Two weeks after the Cutie Mark Crusaders formed, they had been causing Ponyville no shortage of headache. One of their first outings was putting on a live musical performance in an attempt to win a talent show. The only issue was that the performance was a complete disaster; between Scootaloo's awful singing, Sweetie Belle's terrible set design, and Apple Bloom's dysfunctional choreography, the show was an utter failure, but saying that is an understatement. Sora saw the performance to cheer on the CMC, but he could not bring himself to say that it was good; doing so just felt morally wrong.
Another of the CMC's hi jinx involved Fluttershy, Twilight and the Everfree Forest. Sora did not understand exactly what happened as he was not there. He tried asking Twilight about it, but she hardly remembered anything. Asking Fluttershy or the CMC resulted in vague answers, so Sora decided to drop the issue; it probably was not that important anyway.
That's how it was with he CMC, everyday they would come up with a new scheme to get their cutie marks, always ending in failure and often leaving them covered in tree sap.
This story involved something different, and it all Started in the Golden Oak Library. Twilight levitated one of her prized books on the library's wooden shelves. The entire space was now neat and tidy.
"Thanks for helping me reorganize my shelves, everypony," Twilight expressed.
"Yeah, nothing more exciting than a bunch of books..." Sora droned unenthusiastically. He, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Applejack had been helping the purple unicorn reorganize her shelves.
"You're telling me," Twilight responded, not catching the sarcasm in Sora's voice, "It's been a crazy week of studying."
"Wait," Sora held his hoof up, signaling the others to stop talking, "Do you hear that?"
It was faint, but Sora could swear he was hearing something. It sounded like someone screaming. Sora suddenly felt a sense of deja-vu, like he's been in a familiar scenario before. His suspicions about what was happening were confirmed when he heard the screaming getting louder.
"Get down!" He yelled, dropping to the floor. Before the mares could question what he was doing, they took a quick glance towards the open window. There was Rainbow Dash, careening towards the open window and crashing into the library. No one really knows what happened next. The ponies were all sprawled out on the floor, dazed and confused. The force of her impact forced all of the books to fall off the shelves, resulting in a floor covered in scattered reading material.
Then Fluttershy appeared from the window, "Rainbow Dash, you rock! Woohoo," She kind of cheered. It was hard to tell with how quiet she was. Her pupils shrunk when she saw the mess in the library, "Did my cheering do that?"
Sora rose, a couple of open books falling off of him in the process, "What the heck just happened?" He saw the state of the room, seeing the other mares pick themselves up, but more importantly, all the books were sprawled on the floor, "NOOOO! We just got this place cleaned up!" Now they had to boringly shelve all those books again.
Twilight rose from her lying position, bringing a hoof to her aching head, "Hi, Rainbow Dash..."
"Sorry about that everypony," Rainbow Dash apologized before turning her attention to Fluttershy, "That was a truly feeble performance."
"It wasn't all bad," Fluttershy tried to soften the mood, "I especially liked the part where you made those clouds spin."
"Yeah, my performance was awesome," Rainbow Dash stroked her ego, "I was talking about your feeble cheering," Fluttershy shrunk back hearing Rainbow's criticism.
"Uh, what are you two talking about?" Sora asked. Rainbow Dash surprised him when she flew right up to him.
"Sora, I need your help!" She requested.
"Okay, what is it?" He replied, "Anything to get away from organizing books."
"I need you to cheer me on in the Cloudsdale Best Young Flyer Competition," Rainbow said.
"The Best Young Flyer Competition?" Sora repeated, "What's that?"
"It's where all the greatest Pegasus flyers get together and show off their different flying styles!" Pinkie Pie excitedly stated, having burst from a mound of books, "Some are fast! And some are graceful."
"Golly. Ah'd love to see you strut yer stuff in that competition," Applejack threw in, picking herself up off the ground.
"Yeah. That's why I need your help, Sora," Rainbow pleaded—kinda,"Fluttershy's a great support, but her cheering isn't exactly inspirational."
"That's not exactly nice to say. I'm sure Fluttershy's plenty inspirational."
"Ooh! I'd love to see you make a sonic rainboom!" Pinkie breathed, "It's like, the most coolest thing ever, even though I've never actually seen it, but I mean come on! It's a sonic rainboom, how not cool could it possibly not be?!"
"Sonic rainboom?" Sora and Twilight asked simultaneously, causing the two of them to look at each other in shock.
