passed the Ponyville Hospital on her flight, and her sobs were heard by nopony that inhabited the is, nopony but Rainbow Dash herself.
Rainbow was thinking about last night when she heard the high-pitched cries. She looked out the open window, shielded her eyes from the afternoon sun, and saw a wilted pegasus fly by the hospital. It was Fluttershy. Rainbow wanted to call for her, but her mouth was too dry and her throat too sore to shout. She leaned over the side of the bed to look underneath. Poking around she found a small rubber ball with pink polka dots and a blue background. With one hoof she lightly hurled the ball out the window.
Fluttershy felt something brush her back. Still crying, she flew over to investigate. What she found was a rubber ball. She recognized it immediately. It was Dash's ball. Not only did Rainbow fly with talent, she could bounce a ball on her flank over 100 times. Supposing the ball was Rainbow Dash's call for her, she sobbed her way to the window of room 18#.
"Fluttershy, why are you crying?" Rainbow asked at the sight of her friend.
"The-they. . . they called. . .," Fluttershy was crying so hard she could barely say a thing.
"Hoops and Dumbbell made fun of you again?" Dash asked.
Fluttershy nodded. "But. . .it hurt. . .more than the other times. . .oh, Rainbow Dash. . .it just made me feel so tiny! It was awful!" she cried.
"What did they say?"
"They said, 'It's that old weakling who couldn't fly if her life depended on it!' "
"THAT'S IT!" Rainbow Dash shocked the pegasus next to her with the strength of her voice. "Not one of those creeps is going to get to us again!"
"But Rainbow Dash! How-" Fluttershy asked.
"Sorry, Fluttershy. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm just so sick and tired of them teasing us! What I'm trying to say is they have to learn to leave us alone."
"How are we going to do that?"
"This Friday."
"So you're saying that if I do the Thunderbolt, they'll all get so jealous they won't even try to tease us?"
"Something like that," Rainbow whispered.
"Well, I'd better be going," Fluttershy said.
"Bye," Rainbow Dash called after her as Fluttershy flew back through the open window.
Fluttershy woke up earlier than usual on the morning that was three days way from the day she got was Tuesday. Fluttershy left her animals food on the rug downstairs ad hurried out the door and towards the field.
Fluttershy took a deep breath before flying up into the sky. She changed her path to fly steadily downward, towards the ground 50 feet away.
"Come on!" she shouted to herself. "Make this thing happen!"
The cloud of wind appeared at her hooves, stronger than ever. Fluttershy waited until the perfect moment, when the cloud of wind began to thin around her to fly towards the cloud. She passed through the underside quickly, then turned to face what lay in front of her. Thick, satisfying layers of lightning covered the cloud of wind. Soon it began to take a triangular shape, a shape that cornered around the body of the pink-maned pegasus.
One shock of lightning and it was over. Fluttershy screamed and fell to the ground, while the lightning-covered cloud of wind faded with a sound far to loud for anypony to hear without covering his/her ears.
The shock Fluttershy had been given was on her wing, causing the feathers to wrinkle and bend.
"Ugghh!"
The day had come. The day had come and Fluttershy had almost done the Thunderbolt, but didn't. It was Friday, and Fluttershy had been freaking out the minute she opened her eyes. Her wings felt locked to her body, her hooves glued to the floor. Her animals sensed her problem and told her they didn't need their usual morning feeding.
Fluttershy shivered. She knew she couldn't let Rainbow Dash down, now that she was sick and all, but she was afraid she had to. She couldn't do the Thunderbolt,well at least not yet. She didn't even know where to meet the Wonderbolts. Well don't just stand here! she scolded herself. Get your hooves off the floor and head to the field.
Fluttershy couldn't find the strength in her wings to lift off, forcing her to walk out of her house. She decided to take the "long way" to the field, to give her wings time to unstick from her sides. Her route cut through Ponyville, the longest way to the field she knew.
Rainbow Dash knew it was Friday and the thought made her unusually queasy. And being sick, it just made her problems worse. She stared out her window all day, even though she knew she wouldn't see Fluttershy.
"Is that. . .?" she asked herself as she squinted at something out the window. It was Fluttershy, running across the ground. A beyond scared expression was plastered across her face, she looked ready to cry.
"THAT'S IT! I'M OUTTA HERE!"
She took the green blanket and rapped it around her shoulders like a cape. She crept out of the bed and out the door. Luckily, the blanket was was the same color as the floor, so nopony noticed when she snuck outside the building.
Flutteshy was a nervous wreck by the tie she reached the field. The Wonderbolts hadn't arrived yet, from what she had heard. But they were coming no matter what, and just the thought of being seen by them made Fluttershy crouch in the tall grasses.
