Rainbow Dash watched as a smiling Pegasus showed the Wonderbolts what she was capable of. Rainbow couldn't figure out why, but this contestant was very familiar. She spun in the air, and weaved through an invisible obstacle course, showcasing an impressive level of agility. The white mare flew professionally; her blue mane flowed behind her. Her flying wasn't anywhere near what Rainbow hoped to accomplish, but Rainbow somehow was certain this mare would be one of the six flying in the second half of the competition.
The other mare landed with a subtle bounce against the cloudy floor of the stadium, which was just as it was the previous year. The sun shone with incredible brightness, which reflected off the white puffs that made up the walls. Princess Celestia watched the stage with regality only she could summon, and as usual, her soft mane danced in an absent breeze. The only difference this time was in Rainbow's mind. Last time, she had something to prove to the world. This time, she only had something to prove to herself.
Spitfire flew from her place among the rest of the Wonderbolts down to the stage in a clean descent across the stadium, and approached the contestant who just finished. Her fiery mane contrasted sharply with the one the exhausted competitor carried. After a hoofshake and a smile, Spitfire turned towards the audience and called out, "Congratulations to Lightning Bolt for another spectacular performance!" She waited a moment for the applause to subside. "Next to audition is Rainbow Dash!"
Spitfire flew back to the spectator's area, and Rainbow took that as her signal to go. She shot up into the air, leaving a temporary bow in the cloud beneath her from the force of her takeoff. As she ascended, she dotted her path with corkscrews, barrel rolls, and loops. Then as she straightened her course, she could barely hear applause through the wind, despite having only gotten started.
Rainbow increased her speed and dazzled the audience with something she had never shown before. A mach cone formed as she began to approach the sound barrier against gravity, just as she had planned. If anypony was astounded by the feat, she didn't notice. The cone of air blocked out all other sound, and she was too high to make out any faces. She continued to accelerate as the cone narrowed. As it was on the verge of breaking, she deftly flipped herself to press her hind hooves against the barrier. Just as the barrier began to snap backwards, Rainbow pushed off it with enough force to create a new mach cone as she began in the opposite direction. As she left the previous cone behind, it produced a loud pop as it dissipated.
As satisfied as she was to use the hardest part of a Sonic Rainboom to her advantage in a different trick, she wasn't done yet. She repeated the act, rebounding off sound barrier after sound barrier like a Pegasus-shaped pinball, each producing a remarkable clap. Between bounces, she banked into tight turns and traced abstract shapes with the blur she left behind.
As she finished her last pattern of bounces, she pointed herself skywards once again, and turned on the verge of the sound barrier breaking. However, instead of pushing off it, she sharply kicked at the tip of the cone, sending her the way she came with a new mach cone as the previous one burst in a ring of color and sound. With the velocity she already had, she had no trouble breaking her second sound barrier, producing a Double-Rainboom.
Rainbow Dash, producing a bright, vivid rainbow contrail behind her, rocketed towards the clouds forming the floor of the stadium, making two sharp turns along the way to draw a massive bolt of multicolor lightning in the sky. She then slowed herself quickly and smoothly enough to end the contrail less than ten feet from her landing place. Once again, she left a divot in the cloud. All she could do now was catch her breath and await the judging as sweat dripped along her coat.
Spitfire once again flew down to the stage, this time careful not to pass through the gradually fading rainbow trail. She landed and shook Rainbow's hoof. As Rainbow continued to catch her breath, Spitfire announced, "Congratulations, Rainbow Dash, for once again defying the laws of physics!" A hearty bout of chuckling came from the audience, amongst near deafening applause. "All contestants, please take your places upon the stage. We will have our choices for the half to compete in the second round in just a few moments."
Rainbow smiled. For once, the applause of the crowd didn't matter much. She had impressed herself, and that was a rare feeling.