"Jinx!" Sora quickly and cheekily stated, to which Twilight moaned in response.
"You two really need to get out more," Pinkie Pie teasedSora and Twilight. Both ponies glared at the pink mare, who payed their stares no mind, "The sonic rainboom is legendary! When a Pegasus like Rainbow Dash gets going sooo fast... Boom!" Pinkie stretched out her hooves to emphasize her point, "A sonic boom and a rainbow happen at the same time!"
Sora widened his eyes, "Is that even possible?"
"Sure is," Applejack affirmed, "And Rainbow Dash here is the only pony to ever pull it off, when she was a filly no less."
"Wow!" Sora displayed his amazement, "Really? You did that when you were a kid?!"
Rainbow Dash could not help but smile in pride, "Sure did."
"You're gonna do it again, right?" Pinkie asked with a wide, toothy smile.
"You kidding me?" Rainbow Dash puffed up her chest, "I could do a sonic rainboom in my sleep!"
"Man, if you pulled off something like that, you'd win for sure!" Sora commented.
"The grand prize is an entire day with the Wonderbolts," Rainbow squealed. Sora noticed the cyan mare's eyes sparkling as she continued, "A whole day of flying with my lifelong heroes... It'll be a dream come true!"
"And this is why you need Sora's help?" Twilight asked, diligently following the conversation.
"That's right," Rainbow affirmed to the purple mare before turning her attention to Sora again, "That's why I'm hoping you can at least teach Fluttershy how to cheer properly."
Sora brought a hoof to his chin, "Hmm, sounds easy enough."
"Cool, I'm gonna go catch some Z's while you two are at it," Rainbow said.
"Wait, you're not gonna practice first?" Sora questioned. The cyan mare's thought process made no sense to him. Why shouldn't she practice until she's at peak physical performance?
"I don't wanna be too tired when we get to Cloudsdale," Rainbow reasoned, "Fluttershy's the one who really needs practice. Besides, I don't wanna over prepare," She flew out the front door at a leisurely pace. Leading to Fluttershy following after her.
Before the yellow mare left however, she turned herself to address the ponies in the room, "Rainbow's tried the sonic rainboom over a hundred times, but she can't get it to work."
"Does she really have that much trouble doing it?" Sora inquired, "She's done it before, hasn't she?"
"Oh, you don't think my cheering has anything to do with it, do you?" Fluttershy asked worriedly.
Sora wasn't sure how Fluttershy could reach that conclusion, but he felt the need to comfort her anyway, "I'm sure it's not that. I bet she just needs some encouragement. You'd be surprised how much of a difference that can make."
"Hey, are you two done talking?!" Rainbow Dash called out, "We gotta get to practicing!"
"Be right there," Fluttershy called out, although her tone of voice made it so that Rainbow did not hear.
"Well, I'll see you girls later then," Sora waved, then flew out the door to catch up with Rainbow and Fluttershy. After the pegasi left, Twilight surveyed the floor of her library, sighing in dejection when it dawned on her that the progress of the last hour was for naught.
"Well, might as well clean up this mess while we're here" Twilight picked up a book with her magic, only for Rarity to swat it away.
"Twilight!" Rarity scolded, greatly confusing the purple unicorn, "How can you just stand here! We need to support Rainbow Dash. She desperately needs it right now."
"Were you even listenin' to Rainbow Dash?" Applejack questioned with a raised eyebrow, "She was practically tootin' her own horn."
"Applejack, I'm in the fashion business," Rarity counter argued, "I know stage fright when I see it, and it was all over poor Rainbow's face."
"Well what we are supposed to do?" Twilight argued, "It's not like we can go to Cloudsdale. We can't fly, remember?"
"That's easy," Pinkie appeared in front of Twilight—upside down, "You just have to cast a flight spell on all of us."
Twilight looked at Pinkie with shrunken pupils, both from the pink mare's defiance at gravity and her nonchalant explanation, "How am I supposed to find a flight spell in this mess?"
Pinkie Pie dove into the mess of books on the floor. She did not reemerge until a while later, carrying an book in her mouth, "Here it is, page twenty six!"
"How in Equestria did you know where that was?" Twilight questioned against her better judgment, considering it was Pinkie Pie.
"The page was shoved into my face when Rainbow crashed inside," Pinkie explained. Thinking that was a good enough explanation, Twilight opened the book to the page Pinkie suggested.