DA-DA-DA-DAAAAAAAAAAA! trumpet horns blared as the Wonderbolts tore through the sky. Fluttershy looked up to see Spitfire, Soarin', Rapidfire, and High Winds land to join the rest of the team in the field.
"Where the heck is she?" Spitfire asked her team impatiently.
"We looked all over Cloudsdalle," Soarin' remarked.
"I know."
"Um. . .Spitfire?" High Winds asked.
"What?"
High Winds's voice dropped to a whisper. "Is that pegasus spying on us?" He pointed to Fluttershy lying deep in the grass. She knelt down so low she looked like she was stalking something.
"Whoever she is, we should ask her where Rainbow Dash is," Rapidfire suggested.
"Good idea."
Spitfire trotted over to the shivering Fluttershy and tapped her lightly.
"Excuse me? You haven't by any chance seen Rainbow Dash, have you?" she asked.
Fluttershy stood up, shaking. She tried to say something, but her voice got caught in her throat. All she made was a small 'squeak'.
"Hello?" Spitfire, who was getting annoyed, sarcastically asked, tapping Fluttershy rather harshly. Fluttershy cleared her throat.
"Well. . .um. . .R-Rainbow Dash g-got sick and s-she can't fly with y-you, b-but I'm supposed t-to fly i-instead." Fluttershy's voice was so shaky she could barely say anything.
Spitfire eyed the scared pegasus doubtfully. "So. . .what can you do?"
You've got this, Fluttershy. Just remember. . .
Fluttershy pulled her wings from her sides. With speed she no longer knew she had she dashed upward and had a near-miss with some of the tree branches above her. She kept flying until she was at least 50 feet off the ground before she flew down, down, down.
"Come on!" she yelled. Yes! There it was, the cloud of wind right on front of her hooves. Despite all her practices, she was terrified. She knew she couldn't see the Wonderbolts, but she could feel their eyes watching her every second. She had to force herself not to look down and she felt like just giving up right there on the spot. . .
Rainbow Dash had arrived silently at the field and had seen her friend's state of distress. There was only one thing to do. She unlocked her wings from her back and began to flap. She kept going until she was off the ground. Again she felt the pain charge out of her. She dashed upward towards Fluttershy, but she wasn't paying attention and accidentally went way farther up then she meant to. She zoomed down, still trying to catch her friend.
Then she gasped. Not only did Fluttershy have a cloud of wind at her hooves, but so did she. "FLUTTERSHY!" she shouted. Fluttershy gasped at the sight of her friend, but kept going. Rainbow gave her a a smile that said, 'Let's do this!' and followed her. They were flying so close together that that their wings were practically touching.
Dash was shocked when Fluttershy made a sharp turn upward. Puzzled, she followed her route. Right until Flutterhsy started heading for a storm cloud set high above the ground. Uh oh. . . she thought as she realized what Fluttershy was going to do. Fly through the storm cloud.
Fluttershy had just zipped through the cloud, and had realized Rainbow Dash hadn't completely followed her path and flew around the cloud. She looked from Rainbow Dash back to the cloud of wind in front of her. Then she looked back at Rainbow's cloud of wind. Both clouds of wind were beginning to thin around their pegasi's bodies, Dash's streaked with bright, flashing rainbow colors, Fluttershy's covered in thick layers of lightning and rain zipped out from the chains.
Rainbow Dash had seen the signs and had gotten ready for the giant boom ahead of them. They were flying so close together that the clouds of wind were crashing together with a loud, electricity-like sound. Just give it time. . .she thought.
Fluttershy felt it thin around her body, and the pain the lightning gave her was unbearable. The shocks hit every single part of her, causing her to close her eyes tightly. "Here. . .it. . .COMES! she heard Rainbow Dash shout. It did come. BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!The loudest boom anypony had ever heard erupted from both clouds.
The boom was incredible, but not nearly as amazing at what created it. An enormous, raging circle of amazing rainbow lightning erupted from both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's clouds, spreading farther out then anypony had ever seen a Sonic Rainboom- or a Thunderbolt- ever go. But this wasn't a Sonic Rainboom. It wasn't a Thunderbolt. It was both. . .
Fluttershy followed Rainbow Dash as the rainbow-maned pony swept in a big arc over the field, which followed into a humungous spin up into Cloudsdalle.
Fluttershy looked behind her and gasped. She was leading a white ribbon of crashing, booming lightning. But it was so strange. The lightning wasn't it's appropriate shade of blinding white. It was mixed in all of the brightest colors in the rainbow. . .she looked at Rainbow Dash. She was leading the same thing: rainbow-colored lightning. The two pegasi finished off a final loop-the-loop and, leaving the rainbow and lightning behind, zipped towards the ground.
