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Chapter Text

The azure pegasus zipped across the sky, dodging clouds along the way as well as performing a series of loops and aerial somersaults. Her wings guided her through the air as she enjoyed the feeling of the wind whipping her face and blowing strands of her multicolored mane. She gathered as much momentum as possible until she was high enough to overlook the town, even getting a good view of Canterlot Castle from above the clouds.

She dove headfirst towards the ground, her wings spread wide to both sides as she gradually picked up the pace. She felt so free and so alive, like nothing had the power to put out the incredible, inevitable passion burning inside her. She loved flying more than anything, without a doubt. Nothing and no one could prove her otherwise.

“Oof!”

The next thing she knew, she was lying on top of a purple figure, both covered in mud.

It took her a moment to register that the purple figure was a pony. In the middle of her adrenaline rush, she’d almost forgotten she was flying above houses inhabited by living beings. Good thing she was cautious enough not to crash into any buildings – and yet she was careless enough to run into a living and breathing pony.

She stood up, causing mud to drip from her now matted mane and fur. She noticed the pony had a little purple-and-green scaled dragon, who was standing a few feet away silently gaping at them. She turned to the pony she ran into and, seeing her in an awkward position, she couldn’t help but let out a few chuckles.

“Uh, excuse me?” she chuckled. Twilight Sparkle lifted her head from the mud puddle, her face drenched with anger, but it only increased the rainbow-haired mare’s amusement.

Twilight grumbled, giving her the stink eye. She did her best to stifle her giggles through what she hoped looked like an apologetic grin. “Let me help you.”

She rushed off, the mud disappearing from her coat and mane with the speeds she obtained. It was barely five seconds later when she returned with a grey nimbus. She pushed it above the unicorn now in a sitting position still glaring at her and repeatedly jumped on top of it with enough force to release rain.

After she’d drained every droplet of water from the now white cloud, she looked down expecting a fresh, clean mare swooning over her for the help she offered her.

Instead, she saw a mare soaking wet and annoyed as ever.

Laughter became harder to repress. “Oops, I guess I overdid it.” She tapped her chin with a hoof. “Um, uh… How about this?”

She hopped off the cloud and started rapidly circling Twilight as if to make a tornado, drying off both the puddle and the soaked mare. “My very own patented Rainblow-dry! ” she declared and gracefully finished with a backflip and a soft landing on the ground. “No, no, don’t thank me. You’re quite welcome.”

She inspected Princess Celestia’s protégé for the first time. She had an indigo mane with purple and pink highlights that complimented her dark violet eyes, having a pink six-edged star with mini sparkles as her cutie mark. She looks kinda cute, actually… if she didn’t look like one of those grumpy clowns that always get pranked by troublemaker foals.

“BWAHAHAHAHAHA!”

The pegasus laughed up a storm and fell to the ground with tears in her eyes, the little dragon following shortly and landing on her back.

She couldn’t see Twilight through her shut eyes, but she could tell the unicorn was glaring daggers at her as she deadpanned, “Let me guess, you’re Rainbow Dash.”

And just like that, Rainbow Dash stopped her parade and stood up to strike a pose that sent the dragon flying away, her bravado returning with the stomp of a hoof. “ The one and only!” She flapped her wings and leaned forward to Twilight. “Why? You heard o’ me?”

“I heard you were supposed to be keeping the sky clear.”

Twilight looked away and let out a heavy sigh, making it obvious that she had little patience to deal with the prismatic daredevil. Then, she turned back to Rainbow with a ‘let’s get this over with’ smile. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, and the princess sent me to check on the weather.”

Rainbow sauntered over to a cloud to lie down, waving a hoof at Twilight disinterestedly. “Yeah, yeah, that’ll be a snap. I’ll do it in a jiffy. Just as soon as I’m done practicing.”

“Practicing for what?”

“The Wonderbolts!” Dash sat up and pointed to a Wonderbolts poster on the wall. “They’re gonna perform at the celebration tomorrow, and I’m gonna show them my stuff,” she said and did a loop-de-loop to show her point, before landing on another nearby cloud.

“ The Wonderbolts?” Twilight repeated. Her voice made it clear that she was smirking.

“Yup.”

“The most talented flyers in all of Equestria?”

“That’s them.”

“Pfft, please,” she scoffed, making Dash’s ears perk up. Did she think I was joking?

Rainbow glared at the tone of her amused disbelief. “They’d never accept a pegasus who can’t even keep the sky clear for one measly day.”

“ Hey. I could clear the sky in ten seconds flat.”

Twilight raised a brow challengingly. “Prove it.”

With a determined and confident grin, Rainbow Dash flew to the first cloud she saw, puffing the temporary platform under her into oblivion, and bucked it with all her might. She zigzagged to the rest of the clouds and hit them like she would a punching bag, making Twilight’s puffy and tangled mane blow in the wind as she became a mere blur in the sky. She even did a few tricks just to rub it in her face.

True to her word, she finished clearing the sky in exactly 10.0 seconds. She landed on the bridge aloft the calm, flowing river, grinning proudly at the sight of the unicorn’s and dragon’s shocked – or should I say amazed – faces. “What’d I say? Ten. Seconds. Flat. I’d never leave Ponyville hangin’.”

Twilight’s wide-eyed and slack-jawed silence was enough of a response to her.

Dash started flying around Twilight with her hooves behind her head, making sure the words ‘I told you so’ bled in her voice. “You should see the look on your face.” She gave her a hearty smile. “You’re a laugh, Twilight Sparkle! I can’t wait to hang out some more.”

Although she was a little offended by what Twilight said earlier, she couldn’t blame her for being all moody after she accidentally crashed into her and made her look like a laughing stock. But even though they set off on the wrong hoof, Dash wanted to let her know it was all in friendly fun and she was being honest in wanting to hang out with her.

Without a word, Rainbow Dash flew off.

“Wow!” Spike exclaimed and turned to Twilight, pointing at the pegasus. “She’s amazing!”

The dragon paused to examine at Twilight’s new do, poking her poofy hair and holding a claw to his mouth to cover up his not-at-all-subtle laughter. Out of energy to deal with her predicament, Twilight just rolled her eyes and walked past Spike, ready to get the day over with so she can stow herself away in her book cave.

“What’s next on the list, Spike?” she asked as Spike caught up to her with a scroll and quill in his claws.

“We’re supposed to head to Town Hall to check on the decorations.”

“Well then, let’s get this over with,” said Twilight through gritted teeth.

She involuntarily trotted faster with each step she took, her normal walking gradually turning into stomping. Out of all the ponies she has met in Ponyville today, this Rainbow Dash managed to find the worst possible way of getting under her skin. At least the pink pony she came across earlier didn’t get mud on her, despite rudely running off after she tried to talk to her. At least Applejack and the swarm of Apple families that overfed her didn’t mess up her mane. But now, this annoyingly cocky, denyingly attractive walking multicolored narcissist had to go out of her way to impress her with her stupid flight acrobatics after clearly slacking off her job for the Summer Sun Celebration. Pfft! Anypony could clear the sky in ten seconds flat. It’s not that impressive. Show off.

She didn’t know why she was so… peeved by something as little as this. She’s met a lot of showoffs before, especially since she lives in a sophisticated city such as Canterlot. Shaking her head to clear her jumbled thoughts, she figured it was simply because of the fact Princess Celestia sent her to Ponyville specifically to supervise the preparation of the festivities and even ordered her to make friends. Those words left a bitter taste in her tongue.

Twilight sighed. If all the ponies I’ve met today were crazy so far, there’s no doubt the rest of the town is too.

This is going to be a long day.

Using all her strength, Rainbow Dash detached herself from Applejack’s grasp with a snap, flying as fast as possible after the runaway midnight blue smoke. “Come back here!” she shouted.

Unfortunately, the smoke form of the vile alicorn got too far away, so she stopped and watched it disappear far off the outskirts of Ponyville. She found herself looking at the night sky blanketed in a plethora of stars and a big, bright moon that had noticeably become spotless. She’d noticed a silhouette of an alicorn in the moon before, but she hadn’t paid it any mind since she was too busy partying. But now that their princess was gone, now that eternal night was doomed upon Equestria, she wished she’d been more attentive.

It would be totally awesome if I could stop Nightmare Moon and save everypony, Rainbow thought. Maybe the Wonderbolts would finally notice me then.

The sound of hoofsteps caught her ears. Her attention shifted below her, and she saw Twilight Sparkle running from the Town Hall with Spike sleeping on her back. Rainbow narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Where’s she going?”

She quietly flew overhead and followed the unicorn; a small part of her was surprised by how swift Twilight could run in her lithe, unathletic form, while she wondered about how Twilight could’ve possibly known about Nightmare Moon. If she knew that wannabe night princess was gonna come tonight, then she must know what her evil plans are. Rainbow skeptically eyed the sprinting mare from above. Should’ve known. She wasn’t interested in hanging out with us, the coolest bunch in Ponyville; mostly because I’m in it. And she doesn’t like parties – like, who doesn’t like parties? That seems kinda shady if you ask me.

Twilight opened the front door of Golden Oak Library and went through it, her steps unflinching as she slammed the door shut behind her. Spotting another opening, Dash pranced on the balcony and, hearing the clopping of hooves against wood, quickly ducked behind the exterior wall.

Twilight levitated the baby dragon off her back and onto his small bed. Spike jerked back to a sitting position for a split second as he impulsively yelled, “We gotta stop Nightmare…!” only for sleep to finally win over him. Twilight threw a blanket over his sleeping form, smiling down at her adoptive brother. “You’ve been up all night, Spike. You are a baby dragon after all.”

When Rainbow peeked inside the room, Twilight had already closed the lights and was heading downstairs. Once she was out of sight, Rainbow reached for the handle of the see-through door.

“Dang it! It’s locked.” She backed away from the door, cracking the joints in her neck in preparation. “Sorry, Twi. Didn’t wanna do this.”

CRASH!

She blinked and found herself on the bedroom floor, the door handle broken due to the force she impacted upon it. Luckily, Spike remained in his deep slumber. For a moment, she wished it was her on the bed, sleeping everything away like a baby. Is it just me or did I hear a crash? She hummed in thought. T’was probably me.

As she stood up and brushed the dust off herself, she heard the aggressive throwing of objects directly below her, the loud crash sounding again but this time it was a tad quieter.

She grinned. Bingo.

Meanwhile, Twilight searched the bookshelves lining her walls and, after scanning the pages with her adept reading eyes, tossed countless books that didn’t meet her needs. Normally she would prohibit this disgraceful, uncivil use of books but in a situation as serious as this, she let her own insolence slide.

“Elements, elements, elements…” She groaned. “How can I stop Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?”

Out of the blue, a familiar blue face filled her vision, her snout meeting with hers. “Just what are the Elements of Harmony?”

Rainbow Dash threateningly flew closer to Twilight, forcing her to pace backward. “And how did you know about Nightmare Moon, huh? Are you a spy? Whoa!”

Dash was pulled back by Applejack, who gave her a stern and scolding glare. The farm pony released her tail and told her off. “Simmer down, Sally. She ain’t no spy.” As a part of Rainbow’s mind wondered where on Equestria Applejack had come from, she merely scoffed at the earth pony’s statement, but Applejack ignored it and began to approach Twilight. “But she sure knows what’s goin’ on. Don’t ya, Twilight?”

Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie also came up behind Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Twilight took a moment to look at each of the girls who all surrounded her and expectantly waited for her answer, the pegasus still possessing a wary and impatient expression.

She considered lashing out at them for breaking and entering into her home, but to what cause? They all seemed very persistent in getting to the bottom of this.  So, knowing there was no point in keeping it secret, Twilight calmly explained, “I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon. Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her.”

She dejectedly glanced at the blank moon through an open window. “I don’t know what they are, where to find them. I don’t even know what they do!”

“ The Elements of Harmony, ” a chirpy voice suddenly sounded, to which everypony turned to see Pinkie Pie leaning on a bookshelf and looking at a specific book she found, “ A Reference Guide. ”

Twilight came to her side in a flash. “How did you find that?”

“It was under ‘E!’” Pinkie trilled, nonchalantly bouncing around the room.

“Oh.”

Twilight levitated the book off the shelf and turned to a page that contained viable information on the Elements of Harmony. She narrated, “There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said that the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters. It is located in what is now…”

“The Everfree Forest!”

All five of the little ponies stood with fearful eyes and jaws agape before the immense forest undergrowth that is the Everfree Forest. It harbored towering evergreen trees that housed dangerous arboreal creatures, hanging vines and ferns that look carnivorous, and shrubs and wildflowers galore. They could also make out an eerie fog that surrounded the interior of the forest. Twilight gulped down the lump in her throat. Given her life within the confines of Canterlot which is the most modern locale in all of Equestria next to Manehattan, she has never visited an abundantly lush place such as Everfree Forest, and any forest ever. But she knew she had to suck it up, or else her royal mentor will be missing forever and the fate of Equestria will be doomed under Nightmare Moon’s control. Nopony but her knew the solution to this catastrophe so she had no choice.

 “Well, what are we waiting for?” Rainbow Dash broke the uncomfortable silence and took wing, a fearless glint flashing in her eyes. “Let’s go!”

Just as she was about to charge into the forest, Twilight stopped her. “Not so fast.”

Their eyes met; one annoyed and one serious. “Look, I appreciate the offer, but I’d really rather do this on my own.”

“No can do, sugarcube,” Applejack intervened, earning a face from Twilight. “We sure ain’t lettin’ any friend of ours go into that creepy place alone.”

The others trotted along with Applejack into Everfree. “We’re stickin’ to you like caramel on a candy apple.” Everypony murmured in agreement.

“Especially if there’s candy apple in there!”

Twilight just stared at Pinkie in confusion.

“What? Those things are good. ”

Once the party pony was out of hearing range, Rainbow landed beside Twilight and casually said, “Don’t mind her. She’s always like that.”

Instantly, her stance tensed into one of vigilance as she eyed the unicorn dubiously. “You know, Twi, for someone egghead-y like you, I never would’a pegged you for the type who’d charge into danger so recklessly alone. You realize this is the most dangerous forest in existence, right?”

Twilight glared at her for a moment. “One: don’t call me Twi. Two: I’m not an egghead. And three: I’m willing to go to any lengths to not let Nightmare Moon get away with this.” She raised a brow almost challengingly. “Aren’t you?”

Rainbow recoiled defensively. “Of course, I am!” Smirking, she puffed her chest and flared her wings, her teeth seeming to sparkle in the moonlight. “I’m Rainbow Danger Dash. That’s my kind of thing.”

“Relax, featherbrain. It’s not like it’s a competition or anything. We’re apparently doing this together, aren’t we?”

Dash clenched her teeth together, foam building up in the corners of her mouth, and barked, “Don’t. Call me. Featherbrain.”

“Why not? You look like a featherbrain.” Twilight grimly smiled at her, before walking the dirt path to the forest. Falling behind her, Dash resisted the urge to punch Twilight’s head off her neck and instead muttered obscenities and names behind her back.

That egghead does not know what bear she poked.

I made up my mind. That featherbrain is the most infuriating pony I’ve ever met.

“And once Pinkie and Rarity were saved – whoosh!” Rainbow Dash glided above Twilight, then did a loop-de-loop to follow a landing next to her. “Me and Fluttershy loop-de-loop around and WHAM! Caught you right in the nick of time.”

Twilight merely rolled her eyes at Rainbow’s reenactment of the avalanche situation from the mountain’s cliffside. “Yes, Rainbow. I was there. You don’t have to repeat the story a hundred times.”

Dash shot her a scowl that could burn through metal, which Twilight either didn’t catch or ignored. “Jeez, you could at least pretend to be grateful.”

“I am grateful.” Then, Twilight turned to the other, canary pegasus’ direction and gave her a sweet smile. “Thank you , Fluttershy, for saving my life.”

While Fluttershy responded by meekly hiding behind her curtain of pink locks, Dash hovered in front of Twilight and hardened her glare. “Hey, what’s your problem with me, huh? Why do you hate me so much?”

Twilight stopped walking to engage in a heated staring contest with the cyan pegasus. “I don’t hate you, but I am quite… peeved with you right now.”

The collected gasps from behind them went unnoticed. The pair continued their bombardment of retorts. “Is it because I crashed into you and messed you up when we first met?”

“You also broke into my home, accused me of being a spy, and called me an egghead.”

“You think you’re any better than that? You think you’re better than me? ” Dash’s snout was shoved against Twilight’s at this point as she shouted at her face. “You know, Twi, when I said I wanted to hang out more, I wasn’t lying. I tried to make you welcome in Ponyville, I tried to be your friend – we all did. But all you’ve done is shut us out. You’re the one making things hard for us, and yourself. That’s probably why you’ve never had any friends in the first place!”

An unsettling silence fell over the group.

Twilight’s eyes softened into a wide, shimmering pair of eyes, her pupils shrinking into pinpricks. She felt so many things all at once, anger being the most prominent one, obviously. But she also felt guilty. Deep down, she knew Rainbow Dash was right. There was no arguing with the facts. But she can’t go back and change the past; she knew that all too well.

So, she dropped the subject with a deadpanned, “Whatever. Let’s just go,” and walked past Rainbow Dash, mustering every bit of her willpower to stride with her chin up high.

She couldn’t stop the stray teardrop that flowed next.

Chapter Text

“Rainbow, darling, don’t you think you’re being too harsh on her?” Rarity gently scolded her, but her eyes were anything but gentle.

“Ah dunno what happened between ya two but ya hafta apologize.” Applejack furrowed her brows at Rainbow. “You’re a real big dummy, RD, ya know that? What ya said must’ve really hurt her.”

Rainbow had lost her energy for flight and had landed in front of her friends with a blank expression on her face. Their chastises fell on deaf ears as she processed what’d happened. In the heat of the moment, she’d sputtered out the first thing that came to her mind, letting her unbridled exasperation for the egghead get the best of her. Her anger didn’t die down completely, but she couldn’t help but feel guilty for her actions.

Ugh, I sounded like those bullies from Flight Camp. Rainbow’s ears drooped. I did something so… uncool. I have to make it up to her.

Suddenly, a loud roar resonated from behind her, making her instinctively jump and brace a fighting stance in midair. Everypony gasped in shock at the creature that appeared out of nowhere.

“Manticore!” Twilight screamed.

Dash saw how close Twilight was to the manticore and, seizing the opportunity to ‘make it up to her’, immediately dashed in front of her, shielding her from the beastly winged lion. “Stay back!” she ordered both Twilight and the manticore, but only the former obeyed while the latter pranced on Rainbow and held out his right paw to strike her. The cyan pegasus was too fast for him and, ignoring the quiet voice that yelled “Wait!” in the background, she began flying around him at the speed of lightning, her rainbow contrail circling and confusing the manticore. But it was only for a few seconds before he was able to fling her away with its tail, propelling her to the ground.

“Rainbow!” Twilight cried. Instantly, her terrified shock became anger-driven determination as she eyed the manticore darkly. The other girls came up behind her, both parties kicking their hooves (or pawing) at the ground in preparation. Then in synchronized movements, they charged towards the manticore. The voice that said for a second time, “Wait!” went unnoticed amongst the cacophony.

Rarity went first and kicked the manticore’s face. “Ha! Take that, you ruffian!” Her victory was short lived before he roared in her face, changing her elegant coiffure into a poofy mess.

“My hair!” she yelped in horror, retreating as soon as he threatened to do it again.

“Wait!”

The manticore chased after the albino unicorn, only to be stopped by an additional weight on his head.

“Yeehaw!” Applejack clung to his red mane as he spastically shook his head to free himself from the farm pony. Pinkie Pie leapt out and about around him to confuse him, all while giggling as if they weren’t in a life-threatening situation at the moment.

“Wait!”

By the time Applejack was successfully flung off his head, Rainbow Dash had recovered and was flying towards the manticore at high speeds. Her full-fledged plan centered in her mind; she was going to blow a breathtaking punch to his chest and send him flying off to somewhere he wouldn’t bother anypony anymore.

“Dash, what are you doing?!” Twilight shouted after her, all feelings of resentment and dejection pushed to the back of her mind as another emotion bubbled to the surface: panic.

When Dash didn’t answer, Twilight resorted to running after her and flared her horn in preparation for a spell in case the manticore had any plans of hurting the reckless pony. Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack trailed behind her with their readied tricks up their sleeves.

“ WAIT! ”

Just as they were about to attack, Fluttershy blocked their path, forcing them to halt and stare at her questioningly.

The timid mare turned to the manticore who raised his clawed right paw in caution, to which everypony reflexively averted their eyes.

“Shh, it’s okay,” Fluttershy consoled and gently nuzzled the underside of his left paw, earning a hesitant gaze from the manticore. Once he identified no oncoming threat, he offered to show his paw to Fluttershy, which had a thorn almost the size of a hoof stuck to it.

She frowned in sympathy. “Oh, you poor, poor little baby.”

“Little?” Dash commented brashly, but Fluttershy didn’t acknowledge it and focused on tending to the manticore’s needs.

“Now this might hurt for just a second.” Once the thorn was plucked out of his paw, he suddenly grabbed Fluttershy and roared in her face.

“Fluttershy!”

Much to everyone’s relieved surprise, the manticore was affectionately licking the pegasus’ mane. The other girls proceeded past them to continue their mission, but Twilight stopped just a few steps later to curiously look back at Fluttershy, whose mane was now gelled with saliva.

“How did you know about the thorn?”

“I didn’t. Sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness,” Fluttershy simply responded as she sauntered into the broad space between the steep mountains that lead deeper into the forest. With a smile, Twilight followed the group and walked beside Fluttershy.

As they trudged deeper into the forest, the dirt path disappeared until the only thing below their hooves was the endless void of grass.

“I’m sorry about Rainbow Dash, by the way,” said Fluttershy after a few minutes, fixing her mane back to its normal state. “She can be… aggressive sometimes, especially when she gets ticked off.”

Twilight’s lips curved into a frown at the mention of the featherbrain. The words she’d spat at her were still engrained into her mind and revived buried, unwanted memories. But she managed to put on a brave face and shook those thoughts away, at least for the time being. “It’s fine. I’m used to it.” She ignored the pang to her heart and weakly smiled at Fluttershy, though she wasn’t looking at her.

Twilight followed her gaze and immediately regretted doing so as it landed on the cyan mare a few feet away from her, who happened to be looking at her direction. Their eyes met for a split second before both quickly turned to look someplace else – anywhere else unless either of them was at sight.

“I know she may seem brash at first,” Fluttershy gently spoke up, now facing the unicorn, “but I’ve been her friend since we were foals. She always had my back and stood up for me. She was my only friend in flight school…” A somber, distant look dawned her face as years of her foalhood replayed in her mind and before her eyes. “The only bad thing that came out of our friendship was that I was never able to defend her from the bullies the way she did for me. And when I did, I always shied away.” She sighed. “Confrontation isn’t really my thing, you know.”

“I had a feeling,” Twilight mused.

When Fluttershy awoke from her daydream, a tenderhearted smile spread across her lips, her turquoise eyes earnest. “Twilight,” she started, grabbing the attention of the lavender mare. “Do me a favor and give Rainbow a chance. Not for me, but for you. The more you push her away, the more you’ll be missing out on.”

Before she left Twilight to think, she placed a hoof on her withers and whispered, “Trust me.”

“There it is!” Twilight exclaimed triumphantly as the remains of the royal sisters’ castle came into view. It was clearly ancient as indicated by the many cracks that lined the walls, the nonexistent roof, and the wild plants and vines surrounding it. “The ruin that holds the Elements of Harmony… We made it!”

Overwhelmed with anticipation, she galloped towards the ruin, unable to wait any longer. She’s gone through way too much to get to this point – from falling off a cliff and laughing her lungs out at spooky trees to facing a distressed manticore and an overdramatic sea monster. Wasting even a millisecond staying still meant inviting more madness to stop them from achieving the only solution to end Nightmare Moon’s tyranny.

“Twilight!” Applejack called for her. “Wait for us!”

Twilight glanced back at the mares behind her. “We’re almost there— Whoa!”

Suddenly she slipped and hung off the edge of the cliff and came face-to-face with a massive gorge. The thick clouds obscured any view that’d indicate how far below her demise is. She flailed her hooves in a desperate attempt to save herself. To her relief, she got pulled back to safety by the tail.

Her heart skipped at her savior’s voice. “What’s with you and falling off cliffs today?”

Hiding the warmth in her cheeks, she stood up and brushed dust off herself. “Thanks,” she, quite bluntly, muttered to Rainbow. The pegasus responded with an awkward grunt.

The others came beside them and inspected the situation. The secured end of the bridge had its rope tied to two rocks while the other was lost to the abyss below, making it impossible to cross the other side.

Pinkie Pie groaned. “Now what?”

“Don’t worry, girls. I got this handled,” Rainbow said with a flutter of her wings. Pumping her wings, she took off to grab the bridge’s other end, then she glided over to the other side of the gorge to fix the bridge. That’s when she heard a ghostly voice call for her.

She let go of the rope and instinctively crouched down. “Who’s there?”

The voice continued chanting her name, but the source was still unknown.

She swiveled her head to every direction and took on a fighting stance. “I ain’t scared of you. Show yourself!”

The third time the voice spoke, it sounded more ‘present’, and Dash could roughly distinguish where the source was coming from. She turned around and only saw a wall of fog, but she continued to listen to its strangely menacing tone. “We’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the best flyer in Equestria.”

Rainbow raised her brow. “Who?”