"Oh dear," Twilight read the contents of the spell in question, "This is going to take an intense amount of magical energy to pull off, I don't know if I can do this on all of us."
"Then let me volunteer to be the first," Rarity stepped forward, "For Rainbow Dash's sake!"
"Okay then," Twilight agreed, reading over the instructions for the spell once more. With great concentration, Twilight closed her eyes and pooled magical energy into her horn, forming to a beam that impacted with Rarity. It did not hurt at all, as a matter of fact, Rarity felt exhilarated having magic course through her body. The spell created a bright light, forcing the other mares to cover their eyes least they be blinded. When the light dissipated, Twilight opened her eyelids to survey the results of the spell.
She let out a gasp.
"Well, how do I look?" Rarity asked.
"I-I think it worked," Twilight responded, unable to take her eyes off of the marshmallow unicorn in front of her.
—
Much later, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Sora were flying over to this Cloudsdale place Rainbow was taking about.
"You've really never been to Cloudsdale before?" Rainbow Dash asked Sora.
"No," He replied, "I'm not from here, remember."
"Well, in that case, welcome to the greatest city in the sky!" Rainbow announced as there was something coming into view. Sora had to hold back his breath as it came into focus. There was Cloudsdale, it was as Rainbow said, a city in the sky. A city made entirely out of clouds. The architecture of the city made heavy use of pillars and there appeared to be a large factory that made up a good portion of the city. Pegasi flew around freely, going about their merry lives.
"Wow, this place is amazing!" Sora expressed as the three of them entered the city proper.
"I knew you'd like Cloudsdale," Rainbow said as the group landed on a cloud street.
"It's like I'm on Olympus all over again," Sora thought, "The architecture is more than similar. Is Cloudsdale Equestria's equivalent to Olympus?"
As Sora was pondering, two male pegasi wearing what looked to be factory clothing approached the group, their faces contorted into stifling snickering.
"Hey, if it isn't Rainbow Crash!" A brown pegasus taunted the cyan mare, who only gave him a sneering glance.
"Get kicked out of any flight schools lately?" An orange pegasus insulted, to which Rainbow tried to pay no mind...
"I wasn't kicked out!" But failed to do so.
"Who are those two?" Sora whispered to Fluttershy.
"Those two always bullied me and Rainbow Dash when we were at flight school," Fluttershy explained, her face full of worry.
"Hey, why don't you tell us about the Sonic Rainboom?" The orange one prodded, causing Rainbow's face to slightly go pale.
"That's nothing but an old mare's tale," The brown pegasus further taunted, "Face it, you don't have the skills to pull off something like that."
"Now hold it right there!" Spoke a stern voice. The pegasi turned their heads to the one who spoke—Fluttershy, who immediately reverted back to her usual demeanor, "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm trying to be more assertive..."
"Maybe those lessons are paying off," Sora thought.
—
Earlier
"Okay, let's go over it again," Sora told Fluttershy, "What's makes a good cheer?"
Fluttershy brought a hoof to her chin, "Loss of control."
"Yeah, and what else?"
"Screaming and Hollering."
"And what's the most important thing you need to make a good cheer?" Sora asked with excitement.
"Passion."
"Yes," Sora pumped his hoof into the air, "Now that ya got that all down, let's see you put it into action. Go on, Fluttershy, let it out! Show me how much passion you have! As loud as it can be!"
Fluttershy nodded her head. The yellow mare sucked in a great amount of air through her mouth. She reared herself up on her hind-legs. Her eyes seemed to bulge under intense pressure. Finally, Fluttershy released her breath, creating the effect that she had trained for:
"yay."
Sora stared at the yellow mare with a blank stare. Fluttershy noticed this and adopted a worried expression.
"What? Too loud?"
"Uh, let's keep practicing..." Sora replied, "Maybe try being more assertive."
—
Sora stepped forward to face the bullies, "What she means is that Rainbow Dash is gonna do a sonic rainboom at the Best Young Flyer Competition."
The two male pegasi burst into laughter, "Yeah right, there's no such thing, Spiky!"
"Then show up at the Cloudeseum and see for yourself!" Fluttershy stated assertively, then added with a meek, "If you're free."
"Yeah, that's right!" Pointed to the bullies, "Rainbow's gonna show you what she can do. You wont be laughing then!"
"Oh, don't worry. We'll be there!" The brown one said with a mischievous smile.
"See you then, Rainbow Crash!" With that, the two stallions flew off while laughing like hyenas.
