Chapter Fifty Three: Rainbow Falls

Twilight Sparkle sat at her desk in the library, her eyes glued to the book resting upon the table in front of her. It was not uncommon to find her like this, but the very small amount of books was a bit of a surprise. She had been trying to learn more about that chest that appeared after she and her friends saved the Tree of Harmony, but she hadn't found much information about it.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, which brought the Princess out of her trance. She then walked over to the door and opened it. "Oh, hello Ditzy."

"Package for Princess Twilight Sparkle!" Dizty announced dramatically before pulling said parcel from out of her bag.

"Thank you." The Alicorn seized the package with her magic while at the same time grabbing another object. She levitated a blueberry muffin in the air before giving it to the mailmare. "Spike made these, they're quite delicious."

With a smile the Pegasus gladly accepted the tasty looking dessert. "Thanks Twilight!" She then shoved it into her mouth before flying away.

Twilight waved her goodbye before shutting the door. She then looked at the package before opening it. Upon removing the wrapping she gasped loudly. It was a book... but not just any book, it was the new Daring Do book. The newest book hadn't even been released yet! What made it even better was that she had received it before anypony else had, which was any book lovers' dream! Her eyes soon began to light up with excitement.

She stared at the front cover for several moments, which had Rainbow Dash on it, before opening it up. Doing so revealed a note. "To Twilight Sparkle: If it weren't for you and your friends I might not have stopped Ahuizolt, so thank you for that. I hope you enjoy the newest book. A. K. Yearling."

Her big grin increased in size at the sight of those magical words. Not only had she received a copy of the next Daring Do book before everypony else, which needed to be restated, but it was signed by the A. K. Yearling! A delighted squee escaped the Princess as she began to dance around wildly, which was soon accompanied with loud cheering.

Twilight kept on celebrating before noticing Spike staring at her in confusion. "Hehe, sorry."


On a far off planet Vegito stood on top of an unnecessarily large castle, feeling bored out of his mind. His latest mission, which felt like months since his previous, had him stopping some power-hungry warlord from completely ruling the planet. The man he was after was the strongest warrior in the world... key word, world. The Saiyan had barely put any effort into fighting and had made a complete fool of the so called 'strongest warrior'.

Said man was currently on his knees, coughing up some blood. That last punch really did a number on his insides, making it feel like they had gone through a washing machine. His body had already been in severe pain, but now it was even worse. 'There's no way anyone can have this much power!'

"Hey will you just surrender already? I have to go help Ponyville train for the Equestria Games, and I promised Rainbow Dash that I'd be there."

"...I have no idea what any of that means, but I, the Great Monderk, will-" His sentence was cut short by a hand wrapping around his throat, which then effortlessly lifted his massive body off of the ground.

"I'm only going to say this once, so listen closely. You're one of the most pathetic excuses for a warrior I've ever seen, and if I had wanted to I could have killed you the moment our eyes met. Now I'm going to leave this planet, and I really don't want to have to come back. So I want you to remember my face, and that if you see if again it'll be the last thing you ever see. Got it?!"

All Monderk could do was nod, as well as slowly start to cry.

Vegito shook his head before tossing the coward to the ground, letting him wallow in his fear for a few moments. What made the whole thing funnier was that Fluttershy had been able to withstand one of his looks, and that one had been way more intense... granted, she had been pretty consumed by her newfound assertiveness, but still. It was also telling that a Pony was tougher than a so-called warrior.

With a sigh he placed two fingers to his forehead, preparing to return to his somehow less embarrassing home. "Oh, and you might want to change your pants."

As the terrifying man left Monderk glanced downward, and let out a big sigh.


Rainbow Dash and her friends were currently at the Rainbow Falls, which is where the training for the Equestria Games were being held. The Equestria Games were a competition between Ponies all across Equestria, although other species could compete as well, to find the best of the best. Which was decided via a series of intense events. Of course the Games were all in good fun, and despite being a competition helped bring Ponies together.

Naturally Ponyville would be taking part in the Games, and who better to take charge than Rainbow Dash? She was naturally the strongest Pony in Ponyville, and the fastest, and the only Pony capable to accessing her energy... aside from Scootaloo, but the filly already had a part to play. So that left Rainbow to take the lead and wip her team into shape.