“Why, you, of course!”

“Really?” She grinned, taken aback by the sudden praise, before she caught herself. “I mean… Oh yeah! Me! Hey, uh, you wouldn’t mind telling the Wonderbolts that, would ya? ‘Cause I’ve been tryin’ to get into that group for, like, ever. ”

“No, Rainbow Dash. We want you to join us —”

Three ponies appeared from behind the fog. They all wore the same dark suit that covered almost their entire bodies, along with three pairs of yellow flight goggles that covered each of their eyes, much like the Wonderbolts uniform. “The Shadowcolts!” the middle pony, who had a lighter coat than the two stallions siding her, declared.

The trio maintained an intimidating poise. “We are the greatest aerial team in the Everfree Forest, and soon we will be the greatest in all of Equestria. But first…” The mare glided around the skeptical blue pegasus. “We need a captain.”

Rainbow’s ears piqued in interest; the words were like music to her ears, and so were the ones that followed.

“The most magnificent…”

“Yep!”

“Swiftest.”

“Yes.”

“Bravest flier in all the land.”

It took every ounce of Dash’s willpower not to squeal like a filly. “Yes, it’s all true!”

“We need…” The mare leaned close to Dash’s ears and whispered, “You.”

This time she couldn’t contain her excitement, and she launched herself in the air to do a happy little dance. “Woohoo! Sign me up!” Regaining her composure, she flew down to where she left the bridge’s rope and said, “Just let me tie this bridge real quick, and then we have a deal.”

“No!”

The Shadowcolts bolted in front of her, catching her off guard. “It’s them or us, ” the mare snarled.

Rainbow hesitated. She’d been waiting for so long for an opportunity like this to pass by, and now it’s practically being served to her on a silver platter. She can’t possibly refuse such an offer, can she?

“Rainbow!” She turned towards the other side of the canyon where the second voice came from. Her friends stood there waiting for the bridge to get fixed. “What’s taking so long?”

Twilight noticed that Rainbow wasn’t alone, and she appeared to be talking to three other sketchy ponies. Worry invading her mind, she called out for Rainbow again, making her tentatively glance back to their direction once more. But the mare Shadowcolt has had enough of her constant interference and telekinetically barricaded the space between the two cliffs with thick masses of cloud, muffling Twilight’s cries from the other side.

“Well?”

The aspiring flyer thought carefully, torn between the choice of her dreams and her friends. But she knew deep down, there was only one obvious choice.

“You.”

Just as the Shadowcolts grinned victoriously, Rainbow reaffirmed her decision with a bold finality, “Thank you, for the offer I mean. But I’m afraid I have to say no.”

She tied the rope to a rock before retreating to the other side, who all cheered at her return. Unbeknownst to them, the Shadowcolts magically burst into cobalt smoke, which coalesced into one and flew off somewhere.

The girls progressed across the fixed bridge with Rainbow flying alongside the princess’ protégé. She grinned at her. “See? I never leave my friends hanging.”

Twilight almost tripped on the planks she walked on. After a tense pause, she opened her mouth to ask, “We’re friends?” but stopped herself mid thought. That’d be a silly thing to ask; of course they weren’t friends, how could they be after leaving things on a sour note between them? Rainbow was simply referring to the other girls. She was probably only proving herself to Twilight after she’d made it obvious multiple times that she doubted her. A lot.

But what does she care? It’s not worthy of something to sulk over anyway.

It’s not like Rainbow wanted to be friends with her.

Not like Twilight wants to be friends with her .

They crossed the hanging bridge and stood before the ancient castle that’d chipped and faded overtime. Somehow the inside seemed even bigger than the outside; it was relatively empty excluding the piled-up webs and vines strewn about the corners and pillars. But the detail that clearly stood out was the towering stone formation in the middle of the room. The largest sphere amongst the six of them was cemented on the center column, covered in leaves and vines. On narrow, extending platforms laid five small stone orbs that had a distinct shape carved onto each of them. They weren’t in their most pristine condition, but they were still intact.

“The Elements of Harmony… we made it!” Twilight’s eyes sparkled with excitement. She was this close to accomplishing her mission, and as much as she’d hate to admit it, she couldn’t have gotten to this point alone.

Fluttershy and Rainbow flew to the orbs and carefully brought them down one by one.

“One, two, three, four…” Pinkie paused to double check her count. “There’s only five.”

“Where’s the sixth?” Rainbow asked.

Twilight knelt down and studied the orbs. “The book said, ‘When the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth element to be revealed.’”

Applejack raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “What the hay is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m not sure, but I have an idea. It’s best if you all wait outside. I’m not sure what will happen, and I don’t want any of you to get hurt.”

“What about you?” Rainbow asked, genuinely worried.

“I’ll be fine. I know my spells,” Twilight replied matter-of-factly.

Dash was still doubtful, but she chose to let it go as Applejack chided them to give Twilight space to concentrate. However, just as she was about to leave, the last pony she ever expected to talk to her stopped her.

“Rainbow, wait.”

She turned around to see Twilight facing her, her face unreadable. “Can I talk to you for a bit?”

After a few hesitant moments, Rainbow was able to fight her paralysis and let her hooves guide her. She was struggling to keep up her unbothered façade; her wings instinctively twitched, her steps were visibly pensive – this has never happened before in her life. Could she really blame herself? For all she knew, behind those sweet, gentle eyes, Twilight was just waiting to put her down for every horseapple she’s thrown at her during the few hours they’ve known each other. She deserved it though, she knew. Not even the sincerest apology can justify the way she acted towards Twilight.

Twilight noticed her weird behavior. “Relax, Rainbow. It’s not like I’m gonna zap you with my horn or anything.”

Rainbow did relax, but not for the reason Twilight intended; it was more ‘I accept my fate’ than anything. “Look, Twilight,” she began awkwardly, “I feel really bad for what I said earlier and how I treated you and I just wanna say I’m insanely sorry – you have no idea. But I know that’s not enough to make up for anything, so I’m willing to do anything you want me to do.”

To her surprise, Twilight burst out laughing, which caused Dash to finally turn to her and see her face contorted with uncontrollable mirth.  Rainbow didn’t know if it was a good or a bad laugh, but she didn’t dare to interrupt her laughing fit to find out, only watching her in bewilderment.

It took Twilight a little while to calm down, but even then she still had a smile on her face. “I won’t lie, Rainbow Dash. I was hurt by what you said, but I don’t expect some kind of favor from you to make up for it. Knowing you feel bad is enough for me. I forgive you.” Her ears folded against her skull, and she stared at her hooves absently. “But all those things you mentioned earlier… I have to admit, they’re all true.”

Before Rainbow could argue, Twilight held up a hoof signaling to let her continue. “I wasn’t very social back in Canterlot. I always focused on my studies and never on making friends; and when I do make friends, I only end up distancing myself from them later. But I never paid it any mind because I didn’t really care. I only cared about my reputation, my studies, and my duties; I put all those first before anything and anypony else.”

A surge of courage spurred her to meet Dash’s cerise eyes. “But after everything I’ve been through tonight, with you and the girls… For the first time in my life, I felt like I had friends I could trust. Friends who are patient and fun and kind. Friends who are willing to give anything just to help me and others in need. Friends who care enough to fight a manticore for me even after I’ve been so hard on them.”

Rainbow allowed a small smile to creep onto her muzzle. “We’re friends?”

Twilight mirrored her ear-to-ear grin and nodded. “We’re friends.”

Rainbow extended a hoof for Twilight to shake on but instead, she received a warm hug. For a moment she froze in surprise, before she felt her nerves wash away as she returned the embrace, enjoying the warmth of her new friend. She unconsciously nuzzled her snout into Twilight’s hair and sniffed a whiff of her lavender shampoo. She smells nice.

Twilight sighed shakily. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I forgive you, and I know the others forgive you, too.”

After the rather beautiful moment they were tentative to end, Rainbow bid Twilight good luck on her attempt to create ‘the spark’ needed to summon the sixth element before she took her leave with a satisfied smile on her face.

Rainbow Dash perched on a cloud after a peaceful midnight flight and plopped down on her back, sighing in content as the stresses of the day washed away. The water vapor’s intricate softness enveloped her body as it continued its slow route to wherever the wind took it. After the town’s celebration on the return of the royal sisters, she was pretty much beat. But even in her physically fatigued state, her mind was still racing with hyperactive thoughts.

She still felt the adrenaline of the moment when she and her friends went face to face with Nightmare Moon. Twilight did that awesome speech and in a surprising twist, all of them ended up bearing the Elements of Harmony, which were now in the form of five necklaces and one crown – Magic, the sixth element that Twilight possesses.

And Rainbow? She’s now the Element of Loyalty.

She sighed happily for the nth time tonight, Twilight’s words replaying in her head once again.

“Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart’s desire, represents the spirit of Loyalty.”

Loyalty. Rainbow mentally repeated the word several times. It left a good taste in her tongue. I guess it makes sense why I bear that element. Like I said, I never leave my friends hanging, even if it means giving up my dreams of becoming a world-class flyer. As sappy as it sounds, they’re too important to me. I’d be a fool to let go of them.

The feeling of drowsiness finally took over her with her blasting train of thoughts coming to a halt. She could just fly back to her cloudominium to sleep there instead, but what’s the point? Her actual bed is pretty much the same as her makeshift bed anyway, and she’s already halfway across the bridge to dreamland. So, she closed her eyes and sank deeper into the cloud, sighing one last time as sleep washed over her.

But just as she was on the brink of slumber, her ears suddenly perked up at the sound of nearby crying.

She ignored it at first, figuring that the kid’s parents were on their way to handle the situation if they weren’t already; however, the more she waited, the more it lasted. Too tired to move the cloud over to somewhere else, she strained to block out the irritating noise, but no matter how hard she tried, the cries were still there.

She let out an internal groan. She was so close to slipping into another one of her awesome Wonderbolt dreams, and now she was wide awake again, back in the cold, noisy reality…

Guess I have no choice. She rolled on her stomach and stood up, stretching her limbs in the process. Better see what’s botherin’ that kid then.

Rainbow peaked below from her cloud and gasped at what she saw – or who she saw.

Ponyville’s newest librarian could be seen sitting on the Golden Oak Library’s third story balcony. She was stifling in a sloppy cry since her dragon companion was asleep, although she couldn’t stop the occasional hiccups and sniffles that escaped her. She seemed to be looking somewhere faraway, as though she was physically present but mentally distant.

Rainbow’s heart twisted at the sight, but in the back of her mind she wondered what Twilight could be so upset about after what Dash would describe as ‘the most awesome-est day ever’. But she didn’t let her confusion faze her; she wasn’t about to leave her friend hanging.

With the discreteness of a mouse, Rainbow dove for the library and was somehow able to land on the balcony a few feet behind the weeping mare without her noticing. She opened her mouth to speak, but the nagging polar-opposite voice in her head stopped her. For once, she chose not to neglect its admonishments and actually thought before she acted – a rare feat for the mare of action. She wasn’t the best at mushy-feely stuff, so she didn’t actually know what to say. But if it meant cheering up her friend, then the least she could do was be there for her.

“Twi?”

“Eep!” Twilight jumped just as high as her heart skipped, turning around to come face to face with Rainbow Dash, who had flinched at her sudden movement. Having a closer proximity to her than before, Rainbow was able to scrutinize her face better. Her pale cheeks were streaked with intermingling dry and fresh tears and her eyes were bloodshot. Her tears had stopped flowing from the shock of the moment.

“Rainbow? W-what are you doing here?” Twilight uttered in a whisper-shout, both because she didn’t want to wake Spike up and because her throat was too sore.

“I saw you crying so I decided to drop by and see what’s up,” Dash answered. She was about to ask Twilight if she was alright, but Twilight butted in with a hectic torrent of her own questions.

“Why are you still awake? Don’t you know what time it is? What are you doing so late in the night? How important could it be that you couldn’t wait to do it until morning? And how could you have seen me crying? Were you spying on me?”

“What? No! Just calm down and let me explain,” Rainbow jeered before Twilight could ramble again. “Look, I couldn’t sleep so I flew a couple laps around Ponyville. When I was all tired out, I laid down on a random cloud and I heard crying… Then, I looked down and saw you here. Crying. Alone.” She noticed Twilight becoming fidgety and her forehead creased in worry. “What’s wrong, Twi?”

Twilight’s head snapped back to Rainbow after drifting off for a while, her muzzle twisting into a too-wide smile. “What do you mean? Everything’s fine.”

Hiccup!

Rainbow narrowed her eyes. “You know, you may be smart but you’re really not good at lying.”

Twilight’s unbothered front morphed into a scowl. “Did you come all the way here just to tell me that?”

“No, I wanna help.” Rainbow approached her slowly and carefully. Twilight took a step back, as if fearful of her presence. “We’re friends, remember? And friends can tell each other anything.”

“It’s stupid,” Twilight mumbled. Her constant withdrawal made her flank bump into the balcony railing. At this point, she couldn’t escape the advancing pegasus, and she had no choice but to cower before Rainbow’s cerise eyes boring straight into hers.

“So what? I’m not gonna judge you.” Rainbow crouched down to level with the now sitting unicorn. The words that rolled off her tongue next came naturally. “Don’t make this hard for both of us and open up. I may not be the best at giving advice, but I know that talking about it will make you feel better.”

When Twilight didn’t respond, Rainbow sighed and moved to sit beside her, a casual grin gracing her lips. “Alright then. Take your time. I’ll be waiting here until you make up your mind.”

Twilight begrudgingly glared at Dash who had made herself at home, hindlegs crossed and forelegs supporting her head. She figured, maybe she’ll go away once she realizes how serious I am ; but alas, her determined friend was just as serious. She had no other options.

She resigned with a sigh. “Everything’s going by so fast.”

Rainbow looked intently at Twilight. “What do you mean?”

“It’s just that… I’ve gone into the Everfree Forest, one of the most dangerous places in Equestria if not the most dangerous, and faced near certain death. Then, we found the Elements of Harmony which just happened to be ‘inside of us’ all along. Then, we defeated Nightmare Moon who’s apparently Princess Celestia’s sister, Princess Luna. And then , my simple task of supervising the Summer Sun Celebration preparations, which somehow turned into a quest to save the world, lead to me moving to Ponyville. So many things happened all at once and I feel like it all happened just yesterday.”

Rainbow took time to process Twilight’s summary of the recent events. “It was yesterday.”

“Exactly.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

Twilight spun to look back at what she was previously watching over: the Canterlot Castle, where her old tower was located. “I was chosen to bear the sixth element which remained unknown for over a thousand years – I was chosen to be the leader of a group of protectors.” She felt tears well up in the corner of her eyes. “I’m not ready for that kind of responsibility. I’m not ready to start a whole new life separated from my hometown, from my family, from the princess. I…” Choking in her own words, she looked down in humiliation. “I’m not ready.”

Sensing Twilight was about to have another breakdown, Rainbow frantically searched for the right words to tell her, constantly opening and closing her mouth to try to say something . But no matter how hard she tried, she blanked. There was only one thing she could think to do – as uncool as it is, it was necessary at this point.

“Hmh?”

Twilight gazed at the blue wing draped across her back, tracing the length of it over to its owner who refused to look her in the face. She blinked once, slowly processing what was happening; then twice, a crooked smile creeping onto her muzzle. The dam within her eventually broke and she rested her head on Rainbow’s shoulder, crying onto her multihued mane. Luckily, Rainbow wasn’t Rarity so she didn’t care about getting snot and tears on her hair or coat; all she wanted was her friend to be okay.

Rainbow gently rubbed Twilight’s back hoping it was enough to comfort her – ponies have said that actions are worth a thousand words, and it is. At least that’s what she thought Twilight crying even more meant.

Dash barely made out a strangled sentence underneath Twilight’s muffled sobs. “I-I’m s— Hiccup! S-sorry. I’m being so— Hiccup! d-dramatic…”

“C’mon, don’t say that,” Rainbow gently said. “I totally get it; you’ve been living in Canterlot your whole life, so it must be pretty scary to move to a whole new place.”

Sniffling, Twilight pulled herself together just enough to be able to reply. “That’s true… But still, I’m thrilled that Princess Celestia let me live here. The ponies here are way more interesting and friendly than the ones in Canterlot. You and the girls are living proof for that.” She briefly smiled at Rainbow. “On top of that, I have an opportunity to explore the depths of friendship – something I wasn’t willing to do back in Canterlot. I guess I’m just worried that, well, after everything that’s happened yesterday, my life won’t be normal anymore. I’m scared of what the future holds for me, for all of us.”

Her voice grew more frantic and unpausing at the end. “I feel like… your lives were normal before you met me but now, the responsibility of keeping Equestria in harmony is on our hooves. I dragged all of you into this mess. I know this must be so hard to take in for all of you and I feel bad because I never wanted any of this to happen, but I goofed and made it happen and I’m so sorry—!”

She was interrupted by a blue hoof shoved into her mouth. “Let me stop you right there.”

Twilight stared confused at Rainbow’s deadpan look. “You can’t just say ‘my life won’t be normal anymore’ when it wasn’t in the first place. I mean, you’re Princess Celestia’s prized pupil and her personal protégé – now that’s not something that comes dropping out of the sky in a random day ready for the taking of anypony’s hooves.”

Twilight mulled over her words for a split second. “Well, I guess so, but what about you and the other girls?”

“What about us?” Rainbow smirked. “Rarity is a ‘high-class fashionista’ who lives in the mother of all barnyard chaos that is Ponyville. AJ has an insanely large branch of families; seriously, how does she even keep track of them? Fluttershy is a natural born animal whisperer – she literally has a bear living by her cottage. Pinkie is… well, she’s Pinkie. And me?” She puffed and thumped a hoof on her chest. “I’m the fastest, most awesome flyer the world has ever seen, always on the run!” That brought a giggle out of Twilight.

Rainbow’s cocky grin softened into one of utmost sincerity. “The thing is, Twi, nopony’s lives are normal. Something weird always happens in their lives, even if it isn’t something as crazy as saving the princess. But it’s not always a bad thing. In fact, this weird, crazy, once-in-a-lifetime thing brought us together, didn’t it?”

Twilight nodded slowly. “Yeah, it did.”

“And you can’t tell me you weren’t pumped after saving the world and all that. If it weren’t for you, Princess Celestia wouldn’t have reunited with her sister. Aren’t you proud about that?”

Twilight sheepishly looked away. “I didn’t do it alone, you know.”

“That’s true, but we weren’t the ones who figured out how to create the spark. It was all you, Twi; we were just the push you needed to realize it.”

Twilight considered arguing back – she didn’t like being praised over something she didn’t accomplish alone – but she found herself speechless. She had to admit that Rainbow was right, much to her surprise. It’s not like she didn’t expect Rainbow to say something so smart, but she never expected someone so arrogant and childish on the outside to have a soft, reasonable spot.

The princess was right, there is more to life than dusty old books.

Without warning, Twilight pulled Rainbow into a tight but pleasant hug and murmured into her ear, “You’re right. Thank you so much for that. I feel so much better now.”

Rainbow breathed a sigh she didn’t realize she was holding in. It felt nice to help someone in need. “No problem, Twi.”

The embrace lasted for a few moments longer before Rainbow let out a long yawn, making Twilight chuckle in amusement. “I think it’s time to hit the hay,” she said as she pulled away from the tired pegasus, both ponies standing up.

Dash climbed onto the railing and flared her wings for flight. But before she took off, she glanced back at Twilight. “Hey, whenever you need someone to talk to, I’m free. But we do not talk about this at all; I don’t want ponies to think I’m a sappy pony. You get me?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Alright, alright. You have my word.”

“Great!” Rainbow brought herself to the air and headed to the direction of her cloud house. “Night, egghead!”

Twilight watched Rainbow Dash trail off to the skies. “Good night, featherbrain.”

Chapter Text

Twilight woke up with a long, drawn-out yawn, surprisingly with a good mood. Her eyes stung from the dry tears that hung between her lids, and she woke up later than she would’ve liked, but besides the fact she did get the recommended eight hours of sleep, she didn’t let that sway her.

Moving on instinct, she headed to the private facilities the moment she got out of bed. The rather spacious bathroom had a simple layout like any other, save for the overpowering but pleasant scent of tree sap. However, there was something missing.

Oh, right. I just moved in here. I didn’t even think about buying necessities! Twilight hoof-faced herself for forgetting something so important. The cabinets, all made from the material of this very treehouse, were void of soap, towels, shampoos, and any sort of hygiene essentials. The bathtub nestled in the corner of the room was left completely exposed without a curtain.

Instantly, she perked up as another thought came to her. I’ll just have to add that to my to-do list. Hopefully Pinkie won’t mind if we stop by a few stores.

Despite waking up a little later than she usually would, Spike was still tucked in bed, never once interrupted during his sound slumber. It amazed Twilight how heavy a sleeper he was; then again, he partied a lot the past day. She had to admit it was exhausting to even think about. But they couldn’t just sleep the day away, especially with Pinkie offering to give them a tour of Ponyville today.

Twilight approached the dragon’s crib and gently shook him awake. “Wake up, Spike. We have a long day ahead of us.”

Spike finally steered in his sleep but only to fling the blanket over his head, letting out a disgruntled groan. “Five more minutes…”

Twilight rolled her eyes, smiling in amusement. “You’ve gotten enough sleep already. It’s time to get up now; I can’t have you ruining our schedule!”

As soon as the blanket was lifted out of his reach, Spike reeled back with a screech and shielded his eyes with both his hands, as if he was a vampire pony getting scorched by the sun. It took Twilight magically floating him downstairs with her to get him wide awake, much to his annoyance. But it was quickly turned to excitement when he remembered the tour Pinkie promised them.

After Twilight packed her saddlebags with cash and her to-do list, they headed out to Sugarcube Corner to see Pinkie Pie already waiting for them behind the counter. They couldn’t cease their growing hunger just by looking at the gingerbread, sweet-themed house of the bakery, the aroma of baked goods filling their nostrils.

“Goooood morning, Twilight and Spike!” the cheerful pink pony greeted them with a grin. “What can I get for you?”

Twilight tilted her head in confusion. “Why are you taking our orders? I thought you said you were going to show us around Ponyville.”

“Uh, duh , I am showing you around. This is our first stop! But you can’t just come to Sugarcube Corner all willy nilly – you must want something from the best bakery in town!”

The unicorn’s mouth formed an ‘O’ in understanding. “I guess that makes sense. And we haven’t actually eaten yet since our fridge is out of stock.”

“Here, try the breakfast specials. I recommend… all of them, because everything we make here is super-duper, extremely ultra delicious !” Pinkie giggled, handing both of them menus.

Twilight couldn’t disagree with Pinkie; the food here did look delicious. She was getting hungry just skimming through the menu and no doubt did Spike feel the same as well. But as much as she wanted to try all the breakfast specials, she didn’t want to overfeed herself like what happened with Applejack and her family. So instead, she ordered a simple stack of buttered pancakes topped with blueberries and fresh maple syrup, while Spike ordered a vanilla milkshake and a tower of waffles with whipped cream and ‘gemstone syrup’. It wasn’t actually made of gemstones, but according to Pinkie, Mrs. Cake had the idea of creating a gemstone-like sparkle to maple syrup to make things more interesting, with the addition of food coloring to the customer’s desire. She’d succeeded in creating that effect, since it attracted a certain dragon whose favorite food is gemstones and jewels.

After checking off a satisfying breakfast at Sugarcube Corner in Twilight’s to-do list. Pinkie Pie’s Ponyville Tour – as she likes to call it – eventually began (or resumed, since their first stop was Sugarcube Corner). 

The trio trudged along the gravel road with Pinkie Pie leading the way, pointing and naming every single building she spotted; it almost scared Twilight how well she knew this town, including the names of everypony who lived here and exactly where they lived. Most of the architecture consisted of the common cottages with hay rooftops, but in truth they were all bigger on the inside and even housed modern furniture that could be seen in places as sophisticated as Manehatten. Though there was one shop that struck as odd to Twilight and Spike, which unsurprisingly happened to be Pinkie’s favorite part in town: the Joke Shop, shaped to resemble a jester’s hat. Pinkie mentioned how she and Rainbow visited it whenever they wanted to play pranks on the town.

Ponyville wasn’t as regal as Canterlot but so far, Twilight was having a lovely time taking in her new home. Actually, the simple layout was a breather from the complicated ivory spirals, emanating a homely atmosphere that absolutely did its job making her feel at home. But what Twilight liked most about Ponyville was that nopony was giving her odd or admiring stares or whispering behind her back, acting like she was some competition to be beaten or some special pony ascended from above. In fact, everyone she passed by waved at her and greeted her good morning like she was just one among the crowd. For the first time in her life, she felt like she fitted in. As much as she was fond of it though, it was a little overwhelming having everyone pay attention to her for all the reasons she wasn’t used to, especially since she hasn’t quite worked out her social skills yet. But like the princess said, she was here to learn about friendship, a subject she was not very familiar with, so of course it would take some getting used to.

Amongst the aisle of shops, Twilight caught one or two she’s been looking forward to visiting: Ponyville Home Décor and Quills & Sofas . It wasn’t long until they emerged out of both shops carrying bags of quills, parchment, a bathroom curtain, and a few bedsheets and pillowcases. Twilight figured these would suffice for now since her and Spike’s necessities back home were to be delivered to her later anyway.