"Did you see that? I was so assertive!" Fluttershy spoke to Sora.
"Yeah, I saw," Sora nodded his head. Not everypony was feeling good at the moment. Rainbow looked depressed after encountering those bullies.
"Those guys are right," The cyan mare sighed, "I'll never be able to do it."
Sora took note of this behavior and decided to try and lift Rainbow's spirits, "C'mon, Rainbow Dash," He encouraged, "Don't think like that. You just gotta think positive."
"That's right, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy also offered her support, "Just because you've failed the sonic rainboom a hundred thousand times in practice doesn't mean you won't be able to do it in front of an entire stadium, full of impatient, super-critical sportsfan ponies," That did not help at all. Now Rainbow had transitioned from downcast to full on panic.
"Aaaaaah! What do I do?!" She panicked, crumbling on the cloud ground, "Everypony's gonna see me fail! The Wonderbolts will never let a loser like me join. Princess Celestia will probably banish me to the Everfree Forest! My life is ruined!"
Sora casted a disapproving glance at Fluttershy, who shrunk under pressure.
"That won't happen at all, Rainbow," Sora assured, lowering himself to meet Rainbow's level, "You're gonna do just fine."
"How could you possibly know that?"
"Because giving up before something starts won't get you anywhere," Sora replied with utmost certainty.
"That's not gonna help do a sonic rainboom!" Rainbow exasperated. There was no immediate response. Sora and Fluttershy were instead staring off somewhere else.
"Rare..." Sora trailed off.
"Rare? The sonic rainboom is way more than just rare!" Rainbow yelled, getting up to confront the caramel pegasus.. Sora motioned for the cyan mare to look behind her. Rainbow Dash turned around to find a startling sight. It was Rarity, with a pair of transparent butterfly wings. Her appearance attracted the attention of many of the nearby pegasi, who stopped what they were doing to gaze upon those beautiful wings.
"Oh, hello there," Rarity greeted the group, who were still transfixed by her new wings, "Do you like them?"
"They're amazing!" Sora broke the ice, earning him a stifled giggle from Rarity.
"You are simply too kind, my dear."
"Where the heck did you get wings?" Asked Rainbow Dash.
"You can thank our friend Twilight for that," Rarity explained, "We didn't want to leave our friend without support during such an important moment of her life," The fashion pony pointed off to the distance, prompting the three pegasi to turn their attention to what she was pointing at. To their surprise, they saw a purple hot air balloon carrying Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie Pie.
"Hey, they made it!" Rainbow cheered, watching the ballon land on the same cloud the three pegasi were on. Twilight made to climb out of the basket, something which made the three instantly panic. Their fears immediately dissipated when Twilight plopped her hooves on the cloud, just like how a pegasus would. Now Sora, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were beyond flabbergasted.
"How are you doing that?" Sora looked puzzled, "I thought only pegasuses could walk on clouds."
"First of all, the plural form of pegasus is pegasi," Twilight corrected, to which Sora un-amusedly crossed his hooves, "Second, Rarity volunteered to have a flight spell tested on her, but I soon realized that I wouldn't have enough magical energy to use it on all of us. So I just found a simple cloud walking spell and here we are."
"Am I glad you're here," Rainbow said with a forced smile, "I was just getting only slightly nervous, but now that you girls are here, I feel alot better now."
Sora eyed Rainbow with a raised eyebrow, "What? Just a second ago you were—" He was interrupted when Rainbow shoved her hoof into his mouth.
"How about me and Fluttershy show around Cloudsdale?" Rainbow desperately changed the subject. It seemed to work as the others all nodded their heads in confirmation.
Sora could see through the facade. Rainbow Dash may act confident, but deep down she was scared. Still, She and Fluttershy made sure to give the group a tour of Cloudsdale. While they were moving, a pegasus with a jackhammer of all things stopped what he was doing when he took note of Rarity and her wings.
"My word," He said, "Those wings are gorgeous!" He complimented. Rarity stopped in place to address the stallion.
"What, these old things," She fluttered them graciously, catching the attention of even more pegasi.
"Be careful with those wings, Rarity," Twilight warned, "They're made from gossamer and morning dew, meaning that they're incredibly fragile."
"Now Twilight," Rarity brushed side the purple unicorn's warning, "I'm sure these wings won't bring about too much unwanted attention," She said as she was looking at her wings in a mirror at a nearby shop.