Despite the numerous number of Pegasi in Ponyville there would only be two others on Rainbow's personal team, which were Fluttershy and Bulk Biceps. The former had surprisingly undergone Vegito's training, while the latter was naturally pretty strong. Unfortunately neither one were as fast as Rainbow Dash, especially Bulk with his practically non-existent wings. Regardless as that the cyan mare was sure she could pick up the slack, and that the three of them could take home the gold!

"So, do I need to remind you of what our goal is here?"

"Uh, maybe." Bulk Biceps answered innocently.

"We want to qualify! We need to be one of the first four teams to cross the-" Her sentence was cut off by the sound of somepony materializing nearby, and when she saw who it was she excitedly flew over toward him. "Vegito you made it!"

Vegito braced himself for the inevitable hug and flashed her a small smile. "I would've been here sooner, but there always seems to be some deluded, power-hungry person who wants to rule the world."

Rainbow only nodded, all the while she couldn't help but wonder how badly that would be warlord was in pain right now.

"So, how goes the training?" He figured it was coming along fine, considering it was his student who was taking the lead, but he just wanted to hear an actual report.

"We haven't actually done much training yet, in fact I was just about to put my team to a test." She stated with a smirk.

The Saiyan then glanced over at the other two members of the team. He wasn't really familiar with Bulk Biceps, as he was called, but apparently he was incredibly strong... unfortunately, while his body was massive his wings were tiny. Both of those factors were going to make it hard for said Pony to fly in a race, let alone just get off of the ground.

He then shifted his gaze to his shy friend, who smiled and waved at him. The fused warrior held more confidence in Fluttershy, mostly because he had trained her. It had been brief, and his friend probably hadn't worked out since, but some progress had been made. He only hoped that she still held control over her fear of flying in front of others.

The cyan mare then shifted her gaze back to her team. "Bulk Biceps, you're the first flyer, so let me see you flap it!"

Instantly he began flapping his wings, and he soon lifted off of the ground. Slowly but surely the stallion started flying, which took a lot of effort. It was a real strain on his small wings to fly, but he continued doing so anyway... that is, until something sweet hit him in the face.

Rainbow then flew up to try and see what it was, and she soon caught sight of Applejack flinging apple brown bettys.

"Sorry! Got the idea from them, but..." She glanced over at two Ponies supporting the Wonderbolts, and from the looks of things they had it down to a science.

"Hooves down! Cakes up!" They yelled as they stepped on their ends of the seesaws in front of them, which propelled the treats straight into the Wonderbolts' mouths.

"...It looks like they got better aim."

Vegito then approached the Honest mare. "Our team can eat when they aren't training, and besides that'll just take away their focus."

Rainbow nodded in agreement before turning back toward her team. "Okay, the passing of the baton needs to be seamless." She explained as she flew over to the recovering Bulk Biceps. "You shouldn't miss a wing beat or drop a hair in altitude! And whatever you do, don't let go of it!"

Fluttershy took this as her cue and flew up to her teammate. "Are you really, really, really sure you're ready? I mean, I don't want to take it if you're not super sure."

"Ready!" The stallion assured.

As soon as the shy Pegasus took hold of the horseshoe it fumbled around her hooves before falling to the ground.

Rarity happened to be nearby, and she quickly took notice of the dinky horseshoe. "Ponyville could do so much better. I'll be back with a freshly painted one in no time!" She then ran off with the horseshoe in her magical grasp.

"We were using that! And it's not like anypony else has color-coordinated horseshoes or anything!" She then saw the golden horseshoes Cloudsdale were using, and let out a sigh as she let herself fall to the ground near her egg-headed friend. "I guess some Ponies do."

"Some Ponies do what?" Twilight questioned.

"Have a better chance of qualifying and going to the Equestria Games than others."

"That sounds like quitter talk." Vegito noted as he approached his two friends.

The rainbow-maned Pegasus sighed. "Well, you saw the Wonderbolts out there. They're amazing! And then there's us..."