Passing through some parks, benches, and ponds along the way, they crossed a bridge that led to a more spacious part of town. “This is Ponyville’s town square, where most of our big festivals take place,” declared Pinkie, gesturing to the wide and crowded area. “There’s the Ponyville statue, and that’s the Aloe and Lotus’s day spa, and— Oh! Hi, Lyra and Bon Bon!”

Pinkie waved over to two ponies she came to spot, maybe some close friends of hers – though that probably didn’t mean anything since she was friends with practically everyone in Ponyville. At the mention of their names, a pair of mares came to where they were with a friendly grin. The earth pony had a cream-colored coat, her eyes a vibrant turquoise and her mane a swirl of pink and dark blue. Her companion, a unicorn, had auburn eyes and a mane that matched her mint green coat but with streaks of white. The unicorn in particular looked strangely familiar to Twilight, almost as if she’s met her before…

“Twilight, Spike?! Oh wow, it’s so nice to see you two again!” Okay, she’s definitely met this unicorn before.

“Lyra!” Spike beamed. “We’ve all missed you so much! Minuette and the others have been waiting for you to drop by for some time.”

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to visit for a while! I’m just really busy studying for my degree in harp. Good thing I met my best friend here! She’s been very supportive.” Lyra pulled the other pony, Bon Bon, close, wrapping a hoof around her neck. “Spike, this is Bon Bon. Bonnie, this is Spike, and the purple one over there is Twilight. They were my friends back in Canterlot.”

Oh, so that’s where she’s from. Come to think of it, I don’t remember talking to her all that much back then…

“So you’re Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight blinked, taken aback by the sudden shift of attention to her. She felt a trickle of sweat run down her face at Bon Bon’s narrowed eyes directed at her. “From what Lyra told me about you, I never would’ve guessed that you’d move here to learn about friendship .”

Lyra chuckled nervously and nudged her best friend. “Bonnie, that was a long time ago!”

“Sorry, I just seemed to recall that she was absent at her own welcome party and wasted Pinkie Pie’s efforts to make things perfect for her.” Twilight’s ears drooped at the memory, her guilt worsening under Bon Bon’s glare. “I bet she only wants to ‘learn about friendship’ because the princess told her so—”

“I’m so sorry about Bon Bon, she can be pretty rude at first,” Lyra quickly interrupted with too-wide grin and pushed Bon Bon a few paces back, ignoring her annoyed protests. She turned to Twilight and stretched a hoof out towards her, offering a friendly smile in turn. “I know you were pretty cold and distant back then, but I always believed that you’d change. Looks like I was right. You’re a good pony, Twilight. I forgive you.”

Twilight stared in awe at the unicorn, and a little bit in disbelief. After the whole Nightmare Moon situation and moving to another place, she was never given the time to think about how she acted before and how it affected the ponies around her. She was glad that Bon Bon brought it up, no matter how much it hurt. She never owned up to her mistakes, only thinking about herself and her studies; she saw it now. She couldn’t fathom how Lyra could easily forgive such neglectful behavior.

Then again, she was being given the opportunity to make amends with an old friend. She no doubt still had more ponies to apologize to, but this was a start. She couldn’t even begin to tell Lyra how much she appreciated it.

So, she didn’t.

Lyra was surprised to see Twilight hugging her; she’s never seen her hug anyone in her life , and now she was hugging her ? Well what do you know? Twilight Sparkle really has changed.

After a few moments, the lavender unicorn pulled away and wore a smile of gratitude. “Thank you, Lyra. I hope we can start over.”

“No problem.” Lyra returned the smile. When she turned to Bon Bon, her lips twisted to a cocky grin. “Told ya.”

The earth pony sighed and shrugged it off, then she turned to Twilight with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry for being so rude. It really seems like you’re trying hard to change for the better. I hope we can be friends, too.”

Twilight nodded and smiled back. “It’s alright. And I’d like that too, Bon Bon.”

“YAY! Everyone’s friends now!” Pinkie abruptly pulled everyone into a tight group hug, knocking the wind out of Spike who was holding onto the grocery bags.

“Erm, this is great and all, but I’d really like for this to stop…”

“Okie-dokie-lokie!” Pinkie dropped everyone from her grasp and onto their haunches, letting them catch their bearings.

“We better get going now. You’ll love it here in Ponyville, Twilight. See you guys!” Lyra and Bon Bon bid their goodbyes to Pinkie, Spike, and Twilight, eventually walking out of sight.

Once he fetched back the grocery bags, Spike turned to address Twilight admiringly. “That was really nice of you, Twilight. Hey, maybe we could visit the others back in Canterlot to apologize to them, too. We did leave without saying goodbye after all.”

Twilight suppressed a cringe at the last part, having just realized that now. “Yeah, maybe we will… Anyway,” she caught herself before she drifted off, turning to Pinkie expectantly, “what’s next on our tour, Pinkie?”

The party pony led them to the center of town square, where the most massive structure in Ponyville stood, still embedded in Rarity’s decorations from the Summer Sun Celebration. “This is the town hall where all town meetings are held. And sometimes a few concerts and big parties of mine, which Mayor Mare is in charge of approving first.”

She skipped in front of the doorstep and opened the front door, “Come on in! I wanna introduce you guys to the mayor.”

Twilight raised a skeptical brow at Pinkie. “Aren’t we supposed to schedule an appointment first?”

“I already did! Now come on, we don’t have all day!” The earth pony was gone before Twilight could respond, seemingly disappearing in the blink of an eye. She and Spike exchanged baffled looks for a moment, then they just shrugged and headed inside where Pinkie waited for them albeit impatiently, literally running in place with a grin so big it made her look like she’d burst.

With a speed that rivaled Rainbow Dash’s, she ushered them over to Mayor Mare’s office. You’d think Twilight would get used to Pinkie’s extensive knowledge on everything in Ponyville, but with how huge the town hall was –seeming even bigger than the outside – if it weren’t for Pinkie, she and Spike would be lost right now.

When they were right by the mayor’s office, Pinkie suddenly slowed as she heard voices coming from the other side of the door. Twilight’s ears perked up at the sound of shouting, or rather who was shouting. It was a raspy, feminine voice with a deep edge to it, a voice that could only belong to one pony.

“You can’t do that! I’m a pegasus – flying is in my blood !”

“Calm down, Miss Dash. I’m only forbidding you from stunt flying for a week, since you’re essential to the weather patrol team.”

“I can’t waste a single second of practicing for the Wonderbolts. What if I blow my chances of having them notice me?”

“I’d say you’ve already blown it, judging by your track record of having the most complaints from Ponyville residents because you keep crashing into their homes. Property damage is a large fine you have to pay for, and yet I clean up your mess; I can’t let this go unpunished.”

“Come on, mayor! I promise I’ll pay for all those fees and I won’t crash into any more homes.”

“Like how you crashed into a Canterlot newcomer when you were supposed to be doing your job for the Summer Sun Celebration?”

Twilight’s heart skipped at the subtle mention of her and Rainbow’s unfortunate meeting.

“It was an accident! Mayor, please—”

“I’m sorry, Miss Dash, but I have made my decision. If you want to practice your stunt flying, do it where you cannot damage Ponyville property.”

There was an unsettling pause before the mayor spoke again, this time in a gentler tone. “Hospital records state that every month, you are admitted as a patient due to deep wounds and scratches. There are also cases where your blood pressure is high due to overexertion. You may be physically fit, but that does not mean you are resistant to injuries and stress. So, consider this your vacation. Trust me; this is for your own good.”

“I don’t need your pity,” Rainbow spat. She grabbed the warning slip the mayor had signed for her from the table, stuffing it under her wing. Then, without another word, she pushed the door open.

And she came face to face with three overhearers.

“Guys?” The pegasus’ eyes darted back and forth between Pinkie, Spike, and Twilight. “What are you doing here?”

“I was gonna introduce Twilight and Spike to Mayor Mare,” Pinkie answered nonchalantly. Then, she peeked over Rainbow’s shoulder to wave at the beige earth pony sitting behind the office table. “Hi, Mayor Mare! I brought Ponyville’s newest residents!” she sang, pulling her company along with her.

Mayor Mare’s eyes lit up, and she stood up from her seat to greet the newcomers. “Why, hello there! Twilight Sparkle and Spike the dragon, correct?”

Spike just nodded politely in response, while Twilight smiled in kind and extended a hoof for the mayor to shake. “Yes. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mayor Mare.”

“The feeling is mutual, Miss Sparkle. I heard you are the princess’ personal protégé.”

“That’s right. She let me and my assistant stay at the Golden Oak Library.”

“Well, I do hope you’ll enjoy your stay here. How are you liking Ponyville so far?”

“We haven’t explored some of the town yet, but I think it’s safe to say I made the right choice moving here,” Twilight replied, shooting her friends a warm smile.

“I’m so glad to hear that! Oh, and since you’ll be staying at the library, I’d like to appoint you as Ponyville’s official town librarian – if it isn’t too much to ask,” Mayor Mare added, sheepishly smiling at the former Canterlot resident. “We haven’t had any volunteers to handle the library for years, so ponies just come and go there as they please to borrow a book or two. It would be ideal for someone to administer the library and make sure no one steals any books… and maybe spruce up the place a little since it’s starting to get a little dusty.”

True to her name, Twilight’s eyes sparkled as bright as the day she was accepted into Princess Celestia’s school. It took all of her resolve to stop herself from jumping around the room in joy. “Oh, my goodness. Of course, I’ll be the town librarian! This is a dream come true!”

“I’m glad that you’re enthusiastic about this, Miss Sparkle. There’s supposed to be a package delivery today for a whole stack of books. I’d like you to keep an eye out for it and arrange the library catalogue.”

“Yes, Mayor Mare. Thank you for this opportunity!” Twilight said, still trying to contain her excitement. Rainbow couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. Typical egghead.

“You’re very welcome, Miss Sparkle,” Mayor Mare smiled once at the unicorn before she headed back to her seat behind the office table, where stacks of paperwork waited for her. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some paperwork to fill in. I’ll see you all around!”

The happenings that came next were all a blur until the group of friends were walking down the hall, making some small talk about Twilight’s new job and how the tour was coming along. Speaking of which, they were already out the door and no one had mentioned it even once, as if the conversation between Rainbow and Mayor Mare never happened. A part of her told her it was wrong to eavesdrop on them even if it was an accident, but she couldn’t stop the better part of her curious self.

“Rainbow Dash?” Rainbow turned to the lavender unicorn who’d called for attention, seeing her steps becoming a little reluctant. “I couldn’t help but think… about what happened with you and Mayor Mare earlier.”

Rainbow’s eyes darkened at the mention of her name, but she went on with her pretend game of carelessness. “Oh, she just gave me a warning slip for property damage ‘cause I keep crashing into homes during my stunt flying. I can’t practice my thing for a week.”

“You know you keep saying you’re the most awesome flyer in Equestria, so I’m surprised that you keep crashing into things,” Twilight said jokingly, earning a raised brow from the pegasus.

“Really? I thought after how we first met, you’d expect me to do the same to other ponies’ houses.”

“Well, it was just an accident, wasn’t it?” Twilight smiled briefly, before she asked again, “Why do you crash anyways? I’d like to hope you don’t do anything silly, but Mayor Mare said you were admitted to the hospital many times already so…”

“It’s not ‘silly’; it’s just… too complicated, I guess. But hey, practice makes perfect, am I right?” Rainbow struck a confident grin, but to her dismay Twilight didn’t return it, and only gazed at her worriedly.

“Rainbow, I’m really worried for you. I know you want to get into the Wonderbolts, but that doesn’t mean risking yourself for it.”

Just as Twilight feared, Rainbow started getting defensive. “Hey, I’m tough! I can handle a few bruises and scratches. ‘Sides, that’s what makes me a real stunt flyer.”

“Still, you should know when your body is at its limit. What if you get into a tragic accident that will render you flightless for the rest of your life? Don’t you think that will blow your chances of getting to the Wonderbolts?”

Twilight observed the changes in Rainbow’s expression: the dilated eyes as the thought dawned on her, the sudden opening then closing of her mouth as she tried to protest, then the contemplative and distant look as she dwelled on her words. “I know what it’s like to overexert yourself to be the best at something you’re passionate about, but it’s not the end of the world when you take a break from it every now and then. So, I don’t think you should hold it against the mayor for giving you a warning slip; it is for your own good. You’ll see.”

There was a moment of silence between them as Rainbow gazed into Twilight’s eyes, pondering quietly. As Rainbow pursed her lips, Twilight finally elicited a response from her in the form of a nod. “I guess you’re right… There are still a lot of things I can do to pass the time.”

Twilight let out an internal sigh, smiling brightly at Rainbow. “There you go, that’s the spirit!” Rainbow rolled her eyes at those words, and just smiled back for the sake of shutting the egghead up. “Speaking of which, you can come with us if you’re not doing anything right now.”

“I’d like that,” Dash replied in kind. “Where are you off to next?”

“The marketplace. I was hoping to buy a few supplies for me and Spike since we’re still waiting for our package delivery from Canterlot.”

“I’ll help you carry the grocery bags then. Can you hold on to this for now?” Rainbow handed Twilight her warning slip, which she placed inside her saddlebag for the time being.

The pegasus flapped her wings and brought herself to the air, making sure to fly at a decent rate but still fast enough to surpass the group.

“You gotta teach me how to do that!” Pinkie exclaimed when Rainbow was out of hearing range, making Twilight tilt her head questioningly. “Do what?”

“You know, make Rainbow cave in. I worry about Rainbow a lot when she’s stunt flying so I tried everything to convince her to be careful next time, but she never listens, so I just gave up. But you made her listen on the first try!” Pinkie shook her head, breathing out a sigh of amazement. “You have like… a special touch. Like my Pinkie Sense.”

“And you were scared you’d mess up making friends,” Spike chuckled, smirking at his caretaker in a ‘I told you so’ manner.

Twilight could only ponder on their words as they walked to the marketplace. She didn’t know what a Pinkie Sense was, but whatever she did clearly impressed Pinkie and, thinking about it now, herself. The thing is, she didn’t know why. She felt like it was too easy, too obvious what needed to be done, but she never once considered herself to be good with talking. Even when ponies greeted her along the way, she’d still occasionally trip up her words.

Maybe she was overthinking it. Maybe it was simply because she knew Rainbow Dash better than anyone she’s met. But she had to admit, it was fun to think about. Twilight, having a special touch with friendship , like Princess Celestia’s expertise is controlling the sun. It was like saying she’d be the princess of friendship someday.

Heh, well there are lots of room for possibilities, and knowledge. I still have a lot to learn about friendship; it’s a good thing I have my friends to help me along the way.

The day was still young when they returned to the Golden Oak Library, right before a grey pegasus mare arrived to drop the package delivery for the new books by her doorstep. Her derpy cross-eyed looks caught Twilight’s interest for a moment, but she decided not to mention it. Whether or not the mare had an optical disability, in the end Twilight decided it suited her charms.

With Rainbow and Pinkie helping them unload their groceries, Spike and Twilight set out to arrange the new books to their respective sections as well as reorganize the library catalogue. Years of vacancy did a toll on the library’s organization, and Twilight couldn’t resist fixing it all up – it was her mojo after all.

By late afternoon, Pinkie had returned to Sugarcube Corner to help the Cakes with their shift, leaving Twilight and Spike to clean up the library which, to their chagrin, started gathering dust and grime in between shelves and corners of the room. Despite Twilight’s constant, bashful refusals, Rainbow Dash stayed to help them dust the shelves. She may hate the idea of cleaning up, but she couldn’t just leave them be to do all the work. Besides that, her schedule was pretty much empty since she got a warning slip.

Hours passed until three knocks rapped the door. Wanting to take a break from the tiresome cleaning, Spike went to answer the door to be greeted by a stallion delivery pony with his and Twilight’s belongings from Canterlot.

After accepting the boxes from the pony, Spike called out for his caretaker who’d gone upstairs to set up the bed and the bathroom. “Twilight! Our stuff from Canterlot is here!”

“I’ll be right there, Spike! Just give me a minute!” came Twilight’s yell.

Spike didn’t wait for her to come when he hastily removed the tapes from the box labelled ‘SPIKE’S STUFF’ and dug inside as if he was in a hurry. Rainbow landed beside him with a flutter of her wings, her eyes landing on the other box labelled ‘TWILIGHT’S THINGS’. “I bet Twilight’s box is just full of books.”

Her joke fell on deaf ears as Spike’s head reemerged from his box with a comic book wrapped in plastic. “Yes! My Power Ponies collection is safe and still in mint condition,” he exclaimed in relief, kissing the book to Dash’s amusement.

Rainbow eyed Twilight’s package once more, her wings twitching at the urge go through her friends’ possessions. I’m sure Twi wouldn’t mind. Knowing her, it’s probably just a bunch of boring old books. She bit her lip as she added in thought, Though I hope she has some interesting stuff sitting in there. Her old life can’t be that boring.

She recklessly peeled the masking tape off the box, like a foal would to a present on Hearth’s Warming Day. Then, tentatively this time, she reached out for the flaps of the box and opened it.

As expected, she found mostly books, specifically Twilight’s personal collection she keeps in her bedroom bookshelf at the tower, along with notebooks of her own research. There was also a case full of her personal hygiene equipment and essentials, organized by quality as Twilight typically would. Some of her clothes, mostly for the fancy Canterlot events she was forced to attend, were neatly folded inside. But there was something else that caught Rainbow’s attention… a picture frame?

She snatched the picture frame and inspected it closely. Confined within a stylized frame with a protective glass was a picture of six unicorn mares sitting around a table eating cupcakes. Rainbow only recognized two of them, the one sitting at the far left easily being Twilight and the other at the right being Lyra. The one in the middle who appeared to be laughing was lemon-colored with pale blue hair. The one who was halfway through a cupcake had a white coat and bubblegum pink curly locks. The one beside her was mostly blue, her mane consisting of a dark blue and a silver grey. Lastly, the cream-colored mare beside Twilight coincidentally looked a lot like her, except she wore glasses and her mane was red with streaks of two shades of purple.

“Hey, that’s the gift I was gonna give Moondancer for her first party!” Spike said from beside Rainbow. She tilted her head towards the little dragon. Moondancer?

Suddenly, Spike’s eyes widened as if he’d just remembered something horrible. “Oh, gee, the party! The princess sent us away before we could say goodbye to everyone.” Slowly sagging off, he sighed regretfully and decided to shrug it off. “Well, there’s nothing we can do about it. I wonder if they had fun without us…”

Rainbow looked back at the picture thoughtfully, carefully stroking the surface of the glass. “So she did have friends back in Canterlot…”

“Well, she never really talked to them a lot – except Moondancer since they both liked nerding on and on about things. But they kinda drifted apart; this party was supposed to be like a get-together for all of us.”

“From the looks of it, it’s probably because she always kept her head in the books,” Rainbow chuckled. “I mean seriously, even in this picture, she’s still reading.”

Spike rubbed his arm awkwardly. “I guess you could say that…”

“Hey, guys!” Twilight trotted down the stairs, giddy from finally finishing her chores for the day. As she came up to them, she spotted the box labelled under her name laying open in front of Rainbow. “Oh, are those all my things? They didn’t forget my personal book collection, did they?”

“Yep, everything’s here and in one piece. Even this picture frame of your friends,” Rainbow handed Twilight the picture.

She levitated it over to herself, gazing upon it with a mix of surprise and sadness. “My… friends?”

“Yeah! Did you lie to me when you told me you didn’t have any friends back in Canterlot?” Rainbow teasingly asked, only to be answered by silence.

She approached Twilight closer, shaking her out of her stupor. “Hello? Equestria to egghead?”

“Huh?” The unicorn turned to Rainbow as if she’d just now realized she was there. “Oh, uh… Well, I just… They’re not…”

Concern started to gnaw at Rainbow when she saw the solemn expression on Twilight’s face. “Twilight?” Did I say something wrong? Did I make her upset? She bit her lower lip, mentally berating herself. You idiot! Prying into her personal life – what kind of friend are you?

“Sorry, it’s just…” Twilight shook her head, her gaze drifting to the picture again. “Today, I bumped into Lyra and her friend Bon Bon, and… I realized that I was a bad friend to my Canterlot friends, and I never noticed because I was so focused on my studies. Lyra didn’t seem to hold a grudge against me, but I can’t be so sure about the others. I want them to know that I’ve changed, that I want to make things better but…” She sighed, her voice full of regret and longingness, as she set the picture back inside the box. “It’s too late now.”

“Hey, don’t say that.” Rainbow placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, urging her gaze back on her. “I’m sure that when you see them again, they’ll forgive you. I mean, I could only guess what kind of friend you were back in Canterlot but I’m sure that whoever you were back then, you aren’t the same pony now.”

“Aren’t I? Sure, I met you and the girls and learned the importance of friendship, but that doesn’t change anything for my old friends. The last time I saw them, I didn’t even say goodbye…” Twilight hid her face behind her hooves, plopping down on her haunches as she groaned to herself. “They must hate me!”

Rainbow tried her best to comfort her, rubbing a hoof on her back in a consoling manner, but that was the most she could do. Not knowing what to say next, she glanced at Spike for help.

Hesitating for a moment, the dragon finally spoke in a question. “What if we write a letter to them?”

Twilight lowered her hooves from her face to look curiously at Spike, who was twiddling his fingers together, a reassuring smile on his face. “We could mail it to them since I can only fire-breath letters to Princess Celestia. You can tell them everything you wanna tell them then!”

Twilight bit her lip, pausing for a few moments. “What if they don’t reply back?”

“Well, I don’t think it really matters, Twilight. They’ll receive it, they’ll read it, and they’ll know you’ve become a changed pony. I mean, the fact that you’re sending them an apology letter alone proves that.”

There was a moment of silence as Twilight thought it over. It would be nice to let them know how I’m doing and apologize for being a bad friend. Maybe they’d appreciate the gesture, make it up to them for not saying goodbye before I left. I owe them that much for trying to put up with me over the past few years.

She looked at her two of her best friends in the room with her, staring at her expectantly. She felt so lucky to have been given this opportunity to start anew, meet new friends, and become a better pony than she was before. But she knew that she couldn’t abandon her old life and her old friends.

The letter she was about to write would be the closure she needed before her new life in Ponyville truly begins, where new adventures and lessons to be learned awaited her and her friends.

And so, she stood up with newfound vigor, picked up a piece of parchment and a quill, and turned to Rainbow Dash and Spike with a smile. “Let’s do this.”

Dearest friends,

I am writing this letter to apologize to you all about the many horrible things I’ve done to you over the past few years we’ve known each other – or haven’t done, for that matter.

I haven’t been the kindest, most understanding, and empathetic friend. You always had my back when I needed something, but I wasn’t always there to support you. So, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being so insensitive and for pushing you away. I’m sorry for paying more attention to my books than to you, for not appreciating you for sticking with me for so long, even though I never treated you the way you deserved.

I realize now that I don’t deserve to have friends like you, so it’s up to you if you decide to forgive me or not. But I just want you to know that I’m trying to be a better pony. Moving to Ponyville has been the best decision I’ve ever made. I still can’t believe that life has given me a chance to make new friends and experience new things I had never opened my eyes to during the times I’ve stayed cooped up in my tower. I learned that friendship is an important value to be treasured, and I should never let it go.

I wish to start over with all of you, but now that I’ve moved to Ponyville, it’d be pretty hard to do just that, especially after neglecting our friendship for so long. But before my final words, I wanted to let you know that you will always be an important part of my life.

I don’t know if you’d ever forgive me or respond to this letter, but I just wanted to say goodbye to you all before starting anew.

Thank you for being there for me. Minuette, Twinkleshine, Lemon Hearts, and Moondancer.

Your old friend, Twilight Sparkle

P.S. Moondancer, this is Spike. I wanted to give this to you at your first party, but the princess sent us away before I could. Sorry about that. I still hope you’ll like it!

Chapter Text

Rainbow Dash sprung off the cumulus that served as her diving platform, plummeting to the earth and curving upwards at the last second. She set her eyes on a line of tall shrubs. And now, phase one of my routine.

The athlete expertly crisscrossed between each shrub and completed the obstacle course in one shape. She could barely hear the feeble cheering of her friend Fluttershy in the sidelines.

Phase two. Smoothly making a beeline to higher ground, she zipped to a fluffy ball of cloud and spun it around at breakneck speeds. She repeated the process with two other nearby clouds, her experience with cloud spinning dispelling the dizziness that came forth.

Finally, she pumped her wings to steer herself higher in the sky, gaining more altitude and momentum by the second. Here we go… Phase three: the Sonic Rainboom.

Having the open blue sky all to herself, she gracefully performed three loop-de-loops before she plunged straight down at inconceivable rates. She kept her wings partially folded to her sides as she grimaced through the violent current, tears welling up in the corner of her eyes from the burning sensation. A silvery cocoon enveloped her as a result of her high airspeed, which slowly took the shape of a pointed cone at the tip of her outstretched foreleg. She clenched her teeth against the strong wind that roared at her ears and bit at her coat, fighting against the atmospheric pressure that threatened to sabotage her stunt.

And sabotage it did.

“WOAAAH!” Rainbow came to an abrupt halt and was bounced back several feet in the air, as if some external force pushed her back to the infinite beyond.

Fluttershy wordlessly watched her friend fly all the way to Ponyville’s local library. Oh, my…

Speaking of which, it was a particularly tedious but quiet day in the Golden Oak Library. Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie had just finished helping Twilight clean up the foyer since Spike was out to do an errand in Canterlot. With three helping hooves instead of one helping claw, they were able to get it done after an hour. What once was a labyrinth of advanced incantation literature was reorganized into its pristine glory.