"I seriously doubt that," Twilight whispered to Sora. He could not agree more. In the short time he knew her, Sora knew Rarity took great pride in her appearance. And with wings as graceful as those, she would want to flaunt them as much as possible.
—
On the tour of Cloudsdale, the group made their way to the city's weather factory, the main source of the meteorological phenomenon across Equestria. While in the factory, the great had to wear white coats and hard hats. Sora still could not believe that pegasi control the weather in this world. Never before has he seen nor heard of such a thing. There were pegasi meticulously creating snowflakes for use in the winter time, complicated machinery that created clouds from water, among other things.
"This is where they make the rainbows," Dash motioned to a cavalcade of falls that poured a rainbow colored liquid into one central pool. Pinkie Pie, out of some sort of impulsive desire, dipped her hoof in the rainbow pool and licked it. Her face began sporadically changing into all the colors of the rainbow rapidly, all the while her face contorted as if she had fire in her mouth.
"Mmm, spicy," She rolled out her tongue as the others just stared at her with trepidation.
"I guess Rainbows aren't known for their taste," Sora commented.
"No kidding..." Rainbow Dash agreed.
"Whoa! Where'd you get those amazing wings? I want a pair!" Spoke a familiar voice. Sora turned his attention to find the two bullies from earlier admiring Rarity's wings.
"Yes, well, I'm sure they would look smashing on you," Rarity politely responded.
"Oh, hey look, it's Rainbow Crash again!" The brown buck insulted, having taken note of the cyan mare.
"Rarity!" Rainbow spoke in an accusatory tone, "What're you doing talking to these guys?"
"Oh, they were just admiring my wings, Rainbow Dash," Rarity brushed off.
"You should just forget the sonic rainboom and get yourself some wings like these!" The buck further prodded, prompting Rainbow to shrink back.
"Don't listen to him, Rainbow," Sora trotted to her side, "You gonna win that contest and show everyone how awesome you are!"
"You kidding me?" Rainbow depressingly conceded, "Look at these boring, everyday wings. There's no way I can do a sonic rainboom."
Sora looked over at Rarity, who was attracting even more attention. Rarity flew up higher, catching the sun's rays in her wings, shining the ponies in the factory with colorful rays of light. It certainly was an impressive display, one that made every worker 'awe' at the spectacle. Sora casted a glance towards Rainbow. She looked more than a little troubled, her eyes were far unfocused, her lips were in a constant frown, and her body was trembling.
"Rainbow Dash, are you okay?" Sora asked with concern in his voice, "You don't look so good."
"Of course!" She replied through panting, "Why wouldn't I be okay? Everypony's so in love with Rarity's wings that they won't even notice me completely blow it in the Best Young Flyer's Competition."
"Hey! There's an idea!" One of the workers overheard Rainbow, "YOU should enter the competition!" He was referring to Rarity.
"Yeah!" Another worker agreed, "I could watch you fly all day long!"
"There really isn't anypony who uses their wings quite like me," Rarity admitted, clearly loving the attention she was getting, "Perhaps I should compete."
"WHAT?!" Rainbow Dash screamed, her condition worsening. Sora was more than a little shocked. Moreover, he was angry. Angry at Rarity for adding even more pressure on Rainbow. With his mood soured, he flew up to the winged unicorn.
"Rarity, can I talk to you for a minute," Sora pulled the fashion pony by her hoof away from her adoring public, much to her displeasure.
"Sora, what in the world are you doing?"
"Rarity, do you remember why we're here in the first place?" Asked Sora with a furrowed brow.
"I'll have you know that I do remember, thank you very much," Rarity brushed aside with a dismissive attitude.
"Yeah, and that reason would be..?" Sora questioned expectantly.
"Oh, yes," Rarity pondered for a brief moment, "We're here to support Rainbow Dash in the Young Fliers Competition."
"Exactly," Sora affirmed in an almost accusing voice, "So why are you entering the same contest!"
"Don't you glare at me like that!" Rarity crossed her hooves. Sora was indeed scowling at Rarity. One look at the caramel pegasus showed that he was not happy with the winged unicorn right now, "I simply just wish to give my adoring public what they desire. Why don't you join the contest as well, Sora? I'm sure a pegasus of your talents would bring quite the spectacle."
"Normally, I would enter any contest," Sora admitted, not breaking eye contact with Rarity, "But I'm here to support my friend, and that's exactly what I plan on doing. You should do the same."
"Sora, I'm not looking to discredit Rainbow," Rarity said irritated, "I hardly see how me competing would hurt her chances."
