Hey guys, here's the latest chapter of Shadow Storm Adventures. Today's episode will be Sonic Rainboom.
It was a day like any other day in Ponyville. Ponies all over were doing their own thing, including myself. I was in the air surrounded by clouds, practicing a new move that I just came up with. If I got it correct then this move should be able to do more damage than me just shooting lightning from my hooves. I pointed my hooves forward and charged up the electricity in between them. The lightning had formed into a little ball. I fired it and… it came out as little flash of light.
"Ugh! This is, like, the twelfth time I've tried this and I still can't get it right!" I said, crossing my forelegs in frustration.
This move supposed to be a beam that can pierce through stuff, but instead it keeps coming out as a flash of light. I mean, that could be useful if I'm trying to blind my opponent, but that's not what I'm going for. Sighing in defeat, I had decided that that was enough training for today.
"So now that you know the elements of a good cheer, let's hear one" I heard a voice from below me. Looking down, I saw Rainbow Dash circling around Fluttershy, talking about something.
"Hey Dash, Flutters, what's up?" I greeted the two mares as I descended from flight.
"Oh, hey Shadow. I'm just coaching Fluttershy on how to do a cheer" Rainbow Dash told me.
"Fluttershy? You're teaching Fluttershy how to cheer?" I looked at my rainbow haired friend skeptically. "You're better off getting a mouse to cheer for you. No offense, Flutters"
"None taken, I know I'm not very loud" Fluttershy admitted with a shy smile.
"Try it anyway, let's see what you've got" I encouraged her. Fluttershy inhaled…
"Yay" only for a week cheer to come out of her.
"…Ugh. You're going to cheer for me like that?" Rainbow asked with an annoyed tone. *thwack* "Ow!" she glared at me while rubbing her arm after I had punched her.
"Uh, try to be a little louder, Flutters" I told her.
"Yay" she said in the same quiet voice.
"Try again" I said.
"Yay" No improvement.
"One more time. This time, the loudest you can manage" I instructed her. Fluttershy inhaled deeply and…
"Yaaay!" Wow… she cheered even quieter than the last three times. Meh, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.
"Ugh…" Rainbow Dash facehoofed, and then fell backwards.
"Too loud?" Fluttershy asked. I chuckled at Rainbow's expense.
"We'll work on it" I told her. "Rainbow, show this thing that requires Fluttershy to cheer you on"
Dash took to the air and stood on a cloud. She then leaped from the cloud and came flying down at top speed, pulling up at the last minute. She flew in zig-zag through some trees, bringing a gust of wind as she flew past Fluttershy and I before flying back into the air. Dash then spun circles around three clouds before flying higher into the air.
Dash performed a pair of loop-de-loops, and then flew downward in a diagonal direction. As we watched her increase her speed, a cloud began to form in front of her which soon began to make a drill form. However, she couldn't break through and the barrier repelled her in the opposite direction. We heard her scream as she was sent flying.
"It looks like she's headed for Twilight's house" Fluttershy commented.
"This should be interesting. C'mon let's go get her" I said as we took to the sky and flew after Rainbow Dash.
Golden Oaks Library…
"Damn…" I said, staring at the mess inside as Fluttershy and I stood in the opening near the staircase.
"Rainbow Dash, you rock! Woohoo" Fluttershy cheered quietly, and then gasped. "Did my cheering do that?" she asked while looking at the pile of books on the floor.
"Hehe. Sorry about that, ladies" Rainbow said to the other girls as she dusted herself off. "That was a truly feeble performance" she stared at Fluttershy.
"Actually, it wasn't all bad. I particularly liked it when you made the clouds spin" Fluttershy commented.
"Ugh. I'm not talking about my performance, I'm talking about yours. That feeble cheering" Rainbow pointed a hoof at Fluttershy.
"Hey, don't be a jerk, Rainbow" I countered, standing up for our timid friend.