It was then when Twilight heard a high-pitched whistle coming from outside. Intrigued, she peered out her open window and tried to find the source of the strange sound. It wasn’t long before she spotted a sky-coated, rainbow-maned pony projectile barreling straight towards her.

She blinked her eyes in disbelief. “What the—”

“OOF!” Both ponies grunted as the flying being collided with the unicorn, sending both of them across the room and ultimately crashing into the wall. The impact caused all the tomes to fall from the shelves, undoing Twilight and her friends’ hard work.

Twilight’s head popped up from the plethora of books on her floor. She spit out the scrolls in her mouth and fixed her glare on the pegasus above her. “Rainbow Dash…”

Hearing the murderous growl of her name, Rainbow quickly disentangled herself from the mare beneath her, only to stumble upon the disarray of books under her hooves. Finding herself locked in Twilight’s steely gaze, she could only chuckle nervously in response.

Another pair of wings fluttered towards the library, only this time instead of a rocket blast the visitor gently perched on the windowsill. “Rainbow Dash, you rock! Woo-hoo…” Fluttershy suddenly gasped as she saw the mess. “Did my cheering do that?”

Rainbow stood up and brushed dust off herself, addressing the annoyed stares her friends gave her. “Sorry about that, ladies.” She shook her head and frowned. “That was a truly feeble performance.”

“Actually, it wasn’t all bad,” Fluttershy pressed. “I particularly liked it when you made the clouds spin.”

“I’m not talking about my performance; I’m talking about yours!” Dash pointed at Fluttershy, who flinched at the accusatory hoof. “That feeble cheering!”

Lost in the discussion, Twilight decided to intervene. “What are you two arguing about?”

Fluttershy bowed her head. “Were we arguing? I’m sorry.”

Rainbow sighed. “I wish you guys could come to Cloudsdale to see me compete in the Best Young Flyers’ competition. Fluttershy’s a great support but her cheering isn’t exactly inspirational.” She looked at the rest of the group with a sad smile. “It would be so much better if all of you were there cheering me on, too.”

Twilight tilted her head to the side. “Best Young Flyers’ competition? What’s that?”

“It’s where all the greatest pegasi flyers get together and show off their different flying styles. Some are fast!” Pinkie took the liberty to demonstrate what she meant, complete with sound effects and zooming around the room. “And some are graceful!” She didn’t quite get the ‘graceful’ part as she crashed into a pile of books in the process.

“Golly! I’d love to see ya strut your stuff in that competition,” Applejack said to Rainbow, just before Pinkie’s form unearthed from the pile of books and squealed. “Ooh! I’d love to see you make another Sonic Rainboom. It’s like, the most coolest thing ever – although I’ve never actually seen it but I mean, come on, it’s a Sonic Rainboom! How not cool could it possibly not be?”

Twilight asked yet another clueless question. “What’s a Sonic Rainboom?”

This made the party pony stop her rambling to stare incredulously at the unicorn. “You really need to get out more.”

Pinkie Pie leaped to a window ledge and declared in her usual exuberant fashion, “The Sonic Rainboom is legendary! When a pegasus like Rainbow Dash keeps going so fast…” She dove from the ledge and into the sea of books. “BOOM! A sonic boom and a rainbow can happen all at once!”

“And Rainbow here’s the only pony to ever pull it off,” Applejack ended, shooting a grin at the pegasus who seemed to not make a big deal out of it.

“It was a long time ago. I was just a filly.”

“Yeah, but you’re gonna do it again, right?” Pinkie asked, gleaming with excitement.

It took Rainbow a few seconds to let the question sink in, and when it did, she found herself having second thoughts. Could she do it again? It’s been years since she set a record for being the first pegasus to perform a Sonic Rainboom, but sadly nopony gave her crap for it. Nopony believed her – except her friends of course. But it always bothered her how her accomplishment was never given public recognition. It angered her that just because she was a filly, nopony gave her the benefit of a doubt over a century old pegasus myth. So much for making it to the Wonderbolts…

She didn’t let that show though; she didn’t want anyone to think she was weak. “Are you kidding? I’m the greatest flyer to ever come out of Cloudsdale.” She ignored the trickle of doubt that cracked through her voice and put on a confident smirk. “I can do Sonic Rainbooms in my sleep.”

Twilight marveled at the possibility of a pegasus creating a “sonic boom and rainbow all at once,” as Pinkie described it. She didn’t know the extent of the airspeed, velocity, and wing power required for a stunt with such great results – she made a mental note to read up on that later – but she guessed it must be death-defying at the least. “Wow! If you pull that off, you’ll win the crown for sure.”

“The grand prize is an entire day with the Wonderbolts.” Rainbow wide eyes reflected the excitement of a foal. “A whole day of flying with my lifelong heroes – it’ll be a dream come true!”

“Yay.”

Rainbow briefly shot Fluttershy a deadpan look. “I’m gonna go rest up. Don’t wanna overprepare myself, y’know. You , on the other hand,” she gave Fluttershy a pointed glare, “better keep practicing! I need a cheering section to match my spectacular performance.”

Without another word, Rainbow flew through the open window in search for a cloud to nap on.

Fluttershy watched her disappear into the sky, a worried expression cast on her face. “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,” she ruefully said before she departed as well.

For the first time since Rainbow and Fluttershy paid them a visit, Rarity spoke up. “Poor dear… Rainbow Dash must be so nervous about the competition.”

Applejack was nonplussed. “Nervous? Have you spit yer bit or somethin’? She was tootin’ her own horn louder than the brass section of a marchin’ band!”

“Oh, puh-lease! I have put on enough fashion shows to recognize stage fright when I see it. We’ve got to find a way to be there for her.” Rarity turned to the most talented unicorn in the room with wide, expectant eyes. “Twilight, surely you know a spell to bring us wingless ponies to Cloudsdale.”

Twilight hummed in thought. “Actually, I came across a particular spell while I was studying that gives a wingless pony the ability of flight. It’s a really difficult spell though… I’m not sure I can do it.”

Rarity held Twilight’s shoulders and shoved her snout into hers, looking her intently in the eyes. “But you must try, Twilight – for Rainbow Dash.”

Twilight chewed on her lip as she mentally wired her brain to remember the procedures she read on the spell; at times like this, she prided herself for having a photographic memory. It would take a lot of effort to pull this off, but if it’s for her friend, she’d be a nutcase to put this down.

After some thought, she nodded. “Okay, I’ll do it. But I need a volunteer to be the test subject.”

Applejack and Pinkie shared a tentative glance. They’ve never been subjected to being magically tested on, so they didn’t know if it was painful or not. But Rarity had no second thoughts. Her desire to be there for Rainbow Dash in what could possibly be the most important day of her life drove her to come forward.

Twilight took a steady breath. “Alright. Here it goes…”

Finding her center, she closed her eyes and her horn glowed to life. Blue tendrils swirled the alabaster unicorn’s form while Twilight strained to exert as much energy as possible into the spell until the coil encased Rarity completely.

As sparks flew off her horn, a magical ball came from the spellcaster’s horn and placed itself between her and Rarity. Then suddenly, it exploded in a flash and filled the room with a bright afterglow, making Twilight yelp and stumble in shock as did Pinkie and Applejack.

When the commotion seemed to die down, the trio dared to open their eyes. Instead of an obnoxious light, their eyes witnessed what could just be one of the most gorgeous sights they’ve ever seen: an aurora of subtle, radiant lights bathed the room in its glory. Twilight stood on wobbly legs, a tired but proud smile adorned on her lips. “I think it worked.”

As Rainbow lectured Fluttershy about the importance of assertiveness, their hometown slowly came into view behind a thick layer of clouds. The floating utopia was surely a sight to behold. Some would say it’s a flying metropolis – a ‘Manehattan in the sky’, if you will – but anyone who knew Cloudsdale by heart would describe it as one of a kind.

As the pair flew through the streets, Rainbow felt a sense of nostalgia. Memories of annoying passerby while racing with Gilda, sneaking through alleyways to go to her private lounge whenever she was up for skipping class, and visiting the weather factory to mingle with her parents’ colleagues brimmed in her mind. It felt nice coming back to where she spent most of her life.

Unfortunately, that feeling quickly dissipated when they ran into three of their old classmates. Three ponies they knew all too well.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?”

“It’s our old friend, Rainbow Crash !”

Dumbbell and his lackeys Hoops and Score all wore the same snarky grin that Rainbow has always wanted to wipe off their faces. They were the worst bullies back in flight school, always picking on her and Fluttershy. Oh , how could Rainbow forget that one time they spread rumors of her hitting on Fluttershy? The poor girl didn’t show her face for a week, too ashamed to face Rainbow as she was one of the many who believed those rumors. They almost split apart, for heaven’s sake! Luckily, the truth got out, but they haven’t apologized for it yet – as if there’s ever a chance they’ll do that.

“Get kicked out of any flight schools lately?” Dumbbell taunted. Rainbow thought of breaking his nose for the second time, but she reminded herself not to start a fight in front of Fluttershy.

“I didn’t get kicked out.”

“Face it, Rainbow Crash. Flight school had too many rules and not enough nap times for you.”

Hoops sneered, “Ha! Ask her about the Sonic Rainboom. ”

Dumbbell scoffed. “That’s nothin’ but an old mare’s tale. You don’t have the skills to try somethin’ like that.”

“Now wait just a minute!”

Everypony turned to the forgotten canary mare, but as soon as the attention shifted to her, she instinctively cowered under their gazes. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m trying to be more assertive. Anyhow, she is going to do a Sonic Rainboom.”

“No, she’s not ‘cause there’s no such thing!”

“Then show up at the cloudeseum and see for yourself!”  Her assertive demeanor dying down to her characteristic timidity, she crouched back down. “If you’re free.”

The three bullies cackled. “Oh, don’t worry. We’ll be there!”

“See you then, Rainbow Crash!”

“And your Stuttershy girlfriend, too!” Rainbow’s teeth bared at the old nicknames as Dumbbell, Score, and Hoops flew off laughing. I swear those jerks are stuck in flight school. Fluttershy doesn’t stutter as much as she used to, and the ‘Rainbow Crash’ gig is getting old. Whatever. ‘S not like I care anyway.

Fluttershy hovered in front of Rainbow with a proud smile. “Did you see that? I was so assertive.”

Her face fell when Rainbow didn’t respond and just stared at her. Her eyes were filled with doubt and… something else Fluttershy couldn’t place. But being her foalhood friend, she had a few guesses as to what was worrying her. “Don’t worry, Rainbow. I’m not bothered by them. It was a long time ago, and everyone found out that they lied.”

“Yeah, I know.” Rainbow frowned. “I was just thinkin’… maybe they’re right. I’ll never be able to do the Sonic Rainboom again. It only happened by accident when I was a filly; I’ll be darned when I’ll be able to pull it off today.”

“Oh, Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy smiled encouragingly at the downcast pegasus. “Just because you failed a hundred thousand times in practice, it doesn’t mean you can’t do it in front of an entire stadium full of impatient, supercritical sports fans.”

At that, Rainbow started hyperventilating. Unnerving thoughts of humiliation and rejection made her quiver as she lost herself in a mental ramble.

What do I do?! Everypony’s gonna see me fail! The Wonderbolts will never let a loser like me join them. Princess Celestia will banish me to the Everfree Forest! She plopped her flank down on the ground, trying to calm herself by running her hooves over her mane to little avail. “My life is ruined… I’ll never be able to do that stupid stunt again.”

Amidst Rainbow’s breakdown, something caught Fluttershy’s eye. “Rarity…?”

Baffled, Rainbow turned around to see what Fluttershy was pointing at and instantly, her jaw surpassed the clouds and hit the earth. The unicorn in question had sprouted wings, but they weren’t ordinary pegasus wings, no – they were colorful, translucent, and almost the size of a pony, much like a butterfly’s wings. They were unlike anything Rainbow has ever seen.

“Rarity! Are you… flying ?”

“I most certainly am!” Rarity glided towards them with a merry grin. “Aren’t my wings smashing ? Twilight made them for me. I just adore them!”

Rainbow and Fluttershy remained in a shocked state. “Why so shocked? We couldn’t leave our favorite flyer without a big cheering section.”

When she’d regained her composure, Rainbow did a double take. “‘We’?”

As if on cue, Ponyville’s recognizable hot air balloon rose from the clouds before their eyes with Applejack, Pinkie, and Twilight boarding it. As it slowly landed before them, Rainbow’s heart raced in an overwhelming sense of joy at the sight of her best friends, all there for her on her big day. A wide grin spread across her muzzle. “I… I can’t believe it. You guys made it!”

“Sure did!”

Rainbow’s eyes went wide when Pinkie jumped off the hot air balloon to stand on the cloud ground. “Wait!”

Her worries were replaced with relieved shock at the four pink hooves settling on the cloud with ease, following Applejack’s and Twilight’s as well. She had to blink several times to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. “How’d you do that? Only pegasi can walk on clouds.”

“I found a spell that makes temporary wings,” Twilight explained. “But it was too difficult to do more than once, so I found an easier spell that lets the rest of us walk on clouds.”

“And we came to cheer you to victory!” Applejack proclaimed.

“You guys… This is so awesome ! You have no idea how much this means to me.” Right then, a genuine smile had crept onto her lips before an idea entered Dash’s mind. “Hey, we have some time before the competition starts. Why don’t Fluttershy and I show you around Cloudsdale?”

Cheers of agreement resonated within the group as Fluttershy and Rainbow happily led the tour.

“Here it is: the greatest city in the sky!”

From a flightless pony’s perspective, coming to witness the incredible sight that is Cloudsdale was like entering a new world. Almost everything was made out of clouds, each building and every furniture sculpted to perfection. Despite all pegasi having the ability to manipulate clouds, it takes years to master cloud engineering, much less making clouds. They are water vapor after all, so an inexperienced pegasus would have a hard time handling them.

Most of the buildings’ designs weren’t modern like the mansions and skyscrapers of Manehatten and Canterlot which is what made it stand out more. Aside from that, colosseums and stadiums galore could be seen mounted on cloud platforms. Pegasi are known for their athleticism and competitiveness in aerial sports, so their common appearance didn’t strike as odd.

As the group strolled through the city, they passed by a couple of construction workers who took much interest in Rarity’s wings. “Those wings are gorgeous!” one of them gushed to which Rarity thanked in earnest.

“Be careful with those wings, Rarity,” Twilight warned as Rarity started doing loop-de-loops with her new pair of limbs. “They’re made from gossamer and morning dew and they’re incredibly delicate.”

Rarity dismissively waved a hoof with a smirk. “Don’t worry, Twilight. I’m sure they can’t get worn out from too much attention.”

Rolling her eyes at Rarity’s antics, Applejack suggested, “Since we’re up here, I’d sure like to get a good look at where the weather’s made.”

“Great idea! C’mon, you guys will love the weather factory.” Taking to the sky, Rainbow lead the way to the bridge leading to the weather factory which was by far the largest structure they’ve seen in Cloudsdale. While a portion of the factory was covered in snow and altostratus clouds, storm clouds were scattered above the roofs, rainbow falls descended from the rainbow formation chambers, and smoke emerged from the main chimney. Twilight had seen pictures and read about weather factories before, but now that she’s seen them firsthand, she could easily say that her books did no justice to the real deal.

Because of how delicate business was indoors, they had to wear factory workwear that also served as special protection before they entered the factory.

The first of the many facilities they entered was the snowflake facility, where only a limited number of employees handled. The managers hoofpick specialists to partake in this rather rare and intricate job.

“This is where they make the snowflakes,” Rainbow said. “Each one is hoof-made. As you can see, it’s a delicate operation.”

They all stood out of hoof’s reach from the operation tables to avoid disturbing the workers. But Rarity, instead of staying still, flew up to the snowflake display they hang along the ceiling to inspect it closely. “Ooh! The snowflakes look even better from up here.”

The wind from her flapping caused an outbreak in the facility. Everypony frantically ran around trying to catch the escaping snowflakes before they break. Unfortunately, there were not a lot of survivors.

“…We better move on before Rarity ruins winter and causes a drought.”

Before anypony could see them, Rainbow ushered them to the rainbow facility, arguably the prettiest section of the factory. Glistening rainbow falls cascaded from one golden platform to another connecting to circular basins on the floor where they’re stored. To keep the fluid’s consistency, a group of pegasi are assigned to mix it with stirring paddles.

The curious pink baker couldn’t help but taste test the enticing looking liquid – maybe it would make a great ingredient for her pastries and boost the Cakes’ business. But the moment her face turned into all the shades of rainbow, she instantly regretted it.

She panted at the burning sensation on her tongue. “Aaah… S-spicyyyy…!”

Applejack and Twilight burst into a fit of laughter as Pinkie ran off to find water. “Yeah, rainbows aren’t really known for their flavor,” Rainbow chuckled.

Suddenly, Rainbow’s ears perked up at the sound of an irritatingly familiar voice nearby.

“Where’d you get those amazing wings? I want a pair!” Dumbbell said in the same tranced state as Hoops and Score who trailed behind him. They were all looking at the same flying unicorn who just happened to be Rainbow Dash’s friend, who was talking to the ponies Rainbow hated the most. “Hmm. Yeah, I guess I can see that,” she replied casually.

Before things could get out of hand, Rainbow decided to confront them. “Rarity! What are you doing talking to these guys?” she spat, shooting a glare in the bullies’ direction.

“Oh, they were just admiring my wings, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said, showing off said wings.

“Yeah. You should forget the Sonic Rainboom and just get yourself wings like these!” The trio’s mocking laughter rang in Rainbow’s head even after they flew off. For once, a trickle of her insecurity escaped her usual cloak of ego. Her ears folded against her skull as she mused on Dumbbell’s spiteful words. Maybe he’s right. Heck, with those wings, Rarity could easily win the competition by a landslide… Compared to a loser like me, I’ve always been done for.

Fluttershy’s gentle voice broke her out of her reverie. “Come on, girls. Why don’t we see how clouds are made?”

Applejack and Twilight followed Fluttershy and Rainbow’s lead. Meanwhile, Fluttershy had started walking alongside the downcast flyer and consoled her to her best abilities. “Don’t listen to them. You’re gonna win that competition for sure.”

Rainbow laughed humorlessly and allowed herself a bitter grin. If she’d been looking directly at Fluttershy, the shy mare would’ve bailed at the sinister glare in her eyes. Dash’s tone was enough to make her recoil. “ Of course , I am. You don’t think I believe those jerks , do you?”

Before Fluttershy could respond, Rainbow flapped her wings and surpassed her, dismissing the subject. “C’mon, the cloud facility is just right ahead.”

Fluttershy, Applejack, and Twilight exchanged worried glances behind Rainbow’s back. Twilight wasn’t an empath, but she’s read enough psychological books to know the tough-faced pegasus was acting off. But for all she knows, it could just be Rainbow Dash being Rainbow Dash. She could be reading too deep into it.

She shook her head, setting a new goal in mind. Whatever it is, I’m gonna get to the bottom of it.

Managing the cloud facility was easily the busiest task in the factory judging by the multiple generators lining up the walls. There were workers assigned to pour water into the funnels, to stir the contents, and to pump up the water vapor to stimulate cloud formation. Some of them, however, were too busy admiring Rarity’s wings.

Rarity gracefully posed in midair and flaunted her butterfly wings for the crowd that’d gathered around her. “Go ahead, everypony! Photos are encouraged.”

Twilight resisted the urge to groan at Rarity’s display; she was starting to regret giving her those wings. That was until she spotted Rainbow Dash on the sidelines with a look Twilight has never seen on her face before: fear.

Correction: she definitely regretted giving Rarity those wings.

Deciding to set things straight, Twilight walked up to Rarity and called for her with a scolding tone. “Rarity!” The unicorn in question turned to her with a confused frown. “We’re supposed to be helping Rainbow relax, remember? Put your wings away and stop showing off.”

To her surprise, Rarity only scoffed and flew even higher, ignoring her friend’s reproach. “How can you ask me to put away perfection?”

As if she’d planned it beforehand, she hovered just below the see-through ceiling and directly behind the sun, where its light reflected off her gossamer wings at the perfect angle. The room was bathed in its colorful, ethereal rays, making everypony gasp in awe of the marvelous display.

Everypony except Rainbow Dash.

When she was torn away from the remarkable sight Rarity’s wings created, Twilight saw Rainbow Dash nearly curled up on the floor, shaking in trepidation; any moment now and her weak legs would give out. Twilight quickly came to her side and put a concerned hoof on her withers. “Rainbow, are you okay? You don’t look so good.”

She blinked in shock when Rainbow automatically turned to face her, her faux confident grin betraying her hysterical crimson eyes. “Of course! Why wouldn’t I be okay? Everyone’s so in love with Rarity’s wings that they won’t even notice when I totally blow it in the Best Young Flyers’ Competition!”

“Hey, there’s an idea!” One of the workers enthusiastically spoke up. “ You should enter the competition,” she said to Rarity.

“Yeah! I could watch you fly all day long,” another pegasus concurred.

This got Rarity thinking. “There isn’t any pony who uses their wings quite like me. Perhaps I should compete.”

“ What ?!”

Rainbow speechlessly watched everypony in the room follow Rarity as she glided away with the grace of an angel. Only Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Twilight stayed behind to check up on their other friend, who was currently having trouble wrapping her head around what’d just happened.

“I can’t believe Rarity just did that knowin’ how much the competition means to you!” Applejack shook her head disapprovingly. “I oughta give her a good talking to later.”

Fluttershy gave Rainbow a sympathetic frown. “I’m so sorry about Rarity. I hope it doesn’t bother you too much.”

Rainbow forced a chuckle out. “I-it doesn’t. She can enter the competition if she wants. ‘S not like she’s gonna outdo my Sonic Rainboom with… that .”

Small chuckles turned into full blown guffaws to the point where it became worrying. “I don’t care at all! I’m Rainbow Dash , the greatest flyer who has ever lived! I’m not gonna get outdone by a bunch o’ stupid butterfly wings. I have trained hard for this day, while she goes struttin’ in like she owns this place.”

Rainbow Dash vigorously stomped a hoof, causing a crack on the floor. “ Nothing is getting in my way today.”

Chapter Text

Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie, and Twilight sat in one of the cloudeseum’s stands to watch their friends Rarity and Rainbow Dash perform in the competition. Pinkie had insisted on getting snacks beforehand, which ended up emptying her sack of bits completely. Cloudsdale’s delicacies were one of a kind, ranging from cotton candy made of edible candied cloud to airy sponge cupcakes with rainbow frosting, the taste inspired by the spice of the actual rainbow. She bought both desserts and everything in between, providing an unlimited supply of show snacks for the whole group.

Twilight would’ve enjoyed them more if her mind wasn’t so occupied.

“Everythin’ alright, sugarcube?” Twilight blinked her eyes back to reality and turned to the source of the voice. Applejack was giving her a concerned look.

Twilight chewed the inside of her cheek. “I’m just worried for Rainbow Dash. You saw how she acted earlier when Rarity entered the competition.”

“Mm. I thought she was goin’ nuts.” Applejack shook her head and sipped on her cup of soda. “She’d never admit it, but she needs help. It ain’t healthy to be in denial like that.”

“Yeah. She does need help…” Twilight trailed off, the cogwheels in her mind churning as an idea slowly formed in her mind. “Hey, Applejack? I’m going out for a bit. Mind holding this for me? I don’t want Pinkie eating all of it while I’m gone,” she said and handed Applejack her bucket of popcorn.

“Sure thing, Twi. But whe—”

Before Applejack could ask where she was off to, Twilight was already running down the stairs. “I’ll be back before the competition starts!” she yelled to the stunned earth pony before she made her way to the backstage where Rainbow was prepping herself.

After minutes of preening her feathers in the green room, Rainbow Dash stared at herself in the mirror. She thought she could escape the crushing, overwhelming atmosphere of the roaring crowd outside, but being isolated in silence with only her thoughts to accompany her was just as agonizing.

Many times did she try to pull herself out of the gutters by giving herself pep talks, but it seemed the more she did so, the more her mind invited unwelcoming thoughts and memories.

She was mad at the bullies for having the nerve to show up just to throw horseapples her way.

She was mad at Rarity for getting so ahead of herself that she didn’t even think of how competing against her would make her feel.

She was mad at everyone who underestimated her capabilities of doing a Sonic Rainboom, something that had changed her life as just a filly. Even her parents thought she was lying.

Lastly, she was mad at herself for believing every word they said.

“Rainbow Crash…” She let out one weak, bitter laugh. “Funny how I always hated that name. Now, it’s provin’ to be a pretty good name for the pathetic, attention-hungry, phony failure that I am.” Just as her voice cracked at the end, the first of the few tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.

Click.

Only then when Rainbow tensed at the sudden clicking sound did she notice the purple mare standing by the door in the mirror.

“Twilight?” She turned around to face the unicorn, momentarily forgetting the wet stains on her cheeks. “What are you doing here? And how did you get here? You don’t have a backstage pass.”

With an awkward smile, Twilight rubbed the back of her foreleg with a hoof. “I sneaked in when the backstage supervisor was distracted.”

Rainbow smirked. “Wooow. I didn’t know you had it in ya to break in and enter.”

“Technically, I didn’t break in, but enough about that.” Twilight fixed a serious gaze on the pegasus. “I came here to talk to you about what happened back at the weather factory.”