"Other than being a total attention hog, you mean!" Sora countered.
"I don't need to take this!" Rarity grew fed up with Sora's nagging, "Now if you will excuse me, I must prepare for the event. Good day to you, sir!" Rarity flew off in a huff. Sora sighed in frustration, glancing back at Rainbow, who was biting her hooves in anxiety.
—
The contest was about to start, and most of Cloudsdale had gathered in the Cloudeseum, an open stadium that had no floor and had numerous rafters made out of clouds, of course. The group occupied their own cloud rafter. Sora was anxious, wondering how Rainbow Dash would do. She had very little confidence in herself at the moment. He just hoped she would be able to bounce back to her usual confident self in time.
"Fillies and gentlecolts!" A stallion announced through an speaker system, "Please rise and join me in welcoming our beloved Princess Celestia!" The crowd erupted in passionate cheers, especially from Twilight.
"I didn't know Celestia would be here," Sora commented. Looking at the majestic monarch of Equestria again reminded Sora that he knew something about her no one else did. It took Sora a moment to let all of that sink in.
"Also, please welcome our celebrity judges for the Best Young Flyer Competition: the Wonderbolts!" After that announcement, a team of six pegasi soared over the Cloudeseum, leaving behind a trail of smoke behind them. All of them flew up and created a fantastic burst of light that left behind lingering sparkles, a stunt that earned them the crowd's applause.
"So those are the Wonderbolts," Sora focused his vision on them. All of them wore jumpsuits that were blue with yellow highlights and blue goggles. The only way to tell them apart were their manes. The Wonderbolts all landed on their own cloud platform near Princess Celestia's.
"And now, let's find out who will take the prize as this year's best young flyer!"
Thus started the Best Young Flyer Competition. Each pegasus entered the arena and performed During the course of the contest, Sora could have sworn he saw Ditzy Doo competing, but he was barely paying attention. He was worried about Rainbow Dash. However, he did notice that contestant number 4 was skipped over for some strange reason. He just hoped that contestant 4 was not Rainbow.
"Where's Rainbow Dash?" Sora asked, "There aren't that many contestants left."
"She better show up soon," Applejack said, "I just hope Rarity won't try and show her up."
"And now, for our final competitor of the day," Announced the announcer, "Contestant number fifteen! Uhh... And apparently contestant number four..."
Rarity and Rainbow Dash flew out at the same time. The latter was number fifteen while the former was number four. Looking at Rarity's appearance, it was clear to see why she took so long. She applied a thick layer of mascara and lipstick on her face. Her actual outfit was just as ridiculous, a purple head dress adorned with pink feathers, a dress with a fuzzy light green and purple neckline with a second pair of glittery pink wings, and a skirt made up of what seemed to be large purple and green feathers. Sora felt a pit in his stomach; also, he could have sworn he heard Applejack growling in disdain. He felt some disdain himself, towards Rarity for how much she's sabotaged Rainbow's chances of winning.
Unlike the other contestants, who displayed an array of athletic ability, Rarity opted to perform a dance that emphasized her grace. Also, the music had inexplicably changed into a more classical piece rather than the rock and roll that had been usually playing. Sora wasn't paying that much attention, he was still worryingly glancing at Rainbow Dash, who was floundering all of her stunts.
Rarity was close to the closing act to her performance, "And now for my grand finale. I will fly right up to the sun and beam my beautiful wings over the whole city of Cloudsdale!"
The group was mostly preoccupied with Rainbow at the moment, who failed to make clouds spin. Eventually, Rainbow flew up high into the air, presumably to attempt the sonic rainboom. Sora hoped with all his heart that Rainbow Dash would be able to do it. However, Rainbow Dash's failings would soon be the least of Sora's problems.
As Rarity crew closer to the sun, the light illuminated through the transparent butterfly wings, showering the awestruck audience with a dazzling display of bright colors, as she had done before. In that moment, Twilight's earlier warning about Rarity's wings being delicate came back to deliver Murphy's law upon the marshmallow mare. Being in close proximity to the sun made her butterfly wings burst into flame, only to vanish in an instant the next moment. Only when it was too late did Rarity realize her mistake.
With nothing left to keep her afloat, Rarity was left to fall like a rock thousands of feet above ground level, screeching and flailing her limbs as she fell. The entire arena gasped in horror as Rarity plummeted towards the hard ground beneath her. In response to this crisis, the Wonderbolts dropped down to rescue her. They managed to reach Rarity, but her carelessly flailing legs knocked them all unconscious, leaving them to fall to their deaths as well.