"Come on Rainbow, this isn't like you. What do I always say: never give up. Sure the Wonderbolts are a strong team, but we also have a strong team. Fluttershy's a good flyer, I've seen it, she just needs more practice. Bulk might take a bit of work... a lot of work, but I'm sure he can do it. And then there's you, my star pupil, the Pony who always gives one hundred and ten percent! Our team may not be perfect, but I know we can win!"

A few tears came to Rainbow's eyes, which she quickly cleared away, before flying up and hugging him. That speech was just what she needed to hear, and it brought back memories from her brief time at the Wonderbolts Academy. After a few more moments she broke off the sudden embrace.

"So, are you ready to win the Equestria Games?" He asked with a smirk.

"Aw yeah!" The Pegasus cheered before zooming over to her teammates.

Twilight then approached her friend. "Nice speech, but this is really only to qualify for the Games."

"I know, but her confidence came back and we shouldn't let it fall again."


Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Bulk Biceps were standing in an area pretty far removed from the rest of the competition. After having her confidence boosted by her mentor the cyan mare was devoted to training harder than ever before, and by extension her team. That meant being free from distractions, which would help with their concentration. In order to get the most out of their training they would need total focus; a hard lesson she learned from her teacher.

No longer would she worry about how good the other teams might be, or how perfect the Wonderbolts were, instead she would focus squarely on herself and her two teammates. With that being said she stood by her team, ready to instruct them.

Vegito and some of their other friends were there as well, either assisting or just offering moral support. He approved of his student's idea, agreeing that isolation and silence would do wonders for their training. And if everything went as planned then the three of them would certainly qualify. Of course there wasn't much time to train, and some needed more help than others, but the Saiyan held confidence in the team.

"Alright team, this is it! We're going to train hard! No distractions, no other Ponies to get in the way, and no throwing desserts either!"

Applejack merely nodded, figuring her treats were better off being eaten on the ground.

"Aw, but I was going to load all of Applejack's brown betties into my Party Cannon and make a huge dessert shower!" Pinkie whined as she pointed sadly at her empty Cannon.

"Ah'm gonna pretend ah didn't hear that." The Honest mare noted as she cast a suspicious glare at her friend.

Rainbow also chose to ignore that. "Anyway, we've really got to step it up if we're gonna qualify! So let's give it our all!"

"Woo-hoo." Fluttershy cheered softly.

"YEAH!" Bulk Biceps exclaimed at the top of his lungs.

After taking a moment to get the ringing out of her ears the rainbow-maned Pegasus was ready to begin. "Okay so here's what I was thinking. Fluttershy, since you have more flight experience I'll be training you directly. Bulk you'll be with Vegito, so he can help you improve your flying."

The stallion had heard of the Saiyan, who hadn't at this point, and knew just what kind of power the man was packing. Bulk was always down for a good workout, and being able to train with the Vegito would be even better. Who knows how much stronger he could become?

Seeing the excitement in the Pony's eyes made the fused warrior smirk a little. His newest student seemed determined, which would only make the training go along faster. It certainly wasn't going to be easy, but at least there wouldn't be any complaints... hopefully.

"And in the mean time we'll all be around to support you!" Twilight declared.

"Whenever ya need a snack break ah've got ya covered... assuming Pinkie Pie doesn't dispose of 'em first." The Honest mare said as she cast another glance at her friend.

Pinkie meanwhile was shifting her gaze from her Party Cannon to the treats Applejack brought, and then laughed nervously. She then smiled brightly before shaking her pom-poms. "And I'll be cheering you to victory... although this is just practice, but that doesn't mean you can't win at that!"

"Those costumes will look absolutely stunning once I finish them." Rarity promised.

Vegito then cleared his throat, gaining the attention of everypony in an instant. "I hate to interrupt but we're wasting time. I'm going to take Bulk into my ship to start our training, and I trust you can handle Fluttershy?"

Rainbow smirked in response, which made the shy Pegasus gulp.

With that the Saiyan grabbed hold of his newest student and after taking a hold of him the pair vanished.