Rainbow tensed again; she had a bad feeling about where this was going.

“I’m worried for you, Rainbow – we all are. So, please tell me the truth. Are you okay?”

Rainbow forced a smile and said through gritted teeth, “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

Twilight frowned. “I heard what you said when I came in here, so don’t even bother lying. And I can see that you were crying, too.”

Rainbow quickly rubbed her eyes to get rid of the evidence, but it was all for naught. She knew she was toast; Twilight could see right through her, all because she opened her stupid mouth and thought out loud.

… No. It’s not my fault.

Something inside her cracked. And before she knew it, she was talking without thinking.

“Don’tcha know that it’s common courtesy to knock before you enter? Or were you actually spying on me?”

“What? No, I just—”

“Came to tell me that I’m right – that they’re right – about me being Rainbow Crash ? A loser ?” She didn’t mean to raise her voice, but the damage was already done; there was no way she could turn back now.

Twilight was paralyzed in place, the dark glower in Rainbow’s face dissolving every inch of resolve she had. The comforting words she had prepared were lost in the knots of her tongue as Rainbow continued in the same harsh tone, “D’ya come here to make fun of me for not being able to do the Sonic Rainboom? Are you gonna tell me that I’m being too ambitious and self-absorbed that I can’t accept my own failure?”

Every word she spat made her heart rise per second until she breathed breathless pants, coming snout to snout with the silent lavender mare. “Go on. Say it !” Twilight flinched as Rainbow shouted at her face. “I know it’s pointless to compete now! I’ll only end up embarrassing myself in front of everypony – even the Princess and the Wonderbolts will be watching. You and the others will never want to be my friends again when I become the laughingstock of Equestria.”

“Rainbow, stop!” Twilight surprised herself when she shoved Rainbow away with a hoof, let alone the pegasus in question. But she didn’t dare stop herself from allowing what came next.

“Are you listening to yourself? You know I would never say those things to you! I’m your friend , not those bullies we met back in the factory.”

Rainbow growled lowly. “Then why did you push me away like that, huh? Friends don’t do that to each other.”

“Neither does not giving a flying feather about what they want to say because you only think about yourself, you stupid, arrogant blowhard!” Twilight realized what she’d said too late, and immediately gasped and put a hoof on her mouth. 

That stabbed a sore spot in Rainbow. Normally she would’ve lashed out or shouted some more until the offender was in tears, but those words had come out of Twilight’s mouth, someone she deeply cared for. Someone she used to call her friend.

Instead, she surrendered to the hurt that gnawed at her heart. “‘Blowhard…’ So that’s what you think of me?”

Twilight stammered, “I didn’t mean it! I-I’m sorry, I only wanted to help.”

Preserving what little of her voice she had left, Rainbow turned her back to Twilight and deadpanned, “Then leave.”

Struggling to collect herself, Twilight tearfully and desperately reached out for the pegasus. “Rainbow…”

The announcer’s voice blared outside informing everyone that the show was about to start. There was a nagging voice in Twilight’s head that urged her to stay and reason with Rainbow, but she knew there was no time to clean up the mess she created. Rainbow had a show to put on.

Wiping the tears that’d built up in her eyes, she concentrated on her teleportation spell and vanished in a flash.

Once she was alone again, Rainbow’s legs gave out and she collapsed in a trembling heap of misery. She whimpered but shed no tears. Come on, Rainbow Dash. Get a grip. You can deal with this later… after you blow your chances of spending the entire day with your lifelong idols, much less getting into the Wonderbolts, in front of everyone.

“Alright, everypony, prep time is up! All contestants line up according to your assigned registration number,” she heard the supervisor say outside.

With one last sigh, Rainbow stood up and exited the room.

The 14th contestant had just finished their performance, making the crowd roar with adoration and excitement for what’s about to come. Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie joined in with the commotion. As far as they knew, only two performers were yet to compete, and both were their close friends. And over fifteen contestants, only one of them is to be declared the winner. The adrenaline of the moment is soon to come!

“I love number 7! Those fifteen barrel rolls sure made me woozy – but in a fun way!” Pinkie giggled, devouring the last of her cloud cotton candy.

“My favorite is number 10,” Fluttershy countered. “She just looked like such a nice pony.”

Applejack hummed in thought. “Wonder how come we haven’t seen Rainbow Dash and Rarity yet. The competition’s almost over.”

Unbeknownst to them, Twilight cringed as she thought back to what happened earlier. Though she also wondered why she hadn’t seen Rainbow perform yet. If she remembered correctly, the registration tag on her flank was numbered 2; they were there when Rainbow had registered for the competition and she was one of the first pegasi there.

Maybe she asked the supervisor to change it if that’s allowed, Twilight figured. She slouched as another thought came to her. Probably because she needed time to recover after I hurt her feelings… A soft, regretful groan escaped her lips, her ears drooping in shame. I’m such an idiot. She’ll never forgive me.

“And now, our final competitor of the day,” the announcer snapped her out of her thoughts and made her look up in hope of seeing Rainbow again. “Contestant number 15!”

Rainbow Dash tentatively emerged from the stage curtains with her forelegs curled to her chest, glancing around anxiously at the cloudeseum full of cheering pegasi (including her flightless friends) ready to see some action. Right after her, Rarity made her grand entrance as well, her body decorated with extravagant regalia and excessive makeup. “Uhh, and apparently contestant number 4,” the announcer quickly added.

The pair flew in position in the stadium ring. Although Rainbow’s fearful shaking wasn’t obvious from where Twilight sat, the look on her face was enough to worry her.

“Good luck, Rainbow Dash. Just do your best,” said Rarity, offering a gentle smile. “I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of changing our music. That ‘rock and roll’ doesn’t really match my wings.”

Classical instrumentals chimed throughout the cloudeseum, cuing Rarity’s starting routine. For someone who’s experienced flight for only less than a day, she had perfectly good control over her wings, displaying her graceful dancing with little to no mistake. This fazed Rainbow for a moment but before she could rethink her chances of winning, she steeled herself to focus on the task at hoof.

“Come on, Rainbow Dash. You can do this. Just remember the routine,” she muttered to herself, eyeing the row of cloud posts set before her. Phase one.

Rainbow dashed forward and traversed through the posts. So far, everything went smoothly – that is, until the incessant part of her mind resurfaced the memory of Twilight’s words.

“…Because you only think about yourself, you stupid, arrogant blowhard!”

Suddenly, she bumped against one of the posts, sending her crashing onto the wall underneath the stand Dumbbell, Hoops, and Score sat in.

“Nice work, Rainbow Crash!” They laughed hysterically. Having limited time on her hooves, Rainbow paid them one nasty glare before she picked herself up and flew back to the ring. Her friends sitting in the stand above the trio watched her with growing worry.

Rainbow took a second to look over her accompanying contestant, who was still caught in the moment doing aerial ballet. With a newfound determination, she readied herself for her next trick. Time for phase two.

She sped to one of the large clouds in the sky and whirled around it for approximately two seconds, before darting to the next cloud and repeating the process several times. Subconsciously she shut her eyes, urging to push herself forward.

“You should forget the Sonic Rainboom and just get yourself wings like these!”

A stray piece of the cloud she was spinning hit her face with enough force to fling her back. She lost control of the spinning cloud which now propelled towards the V.I.P. box seat. Princess Celestia and her two guards ducked at the offending cloud that puffed out of existence as soon as it hit them. Although they didn’t feel anything from the blow, Rainbow cringed at the disrespectful act she accidentally pulled on royalty.

Meanwhile, Rarity had completed her dance and was readying herself for her spectacular climax. “And now, for my grand finale. I will fly right up to the sun and beam my beautiful wings over the city of Cloudsdale.” She squealed, the thought of everypony shrouding her with praise making her feel giddy inside. “They’ll be talking about it for years !”

Rainbow watched as the alabaster unicorn soared straight up, going higher and higher until she reached the peak of the sky. “Looks like this is my last chance to turn things around.” Gulping down her insecurities, she hoped against all odds that her wings not fail her now.

Phase three: the Sonic Rainboom.

Rainbow ascended at a fleeting rate, surpassing the slow but graceful winged unicorn. As the cyan pegasus shut her eyes and gritted her teeth against the harsh bite of the wind, Rarity hovered behind the sun’s silhouette, its radiating heat adding to her exhaustion from the labor of her flight. But it was all worth it in the end, she thought. She’d get to see the happy faces of the ponies before her and know that it was all because of her.

“Look upon me, Equestria, for I am Rarity !”

The sunlight reflected the prismatic colors of her butterfly wings and showered the cloudeseum with its glorious lights. Closing her eyes, a wide smile on her tinted lips, Rarity bathed in the audience’s ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ of admiration – but alas, it was short-lived.

The sweltering heat from Celestia’s sun was too much for her delicate wings to bear. It did not last very long before it evaporated in a fiery dissipation.

Rarity’s head pivoted to see nothing but her bare back. “… Uh oh— AAAAH!”

The now flightless unicorn gave in to gravity and fell to the earthly void below, her screams echoing across the endless sky, earning frightened gasps from the entire audience.

“What’n tarnation happened?!” Applejack exclaimed.

“Her wings evaporated into thin air!” Twilight dreadfully said. A small part of her blamed herself for giving Rarity such sensitive wings. She wished she could’ve searched for the cloud-walking spell first instead of subjecting herself to an energy-draining spell, especially knowing the dangers of it.

“Oh, my goodness! I can’t look!” Fluttershy squeaked in trepidation, burying her head under the cloud stand beneath her, while Applejack held Pinkie back, who looked just about ready to jump over the edge and save Rarity. “Somepony save her!”

Answering Pinkie’s prayers, the Wonderbolts quickly flew after the fallen unicorn, catching up to Rarity in no time. But her wildly flailing legs hit their faces before they could get closer to her and struck them dazed. With their consciousness momentarily lost, they helplessly fell with Rarity.

Amidst the third phase of her routine, the sounds of screaming caught Rainbow’s ear. She chanced a glance behind her only, to her horror, to see Rarity and the Wonderbolts plunging straight to the ground. Immediately she changed her flight route, angling her wings to the side to descend faster towards the ponies in distress. “Hold on, Rarity! I’m coming!”

Seeing one of her best friends in trouble, every thought and worry she had about the competition was wiped from Rainbow’s mind. Right now, she only cared about saving the lives of the ponies she cared for. Lost was her sense of feeling, the burning sensation from the friction of the rough wind numb on her fur, the tears welling in her eyes mere fractions of a distraction, as she focused her partially blurry vision on Rarity. The unforgiving gale did everything in its power to push her back, but it was nothing but a hurdle compared to her already stable momentum, which helped push her forward even faster until she was just out of reach.

She resisted the urge to kick out her hindlegs, knowing that would throw her off. At this point, the pain of her exertions was starting to get to her. She didn’t know if she could go on any longer.

At that moment, the crack inside of her expanded. All sorts of memories came unabated and clouded her mind.

Rainbow Dash crouched defensively in front of Fluttershy, eyeing Hoops and Dumbbell with an intimidating scowl. “Leave her alone!”

Dumbbell sneered. “Well, if it isn’t Rainbow Crash, comin’ to save her damsel in distress.”

Hoops laughed cruelly. “What’cha gonna do about it, huh?”

“Keep making fun of her and find out!”

“You think you’re such a bigshot? Well, why don’t you prove it?”

Rainbow smirked. “What did you have in mind?”

“A Sonic Rainboom?” Her mother parroted, then glanced at her husband, before they both burst out in laughter. Rainbow’s ears drooped and she frowned. “What’s so funny?”

Her father wiped a tear that’d escaped the corner of his eye. “Honey, we know you’re a very talented flyer, but you can’t possibly pull off a Sonic Rainboom! It’s a myth; nopony has ever done it before.”

“Until today!” Rainbow Dash flared her wings, a smirk lining her muzzle. “You should’ve seen the look on Hoops’s and Dumbbell’s faces. They totally didn’t know what hit them!”

“Well, we’re proud that you won the race today,” her mother said, chuckling as she rustled Rainbow’s mane. However, she didn’t laugh back and instead looked up at the older pegasus with a saddened pout. “You guys believe me,” she turned to her father, “right?”

Her parents exchanged a telepathic look for a moment, then decided.

“Of course, my little filly. We… believe you,” the stallion said and brought the two mares to a group hug.

“Hey, look! There’s the pony who thinks she did the Sonic Rainboom!”

The whole class erupted in laughter as soon as Rainbow Dash entered the classroom, except Fluttershy who only frowned in sympathy for her friend.

“Alright, class. Settle down,” the teacher chastised. After the class went silent, she turned to the cyan filly with a disapproving frown. “Miss Dash, you’re late… again.”

Rainbow put on a faux apologetic grin. “Sorry, Mrs. Snow. I slept in… again.”

“I’ll have to talk to your parents soon about your inappropriate behavior. You are one of our finest flyers, but irresponsibility is unacceptable in this school.” Mrs. Snow shook her head and sighed, knowing her lectures were ineffective against the rainbow-haired daredevil. “Now, sit down so I can start our lesson for today.”

Closing the door behind her, Dash made her way to the vacant spot beside Fluttershy, ignoring the foals she passed by that whispered mocking names and insults to her.

“Raainbow Craash, Raainbow Craash…”

“You’re crazy to think you can do the Sonic Rainboom.”

“It’s just an old mare’s tale.”

“Liar.”

“Showoff.”

“Blowhard.”

…No.

Rainbow Dash blinked her tears away, a passionate fire igniting inside her. They’re all wrong.

She pushed forward with renewed vigor, ignoring her aching limbs that begged for her to rest. I am Rainbow Dash, the fastest mare alive. The Element of Loyalty.

She sliced through the air, creating a conical barrier that encompassed her. She was flying so fast that everything around her was a blur. The only things she could clearly see were the four ponies beneath her. And I never give up. Not for myself…

Bursts of energy zapped along the barrier, slowly closing in on her form. Colors of the rainbow could be seen on the tip of the cone as Rainbow grunted against the powerful current, inching closer and closer to her goal. But for my friends.

And then, there was a loud explosion.

The sound barrier was officially broken. A beautiful chromatic halo stretched across the land in Dash’s wake to be seen by all living things great and small, a thousand times more magnificent than the lightshow of Rarity’s gossamer and morning dew wings. The rainbow contrail that followed the pegasus added to the rare spectacle that captured everypony’s astonished speechlessness – that is excluding Fluttershy, who was jumping for joy and shouting to the top of her lungs, “A SONIC RAINBOOM! SHE DID IT! WOOO!’

Rarity and the Wonderbolts were barely inches off the ground before they were rescued to safety by none other than Rainbow Dash. As she effortlessly curved upwards to return to the cloudeseum, she spared a glance behind her and muttered an amazed “Woah!” seeing a vibrant trail of rainbow in pursuit. 

Slowing her pace, she glided over the cloudeseum, displaying a divine arc of a rainbow for the ponies below to admire. Once she returned through the stadium ring, a group of pegasi helped carry Rarity and the Wonderbolts, relieving her of the extra weight on her back and forelegs.

When Rainbow settled on the ground, the cloudeseum was flooded with a standing ovation, confetti and streamers raining from the sky. She found herself gawking at the hundreds of ponies praising her with the glory and the recognition she’s long since deserved; to her surprise, Fluttershy was the loudest out of them all.

Her heart was racing with adrenaline she couldn’t even begin to explain. Her eyes brimmed with tears of joy as the moment she’s been waiting for so long happened before her eyes. “They’re all cheering… for me ,” she said to herself, her voice cracking with overwhelming happiness. “Because I did it…” She faced Rarity, who was being lifted by two pegasi, with the widest grin she’s ever worn. “I did it!”

Rarity smiled back. “You sure did,” she croaked, sounding like she was on the verge of tears. “Oh, thank you, Rainbow Dash… You saved my life!”

“Oh yeah! I did that, too. Ha!” If it was possible, Rainbow’s grin grew even wider, and she pumped her hoof in the air. “Best. Day. Ever !”

The night after the Best Young Flyers’ Competition, the six young mares had parted ways, intent on getting some shut eye after an exhausting day – except for Rainbow Dash, of course, who had gone to enjoy her winner’s prize of a whole day with the Wonderbolts.

Ponyville bathed in the night’s serene silence, only the crickets’ chirps filled the chilly air. The moon hitting its peak in the sky signified the start of the midnight hour. At this time, the streets were completely deserted and almost all the buildings had its lights off save for the occasional streetlight. Amongst the sleeping town, the Golden Oak Library housed one of the still awake residents.

The orange hues of the lit fireplace illuminated the living room where Twilight lay upon a couple of cushions with a cup of tea encased in her magic and a book titled The Science Behind the Sonic Rainboom laid in front of her. A small tower of read books stood beside the pile of pillows, all of which contain information regarding either pegasus myths or aerodynamics.

It was rare having the library all to herself, so with much enthusiasm, Twilight took the liberty to pull an all-nighter and study pegasus folklore and mythology after witnessing the Sonic Rainboom first-hoof. She hadn’t quite explored pegasus culture before since her studies were mainly focused on ‘unicorn stuff’, as Rainbow would put it. Of course, the curious librarian saw this as an opportunity to learn new, foreign knowledge.

Sipping her tea to fight her approaching drowsiness, she scanned the words on the page she was currently on.

The Sonic Rainboom is the most legendary aerial stunt known to ponykind. This occurs when one breaks the sound barrier (approximately 770 mph at sea level), resulting in the sudden expansion of a massive prismatic ring from the source of the explosion, accompanied by a shockwave and a vibrant rainbow wake. Thus, the amalgamation of the words “sonic boom” and “rainbow”.

Many have attempted this maneuver yet to no avail. Unfortunately, many injuries and even deaths were caused by ambitious pegasi who tried this dangerous feat. It was rumored once that an entire village was damaged due to an attempt of a Sonic Rainboom inappropriately close to the ground, the impact of the shockwave so intense that it shattered glass and swept lightweight objects.

After that, nopony dared to risk accomplishing something deemed impossible. Instead, it was passed off as an old mare’s tale parents told their younglings before bed. However, there are still several pegasi professionals and researchers who continue studying on the Sonic Rainboom and the science behind it – to find answers to the one question ponies have wondered for centuries: is the Sonic Rainboom possible?

And after many centuries, the question has finally been answered, Twilight finished the thought. She smiled fondly at the memory of Rainbow Dash blowing everyone away with her Sonic Rainboom and ultimately saving Rarity’s and the Wonderbolts’ lives all in the same day. She remembered the feeling of awe and pride that rendered her stupefied as she witnessed something she would’ve once described as “too good to be true”.

As historical as that moment was, it was also strange to her… The gradient of rainbow hues that spread across the sky in its annular contours surged a rush of energy inside her that she couldn’t explain. The shockwave that came forth sent shivers down her spine, giving her a sense of familiarity that she couldn’t put her hoof on. But she didn’t dwell on it for long; what mattered is that her friend did it, even when everypony doubted her.

If she could even call Rainbow her friend.

Twilight sighed, setting her cup down beside her. She hadn’t gotten the chance to speak to Rainbow about the incident yet. The last time she saw her, she was flying off with the Wonderbolts. Although she didn’t push her away when Twilight and the others had congratulated her, with a group hug no less, she couldn’t be sure if she still hated her or not.

“Oh, who am I kidding? She obviously still hates me,” Twilight groaned aloud, running her hooves across her face. “She was just caught up in the moment that she forgot about what I’d said, that’s all! After then,” she slumped, ears drooping on her guilt-ridden face, “she’s probably going to avoid me for… ever.”

Creaaak…

Her ears perked up at the eerie creaking sound and she jerked upright, spilling the contents of her cup. Though she didn’t pay that any mind as paranoid questions filled her mind. Was that the door? Did someone come in? Was it just the wind?

She shook her head and muttered to herself, “Get yourself together, Twilight. You know there’re no criminals in Ponyville. It’s probably noth— EEP!”

Twilight gasped in fright as she heard hooves clopping against wood from upstairs. Scrambling to find something to defend herself with, she grasped the book she was previously reading as her makeshift weapon. Then, as discreetly as possible, she sneaked along the walls towards the staircase leading to her bedroom where the noises came from, increasing in volume in each step she took.

Squinting through the darkness, she climbed the stairs quietly, yet her heart pounded in a conflicting volume. A part of her missed living in the towers of the Canterlot Castle where many trained guards were scattered everywhere to ensure everyone’s safety. Having never dealt with intruders before, she just went with her instinct and prepared to attack; something she picked up from her brother who’s also Captain of the royal guards.

She stood beside her bedroom door and lifted the book high in the air, cautiously waiting for the intruder to fall under her trap. And when that moment did come, she let out a war cry and slammed the book against the pony’s head, knocking them onto the floor with a yelp.

“OW! Twilight, what the hay?!” Twilight blinked in shock. Wait. That voice… Is that—?

Her horn flared in a lavender aura and lit up the dark corridor, allowing Twilight to see who the intruder was – to her utter surprise.

“Rainbow Dash?” She immediately helped Rainbow up, mumbling a string of sorry’s to which Rainbow repeatedly consoled that it was fine in between groans. “What are you doing here? It’s past midnight. And why didn’t you just use the front door like a normal pony?”

Rubbing the sore spot on her head, Rainbow answered matter-of-factly, “Uhh, it was locked? So, I went in through the balcony door.”

“Why didn’t you just knock?!”

“‘Cause it was already unlocked.”

“No, I mean why didn’t y—” Twilight shook her head in disbelief. “You know what, never mind. Just don’t sneak in like that ever again. You almost gave me a heart attack!”

“Heh, no promises,” Rainbow chuckled. Recovering quickly from the head blow, she found the book she was hit by lying on the floor in front of her. “‘The Science Behind the Sonic Rainboom’?” she read the title, quizzically arching a brow at Twilight.

Twilight had no idea why, but she found herself blushing at that; luckily, the colored light from her horn covered it up. “I’m reading up on pegasus culture tonight. You know, ‘cause I was curious…”

Rainbow rolled her eyes with a smile. “Why am I not surprised?”

In one swift motion, she glided down the stairs and landed on the library’s main floor. “Mind if I raid your fridge for a bit? I’m parched.”

“Umm, sure,” Twilight absentmindedly said as she walked down the steps with the book in her magic. She was too busy calming her agitated heart which was beating twice as harder as it was before she discovered Rainbow was the intruder.

Twilight nervously followed Rainbow into the kitchen, mentally searching for anything to talk about to pass the time. “So, how was your day with the Wonderbolts?”

“Oh, it was awesome!” Rainbow exclaimed, closing the fridge with the pitcher of water in hoof. As she rummaged around the kitchen for a cup, she lost herself in a ramble. "They showed me around the Wonderbolts headquarters – which is just as awesome as I’ve always imagined, by the way. I didn’t get to see their official barracks though; they only showed me around the academy and their monuments. Speaking of which, you know General Firefly, right?”

Twilight nearly jumped in shock when Rainbow turned to address her, but she caught herself and mustered a reply. “She’s the founder of the Wonderbolts, instructed by Princess Celestia herself to gather the best flyers in Equestria.” She smiled proudly to herself as she recited what she learned from her school’s lectures about Princess Celestia’s ancient military formation. Though it grew amused at the thought of Rainbow of all ponies knowing such things, although she supposed it did make sense knowing her Wonderbolts obsession. 

“Bingo.” Rainbow grinned, placing the glass she found in one of the cabinets on the counter. As she poured a decent amount of water in it, she continued, “I actually saw the first Wonderbolts uniform ever made up close, worn by General Firefly herself back in the olden days. If only Rarity were there – she’d freak out!”

She gulped down the glass of water in one second. She soon decided it didn’t suffice her thirst, so she filled it up once again. “I got to know some of the Wonderbolts, too! I-I still can’t believe I talked to the Spitfire.” Rainbow grew flustered looking back on her rather eventful day. Talking to the captain of the Wonderbolts and her long-time crush was undoubtedly the second-best thing that’s happened to her today, next to doing the Sonic Rainboom of course. A furious blush spread across her cheeks as she remembered the Spitfire phase she had when she was younger; she’d be ashamed to admit she still had a few posters of her hung up on her bedroom walls.

Rainbow went on about her day with her idols, saying something about racing with them in one of their flight courses and Soarin beating her in the pie eating contest – apparently Spitfire’s second-in-command was a pig when it came to pies. Twilight tried to keep track of her story, but her mind was somewhere else and eventually she lost herself in her sea of thoughts until they drowned out Rainbow’s voice.

Why was Rainbow talking to her so casually? Doesn’t she remember how badly she treated her back at Cloudsdale? It’s as if it never happened in the first place. It didn’t sit right with her that they haven’t patched things up between them since then, though at the same time she was relieved that there was no awkward atmosphere between them. Anything else would be great over going through that torture. But still, she hasn’t apologized for something she feels great remorse for, and she knew deeply hurt her friend… Should she bring it up? Maybe wait for Rainbow to finish first, as long as they have closure on their one-time incident.

“Twilight!”

Snapping back to reality, Twilight frantically looked around to see who called for her, only to be met with concerned cerise eyes from the pegasus in her thoughts. “Are you listening to me? You were kinda zoning out there.”

Realizing she hadn’t been looking at Rainbow when she was talking, Twilight hastily sought to find a plausible response. “O-of course I am! I was just, uh, envisioning your story,” she stuttered out.

Rainbow blankly stared at her too wide grin. “You know, you were never good at lying.”