With his friend falling to her doom, Sora steeled himself and leapt off of the rafter he was sitting on to let himself plummet, much to the shock of his friends. Focusing on Rarity, Sora was engulfed in a blue aura as he zoomed to her at high speeds.
Meanwhile with Rainbow Dash, she heard Rarity screaming from where she was as she was preparing for the sonic rainboom. Glancing down from her high altitude, she noticed the fashion pony plummeting. With focused determination, Rainbow knew exactly what she had to do. Using all of the strength her wings could give her, the cyan mare dived down at super sonic speeds, fast enough to reach Sora.
What happened next, before either pegasus understood what happened, they were side by side, perfectly matching each other's speed while they were both engulfed in a blue aura. As they sped downwards, their momentum creating a visible cone of air around them. When the two of them reached the falling ponies, Sora grabbed hold of Rarity while Rainbow picked up the unconscious Wonderbolts.
And then, it happened. There was a massive burst of rainbow colors in blue sparkles as the sound barrier broke. The display of colors was so massive that it could be seen for miles. The vibrant display coated Cloudsdale in an array of rainbow colors so bright that it was near blinding. The colors spread outward at an alarming rate, sparking the ground below with blue particles.
"A sonic rainboom!" Fluttershy lost control, screaming and hollering with great passion, "She did it! She did it! WOOOOO!"
Rainbow and Sora soared across the ground floor at high speeds, bounding upwards at a 90 degree angle to fly back Cloudsdale, leaving a Rainbow that rained blue sparkles in their flight. The two of them rebounded back at the Cloudeseum, where they were met with riotous applause. Both Rainbow and Sora were staring off into space, trying to figure out what had just occurred.
"Did we just both pull off a sonic rainboom?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I think we just did," Sora answered. That was certainly a thrilling experience, "I don't think I've ever gone that fast before."
"You two did more than that!" Rarity spoke while still in Sora's hooves, "You two saved both my life and the life of the Wonderbolts."
Rainbow took a moment to consider what Rarity was telling her. The cyan mare had in a single instance performed one of the most impossible techniques in the history of flight and saved her childhood heroes. She could not help but grin a wide smile.
"Heh, I'd call this a good day," Sora said.
—
After the contest concluded, the group reconvened back at the hot air balloon, with Rarity standing in the basket.
"Could somepony mind explaining what exactly happened?" Twilight requested. Her brain was in a frenzy trying to discern how both Rainbow and Sora were able to achieve a sonic rainboom at the same time.
"I think I know what happened," Sora said, "I think me and Rainbow did a limit."
The phrase was completely lost on the mares, judging by the expressions on their faces, "What's that?" Rainbow asked.
"Oh," Sora realized he never explained limits, even when Twilight was interrogating him a while back, "It's sort of a thing I can do. Sometimes I can do a really powerful move with a friend."
"So when you and Rainbow Dash pulled off that sonic rainboom together, you were performing this 'limit' ability," Twilight attempted to piece together what Sora was saying.
Sora folded his hooves as his face scrunched up, "Well, thing is, I can only do a limit with someone where our hearts are joined with the same purpose. I'm guessing when we both wanted to save Rarity, our hearts must have connected at that point."
Twilight sighed, then whispered to herself, "Yet another thing somepony decided not to share..." She kept her indifference to herself, not wanting to risk upsetting Sora again.
"Hey, I wonder what my limit with Sora would be?" Pinkie thought out loud, "Maybe we'd cover the field in cupcakes and make them explode in a fantastic display of destruction and tastiness!"
"Whatever the case, I'm very thankful for your saving me," Rarity told Sora, diverting from another one of Pinkie's tangents, "I'm sorry for being such an 'attention hog'," Then she addressed Rainbow, "And I'm sorry for placing even more unneeded pressure on you."
"Hey, it's no big deal," Rainbow brushed her hoof.
"Yeah," Sora affirmed, showing no signs of a grudge against the fashion pony. Rarity looked relieved knowing that there was no bad blood between her or any of her friends.
"I just wish I could have met the Wonderbolts when they were awake," Rainbow looked to the ground in slight disappointment, before Sora tapped on her shoulder, catching her attention, and he pointed to right behind her. Rainbow followed to where Sora was pointing, finding the real and true Wonderbolts, completely conscious and looking at Rainbow. Being in such close proximity to these famous pegasi, Rainbow Dash put a hoof over her mouth as her irises grew in size.