Bulk Biceps had gone from the grassy fields of Rainbow Falls, to somewhere completely new. There were bright colors all around him, which was a stark contrast to the dark void that was everything else. This experience lasted only a few moments before reality came snapping back to the stallion. In what seemed like an instant he was back in the real world, except he wasn't in Rainbow Falls anymore.

"Welcome to my ship."

Hearing a voice brought the muscular Pony out of his trance. He looked over at the Saiyan, and then around at everything else. It all seemed so different than what he had seen before. The floor beneath him felt cold, which was the general vibe the 'ship' was putting out.

"I know this all seems weird and confusing, but you're going to have to deal with it."

"Right. So what's first?" The stallion was still eager to train in spite of everything that had just happened.

"First I want you to fly for me."

A look of confusion came to the Pony's face. He figured they'd start with some stretching or something, and then move onto the actual workout. In spite of his confusion he complied, considering who had asked him. With a deep breath the stallion began flapping his tiny wings as hard as he could, and after some strenuous effort managed to lift himself up off the floor.

Vegito watched the bulky Pony struggle to keep himself off of the ground, and in response he put a hand to his chin in thought. This reminded him of when he was training Fluttershy a long while ago, but it wasn't exactly the same. Whereas Fluttershy could fly but needed help with confidence, Bulk had trouble just staying afloat. It was a bit of a contrast, but nothing new to him.

After several moments the Saiyan had seen enough. "Alright you can stop."

In an instant the stallion dropped to the ground, and he found himself a little out of breath. As he was recuperating he noticed his new teacher offering what looked like half of a bean. Feeling a little confused he ate the bean, and as soon as he swallowed it he felt something strange. His body felt like it was becoming even more muscular, but that feeling only lasted a moment or two. What was also just a momentary feeling was the fatigue he had previously experienced, because now he felt revitalized.

"That was a Senzu Bean. It fully restores your energy and can heal almost any injury." He explained.

"That's amazing!" Bulk exclaimed as he thought about how useful those would be for his workouts. "So what was the point of that?"

"The point was to see your flying capabilities for myself, so I can create the perfect training regiment. Obviously you don't need help working out, but it's your flying that needs a lot of work."

A slight frown came to the stallion's face. "Yeah, I've noticed." At one point his wings had been the right size for his body... but that was before he started working out, and unfortunately while his muscles grew in size his wings hadn't. And while still able to fly it had become a real strain. He still managed to fly from time to time, but not without effort.

"Which is why we're going to be working on it nonstop until it's time to compete." The Saiyan stated firmly.

"Okay but how are we supposed to do that?"

"Simple, you're going to just keep flying." Vegito could see the slight confusion in the Pony's face. "Think about it. If you started exercising and began with ten pound weights, you'd eventually adjust to it right? So if you keep working on your flight you'll eventually get used to carrying around your body weight."

Realization hit Bulk like a brick, and he felt silly for not thinking about it earlier. All he needed to do was keep working at it and eventually he could fly normally... at least, he hoped he could. "Do you really think that'll work, and will we have enough time?"

A smirk came to Vegito's face in response. "Trust me, when I'm done you'll be flying like a champ."


"Alright Fluttershy, let's see what you've got!"

Fluttershy stood on all fours, staring down at the makeshift obstacle course in front of her. Since she and the others were far removed from the actual training grounds they had to rig up their own course, which was done with some nearby objects and magic courtesy of Twilight and Rarity. And once they had their course up and running it was time to begin.

The shy Pony took in a deep breath, and after exhaling she was ready to begin. Her wings began flapping hard as she slowly rose up off the ground. Now in the air she started flying through the course, which was essentially just a big circle. While certainly not the fastest flyer around she still moved at a good pace, at least to her it was a good pace.

Watching from down below, Rainbow couldn't help but smile. It would seem that work with Vegito a while back payed off, as her friend was preforming much better than the cyan mare expected. Of course there was still room for improvement, but luckily there wouldn't be too much work involved.

After several more moments Fluttershy headed back over to her coach. "How'd I do?"

"That was awesome, you've really improved a lot!"

"O-oh well um, I g-guess. It's all thanks to Vegito, he was so nice and supportive during my training." The pink-maned Pegasus smiled.