"What're you guys arguing about?" Twilight asked us.
"Were we arguing? I'm sorry" Fluttershy gave an apologetic look. Rainbow Dash grunted.
"I wish you guys could come to Cloudsdale to see me compete in the Best Young Flyer Competition" She looked at the other girls.
"What's that?" Twilight asked.
"It's a competition where young pegasai do tricks and show off their stuff to see who the best is" I told her. At least, that's what Fluttershy told me on the way here.
"Golly, I'd love to see you strut your stuff in that competition" Applejack said.
"Yeah, I wish you guys could be there. Fluttershy's great support and all, but her cheering isn't exactly inspirational" Rainbow Dash said.
Normally I'd back Fluttershy up, but Rainbow kind of has a point.
"Ooh! I'd love to see you make a sonic rainboom! It's like, the 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?!" Pinkie Pie bounced up and down excitedly
A sonic rainboom? I thought that was just a legend? Then again, I also thought Nightmare Moon and the Elements of Harmony were legends too, so maybe I should keep my mind open a bit.
"What's a sonic rainboom?" Twilight raised an eyebrow.
"You really need to get out more" Pinkie Pie told her.
"Agreed" I said, backing her up. "Twilight, a sonic rainboom is what happens when a Pegasus pony goes so fast both a rainbow and a sonic boom happen at once. Hence the name sonic rainboom" I explained.
"And Rainbow Dash here is the only pony to ever pull it off!" Applejack complimented Rainbow.
Consider how fast Rainbow Dash can fly, I wouldn't put it behind her. But I'll believe it when I actually see it.
"It was a long time ago… I was just a filly" Rainbow said, looking off to the side.
"But you're going to do it again, right?" Pinkie Pie asked innocently.
"Are… you kidding? I'm the greatest flyer to ever come out of Cloudsdale! I could do sonic rainbooms in my sleep" Rainbow said. Although to me it sounded like there was a hint of nervousness in her voice and maybe… doubt?
"Wow. If you pull that off, you'll win the crown for sure!" Twilight said.
"The grand prize is an entire day with the Wonderbolts. A whole day of flying with my lifelong heroes... It'll be a dream come true!" Rainbow said with excitement.
"Well, not to doubt you, but that's a pretty big if" I said, causing Twilight to glare at me.
Ignoring my comment, Rainbow spoke up. " I'm gonna go rest up. Don't wanna over prepare myself, y'know. Hehe" Rainbow chuckled. "You, on the other hand, better keep practicing. I need a cheering section to match my spectacular performance" She told Fluttershy.
*Zap!* I shot lightning at Rainbow, causing her to be covered in soot with her hair standing on end. Rainbow looked at me with an annoyed expression.
"Just go rest up before you're too worn out to perform" I gave her a look of my own before she left, flying out of the window.
"She's practiced that move a hundred times, and she's never even come close to doing it. I don't know if I can cheer loud enough to help her" Fluttershy told us before flying out of the window herself.
"Well, guess we better get this cleaned up… again" Twilight said with a roll of her eyes.
"Twilight, I think you should find a spell that'll get the rest of you into Cloudsdale" I suggested.
"What? Why?" Twilight looked at me with a confused expression.
"Didn't you see how nervous she was?" Rarity spoke up.
"Nervous? Have you spit yer bit or somethin'? She was tootin' her own horn louder than the brass section of a marching band!" Applejack said with a smirk.
"Yeah, because the way she sounded hesitant at the beginning when she was boasting herself totally made her sound confident" I sarcastically remarked with a roll of my eyes.
"And I've hosted enough fashion shows to know stage fright when I see it. We've got to find a way to be there for her" Rarity chimed in. "Now go on!" Rarity bumped Twilight with her rump, sending her flying. Luckily, I was able to fly up and catch her in midair.
"How the hell's she supposed to find a flight spell in all of this?" I said as I gently set Twilight down.