Both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were perfectly exhausted. Rainbow had know idea how tired or hurt she would be if she flew sick, and she was just about ready to collapse when she touched the ground and had to sit down. Fluttershy, who could stand a lot more easily, was shocked at how fast she had flown and was looking straight up at the rainbow-lightning when she heard the clapping of strong hooves, a pony cheering in a rather fancy voice, and a high pitched scream that lasted for a whole minute. She turned around, as did Dash, to see Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack, cheering their heads off. Apparently, Applejack had brought them to the field just in time to see the incredibly beautiful, loud explosion.
"YOU DID IT! YOU DID IT, FLUTTERSHY!" Applejack was shouting. Pinkie Pie had resumed her screeching, and Rarity kept clopping her hooves. The screeching stopped, however, when Pinkie saw Rainbow Dash.
"Um. . . Dashie? Are you OK?"
"Yeah. Just super tired."
"Well. . .did you mean to do that AWESOME thing with Fluttershy in the same field where the Wonderbolts are standing with their mouths wide open and staring at you and Fluttershy?"
"The Wonderbolts?!" Rainbow Dash jumped to her feet, pretending that she could stand just fine and wasn't sick at all. She lifted her back legs using the strength left in her front legs, causing her to stumble clumsily and land flat on her face. She moaned slightly and tried to sit up. She felt a great deal of embarrassment just standing there.
"Hey, Captain, you don't have to look all picture-perfect in front of us. You can sit down," Rapidfire said. He clapped his hoof over his mouth and ducked, slightly missing a strong kick and a rude glare from one of his teammates.
Rainbow Dash did, surprised. She couldn't believe she had just been called 'Captain' by one of the Wonderbolts. She was often called Sport by her Flight Camp teacher, and Dash by Guilda the griffon, and sometimes even Dashie by Pinkie Pie. But never had she been called Captain, especially by the Wonderbolts.
Then something happened. The Wonderbolts all seemed to get into a small huddle. The spoke in whispers, so Rainbow could only make out part of what they were saying:
"Do you think we should. . .?"
"I'm your captain, High Winds. . . . . .YES! I know what I'm doing."
"You're not technically. . ."
"I know I'm not the real . . .anymore, but . . ."
"But like. . .what position. . .co-captain? Regular teammate?"
That was when the whispers were hushed to something so quiet only a mouse could hear. Rainbow Dash started to feel uneasy. Of coarse, the fact that they were talking about her and Fluttershy(that was all she could make out) just made her want to faint. Is it just me, or do the Wonderbolts want something extremely important with me and Fluttershy?!
Suddenly the huddle broke up, and the next thing that happened was Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were ordered to stand next to each other in front of the Wonderbolts. Rainbow Dash was really started to feel queasy, which didn't help her sick state. Spitfire stepped in front of the two troubled ponies.
"Awk-ward. . .," somepony whispered. It was awkward. For a long time it seemed that all Spitfire wanted to do was watch Rainbow squirm and Fluttershy turn purple from lack of breath.
Spitfire cleared her throat.
"I don't really know how to say this. . .umm. . .you both have proven that your talent and ability to fly is stronger than any normal pony. In which case I, Spitfire, captain of the. . ." Spitfire trailed off. Making such a speech made her look stupid, and she knew it. Somepony might've even said her personality was similar to Dash's, and could've been right. Therefore, she practically didn't even know the meaning of the words she had just ever so foolishly spoken.
Rainbow Dash felt like passing out. Her knees were so shaky she had to crouch down to stop them from knocking together. The last thing she wanted to do was start the awkward silence again, and then there it was again: silence.
Fluttershy broke the silence with a polite but fake cough.
"Ah-hem.A-as you were s-saying. . ."
"Yes, as I was saying- Can we all just promise not to start up that. . .yah know, anymore?"
They all nodded their heads limply.
Spitfire continued: "I'm just gonna come straight out and ask you. How who'd you, Rainbow Dash, like to become the Wonderbolt's newest captain as your friend Fluttershy takes place as co-captain?"
Rainbow blinked twice. Spitfire's voice rang through her head. She lifted a hoof and whacked herself good and hard on the head, but when she looked up she was still in the hadn't been a dream. It had happened. Rainbow Dash's life-long dream and wish to be a Wonderbolt had come true.
Fluttershy was the first to recover:
"But. . .I didn't even go to-"
"Hey you, I'm not kidding. I don't have all day. Look, are you taking the offer or what?"
Dash was to busy smiling to answer her. . .well, new teammate's question. She felt her wings jut out from her sides as she uncontrollably zoomed into the sky, up, up, up, and then down, down, down, until the cloud of wind appeared at her hooves. Then it got thinner around her body. And it started flashing rainbow colors. And then-
BBBOOOOOOOMMMMM!
And that boom was the last thing Rainbow Dash heard before she thought the thought she had been wanting to think her entire life- I'm a Wonderbolt.
THE END!
Hope you like it!
(1/2)
Author: Ellya M, age 8