Knowing it was pointless, Twilight slumped and hid her eyes behind her bangs. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, hey, it’s cool. I can start again from where you left off—”

“No, I mean…” Twilight let out a nervous sigh. “I’m sorry, about… you know, back at the cloudeseum.”

There was a tense pause before Rainbow murmured “oh” in realization, followed by another, longer moment of uncomfortable silence. Twilight bit her lip as she tried to find the right words to say, anything to fill in the awkwardness that she started, but Rainbow had beaten her to the punch.

“I’m sorry, too.”

Twilight’s eyes widened in shock and confusion. She turned to Rainbow and tilted her head questioningly. “What do you mean? There’s nothing you have to apologize for.”

“You wouldn’t have said those things if I hadn’t shouted at you.” As Twilight murmured a soft “oh” in understanding, Rainbow shrugged halfheartedly and absently casted her gaze on her fresh glass of water. “‘Sides, you were right. I needed to hear that.”

Twilight frowned and vehemently shook her head as she began to approach Rainbow. “Don’t say that! I didn’t mean any of it. I was mad and I wasn’t thinking—”

“I was too, Twi. It was all in the heat of the moment and I-I acted poorly. I should’ve listened to you first but…” Looking away in embarrassment, Rainbow paused to clear her throat when her voice started cracking, though it wasn’t enough to conceal it. “I was too caught up in my own problems, like the stupid, arrogant blowhard I am.”

The last thing Twilight wanted to do was raise her voice, but it seemed like it was the only option at the moment. “Rainbow, stop.”

This time, Rainbow didn’t persist and eyed Twilight, her chest heaving in uneven, shaky breaths. Twilight was surprised to see how helpless she looked. Never once has she seen the brash pegasus in such a vulnerable state; she was so used to her self-praising, tough-faced antics that it was unbelievable to see her emotional dam break, in front of Twilight no less.

As annoying as Rainbow’s showboating can be, Twilight hated seeing her friend like this. She missed her energetic, carefree persona and that cocky smirk she grew to love. How to deal with this was beyond her knowledge, but she’ll be damned if she stopped trying now.

Tentatively, she stepped closer to the pegasus and put a hoof on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile. And then, she did something unexpected.

Twilight pulled her into a tender embrace, making Rainbow freeze in shock, as if she was expecting to get yelled at but to her surprise, she received a consoling gesture from the same mare she shouted at. Twilight felt Dash’s body tense against a tremor and tightened her grasp, whispering softly into her ear, “It’s okay to let it out, Rainbow Dash. I believe every word you have to say.”

That was all she needed to say.

Her mind and body plagued by exhaustion, Rainbow collapsed in Twilight’s forelegs and hid her face between the crook of the unicorn’s neck, away from the peering eyes of the world and in the arms of somepony she trusted with all her heart. She whimpered against the tears brimming in her eyes, but Twilight’s soothing hoof urged her not to fight it. Soon her resistance gave away and she sobbed, staining Twilight’s lavender coat with her tears but she couldn’t care less.

It felt strange for the normally confident pegasus to melt into putty in front of someone, even if that someone was her best friend. Never once has she shown this side of her to another living breathing pony – besides Fluttershy of course, but this time… it was different.

Somehow, she couldn’t imagine any other pony comforting her right now other than Twilight. Somehow, it just felt right . She felt she could tell Twilight anything and knew she wouldn’t judge her for it.

And so, she confided to her; after moving to Twilight’s reading spot in the living room, that is. As she poured out her heart to the patient mare, Twilight’s mind opened to the pain behind Rainbow’s brashness. The competition really meant the world to her; if she hadn’t succeeded in doing the Sonic Rainboom, who knows how worse things would be for Rainbow? She’s spent all her life proving herself to everypony who put her down. In a way, Twilight understood her pain despite the fact that she despised attention while Rainbow enjoyed bathing in it. Because of how high their status was, everypony had to watch their every move, paying close attention to the littles of blemishes and calling them out at any given moment. Twilight distanced herself from everypony while Rainbow put on a careless façade, but both were hurting from it. Like Rainbow once told her, it was just as rough being on top as it was being in the bottom. But as long as they had each other and their friends, they knew everything would be alright.

Rainbow also mentioned how hurt she was when Rarity decided to compete alongside her, stealing the spotlight for herself. Although she forgave her, she still felt deeply betrayed by what she did, not to mention talking to her childhood bullies like it was nothing. Twilight suggested talking to Rarity about this if it still bothered her, but Rainbow insisted against it. What matters is that Rarity felt bad and apologized, she’d said.

For most of her life, Rainbow was afraid to reveal the sensitive, emotional side of her, afraid that it’d make her look pathetic. However, after sharing such a heavy burden that’d weighed her mind for so long, she realized it was okay to open up to someone once in a while when she really needed it. She is still a pony after all, with emotions and struggles everypony goes through in their life. It felt so much better than bottling up her true feelings, though she knew it’d take a lot of effort for her to pull that off. But Twilight promised that she’d be there every step of the way, and Rainbow held on to that promise for dear life.

Feeling their bond strengthen after this hurdle of their friendship, Twilight and Rainbow Dash parted ways to resign for the night.

At the end of the day, Twilight still had one more thing to do.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Sometimes friends get angry at one another and when they are, they might say or do some things that they’d regret later. Despite the different crossroads we may pass, friendship is a more powerful force than you think. No matter how strong one may be, there will always be arguments and misunderstandings, but we should not let those faze us. We shouldn’t be afraid to open up to our friends and try to listen and understand what they have to say as well. In the end, that’s what makes friendships even stronger.

Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle

Chapter Text

The lilac filly gazed up at the highest row of the lecture room’s chairs where the four judges were all seated, anxiously waiting for the test to arrive. Seeking the solacing presence of her parents, she turned to the grey mare and azure stallion standing by the side of the room, who gestured for her to smile. They looked just as nervous as her.

Having nothing else to do, she widely grinned at the judges, trying to hide the trembling in her legs. All the while, her mind was occupied figuring whether it was worth enduring through the tense silence waiting for her test or not.

The sound of the double doors creaking open brought her back to reality. A caramel stallion entered with a wooden cart that held the only key to Twilight’s future. A purple spotted egg delicately sat on a bale of hay, waiting to be hatched.

“Well, Miss Sparkle?” the lemon-colored judge spoke, making it clear that time was running short.

Just as Twilight inspected the dragon egg before her, it seemed like all the knowledge she’d prepared for this entrance exam left her entirely. She glanced back at the judges anticipating her performance and chuckled nervously, as if that’d do anything to ease her nerves. Turns out that made it worse, as the judges started writing Celestia-knows-what in their clipboards.

“ Well , Miss Sparkle?” the same mare said again, this time with more evident impatience. Twilight didn’t have time to overthink – she had to act, and fast .

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Twilight slightly backed away from the egg and pointed her horn at it. She charged every ounce of power into her horn, grunting and puffing her cheeks at the mental workout, but to no avail except for a few useless sparks. She tried again, making sure to apply everything she’s read on how to hatch a dragon egg, but nothing came of it.

A yawn from one of the judges cut through her concentration. The yellow mare looked at her watch and spoke up once more, “We don’t have all day, Miss Sparkle.”

Twilight was becoming desperate. She tried changing her position, even coming close to cupping the egg itself, to do anything that could save her examination. Alas, it was all for naught. Weeks of burying herself in countless books receded to dust because her stupid horn couldn’t do what she wanted. Dreams of mastering magic shattered because she didn’t try harder. Her parents’ pride, her honor, gone because her best wasn’t enough.

Defeated, she fell on her haunches, her shoulders slumped and her ears drooping low. “I’m sorry I wasted your time.”

The judges scribbled on their clipboards again, not caring any less to the young mare’s sorrow.

Until a large explosion sounded from afar and made the world rumble.

Twilight flinched back to her four hooves and her horn started glowing without her control, seeming to act on its own. A bright blast erupted from it and hatched the egg, revealing a tiny purple baby dragon with green scales levitating in Twilight’s lavender aura.

“GAH!” Twilight’s eyes shined pure white. Everyone in the room was blinded by a bright flash. The next thing they knew, the filly was levitating from the ground wrapped in an energy-fueled, luminous magical purple cocoon, her magic going completely haywire. The judges were lifted in her magic, her parents turned into pots of plants and most notably, the baby dragon transformed into a fully grown one taller than the school’s ivory tower itself – so tall, in fact, that its head broke through the ceiling and overlooked Canterlot.

Twilight’s body twitched from the overflowing power surging within her. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to get it under control. She definitely performed a few magic tricks that surely counted as extraordinary in the judges’ books and was sure to get her into Princess Celestia’s school… If only it wasn’t so dangerously powerful that it scared them half to death and literally damaged the school.

Oh no, oh no, oh no! What’s going on? Why can’t I stop this? Oh, Mom and Dad are going to freak out when they have to pay the property damage bills, and the Princess is going to banish me to her dungeons, and it’s all because of me and my stupid magic! What do I do?!

A hoof resting on her shoulder snapped her out of her thoughts. She twisted her head around and, to her utter shock, she saw none other than the Princess of the Moon and Sun herself, softy smiling down at her.

At last, the mysterious, powerful magic slowly drained from Twilight and settled her back on the ground. In a flash, the judges were dropped back down and her parents were turned back to non-leafy normal ponies. The newly hatched dragon was reverted back to its original size, unbothered by the unexpected incident as he innocently nibbled on his tail.

“Twilight Sparkle.”

The said filly frantically searched for words. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mea—”

“You have a very special gift,” Princess Celestia interrupted, an impressed grin on her face. “I don’t think I’ve ever come across a unicorn with your raw ability.”

Twilight looked up at the alabaster alicorn, her eyes wide and jaws agape. She could only think of one thing to say. “Huh?”

“But you need to learn to tame these abilities through focus study.”

“Huh?”

“Twilight Sparkle, I’d like to make you my own personal protégé here at this school.”

“ Huh ?!”

The celestial goddess smiled expectantly at her, albeit amused at her starstruck behavior. “Well?”

Her mind completely blank with shock, Twilight turned to her parents for help. They eagerly nodded for her to accept the Princess’ offer.

And that was her cue to do celebrate.

“YES!” she squealed, leaping to the air joyfully. Though it was short-lived as Celestia cut her victory short. “One more thing.”

Her grin twisted to a pout. “More?” Suddenly she dropped to the floor, giving away to gravity.

The towering monarch pointed somewhere behind Twilight. Her eyes curiously followed where Celestia’s golden encrusted hoof was directing at and immediately, a face-splitting grin stretched across her muzzle. Her flank, which was completely blank moments ago, now held an image of a pink six-pointed star surrounded by five smaller white ones. “My cutie mark!”

Ecstatic, she sprung back to her hooves and bounced around the room. “Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!”

“…Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders dumbfoundedly watched as Twilight happily pranced around them screeching the same word over and over again. To them, she looked like she was completely detached from reality.

Applebloom shifted uncomfortably as her gaze tried to catch up to the swift unicorn. “Okay, okay!”

“We’re happy for you, Twilight!” Sweetie Belle admonished further only for it to fall on deaf ears.

“Yeah, thrilled!” Seeing the perfect chance to leave, Scootaloo quickly pushed her friends out of the outdoor restaurant to escape the protégé running loose. “Let’s get outta here while we still can.”

As the three fillies slipped out of the scene, Twilight resumed her obliviously blissful spree, mindless of where she was heading off to. Only when she opened her eyes did she realize a crowd of ponies surrounded her, all staring at her as if she’d lost her sanity.

She slowed to a stop in the middle of the outdoor restaurant, pursing her lips in embarrassment at the attention everypony was giving her.

“Uhh, are you okay, miss?” one of them asked.

Twilight sheepishly chuckled. She couldn’t help but feel amused at herself for getting so caught up in reminiscing her happiest day. “Umm… yes.”

As quickly as the onlookers came, they shrugged it off as just a normal day in Ponyville and continued minding their own business, leaving the unicorn to her thoughts.

That was a pretty great day. Twilight smiled fondly at the memory once more, one she would call the best day of her life. She remembered exactly how happy she felt when Princess Celestia, the one pony she’s looked up to all her life, asked Twilight of all ponies to be her personal protégé. She remembered how proud her parents were that day that they threw a celebration party just for her. And of course, how could she forget how excited she was during her first private lesson with the princess? She practically almost burst ! It was as if it all happened just yesterday…

“Boo!”

Choking in her own gasp, Twilight jumped a few paces back in shock. When she turned around, she came face to face with a grinning rainbow-maned daredevil. “Rainbow Dash!” she growled, putting a hoof to her pounding heart.

Unable to hold it in any longer, Rainbow Dash doubled over in laughter, pointing a mocking hoof at the annoyed purple mare as she clutched onto her stomach for dear life. “You should see the look on your face! It was priceless !”

Twilight glared at the cyan pegasus, her lips pouting slightly. “What in the hay was that for?”

When Rainbow regained a little of her composure, she smirked and smugly said, “You weren’t answering me when I was callin’ out for you, so I decided to do a little pranking.”

With that being said, Twilight’s cheeks reddened in realization. “Oh. I think I was zoning out… again.”

Rainbow playfully arched a brow. “Ya think?”

Gesturing for Twilight to follow her, Rainbow hovered along the town’s streets down the path leading to her favorite bakery. Effortlessly flying backwards, she directed her gaze towards the unicorn trailing closely behind with her forelegs casually supporting her head. “Say, were you the one shouting ‘yes!’ to the top of your lungs earlier?” she asked with her best freak-out Twilight impression. “I heard you from like a mile away while I was practicing my flying routine. I thought the CMCs finally got their cutie marks for a sec.”

Twilight chuckled, half out of self-awareness. “Close, actually. I was telling them about the time I got my cutie mark.”

“Lemme guess: they’re out of ideas to get cutie marks?”

“I guess so. Scootaloo said they were looking for you though. I mean, I can see why since your cutie mark story has to be pretty awesome.” Twilight softly giggled on her hoof.

“Obviously,” Rainbow grinned. With one smooth somersault, she landed beside Twilight and nudged her shoulder. “What about you? How’d you get your cutie mark? But you better not shout in my face at the end of your story,” she added, stopping Twilight in her tracks with a hoof to her chest. Twilight rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out. “No promises.”

They shared a brief laugh before they continued their walk and Twilight began her story.

“As a young filly in Canterlot, I always wanted to go to the Summer Sun Celebration where Princess Celestia raises the sun, and I saw the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen…”

“And that’s how I got my cutie mark.”

The pair stopped before Ponyville’s famous local bakery, Sugarcube Corner. With the Cakes out of town, the whole group had arranged to meet for a casual day of hanging out, maybe try one of Pinkie Pie’s crazy new recipes, although Rainbow passed on the latter considering how out of hand Pinkie could get.

“Woah,” Rainbow exclaimed. Her eyes glimmered in amazement. “So you’re tellin’ me, you got your cutie mark from some sort of power rush that even you can’t explain?”

“Yeah. I guess it was sort of a dumb luck. I don’t even know how I did those things that got me into Princess Celestia’s school, not to mention become her protégé… Huh.” With that thought lodged into her insecure mind, Twilight’s gaze lowered to the dirt beneath her hooves as she glumly pawed at it. “I never even thought about that. Maybe I didn’t deserve to enter her school in the first place. If it wasn’t for that weird… thing that happened to me, I would’ve never passed the entrance exam and… who knows where Spike would be right now if that happened?”

The light from Rainbow’s face faded to a frown. “Twi, you’re beating yourself up again.”

“It’s true though,” Twilight mumbled. But before she could continue insisting on it, Rainbow tilted her chin up to meet her stare. She knew Twilight had self-deprecating issues, but she always hated seeing her like this. Despite how she’s been working on it since the Trixie incident, Rainbow deeply understood that old habits die hard. But what kind of friend would she be to do nothing about it?

“Listen to me, Twi. You worked your flank off to learn everything you could about magic that even your parents could see how much you deserved to enroll in Princess Celestia’s school. Sure, you’ve had some bumps here and there, but what’s the point of looking back on it? Obviously, you learned a lot over the years and you’ve gotten so much better at what you do. Heck, you’re literally the most talented unicorn I know!”

Twilight’s eyes widened, taken aback at the compliment. “I am?”

“Yeah! Wanna know how I know that?” When Twilight nodded, Rainbow shot her a wide, wholehearted grin. “‘Cause you’re the Princess’ prized pupil for a reason .”

If Rainbow saw Twilight blush, she didn’t show any signs of her noticing. “I know you’re a perfectionist and whatnot, but I don’t like it when you beat yourself up. So whenever you feel like you’re a failure…”

Twilight gazed into her magenta eyes full of utmost sincerity, her grin softening to a small but genuine smile. “Just remind yourself that everyone makes mistakes, and that’s okay. What matters is what you learn along the way and how you outta improve on it.”

For a moment, neither pony said a word. They only looked into each other’s eyes, as if they were searching for something the other wasn’t showing, Twilight content with the reassuring touch of Rainbow’s hoof. Then, the unicorn let out a soft laugh, making Rainbow blink in confusion. “Since when did you become so sappy?”

Dash huffed and let go of Twilight’s chin, grumbling under her breath. “That’s what my mom used to tell me as a filly. You better shut up about it or I’ll take all of it back.”

Once Twilight’s laughter died down, she smiled sweetly at the pegasus who was jokingly glaring at her, the slightest hints of a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “Seriously though, I appreciate the advice. I’ll try to remember that.”

“Thank you.”

Together they pushed open the front door of Sugarcube Corner to the bakery’s main area where Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy were all waiting for them.

“Hello, darlings!” Rarity greeted them with a warm smile. “Nice to see you two could make it.”

“Hey, guys.” Rainbow flew towards the cash register, looking around to hopefully see the party pony that invited them over. “Where’s Pinkie Pie?”

“She’s out to cover the Cakes’ delivery shift. Though she was suppos’ta be done a few minutes ago,” Applejack replied, glancing at the hanging clock.

“It’s not like her to be late to a day off. Do you think something happened?” Fluttershy mused, fiddling with her hair anxiously.

“I’m sure there’s nothing to be worried about,” Twilight reassured. “Maybe one of her deliveries got delayed. She’ll be here soon; she did arrange this meeting after all.”

“And that’s how Equestria was made!”

Scootaloo screeched her scooter to a halt and turned back to the cartful of ponies hooked to her scooter, baffled. “Wha— Huh?”

Applebloom pointed to building in front of them. “Look, we’re here!”

The trio of fillies looked up to see the towering gingerbread-house-shaped bakery that is Sugarcube Corner, with its recognizable cupcake sign dangling off a wooden hook.

Once she got off the cart, Pinkie trotted into her home. “Maybe on the way home I can tell you the story of how I got my cutie mark! It’s a gem.”

Still in her confused state, Scootaloo looked back at her friends with furrowed brows. Sweetie Belle offered a dismissive grin and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Oh, come on. She’s just being Pinkie Pie.”

Scootaloo watched in annoyance as Sweetie Belle and Applebloom made her way inside Sugarcube Corner. Having no desire to run into more crazy ponies to hear their lame cutie mark stories, she considered trying to find Rainbow Dash herself. But if she learned anything from her number one idol, it’s that it’s not cool to leave her best friends hanging. The Cutie Mark Crusaders travel in a pack, and with her as the leader – or so she says – they won’t be lead astray!

With a groan, she parked her scooter nearby and followed Sweetie Belle and Applebloom inside, keeping her head close to the ground. But when she looked up, to her relief, she finally met the pony she’s been looking for the whole day.

“Rainbow Dash, you’re here!”

The group of six mares, including the pegasus in question, turned around at the presence of the newcomers. Rainbow Dash approached the fillies, bearing a welcoming smile. “I hear you’re looking for my cutie mark story.”

Grinning excitedly, Scootaloo let out a heavy, exhausted sigh. “You have no idea what I’ve been through today to hear that story,” she said and sat on the doormat under her, with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle following her afterwards.

Smiling in amusement, Rainbow wasted no time beginning her tale.

“It all started during the race at flight camp, where I stood alone against all odds to defend Fluttershy’s honor…”

Rainbow Dash scanned the small crowd sitting on the cloud stands, eagerly awaiting the start of the big race. Her best friend Fluttershy stood on a single cloud in front of the starting line, holding the checkered flag that is to signal what she was yet to know would be the biggest breaking point of pegasi history.

Hoops sneered at his prismatic opponent. “You’re goin’ down!”

“In history maybe!” Rainbow spat back. She planted her hooves squarely on the cloud beneath her and, with a determined glint in her eyes, she eyed the obstacle course straight ahead. “See you boys at the finish line!”

Growling under their breaths, Hoops and Dumbbell returned their focus on the racetrack. The contestants’ wings flared in preparation and they took on a readying stance, keeping their eyes on the goal.

Fluttershy raised the flag. Dash licked her lips in anticipation.

Fluttershy lowered the flag. In the blink of an eye, the race began.

Rainbow effortlessly dodged obstacles and flew through hoops, easily passing both opponents. She resisted the urge to look back and blow them a raspberry, keeping her mind dead set on proving them wrong and defending her best friend.

She let her wings guide her through the currents and flapped her wings to give herself a boost of speed, smoothly zipping from hoop to hoop at every curve. Everything around her instantly became a blur, but she was still able to spot Dumbbell flying straight to a cloud pillar and getting a possible concussion.

As much as she’s always loved flying, this was the first time she felt so rejuvenated by it, like she unlocked a new force within her. Her heart pounded wildly against her ribcage as she felt her body branch from her soul in the air. She’d never flown like that before ; the freedom was like anything she’d ever felt. The speed, the adrenaline, the wind in her mane – she liked it.

A lot!

“Woah!”

Hoops suddenly bumped into her, sending her tumbling a few meters back. He wore that stupid, annoying smirk she’s always dreamed of wiping off his face, and he shouted mockingly at her, “Later, Rainbow Crash!” Then, he descended at increasing speeds, nearing the very last hoop of the racetrack.

This lit a fire inside the young pegasus. “Hey!” Gritting her teeth, Rainbow dipped downwards and quickly caught up to him.

In fact, she flew so fast that when she flew past him, she blew him off track as if he was a mere leaf in midair.

The wind ate at her fur, tears escaped her burning eyes, and she felt as if her wings were on fire. But she persisted; she wasn’t gonna let a little pain get her in the way of winning this race.

Turns out the only thing I like more than flying fast…

Was winning.

BOOM!

Once she went through the hoop, she immediately bounced back upwards and broke the sound barrier, causing a colossal explosion of colors that shook the ground and fanning a massive gale across the land. It left a ginormous colorful halo spreading across the sky in her wake and a sparkling rainbow contrail that kept up with her even at her incredibly fast pace.

At that moment, her mind was in a state of shock. It took her a while to process what’d just happened, and when she did, she could only think of one question that came to mind.

Did I just do what I think I did?

Finding out the answer, she glanced at the continuous chromatic trail behind her, and her eyes shone like it never had before. Woah!

Looking back in front of her, a toothy grin emblazoned her muzzle, her pride raising to soaring heights as she passed through the finish line. But it was almost as if she didn’t notice that at all; all she felt was an innocent swell of bliss enveloping her completely, losing herself in an entranced, overjoyed state as she soared through her beloved home.

She didn’t even so much as notice the image of a mini cloud with a rainbow bolt appearing on her flank. But that was a surprise for her to celebrate over later – right now, all she wanted to do was enjoy what she loved doing most: fly.

Most ponies thought that the Sonic Rainboom was just an old mare’s tale. But at that day – the day I discovered racing – I proved that the legends were true.

I made the impossible happen.

“And that , little ones, is how you earn a cutie mark.” Rainbow looked up from her reminiscent flank marked with her iconic cloud rainbow bolt, turning to the three fillies who all had an awestruck look on their faces. “Woaahhh!”

“Wait a second.” Fluttershy’s voice broke them out of their stupor.

Rainbow turned to the canary mare who looked just as surprised as her other friends in the room. “ I heard that explosion, and I saw the rainbow, too! Rainbow Dash, if you hadn’t scared the animals, I never would’ve learned I could communicate with them and gotten my cutie mark.”

“I heard that boom!” Pinkie exclaimed. “And right afterwards there was this amazing rainbow that taught me to smile.”

“When I got my cutie mark, I saw a rainbow that pointed me home.” Applejack paused thoughtfully, then her face lit up at the fact of what it could only mean, and she pointed her hoof at her cyan friend. “I bet it was your Sonic Rainboom!”

Rarity piled in as well, “There was an explosion I could never explain when I got my cutie mark.”

“This is uncanny!” Twilight rubbed her head in disbelief, her mind wrapping around this whole ordeal. “If that explosion didn’t happen when it did, I would’ve blown my entrance exam.” Just as she came to make sense of things, she beamed at the dumbfounded pegasus. “Rainbow Dash, I think you helped me earn my cutie mark, too!”

Suddenly Pinkie pranced on Dash, who grunted at the impact. “We all owe are cutie marks to you !”

Fluttershy came to her side and happily smiled down at Rainbow. “Do you know what this means? All of us had a special connection before we even met.”

“We’ve been BFFs forever and we didn’t even know it!”

“Come ‘ere, y’all!”

A series of joyous coos and laughter filled the room as they all came in for a group hug. At that moment, it felt as if they had gotten much closer. Imagine the feeling of discovering that you and your best friends were linked before you even met – it’d be exhilarating and overwhelming at all at once. That was precisely what they felt; they felt the bond between them strengthen and solidify. They felt like nothing – not a petty argument nor a disastrous villain – could tear them apart. They felt as if they couldn’t get any closer than they are now. But little do they know this was only the beginning of their adventure together.