"Yeah that sounds right." Rainbow smirked, despite him not always being so nice during their training sessions.

Twilight, who had been nearby watching, came over and approached the duo. "Wow that was some great flying Fluttershy! If you can preform that well during the trials Ponyville will be sure to qualify."

At the mention of preform the shy mare gulped, and she felt her body tense up a bit. Performances and competitions weren't her strong suit, as she had horrible stage fright. She then thought back to the Hurricane, and how scary that was. Despite how scared she may have been she had been able to overcome her fear, and she ended up doing way better than she anticipated.

Rainbow quickly took notice of her friend's body twitch. "Are you going to be okay out there Fluttershy?"

"...Yes, I'll be fine. Vegito helped me overcome my fear, so you won't have to worry about me."

"Great, because you'll need to be at your best if we want to win!" The cyan Pegasus exclaimed.

"Right. So, what's next?"

"We keep on practicing of course! Just because you've already gotten faster doesn't mean you can't still improve."

Fluttershy nodded, having had a feeling that was the answer. While she did wish Vegito was around she still felt comfortable having her long time friend mentor her. She trusted Rainbow completely, and just knew that everything would be fine. And at the very least Vegito would see the results of her hard work first-hoof when it came time to race. And that was all that mattered to her.

"Alright, now first-"

"Rainbow Dash!"

All the Ponies down below looked up and noticed Spitfire and Fleetfoot flying overhead, and soon enough came down for a landing.

Upon landing on the ground Spitfire approached the cyan mare. "There you are Rainbow Dash, we've been looking all over for you."

"There's something we need to talk to you about... in private."

"Okay. Um, Fluttershy, just do some wing-ups or something."

The shy Pony gave a salute before jumping right into her exercises.

Rainbow followed her heroes away from her friends, very far away. After several moments they stopped, and the rainbow-maned mare figured it was time to ask some questions. "So what's up?"

"There was a little accident today during practice." Fleetfoot stated.

Hearing that made Rainbow gasp. "Is anypony hurt?"

Spitfire nodded. "Soarin' seemed to be having some trouble with the rings, and he didn't quite pass through one right. He clipped his wing and had a pretty bad crash."

"That's awful! Is he going to be okay?!" Just the thought of one of the Wonderbolts being injured had Rainbow very worried, and she sincerely hoped that he would be alright.

"It's nothing too serious... but he won't be able to compete in time for the competition."

A frown came to the cyan mare's face upon receiving that last bit of news. Sure, if the Wonderbolts didn't compete it would give other teams a chance, but that didn't seem fair. It wasn't the Wonderbolts fault that they were so awesome, or that the other teams weren't. Besides, the last thing she wanted was an easy win. Her team certainly wasn't as good as her heroes, but that just made the stakes even higher.

Seeing this reaction confused Fleetfoot a little. "Hey, why so glum?"

"Aren't either of you two worried? You lost a teammate right before the trial, which means you definitely won't be competing in the Equestria Games." If somepony had said that to her she would probably die... well maybe not die, but she certainly wouldn't take it well.

"That's true, we can't compete with only two members... but if we were to find a third, we would still have a chance." Spitfire noted with a slight smirk.

"And I seem to recall a certain rainbow-maned Pegasus Pony who grew up in Cloudsdale, and she was one of the fastest if my memory's correct."

It hadn't taken Rainbow Dash long to figure out where they were going with this, and all she could do was stare blankly at them for several moments. Her heroes were asking her to fly with them, it was a dream come true! Not only would she be on their team for the trial, but knowing them they would definitely come in 1st, which means she would be with them in the Equestria Games! Now that would definitely be a dream come true.

After what felt like eternity the cyan Pony found her ability to speak. "You want... m-me, on your team?"

Spitfire grinned. "Of course. You're one of the top cadets at the Academy, not to mention everything else you do for Equestria."

"So what do you say? Want to fly with the winners?"

"Are you kidding me?! I..." Right as she was about to answer she paused, and it wasn't entirely of her own volition. A huge part of her wanted to say yes, but another part was crying out no. That then brought her back from the fantasies that were stewing in her mind for the last few minutes.