"A flight spell? One sec. Page twenty-seven" Pinkie tossed a book at Twilight's hooves. I raised an eyebrow as she used her magic to go through the pages.
"How'd you do that?" AJ asked.
"It landed on my face when Rainbow Dash knocked me into the book case" Pinkie told her.
"Here it is! A spell that will allow earth ponies to fly for three days" Twilight read out loud.
"Three days? That's not so bad" I said, a smile appearing.
"Ooh, it looks really difficult. I'm not sure I can do it" Twilight said with uncertainty.
"You've got to try" Rarity told her.
"Yeah, if anypony can do it, it's you" I added, placing a hoof on her shoulder.
"Ok, but who's going to volunteer to be the test subject?" Twilight looked between us.
"I volunteer Rarity!" I pointed to our fashionista friend who gave me a glare. "I can already fly, I'm pretty sure AJ doesn't want to do it, Pinkie Pie will probably just fool around and I doubt Twilight can do it herself. So you're the only choice" I told her.
There was a short pause.
"Very well. For Rainbow Dash, I will go first" Rarity said, placing a bold hoof on her chest.
"Here goes" Twilight's horn lit up.
The next thing we knew, blue wisps of magic began to surround Rarity's body. Then a tiny blue light emerged from Twilight's horn…and exploded. The next thing we saw was Rarity with butterfly wings.
"Holy crap!" my eyes widened with amazement.
Cloudsdale…
"So this is Cloudsdale. I've never seen it this close before" Rarity said as she and flew beside each other.
"Just don't do anything to distract the other fliers, okay?" I told her. "Oh, hey, there's Dash and Flutters!" I said, noticing our two friends. Rarity and I then descended towards the cloud city.
"My life is ruined!" We heard Rainbow Dash complain.
"Rare…" Fluttershy looked up at us.
"Rare? The sonic rainboom is way more than rare!" Rainbow told her.
"Rarity?" Fluttershy pointed at the white unicorn, causing Rainbow to look at us, more specifically at Rarity.
"Rarity! Are you… flying?!" Rainbow Dash gave a look of surprise.
"You're damn right she is" I said as we flew towards my fellow pegasai.
"Aren't my wings smashing?! Twilight made them for me. I just adore them!" Rarity said with admiration for her new wings.
Rainbow and Fluttershy were at a loss for words, unable to express how shocked they were.
"Long story short, we decided to come and cheer you on" I said to Rainbow.
"'We'?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow. A hot air balloon appeared from below clouds, holding the other three girls within it. "I… I can't believe it!" Rainbow smiled.
"It's incredible!" Fluttershy smiled as well.
"This is so cool! You guys made it!" Rainbow said as the hot air balloon landed.
"Sure did!" Pinkie hopped out of the balloon.
"Wait!" Rainbow attempted to warn Pinkie, only for our pink friend land perfectly on the cloud without falling through, the others following soon after. "How'd you do that? Only pegasai can walk on clouds" Rainbow asked.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Pinkie said as she performed a cartwheel past Rainbow and Fluttershy.
"Twilight found a spell to give Rarity temporary wings, but it was too difficult for her to do more than once" I began.
"So I found an easier spell that lets the rest of us walk on clouds" Twilight concluded.
"Hey, we've got some time before the competition. Why don't Fluttershy and I show you around Cloudsdale?" Rainbow offered.
"Yeah!" The other girls agreed.
"You guys go ahead; I'm going to go practice my new move. I'll meet you when the competition starts" I told them as I flew off in the opposite direction.
Training…
"Alright, here goes" I said.
Like earlier today, I placed my hooves out in front and charged up electricity between them and a ball of lightning formed as a result. Unlike last time though, I made sure the lightning was twice as big and gave it a white aura. I aimed towards the open sky, fired it and… it shot as an electric sphere, continuing until it was nothing but a little star.