“Awww!”

“Ewww! Gimme a break.” Rolling her eyes, Scootaloo stood up and turned to Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. “C’mon, Crusaders. Maybe we just need to try zip lining again.”

Before she could step out of the bakery, they pulled her back in for a second group hug, trapping her in their forelegs. Scootaloo could only sigh in exasperation.

“Hey, how about a song?”

As if things could get even worse.

“NOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today I learned something amazing, Everypony everywhere has a special magical connection with their friends, maybe even before they’ve met them! If you’re feeling lonely and you’re still searching for your true friends, just look up in the sky. Who knows? Maybe you and your future best friends are all looking at the same rainbow.

“Gross!”

Spike stopped writing to grimace incredulously at Twilight. “When did you get so cheesy ?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Just write it, Spike.”

Grumbling in response, Spike finally signed the letter, before he rolled it up and tied a customary ribbon around it. In a puff of his fiery breath, he delivered the scroll directly to Princess Celestia’s chambers.

As Twilight returned her attention to the rainbow she’d been watching, she drowned herself in her thoughts. She still couldn’t believe that the same explosion that got her into the Princess’ school happened to be her friend’s Sonic Rainboom – the first successful attempt ever accomplished in history mind you, and it fell on the same day as her entrance exam, too. It all seemed so… surreal. The chances of a lifechanging event literally changing the lives of the five ponies, including hers, that came to be an important part of her life seemed incalculable!

Maybe they were destined to meet the moment they came out of their mother’s womb. Maybe it was simply because of the Elements of Harmony that this all happened. But in her heart, Twilight knew it was more than that. After all, their friendship is more than what it seems.

If it wasn’t for that featherbrain, I wouldn’t have gotten my cutie mark. I would’ve failed the entrance exam and stopped pursuing my magical studies. And I probably wouldn’t have met her, and all my friends. Twilight’s eyes widened at the thought. I wouldn’t be here right now… if it weren’t for her.

Blood rushed to her cheeks and a fuzzy feeling bubbled up in her stomach, making her feel a little lightheaded and sweaty. A feeling she couldn’t explain, to say the least. But she’d be lying if she said it didn’t feel… nice.

Whatever it is, it made her feel happy .

Sighing dreamily, the unicorn lazily slumped on the windowsill with a starstruck smile on her muzzle as she gazed up from her window. She admired the magnificence of the rainbow’s arc between the clouds, which gave life and color to the endless blue sky.

“Rainbows really are… beautiful.”

Chapter Text

It was an eventful evening in the royal palace of Canterlot. The gardens were tended, the halls and gazebos were decorated, delicacies and hors d’oeuvres were cooked and baked, and the hustle and bustle of invited guests filled the atmosphere. Tonight, in particular, was extra special. Only once in a blue moon were outsider commoners invited to the annual Grand Galloping Gala but since her prodigy pupil had insisted on it, Princess Celestia gladly offered all five of her Ponyvillian friends golden tickets, making this their first grand ball ever.

So of course, they made the most of their time in the castle – or at least tried to. Fluttershy struggled getting along with the garden animals. Applejack’s mini business on selling homemade apple confections was going downhill. The prince of Rarity’s dreams turned out to be a douche. The gala wasn’t the fun carnival party Pinkie Pie expected it to be… In short, nopony was having fun.

That also applied to the young protégé who was excited to bond with her mentor, but she turned out to be too busy shaking hooves with nobles. Twilight wasn’t about to spend the whole night doing nothing, so she politely excused herself and set herself out to mingle, which didn’t last for long since she was still new to the whole ‘making friends’ thing… especially with high-class ponies.

And now, she sat at one of the ballroom tables with a glass of champagne. Usually she rejected the notion of drinking but, feeling pretty low during what was supposed to be the ‘best night ever’, she supposed she could make an exception.

With a resigned sigh, Twilight walked over to the buffet table and scanned the row of hors d’oeuvres. She grabbed one that caught her eye and took a small bite, only to grimace at the blandness. As a former Canterlot resident, she’d been forced way too many times to eat fancy food but overtime, it became a little tolerable. Though after returning to her hometown and chewing whatever muck was in her mouth, she began to miss Ponyville’s common but flavorful food.

She downed down her champagne to get rid of the awful taste in her mouth. After a couple sips, she grew to be fond of its citrus tang and how it runs down her throat with a subtle burn of acidity. It made her feel a little lightheaded, but her resolve kept her sober.

“Didn’t know you drink.”

Twilight tilted her head to the side at the familiar voice. A halfhearted smile of a cyan pegasus greeted her.

“I don’t ,” she scoffed. “But champagne certainly beats the taste of these appetizers.”

“Oh, yeah . No offense to the chefs, but couldn’t Princess Celestia hire better ones?” Rainbow Dash made a gagging face and threw away the bitten appetizer on her hoof.

Twilight curiously eyed her friend who didn’t seem as cheerful as normal. “What are you doing here, by the way? I’m surprised they didn’t let you in the VIP section after you saved the Wonderbolts at the Best Young Flyers’ Competition.”

“They did let me in. But…” Rainbow’s head dipped low to the floor, her ears folding against her skull. “They’re too busy to even talk to me.” As quickly as her gloom arrived, she whipped her head back and snorted through gritted teeth, doing her best to pretend she wasn’t affected. “Not like I care! It’s their loss that they can’t hang out with the awesome-est pony alive!”

Despite her attitude, Twilight frowned in sympathy knowing how much meeting the Wonderbolts meant to her. As much of an unconvincing liar she was, Rainbow wasn’t any better. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s cool,” Rainbow sighed. Then, she turned to Twilight with the same questioning look she’d given her. “What about you? I thought you were gonna spend the entire gala talking to the Princess?”

Twilight’s face fell immediately. She directed her gaze to the empty glass in her magic, her glum face staring straight back at her in the reflection. “She’s busy, too.” After a long pause, she cleared her throat and faced Rainbow. “But it’s nothing to be sad about. I should’ve expected it since she’s a princess and all. I’m just disappointed I couldn’t get to spend one-on-one time with her after being apart for so long.”

Rainbow silently nodded in understanding, and the air between them became quiet once more. Having nothing more to do, she absently started observing the room.

The lights of the ballroom gradually dimmed until only the dance floor was shone in the spotlight. The band onstage started playing soothing classical music, drawing a few couples to the open space in the center. As Rainbow watched pairs slow dancing to the romantic melody, an idea started forming in her mind.

“ I’m not busy.”

Twilight’s ears perked up. Confused, she glanced at the azure mare softly smiling at her. “ You’re not busy… Maybe we can do something together.”

Twilight’s breath caught in her throat when Rainbow stretched her hoof out to her, getting on her knees and bowing in courtesy to the flustered unicorn. Panicking, her eyes darted back and forth amongst the surrounding crowd to spot for peering eyes. But when she found none, she turned back to her waiting partner who was now looking up at her expectantly. Rainbow’s huge crimson eyes seemed to light up the faintness of the room, making Twilight’s heart flutter wildly beyond her own understanding.

Before she could overthink it, she shook it off as nerves. She was known to be a poor dancer after all, and doing that in front of a crowd… Maybe that’s why her hoof was shaking as she reached out to accept Rainbow’s own. Or half of the reason at least, a part of Twilight’s mind teased, which she quickly brushed off when Rainbow started moving.

As she led Twilight to the dance floor, Rainbow noticed how unsteady her steps were, making her grow worried. “You okay, Twi?”

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Twilight nodded and subconsciously held on tighter to Rainbow’s hoof. “Uh-huh. It’s just… I’m a really bad dancer.”

Rainbow smirked. “Not with me, you’re not.” They stopped in the center of the ballroom where the spotlight shone brightest and where a hundred pairs of eyes watched them. “After one dancing lesson with me, you’re gonna be awesome!”

Twilight arched a brow. “ You dance?”

Rainbow did a face of faux offense. “Why do you sound so surprised? Of course, I dance! I’m awesome. ”

Twilight stifled a giggle and rolled her eyes in amusement. “I just meant I didn’t expect a pony like you can have time for dancing.”

“Well, I am a sports pony, and dancing’s technically a sport, so I took some time to learn how to do it. Didn’t know it’d come in handy to teach a cute unicorn though.”

Hearing Rainbow’s compliment and her raspy laugh made Twilight’s stomach churn, but not in an unpleasant way. Despite her short breath, she spared a few laughs in return before Rainbow placed an unexpected hoof on her hip.

Twilight turned to the blue hoof resting on her withers, her cheeks lighting up at the contact. Rainbow didn’t seem to notice as she went on with her lecture. “So, what you have to do is stand on your hindlegs. When I hold onto your hip like this, you have to use your other hoof to hold onto my neck so our bodies will stay in place.”

Twilight gasped as Rainbow slowly lifted both their bodies up, her head snapping back towards the pegasus in question who held firm to her waist. She hastily tried to recall what Rainbow had instructed and when she did, she gripped tightly on her neck – so tight, in fact, that Rainbow choked at the contact.

“U-um, Twi… try not to choke me, please?”

“Oh, Celestia! I’m so sorry,” Twilight stuttered out, her hoof falling on Rainbow’s shoulder. Humiliated, she looked down and squinted her eyes against the moisture in her tears, desperately trying to calm her trembling limbs but to no avail. Rainbow’s heart twisted at the sight, knowing she was to blame for her misery. But she did this so Twilight could have a decent night, so that’s exactly what she’s going to do.

“Twilight, look at me.”

After a few moments, Twilight reluctantly complied, blinking away the blurriness of her vision to see the comforting face of her friend. “Breathe with me, okay? Relax. I promise I’m not gonna let you go.”

Twilight shakily nodded and closed her eyes, remembering the trick Cadence used to teach her as a filly. Letting go of Rainbow’s neck, she put her hoof on her chest and inhaled, counting three seconds in her head. Then, she released her breath and reclined her hoof, easing her nerves one at a time. Rainbow patiently waited as she continued the process until she calmed down, securely holding her as promised.

Twilight placed her hoof back on Rainbow’s neck while using the other to squeeze her hoof, finally opening her eyes to see Rainbow reassuringly smiling at her.

“Now, try not to look down too much. If you keep looking at your hooves, you’ll lose focus and fall. Just keep your eyes on me and go with the flow. Got it?” Twilight nodded in response.

“We’re gonna start off with a simple waltz box step. It goes like this.”

Rainbow Dash gradually slid her right hindleg slightly to the side. Hesitantly glancing below, Twilight slowly moved her left hindleg over to align with Dash’s, her starry horseshoes grazing along the floor, before locking her gaze on Rainbow once more. With a nodding gesture towards the unicorn, Rainbow and Twilight simultaneously closed the distance between their own hindlegs. Using the same leg, Rainbow stepped backwards and silently motioned for Twilight to move forward. Likewise, she complied, their hooves barely an inch apart. Lastly, their unused rear legs finally moved and stopped to align with the other, bringing them back to square one.

“Then, we just repeat the same thing over and over again. But now that you got the gist of it, try to catch up so we can move at the same time,” Rainbow instructed. They continued the dance in a square motion, as the namesake suggests, with Twilight quickly adapting to the pattern and rhythm of the steps until both their bodies became in sync.

A proud grin split Rainbow’s face in two. “Yeah, look at you! You’re getting it!”

Twilight couldn’t help but smile back, a warm sensation tingling her insides.

“Now that you’re an expert,” Dash shot Twilight a sly wink, “let’s kick it up a notch. Follow my lead.”

Twilight gasped as the pegasus gently pushed them towards a certain angle, maintaining the box step only with a literal twist to their steps. She noticed her steps become more progressive and brisker and taking advantage of the minimal vacancy of the dance floor, Rainbow led both their bodies in slow, decisive circles across the ballroom. She let Twilight take her time to get used to the uprise of tempo; good thing she was a fast learner.

Their bodies swayed to the gentle chords of the violin and their hooves skipped to the gradual crescendo of the piano. Their steps synchronized with the beat of the tuba and their heads reeled at the hypnotizing rhythm of the harp. Twilight was lost in the dance; although she wasn’t a perfect dancer, having tripped a few times after miscalculated steps, neither pony cared. They simply enjoyed each other’s company after a strenuous night, which they let go from their mind for the time being.

Then, an idea entered Rainbow’s mind. Twilight was about to question the mischievous look on her face before she was suddenly lifted above Rainbow’s head, hoisted by her own hooves while her flared wings stabilized her form. For a few seconds, Twilight overlooked the crowded ballroom, until she was brought back down with a graceful twirl.

“Oh!” Twilight gasped as her dizziness took effect and made her fumble on her own hooves. She braced for the impact of her body hitting the ground… but it never came.

Baffled, she tilted her head upwards, only to come snout to snout with her rainbow-maned dance partner who held her by the waist. She flashed a wide grin at her. “See? Told ya I’ll never let you go.”

Twilight remained silent as she simply stared at Rainbow Dash, entranced by how amazing she looked in the spotlight. The light reflected off her golden tiara and sandals, giving an angelic glow to her radiant form. Her gown perfectly captured her athletic stature and with the skirt flowing down her back, it appeared to be an ensemble of a rainbow waterfall, the poofy white clouds lining the edges delicately touching the tiled floor. Not to mention her striking, unique mane tied into a messy ponytail that tied it all up.

But despite how perfect everything was, Twilight could easily say that Rainbow’s eyes were her favorite feature. It was intriguing to her how they could hold so much… purity and truth. Even if she acts cocky and tough, you can see her vulnerability and fear if you look close enough. And he innocent bliss that shines through them when she talks about something she loves or is passionate about, and the determined glint in her eyes whenever she’s battling evil forces or practicing her flight stunts. But what’s special about it is that not everyone can see through them. They’re like a door with a lock; only one key can reveal the truth behind her staged curtain. Twilight just happens to be one of the lucky ones who holds the key.

Twilight never paid attention to the little things about anything as she believed it was just a waste of time. She was always too busy burying herself in her studies to bother opening her eyes. But now, she understood. Rainbows really are beautiful if you take the time to look at them.

The sound of murmurs surrounding them brought Twilight back to reality. She caught some of what the ponies were saying.

“Isn’t that the Princess’ protégé? Twilight Sparkle, right?”

“Mm. For a pupil as esteemed as her, I never thought she was one to fool around… with another mare, no less.”

A pang of humiliation had her scrambling away from the pegasus, much to her confusion. Rainbow stared at Twilight with a questioning look mixed with concern… and was that hurt in her eyes? “Is something wrong?”

Twilight stared back at her with her eyes and jaws agape, breathless and speechless all at once. For once, she became completely aware of the gossiping whispers and judging glares directed at them in the room. She felt like she was suffocating from the hurtful remarks she caught every now and then, and even with her overwhelming tornado of thoughts, she couldn’t drown it out.

Is this what Moon felt back then?

She shook her head to rid the invading thought. The last thing she wanted to do was look back on that.

She had to run.

“I have to go.”

Before Twilight had the opportunity to escape, and before Rainbow could get out a word out to stop her, the room’s double doors burst open to reveal a pink earth pony with a boombox on her back, shifting everypony’s attention to her. Striding proudly and loudly inside the room in her candy-themed gown, she heartily yelled to the top of her lungs.

“Come on, everypony!” She zoomed to a random pony with a friendly tug on her neck. “You wanted a par-tay? Now let’s paaarrr-TAY!”

As if on cue, the ballroom was showered in party lights out of nowhere. The party pony pranced around the room hyping everyone up, bouncing and dancing to the poppy music blasting out of her boombox, completely ignoring ponies’ personal space. Twilight and Rainbow watched in shock as their friend went and partied like an animal. In a ball. “Pinkie Pie?!”

“Okay, all ya high-class ponies!” The familiar country accent of their friend Applejack brought their attention back to the door. Their jaws dropped at the outstanding sight of an eight layered cake with an apple on top being carted inside by none other than the farmer girl herself. “Here’s a highfalutin apple cake for your hoity-toity taste buds!”

“STAGE DIVE!” Pinkie screamed and leaped off the stage, but instead of ponies catching her, she crashed head-first onto Applejack’s cake cart, sending the cake high into the ceiling.

Meanwhile, as Rarity grumpily opened the door for her snooty date to enter through, they were greeted by a cake flying straight towards them, making them gasp in horror.

Panicking, Prince Blueblood abruptly pushed Rarity in front of him, causing the cake to splatter all over her. The unicorn’s alabaster coat was now coated with frosting, her pristine dress and stylized mane now dripping with apple-flavored pastry. But that wasn’t what angered Rarity the most.

She snapped her head towards the prince hiding behind her. Her face reddened with boiling rage she’d never felt for another living, breathing pony before.

Rarity stalked towards Blueblood with an almost beastly growl. “You, sir, are the most un charming prince I have ever met ! In fact, the only thing royal about you is that you are a royal pain !” Rarity screamed at his face, her anger-ridden body shaking frosting out of her mane.

Blueblood instinctively shooed her away and looked at her as if she was some horrible monstrosity. “Eww! Stay back! I just got myself groomed!”

For a split second, Rarity’s face softened to a mocking sympathetic frown— “What’s the matter? Afraid to get dirty ?!” —but as soon as she uttered the last word, she shook her head free of cake frosting, splattering it all over the defenseless stallion who stumbled backwards whimpering like a mare.

As he stood on his hindlegs, Prince Blueblood soon lost his balance and fell against a stand for an alicorn statue. Somehow the statue was unstable enough for the impact to be able to knock it over, resonating a fearful gasp among the crowd.

With the statue slowly tipping and the Wonderbolts watching amongst the crowd, Rainbow’s eyes lit up at the sudden opportunity that opened up to her. “This is my chance!” she thought aloud and immediately zipped to the statue to save the day.

She caught it before it could hit the ground and crush anyone in the way. A triumphant grin stretched across her muzzle. “Yes!” Alas, her victory was short-lived as the statue’s weight was too much for her back, making her struggle to catch her balance and topple all over the place.

With all her spastic movement, the statue’s tail collided with a pillar and caused the entablature to break apart from the shaft, which tilted to the side and knocked down the other pillars lining the room in a domino effect.

All the while, Rainbow Dash kept her eyes shut throughout the disaster; only when the smoke cleared out did she chance a glance at her surroundings. As everypony silently stared in disbelief at the calamity, the statue on Rainbow’s back broke in half.

Twilight was about to take a step forward to check on her possibly hurt friend, but something stopped her. She thought back on her dance with Rainbow and how happy she was with her… and how close their muzzles were when she caught her by the waist. And the disapproving looks everypony gave them after. A crippling claw gripped her heart as those same glares flashed in her mind as clear as crystal.

She sighed. “Things can’t get any worse…”

And just like that, the sudden rumbling of the earth proved her wrong.

The doors to the castle garden burst open with a stampede of animals retreating from the disheveled canary pegasus standing by the doorway. She panted heavily, death written all over her eyes.

“You’re… going to LOVE ME!”

Adding on to the debris, ponies were scattered over the ballroom running from the loose animals. Screams of terror and pure chaos filled the atmosphere. Twilight was the only one who stood still amongst the mayhem, too shocked to even process what to do next.

“Twilight!”

At the mention of her name, Twilight glanced over to the main doorway and saw Princess Celestia standing by it, a stunned look on her face as she took in the commotion. As soon as she captured the attention of her faithful student, the Princess calmed down and simply said, “Run.”

Twilight nodded in response. She whistled to get the attention of her five friends and gestured for them to follow her out, to which they quickly complied.

Princess Celestia watched them head down the flight of stairs to the exit, the barest hints of an amused smile appearing on her face. “What. A. Night.”

“Excuse me, Donut Joe?” The confectioner looked over to his favorite customer sitting on a stool by the counter, who offered a halfhearted smile despite her night’s exhaustion. “Is there any chance I could get iced water here? I can’t get the taste of alcohol off my mouth.”

Donut Joe nodded in reply, walking over to the refrigerator to retrieve a couple ice cubes and a pitcher of water. “So, Twilight Sparkle ‘drunked’ herself out tonight?”

Twilight’s cheeks flushed as she sheepishly clasped her hooves together. “It was just two glasses of champagne.”

After a few moments, Donut Joe returned with a glass of water coupled with ice cubes, just like Twilight asked. “Here you go, darlin’. Want some donuts with that?”

“No, thanks. I think I’ve had enough donuts to fill my stomach tonight,” Twilight kindly declined and accepted the iced water, gratefully chugging it down. She let the ice cube that entered her mouth melt inside, the coldness of her beverage washing down the acidic taste of her earlier champagne.

“It’s nice to talk to you again, Twilight. You really changed after you moved to Ponyville. I know we’ve talked sometimes in the past, but you’re mostly so busy hidin’ your head in your books,” Joe gave a throaty laugh.

“You can thank my friends for that,” Twilight shared the laugh, setting down her half-empty glass. “And even after all these years, your donuts are still my favorite.”

“Ha, good ‘ta know.”

The conversation soon lapsed into silence, with Donut Joe wiping the crumbs and spills off the counter and Twilight swimming deep in her thoughts while quietly sipping on her water. It didn’t take a genius for Joe to notice something off about his long-time friend.

“Somethin’ on your mind?”

Twilight blinked back to reality and saw Joe giving her a worried look. No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t bring herself to smile and shrug it off; she knew from experience she was a bad liar anyways. “… I can tell you anything, right, Joe?”

From the tone of her voice, Joe could tell that whatever was bothering her was serious, so he gladly offered his time to listen to the unicorn’s troubles. “ Of course. What’re friends for?”

For all the years she’s known him, Twilight never confided in him with her life problems; well, the same thing goes for anyone really, for she’s always worried that she’d just be burdening others. But since she’s been learning about the magic of friendship, she learned that it was okay to get things off her chest with someone she trusted. And although she and Joe were not that close, he was practically one of the few ponies she actively talked to in Canterlot. She knew him enough to know he was a trustworthy pony.

Breathing in deeply to calm her nerves, she started with a question, “So, you know my rainbow friend, right?”

“The one over by your table?” Donut Joe nodded his head to the table where Twilight’s friends sat chatting and eating donuts, one of whom was Rainbow Dash.

Twilight didn’t bother to look back, fearing that she might catch Rainbow’s eye. “Yeah, her. We were having a pretty bad time at the gala, so we ended up dancing together… for fun!” she quickly added, hoping to Celestia that Joe didn’t notice her blush.

“And it was fun, we were having fun. Until…” Twilight trailed off, her gaze dropping to her glass now filled with only ice cubes.

Donut Joe raised a brow, rolling his hoof for her to continue. “Until…?”

Twilight gulped down her anxiety. “Until ponies started whispering about us, thinking we were a couple – which we aren’t! We were only dancing to cheer each other up after a long night.” Her ears drooped at the memory, and her voice softened until it was barely a whisper.

“They made fun of us – they hated us, just because we were two girls dancing the night away.” She shook her head and weakly pushed her glass aside, pressing her hooves against her forehead. “I-I don’t even know why I’m so bothered it. I guess it just made me… self-conscious.”

The beige stallion hummed in understanding, frowning sympathetically at the bummed mare. “I see. Sorry about that. Canterlot ponies aren’t exactly known for likin’ gay couples – which you and the rainbow gal aren’t ,” he added with a grin to hopefully lighten up the mood, but his face fell seeing that Twilight didn’t seem to feel any better.

“Well… I dunno what to tell ya. Ya can’t change what ponies think, I guess. But if it bothers you so much, why don’t’cha talk to her about it?” Joe offered, only for Twilight to laugh humorlessly.

“I don’t know if I can do that after I pushed her away…”

Joe gaped at the guilty mare in disbelief. “You did what ?”

“I panicked, okay? I-it was all so overwhelming for me and I just wanted to get out of there fast… that I was ready to walk out on her.” A brief pause overcame her as she mulled over what she said. Twilight gasped.

“Oh, I’m a terrible friend!” She hid her face in her forehooves and slumped in her seat, completely ashamed of herself.

Joe reached out to her with a comforting hoof. “Hey now, don’t say that.”

“It’s true! I was going to leave her there with all those terrible ponies saying terrible things about me and her. Don’t tell me that’s not the most unfriendly thing you’ve ever heard!”

At Twilight’s wide, sorrowful eyes, Joe withdrew his hoof with a sigh. “Look, Twilight. You two have been friends for a while now. I don’t think she’s gonna hate you over somethin’ like that.”

“But—”

“You were afraid and hurt ‘cause of what those ponies said. I get it, and I bet she will too; you just have to tell her the truth. And trust me, it will all work out in the end,” Donut Joe said with an encouraging smile.

Twilight took a moment to reflect on his advice. No matter how much she tried to deny it, she knew that Joe was right. But that didn’t erase the anxiety she still felt. They’ve faced plenty adversities and misunderstandings and they’ve always talked it out in the end. They knew each other so well at this point that it’d take more than a simple ‘push’ to break their friendship… So why was she scared?

She didn’t know why – and frankly, she didn’t want to find out why – but she knew she had to do something. They weren’t friends just so they could keep secrets from one another.

Steeling herself for the inevitable, Twilight stood up from her seat and smiled thankfully at the confectioner. “Thank you for that, Donut Joe. I’ll go talk to her.”

It took all of her willpower to steer herself towards the direction of her friends’ table, all while she mentally prepared on what she wanted to say to one of them. As she’s always had the tendency to do, she became so lost in thought that she didn’t realize when she’d reached the table, until Spike suddenly shoved a donut on her face.