Rainbow was already on a team, Ponyville. That was her home, and where her best friends lived. Not just them, but the whole town was full of wonderful Ponies. These Ponies were competing with her to have a spot in the Equestria Games. Fluttershy, her best friend since the two were fillies. Bulk Biceps... he's big and loud... what?

Her other friends were contributing too, in their own ways of course. They were just as much a part of this as she was. And if she were to join the Wonderbolts, it would be like she was turning her back on her home and her friends. That was the furthest thing from the truth, even if it didn't seem like it. Could she really abandon her home, her friends, her very principles, just to live out her dreams?

"Well, what's your answer?"

"Um, do you think you can give me a few minutes to think it over?"

The Wonderbolts each turned their head to the other, and both nodded.

Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks. Now, just wait here."


Much like a ship running out of fuel Bulk was 'flying' through the air, doing his best to regain some semblance of balance. It was hard enough just staying off the ground, but to have to move while doing it? His tiny wings could only handle so much, and it seemed his new teacher was trying to push their limit. Said limit would quickly be reached and the bulky Pegasus ended up falling flat on the hard floor.

Watching from a far Vegito found a small smirk coming to his face. "Hey not bad, that was your best so far." He congratulated as he walked over to his worn out pupil.

"Y-you keep... s-saying that... every t-time."

"That's because you keep improving." The Saiyan remarked as he gave the Pony half a Senzu Bean.

As soon as Bulk chewed and swallowed he felt his energy instantly return to him, and his already muscular body bulked up even further for a second. In another instant he was back on is hooves, feeling completely rejuvenated.

Another smirk came to the fused warrior's face. "So, ready to go again?"

"YEAH!" Without any prodding Bulk began putting his small wings to work, and managed to get airborne rather quickly. It still took effort, but it helped that he was getting so much practice.

'His love of working out sure is making this easy.' Vegito thought to himself as he felt Rainbow Dash approaching the ship. Curious as to what she wanted he prepared to intercept her. "Hey I'll be right back, just keep going without me. I'll leave some Senzu Beans here for you." As he placed two fingers to his forehead he also grabbed the pouch hanging from his belt. He then tossed it on the ground, figuring his new student would see it.

The Saiyan then Instant Transmissioned over to Rainbow, and appeared right in front of her.

A smile came to the mare's face as soon as she saw him. She was also happy that he came out to meet her. Rainbow needed to speak to him alone, and she wouldn't want to have interrupted Bulk's training.

"So, what's up?"

"Well... um... so there I was training Fluttershy, and who should happen to approach me? The Wonderbolts! They pulled me aside and told me Soarin' was injured, and that he wouldn't be able to fly with them. And that's when they asked me to join their team!"

It took no time at all for the Saiyan to see the problem. "This is your chance to fly with the Wonderbolts, which is your dream. You've talked about it nonstop since the day we met. At the same time though, you already are on a team. Ponyville needs you, you're the star player."

"Exactly! I really wanna fly with the Wonderbolts, but I can't just abandon my friends, I'm the Element of Loyalty for Pony's sake!" She exclaimed.

"And I'm guessing you came to me for an answer." It certainly wouldn't have been the first time.

"Kind of..."

He let out a sigh. "Come on Rainbow, you should know by now how this goes. I can't solve this problem for you. Only you can be the one to make the choice, and I know that you'll make the right one."

Rainbow Dash smiled softly, despite the fact that she didn't get an answer. Obviously she knew what he was going to say, but sometimes she just needed to hear it from him. She valued his opinion greatly, even when he basically told her and her friends to solve their own problems. It was true that they needed to not rely on him for everything, and the mare knew what she needed to do.

"Thanks Vegito." She said as she flew up and hugged him tightly.

He did the same but only for a few brief moments, as it still felt weird that his friends felt the need to hug all of the time. Unfortunately, considering this was his new home, he would probably start getting used to it. The idea made him shudder a little.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

She stared at him for a few moments before shrugging. "So, how's Bulk's training going?"

A slight smirk came to his face. "I'll give him this, he really loves to work out. No matter how many times he collapses from exhaustion he gets right back up... of course it's all thanks to my Senzu Beans, but the point still stands."