"Damn it! That's still not what I-"
*BOOM* my sentence was cut off by the attack exploding into a giant flash of light that soon dissipated seconds later.
"That's still not what I was going for, but I keep that move just in case" I continued my sentence. "Ok, guess I'll have to try again" I told myself.
"Fillies and Gentlecolts! Please rise and join me in welcoming our beloved Princess Celestia!" I heard the voice of the announcer.
"Guess training will have to wait" I said, flying off towards the competition.
Young flyers competition…
"Hey girls, what'd I miss?" I asked as I descended and sat between Twilight and Fluttershy.
"The Wonderbolts just appeared" Fluttershy told me.
"So in other words I missed nothing" I quipped.
"And now, let's find out who will take the prize as this year's best young flyer!" The announcer said to the audience.
"If only we could skip ahead to Dash's performance" I said to myself.
[Several performances later]
"And now, for our final competitor of the day, contestant number fifteen!" The announcer shouted as Rainbow Dash appeared. From what I could tell, she seemed even more nervous than before. "Uhh… And apparently contestant number four…"
The girls cheered while I gave a confused look.
"Is that Rarity?" I asked, placing my hoof above my eyes. "No, seriously, is that Rarity? I can't tell with that crappy makeup and stupid outfit she's wearing" I commented.
That's when we heard the sound of… ballerina music? Ok, that's obviously Rarity's doing. Speaking which, we watched her as she did some elegant ballerina moves which were a little girly for my taste. Rainbow Dash on the other hoof was performing the steps to do her Sonic Rainboom, albeit a bit slower. The other girls cheered while I gave an approved smile… that is, until Rainbow bumped into a cloud which caused her to crash face first into the ring.
"You ok, Rainbow Dash?" I asked with some concern.
"Nice work, Rainbow Crash" the middle pony within a trio of pegasai insulted her and laughed. Glaring at them I made my hoof charge with electricity.
"Shadow…" I looked towards Fluttershy who shook her head. "They're not worth it" she told me. Dissipating the electricity in my hoof, I went back to watching our friends perform.
"Time for phase two" Rainbow said to herself as she flew into the air and flew around a cloud several times. And it was going well until she hit a cloud that made her tumble backwards, causing a cloud fly away at dissolved when it his Celestia.
"That could've gone better" I commented. "C'mon, Rainbow, you can do this…" I said quietly.
We then saw Rainbow Dash fly higher into the sky. This was phase 3: the sonic rainboom. And, hey, Rarity was flying higher too; though not as fast as Rainbow Dash.
"I wonder what Rarity's up to" I raised an eyebrow, a hoof against my chin.
"I told her to be careful, those wings are delicate and fragile" Twilight said. "Too much heat and they could burn away" she added.
"Well, in that case, she better not fly too close the…"
"Look upon me, Equestria, for I… am… Rarity!" I was cut off by Rarity's little speech. She spread her wings, causing a rainbow of light to shine and the crowd to ooh.
"…sun" I finished, and then sighed. "Three… two… one…" I pointed at Rarity. As if on cue, her wings burned up from over exposure to the heat of the sun. That's when Rarity screamed as she began to fall to her doom. "Her wings burned up from the heat of the sun and now she's falling from the sky. Where have I heard this before?" I asked, talking to myself.
That's when the Wonderbolts stepped in and flew after her. And I have this weird feeling that they're going to fail.
"Hold on, Rarity! I'm coming!" we heard Rainbow Dash say as she flew after her.
"Oh, I can't look!" Fluttershy covered her eyes.
Clouds began to form around Rainbow and take a drill form. I smirked and the girls gasped excitedly as we knew what was about to happen. The air around Rainbow Dash condensed and take and rainbow color until…
*Kaboom!* A sonic boom combined with a rainbow appeared. The legendary sonic rainboom.
"A sonic rainboom! She did it! She did it! Whoo!" Fluttershy cheered, loudly this time.