“Hey, Twilight! We saved the last donut for you.” Spike flashed a toothy grin through the donut’s hole.

Twilight lowered the donut from her face and pushed it towards Spike, gently smiling back at him. “No thanks, Spike; I’m full. You can have it.”

“Sweet! Thanks, Twilight!” Spike immediately chowed down on the powdered donut, emitting a giggle from Twilight.

“Twilight?”

The unicorn in question tensed up at the voice of a certain pegasus who happened to be standing right beside her. Forcing herself to remain calm, she faced Rainbow with all the courage she could muster. The somber look on her face told Twilight all she needed to know. “Can we talk outside?”

Twilight may have been smiling widely, but the sound of her voice made it clear that she was internally panicking. “Oh. Uh, s-sure thing! I was just about to ask you that anyways.”

Not waiting for Rainbow’s reply, Twilight scrambled over to the front door of the donut shop, ready to get this over with. The cool air met her coat and sent goosebumps all over, making her realize just how sweaty she was.

She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in and sat on the pavement, watching ponies trudge along the nearly deserted street to return to their homes. The buzz of the streetlights did nothing to ease her nerves as she awaited Rainbow’s arrival, finding herself disappointed that the wait didn’t last very long.

Twilight was surprised to see Dash settle close beside her, albeit worried when she didn’t spare a glance her way and remained silent. Emotionless. Unreadable.

She watched her closely, biting her lip against the words waiting to slip off her tongue. Why isn’t she talking? Is she upset at me? Maybe she’s waiting for me to start. But how should I… Ugh, why is this so hard?

Twilight breathed in through her nose. Come on, Twilight. Remember what Donut Joe said. Let’s get this over with… for the sake of friendship.

“Umm, Rainbow?” she started awkwardly, her hooves nervously shifting beneath her. “I just want to get this out of the way and apologize for how I behaved back at the ballroom. I shouldn’t have pushed you away and thought of running out on you. It’s just… I panicked because everypony was talking badly about us, and it scared me. I wanted to get away from it all. But that’s no excuse for almost leaving you there. I should’ve had your back. I’m sorry if I upset you.”

She waited for a response, but Rainbow kept staring straight ahead. Either she was entirely engrossed in something that caught her eye or, what Twilight figured… this was her way of rejecting her apology.

A wave of guilt and hurt rushed within the unicorn as her empty gaze dropped to the cement ground. She didn’t let it show, neither did she understand it, but Rainbow’s ignorance cut deeper than a knife. Was it really too late to wish for things to turn around?

“… I’m no stranger to getting odd looks. I got them all the time when I was in flight school.”

Twilight couldn’t ignore the heavy pattering of her heart at the sound of Rainbow’s voice. A glimmer of hope sparked in her eyes as she looked up at the solemn mare beside her, albeit concerned about the implications of her words.

“You’re one of my closest friends, Twilight. I’ve shared a lot with you in the past that I wouldn’t dare tell others,” Rainbow finally turned to Twilight, a look of utmost seriousness embodying her face, “so I trust that you won’t judge me for what I’m about to tell you.”

Although Rainbow practically stared her down without so much as blinking, Twilight felt relieved that she was making eye contact with her and was open to talk about the subject. It comforted her to see the maskless side of her friend, one who didn’t put up a show and simply confided in her because she needed to – a genuine look into the tough-faced pegasus. Twilight nodded in reply and noticed her slowly begin to relax.

“I’m a fillyfooler… I have been since I was still in flight school. I was teased a lot because I tried to pick up fillies I found attractive – spoiler alert: I was always turned down.” Rainbow gave a halfhearted chuckle, but her face soon fell at the next words. “It got so bad that Fluttershy was dragged into it. Y’know those three bullies you guys met back in Cloudsdale? They started a rumor of me hitting on her .”

She gritted her teeth, a resentful frown on her muzzle. “Seriously, we were just close friends. She was the only pony I had and they almost took her away from me. I didn’t see her for a week when the whole school started making fun of us!”

A heavy sigh escaped her lips. She felt exhausted just from remembering those cruel days. “To this day, I still feel bad about it, even though Shy has long since moved on.

“I’ve never really been ashamed of being a fillyfooler, but it’s hard sometimes when a lot of ponies look down on it, especially back in my hometown.” Rainbow narrowed her eyes at Twilight, as if skeptically studying an alien species. “ You don’t think I’m weird, do you?”

Twilight blinked once before she was able to process Rainbow’s question. “No, no! Not at all. You’re my friend, Dash. I would never think that way of you.”

Rainbow sighed in relief and smiled gratefully at Twilight, who gladly returned the favor. The same pleasant, warm feeling she’s been having all night started to bubble up again. “Thanks. That really means a lot.”

There was a gap of silence between them for a while, before Rainbow decided to ask something unexpected to the young unicorn.

“What about you? Do you like guys… or girls?”

Twilight was taken aback by the question. She’d never been asked something like this before, but she’d be lying if she said she never thought about it.

Most fillies would die to have a couple colts courting them, but Twilight? She always had her head in her books; she couldn’t remember the names of her past courters even if she wanted to. She viewed the idea of romance as ‘complete and utter nonsense’ and a waste of time, which she still does, but despite herself she gets saddened by the idea of loneliness, though she always shrugged it off as a silly thought.

Now though… looking into Rainbow’s eyes… she wasn’t sure what to think, much less what to feel.

Ever since she discovered the connection of her cutie mark to Rainbow’s Sonic Rainboom as a filly, she felt different around her in a way she couldn’t explain. She’d get nervous around her, occasionally stumbling over her words or having no idea what to say. Her heart would beat faster, her hooves would get sweaty, and she’d feel like a hundred butterflies were roaming around in her stomach. It was such a strange, foreign feeling to her. She felt like she knew what it meant, but the answer was just out of reach, and it scares her. Just the thought of not knowing something when she’s read who-knows-how-many books in her lifetime drove her insane. She felt as if she should be plowing through her library like nobody’s business seeking the mystery behind her weird and unexpected body and mind.

But somehow, being in Rainbow’s comforting presence… she wanted to make an exception – for now, at least. She decided, she’ll find out when she finds out. Right now, there was no place she’d rather be.

“I’m… still figuring that out,” was Twilight’s final answer after a long moment of contemplation. For some reason she felt embarrassed of her answer, and her gaze drifted away.

However, Rainbow thought nothing of it. She tilted her chin up to meet her eyes, and she gave her a sincere smile.

“Hey, it’s okay. It takes time to find out about yourself, so I don’t blame you for not knowing yet. ‘Sides, I don’t care either way. The choice is up to you. Just remember that I’ll be your friend… no matter what.”

Chapter Text

Luna's moon was at its peak in the sky, shrouding the slumbering Equestria with its gracious moonlight. From up above, Ponyville was just a barely visible little ant village, illuminated only by the twinkling starry bodies and the occasional late-night restaurants. The rest of the neighborhood had their lights off, either ready to hit the hay or already have done so.

I'd just returned from my prized day with the Wonderbolts for winning the Best Young Flyers' Competition, which I could only describe as the best. Day. Ever! I got to see the Wonderbolts Academy first hoof and even met Captain Spitfire; she's even hotter in person than she is in my posters! And not only did I meet the Wonderbolts, I hung out with them – and it's just as awesomely amazing as I've always dreamed it to be. 

You'd think I'd have died to lay under the covers and hibernate after the exhausting day I've had. But I was just too restless, and my wings screamed to take flight. You'd also think that's because my excitement hasn't died yet and I had to let it all out before I moved on to the next day.

Well, it's actually quite the opposite.

For some reason, even after getting to know my lifelong heroes, I could only think of the event before that. The Sonic Rainboom – my best achievement, and my worst enemy.

Before today, I've only ever done it once as a filly, when I won the race against Hoops and Dumbbell to defend Fluttershy's honor, the race that gained me my cutie mark. The race that proved the legends wrong. I hit three birds with one stone, I deserved to take pride in what I've accomplished. I was a fool to flaunt it thinking everypony would believe me; instead, they shunned me. The Sonic Rainboom has only ever been an old mare's tale, and with the tale suggesting how fatal the winds are at those speeds, nopony was bound to believe a mere filly actually broke the sound barrier.

At that moment forth, I lived my foalhood in constant ridicule and mockery. This surfaced my burning drive to prove everypony who looked down on me wrong, to rise above the rest. This is what made me into who I am now, and who ponies came to know: a self-centered, egotistical braggart who only ever cares about winning above everything else.

I wasn't always like this, you know. I once used my skills to defend the ponies I care for; when others threatened to bring them down, I always brought them down harder. I once achieved things just because I loved a good challenge, never thinking about who or what I was trying to prove. Today, when I witnessed death nearly touch one of my closest friends, those instincts suddenly resurfaced.

After that, all I could think about was the unbelievable relief I'd saved my best friend. The Rainbow Dash that rubbed her victory on everyone's faces had disappeared. I remember... not even believing I'd done it myself. I think after so many years of being surrounded by ponies who didn't believe in me, I might've convinced myself that the Sonic Rainboom was all a dream. But now, I had proof! I made the impossible happen, and it was beautiful.

Each applause from the audience rang like music to my ears, yet the Rainbow Dash who loved reminding everypony of her awesomeness did not bathe in it. It may have been because I was too stunned to do anything, but I could've sworn I felt almost empty at that moment of victory. What really filled the void was the cheers of my friends, the congratulations that mattered the most, and Rarity's apology that honestly felt too good to hear after how burdened I was by her actions. I felt like I actually earned this win, without even thinking about it.

But you know what's even crazier? The three bullies apologized to me. They literally said the two words I never thought I'd hear out of them: I'm sorry.

I know it must've taken them a lot of guts to approach me and apologize, and for all I knew they may have meant it. But honestly? I'd bet my wings it was harder for me to forgive them.

I felt like they didn't even deserve my forgiveness. I mean, given how I've known them most of my life, they might as well have wanted to befriend me just because of my success. Besides all the attention Rarity's gossamer wings got, their presence alone had scared me into almost blowing my routine. I'd even considered quitting at some point, but I knew that'd just make things worst. In a world where everypony's expecting the most out of the best, you can't show fear.

Thinking back to all those times I practiced my routine and failed, the crushing defeat I felt at my bullies' incessant, cruel words before the competition, and the humiliation of failing to reach my goal in front of thousands of ponies... I remembered how vulnerable I felt, so vividly that I could feel the same emotions of anxiety, fear, and humiliation bubbling to the surface again. I could feel my eyes begin to well up, my wings weakening at that sudden punch in the gut. I was too scrambled in my thoughts that I didn't think to wipe my tears away, and before I knew it I was falling.

The panic of the situation settled in too late. I had already crashed onto the nearest building. On top of my mental fatigue came a surge of pain at the rough impact on wood. Great...

I was pretty sure I'd heard a yelp when I came crashing down, but I was too concerned getting myself to my hooves to think about who I disturbed.

"Rainbow Dash!"

Purely on instinct, I whipped my head around upon hearing the enraged voice and saw Twilight glaring at me, half out of shock and half out of annoyance. A stray part of my mind registered the telescope beside her and the pieces of notes strewn about the balcony.

"I can't believe this! I know you're prone to crashing into homes, but this late in the night, while I'm stargazing? What are you even doing up so late?! You know what, it doesn't matter. You have to help me get back my notes and..."

Twilight stopped her rambling and pacing, now looking at me with all traces of anger gone from her face. Replaced with a look of curiosity and most of all, concern. "Are you... crying?"

I widened my eyes upon realizing the streaks of tears still pooling from eyes, and immediately swiped a hoof across my face in a messy attempt to hide the evidence. It was too late though, and both of us knew it.

Twilight didn't wait for me to respond and she instantly came to my side, to ask me one important question. "Are you okay?"

I opened my mouth to automatically answer "yes." But then I found myself unable to, as I stared back at Twilight. Her eyes were full of fear and anxiety for me, ready to have my back at a moment's notice. For some reason, I didn't feel pressured to lie anymore.

I remembered the day after Gilda had visited Ponyville. I was at my lowest back then; no amount of flying could ease the pain I felt of losing a friend, for it only served to remind me of the now bittersweet memories I had of her. So I resorted to skipping stones by the swimming hole to distract me from my thoughts. Twilight had been there to listen to me at my worst. I remember how natural it felt to confide in her.

I knew I could trust her with anything.

My lip quivered as I uttered out my response. "No. I'm not okay."

That was the first time I openly showed weakness to anypony. Sure, I had Fluttershy to talk to about personal things, but this was a whole new level of personal. I've never told her, much less anypony else, about that major bother in my life except Twilight. I'm not quite sure what pushed me to do this, as I've always been very protective about my emotional barriers. But despite myself, I'd let Twilight inside my most private of thoughts.

It felt as equally frightening as when I was waiting for my turn in the Best Young Flyers' Competition. I was scared that she'd think I was being petty or ridiculous, or that she'd just laugh this off as another prank from the infamous Rainbow Dash. I must've given it away a couple times 'cause she was always quick to assure me that my secret was safe with her, and that she was keen on listening to what I had to say. She kept her word.

"You know, come to think of it... flight school isn't all that different from the School for Gifted Unicorns."

I looked curiously at the unicorn by my side, silently gazing up at the starry night sky. "What do you mean?"

"You said that most pegasi are naturally competitive when it comes to flying. Well, unicorns are the same way with magic."

Suddenly, a distant look dawned on her face, as if she'd gone back to a time she hadn't thought of for so long. "The School for Gifted Unicorns is meant for the best of the best, so the competition is incredibly rough there, especially when you have to impress Princess Celestia herself." She paused and bit her lip, as if debating what to say next. "I... wasn't always a very skilled spellcaster."

My jaw dropped on instinct. "Really?" Since the moment I met her, she's always been one of the most powerful unicorns I've ever met. It was a shock to hear that coming from her.

Though she acted as if it weren't a surprise, and  chuckled. "We all have to start somewhere." Eh, I suppose that makes sense.

"I still remember the day I took my entrance exam. I had to hatch a dragon egg, Spike's egg to be exact. Even though I'd stayed up all night for the past week studying everything about magic, I froze up out of sheer nervousness, that I couldn't hatch the egg... Well, not until a huge explosion happened."

If my jaw had dropped before, it was touching the floor now. "An explosion? What happened?! Were you hurt?"

"Don't worry, it was nothing catastrophic, and no one got hurt. I wish I knew what it was though, because it was the reason I passed my entrance exam."

I was suddenly lost now. "Wait, what? How did that happen?"

There was a brief moment of silence as Twilight thought about the question. "I can't exactly describe it. When that explosion happened, I felt a sudden... surge of power within me. I felt like I wasn't in control of myself." She seemed to shudder at the memory, as if disgusted at the very thought of losing control. "I was able to hatch Spike from his egg, but he grew too tall that he broke through the ceiling. And I turned the judges and my parents into plants in the process."

I let out a chuckle as I visualized the scene myself, but Twilight maintained a semblance of somberness as she continued with her story. "The next thing I knew, Princess Celestia was standing behind me, then that was when I calmed down. I panicked thinking she was gonna banish me to her dungeon for destroying her school property. Never in a million years did I expect her to appoint me as her personal protégé."

Twilight's gaze drifted over to her star-adorned flank, her cutie mark dimly illuminated by the moonlight. "If my parents were overjoyed, I was over-the-moon ecstatic. Not only did I pass the exam and become the princess' protégé, but I also got my cutie mark. That day, I knew that I was destined to study magic, so I vowed to work my hardest to learn how to control and harness my abilities.

"I was very excited for my first day of school; there was lots to learn and I was eager to meet classmates with same interests as mine. But apparently, word travelled fast about my being the princess' protégé, and I was surrounded by curious and probing eyes the moment I walked through the school halls.

"I hated being the center of attention, so this obviously made school hell for me. But it happened so much everyday that I quickly got used to it. I grew accustomed to the looks foals gave me and how each one acted towards me. Some held me to a high pedestal, so intimidated by my status that they only dared to steal glances towards me and nothing else. Some wanted to befriend me, and some colts even courted me at times – but while they say they want to get to know you, they really just want to rub elbows with the rich and famous.

"And of course, some foals despised me. They were smart enough not to directly attack me, knowing how the princess would react to such matters, and how Canterlot in general shuns such behavior. So they tried other methods of bringing me down: starting rumors that would stain my reputation, setting up pranks to undermine my abilities, getting me in trouble with the teacher... I'm sure you're familiar with all of these." I nodded in sympathy, knowing all too well what Twilight meant.

"Our foalhoods are so similar, yet different all the same; we both had our own defense mechanisms. You built up a pretend face of carelessness, brashness, and self-confidence, and fought back against your bullies. I ignored all the attention, both the positive and negative because both were just as toxic, and I tried to keep a low profile as much as possible. But as much as I acted like I wasn't affected by it, I clearly grew distrustful and distant from others the more it stretched on." She turned to me with a small smile. "It's a good thing I met you girls, isn't it?"

I shared back a weak smile, but it was short-lived as a crippling thought made its way to the forefront of my mind. "You were able to change. But what about me? Am I... going to stay like this forever?" 

Her eyes widened a little as she stared at me. I watched as her face went through a strange shift of expressions, from disbelief to scolding anger, then changing to a pondering look as she thought of her next response.

The tenser the silence grew, the tighter the claw gripped my heart. Maybe there really is no going back. I brought my ego upon myself, and it changed the way I lived.

I did this to myself...

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight's voice broke me out of my thoughts. Realizing that my gaze had drifted to my slightly shaking hoof, I steadied myself and looked back at the mare beside me, eyeing me with a look that I couldn't place. "Did you forget already? You are the Element of Loyalty. You may be a braggart sometimes, but you're not a bad pony; your loyalty always shines through.

"When you saw Rarity falling to her doom, you didn't think of winning the Best Young Flyers' Competition at all, did you? You did all you could to save the ponies in trouble because you care, and that's what made you succeed in the end.

"You can be caught up in your own head sometimes, so what? You don't fly because you want to be on top, do you? You fly because you love doing it, Wonderbolt or no Wonderbolt. And I haven't seen you bossing your weather team on despite being the weather patrol's best worker. You were appointed the captain because you're a natural-born leader, not just because you're good at what you do but also because you're fair and just. You only care about what's best for Ponyville, because you'd never leave Ponyville hanging.

"And sure, you get swept up in the moment when the competition gets rough. Applejack is the same way, but do you think she's a bad pony?"

I was freely and silently crying now, having listened to every word Twilight said, unpausing. I couldn't help but smile at the sincerity behind her words, although a bit shakily due to the tears streaming down my cheeks. "N-no."

"No. Because although she has her quirks, she's truly a good pony just like you. We all have our flaws, Rainbow, and it's nothing to be ashamed of. It's not even your fault in your case, because that's the way society brought you up to be, and I'm sorry you had to go through that.

"To answer your question, it's never too late to change; the choice is solely up to you. I'll support you whichever decision you make, but I just want to let you know that I like you just the way you are. I like all things about you, both the good and the bad, because they're what makes you Rainbow Dash, my best friend."

Chapter Text

Equestria was at its most joyous and festive time of the year. From morning up till evening, towns and cities were bustling in activity. Businesses were making hundreds by the minute to accommodate the needs of everyone. Ponies galloped shop after shop to seek out the perfect gift for their loved ones. Families busied themselves with decorating their houses with colors and lights galore, not to mention setting up the holiday feasts.

Indeed, it is Hearth’s Warming Eve, the most magical time of the year! But it can also be the most stressful. So many people going places, so many families reuniting, so many gifts to keep track of… and not just in Equestria. Fortunately, school break was declared early this year, so every creature could go home and prepare for their own traditional holiday activities. Hence, that gave the Faculty of Friendship — the title suggested by none other than Headmare Twilight herself — time to plan their own Hearth’s Warming Eve party. Just them, a couple of best friends, having the time of their lives till the break of dawn when they have to return to their families to celebrate the day forward.

Everyone arrived with their own gifts to give the other, which they all put under the castle’s Hearth’s Warming tree and vowed to not open until next early morning. Until then, the night was filled with merry and laughter. They played in the snow, ate plenty of Spike’s special Hearth’s Warming meals, sang carols, told stories, and most of all, drank lots of cider until they were knocked out cold.

Fast forward to now, the moon nearing its peak in the brilliant night sky, a work of art by Princess Luna herself. Most of Ponyville was fast asleep at this time, save for the overexuberant fillies wanting to catch Santa Hooves giving gifts late at night. For the six friends themselves — the Elements of Harmony, the heroes of Equestria hearsay — they were enjoying their slumber over at Twilight’s bedroom.

It was the most adorable sight you could ever walk into, as Spike had put it. They were cuddled up into a sleeping pile of rainbowful ponies, exhausted from the night’s events. The only exclusion was Twilight, who stayed up to clean the mess they’d made. Rainbow didn’t stay asleep long as she was woken up by Pinkie’s loud snoring, which was just as much a jackhammering to her head (as she was the one who’d drank the most cider, unsurprisingly).

After some time of tidying the castle, the couple laid together before the fireplace, entwined in cozy pillows and blankets to shield themselves from winter’s chill. Being the shorter one, Rainbow had her head nuzzled between the crook of Twilight’s neck, while Twilight’s wing was draped over the pegasus’ back. While both were in comfortable positions, they weren’t quite ready to rest their minds yet as trains and trains of thoughts were running through them.

Both were worried for what lay ahead of them tomorrow, but both for different reasons.

They were scheduled to leave for Cloudsdale at 8 in the morning to celebrate Hearth’s Warming with their families together — they call it the “SparkleDash Family Reunion,” which really only happened never until now.

For Twilight’s part, she couldn’t help but worry on how the reunion would go. Not because it’s the first time their families have gotten together as a whole, but because she wasn’t the one managing the festivities this time around.

She didn’t want to burst anypony’s bubble, especially Pinkie’s, but she’s been hosting all her holiday parties since her castle rose up from the ground. And when she’s the host, everything has got to be particular. It’s not like she didn’t have faith in their parents to manage the gathering; she was just a little paranoid about things going terrible. Questions like “What if our train doesn’t arrive in time due to a blizzard? What if we arrive too early? What if the house, heck, all of Cloudsdale gets damaged due to a blizzard? What if my parents forget to recast the cloudwalking spell every 12 hours just like I taught them to? What if my family and Dash’s family won’t like each other the way they used to?” criss crossed inside her overthinking mind.

On the other hoof, Rainbow's hoof specifically… Well, let’s just say, behind those wedding veils awaited a bright and magical future for the two of them.

You guessed right: Dash was planning to propose to royalty. That’s why she didn’t bring a wrapped up gift for Twilight tonight, to the princess’ bewilderment — but Rainbow explained that her present had to wait until they were at Cloudsdale, where her parents were keeping the engagement ring.

That’s the whole reason why Rainbow convinced Twilight to have their Hearth’s Warming at her hometown. It took lots of begging, and some seducing, to rid Twilight’s hesitation of the change of scenery. But once the gears of Rainbow’s plan started turning she did all the inviting for Twilight, letting everypony know of her proposal and even getting Twilight’s parents’ blessing. They all volunteered to set up the party themselves, which they most definitely have already done by this time. The only thing left for Rainbow to do was… to have Twilight’s hoof in marriage.

All these years, Rainbow Dash has built up a reputation of pride, ego, and courage — going by her motto “actions before thoughts,” always confident that everything would work out in the end. This time though, she couldn't tell. She couldn't tell if she was being reckless, selfish… whatever bad things Twilight might think of her!

She wasn't like this even on the first day they dated; in fact, she was the most confident mare at the time. However, just when she's about to seal her relationship with Twilight forever, she's suddenly gone Twilight-level paranoid. Dash wanted everything to be perfect for the big moment, even though she knew Twilight wouldn't care anyway. She cared because she loved Twilight in ways the alicorn could never comprehend. She's willing to go full out for the mare she cares for most.

But what if Twilight doesn't want what she wants? What if she says no and they go back to being just friends? That's 7 years of memories they'll be throwing down the drain. Dash couldn't bear to live through that tremendous pain, much less think of Twilight going through worse.

Then again, they have been together for seven years. They've gone through thick and thin, fought their battles side by side, opened up their deepest insecurities and secrets to each other, explored each other's bodies and desires in every way possible. They knew each other inside and out. What more step is there to take than to make their everlasting love official?

But then, as she lifted her head to gaze into Twilight's velvet eyes, it hit her. This was their last cuddle before their ascent to wifehood.

As she neared the soft touch of Twilight's lips, she realized that this was their last kiss before they say their “I do's”.

These were their last hours as marefriends, before they actually seal their love — till death do them apart.

Normally, Rainbow would do something theatrical to make it special for Twilight. But she found contentedness in laying there in silence for what seemed like forever — and Rainbow wanted to stay like that forever. Just them entangled in a blanket together, warming up in front of a fireplace in the middle of a winter night, basking in the aftermath of the tonight's party. Rainbow wanted to experience this every night of her life and wake up beside the bedridden love of her life every morning of her life.

A married life was never once in the top of her wants-and-needs list, but ever since Twilight came into her life, her eyes had opened to a realm of possibilities — possibilities she couldn't refuse to experience with Twilight Sparkle, the most awesome mare she's ever met.

One look down at the sleeping mare beside her, and she decided… This is the life she is meant to live, now and forevermore until death do them apart.

“Happy Hearth's Warming, Twilight.” Rainbow kissed her forehead and closed her eyes.