"Do you think he'll be ready to compete in time?" That wouldn't really impact her decision, as there were many more factors involved for her.

"I've been known to work miracles, but I wouldn't expect anything close to your level. I'm sure he'll be able to make it through his part of the race, and then you and Fluttershy will be able to pick up the slack... that is, if you decide to stay with Ponyville."

"Well, I think I've made my decision." She stated.

"And is it the right one?" He questioned.

There was a slight pause before the Pegasus answered. "...Yes... it is."


Rainbow Dash quickly made it back to her heroes, who thankfully had been waiting patiently for her return. Not wanting to keep them waiting any longer she kicked up the speed, and in a matter of seconds she was standing in front of them once again.

"Ah you're back." Spitfire smirked.

"So, have you come to a decision?"

The cyan mare let out a big sigh. "As much as I want to fly with you, I can't." She said, making the two of them gasp. "Ponyville is my home, I've lived there for so long. I can't turn my back on them, and I certainly can't turn my back on my friends. My best friends in all of Equestria live in Ponyville, and they mean more to me than anything! So I have to decline your offer."

After what felt like forever somepony finally spoke up, and it was Fleetfoot. "Are you serious?! How can you possibly-"

Spitfire placed a hoof on her teammate's back, telling her to cool it. "If that's your decision then we respect it. Come on, let's go." She and her teammate then flew into the air, heading back to the actual training grounds.

Now alone Rainbow sighed once again. A small part of her questioned if that was the right move, but a larger part was saying yes. She couldn't put her dreams over everypony elses. She didn't do it back when she first met Twilight, and she certainly wouldn't do it now!

With her mind made up she went back over to where Fluttershy and Twilight were.

Twilight noticed her friend had returned. "Oh hey Rainbow. Is everything alright, you were gone an awful long time?"

"Long story short I had to make a really difficult decision."

"Oh." Was all the Princess could reply.

"But it doesn't matter. All that does matter is that we qualify for the Equestria Games! So, how's the training going?"

"Great, Fluttershy is really pushing herself."

Hearing that left Rainbow quite surprised, as ordinarily it took quite a lot to get Fluttershy motivated to do stuff she didn't like. The Dragon Migration came to mind, as well as convincing her to go up a mountain to get rid of a Dragon. Yet from the sounds of it her shy friend was really going at it.

Noting the disbelief on her friend's face, Twilight felt it simpler to show her. "Come on, see for yourself."

The rainbow-maned mare walked past her friend and saw Fluttershy doing wing-ups, and from the looks of it she was working up quite a sweat. A grin came to her face as she approached her hard at work friend.

Fluttershy was still continuing her workout, and turned her head when she heard her friend approach. "Oh, hello Rainbow Dash."

"Hi Fluttershy. Wow, so you're really getting into huh?"

"Well, I know how badly you want to qualify for to compete in the Equestria Games, so I'm working extra hard to make sure I won't let you down." She explained as she ceased doing her workout, not only to talk to her friend but also because she needed a break.

A smile came to Rainbow Dash's face. "Come on Fluttershy, when have you ever let me down? But I'm glad you're taking this seriously, and I want you to know that you'll always be my friend whether we win or lose."

In response to that the shy Pony smiled and gave her friend a big hug, which was instantly returned. Obviously Fluttershy knew a loss wouldn't break their long friendship apart, but it was still nice to hear her friend say it.

"Can you let go of me now, you're kinda sweaty."

"Oh sorry." The pink-maned Pegasus took a step back and smiled sheepishly.

"Now, get back out there and show me what you got!"

"Yes ma'am!"

From afar Twilight smiled, as it seemed whatever decision Rainbow had made turned out to be the best one.


In what felt like no time at all it was time for the qualifiers to begin, and each time went one by one. Each member of the team carried their horseshoe to the other, which involved flying through an increasing number of rings. Some teams did better than others. and it came as no surprise that Cloudsdale set the bar pretty high.