"Way to go, Dash" I said with approval.
Rainbow then flew over the stadium, causing a rainbow to appear above us. She managed to catch Rarity and have the Wonderbolts on her back. I knew they'd fail, they suck so hard. Well, at least Rainbow saved Rarity's life, that's what's really important.
[After the competition]
"I want to apologize to all of you for getting so carried away with my... beautiful wings. I guess I just lost my head" Rarity said apologetically, now sitting in the hot air balloon.
"It's okay"
"Oh, don't worry about it, kiddo"
"We still love you"
"It probably wouldn't have happened if you hadn't entered in the first place" I said bluntly.
"And I'm especially sorry that I was so thoughtless as to jump into the contest at the last minute after you had worked so hard to win it. Can you ever ever forgive me?" Rarity asked Rainbow Dash.
"Aw, it's okay. Everything turned out all right, right? I just wish I could have met the Wonderbolts when they were awake" Rainbow Dash said, only to have a hoof tap her. She gasped when she turned to see none other than the Wonderbolts themselves.
"So you're the little pony who saved our lives. We really wanted to meet you, and say thanks" The fire-haired one, who I am assuming is the leader, said.
Though, you guys wouldn't need saving if you didn't suck at your job. That's when the princess appeared.
"Hey Celestia" I greeted her casually.
"Shadow, show some respect!" Twilight gave me a disapproving look. "Please forgive him, your highness" Twilight said as we bowed before the princess.
"No need to apologize. I'm used to Shadow Storm greeting me this way" Celestia smiled at me.
"So, I'm guessing you're here to give Rainbow Dash the reward for the Best Young Flyers competition?" I assumed.
"Yes. For her incredible act of bravery and her spectacular sonic rainboom, I'm presenting the grand prize for Best Young Flyer to this year's winner, Miss Rainbow Dash!"
Our friends cheered as a headband was placed upon Rainbow's head. They then hoisted her up and carried her around.
"So Twilight Sparkle, did learn anything about friendship from this experience?" Celestia asked Twilight.
"I did Princess, but I think Rarity learned even more than me" Twilight answered.
"I certainly did. I learned how important it is to keep your hooves on the ground, and be there for your friends" Rarity told us, giving her friendship report of the day.
"This really is the best day ever!" Rainbow Dash gave a hoof pump before flying off with two of the Wonderbolts.
"Well, this was an eventful day. Rarity got wings and Rainbow Dash pulled off her sonic rainboom, won the competition, and gets to hang out with the Wonderbolts" I checked off what happened today. "Meanwhile I have yet to pull of my newest attack" I looked down in shame.
"Aw, don't worry, Shadow. I'm sure you'll pull it off eventually" Twilight placed a hoof on my shoulder.
"Twilight is correct, Shadow Storm. Try to persevere and press on until you get it right" Celestia told me. Wait a minute…
"Press… press… compress! That's it!" I jumped off the cloud and took off at high speed. Now I know what I have to do.
Training (again)…
"Ok, I've tried it with a regular ball of lightning, and then a bigger ball of lightning. But now…" I began with a determined look on my face.
I charged my hooves up with electricity until a ball of lightning formed between them. This time I compressed the lightning ball until it was half its size which, in turn, caused white lightning to surround it. I felt so much energy that I could practically feel my mane defy gravity.
"Ok, here goes" I said.
Pointing my hooves forward, I aimed my attack at a nearby boulder in front of me. I fired the attack and… out shot a beam of lightning. It hit the boulder and was able to pierce through it like it was nothing. That's what I was going for! When the attack dissipated I did a backflip of excitement.
"YES!" I hoof pumped. Finally, I've pulled off my newest attack!
There you have it guys, the end of chapter 16. It's been a long time since I've update this story mainly due to procrastination, as well as working on my other stories. I'm not sure when the next chapter will so, please, be patient. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
I'd like to thank Guestspirit for helping me out.
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