"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!"
"So you're the little pony who saved our lives," Said their leader, a mare with a blown back orange and yellow mane, "We really wanted to meet you, and say thanks."
Those words of appreciation, especially coming from a Wonderbolt, threw Rainbow into an even bigger frenzy.
"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!"
As Rainbow was switching into hyper fangirl mode, Princess Celestia approached the group.
"Hello, Twilight Sparkle, and hello to your friends too," She made sure to wink at Sora. He got the message, and he winked back to his fellow Keyblade wielder.
"Princess Celestia," Rarity addressed the monarch with a sorrowful tone, "I am sorry I ruined the competition. I had no business being in it. Rainbow Dash is truly the best flyer in Equestria."
Celestia chuckled in earnest at Rarity's humility, "It was a very dazzling display of both skill and courage, from the both of you," She was referring to both Sora and Rainbow Dash.
"Well, I'm technically not a contestant," Sora pointed out, "So I can't exactly be given the crown or the prize," He spoke as if he was leading Celestia to make a specific decision, which she caught onto very quickly, causing her to chuckle.
"Well, in that case, I present the grand prize for Best Young Flyer to this year's winner: Miss Rainbow Dash!" Celestia levitated the literal crown, which was styled with two pegasus wings and a lightning bolt. Now Rainbow was one step away from blasting off into the stratosphere.
"Ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh!"
"So my faithful student," Celestia addressed Twilight, who dutifully gave the Princess her undivided attention, "Did you learn anything about friendship from this experience?"
"I did Princess," The studious mare replied, "But I think Rarity learned even more than I did."
"I most certainly did," The fashion pony replied, downcast, "I learned how important it is to keep your hooves on the ground, and be there for your friends."
"Excellent. Well done, Rarity," Celestia complimented.
"This is the best day ever!" Rainbow cheered. Just then, the two bullies from earlier flew up to the group. Judging by the looks on their faces, they did not seem to mean any trouble.
"Uhh, hey, Rainbow Crash."
"Dash!" The orange pegasus corrected.
"Oh! Uhh... Sorry. Rainbow Dash," The brown pegasus continued, "Uhh, we just wanted to congratulate you on winning the competition," There seemed to be a real genuine attempt to express congratulations. No sign of any kind of teasing.
"That sonic rainboom was awesome!" The orange one complimented with earnest.
Rainbow Dash certainly never expected to hear those words, especially coming from these two, "Really? Heh, thanks, guys."
"Uhh, we're really sorry we gave you such a hard time before."
"Aww, that's okay," Rainbow was pretty quick to forgive them, something Sora found quite admirable, "Don't worry about it."
"Hey. Do you want to hang out with us?" The brown buck suggested with hope in his voice, "Maybe you could show us how you did that sonic rainboom!"
"Sorry, boys... But I've got plans!" Rainbow Dash flew off with her fore-hooves around two male Wonderbolts, her face smiling in contentment.
Sora looked over at Rainbow Dash with a smile on his face. He was glad that she got her spark back.
—
The next day, Sora was trotting through town so that he could meet up with Pinkie Pie to bake some cupcakes. As he moved forward, Rainbow Dash flew in front of him.
"Hey, Rainbow. How'd it go?" He asked, referring to the flight lessons with the Wonderbolts.
"I was everything I imagined it to be!" She excitedly replied. Sora could not blame her enthusiasm. She had dreamed of being with the group for years and now she had gotten a taste of it.
"That's great to hear."
"Hey, Sora," Rainbow Dash looked a little apprehensive about something, "Can I talk with you for a sec?"
"Sure, what is it?"
Out of the blue, Rainbow Dash grabbed hold of Sora's hooves and flew the both of them off to a nearby alleyway, away from any prying pony eyes. Sora narrowed his eyes at the cyan mare.
"Hey, what gives?" He received his answer when Rainbow Dash threw her hooves around him in a hug. The caramel pegasus stiffened at such a sudden action, especially from a pony like Rainbow.
"Thanks for letting me have the win. Please don't tell anypony about this," Rainbow begged him, breaking away from their hug. Sora blinked twice as she sped off to who knows where. After such an experience, Sora could only smirk.
"Aww, c'mon, Rainbow," Sora spoke to no one in particular, "At least let me hug you back."