Ponyville was the last team to go, and if they weren't ready now they never would be. Bulk Biceps went first, as he only would have one ring to fly through. As soon as the timer started he took off, and it was now that he truly appreciated the training he had gone through. Compared to before arriving it was hard to even stay off the ground for long, but now he was having an easier time, and even managed to squeeze himself through the small obstacle. It filled him with a sense of pride knowing he was doing better than he thought possible.

Fluttershy eagerly awaited her partner, and once he was in front of her she took hole of the horseshoe. She did have a little trouble holding it, and there was a point where it looked like she would drop it, but it didn't take long for her to secure it. Once she was ready she headed off, and made sure to go to her happy place.

"Go, Fluttershy! Woo-hoo!" Twilight cheered, now wearing a cheerleader outfit similar to that of Pinkie's.

The shy Pony kept on flying, and when she noticed Rainbow in sight she really picked up the speed. And once she reached her friend she gladly gave the horseshoe.

As soon as Rainbow held the object she zoomed off, showing off the fruits of her hard labor.

"Qualify, Ponyville! Qualify, Ponyville!" Even the cheerleaders of Cloudsldale were rooting for Ponyville, which just showed that even in the most heated competitions Ponies still supported one another.

Pinkie Pie took the opportunity to build on their cheers, making them even more special. "Woo-hoo! Go, Rainbow Dash!"

Those cheers were awesome, but the rainbow-maned mare didn't really need them. She was moving at an incredible rate, and was definitely on pace to qualify. With the end in sight she gave one last boost, and practically burst through the final cloud.

The Pony keeping track of the time stopped the clock, and noticed that Ponyville finished with some time to spare. "Ponyville qualifies!"

Hearing that made the crowd cheer loudly.

Rainbow Dash soon found herself getting hugged by her teammates, which she gladly accepted. She then lightly shoved her teammates aside as she had a question for the Wonderbolts.

"Good job out there Rainbow Dash, you really are improving." Spitfire noted.

"Thanks, but wait I thought you said Soarin' was too injured to compete."

Said Pony looked at each of his fellow Wonderbolts questioningly.

"We may have exaggerated a little bit about how injured he was." Fleetfoot admitted.

"We weren't really sure if he would be one hundred percent, so we wanted to see if we could find a stand-in. We figured you would have jumped at the chance to fly with us, but then you turned us down. You know, that took a lot of guts doing that. You sacrificed your dreams to stay with your team, and for that I'm impressed. You certainly deserve our respect, heck, even more than that."

A huge grin came to Rainbow's face in response.

Spitfire then turned to Soarin'. "And we're sorry we tried to replace you. Rainbow Dash put her faith in her team, and we should too."

Fleetfoot nodded.

Soarin' smiled as well. "Aw thanks."

Soon after it came time to hand out the medals, and each team that qualified stood on a wooden platform. Ponyville was the last team to receive theirs, and as soon as Rainbow got hers she noticed Spitfire standing near her. Her hero then gave the Loyal mare the Wonderbolt pin on her uniform, which was attached to her new medal. She liked to think it meant more than just the newfound respect from the Wonderbolts, but also her loyalty to her home and her friends.

"Yeah!" Bulk Biceps cheered.

"Yeah!" Everypony else from team Ponyville cheered.

"Woo-hoo!" Pinkie exclaimed as she and her friends grouped around the three fliers, just in time for a group photo.

"Equestria Games, here we come!" Twilight shouted.

"Oh, I can't deny it. I love to win! But if I ever gotta choose between winning and being loyal to my friends, I'm always gonna choose my friends. 'Cause as much as I love winning, I love them waaaaay more."


Wow it's been a long time hasn't it? I would like to sincerely apologize for the long wait, and I hope to not have such long waits in the future. With the holidays and work it was hard to find time, and when I did have it I would either be tired or lazy. But as you can see I finally got off my lazy ass and posted a chapter. So a few changes, such as Rainbow and the others training away from every other team, as well as how she handled making the decision. Why weren't Senzu Beans mentioned with Soarin' was injured? Well Rainbow was preoccupied by the weighty decision and Vegito would have wanted her to make it, instead of taking the easy way out. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, in spite of how long you had to wait. Be sure to R&R and have a wonderful day!

FutureShock